• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.64 no.5
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• pp.937-949
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• 2022

Health concern of dogs is the most important issue for pet owners. People who have companied the dogs long-term provide the utmost cares for their well-being and healthy life. Recently, it was revealed that the population and types of gut microbiota affect the metabolism and immunity of the host. However, there is little information on the gut microbiome of dogs. Hericium erinaceus (H. erinaceus; HE) is one of the well-known medicinal mushrooms and has multiple bioactive components including polyphenol, β-glucan, polysaccharides, ergothioneine, hericerin, erinacines, etc. Here we tested a pet food that contained H. erinaceus for improvement in the gut microbiota environment of aged dogs. A total of 18 dogs, each 11 years old, were utilized. For sixteen weeks, the dogs were fed with 0.4 g of H. erinaceus (HE-L), or 0.8 g (HE-H), or without H. erinaceus (CON) per body weight (kg) with daily diets (n = 6 per group). Taxonomic analysis was performed using metagenomics to investigate the difference in the gut microbiome. Resulting from principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) to confirm the distance difference between the groups, there was a significant difference between HE-H and CON due to weighted Unique fraction metric (Unifrac) distance (p = 0.047), but HE-L did not have a statistical difference compared to that of CON. Additionally, the result of Linear discriminate analysis of effect size (LEfSe) showed that phylum Bacteroidetes in HE-H and its order Bacteroidales increased, compared to that of CON, Additionally, phylum Firmicutes in HE-H, and its genera (Streptococcus, Tyzzerella) were reduced. Furthermore, at the family level, Campylobacteraceae and its genus Campylobacter in HE-H was decreased compared to that of CON. Summarily, our data demonstrated that the intake of H. erinaceus can regulate the gut microbial community in aged dogs, and an adequate supply of HE on pet diets would possibly improve immunity and anti-obesity on gut-microbiota in dogs.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.249-255
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• 2022

Alzheimer's disease (AD) represents a major public health concern and has been identified as a research priority. Clinical research evidence supports that the core cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers for AD, including amyloid-β (Aβ42), total tau (T-tau), and phosphorylated tau (P-tau), reflect key elements of AD pathophysiology. Nevertheless, advances in the clinical identification of new indicators will be critical not only for the discovery of sensitive, specific, and reliable biomarkers of preclinical AD pathology, but also for the development of tests that facilitate the early detection and differential diagnosis of dementia and disease progression monitoring. The early detection of AD in its presymptomatic stages would represent a great opportunity for earlier therapeutic intervention. The chance of successful treatment would be increased since interventions would be performed before extensive synaptic damage and neuronal loss would have occurred. In this study, the importance of developing an early diagnostic method using cognitive decline biomarkers that can discriminate between normal, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and AD preclinical stages has been emphasized.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.44.1-44.17
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• 2023

Background: Antibiotic resistance is a significant public health concern around the globe. Antimicrobial peptides exhibit broad-spectrum and efficient antibacterial activity with an added advantage of low drug resistance. The higher water content and 3D network structure of the hydrogels are beneficial for maintaining antimicrobial peptide activity and help to prevent degradation. The antimicrobial peptide released from hydrogels also hasten the local wound healing by promoting epithelial tissue regeneration and granulation tissue formation. Objective: This study aimed at developing sodium alginate based hydrogel loaded with a novel antimicrobial peptide Chol-37(F34-R) and to investigate the characteristics in vitro and in vivo as an alternative antibacterial wound dressing to treat infectious wounds. Methods: Hydrogels were developed and optimized by varying the concentrations of crosslinkers and subjected to various characterization tests like cross-sectional morphology, swelling index, percent water contents, water retention ratio, drug release and antibacterial activity in vitro, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa infected wound mice model in vivo. Results: The results indicated that the hydrogel C proved superior in terms of cross-sectional morphology having uniformly sized interconnected pores, a good swelling index, with the capacity to retain a higher quantity of water. Furthermore, the optimized hydrogel has been found to exert a significant antimicrobial activity against bacteria and was also found to prevent bacterial infiltration into the wound site due to forming an impermeable barrier between the wound bed and external environment. The optimized hydrogel was found to significantly hasten skin regeneration in animal models when compared to other treatments in addition to strong inhibitory effect on the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α). Conclusions: Our results suggest that sodium alginate -based hydrogels loaded with Chol-37(F34-R) hold the potential to be used as an alternative to conventional antibiotics in treating infectious skin wounds.

• 한국체육학회지인문사회과학편
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.625-641
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to establish unified standards on the scope of protection of choreographic works and to suggest methods for the protection of choreography copyright. 20 experts was selected among dance experts or copyright experts and depth interview method, Delphi method and AHP analysis were used. The result was summarized as follows : First, 50 percents of the experts thought pure dance works and popular dance works should be protected by same standard, while 45 percents of the experts suggested different standard. Second, 55 percents of the experts claimed required fixation on certain medium, while 40 percents did not claim required fixation but only expression. Requirement of originality was to independently create choreography and to reflect creative characteristic(65%). 70 percents of experts were positive on defining dance choreography as independent work, while 25 percents were negative. Elements of the choreography protection scope were in following order of importance: pattern of movement, creative and concrete plot, combination of movements and steps, and movement pattern with specific space. Third, methods for the protection of dance copyright in hierarchical classification were in following order of importance : 'copyright education', 'activation of organization of dance copyright trust management', 'choreography registration' and 'inducement of social concern. Fourth, 'Active participation of dance copyright trust management organization' was thought as the most important development plan. 'Improvement of dancers' awareness of copyright', 'inducement of choreography registration', and 'reinforcement of copyright education' followed in order.

• The Korean Journal of Franchise Management
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.100-118
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• 2011

Since 1990, income has been grown rapidly in Korea. Thus, concerns of environmental pollution and health have been increased among Korea's consumers. As a result of this concern, demand for safe food and agricultural products has been growing in Korea. Recently, purchasing patterns of Korea's consumers have been changed as Korea's society has changed to an aging society, growth of unmarried person, and low birthrate. Korea's consumers prefer to buy only volume that they need. Thus, the volume of agricultural products that they purchase became small. Therefore, retailers should reflect such needs of consumers to their business. The purpose of this study is to build up new strategies in order to make a high profit through customer's satisfaction when selling agricultural products. Using literature review, this study has drawn results. The results of this study is that retailers should lay products with brand in their store and establish trust with customers in oder to make loyal customers. In addition, retailers should prepare individual package of agricultural products for sales of a small volume to keep pace with social changes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.633-644
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• 2007

The study results regarding the ingredient differences, sensory characteristics, purchasing type, usage and improvement direction for home-made traditional doenjang and factory produced commercial doenjang are as follows. The L-value indicates that home-made traditional doenjang has a higher value in average than the factory produce done, and the a-value indicates the opposite. Home-made traditional doenjang had higher water content than commercial doenjang ; however the pH values of commercial doenjang and home-made were 5.34 and 5.32 respectively, which was very similar. Factory produced commercial doenjang showed higher protein content than the home-made traditional doenjang. Regarding the correlation between ingredients, there was a significantly negative relationship between the L-value and a-value but a significantly positive relationship between the L-value and b-value. There were no significant relationship with water content, pH and protein content. For the color and taste, which are the sensory characteristics, commercial doenjang showed higher value than the traditional doenjang, but for smell, the values were similar. Regarding grittiness, the factory produced commercial doenjang had bigger particles than the traditional doenjang. Preference was a bit higher in the traditional doenjang. Of the 380 study subjects, most were from 40 to 49 years old (65.5%), and the most family type were nuclear families which was a total of 400 people (69%). Moreover, the most residential type was apartment which was 355people (61.2%), and for the monthly income, more than 2,510,000won was 48.3%. For the educational background, college education was 304 people (52.4%), and high school education was 199 people, 34.3%. In the usage, most of the people eat doenjang more than once a week, and usually their parents make the doenjang. People used both commercial doenjang and home-made traditional doenjang >home-made only >factory produced commercial doenjang only in that order. The reasons for using the home-made traditional doenjang aredelicate taste and flavor>more nutritious> anti-cancer ingredients in that order. The reason they use the factory produced commercial doenjang is because they don't know how to make it at home. The things that needed to be improved in the home-made traditional doenjang are bad smell> entire quality> flavor> color in order, indicating that studies for reducing bad smell are required. The things that needed to be improved in the factory produced commercial doenjang are taste & flavor> entire quality>bad smell> color in that order, indicating that people are more concern about it tasting like home-made than the smell. From the above results, we can see that better functional doenjang should be developed for family health and to increase the consumption of the doenjang, which has good functional psychological activities, also more various types of foods that use doenjang and scientific studies to reduce the home-made doenjang smell should be continuously studied. Moreover, studies on how to make the factory produced commercial doenjang taste more like traditional doenjang should be performed.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.291-304
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• 2023

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) have become an increasing concern in terms of human health risks as well as aesthetic impairment due to their toxicity. The reduction of water pollutants, especially nutrients from non-point sources in a reservoir watershed, is fundamental for HABs prevention. We investigated the pollutant removal efficiencies of a constructed wetland to evaluate its feasibility as a method for controlling non-point sources located in the Annaecheon stream within the Daecheong Reservoir watershed. The overall removal efficiencies of pollutants were as follows: BOD 14.3%, COD 17.9%, SS 50.0%, T-N 19.0%, and T-P 35.4%. These results indicate that constructed wetlands are effective in controlling pollutants from non-point sources. The seasonal variation in removal efficiency depended on the specific pollutants. The removal efficiencies of BOD, COD, and T-N were stable throughout the year, except during winter, which might have been influenced by lower microorganism activity. In contrast, T-P showed a consistent removal efficiency even during the winter season, suggesting that the wetland can reduce external phosphorus loading to the reservoir. Regarding the effects of pollutant loadings on removal efficiency, the effluent concentrations of all pollutants were significantly decreased compared to those in the influent in case of middle and high loadings. This demonstrates that constructed wetlands can handle high pollutant loads, including the initial runoff during rainfall, to prevent reservoir eutrophication. Despite the various strengths of wetland water purification, there are limitations as passive treatment. Therefore, more case studies should be conducted to suggest optimum operational conditions for constructed wetlands, taking into consideration reservoir-specific characteristics.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.13-19
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• 2024

Purpose: Trauma is an important public health concern, and it is important to increase the survival rate of patients with trauma and enable them to return to society in a better condition. Initial treatment in the emergency department (ED) is closely associated with the prognosis of patients with trauma. However, studies regarding laboratory biomarker tests that can help predict the prognosis of trauma patients are limited. Presepsin is a novel biomarker of inflammation that can predict a poor prognosis in patients with sepsis. This study aimed to determine whether presepsin could be used as a prognostic indicator in patients with polytrauma. Methods: The study included patients with trauma who had visited a single regional ED from November 2021 to January 2023. Patients who had laboratory tests in the ED were included and analyzed retrospectively through chart review. Age, sex, injury mechanism, vital signs, surgery, the outcome of ED treatment (admission, discharge, transfer, or death), and trauma scores were analyzed. Results: Overall, 550 trauma patients were enrolled; 59.1% were men, and the median age was 64 years (interquartile range, 48.8-79.0 years). Patients in a hypotensive state (systolic blood pressure, <90 mmHg; n=39) had higher presepsin levels (1,061.5±2,522.7 pg/mL) than those in a nonhypotensive state (n=511, 545.7±688.4 pg/mL, P<0.001). Patients hospitalized after ED treatment had the highest presepsin levels (660.9 pg/mL), followed by those who died (652.0 pg/ mL), were transferred to other hospitals (514.9 pg/mL), and returned home (448.0 pg/mL, P=0.041). Conclusions: Serum presepsin levels were significantly higher in trauma patients in a hypotensive state than in those in a nonhypotensive state. Additionally, serum presepsin levels were the highest in hospitalized patients with trauma, followed by those who died, were transferred to other hospitals, and returned home.

• International Journal of Stem Cells
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.395-404
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• 2022

Background and Objectives: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common, frequently-occurring disease and poses a major health concern. Unfortunately, there is current no effective treatment for COPD, particularly emphysema. Recently, experimental treatment of COPD using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) mainly focused on bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs). Human umbilical cord-derived MSCs (hUC-MSCs) have more advantages compared to BM-MSCs. However, studies on the role of hUC-MSCs in management of COPD are limited. This study sought to explore the role of hUC-MSCs and its action mechanisms in a rat model of VEGF receptor blocker SU5416-injured emphysema. Methods and Results: hUC-MSCs were characterized by immunophenotype and differentiation analysis. Rats were divided into four groups: Control, Control+MSC, SU5416 and SU5416+MSC. Rats in model group were administered with SU5416 for three weeks. At the end of the second week after SU5416 administration, model group were infused with 3×10⁶ hUC-MSCs through tail vein. After 14 days from hUC-MSCs transplantation, rats were euthanized and data were analyzed. HE staining and mean linear intercepts showed that SU5416-treated rats exhibited typical emphysema while emphysematous changes in model rats after hUC-MSCs transplantation disappeared completely and were restored to normal phenotype. Furthermore, hUC-MSCs inhibited apoptosis as shown by TUNEL and Western blotting. ELISA and Western blotting showed hUC-MSCs rescued VEGF-VEGFR2-AKT pathway in emphysematous lungs. Conclusions: The findings show that hUC-MSCs effectively repair the emphysema injury. This study provides the first evidence that hUC-MSCs inhibit apoptosis via rescuing VEGF- VEGFR2-AKT pathway in a rat model of emphysema.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.265-273
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• 2010

Understanding patients' expectation for health visits and providing appropriate care may increase patients' satisfaction with health care, leading to more positive treatment outcome. The study aimed to investigate expectations of the patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) at their first visit to university-based orofacial pain clinic and to evaluate any relation with duration of pain, presence of previous treatment, pain severity and pain interference. Inclusion criterion was patients aged over and 18 years old and diagnosed as TMD during 3 months' period from Aug to Nov 2010. They were asked to complete the questionnaires for patients' expectation and the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) at waiting room prior to consultation. 322 TMD patients participated in the study(M:F=1:1.5, mean age=36 years old). The study indicated that the most important top 3 expectations were 'cure of pain', 'understanding their problem' and 'doctor-patient communication' in order. This finding was not affected by gender, duration and previous treatment history but affected by sub-category of TMD and BPI pain severity and pain interference. 'Pain relief' and 'understanding their problems' were relatively highlighted in the patients with muscle disorders and combination (joint-muscle) disorders of TMD than those with joint disorders who wanted communication and further investigation relatively more (p=0.000). While expectation for pain relief was expected more with increase of pain severity and interference, patients with mild level of pain severity and interference expected communication and further investigation relatively more (p=0.000, 0.017, respectively). Based on the results of the study, though pain relief was the primary concern for TMD patients suffering from pain, their satisfaction with care may be increased by explanation for etiology and mechanism of TMD to make them understand their problems better and doctor-patient communication and collaborative decision-making for treatment. Importance of patient-centered consultations and availability of written material or web sites for patient information should be stressed out.