• Clinical Nutrition Research
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• 제6권3호
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• pp.172-182
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• 2017

We investigated the association between dietary habits/food group consumption patterns and early risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS), a main cause for metabolic disease. Study participants were recruited from the health promotion center in Dong-A University Hospital and public advertisement. Study subjects (n = 243, 21-80 years) were categorized into three groups: Super-healthy (MetS risk factor [MetS RF] = 0, n = 111), MetS-risk carriers (MetS RF = 1-2, n = 96), and MetS (MetS $RF{\geq}3$, n = 27). Higher regularity in dietary habits (breakfast-everyday, regular eating time, non-frequent overeating, and non-frequent eating-out) was observed in the Super-healthy group than in the MetS-risk carriers, and particularly in the MetS subjects. The relationship between food group consumption patterns and MetS-risk related parameters were investigated with adjustment for confounding factors. Fruit consumption was positively associated with HDL-cholesterol, and tended to be negatively associated with waist circumference, triglyceride, LDL-cholesterol, and insulin resistance (IR). The consumption of low-fat meats and fish, and vegetables was negatively associated with hs-CRP. Specifically, the consumption of seafoods belonging to the low-fat fish was negatively associated with fasting glucose, hs-CRP, and interleukin (IL)-6. Anchovy/dried white baits consumption was negatively associated with fasting insulin and IR. Green-yellow vegetables consumption was negatively associated with fasting insulin, IR, and hs-CRP. On the other hand, sugars and fast-foods were positively associated with LDL-cholesterol. Additionally, fast-foods consumption was positively associated with hs-CRP and IL-6 levels. In conclusion, dietary habits/food group consumption patterns are closely associated with MetS-risk related parameters in Koreans. It may suggest useful information to educate people to properly select healthy foods for early prevention of MetS.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제45권1호
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• pp.191-198
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• 2021

Background: Most clinical studies of immune responses activated by Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) have been conducted exclusively in patients. However, there is still a lack of clinical research on immune-boosting benefits of KRG for healthy persons. This study aims to confirm how KRG boosts the immune system of healthy subjects. Methods: A total of 100 healthy adult subjects were randomly divided into two groups that took either a 2 g KRG tablet or a placebo per day for 8 weeks. The primary efficacy evaluation variables included changes in T cells, B cells, and white blood cells (WBCs) before and after eight weeks of KRG ingestion. Cytokines (TNF-α, INF-γ, IL-2 and IL-4), WBC differential count, and incidence of colds were measured in the secondary efficacy evaluation variables. Safety evaluation variables were used to identify changes in laboratory test results that incorporated adverse reactions, vital signs, hematological tests, blood chemistry tests, and urinalysis. Results: Compared to the placebo group, the KRG intake group showed a significant increase in the number of T cells (CD3) and its subtypes (CD4 and CD8), B cells, and the WBC count before and after eight weeks of the intake. There were no clinically significant adverse reactions or other notable results in the safety evaluation factors observed. Conclusion: This study has proven through its eight-week intake test and subsequent analysis that KRG boosts the immune system through an increase in T cells, B cells, and WBCs, and that it is safe according to the study's safety evaluation.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• 제14권2호
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• pp.200-210
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• 2003

Purpose: This quasi-experimental study was performed to investigate the effects of a health promotion program(HPP) on self-efficacy, healthy lifestyle and blood lipid profile in employees with hyperlipidemia. Methods: The subjects were forty-three employees who were diagnosed as having hyperlipidemia during routine health examination at two worksites in Seoul in 2001. Of the forty-three subjects, thirty were allocated to the experimental group and the remaining thirteen were allocated to the control group. Data were collected from September 24, 2001 to March 16, 2002. The HPP was applied to the experimental group for 11 weeks and included health education, diet counseling, watching videos, conference, and so on. The health education included information about exercise, smoking cessation, and abstinence from drinking alcohol and seven sessions of hyperlipidemia education. The experimental group was requested to keep a daily health promotion lifestyle diary. This diary was analyzed by a dietician and subjects were instructed based on the results. As for data analyses, wilcoxon signed rank test and wilcoxon rank sum test and x2-test were carried out using SAS program. Results: 1. Self-efficacy scores of the experimental group were significantly more increased than those of the control group (experimental: 5.86 10.80, control: -4.04 11.91, p=0.018). 2. Healthy lifestyle scores of the experimental group were significantly more increased than those of the control group (experimental: 0.19 0.26, control: -0.05 0.29, p=0.024). 3. Blood total cholesterol values of the experimental group were significantly more decreased than those of the control group (experimental: -13.07 30.10mg/dl, control: 10.00 26.57mg/dl, p=0.033). 4. Blood triglyceride values of the experimental group were significantly more decreased than those of the control group (experimental: -29.17 192.40mg/dl, control: 63.31 107.53mg/dl, p=0.050). Conclusion: These findings indicate that the HHP could be effective in improving self-efficacy, healthy lifestyle and blood HDL cholesterol and decreasing blood total cholesterol in employees with hyperlipidemia. Therefore, the HHP could be suggested as an effective nursing intervention for employees in the worksite by ultimately preventing cerebral and cardiac vessel complications related to hyperlipidemia.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• 제26권3호
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• pp.191-195
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate whether types of sensory-stimuli cues in terms of visual, auditory, and visuoauditory cues can be affected to motor sequential learning in healthy adults, using serial reaction time task. Methods: Twenty four healthy subjects participated in this study, who were randomly allocated into three groups, in terms of visual-stimuli (VS) group, auditory-stimuli (AS) group, and visuoauditory-stimuli (VAS) group. In SRT task, eight Arabic numbers were adopted as presentational stimulus, which were composed of three different types of presentational modules, in terms of visual, auditory, and visuoauditory stimuli. On an experiment, all subjects performed total 3 sessions relevant to each stimulus module with a pause of 10 minutes for training and pre-/post-tests. At the pre- and post-tests, reaction time and accuracy were calculated. Results: In reaction time, significant differences were founded in terms of between-subjects, within-subjects, and interaction effect for group ${\times}$ repeated factor. In accuracy, no significant differences were observed in between-group and interaction effect for groups ${\times}$ repeated factor. However, a significant main effect of within-subjects was observed. In addition, a significant difference was showed in comparison of differences of changes between the pre- and post-test only in the reaction time among three groups. Conclusion: This study suggest that short-term sequential motor training on one day induced behavioral modification, such as speed and accuracy of motor response. In addition, we found that motor training using visual-stimuli cue showed better effect of motor skill acquisition, compared to auditory and visuoauditory-stimuli cues.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• 제5권4호
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• pp.185-192
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• 2016

Objective: The purpose of this study was to find the limited patterns of middle-aged women in selective functional movement evaluation and analyze the effects of pattern improvement exercises and general control groups on the Health Risk Appraisal (HRA). Design: Randomized controlled trial. Methods: The 31 subjects were physically healthy middle-aged women aged 40-59 living in Seoul, The subjects were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group. Forty-three physically healthy women were originally recruited and randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n=22) or the control group (n=21). However, due to lack of participation, a total of seventeen subjects in the exercise group and fourteen subjects in the control group participated in the study. All subjects were tested using Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) and HRA for the baseline measurement and joined an exercise program of their group for one hour per session, twice a week for four weeks. The experimental group was provided with the corrective exercises and the control group was given the general fitness program. A follow-up test was conducted after eight weeks from the baseline measurement. Results: Both experimental and control group showed significant changes in SFMA and HRA scores (p<0.05). In the experimental group and control groups, the SFMA and HRA showed significant improvement from baseline to 4 weeks (p<0.05). Also, in the experimental group, the SFMA was significantly improved from baseline to 8 weeks (p<0.05). For the experimental group, there was a significant improvement in SFMA after 4 weeks compared to the control group (p<0.05). Conclusions: The corrective exercise in the experimental group had a positive effect on the SFMA score as well as the general squat exercise in the control group. The corrective exercise and general control group had the same positive effect on the HRA score.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• 제12권1호
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• pp.47-51
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• 2018

BACKGROUND/OBJECTTIVES: The purposes of the study were to investigate folate intakes and plasma folate concentrations as well as estimate folate status in Korean healthy adults. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A total of 254 healthy 19- to 64-year-old adults (68 men and 186 women) living in Seoul metropolitan area, Gumi, and Kwangju, Korea participated. Three consecutive 24-hour dietary recalls, information on folate supplementation, and fasting blood samples were collected from the subjects. RESULTS: The mean dietary folate intakes were 587.4 and $499.2{\mu}g$ dietary folate equivalent (DFE)/day for men and women, respectively. The median dietary intakes of men and women were 566.6 and $474.6{\mu}g\;DFE/day$, respectively. Forty subjects (16.7% of total) less total folate than the estimated average requirement (EAR). Folate intakes of 23.3% of men and 34.8% of women aged 19-29 years did not meet the EAR for folate. Major food sources consumed for dietary folate were baechukimchi (Chinese cabbage kimchi), rice, spinach, eggs, and laver, which provided 44% of dietary folate intake for the subjects. Plasma folate concentrations were 23.4 nmol/L for men and 28.3 nmol/L for women, and this level was significantly lower in men than in women. Approximately 13% of men and 3% of women were folate-deficient, and the percentages of subjects showing folate concentrations lower than 10 nmol/L were 27.9% of men and 6.4% of women. CONCLUSIONS: Folate intakes of Korean adults in this study were generally adequate. However, one-third of young adults had inadequate folate intakes.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• 제23권4호
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• pp.59-66
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• 2011

Purpose: The objective of this study was to evaluate the inter- and intra-examiner reliability of ultrasonography (US) for measuring the thicknesses and cross-sectional area of the longus colli muscle (LCM) in healthy subjects. Methods: Twenty-five healthy adults participated in this study as subjects and two examiners attended to the study. LCM size was measured at the level of the thyroid cartilage. All subjects were randomly allocated to one of the three different methods. Method 1 was that the examiner A conducts the first measurement and one hour later conducts the second measurement and twenty four hours later conducts the third measurement, respectively. Method 2 was that the examiner B conducts the measurements in the same way as the examiner A. Method 3 was that the examiners A and B randomly conduct the measurements twice at an interval of one hour. Results: The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) for the intra-examiner reliability ranged from 0.78 to 0.98 at rest and 0.57 to 0.98 during contraction for the examiner A. The $ICC_{3,3}$ for the intra-examiner reliability ranged from 0.60 to 0.96 at rest and 0.57 to 0.92 during contraction for the examiner B. The $ICC_{2,3}$ for the inter-examiner reliability ranged from 0.80 to 0.91 at rest and 0.84 to 0.93 during contraction. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that US is a reliable method for measuring the LCM size.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• 제37권5호
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• pp.297-303
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• 2007

The purposes of this study were to clarify the involvement of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in the efflux of levosulpiride in knockout mice that lack the mdr1a1b gene and to evaluate the relationship between the genetic polymorphisms in MDR1 gene (exon 21) and levosulpiride disposition in healthy Korean subjects. After oral administration ($10\;{\mu}g/g$) of levosulpiride to mdr1a/1b(-/-) and wild-type mice, plasma and brain samples were obtained at 45 min. We also investigated the genotype for MDR1 (exon 21) gene in humans using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. A single oral dose of 25 mg levosulpiride was administered to 58 healthy subjects, who were based on the MDR1 genotype for the G2677T SNP. Blood samples were taken up to 36 hr after dosing. The concentrations of levosulpiride in mouse plasma and brain were statistically significant difference between the two animal groups (P<0.05). In addition, the average brain-to-plasma concentration ratio (Kp) of levosulpiride was 3.4-fold (P<0.01) higher in the mdr1a/1b(-/-) mice compared with the wild-type mice. We also found that the values of $AUC_{0-{\infty}$, partial AUC ($AUC_{0-4h}$) and $C_{max}$ were significantly different between homozygous 2677TT subjects and the subjects with at least one wild-type allele (GG and GT subjects, P=0.012 for $AUC_{0-{\infty}$; P=0.008 for $AUC_{0-4h}$; P=0.038 for $C_{max}$). The results confirm that levosulpiride is a P-gp substrate in vivo, and clearly demonstrate the effect of SNP 2677G>T in exon 21 of the MDR1 gene on levosulpiride disposition.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• 제18권1호
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• pp.74-82
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to compare the anaerobic threshold (AT) between subjects with and without non-specific chronic low back pain (NCLBP). The patient group included 15 women with NCLBP. The normal group included 15 women without NCLBP who were age-, height-, weight-, and activity level-matched. The subjects performed a Balke treadmill protocol which was symptom-limited progressive loading test. Their heart rate (HR), ventilatory gas and metabolic equivalents (METs) were measured using the automatic breath gas analyzing system. After the test, each subjects' ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were evaluated. The visual analog scale (VAS) was assessed pre- and post-test. The independent t-test and Wilcoxon's signed-rank test were used for analysis of the data. Time, HR, the volume of oxygen consumption ($VO_2$), relative $VO_2$, and METs at the AT level of the patient group were significantly lower than those of the healthy group (p<.05). However, there were no significant differences in RPE, VAS, and breathing frequency at the AT level (p>.05). The findings of this study indicate that patients with NCLBP had a lower aerobic fitness than healthy subjects. Thus, implementation of rehabilitation program to increase aerobic fitness may be considered in patietns with NCLBP, and further studies are required to determine the etiological factors of decreased aerobic fitness.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• 제10권1호
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• pp.129-136
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• 2022

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of applying intensity on the muscle activity and muscle hardness of the upper trapezius muscle in adult males when TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) was applied. In addition, this study intends to prepare the scientific basic data of TENS for the purpose of relaxation based on the experimental results. Methods : Eighty-seven healthy adult males participated in the experiment, and they were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group. All subjects in this study were healthy subjects without musculoskeletal or nervous system damage. All subjects were subjects who voluntarily consented to the purpose and method of the experiment. All subjects were provided with a load by typing for 20 minutes, and muscle activity and muscle hardness of the upper trapezius muscle were measured immediately. Afterwards, TENS was given to each groups for 15 minutes, and the experimental group received stimulation at the motor threshold level, and the control group received a placebo stimulation. After stimulation, muscle activity and muscle hardness of the upper trapezius muscle were measured in the same method. The measured data were compared between groups through an independent t-test and dependent t-test. The statistical significance level was set at .05. Results : The application of TENS statistically significantly decreased the muscle activity and muscle hardness of the trapezius muscle in the experimental group, and the results showed a significant difference from the control group. Conclusion : Application of TENS significantly decreased the muscle activity and muscle stiffness of the upper trapezius muscle. The application of TENS of applying intensity that induces muscle contraction may induce relaxation by reducing the muscle activity and muscle hardness of the trapezius muscle.