• BMB Reports
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• 제55권5호
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• pp.238-243
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• 2022

Autism or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a behavioral syndrome characterized by persistent deficits in social interaction, and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities. The gene encoding Methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) is one of a few exceptional genes of established causal effect in ASD. Although genetically engineered mice studies may shed light on how MeCP2 loss affects synaptic activity patterns across the whole brain, such studies are not considered practical in ASD patients due to the overall level of impairment, and are technically challenging in mice. For the first time, we show that hippocampal MeCP2 knockdown produces behavioral abnormalities associated with autism-like traits in rats, providing a new strategy to investigate the efficacy of therapeutics in ASD. Ketamine, an N-Methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) blocker, has been proposed as a possible treatment for autism. Using the MeCP2 knockdown rats in conjunction with a rat model of valproic acid (VPA)-induced ASD, we examined gene expression and ASD behaviors upon ketamine treatment. We report that the core symptoms of autism in MeCP2 knockdown rats with social impairment recovered dramatically following a single treatment with ketamine.

• 치위생과학회지
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• 제23권3호
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• pp.225-235
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• 2023

Background: This study aimed to analyze the effects of periodontal treatment and individual- and tooth-related factors on tooth extraction in people with disabilities. Methods: The Korea National Health Insurance claims data of individuals with disabilities aged 40~64 years with chronic periodontitis in 2008 were obtained. Of these, data on the disabled who underwent scaling/root plaining, subgingival curettage/periodontal surgery, or non-periodontal treatments, and data on their teeth were selected. The extraction of 716,688 teeth from 39,097 patients was tracked until 2018, and the patient- and tooth-level factors related to tooth loss were identified using a mixed-effect logistic regression analysis. Results: Data from approximately 17% of the teeth were extracted during a follow-up period of approximately 11 years. Among the tooth-level variables, scaling/root planing treatment at baseline and periodontal treatment during the follow-up period were associated with a lower risk of tooth loss (odds ratio=0.692 and 0.769, respectively, p<0.001). Non-vital teeth increased the risk of tooth loss by 3.159 times (p<0.001). Among the patient-level variables, females were less likely to have lost their teeth than males, and those with orthopedic impairment or brain lesions/mental disabilities, a higher age group, lower income level, or residents in medium/small cities or rural areas were more likely to have lost their teeth (p<0.001). Conclusion: Through approximately 11 years of follow-up, scaling or root planing, experience with periodontal treatment at least once, female sex, older age, lower income, smaller residential areas, type of disability, and pulp vitality were found to be associated with tooth loss in individuals with disabilities aged 40~64 years with chronic periodontitis. To prevent tooth loss in individuals with disabilities, it is necessary to establish a dental treatment plan that considers the timing of periodontal treatment and the characteristics of the patient and teeth.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• 제10권1호
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• pp.113-116
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• 1997

Sensorineural hearing loss(SNHL) is defined as a sudden hearing impairment which was develope over a period of hours to days. The definitive cause of SNHL is unknown in most cases. Disturbance of the blood flow of the inner ear is a main causal hypotheses. Most symptomatic treatment is focusing to improving the blood flow of the inner ear. At our hospital, most patients are recommended to bed rest, vasodilators(nicotinic acid, antihistamines) and stellate ganglion block(SGB) for two weeks. We experienced two cases of recurrence immediately after recovery from SNHL. They discontinued SGB after initial recovery. due to associated pain with operation and or psychologic stress. One patient resumed SGB and medication treatment, but the second who gave up treatment was not recovered. Therefore, we recommend to continuance of treatment of stellate ganglion blocks to improve recovery rate of SNHL and avoid further trauma and psychologic stress during the recovery period of SNHL.

• 보건행정학회지
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• 제28권2호
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• pp.162-167
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• 2018

Background: In this research, we conducted an analysis to grasp the relationship between hearing and quality of life and to prepare effective troubleshooting. Methods: In this study, we analyzed using the data of the 6th term of the National Health and Nutrition Survey of the Disease Management Headquarters. And, out of 7,380 people, 3,598 adults over the age of 40 years who participated in the hearing test were selected as final research subjects and analyzed. Results: It was confirmed that the result of the analysis affects the quality of life based on hearing. The quality of life associated with hearing loss was unpleasant, motor ability, anxiety/depression, and everyday life affected in order of self management. And factors having an effect on the quality of life of the study subjects were found to be gender, elderly, unmarried, low hearing, low household income, absence of economic activity, and low teaching standards. Conclusion: The conclusion is that strengthening education for realistic management and prevention rather than treatment for unconditional hearing impairment will overcome low self esteem and loneliness and alleviate any uncomfortable life that people with hearing loss give. It is expected to be possible.

• 한국음향학회지
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• 제31권5호
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• pp.298-308
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• 2012

This study was designed to examine the phoneme recognition errors of hearing-impaired (HI) listeners on a consonant-by-consonant basis, to show (1) how each HI ear perceives individual consonants differently and (2) how standard clinical measurements (i.e., using a tone and word) fail to predict these differences. Sixteen English consonant-vowel (CV) syllables of six signal-to-noise ratios in speech-weighted noise were presented at the most comfortable level for ears with mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss. The findings were as follows: (1) individual HI listeners with a symmetrical pure-tone threshold showed different consonant-loss profiles (CLPs) (i.e., over a set of the 16 English consonants, the likelihood of misperceiving each consonant) in right and left ears. (2) A similar result was found across subjects. Paired ears of different HI individuals with identical pure-tone threshold presented different CLPs in one ear to the other. (3) Paired HI ears having the same averaged consonant score demonstrated completely different CLPs. We conclude that the standard clinical measurements are limited in their ability to predict the extent to which speech perception is degraded in HI ears, and thus they are a necessary, but not a sufficient measurement for HI speech perception. This suggests that the CV measurement would be a useful clinical tool.

• 대한본초학회지
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• 제32권3호
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• pp.79-87
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• 2017

Objectives : This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of an herbal mixture of Atractylodes macrocephala and Taraxacum spp. (ATC) on ulcerative colitis. We have previously screened traditional medicinal herbs to discover the effective candidate by the animal model. A. macrocephala and T. spp were identified as one of the effective herbs in the screening process. Methods : Experimental colitis was induced in male Balb/c mice by administering drinking water containing dextran sulfate sodium, which mimics the clinical and histological features of ulcerative colitis in human. ATC at doses of 30, 100 or 300 mg/kg were orally administered to mice twice per day for 10 consecutive days. To evaluate the damage from experimentla ulcerative colitis, body weight, colon length, disease activity index, myeloperoxidase and histological changes were measured and analyzed. Results : The administration of dextran sulfate sodium with drinking water resulted in markedly reduced colon length, severe body weight loss, increased levels of myeloperoxidase activity and histological damages in mice. ATC treatment significantly ameliorated the colon shortening, histological damage, body weight loss and disease activity index score in a dose-dependent manner. ATC also attenuated the colonic myeloperoxidase activity which reflects the severity and extent of inflammatory damage of colon. Conclusions : ATC exerts protective effects against inflammatory colonic structural damage induced by epithelial barrier integrity impairment. ATC also inhibits weight loss and related symptoms of UC which can be considered as the functional recovery of colon.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제6권2호
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• pp.134-138
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• 2015

Background: Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a major preventable occupational health problem with 250 million people worldwide known to have disabling impairment of moderate to greater severity. The aims of the study are to estimate the prevalence of NIHL in the police force; and study its association with age, sex, duration of service (years), smoking and alcohol habits, use of hearing protective devices, as well as preexisting chronic diseases. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 543 police personnel who had undergone periodic medical examination over a 12-month period. The diagnostic criteria for NIHL were (1) history of occupational noise exposure, (2) bilateral hearing loss, (3) hearing loss of ${\geq}25dBA$ at 4,000 Hz in two consecutive audiograms, and (4) no significant medical history affecting hearing. Severity of NIHL was based on the World Health Organization grading. Results: Males (74.8%) made up the majority of the police force. The mean age for police personnel was $35.55{\pm}9.57years$, and the mean duration of service was $14.75{\pm}9.39years$. Compliance with the usage of hearing protective devices was seen in 64.4%. The prevalence of NIHL in this study population was 34.2%, with a higher prevalence in males (37.7%) than in females (23.9%). The study also showed strong associations between NIHL and male sex (odds ratio, 1.9; P < 0.05), and hypertension (odds ratio, 3.3; P < 0.001). Overall, 93% were found to have mild NIHL, 3.5% had moderate NIHL, and 3.5% had severe NIHL. No police personnel were found to have profound hearing loss. Conclusion: The prevalence of NIHL in this study is high compared to other similar studies among police personnel. This study shows that increasing age, male, presence of hypertension, diabetes, and longer duration of service are significant associated factors for NIHL. Preventative strategies include health surveillance, implementation of a hearing conservation program, and legislation.

• 전자공학회논문지SC
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• 제46권2호
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• pp.15-21
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• 2009

난청은 가장 흔한 선천성 장애이다. 이 질병의 발생 빈도는 신생아 1000명 출생 당 $1{\sim}3$명 정도로 상당히 높다. 이러한 청력 장애가 조기에 발견된다면 수술적인 치료 등으로 예방할 수 있으나, 그렇지 못할 경우 언어와 학습장애를 초래하게 된다. 이런 관점을 근거로 신생아를 대상으로 한 선천성 난청의 선별검사는 큰 의미를 가지며 난청환자의 조기발견을 위한 노력이 필수적이라 할 수 있다. 기존의 수동 청력검사 시스템은 신생아 청력 평가 시 검사자의 주관성에 의존하게 되므로, 청성뇌간 반응의 뇌파 분석이 잘못될 가능성이 커진다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 난청여부를 자동으로 판독하여 결과를 나오도록 개발하고자 하였으며, 또한 기존 제품들과 차별화하기 위하여 휴대용으로 개발하여 차폐실이 아닌 일반 병실에서도 검사가 가능하도록 함에 따라 유소아의 청각 장애를 극복시키는데 기여하고자 하였다.

• 대한두경부종양학회지
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• 제27권1호
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• pp.84-87
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• 2011

Branchio-otic syndrome(BOS) is a relatively uncommon genetic malformation associated with dysmorphogenesis of the first and second branchial arches and is characterized by branchial fistulae, congenital preauricular fistulae, and anomalies of the pinnae, external, middle, and inner ears, accompanied by hearing loss. Recently, we experienced a case of BOS in a 10 years old female patient and report this case with a review of literature. 10-year-old girl presented with hearing impairment, bilateral preauricular fistula and cervical fistula. The pure tone audiometry revealed that she had 60dB sensorineural hearing loss on right side and 90dB mixed hearing loss on left. Bilateral branchial fistula was found on the neck CT scan and bilateral ossicular and cochlear abnormality combined with enlarged internal auditory canal was noted on the temporal bone CT scan. To investigate the association with EYA1 gene, we performed DNA sequncing with peripheral white blood cell and found the point mutations on Exon 7, 12 and 16 of EYA1 gene. The preauricular fistula and branchial fistula was excised surgically and hearing aid was applied on her left side. There was no sign of fistula recurrence for seven years after the surgery.

• 대한물리의학회지
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• 제12권2호
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• pp.113-120
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• 2017

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a physical therapy-based tailored exercise program on pain, accident incidence rates, the number of work days lost, and economical loss cost for workers in an automobile parts manufacturing company. METHODS: A total of 530 workers with musculoskeletal symptoms were given a physical therapy-based tailored exercise program twice a week, for one hour a day. This exercise program consisted of movement pattern correction, muscle stretching and strengthening, and postural correction exercises, according to principles of movement impairment syndromes and medical training therapy. From 2011 to 2016, the lost days of work, accident incidence rates, and loss cost were examined. The pain measured by VAS (visual analogue scale) and the number of workers participating in the exercise program from 2014 to 2016 were also measured. The single subjects A-B design was applied and analyzed. RESULTS: After applying the exercise program, pain decreased and the number of workers participating in the program increased. Accident incidence rates, number of work days lost, and economical loss cost decreased. There was a significant correlation between the number of workers who received exercise therapy by year and accident incidence rates, lost days of work, and economical loss cost (p<.05). CONCLUSION: It is necessary to expand the physical therapy-based tailored exercise program to prevent musculoskeletal disorders because it has a positive effect on both workers and employers.