• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.223-230
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• 2015

There is an increasing trend of medical devices and products moving out of hospitals and clinics into community and residual homes for use by the general public due to both the technological developments and demographic changes resulted from the increased life expectancy and decreased birth rate. In Korea, however, the definition of "home medical device" is rather ambiguous and we thus compared the definition of the term used in the global market with that in Korea. FDA definition of "home medical device" includes the devices intended for use in both professional healthcare facilities and home. The KFDA, does not provide the definition for the "home medical device"and the definition has only been inferred from the results of consumer surveys. With a paradigm shift in advent of u-healthcare era, the definition of "home medical device" in Korea should include the medical devices that could be used both at hospitals and at home.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.463-475
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• 2014

Medical tourism which is considered a new growth engine of the 21th century has been rapidly developing in the both quantity and quality. However, medical tourism products offered by our country are not enough to be differentiated according to the need of medical tourists. This study tried to search for the solutions in the medical tourism attributes. This confirmed whether the involvement of Hallyu(Korean wave) which has been growing steadily since 2000 affects medical tourism or not. For these purposes, there were 5 hypotheses set and empirical analysis was conducted through a survey. SPSS 20.0 statistical program was used for the empirical analysis and the established hypotheses were all adopted as a result of verification. It was thus confirmed that the involvement of Hanrye affected medical tourism attributes, satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Also, medical tourism attributes affected satisfaction and behavioral intentions.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.343-350
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• 2019

Objectives: The aims of this study were to determine the effectiveness of local compression in patients presenting to the emergency room with intraoral bleeding and to identify when complex haemostatic measures may be required. Materials and Methods: Five hundred forty patients who had experienced intraoral haemorrhage were retrospectively reviewed. The outcome variable was the haemostasis method used, i.e., simple (local compression with gauze) or complex (an alternative method after local compression has failed). Predictor variables were sex, age, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class, hepatic cirrhosis, bleeding disorder, use of antithrombotic agents, and site/cause of haemorrhage. Results: The mean patient age was 48.9±23.9 years, 53.5% were male, 42.8% were ASA class II or higher, and 23.7% were taking antithrombotic agents. Local compression was used most often (68.1%), followed by local haemostatic agents, sutures, systemic tranexamic acid or blood products, and electrocautery. The most common site of bleeding was the gingiva (91.7%), and the most common cause was tooth extraction (45.7%). Risk factors for needing a complex haemostasis method were use of antithrombotic agents (odds ratio 2.047, P=0.009) and minor oral surgery (excluding extraction and implant procedures; odds ratio 6.081, P=0.001). Conclusion: A haemostasis method other than local compression may be needed in patients taking antithrombotic agents or having undergone minor oral surgery.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.110-116
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• 2008

Purpose: Acute toxic hepatitis is a common cause of acute liver failure (ALF). We investigated the causes, clinical manifestation, and outcomes of ALF patients who underwent liver transplantation due to acute toxic hepatitis caused by herbal medicines and preparations. Methods: Between January 1992 and May 2008, we retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 24 patients who were transplanted due to acute toxic hepatitis caused by herbal medicines and preparations. We applied the RUCAM score to patients with acute toxic hepatitis and assessed the relationship between herbal preparations and liver injury. We studied the patients' medication history, liver function tests, and clinical outcomes. Results: The type of liver injury was divided into three groups: hepatocellular type, 14 patients (58.3%); cholestatic type, 4 patients (16.7%); and mixed type, 6 patients (25%). Polygonum multiflorum Thunberg (3 cases) was the most common cause of acute toxic hepatitis, followed by Acanthopanax senticosus (2 cases), pumpkin juice (2 cases), Dictamnus dasycarpus Turcz (2 cases), Hovenia dulcis (1 case), Phellinus linteus (1 case), and Artemisia capillaries (1 case). One year survival after liver transplantation was 76%. Conclusion: We identified the herbal preparations leading to acute liver failure. Many patients consider herbal remedies to be completely free of unwanted side effects. However, we found that many herbal products have biological activities that can lead to severe hepatotoxicity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.689-699
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• 2020

Brevibacillus brevis GZDF3 is a gram-positive, plant growth-promoting rhizosphere bacterium (PGPR) isolated from the rhizosphere soil of Pinellia ternata (an important herb in traditional Chinese medicine). The GZDF3 strain produces certain active compounds, such as siderophores, which are the final metabolite products of non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) and independent non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NIS) activity. With the present study, we attempted to investigate the siderophore production characteristics and conditions of Bacillus sp. GZDF3. The antibacterial activity of the siderophores on pathogenic fungi was also investigated. Optimal conditions for the synthesis of siderophores were determined by single factor method, using sucrose 15 g/l, asparagine 2 g/l, 32℃, and 48 h. The optimized sucrose asparagine medium significantly increased the production of siderophores, from 27.09% to 54.99%. Moreover, the effects of different kinds of metal ions on siderophore production were explored here. We found that Fe³⁺ and Cu²⁺ significantly inhibited the synthesis of siderophores. The preliminary separation and purification of siderophores by immobilized-metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) provides strong antibacterial activity against Candida albicans. The synergistic effect of siderophores and amphotericin B was also demonstrated. Our results have shown that the GZDF3 strain could produce a large amount of siderophores with strong antagonistic activity, which is helpful in the development of new biological control agents.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.335-345
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• 2012

This study provides product survey data for the development of medical compression stockings. An investigation analyzed imported medical compression stockings of 40 brands from 6 countries sold in the Korean market, such as Jobst$^{(R)}$, Therafirm$^{(R)}$, Rxtar$^{(R)}$, Varicoin$^{(R)}$, and Sheer&Soft (USA), Sigvaris Venosan$^{(R)}$ 4000 (Switzerland), Best$^{(R)}$ and Segreta$^{(R)}$ (Italy), Venex$^{(R)}$, Star cotton, Doktus$^{(R)}$, Maxis$^{(R)}$, Maxis$^{(R)}$ Cotton, Lastofa$^{(R)}$, and Memory Aloe Vera (Germany), and Gunze (Japan), Venos and Yolanda (Taiwan). The main fibers of compression stockings were nylon and spandex; in addition, the fiber content was different by country and brand. The number of compression classes of imported products was USA (5), Italy (5), Germany (4), Switzerland (3), Japan (3), and Taiwan (3). For basic body measurements, USA and Swiss brands used ankle circumference, calf circumference, thigh circumference, calf length, and thigh length. Italian brands used height and weight, and Japanese brands used height and hip circumference. German brands used subdivided circumferences such as ankle circumference, calf circumference, knee circumference, middle thigh circumference, and thigh circumference.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.103-113
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• 2004

Objective : This study was designed to investigate the relation between the angiotensin converting enzyme(ACE) gene polymorphism and Facial nerve palsy in the Korean population. Methods : This sudy was carried out on 117 Facial nerve palsy patients who were treated in the department of acupuncture & moxibustion, Hospital of Oriental medical college, Kyung-Hee University and 135 healthy control subjects. Blood samples from all subjects were obtaind for DNA extraction. The extracted DNA was amplified by polymerase chain reaction(PCR). PCR products were visualized by 2% agarose gel electrophoresis. Results : The sub-genotypes of ACE gene were II homozygotes, ID heterozygotes, DD homozygotes. While the distribution of ACE polymorphism in control subjects was 33%, 43%, 24%, the distribution of it in Facial nerve palsy patients was 32%, 50%, 18%(II, ID, DD). Thus, there was no significant different between the control and Facial nerve palsy groups. Conclusions : we conclude that there is no significant association between ACE gene polymorphism and Facial nerve palsy in Korean population. However, the findings of this study need to be confirmed in more patients and further studies. Additional epidemiologically based studies of the effects and relationship between ACE or other genes and lifestyles with regard to Facial nerve palsy is required.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.309-316
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• 2014

Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the status of Kampo medicine services in Japan. Methods: We surveyed the literature or reports regarding health insurance, clinics for Kampo medicine, human resources and medical fees for Kampo medicine services. Results: The Japanese government abolished the system of the Oriental doctor in 1874, but Kampo medicine has been maintained and developed continuously. The national health insurance covers Kampo medicine services including acupuncture and moxibustion, and 674 products of 149 herbal drugs are now involved in items for health insurance. A total of 78 university medical schools or hospitals have Kampo clinics. As of 2012, 1,775 Kampo specialists, 100,881 acupuncturists and 99,118 moxibustion therapists provide Kampo medical services. Conclusions: Japan has a unique system of Kampo medicine which is much different from Korean medicine or traditional Chinese medicine. This study provides basic information about Kampo medicine, and can be useful to establish a globalization-strategy for Korean medicine for Japan.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2010

Neutrophils play an important role in the human immune system for protection against such microorganisms as a protozoan parasite, Trichomonas vaginalis; however, the precise role of neutrophils in the pathogenesis of trichomoniasis is still unknown. Moreover, it is thought that trichomonal lysates and excretory-secretory products (ESP), as well as live T. vaginalis, could possibly interact with neutrophils in local tissues, including areas of inflammation induced by T. vaginalis in humans. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of T. vaginalis lysate on the fate of neutrophils. We found that T. vaginalis lysate inhibits apoptosis of human neutrophils as revealed by Giemsa stain. Less altered mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and surface CD16 receptor expression also supported the idea that neutrophil apoptosis is delayed after T. vaginalis lysate stimulation. In contrast, ESP stimulated-neutrophils were similar in apoptotic features of untreated neutrophils. Maintained caspase-3 and myeloid cell leukemia-1 (Mcl-1) in neutrophils co-cultured with trichomonad lysate suggest that an intrinsic mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis was involved in T. vaginalis lysate-induced delayed neutrophil apoptosis; this phenomenon may contribute to local inflammation in trichomoniasis.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.1445-1454
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• 2014

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), a disease that spread widely in the world during late 2002 to 2004, severely threatened public health. Although there have been no reported infections since 2004, the extremely pathogenic SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), as the causative agent of SARS, has recently been identified in animals, showing the potential for the re-emergence of this disease. Previous studies showed that 27 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) mutations among the spike (S) gene of this virus are correlated closely with the SARS pathogenicity and epidemicity. We have developed a SNP DNA microarray in order to detect and genotype these SNPs, and to obtain related information on the pathogenicity and epidemicity of a given strain. The microarray was hybridized with PCR products amplified from cDNAs obtained from different SARS-CoV strains. We were able to detect 24 SNPs and determine the type of a given strain. The hybridization profile showed that 19 samples were detected and genotyped correctly by using our microarray, with 100% accuracy. Our microarray provides a novel method for the detection and epidemiological surveillance of SARS-CoV.