• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.173-180
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• 2021

After initial reports of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) in April 2020 in Europe, this disease has been known to occur in children with recent history of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and most cases have been reported in Europe and the Unites States of America. We report a case of a 14-year-old girl who was diagnosed with MIS-C with acute myocarditis and successfully treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), methylprednisolone, and anakinra. At initial presentation, she had persistent high fever, generalized rash, generalized swelling, abdominal pain, and low blood pressure. She showed a remarkably elevated level of inflammation and cardiac enzyme markers and had a previous history of COVID-19 5 weeks before the initial presentation. After extensive work up, other infectious and non-infectious causes were excluded. She was diagnosed with MIS-C and initially treated with IVIG and high-dose methylprednisolone; however, despite treatment, her heart function deteriorated and coronary artery dilatation progressed. Therefore, anakinra, an interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, was administered on hospital day 6, after which her cardiac function exhibited improvement. She was discharged on hospital day 19 without any symptoms, and follow-up echocardiography after 1 month revealed fully recovered heart function with normal coronary arteries.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.50-50
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• 2022

Recently, the use of mulching film has increased in soybean cultivation. Polyethylene (PE) films and biodegradable films (BF) have the advantages of improving soil moisture retention, geothermal maintenance, and CO2 maintenance as well providing weed control. Furthermore, BFs are a material that can compensate for the shortcomings of PE because it has the ability to decompose naturally by soil microorganisms, sunlight, and geothermal heat. Many researches have been carrying out studies regarding the development of BFs for these very reasons. This study was conducted better understand which films are optimal for soybean cultivation after evaluations of soybean growth and film characteristics of various BFs. BFs Farmsbio (Farm Hannong), Heulgro Film (Sejin Bio), Vonto Film (Eco-Hansung), two unnamed biodegradable films (Seojin Bio and Taesung), and a PE film were used in this study. For the control plots, no mulching was used. Experimental fields were fertilized according to conventional cultivation methods, tilled, and then covered with either BFs or PE films. After 1 week, soybean (cv. Daechan) seeds were seeded. Germination rate and plant height were measured at weekly intervals after seeding. In addition, pH, EC, and decomposition and light transmittance levels of films were measured during the experimental period. Daily average temperatures and relative humidity in soils was measured during the experimental period. There was no significant difference in germination rates and plant height in both crops grown with BFs and PE films, but crops grown in the control plot had significantly lower germination rates and growth. Soil pH was not significantly different regardless of treatments (BF, PE, and non-mulching) at 14, 28, and 42 days after seeding. In general, the EC contents in the control plots was lower than in crops grown using BFs and PE films. With the exception of some BFs, light transmittance and decomposition levels of films did not, in general, increase up to 70 days after soybean seeding. Since this study is ongoing, we are continually investigating these parameters. The average daily moisture in soil was higher in crops grown with BFs and PE films than in the control plot. However, the daily average soil temperature was not consistent regardless of treatments. Therefore, the BFs used in this study can be used without negative impacts on soybean growth.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.11
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• pp.1764-1776
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• 2021

Objective: This study aimed to validate a deep learning-based fully automatic calcium scoring (coronary artery calcium [CAC]_auto) system using previously published cardiac computed tomography (CT) cohort data with the manually segmented coronary calcium scoring (CAC_hand) system as the reference standard. Materials and Methods: We developed the CAC_auto system using 100 co-registered, non-enhanced and contrast-enhanced CT scans. For the validation of the CAC_auto system, three previously published CT cohorts (n = 2985) were chosen to represent different clinical scenarios (i.e., 2647 asymptomatic, 220 symptomatic, 118 valve disease) and four CT models. The performance of the CAC_auto system in detecting coronary calcium was determined. The reliability of the system in measuring the Agatston score as compared with CAC_hand was also evaluated per vessel and per patient using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and Bland-Altman analysis. The agreement between CAC_auto and CAC_hand based on the cardiovascular risk stratification categories (Agatston score: 0, 1-10, 11-100, 101-400, > 400) was evaluated. Results: In 2985 patients, 6218 coronary calcium lesions were identified using CAC_hand. The per-lesion sensitivity and false-positive rate of the CAC_auto system in detecting coronary calcium were 93.3% (5800 of 6218) and 0.11 false-positive lesions per patient, respectively. The CAC_auto system, in measuring the Agatston score, yielded ICCs of 0.99 for all the vessels (left main 0.91, left anterior descending 0.99, left circumflex 0.96, right coronary 0.99). The limits of agreement between CAC_auto and CAC_hand were 1.6 ± 52.2. The linearly weighted kappa value for the Agatston score categorization was 0.94. The main causes of false-positive results were image noise (29.1%, 97/333 lesions), aortic wall calcification (25.5%, 85/333 lesions), and pericardial calcification (24.3%, 81/333 lesions). Conclusion: The atlas-based CAC_auto empowered by deep learning provided accurate calcium score measurement as compared with manual method and risk category classification, which could potentially streamline CAC imaging workflows.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.3.1-3.23
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• 2024

Cigarette smoke extract (CSE)-treated mouse airway epithelial cells (MAECs)-derived exosomes accelerate the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by upregulating triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1 (TREM-1); however, the specific mechanism remains unclear. We aimed to explore the potential mechanisms of CSE-treated MAECs-derived exosomes on M1 macrophage polarization and pyroptosis in COPD. In vitro, exosomes were extracted from CSE-treated MAECs, followed by co-culture with macrophages. In vivo, mice exposed to cigarette smoke (CS) to induce COPD, followed by injection or/and intranasal instillation with oe-TREM-1 lentivirus. Lung function and pathological changes were evaluated. CD68⁺ cell number and the levels of iNOS, TNF-α, IL-1β (M1 macrophage marker), and pyroptosis-related proteins (NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase-1 recruitment domain, caspase-1, cleaved-caspase-1, gasdermin D [GSDMD], and GSDMD-N) were examined. The expression of maternally expressed gene 3 (MEG3), spleen focus forming virus proviral integration oncogene (SPI1), methyltransferase 3 (METTL3), and TREM-1 was detected and the binding relationships among them were verified. MEG3 increased N6-methyladenosine methylation of TREM-1 by recruiting SPI1 to activate METTL3. Overexpression of TREM-1 or METTL3 negated the alleviative effects of MEG3 inhibition on M1 polarization and pyroptosis. In mice exposed to CS, EXO^-CSE further aggravated lung injury, M1 polarization, and pyroptosis, which were reversed by MEG3 inhibition. TREM-1 overexpression negated the palliative effects of MEG3 inhibition on COPD mouse lung injury. Collectively, CSE-treated MAECs-derived exosomal long non-coding RNA MEG3 may expedite M1 macrophage polarization and pyroptosis in COPD via the SPI1/METTL3/TREM-1 axis.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.466-478
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• 2022

Objective: ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT is often used for detecting malignancy in patients with newly diagnosed hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), with acceptable sensitivity but relatively low specificity. The aim of this study was to improve the diagnostic ability of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT in identifying malignancy in patients with HLH by combining ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT and clinical parameters. Materials and Methods: Ninety-seven patients (age ≥ 14 years) with secondary HLH were retrospectively reviewed and divided into the derivation (n = 71) and validation (n = 26) cohorts according to admission time. In the derivation cohort, 22 patients had malignancy-associated HLH (M-HLH) and 49 patients had non-malignancy-associated HLH (NM-HLH). Data on pretreatment ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT and laboratory results were collected. The variables were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test or Pearson's chi-square test, and a nomogram for predicting M-HLH was constructed using multivariable binary logistic regression. The predictors were also ranked using decision-tree analysis. The nomogram and decision tree were validated in the validation cohort (10 patients with M-HLH and 16 patients with NM-HLH). Results: The ratio of the maximal standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of the lymph nodes to that of the mediastinum, the ratio of the SUVmax of bone lesions or bone marrow to that of the mediastinum, and age were selected for constructing the model. The nomogram showed good performance in predicting M-HLH in the validation cohort, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.875 (95% confidence interval, 0.686-0.971). At an appropriate cutoff value, the sensitivity and specificity for identifying M-HLH were 90% (9/10) and 68.8% (11/16), respectively. The decision tree integrating the same variables showed 70% (7/10) sensitivity and 93.8% (15/16) specificity for identifying M-HLH. In comparison, visual analysis of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT images demonstrated 100% (10/10) sensitivity and 12.5% (2/16) specificity. Conclusion: ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT may be a practical technique for identifying M-HLH. The model constructed using ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT features and age was able to detect malignancy with better accuracy than visual analysis of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT images.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.71-77
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• 1988

To improve the storage method for kimchi, optimal ripening kimchi was irradiated with doses of 1, 3, 5kGy Co-60gamma radiation, followed by the microbiological, physicochemical and senosory evaluations during storage at $5^{\circ}C$. 1. Total aerobic count increased in the beginning of storage and then decreased slowly as the number of total lactobacilli (anaerobe) increased. The above, total aerobic and lactobacilli were reduced by 1 to 3 log cycles with irradiation and at the 90th day after storage the number of total lactobacilli remained $1.30{\times}10^{8}$ per ml in 3 kGy irradiated group. Irradiation treatment at 3 kGy sterilized coliforms and molds contaminating the sample as the level of $2.0{\times}10^{4}$ per ml and $5.4{\times}10^{2}$ per ml respectively and no apparent growth was observed in both control and 1 kGy irradiated groups after 20 days of storage. The population of yeast, $3.5{\times}10^{3}$ per ml initially, increased steadily during kimchi storage and at 90 days of storage the number was shown to be $5.6{\times}10^{4}$ per ml and $6.5{\times}10^{2}$ per ml in control and 3 kGy irradiated groups, respectively. 2. In the physicochemical changes during kimchi storage, pH, acidity and volatile acid of non-irradiated control at the 45th day after storage were 4.0, 0.7% and 0.066%, while those of 3 kGy irradiated group were 4.2, 0.59 and 0.06% at the 90th day of storage, respectively. The reducing sugar content of all stored samples changed inversely total acidity content, indicating irradiation delayed the changes of them. The amount of ascorbic acid decreased gradually with the storage time and irradiation dose increase. Textural parameters of 3 kGy irradiated group were superior to those of other groups at the latter stage of storage. 3. Sensory evaluations showed that 3 kGy irradiation was the optimum dose level to extend the shelf-life of kimchi more than two months as compared to control.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.42-50
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• 2003

Purpose : The acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS), an acute form of severe alveolar-capillary injury evolving after a direct or indirect lung insult is thought to be a common cause of respiratory failure though not many clinical studies on the subject have been made yet. Methods : Between January 1992 and December 2001, we conducted a retrospective study on 33 children who fulfilled the definition of the ARDS recommended by the American-European Consensus Conference in 1994. Results : A total of 33 patients(20 boys and 13 girls) were selected. Their age ranged from 4 months to 12 years with seven children younger than 1 year. The overall mortality rate was 78.8% and no significant difference was noted based on age or sex. Concerning seasonal variation, incidence of the ARDS increased in spring, especially in May(21.2%). Pneumonia(66.7%) was found to be the most common risk factor of the ARDS followed by sepsis(24.2%) and aspiration(3.0%). In immune compromised children(six cases), including a recipient of bone marrow transplantation, the mortality rate was 100%. Compared with children with multiple organ failure recording a 83.3% mortality rate, those with isolated respiratory failure, showed a lower mortality rate of 33.3%, although stastistically insignificant. Between survivor and non-survivor groups, significant differences were shown in hematocrit, $PaO_2$, $PaCO_2$, PEEP, and $PaO_2/FiO_2$ on the seventh day after the onset of the ARDS. Conclusion : According to our study, respiratory failure proved to have a great effect on mortality rate in the ARDS. More aggressive intervention and further studies on this subject should be done to improve the survival rate.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.142-149
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• 2002

Low-viscosity composite resins may produce better sealed margins than stiffer compositions (KempScholte and Davidson, 1988: Crim, 1989). Plowable composites have been recommended for use in Class V cavities but it is also controversial because of its high rates of shrinkage. On the other hand, in the study comparing elastic moduli and leakage, the microfill had the least leakage (Rundle et at. 1997) Furthermore, in the 1996 survey of the Reality Editorial Team, microfills were the clear choice for abfraction lesions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the microleakage of 6 compostite resins (2 hybrids, 2 microfills, and 2 flowable composites) with and without load cycling. Notch-shaped Class V cavities were prepared on buccal surface of 180 extracted human upper premolars on cementum margin. The teeth were randomly divided into non-load cycling group (group 1) and load cycling group (group 2) of 90 teeth each. The experimental teeth of each group were randomly divided into 6 subgroups of 15 samples. All preparations were etched, and Single bond was applied. Preparations were restored with the following materials (n=15) : hybrid composite resin [Z250(3M Dental Products Inc. St. Paul, USA), Denfil(Vericom, Ahnyang, Korea)], microfill [Heliomolar RO(Vivadent, Schaan, Liechtenstein), Micronew(Bisco Inc. Schaumburg, IL, USA)], and flowable composite［AeliteFlo(Bisco Inc. Schaumburg, IL, USA), Revolution(Kerr Corp. Orange, CA, USA)]. Teeth of group 2 were subjected to occlusal load (100N for 50,000 cycles) using chewing simulator(MTS 858 Mini Bionix II system, MTS Systems Corp. Minn. USA). All samples were coated with nail polish 1mm short of the restoration, placed in 2％ methylene blue for 24 hours, and sectioned with a diamond wheel. Enamel and dentin/cementum margins were analyzed for microleakage on a sclale of 0 (no leakage) to 3 (3/3 of wall). Results were statistically analyzed by Kruscal-Wallis One way analysis, Mann-Whitney U-test, and Student-Newmann-Keuls method. (p = 0.05) Results : 1. There was significantly less microleage in enamel margins than dentinal margins of all groups (p＜0.05) 2. There was no significant between six composite resin in enamel margin of group 1. 3. In dentin margin of group 1, flowable composite had more microleakage than others but not of significant differences. 4. there was no significant difference between six composite resin in enamel margin of group 2. 5. In dentin margin of group 2, the microleakage were R＞A =H=M＞D＞Z. But there was no significant differences. 6. In enamel margins, load cycling did not affect the marginal microleakage in significant degree. 7. In enamel margins, load cycling did affect the marginal microleakage only in Revolution. (p＜0.05).

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 1999.07a
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• pp.39-42
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• 1999

Perfluoropolymers represent the ultimate resistance to hostile chemical environments and high service temperature, attributed to the presence of fluorine in the polymer backbone, i.e. to the high bond energy of C-F and C-C bonds of fluorocarbons. Copolymers of Tetrafluoroethylene (TEE) and 2, 2, 4Trifluoro-5Trifluorometoxy- 1, 3Dioxole (TTD), commercially known as HYFLON AD, are amorphous perfluoropolymers with glass transition temperature (Tg)higher than room temperature, showing a thermal decomposition temperature exceeding 40$0^{\circ}C$. These polymer systems are highly soluble in fluorinated solvents, with low solution viscosities. This property allows the preparation of self-supported and composite membranes with desired membrane thickness. Symmetric and asymmetric perfluoropolymer membranes, made with HYFLON AD, have been prepared and evaluated. Porous and not porous symmetric membranes have been obtained by solvent evaporation with various processing conditions. Asymmetric membranes have been prepared by th wet phase inversion method. Measure of contact angle to distilled water have been carried out. Figure 1 compares experimental results with those of other commercial membranes. Contact angles of about 120$^{\circ}$for our amorphous perfluoropolymer membranes demonstrate that they posses a high hydrophobic character. Measure of contact angles to hexandecane have been also carried out to evaluate the organophobic character. Rsults are reported in Figure 2. The observed strong organophobicity leads to excellent fouling resistance and inertness. Porous membranes with pore size between 30 and 80 nanometers have shown no permeation to water at pressures as high as 10 bars. However high permeation to gases, such as O2, N2 and CO2, and no selectivities were observed. Considering the porous structure of the membrane, this behavior was expected. In consideration of the above properties, possible useful uses in th field of gas- liquid separations are envisaged for these membranes. A particularly promising application is in the field of membrane contactors, equipments in which membranes are used to improve mass transfer coefficients in respect to traditional extraction and absorption processes. Gas permeation properties have been evaluated for asymmetric membranes and composite symmetric ones. Experimental permselectivity values, obtained at different pressure differences, to various single gases are reported in Tab. 1, 2 and 3. Experimental data have been compared with literature data obtained with membranes made with different amorphous perfluoropolymer systems, such as copolymers of Perfluoro2, 2dimethyl dioxole (PDD) and Tetrafluorethylene, commercialized by the Du Pont Company with the trade name of Teflon AF. An interesting linear relationship between permeability and the glass transition temperature of the polymer constituting the membrane has been observed. Results are descussed in terms of polymer chain structure, which affects the presence of voids at molecular scale and their size distribution. Molecular Dyanmics studies are in progress in order to support the understanding of these results. A modified Theodoru- Suter method provided by the Amorphous Cell module of InsightII/Discover was used to determine the chain packing. A completely amorphous polymer box of about 3.5 nm was considered. Last but not least the use of amorphous perfluoropolymer membranes appears to be ideal when separation processes have to be performed in hostile environments, i.e. high temperatures and aggressive non-aqueous media, such as chemicals and solvents. In these cases Hyflon AD membranes can exploit the outstanding resistance of perfluoropolymers.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.159-168
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• 2006

Rodents and many other mammals have two chemosensory systems that mediate responses to pheromones, the main and accessory olfactory system, MOS and AOS, respectively. The chemosensory neurons associated with the MOS are located in the main olfactory epithelium, while those associated with the AOS are located in the vomeronasal organ(VNO). Pheromonal odorants access the lumen of the VNO via canals in the roof of the mouth, and are largely thought to be nonvolatile. The main pheromone receptor proteins consist of two superfamilies, V1Rs and V2Rs, that are structurally distinct and unrelated to the olfactory receptors expressed in the main olfactory epithelium. These two type of receptors are seven transmembrane domain G-protein coupled proteins(V1R with $G_{{\alpha}i2}$, V2R with $G_{0\;{\alpha}}$). V2Rs are co-expressed with nonclassical MHC Ib genes(M10 and other 8 M1 family proteins). Other important molecular component of VNO neuron is a TrpC2, a cation channel protein of transient receptor potential(TRP) family and thought to have a crucial role in signal transduction. There are four types of pheromones in mammalian chemical communication - primers, signalers, modulators and releasers. Responses to these chemosignals can vary substantially within and between individuals. This variability can stem from the modulating effects of steroid hormones and/or non-steroid factors such as neurotransmitters on olfactory processing. Such modulation frequently augments or facilitates the effects that prevailing social and environmental conditions have on the reproductive axis. The best example is the pregnancy block effect(Bruce effect), caused by testosterone-dependent major urinary proteins(MUPs) in male mouse urine. Intriguingly, mouse GnRH neurons receive pheromone signals from both odor and pheromone relays in the brain and may also receive common odor signals. Though it is quite controversial, recent studies reveal a complex interplay between reproduction and other functions in which GnRH neurons appear to integrate information from multiple sources and modulate a variety of brain functions.