• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.33.1-33.19
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• 2020

We tested how adjuvants effect in a cancer vaccine model using an epitope derived from an autoactivation loop of membrane-type protease serine protease 14 (PRSS14; loop metavaccine) in mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV)-polyoma middle tumor-antigen (PyMT) system and in 2 other orthotopic mouse systems. Earlier, we reported that loop metavaccine effectively prevented progression and metastasis regardless of adjuvant types and TH types of hosts in tail-vein injection systems. However, the loop metavaccine with Freund's complete adjuvant (CFA) reduced cancer progression and metastasis while that with alum, to our surprise, were adversely affected in 3 tumor bearing mouse models. The amounts of loop peptide specific antibodies inversely correlated with tumor burden and metastasis, meanwhile both T_H1 and T_H2 isotypes were present regardless of host type and adjuvant. Tumor infiltrating myeloid cells such as eosinophil, monocyte, and neutrophil were asymmetrically distributed among 2 adjuvant groups with loop metavaccine. Systemic expression profiling using the lymph nodes of the differentially immunized MMTV-PyMT mouse revealed that adjuvant types, as well as loop metavaccine can change the immune signatures. Specifically, loop metavaccine itself induces T_H2 and T_H17 responses but reduces T_H1 and T_reg responses regardless of adjuvant type, whereas CFA but not alum increased follicular T_H response. Among the myeloid signatures, eosinophil was most distinct between CFA and alum. Survival analysis of breast cancer patients showed that eosinophil chemokines can be useful prognostic factors in PRSS14 positive patients. Based on these observations, we concluded that multiple immune parameters are to be considered when applying a vaccine strategy to cancer patients.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.145-152
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• 2024

Background: Despite its anticancer activity, cisplatin exhibits severe testicular toxicity when used in chemotherapy. Owing to its wide application in cancer therapy, the reduction of damage to normal tissue is of imminent clinical need. In this study, we evaluated the effects of catechin hydrate, a natural flavon-3-ol phytochemical, on cisplatin-induced testicular injury. Methods: Type 2 mouse spermatogonia (GC-1 spg cells) were treated with 0-100 μM catechin and cisplatin. Cell survival was estimated using a cell proliferation assay and Ki-67 immunostaining. Apoptosis was assessed via flow cytometry with the Dead Cell Apoptosis assay. To determine the antioxidant effects of catechin hydrate, Nrf2 expression was measured using qPCR and CellROX staining. The anti-inflammatory effects were evaluated by analyzing the gene and protein expression levels of iNOS and COX2 using qPCR and immunoblotting. Results: The 100 μM catechin hydrate treatment did not affect healthy GC-1 spg cells but, prevented cisplatin-induced GC-1 spg cell death via the regulation of anti-oxidants and inflammation-related molecules. In addition, the number of apoptotic cells, cleaved-caspase 3 level, and BAX gene expression levels were significantly reduced by catechin hydrate treatment in a cisplatin-induced GC-1 spg cell death model. In addition, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory marker genes, including Nrf2, iNOS, and COX2 were significantly downregulated by catechin hydrate treatment in cisplatintreated GC-1 cells. Conclusions: Our study contributes to the opportunity to reintroduce cisplatin into systemic anticancer treatment, with reduced testicular toxicity and restored fertility.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.595-603
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• 2024

Background/Aims: Coaxial placement of double pigtail plastic stents (DPPS) through lumen-apposing metal stents (LAMSs) is commonly performed to reduce the risk of LAMS obstruction, bleeding, and stent migration when used for the drainage of pancreatic fluid collections (PFCs). A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to compare the outcomes of LAMS alone and LAMS with coaxial DPPS placement in the management of PFCs. Methods: A systematic review was conducted to identify studies comparing LAMS and LAMS/DPPS for PFC drainage. Primary outcomes included the rate of clinical success, overall adverse events (AEs), bleeding, infection, occlusion, and stent migration. The pooled effect size was summarized using a random-effects model and compared between LAMS and LAMS/DPPS by calculating odds ratios (ORs). Results: Nine studies involving 709 patients were identified (338 on LAMS and 371 on LAMS/DPPS). LAMS/DPPS was associated with a reduced risk of stent obstruction (OR, 0.59; p=0.004) and infection (OR, 0.55; p=0.001). No significant differences were observed in clinical success (OR, 0.96; p=0.440), overall AEs (OR, 0.57; p=0.060), bleeding (OR, 0.61; p=0.120), or stent migration (OR, 1.03; p=0.480). Conclusions: Coaxial DPPS for LAMS drainage of PFCs is associated with a reduced risk of stent occlusion and infection; however, no difference was observed in the overall AE rates or bleeding.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.26-32
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• 2008

Purpose : This study was to provide the methods of developing the growth charts and the blood pressure nomogram among Korean children and adolescents. Methods : The growth charts were developed based on the data from the national growth surveys for children and adolescents in 1998 and 2005. The percentile charts were developed through two stages. At the first stage, the selected empirical charts were smoothed through several fitting procedures including parametric and non-parametric methods. At the second stage, a modified LMS (lambda, mu, sigma) statistical procedure was applied to the smoothed percentile charts. The LMS procedure allowed to estimate any percentile and to calculate standard deviation units and z-scores. The charts for weight-for-age, height-for-age, BMI-for-age, weight-for-height and head circumference-for-age were developed by sex. Age and normalized height controlled sex-specific nomograms of systolic and diastolic blood pressure were developed by a fixed effect model of general regression using the data from 2005 national growth survey. Results : The significant systemic differences between the percentiles of growth charts and the empirical data were not found. The final output of the study is available from Korean Center for Disease Control and Prevention homepage, http://www.cdc.go.kr/webcdc/. Blood Pressure nomogram was tabulated by height percentiles and age using the regression coefficients analyzed with regression model. Conclusion : 2007 growth charts and blood pressure nomogram were the first products based on the statistical modeling using the national survey data. The further study on the methodology including data collection, data cleaning and statistical modeling for representative growth charts would be needed.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.246-252
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• 2011

Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) models must be validated against a reference method in a representative population sample before they can be accepted as accurate and applicable. The purpose of this study was to compare the eight-electrode BIA method with DEXA as a reference method in the assessment of body composition in Korean adults and to investigate the predictive accuracy and applicability of the eight-electrode BIA model. A total of 174 apparently healthy adults participated. The study was designed as a cross-sectional study. FM, %fat, and FFM were estimated by an eight-electrode BIA model and were measured by DEXA. Correlations between BIA_%fat and DEXA_%fat were 0.956 for men and 0.960 for women with a total error of 2.1%fat in men and 2.3%fat in women. The mean difference between BIA_%fat and DEXA_%fat was small but significant (P < 0.05), which resulted in an overestimation of $1.2{\pm}2.2$%fat (95% CI: -3.2-6.2%fat) in men and an underestimation of $-2.0{\pm}2.4$%fat (95% CI: -2.3-7.1%fat) in women. In the Bland-Altman analysis, the %fat of 86.3% of men was accurately estimated and the %fat of 66.0% of women was accurately estimated to within 3.5%fat. The BIA had good agreement for prediction of %fat in Korean adults. However, the eight-electrode BIA had small, but systemic, errors of %fat in the predictive accuracy for individual estimation. The total errors led to an overestimation of %fat in lean men and an underestimation of %fat in obese women.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.426-446
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to analyze undergraduate students' reasoning for solving a problem about a rock and investigate the roles and importance of critical evidence (CE) and critical resource models (CRMs) in abductive reasoning. Participants were 20 senior undergraduate students enrolled in a science major course in a university of education. They were asked to abductively infer geologic processes of sedimentary rocks having a lot of holes and represent them with models. Their reasoning were analyzed according to a scheme for modeling-based abductive reasoning. As a result, successful student reasoning was characterized by using a diversity of grains and lots of holes as CE, activating the sedimentary rock formation and weathering as CRMs, and combining the CRMs into a scientifically sound explanatory model (SSEM). By contrast, in the reasoning unsuccessful in proposing a SSEM, students activated the igneous rock (basalt) formation and deposition as resource models (RMs) based on the evidence of the holes in the rocks and diverse grains, respectively, and used the RMs to construct their own explanatory models (EMs). It was suggested that to construct SSEMs to solve earth scientific problems about rocks, students need to know what could be CE in a particular problem situation, take an integrative or systemic approach to a rock problem, use multiple RMs, and evaluate RMs or EMs in light of evidence.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.10
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• pp.1817-1823
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• 2016

Areca nut (AN) chewing is a habit in many countries in Central, Southern, and Southeast Asia. It is strongly associated with the occurrence of oral, pharyngeal, and esophageal cancer as well as systemic inflammation. However, the association between AN intake and the development of gastric lesions has not yet been identified. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of AN on gastric diseases using a mouse model for Helicobacter pylori infection. We studied four groups of mice: those fed a normal diet (ND), those fed a diet containing 2.5% AN (AD), those fed ND and infected with H. pylori PMSS1 strain (ND/HP), and those fed AD and infected with H. pylori PMSS1 strain (AD/HP). Food intake and body weight were monitored weekly during the experiments. At 10 weeks, the mice were sacrificed, and the stomach weight, H. pylori colonization, and gastric inflammation were evaluated. The stomach weight had increased significantly in the ND/HP and AD/HP groups along with increases in H. pylori colonization; however, there was no significant difference between these two groups with respect to stomach weight and colonization. On histological grading, mononuclear cell infiltration was severer in the AD/HP group than in the ND/HP group. These data suggest that chronic gastric inflammation was aggravated by AN treatment in the mice with H. pylori-induced gastric lesions. Furthermore, as previously suggested, this animal model is useful to determine the effect of potential carcinogens on gastric lesions induced by H. pylori infection.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.121-126
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• 2018

The oral hygiene of patients admitted to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) is very important. Critically ill patients are basically immunocompromised ones because of the high risk of infection by various pathogenic bacteria. The mouth is not only the primary site of infection, but also the site of systemic infections. The purpose of this study was to design a mouthpiece type vacuum oral cleaner for the oral care of seriously ill patients. A 3D CAD modeling and flow analysis model were established for a double structure type cleaner and standard tooth model, and their pressure and flow characteristics were analyzed. The pressure inside the oral cleaner was almost constant, but the velocity distribution showed a large difference between the inside and outside of the teeth. The velocity at the center region inside of the teeth was the highest, and the speed decreased as the distance from the center increased. In the analysis of the case where the suction tube was replaced by the drainage tube, the velocity at the center of the outer portion of the teeth was the highest. In order to increase the effectiveness of the oral cleaner, alternating between suction and drainage is proposed, and a design complement to increase the speed of the molar region is required.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.198-210
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• 2002

Background : Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder under immunological influence. Shinbi-tang and Gamishinbi-tang are herbal decoctions used for treating asthma in traditional herbal medicine. Objective : To evaluate the effects of Shinbi-tang and Gamishinbi-tang on immune cell & serum OA-specific IgE in broncho-alveolar lavage fluid (BALF) in rat asthma model. Material and Methods : Rats were sensitized with ovalbumin (OA); at day 1 sensitized group and Shinbi-tang and Gamishinbi-tang groups were systemically immunized by subcutaneous injection of 1mg OA and 300mg of Al(OH)$_3$ in a total volume of 2ml. At the same time, 1 ml of 0.9% saline containing 6 x 10$^{9}$ B. pertussis bacilli was injected by i.p. 14 days after the systemic immunization, rats received local immunization by inhaling 0.9% saline aerosol containing 2%(wt/vol) OA. A day after local immunization, HAL fluid was collected from the rats. Rats were orally administered with each of Shinbi-tang and Gamishinbi-tang extract for 14 days from the day after local immunization. Lymphocyte, CD4+ T cell CD8+ T cell counts, CD4+/CD8+ ratio in BALF, change of serum OA-specific IgE level, CD4+ T cell CD8+ T cell percentages in the peripheral blood were measured and evaluated. Results : Shinbi-tang and Gamishinbi-tang showed an alleviating effect on asthmatic responses of rats. Shinbi-tang decreased total cell, lymphocyte, CD4+ T cell in BALF, serum OA-specific IgE level as compared with the control group. Gamishinbi-tang decreased total cell, lymphocyte, CD4+ T cell, and CD4+/CD8+ ratio in HALF as compared with the control group. CD4+/CD8+ ratio in HALF from Shinbi-tang group and serum OA-specific IgE level from Gamishinbi-tang group didn't show any significant variation from control group. CD8+ T cell in HALF, CD3+CD4+ T cell and CD3+CD8+ T cell percentages in peripheral blood showed no significant variation among groups. Conclusion : Shinbi-tang and Gamishinbi-tang alleviated asthmatic hypen-eactivity of the rat immune system through CD4+ T cell and serum IgE. Further the study of immune system modulating mechanism is expected.

• Korean Security Journal
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• no.17
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• pp.301-316
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• 2008

The occurrence of complicating, multilateral social condition demands the strategy for facing many social state and consolidating public security against criminal loss. The lacking ability of local police for preventing crime can't satisfy the demand of security and can't get rid of fear of crime. At last, it brings a distrust of public confidence and became a factor of serious social crisis. We have problems - not only making an alternative plan for preventing crime, but also introducing CPTED(Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) by environmental design, to expect crime prevention and to select systemic crime prevention system and the most suitable model. And we have a goal - to recognize the importance of guard activity for local crime, analyse public safety activity in community & focusing guard activity as a strategy for them, apply CPTED in police and private security company as a local crime prevention & setting effective model, and, make it as an index for preventing & dealing with intellectual, brutal crime. The rapid growth in the guarding-activity field lighten the burden of police for crime-prevention. But the misjudgement of some people blocks it to be settled institutionally. It needs to reconsider what is the effective crime-prevention method, at this point of time when the all parts of a nation changing into unlimited competitive, private self-control system.