• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.12
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• pp.1708-1716
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• 2013

Conventional molecular detection methods cannot distinguish between viable and dead Escherichia coli O157 cells. In this study, the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method combined with propidium monoazide (PMA) treatment was developed to selectively detect viable E. coli O157 cells. Four primers, including outer primers and inner primers, were specially designed for the recognition of six distinct sequences on the serogroups (O157) of the specific rfbE gene of the E. coli O157 genome. PMA selectively penetrated through the compromised cell membranes and intercalated into DNA. Amplification of DNA from dead cells was completely inhibited by $3.0{\mu}g/ml$ PMA, whereas the DNA derived from viable cells was amplified remarkably within 1 h by PMA-LAMP. Exhibiting high sensitivity and specificity, PMA-LAMP is a suitable method for evaluating the inactivation efficacy of slightly acidic electrolyzed water in broth. PMA-LAMP can selectively detect viable E. coli O157 cells. This study offers a novel molecular detection method to distinguish between viable and dead E. coli O157 cells.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.753-762
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• 2020

Objectives: This study was aimed at evaluating the effects of changes in the oral environment of the elderly in long-term care facilities after the intake of Weissella cibaria. Methods: The test group ingested the W. cibaria strain Chonnam Medical University (CMU), and the control group ingested the control food. Of all randomized trial subjects, 62 were analyzed (32 in the experimental group and 30 in the control group). In this 8-week demographic study, we evaluated self-perceived halitosis, changes in halitosis, sensory test results, tongue plaque index scores, saliva buffering capacity, and the salivary flow rate. Results: The W. cibaria CMU intake in the elderly in long-term care facilities during the experimental period did not demonstrate statistically significant changes in the salivary flow rate. However, self-perceived halitosis, organoleptic test results, tongue plaque index scores, and salivary buffering capacity demonstrated statistically significant differences between the experimental and control groups. These findings partially confirmed the beneficial effects of the W. cibaria CMU on the oral environment in the elderly. Conclusions: Research results on the role of probiotics in the oral cavity should be summarized, and utilization plans should be sought to obtain a clearer understanding of the clinical efficacy and related factors. The value of probiotic use may be high in improving the oral health of people by enabling treatment and prevention.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.58 no.11
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• pp.446-450
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• 2015

Purpose: Meningitis is among the most common infections affecting the central nervous system. It can be difficult to determine the exact pathogen responsible for the infection and patients are often treated with empiric antibiotics. This study was conducted to identify the most common clinical characteristics of enteroviral meningitis in children and evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for early detection of an enterovirus. Methods: We analyzed the medical records of children admitted to Korea University Medical Center and diagnosed with meningitis on the basis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis and RT-PCR from CSF and other samples from January 2010 to August 2013. Results: A total of 333 patients were enrolled and classified into four groups based on diagnosis: enteroviral meningitis (n=110), bacterial meningitis (n=23), other viral meningitis (n=36), and unknown etiology (n=164). Patients with bacterial meningitis were younger than those in the other groups (P<0.001). Pleocytosis in CSF was similar across all groups. Of patients in the enteroviral meningitis group, 92.7% were diagnosed based on RT-PCR findings. Mean length of hospital stay for patients with enteroviral meningitis was 6.08 days, which was significantly shorter than that for patients with meningitis of bacterial etiology (19.73 days, P<0.001). Conclusion: Diagnosis of enteroviral meningitis before viral culture results are available is possible using RT-PCR. Accurate diagnosis reduces the length of hospital stay and helps to avoid unnecessary empiric antibiotic treatment.

• Journal of Korean Foot and Ankle Society
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.80-84
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to assess the efficacy of a bioabsorbable polylactide (PLA) plate and screw for treating injuries of ankle fractures. Materials and Methods: 24 patients who underwent an open reduction and internal fixation operation for ankle fractures from July 2005 to March 2007 were enrolled into the study. There were 15 men and 9 women. The average age of the patients was 44 years and the average follow-up period was 16 years and two months (16.2 months). All cases were divided into low grade fracture patient (11) who belongs in type A and B of Danis-Weber classification and high grade fracture patient (13) who belongs in type C1, C2 of Danis-Weber classification, and each groups were analyzed by clinical (Meyer score) and radiological finding at the time of their last follow-up evaluation. Results: The clinical results according to Meyer scoring system, showed that all patient with low grade fracture had good to excellent result, but only 54% of patient with high grade fracture had good to excellent result. According to Cedell's radiologic finding, there were 91% cases above fair in low grade fracture. But there were 62% of patient above fair result in high grade fracture, the reduction losses were seen in 38% of patient with high grade fracture. Conclusion: Bioabsorbable PLA plate and screw is good internal fixation device which doesn't have additional operation for removal of implant because of slow absorption within the human body. It showed sufficient strength for acquisition and maintenance of reduction in low grade fracture, but need attention to use because of many cases of reduction loss in high grade fracture. So, it seems to be safe and effective when used in heeling of low grade fracture under considering about type of fracture sufficiently.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.22 no.11
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• pp.27.1-27.6
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• 2019

Background: In order to assess the high value-added use of the alginate-free residue of sea tangle, an animal study was performed to evaluate the functional activities and key compounds present. In the animal study, sea tangle and the alginate-free residue demonstrated good anti-hyperlipidemic and anti-arteriosclerotic abilities. Results: The functional compounds in the alginate-free residue of the sea tangle were effectively extracted by supercritical fluid extraction (SFE). The optimum extraction temperature and pressure were 40 ℃ and 6500 psi (M1) in the SFE, a better method in comparison to the conditions of 70 ℃ and 4500 psi (M2), respectively. The anti-atherosclerotic effects of the alginate-free residue of sea tangle (M1, M2) were investigated in Sprague-Dawley rats treated with poloxamer 407, Triton WR 1339, corn oil, and a high-fat diet. The M1 fraction reduced the serum lipid levels with greater efficacy than the M2 fraction. In the hyperlipidemic rats, treatment with M1 decreased the serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) levels when compared to the levels in normal rats. Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that the alginate-free residue of sea tangle reduces serum TC, TG, and LDL-C. These results suggest that the alginate-free residue of sea tangle contains physiologically active components, such as fucosterol, that may exert beneficial effects in the prevention of atherosclerosis.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.19-23
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• 2009

Purpose: Platelet transplantation is a novel therapeutic strategy for acceleration of wound healing. When applying platelets, efficacy of adding thrombin to stimulate growth factor release from platelets has already been proved. However, no quantitative data of the thrombin treatment has been reported. The purpose of this study was to determine the optimal thrombin concentration to maximize growth factor release of platelets. In particular, this study was designed to quantify levels of platelet derived growth factor(PDGF)-BB, which is a major growth factor contained in the platelets, in vitro. Methods: Fresh platelets were obtained from a blood bank. They were suspended in DMEM/F - 12 and incubated with thrombin of various concentrations. The concentrations of thrombin tested were 0, 6.25, 12.5, 25, 50, 100, 200, and 400 IU/ml. After 30 minutes, 1, 3, 5, and 7 days, the levels of PDGF - BB were measured using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Platelets from four donors were included in this study. Each sample was tested in triplicate and the mean value was used as a data for each sample. Results: The addition of thrombin increased the level of PDGF - BB. Increases in storage time of platelets resulted in decreased levels of PDGF - BB. Higher levels of PDGF were detected in consort with increased thrombin concentrations. However, there was no significant difference between samples of 200 and 400 IU/ml concentrations. Conclusion: The results indicate that adding thrombin accelerates the release of growth factors from platelets and the optimal thrombin concentration to maximize this function is 200 IU/ml.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.23-30
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• 2009

Purpose: This study investigated the efficacy of task-related circuit training aimed at improving balance in individuals discharged from rehabilitation facilities following a stroke. Methods: We recruited 12 stroke patients (34-66 years of age) to participate in a task-related circuit training program. Baseline assessment included a history of stroke and an assessment using the Mini-Mental State Examination Korea (MMSE-K). After a baseline assessment, follow-up assessments were administered pre- and post-training. These included Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Functional Reach Test (FRT), and the Time Up & Go Test (TUG). Physiotherapists trained study subjects under the one-to-one supervision of students from the department of physical therapy. Circuit class study participants attended 90-minute treatment sessions, one day a week for 12 weeks (from September to December 2008). The program consisted of a light warm-up period (10 min), physical exercises for improving balance (20 min), tasks focused on improving balance (50 min) and a cool-down period (10 min). Results: Scores for the BBS assessment increased significantly (from 43.2 to 49.7) after the training (p<0.05). Reach distance on the FRT increased substantially (from 27.7 cm to 47.0 cm), although the improvement was not significant (p>0.05). The average time on the TUG test decreased significantly (from 23.7 sec to 19.5 sec) after the training (p<0.05). Conclusion: The task-related circuit training program improved the balance and mobility of subjects, indicating that such a group program is useful for stroke patients who are discharged from the hospital. More such task-related programs set in a community environment should be developed.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.149-155
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• 2019

In metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the role of radiotherapy (RT) has been limited to palliation to alleviate the symptoms. However, with the development of advanced RT techniques, recent advances in immuno-oncology therapy targeting programmed death 1 (PD-1) and programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and targeted agents for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation or anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) translocation allowed new roles of RT in these patients. Within this metastatic population, there is a subset of patients with a limited number of sites of metastatic disease, termed as oligometastasis that can achieve long-term survival from aggressive local management. There is no consensus on the definition of oligometastasis; however, most clinical trials define oligometastasis as having 3 to 5 metastatic lesions. Recent phase II randomized clinical trials have shown that ablative RT, including stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) and hypofractionated RT, to primary and metastatic sites improved progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with oligometastatic NSCLC. The PEMBRO-RT study, a randomized phase II study comparing SABR prior to pembrolizumab therapy and pembrolizumab therapy alone, revealed that the addition of SABR improved the overall response, PFS, and OS in patients with advanced NSCLC. The efficacy of RT in oligometastatic lung cancer has only been studied in phase II studies; therefore, large-scale phase III studies are needed to confirm the benefit of local ablative RT in patients with oligometastatic NSCLC. Local intensified RT to primary and metastatic lesions is expected to become an important treatment paradigm in the near future in patients with metastatic lung cancer.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.327-335
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• 2006

Aim: To examine the efficacy of Hominis Placenta Hydrate (HPH) on the hemopoiesis in a myelosuppression model system. Methods: Mice were injected with 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) intraperitoneally and were administered with 200 mg/kg and 1000 mg/kg of HPH. Peripheral blood was analyzed at 5, 9, and 13 days. Histopathologic examination of bone marrow was performed at 5 days after 5-FU injection. The expression of cytokine involved in hemopoiesis was examined by using ELISA kit. Results: The hematology data demonstrated that the treatment of all the agents augmented monocytes and leucocytes counts in the peripheral blood WBC and platelet in HPH treated group were significant increased compared with control group. Also, cell numbers of RBC and Hb were restored. In HPH treated group, expression of IL-3, GM-CSF was significant increased But not TPO. Conclusions: Based on the above results, it is suggested that Hominis Placenta Hydrate is an effective remedy for the bone marrow failure and myelosuppression occurring during chemotherapy.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.811-821
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• 2006

Objectives : Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Etiological studies of diabetes and its complications showed that oxidative stress might play a major role. Therefore, many methods have been tried to regulate oxygen free radicals for treating diabetes and its complications. Because Mori foliumhas been known to be effective for the treatment of diabetes, the methanol extract of Mori folium was tested for its effectiveness in reducing the oxidative stress induced by streptozotocin. Methods : The crushed Mori folium was extracted 3 times, each time with 3 volumes of methyl alcohol at $60^{\circ}C$ or 24 h. The extract was filtered and evaporated under reduced pressure using a rotary evaporator to yield 11.7 g. Mori folium extract was oral-administered to diabetic rats induced by streptozotocin at 100 mg per 1 kg of body weight for 20 days. The efficacy of the Mori foliumextract was examined with regard to the enzymatic pathways involved in oxygen free radical production and glutathione balance. Results : The effects of the Mori foliumin streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats with regards to body weight, blood glucose and insulin level, hepatic lipid peroxide level, hepatic glutathione level, hepatic glutathione S-transferase and glutathione peroxidase level, hepatic aldose reductase activity, and hepatic sorbitol dehydrogenase activity were shown to be good enough to cure and prevent diabetes and its complications. Conclusions : These results indicated that Mori folium might reduce oxidative stress in tissues and organs by regulating the production of oxygen free radicals. Especially Mori folium might prevent and cure diabetes and its complications by reducing oxidative stress in the ${\beta}-cells$ of the pancreas.