• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.53-62
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• 2024

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the long-term cumulative survival rate (CSR) of dental implants with micro-threads in the neck over a 10-year follow-up period and to examine the factors influencing the survival rate of dental implants. Methods: This retrospective study was based on radiographic and dental records. In total, 151 patients received 490 Oneplant^® dental implants with an implant neck micro-thread design during 2006-2010 in the Department of Periodontology of Seoul National University Dental Hospital. Implant survival was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier analysis. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was used to identify the factors influencing implant failure. Results: Ten out of 490 implants (2.04%) failed due to fixture fracture. The CSR of the implants was 97.9%, and no significant difference was observed in the CSR between external-and internal-implant types (98.2% and 97.6%, respectively, P=0.670). In Cox regression analysis, 2-stage surgery significantly increased the risk of implant failure (hazard ratio: 4.769, P=0.039). There were no significant differences in influencing factors, including sex, age, implant diameter, length, fixture type, location, surgical procedure, bone grafting, and restoration type. Conclusions: Within the limitations of this retrospective study, the micro-thread design of the implant neck was found to be favorable for implant survival, with stable clinical outcomes.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Rural Health Nursing
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.25-34
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• 2024

Purpose: This study investigates the relationship between job stress and burnout among primary healthcare practitioners during COVID-19 pandemic through mixed methods study. Methods: Data were collected from October to November 2022 using Qualtrix, a web-based survey platform. 1,082 primary health care practitioners participated in the survey. Quantitative data were analyzed using correlation analysis using IBM SPSS/WIN 27.0. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis through open-ended questions. Results: Job stress and burnout among primary healthcare practitioners during COVID-19 were positively correlated. Four categories and seven subcategories were identified. Conclusion: Based on these findings, it is necessary to develop a support system for primary healthcare practitioners according to the type of residential area and the number of peopleto reduce job stress and burnout.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.277-288
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• 2024

Objective: We previously found that the incidence of sarcopenia increased with declining glucose metabolism of muscle in patients with treatment-naïve diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sarcopenia and muscle glucometabolism using ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT at baseline and end-of-treatment, analyze the changes in these parameters through treatment, and assess their prognostic values. Materials and Methods: The records of 103 patients with DLBCL (median 54 years [range, 21-76]; male:female, 50:53) were retrospectively reviewed. Skeletal muscle area at the third lumbar vertebral (L3) level was measured, and skeletal muscle index (SMI) was calculated to determine sarcopenia, defined as SMI < 44.77 cm²/m² and < 32.50 cm²/m² for male and female, respectively. Glucometabolic parameters of the psoas major muscle, including maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) and mean standardized uptake value (SUVmean), were measured at L3 as well. Their changes across treatment were also calculated as ΔSMI, ΔSUVmax, and ΔSUVmean; Δbody mass index was also calculated. Associations between SMI and the metabolic parameters were analyzed, and their associations with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were identified. Results: The incidence of sarcopenia was 29.1% and 36.9% before and after treatment, respectively. SMI (P = 0.004) was lower, and sarcopenia was more frequent (P = 0.011) at end-of-treatment than at baseline. The SUVmax and SUVmean of muscle were lower (P < 0.001) in sarcopenia than in non-sarcopenia at both baseline and end-of-treatment. ΔSMI was positively correlated with ΔSUVmax of muscle (P = 0.022). Multivariable Cox regression analysis showed that sarcopenia at end-of-treatment was independently negatively associated with PFS (adjusted hazard ratio [95% confidence interval], 2.469 [1.022-5.965]), while sarcopenia at baseline was independently negatively associated with OS (5.051 [1.453-17.562]). Conclusion: Sarcopenic patients had lower muscle glucometabolism, and the muscular and metabolic changes across treatment were positively correlated. Sarcopenia at baseline and end-of-treatment was negatively associated with the prognosis of DLBCL.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.12
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• pp.2178-2188
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• 2024

Objective: The liver plays a dual role in regulating temperature and immune responses. Examining the influence of heat stress (HS) on liver T cells contributes significantly to understanding the intricate interplay between the immune system and hepatic tissues under thermal stress. This study focused on investigating the characteristics of the T-cell receptor (TCR) β chain CDR3 repertoire in bovine liver samples under both HS and pairfed (PF) environmental conditions. Methods: Sequencing data from six samples sourced from the GEO database underwent annotation. Utilizing immunarch and VDJtool software, the study conducted comprehensive analyses encompassing basic evaluation, clonality assessment, immune repertoire comparison, diversity estimation, gene usage profiling, VJ gene segment pairing scrutiny, clonal tracking, and Kmers analysis. Results: All four TCR chains, namely α, β, γ, and δ, were detected, with the α chains exhibiting the highest detection frequency, followed closely by the β chains. The prevalence of αβ TCRs in bovine liver samples underscored their crucial role in governing hepatic tissue's physiological functions. The TCR β CDR3 repertoire showcased substantial inter-individual variability, featuring diverse clonotypes exhibiting distinct amino acid lengths. Intriguingly, HS cattle displayed heightened diversity and clonality, suggesting potential peripheral T cell migration into the liver under environmental conditions. Notably, differential VJ gene pairings were observed in HS cattle compared to the PF, despite individual variations in V and J gene utilization. Additionally, while most high-frequency amino acid 5-mers remained consistent between the HS and PF, GELHF, and YDYHF were notably prevalent in the HS group. Across all samples, a prevalent trend of high-frequency 5mers skewed towards polar and hydrophobic amino acids was evident. Conclusion: This study elucidates the characteristics of liver TCR β chain CDR3 repertoire under HS conditions, enhancing our understanding of HS implications.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.1080-1095
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• 2024

In contemporary society, the increasing number of pet-owning households has significantly heightened interest in companion animal health, expanding the probiotics market aimed at enhancing pet well-being. Consequently, research into the gut microbiota of companion animals has gained momentum, however, ethical and societal challenges associated with experiments on intelligent and pain-sensitive animals necessitate alternative research methodologies to reduce reliance on live animal testing. To address this need, the Fermenter for Intestinal Microbiota Model (FIMM) is being investigated as an in vitro tool designed to replicate gastrointestinal conditions of living animals, offering a means to study gut microbiota while minimizing animal experimentation. The FIMM system explored interactions between intestinal microbiota and probiotics within a simulated gut environment. Two strains of commercial probiotic bacteria, Enterococcus faecium IDCC 2102 and Bifidobacterium lactis IDCC 4301, along with a newly isolated strain from domestic dogs, Lactobacillus acidophilus SLAM AK001, were introduced into the FIMM system with gut microbiota from a beagle model. Findings highlight the system's capacity to mirror and modulate the gut environment, evidenced by an increase in beneficial bacteria like Lactobacillus and Faecalibacterium and a decrease in the pathogen Clostridium. The study also verified the system's ability to facilitate accurate interactions between probiotics and commensal bacteria, demonstrated by the production of short-chain fatty acids and bacterial metabolites, including amino acids and gamma-aminobutyric acid precursors. Thus, the results advocate for FIMM as an in vitro system that authentically simulates the intestinal environment, presenting a viable alternative for examining gut microbiota and metabolites in companion animals.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.91-99
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• 2009

This research were performed to evaluate co-incineration characteristics of sewage sludge and industrial waste in rotary kiln incinerator, and provide the fundamental data. Plastic portion (42.55%) in this industrial waste showed over 3 times higher than that (11.92%) of paper. Korean proximate analysis of the waste mixed with sewage sludge and industrial waste (3 : 7, volumetric basis) showed 16.3% of moisture, 70.5% of volatile solids, and 13.2% of ash, respectively. Low heating value of the mixed waste was 4,513kcal/kg. So it was thought that the mixed waste of sewage sludge and industrial waste (containing 43% of plastics and 12% papers) has enough heating value for co-incineration. The incineration of mixed waste showed the lowest SOx and NOx concentrations at $700^{\circ}C$. However, the operation at $950^{\circ}C$ was feasible in considering dioxin and the other hazardous gases. It was concluded that use of $Ca(OH)_2$ should be under investigation for the operation at $950^{\circ}C$.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.213-219
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• 2024

Nanotechnology is one of the critical factors involved in enhancing the sensitivity of serum biomarker detection. To explore the relationship between serum APN, Cystatin C and MMP-9 levels in patients with hypertension during pregnancy and the severity and prognosis of the disease. A total of 75 cases of hypertensive disorder complicating pregnancy (HDCP) patients who were admitted to the hospital from February 5, 2023 to May 9, 2024, were selected as the study group, and 70 healthy pregnant women who were in the same gestational week were selected as the control group. The serum APN, MMP-9 and Cys C levels of pregnant women and HDCP patients with different disease severity were compared between the two groups, and the receiver characteristic curve (ROC) was used to analyze its diagnostic value. The serum APN, MMP-9 and Cys C levels of HDCP patients with different prognosis were compared, and the factors affecting the prognosis of patients were analyzed by Logistic regression. Nanoparticles could aslo enable the sensitive detection and quantification of APN, Cystatin C, and MMP-9 in serum samples, thus increasing the accuracy of the study. The serum MMP-9 and Cys C levels of pregnant women in the study group were significantly increased, and the APN level was significantly decreased (P<0.05). Serum MMP-9 and Cys C levels in patients with pregnancy-induced hypertension, mild preeclampsia, and severe preeclampsia gradually increased (r=0.768, 0.766; P<0.001), and APN levels gradually decreased (r=-0.748, P< 0.001). In the diagnosis of patients with HDCP, the sensitivity, specificity and AUC of APN single diagnosis were 70.00%, 82.67% and 9.848 respectively. The sensitivity, specificity and AUC of MMP-9 single diagnosis were 82.86%, 74.67% and 298.300 respectively. The sensitivity, specificity and AUC of Cys C single diagnosis were 80.00%, 74.67% and 1.301 respectively. There were significant differences in age, BMI, parity, dysthymia, disease severity, APN, MMP-9 and Cys between patients with poor prognosis of HDCP and patients with good prognosis of HDCP (P<0.001). The patient's age, BMI, disease severity, APN, MMP-9 and Cys Cwere all related to HDCP. They were related risk factors of HDCP (P<0.05).

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.11-20
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• 2018

In planktonic ecosystems, the microplastics are considered as a potential food source for the zooplankton. To study a relationship between the zooplankton and the neustonic microplastics, a research experiment was carried out during May in the surface layers of the Yeosu coastal areas including Yeoja Bay, Gamak Bay, Yeosuhae Bay, and Botdol Sea. A neustonic zooplankton net (mesh size $300{\mu}m$; mouth area $30cm{\times}18cm$) was towed from the side of the ship in the event that it would not be affected by waves crashing by the ship at a speed of ca. 2.5 knots. All of the microplastic particles were separated from the zooplankton. The zooplankton and microplastics were appearing in a range of 61 to $763indiv.m^{-3}$ and 0.0047 to $0.3471particle\;m^{-2}$, respectively. It was noted that the Acartia omorii, Paracalanus parvus s. l., Labidocera euchaeta, A. hongi, decapod larvae, and cirriped larvae were predominantly seen in the experiment. For verifying relationships between zooplankton and environmental factors in addition to microplastics, a model redundancy analysis (RDA) was performed. The zooplankton were divided into two groups on the basis of feeding types (i.e. particle feeders, and carnivores), and the associated zooplankton larvae were also separately considered. A review of the additional environmental factors such as water temperature, salinity, turbidity, chlorophyll-${\alpha}$ concentration, diatom density, and dinoflagellate density were also contained in the analysis. The results showed that a noted zooplankton abundance had no close relation with the occurring number of microplastic particles, but rather was significantly related with other noted environmental factors such as temperature, salinity, turbidity, and chlorophyll-${\alpha}$ concentration. This fact implies that most zooplankton can feed themselves as a unit, by selecting the most likely available nutritious foods, rather than microplastics under the circumstance of food-richness areas, such what food resources are available as in the location of coastal waters.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.2951-2957
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• 2014

Background: Gastric carcinogenesis is a complicated process that involves environmental and genetic factors like interleukin-4 (IL-4) and IL-8. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in their genes are associated with changed levels of gene expression. Here, we investigated the association between IL4-590 C>T and IL8-251T>A and gastric cancer (GC) risk in Sichuan of Southwestern China. Materials and Methods: We surveyed the research subjects using a self-designed questionnaire with questions on demographic factors and putative risk factors. Approximately 2-5ml of whole blood was collected after field survey to analyze IL4-590 C>T and IL8-251T>A genotypes using MALDI-TOF MS. Results: Our study recruited 308 pairs of GC patients and controls, including 224 (72.7%) men and 84 (27.3%) women in each group. There were 99 cardia and 176 noncardia GC patients in the case group. The case and control groups had an average age of $57.7{\pm}10.6$ ($mean{\pm}SD$) and $57.6{\pm}11.1$ years. GC patients reported a significantly greater proportion of family history of cancer (29.9% vs 10.7%, p<0.01) and drinking (54.6% vs 43.2%, p<0.01) than did controls. Variant genotypes of IL-4-590 C>T and IL-8-251 T>A were not associated with overall GC risk (adjusted OR, 0.89; 95%CI, 0.61-1.28 for CT or CC vs TT; adjusted OR, 1.14; 95%CI, 0.86-1.79 for TA or AA vs TT). Stratification analysis of two SNPs for risk by subsites only found that variant IL-8-251 TA or AA genotype was associated with increased noncardia GC risk (adjusted OR, 2.58; 95%CI, 1.19-5.57). We did not observe interactions between the IL-8-251 T>A genotype and smoking (adjusted OR, 0.38; 95%CI, 0.08-1.79) or drinking (adjusted OR, 0.36; 95%CI, 0.08-1.65) for risk of noncardia GC. Conclusions: Our data indicate no association between the two SNPs of IL-4-590 and IL-8-251 with overall GC risk, while the IL-8-251 TA or AA genotype conferred risk of cardia GC. Our findings contribute to the evidence body for risk of SNPs associated with the development of gastric cancer in this region.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.16 no.2 s.30
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• pp.453-489
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• 1995

The research of the phrases related with physiology of stomach and spleen in the contents of Huang Di Nei Jing(黃帝內經) known as the Bible of oriental medicine will make a contribution to a deep understanding of disease of stomach and spleen and a proper clinical diagnosis and treatment of them. In this research of the most appropriate glosses recorded nine kinds of representative medical books including Huang Di Nei Jing Somoon(黃帝內經素問) of Wang Bing(王氷) were picked out: The summaries of the selected contents are as follows: 1. The word 'saliva(涎)' in 'the spleen controls saliva(脾爲涎)' can be viewed as a generic term referring to oral cavity secretion gland as well as the secretion fluid of salivary gland. 2. The phases 'a large reservoir(太倉)', barn organs', 'a reserboir of food stuff', 'a stomach as the market(胃爲之市)', etc mean the function of stomach to receive food(胃主受納). 3. The phase 'generation of five tastes(五味出焉)' means both 'the function of stomach to transform food into chyme(胃主腐熟)' and 'the channelling function of spleen.(脾主運化)' 4. The flowing of the food-Qi(食氣) into stomach brings about spreading Jung(精) into liver and then percolating Jung(精) flow into channel. The channel-Qi(脈氣) flows into lung through channel. As a result, all kinds of channels gather together in lung and Jung(精) is sent into skin and hair. The assembly of Jung(精) with skins and channels moves Qi(氣) into fu-organ and so jung(精) and mental activity(神明) in fu-organ(府) come to be in four organs(四臟). Then if Qi(氣) comes back to power balance unit(權衡) being in the state of equilibrium(權衡以平), the hole of Qi(氣口) comes to determine the matter of life and death through achieving Chun-quan-chi(-寸-關-尺). The above mentioned phrases means the digestion, asorption and transmission of food. When food is taken in stomach, Jung-Qi(精氣) comes to be over flowed upward into spleen, back into lung, finally downward into bladders through water-conduit(水道) controlled by lung. When water- Jung(水精) radiates into whole body with channels of five organs(五臟), both of them fit together with and yin-yang(陰-陽). Therefore, the grasping of the rise and decline of yin-yang(陰C-陽) is necessary to consult patients. The above mentioned phrases is properly viewed to designate the asorption, transmission and excretion of food. 5. Spleen controls flesh(脾之合肉也), the state of spleen is known by human lips, and what this means is that liver plays functions of spread and expansion(肝主疏泄). 6. The phrase 'Jung Jung'((中精)) in 'gallbladder dominates Jung jung(膽主中精)', which in one of the specific expression of 'liver plays functions of spread and expansion(肝主疏泄). 7. It is right that the phase 'The eleven organs in all are determined by gallbladder'(凡十,一臟取決於膽也) is correctly paraphrased as 'only one of ten organs, spleen, is determined by gallbladder'.(凡十,一臟取決於膽也), 8. The small intestine is an organ. which receives the materials digested and sends them out. This means that the function of transforming materials(化物) factually refers to that of separating clearity and blur(泌別淸濁). And it is also thought to have the function of ascending clearity and descending blur(升淸降濁), 9. A large intestine is a transmitting organ(傳導之官) from which a change comes out(變化出焉). the phrase 'change'(變化) in this sentence means both the intake of water and nutrition and the formation procedure of stool through excretion of mucocele.