• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.246-253
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• 2019

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of three different caries-preventing agents on artificial caries in a Streptococcus mutans-based caries model. Methods: Sixty-five caries-free human molar enamel blocks were treated with a demineralization solution and a remineralization solution. The specimens were assigned to the following groups according to the caries-protective product applied: group A, chlorhexidine varnish; group B, fluoride-releasing chemically cured sealant; group C, fluoride-releasing lightcured sealant; group D, positive control (specimens that were subjected to de- and remineralization cycles without treatment with any caries-protective agents); and group E, negative control (specimens that were not subjected to de- and remineralization cycles). Samples in groups A-D were stored in demineralization solution with S. mutans and thereafter in artificial saliva. This procedure was performed for 30 days. Average fluorescence loss (${\Delta}F$) and surface size of the lesions were measured using quantitative light-induced fluorescence at baseline and on the 7th, 14th, and 30th days. Results: After 30 days, group A demonstrated a significant increase in ΔF and the surface size of the lesions, no significant difference in comparison with the positive control group, and a significant difference in comparison with the negative control group. Group B showed no significant changes in both parameters at any of the measurement points. While group C showed increased ${\Delta}F$ after 14 days, no significant fluorescence change was observed after 30 days. Conclusions: Both fluoride-releasing sealants (chemically or light-cured) show anti-cariogenic effects, but the use of chlorhexidine varnish for the purpose of caries protection needs to be reconsidered.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.326-333
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• 2020

The aerial parts of Eclipta prostrata is used as a traditional medicine and vegetable. In traditional folk medicine, it is used for treatment of hemorrhages, hepatic, disease, renal injuries, hair loss, tooth mobility, and viper bites. In this study, ten compounds (1 - 10) were isolated from the aerial parts of E. prostrata. A reliable high performance liquid chromatography equipped with photometric diode array detector (HPLC-PDA) method was developed to simultaneously quantitate 10 marker compounds [chlorogenic acid (1), paratensein 7-O-��-ᴅ-glucoside (2), quercetin 7-O-��-ᴅ-glucoside (3), luteolin 7-O-��-ᴅ-glucoside (4), apigenin 7-O-��-ᴅ-glucoside (5), apigenin 4'-O-��-ᴅ-glucoside (6), apigenin (7), luteolin (8), wedelolactone (9), and paratensein (10)]. In addition, compounds 5 and 6 showed considerable inhibitory effects against protein-tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) enzyme. Moreover, compounds 6 - 8, and 10 exhibited potent α-glucosidase inhibitory effects with IC50 values of 24.5 ± 1.9, 33.0 ± 0.5, 45.5 ± 0.1, and 23.8 ± 1.0 µM, respectively. All compounds (1 - 10) showed considerable acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory effects with IC50 ranging from 30.1 to 75.2 µM.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.129-133
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• 2020

It is very important to optimize the reflectance of incident light in solar modules for improving output power and reducing loss of cell-to-module (CTM). It is assumed that a higher reflectance backsheet may improve optical efficiency. However how much output power is related to optical properties by reflectance property of backsheets have not been revealed clearly yet. A total of 3 types of industrial backsheets with 3 type of industrial encapsulants (EVA or POE) were analyzed as fabricated mini modules used shingled cells. According to the type of backsheets, the difference between the highest and lowest average reflectance in the range of 400 nm to 1200 nm was found to be 13.08% by UV-visible spectroscopy. Also, when using the same encapsulant, the maximum gap value of the output power increase was measured by about 3.755 mW% (166.02 mW). The correlation between reflectance and output power was experimentally found by measuring the output property of the fabricated shingled mini modules.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.62-69
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• 2022

Objective: This study aimed to describe a distinct subpopulation of azoospermic patients with isolated elevation of follicle-stimulating hormone (iFSH) and poor outcomes of microdissection testicular sperm extraction (microTESE). Methods: A retrospective analysis of microTESE outcomes was conducted among 565 patients with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA). Testicular pathology was assessed by the dominant histological pattern and Bergmann-Kliesch score (BKS). Descriptive statistics were presented for the iFSH subgroup. Inhibin B levels, the sperm retrieval rate (SRR), and BKS were compared in iFSH patients and other NOA patients. Results: The overall SRR was 33.3% per microTESE attempt. The median BKS was 0.6 (interquartile range, 0-2). Of all NOA patients, 132 had iFSH, and microTESE was successful only in 11 of those cases, with an SRR of 8.3%, while the total SRR in other NOA patients was 38.1% (p<0.001). iFSH had a sensitivity of 32.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 27.4%-36.8%) and specificity of 94.1% (95% CI, 90.8-97.5%) as a predictor of negative microTESE outcomes. Conclusion: Patients with iFSH may harbor a distinct testicular phenotype with total loss of the germ cell population and poor outcomes of surgical sperm retrieval.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.15 no.12
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• pp.4420-4438
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• 2021

Image dehazing is an ill-posed problem which is far from being solved. Traditional image dehazing methods often yield mediocre effects and possess substandard processing speed, while modern deep learning methods perform best only in certain datasets. The haze removal effect when processed by said methods is unsatisfactory, meaning the generalization performance fails to meet the requirements. Concurrently, due to the limited processing speed, most dehazing algorithms cannot be employed in the industry. To alleviate said problems, a lightweight fast dehazing network based on a multiple scale-patch framework (MSP) is proposed in the present paper. Firstly, the multi-scale structure is employed as the backbone network and the multi-patch structure as the supplementary network. Dehazing through a single network causes problems, such as loss of object details and color in some image areas, the multi-patch structure was employed for MSP as an information supplement. In the algorithm image processing module, the image is segmented up and down for processed separately. Secondly, MSP generates a clear dehazing effect and significant robustness when targeting real-world homogeneous and nonhomogeneous hazy maps and different datasets. Compared with existing dehazing methods, MSP demonstrated a fast inference speed and the feasibility of real-time processing. The overall size and model parameters of the entire dehazing model are 20.75M and 6.8M, and the processing time for the single image is 0.026s. Experiments on NTIRE 2018 and NTIRE 2020 demonstrate that MSP can achieve superior performance among the state-of-the-art methods, such as PSNR, SSIM, LPIPS, and individual subjective evaluation.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.7-13
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• 2022

Purpose: Preimplantation genetic testing for monogenic disorders (PGT-M) has been successfully used to prevent couples with monogenic disorders from passing them on to their child. Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT) is a genetic disorder characterized by progressive extremity muscle degeneration and loss of sensory function. For the first time in Korea, we report our experience of applying single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping and karyomapping for PGT-M of CMT disease. Materials and Methods: Prior to clinical PGT-M, preclinical tests were performed using genotypes of affected families to identify informative single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with mutant alleles. We performed five cycles of in vitro fertilization PGT-M in four couples with CMT1A, CMT2A, and CMT2S in CHA Fertility Center, Seoul Station. Results: From July 2020 through August 2021, five cycles of PGT-M with karyomapping in four cases with CMT1 and CMT2 were analyzed retrospectively. A total of 17 blastocysts were biopsied and 15 embryos were successfully diagnosed (88.2%). Ten out of 15 embryos were diagnosed as unaffected (66.7%). Five cycles of PGT-M resulted in four transfer cycles, in which four embryos were transferred. Three clinical pregnancies were achieved (75%) and the prenatal diagnosis by amniocentesis for all three women confirmed PGT-M of karyomapping. One woman delivered a healthy baby uneventfully and two pregnancies are currently ongoing. Conclusion: This is the first report in Korea on the application of karyomapping in PGT-M for CMT patients. This study shows that karyomapping is an efficient, reliable and accurate diagnostic method for PGT-M in various types of CMT diseases.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.49-55
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• 2023

Objectives The purpose of this study is to analyze randomized controlled trials about neuromuscular electrical stimulation for muscle wasting with cancer patient and evaluate it's motor functionality effect. Methods Studies will be searched from 7 online databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure [CNKI], Korean studies Information Service System [KISS], Research Information Sharing Service [RISS], Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System [OASIS]). Participants will be cancer patients with muscle loss, regardless of cause, gender, race or age, interventions will be neuromuscular electrical stimulation. Other treatments than interventions will be the control group and the main outcome will be reviewed by motor functionality effect. Results Randomized controlled trials about neuromuscular electrical stimulation for muscle wasting should be included in the study. Primary outcomes include motor functionality effect. Secondary outcomes evaluate adverse event. The data uses Review Manager Software 5.4. Conclusions The conclusion of this study will provide a basis for determining whether neuromuscular electrical stimulation treatment for muscle wasting with cancer patient treatment is an effective and safe treatment method in clinical practice.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.46 no.7
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• pp.441-450
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• 2023

β-Catenin (Ctnnb1) has been shown to play critical roles in the development and maintenance of epithelial cells, including the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Ctnnb1 is not only a component of intercellular junctions in the epithelium, it also functions as a transcriptional regulator in the Wnt signaling pathway. To identify which of its functional modalities is critically involved in mouse RPE development and maintenance, we varied Ctnnb1 gene content and activity in mouse RPE lineage cells and tested their impacts on mouse eye development. We found that a Ctnnb1 double mutant (Ctnnb1^dm), which exhibits impaired transcriptional activity, could not replace Ctnnb1 in the RPE, whereas Ctnnb1^Y654E, which has reduced affinity for the junctions, could do so. Expression of the constitutively active Ctnnb1^∆ex3 mutant also suppressed the development of RPE, instead facilitating a ciliary cell fate. However, the post-mitotic or mature RPE was insensitive to the loss, inactivation, or constitutive activation of Ctnnb1. Collectively, our results suggest that Ctnnb1 should be maintained within an optimal range to specify RPE through transcriptional regulation of Wnt target genes in the optic neuroepithelium.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.840-858
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• 2023

This study was designed to compare the quality changes in mackerel fillets stored under different conditions by using hyperspectral imaging (HSI) techniques. Fillets packaged in vacuum were stored for six days under five different conditions: refrigerated at 4℃ (R group); iced at 5±3℃ (I group); kept at an ambient of 17±2℃ (A group); frozen at -18℃ for 24 h and thawed in a refrigerator at 4℃ for 5 h on the sampling day (FTR group); FTR thawed in tap water instead of thawing in a refrigerator (FTW group). The FTR group had the lowest total bacterial count, drip loss, 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, volatile basic nitrogen, and texture profile analysis values among groups during the entire storage period (p<0.05). Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the FTR group had less damage, while the other groups had shrunken muscle tissues. HIS integrated with the partial least squares model yielded reliable and efficient results, with high R²_cv values, for several quality parameters of the mackerel fillets. Overall, the FTR group, involving freezing and thawing in a refrigerator, appears to be the most favorable option for maintaining the quality of mackerel fillets, which could be practically implemented in the industry. HSI is a suitable and effective technique for determining the quality of mackerel fillets stored under different conditions.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.132-148
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• 2023

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to determine the clinical features of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome and the effectiveness and safety of Korean medicine treatment at the Public health center. Methods: The study was conducted among 11 patients with post-acute COVID-19 syndrome who attended a single public health center from January to December 2022. We retrospectively analyzed the charts of 11 patients and collected clinical characteristics, previous treatments, Korean medicine treatments, outcome variables (Numeral Rating Scale (NRS), Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ), Visual Analog Scale (VAS)), adverse events, etc. Results: Of the 11 patients, six were women, and the average age of all patients was 68.27±12.31 years. The most common symptom were cough(n=9, 81.82%) and sore throat(n=9, 81.82%), followed by sputum, fatigue, rhinorrhea, and loss of appetite, etc. All 11 patients were treated with herbal medicine, with Samso-eum(n=6, 54.55%), Yeonkyopaedok-san(n=5, 45.45%), and Haengso-tang(n=3, 27.27%) being the most commonly used. After herbal medicine treatment, the median cough NRS decreased from 5 to 1, and the median sore throat NRS decreased from 4 to 1, both of which were statistically significant. One patient reported adverse event of dyspepsia and heartburn, but it was mild. Conclusions: The study presented the clinical features of the post-acute COVID-19 syndrome and suggested that Korean medicine treatment at public health centers may be effective and safe in alleviating associated symptoms.