• Title/Summary/Keyword: central function

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A case of encephalitis in a juvenile rheumatoid arthritis patient treated with etanercept (소아기 류마티스모양 관절염 환자에서 etanercept 사용 후 발생한 뇌염 1예)

  • Kwon, Ah Reum;Park, Eun Jung;Kim, Ki Hwan;Kim, Dong Soo
    • Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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    • v.53 no.2
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    • pp.262-266
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    • 2010
  • Tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}$ ($TNF-{\alpha}$) is a major proinflammatory cytokine involved in the pathophysiology of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Etanercept is an effective inhibitor of $TNF-{\alpha}$ and has shown a beneficial effect in patients with JRA. However, the most important cause of concern related to etanercept administration is infection. We report a case of encephalitis in a JRA patient receiving long-term treatment with etanercept. The patient was a 4-year-old boy with refractory JRA, and he received etanercept subcutaneously at a dose of $0.4\;mg\;kg^{-1}\;day^{-1}$ twice a week for 14 months, along with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, methotrexate, oral steroids, and sulfasalazine. The patient presented with sudden fever, headache, vomiting, a generalized tonic seizure, and changes in mental status. We suspected a central nervous system infection, and simultaneously administered antibiotics, an antiviral agent, and steroids. After 2 days of hospitalization, his mental function returned to normal, and he showed no further seizure-like movements. Brain magnetic resonance imaging scan of the patient showed a multifocal cortical lesion on both sides of the temporoparietooccipital lobe, which indicated encephalitis. Although we were unable to identify the causative organism of encephalitis, we think that the encephalitis may be attributed to infection, and the use of etanercept may have increased the risk of severe infection. Therefore, etanercept was discontinued and the patient recovered shortly after. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of encephalitis in a juvenile rheumatoid arthritis patient treated with etanercept.

Effects of lycopene on number and function of human peripheral blood endothelial progenitor cells cultivated with high glucose

  • Zeng, Yao-Chi;Mu, Gui-Ping;Huang, Shu-Fen;Zeng, Xue-Hui;Cheng, Hong;Li, Zhong-Xin
    • Nutrition Research and Practice
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    • v.8 no.4
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    • pp.368-376
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    • 2014
  • BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of lycopene on the migration, adhesion, tube formation capacity, and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) activity of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) cultivated with high glucose (HG) and as well as explore the mechanism behind the protective effects of lycopene on peripheral blood EPCs. MATERIALS/METHODS: Mononuclear cells were isolated from human peripheral blood by Ficoll density gradient centrifugation. EPCs were identified after induction of cellular differentiation. Third generation EPCs were incubated with HG (33 mmol/L) or 10, 30, and $50{\mu}g/mL$ of lycopene plus HG. MTT assay and flow cytometry were performed to assess proliferation and apoptosis of EPCs. EPC migration was assessed by MTT assay with a modified boyden chamber. Adhesion assay was performed by replating EPCs on fibronectin-coated dishes, after which adherent cells were counted. In vitro vasculogenesis activity was assayed by Madrigal network formation assay. Western blotting was performed to analyze protein expression of both phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated p38 MAPK. RESULTS: The proliferation, migration, adhesion, and in vitro vasculogenesis capacity of EPCs treated with 10, 30, and $50{\mu}g/mL$ of lycopene plus HG were all significantly higher comapred to the HG group (P < 0.05). Rates of apoptosis were also significantly lower than that of the HG group. Moreover, lycopene blocked phosphorylation of p38 MAPK in EPCs (P < 0.05). To confirm the causal relationship between MAPK inhibition and the protective effects of lycopene against HG-induced cellular injury, we treated cells with SB203580, a phosphorylation inhibitor. The inhibitor significantly inhibited HG-induced EPC injury. CONCLUSIONS: Lycopene promotes proliferation, migration, adhesion, and in vitro vasculogenesis capacity as well as reduces apoptosis of EPCs. Further, the underlying molecular mechanism of the protective effects of lycopene against HG-induced EPC injury may involve the p38 MAPK signal transduction pathway. Specifically, lycopene was shown to inhibit HG-induced EPC injury by inhibiting p38 MAPKs.

The Question of 'State and Art' with regard to Soviet Socialist Realism (소련 사회주의 리얼리즘에 관하여: '국민과 예술'의 문제)

  • Alexander, Morozov
    • The Journal of Art Theory & Practice
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    • no.7
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    • pp.125-163
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    • 2009
  • The artworks of Socialist Realism of the former Soviet Union, with the beginning of the 21st century, are gaining a new attention from art collectors. One reason for this might consist in the fact that relevant art pieces exemplify the ways in which they visualize ideas on the basis of their high-profile art tradition and also in which they integrate their utopian ideals with mysticism. These aspects of the Soviet art goes far beyond the wide-spread assumption that their art, as a means of propaganda, principally represents a political allegiance to the system. With Stalin coming into power in the 1930s, the artistic trend of Socialist Realism obtained a nationwide sympathy and support from people, giving birth to a new art which essentially corresponded to the demands of the political power. An official art current of the USSR over the period from the 1930s to 1950s, Socialist Realism was in tandem with the Communist commitment to the party and popularity, symbolizing a loyalty to the cause. It was thus characterized by plainness and lucidity so that ordinary people could gain easy access to art. Its salient feature, over an entire range of art, was an optimistic pursuit of a utopian dream. Therefore, it tallied with the popular sentiment for a Communist paradise, giving form to their beliefs in human agency working at the materialist world and also to such abstract concepts as force, fitness, and beauty by adding even mythical ideals. Its main subject matter includes harvest feasts of collective farms, imaginary socialist cities, grand marches of heroic laborers and in this way it served as a propaganda for a sacred utopia of socialist totalitarianism. On the other end of the spectrum, however, rose the second camp of art, which put an emphasis on bona-fide artistic activities of plastic art and on an artist's personal expression and freedom, as opposed to the surface optimism of Socialist Realism. Central to the Russian Avant Garde art, which prized the above-mentioned values, were Malevich's Geometric Abstraction and A. Rodchenko's Constructivism. Furthermore, in the transitional era of the late 20th century and the 21st century it was recognized that film art or electronic media art, rather than traditional genre of paintings, would function as a more efficient way of propaganda. These new genres were made possible by ridiculing the stereotypes of the Russian lifestyle and also by ignoring ethical or professional dimensions of artworks. That is, they reinvented themselves into a sort of field art, seemingly degrading the quality of artworks and transforming them into artifacts or simulacres in the very sense of post-modernism. The advent of the new era brought about the formation and occupation of pop culture of the younger generations, calling into question the idea of art as the class-determined. It also increased the attention to field art, which extensively found way to modern art centers, galleries, and exhibition projects. It can be stated that this was a natural outcome of human nature.

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A Study for Dose-Reduction of Antipsychotics in Chronic Schizophrenics (만성 정신분열병 환자에서 항정신병약물 감량에 관한 연구)

  • Hwang, Tae-Yeon;Lee, Min Soo;Kim, Hyeong-Seob
    • Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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    • v.5 no.2
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    • pp.263-277
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    • 1998
  • Conventional high-dose antipsychotics tend to result in more side effects, negative symptoms and dysphoria, and at the same time lower the cognitive function which is already impaired in most schizophrenics. Florid psychotic symptoms, negative symptoms and cognitive impairment greatly impede psychosocial performance and eventual reintegration into society. The reduction of symptom and the improvement of cognitive funtions and social skills are therefore central to the psychiatric rehabilitation process. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the dose-reduction effects of antipsychotics on chronic schizophrenics prescribed conventional high-dose antipsychotics more than 1,500mg equivalent of chlorpromazine. Fifty-one chronic schizophrenics who maintained high-dose antipsychotics for more than three months were randomly assigned to two groups : 20 patients comprised the dose-maintaining group and 31 patients made the dose-reduction group. Over a sixteen weekperiod Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale(PANSS), Extrapyramidal Symptom(EPS), Nurses' Observation Scale for Inpatient Evaluation(NOSIE-30), Continuous Performance Test(CPT), Quality of Life(QOL), and haloperidol/reduced haloperidol blood levels were determined at the base line and after 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16 weeks to evaluate the dose reduction effects of high-dose antipsychotics. The results were as follows : 1) Dose-reduction is highly effective in reducing positive and negative symptoms, and general psychopathology. Effects were most prominent at 8, 12, 16 weeks. Among the dose reduction group, positive symptoms in positive symptom group and negative symptoms in negative symptom group were more reduced. 2 Extrapyramidal symptoms showed no significant difference between two groups. But the EPS was reduced time after time within two groups. 3) Hit rates of Continuous Performance Test, which indicate attentional capacity, increased significantly after dose reduction. 4) Haloperidol and reduced haloperidol blood levels decreased until the 4th week, after which they were constant. 5) Total scores of Nurses' Observation Scale for Inpatient Evaluation were unchanged between the two groups. But among the indices, social interest and personal neatness were improved in the dose-reduction group and retardation was aggrevated in the dose-maintaining group. 6) Total quality of life scores were unchanged between two groups. But in the dose maintaining group, satisfaction scores of attention, autonomy, and interpersonal relationship decreased progressively. These findings suggest that the dose reduction of antipsychotics for chronic schizophrenics on programs of high-dose antipsychotics were effective. Dose reduction should therefore be implemanted to spread the rehabilitation and improve quality of life for chronic schizophrenics.

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A Study on the Correlation between Spatial Distance and Cognitive Intensity of High-rise Buildings - Focusing on High-rise Buildings of More than 30 Stories in Seoul - (초고층 랜드마크의 공간적 거리 및 인지강도와의 상관성 분석 - 서울시 30층 이상 고층건물을 대상으로 -)

  • Byeon, Jae-Sang;Im, Seung-Bin;Joo, Shin-Ha
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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    • v.35 no.4
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    • pp.90-104
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    • 2007
  • Landmarks like high-rise building are one of the important elements for the enhancement of city identity and provides the hierarchy of city streets, playing a central and symbolic role in cities. Research on physical attribute of landmarks, such as height, distance, location and shape, which are suitable for a city scale, can help a city create a distinct image and maintain comprehensible structure. To achieve this purpose, it is necessary to understand the spatial and cognitive characteristics of a landmark for the establishment and management of it. The results of this study can be summarized as follows: 1. The level of representativeness of a landmark increases in proportion to the degree of cognitive intensity on it. The relation between representativeness and cognitive intensity can be explained as the log-function as follows: Log(the number of people who respond "It has representativeness")=$-1.2579+1.5908{\times}$(cognitive intensity); 2. There are a few differences based on the attributes of respondents: while gender has no distinct influence, residential period and age show statistically meaningful influence on cognitive intensity of a vertical landmark Cognitive intensity of an individual landmarks especially, differs according to the class of main users. Because of frequent changes in occupation or employment, respondents consider the distance from a residential area more important than the distance from a working area in evaluating cognitive intensity of landmarks; 3. landmark can be classified into two kinds: a district landmark and an urban landmark A district landmark is closely connected with physical attributes of the landmark itself, such as distance, size and height. An urban landmark is mainly related to cognitive attributes such as the image and identity of a city as a whole. As a result, the landmark analysis data in this research provides spatial order and identity in a city. It is difficult to establish and reinforce the image of a city as a single element ike a landmark. However, withy steady follow-up research, this study could be seen as a systematic and logical model to improve urban landscape and image.

An analysis of direct financial compensation of hospital personnel in Korea (병원의 직종별 임금수준에 관한 연구)

  • 홍상진;김한중
    • Health Policy and Management
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    • v.8 no.1
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    • pp.15-51
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    • 1998
  • compensation is a major function of human resources management. The hospital industry is characterized by its remarkable labor intensity and human resource input by unit. That is why the hospital industry has a higher level of wage/cost ration. The issues of how much the hospital personnel's direct financial compensation amounts to and how the organizational and other factors generate compensation differentiation, are central problems for research in hospitals. But there have been few approaches to study staff compensation in hospitals, its magnitude and inter-hospital relative compensation amounts for the same personnel. A worker who moves from low-wage to a high-wage employer can usually increase his or her pay without change in job description. This means in the cases of same jobs, relative importance is different for each hospitals. The purpse of this study were to find the compensation levels of hospital personnel and to determine the factors affecting compensation levels of hospital personnel. The unit of analysis is the hospital and 145 hospitals were studied for nurse(RN), medical technoloist(MT), managerial personnel(MP) and 100 hospitals for medical doctor(MD). In this study the definitions of direct financial compensation are before tax, excluding employer's contriution and total annual remuneration received by the employee. Main findings of the research can be summarized as follows. 1. Direct financial compensation of hospital personnel are MD 45,056,000 won, RN 9,222,000 won, MT 9,513,000 won and MP 9,185,000 won in the starting year's employment in hospital. 2. According to determinants of hospital personnel compensations, there are no statistical significant variables to determine the level of MD's compensation. Wlith RN and MT's compensation level, the greater the patient revenue per 100 hospital beds, the higher the RN compensation and the tertiary hospital's compensation is much more than other types of hospitals. The location of hospital is another determinant factor for the MT's compensation level. Hospitals that are in the uban area have lower compensation level than rural area. There are the same results in MP with MT. Conclusions can be drawn from the results of the study. First, the wage differentiation of MD and other health personnel still remains and the differentiation existed in inter and intra job personnel of hospitals. Second, determinants of hospital personnel personnel compensation level are patient revenue, location, and type of hospital level.

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Cell characterization and Nitric Oxide Synthase in the Centeral Nervous System of the Rainbow Trout(Oncorhynchus mykiss) (무지개 송어(Oncorhynchus mykiss) 중추신경계(CNS)에 있어서 세포특징과 Nitric Oxide Synthase)

  • Jang, Seon-Il;Choi, Min-Soon;Kim, Young-Gill
    • Journal of fish pathology
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    • v.7 no.1
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    • pp.63-70
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    • 1994
  • Nitric oxide(NO) has recently been shown to play an important role on central nervous system(CNS) function in mammals. It is synthesized from L-arginine by the enzyme NO synthase. In this study, we examined this enzyme's existence in CNS of rainbow trout(Oncorhynchus mykiss) and described the forms of microglia. astrocytes. and oligodendrocytes. Two forms of microglia are distributed in CNS. one resembling their mammalian counterpart(large microglia : LM). and the other comprising small microglia(SM) with very little cytoplasm. CNS contained astrocytes of a distinct type which form reticular network, but lack connections to capillaries. The oligodendrocyte was generally a much denser cell than the astrocyte. We have detected NOS($1.04{\pm}0.12\;pg/min/mg$) from rainbow trout CNS. It could be inhibited reversibly or irreversibly by $N^{G}MMA$ and EGTA. These result suggest that the formation of NO from L-arginine in CNS is calcium-dependent and a pathway of early evolutionary orgin.

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Effect of Acupuncture(PC6) on Behavior, Dopamine Release in the Nucleus Accumbens in Rats Sensitized to Morphine (몰핀에 민감화된 흰쥐의 내관부위 자침이 행동과 측핵의 도파민 유리에 미치는 효과)

  • Kim, Sang-Ho;Lyu, Seung-Jun;Kim, Tae-Heon;Kang, Hyung-Won;Lyu, Yeoung-Su
    • Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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    • v.19 no.4
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    • pp.982-992
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    • 2005
  • Acupuncture as a therapeutic intervention is widely used for the treatment of many functional disorders such as substance abuse and mental dysfunction. Clinical trials are currently underway to determine the effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of drug addiction. Yet, there are still many unanswered questions about the basic mechanism of acupuncture. Studies have shown that both the psychomotor stimulant effects and rewarding properties of addictive drugs, including morphine, are sensitized by repeated drug administration and raised the possibility that both of these effects may De linked to the same or closely overlapping the mesolimbic dopamine systems. Neiguan (PC6) point on the pericardium channel which is associated with the brain and its mental function, has been used to treat mental, psychosomatic disorders and gastroenterological disorders. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of acupuncture on repeated morphine-induced changes in extracellular dopamine levels using in vivo microdialysis and to measure the effect of acupuncture on repeated morphine-induced behavioral changes. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated twice a day for three days with increasing doses of morphine (10, 20 and 40 mg/kg, s.c.) or with saline. After 15 days of withdrawal, rats were challenged with morphine hydrochloride (5 mg/kg, s.c.). Acupuncture was applied at bilateral Neiguan (PC6) points for 1min after the morphine challenge. Results showed that acupuncture at the specific acupoint PC6, but not at control points (tail and HE8) significantly decreased both dopamine release, behavior induced by a systemic morphine challenge or a single s.c. morphine injection in the morphine-repeated animals. These results suggest that reduction in sensitization may be one mechanism whereby acupuncture alleviates morphine craving in addicts. Moreover, in a more general sense these results suggest that acupuncture can be used as a therapeutic intervention for correcting reversible malfunction of the body by direction of brain pathway and thus acupuncture can contribute to the biochemical balance in the central nervous system by regulating neurotransmitters.

Characteristics of Long-term Variability of the Net Heat Flux on the Sea Surface in the East Asian Marginal Seas (동아시아 해역 해수면 순열속의 장기 변동 특성)

  • Lee, Seong-Wook;Na, Jung-Yul
    • The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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    • v.5 no.2
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    • pp.86-94
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    • 2000
  • In order to extract the spatio-temporal characteristics of long-term variability of the net heat flux on the sea surface in the East Asian marginal seas, empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis was conducted using data set calculated every 12 hours interval during 1978-1995. Among the first three modes explaining 73% of the total variance, the first mode having high peak at 1 year period indicates high variability area around the Sandong Peninsula and central and northeastern part of the East Sea. In the second mode which has spatial distribution of dipole type at the north and south, the peaks appear at 3.6 year and 2.3 year cycles. Time coefficient of the second EOF is believed to have close relation with the E1 Nino and has out-of-phase variation with NINO3 SST. Lagged correlation between NINO3 SST and time coefficient of the second EOF indicates four month time delay in the NINO3 SST. In the third mode which has opposite sign at the east and west, the periodicity of 6-9 year cycle has relatively clear appearance compared to other two EOFs. Also, high heat loss exceeding 800 W/$m^{2}$ in winter time occured at the south part of the Sandong Peninsula and Vladivostok. It reveals more frequent occurrence of about two times at the Sandong Peninsula than Vladivostok. The event is concentrated in January at Vladivostok, but it occurs primarily in December and January at the Sandong Peninsula.

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fMRI evidence of compensatory mechanisms during a verbal working memory task in individuals with alcohol use disorders (알코올 사용 장애자의 언어 작업 기억과 관련된 뇌의 보상 기전: fMRI 연구)

  • Park, Mi-Suk;Son, Seon-Ju;Park, Ji-Eun;Eum, Yeong-Ji;Kim, Suk-Hui;Yu, In-Gyu;Son, Jin-Hun
    • Proceedings of the Korean Society for Emotion and Sensibility Conference
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    • 2009.05a
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    • pp.101-104
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    • 2009
  • This study investigated compensatory mechanisms in the brain during a verbal working memory task among people with Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD). A total of 21 college male students participated in the study: eleven AUD participants and 10 normal controls. Study participants were asked to complete the Korean version of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (K-WAIS-III) prior to the fMRI experiment. Verbal 0-back and 2-back tasks were used to assess brain activities of the participants' verbal working memory. Brain scanning was performed on Siemens SONATA 1.5T Scanner while participants were performing the 0-back and 2-back tasks. Within the AUD group, participants with greater dependency to alcohol (based on DSM-IV criteria) in the past 1 year showed lower mean score on the 'Similarities' of the K-WAIS-III (r=-0.63, p<0.05, N=11). The more participants experienced alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the past 1 year, the lower the score they received on the K-WAIS-III 'Picture Arrangement' (r=-0.69, p<0.05, n=11). The fMRI regression results showed that individuals who present greater degree of alcohol dependency symptoms are likely to show greater brain activation in the bilateral middle frontal gyri (BA 9) during the verbal working memory task. The degree of alcohol withdrawal symptoms were associated with increased brain activation in the left superior and middle frontal gyri (BA8), left precentral gyrus (BA 6), and left inferior parietal lobule (BA 40). The study findings showed that the degree of alcohol abuse/dependence and withdrawal symptoms were associated with decreased cognitive function and increased activations in brain regions particularly important for abstract reasoning (BA 9), central executive (BA 9), or spatial storage (BA 40) during a working memory task. Therefore, these results could support previous studies suggesting that the neural system of people with ADD may adopt a brain compensatory mechanism to maintain normal level of cognitive functions.

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