• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.226-238
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• 2021

Purpose: Although several reports have described the relationship between periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease, information about the association between periodontal disease and the progression of degenerative aortic stenosis (AS) is lacking. Therefore, we performed a retrospective, single-center, pilot study to provide insight into this potential association. Methods: Data from 45 consecutive patients (19 men; median age, 83 years) with mild or moderate degenerative aortic stenosis were analyzed for a mean observation period of 3.3±1.9 years. The total amount of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and Porphyromonas gingivalis and titers of serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) against periodontal bacteria and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were evaluated. Aortic valve area (AVA), maximal velocity (Vmax), mean pressure gradient (mean PG), and the Doppler velocity index (DVI) were evaluated. The change in each parameter per year ([Parameter_LATEST-Parameter_BASELINE]/Follow-up Years) was calculated from the retrospective follow-up echocardiographic data (baseline vs. the most recently collected data [latest]). Results: No correlation was found between the concentration of periodontopathic bacteria in the saliva and AS status/progression. The anti-P. gingivalis antibody titer in the serum showed a significant positive correlation with AVA and DVI. Additionally, there was a negative correlation between the anti-P. gingivalis IgG antibody titer and mean PG. The hs-CRP concentration showed positive correlations with Vmax and mean PG. Meanwhile, a negative correlation was observed between the anti-P. gingivalis IgG antibody titer and ΔAVA/year and Δmean PG/year. The hs-CRP concentration showed positive correlations with Vmax and mean PG, and it was significantly higher in patients with rapid aortic stenosis progression (ΔAVA/year <-0.1) than in their counterparts. Conclusions: Our results suggest that periodontopathic bacteria such as A. actinomycetemcomitans and P. gingivalis are not directly related to the status/progression of degenerative AS. However, inflammation and a lower immune response may be associated with disease progression.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.2060-2077
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• 2019

Recently, mobile healthcare services have attracted significant attention because of the emerging development and supply of diverse wearable devices. Smartwatches and health bands are the most common type of mobile-based wearable devices and their market size is increasing considerably. However, simple value comparisons based on accumulated data have revealed certain problems, such as the standardized nature of health management and the lack of personalized health management service models. The convergence of information technology (IT) and biotechnology (BT) has shifted the medical paradigm from continuous health management and disease prevention to the development of a system that can be used to provide ground-based medical services regardless of the user's location. Moreover, the IT-BT convergence has necessitated the development of lifestyle improvement models and services that utilize big data analysis and machine learning to provide mobile healthcare-based personal health management and disease prevention information. Users' health data, which are specific as they change over time, are collected by different means according to the users' lifestyle and surrounding circumstances. In this paper, we propose a prediction model of user physical activity that uses data characteristics-based long short-term memory (DC-LSTM) recurrent neural networks (RNNs). To provide personalized services, the characteristics and surrounding circumstances of data collectable from mobile host devices were considered in the selection of variables for the model. The data characteristics considered were ease of collection, which represents whether or not variables are collectable, and frequency of occurrence, which represents whether or not changes made to input values constitute significant variables in terms of activity. The variables selected for providing personalized services were activity, weather, temperature, mean daily temperature, humidity, UV, fine dust, asthma and lung disease probability index, skin disease probability index, cadence, travel distance, mean heart rate, and sleep hours. The selected variables were classified according to the data characteristics. To predict activity, an LSTM RNN was built that uses the classified variables as input data and learns the dynamic characteristics of time series data. LSTM RNNs resolve the vanishing gradient problem that occurs in existing RNNs. They are classified into three different types according to data characteristics and constructed through connections among the LSTMs. The constructed neural network learns training data and predicts user activity. To evaluate the proposed model, the root mean square error (RMSE) was used in the performance evaluation of the user physical activity prediction method for which an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model, a convolutional neural network (CNN), and an RNN were used. The results show that the proposed DC-LSTM RNN method yields an excellent mean RMSE value of 0.616. The proposed method is used for predicting significant activity considering the surrounding circumstances and user status utilizing the existing standardized activity prediction services. It can also be used to predict user physical activity and provide personalized healthcare based on the data collectable from mobile host devices.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.1899-1909
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• 2015

Glaucoma is one of the most common causes of blindness which is caused by increase of fluid pressure in the eye which damages the optic nerve and eventually causing vision loss. An automated technique to diagnose glaucoma disease can reduce the physicians’ effort in screening of Glaucoma in a person through the fundal retinal images. In this paper, optimal hyper analytic wavelet transform for Glaucoma detection technique from fundal retinal images is proposed. The optimal coefficients for transformation process are found out using the hybrid GSO-Cuckoo search algorithm. This technique consists of pre-processing module, optimal transformation module, feature extraction module and classification module. The implementation is carried out with MATLAB and the evaluation metrics employed are accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. Comparative analysis is carried out by comparing the hybrid GSO with the conventional GSO. The results reported in our paper show that the proposed technique has performed well and has achieved good evaluation metric values. Two 10- fold cross validated test runs are performed, yielding an average fitness of 91.13% and 96.2% accuracy with CGD-BPN (Conjugate Gradient Descent- Back Propagation Network) and Support Vector Machines (SVM) respectively. The techniques also gives high sensitivity and specificity values. The attained high evaluation metric values show the efficiency of detecting Glaucoma by the proposed technique.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.42-48
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• 2015

Lactuca raddeana (Compositae) is used to treat obesity and complications due to diabetes. The five phenolic compounds including chlorogenic acid, chicoric acid, luteolin 7-O-glucoside, luteolin 7-O-glucuronide, luteolin were qualitatively identified by LC-ESI-MS analysis. The contents were quantitatively determined by HPLC, under the condition of a Capcell Pak C18 column ($5{\mu}m$, $250mm{\times}4.6mm\;i.d.$) and a gradient elution of 0.05% trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and 0.05% TFA in $MeOH-H_2O$ (60 : 40). The contents of chicoric acid (100.99 mg/g extract) and luteolin 7-O-glucoside (101. 69 mg/g extract) were high, while those of other three phenolic substances were very low. The 3T3-L1 adipocyte cells treated with chicoric acid and luteolin 7-O-glucuronide significantly suppressed the accumulation of fat, suggesting they are effective against obesity. Since high level of peroxynitrite (ONOO) causes cardiovascular disease in obese patients, its scavenging activity was also studied.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.836-845
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• 2005

Atherosclerosis, which is a degenerative vascular disease, is believed to occur in the blood vessels due to deposition of cholesterol or low density lipoprotein (LDL). Atherosclerotic lumen narrowing causes reduction of blood flow due to hemodynamic features. Several hypothetical theories related to the hemodynamic effects have been reported : high shear stress theory, low shear stress theory, high shear stress gradient theory, flow separation and turbulence theory, and high pressure theory. However, no one theory clearly explains, the causes of atherosclerosis. The objective of the present study was to investigate the mechanism of the generation of atherosclerosis. In the study, the database of Korean carotid and coronary arteries for geometrical and hemodynamic clinical data was established. The atherosclerotic sites were predicted by the computer simulations. The results of the computer simulation were compared with the in vivo experimental results, and then the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis by using the clinical data and several hypothetical theories were investigated. From the investigation, it was concluded carefully that the mechanism of the generation of atherosclerosis was related to the hemodynamic effects such as flow separation and oscillatory wall shear stress on the vessel walls.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.394-398
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• 2001

Because of the great concern over the possibility of contamination from the rod-shaped nuclear virus (PRDV) from Japan and white spot virus (WSSV) from Taiwan, most eggs used in Korean shrimp farms are currently obtained from local broodstock. In addition, the screening of imported broodstock for any viral presence at the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute is also mandatory. Nonetheless, massive mortality from white spot syndrome continues in Korea. In the present study, we present an improved PCR method to use tissue-extracted DNA instead of viral DNA extracted from a purified virus based on a sucrose density gradient, and produced results within 8 h. In 1998, this modified PCR method was able to detect that diseased Penaeus japonicus were infected within 8 h. In 1998, this modified PCR method was able to detect that diseased Penaeus japonicus were infected only with PRDV, while Fenneropenaeus chinensis were infected with both PRDV and WSSV. In 1999, PRDV and WSSV were detected in F. chinensis with signs of infection, but not with WSSV alone.

• Proceedings of the KOSOMBE Conference
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• v.1997 no.05
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• pp.116-118
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• 1997

In hippocampal morphology Abnormalities, including unilateral or bilateral volume loss, are known to occur in epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, and in certain amnestic syndromes. To detect such abnormalities in hippocampal morphology, we present a method that combines region growing and dynamic contour model to detect hippocampus from MRI brain data. The segmentation process is performed two steps. First region growing with a seed point is performed in the region of hippocampus and the initial contour of dynamic contour model is obtained. Second, the initial contour is modified on the basis of criteria that integrate energy with contour smoothness and the image gradient along the contour. As a result, this method improves fairly sensitivity to the choice of the initial seed point, which is often seen by conventional contour model. The power and practicality of this method have been tested on two brain datasets. Thus, we have developed an effective algorithm to extract hippocampus from MRI brain data.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.481-487
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• 1978

Seventeen patients of the congenital pulmenic stenosis were operated at the department of Thoracic Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital. There were thirteen male and four females, and ranging from six to thirty years of age. And it's incidence was 2.7% of congenital heart disease cases that were operated on. (Total 628) Seven case of trilogy of Fallot were excluded. Two cases of bacterial endocarditis were found. Right heart catheterization was done in all patients. Average right ventricular pressure was $121{\pm}35.8$mmHg, pulmonary artery $20{\pm}6.8$mmHg, and RV-PA pressure gradient $98{\pm}34.5$mmHg. The preoperative average time interval of A2-P2 which was checked at phonocardiography was $0.08{\pm}0.016$second, and was reduced to $0.03{\pm}0.009$second postoperatively. One was operated by Varco's procedure, another one was done by Brock's procedure, and fifteen patients were done by open heart surgery with heart-lung machine. Pure valvular stenosis was found in sixteen and infundibular stenosis in one case. And the combining anormalies were two patent ductus arteriosus, two patent foramen ovale, and one tricuspid valve hypoplasia. Two expired postoperatively at the begining stage of cardiac surgery in this Department. The remaining fifteen showed excellent operative results.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.169-177
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to identify blood pressure, interdialytic weight gain, thirst and intradialytic discomfort in subjects after applying individual low-sodium dialysis fluid (1,2,3 mEq/L) to hemodialysis patients for 12 weeks. Methods: This study was a non-equivalent pre-post design. For 12 weeks, dialysate concentration was maintained at 1 mEq/L or 2 mEq/L or 3 mEq/L based on average sodium concentration of each individual, and the difference was compared after applying individually. Results: Change in blood pressure significantly decreased in the group where in pre-hemodialysis systolic pressure decreased the gradient of sodium concentration in serum sodium and dialysis solution by 2mEq/L. Interdialytic weight gain, and thirst showed significant decrease in all three groups. But in all three groups, intradialytic discomfort among dialysis showed no significant changes. Conclusion: Although application of low sodium dialysis fluid showed no change in intradialytic discomfort, lowered blood pressure, thirst, and interdialytic weight gain, which could be used for individual showing increased interdialytic weight gain and increased blood pressure. There is need for continued study on this.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.2.1-2.10
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• 2021

BRAF inhibitors (e.g., vemurafenib) are widely used to treat metastatic melanoma with the BRAF V600E mutation. The initial response is often dramatic, but treatment resistance leads to disease progression in the majority of cases. Although secondary mutations in the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway are known to be responsible for this phenomenon, the molecular mechanisms governing acquired resistance are not known in more than half of patients. Here we report a genome- and transcriptome-wide study investigating the molecular mechanisms of acquired resistance to BRAF inhibitors. A microfluidic chip with a concentration gradient of vemurafenib was utilized to rapidly obtain therapy-resistant clones from two melanoma cell lines with the BRAF V600E mutation (A375 and SK-MEL-28). Exome and transcriptome data were produced from 13 resistant clones and analyzed to identify secondary mutations and gene expression changes. Various mechanisms, including phenotype switching and metabolic reprogramming, have been determined to contribute to resistance development differently for each clone. The roles of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor, the master transcription factor in melanocyte differentiation/dedifferentiation, were highlighted in terms of phenotype switching. Our study provides an omics-based comprehensive overview of the molecular mechanisms governing acquired resistance to BRAF inhibitor therapy.