• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.12 no.11
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• pp.359-369
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• 2021

In this study, a complex sample logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the factors affecting the activity restriction of 2,701 normal elderly and chronically ill elderly aged 65 and over using raw data from the 8th period of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. It was found that the elderly with chronic disease felt more restricted in their activities than the normal elderly. Activity limiting factors in stroke and hypertension patients are subjective health status, economic level, stress perception, and moderate-intensity work and leisure. The factors limiting activity in patients with heart disease were subjective health status and economic level, and factors limiting activity in patients with joint disease were subjective health status and high-intensity work and leisure. Activity limiting factors for lung disease patients are education level, high intensity work and leisure, and endocrine system activity limiting factors include subjective health status, stress perception, high intensity work and leisure, and activity limiting factors for cancer patients. is subjective health status, stress perception, moderate-intensity work and high-intensity leisure. Rehabilitation programs and policy support are needed for the continuous participation of the elderly with chronic diseases.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.442-451
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• 2021

Microplastics are fragments of any type of plastic with a size less than 5 mm. Ocean pollution by microplastics is now a worldwide concern in relation to marine ecosystems and human health. The widespread contamination by microplastics means that they can be ingested by and accumulated in diverse species of wildlife, such as fish, mussels, oysters, clams, and scallops. Once ingested, the microplastics can be observed in the intestines, liver, and kidney, and even in the brain. Seafood is one of the major sources of protein intake in humans; therefore, seafood consumption could be pathway for human microplastics exposure. Accumulating evidence indicates that repeated oral exposure to microplastics induces pathologic and functional changes in the reproductive, cardiac, gastrointestinal, endocrine, and even nervous systems of rodents. Maternal exposure to microplastics during gestation and lactation alters metabolic homeostasis in the offspring. Given that seafood provides more than 20% of the total protein intake by over 310 million people worldwide, a reasonable assumption is that microplastics could be substantially accumulated in the human body and impair physiological function. In this review, we have summarized the current status of microplastics contamination in the ocean, their accumulation and toxicities in marine animals and rodents, their exposure to humans, and their potential impacts on human health.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.504-512
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• 2021

Sperm formation disorders and sperm quality degradation comprises the largest proportion of male infertility caused by TCDD. To solve this problem, this study examined the effects of Gobonyangjeonbang oriental medicine prescription on the endocrine function and reproductive toxicity-related indicators in rat-induced TCDD-induced reproductive. Male SD rats were divided into five groups of seven animals and tested. The normal control group was administered the vehicle and saline, the TCDD alone group was administered intraperitoneally with TCDD (2 ㎍/kg, weeks) and physiological saline, and the test group was administered orally by dividing GYB (75, 150, and 300 mg/kg) into three concentrations for six weeks. Weight loss was observed in all groups administered TCDD. Regarding the hormonal changes, a significant decrease in free testosterone was observed in the GYB 300 mg/kg group (p<0.01). In addition, some of the germ cell destruction, seminiferous tubular atrophy, and decrease in sperm count was improved in a concentration-dependent manner in the testicular tissue of the GYB-treated group. In addition, Johnsen's score and serotoli cell index (SCI) were improved in a concentration-dependent manner (p<0.05). Overall, GYB can be used in drug therapy rather than medical procedures to solve male infertility in the future.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.11
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• pp.1037-1045
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• 2021

The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide, and since obesity is associated with dietary factors and sedentary lifestyles, it is a disease that is readily developing in the modern population. Because obesity is accompanied by serious complications such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, prevention and treatment are important. Currently, drugs such as liraglutide and phentermine are used to treat obesity by suppressing appetite and inducing gastrointestinal motility delay. However, various side effects may occur, including thyroid cancer, cardiovascular problems, and central nervous system disorders. Therefore, to explore an obesity treatment method with relatively few side effects, a method known as "fat browning" was introduced to change white adipose tissue into brown adipose tissue to increase energy consumption. Ongoing studies are attempting to find effective natural substances to safely induce browning. Many natural substances have been identified. The induction of browning by treatment with natural substances generally involves three mechanisms: positive control of browning-inducing factors, inhibition of differentiation into white adipose tissue, and the activation of mechanisms related to browning. In this study, we describe plant extracts with known browning-inducing effects, such as strawberry, black raspberry, cinnamomum cassia, and Ecklonia stolonifera extracts. We also summarize the underlying mechanisms of action identified thus far, including the signaling pathway mediated by these extracts to induce browning. Furthermore, the effects of brown adipose tissue generated through browning on heart disease as an endocrine organ disruptor are discussed.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.101-108
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• 2022

Because of their specificity to target insects and relatively low toxicity to non-target organisms, insect growth regulators (IGRs) have been regarded as attractive alternatives to chemical insecticides. Commercially available IGRs are classified into juvenile hormone agonists (JHAs), ecdysone agonists (EAs), and chitin synthesis inhibitors (CSIs) according to their mode of action. Recently, JH-mediated interaction of methoprene-tolerant (Met), which is JH receptor, and its binding partners have been replicated in vitro using yeast cells transformed with the Met and FISC/CYC genes of A. aegypti. Using this in vitro yeast two-hybrid β-galactosidase assay, juvenile hormone antagonists (JHANs) have been identified from various sources including chemical libraries, plants, and microorganisms. As juvenile hormone (JH) is an insect specific hormone and regulates development, reproduction, diapause and other physiological processes, JHANs fatally disrupt the endocrine signals, which result in abnormal development and larval death. These results suggested that JHANs could be efficiently applied as IGR insecticides with a broad insecticidal spectrum. This review discuses JH signaling pathway mediated by Met and future prospects of JHANs as environmentally benign IGR insecticides.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.109-115
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• 2022

Vitellogenesis is the process by which yolk accumulates in developing oocytes. The initiation of vitellogenesis represents an important control point in oogenesis. When females of the model insect Drosophila melanogaster molt to become adults, their ovaries lack mature vitellogenic oocytes, only producing them after reproductive maturation. After maturation, vitellogenesis stops until a mating signal re-activates it. Juvenile hormone (JH) from the endocrine organ known as the corpora allata (CA) is the major insect gonadotropin that stimulates vitellogenesis, and the seminal protein sex peptide (SP) has long been implicated as a mating signal that stimulates JH biosynthesis. In this review, we discuss our new findings that explain how the nervous system gates JH biosynthesis and vitellogenesis associated with reproductive maturation and the SP-induced post-mating response. Mated females exhibit diurnal rhythmicity in oogenesis. A subset of brain circadian pacemaker neurons produce Allatostatin C (AstC) to generate a circadian oogenesis rhythm by indirectly regulating JH and vitellogenesis through the brain insulin-producing cells. We also discuss genetic evidence that supports this model and future research directions.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.275-281
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• 2008

Endocrine disrupting chemiclas (EDCs) such as bisphenol A (BPA) and nonylphenol (NP) have estrogenic activity and can alter reproduction in fish. In the present study, the effects of BPA and NP on in vitro steroid production from oocytes of maturation stage (oocyte diameter$\fallingdotseq$1.88 mm) from the greenling (Hexagrammos agrammus) were evaluated. Oocytes were incubated with different concentrations of BPA and NP (0.1, 1, 10, 100 and 1,000 ng/$m{\ell}$) in the presence or absence of 50 IU human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) for 48 hours. After incubation, levels of $17{\alpha},\;20{\beta}$-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one ($17{\alpha}20{\beta}OHP$), estradiol-$17{\beta}(E_2)$ and testosterone (T) from incubated media were quantified by radioimmunoassay (RIA). In BPA treatment, 100 ng/$m{\ell}$ of BPA stimulated $E_2$ production regardless HCG supplement. Every concentration of BPA inhibited T production without HCG although 0.1 ng/$m{\ell}$ of BPA stimulated T production with HCG. In NP treatment, 10 ng/$m{\ell}$ of NP stimulated $17{\alpha}20{\beta}OHP$ and T production without HCG. 1 ng/$m{\ell}$ of NP inhibited $E_2$ production. Taken toghther, these results suggest that BPA might have weak estrogen-agonistic effect and NP has estrogenantagonistic effect at final oocyte maturation stage of H. agrammus.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.37-42
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• 2022

Purpose Since 1985, the Korean society of nuclear medicine technology (KSNMT) has been engaged in academic activities related to nuclear medicine imaging. From 2017 to 2021, the papers published in the journal were classified by the specific fields to examine the trends in the research and the direction of nuclear medicine in comparison with the papers submitted to the Korean Society of Nuclear Medicine (KSNM) during the same period. Materials and Methods From 2017 to 2021, papers submitted to KSNMT and KSNM were classified and databaseization using the Excel program by submission type, examination equipment, and examination field. Through this data, the number of papers published in journals by year, the number of papers submitted by detailed fields, and key words by era were analyzed and compared. Results The papers included by journal was 57 KSNMT and 280 KSNM. The major large classification of equipment, PET, Planar and SPECT was 26.3%, 21.1%, 19.3% in the KSNMT, KSNM was 49.6%, 6.4%, and 9.3%, with 66.7% and 65.3%, respectively. the major medium classification of equipment, industrial safety, urogenital system, nervous system, and quality control accounted for 54.4% of the total papers of the total ratio in the KSNMT, while the medium classification of oncology, endocrine system, urogenital system, therapy, and nervous system accounted for 61.1% of KSNM. In the major small classification of image acquisition, improvement effect, and exposure management accounted for 70.2% in KSNMT, while the items of image acquisition, report, and improvement effect accounted for 60.7% in KSNM. The major keywords except for equipment-related keywords such as PET/CT, PET/MR, and SPECT were SUV, Planar Image, and Respiration Gating Method in KSNMT and Ga68, Thyroid, and Lymphoma in the KSNM. Conclusion When checking the last 5 years of submissions, we can see that KSNMT is mainly concerned with image acquisition using existing radiotracers, while KSNM has focused on new radiotracers such as ⁶⁸Ga, ¹⁷⁷Lu, etc., and new medical technologies of theranostic. It has been confirmed that more PET-related papers than other examination equipment will account for a greater number of papers, and it is believed that future submissions will also account for a higher proportion of PET-related papers than other equipment.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.252-257
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• 2023

In this study, to replace phthalate-based plasticizers known as endocrine disruptors, compounds as plasticizer candidates were synthesized by using alcohols containing rings and fatty acids extracted from animal and vegetable oils, and their properties as plasticizers, including their plasticization efficiency, were evaluated. Nine compounds synthesized by esterification of fatty acids (caprylic acid, capric acid, lauric acid) and alcohols (solketal, benzyl alcohol, cyclohexanol) were identified by ¹H-NMR. The nine synthetic compounds were evaluated for their plasticity by adding them to PVC resin, and compared with the commercial plasticizers DEHP, DINCH, and ESO. According to the results, plasticization efficiency was 0.96 to 1.02 times higher than DEHP, 0.94 to 0.98 times higher than ESO, and 1.05 to 1.10 times higher than DINCH. Thermal stability was somewhat lower than that of DEHP and DINCH, but showed better results than ESO. The results of the solvent extraction test showed that both aqueous and oily solvents showed higher values than DEHP and DINCH but showed similar or superior properties to ESO.

• 한국노년학
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.645-656
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to address the current status of hospital-based home care(HBHC). We analyzed the data on HBHC from national electronic data information of Health Insurance Review Agency. Beside, we surveyed 75 hospital-based home care agency. In 2006, 20,343 elderly(64.0% from all HBHC user) used 333,889 visits(76.8%from all visits). Medical diagnosis was composed of circulatory disease including cerebrovascular diseases 41.3%, endocrine system disease including Diabetes mellitus 10.4%, neoplasm 9.7%. Some of subjects used HBHC in excess of maximum covered 8 visits a month by National Health Insurance, decubitus 7.0%, the cancer 5.4%, the diabetes 2.5%, the hypertension 1.1%, and the stroke 0.9%. This results will contribute to expand the coverage of hospital-based home care by National Health Insurance. There was distribution difference in medical diagnosis and nursing intervention between HBHC and Public health center-based home care(PBHC) subjects. Therefore, HBHC subjects had more severe medical diagnosis, and were intervened more injections, examinations, than PBHC subjects. These differences must be considered to set up functional role among the three types of home visit care.