• Journal of International Academy of Physical Therapy Research
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.1591-1595
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• 2018

The number of healthy older adults is rapidly increasing recently owing to the increase of the elderly population. Therefore, programs for improving the cognitive functions of these healthy seniors are actively being expanded. This study aimed to prevent the decline of cognitive function due to aging by applying a program enhancing cognitive functions to healthy older adults. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of Korean computer-based cognitive rehabilitation program (CoTras), which is commonly used in cognitive therapy for the aging, on the memory of the elderly. The subjects had scored at least 24 points in MMSE-K. CoTras was applied once a week (30 minutes) for one month. Electronic pegboard programs were used as an evaluation tool: order memory (difficulty=low) and location memory (difficulty=medium). The order and location memories were compared before and after the intervention. The Wilcoxon signed rank-sum test was used for the study at the significance level of ${\alpha}=.05$. The results showed that CoTras significantly improved order memory and location memory. Therefore, CoTras can be applied to the healthy elderly for improving that memory improvement training has a positive impact on healthy older adults result in the development of memory enhancement programs can be expanded in the future.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.1307-1314
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• 2015

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is a member of the IL-6 cytokine family, having pleiotropic actions such as maintaining stem cell pluripotency and enabling blastocyst implantation. Because the action of LIF is mediated by a ligand-receptor interaction with the LIF receptor (LIF-R), an antagonist for LIF-R has been developed to inhibit LIF-induced signaling. In this study, we present a novel method for the production and purification of an antagonist to human LIF-R (hLA). His-tagged hLA was expressed in E. coli, and simple purification methods without any endopeptidase cleavage were designed. In addition, we determined the optimal temperature conditions for enhancing the production of soluble hLA. Finally, the bioactivity of His-tagged hLA was examined using STAT3 phosphorylation and receptivity of human endometrial ECC-1 cells. Our strategy provides a rapid and efficient method to produce biologically active recombinant hLA.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.655-671
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• 2021

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: While plate waste has been widely investigated in hospitals, there have been minimal studies specific to the texture-modified diet (TMD). This study aims to determine the percentage of plate waste among patients prescribed with TMD and its contributory factors. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This was a single-centre study conducted in the university hospital on three types of TMD (blended diet, mixed porridge, minced diet) during lunch and dinner meals. Weighing method and visual estimation method assisted by digital photograph were adopted in this study. Face to face interview was carried out to investigate on 1) the food/food service quality factors in terms of patients' satisfaction level towards sensorial quality of food and food services provided and 2) the clinical/external factors including appetite, the provision of oral nutrition support, time taking the diet, the need for feeding assistance and the length of hospital stay. RESULTS: The mean percentage of overall plate waste of 95 patients receiving TMD was high (47.5%). Blended diet was identified as the most wasted diet (65%) followed by minced diet (56%) and mixed porridge (35%). Satisfaction level among patients was moderate. Patients on TMD in general had higher satisfaction level on the aspect of food service as compared to food quality. Substantial association between sensorial qualities of food and plate waste were varied according to individual TMD type. A multiple linear regression showed that only the satisfaction level toward the aspects of appearance and variety of foods were the predictors of TMD plate waste (R² = 0.254, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: A significant relationship between the percentage of plate waste and the overall satisfaction level of patients receiving TMD suggests that vigorous strategies are needed to reduce the food waste of TMD which will lead to a better nutritional status and clinical outcomes among the patients.

• KIEAE Journal
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.119-127
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• 2011

The aging population has been increasing in Korea so that it is difficult for people to understand the change of the future society. This study aimed to analyze the characteristics of preliminary retiree's alternative housing preference by providing an accurate information about residential current issues and the seriousness brought by the aging society. It explained the visual information about the aspect of the residential change due to the aging society to 104 preliminary retirees who live in the apartment in Seoul. It surveyed the characteristics of the alternative housing preference following 4 situations of the Old age type(couple/healthy, couple/ill, single/healthy, single/ill). It analyzed the difference of housing preference before and after providing information. The results are as follows: First, a previous apartment is not enough to prepare the aging society and UIBS(unit insertion building system) for the elderly was expected to be a great help to the frail after 2026. Second, the preference of UIBS was increased after providing information of the aging society. Third, in the case of the illness, a big city with medical facilities was preferred not to move in the suburb. Fourth, after providing information, a small size of apartment was preferred but the preferred change of housing ownership was not founded. Last, there was considerable difference before and after providing information under 4 situation of Old age type. These results showed the feasibility of coping with more accurate future society only if a survey should be taken with providing sufficient information about the aging society.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.99-107
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• 2009

In view of the hypothesis that the effects of Parkinson disease on voice production can be detected before pharmacological intervention, the voice differences of patients with Idiopathic Parkinson's disease and a healthy aging group were diagnostically analyzed with the long term object of establishing, for clinical purposes, early disease-progression biomarkers. Fifteen patients with Idopathic Parkinson's disease (prior to pharmacological intervention) and a healthy control group of 15 were selected and every voice was recorded three times using praat (ver. 5022) with a headset mic. Relevant parameters - acoustic measure of /a/ phonation, F0 related parameters, MPT related parameters, articulatory ratio, VOT - were then analyzed by MANOVA. Significant differences were found in the F0 related (low F0, high F0, F0 range) and MPT related parameters. There were also significant differences in acoustic measurements (intensity, shimmer, HNR, jitter), AMR (/$t{\Lambda}$/,/$k{\Lambda}$/) and VOT (/ta/), The findings indicated that the voice production of patients with Idiopathic Parkinson's disease have normal pitch but bad quality. In particular, with slow articulatory ratios and VOT values, the tongue tip functioning of patients was lower than for the healthy group.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.232-252
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• 2004

Japan is experiencing a most rapidly aging demographic. Despite this, the overall morbidity has been increasing due to the proportion of aging population that has increased rapidly along with the proportion of lifestyle related diseases, such as： all types of cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, etc. As a result, the number of people requiring special care has become a serious problem. In response to these emerging health issues, the Strategic Planning force proposed the National Health Promotion Actualization Initiative in the 21st Century (“Healthy Japan 21”) so that it could be achieved by the year 2010. The policies should be conducted by providing adequately as well as with active participation and collaboration, effectively networking with the various organizations dealing with health issue. The Japanese Health Promotion Act passed by the National Assembly, 2001. As well as the many individuals that contributed to the development of this national health plan.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.222-228
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• 2020

Background: 20(S)-ginsenoside-Rg3 (C₄₂H₇₂O₁₃), a natural triterpenoid saponin, is extracted from red ginseng. The increasing use of 20(S)-ginsenoside Rg3 has raised product safety concerns. Methods: In acute toxicity, 20(S)-ginsenoside Rg3 was singly and orally administrated to Kunming mice and Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats at the maximum doses of 1600 mg/kg and 800 mg/kg, respectively. In the 26-week toxicity study, we used repeated oral administration of 20(S)-ginsenoside Rg3 in SD rats over 26 weeks at doses of 0, 20, 60, or 180 mg/kg. Moreover, a 4-week recovery period was scheduled to observe the persistence, delayed occurrence, and reversibility of toxic effects. Results: The result of acute toxicity shows that oral administration of 20(S)-ginsenoside Rg3 to mice and rats did not induce mortality or toxicity up to 1600 and 800 mg/kg, respectively. During a 26-week administration period and a 4-week withdrawal period (recovery period), there were no significant differences in clinical signs, body weight, food consumption, urinalysis parameters, biochemical and hematological values, or histopathological findings. Conclusion: The mean oral lethal dose (LD₅₀) of 20(S)-ginsenoside Rg3, in acute toxicity, is above 1600 mg/kg and 800 mg/kg in mice and rats, respectively. In a repeated-dose 26-week oral toxicity study, the no-observed-adverse-effect level for female and male SD rats was 180 mg/kg.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.26-32
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• 2015

Objectives: Rheum undulatum L. has traditionally been used for the treatment of many diseases in Asia. However, its anti-proliferative activity in cancer has still not been studied. In the present study, we investigated the anti-cancer effects of methanol extract of Rheum undulatum L. (MERL) on human adenocarcinoma gastric cell lines (AGS). Methods: To investigate the anti-cancer effect of MERL on AGS cells, we treated the AGS cells with varying concentrations of MERL and performed 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays. Cell cycle analyses, measurements of the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), caspase activity assays and Western blots were conducted to determine whether AGS cell death occurred by apoptosis. Results: Treatment with MERL significantly inhibited growth of AGS cells in a concentration dependent manner. MERL treatment in AGS cells leaded to increased accumulation of apoptotic sub G1 phase cells in a concentration dependent manner. In control cultures, 5.38% of the cells were in the sub G1 phase. In MERL treated cells, however, this percentage was significantly increased (9.95% at $70{\mu}g/mL$, 15.94% at $140{\mu}g/mL$, 26.56% at $210{\mu}g/mL$ and 38.08% at $280{\mu}g/mL$). MERL treatment induced the decreased expression of pro-caspase-8 and -9 in a concentration dependent manner, whereas the expression of the active form of caspase-3 was increased. A subsequent Western blot analysis revealed increased cleaved levels of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) protein. Also, treatment with MERL increased the activities of caspase-3 and -9 compared with the control. MERL treatment increased the levels of the pro-apoptotic truncated Bid (tBid) and Bcl2 Antagonist X (Bax) proteins and decreased the levels of the anti-apoptotic B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) protein, whose is the stabilization of mitochondria. However, inhibitions of p38, extracellular signal regulated kinases (ERKs) and C-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK) by MERL treatment did not affect cell death. Conclusion: These results suggest that MERL mediated cell death is associated with an intrinsic apoptotic pathway in AGS cells.

• Proceedings of the SCSK Conference
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• 2003.09a
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• pp.387-412
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• 2003

Influence of gelatinase on basement membrane (BM) structure was investigated by using a skin equivalent (SE) model. The results showed that (1) gelatinase produced by cells degraded the BM and (2) the addition of matrix metalloproteinase-specific inhibitor to the SE medium accelerated the formation of BM structure, indicating that gelatinase is involved in BM impairment. The activity of gelatinase was also studied in healthy human facial skin tissues. The result of in situ zymography revealed gelatinase activity around the basal layer of the epidermis, where BM integrity was severely compromised. Therefore, this enzyme was suggested to be associated with BM decomposition in human facial skin. To assess the behavior of gelatinase in stratum corneum (SC) non-invasively, an immunological study was performed. Since positive immunostaining of pro-gelatinase B was observed in SC stripped from sun-exposed skin, whereas no positive staining detected in SC of non-irradiated skin, gelatinase in the epidermis could be non-invasively detected by measuring gelatinase in SC. Gelatinase in SC of healthy female volunteers was monitored using a special film that sensitively and conveniently detects gelatinase. Ninetr percent of SC from facial skin (l00 women, 40's-50's) was gelatinase-positive. On the other hand, SC from non-irradiated skin was negative. These results strongly suggest that (1) gelatinase is constantly produced in the facial epidermis of most middle-aged woman during their daily life, and (2) the enzyme might be involved in the aging-related degeneration of both BM and the matrix fibers of the upper layer of the dermis, acting as a very important aging factor. Strong inhibitory activity against gelatinase was found in turmeric extract and identified curcumin as the major ingredient. Topical application of cream containing turmeric extract significantly decreased the number of gelatinase-positive SC clusters in human facial skins. These results indicated that turmeric is an effective ingredient to prevent skin from photo aging by suppressing chlonically upregulated gelatinase activity by UV and to improve skin condition.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.79-86
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• 2023

Purpose : Aging is reflected on the face of women due to the depletion of collagen and hydration in the facial skin overtime. This study investigated the effect of multiple SONO^® ultrasound for a 4-week period on the skin health by measuring the skin elasticity and deeper skin elasticity in the tested women subjects. Methods : Twenty healthy women were recruited for this experiment. All the participants applied multiple ultrasound device (SONO^®) during this experiment. The SONO^® device was set to ANTI-AGING function and five power steps such as 1, 3, 10 and 17 MHz were used during this experiment, and directly contacted with the facial skin. Specifically, the probe was contacted with the entire face except for the nose and eyes for 10 min on each side of the face every day and repeated for 4 weeks. The skin elasticity and the elasticity of deeper skin were measured at three times (0, 2, 4 weeks) using a Ballistometer and dermal torque meter, respectively. The one way repeated ANOVA was used to compare the skin elasticity and the elasticity of deeper skin among three times (0, 2, 4 weeks). Results : The skin elasticity (p<.05) and elasticity of deeper skin (p<.05) were significantly increased at 2 weeks and 4 weeks of intervention compared to that at 0 weeks. For the skin elasticity, there was no significant difference between 2 and 4 weeks of intervention (p>.05). For the elasticity of deeper skin, it increased significantly at 4 weeks compared to 2 weeks of intervention (p<.05). Conclusion : These findings suggest that applying multiple SONO^® ultrasound to the facial skin of healthy women for 4 weeks, can increase the skin elasticity and elasticity of deeper skin by supporting epidermal hydration and dermal collagen production.