• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.137-148
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the computer monitors used for analysis and interpretation of digital radiographs within the clinics of the Oral Health Centre of Western Australia. Materials and Methods: In total, 135 computer monitors(3 brands, 6 models) were assessed by analysing the same radiographic image of a combined 13-step aluminium step wedge and the Artinis CDDent 1.0^® (Artinis Medical Systems B.V.^®, Elst, the Netherlands) test object. The number of steps and cylindrical objects observed on each monitor was recorded along with the monitor's make, model, position relative to the researcher's eye level, and proximity to the nearest window. The number of window panels blocked by blinds, the outside weather conditions, and the number of ceiling lights over the surgical suite/cubicle were also recorded. MedCalc^® version 19.2.1 (MedCalc Software Ltd^®, Ostend, Belgium, https://www.medcalc.org; 2020) was used for statistical analyses(Kruskal-Wallis test and stepwise regression analysis). The level of significance was set at P<0.05. Results: Stepwise regression analysis showed that only the monitor brand and proximity of the monitor to a window had a significant impact on the monitor's performance (P<0.05). The Kruskal-Wallis test showed significant differences (P<0.05) in monitor performance for all variables investigated, except for the weather and the clinic in which the monitors were placed. Conclusion: The vast performance variation present between computer monitors implies the need for a review of monitor selection, calibration, and viewing conditions.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.282-300
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to explore what social media posts tell us about family life during the COVID-19 pandemic by examining the keywords and topics underlying posts on blogs and online forums. Our criteria for web crawling were (a) blog and forum posts on Naver and Daum, the top portal sites in Korea, (b) posts between February 23 and April 19, 2020, the period of the first heightened social distancing orders, and (c) inclusion of "COVID" and "family" or "COVID" and "home." We analyzed 351,734 posts using TF-IDF values and topic modeling based on latent Dirichlet allocation. We identified and named 22 topics including COVID-19 prevention, family infection, family health, dietary life and changes, religious life, stuck at home, postponed school year, family events, travel and vacations, concerns about family and friends, anxiety and stress, disaster and damage, COVID-19 warning text messages, family support policies, Shin-cheon-ji and Daegu. The results show that COVID-19 impacted various domains of family life including health, food, housing, religion, child care, education, rituals, and leisure as well as relationships and emotions.

• CELLMED
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.14.1-14.9
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• 2021

Background: Cuscuta reflexa Roxb is a member of the Cuscutaceae family, and in Unani medicine, it is known as Aftimoon. It is a parasitic plant that can be found growing abundantly on various host plants in India up to 3000 metres in altitude during the rainy season. Unani physicians have been using it for years to cure a variety of illnesses, including psychiatric illnesses like melancholia, schizophrenia, and epilepsy. It has been used to cure hepatitis, palpitations, and skin disorders, among other things. Objective of the study: To evaluate anti-anxiety effect of Cuscuta reflexa Roxb in Swiss Albino mice of either sex. Materials and Methods: A total of 24 Swiss Albino mice weighing 25-35 g were used in this study. Animals were chosen at random and held in their cages for at least 7 days in a standard setting. Group A was given regular saline as a vehicle, Group B was given a hydro alcoholic extract of the lower dose of the test drug, Group C was given a hydro alcoholic extract of the higher dose of the test drug, and Group D was given the standard drug Diazepam 5 mg/kg orally. Aftimoon as hydro alcoholic extract (200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg body wt.) was given in single and double doses and observed for 7 days. Results: For each parameter in each category, mean and standard deviations were computed. For multiple group comparisons, a one-way ANOVA was used, followed by Turkey's post hoc test. (p<0.05) was used as the significance standard. Conclusion: These results advocate that the Aftimoon as double dose (400 mg/kg body wt.) revealed anti-anxiety effect similar to standard drug.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.167-174
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to classify TIFF images, PNG images, and JPEG images using deep learning, and to compare the accuracy by verifying the classification performance. The TIFF, PNG, and JPEG images converted from chest X-ray DICOM images were applied to five deep neural network models performed in image recognition and classification to compare classification performance. The data consisted of a total of 4,000 X-ray images, which were converted from DICOM images into 16-bit TIFF images and 8-bit PNG and JPEG images. The learning models are CNN models - VGG16, ResNet50, InceptionV3, DenseNet121, and EfficientNetB0. The accuracy of the five convolutional neural network models of TIFF images is 99.86%, 99.86%, 99.99%, 100%, and 99.89%. The accuracy of PNG images is 99.88%, 100%, 99.97%, 99.87%, and 100%. The accuracy of JPEG images is 100%, 100%, 99.96%, 99.89%, and 100%. Validation of classification performance using test data showed 100% in accuracy, precision, recall and F1 score. Our classification results show that when DICOM images are converted to TIFF, PNG, and JPEG images and learned through preprocessing, the learning works well in all formats. In medical imaging research using deep learning, the classification performance is not affected by converting DICOM images into any format.

• BMB Reports
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.181-186
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• 2022

Ventriculomegaly induced by the abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leads to hydrocephalus, which is accompanied by neuroinflammation and mitochondrial oxidative stress. The mitochondrial stress activates mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt), which is essential for mitochondrial protein homeostasis. However, the association of inflammatory response and UPRmt in the pathogenesis of hydrocephalus is still unclear. To assess their relevance in the pathogenesis of hydrocephalus, we established a kaolin-induced hydrocephalus model in 8-week-old male C57BL/6J mice and evaluated it over time. We found that kaolin-injected mice showed prominent ventricular dilation, motor behavior defects at the 3-day, followed by the activation of microglia and UPRmt in the motor cortex at the 5-day. In addition, PARP-1/NF-κB signaling and apoptotic cell death appeared at the 5-day. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that activation of microglia and UPRmt occurs after hydrocephalic ventricular expansion and behavioral abnormalities which could be lead to apoptotic neuronal cell death, providing a new perspective on the pathogenic mechanism of hydrocephalus.

• Journal of Multimedia Information System
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.145-154
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• 2022

The authors are making a prototype flexible board of a radio-frequency transmitter for measuring an electromyogram (EMG) of a flying moth and plan to apply for an experimental station license from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan in the summer of 2022. The goal is to create a continuous low-dose exposure standard that incorporates scientific and physiological functional assessments to replace the current standard based on lethal dose 50. This paper describes the technical evaluation of the hardware. The signal of a bipolar EMG electrode is amplified by an operational amplifier. This potential is added to a voltage-controlled crystal oscillator (27 MHz, bandwidth: 4 kHz), frequency-converted, and transmitted from an antenna about 10 cm long (diameter: 0.03 mm). The power source is a 1.55-V wristwatch battery that has a total weight of about 0.3 g (one dry battery and analog circuit) and an expected operating time of 20 minutes. The output power is -7 dBm and the effective isotropic radiated power is -40 dBm. The signal is received by a dual-whip antenna (2.15 dBi) at a distance of about 100 m from the moth. The link margin of the communication circuit is above 30 dB within 100 m. The concepts of this hardware and the measurement data are presented in this paper. This will be the first biological data transmission from a moth with an official license. In future, this telemetry system will improve the detection of physiological abnormalities of moths.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.383-393
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• 2022

Purpose: Aloe-emodin (AE), a natural anthraquinone abundant in aloe plants and rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum), has long been used to treat chronic inflammatory diseases. However, AE's underlying mechanisms in periodontal inflammation have not been fully elucidated. Acidic mammalian chitinase (AMCase) is a potential biomarker involved in bone remodeling. This study aimed to evaluate AE's effect on periodontitis in rats and investigate AMCase expression. Methods: Eighteen Sprague-Dawley rats were separated into the following groups: healthy (group 1), disease (group 2), vehicle (group 3), AE high-dose (group 4), and AE low-dose (group 5). Porphyromonas gingivalis ligatures were placed in rats (groups 2-5) for 7 days. Groups 4 and 5 were then treated with AE for an additional 14 days. Saliva was collected from all groups, and probing pocket depth was measured in succession. Periodontal pocket tissues were subjected to histomorphometric analysis after the rats were sacrificed. Bone marrow-derived macrophages and murine macrophages were stimulated with receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) and treated with different concentrations of AE. AMCase expression was detected from the analysis of saliva, periodontal pocket tissues, and differentiated osteoclasts. Results: Among rats with P. gingivalis-induced periodontitis, the alveolar bone resorption levels and periodontal pocket depth were significantly reduced after treatment with AE. AMCase protein expression was significantly higher in the disease group than in the healthy control (P<0.05). However, AE inhibited periodontal inflammation by downregulating AMCase expression in saliva and periodontal pocket tissue. AE significantly reduced RANKL-stimulated osteoclastogenesis by modulating AMCase (P<0.05). Conclusions: AE decreases alveolar bone loss and periodontal inflammation, suggesting that this natural anthraquinone has potential value as a novel therapeutic agent against periodontal disease.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.17-26
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• 2022

Objective : The aim of the present study is to examine hepatic lipid-lowering and anti-inflammatory effects of silymarin combined with Jakyakgamcho-tang on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in a high fat diet-induced obese mice model. Methods : C57BL/6 mice were divided into four dietary groups: (1) Normal, (2) Control (60% high-fat diet), (3) Control + silymarin 50 mg/kg/day (Silymarin), (4) Control + Silymarin 50 mg/kg/day + Jakyakgamcho-tang 100 mg/kg/day (SPG). After 12 weeks administration, mice were sacrificed and lipids and inflammation-related biomarkers were analyzed liver and plasma. Results : Silymarin and SPG treatments significantly lowered body and liver weights compared to the Control. Serumlipids (triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol) and pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 1𝛽, and IL-6) concentrations were significantly lowered in the Silymarin and SPG groups than the Control group. Silymarin and SPG treatments suppressed hepatic TG level and hepatic lipid droplets compared to the Control. Theses two treatments significantly increased hepatic kinase B1 and AMP-activated protein kinase protein levels, and significantly decreased hepatic key lipogenic enzymes (acetyl-CoA carboxylase, fatty acid synthase and stearyl coenzyme A desaturase 1) protein levels than the Control. SPG also significantly increased hepatic fatty acid oxidation-related protein (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha and uncoupling protein 2) levels than the Control. Conclusions: Silymarin and SPG suppressed hepatic lipid accumulation by regulating hepatic protein expression, and lowered blood pro-inflammatory cytokines concentrations though the synergic effect of silymarin and Jakyakgamchotang was not clear.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.427-446
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• 2022

Cutouts in the beams or plates are often unavoidable due to inspection, maintenance, ventilation, structural aesthetics purpose, and sometimes to lighten the structures. Therefore, there will be a substantial reduction in the strength of the structure due to the introduction of the cutouts. However, these cutouts can be reinforced with the different patterns of ribs (stiffener) to enhance the strength of the structure. The present study highlights the influence of the elliptical cutout reinforced with a different pattern of ribs on the stability performance of such stiffened composite panels subjected to non-uniform edge loads by employing the Finite element (FE) technique. In the present formulation, a 9-noded heterosis element is used to model the skin, and a 3-noded isoparametric beam element is used to simulate the rib that is attached around a cutout in different patterns. The displacement compatibility condition is employed between the plate and stiffener, and arbitrary orientations are taken care by introducing respective transformation matrices. The effect of shear deformation and rotary inertia are incorporated in the formulation. A new mesh configuration is developed to house the attached ribs around an elliptical cutout with different patterns. Initially, a study is performed on the panels with different stiffener schemes for various ply orientations and for different stiffener depth to width ratios (d_s/b_s) to determine an optimal stiffener configuration. Further, various parametric studies are conducted on an obtained optimal stiffened panel to understand the effect of cutout size, cutout orientation, panel aspect ratio, and boundary conditions. Finally, from the analysis, it can be observed that the arrangement of the stiffener attached to a panel has a major impact on the buckling capacity of the stiffened panel. The stiffener's depth to width ratio also significantly influences the buckling characteristic.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.361-365
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• 2021

Background Pain in the postoperative body contouring patient has traditionally been managed with narcotic medication. In an effort to minimize side effects and prevent addiction, plastic surgeons are searching for novel ways to provide adequate analgesia, one of which is nerve blocks. This study was conducted with a meta-analysis that evaluates the efficacy of these blocks for patients who undergo breast surgery. Methods A search of the PubMed/MEDLINE database for articles including the terms "post-operative analgesia" OR "postoperative pain management" AND "in plastic surgery" OR "in cosmetic surgery" OR "in elective surgery" in February 2019 generated five studies on elective breast augmentation and reduction mammoplasty that reported pain scores and quantities of opioids consumed. Independent samples t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, and a random effects model were implemented for evaluation. Results A total of 317 patients were identified as having undergone body contouring of the breast, about half of which received a nerve block. Pain scores on a 1-10 scale and opioid dose-equivalents were calculated. Those who were blocked had an average score of 2.40 compared to 3.64 for those who did not (P<0.001), and required an average of 5.20 less narcotic doses (P<0.001). Pain relief following subpectoral augmentation was best achieved with type-II blocks as opposed to type-I and type-II with serratus plane (P<0.001). Conclusions The opioid epidemic has extended to all surgical specialties. Implementation of a nerve block seems to be an efficacious and cost-effective mechanism to not only help with post-operative pain, but also lower the need for narcotics, especially in subpectoral augmentation.