• CELLMED
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.8.1-8.4
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• 2012

There are few reports about the beliefs of psoriasis patients related to their disorder and therapy modalities except for the medical ones. We aimed to investigate the beliefs of psoriasis patients about their disorders, where they had attended therapies unrelated to dermatologists and what modality of unconventional therapies they used for psoriasis in Turkey. The study was performed on 141 psoriasis patients. The age, sex, education status and the number of visits to the dermatology clinics were recorded. How the patients decided to visit the dermatology clinic (themselves, directed by others), where they attended for treatment of psoriasis outside of the dermatologist, what they think about the causes of their disease and what they used for treatment of psoriasis were asked. The mean age of the patients was $33.44{\pm}15.13$ years. The patients whose ages were over 30 years significantly more went to dermatology clinics. 68.1% of the patients attended the dermatology clinic based on the individual decision, 18.4% were directed by family members and 5.7% by friends. 45.4% of the patients believed that stress was the cause of their disease. 54.6% of the patients had used at least one type of unconventional therapy for psoriasis. The most frequently used unconventional therapy forms were herbal (24.1%) and spiritual therapies (22%). One conclusion is psoriasis patients need education about their diseases. Dermatologists should have information about the tendencies of the patients and approach the patients with sensitivity and empathy and give objective knowledge about psoriasis.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.416-425
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• 2015

NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), a basic leucine zipper transcription factor, has recently received a great deal of attention as an important molecule that enhances antioxidative defenses and induces resistance to chemotherapy or radiotherapy. In this study, we investigated the apoptosis-inducing and Nrf2- upregulating effects of quercetin on malignant mesothelioma (MM) MSTO-211H and H2452 cells. Quercetin treatment inhibited cell growth and led to upregulation of Nrf2 at both the mRNA and protein levels without altering the ubiquitination and extending the half-life of the Nrf2 protein. Following treatment with quercetin, analyses of the nuclear level of Nrf2, Nrf2 antioxidant response element-binding assay, Nrf2 promoter-luc assay, and RT-PCR toward the Nrf2-regulated gene, heme oxygenase-1, demonstrated that the induced Nrf2 is transcriptionally active. Knockdown of Nrf2 expression with siRNA enhanced cytotoxicity due to the induction of apoptosis, as evidenced by an increase in the level of proapoptotic Bax, a decrease in the level of antiapoptotic Bcl-2 with enhanced cleavage of caspase-3 and PARP proteins, the appearance of a sub-$G_0/G_1$ peak in the flow cytometric assay, and increased percentage of apoptotic propensities in the annexin V binding assay. Effective reversal of apoptosis was observed following pretreatment with the pan-caspase inhibitor Z-VAD. Moreover, Nrf2 knockdown exhibited increased sensitivity to the anticancer drug, cisplatin, presumably by potentiating the oxidative stress induced by cisplatin. Collectively, our data demonstrate the importance of Nrf2 in cytoprotection, survival, and drug resistance with implications for the potential significance of targeting Nrf2 as a promising strategy for overcoming resistance to chemotherapeutics in MM.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.61-70
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• 2005

Objectives : To develop a tool for multidimensional measurement of the quality of life, which was psychometrically sound, short, and easy to administer for patients with hypertension. Methods : A sample of 1,115 hypertensive patients aged 20 or above in Cheong-Song County was studied from June 1997 to October 1998. In the development of the instrumental stage, the authors first conceptualized the quality of life. Item generation, item reduction, and questionnaire formatting were followed. Item-level (item descriptive, missing%, item internal consistency, item discriminant validity) analysis, scale-level (scale descriptive, floor and ceiling effect) analysis, and other tests(Cronbach's alpha, inter-dimension correlations, factor analysis, clinical validity) were performed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the new measurement scale. After 1 year, responsiveness and confirmatory factor analysis were performed. Results : The results of both item-level and scale-level analyses were acceptable. An acceptable degree of internal consistency was observed for each of the dimensions (Cronbach's alpha was 0.60 or higher). Inter-dimension correlations were below 0.50 and the factor analysis result was the same as the intended dimension structure. Correlation coefficients between perceived health status, stress and dimensions were proven to be acceptable. The result of comparing dimensional score means among ADL and MMSE-K groups above 60 years was statistically significant(p<0.05). The result of confirmatory factor analysis concluded that the dimensional structure model was well fitted. However, the result of responsiveness test using sensitivity and specificity was unsatisfactory. Conclusions : The newly developed measurement scale is psychometrically reliable and valid instrument for measuring quality of life in hypertensive patients.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.481-487
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• 2013

High-fat diet up-regulates either insulin resistance or triglycerides, which is assumed to be related to the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-${\alpha}$ and PPAR-${\gamma}$. The beneficial effects of vitamin E on insulin resistance are well known; however, it is not clear if vitamin E with a high-fat diet alters the expression of PPAR-${\alpha}$ and PPAR-${\gamma}$. We investigated the effects of d-${\alpha}$-tocopherol supplementation on insulin sensitivity, blood lipid profiles, lipid peroxidation, and the expression of PPAR-${\alpha}$ and PPAR-${\gamma}$ in a high-fat (HF) diet-fed male C57BL/6J model of insulin resistance. The animals were given a regular diet (CON; 10% fat), a HF diet containing 45% fat, or a HF diet plus d-${\alpha}$-tocopherol (HF-E) for a period of 20 weeks. The results showed that the HF diet induced insulin resistance and altered the lipid profile, specifically the triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) levels (P < 0.05). In this animal model, supplementation with d-${\alpha}$-tocopherol improved insulin resistance as well as the serum levels of TG and very-low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (VLDL-C) (P < 0.05). Moreover, the treatment decreased the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the serum and liver while increasing hepatic PPAR-${\alpha}$ expression and decreasing PPAR-${\gamma}$ expression. In conclusion, the oral administration of d-${\alpha}$-tocopherol with a high-fat diet had positive effects on insulin resistance, lipid profiles, and oxidative stress through the expression of PPAR-${\alpha}$ and PPAR-${\gamma}$ in a high-fat diet-fed male mice.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.149-158
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• 2018

Background: Work comfort studies have been extensively conducted, especially in the underground and meteorological fields resulting in an avalanche of recommendations for their evaluation. Nevertheless, no known or universally accepted model for comprehensively assessing the thermal work condition of the underground mine environment is currently available. Current literature presents several methods and techniques, but none of these can expansively assess the underground mine environment since most methods consider only one or a few defined factors and neglect others. Some are specifically formulated for the built and meteorological climates, thus making them unsuitable to accurately assess the climatic conditions in underground development and production workings. Methods: This paper presents a series of sensitivity analyses to assess the impact of environmental parameters and metabolic rate on the thermal comfort for underground mining applications. An approach was developed in the form of a "comfort model" which applied comfort parameters to extensively assess the climatic conditions in the deep, hot, and humid underground mines. Results: Simulation analysis predicted comfort limits in the form of required sweat rate and maximum skin wettedness. Tolerable worker exposure times to minimize thermal strain due to dehydration are predicted. Conclusion: The analysis determined the optimal air velocity for thermal comfort to be 1.5 m/s. The results also identified humidity to contribute more to deviations from thermal comfort than other comfort parameters. It is expected that this new approach will significantly help in managing heat stress issues in underground mines and thus improve productivity, safety, and health.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.96-102
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• 2002

The S-phase checkpoint mechanisms response to DNA damage or inhibition of DNA replication for maintenance of genetic stability in eukaryotic cells. These roles include cell cycle control arrest at S-phase and Iranscriptional induction of repair genes. To characterize the defects of dpbll mutant for both these responses, we examined the over-expression effect of DPBll gene, the sensitivity to HU, MMS, and the transcriptional pattern by DNA damage agent for RNRS mRNA. RNRS transcript is induced in response to a wide variety of agents that either damage D7A directly through chemical modification or induce stress by blocking DNA synthesis. As results, dpbll-1 cells are sensitive to DNA damage agents and the level of RNR3 mRNA is reduced approximately 40% than wild type cells. Moreover, we found the same results in dpb2-1 cells. Therefore, we propose that DPB2 and DPBll act as a sensor of replication that coordinates the transcriptional and cell cycle responses to replication blocks.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.1841-1847
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• 2008

Vibrio vulnificus is a causative agent of serious diseases in humans, resulting from the contact of wound with seawater or consumption of raw seafood. Several studies aimed at detecting V. vulnificus have targeted vvh as a representative virulence toxin gene belonging to the bacterium. In this study, we targeted the rpoS gene, a general stress regulator, to detect V. vulnificus. PCR specificity was identified by amplification of 8 V. vulnificus templates and by the loss of a PCR product with 36 non-V. vulnificus strains. The PCR assay had the 273-bp fragment and the sensitivity of 10 pg DNA from V. vulnificus. SYBR Green I-based real-time PCR assay targeting the rpoS gene showed a melting temperature of approximately $84^{\circ}C$ for the V. vulnificus strains. The minimum level of detection by real-time PCR was 2 pg of purified genomic DNA, or $10^3$ V. vulnificus cells from pure cultured broth and $10^3$ cells in 1 g of oyster tissue homogenates. These data indicate that real-time PCR is a sensitive, species-specific, and rapid method for detecting this bacterium, using the rpoS gene in pure cultures and in infected oyster tissues.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.495-505
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• 2002

A study was performed to develop as a screening tool the Simple Evaluation Questionnaire for Screening the Over-weight-type Dietary Pattern in 30 to 49 Year Old Adults. We used the data from the 30 to 49 year old subjects who participated in the three surveys - the health behavior survey, the dietary habit survey and the food intake survey - as the National Health and Nutrition Survey 1998. The 3,598 adults were classified into to two body fatness groups of normal (including underweight) and overweight (including obese) on the basis of their relative body weight (RBW) When comparing variables between the two groups, significant differences were found in gender, education, job, employment status, perceived health status, sadness / depression state, stress level, age, number of diseases, age when overweightedness started, maximum body weight, sleep length, drinking pattern (yes/no) , amount of alcoholic drinks, frequency of intoxication or drunkeness, amount of alcoholic drinks when drunk, intensity of exercise, frequency of exercise, exercise duration, skipped meals, small meals and drug supplements. In terms of food intake, there were significant differences in the daily food intake in terms of breakfast, dinner, daily kimchi and dairy products. In terms of mealtimes, we found differences in the amount of cooked rice at breakfast, kimchi at lunch, soup / kuk at dinner, fresh vegetables for snacks, fried foods for snacks between breakfast and lunch, and fruits /juices for snacks between lunch and dinner. After developing questions with indicators and analyzing the indicators by logistic regression analysis three times, we chose 10 questions for a simple evaluation of dietary patterns for the overweight-type category in order to give one point each. Among them we selected two questions to add one additional point and one question to add two additional points. The average scores of the overweight and normal groups, as shown by the developed questionnaire, were $5.97 \pm 2.36 \pm 7.36 \pm 2.21$, respectively. A score of seven points was selected as the cut-off point. We examined the sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value of the questionnaire to the results of 67%, 59% and 62%, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.43-51
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• 2010

In the downstream areas of the Nakdong river, Pusan clays are commonly found and thickness may reach to maximum of 100m. From geological point of view, Pusan clay are characterized as holocene clays, deposited for approximately 20,000 years ago. Recently, there have been many construction projects based on these soft ground areas. It is needed to know clearly soil properties of the areas for design and safety analysis, especially undrained shear strength of soft clays. However, Pusan clay have not been studied systematically because the clay layers are usually very deep, having high sensitivity characteristic. In this study, undisturbed UD samples obtained from the downstream areas of the Nakdong river were researched using laboratory tests (CthUE, CKcUC, CIUC, UU and UC) and in-situ tests (Field Vane, CPTu). The undrained shear strength characteristics of the samples were depicted using stress-strain relationship.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Machine Tool Engineers Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.216-227
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• 2005

The head penetrations for control rod drive mechanism and instrumentation systems are installed at the reactor pressure vessel head of PWRs. Primary coolant water and the operating conditions of PWR plants can cause cracking of these nickel-based alloy through a process called primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC). Inspection of the head penetrations to ensure the integrity of the head penetrations has been interested since reactor coolant leakages were found at U. S. reactors in 2000 and 2001. The complex geometry of the head penetrations and the very low echo amplitude from the fine, multiple flaws due to the nature of the see made it difficult to detect and size the flaws using conventional pulse-echo UT methods. Time-of-flight-diffraction technique, which utilizes the time difference between the flaw tips while pulse-echo does the flaw response amplitude from the flaw, has been selected for this inspection for it's best performance of the detection and sizing of the head penetration see flaws. This study defines the limits of the detectable and accurately sizable minimum flaw size which can be detected by the General TOFD and the Delta TOFD techniques for circumferentially and axially oriented flaws respectively. These results assures the reliability of the inspection techniques to detect and accurately size for various kind of flaws, and will also be utilized for the future development and qualifications of the TOFD techniques to enhance the detecting sensitivity and sizing accuracy of the flaws of the reactor head penetrations in nuclear power plants.