• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.58 no.3
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• pp.259-265
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• 2015

Momordica charantia, commonly known as bitter melon, has interesting pharmacological activities such as anticancer, antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antioxidant. As supported by recent scientific reports on the beneficial effects of M. charantia, it is one of the most promising functional plants for diabetes today. In this study, we fermented the bitter melon with lactic acid bacteria and investigated the capability of controlling diabetic conditions by decreasing the blood glucose levels. After extracting the fermented bitter melon with hot water or ethanol, we tested several biological activities using mouse models. When we tested the efficacy of the glycemic control, the extracts of fermented bitter melon significantly lowered the blood glucose levels of the alloxan-induced diabetic mice. We also found that the lactic acid bacteria-fermented bitter melon protected liver damages from the treatment of alloxan monohydrates and maintained low levels of triglycerides and high levels of HDL cholesterol in these mouse models. These results suggest that our approach on fermenting bitter melon and the extracts of fermented bitter melon could lead to the possibility of the development of functional foods that contain the effectiveness of controlling blood glucose and lipid levels as well as preventing liver damages.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.405-420
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• 2020

A convergence research was conducted on glass beads excavated at the ruins of Hapgang-ri, Sejong, using the archeology and conservation approach. The period of appearance of Jugu Towangmyo in the ruins of Hapgang-ri can be estimated to begin in the late 2^nd century; for Jugu Towangmyo No. 15, the period spans from the late 2^nd to early 3^rd century. Form, color, and manufacturing techniques of complete glass beads were examined, and the cross-sections and chemical composition of 16 samples were observed. Based on these analyses, the glass beads were divided into blue, purple, and red colors. The blue-colored beads could be further sub-divided based on their gloss and brightness; in contrast, the red-colored beads were highly uniform with regard to these parameters. Based on the stripe and bubble arrangement on the surface of the glass beads, their drawing technique was identified. Traces of heat treatment or polishing were observed at the ends of the beads. According to their chemical composition, the 16 samples were classified into 3 potash glass and 13 soda glass groups; in the latter, the properties of the stabilizers were divided according to the blue and red bead colors. The stabilizers of the red beads are unique in that they allow the distinction among beads excavated in other areas in South Korea owing to their compositional differences. Colorants in blue- and red-colored beads are cobalt (containing MnO), and copper and iron, respectively.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.23-29
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• 1975

This experiment was conducted to study the effects of temperature and pH upon the acid productivity of the acid producing mutant induced by the treatment of ultraviolet light, and to identify the producing acid by PPC and p-oxydiphenyl method. Chemical composition of Takju mash brewed with selected yeast and producing acid were observed and the results were as follows. 1) There was no apprecible difference in acid producing activity of mutant at $25^{\circ}C\;to\;30^{\circ}C$. 2) The acid producing activity of mutant was little below pH 4 and was gradually increased according to approach nenutral, and the accumulation of acid was amounted to 0.5-0.7% as a lactic acid at pH 5 to 7 within 48 hrs of fermentation. 3) The acid produced by mutant was detected to the lactic acid. 4) In the cases of the Takju was brewed with the starter from the acid producing mutant the requirement of Ipkuk was 5% for all the raw materials, on the contrary, using orginal strain the requirement of Ipkuk was 20%. 5) In the case of both starters from the acid producing mutant and orginal strain were added at different brewing times, and only Bunkuk was used as a saccharifying agent (without Ipkuk), Takju was able to brewed more repidly and successfully than the case of general process.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.851-860
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• 2010

Objectives : This study examined the oral health behavior and dental services utilization of adolescents in order to provide information on how to disseminate the correct oral health behavior to the youth and develop programs for the approach. Methods : The raw data of 'The Third 2007 Youth Health Behavior Online Survey' carried out by the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention were analyzed. All survey data collected was processed using SPSS ver 17.0 for data analysis as Frequency analysis, chi-square and Logistic regression analysis. Results : 1.The adolescents who have parents with college degree are 70% higher of dental services utilization than the adolescents counterpart(whose parents don't have degrees). And also the adolescents living in cities are 1.3 times higher use of dental services than others living in countries. 2. In case of drinking soda, students having soda 4 days per week on average are 1.2 times higher use of dental services than who don't. 3.The students brushing teeth after lunch are 0.9 times lower use of dental service than who don't. And the students who have tooth ache whenever they have a meal are 1.6 times higher use of dental service than the students who don't have tooth ache. The students who had a dental health education are 1.4 times higher utilization of dental service than who don't. The difference of using dental service between the students who have gum disease and halitosis and the students who don't is almost none. 4. The students who drink alcohol and smoke 10 days more or less a month are 0.8 ~ 0.9 times lower use of dental service than who don't. Conclusions : The rate of utilizing dental service is higher at students who live with parents having college degrees and the more have oral health behavior, the less use of dental service for treatment. We concluded that more educational program should be developed and vitalized so that students can have oral health.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.19-25
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• 2019

Background/Objectives: Although anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is rare, it is one of the deadliest forms of thyroid cancer. The fatality rate for ATC is high, and the survival rate at one year after diagnosis is <20%. The present study aimed to investigate the anti-tumor activities of paclitaxel, radiation, and tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) combined therapy in anaplastic thyroid cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo and explore its effects on apoptotic cell death pathways. Materials & Methods: ATC cell line was exposed to TKI, lenvatinib in the presence or absence of paclitaxel with radiation, and cell viability was determined by MTT assay. Effects of the combined treatment on cell cycle and intracellular signaling pathways were assessed by flow cytometry and western blot analysis. The ATC cell line xenograft model was used to examine the anti-tumor activity in vivo. Results: Our data revealed that the combined administration of paclitaxel, TKI, and radiation decreased cell viability in ATC cells, and also significantly increased apoptotic cell death in these cells, as demonstrated by the cleavage of caspase-3 and DNA fragmentation. This combination therapy reduced anti-apoptotic factor levels in ATC cells, while significantly decreasing tumor volume and increasing survival in ATC xenografts. Conclusion: These results indicate that administering the combination of paclitaxel, TKI, and radiation therapy may exert significant anticancer effects in preclinical models, potentially suggesting a new clinical approach for treating patients with ATC.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.71-79
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• 2015

With the growth of aging population in Korea, a better care of chronic and other degenerative illnesses is urgently needed. Evidences suggest that this can be achieved through incorporating a wide range of care options, expanding beyond medical interventions. The aim of this study is to analyze the distribution of publically funded research to understand if the Korean research and development funding system matches various approaches and purposes to successfully tackle the chronic care needs of an aging society. We complied the list of funded projects to be analyzed by searching the National Technical Information Service database with key words such as aging society/senescence, chronic diseases, disability, and health promotion. Most projects were based on the biomedical approach with the purpose of establishing the etiology and clinical (treatment) interventions. Health promotion projects showed a distinctive distribution with more percentage of projects based on psycho-behavioral approaches while research on chronic diseases predominantly biomedical. It would be necessary to diversify publically-funded research projects to develop effective and efficient care technologies for the future.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2014

Eukaryotic gene expression is an important process, which is initiated by several transcription factors and RNA polymerases that occupy the promoter region of genomic DNA. Although there are many experiments to identify the promoter region in a gene, it is time and labor consuming to finalize it. In this study, we utilized bioinformatic programs, including Ensembl, NCBI, and CpG plots, to identify the cloning promoter region in SETDB1 genomic DNA. We performed PCR amplification to obtain the SETDB1 promoter on an approximately 2 kb region upstream from the TSS named SETDB1-P1. The PCR product was ligated with TA cloning vectors, and we confirmed the insert size using restriction enzyme digestion. Sequentially, the insert was subcloned into a pGL3-luc vector to produce pGL3-SETDB1- P1-luc and then confirmed by DNA sequencing. We also obtained a fragmented PCR product called P2 and P3 and performed a luciferase assay using pGL3-SETDB1-P1-luc transfection. We found that several anticancer drugs, including taxol, 4-FU, and doxorubicin, decreased the promoter activity of SETDB1. We obtained consistent data on the regulation of SETDB1 gene expression after anticancer drug treatment using Western blot analysis and RT-PCR. Our results suggest that promoter cloning of the human SETDB1 gene utilizing bioinformatics is a very useful and timesaving approach to study gene expression.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.274-282
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• 2013

Objectives: The posterior maxillary region often provides a limited bone volume for dental implants. Maxillary sinus elevation via inserting a bone graft through a window opened in the lateral sinus wall has become the most common surgical procedure for increasing the alveolar bone height in place of dental implants in the posterior maxillary region. The purpose of this article is to assess the change of bone volume and the clinical effects of dental implant placement in sites with maxillary sinus floor elevation and autogenous bone graft through the lateral window approach. Materials and Methods: In this article, the analysis data were collected from 64 dental implants that were placed in 24 patients with 29 lacks of the bone volume posterior maxillary region from June 2004 to April 2011, at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Inha University Hospital. Panoramic views were taken before the surgery, after the surgery, 6 months after the surgery, and at the time of the final follow-up. The influence of the factors on the grafted bone material resorption rate was evaluated according to the patient characteristics (age and gender), graft material, implant installation stage, implant size, implant placement region, local infection, surgical complication, and residual alveolar bone height. Results: The bone graft resorption rate of male patients at the final follow-up was significantly higher than the rate of female patients. The single autogenous bone-grafted site was significantly more resorbed than the autogenous bone combined with the Bio-Oss grafted site. The implant installation stage and residual alveolar height showed a significant correlation with the resorption rate of maxillary sinus bone graft material. The success rate and survival rate of the implant were 92.2% and 100%, respectively. Conclusion: Maxillary sinus elevation procedure with autogenous bone graft or autogenous bone in combination with Bio-Oss is a predictable treatment method for implant rehabilitation.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.218-225
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• 2015

This study used sodium fluorescein to improve imaging diagnostic ability by increasing the fluorescence difference between sound enamel and caries lesions. It also made it easier to discriminate between stain and caries lesions using quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF). Half of the specimen surface was covered with nail varnish as a control. Specimens were divided randomly in six decalcification groups and decalcified for different lengths of time. Then, ${\Delta}F$ was measured using QLF-D. After applying 0.075% sodium fluorescein, we measured ${\Delta}F$ again and compared it with the initial value. After cutting the central portion of the specimen, we measured the lesion depth using scanning electron microscopy. The lesion surfaces observed with QLF were darker than normal enamel, whereas they were lighter than normal enamel after applying fluorescein. Longer decalcification time was associated with greater fluorescent dye penetration. The ${\Delta}F$ measured after applying fluorescein was higher than the initial value (p < 0.05). Due to QLF measurement using fluorescein being more sensitive for diagnosing early decalcification, this approach will enable early diagnosis of dental caries before the cavity formation stage, allowing the treatment of early caries lesions. With QLF and sodium fluorescein, we can easily discriminate between stain and caries lesions.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.60-65
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• 2013

The term 'triple tooth' is used to describe a rare dental abnormality in which three teeth appear to be joined. The literature contains many reports of joined primary teeth; most cases have involved, however, the joining of two teeth, and only rarely three teeth. Triple tooth has clinical problems such as dental caries, esthetic problems, malocclusions, and periodontal problems. Therefore, it may require multi-disciplinary approach. The present study describes rare case of triple tooth between maxillary primary central and lateral incisors and a supernumerary tooth. An one-year, eleven-month old girl was seen for evaluation of swelling in the labial gingiva above a right maxillary triple tooth. She experienced traumatic dental injury in that area three weeks ago. Intraoral examination revealed an abscess and fistula in the region of the triple tooth. A radiographic examination showed that right lateral incisor was missing. Endodontic treatment and composite resin restoration was performed on the triple tooth. After follow-ups of 7 months period, there were no marked complications.