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GST Primary GST Primary Best Strategies for Health Care Quality Im... Best Strategies for Health Care Quality Improvement - Diabetes Quality Improvement Strategies for Antibio... Kathryn McDonald, Stanford-UCSF Evidence-b... Systematic review assessing the effect of ... Quality Improvement Strategies for Antibiotics Management Kathryn McDonald, Stanford-UCSF Evidence-based Practice Center, 117 Encina Commons, Stanford, CA 94305-6019, Kathy.mcdonald@stanford.edu Systematic review assessing the effect of quality improvement strategies on appropriate prescribing of antibiotics and appropriate choice of antibiotics. Adherence Adherence Assistive Devices Assistive Devices Childhood Burn Hanson MacMillan Childhood Burn Hanson MacMillan CLSA_9 CLSA_9 Cyberabuse Cyberabuse Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Violent ... This review included randomized trials abo... Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Violent Men who Batter Their Partners This review included randomized trials about the effects of cognitive behavioral therapy on domestic violence. The intervention included programs based on the Duluth Model. The violence had to be committed by a male toward his female partner. The violence also had to be physical. The primary outcomes were new arrests and convictions, and new reports of violence. CABG vs PCI CABG vs PCI Quality Improvement Strategies for Prevent... Quality Improvement Strategies for Preventing Nosocomial Infections (Created 17-Feb-06) Quality Improvement Strategies for Asthma ... Quality Improvement Strategies for Asthma Control Erectile Dysfunction (Created 30-Jan-06) Erectile Dysfunction (Created 30-Jan-06) Inequality - Smoking Cessation to Reduce S... This review was the first part of a projec... Inequality - Smoking Cessation to Reduce Socio-Economic Differences This review was the first part of a project about inequality. It included randomized trials about the effect of smoking cessation interventions on reducing socio-economic differences. The studies had to report data either on persons with low socio-economic groups status or, preferably, on both low and high socio-economic groups. Diet and Physical Activity to Reduce Socio... This review was the second part in a proje... Diet and Physical Activity to Reduce Socio-Economic Differences This review was the second part in a project about inequality. It included randomized trials about the effect of interventions on reducing socio-economic differences in diet and physical activity. The studies had to report data either on persons with low socio-economic groups status or, preferably, on both low and high socio-economic groups. Workfare The data in SRS are not identical to the d... Workfare The data in SRS are not identical to the data in the published report. We used SRS only for an updated search. The review included randomized trials about the effect of welfare-to-work programs. Participants were welfare recipients. There were basically two types of programs. The educational type tried to build knowledge and skills in order to help the welfare recipients acquire jobs that could support them economically. The "work first" approach was more aimed at getting the participants quickly into a job. Exercise interventions for the management ... The objective of this systematic review wa... Exercise interventions for the management of frailty The objective of this systematic review was to examine the effectiveness of current exercise interventions on the management of frailty. A comprehensive search of Medline, Embase, Psycinfo, Cinahl, Scopus, Ageline, Eric, and SportDiscus databases was conducted and produced 1808 citations. So far we have completed 2 levels of “title and abstract” screening and we ended up with 262 articles. We have just started the full text screening. Eligibility criteria included original studies whose participants were identified as frail or prefrail with specific criteria and in which structured physical activity was included as at least one component of the intervention. Create a free account, build a dictionary with saved terms to re-use later! Public Domestic Violence - Using Cognitive Behavior Therapy Smoking Cessation to Reduce Socio-Economic Differences Diet and Physical Activity to Reduce Socio-Economic Differences Workfare Exercise Interventions for the Management of Frailty Search     Simple Advanced Refine (4 coded questions)  Any of these:   Exact Phrase: All of these: None of these: Author: Periodical: Projects: No restrictions   Libraries: Public   Select SRS Projects Show Saved Terms Select Library Show articles that do not have abstracts  Type of Article Clinical Trial Editorial Letter Meta-Analysis Practice Guideline Randomized Controlled Trial Review Addresses Bibliography Biography Case Reports Classical Article Clinical Conference Clinical Trial, Phase I Clinical Trial, Phase II Clinical Trial, Phase III Clinical Trial, Phase IV Comment Comparative Study Consensus Development Conference Consensus Development Conference, NIH Controlled Clinical Trial Corrected and Republished Article Dictionary Directory Duplicate Publication English Abstract Evaluation Studies Festschrift Government Publications Guideline Historical Article Interview In Vitro Journal Article Lectures Legal Cases Legislation Multicenter Study News Newspaper Article Overall Patient Education Handout Periodical Index Published Erratum Retracted Publication Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. 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Retraction of Publication Scientific Integrity Review Support of Research Technical Report Twin Study Validation Studies Not a Primary Study or Review Unknown Primary Study Case Series Case Control Cohort Study Observational Study Qualitative Research CBA or ITS Registry Double Blind Controlled before after study Quasi-randomized trial Simple before after study Cluster-RCT Non-Randomized Study Report Book Book chapter Dissertation Conference procedings Secondary Research Not RCT Humans or Animals Humans Animals Ages All Infant: birth-23 months All Child: 0-18 years All Adult: 19+ years Newborn: birth-1 month Infant: 1-23 months Preschool Child: 2-5 years Child: 6-12 years Adolescent: 13-18 years Adult: 19-44 years Middle Aged: 45-64 years Middle Aged + Aged: 45+ years Aged: 65+ years 80 and over: 80+ years Undetermined Language English French German Italian Japanese Russian Spanish Afrikaans Albanian Unknown Arabic Armenian Azerbaijani Bosnian Bulgarian Catalan Chinese Croatian Czech Danish Dutch Esperanto Estonian Finnish Georgian Greek, Modern Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Indonesian Kinyarwanda Korean Latin Latvian Lithuanian Macedonian Malay Malayalam Maori Multiple Languages Norwegian Persian Polish Portuguese Pushto Romanian Sanskrit Scottish gaelic Serbian Slovak Slovenian Swedish Thai Turkish Ukrainian Vietnamese Not English Not French Results(1-25 of 7,613) Sort By: Publication Date Relevance Took: 1.810 seconds to search 17,750,454  Action: Copy Results to new Clipboard Build Search Link Page 1 of 305 1 2 3 4 > Last >> (7613 articles found) Honeycomblike large area LaB6 plasma source for Multi-Purpose Plasma facility. Oct 2007 Hyun-Jong Woo,Kyu-Sun Chung,Hyun-Jong You,Myoung-Jae Lee,Taihyeop Lho,Kwon Kook Choh,Jung-Sik Yoon,Yong Ho Jung,Bongju Lee,Suk Jae Yoo,Myeon Kwon A Multi-Purpose Plasma (MP(2)) facility has been renovated from Hanbit mirror device [Kwon et al., Nucl. Fusion 43, 686 (2003)] by adopting the same philosophy of diversified plasma simulator (DiPS) [Chung et al., Contrib. Plasma Phys. 46, 354 (2006)] by installing two plasma sources: LaB(6) (dc) a... ( view more )nd helicon (rf) plasma sources; and making three distinct simulators: divertor plasma simulator, space propulsion simulator, and astrophysics simulator. During the first renovation stage, a honeycomblike large area LaB(6) (HLA-LaB(6)) cathode was developed for the divertor plasma simulator to improve the resistance against the thermal shock fragility for large and high density plasma generation. A HLA-LaB(6) cathode is composed of the one inner cathode with 4 in. diameter and the six outer cathodes with 2 in. diameter along with separate graphite heaters. The first plasma is generated with Ar gas and its properties are measured by the electric probes with various discharge currents and magnetic field configurations. Plasma density at the middle of central cell reaches up to 2.6 x 10(12) cm(-3), while the electron temperature remains around 3-3.5 eV at the low discharge current of less than 45 A, and the magnetic field intensity of 870 G. Unique features of electric property of heaters, plasma density profiles, is explained comparing with those of single LaB(6) cathode with 4 in. diameter in DiPS. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Expansion of chromosome territories with chromatin decompaction in BAF53-depleted interphase cells. Oct 2007 Kiwon Lee,Mi Jin Kang,Su Jin Kwon,Yunhee Kim Kwon,Ki Woo Kim,Jae-Hwan Lim,Hyockman Kwon Chromosomes are compartmentalized into discrete chromosome territories during interphase in mammalian cells. A chromosome territory is generated by the tendency of chromatin to occupy the smallest shell volume, which is determined by the polymeric properties and interactions of the internal meshwor... ( view more )k of the chromatin fiber. Here, we show that BAF53 knockdown by small interfering RNA interference led to the expansion of chromosome territories. This was accompanied by a reduction in chromatin compaction, an increase in the micrococcal nuclease sensitivity of the chromatin, and an alteration in H3-K9 and H3-K79 dimethylation. Interestingly, the BAF53 knockdown cells suffer a cell cycle defect. Despite the significant irregularity and decompaction of the polynucleosomes isolated from the BAF53 knockdown cells, the chromatin loading of H1 and core histones remained unaltered, as did the nucleosome spacing. The histone hyperacetylation and down-regulation of BRG-1, mBrm, and Tip49, the catalytic components of the SWI/SNF complex and the TIP60 complex, respectively, did not expand chromosome territories. These results indicate that BAF53 contributes to the polymeric properties and/or the internal meshwork interactions of the chromatin fiber probably via a novel mechanism. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Heterosporis anguillarum infections in farm cultured eels (Anguilla japonica) in Korea. Jun 2007 Seong Joon Joh,Yong Kuk Kwon,Min Chul Kim,Min Jeong Kim,Hyuk Man Kwon,Jung Won Park,Jun Hun Kwon,Jae Hong Kim Ten eels (Anguilla japonica) from a fish farm in Korea were examined and diagnosed with a Heterosporis infection. The gross lesions on the trunk were uneven and the concave parts were pasty. Histopathologically, lyses of the trunk muscles, degenerative muscle fibers and the scattered spores were ob... ( view more )served. The sporophorocyst (SPC) contained several spores with a variety of shapes. Some SPC were disrupted and the spores in the SPC were scattered in the muscle tissues. Macrophages existed near the scattered spores. Electron microscopy revealed special structures such as sporophorocyst containing various developmental parasitic stages such as meronts, sporonts, sporophorous vesicles and spores. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details   Related Articles Targeting bladder tumor cells in vivo and in the urine with a peptide identified by phage display. Jan 2007 Seung-Min Lee,Eun-Ju Lee,Hai-Yan Hong,Mi-Kyung Kwon,Tae-Hwan Kwon,Je-Yong Choi,Rang-Woon Park,Tae-Gyun Kwon,Eun-Sang Yoo,Gil-Suk Yoon,In-San Kim,Erkki Ruoslahti,Byung-Heon Lee Bladder cancer is one of the most common tumors of the genitourinary tract. Here, we use phage display to identify a peptide that targets bladder tumor cells. A phage library containing random peptides was screened for binding to cells from human bladder tumor xenografts. Phage clones were further ... ( view more )selected for binding to a bladder tumor cell line in culture. Six clones displaying the consensus sequence CXNXDXR(X)/(R)C showed selective binding to cells from primary human bladder cancer tissue. Of these, the CSNRDARRC sequence was selected for further study as a synthetic peptide. Fluorescein-conjugated CSNRDARRC peptide selectively bound to frozen sections of human bladder tumor tissue, whereas only negligible binding to normal bladder tissue was observed. When the fluorescent peptide was introduced into the bladder lumen, in a carcinogen-induced rat tumor model, it selectively bound to tumor epithelium. Moreover, when the peptide was intravenously injected into the tail vein, it homed to the bladder tumor but was not detectable in normal bladder and control organs. Next, we examined whether the peptide can detect tumor cells in urine. The fluorescent peptide bound to cultured bladder tumor cells but not to other types of tumor cell lines. Moreover, it bound to urinary cells of patients with bladder cancer, while showing little binding to urinary cells of patients with inflammation or healthy individuals. The CSNRDARRC peptide may be useful as a targeting moiety for selective delivery of therapeutics and as a diagnostic probe for the detection of bladder cancer. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details   Related Articles Prognostic significance of glycaemic control in patients with HBV and HCV-related cirrhosis and diabetes mellitus. Nov 2005 S Y Kwon,S S Kim,O S Kwon,K A Kwon,M G Chung,D K Park,Y S Kim,Y S Koo,Y K Kim,D J Choi,J H Kim AIMS: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is frequently observed in patients with cirrhosis, particularly that due to hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. However, no studies have focused on the clinical significance of glycaemic control in cirrhotic patients because of their short life expectancy and poor hepati... ( view more )c function. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic impact of glycaemic control in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and HCV-related cirrhosis and DM. METHODS: A total of 434 patients with HCV-related (HCV group, n = 88) or HBV-related (HBV group, n = 346) cirrhosis were studied retrospectively. We determined the prevalence of DM and treatment methods for hyperglycaemia and status of glycaemic control, and the patients' outcome. RESULTS: The prevalence of DM was 43.2% (38/88) in the HCV group and 19.7% (68/346) in the HBV group. Patients in the HCV group were older with a female preponderance. DM was detected before the diagnosis of cirrhosis or simultaneously in 92% and 79% in the HCV and HBV groups, respectively. Most patients were treated with insulin or oral hypoglycaemic agents. However, blood glucose levels were maintained within the normal range in 34.2% of the HCV group and in 23.5% of the HBV group. Forty-six patients died during the observation period in both groups. Hepatic failure was the most common cause of death, and sepsis and variceal bleeding were more frequent in the HCV group than in the HBV group. Multivariate analysis showed that Child-Pugh class was the most important factor for survival in both groups. In the HCV group, the status of glycaemic control was a significant independent factor of survival (P = 0.018). In the HBV group, age and the development of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis were significant. CONCLUSION: DM is more frequent in patients with HCV-related cirrhosis than in patients with HBV. Strict control of blood glucose levels could improve survival in HCV patients. A precise assessment of the risks and benefits of glycaemic control is required to reduce the mortality and morbidity of patients with cirrhosis and DM. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Immunity to melanoma mediated by 4-1BB is associated with enhanced activity of tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes. Aug 2005 Seong-A Ju,Sang-Chul Lee,Tae-Hyoung Kwon,Sook-Kyoung Heo,Sang-Min Park,Ha-Na Paek,Jae-Hee Suh,Hong Rae Cho,Byungsuk Kwon,Byoung S Kwon,Byung-Sam Kim 4-1BB costimulates T cells to carry out effector functions such as eradication of established tumours. 4-1BB (CD137) is a member of the TNF receptor family, and its triggering by either 4-1BB ligand or antibody ligation induces T-cell activation and growth. We analysed tumour-infiltrating lymphocyt... ( view more )es (TIL) in the experimental B16F10 melanoma model to determine the mechanisms involved in 4-1BB-mediated tumour suppression. 4-1BB(+/+) mice survived longer than 4-1BB(-/-) mice, and survival was further prolonged by triggering 4-1BB with an agonistic mAb. The number of metastatic B16F10 colonies in the lung was much greater in 4-1BB(-/-) mice than in their 4-1BB(+/+) littermates. Administration of agonistic anti-4-1BB mAb increased the number of TIL in the tumour masses in the lungs of 4-1BB(+/+) mice. The numbers of CD4(+) T, CD8(+) T and CD11b(+) TIL increased in these mice. Anti-4-1BB mAb induced not only CD8(+) 4-1BB(+) T cells but also a CD8(+) IFN-gamma(+) T-cell population. B16F10 cells from the lungs of anti-4-1BB-treated mice showed enhanced expression of MHC class Iota and IotaIota antigens compared with the same cells from control IgG-treated mice. Thus, the increase in number of CD8(+) T cells and enhanced MHC Iota and IotaIota expression in B16F10 cells that result from augmented IFN-gamma production in response to anti-4-1BB mAb may lead to suppression of tumour growth and metastasis. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Testing the autogenous-reactive model of obsessions. 2005 Han-Joo Lee,Seok-Man Kwon,Jun Soo Kwon,Michael J Telch Two independent studies were conducted to examine the autogenous-reactive subtype model of obsessions [Lee and Kwon, 2003]. Study 1 demonstrated that 30 obsessive-compulsive (OCD) patients' responses to autogenous versus reactive obsessions differed significantly with respect to emotional reactions... ( view more ), cognitive appraisals, and control strategies. Study 2 compared OCD patients whose primary obsessions were of the autogenous subtype (n=13) with OCD patients whose primary obsessions were of the reactive subtype (n=14). Results revealed significant differences between these two groups on several OCD-related domains including OCD symptom profiles, perfectionistic personality features, and dysfunctional beliefs. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Insulin-like growth factor-II regulates the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor by the human keratinocyte cell line HaCaT. Jul 2004 Yoo-Wook Kwon,Kyung-Sool Kwon,Hyo-Eun Moon,Jeong Ae Park,Kyu-Sil Choi,You-Sun Kim,Ho-Sun Jang,Chang-Keun Oh,You-Mie Lee,Young-Guen Kwon,Yun-Sil Lee,Kyu-Won Kim Psoriasis is a chronic, relapsing skin disease characterized by enhanced angiogenesis. The pathogenetic process resulting in hypervascularity remains to be further investigated. It has been reported that a potent angiogenic factor, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is overexpressed in psori... ( view more )atic epidermis and that the level of insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) is significantly elevated in the tissue fluid and serum of the psoriatic lesion. We considered the possibility that IGF-II might function as a paracrine inducer of VEGF. Here, we demonstrated that exposure of HaCaT keratinocytes to IGF-II induced both mRNA and protein expression of VEGF through the MAP kinase (extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK2) pathway. Particularly, we determined that phosphorylation of ERK2 but not p38 and JNK1/2 was activated by IGF-II in a time-dependent manner. Additionally, we found that IGF-II treatment induced the expression of MDM2 through the MAP kinase pathway. Moreover, the increase of MDM2 resulted in decreased levels of p53 followed by increased expression of HIF-1alpha and VEGF. Taken together, these results suggest that IGF-II enhances the expression of VEGF in HaCaT cells by increasing HIF-1alpha levels. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Characterization of single stranded telomeric DNA-binding proteins in cultured soybean (Glycine max) cells. Jun 30, 2004 Chian Kwon,Kisang Kwon,In Kwon Chung,Soon Young Kim,Myeon Haeng Cho,Bin Goo Kang We have identified and characterized a protein factor in soybean (Glycine max) nuclear extracts that binds to plant single stranded telomeric DNA repeats. A single DNA-protein complex was detected in gel retardation assays using synthetic telomeres and nuclear extracts. The protein forming this com... ( view more )plex was designated soy-bean (Glycine max) single stranded telomeric DNA-binding protein (Gm-STBP). Gm-STBP binds to single stranded telomeric DNA containing more than two repeats. It does not bind to Tetrahymena, human or mutated plant telomere sequences, and its binding activity is not affected by RNase treatment. Gm-STBP activity gradually decreased after suspension cultures entered stationary phase. A slower migrating band was formed with extracts of earlier and later phases of soybean suspension cultures. Our findings suggest that binding of Gm-STBP to plant single stranded telomeric DNA may play a role in the proper functioning of telomeres during development. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Dehydrocostus lactone enhances tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced apoptosis of human leukemia HL-60 cells. May 2004 G S Oh,H O Pae,H T Chung,J W Kwon,J H Lee,T O Kwon,S Y Kwon,B H Chon,Young Gab Yun Sesquiterpene lactones have raised considerable interest because of their ability to block the activation of nuclear transcription factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB). NF-kappaB plays an important role in the resistance of cancer cells to the induction of apoptosis by anticancer drugs and tumor necrosis fact... ( view more )or-alpha (TNF-alpha). Pharmacological inhibition of NF-kappaB offers the promise of enhancing the efficacy of anticancer therapies. Here, we demonstrate that dehydrocostus lactone (DL), the major sesquiterpene lactone isolated from the roots of Saussurea lappa, inhibits NF-kappaB activation by preventing TNF-alpha-induced degradation and phosphorylation of its inhibitory protein I-kappaB alpha in human leukemia HL-60 cells and that DL renders HL-60 cells susceptible to TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis by enhancing caspase-8 and caspase-3 activities. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Ginsenosides enhance the transduction of tat-superoxide dismutase into mammalian cells and skin. Dec 31, 2003 Dae Won Kim,Won Sik Eum,Sang Ho Jang,Chang Sik Yoon,Hee Soon Choi,Soo Hyun Choi,Young Hoon Kim,So Young Kim,Eun Shil Lee,Nam-In Baek,Hyeok Yil Kwon,Jin Hi Choi,Yoon Chul Choi,Oh-Shin Kwon,Sung-Woo Cho,Kyuhyung Han,Kil Soo Lee,Jinseu Park,Soo Young Choi We previously reported that Tat-Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (Tat-SOD), a major antioxidant enzyme, can be directly transduced into mammalian cells and skin [Kwon et al. (2000); Park et al. (2002)]. To enhance the therapeutic potential of Tat-SOD in the treatment of various disorders, we screened a n... ( view more )umber of natural products for their ability to increase transduction efficiency. Ginsenosides were effective with cultured HeLa cells and enhanced the penetration of Tat-SOD into both the epidermis and the dermis of the subcutaneous layer when sprayed on mice skin. Although their mechanism of action is not fully understood we believe that ginsenosides may be useful cofactors with this antioxidant enzyme in anti-aging cosmetics or as a therapeutic protein in disorders related to reactive-oxygen species. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles [Clinical usefulness of plasma activities of gelatinase (matrix metalloproteinase-2 and 9) in chronic liver disease] Sep 2003 Oh Sang Kwon,Do Yoon Lim,Kwang An Kwon,Moon Gi Chung,Dong Kyun Park,Sun Suk Kim,Yeon Suk Kim,So Young Kwon,Yang Suh Koo,Yu Kyung Kim,Duck Joo Choi,Ju Hyun Kim,You Jin Hwang,Kwan Soo Byun,Chang Hong Lee BACKGROUND/AIMS: Gelatinase (matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) -2 and 9) has an important role in the pathogenesis of liver cirrhosis (LC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we evaluated the relationship of gelatinase to chronic liver disease. METHODS: Four groups of subjects were exam... ( view more )ined; healthy control (10 cases), chronic hepatitis (18 cases), LC (15 cases), and HCC (28 cases). The plasma of each subject was obtained, and the equal quantification of plasma protein was done. The plasma activities of MMP-2 and 9 were measured by zymography. RESULTS: The activities of plasma MMP-2 in patients with LC were significantly higher than those in controls (p=0.009) and in patients with chronic hepatitis (p=0.011), but not different from those in patients with HCC. The activities of plasma MMP-9 in patients with LC were significantly higher than those in controls, but not different from those in patients with chronic hepatitis or HCC. In patients with LC (regardless of having HCC), the activities of MMP-2 correlated with total bilirubin (r=0.323, p=0.048) and Child-Pugh score (r=0.414, p=0.012). The activities of MMP-2 and 9 were higher in patients with LC (regardless of having HCC) caused by alcohol than caused by HBV (p=0.009 and 0.002 for each one). CONCLUSIONS: The plasma activity of MMP-2 may be a useful marker for the diagnosis and determination of the severity of LC. The plasma activity of MMP-9 was not useful for HCC, but may be a marker for alcoholic LC. Further study is needed to determine why the plasma activity of gelatinase was higher in patients with LC caused by alcohol than by HBV. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Spine needle biopsy simulator using visual and force feedback. 2002 J B Ra,S M Kwon,J K Kim,J Yi,K H Kim,H W Park,K-U Kyung,D-S Kwon,H S Kang,S T Kwon,L Jiang,J Zeng,K Cleary,S K Mun OBJECTIVE: Biopsy with an inserted needle is an important procedure for lesion detection in the spine, but is difficult to perform due to the presence of many critical organs near the spine. This article presents a spine needle biopsy simulator, based on visual and force feedback, which can be used... ( view more ) to plan the optimal path of a needle and to practice the procedure without risk. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The simulator is composed of a 3D human model, a visual-feedback component, a force-feedback component, and an evaluation module. The human model is based on 3D CT data. The visual-feedback component provides an oblique section, multiplanar reformatting images, and a volume-rendered image. Of these, the oblique section display is very useful for planning a 3D path for the needle. During simulation, the force-feedback component generates and provides realistic forces acting on the biopsy needle in real time by synchronizing them to visual feedback. After each simulation, the evaluation module provides a performance analysis for the trainee. RESULTS: For an XCT abdomen volume data set of 256 x 256 x 256, the update rate of image rendering due to needle movement is over 25 Hz, with a force-feedback rate of 1 kHz. This performance proved to be good enough for the trainee to learn the relationship between visual and force feedback. CONCLUSIONS: The simulator is useful for the planning of and training in complicated 3D spine needle biopsy procedures. It may be used as an educational tool for beginners, a practice tool to increase expertise, or a test bed for new procedures. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Mutagenic activity of river water from a river near textile industrial complex in Korea. Jul 2008 Jung-Hwan Kwon,Hyun-Kul Lee,Jin-Wook Kwon,Kyun Kim,Eunju Park,Myung-Hee Kang,Yong-Hwa Kim The mutagenic activity of XAD-2 adsorbates and water extracts recovered from nine locations of the Kumho River was tested on S. typhimurium TA98 strain to identify the source of the mutagenicity. A sampling site, receiving effluents from the textile industrial complex located in Daegu City, showed ... ( view more )extraordinarily high mutagenic activity, especially in the presence of S9 mixture, at all sampling time in both XAD-2 adsorbates and dichloromethane extracts. This indicated the existence of the frame-shift mutagens in the Kumho River, same type of mutagens detected in previous studies by other researchers in the Nakdong River into which the Kumho River discharges. The fractionation study showed that the mutagenic chemicals in the river water are mid-polar. Furthermore, mean tail length obtained by single cell gel electrophoresis assay (Comet assay) showed consistent dose-dependent DNA damage, indicating that the chemicals in the river water not only act as frame-shift mutagens but also break human lymphocytes DNA strain. Chemical identification of the mutagens should be required. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Folic acid deficiency increases delayed neuronal death, DNA damage, platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 immunoreactivity, and gliosis in the hippocampus after transient cerebral ischemia. Jul 2008 In Koo Hwang,Ki-Yeon Yoo,Hong-Won Suh,Young Sup Kim,Dae Young Kwon,Young-Guen Kwon,Jun-Hyun Yoo,Moo-Ho Won Folic acid deficiency increases stroke risk. In the present study, we examined whether folic acid deficiency enhances neuronal damage and gliosis via oxidative stress in the gerbil hippocampus after transient forebrain ischemia. Animals were exposed to a folic acid-deficient diet (FAD) for 3 months... ( view more ) and then subjected to occlusion of both common carotid arteries for 5 min. Exposure to an FAD increased plasma homocysteine levels by five- to eightfold compared with those of animals fed with a control diet (CD). In CD-treated animals, most neurons were dead in the hippocampal CA1 region 4 days after ischemia/reperfusion, whereas, in FAD-treated animals, this occurred 3 days after ischemia/reperfusion. Immunostaining for 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) was performed to examine DNA damage in CA1 neurons in both groups after ischemia, and it was found that 8-OHdG immunoreactivity in both FAD and CD groups peaked at 12 hr after reperfusion, although the immunoreactivity in the FAD group was much greater than that in the CD group. Platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1; a final mediator of neutrophil transendothelial migration) immunoreactivity in both groups increased with time after ischemia/reperfusion: Its immunoreactivity in the FAD group was much higher than that in the CD group 3 days after ischemia/reperfusion. In addition, reactive gliosis in the ischemic CA1 region increased with time after ischemia in both groups, but astrocytosis and microgliosis in the FAD group were more severe than in the CD group at all times after ischemia. Our results suggest that folic acid deficiency enhances neuronal damage induced by ischemia. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles LRRK2 regulates synaptic vesicle endocytosis. Jun 10, 2008 Narae Shin,Hyerhan Jeong,Jungsun Kwon,Hye Young Heo,Jung June Kwon,Hye Jin Yun,Cy-Hyun Kim,Baek Soo Han,Youren Tong,Jie Shen,Taku Hatano,Nobutaka Hattori,Kwang-Soo Kim,Sunghoe Chang,Wongi Seol The leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) has been identified as the defective gene at the PARK8 locus causing the autosomal dominant form of Parkinson's disease (PD). Although several LRRK2 mutations were found in familial as well as sporadic PD patients, its physiological functions are not clearly... ( view more ) defined. In this study, using yeast two-hybrid screening, we report the identification of Rab5b as an LRRK2-interacting protein. Indeed, our GST pull down and co-immunoprecipitation assays showed that it specifically interacts with LRRK2. In addition, subcellular fractionation and immunocytochemical analyses confirmed that a fraction of both proteins co-localize in synaptic vesicles. Interestingly, we found that alteration of LRRK2 expression by either overexpression or knockdown of endogenous LRRK2 in primary neuronal cells significantly impairs synaptic vesicle endocytosis. Furthermore, this endocytosis defect was rescued by co-expression of functional Rab5b protein, but not by its inactive form. Taken together, we propose that LRRK2, in conjunction with its interaction with Rab5b, plays an important role in synaptic function by modulating the endocytosis of synaptic vesicles. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Antitumor effect of a transducible fusogenic peptide releasing multiple proapoptotic peptides by caspase-3. Jun 2008 Mi-Kyung Kwon,Ju-Ock Nam,Rang-Woon Park,Byung-Heon Lee,Jae-Yong Park,Young-Ro Byun,Sang-Yoon Kim,Ick-Chan Kwon,In-San Kim We have designed a novel peptide, TK3, composed of three functional domains, a protein transduction domain, a TAT followed by three tandem repeats of a proapoptotic peptide, and a caspase-3 cleavage site, (KLAKLAK)(2)-DEVD. TK3 was able to transduce into cells and then activate caspase-3, which in ... ( view more )turn cleaved TK3 to release additional (KLAKLAK)(2) peptides. (KLAKLAK)(2) was well transduced by TAT into tumor cells and was able to induce apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. TK3 also induced apoptosis and inhibited angiogenesis in endothelial cells. Further, direct injection of TK3 into established B16F10 melanoma tumors in C57BL/6 mice resulted in almost complete inhibition of the tumor growth. These results suggest that TK3 could be beneficial for the treatment of accessible tumors and used as an adjuvant for cancer therapy. [Mol Cancer Ther 2008;7(6):1514-22]. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles A randomized phase-III trial of docetaxel/capecitabine versus doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide as primary chemotherapy for patients with stage II/III breast cancer. Jun 2008 Keun Seok Lee,Jungsil Ro,Byung-Ho Nam,Eun Sook Lee,Youngmee Kwon,Hye Soo Kwon,Ki Wook Chung,Han Sung Kang,Eun A Kim,Seok Won Kim,Kyung Hwan Shin,Seok-Ki Kim We aimed to determine the efficacies of a non-anthracycline-containing regimen, docetaxel/capecitabine (TX), in comparison with an anthracycline-containing regimen, doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide (AC), as primary chemotherapy for node-positive early stage breast cancer. In this phase-III single cente... ( view more )r randomized study, we randomized 209 women with axillary node positive, stage II/III breast cancer to receive four cycles of either TX or AC followed by surgery and cross-over to the other treatment as an adjuvant therapy. The primary endpoint was tumor pathologic complete response (pCR). Clinical response rates, toxicity profiles, disease free survival (DFS), and overall survival were secondary objectives. In total, 204 patients had clinical and radiological evaluation of response, and underwent surgery. Compared with AC, TX increased pCR in primary tumors (21% vs. 10%, respectively, P = 0.024) and clinical response (84% vs. 65%, P = 0.003). TX was associated with less nausea and vomiting, but more stomatitis, diarrhea, myalgia, and skin/nail changes than AC. With a median follow-up of 37 months, there was no significant difference in DFS by treatment groups (P = 0.932). Fewer patients developed recurrence who achieved pCR in lymph node (LN) (P = 0.025; hazard ratio, 0.189; 95% CI, 0.044-0.815) in the multivariate analysis. TX showed superior efficacies to AC with increased pathologic and clinical complete response rates. Although these findings did not translate into a gain in DFS, the patients who achieved pCR in LN developed significantly less recurrence. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles The development of rapid real-time PCR detection system for Vibrio parahaemolyticus in raw oyster. Jun 2008 J S Kim,G G Lee,J Kim,J Y Kwon,S-T Kwon AIMS: To develop a new rapid real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based detection system for Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V. parahaemolyticus) applicable to raw oyster samples. METHODS AND RESULTS: V. parahaemolyticus cells were artificially inoculated to oysters. Samples were homogenized in 100 m... ( view more )l of sterile saline water and serially diluted to 1.5 CFU ml(-1) level. One millilitre of diluents was centrifuged and the pellet was resuspended with 100 microl of de-ionized water. DNA was extracted by boiling for 20 min, and 0.5 microl was used as a template for PCR reaction. Real-time PCR was performed with TMC-1000 system (1 microl PCR system). The detection system was found to achieve detection limit of 1.5 CFU g(-1) for V. parahaemolyticus. Furthermore, the specificities of these assay systems were confirmed with more than 20 bacterial strains, including various Vibrio species. CONCLUSIONS: Rapid and sensitive food-borne pathogen detection techniques for V. parahaemolyticus is important to the food industry and consumers. The direct detection of V. parahaemolyticus from food is possible with micro real-time PCR system. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This study shows that oyster samples can be tested for V. parahaemolyticus with a rapid, specific and simple procedure. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Bombyx mori protein disulfide isomerase enhances the production of nuecin, an antibacterial protein. May 31, 2008 Tae Won Goo,Eun Young Yun,Sung Wan Kim,Kwang Ho Choi,Seok Woo Kang,Kisang Kwon,Kweon Yu,O-Yu Kwon The insect baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) is useful for producing biologically active recombinant proteins. However, the overexpressions of foreign proteins using this system often results in misfolded proteins and the formation of protein aggregates. To overcome this limitation, we de... ( view more )veloped a versatile baculovirus expression and secretion system using Bombyx mori protein disulfide isomerase (bPDI) as a fusion partner. bPDI gene fusion was found to improve the secretions and antibacterial activities of recombinant nuecin proteins. Thus, we conclude that bPDI gene fusion is a useful addition to BEVS for the large-scale production of bioactive recombinant proteins. [BMB reports 2008; 41(5): 400-403]. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles In vivo time-dependent gene expression of cationic lipid-based emulsion as a stable and biocompatible non-viral gene carrier. May 22, 2008 Seok Min Kwon,Hae Yun Nam,Taehwan Nam,Kyeongsoon Park,Seulki Lee,Kwangmeyung Kim,Ick Chan Kwon,Jun Kim,Dongmin Kang,Jae Hyung Park,Seo Young Jeong To make stable and biocompatible non-viral gene carriers for therapeutic gene therapy, we developed a cationic lipid-based emulsion (CLE) prepared by an oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion method, wherein squalene oil was used as an oil core and the cationic lipid, 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-trimethylammoni... ( view more )um-propane (DOTAP), was employed as an emulsifier. To evaluate in vivo characteristics such as toxicity and time-dependent gene expression, a bioluminescence reporter gene in pCMV-luc plasmid DNA was simply mixed with CLE in aqueous condition, resulting in a CLE/DNA complex. The CLE/DNA complex was optimized to form a compact and stable nano-sized particle by adding different amounts of plasmid DNA, and an optimal cationic lipid-to-DNA (C/D) weight ratio of 4 was identified. Freshly prepared CLE/DNA complex, with a C/D of 4, showed a high transfection efficiency and minimal cytotoxicity in vitro, compared to controls of a liposome (DOTAP)/DNA complex and a branched poly(ethyleneimine) (Mw=25 kDa) (bPEI)/DNA complex, respectively. The in vivo characteristics of the CLE/DNA complex were evaluated after intravenous injection into Balb/c mice. Time-dependent gene expression data in vivo were obtained using a non-invasive, whole animal bioluminescence imaging system. These data showed that the CLE/DNA complex offered prolonged high-level gene expression for 1 week, particularly in the liver and spleen. On the other hand, the controls of DOTAP/DNA complex and bPEI/DNA complex showed a relatively lower gene expression, because of the unstable and toxic properties of the control carriers. Our in vivo gene expression data demonstrate the potential of the CLE/DNA complex as a non-viral gene carrier for in vivo gene delivery. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Objects and their icons in the brain: the neural correlates of visual concept formation. May 16, 2008 Yong-Wook Shin,Jun Soo Kwon,Ki Won Kwon,Bon Mi Gu,In Chan Song,Dong Gyu Na,Sohee Park We are constantly exposed to symbols such as traffic signs, emoticons in internet communication, or other abstract representations of objects as well as, of course, the written words. However, aside from the word reading, little is known about the way our brain responds when we read non-lexical ico... ( view more )nic symbols. By using functional MRI, we found that the watching of icons recruited manifold brain areas including frontal and parietal cortices in addition to the temporo-occipital junction in the ventral pathway. Remarkably, the brain response for icons was contrasted with the response for corresponding concrete objects with the pattern of 'hyper-cortical and hypo-subcortical' brain activation. This neural underpinning might be called the neural correlates for visual concept formation. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Loss of cyclin g1 expression in human uterine leiomyoma cells induces apoptosis. May 2008 Sang-Hoon Kwon,Joon-Cheol Park,Sabarish Ramachandran,Soon-Do Cha,Kun-Young Kwon,Jong-Ku Park,Jong-Wook Park,Insoo Bae,Chi-Heum Cho Observations from the authors' laboratory suggest a physiological role for increased cyclin G1 protein levels in human uterine leiomyoma. The hypothesis of the present study is that the strategic modulation of cyclin G1 by antisense technology will inhibit the survival of in vitro-grown uterine lei... ( view more )omyoma cells. Cultured uterine leiomyoma cells were transfected with cyclin G1 ribbon-type antisense oligonucleotide (cyclin G1 RiAS) to effectively reduce cyclin G1 expression. Cell viability, in situ terminal deoxyuridine nick end-labeling (TUNEL) assay, flow cytometry, DNA fragmentation, and expression of cell cycle regulatory-related proteins were evaluated by Western blot. Antisense oligonucleotides compromised uterine leiomyoma cell viability and inducted apoptosis in a caspase-independent mechanism. In situ TUNEL and DNA fragmentation revealed apoptosis induction, and fluorescent-activated cell sorting analysis showed increased sub-G1-phase cells. Furthermore, abrogation of cyclin G1 enhanced p53 accumulation, phosphorylation of p53 at Ser-15 residue, and increased expression of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors p21 and p27. These data imply that cyclin G1 expression is associated with growth promotion and the potential utility and novelty of using ribbon-type antisense oligonucleotides as a gene therapy strategy to treat human uterine leiomyoma. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Overexpression of phospholipase D suppresses taxotere-induced cell death in stomach cancer cells. May 2008 Ju Hwan Cho,Seong-Kweon Hong,Eun-Young Kim,Shin-Young Park,Chang-Hwan Park,Jung Mogg Kim,Oh Jung Kwon,Sung-Joon Kwon,Ki-Sung Lee,Joong-Soo Han Phospholipase D (PLD) catalyzes the hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine to generate phosphatidic acid (PA) and choline. There are at least two PLD isozymes, PLD1 and PLD2. Genetic and pharmacological approaches implicate both PLD isozymes in a diverse range of cellular processes, including receptor s... ( view more )ignaling, membrane transport control, and actin cytoskeleton reorganization. Several recent studies reported that PLD has a role in signaling pathways that oppose apoptosis and promote cell survival in cancer. In this study, we examined the role of PLD in taxotere-induced apoptosis in stomach cell lines; normal stomach (NSC) and stomach cancer cells (SNU 484). Taxotere treatment resulted in increase of PLD activity. To confirm the role of PLD in taxotere-induced apoptosis, PLDs were transfected into SNU 484 cells. Overexpression of PLD isozymes resulted in inhibition of taxotere-induced apoptotic cell death, evidenced by decreased degradation of chromosomal DNA, and increased cell viability. Concurrently, Bcl-2 expression was upregulated, and taxotere-induced activation of procaspase 3 was inhibited after PLD's transfection. However, when PLD was selectively inhibited by specific siRNA-PLD1 or -PLD2, taxotere-induced apoptosis was exacerbated in SNU 484 cells. On top of this, PA -- the product of PLDs, also resulted in upregulation of Bcl-2 in SNU 484. Although PA-induced Bcl-2 expression was blocked by mepacrine, an inhibitor of phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)), increased Bcl-2 expression by PA was not abrogated by propranolol, an inhibitor of PA phospholyhydrolase (PAP). Taken together, PLD1 and PLD2 are closely related with Bcl-2 expression together with PLA(2), but not with PAP, during taxotere-induced apoptosis in SNU 484 cells. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Effects of multiple directional sources on quantitative and qualitative analyses of concert hall acoustics. May 2008 Youngmin Kwon,Gary W Siebein,Martin A Gold The "orchestral impulse reponse" measurement technique using multiple directional sources and its effects on quantitative analysis of concert hall acoustics were discussed earlier [Kwon and Siebein, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 120, 3263(A) (2006)]. An array with 16 directional loudspeakers approximating ov... ( view more )erall sound radiation patterns of each instrumental group of an orchestra was incorporated for room acoustical measurements and analyses. As a continuous study, this paper discusses qualitative assessments of concert hall acoustics over room subjective parameters including reverberance, clarity, warmth, spaciousness, envelopment, etc. The music signals binaurally recorded in a performance hall with the same source array were evaluated by means of subjective listening tests in comparison to those recorded with the single omni-directional source (dodec). The results showed that some perceived differences are present between the array with multiple directional sources and the one with a single omni-directional source. In the main orchestra seating, in particular, reverberance and clarity are perceived more but warmth is perceived less when compared to the recordings through the single omni-source. The results will be further discussed in conjunction with their quantitative measures resulted from the above measurement technique. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Page 1 of 305 1 2 3 4 > Last >> (7613 articles found)

      
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