Sung-Min Lee

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) but not quiescent HSCs express cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2), suggesting that the COX-2/prostanoid pathway has an active role in hepatic fibrogenesis. However, the role of COX-2 inhibitors in hepatic fibrogenesis remains controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the antifibrotic effects of celecoxib, a selective COX-2 inhibitor. METHODS: The effects of various COX inhibitors-that is, ibuprofen, celecoxib, NS-398 and DFU, were

BACKGROUND: Both serum uric acid (SUA) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease; however, it is unclear whether SUA independently increases the risk of CKD based on longitudinal data. METHODS: To investigate the relationship between SUA levels and CKD development, we initiated a 10.2-year prospective cohort study. Data from 14 939 Koreans, 20-84 years of age, who completed a questionnaire and medical examination at the Severance Health Promotion Cen

BACKGROUND: Oculocardiac reflex (OCR) is a major complication of pediatric strabismus surgery. The aim of the present study was to determine whether a single bolus of intravenous (i.v.) ketamine for anesthetic induction can decrease OCR in children undergoing strabismus surgery. METHODS: One hundred and twenty healthy children undergoing strabismus surgery were allocated to three groups using double-blind randomization. Anesthesia was induced with propofol 3 mg/kg in Group P, ketamine 1 mg/kg in

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Rubus Coreanus Miquel (RCM), used as a traditional Korean medicine, reduces chronic inflammatory diseases such as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. However, its mechanism has not been elucidated. In this study, we examine the anti-inflammatory effects of RCM and their possible mechanisms using RAW 264.7 cells. MATERIALS/METHODS: Unripe RCM ethanol extract (UE), unripe RCM water extract (UH), ripe RCM ethanol extract (RE), and ripe RCM water extract (RH) were prepared. Infla

We have demonstrated that 1-deoxynojirimycin (DNJ)isolated from Bacillus subtilis MORI could enhance the levels of adiponectin and its receptors in differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes, which has been shown to be effective in lowering blood glucose levels and enhancing insulin sensitivity. DNJ was not toxic to differentiated 3T3-L1adipocytes for up to a concentration of 5 μM. In terms of expression levels of adiponectin and its receptors (AdipoR1and AdipoR2), DNJ in concentrations as low as 0.5 μM e

In this work, an overview of flow diagnosis in a shock tunnel is made by means of using established techniques that are easy to setup, economical to arrange, and simple to measure. One flow condition was considered having Mach number of 6 at the nozzle-exit, regarded as freestream. Measured aerothermodynamic data such as shock wave speed, wall static and total pressures, surface heat flux, and shock stand-off distance ahead of test model showed good agreement with calculation. This study shows a

We tested the effects of dietary intake of freeze-dried Korean traditional fermented cabbage (generally known as kimchi) with varying amounts of sodium on blood pressure and cardiac hypertrophy in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY), as a control group,received a regular AIN-76 diet, and the SHRs were divided into four groups. The SHR group was fed a regular diet without kimchi supplementation,the SHR-L group was fed the regular diet supplemented with low sodium kimch

AIM: To investigate dental pulp healing after tooth replantation in rats using nestin as an odontoblastic marker for immunohistochemical analysis. METHODOLOGY: Twenty-five maxillary right first molars from 25 female Sprague-Dawley rats, aged 4 weeks post-natally, were extracted and immediately repositioned in the original socket within 5 s. Five rats each were later killed on days 3, 5 and weeks 1, 2 and 4. The maxillae were removed en bloc and the tissue samples containing the maxillary right f

This thesis is concerned with the formulation and validation of energy finite element analysis (EFEA) method for the vibroacoustic analysis of composite structures. The governing energy equations for elastic waves in composite media are derived on the basis of the angle-average of group velocities and structural loss factors. Spectral finite element method is employed for the calculation of the angle-averaged quantities in order to account for the through-thickness material variation and transve

Current tracking applications in sensor networks lack bi-directional communications with mobile objects. They have a passive communication relationship with unidirectional location data messages routed from mobile objects to the central processing node. In order for an object tracking system to be an "active" tracking system, where the user of the system is able to control the mobile objects in various ways, the system first needs an efficient way to deliver control messages to a mobile object,

This paper presents a wave-based, analytical method for the computation of power transfer coefficients (PTC) to evaluate vibratory power transmitted through a set of angled structural joints that connects an arbitrary number of composite plates. Each joint is only used to hold two adjacent plates together. The elastic wave motions and dispersion properties of the plate are calculated by considering shear deformation, rotary inertia, and material anisotropy. The joint is modeled with stiffness an