Translation of Korean Medicine Use to ICD-Codes Using National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort

Background. Korean medicine was incorporated into the Korean Classification of Diseases (KCD) 6 through the development of U codes (U20–U99). Studies of the burden of disease have used summary measures such as disability-adjusted life years. Although Korean medicine is included in the official health care system, studies of the burden of disease that include Korean medicine are lacking. Methods. A data-based approach was used with National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort data for the year 2012. U code diagnoses for patients covered by National Health Insurance were collected. Using the main disease and subdisease codes, the proportion of U codes was redistributed into the related KCD 6 codes and visualized. U code and KCD code relevance was appraised prior to the analysis by consultation with medical professionals and from the beta draft version of the International Classification of Diseases-11 traditional medicine chapter. Results. This approach enabled redistribution of U codes into KCD 6 codes. Musculoskeletal diseases had the greatest increase in the burden of disease through this approach. Conclusion. This study provides a possible method of incorporating Korean medicine into burden of disease analyses through a data-based approach. Further studies should analyze potential yearly differences

Occurrence and health risk assessment of antimony, arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, nickel, and lead in fresh fruits consumed in South Korea

Abstract Although various fruits are consumed as fresh produce in South Korea, information on the concentrations of heavy metals in such fruits remains lacking despite the known toxic effects of the metals. Moreover, the health risks posed by seven potentially toxic metals (As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Sb) ingested through fruit consumption have not been assessed using recent dietary data and occurrence data. Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry was used to quantify these metals in 207 samples of fresh fruits mainly consumed in South Korea. The mean concentrations (mg kg−1 fresh weight) of the metals in all fruit samples were as follows: As  As (0.0086) > Ni (0.0081) > Sb (0.0080) > Ba (0.0031) > Cd (0.0027) > Cr (0.0001), and the hazard index, which is the sum of the hazard quotients, was 0.0275 (less than 1). The carcinogenic risks of As and Pb were 4.62E − 07 and 5.05E − 07, respectively (below 1E − 04). The hazard index of seven metals and carcinogenic risks of As and Pb indicated that no health risks were associated with fruit consumption in the Korean population. However, the hazard quotient and carcinogenic risk of Pb in apples were the highest for children aged 1–2years, indicating that continuous targeted risk monitoring in this age group is required

In vitro and in vivo Induction of p53-Dependent Apoptosis by Extract of Euryale ferox Salisb in A549 Human Caucasian Lung Carcinoma Cancer Cells Is Mediated Through Akt Signaling Pathway

Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of death, and mortality rates have steadily been increasing. Recently, several studies were conducted to develop novel, physiologically active compounds from medicinal plant extracts. Several plant-derived extracts and molecules regulate and inhibit signaling molecules associated with the growth and proliferation of cancer cells. Euryale ferox salisb is a medicinal plant that is effective against different types of cancers. In this study, we investigated the apoptotic effects of E. ferox salisb extract (ESE) in A549 lung cancer cells, exerted by the inhibition of the Akt protein and activation of the p53 protein. Our results show that ESE induces apoptosis via the regulation of mitochondrial outer membrane potential and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). We demonstrate that apoptosis is induced in a p53-dependent manner when cells are treated with pifithrin-α (a p53 inhibitor) and LY294002 (an Akt inhibitor). The apoptotic effects from ESE were observed in vivo in Balb/c-nu mice bearing A549 xenografts. Altogether, these results suggest that E. ferox salisb extracts exert anti-cancer effects in a p53-dependent manner

Particulate matter 10 exposure affects intestinal functionality in both inflamed 2D intestinal epithelial cell and 3D intestinal organoid models

BackgroundA growing body of evidence suggests that particulate matter (PM10) enters the gastrointestinal (GI) tract directly, causing the GI epithelial cells to function less efficiently, leading to inflammation and an imbalance in the gut microbiome. PM10 may, however, act as an exacerbation factor in patients with inflamed intestinal epithelium, which is associated with inflammatory bowel disease.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to dissect the pathology mechanism of PM10 exposure in inflamed intestines.MethodsIn this study, we established chronically inflamed intestinal epithelium models utilizing two-dimensional (2D) human intestinal epithelial cells (hIECs) and 3D human intestinal organoids (hIOs), which mimic in vivo cellular diversity and function, in order to examine the deleterious effects of PM10 in human intestine-like in vitro models.ResultsInflamed 2D hIECs and 3D hIOs exhibited pathological features, such as inflammation, decreased intestinal markers, and defective epithelial barrier function. In addition, we found that PM10 exposure induced a more severe disturbance of peptide uptake in inflamed 2D hIECs and 3D hIOs than in control cells. This was due to the fact that it interferes with calcium signaling, protein digestion, and absorption pathways. The findings demonstrate that PM10-induced epithelial alterations contribute to the exacerbation of inflammatory disorders caused by the intestine.ConclusionsAccording to our findings, 2D hIEC and 3D hIO models could be powerful in vitro platforms for the evaluation of the causal relationship between PM exposure and abnormal human intestinal functions

Pearliness as an Intrinsic Characteristic of Surface

The perceived pearliness values of pink colored UV coated polycarbonate samples having three different pearlescent particle sizes and five different densities are investigated to be compared with the previous study using the similar samples. Each sample"s pearliness is estimated in the viewing both illuminated with D65 using magnitude estimation method. In total twenty-one observers estimate thirty samples in the experiment. The data analysis results show that the perceived pearliness values are mostly affected by the average pearl particle sizes than densities. Also comparison between two independent pearliness data sets shows that number of observers and the number of samples can play an important role to decide the pearliness scale. The conventional color measurement data such as gloss and CIELAB cannot predict the perceived pearliness phenomena. Further research is needed to establish the metric to predict the visual pearliness based on the measurement data

Effects of Black Luminance Level on Image Quality

The image quality is affected by the black luminance level of the image. This research aimed to investigate how low luminance levels are required to maintain image quality. The psychophysical experiment was carried out in a dark room using OLED display. Total of 6 different black luminance levels (0.003, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 1 cd/m2 ) were used in the experiment. Total of 20 participants was invited to evaluate the image quality. For the experiment, twelve test images are used and these test images categorized into three groups as dark, medium bright and bright image group by image histogram distribution. Each image is rendered by adjusting six different black luminance levels. Result found that the black level is higher than 0.1 cd/m2, the preference for the image is decreased. The best performance is achieved when the black level is 0.003 cd/m2 , but there is no big difference from 0.1 cd/m2. The final result shows that a change in black level between about 0.003 cd/m2 and 0.1 cd/m2 does not significantly affect image quality

Monitor brightness changes under a wide range of surround conditions

Display brightness data were collected under a wide range of surround conditions. A 24 in. (60.96 cm) LCD display was used to generate color stimuli, and a 107 in. (271.78 cm) two-dimensional illuminator was used to generate various surround conditions. The brightness values of the display under 89 monitor-surround-luminance combinations were collected from 10 or 24 observers. The surround ratio, SR, i.e., the luminance ratio between the surround and the monitor, varied from 0 to 90. Based on the collected brightness data, we propose a new c value as the log function of the surround ratio, SR, to improve the performance of the CIECAM02 brightness predictor Q.clos

Inverse Association of Serum Folate Level with Metabolic Syndrome and Its Components in Korean Premenopausal Women: Findings of the 2016–2018 Korean National Health Nutrition Examination Survey

Research on the association of serum folate levels with metabolic syndrome (MetS) in premenopausal women is lacking. This study was aimed to investigate this association in 1730 premenopausal women using the 2016 to 2018 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data. Participants’ mean age and BMI were 35.9 years and 22.7 kg/m2, respectively. Participants were divided into three groups according to serum folate tertiles. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for abdominal obesity, elevated blood pressure (BP), high fasting plasma glucose (FPG), high triglycerides (TG), low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and MetS were calculated in multiple logistic regression models adjusted for possible confounders, by serum folate level tertiles. Prevalence of MetS (14.9, 11.0, and 8.6%); abdominal obesity (17.8, 16.0, and 11.4%); high TG (17.5, 14.0, and 11.1%); and low HDL-C (50.3, 44.6, and 42.5%) decreased with increasing folate level tertile. Prevalence of elevated BP (14.3, 12.0, and 11.7%) and high FPG (11.9, 15.8, and 13.0%) showed no significant differences according to serum folate level tertiles. The multivariate-adjusted ORs (95% CIs) for MetS, abdominal obesity, elevated BP, high TG, and low HDL-C in the highest folate level tertile were 2.17 (1.46–3.22), 1.80 (1.25–2.60), 1.77 (1.16–2.70), 1.90 (1.35–2.67), and 1.49 (1.14–1.94), respectively. The ORs for high FPG did not show significant differences according to serum folate level tertiles. In conclusion, serum folate levels were inversely associated with an increased risk of MetS in Korean premenopausal women. These results suggest that MetS can be prevented and managed by improving the serum folate levels in premenopausal women