• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.203-209
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• 2010

Purpose : Growth impairment is usually observed in children with congenital heart disease (CHD). Studies on the final height and weight of this population are insufficient. Our aim was to evaluate the final height of children with CHD and to identify the relationship between CHD and growth. Methods : We recorded the values of final height and weights of 105 CHD patients (age, <19 years) who visited Chonnam National University Hospital between November 2000 and March 2009, and we reviewed the medical records. Results : The mean values of weight and height of male CHD patients were significantly lower than those of the normal subjects. Patients with severe growth impairment (below the third percentile of normal) included 5 males (8.6%) and 4 females (8.5%) with height less than normal and 9 males (15.5%) and 8 females (17.0%) with weight less than normal. The mean growth of the patients in the cyanotic heart disease group was lower than that of normal subjects, but a statistically significant difference was noted in the weights of males. In a comparative study based on the type of CHD, a significant difference was noted in weights of males. Patients with patent ductus arteriosus and those with tetralogy of Fallot had the highest and lowest mean values of weight, respectively. Conclusion : Growth impairment was more evident in children with CHD than normal children. Patients should be treated during an optimal time frame. Thus, CHD patients should be treated if follow-up studies indicate growth impairment.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.195-202
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• 2010

Purpose : Despite recent advances in pulmonary hypertension management and surgery, appropriate guidelines remain to be developed for operability in congenital heart disease with pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH). Our aim was to evaluate clinical outcomes of patients with severe PAH who underwent surgical closure of left-to-right shunt lesions (LRSL) on the basis of pulmonary reactivity. Methods : We retrospectively reviewed 21 patients who underwent surgical closure of LRSL with severe PAH (${\geq}8$ Wood unit) from January 1995 to April 2009. The median age at operation was 26 years. Atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect (VSD), VSD and patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), and PDA was present in 11, 4, 4, and 2 patients, respectively. Results : Operability was based on vasoreactivity of PAH. Of the 21 patients, 5 showed response to pulmonary vasodilator therapy and 8 showed vasoreactivity after balloon occlusion of defects. The remaining 8 patients were considered operable because of significant left-to-right shunt (Qp/Qs ${\geq}1.5$). Five patients underwent total closure of defects and 16 were left with small residual shunts. The median follow-up duration was 32 months. There was no significant postoperative mortality or morbidity. Systolic pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) decreased in all but 2 patients. All patients except 1 showed improvement of New York Heart Association functional class. Conclusion : Closure of LRSL in patients with severe PAH on the basis of pulmonary vasoreactivity seems reasonable. PAP and clinical symptoms improved in most patients. Further research is needed for the evaluation of long-term results.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.544-548
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• 2009

Purpose : To elucidate a potential association between Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection and iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) in infants and children in terms of the other factors related to iron utilization and storage although the association of ferritin was previously studied. Methods : We evaluated 135 infants (aged 6-24 months) admitted at Gyeongsang National University Hospital from 2000 to 2006. Western blot assays using the HP CagA antigen (120 kD) were conducted to identify infections. The concentrations of six parameters were measured: hemoglobin (Hb), serum ferritin, soluble serum transferrin receptors, interleukin-6, prohepcidin, and C-reactive protein. In addition, the infants were classified into IDA, anemia from inflammation (AI), unclassified anemia (UCA), and normal groups on the basis of Hb and ferritin concentrations. Results : In the IDA group (n=20), seven infants were infected with HP, with the other infants showing no evidence of infection. The mean Hb levels in the IDA group were significantly lower in HP-infected infants than those uninfected (7.1 vs. 8.2 g/dL, respectively); the mean ferritin levels were also significantly lower in the infected infants (3.2 vs. $6.8{\mu}g/L$). The other four parameters did not differ significantly among the IDA infants. No correlations were found between the six parameters and HP infection status in the other groups. Conclusion : There were no significant differences in the HP infection rates among the study groups. However, in the IDA group, the HP-infected infants had significantly lower serum ferritin and Hb levels than the HP-negative infants (P<0.05).

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.228-234
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• 2010

Purpose : Although intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment is an effective first-line treatment for Kawasaki disease, 10-20% of the patients develop persistent fever or coronary artery complications. Medical records of Kawasaki disease patients were reviewed to assess the characteristic laboratory findings of IVIG nonresponsiveness. Methods : We reviewed the clinical records of 118 children with Kawasaki disease who were treated at the Chonnam National University Hospital from March 2003 to February 2008. The laboratory findings of the IVIG-responder group (n=110) and the IVIG-nonresponder group (n=8) were compared at admission day and at 48 hours and 14 days after IVIG administration. Results : At admission, the level of creatine kinase (CK) was lower (P =0.03) and that of total protein was higher (P <0.01) in the nonresponders than in the responders. At 48 hours after IVIG administration, the white blood cell (WBC) count (P =0.04) and neutrophil% (P <0.01) was higher in the nonresponders than in the responders. The neutrophil% (P <0.01) and CK (P =0.01) level at admission was lower than that at 48 hours after IVIG administration in the responders; this decrease was not as apparent in the nonresponders. Conclusion : IVIG nonresponders have lower CK and higher total protein levels at admission and higher WBC count and neutrophil% at 48 hours after IVIG administration. The decrease in the neutrophil% and CK level between at admission and at 48 hours after IVIG administration is remarkably higher in responders than in nonresponders.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.51 no.8
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• pp.861-867
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• 2008

Purpose : We carried out this study to determine if there is any difference in the occurrence rate of the epileptiform discharge between awake EEG and sleep EEG and if there are any factors influencing on the occurrence rate of EEG. Methods : This study included 178 epileptic children who had visited neurology clinic of the department of pediatrics, Pusan National University Hospital from July 2005 to July 2006. The medical and EEG records of these children who had had both awake EEG and sleep EEG were reviewed. We analysed the occurrence rate of the epileptiform discharge between awake EEG and sleep EEG. We investigated the related clinical factors which included sex, seizure types, underlying causes, age at first seizure, antiepileptic drug (AED) medication, age at recording, and background activity. Results : Among 178 epileptic children, 91 patients (51.1%) showed epileptiform discharge in awake or sleep states, 10 patients (11.0%) abnormal only in awake, 40 patients (44.0%) abnormal only in sleep, 41 patients (45.0%) abnormal in both awake EEG and sleep EEG. The occurrence rate of sleep EEG was 81 of 178 patients (45.5%) which was more than that of the awake EEG (28.7%) (P<0.001). The occurrence rate of sleep EEG is more than that of the awake EEG regardless of sex and underlying causes. But there is no significant difference from awake EEG and sleep EEG in finding the epileptiform discharge in the patient with generalized seizure, younger than 5 years old at first seizure, younger than 10 years old at recording, no antiepileptic medication, and abnormal background activity. Conclusion : The sleep EEG is thought to be more helpful in the diagnosis of childhood epilepsy.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.528-533
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• 2008

Staphylococcus aureus is a pathogene of major concern in livestock products. This study was conducted to test imported and domestic meat sold by retail stores for the presence S. aureus. In addition, the antibiotic susceptibility of any S. aureus found was also evaluated. The overall isolation rate of S. aureus was 20.2% (13.9% in pork and 33.8% in beef) in retail meats. The percentage of imported meats found to contain S. aureus (33.3% in pork and 40.4% in beef) was higher than that of domestic meat (13.0% in pork and 14.7% in beef). In addition, the detection rate of S. aureus was higher in raw material meat than in ready to cook packaged meat. When the antibiotic susceptibility of S. aureus isolated from the meat products was evaluated, ampicillin was found to be the highest (76.5%), followed by penicillin (75.3%), tetracycline (27.1%) and erythromycin (21.2%). Penicillin and tetracycline resistant were detected in 55.6% and 13.3% of the beef isolates, respectively, and 97.5% and 42.5% of the pork isolates, respectively. The tetracycline and erythromycin resistant plasmids of the isolated strain were transferred into S. aureus DPRMM2429 by the filter mating method and the frequencies of transfer was found to be $1.1{\times}10^{-5}{\sim}1.9{\times}10^{-9}$ and $1.2{\times}10^{-5}{\sim}4.0{\times}10^{-8}$ respectively.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2005

Purpose : This study attempted to investigate the effects of supply of highly concentrated $(30\%)$ oxygen on human ability of visuospatial cognition using time course data analysis of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). Materials and Methods : To select an item set in the visuospatial performance test, two questionnaires with similar difficulty were developed through group testing. A group test was administered to 263 college students. Two types of questionnaire containing 20 questions were developed to measure the ability of visuospatial cognition. Eight college students (right-handed male, average age of 23.5 yrs) were examined for fMRI study. The experiment consisted of two runs of the visuospatial cognition testing, one with $21\%$ level of oxygen and the other with $30\%$ oxygen level. Each run consisted of 4 blocks, each containing control and visuospatial items. Functional brain images were taken from 37 MRI using the single-shot EPI method. Using the subtraction procedure, activated areas in the brain during visuospatial tasks were color-coded by t-score. To investigate the time course data in each activated area from brain images, 4 typical regions (cerebellum, occipital lobe, parietal lobe, and frontal lobe) were selected. Results : The average accuracy was $50.63{\pm}8.63$ and $62.50{\pm}9.64$ for $21\%\;and\;30\%$ oxygen respectively, and a statistically significant difference was found in the accuracy between the two types of oxygen (p<0.05). There were more activation areas observed at the cerebellum, occipital lobe, parietal lobe and frontal lobe with $30\%$ oxygen administration. The rate of increase in the cerebellum, occipital lobe and parietal lobe was $17\%$ and that of the frontal lobe, $50\%$. Especially, there were increase of intensity of BOLD signal at the parietal lobe with $30\%$ oxygen administration. The increase rate of the left parietal lobe was $1.4\%$ and that of the right parietal lobe, $1.7\%$. Conclusion : It is concluded that while performing visuospatial tasks, high concentrations of oxygen administration make oxygen administration sufficient, thus making neural network activate more, and the ability to perform visuospatial tasks increase.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.224-243
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• 2020

The rock-cut relief of two Buddhas seated side-by-side in Wonpungri is a large Buddha sculpture in relief on the side of a cliff in Wonpung-ri, Goesan. This Buddha sculpture is from the Buddhist scripture Sutra of the Lotus. <法華經> Two seated Buddhas statues were prevalent in the Balhae Kingdom, but this was not popular in Silla and Goryeo. In the main text, the time that the two seated Buddhas in Wonpung-ri was created is identified as being during the 10th century. King Gwangjong created a Buddha statue for political purposes. The relief of two seated Buddha image carved on a cliff is located on an important traffic route over the Sobaek Mountain Range. After King Gwangjong took the throne, he paid close attention to the reigning powers of Jincheon and Cheongju because the people of Jincheon and Cheongju were engaged in a power struggle against Gwangjong. The huge relief of two seated Buddhas statue shows the authority of King Gwangjong. In particular, the people of Jincheon and Cheongju had to see this Buddha statue when crossing the Sobaek Mountain Range. The image contained in the relief of the two seated Buddhas features many characteristics of the sculpture style of the Balhae Kingdom. After the fall of Balhae, many of the Balhae people settled in Mungyeong. Balhae people from Mungyeong participated in the production of the relief of the two seated Buddhas. Through the relief of the two seated Buddhas, King Gwangjong wanted to show the people of Jincheon and Cheongju that the Balhae people were supporting him. The relief of two seated Buddhas reflects the historical situation of the King Gwangjong era in the late 10^th century and the style of sculpture.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.49-58
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• 2010

This study is attempted to establish the concept of Byeulseo Scenic Spot that the definitions of Byeulseo and Scenic Spot would be presented first followed by clarifying the basis, reason and justification that Byeulseo would be called as Byeulseo Scenic Spot that the following is the major results formulated herein. First, the concept of scenic spot under the Cultural Property Act is the reference to the famous site with the building improvement well known for its great scenery or the point where splendid scenery is viewed that has the artistic value along with the trace of human lives in this cultural heritage that, although the scenery is important but the attention has to be on discovery of historic resources with the story telling in the subject site. Second, the criteria of designation on the Scenic Spot in Korea would be natural scenery, animal and plant site with well-known scenery, view point of scenery, famous building or garden and important places with legend that there lacks diversification. In this aspect, the intent of the concept of Scenic Spot would be facilitated to expand the designation of the Byeulseo Scenic Spot as the Scenic Spot of living style. Third, from the foreign cases, particularly, in Japan, it is needed to note that Byeulseos and housing gardens are designated for 196 places of Scenic Spot, reaching 55.4% of entire Scenic Spots. Laws, regulations, systems and designated criteria on the cases of designating the foreign Scenic Spots would be studied and quoted. Fourth, the classification work for each type to designate as cultural heritage has to be continued as the Scenic Spot of subject site with even more emerged for the value as the Scenic Spot in garden, original site and the like classified as historic site, important folk data and the like. Fifth, the designation of Scenic Spot of Byeulseo garden with splendid scenery as the living Scenic Spot has to be expanded. The pavilion existed now nationwide would be approximately 1,500, and these pavilions are the place where the scholars stay in the famous site, and this is the central space of Byeulseo to study, and if there is clear one that has written and record of deed to create the stories to people with the value for publicity campaign, it would be the subject of Scenic Spot. And sixth, for the case of view point with splendid scenery in Byeulseo Garden, it cannot be the subject of designation that the designation of Scenic Spot has to be expanded. In the event of the Byeulseo garden in Korea, there are many cases of having outstanding view points, and there is a few case of designating the subject site with great view point as a Scenic Spot.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.197-203
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• 2005

Purpose : Changes in metalloproteinases(MMP) activity have been demonstrated in several disease states, including rheumatoid arthritis and tumor metastasis. More importantly, increased myocardial MMP activity has been reported to occur in both clinical and experimental forms of dilated cardiomyopathy. There was no report about MMP in adriamycin(ADR)-induced cardiomyopathy. The purpose of this study was to investigate gene expression of MMP and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases(TIMP) in ADR-induced cardiomyopathy and clarify the relationship between MMP and cytokines. Methods : Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into two groups. The first group was control. The second group was given intraperitoneal injections of ADR(5 mg/kg) twice a week over two weeks. Serum concentrations of MMP, TIMP, interleukin(IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-${\alpha}$ were measured. RNA extraction was performed from frozen rat hearts. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) was employed. cDNA Microarray analysis was performed by using a set of 5,184 sequence-verified rat cDNA clones. Results : Serum MMP and TIMP levels were not significantly different between the two groups. IL-6 was $36.8{\pm}2.8pg/mL$ and TNF-${\alpha}$ $2.2{\pm}2.7pg/mL$ in the ADR group. They were significantly higher than in the control group. Serum MMP correlated significantly with TNF-${\alpha}$(r=0.41, P<0.05). There was no gene expression of MMP, IL-6 or TNF-${\alpha}$ in the hearts of both groups. Gene expression of TIMP was significantly depressed in the hearts of the ADR group. Conclusion : These results suggested a potential role for TNF-${\alpha}$ in the regulation of extracellular matrix remodeling in ADR induced cardiomyopathy. Rapid screening of multiple decreased gene expression by DNA chip may be a useful diagnostic test to detect early cardiac injury before developing ADR induced cardiomyopathy.