• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.361-368
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• 2002

The valley forests located at the east-facing slope and the west facing slope in Hambaeksan area were studied to investigate forest structure in relation to aspect and altitude of the slope. There was little difference in density. mean DBH and basal area of the tree layer between east-facing slope and west-facing slope. The importance percentages of Tilia amurensis and Betula costata in west-facing slope were higher than those in east-facing slope. However, the importance percentages of Quercus mongilica and Fraxinus rhynchophylla in the west facing slope were lower than those in east-facing slope. Species diversity of the west-facing slope was 1.415 and that of the east-facing slope was 1.328. Elevation trends were also found for forest structure. As elevation Increased basal area and mean height of the tree layer decreased in both of east-facing slope and west-facing slope. There was a tendency that number of species, species diversity and evenness decreased with increasing elevation. The importance percentage of Quercus mongolica increased with increasing elevation while those of Betula costata and Maackia amurensis decreased. The result of cluster analysis for the tree and subtree layer indicated that the studied forests were classified into the mixed forest community of broad-leaved tree species at west-facing slope and the low and middle elevation belts of east-facing slope and Quercus mongolica community at the high elevation belt of east-facing slope. Quercus mongolica was significantly and positively correlated with Symplocos chinensis for. pilosa, Acer tschonoskii var. rubripes and deutzia glabrata. Betula costata was significantly and negatively correlated with Quercus mongolica and Acer pseudo-sieboldianum.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.367-371
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• 2008

Purpose : The surfactant dysfunction may play an important role in meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS). We aim to evaluate the effect of surfactant lavage in the treatment of term infants with MAS. Methods : The medical records of 15 neonates with severe MAS admitted at Yongdong Severance Hospital from 2005 to 2007 were reviewed and analyzed. Seven infants with severe MAS necessitating mechanical ventilation underwent tracheobronchial lavage with 20 mL/kg of diluted (5.3 mg phospholipid/mL) surfactant saline suspension ($Newfactan^{(R)}$). Data regarding clinical outcomes was assessed by comparison with 8 control infants with equally severe MAS retrospectively. Results : In the lavage group, radiological improvement was evident after 6 hours of treatment. The duration of artificial ventilation and duration of hospital day were also significantly shorten in the lavage group compared with the control group. The mean oxygen index, mean ventilation index improved significantly within the first 6 hours after treatment. No differences were found in the incidence of major complications and mortality between the two groups. Conclusion : The surfactant lavage seems to be an effective and safe method for treatment of severe MAS. A multicenter, large scaled randomized controlled trial is needed for further study.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.93-105
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• 2005

Climatological characteristics in the variation of soil temperatures in Korea were investigated using Korea Meterological Administration's observation data. And the impacts of soil moisture on the variation of soil temperature were examined using observed precipitation data. The climatological averages of soil temperatures are ranged from 14.4 to $15.0^{\circ}C$ regardless of depths. And they showed an latitudinal gradient with a warm temperature at the southern region and 'U' shape as in the air temperature with a high value along the coastal region. The relatively higher heat capacity and low conductivity of soil compared to those of the air resulted in the significant delay of the maximum and minimum date with depth. As a results, soil acts as a heat source during winter while a heat sink during summer. Global warming and urban heat island have increased the soil temperatures with an average rate $0.3\~0.5^{\circ}C/10-year$ as in the air temperature during last 30 years $(1973\~2002)$. However, the warming rate is maximized during spring contrary to the winter in the air temperature. The temporal variation of soil temperatures is strongly affected by that of soil moisture through an modification of the heat capacity and heat convection. In general, the increased soil moisture clearly decreased the temporal variations and increased the deep layer soil temperatures during cold season.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.95-100
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• 2005

Purpose: Critical pathways (CP), also known as clinical pathways, are management plans that display goals for patients and have led to improved outcomes for many disease entities. This study was aimed at developing a critical pathway for the surgical treatment of gastric cancer patients and evaluating its usefulness. Materials and Methods: A CP was developed and implemented by a team of surgeons, nurses, nutritionists, and administrative officials. Among the 117 patients who received curative gastrectomies for gastric cancer at Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, between October 2003 and August 2004, 26 patients were treated according to the CP. We evaluated its usefulness by comparing the clinical characterisctics, postoperative progress, hospital stays, and costs between the CP and the non-CP groups. Patient satisfaction was also surveyed with questionnaires. Results: Of the initial 26 patients in the CP group, two were excluded from the final evaluation; one patient had a duodenal stump leakage, and the other had a gastric stasis postoperatively. In 8 patients, protocol violation occurred; six patients refused to be discharged on the $7^{th}$ postoperative day, one patient who had an gastric staisis postoperatively stayed for 2 additional days, and one patient who needed ICU care stayed for 4 additional days. The drop-out rate was $7.7\%$ (2/26), and the variance rate was $30.8\%$ (8/26). The mean hospital stay was 11.3 days ($10\~15$ days) for the CP group compared with 17.5 days ($9\∼68$ days) for the non-CP group, resulting in a difference of about 6 days (P<0.05). The mean hospital stays after surgery were 10.3 days ($7\∼68$ days) and 8.3 days ($7\∼12$ days) for the non-CP and the CP groups, respectively, but the difference was statistically not significant (P>0.05). The mean charge during the hospital stay was higher in the non-CP group ( $\\$ 6,292,200) than in the CP group ( $\\$ 4,863,685). The charge per hospital day was higher in the CP group ( $\\$ 430,414) than in the non-CP group ( $\\$ 359,554). Patient satisfaction was higher in the CP group than in the non-CP group. Conclusion: By developing and applying a critical pathway in the surgical treatment of stomach cancer patients, we could reduce the length of hospital stay as well as the cost. A multi-centered prospective study to establish a standard treatment pathway and to demonstrate its effectiveness is needed in the future.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.165-173
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• 2005

Purpose : We performed the study to evaluate the value of the follow-up echocardiogram performed 6 months to 1 year after the onset of Kawasaki disease(KD), as recommended by American Heart Association(AHA) guidelines, when echocardiograms in the convalescent period were normal. Methods : Patients were selected from 147 cases diagnosed with KD at Pusan Paik hospital from January 2000 to October 2003. A total of 45 KD patients belonged to AHA risk level I and II were performed follow-up echocardiography. The patient's medical records and echocardiogram were reviewed. Additionally, we sought the opinion of pediatric cardiologists on the subject by means of a multiple-choice survey. Results : 37 children were belonged to AHA risk level I and the remaining 8 patients were belonged to risk level II. Of these 45 children, none were noted to have abnormalities on later follow-up echocardiogram. In the results of questionnaire, 37 percent of the participants advocate no follow-up after convalescent period for risk level I, and 33.3 percent favor periodic follow-up with echocardiography for risk level II up to one year. But there were no consensus about the diagnostic criteria of coronary abnormalities and how to follow-up these patients. Conclusion : All children with KD should have an echocardiogram at present and a follow-up study 6 to 8 weeks after the onset of fever. However, additional echocardiographies are not justified if the 6- to 8-week follow-up echocardiogram is normal. We would recommend that the more reasonable diagnostic criteria for coronary abnormalities and the Korean guidelines for long-term cardiovascular management and follow-up of KD need to be established.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.557-566
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• 2009

Purpose : To evaluate the clinical features and characteristics of childhood periodic syndromes (CPS) in Korea using the new criteria of the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD)-II. Methods : The study was conducted at pediatric neurology clinics of five urban tertiary-care medical centers in Korea from January 2006 to December 2007. Patients (44 consecutive children and adolescents) were divided into three groups (cyclic vomiting syndrome [CVS], abdominal migraine [AM], and benign paroxysmal vertigo of childhood [BPVC]) by recurrent paroxysmal episodes of vomiting, abdominal pain, dizziness, and/or vertigo using the ICHD-II criteria and their characteristics were compared. Results : Totally, 16 boys (36.4%) and 28 girls (63.6%) were examined (aged 4-18 yr), with 20 CVS (45.5%), 8 AM (18.2%), and 16 BPVC (36.4%) patients. The mean age at symptom onset was $6.3{\pm}3.6$ yr, $8.5{\pm}2.7$ yr, and $8.5{\pm}2.9$ yr in the CVS, AM, and BPVC groups, respectively, showing that symptoms appeared earliest in the CVS group. The mean age at diagnosis was $8.0{\pm}3.4$ yr, $10.5{\pm}2.6$ yr, and $10.1{\pm}3.2$ yr the CVS, AM, and BPVC groups, respectively. Of the 44 patients, 17 (38.6%) had a history of recurrent headaches and 11 (25.0%) showed typical symptoms of migraine headache, with 5 CVS (25.0%), 2 AM (25.0%), and 4 BPVC (25.0%) patients. Family history of migraine was found in 9 patients (20.4%): 4 in the CVS group (20.0%), 2 in the AM group (25.0%), and 3 in the BPVC group (18.8%). Conclusion : The significant time lag between the age at symptom onset and final diagnosis possibly indicates poor knowledge of CPS among pediatric practitioners, especially in Korea. A high index of suspicion may be the first step toward caring for these patients. Furthermore, a population-based longitudinal study is necessary to determine the incidence and natural course of these syndromes.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.341-349
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• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the $Osstem^{(R)}$ implants (US II/SS II implants) through the retrospective study for the clinical success rate during the installation of the $Osstem^{(R)}$ implants (US II/SS II implants) by using of the procedures of maxillary sinus floor elevation. Materials and methods: The current study was researched in the 6 medical institutions: Chonnam National University, Chosun University, Pusan DaeDong Hospital, Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, Ap-Seon Clinic, and All Clinic. Based on the total number of 116 patients whose treatment was the installation of the US II/SS II implants with the procedures of the maxillary sinus floor elevation, they were conferred on the dental records of the patients under the joint consultation of the 6 medical institutions. On the dental recording charts, there were included in as the following; the name of the institutions, gender, age, with or without smoking or drinking, with or without the generalized diseases, the height of the alveolar bone on the operational sites, elapsed edentulous state period, the state of the opposed or adjacent teeth, the methods of the maxillary sinus floor elevation, secondary time period for surgery, the lengths, types, and diameters of implants, with or without bone transplantation or the types of bone, postoperative current bone height, current adjacent soft tissue state of the implants, with or without the success of the installations of the implants. We have done our survey with the clinical and radiolographical examinations and dental questionaries. The success and survival rate of the implants was evaluated. Results 1. Total number of the patients with the installation of the US II implants were 62. The 252 numbers of US II implants were installed on the 89 maxillary sinuses. The patient's mean age was 54.1 years old and there were 36 men and 27 women. 2. Total number of patients with the installation of SS II implant were 57. The 165 numbers of SS II implants were planted on the 80 maxillary sinuses. Their mean age was 48.7 years old and there were 37 men and 20 women. 3. The follow-up period was 30.7 months(21-49 mon) on average. The vertical bone loss of installed implants after the procedures of the maxillary sinus elevation was 1.1 mm on average in SS II and 1.3 mm on average in US II. There existed no statistical significance on each group. The mean enlarged bone height after the maxillary sinus floor elevation was 8.2 mm. 4. For the procedures of the maxillary sinus elevation, the Lateral approach technique occupied 87.1%, which was the most used one. In addition, the most frequently used transplanted bone was autogenous bone only which was 72.7% during the maxillary sinus floor elevation. 5. The complication of maxillary sinus floor elevation were perforation of sinus membrane, disesthesia on doner site, exposure of cover screw and exposure of maxillar bone. 6. The survival rate of US II and SS II after maxillary sinus floor elevation was 99.2% and 95.8%, respectively. And the success rate of US II and SS II after maxillary sinus floor elevation was 97.6% and 89.7%, respectively. Conclusion : On the evaluation of the analysis of our study, both US II and SS II implants showed the excellent clinical results by use of the procedures of maxillary sinus floor elevation.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.79-87
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• 2017

GenesWell$^{TM}$ BCT is a 12-gene test suggesting the prognostic risk score (BCT Score) for distant metastasis within the first 10 years in early breast cancer patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative, and pN0~1 tumors. In this study, we validated the analytical performance of GenesWell$^{TM}$ BCT. Gene expression values were measured by a one-step, real-time qPCR, using RNA extracted from FFPE specimens of early breast cancer patients. Limit of Blank, Limit of Detection, and dynamic range for each of the 12 genes were assessed by serially diluted RNA pools. The analytical precision and specificity were evaluated by three different RNA samples representing low risk group, high risk group, and near-cutoff group in accordance with their BCT Scores. GenesWell$^{TM}$ BCT could detect gene expression of each of the 12 genes from less than $1ng/{\mu}L$ of RNA. Repeatability and reproducibility across multiple testing sites resulted in 100% and 98.3% consistencies of risk classification, respectively. Moreover, it was confirmed that the potential interference substances does not affect the risk classification of the test. The findings demonstrate that GenesWell$^{TM}$ BCT have high analytical performance with over 95% consistency for risk classification.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.2 s.62
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• pp.95-104
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• 2005

Objectives: This was a double blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical study for evaluation of safety and effective dose finding of Cardiotonic Pills$^{(R)}$ in patients with chest pain and discomfort. Cardiotonic Pills$^{(R)}$ are composed of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix (丹蔘), Notoginseng Radix (三七根) and Borneolum (龍腦). Major effects of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix and Notoginseng Radix are vasodilatation, sedation and analgesic action. Borneolum has an antibacterial effect, and can stimulate the central nervous system. All of these substances are oriental herbs that have been used for a long time in east Asia. Cardiotonic Pills fi received Investigational New Drug (IND) approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the USA and 40 million people in the world take this pill. We performed a phase IV clinical study to confirm its efficacy and safety in patients who have probable cardiogenic or psychogenic chest pain or chest stifling. Methods: This study was planned for a multi-center clinical trial including four university hospitals of oriental medicine in Korea. This was the first time to evaluate the 'planning treatment according to diagnosis (辨證施治)' of chest pain or chest discomfort according to oriental medical guidelines. The patients who were included in this trial were adult volunteers from 20 to 70 years old who had chest pain or chest discomfort more than twice during a recent month, and we received written consent to participate in this study from all of them. After administration of Cardiotonic Pills$^{(R)}$ for 8 weeks, number of occurrences, duration, appearance and degree of chest pain or chest discomfort was observed and degree of symptoms (severity of illness, global improvement) were measured using a patient's global assessment composite scale. Results: In the patient's global assessment scale, the severity of illness of the Cardiotonic Pills$^{(R)}$ group (n=25) was 14/25=0.56 but of the placebo group (n=25) was 7/25=0.28 (p-value=0.0449). This result indicates Cardiotonic Pills$^{(R)}$have a positive effect on the symptoms of chest pain and discomfort. However, the global improvement of the Cardiotonic Pills$^{(R)}$group was 23/25=0.92, and of the placebo group was 22/25=0.88 (p-value=0.6374). The total symptom score of the Cardiotonic Pills$^{(R)}$ group was $1.68\pm20.06$, and of the placebo group was $16.76\pm72.l4$(p-value=0.2285). The number of symptom events of the Cardiotonic Pills$^{(R)}$ group was $72\pm29.78$, and of the placebo group (n=25) was $10.80\pm38.42$ (p­value=0.3660). We could not find any effects on the other factors examined besides the severity of illness, beyond the difference of standard deviations. Conclusions: Cardiotonic Pills$^{(R)}$ significantly reduced chest pain and chest discomfort in patients. Therefore, we expect that Cardiotonic Pills$^{(R)}$ will be helpful for patients with chest pain and chest discomfort not only caused by heart disease but also by other diseases.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.50 no.12
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• pp.743-754
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• 2012

urpose : The purpose of this study was to evaluate the US II plus/GS II Osstem$^{(R)}$ implants through the study for the clinical success rate during the installation of the Osstem¢Á implants after bone graft. Materials and Methods : This study was researched in the 4 medical institutions: Chonnam National University, Chosun University, Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, and FM dental clinic from May, 2002 to September, 2009. Based on the total number of 60 patients whose treatment was the installation of the US II plus/GS II Osstem¢Á implants after bone graft, we evaluated success rate of implants. We analysis the distribution of patient's age and gender, edentulous area, bone type, fixture length and diameter, installation and loading time, donor site, bone graft material and method, antagonistic teeth, and survival and success rate. From these analyses we got the following results. Results : 1. In this study, the total number of patients who have been installed with US II plus implant was 27, and total of 52 implants were installed. The average age was 38.9, with 16 male, and 11 female patients. 2. The total number of patients who have been installed with GS II implant was 33, and total of 54 implants were installed. The average age was 49.7, with 24 male, and 9 female patients. 3. As for bone graft method, either autogenous bone or a mix of autogenous and heterogenous bone was used(88.4%) for US II plus. Chin, iliac, and Maxillary tuberosity were the donor sites for autogenous bone graft, and onlay method of bone graft was performed. 4. Allogenic bone or a mix of autogenous and heterogenous bone was used(77.8%) for GS II. Chin, ramus, and tibia were the donor sites for autogenous bone graft, and GBR method of bone graft was performed. 5. The duration from the installation of implants to setting of final prosthesis was average of 16 months and 10 months for US II plus and GS II respectively. Also, the final follow up period was average of 31 months and 28 months respectively. During this period, one GS II implant was removed from 1 patient due to failure of early osteointegration. 6. The survival rates were 100% and 98.1%, and success rates were 94.2% and 94.4% for US II plus and GS II implant respectively. Conclusion : On the evaluation of our clinical study, both US II plus and GS II Osstem¢Á implants showed the excellent clinical results after bone graft.