• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.101-110
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• 2010

Helicobacter pylori(H. pylori) is bacterial infection, with more than half of the world population infected and oral cavity is considered second reservoir of H. pylori infection. The purpose of this study was to evaluate role of oral cavity in H. pylori infection by comparison of the mode H. pylori infection in oral cavity and stomach. We recruited 100 subjects without systemic disease including gastrointestinal disease. Samples in oral cavity taken on gingival sulcus fluid(GSF) of lower left central incisor and 1st molar, area of buccal mucosa, dorsum of the tongue, palatal and saliva. We analyzed by Nested polymerase chain reaction(PCR) for oral infection and Urea Breath Test(UBT) for gastric infection. The results were as follows : 1. Among these 100 subjects, 36(36%) were positive by Nested PCR and 33(33%) were positive by UBT(p>0.05). 2. In detection rate of H. pylori in sites taken sample, 11(11%), 8(8%), 9(9%), 3(3%), 9(9%), 7(7%) were positive on GSF of lower left central incisor and 1st molar, area of buccal mucosa, dorsum of the tongue, palatal and saliva, respectively. Statical significance was observed in samples of GSF of lower left central incisor and area of dorsum of the tongue(p<0.05). 3. In comparison of the mode of H. pylori infection in oral cavity and stomach by analytic method, positive in oral cavity and stomach was 10(10%), negative in oral cavity and positive in stomach was 23(23%), positive in oral cavity and negative in stomach was 26(26%) and negative in oral cavity and stomach was 41(41%)(p>0.05). Conclusively, we can guess that oral H. pylori is not associated with gastric H. pylori infection and normal flora.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.30-35
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• 2005

Purpose : The purpose of this study is to observe the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) contrast changes due to the reaction of human brain at a gustatory sense in response to a salty-taste stimulation. Materials and Methods : Twelve healthy, non-smoking, right-handed male subjects (mean age: 25.6, range: 23-28 years) participated in this salty-taste stimulus functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) study. MRI scans were performed with 1.57 GE Signa, using a multi-slice GE-EPI sequence according to a blood-oxy-gen-level dependent (BOLD) experiment paradigm. Scan parameters included matrix size $128\times128$, FOV 250 mm, TR 5000 msec, TE 60 msec, TH/GAP 5/2 mm. Sequential data acquisitions were carried out for 42 measurements with a repetition time of 5 sec for each taste-stimulus experiments. Analysis of fMRI data was carried out using SPM99 implemented in Matlab. NaCl solution $(3\%)$ was used as a salty stimulus. The task paradigm consisted of alternating rest-stimulus cycles (30-second rest, 15-second stimulus) for 210 seconds. During the stimulus period, NaCl-solution was presented to the subject's mouth through plastic tubes as a bolus of delivered every 5 sec using -processor controlled auto-syringe pump. Results : Insula, frontal opercular taste cortex, amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) were activated by a salty-taste stimulation $(NaCl,\;3\%)$ in the fMRI experiments. And dosolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) was also significantly responded to salty-taste stimuli. Activation areas of the right side hemisphere were more superior to the left side hemisphere. Conclusion : The results of this study well correspond to the fact that both insula, amygdala, OFC, DLPFC areas are established as taste cortical areas by neuronal recordings in primates. Authors found that laboratory-developed auto-syringe pump is suitable for gustatory fMRI study. Further research in this field will accelerate to inquire into the mechanism of higher order gustatory process.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.79-85
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• 2002

We investigated the optimal concentration and exposure time of cycloheximide(CHX) on development of activated porcine oocytes following electrical pulse(EP). After 42~44 h maturation, oocytes were treated with 0.1% hyaluronidase, and denuded cumulus cells by pipetting. Oocytes were stimulated by electric pulse (1.2 kV/cm, 30 $\mu$sec, 1 pulse) or incubated for 3, 5 and 7 h in cycloheximide (1, 5 and 10 $\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$, respectively) following electric pulse, and cultured for 8 days. Cleavage rate of oocytes activated with 10 $\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$ CHX following EP was significantly (P＜0.05) higher than those of 1 $\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$ (86.8% vs. 74.4%). The developmental competence of oocytes incubated to 5 $\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$ of CHX was significantly (P＜0.05) higher development to blastocysts (13.3%), compared with 10 $\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$ of CHX (5.6%). When the oocytes were activated with 5$\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$ CHX for 3, 5, and 7 h following EP, the cleavage rate of oocytes in 5 h group(86.6%) was significantly (P＜0.05) higher than that in 3 h group(73.2%). The developmental rate of oocytes to morula in 5 and 7 h groups(26.7% and 16.4%) were significantly (P＜0.05) high than that in 3 h group(14.5%). Matured oocytes were activated with electric pulse (EP) or electric pulse combined with cycloheximide (EP + CHX) and cultured for 8 days. The rate of cleavage and development to blastocyst (80.1% and 11.6%) of activated with EP group were similar to EP combined with CHX group. When activated with EP or EP combined with CHX, the mean cell number of blastocysts were less in the activated with EP (18.67$\pm$5.53) than in the activated EP combined CHX (20.71$\pm$6.16), but not significantly different. This results suggest that, when the porcine oocytes were activated with CHX following EP, the developmental rate of activated oocytes can be improved by treated with a concentration of 5 $\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$ CHX for 5 h exposure time.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.670-690
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to analyze paper and pencil test items of life science I in high school to diagnose problems of the test items developed by teachers, and to provide some implication for better assessment. 690 selection-type items and 162 supply-type items in life science I were collected from 10 general high schools. In the analysis of test items, the ratio of the selection-type item and the supply-type item was 81:19 in the number of items based on item type, while the ratio was 74.4:25.6 in the distribution of marks, indicating that the distribution of marks compared to the number of items was higher in the supply-type items. In the analysis by the Bloom's revised taxonomy of educational objectives, the items of 'conceptual knowledge' in the knowledge and those of 'understanding' in the cognition process were shown most in both the selection-type item and the supply-type item. In the analysis by the science assessment frameworks of NAEA, the items of 'knowledge' were shown 9 times more than those of 'inquiry'. When compared to the level of difficulty presented in the two-way specification table and the percentage of correct answers in the selection-type item, the concurrence was 41.5%. When compared to the ratio of number of items based on the item type of the supply-type items, the short-answer items were 34.0%, the descriptive items were 61.1%, and the drawing items were 4.9%. The drawing items were mainly developed in the unit of 'Cells and Continuity of Life'. When the descriptive items were classified by the acceptance of response, all the items were 'response restricted' type, and the items of 'restricted in content range' type among them were highest. When the items were classified by presentation of data, the items of 'presentation of data' type were highest(65.4%), and when classified by type of question, the items of 'knowledge description' type were highest(80.4%). In conclusion, it is needed to develop items belonging to 'inquiry' area more in the school, and to increase the ratio of the descriptive items, presenting various types of items.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.299-306
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• 1996

Purpose : Respiratory symptoms related with malignant airway disease have been the main causes of lowered qualify of life and also sometimes may be life-threatening if not properly managed. The authors report the short-term experiences of endobronchial brachytherapy for symptomatic malignant airway obstruction using high dose rate after-loading brachytherapy unit. Materials and Methdos : Twenty-five Patients with symptomatic malignant airway obstruction were treated with endobronchial brachytherapy between the period of December 1994 and March 1996 at Department of Radiation Oncology of Samsung Medical Center Twenty-one ($84\%$) were patients with non-small cell lung cancer, three with tracheal malignancies, and one with recurrence of esophageal cancer. Twenty Patients were given elective external beam radiation therapy, while six were given endobronchial laser evaporation therapy on emergency bases in addition to endobronchial brachytherapy. Three procedures for each patient were planned and total of 70 procedures were completed. Results : Improvement rates of major respiratory symptoms after endobronchial brachytherapy procedures were $88\%$(22/25). $96\%$(22/23), $100\%$ (15/15), and $100\%$(9/9) for cough, dyspnea, hemoptysis and obstructive pneumonia, respectively. ECOG performance scores were improved in $56\%$ of total patients group, while there was no case with worsened ECOG score. Fifteen patients died and the median interval from the start of treatment to death was 4 months (range: $1\~17$ months), while that of ten survivors was 9 months (range $5\~19$ months). There were five patients with controlled intrathoracic disease, who have survived over one rear. All deaths were associated with uncontrolled local and/or distant disease. Four Patients died of massive fatal hemoptysis, three of who received emergency endobronchial laser evaporation therapy before the start of endobronchial brachytherapy. Conclusion : Endobronchial brachytherapy has been confirmed as an excellent palliative treatment modality improving respiratory symptoms as well as patients' general performance status. Based on the current observations, use of endobronchial brachytherapy in curative setting as a boost technique may be warranted.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.193-200
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• 2007

Purpose: This study evaluated the pretreatment expression patterns of MDM2, p53, and pRb proteins to determine if the expression patterns could predict the outcome of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and aid in the decisions for the selection of treatment modalities. Materials and Methods: Fifty-one patients that were treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy for stage $I{\sim}IVa$ esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were selected for this study. Radiotherapy was administered with daily $1.8{\sim}2\;Gy$ fractions up to a median dose of 54 Gy for primary tumors, and with four cycles of cisplatin/5-fluorouracil chemotherapy that was administered every 4 weeks, the first two cycles of which were administered concurrently with radiotherapy. Expression of MDM2, p53, and pRb was investigated by immunohistochemical analysis using pretreatment biopsy specimens. Results: MDM2, p53, and pRb were detected with high immunoreactivity in 19.6%, 27.5%, and 66.7% of the patients, respectively. However, there was no significant correlation between expression of these factors and clinical outcome. By the use of multivariate analysis with nine covariates-age, tumor location, tumor length, stage, pathological response, clinical response, MDM2 expression, p53 expression, and pRb expression, only pathological response and stage were significant factors for cause-specific survival. Conclusion: Expression of MDM2, p53, and pRb was not found to be clinically significant for predicting outcomes after CCRT in this study. Further studies with a larger patient population and longer follow-up periods are needed to re-evaluate the expression pattern and to identify new predictors for CCRT response.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.359-366
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• 2016

Tradescantia is a perennial plant in the family of Commelinaceae. It is known to be sensitive to radiation. In this study, Tradescantia BNL 4430 was irradiated with gamma radiation at doses of 50 to 1,000 mGy in a phytotron equipped with a $^{60}Co$ radiation source at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Korea. At 13 days after irradiation, we extracted RNA from irradiated floral tissues for RNA-seq. Transcriptome assembly produced a total of 77, 326 unique transcripts. In plantlets exposed to 50, 250, 500, and 1000 mGy, the numbers of up-regulated genes with more than 2-fold of expression compared that in the control were 116, 222, 246, and 308, respectively. Most of the up-regulated genes induced by 50 mGy were heat shock proteins (HSPs) such as HSP 70, indicating that protein misfolding, aggregation, and translocation might have occurred during radiation stress. Similarly, highly up-regulated transcripts of the IQ-domain 6 were induced by 250 mGy, KAR-UP oxidoreductase 1 was induced by 500 mGy, and zinc transporter 1 precursor was induced by 1000 mGy. Reverse transcriptase (RT) PCR and quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR) further validated the increased mRNA expression levels of selected genes, consistent with DEG analysis results. However, 2.3 to 97- fold higher expression activities were induced by different doses of radiation based on qRT-PCR results. Results on the transcriptome of Tradescantia in response to radiation might provide unique identifiers to develop in situ monitoring kit for measuring radiation exposure around radiation facilities.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.102-110
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• 2000

Purpose : Intravenous infusion of albumin has been widely und to relieve severe nephrotic edema in spite of beneficial or harmful effects. The purpose of this study is to examine the harmful effect of albumin on the clinical course of steroid sensitive nephrotic syndrome(SSNS). Method : We prospectively randomized the patients with nephrotic syndrome(biopsy proven or clinically compatible to minimal change nephrotic syndrome) into the albumin group(20$\%$ albumin 1 g/kg) or control group(5$\%$ D/W) between March 1997 and September 1999 at Ewha University Mokdong Hospital. We compared the clinical course of the albumin group(n=13) with the control group(n=13). Results : 1. The duration of steroid therapy until complete remission in the albumin group was significantly longer than the control group($13.7{\pm}6.4\;days\;vs\;7.5{\pm}2.8\;days$)(P<0.05). 2. The remission duration to the first relapse was significantly shorter in the albumin group ($94{\pm}63.5$ days) than the control group($190{\pm}106.4$ days)(P< 0.05). There was no significant difference in the relapse rate within 1 year after complete remission[77$\%$ (10/13) vs 46$\%$ (6/13)](P>0.05) and the relapse frequency per year($1.9{\pm}0.8\;vs\;1.5{\pm}0.5$) between the albumin and control groups. 3. Spot urine protein/creatinine ratio significantly increased in the albumin group at post-albumin 2, 4 days(P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the change of the daily percent weight loss, blood pressure, serum Na, K concentration between the albumin and control groups. Conclusion : Albumin infusion in SSNS delayed the response to steroid and shortened the remission duration to the first relapse. Albumin should be carefully used in nephrotic edema.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.79-85
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• 2003

Diagnosing and determining the stage of lung cancer by means of positron emission tomography (PET) ha.. been proven valuable because of the limitations of diagnosis by computed tomography (CT). We compared the efficacy of PET with that of CT in diagnosing pulmonary tumor and staging of lung cancer Material and Method: We performed F-18 FDG PET to determine the malignancy and the staging on patients who have been suspicious or were diagnosed as lung cancer by chest X-ray and CT. The findings of PET and of CT of 41 patients (male, 29: female, 12: mean age, 59) were compared with pathologic findings obtained from a mediastinoscopy and thoracotomy. Result: Out of 41 patients, 35 patients had malignant lesions (squamous cell carcinonla 19 cases, adenocarcinoma 14 cases, adenosquamous cell carcinoma 2 cases) and 6 patients had benign lesions. Diagnosing of lung cancer, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of CT and PET were the same for two method and the numbers were 100%, 50%, and 92.7% respectively. Eighteen LN groups out of 108 mediastinal LN groups who recieved histologic examination proved to be malignant. Pathologic lymph node (LN) stage was N0-Nl 31 cases, N2 8 cases, N3 2 cases. The correct identification of the nodal staging with CT, PET scans were 31 cases (75.6%), 28 cases (68.3%) respectively. The LN group was underestimated in each 6 cases of CT and PET. In 4 cases of CT and 7 cases of PET, they were overestimated in compare to histologic diagnosis. In the detection of mediastinal LN groups invasion, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of CT were 39.8 %, 93.3 %, and 84.3 % respectively. For PET, they were 61.1 %, 90.0 %, and 85.2 %. When two methods considered together (CT+PET), they were increased to 77.8 %, 93.3 %, and 90.7 % respectively. Conclusion: PET appears to be similar to CT in the diagnosis and the nodal taging of pulmonary tumor. Two tests may stage patients with lung cancer more accurately than CT alone.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.30 no.12
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• pp.1237-1241
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• 1997

Tracheal stenosis is a difficult disease entity to manage. Laser ablation is one effective treatment for treacheal stenosis and can be utilized if tracheal reconstructive surgery is impossible. Potassium titanyl phosphate laser, transmitted via flexible quartz fiber, can be precisely manipulated through flexible bronchoscope under local anesthesia. We treated 7 patients with trach al and broncheal lesion under local anesthesia with KTP laser from January 1995 to July 1996. The patients included three males and four females. The age of patients ranged from 22 to 66 years with a mean of 43.7 years The etiology of tracheal stenosis in patients was stenosis after tracheostomy(3 cases), prolong inturbation in cases of sepsis(1 cases), and the recurrence of lung cancer within endobronchial lesion(2 cases). In the cases of tracheal stenosis treated with laser ablation, there were 2 cases of recurrence of stenosis at the anastomosis site after the operation, 3 cases of stenosis at tracheostomy site, and 2 cases of local recurrence of lung cancer. The site of the tracheal stenosis was the balloon site of the tracheostomy tube(3-4cm inferior to the tracheostomy site, 2-3cm superior to the carina) and the anastomosis site that were narrowed to less than 5mm(4 cases). For the stenosis lesion in the endobronchial area, there were 2 patients with a lesion at the anterior wa l, 1 patient with a lesion at the posterior wall, 2 patients with circumferential stenosis. Laser ablation time was 25.4 $\pm$5.9min and used energy was 1768 $\pm$365J. We have used KTP laser via (lexible bronchoscope without major complications. Adjuvant radiation therapy may prevent fibroblast proliferation which leads to restenosis. In three patients of restenosis after laser ablation, adjuvant irradiation started within 4 hours after laser ablation, and the radiation doses were 1500cGy given in five fraction. In patients with adjuvant radiation therapy, stenosis has not recurred