• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.45 no.9
• /
• pp.1075-1082
• /
• 2002

Purpose : Obesity is known to be associated with hypertension, dyslipidemia, and fatty liver and is thought to be associated with increased levels of free fatty acids. One of the strategies for decreasing free fatty acid levels is stimulation of hepatic lipid oxidation with L-carnitine. Carnitine is an essential cofactor for transport of long-chain fatty acid into mitochondria for oxidation. This study was designed to evaluate the changes of serum fatty acids and carnitine levels after exogenous injection of L-carnitine. Methods : Sprague Dawley rats were divided into two groups. Group A was control. Group B was given intraperitoneal injection with L-carnitine(200 mg/kg) daily for two weeks. Serum lipid (total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol) and fatty acid levels were analyzed on the first day of the first and second weeks after injection of L-carnitine. Total, free, and acyl carnitine levels also were performed by a enzymatic cycling techniques at the same day intervals. Results : There was no significant difference between the two groups in total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol levels before and after the administration of L-carnitine. But triglyceride levels were significantly decreased at the first week in group B compared with group A. Among free fatty acids, linoleic acid showed significant decrement(A group : $131.3{\pm}31.3mg/dL$ vs B group : $90.0{\pm}7.0mg/dL$) at the first week. Total, free, and acyl carnitine levels showed significant increments at all days intervals, but only free carnitine showed significant increments according to cumulative doses of carnitine. Conclusion : Plasma linoleic acid, a long-chain fatty acid, showed significant decrement after administration of L-carnitine in the first week. This may suggest that L-carnitine can be used as an antilipidemic agent for obese patients. A prospective study will investigate obese children in the future.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.52 no.1
• /
• pp.99-104
• /
• 2009

Purpose : Magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging-based three-dimensional fiber tractography (DTI-FT) is a new method which demonstrates the orientation and integrity of white matter fibers in vivo. However, clinical application on children with cerebral palsy is still under investigation. We present various abnormal patterns of DTI-FT findings and accordance rate with clinical findings in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy, to recognize the use fulness of DTI-FT. Methods : The thirteen children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy evaluated at Yeungnam University hospital from March, 2003 to August, 2007 were enrolled in this study and underwent magnetic resonance DTI-FT of the corticospinal tracts. Two regions of interest (ROI) were applied and the termination criteria were fractional anisotropy ${\geq}0.3$, angle ${\leq}70^{\circ}$. Results : The patterns and distribution of abnormal DTI-based corticospinal tractographic findings were interruption(10 cases, 76.9%), reduction of fiber volume (8 cases, 61.5%), agenesis of corticospinal tract (3 cases, 23.1%), transcallosal fiber (2 cases, 15.4%) and, aberrant corticospinal tracts (4 cases, 30.8%). Abnormal DTI-based corticospinal tractographic findings were in accordance with the clinical findings of cerebral palsy in 84.6% of the enrolled patients. Conclusion : Our results suggest that DTI-FT would be a use ful modality in the assessment of the corticospinal tract abnormalities in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.37-41
• /
• 2016

Purpose The importance of quality control by the error to a minimum, which for the purpose of enhancing the reliability of the examination is not be emphasized excess. Currently, most nuclear medicine laboratory are conducting the internal and external quality control, and they are applying the Levey-Jennings or Westgard Multi-Rules by using the commercialized quality control materials. The reliability of the nuclear medicine blood test which affects the diagnosis of patients and the treatment policy is being secured through this quality control activity. Therefore, researchers will evaluate the utility of the statistic quality control using the population distribution of the nuclear medicine blood test conducted targeting the checkup examinees by the additional technique of the reliability improvement. Materials and Methods A statistic analysis was performed about 12 items of the nuclear medicine blood test targeting 41,341 peoples who used the health screening and promotion center in Asan Medical Center from January, 2014 to December, 2014. The results of 12 items of the nuclear medicine blood test was divided into the monthly percentage of three groups: within reference values, over reference, and under reference to analyze the average value of the population distribution, standard deviation, and standard deviation index (SDI). Results The standard deviation of the population distribution mostly showed a result within ${\pm}2SD$ in all groups. However, When the standard deviation of the population distribution represented a result over ${\pm}2SD$, it was confirmed SDI was showing a result of SDI > -2 or SDI > 2. As a result of analyzing the population distribution of 12 items(AFP, CEA, CA19-9, CA125, PSA, TSH, FT4, Anti-Tg-Ab, Anti-TPO-Ab, Calcitonin, 25-OH-VitD3, Insulin) of the nuclear medicine blood part basic test, when SDI of the monthly percentage which deviated from the reference values was over ${\pm}2.0$, CA19-9 September was 2.2, Anti-Tg-Ab may was 2.2, Insulin January was 2.3, Insulin March was 2.4. It was confirmed these cases were attributed to the abnormality of the test reagent (maximum combination rate of isotope reagent declined) and the decline of the test response time. Conclusion The population distribution includes the entire attribute which becomes the study object. It is expected the statistic quality management using the population distribution which was conducted targeting the checkup examinees by dividing into three groups: within reference values, over reference, and under reference by means of this characteristics will be able to play a role of complementing the internal quality control program which is being carried out in the laboratory.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.141-149
• /
• 2009

The elderly population in Korea is growing rapidly and their needs for long-term care has also increased. By the year 2018, our society will be approaching aged society and by 2026 it will be a super-aged society. The purpose of this study was to employ conjoint analysis to establish the relative importance of foodservice encounters in terms of determining the utility values of hospital foodservice for elderly patients. According to the results pearson's R(0.420) and Kendall's tau(0.402) statistics showed that the model fits the data well(p<0.05). The relative importance scores of hospital foodservice encounters were as follows: dietary counseling with dietetics(51.2%), foodservice personnel(48.7%), and food(0.1%). A soft cooking method(0.001) was preferred to a general cooking method(0.001), and kind foodservice personnel(0.086) were preferred to quick service(-0.086). Finally, counseling with a dietitian once a week(-0.138) was preferred to counseling twice a week (-0.276). Based on this conjoint analysis, the most preferable model for foodservice at a long-term care facility would be; soft cooking methods, kind service by foodservice personnel, and dietetic counseling once a week. Overall, a better understanding of the specific needs of our institutionalized elderly is one of the key elements that can help our long-term care system develop improved foodservice programs.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.47-52
• /
• 2018

Brain perfusion CT scanning is often employed usefully in clinical conditions as it accurately and promptly provides information about the perfusion state of patients having acute ischemic stroke with a lot of time constraints and allows them to receive proper treatment. Despite those strengths of it, it also has a serious weakness that Lens may be exposed to a lot of dose of radiation in it. In this study, as a way to reduce the dose of radiation to Lens in brain perfusion CT scanning, this researcher conducted an experiment with Bismuth shielding and change of patients' position. TLD (TLD-100) was placed on both lens using the phantom (PBU-50), and then, in total 4 positions, parallel to IOML, parallel to IOML (Bismuth shielding), parallel to SOML, and parallel to SOML (Bismuth shielding), brain perfusion scanning was done 5 times for each position, and dose to Lens were measured. Also, to examine how the picture quality changed in different positions, 4 areas of interest were designated in 4 spots, and then, CT number and noise changes were measured and compared. According to the results of conducting one-way ANOVA on the doses measured, as the significance probability was found to be 0.000, so there was difference found in the doses of radiation to crystalline lenses. According to the results of Duncan's post-hoc test, with the scanning of being parallel to IOML as the reference, the reduction of 89.16% and 89.66% was observed in the scanning of being parallel to SOML and that of being parallel to SOML (Bismuth shielding) respectively, so the doses to Lens reduced significantly. Next, in the scanning of being parallel to IOML (Bismuth shielding), the reduction of 37.12% was found. According to the results, reduction in the doses of radiation was found the most significantly both in the scanning of being parallel to SOML and that of being parallel to SOML (Bismuth shielding). With the limit of the equivalent dose to Lens as the reference, this researcher conducted comparison with the dose to occupational exposure and dose to Public exposure in the scanning of being parallel to IOML and found 39.47% and 394.73% respectively; however in the scanning of being parallel to SOML (Bismuth shielding), considerable reduction was found as 4.08% and 40.8% respectively. According to the results of evaluation on picture quality, every image was found to meet the evaluative standards of phantom scanning in terms of the measurement of CT numbers and noise. In conclusion, it would be the most useful way to reduce the dose of radiation to Lens to use shields in brain perfusion CT scanning and adjust patients' position so that their lens will not be in the field of radiation.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.62 no.6
• /
• pp.492-498
• /
• 2007

Background: Several lines of evidence suggest that a host's genetic factors influence the outcome of exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The aim of this study was to determine whether polymorphism in NRAMP1 (natural resistance associated macrophage protein 1) gene is associated with the susceptibility or resistance to tuberculosis infection for patients with drug-sensitive pulmonary tuberculosis (DS-TB) and multi-drug resistant pulmonary tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Methods: Eight genetic polymorphisms of the NRAMP1 gene were investigated in patients suffering with DS-TB (n=100) or MDR-TB (n=102), and in healthy normal controls (NC, n=96). The genetic polymorphisms of NRAMP1 were determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Results: The frequency of D543N A/G heterogygotes was significantly higher in the DS-TB subjects than the NCs (OR=2.10, 95% CI: 1.00 to 4.41, p=0.049). The frequency of 823C/T T/C heterozygotes was significantly higher in the DS-TB subjects (OR=2.79, 95% CI: 1.11 to 7.04, p=0.029) and the MDR-TB subject (OR=3.30, 95% CI 1.33 to 8.18, p=0.010) than in the NCs. However, the frequency of these genotypes was not different between the DS-TB and MDR-TB subjects. Conclusion: A significant association was found between NRAMP1 823 C/T polymorphism and pulmonary tuberculosis. This result suggests that NRAMP1 polymorphism may be involved in the development of pulmonary tuberculosis in Koreans.

• Progress in Medical Physics
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.212-223
• /
• 2006

Positional accuracy of the on-board imager (OBI) isocenter with gantry rotation was presented in this paper. Three different type of automatic evaluation methods of discrepancies between therapeutic and OBI isocenter using digital image processing techniques as well as a procedure stated in the customer acceptance procedure (CAP) were applied to check OBI isocenter migration trends. Two kinds of kV x-ray image set obtained at OBI source angle of $0^{\circ},\;90^{\circ},\;180^{\circ},\;270^{\circ}$ and every $10^{\circ}$ and raw projection data for cone-beam CT reconstruction were used for each evaluation method. Efficiencies of the methods were also estimated. If a user needs to obtain an isocenter variation map with full gantry rotation, a method taking OBI image for every $10^{\circ}$ and fitting with 5th order polynomial was appropriate. However for a mere quality assurance (QA) purpose of OBI isocenter accuracy, it was adequate to use only four OBI Images taken at the OBI source angle of $0^{\circ},\;90^{\circ},\;180^{\circ}\;and\;270^{\circ}$. Maximal discrepancy was 0.44 mm which was observed between the OBI source angle of $90^{\circ}\;and\;180^{\circ}$ OBI isocenter accuracy was maintained below 0.5 mm for a year. Proposed QA program may be helpful to Implement a reasonable routine QA of the OBI isocenter accuracy without great efforts.

• Journal of the Korean Arthroscopy Society
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.39-44
• /
• 2007

Purpose: To evaluate the results of subtalar arthroscopy and to define the indications for the procedure. Materials and Methods: Fifty-four patients were followed up for more than 1 year after subtalar arthroscopy. The mean age was 40 years, and the mean follow-up period was 18 months. Preoperative diagnoses included sinus tarsi syndrome in 19 cases, degenerative arthritis in 13 cases, calcaneal fracture in 10 cases, arthrofibrosis in 5 cases, os trigonum syndrome in 3 cases, talar fracture in 3 cases, talocalcaneal coalition in 3 cases and calcaneal tumor in 1 case. Clinically AOFAS ankle-hindfoot scale and satisfaction of the patients were evaluated. Results: There were 23 synovectomies, 13 subtalar fusions, 11 diagnostic arthroscopies, 5 adhesiolyses, 4 loose body removals, 3 excisions of os trigonum and 1 arthroscopic reduction of fracture. Twenty-five ankle arthroscopies and 11 modified Brostrom's operations were performed for the accompaning 17 ankle impingment syndromes, 11 chronic ankle instabilities and 7 osteochondral lesions of talus. AOFAS ankle-hindfoot scale was increased from 33 points preoperatively to 77 points postoperatively in subtalar fusion group, and was increased from 69 points preoperatively to 89 points postoperatively in other-than-fusion group. Ninety one percent of patients were satisfied with the procedures. There were no serious complications related to the subtalar arthroscopy. Conclusion: Subtalar arthroscopy appears to be safe and highly accurate procedure for subtalar pathology, although it requires technical expertise.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
• /
• v.44 no.5
• /
• pp.26-37
• /
• 2016

As activities and convenience of residents in outdoor spaces in apartment houses have been considered important, strategies for making outdoor spaces in apartment houses healing spaces have emerged as a major interest. The purpose of this study is to draw elements for planning healing to create healing spaces in collective housing areas and to present design guidelines. The findings of this study are as follows. Functional elements of a healing environment were classified into safe environment, therapeutic environment, ancillary environment, orientation-reinforcing environment, amenities, and social environment. Outdoor spaces in collective housing areas were divided into collective housing entrance areas, internal and external spread areas, outdoor activity areas, and areas by theme. First, collective housing entrance areas should be planned in such a manner that residents can feel the area is private and easy to recognize. Second, internal and external spread areas should be planned in such a manner that they are easy to access and communicate with neighbors. Third, outdoor activity areas should be divided into an open space, resting space, playing space, and sports space. Open spaces should be planned in such a manner that they can command a fine view and respect the privacy of nearby residents. Resting spaces should be equipped with a shelter that protects users from direct sunlight, rain, and snow as well as include a movable bench. Playing spaces should be built considering development of children's curiosity, adventurous spirit, character, stimulation, and physical health. Playing spaces should be designed in such a manner that roadways and sidewalks can be separated for safe traffic. Sport spaces should be planned in such a manner that they can be associated with a pavilion and trail that provide residents with an opportunity to communicate with each other and rest. Fourth, spaces by theme are classified into sense garden, therapeutic garden, experiential garden, and learning garden. Sense gardens are a small garden based on the five senses. Sense gardens should be designed in such a manner that they can improve users' mental and physical health through programs that stimulate the sense of sight, auditory sense, and olfactory sense. Therapeutic gardens should be designed in such a manner that they can provide a comfortable and relaxing space by minimizing noise. It is advisable for therapeutic gardens to be equipped with a medicinal herb garden, meditation garden, and sense garden. Experiential and learning gardens should be designed in such a manner that they can provide users with a space in which they can enjoy nature and leisure activities. It is advisable for experiential and learning gardens to be equipped with a tea garden, vegetable garden, and camping garden. Healing programs should be designed in such a manner that users can feel relaxed by providing a healing environment, making the most of the natural environment. Further research on evaluating whether the findings of this study are effective in healing in a qualitative and quantitative manner is needed.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.102-113
• /
• 2020

In this study, anti-arthritic effect of the mixed extract of radiation mutant Perilla frutescens var. crispa and Atractylodes macrophala koidz was investigated. Cell viability was determined by MTT assay in RAW 264.7 cells. The anti-inflammatory effect of mixed extracts was determined through measurement of the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO), release of inflammatory cytokines and expression of NF-κB, COX-2 and iNOS in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells after treatment of mixed extracts (5, 10, 25 ㎍/㎖). We showed that the mixed extracts was not toxic in the dose of 5, 10, 25 ug/ml, and significantly inhibited production of nitric oxide and ROS, cytokines including IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, and inflammatory proteins including NF-κB, COX-2 and iNOS in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. Moreover, the mixed extract inhibited the type II collagen induced arthritis in DBA mice in the dose of 66.5 and 133mg/kg/day. Therefore, we suggest that mixed extract of radiation mutant Perilla frutescens var. crispa and Atractylodes macrophala koidz can be developed as a raw material for health functional food and therapeutics to treat the inflammatory arthritis.