• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• v.35
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• pp.41.1-41.11
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• 2023

Background: Shift work has been reported to have several harmful effects on the human body. However, a small number of studies have evaluated the association between shift work and adverse effects on the thyroid. In our longitudinal study, we examined the causal association between shift work and the risk of hypothyroidism. Methods: A Kangbuk Samsung Cohort Study was conducted on 112,648 men without thyroid disease at baseline who were followed up at least once between 2012 and 2019. Shift work status and shift schedule types were categorized using standardized questionnaires. Hypothyroidism was defined using the reference ranges of serum thyroid-stimulating hormones and free thyroxine levels. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for incident hypothyroidism were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression analyses with the daytime work group as the reference. Results: During the 501,237 person-years of follow-up, there were 6,306 incident cases of hypothyroidism (incidence density, 1.26 per 100 person-years). The multivariable-adjusted HR of incident hypothyroidism for the shift work total group that included all shifts compared with the daytime work group was 1.27 (95% CI: 1.15-1.40). For the fixed evening, fixed night, rotating shift, and other shift workers, the multivariable-adjusted HRs (95% CI) were 1.11 (0.76-1.61), 2.18 (1.20-3.93), 1.39 (1.23-1.56), and 1.00 (0.82-1.22), respectively. In subgroup analyses by age, the association between shift work and hypothyroidism was more pronounced in younger participants (< 40 years; HR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.16-1.47). Conclusions: Our large-scale cohort study showed an association between shift work and the incidence of hypothyroidism, especially in younger workers with night shifts.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.76 no.5
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• pp.218-225
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• 2014

Background: Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is an extremely aggressive tumor with a poor clinical course. Although many efforts have been made to improve patients' survival rates, patients who survive longer than 2 years after chemotherapy are still very rare. We examined the baseline characteristics of patients with long-term survival rates in order to identify the prognostic factors for overall survivals. Methods: A total of 242 patients with cytologically or histologically diagnosed SCLC were enrolled into this study. The patients were categorized into long- and short-term survival groups by using a survival cut-off of 2 years after diagnosis. Cox's analyses were performed to identify the independent factors. Results: The mean patient age was 65.66 years, and 85.5% were males; among the patients, 61 of them (25.2%) survived longer than 2 years. In the multivariate analyses, CRP (hazard ratio [HR], 2.75; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.25-6.06; p=0.012), TNM staging (HR, 3.29; 95% CI, 1.59-6.80; p=0.001), and progression-free survival (PFS) (HR, 11.14; 95% CI, 2.98-41.73; p<0.001) were independent prognostic markers for poor survival rates. Conclusion: In addition to other well-known prognostic factors, this study discovered relationships between the long-term survival rates and serum CRP levels, TNM staging, and PFS. In situations with unfavorable conditions, the PFS would be particularly helpful for managing SCLC patients.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.237-245
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• 1992

Five hundred and fifty patients treated for carcinoma of the uterine cervix at the Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Seoul National University Hospital from 1979 to 1986, were analyzed retrospectively for late rectal complications. Of them, 468 patients received primary radiotherapy for the cervix cancer in intact uterus, and the other eighty two patients were treated postoperatively. The cumulative incidence of radiation induced rectal complication of grade 2 or 3 was 6.7% at five years. The mean rectal dose for the group of patients with complication was higher than the group without complication, and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.01). But relationship between mean rectal dose and severity of complication was not found. The frequency of complication (grade 1, 2, 3) increased as a function of radiation dose to rectum; from 16.1% for patients with rectal dose less than 6,000 cGy to 71.2% for patients with rectal dose higher than 8,000 cGy. Among various factors analyzed, history of diabetes mellitus, number of intracavitary irradiation, size of ovoid, retroflexion of uterus and the total dose delivered to rectum turned out to have significant effect on the complication.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.245-253
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• 2011

This study was carried out to investigate the biological effects of organic soybean extracts. Cellular and molecular analysis was performed to determine anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and anti-inflammatory effects of soybean extracts. First, we obtained various solvent extracts of soybean such as water, ethanol, and methanol. Molecular and cellular analysis were performed with 0.1 mg/ml concentration of each solvent extracts. The results of anti-oxidative, antiinflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects of organic soybean extracts were prominent. However, organic soybean extracts were not observed in anti-allergic effects determined by releasing histamine from rat mast cell line, RBL-2H3. Conclusively, organic soybean suppress inflammatory responses. In addition, organic soybean could be applied as a functional food ingredient for treatment of chronic inflammation, asthma, and atopic dermatitis with enhanced anti-inflammatory activities.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.7
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• pp.3173-3178
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• 2012

The enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) methyl transferase and histone 3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3) protein can repress gene transcription, and their aberrant expression has been observed in various human cancers. This study determined their expression levels in gastric cancer tissues with reference to clinicopathological features and patient survival. We collected 117 gastric cancer and corresponding normal tissues for immunohistochemistry analysis. In gastric cancers, 82/117 (70.1%) were positive for EZH2 and 66/117 (56.4%) for H3K27me3 proteins in contrast to only 5.41% and 7.25% of normal gastric mucosa specimens, respectively. Kaplan-Meier survival data showed the average overall and disease-free survival of EZH2 high expression patients was 25.2 and 20.2 months, respectively, shorter than that with EZH2 low expression (40.5 and 35.9 months). The average overall survival and disease-free survival of high H3K27me3 expression patients was 23.4 and 17.4 months, shorter than without H3K27me3 expression (37.6 and 34.5 months). The average overall survival and disease-free survival of patients with both EZH2 and H3K27me3 expression was 18.8 and 12.9 months, respectively, shorter than that with either alone (34.7 and 31.2 months) or with low levels of both (43.9 and 39.9 months). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that H3K27me3 and EZH2 expression, tumor size differentiation and clinical stage were all independent prognostic factors for predicting patient survival. This study demonstrated that detection of both EZH2 and H3K27me3 proteins can predict poor survival of gastric cancer patients, superior to single protein detection. In addition, H3K27me3 and EZH2 protein expression could predict lymph node metastasis.

• Journal of Korean Medical Science
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• v.33 no.43
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• pp.277.1-277.10
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• 2018

Background: To examine survival rates and renal function after partial nephrectomy (PN) and radical nephrectomy (RN) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods: We studied 4,332 patients who underwent PN or RN for pathological T1a-T2N0M0 renal cell carcinoma from 1988 to 2014. Patients were divided into two subgroups of CKD stage I-II and stage III. Kidney function, and survival outcomes were compared between groups. Results: We included 1,756 patients with CKD I-II and 276 patients with CKD III in the final pair-matched analysis. Kidney function was significantly better preserved in the PN than in the RN group among all patients. However, the beneficial effect of PN on kidney function gradually disappeared over time in CKD III patients. The 5-year overall survival (OS) rates after PN and RN differed in patients with CKD I-II disease (99.4% vs. 96.5%, respectively, P = 0.015). The 5-year OS rates after surgery were not affected by mode of nephrectomy in CKD III patients (97.8% vs. 93.5%, P = 0.103). The 5-year cancer-specific survival rates did not differ between treatment groups in all CKD stage. Cox hazard analysis showed that the operative method was a significant factor for OS in CKD I-II patients (hazard ratio [HR], 0.320; confidence interval [CI], 0.122-0.840; P = 0.021). However, PN was not beneficial in terms of OS in CKD III patients (HR, 0.395; CI, 0.086-1.172; P = 0.117). Conclusion: PN is associated with a higher OS rate and better kidney function in patients with preoperative CKD stage I and II, but not in those with CKD stage III.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.644-655
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• 2024

Objective: To develop and validate a preoperative risk score incorporating carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9, CT, and fluorine18-fluorodeoxyglucose (¹⁸F-FDG) PET/CT variables to predict recurrence-free survival (RFS) after upfront surgery in patients with resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Materials and Methods: Patients with resectable PDAC who underwent upfront surgery between 2014 and 2017 (development set) or between 2018 and 2019 (test set) were retrospectively evaluated. In the development set, a risk-scoring system was developed using the multivariable Cox proportional hazards model, including variables associated with RFS. In the test set, the performance of the risk score was evaluated using the Harrell C-index and compared with that of the postoperative pathological tumor stage. Results: A total of 529 patients, including 335 (198 male; mean age ± standard deviation, 64 ± 9 years) and 194 (103 male; mean age, 66 ± 9 years) patients in the development and test sets, respectively, were evaluated. The risk score included five variables predicting RFS: tumor size (hazard ratio [HR], 1.29 per 1 cm increment; P < 0.001), maximal standardized uptake values of tumor ≥ 5.2 (HR, 1.29; P = 0.06), suspicious regional lymph nodes (HR, 1.43; P = 0.02), possible distant metastasis on ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT (HR, 2.32; P = 0.03), and CA 19-9 (HR, 1.02 per 100 U/mL increment; P = 0.002). In the test set, the risk score showed good performance in predicting RFS (C-index, 0.61), similar to that of the pathologic tumor stage (C-index, 0.64; P = 0.17). Conclusion: The proposed risk score based on preoperative CA 19-9, CT, and ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT variables may have clinical utility in selecting high-risk patients with resectable PDAC.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.275-287
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• 2016

Objectives: C-reactive protein (CRP), an inflammatory biomarker, has been widely used as a preclinical marker predictive of morbidity and mortality. Although many studies have reported a positive association between CRP and mortality, uncertainty still remains about this association in various populations, especially in rural Korea. Methods: A total of 23 233 middle-aged participants (8862 men and 14 371 women) who were free from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and acute inflammation (defined by a CRP level ${\geq}10mg/L$) were drawn from 11 rural communities in Korea between 2005 and 2011. Blood CRP concentration was analyzed as a categorical variable (low: 0.0-0.9 mg/L; intermediate: 1.0-3.0 mg/L; high: 3.1-9.9 mg/L) as well as a continuous variable. Each participant's vital status through December 2013 was confirmed by death statistics from the National Statistical Office. Cox proportional hazard models were used to assess the independent association between CRP and mortality after adjusting for other risk factors. Results: The total quantity of observed person-years was 57 975 for men and 95 146 for women, and the number of deaths was 649 among men and 367 among women. Compared to the low-CRP group, the adjusted hazard ratio for all-cause mortality of the intermediate group was 1.17 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.98 to 1.40) for men and 1.27 (95% CI, 1.01 to 1.61) for women, and the corresponding values for the high-CRP group were 1.98 (95% CI, 1.61 to 2.42) for men and 1.41 (95% CI, 1.03 to 1.95) for women. Similar trends were found for CRP evaluated as a continuous variable and for cardiovascular mortality. Conclusions: Higher CRP concentrations were associated with higher mortality in a rural Korean population, and this association was more prominent in men than in women.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Organic Agriculture Conference
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• 2009.12a
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• pp.103-113
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• 2009

This present study was carried out to investigate the biological effects of soybean extracts comparing organic and conventional cultivation. Cellular and molecular analysis was performed to determine anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and anti-inflammatory effects of both soybean extracts. First, we obtained various solvent extracts of soybeans such as water, ethanol, and methanol. Molecular and cellular analysis were performed with 0.1 mg/ml concentration of each solvent extracts. The results of anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects of organic cultivated soybean extracts were prominent than conventional cultivated soybean extracts. However, discrepancy between organic and conventional cultivated soybean extracts was not observed in anti-allergic effects determined by releasing histamine from rat mast cell line, RBL-2H3. Conclusively, organic cultivated soybeans have stronger effects than conventional cultivated soybeans in suppression of inflammation. In addition, organic soybeans could be applied as a functional food ingredient for treatment of chronic inflammation, asthma, and atopic dermatitis with enhanced anti-inflammatory activities.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.16-24
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• 2017

The adsorption of various atmospheric harmful gases ($CO_x$, $NO_x$, $SO_x$) on graphene-like boron nitride(BN) and aluminum nitride(AlN) sheets was theoretically investigated using density functional theory (DFT) and MP2 methods. The structures were fully optimized at the $B3LYP/6-31G^{**}$ and $CAM-B3LYP/6-31G^{**}$ levels of theory and confirmed to be a local minimum by the calculation of the harmonic vibrational frequencies. The MP2 single-point binding energies were computed at the $CAM-B3LYP/6-31G^{**}$ optimized geometries. Also the zero-point vibrational energy (ZPVE) and 50%-basis set superposition error (BSSE) corrections were included. The adsorptions of gases on the BN sheet were predicted to be a physisorption process and the adsorptions of gases on the AlN sheet were predicted to be a physisorption process for $CO_x$ and $NO_x$ but to be a chemisorption process for $SO_x$.