• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.36-38
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• 2013

While epidural abscesses are rare in hemodialysis patients, they can cause severe neurological complications that can be fatal because only nonspecific symptoms appear in the early stages of the infection. Their incidence increased recently due to intravenous drug abuse, invasive spinal surgery, percutaneous vertebral procedures, and the development of diagnostic modalities. The increased number of cases is related to the use of dialysis catheters in hemodialysis patients. If a patient has fever and back pain, doctors should eliminate the possibility of other common diseases and consider spinal epidural infection. Early diagnosis and proper treatment are important to prevent neurological complications. In this paper, the symptoms, blood work, magnetic resonanceimaging (MRI) findings, and clinical course of two hemodialysis patients who developed spinal epidural abscesses are described.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.262-266
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• 2017

Hemangioma is the most common benign tumor of a vascular origin, and is characterized by the abnormal proliferation of blood vessels. Intramuscular hemangioma (IMH) usually involves the skeletal muscles of the trunk or limbs, but rarely occurs in the head and neck region. This case report presents a patient with IMH showing multiple phleboliths in the buccal cheek. A 13-year-old boy was referred for the evaluation and management of painful swelling of the left cheek that had gradually increased in size over a 6 year duration. The examination revealed a palpable firm mass. Reddish-blue buccal mucosa color was observed with an aciniform shape. Preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a vascular tumor in the left side adjacent to the buccinator and depressor orbicularis oris muscles. Surgical resection under general anesthesia was performed via the intraoral approach. The mass and phleboliths were extracted successfully. A histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of IMH. In conclusion, clinicians should be aware of the possibility of IMH in cases of a palpable mass with multiple nodules deep within the muscle in the buccal cheek. Among the several diagnostic tools, MRI provides essential information on the extent and surrounding anatomy of IMH.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.353-355
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• 2012

We report here a case of inguinal sparganosis, initially regarded as myeloid sarcoma, diagnosed in a patient undergone allogeneic hematopoietic transplantation (HSCT). A 56-year-old male patient having myelodysplastic syndrome was treated with allogeneic HSCT after myeloablative conditioning regimen. At day 5 post-HSCT, the patient complained of a painless palpable mass on the left scrotum and inguinal area. Pelvic magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography revealed suspected myeloid sarcoma. Gun-biopsy was performed, and the result revealed eosinophilic infiltrations without malignancy. Subsequent serologic IgG antibody test was positive for sparganum. Excisional biopsy as a therapeutic diagnosis was done, and the diagnosis of sparganosis was confirmed eventually. This is the first report of sparganosis after allogeneic HSCT mimicking myeloid sarcoma, giving a lesson that the physicians have to consider the possibility of sparganosis in this clinical situation and perform adequate diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.531-538
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• 2020

Purpose: Our aim was the longitudinal assessment of cyst size in fetuses with biliary cystic malformation (BCM) to explore its etiology and the possibility of antenatal differentiation between biliary atresia (BA) and congenital biliary dilatation (CBD). Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of all patients diagnosed antenatally with BCM from 1994 to 2014 at our institutions. Results: The study cohort comprised of three patients with BA and six with CBD. There were no significant differences in the gestational age and cyst size at the first detection of BCM between the two groups. In fetuses with CBD, the cyst size steadily increased as the gestational age advanced, while it fluctuated around 1.5 cm and remained below 2.1 cm in those with BA. However, the ratio of cystic area to fetal trunk area was approximately constant due to linear fetal growth in fetuses with CBD. Conclusion: Fetuses with BCM <2.1 cm in the late gestation period were more likely to have BA than CBD. Our observation of cyst enlargement with advancing gestational age in the CBD group was attributed solely to fetal growth. Biliary dilatation in fetuses with CBD and BA might be completed at the onset of BCM.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.53-58
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• 1988

We have experienced 3 cases of papillary carcinoma of the thyroid gland seen as lateral neck cyst, Usually cystic lesions of the neck have been considered as benign lesions from clinical viewpoint. The usual differential diagnosis includes branchial cleft cyst, cystic hygroma, dermoid cyst, cold abscess(tuberculous lymphadenitis) and cavitating squamous cell carcinoma. A lateral neck cyst as the sole presenting complaint of the papillary thyroid carcinoma is very rare. Preoperative diagnosis of lateral neck cyst is often diagnostic dilemma. Fine-needle aspiration cytology can be helpful in detecting the cancer cells and in demonstrating the nature of the fluid component of the lateral neck cyst. Presence of brown murky fluid from the aspirated fluid is highly suggestive of thyroid carcinoma. The thyroid scans and B-mode ultrasonography mayor may not be helpful to detect the primary focus of the thyroid gland. We suggest that a patient with a lateral neck cyst in adult age group should be considered to be a possibility of underlying thyroid carcinoma presanting as lateral neck cyst.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.148-153
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• 2003

Skin moisture is an important factor in skin health. Measurement of moisture content can provide diagnostic information on the condition of skin. In this study, a portable near-infrared (NIR) system was newly integrated with a photo diode array detector that has no moving parts, and this system has been successfully applied for the evaluation of human skin moisture. Diffuse reflectance spectra were collected and transformed to absorbance using 1 nm step size over the wavelength range of 1100 nm to 2200 nm. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) was applied to develop a calibration model. For practical use for the evaluation of human skin moisture, the PLS model for human skin moisture was developed in vivo using the portable NIR system on the basis of the relative water content values of stratum corneum from the conventional capacitance method. The PLS model showed a good correlation. The calibration with the use of PLS model predicted human moisture with a standard error of prediction (SEP) of 3.5 at 1120∼1730 nm range. This study showed the possibility of skin moisture measurement using portable NIR system.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.135-147
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• 2016

This paper describes a smart structural system, which uses smart materials for real-time monitoring and active control of bolted-joints in steel structures. The goal of this research is to reduce the possibility of failure and the cost of maintenance of steel structures such as bridges, electricity pylons, steel lattice towers and so on. The concept of the smart structural system combines impedance based health monitoring techniques with a shape memory alloy (SMA) washer to restore the tension of the loosened bolt. The impedance-based structural health monitoring (SHM) techniques were used to detect loosened bolts in bolted-joints. By comparing electrical impedance signatures measured from a potentially damage structure with baseline data obtained from the pristine structure, the bolt loosening damage could be detected. An outlier analysis, using generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution, providing optimal decision boundaries, has been carried out for more systematic damage detection. Once the loosening damage was detected in the bolted joint, the external heater, which was bonded to the SMA washer, actuated the washer. Then, the heated SMA washer expanded axially and adjusted the bolt tension to restore the lost torque. Additionally, temperature variation due to the heater was compensated by applying the effective frequency shift (EFS) algorithm to improve the performance of the diagnostic results. An experimental study was conducted by integrating the piezoelectric material based structural health monitoring and the SMA-based active control function on a bolted joint, after which the performance of the smart 'self-monitoring and self-healing bolted joint system' was demonstrated.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Environmental Biology Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.81-85
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• 2003

In round numbers the 100 strains of entomopathogenic nematodes were isolated through the investigation of cultivated including the ginseng forming cultivated and forest soil samples by silkworm trap. The 28 strains of nematodes were selected among the isolated entomopathogenic nematodes that were confirmed the pathogenicity against Holotrichia morosa, Hoiotrichia diomphalia and Ectinus sericeus, the pest of korean ginseng and silkworm. Pathogenicity of the 2025, 2027, 2028, 2034, 2039 and 2057 strains was excellent. Selected entomopathogenic nematodes are classified of two species by morphologiacl and molecular studies, which were Sterinernma carpocapsae sp. and Diplogaster lethier sp.. Diagnostic characters include body length, lateral field pattern, tail shape and so on. The DNA sequences of the ITS region of rDNA shows similar to S. carpocapsae and .D. lethier. Isolated entomopathogenic nematodes were demonstrates that are quite within the realms of possibility for biological control agents of the pests of Korean Ginseng.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.19-27
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• 2007

An important potential of metabolomics-based approach is the possibility to develop fingerprints of diseases or cellular responses to classes of compounds with known common biological effect. Such fingerprints have the potential to allow classification of disease states or compounds, to provide mechanistic information on cellular perturbations and pathways and to identify biomarkers specific for disease severity and drug efficacy. Metabolic profiles of biological fluids contain a vast array of endogenous metabolites. Changes in those profiles resulting from perturbations of the system can be observed using analytical techniques, such as NMR and MS. $^1H$ NMR was used to generate a molecular fingerprint of serum or urinary sample, and then pattern recognition technique was applied to identity molecular signatures associated with the specific diseases or drug efficiency. Several metabolites that differentiate disease samples from the control were thoroughly characterized by NMR spectroscopy. We investigated the metabolic changes in human normal and clinical samples using $^1H$ NMR. Spectral data were applied to targeted profiling and spectral binning method, and then multivariate statistical data analysis (MVDA) was used to examine in detail the modulation of small molecule candidate biomarkers. We show that targeted profiling produces robust models, generates accurate metabolite concentration data, and provides data that can be used to help understand metabolic differences between healthy and disease population. Such metabolic signatures could provide diagnostic markers for a disease state or biomarkers for drug response phenotypes.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.15-22
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• 2019

The diagnosis of atopic dermatitis (AD) includes a test that checks allergen-mediated skin reactions and a method of measuring the total IgE and allergen-specific IgE in blood. However, these test methods are performed directly on the patient, which cause some pain or discomfort. In addition, the skin response test or IgE may result in false negative in about 20% of patients. In the present study, to identify specific biomarkers, HaCaT cells were used as a human keratinocyte that make up the skin, were treated IL-4 and IL-13 for 24 hours to induce a situation similar to keratinocytes in AD patients. In the HaCaT cells, pro-inflammatory cytokine such as IL-5, IL-6, and MCP-1 were increased by IL-4 and IL-13 and skin barrier proteins was reduced by IL-4 and L-13. This results showed that a situation similar to the stratum corneum of an actual patient is induced in HaCaT cells. And then the secretions of Kallikrein (KLK) 5 and KLK7 protease were checked by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). It was specifically increased by IL-4 and IL-13. This showed that AD-related protease can be detected at the protein level using keratinocytes that can be taken in a non-invasive manner and suggested the possibility of applying it to AD diagnosis.