• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.76-81
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• 2021

Objectives: We aimed to collect and report data from all patients who have been diagnosed with mucosal malignant melanoma to obtain the epidemiology and principles of current treatments. Materials and Methods: Between January 2008 and December 2018, 20 patients underwent surgery or follow-up observations at Yonsei University Dental Hospital. The patients' clinical information was reviewed retrospectively. Results: Seventeen of 20 patients had undergone definitive surgery, while only 6 patients received adjuvant radiotherapy or systemic therapy. Eight of 20 patients, including those that had recurrent lesions, were provided immunotherapy. The 3-year survival for all stages was 50%, with a local recurrence rate of 75% and a metastasis rate of 65%. Conclusion: The overall survival of patients receiving surgical treatment was longer than that of patients who did not undergo surgical resection. Eight of 20 patients received immunotherapy as the first-line regimen at our clinic, and those patients exhibited longer overall survival compared to patients in reported keynote studies.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.70-79
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• 2023

The synthesis of the Mannich base as a ligand (L) N-(morpholino (phenyl) methyl) acetamide is the subject of this study. Elemental analyses, FT-IR spectra, UV-vis, ¹H-NMR, and magnetic measurements were used to confirm the synthesis of the [Ni(L)₂]Cl₂ complex, thermal analysis (TG/DTG), atomic absorption, and scanning, and structurally explained as electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) methods. The melting point of the complex and its molar conductivity were also measured. The suggested geometries of the complexes formed have a tetrahedral structure, according to the data acquired using various techniques. Theoretical approaches to the complex formation have been investigated. For molecular mechanics and semi-empirical calculations, the HYPERCHEM6 program had been used. The effect of the novel Ni(II) complex on the cancer cell Hepa-2 (human hepatocellular ademocarcinoma), that is the human laryngeal cancer, was studied. It has been found that these ligand and complex have potent effects on the cancer cell. The antibacterial activity of the free ligand and its complex was evaluated against two kinds of human pathogenic bacteria. The first category is Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureas, epiderimids), whereas the second group is Gram-negative (Psedamonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli) (from the diffusion method). Finally, it was discovered that various chemicals had varied growth-inhibiting effects on bacteria.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.34-49
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• 2019

Conventional transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (c-TACE) is a widely used first-line palliative treatment for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Despite the effectiveness of c-TACE, to date, technique and procedure scheduling has not yet been standardized. Drug-eluting microspheres (DEMs) were therefore introduced to ensure more sustained and tumor-selective drug delivery for permanent embolization. These DEMs can load various drugs and release them in a sustained manner over a prolonged period. This approach ensures the delivery of high concentrations of chemotherapeutic agents to tumors, without increasing systemic concentrations, and promote tumor ischemia and necrosis. This review summarizes the recent advances in the use of DEM-TACE to treat HCC.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.409-422
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• 2023

Endoscopic resection (ER) is widely utilized as a minimally invasive treatment for upper gastrointestinal tumors; however, complications could occur during and after the procedure. Post-ER mucosal defect leads to delayed perforation and bleeding; therefore, endoscopic closure methods (endoscopic hand-suturing, the endoloop and endoclip closure method, and over-the-scope clip method) and tissue shielding methods (polyglycolic acid sheets and fibrin glue) are developed to prevent these complications. During duodenal ER, complete closure of the mucosal defect significantly reduces delayed bleeding and should be performed. An extensive mucosal defect that comprises three-quarters of the circumference in the esophagus, gastric antrum, or cardia is a significant risk factor for post-ER stricture. Steroid therapy is considered the first-line option for the prevention of esophageal stricture, but its efficacy for gastric stricture remains unclear. Methods for the prevention and management of ER-related complications in the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum differ according to the organ; therefore, endoscopists should be familiar with ways of preventing and managing organ-specific complications.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.613-622
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• 2023

Background/Aims: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is currently considered the first-line treatment for the eradication of superficial neoplasms of the esophagus in Eastern countries. However, in the West, particularly in Latin America, the experience with esophageal ESD is still limited because of the high technical complexity required for its execution. This study aimed to present the results of the clinical application of ESD to manage superficial esophageal neoplasms in a Latin American center in over 100 consecutive cases. Methods: This retrospective study included consecutive patients who underwent endoscopic ESD for superficial esophageal neoplasms between 2009 and 2022. The following clinical outcomes were assessed: en bloc, complete, and curative resection rates, local recurrence, adverse events, and procedure-related mortality. Results: Esophageal ESD was performed mainly for squamous cell carcinoma (66.6%), high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (17.1%), and adenocarcinoma (11.4%). En bloc and complete resection rates were 96.2% and 81.0%, respectively. The curative resection rate was 64.8%. Adverse events occurred in six cases (5.7%). Endoscopic follow-up was performed for an average period of 29.7 months. Conclusions: ESD performed by trained operators is feasible, safe, and clinically effective for managing superficial neoplastic lesions of the esophagus in Latin America.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.434-442
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• 2008

The objective of this study was to determine the optimum ratio of methionine to methionine plus cystine for growing pigs. A nitrogen balance trial was conducted using a total of 21 barrows (Large WhiteLandrace) over two replicates. The initial body weight was $20.36{\pm}1.22kg$ (mean${\pm}$SD) in the first replicate and $23.54{\pm}1.02kg$ (mean${\pm}$SD) in the second. For each replicate, the 21 pigs were randomly assigned to one of seven dietary treatments with three observations per treatment. The diets included a methionine and cystine-deficient basal diet with all other essential nutrients meeting nutrient requirements and six diets formulated with graded levels of DL-methionine (0.00, 0.03, 0.06, 0.10, 0.13, 0.16%) and $L-Cystine{\cdot}HCl{\cdot}H_2O$ (0.19, 0.15, 0.11, 0.07, 0.04, 0.00%). This resulted in ratios of methionine to methionine plus cystine of 41.3, 29.6, 35.3, 41.2, 46.0, 51.6 and 57.5%. Each experimental period lasted 12 days consisting of a seven-day adaptation period followed by a five-day total collection of urine and feces. During the collection period, pigs were fed 900 g/day for the first replicate and 1,200 g/day for the second replicate. The feed was provided in three equal portions at 0800, 1500, and 2200 h daily. Pigs had ad libitum access to water after feeding. There was a linear (p<0.01) and quadratic (p<0.01) effect on daily gain and feed conversion as the ratio of methionine to methionine plus cystine increased. Pigs receiving the diets providing a methionine to methionine plus cystine ratio of 51.6% had the best daily gain and feed conversion. Plasma urea nitrogen was also lowest for this treatment. Nitrogen retention increased (p<0.01) as the relative proportion of methionine increased up to 51.6% and then a downward trend occurred at 57.5%. The quadratic regression model, as well as one- and two- slope regression line models, were used to determine the optimum ratio of methionine to methionine plus cystine. Eliminating the 35.3% methionine to methionine plus cystine treatment resulted in $R^2$ values in excess of 0.92. The optimal ratio of methionine to methionine plus cystine was estimated to be 54.15% for nitrogen retention and 56.72% for plasma urea nitrogen.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.1781-1787
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• 2015

Background: miRNAs are relatively recently discovered cancer biomarkers which have important implications for cancer early diagnosis, treatment and estimation of prognosis. Here we focussed on expression of mir-196a-5p in gastric cancer tissues and cell lines so as to analyse its significance for clinicopathologic characteristics and generate enriched KEGG pathways clustered by target genes for exploring its potential roles as a biomarker in gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: The expression of mir-196a-5p in poorly, moderate and well differentiated gastric cancer cell lines compared with GES-1 was detected by RT-qPCR, and the expression of mir-196a-5p in gastric cancer tissues comparing with adjacent non cancer tissues of 58 cases were also assessed by RT-qPCR. Subsequently, an analysis of clinical significance of mir-196a-5p in gastric cancer and enriched KEGG pathways was executed based on the miRWalk prediction database combined with bioinformatics tools DAVID 6.7 and Mirfocus 3.0. Results: RT-qPCR showed that mir-196a-5p was up-regulated in 6 poorly and moderate differentiated gastric cancer cell lines SGC-7901, MKN-45, MKN-28, MGC-803, BGC-823, HGC-27 compared with GES-1, but down-regulated in the highly differentiated gastric cancer cell line AGS. Clinical data indicated mir-196a-5p to beup-regulated in gastric cancer tissues (47/58). Overexpression of mir-196a-5p was associated with more extensive degree of lymph node metastasis and clinical stage (P < 0.05; x2 test). Enriched KEGG pathway analyses of predicted and validated targets in miRWalk combined with DAVID 6.7 and Mirfocus 3.0 showed that the targeted genes regulated by mir-196a-5p were involved in malignancy associated biology. Conclusions: Overexpression of mir-196a-5p is associated with lymph node metastasis and clinical stage, and enriched KEGG pathway analyses showed that targeted genes regulated by mir-196a-5p may contribute to tumorgenesis, suggesting roles as an oncogenic miRNA biomarker in gastric cancer.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.276-280
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• 2012

Objective : Gamma knife radiosurgery (GKRS) is the least invasive surgical option for patients with trigeminal neuralgia (TN). However, the indications and long term outcomes of GKRS are still controversial. Additionally, a series with uniform long-term follow-up data for all patients has been lacking. In the present study, the authors analyzed long-term outcomes in a series of patients with TN who underwent a single GKRS treatment followed by a minimum follow-up of 60 months. Methods : From 1994 to 2009, 40 consecutive patients with typical, intractable TN received GKRS. Among these, 22 patients were followed for >60 months. The mean maximum radiation dose was 77.1 Gy (65.2-83.6 Gy), and the 4 mm collimator was used to target the radiation to the root entry zone. Results : The mean age was 61.5 years (25-84 years). The mean follow-up period was 92.2 months (60-144 months). According to the pain intensity scale in the last follow-up, 6 cases were grades I-II (pain-free with or without medication; 27.3%) and 7 cases were grade IV-V (<50% pain relief with medication or no pain relief; 31.8%). There was 1 case (facial dysesthesia) with post-operative complications (4.54%). Conclusion : The long-term results of GKRS for TN are not as satisfactory as those of microvascular decompression and other conventional modalities, but GKRS is a safe, effective and minimally invasive technique which might be considered a first-line therapy for a limited group of patients for whom a more invasive kind of treatment is unsuitable.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.36-49
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• 1997

Background : Hypertension is one of the most important risk factors of the cerebrovascular accident and coronary artery disease which are the major causes of mortality in Korea. In Korea, the quality of care provided by office-based physicians has not been evaluated formally. The purpose of this study is to assess the quality of hypertension management of office-based physicians. Method : Self-administered questionnaires were mailed to the office-based physicians with the speciality of internal medicine, general surgery, family medicine, and general practitioners. Among 2,045 physicians, 981 doctors(48.0%) replied the questionnaires. Contents of questionnaires were based on the recommendation from the JNC-V report(the Fifth Report of the Joint National Committee on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure), and included the criteria of diagnosis, treatment, follow-up interval, and other characteristics of physicians(age, sex, type of speciality, and location of practice). Results : Eighty four percent of the office-based physicians made diagnosis of hypertension with less than 3 times of blood pressure measurements. The performance rate of required examination for hypertensives was very low in most items. Rate of fundoscopic examination is the lowest one among them(5.9%). The performance rate of laboratory examination was also low in most items. Internists tended to order more frequent laboratory examinations than any other type of physicians. Only 11.4% of the physicians did appropriate treatments for the mild hypertension case. The antihypertensives selected by the physicians as a first line drug were in the order of beta blocker(26.4%), calcium channel blocker(23.4%), diuretics(23.1%), ACE inhibitors(14.3%). The visit interval for established hypertensives was very short. Proportion of physicians with follow-up interval longer than 4 weeks was only 4.3%. Conclusions : The overall quality of hypertension management of office-based physicians in Korea is very problematic in many aspects. So further investigations to find out the reasons of low quality arid quality of care should be initiated.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.16-21
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• 2020

Humans use insects as food and traditional medicine for many years. Hemolymph is the circulating fluid of insects and is a key component of their immune system. However, limited information is available regarding hemolymph identification, development, and differentiation, as well as the related cellular immune responses. In a previous study, hemolymph extracts prepared from Bombyx mori larvae were found to exert anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, we aimed to identify and compare the antioxidant activity of immune-challenged and unchallenged B. mori hemolymph extracts in vitro. For this purpose, human epithelial Caco-2 cells were first exposed to oxidative stress and then treated with various concentrations and incubation times of either immune-challenged or unchallenged B. mori hemolymph extracts. Next, we determined the effect of treatment on the relative expression of GPX-1, SOD-1, and SOD-2 antioxidant marker genes. We found that the expression rates of the three marker genes were markedly higher at a immune-challenged hemolymph extract concentration of 80 ppm compared to those at other concentrations, and the antioxidant effects were enhanced after treatment for 48 hr. Thus, B. mori hemolymph extracts showed antioxidant activity within the limited time and dose. Especially, the immune-challenged B. mori hemolymph extracts showed higher the antioxidant activities than unchallenged one. The activity of silkworm hemolymph extracts could facilitate the development of new types of functional foods, feed additives, and biomaterials with antioxidant properties.