• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.51 no.7
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• pp.713-721
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• 2008

Purpose : This study aims to describe the clinical characteristics of severe meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) which required mechanical ventilation over 48 h and to delineate the progress of respiratory failure and radiographic findings in severe MAS. Methods : Twelve infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Seoul National University Bundang Hospital diagnosed with severe MAS from January 2004 to July 2007 were analyzed retrospectively. Results : The presence of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) is the only independently significant risk factor for a longer hospital stay and longer duration of mechanical ventilation. Surfactant replacement therapy (SRT) was not randomized but only performed in infants with radiographic findings for respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). In the presence of radiographic findings for RDS, the duration of high-frequency oscillatory ventilation was significantly longer. PPHN developed in 8 infants (75%). The PPHN group had a significantly longer duration of mechanical ventilation. All infants who received SRT showed radiographic improvement within 12 h, but there was no significant change in the severity score during the same period. Infants without the PPHN complications showed significant decrease in the severity score within 12 h after SRT, whereas infants with PPHN complications did not. Conclusion : The clinical course of severe MAS differed significantly depending on the development of PPHN. SRT conferred radiographic improvement in infants who showed radiographic findings for RDS, but did not influence the clinical course of MAS significantly.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.231-240
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• 2008

We developed a user-friendly program to independently verify monitor units (MUs) calculated by radiation treatment planning systems (RTPS), as well as to manage beam database in clinic. The off-axis factor, beam hardening effect, inhomogeneity correction, and the different depth correction were incorporated into the program algorithm to improve the accuracy in calculated MUs. A beam database in the program was supposed to use measured data from routine quality assurance (QA) processes for timely update. To enhance user's convenience, a graphic user interface (GUI) was developed by using Visual Basic for Application. In order to evaluate the accuracy of the program for various treatment conditions, the MU comparisons were made for 213 cases of phantom and for 108 cases of 17 patients treated by 3D conformal radiation therapy. The MUs calculated by the program and calculated by the RTPS showed a fair agreement within ${\pm}3%$ for the phantom and ${\pm}5%$ for the patient, except for the cases of extreme inhomogeneity. By using Visual Basic for Application and Microsoft Excel worksheet interface, the program can automatically generate beam data book for clinical reference and the comparison template for the beam data management. The program developed in this study can be used to verify the accuracy of RTPS for various treatment conditions and thus can be used as a tool of routine RTPS QA, as well as independent MU checks. In addition, its beam database management interface can update beam data periodically and thus can be used to monitor multiple beam databases efficiently.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.31-39
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• 2011

Purpose : This study was performed for the purpose of finding causative organisms and clinical features of septic arthritis or acute osteomyelitis in children. Methods : The study involved a retrospective review of the medical records of 63 microbiologically confirmed cases of acute pyogenic arthritis and osteomyelitis. All of the cases were brought about by community-associated infections and managed at the Seoul National University Children's Hospital or Seoul National University Bundang Hospital from June 2003 to July 2009. Results : The median age of all cases was 60 months and there were 35 males and 28 females. Major involved joints included the hip joint (15 cases), knee joint (7 cases), shoulder joint (4 cases), and elbow joint (4 cases). Also, major involved bones included the femur (20 cases), tibia (13 cases), humerus (7 cases), and radius (7 cases). Staphylococcus aureus was the most commonly identified causative organism, accounting for 49 cases (77.8%). Of the 49 isolates of S. aureus, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) accounted for 8 cases (16.3%). Group B streptococcus spp. (GBS) and Salmonella spp. accounted for 3 cases, respectively. Nafcillin or cefazolin was often prescribed as an initial empirical antibiotic. There were 9 cases that were managed by a regimen that included vancomycin as the first choice. Fifty four cases (85.7%) recovered without any complications. Methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA), responsible for 41 cases, caused chronic complications in 3 cases. Of 8 cases caused by MRSA, 1 case showed chronic complication. There were no fatal cases. Conclusion : S. aureus remains the most common organism causing acute pyogenic arthritis and osteomyelitis of childhood acquired in the community. The high prevalence of methicillin resistance among S. aureus should be considered carefully in the selection of initial empirical antibiotics.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.152-161
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• 2006

Purpose : In Korea, the school urine screening program is a useful tool for screening urine abnormalities. It is particularly useful in early detection of membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis(MPGN) I, which frequently progresses to chronic renal failure. In this study, we studied the medical history, laboratory findings, and histologic findings of MPGN to gain helpful information on early detection and treatment. Methods : The subjects were 19 children, who were diagnosed with MPGN from kidney biopsies that were performed in ten nationwide university hospitals because of abnormal urine findings from school urine screening programs conducted from July 1999 to April 2004. We divided the patients into 2 groups, a nephrotic range proteinuria group(n=8) and a non-nephrotic proteinuria group(n=11), and retrospectively analyzed the clinical features, laboratory findings, histologic findings, treatment, and clinical course. Results : The mean age at the first abnormal urinalysis was $10.6{\pm}2.2$ years in the nephrotic proteinuria group and $9.6{\pm}3.2$ years in the non-nephrotic proteinuria group. The mean age at the time of kidney biopsy was $11.3{\pm}2.3$ years in the nephrotic range proteinuria group and $10.4{\pm}3.2$ years in the non-nephrotic proteinuria group respectively. There was no significant difference in the mean age and sex between the two groups. In the nephrotic proteinuria group, 6 children had a low plasma C3 level and in the non-nephrotic proteinuria group, 8 children had a low plasma C3 level, but there was no significant difference between the 2 groups. There was no significant difference in the laboratory test results(including WBC count, RBC count, platelet count and other serologic tests) between the 2 groups except for 24 hour urine protein secretion. There was no difference between the 2 groups with regard to the acute and chronic changes in the glomerulus on light microscopic findings, IgG, IgA, Ig M, C1q, C3, C4, fibrogen deposition on immunofluoroscence findings, and mesangial deposits, subendothelial deposits, and subepithelial deposits on electron microscopic findings. The children were treated with corticosteroids, ACE(angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors, dipyridamole and other immunosuppressive agents. During the course of treatment, there were no children whose clinical condition worsened. Among 19 children, 3 children went into remission(2 in the nephrotic proteinuria group, 1 in the non-nephrotic proteinuria group) and 9 children went into a partial remission(4 in the nephrotic proteinuria group, 5 in the non-nephrotic proteinuria group) on urinalysis. There was no significant difference in the treatment results between the two groups. Conclusion : The 73.7% of children who were incidentally diagnosed with MPGN by the school urine screening program had reduced C3. 42.1% of the children had nephrotic range proteinuria. There were no significant differences in clinical features, laboratory test results, light microscopic, immunofluorescence microscopic, and electron microscopic findings between the nephrotic proteinuria group and the non-nephrotic proteinuria group except for the 24 hour urine protein secretion. Therefore, for early detection of MPGN during the school urine screening program, we strongly recommend a kidney biopsy if children have abnormal urine findings such as persistent proteinuria and persistent hematuria, or if the serum C3 is reduced.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.140-146
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• 2010

Monitoring of the dynamic changes at paddy rice agriculture is very important for agricultural sustainability. Field monitoring was performed to evaluate the soil chemical properties of 260 paddy soil samples every four years from 1999 to 2007 in Gyeongnam Province. Soil chemical properties such as pH, organic matter, available phosphate, silicate, exchangeable potassium, calcium, and magnesium contents were analyzed. The contents of exchangeable cations, and available silicate were significantly increased in 2007 compared to 1999. The chemical contents of organic matter, exchangeable potassium, and magnesium were significantly increased in acid sulfate soil, and silty clay loam compared to those of other soil types, and textures. Especially, content of organic matter was significantly increased in hill area compared to other soil topographies, while exchangeable potassium was significantly decreased. Principle component analysis (PCA) of chemical properties in paddy soils was obtained with eigenvalues > 1 summing 39.1%of variance for PC1, 20.4%of variance for PC2, and 59.5%of the total variance in the all of soil chemical properties. Therefore, principal component analysis is more effective for monitoring from chemical properties of paddy soil.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.297-308
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• 2015

In order to control seed-borne diseases, we obtained extracts from commercial fermented food products of Kimchi, Gochujang, Doenjang, Ganjang and Makgeolli and their suppressive effects against seed-borne diseases were studied. In addition, the suppressive effects of bacterial strains isolated from the fermented foods were screened in vitro and in vivo. Among fifty food extracts, twenty food-extracts suppressed more than 92% incidence of seedling rots in vitro and seven food extracts increased 58.3-66.8% of healthy seedling in the greenhouse. Among 218 isolates from the fermented foods, 29 isolates showing high antifungal activity against seven seed-borne fungal pathogens were selected. Among 29 isolates, 13 isolates significantly reduced seedling rot and increased healthy seedlings. Sixteen isolates with high antifungal activity and suppressive effect against sesame seedling rots were identified by 16S rRNA sequencing. Fourteen of sixteen isolates were identified as Bacillus spp. and the other two isolates from Makgeolli were identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It was confirmed that B. amyloliquifaciens was majority in the effective bacterial population of Korean fermented foods. In addition, when the bioformulations of the two selected effective microorganisms, B. amyloliquifacien Gcj2-1 and B. amyloliquifacien Gcj3-1, were prepared in powder forms using bentonite, kaolin, talc and zeolite, talc- and kaolin-bioformulation showed high control efficacy against sesame seed-borne disease, followed by zeolite-bioformulation. Meanwhile control efficacy of each bentonite-bioformulation of B. amyloliquifacien Gcj2-1 and B. amyloliquifacien Gcj3-1 was lower than that of bacterial suspension of them. It was found that the selected effective microorganisms from Korean fermented foods were effective for controlling seed-borne diseases of sesame in vitro and in the greenhouse. We think that Korean fermented food extracts and useful microorganisms isolated from the extract can be used as bio-control agents for suppressing sesame seed-borne diseases based on above described results.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.308-314
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• 2011

Seed germination and dormancy of three green manure seeds such as hairy vetch, crimson clover and narrow-leaved vetch (Vicia angustifolia L.) produced in Milyang, southern part of Korea were investigated to provide a basic information on the stability of seedling establishment in green manure seeds. In addition, the effect of seed storage duration on the germinability of imported hairy vetch and crimson seeds was also investigated. To determine the seed maturity time of three green manure seeds, the seeds were harvested manually at May 25, May 30, and June 4, and the 100-seed weight, germinability and percentage of hard seed were evaluated. Freshly harvested seeds of three green manure crops were strongly dormant because of hard seed coat. Germination percentage of the three green manure crops varied depending on the seed harvest time ranging from 30 - 52% in hairy vetch, 16 - 35% in crimson clover and 2 - 61% in V. angustifolia, respectively. Of the three crops, crimson clover and V. angustifolia matured early on May 30 to June 4 (around 35 to 40 days after flower) but hairy vetch seed did not mature until June 4 based on the seed germinability. The matured seed of crimson clover and V. angustifolia germinated less than 20% while scarification on seed coat significantly overcome the innate dormancy. On the other hand, the seed germination of hairy vetch and crimson clover was lower under dark than in the presence of light. The germination percentage of the imported hairy vetch and crimson clover seeds showed high with 77 - 79%, 94 - 95%, respectively, but the seed germination significantly declined by 21 - 32%, 30 - 40% after one-year of storage under natural conditions. The seeds germinated only 8 - 13% for hairy vetch but crimson clover did not germinate at all after two years storage. These results indicate V. angustifolia and crimson clover mature at May 30 to June 4 but hairy vetch did not. The imported hairy vetch and crimson clover seeds should be used within one-year after import for stable seedling establishment in green manure-rice cultivation cropping system.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.355-362
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• 2016

Objectives: This study aimed to develop a tool for assessing foreigners' understanding of oral health information in Korea called the Test of Korean Functional Health Literacy in Dentistry(TOKFHLiD) and examined validity and reliability of the tool. The TOKFHLiD consists of two literacy assessment parts: Dental Information Sentence(DIS) aims to assess one's literacy of sentences containing oral health information. Dental Information Document(DID) aims to assess one's numeracy and literacy of documents containing oral health information. Methods: Twenty eight preliminary questions were developed based on various medical care literature such as the agreement to diagnosis and treatment and the treatment precautions. DID using 14 preliminary questions was developed based on the appointment card, the treatment schedule, and labels on oral care products. The 42 preliminary questions in the DIS and the DID were subsequently put through four separate expert reviews, in which questions with content validity score of less than 0.8(13/15 points) were corrected and modified by five dental experts and then were corrected for language errors by two Korean language experts. The preliminary assessment tool was tested on 153 Koreans, and ${\chi}^2$ test was performed on the ratio of respondents who comprehended each question, the ratio of respondents who chose the correct answer for each question with a significance level of 0.05. Results: Of the 42 preliminary questions, 1 question in DIS and 1 question in DID, for which the ratio of Korean respondents who chose the correct answers did not exceed the acceptable level of 80%, were excluded and a final assessment tool was completed with 40 questions. Conclusions: Following the development and application of the tool, examination of the TOKHLiD for validity and reliability revealed that this assessment tool is adequate for assessing oral health information literacy of foreigners who are using oral hygiene medical services in Korea.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.254-260
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• 2007

In order to evaluate the toxic effects of butachlor, a herbicide widely used for control of weeds in paddy field, on medaka (Oryzias latipes), acute toxicity tests for five developmental stages and early life stage toxicity test of were conducted. As the results of acute toxicity test, $96h-LC_{50}s$ for 1 day, 1 week, 2 weeks, 2 months and 5 months after hatching of O. latipes were 0.68, 0.52, 0.38, 1.09 and $0.45\;mg\;L^{-1}$, respectively. This indicated that the most sensitive stage was 2 weeks after hatching. The early life stage toxicity test showed that no statistically significant hatching period and hatching success of embryo was observed at all concentrations of butaclor. However, 0.05 and $0.1\;mg\;L^{-1}$ of butachlor showed statistically significant post hatching survival with p<0.1. Abnormalities of larva were 2.1, 2.3 and 10% at 0.025, 0.05 and $0.1\;mg\;L^{-1}$ of concentration, respectively. They showed abnormal vertebral axis, craniofacial alteration and retarded yolk-sac resorption. The total length and weight were decreased depending on butachlor concentration the end of test. Weight of larva was showed more sensitive toxic indicator than total length. The toxicological responses of O. latipes to butachlor expressed as LOEC(lowest observed effect concentration), NOEC(no observed effect concentration) and MATC(maximum acceptable toxicant concentration) values were 0.025, 0.013 and $0.018\;mg\;L^{-1}$, respectively.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.287-295
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• 2016

Involuntary physical activity induced by the avoidance of electrical shock leads to improved endurance exercise capacity in animals. However, it remains unknown whether voluntary stand-up physical activity (SPA) without forced simulating factors improves endurance exercise capacity in animals. We examined the effects of SPA on body weight, cardiac function, and endurance exercise capacity for 12 weeks. Twelve male Sprague-Dawley rats (aged 8 weeks, n=6 per group) were randomly assigned to a control group (CON) or a voluntary SPA group. The rats were induced to perform voluntary SPA (lifting a load equal to their body weight), while the food height (18.0 cm) in cages was increased progressively by 3.5 every 4 weeks until it reached 28.5 cm for 12 weeks. The SPA group showed a lower body weight compared to the CON group, but voluntary SPA did not affect the skeletal muscle and heart weights, food intake, and echocardiography results. Although the SPA group showed higher grip strength, running time, and distance compared to the CON group, the level of irisin, corticosterone, genetic expression of mitochondrial biogenesis, and nuclei numbers were not affected. These findings show that voluntary SPA without any forced stimuli in rats can effectively reduce body weight and enhance endurance exercise capacity, suggesting that it may be an important alternative strategy to enhance endurance exercise capacity.