• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.68-71
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• 2006

Background: Stellate ganglion block (SGB) is a selective sympathetic blockade that affects the head, neck and the upper extremities. It is an important method that has been frequently used in pain clinics due to its wide range of indications. But there were some problem with performing SGB at C6 or C7. Thus, various techniques have been recently introduced to successfully perform SGB; among them, there is the oblique approach. This study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the oblique approach for performing SGB in C7. Methods: Forty six patients with sudden hearing loss were studied. In group I, the patient underwent C7 oblique SGB with 1% mepivacaine (3 ml) under fluoroscopic guidance. In group II, the patients underwent the C7 classical anterior approach SGB with 1% mepivaine (5 ml) under fluoroscopic guidance. We compared the occurrence of Horner's syndrome, the side effects and the changes of temperature of the skin of the hand. Results: The rate of Horner's syndrome was 81.5% in the group I and 84.2% in the group II. The rate of incurring increased skin temperature (${\geq}34^{\circ}C$) of the fingers was 77.7% and 79.4% in each group, respectively. Conclusions: The C7 oblique approach for SGB showed the same SGB effect compared with the C7 anterior approach for SGB, and there were also fewer complications. We conclude that C7 oblique SGB may be a beneficial method for treating patients with this particular malady.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.65 no.4
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• pp.628-634
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• 2016

This paper demonstrates a microfluidic electrochemical sensor for detecting endocrine disruptor such as estradiol at a very low concentration by using preconcentration technique. In addition, self-assembled monolayer(SAM) was also employed on the working electrode of the electrochemical sensor in order to increase the estradiol capture efficiency of the sensor. SAM treatment on the working electrode enhanced the specific binding between the surface of the working electrode and the estradiol antibody. The estradiol antibody was applied on the working electrode at different concentrations(10, 20, 50, 100, 200 pg/ml) for observing the concentration dependency. The measured electrochemical redox current changed with the amount of the bound estradiol on the Au working electrode surface and the sensor can detect all the target material when the immobilized antibody amount is more than the estradiol amount in the water. The elecrochemical estradiol sensor without SAM treatment showed a low current of 7.79 nA, while the sensor treated with SAM resulted in 339 nA at 200 pg/ml, which is more than 40 fold higher output current. When combining the preconcentration technique and the SAM-treated electrode, the measured current became more than 100 fold higher than that of the sensor without neither SAM treatment nor preconcentration technique. The combination of these two techniques can would enable the proposed microfluidic electrochemical sensor to detect a very low concentration endocrine disruptor.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 1999.07a
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• pp.202-202
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• 1999

The Polyethylene (PE), Polystyrene (PS) and Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) surface modification was investigated by hydrogen io assisted reaction (H-IAR) in oxygen environment. The IAR is a kind of surface modification techniques using ion beam irradiation in reactive gas environment. The energy of hydrogen ion beam was fixed at 1keV, io dose was varied from 5$\times$1014 to 1$\times$1017 ions/$\textrm{cm}^2$, and amount of oxygen blowing gas was fixed 4ml/min. Wettability was measured by water contact angles measurement, and the surface functionality was analyzed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The contact angle of water on PE modified by argon ion beam only decrease from 95$^{\circ}$ to 52$^{\circ}$, and surface energy was not changed significantly. But, the contact angle using hydrogen ion beam with flowing 4ml/min oxygen stiffly decreased to 8$^{\circ}$ and surface energy to 65 ergs/cm. In case of PS, the contact angle and surface energy changes were similar results of PE, but the contact angle of PTEE samples decreased with ion dose up to 1$\times$1015 ions/$\textrm{cm}^2$, increased at higher dose, and finally increased to the extent that no wetting was appeared at 1$\times$1017 ions/$\textrm{cm}^2$. These results must be due to the hydrogen ion beam that cleans the surface removing the impurities on polymer surfaces, then hydrogen ion beam was activated with C-H bonding to make some functional groups in order to react with the oxygen gases. Finally, unstable polymer surface can be changed from hydrophobic to hydrophilic formation such as C-O and C=O that were confirmed by the XPS analysis, conclusionally, the ion assisted reaction is very effective tools to attach reactive ion species to form functional groups on C-C bond chains of PE, PS and PTFE.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.381-385
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• 2015

Background:Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second most common malignancy in Egypt. Data mining is a method of predictive analysis which can explore tremendous volumes of information to discover hidden patterns and relationships. Our aim here was to develop a non-invasive algorithm for prediction of HCC. Such an algorithm should be economical, reliable, easy to apply and acceptable by domain experts. Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled 315 patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) related chronic liver disease (CLD); 135 HCC, 116 cirrhotic patients without HCC and 64 patients with chronic hepatitis C. Using data mining analysis, we constructed a decision tree learning algorithm to predict HCC. Results: The decision tree algorithm was able to predict HCC with recall (sensitivity) of 83.5% and precession (specificity) of 83.3% using only routine data. The correctly classified instances were 259 (82.2%), and the incorrectly classified instances were 56 (17.8%). Out of 29 attributes, serum alpha fetoprotein (AFP), with an optimal cutoff value of ${\geq}50.3ng/ml$ was selected as the best predictor of HCC. To a lesser extent, male sex, presence of cirrhosis, AST>64U/L, and ascites were variables associated with HCC. Conclusion: Data mining analysis allows discovery of hidden patterns and enables the development of models to predict HCC, utilizing routine data as an alternative to CT and liver biopsy. This study has highlighted a new cutoff for AFP (${\geq}50.3ng/ml$). Presence of a score of >2 risk variables (out of 5) can successfully predict HCC with a sensitivity of 96% and specificity of 82%.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.47-51
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• 2005

We report a case of an accidental extravasation of contrast material. A large-volume extravasation occurred in an adult during spiral contrast-enhanced CT. The amount of contrast material extravasated was 47 ml. The patient had a swelling of the dorsum right hand. The extravasation injury site was determined by CT scanning. The extavasation case was examined using five separate display techniques: axial, multi planar reformation (MPR), maximum intensity projection (MIP), volume rendering, and shaded-surfaced display (SSD). This paper introduces extravasation with the CT and the three-dimensional appearance.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.137-144
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• 1982

It was previously reported from our laboratory that the rate of deterioration of the force of contraction was slower in heart from Panax ginseng extract treated rats. The study carried out to elucidate its mechanism of the action on hearts. The cyclic AMP content in the rat hearts was measured by the method of radioimmunoassay techniques. Panax ginseng extract (100mg/kg/day) was administered orally to male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 150g to 250g for 1 week and after 24 hrs the hearts were isolated and the cyclic AMP content in the fresh heart was assayed. The difference in cyclic AMP content between the rats treated with Panax ginseng extracts and normal rats was not significant. Panax ginseng extract(l00mg/kg/day) was administered orally to the rats for I week and after 24 hrs the hearts were isolated and perfused with Krebs-Henseleit buffer (pH7.4) for 90min. The cyclic AMP content in the both treated and normal rats was not also significantly different. On the other hand, when total ginseng saponin (50mg/kg/day) was administered orally to rats for 1 week and after 24 hrs, the isolated hearts were perfused with Krebs Henseleit solution for 32min, the cyclic AMP content in total ginseng soponin treated hearts was decreased by 18.7% compared to normal rats. It was also observed that when isolated hearts were perfused with total ginseng saponin $(10^{-4}g/ml)$ for 12 min after 30 min equilibration period, the cyclic AMP content in total ginseng saponin treated hearts was decreased by 23.7% compared to normal rats. Isolated hearts were perfused with ginseng saponins $(10^{-4}g/ml)$ or with Krebs-Henseleit solution alone for 10min and subsequently with dl-isoproterenol $(1/2{\times}10^{-6}M)$ until the positive inotropic effect of isoproterenol was initiated. The cyclic AMP content in each rat hearts treated with total ginseng saponin, or with ginsenoside $Rb_1$, or with Krebs-Henseleit solution alone were increased by 35.5%, 42.4%, 47.5%, respectively, compared to normal rats.

• Mycobiology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.219-229
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• 2006

Seventeen microbial species including 10 fungal taxa, two yeasts and five bacteria, were isolated from freshly prepared orange, guava and banana juices kept in open bottles at room temperature for 7 days. Eight different essential oils, from local herbs, were tested for their antimicrobial activity against these test organisms. The essential oils of Cymbopogon citratus, Ocimum basilicum and Origanum majorana were found to be highly effective against these microorganisms. Aspergillus niger, A. flavus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the most prevalent microorganisms in juice, showed the highest resistance against these essential oils. GC-MS analysis showed that while e-citral, a'-myrcene, and z-citral represent the major components (75.1 %) of the essential oil of Cymbopogon citratus; bezynen,l-methyl-4-(2-propenyl), 1,8-cineole and trans-a'-bisabolene were the main components (90.6%) of Ocimum basilicum; whereas 3-cyclohexen-l-0l,4-methyl-l(l-methylethyl)-(CAS), c-terpinene and trans-caryophyllene represent the major components (65.1%) of Origanum majorana. These three essential oils were introduced into juices by two techniques namely, fumigation and direct contact. The former technique showed more fungicidal effect than the latter one against A. flavus, A. niger, and S. cerevisiae. The essential oil of Cymbopogon citratus by comparison to other test oils showed the strongest effect against these fungi with a minimum inhibitory concentration of $1.5\;{\mu}l/ml$ medium and a sublethal concentration of $1.0\;{\mu}l/ml$. The antimicrobial activity of this oil is thermostable at $121^{\circ}C$ for 30 min.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.48-53
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• 1999

Background: Despite the popularity of epidural bupivacaine-morphine infusions for postoperative pain management, the optimum concentrations and dosages of bupivacaine have not been determined. At present, due to the disadvantages conferred by intense motor block and the increased risk of toxicity, many trials focus on reducing bupivacaine concentration and thus the evaluation of concentrations less than 0.1% may be warranted. Methods: Forty patients having epiduro-general anesthesia for hysterectomy were randomly assigned to one of two study groups. As a mean of postoperative pain control, all received 2 mg of epidural morphine bolusly 1 hr before the end of surgery and continuous epidural infusion was started using a two-day Infusor containing 4 mg of morphine in 100 ml of 0.125% bupivacaine (Group 0.125B, n=20) or 100 ml of 0.0625% bupivacaine (Group 0.0625B, n=20). Study endpoints included visual analog scales (VAS) for pain during rest and movement, sensory change and motor blockade. They were assessed at 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, 32, 40 and 48 hrs postoperatively. Results: For VAS during rest, no significance could be found between two groups over the course of study. But for VAS during movement, the 0.125B group showed more satisfactory results especially during early postoperative periods. For the incidence of complications, the 0.125B group revealed greater frequency of sensory change (25.0%) and motor blockade (10.0%) compared with the 0.0625B group. Conclusion: This study suggests that 0.0625% bupivacaine with morphine via epidural route was sufficient for pain control during rest but it was not satisfactory during movement especially in early postoperative periods. We also recommend that careful attention to motor blockade should be paid when using 0.125% bupivacaine.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.103-110
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• 1988

For the rapid diagnosis of bacterial diseases of cultured fishes, the immunoperoxidase method was applied to the detection of $\beta$-haemolitic Streptococcus sp. strain KST-2 isolated from tilapia(Oreochromis niloticus). The suitability of field analysis and the sensitivity of the immunoperoxidase method was compared with those of the counterimmunoelectrophoresis(CIE) and the immunodiffusion(ID). Results of testing cross-reactivity which did not indicate any cross reactivity with other fish pathogens, this method was specific to Streptococcus sp. The sensitivity of this method was $1{\times}10^3CFU/ml$ which was at least $10^2$times greater than the CIE and $10^4$times greater than the ID. The immunoperoxidase method was more suitable for field application and more sensitive than other diagnostic techniques tested on this study.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.186-192
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• 2004

Purpose: Human tooth proteins are highly heterogeneous, comprising diverse proteins derived from a number of genes. The attempts to identify protein for activity of tooth matrix proteins have been defied by several factors. First, the amount of proteins within teeth is very small relative to many extracellular matrix proteins of other tissues. Second, the bioassay system is tedious and needed for long time. Therefore we tried to find easy techniques, which increase the product rate, and an assay of small proteins, with which amino acid sequence is possible without additional procedures. Materials and Methods: Total protein were extracted from 300 g enamel removed teeth and 600 g teeth with 4 mol/L guanidine HCl and purified by gel chromatography. Aliquot of proteins was implanted into muscle pouches in Sprague-Dawley rats for bioassay. By SDS-PAGE and membrane blotting, molecular weight of each protein was estimated and a partial amino acid sequence was obtained. Each fraction blotted on the membrane was cut out and inserted in rat ectopic model. Results: In dissociative method, total tooth proteins were obtained 1mg/ml from enamel removed teeth and 3.5 mg/ml from teeth. In SDS-PAGE, four clear bands at the sites corresponding to 66, 40, 20 and 18 kD. Especially The 66 kD band was clearly exhibited. Amino acid sequencing from tooth could be possible using PVDF membrane blotting technique. In amino acid sequencing, 66 kD protein was identified as albumin. Conclusion: Compared with conventional method for extraction of teeth protein and bioassay of proteins, the methods in this study were easy, time-saving and more productive technique. The matured tooth proteins omitting additional procedure of mechanical removal of enamel were simply analyzed using blotted PVDF membrane. This method seems to make a contribution as a technique for bioassay and amino acid sequencing of protein.