• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.45 no.8
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• pp.1016-1023
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• 2002

Purpose : Brain tumors are the most common solid tumor in children. We retrospectively investigated the clinical characteristics of pediatric brain tumors, such as age, sex, tumor site and survival, as seen in a single institution over the last 15 years. We tried to evaluate the role of chemotherapy on the survival of some brain tumors. Methods : Three hundred fifty four children with primary brain tumor who were treated at Severance Hospital from Jan. 1985 to Sep. 2001 were enrolled. Results : Pediatric brain tumors were found most frequently in 10-15 years of age group(35.3%) and the ratio of male to female was 1.3 : 1. Supratentorial tumors(52%) were more frequent than infratentorial tumors(48%). Medulloblastoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumor(PNET) was the most common type(24.6%), followed by cerebellar astrocytoma(14.1%). Ten year survival rate of medulloblastoma, cerebellar astrocytoma and cerebral astrocytoma were 59.4%, 79.3% and 71%, respectively. The prognosis for brain stem glioma and glioblastoma multiforme were still grim with a 10 year survival rate of 12.7% and 13.3%, respectively. The addition of chemotherapy for high grade medulloblastoma led to an improved 10 year survival rate of 54.5%, compared with 40% without chemotherapy. Conclusion : The combined use of chemotherapy and radiation and surgery improved survival rate of pediatric brain tumors in our study. Chemotherapy for high grade medulloblastoma improved the 10 year survival rate. Further data analysis of the treatment modalities will lead to better comparisons.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.443-448
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• 2007

Purpose : To evaluate the potential prognostic value of the antithrombin-III (AT-III) level in the children with acute lung injury (ALI), we analyzed several early predictive factors of death including AT-III level at the onset of ALI and compared the relative risk of them for mortality. Methods : Over a 18-month period, a total of 198 children were admitted to our pediatric intensive care unit and 21 mechanically ventilated patients met ALI criteria, as defined by American-European consensus conference, i.e., bilateral pulmonary infiltrates and $PaO_2/FiO_2$ lower than 300 without left atrial hypertension. Demographic variables, hemodynamic and respiratory parameters, underlying diseases, as well as Pediatric Risk of Mortality-III (PRISM-III) scores and Lung Injury Score (LIS) at admission were collected. AT-III levels were measured within 3 hours after admission. These variables were compared between survivors and non-survivors and entered into a multiple logistic regression analysis to evaluate their independent prognostic roles. Results : The overall mortality rate was 38.1% (8/21). Non-survivors showed lower age, lower lung compliance, higher PEEP, higher oxygenation index (OI), lower arterial pH, lower $PaO_2/FiO_2$, higher PRISM-III score and LIS, and lower AT-III level. PRISM-III score, LIS, OI and decreased AT-III level (less than 70%) were independently associated with a risk of death and the odds ratio of decreased AT-III level for mortality is 2.75 (95% confidence interval; 1.28-4.12) Conclusion : These results suggest that the decreased level of AT-III is an important prognostic factor in children with ALI and the replacement of AT-III may be considered as an early therapeutic trial.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.251-256
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• 2010

Objective of this research was to investigate the influence of $NH_4^+$ and $NO_3^-$ ratios in liquid feeding on the growth of snapdragon 'Potomac Red' and changes in medium chemical properties. The seeds were sown into 200 plug trays and fertigated once a week with nutrient solution containing various ratios of $NH_4^+$ and $NO_3^-$ such as 0 : 100, 27 : 73, 50 : 50, 73 : 27, and 100 : 0. The total N concentrations were adjusted to 50, 100 and $150\;mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ in plug stages of 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Determination of seedling growth and analysis of plant tissue and root medum were conducted at 56 days after sowing. The treatment of 27 : 73 ($NH_4^+:NO_3^-$) had the greatest plant height, fresh weight, and dry weight. The N and P contents in 27 : 73 ($NH_4^+:NO_3^-$) treatment based on the above ground plant tissues were 2.39 and 0.39%, respectively, which were the greatest among treatments. The elevation of $NH_4^+$ ratio in fertigation solution decreased tissue Ca and Mg contents, but that did not influence tissue K content. The variations in $NH_4^+:NO_3^-$ ratios impacted the soil solution pH and the difference among treatments had been severe since three weeks after sowing. Elevation of $NH_4^+$ ratios in fertigation solution increased electrical conductivity and concentrations of K, Ca, and Mg in soil solution of root medum. The $NH_4^+$ and $NO_3^-$ concentrations in the soil solution were high in weeks 2, 3, and 4, then decreased gradually as the biomass of seedlings increased. Medium P concentration decreased gradually as seedlings grew, but statistical differences were not observed among treatments.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.88-94
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• 2014

This study was carried out to survey the early growth characteristics of Ligularia fischeri, plants of half-shaded grounds, primarily used as functional wild edible greens and examine its shading treatment to transplant seedling. The shading treatment was regulated with the shading level(full sunlight, 35%, 50%, 75%, and 95% of full sunlight). According to the experiment, the height was the highest under 75% of shading (17.3 cm), and root diameter was the highest under full sunlight (2.13 mm). It was found that fresh weight (leaf, shoot, root and whole) was the highest (1.784 g, 1.330 g, 0.791 g, 3.905 g respectively ) under 50% of shading. In case of dry weight, leaf, shoot and whole dry weight were surveyed the highest under 35% of shading, and root dry weight was the highest under full sunlight. It was found that S/R ratio and moisture contents (leaf, shoot, root and whole) were the highest under 95% of shading. Leaf area was the highest under 50% of shading ($39.3cm^2$) and the higher shading level, the higher SLA and LAR. It was surveyed that the higher shading level, the thinner leaf thickness. In case of root characteristics, it was showed that the relatively high height growth under 35%~75% of shading, excepting 95% of shading. As a result of surveying the whole experiment, it is concluded that the early growth of L. fischeri is more effective in producing it under 50% of shading.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.319-336
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to compare the outcomes of two interventional methods, overlapping drug-eluting stents (DES) and long DES, for long-term clinical outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). A total of 438 patients with AMI (65.9±11.0 years, 306 males) from June 2008 to March 2019 who had diffuse long coronary artery lesion, more than 30mm were divided into two groups; group I (overlapped DES group; n=140) and group II (long DES group; n=298). We compared the incidences of major adverse cardiac events [MACEs; cardiac death, myocardial infaction (MI), target lesion revascularization (TLR) and stent thrombosis (ST)] during 12 months between the two groups. Everolimus-eluting stent was more commonly used in group II than in group I (28.1% vs. 51.8% p<0.001). Mean lesion diameter was slightly longer in group II (3.1±0.3mm vs. 3.2±0.3mm, p=0.042), and prevalence of ACC/AHA lesion type C was higher in group I (41.7% vs. 25.4%, p<0.001). Incidences of MACEs during 12 months were higher in group I than group II (18.5% vs. 14.4%, p=0.034). The rates of cardiac death (2.1% vs. 4.4%, p=0.667), MI (5.0% vs. 2.7%, p=0.260) and stent thrombosis rate (0.7% vs. 1.7%, p=0.669) were similar between the two groups. However, TLR rate was higher in group I (10.7% vs. 5.6%, p=0.041). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, presence of diabetes mellitus [Hazard ratio (HR) 2.383, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.332-4.260, p=0.003] and use of paclitaxel-eluting stent (HR) 2.367, 95% CI 1.371-4.086, p=0.002) were independent predictors of 12-month MACEs, without significant differences in prevalence between the two groups. In AMI patients with diffuse long lesion, TLR rate was higher in the overlapped DES group during 12-month follow-up. Presence of diabetes and use of paclitaxel-eluting stent were independent predictors of MACEs.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.61-68
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• 2007

To develop rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars to be planted on salt-affected sites, cell lines with enhanced proline content and resistance to growth inhibition by Azetidine-2-carboxylic acid (AZCA), a proline analogue, were screened out among calli irradiated with gamma ray of 50, 70, 90, and 120 Gy. The calli had been derived from embryo culture of the cultivar Donganbyeo. Selected AZCA resistant lines that had high proline accumulation were used as sources for selection of NaCl resistant lines. To determine an optimum concentration for selection of NaCl resistant lines, Donganbyeo seeds were initially cultured on the media containing various NaCl concentrations (0 to 2.5%) for 40 days, and 1.5% NaCl concentration was determined as the optimum concentration. One hundred sixteen salt-tolerant (ST) lines were selected from bulked 20,000 seeds of the AZCA resistant $M_{3}$ seeds in the medium containing 1.5% NaCl. The putative 33 lines ($M_{4}$ generation) considered with salt-tolerance were further analyzed for salt tolerance, amino acid and ion contents, and expression patterns of the salt tolerance-related genes. Out of the 33 lines, 7 lines were confirmed to have superior salt tolerance. Based on growth comparison of the entries, the selected mutant lines exhibited greater shoot length with average 1.5 times, root length with 1.3 times, root numbers with 1.1 times, and fresh weight with 1.5 times than control. Proline contents were increased maximum 20%, 100% and 20% in the leaf, seed and callus, respectively, of the selected lines. Compared to control, amino acid contents of the mutants were 24 to 29%, 49 to 143%, 32 to 60% higher in the leaf, seed and callus, respectively. The ratio of $Na^{+}/K^{+}$ for most of the ST-lines were lower than that of control, ranging from 1.0 to 3.8 for the leaf and 11.5 to 28.5 for the root, while the control had 3.5 and 32.9 in the leaf and root, respectively. The transcription patterns for the P5CS and NHXI genes observed by RT-PCR analysis indicated that these genes were actively expressed under salt stress. The selected mutants will be useful for the development of rice cultivar resistant to salt stress.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.31 no.2 s.61
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• pp.275-284
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• 1998

Activities of enzymes involved in the metabolism of various carcinogenic xenobiotics is one of the most important host factors for cancer occurrence. N-acetyltransferase (NAT) and glutathione S-transferases (GST) are enzymes which .educe the toxicity of activated carcinogenic metabolites. Slow N-acetylation and lack of GST mu (GSTMI) were reported as risk factors of bladder cancer. GST theta (GSTT1), which is another type of GST, was reported to be deleted at higher proportion among Koreans. Since cause of bladder cancer is not fully explained by single risk factor, many kinds of enzymes would be involved in the metabolism of carcinogens excreted in urine. This study was performed to investigate whether the polymorphisms of NAT2, GSTM1 and GSTT1 are risk factors of bladder cancer and to evaluate the effects of their interaction on bladder cancer development. Sixty-seven bladder cancer and 67 age- and sex-matched non-cancer patients hospitalized in Chungbuk National University Hospital from March to December 1996, are the subjects of this case-control study. Questionnaire interview was done and the genotypes of NAT2, GSTM1 and GSTT1 were identified using PCR methods with DNA extracted from venous blood. The effects of the polymorphism of NAT2 and GSTM1 and their interaction on bladder cancer were statistically tested after controlling the other risk factors. The frequencies of slow, intermediate, and rapid acetylators were 3.0%, 38.8%, and 58.2% to. the cases, and 7.6%, 40.9%, and 51.5% for the controls, respectively. The risk of bladder cancer was not associated with the increase of NAT2 activity($\chi^2_{trend}=1.18$, P-value>0.05). GSTM1 was deleted in 68.7% of the cases and 49.3% of the controls ($\chi^2=5.21$, P-value<0.05), and the odds ratio (95% CI) was 2.23 (1.12 - 4.56). GSTT1 deletion, the .ate of which were 26.9% for the bladder cancer patients and 43.3% for the controls, was a significant protective factor against bladder cancer. Smoking history turned out to be insignificant as a risk factor of bladder cancer (OR=1.85, 95% CI: 0.85 - 4.03), and occupation could not be tested because of the extremely small number of occupational history related to the increase of bladder cancer. In multiple logistic analysis controlling the effects of other risk factors, GSTM1 deletion was the only significant risk factor for bladder cancer (OR: 2.56, 95% CI: 1.22-5.36, P-value<0.05), but slow acetylation and GSTT1 deletion were not. These results suggest that GSTM1 deletion may be a significant risk factor of bladder cancer. Since there have been much debates on causal relationship between slow acetylation and GSTT1 deletion, and bladder cancer, further studies are needed.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.98-109
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• 2012

The properties of lactate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.27, LDH) and expression of monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs) 1, 2, and 4 were studied in tissues from Micropterus salmoides. Native-PAGE revealed that the LDH $A_4$ isozyme was predominantly located in skeletal muscle. The LDH $A_4$, $A_2B_2$, and $B_4$ isozymes were detected in heart, liver, eye, and brain tissues, while eye-specific $C_4$ isozyme was detected in eye tissue. In September, strong LDH $B_4$ isozyme activity was detected in heart tissue. High $A_4$ isozyme activity was noted in all other tissues except heart tissue. However, in November, strong $A_4$ isozyme activity was detected in heart tissue. The LDH/CS (Citrate synthase, EC 4.1.3.7) ratio in skeletal muscle and heart tissues indicated that anaerobic metabolism was high in those tissues. Native-PAGE after immunoprecipitation showed that eye-specific $C_4$ isozyme was more similar to the $A_4$ than the $B_4$ isozyme. The LDH $A_4$ isozyme was purified by affinity chromatography. The molecular weight of subunit A was 37,200. The LDH activity in tissues was consistently 11.05~28.32% due to inhibition by 10 mM pyruvate. The $K_m^{PYR}$ of LDH in eye tissue was very low. The optimum pH for LDH in tissues was pH 7.5~8.0. The LDH $A_4$ isozyme was detected in mitochondria of skeletal muscle, whereas the $B_4$ and $A_2B_2$ isozymes were detected in heart tissue mitochondria. Western blot analysis indicated that MCTs 1, 2, and 4 were located in the plasma membrane and mitochondria of skeletal muscle and heart tissues. The sizes of MCTs 1, 2, and 4 in skeletal muscle were 60, 54~38, and 63 kDa, while those in heart tissue were 57, 54~38, and 55.5 kDa, respectively. In conclusion, M. salmoides appears to use anaerobic metabolism predominantly when adapted to a hypoxic environment. In highly activated skeletal muscle and heart tissue, energy production is controlled by inward and outward flows of pyruvate and lactate through MCTs 1, 2, and 4 in the plasma membrane and mitochondria, with effective adjustment by LDH isozymes.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.75-85
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• 1988

This survey was conducted to investigate about purchasing, use and management of cooking oil, and the intake amounts of each food and fats & oils from each food on 296 housewives in a big city, medium and small city, farming village, fishing village, and mountain village from June 5 to July 20 in 1987. The percentage and $x^2$-test were used in data analysis and the arithmetic mean of the gross intake divided by the total subjects gave the intake amounts per capita per day. The results of this study are as following; 1. Purchasing and keeping of cooking oil. The reading ratio of label in purchasing cooking oil was high among housewives of cities and highly educated housewives. There were dissatisfactions about quality (46.7%), price (33.7%), and packing (19.5%) after purchasing cooking oil. Cooking oil was being kept mainly in glasses (64.7%) or in synthetic plastics (31.5%), and also in dark & cool places. 2. Use and refining of cooking oil. More housewives (70.6%) kept cooking oil used once in a different container after filtering. The housewives re-using used oil after adding new oil to it were only 30.0%. There were a lot of housewives frying foods twice or three times in the same oil. 3. Intake of fats & oils and foods containing fats & oils. Average intake amounts of food containing fats & oils per person per day was 6.85g in fats & oils, 42.96g in meat & its products, 95.13g in fishes & shellfishes, 22.89g in eggs, 60.69g in legumes & its products, 61.00g in milk & milk products, 4.22g in seeds & nuts, and 9.36g in instant noodles. Average intake amounts of fats & oils per person per day taken from these foods was 6.4g from fats & oils, 2.3g from meat & its products, 4.3g from fishes & shellfishes, 2.7g from eggs, 3.0g from legumes & its products, 2.5g from milk & milk products, 1.8g from seeds & nuts, and 1.7g from instant noodles.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.163-170
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• 1999

Objectives: The aims of this study are 1) to determine if GAST is a better indicator in predicting ovarian response to COH compared with patient's age or basal FSH level and 2) to evaluate its role in detecting abnormal ovarian response. Design: Prospective study in 118 patients undergoing IVF-ET using GnRH-a short protocol during May-September 1995. Materials and Methods: After blood sampling for basal FSH and estradiol $(E_2)$ on cycle day two, 0.5ml (0.525mg) GnRH agonist ($Suprefact^{(r)}$, Hoechst) was injected subcutaneously. Serum $E_2$ was measured 24 hours later. Initial $E_2$ difference $({\Delta}E_2)$ was defined as the change in $E_2$ on day 3 over the baseline day 2 value. Sixteen patients with ovarian cyst or single ovary or incorrect blood collection time were excluded from the analysis. The patients were divided into three groups by ${\Delta}E_2$; group A (n=30):${\Delta}E_2$<40 pg/ml, group B (n=52): 40 pg/ml${\leq}{\Delta}E_2$<100 pg/ml, group C (n=20): ${\Delta}E_2{\leq}100$ pg/ml. COH was done by GnRH agonist/HMG/hCG and IVF-ET was followed. Ratio of $E_2$ on day of hCG injection over the number of ampules of gonadotropins used ($E_2hCGday$/Amp) was regarded as ovarian responsiveness. Poor ovarian response and overstimulation were defined as $E_2$ hCGday less than 600 pg/ml and greater than 5000 pg/ml, respectively. Results: Mean age $({\pm}SEM)$ in group A, B and C were $33.7{\pm}0.8^*,\;31.5{\pm}0.6\;and\;30.6{\pm}0.5^*$, respectively ($^*$: p<0.05). Mean basal FSH level of group $A(11.1{\pm}1.1mlU/ml)$ was significantly higher than those of $B(7.4{\pm}0.2mIU/ml)$ and C $(6.8{\pm}0.4mIU/ml)$ (p<0.001). Mean $E_2hCGday$ of group A was significantly lower than those of group B or C, i.e., $1402.1{\pm}187.7pg/ml,\;3153.2{\pm}240.0pg/ml,\;4078.8{\pm}306.4pg/ml$ respectively (p<0.0001). The number of ampules of gonadotropins used in group A was significantly greater than those in group B or C: $38.6{\pm}2.3,\;24.2{\pm}1.1\;and\;18.5{\pm}1.0$ (p<0.0001). The number of oocytes retrieved in group A was significantly smaller than those in group B or C: $6.4{\pm}1.1,\;15.5{\pm}1.1\;and\;18.6{\pm}1.6$, respectively (p<0.0001). By stepwise multiple regression, only ${\Delta}E_2$ showed a significant correlation (r=0.68, p<0.0001) with $E_2HCGday$/Amp, while age or basal FSH level were not significant. Likewise, only ${\Delta}E_2$ correlated significantly with the number of oocytes retrieved (r=0.57, p<0.001). All four patients whose COH was canceled due to poor ovarian response belonged to group A only (Fisher's exact test, p<0.01). Whereas none of 30 patients in group A (0%) had overstimulation, 14 patients among 72 patients (19.4%) in group B and C had overstimulation (Fisher's exact test, p<0.01). Conclusions: These data suggest that initial $E_2$ difference after GAST may be a better prognostic indicator of ovarian response to COH than age or basal FSH level. Since initial $E_2$ difference demonstrates significant association with abnormal ovarian response such as poor ovarian response necessitating cycle cancellation or overstimulation, GAST may be helpful in monitoring and consultation of patients during COH in IVF-ET cycle.