• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.63 no.3
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• pp.261-267
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• 2007

Background: The causes of the pleural effusion are remained unclear in a the substantial number of patients with exudative effusions determined by an examination of the fluid obtained via thoracentesis. Among the various tools for diagnosing exudative pleural effusions, thoracoscopy has a high diagnostic yield for cancer and tuberculosis. Medical thoracoscopy can also be carried out under local anesthesia with mild sedation. The aim of this study was to determine diagnostic accuracy and safety of medical thoracoscopy. Methods: Twenty-five patients with exudative pleural effusions of an unknown cause underwent medical thoracoscopy between October 2005 and September 2006 in Konyang University Hospital. The clinical data such as age, gender, preoperative pulmonary function, amounts of pleural effusion on lateral decubitus radiography were collected. The vital signs were recorded, and arterial blood gas analyses were performed five times during medical thoracoscopy in order to evaluate the cardiopulmonary status and acid-base changes. Results: The mean age of the patients was 56.8 years (range 22-79). The mean depth of the effusion on lateral decubitus radiography (LDR) was 27.49 mm. The medical thoracoscopic pleural biopsy was diagnostic in 24 patients (96.0%), with a diagnosis of tuberculosis pleurisy in 9 patients (36%), malignant effusions in 8 patients (32%), and parapneumonic effusions in 7 patients (28%). Medical thoracoscopy failed to confirm the cause of the pleural effusion in one patient, who was diagnosed with tuberculosis by a pericardial biopsy. There were no significant changes in blood pressure, heart rate, acid-base and no major complications in all cases during medical thoracoscopy (p>0.05). Conclusions: Medical thoracoscopy is a safe method for patients with unknown pleural effusions with a relatively high diagnostic accuracy.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.207-218
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• 2007

Coming with the well-being era, consumer's demand for safe agricultural products is increasing. So, it is urgent to develop an environment-friendly rice production system. Accordingly, this study was conducted to develop an environment-friendly rice production system by using Amo known as EM(effective microorganisms) and also known as being effective in environment-friendly rice production with several other environment-friendly agricultural materials. The highest number of tillers per hill was obtained from level 2 of EM treatment (48.8 tillers per hill), while the lowest was obtained from the control plot (41.0 tillers per hill). Leaf area per hill at heading stage was the highest in level 3 of EM treatment $(3228.5cm^2)$, while control was the lowest leaf area $(2264.7cm^2)$, which is 70.2% compared to the level 3 of EM treatment. The highest effective tillers was obtained from the control (63.7%), while the lowest effective tillers was obtained from the level 3 of EM treatment (55.4%), which were treated with higher amounts of environment-friendly agricultural materials. Level 3 of EM treatment showed the highest number of panicles per hill (20.9), while the control showed the lowest number of panicles per hill (19.3). In the spikelets per panicle, level 2 of EM treatment showed the highest number of spikelets (85.2), while the control showed the lowest number of spikelets (81.9) and there was a statistically significant difference among the three levels and control. The highest grain filling ratio was obtained from the control (85.0%), while level 3 of EM treatment was the lowest grain filling ratio and there were no great difference between treatment levels. Regarding the 1000 grain weight, the control showed the highest 1000 grain weight (21.7g), which is heavier by about 1g compared to treatment levels. Level 2 of EM treatment showed the highest rough rice yield per 10a, while level 3 of EM treatment was the lowest and they also showed a statistically significant difference among treatment levels.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.198-206
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• 2000

Background : Pulmonary complications following bonemarrow transplantation (BMT) are common and associated with a high mortality rate. We investigated the yield, safety, and impact of fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) for diagnosis of postBMT pneumoniae. Methods : From May 1997 to April 2000, 56 FOBs were performed in 52 post BMT patients for clinical pneumoniae. BMT patients with respiratory symptoms and/or pulmonary infiltrates had a thoracic HRCT(high resolution computed tomography) and bronchoscopic examination including BAL (bronchoalveolar lavage), TBLB (transbronchial lung biopsy), PSB (protected specimen brush). Results : The characteristics of the subjects were as follows : 37 males, 15 females, mean age of 31.3 years(l7-45), 35 sibling donor allogenic BMTs, 15 nonrelated donor allogenic BMTs, and 2 autologous BMTs. Fiftynine percent of FOBs (33 FOBs, 31 patients) were diagnostic. Isolated pathogens included the following : 12 cytomegalovirus (CMV) (21.4 %), 7 pneumocystis carinii (PC) (12.5 %), 11 CMV with PC (19.6 %), 2 Mycobacaterium tuberculosis (3.6%), and 1 streptococcus (1.8%). Most of the radiographic findings were diffuse interstitial lesions. CMV pneumoniae had mainly diffuse interstitial nodular lesion, and PC pneumoniae had diffuse, interstitial ground glass opacity(GGO). When CMV was accompanied by PC, a combined pattern of nodular and GGO was present. Of the 56 cases (23.2%), 13 died of CMV pneumoniae (n=2), PCP (n=2),mixed infection with CMV and PC (n=3), underlying GVHD (n=1), underlying leukemia progression (n=1), or respiratory failure of unknown origin (n=4). There was no major complication by bronchoscopy. Only 3 cases developed minor bleeding and 1 episode temporary hypoxemia. Conclusion : Based on our findings, CMV and PC are the major causes of postBMT pneumoniae. In addition, BAL can be considered a safe and accurate procedure for the evaluation of pulmonary complications after BMT.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.66 no.4
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• pp.358-364
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• 2021

This study was conducted to select a desiccant and determine its concentration for safe usage to improve the harvesting efficiency of soybeans. Soybeans were treated with a desiccant (non-selective herbicide) before and after the maturation stage. The drying effect of the desiccant was higher at earlier treatment times than at the maturation stage, but the difference was not statistically significant. The higher efficacy might be related to the drying process of the leaves and stems, with most of the leaves and stems having already been dried by the time of hand harvesting. Desiccant treatments had no adverse effects on soybean yield, weight of 100 grains, seed quality, or seed germination rate compared with the untreated control. Pesticide residue analysis showed minimum residue concentration to be lower than the tolerance level of pesticide residues. In conclusion, it was confirmed that the desiccant was effective in drying soybean, and that there was no damage to the quality of soybean seeds. In addition to the drying effect, the dessicant treatment also facilitates the removal of weeds that interfere with the mechanical harvest and improves harvesting efficiency through the drying of the growth imbalanced individual. The desiccant treatment is expected to shorten the mechanical harvesting time by 1-2 weeks. It is thought that the selection of the proper cultivation period for other crops after soybean cultivation will be more advantageous.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.145-154
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• 2023

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of EmboTrap II in terms of first-pass recanalization and to determine whether it could yield favorable outcomes. Materials and Methods: In this multicenter, prospective study, we consecutively enrolled patients who underwent mechanical thrombectomy using EmboTrap II as a front-line device. The primary outcome was the first pass effect (FPE) rate defined by modified Thrombolysis In Cerebral Infarction (mTICI) grade 2c or 3 by the first pass of EmboTrap II. In addition, modified FPE (mFPE; mTICI grade 2b-3 by the first pass of EmboTrap II), successful recanalization (final mTICI grade 2b-3), and clinical outcomes were assessed. We also analyzed the effect of FPE on a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 0-2 at 3 months. Results: Two hundred-ten patients (mean age ± standard deviation, 73.3 ± 11.4 years; male, 55.7%) were included. Ninety-nine patients (47.1%) had FPE, and mFPE was achieved in 150 (71.4%) patients. Successful recanalization was achieved in 191 (91.0%) patients. Among them, 164 (85.9%) patients underwent successful recanalization by exclusively using EmboTrap II. The time from groin puncture to FPE was 25.0 minutes (interquartile range, 17.0-35.0 minutes). Procedure-related complications were observed in seven (3.3%) patients. Symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage developed in 14 (6.7%) patients. One hundred twenty-three (58.9% of 209 completely followed) patients had an mRS score of 0-2. Sixteen (7.7% of 209) patients died during the follow-up period. Patients who had successful recanalization with FPE were four times more likely to have an mRS score of 0-2 than those who had successful recanalization without FPE (adjusted odds ratio, 4.13; 95% confidence interval, 1.59-10.8; p = 0.004). Conclusion: Mechanical thrombectomy using the front-line EmboTrap II is effective and safe. In particular, FPE rates were high. Achieving FPE was important for an mRS score of 0-2, even in patients with successful recanalization.