• Macromolecular Research
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.44-50
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• 2007

This study investigated the effect of ultrasound irradiation on the blend of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT). The blends of PLA/PBAT(50/50) (PBAT50) were prepared in a melt mixer with an ultrasonic device attached. Thermal, rheological, and mechanical properties, morphology, and biodegradability of the sonicated blends were analysed. The viscosity of the sonicated blends was increased by the ultrasound irradiation owing to the strong interaction. The morphology of the sonicated blends was significantly dependent on the duration o the ultrasound irradiation. For PBAT50, the phase size reduction was maximized when the blends were ultrasonically irradiated for 30 sec. At longer duration of ultrasound irradiation, the PBAT phase underwent flocculation. Measurement of the tensile properties showed an increased breakage tensile stress and an enhanced Young's modulus when the blends were properly irradiated. This improvement was ascribed to better adhesion between the PLA matrix and the PBAT domain and to better dispersion of the PBAT phase. However, the tensile properties were maximized after excessive energy irradiation, which was ascribed to an emulsifying effect leading to coalescence of the PBAT phase. Impact strength was increased to reach a peak with the ultrasound irradiation, and was higher than the untreated sample for all sonicated samples due to the difference of failure mechanism between the tensile test and the impact test.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.179-186
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• 2014

Purpose: To study the long-term outcomes and tolerance in our patients who received dose escalated radiotherapy in the early salvage post-prostatectomy setting. Materials and Methods: The medical records of 54 consecutive patients who underwent radical prostatectomy subsequently followed by salvage radiation therapy (SRT) to the prostate bed between 2003-2010 were analyzed. Patients included were required to have a pre-radiation prostate specific antigen level (PSA) of 2 ng/mL or less. The median SRT dose was 70.2 Gy. Biochemical failure after salvage radiation was defined as a PSA level >0.2 ng/mL. Biochemical control and survival endpoints were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis were used to identify the potential impact of confounding factors on outcomes. Results: The median pre-SRT PSA was 0.45 ng/mL and the median follow-up time was 71 months. The 4- and 7-year actuarial biochemical control rates were 75.7% and 63.2%, respectively. The actuarial 4- and 7-year distant metastasis-free survival was 93.7% and 87.0%, respectively, and the actuarial 7-year prostate cancer specific survival was 94.9%. Grade 3 late genitourinary toxicity developed in 14 patients (25.9%), while grade 4 late genitourinary toxicity developed in 2 patients (3.7%). Grade 3 late gastrointestinal toxicity developed in 1 patient (1.9%), and grade 4 late gastrointestinal toxicity developed in 1 patient (1.9%). Conclusion: In this series with long-term follow-up, early SRT provided outcomes and toxicity profiles similar to those reported from the three major randomized trials studying adjuvant radiation therapy.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Inherited Metabolic disease
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.155-159
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• 2015

Citrin deficiency (OMIN #605814) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by the SLC25A13 gene mutation with abnormal biochemical findings, including increased serum ammonia, citrulline, arginine, galactose, serum threonine-to-serine ratio, serum pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor, and alpha-fetoprotein. Citrin deficiency can manifest in three ways: in newborns as neonatal intrahepatic cholestasis caused by citrin deficiency (NICCD), in older children as failure to thrive and dyslipidemia caused by citrin deficiency (FTTDCD), and in adults as citrullinemia type 2 (CTLN2) with recurrent hyperammonemia and neuropsychiatric symptoms. We report a 35-day-old asymptomatic patient with citrin deficiency who had abnormal biochemical findings.

• Clinical Nutrition Research
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.293-303
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• 2023

Patients with chronic renal failure, many of which treated with hemodialysis, present a high prevalence of impaired muscle strength which suggest that muscle mass parameters may be used as markers for changes in muscle in these patients. Measurement of handgrip strength (HGS) is a common, simple, and quick measure of muscle function an indicator of overall muscle strength which has been associated with physical activity and several anthropometric traits. Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) are biochemical markers associated with inflammatory processes which are a common consequence of dialysis. Additionally, hemodialysis patients frequently present signs of malnutrition and depression. This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate if muscle and biochemical markers could be used to predict the risk of depression in hemodialysis patients. Several anthropometric parameters, nutrient intake, depression state and the serum levels of ICAM-1 and IGF-1 were determined and Pearson's correlation coefficient and/or Spearman's correlation coefficient were used to test the correlation between them. Our results do not show a correlation between HGF, IGF-1 and ICAM-1 with the depression status of the patients, but mid-arm muscle circumference (MAMC) was statistically and positively correlated with depression. Additionally, ICAM-1 levels were negatively correlated with HGS, MAMC, and IGF-1. Overall, the results of the present study suggest that HGS may be used as an indicator of cardiovascular diseases and MAMC may be a good predictor of the level of depression in hemodialysis patients, although further studies are required.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.205-209
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• 2001

Purpose: Most cases of primary hyperparathyroidism are due to parathyroid adenoma or parathyroid hyperplasia. Parathyroid carcinoma is a very rare cause of hyperparathyroidism. Although the diagnosis of parathyroid carcinoma is usually established by pathologic criteria especially of vascular or capsular invasion, some clinical and biochemical features differentiate it from benign forms of hyperparathyroidism. We under-took a retrospective study in 6 patients with parathyroid carcinoma, with the aim of conveying experience from management for this rare cause of hyperparathyroidism. Methods: Clinical symptoms, biochemical laboratory, radiologic, and intraoperative findings, local recurrence and distant metastasis were analyzed in 6 patients diagnosed pathologically as a parathyroid carcinoma after operation from 1992 to 2001. Results: Mean age was 50.2 years (33.0-60.0 years) and male to female ratio was 1:1. Neck mass was found in 5 patients, multiple bone pain in 3 patients and renal stone in 1 patient. One case has suffered from chronic renal failure for 19 years. Although preoperative laboratory evaluations showed the aspects of hyperparathyroidism in all cases, mean serum calcium level was 11.2mg/dl(10.5-12.1mg/dl), slightly elevated. Laboratory values after surgery were within the normal range in 5 cases. However, in one case with chronic renal failure, serum PTH levels, serially checked, were above the normal range. Any of imaging methods failed to suggest a parathyroid carcinoma preoperatively. Parathyroid adenoma was suspected in 3 cases, thyroid cancer in the other cases before surgery. The extent of resection was radical resection of parathyroid lesion with more than unilateral thyroid lobectomy and central compartment neck node dissection and in 2 cases, the resection of recurrent laryngeal nerve or strap muscles was added. During follow-up period, any local or systemic recurrence were not evident in all the cases. Conclusion: Although parathyroid carcinoma is a rare disease and its preoperative diagnosis, in our experience, could not easily be made, the understanding of characteristic clinical and biochemical feature could help diagnosis at first surgery. Radical resection without remaining residual tumor is most important for the management of the parathyroid cancer.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.189-197
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• 2017

Locally advanced prostate cancer (LAPC) is defined as histologically proven T3-4 prostatic adenocarcinoma. In this review, we define the individual roles of radiotherapy (RT), short-term (ST-) and long-term (LT-) androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), and their combination in multimodal therapy for LAPC. Despite limitations in comparing the clinical outcomes among published papers, in the present study, a trend of 10-year clinical outcomes was roughly estimated by calculating the average rates weighted by the cohort number. With RT alone, the following rates were estimated: 87% biochemical failure, 34% local failure (LF), 48% distant metastasis (DM), 38% overall survival (OS), and 27% disease-specific mortality (DSM). Those associated with ADT alone were 74% BCF, 54% OS, and 25% DSM, which appeared to be better than those of RT alone. The addition of ADT to RT produced a notable local and systemic effect, regardless of ST- or LT-ADT. The LF rate decreased from 34% with RT alone to 21% with ST-ADT and further to 15% with LT-ADT. The DM and DSM rates also showed a similar trend among RT alone, RT+ST-ADT, and RT+LT-ADT. The combination of RT+LT-ADT resulted in the best long-term clinical outcomes, indicating that both RT and ADT are important parts of multimodal therapy.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.183-188
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• 1997

Familial juvenile hyperuricemic nephropathy is an autosomal dominant disease characterized by progressive renal disease and hyperuricemia or gout, affecting young people of either sex equally. There are two biochemical markers of this disorder. The first is hyperuricemia disproportionate to the degree of renal dysfunction; the second is a grossly reduced clearance of uric acid relative to creatinine, dispropotionate to age, sex and degree of renal failure. We experienced 2 family members with hyperuricemia. One family member, a 13-year-old girl who had suffered from tophaceous gout and chronic renal failure. Her younger brother also had hyperuricemia and moderately reduced renal function. Their urinary excretion fractions of uric acid($FE_{uric\;acid}$) were reduced and renal biopsy specimens showed interstitial fibrosis with tubular atrophy and interstitial urate crystal deposition. We have treated these two patients with allopurinol but we have done renal transplantation because she progressed to end stage renal disease at 16 year old age.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.239-247
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• 2019

Objectives: Allium jesdianum (Aj) is a medicinal plant that has highlighted pharmacological features. In this study, the effects of Aj extract were examined on acetaminophen (APAP)-induced hepatic failure in rats. Methods: Methanolic fraction of hydro-alcoholic extract of Aj was obtained by silica gel column chromatography method. Animals were randomly divided into four groups each containing six rats and treated by gavage as follows: the first and second groups received normal saline, the third and fourth groups were received with 50 and 100 mg/kg of Aj extract, respectively. After two consecutive weeks, the groups 2-4 were given a single dose of APAP (2 g/kg). After 48 hours, blood and liver samples were collected for biochemical and histological examinations. Results: The findings of the study demonstrated that APAP caused a significant increase in ALT (P < 0.001), AST (P < 0.001), LDH (P < 0.001), ALP (P < 0.001) serum levels, hepatic lipid peroxidation (LPO; P < 0.001) and nitric oxide (NO; P < 0.001). In this regard, APAP led to the depletion of the total antioxidant capacity (TAC; P < 0.001), glutathione and total thiol groups (TTGs; P < 0.001), and structural change in the liver. In the Aj extract groups, a considerable improvement was found in the hepatic function alongside the histopathologic changes. Conclusion: This investigation indicated that the influential effects of Aj extract in APAP-induced hepatic failure might depend on its effect on improving oxidant/antioxidant balance in hepatic tissue.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.466-474
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• 2013

Despite the reports on safety concerns regarding the relationship between aluminum salts and neurological and bone disease, many countries continue to use aluminum as phosphate binders among patients with renal failure. In search for a diet supplement that could reduce aluminum toxicity related to renal failure, we carried out this prospective animal study in which the fenugreek seeds were assessed for their effects on rats nephrotoxicity induced by aluminum chloride ($AlCl_3$). Oral $AlCl_3$ administration during 5 months (500 mg/kg bw i.g for one month then 1600 ppm via drinking water) led to plasma biochemical changes, an inhibition of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), a decrease of total antioxidant status (TAS), and an induction of lipid peroxidation (LPO) in the blood and brain, in addition to kidney atrophy and morphological alterations at the level of Bowman's capsule, the glomerulus and different sorts of tubules, reminiscent of some known kidney disease. The treatment with the whole fenugreek seed powder (FSP) (5% in the diet) during the last 2 months showed its effectiveness in restoring normal plasma values of urea, creatinine, ALP and glucose, as well as re-increasing the TAS, inhibiting LPO and alleviating histopathological changes in the injured kidneys. This study highlights the induced nephrotoxicicity, as well as the related toxicity in the brain and bone, by chronic oral ingestion of the aluminum salts. However, the maintenance of a diet supplemented with fenugreek seeds could offer protection for the kidney, bone and brain, at the same time.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.181-188
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• 2019

Purpose: Inadequate calorie intake is one of the most important causes of nonorganic failure to thrive (NOFTT) and is thought to lead to multiple micronutrient deficiencies. However, there have been few studies on NOFTT and micronutrients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the micronutrient status of children with NOFTT. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study in 161 children (106 with NOFTT and 55 health controls) at a single institution. Data on weight for age, height for age, body mass index, and biochemical parameters, indicating the children's nutritional and micronutrient status were reviewed via electronic medical records, and the two groups were compared. Results: Except inorganic phosphate levels, no statistically significant differences were seen in the laboratory findings indicating the children's nutritional and micronutrient status; notably, the inorganic phosphate levels were within the normal range in both groups. We then compared the severe NOFTT (weight for age below the first percentile) and control groups; however, no statistically significant differences were seen for any of the measured parameters. Conclusion: Most children with NOFTT in this study had normal micronutrient levels and other laboratory findings. Therefore, element deficiencies should not be considered a natural consequence of NOFTT or in healthy children. Close monitoring and additional evaluations are needed.