• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.71-76
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• 2015

The therapy of injecting a fixed amount of a prescribed drug for a predetermined time is an effective treatment in relieving pain during anticancer treatments. Due to recent medical technology development, cancer is currently classified as a disease that can be managed in the patient's lifetime. If patients were able to use a drug delivery system that was portable, sustainable and had an accurate flow control, they would be able to inject medication whenever they need. In this study we developed a piezoelectric micropump for a drug delivery system by designing a pump chamber, check valve and diaphragm. We also developed a driving circuit that consumes low power and to which we applied a variety of signals. We fabricated a portable drug delivery system with this piezoelectric micropump and driving circuit. In addition, through a performance test, we confirmed that the system can precisely control the drug flow rate.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.99-108
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• 2016

Hospice palliative care (HPC) in Korea has developed steadily since its introduction in 1965. Currently, HPC in Korea is targeted only towards terminal cancer patients and their families, and the national health insurance scheme covers only inpatient hospice care for said patients. In recent years, healthcare professionals and policy makers began to recognize the need for HPC services in diverse settings including outside hospital boundaries, and for all terminally-ill patients. A law on HPC passed in January 2016 allows terminally-ill patients to refuse life-sustaining treatments, and will likely facilitate further development of HPC services. It is critical for the government and all interested parties in the medical, academic and social sectors to collaborate to ensure its success once it takes effect in 2017. This article will briefly review the half-century history of HPC in Korea, and discuss how to prepare for and cope with death and, thereby, improve the quality of death.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.243-261
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• 2006

Priority setting in national health insurances in major advanced countries and the nation was investigated to draw the criteria for priority setting and suggest the most rational criteria for dental insurance so as to help secure the efficiency of medicare financing and individual's health right and also elevate medical consumers' satisfaction with health insurance. 1. Priorities in national health insurance are different from country to country, depending on the medical security systems, priority introducing conditions, and social environment, but have many common factors. 2. The priority setting criteria for national health insurance in those countries include the following in common: the efficiency, equity, and cost effect of treatment, emergency of treatment, consumption of expense, efficacy of treatment, patient's receptiveness, patient's demand, severity of disease, and patient's responsibility for the disease. 3. In oral diseases, severe diseases including oral cavity cancer are low in rate, and in-hospital treatments are few. From the above findings, it is suggested that dental insurance should establish discriminative criteria for priority setting by reflecting the aspects of dental diseases and system difference between dental and other health insurances and taking account of efficiency of treatment through prevention, cost effect, prevalence and incidence of generalized diseases, and individual's financing burden.

• Mycobiology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.171-176
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• 2013

Mushrooms are ubiquitous in nature and have high nutritional attributes. They have demonstrated diverse biological effects and therefore have been used in treatments of various diseases, including cancer, diabetes, bacterial and viral infections, and ulcer. In particular, polysaccharides, including ${\beta}$-glucan, are considered as the major constituents responsible for the biological activity of mushrooms. Although an overwhelming number of reports have been published on the importance of polysaccharides as immunomodulating agents, not all of the healing properties found in these mushrooms could be fully accounted for. Recently, many research groups have begun investigations on biologically active small-molecular weight compounds in wild mushrooms. In this mini-review, both structural diversity and biological activities of novel bioactive substances from Korean native mushrooms are described.

• Journal of Korean Traditional Oncology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.25-31
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• 2017

Objectives: This case report presents improvement after receiving acupuncture treatment for a chemotherapy-induced stomatitis. Methods: The patient was treated for 6 times with acupuncture. And effects of treatments were measured with the World Health Organization (WHO) oral toxicity scale and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Results: The clinical symptoms of the stomatitis were improved that WHO oral toxicity scale decreased from grade 4 to grade 0 and Visual Analogue Scale decreased from 7 to 2 after treated with acupuncture. Conclusions: In this study, acupuncture might be effective way to cure the cancer patient suffering from chemotherapy-induced stomatitis.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.432-437
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• 2003

It has been known that quercetin, a bioflavonoid widely distributed in fruits and vegetables as dietary-derived flavonoid and exert significant multiple biological effects such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor effects. In addition, it has been shown to have a chemoprotective role in cancer, though complex effects on signal transduction involved in cell proliferation and angiogenesis. The present study investigated whether quercetin can enhance antioxidant enzyme activity (glutathione peroxidase: GPx, superoxide dismutase: SOD, catalase: CAT) and regulate the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in the presence of vitamin E, L-ascorbic acid, reduced glutathione (GSH) on B16F10 murine melanoma cells. After 48h treatment of cells with quercetin in the presence of vitamin E, L-ascorbic acid, GSH, we measured the cytotoxicities by MTT assay. The cells exhibited a dose-dependent inhibition in their proliferation in the presence of vitamin E, L-ascorbic acid, GSH respectively. We also investigated the effects of antioxidant enzyme activity and ROS generation. The antioxidant enzyme activity of quercetin in the presence of vitamin E was stronger than GSH, L-ascorbic acid, the same treatments decreased ROS generation in B16F10 murine melanoma cells. Taken together, these result demonstrate that the antioxidant effect of quercetin can enhanced in the presence of vitamin E and it might plays an important role in anti-oxidative effects.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.79-87
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• 2020

Objectives: Ginsenosides found in ginseng, and the hydrolysates derived from their conversion, exhibit diverse pharmacological characteristics [1]. These have been shown to include anti-cancer, anti-angiogenic, and anti-metastatic effects, as well as being able to provide hepatic and neuroprotective effects, immunomodulation, vasodilation, promotion of insulin secretion, and antioxidant activity. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine how quickly the ginsenosides decompose and what kinds of degradation products are created under physicochemical processing conditions that don't involve toxic chemicals or other treatments that may be harmful. Methods: The formation of ginsenoside-Rg2 and ginsenoside-Rg3 was examined. These demonstrated diverse pharmacological effects. Results: We also investigated physicochemical factors affecting their conversion. The heating temperatures and times yielding the highest concentration of ginsenosides (-Rb1, -Rb2, -Rc, -Rd, -Rf, -Rg1, and -Re) were examined. Additionally, the heating temperatures and rates of conversion of these ginsenosides into new 'ginseng saponins', were examined. Conclusion: In conclusion, obtained provide us with effective technology to control the concentration of both ginsenosides and the downstream converted saponins (ginsenoside-Rg2, Rg3, Rg5, and Rk1 etc.), as well as identifying the processing conditions which enable an enrichment in concentration of these compounds.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.74-77
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• 2005

A neurolytic celiac plexus block produces long-lasting pain relief in upper abdominal cancer patients. Unwanted side effects such as local pain, hypotension, and diarrhea are common but the durations of these side effects are usually transient. Chronic diarrhea induced by a neurolytic celiac plexus block is rarely reported and is considered to be an autonomic neuropathy due to sympathetic denervation. A 73-year-old Klatskin tumor patient developed chronic diarrhea after a neurolytic celiac plexus block and the diarrhea was sustained for 3 months despite the use of conventional antidiarrheal treatments. We report a case of chronic diarrhea that was induced by a neurolytic celiac plexus block.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.216-220
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• 1999

A chemosensitivity assay with small replicate Mm5mt/cl C3H mammary tumor cell cultures was developed to determine whether changes in viral antigen expression and release into culture fluids could be utilized as an in vitro measure of modulating drug effect. The 52,000 MW viral envelope glycoprotein (gp52) of the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) was measured in culture fluids of control and drug-treated cultures while cell density was simultaneously determined by cell staining and OD 664 nm determination. While extra-cellular gp52 levels and cell density progressively increased over 72 hours for control cultures, declines in both parameters provided dual measures of effect for combination [N(phophonacetyl-L-aspartic acid)+5-fluorouracil], combination 〔N(phophonacetyl-L-aspartic acid )+5-fluoro-5'-deoxyuridine〕and single component treatment of this combination. At each treated time point, thesecombinations begin to produce a greater decline in both cell density and gp52 levels as compared to single drug treatments. These results indicate that N(phopho-nacetyl-L-aspartic acid) in combination can enhance the effectiveness of single drug.

• The Korean Journal of Gastroenterology
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• v.72 no.5
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• pp.237-244
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• 2018

While the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is decreasing in Korea, the incidence of gastric cancer remains high, emphasizing the importance of H. pylori eradication. A new treatment strategy is needed as the eradication rate with standard triple therapy, which is currently the standard first-line regimen for H. pylori infection, has decreased below the optimum level. The major cause of eradication failure is increased antibiotic resistance. Sequential, concurrent, and hybrid therapies that include clarithromycin produce higher eradication rates than conventional standard triple therapy. However, the effectiveness of these treatments is limited in regions where the resistance rate to various antibiotics is high. Bismuth quadruple therapy is another alternative therapy, but again the eradication rate is not sufficiently high. Tailored therapy based on individual characteristics, including antibiotic susceptibility, may be ideal, but there are several limitations for clinical application and further research is needed. New potassium-competitive acid blocker-based therapies could emerge as effective alternatives in the near future. A consensus is needed to establish a strategy for applying new eradication therapies in Korea.