• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.900-904
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• 2004

Effects of gamma irradiation on brown rice quality were evaluated. Brown rice was irradiated at absorbed dose of 1, 3 or 5 kGy, and ground. Water uptake, pasting properties, and physicochemical characteristics of flour samples were tested. Water uptake rates of irradiated samples were higher than that of control, and were dose-dependent. Hydration capacity decreased in sample irradiated at 5 kGy due to leaching out of soluble compounds, whereas no differences were observed among other irradiated samples and control. Irradiation significantly decreased pasting properties as determined by amylograph. Gamma irradiation accelerated water evaporation at high temperatures (over $300^{\circ}C$) in test of weight-loss profile with thermogravimetric analyzer.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.369-375
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• 1997

General pharmacological effects of SB-31$^{R}$, the extracts of Pulsatilla koreana, were investigated in mice, rats and guinea-pigs. Intravenous injection of SB-31 (3 and 6 ml/kg) produced almost no effect on central nervous system no effects on the general symptom and behaviors of mice, spontaneous locomotor activity, pentobarbital- induced sleeping time , rotared performance , electroshock and pentylenetertrazole -induced seizures, acetic acid-induced writhing and normal body temperature in mice. SB-31 showed little effects on the spontaneous movement of the isolated ileum and contraction induced by agonists in isolated ileum, suggesting no influence on autonomic nervous system. Administration of SB-31 also did not show any effect on blood pressure in conscious rats. However, a slight decrease in heart rate was observed at high doses (6 and 10 ml/kg) of SB-31 in conscious rats. Similarly, a slight increase in respiratory rate was observed at 6 m1/kg of SB-31 in anesthetized rats. SB-31 did not produce any effect at the dose of 3 ml/kg, but showed a tendency to increase the urinary volume at 6 ml/kg, and produced a decrease in urinary excretions of N $a_{+}$and $K_{+}$at 6 ml/kg. However, transport capacity within the gastrointestinal tract and the secretion of the gastric juice were not influenced by 6 ml/kg of SB-31. In conclusion, these results suggest that SB-31 did not pro-duce any acute effects on the central nervous system, autonomic nervous system, respiratory and circulatory systems, digestive system and kidney function at the dose of below 3 ml/kg.ml/kg.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.103-109
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• 2015

In this study, the authors attempted to produce a medical radiation shielding fiber that can be produced at a nanosize scale and that is, unlike lead, harmless to the human body. The performance of the proposed medical radiation shielding fiber was then evaluated. First, diamagnetic bismuth oxide, an element which, among elements that have a high atomic number and density, is harmless to the human body, was selected as the shielding material. Next, 10-100 nm sized nanoparticles in powder form were prepared by ball milling the bismuth oxide ($Bi_2O_3$), the average particle size of which is $1-500{\mu}m$, for approximately 10 minutes. The manufactured bismuth oxide was formed into a colloidal solution, and the radiation shielding fabric was fabricated by curing after coating the solution on one side or both sides of the fabric. The thicknesses of the shielding sheets prepared with bismuth oxide were 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, and 1.0 mm. An experimental method was used to measure the absorbed dose and irradiation dose by using the lead equivalent test method of X-ray protection goods presented by Korean Industrial Standards; the resultant shielding rate was then calculated. From the results of this study, the X-ray shielding effect of the shielding sheet with 0.1 mm thickness was about 55.37% against 50 keV X-ray, and the X-ray shielding effect in the case of 1.0 mm thickness showed shielding characteristics of about 99.36% against 50 keV X-ray. In conclusion, it is considered that nanosized-bismuth radiation shielding fiber developed in this research will contribute to reducing the effects of primary X-ray and secondary X-ray such as when using a scattering beam at a low level exposure.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.366-376
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• 2021

Purpose: There is no consensus regarding adjuvant therapies following Kasai portoenterostomy (KP) for biliary atresia (BA). This study aimed to analyze the effect of extended perioperative intravenous antibiotics (PI-Abx) and adjuvant corticosteroid on cholangitis and jaundice clearance rates in the 3 years post-KP in children with BA. Methods: Data of patients who underwent KP between 1999-2018 at a single center were retrospectively analyzed. Group A (1999-2010) received PI-Abx for 5 days, Group B (2010-2012) received PI-Abx for 5 days plus low-dose prednisolone (2 mg/kg), and Group C (2012-2017) received PI-Abx for 14 days plus high-dose prednisolone (5 mg/kg). Results: Fifty-four patients were included with groups A, B, and C comprising 25, 9, and 20 patients, respectively. The number of episodes of cholangitis was 1.0, 1.6, and 1.3 per patient (p=NS) within the first year and 1.8, 2.3, and 1.7 (p=NS) over 3 years in Groups A, B, and C, respectively. The jaundice clearance rate at 6 months was 52%, 78%, and 50% (p=NS), and the 3-year native liver survival (NLS) rate was 76%, 100%, and 80% (p=NS) in Groups A, B, and C, respectively. A near-significant association was observed between the incidence of cholangitis within the first year and decompensated liver cirrhosis/death at 3 years post KP (p=0.09). Persistence of jaundice at 6 months was significantly associated with decompensated cirrhosis/death at 3 years (p<0.001). Conclusion: The extended duration of PI-Abx and adjuvant corticosteroids was not associated with improved rates of cholangitis, jaundice clearance, or NLS in patients with BA.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.164-171
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• 2022

The number of facilities using radiation generators increases and related regulations are strengthened, the establishment of a shielding management and evaluation technology has become important. The characteristics of the radiation generator used in previous report differ from those of currently available high-frequency radiation generators. This study aimed to manufacture lead, iron, and concrete shielding materials for the re-verification of half-value layers, tenth-value layers, and attenuation curve. For a comparison of attenuation ratio, iron, lead, and concrete shields were manufactured in this study. The initial dose was measured without shielding materials, and doses measured under different types and thicknesses of shielding material were compared with the initial dose to calculate the transmission rate on 50-300 kVp X-ray. All the three shielding materials showed a tendency to require greater shielding thickness for higher energy. The attenuation graph showed an exponential shape as the thickness decreased and a straight line as the thickness increased. The difference between the measurement results and the previous study, except in extrapolated parts, may be due to the differences in the radiation generation characteristics between the generators used in the two studies. The attenuated graph measured in this study better reflects the characteristics of current radiation generators, which would be more effective for shield designing.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.228-236
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• 2002

Purpose : Although high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy regimens have been practiced with a variety of modalities and various degrees of success, few studies on the subject have been conducted. The purpose of this study was to compare the results of local control and late complication rate according to different HDR brachytherapy fractionation regimens in uterine cervical cancer patients. Methods and Materials : From November 1992 to March 1998, 224 patients with uterine conical cancer were treated with external beam irradiation and HDR brachytherapy. In external pelvic radiation therapy, the radiation dose was $45\~54\;Gy$ (median dose 54 Gy) with daily fraction size 1.8 Gy, five times per week. In HDR brachytherapy, 122 patients (Group A) were treated with three times weekly with 3 Gy to line-A (isodose line of 2 cm radius from source) and 102 patients (Group B) underwent the HDR brachytherapy twice weekly with 4 or 4.5 Gy to line-A after external beam irradiation. Iridium-192 was used as the source of HDR brachytherapy. Late complication was assessed from grade 1 to 5 using the RTOG morbidity grading system. Results : The local control rate (LCR) at 5 years was $80\%$ in group A and $84\%$ in group B (p=0.4523). In the patients treated with radiation therapy alone, LCR at 5 years was $60.9\%$ in group A and $76.9\%$ in group B (p=0.2557). In post-operative radiation therapy patients, LCR at 5 years was $92.6\%$ In group A and $91.6\%$ in group B (p=0.8867). The incidence of late complication was $18\%$ (22 patients) and $29.4\%$ (30 patients), of bladder complication was $9.8\%$ (12 patients) and $14.7\%$ (15 patients), and of rectal complication was $9.8\%$ (12 patients) and $21.6\%$ (22 patients), in group A and B, respectively. Lower fraction sized HDR brachytherapy was associated with decrease in late complication (p=0.0405) (rectal complication, p=0.0147; bladder complication, p=0.115). The same result was observed in postoperative radiation therapy patients (p=0.0860) and radiation only treated patients (0=0.0370). Conclusion : For radiation only treated patients, a greater number of itemized studies on the proper fraction size of HDR brachytherapy, with consideration for stages and prognostic factors, are required. In postoperative radiation therapy, the fraction size of HDR brachytherapy did not have much effect on local control, yet the incidence of late complication increased with the elevation in fraction size. We suggest that HDR brachytherapy three times weekly with 3 Gy could be an alternative method of therapy.

• Journal of Korea Multimedia Society
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• v.22 no.9
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• pp.1069-1079
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• 2019

In this study, we developed a $PM_{10}$ forecasting model using DNN and Membership Function, and improved the forecasting performance. The model predicts the $PM_{10}$ concentrations of the next 3 days in the Seoul area by using the weather and air quality observation data and forecast data. The best model(RM14)'s accuracy (82%, 76%, 69%) and false alarm rate(FAR:14%,33%,44%) are good. Probability of detection (POD: 79%, 50%, 53%), however, are not good performance. These are due to the lack of training data for high concentration $PM_{10}$ compared to low concentration. In addition, the model dose not reflect seasonal factors closely related to the generation of high concentration $PM_{10}$. To improve this, we propose Julian date membership function as inputs of the $PM_{10}$ forecasting model. The function express a given date in 12 factors to reflect seasonal characteristics closely related to high concentration $PM_{10}$. As a result, the accuracy (79%, 70%, 66%) and FAR (24%, 48%, 46%) are slightly reduced in performance, but the POD (79%, 75%, 71%) are up to 25% improved compared with those of the RM14 model. Hence, this shows that the proposed Julian forecast model is effective for high concentration $PM_{10}$ forecasts.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2019

Heavy metals resulted from the increase of human industrial activity are introduced into the environment through rainfall and wastewater, and have harmful effects on inhabitants. In this study, we investigated biological responses such as survival rate, growth rate, emergence rate and sex ratio, and morphological effects of mentum deformity in Chironomus plumosus, an indicator organism to evaluate pollutions on aquatic ecosystem. The survival rate of C. plumosus showed time- and dose-dependent decrease after chromium and copper exposures. Growth rate decreased at $4^{th}$ day after chromium exposure and significantly reduced at exposure to relatively high concentration (copper $1000mg\;L^{-1}$) for all exposure times. In addition, we observed that the emergence rate by exposure to copper $1000mg\;L^{-1}$ was significantly lower than that of the control group. The imbalance of sex ratios showed at relatively low concentrations (chromium 10 and $50mg\;L^{-1}$) with the high proportion of female and at the relative high concentration (copper $1000mg\;L^{-1}$) with the high proportion of male. Furthermore, the morphological mentum deformities of C. plumosus observed in the exposed group according to chromium and copper exposure. These results suggest that the heavy metal exposure in environment may influence biosynthetic and morphological stresses of benthic invertebrate C. plumosus, and aquatic midge C. plumosus are potential indicators for toxicity assessment of heavy metals such as chromium and copper.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.59 no.2
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• pp.164-169
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• 2005

Background : The role of combination therapy of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) plus long-acting ${\beta}_2-agonist$ (LABA) in asthma is well established, but nor much is known about this treatment in COPD. Recent studies have revealed that combining therapy is associated with fewer acute exacerbations in COPD, but in most of the studies, high-dose combination therapies have been employed. The current study assessed the effect of moderate or high-dose combination therapy of ICS plus LABA on the frequency of acute exacerbations in COPD. Methods : Between January 1, 2001 and August 31, 2004, 46 patients with COPD (moderate, severe, very severe) were enrolled who received either fluticasone/salmeterol (flu/sal) $250{\mu}g/50{\mu}g$ twice a day (group A) or flu/sal $500{\mu}g/50{\mu}g$ twice a day (group B) for more than a year. We divided them into two groups depending on the dosage of ICS plus LABA. Effect of drugs was compared based on the factors such as symptom aggravation, number of admission, and time to first exacerbation during a year after use. Results : Eleven of twenty-six patients in group A (42.3%) experienced acute exacerbation and eleven of twenty patients in group B (55%) experienced acute exacerbation during 1 year. Mean exacerbation rate of Group A was 0.96 and Group B was 1.05. Mean admission rate was 0.15 and 0.30, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference of aggravation rate, number of administration and time to first exacerbation between the two treatment groups. Conclusion : There was no significant difference between moderate and high dose combined inhaler therapy to reduce acute exacerbation in COPD patients (moderate, severe, very severe). Hence, the effective dose of combination therapy needs further study in patients with COPD.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.177-183
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• 2009

A rapid and sensitive reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed for the determination of piroxicam in the rabbit plasma. After a treatment of plasma sample by liquid-liquid extraction, the drug was analyzed on an HPLC system with ultraviolet detection at 330 nm. HPLC was carried out using reversed-phase isocratic elution with a C18 column, a mobile phase of a mixture of acetonitril, doubly deionized water and acetic acid 43.74:56.00:0.26 v/v%) at a flow rate of 1.1 mL/min. The chromatograms showed good resolution and sensitivity and no interference of plasma. The calibration curve for the drug in plasma sample was linear over the concentration range of 0.01-2.0 ${\mu}$g/mL. The intra- and inter-day assay accuracies of this method ranged from 86.82% to 108.33% of normal values and the precision did not exceed 13% of relative standard deviation. The plasma concentration of piroxicam decreased to below the quantifiable limit at 12 hr after the i.v. bolus administration to rabbits following dose of 0.375 mg/kg yielding a apparen t plasma half life of 1.38 hr. The transdermal route prolongs plasma levels of piroxicam. The bioavailability, calculated from the dose-adjusted ratio of the $AUC_{transdermal}$ to the $AUC_{i.v.}$, was 7.44%. The plasma concentration of piroxicam was detected by 48 hr after the transdermal administration of patch at a dose of 32 mg/kg. This method was suitable for cutaneous absorption studies of piroxicam in the rabbit after transdermal administration of different types of dosages of the drug.