• Journal of the Korean Arthroscopy Society
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.46-52
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• 2009

Purpose: To evaluate the usefulness of minimally invasive arthroscopy-assisted plate removal of a laterally inserted periarticular distal femur plate used for the treatment of AO type-C distal femur fractures. Materials and Methods: From October 2002 to November 2005, we evaluated 17 patients whose plates were removed through minimally invasive arthroscopy-assisted plate-removal technique and 15 patients who got their plates removed through conventional method without using arthroscopy, 32 patients in total. All these patients included in this study initially underwent open reduction and internal fixation of the distal femoral fractures with a lateral plate, and complained of continued pain over the lateral femoral condyle after the fracture fixation. The average age was 42.6 (ranges: 20~66) and initial fracture types included 16 cases of C1, 11 cases of C2, and 5 cases of C3 following AO/ASIF classification guidelines. Measured outcomes included: associated intra-articular pathologies, time needed to return to activities of daily living, patients' overall satisfaction, complications following the removal of hardware, and pain before and 6 months after the operation. Results: The distal-most end of the plate was placed in the knee joint in all cases and damage of the lateral articular capsule was found in 23 cases. Continuous wound discharge after surgery was found in one case who underwent arthroscopy-assisted plate removal, and it was treated by irrigation and re-suture. Average time needed to return to activities of daily living was 7 days in arthroscopy assisted group and 7.6 days in conventionally removed group. Fourteen patients (82.4%) who underwent arthroscopyassisted plate-removal reported above 'fair' satisfaction and the Visual analog scale pain score decreased from 4.9 to 1.9, six months after the plate removal. Thirteen patients(86.7%) who underwent conventional plate removal reported above 'fair' satisfaction and the Visual analog scale pain score decreased from 5.2 to 2.5, six months after the operation. Conclusion: Through minimally invasive arthroscopic-assisted plate removal, intrarticular pathology of the knee joint was able to be simultaneously identified and treated at the time of hardware removal. Damage of lateral capsule of the knee joint caused by the inserted plate for the treatment of type C distal femoral fracture was very frequently found and following the plate removal, patients experienced an improvement in pain score. We therefore recommend routine lateral distal femoral plate removal if the bony union is attained in such cases as type C distal femoral fractures whose distal most end of the plates are located in the joint.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.125-137
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• 1984

The effects of external $Ca^{2+}$ ana the inhibition of Na-pump on vanadate-induced contraction in isolated human and rat uterine smooth muscle were studied and the following results were observed. 1) Vanadate induced contraction in rat uterine muscle and showed maximal contraction at concentration of $5{\times}10^{-4}$M, and the contractile response to vanadate was more sensitive in human than rat uterine muscle. 2) Vanadate-induced contraction was not completely inhibited by $Ca^{2+}$ removal from PSS and the response to $Ca^{2+}$ removal was more sensitive in human than rat uterine muscle. 3) Vanadate-induced contraction decreased with increasing concentration of verapamil, but even in the presence of $3{\times}10^{-5}M$ verapamil which inhibited 100 K-induced contraction completely. about 40% of maximal contraction remained, and its amplitude was similar to that of contraction in $Ca^{2+}$-free solution. 4) Vanadate-induced contraction was increased by the inhibition of Na-pump and this increase also could be observed in the presence of $3{\times}10^{-5}M$ verapamil. 5) After pretreatment with $Ca^{2+}$-free PSS containing ouabain Vanadate-induced contraction was not increased, but the contractile response of these tissues to the addition of external $Ca^{2+}$ was remarkably increased in the presence of vanadate. 6) $3{\times}10^{-5}$M verapamil inhibited vanadate-induced $Ca^{45}$ influx completely, but after pretreatment with ouabain vanadate could induce remarkable $Ca^{45}$ influx even in the presence of verapmil. 7) With increasing the time of pretreatment with ouabain or $K^+$-free solution, the degree of increase in contraction by vanadate was more remarkable. 8) $10^{-4}M$ papaverine stowed a considerable inhibition of the increase in the vanadate-induced contraction by pretreatment with ouabain. 9) Acetylcholine-induced contraction increased with lengthening the duration of Na-pump inhibition even in the presence of verapamil. Considering above results it seems that the uterine muscle of human is more sensitive to vanadate than that of rat, and both internal and external $Ca^{2+}$ is utilized in vanadate·induced contraction. In the case of Na-pump inhibition several smooth muscle contracting agents seems to induce $Ca^{2+}$ influx which is not inhibited by verapamil. This $Ca^{2+}$ influx seems to be inhibited by papaverine and to be associated with membrane potential, although its precise characteristics is not certain.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 2008

Although Lamivudine and adefovir dipivoxil are efficacious drugs for preventing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in chronic hepatitis B patients, their efficacy is far from completely satisfactory. The risk of liver cirrhosis and HCC begins to increase at an HBV DNA level of $10^4$ copies/ml. Even with latent or past HBV infection, episomal covalently closed circular DNA(cccDNA) plays a key rolein the persistence, relapse and resistance of HBV in its natural course or during therapy. The annual incidence of HCC in YUMC is 1.8% and 4.7% patients/year in the antiviral treatment and control groups, respectively. The ability to achieve a high rate of sustained HBV suppression with low risk of drug resistance is the ultimate goal in the treatment of chronic HBV infection. The efficacy of universal immunization with striking reductions in the prevalence of HBV in localized countries needs to be spread worldwide. With hepatitis B immunization and effective antiviral therapy, global control of HBV infection and HBV-related complications, including HCC, are possible by the end of the first half of the $21^{st}$ century.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.6-12
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• 2011

Purpose: We wanted to analyze and report on the radiologic and clinical results of prospective Hook plate fixation for unstable distal clavicle fractures after a minimum of 2 years follow up. Materials and Methods: We followed up 17 out of 20 cases that underwent prospective Hook plate fixation from 2008 to 2009. We performed radiologic follow up at 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 18 months and 24 months postoperatively. The clinical results were evaluated at 12 months and 24 months postoperatively. Results: The mean period for bony fusion was 14.5 weeks and the plate was removed after an average of 20.2 weeks. The VAS pain scores were 0.7 and 0.8, the UCLA scores were 33.5 and 33.3, the ASES scores were 92.8 and 92.5, the Constant-Murley scores were 81.5 and 77.0, the KSS scores were 92.5 and 94.3 and the ranges of motion were $173.3^{\circ}$ and $173.7^{\circ}$ of flexion, $56.0^{\circ}$ and $54.5^{\circ}$ of external rotation, $62.3^{\circ}$ and $63.5^{\circ}$ of the internal rotation, $172.0^{\circ}$ and $172.6^{\circ}$ of abduction and $43.3^{\circ}$, and $42.9^{\circ}$ of extension at 1 and 2 years follow-up, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference of clinical outcomes and the range of motion at 1 year and 2 year postoperatively (p>0.05). There was no other complication except 1 case of delayed union. Conclusion: For Hook plate fixation at 2 years postoperatively, the complications will be decreased and excellent clinical results should occur.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.39 no.2 s.259
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• pp.91-98
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• 2006

Background: There are many different opinions regarding the proximal anastomotic sites of radial artery in coronary artery bypass surgery. Therefore, we compared the clinical and angiographic findings according to anastomosis of radial artery to develop a guideline. Material and Method: From January 2003 to December 2004, 48 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass surgery using radial artery in Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital were studied for clinical and coronary angiographic findings and were divided into group I for radial artery that anastomsed to aorta independently and group II that anastomosed to left internal mammary artery. Result: Patients in group I were 33 (men 26, women 7; mean age 61.93$\pm$6.56) and group II were 15 (men 13, women 2; mean age 59.53$\pm$6.02) and there was no difference in preoperative characteristics. Patients in group I had longer cardiopulmonary bypass time (169.36$\pm$40.28 versus 139.40$\pm$20.45, p=0.026) and patients in group II had more sequential grafts with RA per patients (5/33 versus 11/15, p < 0.05). Patients in group I used more vein graft for distal anatstomosis (47/117 ($40\%$) versus 9/48 ($18\%$), p=0.011) and there was no difference in perioperative outcome and overall survival. Mean follow-up time was 15.87$\pm$7.33 (1 to 28) months in patients of the group I and 21.40$\pm$2.85 (17 to 25) months in group II. Postoperative coronary angiography was performed 17/33 ($51.5\%$) in group I and 14/15 ($93.3\%$) in group II. Early perfect patency rate was not statistically different in left anterior descending artery (15/17 ($88.2\%$) versus 2/14 ($85.7\%$), p=1.00) and radial artery (17/20 ($85\%$) versus 30/30 ($100\%$), p=0.058). Late mortality was 1/33 ($3.0\%$) in group I and 1/15 ($6.7\%$) in group II. Conclusion: There was no difference in terms of clinical and postoperative angiographic findings except in cardiopulmonary bypass time, the number of sequential grafts with the RA per patients and the number of the used vein graft.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.259-265
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• 1998

Purpose: We studied early rest/24 hour delay T1-201 perfusion SPECT for prediction of wall motion improvement after reperfusion in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Materials and Methods: Among 17 patients (male/female= 11/6, age: $59{\pm}13$) with acute myocardial infarction, 15 patients were treated with percutaneous transcoronary angioplasty (direct:2, delay: 11) and intravenous urokinase (2). Spontaneous resolution occurred in infarct-related arteries of 2 patients. We confirmed TIMI 3 flow of infarct-related artery after reperfusion in all patients with coronary angiography. We performed rest T1-201 perfusion SPECT less then 6 hours after reperfusion and delay T1-201 perfusion SPECT next day. T1-201 uptake was visually graded as 4 point score from normal (0) to severe defect (3). Rest T1-201 uptake ${\le}2$ or combination of rest T1-201 uptake ${\le}2$ or late reversibility were considered to be viable. Myocardial wall motion was graded as 5 point score from normal (1) to dyskinesia (5). Myocardial wall motion was considered to be improved when a segment showed an improvement ${\ge} 1$ grade in follow up echo compared with the baseline values. Results: Among 98 segments with wall motion abnormality, the severity of myocardial wall motion decrease was as follow: mild hypokinesia: 18/98 (18%), severe hypokinesia: 28/98 (29%), akinesia: 51/98 (52%), dyskinesia: 1/98 (1%). The wall motion improved in 85%. Redistribution (13%), and reverse redistribution (4%) were observed in 24 hour delay SPECT. Positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of combination of late reversibility and rest T1-201 uptake were 99%, and 54%. PPV and NPV of rest T1-201 uptake were 100% and 52% respectively. Predictive values of combination of rest T1-201 uptake and late reversibility were not significantly different compared with predictive values of rest T1-201 uptake only. Conclusion: We conclude that early T1-201 perfusion SPECT predict myocardial wall motion improvement with excellent positive but relatively low negative predictive values in patients with acute myocardial infarction after reperfusion.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.226-234
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• 2017

Purpose: With the implementation of the Act on Life Sustaining Treatment, hospice-palliative care will be extended to non-cancer diseases including the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). However, there are concerns about negative perceptions and prejudice toward AIDS patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate factors related with willingness to volunteer (WV) for patients with end-stage AIDS among hospice volunteers. Methods: Participants were 326 hospice volunteers from 19 institutions. A self-administered questionnaire was employed to investigate the participants' WV for end-stage AIDS patients, and the questions were answered using an 11-point rating scale. Demographics, volunteer activity, satisfaction with hospice volunteering, knowledge of AIDS, and attitudes towards AIDS patients (i.e., fear AIDS patients, negative attitude towards AIDS patients, personal stigmatization and stigmatizing attitude) were also investigated. A multiple regression analysis was performed to examine factors associated with WV for patients with end-stage AIDS. Results: WV for patients with end-stage AIDS was 2.82 points lower than that for cancer patients (P<0.001). The multiple regression analysis showed that the higher the level of satisfaction with hospice volunteering (P=0.002) and the lower the level of "personal stigmatization" (P<0.001), participants showed greater WV for end-stage AIDS patients. Conclusion: The level of satisfaction with hospice volunteering and "personal stigmatization" were factors associated with participants' WV for patients with end-stage AIDS.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.98-105
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• 1994

The search for tumor-avid agents for use in nuclear medicine imaging or therapy is a field of ongoing importance. Metallothionein (MT) is an intracellular protein that binds many metals with isotopes having imaging or radiotherapeutic potential. The purpose of the study was to determine whether uptake of radioisotopes that bind to MT is increased in tumor. We measured the uptake of Cd-109 and Ga-67 in tumor and normal tissues of sarcoma-bearing mice. Tumors were grown subcutaneously in female Balb/C mice from cultured Balb/3T3 cells transformed by the Moloney murine sarcoma virus (MMSV). When the tumors reached about 1 cm in diameter, mice were injected subcutaneously with Cd-109 and Ga-67. Eighteen and seventy-two hours later, the mice were sacrified. Organs and tissues were removed, weighed, and activity per mg tissue determined by gamma well-counting. Uptake of Cd-109 by MMSV tumors exceeded that by normal tissues examined, with the exception of liver and kidney (the organs known to be richest in MT). The tumor-to-tissue ratios of uptake for Cd-109 were far greater than those for Ga-67 for many normal tissues of great importance in terms of background activity (bone, intestine, fat, muscle, and blood). We concluded that metals that bind to MT may be useful for oncologic imaging or rediotherapy of cancer.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.147-155
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• 2008

Medical nutrition therapy (MNT) is considered a keystone of medical treatment of chronic diseases. However, only few studies have evaluated medical and economical outcome of MNT. The study was performed on the patient with type 2 diabetes mellitus to evaluate the effect of clinical and cost-effective outcomes of MNT. Subjects from two general hospitals were randomly assigned to two different groups; One receiving basic nutritional education (BE) (n = 35), and the other receiving intensive nutritional education (IE) (n = 32) for a 6-month clinical trial. The group which received BE had a single visit with a dietitian, while the other group which received IE had an initial visit with a dietitian addition to two visits during the first 4 weeks of the study periods. Anthropometric parameters, blood components, and dietary intake were measures at the beginning of study period and after 6 month. Cost-effective analysis included direct labor costs, educational materials and medication cost difference during 6 months. After 6 month, subjects from IE group showed significant reduction of body weight (p <0.05) and systolic blood pressure (p <0.05), whereas BE group did not show any significant changes. Result from biochemical indices showed glycated hemoglobin concentration was significantly reduced by 0.7% (p <0.05) only in the IE group. The ratio of energy intake to prescribed energy intake decreased significantly in both groups (p <0.05). Mean time taken for a dietitian to educate the subject was 67.9 ${\pm}$ 9.3 min/person for BE group, while 96.4 ${\pm}$ 12.2 min/person for IE group. Mean number of educational materials was 1.9 ${\pm}$ 0.7/person for BE group and 2.5 ${\pm}$ 0.7/person for IE group. Change in glycated hemoglobin level along the 6 month period of study can be achieved with an investment of \88,510/% by implementing BE and \53,691/% by implementing IE. Considering the net cost-effect of blood glucose control and HbA Ic, IE which provides MNT by dietitian had a cost efficiency advantage than that of BE. According to this study, MNT provided by dietitian had a significant improvements in medical and clinical outcomes compared to that of BE intervention. Therefore, MNT protocol should be performed by systemic intensive nutrition care by dietitian in clinical setting to achieve good therapeutic results of DM with lower cost.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.63 no.6
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• pp.497-506
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• 2007

Background: The present investigation was performed in rats and isolated human neutrophils in order to confirm the presumptive role of the positive feedback loop of cytosolic phospholipase $A_2$ ($cPLA_2$) activation by plateletactivating factor (PAF). Methods: The possible formation of the positive feedback loop of the $cPLA_2$ activation and neutrophilic respiratory burst was investigated in vivo and in vitro by measurement of the parameters denoting acute lung injury. In addition, morphological examinations and electron microscopic cytochemistry were performed for the detection of free radicals in the lung. Results: Five hours after intratracheal instillation of PAF ($5{\mu}g/rat$), the lung leak index, lung myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, the number of neutrophils and the concentration of cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant (CINC) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were increased by PAF as compared with those of control rats. The NBT assay and cytochrome-c reduction assay revealed an increased neutrophilic respiratory burst in isolated human neutrophils following exposure to PAF. Lung and neutrophilic $cPLA_2$ activity were increased following PAF exposure and exposure to hydrogen peroxide increased $cPLA_2$ activity in the lung. Histologically, inflammatory findings of the lung were observed after PAF treatment. Remarkably, as determined by $CeCl_3$ cytochemical electron microscopy, increased production of hydrogen peroxide was identified in the lung after PAF treatment. Conclusion: PAF mediates acute oxidative lung injury by the activation of $cPLA_2$, which may provoke the generation of free radicals in neutrophils.