• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.19 no.3 s.53
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• pp.13-21
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• 2004

This study was focused on the evaluation of Nanjido landfill site by leachate analysis. Several parameters, for example pH, BOD, $COD_{Mn},\;COD_{Cr}$, SS, TP, $NH_3-N$, Color, were selected as major leachate quality parameters. $BOD/COD_{Cr}$. was used to estimate the biodegradable portion in organic matter. Samples were collected at the leachate storage wells and leachate treatment facility inflow in each quarter of 2003. The results were as follows : 1. Inflow quality of treatment plant in 2003 was analysed as $pH\;7.3\~8.0,\;BOD\;12.4\~30.0mg/L,\;COD_{Mn}\;101.2\~130.3mg/L,\;COD_{Cr}\;122.5\~238.0mg/L,\;SS\;16.1\~115.3mg/L$, $T-P\;0.27\~0.80mg/L,\;NH_3-N\;208.0\~~354.0mg/L$, Color $110.3\~129.0$ unit. 2. $BOD/COD_{Cr}$ of inflow ranged between $0.07\~0.16$ indicating that the landfill had the properties of old-fill and organic portion in leachate was mostly persistent organic matter. 3. Though concentrations of BOD, COD, $NH_3-N$, Color in leachate storage wells were mostly higher in first landfill than in second landfill, $BOD/COD_{Cr}$ ranging from 0.03 to 0.20, showed reversely. 4. Correlation coefficient$(R^2)$ between color and other parameters related to organic matter showed mostly above 0.7 and especially highest value with $COD_{Mn}$ of 0.7985.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.62-69
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• 2012

Objectives: Chronic inflammation is now thought to play a key pathogenetic role in the associations of obesity with insulin resistance and diabetes. Based on our recent findings on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including the lack of an association between obesity and either insulin resistance or diabetes prevalence among subjects with very low concentrations of POPs, we hypothesized that POP concentrations may be associated with inflammation and modify the associations between inflammation and insulin resistance in non-diabetic subjects. Methods: Cross-sectional associations among serum POPs, C-reactive protein (CRP), and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were investigated in 748 non-diabetic participants aged ${\geq}20$ years. Nineteen types of POPs in 5 subclasses were selected because the POPs were detectable in ${\geq}60%$ of the participants. Results: Among the five subclasses of POPs, only organochlorine (OC) pesticides showed positive associations with CRP concentrations, while polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) showed inverse associations with CRP concentrations. There were statistically significant interactions between CRP and OC pesticides and between CRP and PCBs, in estimating HOMA-IR (P for interaction <0.01 and <0.01, respectively). CRP was not associated with HOMA-IR among subjects with low concentrations of OC pesticides or PCBs, while CRP was strongly associated with HOMA-IR among subjects with high concentrations of these POPs. Conclusions: In the current study, OC pesticides were associated with increased levels of CRP, a marker of inflammation, and both OC pesticides and PCBs may also modify the associations between CRP and insulin resistance.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.139-142
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• 2008

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of spinal implant removal and to determine the possible mechanisms of pain relief. Methods: Fourteen patient~with an average of 42 years (from 22 to 67 years) were retrospectively evaluated. All patients had posterior spinal instrumentation and fusion, who later developed recurrent back pain or persistent back pain despite a solid fusion mass. Patients' clinical charts, operative notes, and preoperative x-rays were evaluated. Relief of pain was evaluated by the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain change after implant removal. Clinical outcome using VAS and modified MacNab's criteria was assessed on before implant removal, 1 month after implant removal and at the last clinical follow-up. Radiological analysis of sagittal alignment was also assessed. Results: Average follow-up period was 18 months (from 12 to 25 months). There were 4 patients who had persistent back pain at the surgical site and 10 patients who had recurrent back pain. The median time after the first fusion operation and the recurrence of pain was 6.5 months (from 3 to 13 months). All patients except one had palpation pain at operative site. The mean blood loss was less than 100ml and there were no major complications. The mean pain score before screw removal and at final follow up was 6.4 and 2.9, respectively (p<0.005). Thirteen of the 14 patients were graded as excellent and good according to modified MacNab's criteria. Overall 5.9 degrees of sagittal correction loss was observed at final follow up, but was not statistically significant. Conclusion: For the patients with persistent or recurrent back pain after spinal instrumentation, removal of the spinal implant may be safe and an efficient procedure for carefully selected patients who have palpation pain and are unresponsive to conservative treatment.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.144-152
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• 2017

Purpose: The role of radiotherapy (RT) was largely deserted after the introduction of platinum-based chemotherapy, but still survival rates are disappointingly low. This study focuses on assessing the clinical efficacy of RT in relation to chemotherapy resistance. Materials and Methods: From October 2002 to January 2015, 44 patients were diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and treated with palliative RT for persistent or recurrent EOC. All patients received initial treatment with optimal debulking surgery and adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy. The biologically effective dose (BED) was calculated with ${\alpha}/{\beta}$ set at 10. Ninety-four sites were treated with RT with a median BED of 50.7 Gy (range 28.0 to 79.2 Gy). The primary end-point was the in-field local control (LC) interval, defined as the time interval from the date RT was completed to the date any progressive or newly recurring disease within the RT field was detected on radiographic imaging. Results: The median follow-up duration was 52.3 months (range 7.7 to 179.0 months). The 1-year and 2-year in-field LC rates were 66.0% and 55.0%, respectively. Comparisons of percent change of in-field tumor response showed similar distribution of responses among chemoresistant and chemosensitive tumors. On multivariate analysis of predictive factors for in-field LC analyzed by sites treated, $BED{\geq}50Gy$ (hazard ratio, 0.4; confidence interval, 0.2-0.9; p = 0.025) showed better outcomes. Conclusion: Regardless of resistance to platinum-based chemotherapy, RT can be a feasible treatment modality for patients with persistent of recurrent EOC. The specific role of RT using updated approaches needs to be reassessed.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.179-186
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• 2009

Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) is a bioaccumulative, persistent, and toxic pollutant. HCB is one of the 12 priority of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) intended for global action by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Governing Council. POPs are organic compounds that are resistant to environmental degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic processes. Some of HCB is ubiquitous in air, water, soil, and biological matrices, as well as in major environmental compartments. HCB has effects on various organs such as thyroid, bone, skin, kidneys and blood cells and especially, revealed strong toxicity to liver. In this study, we identified genes related to hepatotoxiciy induced by HCB in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells using microarray and gene ontology (GO) analysis. Through microarray analysis, we identified 96 up- and 617 down-regulated genes changed by more than 1.5-fold by HCB. And after GO analysis, we determined several key pathways which known as related to hepatotoxicity such as metabolism of xenobiotics by cytochrome P450, complement and coagulation cascades, and tight junction. Thus, our present study suggests that genes expressed by HCB may provide a clue for hepatotoxic mechanism of HCB and gene expression profiling by toxicogenomic analysis also affords promising opportunities to reveal potential new mechanistic markers of toxicity.

• Dementia and Neurocognitive Disorders
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.121-129
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• 2023

Background and Purpose: As it becomes an aging society, interest in senile diseases is increasing. Alzheimer's dementia (AD) and osteoporosis are representative senile diseases. Various studies have reported that AD and osteoporosis share many risk factors that affect each other's incidence. This aimed to determine if active medication treatment of AD could affect the development of osteoporosis. Methods: The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service provided data consisting of diagnosis, demographics, prescription drug, procedures, medical materials, and healthcare resources. In this study, data of all AD patients in South Korea who were registered under the national health insurance system were obtained. The cohort underwent conversion to an Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership-Common Data Model version 5 format. Results: This study included 11,355 individuals in the good persistent group and an equal number of 11,355 individuals in the poor persistent group from the National Health Claims database for AD drug treatment. In primary analysis, the risk of osteoporosis was significantly higher in the poor persistence group than in the good persistence group (hazard ratio, 1.20 [95% confidence interval, 1.09-1.32]; p<0.001). Conclusions: We found that the good persistence group treated with anti-dementia drugs for AD was associated with a significant lower risk of osteoporosis in this nationwide study. Further studies are needed to clarify the pathophysiological link in patients with two chronic diseases.

• Kosin Medical Journal
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.328-336
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• 2018

Objectives: Electrocardiograhy (ECG) is the first step in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCMP) diagnosis. For various reasons, the T wave inversion (TWI) and ECG change with time and HCMP is not easy to diagnosis. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the association between TWI on ECG and apical HCMP. Methods: A total of 4,730 ECGs presenting TWI from January 2011 to March 2013 in Pusan National University Hospital were enrolled. 133 patients who were examined by both echocardiography and coronary angiogram were analyzed. Patients were divided into two groups: Group A (TWI ${\geq}$ 10 mm) and Group B (5 mm ${\leq}$ TWI < 10 mm). HCMP is defined by a wall thickness ${\geq}15mm$ in one or more LV myocardial segments. Apical HCMP is defined to be hypertrophy that is confined to LV apex. The patients who had ECGs with at least one month interval were divided 3 groups: Normal T wave, Abnormal T wave, and Persistent TWI. The prevalence of Apical HCMP and coronary artery disease (CAD) was reviewed among the three groups. Results: In this study there were a total 133 patients, with patients divided into Group A which had 15 patients and Group B which had 118 patients. Among the 23 patients with apical HCMP, three patients were Group A and twenty patients were Group B (P = 0.769). Regarding constancy of TWI, persistent TWI group was higher in apical HCMP than in other groups (P = 0.038). CAD had no difference between groups (P = 0.889). Conclusions: T wave negativity was not associated with incidence of apical HCMP. However, apical HCMP was diagnosed more frequently in patients with persistent TWI. Further follow up echocardiographic study is needed to evaluate the progression of apical HCMP in patients with TWI.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.5 no.6
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• pp.422-430
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• 2000

Mechanism of lignin biodegradation caused by basidiomycetes and the history of lignin biodegradation studies were briefly reviewed. The important roles of fungal extracellular ligninolytic enzymes such as lignin and manganese peroxidases (LiP and MnP) were also summarized. These enzymes were unique in their catalytic mechanisms and substrate specificities. Either LiP or MnP system is capable of oxidizing a variety of aromatic substrates via a one-electron oxidation. Extracellular fungal system for aromatic degradation is non-specific, which recently attracts many people working a bioremediation field. On the other hand, an intracellular degradation system for aromatic compounds is rather specific in the fungal cell. Structurally similar compounds were prepared and metabolized, indicating that an intracellular degradation strategy consisted of the cellular systems for substrate recognition and metabolic response. It was assumed that lignin-degrading fungi might be needed to develop multiple metabolic pathways for a variety of aromatic compounds caused by the action of non-specific ligninolytic enzymes on lignin. Our recent results on chemical stress responsible factors analyzed using mRNA differential display techniques were also mentioned.

• ALGAE
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.87-93
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• 2007

Three ecotypes of the freshwater red alga Compsopogon coeruleus (Balbis) Montagne were recorded from different freshwater and brackish water habitats of Orissa state in the east coast of India. These three had persistent differences in their branching pattern, e.g. (i) acute angle between main axis and lateral branch, (ii) equal or near to right angle between main axis and lateral branch, and (iii) short spine-like outgrowth instead of a branch in older filaments, besides having differences in the length, breadth and thickness of cortex of the thallus. Morphological observation of these taxa, and the ecological characteristics of the habitat of their occurrence is presented.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.239-247
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• 1983

The effects of some soil conditions on the degradation rate and decomposing pattern of parathion were investigated and the obtained results are summarized as follows: Parathion degraded more rapidly in flooded soils than in non-flooded, in wet soils than in dry soils under non-flooded soils. The degradation rates in paddy and upland soils increased at high temperature than low temperature, higher pesticide concentration than low concentration and higher soil pH level. Parathion in paddy and upland soils was more persistent under soil sterilization than under non-sterilization and degraded rapidly in glucose application. Parathion was more persistent in upland soils than paddy soils under several factors described above. The metabolites identified from the paddy and upland soils by TLC include para-oxon (Rf 0.5), aminoparathion(Rf 0.27), p-nitrophenol(Rf 0.2), p-aminophenol(Rf 0.15). Soil enzyme, acid phosphatase activities decreased more at flooded soils than non-flooded, higher pesticide concentration than low concentration and higher soil pH level and the activity in glucose application was increased. Soil enzymes, urease and dehydrogenase activity decreased more at higher pesticide concentration than low concentration. Comparing with soil enzyme activity in paddy and upland soil, the former was higher than the latter.