• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.45 no.3
• /
• pp.335-341
• /
• 2024

Objectives: Patients with cancer eventually fail to respond to therapy when malignant cells develop effective ways to evade immunosurveillance. Conventional cancer treatments, such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy, aim to cure the disease or prolong the patient's life. However, the toxicity and side effects of conventional treatments limit their efficacy. Herbal medicine is a typical complementary and integrative form of medicine for cancer treatment in Asia. This protocol evaluates the effectiveness of herbal medicines in improving the immune function of patients with cancer. Methods: The following electronic databases will be searched: MEDLINE via PubMed, EMBASE via Elsevier, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Korean databases including Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS), National Digital Science Library (NDSL), and Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System (OASIS). Additionally, prospective randomized controlled trials that evaluate the effectiveness of herbal medicines on immune function in patients with cancer will be included in this review. All outcomes related to the immune function of patients with cancer (e.g., CD3, CD4, CD8, CD4/CD8 ratio, CD19 (B cells), dendritic cells (CD11), CD56 (NK cells), and macrophages) will be included in this review. Results: This review is expected to provide data on the effectiveness of herbal medicines on improving immune functions in patients with cancers. Conclusion: This systematic review will help patients and clinicians establish new management options for cancer treatment.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.5 no.4
• /
• pp.189-194
• /
• 2011

This study used magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to quantitatively analyze the neural fiber tractography according to the age of normal corpus callosum and to evaluate of usefulness. The research was intended for the applicants of 60 persons that was in a good state of health with not brain or other disease. The test parameters were TR: 6650 ms, TE: 66 ms, FA: $90^{\circ}$, NEX: 2, thickness: 2 mm, no gap, FOV: 220 mm, b-value: $800s/mm^2$, sense factor: 2, acquisition matrix size: $2{\times}2{\times}2mm^3$, and the test time was 3 minutes 46 seconds. The evaluation method was constructed the color-cored FA map include to the skull vertex from the skull base in scan range. We set up the five ROI of corpus callosum of genu, anterior-mid body, posterior-mid body, isthmus, and splenium, tracking, respectively, and to quantitatively measured the length of neural fiber. As a result, the length of neural fiber, for the corpus callosum of genu was 20's: $61.8{\pm}6.8$, 30's: $63.9{\pm}3.8$, 40's: $65.5{\pm}6.4$, 50's: $57.8{\pm}6.0$, 60's: $58.9{\pm}4.5$, more than 70's: $54.1{\pm}8.1mm$, for the anterior-mid body was 20's: $54.8{\pm}8.8$, 30's: $58.5{\pm}7.9$, 40's: $54.8{\pm}7.8$, 50's: $56.1{\pm}10.2$, 60's: $48.5{\pm}6.2$, more than 70's: $48.6{\pm}8.3mm$, for the posterior-mid body was 20's: $72.7{\pm}9.1$, 30's: $61.6{\pm}9.1$, 40's: $60.9{\pm}10.5$, 50's: $61.4{\pm}11.7$, 60's: $54.9{\pm}10.0$, more than 70's: $53.1{\pm}10.5mm$, for the isthmus was 20's: $71.5{\pm}17.4$, 30's: $74.1{\pm}14.9$, 40's: $73.6{\pm}14.2$, 50's: $66.3{\pm}12.9$, 60's: $56.5{\pm}11.2$, more than 70's: $56.8{\pm}11.3mm$, and for the splenium was 20's: $82.6{\pm}6.8$, 30's: $86.9{\pm}6.4$, 40's: $83.1{\pm}7.1$, 50's: $81.5{\pm}7.4$, 60's: $78.6{\pm}6.0$, more than 70's: $80.55{\pm}8.6mm$. The length of neural fiber for normal corpus callosum were statistically significant in the genu(P=0.001), posterior-mid body(P=0.009), and istumus(P=0.012) of corpus callosum. In order of age, the length of neural fiber increased from 30s to 40s, as one grows older tended to decrease. For this reason, the nerve cells of brain could be confirmed through the neural fiber tractography to progress actively in middle age.

• The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.287-325
• /
• 2017

Considering the development of aerospace, military science and technology since the 20th century, the sky is very important for the nation's existence and prosperity. The proverb "Whosoever commands the space commands the world itself!" emphasizes the need for the command of the air. This essay is the first study on the status of airspace after reunification. First, the territorial airspace is over the territory and territorial sea, and its horizontal extent is determined by the territorial boundary lines. Acceptance of the present order is most reasonable, rather than attempting to reconfigure through historical truths about border issues, and it could be supported by neighboring countries in the reunification period. For peace in Northeast Asia, the reunified Korea needs to respect the existing border agreement between North Korea and China or Russia. However, the North Korean straight baselines established in the East Sea and the Yellow Sea should be discarded because they are not available under United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. It is desirable for the reunified Korea to redefine the straight baselines that comply with international law and determine the territorial waters up to and including the 12-nautical mile outside it. Second, the Flight Information Region (hereinafter "FIR") is a region defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (hereinafter "ICAO") in order to provide information necessary for the safe and efficient flight of aircraft and the search and rescue of aircraft. At present, Korea is divided into Incheon FIR which is under the jurisdiction of South Korea and Pyongyang FIR which is under the jurisdiction of North Korea. If North Korea can not temporarily exercise control of Pyongyang FIR due to a sudden change of circumstances, it is desirable for South Korea to exercise control of Pyongyang FIR, and if it is unavoidable, ICAO should temporarily exercise it. In reunified Korea, it is desirable to abolish Pyongyang FIR and integrate it into Incheon FIR with the approval of ICAO, considering systematic management and control of FIR, establishment of route, and efficiency of management. Third, the Air Defense Identification Zone (hereinafter "ADIZ") is a zone that requires easy identification, positioning, and control of aircraft for national security purposes, and is set up unilaterally by the country concerned. The US unilaterally established the Korea Air Defense Identification Area (KADIZ) by the Declaration of Commitment on March 22, 1951. The Ministry of Defense proclaimed a new KADIZ which extended to the area including IEODO on December 13, 2013. At present, North Korea's military warning zone is set only at maritime boundaries such as the East Sea and the Yellow Sea. But in view of its lack of function as ADIZ in relations with China and Russia, the reunified Korea has no obligation to succeed it. Since the depth of the Korean peninsula is short, it is necessary to set ADIZ boundary on the outskirts of the territorial airspace to achieve the original purpose of ADIZ. Therefore, KADIZ of the reunified Korea should be newly established by the boundary line that coincides with the Incheon FIR of the reunified Korea. However, if there is no buffer zone overlapping with or adjacent to the ADIZs of neighboring countries, military tensions may rise. Therefore, through bilateral negotiations for peace in Northeast Asia, a buffer zone is established between adjacent ADIZs.

• The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.177-200
• /
• 2017

This writer have thus far reviewed the civil and criminal obligations of the directors of a parent company that sponsored financially troubled affiliates. What was discussed here applies to logistics companies in the same manner. Hanjin Shipping cannot expect its parent company, Korean Air to prop it up financially. If such financial aid is offered without any collateral, under Korean criminal law, the directors of the parent company bears the burden of civil and criminal responsibility. One way to get around this is to secure fairness in terms of the process and the content of aid. Fairness in terms of process refers to the board of directors making public all information and approving such aid. Fairness in terms of content refers to impartial transactions that block out any possibilities of the chairman of the corporate group acting in his private interest. In the case of Korean Air bailing out Hanjin, the meeting of board of directors were held five times and a thorough review was conducted on the risks involved in the loans being repaid or not. After the review, measures to guard against undesirable scenarios were established before finally deciding on bailing out Hanjin. As such, there are no issues. In terms of the fairness of content, too, there were practically no room for the majority shareholder or controlling shareholder to pocket profits at the expense of the company. This is because the continued aid offered to a financially troubled company (i.e. Hanjin Shipping) was a posing a burden to even the controlling shareholder. This writer argues that the concept of the interest of the entire corporate group needs to be recognized. That is, it must be recognized that the relationship of control and being controlled between parent company and affiliate company, or between affiliate companies serves a practical benefit to the ongoing concern and growth of the group and is therefore just. Moreover, the corporate group and its affiliates, as well as their directors and management must recognize that they have an obligation to prioritize the interests of the corporate group ahead of the interests of the company that they are directly associated with. As such, even if Korean Air offered a loan to Hanjin Shipping without collateral, the act cannot be treated as an offense to law, nor can the directors be accused of damages that they bear the responsibility of compensating under civil law.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.123-129
• /
• 1999

Purpose: Acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis(APSGN) is a renal disease which is characterized by glomerular proliferation and inflammatory changes due to immune reaction. Although the 95% of patients with APSGN seems to recover fully and present as benign course, the remaining patients show poor prognosis. Therefore comparative retrograde study between APSGN with and without nephrotic syndrome was done to find out the any prognostic indicator to predict the outcome in patients with APSGN. Methods: We had retrospectively analyzed seventy-one patients who were diagnosed as APSGN clinically from Mar.1989 to Feb.1999 in Yonsei university medical center. Sixty-four of the patients was APSGN without nephrotic syndrome(Group A) and seven patients were in APSGN with nephrotic syndrome(Group B). Results: Patients who were diagnosed as APSGN with nephrotic syndrome were seven(9.9%) out of seventy-one. In the comparative study, sex ratio was 1:1 in group A and 1.9: 1 in group B, onset mean age was $8.9{\pm}2.6$ in group A and $8.8{\pm}2.6$ in group B. Following clinical profiles were compared but there were no significant difference between these two groups: WBC count($9413{\pm}2964\;vs\;9368{\pm}2650(/mm^3)$), hemoglobin($10.6{\pm}1.2\;vs\;10.0{\pm}0.9(gm/dL)$), ASO($746.1{\pm}640.7\;vs\;614.9{\pm}475.9(IU/ml)$), $C_3(20.1{\pm}17.0\;vs\;16.9{\pm}13.1(mg/dL)$), $C_4(22.8{\pm}9.5\;vs\;22.6{\pm}6.9(mg/dL)$), BUN($25.8{\pm}26.1\;vs\;28.1{\pm}14.5(mg/dL)$), creatinin($0.8{\pm}0.3\;vs\;0.8{\pm}0.3(mg/dL)$), $C_{cr}(80.6{\pm}28.8{\pm}62.4{\pm}31.4(ml/min/1.73\;m^2$)), the duration of edma, gross hematuria, and hypertension. However, we found that there were a significant difference in the duration of proteinuria($1.95{\pm}2.27\;vs\;13.3{\pm}21.1(months)$)(P<0.05), decreased $C_3$ duration($1.9{\pm}2.9\;vs\;7.3{\pm}5.0(weeks)$)(P<0.05) and especially it was proloned according to the amount of early urine protein excretion. Conclusion: Our study showed markedly prolonged duration of proteinuria and decreased $C_3$ duration in patients with APSGN with nephrotic syndrome. We were not able to find the definite prognostic factor that will guide the outcome of patients with APSGN accompaning nephrotic syndrome, but above findings seemed to represent as a relative indication of the outcome of the disease. All patients recovered completely and we did not experience any cases that progressed into the renal failure.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.222-230
• /
• 2005

Purpose : ARC syndrome refers to an association of arthrogryposis, renal tubular dysfunction, and cholestasis. The VPS33B gene was recently identified as the causative gene. So far, 41 cases of ARC syndrome have been reported worldwide, and it has rarely been reported in Korea. This study was conducted to report the clinical findings of seven ARC syndrome cases in Korean children, focusing especially on renal tubular dysfunction. Methods : The hospital records of 7 cases diagnosed as ARC syndrome at Severance Hospital between Mar. 1995 and Aug. 2005 were reviewed and analyzed. Results : Of the 7 cases, 4 were boys and 3 were girls. Six patients(85$\%$) were born with normal birth weight at term, and one was born at preterm. All cases presented with cholestasis and severe jaundice. According to the type of arthrogryposis described by Brown et al, type 3 and 4 were found in 2 patients and type,6, 7, and the undistributed type in one patient respectively. Other associated clinical findings were as follows : failure to thrive in 6(85$\%$), lax skin in 5(71$\%$), and gray platelet syndrome in 4(57$\%$). Urine analysis revealed 6 cases(85$\%$) with proteinuria, 3(43$\%$) with hematuria, 5(71$\%$) with glycosuria, 2(29$\%$) with phosphaturia and 2(29$\%$) with calciuria. Serum electrolytes showed 4 cases(57$\%$) with hyponatremia, 3(43$\%$) with hypokalemia, and 1(14$\%$) with creatinine elevation. Renal tubular dysfunctions were diagnosed as renal tubular acidosis in 6 cases(85$\%$), nephrogenic diabetes insipidus in 2(29$\%$), and Fanconi syndrome in 2(29$\%$). During the follow-up period, 2(29$\%$) had no treatment, 5(85$\%$) had continuous supplementation to correct the electrolyte imbalance and acidosis, and 1(14$\%$) had dialysis. Only one patient had a family history of ARE syndrome in a sibling. Four cases(57$\%$) were diagnosed at the mean age of 8.2 months, and one case was lost during follow-up. Ages of the survived 2 cases were 13 and 25 months, respectively. Conclusion : The rare disease of ARC syndrome Is associated with severe renal dysfunction. However, this study revealed that the renal manifestation of ARC syndrome in Korean children is relatively mild and survival rate is higher than that of previous studies. Contrary to previous reports, this study showed that familial cases are rare and sporadic occurence is possible in Korea. Thus, the diagnosis of this syndrome requires a careful evaluation of the venal function in cases of congenital arthrogryposis, and a mandatory genetic counseling of affected family for prevention of familial occurance. (J Korean Soc Pediatr Nephrol 2005;9:222-230)

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.78-86
• /
• 2001

Purpose: Rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (RPGN) is characterized by the rapid increase in serum creatitnin and crescents formation involving more than $50\%$ of glomeruli. 10 patients who had been treated for RPGN were studied retrospectively for thier underlying diseases and clinical features Method: Cilinical review was performed on 10 children who were diagnosed with RPGN by clinical features and renal biopsy and followed up at department of pediatrics during tile last 10 years, from May 1990 to May 2000. Result: There were 6 males and 4 females between the ages of 2.1 and 14.3 years (mean $10.9{\pm}3.8$). 3 had Henoch-$Sch{\ddot{o}}nlein$ purpura nephritis; 2, idiopathic rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis; 2, lupus nephritis; 1, hemolytic uremic syndrome; 1, membranous glomerulonephritis and 1, microscopic polyangiitis. The most common chief complaints were gross hematuria and oliguria. Initial clinical features included proteinuria, edema, hypertension, nausea and arthralgia. Mean serum BUN was $74.2{\pm}39.1\;mg/dL$ mean serum creatinin, $3.2{\pm}1.8\;mg/dL$ and mean creatinin clearance, $26.5{\pm}13.2\;mL/min/1.73m^2$. Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody was positive only in microscopic polyangiitis. ANA and Anti-DNA antibody were positive in two lupus nephritis patients. Serum complements were decreased in 4 patients. All patients except Hemolytic uremic syndrome received steroid pulse therapy and immunosupressive agents. 3 patients were performed acute peritoneal dialysis and 2 patients were given plasmapheresis. At the last follow up, 1 patient was dead, 4 patients had elevated serum creatinin, 2 of these 4 patients were on chronic ambulatory peritoneal dialysis and 6 patients had normal renal function. Conclusion: Rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis is a medical emergency that requires very rapid diagnosis, classification, and therapy. Appropriate therapy selected on the basis of underlying disease mechanism can substantially improve renal survival. (J. Korean Soc Pediatr Nephrol 2001 ; 5 : 78-86)

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.41 no.5
• /
• pp.598-604
• /
• 2008

Background: The improvements in endoscopic equipment and surgical robots has encouraged the performance of minimally invasive cardiac operations. Yet only a few Korean studies have compared this procedure with the sternotomy approach. Material and Method: Between December 2005 and July 2007, 48 patients (group A) underwent minimally invasive cardiac surgery with AESOP through a small right thoracotomy. During the same period, 50 patients (group B) underwent conventional surgery. We compared the operative time, the operative results, the post-operative pain and the recovery of both groups. Result: There was no hospital mortality and there were no significant differences in the incidence of operative complications between the two groups. The operative $(292.7{\pm}61.7\;and\;264.0{\pm}47.9min$, respectively; p=0.01) and CPB times ($128.4{\pm}37.6\;and\;101.7{\pm}32.5min$, respectively; <0.01) were longer for group A, whereas there was no difference between the aortic cross clamp times ($82.1{\pm}35.0\;and\;87.8{\pm}113.5min$, respectively; p=0.74) and ventilator times ($18.0{\pm}18.4\;and\;19.7{\pm}9.7$ hr, respectively; p=0.57) between the groups. The stay on the ICU $(53.2{\pm}40.2\;and\;72.8{\pm}42.1hr$, respectively; p=0.02) and the hospitalization time ($9.7{\pm}7.2\;and\;14.8{\pm}11.9days$, respectively; p=0.01) were shorter for group A. The Patients in group B had more transfusions, but the difference was not significant. For the overall operative intervals, which ranged from one to four weeks, the pair score was significantly lower for the patients of group A than for the patients of group B. In terms of the postoperative activities, which were measured by the Duke Activity Scale questionnaire, the functional status score was clearly higher for group A compared to group B. The analysis showed no difference in the severity of either post-repair of mitral ($0.7{\pm}1.0\;and\;0.9{\pm}0.9$, respectively; p=0.60) and tricuspid regurgitation ($1.0{\pm}0.9\;and\;1.1{\pm}1.0$, respectively; p=0.89). In both groups, there were no valve related complications, except for one patient with paravalvular leakage in each group. Conclusion: These results show that compared with the median sternotomy patients, the patients who underwent minimally invasive surgery enjoyed significant postoperative advantages such as less pain, a more rapid return to full activity, improved cosmetics and a reduced hospital stay. The minimally invasive surgery can be done with similar clinical safety compared to the conventional surgery that's done through a median sternotomy.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.48 no.9
• /
• pp.960-968
• /
• 2005

Purpose : This multi-center, open-label, clinical study was designed to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of a trivalent, live, attenuated measles-mumps-rubella(MMR) vaccine, $Priorix^{TM}$ in Korean children. Methods : From July 2002 to February 2003, a total of 252 children, aged 12-15 months or 4-6 years, received $Priorix^{TM}$ at four centers : Han-il General Hospital, Kyunghee University Hospital, St. Paul's Hospital at the Catholic Medical College in Seoul, and Korea University Hospital in Ansan, Korea. Only subjects who fully met protocol requirements were included in the final analysis. The occurrence of local and systemic adverse events after vaccination was evaluated from diary cards and physical examination for 42 days after vaccination. Serum antibody levels were measured prior to and 42 days post-vaccination using IgG ELISA assays at GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals (GSK) in Belgium. Results : Of the 252 enrolled subjects, a total of 199 were included in the safety analysis, including 103 from the 12-15 month age group and 96 from the 4-6 year age group. The occurrence of local reactions related to the study drug was 10.1 percent, and the occurrence of systemic reactions was 6.5 percent. There were no episodes of aseptic meningitis or febrile convulsions, nor any other serious adverse reaction. In immunogenicity analysis, the seroconversion rate of previously seronegative subjects was 99 percent for measles, 93 percent for mumps and 100 percent for rubella. Both age groups showed similar seroconversion rates. The geometric mean titers achieved, 42 days pos-tvaccination, were : For measles, in the age group 12-15 months, 3,838.6 mIU/mL [3,304.47, 4,458.91]; in the age group 4-6 years, 1,886.2 mIU/mL [825.83, 4,308.26]. For mumps, in the age group 12-15 months, 956.3 U/mL [821.81, 1,112.71]; in the age group 4-6 years, 2,473.8 U/mL [1,518.94, 4,028.92]. For rubella, in the age group 12-15 months, 94.5 IU/mL [79.56, 112.28]; in the age group 4-6 years, 168.9 IU/mL [108.96, 261.90]. Conclusion : When Korean children in the age groups of 12-15 months or 4-6 years were vaccinated with GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals' live attenuated MMR vaccine ($Priorix^{TM}$), adverse events were limited to those generally expected with any live vaccine. $Priorix^{TM}$ demonstrated excellent immunogenicity in this population.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.167-177
• /
• 2003

Purpose : To know the trends of antimicrobial susceptibility is critical for antimicrobial treatment. We studied the organisms isolated from blood, urine, stool, and cerebrospinal fluid from 1997 to 2001 to reveal the trends of their antimicrobial susceptibility. Methods : We conducted a retrospective study with isolates obtained from 0~18 year old outpatients and inpatients from 1997 to 2001 at Department of Pediatrics, Hanil general hospital. We gathered the data through the laboratory test files and the origin of microorganisms cultured from blood, urine, stool and cerebrospinal fluid and their antimicrobial susceptibility. Results : Microorganisms were isolated from 226(3.3%) out of 6,974 blood cultures, 365 (8.0%) out of 4,549 urine cultures, 50(1.9%) out of 2,593 stool cultures and 9(1.4%) in 655 cerebrospinal fluid cultures. The most frequently isolated organisms from blood cultures was Staphylococcus epidermidis(33.5%) which was followed by Staphylococcus aureus(19.7%), Escherichia coli(13.8%), and Burkholderia cepacia(9.0%). Among the urine cultures, E. coli was the most common(74.7%) which was followed by Group D Enterococcus(11.3%), Klebsiella pneumoniae(7.1%) and Proteus mirabilis(2.5%). The positive stool cultures all yield Salmonella species. Group D Salmonella was obtained most frequently. Among the positive cerebrospinal fluid cultures, Group B Streptococcus was isolated most frequently. Among the 40 cases of S. aureus in blood cultures, 27 cases were methicillin-resistant. The rates of susceptibility for amikacin, ceftizoxime and ceftriaxone of E. coli isolated from blood cultures were 80%, 100% and 60% in 1997 and 60%, 80% and 60% in 2001. The rates of susceptibility for amikacin, ceftizoxime and ceftriaxone of K. pnumoniae isolated from urine cultures. were 80%, 100% and 80% in 1997 and 50%, 83% and 50% in 2001 Enterococcus was isolated from 6.7% to 15.8% and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus was observed in 17% of Group D Enterococcus isolated from urine cultures. The rates of susceptibility for amikacin, ceftizoxime and ceftriaxone of Group D Salmonella were 96%, 96% and 92% during the study period. Conclusion : Among the blood cultures S. epidermidis, S. aureus, E. coli and B. cepacia were isolated in order of frequency and among the urine cultures E. coli, Group D Enterococcus, K. pneumoniae and P. mirabilis were isolated in order of frequency. During the study period there was no big difference in major organisms isolated from blood and urine. The methicillin-resistant S. aureus was observed in 67% of S. aureus isolated from blood cultures but vancomycin-reistant S. aureus or vancomycin intermediate resistant S. aureus was not observed. The rates of susceptibility to amikacin and the third generation cephalosporin of E. coli isolated from blood cultures and K. pneumoniae from urine cultures have decreased. The isolation rates of Group D Enterococcus and vancomycin resistant Enterococcus have increased.