• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.109-115
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• 2002

This study was conducted to investigate the reference value of mercury (Hg) in liver and kidney of Korean population. The mercury concentration in 244‘sudden and unexpected death’autopsies (male: 180, female: 64) aged from 0 to 87 years was analyzed. The concentration of mercury was measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Perkin-Elmer Model 5100) with mercury/hydride generating system (FIAS 400). The contents of mercury in liver and kidney fitted well the log-normal distribution rather than normal distribution. Geometric mean concentration of mercury in liver and kidney was 0.115 $\mu\textrm{g}$/g wet weight and 0.149 $\mu\textrm{g}$/g wet weight, respectively. Geometric mean concentration of mercury in female was higher than in male (p < 0.01). The mercury content in liver and kidney increased with age up to the forties and slightly decreased there-after. The regression model of mercury deposit in liver and kidney by age was predicted as the following equation : Log LHg : -1.0576＋0.0045$.$Age-0.0001$.$Age$^2$＋0.0873$.$Sex, Log KHg = -1.0576＋0.0152$.$Age-0.0002$.$Age$^2$＋0.1935$.$Sex. The liver burden of mercury was estimated to be 158.3∼161.3 $\mu\textrm{g}$ in male and 163.0∼166.9 $\mu\textrm{g}$ in female. The kidney burden of mercury was estimated to be 42.0∼42.9 $\mu\textrm{g}$ in male and 55.5∼57.1 $\mu\textrm{g}$ in female.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.62 no.11
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• pp.422-427
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• 2019

Background: Polyomavirus BK (BKV) infection is an important cause of graft loss in kidney transplant patients. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate clinical findings and risk factors for BKV in pediatric patients after kidney transplantation. Methods: This retrospective single-center study included 31 pediatric kidney transplant recipients from January 2002 to December 2017. Two patients received 2 transplantations during the study period, and each transplant was analyzed independently. Total number of cases is 33 cases with 31 patients. BKV infection was confirmed from blood samples via periodic quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Results: The mean age at kidney transplantation was 11.0±4.7 years, and the male-to-female ratio was 2.7:1. Three patients had a past medical history of high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem-cell transplantation for solid tumors. Nine patients (27.3%) developed BKV infection. The median period from kidney transplantation to BKV detection in blood was 5.6 months. There was no statistically significant difference in estimated glomerular filtration rate between patients with and those without BKV infection. Among 9 patients with BKV viremia, 7 were treated by reducing their immunosuppressant dose, and BKV was cleared in 6 of these 7 patients. In the other 2 BKV-positive patients, viremia improved without immunosuppressant reduction. Conclusion: BKV infection is common in children with kidney transplantation and might not have affected short-term renal function in our patient sample due to early immunosuppressant reduction at the time of BKV detection.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.193-198
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• 2009

Purpose: This study evaluated the characteristics and the prognosis of multiple intraabdominal solid organ injuries, including those to the liver, spleen, and kidney, after blunt trauma. Methods: From January 2001 to March 2009, 39 patients with multiple intraabdominal solid organ injuries, which had been confirmed by contrast-enhanced computed tomography after blunt trauma, were included in this retrospective study. The injury severity score (ISS), abbreviated injury scale (AIS), revised trauma score (RTS), American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) injury grade of solid organs, initial hemodynamic status, blood gas analysis, blood transfusion, and the mortality were the main outcome measurements. Results: Injured groups were classified into liver/kidney (n=17), liver/spleen (n=4), spleen/kidney (n=13), and liver/kidney/spleen (n=5) groups. Patients were older in the liver/kidney group than in the liver/kidney/spleen group (43 vs 18 years, p=0.023). The initial systolic blood pressures tended to be lower in the liver/kidney group than in the other groups (84 vs 105, 112, and 114 mmHg, p=0.087). The amounts of 24-hour packed RBC transfusion were 32 units in the liver/kidney group and 4 units in the liver/kidney/spleen group, but the difference was not statistically significant. Differences were found in neither the RTS, ISS, and AIS for head, chest, abdominal, and pelvic injuries nor the AAST injury grade for solid organ, but injuries to the chest were more severe in the liver/spleen group than in the spleen/kidney group (AIS 4.0 vs 2.8, p=0.028). Conservative treatment was the most frequent applied treatment in all groups. There were 6 mortalities : 3 due to hypovolemia, 2 to sepsis, and 1 to brain injury. Mortalities occurred only in the liver/kidney group. Conclusion: Patients who had intraabdominal solid organ injuries of the liver and the kidney simultaneously, tended to be transfused more at an early time after trauma, to have lower initial systolic blood pressures, and to have a higher mortality.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.371-374
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• 2002

A female 8-year-old Pug weighing 7.3 kg and a female 10-year-old Maltese dog weighing 3.5 kg showing anorexia and vomiting for a few weeks were referred to Veterinary Medical leaching Hospital, Seoul National University. Radiographic findings were an enlarged right kidney in a pug dog and a radiopaque material on the right ureteral region lateral to the third lumbar vertebrae with indefinite right kidney contour in a Maltese dog, repectively. Excretory urography performed in a Pug dog revealed a poor opacified enlarged right kidney with absent of pelvic recesses and pelvic dilation with proximal ureteral dilation on contralateral kidney. Ultrasonographic findings were enlarged kidney with dilated pelvis and echogenic sediment within the medulla in both dogs and especially an engorged proximal ureter and a thin rim of functional renal tissue remains in a Maltese dog. Those diagnostic findings indicated high possibility of pyelonephritis and these were confirmed by pathologic examination. Radiography and ultrasonography, although not giving final diagnosis for pyelonephritis, are useful for assessment and diagnosis of pyelonephritis.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.157-169
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• 2004

We have conducted questionnaire and measured serum kidney function tests on 156 patients whom have received a treatment at a local Oriental medicine clinic in Seoul from Sept. 1, 2002 to Dec. 31, 2002. Patients were categorized into five groups. The groups are control(10 samples), herbal extract group(41 samples), herbal pills group(5samples), western medicines(45samples), and combination group(55 samples). This study was conducted to investigate how these treatment methods can affect the kidney functions. Following results were obtained : 1) Most of the research subjects were male(103 individuals) living in large urban area, with a drinking habit, highly educated, and with normal marriage. For the treatment history, 45 individuals received western medicine treatment(28.85%), 46 with Oriental medicine(29.49%), and 55patients (35.26%) experienced both forms of the treatment. 2) For measuring Mean(SD) of serum kidney functions for all the research subjects, Bun was 12.16(3.90)g/dl, 0.51(0.19) g/dl for Creatinine, and 4.64(1.49)g/dl for Uric acid. All the measurements were within the normal range. 3) Confounding variables which may affect the kidney functions such as age, smoking, drinking, occupation, and residency were eliminated in calculation and no significant differences were witnessed between the control and experiment groups. 4) In measuring affects of treatment duration on the kidney functions, no statistical significances were shown in multiple regression's ${\beta}(SE)$ values. 5) Correlations affecting the kidney functions are duration of drinking, drinking volume per round, drinking volume per week, smoking, gender, and age difference caused significant correlations. From the above results, we can deduce that taking herbal and western medicine didn't cause significant effects between the control and experiment groups in the kidney functions. Further research is needed in this field to verify this evidence by adding odds ratios and etc.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.106-110
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• 2014

Congenital thoracic ectopic kidney is a very rare developmental disorder and the rarest type of ectopic kidney. This condition is usually asymptomatic and detected incidentally on routine chest radiography. Most cases of thoracic ectopic kidney develop in adulthood and during the neonatal period, and congenital thoracic ectopic kidney rarely develops in children. Most patients are asymptomatic, and the treatment depends on the diagnosis. Herein, we report a rare case of ectopic thoracic kidney associated with a diaphragmatic hernia in a 15-month-old male infant, who presented with periodic severe irritability. The thoracic ectopic kidney was detected as a mass in the right base of the chest on routine chest radiography.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.249-255
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• 2019

Cadmium is a strong toxic heavy metal which presents in paints and liquid wastes and causes oxidative stress in fish. On the other hand, lead is widely used for different purposes, e.g. lead pipes, it targets vital organs such as liver and kidney causing biochemical alterations. The present study evaluates the effects of 60 days exposure to Cd and Pb either single or combined together in African catfish. Sixty-four fishes were divided into 3 groups and exposed to $CdCl_2$ (7.02 mg/L) or $PbCl_2$ (69.3 mg/L) or a combination of them along with control group. Activities of acid phosphatase (ACP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PDH) were estimated. Moreover, gill, liver and kidney were assayed for activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and levels of glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA). Individual exposure showed that both Cd and Pb significantly decreased LDH activity and SOD activity in the kidney. Pb significantly increased G-6-PDH activity and decreased GSH level in the gill. CAT activity in liver and kidney elevated significantly on Cd exposure while lead caused a significant depletion in the liver and significant elevation in the kidney. Both Cd and Pb significantly increased MDA levels in liver and kidney while Pb increased its level in gills. The combined exposure resulted in normalization of LDH, G-6-PDH activity, and CAT activity in liver and kidney as well as GSH level in both tissues and MDA in gill and kidney. The combination increased SOD activity and MDA level in liver and decreased SOD activity in kidney and GSH level in gills. In conclusion, the antioxidant system of African catfish was adversely affected by prolonged exposure to Cd and Pb. The combined exposure caused less damage than individual exposure and returned most parameters to those of controls.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.567-575
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• 2018

Acute kidney injury (AKI), which is defined as a rapid decline of renal function, becomes common and recently recognized to be closely intertwined with chronic kidney diseases. Current treatment for AKI is largely supportive, and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress has emerged as a novel mediator of AKI. Since carbon monoxide attenuates ER stress, the objective of the present study aimed to determine the protective effect of carbon monoxide releasing molecule-2 (CORM2) on AKI associated with ER stress. Kidney injury was induced after LPS (15 mg/kg) treatment at 12 to 24 h in C57BL/6J mice. Pretreatment of CORM2 (30 mg/kg) effectively prevented LPS-induced oxidative stress and inflammation during AKI in mice. CORM2 treatment also effectively inhibited LPS-induced ER stress in AKI mice. In order to confirm effect of CO on the pathophysiological role of tubular epithelial cells in AKI, we used mProx24 cells. Pretreatment of CORM2 attenuated LPS-induced ER stress, oxidative stress, and inflammation in mProx24 cells. These data suggest that CO therapy may prevent ER stress-mediated AKI.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.199-202
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• 1993

The purpose of this study was to make fundamental ultrasonographic observations of kidney and urinary bladder in Korean native goat. The position, dimensions, and structure of the kidneys and bladders In 7 male Korean native goats were determinded by use of ultrasonography. A 3.5%.MHz linear transducer was used. All examinations were performed on goats in lateral recumbency under sedation. The left kidney was 4.2 to 5.9 cm long, 2.5 to 3.6 cm wide, and 2.4 to 3.2 cm deep. Diameter of the parenchyma and renal sinus of the left kidney ranged between 0.7 and 1.3 cm and 0.7 and 1.4 cm, respectively. Circumferences of the medullary Pyramids varied between 1.3 and 1.9 cm. Similar ultrasonic measurements were obtained for the right kidney. The diameter of the urinary bladder varied between 2.1 and 5.4 cm in the goats. It was concluded that the ultrasonographic findings described in this study can be used as references for diagnosis of morphologic changes in the kidney and urinary bladder of Korean native goat.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.291-302
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• 1998

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand and describe the essence and the structure of lived experience of people with kidney transplantation. Initially, nine individual interviews were conducted to gather data regarding their subjective experiences. And two focus group interviews were utilized to validate or discard the themes that were emerged from the analysis using Colaizzi's method. Among 17 participants, 13 had living related kidney donations, one living unrelated, and the remaining two cadavor donations. About 130 significant statements were extracted and these were clustered into 11 themes. All participants felt anxiety and fear toward the rejection of transplantation and the complication of immunosuppressive drugs. Although they were initially satisfied with their life after kidney transplantation, most of them lost a self-confidence and experienced loneliness, depression, and despair. Most of the participants also felt guilty for not being able to accomplish their appropriate roles in the family, They also had financial difficulties and social restrictions. However, they overcame these psychosocial distress by exercising, working and sharing love with others. They also could overcome it by living a religious life and by working to help others with kidney transplantations. Most of them felt gratitude toward the donor and did not have a psychological rejection toward the kidney transplanted. The results of the study might help nurses who work with people with kidney transplantations in establishing and implementing an effective nursing intervention by understanding their lived experience.