• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.42 no.2
• /
• pp.111-115
• /
• 2006

A feeding trial was conducted to test the use of marine yeasts isolated from seawaters and sediments as a dietary source in cultivating a Cladocera, Moina macrocopa which is available as an alternative live food for fish larvae. The marine yeast-fed M. macrocopa had similar essential amino acid profiles to the documented values for Rotifers and Artemia enriched in microalgae and commercial diets. Erythrobacter sp. $S{\pi}-1$ lacked ${\omega}-3$ high unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs), $20:5{\omega}-3$ (EPA) and $22:6{\omega}-3$ (DHA), which were also poor but detected in both the marine yeasts. An increase in the $20:5{\omega}-3$ and $22:6{\omega}-3$ levels, compared with the levels in marine yeast strains themselves, was more pronounced in the $22:6{\omega}-3$ level of Moina fed the Candida sp. Y-16, resulting in a high DHA:EPA ratio. When the Moina diets were switched, their ${\delta}^{13}C$ values shifted gradually toward the values of the switched diets. Diet switch from Erythrobacter sp. $S{\pi}-1$to Candide sp. Y.16 resulted in a more rapid turnover of Moina tissue carbon than that in the inverse case. When fed a mixed diet, the ${\delta}^{13}C$ values of Moina tissue approached the value of marine yeasts immediately. These temporal changes in the ${\delta}^{13}C$ values of Moina tissue indicate the preferential ingestion of marine yeasts and a selective assimilation of the carbon originated from marine yeasts. These findings suggest that marine yeasts, particularly Candida sp. Y-16, are highly available to mass cultures of M. macrocopa, providing better nutritional and dietaty values than the commercial diet (Erythrobacter sp. $S{\pi}-1$).

• Neonatal Medicine
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.80-83
• /
• 2008

Purpose : Inguinal hernias are common in children and sometimes are associated with dangerous complications, such as incarceration. There are no established management guidelines for ovarian hernias. We have reviewed the clinical course of ovarian hernias in infants. Methods : We reviewed the medical records of female infants diagnosed with ovarian hernias by ultrasonogram at Kwandong University College of Medicine, Cheil General Hospital, and the Women's Healthcare Center between March 2001 and August 2007. We analyzed the patients gestational age, birth weight, age at the time of detection of the inguinal mass, the patients chief complaints, operative time, post-operative complications, and ultrasonographic findings. Results : Eight female infants had ovarian hernias, four of whom were born prematurely. Seven infants had left-sided ovarian hernias, and one infant had a right-sided ovarian hernia. Five infants underwent surgery and there were no postoperative complications or recurrences. Three girls did not have surgery, and the ovarian hernias regressed spontaneously, with no recurrences or complications. The regression time of inguinal masses ranged from 70-161 days after birth. Conclusion : Physical examination to detect movable masses within the labium major in premature female infants is important because the incidence of premature inguinal hernias is much higher than in term infants. No rational medical treatment plans for female ovarian hernias have been published to date. We cared for three girls with spontaneous regression of ovarian hernias. Pediatricians should be aware whether emergent surgery for ovarian hernias is indicated.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.259-266
• /
• 1995

Purpose : The aim of this study is to analyze the survival rate, treatment failure and complication of radiation therapy alone in stage III uterine cervical cancer. Materials and Methods : From January 1980 through December 1985, 227 patients with stage III uterine cervical cancer treated with radiation therapy at Kosin Medical Center were retrospectively studied. Among 227 patients, 72 patients($317{\%}$) were stage IIIa, and 155 patients($68.3{\%}$) were stage IIIb according to FIGO classification. Age distribution was 32-71 years (median: 62 years). Sixty nine patients($95.8{\%}$) in stage IIIa and 150 patient ($96.8{\%}$) in stage IIIb were squamous cell carcinoma. pelvic lymph node metastasis at initial diagnosis was 8 patients($11.1{\%}$) in stage IIIa and 29 patients($18.7{\%}$) in stage IIIb, Among 72 patients with stage IIIa, 36 patients ($50{\%}$) were treated with external radiation therapy alone by conventional technique (180-200 cGy/fr.) and 36 patients($50{\%}$) were treated with external radiation therapy with intracavitary radiotherapy(ICR) with $Cs^{137}$ sources, and among 155 patients with stage IIIb, 80 patients ($51.6{\%}$) were treated with external radiation therapy alone and 75 patients ($48.4{\%}$) were treated with external radiation therapy with ICR. Total radiation doses of stage IIIa and IIIb were 65-105 Gy(median: 78.5 Gy) and 65-125.5 Gy (median 83.5 Gy). Survival rate was calculated by life-table method. Results : Complete response rates were $58.3{\%}$(42 patients) in stage IIIa and $56.1{\%}$(87 patients) in stage IIIb. Overall 5 year survival rates were $57{\%}$ in stage IIIa and $40{\%}$ in stage IIIb. Five year survival rates by radiation technique in stage IIIa and IIIb were $64{\%},\;40{\%}$ in the group treated in combination of external radiation and ICR, and $50\%,\;40\%$ in the group of external radiation therapy alone(P=NS). Five year survival rates by response of radiation therapy in stage IIIa and IIIb were $90\%,\;66\%$ in responder group and $10\%,\;7\%$ in non-responder group (P<0.001) There were statistically no significant differences of 5 year survival rate by total radiation doses and external radiation doses(40 Gy vs 50 Gy) of whole or true pelvis in stage IIIa and IIIb(P=NS). Treatment failures rates were $40.3\%$(29 patients) in stage IIla and $57.4\%$(89 patients) in stage IIIb. 17 patients ($23.6\%$) in stage IIIa and 46 patients ($29.7\%$) in stage IIIb experienced complications. Total radiation doses more than 85 Gy produced serious complication in both stage IIIa($50\%$) and IIIb($50\%$). Serious complication rates were higher in group received external radiation doses of 50 Gy than 40 Gy to whole or true pelvis in stage IIIa and IIIb. Serious rectal complication developed in rectal doses more than 65 Gy, and serious bladder complication developed in bladder doses more than 75 Gy. Major cause of death was cachexia due to locoregional failure in both stage IIIa($34.7\%$) and IIIb($43.9\%$). Conclusion : From this study, we found that external radiation therapy with ICR was found to have a tendency to be superior to external radiation therapy alone in survival rate, local control rate and complication rate but not different in statistics, and external radiation doses of 50 Gy than 40 Gy to whole or true pelvis produced serious rectal and bladder complications in stage III uterine cervical cancer.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.38-46
• /
• 2002

Chrysanthemum boreale M. (hereafter, C. boreale M.), a perennial flower, has been historically used as a natural medicine in Korea. With increasing concerns for health-improving foods, the demand for C. boreale M. has become higher than ever. Howevr, the amount of wild C. boreale M. collected from mountainous areas is not enough to cover all demands. The cultivation system and fertilization strategy are required to meet increasing demand on C. boreale M. with a good quality. We investigated the effects of nitrogen application on plant growth and effective components of C. boreale M. to suggest optimum rate of nitrogen fertilization. C. boreale M. was cultivated in a pot scale (1/2000a scale), and nitrogen applied with rate of 0(N0), 50(N50), 100(N100), 150(N150), 200(N200), and $250(N250)kg\;ha^{-1}$. Phosphate and potassium were applied at the same level ($P_2O_5-K_2O=80-80kg\;ha^{-1}$) in all treatments. Maximum yield achieved in 246 and $226kg\;ha^{-1}$ N treatment on the whole plant and the flower part, a valuable part as a herbal medicine, respectively. Proline was the most abundant amino acid in the flower of C boreal M. and the contents of amino acids increased with increasing nitrogen application rate in flower. Nitrogen recovery efficiency was high more than 41% in all nitrogen treatments and increased to 61.8% in nitrogen N100 treatment. From the nitrogen content, the high nitrogen uptake, the low residue of mineral N and the reasonably good apparent fertilizer recovery, it can be inferred that C. boreale M. made efficient use of the available nitrogen. In flower, contents of Cumambrin A. which is a sesquiterpene compound and has the effect of blood-pressure reduction, decreased with increasing nitrogen application. However, the amount of Cumambrin A in flower increased as nitrogen rate increased, because of increasing flower yield. Conclusively, nitrogen fertilization could increase yields and enhance quality. The optimum nitrogen application rate might be on the range of $225{\sim}250kg\;ha^{-1}$ in a mountainous soil.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.40-46
• /
• 2009

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to identify useful predictors for diagnosing bacterial meningitis and performing CSF studies in febrile infants three months or younger. Methods : Six hundred and fifty two febrile infants with a rectal temperature ${\geq}38.0^{\circ}C$ presented from January 2003 to April 2008 and were retrospectively studied. The total white blood cell count (WBC), band count, absolute neutrophil count (ANC), quantitative C-reactive protein (CRP) and blood cultures were performed on admission. The clinical variables associated with bacterial meningitis were analyzed. Results : In patients with bacterial meningitis, the clinical variables including CRP (P=0.036), band count (P=0.037), ANC (P=0.036) and age (P=0.001) were significantly different. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve was 0.969 for CRP, 0.946 for the band count, 0.765 for the ANC and 0.235 for age. A CRP cutoff point of 8 mg/dL was determined to maximize both the sensitivity and specificity (sensitivity 83%, specificity 95%, likelihood ratio 16.6). A CRP concentration of <7 mg/dL "ruled-out" bacterial meningitis, with a likelihood ratio of 0.17, a posttest probability of <0.1% and negative predictive value 91%. A CRP concentration greater than 9 mg/dL had a much higher likelihood ratio (20.1) than the band count (16.6) and ANC (2.2). Conclusion : The CRP concentration was a useful laboratory test for the differential diagnosis of bacterial meningitis among febrile infants three months of age or younger. A CRP concentration of <7 mg/dL effectively ruled out bacterial meningitis; a value ${\geq}9mg/dL$ increased the clinical suspicion of bacterial meningitis and the need for CSF evaluation.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.73-79
• /
• 2009

Purpose : We undertook this study to improve our understanding of the epidemiologic and clinical features of nonpolioenterovirus (NPEV) infections, especially enterovirus 71 (EV71) infections, in Korean children. Methods : Between April and June 2000, NPEVs were detected by RT-PCR and cultures of specimens obtained from patients with aseptic meningitis, acute respiratory disease, and acute gastroenteritis which were associated with enteroviral exanthem and vesicular pharyngeal enanthem, such as herpangina, and hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD). EV71 was identified by sequencing the VP1 gene. The clinical and epidemiologic data were analyzed retrospectively after all 87 NPEV-positive patients were divided into 4 groups, according to the clinical manifestations. Sixteen patients who mainly had symptoms of acute gastroenteritis were in group A, 21 patients with symptoms and signs of lower respiratory tract infections were in group B, 42 patients with a HFMD rash only were in group C with or without fever, and 8 patients with aseptic meningitis or paralysis were in group D. For the 11 EV71-positive patients, 1 was in group A, 2 were group B, 7 were in group C, and 1 was in group D. Results : There were 87 NPEV infections, including 11 EV71 infections. The mean age of the patients was 2 years and 11 months, ranging from 1 day to 15 years. There were no fatal cases among a total of 87 NPEV infections and no significant differences in clinical severity between the EV71 and other NPEV infections. Conclusion : NPEV infections in children were common during the 3 months in the spring of 2000. Unlike in southeast Asia, where fatal EV71 infection outbreaks have occurred since 1997, the clinical features of EV71 infection in Korean children are mild.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.30 no.3 s.58
• /
• pp.585-598
• /
• 1997

Background : Although there are growing concerns about the adverse health effect of air pollution, not much evidence on health effect of current air pollution level had been accumulated yet in Korea. This study was designed to evaluate the chronic health effect of ai. pollution using Korean Medical Insurance Corporation (KMIC) data and air quality data. Medical insurance data in Korea have some drawback in accuracy, but they do have some strength especially in their national coverage, in having unified ID system and individual information which enables various data linkage and chronic health effect study. Method : This study utilized the data of Korean Environmental Surveillance System Study (Surveillance Study), which consist of asthma, acute bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD), cardiovascular diseases (congestive heart failure and ischemic heart disease), all cancers, accidents and congenital anomaly, i. e., mainly potential environmental diseases. We reconstructed a nested case-control study wit5h Surveillance Study data and air pollution data in Korea. Among 1,037,210 insured who completed? questionnaire and physical examination in 1992, disease free (for chronic respiratory disease and cancer) persons, between the age of 35-64 with smoking status information were selected to reconstruct cohort of 564,991 persons. The cohort was followed-up to 1995 (1992-5) and the subjects who had the diseases in Surveillance Study were selected. Finally, the patients, with address information and available air pollution data, left to be 'final subjects' Cases were defined to all lung cancer cases (424) and COPD admission cases (89), while control groups are determined to all other patients than two case groups among 'final subjects'. That is, cases are putative chronic environmental diseases, while controls are mainly acute environmental diseases. for exposure, Air quality data in 73 monitoring sites between 1991 - 1993 were analyzed to surrogate air pollution exposure level of located areas (58 areas). Five major air pollutants data, TSP, $O_3,\;SO_2$, CO, NOx was available and the area means were applied to the residents of the local area. 3-year arithmetic mean value, the counts of days violating both long-term and shot-term standards during the period were used as indices of exposure. Multiple logistic regression model was applied. All analyses were performed adjusting for current and past smoking history, age, gender. Results : Plain arithmetic means of pollutants level did not succeed in revealing any relation to the risk of lung cancer or COPD, while the cumulative counts of non-at-tainment days did. All pollutants indices failed to show significant positive findings with COPD excess. Lung cancer risks were significantly and consistently associated with the increase of $O_3$ and CO exceedance counts (to corrected error level -0.017) and less strongly and consistently with $SO_2$ and TSP. $SO_2$ and TSP showed weaker and less consistent relationship. $O_3$ and CO were estimated to increase the risks of lung cancer by 2.04 and 1.46 respectively, the maximal probable risks, derived from comparing more polluted area (95%) with cleaner area (5%). Conclusions : Although not decisive due to potential misclassication of exposure, these results wert drawn by relatively conservative interpretation, and could be used as an evidence of chronic health effect especially for lung cancer. $O_3$ might be a candidate for promoter of lung cancer, while CO should be considered as surrogated measure of motor vehicle emissions. The control selection in this study could have been less appropriate for COPD, and further evaluation with another setting might be necessary.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.30 no.3 s.58
• /
• pp.567-576
• /
• 1997

To evaluate the effects of reflected glare on eyes, authors assessed the periodic health examination(1991-1996) & self-administered questionnaire data of a semiconductor producing company. The 13 lead frame(LF) department workers have been exposed to high reflected glare in the process for examining the silver plating products. We compared the data of connector(14) and clerical(12) workers as the non-exposed ones. Among LF department workers, 100% felt their visual acuity worsened(connector:81.8%, clerical:85.7%), and 70% had worn the glasses o. contact lenses(connector : 14.3%, clerical :40%) since working at the company. Major ophthalmic symptoms of the LF workers are asthenopia, tearing, decreased visual acuity, congestion and glare. Decrease of visual acuity by Hahn's line change of the LF workers is significantly high during a 5-year follow-up(p<0.05 by simple regression) compared with connector clerical workers.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.300-308
• /
• 2011

Osteoporosis is a disease involving a decrease in bone mineral density and increased risk of fractures. Osteoblast and osteoclast activities are important for bone formation. The MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cell line is a well-accepted model of osteogellsis in vitro. Hijikia fusiforme is a kind of edible brown seaweed that grows mainly in the Northwest Pacific region, including the countries of Korea, Japan and China, and it has been widely used as a medicinal and health food in Korea. In this study, by using osteoblasts, the effects of Hijikia fusiforme fractions on proliferation, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, collagen synthesis and mineralization of cells were investigated. Hijikia fusiforme were subjected to fractionation by using hexane, methanol, butanol and aqueous. Proliferation of the MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells that were treated with Hijikia fusiforme fractions increased by approximately 120%. Regarding effects of Hijikia fusiforme fractions on ALP activity, 1 ${\mu}g$/ml butanol fraction showed the highest activity. The synthesis of collagen increased significantly in response to treatment with Hijikia fusiforme fractions, with the exception of the hexane fraction. Moreover, mineralization in the MC3T3-E1 cells that were treated with 100 ${\mu}g$/ml butanol fraction increased by 281%. Also, when 100 ${\mu}g$/ml aqueous fraction was added, mineralization increased by 240%. These results indicate that Hijikia fusiforme fractions have anabolic effect on bone through the promotion of osteoblastic differentiation, suggesting that it could be used for the treatment of common metabolic bone diseases.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.474-481
• /
• 2008

This research was performed to determine the proximate compositions, mineral contents, alginic acid, antioxidative activities and amino acids of sea tangles collected from Gijang and Wando area. Crude protein and ash contents were higher in Gijang sea tangle, whereas carbohydrate and moisture were higher in Wando in general. Mineral contents of Gijang sea tangle were higher than Wando. Especially, Na and K was the most abundant in both Gijang and Wando sea tangles. Alginic acid content was almost similar in both sea tangles. The major free amino acids were glutamic acid, aspartic acid, alanine, proline and hydroxyproline in both Gijang and Wando sea tangles. Antioxidative activity of methanol extract of sea tangle was measured by using DPPH radical scavenging and SOD-like activity. DPPH radical scavenging and SOD-like activity were about 17% ($40\;{\mu}g/ml$) and 7% ($5\;{\mu}g/ml$) higher, respectively, in Wando sea tangle. When stimulate the macrophages RAW264.7 cells with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), inhibition of NO synthesis of the methanol extract was 11% higher in Wando sea tangle comparing with Gijang samples.