• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.522-529
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• 2000

Backgrounds : Assessment of the presence and degree of reversibility of airflow obstruction is clinically important in patients with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The measurement of peak expiratory flow(PEF) is a simple, fast, and cheap method to assess the severity of obstruction and its degree of reversibility. Assessing the reversibility of airflow obstruction by peak expiratory flow(PEF) measurements is practicable in general practice, but its usefulness has not been well investigated. We compared PEF and $FEV_1$ in assessing reversibility of airflow obstruction in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma and developed a practical criterion for assessing the presence of reversibility in general practice. Methods : PEF measurements were performed (Spirometry) in 80 patients(aged 24-78) with a history of asthma or chronic obstructive lung disease before and after the inhalation of 200 g salbutamol. The change in PEF was compared with the change in forced expiratory volume in one second($FEV_1$). Reversible airflow obstruction was analyzed according to American Thoracic Society(ATS) criteria. Results : A 12% increase above the prebronchodilator value and a 200ml increase in either FVC or $FEV_1$ reversibility were observed in 45%(36) of the patients. Relative operating characteristic(ROC) analysis showed that an absolute improvement in PEF of 30 l/min gave optimal discrimination between patients with reversible and irreversible airflow obstruction(the sensitivity and specificity of an increase of 30 l/min in detecting a 12% increase above the prebronchodilator value and a 200ml increase in either FVC or $FEV_1$ were 72.2% and 72.7% respectively, with a positive predictive value of 68.4%). Conclusions : Absolute changes in PEF can be used to diagnose reversible airflow obstruction.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.222-228
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• 2001

Backgrounds : Recent technological developments have introduced a new method to identifying M. tuberculosis complex DNA in clinical samples directly. The direct amplification test (DAT) is approved for identifying M. tuberculosis complex in respiratory specimens that are smear-positive for acid-fast bacilli (AFB). When there is a discrepancy between the AFB smear and DAT, no information on their clinical utility is currently available. In this study, the diagnostic reliability of DAT was investigated in suspected pulmonary tuberculosis patients whose sputum AFB smear was negative. Methods : From June 1, 1998 through May 30, 1999, 909 patients with presumed active pulmonary tuberculosis were enrolled. A sputum AFB stain, culture, DAT and/or biopsy were performed. Using the criteria of clinical tuberculosis or confirmed tuberculosis, the positive predictive value of DAT in diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis was investigated. Results : The positive predictive value of DAT was 82.1% by the clinically active tuberculosis criteria. However, it decreased to 61.5% when diagnosis was restricted to only to culture positive or biopsy proven cases. The false positive rate of DAT was 18.0%. Conclusion : The DAT is a valuable diagnostic method in suspected patients whose sputum AFB is was negative.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.59 no.5
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• pp.497-503
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• 2005

Backgrounds : The exacerbations of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have been suggested to be associated with respiratory tract viral infections (RTVIs). However, the rates of virus detection in previous studies have been quite variable, with lower rates for the exacerbation of COPD. Therefore, the virus detection of patients with exacerbation of asthma and COPD were investigated. Methods : 20 and 24 patients with exacerbation of asthma and COPD, respectively, were enrolled. Nasal and sputum samples were taken, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for rhinovirus and coronavirus and virus culture for influenza A, B, RSV and parainfluenza virus performed. Results : The mean $FEV_1/FVC$ in the exacerbation of asthma and COPD patients were 1.9/2.9 L (65.5%) and 1.1/2.6 L (42.3%), respectively. Respiratory virus was detected in 13 (65%) patients with exacerbation of asthma and rhinovirus was detected in 9. Coronavirus, influenza A, RSV and parainfluenza virus were detected in 2, 2, 1 and 1 patients with asthma. Among patients with exacerbation of COPD, a virus was detected in 14 (58.3%) patients, with rhinovirus, coronavirus and influenza A detected in 10, 3 and 4, respectively. Conclusions : This study suggested that RTVIs may have a role in the exacerbation of COPD as well as asthma.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.142-153
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• 2019

The Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) left behind a wealth of documentary heritage, including collections of literary works, personal letters, and journals, as well as public documents such as Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty (Joseon Wangjo Sillok), Diaries of the Royal Secretariat (Seungjeongwon Ilgi), and State Protocols (Uigwe). Such heritage also includes personal diaries that have been highly regarded for their frank and vivid records of people's lives in the Joseon period. There have been great diaries published and intended for reading by the Korean public, including War Diaries (Nanjung Ilgi, 1592~1598) by Yi Sun-sin and Diaries of Jehol (Yeolha Ilgi, 1780) by Park Ji-won. Unfortunately, a great majority of these personal records remain unknown to the world. Such great records have not been given an opportunity to be documented properly, but are left outside public attention, abandoned to be damaged and destroyed. Few personal diaries of the Joseon period were written on good-quality paper. After the death of their authors, these diaries were left to be kept by their descendants; this explains why many of these records have been in poor condition, particularly when compared with the public records published by the government of Joseon, such as Sillok and Uigwe, even when these were lucky enough to be taken care of by the authors' descendants. Even after surviving a long time, many of these personal records remain in the form of manuscripts, written in semi-cursive and cursive scripts of Chinese characters, thus making it even more difficult for the people of the current generation -- most of whom have not been given an opportunity to learn Chinese characters at school -- to take care of their documentary heritage properly. Meanwhile, it is also true that, as the value of the public records published by the government of Joseon as historical materials has grown, they are used more often as content for TV dramas such as Daejanggeum. At the same time, there have been increasingly louder voices citing the need for the study, preservation, and management of the personal diaries from Joseon. Considering the situation, this study provides a general overview of the personal diaries of Joseon as recently surveyed by the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, as well as their characteristic features, subjects, and backgrounds. This study is expected to contribute to future research on the preservation and management of the personal diaries of Joseon.

• Cartoon and Animation Studies
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• s.46
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• pp.63-84
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• 2017

Overwhelming images of vividly colored aircraft flying across the blue sky and steam gushing from massive machines are reminiscent of Japanese animation films, especially of works by master director Hayao Miyazaki. By presenting together steam engines, which are mechanical devices of the Industrial Age in the past, and aircraft of the future age, the director constructs ambiguous space and time. These special time and space constitute nostalgia for past time, with devices called steam engines as a medium, and a longing for science and the future as represented by aircraft. In addition, the anticipation and disappointment, ideals and regrets of humans who see these two from the perspective of the present are projected on the works. This shares the characteristic of the steam punk genre, which seeks to return to the past rather than to face current problems. A subgenre of science fiction (henceforth "sci-fi"), steam punk reflects fundamental skepticism of science and technology and mechanized civilization, which have developed beyond human control. In addition, as works that clearly display such characteristics, director Miyazaki's and < $Nausica{\ddot{a}}$ of the Valley of Wind> can be examined. With spectacles of steam engines and aircraft, these two works enticingly visualize narratives about nature and humans and about the environment and destruction. Such attractiveness on the part of the master director's works has led to support from fans worldwide. However, often in the backgrounds of director Miyazaki's works, which have depicted ideal worlds of nature, environment, and community as highly concentrated fantasies, lie presuppositions of war and the end of the world. As works that are especially prominent in such characteristics, there are and . These two works betray the expectations of the audience by establishing the actual wartime as the temporal background and proceeding toward narratives of reality. Trapped in the ontological identity of the director himself, the war depicted by him projects a subjective and romantic attitude. Such a problem stems also from the ambiguity of the hybrid space and time, which is basic to the steam punk genre. This is because the basic characteristic of steam punk is to transplant past time, which humans were able to control, in the future from a perspective of optimism and longing via steam engines rather than to face current problems. In this respect, steam punk animation films in themselves can be seen as having significance and limitations at the same time.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.104 no.2
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• pp.187-192
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• 2015

Individuals in the population under a particular environmental condition influencing recurrently for a long time could locally adapted and local adaptation is of a fundamental importance in a breeding program, conservation activities of genetic resources or evolutionary biology. Plants at northern range limits have higher probability of expressing an adaptative genetic trait. The natural community at the northern range limit of Ilex cornuta (Chinese holly) in Buan, Jeollanam-do in Korea was composed of adults of 744 and seedlings of 211 (hereafter Community) and is designated as the Korean Natural Monument (No. 122) by the law. At two adjacent areas to Community, 85 (hereafter Plantation I) and 27 hollies (hereafter Plantation II) were planted respectively for preparations of the next generation. Eighty-five trees were sampled for genetic analysis in the three groups. Fifty-two (36%) of the total 143 amplicons were polymorphic from four AFLP primer combinations. A total of thirteen genotypes was identified and just one genotype was for 52 trees of Community. Seven and five genotypes were shown for Plantation I and II, respectively. There was no identical genotype between Community and Plantation (I or II) or between two plantation groups. Number of private loci was 2 for Community, 6 for Plantation I and 4 for Plantation II. We presumed their genetic backgrounds were quite different with one another and the plantation groups were made independently because they were different not only the genetic compositions but also their ages. Considering the genetic monomorphism by AFLP markers, observations of only male trees and asexual propagation as layerage or cuttage, the hollies in Community might be a genet by root suckering from a single male tree, not the results of selective removal of female trees for ornamental use in the past.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.837-852
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• 2000

Backgrounds : Today, tuberculosis cannot only be cured medically, but also controlled by public health. Despite the overall worldwide decline in tuberculosis, the disease continues to be a significant problem among developing countries and in the slums of large cities in some industrialized countries. Particularly, this communicable disease has come into the public health spotlight because of its resurgence in the 1990's. our country has been operating the Korean National Tuberculosis Control Program since 1962, focusing around public health centers. Therefore, this study aims to compare the effectiveness of tuberculosis control activities, one of the major public health activities in Korea, by producing indexes, such as the yearly registration rate per 100,000 population and treatment compliance of tuberculosis on in small areas (communities). Methods : This work was accomplished by constructing a time-series analytic model using data from "1980~2000: the Yearly Statistical Report" with patient registry data of 234 City. County. District public health centers and by identifying the factors influencing the tuberculosis indexes. Results : The trends of pulmonary tuberculosis positive point prevalence and pulmonary tuberculosis negative point prevalence on X-ray screening have declined steadily, beginning in 1981 and continuing to 1998 by region (city, county, district). Although the tuberculosis mortality rate steadily shows a declining trend by year and region, but Korea still ranks first among 29 OECD countries in 1998, with a tuberculosis mortality rate of 7.1 per 100,000 persons, according to the time-series analysis for fatal diseases. Conclusion : The results of the study will form the fundamental basis of future regional health care planning and the Korean Tuberculosis Surveillance System on 2000. Since the implementation of local autonomy through the Local Health Act of 1995, it has now become vita1 for each city, county, district public health centers to determine its own priorities for relevant health care management, including budget allocation and program goals.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.540-548
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• 2001

Backgrounds : Because ventilator-induced lung injury is partly dependent on the intensity of vascular flow, we hypothesized that hypothermia may attenuate the degree of such an injury through a reduced cardiac output. Methods : Twenty-seven male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to normothermia ($37{\pm}1^{\circ}C$)-injurious ventilation (NT-V) group (n=10), hypothermia ($27{\pm}1^{\circ}C$)-injurious ventilation (HT-V) group (n=10), or nonventilated control group (n=7). The two thermal groups were subjected to injurious mechanical ventilation for 20 min with peak airway pressure 30 cm $H_2O$ at zero positive end-expiratory pressure, which was translated to tidal volume $54{\pm}6\;ml$ in the NT-V group and $53{\pm}4\;ml$ in the HT-V group (p>0.05). Results : Pressure-volume (P-V) curve after the injurious ventilation was almost identical to the baseline P-V curve in the HT-V group, whereas it was shifted rightward in the NT-V group. On gross inspection, the lungs of the HT-V group appeared smaller in size, and showed less hemorrhage especially at the dependent regions, than the lungs of the NT-V group. [Wet lung weight (g)/body weight (kg)] ($1.6{\pm}0.1$ vs $2.4{\pm}1.2$ ; p=0.014) and [wet lung weight/dry lung weight] ($5.0{\pm}0.1$ vs $6.1{\pm}0.8$ ; p=0.046) of the HT-V group were both lower than those of the NT-V group, while not different from those of the control group($1.4{\pm}0.4$, $4.8{\pm}0.4$, respectively). Protein concentration of the BAL fluid of the HT-V group was lower than that of the NT-V group($1,374{\pm}726\;ug/ml$ vs $3,471{\pm}1,985\;ug/ml$;p=0.003). Lactic dehydrogenase level of the BAL fluid of the HT-V group was lower than that of the NT-V group ($0.18{\pm}0.10\;unit/ml$ vs $0.43{\pm}0.22\;unit/ml$;p=0.046). Conclusions : Hypothermia attenuated pulmonary hemorrhage, permeability pulmonary edema, and alveolar cellular injuries associated with injurious mechanical ventilation, and preserved normal P-V characteristics of the lung in rats.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.956-963
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• 2000

Backgrounds : Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome(OSA) can divided into two groups, positional(PP) and non-positional(NPP) obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, according to the body position while sleeping. In this study, we evaluated the differences of anthropometric data and polysomnographic recordings between the two types of sleep apnea syndrome. Materials : Fifty patients with OSA were divided two groups by Cartwright's criteria. The supine respiratory disturbance index (RDI) was at least two times higher than the lateral RDI in the PP group, and the supine RDI was less than twice the lateral RDI in the NPP group. This patients underwent standardized polysomnographic recordings. The anthropometric data and polysomnographic data were analyzed, statistically. Results : Of all 50 patients, 30% were found to be positional OSA. BMI was significantly higher in the PP group(p<0.05). Total sleep time was significantly longer in the PP group (350.6$\pm$28.2min, 333.3$\pm$46.0min, (p<0.05). Sleep efficiency was high in the PP group(89.6$\pm$6.4%, 85.6$\pm$9.9%, p<0.05). Deep sleep was significantly higher and light sleep was lower in the PP group than in the NPP group but no difference was observed in REM sleep between the two groups. Apnea index(AI) and RDI were significantly lower( 17.0$\pm$10.6, 28.5$\pm$13.3, p<0.05) and mean arterial oxygen saturation was higher in the PP group(92.7$\pm$1.8%. p<0.05) than in the NPP group. Conclusion : Body position during sleep has a profound effect on the frequency and severity of breathing abnormalities in OSA patients. A polysomnographic evaluation for suspected OSA patients must include monitoring of the body position. Breathing function in OSA patients can be improved by controlling their obesity and through postural therapy.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.63 no.2
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• pp.128-138
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• 2007

Backgrounds: Mutations of katG and inhA (ORF and promoter) are known to be related to isoniazid (INH) resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Because reports on these mutations in Korean isolates are limited (i.e. only the frequency of katG codon 463 was evaluated.), we tried to know the kinds of mutations of two genes and their frequencies in INH resistant Korean M. tuberculosis strains. Methods: PCR was performed to amplify katG (2,223 bp), inhA ORF (-77~897, 975 bp), and inhA promoter (-168~80, 248 bp) from 29 multidrug resistant M. tuberculosis (MDR-TB) DNAs prepared by bead beater-phenol method. Their sequences were determined and analyzed by ABI PRISM 3730 XL Analyzer and MegAlign package program, respectively. Results: All of the isolates had more than one mutation in katG or inhA gene. Twenty seven (93%) of 29 tested strains had katG mutations, which suggests that katG is a critical gene determining INH resistance of M. tuberculosis. Amino acid substitutions, such as Arg463Leu and Ser315Thr, due to point mutations of the katG were the most frequent (62.1% and 55.2%) mutations. In addition, deletion of the katG gene was frequently observed (17.2%). Analyzed Korean MDR-TB isolates also had variable inhA mutations. Point mutation of inhA promoter region, such as -15 ($C{\rightarrow}T$) was frequently found. Substitution of amino acid (Lsy8Asn) due to point mutation ($AAA{\rightarrow}AAC$) of inhA ORF was found in 1 isolate. Interestingly, 14 point mutated types that were not previously reported were newly found. While four types resulted in amino acid change, the others were silent mutations. Conclusions: Although it is not clear that the relationship of these newly found mutations with INH resistance, they show marked diversity in Korean MDR-TB strains. It also suggests their feasibility as a molecular target to supplement determining the INH resistance of clinical isolates because of the possible existence of low-level INH resistant strains.