• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.78-83
• /
• 2013

Purpose: SPECT/CT, a combination of SPECT and CT, is capable of expressing the results of attenuation correction on images biased by automatic program. As a result, this research evaluates the usefulness of images with CT attenuation correction, using various phantoms and images of patients. Materials and Methods: From July of 2012 to September of 2012, this research was conducted on the contrast, spatial resolution, and images of patients. We studied the contrast with IEC body phantom and Jaszczak phantom, while the spatial resolution was evaluated with NEMA triple line phantom. Further, a comparative study was carried out on the quality of the images, on the difference between the images before and after the CT attenuation correction. Results: Compared the differences between the contrast before and after the CT attenuation correction in IEC body phantom. The contrast was improved by 33.6% at minimum, 89.8% at maximum. In case of Jaszczak Phantom, the contrast was enhanced by 9.9% at minimum, 27.8% at maximum. In NEMA Triple line phantom, the resolution was raised by 4.5% in average: 4.4% in horizontal, 4.5% in vertical. In Anthropomorphic Torso Phantom, the perfusion score of the interior wall with the most severe attenuation was measured to be 29.4%. In the experiment carried out on myocardial perfusion SPECT/CT patients, 9% improvement was discovered in the interior wall, where the most dramatic attenuation occurred, after the CT attenuation correction. Conclusion: SPECT/CT proved its clinical usefulness by enabling the acquisition of images with enhanced contrast and spatial resolution compare to the ones resulted from SPECT.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.39-44
• /
• 2011

Purpose: $^{18}F$-FDG PET/CT has been known a useful modality to diagnose high-glucose-using cells such as cancer cells by glucose metabolism of FDG. Mainly, FDG takes on cancer and inflammatory cells; However, There have been FDG uptakes on normal tissues by individual physiological characteristics, occasionally. Especially, in fertile females, unusual FDG uptake of breast changes as the menstrual cycle, and disturb diagnosis. Therefore, the study aimed to evaluate the change of breast FDG uptake in menstrual cycle on $^{18}F$-FDG PET/CT. Materials and Methods: 160 females ($34{\pm}3.5$ years old) who do not undergo a gynecologic anamnesis and have regular menstrual cycle over the previous 6 months were examined, from March 2009 to February 2010. They were divided 4 groups (each 40 patients) as flow phase, proliferative phase, ovulatory phase and secretory phase using Pregnancy Calculator 0.14. and history taking. Discovery Ste (GE Healthcare, Milwaukee, Mi, USA) was used as PET/CT. We analyzed SUVs on accumulated region on breast, and 3 nuclear medicine specialists did the Blind test. Results: SUVs on the Breast were flow phase ($1.64{\pm}0.25$), proliferative phase ($0.93{\pm}0.28$), ovulatory phase ($1.66{\pm}0.26$) and secretory phase ($1.77{\pm}0.28$). It showed high uptake value in secretory, flow phase and ovulatory phase (p<0.05). In gross analysis, the accumulation of breast was divided into 3 grades as comparing with lung and liver. The breast's uptake was equal to lung (Grade I); between lung and liver (Grade II); equal to or greater than liver (Grade III). The results showed high uptake value in secretory, flow phase and ovulatory phase (p<0.05). Conclusion: In fertile females, FDG uptake of breast changed as menstrual cycle, and it available to diagnose breast disease. Therefore, we consider reducing false-negative finding of breast disease, by doing examination on appropriate period through history taking about individual menstrual cycle.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.503-513
• /
• 1986

Previous studies have developed the technique of topical application of tetracycline(TC) into the periodontal pockets and examined the change of clinical parameters and subgingival microbial morphotypes. The purpose of this study was to longitudinally examine the clinical and microbiological effects of topically applied TC in a double-blind and split-mouth design. Thirteen patients with moderate periodontitis, who were treated with or without TC application and scaling treatment, were examined. TC gel(3%) was used to apply into the selected periodontal pockets twice a week for 2 weeks. During the experiment, clinical parameters and subgingival microbial morphotypes were examined, and for isolation of black-pigmented Bacteroides(BPB) and streptococci, an anaerobic sample culturing was done at week 0, 2, and 7. In clinical observation the TC-scaled group exhibited a significant decrease of Gingival Inflammatory Index, Plaque Index, Sulcus Bleeding Index, pocket depth, and gingival crevicular fluid when compared to the TC-unsealed, placebo-scaled, and placebo-unsealed groups. The result of microbial morphotype observation showed a significant increase of coccal form and a decrease of spirochetes in the TC-scaled, TC-unscaled, and placebo-scaled groups. The culture study of streptococci revealed that TC with scaling treatment resulted in a significant increase of S. sanguis I at week 2, but its proportion had returned to the base line level. The anaerobic culture study showed that BPB was significantly reduced in the TC-scaled and TC-unsealed groups at week 7. Among BPB species, B. intermedius declined significantly with time treatment(week 2 and 7) in the TC-scaled and TC-unsealed groups. These results suggest that the settled pathogenic microflora can be succeeded by nonpathogenic microflora in periodontal pockets after TC treatment.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.83-92
• /
• 1994

Paroxetine is a potent and selective serotoin re-uptake inhibitor. It is well known as an effective and safe antidepressant and increasingly used for neurotic or non-psychotic depression with anxiety symptoms. The present study assessed antidepressant and antianxiety efficacy and tolerability of paroxetine against placebo in child-adolescent and adult depressive neurosis patients. 232 subjects aged 8-55 years and meeting DSM-III-R criteria for depressive neurosis or dysthymia were divided into 8 subgroups according to their sex and age(8-11 yeard old, 12-17 years old, 18-35 years old and 36-55 years old subgroup in each male and female group). In each subgroup, the randomly assigned half of the patients were treated with paroxetine(10-30mg/day) and the others with placebo for the first 2 weeks in double blind fashion. After 1 week of drug-washout period, paroxetine and placebo groups were crossed over. The depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed with Hamilton Depression Scale(HDS) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale(HAS) at baseline and every 1 week during the trial periods. The levels of reduction in HDS and HAS scores from baseline after 2-week trial were compared between paroxetine- and placebo- treated periods by paired t-test. In all the 8 subgroups, statistically significant differences between paroxetine and placebo were found on the antidepressant efficacy after 2-week treatment. The antidepressant efficacy of paroxetine compared to placebo was most prominent in child and adolescent female groups. On anxiety symptoms, paroxetine was also significantly more effective than placebo. The antianxiety efficacy of paroxetine compared to placebo was most prominent in male and female child groups and young adult female group aged 18-35 years. As for the adverse effects of paroxetine, 3 out of 232 subjects reported mild indigestion and abdominal pain. however, in all the 3 cases, the symptoms improved without reduction of dosage or discontinuation of the drug. In conclusion, paroxetine showed significantly higher antidepressant and antianxiety efficacy compared to placebo in child-adolescent and adult depressive neurosis patients after 2-week treatment. Further trials of paroxetine in depressive neurosis are warranted to elucidate the long-term antidepressant and antianxiety efficacy of paroxetine.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.68-82
• /
• 2017

Strengthening surveillance, one of the most important factors in the crime prevention environment of cultural heritages, has difficulty in evaluating and diagnosing the site. For this reasons, surveillance enhancement has been assessed by modelling the shape of cultural heritage, topography, and trees digitally. The purpose of this study is to develop the evaluation method of crime prevention environment for cultural heritage by using the 3D visual exposure index (3DVE) which can quantitatively evaluate the surveillance enhancement in three dimensions. For the study, the evaluation factors were divided into natural, organizational, mechanical, and integrated surveillance. To conduct the analysis, the buildings, terrain, walls, and trees of the study site were modeled in three dimensions and the analysis program was developed by using the Unity 3D. Considering the working area of the person, it is possible to analyze the surveillance point by dividing it into the head and the waist position. In order to verify the feasibility of the 3DVE as the analysis program, we assessed the crime prevention environment by digitally modeling the Donam Seowon(Historic Site No. 383) located in Nonsan. As a result of the study, it was possible to figure out the problems of patrol circulation, the blind spot, and the weak point in natural, mechanical, and organizational surveillance of Donam Seowon. The results of the 3DVE were displayed in 3D drawings, so that the position and object could be identified clearly. Surveillance during the daytime is higher in the order of natural, mechanical, and organizational surveillance, while surveillance during the night is higher in the order of organizational, mechanical, and natural surveillance. The more the position of the work area becomes low, the more it is easy to be shielded, so it is necessary to evaluate the waist position. It is possible to find out and display the blind spot by calculating the surveillance range according to the specification, installation location and height of CCTV. Organizational surveillance, which has been found to be complementary to mechanical surveillance, needs to be analyzed at the vulnerable time when crime might happen. Furthermore, it is note that the analysis of integrated surveillance can be effective in examining security light, CCTV, patrol circulation, and other factors. This study was able to diagnose the crime prevention environment by simulating the actual situation. Based on this study, consecutive researches should be conducted to evaluate and compare alternatives to design the crime prevention environment.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.174-180
• /
• 2002

Purpose: Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is known to decrease hepatic injury by promoting the biliary secretion of retained toxic endogenous bile acids in hepatobiliary diseases complicated by total parenteral nutrition (TPN). However, most studies have focused on treatment for complications after TPN. We investigated the preventive role of early administration of UDCA in TPN-induced hepatobiliary complications by a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Methods: Between May 2000 and May 2002, thirteen patients, who were given TPN more than 10 days in the hospital, were assigned randomly to two groups. One was the case group (7 patients) who were given UDCA simultaneously with TPN regimen, and the other, the control group (6 patients) who were given placebo. Their age ranged from 1 day to 13 years. They were affected with diseases impossible for enteral nutrition, such as prematurity, cerebral palsy, chronic diarrhea, anorexia nervosa, pancreatitis, and cyclic vomiting. The duration of TPN ranged from 10 to 70 days. Hematologic parameters including liver function test were measured at regular intervals, and the duration, composition, administration rate, total calorie of TPN were recorded. The serum levels of total bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase were compared between groups after cessation of the study. Results: The autoregressive coefficient of the control group was 0.4419 (p=0.0651) in bilirubin, -0.0431 (p=0.7923) in AST, 0.2398 (p=0.2416) in ALT, and 0.2459 (p=0.1922) in alkaline phosphatase by mixed procedure model when the parameters were referred to the case group. Conclusion: The serum level of total bilirubin did not increase in comparison with that of the control group, but statistically insignificant, when both TPN and UDCA were administered simultaneously from the beginning.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Food Hygiene and Safety Conference
• /
• 2004.11a
• /
• pp.50-58
• /
• 2004

Valy-Tyrosine (VY) derived from alkaline pretense hydrolyzate of sardine muscles showed the in vitro Angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity and the in vivo antihypertensive effect in SHR. We investigated the antihypertensive effect of the VY on mild hypertensive subjects including subjects with high-normal blood pressure using a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study. (1) Nineteen subjects (Age 48.9${\pm}$4.3, M/F;18/1) took a 100ml drink either containing 125${\mu}$g of VY or placebo twice daily for 4 weeks. The reductions of the systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were observed in mild hypertensive subjects (n=5) with averages of 17.8${\pm}$2.5 mmHg (p<0.01 vs placebo) and 11.0${\pm}$2.0 mmHg(p<0.05 vs placebo), respectively. Neither SBP nor DBP changed in the subjects of both the placebo group and the high-normal blood pressure group. (2) A randomized double-blind cross-over placebo-controlled study was carried out in 10 mild essential hypertensive subjects (Age 50.6${\pm}$4.6, M/F;10/0). They took a 100ml drink either containing 62.5${\mu}$g of VY or placebo twice daily for 4 weeks alternatively with a 6-week interval. The percent changes in SBP and DBP were -6.9 % and -5.8 % (p<0.05) one week after the VY drink administration, respectively. No adverse effects such as coughing or allergic phenomena could be observed in any of the subjects of drinking VY during the experimental period. These results suggest that the drink containing at least 125${\mu}$g/day of VY may have a significant antihypertensive effect on mild hypertensive subjects without any adverse effects.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Food Hygiene and Safety Conference
• /
• 2004.11a
• /
• pp.59-70
• /
• 2004

A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study was conducted on 63 subjects to determine the antihypertensive effect of a vegetable drink in which sardine protein hydrolysates containing a dipeptide, Valyl-Tyrosine (VY), were incorporated. The subjects, consisting of people with mild hypertension, high-normal blood pressure and normal blood pressure, were randomly divided into test (male/female=25.6, average age 50.1${\pm}$10.4 years old) and control groups (26/6, 49.0${\pm}$5.0). Each subjects in the test group was given 195g of the vegetable drink containing 0.5g of sardine peptides (sardine protein hydrolysates) with 0.4 mg of VY (test drink) once a day for 13 weeks in a row, and subjects in the control group were given the same amount of the vegetable drink without sardine peptides (control drink) in the same manner. In the test group, 40 subjects with mild hypertension of high-normal blood pressure (130 mmHg${\leq}$systolic blood pressure (SBP)<160 mmHg and/or 80 mmHg${\leq}$diastolic blood the start of the test to 134.4${\pm}$11.1 mmHg during the first week of the test period, after which similar values were seen throughout the test period (13 weeks). Compared to the control group, the difference in SBP from vaseline was statistically significant in the test group throughout the intake period. DBP also decreased significantly from 88.0${\pm}$7.9 mmHg at baseline to 83.5${\pm}$8.6 mmHg after 13 weeks. In the control group, SBP and DBP were 140.8${\pm}$8.4 mmHg and 90.5${\pm}$6.6 mmHg respectively at the start of the test, and neither decreased during the test period. In subjects with normal blood pressure, neither those in the test group nor those in the control group showed a significant change in SBP and DBP during the test period. An excessive ingestion test was performed on 25 subjects with hypertension, mild hypertension, high-normal blood pressure, and normal blood pressure by giving 585g (3 times the recommended amount of intake) of the test drink for 14 days in a row. As a result, a significant decrease of blood pressure was observed in the hypertension, mild hypertension and high-normal blood pressure groups, but no excessive decline in blood pressure or any side-effects were associated with any subjects during the test period. In the groups with normal blood pressure, the excessive ingestion of the test drink did not affect blood pressure. In these two studies, physical check-ups and biochemical analyses of blood and urine were also conducted in all subjects, and no abnormalities were observed. These results suggest that the test drink containing sardine protein hydrolysates exhibited the antihypertensive effect in only the subjects with mild hypertension or high-normal blood pressure. No adverse effects were observed in either hypertensive of normotensive subjects.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
• /
• v.41 no.4
• /
• pp.333-340
• /
• 2015

This study is designed to analyze the effect of skincare using cosmetic containing ginseng extract, on improving quality of life (QOL) of healthy women, with blind testing. QOL is a concept that represents how one's disease or health condition can physically, psychologically, and socially influence his or her daily life. The study was conducted to assess the effect of a ginseng cosmetic preparation on quality of life (QOL) using the Skindex-16 score, stratified by blind versus non-blinded option. 45 healthy women aged between 30 and 49 years with no skin disease were recruited for this study. Volunteers were divided into two groups. Group A (n = 22) received anti-aging cream with ginseng extract in the original packaging, which included the brand name and logo. Group B (n = 23) received the same cream in a plain white jar without any package decoration or logo. Both groups used the cream for 8 weeks. For the skin-related QOL assessment, Skindex-16 was used at baseline, forth, and eighth week. All volunteers except two dropouts in Group A completed the dermatology-specific QOL measure, Skindex-16, at baseline, after 4 weeks, and after 8 weeks of treatment with the provided samples. As a result, the mean score of 43 participants at baseline was $22.70{\pm}4.82$. There was a significant difference between the baseline score and the score after 8 weeks in both groups: The scores changed from $23.30{\pm}5.14$ to $20.20{\pm}4.83$ in Group A, from $22.17{\pm}4.58$ to $20.52{\pm}3.60$ in Group B. The "Symptom" subscale of Skindex-16 improved after 4 weeks and the "Emotion" subscale improved after 8 weeks in Group A. The "Function" subscale did not show improvement in either groups. Both groups showed no interaction effect between follow up time and groups in Skindex-16 and subscale. This research opens up the possibility of skincare using ginseng cream having a positive effect on QOL in healthy women. Moreover, one can predict that skincare ritual itself may have greater impact on the improvement of QOL, compared to the product packaging.

• 한국사회정책
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.367-402
• /
• 2018

This study analyzed the relationship between the act on the guarantee of rights of and support for persons with developmental disabilities(Act for PWDD) and the similar ordinance of the local governments based on this law and focused on the correspondence(the rate of reflection) and the autonomy(differentiation). As of October 2017, 63 local government regulations and Act for PWDD were analyzed in this study. The results of the analysis are as follows: First, the rate of reflection in the ordinance of Act for PWDD was different according to the clause. In the aspect of emphasizing welfare support, the agreement between local ordinance and rate was high. While the Act for PWDD emphasized the rights of persons with developmental disabilities, there was little information about their right in the ordinance of local governments. This is evidence that current ordinance is based on the protective point of view for people with developmental disabilities. In the future, policy measures will be needed to ensure that respect for decision-making by persons with developmental disabilities and rights guarantees are included in the bylaws. Second, there is a provision that the rate of ordinance reflection is 0%, which may be guaranteed by other laws in the area, so it does not mean the absence of related system in the region, but there is possibility of institutional blind spot. In the future, consideration should be given to the complementarity of other legal systems in the area with developmental disabilities, so that persons with developmental disabilities should not be placed in institutional blind spots. Third, the autonomy(differentiation) of local ordinance was examined from the contents aspect and the administrative aspect to help practical implementation. The differentiation between the ordinances vary. Emphasizing the responsibilities of the head of the organization, emphasizing the fact-finding survey, setting up the welfare committee, or adding local needs were included to the ordinance. Local governments considering the enactment of ordinances in the future should refer to these cases and establish enactable local ordinances that take advantage of the characteristics of local autonomy.