• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.235-244
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• 2004

In this study, we compared the levels of methylotrophic bacterial community diversity in the leaf samples of 19 rice cultivars collected from three regions of Korea. Nineteen pink pigmented isolates showing characteristic growth on methanol were obtained. Physiological and biochemical characters of each isolate were examined according to methods described in Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology. When phylotypes were defined by performing numerical analysis of 37 characteristics, four distinct clusters were formed. The two reference strains, Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 and Methylobacterium fujisawaense KACC10744 were found to group under cluster IV and cluster III respectively. Cluster I diverged on the basis of nitrate reduction and four isolates showed tolerance upto 0.5 M NaCl concentrations. Two strains in cluster I and III were found to possess methane utilizing properties. Most of the isolates in all the four clusters utilized monosaccharides, disaccharide and polyols as carbon source. When the isolates were subjected for indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) analysis in the presence of L-tryptophan, only 8 isolates exhibited IAA production. In addition, the nitrogen source in the medium was found to influence the IAA production. Addition of $(NH_4)_2SO_4$ in the medium led to a 2 to 30 fold increase in the indole synthesis. However, $KNO_3$, $NH_4NO_3$ and $NH_4Cl$ substitution did not significantly stimulate the synthesis of IAA in the growth medium. Result of gnotobiotic root elongation assay significantly increased roots and shoots lengths, and number of lateral roots, which is mediated by IAA production in the culture medium. The rice seedlings primary roots from seeds treated with methylotrophic isolates were on average 27 to 56% longer than the roots from seeds treated with the uninoculated seeds. In addition, application of different high concentrations of authentic IAA ($400g\;mL^{-1}$) to roots of rice seedlings inhibited root growth. However, the IAA concentration from 10 to $200g\;mL^{-1}$, IAA promoted root growth of rice seedlings. These results suggest that bacterial IAA plays a major role in the development of the host plant root system.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.66 no.4
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• pp.280-287
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• 2009

Background: The epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs), became an attractive therapeutic option for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Several studies suggested that there might be some different efficacy or response predictors between gefitinib and erlotinib. We compared the efficacy and toxicity of gefitinib and erlotinib in Korean patients with advanced NSCLC and evaluated specific predictors of response for both gefitinib and erlotinib. Methods: We collected the clinical information on patients with advanced NSCLC, who were treated with gefitinib or erlotinib at the Ewha Womans University Hospital, between July 2003 and February 2009. Median survival times were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: Eighty-six patients (52 gefitinib vs. 34 erlotinib) were enrolled. Patient median age was 64 years; 53 (62%) subjects were male. Out of the 86 patients treated, 83 received response evaluation. Of the 83 patients, 35 achieved a response and 12 experienced stable disease while 36 experienced progressive disease, resulting in a response rate of 42% and a disease control rate of 57%. After a median follow-up of 502 days, the median progression-free and overall survival time was 129 and 259 days, respectively. Comparing patients by treatment (gefitinib vs erlotinib), there were no significant differences in the overall response rate (44% vs. 39%, p=0.678), median survival time (301 days vs. 202 days, p=0.151), or time to progression (136 days vs. 92 days, p=0.672). Both EGFR-TKIs showed similar toxicity. In a multivariate analysis using Cox regression model, adenocarcinoma was an independent predictor of survival (p=0.006; hazard ratio [HR], 0.487; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.292-0.811). Analyses of subgroups did not show any difference in response predictors between gefitinib and erlotinib. Conclusion: Comparing gefitinib to erlotinib, there were no differences in the response rate, overall survival, progression-free survival, or toxicity. No specific predictor of response to each EGFR-TKI was identified.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.84-95
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• 2012

Background: In Korea, private health insurance has neglected to induce externality on national health insurance by moral hazard. Therefore, we conducted this study in order to explore the influence of private health insurance on unnecessary medical utilization among patients with cervical or lumbar sprain. Method: The study examined a population of 449 patients (admission, 384; out-patient; 85) diagnosed with simple cervical or lumbar sprain without neurological symptoms at 20 small hospitals or clinics in Gwangju and Jeollanam provinces from Jul. 1 to Aug. 31 2008. The data were collected using structured, self-administrated questionnaire which collected information such as whether or not the patient was admitted (as a dependent variable), whether or not they had private health insurance (as a independent variable), and covariates such as socio-demographic characteristics, the factors related to the sprain, and characteristics of the insurance provider. Results: From hierarchical multiple logistic regression analysis, it was found that the admission rate of patient with private health insurance was higher than that those without it (Odds ratio=3.31, 95% Confidence interval; 1.14-9.58), meaning that private health insurance was an independent factor influencing the admission of patients with these conditions. Other determinants of admission were patient age and physician referral. Conclusions: This study is the first empirical study to explore the influence of private health insurance on inducing moral hazard in admission services, specifically among patients with cervical or lumbar sprain. Regulation of benefits provided by private health insurance may be necessary, as the effect of this moral hazard may mean existence of externality.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.232-237
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• 2006

The aim of this study was to develop the calculation algorithm of source strength of Ir-192 source In terms of the absorbed dose to water instead of an apparent activity (Ci). For this work the Multi Purpose Brachytherapy Phantom(MPBP) was developed, which was designed to locate the source and the chamber precisely at a specific position Inside the water phantom. The reference point of measurement was set at the 5 cm distance along the transverse axis of the source. For a brachytherapy source calibration, the absorbed dose to water calibration factor ($N_{D.W.Q}$) of an lonization chamber were determined and then apply standard protocols of absorbed dose to water. The calibration factor ($N_{D.W.Q}$) of the ion chamber (TM30013, PTW, Germany) was determined using the EGSnrcCPP Monte Carlo Code. The calculated calibration factor ($N_{D.W.Q}$) was 5.28 cGy/nC. The calculated factor was then used to determine the absorbed dose to water from which the air kerma strength for an Ir-192 source can be easily derived at the reference point (5 cm). The calculated air kerma strength showed discrepancies of -0.6% to +1.8% relative to the air kerma strength provided by the vendor, In this work we demonstrated that the air kerma strength ($S_k$) could be determined from the absorbed dose to water calibration factor for Ir-192 source. In audition, this source calibration method could be applied directly to the dose Calculation formalism of AAPM report TG-43.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.371-380
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• 2000

Purpose: Thallim-201 ($^{201}Tl$) brain SPECT, which can represent cellular activity of brain lesions, may provide more useful information in differentiating between benign and malignant brain lesions more so than CT of MRI, that merely represents anatomic changes or breakdown of blood brain barrier. We used $^{201}Tl$ brain SPECT prospectively to evaluate the utility of $^{201}Tl$-indices as an indicator of benign or malig nant lesions. Materials and Methods: We studied 28 patients. There were 13 cases of benign lesions (3: nonspecific benign lesion, 3: meningioma, 2: low grade glioma, 1: tuberculoma, central neurocytoma, hemangioblastoma, radiation necrosis, and choroid plexus papilloma) and 15 cases of malignant lesions (6: glioblastoma multiforme, 5: anaplastic glioma, 2: medulloblastoma, 1: metastasis and lymphoma). In all patients, CT and/or MRI were obtained and then $^{201}Tl$ brain SPECT was obtained with measuring mean $^{201}Tl$ index and peak $^{201}Tl$ index. An unpaired t-test was performed to compare the $^{201}Tl$-indices and pathologic diagnoses to evaluate the utility of $^{201}Tl$-indices as all indicator of benign or malignant lesions. Results: There were no statistically significant difference in $^{201}Tl$-indices between benign and malignant brain lesion (p>0.05). Conclusion: These results demonstrated that we could not use $^{201}Tl$ indices on brain SPECT alone as an indicator of benign or malignant brain lesions.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.527-536
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• 2014

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess how nutrient intakes are related to risk factors for metabolic syndrome according to dietary patterns in the middle-aged adults. Methods: The subjects (n = 187; 47 men, 140 women) consisted of middle-aged adults over 30 years old in Ilsan area. The metabolic syndrome was diagnosed according to the data collected from each subject, including anthropometric measurements and blood analyses. The dietary patterns were derived from the average of two-day dietary intake data. Results: Factor analysis identified three major dietary patterns which were "Meats and alcohol", "Mixed grains, vegetables and fruits", and "Rice, Kimchi and fish & shellfish". The daily intakes of energy, protein, and sodium increased across quartiles of "Meats and alcohol" pattern scores (p < 0.05), whereas the intakes of carbohydrates, potassium, calcium, and fiber increased across quartiles of "Mixed grains, vegetables and fruits" pattern scores (p < 0.001). The "Meats and alcohol" pattern scores were positively correlated with protein and sodium intakes but inversely correlated with carbohydrates, fiber and potassium intakes which were adjusted for age, sex and energy (p < 0.05). The highest quartile pattern score of "Meats and alcohol" pattern had elevated odds ratio of abdominal obesity and metabolic syndrome (p < 0.05). The risk of hypertriglyceridemia decreased in the highest quartile of "Mixed grains, vegetables and fruits" pattern (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.12-1.00). Conclusions: Our results suggested that reducing the consumption of meat and alcohol along with increasing fruits, vegetables and mixed grains would be helpful for preventing the metabolic syndrome and chronic diseases.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.32 no.11
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• pp.1001-1010
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to investigate the concentration levels of particle materials ($PM_{10}$, asbestos), gas materials ($CO_2$, CO, $NO_2$, HCHO, Rn, VOCs) and total suspended colony (TSC), and the correlations among these materials in indoor air quality of 54 multiple-use facilities and 15 public-use facilities of Gwangju. The highest mean concentration of $PM_{10}$ was $69.2\;{\mu}g/m^3$ at indoor parking place, followed by childcare facilities, large commercial building and subway station building. The highest mean concentration of CO was 2.7 ppm at indoor parking place and that of $CO_2$ was 604.1 ppm at medical service facilities. The highest mean concentration of $NO_2$ was 0.036 ppm at indoor parking place. The geomean concentration of HCHO was $3.6\;{\mu}g/m^3$ in all facilities and the highest was $631.8\;{\mu}g/m^3$ at art gallery. The geomean concentration of VOCs (5 species) was $24.14\;{\mu}g/m^3$ in all facilities and toluene was the highest material of $15.30\;{\mu}g/m^3$, followed by xylene, ethylbenzene, benzene and styrene. The highest mean concentration of TSC was $625.3\;CFU/m^3$ at jjimjilbang, followed by childcare facilities, medical service facilities and large commercial building. The highest of asbestos was 0.0072 each/cc at childcare facilities and that of radon was 1.41 pCi/L at art gallery. PM10 showed positive correlations to TSC with $R^2\0.5332$ by lognormal equation at childcare facilities. CO2 showed positive correlations to CO at childcare facilities and indoor parking place. Lognormal equation fitted to the VOCs data more than normal equation in all facilities.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.51 no.11
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• pp.1158-1164
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• 2008

Purpose : To investigate the discriminative ability of pediatric index of mortality 2 (PIM2) and pediatric risk of mortality III (PRISM III) in predicting mortality in children admitted into the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods : We retrospectively analyzed variables of PIM2 and PRISM III based on medical records with children cared for in a single hospital ICU from January 2003 to December 2007. Exclusions were children who died within 2 h of admission into ICU or hopeless discharge. We used Students t test and ANOVA for general characteristics and for correlation between survivors and non-survivors for variables of PIM2 and PRISM III. In addition, we performed multiple logistic regression analysis for Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit, receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) for discrimination, and calculated standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for estimation of prediction. Results : We collected 193 medical records but analyzed 190 events because three children died within 2 h of ICU admission. The variables of PIM2 correlated with survival, except for the presence of post-procedure and low risk. In PRISM III, there was a significant correlation for cardiovascular/neurologic signs, arterial blood gas analysis but not for biochemical and hematologic data. Discriminatory performance by ROC showed an area under the curve 0.858 (95% confidence interval; 0.779-0.938) for PIM2, 0.798 (95% CI; 0.686-0.891) for PRISM III, respectively. Further, SMR was calculated approximately as 1 for the 2 systems, and multiple logistic regression analysis showed ${\chi}^2(13)=14.986$, P=0.308 for PIM2, ${\chi}^2(13)=12.899$, P=0.456 for PRISM III in Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit. However, PIM2 was significant for PRISM III in the likelihood ratio test (${\chi}^2(4)=55.3$, P<0.01). Conclusion : We identified two acceptable scoring systems (PRISM III, PIM2) for the prediction of mortality in children admitted into the ICU. PIM2 was more accurate and had a better fit than PRISM III on the model tested.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.261-271
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• 2016

Citrus is an economically important fruit crop widely growing worldwide. However, citrus production largely depends on natural hybrid selection and bud sport mutation. Unique botanical features including long juvenility, polyembryony, and QTL that controls major agronomic traits can hinder the development of superior variety by conventional breeding. Diverse factors including drastic changes of citrus production environment due to global warming and changes in market trends require systematic molecular breeding program for early selection of elite candidates with target traits, sustainable production of high quality fruits, cultivar diversification, and cost-effective breeding. Since the construction of the first genetic linkage map using isozymes, citrus scientists have constructed linkage maps using various DNA-based markers and developed molecular markers related to biotic and abiotic stresses, polyembryony, fruit coloration, seedlessness, male sterility, acidless, morphology, fruit quality, seed number, yield, early fruit setting traits, and QTL mapping on genetic maps. Genes closely related to CTV resistance and flesh color have been cloned. SSR markers for identifying zygotic and nucellar individuals will contribute to cost-effective breeding. The two high quality citrus reference genomes recently released are being efficiently used for genomics-based molecular breeding such as construction of reference linkage/physical maps and comparative genome mapping. In the near future, the development of DNA molecular markers tightly linked to various agronomic traits and the cloning of useful and/or variant genes will be accelerated through comparative genome analysis using citrus core collection and genome-wide approaches such as genotyping-by-sequencing and genome wide association study.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.186-191
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• 1994

Tc-99m MIBI, a lipophilic cation, was reported as a useful agent for localization of lung cancer. The effect of radiation therapy on the uptake of Tc-99m MIBI in lung cancer, however, was not well evaluated. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the usefulness of Tc-99m MIBI SPECT in the localization and the assessment of radiotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer. Twenty patients(19 males and 1 female, mean age 59, 16 squamous cell ca and 4 adenoca) were studied with Tc-99m MIBI SPECT before radiation therapy. Eleven patients(10 males and 1 female, mean age 59, 8 squamous cell ca and 3 adenoca) were repeated the study 1 month after the completion of radiation therapy(mean dose 6453cGy). All patients showed positive uptakes of Tc-99m MIBI in their tumors. One patient showed a hot uptake in atelectatic area. There was no difference of Tc-99m MIBI uptakes between squamous cell ca and adenoca either on planar or tomographic images. Tc-99m MIBI uptake ratios of squamous cell ca and adenoca were $1.50{\pm}0.16$ and $1.45{\pm}0.15$ on planar images, and $2.73{\pm}0.46$ and $2.54{\pm}0.37$ on tomographic images, respectively. The concordance between radiological change(chest x-ray and CT) and change of Tc-99m MIBI uptakes was 9/11 (81.8% ). In conclusion, Tc-99m MIBI SPECT was useful in the localization of tumor and the assessment of radiation therapy in non-small cell lung cancer.