• Animal cells and systems
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.337-340
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• 2000

The photosynthetic and stomatal responses of several woody plants (Powlonia coreana, Firmiana simplex, Quercus acutissima Q. variabilis and Q. serrata) to SO$_2$ were investigated in order to understand their ecophysiological tolerance to $SO_2$ Of the plants, P, coreana showed the largest reduction in its photosynthesis in response to exposure of 0.4 ppm $SO_2$ for 20 h. Fumigation of 0.7 ppm $SO_2$ for 20 h caused complete leaf necrosis of P. coreana and f simplex, which made them unavailable for the measurement of photosynthesis. Q. variabilis exhibited the smallest reduction in photosynthesis following exposure of 0.7 ppm $SO_2$ for 20 h. Both stomatal- and non-stomatal inhibition of the plants by $SO_2$ were determined according to equations by lkeda et at. (1992). When exposed to 0.4 ppm $SO_2$ for 20 h, F. simplex and P. coreana showed the lowest stomatal and non-stomatal inhibition, respectively, while Q. variabilis and Q. serrata exhibited the lowest stomatal and non-stomatal inhibition, respectively, in response to 0.7 ppm $SO_2$ for 20 h. The data are discussed with regard to resistance mechanisms of other plants to $SO_2$ exposure and implications for restoration of declined Korean forests.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.9
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• pp.3951-3954
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• 2014

Objective: To investigate the electronic anti-nausea instrument (EANI) combined with hydrochloride palonosetron for prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting following highly emetogenic chemotherapy. Methods: Patients who received highly emetogenic chemotherapy were randomly assigned to a treatment group (60 patients) treated with EANI combined with hydrochloride palonosetron, and control group (also 60 patients) given only hydrochloride palonosetron. Chemotherapy related nausea and vomiting were observed and recorded in both groups of patients from the start till the end of chemotherapy. Results: Complete control rates of vomiting in treatment and control group were 40%, and 35%, respectively, without any statistical ly significant difference (p>0.05); however the response rates are 95.0%, 78.3%, respectively, with statistical difference (p<0.05). Complete control rates of nausea in treatment and control group were 36.7%, 30%, respectively, without statistical difference (p>0.05); but the response rates are 90.0%, 76.7%, respectively, with statistical difference (p<0.05). Conclusion: EANI combined with hydrochloride palonosetron for prevention of nausea and vomiting induced by chemotherapy could be more effective than hydrochloride palonosetron alone, and can be recommended for use in prevention and treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting following highly emetogenic chemotherapy.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.136-140
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• 2009

Background and Objectives: Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is difficult to treat because of its tendency to recur and spread throughout the aerodigestive tract. We aimed to estimate the effect of intralesional injections of cidofovir in patients with RRP. Materials and Method: Within the period from January 2003 to July 2007, 13 patients aged 2 to 61 years were treated with intralesional injections of cidofovir combined with surgical excision of RRP. Cidofovir was injected intralesionaly at a concentration of 5 mg/cc after complete removal of the papilloma with $CO_2$ laser or microdebrider. We evaluated the effect of intralesional cidofovir therapy by comparing pre-treatment mean interval of recurrence with post-treatment interval of recurrence. Results: Of 13 patients, two patients showed complete response during follow up period and four patients showed partial response. Seven patients did not respond to cidofovir at all. Mean pre-treatment mean interval of recurrence was 9 months and mean post-treatment interval of recurrence was 13.1 months (p=0.039). There was a statistical significance between the injected dose of cidofovir and post-treatment interval of recurrence (p=0.009). There were no local or systemic side effects caused by cidofovir. Conculsion : Intralesional injection of cidofovir seems to have a potential of a safe and effective adjuvant therapy of RRP. There was a positive correlation between the injected dose of cidofovir and patient clinical outcomes so that administration of higher doses and more frequency of injections should be needed to reduce recurrence. Further study regarding injection therapy regimen for RRP is required.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.7701-7706
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• 2013

Background: In a prospective cohort study of antiemetic therapy conducted in Malaysia, a total of 94 patients received low emetogenic chemotherapy (LEC) with or without granisetron injections as the primary prophylaxis for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). This study is a retrospective cost analysis of two antiemetic regimens from the payer perspective. Materials and Methods: This cost evaluation refers to 2011, the year in which the observation was conducted. Direct costs incurred by hospitals including the drug acquisition, materials and time spent for clinical activities from prescribing to dispensing of home medications were evaluated (MYR 1=$0.32 USD). As reported to be significantly different between two regimens (96.1% vs 81.0%; p=0.017), the complete response rate of acute emesis which was defined as a patient successfully treated without any emesis episode within 24 hours after LEC was used as the main indicator for effectiveness. Results: Antiemetic drug acquisition cost per patient was 40.7 times higher for the granisetron-based regimen than for the standard regimen (MYR 64.3 vs 1.58). When both the costs for materials and clinical activities were included, the total cost per patient was 8.68 times higher for the granisetron-based regimen (MYR 73.5 vs 8.47). Considering the complete response rates, the mean cost per successfully treated patient in granisetron group was 7.31 times higher (MYR 76.5 vs 10.5). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) with granisetron-based regimen, relative to the standard regimen, was MYR 430.7. It was found to be most sensitive to the change of antiemetic effects of granisetron-based regimen. Conclusions: While providing a better efficacy in acute emesis control, the low incidence of acute emesis and high ICER makes use of granisetron as primary prophylaxis in LEC controversial.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.755-772
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• 2014

A simplistic approach towards evaluation of complete load deflection response of Reinforced Concrete (RC) flexural members under post fire (residual) scenario is presented in this paper. The cross-section of the RC flexural member is divided into a number of sectors. Thermal analysis is performed to determine the temperature distribution across the section, for given fire duration. Temperature-dependent stress-strain curves for concrete and steel are then utilized to perform a moment-curvature analysis. The moment-curvature relationships are obtained for beams exposed to different fire durations. These are then utilized to obtain the load-deflection plots following pushover analysis. Moreover one of the important issues of modeling the initial stiffness giving due consideration to stiffness degradation due to material degradation and thermal cracking has also been addressed in a rational manner. The approach is straightforward and can be easily programmed in spreadsheets. The presented approach has been validated against the experiments, available in literature, on RC beam subjected to different fire durations viz. 1hr, 1.5hrs and 2hrs. Complete load-deflection curves have been obtained and compared with experimentally reported counterparts. The results also show a good match with the results obtained using more complicated approaches such as those involving Finite element (FE) modeling and conducting a transient thermal stress analysis. Further evaluation of the beams during fire (at elevated temperatures) was performed and a comparison of the mechanical behavior of RC beams under post fire and during fire scenarios is made. Detailed formulations, assumptions and step by step approach are reported in the paper. Due to the simplicity and ease of implementation, this approach can be used for evaluation of global performance of fire affected structures.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.89-93
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• 2016

Background: Limited data are available regarding the impact of time duration between chemoradiation (CRT) and surgery on pathological complete response (PCR). A PCR translates into better overall and disease free survival. The objective of this study was to determine effect of time duration on outcome after preoperative CRT in rectal cancer. Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of patients undergoing operations for rectal adenocarcinoma between January 2005 and December 2010 was performed. Patients were divided in two groups: Group 1 underwent surgery in ${\leq}8weeks$ post neoadjuvant CRT and Group 2 after 8 weeks. Patient characteristics, surgical procedure, histopathological details and number of loco-regional and distant failures were compared. Expected 5 year overall survival and disease free survival was calculated using Kaplan Meier curves and significance was determined using the log rank test. Results: There were 66 patients in group 1 and 93 in group 2. No significant difference in PCR was observed between the two. However, estimated 5 year DFS was significantly higher in Group 1 (66.7%) as compared to Group 2 (53.8%) (P=0.04). Estimated overall 5 year overall survival was not significantly different at 68.2% versus 54.3% (P= 0.09). Conclusions: Delaying surgery more than 8 weeks after preoperative CRT does not impact for PCR in rectal cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.979-983
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• 2012

Background : Previous studies have suggested a lack of complete cross-resistance between steroidal (exemestane) and non-steroidal aromatase inhibitors (nSAI). Methods : Eighty-eight metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients who received 25 mg of exemestane orally once a day at the National Cancer Center, Korea, between 2003 and 2009, were reviewed retrospectively. All patients had received nSAI for metastatic disease prior to exemestane therapy. Results : The median age was 52 years (range, 33-79), and 13 (14.8%) patients were premenopausal who concomitantly received GnRH agonist. Exemestane was given as a second- (80.7%) or third-line (19.3%) hormone therapy. The clinical benefit (CB) rate (complete response + partial response + stable disease ${\geq}$ 24 weeks) was 30.7%, with a median CB duration of 10.0 months (range, 6.3-78.7). The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 3.0 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.99-4.01) and the overall survival (OS) 21.5 months (95% CI, 17.96-25.04), with a median followup of 50.3 months. Patients who achieved CB had longer OS than those patients who did not (29.6 vs 17.9 months; P=0.002). On univariate analysis of predictive factors, patients who had achieved CB from previous nSAI tended to show lower CB rate (24.6% vs 44.4%, respectively; P=0.063) and shorter PFS (2.8 vs 4.8 months, respectively; p=0.233) than patients who had not. Achieving CB from previous nSAI became independent predictive factor for CBR to exemestane on multivariable analysis (Odds ratio = 2.852, P = 0.040). Conclusions : Exemestane after nSAI failure was effective in prolonging CB duration. The drug's efficacy seemed to be inferior in patients who had benefit from previous nSAI use.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.5385-5389
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• 2013

Background: For more than 80 years, the standard treatment of locally advanced cervical cancer was radiotherapy. However, based on several phase III randomized clinical trials in the past decade, concurrent cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy is the current standard for this disease. Gemcitabine has potent radiosensitizing properties in preclinical and clinical trials, so it can be utilized simultanously with radiation. Materials and Methods: Thirty women with untreated invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix of stage IIB to stage IVA were enrolled in the study in the Radiation Oncology Department of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran from September 2009 to September 2010. Sixty $mg/m^2$ gemcitabine followed by $35mg/m^2$ cisplatin were concurrently administered with radiotherapy to the whole pelvic region on day one of each treatment week for five weeks. One and three months after treatment, patients underwent a complete physical examination and MRI to determine the response to treatment. Results: The mean age of patients was $58.1{\pm}11.8$ (29-78) years. After 3 months of treatment, 73.3%had complete and 26.7% demonstrated partial response to treatment. Grade 3 anemia was seen in 10%, grade 3 thrombocytopenia in 3.3% and grade 3 leukopenia in 10% of the patients. Conclusions: According to the positive results of this study in stage IIB, further phase II and III clinical trials are suggested to evaluate the role of chemoradiation using Gemcitabine for advanced cervical cancers.

• BMB Reports
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.749-758
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• 2006

The cytosolic members of the HSP70 family of proteins play key roles in the molecular chaperone machinery of the cell. In the study we cloned and sequenced the full-length cDNA of Delia antiqua HSP70 gene, which is 2461 bp long and encodes 643 a.a. with a calculated molecular mass of 70,787 Da. We investigated gene copies of cytosolic HSP70 members of 4 insect species with complete genome available, and found that they are quite variable with species. In order to characterize this protein we carried out an alignment and a phylogenetic analysis with 41 complete protein sequences from insects. The analysis divided the cytosolic members of the family into two classes, HSP70 and HSC70, distinguishable on the basis of 15 residues. HSP70 class members were slightly shorter in length and smaller in molecular mass relative to the HSC70 class members, and the conservative and functional regions in these sequences were documented. Mainly, we investigated the expression of Delia antiqua HSP70 gene, in response to diapauses and thermal stresses. Both summer and winter diapauses elevated HSP70 transcript levels. Cold-stress led to increased HSP70 expression levels in summer- and winter-diapausing pupae, but heat-stress elevated the levels only in the winter-diapausing pupae. In all cases, the expression levels, after being elevated, gradually decreased with time. HSP70 expression was low in non-diapausing pupae but was up-regulated following cold- and heat-stresses. Heat-stress gradually increased the mRNA level with time whereas cold-stress gradually decreased levels after an initial increase.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.91-96
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• 1993

From September 1989 to June 1992,22 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma were treated in Asan Medical Center with an external beam of 60 Gy followed by a boost dose of 15 Gy HDR brachytherapy. There were 5 females and 17 males with median age of 44 years (range: 20-69 years). All patients were histologically confirmed and staged by physical examination, CT scan and/or MRI. By the AJCC TNM staging system, there were 2 patients with stge II (T2NO), 4 with stage III (T3NO, T1-3N1), and 16 with stage IV (T4 or N2-3). Four patients received chemotherapy with 5-FU and cisplatin prior to radiotherapy. All patients were followed up periodically by a telescopic examination and radiologic imaging study of CT scan or MRI with a median follow-up time of 13 months (range: 3-34 months). Twenty one patients showed a complete response ore month after completing therapy and one patient showed a complete response after three months. At the time of this analysis, seventeen patients remain alive without evidence of disease, but four patients developed distant metastasis and one patient died a month after treatment. The local control rate was $100{\%}$ in a median follow-up time of 13 months. The two year overall and disease free survival rates by the Kaplan-Meier method were $94{\%}$ and $67{\%}$, respectively. Serious radiation sequelae have not been observed yet. Although longer follow-up is needed, this retrospective analysis suggests that HDR brachytherap. given as a boost therapy for nasoharyngeal carcinoma may improve the local control. To reduce the incidence of distant metastasis, we need to develop a more effective systemic chemotherapy.