• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2023

Proteinuria is an important risk factor for renal and cardiovascular disease. It is associated with a risk for glomerulonephritis, chronic kidney disease, and end-stage renal disease. Therefore, if persistent proteinuria is detected, kidney biopsy is considered to diagnose and treat the underlying disease. Recently, variants in the cubilin (CUBN) gene, which is associated with albuminuria, have been reported. This gene encodes cubilin, a membrane glycoprotein receptor expressed in the renal proximal tubules. Cubilin is a component of the megalin and cubilin-amnionless complex that mediates albumin reabsorption into the proximal tubules through endocytosis. A defect in cubilin leads to a reduction in albumin reuptake, resulting in albumin-dominant proteinuria. Although numerous controversies exist, several reports suggest that cubilin defects lead to proteinuria with a high portion of albuminuria but may not impair renal filtration function. If albuminuria due to reduced cubilin function is confirmed as a benign condition, we can consider using genetic studies to detect CUBN mutations in patients with proteinuria and they may not require any treatment or kidney biopsy. Here, we review recent papers on CUBN mutations and discuss the prognosis and management of individuals with this mutation.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.83-87
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• 2016

Till now, two distinct epithelial lesions, dysplasia and adenoma, are currently recognized as premalignant stages of gallbladder (GB) carcinogenesis. In these two carcinogenesis pathways, GB stones and polyps are regarded as one of the most important risk factors of GB carcinoma respectively. Although there still remain controversies for the indication of prophylactic cholecystectomy for GB stones and polyps due to lack of high-level evidence, the present review demonstrated that patients who have GB stones with more than 3 cm size, chronic typhoid carriers, porcelain GB, or anomalous pancreaticobiliary ductal union and patients with more than 1 cm sized GB polyp would be recommended prophylactic cholecystectomy.

• International Journal of Arrhythmia
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.41-45
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• 2016

Atrial fibrillation (AF) can occur in acute coronary syndrome (ACS), which is a serious medical condition and may require the use of antiplatelet agents in addition to anticoagulants for stroke prevention. Recently, novel or non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) have been increasingly used for stroke prevention in patients with AF instead of traditional OACs. The duration of treatment or treatment with a stepwise approach (e.g. triple, double, or monotherapy) is determined depending on the clinical setting and the balance between the risks of ischemic stroke and bleeding. However, some concerns and controversies in the use of NOACs in patients with AF and ACS need to be addressed. Here, the current management for NOAC therapy in patients with ACS and AF will be reviewed based on recently published guidelines.

• Annals of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.227-240
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• 2023

Hilar cholangiocarcinomas are highly aggressive malignancies. They are usually at an advanced stage at initial presentation. Surgical resection with negative margins is the standard of management. It provides the only chance of cure. Liver transplantation has increased the number of 'curative' procedures for cases previously considered to be unresectable. Meticulous and thorough preoperative planning is required to prevent fatal post-operative complications. Extended resection procedures, including hepatic trisectionectomy for Bismuth type IV tumors, hepatopancreaticoduodenectomy for tumors with extensive longitudinal spread, and combined vascular resection with reconstruction for tumors involving hepatic vascular structures, are challenging procedures with surgical indications expanded. Liver transplantation after the standardization of a neoadjuvant protocol described by the Mayo Clinic has increased the number of patients who can undergo operation.

• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.129-175
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• 2018

This paper examines asbestos activism in South Korea by focusing on the politics of knowledge between the asbestos activist group and regulatory agency on the risk of asbestos exposure. Asbestos activism has contributed to establishing asbestos pollution an important safety and public health agenda in South Korea. Asbestos pollution investigation is key to core argument of the activism that asbestos pollution is pervasive especially in urban environment and a serious environmental health problem with its worst consequences has not yet seen. A distinctive characteristic of such asbestos investigation is the use of "settled dust analysis," non-standard, non-legislated analysis method. In this paper, literary technologies used in asbestos investigation report written by activists and controversies over asbestos pollution measurement in Samsung's head office building. Asbestos activists successfully concentrated media's attention on their argument and mobilize resources needed to make policy decisions, by using settled dust analysis data. Regulatory agency and expert group, however, neither saw settled dust analysis nor activists argument persuasive enough to make policy changes, base on their evaluation on the use of standards and evidentiary context for analyzing measured data. While its explanatory power is partially acquired, through the dispute between asbestos activists and regulatory agencies unspoken assumptions of regulatory science was revealed and became the matter of social debate. Settled dust analysis captures the characteristic of asbestos analysis which combined social movement and science to challenge the regulatory agency and expert group.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.165-179
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• 2002

In spite of dramatic change of environmental condition since Cambrian big-bang (explosion occurred ca.540 mya, the phylum Arthropoda retains a great diversity, and it is estimated approximately that 1-10 million arthropod species are extant on the earth. Except for an extinct arthopod subphylum Trilobita, extant arthropods could be divided into five subphyla: Hexapoda, Crustacea, Myriapoda, Chelicerata, and Pycnosonida. During the last century, systematists have disputed about interrealtionships among Arthropoda and its relatives (Onychophora, Tardigrada, and Pentastomida), arthropod phylogenetic position within protostome animals, monophyly or polyphyly of the phylum Arthropods, and interrelationships among five arthropod subgroups (subphyla) etc. Recently, new animal phylogeny was reported that protostomes could be clustered into two groups, Lophotrochozoa and Ecdysozoa, and molting animals such as Nematoda and Arthropoda were included within the Ecdysozoa. On the basis of the new animal phylogeny, first of all, I would mention phylogenetic positions and relationships of Arthropods and its relatives to introduce controversies of arthropod phylogeny in phylum level of animals. After that, I focused mainly on the controveries related to arthropod monophyly and phylogenetic relationships among four major arthropod groups except Pycnogonida. In this work, Pycnogonida which is a relatively small group and one of the five arthropod subphyla was not handled significantly although there are some controversies if it is a sister taxon of chelicerates or the most primitive arthropod group (namely, a sister of four remains arthropod groups).

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2004

Forestry sector has witnessed some unprecedented events in the recent past both in terms of galloping biotechnological developments and heated environmental debates over risks associated with release of transgenic trees. Improvements in the in vitro propagation techniques has made it possible to develop tissue culture based plant regeneration protocols just for about any tree species. And with the inclusion of every new species within the realms of tissue culture technology, it becomes a candidate for genetic improvement through recombinant DNA technology, the so called genetic engineering. Poplars and their hybrids serve as the model tree species on which most of the genetic transformation work as been carried out. A lot of work has also gone in genetic transformation of fruit trees and trees of horticultural interests. Trees have been successfully transformed for traits ranging from reduction of length of juvenile phase to alteration of tree architecture to altering wood quality by lignin and cellulose modification. More-over trees have been genetically engineered successfully to combat various types of insect pests and pathogens causing diseases. But all these developments have ignited controversies over the possible benefits and risks associated with transgenic plantations by various environmental agencies and activists. Solutions to most of these concerns can be found out with more intensive prioritized research.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.12 no.8
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• pp.157-166
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• 2012

At the recent 19th General Election, Korean papers waged a surrogate war for the parties they share ideology with. All the conventional practices remained the same - the horse race-like presentations, furthering of confrontations, disregarding policy issues, allocating larger space for commentaries and negative issues, and etc. On top of these, papers began to focus on generational conflicts and individuals at the center of widespread attention and controversies, as a new trend. Photo images are largely used in the commentaries and articles dealing with confrontational or controversial situations. Of course, while the visual images seem to reinforce the emotional appeal of the messages papers try to get across, the potential problems need be noticed that could rise when irrelevant images are used.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.312-320
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• 2014

Purpose: There recurred controversies related to legal allowance of abortion since newly advancing prenatal genetic testing technology. This survey was aimed to identify the attitudes toward marriage, and pregnancy (AMP) and terminating pregnancy (ATP) among Korean nursing students. Method: A descriptive study was performed from October to November 2012 in South Korea. 424 nursing students responded to two types of tools developed by authors. Questionnaire for ATP is consisted of 10 items with 5-points Likert Scale. Questionnaire for AMP is 12 items containing 5 categories. Results: Mean score of ATP was 36.90. Students that are enrolled in bachelor degree had a significant higher ATP. Students who are currently dating with an opposite gender showed much higher level of ATP than those are not. Lower group of delayed the time of getting marriage and pregnancy showed highest score of ATP, significantly. Conclusion: Individual factor must be primarily considered when assessing ATP of nursing students, for example current relationship with opposite gender and educational background, attitude toward marriage and pregnancy. Further studies are needed to identify personal factors of the young adults affecting on the ATP.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.820-823
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• 2010

There are still some controversies in treatment strategy for the very low-birth-weight baby with esophageal atresia even though the result of primary repair has been improving. We report a successful end to end anastomosis with staged approach in one of twin weighing 1,270 g at birth.