• Radiation Oncology Journal
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.41-52
• /
• 1996

Purpose : This paper reports a dosimetric study of 88 patients treated with a combination of external radiotherapy and high dose rate ICR for FIGO stage IIB carcinoma of the cervix. The purpose is to investigate the correlation between the radiation doses to the rectum, external radiation dose to the whole pelvis, ICR reference volume, TDF BED and the incidence of late rectal complications, retrospectively. Materials and Methods : From November 1989 through December 1992, 88 patients with stage IIB cervical carcinoma received radical radiotherapy at Department of Radiation Oncology in Yonsei University Hospital. Radiotherapy consisted of 44-54 Gy(median 49 Gy) external beam irradiation plus high dose rate intracavitary brachytherapy with 5 Gy per fraction twice a week to a total dose of 30 Gy on point A. The maximum dose to the rectum by contrast(r, R) and reference rectal dose by ICRU 38(dr, DR) were calculated. The ICR reference volume was calculated by Gamma Dot 3.11 HDR planning system, retrospectively The time-dose factor(TDF) and the biologically effective dose (BED) were calculated. Results : Twenty seven($30.7\%$) of the 88 patients developed late rectal complications:12 patients($13.6\%$) for grade 1, 12 patients($13.6\%$) for grade 2 and 3 patients($3.4\%$) for grade 3. We found a significant correlation between the external whole pelvis irradiation dose and grade 2, 3 rectal complication. The mean dose to the whole pelvis for the group of patients with grade 2, 3 complication was Higher, $4093.3\pm453.1$ cGy, than that for the patients without complication, $3873.8\pm415.6$ (0.05$7163.0\pm838.5$ cGy, than that for the Patients without rectal complication, $0772.7\pm884.0$ (p<0.05). There was no correlation of the rate of grade 2, 3 rectal complication with the iCR rectal doses(r, dr), ICR reference volume, TDF and BED. Conclusion : This investigation has revealed a significant correlation between the dose calculated at the rectal dose by ICRU 38(DR) or the most anterior rectal dose by contrast(R) dose to the whole pelvis and the incidence of grade 2, 3 late rectal complications in patients with stage IIB cervical cancer undergoing external beam radiotherapy and HOR ICR. Thus these rectal reference points doses and whole pelvis dose appear to be useful Prognostic indicators of late rectal complication in high dose rate ICR treatment in cervical carcinoma.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.168-174
• /
• 2006

Enhanced apoptosis has been observed in the placentas of women with preeclampsia, but few studies have examined changes at the molecular level. This study was designed to detect genes specifically expressed in full-term preeclamptic placentas. Tissue samples were collected immediately after cesarean delivery from 11 normal and 8 preeclamptic placentas at 35-40 weeks of gestation. Total RNAs were extracted and hybridized to a cDNA microarray. Results were confirmed by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Hematoxylin and eosin and TUNEL staining were also performed to confirm apoptosis in preeclamptic placentas. Among 205 genes, three were up- or downregulated in preeclamptic placentas. The expression of caspase-10 and death receptor 3 (DR-3) was significantly increased, whereas insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) was strongly downregulated. RT-PCR analysis and Western blotting confirmed these effects. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that the DR-3, caspase-10 and IGFBP-3 proteins were localized in the syncytial membrane. Apoptosis in the trophoblast was also increased in term placentas from women with pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia. These results suggest that caspase-10, DR-3 and IGFBP-3 are involved in apoptosis in the preeclamptic placenta.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.17 no.5
• /
• pp.2637-2641
• /
• 2016

Tumor necrosis factor ($TNF-{\alpha}$), an inflammatory cytokine that plays an important role in the control of cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis, has previously been used in anti-cancer therapy. However, the therapeutic applications of $TNF-{\alpha}$ are largely limited due to its general toxicity and anti-apoptotic influence. To overcome this problem, the present study focused on the effect of active constituents isolated from a medicinal plant on $TNF-{\alpha}$-induced apoptosis in human colon adenocarcinoma (HT-29) cells. Nimbolide from Azadirachta indica was evaluated for cytotoxicity by methyl tetrazolium 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and phase contrast microscopy. Effects on apoptotic signaling proteins were investigated using Western blot analysis. Nimbolide showed cytotoxicity against HT-29 cells that was significantly different from the control group (p<0.01), a concentration of $10{\mu}M$ significantly inducing cell death (p<0.01). In combination with $TNF-{\alpha}$, nimbolide significantly enhanced-induced cell death. In apoptotic pathway, nimbolide activated c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) phosphorylation, BH3 interacting-domain death agonist (Bid) and up-regulated the death receptor 5 (DR5) level. In the combination group, nimbolide markedly sensitized $TNF-{\alpha}$-induced JNK, Bid, caspase-3 activation and the up-regulation of DR5. Our findings overall indicate that nimbolide may enhance $TNF-{\alpha}$-mediated cellular proliferation inhibition through increasing cell apoptosis of HT-29 cells by up-reglation of DR5 expression via the JNK pathway.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.6
• /
• pp.2875-2878
• /
• 2014

Background: Lung cancer is one of the commonest and most lethal cancers throughout the world. The majority of the patients present at advance stage and are not suitable for curative intent treatment. Even among patients with localized disease, there has been underutilization of curative treatment modalities. The aim of this study was to analyze the radical treatment utilization rates in patients with non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated at our centre. Materials and Methods: We analyzed case records of 104 patients with a pathologically confirmed diagnosis of NSCLC having stage 1-3B disease who were treated at our centre over last 3 years, to assess the utilization of curative treatment modalities i.e. surgery or radical radiotherapy. Results: The median age of this cohort was 58 years. Out of 104 patients only 33 (31.7%) received curative intent treatment, 14 undergoing curative resection and 19 receiving radical doses of radiotherapy. The baseline characteristics of both the groups (with or without radical treatment) were not different. Major factors associated with underutilization with curative treatment were progressive disease or loss of follow up after chemotherapy and inappropriate use of TKI and/or palliative radiotherapy in patients with stage 1-3B disease. Patients who did not receive radical treatment had inferior PFS and OS than those who received radical treatment. Conclusions: In our practice we observed gross underutilization of curative intent treatment modalities in patients with NSCLCs which is associated with inferior survival.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.39 no.4
• /
• pp.313-317
• /
• 2006

To prepare oligouronic acids from high-molecular-weight alginates, sea tangle (Laminaria japonica) alginates were hydrolyzed at various pHs for 1 hr at 80$^{\circ}C$. The effects of hydrolysis pH (HpH) on the average molecular weight (AMW) and MW distribution ratios (DRs) in the hydrolyzed alginates were investigated. As HpH decreased, the DRs of the alginates with MW>500 kDa and MW=300-500 kDa decreased exponentially, while it increased exponentially for MW<50 kDa. For MW=100-300 kDa, DR increased exponentially as HpH fell from 5.0 to 3.5, and then decreased exponentially. Similarly, for MW=50-100 kDa, DR increased exponentially as HpH increased to 1.0 from 5.0, and then decreased exponentially. As HpH decreased, the MW cutoff size and AMW of alginates fraction with the highest DR were decreased. For HpH 4.5 and 5.0, the MW cutoff size with the highest DRs was MW=300-500 kDa; the DRs were 28.9 and 32.6%, respectively; and the AMW of both was about 400 kDa, for HpH 3.5 and 4.0, the cutoff size was MW=100-300 kDa; the DRs were about 28%: and the AMWs were both about 200 kDa. For HpH 3.0, the cutoff size was MW=50-100; the DR was 29.0%; and the AMW was 73 kDa. For HpH values below 2.0, the MW cutoff size with the highest DRs was MW<50 kDa, and all of the AMWs were below 28 kDa.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.55 no.3
• /
• pp.430-435
• /
• 2011

Coal fly ash of thermal power plants converted into mesoporous materials MCM-41. The synthesized material was characterized by XRD, FT-IR, SEM, and EDS techniques. The catalytic activity of prepared material was studied for the synthesis of 5-arylindene malononitriles via Knoevenagel condensation of aromatic aldehydes and malonontrile is described. The features of present method are easy handling, stability, reusability, and eco-friendliness of catalyst, high yields, short reaction time, simple experimental and work up procedure.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
• /
• v.59 no.3
• /
• pp.536-542
• /
• 2010

This paper presents an unique approach to scheme a demand response (DR) program in the electricity market from a customer-oriented perspective, which is based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The proposed program has the objective to maintain the system reliability at the emergency period, and it is designed as an incentive-based program (IBP) considering Korea power systems with the cost-based generation pool (CBP). The DR program using AHP could represent the mutual importance degrees of load curtailment criteria from the viewpoint of different load-holders, thus customers' participation in this program is determined by the incentive payments corresponding the specific load curtailment conditions. A test system for the case study is used to demonstrate the usefulness and applicability of the proposed approach, and the load profiles with the proposed DR program and the required incentive payments are obtained. The results show not only the enhancement of system reliability but also the economic benefit within Pareto-improvement.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SD
• /
• v.44 no.2
• /
• pp.25-33
• /
• 2007

In this paper, a fourth-order single-bit delta-sigma modulator is presented and implemented. The loop-filter is composed of both feedback and feedforward paths. Measurement results show that maximum 99dB dynamic range is achievable at a clock rate of 3.2MHz for 20kHz baseband. The proposed modulator has been fabricated in a $0.18{\mu}m$ standard CMOS process.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.55 no.6
• /
• pp.960-968
• /
• 2011

A series of isonicotinyl hydrazones and their 4-thiazolidinones have been synthesized by condensation of isonicotinic acid hydrazide with various aromatic aldehydes to yield Schiff's bases, followed by the cyclocondensation of Schiff's bases with 2-mercaptoacetic acid to yield their 4-thiazolidinones. The synthesized compounds have been characterized by their elemental, analytical and spectral studies. All these compounds were evaluated for their invitro antimicrobial activity against a spectrum of non-resistant and resistant microbial organisms. These studies proved that compounds 5e,i against B. subtilis; 5e,f,h against B. anthracis; 5g,i against S. aureus showed good activity at lower concentrations. Compounds 5d-5i displayed significant activity against resistant strain of K. pneumonia with minimum inhibitory potency in the concentration range of 2-16 ug/ml.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
• /
• v.36 no.1
• /
• pp.41-52
• /
• 2006

Specimens donated by the late Dr. Miki, deposited in the Osaka Museum of Natural History (OSA), were examined. Among about 3,6000 specimens, 104 specimens consisting 48 taxa were from Korea. These were collected by 14 collectors, including Dr. Miki and Hyung-Doo Chang. Taxonomic comments on Korean aquatic vascular plants collection were made, especially on Ranunculus kadzusensis, Potamogeton pectinatus, Zostera japonica, Ruppia truncatifolia, and the Utricularia species, including the three unrecorded species from Korea.