• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.149-159
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• 2010

This paper analyzes data on the composition, status, diversity, and distribution pattern of invasive forest undergrowth in a protected area (Khadimnagar National Park) of Northeastern Bangladesh. Assessment was done by means of stratified random sampling to diversify the invasive forest undergrowth species. For vegetation survey, 45 plots were taken randomly in ($2m{\times}2m$) circular plot from three topographical regions namely top of the hill, middle slope and plain land (15 plots from each region) and a total of 715 individuals, 22 invasive species belonging to 17 families were recorded from the study site. Among invasive species, shrubs constitute 10 species, herbs 9 species, and vines 3 species respectively. Mass number of invasive undergrowth species was grows in plain land (45.45%) followed by middle slope (31.82%). Based on the survey, invasive undergrowth plants of study areas were also categorized into three degrees of invasiveness e.g., highly invasive, moderately invasive and potentially invasive. Herbs, shrubs, and vines constitute the highest density at Chromolaema odorata (Linn.) King. (1.09), relative density at Chromolaema odorata (Linn.) King. 6.85%; highest and lowest frequency was calculated at Cassia alata L. (64.44%) and Diplazium esculentum (24.44%); for relative frequency the highest was Cassia alata L., which occupies 6.64%. Determination of the abundance of the different species revealed that Cassia alata L., constitutes (3.36) followed by Pteris cretica Wilsonii (3.14) of the area. The presence of invasive undergrowth species always reduced the number of associated species. Therefore, an extensive in-depth long-term investigation, proper policy formulation and management interventions and further study and continuous monitoring on their impacts need to be triggered targeting the control of the invasive undergrowth species of this protected area. In this aspect, national and international organization could help to conserve its biodiversity.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.319-325
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• 2022

Two-port laparoscopic ovariectomy (Lap-OVE) has been performed in small dogs, using 3-mm and 5-mm portal sites, and is associated with reduced surgical stress and postoperative pain. However, extension of the incision is often needed to extract the ovaries. In this study, we aimed to minimize invasiveness by using smaller-sized cannulas as well as a novel technique for ovary extraction. Lap-OVE was performed on six, healthy female dogs (range, 3 to 7.2 kg) using two 3-mm midline portals. The middle finger of a size M nitrile glove was cut at its base and sterilized preoperatively. The ovary was suspended at the body wall using a 1-0 blue nylon needle, and the ovarian pedicle and ligaments were transected using a 3-mm bipolar forceps. To facilitate the glove passing through the 3.9-mm port, it was turned inside out to expose the smooth inner surface, before being inserted into the abdominal cavity with an applicator. Both ovaries were placed inside, and the mouth of the glove was exteriorized through the port with a laparoscopic grasping forceps. The ovaries were morcellated inside the glove, using Adison-Brown tissue forceps and iris scissors, which enabled safe extraction without incision enlargement. Median incision lengths were 4.3 mm (3.5-mm cranial cannula) and 4.8 mm (3.9-mm caudal cannula). An advantage of this procedure was that there was no need for skin sutures. In conclusion, using our novel technique, sutureless Lap-OVE was possible in small dogs using two 3-mm portal sites without additional incision.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.105-117
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• 2023

Climate change and invasive alien plant species (IAPs) are having a significant impact on mountain ecosystems. The combination of climate change and socio-economic development is exacerbating the invasion of IAPs, which are a major threat to biodiversity loss and ecosystem functioning. Species distribution modelling has become an important tool in predicting the invasion or suitability probability under climate change based on occurrence data and environmental variables. MaxEnt modelling was applied to predict the current suitable distribution of most noxious weed A. adenophora (Spreng) R. King and H. Robinson and analysed the changes in distribution with the use of current (year 2000) environmental variables and future (year 2050) climatic scenarios consisting of 3 representative concentration pathways (RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) in Bhutan. Species occurrence data was collected from the region of interest along the road side using GPS handset. The model performance of both current and future climatic scenario was moderate in performance with mean temperature of wettest quarter being the most important variable that contributed in model fit. The study shows that current climatic condition favours the A. adenophora for its invasion and RCP 2.6 climatic scenario would promote aggression of invasion as compared to RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 climatic scenarios. This can lead to characterization of the species as preferring moderate change in climatic conditions to be invasive, while extreme conditions can inhibit its invasiveness. This study can serve as reference point for the conservation and management strategies in control of this species and further research.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.321-329
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• 2023

Anaplastic thyroid cancer has the highest mortality rate of all thyroid cancers and shows low responsiveness to most treatments. Hongyoung, a reddish-colored potato, is an excellent source of dietary polyphenol containing a large amount of anthocyanins, which has anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory effects. This study investigated the effects of Hongyoung extract on apoptosis and invasiveness in SNU-80 anaplastic thyroid cancer cells. The quantification of the total polyphenol content was done by spectrophotometric measurement. Cell growth was measured by using 2-(2-methoxy-4-nitrophenyl)-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-5-(2,4-disulfophenyl) 2H tetrazolium, monosodium salt (MTS) assay. Cell cycle was analyzed through FACS analysis. Induction of apoptosis in cells was investigated by annexin V staining using flow cytometer and the expression of caspase-3 and Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) through western blot. mRNA expression and protein activation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-2/-9 were examined by RT-PCR and zymography. As a result, the TPC of Hongyoung was 292.43±8.42 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/100 g dry extract. Hongyoung showed a dose-dependent cell growth inhibition, and the IC₅₀ values was 1,000 ㎍/mL. sub-G1 phase was more than doubled compared to the control group, and S and G2/M phase arrest were also induced. Hongyoung induced apoptosis by increasing FITC-Annexin V-positive cells and increased the activation of caspase-3 (cleaved caspase-3) and PARP (fragmented PARP). Hongyoung significantly inhibited mRNA expression and protein activation of MMP-2/-9 in phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-treated SNU-80 cells. Therefore, this study suggests the possibility of development of Hongyoung extract as an anti-cancer agent.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.24-29
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• 2024

A 6-year-old spayed female French Bulldog presented with a left-sided chest wall tumor. Physical examination revealed that the tumor was firmly adhered to the chest wall. A preoperative punch biopsy of the tumor revealed a grade 2 soft tissue sarcoma (STS). On computed tomography, the tumor's dimensions were assessed as 6.5 × 5.7 × 3.5 cm, and it exhibited invasiveness near the tissue surrounding the ninth rib. The tumor size was large in comparison to the dog's chest wall area. Hence, if the traditional wide-margin resection surgery were to be performed, primary wound closure seemed impractical and could potentially result in respiratory function complications. Therefore, considering the extent of tumor invasion and grade, deep margins were established to include the removal of the eighth to tenth ribs, and a 1-cm lateral margin was designated to enable primary wound closure. To reconstruct the chest wall, polypropylene mesh was attached to the adjacent ribs and the remaining muscles were sutured and covered over the mesh. The dog exhibited a rapid recovery beginning the day after the operation. Postoperative biopsy confirmed that the tumor was a grade 2 STS, and the surgical margins were evaluated as incomplete. The owner chose to pursue follow-up observation instead of chemotherapy. In this study, the surgical approach was chosen based on the importance of functional recovery after surgery. Recent research indicates that the tumor grade is more critical for postoperative prognosis than the extent of surgical margins when removing an STS.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.3-58
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• 2024

It has become a general idea today that the characteristics of medicine should be considered as a basis when discussing a medical personnel's duty of care and whether or not it has been violated, and when discussing its duty of explanation and whether or not it has been fulfilled in medical practice. However, in the discussion of its characteristics, some shortcomings still exist, so the need for a re-discussion has been raised. Firstly, existing discussions on characteristics have failed to comprehensively grasp and explain the characteristics of medical practice. Secondly, in some researchers' arguments, there are discrepancies between the terms used to express characteristics and their conceptual definitions or content. Thirdly, the lack of exemplified cases that reflect the characteristics of medicine - especially Supreme Court precedents - has led some to think negatively about the recognition and reflection of certain characteristics. In my early writings, I have described five characteristics of medical practice: 'conflict in medical goals', 'initiating appropriate medical actions (progression of illness)', 'dynamics of medical intervention (diversity of symptoms)', 'diversity of medical effects', 'inherent risk of medical treatment (invasiveness)'. In this paper, keeping in mind the reasons for the need for reconsideration, I aim to analyze the characteristics of medicine in detail and cite key parts of representative Korean Supreme Court precedents that reflect each characteristic. The characteristics of medicine extracted from this paper are; There are ten factors, including the legitimacy of the essence of medical practice, timeliness of medical execution, dynamics of medical progress, diversity of medical effects, risk of medical invasion, non-uniformity of medical methods, limitations of medical capabilities, intervention of the medical subject, high degree of medical standards, and maldistribution of medical data.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.81 no.2
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• pp.250-271
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• 2020

Assessment of myocardial ischemia in patients with stable angina is important in deciding whether to treat coronary artery disease and in predicting clinical outcome. The fractional flow reserve is a standard reference for the diagnosis of myocardial ischemia, but this procedure has limitations because of its invasiveness. Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is now an established tool in the anatomic diagnosis of coronary artery disease; however, there are limits to the diagnosis of hemodynamically important stenosis that causes myocardial ischemia. In order to address this problem, studies using quantification of coronary atherosclerotic plaques, myocardial perfusion, and noninvasive calculation of fractional flow reserve based on CCTA have been actively conducted and recognized for their diagnostic value. In this review, several imaging techniques of CCTA used to assess myocardial ischemia are described.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.7
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• pp.668-680
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• 2023

Objective: To compare multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of intraductal carcinoma of the prostate (IDC-P) with those of prostatic acinar adenocarcinoma (PAC) and develop prediction models to distinguish IDC-P from PAC and IDC-P with a high proportion (IDC ≥ 10%, hpIDC-P) from IDC-P with a low proportion (IDC < 10%, lpIDC-P) and PAC. Materials and Methods: One hundred and six patients with hpIDC-P, 105 with lpIDC-P and 168 with PAC, who underwent pretreatment multiparametric MRI between January 2015 and December 2020 were included in this study. Imaging parameters, including invasiveness and metastasis, were evaluated and compared between the PAC and IDC-P groups as well as between the hpIDC-P and lpIDC-P subgroups. Nomograms for distinguishing IDC-P from PAC, and hpIDC-P from lpIDC-P and PAC, were made using multivariable logistic regression analysis. The discrimination performance of the models was assessed using the receiver operating characteristic area under the curve (ROC-AUC) in the sample, where the models were derived from without an independent validation sample. Results: The tumor diameter was larger and invasive and metastatic features were more common in the IDC-P than in the PAC group (P < 0.001). The distribution of extraprostatic extension (EPE) and pelvic lymphadenopathy was even greater, and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) ratio was lower in the hpIDC-P than in the lpIDC-P group (P < 0.05). The ROC-AUCs of the stepwise models based solely on imaging features for distinguishing IDC-P from PAC and hpIDC-P from lpIDC-P and PAC were 0.797 (95% confidence interval, 0.750-0.843) and 0.777 (0.727-0.827), respectively. Conclusion: IDC-P was more likely to be larger, more invasive, and more metastatic, with obviously restricted diffusion. EPE, pelvic lymphadenopathy, and a lower ADC ratio were more likely to occur in hpIDC-P, and were also the most useful variables in both nomograms for predicting IDC-P and hpIDC-P.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.39-44
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• 2024

Background: Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) is a significant concern, particularly among patients taking bisphosphonates (BPs), denosumab, and selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) for osteoporosis. Despite the known risks, large-scale cohort studies examining the incidence and severity of MRONJ are lacking. We aimed to ascertain the incidence and risk of MRONJ among these patients, whom we stratified by age groups, medication types, and duration of use. Methods: We utilized data from the National Health Insurance Service's sample cohort database, focusing on patients aged 40 years and above diagnosed with osteoporosis. The patients were divided into three groups: those prescribed BPs only, those prescribed SERMs only, and those prescribed both. Results: The overall incidence rate of MRONJ was 0.17%. A significantly higher incidence rate was observed among those taking osteoporosis medications, particularly among females with a relative risk of 4.99 (95% confidence interval, 3.21-7.74). The SERM group also had an incidence rate comparable to that of the BP group. Severity was assessed based on the invasiveness of the treatment methods, with 71.3% undergoing invasive treatment in the medication group. Conclusion: This study provides valuable insights into the incidence and severity of MRONJ among a large cohort of patients with osteoporosis. It underscores the need for comprehensive guidance on MRONJ risks across different medication groups and sets the stage for future research focusing on specific populations and treatment outcomes.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.212-233
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• 2024

This is a retrospective review of surgical management for primary lymphedema. Data were extracted from 55 articles from PubMed MEDLINE, Web of Science, SCOPUS, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials between the database inception and December 2022 to evaluate the outcomes of lymphaticovenous anastomosis (LVA) and vascularized lymph node transfer (VLNT), and outcomes of soft tissue extirpative procedures such as suction-assisted lipectomy (SAL) and extensive soft tissue excision. Data from 485 patients were compiled; these were treated with LVA (n = 177), VLNT (n = 82), SAL (n = 102), and excisional procedures (n = 124). Improvement of the lower extremity lymphedema index, the quality of life (QoL), and lymphedema symptoms were reported in most studies. LVA and VLNT led to symptomatic relief and improved QoL, reaching up to 90 and 61% average circumference reduction, respectively. Cellulitis reduction was reported in 25 and 40% of LVA and VLNT papers, respectively. The extirpative procedures, used mainly in patients with advanced disease, also led to clinical improvement from the volume reduction, as well as reduced incidence of cellulitis, although with poor cosmetic results; 87.5% of these reports recommended postoperative compression garments. The overall complication rates were 1% for LVA, 13% for VLNT, 11% for SAL, and 46% for extirpative procedures. Altogether, only one paper lacked some kind of improvement. Primary lymphedema is amenable to surgical treatment; the currently performed procedures have effectively improved symptoms and QoL in this population. Complication rates are related to the invasiveness of the chosen procedure.