• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.167-174
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• 2012

Purpose: The respiration is one of the most important factors in respiratory gating radiation therapy (RGRT). We have developed an unique respiratory guidance system using an audio-visual system in order to support and stabilize individual patient's respiration and evaluated the usefulness of this system. Materials and Methods: Seven patients received the RGRT at our clinic from June 2011 to April 2012. After breathing exercise with the audio-visual system, we measured their spontaneous respiration and their respiration with the audio-visual system respectively. With the measured data, we yielded standard deviations by the superficial contents of respiratory cycles and functions, and analyzed them to examine changes in their breathing before and after the therapy. Results: The PTP (peak to peak) of the standard deviations of the free breathing, the audio guidance system, and the respiratory guidance system were 0.343, 0.148, and 0.078 respectively. The respiratory cycles were 0.645, 0.345, and 0.171 respectively and the superficial contents of the respiratory functions were 2.591, 1.008, and 0.877 respectively. The average values of the differences in the standard deviations among the whole patients at the CT room and therapy room were 0.425 for the PTP, 1.566 for the respiratory cycles, and 3.671 for the respiratory superficial contents. As for the standard deviations before and after the application of the PTP respiratory guidance system, that of the PTP was 0.265, that of the respiratory cycles was 0.474, and that of the respiratory superficial contents. The results of t-test of the values before and after free breathing and the audio-visual guidance system showed that the P-value of the PTP was 0.035, that of the cycles 0.009, and that of the respiratory superficial contents 0.010. Conclusion: The respiratory control could be one of the most important factors in the RGRT which determines the success or failure of a treatment. We were able to get more stable breathing with the audio-visual respiratory guidance system than free breathing or breathing with auditory guidance alone. In particular, the above system was excellent at the reproduction of respiratory cycles in care units. Such a system enables to reduce time due to unstable breathing and to perform more precise and detailed treatment.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.81-86
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• 2015

The purpose of our paper was to investigate the migration level of 4,4'-MDA(4,4'-methylenedianiline), 2,4-TDA(2,4-toluenediamine), aniline, acrylonitrile and methylmeth acrylate from plastic cookwares into food simulants and to evaluate the safety of each monomers. The test articles for monomers were PA (polyamide) items for 4,4'-MDA, 2,4-TDA and aniline, PU (polyurethane) items for 4,4'-MDA, ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene- styrene) items for acrylonitrile, and acrylic resin items for methylmethacrylate. All the article samples of 321 intended for contact with foods were purchased in domestic market. 4,4'-MDA, 2,4-TDA and aniline were analyzed by LC-MS/MS (liquid chromatography -tandem mass spectrometer), acrylonitrile by GC-NPD (gas chromatography-nitrogen phos phorus detector) and methyl methacrylate by GC-FID (gas chromatography-flame ionization detector). The migration level of monomers were within the migration limits of Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS). As a result of safety evaluation, our results showed that the estimated daily intake (EDI, mg/kg bw/day)s were $2.39{\times}10^{-9}$ and $1.20{\times}10^{-9}$ for 4,4'-MDA and 2,4-TDA of PA, $4.32{\times}10^{-9}$ for acrylonitrile of ABS and $2.27{\times}10^{-7}$ for methylmethacrylate of acrylic resin. Reference Dose (RfD, mg/kg bw/day) of acrylonitrile and tolerable daily intake (TDI, mg/kg bw/day) of methacrylate were established respectively as 0.001 by EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) and as 1.2 by WHO (World Health Organization). When comparing with RfD and TDI, the EDIs of acrylonitrile and methylmethacrylate accounted for $4.32{\times}10^{-4}%$ and $1.89{\times}10^{-5}%$ respectively.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.18-29
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• 1983

A low cost and versatile data acquisition system for the field and laboratory use was developed by using a single board microcomputer. Data acquisition system based on a Z80 microprocessor was built, tested and modified to obtain the present functional system. The microcomputer developed consists of 6 kB ROM, 5 kB RAM, 6-seven segment LED display, 16-Hex. key and 8 command key board. And it interfaces with an 8 channel, 12 bits A/D converter, a microprinter, EPROM programmer for 2716, and RS232C interface to transfer data between the system and HP3000 mini-computer manufactured by Hewlett Packard Co., A software package was also developed, tested, and modified for the system. This package included drivers for the AID converter, LED display, key board, microprinter, EPROM programmer, and RS232c interface. All of these programs were written in 280 assembler language and converted to machine codes using a cross assembler by HP3000 computer to the system during modifying stage by data transferring unit of this system, then the machine language wrote to the EPROM by this EPROM programmer. The results are summarized as follows: 1. Measuring program developed was able to control the measuring intervals, No. of channels used, and No. of data, where the maximum measuring speed was 58.8 microsec. 2. Calibration of the system was performed with triangle wave generated by a function generator. The results of calibration agreed well to the test results. 3. The measured data was able to be written into EPROM, then the EPROM data was compared with original data. It took only 75 sec. for the developed program to write the data of 2 kB the EPROM. 4. For the slow speed measurements, microprinter instead of EPROM programmer proved to be useful. It took about 15 min. for microprinter to write the data of 2 kB. 5. Modified data transferring unit was very effective in communicating between the system and HP3000 computer. The required time for data transferring was only 1~2 min. 6. By using DC/DC converting devices such as 78-series, 79-series. and TL497 IC, this system was modified to convert the only one input power sources to the various powers. The available power sources of the system was DC 7~25 V and 1.8 A.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.120-126
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• 2012

Objectives : The objective of this study is to measure and to compare the rate of depression, anxiety, self-es-teem and the quality of life of the patients with chest pain. Based on the result of this study, the necessity of the psychiatric assessment and treatment of the patients with chest pain is emphasized. This study is a preliminary research for a larger scale investigation to be carried out in the future. Methods : Thirty nine patients with chest pain who visited Cardiovascular Division of Dept. of Internal Medicine Pusan National University Hospital and fourty normal control group(NC) were included in this study. The patients were classified into typical chest pain group(TCP, N=19) and atypical chest pain group(ACP, N=20) based on the cause of the pain. The cause was determined by cardiac computed tomography, exercise stress test, coronary angiography, and questionaires by a cardiology specialist. The patients were assessed with Beck Depression Inventory(BDI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory(STAI), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale(RSES) and Korean version of the Smith Klein Beecham 'Quality of Life' scale(KvSBQOL). Results : 1) When the risk factors of cardiac disease is compared, most of the factors(Hypertension, Diabetes, Hyperlipidemia, Cerebral infarction) did not differ significantly among the two chest pain groups, except for the family history, for which TCP group showed higher risk than ACP group did. 2) As for the self-report questionaires scores, BDI score, which indicates the rate of depression, of both ACP group and TCP group was significantly higher than that of NC group in BDI for depression. STAI score, which measures anxiety, was also significantly high in both groups. Especially, STAI score was significantly higher in ACP group than TCP group. 3) In the aspect of self-esteem and quality of life, ACP group scored significantly lower than TCP group and NC group. The scores for TCP group and NC group did not differ significantly. Conclusions : The patients with chest pain showed more depression and anxiety than normal control group, regardless of the cause of the pain. However, TCP group did not show significantly larger drop in self-esteem and quality of life than ACP group did. This result implies that early psychiatric assessment and treatment is needed for the patients with such chest pain, since it is highly likely that the pain would lead to lower quality of life of the patients.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2011

Purpose: Immobilizations used in order to maintain the reproducibility of a patient set-up and the stable posture for a long period are important more than anything else for the accurate treatment when the stereotactic body radiotherapy is underway. So the purpose of this study is to adapt the optimum immobilizations for the stereotactic body radiotherapy by comparing two commercial immobilizations with the self-manufactured immobilizations. Materials and Methods: Five people were selected for the experiment and three different immobilizations (A: Wing-board, B: BodyFix system, C: Arm up holder with vac-lock) were used to each target. After deciding on the target's most stable respiratory cycles, the targets were asked to wear a goggle monitor and maintain their respiration regularly for thirty minutes to obtain the respiratory signals. To analyze the respiratory signal, the standard deviation and the variation value of the peak value and the valley value of the respiratory signal were separated by time zone with the self-developed program at the hospital and each tie-downs were compared for the estimation by calculating a comparative index using the above. Results: The stability of each immobilizations were measured in consideration of deviation changes studied in each respiratory time lapse. Comparative indexes of each immobilizations of each experimenter are shown to be A: 11.20, B: 4.87, C: 1.63 / A: 3.94, B: 0.67, C: 0.13 / A: 2.41, B: 0.29, C: 0.04 / A: 0.16, B: 0.19, C: 0.007 / A: 35.70, B: 2.37, C: 1.86. And when all five experimenters wore the immobilizations C, the test proved the most stable value while four people wearing A and one man wearing D expressed relatively the most unstable respiratory outcomes. Conclusion: The self-developed immobilizations, so called the arm up holder vac-lock for the stereotactic body radiotherapy is expected to improve the effect of the treatment by decreasing the intra-fraction organ motions because it keeps the respiration more stable than other two immobilizations. Particularly in case of the stereotactic body therapy which requires the maintenance of set-up state for a long time, the self-developed immobilizations is thought to more useful for stereotactic body radiotherapy rather than the rest two immobilizations with instable respiratory cycle as time passes.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.5 no.4 s.20
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• pp.281-287
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• 2005

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and the role of post-operative adjuvant chemoradiation therapy in a stage-II (UICC, 1997) primary gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: From September 1994 to December 2004, 954 stage-II gastric-cancer patients were seen, and all of them underwent a curative resection with extensive (D2) lymph-node dissection. The chemotherapy consisted of fluorouracil $(400mg/m^2)$ plus leucovorin $(20mg/m^2)$ for 5 days, followed by 4,500 cGy of radiotherapy for 5 weeks with fluorourcil and leucovorin on the first 4 days and the last 3 days of radiotherapy. Two five-day cycles of chemotherapy were given four weeks after the completion of radiotherapy. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate the survival rates. To assess the importance of potential prognostic factors, we performed univariate and multivariate analyses using a log-rank test and Cox's proportional hazards regression model. A P value <0.05 was considered significant. Results: Univariate analysis revealed that age, tumor size, gross type, surgical method, and postoperative adjuvant therapy had statistical significance. Among these factors, age, surgical method, tumor size, surgical method, and postoperative adjuvant therapy were found to be independent prognostic factors by using a multivariate analysis. The postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy group and the chemoradiation therapy group had survival benefit compared to the surgery-only group. However the chemoradiation therapy group had no significant survival benefit compared to the chemotherapy group. Conclusion: The postoperative adjuvant therapy in stage-II gastric-cancer patients had significant benefit. Therefore, postoperative adjuvant chemoradiation therapy has an acceptable effect. A large-scale, randomized study is needed to evaluate the effectiveness and the role of postoperative radiation therapy.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.618-628
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• 1999

Background: Cell growth is a balance between cell proliferation and cell death. Insulin-like growth factor-I(IGF-I), which binds IGF-I receptor(IGF-IR), mediates cellular proliferation as a potent mitogen. IGF binding protein-3(IGFBP-3) as a circulating major IGFBP can inhibit or enhance the effects of IGF-I on cellular growth by binding IGFs. Methods: We investigated the expressions of mRNA of IGF-I and IGF-IR by northern blot and phosphorylation of IGF-IR with the treatment of IGF-I by western blot in 3T3 fibroblast cells. The cellular proliferations of 3T3 cells with the treatments of IGF-I were evaluated using $^3H$-thymidine incorporation and MTT assay. Also to observe the effect of IGFBP-3 on cellular proliferation, 3T3 cells were treated with anti-IGFBP-3 and ${\alpha}IR_3$(monoclonal antibody to IGF-IR) alone or in combination. Results: Our results demonstrated that 3T3 cells showed mRNA expressions of IGF-I and IGF-IR and the IGF-I increased phosphorylation of IGF-IR. The treatments of 3T3 cells with IGF-I increased cellular proliferation in 5 % and 1 % seruma-containing media, not in serum-free media. The addition of anti-IGFBP-3 to neutralize IGFBP-3 showed 2-fold increase of cellular proliferation, and also co-incubation of anti-IGFBP-3 and ${\alpha}IR_3$ together showed similar increase of cellular proliferation in 3T3 cells. Interestingly, when the cells were pretreated with ${\alpha}IR_3$ for 4 hr, prior to the simultaneous addition of ${\alpha}IR_3$ and anti-IGFBP-3, anti-IGFBP-3-mediated cellular proliferation was decreased to control level. All of these results suggest that free IGF-I released from IGF-I/IGFBP-3 complex would be involved in the cellular proliferation. Conclusion: IGF-I is a mitogen through the activation of IGF-IR in 3T3 cells, and IGFBP-3 could be a potent inhibitor for IGF-I action by binding IGF-I.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.42-46
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• 2016

Purpose Mammography is the most widely used scan for the early diagnosis since it is possible to observe the anatomy of the breast. however, The sensitivity is markedly reduced in high-risk patients with dense breast. Molecular Breast Imaging (MBI) sacn is possible to get the high resolution functional imaging, and This new neclear medicine technique get the more improved diagnostic information through It is useful for confirmation of tumor's location in dense breast. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of MBI for tumor diagnosis in patients with dense breast. Materials and Methods We investigated 10 patients female breast cancer with dense breast type who had visited the hospital from September 1st to Octorber 10th, 2015. The patients underwent both MBI and Mammography. MBI (Discovery 750B; General Electric Healthcare, USA) scan was 99mTc-MIBI injected with 20 mCi on the opposite side of the arm with the lesions, after 20 minutes, gained bilateral breast CC (CranioCaudal), MLO (Medio Lateral Oblique) View. Mammography was also conducted in the same posture. MBI and Mammography images were compared to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of each case utilizing both image and two images in blind tests. Results The results of the blind test for breast cancer showed that the sensitivity of Mammography, MBI scan was 63%, 89%, respectively, and that their specificity was 38%, 87%, respectively. Using both the Mammography and MBI scan was Sensitivity 92%, specificity 90%. Conclusion This research has found that, The tumor of dense tissue that can not easily distinguishable in Mammography is possible to more accurate diagnosis since It is easy to visually evaluation. But MBI sacn has difficulty imaging microcalcificatons, If used in conjunction with mammography it is thought to give provide more diagnostic information.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.128-135
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• 2015

Purpose: As the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) began to cover home oxygen therapy (HOT) services from 2006, it is expected that the new services have contributed to overall positive outcome of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We examined whether the usage of HOT has helped slow down the progression of COPD. Methods: We examined hospital claim data (N=10,798) of COPD inpatients who were treated in 2007~2012. We performed ${\chi}^2$ tests to analyze the differences in the changes to respiratory impairment grades. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors that are associated with the use of HOT. Finally, a generalized linear mixed model was used to examine association between the HOT treatment and changes to respiratory impairment grades. Results: A total of 2,490 patients had grade 1 respiratory impairment, and patients with grades 2 or 3 totaled 8,308. The OR for use of HOT was lower in grade 3 patients than others (OR: 0.33, 95% CI: 0.30~0.37). The maintenance/mitigation in all grades, those who used HOT had a higher OR than non-users (OR: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.23~1.61). Conclusion: HOT was effective in maintaining or mitigating the respiratory impairment in COPD patients.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.137-146
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• 2006

Purpose : A regional lymphadenitis is the most frequent adverse reaction of BCG. In order to find out developmental factors and establish a strategy of management, we investigated the clinical courses of children with lymphadenitis following BCG on the aspect of BCG strains, suppurative rates according to the sizes of lymph node and the clinical difference with or without treatment. Methods : From January 1997 to June 2004, 52 children less than 24 month-age-old diagnosed as BCG lymphadenitis in Department of Pediatrics, St. Vincent's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea were enrolled. The type of BCG strain, place of vaccination, location and size of lymphadenitis were assessed with medical records, retrospectively. Finally, we analysed the correlations between BCG strains or the sizes of lymph node and natural remission or suppuration. Results : The first detected mean age of BCG lymphadenitis was 5.5 month-age. The larger of the measurement was at the first visiting, the younger of age that was first presented. The most frequent location was the same sided axillary region of BCG injection. Among 52 subjects, 46 cases(88.5%) were vaccinated with intradermal Pastuer strain, and only 5 cases(9.6%) were done with percutaneous multipunctured Tokyo strain. Twenty eight cases(53.8%) were regressed naturally, otherwise 24 cases(46.2%) were suppurated. The larger those were sized, the higher freqeuncies those were suppurated on, significantly. Treatment with medications could not prevent the suppuration and could not shorten the healing periods. Conclusion : We predict that there are differences between the occurrent rate of BCG lymphadenitis and BCG strains or methods. Treatment with medication is not recommended owing to its ineffectiveness. Especially, in case of non-suppurative lymphadenitis should be onlyless influence on the tuberculin skin test, cause less adverse reactions, and is inexpensive. observed without treatment, because it could be regressed naturally. An ideal BCG makes a scar, We should make an effort to choose the best BCG strain that can fulfill such requirements.