• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.5.1-5.22
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• 2022

The approval of immunotherapies such as checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs), adoptive cell therapies and cancer vaccines has revolutionized the way cancer treatment is approached. While immunotherapies have improved clinical outcome in a variety of tumor types, some cancers have proven harder to combat using single agents, underscoring the need for multi-targeted immunotherapy approaches. Efficacy of CPIs and cancer vaccines requires patients to have a competent immune system with adequate cell numbers while the efficacy of adoptive cellular therapy is limited by the expansion and persistence of cells after infusion. A promising strategy to overcome these challenges is combination treatment with common gamma-chain cytokines. Gamma-chain cytokines play a critical role in the survival, proliferation, differentiation and function of multiple immune cell types, including CD8 T-cells and NK cells, which are at the center of the anti-tumor response. While the short halflife of recombinant cytokines initially limited their application in the clinic, advancements in protein engineering have led to the development of several next-generation drug candidates with dramatically increased half-life and bioactivity. When combining these cytokines with other immunotherapies, strong evidence of synergy has been observed in preclinical and clinical cancer settings. This promising data has led to the initiation of 70 ongoing clinical trials including IL-2, IL-7, IL-15 and IL-21. This review summarizes the recent advancements of common gamma-chain cytokines and their potential as a cancer immunotherapy.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.20-28
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• 2018

Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection disease caused by members of the species Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) complex. Approximately one third of the world's population is infected with TB. In Korea, approximately 40,000 new patients are identified each year. Moreover, infections from non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) have also increased. In the diagnosis of TB and NTM, traditional bacterial cultures are required for 3 to 4 weeks. Therefore, rapid and accurate diagnostic tests for TB and NTM are needed. To distinguish between TB and NTM, a range of diagnostic methods have been developed worldwide. In vitro diagnostic assays are constantly being developed to meet the increasing need for the rapid and accurate identification for TB and NTM. On the other hand, the performance evaluations of in vitro diagnostic reagents for TB and NTM are lacking. Recently, the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) issued a guideline for in vitro diagnostic reagents for MTB and NTM. Here, this study analyzed the performance of currently developed in vitro diagnostic reagents for TB and NTM in the US FDA. This analysis of US FDA approved molecular assays could serve as a useful reference for an evaluation of the reagent performance of TB and NTM.

• Journal of Korean Medicine for Obesity Research
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.87-93
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• 2024

Objectives: Obesity is a globally prevalent public health issue. Hence, there is a need for the development of safer and more effective anti-obesity drugs. Lythrum salicaria, a traditional medicinal herb used for centuries, has been reported to improve lipid metabolism and fat accumulation. It also has a low toxicity profile. Therefore, its potential as a functional ingredient in health functional foods needs to be evaluated. Methods: In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, 90 participants will be randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. Each subject will orally receive L. salicaria extract (1,350 mg/day) (500 mg L. salicaria+850 mg lactose as vehicle) or lactose (1,350 mg/day) as a hard capsule formula for 84 days (12 weeks). The primary outcome will be body fat mass (kg), which will be assessed using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) (performed only at visits 2 and 4). Secondary outcomes include body mass index, body weight, waist-to-hip ratio, body fat percentage (%) measured using DXA, lean body mass (kg) measured using DXA (assessed only at visits 2 and 4), lipids (total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and calculated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol), free fatty acid, high sensitivity C-reactive protein, adiponectin, and leptin. Conclusions: This protocol will be implemented after approval of Institutional Review Board of Pusan National University Korean Medicine Hospital (approval number: PNUKHIRB-2022-08-002) and registration with the Korean National Clinical Research Information Service (CRIS) (CRIS-KCT0008060). The results of this trial will provide potential of L. salicaria as a new anti-obesity functional food with fat-reducing effects and low toxicity.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.353-362
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• 2023

TOC, which can measure more than 90% of organic substances, can be measured quickly and easily,replacing BOD and COD, which were indicators of organic pollutants. According to water quality pollution control standards, when measuring TOC, if the inorganic carbon ratio in the sample is over 50%, the NPOC (Non-Purgeable Organic Carbon) method should be used. If volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are present at a certain concentration, the TC-IC (subtracting inorganic carbon from total carbon) method should be used. To validate the limitations of these analytical conditions, experiments were conducted by varying the ratio of TOC to IC in purified water and measuring the concentration of TOC in test solutions. The results showed no significant difference between the TC-IC method and the NPOC method. When measuring samples with added VOC standard solutions, it was observed that the carbon loss due to purging was not significant when using the NPOC method. Therefore, it is concluded that the choice of analytical method does not lead to significant differences when VOCs are present in the sample. To account for potential variations in results based on water quality pollution control standards and regulations regarding the approval and testing of environmental measurement devices, a comparison of field sample concentration values was made using two widely used types of TOC analyzers in Korea. The results showed variations of 0.02 to 0.83 mg/L between methods depending on the manufacturer, highlighting the need for caution when selecting an instrument.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.1156-1169
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• 2000

The study was aimed at developing an independent hospice center model that would be best suited for Korea based on a literature review and the current status of local and international hospices. For the study, five local and six international hospice organizations were surveyed. Components of the hospice center model include philosophy, purpose, resources (workers, facilities, and equipment), allocation of resources, management, financial support and hospice team service. The following is a summary of the developed model: Philosophies for the hospice center were set as follows: based on the dignity of human life and humanism, help patients spend the rest of their days in a meaningful way and accept life positively. On the staff side, to pursue a team-oriented holistic approach to improve comfort and quality of life for terminally ill persons and their families. The hospice center should have 20 beds with single, two, and four bed rooms. The center should employ, either on a part-time or full-time basis, a center director, nurses, doctors, chaplains, social workers, pharmacists, dieticians, therapists, and volunteers. In addition, it will need an administrative staff, facility managers and nurses aides. The hospice should also be equipped with facilities for patients, their families, and team members, furnished with equipment and goods at the same level of a hospital. represented by a center director who reports to a board and an advisory committee. Also, the center director administers a steering committee and five departments, namely, Administration, Nursing Service, Social Welfare, Religious Services, and Medical Service. Furthermore, the center should be able to utilize a direct and support delivery systems. The direct delivery system allows the hospice center to receive requests from, or transfer patients to, hospitals, clinics, other hospice organizations (by type), public health centers, religious organizations, social welfare organizations, patients, and their guardians. On the other hand, the support delivery system provides a link to outside facilities of various medical suppliers. In terms of management, details were made with regards to personnel management, records, infection control, safety, supplies and quality management. For financial support, some form of medical insurance coverage for hospice services, ways to promote a donation system and fund raising were examined. Hospice team service to be provided by the hospice center was categorized into assessment, physical care, emotional care, spiritual care, bereavement service, medication, education and demonstrations, medical supplies rental, request service, volunteer service, and respite service. Based on the results, the study has drawn up the following suggestions: 1. The proposed model for a hospice center as presented in the study needs to be tested with a pilot project. 2. Studies on criteria for legal approval and license for a hospice center need to be conducted to develop policies. 3. Studies on developing a hospice charge system and hospice standards that meet local conditions in Korea need to be conducted.

• 한국보건간호학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.224-227
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• 2002

Alcoholism affects not only the individuals who depend on it, but also their families. Children who have an alcohol dependent parent have various problems and need help, but little attention has been given to them. Many references report only negative characteristics of these children. In order to help the children of alcohol dependent parents, health professionals need more information. A wholistic understanding and analysis of these children is needed as a basis for the development of suitable programs of help them. A phenomenological methodology was used to identify the experience of children whose fathers were addicted to alcohol. The findings portray the essence of the lived experience of children of alcohol dependent fathers. Nine adolescents participated in in-depth inverviews and observation with the researcher, done between October and December 2001. The data were recorded on audio tape and transcribed. Sampling was continued until the data were theorectically saturated. The Colaizzi's method was used for data analysis. The results of this study are as follows. Three themes and twenty six meanings were identified. The first theme is Living Alone: living abusively as partner to an alcohol dependent father, living dangerously like an explosive fury, living as an object that ha no self, living with rejection of fatherly being, living with felt responsibility but having no power to help mother who suffers patiently with pain and abuse, living along with no shoulder to lean on, and living with the prejudice of sex discrimination. The second theme is Paradoxical Coping in Life. The meanings are obsessive behavior as a way to control father's behavior, always on the defensive due to anxiety and tension, being afraid of life alone due to paranoid thoughts, contradictory expectation about father's drinking behavior due to life with chronic tension, stress becoming familiar and life being boring and tendious without stimulation, life that is fake and filled with misinterpretations about reality, affection sought from others due to loneliness, compensatory life within peer group, negative expectation about the future due to negative experiences, controling others to protect ego, denial of real emotion to protect self from hurt, life of regretting self, and strong need for approval from others. The third theme is sustaining life. The meanings are ambivalence between revenge on father and pity, struggle for desirable self against fear of gather-like image, understanding father through self reflection, hope to find fatherly being through father's recovery, being able to stand through emotional control and cognitive restructuring, nurturing the seed of hope for the future while in a situation of desperation. The contribution of this study is to give a wholistic understanding of the empirical reality of children of alcohol dependent parents and to develop substantive theory in nursing knowledge. In nursing practice, the results of this study can provide a foundation for the development of programs for children of alcohol dependent parents.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.148-160
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• 2009

Purpose: We intended to observe the correlations between Primary dysmenorrhea severity and Questionnaires for Blood Stasis Pattern. Methods: After initial approval by Kyung-Hee University Oriental Medical Hospital Institutional Review Board of Clinical Trials, volunteers for the clinical trial were recruited. We selected the 52 primary dysmenorrhea patients by the screening tests (clinical examination and inquiry). The severity of dysmenorrhea was evaluated by VAS (Visual Analog Scale), VRS (Verbal Rating Scale) & MVRS (Multidimensional Verbal Rating Scale). The severity of Blood Stasis was evaluated by Questionnaires for Blood Stasis Pattern. For statistics, we used Spearman's rho correlations, SPSS 13.0 for windows. Results: In case of VAS, though two items (眼瞼下靑紫, 便黑) of Questionnaires for Blood Stasis Pattern were correlated, total score & discriminant function score of Questionnaires for Blood Stasis Pattern were not correlated. In case of VRS, though two items (小腹痛, 夜間痛) of Questionnaires for Blood Stasis Pattern were correlated, total score & discriminant function score of Questionnaires for Blood Stasis Pattern were not correlated. In case of MVRS, though one items (久痺症) of Questionnaires for Blood Stasis Pattern were correlated, total score & discriminant function score of Questionnaires for Blood Stasis Pattern were not correlated. Conclusion: Though the results showed partial correlation of Primary dysmenorrhea severity and Questionnaires for Blood Stasis Pattern, we need further study after improvement and complementation of Questionnaires for Blood Stasis Pattern.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.15-30
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• 1973

Nursing education in Korea has made rapid progress recently. There is .: great deal of support with approval and encouragement of this progress. However, much disapproval of its validity has asserted some restraints on it. The aims of nursing education should be based on the principle that education is planned according to tile need much research has been made with such a viewpoint but much still remains unclear. The present study is aimed at establishing the needs for nursing manpower based on the biological demand for medical care. The needs for nursing manpower have been emphasized by many researchers and authorities on nursing education, and the prevailing medical trends also demand it. In this study, through the study of various hooks and records concerned, and the compiling of data analysis and questionnaires, I came to the following figures for the proposed needs of nursing manpower: There figures are greater than those calculated by another method by the government research program but it shows approximately the same final figure as that of the government report for the end of the target year. With these findings, I concluded that: 1) As the final purpose of the government medical project is to fulfill the needs of the national health (that is, to support the national needs for medical care), the plan of this project should follow the theory of biological demand for medical care, recognizing that the numbers will increase gradually. 2) Qualitative growth, based on the advanced and specialized nursing profession. should be promoted to meet the rapid growth of the medical needs of the nation in addition to promoting of investments for the facilities. and of the preparatory investments for education needs. 3) For efficient and economic utilization of nursing manpower, the improvement of wages, and the offering of free education is necessary. 4) Amendments to the low promising innovation and advancement of medical treatment; preparation of a national fund for medical care; and, changing of national attitudes to bring about greater concern are desirable.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.368-374
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• 2023

Background: Recognizing that access to safe and healthy working conditions is a human right, the World Health Organization (WHO) calls for specific occupational safety and health (OSH) programs for health workers (HWs). The WHO health systems' building blocks, and the International Labour Organization (ILO), highlight the importance of information as part of effective systems. This study examined how OSH stakeholders access, use, and value an occupational health information system (OHIS). Methods: A cross-sectional survey of OSH stakeholders was conducted as part of a larger quasi experimental study in four teaching hospitals. The study hospitals and participants were purposefully selected and data collected using a modified questionnaire with both closed and open-ended questions. Quantitative analysis was conducted and themes identified for qualitative analysis. Ethics approval was provided by the University of Pretoria and University of British Columbia. Results: There were 71 participants comprised of hospital managers, health and safety representatives, trade unions representatives and OSH professionals. At least 42% reported poor accessibility and poor timeliness of OHIS for decision-making. Only 50% had access to computers and 27% reported poor computer skills. When existing, OHIS was poorly organized and needed upgrades, with 85% reporting the need for significant reforms. Only 45% reported use of OHIS for decision-making in their OSH role. Conclusion: Given the gap in access and utilization of information needed to protect worker's rights to a safe and healthy workplace, more attention is warranted to OHIS development and use as well as education and training in South Africa and beyond.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.691-711
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• 2011

This study examines the preliminary license and approval facilitation standards for improvements in quality for childcare centers focusing on the number of children, building space standards, facilities and equipment, and childcare program. Data from 48 caese was collected from childcare centers nationwide in Korea through a questionnaire and building plan. The first step for starting care licensing is to work out the ages and numbers of children within four or five age ranges. The second step is to work out the number of children as small, medium, or large considering staff to child ratios and building size. The Nnext step is to make a choice about childcare service quality classification as minimum, fair, or good, considering space requirements per child for the building, the classroom and the outdoor playground. The next step is to make a choice of space organization relating to service programs, considering the sleeping and eating area, indoor play area, toilet & washing facilities, classroom layouts such as cluster type, double zone type, single zone type, and others. Also, each room and entrance, office, kitchen, storage, laundry, teacher's area, and chilldren's area, need to be checked for space requirements and performances. The last step is to arrange the childcare program with the building and site plan. In conclusion childcare service quality will get better by upgrading of license regulation especially in minimum space requirements per child, corresponding with an increase in GNP and housing area per person. This is needed for childcare licensing in order to determine the quality level of childcare service.