• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.36-45
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• 2011

Objectives : Though a proportion of Alzheimer's disease(AD) patients treated with donepezil have shown positive response on cognition, but the responders' characteristics are still uncertain. This study attempts to identify whether a single oral dose of donepezil(5mg) can change cognition and the relationship between single dose responder items and long-term responder are examined. Methods : Twenty-three AD patients for single donepezil challenge study group and eleven AD patients for controls were participated in the study. Seven days after baseline study for neuropsychological test and EEG, same studies were rechecked after donepezil medication in study group. In donepezil study groups, 12 weeks after donepezil medication, neuropsychological test and EEG were rechecked. Results : After single donepezil challenge, forward digit span, Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test copy, SVLT delayed recall were significantly improved, and beta spectra power in anterior, theta spectra power in posterior field were significantly decreased. According to linear regression analysis, forward digit span after single donepezil challenge was significantly positive correlated with long-term responders. Conclusions : This study suggests that single donepezil medication can significantly change cognitive functions and EEG in AD patients. Among these responsive items, forward digit span was significantly correlated with long-term responder.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.58 no.3
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• pp.230-242
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• 2005

Background : Spirometry should be compared with the normal predictive values obtained from the same population using the same procedures, because different ethnicity and different procedures are known to influence the spirometry results. This study was performed to obtain the normal predictive values of the Forced Vital Capacity(FVC), Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 Second($FEV_1$), Forced Expiratory Volume in 6 Seconds($FEV_6$), and $FEV_1/FVC$ for a representative Korean population. Methods : Based on the 2000 Population Census of the National Statistical Office of Korea, stratified random sampling was carried out to obtain representative samples of the Korean population. This study was performed as a part of the National Health and Nutrition Survey of Korea in 2001. The lung function was measured using the standardized methods and protocols recommended by the American Thoracic Society. Among those 4,816 subjects who had performed spirometry performed, there was a total of 1,212 nonsmokers (206 males and 1,006 females) with no significant history of respiratory diseases and symptoms, with clear chest X-rays, and with no significant exposure to respiratory hazards subjects. Their residence and age distribution was representative of the whole nation. Mixed effect models were examined based on the Akaike's information criteria in statistical analysis, and those variables common to both genders were analyzed by regression analysis to obtain the final equations. Results : The variables affecting the normal predicted values of the FVC and $FEV_6$ for males and females were $age^2$, height, and weight. The variables affecting the normal predicted values of the $FEV_1$ for males and females were $age^2$, and height. The variables affecting the normal predicted values of the $FEV_1/FVC$ for male and female were age and height. Conclusion : The predicted values of the FVC and $FEV_1$ was higher in this study than in other Korean or foreign studies, even though the difference was < 10%. When compared with those predicted values for Caucasian populations, the study results were actually comparable or higher, which might be due to the stricter criteria of the normal population and the systemic quality controls applied to the whole study procedures together with the rapid physical growth of the younger generations in Korea.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.17
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• pp.7825-7829
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• 2015

Background: Egypt has the highest prevalence of HCV infection in the world (~14.7%). Around 10-15% of HCV-infected persons will advance to cirrhosis within the first 20 years. The incidence of HCC is expected to grow in the next two decades, largely due to HCV related cirrhosis, and detection of HCC at an early stage is critical for a favorable clinical outcome. No simple reliable non-invasive marker has been available till now. B2M, a non-glycosylated polypeptide composed of 99 amino acids, is one of the components of HLA class I molecules on the surfaces of all nucleated cells. It has been reported that the level of serum B2M is elevated in patients with chronic hepatitis C and HCV-related HCC when compared to HCV-negative patients or healthy donors. Determining the clinical utility of serum B2M as a marker for disease progression in Egyptian patients with HCV related chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma was the aim of the present study. Materials and Methods: In this analytical cross sectional study 92 participants were included in 4 equal groups: Group (1) non cirrhotic chronic HCV; Group (2) HCV related liver cirrhosis; Group (3) HCC on top of HCV,; and Group (4) healthy controls. History taking, clinical examination, routine labs and abdominal ultrasound were conducted for all patients, PCR and Metavir scores for group (1) patients, and triphasic CT abdomen and AFP for Group (3) patients. B2M levels were measured in serum with a fully-automated IMX system. Results: The mean serum B2M level of Group (1) was $4.25{\pm}1.48{\mu}g/ml$., Group (2) was $7.48{\pm}3.04$, Group (3) was $6.62{\pm}2.49$ and Group (4) was $1.62{\pm}0.63$. Serum B2M levels were significantly higher in diseased than control group (p<0.01) being significantly higher in cirrhosis ($7.48{\pm}3.04$) and HCC groups ($6.62{\pm}2.49$) than the HCV group ($4.25{\pm}1.48$) (p<0.01). There was a significant correlation between B2M Level and ALK, total and direct bilirubin and INR (p<0.05), and a significant inverse correlation between B2M level and albumin, total proteins, HB andWBCS values (p<0.05). There was no significant correlation between B2M level and viral load or Metavir score, largest tumour size or AFP (p>0.05). The best B2M cut-off for HCV diagnosis was 2.6 with a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 92%, a positive predictive value (PPV) of 97% and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 100%. The best B2M cut-off for HCC diagnosis was 4.55 which yielded sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive values of 74%, 62%, 39.5, 87.8% respectively (p-value <0.01) while best cut-off for cirrhosis was 4.9, with sensitivity 74 % and specificity 74%.The sensitivity for HCC diagnosis increased upon B2M and AFP combined estimation to 91%, specificity to 79%, NPV to 95% and accuracy to 83%. Conclusions: Serum B2M level is elevated in HCV related chronic liver diseases and may be used as a marker for HCV disease progression towards cirrhosis and carcinoma.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.16
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• pp.7129-7138
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• 2015

Background: The polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), characterized by hyperandrogenism and chronic anovulation, is a common endocrine disorder in women. PCOS, which is associated with polycystic ovaries, hirsutism, obesity and insulin resistance, is a leading cause of female infertility. In this condition there is an imbalance in female sex hormones. All the sequelae symptoms of PCOS gradually lead to cancer in the course of time. It is heterogeneous disorder of unknown etiology so it is essential to find the exact cause. Materials and Methods: In this study both invasive and non-invasive techniques were employed to establish the etiology. Diagnosis was based on Rotterdam criteria (hyperandrogenism, ovulatory dysfunction, PCOM) and multiparameters using buccal samples and dermatoglypic analysis and cytogenetic study for 10 cases and four age and sex matched controls. Results: In clinical analysis we have observed the mean value of total testosterone level was 23.6nmol/L, total hirsutism score was from 12-24, facial acne was found in in 70% patients with 7-12 subcapsular follicular cysts, each measuring 2-8 mm in diameter. In dermatoglypic analysis we observed increases in mean value ($45.9^{\circ}$) of ATD angle when compared with control group and also found increased frequency (38%) of Ulnar loops on both fingers (UU), (18%) whorls on the right finger and Ulnar loop on left finger (WU) and (16%) arches on right and left fingers (AA) were observed in PCOS patients when compared with control subjects. Features which could be applied as markers for PCOS patients are the presence of Ulnar loops in middle and little fingers of right and left hand. The buccal micronucleus cytome assay in exfoliated buccal cells, we found decrease in frequency of micronuclei and significant increases in frequency of karyolysed nuclei in polycystic ovarian syndrome patients. Chromosome aberration analysis revealed a significant increase in frequency of chromosome aberrations (CAs) in PCOS patients when compared with controls. Conclusions: From this present work it can be concluded that non-invasive technique like dermatoglypics analysis and buccal micronucleus cytome assays with exfoliated buccal cell can also be effective biomarkers for PCOS, along with increased CAs in lymphocytes as a sign of genetic instability. There is a hypothesis that micronuclei and chromosomal aberrations could have a predictive value for cancer. From this present work it can be concluded to some extent that non-invasive technique like dermatoglypics and buccal cell analysis can also be effective for diagnosis.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.181-189
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• 2009

Objectives : N100 amplitude slope(the intensity dependence of the cortical auditory evoked potentials) is widely considered as an indirect indicator of central serotonergic neurotransmission. However, there are only a few studies about N100 amplitude slopes of major psychiatric disorders. In this study, we examined N100 amplitude slope differences among major depressive disorder(MDD), bipolar disorder(BD), schizophrenia (SCZ) and normal controls(NC). Methods : We measured the N100 amplitude slopes of 35 patients with MDD, 33 patients with BD, 27 patients with SCZ and 35 NC subjects. Amplitude differences from N1 to P2 at the five different sound intensities(55, 65, 75, 85 and 95dB) were examined at Cz electrode. The N100 amplitude slope was calculated as the linear regression of five N1/P2 peak-to-peak amplitudes across stimulus intensities. Results : BD patients showed significantly reduced N100 amplitude slope compared with NC(0.54${\pm}$0.70 vs. 0.96${\pm}$0.72, p=0.035). N100 amplitude slope of SCZ patients was significantly reduced compared with NC(0.50${\pm}$0.47 vs. 0.96${\pm}$0.72, p=0.027). N100 amplitude slope of BD patients was significantly lower than that of MDD patients(0.54${\pm}$0.70 vs. 0.94${\pm}$0.60, p=0.046). SCZ patients also showed significant reduction of N100 amplitude slope compared with MDD patients(0.50${\pm}$0.47 vs. 0.94${\pm}$0.60, p=0.036). There was no significant difference of N100 amplitude slope between MDD patients and NC(0.94${\pm}$0.60 vs. 0.96${\pm}$0.72, p=1.000). Conclusion : Interestingly, the N100 amplitude slopes of BD and SCZ were reduced compared to NC and MDD patients. Our results suggest the predictive use of N100 amplitude slope in making differential diagnoses of major psychiatric disorders. Clinical implications of N100 amplitude slope in major psychiatric disorders were discussed.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.72 no.2
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• pp.156-162
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• 2012

Background: The main goal of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of reverse transcription-nested polymerase chain reaction (RT-nested PCR) in bronchial washing fluid with MAGE A1-6 common primers for the detection of lung cancers invisible by bronchoscopy. Methods: To determine the expression of MAGE A1-6 gene in 189 lung cancers diagnosed by conventional fluoroscopy-guided lung biopsy and 89 cancer-free controls, RT-nested PCR was performed in bronchial washing specimens. We analyzed MAGE A1-6 RT-nested PCR data according to tumor histology, stage, size, and compared them with cytological data. Results: 189 patients (111 cases in adenocarcinoma, 47 cases in squamous cell carcinoma, 22 cases in small cell lung carcinoma, and 9 cases in other cancers) and 89 benign patients were investigated. The expression of MAGE was performed by nested RT-PCR using common MAGE primer. Among 189 cancer patients, the expression rate of MAGE was 49.2%, and the positive predictive value was 89.4%. However, the expression rate of MAGE in patients with benign lesions was 12.4%. In peripheral lung cancer, the positive rate of MAGE expression was 57.4% in squamous cell carcinoma, 44.1% in adenocarcinoma and 59.1% in small cell lung cancer. Whereas the expression rate of bronchial washing cytology in peripheral lung cancer was 9.0% (p=0.011). Conclusion: MAGE RT-PCR in bronchial washing fluid gave us promising data for the detection of peripheral lung cancer. It could be a useful method for selecting diagnostic tools for peripheral lesions.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.993-999
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• 2008

Ischemic brain injury such as cerebral infarction is characterized by acute local inflammatory response mediated by cytokines. The mechanism of cytokines involved in cerebral infarction progression are uncompletely revealed yet. We investigated to find out the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of interleukin 4 receptor(IL4R) and Oriental Medicine therapy efficacy in patients with cerebral infarction for 2 weeks. Oriental Korean Medicine therapies (herbal medicine and acupuncture) were applied daily and motor functions of patients were assessed using the modified cerebral vascular accident (MCVA) scores. Genotyping for IL4R polymorphism was done by pyrosequencing analysis. In IL4R genotypes and the frequency of alleles, there was no significant difference between cerebral infarction patients (n=124) and controls group (n=175). And there was also no significant difference among good and bad responders in cerebral infarction patients. In this study the IL4R genotype might not be the risk factor or a good predictive genetic marker for good and bad responders in cerebral infarction patients in Korean. Further studies including different cytokine genes will be necessary for the exact genetic markers.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.12
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• pp.4865-4869
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• 2014

Objective: This study evaluated the expression level of high mobility group box-B1 (HMGB-1) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) inmorder to reveal any relation with development and prognosis. Methods: NSCLC and normal tissues were selected from 30 patients at age of 30-73, and used for RT-PCR and Western blot analyses of HMGB-1. A total of 100 paraffin embedded NSCLC tissues were also isolated from patients through surgical resection, and used for detection of HMGB-1 by immunohistochemistry. In addition, 50 samples were also applied for MMP-9 detection, and 30 normal tissues were considered as controls. Correlation analysis of HMGB-1 and MMP-9 was carried out by Pearsons correlation coefficient. Results: The average expression level of HMGB-1 in NSCLC patients was significantly higher than in normal lung tissues. In addition, patients in III-IV period exhibit significantly higher positive rate of HMGB-1 when compared with I-II period cases. Furthermore, a positive correlation with HMGB-1 was found in the expression of MPP-9. Conclusion: HMGB-1 was highly expressed in NSCLC, which may become a prognostic and predictive marker for NSCLC. Besides, MPP-9 was positively correlated with HMGB-1.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.18
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• pp.8253-8258
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• 2016

Elevated levels of soluble CD30 (sCD30) are linked with various T-cell neoplasms. However, the relationship between sCD30 levels and the development of adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) in human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) carriers remains to be clarified. We here investigated whether plasma sCD30 is associated with risk of ATL in a nested case-control study within a cohort of HTLV-1 carriers. We compared sCD30 levels between 11 cases (i.e., HTLV-1 carriers who later progressed to ATL) and 22 age-, sex- and institution-matched control HTLV-1 carriers (i.e., those with no progression). The sCD30 concentration at baseline was significantly higher in cases than in controls (median 65.8, range 27.2-134.5 U/mL vs. median 22.2, range 8.4-63.1 U/mL, P=0.001). In the univariate logistic regression analysis, a higher sCD30 (${\geq}30.2U/mL$) was significantly associated with ATL development (odds ratio 7.88 and the 95% confidence intervals 1.35-45.8, P = 0.02). Among cases, sCD30 concentration tended to increase at the time of diagnosis of aggressive-type ATL, but the concentration was stable in those developing the smoldering-type. This suggests that sCD30 may serve as a predictive marker for the onset of aggressive-type ATL in HTLV-1 carriers.

• KIEAE Journal
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.89-94
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• 2016

Purpose: This study aimed at developing an artificial neural network (ANN) model to predict the optimal start moment of the setback temperature during the normal occupied period of a building. Method: For achieving this objective, three major steps were conducted: the development of an initial ANN model, optimization of the initial model, and performance tests of the optimized model. The development and performance testing of the ANN model were conducted through numerical simulation methods using transient systems simulation (TRNSYS) and matrix laboratory (MATLAB) software. Result: The results analysis in the development and test processes revealed that the indoor temperature, outdoor temperature, and temperature difference from the setback temperature presented strong relationship with the optimal start moment of the setback temperature; thus, these variables were used as input neurons in the ANN model. The optimal values for the number of hidden layers, number of hidden neurons, learning rate, and moment were found to be 4, 9, 0.6, and 0.9, respectively, and these values were applied to the optimized ANN model. The optimized model proved its prediction accuracy with the very storing statistical correlation between the predicted values from the ANN model and the simulated values in the TRNSYS model. Thus, the optimized model showed its potential to be applied in the control algorithm.