• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.185-195
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• 1991

Seventy four patients with pituitary adenoma received radiation therapy (RT) on the pituitary area using 6 MV linear accelerator during the past 7 years at the Division of Radiation Therapy, Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic University Medical College. Thirty nine were men and 35 were women. The age ranged from 7 to 65 years with the mean being 37 years. Sixty five ($88\%$) patients were treated postoperatively and 9 ($12\%$) primary RT, To evaluate the effects of RT, we analyzed the series of endocrinologic studies with prolactin (PRL), growth hormone (GH), adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), leuteinizing hormone (LH), follicular stimulating hormone (FSH) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) etc after RT. All but one with Nelson's syndrome showed abnormal neuroradiologic changes in the sella turcica with invasive tumor mass around supra- and/or parasella area. The patients were classified as 23 ($29\%$) prolactinomas and 20 ($26\%$) growth hormone (GH) secreting tumors, and 6 ($8\%$ ACTH secreting ones consisting of 4 Cushing's disease and 2 Nelson's syndrome. Twentynine ($37\%$) had nonfunctioning tumor and four ($5\%$) of those secreting pituitary tumors were mixed PRL-GH secreting tumors. The hormonal level in 15 ($65\%$) of 23 PRL and 3 ($15\%$) of 20 GH secreting tumors returned to normal by 2 to 3 years after RT, but five PRL and five GH secreting tumors showed high hormonal level requiring bromocriptine medication. Endocrinologic insufficiency developed by 3 years after RT in 5 of 7 panhypopituitarisms, 4 of seven hypothyroidisms and one of two hypogonadisms, respectively. Fifteen ($20\%$) patients were lost to follow up after RT.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.210-217
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• 1997

Purpose: To prevent residual physical disability and chronic infection, prompt diagnosis and adequate treatment are important in the skeletal infections in children. Although radioisotope scanning is knwon as the method of choice for early diagnosis of bone infection, we conducted a study on twenty nine children who had skeletal infections to reevaluate the most appropriate way in diagnosis and management. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on twenty nine children, who were admitted to the departments of Pediatrics and Orthopedic Surgery and who had acute osteomyelitis or septic arthritis, through review of medical records, radiologic & radioisotope study results. Their diagnoses were confirmed by bacteriologic cultures on the aspirated specimens from suspected bony lesions. Results: 1) Among twenty nine patients, there were 6 infants including 5 newborn infants, and 23 children were aged between 1 and 15 years. Male to female ratio was 1.4 to 1. 2) Point tenderness was noted in all cases, and the common physical signs were swelling, limitation of motion, fever and local heat in the order of frequency. 3) Fifty two percents of the patients were diagnosed within a week after onset of symptoms and all cases were within 15 days. 4) Leukocytosis was noted in only 58.6% of cases but erythrocyte sedimentation rate was increased in all cases except only one case. Staphylococcus aureus was revealed as the most common etiologic agent. 5) Radioisotope scans showed hot uptake in five of six cases(83.3%) who had no abnormal finding on plain skeletal radiolograms. Conclusions: Although radioisotope scan and MRI are helpful in early diagnosis before radiologic finding was detected on plain X-ray film, the antimicrobial therapy can be started after bacteriologic study of the aspirated specimens from the suspected skeletal lesions if skeletal infection is highly suspected clinically.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.56-63
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• 2005

Purpose : Development of renal scarring is associated with delayed diagnosis and treatment of urinary tract infection(UTI). This study was performed to clarify how soon treatment should be started to Inhibit renal scarring after onset of UTI and the factors associated with renal scarring in children with a first episode of febrile UTI. Methods : We retrospectively reviewed 163 patients with a first episode of febrile UTI under the age of 2 years from April 2000 to Ap,il 2004. All patients had a DMSA renal scan and voiding cystourethrogram done in the diagnostic period, 6 months after which a follow-up renal scan was done. After patients wet-e divided into 2 groups according to the duration of fever prior to start of treatment, the duration of fever after start of treatment, and total duration of fever, initial and follow-up DMSA scan findings were analyzed among the different groups. We compared the factors associated with renal scars between the groups with and without renal scars. Results : The initial DMSA renal scan identified abnormal finding in 23% of the patients who were treated $\leq$24 hr from the onset of disease and in 43% of those with fever more than 24 hr. Renal scars developed in 33% of patients who were treated $\leq$24 hr and 38% of those with fever >24 hr prior to treatment. Renal scars developed in 34% of patients with remission of fever $\leq$48 hr after treatment and ill 50% of those with fever >48 hr after treatment. The risk for renal scars was significantly higher in children who had total duration of feyer >72 hr(67%) than in those with shorter duration(19%). In children with renal scars, VUR was most highly associated with an increased risk of renal scar formation. Conclusion : Although children with a first episode of febrile UTI are treated within 24 hr after onset of the fever, renal damage cannot be prevented completely and it is mainly associated with VUR. (J Korean Soc Pediatr Nephrol 2005;9:56-63)

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.49-56
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• 2013

Purpose: IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is one of the major causes of end-stage renal disease. Mass school urine screening (SUS) has been performed to enable early detection of chronic renal diseases, including IgAN. We wanted to evaluate the patients with IgAN, including those diagnosed through SUS. Methods: Between 1998 and 2010, 64 children were diagnosed with IgAN based on renal biopsy results obtained at the Pediatric Nephrology Department, ${\bigcirc\bigcirc}$ University Hospital. We divided these patients into the SUS group (37 cases), diagnosed through SUS, and the symptomatic (Sx) group (27 cases), diagnosed clinically. The medical records of both groups were analyzed retrospectively. Results: The mean age of the SUS and Sx groups was $10.8{\pm}2.7$ and $9.5{\pm}3.4$ years (P >0.05), respectively. Both groups had a higher proportion of male patients. The time from the notification of an abnormal urinary finding to a hospital visit or renal biopsy was shorter in the Sx group than in the SUS group. Regarding clinical manifestations, there were fewer cases with gross hematuria (P <0.001) and edema (P =0.008) in the SUS group, but there were no differences in terms of the therapeutic regimen and treatment duration. Regarding laboratory parameters, the Sx group had a higher white blood cell count (P =0.007) and lower hemoglobin (P =0.007) and albumin (P =0.000) levels. There were no differences in the renal biopsy findings in both groups, based on the history of gross hematuria or the severity of proteinuria. However, in all 64 patients with IgAN, the light microscopy findings (Hass classification) were related to a history of gross hematuria or the severity of proteinuria. Conclusion: There were no significant clinical and histological differences between the groups, as both had early stage IgAN. Although SUS facilitates the early detection of IgAN, long-term, large-scale prospective controlled studies are needed to assess the benefits of early diagnosis and treatment in chronic renal disease progression.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.73-78
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• 2013

Purpose: We aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and associated diseases in children with a horseshoe kidney and compared these data between children and adults. Method: We performed a retrospective analysis of the medical records and radiological findings of 43 patients diagnosed with a horseshoe kidney in the Busan Paik Hospital. The subjects were divided into the children's group (14 cases, age <18 years) and the adult group (29 cases, age ${\geq}18$ years). Results: The study group consisted of 17 males and 26 females with a median age of 34 years. In the children's group (14 cases), 5 subjects were male and 9 were female, with a mean age of $6.7{\pm}6.2$ years. Most of the subjects were asymptomatic and were incidentally diagnosed with horseshoe kidney during their evaluation for another disease. Among the associated diseases in the children's group, Turner syndrome was the most common (5 cases), whereas ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) stricture was observed in 2 cases (14.2%). None of the children exhibited abnormal renal function during the follow-up period. In the adult group (29 cases), 12 subjects were male and 17 were female, with a mean age of 48 years. Eighteen patients were incidentally diagnosed with horseshoe kidney during their evaluation for another disease, and 11 patients had hematuria or abdominal pain due to renal stones. Among the associated diseases in the adult group, Turner syndrome was the most common (5 cases), and UPJ stricture was observed in 5 cases; the other accompanying diseases included hydronephrosis and overactive bladder. Six patients exhibited decreased renal function (serum creatinine level >1.5) during the follow-up period. Conclusion: Horseshoe kidney is usually diagnosed incidentally in both children and adults. In the present study, we noted that Turner syndrome was the most common associated disease in children. In addition, most children were asymptomatic but had a high risk of urologic complications after the transition to adulthood. Therefore, children with horseshoe kidney require continuous follow-up.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.232-243
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• 2002

Purpose: We studied whether brain perfusion SPECT is useful in the psychiatric disability evaluation of patients with chronic traumatic brain injury (TBI). Materials and Methods: Sixty-nine patients (M:F=58:11, age $39{\pm}14$ years) who underwent Tc-99m HMPAO brain SPECT, brain MRI and neuropsychological (NP) tests during hospitalization in psychiatric wards for the psychiatric disability evaluation were included; the severity of injury was mild in 31, moderate in 17 and severe in 21. SPECT, MRI, NP tests were peformed $6{\sim}61$ months (mean 23 months) post-injury. Diagnostic accuracy of SPECT and MRI to show hypoperfusion or abnormal signal intensity in patients with cognitive impairment represented by NP test results were compared. Results: Forty-two patients were considered to have cognitive impairment on NP tests and 27 not. Brain SPECT showed 71% sensitivity and 85% specificity, while brain MRI showed 62% sensitivity and 93% specificity (p>0.05, McNemar test). SPECT found more cortical lesions and MRI was superior in detecting white matter lesions. Sensitivity and specificity of 31 mild TBI patients were 45%, 90% for SPECT and 27%, 100% for MRI (p>0.05, McNemar test). Among 41 patients with normal brain MRI, SPECT showed 63% sensitivity (50% for mild TBI) and 88% specificity (85% for malingerers). Conclusion: Brain SPECT has a supplementary role to neuropsychological tests in the psychiatric disability evaluation of chronic TBI patients by detecting more cortical lesions than MRI.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.325-332
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• 2002

Purpose: Human Na+/I- symporter (hNIS) is known to be expressed in many tissues other than thyroid gland. The breast cancer cells are one of them and the possibility of radioiodine therapy in treatment of the breast cancer may be suggested. We investigated the expression rate of hNIS and the relationship between the expression of hNIS and the finding of 99mTc-MIBI scintimammographv in the breast cancer Materials and Methods: Surgically proved 56 patients with breast cancer were the subjects of this study The expression of hNIS were evaluated by immunohistochemistry and the results were compared to the findings of 99m7c-MIBI scintimammography. Results: Overall expression rate of hNIS was 41.1% in 56 patients. According to the pathologic diagnosis, it was 42.9% in 49 patients with invasive ductal carcinoma and 28.6% in the 7 patients with ductal carcinoma in situ. The expression rate of hNIS in the 41 cases with a focal increased uptake at he breast lesion on 99m7c-MIBI sointimammogram was 31.7%. That in the 15 cases without any abnormal uptake on the scan was significantly higher(65.7%, p<0.05). Conclusion: The expression rate of hNIS in the patients with breast cancer was not so high. The rate was higher in the patients with no increased uptake at the breast lesion on 99m7c-MIBI scintimammography.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.354-374
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• 2016

This study explored spatiotemporal variability of water quality in correspondence with hydrometeorological factors in the five stations of Paldang Reservoir located in the Han River during 4 years from May 2012 to December 2015. Variability of basic water quality factors were largely related with seasonal fluctuations of hydrology. Temperature stratification occurred in the deep dam station, and prolonged hypoxia was observed during the draught year. Nitrogen nutrients were increased with decreasing inflow in which changing pattern of $NH_4$ reversed to $NO_3$ by the effect of treated wastewater effluent. Phosphorus increase was manifest during the period of high inflow or severe drought. Chl-a variation was reversely related with both flow change and AGP(algal growth potential) variations. Our study demonstrated that water quality variability in Paldang Reservoir was largely attributed to both natural and operational changes of inflow and outflow (including water intake) based on major pollution source of the treated wastewater (total amount of $472{\times}10^3m^3d^{-1}$) entering to the water system from watershed. In the process of water quality variability, meteorological (e.g., flood, typhoon, abnormal rainfall, scorching heat of summer) and hydrological factors (inflow and discharge) were likely to work dynamically with nutrients pulse, dilution, absorption, concentration and sedimentation. We underline comprehensive limnological study related to hydro-meteorolology to understand short- and long-term water quality variability in river-type large reservoir and suggest the necessity of P-free wastewater treatment for the effective measure of reducing pollution level of Paldang drinking water resource.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.641-647
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• 2014

In this study, we evaluated the effect of Capsosiphon fulvescens extract (CFE) and its active compound, pheophorbide A (PhA), on diabetic kidney failure. Diabetes mellitus (DM) was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ; 40 mg/kg body weight (BW)). After a week, the rats were orally administered CFE (4 and 20 mg/kg BW) or PhA (0.2 mg/kg BW) once a day for 9 weeks. After scarification, renal tissue samples were collected for biochemical and histochemical analyses. Our study showed that the treatment with CFE and PhA significantly decreased lipid peroxidation level and the activities of glutathione peroxidase and glutathione-S-transferase (p<0.05), but it increased glutathione level and the activities of glutathione reductase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase in the renal tissues (p<0.05). The CFE- and PhA-treated rats with DM showed improved histochemical appearance and decreased abnormal glycogen accumulation. Therefore, we suggest that PhA-containing CFE could exert renal protective effects against STZ-induced oxidative stress.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.492-500
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to investigate the seasonal distribution of phytoplankton as prey for oysters and to characterize the environmental factors controlling their abundance from June 2016 to May 2017, in the northeast coast between Tongyeong and Saryang Island, particularly for the oyster farming area. During the survey period, water temperature changed from $7.54^{\circ}C$ in February to $29.5^{\circ}C$ in August. The abnormal high temperature persisted during one month in August. Salinity was low due to summer rainfall and typhoon. The lowest level was 30.68 psu in September, and it peaked at 34.24 psu in May. The dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration ranged from $6.0-9.45mg\;L^{-1}$, and the DO concentration in the surface layer was like that in the bottom layers. The seasonal trends of pH were also like those of DO. The pH ranged from 7.91 to 8.50. Nitrate with nitrite, phosphate, and silicate concentrations ranged from $0.14{\mu}M$ to $7.66{\mu}M$, from $0.01{\mu}M$ to $4.16{\mu}M$, and from $0.27{\mu}M$ to $20.33{\mu}M$, respectively. The concentration of chlorophyll a (Chl. a) ranged from $0.37{\mu}g\;L^{-1}$ to $2.44{\mu}g\;L^{-1}$ in the surface layer. The annual average concentration was $1.26{\mu}g\;L^{-1}$. The annual mean phytoplankton community comprised Bacillariophyta (69%), Dinophyta (17%), and Cryptophyta (10%), respectively. Dinoflagellate Prorocentrum donghaiense in June was the most dominant at 90%. In the summer, diatom Chaetoceros decipiens, Rhizosolenia setigera and Pseudo-nitzschia delicatissima were dominant. These species shifted to diatom Chaetoceros spp. and Crytophyta species in autumn. In the winter, high densities of Skeletonema spp. and Eucampia zodiacus were maintained. Therefore, the researchers thought that the annual mean Chl. a concentration was relatively lower to sustain oyster feeding, implying that the prey organism (i.e., phytoplankton) was greatly controlled by continuous filter feeding behavior of oyster in the vicinity area of the oyster culture farm.