• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.164-169
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• 2008

Purpose : There have been some reports on the prevalence of positive antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody(ANCA) in Henoch-$Sch{\ddot{o}}nlein$ purpura(HSP), but the results were conflicting. We performed this study to evaluate the clinical significance of ANCA(c-ANCA and p-ANCA) in Korean children with HSP. Methods : The medical records of 30 patients(13 boys and 17 girls) aged 6.0$\pm$1.9(5-12) years with a clinical diagnosis of HSP based on the EULAR/PReS criteria were reviewed retrospectively. From the years 2007 to 2008, the sera from children with acute HSP were tested for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies(ANCA). The target antigens of these autoantibodies are proteinase 3(c-ANCA) or myeloperoxidase(p-ANCA). Results : Palpable purpura was seen in all 30 patients(100%), abdominal pain in 20(67%), arthralgia in 17(57%), and renal involvement in 11(37%). Laboratory findings showed leukocytosis in 4 patients(13%), thrombocytosis 18 in(60%), and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate in 18(60%). Anti-streptolysin O titers were elevated in 7% of the patients and no patient showed elevation of serum IgA level. The sera from 29 patients were negative for c-ANCA and p-ANCA by indirect immunofluorescence, but only one patient had weakly positive results, which became negative at follow-up. Conclusions : We conclude that c-ANCA or p-ANCA is not an important serologic marker in children with HSP, because it was neither diagnostically nor immunologically specific in children with HSP. These results suggest that ANCA are not involved in the pathogenesis of HSP in children.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.74-81
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• 2008

Background: Fascin is an actin-bundling protein that induces membrane protrusions and it increases cell motility in various transformed cells. Esophageal cancer is one of the most lethal malignancies, and it exhibits extensive local invasion or frequent regional lymph node metastasis even after curative surgery. We investigate the expression of fascin by performing immunohistochemistry to evaluate the clinical characteristics and prognostic significance of its expression in esophageal cancer patients. Material and Method: Immunochemistry for fascin was performed on 76 tumor samples from 76 patients who underwent esophageal cancer operations. The expression levels of fascin in the 76 esophageal cancer tissues were compared with those in the corresponding normal esophageal epithelium. The fascin-positive samples were defined as those showing more than 75% of fascin-positive cells. Result: Overall, a fascin positive expression was detected in 39 (51.3%) out of the total 76 cases. The tumors with positive fascin expression tended to more frequently show a higher stage (p=0.030), and a higher T-factor (p=0.031). The prognosis of the fascin negative group was significantly better than that of the fascin positive group (p=0.004). Multivariate analysis revealed that lymphovascular invasion and the fascin expression were independent prognostic factors. Conclusion: Fascin was expressed in 513% of the esophageal cancer tissues and a positive expression of fascin was associated with more advanced tumor progression and recurrence. Our study suggests that the fascin expression may be an independent prognostic factor for an unfavorable clinical course few those patients suffering with esophageal cancer.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.132-139
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• 2015

Recently, $p16^{INK4a}$/Ki-67 dual immunostaining has been introduced as a new biomarker protocol for early detection of uterine cervical dysplasia and cancer in liquid-based cytology (LBC). We performed the $p16^{INK4a}$/Ki-67 dual immunostaining using a CINtec$^{(R)}$ PLUS kit in a total of 109 LBC cases of cervicovaginal smear and compared its results with those from LBC, HPV hybrid capture II (HC II) test and histological diagnosis. Expression of $p16^{INK4a}$ and Ki-67 was significantly associated with cases of LSIL or higher in cytological diagnosis and cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 1 or higher in histological diagnosis (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). Among forty-six cases of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) in LBC, $p16^{INK4a}$ and Ki-67 was expressed in 31 (67.4%), which were positively associated with cases of CIN I lesion or higher in histology. The sensitivity of $p16^{INK4a}$/Ki-67 dual immunostaining for finding lesions of CIN 1 or higher was 89.0%, which was higher than LBC. The specificity was 73.5%, which was higher than that of the HC II test. Based on these results, the $p16^{INK4a}$/Ki-67 dual immunostaining method can be a useful diagnostic marker for improving the sensitivity of LBC and the specificity of HC II test.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.728-735
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• 1996

Background : Recognition and ingestion of opsonized microorganisms by neutrophils induces the burst of oxidative metabolic activity. Products of the respiratory burst activity provide powerful oxygen dependent killing mechanism. Measurement of respiratory burst activity has been a major indicator of the functional capacity of neutrophils. We determined the respiratory burst activity of neutrophils in patients with pneumonia and observed the changes during the clinical course of pneumonia. Methods: The EDTA blood was drawn from 24 normal controls and same numbers of pneumonia patients. The respiratory burst activity(with the production of $H_2O_2$ which changes nonfluorescent DCF-DA to green fluorescent DCF) in the non-stimulated state and the stimulated state with fMLP and PMA of neutrophils was measured by flowcytometry at day 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 of admission. Results: The respiratory burst activity of neutrophils was mildly increased by stimulation with fMLP. But there was no statistical significance between normal control and patients with pneumonia. The respiratory burst activity of neutrophils was markedly increased by stimulation with PMA in both groups. There was a significant difference in response to PMA between normal control and patients with pneumonia. The production of hydrogen peroxide from neutrophils was decreased during early course of pneumonia and it was recuperated gradually to normal level in 9 days. Conclusion : Hydrogen peroxide production from neutrophils was suppressed during early course of pneumonia and restored after treatment. It is suggested that the production of oxygen radical in response to PMA stimulation from each neutrophils is decreased rather than increased during the early course of pneumonia.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.59-78
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• 1976

In order to investigate the influences of Panax ginseng (white ginseng and red ginseng) on the anesthetic effect and toxic effect of alcohol, experimental studies .had been carried out with albino rabbits, mongolian dogs and mice. The anesthetic effect of alcohol was observed by measuring the induction time, .anesthetic time, recovery time and duration from the beginning of induction to , the recovery of anesthesia (total time), respectively. and toxic effect ($LD_{50}$) of alcohol was measured. In addition to these experiments, al cohol concentration in .blood, blood sugar level, serum transaminase (GOT and GPT) activities and serum alkaline phosphatase activity were measured. Also in order to study the clinical effect of alcohol in healthy students, code .substitution, response time and muscle coordination were tested. The results were obtained as follows. 1. In the rabbits and mongolian Jags, the induction time of anesthesia by the administration of alcohol was delayed by the pretreatment of ginseng but recovery time and total time of anestksia were markedly shortend. 2. The bleed alcohol concentration was decreased by the pretreatment of ginseng , but not affected in mongolian dogs. 3. The blood sugar level, serum transaminase (GOT and GPT) activities and alkaline phoshatase activity in rabbits and dogs induced by the administration of alcohol were affected by the Pretreatment of ginseng. Because those were included within normal ranges, the differnces have no remarkable significance. 4. Liver alcohol dehydrogenase activity of rabbit was increased by the treatment of ginseng, especially it was markedly increased by the treatment of red ginseng 5. The average lethal dose of alcohol to mice was increased by the pretreatment. of ginseng, especially it was markedly increased by the pretreatment of red .ginseng. 6. In the clinical experiments, the blood alcohol concentration induced by alcohol administration was not affected by the pretreatment of ginseng whereas the bleed sugar level was increased. Blood alcohol concentration and bleed sugar level were measured after three hours alcohol administration. 7. The response time of healthy students administered with alcohol was markedly shortened by the pretreatment of ginseng but the experiments on the code substitution and muscle coordination were not affected.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.141-148
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• 2005

Since many reports for the influence of the essential oils on the oral microorganism were presented, it is important to use the essential oils in clinical field. At the present day which emphasized the quality of life, oral malodor is one of the serious problems, so we need to try to decrease of oral malodor. This study was designed to make on evidence of the effect of essential oils to oral malodor clinically and to develop on effective treatment for oral malodor by using the dental paste which contains essential oils. 40 dental students volunteered to participate in this study and double blind test was used. At the beginning, all subjects were measured their morning malodor prior to this experiment, at the 3cm posterior to their incisal edge of the oral cavity by Halimeter(Interscan Co. Chatsworth, CA). After that we divided the students in half into two groups A and B. We have supplied different tooth pastes, dental paste A and B, to two groups respectively. The dental paste B contained essential oils which are tea tree, lemon and peppermint. All students used different tooth pastes everyday for 3 weeks. And all students were measured their morning malodor every week with the same method by using Halimeter. This study was resulted that ; 1. The dental paste which contains essential oils has continuously decreased the morning malodor during the whole period of experiments. 2. The number of students with increase in their morning malodor was generally decreased in the group B who used the toothpaste which contains essential oils, compared with the group A who used the toothpaste which didn't contain essential oils on the 2nd and 3rd week of the experiment. 3. In the group B, the average data on increasing rate of morning malodor was less than in the group A. 4. In the 2nd and 3rd week of the experiment, the data on the rate of morning malodor of the group B was generally decreased continuously compared with the group A. These results have statistically significance under 95% confidence interval of the difference.(p$\leq$0.05) As the result, the toothpaste which was containing essential oils was effective in decreasing the morning malodor.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.11-17
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• 2006

Purpose: The five-year survival rate is over 95% for radically resected early gastric cancer. The development of diagnostic techniques enables early detection of gastric cancer, so the life expectancy of patients with early gastric cancer is prolonged. Therefore, a limited number of surgeries are performed these days for the purpose of increasing the quality of life. The purpose of this study is to assess the postoperative quality of life after a pylorus-preserving gastrectomy (PPG) compared with that after a subtotal gastrectomy with gastroduodenal anastomosis (B-I). Materials and Methods: One hundred seven (107) patients who underwent gastric surgery for early gastric cancer from January 1999 to December 2003 at the Department of Surgery of Chonnam National University Hospital were selected. We compared patients who underwent a PPG with those who underwent a B-I. The clinical results were compared by using the chi-square test and the Student's T-test. The data were considered to be significant when the P value was less than 0.05. Results: Twenty-nine patients (29) underwent a PPG, and the other seventy-eight (78) patients underwent a B-I. There was no significant difference between the two groups on sex, age, and postoperative abdominal symptoms. The patients who underwent a PPG showed shorter operation times and less reflux gastritis and esophagitis on endoscopic evaluation than the patients who underwent a B-I. Conclusion: The pylorus-preserving gastrectomy (PPG) is a more physiologic operation than the subtotal gastrectomy with gastroduodenal anastomosis (B-I) and improves the postoperative quality of life.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.159-163
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• 1996

Background : In case of tuberculous pneumonia, differentiation from bacterial lobar pneumonia is sometimes very difficult because clinical symptoms, signs and radiological images are very similar. So we investigated the usefulness of CA125, which is known to increase in tuberculous diseases, in differential diagnosis between tuberculous pneumonia (TBPN) and community acquired bacterial lobar pneumonia (LP). Methods : Serum CA125 level was measured in 20 patients with TBPN (female 12 male 8 : mean age 36.1 years) and 14 patients with LP (female 5 male 9 : mean age 45.1 years) by radioimmunoassay (Centocor(R) CA125 RIA kit). Results : 1) The serum CA125 level in TBPN ($333.7{\pm}283.5\;u/ml$) was higher than in LP ($60.9{\pm}66.2\;u/ml$). (P < 0.05) 2) If we took cut-off value as 195 u/ml in differential diagnosis between TBPN and LP, the sensitivity and specificity of CA125 level in the diagnosis of TBPN were 70% and 93%, respectively. 3) There was no significant difference in serum CA125 level between noncavitary TBPN ($242.1{\pm}76.6\;u/ml$, n=10) and cavitary TBPN ($399.6{\pm}318.4\;u/ml$, n=10). (P > 0.05) 4) Following up of serum CA125 level after initiation of antituberculosis treatment showed rapid decline and approach to near normal range in 6 months. Conclusion : High serum CA125 level (> 195 u/ml) was useful in differential diagnosis of TBPN from LP.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.385-391
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• 2005

Background : The incidence of nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) infections in Korea is increasing. This retrospective study was performed to examine the recovery rate of NTM from respiratory specimens as well as the isolated NTM colony characteristics, and to assess the clinical significance of a NTM isolation. Methods : The results of the respiratory specimens requested for an acid-fast bacilli (AFB) examination during 2002 at Asan Medical Center, along with the patients clinical characteristics were analyzed. Results : A total 26,820 respiratory specimens were requested for the acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear and culture during the study period. The proportion of M. tuberculosis and NTM isolation was 5.7% and 2.2%, respectively. Among the AFB smear and culture positive specimens, 12.2% were found to be NTM. The scotochromogen showing a low colony count < 20, which appeared to be contaminants, were isolated in 31.8% of the 584 NTM isolates. Excluding the low-colony scotochromogens, the M. avium-intracellulare complex was the most common NTM isolates (42.1%), and was also the most common causative organism for NTM pulmonary diseases. 8.4% (23/275) and 17.8% (49/275) of patients with NTM isolates met the American and British Thoracic Society diagnostic criteria for NTM pulmonary disease, respectively. Conclusion : In case of a positive AFB-smear or culture result, the possibility of NTM being a causative organism should always be considered, even in Korea, which has an intermediate incidence of tuberculosis.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.55-60
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• 2010

Purpose: The shrinkage of dental resin cement may cause several clinical problems such as distortion that may jeopardize the accurate fit to the prepared tooth and internal stress within the restorations. It is important to know the polymerization shrinkage-strain of dental resin cement to reduce clinical complications. The purpose of this study was to investigate the polymerization shrinkage-strain kinetics of six commercially available dental resin cements. Material and methods: Three self-cure resin cements (Fujicem, Superbond, M-bond) and three dual-cure resin cements (Maxcem, Panavia-F, Variolink II) were investigated. Time dependent polymerization shrinkage-strain kinetics of the materials were measured by the Bonded-disk method as a function of time at $23^{\circ}C$, with values particularly noted at 1, 5, 10, 30, 60, 120 min after mixing. Five recordings were taken for each materials. The data were analyzed with one-way ANOVA and Scheffe post hoc test at the significance level of 0.05. Results: Polymerization shrinkage-strain values were 3.72%, 4.19%, 4.13%, 2.44%, 7.57%, 2.90% for Fujicem, Maxcem, M bond, Panavia F, Superbond, Variolink II, respectively at 120 minutes after the start of mixing. Panavia F exhibited maximum polymerization shrinkage-strain values, but Superbond showed minimum polymerization shrinkage-strain values among the investigated materials (P < .05). There was no significant differences of shrinkage-strain value between Maxcem and M bond at 120 minutes after the start of mixing (P > .05). Most shrinkage of the resin cement materials investigated occurred in the first 30 minutes after the start of mixing. Conclusion: The onset of polymerization shrinkage of self-cure resin cements was slower than that of dual-cure resin cements after mixing, but the net shrinkage strain values of self-cure resin cements was higher than that of dual-cure resin cements at 120 minutes after mixing. Most shrinkage of the dental resin cements occurred in the first 30 minutes after mixing.