• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.396-406
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• 1992

Various susceptibility tests have been used to determine minimal inhibition concentration(MIC) of dermatophytes. They have limitations to apply practically because they need long time to determine MIC. Authors examined MIC of T. rubrum to ketoconazole and itraconazole using 96-well microplate and 24-well macroplate by method of Granade and Artis and tried to check the possibility of this method on clinical application. Nine strains of T. rubrum from patients with dermatophytosis were used. Evaluations of the factors affecting MIC were also tried. The results were as follows. 1. Effect of inoculation density on determination time and MIC : Determination of MIC were possible in 4th days after inoculation at higher inoculation density Caborbance 2.0, 1.0) compared to 6th days at lower inoculation density(absorbance 0.5, 0.25). 2. Effect of incubation temperature on MIC : When incubating at $37^{\circ}C$, MIC were below 0.006-$0.04{\mu}g/ml$ to ketokckonazole and below 0.006-$0.04{\mu}g/ml$ to itraconazole while at $25^{\circ}C$ 0.08-$5.68{\mu}g/ml$ to ketoconazole and 0.006-$0.71{\mu}g/ml$ to itraconazole. Significant reduction of MIC was observed at $37^{\circ}C$ compared to $25^{\circ}C$. 3. Effect of container size on determination time and MIC : When incubating in 96-well microplate and 24-well macroplate, determination of MIC was possible in 4th to 6th days after inoculation in broth-containig 96-well microplate compared to 8th to 12th days in broth-containing 24-well macroplate. But no difference in MIC was observed between different container size. 4. Effect of media on MIC : When using broth as media, MIC were below 0.006-$5.68{\mu}g/ml$ to ketoconazole, below 0.006-$0.36{\mu}g/ml$ to itraconazole in broth-containg 24-well macroplate. When using agar as media, MIC were below 0.006-$5.68{\mu}g/ml$ to ketoconzole, below 0.006-$5.68{\mu}g/ml$ to intraconzole in agar-containing 24-well macroplate. There was slight increase of MIC with agar media compared to broth media. 5. These findings confirm that determination of MIC of dermatophtes by method of Granade and Artis is fast and simple technique for antifungal susceptibility test.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.279-294
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• 1996

This study was carried out to develop a Korean language version of Zung's self-rating anxiety scale(SAS) from august, 1994 to September, 1996. The subjects consisted of 205 normal control subjects from the general population group, and 97 subjects with anxiety disorders. These 97 subjects were chosen from a group by the structured clinical interview for DSM-IV of in patients and out patients. Both normal control subjects and anxiety disorder subjects were drawn utilizing a cluster of sampling methods. In order to analyze the data on anxiety scores, Pearson's product moment correlation coefficient method was carried out, as well as reliability, factor analysis and discriminant function analysis, utilizing the SPSS/PC+ program. The results obtained were as follows: The mean average of the total anxiety scores were 32.36 + 6.35 for the normal control subjects and 50.53 + 7.67 for anxiety disorder subjects. Test-retest reliability(coefficient r=0.98, p < 0.001), and internal consistency(coefficient r=0.96, p < 0.001) were satisfactory. Factor analysis using oblique technique rotation yielded four factors. The normal control subjects scored higher concerning the symptoms such as sweating, restlessness, apprehension, insomnia and dyspnea, and lower for faintness, mental disintegration, paresthesia, dizziness and tremor. On the other hand, for the anxiety disorders, apprehension, restlessness, sweating, dyspnea and insomnia scored higher, and lower for faintness, paresthesia, nightmare, dizziness and tremor.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.455-468
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• 1998

For the objective interpretation of cerebral metabolic patterns in epilepsy patients, we developed computer-aided classifier using artificial neural network. We studied interictal brain FDG PET scans of 257 epilepsy patients who were diagnosed as normal(n=64), L TLE (n=112), or R TLE (n=81) by visual interpretation. Automatically segmented volume of interest (VOI) was used to reliably extract the features representing patterns of cerebral metabolism. All images were spatially normalized to MNI standard PET template and smoothed with 16mm FWHM Gaussian kernel using SPM96. Mean count in cerebral region was normalized. The VOls for 34 cerebral regions were previously defined on the standard template and 17 different counts of mirrored regions to hemispheric midline were extracted from spatially normalized images. A three-layer feed-forward error back-propagation neural network classifier with 7 input nodes and 3 output nodes was used. The network was trained to interpret metabolic patterns and produce identical diagnoses with those of expert viewers. The performance of the neural network was optimized by testing with 5~40 nodes in hidden layer. Randomly selected 40 images from each group were used to train the network and the remainders were used to test the learned network. The optimized neural network gave a maximum agreement rate of 80.3% with expert viewers. It used 20 hidden nodes and was trained for 1508 epochs. Also, neural network gave agreement rates of 75~80% with 10 or 30 nodes in hidden layer. We conclude that artificial neural network performed as well as human experts and could be potentially useful as clinical decision support tool for the localization of epileptogenic zones.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.245-251
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• 2006

Objective: We analyzed quantification of mitochondria DNA (mtDNA) to investigate the relationship of mitochondria and pathogenesis of PCOS. Materials and Methods: Peripheral blood samples were collected from 28 patients with PCOS who were under the inclusion criteria for PCOS and from 28 healthy controls. Genomic DNA was used to analyze real-time PCR for mtDNA copy number quantification. The mtDNA copy number was compared between the control and PCOS groups. All data was expressed as mean ${\pm}$ SD. Statistical analysis was assessed by t-test. Results: In this study, the mtDNA $C_T$ was $11.67{\pm}0.422$ in PCOS patients and $11.51{\pm}0.722$ in control group, respectively. The mtDNA copy number was $1726410.71{\pm}407858.591$ the patients of in PCOS and $2167887.51{\pm}252459.28$ in control group (p=0.08), respectively. Conclusion: In our study, using real-time PCR, there was a tendency of lower mtDNA copy number in the patients of PCOS when comparing to the control group even though statistical difference was not significant. However, more extensive analysis is required to clarity relationship between mtDNA copy number and pathogenesis of PCOS.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.315-322
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• 1998

The objective of this study was to test the effect of catalase on penetration in vitro by spermatozoa preincubated with xanthine and/or xanthine oxidase. The penetration rates were, significantly (p<0.05) higher in spermatozoa preincubated without (66 and 38%) than with (40 and 15%) catalase for 0 and 30 min. When spermatozoa were preincubated and inseminated in medium with xanthine, the penetration rates were significantly higher (p<0.05) in medium with (68, 70 and 49% for 0, 30 and 60 min) than without (33, 41 and 19% for 0, 30 and 60 min) catalase. However, in oocytes were' inseminated with spermatozoa pre incubated with or without catalase in the presence of xanthine oxidase, no decrease in penetrations rates were observed for up to 60 min of preincubation. In another experiment, the penetration rates were significantly (p<0.00l) higher in medium with (75, 55 and 52%) than without (14, 4 and 8%) catalase when oocytes were inseminated with spermatozoa preincubated for 0, 30 and 60 min in the presence of xanthine plus xanthine oxidase. On the other hand, The rate of polyspermy in oocytes penetrated in medium without catalase in the presence of xanthine or xanthine plus xanthine oxidase decreased with time of spermatozoa preincubation. However, no differences were observed in polyspermy rates in the medium with xanthine oxidase alone despite presence of catalase. These results indicate the advantages of spermatozoa pre incubated with xanthine plus xanthine oxidase in the presence of catalase to increase penetration potential and with suppressed polyspermy in porcine.

• Journal of the Korean Arthroscopy Society
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2004

Purpose: To compare the results of two different autografts used to reconstruct the anterior cruciate ligament(ACL): bone-patellar tendon-bone and quadruple hamstring tendon. Materials and Methods: Forty one cases (20 bone-patellar tendon-bone cases and 21 quadruple hamstring tendon cases) were followed up more than 2 years postoperatively. Patellar tendons were fixed with interference screws and hamstring tendons were fixed with cross pins and intrafix sheaths and screws. Follow-up results were evaluated with KT-2000 arthrometer, International knee Documentation Committee(IKDC) evaluation form and follow up X-ray Donor site morbidity was analysed. Results: Final IKDC) scores more than B grade and side to side differences of manual maximum test using KT-2000 arthrometer showed insignificant differences(p>) between the two groups. Plain radiographs of hamstring group showed marked widening of the femoral and tibial tunnels at postoperative 2 years. Patellar tendon group showed 30% rate of anterior knee complications. Conclusion: ACL reconstruction using autogenous hamstring graft with new fixation method showed comparable clinical results to using autogenous patellar tendon graft with fewer anterior knee symptoms.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.82-86
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• 2006

Purpose : The isolated microscopic hematuria is the most common abnormality detected by school urinary screening, but there is no consensus about the range of investigations and long-term outcomes of isolated hematuria in children yet. This study aims to elucidate the prognosis of hematuria and the range of diagnostic studies by follow-up results. Methods : Students with isolated hematuria who were referred to the Department of Pediatrics, Asan Medical Center from Aug. 1990 to Feb. 2004 were analysed retrospectively. Cases that presented Through significant proteinuria(>250 mg/day), other symptoms of nephritis or renal dysfunction (creatinine clearance <85 mL/min/$1.73m^2$) were excluded. Follow-up was done every six months with checking urinalysis, serum creatinine, protein and albumin. When albuminuria was detected, 24 hour urine protein was checked. Renal biopsy was done when urine protein was over 500 mg/day. Results : A total of 331 students were enrolled in this study. There were 157 males and 174 females. The mean age at presentation was $9.9{\pm}2.3$ years(7-15 years) and mean follow-up period was $2.2{\pm}1.6$ years(1-10 years). Seventy five(22.7 percent) patients showed the resolution of microscopic hematuria. The mean resolution period was $2.6{\pm}1.7$ years(1-8 years). Eight(2.4 percent) patients developed significant proteinuria and renal biopsy was done in four of them. Two cases of mild IgA nephropathy and two of minimal change were detected. None of them developed hypertension. At the end of the follow-up, renal function had remained stable in all subsets of patients. Conclusion : The prognosis of isolated microscopic hematuria was good. This study suggests that invasive studies including renal biopsy are not necessary and a regular follow-up of urinalysis is enough for children with isolated microscopic hematuria.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.363-369
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• 2003

Purpose : Pharmacologic provocation test of growth hormone(GH) is a non-physiologic method and has several limitations for diagnosing growth hormone(GH) deficiency. Spontaneous GH release studies could be important in understanding the pathophysiology of children with poor growth but normal responses to GH provocation tests. Also, the relationship between nocturnal GH secretions and sleep patterns in short stature children is poorly understood. The aim of this study is to determine whether there are differences in sleep patterns and nocturnal GH secretory profiles between idiopathic short stature children and a normal stature group. Methods : Spontaneous nocturnal GH secretions and sleep patterns were evaluated in 12 prepubertal idiopathic short stature children with normal responses to provocation tests and 9 normal stature controls. Blood samples were taken every 30 minutes from 22:00-06:30 and sleep patterns were analyzed by polysomnography. Results : The mean GH level during sleep was significantly lower in short stature children than in controls. The peak GH level after sleep, coincident with the first slow wave sleep, was lower in the short stature group. The slow wave sleep times of short stature children were decreased compared with those of normal subjects. Conclusion : These results suggest that overnight serial GH sampling is helpful to identify short stature children with subnormal GH secretions, and sleep structure differences may be associated with decreased overnight GH secretions in short stature children.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.345-350
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• 2003

Purpose : Bacterial meningitis is a serious infection of childhood associated with a significant morbidity and mortality. Repeated cerebrospinal fluid(CSF) examination is a useful prognostic indicator and a delayed sterilization is associated with a higher incidence of neurologic abnormalities. In this study we tried to determine the prognostic value of repeated CSF latex agglutination testing. Methods : We retrospectively evaluated 19 patients admitted to Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital for bacterial meningitis from January 1997 to June 2002. Bacterial meningitis was confirmed by a positive CSF culture and a positive CSF latex agglutination test. Repeated CSF examinations were done at three, seven, 14, 21 and 28 days after antibiotics therapy. Neuroradiologic studies were performed. Results : The mean age was $10.6{\pm}12.3months$(range; two to 33 months). The male to female ratio was 2.8 : 1. The causative organisms were Haemophilus influenzae type b 57.9%, Group B Streptococcus 21.1%, Streptococcus pneumoniae 15.7% and Escherichia coli 5.3%. Three days after the initiation of antibiotics therapy, repeated CSF latex agglutination tests persisted as positive in nine (47.4%) out of 19 cases, but all CSF cultures became negative. In those cases with negative latex agglutination tests three days after antibiotics therapy, neuroradiologic findings were completely normal. But, in cases with positive latex agglutination tests three days after antibiotics therapy, neuroradiologic abnormalities such as cerebral infarction, encephalomalasia occurred in 44.4%. Conclusion : Repeated CSF latex agglutination testing was valuable as a prognostic factor in bacterial meningitis. Neuroradiologic abnormalities may occur in cases with delayed clearance of CSF latex agglutination tests more often than in cases with negative latex agglutination tests three days after antibiotics therapy.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1171-1178
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• 2000

Objective : The purpose of the present study was to determine the appropriate time of clinical intervention by observing and analyzing the changes in the size of infarct, penumbra and cerebral edema and the extend of neurological deficit due to reperfusion damage according to time in a reversible cerebral ischemic model of reperfusing blood flow after inducing ischemia by maintaining middle cerebral artery occlusion for 2 hours(h) in rats. Methods : The rats were divided according to reperfusion time into control group(0 h reperfusion time) and experimental groups(0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, and 24 h of reperfusion time). Results : Changes in the size of infarction due to reperfusion damage were 0.93, 1.48 and 1.16% at 0.5, 1 and 2 h after reperfusion, respectively, and although a statistical significance was not present compared to 1.35% of the control group, damages increased drastically up to 6 h(6.64%), and the size increased were 6.65 and 6.78% at 12 and 24 h, respectively. Also there was no significant difference after 6 h up to 24 h in the size of infarction. In the areas where infarction occurred, reperfusion damage increased significantly with time in cortex than in subcortex. Accordingly, the size of penumbra area also showed a statistically significant decrease from 2 h up to 6 h after reperfusion, and 6 h after reperfusion, the area almost disappeared, becoming permanent infarction. Thus, reperfusion damage showed a significant increase from 2 h up to 6 h after reperfusion, and became steady thereafter. As for the mean ratio of the extend of cerebral edema, the control group and reperfusion 0.5 h group were 1.073 and 1.081, respectively ; up to 2 h thereafter, the ratio decreased to 1.01 but increased again with time ; and in reperfusion 12 h and reperfusion 24 h, the ratios were 1.070 and 1.075, respectively, showing similar size with that of control group. As for neurological deficit scores, the score of the control group was 2.67, that of reperfusion 2 h was 2, those of reperfusion 3 h and 6 h groups were 3.2 and 3.8, respectively, and those of reperfusion 12 h and 24 h groups were 4.2 and 4.6, respectively. Thus, as for the test results, the neurological deficit increased with time 2 h after reperfusion, and in reperfusion 12 and 24 h groups, almost all the symptoms appeared. Conclusion : As shown in these results, although the changes in the size of infarction due to reperfusion damage did not increase up to 2 h after reperfusion in the experimental groups compared to the control group, damage increased significantly thereafter up to 6 h, and the size remained about the same from 6 h to 24 h after reperfusion, becoming permanent infarction ; thus, the appropriate time of intervention according to the present study is at least 6 h before after maintaining reperfusion, including the time of cerebral artery occlusion.