• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.347-368
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• 2017

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of Zizyphus jujuba var. spinosa Composite oil(ZjJ-C_oil) and Aralia cordata var. continentalis Composite oil(ARC-C_oil) to NC/Nga mice induced in Atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions by DNCB. NC/Nga mice which have been induced to Atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions by DNCB are divided into 4 groups, the first is the mice which have been spread with izyphus jujuba var. spinosa Composite oil(ZjJ-C_oil), the second is the mice which have been spread with Aralia cordata var. continentalis Composite oil(ARC-C_oil), the third is which have been spread with dexamethasone (Dexa.) 0.5% on their Atopic lesion, the last is the control group. Then We analyzed skin clinical score, blood sample of each group of measure state of the dorsal skin, the number of immunocytes, and resect the skin lesion to anlayze the state of cells. There are meaningful results of measuring the number of IgE, IL-4, IL-13, $IFN-{\gamma}$, IL-5, the total cells in ALN, dorsal skin, CD4+ Th, CD11b+/Gr-1+ in PBMCs, CD4+ Th, B220+/CD23+ in ALN, $CD4^+$, $CD8^+$ Th in dorsal skin, the level of COX-2, $TNF-{\alpha}$, $TGF-{\beta}1$, IL-4, IL-13 mRNA, the state of the skin lesion and cells in the group with ZjJ-C_oil, ARC-C_oil cream in comprarison with the control group.

• Laboraroty Animal Research
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.248-256
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• 2018

O-2-$^{18}F$-fluoroethyl-l-tyrosine ($[^{18}F]FET$) has been widely used for glioblastomas (GBM) in clinical practice, although evaluation of its applicability in non-clinical research is still lacking. The objective of this study was to examine the value of $[^{18}F]FET$ for treatment evaluation and prognosis prediction of anti-angiogenic drug in an orthotopic mouse model of GBM. Human U87MG cells were implanted into nude mice and then bevacizumab, a representative anti-angiogenic drug, was administered. We monitored the effect of anti-angiogenic agents using multiple imaging modalities, including bioluminescence imaging (BLI), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT). Among these imaging methods analyzed, only $[^{18}F]FET$ uptake showed a statistically significant decrease in the treatment group compared to the control group (P=0.02 and P=0.03 at 5 and 20 mg/kg, respectively). This indicates that $[^{18}F]FET$ PET is a sensitive method to monitor the response of GBM bearing mice to anti-angiogenic drug. Moreover, $[^{18}F]FET$ uptake was confirmed to be a significant parameter for predicting the prognosis of anti-angiogenic drug (P=0.041 and P=0.007, on Days 7 and 12, respectively, on Pearson's correlation; P=0.048 and P=0.030, on Days 7 and 12, respectively, on Cox regression analysis). However, results of BLI or MRI were not significantly associated with survival time. In conclusion, this study suggests that $[^{18}F]FET$ PET imaging is a pertinent imaging modality for sensitive monitoring and accurate prediction of treatment response to anti-angiogenic agents in an orthotopic model of GBM.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.1089-1098
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• 2018

Objective: To investigate the diagnostic yield of contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) in Crohn's disease (CD) patients presenting with acute severe lower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB), and the role of CT in predicting the risk of rebleeding. Materials and Methods: A consecutive series of 110 CD patients presenting with acute severe LGIB between 2005 and 2016 were analyzed. Among them, 86 patients who had undergone contrast-enhanced CT constituted the study cohort. The diagnostic yield of CT for detecting contrast extravasation was obtained for the entire cohort and compared between different CT techniques. In a subgroup of 62 patients who had undergone CT enterography (CTE) and showed a negative result for extravasation on CTE, the association between various clinical and CTE parameters and the risk of rebleeding during subsequent follow-up was investigated using Cox regression analysis. Results: The diagnostic yield of CT was 10.5% (9 of 86 patients). The yield did not significantly differ between single-phase and multiphase examinations (p > 0.999), or between non-enterographic CT and CTE (p = 0.388). Extensive CD (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 3.27; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.09-9.80; p = 0.034) and bowel wall-to-artery enhancement ratio (adjusted HR, 2.81; 95% CI, 1.21-6.54; p = 0.016) were significantly independently associated with increased rebleeding risks, whereas anti-tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ therapy after the bleeding independently decreased the risk of rebleeding (adjusted HR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.07-0.95; p = 0.041). Conclusion: The diagnostic yield of contrast-enhanced CT was not high in CD patients presenting with acute severe LGIB. Nevertheless, even a negative CTE may be beneficial as it can help predict the risk of later rebleeding.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.411-422
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• 2018

Background: Whether there is a difference in outcomes for trauma patients transferring to the helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) according to their previous team composition is controversial. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of trauma team-staffed-HEMS (TTS-HEMS) when transferring to a trauma center. Methods: A retrospective comparison was conducted on patients transported to a trauma center over a 6-year period by the TTS-HEMS and paramedic-staffed-HEMS (119-HEMS). Inclusion criteria were blunt trauma with age ${\geq}15years$. Patient outcomes were compared with the Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS) (30-day mortality) and the Cox proportional hazard ratio of mortality (in hospital). Results: There were 321 patients of TTS-HEMS and 92 patients of 119-HEMS. The TTS-HEMS group had a higher Injury Severity Score and longer transport time but a significantly shorter time to emergency surgery. The prehospital data showed that the trauma team performed more aggressive interventions during transport. An additional 7.6 lives were saved per 100 TTS-HEMS deployments. However, the TRISS results in the 119-HEMS group were not significant. In addition, after adjusting for confounders, the hazard ratio of mortality in the 119-HEMS group was 2.83 times higher than that in the TTS-HEMS group. Conclusion: HEMS was likely to improve the survival rate of injured patients when physicians were involved in TTS-HEMS. Survival benefits in the TTS-HEMS group appeared to be related to the fact that the trauma team performed both more aggressive prehospital resuscitation and clinical decision making during transportation.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.155-161
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• 2023

Background: Surgical closure of an atrial septal defect (ASD) is infrequently indicated during infancy. We evaluated the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients who underwent surgical ASD closure during infancy. Methods: A single-center retrospective review was performed for 39 patients (19 males) who underwent surgical ASD closure during infancy between 1993 and 2020. The median body weight percentile at the time of operation was 9.3. Results: During a median follow-up of 60.9 months, 4 late deaths occurred due to chronic respiratory failure. A preoperative history of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) was the only risk factor for late mortality identified in Cox regression (hazard ratio, 3.54; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.75-163.04; p=0.015). The 5-year survival rate was significantly lower in patients with preoperative history of BPD (97.0% vs. 50.0%, p<0.001) and preoperative ventilatory support (97.1% vs. 40.4%, p<0.001). There were significant postoperative increases in left ventricular end-diastolic (p=0.017), end-systolic (p=0.014), and stroke volume (p=0.013) indices. A generalized estimated equation model showed significantly better postoperative improvement in body weight percentiles in patients with lower weight percentiles at the time of operation (<10th percentile, p=0.01) and larger indexed ASD diameter (≥45 mm/m², p=0.025). Conclusion: Patients with ASD necessitating surgical closure during infancy are extremely small preoperatively and remain small even after surgical closure. However, postoperative somatic growth was more prominent in smaller patients with larger defects, which may be attributable to an increase in postoperative cardiac output due to changes in ventricular septal configuration. The benefits of ASD closure in patients with BPD are undetermined.

• 한국체육학회지인문사회과학편
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.457-467
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• 2016

Understanding professional baseball fans' expenditure is expected to provide fundamental marketing information that help increase each team's marketing profits and values and produce a better economic impact on its community. In this regard, this study employed a survey method with a total of 372 residents located in Changwon. A questionnaire included factors such as demographics, consumption patterns and perceived socio-psychic effect(PSE), all of which were derived from literature review. A binary logistic regression was modeled with a dichotomous dependent variable, expenditure(30,000 won more or less). The following were input in the model as the independent variables in order to see the relationships; gender, marriage, education, occupation, income, location, age, leisure type, distance, companion, transportation, interest, and PSE. The results of the logistic regression analysis are as follows. Overall, the model was statistically significant, χ²(21, N=372)=59.159, p=.000. Cox and Snell R² was reported as .147 and .200 respectively. So, the model accounted for between 14.7% and 20.0% of the variation in expenditure. Among the independent variables, income, location, companion, and PSE were found to be the significant factors to expenditure. For income, subjects with 2 million won less of income, compared to those with 4 million won more, were .38 times less likely to pay the money of 30,000 won more. For location, subjects in Masan, compared to those in Jinhae, were 3.49 times more likely to pay 30,000 won more. Subjects in Changwon, compared to those in Jinhae, were 3.05 times more likely to pay 30,000 won more. For companion, people visiting the stadium alone, compared to those with friends/colleague, were .36 times less likely to pay 30,000 won more. For PSE, the odds of 30,000 won more paid increased by 1.37 times with one-unit increase in PSE.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.424-433
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• 2023

Objective: To assess the safety and efficacy of balloon dilatation under dual guidance using fluoroscopy and bronchoscopy for treating bronchial stenosis following lung transplantation (LT), and to elucidate the factors associated with patency after the procedure. Materials and Methods: From September, 2012, to April, 2021, 50 patients (mean age ± standard deviation, 54.4 ± 12.2 years) with bronchial stenosis among 361 recipients of LT were retrospectively analyzed. The safety of balloon dilatation was assessed by evaluating procedure-related complications. Efficacy was assessed by evaluating the technical success, primary patency, and secondary patency. Primary and secondary cumulative patency rates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The factors associated with patency after the procedure were evaluated using multivariable Cox hazard proportional regression analysis. Results: In total, 65 bronchi were treated with balloon dilatation in 50 patients. The total number of treatment sessions was 277 and the technical success rate was 99.3% (275/277 sessions). No major procedure-related complications were noted. During the mean follow-up period of 34.6 ± 30.8 months, primary patency was achieved in 12 of 65 bronchi (18.5%). However, the patency rate improved to 76.9% (50 of 65 bronchi) after repeated balloon dilatation (secondary patency). The 6-month, 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year secondary patency rates were 95.4%, 90.8%, 83.1%, and 78.5%, respectively. The presence of clinical symptoms was a significant prognostic factor associated with reduced primary patency (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.465; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.220-0.987). Early-stage treatment ≤ 6 months (adjusted HR, 3.588; 95% CI, 1.093-11.780) and prolonged balloon dilatation > 5 min (adjusted HR, 3.285; 95% CI, 1.018-10.598) were associated with significantly higher secondary patency. Conclusion: Repeated balloon dilatation was determined to be safe and effective for treating bronchial stenosis following LT. Early-stage treatment and prolonged balloon dilatation could significantly promote long-term patency.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.539-547
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• 2022

Objective: To investigate the association between functional tumor burden of peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) derived from diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and overall survival in patients with advanced ovarian carcinoma (OC). Materials and Methods: This prospective study was approved by the local research ethics committee, and informed consent was obtained. Fifty patients (mean age ± standard deviation, 57 ± 12 years) with stage III-IV OC scheduled for primary or interval debulking surgery (IDS) were recruited between June 2016 and December 2021. DWI (b values: 0, 400, and 800 s/mm²) was acquired with a 16-channel phased-array torso coil. The functional PC burden on DWI was derived based on K-means clustering to discard fat, air, and normal tissue. A score similar to the surgical peritoneal cancer index was assigned to each abdominopelvic region, with additional scores assigned to the involvement of critical sites, denoted as the functional peritoneal cancer index (fPCI). The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of the largest lesion was calculated. Patients were dichotomized by immediate surgical outcome into high- and low-risk groups (with and without residual disease, respectively) with subsequent survival analysis using the Kaplan-Meier curve and log-rank test. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression was used to evaluate the association between DWI-derived results and overall survival. Results: Fifteen (30.0%) patients underwent primary debulking surgery, and 35 (70.0%) patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by IDS. Complete tumor debulking was achieved in 32 patients. Patients with residual disease after debulking surgery had reduced overall survival (p = 0.043). The fPCI/ADC was negatively associated with overall survival when accounted for clinicopathological information with a hazard ratio of 1.254 for high fPCI/ADC (95% confidence interval, 1.007-1.560; p = 0.043). Conclusion: A high DWI-derived functional tumor burden was associated with decreased overall survival in patients with advanced OC.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.615-624
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• 2022

Objective: To compare the therapeutic outcomes of laparoscopic hepatic resection (LHR) and laparoscopic radiofrequency ablation (LRFA) for single subcapsular hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Materials and Methods: We screened 244 consecutive patients who had received either LHR or LRFA between January 2014 and December 2016. The feasibility of LRFA in patients who underwent LHR was retrospectively assessed by two interventional radiologists. Finally, 60 LRFA-feasible patients who had received LHR and 29 patients who had received LRFA as the first treatment for a solitary subcapsular HCC between 1 cm and 3 cm were finally included. We compared the therapeutic outcomes, including local tumor progression (LTP), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and overall survival (OS) between the two groups before and after propensity score (PS) matching. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression was also used to evaluate the difference in OS and RFS between the two groups for all 89 patients. Results: PS matching yielded 23 patients in each group. The cumulative LTP and OS rates were not significantly different between the LHR and LRFA groups after PS matching (p = 0.900 and 0.003, respectively). The 5-year LTP rates were 4.6% and 4.4%, respectively, and OS rates were 100% and 90.7%, respectively. The RFS rate was higher in LHR group without statistical significance (p = 0.070), with 5-year rates of 78.3% and 45.3%, respectively. OS was not significantly different between the LHR (reference) and LRFA groups in multivariable analyses, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.33 (95% confidence interval, 0.12-1.54) (p = 0.818). RFS was higher in LHR (reference) than in LRFA without statistical significance in multivariable analysis, with an HR of 2.01 (0.87-4.66) (p = 0.102). Conclusion: There was no significant difference in therapeutic outcomes between LHR and LRFA for single subcapsular HCCs measuring 1-3 cm. The difference in RFS should be further evaluated in a larger study.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.91-105
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• 2024

Plantago asiatica L. (P. asiatica) is a perennial plant belonging to the plantaginaceae and is useful in treating a various diseases such as wounds, bronchitis, and chronic constipation. The bioactive effects of P. asiatica extract was evaluated to determine its potential for use as a variety materials in the food, pharmaceutical, and agricultural industries. Polyphenol and flavonoid contents, free radical scavenging, reducing power activity, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) expression were measured to identify the antioxidative activity. Anti-inflammatory effects were evaluated via analysis of nitric oxide (NO) and pro-inflammatory protein expression in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cell. As a result of measuring the antioxidant activities of the P. asiatica extract, the total polyphenol content was 50.91±0.78 mg gallic acid equivalents/g and the flavonoid content was 100.99±0.44 mg rutin equivalents/g, and both DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities and reducing power increased depending on the concentration. Also, intracellular ROS production was inhibited by the P. asiatica extract. No cytotoxicity was observed when P. asiatica extract was treated, and NO and inflammatory protein expression were inhibited, and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) phosphorylation was also inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner. In conclusion, P. asiatica is a functional natural resources of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents that can be used in various industries, including food and agriculture.