• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.61 no.10
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• pp.332-337
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• 2018

Purpose: Bell's palsy is characterized by sudden onset of unilateral facial weakness. The use of corticosteroids for childhood Bell's palsy is controversial. This study aimed to identify clinical characteristics, etiology, and laboratory findings in childhood Bell's palsy, and to evaluate the efficacy of corticosteroid treatment. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of children under 19 years of age treated for Bell's palsy between January 2009 and June 2017, and followed up for over 1 month. Clinical characteristics, neuroimaging data, laboratory findings, treatments, and outcomes were reviewed. Patients with Bell's palsy were divided into groups with (group 1) and without (group 2) corticosteroid treatment. Differences in onset age, sex, laterality, infection and vaccination history, degree of facial nerve palsy, and prognosis after treatment between the groups were analyzed. Results: One hundred patients were included. Mean age at presentation was $7.4{\pm}5.62years$. A total of 73 patients (73%) received corticosteroids with or without intravenous antiviral agents, and 27 (27%) received only supportive treatment. There was no significant difference in the severity, laboratory findings, or neuroimaging findings between the groups. Significant improvement was observed in 68 (93.2%) and 26 patients (96.3%) in groups 1 and 2, respectively; this rate was not significantly different between the groups (P=0.48). Conclusion: Childhood Bell's palsy showed good prognosis with or without corticosteroid treatment; there was no difference in prognosis between treated and untreated groups. Steroid therapy in childhood Bell's palsy may not significantly improve outcomes.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.29-46
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• 2013

A survey conducted on 1,103 patients or caretakers visited Korean medical clinics and hospitals between August 25, 2011 to September 30, 2011 by the Ministry of Health and Welfares and Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs was analyzed and obtained following results: 1. For sociodemographic distribution, female(813) outnumbered male(290) patients with majority of patients ranging from 30s to 60s. Married patients(793) outnumbered unwed(150) patients and 65.0% with higher than high school education. Statistical significance was seen in gender, age, marital status, and education level but no significant difference for status of employment, income level, and types of insurance between the clinics and hospitals. (P<0.05). 45.1% had less than \2,000,000 in monthly salary and most of coverage was provided by either regional or work insurance. 2. 67.9% of the patients rated health conditions to be better than average and 32.1% listed as poor. People in good health showed tendency to visit Korean medical facilities. Musculo-skeletal conditions such as arthritis, ankle sprain, lumbago, muscular injury, and frozen shoulder were common conditions, followed by gastric disorders, common cold and herbal tonics. No significant difference was observed between the clinics and hospitals for above conditions, but significance was seen in atopic dermatitis, stroke, and sequela from traffic accidents (P<0.05). 3. Ten most common conditions addressed at Korean medical facilities were lumbago, arthritis, muscular injury, back sprain, gastric disorders, ankle sprain, common cold, herbal tonics, frozen shoulder and stroke. Major treatment modalities rendered were herbal medicine, herbal supplements, acupuncture and moxibustion, cupping, tuina, and Korean midical physical therapy. No significant difference existed between the clinics and hospitals. 4. All modalities showed at least 85% effectiveness. No statistical significant difference between the clinics and hospitals except for herbal decoction. (P=0.0452) 5. 88.3% of responses showed treatment satisfaction with significant difference between the clinics and hospitals (P=0.002). The occurrence of side effects was at 2%, mostly corning from treating digestive, skin, kidney disorders and neurological issues. No significant difference was observed between the clinics and hospitals. From the above results, the typical population visiting Korean medical facilities can be summarized as being middle aged female with relatively higher education and moderately low income. The health condition is generally good and the purpose of visit is to receive traditional treatments of acupuncture, herbal medicine, and physical therapy. Treatment efficacy and satisfaction were high with no significant differences between the clinics and hospitals.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.345-350
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• 2015

Background: Conventional stripping is considered to be the standard procedure for great saphenous vein (GSV) varicosities, but many other alternative treatments such as cryostripping, endovenous laser therapy (EVLT), radiofrequency ablation, and ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy have been developed. Among them, both cryostripping and laser therapy have been reported to be less traumatic, with lower rates of complications and recurrences when compared to conventional stripping. To compare the efficacy of these treatments, we have analyzed and compared the mid-term clinical outcomes of cryostripping and EVLT. Methods: Patients diagnosed with varicose veins of the GSV and treated with cryostripping or laser therapy between September 2008 and April 2013 were enrolled in this study. Duplex ultrasonography was used for the diagnosis and evaluation of varicosity and reflux, and the clinical-etiology-anatomy-pathophysiology classification was used to measure the clinical severity. The symptoms, Venous Clinical Severity Score (VCSS), recurrence rates, and complication rates of the cryostripping and laser therapy groups were analyzed and compared. Results: A total of 68 patients were enrolled in this study. 32 patients were treated with cryostripping, and 36 patients were treated with laser therapy. The median follow-up period was 29.6 months. Recurrence was noted in three patients from the cryostripping group and in two patients from the EVLT group. There was no difference in the VCSS score, operative time, duration of hospital stay, and complication rate between the cryostripping group and the EVLT group. Conclusion: The mid-term clinical outcomes of cryostripping were not inferior to those of EVLT. Further, considering its cost-effectiveness, cryostripping seems to be a safe and feasible method for the treatment of varicose veins.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.930-937
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• 2007

Korean pine(Pinus densiflora) bark was evaluated for its adsorption capacity of Cu(II) ions from aqueous solution by running a series of batch experiments. Prior to the tests, the milled barks were treated with 1 N NaOH or 1 N HCl to examine the effect of surface modification. For comparison, untreated bark was tested under same condition. Within the tested pH range between 3 and 6, NaOH treatment increased Cu(II) adsorption capacity by $139\sim184%$, while HCl treatment decreased it by $37\sim42%$. Maximum copper ion uptake by bark was observed at pH $5\sim6$, but pH of solution was not a potent influence. A pseudo second-order kinetic model fitted well for the sorption of copper ion onto bark. For NaOH-treated bark, the calculated sorption capacity$(q_e)$ increased from 6.58 to 12.77 mg/g, while the equilibrium rate constant$(k_2)$ decreased from 0.284 to 0.014 g/mg/min as initial Cu(II) concentration doubled from 100 mg/L. A batch isotherm test using NaOH-treated bark showed that equilibrium sorption data were represented by both the Langmuir model and the Freundlich model. It was confirmed that carboxylic acid of bark was involved in the Cu(II) adsorption. For NaOH-treated bark, in particular, carboxylate ion produced by hydrolysis or saponification appeared to be a major functional roup responsible for the enhanced Cu(II) sorption.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.41-49
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• 1992

To determine the efficacy of uniconzaole[(E)-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-4,4-dimethy 2-(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)-1-penten-3-ol)](XE-1019) as a phytoprotectant against $O_3$ injury in tomato plants(Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. 'Pink Glory'), plants were given a 50ml soil drench of uniconazole solution at concentrations of 0.001, 0,01, 0.1 and 0.2mg/pot thirteen days prior to $O_3$ fumigation. All four uniconazole concentrations were effective in providing protection against $O_3$ exposure(16h at 0.3 ppm). Uniconazole treatment above 0.001 mg/pot significantly reduced stem elongation, leaf enlargement, leaf area and fresh weight of plant, whereas increased chlorophyll concentration. Transpiration rate on a whole plant basis was reduced by uniconazole treatment and $O_3$ exposure. Uniconazole reduced ethylene production induced by $O_3$ injury but had little or no effect on defoliation of cotyledons and leaf epinasty. Activities of peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase(SOD) were slightly increased by application of uniconazole. With increasing exposure time, $O_3$ increased POD activity but decreased SOD activity. The phytoprotective effects of uniconazole were diminished by applying gibberellin at $10{\sim}20$ ppm. These results suggest that the phytoprotective effects of uniconazole are related to its role of increasing activities of free radical scavengers such as POD and SOD, in addition to growth-retardation as an anti-gibberellin.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.370-379
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to estimate the longitudinal changes in the academic achievement of Korean adolescents who transition from elementary to middle school and examine the individual and social factors of the changes using piecewise growth modeling. For this study, the Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study (MAPS) data from 1st to 6th waves (4th-9th grade) were used. The results are as follows. First, the results showed that the piecewise growth function was the most appropriate method to explain changes in the academic achievement of Korean adolescents with respect to the time of vacation. Second, adolescents' academic achievement declined constantly and was greater for middle school students. Third, parental efficacy, self-esteem, and support from friends had a significant positive effect, while uninvolved parenting and acculturation stress had a significant negative effect on the initial value of academic achievement. Self-esteem and support from friends in the 4th grade prohibit its decline in the first change rate of academic achievements. Meanwhile, acculturation stress for 4th-grade students accelerates the decline of academic achievement.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to assess the whitening effects of an extract from Smilax china L., which is a vine shrub belonging to the lily family. With regard to the whitening effects, 70% ethanol and water extracts from Smilax china L. showed more than 77.6% and 40.2% tyrosinase inhibition at a concentration of $1,000{\mu}l$. Furthermore, the 70% ethanol extract showed cytotoxicity of 89% at a concentration of $100{\mu}g/ml$ in melanoma cells. Western blot showed that the inhibitory effect of the 70% ethanol extract on MITF, TRP-1, TRP-2, and tyrosinase protein expression decreased by 89.9%, 46.2%, 57.6%, and 55.8%, respectively, at a concentration of $50{\mu}g/ml$. Moreover, reverse transcription-PCR showed that the inhibitory effect of the 70% ethanol extract on MITF, TRP-1, TRP-2, and tyrosinase mRNA expression decreased by 78.5%, 58.0%, 78.8%, and 70.8%, respectively, at the same concentration of $50{\mu}g/ml$ concentration. Further, realtime PCR showed that the 70% ethanol extract-induced decrease in MITF, TRP-1, TRP-2, and tyrosinase quantitative mRNA expression rate was concentration-dependent. The findings suggest that the extract from Smilax china L. has great potential as a cosmetic ingredient with whitening effects.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.799-805
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• 2016

Background: There is no standard treatment for patients with platinum-resistant or refractory epithelial ovarian cancer. Single agent chemotherapies have evidence of more efficacy and less toxicity than combination therapy. Most are very expensive, with appreciable toxicity and minimal survival. Since it is difficult to make comparison between outcomes, economic analysis of single-agent chemotherapy regimens and best supportive care may help to make decisions about an appropriate management for the affected patients. Objective: To evaluate the cost effectiveness of second-line chemotherapy compared with best supportive care for patients with platinum-resistant or refractory epithelial ovarian cancer. Materials and Methods: A Markov model was used to estimate the effectiveness and total costs associated with treatments. The hypothetical patient population comprised women aged 55 with platinum-resistant or refractory epithelial ovarian cancer. Four types of alternative treatment options were evaluated: 1) gemcitabine followed by BSC; 2) pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) followed by BSC; 3) gemcitabine followed by topotecan; and 4) PLD followed by topotecan. Baseline comparator of alternative treatments was BSC. Time horizon of the analysis was 2 years. Health care provider perspective and 3% discount rate were used to determine the costs of medical treatment in this study. Quality-adjusted life-years (QALY) were used to measure the treatment effectiveness. Treatment effectiveness data were derived from the literature. Costs were calculated from unit cost treatment of epithelial ovarian cancer patients at various stages of disease in King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital (KCMH) in the year 2011. Parameter uncertainty was tested in probabilistic sensitivity analysis by using Monte Carlo simulation. One-way sensitivity analysis was used to explore each variable's impact on the uncertainty of the results. Results: Approximated life expectancy of best supportive care was 0.182 years and its total cost was 26,862 Baht. All four alternative treatments increased life expectancy. Life expectancy of gemcitabine followed by BSC, PLD followed by BSC, gemcitabine followed by topotecan and PLD followed by topotecan was 0.510, 0.513, 0.566, and 0.570 years, respectively. The total cost of gemcitabine followed by BSC, PLD followed by BSC, gemcitabine followed by topotecan and PLD followed by topotecan was 113,000, 124,302, 139,788 and 151,135 Baht, respectively. PLD followed by topotecan had the highest expected quality-adjusted life-years but was the most expensive of all the above strategies. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) of gemcitabine followed by BSC, PLD followed by BSC, gemcitabine followed by topotecan and PLD followed by topotecan was 344,643, 385,322, 385,856, and 420,299 Baht, respectively. Conclusions: All of the second-line chemotherapy strategies showed certain benefits due to an increased life-year gained compared with best supportive care. Moreover, gemcitabine as second-line chemotherapy followed by best supportive care in progressive disease case was likely to be more effective strategy with less cost from health care provider perspective. Gemcitabine was the most cost-effective treatment among all four alternative treatments. ICER is only an economic factor. Treatment decisions should be based on the patient benefit.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.2909-2912
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• 2012

Aim: To evaluate efficacy and tolerability of topotecan treatment for recurrent small cell lung carcinoma. Patients and Methods: A total of 62 patients were evaluated retrospectively. Statistical analysis was performed using GraphPad Instat (version 3.05). Results: DFifty five of patients (89%) were male and 7 (11%) were female. Median age was $56.7{\pm}9.3$ (34-75). Forty eight of patients (80%) were extensive stage (ES) at the time of diagnosis. Fifty of the patients (80.6 Medical Oncology Clinic) were given median 5.36 cycles of cisplatin-etoposide (2-8 cycles). Time to recurrence was $15.6{\pm}6.13$ weeks in patients with limited stage (LS) and $6.3{\pm}3.82$ weeks in extensive stage (ES) (p<0.0001). Overall survival was $14.0{\pm}6.08$ months in ES and $17.9{\pm}6.88$ months in LS. The difference between two groups was statistically meaningful (p=0.0447). The overall survival of the patients was $14.8{\pm}6.43$ months (4.5-40 months). In terms of survival, there was no difference between males and females (p=0.1171). In 17 (27%) patients who were refractory to topotecan or in whom progression occurred other chemotherapies were used. Conclusion: Small cell lung cancer is chemosensitive, but recurrences occur in short time. Other chemotherapy regimens are used in progression. Topotecan is one of them. Patients who were young and in whom recurrences occur late had given better response to topotecan. Because of the retrospective nature of the study, we couldn't reach the records exactly and consequently, rate and duration of response couldn't be calculated. In recurrent SCLC topotecan is one of the treatment choices. But both hematological and non hematological side effects should be taken into consideration.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.2641-2646
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• 2014

Background: To evaluate efficacy and side effects of glycididazole sodium (CMNa) combined with chemotherapy (cisplatin plus 5-FU/folic acid, PLF) and radiotherapy in treating patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Materials and Methods: Patients with III~IV stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC),were randomly divided into treatment group (46 patients) and control group (45 patients). Both groups received radiotherapy concomitant with PLF chemotherapy. The treatment group at the same time cwas given CMNa ($800mg/m^2$ before radiotherapy), by l h intravenous drip, three times a week. Results: When the dose of radiation was over 60 Gy, complete response rates of nasopharyngeal tumor and lymph node metastases in treatment group were significantly higher than in the control group (93.5% vs 77.8%; 89.1% vs 93.5%, p<0.05). Three months after radiotherapy, complete response rate of nasopharynx cancer and lymph node metastases in treatment group was both 97.8%, again higher than in the control group (84.4% and 82.2%) (p<0.05). In the treatment group, 1, 3, 5 year disease-free survival rates were 95.7%, 86.7% and 54.5%; and in control group, the corresponding disease-free survival rates were 93.3%, 66.2% and 38.6%, respectively, the difference being statistically significant (log-rank =5.887, p=0.015). One, 3, 5 year overall survival rates in two groups of patients were 97.8%, 93.5%, 70.4% and 95.5%, 88.07%, 48.4%, respectively, again with a statistically significant difference (log-rank=6.470, p=0.011). Acute toxicity and long-term radiotherapy related toxicity in the two groups did not differ (p>0.05). Conclusions: Glycididazole sodium could improve curative effects without increasing adverse reactions when treating paitents with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma.