• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.107-111
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• 2017

Objectives: Radiation is one of the most important sources of free radical (such as reactive oxygen species) production, which plays an essential role in the etiology of over hundred diseases. The aim of the study was to investigate some immune parameters and hematological indices in healthy workers of the Radiology Department, University Hospital of Mashhad, Iran. Methods: The study was performed on 50 healthy workers: 30 radiology staff as the case group and 20 laboratory workers as the control group. The radiation dose received by the radiology staff participating in the study was less than the annual maximum permissible level, 50 millisievert. Hematological parameters, lymphocyte proliferation and cytokine production were studied in both groups. Results: Among healthy radiology workers, the hematological indices did not differ statistically; however, their proliferation indices and $IFN-{\gamma}$ levels showed significant increases in parallel with decreases in the IL-4 levels as compared to controls. The immune system of workers exposed to low-dose ionizing radiation was found to be shifted from a Type 2 to a Type 1 response to promote cellular immunity. Conclusion: Based on our data, exposure to low-dose ionizing radiation may decrease the prevalence, frequency, and recurrence of various cancers and infectious diseases because of an increase in Th1-cell-based response, thus leading to more protection of the human body against tumor cells and foreign agents and possibly increased longevity. However, due to high rate of fluoroscopy use for interventional radiology, we suggest continuing research projects on radiation protection and hazards to prevent irreversible damage. As a recommendation, in future studies, radiology staff with a weakened immunity due to high radiation exposure should be considered as good choices to be treated using acupuncture techniques because acupuncture has been demonstrated to enhance the function and the number of immune cells.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.549-565
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• 2000

Comprehensive review of the literature was conducted to determine 1) selected risk factors and its impact that affect pregnancy outcome such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and substance abuse 2) these factors can facilitate future strategies for health promotion and prevention for both pregnant women and fetus. Review of literature were extracted from searching MEDLINE(1966 - Oct. 2000). CINAHL (1982 - Oct. 2000) and the domestic literature. The following factors were identified: 1. The effects of risk behaviors on pregnancy. ${\cdot}$Maternal smoking was associated with the occurrence of premature or LBW delivery, fetal growth retardation, extremities defects, heart defects and sudden infant death syndrome. ${\cdot}$Maternal alcohol consumption was associated with spontaneous abortion, premature or LBW delivery, morphologic/neurologic problems, especially fetal alcohol syndrome. ${\cdot}$Heroin was associated with withdrawal after birth in which were born to heroine addicts for gestational age and lung maturation in animal studies. ${\cdot}$Cocaine was associated with spontaneous abortion, abruptio placenta and a poor response to environmental stimuli. ${\cdot}$So far, the effects of caffeine on pregnancy was controversial, but severe caffeine consumption was associated with premature or LBW delivery, spontaneous abortion, still birth and dystocia. 2. Intervention methods and its effects identified were as follows ${\cdot}$Conducted intervention for smoking, alcohol and drug consumption were single or combined. ${\cdot}$Intervention methods were counseling, phone contact, mailing, use of educational videotape, booklet, support person and alternatives such as nicotine patch. ${\cdot}$The interventions increased the rates of smoking cessation during pregnancy and awareness of the risk of drug consumption, and decreased amount of alcohol consumption. ${\cdot}$The intervention outcome found positive effect on birth weight and length. 3. Our recommendations were as follows ${\cdot}$The personal and social cognition should be enhanced through education and the mass media. ${\cdot}$It's necessary to educate and give information of preconceptional care, planned pregnancy and early prenatal care for optimal pregnancy outcome. ${\cdot}$It's necessary to develop comprehensive assessment tool which is reliable and valid on smoking, alcohol consumption and substance abuse to identify supportive or interventional program.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.85-89
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• 2009

Objective : The International Study of Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms (ISUIA) reported that the 5-year cumulative rupture rate of small unruptured aneurysms less than 7 mm in diameter is very low depending on the aneurysm's location. However, we have seen a large number of ruptured aneurysms less than 7 mm in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to review our experience and to measure the size and location at which aneurysms ruptured in our patient population. Methods : We reviewed the characteristics of aneurysms, such as size and location, from the original angiograms of patients who were admitted to our hospital between January 2004 and December 2007. All aneurysms were treated surgically or through endovascular procedures. Results : Interventional or surgical treatment was given to a total of 889 patients, including 568 females and 321 males. At the time of our study, 627 cases were ruptured aneurysms and 262 cases were unruptured aneurysms. Of the ruptured cases, the mean diameter of the aneurysm was 6.28 mm. We found that 71.8% of ruptured aneurysms were smaller than 7 mm in diameter, and 87.9%, were smaller than 10 mm. Based on location, the data show that anterior communicating artery aneurysms most often presented with rupture sizes less than 7 mm (76.8%) and 10 mm (92.1%) in diameter. Most ruptured aneurysms were less than 7 mm in size, although recent studies have noted that small aneurysms are less likely to rupture. Conclusion : Although the natural history of unruptured intracranial aneurysms remains controversial, the aneurysm size and location play a signigicant role in determining the risk of rupture. Larger sample sizes and a long term study are needed to reveal the natural history and the rupture risk of unruptured intracranial aneurysms because the size of most ruptured aneurysms was less than 7 mm in diameter in our series.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.92-102
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• 2016

While there have many completions of large parks recently under development, there has been a dearth of quality assessments. Studies focused on post-evaluation have been made to resolve this, but most of these are biased toward user satisfaction after completion and therefore behaviour analysis has limitations on solving problemsduring the actual design implementation processes. Therefore, this study examined the internal phenomenon and structure of the implementation process of design competition through the ground theory and microscopic independent perspective. As a result, maintaining the identity and differentiation of parks derived from the preserved design competition scheme contributed greatly to completeness and satisfaction. Outcomes were mainly caused by the trust of public officials as the ordering organization, the will of policy decision-makers, and the competence of operational enterprises, etc. Negative factors such as undermining the whole concept of the park and landscape occurred as external pressure and related subjects intruded on change design factors due to variations in social conditions. Additionally, illogical construction processes occurred, such as a reinvestigation of the budget for restoration after damaging on original landscape. There have been needs for the improvement of the work processing system. On balance, an interventional role is very important in the park construction process, especially the PA and operation committee in terms of maintaining the basic direction, landscape design supervision for detailed designs, and expert construction management on LA in terms of rational work management in the field. The study, using the microscopic perspective of the designer and ground theory, deliver significant meaning as an early study by suggesting alternative methods for the after-evaluation of large parks and structurally looking into main influence factors driven during the construction process.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.199-204
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• 2011

Background: Although many clinicians know about the reducing effects of the pulsed and low-dose modes for fluoroscopic radiation when performing interventional procedures, few studies have quantified the reduction of radiation-absorbed doses (RADs). The aim of this study is to compare how much the RADs from a fluoroscopy are reduced according to the C-arm fluoroscopic modes used. Methods: We measured the RADs in the C-arm fluoroscopic modes including 'conventional mode', 'pulsed mode', 'low-dose mode', and 'pulsed + low-dose mode'. Clinical imaging conditions were simulated using a lead apron instead of a patient. According to each mode, one experimenter radiographed the lead apron, which was on the table, consecutively 5 times on the AP views. We regarded this as one set and a total of 10 sets were done according to each mode. Cumulative exposure time, RADs, peak X-ray energy, and current, which were viewed on the monitor, were recorded. Results: Pulsed, low-dose, and pulsed + low-dose modes showed significantly decreased RADs by 32%, 57%, and 83% compared to the conventional mode. The mean cumulative exposure time was significantly lower in the pulsed and pulsed + low-dose modes than in the conventional mode. All modes had pretty much the same peak X-ray energy. The mean current was significantly lower in the low-dose and pulsed + low-dose modes than in the conventional mode. Conclusions: The use of the pulsed and low-dose modes together significantly reduced the RADs compared to the conventional mode. Therefore, the proper use of the fluoroscopy and its C-arm modes will reduce the radiation exposure of patients and clinicians.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.64 no.2
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• pp.297-308
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• 2021

Objective : Shunt infection is a common complication while treating hydrocephalus. The antibiotic-impregnated shunt catheter (AISC) was designed to reduce shunt infection rate. A meta-analysis was conducted to study the effectiveness of AISCs in reduction of shunt infection in terms of age, follow-up time and high-risk patient population. Methods : This study reviewed literature from three databases including PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library (from 2000 to March 2019). Clinical studies from controlled trials for shunt operation were included in this analysis. A subgroup analysis was performed based on the patient's age, follow-up time and high-risk population. The fixed effect in RevMan 5.3 software (Cochrane Collaboration) was used for this meta-analysis. Results : This study included 19 controlled clinical trials including 10105 operations. The analysis demonstrated that AISC could reduce the infection rate in shunt surgery compared to standard shunt catheter (non-AISC) from 8.13% to 4.09% (odds ratio [OR], 0.48; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.40-0.58; p=0.01; I2=46%). Subgroup analysis of different age groups showed that AISC had significant antimicrobial effects in all three groups (adult, infant, and adolescent). Follow-up time analysis showed that AISC was effective in preventing early shunt infections (within 6 months after implant). AISC is more effective in high-risk population (OR, 0.24;95% CI, 0.14-0.40; p=0.60; I2=0%) than in general patient population. Conclusion : The results of meta-analysis indicated that AISC is an effective method for reducing shunt infection. We recommend that AISC should be considered for use in infants and high-risk groups. For adult patients, the choice for AISC could be determined based on the treatment cost.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.235-243
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• 2007

Hepatocellular carcinoma is significant worldwide public health problem with an estimated annually mortality of 1,000,000 people. Radiofrequency (RF) ablation is an interventional technique that in recent years has come to be used for treatment of the hepatocellualr carcinoma, by destructing tumor tissues in high temperatures. Numerous studies have been attempted to prove excellence of RF ablation and to improve its efficiency by various methods. However, the attempts are sometimes paradox to advantages of a minimum invasive characteristic and an operative simplicity in RF ablation. The aim of the current study is, therefore, to suggest an improved RF ablation technique by identifying an optimum RF pattern, which is one of important factors capable of controlling the extent of high temperature region in lossless of the advantages of RF ablation. Three-dimensional finite element (FE) model was developed and validated comparing with the results reported by literature. Four representative Rf patterns (sine, square, exponential, and simulated RF waves), which were corresponding to currents fed during simulated RF ablation, were investigated. Following parameters for each RF pattern were analyzed to identify which is the most optimum in eliminating effectively tumor tissues. 1) maximum temperature, 2) a degree of alteration of maximum temperature in a constant time range (30-40 second), 3) a domain of temperature over $47^{\circ}C$ isothermal temperature (IT), and 4) a domain inducing over 63% cell damage. Here, heat transfer characteristics within the tissues were determined by Bioheat Governing Equation. Developed FE model showed 90-95% accuracy approximately in prediction of maximum temperature and domain of interests achieved during RF ablation. Maximum temperatures for sine, square, exponential, and simulated RF waves were $69.0^{\circ}C,\;66.9^{\circ}C,\;65.4^{\circ}C,\;and\;51.8^{\circ}C$, respectively. While the maximum temperatures were decreased in the constant time range, average time intervals for sine, square, exponential, and simulated RE waves were $0.49{\pm}0.14,\;1.00{\pm}0.00,\;1.65{\pm}0.02,\;and\;1.66{\pm}0.02$ seconds, respectively. Average magnitudes of the decreased maximum temperatures in the time range were $0.45{\pm}0.15^{\circ}C$ for sine wave, $1.93{\pm}0.02^{\circ}C$ for square wave, $2.94{\pm}0.05^{\circ}C$ for exponential wave, and $1.53{\pm}0.06^{\circ}C$ for simulated RF wave. Volumes of temperature domain over $47^{\circ}C$ IT for sine, square, exponential, and simulated RF waves were 1480mm3, 1440mm3, 1380mm3, and 395mm3, respectively. Volumes inducing over 63% cell damage for sine, square, exponential, and simulated RF waves were 114mm3, 62mm3, 17mm3, and 0mm3, respectively. These results support that applying sine wave during RF ablation may be generally the most optimum in destructing effectively tumor tissues, compared with other RF patterns.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.242-251
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• 2011

A curriculum of study demands a change as period of time and society evolve. Therefore, at this point where changes are required, this study is to analyze and evaluate the curriculums which will enhance and improve current studies as a preceding stage. The research was based on the survey by groups of education experts and 19 universities with current curriculum of study in radiologic science, and their references. The study was focused on the scope of work by radiologic technologist, change of college systems, academic research about radiologic science, and the improvement and the future of radiologic science field in perspective to globalization and the digital era. In terms of work scope, angiography and interventional radiology at 6 to 8 schools, fluoroscopy at 4 schools, ultrasound and practices at 6 schools, magnetic resonance image at 2 schools were found to be unestablished. The basic medical subjects, humuan physiology, human anatomy and practices, medical terminology courses were set up at most schools; however, pathology at 5 schools, image anatomy at 6 schools, clinical medicine at 11 schools were yet opened. Among the basic science and engineering subjects, general biology and its practices at 11 schools, general physics and its practices at 14 schools, and general chemistry and its practices at 8 schools were established which is about a half from a total number of schools. Only 4-5 schools established digital subjects such as, health computer, computer programming, PACS which are the basic major subjects. In order to provide academic improvement in radiologic science, digitalized education and globalization, and basis for future-oriented education for the field of radiologic science, including expanded scope of work, it is acknowledged that curriculums that are opened and run at each school need to be standardized. Therefore, the need for introduction of certificate for the radiologic science education courses are suggested.