• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2023

Pediatric nephrotic syndrome (NS) is a clinical syndrome characterized by massive proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia, and generalized edema. Most childhood NS cases are idiopathic (with an unknown etiology). Traditional therapeutic approaches based on immunosuppressive agents largely support the key role of the immune system in idiopathic NS (INS), especially in the steroid-sensitive form. Although most previous studies have suggested the main role of T cell dysfunction and/or the abnormal secretion of certain glomerular permeability factors, recent studies have emphasized the role of B cells since the therapeutic efficacy of B cell depletion therapy in inducing and/or maintaining prolonged remission in patients with INS was confirmed. Furthermore, several studies have detected circulating autoantibodies that target podocyte proteins in a subset of patients with INS, suggesting an autoimmune-mediated etiology of INS. Accordingly, a new therapeutic modality using B cell-depleting drugs has been attempted, with significant effects in a subset of patients with INS. Currently, INS is considered an immune-mediated disorder caused by a complex interplay between T cells, B cells, soluble factors, and podocytes, which may vary among patients. More in-depth investigations of the pathogenic pathways of INS are required for an effective personalized therapeutic approach and to define precise targets for therapeutic intervention.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.3-11
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• 1999

At the beginning, researches on the biology of depression or affective illness have focused mainly on the receptor functions and neuroendocrine activities. And the studies of the past years did not break new theoretical background, but the recent advances in the research on the molecular mechanisms underlying neural communication and signal transduction do add some insights to many established ideas. This article will overview some of the more recent advances in the clinical researches of depression. Our major concerns to be presented here include the followings : (1) alterations in the post-synaptic neural transduction ; (2) changes in the neurons of hypothalamic neuropeptides ; (3) decreased peptidase enzyme activities ; (4) associations of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis abnormalities with serotonin neurotransmission ; (5) role of serotonin transporter ; (6) changes in the responsiveness of intracellular calcium ion levels ; (7) the inositol deficiency theory of lithium and depression ; (8) the transcription factors including immediate early genes ; (9) recent genetic studies in some families. This brief overview will suggest that changes in DNA occur during antidepressant therapy. These changes at the DNA level initiating a cascade of events underlying antidepressant modality will give us the insights on the molecular biological basis of the pathogenesis of depression and cues for a new class of antidepressants.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.58-65
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• 2006

Since the development of sophisticated molecular carriers such as octereotides for peptide receptor targeting and monoclonal antibodies against various antigens associated with specific tumor types, radionuclide therapy (RNT) employing open sources of therapeutic agents is promising modality for treatment of tumors. furthermore, the emerging of new therapeutic regimes and new approaches for tumor treatment using radionuclide are anticipated in near future. In targeted radiotherapy using peptides and other receptor based tarrier molecules, the use of radionuclide with high specific activity in formulating the radiopharmaceutical is essential in order to deliver sufficient number of radionuclides to the target site without saturating the target. In order to develop effective radiopharmaceuticals for therapeutic applications, it is crucial to carefully consider the choice of appropriate radionuclides as well as the tarrier moiety with suitable pharmacokinetic properties that could result in good in vivo localization and desired excretion. Up to date, only a limited number of radionuclides have been applied in radiopharmaceutical development due to the constraints in compliance with their physical half-life, decay characteristics, cost and availability in therapeutic applications. In this review article, we intend to provide with the improved understanding of the factors of importance of appropriate radionuclide for therapy with respect to their physical properties and therapeutic applications.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.137-143
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• 2017

Purpose: To analyze the utilization and fractionation of extreme hypofractionation via stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) in the treatment of prostate cancer. Materials and Methods: Data was analyzed on men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer between 2004-2012 and treated with definitive-intent radiation therapy, as captured in the National Cancer Database. This database is a hospital-based registry that collects an estimated 70% of all diagnosed malignancies in the United States. Results: There were 299,186 patients identified, of which 4,962 (1.7%) were identified as receiving SBRT as primary treatment. Of those men, 2,082 had low risk disease (42.0%), 2,201 had intermediate risk disease (44.4%), and 679 had high risk disease (13.7%). The relative utilization of SBRT increased from 0.1% in 2004 to 4.0% in 2012. Initially SBRT was more commonly used in academic programs, though as time progressed there was a shift to favor an increased absolute number of men treated in the community setting. Delivery of five separate treatments was the most commonly utilized fractionation pattern, with 4,635 patients (91.3%) receiving this number of treatments. The most common dosing pattern was $725cGy{\times}5fractions$ (49.6%) followed by $700cGy{\times}5fractions$ (21.3%). Conclusions: Extreme hypofractionation via SBRT is slowly increasing acceptance. Currently $700-725cGy{\times}5fractions$ appears to be the most commonly employed scheme. As further long-term data regarding the safety and efficacy emerges, the relative utilization of this modality is expected to continue to increase.

• Journal of the HCI Society of Korea
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.31-44
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• 2018

In the IoT environment, various things could be connected. Those connected things learn and operate themselves, by acquiring data. As human being, they have self-learning and self-operating systems. In the field of IoT study, therefore, the key issue is to design communication system connecting both of the two different types of subjects, human being(user) and the things. With the advent of the IoT environment, much research has been done in the field of UI design. It can be seen that research has been conducted to take complex factors into account through keywords such as multi-modality and interusability. However, the existing UI design method has limitations in structuring or testing interaction between things and users of IoT environment. Therefore, this paper suggests a new UI prototyping method. In this paper, the major analysis and studies are as follows: (1) defined what is the behavior process of the things (2) analyzed the existing IoT product (3) built a new framework driving personality types (4) extracted three representative personality models (5) applied the three models to the smart home service and tested UI prototyping. It is meaningful with that this study can confirm user experience (UX) about IoT service in a more comprehensive way. Moreover, the concept of the personality of things will be utilized as a tool for establishing the identity of artificial intelligence (AI) services in the future.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.63-75
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• 2024

Background and Objectives: Evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) for guidance during transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is limited. This study aimed to compare the clinical efficacy and safety of ICE versus transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) for guiding TAVR. Methods: This prospective cohort study included patients who underwent TAVR from August 18, 2015, to June 31, 2021. Eligible patients were stratified by echocardiographic modality (ICE or TEE) and anesthesia mode (monitored anesthesia care [MAC] or general anesthesia [GA]). Primary outcome was the 1-year composite of all-cause mortality, rehospitalization for cardiovascular cause, or stroke, according to the Valve Academic Research Consortium-3 (VARC-3) definition. Propensity score matching was performed, and study outcomes were analyzed for the matched cohorts. Results: Of the 359 eligible patients, 120 patients were matched for the ICE-MAC and TEEGA groups, respectively. The incidence of primary outcome was similar between matched groups (18.3% vs. 20.0%; adjusted hazard ratio, 0.94; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.53-1.68; p=0.843). ICE-MAC and TEE-GA also had similar incidences of moderate-to-severe paravalvular regurgitation (PVR) (4.2% vs. 5.0%; adjusted odds ratio, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.23-2.82; p=0.758), new permanent pacemaker implantation, and VARC-3 types 2-4 bleeding. Conclusions: ICE was comparable to TEE for guidance during TAVR for the composite clinical efficacy outcome, with similar incidences of moderate-to-severe PVR, new permanent pacemaker implantation, and major bleeding. These results suggest that ICE could be a safe and effective alternative echocardiographic modality to TEE for guiding TAVR.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.471-481
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• 1998

The goals of developments in nuclear medicine instrumentation are to offer a higher-quality image and to aid diagnosis, prognosis assessment or treatment planning and monitoring. It is necessary for physicists and engineers to improve or design new instrumentation and techniques, and to implement, validate, and apply these new approaches in the practice of nuclear medicine. The researches in physical properties of detectors and crystal materials and advances in image analysis technology have improved quantitative and diagnostic accuracy of nuclear medicine images. This review article presents recent developments in nuclear medicine instrumentation, including scatter and attenuation correction, new detector technology, tomographic image reconstruction methods, 511 keV imaging, dual modality imaging device, small gamma camera, PET developments, image display and analysis methods.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.160-165
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• 2012

Objectives: This study evaluated the clinical results of partial sublingual glandectomy accompanying the excision of ranula as new treatment modality. Materials and Methods: A total of 43 patients who were treated between 1999 and 2007 for oral or plunging ranula were reviewed. All patients were treated surgically by various methods with a total of 55 different procedures performed. Ten cases of partial sublingual glandectomy with excision of the ranula were conducted. All excised specimens were examined. We compared the clinical outcomes resulting from each treatment method. Results: The recurrence rates for marsupialization, excision of ranula, marsupialization with gauze packing, total excision of sublingual gland and ranula, and partial sublingual glandectomy with excision of ranula were 50%, 25%, 25%, 0% and 10%, respectively. Of the 10 patients treated by partial sublingual glandectomy with ranula excision, only one experienced recurrence (10%), i.e., plunging ranula. None of the ranulas contained an epithelial lining, and the excised portion of the feeding sublingual glands showed degenerative changes. Conclusion: In removal of ranulas, we found that excision of the attached sublingual gland, which removed the feeding portion and degenerative acinar cells, yielded good outcomes. Thus, as a new conservative method for treatment, we recommend partial sublingual glandectomy to accompany excision of the ranula.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.387-396
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• 1999

In dentistry. RadioVisioGraphy was introduced as a first electronic dental x-ray imaging modality in 1989. Thereafter. many types of direct digital radiographic system have been produced in the last decade. They are based either on charge-coupled device(CCD) or on storage phosphor technology. In addition. new types of digital radiographic system using amorphous selenium. image intensifier etc. are under development. Advantages of digital radiographic system are elimination of chemical processing, reduction in radiation dose. image processing, computer storage. electronic transfer of images and so on. Image processing includes image enhancement. image reconstruction. digital subtraction, etc. Especially digital subtraction and reconstruction can be applied in many aspects of clinical practice and research. Electronic transfer of images enables filmless dental hospital and teleradiology/teledentistry system. Since the first image management and communications system(IMACS) for dentomaxillofacial radiology was reported in 1992. IMACS in dental hospital has been increasing. Meanwhile. researches about computer-assisted diagnosis, such as structural analysis of bone trabecular patterns of mandible. feature extraction, automated identification of normal landmarks on cephalometric radiograph and automated image analysis for caries or periodontitis. have been performed actively in the last decade. Further developments in digital radiographic imaging modalities. image transmission system. imaging processing and automated analysis software will change the traditional clinical dental practice in the 21st century.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.377-380
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• 2008

Abdominal aortic aneurysm has traditionally been treated by open repair. Aortic endovascular stent grafting has recently been introduced as a new modality. We report here on three cases of endovascular stent grafting that were performed by cardiovascular surgeons for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm in the high risk patients with multiple comorbidities such as old age, hypertension, renal failure, cerebrovascular accident and immobility.