• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.211-219
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• 2022

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the awareness of work-related disease prevention of farmers. Method: As a research method, a qualitative focus group interview was conducted in 18 participants. Results: Prevention and management services for work-related diseases of farmers mostly are based on research from other fields and so are not highly effective because their content is not relevant to agricultural work. It has been suggested that such program designers be required to have some appropriate related knowledge, and that incentives and a certification system for participation in such education be established. To analyze work-related diseases of farmers, fields of prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation should be created. They demanded the designation of hospitals and the actualization of compensation for farmers' safety insurance. The work-related diseases to address were include musculoskeletal diseases, pesticide poisoning-related diseases (cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease), psychiatric diseases such as depression, and allergic diseases. However, this must have been the result of the harmful factors they felt during agricultural work. And for farmer patients diagnosed with work-related diseases, it was said to strengthen farmer safety insurance. Conclusion: In order to increase the safely and health effects of agricultural work, it is necessary to prevent and manage work-related diseases of farmers. Projects should be developed in consideration of cultural and economic barriers of farmers and the characteristics of the work.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.189-197
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• 2022

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by recurring symptoms, airflow obstruction, and bronchial hyper-responsiveness. The onset of asthma for most patients begins early in life, and current asthma treatment with anti-inflammatory agents can have adverse effects, eventually leading to impaired quality of life. In the pathogenesis of asthma, macrophages and basophils play a vital role during progression. Macrophages not only induce inflammation by secreting inflammatory cytokines but also promote DNA damage and mucus production through nitric oxide (NO) production. Basophils enhance eosinophil recruitment and aggravate asthma through the FcεRIα receptor with high affinity for histamine and IgE. Therefore, in this study, we investigated whether the activation of macrophages and basophils is suppressed by the individual extracts of 28 natural products. RAW 264.7 cells (mouse macrophages) were treated with the natural products in LPS, and 4 natural product extracts resulted in decreased NO production. In β-hexosaminidase assay using RBL-2H3 cells (rat basophils), 19 natural product extracts decreased β-hexosaminidase production. In NO production and β-hexosaminidase assay using macrophages and basophils, 3 natural product extracts (Plantago asiatica, Centella asiatica, and Perilla frutescens var. japonica) significantly inhibited NO production and β-hexosaminidase release. Overall, we examined the inhibitory effects of 28 natural product extracts on macrophage and basophil activity, and the findings demonstrated the potential of natural product extracts for treating asthma and macrophage- and basophil-related diseases.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.39 no.5 s.262
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• pp.354-358
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• 2006

Background: Pulsatile pumps for extracorporeal circulation have been known to be better for tissue perfusion than non-pulsatile pumps but be detrimental to blood corpuscles. This study is intended to examine the risks and benefits of $T-PLS^{TM}$ through the comparison of clinical effects of $T-PLS^{TM}$ (pulsatile pump) and $Bio-pump^{TM}$ (non-pulsatile pump) used for coronary bypass surgery. Material and Method: The comparison was made on 40 patients who had coronary bypass using $T-PLS^{TM}\;and\;Bio-pump^{TM}$ (20 patients for each) from April 2003 to June 2005. All of the surgeries were operated on pump beating coronary artery bypass graft using cardiopulmonary extra-corporeal circulation. Risk factors before surgery and the condition during surgery and the results were compared. Result: There was no significant difference in age, gender ratio, and risk factors before surgery such as history of diabetes, hypertension, smoking, obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary infarction, and renal failure between the two groups. Surgery duration, hours of heart-lung machine operation, used shunt and grafted coronary branch were little different between the two groups. The two groups had a similar level of systolic arterial pressure, diastolic arterial pressure and mean arterial pressure, but pulse pressure was measured higher in the group with $T-PLS^{TM}\;(46{\pm}15\;mmHg\;in\;T-PLS^{TM}\;vs\;35{\pm}13\;mmHg\;in\;Bio-pump^{TM},\;p<0.05)$. The $T-PLS^{TM}$-operated patients tended to produce more urine volume during surgery, but the difference was not statistically significant $(9.7{\pm}3.9\;cc/min\;in\;T-PLS^{TM}\;vs\;8.9{\pm}3.6\;cc/min\;in\;Bio-pump^{TM},\;p=0.20)$. There was no significant difference in mean duration of respirator usage and 24-hour blood loss after surgery between the two groups. Plasma free Hb was measured lower in the group with $T-PLS^{TM}\;(24.5{\pm}21.7\;mg/dL\;in\;T-PLS^{TM}\;versus\;46.8{\pm}23.0mg/dL\;in\;Bio-pump^{TM},\;p<0.05)$. There was no significant difference in coronary infarction, arrhythmia, renal failure and morbidity rate of cerebrovascular disease. There was a case of death after surgery (death rate of 5%) in the group tested with $T-PLS^{TM}$, but the death rate was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Coronary bypass was operated with $T-PLS^{TM}$ (Pulsatile flow pump) using a heart-lung machine. There was no unexpected event caused by mechanical error during surgery, and the clinical process of the surgery was the same as the surgery for which $Bio-pump^{TM}$ was used. In addition, $T-PLS^{TM}$ used surgery was found to be less detrimental to blood corpuscles than the pulsatile flow has been known to be. Authors of this study could confirm the safety of $T-PLS^{TM}$.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2002

High energy photon beams from medical linear accelerators produce large scattered radiation by various components of the treatment head, collimator and walls or objects in the treatment room including the patient. These scattered radiation do not provide therapeutic dose and are considered a hazard from the radiation safety perspective. Scattered dose of therapeutic high energy radiation beams are contributed significant unwanted dose to the patient. ICRP take the position that a dose of 500mGy may cause abortion at any stage of pregnancy and that radiation detriment to the fetus includes risk of mental retardation with a possible threshold in the dose response relationship around 100 mGy for the gestational period. The ICRP principle of as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) was recommended for protection of occupation upon the linear no-threshold dose response hypothesis for cancer induction. We suggest this ALARA principle be applied to the fetus and testicle in therapeutic treatment. Radiation dose outside a photon treatment filed is mostly due to scattered photons. This scattered dose is a function of the distance from the beam edge, treatment geometry, primary photon energy, and depth in the patient. The need for effective shielding of the fetus and testicle is reinforced when young patients ate treated with external beam radiation therapy and then shielding designed to reduce the scattered photon dose to normal organs have to considered. Irradiation was performed in phantom using high energy photon beams produced by a Varian 2100C/D medical linear accelerator (Varian Oncology Systems, Palo Alto, CA) located at the Yonsei Cancer Center. The composite phantom used was comprised of a commercially available anthropomorphic Rando phantom (Phantom Laboratory Inc., Salem, YN) and a rectangular solid polystyrene phantom of dimensions $30cm{\times}30cm{\times}20cm$. the anthropomorphic Rando phantom represents an average man made from tissue equivalent materials that is transected into transverse 36 slices of 2.5cm thickness. Photon dose was measured using a Capintec PR-06C ionization chamber with Capintec 192 electrometer (Capintec Inc., Ramsey, NJ), TLD( VICTOREEN 5000. LiF) and film dosimetry V-Omat, Kodak). In case of fetus, the dosimeter was placed at a depth of loom in this phantom at 100cm source to axis distance and located centrally 15cm from the inferior edge of the $30cm{\times}30cm^2$ x-ray beam irradiating the Rando phantom chest wall. A acryl bridge of size $40cm{\times}40cm^2$ and a clear space of about 20 cm was fabricated and placed on top of the rectangular polystyrene phantom representing the abdomen of the patient. The leaf pot for testicle shielding was made as various shape, sizes, thickness and supporting stand. The scattered photon with and without shielding were measured at the representative position of the fetus and testicle. Measurement of radiation scattered dose outside fields and critical organs, like fetus position and testicle region, from chest or pelvic irradiation by large fie]d of high energy radiation beam was performed using an ionization chamber and film dosimetry. The scattered doses outside field were measured 5 - 10% of maximum doses in fields and exponentially decrease from field margins. The scattered photon dose received the fetus and testicle from thorax field irradiation was measured about 1 mGy/Gy of photon treatment dose. Shielding construction to reduce this scattered dose was investigated using lead sheet and blocks. Lead pot shield for testicle reduced the scatter dose under 10 mGy when photon beam of 60 Gy was irradiated in abdomen region. The scattered photon dose is reduced when the lead shield was used while the no significant reduction of scattered photon dose was observed and 2-3 mm lead sheets refuted the skin dose under 80% and almost electron contamination. The results indicate that it was possible to improve shielding to reduce scattered photon for fetus and testicle when a young patients were treated with a high energy photon beam.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.822-835
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• 1997

Background : There have been many in vitro evidences that interleukin-4(IL-4) might be the most important cytokine inducing IgE synthesis from B-cells, and interferon-gamma(IFN-$\gamma$) might be a main cytokine antagonizing IL-4-mediated IgE synthesis. Recently some reports demonstrated that IFN-$\gamma$ might be used as a new therapeutic modality in some allergic diseases with high serum IgE level, such as atopic dermatitis or bronchial asthma. To evaluate the in vivo effect of IFN-$\gamma$ in bronchial asthma we tried a clinical study. Methods : Fifty bronchial asthmatics(serum IgE level over 200 IU/ml) who did not respond to inhaled or systemic corticosteroid treatment, and 17 healthy nonsmoking volunteers were included in this study. The CD 23 expressions of peripheral B-cells, the IL-4 activities of peripheral T-cells, the serum soluble CD23(sCD23) levels, and the superoxide anion(${O_2}^-$) generations by peripheral PMN were compared between bronchial asthmatics and normal subjects. The IL-4 activities of peripheral T-cells were analyzed by T-cell supernatant (T-sup)-induced CD23 expression from tonsil B-cells. In bronchial asthmatics the serum IgE levels and histamine $PC_{20}$ in addition to the above parameters were also compared before and after IFN-$\gamma$ treatment. IFN-$\gamma$ was administered subcutaneously with a weekly dose of 30,000 IU per kilogram of body weight for 4 weeks. Results : The ${O_2}^-$ generations by peripheral PMNs in bronchial asthmatics were higher than normal subjects($8.23{\pm}0.94$ vs $5.00{\pm}0.68\;nmol/1{\times}10^6$ cells, P<0.05), and significantly decreased after IFN-$\gamma$ treatment compared to initial values($3.69{\pm}0.88$ vs $8.61{\pm}1.53\;nmol/1{\times}10^6$ cells, P<0.05). CD23 expression of peripheral B-cells in bronchial asthmatics was higher than normal subjects($47.47{\pm}2.96%$, vs $31.62{\pm}1.92%$, P<0.05), but showed no significant change after IFN-$\gamma$ treatment. The serum sCD23 levels in bronchial asthmatics were slightly higher than normal subjects($191.04{\pm}23.3\;U/ml$ vs $162.85{\pm}4.85\;U/ml$), and 11(64.7%) of 17 patients showed a decreasing pattern in their serum sCD23 levels after IFN-$\gamma$ treatment. However the means of serum sCD23 levels were not different before and after IFN-$\gamma$ treatment. The IL-4 activities of peripheral T-cells in bronchial asthmatics were slightly higher than normal subjects($22.48{\pm}6.81%$ vs $18.90{\pm}2.43%$), and slightly increased after IFN-$\gamma$ treatment($27.90{\pm}2.56%$). Nine(60%) of 15 patients showed a decreasing pattern in their serum IgE levels after IFN-$\gamma$ treatment. And the levels of serum IgE were significantly decreased after IFN-$\gamma$ treatment compared to initial values ($658.67{\pm}120.84\;IU/ml$ vs $1394.32{\pm}314.42\;IU/ml$, P<0.05). Ten(83.3%) of 12 patients showed an improving pattern in bronchial hyperresponsiveness after IFN-$\gamma$ treatment, and the means of histamine $PC_{20}$ were significantly increased after IFN-$\gamma$ treatment compared to initial values ($1.22{\pm}0.29mg/ml$ vs $0.69{\pm}0.17mg/ml$, P<0.05). Conclusion : Our results suggest that IFN-$\gamma$ may be useful as well as safety in the treatment of bronchial asthmatics with high serum IgE level and that in vivo effects of IFN-$\gamma$ may be different from its in vitro effects on the regulations of IgE synthesis or the respiratory burst of PMN.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.420-429
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• 2002

Moderate hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) has commonly been used in cardiac surgery. Several cardiac centers recently practice normothermic CPB in cardiac surgery, However, the clinical effect and safety of normothermic CPB on cerebral metabolism are not established and not fully understood. This study was prospectively designed to evaluate the clinical influence of normothermic CPB on brain metabolism and to compare it with that of moderate hypothermic CPB. Material and Method: Thirty-six adult patients scheduled for elective cardiac surgery were randomized to receive normothermic (nasopharyngeal temperature ＞34.5 $^{\circ}C$, n=18) or hypothermic (nasopharyngeal temperature 29~3$0^{\circ}C$, n=18) CPB with nonpulsatile pump. Middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity (VMCA), cerebral arteriovenous oxygen content difference (CAVO$_{2}$), cerebral oxygen extraction (COE), modified cerebral metabolic rate for oxygen (MCMRO$_{2}$), cerebral oxygen transport (TEO$_{2}$), cerebral venous desaturation (oxygen saturation in internal jugular bulb blood$\leq$50 %), and arterial and internal jugular bulb blood gas analysis were measured during six phases of the operation： Pre-CPB (control), CPB-10 min, Rewarm-1 (nasopharyngeal temperature 34 $^{\circ}C$ in the hypothermic group), Rewarm-2 (nasopharyngeal temperature 37 $^{\circ}C$ in the both groups), CPB-off and Post-CPB (skin closure after CPB-off). Postoperaitve neuropsychologic complications were observed in all patients. All variables were compared between the two groups. Result： VMCA at Rewarm-2 was higher in the hypothermic group (153.11$\pm$8.98%) than in the normothermic group (131.18$\pm$6.94%) (p＜0.05). CAVO$_{2}$ (3.47$\pm$0.21 vs 4.28$\pm$0.29 mL/dL, p＜0.05), COE (0.30$\pm$0.02 vs 0.39$\pm$0.02, p＜0.05) and MCMRO$_{2}$ (4.71 $\pm$0.42 vs 5.36$\pm$0.45, p<0.05) at CPB-10 min were lower in the hypothermic group than in the normothermic group. The hypothermic group had higher TEO$_{2}$ than the normothermic group at CPB-10 (1,527.60$\pm$25.84 vs 1,368.74$\pm$20.03, p＜0.05), Rewarm-2 (1,757.50$\pm$32.30 vs 1,478.60$\pm$27.41, p＜0.05) and Post-CPB (1,734.37$\pm$41.45 vs 1,597.68$\pm$27.50, p＜0.05). Internal jugular bulb oxygen tension (40.96$\pm$1.16 vs 34.79$\pm$2.18 mmHg, p＜0.05), saturation (72.63$\pm$2.68 vs 64.76$\pm$2.49 %, p＜0.05) and content (8.08$\pm$0.34 vs 6.78$\pm$0.43 mL/dL, p<0.05) at CPB-10 were higher in the hypothermic group than in the normothermic group. The hypothermic group had less incidence of postoperative neurologic complication (delirium) than the normothermic group (2 vs 4 patients, p＜0.05). Lasting periods of postoperative delirium were shorter in the hypothermic group than in the normothermic group (60 vs 160 hrs, p<0.01). Conclusion: These results indicate that normothermic CPB should not be routinely applied in all cardiac surgery, especially advanced age or the clinical situations that require prolonged operative time. Moderate hypothermic CPB may have beneficial influences relatively on brain metabolism and postoperative neuropsychologic outcomes when compared with normothermic CPB.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-24
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• 2003

This study was done to compile 104 experimental theses which are related to the antitumor and immuno-activating therapies between February 1990 through February 2002. Master's and doctoral theses were dassified by schools, degrees, materials, effects, experimental methods of antitumor and immunoactivity, and results. The following results were obtained from this study : 1. Classifying the theses by the school, 34.6% were presented by Daejeon University, 29.8% by Kyung-hee University and 11.5% by Won-kwang University. Of all theses, 51.0% were aimed for the doctoral degree and 43.3% were for the master's degree. All of three universities have their own cancer centers. 2. Classifying the theses by herb materials, complex prescription accounted for 60.3%, single herb accounted for 24.8% and herbal acupuncture accounted for 14.2%. Considering the key principles of the traditional medicine, complex prescription was much more thoroughly studied than single herb prescription. The results showed that the complex prescription had both antitumor activity and immuno-activating activity, which might reflects on multi-activation mechanisms by complex components. 3. Classifying the theses by the efficacy of herbs examined, in single herb, invigorating spleen and supplementing was 35.5%, expelling toxin and cooling was 29.0%, activating blood flow and removing blood stasis was 12.9%. In herbal acupuncture, invigorating spleen and supplementing was 52.9%, expelling toxin and cooling was 29.4%. In complex prescription, pathogen-free status was 41.9%, strengthening healthy qi to eliminate pathogen was 35.5%, strengthening healthy qi was 22.6%. It is presumed that the antitumor and immunoactivating therapy based on syndrome differentiation is the best way to develop oriental oncology. 4. Classifying the theses by antitumor experiments, cytotoxic effect was 48.1 %, survival time was 48.1 % and change of tumor size was 42.3%. Survival rate was not necessarily correlated with cytotoxicity. These data reflect the characteristic, wholistic nature of the oriental medicine which is based on BRM (biological response modifier). 5. Classifying the theses by immunoactivating experiments, hemolysin titer was 51.0%, hemagglutinin titer was 46.2% and NK cell's activity was 44.2%. In the future studies, an effort to elucidate specific molecular and cellular mechanisms of cytokine production in the body would be crucial. 6. Classifying the theses according to the data in terms of antitumor activity, 50% was evaluated good, 24.0% was excellent, and 15.5% have no effect. In an evaluation of immuno-activating activity, 35.9% was excellent and 18.0% showed a little effect. The index point, as described here, may helps to use experimental data for clinical trials. Changes in index points by varying dosage implicate the importance of oriental medical theory for prescription. 7. In 167 materials, IIP (immunoactivating index point, mean : 3.12±0.07) was significantly higher than AIP(antitumor index point, mean : 2.83±0.07). These data demonstrate that the effect of herb medicine on tumor activity depends more on immunoactivating activity than antitumor activity. This further implies that the development of herbal antitumor drugs must be preceded by the mechanistic understanding of immunoactivating effect. 8. After medline-searching tumor and herb-related articles from NCBI web site, we conclude that most of the studies are primarily focused on biomolecular mechanisms and/or pathways. Henceforth, we need to define the biomolecular mechanisms and/or pathways affected by herbs or complicated prescriptions. 9. Therefore, the most important point of oriental medical oncology is to conned between experimental results and clinical trials. For the public application of herbal therapy to cancer, it is critical to present the data to mass media. 10. To develop the relationship of experimental results and clinical trials, university's cancer clinic must have a long-range plan related to the university laboratories and, at the same time, a regular consortium for this relationship is imperative. 11. After all these efforts, a new type herbal medicine for cancer therapy which is to take care of the long-term administering and safety problem must be developed. Then, it would be expected that anti-tumor herbal acupuncture can improve clinical symptoms and quality of life (QOL) for cancer patients. 12. Finally, oriental medical cancer center must be constructed in NCC (National Cancer Center) or government agency for the development of oriental medical oncology which has international competitive power.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.24-31
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• 2003

Purpose: As diagnostic tools for Hirschsprung's disease (HD), barium enema and rectal biopsy have radiation exposure and invasiveness respectively; however anorectal manometry does not have these disadvantages. We therefore performed this study to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of anorectal manometry. Methods: We reviewed medical records of infants with one or two symptoms of vomiting, abdominal distension, chronic diarrhea or constipation who had a anorectal manometry followed by barium enema and/or biopsy from July 1995 to May 2002. We evaluated the sensitivity, specificity and predictive value of anorectal manometry and barium enema for diagnosis of HD. We also measured sphincter length, median value of balloon volume at which rectoanal inhibitory reflex (RAIR) occurred. Results: All 61 patients received anorectal manometry, 33 of 61 received barium enema. 18 of 61 were diagnosed as HD according to histology and 43 of 61 were evaluated as a control. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value of anorectal manometry and barium enema for diagnosis of HD were 1.00, 0.91, 0.82, 1.00 and 0.93, 0.67, 0.70, 0.92 respectively. The mean value of sphincter length in control was $1.68{\pm}0.67$ cm and correlated with age, weight and significantly longitudinal length. The median value of balloon volume at which RAIR occurred was 10 mL and did not correlated with age, weight and longitudinal length. Conclusion: This study suggests that anorectal manometry is an excellent initial screening test for Hirschsprung's disease because of its safety and accuracy.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.337-343
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this report is to describe the proton therapy system at Samsung Medical Center (SMC-PTS) including the proton beam generator, irradiation system, patient positioning system, patient position verification system, respiratory gating system, and operating and safety control system, and review the current status of the SMC-PTS. Materials and Methods: The SMC-PTS has a cyclotron (230 MeV) and two treatment rooms: one treatment room is equipped with a multi-purpose nozzle and the other treatment room is equipped with a dedicated pencil beam scanning nozzle. The proton beam generator including the cyclotron and the energy selection system can lower the energy of protons down to 70 MeV from the maximum 230 MeV. Results: The multi-purpose nozzle can deliver both wobbling proton beam and active scanning proton beam, and a multi-leaf collimator has been installed in the downstream of the nozzle. The dedicated scanning nozzle can deliver active scanning proton beam with a helium gas filled pipe minimizing unnecessary interactions with the air in the beam path. The equipment was provided by Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd., RayStation from RaySearch Laboratories AB is the selected treatment planning system, and data management will be handled by the MOSAIQ system from Elekta AB. Conclusion: The SMC-PTS located in Seoul, Korea, is scheduled to begin treating cancer patients in 2015.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.129-137
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• 2004

Purpose : Nocternal enuresis is a common disorder. Tricyclic antidepressant and desmopressin have been accepted pharmacological treatment for this disorder We conducted a cooperative study to investigate the efficacy and adverse reactions of imipramine, desmopressin and combination treatment in children with primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis(PMNE). Methods: Data from a large multicenter study were analysed. In the period of 8 months in 2002, the study comprised of 168 children(78 boys and 90 girls, 5 to 15 years old) with PMNE for imipramine, desmopressin or combination treatment. Before treatment a history, physical examination and laboratory tests were performed and the children were observed for 2 weeks. Response rate, adverse reactions and enuresis episodes after stopping drug administration were evaluated after 12-weeks of imipramine, desmopressin or combination of both. Results: After 4 weeks, the frequency of bed wetting in all treated patients decreased during treatment significantly Even though a 30-50%, reduction in the number of wet nights were 68.6%, 74.4% and 86.1% during 12 weeks treatment by imipramine, desmopressin and both of them respectively, there was no significant difference between them. The most common adverse reaction was decreased appetite from imipramine administration. But no serious drug-related adverse events were reported. Conclusion: Efficacy of the combination therapy of imipramine and desmopressin in PMNE appears not to be better than either drug alone. It is necessary to pay attention on account of adverse reactions during imipramine treatment even though imipramine and desmopressin were generally well tolerated.