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In vitro Examination of Chondroitin Sulfates Extracted Midduck (Styela clava) and Munggae Tunics (Halocynthia roretzi) as a Cosmetic Material (In vitro에서 미색류 껍질로부터 추출한 콘드로이틴황산의 기능성 화장품 소재로서의 가능성)

  • 김영림;안삼환;최병대;강석중;신기욱;오명주;정태성
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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    • v.33 no.4
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    • pp.646-652
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    • 2004
  • With the aim of using a cosmetic material, chondroitin sulfates extracted from midduck tunics (Styela clava) and munggae tunics (Halocynthia roretzi) were examined in vitro with two cell lines for cell toxicity, collagen synthesis, cell growth and recovery ability after U.V. irradiation. Cell toxicity test with A 431 and CCD 1108Sk was able to observe high activity between 400 and 600 $\mu\textrm{g}$/m while standard chondroitin sulfate (CS) purchased from Sigma was showed at 80 $\mu\textrm{g}$/mL. Even fraction 1 and 2 collected from chondroitin sulfates originated from midduck appeared having the highest activity between 600 and 1000 $\mu\textrm{g}$/mL, but slightly lower compared to crude chondroitin sulfates from both mideduck and munggae. In cell growth examination, it was not able to find significant differences between chondroitin sulfates used. Both crude chondroitin sulfates were exhibited the highest activity for two cell lines except that of mideduck which was showed activity for CCD 1108Sk. CS, fraction 1 and 2 from midduck were not able to demonstrate a significant activity in collagen synthesis. On the contrary, crude chondroitin sulfates from both munggae and midduck were showed the highest activity at 100 and 50 $\mu\textrm{g}$/mL with only CCD 1108Sk. The recovery ability after U.V. irradiation with crude chondroitin sulfates from both munggae and midduck were showed high activity at 400 $\mu\textrm{g}$/mL with CCD 1108Sk and A 431. But there were no activity observed in fractions examined, As a consequence, the crude chondroitin sulfates from both munggae and midduck might not only be available as a cosmetic material but also useful for increasing some activity by blending properly.

A Study on the Decisive Factors in Personal Health Maintenance Practice of Housewives Living in Younhi Area Apartments (연희지역 아파트주부의 건강관리실천의 결정요인분석에 관한 조사연구)

  • 김인숙
    • Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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    • v.8 no.2
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    • pp.89-102
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    • 1978
  • Owing to the development of modern science, prolonging man's life, the sudden increase of population and betterment of the standard of living has increased health needs. In order to fulfill these health needs, more active plans for developing health should be made. Health education is one of the methods at hand that can improve the health behavior of the community and the individual through the contact of individuals with their groups. Proper understanding of the characteristics of the sampled group and participation of individuals within the community for the development of their health plan are needed for efficient health education. This study was attempted for the purpose of presenting some data helpful for pre-paring the fundamentals of a health education plan that can improve personal health maintenance practice of a community through efficient health education by investigating the relationship between the response of subjects to personal health maintenance practice and selected decisive factors in personal health maintenance practice. The subjects for this study were a systematic sample of 120 housewives selected from 600 housewives from B Zone Apt. Younhi-3-Dong in Seoul. Data was collected for 4 days from May 16th to May 19th, 1578 through personal interviews with questionnaires by well trained interviewers. Percentage, t-test and stepwise multiple regression analysis by use of EDPS were employed for statistical analysis. Results of this study can be summarized : 1. General characteristics of subjects Subjects over 20 and below 40 years of age formed 62.5% of the toed and the rest were subjects of 40 years and upward. 76.7% of the subjects have less than 4 children. 51.3% of the subjects had completed at least the senior high school course. 2. The response of subjects to personal health maintenance practice. Ratios of personal health maintenance practice to the maximum score for each category are as follows; 84.1% in the category of population and family planning, which was the highest ratio; 82.4% in the prevention of accidents; 68.0% in control of communicable disease; 67.8% in personal health care and habits of daily life, 64.3% in mental health and 52.5% in control of parasites, which was the lowest. 3. The response of subjects to selected decisive factors. in personal health maintenance practice. The arithmetic mean of the score for each decisive factor was as follows: the mutual relation between family members marked 18.33, which is under 73,3% of the maximum score; the degree of interest in health marked 34.48, 70.0% of the maximum score: the degree of utilization and demand for health care facilities marked 25.79 or 64.5% of the maximum score and health maintenance of the family marked 11.58, 43.6% of the maximum score. 4. The relationship between personal health maintenance practice and general characteristics of subjects. 1) There was a significant difference in the numbers of children. (t = 1.83, d.f. =117, p< 0.1) 2) There was a significant difference in the contact rates with mass-media, (t = 5.02, d.f. = 118, p< 0,05) 5. The multiple correlation between personal health maintenance practice and their selected decisive factors. 1) The factor“the degree of interest in health”could account for personal health maintenance practice in 43.6% of the sample. (R = 0.6602, R²= 0,4359, F = 91.1678, p< 0.001) 2) When the factor,“health maintenance of family”is added to this, it accounts for 51.2% of personal health maintenance practice. (R = 0.7158, R²= 0.5124, F = 61.4653, p< 0.001) 3) When the factor,“mutual relations between family members”is also included, it accounts for 53.7% of personal health maintenance practice. (R = 0.7324, R²= 0.5365, F = 44.7509, p< 0.001) 4) When the factor, “the degree of utilization and demand for health care facilities”is included, it accounts for 55.1% of personal health maintenance practice. (R = 0.7421, R²= 0.5507, F = 35.2430, p< 0.001).

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A Study of the Relationship between Personality Traits and Job Satisfaction of Community Health Practitioners in a Rural Area (일부 보건진료원의 성격특성과 직무만족도에 관한 연구)

  • Lee, Soon-Ryae;Park, Sang-Hag
    • Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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    • v.24 no.2
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    • pp.331-350
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    • 1999
  • This study was attempted to examine relationship between personality traits and job satisfaction of community health practitioners(CHPs) working in remote rural area in order to suggest some methods to enhance their lob performance and the degrees of job satisfaction. The General Personality Test and the revised version of Job Satisfaction Questionnaire were administered to 200 of 348 CHPs in the Kwangju-Chonnam area and then the percentages, means, standard deviations and Pearson's correlation coefficients of these data were obtained, ANOVA and logistic analysis were used. The results of study were as follows : 1. CHPs without religion were more satisfied with their salary than those with religion. 2. CHPs who hoped for continuous education showed higher scores than the others on necessary job, professional pride and autonomy. Those who chose for independent job showed higher scores than the others on both necessary job and professional pride. Those who hope for long duration showed higher scores than the others on both necessary job and professional pride. Those who were satisfied with the present occupation showed higher scores than the others on pay satisfaction, necessary job, professional pride, interaction, autonomy and demand from organization. 3. Their autonomy scores differed significantly according to work status, both interaction and autonomy scores did so according to the fields of the past job in CHP, and their autonomy scores according to location of clinics. Their interaction scores differed significantly according to the frequency of home visits per mouth, both the degrees of salary satisfaction and professional pride scores did so according to the frequency of counseling education per mouth, and their professional pride scores did so according to total income per year. 4. The levels of their responsibility and self-confidence showed the highest of all personality traits variables. 5. The professional pride score of CHPs showed the highest of all job satisfaction variables. 6. Dominance were mostly correlated with autonomy and responsibility were mostly associated with professional pride. Both emotional stability and self-confidence were mostly related necessary job. In conclusion, religion, location of clinics, clinical experience, opportunity for education, dominance, self-confidence, the duration of services hoped for, satisfaction with the present occupation, the field of past job and administrative affairs were found to be the important factors in the degrees of their job satisfaction. Therefore, the methods to consider these variables will be necessary to develop for enhancing the efficiency of their Job performance and the degrees of job satisfaction.

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A Study on the analysis of activities of t?e 5.H.T. (5.H.T. in Pusan City) (부산지역 양호교사의 업무분석에 관한 연구)

  • Kim, Lee-Sun;Kim, Bok-Yong
    • Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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    • v.1 no.1
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    • pp.465-502
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    • 1989
  • The purpose of this study was to find out the general characteristics of school health teachers, the status of school health resources and the degrees of self-confident performance for the 124 school health teachers in Pusan City. Data was collected by means of questionaires from Aug. 1986 to Mar. 1987. The data were analyzed by use of percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test, ANOVA and Pearson-correlation coefficient. The results of this study were as follows: 1 . General Characteristics of School Health Teachers (SHT) 1) The average of age of the SHT was 32.8 years old and 39.5% of them were from 30 to 34 years old. 2) The average for school nursing experience of the SHT was 7.9 years and 37.9% of them were from 5 to 9 years. 3) The 45.2% of them have not the clinical experience. 4) The 74.2% of them were graduated from the 3 years college of nursing. 2. Status of school health resources and nursing activities. 1) The average of student number was 2497.3 and class number was 45.2. 2) The average of school health budget was 1039000 won and 27.7% of school health budget expended on examination cost. 3) Only 29.0% of all schools have organization for school health. 4) The 84.7% of all schools have health clinic separately and 69.1% of schools have less than $33m^2$ sized. 5) The average of clinic visitor number was 2111.8 for 1 year. 6) Major problem was on digestive system. And other problems were skin, respiratory, musculo-skeletal system and dental problem. 7) The number of literal message was 14.4 times for 1 year. 3. The degree of the school health teachers' self-confidence. The school health teachers' self-confidence was deviced into 6 and the maximum degree was 4. 1) Program planning & evaluation; 2.8 2) Clinic management; 2.9 3) Health education, 3.0 4) Management of school environment; 2.7 5) Health care services; 2.7 6) Operating of school health organization; 2.4 4. Significances to the degree of self-confidence on school health nursing activities. 1) There was significant difference between clinical management and Religion (t=2.15 p<.05) 2) There was significant difference between Operating of school health organization and level of school (F=3.588 p<.05) 3) Program planning & evaluation: expending time for clinical management (r=-0.184 p<.05) expending time for health care services (r=0.273 p<.01) 4) Clinical management: use of separate health clinic (r=0.151 p<.05) 5) Health education: use of separate health clinic (r=0.170 p<0.5) 6) Health care services: No. of student (r=-0.144 p<0.5) No. of class (r=-0.160 p<.05) 5. The degree of the school health teachers' self-discipline. The school health teachers' self-discipline was devided into 2 and the maximum degree was 2. 1) Program planning & evaluation:1.8 2) Clinic management: 1.9 3) Health education: 1.9 4) Management of school environment: 1.7 5) Health care services: 1.8 6) Operating of school health organization.: 1.3 6. Significances to the degree of self-discipline on school health nursing activities 1) Program planning & evaluation; Level of nursing education (F=4.309 p<.01) 2) Clinical management: Level of nursing education (F=3.587 p<.05) 3) Operating of school health organization: School health organization (t=-2.68 p<.01) 4) Health care services: School health organization (t=2,58 p<.05) 5) School health performance: School health organization (t=2.32 p<.05) 6) Program planning & evaluation: School health experience (r=0.239 p<.01) Expending time for program planning & evaluation (r=-0.172 p<.05) 7) Clinic management: School health experience (r=0.249 p<.01) Expending time for dinic management (r=0.181 p<.05) No. of student (r=-0.158 p<.05) Expending time of program planning & evaluation (r=-0.199 p<0.5) 8) Health education: School health experience (r=0.234 p<0.1) Expending time of program planning & evaluation (r=-0.193 p<.05) 9) Management of school environment: Age of school health teacher (r=0.142 p<.05) School health experience (r=0.255 p<.01) 10) Operating of school health organization: Medicine Purchase (r=-0.163 p<.05) 11) Health care services: School health experience (r=0.148 p<.05) Medicine purchase (r=-0.229 p<.01) 12) Total school health performance: School health experience (r=0.200 p<.05) Medicine purchase(r=-0.168 p<.05) Based on the above results, the suggestions are as follows: 1) As the SHT take charge of the reasonable number of student, the students will have benefit of the good health service in quality. 2) It is recommended to use the health clinic separately and to arrange adequate place for good school health service. 3) It is necessary that the SHT participate budget for school health. 4) It is required to enhance self-confidence on school health nursing activities through continuous educational programs.

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An Empirical Study of Financial Analyst's Forecasting Activities on the Firm's Operating Performances (기업실적에 대한 재무분석가의 예측활동에 관한 실증연구)

  • Kwak, Jae-Seok
    • The Korean Journal of Financial Management
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    • v.20 no.1
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    • pp.93-124
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    • 2003
  • This paper studies the financial analyst's forecasting activities on the firm's operating performance during the period from 1999 to 2003. In this study, financial analyst's forecasting activities are focused on the sales, operating income and net income and financial analyst's forecasting accuracy, forecasting revising patterns and forecasting activities to the unexpected firm's operating performance are studied. Some empirical findings in this study are as follows. First, standard estimate error on the sales, operating income and net income are all significantly negative value and so financial analyst's forecast on the firm's operating performance are upwardly biased. Second, domestic financial analyst's forecasting activities is relatively more accuracy than foreign financial analyst's forecasting activities. Third, forecasting time is more close to the end of the operating performance announcement day, forecasting activities are more accuracy. Fourth, comparing with individual financial analyst's forecast, consensus forecast is more accuracy. Fifth, in the comparative forecasting activities study according to the prior firm's operating performance, financial analyst's forecasting revision activities are found to be upward or downward. Sixth, financial analysts overreact in the sales forecast and underreact in the operating income and net income forecast. Seventh, in the empirical analysis on the Easterwood-Nutt's test model(1999) which the firm's performance change are divided into the expected performance change and the unexpected performance change, it is found that financial analyst's forecasting activities on the firm's operating performance are systematically optimistic.

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A Study on the Perceived Stress Level of Mothers in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Patients (신생아 중환자실에 입원한 환아 어머니의 스트레스)

  • Kim Tae Im
    • Child Health Nursing Research
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    • v.6 no.2
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    • pp.224-239
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    • 2000
  • This descriptive study was conducted to understand the contents and degree of parental stress level in the NICU patients, and to give a baseline data in developing nursing intervention program. Subjects were the 62 mother of hospitalized newborn in NICU of 1 University Hospital in Taejon City from May 1st, 1999 to November 30th, 1999, who agreed to take part in this study. The instrument used in this study were Parental Stressor Scales : NICU(PSS:NICU) developed by Miles et al. and validated by 3 NICU practitioners and 3 child health nursing faculties. The questionnaire has 4 dimensions and 45 items; sight and sounds of NICU(5 items), babies' appearance and behavior(19 items), parental role alteration and relationship with their baby(10 items), communication with health team(11 items). The questionnaire asks parents to rate each item on a five-point Likert type scale that ranges from (1) to (5). Total scores representing overall stress from the NICU environment are calculated by summing response to each item. A high score indicates high stress. A subscale score is calculated by summing the responses to each item in the subscale. Cronbach's α coefficients were .93. The data was analyzed as average, Frequency, Standard deviation, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient by use of SPSS/PC+. The results of this study is summarized as follows ; 1. The total perceived stress level score of mothers was slightly high(3.6±.7). The highest scored dimension was 'appearance and behavior of the baby'(3.9±1.5), and next were 'relationship with their baby and parental role change'(3.5±1.4), 'communication with health team'(3.4±.9), 'sight and sounds of NICU'(3.2±.8). 2. Two variables were statistically significant with PSS:NICU total scale ; mother's perceived severity of the baby's condition (r=.482, P=.002) and mother's religious attendance(t=2.83, P=.01). The more the mother perceive their baby's condition severe, the higher the total stress score. There were high stress score noted in the mother of no religious attendance. 3. Four variables were statistically significant with NICU environment subscale ; mother's educational background(F=3.45, P=.04), religious attendance(t=2.28, P=.04), sex of the baby(t=2.83, P=.01) and NICU patients' hospital day(r=.359, P=.004). That is mother with high educational background and girl baby were high NICU environment subscale score. 4. Four variables were statistically significant with appearance and behavior of the baby subscale ; when first saw baby(F=3.52, P=.04), incubator care(t=2.83, P=.01), mother's perceived severity of the baby's condition(r=.303, P=.017), number of NICU visit(r=.441, P=.002). That is, seeing the baby first in the NICU and recieved incubator care was very stressful. Also, the more the mother perceive their baby's condition severe and more NICU visit, the higher the appearance and behavior of the baby subscale stress score. 5. Four variables were statistically significant with relationship with their baby and parental role change subscale ; when first saw baby(F=3.37, P=.04), sex of the baby(t=2.36, P=.03), incubator care(t=5.60, P=.00), mother's perceived severity of the baby's condition(r=.401, P=.001). That is, seeing the baby first in the NICU and girl baby was very stressful. Also, the more the mother perceive their baby's condition severe, the higher the relationship with their baby and parental role change subscale stress score. 6. Three variables were statistically significant with communication with health team subscale ; mother's educational background (F=3.63, P=.04), incubator care(t=4.24, P=.00), gestational age(r=-.394, P=.047), and birth weight(r=-.460, P=.004). That is, mother with high educational background and receiving incubator care were high communication with health team subscale score. Also, the shorter the gestational age and smaller the baby's birth weight, the higher the communication with health team subscale score. In conclusion, information about physical environment of NICU, the mother's perceived severity of baby's illness state, maternal role change related variables and the knowledge of characteristics of NICU patients must be included in nursing intervention program of mother's of NICU patients in reducing the maternal stress and anxiety level.

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THE LUMINOSITY-LINEWIDTH RELATION AS A PROBE OF THE EVOLUTION OF FIELD GALAXIES

  • GUHATHAKURTA PURAGRA;ING KRISTINE;RIX HANS-WALTER;COLLESS MATTHEW;WILLIAMS TED
    • Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.29 no.spc1
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    • pp.63-64
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    • 1996
  • The nature of distant faint blue field galaxies remains a mystery, despite the fact that much attention has been devoted to this subject in the last decade. Galaxy counts, particularly those in the optical and near ultraviolet bandpasses, have been demonstrated to be well in excess of those expected in the 'no-evolution' scenario. This has usually been taken to imply that galaxies were brighter in the past, presumably due to a higher rate of star formation. More recently, redshift surveys of galaxies as faint as B$\~$24 have shown that the mean redshift of faint blue galaxies is lower than that predicted by standard evolutionary models (de-signed to fit the galaxy counts). The galaxy number count data and redshift data suggest that evolutionary effects are most prominent at the faint end of the galaxy luminosity function. While these data constrain the form of evolution of the overall luminosity function, they do not constrain evolution in individual galaxies. We are carrying out a series of observations as part of a long-term program aimed at a better understanding of the nature and amount of luminosity evolution in individual galaxies. Our study uses the luminosity-linewidth relation (Tully-Fisher relation) for disk galaxies as a tool to study luminosity evolution. Several studies of a related nature are being carried out by other groups. A specific experiment to test a 'no-evolution' hypothesis is presented here. We have used the AUTOFIB multifibre spectro-graph on the 4-metre Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) and the Rutgers Fabry-Perot imager on the Cerro Tolalo lnteramerican Observatory (CTIO) 4-metre tele-scope to measure the internal kinematics of a representative sample of faint blue field galaxies in the red-shift range z = 0.15-0.4. The emission line profiles of [OII] and [OIII] in a typical sample galaxy are significantly broader than the instrumental resolution (100-120 km $s^{-l}$), and it is possible to make a reliable de-termination of the linewidth. Detailed and realistic simulations based on the properties of nearby, low-luminosity spirals are used to convert the measured linewidth into an estimate of the characteristic rotation speed, making statistical corrections for the effects of inclination, non-uniform distribution of ionized gas, rotation curve shape, finite fibre aperture, etc.. The (corrected) mean characteristic rotation speed for our distant galaxy sample is compared to the mean rotation speed of local galaxies of comparable blue luminosity and colour. The typical galaxy in our distant sample has a B-band luminosity of about 0.25 L$\ast$ and a colour that corresponds to the Sb-Sd/Im range of Hub-ble types. Details of the AUTOFIB fibre spectroscopic study are described by Rix et al. (1996). Follow-up deep near infrared imaging with the 10-metre Keck tele-scope+ NIRC combination and high angular resolution imaging with the Hubble Space Telescope's WFPC2 are being used to determine the structural and orientation parameters of galaxies on an individual basis. This information is being combined with the spatially resolved CTIO Fabry-Perot data to study the internal kinematics of distant galaxies (Ing et al. 1996). The two main questions addressed by these (preliminary studies) are: 1. Do galaxies of a given luminosity and colour have the same characteristic rotation speed in the distant and local Universe? The distant galaxies in our AUTOFIB sample have a mean characteristic rotation speed of $\~$70 km $s^{-l}$ after correction for measurement bias (Fig. 1); this is inconsistent with the characteristic rotation speed of local galaxies of comparable photometric proper-ties (105 km $s^{-l}$) at the > $99\%$ significance level (Fig. 2). A straightforward explanation for this discrepancy is that faint blue galaxies were about 1-1.5 mag brighter (in the B band) at z $\~$ 0.25 than their present-day counterparts. 2. What is the nature of the internal kinematics of faint field galaxies? The linewidths of these faint galaxies appear to be dominated by the global disk rotation. The larger galaxies in our sample are about 2"-.5" in diameter so one can get direct insight into the nature of their internal velocity field from the $\~$ I" seeing CTIO Fabry-Perot data. A montage of Fabry-Perot data is shown in Fig. 3. The linewidths are too large (by. $5\sigma$) to be caused by turbulence in giant HII regions.

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Comparision of Blood Gas Analyser, pH Meter and pH Strip Methods in the Measurement of Pleural Fluid pH (흉수의 pH 측정에서 혈액가스분석기계, pH meter, pH Strip 방법의 비교)

  • Jee, Hyun-Suk;Park, Yong-Bum;Choi, Jae-Chol;Ahn, Chang-Hyuk;Yoo, Ji-Hoon;Kim, Jae-Yeol;Park, In-Won;Choi, Byoung-Whui
    • Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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    • v.48 no.5
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    • pp.773-780
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    • 2000
  • Background : pH measurement is an important test in assessing the etiology of pleurisy and in identifying complicated parapneumonic effusion. Although the blood gas analyzer is the gold standard method' for pleural pH measurement, pH meter & pH strip methods are also used for this purpose interchangably. However, the correlation among the pH data measured by the three different methods needs to be evaluated. In this study, we measured the pH of pleural fluid with the three different methods respectively and evaluated the correlation among the measured data. Methods : From August 1999 to March 2000, we measured the pleural fluid pH in 34 clinical samples with three methods-blood gas analyzer, pH meter, and pH strip. In the blood gas analyzer and pH meter methods, the temperature of pleural fluid was maintained around $0^{\circ}C$ in air-tight condition before analysis and measurement was performed within 30 minutes after collection. As for the pH strip method, the pleural fluid pH was checked in the ward immediately after tapping and in the clinical laboratory of our hospital. This part is unclear. Results : The causes of pleural effusion were tuberculosis pleurisy in 16 cases, malignant pleural effusion 5 cases, parapneumonic effusion 9 cases, empyema 3 cases, and congestive heart failure 1 case. The pH of pleural fluid (mean$\pm$SD) was 7.34$\pm$0.12 with blood gas analyser, 7.52$\pm$0.25 with pH meter, 7.37$\pm$0.16 with pH strip of immediate measurement and 6.93$\pm$0.201 with pH strip of delayed measurement. The pH measured by delayed pH strip measurement was lower than those of other methods (p<0.05). The correlation of the results between the blood gas analyzer and pH meter(p=0.002, r=0.518) and the blood gas analyzer and pH strip of immediate measurement(p<0.001, r=0.607). Conclusion : In the determination of pH of pleural fluid, pH strip method could be a simple and reliable method under immediate measurement conditions after pleural fluid tapping.

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The Adjuvant Effect of Subcutaneous Interferon-gamma in the Treatment of Refractory Multidrug-resistant Pulmonary Tuberculosis (난치성 다제내성 폐결핵에서 피하주사 Interferon-gamma 치료의 효과: 예비연구)

  • Kim, Eun Kyung;Shim, Tae Sun;Lee, Jung Yeon;Oh, Yeon-Mok;Lim, Chae-Man;Lee, Sang Do;Koh, Younsuck;Kim, Dong Soon;Kim, Won Dong;Kim, Woo Sung
    • Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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    • v.57 no.3
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    • pp.226-233
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    • 2004
  • Background : Interferon-gamma (IFN-${\gamma}$) is a critical cytokine in the defense against a Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Even though IFN-${\gamma}$ has occasionally been used in the treatment of refractory multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) with some promising results, there is still some controversy regarding the therapeutic efficacy of IFN-${\gamma}$. This study was performed to examine the effect of subcutaneous IFN-${\gamma}$ in the treatment of MDR-TB patients. Methods : Six patients with refractory MDR-TB were enrolled in this study. Two million IU of IFN-${\gamma}$ was administered subcutaneously three times a week with the concomitant administration of antituberculous drugs for at least for 28 weeks. During the IFN-${\gamma}$ therapy, the sputum smear and culture, radiological and clinical evaluations were performed every 4 weeks throughout the study period. Results : The mean age of the 6 patients was 37 years (ranges, 15-61 years). The drug susceptibility test to standard antituberculous drugs revealed resistance to an average of 6.8 (${\pm}1.2$) agents including isoniazid and rifampicin. An average of 10.8 (${\pm}1.3$) antituberculous drugs were prescribed before IFN-${\gamma}$ therapy. The culture became negative in 2 patients (33%) after initiating IFN-${\gamma}$ therapy; one at 8 weeks, and the other at 24 weeks. Finally, after stopping the IFN-${\gamma}$ therapy after 28 weeks, the culture became positive again in the two patients who were culture-negative. The other 4 patients who failed in the culture conversion are still on antituberculous treatment except for one who died of tuberculosis. Conclusion : Even though 28 weeks of subcutaneous IFN-${\gamma}$ therapy in combination with antituberculous drugs was successful in inducing the culture-negative conversion in some patients with refractory MDR-TB, the culture became positive again after stopping the IFN-${\gamma}$ therapy. This suggests that subcutaneous IFN-${\gamma}$ therapy may have suppressive effect on tuberculosis only during the IFN-${\gamma}$ therapy period in some patients. Further studies will be needed to determine the optimum dose, the administration route, the duration of therapy, and the predicting factors of the response to adjuvant IFN-${\gamma}$ therapy.

Analysis of HLA in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (폐쇄성 수면무호흡증후군 환자에서 사람백혈구항원 분석)

  • Lee, Sang Haak;Kim, Chi Hong;Ahn, Joong Hyun;Kang, Ji Ho;Kim, Kwan Hyoung;Song, Jeong Sup;Park, Sung Hak;Moon, Hwa Sik;Choi, Hee Baeg;Kim, Tai Gyu;Choi, Young Mee
    • Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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    • v.59 no.3
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    • pp.298-305
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    • 2005
  • Background : Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is believed to have multifactorial causes. The major risk factors for OSAS are obesity, narrowed upper airways, and abnormal cranial-facial structures. A genetic basis for OSAS has been also suggested by reports of families with many members affected. This study analyzed the HLA typing in patients with OSAS to determine the possible role of genetics in OSAS. Methods : Twenty-five Korean patients with OSAS (1 woman and 24 men; age range 30-66 years) were enrolled in this study. A diagnosis of OSAS was made using full-night polysomnography. The control group consisted of 200 healthy Korean people. Serologic typing of the HLA-A and B alleles was performed in all patients using a standard lymphocyte microcytotoxicity test. Analysis of the polymorphic second exons of the HLA-DRB1 gene was performed using a polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific oligonucleotide probe. Results : The allele frequency of HLA-A11 was significantly lower in patients with OSAS compared with the controls (p<0.05). The HLA-B allele frequencies in the patients and controls had a similar distribution. Analysis of the HLADRB1 gene polymorphisms showed an increased frequency of DRB1*09 in the OSA patients compared with the controls (p<0.05). When the analysis was performed after dividing the OSAS patients according to the severity of apnea, the allele frequency of HLA-DRB1*08 was significantly higher in the severe OSA patients (apnea index >45) than in the controls (p<0.05). Conclusion : This study revealed an association between OSAS and the HLA-A11 and DRB1*09 alleles as well as association between the disease severity and the HLA-DRB1*08 allele in Korean patients. These results suggest that genetics plays an important role in both the development and the disease severity of OSAS.