• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.318-326
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• 1999

Apoptotic cell death, characterized by DNA fragmentation and morphological changes, has previously been shown to occur in vascular endothelial cells cultured with hydrogen peroxide. The present study examined the induction of apoptosis by hydrogen peroxide and whether pyruvate, a key glycolytic intermediate and $\alpha$-keto-monocarboxylate, can inhibit the apoptotic effects in bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells(BPAECs). Culture with 500uM hydrogen peroxide resulted in 30% cell death and induced morphological changes and DNA fragmentation. Cell injury was inhibited by the treatment with pyruvate. Pyruvate(0.1-5.0mM), and cell viability increased in a dose-dependent manner. In the presence of pyruvate(10~20mM), the viability was improved to over 95%. In contrast, treatment with lactate, a reduced form of phyuvate, did not protect against cell death oxidative stress-induced loss of viability and apoptosis was examined with $\alpha$-cyano-3-hydroxycinnarmate(COHC) as a selective mitochondrial monocarboxylate transport blocker. Incubation with COHC(500uM) did not significantly affect cell viability in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. The cytoprotection by pyruvate(3mM)against hydrogen peroxide stress was abolished by COHC. This indicates that the cytoprotection by pyruvate against oxidative stress in endothelial cells is mediated, at least in part, by mitochondrial pyruvate uptake and hence endothelial enerygetics. However, cytosolic mechanisms related, at least in part, by mitochondrial pyruvate uptake and hence endothelial energetics. However, cytosolic mechanisms related to the glutathione system may also contribute. The results suggest that pyruvate has therapeutic potential in the treatment of oxidative stress-induced cytotoxicity associated with increased apoptosis.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.263-305
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• 2009

Is it lawful to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment applied to a patient in a terminal condition or permanent unconscious condition? In Korea, there are no such laws or regulations which control affairs related to the withholding or withdrawal life-support treatment and active euthanasia as the Natural Death Act or the Death with Dignity Act in the U. S. A. And in addition there has had no precedent of Supreme Court. Recently Supreme Court has pronounced a historical judgment on a terminal care case. The court allowed the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment from a patient in a permanent unconscious state. Fundamentally the court judged that the continuation of that medical treatment would infringe dignity and value of a patient as a human being. And the court required some legal grounds to consider such withdrawal or withholding of medical care lawful. The legal grounds are as follow. First, the patient is in a incurable and irreversible condition and already entered a stage of death. Second, the patient executed a directive, in advance, directing the withholding or withdrawal of life-support treatment in a incurable and irreversible condition or in a terminal condition. Otherwise, at least, the patient's will would be presumed through his/her character, view of value, philosophy, religious faith and career etc. I regard if a patient is in a incurable and irreversible condition or in a terminal condition, the medical contract between a patient and a doctor would be terminated because of the actual impossibility of achievement of it's purpose. So I think the discontinuation of life-sustaining care would be legally allowed without depending on the patient's own will.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.289-298
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• 2022

Purpose: Nursing stress on life-sustaining treatment of nurses is a significant contributing factor to nursing care performance and patient care outcomes. We need to investigate the factors associated with nursing stress on life-sustaining treatment in hospital settings. The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the relationship of role perception of life-sustaining treatment and good death perception with nursing stress on life-sustaining treatment among nurses in hospital settings. Methods: Using a cross-sectional study design, we recruited nurses at a hospital located in a metropolitan city in Korea. The nurses completed structured questionnaire questions which were composed of well-validated questionnaires. Descriptive statistics and hierarchical multiple regression model were utilized for data analysis. Results: A total of 205 nurses participated in the study (female 93.2%; aged 20~29 years 63.0%; single status 78.5%). In the hierarchical multiple regression model, there was a significant positive relationship between role perception of life-sustaining treatment and nursing stress on life-sustaining treatment (β=.27, p<.001). Higher education level and working at a ward setting were also significantly related to nursing stress on life-sustaining treatment (β=.13, p<.046 for education level; β=.22, p=.001 for work setting). However, there was no relationship between good death perception and nursing stress on life-sustaining treatment. Conclusion: Education programs to reduce nursing stress on life-sustaining treatment are needed to develop for nurses who have higher role perception of life-sustaining treatment with higher education level working at ward settings in hospitals.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.22-30
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• 2022

Immune checkpoint inhibition has been established as a new treatment option for various types of carcinoma, and many clinical trials are being actively conducted as a treatment for advanced or metastatic gastric cancer, either as a monotherapy with an immune checkpoint inhibitor or as a combination therapy with standard chemotherapy. In the CheckMate-649 clinical trial to confirm the efficacy of the combination of nivolumab and chemotherapy (FP) in advanced gastric cancer and gastroesophageal junction cancer, nivolumab group showed improvement in overall survival in programmed death ligand 1-positive cancer patients compared with placebo group. Also, the combination therapy of pembrolizumab, trastuzumab and chemotherapy (FP) in first-line treatment was tested through the KEYNOTE-811 trial. The pembrolizumab group showed 22.7% of improvement in objective response rate compared with placebo group. Accordingly, the combination of nivolumab/pembrolizumab with standard chemotherapy was approved for the first-line treatment. In KEYNOTE-059 trials for patients with progressive disease after at least two lines of chemotherapy, pembrolizumab monotherapy showed improvement in objective response rate and overall survival, and the use of pembrolizumab was approved for the third-line or more treatment. In this article, we review the result of clinical trials related to immune checkpoint inhibitors that have been recently introduced in the treatment of gastric cancer.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.193-222
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• 2024

From a global trend, discussions on the patient's death with dignity are gradually progressing from the issue of withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment to the issue of whether to allow assisted death and its requirements. Several states in the United States and Western European countries such as Canada, Belgium, and the Netherlands have institutionalized treatment to accelerate the time of death through the assistance of doctors. In France, after a long period of raising and reviewing issues, discussions on related legislation are taking place at a slower pace than in other European countries. In France, social discussions and legislative attempts on death with dignity have been actively conducted since the late 20th century. The Leonetti Act of 2005 prohibited the continuation of meaningless treatment against the will of patients, and after the Clay-Leonetti Act of 2016, it was legalized to administer intensive and continuous sedatives to patients until death. However, unlike many neighboring European countries, treatment that speeds up the time of death itself is still prohibited in France, even if the patient wants. As the existential and universal question of whether to allow dying patients to die painlessly with the help of a doctor has recently emerged as an important issue, a number of lawmakers have submitted legislation to legalize assisted death. This paper examines the legislative process developed in relation to patients' rights to dignified death in France, and compares and reviews French legislation that attempts to legalize assisted death with the amendment to the Korean Life-Sustaining Treatment Act.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.135-149
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• 2006

Purpose : This study was aimed to investigate the inhibitory effect of Millettia Reticulatas on the proliferation of human uterine leiomyoma cells and the expression of gene related the mechanism of cell apoptosis. Methods : We counted the number of death cells treated with indicated concentration of Millettia Reticulatas and investigated cell death rate by MTS assay. Furthermore, flow cytometry analyis and DNA fragmentation assay were used to dissect between necrosis and apoptosis. and then we observed the differential gene expression by western blot analysis. Results : 1) The inhibitory effect on the growth of uterine leiomyoma cell treated with Millettia Reticulatas was increased in a concentration proportional. 2) The result of flow cytometry analysis. subG1 phase arrest related3 cell apoptosis was investigated 23.49% in uterine leiomyoma cell treated Millettia Reticulatas and showed the fession of proportional concentration. 3) The gene expression of p27, p53, p21, p16 related cell cycle was increased according to increasing concentration but cyclin E was none exchanged. 4) The character of apoptosis, DNA fragmentation was significantly observed the fession of proportional concentration. 5) The expression of pro-caspase3 and PARP were decreased dependent on treatment concentration. Conclusion : This study showed that Millettia Reticulatas have the inhibitory effect on the proliferation of human uterine leiomyoma cell and the effect was related with apoptosis. The apoptotic mechanism was observed that the gene expression of p27, p53, p21, p16 related cell cycle was increased according to increasing treatment concentration, induced G1 phase arrest and finally cell death was occurred. The decreased expression of pro-caspase 3 and PARP were noted that apoptosis was related with caspase pathway.

• Journal of East-West Nursing Research
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.142-150
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the factors affecting the role of nurses with regard to the perception of good death, knowledge of advance directives, and stress and attitude toward withdrawing life-sustaining treatment. Methods: Data were collected from 102 nurses working at a general hospital. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Scheffé test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and multiple linear regression using the SPSS 28.0.1.0 program. Results: Educational level (β=.37, p=.001 for bachelor; β=.33, p=.005 for master or higher) and good death perception (β=.22, p=.024) were significant factors of the role of nurses associated with withdrawing life-sustaining treatment. Conclusion: Based on the result of this study, information about awareness of good death should be included in development of an educational program in order to strengthen the role of nurses in withdrawing life-sustaining treatment of patients.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.390-395
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• 2022

Objectives: Sweet bee venom (sBV) is purified from Apis mellifera, containing a high level of melittin-its main component. It has been used as a therapeutic agent for pain relief and anti-inflammation, as well as for treating neuronal abnormalities. Recently, there have been studies on the therapeutic application of sBV for anticancer treatment. In the present study, we investigated the pharmacological effect of sBV treatment in A549 human lung cancer cells. Methods: We used microscopic analysis to observe the morphological changes in A549 cells after sBV treatment. The MTT assay was used to examine the cytotoxic effect after dose-dependent sBV treatment. Molecular changes in sBV were evaluated by the expression of apoptosis marker proteins using western blot analysis. Results: Microscopic analysis suggested that the growth inhibitory effect occurred in a dose-dependent manner; however, cell lysis occurred at a concentration over 20 ㎍/mL of sBV. The MTT assay indicated that sBV treatment exhibited a growth inhibitory effect at a concentration over 5 ㎍/mL. On fluorescence activated cell sorting analysis, G0 dead cells were observed after G1 arrest at treatment concentrations up to 10 ㎍/mL. However, rapid cell rupture was observed at a concentration of 20 ㎍/mL. Western blot analysis demonstrated that sBV treatment modulated the expression of multiple cell death-related proteins, including cleaved-PARP, cleaved-caspase 9, p53, Bcl2, and Bax. Conclusion: sBV induced cell death in A549 human lung cancer cells at a pharmacological concentration, albeit causing hemolytic cell death at a high concentration.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2020.11a
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• pp.153-153
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• 2020

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.151-156
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• 2003

Cornis fructus have various biological effects and major chemical components have been tannins, saponins, ursolic acids, gallic acids, linoleic acids, morronisides, cornins and loganins. The main aim of the present study is measurment the effect of chloroform extract from Cornis fructus on proliferation inhibition and Cell death. Cells were cultured in the presence of chloroform extracts from Cornis fructus for 48 h. after 48h treatment of B16/F10 melanoma cells with chloroform extracts, the cells were observed a dose-dependent inhibitions of cell viability with cell death in their proliferation. the cells were estimated cell viability, cell number, total DNA fragmentation and chromatin condensation in a dose-dependent manner. It also caused cell death as measured by cell morphology, DNA fragmentation and nucleus chromatin condensation. therefore, these results suggest that chloroform extracts from C. fructus is inhibitory proliferation and is related to cell death in this cells.