• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.35-40
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• 2018

Background: The treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is challenging, and multimodal treatment including surgery is recommended; however, the role of surgery is debated. The treatment outcomes of MPM in Korea have not been reported. We analyzed the outcomes of MPM in the context of multimodal treatment, including surgery. Methods: The records of 29 patients with pathologically proven MPM from April 1998 to July 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. The treatment outcomes of the surgery and non-surgery groups were compared. Results: The overall median survival time was 10.6 months, and the overall 3-year survival rate was 25%. No postoperative 30-day or in-hospital mortality occurred in the surgery group. Postoperative complications included tachyarrhythmia (n=4), pulmonary thromboembolism (n=1), pneumonia (n=1), chylothorax (n=1), and wound complications (n=3). The treatment outcomes between the surgery and non-surgery groups were not significantly different (3-year survival rate: 31.3% vs. 16.7%, respectively; p=0.47). In a subgroup analysis, there was no significant difference in the treatment outcomes between the extrapleural pneumonectomy group and the non-surgery group (3-year survival rate: 45.5% vs. 16.7%, respectively; p=0.23). Conclusion: Multimodal treatment incorporating surgery did not show better outcomes than non-surgical treatment. A nationwide multicenter data registry and prospective randomized controlled studies are necessary to optimize the treatment of MPM.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.101-107
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• 2022

Purpose: Radiotherapy after bladder filling protocol (BFP) is known to enhance treatment quality and reduce side effects in prostate cancer, a common male solid cancer globally. However, due to the need to hold back urine during treatment, patients frequently complain of discomfort, and treatment is frequently suspended when patients urinate during treatment and urine penetrates the treatment device, causing malfunction. Therefore, the effect of minimizing treatment time when partial-arc volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) was used instead of full-arc was assessed in this study. Methods: A total of 70 plans were created in 10 patients using 7 different arc sizes, and the treatment time for each plan was calculated. Results: Reduced arc size by half resulted in a 54.4% decrease in mean treatment duration, with a proportional tendency observed. Furthermore, the effect of VMAT arc size reduction on target dose homogeneity was significantly limited, and the effect on surrounding organs at risk (OAR) was negligible. It should be noted, however, that when the arc size decreases by >40%, the dose increases in the area without OAR around the target. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrated that partial-arc VMAT for enhancing treatment convenience and efficacy of prostate cancer patients undergoing BFP can achieve a considerable reduction in treatment time while preserving treatment quality, and it is expected to be useful for partial-arc VMAT plan design and implementation in practice.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.49
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• pp.519-544
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• 2011

Clauses on national treatment in the bilateral investment treaties including FTA state that, the foreign investor and his investments are 'accorded treatment no less favourable than that which the host state accords to its own investors'. Hence the purpose of the clause is to oblige a host state to make no negative differentiation between foreign and national investors when enacting and applying its rules and regulations and thus to promote the position of the foreign investor to the level accorded to nationals. As a matter of legal drafting technique, while the basic clause is generally the same, the practical implications differ due to more or less wide-ranging exemptions of certain business sectors. It is generally agreed that the application of the clause is fact-specific. This paper deals with problems in drafting clauses on national treatment in practice, introduces several considerations to adjust the level of national treatment, so it can be made more represents the interest of our country.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.121-130
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• 2023

This study was conducted to investigate changes in seed vigor based on temperature of dry heat and duration treatment of watermelon seeds and examine the effect on percent of emergence and seedling vigor. When the upper limit temperature of dry heat treatment was raised to 80℃, the percent of the germination decreased. Moreover, T₅₀ was delayed as the upper limit temperature of dry heat treatment increased. The higher the upper limit temperature of dry heat treatment and the longer the treatment period, the higher the percentage of abnormal seedlings. The optimum upper limit temperature for dry heat treatment was 72℃, and the treatment period was five days. Seed vigor was better maintained at 30℃, 45℃, and 52℃, followed by stepwise exposure to high temperatures of 72℃, the upper limit of dry heat treatment, rather than dry heat treatment at a high temperature of 72℃ for 5 days from the initial stage of treatment. When the fungicide was added during the dry heat treatment process, the germination percentage decreased and the percent of the abnormal seedling percentage increased. However, the addition of 10 mg/kg fungicide did not significantly reduce seed vigor.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.3-23
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• 2022

Countries differ in their treatment expertise and research results regarding gastric cancer; hence, treatment guidelines are diverse based on evidence and medical situations. A comprehensive and comparative review of each country's guidelines is imperative to understand the similarities and differences among countries. We reviewed and compared five gastric cancer treatment guidelines in terms of endoscopic, surgical, perioperative, and palliative systemic treatment based on evidence levels and recommendation grades, as well as the postoperative follow-up strategies for each guideline. The Korean, Chinese, and European guidelines provided evidence and grading of the recommendations. The United States guidelines suggested categories for evidence and consensus. The Japanese guidelines suggested evidence and recommendations only for systemic treatment. The Korean and Japanese guidelines described endoscopic treatment, surgery, and lymphadenectomy in detail. The Chinese, United States, and European guidelines more intensively considered perioperative chemotherapy. In particular, the indications for chemotherapy and the regimens recommended by each guideline differed slightly. Considering their medical situations, each guideline had some diversity in terms of adopting evidence, which resulted in heterogeneous recommendations. This review will help medical personnel to comprehensively understand the diversity in gastric cancer treatment guidelines for each country in terms of evidence and recommendations.

• 한국정보디스플레이학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.10a
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• pp.152-155
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• 2009

A novel two-step surface treatment was developed and demonstrated for the carbon nanotube (CNT) cathode with highly efficient backlight unit application. An adhesive taping method was applied firstly and then followed by a post-heat treatment for the CNT cathode. During the postheat treatment process, some residues covering the CNTs were burned out. The post-heat treatment enhanced the emission current of the CNT cathode around 20% compared with that of no heat-treated sample.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
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• 2002.09a
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• pp.177-179
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• 2002

We have developed a scheduling system for heavy ion radiotherapy considering the condition of three treatment rooms and treatment planning for each patient. This system consists of a database (patient information, treatment method and machine schedule), a schedule for radiotherapy and WEB server. All operation of this system, such as data input, to change and to view the schedule, are performed by using a WEB browser. In order to protect personal information for the patients, access privilege to each information are limited by according to the occupational category. This system is connected with a hospital central information management system (AMIDAS) and an irradiation-managing computer for the heavy ion radiotherapy. A basic information for the patient is got from AMIDAS and the daily schedule sends to the treatment control computer at each treatment room through the irradiation-managing computer every morning. The daily, weekly, monthly schedules in the treatment room and the treatment condition of each patient are shared on the WEB browser with the all participants of the heavy ion therapy. This system could be useful to save a time to generate a treatment schedule and to inform us the most up-to-date treatment schedule and the related information at the same time.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.84 no.1
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• pp.74-83
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• 2021

Background: This study compared the treatment outcomes of patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) before and after the implementation of public-private mix (PPM). Factors affecting treatment success were also investigated. Methods: Data from culture-confirmed pulmonary MDR-TB patients who commenced MDR-TB treatment at Pusan National University Hospital between January 2003 and December 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were divided into two groups in terms of PPM status: pre-PPM period, patients who commenced MDR-TB treatment between 2003 and 2010; and post-PPM period, patients treated between 2011 and 2017. Results: A total of 176 patients were included (64 and 112 in the pre- and post-PPM periods, respectively). 36.9% of the patients were resistant to a fluoroquinolone or a second-line injectable drug, or both. The overall treatment success rate was 72.7%. The success rate of post-PPM patients was higher than that of pre-PPM patients (79.5% vs. 60.9%, p=0.008). Also, loss to follow-up was lower in the post-PPM period (5.4% vs. 15.6%, p=0.023). In multivariate regression analysis, age ≥65 years, body mass index ≤18.5 kg/m², previous TB treatment, bilateral lung involvement, and extensively drug-resistant (XDR)- or pre-XDR-TB were associated with poorer treatment outcomes. However, the use of bedaquiline or delamanid for ≥1 month increased the treatment success. Conclusion: The treatment success rate in MDR-TB patients was higher in the post-PPM period than in the pre-PPM period, particularly because of the low rate of loss to follow-up. To ensure comprehensive patient-centered PPM in South Korea, investment and other support must be adequate.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.294-297
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• 2014

Cardiac complications such as arrhythmia and heart failure are common in Graves disease. Early detection and proper treatment of hyperthyroidism are important because cardiac complications are reported to be reversible if the thyroid function is normalized by medical treatment. We report here a case of cardiac complication of Graves disease that was too late to reverse with medical treatment and required surgical treatment.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.19-24
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• 2023

Objectives : Biofeedback is a useful non-pharmacological treatment for panic disorder (PD), but no studies have identified physiological markers related to the treatment response. This study investigated predictors of the treatment response for biofeedback in patients with PD. Methods : A retrospective study based on the electronic medical records of 372 adult patients with PD was performed. Patients received biofeedback treatment at least once, and physiological markers including heart rate, heart rate variability, respiratory rate, skin conductance, skin temperature, and electromyography were collected before the treatment began. The patients were classified as responders or non-responders based on the change in Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) score. Results : The response rate to biofeedback treatment was 30.4%. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that a higher CGI-S score at baseline and fewer benzodiazepine prescriptions were associated with a better response to biofeedback treatment. According to subgroup analyses, the baseline CGI-S score, dose of benzodiazepines, and skin conductance are candidate predictors of the response to biofeedback treatment in men, while only baseline disease severity was associated with the treatment response in women. Conclusions : The present results suggest that skin conductance may be target marker and predictor for biofeedback in male patients with PD.