OBJECTIVES: In this study, the possibility of using existing test data provided in Korea and elsewhere for the registration of chemical substances was examined. Data on 510 chemical substances that are among the first subject to registration under the “Act on the Registration and Evaluation, etc. of Chemical Substances (K-REACH)” were analyzed. METHODS: The possibility of using existing data from 16 reference databases was examined for 510 chemical substances notified in July 2015 as being subject to registration. RESULTS: Test data with the reliability required for the registration of chemical substances under the K-REACH constituted 48.4% of the required physicochemical characteristics, 6.5% of the required health hazards, and 9.4% of the required environmental hazards. CONCLUSIONS: Some existing test data were not within the scope of this research, including data used for registration in the European Union (EU). Thus, considering that 350 of these 510 species are registered in EU Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation & Restriction of Chemicals, more test data may exist that can be utilized in addition to the data identified in this study. Furthermore, the K-REACH states that non-testing data (test results predicted through Read Across, Quantitative Structure- Activity Relationships) and the weight of evidence (test results predicted based on test data with low reliability) can also be utilized for registration data. Therefore, if methods for using such data were actively reviewed, it would be possible to reduce the cost of securing test data required for the registration of chemical substances.
European Union ; Korea

OBJECTIVES: In this study, the possibility of using existing test data provided in Korea and elsewhere for the registration of chemical substances was examined. Data on 510 chemical substances that are among the first subject to registration under the “Act on the Registration and Evaluation, etc. of Chemical Substances (K-REACH)” were analyzed. METHODS: The possibility of using existing data from 16 reference databases was examined for 510 chemical substances notified in July 2015 as being subject to registration. RESULTS: Test data with the reliability required for the registration of chemical substances under the K-REACH constituted 48.4% of the required physicochemical characteristics, 6.5% of the required health hazards, and 9.4% of the required environmental hazards. CONCLUSIONS: Some existing test data were not within the scope of this research, including data used for registration in the European Union (EU). Thus, considering that 350 of these 510 species are registered in EU Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation & Restriction of Chemicals, more test data may exist that can be utilized in addition to the data identified in this study. Furthermore, the K-REACH states that non-testing data (test results predicted through Read Across, Quantitative Structure- Activity Relationships) and the weight of evidence (test results predicted based on test data with low reliability) can also be utilized for registration data. Therefore, if methods for using such data were actively reviewed, it would be possible to reduce the cost of securing test data required for the registration of chemical substances.
European Union ; Korea

Pneumothorax is the presence of gas in the pleural space. Traumatic pneumothorax results from penetrating or nonpenetrating chest injuries and iatrogenic pneumothorax occurs as a consequence of a diagnostic or therapeutic maneuver. When interventional muscle and soft tissue stimulation (IMNS) therapy is performed, iatrogenic pneumothorax is not common, but once it has occurred, it gives suffering and pain to both the patient and physician. We experienced three cases of iatrogenic pneumothorax after IMNS therapy. Commonly, the patients with peumothorax are treated with a tube thoracostomy on admission, but these patients can be simply treated with simple observation, oxygen inhalation and simple aspiration without admission and the results are satisfactory. Although iatogenic pneumothorax after IMNS therapy appears to be an rare, IMNS procedure still must be done with care.
Humans ; Inhalation ; Oxygen ; Pneumothorax* ; Thoracic Injuries ; Thoracostomy

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to evaluate the biodegradation potential of four perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) alternatives that were developed at Changwon National University. While PFOS has been used widely in industrial and consumer products, it is known to be a persistent organic pollutant. Therefore, greener alternatives are highly desirable. METHODS: Biodegradation tests were run for 28 days using standard test protocols. The biochemical oxygen demand was measured daily throughout the experimental period, and the data were used to calculate the biodegradation rates. Microorganisms were isolated from the some of the tests that showed evidence of biodegradation. RESULTS: C8H8F9KO3S, which has the same number of carbons as the parent compound PFOS but a reduced number of fluorines, showed the highest biodegradation rate followed by C10H8F13KO3S. Chemical alternatives with lower number of carbons did not biodegrade readily in the experiments. CONCLUSIONS: Together, these results suggest that it may be advantageous to develop PFOS alternatives with 8 carbons, the same as PFOS, but a reduced number of fluorines; as such, chemicals are more susceptible to biodegradation than the parent compound.
Carbon ; Green Chemistry Technology ; Gyeongsangnam-do ; Humans ; Oxygen ; Parents

OBJECTIVES: Approximately 2000 phase-in substances are subject to registration according to the Act on the Registration and Evaluation, etc. of Chemical Substances (KREACH), and the expected testing cost is 2.06 trillion Korean won assuming all the test data required for registration are acquired. The extent to which these enormous test costs can be reduced depends on the availability of existing data that can be used to meet the requirements of the K-REACH we examined the current availability of test data that can be used for chemical substance registration. METHODS: We analyzed the possibility of utilizing the existing test data obtained from 16 reference databases for 369 of 518 kinds of phase-in substances subject to registration that were reported in last October 2014. RESULTS: The physical and chemical properties were available for 57.1% of substances, whereas data regarding human hazards and environmental hazards were available at considerably lower rates, 8.5% and 11.8%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Physical and chemical properties were available for a fairly high proportion, whereas human hazards and environmental hazards were reported for considerably fewer substances.
Chemical Safety ; Hazardous Substances ; Humans ; Safety Management

BACKGROUND: Cerebral ischemia causes an increase in extracellular potassium ([K+]e) through activation of the KATP channel. This increase in [K+]e could result in neuronal depolarization and a reversal of the glutamate uptake system in glia. This may further contribute to the excessive concentrations of glutamate and asparate in the extracellular space during ischemia. If the early rise in [K+]e during ischemia could be attenuated, less excitotoxic neuronal damage may be the result. However, activation of KATP channels has been shown to attenuate the anoxia induced depolarization in the hippocampus and may reduce the release of excitatory neurotransmitters during cerebral ischemia. In this study, we address the question of whether KATP channel modulation affects [K+]e and whether it is related with extracellular glutamate concentrations. METHODS: After approval by the Animal Care and Use Committee, 18 New Zealand white rabbits were anesthetized with halothane and mechanically ventilated to maintain normocarbia. Microdialysis catheters were inserted into the left dorsal hippocampus and perfused with artificial cerebrospinal fluid at 2 ml/min. K+ sensitive microelectrodes were inserted into the contralateral hippocampus. A pneumatic tourniquet was placed loosely around the neck. Animals were randomized to receive glibenclamide (n=5, KATP blocker, 3.7 mg/kg) or cromakalim (n=5, KATP opener, 0.5 mg/kg). The control group (n=6) had neither drug. Ten-minute period of global cerebral ischemia was produced by inflation of the tourniquet combined with induced hypotension. Hippocampal [K+]e was measured throughout the periischemic period and glutamate concentrations in dialysate were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Peak levels were compared by ANOVA. RESULTS: Glutamate concentration significantly increased during ischemia period for all groups (p<0.05). In glibenclamide treated animals, brain glutamate concentration increased markedly during early reperfusion (t=I+15) compared to other groups (p<0.05). There were no statistical differences on ischemia-induced increases in [K+]e among the three groups. CONCLUSIONS: Although it was not possible to demonstrate an effect of modulators of the ATP sensitive K+ channel on [K+]e, glibenclamide increased glutamate during reperfusion. This paradoxical increase in glutamate after administration of a K+ channel blocker suggests that the mechanism of glutamate release is not related to [K+]e change.
Adenosine Triphosphate ; Animals ; Anoxia ; Brain ; Brain Ischemia ; Catheters ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Cromakalim ; Extracellular Space ; Glutamic Acid* ; Glyburide ; Halothane ; Hippocampus* ; Hypotension ; Inflation, Economic ; Ischemia* ; KATP Channels ; Microdialysis ; Microelectrodes ; Neck ; Neuroglia ; Neurons ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; Potassium ; Rabbits ; Reperfusion ; Tourniquets

OBJECTIVES: Posttraumatic stress disorder(PTSD) has been primarily associated with emotional problems. Recently, however, the impact of PTSD on cognitive processes has interested a growing number of researchers. The current study is aimed at investigating the cognitive aspects of PTSD at both behavioral and neurological levels. METHODS: We recruited individuals with PTSD who survived the Daegu subway explosion in 2003 as well as non-PTSD individuals as a control group. To evaluate the inhibitory processes and the neural mechanisms, we had these individuals perform the negative priming task simultaneously with functional MRI scanning. RESULTS: Behaviorally, the negative priming effect was intact in the control group but was not evident in the PTSD group. In the imaging results, only the PTSD group showed the negative priming effect (i.e., increased activation of the negative priming condition as opposed to the neutral condition) in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and inferior temporal gyrus. The PTSD group also showed increased activity for the positive priming condition as opposed to the neutral condition in the claustrum. These results confirm and extend the previous findings that the integrity of the ACC is compromised in the trauma survivors due to disrupted white matter tract. CONCLUSIONS: The current results suggest that deteriorated performance of the PTSD group may be due to the functional problem as well as the structural abnormalities.
Basal Ganglia ; European Continental Ancestry Group ; Explosions ; Gyrus Cinguli ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Magnetics ; Magnets ; Prefrontal Cortex ; Railroads ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic ; Survivors

PURPOSE: Piezolith 3000(R) is one of the 3rd generation lithotriptors that uses double layered piezoelectric shock waves for the treatment of urinary stone. We evaluated the safety and effectiveness of the Piezolith 3000(R) lithotriptor and we compared it with the previous Piezolith 2300(R) lithotriptor. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed the records of 500 patients with urinary calculi who had been treated with extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) from January 2002 to December 2003, but complete follow up data was available for only 385 cases. The distribution of stones, the success rate and the number of ESWL sessions according to the size and location of the stones, the auxiliary procedures and their complications were analyzed. RESULTS: There were 172 cases with renal stone and 213 cases with ureteral calculi. The success rate, defined as being stone-free or having asymptomatic residual fragments measuring 3mm or less, was 82.0% for the renal stones and 93.0% for the ureteral calculi. The overall success rate for all the calculi was 88.1%. The mean number of sessions was 3.6 for the renal stones and 2.3 for the ureteral calculi. The overall mean number of sessions was 2.8. All the treatments were performed without analgesia or sedation except for one child (5 years old) who was given oral sedation. Any serious complications or side effects such as renal hematoma were not observed. CONCLUSIONS: The Piezolith 3000(R) lithotriptor allows shorter treatment sessions and it has more comfortable positioning tools to focus on the stone. It also has the advantage of being anesthesia free and a lower morbidity rate (e.g. pain). Yet we couldn't find any difference of the success rate between the previous standard piezo-system and the Piezolith 3000 .
Analgesia ; Anesthesia ; Calculi* ; Child ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Lithotripsy ; Shock* ; Ureteral Calculi ; Urinary Calculi ; Urinary Tract*

Uterine sacculation is a very rare complication associated with pregnancy in which a part of the uterine wall balloons, and it is difficult to diagnose because it is usually asymptomatic. It frequently contains the placenta and sometimes may be involved with the trapped placenta after delivery due to its structural characteristic. It is impossible to remove the retained placenta in the sac by using usual methods such as manual delivery or curettage so most of patients with it end up with having a laparotomy. Especially, if the placenta in it is accompanied by abnormal adherence of the placenta or serious hemorrhage, hysterectomy should be considered. Currently several conservative methods for the retained placenta including selective uterine artery embolization and administration of methotrexate have been introduced and these may be tried to treat the retained placenta in the uterine sacculation for avoiding operation and preserving future reproductive potential in selective cases. We experienced a case of placenta increta in the uterine sacculation that was diagnosed first during cesarian section and was treated with selective uterine artery embolization followed by methotrexate administration. This case is reported with a brief review of the literatures.
Curettage ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Laparotomy ; Methotrexate ; Placenta Accreta* ; Placenta* ; Placenta, Retained ; Pregnancy ; Uterine Artery Embolization

Uterine sacculation is a very rare complication associated with pregnancy in which a part of the uterine wall balloons, and it is difficult to diagnose because it is usually asymptomatic. It frequently contains the placenta and sometimes may be involved with the trapped placenta after delivery due to its structural characteristic. It is impossible to remove the retained placenta in the sac by using usual methods such as manual delivery or curettage so most of patients with it end up with having a laparotomy. Especially, if the placenta in it is accompanied by abnormal adherence of the placenta or serious hemorrhage, hysterectomy should be considered. Currently several conservative methods for the retained placenta including selective uterine artery embolization and administration of methotrexate have been introduced and these may be tried to treat the retained placenta in the uterine sacculation for avoiding operation and preserving future reproductive potential in selective cases. We experienced a case of placenta increta in the uterine sacculation that was diagnosed first during cesarian section and was treated with selective uterine artery embolization followed by methotrexate administration. This case is reported with a brief review of the literatures.
Curettage ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Laparotomy ; Methotrexate ; Placenta Accreta* ; Placenta* ; Placenta, Retained ; Pregnancy ; Uterine Artery Embolization