Pungmul: From Ritual (Gut) to Play (Nori)

Nongak (farmers' music), pungmul gut (percussion ritual) and pungmul nori (percussion play), though different in names and meanings, refer to one and the same performance genre - folk music played with four percussion instruments, frequently accompanying and/or accompanied by ritual, labor, dance, drama and procession. Hereafter, I will use pungmul gut as a representative term. It shall not include the samul nori (four-instrument play), which is considered an independent genre derived from the pungmul gut, derivative. Researchers and administrators preferred the term, partly because the Sino-Korean terminology was considered more proper for academic and bureaucratic use. National or local cultural asset system also adapted the orthography. It was only in the late-twentieth century that the genre began to be widely called the pungmul gut (often abbreviated to just pungmul or gut) among performers and enthusiastic researchers. 농악, 풍물굿, 풍물(놀이). … 들은 말뜻과 함의가 조금씩 다르지만, 심각한 소통장애를 일으키지는 않는 이름들이다. 이 글에서는 잠정적으로 풍물굿을 대표명칭으로 쓰고자 한다. 사물놀이는 별도의 파생 갈래(장르)로 보아 일단 풍물굿에 포함시키지 않기로 한다. 이러한 풍물굿온 제의, 두레, 판 등의 과정 중 악부 성분, 좁게는 음악 성분만을 가리키는 경우가 많은 것이나, 때로는 과정 전체를 가리키기도 한다. 악부 또는 음악으로서 풍물굿이 성립하고 존립할 전제가 되는 이 과정 또는 맥락은 근대 이전에는 제의, 노동, 걸립, 유흥 등이었다. 그러나 근대 초입인 20세기 초반부터 풍물굿은 이러한 맥락을 차츰 잃으며 음악화의 길을 꾸준히 걸어, 이제는 거의 악부 또는 음악 성분만을 가리키는 말로 정착했다. 겨우 한 세기 안팎에 걸친 급격한 변화 속 변하지 않은 풍물굿 텍스트의 핵심이자 필요 성분은 사물 가락, 즉 꽹과리, 장구, 북, 징으로 내는 리듬가락이다. 즉, 역사적으로 다양한 성분으로 이루어져 온 결합체에서 사물 가락 성분만이 동일성의 필요 성분으로 남고 텍스트의 나머지 성분(뒤치배[잡색], 판 청관중 참여와 집단적 엑스터시 등)과 원맥락(제의, 노동, 걸립, 유흥 등)은 선택적 성분으로 퇴색하거나 소거돼 온 것이 근대 초입 이래 풍물굿 변천의 중요한 측면이다. 이러한 음악화 과정에는 사회 변화뿐 아니라 경연대회와 문화재 지정 등 제도적 요인도 한몫 했고, 제도화는 바디와 더늠의 첨삭, 시공간 구성의 변화 등 자기변이를 일으키는 내적 생명력을 풍물굿에서 앗아 가기도 했다

Contrast Echo-A Simple Diagnostic Tool for a Coronary Artery Fistula

Coronary artery fistulas have been diagnosed with aortography, coronary angiography, and coronary computed tomography (CT). A large fistula can be occasionally found as a mass lesion on echocardiography but cannot be easily confirmed. Here, we report a new diagnostic approach to coronary artery fistulas using a contrast agent and transthoracic echocardiography. Transthoracic echocardiography of a 46-year-old female suffering from dyspnea revealed suspicious small turbulent flow in the main pulmonary artery. Following infusion of a contrast agent, we found whitish flow in the main pulmonary artery during the diastolic phase, and aortic CT revealed two huge right coronary artery fistulas in the main pulmonary artery. A simple diagnostic approach to a coronary artery fistula using contrast agent helped us confirm the diagnosis because of the typical diastolic whitish flow in the pulmonary artery

Evaluation of Left Atrial Volumes Using Multidetector Computed Tomography: Comparison with Echocardiography

OBJECTIVE: To prospectively assess the relationship between the two different measurement methods for the evaluation of left atrial (LA) volume using cardiac multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) and to compare the results between cardiac MDCT and echocardiography. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-five patients (20 men, 15 women; mean age, 60 years) underwent cardiac MDCT angiography for coronary artery disease. The LA volumes were measured using two different methods: the two dimensional (2D) length-based (LB) method measured along the three-orthogonal planes of the LA and the 3D volumetric threshold-based (VTB) method measured according to the threshold 3D segmentation of the LA. The results obtained by cardiac MDCT were compared with those obtained by echocardiography. RESULTS: The LA end-systolic and end-diastolic volumes (LAESV and LAEDV) measured by the 2D-LB method correlated well with those measured by the 3D-VTB method using cardiac MDCT (r = 0.763, r = 0.786, p = 0.001). However, there was a significant difference in the LAESVs between the two measurement methods using cardiac MDCT (p < 0.05). The LAESV measured by cardiac MDCT correlated well with measurements by echocardiography (r = 0.864, p = 0.001), however with a significant difference (p < 0.01) in their volumes. The cardiac MDCT overestimated the LAESV by 22% compared to measurements by echocardiography. CONCLUSION: A significant correlation was found between the two different measurement methods for evaluating LA volumes by cardiac MDCT. Further, cardiac MDCT correlates well with echocardiography in evaluating the LA volume. However, there are significant differences in the LAESV between the two measurement methods using cardiac MDCT and between cardiac MDCT and echocardiographyope

Cyclooxygenase-2 and p53 Expression as Prognostic Indicators in Conventional Renal Cell Carcinoma

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 and p53 expression with prognosis in patients with conventional renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections of conventional RCC from 92 patients, who had undergone radical nephrectomy, were examined for COX-2 and p53 expression by immunohistochemistry and compared with clinicopathological variables. The COX-2 expression significantly correlated only with tumor size (p=0.049), whereas the p53 expression profoundly correlated with the TNM stage (p=0.024), M stage (p=0.001), and metastasis (synchronous or metachronous; p=0.004). The COX-2 overexpression did not significantly associate with p53 positivity (p=0.821). The survival rate of patients correlated with the p53 expression (p<0.0001) but not with the COX-2 expression (p=0.7506). Multivariate analyses indicated that tumor size, M stage, and p53 expression were independent prognostic factors for cancer-specific survival. The COX-2 expression was not an independent factor. These results show that the increased expression of p53 was associated with metastasis and a worse prognosis in conventional RCC, which suggests that p53 might have played an important role in the progression of conventional RCC. The increased expression of COX-2 was associated only with tumor size, but may not be an important prognostic factor in conventional RCC. No association was observed between COX-2 overexpression and p53 positivity in conventional RCC

Double-stranded RNA induces inflammatory gene expression in schwann cells: Implication in the Wallerian degeneration

Schwann cells play an important role in peripheral nerve regeneration. Upon neuronal injury, activated Schwann cells clean up the myelin debris by phagocytosis, and promote neuronal survival and axon outgrowth by secreting various neurotrophic factors. However, it is unclear how the nerve injury induces Schwann cell activation. Recently, it was reported that certain cytoplasmic molecules, which are secreted by cells undergoing necrotic cell death, induce immune cell activation via the toll-like receptors (TLRs). This suggests that the TLRs expressed on Schwann cells may recognize nerve damage by binding to the endogenous ligands secreted by the damaged nerve, thereby inducing Schwann cell activation. Accordingly, this study was undertaken to examine the expression and the function of the TLRs on primary Schwann cells and iSC, a rat Schwann cell line. The transcripts of TLR2, 3, 4, and 9 were detected on the primary Schwann cells as well as on iSC. The stimulation of iSC with poly (I：C), a synthetic ligand for the TLR3, induced the expression of TNF-α and RANTES. In addition, poly (I：C) stimulation induced the iNOS expression and nitric oxide secretion in iSC. These results suggest that the TLRs may be involved in the inflammatory activation of Schwann cells, which is observed during Wallerian degeneration after a peripheral nerve injury.This work was supported by the Korea Research Foundation Grant (KRF-2003-003-E00178)

Extensive Systemic Sarcoidosis with Testicular Involvement Mimicking Metastatic Testicular Cancer

Sarcoidosis is an idiopathic, multisystem disease that rarely involves the genitourinary tract. Here we present an unusual case of testicular sarcoidosis with extensive lymphadenopathy that mimicked a metastatic testicular tumor. A 27-year-old male presented with a palpable right testicular mass accompanied by multiple palpable inguinal lymph nodes. The scrotal ultrasound showed a hypoechoic lesion at the inferior portion of the right testis. Extensive enlarged lymph nodes were noted in multiple areas on the abdominal computed tomography. Preoperative testicular tumor markers were within the normal range. Exploration of the right testis with a frozen section analysis of the right testicular mass and of a palpable right inguinal lymph node showed granulomatous inflammation. The testis was salvaged and the final pathological diagnosis was sarcoidosis. Treatment with high-dose corticosteroids resulted in complete resolution of the intratesticular mass and a significant decrease in the extent of the lymphadenopathy

Beneficial Effect of Efonidipine, an L- and T-Type Dual Calcium Channel Blocker, on Heart Rate and Blood Pressure in Patients With Mild-to-Moderate Essential Hypertension

Background and Objectives: Efonidipine hydrochloride, an L- and T-type dual calcium channel blocker, is suggested to have a heart rate (HR)-slowing action in addition to a blood pressure (BP)-lowering effect. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of efonidipine on HR and BP in patients with mild-to-moderate hypertension. Subjects and Methods: In a multi-center, prospective, open-labeled, single-armed study, we enrolled 53 patients who had mild-to-moderate hypertension {sitting diastolic BP (SiDBP) 90-110 mmHg}. After a 2-week washout, eligible patients were treated with efonidipine (40 mg once daily for 12 weeks). The primary end point was the change in HR from baseline to week 12. The secondary end-point included the change in trough sitting BP and 24-hour mean BP between baseline and week 12. Laboratory and clinical adverse events were monitored at each study visit (4, 8, and 12 weeks). Results: Fifty-two patients were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. After 12 weeks of treatment with efonidipine, the resting HR decreased significantly from baseline to week 12 (from 81.5??5.3 to 71.8??9.9 beats/minute (difference, -9.9??9.0 beats/minute), p<0.0001}. The trough BP {sitting systolic blood pressure (SiSBP) and SiDBP} and 24-hour mean BP also decreased significantly (SiSBP: from 144.6??8.2 to 132.9??13.5 mmHg, p<0.0001; SiDBP: from 96.9??5.4 to 88.3??8.6 mmHg, p<0.0001, 24-hour mean systolic BP: from 140.4??13.5 to 133.8??11.6 mmHg, p<0.0001; 24-hour mean diastolic BP: from 91.7??8.7 to 87.5??9.5 mmHg, p<0.0001). Conclusion: Efonidipine was effective in controlling both HR and BP in patients with mild-to-moderate hypertension. Copyright ?? 2010 The Korean Society of Cardiology