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This article discusses the book "Flowers of Fire: The Inside Story of South Korea's Feminist Movement and What It Means for Women's Rights Worldwide" by Hawon Jung. The book explores the #MeToo movement in Korea and the new wave of feminist movements that have emerged in recent years. It highlights the use of the internet and social media as tools for organizing and mobilizing feminist activism. The book also addresses major gender issues and women's movements in Korea, including the fight against digital sex crimes and the push for abortion rights. While acknowledging divisions and backlash, the author remains optimistic about the progress that Korean feminists will continue to make. The book is praised for its use of in-depth interviews and personal stories to convey the reality of everyday life in Korea. However, it is noted that the book lacks the perspective of anti-feminist men and does not fully address class and diversity issues among women in Korea. Overall, the book provides a vivid portrait of women's lives in contemporary South Korea and is recommended for college courses in Asian studies and women's studies. [Extracted from the article]

Helen Kim (Kim Hwal-lan, 1899-1970) has been well respected as a feminist Christian educator and diplomat: the second Korean woman to receive an American doctoral degree, the first Korean president of Ewha College, a Korean representative to the United Nations and UNESCO, and an evangelist. At the same time, her pro-Japanese activities and support for dictatorship have been roundly criticized. One of her controversial activities involves so-called gisaeng parties, in which Kim mobilized Ewha students and alumni to entertain UN soldiers and officials who were deployed to help the Republic of Korea during the Korean War (1950-1953). Gisaeng is a derogatory term that refers to female entertainers of traditional Korea. These gisaeng parties were connected to Kim's political activities on behalf of Syngman Rhee (1875-1965), the first president of the Republic of Korea. Rhee often used private connections and settings and women to break through political obstacles, especially in the period leading up to the UN-sponsored elections that established the Republic of Korea in 1948 and during the early years of his rule (1948-1960). Helen Kim, together with a politician and a financier, founded the Emergency Citizens League for Information and Friendly Relations in January 1951 and organized publicity activities, one being gisaeng parties. This paper explores Helen Kim's publicity campaigns around the Korean War with close attention to female sexuality. How Kim's Christian and feminist beliefs came into this exploitation of the female body and the feminist understanding of the matter will also be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims Locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) is challenging. We aimed to evaluate the tolerability and safety of Ad5-yCD/mutTK(SR39)rep-ADP (Ad5-DS), a replication- competent adenovirus-mediated double suicide gene therapy in combination with gemcitabine in LAPC patients. Methods Newly diagnosed LAPC patients were enrolled in a single-center, open label, 3+3 dose-escalation phase I trial (NCT02894944). Ad5-DS was injected into the pancreatic mass with endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needles in combination with oral 5-fluorocytosine and valganciclovir, and standard dose of intravenous gemcitabine. The doses of Ad5-DS in cohorts 1 to 3 were 1×1011, 3×1011, and 1×1012 VP/mL, respectively. Patients were observed for dose limiting toxicity (DLT) for 8 weeks after Ad5-DS injection. Toxicity within 12 weeks, tumor response in 12 weeks, disease progression in 6.5 months, and detection of adenoviral DNA particle in 8 weeks were also assessed. Results Among eleven patients enrolled; nine completed the evaluation period; and two withdrew their consent. No DLT was reported; thus, maximum tolerated dose was not reached. No additional toxicity was reported in 9 to 12 weeks. One patient showed partial response and eight showed stable disease at 12 weeks. Two patients showed disease progression at 6.5 months (with a median of progression-free survival, 11.4 months). At 8 weeks, serum adenoviral DNA particles were detected in four patients (with a median of 55 days). Conclusions Combination of intratumoral Ad5-DS in addition to gemcitabine is safe and well-tolerated in patients with LAPC. A phase II clinical trial is needed to evaluate its clinical efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CONTEXT. Hydroxyurea is the only approved medication for the treatment of sickle cell disease in adults; there are no approved drugs for children. OBJECTIVE. Our goal was to synthesize the published literature on the efficacy, effectiveness, and toxicity of hydroxyurea in children with sickle cell disease. METHODS. Medline, Embase, TOXLine, and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature through June 2007 were used as data sources. We selected randomized trials, observational studies, and case reports (English language only) that evaluated the efficacy and toxicity of hydroxyurea in children with sickle cell disease. Two reviewers abstracted data sequentially on study design, patient characteristics, and outcomes and assessed study quality independently. RESULTS. We included 26 articles describing 1 randomized, controlled trial, 22 observational studies (11 with overlapping participants), and 3 case reports. Almost all study participants had sickle cell anemia. Fetal hemoglobin levels increased from 5%-10% to 15%-20% on hydroxyurea. Hemoglobin concentration increased modestly (-1 gIL) but significantly across studies. The rate of hospitalization decreased in the single randomized, controlled trial and 5 observational studies by 56% to 87%, whereas the frequency of pain crisis decreased in 3 of 4 pediatric studies. New and recurrent neurologic events were decreased in 3 observational studies of hydroxyurea compared with historical controls. Common adverse events were reversible mild-to-moderate neutropenia, mild thrombocytopenia, severe anemia, rash or nail changes (10%), and headache (5%). Severe adverse events were rare and not clearly attributable to hydroxyurea. CONCLUSIONS. Hydroxyurea reduces hospitalization and increases total and fetal hemoglobin levels in children with severe sickle cell anemia. There was inadequate evidence to assess the efficacy of hydroxyurea in other groups. The small number of children in long-term studies limits conclusions about late toxicities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]