• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.164-170
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• 2019

The absorption and release capacities, survival efficiency, and recovery rates of five kinds of transport media were evaluated based on the swab elution method (Quantitative) of CLSI (Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute) M40-A2. Liquid media showed mostly better results than semi-solid media in the three evaluations. The flocked swabs had better ability to absorption and discharge bacteria than the standard swabs. The liquid medium (S4) had the best survival efficiency. Pneumococcal strains with poor growth had a higher survival efficiency and recovery rate in liquid media (S4, S5). The results of microbial recovery showed that S. pyogenes met all the CLSI standards in all media. S. pneumoniae was inadequate in the semi- solid media (S2, S3) and all the remaining media met the criteria. H. influenzae was unsuitable in semi-solid media (S1, S3) and met the criteria in semi-solid medium (S2) and liquid medium (S4, S5). The viability of the H. influenzae, pneumococcal strain causing respiratory disease, was poor in most media. Overgrowth of P. aeruginosa was observed at room temperature. The combination of liquid medium and flocked swab confirmed the best results in the three evaluation methods.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.2-10
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to share program and/or resource on patient safety education for patients and families conducted overseas agency. This study will help the patient safety officer establish and implement an educational plan for patients and families. Methods: We searched the Internet for patient safety related organizations. We chose an institution that provided education for patients and families. Results: Most of the program and/or resource was about patient and family involvement; Taking Care of Myself, My Questions for This Visit, Patient Prep Card, 20 Tips to Help Prevent Medical Errors, Ask Me 3(R), Health and Safety Passport, My Medication log etc. Conclusions: It is necessary to distribute educational materials for patients and families in the country through the results of this study. For patient safety, education and publicity are needed so that developed educational materials can be actively used.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.41-61
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• 2018

Purpose: Falls are one of the most frequent health events in medical institutions, however, they can be predicted and prevented. The Quality Improvement Nurse Society clinical practice guideline Steering Committee developed the Clinical Practice Guideline for the assessment and prevention of falls in adult people. The purpose of this study was to assess the risk factors for falls in adults aged 19 years and older, to present an evidence for preventing falls, formulate a recommendations, and indicators for applying the recommendations. Methods: This clinical practice guideline was developed using a 23-step adaptation method according to the Handbook for clinical practice guideline developer (version 1.0) by National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency. Evidence levels and recommendation ratings were established in accordance to SIGN 2011 (The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network). Results: The final 15 recommendations from four domains were derived from experts' advice; 1) assessment of risk factor for falls in adult 2) preventing falls and reducing the risks of falls or falls-related injury 3) management and reassessment after a person falls 4) leadership and culture. Conclusion: This clinical practice guideline can be used as a basis for evaluation and prevention of fall risk factors for adults, to formulate recommendations for fall risk assessment and fall prevention, and to present monitoring indicators for applying the recommendations.

• Laboratory Medicine and Quality Assurance
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.51-69
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• 2018

As part of the immunoserology program of the Korean Association of External Quality Assessment Service, we organized two trials on the external quality assessment of hepatitis viral markers in 2016 and 2017. The hepatitis viral antigens and antibodies program consisted of 10 test items. We delivered two and three types of pooled sera specimens to 965 and 965 institutions for the first and second trials of external proficiency testing in 2016, respectively. The number of participating laboratories was 915 (94.8%) and 913 (95.0%) in the first and second trials in 2016, respectively. We also delivered three kinds of pooled sera specimens to 936 and 1,015 institutions for the first and second trials of external proficiency testing in 2017, respectively. The number of participating laboratories was 920 (98.3%) and 996 (98.1%) in the first and second trials in 2017, respectively. The most commonly tested items were hepatitis B surface antigen, followed by the antibodies to hepatitis B surface antigen, anti-hepatitis C virus, hepatitis B envelope antigen, antibodies to hepatitis B envelope antigen, anti-hepatitis A virus and antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen. The most frequently used methods for detecting viral markers were the chemiluminescence immunoassay and the electrochemiluminescence immunoassay, but they yielded a few-false positive results due to the matrix effect. The immunochromatographic assay yielded false-negative results for anti-hepatitis A virus due to low sensitivity. Continuous improvement in the quality of viral hepatitis testing through participation in the survey seems necessary.

• Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.9-17
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• 2019

Owing to the upward shift in age structure, there is an increasing number of spinal diseases specific to elderly patients. Elderly spinal patients typically have a poor general condition with several medical comorbidities, low bone mineral density, more extensive and severe degeneration, and less effective treatment outcomes than young patients. This is why spinal physicians need to establish interventional nonsurgical treatment modalities for elderly patients with spinal disease. The objective of this study was to define the spinal disorders problematic to elderly patients and discuss the nonsurgical treatments for each subject.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.63-68
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• 1991

The author has arrived at the following result after having carried out multilateral study based on a total of 282 maxillofacial fracture patients who have receive treatment at the Euijeongbu general hospital and Shinchun general hospital in the northern district of Kyunggido from march 1988 to august 1990. 1. Sex distribution of Mx. facial fx. patient was higher in male by 4.6:1 and was predominant in the 3rd decade with 40.4% followed in decreasing order by the 2nd decade and the 4th. 2. A majority were in the Mn. with 40.2% followed in decreasing order by zygoma. nasal bone and maxilla. 3. For the sex distribution according to anatomy, make to female ratio was 6.2:1 in the mandible, followed in decreasing order by zygoma, and nasal bone with predominance in male. 4. Car accident with 42.8% was the most common cause of fx. followed in decreasing order by violence, workmen's accident, and fall down. 5. The involvement of other trauma areas are head. 79.0%, abdomen-thorax, and the extremities in decreasing order. 6. In the mandibular fx. a majority were in the symphysis with 73.9% followed in decreasing order by angle, Condyle, and body. 7. Maxillary fx. of the type LeFort II was estimated to be 41.2% 8. Fracture in the zygoma including zygomatic arch was estimated to be 72.5%

• Journal of the Korean neurological association
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.294-301
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• 2018

Background: Neuroimaging can play a crucial role in discovering potential abnormalities to cause secondary headache. There has been a progress in the fields of headache diagnosis and neuroimaging in the past two decades. We sought to investigate neuroimaging findings according to headache disorders, age, sex, and imaging modalities in first-visit headache patients. Methods: We used data of consecutive first-visit headache patients from 9 university and 2 general referral hospitals. The International Classification of Headache Disorders, third edition, beta version was used in headache diagnosis. We finally enrolled 1,080 patients undertook neuroimaging in this study. Results: Among 1,080 patients (mean age: $47.7{\pm}14.3$, female: 60.8%), proportions of headache diagnosis were as follows: primary headaches, n=926 (85.7%); secondary headaches, n=110 (10.2%); and cranial neuropathies and other headaches, n=43 (4.1%). Of them, 591 patients (54.7%) received magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Neuroimaging abnormalities were found in 232 patients (21.5%), and their proportions were higher in older age groups and male sex. Chronic cerebral ischemia was the most common finding (n=88, 8.1%), whereas 76 patients (7.0%) were found to have clinically significant abnormalities such as primary brain tumor, cancer metastasis, and headache-relevant cerebrovascular disease. Patients underwent MRI were four times more likely to have neuroimaging abnormalities than those underwent computed tomography (33.3% vs. 7.2%, p<0.001). Conclusions: In this study, the findings of neuroimaging differed according to headache disorders, age, sex, and imaging modalities. MRI can be a preferable neuroimaging modality to identify potential causes of headache.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2019

Thought-action fusion (TAF) is a tendency to blindly assume causal relations between their thoughts and external reality. On the other hand, cognitive fusion (CF) is a tendency to take internal experiences, such as thoughts and feeling, literally rather than view them as random events. However, these two terms are often confusedly used and, in fact, have conceptual overlaps. Therefore, this study aimed to identify their distinctive features through a comprehensive review of the definition, origin, measurements and clinical implications especially on the understanding of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The cognitive-behavioral concept of TAF is confined to erroneous and maladaptive beliefs about the connection between thoughts and behaviors. The CF is a broader construct that entails taking thoughts and feelings as facts and engaging or struggling with them such that the quality of life is lowered. They also have different theoretical backgrounds, developing processes and therapeutic approaches. From the perspective of the obsessive-compulsive disorder, both concepts have been studied as mid-structures for this illness. Recently, the effectiveness of psychological therapies related to these concepts such as defusion therapy has been tested. However, it is yet still in its infancy. In the future, complementary advances between the two concepts with studies on biological substrates is needed.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.105-112
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• 2017

Background: The expression of miRNAs in response to Helicobacter pylori infection has not been well explored. The aims of this study were to evaluate the H. pylori associated miRNAs in the gastric epithelial cells. Methods: We investigated gastric epithelial cell-line (HS3C) exposed H. pylori over 3 months and AGS cell-line (AGS) exposed H. pylori for 6 hour. After the extraction of miRNA from these cell-lines, microarray and real time PCR were performed to confirm the alteration of expression. Results: All 12 miRNAs chosen for real-time PCR are based on the result of microarray and their potential functions related to H. pylori infection. miR-21, miR-221, miR-222 were upregulated in the H. pylori infected AGS cell for 6 hours and HS3C cells. miR-99b, miR-200b, miR-203b and miR-373 were downregulated in the H. pylori infected AGS cell for 6 hours and HS3C cells. miR-23a, miR-23b, miR-125b, miR-141 and miR-155 were upregulated in HS3C cell line but not in H. pylori infected AGS cell for 6 hours. Conclusion: miR-21, miR-99b, miR-125b, miR-200b, miR-203b, miR-221, miR-222, and miR-373 are supposed to be related with oncogenesis of H. pylori infection. Further studies are needed for the evaluation of the function of these confirmed miRNAs.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.723-730
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• 2021

This study tries to compare dose distribution between arc radiation therapy and Tomotherapy, which are main radiation therapy modalities. The subjects of this study are lung cancer patients. For planning target volume (PTV), a dose of 60.0 Gy was set as a basis. The PTVmean of Arc was 61.04 Gy, and that of Tomotherapy was 58.50 Gy. The total lung capacities of Arc and Tomotherapy were 3.0 Gy and 4.24 Gy, respectively. The mean heart doses of Arc and Tomotherapy were 0.13 and 0.34, respectively; the mean trachea dose of Arc and Tomotherapy were 1.35 and 2.58, respectively; the mean esophagus dose of Arc and Tomotherapy were 0.41 and 0.86, respectively; the mean spinal cord dose of Arc and Tomotherapy were 3.65 and 4.68, respectively. With regard to the appropriateness of therapeutic effect in DHV, both modalities seemed appropriate. Tomotherapy protected normal tissues better than Arc radiation therapy. In Tomotherapy, patients need to have treatment long in a limited space. If such a point is overcome, Tomotherapy is better. Otherwise, Arc radiation therapy can be applied. This study was conducted with treatment planning images. Therefore, the results of this study are different from actual treatment results. If more research is conducted to overcome the limitation, the effects of radiation therapy are expected to increase further.