• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.158-167
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• 2016

The requirements for medical laboratories ISO 15189 is examined in organization and a quality management system, stressing the importance of evidence, document control, and control of records and clinical material. Medical services are provided from the areas of resource management, and pre-examination, examination and post-examination processes. The main goal of ISO 15189 accreditation is to improve the quality of laboratory services provided for patients and clinical users not only through compliance with consensually developed and harmonized requirements but also by adopting the philosophy of continual improvement using the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle. Laboratory quality should be evaluated and improved in all steps of the testing process as the state-of-the art indicates that the pre- and post-analytical phases are more vulnerable to errors than the intra-analytical phase. The Korea Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (KOLAS), a national accreditation body, provides medical laboratory accreditations for appropriate approaches to evaluating the competence of a medical laboratory in providing effective services to its customers and clinical users. Adoption of ISO 15189 in 2010s as a government policy has been delayed, and only 5 laboratories have been accredited to date in Korea. The medical laboratories should seek the adoption of ISO 15189 with a positive attitude for quality improvement and strengthening of international competitiveness.

• Journal of Service Research and Studies
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.41-62
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• 2019

In this intangible good-oriented, modern service economy era, we have to first understand the characteristics of the healthcare service in order to enhance the competitiveness of the healthcare industry and achieve continuous growth. In addition, service nature and characteristics should be reinforced so that connections can be made to the organizational job performance. To achieve the aforementioned results, this study analyzes the direct effects service nature and characteristics have on job performance in the healthcare industry and investigates the indirect effects with individual personality as the moderating effect. While conducting this study, a total of 340 healthcare workers were surveyed. Survey data from a total of 315 workers were used for analysis during empirical investigation of the research hypothesis. According to the analysis, it was proven that interactivity and horizontality among service nature and characteristics have a positive (+) effect on job effectiveness. This means that customer needs can be identified at customer touchpoints to quickly and accurately provide customers with the products and services they want, while horizontality among service nature and characteristics have a positive (+) effect on job effectiveness. This means that customer needs can be identified at customer touchpoints to quickly and accurately provide customers with the products and services they want, while horizontal communication enhance from department to department and from colleague to colleague within the organization can be linked to job performance. Also, with regards to the relationship shared between the customer or the patient, the job performance of healthcare workers may also improve if they provide customers with their desired service as an expert at the same level. In a rapidly changing healthcare environment, if the healthcare service nature and characteristics are put into practical use, it will be possible to propel the growth of hospitals and sustain it while investigating the moderating effects of individual personality, a partial moderating effect was observed for self-esteem and growth desire. As the study on service nature and characteristics came about only just recently, there is a needs for futher research. The study focuses on the healthcare service industry and hopefully, it will serve as a base study that can be applied to different service industries as well.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.1-32
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• 2005

The optimum population of a society or country can be defined as 'the population growth path that maximizes the welfare level of the society over the whole generations of both the present and the future, under the paths allowed by its endowments of production factors such as technology, capital and labor'. Thus, the optimum size or growth rate of population depends on: (i) the social welfare function, (ii) the production function, and (iii)demographic economic interrelationship which defines how the national income is disposed into consumption(birth and education of children included) and savings on the one hand and how the demographic and economic change induced thereby, in turn, affect production capacities on the other. The optimum population growth path can, then, be derived in the process of dynamic optimization of (i) under the constraints of (ii) and (iii), which will give us the optimum population growth rate defined as a function of parameters thereof. This paper estimates the optimum population growth rate of Korea by: specifying (i), (ii), and (iii) based on the recent development of economic theories, solving the dynamic optimization problem and inserting empirical estimates in Korea as the parametric values. The result shows that the optimum path of population growth in Korea is around TFR=1.81, which is affected most sensitively, in terms of the size of the partial elasticity around the optimum path, by the cost of children, share of capital income, consumption rate, time preference, population elasticity of utility function, etc. According to a survey implemented as a follow up study, there are quite a significant variations in the perceived cost of children, time preference rate, population elasticity of utility across different socio-economic classes in Korea, which implied that, compared to their counterparts, older generation and more highly educated classes prefer higher growth path for the population of Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.285-291
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• 2013

In this study, compare and analyze the dose distribution and availability of radiation therapy when using a different devices to TNI(Total Lymphnodal Irradiation). Test subjects(patients) are 15 people(Male 7, Female 8). Acquire CT Simulation images of the 15 people using Somatom Sansation Open 16 channel and then acquired images was transferred to each treatment planning system Pinnacle Ver 8.0 and Tomotherapy Planning System and separate the tumor tissue and normal tissues(whole lung, spinal cord, Rt kidney, Lt kidney). Tumor prescription dose was set to 750 cGy. and then Compare the Dose Compatibility, Normal Tissue's Absorbed Dose, Dose Distribution and DVH. Statistical analysis was performed SPSS Ver. 18.0 by paired sample Assay. The absorbed dose in the tumor tissue was $751.0{\pm}4.7cGy$ in tomotherapy planning, $746.9{\pm}14.1cGy$ in linac. Tomotherapy's absorbed dose in the tumor was more appropriate than linac. and These values are not statistically significant(p>0.05). Tomotherapy plan's absorbed dose in the normal tissues were less than linac's plan. This value was statistically significant(p<0.05) excepted of whole lung. In DVH, appropriated on tumor and normal tissues in tomotherapy and linac but tomotherapy's TER was better than linac. Namely, a result of Absorbed dose in tumor and normal tissue, Dose distribution pattern, DVH, Both radiation therapy devices were appropriated in radiation therapy on TER. The Linac has a short treatment time(about 15-20 min) and open space on treatment time. It cause infant and pediatric patients to receiving uncomfortable treatment. So, In this case, it will be fine that Linac based therapy was restricted use. and if the patient was cooperative, it will be show a better prognosis that Tomotherapy using Radiation Therapy.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.160-164
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• 2010

Structural abnormalities of the Y chromosome affect normal testicular differentiation and spermatogenesis. The present case showed a rare monocentric derivative Y chromosome with partial duplication of Yp including the SRY gene and deletion of Yq12 heterochromatin. The karyotype was 46,X,der(Y)(pter${\rightarrow}$q11.23::p11.2${\rightarrow}$pter).ish der(Y)(DYZ3+,DYZ1-,SRY++), confirmed through a FISH study. Even though the patient possessed an abnormal Y chromosome, testicular biopsy showed normal testicular volumes in the proband, with gonadal hormonal levels in the normal range but bilateral varicocele and hypospermatogenesis. We speculate that the abnormal Y chromosome arose from sister chromatids during Y chromosome recombination or intra chromosomal NAHR (non-allelic homologous recombination) during meiosis in the patient's father or in the very early stages of embryogenesis. The derivative Y chromosome might interfere in the meiotic stage of spermatogenesis, leading to the developmental arrest of germ cells. The present case illustrates that the infertility phenotype can have various causes. Also, it emphasizes the importance of accurate and various genetic analyses and could aid in male infertility treatment.

• Korean Journal of Hospice Care
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.29-48
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• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to provide the basic information on the improvement plan by identifying the role accomplishment and job satisfaction of the hospice nurses and analyzing the factors that impact such role accomplishment and job satisfaction. Methods: The data was collected of 189 hospice nurses who have been working more than 6 months in 56 hospice programs registered in Korea Hospice Association and Korean Catholic Hospice Association from October to November, 2007 by structured questionnaire which was developed by Ryu(1979), based on the Riehl's nursing role and the research of Choe(2005) on the role of hospice nurse. Results: The role accomplishment and job satisfaction of the study subject were 3.53 point and 3.39 point, respectively. The roles of hospice nurses were accomplished by the order of advocator, nursing care provider, coordinator (cooperation), educator, quality manager, counsellor, administrator, and researcher. The job satisfaction of the hospice nurses was shown highest in the satisfaction of professional status, followed by the satisfaction of the interaction, satisfaction of the task itself, satisfaction of the administrative aspect, satisfaction of the autonomous, and the lowest in the satisfaction of the pay. The role accomplishment of the subjects according to their socio-demographic and job characteristics was found to have a significant difference by their age, marriage status, academic background, and position. It also has a significant difference by whether they play role of coordinator, whether they took whole responsibility as hospice, working experience as hospice/palliative nurse, and the level of hospice/palliative nursing training(p<.05). In the study of job satisfaction of the subjects according to their socio-demographic and job characteristics, the job satisfaction was found to have a significant difference by the increase of age, the number of duties consisting the hospice team, whether they play role of coordinator, whether they take whole responsibility as hospice, the level of hospice/palliative nursing training, and whether they wish to work for as long as possible(p<.05). The role accomplishment and the job satisfaction of the subjects showed a statistically significant positive correlation. (r=.541, p<.01) Conclusion: Raised saiary will be increased hospice nurse's job satisfaction. And we suggest a repetitive study using the identical tool to the equally extracted subjects with same representativeness of each hospice/palliative institute type. For the expanded role and enhanced professional standard of hospice nurses, we also suggest a study on the improvement plan to enhance the roles of researcher and administrator.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.17-24
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• 2019

Purpose: The present study aims to assess the level of coherency and the accuracy of Point dose of the Isocenter of VERO, a linear accelerator developed for the purpose of the Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy(SBRT). Materials and Method: The study was conducted randomly with 10 treatment plans among SBRT patients in Kyungpook National University Chilgok Hospital, using VERO, a linear accelerator between June and December, 2018. In order to assess the equipment's power stability level, we measured the output constancy by using PTW-LinaCheck, an output detector. We also attempted to measure the level of accuracy of the equipment's Laser, kV(Kilo Voltage) imaging System, and MV(Mega Voltage) Beam by using Tofu Phantom(BrainLab, Germany) to assess the accuracy level of geometrical Isocenter. We conducted a comparative analysis to assess the accuracy level of the dose by using an acrylic Phantom($30{\times}30{\times}20cm$), a calibrated ion chamber CC-01(IBA Dosimetry), and an Electrometer(IBA, Dosimetry). Results: The output uniformity of VERO was calculated to be 0.66 %. As for geometrical Isocenter accuracy, we analyzed the error values of ball Isocenter of inner Phantom, and the results showed a maximum of 0.4 mm, a minimum of 0.0 mm, and an average of 0.28 mm on X-axis, and a maximum of -0.4 mm, a minimum of 0.0 mm, and an average of -0.24 mm on Y-axis. A comparison and evaluation of the treatment plan dose with the actual measured dose resulted in a maximum of 0.97 % and a minimum of 0.08 %. Conclusion: The equipment's average output dose was calculated to be 0.66 %, meeting the ${\pm}3%$ tolerance, which was considered as a much uniform fashion. As for the accuracy assessment of the geometric Isocenter, the results met the recommended criteria of ${\pm}1mm$ tolerance, affirming a high level of reproducibility of the patient's posture. The difference between the treatment plan dose and the actual measurement dose was calculated to be 0.52 % on average, significantly less than the 3 % tolerance, confirming that it obtained predicted does. The current study suggested that VERO equipment is suitable for SBRT, and would result in notable therapeutic effect.

• Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.244-253
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• 2019

Purpose: Total hip arthroplasty was performed using a direct anterior approach (DAA) on an ordinary operation table and a short femoral stem. The clinical radiographic results were evaluated by a comparison with those performed using the modified hardinge (anterolateral approach, ALA) method. Materials and Methods: From January 2013 to November 2015, 102 patients who underwent total hip arthroplasty using DAA (DAA group) and the same number of patients using ALA (ALA group), both performed by a single surgeon, were compared and analyzed retrospectively. The operation time and amounts of bleeding were compared, and the improvement in post-operative pain, ambulatory capacity and functional recovery of the hip joint were checked. The location of insertion of the acetabular cup and femoral stem were evaluated radiologically, and the complications that occurred in the two groups were investigated. Results: The amount of bleeding was significantly smaller in the DAA group (p=0.018). Up to 3 weeks postoperatively, recovery of hip muscle strength was significantly higher in the DAA group (flexion/extension strength p=0.023, abduction strength p=0.031). The Harris hip score was significantly better in the DAA group for up to 3 months (p<0.001) and the Koval score showed significantly better results in the DAA group up to 6 weeks (p≤0.001). The visual analogue scale score improvement was significantly higher in the DAA group by day 7 (p=0.035). The inclination angle (p<0.001) and anteversion angle (p<0.001) of the acetabular cup were located in the safe zone of the DAA group more than in the ALA group, and there was no statistically significant difference in the position of the femur stem and leg length difference. During surgery, two cases of greater trochanter fracture occurred in the DAA group (p=0.155). Conclusion: The DAA performed in the ordinary operation table using a short femoral stem showed post-operative early functional recovery. Because a simple to use fluoroscope was used during surgery with an anatomical position familiar to the surgeon, it is considered to be useful for the insertion of implants into the desired position and for an approach that is useful for the prevention of leg length differences.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.222-228
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• 2008

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to compare the left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) from gated cardiac blood pool scan (GCBP) for analysis auto-drawing region of interest mode (AROI) and manual-drawing region of interest mode (MROI), respectively. To evaluation the relationships between values produced by both ROI modes. Materials and Methods: Gated cardiac blood pool scan using in vivo method Tc-99m Red Blood Cell were performed for 33 patients (mean age: $53.2{\pm}13.2\;y$) with objective of chemotherapy using single head gamma camera (ADAC Laboratories, Milpitas, CA). Left ventricular ejection fraction was automatically and manually measured, respectively. Results: There was significant difference statistically between AROI and MROI ($LVEF^{AROI}$: $71.4{\pm}12.4%$ vs. $LVEF^{MROI}$: $65.8{\pm}5.9%$, p=0.003). Intra-observer agreements in AROI was higher than MROI ($\gamma^{AROI}=0.964$, Cronbach's $\alpha^{AROI}=0.986$ vs. $\gamma^{MROI}=0.793$, Cronbach's $\alpha^{MROI}=0.911$), either. Additionally, there was no significant difference statistically at best septal view (${\Delta}LVEF^{BSV}=0.7{\pm}2.3%$, p=0.233), however statistically significant difference was found at badly separated septal view (${\Delta}LVEF=10.9{\pm}11.4%$, p=0.001). Moreover, Intra-observer agreements in best septal view was higher than badly separated septal view ($\gamma^{BSV}=0.939$, Cronbach's $\alpha^{BSV}=0.978$; $\gamma=0.948$, Cronbach's $\alpha=0.981$ at AROI, $\gamma^{BSV}=0.836$, Cronbach's $\alpha^{BSV}=0.936$; $\gamma=0.748$, Cronbach's $\alpha=0.888$ at MROI). Conclusion: When best septal view was acquired, LVEF by AROI and MROI indicated not different. Comparing Intra-observer agreements with AROI and MROI, the AROI tended to show higher. Therefore, it is considered that the AROI than MROI is valuable in reproducibility and objective when ROI analysis by acquire left ventricular of best septal view.