• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.105-126
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• 2024

Objective: The study aimed to develop and validate a tool for assessing daycare center organizational competence and for autonomously managing childcare quality. Methods: Through literature review and expert reviews, items were derived and validated using the Content Validity Index. Data from a survey involving 216 directors and 509 teachers were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS to assess reliability and conduct confirmatory factor analysis. Results: Results revealed a 36-item diagnostic tool across four subcategories: shared values (6 items), training abilities (18 items), environmental support (6 items), and organizational promotion (6 items). A diagnostic tool named S.T.E.P+ was developed, named after the first letters of the four subfactors. Skewness and kurtosis were within normality assumptions. Good fit indices (CFI, TLI) and low SRMR and RMSEA values indicated a satisfactory model fit. Cronbach's α values showed high reliability for all factors. The tool enables autonomous diagnosis of childcare quality. Conclusion/Implications: This tool can effectively autonomously diagnose whether a daycare center is providing quality childcare.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.279-295
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• 2024

Purpose: This study aimed to develop a scale to measure hospital nurses' silence behavior and examine its validity and reliability. Methods: A total of 52 preliminary items on hospital nurses' silence behavior were selected using a content validity test by seven experts on 53 candidate items derived from a literature review and in-depth interviews with 14 nurses. A total of 405 hospital nurses participated in a psychometric testing. Data analysis comprised item analysis, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, and convergent and discriminant validity tests. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used for assessing concurrent validity, and Cronbach's alpha was used for the reliability test. Results: The final scale consisted of nine factors with 31 items, exhibiting acceptable model fit indices, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. The score of the entire scale was positively correlated with the 'Organizational Silence Scale (OSS)-the issues on which nurses remain silent' (r = .60, p < .001) and 'OSS-the reasons why nurses remain silent' (r = .68, p < .001). Cronbach's α of the scale was .92, and α of each subscale ranged from .71 to .90. Conclusion: The Hospital Nurses' Silence Behavior Scale is a useful tool for assessing multifaceted silence behavior among nurses. It can provide basic data for developing better communication strategies among nurses and other hospital staff.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.82 no.2
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• pp.315-334
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• 2021

Imaging studies play an important role in the detection, diagnosis, assessment of resectability, staging, and determination of patient-tailored treatment options for pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Recently, for patients diagnosed with borderline resectable or locally advanced pancreatic cancers, it is recommended to consider curative-intent surgery following neoadjuvant or palliative therapy, if possible. This review covers how to interpret imaging tests and what to consider when assessing resectability, diagnosing distant metastasis, and re-assessing the resectability of pancreatic cancer after neoadjuvant or palliative therapy.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.243-255
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• 2024

This study compares Static Terrestrial Laser Scanning (STLS)with the conventional Total Station (TS) method for the geometric assessment of cylindrical storage tanks. With the crucial need for maintaining tank integrity in the oil and gas industry, STLS and TS methods are evaluated for their efficacy in assessing tank deformations. Using STLS and TS, the roundness and verticality of two cylindrical tanks were examined. A deformation analysis based on American Petroleum Institute (API) standards was then provided. Key objectives included comparing the two methods according to API standards, evaluating the workflow for STLS point cloud processing, and presenting the pros and cons of the STLS method for tank geometric assessment. The study found that STLS, with its detailed and high-resolution data acquisition, offers a substantial advantage in having a comprehensive structural assessment over TS. However, STLS requires more processing time and prior knowledge about the data to tune certain parameters and achieve accurate assessment. The project outcomes intend to enhance industry professionals' understanding of applying STLS and TS to tank assessments, helping them choose the best method for their specific requirements.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.758-778
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• 2024

This study assessed previous research aimed at mitigating the adverse effects of freeze-thawing on meat quality. Specifically, it focuses on assessing the physicochemical alterations in meat resulting from freezing, freeze-thawing, or technologies to minimize these alterations. Recent studies have focused on conventional freeze-thaw technology applicable across various livestock species and muscle types. However, recent research has indicated the necessity for developing freeze-thaw technology considering the unique characteristics of individual muscles. In this review, we summarize previous studies that have compared alterations in the physicochemical properties of primary muscles owing to freezing or freeze-thawing. Despite the introduction of various technologies to significantly reduce the adverse effects on meat quality resulting from freeze-thawing, it is essential to consider the unique characteristics (proximate composition, pH, and muscle fiber characteristics) of individual muscles or cuts to develop enhanced the freeze-thaw processing technology.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.633-646
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• 2020

We reviewed all studies assessing the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) between 2009 and 2018 (n = 45). Most studies assessed HRQoL as an outcome, and evaluated or compared the HRQoL of HCC patients depending on the type of treatment or stage of disease. HCC patients had a worse HRQoL than the general population, including in those with early-stage HCC. Patients commonly experienced pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, distress, and lack of appetite, and these symptoms remained problematic even a few years after treatment. TNM classification of malignant tumors stage, tumor stage, presence of cirrhosis, being Asian, being female, living alone, or being unemployed were associated with a poor HRQoL. While recent studies have included a more diverse patient population, various topics, and different study designs, there were limited studies on supportive interventions. Given the increase in HCC cases and HCC survivors, addressing the HRQoL of HCC patients requires more attention.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.240-249
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• 2024

Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate various research that have examined dynamic knee valgus and to pinpoint a straightforward, clinically practical 2D assessment method for dynamic knee valgus that is user-friendly. Design: A literature review Methods: This literature review was conducted in Pubmed, MEDLINE^® and Google Scholar with the following key words: Knee valgus angle, Knee valgus evaluation, Knee valgus assessment, Dynamic knee valgus. After removing duplicate studies, 53 articles were initially chosen using this method, with 17 studies ultimately meeting the selection criteria. Results: Based on the comprehensive review of various studies, the Single Leg Squat (SLS) was identified as the most popular test method, followed by the Single Leg Landing (SLL) as the next most common test method. The Frontal Plane Projection Angle (FPPA) method was the most representative method for measuring dynamic knee valgus (DKV) during these tests. SLS was found in a total of 10 studies, while SLL was found in 7 studies. Conclusions: The most commonly proposed test for assessing DKV is measuring the SLS using the FPPA method. However, when applied to individuals without knee pathology, the discriminative power of this method may be limited. This suggests the need for further research to explore alternative methods for assessing DKV in this population.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.73 no.4
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• pp.210-218
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• 2012

Background: The level of urine cotinine is an indicator of tobacco smoke exposure. The purpose of this study is to investigate urine cotinine for the purpose of assessing the smoking status of Korean smokers and non-smokers exposed to tobacco smoke. Methods: The subjects were identified from the 2007-2009 and the 2010 data sets of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). They were assigned as non-smokers, current smokers and ex-smokers. Non-smokers were also divided into three subset groups according to the duration of smoke exposure. Each group was stratified by gender prior to analysis. Results: The median value of urine cotinine in the male current smokers was 1,221.93 ng/mL which was the highest among all groups. The difference between levels of urine cotinine for male and the female groups was statistically significant (p<0.01). In the female group, passive smoke exposure groups reported higher urine cotinine levels than non-exposure groups (p=0.01). The cutoff point for the discrimination of current smokers from non-smokers was 95.6 ng/mL in males and 96.8 ng/mL in females. The sensitivity and specificity were 95.2% and 97.1%, respectively, in males, 96.1% and 96.5% in females. However, the determination of urine cotinine level was not useful in distinguishing between passive smoke exposure groups and non-exposure groups. Conclusion: Urine cotinine concentration is a useful biomarker for discriminating non-smokers from current smokers. However, careful interpretation is necessary for assessing passive smoke exposure by urine cotinine concentration.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.386-394
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• 2016

This study investigates the validity of a Korean version of the Client Assessment Summary (CAS), which is a tool used to assess the recovery of alcoholics. We investigated the Korean CAS's suitability for use in assessing the scale of recovery scale of general alcoholics in Korea. In this study, we analyzed the data of 205 abstaining alcoholics in order to determine the validity of the Korean CAS. We undertook relationship analyses of CAS contents, reliability, and composition validity through factor analysis. In addition, we assessed ARS, abstinence period, abstinence self-efficacy, illness insight, and motivation change variables. The factor analysis results, performed after verification of content suitability by assessing 12 questions and 4 factors, confirmed the tool's composition validity, with the results showing relatively high values (R2 = 76.26%, communality ${\geq}0.6$, and KMO = 0.92). Moreover, internal consistency was acceptable (Cronbach's alpha = 0.92), and the correlations among ARS, abstinence self-efficacy, illness insight, and motivation change variables confirmed the validity of the Korean CAS. The proposed Korean CAS is expected to be useful when academically and clinically assessing the recovery of alcoholics; thereby, eventually contributing to successful recoveries from alcoholism.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.461-467
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• 2014

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of the Q-ray view, a novel optical device on reliability of assessing a tooth status by dental hygiene students in the training for dental hygiene process. Twenty patients were enrolled in this study. Oral examinations were conducted by both seventeen third-year dental hygiene students and a trained faculty member. Traditional visual inspection was performed in phase I and then re-examined with Q-ray view in phase II. Restoration codes and lesion codes for each tooth were recorded separately according to the predefined criteria. As a measure of reliability, percent agreement and Cohen's kappa were determined. Agreements for each intraoral regions and types of lesion and restoration were calculated. Paired t-test and Pearson chi-square test for two proportions were used to compare mean Cohen's kappa and percent agreement at each phase. For the lesion code, mean kappa values of phase II for intraoral regions were significantly greater than that of phase I (p=0.017). For the both of the lesion code and restoration code, percent agreements of phase II for each types of lesion and restoration were significantly greater than that of phase II (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). Especially difference of percent agreements between phase I and II for incipient caries, caries and fracture were significant for the lesion code (p=0.046, p<0.001, and p=0.029, respectively) and for not restored or sealed, tooth-colored restoration were significant for the restoration code (p<0.001 and p=0.011, respectively). The reliability of assessing a tooth status was improved when the Q-ray view used in dental hygiene student with beginner level of expertise. Q-ray view can be a promising device for conducting and educating the dental hygiene process better.