• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.79-85
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to measure contrast to noise ratio (CNR) and signal to noise ratio (SNR) according to change of reconstruction from region of interest (ROI) in breast positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT), and to analyze the CNR and SNR statically. We examined images of breast PET-CT of 100 patients in a University-affiliated hospital, Seoul, Korea. Each patient's image of breast PET-CT were calculated by using ImageJ. Differences of CNR and SNR among four reconstruction algorithms were tested by SPSS Statistics21 ANOVA test for there was statistical significance (p<0.05). We have analysis socio-demographical variables, CNR and SNR according to reconstruction images, 95% confidence according to CNR and SNR of reconstruction and difference in a mean of CNR and SNR. SNR results, with the quality of distributions in the order of PSF_TOF, Iterative and Iterative-TOF, FBP-TOF. CNR, with the quality of distributions in the order of PSF_TOF, Iterative and Iterative-TOF, FBP-TOF. CNR and SNR of PET-CT reconstruction methods of the breast would be useful to evaluate breast diseases.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.94-104
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• 2015

Objectives: Mental health disorders and suicide are an important and growing public health concern in Korea. Evidence has shown that both globally and in Korea, obesity is associated with an increased risk of developing some psychiatric disorders. Therefore, we examined the association between distorted body weight perception (BWP) and suicidal ideation. Methods: Data were obtained from the 2007-2012 Korea National Health and Nutritional Evaluation Survey (KNHANES), an annual cross-sectional nationwide survey that included 14 276 men and 19 428 women. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to investigate the associations between nine BWP categories, which combined body image (BI) and body mass index (BMI) categories, and suicidal ideation. Moreover, the fitness of our models was verified using the Akaike information criterion. Results: Consistent with previous studies, suicidal ideation was associated with marital status, household income, education level, and perceived health status in both genders. Only women were significantly more likely to have distorted BWP; there was no relationship among men. In category B1 (low BMI and normal BI), women (odds ratio [OR], 2.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.48 to 3.42) were more likely to express suicidal ideation than women in category B2 (normal BMI and normal BI) were. Women in overweight BWP category C2 (normal BMI and fat BI) also had an increased OR for suicidal ideation (OR, 2.25; 95% CI, 1.48 to 3.42). Those in normal BWP categories were not likely to have suicidal ideation. Among women in the underweight BWP categories, only the OR for those in category A2 (normal BMI and thin BI) was significant (OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.59). Conclusions: Distorted BWP should be considered an important factor in the prevention of suicide and for the improvement of mental health among Korean adults, especially Korean women with distorted BWPs.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.8 no.4 s.30
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• pp.125-133
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• 2006

In this study, the Korean Industrial Standard(KS) penetration grade system was examined to evaluate its statistical validity. It was found from this limited study that the system has no gap between each grade, the binder falling out of limit trespasses into other binder grade. Therefore, many products can have similar property level with an adjacent grade even though the mean value is within the specification limit. It was also found out that the equal range setup of each grade, such as 20 for 40-60, 60-80, 80-100, has no statistical foundation. Since KS penetration grade is defined without gap between each grade, the producer must maintain the coefficient of variation below the level by the ASTM system to satisfy the normal quality control limit of products. Due to its lack of a gap between grades, higher percentage of products will be duplicated even if the mean is at the median of the specification limits due to material's quality uncertainty. Especially if the mean moves toward the upper limit, a half or more of the binder grade will be overlapped with the upper binder grade. Therefore, KS penetration specification should be immediately modified by statistically valid methodologies.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.10 no.7
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• pp.503-510
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• 2016

Even though children are exposed to the same amount of radiation, their effective dose amount is higher than those of adults. Therefore, it is very important to reduce the amount of unnecessary radiation exposure because children have a higher radiosensitivity and a smaller body size than adults. In this study, the proposal to seek ways to reduce the amount of radiation is drawn by comparing and analyzing CT Dose Index(CTDI) on the pediatric head CT which was performed at the Busan regional hospitals, to the national diagnostic reference levels. For this, the pediatric head CT scan was conducted among the CT equipments that were installed in downtown Busan. From 2,043 children 10 years old or less who were referred to the pediatric head CT scan, targeting the 28 CT equipments in the 24 hospitals that transmit dose reports to PACS, were examined retrospectively. As a result, the average value of CTDIvol, computed tomography dose index (CTDI) of infant brain, across the hospital, was 31.18 mGy, with DLP of $444.73mGy{\cdot}cm$, which exceeded the diagnostic reference level. The lower the age, the more management is needed for radiation. However, the reality is that the CT examinations are being conducted with a dose that exceeds the reference level as the age of the aged is exceeded. For this purpose, the study seeks to determine the degree of doses of doses outside the diagnostic reference level and analyze the cause of the excess dose and devise measures to reduce the dose reduction.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.192-198
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• 2008

Purpose: The scan time reduction helps to yield more accurate results and induce the minimization of patient's motion. Also we can expect that satisfaction of examination will increase. Nowdays medical equipment companies have developed various programs to reduce scan time. We used Onco. Flash (Pixon method, SIEMENS) that is an image processing technique gated cardiac blood pool scan and going to evaluate its clinical usefullness. Materials and Method: We analyzed the 50 patients who were examined by gated blood pool scan in nuclear medicine department of Asan Mediacal Center from June $20^{th}$ 2008 to August $14^{th}$ 2008. We acquired the Full-time (6000 Kcounts) and Half-time (3000 Kcounts) LAO image in same position. And we acquired LVEF values ten times from Full-time, Half-time images acquired by the image processing technique and analyzed its mean and standard deviation values. To estimate LVEF in same conditions, we set automatic location of the LV ROI and background ROI based on same X and Y-axis. Also we performed blinding tests to physician. Results: After making a quantitative analysis of the 50 patients EF values, each mean${\pm}$standard deviation is shown at Full-time image $68.12{\pm}7.84%$, Half- time (acquired by imaging processing technique) $68.49{\pm}8.73%$. In the 95% confidence limit, there was no statistically significant difference (p>0.05). After blinding test with a physician for making a qualitative analysis, there was no difference between Full-time image and Half-time image acquired by the image processing technique for observing LV myocardial wall motion. Conclusion: Gated cardiac blood pool scan has been reported its relatively exact EF measured results than ultrasound or CT. But gated cardiac blood pool scan takes relatively longer time than other exams and now it needs to improve time competitive power. If we adapt Half-time technique to gated cardiac blood pool scintigraphy based on this study, we expect to reduce possible artifacts and improve accessibility as well as flexibility to exam. Also we expect patient's satisfaction.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.25-35
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• 2020

Background: There are many situations where walking in an actual community needs to change direction along with walking on a straight path, and this situation needs to be reflected in assessing walking ability of the community. Therefore, in this study, we tried to determine whether the assessments can distinguish the level of walking in the community. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Fifty-two survivors with chronic stroke have participated in the study. According to the evaluation result of 10mWT, the subjects of 0.8m/s and above were classified as the group who could walk in the community (n=22), and the subjects of 0.4m/s~0.8m/s were classified into the group who could not walk in the community (n=30). Modified Rivermead Mobility Index, Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke, Fugl-Meyer Assessment, Berg Balance Scale, 10-meter Walk Test (10mWT) were used to evaluate the motor skills. Furthermore, Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale was used to evaluate psychological factors, and Timed Up & Go Test (TUG), Figure-of-Eight Walk Test (F8WT), Four Square Step Test (FSST), Step Test (ST) were applied to evaluate dynamic balance and mobility. Results: As a result for distinguishing walking levels in the community, TUG was 14.25 seconds, F8WT was 13.34 seconds, FST was 19.43 seconds, and ST of affected side and non-affected side were 6.5 points and 7.5 points, respectively. TUG (AUC=0.923), F8WT (AUC=0.905), and FST (AUC=0.941) were highly accurate, but the ST of affected side and non-affected side (AUC=0.806, 0.705) showed the accuracy of the median degree, respectively. Conclusion: To distinguish walking levels in the community of survivors with chronic stroke, TUG and FSST have been found to be the best assessment tool, and in particular, FSST could be very valuable in clinical use as the most important assessment tool to distinguish walking levels in the community.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.241-253
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• 2009

This study performs the investigation of a long-term variation of annual maximum surge heights(AMSH) and main characteristics of high surge events, and the statistical evaluation of the AMSH using sea level data at Yeosu and Tongyeong tidal stations over more than 30 years. It is found that the long-term uptrends based on the linear regression in the AMSH are 34.5 cm/34 yr at Yeosu and 33.6 cm/31 yr at Tongyeong, which are relatively much higher than those at Sokcho and Mukho in the Eastern Coast. 71% and 68% of the AMSH occur during typhoon's event in Yeosu and Tongyeong tidal stations, respectively, and the highest surge records are mostly produced by the typhoon. The generalized extreme value distribution taking into account of the time variable is applied to detect time trend in annual maximum surge heights. In addition, Gumbel distribution is checked to find which one is best fitted to the data using likelihood ratio test. The return level and its 90% confidence interval are obtained for the statistical prediction of the future trend. The prevention of the growing storm surge damage by the intensified typhoon requires the steady analysis and prediction of the surge events associated with the climate change.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.237-243
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• 2020

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of a Tanner-Whitehouse 3 (TW3)-based fully automated bone age assessment system on hand-wrist radiographs of Korean children and adolescents. Materials and Methods: Hand-wrist radiographs of 80 subjects (40 boys and 40 girls, 7-15 years of age) were collected. The clinical efficacy was evaluated by comparing the bone ages that were determined using the system with those from the reference standard produced by 2 oral and maxillofacial radiologists. Comparisons were conducted using the paired t-test and simple regression analysis. Results: The bone ages estimated with this bone age assessment system were not significantly different from those obtained with the reference standard (P>0.05) and satisfied the equivalence criterion of 0.6 years within the 95% confidence interval (-0.07 to 0.22), demonstrating excellent performance of the system. Similarly, in the comparisons of gender subgroups, no significant difference in bone age between the values produced by the system and the reference standard was observed (P>0.05 for both boys and girls). The determination coefficients obtained via regression analysis were 0.962, 0.945, and 0.952 for boys, girls, and overall, respectively (P=0.000); hence, the radiologist-determined bone ages and the system-determined bone ages were strongly correlated. Conclusion: This TW3-based system can be effectively used for bone age assessment based on hand-wrist radiographs of Korean children and adolescents.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.79-93
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• 2020

Objectives While sciatic neuropathy is one of the common symptoms which have the lifetime incidence of 13~40%, still there is no consensus about the standardized and the most effective conservative treatment. In addition, the importance of systematic review and meta-analysis of preclinical are growing as they could suggest possible effective treatment strategy for future studies. Therefore, we conducted systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate analgesic effect of acupuncture on sciatica in rat models. Methods Systematic search was conducted for all controlled comparative preclinical trials which assessed analgesic effect of acupuncture in sciatica rat models. Database of PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, CNKI and 6 Korean databases were used. The primary outcome was pain, which is evaluated by stimulus behavior tests in rat models. We assessed the methodological quality with Systematic Review Centre for Laboratory Animal Experimentation's risk of bias tool. RevMan 5.3 was used for meta-analysis and subgroup analysis was conducted according to treatment site, acupuncture point, treatment period and frequency used in electroacupuncture. Results 14 studies were finally included following our inclusion criteria. The data from meta-analysis indicated that the acupuncture significantly improved the result values of behavior tests for pain evaluation, compared to no-treatment control group in animal models (standardized mean difference=4.43, 95% confidence interval 3.16 to 5.69, Z=6.84, p<0.00001; χ²=68.02, p<0.00001; I²=82%). The results of subgroup analysis indicate that acupuncture treatment of unilateral site, distal acupoints, longer treatment period and applying 2/100 Hz frequency in electroacupuncture could be more effective. Conclusions Systematic review and meta-analysis of animal studies are getting important for the future clinical studies and the improvement of heatlh care. Therefore the results of the study would provide evidence and better design for the forthcoming studies.

• Korean Parent-Child Health Journal
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.49-63
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• 2005

Purpose: The present study is a descriptive research on the content of sex education conducted at home by the mothers of young children who are attending five kindergartens located in Busan, Korea. This study aims to provide basic materials for systematic sex education at home and in the school. Method: Based on the literature review and prior researches, the writer made a questionnaire consisting of 30 items regarding necessities, contents and difficulties of sex education. The 307 questionnaires were collected out of 480 which were distributed by the kindergarten teachers. Data was analysed with frequency and percentage using the SPSS Win 10.0 Program. The main subjects of the study were mothers in their thirties, who understood the necessity of sex education. However, they were lack of enough sexual knowledge in accordance with the transforming sexual culture and lack of suitable materials. They did not plan to educate their children according to their developmental stages, but just taught them verbally rather than using common materials for the situation. Result Regarding the origin of life that children often asks, mothers did not give a scientific and correct response to satisfy their curiosity about sex, saying that a baby was created after marrying a loved one. While more mothers than the prior research responded correctly to the queries of the path of delivery, some mothers did not. It may cause some children to suppress the questions, which may result a distorted sexual knowledge. That is because mothers understood that sex education was to deliver sexual knowledge, but not realized that sex education was a human education carried out throughout life. Mothers fell short of sexual knowledge, capability, and confidence, comparing with swift social changes and children's capacity. As a result, it is necessary to inspire sexual awareness into mothers and educate them through training. It is also needed to secure a training program similar to a teacher training program. Conclusion: It is essential to develop and to provide evaluation tools as well as proper materials in accordance with the children's developmental stage, so that organic management system among home, education institute and society must lead sex education Further, it is necessary to provide teaching methods and materials to mothers regularly, so that the school and home may conduct sex education together to cope with difficulties.