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Development of Conformal Radiotherapy with Respiratory Gate Device (호흡주기에 따른 방사선입체조형치료법의 개발)

  • Chu Sung Sil;Cho Kwang Hwan;Lee Chang Geol;Suh Chang Ok
    • Radiation Oncology Journal
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    • v.20 no.1
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    • pp.41-52
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    • 2002
  • Purpose : 3D conformal radiotherapy, the optimum dose delivered to the tumor and provided the risk of normal tissue unless marginal miss, was restricted by organ motion. For tumors in the thorax and abdomen, the planning target volume (PTV) is decided including the margin for movement of tumor volumes during treatment due to patients breathing. We designed the respiratory gating radiotherapy device (RGRD) for using during CT simulation, dose planning and beam delivery at identical breathing period conditions. Using RGRD, reducing the treatment margin for organ (thorax or abdomen) motion due to breathing and improve dose distribution for 3D conformal radiotherapy. Materials and Methods : The internal organ motion data for lung cancer patients were obtained by examining the diaphragm in the supine position to find the position dependency. We made a respiratory gating radiotherapy device (RGRD) that is composed of a strip band, drug sensor, micro switch, and a connected on-off switch in a LINAC control box. During same breathing period by RGRD, spiral CT scan, virtual simulation, and 3D dose planing for lung cancer patients were peformed, without an extended PTV margin for free breathing, and then the dose was delivered at the same positions. We calculated effective volumes and normal tissue complication probabilities (NTCP) using dose volume histograms for normal lung, and analyzed changes in doses associated with selected NTCP levels and tumor control probabilities (TCP) at these new dose levels. The effects of 3D conformal radiotherapy by RGRD were evaluated with DVH (Dose Volume Histogram), TCP, NTCP and dose statistics. Results : The average movement of a diaphragm was 1.5 cm in the supine position when patients breathed freely. Depending on the location of the tumor, the magnitude of the PTV margin needs to be extended from 1 cm to 3 cm, which can greatly increase normal tissue irradiation, and hence, results in increase of the normal tissue complications probabiliy. Simple and precise RGRD is very easy to setup on patients and is sensitive to length variation (+2 mm), it also delivers on-off information to patients and the LINAC machine. We evaluated the treatment plans of patients who had received conformal partial organ lung irradiation for the treatment of thorax malignancies. Using RGRD, the PTV margin by free breathing can be reduced about 2 cm for moving organs by breathing. TCP values are almost the same values $(4\~5\%\;increased)$ for lung cancer regardless of increasing the PTV margin to 2.0 cm but NTCP values are rapidly increased $(50\~70\%\;increased)$ for upon extending PTV margins by 2.0 cm. Conclusion : Internal organ motion due to breathing can be reduced effectively using our simple RGRD. This method can be used in clinical treatments to reduce organ motion induced margin, thereby reducing normal tissue irradiation. Using treatment planning software, the dose to normal tissues was analyzed by comparing dose statistics with and without RGRD. Potential benefits of radiotherapy derived from reduction or elimination of planning target volume (PTV) margins associated with patient breathing through the evaluation of the lung cancer patients treated with 3D conformal radiotherapy.

Choline and Betaine Concentrations in Breast Milk of Korean Lactating Women and the Choline and Betaine Intakes of Their Infants (한국 수유부 유즙의 콜린과 베타인 농도 및 영아의 콜린과 베타인 섭취량)

  • Jeong, Han-Ok;Suh, Yoon-Suk;Chung, Young-Jin
    • Journal of Nutrition and Health
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    • v.43 no.6
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    • pp.588-596
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    • 2010
  • Most nutrients taken by pregnant women are secreted into their breast milk. Food contains choline together with betaine, and in human body choline is oxidized to betaine which transfer methyl group. The aim of the study was to estimate the concentrations of choline and betaine in breast milk of Korean lactating women and the choline and betaine intakes of their infants. Total choline, free choline and betaine concentrations in breast milk of some lactating women living in Daejon Metropolitan city were analyzed every month by using HPLC-MS and enzymatic method during the first five months. Total choline concentrations of breast milks were 157.64 mg/L (1.52 mmol/L), 157.83 mg/L (1.52 mmol/L), 165.99 mg/L (1.60 mmol/L), 153.67 mg/L (1.48 mmol/L), 145.05 mg/L (1.39 mmol/L) by month after delivery for five months. The concentrations of total choline and free choline in breast milks were not significantly changed for the five months while the betaine concentrations gradually decreased. Daily intake of total choline of the infants appears to be adequate for the infant's requirement according to the US DRI; 124.6 mg/d, 120.9 mg/d, 126.5 mg/d 104.1 mg/d from 2nd to 5th month after birth. Free choline and betaine intakes of the infants were not significantly changed during the four months except showing decrease in betaine intake per kg body weight. Choline intakes of the infants more correlated with choline concentrations of the breast milks (r = 0.982, p = 0.000) than intake amount of the breast milk (r = 0.414, p = 0.028). These results suggest that the choline intake of Korean breast-fed infants appears to be adequate and the intake could be affected by the choline concentration of the breast milk.

A student on the Nursing Needs and Satisfaction of Primipara During the Early Postpartum Period (산욕기 초산모의 간호요구와 만족도에 관한 연구)

  • Chun, Young-Ja
    • Women's Health Nursing
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    • v.3 no.1
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    • pp.5-27
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    • 1997
  • This study was carried out to identify the difference between nursing needs and levels of satisfaction of primiparae during the early postpartum period. The goal of the study was to obtain data needed to develope maternal education programs and to improve the nursing quality for primipara. The subjects were 111 primiparae who had normal delivery at 2 general hospitals in the Seoul area. The data was gathered using an 81 items questionnaire which was developed by the researcher from Nov. 30, 1995 to Feb. 5, 1996. Results found are as follows : 1. The characteristics of subjects : The majority of subjects were aged 26-30yrs(60.4%), high school graduated(49.5%), jobless(52.3%), had no religion(49.5%), no antenatal(74.5%), and postnatal education on self and infant care(55.9%). A large proportion of primiparae intended to feed breast milk(49.5%) but in fact only 7.2% fed breast milk while in the hospital. Many subjects perceived that they had reasonable self confidence about self care(46.8%), and infant care(36%). 2. The level of nursing needs of overall nursing care was relatively high(Mn 3.98) but the level of satisfaction was of average level(Mn 3.09). Therefore, difference between the level of nursing needs and satisfaction was significant(p=0.0001). 3. The nursing needs by category of nursing care the highest need was on the education of infant care(4.29), the lowest was on physical care(3.80). The level of satisfaction was higher on environmental care(3.40) and physical care(3.32). But the category that showed the lowest satisfaction was education of infant care(2.67). Hence, difference of categories between the level of nursing needs and satisfaction was significant(p=0.0001). 4. Among items of physical care, observation of primiparas' conditions(4.21), accurate medication and treatment(4.18), care of breast engorgement(4.07) and control of postpartal hemorrage(4.01) showed high nursing needs. On the other hand, only the level of satisfaction was higher on accurate medication and treatment(3.82). The rest of items revealed only average level of satisfactions. Difference of items between the level of nursing needs and satisfaction was significant(p=0.0001) except items of dietary care. 5. Among items of psychological care, 8 items of nursing needs were high(3.72-4.29), expecially detailed explanation on which mothers want to know(4.29), treatment and nursing care they receive(4.23), kind and faithful care(4.22), early contacts with their baby(4.20), and adequate draping during the care and treatment(4.18). Among items of psychological care higher satisfactions were shown on items of kind and faithful care(3.80), personal treatment(3.70), and detailed explanation to mothers, but the least satisfied items was early contact with baby(2.13). Difference between the level of nursing needs and satisfaction was significant(p=0.0001). 6. Among items of environmental care, the highest level of need and satisfaction was on the items of neat bedding and pajamas(3.54). The difference was significant (p=0.0001). 7. Among the items of educational needs on self care, all of 22 items revealed higher educational needs(3.50-4.33) but the levels of satisfaction varied with a range of 2.63-3.42. Among the items the satisfactions were high on items of breast care including massages(3.42), perineal care(3.36) and expression of breast milk(3.32). Less satisfied items were drugs not be taken by breast milk feeder(2.63), maintenance of breast figure(2.76) and postpartum exercise(2.80) and so on. The difference was significant(p=0.0001). maintain 8. Among the items of educational needs on infant care, 19 items revealed higher educational needs(3.28-4.54). And the highest need were on the 3 items of normal growth and development of infant, safety and emergency care, symptoms of sick(4.45) and the meaning of crying of the baby(4.52). The level of satisfaction among items of education of infant care ranged from 2.47 to 3.16. Most satisfied items were buriping(3.16), bathing(3.11) and diapering(3.09). The items of which the mother's needs were high revealed the lowest satisfaction level. The difference was significant (p=0.0001). 9. Relationship between nursing needs and levels of satisfaction among primiparae of different characteristics were as follows : 1) Nursing needs of physical and psychological areas were significantly different among different age levels but no relationship was found on other categories regardless of the level of satisfaction. 2) With regard to different levels of education, some relationship was found in nursing needs of psychological area(p=0.007), educational needs on infant care(p=0.04) and environmental care(p=0.01). Also, the difference of satisfaction level was significant. 3) Working mothers had higher nursing needs and were more satisfied on items of physical care(p=0.05), education on self care and infant care. Difference were significant between nursing needs and level of satisfaction. 4) With regards to different religion a moderate relation was found between nursing needs of environmental care infant care education but no relationship was found on levels of satisfaction. 5) With regards to antenatal education, the mothers who have had no antenatal education revealed higher nursing needs on physical care but those who had antenatal education were more satisfied with education on self care and infant care. The difference was significant. (p=0.0001). 6) With regards to postpartum education, the mothers who have had some sort of postpartum education revealed higher nursing needs on physical and self care. And they were more satisfied with nursing of every category except infant care than mothers who had not any postpartum education. Differences was significant between the nursing needs and levels of satisfaction.(p=0.0001). 7) With regards to breast feeding experience during the hospitalization, those who had no experience of breast feeding revealed higher nursing needs on physical care in contrast to breast feeders, who had higher educational needs on infant care. And breast feeder were more satisfied with all categories. Differences was significant(p=0.0001). 8) With regards to perception of self confidence on self care and infant care, no relationship was found on nursing needs and level of satisfaction in every category of nursing.

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Determination of Cost and Measurement of nursing Care Hours for Hospice Patients Hospitalized in one University Hospital (일 대학병원 호스피스 병동 입원 환자의 간호활동시간 측정과 원가산정)

  • Kim, Kyeong-Uoon
    • Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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    • v.6 no.3
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    • pp.389-404
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    • 2000
  • This study was designed to determine the cost and measurement of nursing care hours for hospice patients hostpitalized in one university hospital. 314 inpatients in the hospice unit 11 nursing manpower were enrolled. Study was taken place in C University Hospital from 8th to 28th, Nov, 1999. Researcher and investigator did pilot study for selecting compatible hospice patient classification indicators. After modifying patient classification indicators and nursing care details for general ward, approved of content validity by specialist. Using hospice patient classification indicators and per 5 min continuing observation method, researcher and investigator recorded direct nursing care hours, indirect nursing care hours, and personnel time on hospice nursing care hours, and personnel time on hospice nursing care activities sheet. All of the patients were classified into Class I(mildly ill), Class II (moderately ill), Class III (acutely ill), and Class IV (critically ill) by patient classification system (PCS) which had been carefully developed to be suitable for the Korean hospice ward. And then the elements of the nursing care cost was investigated. Based on the data from an accounting section (Riccolo, 1988), nursing care hours per patient per day in each class and nursing care cost per patient per hour were multiplied. And then the mean of the nursing care cost per patient per day in each class was calculated. Using SAS, The number of patients in class and nursing activities in duty for nursing care hours were calculated the percent, the mean, the standard deviation respectively. According to the ANOVA and the $Scheff{\'{e}$ test, direct nursing care hours per patient per day for the each class were analyzed. The results of this study were summarized as follows : 1. Distribution of patient class : class IN(33.5%) was the largest class the rest were class II(26.1%) class III(22.6%), class I(17.8%). Nursing care requirements of the inpatients in hospice ward were greater than that of the inpatients in general ward. 2. Direct nursing care activities : Measurement ${\cdot}$ observation 41.7%, medication 16.6%, exercise ${\cdot}$ safety 12.5%, education ${\cdot}$ communication 7.2% etc. The mean hours of direct nursing care per patient per day per duty were needed ; 69.3 min for day duty, 64.7 min for evening duty, 88.2 min for night duty, 38.7 min for shift duty. The mean hours of direct nursing care of night duty was longer than that of the other duty. Direct nursing care hours per patient per day in each class were needed ; 3.1 hrs for class I, 3.9 hrs for class II, 4.7 hrs for class III, and 5.2 hrs for class IV. The mean hours of direct nursing care per patient per day without the PCS was 4.1 hours. The mean hours of direct nursing care per patient per day in class was increased significantly according to increasing nursing care requirements of the inpatients(F=49.04, p=.0001). The each class was significantly different(p<0.05). The mean hours of direct nursing care of several direct nursing care activities in each class were increased according to increasing nursing care requirements of the inpatients(p<0.05) ; class III and class IV for medication and education ${\cdot}$ communication, class I, class III and class IV for measurement ${\cdot}$ observation, class I, class II and class IV for elimination ${\cdot}$ irrigation, all of class for exercise ${\cdot}$ safety. 3. Indirect nursing care activities and personnel time : Recognization 24.2%, house keeping activity 22.7%, charting 17.2%, personnel time 11.8% etc. The mean hours of indirect nursing care and personnel time per nursing manpower was 4.7 hrs. The mean hours of indirect nursing care and personnel time per duty were 294.8 min for day duty, 212.3 min for evening duty, 387.9 min for night duty, 143.3 min for shift duty. The mean of indirect nursing care hours and personnel time of night duty was longer than that of the other duty. 4. The mean hours of indirect nursing care and personnel time per patient per day was 2.5 hrs. 5. The mean hours of nursing care per patient per day in each class were class I 5.6 hrs, class II 6.4 hrs, class III 7.2 hrs, class IV 7.7 hrs. 6. The elements of the nursing care cost were composed of 2,212 won for direct nursing care cost, 267 won for direct material cost and 307 won for indirect cost. Sum of the elements of the nursing care cost was 2,786 won. 7. The mean cost of the nursing care per patient per day in each class were 15,601.6 won for class I, 17,830.4 won for class II, 20,259.2 won for class III, 21,452.2 won for class IV. As above, using modified hospice patient classification indicators and nursing care activity details, many critical ill patients were hospitalized in the hospice unit and it reflected that the more nursing care requirements of the patients, the more direct nursing care hours. Emotional ${\cdot}$ spiritual care, pain ${\cdot}$ symptom control, terminal care, education ${\cdot}$ communication, narcotics management and delivery, attending funeral ceremony, the major nursing care activities, were also the independent hospice service. But it is not compensated by the present medical insurance system. Exercise ${\cdot}$ safety, elimination ${\cdot}$ irrigation needed more nursing care hours as equal to that of intensive care units. The present nursing management fee in the medical insurance system compensated only a part of nursing car service in hospice unit, which rewarded lower cost that that of nursing care.

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Recognition and Attitude to Implement at ion of Service Area Assigned System of Public Health Programs among the Health Officer (공공보건사업의 지역담당제 실시에 관한 보건기관 근무 공무원의 인식과 태도)

  • Kim, Mi-Soon;Lee, Moo-Sik;Kim, Nam-Song
    • Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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    • v.26 no.2
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    • pp.15-41
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    • 2001
  • Since medical clients and the community they live in are expected to be center of future public health and medical care system, new service programs must be developed with patients focused on in line with widening public access of information and social participation. Patients- focused service shall mean the area- oriented provision of public health service. In this study, health officers working at public health centers, public health sub- centers and medical offices in Jeonbuk- do area were taken for population in order to investigate their attitudes toward and knowledge about the service area assigning system under the public health programs. Findings from the survey to 260 health officers, divided by general category, are as follows : Government officers at public health organizations appeared to have high grade of understanding to the service area assigning system and also great appreciation for the necessity of it. Regarding the timing for the system to be introduced, they support the gradual implementation and, as for the type of service to be provided, they preferred home nursing and treatment of chronic diseases. Highly positive responses were centered on the health classes under the health promotion projects, and as far as health projects for the old are concerned, services for home nursing, for the disabled and for home- alone people are favored most. On the other hand, budgeting, manpower and reorganization are rated as prerequisite to establishment of the service area assigning system. From the viewpoint of system side, the improvement of working conditions is rendered as most urgent, while the information system for establishing the service area assigning system is conceived far from satisfactory. Proper assignment of specialists was noted as mostly important to establish the delivery system for medical service through the service area assigning system by team. As merits of the service area assigning system, it is pointed out that, through the system, health clients can better be managed and the nursing quality will be improved thank to the enhanced specialization. It is also perceived that the district health service is not well prepared to respond to the increased and diversified needs of community people and, furthermore, service programs of health centers have not been fully developed. The most serious problem standing in the way to expansion of health projects is, it is noted, uniformity (formality) of the project. Based on the results of the survey which suggest time has ripen to introduce the service area assigning system, following strategies are proposed to anchor down the system as soon as possible: First, we should introduce the system gradually, starting from the area selected, and in consideration of area specialities, refraining from the hitherto stereotyped way of providing health service. Second, we should seek to properly assign the specialists and improve the working conditions of the assigned officers by securing sufficient budget, since it is a most urgent step to lay foundation for the service area assigning system. Third, best service program should be developed to meet the satisfaction of community people by responding to their needs and solidifying the management of medical clients. Fourth, wide scope of study should further be conducted in order to help this system take roots in the central living of community residents since pilot project on the experimental base attended by specialists only can not win popularity among the masses.

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Dosimetric Effect on Selectable Optimization Parameters of Volumatric Modulated Arc Therapy (선택적 최적화 변수(Selectable Optimization Parameters)에 따른 부피적조절회전방사선치료(VMAT)의 선량학적 영향)

  • Jung, Jae-Yong;Shin, Yong-Joo;Sohn, Seung-Chang;Kim, Yeon-Rae;Min, Jung-Wan;Suh, Tae-Suk
    • Progress in Medical Physics
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    • v.23 no.1
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    • pp.15-25
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    • 2012
  • The aim of this study is to evaluate plan quality and dose accuracy for Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) on the TG-119 and is to investigate the effects on variation of the selectable optimization parameters of VMAT. VMAT treatment planning was implemented on a Varian iX linear accelerator with ARIA record and verify system (Varian Mecical System Palo Alto, CA) and Oncentra MasterPlan treatment planning system (Nucletron BV, Veenendaal, Netherlands). Plan quality and dosimetric accuracy were evaluated by effect of varying a number of arc, gantry spacing and delivery time for the test geometries provided in TG-119. Plan quality for the target and OAR was evaluated by the mean value and the standard deviation of the Dose Volume Histograms (DVHs). The ionization chamber and $Delta^{4PT}$ bi-planar diode array were used for the dose evaluation. For treatment planning evaluation, all structure sets closed to the goals in the case of single arc, except for the C-shape (hard), and all structure sets achieved the goals in the case of dual arc, except for C-shape (hard). For the variation of a number of arc, the simple structure such as a prostate did not have the difference between single arc and dual arc, whereas the complex structure such as a head and neck showed a superior result in the case of dual arc. The dose distribution with gantry spacing of $4^{\circ}$ was shown better plan quality than the gantry spacing of $6^{\circ}$, but was similar results compared with gantry spacing of $2^{\circ}$. For the verification of dose accuracy with single arc and dual arc, the mean value of a relative error between measured and calculated value were within 3% and 4% for point dose and confidence limit values, respectively. For the verification on dose accuracy with the gantry intervals of $2^{\circ}$, $4^{\circ}$ and $6^{\circ}$, the mean values of relative error were within 3% and 5% for point dose and confidence limit values, respectively. In the verification of dose distribution with $Delta^{4PT}$ bi-planar diode array, gamma passing rate was $98.72{\pm}1.52%$ and $98.3{\pm}1.5%$ for single arc and dual arc, respectively. The confidence limit values were within 4%. The smaller the gantry spacing, the more accuracy results were shown. In this study, we performed the VMAT QA based on TG-119 procedure, and demonstrated that all structure sets were satisfied with acceptance criteria. And also, the results for the selective optimization variables informed the importance of selection for the suitable variables according to the clinical cases.

An Empirical Study on the Determinants of Supply Chain Management Systems Success from Vendor's Perspective (참여자관점에서 공급사슬관리 시스템의 성공에 영향을 미치는 요인에 관한 실증연구)

  • Kang, Sung-Bae;Moon, Tae-Soo;Chung, Yoon
    • Asia pacific journal of information systems
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    • v.20 no.3
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    • pp.139-166
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    • 2010
  • The supply chain management (SCM) systems have emerged as strong managerial tools for manufacturing firms in enhancing competitive strength. Despite of large investments in the SCM systems, many companies are not fully realizing the promised benefits from the systems. A review of literature on adoption, implementation and success factor of IOS (inter-organization systems), EDI (electronic data interchange) systems, shows that this issue has been examined from multiple theoretic perspectives. And many researchers have attempted to identify the factors which influence the success of system implementation. However, the existing studies have two drawbacks in revealing the determinants of systems implementation success. First, previous researches raise questions as to the appropriateness of research subjects selected. Most SCM systems are operating in the form of private industrial networks, where the participants of the systems consist of two distinct groups: focus companies and vendors. The focus companies are the primary actors in developing and operating the systems, while vendors are passive participants which are connected to the system in order to supply raw materials and parts to the focus companies. Under the circumstance, there are three ways in selecting the research subjects; focus companies only, vendors only, or two parties grouped together. It is hard to find researches that use the focus companies exclusively as the subjects probably due to the insufficient sample size for statistic analysis. Most researches have been conducted using the data collected from both groups. We argue that the SCM success factors cannot be correctly indentified in this case. The focus companies and the vendors are in different positions in many areas regarding the system implementation: firm size, managerial resources, bargaining power, organizational maturity, and etc. There are no obvious reasons to believe that the success factors of the two groups are identical. Grouping the two groups also raises questions on measuring the system success. The benefits from utilizing the systems may not be commonly distributed to the two groups. One group's benefits might be realized at the expenses of the other group considering the situation where vendors participating in SCM systems are under continuous pressures from the focus companies with respect to prices, quality, and delivery time. Therefore, by combining the system outcomes of both groups we cannot measure the system benefits obtained by each group correctly. Second, the measures of system success adopted in the previous researches have shortcoming in measuring the SCM success. User satisfaction, system utilization, and user attitudes toward the systems are most commonly used success measures in the existing studies. These measures have been developed as proxy variables in the studies of decision support systems (DSS) where the contribution of the systems to the organization performance is very difficult to measure. Unlike the DSS, the SCM systems have more specific goals, such as cost saving, inventory reduction, quality improvement, rapid time, and higher customer service. We maintain that more specific measures can be developed instead of proxy variables in order to measure the system benefits correctly. The purpose of this study is to find the determinants of SCM systems success in the perspective of vendor companies. In developing the research model, we have focused on selecting the success factors appropriate for the vendors through reviewing past researches and on developing more accurate success measures. The variables can be classified into following: technological, organizational, and environmental factors on the basis of TOE (Technology-Organization-Environment) framework. The model consists of three independent variables (competition intensity, top management support, and information system maturity), one mediating variable (collaboration), one moderating variable (government support), and a dependent variable (system success). The systems success measures have been developed to reflect the operational benefits of the SCM systems; improvement in planning and analysis capabilities, faster throughput, cost reduction, task integration, and improved product and customer service. The model has been validated using the survey data collected from 122 vendors participating in the SCM systems in Korea. To test for mediation, one should estimate the hierarchical regression analysis on the collaboration. And moderating effect analysis should estimate the moderated multiple regression, examines the effect of the government support. The result shows that information system maturity and top management support are the most important determinants of SCM system success. Supply chain technologies that standardize data formats and enhance information sharing may be adopted by supply chain leader organization because of the influence of focal company in the private industrial networks in order to streamline transactions and improve inter-organization communication. Specially, the need to develop and sustain an information system maturity will provide the focus and purpose to successfully overcome information system obstacles and resistance to innovation diffusion within the supply chain network organization. The support of top management will help focus efforts toward the realization of inter-organizational benefits and lend credibility to functional managers responsible for its implementation. The active involvement, vision, and direction of high level executives provide the impetus needed to sustain the implementation of SCM. The quality of collaboration relationships also is positively related to outcome variable. Collaboration variable is found to have a mediation effect between on influencing factors and implementation success. Higher levels of inter-organizational collaboration behaviors such as shared planning and flexibility in coordinating activities were found to be strongly linked to the vendors trust in the supply chain network. Government support moderates the effect of the IS maturity, competitive intensity, top management support on collaboration and implementation success of SCM. In general, the vendor companies face substantially greater risks in SCM implementation than the larger companies do because of severe constraints on financial and human resources and limited education on SCM systems. Besides resources, Vendors generally lack computer experience and do not have sufficient internal SCM expertise. For these reasons, government supports may establish requirements for firms doing business with the government or provide incentives to adopt, implementation SCM or practices. Government support provides significant improvements in implementation success of SCM when IS maturity, competitive intensity, top management support and collaboration are low. The environmental characteristic of competition intensity has no direct effect on vendor perspective of SCM system success. But, vendors facing above average competition intensity will have a greater need for changing technology. This suggests that companies trying to implement SCM systems should set up compatible supply chain networks and a high-quality collaboration relationship for implementation and performance.

Study on Medical Records In ${\ulcorner}$the Historical Records of the Three Kingdoms${\lrcorner}$ ("삼국사기(三國史記)"에 기록된 의약내용(醫藥內容) 분석)

  • Shin, Soon-Shik;Choi, Hwan-Soo
    • Journal of The Association for Neo Medicine
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    • v.2 no.1
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    • pp.35-54
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    • 1997
  • We tried to observe the features of ancient medical practice by analysing the records related to medicine in the book, ${\ulcorner}$the Historical Records of the Three Kingdom${\lrcorner}$ of which content includes the features of medicine in mythology, plague, delivery of twins, drugs, medical system, shamanism, constitutional medicine, psychiatry, forensic medicine, deformity, a spa, medical phrase, health and welfare work, religion, death. physiological anatomy, Taoist medicine, acupuncture, the occult af of transformation and etc. Our initial concern was about where to draw line as of medical field and we defined medicine in more broad meaning. The book ${\ulcorner}$the Historical Records of the Three Kingdoms${\lrcorner}$ describes the world of mythology by way of medicine which is not clearly a conventional one. There appears records of birth of multiple offsprings 7 times in which cases are of triplets or more. Delivering multiple offsprings were rare phenomenon though such fertility was highly admired. This shows one aspect of ancient country having more population meant more power of the nation. Of those medical records conveyed in that book includes stories of childbirth such as giving birth to a son after praying, giving birth to Kim Yoo-shin after 20 months after mother's dream of conception, and a song longing for getting a laudable child. Plagues were prevalent throughout winter to spring season and one can observe various symptoms of plagues in the record. Of these epidemic diseases, cold type might have been more common than the heat one. Appearance of epidemic diseases frequently coincided with that of natural disasters that this suggests a linkage between plague and underlying doctrine on five elements' motion and six kinds of natural factors. There exists only a few names of diseases such as epidemic disease, wind disease, and syndrome characterized by dyspnea. Otherwise there appeared only afflictions that were not specified therefore it remains cluless to keep track of certain diseases of prevalence. Since this ${\ulcorner}$Historical Records of the Three Kingdoms'${\lrcorner}$ wasn't any sort of medical book, words and terms used were not technical kind and most were the ones used generally among lay people. Therefore any mechanisms of the diseases were hardly mentioned. Some of medicinal substances such as Calculus Bovis, Radix Ginseng, Gaboderma Luciderm, magnetitum were also in use in those days. 53 kinds of dietary supplies appears in the records and some of these might have been used as medicinal purpose. Records concerning dicipline of one's body includes activities such as hunting, archery, horseback riding etc. In Shilla dynasty there were positions such as professor of medicine, Naekongbong(內供奉), Kongbong's doctor(供奉醫師), Kongbong's diviner(供奉卜師). As an educational facility, medical school was built at the first year of King Hyoso's reign and it's curricula included various subjects as ${\ulcorner}$Shin Nong's Herbal classic${\lrcorner}$, ${\ulcorner}$Kabeul classic of acupuncture and moxbustion${\lrcorner}$, ${\ulcorner}$The Plain Questions of the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine${\lrcorner}$, ${\ulcorner}$Classic of Acupuncturer${\lrcorner}$, ${\ulcorner}$The Pulse Classic${\lrcorner}$, ${\ulcorner}$Classic of Channels and Acupuncture Points${\lrcorner}$ and ${\ulcorner}$Difficult Classic${\lrcorner}$. There were 2 medical professors who were in charge of education. To establish pharmacopoeia, 2 Shaji(舍知), 6 Sha(史), 2 Jongshaji(從舍知) were appointed. In Baekje dynasty, Department of Herb was maintained. Doing praying for the sake of health, doing phrenology also can be extended to medical arena. Those who survived over 100 years of age appear 3 times in the record, while 98 appears once. The earliest psychiatrist Nokjin differentiated symptoms to apply either therapies using acupuncture and drug or psychotherapy. There appears a case of rape, a case of burying alive with the dead, 8 cases of suicide that can characterize a prototype of forensic medicine. Deformity-related records include phrases as follow: 'there seems protrudent bone behind the head', 'a body which has two heads, two trunks, four arms.', 'a body equipped with two heads' In those times spa can be said to be used as a place for he리ing, convalescence, and relaxation seeing the records describing a person pretended illness and went to spa to enjoy with his friends. Priest doctors and millitary surgeons were in charge of the medical sevice in the period of the Three Kingdoms by the record written by Mookhoja(墨胡子) and Hoonkyeom(訓謙). Poor diet and regimen makes people more vulnerable to diseases. So there existed charity services for those poor people who couldn't live with one's own capacity such as single parents, orphans, the aged people no one to take care and those who are ill. The cause of affliction was frequently coined with human relation. There appeared the phenomenon of releasing prisoners and allowing people to become priests at the time of king's suffering. Besides, as a healing procedure, sutra-chanting was peformed. There appears 10 cases of death related records which varies from death by drowning, or by freezing, death from animals, death from war, death from wightloss and killing oneself at the moment of spouse's death and etc. There also exist certain records which suggest the knowledge of physiology and anatomy in those times. Since the taoist books such as ${\ulcorner}$Book of the Way and Its Power(老子道德經)${\lrcorner}$ were introduced in the period of Three Kingdoms, it can be considered that medicine was also influenced by taoism. Records of higher level of acupuncture, records which links the medicine and occult art of transformation existed. Although limited, we could figure out the medical state of ancient society.

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Comparison of Blood and Urine Renal Indices Between Hypercalciuric and Non-hypercalciuric Hematuria Patients (혈뇨 환아에서 고칼슘뇨군과 비고칼슘뇨군의 혈액 및 소변화학검사와 신기능 지표들의 비교)

  • Lee, Jin-Hee;Lee, Hyun-Seung;Lee, Keun-Young;Jang, Pil-Sang;Lee, Kyung-Yil;Kim, Dong-Un
    • Childhood Kidney Diseases
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    • v.11 no.2
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    • pp.168-177
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    • 2007
  • Purpose : The purpose of this study was to investigate whether hypercalciuria patients with hematuria show different renal indices compared to non-hypercalciuria patients with hematuria. Methods : We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with gross or microscopic hematuria whose blood chemistry and 24 hour urine chemistry were examined. After excluding the patients with more than $4 mg/m^2/day$ proteinuria or the patients with urinary calcium excretion between 3 and 4 mg/kg/day, we divided the patients into two groups: a hypercalciuria group whose calcium excretion was more than 4 mg/kg/day(n=30) and a non hypercalciuria group whose calcium excretion was less than 3 mg/kg/day(n=41). The urinary excretion, clearance, and fractional excretion(FE) of Na, K, Cl, Ca, P, urea, and creatinine were calculated and compared between the two groups. Results : The hypercalciuria group had more calcium excretion($6.1{\pm}2.9$ vs $1.5{\pm}0.9 mg/kg/day$), more urea excretion($341{\pm}102$ vs $233{\pm}123 mg/kg/day$), greater glomerular filtration rate(GFR) ($93.7{\pm}31.1$ vs $79.5{\pm}32.0 mL/min$) but lower FENa($1.0{\pm}0.4%$ vs $1.3{\pm}0.6%$) than the nonhyper-calciuria group, although the urinary sodium excretion was similar between the two groups. Conclusion : The greater urea excretion and GFR in hypercalciuric patients suggest that they might be on a higher protein diet than the non-hypercalciuria group. The increased glomerular filtration of sodium and calcium induced by the higher GFR in hypercalciuria would have increased their delivery to the distal tubule, where sodium is effectively reabsorbed but calcium is not, which is suggested by the lower FENa but higher FECa in hyercalciuria. It is recommended that the diet of hematuria patients be reviewed in detail at initial presentation and during treatment.

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An Analysis of the Moderating Effects of User Ability on the Acceptance of an Internet Shopping Mall (인터넷 쇼핑몰 수용에 있어 사용자 능력의 조절효과 분석)

  • Suh, Kun-Soo
    • Asia pacific journal of information systems
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    • v.18 no.4
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    • pp.27-55
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    • 2008
  • Due to the increasing and intensifying competition in the Internet shopping market, it has been recognized as very important to develop an effective policy and strategy for acquiring loyal customers. For this reason, web site designers need to know if a new Internet shopping mall(ISM) will be accepted. Researchers have been working on identifying factors for explaining and predicting user acceptance of an ISM. Some studies, however, revealed inconsistent findings on the antecedents of user acceptance of a website. Lack of consideration for individual differences in user ability is believed to be one of the key reasons for the mixed findings. The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) and several studies have suggested that individual differences in ability plays an moderating role on the relationship between the antecedents and user acceptance. Despite the critical role of user ability, little research has examined the role of user ability in the Internet shopping mall context. The purpose of this study is to develop a user acceptance model that consider the moderating role of user ability in the context of Internet shopping. This study was initiated to see the ability of the technology acceptance model(TAM) to explain the acceptance of a specific ISM. According to TAM. which is one of the most influential models for explaining user acceptance of IT, an intention to use IT is determined by usefulness and ease of use. Given that interaction between user and website takes place through web interface, the decisions to accept and continue using an ISM depend on these beliefs. However, TAM neglects to consider the fact that many users would not stick to an ISM until they trust it although they may think it useful and easy to use. The importance of trust for user acceptance of ISM has been raised by the relational views. The relational view emphasizes the trust-building process between the user and ISM, and user's trust on the website is a major determinant of user acceptance. The proposed model extends and integrates the TAM and relational views on user acceptance of ISM by incorporating usefulness, ease of use, and trust. User acceptance is defined as a user's intention to reuse a specific ISM. And user ability is introduced into the model as moderating variable. Here, the user ability is defined as a degree of experiences, knowledge and skills regarding Internet shopping sites. The research model proposes that the ease of use, usefulness and trust of ISM are key determinants of user acceptance. In addition, this paper hypothesizes that the effects of the antecedents(i.e., ease of use, usefulness, and trust) on user acceptance may differ among users. In particular, this paper proposes a moderating effect of a user's ability on the relationship between antecedents with user's intention to reuse. The research model with eleven hypotheses was derived and tested through a survey that involved 470 university students. For each research variable, this paper used measurement items recognized for reliability and widely used in previous research. We slightly modified some items proper to the research context. The reliability and validity of the research variables were tested using the Crobnach's alpha and internal consistency reliability (ICR) values, standard factor loadings of the confirmative factor analysis, and average variance extracted (AVE) values. A LISREL method was used to test the suitability of the research model and its relating six hypotheses. Key findings of the results are summarized in the following. First, TAM's two constructs, ease of use and usefulness directly affect user acceptance. In addition, ease of use indirectly influences user acceptance by affecting trust. This implies that users tend to trust a shopping site and visit repeatedly when they perceive a specific ISM easy to use. Accordingly, designing a shopping site that allows users to navigate with heuristic and minimal clicks for finding information and products within the site is important for improving the site's trust and acceptance. Usefulness, however, was not found to influence trust. Second, among the three belief constructs(ease of use, usefulness, and trust), trust was empirically supported as the most important determinants of user acceptance. This implies that users require trustworthiness from an Internet shopping site to be repeat visitors of an ISM. Providing a sense of safety and eliminating the anxiety of online shoppers in relation to privacy, security, delivery, and product returns are critically important conditions for acquiring repeat visitors. Hence, in addition to usefulness and ease of use as in TAM, trust should be a fundamental determinants of user acceptance in the context of internet shopping. Third, the user's ability on using an Internet shopping site played a moderating role. For users with low ability, ease of use was found to be a more important factors in deciding to reuse the shopping mall, whereas usefulness and trust had more effects on users with high ability. Applying the EML theory to these findings, we can suggest that experienced and knowledgeable ISM users tend to elaborate on such usefulness aspects as efficient and effective shopping performance and trust factors as ability, benevolence, integrity, and predictability of a shopping site before they become repeat visitors of the site. In contrast, novice users tend to rely on the low elaborating features, such as the perceived ease of use. The existence of moderating effects suggests the fact that different individuals evaluate an ISM from different perspectives. The expert users are more interested in the outcome of the visit(usefulness) and trustworthiness(trust) than those novice visitors. The latter evaluate the ISM in a more superficial manner focusing on the novelty of the site and on other instrumental beliefs(ease of use). This is consistent with the insights proposed by the Heuristic-Systematic model. According to the Heuristic-Systematic model. a users act on the principle of minimum effort. Thus, the user considers an ISM heuristically, focusing on those aspects that are easy to process and evaluate(ease of use). When the user has sufficient experience and skills, the user will change to systematic processing, where they will evaluate more complex aspects of the site(its usefulness and trustworthiness). This implies that an ISM has to provide a minimum level of ease of use to make it possible for a user to evaluate its usefulness and trustworthiness. Ease of use is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the acceptance and use of an ISM. Overall, the empirical results generally support the proposed model and identify the moderating effect of the effects of user ability. More detailed interpretations and implications of the findings are discussed. The limitations of this study are also discussed to provide directions for future research.