• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.301-314
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• 2019

Purpose: Peritoneal carcinomatosis in gastric cancer (GC) patients results in extremely poor prognosis. Malignant ascites samples are the most appropriate biological material to use to evaluate biomarkers for peritoneal carcinomatosis. This study identified exosomal MicroRNAs (miRNAs) differently expressed between benign liver cirrhosis-associated ascites (LC-ascites) and malignant gastric cancer-associated ascites (GC-ascites), and validated their role as diagnostic biomarkers for GC-ascites. Materials and Methods: Total RNA was extracted from exosomes isolated from 165 ascites samples (73 LC-ascites and 92 GC-ascites). Initially, microarrays were used to screen the expression levels of 2,006 miRNAs in the discovery cohort (n=22). Subsequently, quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analyses were performed to validate the expression levels of selected exosomal miRNAs in the training (n=70) and validation (n=73) cohorts. Furthermore, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels were determined in ascites samples. Results: The miR-574-3p, miR-181b-5p, miR-4481, and miR-181d were significantly downregulated in the GC-ascites samples compared to the LC-ascites samples, and miR-181b-5p showed the best diagnostic performance for GC-ascites (area under the curve [AUC]=0.798 and 0.846 for the training and validation cohorts, respectively). The diagnostic performance of CEA for GC-ascites was improved by the combined analysis of miR-181b-5p and CEA (AUC=0.981 and 0.946 for the training and validation cohorts, respectively). Conclusions: We identified exosomal miRNAs capable of distinguishing between non-malignant and GC-ascites, showing that the combined use of miR-181b-5p and CEA could improve diagnosis.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.67-72
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• 2015

In diagnostic radiology, the use of automatic exposure control device is internationally recommended for diagnosis and optimization. However, if exposed to prolonged radiation is a complicated manufacturing process, there is a problem that occurs decrease of various performance overall brightness sensor, which is commercially available conventional. Therefore, in this study, absorption of X-ray is high, and I want to evaluate the AEC applicability of the sensor of the photoconductor-based production has an easy advantage. Experimental results confirms the possibility of fabrication of the sensor through an increase in the SNR, with the detection efficiency superior, accurate turn-off. In addition, it is confirmed that the experimental results of the transmittance and the latent image, Ghost effect by the light conductor does not appear, in the case of a photoconductor with the exception of the PbO, 80% - and it was confirmed good transmittance of 90%. Therefore, excellent mechanical stability and poor performance due to a change of the doping concentration than the existing products that have been put to practical use, the sensor easy photoconductor based, fabrication and can be applied as AEC sensor is expected.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.455-465
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• 2022

Objective: To compare the reproducibility and performance of quantitative metrics between ZOOMit and conventional intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the diagnosis of early- and mid-stage Sjögren's syndrome (SS). Materials and Methods: Twenty-two patients (mean age ± standard deviation, 52.0 ± 10.8 years; male:female, 2:20) with early- or mid-stage SS and 20 healthy controls (46.9 ± 14.6 years; male:female, 7:13) were prospectively enrolled in our study. ZOOMit IVIM and conventional IVIM MRI were performed simultaneously in all individuals using a 3T scanner. Quantitative IVIM parameters - including tissue diffusivity (D), pseudodiffusion coefficient (D^*), and perfusion fraction (f) - inter- and intra-observer reproducibility in measuring these parameters, and their ability to distinguish patients with SS from healthy individuals were assessed and compared between ZOOMit IVIM and conventional IVIM methods, appropriately. MR gland nodular grade (MRG) was also examined. Results: Inter- and intra-observer reproducibility was better with ZOOMit imaging than with conventional IVIM imaging (ZOOMit vs. conventional, intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.897-0.941 vs. 0.667-0.782 for inter-observer reproducibility and 0.891-0.968 vs. 0.814-0.853 for intra-observer reproducibility). Significant differences in ZOOMit f, ZOOMit D^*, D^*, conventional D^*, and MRG between patients with SS and healthy individuals (all p < 0.05) were observed. ZOOMit D^* outperformed conventional D^* in diagnosing early- and mid-stage SS (area under receiver operating curve, 0.867 and 0.658, respectively; p = 0.002). The combination of ZOOMit D^*, MRG, and ZOOMit f as a new diagnostic index for SS, increased diagnostic area under the curve to 0.961, which was higher than that of any single parameter (all p < 0.01). Conclusion: Considering its better reproducibility and performance, ZOOMit IVIM may be preferred over conventional IVIM MRI, and may subsequently improve the ability to diagnose early- and mid-stage SS.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Sensory Integration
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.46-60
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• 2019

Objective : The purpose of this study is to provide evidence for a systematic analysis of occupational therapy evaluations and interventions for the activities of daily living of children and adolescents. Methods : The research period was from 2010 to September 2019. The articles were collected from the Research Information Sharing Service (RISS) and Koreanstudies Information Service System (KISS) databases. The key words were 'pediatric occupational therapy & activities of daily living', 'pediatric occupational therapy & self care', 'pediatric occupational therapy & self management', 'pediatric occupational therapy & occupation', 'occupational therapy & eating', 'occupational therapy & AMPS (Assessment of Motor and Process Skills)', 'occupational therapy & WeeFIM (Functional Independence Measure for children'. Results : A total of 14 studies were analyzed, the qualitative level IV, V of the study was 72% of the total research. The diagnosis of participants included 50% intellectual disorder and 20% brain lesion, including cerebral palsy. The most frequently used method to assess the activities of daily living was Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM). The most frequently used method to therapy was sensory integration therapy. The intervention effect of all studies was positive, however, the use of group programs on the occupational therapy on children with intellectually disorder didn't work. Conclusion : In Korea, there are no articles that systematically analyze whether occupational therapy improves the activities of daily living in children and adolescents.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.253-263
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• 2021

Concrete structures are damaged by aging and external environmental factors. This type of damage is to appear in the form of cracks, to proceed in the form of spalling. Such concrete damage can act as the main cause of reducing the original design bearing capacity of the structure, and negatively affect the stability of the structure. If such damage continues, it may lead to a safety accident in the future, thus proper repair and reinforcement are required. To this end, an accurate and objective condition inspection of the structure must be performed, and for this inspection, a sensor technology capable of detecting damage area is required. For this reason, we propose a deep learning-based image processing algorithm that can detect spalling. To develop this, 298 spalling images were obtained, of which 253 images were used for training, and the remaining 45 images were used for testing. In addition, an improved loss function and data augmentation technique were applied to improve the detection performance. As a result, the detection performance of concrete spalling showed a mean intersection over union of 80.19%. In conclusion, we developed an algorithm to detect concrete spalling through a deep learning-based image processing technique, with an improved loss function and data augmentation technique. This technology is expected to be utilized for accurate inspection and diagnosis of structures in the future.

• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.283-290
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• 1998

Sasang Constitutional Medicine focuses on the different constitutional manifestations of the individual's nature and emotions. The nature and emotions drive the ascending and descending of Qi in the body. And this dynamics of the Qi's ascent and descent shapes the different types of structures, functions and temperaments. Although Sasang Constitutional Medicine has many advantages, its diagnosis of the constitution still depends on the doctors' own idea and has no objective identification. So many doctors in Korea have been trying to solve this problem. Recently, there are several efforts to find out the relationship between genetic information and constitution. By the way, May, 1998 there is a astonishing report about the gene which determines the human performance, that is ACE(angiotensin converting enzyme). And it suggests that the I allele was associated with improved endurance performance. ACE has three genotype including II, ID and DD. "I" means insertion and "D" means deletion. We determined the type of the Sasang constitution with QSCCII questionaire and the one's ACE genotype with PCR of the 127 people and we discovered the relationship between the constitution and the ACE genotype. The result is as follow. Among 39 people who have the II genotype, 7(18%) belong to Taeum(Taiyin), 9(23.1%) belong to Soyang(Shaoyang) and 23(59%) belong to Soeum(Shaoyin). Among 62 people who have the ID genotype, 18(29%) belong to Taeum(Taiyin), 21(33.9%) belong to Soyang(Shaoyang) and 23(37.1%) belong to Soeum(Shaoyin). Among 26 people who have DD genotype, 11(42.3%) belong to Taeum(Taiyin), 4(15.4%) belong to Soyang(Shaoyang) and 11(42.3%) belong to Soeum(Shaoyin). This data indicates that there are implicable relationship between the Sasang constitution and ACE genotype. Especially people who have II genotype have much possibility to be a Soeum(Shaoyin) person (59%) and Soyang(Shaoyang) person have less possibility to have DD genotype (15.4%). With this conclusion, we suggest further study of relationship between the Sasang constitution and ACE genotype and we think that other polymorphism can be a candidate of the partner of Sasang constitution.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.8
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• pp.1240-1252
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• 2021

Objective: To compare the accuracy for detecting breast cancer in the diagnostic setting between the use of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), defined as DBT alone or combined DBT and digital mammography (DM), and the use of DM alone through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Materials and Methods: Ovid-MEDLINE, Ovid-Embase, Cochrane Library and five Korean local databases were searched for articles published until March 25, 2020. We selected studies that reported diagnostic accuracy in women who were recalled after screening or symptomatic. Study quality was assessed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 tool. A bivariate random effects model was used to estimate pooled sensitivity and specificity. We compared the diagnostic accuracy between DBT and DM alone using meta-regression and subgroup analyses by modality of intervention, country, existence of calcifications, breast density, Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System category threshold, study design, protocol for participant sampling, sample size, reason for diagnostic examination, and number of readers who interpreted the studies. Results: Twenty studies (n = 44513) that compared DBT and DM alone were included. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.90 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.86-0.93) and 0.90 (95% CI 0.84-0.94), respectively, for DBT, which were higher than 0.76 (95% CI 0.68-0.83) and 0.83 (95% CI 0.73-0.89), respectively, for DM alone (p < 0.001). The area under the summary receiver operating characteristics curve was 0.95 (95% CI 0.93-0.97) for DBT and 0.86 (95% CI 0.82-0.88) for DM alone. The higher sensitivity and specificity of DBT than DM alone were consistently noted in most subgroup and meta-regression analyses. Conclusion: Use of DBT was more accurate than DM alone for the diagnosis of breast cancer. Women with clinical symptoms or abnormal screening findings could be more effectively evaluated for breast cancer using DBT, which has a superior diagnostic performance compared to DM alone.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.106-117
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• 2021

Objective: To explore the value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based whole tumor texture analysis in differentiating borderline epithelial ovarian tumors (BEOTs) from FIGO stage I/II malignant epithelial ovarian tumors (MEOTs). Materials and Methods: A total of 88 patients with histopathologically confirmed ovarian epithelial tumors after surgical resection, including 30 BEOT and 58 MEOT patients, were divided into a training group (n = 62) and a test group (n = 26). The clinical and conventional MRI features were retrospectively reviewed. The texture features of tumors, based on T2-weighted imaging, diffusion-weighted imaging, and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging, were extracted using MaZda software and the three top weighted texture features were selected by using the Random Forest algorithm. A non-texture logistic regression model in the training group was built to include those clinical and conventional MRI variables with p value < 0.10. Subsequently, a combined model integrating non-texture information and texture features was built for the training group. The model, evaluated using patients in the training group, was then applied to patients in the test group. Finally, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to assess the diagnostic performance of the models. Results: The combined model showed superior performance in categorizing BEOTs and MEOTs (sensitivity, 92.5%; specificity, 86.4%; accuracy, 90.3%; area under the ROC curve [AUC], 0.962) than the non-texture model (sensitivity, 78.3%; specificity, 84.6%; accuracy, 82.3%; AUC, 0.818). The AUCs were statistically different (p value = 0.038). In the test group, the AUCs, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 0.840, 73.3%, 90.1%, and 80.8% when the non-texture model was used and 0.896, 75.0%, 94.0%, and 88.5% when the combined model was used. Conclusion: MRI-based texture features combined with clinical and conventional MRI features may assist in differentitating between BEOT and FIGO stage I/II MEOT patients.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.87-106
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• 2018

Objective: The objective of this study is to examine the association between process quality of inpatient care and risk-adjusted, thirty-day potentially preventable hospital readmission (PPR) rates. Data Sources/Study Setting: This was an observational cross-sectional study of nonfederal acute-care hospitals located in two states California and Florida, discharging Medicare patients with a principal discharge diagnosis of heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, or pneumonia January through December 31, 2007. Data were obtained from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Database of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Compare database, and the American Hospital Association Annual Survey of Hospitals. Study Design: The dependent variable of this study is condition-specific, risk-adjusted, thirty-day potentially preventable hospital readmission (PPR). 3M's PPR software was utilized to determine whether a readmission was potentially preventable. The independent variable of this study is hospital performance for process quality of inpatient care, measured by hospital adherence to recommended processes of care. We used multivariate hierarchical logistic models, clustered by hospitals, to examine the relationship between condition-specific, risk-adjusted, thirty-day PPR rates and process quality of inpatient care, after taking clinical and socio-demographic characteristics of patients and structural and operational characteristics of hospitals into account. Findings: Better performance on the process quality metrics was associated with better patient outcome (i.e., low thirty-day PPR rates) in pneumonia, but not generally in two cardiovascular conditions (i.e., heart failure and acute myocardial infarction). Practical Implication: Adherence to the process quality metrics currently in use by CMS is associated with risk-adjusted, thirty-day PPR rates for patients with pneumonia, but not with cardiovascular conditions. More evidence-based process quality metrics closely linked to 30-day PPR rates, particularly for cardiovascular conditions, need to be developed to serve as a guideline to reduce potentially preventable readmissions.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.31-36
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• 2017

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the accuracy of rapid influenza diagnostic tests (RIDT) in children with an influenza-like illness and to evaluate factors associated with greater accuracy. Methods: Pediatric patients, who visited Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital with an influenza-like illness between June 2011 and May 2016, were enrolled in this study. We tested 798 samples using a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for respiratory viruses and compared the results with rapid influenza tests. Results: In comparison with the results of the multiplex PCR, the positive agreement rates of RIDT for influenza A and B virus were 75.7% and 60.0%, respectively. The performance of RIDT varied according to days after fever onset. The positive agreement rates of RIDT for influenza A and B tests, performed within 4 days of fever onset, were 77.6% and 73.2%, but the rates for tests performed more than 5 days after fever onset were 66.7% and 21.4%, respectively. Conclusions: The RIDT is a quick and simple aid to diagnosis, but is less sensitive than the labeled sensitivity. Moreover, test performance varied according to days after fever onset. Test specimens for RIDT should be collected as soon as possible after the onset of symptoms (less than 4 days).