• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.256-266
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• 2019

In this study, obese adults were compared for their ability to predict obesity and lipid related variables and their optimal cutoff values to predict metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance. In this study, 9,256 adults aged 20 years or older and less than 80 years old, who were in the Gyeonggi region from January 2014 to December 2016 and who were examined at a general hospital, were enrolled. The diagnostic criteria for obesity were WHO (World Health Organization), and BMI $25kg/m^2$ or more presented in the Asia-Pacific region. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed based on the criteria of American Heart Association / National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (AHA / NHLBI). According to the results of receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis, Triglyceride / HDL-cholesterol (TG / HDL-C), Triglyceride and Glucose (TyG) index, lipid accumulation product (LAP) and visceral adiposity index (VAI) showed high predictive power for diagnosing metabolic syndrome. The diagnostic accuracy of LAP (AUC: 0.854) for males and VAI (0.888) for females was the highest. The optimal cutoff value of LAP was 42.71 for male and 35.44 for female, and the cutoff value of VAI was 1.92 for male and 2.15 for female. In addition, WHtR (waist to height ratio), TyG index, and LAP were used as predictors of insulin resistance in obese adults. Therefore, LAP and VAI were superior to other indicators in predicting metabolic syndrome in obese adults.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.109-122
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to develop a application procedure and survey method for the empirical diagnostic indices system. In order to know the survey method, which has 65 investigation items for 52 indicators, this study not only presented so that the each survey items could be surveyed in at least 1 to 3 steps, but also presented the 4 survey method for each investigation items: preliminary survey, administrative survey, field survey, and interview survey. As a result of applying to 15 sample villages, the period of surveying a village of 100 households was 1.4 days, and it was confirmed that the survey was generally efficient in a short time. As a result of applying the survey system to the sample village, the developed survey system showed the possibility of investigating even the details of rural villages. Therefore, it was judged that it could be used as a basic procedure for a rural village unit survey.

• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.12-28
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• 2023

Introduction This study reports case series of Soyangin patients with coldness in hands and feet using Sasang constitutional medicine approach. This study suggests a value of using constitutional medicine indicators as both prognostic and diagnostic tools. Methods Among patients who visited an outpatient clinic, 7 patients were selected based on the criteria. These selected patients were exclusively treated with herbal medicine and monitored every 2 to 4 weeks retrospectively. Results The average treatment period was 8 weeks. Patients with a favorable pattern showed the improvement within 8 weeks, while those with an unfavorable pattern required more time. Discussion This study confirms the significance of Sasang constitutional medicine approach in Soyangin exterior cold syndrome with coldness in hands and feet. It also validates the current coldness in hands and feet as meaningful diagnostic indicator of Soyangin exterior cold syndrome. Furthermore, it highlights the value of original symptoms as prognostic tools.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.871-879
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to analysis the correlation between kidneys function indicators and these size in ultrasonography. A total of 170 (male:86, female:84) patients of sex and age groups were examined by abdominal ultrasonography. The patients classified as those in their 20's, 30's, 40's, and over 50's. We measured the length, width, and cross-sectional height of the kidneys twice. At this time, the length of these were measured from the maximum upper to the maximum lower pole and the widest width in the same ultrasonography was measured to obtain the cross-sectional area. Other relevant indicators included body surface area, serum creatinine, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), MDRD (Modification of diet in renal disease) and C-G (Cockcroft-Gault). Significant comparisons of differences between relevant factors by age groups and sex were conducted with a one-way distribution analysis. Correlation analysis was also performed between relevant factors by using Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficient. It was defined as meaningful when the p-value was less than 0.05. As a result, the length, the width, and the cross-sectional area of kidneys were correlated with GFR, C-G, MDRD. Therefore, it is expected that the accuracy of diagnosis of kidneys disease will be increased if the relevant indicators are evaluated together rather than measuring only length of these in ultrasonography.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.103 no.4
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• pp.622-629
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• 2014

This study aims to develop a standard diagnostic table for mountain ginseng so that the cultivators not only can check their current level of management with the table, but also can understand and address operational challenges better by themselves utilizing the table. The standard diagnostic table consists of 3 categories and 18 subcategories to diagnose the general status of forestry households, the indicators of management performance and the level of management. To develop the table, the study conducted a survey on the actual condition of management, targeting 81 forestry households throughout 15 municipalities including Mu-ju, Jeollabukdo, and Ham-yang, Gyeongsangnamdo, all of which are the chief producing districts of mountain ginseng. Then, the study calculated total scores by regions by aggregating the scores of 18 subcategories, in order to evaluate and compare the management level among regions based on the scores. According to the result, the average score of 81 forestry households was 57.2 point-58% of which surveyed belonged to the range of 40-60 point. Compared by regions, the average score of Jeollabukdo regions was 52.9 point, the lowest, and that of Gyeongsangnamdo regions was 61.4 point, the highest. It is remarkable that among the indicators of management base, the average score of 'mounding (the height of mound)' item was recorded rather low with 1.59 point, reflecting the fact that the cultivators tend to raise mountain ginseng with no additional mounds. As for the indicators of production skills, the average score of the pest control item was remarkably low with 1.28 point. Over 90% of cultivators answered that they do not usually forecast or survey the pest disease in advance. Meanwhile, it is also noticeable that the item of sowing and planting methods, and the item of seed were both rather high, recording 4.00 and 4.47 point respectively. As for the item of management and sales skill, however, the score was rather low with 2.20 point, meaning that the forestry households still have a low interest in the business management.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.1-25
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• 2023

ESG management is becoming a necessity of the times, but there are about 600 ESG evaluation indicators worldwide, causing confusion in the market as different ESG ratings were assigned to individual companies according to evaluation agencies. In addition, since the method of applying ESG was not disclosed, there were not many ways for companies that wanted to introduce ESG management to get help. Accordingly, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced the K-ESG guideline jointly with the ministries. In previous studies, there were few studies on the comparison of evaluation grades by ESG evaluation company or the application of evaluation diagnostic items. Therefore, in this study, the ease of application and improvement of the K-ESG guideline was attempted by applying the K-ESG guideline to companies that already have ESG ratings. The position of the K-ESG guideline is also confirmed by comparing the scores calculated through the K-ESG guideline for companies that have ESG ratings from global ESG evaluation agencies and domestic ESG evaluation agencies. As a result of the analysis, first, the K-ESG guideline provide clear and detailed standards for individual companies to set their own ESG goals and set the direction of ESG practice. Second, the K-ESG guideline is suitable for domestic and global ESG evaluation standards as it has 61 diagnostic items and 12 additional diagnostic items covering the evaluation indicators of global representative ESG evaluation agencies and KCGS in Korea. Third, the ESG rating of the K-ESG guideline was higher than that of a global ESG rating company and lower than or similar to that of a domestic ESG rating company. Fourth, the ease of application of the K-ESG guideline is judged to be high. Fifth, the point to be improved in the K-ESG guideline is that the government needs to compile industry average statistics on diagnostic items in the K-ESG environment area and publish them on the government's ESG-only site. In addition, the applied weights of E, S, and G by industry should be determined and disclosed. This study will help ESG evaluation agencies, corporate management, and ESG managers interested in ESG management in establishing ESG management strategies and contributing to providing improvements to be referenced when revising the K-ESG guideline in the future.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.19
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• pp.8271-8277
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• 2014

Aims: Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of nodes in diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) are widely used in differentiating metastatic from non-metastatic lymph nodes. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to demonstrate whether DWI could contribute to the precise diagnosis of breast cancer (BC) with and without lymph node metastasis (LNM). Materials and Methods: English and Chinese electronic databases were searched for relevant studies followed by a comprehensive literature search. Two reviewers independently assessed the methodological quality of the included trials based on the quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies (QUADAS). Summary odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated. Results: Final analysis of 624 BC subjects (patients with LNM = 254, patients without LNM = 370) were incorporated into the current meta-analysis from 9 eligible cohort studies. Combined ORs of ADCs suggested that ADC values in BC patients without LNM were higher than in patients with LNM (OR=0.56, 95%CI: 0.11-1.01, p=0.015). Subgroup analysis stratified by country indicated a low ADC value in BC patients with LNM rather than those without LNM among Chinese (OR=1.27, 95%CI: 0.89-1.66, p<0.001), Italians (OR=0.75, 95%CI: 0.13-1.38, p=0.018), and Egyptians (OR=1.27, 95%CI: 0.71-1.84, p<0.001). The findings of subgroup analysis by MRI machine type revealed that ADC values from diffusion MRI may be potential diagnostic indicators for BC using Non-Philips 1.5T (OR=1.10, 95%CI: 0.84-1.36, p<0.001). Conclusions: The main findings of our meta-analysis demonstrated that increased signal intensity on DWI and decreased signals on ADC are helpful in diagnosis of BC patients with or without LNM. DWI could therefore be an important imaging investigation in patients suspected of BC.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.121-125
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• 2018

Purpose: Detecting laryngeal cartilages (triticeous and thyroid cartilages) on panoramic radiographs is important because they may be confused with carotid artery calcifications in the bifurcation region, which are a risk factor for stroke. This study assessed the efficiency of panoramic radiography in the diagnosis of calcified laryngeal cartilages using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) as the reference standard. Materials and Methods: A total of 312 regions(142 bilateral, 10 left, 18 right) in 170 patients(140 males, 30 females) were examined. Panoramic radiographs were examined by an oral and maxillofacial radiologist with 11 years of experience. CBCT scans were reviewed by 2 other oral and maxillofacial radiologists. The kappa coefficient(${\kappa}$) was calculated to determine the level of intra-observer agreement and to determine the level of agreement between the 2 methods. Diagnostic indicators(sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and false positive and false negative rates) were also calculated. P values <.05 were considered to indicate statistical significance. Results: Eighty-two images were re-examined to determine the intra-observer agreement level, and the kappa coefficient was calculated as 0.709 (P<.05). Statistically significant and acceptable agreement was found between the panoramic and CBCT images (${\kappa}=0.684$ and P<.05). The sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic accuracy rate, the false positive rate, and the false negative rate of the panoramic radiographs were 85.4%, 83.5%, 84.6%, 16.5%, and 14.6%, respectively. Conclusion: In most cases, calcified laryngeal cartilages could be diagnosed on panoramic radiographs. However, due to variation in the calcifications, diagnosis may be difficult.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2020

Objective: The purposes of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic values of abdominal muscles thickness and sterno-costal angle as the quantitative diagnostic indicators for young adults with rounded shoulders. Design: A observational, cross-sectional study. Methods: This study included thirty-three male participants in order to examine the relationship among thoracic kyphosis, sternocostal angle, and abdominal muscle thickness. We used ultrasound imaging to measure the muscle thickness, two gravity-dependent inclinometers to measure the kyphosis angle, and Image J to measure the sterno-costal angle. Results: There was a significant positive correlation between the amount of thoracic kyphosis angle and muscle thickness of the external oblique (EO) on the right side (r=0.931), and on the left side (r=0.432), and the transverse abdominis (TrA) (r=0.649). There was also a significant negative correlation between the thoracic kyphosis angle and the sterno-costal angle at the right side (r=-0.942) and at the left side (r=-0.860). There was a significant positive relationship with muscle thickness of the EO and TrA on the right side with the thoracic kyphosis angle, and was significant negative relationship with the sterno-costal angle on both sides. Conclusions: The results of the study suggest that the thoracic kyphosis angle is related to muscle thickness of the EO and TrA on the dominant side and the sterno-costal angle. We also suggest that future studies are needed to determine how strengthening the abdominal muscles may contribute to preventing excessive thoracic kyphosis in young adults.

• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.45-64
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• 2020

Purpose This study was to develop and study 'Diagnostic Index for the Ordinary Symptom of Soyangin'. Methods The main diagnosis and evaluation index symptoms of Soyangin were extracted based on 『Donguisusebowon』 and Clinical Practice Guidelines for Sasang Constitutional Medicine Symptomatology; CPG for soyangin. The selected ordinary symptoms were divided into 4 categories such as Exterior-Cold ordinary symptom (表寒素證), Exterior-Disease unfavorable's ordinary symptom (表病逆證素證), Interior-Heat ordinary symptom (裏熱素證), Interior-Disease unfavorable's ordinary symptom (裏病逆證素證) of Soyangin and translated into Korean. And the inclusion, importance and translation validity of major diagnosis and assessment indicators of Soyangin were surveyed online by a group of Sasang constitutional experts. Results & Conclusions 29 ordinary symptoms and pathological mechanism were selected from references and translated into 51 Korean symptoms. After inclusion yes or no survey by expert group, 45 symptoms were selected. The importance survey showed that 'Have a soft stool' of Exterior-Cold ordinary symptom indication, '(If you're stressed, if you're not in good health) Have a soft stool or diarrhea' of Exterior-Disease unfavorable's ordinary symptom, 'The feces harden easily' of Interior-Heat ordinary symptom and '(If you're stressed, if you're not in good health) Have an upset stomach' of Interior-Disease unfavorable's ordinary symptom were the most important. Finally, [Diagnostic Index for the Ordinary Symptom of Soyangin] was completed after survey of translation validity, reflection of individual opinions by the expert committee, and application of weighted value calculated from the importance survey.