• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.945-950
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• 2014

Purpose: To explore the value of systemic inflammatory markers as independent prognostic factors and the extent these markers improve prognostic classification for patients with inoperable advanced or metastatic gastric cancer (GC) receiving palliative chemotherapy. Methods: We studied the prognostic value of systemic inflammatory factors such as circulating white blood cell count and its components as well as that combined to form inflammation-based prognostic scores (Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR), Platelet Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR), Prognostic Index (PI) and Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI)) in 384 patients with inoperable advanced or metastatic gastric cancer (GC) receiving first-line chemotherapy. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to examine the impact of inflammatory markers on overall survival (OS). Results: Univariate analysis revealed that an elevated white blood cell, neutrophil and/or platelet count, a decreased lymphocyte count, a low serum albumin concentration, and high CRP concentration, as well as elevated NLR/PLR, GPS, PI, PNI were significant predictors of shorter OS. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that only elevated neutrophil count (HR 3.696, p=0.003) and higher GPS (HR 1.621, p=0.01) were independent predictors of poor OS. Conclusion: This study demonstrated elevated pretreatment neutrophil count and high GPS to be independent predictors of shorter OS in inoperable advanced or metastatic GC patients treated with first-line chemotherapy. Upon validation of these data in independent studies, stratification of patients using these markers in future clinical trials is recommended.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.189-193
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• 2009

Purpose: To report on the changes in the patterns of care and survival over time for esthesioneuroblastoma. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 42 previously untreated and histologically confirmed esthesioneuroblastoma patients seen between March 1989 and June 2007. According to Kadish's classification, 3 patients (7%) were stage A, 6 (14%) at stage B, and 33 (79%) at stage C. Of the 33 Kadish C patients, 19 and 14 patients were treated from 1989 through 2000 and from 2001 through 2007, respectively. Treatment included surgical resection, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or a combination of these methods. Chemotherapy was administered to 8 of 19 patients (42%) seen from 1989 through 2000, whereas all of the 14 patients seen from 2001 through 2007 received chemotherapy (p<0.001). No patient was treated by three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) from 1989 through 2000, however 8 of 14 patients (67%) seen from 2001 through 2007 underwent 3D-CRT (p<0.001). The median follow-up time for surviving patients was 6.5 years (range, 2.2~15.8 years). Results: The 5-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates for the entire cohort were 53% and 39%, respectively. The 5-year OS was 100% for Kadish stages A or B and 39% for stage C (p=0.007). For patients with stage C disease who were treated from 1989 to 2000 and from 2001 to 2007, the 5-year OS rate was 26% and 59% (p=0.029), respectively and the corresponding 5-year PFS rate was 16% and 46% (p=0.001), respectively. Intraorbital extension and treatment era (1989~2000 vs. 2001~2007) were found as independent factors for OS and PFS in a multivariate analyses. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that treatment era, which features a distinction in treatment modality and technique with the introduction of 3D-CRT, may be the cause of improved OS and PFS in Kadish stage C patients. To achieve better outcomes for patients with Kadish stage C, combined chemoradiotherapy, especially 3D-CRT, is recommended in addition to surgery.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.343-351
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• 2020

Sorbus commixta Hedl. has traditionally been used as a remedy for cough, asthma, and other bronchial disorders. In this study, three major triterpenoids-lupeol, β-sitosterol, and ursolic acid and a coumarin, scopoletin, were isolated from a CHCl₃-soluble fragment of the bark of S. commixta. Their structures were identified by spectroscopic analyses, including mass spectrometry (MS), 1D-, and 2D- nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), as well as by comparing the data with data reported in the literature. Scopoletin was isolated from this plant for the first time. It is a nutraceutical compound contained in many plants that has been reported to exert diverse biological activities, including anti-inflammatory effects. This study examined the inhibitory effect of scopoletin on TNF-α-induced vascular endothelial inflammation. Unlike the marginal impact of other compounds against low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation and vascular endothelial inflammation, scopoletin showed remarkable activity on LDL oxidation (IC₅₀ = 10.2 μM) and exerted vascular anti-inflammatory effects in EA.hy926 human endothelial cells activated by TNF-α. It suppressed the expression of adhesion molecules, such as ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and E-selectin, and blocked the adhesion between THP-1 monocytes and EA. hy926 endothelial cells. It also inhibited TNF-α-induced NF-κB translocation from the cytosol to the nucleus. Moreover, IκBα phosphorylation, which was increased by TNF-α treatment, was reduced after treatment with scopoletin. Thus, scopoletin inhibited TNF-α-induced vascular inflammation in endothelial cells by suppressing the NF-κB signaling pathway. These results demonstrate that owing to its anti-inflammatory activity in the vascular endothelium, scopoletin has the potential to inhibit atherosclerosis development.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.151-167
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• 2017

The main objective of this study was to investigate the climatic impact of $PM_{10}$ concentration on the temperature change pattern in Busan Metropolitan City(BMC), Korea during 2001~2015. Mean $PM_{10}$ concentration of BMC has gradually declined over the past 15 years. While the highest $PM_{10}$ concentration was observed in spring followed by winter, summer, and fall on average, the seasonal variations of $PM_{10}$ concentration differed from place to place within the city. Frequency analysis showed that the most frequently observed $PM_{10}$ concentration ranged from $20{\mu}g/m^3$ to $60{\mu}g/m^3$, which accounted for 64.6% of all daily observations. Overall, the west-high and east-low pattern of $PM_{10}$ concentration was relatively strong during the winter when the effect of yellow-dust events on the air quality was weak. Comparative analyses between $PM_{10}$ concentration and monthly temperature slope derived from generalized temperature curves indicated that the decreasing trend of $PM_{10}$ concentration was associated with increases of annual temperature range, and $PM_{10}$ concentration had a negative relationship with the temperature slope of warming months. Overall, $PM_{10}$ concentration had a weak correlation with the annual mean temperature, but it had a significant, positive correlation with the winter season, which had a dominant influence on the annual mean temperature. In terms of energy budget, it has been known that the change in $PM_{10}$ concentration contributes to the warming or cooling effect by affecting the radiative forcing due to the reflection and absorption of radiant energy. The correlation between $PM_{10}$ concentration and temperature changes in the study area was not seasonally and spatially consistent, and its significance was statistically limited partly due to the number of observations and the lack of potential socioeconomic factors relevant to urban air quality.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.72-87
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• 2000

Objectives : This study was to provide normative data of Korean version of DSI(K-DSI), a sensitive measure of relatively minor stressors that could be administered daily. Methods : K-DSI was administered in 524 adults, age of 19 or over, daily for 1 week. On the seventh day, Becks Depression Inventory(BDI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory(STAI), and Social Readjustment Rating Scale(SRRS) were also given to test the convergent validity. Analyses(ANOVA or t-test) were conducted to examine the potential effects of demographic variables on K-DSI score. Internal consistency for reliability and Pearson's corelation coefficient with BDI, STAI, SRRS for convergent validity were computed. Percentile scores were calculated for daily and weekly K-DSI Event, Impact and I/E Ratio scores. Results : K-DSI scores in women were higher than those in men. According to age and educational level, the younger and the higher educational level the normative groups were, the higher were K-DSI scores. Among the 5 categories of the inventory, the category of cognitive stressors was highest. Internal consistency of K-DSI(Cronbach's $\alpha$) was .99. Daily and Weekly events and impacts scores were significantly correlated with the scores of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Social Readjustment Rating Scale, and Beck Depression Inventory. 75 percentile scores of the daily/weekly Events, Impacts, and I/E ratio were 17/118 - 124, 57/368 - 389 and 3.48 - 3.49/3.47 - 3.48 respectively. And 95 percentile scores of daily/weekly Events, Impacts, and I/E ratio were 57/151- 161, 405/1038 - 1122, and 4.72 - 4.86/4.46 - 4.56 respectively. Conclusion : Reliability and validity of K-DSI were tested satisfactorily. Authors presented the normative data of K-DSI for Koreans. K-DSI could be a useful measure in clinical settings or researches to assess the minor stressors frequently experienced in everyday life.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.170-178
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• 2020

There are few landscape ecological analyses of Khingan fir (Abies nephrolepis) and other habitats of the sub-alpine zone in South Korea. In this study, we tried to quantitatively interpret and assess the habitat characteristics by analyzing 15 landscape indices according to the differences in tree layer coverage, in the Khingan fir habitat growing naturally in the sub-alpine zone of Seoraksan National Park. It was difficult to identify the tendency of landscape ecology to increase and decrease the tree layer coverage in the study site, which was the entire Khingan fir habitat in Seoraksan National Park. However, the Khingan fir habitat was found to be generally low in coverage, and population density as the tree layer coverage of less than 50 percent accounts for 85 percent of the total habitat. Moreover, the Khingan fir habitat in the 10 to 50 percent range was fragmented into a total of 286 patches, making it relatively less connected to the habitat. The total edge length and edge density, which could determine the edge effect of the main part according to the physical form, were the highest in the habitat of 26 to 50 percent coverage, indicating a relatively high impact from outside than habitats of other coverages. The shape with the tree layer coverage of between 10 and 50 percent was more complex even with patches of the same size, and it is believed that these characteristics make it more susceptible to habitat fragmentation and external confounding. We expect that the results of this study can be useful for time series analysis of spatial expansion or reduction of the Khingan fir habitat in Seoraksan National Park and provide the reference data for the morphological change and movement of patches and the connectivity and break-off between forests.

• Management & Information Systems Review
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.51-68
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• 2016

In this paper, we aim to analyze the effect of accounting policy change subsequent to the adoption of K-IFRS in Korea, whereby the firms are required to recognize impairment losses on goodwill on a periodic basis rather than to amortize over a specific period. As a principle-based accounting standard, the K-IFRS expands the scope of fair value measurement with a view to enhance the relevance and timeliness of accounting information. In the same vein, intangibles with indefinite useful life, of which goodwill is an example, are subject to regulatory impairment tests at least once a year. Related literature on the impact of mandatory change in goodwill policy document that impairment recognition is more likely to be practiced opportunistically, mainly because managers have a greater discretion to conduct the tests under K-IFRS. However, existing literature examined the frequency and/or magnitude of the goodwill impairment before versus after the K-IFRS adoption, failing to notice the impairment symptoms at individual firm level. Borrowing the definition of impairment symptoms suggested by Ramanna and Watts(2012), this study performs a series of tests to determine whether the goodwill impairment recognition achieves the goal of communicating timelier information under the K-IFRS regime. Using 947 firm-year observations from domestic companies listed in KRX and KOSDAQ markets from 2008 to 2011, we document overall delays in recognizing impairment losses on goodwill after the adoption of K-IFRS relative to prior period, based on logistic and OLS regression analyses. The results are qualitatively similar in robustness tests, which use alternative proxy for goodwill impairment symptom. Afore-mentioned results indicate that managers are likely to take advantage of the increased discretion to recognize the impairment losses on goodwill rather than to provide timelier information on impairment, inconsistent with the goal of regulatory authority, which is in line with the improvement of timeliness and relevance of accounting information in conjunction with the full implementation of K-IFRS. This study contributes to the extant literature on goodwill impairment from a methodological viewpoint. We believe that the method employed in this paper potentially diminishes the bias inherent in researches relying on ex post impairment recognition, by conducting tests based on ex ante impairment symptoms, which allows direct examination of the timeliness changes between before and after K-IFRS adoption.

• The Journal of Korean society of community based occupational therapy
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.11-24
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• 2020

Objective : The Human Rights constitute one of the basic pillars of every work where persons are involved, such is the case of the occupational therapy field. Methods : In this study we investigate the human rights sensitivity and the advocacy activities of occupational therapists. The differences according to their characteristics, the relationship and the impact of the human rights sensitivity are examined and presented. Making use of online surveys 116 subjects participated in the study. Results : The measured average of human right sensitivity is 69.00 ± 17.67 point, being them distributed according to the following subcategories: to the perception of the situation corresponds 23.25±5.62 points, to the perception of the consequences 22.75±6.54 points and for the perception of the responsibility 23±6.54 points. In all the cases have been taken in account the equal rights, the right to education in disables, the right to pursue the happiness of the elderly, the right of the disables to have personal freedom, the privacy rights and the privacy rights for mental illness people. According to the working area the Human Right sensitiveness is higher in Seoul than in the Gyeongsang province meanwhile the advocacy activities is higher in Seoul and in Gyeonggi province than in Gyeongsang province. Depending of the type of service, general hospitals and rehabilitation/nursing hospitals showed higher human rights sensitivity than other service organizations According to the working field, occupational therapy group focused in elderly showed higher Human Right sensitivity than other fields. Professionals belonging groups of clinical experience from 3 to 5 years and from 6 to 10 years showed higher advocacy activities than professionals with more than 11 years of experience. A positive correlation was showed between the human rights sensitivity and the advocacy activities. For this situation, the human rights sensitiveness was divided in sub-categories in perception of the situation, perception of the consequences and perception of the responsibility. As showed by the result of multiple regression analyses the advocacy activities of human would grow up in accordance with the increase of the human rights sensitiveness of responsibility perception. Conclusion : Due to the actual lack of information, the collection and study of basic data is fundamental for the development of practical human rights educational programs and to emphasize the role of the defense of the human rights.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.50
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• pp.103-130
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• 2018

This research aims to explore the associated linguistic features and functions of Chinese as used for business trading purposes, and which is based on a discourse analysis through a case in which a Korean buyer and a Chinese supplier have exchanged Internet based e-mails. The research questions include first, the linguistic functions and characteristics of Chinese shown as identified in this trade case through e-mails, second, the use of Chinese trade specific terms, and third, the apparent and dynamic negotiation strategies that are identified as followed by the cultural value systems which are used for resolving interest conflicts and issues between the buyer and supplier in the course of negotiating business contracts between two parties. The participants of this research pertain to a Korean buyer, James and a Chinese supplier, Sonya. The associated data consists of 74 e-mails exchanged between the two parties, initiated in an effort to begin and complete a trade item, in this case namely the product of napkin holders. The research for the study is based on the discourse analysis and empirically analyses models of Chinese linguistic functions and features. The findings are the following. First, as identified, the specific Chinese functions used and sequenced in this trade case are of a procedure, request, informing, negotiation and persuasion. Second, the essential trade terms used in this business interaction involve the relevant issues of 1) ordering and price negotiating, 2) marking the origin of the products, 3) the arrangement of the product examination and customs declaration for the anticipated import items, 4) preparation of the necessary legal documents, and 5) the package and transport of the product in the final instance. Third, the impact of the similarities and differences in the cultural value systems between Korea and China on the negotiations and conflict resolution during a negotiated contract between two parties are speculated in terms of the use of culturally based techniques such as face-saving and the utilization of uncertainty-avoiding strategies as meant to prevent misunderstandings from developing between the parties. The concluding part of the study discusses the implications for a practical Chinese language education utilizing the linguistic functions and features of the Chinese culture and language strategies as useful in business associations for trading purposes, and the importance of intercultural communication styles based on similar of different identified cultural values as noted between two parties.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.311-321
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to investigate effect of stream channel naturalness on ecological health by using environmental factors and Fish Assessment Index (FAI) in the Han River of South Korea. These samples and data have been released from the research project titled Stream/River Ecosystem Survey and Health Assessment, which was conducted in 444 sites in the Han river watershed from 2008 to 2016. All samples were classified into five groups according to a degree of morphological changes of stream. Water chemistry analyses indicated a decline in water quality by decreasing stream channel naturalness, it is assumed that channelized stream was vulnerable to aquatic pollution compared to the natural meandering stream. In the result of frequency of dominant species, sensitive species and insectivore such as Zacco koreanus, Rhynchocypris kumgangensis and Pungtungia herzi were frequently dominated in the natural meandering stream while tolerant species and omnivores such as Carassius auratus and Cyprinus carpio were more dominated in the channelized streams. The FAI in the channelized stream shows decline to average of $46{\pm}25$ compared with that of the natural meandering stream ($80{\pm}20$). The decrease in FAI was highly influenced by changes in matrixes of fish assemblage structure such as number of sensitive species (M3), portion of omnivores (M5) and insectivores (M6). Moreover, annual average FAIs from 2008 to 2016 were significantly correlated with water chemistry, especially TN, TP and BOD ($r^2=0.59$, p<0.0001). Taken together, all the results suggest that the stream channelization could negatively impact on the water quality and fish assemblage structure, leading to degradation in aquatic ecosystem health.