• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.181-185
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• 2008

Objectives : This study was performed to evaluate the reproducibility of a questionnaire concerned with reproductive history and to ascertain which characteristics of the subjects (age, the visit-revisit intervals, education and chronic disease) are associated with good reliability in the Korean Multi-Center Cancer Cohort (KMCC) study. Materials and Methods: A total of 19,688 participants were enrolled between 1993 and 2004. Among them, we selected 386 participants who were aged 40 or more and who re-visited within 8 years after the first visit. Reliability was measured by the percent agreement according to error range for the continuous variables and the percent agreement and kappa statistics for the categorical variables. Results : The pregnancy histories were reliable (kappa=0.67) and the reasons for being menopausal among the postmenopausal women were also reliable (kappa=0.92). The percent agreement of the breast-feeding history was high (96.1%), although the kappa statistic was low. For the continuous variables, when the error range of one variable was considered to be reliable, the percent agreement of the age at menarche and the age at the first full term pregnancy was good (69.4% and 83.6%), whereas that of the age at menopause was low (51.5%). The factors associated with high reliability were a younger age, the presence of chronic disease and a short visit-revisit time interval. Conclusions : The agreements for parity, the reasons for menopause, and the breastfeeding history in the reproductive history questionnaire used in the KMCC were relatively good. The questionnaire for the menarche age and the menopausal age might have lower reliability due to the difference between Korean age and American age. To obtain reliable information, more attention should be given to the items in questionnaire-based surveys, and especially for surveying old-aged women.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.191-195
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• 2007

Purpose: To study the intra- and interobserver agreement of multidetector row computed tomography (MDCT) in interpretation of degenerative changes of the mandibular condyle. Materials and Methods: Five observers independently evaluated one hundred temporomandibular joint MDCT images for signs of osteophytes, erosion, sclerosis and flattening. The intra- and interobserver agreements were calculated by using Kappa statistics. Results: The intraobserver agreement was substantial for erosion (k=0.75), flattening (k=0.74) and sclerosis (k=0.72) and almost perfect for osteophytes (k=0.84). The interobserver agreement was fair for flattening (k=0.39), moderate for erosion (k=0.58) and sclerosis (k=0.48) and substantial for osteophytes (k=0.75). Conclusion: This study shows that we can expect good agreement for the presence of osteophytes, but not for flattening in the interpretation of MDCT images of the condyle.

• Journal of applied mathematics & informatics
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.83-100
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• 2000

Many queueing systems such as M/M/s/K retrial queue with impatient customers, MAP/PH/1 retrial queue, retrial queue with two types of customers and MAP/M/$\infty$ queue can be modeled by a level dependent quasi-birth-death(LDQBD) process with linear transition rates of the form ${\lambda}_k$={\alpga}{+}{\beta}k$ at each level $\kappa$. The purpose of this paper is to propose an algorithm to find transient distributions for LDQBD processes with linear transition rates based on the adaptive uniformization technique introduced by van Moorsel and Sanders [11]. We apply the algorithm to some retrial queues and present numerical results.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.4901-4903
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• 2012

To assess the awareness of cervical cancer among couples, data were collected from two urban slums community in Mumbai. A total of 1958 married women aged from 18 to 49 and their husbands were selected using simple random sampling. Women (37.7%) were significantly more aware of cervical cancer than husbands (8.7%). A slight agreement (kappa statistics=0.16) was observed between husbands and wives on awareness of cervical cancer. Significantly higher percentages of wives were aware of pap smear test than husbands. Overall, awareness of cervical cancer and pap smear test among couples is low. There is need to educate and motivate both of them to participate in cervical cancer screening program.

• Communications for Statistical Applications and Methods
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.243-255
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• 1996

The number of neutron signals from a neutral particle beam(NPB) at the detector, without any errors, obeys Poisson distribution, Under two assumptions that NPB scattering distribution and aiming errors have a circular Gaussian distribution respectively, an exact probability distribution of signals becomes a Poisson-power function distribution. In this paper, we show that the error rate in simple hypothesis testing for the limiting Poisson-power function distribution is not zero. That is, the limit of ${\alpha}+{\beta}$ is zero when Poisson parameter$\kappa\rightarro\infty$, but this limit is not zero (i.e., $\rho\ell$>0)for the Poisson-power function distribution. We also give optimal decision algorithms for a specified error rate.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.37-51
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• 2006

This study evaluates the reliability of the discharge status variable m health insurance claims for identifying in-hospital patient deaths. This study used 2002 national health insurance claims and the cause of death statistics from Korean national statistical office. The Study data set included acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery patients in 133 general and tertiary hospitals. The gold standard containing patient death information was made and then compared with that of claims data. The hospitals were classified into four groups based on the number of deaths in each hospital. Simple kappa coefficients were calculated to evaluate the agreements of patient deaths between the gold standard and the insurance claims. CABG (83.9%) showed higher agreements than AMI(73.0%) in matched in-hospital patient death information between data sets. Simple kappa coefficients of CABG (0.63) and AMI (0.59) showed moderate or good agreements. The agreements, however, varied depending on the disease or hospital types. The fact that the agreements are only moderate to good indicates that the accuracy of in-hospital death information in claims is not high. n the variable is used to identify patient deaths, it may mislead people. Therefore, efforts should be made to improve the reliability of the discharge status variable in health insurance claims.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.491-495
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• 2016

Background: Small B-cell non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL) is difficult to be distinguished from non-neoplastic reactive processes using conventional haematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining due to different interpretations among pathologists with diagnosis based on morphologic features. Ancillary examinations such as immunohistochemical (IHC) staining are essential. However, negative or doubtful results are still sometimes obtained due to unsatisfactory tissue processing or IHC technique. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as a molecular diagnostic technique is very sensitive and specific. Clonality detection of heavy chain immunoglobulin (IgH) gene rearrangement has been widely used to establish diagnosis of B-cell NHL. Aims: To elaborate interobserver variation in small B-cell NHL diagnosis based on morphologic features only and to confirm sensitivity and specificity of the PCR technique as an ancillary method. Materials and Methods: A toptal of 28 samples of small B cell NHL and suspicious lymphoma were interpreted by 3 pathologists in Sardjito General Hospital based on their morphology only. The reliability of assessment and the coefficient of interobserver agreement were calculated by Fleiss kappa statistics. Interpretation results were confirmed with IHC staining (CD20, CD3, Bcl2). PCR was performed to analyze the clonality of IgH gene rearrangement. Results: Interobserver agreement in morphologic evalution of small B cell NHL and chronic lymphadenitis revealed kappa coefficient 0.69 included in the substantial agreement category. The cases were divided into 3 groups based on morphology and IHC results; lymphoma, reactive process and undetermined group. PCR analysis showed 90% sensitivity and 60% specificity. Conclusions: The present study revealed a substantial agreement among pathologists in small B-cell NHL diagnosis. For difficult cases, PCR is useful as complementary method to morphologic and IHC examinations to establish definitive diagnosis.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.33-42
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• 2007

Accurate predictions of software release times, and estimation of the reliability and availability of a software product require quantification of a critical element of the software testing process : test coverage. This model called Enhanced non-homogeneous poission process(ENHPP). In this paper, exponential coverage and S-shaped model was reviewed, proposes the Kappa coverage model, which maked out efficiency application for software reliability. Algorithm to estimate the parameters used to maximum likelihood estimator and bisection method, model selection based on SSE statistics and Kolmogorov distance, for the sake of efficient model, was employed. From the analysis of mission time, the result of this comparative study shows the excellent performance of Burr coverage model rather than exponential coverage and S-shaped model using NTDS data. This analysis of failure data compared with the Kappa coverage model and the existing model(using arithmetic and Laplace trend tests, bias tests) is presented.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.396-402
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• 2010

Objectives: Self-reported anthropometric values, such as height and weight, are used to calculate body mass index (BMI) and assess the prevalence of obesity among adolescents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity of selfreported height, weight, and BMI of the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey questionnaire. Methods: A convenience sample of 137 middle school students and 242 high school students completed a selfadministered questionnaire in 2008. Body height and weight were directly measured after self-reported values were obtained from the questionnaire survey. Sensitivity, specificity, and kappa statistics were computed in order to evaluate the validity of the prevalence of obesity (BMI $\geq$ 95th percentile or $\geq$ $25;kg/$m^2$) based on self-reported data. Results: Self-reported weight and BMI tended to be underestimated. Self-reported height tended to be overestimated among middle school females and high school males. Obese adolescents tended to underestimate their weight and BMI and overestimate their height more than non-obese adolescents. The prevalence estimate of obesity based on selfreported data (10.6%) was lower than that based on directly measured data (15.3%). The estimated sensitivity of obesity based on self-reported data was 69.0% and the specificity was 100.0%. The value of kappa was 0.79 (95% confidence interval, 0.70 - 0.88). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that self-reported height and weight may lead to the underestimation of BMI and consequently the prevalence of obesity. These biases should be taken into account when self-reported data are used for monitoring the prevalence and trends of obesity among adolescents nationwide.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Oral Health
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.262-266
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• 2017

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare Plaque Percent Index (PPI), calculated by Patient Hygiene Performance Index (PHPI), Rustogi's modification of the Navy Plaque Index (RMNPI), and the Quigley & Hein Plaque Index (QHPI), with visual assessment. Methods: Ninety-six subjects, aged between 30-65 years, were examined; twenty subjects were included in the final analysis. The subjects' teeth were stained and photographed. Dental coloring and intraoral camera photography were performed by a single examiner. The oral images obtained were analyzed using Image J to measure the area of dental plaque. The values of PHPI, RMNPI, and QHPI were calculated twice. Statistical analyses were performed using descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results: The results of the correlation analyses of PPI with PHPI, QHPI, and RMNPI were as follows: for PHPI, the correlation coefficient (r)=0.584; for QHPI, r=0.689; and for RMNPI, r=0.729. Further, the kappa indices of PHPI, QHPI, and RMNPI were 0.810, 0.677, and 0.590 respectively. Conclusions: Among RMNPI, QHPI, and PHPI dental plaque indices, RMNPI and QHPI showed a high degree of correlation with the actual stained dental plaque area; on the other hand, PHPI showed the highest kappa index.