• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.451-459
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• 2019

Purpose: Laparoscopic surgery is associated with lower surgical site infection (SSI) rates due to minimal skin incision and non-exposure of visceral organs. Most previous studies have analyzed the efficacy of prophylactic antibiotic use in open surgery. Here, we investigated the feasibility of total laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (TLDG) for gastric carcinoma without prophylactic antibiotic use. Materials and Methods: Seventy-one patients who underwent TLDG without prophylactic antibiotic use were 1:1 propensity score matched with 393 patients who underwent TLDG with antibiotic prophylaxis. The short-term surgical outcomes, including SSI rates, were compared between the groups. Results: After matching, 65 patients were selected in each group. The baseline clinicopathological characteristics were well balanced in the matched sample. In the matched group, there was no significant increase in postoperative morbidity in the non-prophylactic group compared with the prophylactic group (18.5% vs. 15.4%, P=0.640), and there were no grade 3≤ complications (1.4% vs. 0%, respectively; P=1.000). The SSI rates in the non-prophylactic and prophylactic groups were 3.1% and 1.5%, respectively (P=0.559). The time to gas passage, diet initiation, and mean hospital stay were not significantly different between the 2 groups. The SSI rate did not increase in the non-prophylactic group in the different subgroups based on different clinicopathological characteristics. Conclusions: Postoperative morbidity, including SSI rates, did not significantly increase in patients undergoing TLDG without prophylactic antibiotic use. A large prospective randomized trial is warranted to reappraise the efficacy of prophylactic antibiotic use in patients undergoing TLDG.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.563-571
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• 2021

Objectives: This pilot study aimed to confirm the possibility of applying our design to the main study, a retrospective medical record analysis of the diseases which have most frequently been treated with collaborations of Korean and Western medicine, and to identify what corrections and statistical models are needed to conduct the main study. Methods: Data were collected from a case report form developed for patients who received treatment in the medical institutions. Appropriate statistical techniques, like Propensity Score (PS) and Generalized Estimation Equation (GEE) models, were used to compare the indicators of collaboration and non-collaboration groups for patients in comparable diseases. Results: Using PS matching for each M and S disease group, the indicators were compared by balancing the collaboration and non-collaboration group, and the GEE models compared indicators between groups in each disease over follow-up. Through this process we identified two limitations, insufficient samples and a large deviation of the follow-up period. Conclusion: This pilot study confirmed that the study design and case report form are applicable. The main study will be conducted by collecting sufficient samples and reflecting deviation of follow-up period.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information Security & Cryptology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.29-40
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• 2007

The purpose of this research is to propose a method for scoring the quality of a fingerprint image using the local information derived from the fingerprint image. In previous works for the quality measuring, most of the quality scores are related to the performance of a matching algorithm, and this makes the quality result more subjective. The quality score of a fingerprint image proposed in this work is sensor-independent, source-independent and matcher-independent one, and this concept of fingerprint sample quality results in effective improvement of the system performance. In this research, a new definition of fingerprint image quality and a new method for measuring the quality are proposed. For the experiments, several sub-databases from FVCs are used and the proposed method showed reasonable results for the test database. The proposed method can be used in various systems for the numerous purposes since the quality scores generated by the proposed method are based on the idea that the quality of fingerprint should be sensor-independent, source-independent and matcher-independent.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.458-467
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• 2022

Background: Few studies have investigated unspecified or idiopathic pain associated with COIVD-19. This study aimed to provide the incidence rates of unspecified pain and idiopathic pain in patients with COVID-19 for 90 days after COVID-19 diagnosis. Methods: A propensity score matched cohort was used, including all patients with COVID-19 in South Korea, and analyzed their electronic medical records. The control group consisted of those who had not had tests for COVID-19 at all. Unspecified pain diagnoses consisted of diagnoses related to pain included in the ICD-10 Chapter XVIII. Idiopathic pain disorders included fibromyalgia, temporomandibular joint disorders, headaches, chronic prostatitis, complex regional pain syndrome, atypical facial pain, irritable bowel syndrome, and interstitial cystitis. Results: After matching, the number of participants in each group was 7,911. For most unspecified pain, the incidences were higher in the COVID-19 group (11.7%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 11.0-12.5) than in the control group (6.5%; 95% CI, 6.0-7.1). For idiopathic pain, only the headaches had a significantly higher incidence in the COVID-19 group (6.6%; 95% CI, 6.1-7.2) than in the control group (3.7%; 95% CI, 3.3-4.1). However, using a different control group that included only patients who visited a hospital at least once for any reasons, the incidences of most unspecified and idiopathic pain were higher in the control group than in the COVID-19 group. Conclusions: Patients with COVID-19 might be at a higher risk of experiencing unspecified pain in the acute phase or after recovery compared with individuals who had not had tests for COVID-19.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.86 no.3
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• pp.234-244
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• 2023

Background: Effective treatment of fluoroquinolone-resistant multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (FQr-MDR-TB) is difficult because of the limited number of available core anti-TB drugs and high rates of resistance to anti-TB drugs other than FQs. However, few studies have examined anti-TB drugs that are effective in treating patients with FQr-MDR-TB in a real-world setting. Methods: The impact of anti-TB drug use on treatment outcomes in patients with pulmonary FQr-MDR-TB was retrospectively evaluated using a nationwide integrated TB database (Korean Tuberculosis and Post-Tuberculosis). Data from 2011 to 2017 were included. Results: The study population consisted of 1,082 patients with FQr-MDR-TB. The overall treatment outcomes were as follows: treatment success (69.7%), death (13.7%), lost to follow-up or not evaluated (12.8%), and treatment failure (3.9%). On a propensity-score-matched multivariate logistic regression analysis, the use of bedaquiline (BDQ), linezolid (LZD), levofloxacin (LFX), cycloserine (CS), ethambutol (EMB), pyrazinamide, kanamycin (KM), prothionamide (PTO), and para-aminosalicylic acid against susceptible strains increased the treatment success rate (vs. unfavorable outcomes). The use of LFX, CS, EMB, and PTO against susceptible strains decreased the mortality (vs. treatment success). Conclusion: A therapeutic regimen guided by drug-susceptibility testing can improve the treatment of patients with pulmonary FQr-MDR-TB. In addition to core anti-TB drugs, such as BDQ and LZD, treatment of susceptible strains with later-generation FQs and KM may be beneficial for FQr-MDR-TB patients with limited treatment options.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.90-98
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• 2023

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia. Totally thoracoscopic ablation (TTA) is a surgical treatment showing a high success rate as a hybrid procedure with radiofrequency catheter ablation to control AF. This study compared the early complications of warfarin and non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) in patients who underwent TTA. Methods: This single-center retrospective cohort study enrolled patients who underwent planned TTA for AF from February 2012 to October 2020. All patients received postoperative anticoagulation, either with warfarin or a NOAC (apixaban, rivaroxaban, dabigatran, or edoxaban). Propensity score matching was performed for both groups. Early complications were assessed at 12 weeks after TTA and were divided into efficacy and safety outcomes. Both efficacy and safety outcomes were compared in the propensity score-matched groups. Results: Early complications involving efficacy outcomes, such as stroke and transient ischemic attack, were seen in 5 patients in the warfarin group and none in the NOAC group. Although the 2 groups differed in the incidence of efficacy outcomes, it was not statistically significant. In safety outcomes, 11 patients in the warfarin group and 24 patients in the NOAC group had complications, but likewise, the between-group difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Among patients who underwent TTA, those who received NOACs had a lower incidence of thromboembolic complications than those who received warfarin; however, both groups showed a similar bleeding complication rate. Using a NOAC after TTA does not reduce efficacy and safety when compared to warfarin.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.149-162
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• 2005

The aim of this study was to measure the suprathreshold taste intensity for sucrose, NaCl, citric acid, and quinine HCl in Korean young people using a whole-mouth, sip-and-spit procedure, employing the method of magnitude matching. The results were analysed in terms of sex, taste preference, and smoker or nonsmoker. One hundred twenty three subjects (61 male and 62 female, mean age of 25.2$\pm$2.1 years) were included for the study. Subjects were instructed to give nonmodulus magnitude estimates to the intensities of five concentrations each of sucrose, NaCl, citric acid, and quinine HCl; distilled water; 6 loudness levels of a 1,000-Hz tone, using the same 9-point intensity scale. Each of the 21 taste stimuli and 6 auditory stimuli are presented in random order twice. The auditory function is used to assess the absolute intensity function of the subject's taste system. The results were as follows; 1. The perceived taste intensity for sucrose, NaCl, citric acid, and quinine HCl increased progressively as the concentrations of taste solutions were increased. Most of the subjects are standing within the zone of mean value $\pm$1standard deviation in their total perceived intensity score, and nobody is outside the limit of mean value - 2standard deviation. 2. There were not significant difference in total perceived intensities for sucrose, NaCl, citric acid, and quinine HCl between males and females. 3. There were not significant difference in total perceived intensities for sucrose, NaCl, citric acid, and quinine HCl according to the difference in taste preference. 4. There were not significant difference in total perceived intensities for sucrose, NaCl, citric acid, and quinine HCl between smokers and non-smokers in males.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.79-87
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between depression, alexithymia, social support and somatic symptom in adolescents. Methods: The subjects were 1,519 adolescents in Seoul. Radloff's CES-D (The Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale) for depression, Bagby, Parker and Taylor's TAS (Toronto Alexithymia Scale) for alexithymia, Park's social support and Derogatis's SCL-90 (Brief Symptom Inventory & Matching Clinical Rating Scale) were used. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficients, t or F test, and stepwise multiple regression. Results: Depression and somatic symptom were lower but social support was higher when compared to mean score. The somatic symptom was significantly positive correlations to age, depression, alexithymia but no correlation to social support. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that 21.8% of the somatic symptom was significantly accounted for depression, alexithymia, social support, gender, economic status, living alone, and living with parent. Conclusion: These results suggest that depression, alexithymia, living alone can be potential risk factors for somatic symptom in the adolescents. Therefore, these findings will give useful information for developing a promotion program focused on social support in the adolescents.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.66 no.10
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• pp.1516-1522
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• 2017

We propose a novel monitoring system for diagnosing crack faults of the wind turbine using image information. The proposed method classifies a normal state and a abnormal state for the blade parts of the wind turbine. Specifically, the images are input to the proposed system in various states of wind turbine rotation. according to the blade condition. Then, the video of rotating blades on the wind turbine is divided into several image frames. Motion vectors are estimated using the previous and current images using the motion estimation, and the change of the motion vectors is analyzed according to the blade state. Finally, we determine the final blade state using the Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier. In SVM, features are constructed using the area information of the blades and the motion vector values. The experimental results showed that the proposed method had high classification performance and its $F_1$ score was 0.9790.

• Journal of Korea Multimedia Society
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.837-847
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• 2016

Tone mapping for High Dynamic Range(HDR) image provides matching human visual perception between real world scene and displayable devices. Recently, a tone mapping algorithm based on localized gamma correction is proposed. This algorithm is using human visual properties of contrast and colorfulness with background intensity, generating a weight map for gamma correction. However, this method have limitations of controlling enhancement region as well as generating halo artifacts caused by the weight map construction. To overcome aforementioned limitations, proposed algorithm in this paper modifies previous weight map, considering base layer intensity of input luminance channel. By determining enhancement region locally and globally based on base layer intensity, gamma values are corrected accordingly. Therefore, proposed algorithm selectively enhances local brightness and controls strength of edges. Subjective evaluation using z-score shows that our proposed algorithm outperforms the conventional methods.