• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.24 no.6
• /
• pp.544-555
• /
• 2011

The acute toxicity in the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) was analyzed and predicted using quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR). The aquatic toxicity, 96h $LC_{50}$ (median lethal concentration) of 275 organic pesticides, was obtained from EU-funded project DEMETRA. Prediction models were derived from 558 2D molecular descriptors, calculated in PreADMET. The linear (multiple linear regression) and nonlinear (support vector machine and artificial neural network) learning methods were optimized by taking into account the statistical parameters between the experimental and predicted p$LC_{50}$. After preprocessing, population based forward selection were used to select the best subsets of descriptors in the learning methods including 5-fold cross-validation procedure. The support vector machine model was used as the best model ($R^2_{CV}$=0.677, RMSECV=0.887, MSECV=0.674) and also correctly classified 87% for the training set according to EU regulation criteria. The MLR model could describe the structural characteristics of toxic chemicals and interaction with lipid membrane of fish. All the developed models were validated by 5 fold cross-validation and Y-scrambling test.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.43 no.2
• /
• pp.151-158
• /
• 2010

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between cigarette smoking and total mortality, cancer mortality and other disease mortalities in Korean adults. Methods: A total of 14 161 subjects of the Korean Multi-center Cancer Cohort who were over 40 years of age and who were cancer-free at baseline enrollment reported their lifestyle factors, including the smoking status. The median follow-up time was 6.6 years. During the follow-up period from 1993 to 2005, we identified 1159 cases of mortality, including 260 cancer mortality cases with a total of 91 987 person-years, by the national death certificate. Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) of cigarette smoking for total mortality, cancer mortality and disease-specific mortality, as adjusted for age, gender, the geographic area and year of enrollment, the alcohol consumption status, the education level and the body mass index (BMI). Results: Cigarette smoking was significantly associated with an increased risk of total mortality, all-cancer mortality and lung cancer mortality (p-trend, < 0.01, <0.01, <0.01, respectively). Compared to non-smoking, current smokers were at a higher risk for mortality [HR (95% CI)=1.3 (1.1 - 1.5) for total mortality; HR (95% CI)=1.6 (1.1 -2.2) for all-cancer mortality; HR (95% CI)=3.9 (1.9-7.7) for lung cancer mortality]. Conclusions: This study's results suggest that cigarette smoking might be associated with total mortality, all-cancer mortality and especially lung cancer mortality among Korean adults.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.89-94
• /
• 2011

Purpose: A few studies have assessed the factors affecting the prognoses for major trauma patients and those improving the circumstances when dealing with the trauma system. In that light, we analyzed factors, such as pre-hospital factors, the time to admission, the length of stay in the emergency department (ED) and emergency operation, influencing the outcomes for trauma patients. Methods: The patients who visited our emergency department from April 1, 2009, to February 29, 2011, due to major trauma were enrolled in the study. The inclusion criterion was a revised trauma score (RTS) < 7 or injury severity score (ISS) ${\geq}$ 16. We used reviews of medical records, to analyze each step of emergency medical care with respect to patients' sex, age, visit time and visit date. Continuous variables were described as a median with an interquartile range, and we compared the variables between the survival and the mortality groups by using the Mann-Whitney U test. Fisher's exact test was used for nominal variables. Using the variables that showed statistical significance in univariate comparisons, we performed a logistic regression analysis, and we tested the model's adequacy by the using the Hosmer-Lemeshow method. Results: A total of 261 patients with major trauma satisfied either the RTS score criterion or the ISS score criterion. Excluding 12 patients with missing data, 249 patients were included in this study. The overall mortality rate was 16.9%. Time to ED arrival, time to admission, time of ED stay, RTS, ISS, and visit date being a holiday showed statistically significant differences between the survival and the mortality groups in the univariate analysis. RTS, ISS, length of ED stay, and visit date being a holiday showed statistical significance in the multivariate analysis. Conclusion: The mortality rate did not show a significant relationship with the time to ED arrival, use of 119, on time to admission. Rather, it elicited a quite significant correlation with the trauma scoring system (RTS and ISS), the time of ED stay, and the visit date being a holiday.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.109-116
• /
• 2015

Purpose: To analyze prognostic factors for locoregional recurrence (LRR), distant metastasis (DM), and overall survival (OS) in cervical cancer patients who underwent radical hysterectomy followed by postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) in a single institute. Materials and Methods: Clinicopathologic data of 135 patients with clinical stage IA2 to IIA2 cervical cancer treated with PORT from 2001 to 2012 were reviewed, retrospectively. Postoperative parametrial resection margin (PRM) and vaginal resection margin (VRM) were investigated separately. The median treatment dosage of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) to the whole pelvis was 50.4 Gy in 1.8 Gy/fraction. High-dose-rate vaginal brachytherapy after EBRT was given to patients with positive or close VRMs. Concurrent platinum-based chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) was administered to 73 patients with positive resection margin, lymph node (LN) metastasis, or direct extension of parametrium. Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test were used for analyzing LRR, DM, and OS; Cox regression was applied to analyze prognostic factors. Results: The 5-year disease-free survival was 79% and 5-year OS was 91%. In univariate analysis, positive or close PRM, LN metastasis, direct extension of parametrium, lymphovascular invasion, histology of adenocarcinoma, and chemotherapy were related with more DM and poor OS. In multivariate analysis, PRM and LN metastasis remained independent prognostic factors for OS. Conclusion: PORT after radical hysterectomy in uterine cervical cancer showed excellent OS in this study. Positive or close PRM after radical hysterectomy in uterine cervical cancer correlates with poor prognosis even with CCRT. Therefore, additional treatments to improve local control such as radiation boosting need to be considered.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.1151-1156
• /
• 2011

Leveraged buyouts (LBO) means the acquisition of a company using bonds and loans. There are the prolific volumes of LBO transactions in the international M&A markets, and its influence to the financial market is increasingly huge. However, there are very few LBO transaction in the domestic M&A market and there are also few researches in this field due to the private nature of LBO transactions. Once a company is privatized through a LBO transaction, it is not so long before it is relisted on the stock exchange or it is resold to a third-party investor. In order to repay the borrowed money, an LBO investor may decide to end a company's private status through an exit via an initial public offering (IPO) or a takeover. In this paper, we expand Kaplan's study on the organizational status of post leveraged buyout (LBO) transaction. We find that there is a significant change starting 1986. Most notably, fewer LBOs remain private, the median holding period of the LBO was cut in half to 3.2 years and of those that exit, IPO exits had significantly shorter holding periods. Regression analysis shows that good market conditions lengthen the holding period of a LBO investment whereas the size of the transaction shortens it.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.79-86
• /
• 2015

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: It is well-known that alcohol consumption is associated with stroke risk as well as with aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 gene (ALDH2) polymorphisms. However, it is unclear whether ALDH2 polymorphisms are associated with stroke risk independent of alcohol consumption and whether such association is modified by sex. We evaluated sex-specific associations of a common ALDH2 polymorphism and alcohol consumption with stroke risk in a Korean population. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study involving 8,465 men and women, aged 40-69 years and free of stroke between June, 2001 and January, 2003, and followed for the development of stroke. We identified new cases of stroke, which were self-reported or ascertained from vital registration data. Based on genome-wide association data, we selected a single-nucleotide polymorphism (rs2074356), which shows high linkage disequilibrium with the functional polymorphism of ALDH2. We conducted Cox proportional hazards regression analysis considering potential risk factors collected from a baseline questionnaire. RESULTS: Over the median follow-up of 8 years, 121 cases of stroke were identified. Carrying the wild-type allele of the ALDH2 polymorphism increased stroke risk among men. The multivariate hazard ratio [95% confidence interval] of stroke was 2.02 [1.03-3.99] for the wild-type allele compared with the mutant alleles, but the association was attenuated after controlling for alcohol consumption. Combinations of the wild-type allele and other risk factors of stroke, such as old age, diabetes mellitus, and habitual snoring, synergistically increased the risk among men. Among women, however, the ALDH2 polymorphism was not associated with stroke risk. CONCLUSIONS: The prospective cohort study showed a significant association between a common ALDH2 polymorphism and stroke risk in Korean men, but not in Korean women, and also demonstrated that men with genetic disadvantages gain more risk when having risk factors of stroke. Thus, these men may need to make more concerted efforts to control modifiable risk factors of stroke.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.103 no.2
• /
• pp.233-239
• /
• 2014

This study was carried out to propose the criteria for the prediction of landslide occurrence through analysis the influence of each factor by using the quantification theory. The results obtained from this study are summarized as follows. From a stepwise regression analysis between the landslide area($m^2$) and environmental factors, the factors strongly affecting the landslide sediment($m^2$) were the Parents rock (igneous), cross slope(complex), coniferous forests (forest type) and slope gradient ($21{\sim}30^{\circ}$). According to the range, it was shown in order of Cross slope (0.2922), Parents rock (0.2691), Forest type (0.2631) and Slope gradient (0.2312). The range of prediction score of landslide occurrence has been distributed between score 0 and score 1.0556, the median value was score 0.5278. The prediction for class I was over 0.7818, for class II was 0.5279 to 0.7917, for class III 0.2694 to 0.5278 and for class IV was below 0.2693. The prediction on landslide occurrence appeared relatively high accuracy rate as 72% for class I and II. Therefore, this score table for landslide will be very useful for judgement of dangerous slope.

• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.21-32
• /
• 2012

Exclusive bus lane (EBL) is typically located in the roadway median, and is accessed by weaving across the GPLs(general purpose lanes) before entering from the left lane of the GPLs. To maximize the potential for successful EBL operations, a critical design issue that requires special attention is the length of bus weaving section before entering EBL. The process of developing guidelines for the length of bus weaving section can be supported by a sensitivity analysis of performance measure (safety) with respect to the bus weaving distance. However, field data are difficult to obtain due to inherent complexity in creating performance measure (safety) samples under various interesting flows and bus weaving distance that are keys to research success. In this paper, VISSIM simulation is applied to simulate the operation of roadway weaving areas with EBL, and based on vehicle trajectory data from microscopic traffic simulation models, the Surrogate Safety Assessment Model (SSAM) computes the number of surrogate conflicts (or degree of safety) with respect to the bus weaving distance. Then, a multiple linear regression (MLR) model using safety data (number of surrogate conflicts) is developed. Finally, guidelines for bus weaving distance are established based on the developed MLR. Developed guidelines explicitly indicate that a longer bus weaving distance is required to maintain desired safety as weaving volume increases.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.1-14
• /
• 2013

Shoreline data of the barrier islands in Nakdong River Estuary for the last three decades were assembled using six sets of aerial photographs and seven sets of satellite images. Canny Algorithm was applied to untreated data in order to obtain a wet-dry boundary as a proxy shoreline. Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS 4.0) was used to estimate the rate of shoreline changes in terms of five statistical variables; SCE (Shoreline Change Envelope), NSM (Net Shoreline Movement), EPR(End Point Rate), LRR (Linear Regression Rate), and LMS (Least Median of Squares). The shoreline in Jinwoodo varied differently from one place to another during the last three decades; the west tail has advanced (i.e., seaward or southward), the west part has regressed, the south part has advanced, and the east part has regressed. After the 2000s, the rate of shoreline changes (-2.5~6.7 m/yr) increased and the east advanced. The shoreline in Shinjado shows a counterclockwise movement; the west part has advanced, but the east part has retreated. Since Shinjado was built in its present form, the west part became stable, but the east part has regressed faster. The rate of shoreline changes (-16.0~12.0 m/yr) in Shinjado is greater than that of Jinwoodo. The shoreline in Doyodeung has advanced at a rate of 31.5 m/yr. Since Doyodeung was built in its present form, the south part has regressed at the rate of -18.2 m/yr, but the east and west parts have advanced at the rate of 13.5~14.3 m/yr. Based on Digital Shoreline Analysis, shoreline changes in the barrier islands in the Nakdong River Estuary have varied both temporally and spatially, although the exact reason for the shoreline changes requires more investigation.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
• /
• v.30
• /
• pp.2.1-2.9
• /
• 2015

Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the association between presence of depression symptoms and the exposure level to insecticides among aged population in rural area, determined via measured levels of urinary 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA), after controlling for socioeconomic confounding factors. Methods Using a cross-sectional study design, we randomly recruited participants for our study (161 male and 239 female) from rural areas of Asan, Chungnam, Korea. Environmental risk factor exposure was assessed using a questionnaire, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to analyze urinary 3-PBA levels. We used a logistic regression analysis to assess the association of urinary 3-PBA levels with the presence of self-reported depression symptoms. Results After controlling for creatinine levels, the median (interquartile range) concentration of 3-PBA was approximately 1.5 times (p<0.05) higher among female (1.54 [0.90 to 2.35]) ${\mu}g/g$) than among male (1.06 [0.64 to 1.81] ${\mu}g/g$). Our study found that among female participants, the unit increase in 3-PBA levels exhibited a likely positive association (odds ratio, 1.12; 95% confidence interval, 1.00 to 1.25) with an increased risk of presence of self-reported depression symptoms, after adjusting for socioeconomic insurance type, daily physical condition, marital status, smoking status, and age. Conclusions Given our finding of a potential association between the presence of self-reported depression symptoms and 3-PBA levels, precautions should be considered to minimize exposure to insecticides and thus protect the health of aged residents in rural areas.