• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.125-135
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate dynamic contrast-enhanced breast magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI), and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) variables, for axillary lymph node (ALN) metastasis in the early stage of breast cancer. Materials and Methods: January 2011-April 2015, 787 patients with early stage of breast cancer were retrospectively reviewed. Only cases of invasive ductal carcinoma, were included in the patient population. Among them, 240 patients who underwent 3.0-T DCE-MRI, including DWI with b value 0 and $800s/mm^2$ were enrolled. MRI variables (adjacent vessel sign, whole-breast vascularity, initial enhancement pattern, quantitative kinetic parameters, signal enhancement ratio (SER), tumor apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), peritumoral ADC, and peritumor-tumor ADC ratio) clinico-pathologic variables (age, T stage, multifocality, extensive intraductal carcinoma component (EIC), estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, HER-2 status, Ki-67, molecular subtype, histologic grade, and nuclear grade) were compared between patients with axillary lymph node metastasis and those with no lymph node metastasis. Multivariate regression analysis was performed, to determine independent variables associated with ALN metastasis, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), for predicting ALN metastasis was analyzed, for those variables. Results: On breast MRI, moderate or prominent ipsilateral whole-breast vascularity (moderate, odds ratio [OR] 3.45, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.28-9.51 vs. prominent, OR = 15.59, 95% CI 2.52-96.46), SER (OR = 1.68, 95% CI 1.09-2.59), and peritumor-tumor ADC ratio (OR = 6.77, 95% CI 2.41-18.99), were independently associated with ALN metastasis. Among clinico-pathologic variables, HER-2 positivity was independently associated, with ALN metastasis (OR = 23.71, 95% CI 10.50-53.54). The AUC for combining selected MRI variables and clinico-pathologic variables, was higher than that of clinico-pathologic variables (P < 0.05). Conclusion: SER, moderate or prominent increased whole breast vascularity, and peritumor-tumor ADC ratio on breast MRI, are valuable in predicting ALN metastasis, in patients with early stage of breast cancer.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.15-25
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• 2014

Background: Elderly patients with gastrointestinal (GI) and cardiovascular (CV) risk factors may be more easily exposed to NSAID-related side effects (SEs). Based on the ACG guideline of year 2009, the aim of the study is to evaluate proper use of NSAIDs and gastroprotective drugs according to the degree of GI and CV risk strengths in the patients. Methods: Retrospectively surveyed 410 elderly patients with NSAIDs for more than 30 days at a general hospital in Korea. GI risk factor includes age, ulcer history, high-dose NSIADs, concurrent aspirin use, steroids or anticoagulants. CV risk factor includes angina, myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction, atrial fibrillation or coronary intervention requiring low-dose aspirin. These factors were classified as high/low cardiovascular groups and high/moderate/low GI groups. Results: There were 14 patients in high CV risk group and high GI risk group. The group was recommended not to use NSAIDs as it is not adequate. There were 101 patients in high CV risk group and moderate GI risk group. This group was recommended to use naproxen and PPI/misoprostol. But all patients except one were not adequate. There were 9 patients in low CV risk group and high GI risk group. This group was recommended to use selective COX-2 inhibitor and PPI/misoprostol. 5 cases were proper while 4 cases did not. There were 285 patients in low CV risk and moderate GI risk group who were recommended to use non selective NSAIDs and PPI/misoprostol or selective COX-2 inhibitor only. 103 patients were proper while 182 patients not adequate. Overall, the SEs were higher in those cases for inadequate use of drugs comparing to the adequate. CV SEs were statistically significant. However, SEs for each risk groups were different. For the case of low CV risk group and high/moderate GI risk group, the inadequate use of drugs makes the SE high and the other groups are not. Also, it was not statistically significant. Conclusions: In elderly patients, the inappropriate use of NSAIDs can increase the risk of the disease. Therefore, GI and CV risk must be considered simultaneously, and the proper use of NSAIDs and gastroprotective drugs for each risk groups should be reconsidered.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.465-478
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• 2017

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the level of subjective stress recognition and oral symptom experiences including toothache, gum diseases, and oral soft tissue diseases in the Korean adolescents. Methods: The subjects were 68,043 adolescents recruited using a web-based survey, National Korean Youth Risk Behavior in 2015 by the Korean Center for Disease Control. For statistical analysis, SPSS 21.0 for Windows was used. Descriptive analysis and a Chi-square test were conducted to determine the factors associated with general characteristics, health behaviors, oral health behaviors, and level of subjective stress recognition. Finally, to investigate the relationship between the level of subjective stress recognition and oral symptom experiences, logistic regression analysis was performed. Results: Toothache related subjective stress recognition level was significantly higher in the moderate group with the score of 1.59 (95% CI; 1.49-1.68), and was greater in the high group with 2.38 (95% CI; 2.24-2.53) compared to the low group. Gum disease related subjective stress recognition level was significantly higher in the moderate group with 1.41 (95% CI; 1.32-1.51), and was greater in the high group with 1.99 (95% CI; 1.86-2.13). Oral soft tissue disease related subjective stress recognition level was significantly higher in the moderate group with 1.59 (95% CI; 1.45-1.74), and was greater in the high group with 2.55 (95% CI; 2.33-2.79). Bad breath related subjective stress recognition level was significantly higher in the moderate group with 1.48 (95% CI; 1.39-1.57), and was greater in the high group with 2.10 (95% CI; 1.97-2.25). Conclusions: Higher subjective stress recognition level was found to affect the oral symptoms experienced. Therefore, the stress management plan should be prepared through the cause identification of the main stress in the adolescents. Practical and systematic education is needed for oral health management in the schools.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.9
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• pp.1088-1096
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• 2016

Despite that moderate hyperthermia can exert various antitumor activities such as direct cytotoxic effects on tumor cells, effects on tumor vasculatures and immunological effects, hyperthermia has been usually combined with radiotherapy or chemotherapy due to its limited efficacy in cancer treatment, showing some positive clinical benefits with generally well-tolerated side effects. Since heat shock responses itself can interfere with the anti-tumor effects of hyperthermia, not all of these studies might have demonstrated positive clinical outcomes in cancer patients. Therefore, the negative anti-tumor effect of hyperthermia should be reduced to enhance the effectiveness of hyperthermia. Although the responses to heat stress of tumor tissues containing vessels, immune cells, connective tissues as well as cancer cells, are very complicated, it is needed to study in the near future if some clinically available drugs, which can modulate heat stress responses, can improve the efficacy of hyperthermia in patients with cancer. In this review, the effect of clinical hyperthermia centered on non-invasive external hyperthermia using radiofrequency at moderate temperature will be discussed, since it is the state-of-the-art technology in the current clinical practice of hyperthermia, and a moderate operational temperature is used to increase the therapeutic effectiveness of conventional therapy without additional toxicity to normal tissues.

• Dementia and Neurocognitive Disorders
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.100-108
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• 2023

Background and Purpose: The efficacy and safety of GV1001 have been demonstrated in patients with moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we aimed to further demonstrate the effectiveness of GV1001 using subscales of the Severe Impairment Battery (SIB), which is a validated measure to assess cognitive function in patients with moderate-to-severe AD. Methods: We performed a post hoc analysis of data from a 6 month, multicenter, phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with GV1001 (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03184467). Patients were randomized to receive either GV1001 or a placebo for 24 weeks. In the current study, nine subscales of SIB-social interaction, memory, orientation, language, attention, praxis, visuospatial ability, construction, and orientation to name-were compared between the treatment (GV1001 1.12 mg) and placebo groups at weeks 12 and 24. The safety endpoints for these patients were also determined based on adverse events. Results: In addition to the considerable beneficial effect of GV1001 on the SIB total score, GV1001 1.12 mg showed the most significant effect on language function at 24 weeks compared to placebo in both the full analysis set (FAS) and per-protocol set (PPS) (p=0.017 and p=0.011, respectively). The rate of adverse events did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. Conclusions: Patients with moderate-to-severe AD receiving GV1001 had greater language benefits than those receiving placebo, as measured using the SIB language subscale.

• East Asian mathematical journal
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.333-351
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• 2017

Schools are expected to ultimately moderate the difference of inequality issues among social groups and reduce the achievement gaps. This study investigates this expectation, in particular, how students' mathematics achievements are influenced by their parents' education at the individual level and by collective responsibility for teaching at the school level as well as the interaction of the two. Using a two-level hierarchical linear model, this study indicates that a school collective responsibility has a larger positive effect on students' mathematics achievement when their parents' education level is high. This means that school's collective responsibility accelerates inequity in students' mathematics achievement. Knowing that collective responsibility has less of an effect on students whose parents' education is not high, researchers, schools, and school districts should continue to search for school effects that have more of a positive impact on the relationship between mathematics achievement for students whose parents' education is not high in order to have more equitable results for all students.

• International Journal of Knowledge Content Development & Technology
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.7-18
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• 2018

Information Literacy (IL) is considered as an important aspect of everybody's life. In today's information society possessing IL skills is more significant than ever as information is available in many forms and formats. Schools are the primary places where these skills are imbibed in students. Organizations like UNESCO, IFLA, ALA, AASL, & ACRL have formulated IL Standards and Guidelines/Models at the international arena. Though the Government of India is making efforts in providing information literacy skills yet there are no set of standards/guidelines devised by any agency/organization at the school level. This paper gives a brief account of IL initiatives and highlights the trends and developments of IL programmes in Indian School Libraries. It recommends the nation to form a national level advisory committee to develop IL framework for Indian school Libraries. Further, it suggests that librarians should work in close collaboration with teachers for better results. A moderate attempt has been made to provide feasible solutions for effective implementation of IL programmes in school libraries.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.40 no.10
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• pp.667-673
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• 2007

Background: Patients with severe aortic valve disease frequently display mitral valve regurgitation (MR). In such patients, the clinical course of MR after isolated aortic valve replacement (AVR) may be important for determining the treatment strategies. After isolated AVR, the change of the concomitant moderate degree or less of MR according to the type of aortic valve disease is not known well. The aim of this study was to analyze the post-operative changes of MR after performing AVR in those patients with severe AS (Group S) and those with severe AR (Group R). Material and Method: We retrospectively evaluated 43 patients with severe aortic disease and a moderate degree or less of mitral valve regurgitation, and these patients underwent isolated aortic valve replacement from January 1996 to June 2005. The patients were divided into two groups: the aortic valve stenosis group (n = 29) and the aortic valve regurgitation group (n = 14). The patients underwent transthoracic echocardiography preoperatively and at 7 days, $6{\sim}10$ months and more than 18 months (mean follow-up duration: 38 months) postoperatively. Result: The mean age was 60.9 years (Group S: 62 years, Group R: 52.5 years) and 60% (Group S=55%, Group R=71%) of the patients were male. The preoperative MR was mild in 29 (67.5%), mild to moderate in 11 (25.5%), and moderate in 3 (6.9%) patients. In the Group S patients, MR improved in 16 (55%) patients at the immediate postoperative days and in 17 (59%) patients at more than 18 months postoperatively. On the other hand, all the Group R patients exhibited earlier improvement. The decrease of LA size had a similar pattern to the MR change, but there were no significant differences in the change of the ejection fraction of the two groups. Conclusion: In the patients with severe aortic valve disease and concomitant low grade MR, the MR after AVR improved earlier and more effectively in the patients with AR than in those patients with AS.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.5-13
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors affecting adaptation to school life of freshmen enrolled in nursing at a Junior College. Method: The data were collected from questionnaires filled out by 312 nursing students in two schools at J and I city from March 7-11, 2011. Data were analyzed using the SPSS/WIN18 program. Result: Self-esteem and adaptation to school life were higher than previous advanced research showed, self-efficacy was moderate and stress to school life was lower than other studies. School adaptation level was related to satisfaction of friendship, school life and the nursing program. The subjects who have chosen nursing by themselves and male students scored higher in their school adaptation. The greatest factors affecting adaptation to school life were satisfaction of school life and stress respectively. Conclusion: Inpre-admission, enough information about nursing school life through experience of previous students must be given. Then, a school adaptation program which incorporates counseling and mentoring should be provided for supporting understanding of school life.

• Proceedings of the IEEK Conference
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• 2008.06a
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• pp.761-762
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• 2008

This paper presents a hardware accelerator for accelerating vector graphics applications based on the OpenVG standard. Since our design mainly targets embedded applications, we focus on efficient uses of limited resources, especially the memory bandwidth. The designed accelerator can process the images of $640{\times}240$ pixels with moderate complexity at the rate of 30 frames per second.