• Title/Summary/Keyword: National level

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Comet Assay as a New DNA-Level Approach for Aquatic Ecosystem Health Assessments

  • Sung, Min-Sun;Lee, Sang-Jae;Lee, Jae-Hoon;Park, Sun-Young;Ly, Sun-Yung;An, Kwang-Guk
    • Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.41 no.4
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    • pp.466-471
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    • 2008
  • Little is known about DNA-level and physiological levels for health assessments of stream or river environments. Recently, comet assay, so called Single Cell Gel Electrophoresis (SCGE) is introduced for assessments of DNA damage in the medical science, food science and mammal toxicology. The comet assay is known as a biomarker which is one of the best barometers in assessing the DNA damage by oxidative stress. In this study, we conducted the comet assay using sentinel species, Zacco platypus, as one of the pre-warning alarm systems for the aquatic ecosystem health assessments and also applied it to Gap Stream as a model system. Tail extent moments in the S1 and S2 were 5.20 and 9.90 respectively and the moment was 19.89 in the S3. Statistical ANOVA in the tail moments showed a significant difference (n=75, p<0.05) between S1 and S3. Also, the proportions of DNA in the tail were 14.47, 23.64, and $30.04{\mu}m$ in the upstream (control site), midstream, downstream sites, respectively. Our results in the downstream were accord with previous studies of individual-level, population-level, and community-level in Gap Stream. Our results suggest that the comet assay may be used as an important tool for diagnosing ecological health of aquatic ecosystems in the level of DNA.

Reliability of the Emergency Severity Index Version 4 Performed by Trained Triage Nurse (중증도 분류 간호사에 의한 응급환자 중증도 분류 신뢰도 측정 연구: Emergency Severity Index Version 4를 중심으로)

  • Choi, Hee Kang;Choi, Min Jin;Kim, Ju Won;Lee, Ji Yeon;Shin, Sun Hwa;Lee, Hyun Jung
    • Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing
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    • v.5 no.2
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    • pp.61-71
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    • 2012
  • Purpose: The aim of this study was to measure the inter-rater reliability of Emergency severity index (ESI) version 4 among triage nurse. Methods: This study was carried out from August 11, 2010 to September 7, 2010 in a regional emergency department. Data collection was done by ten triage nurses who trained ESI v.4. Two research nurses and ten triage nurses scored the ESI version 4 to the patients as references, independently. We calculated the weighted kappa between the triage nurses and research nurses to evaluate the consistency of the ESI v.4. Results: A total of 233 patients were enrolled in this study. Classification of ESI level was as follows - level 1 (0.4%), level 2 (21.0%), level 3 (67.8%), level 4 (9.4%), and level 5 (1.3%). Inter-rater reliability by weighted kappa was 0.79 (95% Confidence Interval= 0.74-0.83) and agreement rate was 87.1%. Under-triage rate by triage nurse was 6.0% and over-triage rate was 6.9%. Conclusion: For this study, inter-rater reliability was measured good level between triage nurses and research nurses in Korean single ED.

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Establishment for Improving Productivity of Cattle by Fecal Steroid and Milk Urea Nitrogen analysis - II. Application of Early Pregnancy Diagnosis and Monitoring Postpartum Ovarian Activity

  • Kang, Chung-Boo;Ha, Woo-Song;Kwon, Ji-In;Yu, Young-Sang;Kim, Chul-Ho;Kwak, Soo-Dong
    • Biomedical Science Letters
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    • v.9 no.1
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    • pp.29-36
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    • 2003
  • Progesterone levels in the blood plasma or skim milk of cows are considered to be very useful indicator fur the detection of estrus cycle and early pregnancy diagnosis. During 13 to 14 days after estrus the level of progesterone in plasma or skim milk were not different between the inseminated arid non-inseminated cows. In the pregnant cows the peak level of progesterone reached on 14th day after artificial insemination (AI), but in the absence of conceptus the level declines after the 14th day slowly, and then very rapidly towards the basal level after the 17th day. This low level persists about 4 days, including those of estrus and ovulation a highly characteristic pattern which differs so markedly from that in the pregnant cows. Progesterone levels in blood plasma or skim milk can provided a reliable diagnosis of early pregnancy and monitoring ovarian activity in cows. The mean $\pm$ standard deviation of milk urea nitrogen(MUN) and protein concentration in the cows at 9 herds were 17.7$\pm$2.35 mg/dL and 3.2$\pm$0.17%, respectively. The days of nonpregnant after parturition was shorter in the cows in which the lower level of MUN than higher level of MUN concentration.

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Development of a novel nomogram for predicting ongoing pregnancy after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer

  • Kim, Seul Ki;Kim, Hyein;Oh, Soohyun;Lee, Jung Ryeol;Jee, Byung Chul;Kim, Seok Hyun
    • Obstetrics & gynecology science
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    • v.61 no.6
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    • pp.669-674
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    • 2018
  • Objective This study aimed to develop a nomogram that predicts ongoing pregnancy after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) using patient age and serum hormonal markers. Methods A total of 284 IVF-ET cycles were retrospectively analyzed. At 14 days post-oocyte pick-up (OPU), the serum human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and progesterone levels were measured. The main predicted outcome was ongoing pregnancy. Results Patient age and serum of HCG and progesterone levels at 14 days post-OPU were good predictors of ongoing pregnancy. The cut-off value and area under the curve (AUC) (95% confidence interval) were 36.5 years and 0.666 (0.599-0.733), respectively, for patient age; 67.8 mIU/mL and 0.969 (0.951-0.987), respectively, for serum HCG level; and 29.8 ng/mL and 0.883 (0.840-0.925), respectively, for serum progesterone level. When the prediction model was constructed using these three parameters, the addition of serum progesterone level to the prediction model did not increase its overall predictability. Furthermore, a high linear co-relationship was found between serum HCG and progesterone levels. Therefore, we developed a new nomogram using patient age and HCG serum level only. The AUC of the newly developed nomogram for predicting ongoing pregnancy after IVF-ET cycles using patient age and serum HCG level was as high as 0.975. Conclusion We showed that ongoing pregnancy may be predicted using only patient age and HCG serum level. Our nomogram could help clinicians and patients predict ongoing pregnancy after IVF-ET if the serum JCG level was ${\geq}5IU/L$ at 14 days post-OPU.

The modernization approach to the regional processes monitoring of the social services provision in the context of the modern public policy

  • Koval, Kristina;Hrechko, Alla;Butko, Mykola;Shevchenko, Oleg;Smyrnov, Ivan;Olyfirenko, Yuliia
    • International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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    • v.21 no.6
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    • pp.213-221
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    • 2021
  • The modernization approach to monitoring regional processes of providing social services is proposed. The methodological approach is developed in the context of the modern public policy, which includes the following stages: the formation of a system of indicators that characterize the level of the social services modernization; the determination of the levels of regions development by such components as the modernization level of the economic sphere, the modernization level of the demographic component and the modernization level of employment; the determination of weights for each group of indicators and calculation of integrated indicators, ranking of regions; the allocation of criteria for classification and grouping of regions according to the modernization level of the social services sphere; highlighting the most important problems of each region. The proposed method is tested on the example of the Ukraine's regions. According to the results of calculations of the modernization level of the processes of providing social services, the ranking and grouping of the regions was carried out. The rating allowed to distinguish four groups of regions: regions with a high modernization level of social services, regions with above-average levels, as well as regions with medium and low levels. The author's modernization approach to monitoring the processes of providing social services allows to investigate the real state of the main indicators influencing these processes and to identify problem regions in order to develop mechanisms to stimulate their development.

Effects of dietary energy and crude protein levels on growth performance, blood profiles, and nutrient digestibility in weaning pigs

  • Fang, Lin Hu;Jin, Ying Hai;Do, Sung Ho;Hong, Jin Su;Kim, Byung Ock;Han, Tae Hee;Kim, Yoo Yong
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.32 no.4
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    • pp.556-563
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    • 2019
  • Objective: This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of reducing dietary metabolic energy (ME) and crude protein (CP) levels on growth performance, blood profiles, and nutrient digestibility in weaning pigs. Methods: A total of 240 crossbred pigs ($Duroc{\times}[Landrace{\times}Yorkshire]$) with an average body weight of $8.67{\pm}1.13kg$ were used for a 6-week feeding trial. Experimental pigs were allotted to a $2{\times}3$ factorial arrangement using a randomized complete block design. The first factor was two levels of dietary ME density (low ME level, 13.40 MJ/kg or high ME level, 13.82 MJ/kg) and the second factor was three dietary CP levels based on subdivision of early and late weaning phases (low CP level, 19.7%/16.9%; middle CP level, 21.7%/18.9%; or high CP level, 23.7%/20.9%). Results: Over the entire experimental period, there were no significant difference in body weight among groups, but a decrease in diet energy level was associated with an increase in average daily feed intake (p = 0.02) and decrease in gain-feed ratio (G:F) ratio (p<0.01). Decreased CP levels in the diet were associated with a linear increase in average daily gain (p<0.05) and quadratic increase in G:F ratio (p<0.05). In the early weaning period, blood urea nitrogen concentration tended to increase when ME in the diet decreased and decrease when CP level in the diet decreased (p = 0.09, p<0.01, respectively). Total protein concentration tended to increase when CP level was reduced (p = 0.08). In the late weaning period, blood urea nitrogen concentration decreased linearly as CP level decreased (p<0.01). The CP and crude fat digestibility decreased when ME was decreased by 0.42 MJ/kg (p = 0.05, p = 0.01, respectively). The CP digestibility increased linearly as CP level decreased (p = 0.01). Conclusion: A weaning pig diet containing high ME level (13.82 MJ/kg) and low CP level (19.7%/16.9%) can improve pig growth performance and nutrient digestibility.

Patterns and Prognostic Significance of Cervical Lymph Node Metastasis and the Efficacy of Cervical Node Dissection in Esophageal Cancer

  • Kang, Yoonjin;Hwang, Yoohwa;Lee, Hyun-Ju;Park, In Kyu;Kim, Young Tae;Kang, Chang Hyun
    • Journal of Chest Surgery
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    • v.50 no.5
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    • pp.329-338
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    • 2017
  • Background: The clinical value of 3-field lymph node dissection (3FLND) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains controversial. This study aimed to identify the patterns and prognostic significance of cervical lymph node metastasis (CLNM) in ESCC. Methods: A retrospective review of 77 patients with E SCC who underwent esophagectomy and 3FLND between 2002 and 2016 was conducted. For each cervical node level, the efficacy index (EI), overall survival, recurrence rate, and complication rate were compared. Results: CLNM was identified in 34 patients (44.2%) who underwent 3FLND. Patients with CLNM had a significantly lower overall survival rate (22.7% vs. 58.2%) and a higher recurrence rate (45.9% vs. 16.3%) than patients without CLNM. CLNM was an independent predictor of recurrence in ESCC patients. Moreover, in patients with pathologic N3 tumors, the odds ratio of CLNM was 10.8 (95% confidence interval, 2.0 to 57.5; p=0.005). Level IV dissection had the highest EI, and level IV metastasis was significantly correlated with overall survival (p=0.012) and recurrence (p=0.001). Conclusion: CLNM was a significant prognostic factor for ESCC patients and was more common among patients with advanced nodal stages. Level IV exhibited the highest risk of metastasis, and dissection at level IV may be crucial when performing 3FLND, especially in advanced nodal stage disease.

Extracting the Skill Level for Human Resource in the Field of Science and Technology Using the Delphi Technique (델파이법을 이용한 과학기술분야 인재의 직능 수준 도출)

  • Lee, Chang-hoon;Seo, Won-seok
    • Journal of Engineering Education Research
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    • v.19 no.6
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    • pp.32-37
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    • 2016
  • The purpose of this study is to extract a skill level of human resource in the field of science and technology. To accomplish the goal of this study, precedent research was conducted and then, the draft of skill level for Human Resource in the field of Science and Technology (HRST) was created by wrap-up meeting. The skill level of the HRST was finalized after confirming verification of 20 SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) from January to February 2016 by two times. The conclusions are as follows; First, the skill level of the HRST consists five categories. Each of the level has educational background, work experience, certification, duty, major and so on. Second, the contents of the skill level were found to be mostly valid.

A Level Evaluation Model for Data Governance (데이터 거버넌스 수준평가 모델 개발의 제안)

  • Jang, Kyoung-Ae;Kim, Woo-Je
    • Journal of the Korean Operations Research and Management Science Society
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    • v.42 no.1
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    • pp.65-77
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    • 2017
  • The purpose of this paper is to develop a model of level evaluation for data governance that can diagnose and verify level of insufficient part of operating data governance. We expanded the previous study related on attribute indices of data governance and developed a level model of evaluation and items. The model of level evaluation for data governance is the level of evaluation and has items of 400 components. We used previous studies and expert opinion analysis such as the Delphi technique, KJ method in this paper. This study contributes to literature by developing a level evaluation model for data governance at the early phase. This paper will be used for the base line data in objective evidence of performance in the companies and agencies of operating data governance.

Three-Level SEPIC with Improved Efficiency and Balanced Capacitor Voltages

  • Choi, Woo-Young;Lee, Seung-Jae
    • Journal of Power Electronics
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    • v.16 no.2
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    • pp.447-454
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    • 2016
  • A single-ended primary-inductor converter (SEPIC) features low input current ripple and output voltage up/down capability. However, the switching devices in a two-level SEPIC suffer from high voltage stresses and switching losses. To cope with this drawback, this study proposes a three-level SEPIC that uses a low voltage-rated switch and thus achieves better switching performance compared with the two-level SEPIC. The three-level SEPIC can reduce switch voltage stresses and switching losses. The converter operation and control method are described in this work. The experimental results for a 500 W prototype converter are also discussed. Experimental results show that unlike the two-level SEPIC, the three-level SEPIC achieves improved power efficiency with balanced capacitor voltages.