• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.65 no.1
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• pp.74-83
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• 2022

Objective : Oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF) is a surgical technique that utilizes a large interbody cage to indirectly decompress neural elements. The position of the cage relative to the vertebral body could affect the degree of foraminal decompression. Previous studies determined the position of the cage using plain radiographs, with conflicting results regarding the influence of the position of the cage to the degree of neural foramen decompression. Because of the cage obliquity, computed tomography (CT) has better accuracy than plain radiograph for the measurement of the obliquely inserted cage. The objective of this study is to find the correlation between the position of the OLIF cage with the degree of indirect decompression of foraminal stenosis using CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods : We review imaging of 46 patients who underwent OLIF from L2-L5 for 68 levels. Segmental lordosis (SL) was measured in a plain radiograph. The positions of the cage were measured in CT. Spinal canal cross-sectional area (SCSA), and foraminal crosssectional area (FSCA) measurements using MRI were taken into consideration. Results : Patients' mean age was 69.7 years. SL increases 3.0±5.1 degrees. Significant increases in SCSA (33.3%), FCSA (43.7% on the left and 45.0% on the right foramen) were found (p<0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis shows putting the cage in the more posterior position correlated with more increase of FSCA and decreases SL correction. The position of the cage does not affect the degree of the central spinal canal decompression. Obliquity of the cage does not result in different degrees of foraminal decompression between right and left side neural foramen. Conclusion : Cage position near the posterior part of the vertebral body increases the decompression effect of the neural foramen while putting the cage in the more anterior position correlated with increases SL.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.15 no.sup1
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• pp.32-40
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• 2021

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Considering the high number of deaths from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Latin American countries, together with multiple factors that increase the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, we aimed to determine 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels and its association with mortality in patients with critical COVID-19. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This was a prospective observational study including adult patients with critical COVID-19. Data, including clinical characteristics and 25(OH)D levels measured at the time of intensive care unit admission, were collected. All patients were followed until hospital discharge or in-hospital death. The patients were divided into those surviving and deceased patient groups, and univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to determine independent predictors of in hospital mortality. RESULTS: The entire cohort comprised 94 patients with critical COVID-19 (males, 59.6%; median age, 61.5 years). The median 25(OH)D level was 12.7 ng/mL, and 15 (16%) and 79 (84%) patients had vitamin D insufficiency and vitamin D deficiency, respectively. The median serum 25(OH)D level was significantly lower in deceased patients compared with surviving (12.1 vs. 18.7 ng/mL, P < 0.001). Vitamin D deficiency was present in 100% of the deceased patients. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that age, body mass index, other risk factors, and 25(OH)D level were independent predictors of mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D deficiency was present in 84% of critical COVID-19 patients. Serum 25(OH)D was independently associated with mortality in critical patients with COVID-19.

• KIPS Transactions on Software and Data Engineering
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• v.11 no.7
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• pp.291-298
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• 2022

In this paper, we present a method for dependency parsing with chunking in Korean. Dependency parsing is a task of determining a governor of every word in a sentence. In general, we used to determine the syntactic governor in Korean and should transform the syntactic structure into semantic structure for further processing like semantic analysis in natural language processing. There is a notorious problem to determine whether syntactic or semantic governor. For example, the syntactic governor of the word "먹고 (eat)" in the sentence "밥을 먹고 싶다 (would like to eat)" is "싶다 (would like to)", which is an auxiliary verb and therefore can not be a semantic governor. In order to mitigate this somewhat, we propose a Korean dependency parsing after chunking, which is a process of segmenting a sentence into constituents. A constituent is a word or a group of words that function as a single unit within a dependency structure and is called a chunk in this paper. Compared to traditional dependency parsing, there are some advantage of the proposed method: (1) The number of input units in parsing can be reduced and then the parsing speed could be faster. (2) The effectiveness of parsing can be improved by considering the relation between two head words in chunks. Through experiments for Sejong dependency corpus, we have shown that the USA and LAS of the proposed method are 86.48% and 84.56%, respectively and the number of input units is reduced by about 22%p.

• Journal of Naturopathy
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2020

Purposes: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between five viscera, environmental and seasonal changes, and their preference for five colors. Methods: The survey performed using the Chinese medicine constitution and the five cardinal colors (Red, Blue, Yellow, White, Black) paper. Results: The blood types distributions were A, O, B, AB, and others in order. The proportion of smokers(75.6%) and non-drinkers(25.6%). Their color preferences were highest in blue and the lowest in black, but not significant. The proportion of the viscera was stomach(45.3%), liver-lung, intestine, and heart, and the tastes were spicy(48.8%), sweet, sour, salty, and bitter in order. Blue was the highest in all. kidneys(8.3%) preferred red and bitter yellow. The change in mind(35.7%) was highest, followed by scary thoughts and their color preferences varied. The most preferred place was 'cold place,' and 'dry place' was low. The most preferred seasons were 'autumn (38.6%), and the lowest was rainy. And their colors preference were blue. The respondents(89.9%) were normal, 5.7% hypertension and 4.4% hypotension. Healthy people preferred blue (91.8%) and hypertensives yellow with not significant. The diabetics preferred blue and red(p<.04). Conclusions: In the questionnaire survey on the health and physical abnormalities of Seoul citizens, various distributions found in each category, and most of them preferred blue. The results indicated that the questionnaire and the five- colored preference were a little interrelated. However, the results are to be primary data for research in this field.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.869-879
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• 2021

Methods for the development of home meal replacement seafood tailored to consumer needs for the advanced use of Broughton's ribbed ark Scapharca broughtonii (BRA) in Korea are required. In this study, we developed a cheese-topped, semi-dried, and seasoned Broughton's ribbed ark (S-BRA) tailored for the younger generation with an improved texture and fish odor. The optimization of conditions to improve the texture and fish odor was performed using RSM. The design of the model was appropriate because there was no significant difference (P>0.05) between the predicted and actual values of moisture content, hardness, and overall acceptance, and the optimal preparation conditions were a vinegar content of 2.68%, a soaking time of 62 min, a drying temperature of 60℃, and a time of 162 min. The S-BRA manufactured under these optimal conditions exhibited a lower odor intensity compared to the unsoaked and undried control, suggesting that the fish odor of S-BRA has been improved. The moisture content related to the texture of the S-BRA was lower than that of the control, and the hardness was higher. Therefore, the S-BRA developed in this study will appeal to people of all ages, especially the younger generation; their consumption is expected to increase.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.65 no.6
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• pp.834-840
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• 2022

Objective : C-reactive protein (CRP) level, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and white blood cell (WBC) count are inflammatory markers used to evaluate postoperative infections. Although these markers are non-specific, understanding their normal kinetics after surgery may be helpful in the early detection of postoperative infections. To compliment the recent trend of reducing the duration of antibiotic use, this retrospective study investigated the inflammatory markers of patients who had received antibiotics within 24 hours after surgery according to the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service guidelines and compared them with those of patients who had received antibiotics for 5 days, which was proven to be non-infectious. Methods : We enrolled 74 patients, divided into two groups. Patients underwent posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) at a single institution between 2019 and 2020. Group A included 37 patients who received antibiotics within 24 hours after the PLIF procedure, and group B comprised 37 patients who had used antibiotics for 5 days. A 1 : 1 nearest-neighbor propensity-matched analysis was used. The clinical variables included age, sex, medical history, body mass index, estimated blood loss, and operation time. Laboratory data included CRP, ESR, and WBC, which were measured preoperatively and on postoperative days (POD) 1, 3, 5, and 7. Results : CRP dynamics tended to decrease after peaking on POD 3, with a similar trend in both groups. The average CRP level in group B was slightly higher than that in group A; however, the difference was not statistically significant. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed operation time, number of fused levels, and estimated blood loss as significant predictors of a greater CRP peak value (r²=0.473, p<0.001) in patients. No trend (a tendency to decrease from the peak value) could be determined for ESR and WBC count on POD 7. Conclusion : Although slight differences were observed in numerical values and kinetics, sequential changes in inflammatory markers according to the duration of antibiotic administration showed similar patterns. Knowledge of CRP kinetics allows the assessment of the degree of difference between the clinical and expected values.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.655-665
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• 2020

Background and objective: This study was conducted to compare the cultivation environment, growth of cut flowers, and management performance of conventional farms and smart farms growing the standard cut chrysanthemum, 'Jinba'. Methods: Conventional and smart farms were selected, and facility information, cultivation environment, cut flower growth, and management performance were investigated. Results: The conventional and smart farms were located in Muan, Jeollanam-do, and conventional farming involved cultivating with soil culture in a plastic greenhouse, while the smart farm was cultivating with hydroponics in a plastic greenhouse. The conventional farm did not have sensors for environmental measurement such as light intensity and temperature and pH and EC sensors for fertigation, and all systems, including roof window, side window, thermal screen, and shading curtain, were operated manually. On the other hand, the smart farm was equipped with sensors for measuring the environment and nutrient solution, and was automatically controlled. The day and night mean temperatures, relative humidity, and solar radiation in the facilities of the conventional and the smart farm were managed similarly. But in the floral differentiation stage, the floral differentiation was delayed, as the night temperature of conventional farm was managed as low as 17.7℃ which was lower than smart farm. Accordingly, the harvest of cut flowers by the conventional farm was delayed to 35 days later than that of the smart farm. Also, soil moisture and EC of the conventional farm were unnecessarily kept higher than those of the smart farm in the early growth stage, and then were maintained relatively low during the period after floral differentiation, when a lot of water and nutrients were required. Therefore, growth of cut flower, cut flower length, number of leaves, flower diameter, and weight were poorer in the conventional farm than in the smart farm. In terms of management performance, yield and sales price were 10% and 38% higher for the smart farm than for the conventional farm, respectively. Also, the net income was 2,298 thousand won more for the smart farm than for the conventional farm. Conclusion: It was suggested that the improved growth of cut flowers and high management performance of the smart farm were due to precise environment management for growth by the automatic control and sensor.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.495-507
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• 2021

Objectives: This study examined regional differences in the intake of dietary total fat and saturated fatty acid (SFA) and their food sources among Korean adults. We also investigated the associations of SFA intake with metabolic diseases by region. Methods: This study included 13,926 adults (≥ 19y) who participated in the 2016 ~ 2019 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. The regions were divided into urban and rural areas according to the administrative districts where the participants lived. Using dietary data obtained from a 24-h recall, intake of total fat and SFA and their food sources were assessed by region. Metabolic diseases included obesity, abdominal obesity, and elevated total cholesterol and their association with SFA intake by region were examined using multiple logistic regression. Results: Of the participants, 19.6% lived in rural areas. In urban areas, the total fat and SFA intakes were higher than in rural areas: 21.2% of energy (%E) came from total fat and 6.9%E from SFA in urban areas, whereas 18.0%E came from total fat and 5.8%E from SFA in rural areas. The percentage of participants who exceeded the dietary reference intakes for total fat and SFA in urban areas was 16.5% and 41.9%, respectively, but 43.4% of participants in rural areas showed lower intake levels for total fat compared to the reference level. Young adults did not show regional differences in fat intake, and the percentage of subjects who exceeded the reference for SFA was high both in urban (58.5%) and rural (55.7%) areas. Among middle-aged and older adults, intake of fatty acids except for n-3 fatty acid was significantly higher in urban areas than in rural areas. About 69% of older adults in rural areas showed a lower intake of total fat compared to the reference level. The food sources for total fat and SFA were meat, soybean oil, eggs, and milk in both areas. The intake of fat from eggs, milk, mayonnaise, and bread was higher in urban areas, but the intake of fat from white rice and coffee mix was higher in rural areas. The SFA intake was positively associated with elevated serum total cholesterol in urban areas (4th quartile vs. 1st quartile, OR: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.06-1.40, P for trend: 0.043), but not in rural areas. Conclusions: Regional differences in total fat and SFA intakes and their food sources were observed among Korean adults. Our findings may help plan nutritional strategies to ameliorate regional health disparities.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.113-129
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• 2022

This study evaluated the dietary habits and dietary quality of the Korean elderly according to muscle strength status. This study was conducted on the elderly aged over 65 years who participated in the 2014-2018 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Subjects were classified into the normal muscle strength group(n=2,000) and the low muscle strength group(n=1,273) according to the handgrip strength. There was a significant difference in general characteristics, diet habits, and health behavior according to the muscle strength status. The normal muscle strength group had a higher total score of KHEI and a subtotal score of 「adequacy」 items. But there was not significant difference in the 「moderation」 items. For the 「balance of energy intake」 items, the normal muscle strength group had a higher subtotal score than the low muscle strength group only in among women. The prevalence of low muscle strength decreased in the highest quartile of the adjusted KHEI total score(p for trend=0.08). As a result of this study, it was found that KHEI was significantly associated with muscle strength. This study result can be used to provide dietary guidelines for the improvement of muscle strength in the elderly based on each item of KHEI and sex.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.716-728
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• 2022

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: An imbalanced adipokine profile in obesity increases the susceptibility to obesity-related cardiometabolic alterations, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The mulberry plant has been reported to have health benefits, such as hypolipidemic and hepatoprotective effects. This study examined the effects of a mulberry (Morus alba L.) fruit ethanol extract (MBEE) on dyslipidemia, liver steatosis, and adipokine imbalance in response to a high-fat diet. MATERIALS/METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to one of 4 groups containing 6 rats each and fed either a control diet (CON), a high-fat diet (HFD), or a high-fat diet with MBEE of 150 mg/kg/day (LMB) or 300 mg/kg/day (HMB). The triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities were measured spectrophotometrically. The leptin, adiponectin, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) levels were determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: The plasma TG levels were similar in the 4 groups. Plasma cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels and TC/HDL-C ratio increased in the HFD group compared with the CON group, whereas those values decreased in the LMB group (P < 0.05), indicating that MBEE had a plasma lipid-lowering effect. HDL-C decreased in the HFD group, but MBEE did not affect the HDL-C level. The HFD rats significantly increased hepatic TG and cholesterol levels and plasma ALT and AST activities compared to the CON group. The hepatic TG level and ALT and AST activities were reduced markedly by the MBEE treatment. The HFD group showed a higher PAI-1 level, whereas MBEE treatment, especially in the HMB group, significantly reduced leptin level, and leptin/adiponectin and PAI-1/ adiponectin ratios. These findings suggest that MBEE altered the imbalance between the pro-and anti-inflammatory adipokines to a more anti-inflammatory state. CONCLUSIONS: MBEE could protect against abnormal lipid metabolism and hepatic steatosis induced by a high-fat diet, lowering plasma cholesterol, LDL-C and TC/HDL-C, and hepatic TG. These findings are associated with the regulating effect of MBEE on the leptin/adiponectin and PAI-1/adiponectin ratios.