• Title/Summary/Keyword: Performance control

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Accelerated Fractionation In The Treatment of Brain Metastasis From Non-Small Cell Carcinoma of The Lung (비소세포성 폐암환자의 뇌전이에 대한 급속분할조사법)

  • Hong, Seong-Eon
    • Radiation Oncology Journal
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    • v.12 no.2
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    • pp.165-173
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    • 1994
  • Purpose : Metastatic cancer to the brain is a major problem for the patients with bronchogenic carcinoma, and most of these patients have a limited survival expectancy. To increase tumor control and / or to decrease late morbidity with possible shortening in over-all treatment period, multiple daily fraction technique for brain metastasis was performed. The author reperesented the results of accelerated fractionation radiotherapy in patients with brain metastases from non-small cell lung cancer. Materals and Methods : Twenty-six patients with brain metastases from non-small cell lung cancer between 1991 and 1993 received brain radiotherapy with a total dose of 48 Gy, at 2 Gy per fraction, twice a day with a interfractional period of 6 hours, and delivered 5 days a week. The whole brain was treated to 40 Gy and boost dose escalated to 8 Gy for single metastatic lesion by reduced field. Twenty-four of the 26 patients completed the radiotherapy. Radiotherapy was interupted in two patients suggesting progressive intracerebral diseases. Results : This radiotherapy regimen appears to be comparable to the conventional scheme in relief from symptoms. Three of the 24 patients experienced nausea and or vomiting during the course of treatment because of acute irradiation toxicity. The author observed no excessive toxicity with escalating dose of irradiation. An increment in median survival, although not statistically significant(p>0.05), was noted with escalating doses(48 Gy) of accelerated fractionation(7 months) compared to conventional treatment(4.5 months). Median survival also increased in patients with brain solitary metastasis(9 months) compared to multiple extrathoracic sites(4 months), and in patients with good performance status(9 months versus 3.5 months), they were statistically significant (p<0.01). Conclusion : The increment in survival in patients with good prognostic factors such as controlled primary lesion, metastasis in brain only and good perfomance status appeared encouraging. Based on these results, a multi-institutional prospective randomized trial should be initiated to compare the twice-a-day and once-a-day radiotherapy schemes on patients with brain metastasis with careful consideration for the patients' quality of life.

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Utilization of Plant Phytase to Improve Phosphorous Availability for Broiler (육계의 인 이용율 향상을 위한 식물성 Phytase의 이용)

  • Kim, B.H.;Namkung, H.;Paik, I.K.
    • Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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    • v.44 no.4
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    • pp.407-418
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    • 2002
  • This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of wheat and wheat bran  as the source of phytase in a 5 week broiler feeding trial. One thousand day-old broiler chickens(Ross$^{(R)}$) were divided into 20 pens of 50 broilers(25 male and 25 female) each. Four pens were randomly arranged to one of the five dietary treatments: T1, control diet containing normal nonphytate P(NPP) ;  T2, T1 - 0.1% NPP; T3, T2 + 600IU microbial phytase(NOVO$^{(R)}$) per kg diet; T4, T2 + 600IU plant phytase from wheat and wheat bran; T5, T2 + 600IU plant phytase from wheat and hydrothermally treated wheat bran. Reduction of NPP level by 0.1%(T2) reduced weight gain and feed intake but plant phytase treatments(T4 and T5) recovered the lost performance. Plant phytase treatments showed better (p<0.05) weight gain and intake than the microbial phytase treatment(T3). There was no difference between regular wheat bran treatment(T4) and hydrothermally treated wheat bran treatment(T5). Mortality was the highest by low NPP diet(T2). Availability of ether extract and crude ash of grower diet was the highest(p<0.05) in normal wheat bran diet(T4). Availability of Ca and P of grower diet was the highest(p<0.05) in T4 followed by T3 and T5. Availability of Mg, Fe and Zn was drastically improved by phytase treatments(T3, T4 and T5). Excretion of Ca, P, Mg, Fe and Zn was the lowest(p<0.05) with microbial phytase treatment(T3). Serum level of Ca and Mg was the highest(p<0.05) with the low NPP treatment(T2). Tibial ash content of T2 and T3 was lower(p<0.05) than that of T1, T4 and T5. However, tibial Ca content was higher(p<0.05) in T1 and T2 than other treatments. Tibial P and Mg contents were the highest(p<0.05) in T1. It was concluded that plant phytase from wheat bran can be effectively used to improve P utilization. Hydrothermal treatment of wheat bran prior to inclusion in the diet had no beneficial effects.

The Effects of Supplementation of Ascidian Tunic Shell into Laying Hen Diet on Egg Quality (산란계 사료에서 우렁쉥이껍질 첨가가 계란 품질에 미치는 영향)

  • Kim, E.Mi.
    • Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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    • v.44 no.1
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    • pp.45-54
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    • 2002
  • This study was conducted to evaluate the feeding value of ascidian tunic shell the effects of its dietary supplementation on laying performance, egg-yolk pigmentation, egg-shell strength and egg taurine content. A total of 168 brown layers at the age of 29wks in commercial cage were fed for 4 wks with 7 different diets containing ascidian tunic shel1(AST) at varying levels of 0$\sim$5% Dm or 0% AST with 100ppm carophyll red. No differences were found in egg production and weight among the treatments indicating that ascidian tunic shell did not adversely affect the laying performances. Adding the ascidian tunic shell to the diets increased egg-yolk pigmentation compared to the control and resulted in simillar or better effect on egg-yolk pigmentation compared to 100ppm carophyll red. The data suggest that ascidian tunic shell may be used as feed ingredients in layer diet enrichment of egg-yolk pigmentation in the place of carophyll red(chemical pigment). Specific gravity and breaking strength of egg shell were significantly increased by the adding ascidian tunic shell to the diet, suggesting that ascidian tunic shell may be used as feed ingredients for increasing egg shell strength. Also taurine content of egg was significantly increased with increasing supplementation of ascidian tunic shell to the diet(p<0.05). Therefore, ascidian tunic shell may be used as feed ingredients in laying hen diet to improve egg quality such as egg-yolk pigmentation, egg-shell strength and egg taurine enrichment.

Nutrient Recovery from Sludge Fermentation Effluent in Upflow Phosphate Crystallization Process (상향류 인 결정화공정을 이용한 슬러지 발효 유출수로 부터의 영양소 회수)

  • Ahn, Young-Ho
    • Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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    • v.28 no.8
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    • pp.866-871
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    • 2006
  • The nutrient recovery in phosphate crystallization process was investigated by using laboratory scale uptlow reactors, adopting sequencing batch type configuration. The industrial waste lime was used as potential cation source with magnesium salt($MgCl_2$) as control. The research was focused on its successful application in a novel integrated sludge treatment process, which is comprised of a high performance fermenter followed by a crystallization reactor. In the struvite precipitation test using synthetic wastewater first, which has the similar characteristics with the real fermentation effluent, the considerable nutrient removal(about 60%) in both ammonia and phosphate was observed within $0.5{\sim}1$ hr of retention time. The results also revealed that a minor amount(<5%) of ammonia stripping naturally occurred due to the alkaline(pH 9) characteristic in feed substrate. Stripping of $CO_2$ by air did not increase the struvite precipitation rate but it led to increased ammonia removal. In the second experiment using the fermentation effluent, the optimal dosage of magnesium salt for struvite precipitation was 0.86 g Mg $g^{-1}$ P, similar to the mass ratio of the struvite. The optimal dosage of waste lime was 0.3 g $L^{-1}$, resulting in 80% of $NH_4-N$ and 41% of $PO_4-P$ removal, at about 3 hrs of retention time. In the microscopic analysis, amorphous crystals were mainly observed in the settled solids with waste lime but prism-like crystals were observed with magnesium salt. Based on mass balance analysis for an integrated sludge treatment process(fermenter followed by crystallization reactor) for full-scale application(treatment capacity Q=158,880 $m^3\;d^{-1}$), nutrient recycle loading from the crystallization reactor effluent to the main liquid stream would be significantly reduced(0.13 g N and 0.19 g P per $m^3$ of wastewater, respectively). The results of the experiment reveal therefore that the reuse of waste lime, already an industrial waste, in a nutrient recovery system has various advantages such as higher economical benefits and sustainable treatment of the industrial waste.

Assessment of Left Ventricular Function with Echocardiography in Patients Treated with Adriamycin : A Load-Independent Index of Myocardial Contractility and Comparisons between Rest and Exercise (Adriamycin을 사용한 환아에서 심초음파를 이용한 좌심실 기능의 평가 : 심근 수축력의 부하 비의존족 지표 및 휴식시와 운동시의 비교)

  • Park, Pyoung Soo;Park, Hye Young;Lee, Hae Yong
    • Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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    • v.45 no.2
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    • pp.214-222
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    • 2002
  • Purpose : The aim of this study was to evaluate myocardial injury in children treated with adriamycin by echocardiography, which is non-invasive and safe measurement for children. Methods : Left ventricular dimensions, wall stress, and contractile function were determined by echocardiographic methods in 17 patient recepients with adriamycin chemotherapy at rest(group 1) and during stress(group 2). Twenty age-matched normal subjects were established as control group. Results : End-diastolic dimension was decreased in both groups(group 1; $92{\pm}7%$ of normal, group 2; $87{\pm}8%$ of normal, P<0.05). Left ventricular end diastolic volume and wall mass were also decreased in both groups(group 1; $96{\pm}12mL/m^2$ and $145{\pm}18g/m^2$, group 2; $87{\pm}8mL/m^2$ and $137{\pm}16g/m^2$, respectively, P<0.05 and P<0.05) and group 2 showed lower values than group 1. Meridional end systolic stress(ESSm) was increased in both groups but there was no significant difference between the two groups(group 1; $52.6{\pm}6.2g/cm^2$, group 2; $63.5{\pm}8.5g/cm^2$, P<0.05, normal value $45.7{\pm}3.5g/cm^2$). The load-independent relation of rate-corrected circumferential fiber shortening velocity(Vcfc) to ESSm has a significant abnormal change in 7 out of 17(41%) in group 1 and 12 out of 17(71%) in group 2. Conclusion : The load-dependent systolic index, such as fractional shortening, may fail to show abnormality because of the compensatory changes in preload and afterload which can mask the impaired contractility. Therefore, systolic performance also should be monitored by a load-indepedent contractility index such as slope value of the end-systolic pressure-dimension relation and the position of the left ventricular stress-fiber shortening velocity after exercise.

Finding Influential Users in the SNS Using Interaction Concept : Focusing on the Blogosphere with Continuous Referencing Relationships (상호작용성에 의한 SNS 영향유저 선정에 관한 연구 : 연속적인 참조관계가 있는 블로고스피어를 중심으로)

  • Park, Hyunjung;Rho, Sangkyu
    • The Journal of Society for e-Business Studies
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    • v.17 no.4
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    • pp.69-93
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    • 2012
  • Various influence-related relationships in Social Network Services (SNS) among users, posts, and user-and-post, can be expressed using links. The current research evaluates the influence of specific users or posts by analyzing the link structure of relevant social network graphs to identify influential users. We applied the concept of mutual interactions proposed for ranking semantic web resources, rather than the voting notion of Page Rank or HITS, to blogosphere, one of the early SNS. Through many experiments with network models, where the performance and validity of each alternative approach can be analyzed, we showed the applicability and strengths of our approach. The weight tuning processes for the links of these network models enabled us to control the experiment errors form the link weight differences and compare the implementation easiness of alternatives. An additional example of how to enter the content scores of commercial or spam posts into the graph-based method is suggested on a small network model as well. This research, as a starting point of the study on identifying influential users in SNS, is distinctive from the previous researches in the following points. First, various influence-related properties that are deemed important but are disregarded, such as scraping, commenting, subscribing to RSS feeds, and trusting friends, can be considered simultaneously. Second, the framework reflects the general phenomenon where objects interacting with more influential objects increase their influence. Third, regarding the extent to which a bloggers causes other bloggers to act after him or her as the most important factor of influence, we treated sequential referencing relationships with a viewpoint from that of PageRank or HITS (Hypertext Induced Topic Selection).

A Study on the Oral Health Status, PHP Index and Oral Health Behavior of Patients in 'S' College Dental Clinic (S대학 치위생과 실습실에 내원한 환자의 치아우식상태와 구강위생관리능력, 구강건강행위 실태)

  • Kim, Jin;Woo, Hee-Sun;Jung, Moon-Hee
    • Journal of dental hygiene science
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    • v.9 no.1
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    • pp.145-151
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    • 2009
  • The purpose of this study was to examine the correlation of oral health behavior, oral health state and PHP in an effort to facilitate the promotion of oral health and improve oral health care. The subjects in this study were patients who got a scaling at the oral hygiene practice lab in the department of dental hygiene in S college dental clinic from September 5 to December 1, 2007. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS WIN 12.0 program. The findings of the study were as follows: 1. The younger patients had a smaller number of FT index, and the older patients excelled the younger ones in oral health behavior involving the use of oral hygiene supplies, regular visit to dental clinics and dietary control. 2. The patients got 2.62 out of possible five points on oral health behavior, which indicated that their oral health behavior wasn't good enough. Those whose oral health behavior was better had a smaller number of DT index and a larger number of FT index. A better oral health behavior led to a lower PHP index. 3. There was a negative(-) interrelationship between oral health behavior and DT index, and oral health behavior had a positive(+) correlation with FT index. The oral health behavior had a negative(-) correlation to PHP index, which showed that a better oral health behavior led to a lower PHP index. The above-mentioned findings seem to suggest that oral health behavior is one of integral factors to affect oral health status and PHP index, and the kind of oral health education that could change oral health care attitude should be provided during scaling practice after grasping the actual oral health behavior of patients.

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The Development and Application of Standard Diagnostic Table for Mountain Ginseng Management (산양삼 경영 표준진단표의 개발 및 현지 적용)

  • Jeon, Jun-Heon;Lee, Seong-Youn;Lee, Jung-Min;Ji, Dong-Hyun;Kim, Yeon-Tae;Kang, Kil-Nam
    • Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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    • v.103 no.4
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    • pp.622-629
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    • 2014
  • This study aims to develop a standard diagnostic table for mountain ginseng so that the cultivators not only can check their current level of management with the table, but also can understand and address operational challenges better by themselves utilizing the table. The standard diagnostic table consists of 3 categories and 18 subcategories to diagnose the general status of forestry households, the indicators of management performance and the level of management. To develop the table, the study conducted a survey on the actual condition of management, targeting 81 forestry households throughout 15 municipalities including Mu-ju, Jeollabukdo, and Ham-yang, Gyeongsangnamdo, all of which are the chief producing districts of mountain ginseng. Then, the study calculated total scores by regions by aggregating the scores of 18 subcategories, in order to evaluate and compare the management level among regions based on the scores. According to the result, the average score of 81 forestry households was 57.2 point-58% of which surveyed belonged to the range of 40-60 point. Compared by regions, the average score of Jeollabukdo regions was 52.9 point, the lowest, and that of Gyeongsangnamdo regions was 61.4 point, the highest. It is remarkable that among the indicators of management base, the average score of 'mounding (the height of mound)' item was recorded rather low with 1.59 point, reflecting the fact that the cultivators tend to raise mountain ginseng with no additional mounds. As for the indicators of production skills, the average score of the pest control item was remarkably low with 1.28 point. Over 90% of cultivators answered that they do not usually forecast or survey the pest disease in advance. Meanwhile, it is also noticeable that the item of sowing and planting methods, and the item of seed were both rather high, recording 4.00 and 4.47 point respectively. As for the item of management and sales skill, however, the score was rather low with 2.20 point, meaning that the forestry households still have a low interest in the business management.

Evaluation of the Clinical Usefulness of the Xeniss Rapid TB kit for the Diagnosis of Tuberculosis (결핵진단에서 Xeniss Rapid TB kit의 임상적 유용성)

  • Park, Seung-Kyu;Lee, Woo-Chul;Hwang, Soo-Hee;Kwon, Eun-Si;Lee, Hung-Soon;Lee, Duk-Hyoung
    • Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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    • v.53 no.4
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    • pp.389-400
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    • 2002
  • Background : The rapid diagnostic tests for tuberculosis are needed to facilitate early treatment of tuberculosis and prevention of Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission. The Xeniss Rapid TB kit is a rapid, card-based immunochromatographic test for the detection of antibodies directed against M. tuberculosis antigens including antigen 5(38-kDa antigen). The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of the Xeniss Rapid TB kit for the diagnosis of active tuberculosis with serums from patients, asymptomatic healthy and close contact controls. Methods : 188 patients with active tuberculosis were tested; 177 with pulmonary tuberculosis(18 with combined pleurisy), and 11 with extrapulmonary tuberculosis. The control groups were composed of 82 close contacts and 57 healthy adults. Study subject were drawn from one national tuberculosis hospital for patients and close contacts, and another private hospital for healthy adults in Masan city, Korea. The Xeniss Rapid TB kit(Xeniss Life Science Co., Ltd., Seoul, Korea) was evaluated by using serum samples according to the instructions of the manufacturer by an investigator masked to the clinical and microbiological status of the study subjects. Results : The diagnostic sensitivity of the Xeniss Rapid TB kit was 73.9% in patients and specificities were 73.2% and 93.0% in close contact and healthy adults respectively. The positive predictive value in patients was 84.2% and the negative predictive value in controls was 85.8%. Conclusion : This study shows that the Xeniss Rapid TB test is a simple and fast method to diagnose active TB. The results of the sensitivity and specificites suggest that serodiagnosis using this point of care testing(POCT) device would be valuable and advantageous for screening tuberculosis in the clinical field.

Structural Relationships Among Factors to Adoption of Telehealth Service (원격의료서비스 수용요인의 구조적 관계 실증연구)

  • Kim, Sung-Soo;Ryu, See-Won
    • Asia pacific journal of information systems
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    • v.21 no.3
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    • pp.71-96
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    • 2011
  • Within the traditional medical delivery system, patients residing in medically vulnerable areas, those with body movement difficulties, and nursing facility residents have had limited access to good healthcare services. However, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) provides us with a convenient and useful means of overcoming distance and time constraints. ICT is integrated with biomedical science and technology in a way that offers a new high-quality medical service. As a result, rapid technological advancement is expected to play a pivotal role bringing about innovation in a wide range of medical service areas, such as medical management, testing, diagnosis, and treatment; offering new and improved healthcare services; and effecting dramatic changes in current medical services. The increase in aging population and chronic diseases has caused an increase in medical expenses. In response to the increasing demand for efficient healthcare services, a telehealth service based on ICT is being emphasized on a global level. Telehealth services have been implemented especially in pilot projects and system development and technological research. With the service about to be implemented in earnest, it is necessary to study its overall acceptance by consumers, which is expected to contribute to the development and activation of a variety of services. In this sense, the study aims at positively examining the structural relationship among the acceptance factors for telehealth services based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Data were collected by showing audiovisual material on telehealth services to online panels and requesting them to respond to a structured questionnaire sheet, which is known as the information acceleration method. Among the 1,165 adult respondents, 608 valid samples were finally chosen, while the remaining were excluded because of incomplete answers or allotted time overrun. In order to test the reliability and validity of the assessment scale items, we carried out reliability and factor analyses, and in order to explore the causal relation among potential variables, we conducted a structural equation modeling analysis using AMOS 7.0 and SPSS 17.0. The research outcomes are as follows. First, service quality, innovativeness of medical technology, and social influence were shown to affect perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of the telehealth service, which was statistically significant, and the two factors had a positive impact on willingness to accept the telehealth service. In addition, social influence had a direct, significant effect on intention to use, which is paralleled by the TAM used in previous research on technology acceptance. This shows that the research model proposed in the study effectively explains the acceptance of the telehealth service. Second, the research model reveals that information privacy concerns had a insignificant impact on perceived ease of use of the telehealth service. From this, it can be gathered that the concerns over information protection and security are reduced further due to advancements in information technology compared to the initial period in the information technology industry, and thus the improvement in quality of medical services appeared to ensure that information privacy concerns did not act as a prohibiting factor in the acceptance of the telehealth service. Thus, if other factors have an enormous impact on ease of use and usefulness, concerns over these results in the initial period of technology acceptance may become irrelevant. However, it is clear that users' information privacy concerns, as other studies have revealed, is a major factor affecting technology acceptance. Thus, caution must be exercised while interpreting the result, and further study is required on the issue. Numerous information technologies with outstanding performance and innovativeness often attract few consumers. A revised bill for those urgently in need of telehealth services is about to be approved in the national assembly. As telemedicine is implemented between doctors and patients, a wide range of systems that will improve the quality of healthcare services will be designed. In this sense, the study on the consumer acceptance of telehealth services is meaningful and offers strong academic evidence. Based on the implications, it can be expected to contribute to the activation of telehealth services. Further study is needed to assess the acceptance factors for telehealth services, such as motivation to remain healthy, health care involvement, knowledge on health, and control of health-related behavior, in order to develop unique services according to the categorization of customers based on health factors. In addition, further study may focus on various theoretical cognitive behavior models other than the TAM, such as the health belief model.