• Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.41-48
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• 2023

BACKGROUND: The function of left atrium (LA) is difficult to assess because of its ventricle-dependent, dynamic movement. The aim of this study was to assess LA function using velocity vector imaging (VVI) and compare LA function in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCMP) and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) with normal controls. METHODS: Fourteen patients with HCMP (72% male, mean age of 52.6 ± 9.8), 15 hypertensive patients with LVH (88% male, mean age of 54.0 ± 15.3), and 10 age-matched controls (83% male, mean age of 50.0 ± 4.6) were prospectively studied. Echocardiographic images of the LA were analyzed with VVI, and strain rate (SR) was compared among the 3 groups. RESULTS: The e' velocity (7.7 ± 1.1; 5.1 ± 0.8; 4.5 ± 1.3 cm/sec, p = 0.013), E/e' (6.8 ± 1.6; 12.4 ± 3.3; 14.7 ± 4.2, p = 0.035), and late diastolic SR at mid LA (-1.65 ± 0.51; -0.97 ± 0.55; -0.82 ± 0.32, p = 0.002) were significantly different among the groups (normal; LVH; HCMP, respectively). The e' velocity, E/e', and late diastolic SR at mid LA were significantly different between normal and LVH (p = 0.001; 0.022; 0.018), whereas LA size was similar between normal and LVH (p = 0.592). The mean late diastolic peak SR of mid LA was significantly correlated with indices of diastolic function (E/e', e', and LA size). CONCLUSIONS: The SR is a useful tool for detailed evaluation of LA function, especially early dysfunction of LA in groups with normal LA size.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.1118-1138
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• 2023

Objectives: Sarcopenia is an age-associated skeletal muscle disorder that can profoundly impact the health of elderly people. However, the efficacy of herbal medicine in sarcopenia is uncertain. This review aims to investigate evidence of the effect of herbal medicine on sarcopenia. Methods: We systematically searched 12 electronic databases for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Only trials that met the inclusion criteria were selected, and the characteristics of the included studies were extracted and synthesized in a narrative manner. The quality of the included studies was assessed using Cochrane's Risk of Bias (RoB) 2.0 tool. Results: 7 RCTs involving 672 participants with sarcopenia met the inclusion criteria. The intervention combining herbal medicine and conventional treatment (i.e., exercise, nutritional support) had a significant therapeutic effect compared with the conventional treatment, showing improvement in muscle strength (i.e., grip strength), muscle mass (i.e., appendicular skeletal muscle mass index), and physical function (i.e., gait speed, short physical performance battery, and timed up and go test). However, the methodological quality of the included RCTs was relatively low due to their high RoB, making it difficult to evaluate the efficacy of herbal medicine in sarcopenia. In terms of safety, several adverse events were reported. Conclusion: This review suggests that herbal medicine has a positive effect on muscle strength, muscle mass, and physical performance in elderly patients with sarcopenia, but there is a clear need for further research in this area.

• Land and Housing Review
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.1-7
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• 2024

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport has been promoting strengthening energy efficiency of old buildings through public green building remodeling projects since 2020. Green remodeling includes both essential and optional construction of passive and active elements. However, there is a lack of integrated designs of passive and active systems and no standards for prioritizing these systems according to the building's age. Therefore, this study examined six public libraries in central region 2 that were expected to be high energy consuming. Remodeling strategy priorities were selected based on potential energy reduction. The libraries were divided into three groups based on their year of construction, completed in the 1980s (Model 1), 1990s (Model 2), and 2000s (Model 3). ECO2-OD, based on ISO 13790 and DINV 18599, was used as the primary energy consumption analysis tool. Simulation results indicated Model 1 and Model 2 benefited most from higher insulation and replacement of mechanical equipment. Model 3 benefited most from upgrading to more energy efficient windows.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.11-22
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• 2024

Objectives This study aims to comprehensively review research utilizing ultrasonography for assessing manipulative treatment on spinal diseases, with the goal of promoting the wider integration of ultrasound imaging into clinical practice. Methods A systematic search was conducted on three international databases (Embase, PubMed, Cochrane) up to July 23, 2023. The search included key terms such as ultrasonography, manipulation, and skeletal muscle. The inclusion criteria narrowed down the selection to studies specifically related to lumbar and cervical vertebrae. Results Eleven studies were included in the review, with 10 focusing on lumbar vertebrae and one on cervical vertebrae, all employing spinal manipulation treatment. Among the 11 selected studies, nine primarily focused on ultrasound imaging to measure muscle thickness, while two utilized shear wave elastography to assess muscle stiffness. Also, rigorous measures were taken to ensure the reliability of the ultrasonography data. Conclusions This scoping review highlights the limited but growing evidence supporting the use of ultrasonography to assess manipulative treatment for spinal diseases. Despite a scarcity of studies in South Korea, it is crucial to recognize the potential of ultrasonography in becoming a widely used and practical tool for evaluating the effectiveness of manipulative treatments in the near future.

• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.44-52
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• 2024

In this study, we predicted PTO power requirements based on torque predicted by the discrete element method and the multi-body dynamics coupling method. Six different scenarios were simulated to predict PTO power requirements in different soil conditions. The first scenario was a tillage operation on cohesionless soil, and the field was modeled using the Hertz-Mindlin contact model. In the second through sixth scenarios, tillage operations were performed on viscous soils, and the field was represented by the Hertz-Mindlin + JKR model for cohesion. To check the influence of surface energy, a parameter to reproduce cohesion, on the power requirement, a simple regression analysis was performed. The significance and appropriateness of the regression model were checked and found to be acceptable. The study findings are expected to be used in design optimization studies of agricultural machinery by predicting power requirements using the discrete element method and the multi-body dynamics coupling method and analyzing the effect of soil cohesion on the power requirement.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.795-802
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• 1999

Objective : Cardiopulmonary exercise test is a useful tool to evaluate the operative risk and to plan exercise treatment for the patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD). In cardiopulmonary exercise test, most of the measured parameters are recorded at the time of peak exercise, which are hard to attain in COPD patients. So we evaluated the usefulness of the parameter, breathing reserve index(BRI=minute ventilation [$V_E$]/maximal voluntary ventilation[MVV]) at the time of anaerobic threshold($BRI_{AT}$) for the differentiation of COPD patients with normal controls. Methods : Thirty-six COPD patients and forty-two healthy subjects underwent progressive, incremental exercise test with bicycle ergometer upto possible maximal exercise. All the parameters was measured by breath by breath method. Results : The maximal oxygen uptake in COPD patients (mean$\pm$SE) was $1061.2{\pm}65.6ml/min$ which was significantly lower than $2137.6{\pm}91.4ml/min$ of normal subjects(p<0.01). Percent predicted maximal oxygen uptake was 54.3% in COPD patients and 86.0% in normal subjects(p<0.01). Maximal exercise(respiratory quotient; $VCO_2/VO_2{\geq}1.09$) was accomplished in 7 of 36 COPD patients(19.4%) and in 18 of 42 normal subjects(42.9%). The $BRI_{AT}$ of COPD patients was higher($0.50{\pm}0.03$) than that of control subject($028{\pm}0.02$, p<0.01), reflecting early hyperventilation in COPD patient during exercise. The correlation between $BRI_{AT}$ and BRI at maximal exercise in COPD patients was good(r=0.9687, p<0.01). Conclusion : The $BRI_{AT}$ could be a useful parameter for the differentiation of COPD patients with normal controls in the submaximal cardiopulmonary exercise test.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.24-37
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• 2005

This study was conducted to analyze the molecular epidemiological properties and to select the most efficient and reliable PCR method on 116 of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) isolates from Korean cattle, black goat, pig, dog, chicken, mouse and also human clinical cases from hospital. The distribution patterns of SSG [species specific genes; coagulase (coa), protein A (spa), nuclease (nuc) and aroA (RsaI) gene] were analyzed by PCR method. Among the SSGs, the nuc-gene was found in all strains $(100\%)$ tested and followed by coa-gene $(87.9\%)$, spa-gene $(91.4\%)$ and aroA-gene $(26.7\%)$, in order. The genetic subtyping by RFLP method was performed on the coa [AluI] and aroA-gene [RsaI] PCR products. The mecA-gene PCR and PCR-RFLP techniques were chosen to detect and verify of MRSA strains. Only the human strains $(12.1\%)$ were detected the positive mecA-gene products (533 bp), which were divided into two specific bands [201 & 332 bp] by HhaI enzyme digestion. On coa-gene and spa-gene typing, coa-gene was typed with ten kinds of genotype and coa-3 type were determined as the most predominant genotype, while spa-gene was divided into eleven kinds of genotype and also spa-7 type were selected the most prevalent genotype based on their genetic variations. On the aroA and coa-gene subtyping by PCR-RFLP, aroA-gene products were discriminated with only seven types of genotype, while coa-gene products were further divided into an eleven genotype, respectively. In comparison of SID values of five PCR based typing methods, the coa-PCR-RFLP (SID0.894) was evaluated the most efficient and reliable tools and followed by coa-PCR (SID0.883) and aroA-PCR-RFLP (SID0.462), in order. In conclusion, we could determined that the coa-PCR-RFLP method was the most suitable genetic analysis tool for S. aureus and MRSA strains from domestic animals and humans.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.11-21
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• 2003

This paper addresses the minor differences in the description of pain in Korean language in order to develop a standarized cancer pain aneument tool for Korean adults, Korean Cancer Pain Assessement Tool. The subtle differences in the meaning of expressions used cannot be translated into English and therefore we omiltted the English abstract.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.259-267
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• 2010

Resistivity logging instruments were designed to measure electrical resistivity of formation, which can be directly interpreted to provide water-saturation profile. Short and long normal logging measurements are made under groundwater level. In some investigation sites, groundwater level reaches to a depth of a few meters. It has come to attention that the proximity of groundwater level might distort short and long normal logging readings, when the measurements are made near groundwater level, owing to the proximity of an insulating air. This study investigates the effects of the proximity of groundwater level (and also the proximity of earth surface) on the normal by simulating normal logging measurements near groundwater level. In the simulation, we consider all the details of real logging situation, i.e., the presence of wellbore, the tool mandrel with current and potential electrodes, and currentreturn and reference-potential electrodes. We also model the air to include the earth’'s surface in the simulation rather than the customary choice of imposing a boundary condition. To obtain apparent resistivity, we compute the voltage, i.e., potential difference between monitoring and reference electrodes. For the simulation, we use a twodimensional, goal-oriented and high-order self-adaptive hp finite element refinement strategy (h denotes the element size and p the polynomial order of approximation within each element) to obtain accurate simulation results. Numerical results indicate that distortion on the normal logging is greater when the reference potential electrode is closer to the borehole and distortions on long normal logging are larger than those on short normal logging.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.107-114
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• 2012

We have developed a textile capacitive pressure sensor for smart gait analysis. The proposed system can convert sensor signal into step counts and pressure levels by different posture. To evaluate the performance of insole type textile capacitive sensor, we measured capacitance change by increment of weights from 10 kg to 100 kg with 10 kg increment using M1 class rectangular weights (four 20 kg weights and two 10 kg weights) which have ${\pm}10%$ tolerance. The result showed non-linearity characteristic of a general capacitive pressure sensor. The test was performed according to a test protocol for four different postures (sitting, standing, standing on a left leg and standing on a right leg) and different walking speeds (1 km/h and 4 km/h). Five healthy male subjects were participated in each test. As we expected, the pressure level was changed by pressure distribution according to posture. Also, developed textile pressure sensor showed higher recognition rate (average 98.06 %) than commercial pedometer at all walking speed. Therefore, the proposed step counts and posture monitoring system using conductive textile capacitive pressure sensor proved to be a reliable and useful tool for monitoring gait parameters.