• Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.94-112
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• 2019

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the quality of life (QOL) of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) between patients receiving hemodialysis (HD) and patients receiving continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) and to compare personal characteristic factors relating to the quality of life in patients with ESRD. Method: This study used a descriptive research design. The sample was recruited using purposive sampling that included 76 ESRD patients receiving either HD or CAPD at a dialysis clinic in Phraphutthabat Hospital, Saraburi Province, Thailand. Data was collected using the Quality of Life Questionnaire for Chronic Kidney Disease ($KDQOL-SF^{TM}$) version 1.3. Independent t-test and ANOVA procedures were used to analyze study data. Results: The results revealed that the HD patients had a moderate level of QOL. The highest scoring dimension of QOL was the encouragement of staff at the dialysis unit and patient satisfaction with the treatment (${\bar{X}}=100$, SD=.00), followed by social support (${\bar{X}}=89.29$, SD =16.88) and cognitive function (${\bar{X}}=88.57$, SD=11.82). On the other hand, the lowest scoring QOL dimension was physical problems (${\bar{X}}=50$, SD=51.89), and pain (${\bar{X}}=50$, SD=39.03), followed by work status (${\bar{X}}=53.57$, SD=45.84) and burden from kidney disease (${\bar{X}}=58.48$, SD=31.07). The CAPD patients also had a moderate QOL. The highest scoring QOL dimension was the encouragement of staff in the renal unit and patient satisfaction with the treatment (${\bar{X}}=100$, SD=.00), followed by social support (${\bar{X}}=95.61$, SD=14.20) and cognitive function (${\bar{X}}=88.83$, SD=13.52). The worst scoring QOL dimensions were work status (${\bar{X}}=44.44$, SD=42.72), general health (${\bar{X}}=53.61$, SD=39.05), and pain (${\bar{X}}=62.70$, SD=41.14). The difference overall and in each dimension of QOL in ESRD patients who were treated with HD and CAPD was not statistically significantly different. The QOL was not significantly different among patients with different personal characteristics except for income and duration of treatment; in those cases, the difference in QOL was statistically significant (p=.05). Conclusion: The overall QOL and life expectancy of patients with ESRD treated with HD and CAPD are not affected by gender, age, marital status, education, occupation, or type of health coverage. QOL was not significantly different, except for patients with different incomes and duration of renal replacement therapy, whose QOL was significantly different. The QOL of patients receiving dialysis should be studied to develop a QOL program for patients with chronic kidney disease who receive dialysis.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.171-178
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• 2018

Background: To evaluate mid-term oncological and functional outcomes in patients with prostate cancer treated by robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP) at our institution. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 128 patients with prostate cancer who underwent RALP at our institution between February 2008 and April 2010. All patients enrolled in this study were followed up for at least 5 years. We analyzed biochemical recurrence (BCR)-free survival using a Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis and predictive factors for BCR using multivariate Cox regression analysis. Continence recovery rate, defined as no use of urinary pads, was also evaluated. Results: Based on the D'Amico risk classification, there were 30 low-risk patients (23.4%), 47 intermediaterisk patients (38.8%), and 51 high-risk patients (39.8%), preoperatively. Based on pathological findings, 50.0% of patients (64/128) showed non-organ confined disease (${\geq}T3a$) and 26.6% (34/128) had high grade disease (Gleason score ${\geq}8$). During a median follow-up period of 71 months (range, 66-78 months), the frequency of BCR was 33.6% (43/128) and the median BCR-free survival was 65.9 (0.4-88.0) months. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that high grade disease (Gleason score ${\geq}8$) was an independent predictor for BCR (hazard ratio=4.180, 95% confidence interval=1.02-17.12, p=0.047). In addition, a majority of patients remained continent following the RALP procedure, without the need for additional intervention for post-prostatectomy incontinence. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated acceptable outcomes following an initial RALP procedure, despite 50% of the patients investigated demonstrating high-risk features associated with non-organ confined disease.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.344-350
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• 2020

Asthma is a chronic disease and occurs in airway in the lung. The cause of the disease has not been identified, it is assumed that both genetic and environmental risk factors play an important role in the development of asthma. Interleukin (IL)-12 is a cytokine regulating T-cell and NK cell. In this study, we analyzed the genetic polymorphisms of IL-12 receptor genes (IL-12Rβ1 and IL-12Rβ2) in asthma patients and normal individuals in a Korean population. We analyzed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IL-12Rβ1 and IL-12Rβ2 using the genotype data of 193 asthma cases and 3,228 healthy controls from the Korea Association REsource for their correlation with asthma case. IL-12Rβ1 and IL-12Rβ2 genes showed statistically significant polymorphism association with asthma case. As a results, 16 SNPs from IL-12Rβ1 and IL-12Rβ2 genes showed statistically significant association with asthma. Among them, rs375947 SNP in IL-12Rβ1 showed the greatest statistical correlation with asthma (P-value = 0.028, Odds Ratio = 1.27, 95% Confidence Interval = 1.03~1.57). The groups with minor allele of IL-12Rβ1 and IL-12Rβ2 showed increased risk of asthma. The genotype-based mRNA expression analysis showed that the group of minor allele of IL-12Rβ1 showed decreased mRNA expression. Decreased IL-12Rβ1 expression causes decreased IL-12 signaling, and this affects developing asthma. In conclusion, the SNPs in IL-12Rβ1 and IL-12Rβ2 may contribute to development of asthma in a Korean population.

• ALGAE
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.227-237
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• 2022

Knowledge on the seaweeds of eastern Sorsogon in the Philippines is uneven. Not only is eastern Sorsogon among the areas of high seaweed diversity but locals there have interacted with seaweeds for ages. Despite seaweeds' assumed importance to Sorsoganon, ethnobotanical records are missing. In this study, we documented the traditional knowledge on seaweed use and determined the rate of knowledge transmission among the locals of eastern Sorsogon. Vernacular names and modes of preparation were given of the 12 identified species bearing culinary and medicinal importance. Ten species were eaten while three were used therapeutically. Based on ethnobotanical indices, Caulerpa chemnitzia ecad turbinata and Gelidiella acerosa were the most important seaweeds. The least cited was Caulerpa racemosa. Our study demonstrated that most of the seaweed resources in eastern Sorsogon remain largely untapped, as the identified ethnotaxa were only about 5% of the total seaweed species diversity reported for the area. The seaweed knowledge in eastern Sorsogon appeared to be homogenous across age groups with primary sources of knowledge biased towards female relatives (mothers and grandmothers) and to children as inheritors. Cessation of seaweed knowledge may come at a potential cost, as a significant fraction of the population did not transmit their knowledge to others. Our study furthered the interest in providing sophisticated resource management recommendations that consider the relationships of traditional and scientific knowledge of seaweed selection and use in eastern Sorsogon and beyond.

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2001.03a
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• pp.30-30
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• 2001

The culture of preantral follicles has important biotechnological implications through its potential to produce the large quantity of oocytes for embryo production, transgenesis research, conservation of rare breed, and a potential source of ovarian genetic material. The present study was conducted to establish the optimal conditions of in vitro culture for intact bovine preantral follicles; and to examine the developmental ability of oocytes derived from the in vitro-grown preantral follicles; and to investigate the effects of various concentrations of FSH and LH on these processes. Bovine preantral follicles (150 $\pm$ 1.2${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$), surrounded by theca cell, were isolated enzymetically and mechanically from ovarian cortical slides in Leibovitz L-15 medium containing 1 mg/$m\ell$ collagens and 0.2 mg/$m\ell$ DNase I and cultured for 25 days in the presence of different concentrations of bovine FSH and LH in $\alpha$MEM medium with insulin, transferrin, and selenite. The survival was tested by frypan Blue and Hematoxylin. The survival and growth rates of follicles were higher in FSH treatment groups than these in control (P<0.001), but there were no significant differences between the LH treatment groups and the control. In 25 days, the survival and growth rates of follicles in FSH and LH treatment group (50%, 300$\pm$1.0${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$) were higher than in FSH treatment group (40%, 244$\pm$0.5${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$) and the control group (25%, 160$\pm$ 1.0${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$). Fifty-five percent of healthy antral follicles were obtained, and 60% of the oocytes complete meiotic maturation to the metaphase II stage. Twenty-two percent of the mature oocytes underwent cleavage, and 9% developed to the blastocyst stage. In this study, in vitro-grown oocytes (111 $\pm$ $1.5mutextrm{m}$), under our culture conditions, were not equivalent in size to the in vivo-grown oocytes (130$\pm$1.3${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$). Therefore, these results suggest that bovine preantral follicles with intact theca cell can grow to the antral stage in 25days, and that oocytes from those follicles can acquire the meiotic competence and normally undergo fertilization and development to the blastocyst stage. However, the developmental capacity of in vitro-grown oocytes is presumably not comparable to those of the in vivo counterparts.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.169-173
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• 1986

This experiment was conducted to provide comparative data on the newly imported thirteen sorghum-sudangrass hybrids(Sorghum bicolor(L.) Moench), TE Goldmaker sorghum hybrid (S. Bicolor (L.) Moench), NC+ 88SS sudangrass hybrid (S, bicolor (L.) Moench), Supermill pearlmillet (Pennisetum americanum (L.) Leeke) and teosinte (Euchlaena mexicana Schrad,) in comparison with the check variety Pioneer 988 sorghum-sudangrass hybrid for dry matter yield, protein content, in vitro dry matter digestibility(IVDMD), and other desirable agronomic characteristics, SX-17 and NC+855 gave significantly higher dry matter yield than the check variety. There was no significant difference in total dry matter yield of the remaining 14 varieties with the exception of teosinte and TE Goldmaker which had the lowest yield. The most varieties were moderately resistant to leaf diseases although differences exist among varieties. No diseases were found in pearlmillet and teosinte, but NC+ 88SS was very susceptible to leaf blight. The mean percent crude protein of sorghum-sudangrass hybrids was lower than that of pearlmillet and sorghum hybrid, but was higher than that of sudangrass hybrid, The IVDMD of G-83F, TE Goldmaker, teosinte and HW 5111 was higher than that of the check variety. There was no consistent relationship between the percent of crude protein and IVDMD of the summer annual grasses.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.133-139
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• 1985

An immunoassay may be defined as an analytical procedure involving the competitive reaction between a limiting concentration of specific antibody and two populations of antigen, one of which is labelled or immobillized. The advent of immunoassay has revolutionised our knowledge of reproductive physiology and the practice of veterinary and clinical medicine. Radioimmunoassay (RIA) was the first of these methods to be developed, which meausred the analyte with good sensitivity, accuracy and precision (1,2). The essential components of RIA are:-(i) a limited concentration of antibodies, (ii) a reference preparation, and (iii) an antigen labelled with a radioisotope (usually tritium or iodine-125). Most procedures invelove isolating the antibody-bound fraction and measuring the amount of labelled antigen. Good facilities are available for scintilltion counting, data reduction nd statistical analysis. RIA is undergoing refinement through:-(i) the introduction of new techniques to separate the antibody-bound and free fractions which minimize the misclassification of labelled antigen into these compartments, and the amount of non-specfic binding. (3), (ii) the development of non-extration for the measurement of haptens (4), (iii) the determination of a, pp.rent free (i.e. non-protein bound) analytes (5), and (iv) the use of monoclonal antibodies(6). In 1968, Miles and Hales introduced in important new type of immunoassay which they termed immunora-diometric assay (IRMA) based on t도 use of isotopically labelled specific antibodies(7) in a move from limited to excess reagent systems. The concept of two-site IRMAs (with a capture antibody on a solid-phase, and a second labelled antibody to a different antigenic determinant of the analyte) has enabled the development of more sensitive and less-time consuming methods for the measurement of protein hormones ovar wide concentration of analyte (8). The increasing use of isotopic methos for diverse a, pp.ications has exposed several problems. For example, the radioactive half-life and radiolysis of the labelled reagent limits assay sensitivity and imposes a time limit on the usefulness of a kit. In addition, the potential health hazards associated with the use and disposal of radioactive cmpounds and the solvents and photofluors necessary for liquid scientillation counting are incompatable with the development of extra-laboratory tests. To date, the most practical alternative labels to radioisotopes, for the measurement of analytes in a concentration > 1 ng/ml, are erythrocytes, polystyrene particiles, gold sols, dyes and enzymes or cofactors with a visual or colorimetric end-point(9). Increased sensitivity to<1 pg/ml may be obtained with fluorescent and chemiluminescent labels, or enzymes with a fluorometric, chemiluminometric or bioluminometric end-point. The sensitivity of any immunoassay or immunometric assay depends on the affinity of the antibody-antigen reaction, the specific activity of the label, the precision with which the reagents are manipulated and the nonspecific background signal (10). The sensitivity of a limited reagent system for the measurement of haptens or proteins is mainly dependent upon the affinity of the antibodies and the smalleest amount of reagent that may be manipulated. Consequently, it is difficult in practice to improve on the sensitivity obtained with iodine-125 as the label. Conversely, with excess reagent systems for the measurement of proteins it is theoretically possible to increase assay sensitivity at least 1000 fold with alternative luminescent labels. To date, a 10-fold improvement has been achieved, and attempts are being made to reduce the influence of other variables on the specific signal from the immunoreaction.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2021.06a
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• pp.441-441
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• 2021

우리나라의 홍수조절용댐은 총 5개소로 영산강유역에 두 개소와 한강유역에 세 개소가 있다. 한강유역에 있는 세 개소의 홍수조절지용댐은 한강상류의 북한지역에서 발생하는 집중호우에 대비하기 위한 댐으로, 임진강 하류지역의 수해방지를 위한 한탄강댐과 군남홍수조절지(군남댐)가 있으며 북한강 하류와 수도권의 홍수예방을 위한 평화의 댐이 있다. 영산강유역에 있는 두 개소의 홍수조절지는 2006년에 수립한 영산강치수종합대책에서 계획이 수립된 시설로 2011년 4대강 사업의 일환으로 설치하여 K-water에서 운영 중에 있다. 4대강 사업 이전의 영산강유역은 홍수량을 조절할 수 있는 홍수조절용량이 전무했던 실정으로 하도에서 홍수량의 전량을 수용해야했던 홍수에 매우 취약한 하천이었다. 그러나 4대강 사업을 통하여 영산강유역의 4대호를 비롯한 농업용댐의 숭상을 통한 홍수조절용량의 확보와 더불어 나주천변저류지와 담양홍수조절지, 화순홍수조절지를 설치하여 홍수로부터 상대적으로 안전한 하천으로 변모할 수 있었다. 그러나 영산강유역의 다른 하나의 과제는 여전히 남아있다. 우리나라의 하천 중에서 가장 수질이 악화되어 있는 하천이라는 불명예이다. 홍수조절지는 1년 중 3개월에 해당하는 홍수기에 사용할 수 있는 시설로 1년 중 9개월에 해당하는 비홍수기에는 홍수조절지의 효율적인 공간활용을 위하여 주민지원사업 등 다각도로 고민하여 사용하고 있으나 하천 외적인 문제를 수용하는 범주에 머무르고 있다. 하천이 가지고 있는 문제점을 다소라도 해소할 수 있는 목적으로 사용될 수 있다면 하천 외적인 문제를 수용하는 것 보다 하천 내적인 문제를 해소하는 목적으로 사용하는 것이 보다 바람직할 것으로 판단된다. 이를 위하여 영산강의 내적인 가장 큰 문제점은 수질악화로 인한 수질개선이라 할 수 있다. 따라서 홍수기로 한정되어 사용하는 홍수조절지를 해당하천의 내적인 문제를 다소라도 해소할 수 있는 공간으로 비홍수기에 기여할 수만 있다면 비홍수기의 활용목적을 확대하여 다목적조절지로의 변모가 필요하다고 판단한다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 영산강유역에 있는 담양홍수조절지와 화순홍수조절지의 두 개소 홍수조절지를 활용하여 영산강 수질개선에 기여할 수 있는 정도를 파악하였다. 비홍수기에 유출량의 일부를 조절지에 담수해 두었다가 수질개선 목적의 희석수로 방류하는 시나리오를 마련하여 시나리오별로 영산강의 수질개선효과를 분석하여 제시하였다. 수질개선효과를 분석하기 위하여 EFDC모델을 구축하고 모델 수행을 위한 시나리오는 조절지의 담수율과 방류량 그리고 조절지의 관리수질조건 등을 이용하여 작성하고 수질예측 결과에 따라 TOC, CHl-a, T-P 수질항목을 대상으로 수질개선효과를 분석하여 제시하였다.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.473-480
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• 2006

The purpose of this study were to investigate middle and high school students' food habits and food attitudes, and to assess student's nutrient consumption. A self-administered questionnaire was developed based on review of literature. The questionnaire consisted of three sections (food habits, food attitudes, and food consumption). The questionnaires were distributed to 4,050 students enrolled in 34 middle and high schools located in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Gyeongnam provinces. A final response rate was 88.2% (3,570) excluding responses that had significant missing data. Data of the food habits and food attitudes were analyzed with descriptive analysis, $x^2$-test, and t-test using SPSS WIN(ver.11.0). The student's self-reported food consumption data was converted into nutrient consumption using conversion factor. Many middle and high school students skipped breakfast and/or dinner. Approximately 29% of the students did not eat vegetables and fruits. Scores of the middle school student's attitudes(19.1) towards foods were significantly higher than those of the high school student's attitudes(18.7)(p<.001). Student's nutrient intakes were estimated according to the student's self-reported food consumption data. The nutrient intakes were compared with DRIs(Dietary Reference Intakes: DRIs) for their age groups. The result of EAR(Estimated Average Requirement: EAR) cut-point method demonstrated 57.7% of middle school boys, 64.4% of middle school girls, 70.2% of high school boys, and 71.0% of high school girls did not meet EAR for Calcium. Additionally, it showed that 39.0% of middle school boys, 23.7% of middle school girls, 58.4% of high school boys, and 24.4% of high school girls did not consume EAR for Vitamin $B_1$. 25.7% of middle school boys did not meet EAR for Vitamin $B_2$, while 44.4% high school boys did not satisfy EAR for Vitamin $B_2$.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.324-337
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• 2023

Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the different brain oxygen metabolism statuses in preeclampsia using magnetic resonance imaging and investigate the factors that affect cerebral oxygen metabolism in preeclampsia. Materials and Methods: Forty-nine women with preeclampsia (mean age 32.4 years; range, 18-44 years), 22 pregnant healthy controls (PHCs) (mean age 30.7 years; range, 23-40 years), and 40 non-pregnant healthy controls (NPHCs) (mean age 32.5 years; range, 20-42 years) were included in this study. Brain oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) values were computed using quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) plus quantitative blood oxygen level-dependent magnitude-based OEF mapping (QSM + quantitative blood oxygen level-dependent imaging or QQ) obtained with a 1.5-T scanner. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to investigate the differences in OEF values in the brain regions among the groups. Results: Among the three groups, the average OEF values were significantly different in multiple brain areas, including the parahippocampus, multiple gyri of the frontal lobe, calcarine, cuneus, and precuneus (all P-values were less than 0.05, after correcting for multiple comparisons). The average OEF values of the preeclampsia group were higher than those of the PHC and NPHC groups. The bilateral superior frontal gyrus/bilateral medial superior frontal gyrus had the largest size of the aforementioned brain regions, and the OEF values in this area were 24.2 ± 4.6, 21.3 ± 2.4, and 20.6 ± 2.8 in the preeclampsia, PHC, and NPHC groups, respectively. In addition, the OEF values showed no significant differences between NPHC and PHC. Correlation analysis revealed that the OEF values of some brain regions (mainly involving the frontal, occipital, and temporal gyrus) were positively correlated with age, gestational week, body mass index, and mean blood pressure in the preeclampsia group (r = 0.361-0.812). Conclusion: Using whole-brain VBM analysis, we found that patients with preeclampsia had higher OEF values than controls.