• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.670-683
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• 2020

Objective: The presence of coagulative necrosis (CN) in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) indicates a poor prognosis, while the absence of CN indicates a good prognosis. The purpose of this study was to build and validate a radiomics signature based on preoperative CT imaging data to estimate CN status in ccRCC. Materials and Methods: Altogether, 105 patients with pathologically confirmed ccRCC were retrospectively enrolled in this study and then divided into training (n = 72) and validation (n = 33) sets. Thereafter, 385 radiomics features were extracted from the three-dimensional volumes of interest of each tumor, and 10 traditional features were assessed by two experienced radiologists using triple-phase CT-enhanced images. A multivariate logistic regression algorithm was used to build the radiomics score and traditional predictors in the training set, and their performance was assessed and then tested in the validation set. The radiomics signature to distinguish CN status was then developed by incorporating the radiomics score and the selected traditional predictors. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to evaluate the predictive performance. Results: The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of the radiomics score, which consisted of 7 radiomics features, was 0.855 in the training set and 0.885 in the validation set. The AUC of the traditional predictor, which consisted of 2 traditional features, was 0.843 in the training set and 0.858 in the validation set. The radiomics signature showed the best performance with an AUC of 0.942 in the training set, which was then confirmed with an AUC of 0.969 in the validation set. Conclusion: The CT-based radiomics signature that incorporated radiomics and traditional features has the potential to be used as a non-invasive tool for preoperative prediction of CN in ccRCC.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.14-20
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• 2024

Objectives: Frozen shoulder (FS) is one of the most challenging shoulder disorders for patients and clinicians. Its symptoms mainly include any combination of stiffness, nocturnal pain, and limitation of active and passive glenohumeral joint movement. Conventional treatment options for FS are physical therapy, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, injection therapy, and arthroscopic capsular release, but adverse and limited effects continue to present problems. As a result, pharmacoacupuncture (PA) is getting attention as an alternative therapy for patients with FS. PA is a new form of acupuncture treatment in traditional Korean medicine (TKM) that is mainly used for musculoskeletal diseases. It has similarity and specificity compared to corticosteroid injection and hydrodilatation, making it a potential alternative injection therapy for FS. However, no systematic reviews investigating the utilization of PA for FS have been published. Therefore, this review aims to standardize the clinical use of PA for FS and validate its therapeutic effect. Methods: The protocol was registered in Prospero (CRD42023445708) on 18 July 2023. Until Aug. 31, 2023, seven electronic databases will be searched for randomized controlled trials of PA for FS. Authors will be contacted, and manual searches will also be performed. Two reviewers will independently screen and collect data from retrieved articles according to predefined criteria. The primary outcome will be pain intensity, and secondary outcomes will be effective rate, Constant-Murley Score, Shoulder Pain and Disability Index, range of motion, quality of life, and adverse events. Bias and quality of the included trials will be assessed using the Cochrane handbook's risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials. Meta analyses will be conducted using Review Manager V.5.3 software. GRADE will be used to evaluate the level of evidence for each outcome. Results: This systematic review and meta-analysis will be conducted following PRISMA statement. The results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. Conclusion: This review will provide scientific evidence to support health insurance policy as well as the standardization of PA in clinical practice.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.1146-1153
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• 2024

The increasing economic losses associated with growth retardation caused by Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP), a microsporidian parasite infecting penaeid shrimp, require effective monitoring. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-1 region, the non-coding region of ribosomal clusters between 18S and 5.8S rRNA genes, is widely used in phylogenetic studies due to its high variability. In this study, the ITS-1 region sequence (~600-bp) of EHP was first identified, and primers for a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay targeting that sequence were designed. A newly developed nested-PCR method successfully detected the EHP in various shrimp (Penaeus vannamei and P. monodon) and related samples, including water and feces collected from Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea, India, and Malaysia. The primers did not cross-react with other hosts and pathogens, and this PCR assay is more sensitive than existing PCR detection methods targeting the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) and spore wall protein (SWP) genes. Phylogenetic analysis based on the ITS-1 sequences indicated that the Indonesian strain was distinct (86.2% nucleotide sequence identity) from other strains collected from Thailand and South Korea, and also showed the internal diversity among Thailand (N = 7, divided into four branches) and South Korean (N = 5, divided into two branches) samples. The results revealed the ability of the ITS-1 region to determine the genetic diversity of EHP from different geographical origins.

• Journal of the Health Care and Life Science
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2022

This study is a study on the possibility of using big data-related education programs in health and medical administration-related departments using health and medical big data. This paper intends to examine the health and medical big data from five perspectives. 1st, in addition to the aforementioned 'Health and Medical Big Data Open System', I would like to examine the characteristics and application technologies of public big data disclosed by 'Korea Welfare Panel', 'Public Big Data', 'Seoul City Big Data', 'Statistical Office Big Data', etc. 2nd, it is intended to examine the appropriateness of whether the applicable health and medical big data can be used as living data in regular subjects of health and medical administration and health information related departments of junior colleges. 3rd, we want to select the most appropriate tool for classroom lectures using existing statistical processing packages and programming languages. Fourth, finally, by using verified health and medical big data and appropriate tools, we want to test the possibility of expressing graphs, etc. in class and the steps from writing a report. 4th, I would like to describe the relative advantages of R language that can satisfy portability, installability, cost effectiveness, compatibility, and big data processing potential.

• The Journal of KAIRB
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.48-55
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• 2024

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to introduce the Institutional Review Board (IRB) member-based internal audit method performed at A University Hospital, a secondary medical institution, and to identify the differences in audit results according to the characteristics of each auditor and the factors affecting the internal audit results. Furthermore, we will find out what needs to be improved in the internal audits to achieve Quality assurance (QA) objectives for human subject research conducted in medical institutions. Methods: The auditors were divided into group A (IRB member belonging to institution A) and group B (clinical trial QA administrator belonging to other institutions) and independently inspected the 2 studies using the same internal audit checklist (consisting of 11 domains, 130 items), and the differences in the internal inspection checklists written by each auditor were compared and analyzed. Results: In the case of audit for the study 1, the number of missing checklists is 1 for group A and 0 for group B, and the number of the matters to be pointed out is 1 for group A and 12 for group B. In the case of audit for the study 2, the number of missing checklists is 2 for both A and B, and the number of points is 5 for A and 4 for B. The differences in the internal audit results written by each auditor that the authors verified are summarized as follows. First, there were more comments from group B auditor than from group A auditor. Second, the results may vary because each auditor has different criteria for evaluating the appropriateness of an item. Third, there are cases where the questions on the checklist are vague or the definition is not clear, so they have the same opinion but check it with different answers. Fourth, if the auditors make a mistake when filling out the checklist, it causes to led to different the results. Conclusion: We propose the following items that should be improved in order to conduct consistent and efficient internal audits. First, it is necessary to test the tool in order to carry out reliable and consistent internal audits. Second, it is necessary to complete specialized training related to internal audit before conducting internal audit. Third, before notifying the audit results, it is necessary to have a procedure or a final review system to check whether the audit contents are appropriate. Fourth, Institutional support is needed to recruit specialized personnel for internal audits.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.31-49
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• 2024

The stress experienced by employees on international deployment has serious implications for their physical and mental health as well as their work performance. This study aimed to investigate the impact of resource-oriented music listening on work-related stress among employees on international deployment. The study recruited 10 participants of varying ages and occupations who had worked abroad for at least three years and conducted five personalized resource-oriented music listening sessions along with interviews. The Global Assessment of Recent Stress Scale (GARS) and Job Stress Scale (JSS) were used to measure stress levels before and after the intervention. Results showed that participants' work-related stress and perceived stress were significantly reduced following the music therapy intervention. The study also found that "awareness of own's life situation" and "self-acceptance of here and now emotional challenges" were factors that reduced regulatory stress among employees on international deployment. This study highlights the potential of resource-oriented music listening as a useful tool for managing workplace stress and promoting the well-being of expatriate employees.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.37-50
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• 2024

Korea has the highest suicide rate among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, with increasing rates observed among children and adolescents with low levels of life satisfaction. Patients in these age groups exhibit particularly turbulent and impulsive behaviors, which make suicide highly contagious and fatal. The loss of meaningful work or activities increases the risk of suicide, especially in young people. Following revisions to the Mental Health Welfare Act (2016), which has included occupational therapists among mental health professionals, a multidisciplinary approach including occupational therapy has been emphasized upon in mental health services. Screening tools for preventing suicide in children and adolescents include the Suicidal Ideation Scale, Beck's Suicidal Ideation Scale, Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale, Reasons for Living Scale for Adolescents, and the Student Emotional and Behavioral Characteristics Test. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, which is an occupational therapy evaluation tool, is also used. Various suicide prevention programs have been proposed across academic disciplines; however, due to the urgent nature of high-risk groups, there is a need for timely services. Currently, most existing programs focus primarily on the cognitive-behavioral aspects. In this study, we aimed to introduce diverse suicide prevention programs for mental health professionals working with high-risk children and adolescents in order to equip them with the relevant information and help apply their learnings effectively in different situations.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.105-114
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• 2014

We established a high throughput screening system of African yam tuber lines which contain high contents of total carotenoids, flavonoids, and phenolic compounds using ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy in combination with multivariate analysis. The total carotenoids contents from 62 African yam tubers varied from 0.01 to $0.91{\mu}g{\cdot}g^{-1}$ dry weight (wt). The total flavonoids and phenolic compounds also varied from 12.9 to $229{\mu}g{\cdot}g^{-1}$ and from 0.29 to $5.2mg{\cdot}g^{-1}$dry wt. FT-IR spectra confirmed typical spectral differences between the frequency regions of 1,700-1,500, 1,500-1,300 and $1,100-950cm^{-1}$, respectively. These spectral regions were reflecting the quantitative and qualitative variations of amide I, II from amino acids and proteins ($1,700-1,500cm^{-1}$), phosphodiester groups from nucleic acid and phospholipid ($1,500-1,300cm^{-1}$) and carbohydrate compounds ($1,100-950cm^{-1}$). Principal component analysis (PCA) and subsequent partial least square-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) were able to discriminate the 62 African yam tuber lines into three separate clusters corresponding to their taxonomic relationship. The quantitative prediction modeling of total carotenoids, flavonoids, and phenolic compounds from African yam tuber lines were established using partial least square regression algorithm from FT-IR spectra. The regression coefficients ($R^2$) between predicted values and estimated values of total carotenoids, flavonoids and phenolic compounds were 0.83, 0.86, and 0.72, respectively. These results showed that quantitative predictions of total carotenoids, flavonoids, and phenolic compounds were possible from FT-IR spectra of African yam tuber lines with higher accuracy. Therefore we suggested that quantitative prediction system established in this study could be applied as a rapid selection tool for high yielding African yam lines.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.8
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• pp.1132-1139
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• 2008

A CpG island is a short stretch of DNA in which the frequency of the CG dinucleotide is higher than other regions. CpG islands are present in the promoters and exonic regions of approximately $30{\sim}60$% of mammalian genes so they are useful markers for genes in organisms containing 5-methylcytosine in their genomes. Recent evidence supports the notion that the hypermethylation of CpG island, by silencing tumor suppressor genes, plays a major causal role in cancer, which has been described in almost every tumor types. In this respect, CpG island search by computational methods is very helpful for cancer research and computational promoter and gene predictions. I therefore developed a window program (called CpGi) on the basis of CpG island criteria defined by D. Takai and P. A. Jones. The program 'CpGi' was implemented in Visual C++ 6.0 and can determine the locations of CpG islands using diverse parameters (%GC, Obs (CpG)/Exp (CpG), window size, step size, gap value, # of CpG, length) specified by user. The analysis result of CpGi provides a graphical map of CpG islands and G+C% plot, where more detailed information on CpG island can be obtained through pop-up window. Two human contigs, i.e. AP00524 (from chromosome 22) and NT_029490.3 (from chromosome 21), were used to compare the performance of CpGi and two other public programs for the accuracy of search results. The two other programs used in the performance comparison are Emboss-CpGPlot and CpG Island Searcher that are web-based public CpG island search programs. The comparison result showed that CpGi is on a level with or outperforms Emboss-CpGPlot and CpG Island Searcher. Having a simple and easy-to-use user interface, CpGi would be a very useful tool for genome analysis and CpG island research. To obtain a copy of CpGi for academic use only, contact corresponding author.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.383-389
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• 2005

Xerostomia is defined as a subjective complaint of dry mouth that may be perceived when there is insufficient mucosal wetting. However, the diagnosis and treatment of xerostomia is not that simple because of the fact that the subjective awareness of dry mouth is not always correlated with a diminution in the flow of saliva and there is always a difference between individuals in salivary flow rates needed for normal oral function. In the present study, the aim was to develop a questionnaire to evaluate the dry mouth symptoms and to analyze its reliability and usability as a diagnostic and analytic tool for xerostomia. The questionnaire which consists of 6 Visual Analogue Scale(VAS) type questions to evaluate the subjective oral dryness and 4 questions to evaluate behavior to avoid oral dryness was developed and administered twice with 1 week's interval to the healthy 88 young adults without dry mouth symptoms(44 males and 44 females; mean age was $25.6{\pm}3.1$ years in male and $24.3{\pm}2.1$ years in female). The results were as follows. 1 The intraclass correlation coefficients of 6 questions to evaluate the subjective oral dryness were as significantly high as 0.767 for the degree of oral dryness at other times of the day, 0.850 for the amount of saliva in the mouth, and 0.791 for the degree of effect on daily life due to oral dryness and as high as 0.563 for the degree of oral dryness at night or on awakening, 0.674 for the degree of oral dryness during eating, and 0.641 for the degree of difficulty in swallowing foods. 2. Cronbach's alpha value of 6 questions was 0.982. It can be concluded that the series of questions to evaluate the subjective oral dryness has high internal consistency. 3. Cohen's kappa values of 4 questions to evaluate behavior to relieve oral dryness were as significantly high as 0.850 for the frequency of keeping a glass of water at the bedside and as high as 0.506 the frequency of awakening during sleeping due to oral dryness, 0.419 for the frequency of sipping liquids to aid in eating dry foods, and 0.407 for the frequency of using a candy or chewing gum due to oral dryness. From the results, it can be concluded that the questionnaire consisting of 6 VAS type questions to evaluate the subjective oral dryness and 4 questions to evaluate behavior to relieve oral dryness has reliability of good to excellent level, and that the series of 6 VAS type questions has significantly high internal consistency to evaluate the subjective oral dryness.