• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.408-417
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• 2022

Purpose: Treatment options are limited after the failure of first-and second-line treatments in patients with HER2⁺ metastatic gastric cancer (mGC). The present study aimed to explore the efficacy, safety, and prognostic factors of apatinib efficacy as a third-line therapy for patients with human epithelial growth factor receptor 2-positive (HER2⁺) mGC. Materials and Methods: A total of 59 HER2⁺ mGC patients who received apatinib as third-line therapy were retrospectively enrolled in this two-center, single-arm, cohort study; the clinical response, survival data, and adverse events were retrieved. Results: The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 5.2 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.9-6.5), and the median overall survival (OS) was 8.2 months (95% CI, 6.6-9.8) Furthermore, forward stepwise multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that a higher Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status score and multiple metastases were independently correlated with decreased PFS and OS (both P<0.05). The main adverse events were leukopenia (45.8%), hypertension (44.1%), thrombocytopenia (39.0%), hand-foot syndrome (37.3%), and elevated transaminase (33.9%). Grade 3 adverse events mainly included hypertension (5.1%) and neutropenia (5.1%); grade 4 adverse events did not occur. Conclusions: Apatinib is efficient and well tolerated in patients with HER2⁺ mGC as a third-line treatment, suggesting that it may be a candidate of choice for these patients.

• Design Convergence Study
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.17-28
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• 2018

The manipulation of the device by hand while driving is a major factor to increase the risk of accidents, and the design of in-vehicle voice conversational interface that can compensate for this is being actively researched. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the use of the barge-in function of in-vehicle voice interface on user experience. Participants were asked to carry out two tasks, one for navigation and one for music play. We conducted a survey to measure the functional user 's experience after each participant' s tasks, and measured usefulness, usability, satisfaction, and emotion as user experience factors. As a result, Barge-in has been rated as the better choice for most experience factors. There was a significant effect on usability dimension in navigation task and significant effects on usability dimension and emotional dimension in music play task. So it was found that barge-in function had a positive effect on actual user's usability and emotional dimension.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.30 no.3D
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• pp.199-204
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to estimate the effectiveness of newly proposed guide sign system. Existing guide sign system on expressways in South Korea have point-based system with city, district names or land marks. They have also several problems as excessive amount of information, low use of exit number, and lack of lane designation arrows. Efficiency of existing guide sign system is deteriorated from these problems. The enhanced guide sign system is proposed to alleviate problems. The best alternative sign system is chosen from three different designs with preference survey and human factors evaluation. The new signs showed reduced time compared to existing signs with statical significance. The existing sign system conveys more information in farther distance and less information in nearer distance. Nevertheless new systems imparts more information i nearer distance. It is also suggested that lane designation signs should be established with overhead installation at 0m point for efficient direction choice.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.53-61
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• 2024

Background: In the treatment of esophageal cancer, a gastric conduit is typically the first choice. However, when the stomach is not a viable option, the usual alternative is a colon conduit. This study compared the long-term surgical outcomes of gastric and colon conduits over the same interval and aimed to identify factors influencing the prognosis. Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of patients who underwent esophagectomy followed by reconstruction for primary esophageal cancer between January 2006 and December 2020. Results: The study included 1,545 patients, with a gastric conduit used for 1,429 (92.5%) and a colon conduit for 116 (7.5%). Using propensity-matched analysis, 116 patients were selected from each group for comparison. No significant difference was observed in longterm survival between the gastric and colon conduit groups, irrespective of anastomosis level and pathological stage. A higher proportion of patients in the colon conduit group experienced postoperative complications compared to the gastric conduit group (57.8% vs. 25%, p<0.001). Multivariable analysis revealed that age over 65 years, body mass index below 22.0 kg/m², neoadjuvant therapy, postoperative anastomotic leakage, and renal failure were risk factors for overall survival in patients with a colon conduit. Regarding conduit-related complications, cervical nastomosis was the only significant risk factor among those with a colon conduit. Conclusion: Despite the association of colon conduits with high morbidity rates relative to gastric conduits, the long-term outcomes of colon conduits were acceptable. More consideration should be given perioperatively to the use of a colon conduit, particularly in cases involving cervical anastomosis.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.65-72
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• 2024

Water ingress poses a common and intricate geological hazard with profound implications for tunnel construction's speed and safety. The project's success hinges significantly on the precision of estimating water inflow during excavation, a critical factor in early-stage decision-making during conception and design. This article introduces an optimized model employing the gene expression programming (GEP) approach to forecast tunnel water inflow. The GEP model was refined by developing an equation that best aligns with predictive outcomes. The equation's outputs were compared with measured data and assessed against practical scenarios to validate its potential applicability in calculating tunnel water input. The optimized GEP model excelled in forecasting tunnel water inflow, outperforming alternative machine learning algorithms like SVR, GPR, DT, and KNN. This positions the GEP model as a leading choice for accurate and superior predictions. A state-of-the-art machine learning-based graphical user interface (GUI) was innovatively crafted for predicting and visualizing tunnel water inflow. This cutting-edge tool leverages ML algorithms, marking a substantial advancement in tunneling prediction technologies, providing accuracy and accessibility in water inflow projections.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.111-119
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• 2024

In the realm of rock excavation projects, precise estimation of the drilling rate index stands as a pivotal factor in strategic planning and cost assessment. This study introduces and evaluates two pioneering computational intelligence models designed for the prognostication of the drilling rate index, a pivotal parameter with direct implications for cost estimation in rock excavation projects. These models, denoted as the Relevance Vector Regression (RVR) optimized with the Invasive Weed Optimization algorithm (IWO) (RVR-IWO model) and the RVR integrated with the Shuffled Frog Leaping algorithm (SFL) (RVR-SFL model), represent a groundbreaking approach to forecasting drilling rate index. The RVR-IWO and RVR-SFL models were meticulously devised to harness the capabilities of computational intelligence and optimization techniques for drilling rate index estimation. This research pioneers the integration of IWO and SFL with RVR, constituting an unprecedented effort in forecasting drilling rate index. The primary objective of this study was to gauge the precision and dependability of these models in forecasting the drilling rate index, revealing significant distinctions between the two. In terms of predictive precision, the RVR-IWO model emerged as the superior choice when compared to the RVR-SFL model, underscoring the remarkable efficacy of the Invasive Weed Optimization algorithm. The RVR-IWO model delivered noteworthy results, boasting a Variance Account for (VAF) of 0.8406, a Mean Squared Error (MSE) of 0.0114, and a Squared Correlation Coefficient (R²) of 0.9315. On the contrary, the RVR-SFL model exhibited slightly lower precision, yielding an MSE of 0.0160, a VAF of 0.8205, and an R2 of 0.9120. These findings serve to highlight the potential of the RVR-IWO model as a formidable instrument for drilling rate index prediction, particularly within the framework of rock excavation projects. This research not only makes a significant contribution to the realm of drilling engineering but also underscores the broader adaptability of the RVR-IWO model in tackling an array of challenges within the domain of rock engineering. Ultimately, this study advances the comprehension of drilling rate index estimation and imparts valuable insights into the practical implementation of computational intelligence methodologies within the realm of engineering projects.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.135-148
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• 2010

Arab boycotts of Danish products, Australian boycotts of French products and Chinese consumer aversion toward Japanese products are all examples of how adverse actions at the country level might impact consumers' behavior. The animosity literature has examined how consumers react to the adverse actions of other countries, and how such animosity impacts consumers' attitudes and preferences for products from the transgressing country. For example, Chinese consumers are less likely to buy Japanese products because of Japanese atrocities during World War II and the unjust economic dealings of the Japanese (Klein, Ettenson and Morris 1998). The marketing literature, however, has not examined how consumers react to adverse actions committed by their own country against other countries, and whether such actions affect their attitudes towards purchasing products that originated from the adversely affected country. The social psychology literature argues that consumers will experience a feeling called collective guilt, in response to such adverse actions. Collective guilt stems from the distress experienced by group members when they accept that their group is responsible for actions that have harmed another group (Branscombe, Slugoski, and Kappenn 2004). Examples include Americans feeling guilty about the atrocities committed by the U.S. military at Abu Ghraib prison (Iyer, Schamder and Lickel 2007), and the Dutch about their occupation of Indonesia in the past (Doosje et al. 1998). The primary aim of this study is to examine consumers' perceptions of adverse actions by members of one's own country against another country and whether such perceptions affected their attitudes towards products originating from the country transgressed against. More specifically, one objective of this study is to examine the perceptual antecedents of collective guilt, an emotional reaction to adverse actions performed by members of one's country against another country. Another objective is to examine the impact of collective guilt on consumers' perceptions of, and preference for, products originating from the country transgressed against by the consumers' own country. If collective guilt emerges as a significant predictor, companies originating from countries that have been transgressed against might be able to capitalize on such unfortunate events. This research utilizes the animosity model introduced by Klein, Ettenson and Morris (1998) and later expanded on by Klein (2002). Klein finds that U.S. consumers harbor animosity toward the Japanese. This animosity is experienced in response to events that occurred during World War II (i.e., the bombing of Pearl Harbor) and more recently the perceived economic threat from Japan. Thus this study argues that the events of Word War II (i.e., bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki) might lead U.S. consumers to experience collective guilt. A series of three hypotheses were introduced. The first hypothesis deals with the antecedents of collective guilt. Previous research argues that collective guilt is experienced when consumers perceive that the harm following a transgression is illegitimate and that the country from which the transgressors originate should be responsible for the adverse actions. (Wohl, Branscombe, and Klar 2006). Therefore the following hypothesis was offered: H1a. Higher levels of perceived illegitimacy for the harm committed will result in higher levels of collective guilt. H1b. Higher levels of responsibility will be positively associated with higher levels of collective guilt. The second and third hypotheses deal with the impact of collective guilt on the preferences for Japanese products. Klein (2002) found that higher levels of animosity toward Japan resulted in a lower preference for a Japanese product relative to a South Korean product but not a lower preference for a Japanese product relative to a U.S. product. These results therefore indicate that the experience of collective guilt will lead to a higher preference for a Japanese product if consumers are contemplating a choice that inv olves a decision to buy Japanese versus South Korean product but not if the choice involves a decision to buy a Japanese versus a U.S. product. H2. Collective guilt will be positively related to the preference for a Japanese product over a South Korean product, but will not be related to the preference for a Japanese product over a U.S. product. H3. Collective guilt will be positively related to the preference for a Japanese product over a South Korean product, holding constant product judgments and animosity. An experiment was conducted to test the hypotheses. The illegitimacy of the harm and responsibility were manipulated by exposing respondents to a description of adverse events occurring during World War II. Data were collected using an online consumer panel in the United States. Subjects were randomly assigned to either the low levels of responsibility and illegitimacy condition (n=259) or the high levels of responsibility and illigitemacy (n=268) condition. Latent Variable Structural Equation Modeling (LVSEM) was used to test the hypothesized relationships. The first hypothesis is supported as both the illegitimacy of the harm and responsibility assigned to the Americans for the harm committed against the Japanese during WWII have a positive impact on collective guilt. The second hypothesis is also supported as collective guilt is positively related to preference for a Japanese product over a South Korean product but is not related to preference for a Japanese product over a U.S. product. Finally there is support for the third hypothesis, since collective guilt is positively related to the preference for a Japanese product over a South Korean product while controlling for the effect of product judgments about Japanese products and animosity. The results of these studies lead to several conclusions. First, the illegitimacy of harm and responsibility can be manipulated and that they are antecedents of collective guilt. Second, collective guilt has an impact on a consumers' decision when they face a choice set that includes a product from the country that was the target of the adverse action and a product from another foreign country. This impact however disappears from a consumers' decision when they face a choice set that includes a product from the country that was the target of the adverse action and a domestic product. This result suggests that collective guilt might be a viable factor for company originating from the country transgressed against if its competitors are foreign but not if they are local.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.46-70
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• 1987

The survey with questionnaire were conducted to grasp the actual condition of four cautious drugs-antibiotics, sedative hypnctics, mincr tranquilizer, analeptics-self -medication behavior through drugstore use and to analyze the primary factors connected with it. The following six objectives were established. 1) To catch the reason why the man who medicate himself buy four cautious drugs at a drugstore, and to know the choice motive of each drug purchased. 2) To grasp the distribution of four cautious drug taken by the man who medicate himself and to analyse the reason of taking the drug. 3) To find out whether the buyer has taken the same drug past and to know the duration and the frequency. 4) To grasp the degree of recognition about four cautious drugs and the attitude toward continuous taking them. 5) To analyze the degree of recognition about the influence on human body and the attitude of medication behavior. 6) To know "the experience of side-effects" and to grasp the kind of the side-effects. The data were collected from 15 drugstores with 677 respondents in seoul from August 17 to september 21, 1987. The following results were obtained. 1) The reasons for drugstore use were first, "for easy access and convenience" (53.7%) second, "for the slightness of illness" (19.9%) third "for the cheap price" (13.2%). According to that result, the factor of "the easy access of drugstore" was most influential. In case of the poor, the factor "for the cheap price "was revealed second (37.3%). And "for the slightness of illness" was second reason in the medically insured (22. 9%), "for the cheap price" was second reason in the others (29%). 2) The kind of drugs purchased were antibiotics (62.8%), analeptics(17.2%), minor tranquilizer(13.3%) and sedative hypnotics (6.7%) on the whole. In teenagers, besides antibiotics the percentage of taking analepits came second (42.4%) and it was revealed that the percentage of sedative hypnotics, minor tranquilizer increase with age. But in proportion to the increase of age, the taking of analeptis decreased. 3) The choice motives of each drug purchased were all different. In case of antibiotics "recommendation of pharmacist" was 39.6%, sedative hypnotics "recommendation of pharmacist" and "my own judgement", 28.9%, respectively, minor tranquilizer "my own judgement", 35.2%. and in case of analeptics "my oun judgement" was most common with 53.5%. 4) The reasons for taking drugs were as follows. antibiotics was taken for the inflammation mitigation of a wound and a swelling (38.5%), sedative hypnotics for the removal of insomnia (97.5%), minor tranquilizer because of restlessness and qloominess(39.3%), and analeptics for the shortening of sleeping hours (35.1%). 5) Those experienced in taking four cautious drugs were 78.2% on the average. It was revealed that antibiotics use duration was "from one week to one month" (38.9%), the frequency was "rarely" (62.1%), sedative hypnotics and minor tranquilizer; "More than three years", (35.7%, 30.4%), respectively, "Somtimes", (43.8%, 35%), respectively. analeptics ; "from one year to three years", (27.6%), "Sometimes", (42.7%). 6) In regard to the source of information in taking drugs, 35.3 percent of male were relied on "recommendation of pharmacist", 32.6 percent of female "my own judgement", There was a difference between below the middle school graduates and over the high school graduates Thease were relied on "recommendation of pharmacist" first, those "my own judgement" first. And "my own judgement" was the first source of specialist(40%), labours(41.4%), salesman(43.5%), and jobless men(36.8%), "recommendation of ralatives on friends" was the first source of students (30.4%), "recommendation of pharmacist" was the first soure of teachers, administrative office workers (39%) and housewives (40.7%). 7) The degree of recognition about four cautious drugs was as follows. "know a little" was (43.0%), "don't know" (30.2%), "know" (26.8%), respectively. In regard to the attitude toward continuous taking them, it was revealed that "I will take it according to circumstamces" was first (56.2%), " I will not take it as possible" was first(56.2%), "I dont know well" (12.9%), "I will take it continuously" (8.3%). 8) About the influence on human body, "if proper, it is effect" was common attitude toward antibiotics (43.6%), "Probably bad influence on the health" was first toward the other drugs (46.2%), In terms of the degree of observance to taking-time and dose of drugs, "suitably" was first (37.3%), "relatively correctly" second (27%), "correctly" (17%). 9) The percentage of four cautious drugs side-effects was 27.5 on the average. The kind of side-effects were eruption and urticaria (28.5%), heart acceleration and so forth. (25.4%), headache and Giddiness, dyspepsia (23%), respectively.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.261-267
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• 2012

The technique of SCNT is now well established but still remains inefficient. The in vitro development of SCNT embryos is dependent upon numerous factors including the recipient cytoplast and karyoplast. Above all, the metaphase of the second meiotic division (MII) oocytes have typically become the recipient of choice. Generally high level of MPF present in MII oocytes induces the transferred nucleus to enter mitotic division precociously and causes NEBD and PCC, which may be the critical role for nuclear reprogramming. In the present study we investigated the in vitro development and pregnancy of White-Hanwoo SCNT embryos treated with caffeine (a protein kinase phosphatase inhibitor). As results, the treatment of 10 mM caffeine for 6 h significantly increased MPF activity in bovine oocytes but does not affect the developmental competence to the blastocyst stage in bovine SCNT embryos. However, a significant increase in the mean cell number of blastocysts and the frequency of pregnant on 150 days of White-Hanwoo SCNT embryos produced using caffeine treated cytoplasts was observed. These results indicated that the recipient cytoplast treated with caffeine for a short period prior to reconstruction of SCNT embryos is able to increase the frequency of pregnancy in cow.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.63-75
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• 2020

Objectives : Osteoporosis is the most common bone disease and osteoporosis fracture is the leading cause of decreased life. Bisphosphonate and selective estrogen receptor modulators are the best choice of treatment for osteoporosis. However, when used for a long time, they increase the probability of side effect such as osteonecrosis of the jaw. Thus, it is crucial to develop alternative medicine to treat osteoporosis. Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix, a herbal medicine, is mainly to treat rheumatoid arthritis. However, the effect of the water extract of Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix (w-GM) on osteoporosis has not been investigated. Thus, we examine whether w-GM can inhibit osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption on receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) ligand (RANKL)-treated RAW 264.7 cells. In this study, RAW 264.7 cells were used as an osteoclast differentiation model by treating them with RANKL. Methods : RAW 264.7 cells were used to determine the effect of w-GM on osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption. The number of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)-positive cells, TRAP activity and pit formation assay were examined. In addition, protein expressions were measured by western blot and mRNA expressions were analyzed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results : Treatment with w-GM inhibited the number of TRAP-positive cells, TRAP activity and pit area. In addition, w-GM decreased protein expression such as mitogen-activated protein kinase, NF-κB, c-Fos and nuclear factor of activated T-cells cytoplasmic 1 (NFATc1). It also inhibited the mRNA levels such as c-Fos, NFATc1, TRAP, NF-κB, calcitonin receptor and cathepsin K in RANKL-treated RAW 264.7 cells. Conclusions : These results suggest that w-GM has inhibitory effects via osteoclast differentiation, thus it could be a new medication for osteoporosis.