• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.257-266
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• 2018

Purpose: The study has been conducted to identify factors affecting the participation in leisure activities by elderly women living alone. Methods: Data were collected through a questionnaire survey among 150 elderly women in Seoul and Gyeong-gi Province. The measurement tools that were used include participation in leisure activities, perceived health status, Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form-Korea (GDSS-K), psychological well-being scale, and loneliness scale. The data were analyzed by using the Pearson correlation coefficients, t-test, analysis of variance ANOVA, and stepwise multiple regression with the SPSS/windows version 21.0 program. Results: The analysis shows that the affection for participation in leisure activities of the elderly women living alone who participated in the questionnaire survey is significant (F=14.6, p<.001). The value of the adjusted $R^2$ is 0.55, which accounts for the explanatory power of 55.4%. The predictor that has been found to have the greatest influence on the participation in leisure activities by the elderly women living alone include perceived health status, followed by monthly allowance (10,000 won), psychological well-being, economic status, religion, depression, family structure, and loneliness. Conclusion: The results suggest that in developing nursing interventions and practice for the participation in leisure activities by elderly women living alone, perceived health status, psychological well-being, depression, and loneliness should be considered.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.381-385
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• 2015

Background:Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second most common malignancy in Egypt. Data mining is a method of predictive analysis which can explore tremendous volumes of information to discover hidden patterns and relationships. Our aim here was to develop a non-invasive algorithm for prediction of HCC. Such an algorithm should be economical, reliable, easy to apply and acceptable by domain experts. Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled 315 patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) related chronic liver disease (CLD); 135 HCC, 116 cirrhotic patients without HCC and 64 patients with chronic hepatitis C. Using data mining analysis, we constructed a decision tree learning algorithm to predict HCC. Results: The decision tree algorithm was able to predict HCC with recall (sensitivity) of 83.5% and precession (specificity) of 83.3% using only routine data. The correctly classified instances were 259 (82.2%), and the incorrectly classified instances were 56 (17.8%). Out of 29 attributes, serum alpha fetoprotein (AFP), with an optimal cutoff value of ${\geq}50.3ng/ml$ was selected as the best predictor of HCC. To a lesser extent, male sex, presence of cirrhosis, AST>64U/L, and ascites were variables associated with HCC. Conclusion: Data mining analysis allows discovery of hidden patterns and enables the development of models to predict HCC, utilizing routine data as an alternative to CT and liver biopsy. This study has highlighted a new cutoff for AFP (${\geq}50.3ng/ml$). Presence of a score of >2 risk variables (out of 5) can successfully predict HCC with a sensitivity of 96% and specificity of 82%.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.606-616
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• 2015

This study was conducted in order to identify factors affecting opinions on marriage of unmarried women in their 30's in Korea. Analysis of data on 529 unmarried women in their 30's, which were taken from the 2012 social survey, was analyzed. Data were analyzed using ${\chi}^2$ test, hierarchical logistic regression analysis as well as descriptive statistics by SPSS version 20.0. Results showed that age(Exp(b)=.90,p=.025), opinions on divorce(Exp(b)=3.81,p<.001) and remarriage(Exp(b)=3.09,p=.001), and value on marriage(Exp(b)=.80,p<.001) were independent predictors of opinions on marriage. Economic activity(Exp(b)=19.58,p=.003) was found to be an independent predictor of opinions on marriage for the 35-39 year old women differ from 30-34 year old women predictors. Findings of this study indicate a need for developing family and marriage value-centered education and the low-fertility policy for the 35-39year old actively working women considering factors affecting opinions on marriage.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.189-196
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• 2022

Background: This study investigated the predictive value of the frailty index calculated using laboratory data and vital signs (FI-L) in patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Methods: This study included 508 patients (age 67.3±9.7 years, male 78.0%) who underwent CABG between 2018 and 2021. The FI-L, which estimates patients' frailty based on laboratory data and vital signs, was calculated as the ratio of variables outside the normal range for 32 preoperative parameters. The primary endpoints were operative and medium-term all-cause mortality. The secondary endpoints were early postoperative complications and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs). Results: The mean FI-L was 20.9%±10.9%. The early mortality rate was 1.6% (n=8). Postoperative complications were atrial fibrillation (n=148, 29.1%), respiratory complications (n=38, 7.5%), and acute kidney injury (n=15, 3.0%). The 1- and 3-year survival rates were 96.0% and 88.7%, and the 1- and 3-year cumulative incidence rates of MACCEs were 4.87% and 8.98%. In multivariable analyses, the FI-L showed statistically significant associations with medium-term all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1.042; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.010-1.076), MACCEs (subdistribution HR, 1.054; 95% CI, 1.030-1.078), atrial fibrillation (odds ratio [OR], 1.02; 95% CI, 1.002-1.039), acute kidney injury (OR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.014-1.108), and re-operation for bleeding (OR, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.032-1.152). The minimal p-value approach showed that 32% was the best cutoff for the FI-L as a predictor of all-cause mortality post-CABG. Conclusion: The FI-L was a significant prognostic factor related to all-cause mortality and postoperative complications in patients who underwent CABG.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.542-549
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• 2018

Background Despite the increasing popularity of prosthetic breast reconstruction, scant data exist on the microbiological profile of drainage fluid from closed-suction drains and the relationship thereof to surgical-site infections (SSIs) in breast reconstruction surgery. This study aimed to determine whether bacteria isolated from drainage fluid were associated with the development of SSIs, and whether the bacterial profile of drainage fluid could be a clinically useful predictor of SSIs. Methods We performed a retrospective chart review of 61 women who underwent tissue expander/implant or direct-to-implant reconstructions. Patient demographics and culture studies of drainage fluid from suction drains collected on postoperative day 7 were evaluated. Results Sixteen patients (26.23%) were culture-positive, and 45 patients (73.77%) were culture-negative. The most frequently isolated bacteria were coagulase-negative staphylococci, followed by Staphylococcus aureus. SSIs were diagnosed in seven patients and were mostly resolved by systemic antibiotics; however, the tissue expander or implant was explanted in two patients. Positive culture of drainage fluid from closed-suction drains was significantly associated with the development of SSIs (P<0.05). The positive predictive value was 37.50%, and the negative predictive value was 97.78%. Conclusions To our knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate a significant association between the microbiological profile of drainage fluid from closed-suction drains and the development of SSIs in patients with prosthetic breast reconstructions. The high negative predictive value suggests that microbial testing of drainage fluid from closed-suction drains may have clinical utility. Further prospective studies with larger sample sizes are required to confirm our findings.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.2647-2650
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• 2014

Background: Colorectal cancers(CRC) are the third most common cancer in the western world, with surgery preferred for management of non-metastatic disease and post surgical treatment usually arranged according to the TNM staging system. However, there is still prognostic variation between patients who have the same stage. It is increasingly recognized that variations within disease course and clinical outcome in colorectal cancer patients are influenced by not only oncological characteristics of the tumor itself but also host response factors. Recent studies have shown correlation between the inflammatory response and clinical outcomes in various cancers. The neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been described as a marker for immune response to various stimuli including cancer. Material-Methods: Two hundred eighty-one CRC patients were included in our retrospective analysis, separated into two groups according to a cut-off value for the NLR. Patient data including age, gender, vertical penetration, anatomic location, and differentiation of the tumor, TNM stage, survival rate, and disease-free survival were analyzed for correlations with the NLR. Results: Using ROC curve analysis, we determined a cut-off value of 2.2 for NLR to be best to discriminate between patient survival in the whole group. In univariate analysis, high pretreatment NLR (p=0.001, 95%CI 1.483-4.846), pathologic nodal stage (p<0.001, 95%CI 1.082-3.289) and advanced pathologic TNM stage (p<0.001, 95%CI 1.462-4.213) were predictive of shorter survival. In multivariate analysis, advanced pathologic TNM stage (p=0.001, 95%CI 1.303-26.542) and high pretreatment NLR (p=0.005, 95%CI 1.713-6.378) remained independently associated with poor survival. Conclusions: High pre-treatment NLR is a significant independent predictor of shorter survival in patients with colorectal cancer. This parameter is a simple, easily accessible laboratory value for identifying patients with poorer prognosis.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.55-65
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• 2009

This study examined how the construction of an environment of culture has affected economic revitalization within the four regions of Seoul. World Cup Stadium, Bookchon, Daehackro, and Seoul Forest were selected for study in consideration of the types and characteristics of cultural environments. The data were collected by questionnaire surveys, which were administered to local residents. The results found an increase in the value of real estate in Seoul Forest while the construction of a culture-based environment had a positive effect on shop sales, the provision of employment opportunities, and the generation of tourist-based income in Daehackro. Using regression analysis, the relative influence of a cultural environment on the value of real estate was greatest on the improvement of local image and the enhancement of cultural enjoyment. The results found that the enhancement of cultural enjoyment was the most prominent predictor of the provision of employment opportunities and an increase in the number of tourists.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.75-84
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• 2019

In this study, the random forest approach was used to predict the national mean rice yield of South Korea by using mean climatic factors at a national scale. A random forest model that used monthly climate variable and year as an important predictor in predicting crop yield. Annual yield change would be affected by technical improvement for crop management as well as climate. Year as prediction factor represent technical improvement. Thus, it is likely that the variables of importance identified for the random forest model could result in a large error in prediction of rice yield in practice. It was also found that elimination of the trend of yield data resulted in reasonable accuracy in prediction of yield using the random forest model. For example, yield prediction using the training set (data obtained from 1991 to 2005) had a relatively high degree of agreement statistics. Although the degree of agreement statistics for yield prediction for the test set (2006-2015) was not as good as those for the training set, the value of relative root mean square error (RRMSE) was less than 5%. In the variable importance plot, significant difference was noted in the importance of climate factors between the training and test sets. This difference could be attributed to the shifting of the transplanting date, which might have affected the growing season. This suggested that acceptable yield prediction could be achieved using random forest, when the data set included consistent planting or transplanting dates in the predicted area.

• The Journal of Society for e-Business Studies
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.273-299
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• 2013

This study attempts to identify user perceived value as a major predictor of the usage of smartphone-based mobile commerce(m-commerce). More specifically, the study conceptualizes user perceived value of smartphone-based m-commerce along three dimensions, such as temporal, functional, and economic values. Moreover, this study proposes service ubiquity and user control that are uniquely defining characteristics of smartphone-based m-commerce and examines how the two variables are associated with the creation of user perceived value. Using a total of 164 data collected on users of smartphone-based mcommerce, we conducted PLS analysis to test the proposed model and hypotheses. The key findings are as follows : First, it has been found that the usage of smartphone-based m-commerce is determined by the three values, such as temporal, functional, and economic values. Particularly, the results show that temporal value is the most influential variable in predicting m-commerce use. Second, the results demonstrate that service ubiquity has a significant positive effect on temporal value, whereas it has no effect on functional value. Finally, user control is positively associated with temporal and functional values. Overall, the results indicate that service ubiquity and user control considerably increase temporal value, thereby accelerating the use of smartphone-based m-commerce. Discussions and implications of the results are provided.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.159-163
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• 2015

Background Interest in global health and international mission trips among medical student and resident trainees is growing rapidly. How these electives and international mission experiences affect future practice is still being elucidated. No study has identified if participation in international surgical missions during residency is a predictor of participation in international surgical missions in practice after training completion. Methods All trainees of our plastic surgery residency program from 1990 to 2011, during the implementation of optional annual international surgical missions, were surveyed to determine if the graduate had gone on a mission as a resident and as a plastic surgeon. Data were compared between graduates who participated in missions as residents and graduates who did not, from 1990 to 2011 and 1990 to 2007. Results Of Plastic Surgery graduates from 1990 to 2011 who participated in international missions as residents, 60% participated in missions when in practice, versus 5.9% of graduates participating in missions in practice but not residency (P<0.0001). When excluding last 5 years, graduates participating in international missions in practice after doing so as residents increases to 85.7%, versus 7.41% who participate in practice but not residency P<0.002. Conclusions Results reveal plastic surgeons who participate in international surgical missions as residents participate in international surgical missions in practice at higher rates than graduates who did not participate in missions during residency. International missions have significant intrinsic value both to trainee and international communities served, and this opportunity should be readily and easily accessible to all plastic surgery residents nationwide.