• Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.159-168
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• 2023

BACKGROUND: The gold standard for diagnosis of cardiac tumours is histopathological examination. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is a valuable non-invasive, radiation-free tool for identifying and characterizing cardiac tumours. Our aim is to understand CMR diagnosis of cardiac tumours by distinguishing benign vs. malignant tumours compared to the gold standard. METHODS: A systematic search was performed in the PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases up to December 2022, and the results were reviewed by 2 independent investigators. Studies reporting CMR diagnosis were included in a meta-analysis, and pooled measures were obtained. The risk of bias was assessed using the Quality Assessment Tools from the National Institutes of Health. RESULTS: A total of 2,321 results was obtained; 10 studies were eligible, including one identified by citation search. Eight studies were included in the meta-analysis, which presented a pooled sensitivity of 93% and specificity of 94%, a diagnostic odds ratio of 185, and an area under the curve of 0.98 for CMR diagnosis of benign vs. malignant tumours. Additionally, 4 studies evaluated whether CMR diagnosis of cardiac tumours matched specific histopathological subtypes, with 73.6% achieving the correct diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first published systematic review on CMR diagnosis of cardiac tumours. Compared to histopathological results, the ability to discriminate benign from malignant tumours was good but not outstanding. However, significant heterogeneity may have had an impact on our findings.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.63 no.5
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• pp.649-656
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• 2020

Objective : Unclear mental state is one of the major factors contributing to diagnostic failure of occult skeletal trauma in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The aim of this study was to evaluate the overlooked co-occurring skeletal trauma through whole body bone scan (WBBS) in TBI. Methods : A retrospective study of 547 TBI patients admitted between 2015 and 2017 was performed to investigate their cooccurring skeletal injuries detected by WBBS. The patients were divided into three groups based on the timing of suspecting skeletal trauma confirmed : 1) before WBBS (pre-WBBS); 2) after the routine WBBS (post-WBBS) with good mental state and no initial musculoskeletal complaints; and 3) after the routine WBBS with poor mental state (poor MS). The skeletal trauma detected by WBBS was classified into six skeletal categories : spine, upper and lower extremities, pelvis, chest wall, and clavicles. The skeletal injuries identified by WBBS were confirmed to be simple contusion or fractures by other imaging modalities such as X-ray or computed tomography (CT) scans. Of the six categorizations of skeletal trauma detected as hot uptake lesions in WBBS, the lesions of spine, upper and lower extremities were further statistically analyzed to calculate the incidence rates of actual fractures (AF) and actual surgery (AS) cases over the total number of hot uptake lesions in WBBS. Results : Of 547 patients with TBI, 112 patients (20.4 %) were presented with TBI alone. Four hundred and thirty-five patients with TBI had co-occurring skeletal injuries confirmed by WBBS. The incidences were as follows : chest wall (27.4%), spine (22.9%), lower extremities (20.2%), upper extremities (13.5%), pelvis (9.4%), and clavicles (6.3%). It is notable that relatively larger number of positive hot uptakes were observed in the groups of post-WBBS and poor MS. The percentage of post-WBBS group over the total hot uptake lesions in upper and lower extremities, and spines were 51.0%, 43.8%, and 41.7%, respectively, while their percentages of AS were 2.73%, 1.1%, and 0%, respectively. The percentages of poor MS group in the upper and lower extremities, and spines were 10.4%, 17.4%, and 7.8%, respectively, while their percentages of AS were 26.7%, 14.2%, and 11.1%, respectively. There was a statistical difference in the percentage of AS between the groups of post-WBBS and poor MS (p=0.000). Conclusion : WBBS is a potential diagnostic tool in understanding the skeletal conditions of patients with head injuries which may be undetected during the initial assessment.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.115-125
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• 1995

Reports about the prevalence of premenstrual symptoms state that occurs in 20 to 100% of most reproductive-age women. There is a close association between premenstrual syndrome and affective disorders as well as same some other psychiatric disorders. Late luteal phase dysphoric disorder (LLPDD) is a premenstrual condition defined in DSM-III-R by severe mood changes and other symptoms that repeatedly occur only in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. However, DSM-III-R does not specify how to compute the change from the follicular to the luteal phase or how to determine when the amount of change is great enough to warrant the diagnosis nor how to determine occupational or social functional impairment. This study was conducted to evaluate the nature, severity and magnitude of premenstrual syndrome in women with current psychiatric disorders by using prospective Daily Rating Form(DRF), and to measure symptom changes according to three scoring methods for diagnosing LLPDD. Our study obtains the data about premenstrual changes estimated by DRF from 22 women with psychiatric disorders who had met criteria for major depressive syndrome on the Premenstrual Assessment Form (PAF). The data was scored by each three methods and was determined to meet criteria A for LLPDD. The results are as follows: 1) the subjects, when scored according to the percent change method, effect size method and absolute severity method, met the DSM-III-R criteria A for LLPDD in 36.4% (8 subjects), 14% (3 subjects) and 4.5% (1 subject) of the cases respectively. 2) The items of irritability, anger and impatience were occurred most frequently on the DRF, when it was scored according to the three scoring methods. And the item of breast pain was next frequent according to the effect size method and the percent change method but according to the absolute severity method. 3) The PAF item of impaired social functioning was reported by 16 (73%) of the subjects. 4) 4 (18%) of the subjects met criteria A for LLPDD and reported impaired social functioning. The prevalency of LLPDD according to each method varied. The percent change method yielded the greatest (36.4%), and the absolute seventy method yielded the laest (4.5%), The effect size method yielded an intermediate frequency (14%). Therefore, for maximizing the diagnostic accuracy of LLPDD, a diagnostic procedure including a measure of change (e.q., effect size method, percent change method) as well as confirmed diagnosis by DRF, will be needed. Also, an accurate tool to evaluate impaired social functioning will be required.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.426-437
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• 2024

Objective: Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is a diagnostic tool that provides precise and reproducible information about cardiac structure, function, and tissue characterization, aiding in the monitoring of chemotherapy response in patients with light-chain cardiac amyloidosis (AL-CA). This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of CMR in monitoring responses to chemotherapy in patients with AL-CA. Materials and Methods: In this prospective study, we enrolled 111 patients with AL-CA (50.5% male; median age, 54 [interquartile range, 49-63] years). Patients underwent longitudinal monitoring using biomarkers and CMR imaging. At follow-up after chemotherapy, patients were categorized into superior and inferior response groups based on their hematological and cardiac laboratory responses to chemotherapy. Changes in CMR findings across therapies and differences between response groups were analyzed. Results: Following chemotherapy (before vs. after), there were significant increases in myocardial T2 (43.6 ± 3.5 ms vs. 44.6 ± 4.1 ms; P = 0.008), recovery in right ventricular (RV) longitudinal strain (median of -9.6% vs. -11.7%; P = 0.031), and decrease in RV extracellular volume fraction (ECV) (median of 53.9% vs. 51.6%; P = 0.048). These changes were more pronounced in the superior-response group. Patients with superior cardiac laboratory response showed significantly greater reductions in RV ECV (-2.9% [interquartile range, -8.7%-1.1%] vs. 1.7% [-5.5%-7.1%]; P = 0.017) and left ventricular ECV (-2.0% [-6.0%-1.3%] vs. 2.0% [-3.0%-5.0%]; P = 0.01) compared with those with inferior response. Conclusion: Cardiac amyloid deposition can regress following chemotherapy in patients with AL-CA, particularly showing more prominent regression, possibly earlier, in the RV. CMR emerges as an effective tool for monitoring associated tissue characteristics and ventricular functional recovery in patients with AL-CA undergoing chemotherapy, thereby supporting its utility in treatment response assessment.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.263-276
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• 2023

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of a model using You Only Look Once (YOLO) for object detection of proximal caries in periapical radiographs of children. A total of 2016 periapical radiographs in primary dentition were selected from the M6 database as a learning material group, of which 1143 were labeled as proximal caries by an experienced dentist using an annotation tool. After converting the annotations into a training dataset, YOLO was trained on the dataset using a single convolutional neural network (CNN) model. Accuracy, recall, specificity, precision, negative predictive value (NPV), F1-score, Precision-Recall curve, and AP (area under curve) were calculated for evaluation of the object detection model's performance in the 187 test datasets. The results showed that the CNN-based object detection model performed well in detecting proximal caries, with a diagnostic accuracy of 0.95, a recall of 0.94, a specificity of 0.97, a precision of 0.82, a NPV of 0.96, and an F1-score of 0.81. The AP was 0.83. This model could be a valuable tool for dentists in detecting carious lesions in periapical radiographs.

• Journal of Practical Engineering Education
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.163-176
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• 2020

Promoting job growth and quality has been central to developing countries to reduce poverty for decades. In this regard, Nepal is not unique in its need to develop effective TVET programme as it is considered showing positive association with workforce development and productivity. While the copious academic literature has highlighted upon staff training programme in general education, it encounters lack of adequate attention in the field of TVET education. The purpose of the study is to identity and prioritise the professional development needs for the teachers of TVET sector in Nepal. A sample(N=317) of Nepalese teachers from seven provinces were asked to answer the scale. The Borich needs assessment model was employed to assess the perceived level of importance and present preferred training modules among 29 teaching subjects. Moreover, a quadrant analysis using 2×2 matrix was used as a diagnostic tool to denote overriding training topics. The result shows that following competence skills constructs were perceived to be in high need of enhancement as well as in existence of discrepancies: 'occupational characteristics of TVET trainer', 'training needs analysis and curriculum development', 'curriculum development based on national competence standard(NCS)', and 'Institution management evaluation'.

• Dementia and Neurocognitive Disorders
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.54-66
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• 2024

Background and Purpose: Dementia subtypes, including Alzheimer's dementia (AD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), pose diagnostic challenges. This review examines the effectiveness of ¹⁸F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography (¹⁸F-FDG PET) in differentiating these subtypes for precise treatment and management. Methods: A systematic review following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines was conducted using databases like PubMed and Embase to identify studies on the diagnostic utility of ¹⁸F-FDG PET in dementia. The search included studies up to November 16, 2022, focusing on peer-reviewed journals and applying the goldstandard clinical diagnosis for dementia subtypes. Results: From 12,815 articles, 14 were selected for final analysis. For AD versus FTD, the sensitivity was 0.96 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.88-0.98) and specificity was 0.84 (95% CI, 0.70-0.92). In the case of AD versus DLB, ¹⁸F-FDG PET showed a sensitivity of 0.93 (95% CI 0.88-0.98) and specificity of 0.92 (95% CI, 0.70-0.92). Lastly, when differentiating AD from non-AD dementias, the sensitivity was 0.86 (95% CI, 0.80-0.91) and the specificity was 0.88 (95% CI, 0.80-0.91). The studies mostly used case-control designs with visual and quantitative assessments. Conclusions: ¹⁸F-FDG PET exhibits high sensitivity and specificity in differentiating dementia subtypes, particularly AD, FTD, and DLB. This method, while not a standalone diagnostic tool, significantly enhances diagnostic accuracy in uncertain cases, complementing clinical assessments and structural imaging.

• The Korean Nurse
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.52-67
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• 1996

As home care in developing and becoming part of the health care delivery system in Korea, it is necessary to examine the use of nursing diagnoses and related nursing interventions with a view to increasing the standardization of nursing recording. This study was done to examine the nursing diagnosis and related nursing interventions used in home care. Data were collected using a chart review of the nursing notes written for the home care given to 38 patients who had pulmonary diseases or traumatic brain or spinal cord injuries and who had received home care as part of a demonstration home care project in a college of Nursing in Seoul. Early on in the project discussions as to format and use to nursing diagnosis was done and a tool was developed based on Gordon's eleven functional catergories with the addition of categories to cover family and environment. This tool was used in the data collection. Data included nursing diagnosis, etiologies and interventions. Real numbers and percentages were used in the analysis. The results show that the most frequently used diagnoses were in the category of physical function (75.6%), followed by the category of emotional and social function (21.8%). The least frequently used category was the one for family and environment (2.6%). The order of the frequency of recorded nursing interventions was the same, 82.3% for physical function, 16.2% of emotional and social function and 1.5% for family and environment. Under the category of physical functioning the most frequently used nursing diagnoses were related to mobility (62.2%), nutrition (23.6%) and elimination (11.9%). The frequencies of nursing interventions for these three diagnostic categories were 69.8%, 16.0% and 10.8% respectively. For emotional and social functioning, the most frequently used diagnoses were for cognition-perception (37.1%), self-perception (30.6%) and perception of health (23.7%). The ordering of the frequency of nursing interventions varied slightly. The most frequently used interventions were for the category of self-perception (31.7%) followed by cognition-perception (24.1%) and perception of health (22.9%). Looking at individual diagnoses, it was found that within the categroy of physical functioning, the most frequently used diagnosis was "impaired physical mobility" (29.5%) and this diagnosis involved 43.9% of the interventions. This was followed by "ineffective breathing pattern" (19.4%) with 17.7% of interventions, and "alteration in nutrition, less than body requirements" (11.2%) with 8.1% of the interventions. For the emotional social category, noncompliance was the most frequently used nursing diagnosis (18.2%) with 19.2% of the interventions. This was followed by "anxiety" (13.4%) with 13.6% of the interventions and by "knowledge deficit" (13.4%) but with only 5.5% of the interventions. The other diagnoses and interventions did not follow this pattern of frequency. Although there were a large number of diagnostic and intervention events, the number of actual diagnoses and interventions used were relatively small ranging from six interventions for "knowledge deficit" to 40 interventions for "imparied physical mobility". From this it can be concluded that the results of this study could be used as basic data for the development of standardized charts with respect to nursing diagnosis and interventions for clients with pulmonary disease and clients with traumatic brain or spinal cord injuries. Interventions that were direct care activities (1178) were much more frequent that education (430), and assessment and observation (148). There were also few diagnoses or interventions related to the family and the environment. This suggests two areas that need to be developed in home care and that need to be considered in the development of standardized records for use in home care.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.387-396
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• 2020

Objectives: The lack of advance planning in a public health emergency can lead to wasted resources and inadvertent loss of lives. This study is aimed at forecasting the needs for healthcare resources following the expansion of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in the Republic of Kazakhstan, focusing on hospital beds, equipment, and the professional workforce in light of the developing epidemiological situation and the data on resources currently available. Methods: We constructed a forecast model of the epidemiological scenario via the classic susceptible-exposed-infected-removed (SEIR) approach. The World Health Organization's COVID-19 Essential Supplies Forecasting Tool was used to evaluate the healthcare resources needed for the next 12 weeks. Results: Over the forecast period, there will be 104 713.7 hospital admissions due to severe disease and 34 904.5 hospital admissions due to critical disease. This will require 47 247.7 beds for severe disease and 1929.9 beds for critical disease at the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak. There will also be high needs for all categories of healthcare workers and for both diagnostic and treatment equipment. Thus, Republic of Kazakhstan faces the need for a rapid increase in available healthcare resources and/or for finding ways to redistribute resources effectively. Conclusions: Republic of Kazakhstan will be able to reduce the rates of infections and deaths among its population by developing and following a consistent strategy targeting COVID-19 in a number of inter-related directions.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.215-230
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• 2006

Purpose : To evaluate the clinical use of the menopause-specific quality of life questionnaire(MENQOL) for scoring menopausal symptoms by comparison with the conventional Kupperman's index. Methods : A population sample of 66 women was randomly selected from the female patients(aged 45-55) who had visited two oriental medical clinic in Seoul or Woo-Shin-Hwang oriental hospital from 1st April to 15th May in 2006. They completed both the MENQOL and the Kupperman's index and were asked a few additional questions. Results : 1. A degree of the Climacteric symptoms were not significantly related to either an education level or an income level. 2. A comparison of the MENQOL with the Kupperman's index produced a high positive correlation. 3. 41 of subjects (62.1%) answered that the MENQOL was more efficient for explaining their symptoms than the Kupperman's index. 49 (74.2%) of subject thought that both questionnaires are equally not difficult to fill out and 44(66.7%) of subject found no difficult questions to answer in any of questionnaires. Conclusion : The MENQOL is a valuable modern tool for the assessment of climacteric symptoms in place of the Kupperman's index. The MENQOL was excellent in applicability. The MENQOL could serve as an adequate diagnostic instrument for climacteric symptoms.