• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.16.1-16.20
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• 2022

The gastrointestinal tract is the first organ directly affected by fasting. However, little is known about how fasting influences the intestinal immune system. Intestinal dendritic cells (DCs) capture antigens, migrate to secondary lymphoid organs, and provoke adaptive immune responses. We evaluated the changes of intestinal DCs in mice with short-term fasting and their effects on protective immunity against Listeria monocytogenes (LM). Fasting induced an increased number of CD103⁺CD11b^- DCs in both small intestinal lamina propria (SILP) and mesenteric lymph nodes (mLN). The SILP CD103⁺CD11b^- DCs showed proliferation and migration, coincident with increased levels of GM-CSF and C-C chemokine receptor type 7, respectively. At 24 h post-infection with LM, there was a significant reduction in the bacterial burden in the spleen, liver, and mLN of the short-term-fasted mice compared to those fed ad libitum. Also, short-term-fasted mice showed increased survival after LM infection compared with ad libitum-fed mice. It could be that significantly high TGF-β2 and Aldh1a2 expression in CD103⁺CD11b^- DCs in mice infected with LM might affect to increase of Foxp3⁺ regulatory T cells. Changes of major subset of DCs from CD103⁺ to CD103^- may induce the increase of IFN-γ-producing cells with forming Th1-biased environment. Therefore, the short-term fasting affects protection against LM infection by changing major subset of intestinal DCs from tolerogenic to Th1 immunogenic.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.32-40
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• 2010

Purpose: The survey was aimed to provide basic data to develop a certification system for hospice and palliative care professionals. Methods: National Cancer Center (NCC) and the Korean Society for Hospice & Palliative Care (KSHPC) conducted the survey for hospice and palliative care professionals who worked at 34 Palliative care units designated by the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Family Affairs (MW) and the members of the KSHPC. The survey was conducted via e-mail from June 17 to 23, 2009. Total 220 professionals were surveyed. Results: Most of the hospice and palliative care professionals reported a great need for certification system: Physician, 90% (n=51) nurse, 84% (n=134) social worker, 89% (n=35). In regard with the requirement for the certification, a majority of physicians (46%) preferreddiploma course, while social workers (46%) preferred training course for medical social workers. Concerning the certification body, physician (45%) preferred the KSHPC and the MW almost equally, while nurses (50%) and social workers (60%) preferred the MW highly. As for the body to develop and accredit advance training course for each professionals, most of the physicians (51%) preferred the KSHPC, whereas nurses and social workers preferred collaboration of the MW (or NCC) with the professional society, such as the KSHPC (23%), the Korean Hospice & Palliative nurses association for nurses (21%), or the Korean association of (medical) social workers (37%). Lastly, all respondents preferred the course format of once a week, full day, and some field study at weekend. Conclusion: Korean hospice and palliative care professionals identified the great need for the certification system, therefore, the adequate system development must be followed to reflect their voice.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.123-127
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• 1978

The major objective of this research is to identify those hospital characteristics that best explain cost variation among hospitals and to formulate linear models that can predict hospital costs. Specific emphasis is placed on hospital output, that is, the identification of diagnosis related patient groups (DRGs) which are medically meaningful and demonstrate similar patterns of hospital resource consumption. A casemix index is developed based on the DRGs identified. Considering the common problems encountered in previous hospital cost research, the following study requirements are estab-lished for fulfilling the objectives of this research: 1. Selection of hospitals that exercise similar medical and fiscal practices. 2. Identification of an appropriate data collection mechanism in which demographic and medical characteristics of individual patients as well as accurate and comparable cost information can be derived. 3. Development of a patient classification system in which all the patients treated in hospitals are able to be split into mutually exclusive categories with consistent and stable patterns of resource consumption. 4. Development of a cost finding mechanism through which patient groups' costs can be made comparable across hospitals. A data set of Medicare patients prepared by the Social Security Administration was selected for the study analysis. The data set contained 27,229 record abstracts of Medicare patients discharged from all but one short-term general hospital in Connecticut during the period from January 1, 1971, to December 31, 1972. Each record abstract contained demographic and diagnostic information, as well as charges for specific medical services received. The 'AUT-OGRP System' was used to generate 198 DRGs in which the entire range of Medicare patients were split into mutually exclusive categories, each of which shows a consistent and stable pattern of resource consumption. The 'Departmental Method' was used to generate cost information for the groups of Medicare patients that would be comparable across hospitals. To fulfill the study objectives, an extensive analysis was conducted in the following areas: 1. Analysis of DRGs: in which the level of resource use of each DRG was determined, the length of stay or death rate of each DRG in relation to resource use was characterized, and underlying patterns of the relationships among DRG costs were explained. 2. Exploration of resource use profiles of hospitals; in which the magnitude of differences in the resource uses or death rates incurred in the treatment of Medicare patients among the study hospitals was explored. 3. Casemix analysis; in which four types of casemix-related indices were generated, and the significance of these indices in the explanation of hospital costs was examined. 4. Formulation of linear models to predict hospital costs of Medicare patients; in which nine independent variables (i. e., casemix index, hospital size, complexity of service, teaching activity, location, casemix-adjusted death. rate index, occupancy rate, and casemix-adjusted length of stay index) were used for determining factors in hospital costs. Results from the study analysis indicated that: 1. The system of 198 DRGs for Medicare patient classification was demonstrated not only as a strong tool for determining the pattern of hospital resource utilization of Medicare patients, but also for categorizing patients by their severity of illness. 2. The wei틴fed mean total case cost (TOTC) of the study hospitals for Medicare patients during the study years was $11,27.02 with a standard deviation of $117.20. The hospital with the highest average TOTC ($1538.15) was 2.08 times more expensive than the hospital with the lowest average TOTC ($743.45). The weighted mean per diem total cost (DTOC) of the study hospitals for Medicare patients during the sutdy years was $107.98 with a standard deviation of $15.18. The hospital with the highest average DTOC ($147.23) was 1.87 times more expensive than the hospital with the lowest average DTOC ($78.49). 3. The linear models for each of the six types of hospital costs were formulated using the casemix index and the eight other hospital variables as the determinants. These models explained variance to the extent of 68.7 percent of total case cost (TOTC), 63.5 percent of room and board cost (RMC), 66.2 percent of total ancillary service cost (TANC), 66.3 percent of per diem total cost (DTOC), 56.9 percent of per diem room and board cost (DRMC), and 65.5 percent of per diem ancillary service cost (DTANC). The casemix index alone explained approximately one half of interhospital cost variation: 59.1 percent for TOTC and 44.3 percent for DTOC. Thsee results demonstrate that the casemix index is the most importand determinant of interhospital cost variation Future research and policy implications in regard to the results of this study is envisioned in the following three areas: 1. Utilization of casemix related indices in the Medicare data systems. 2. Refinement of data for hospital cost evaluation. 3. Development of a system for reimbursement and cost control in hospitals.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.110 no.1
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• pp.53-63
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• 2021

Sophora koreensis Nakai is an indigenous plant in Koreawith a restricted natural range, part of which is in Gangwon province. The species is known to contain phytochemicals that have beneficial effects on human health, and it is economically important in bioindustry. Because of the limited number of plants in a small range of habitats, the mass-propagation method should be developed for use and conservation. In vitro tissue culture is a reliable method in terms of mass propagation from selected clones of the species. We investigated the optimal conditions of the medium in this process, especially focusing on the concentrations of plant growth regulators(PGRs) in the culture of stem-containing axillary buds. Three statistical methods, i.e., ANOVA, response surface method(RSM), and fuzzy clustering were used to analyze the plant growth, number of shoots induced, and shoot length with various combinations of PGRs. Results from the RSM differed from those of the other two methods; thus, the method was not suitable. ANOVA and fuzzy clustering showed similar results. However, more accurate results were obtained using fuzzy clustering because it provided a probability for each treatment. On the basis of the fuzzy clustering analysis, stem tissue produced the greatest number of shoots(11.03 per explant; 63.33%) on a medium supplemented with 5-��M 6-benzylaminopurine and 2.5-��M thidiazuron(TDZ). Proliferation of shoots(2.18 ± 0.21 cm, 63.33%) was attained on a medium supplemented with 2.5-��M BA, 2.5-��M TDZ, and 2.5-��M gibberellic acid.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.93-111
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• 1996

The purpose of the study is to identify the lived experience of mothers who have children with cerebral palsy in order to understand their agony. Moreover, the result of study was to find some nursing intervention for disabled children and their mothers. For this purpose, ten mothers who are willing to cooperate with this research were selected at random from those who have children with the cerebral palsy, currently using the municipal facilities for the handicapped with cerebral malfunction. Data collection was done from October 4, 1994 th December 31, 1994. The data were collected by asking the mothers mentioned above with some unstructured open-ended questions, recorded on the tapes with permission by the interviewee in order to prevent missing of the interviewed contents. These collected data have been substantiated and properly analyzed on the basis of phenomenological approach initiated by Colaizzi's method. The results and validity are proved to be credible by means of the individual checking of the interviewed mothers. The results of this study are as follows : 1. When the mother is first informed of the diagnosis of cerebral palsy on her child, she usually misses the crucial timing needed for proper treatment of the child's disorder because she is notified through the doctor's indifference and his apparently inactive, matter-of-fact attitude. At first she suspects the doctor's diagnosis and tries to attribute it to the unknown cause from a certain genetic problem and then she quickly wants to deny the whole situation that her child is really suffering from the cerebral palsy. The reality is too much for her to accept as it is and she would not believe her child is abnormal. Therefore, she even attempts depend on the power of God for its solution. 2. The mother, who goes thorough this kind of uncommon experiences, is totally devoted to the treatment and care of the child and completely ignores her own life and happiness. At the same time, she feels sorry for her other normal children she believes having not enough care and concern. Also, she feels sorry for the sick child when the child's brothers or sisters show special concern for the patient out of sympathy. It is sorry and not satisfied for her that the child is growing with abnormality and neighbor other around have inappropriate attitudes. Likewise, she is discontent with her husband's lack of concern about the child's treatment. She believes that the health care system in this society isn't fulfilling its due purpose. In the state of her utmost distress and anxiety, she always feels the need of competent consultants, and is angry about that her child is treated as an abnormal being, she is trying to hide the child from other people and to make him or her disappear, if possible. Although she doesn't have harmonious relation with her husband, she id happy when he shows his affection for the child and she feels relieved and thankful when the relatives don't mention about the child's condition Since the child's overall status of health is continuously in unstable conditions, requiring her all-time readiness for an emergency, she feels guilty of her child's illness toward the fEmily members as if it was her own fault to have borne such an abnormal child and she feels responsible for the child morally and financially if necessary Because her life is centered on taking care of the child, she cannot afford to enjoy her own life and happiness. She is a lonely mother, fatigued, with no proper relationship with other people around her. With this sense of guilt and responsibility as a mother of an unusual disease, she has no choice but to grieve her destiny from which she is not allowed to escape. 3. Nevertheless, the mother with the child suffering from the cerebral palsy does not easily give up the hope of getting her child cured and she believes that in the long run, though slower than hoped, her abnormal son or daughter will be eventually cured to become a normal sibling someday. This kind of hope is sustained by the mother's strong faith coming from observing the progress of other similar children getting better. Sometimes she is encouraged to have this faith by other mothers who share the same painful experiences, believing that her child will improve even more rapidly than others with the same palsy. Full of hope, she painstakingly waits for the child's healing. Moreover, she plans to have another child. she thinks that the patient child's brothers and sisters only can truly understand and look after the patients. However, when she notices that the progress of other children under the treatment does not look so hopeful, she is distressed by the thoughts that her child may never get well. Too, she is worried that the patient's brother or sister will be born as the same invalid with the cerebral disease. She is discouraged to have another baby as much as she is encouraged to. She is also troubled by the thought that in case she has another baby, she will have to be forced. to neglect the patient child, especially when she does have an extra hand or some reliable person to help her with taking care of the patient.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.101-107
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• 2014

Community-acquired antimicrobial resistant bacteria are an emerging problem world-wide. In Korea, resistant bacteria are more prevalent than in other industrialized countries. The aim of this study was to investigate the isolation frequency of methicillin-resistant staphylococci (MRS), Pseudomonas, and Enterobacteriaceae from surrounding environment (home, colleges, public transportation system and possessions) in Seoul, and to examine the level of drug resistance to 13 antimicrobial agents, which are in wide spread clinical use in Korea, as well as new agent, tigecycline in Enterobacteriaceae isolates. Of total 239 samples, 18 (7.5%) MRS, 10 (4.2%) Pseudomonas, and 30 (12.6%) Entarobacteriaceae were isolated. A total of 5 (2.1%) methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) were detected in home (2 samples), colleges (1 sample), and et cetera (2 sample). A total of 5 (2.1%) Escherichia coli were detected in in home (1 samples), public transportations (3 sample), and et cetera (1 sample). Resistance to cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, carbapenems, ${\beta}$-lactams, tetracyclines, and aminoglycosides was found in 71.9%, 71.9%, 68.8%, 68.8%, 50.0%, and 25.0% of 32 Enterobacteriaceae isolates, respectively. Also, resistance rate to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole of the isolates was a 43.8%. Moreover, 59.4% of the isolates were resistant to new agent, tigecycline and resistance to all agents tested was observed in 3 isolates. Five E. coli isolates were resistant to most of the agents tested, but some of them were susceptible to ciprofloxacin and gentamicin. This study can serve as a data point for future comparisons of possible changes in antibiotic resistance levels in surrounding environment. And multilateral strategies for preventing the incidence and spread of antibiotic resistance are needed.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.35 no.6_2
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• pp.1117-1132
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• 2019

Forest covers 30% of the Earth's land area and plays an important role in global carbon flux through its ability to store much greater amounts of carbon than other terrestrial ecosystems. The Gross Primary Production (GPP) represents the productivity of forest ecosystems according to climate change and its effect on the phenology, health, and carbon cycle. In this study, we estimated the daily GPP for a forest ecosystem using remote-sensed data from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and machine learning algorithms Support Vector Machine (SVM). MODIS products were employed to train the SVM model from 75% to 80% data of the total study period and validated using eddy covariance measurement (EC) data at the six flux tower sites. We also compare the GPP derived from EC and MODIS (MYD17). The MODIS products made use of two data sets: one for Processed MODIS that included calculated by combined products (e.g., Vapor Pressure Deficit), another one for Unprocessed MODIS that used MODIS products without any combined calculation. Statistical analyses, including Pearson correlation coefficient (R), mean squared error (MSE), and root mean square error (RMSE) were used to evaluate the outcomes of the model. In general, the SVM model trained by the Unprocessed MODIS (R = 0.77 - 0.94, p < 0.001) derived from the multi-sites outperformed those trained at a single-site (R = 0.75 - 0.95, p < 0.001). These results show better performance trained by the data including various events and suggest the possibility of using remote-sensed data without complex processes to estimate GPP such as non-stationary ecological processes.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.39 no.5_3
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• pp.933-948
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• 2023

Atmospheric aerosols not only have adverse effects on human health but also exert direct and indirect impacts on the climate system. Consequently, it is imperative to comprehend the characteristics and spatiotemporal distribution of aerosols. Numerous research endeavors have been undertaken to monitor aerosols, predominantly through the retrieval of aerosol optical depth (AOD) via satellite-based observations. Nonetheless, this approach primarily relies on a look-up table-based inversion algorithm, characterized by computationally intensive operations and associated uncertainties. In this study, a novel high-resolution AOD direct retrieval algorithm, leveraging machine learning, was developed using top-of-atmosphere reflectance data derived from the Geostationary Ocean Color Imager-II (GOCI-II), in conjunction with their differences from the past 30-day minimum reflectance, and meteorological variables from numerical models. The Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LGBM) technique was harnessed, and the resultant estimates underwent rigorous validation encompassing random, temporal, and spatial N-fold cross-validation (CV) using ground-based observation data from Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) AOD. The three CV results consistently demonstrated robust performance, yielding R²=0.70-0.80, RMSE=0.08-0.09, and within the expected error (EE) of 75.2-85.1%. The Shapley Additive exPlanations(SHAP) analysis confirmed the substantial influence of reflectance-related variables on AOD estimation. A comprehensive examination of the spatiotemporal distribution of AOD in Seoul and Ulsan revealed that the developed LGBM model yielded results that are in close concordance with AERONET AOD over time, thereby confirming its suitability for AOD retrieval at high spatiotemporal resolution (i.e., hourly, 250 m). Furthermore, upon comparing data coverage, it was ascertained that the LGBM model enhanced data retrieval frequency by approximately 8.8% in comparison to the GOCI-II L2 AOD products, ameliorating issues associated with excessive masking over very illuminated surfaces that are often encountered in physics-based AOD retrieval processes.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.21-26
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• 2010

As the causative agent of Anthrax, Bacillus anthracis causes an acute fatal disease in herbivores such as cattle, sheep, and horses as well as humans. The therapeutics and prevention of anthrax currently available are based on antibiotics and the live attenuated vaccine strains, which may be problematic due to the emergency of antibiotic resistant strains or residual virulence in those vaccine strains. Therefore, it has been required to develop novel therapeutics and vaccines which are safer and applicable to humans. Recently, the development of the multivalent vaccine targeting both spores and vegetative cells of B. anthracis along with anthrax toxin has been reported. In our attempts to screen potential candidates for those multivalent vaccines, the whole genomic expression library of B. anthracis was constructed in this study. To the end, the partial digests of the genomic DNA from B. anthracis (ATCC 14578) with Sau3AI were ligated with the inducible pET30abc expression vectors, resulting in approximately $1{\times}10^5$ clones in E. coli BL21(DE3). The redundancy test by DNA nucleotide sequencing was performed for the randomly selected 111 clones and found 56 (50.5%) B. anthracis genes, 17 (15.3%) vector sequences, and 38 (34.2%) unknown genes with no sequence homology by BLAST. An inducible expression of the recombinant proteins was confirmed by Western blot. Interestingly, some clones could react with the antiserum against B. anthracis. These results imply that the whole genomic library constructed in this study can be applied for analyzing the immunomes of B. anthracis.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.150-157
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• 2014

The aim of this study was to suggest a convenient method of monitoring the gingival state through plaque detection. Quantitative Light-Induced Fluorescence-Digital (QLF-D), which can assess mature plaque, can be used to assess the oral hygiene status of individuals and to establish an adequate intervention plans for them. The subjects of the study participated in the clinical training at Department of Dental Hygiene, N University. The subjects completed questionnaires on general characteristics and oral hygiene methods. Then, photographs of maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth of the subjects were taken using the QLF-D. After the oral examinations, gingival state was recorded according to the $L{\ddot{o}}e$ & Silness's Gingival Index (GI). In addition, a plaque control record was calculated in percentage using disclosing agent. The analysis of the relation between the plaque control record and the QLF-D scores showed positive correlation (r=0.638, p<0.001), and the analysis of the relation between the QLF-D scores and the gingival bleeding index scores also showed positive correlation (r=0.562, p<0.001). Besides, the study classified the participants into healthy gingiva group and the gingivitis group according to the classification criteria of GI, and when the difference of QLF-D scores between the groups was analyzed, the QLF-D scores were statistically significantly higher (t=-2.785, p=0.007) in the gingivitis group ($1.71{\pm}1.545$) than the healthy gingiva group ($0.74{\pm}1.290$). When the differences in mean values of the QLF-D scores were analyzed against and the gingival bleeding index scores, the QLF-D scores of 0 and 1 belonged to the category of normal gingival state while the QLF-D scores of 2, 3 and 4 belonged to the category of gingivitis state. Therefore, it is deemed that the red fluorescence detected by the QLF-D from the mature supragingival plaque can be used for monitoring the state of gingivitis.