• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.31.1-31.9
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• 2021

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by spirochetes from the genus Leptospira. In Thailand, Leptospira interrogans is a major cause of leptospirosis. Leptospirosis patients present with a wide range of clinical manifestations from asymptomatic, mild infections to severe illness involving organ failure. For better understanding the difference between Leptospira isolates causing mild and severe leptospirosis, illumina sequencing was used to sequence genomic DNA in both serotypes. DNA of Leptospira isolated from two patients, one with mild and another with severe symptoms, were included in this study. The paired-end reads were removed adapters and trimmed with Q30 score using Trimmomatic. Trimmed reads were constructed to contigs and scaffolds using SPAdes. Cross-contamination of scaffolds was evaluated by ContEst16s. Prokka tool for bacterial annotation was used to annotate sequences from both Leptospira isolates. Predicted amino acid sequences from Prokka were searched in EggNOG and David gene ontology database to characterize gene ontology. In addition, Leptospira from mild and severe patients, that passed the criteria e-value < 10e^-5 from blastP against virulence factor database, were used to analyze with Venn diagram. From this study, we found 13 and 12 genes that were unique in the isolates from mild and severe patients, respectively. The 12 genes in the severe isolate might be virulence factor genes that affect disease severity. However, these genes should be validated in further study.

• Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.88-100
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• 2022

Purpose : This study aimed to identify risk factors for unplanned reintubation after planned extubation and to analyze the clinical outcomes in patients admitted to the intensive care unit after cardiac surgery. Methods : The study examined patients who underwent intubation and planned extubation admitted to the intensive care unit after cardiac surgery between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2021. The reintubation group comprised 58 patients underwent unplanned reintubation within 7 days of planned extubation. The maintenance group comprised 116 patients who did not undergo reintubation and were matched with the reintubation group using the rational for matching criteria. Data were collected retrospectively from electronic medical records. We used the independent t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, 𝑥²-test, Fisher's exact test, and logistic regression analysis with SPSS/WIN 27.0. Results : The multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that albumin (odds ratio [OR]=0.38, 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.20-0.72), surgery time (OR=1.54, 95% CI=1.20-1.97), PaO₂ before extubation (OR=0.85 per 10 mmHg, 95% CI=0.75-0.97), postoperative arrhythmia (OR=2.82, 95% CI=1.22-6.51), reoperation due to bleeding (OR=4.65, 95% CI=1.27-17.07), and postoperative acute renal failure (OR=2.97, 95% CI=1.09-8.04) were risk factors for unplanned reintubation. The reintubation group had a higher in-hospital mortality rate (𝑥²=33.74, p<.001), longer intensive care unit stay (Z=-7.81, p<.001), and longer hospital stay than the maintenance group (Z=-8.29, p<.001). Conclusion : These results identified risk factors and clinical outcomes of unplanned reintubation after planned extubation after cardiac surgery. These findings should be considered when developing and managing an intervention program to prevent and reduce the incidence of unplanned reintubation.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.617-632
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• 2022

Tracheoesophageal puncture (TEP) and voice prosthesis insertion following laryngectomy may fail to form an adequate seal. When spontaneous closure of the fistula tract does not occur after conservative measures, surgical closure is required. The purpose of this study was to summarize the available evidence on surgical methods for TEP site closure. A comprehensive search across PubMed, Web of Science, SCOPUS, and Cochrane was performed to identify studies describing surgical techniques, outcomes, and complications for TEP closure. We evaluated the rate of unsuccessful TEP closure after surgical management. A meta-analysis with a random-effect method was performed. Thirty-four studies reporting on 144 patients satisfied inclusion criteria. The overall incidence of an unsuccessful TEP surgical closure was 6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 1-13%). Subgroup analysis showed an unsuccessful TEP closure rate for silicone button of 8% (95% CI < 1-43%), 7% (95% CI < 1-34%) for dermal graft interposition, < 1% (95% CI < 1-37%) for radial forearm free flap, < 1% (95% CI < 1-52%) for ligation of the fistula, 17% (95% CI < 1-64%) for interposition of a deltopectoral flap, 9% (95% CI < 1-28%) for primary closure, and 2% (95% CI < 1-20%) for interposition of a sternocleidomastoid muscle flap. Critical assessment of the reconstructive modality should take into consideration previous history of surgery or radiotherapy. Nonirradiated fields and small defects may benefit from fistula excision and tracheal and esophageal multilayer closure. In cases of previous radiotherapy, local flaps or free tissue transfer yield high successful TEP closure rates. Depending on the defect size, sternocleidomastoid muscle flap or fasciocutaneous free flaps are optimal alternatives.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.50 no.12
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• pp.819-828
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• 2022

Sensitivity of aircraft sizing depending on battery performance was studied for a generic quad tilt rotor type electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle. The mission requirements proposed by Uber Elevate and NASA were used for initial sizing, and the calculated gross weight is ranged between 5,000lb and 11,000lb for battery specific energy range of 200-400Wh/kg in pack level and continuous discharge rate range of 4-5C. For the assumed gross weight of 7,000lb, the required battery performance was calculated with two different criteria: available power and energy, and the effects of battery specific energy and discharge rate are analyzed. The maximum discharge rate is also recommended considering failure cases such as one battery pack inoperative and one prop rotor inoperative.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.203-211
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• 2023

For fast-built and safe precast concrete (PC) construction, the dry mechanical splicing method is a critical technique that enables a self-sustaining system (SSS) during construction with no temporary support and minimizes onsite jobs. However, due to limited experimental evidence, traditional wet splicing methods are still dominantly adopted in the domestic precast industry. For PC beam-column connections, the current design code requires achieving emulative connection performances and corresponding structural integrity to be comparable with typical reinforced concrete (RC) systems with monolithic connections. To this end, this study conducted the standard material tests on mechanical splices to check their satisfactory performance as the Type 2 mechanical splice specified in the ACI 318 code. Two PC beam-column connection specimens with dry mechanical splices and an RC control specimen as the special moment frame were subsequently fabricated and tested under lateral reversed cyclic loadings. Test results showed that the seismic performances of all the PC specimens were fully comparable to the RC specimen in terms of strength, stiffness, energy dissipation, drift capacity, and failure mode, and their hysteresis responses showed a mitigated pinching effect compared to the control RC specimen. The seismic performances of the PC and RC specimens were evaluated quantitatively based on the ACI 374 report, and it appeared that all the test specimens fully satisfied the seismic performance criteria as a code-compliant special moment frame system.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.109-116
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• 2023

Background: Golf is a popular sport involving overhead activity and engagement of the rotator cuff (RC). This study aimed to determine to what level golfers were able to return to golf following RC repair, the barriers to them returning to golf and factors associated with their failure to return to golf. Methods: Patients preoperatively identifying as golfers undergoing RC repair at the study centre from 2012 to 2020 were retrospectively followed up with to assess their golf-playing status, performance and frequency of play and functional and quality of life (QoL) outcomes. Results: Forty-seven golfers (40 men [85.1%] and 7 women [14.9%]) with a mean age of 56.8 years met the inclusion criteria, and 80.1% were followed up with at a mean of 27.1 months postoperatively. Twenty-nine patients (76.3%) had returned to golf with a mean handicap change of +1.0 (P=0.291). Golf frequency decreased from a mean of 1.8 rounds per week preinjury to 1.5 rounds per week postoperatively (P=0.052). The EuroQol 5-dimension 5-level (EQ-5D-5L) index and visual analog scale (EQ-VAS) score were significantly greater in those returning to golf (P=0.024 and P=0.002), although functional outcome measures were not significantly different. The primary barriers to return were ipsilateral shoulder dysfunction (78%) and loss of the habit of play (22%). Conclusions: Golfers were likely (76%) to return to golf following RC repair, including mostly to their premorbid performance level with little residual symptomatology. Return to golf was associated with a greater QoL. Persistent subjective shoulder dysfunction (78%) was the most common barrier to returning to golf.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.26 no.11
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• pp.29-38
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• 2010

The steel pipe of steel-concrete composite piles increases the pile strength and induces the ductile failure by constraining the deformation of the hiller concrete. In this research, the load-movement relations and the reinforcement effect by the outer steel pipe in the steel-concrete composite pile were analyzed by performing three-dimensional numerical analyses, which can simulate the yielding behavior of pile material and the elasto-plastic behavior of soils. The parameters analyzed in the study include three pile materials of steel, concrete and composite, pile diameter, pile distance and loading direction. The results showed that the axial capacity of the composite pile was about 90% larger than that of the steel pipe pile while similar to that of the concrete pile. At the allowable movement criteria, the horizontal capacity of the composite pile was about 50% lager than that of the steel pile and about 22% larger than that of the concrete pile.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.24 no.11
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• pp.91-100
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• 2008

This study proposes the equations evaluating the shear strength of cemented sand by analytical interpretation based on Mohr-Coulomb failure criteria, and verifies them using the results of triaxial and unconfined compression tests. The internal friction angle of cemented sand is identical to that of uncemented one regardless of the stress level, while the cohesion intercept of cemented sand is constant before the breakage of cementation bonds. Therefore, the shear strength of cemented sand can be represented as a summation of the shear strength of uncemented sand and the unconfined compressive strength of cemented sand. In addition, the cohesion intercept of cemented specimen can be expressed as a function of unconfined compressive strength and friction angle. In the transition zone, assuming a constant shear strength, the equations to evaluate shear strength and cohesion intercept of cemented sand are also represented. It is observed that the predicted values using these solutions agree well with the experimental results. The experimental results also show a linear relationship between the unconfined compressive strength and the breaking point of cementation bonds.

• Design Convergence Study
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.43-58
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• 2017

Recently, service failure from dysfunctional customer behavior has been observed in various service industries. Customers so-called 'Jaycustomer' can make bad influence to other customer's service experience which can be the obstacle of ideal service delivery. Therefore, approaching dysfunctional customer in service design perspective have became necessary, and modelling such customers through persona could be useful. For this purpose, we suggested the concept 'Evil Persona', and to find statements of personality trait which can make designers predict dysfunctional customer behavior, literature review and Q method analysis were performed. In result, dysfunctional customer behaviors were differed from service characteristics and were able to predict by combinations of statements. Based on this, more detailed customer information could be offered by presenting differentiated dysfunctional behavior information according to service characteristics. Since service design expanded its area, 'Evil Persona' can be valuable as criteria of verifying and compensating idea's vulnerability and limitation.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.365-383
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• 2018

In this study, to search for events that cause high levels of PTSD symptoms, traumatic events are classified into 'criterion events' that meet DSM-IV-TR criteria and 'life stresssful events', conditional probability of PTSD was confirmed. From a sample of 1,000 adults residing in South Korea, 998 statistically relevant samples were extracted. Criterion events include cases of 'sexual harassment before age 16', 'sightings of other accidents', 'rape before 16', 'domestic violence before 16', 'disaster', 'traffic accidents', 'other accidents'. Life stressful events appeared to be 'legal arrest or detention(person and family)', 'parental separation or divorce', 'failure or despair causing serious stress', 'extreme conflict with family or frequent quarrels'. Among the demographic characteristics, age, marital status, religion were found to affect PTSD symptoms. The implications and limitations of these results are discussed.