• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.66 no.5
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• pp.536-542
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• 2023

Objective : Surgical site infection is the most detrimental complication following cranioplasty. In other surgical fields, intrawound vancomycin powder application has been introduced to prevent surgical site infection and is widely used based on results in multiple studies. This study evaluated the effect of intrawound vancomycin powder in cranioplasty compared with the conventional method without topical antibiotics. Methods : This retrospective study included 580 patients with skull defects who underwent cranioplasty between August 1, 1998 and December 31, 2021. The conventional method was used in 475 (81.9%; conventional group) and vancomycin powder (1 g) was applied on the dura mater and bone flap in 105 patients (18.1%; vancomycin powder group). Surgical site infection was defined as infection of the incision, organ, or space that occurred after cranioplasty. Surgical site infection within 1-year surveillance period was compared between the conventional and vancomycin powder groups with logistic regression analysis. Penalized likelihood estimation method was used in logistic regression to deal with zero events. All local and systemic adverse events associated with topical vancomycin application were also evaluated. Results : Surgical site infection occurred in 31 patients (5.3%) and all were observed in the conventional group. The median time between cranioplasty and detection of surgical site infection was 13 days (range, 4-333). Staphylococci were the most common organisms and identified in 25 (80.6%) of 31 cases with surgical site infections. The surgical site infection rate in the vancomycin powder group (0/105, 0.0%) was significantly lower than that in the conventional group (31/475, 6.5%; crude odds ratio [OR], 0.067; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.006-0.762; adjusted OR, 0.068; 95% CI, 0.006-0.731; p=0.026). No adverse events associated with intrawound vancomycin powder were observed during the follow-up. Conclusion : Intrawound vancomycin powder effectively prevented surgical site infections following cranioplasty without local or systemic adverse events. Our results suggest that intrawound vancomycin powder is an effective and safe strategy for patients undergoing cranioplasty.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.458-466
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• 2018

Objective : To compare peri-operative any symptomatic stroke after carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS), based on the application or absence of a cerebral protection device. Methods : A systematic literature review using PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central was done across an online data base from January 1995 to October 2016. Procedures which were performed due to carotid dissection or aneurysm, procedures using covered stents or conducted in an emergency, were excluded. The primary endpoint was perioperative any symptomatic stroke within 30 days after the procedure. A fixed effect model was used in cases of heterogeneity less than 50%. Results : In the 25 articles included in this study, the number of stroke events was 326 (2.0%) in protected CAS and 142 (3.4%) in unprotected CAS. The use of cerebral protection device significantly decreased stroke after CAS (odds ratio [OR] 0.633, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.479-0.837, p=0.001). In the publication bias analysis, Egger's regression test disclosed that the intercept was -0.317 (95% CI -1.015-0.382, p=0.358). Regarding symptomatic patients (four studies, 539 CAS procedures), the number of stroke was six (1.7%) in protected CAS and 11 (5.7%) in unprotected CAS. The protective effect against stroke events by cerebral protection device did not have a statistical significance (OR 0.455, 95% CI 0.151-1.366, p=0.160). Conclusion : The use of protection device significantly decreased stroke after CAS. However, its efficacy was not demonstrated in symptomatic patients. Routine use of protection device during CAS should be critically assessed before mandatory use.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.395-405
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• 2014

A 570 cm-long sediment core was retrieved at $9^{\circ}57^{\prime}N$ and $131^{\circ}42^{\prime}W$ in 5,080 m water depth from the northeast equatorial Pacific and its stratigraphy was established with $^{10}Be/^9Be$ and paleomagnetic measurements. Successive AF demagnetization reveals eight geomagnetic field reversals. In the reference geologic time scale, the eight reversal events correspond to an age of about 4.5 Ma. However, $^{10}Be/^9Be$-based age yields 9.5 Ma at a depth of 372 cm. Such a large discrepancy in determined ages is attributed to an extremely low sedimentation rate, 0.4 mm/kyr on average, of the study core and resultant loss or smoothing of geomagnetic fields. The composite age model reveals a wide range in the sedimentation rate - varying from 0.1 to 2.4 mm/kyr. However, the sedimentation rate shows systematic variation depending on sedimentary facies (Unit II and III), which suggests that each lithologic unit has a unique provenance and transport mechanism. At depths of 110-80 cm with a sedimentation rate of about 0.1 mm/kyr, ancient geomagnetic field reversal events of at least a 1.8 Myr time span have not been recorded, which indicates the probable existence of a hiatus in the interval. Such a sedimentary hiatus is observed widely in the deep-sea sediments of the NE equatorial Pacific.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.287-300
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• 2015

Objectives: Self-rated health is a measure of perceived health widely used in epidemiological studies. Our study investigated the determinants of poor self-rated health in middle-aged Korean adults with diabetes. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted based on the Health Examinees Study. A total of 9759 adults aged 40 to 69 years who reported having physician-diagnosed diabetes were analyzed with regard to a range of health determinants, including sociodemographic, lifestyle, psychosocial, and physical variables, in association with self-rated health status using multivariate logistic regression models. A p-value <0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance. Results: We found that negative psychosocial conditions, including frequent stress events and severe distress according to the psychosocial well-being index, were most strongly associated with poor self-rated health (odds ratio $[OR]_{\text{Frequent stress events}}$, 5.40; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.63 to 6.29; $OR_{\text{Severe distress}}$, 11.08; 95% CI, 8.77 to 14.00). Moreover, younger age and being underweight or obese were shown to be associated with poor self-rated health. Physical factors relating to participants' medical history of diabetes, such as a younger age at diagnosis, a longer duration of diabetes, insulin therapy, hemoglobin A1c levels of 6.5% or more, and comorbidities, were other correlates of poor reported health. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that, in addition to medical variables, unfavorable socioeconomic factors, and adverse lifestyle behaviors, younger age, being underweight or obese, and psychosocial stress could be distinc factors in predicting negative perceived health status in Korean adults with diabetes.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.72 no.5
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• pp.426-432
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• 2012

Background: Varenicline is an effective smoking cessation aid. However, smokers prescribed with varenicline do not always receive varenicline for 12 weeks, as recommended. This study analyzed the subjects who received varenicline and investigated the effect of varenicline treatment duration on the success rate of 6-month smoking cessation. Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed 78 subjects, who received varenicline, out of the 105 smokers that had visited the smoking cessation clinic after medical examination from September 2007 to December 2009. Results: The subjects were all males. Twenty-two subjects (28.2%) had varenicline treatment for 12 weeks or longer; 18 subjects (23.1%) for 8~12 weeks; 22 subjects (28.2%) for 4~8 weeks; and 16 subjects (20.5%) for less than 4 weeks. The total success rate of the 6-month smoking cessation was 47.4%. The success rate of the 6-month smoking cessation was 63.6% in the group that received varenicline for 12 weeks or longer, which was higher than 41.1% of the group that early terminated the varenicline treatment (p=0.074). The period of varenicline treatment was extended for one more week, the odds ratio of the 6-month smoking cessation success increased to 1.172-folds (p=0.004; 95% confidence interval, 1.052~1.305). Adverse events occurred in 30.8% of the subjects who received varenicline, but no serious adverse events were found. Conclusion: If varenicline treatment period is extended, the odds ratio of the success rate for the 6-month smoking cessation increases. Therefore, an effort to improve drug compliance for varenicline in clinical practices could be helpful for the long-term success of smoking cessation.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.845-851
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• 2018

In this study, the runoff characteristics of the non-rainfall period were examined using daily rainfall data from 1977 to 2017 and the data of runoff into the dam. Results showed that, the mean runoff decreases with longer non-rainfall periods in the Andong dam basin. The correlation coefficient between non-rainfall days and average runoff reaches 0.85. The results of the analysis of the runoff characteristics during the non-rainfall period, based on the preceding rainfall of Andong dam are as follows. The runoff characteristics of the entire non-rainfall period, shows that, for a rainfall of 1.0 mm or less, the runoff height was larger than the rainfall size and the base runoff larger. The correlation between the antecedent rainfall and runoff height was reached as high as 0.9864 in the 30 ~ 50 mm interval of the antecedent rainfall period, and this is the interval where the linearity of rainfall and runoff was at its maximum in the Andong dam basin. The correlation between the antecedent rainfall and the runoff height reached 0.92 for rainfalls of 100.0 mm. However, for rainfalls of 100.0 mm greater, the correlation between the antecedent rainfall and runoff height during the rainfall period was 0.64, which is relatively small. In this study, we investigated the runoff characteristics of the rainfall period in the Andong dam watershed. As a result, it was confirmed that the mean runoff decreased with rainfall duration. The linearity was found to be weak for rainfall events greater than 100.0 mm. The results of this study can be used as data for water balance analysis and for formulating a water supply plan to establish water resource management of Andong dam.

• The Journal of Churna Manual Medicine for Spine and Nerves
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.15-28
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• 2019

Objectives : This study aimed to systematically and comprehensively review controlled clinical trials on the effectiveness and safety of Chuna Manual Therapy for stroke. Methods : By October 7, 2019, three core databases and three domestic databases were searched. Seven major academic journals on the related field were also hand-searched. Methodological quality of the included studies was evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Meta-analysis was conducted and the quality of its evidence was assessed using the GRADE methodology. Results : Five articles met the eligibility criteria. The results of most of included studies were in favor of Chuna Manual Therapy. No study described any adverse events during or after the clinical trials. Meta-analysis of three eligible studies showed that the pre- and post-treatment scores on the Modified Barthel Index (mean difference 8.00, 95% confidence interval 0.26 to 15.74) and Berg Balance Scale (mean difference 3.57, 95% confidence interval 0.64 to 6.51) of the Chuna-treated group were significantly different, but only marginally higher than those of the non-treatment group. Thus, the level of evidence gathered from these studies was assessed to be low. Conclusions : Based on current available evidence, any confirmative conclusions cannot be made on the effectiveness and safety of Chuna Manual Therapy for stroke because of the small sample size, low methodological quality, presence of statistical heterogeneity, and missing safety information. More rigorously designed large-scale multi-center studies are needed to establish more specific and credible evidence to support or oppose the use of Chuna Manual Therapy for stroke.

• Journal of KIISE:Software and Applications
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• v.36 no.7
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• pp.509-522
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• 2009

The W3C Ontology Working Group has recently developed OWL as an ontology language for the Semantic Web. OWL, however, fails to perform the process of reasoning about temporal knowledge because it lacks full-pleadged semantics for temporal language. Entities in the real world are changing as time passes, while new facts are being introduced as new events occur. KBs without temporal information are incomplete and incorrect. In this paper, we propose an extended temporal ontology language called TL-OWL which provides an abstract syntax and semantics for representing and reasoning about temporal information in the Semantic Web.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2019.05a
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• pp.151-151
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• 2019

Because drought is a complex and stochastic phenomenon in nature, statistical approaches for drought assessment receive great attention for water resource planning and management. Generally drought characteristics such as severity, duration and intensity are modelled separately. This study aims to develop a relationship between drought characteristics using a bivariate copula model. To achieve the objective, we calculated the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) using rainfall data at 6 rain gauge stations for the period of 1961-1999 in Jehlum River Basin, Pakistan, and investigated the drought characteristics. Since there is a significant correlation between drought severity and duration, they are usually modeled using different marginal distributions and joint distribution function. Using exponential distribution for drought severity and log-logistic distribution for drought duration, the Galambos copula was recognized as best copula to model joint distribution of drought severity and duration based on the KS-statistic. Various return periods of drought were calculated to identify time interval of repeated drought events. The result of this study can provide useful information for effective water resource management and shows superiority against univariate drought analysis.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.939-948
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• 2022

Objective: Evidence supports the efficacy of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA)-based risk scores in cardiovascular risk stratification of patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). We aimed to compare two CCTA-based risk score algorithms, Leiden and Confirm scores, in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and suspected CAD. Materials and Methods: This single-center prospective cohort study consecutively included 1241 DM patients (54.1% male, 60.2 ± 10.4 years) referred for CCTA for suspected CAD in 2015-2017. Leiden and Confirm scores were calculated and stratified as < 5 (reference), 5-20, and > 20 for Leiden and < 14.3 (reference), 14.3-19.5, and > 19.5 for Confirm. Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) were defined as the composite outcomes of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and unstable angina requiring hospitalization. The Cox model and Kaplan-Meier method were used to evaluate the effect size of the risk scores on MACE. The area under the curve (AUC) at the median follow-up time was also compared between score algorithms. Results: During a median follow-up of 31 months (interquartile range, 27.6-37.3 months), 131 of MACE were recorded, including 17 cardiovascular deaths, 28 nonfatal MIs, 64 unstable anginas requiring hospitalization, and 22 strokes. An incremental incidence of MACE was observed in both Leiden and Confirm scores, with an increase in the scores (log-rank p < 0.001). In the multivariable analysis, compared with Leiden score < 5, the hazard ratios for Leiden scores of 5-20 and > 20 were 2.37 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.53-3.69; p < 0.001) and 4.39 (95% CI: 2.40-8.01; p < 0.001), respectively, while the Confirm score did not demonstrate a statistically significant association with the risk of MACE. The Leiden score showed a greater AUC of 0.840 compared to 0.777 for the Confirm score (p < 0.001). Conclusion: CCTA-based risk score algorithms could be used as reliable cardiovascular risk predictors in patients with DM and suspected CAD, among which the Leiden score outperformed the Confirm score in predicting MACE.