• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.8.1-8.12
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• 2024

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of Dental Practicality Index (DPI) training using an online video on the treatment planning decisions and confidence level of dental undergraduates (DUs). Materials and Methods: Ninety-four DUs were shown 15 clinical case scenarios and asked to decide on treatment plans based on 4 treatment options. The most appropriate treatment plan had been decided by a consensus panel of experienced dentists. DUs then underwent DPI training using an online video. In a post-DPI-training test, DUs were shown the same clinical case scenarios and asked to assign the best treatment option. After 6 weeks, DUs were retested to assess their knowledge retention. In all 3 tests, DUs completed the confidence level scale questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the related-samples Wilcoxon signed rank test and the independent-samples Mann-Whitney U test with the level of significance set at p < 0.05. Results: DPI training significantly improved the mean scores of the DUs from 7.53 in the pre-DPI-training test to 9.01 in the post-DPI-training test (p < 0.001). After 6 weeks, the mean scores decreased marginally to 8.87 in the retention test (p = 0.563). DPI training increased their confidence level from 5.68 pre-DPI training to 7.09 post-DPI training. Conclusions: Training DUs using DPI with an online video improved their decision-making and confidence level in treatment planning.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.998-1008
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• 2022

Objective: The present study aimed to assess the relationship between incidental abnormalities on thoracic computed tomography (CT) and mortality in a general screening population using a long-term follow-up analysis. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively collected the medical records and CT images of 840 participants (mean age ± standard deviation [SD], 58.5 ± 6.7 years; 564 male) who underwent thoracic CT at a single health promotion center between 2007 and 2010. Two thoracic radiologists independently reviewed all CT images and evaluated any incidental abnormalities (interstitial lung abnormality [ILA], emphysema, coronary artery calcification [CAC], aortic valve [AV] calcification, and pulmonary nodules). Kaplan-Meier analysis with log-rank and z-tests was performed to assess the relationship between incidental CT abnormalities and all-cause mortality in the subsequent follow-up. Cox proportional hazards regression was performed to further identify risk factors of all-cause mortality among the incidental CT abnormalities and clinical factors. Results: Among the 840 participants, 55 (6%), 171 (20%), 288 (34%), 396 (47%), and 97 (11%) had findings of ILA, emphysema, CAC, pulmonary nodule, and AV calcification, respectively, on initial CT. The participants were followed up for a mean period ± SD of 10.9 ± 1.4 years. All incidental CT abnormalities were associated with all-cause mortality in univariable analysis (p < 0.05). However, multivariable analysis further revealed fibrotic ILA as an independent risk factor for all-cause mortality (hazard ratio, 2.52 [95% confidence interval, 1.02-6.22], p = 0.046). ILA were also identified as an independent risk factor for lung cancer or respiratory disease-related deaths. Conclusion: Incidental abnormalities on screening thoracic CT were associated with increased mortality during the long-term follow-up. Among incidental CT abnormalities, fibrotic ILA were independently associated with increased mortality. Appropriate management and surveillance may be required for patients with fibrotic ILA on thoracic CT obtained for general screening purposes.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.149-167
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• 1999

This study was designed and carried out to investigate the effect of Assertiveness Training on the stress response and assertive behavior of emergency room nurses from September 22, to December 21. 1997. The subjects were 45 emergency room nurses of three general hospitals of Korea University Medical Center; 25 assigned for the experimental and 20 for the control group. The Assertive Training Program was composed of cognitive training, behavioral training and progressive muscle relaxation. The subjects of the experimental group carried out the 15-minute progressive muscle relaxation according to recorded-tape once a day for 6 weeks. The cognitive and the behavioural training were conducted by the investigator for 5-8 subjects at a time for 9 series, at an interval of 4-5 days. Post-measurement were administered to all sujects in two groups three weeks after the last session. The level of general stress (Cline, 1992), job stress (Kim & Koo, 1984), physiological response to stress (cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine), symptoms of stress (Lee, 1984) and assertive behavior (Kim, 1982) were measured before the first and after the last experiments. Data were analysed by x2, t, paired t, Wilcoxon signed rank tests Wilcoxon rank sums tests. The results are as follows : 1. The level of general stress of the experimental group was lower than that of the control group, however, no significant difference between the two groups (P=0.234) was revealed. 2. A significant reduction of job stress was revealed in the experimental group (P=0.017). 1) A significant reduction of interpersonal conflicts in the experimental group was revealed (P=0.018). 3. The physiological stress-response were analyzed as follows : 1) A decrease of Cortisol in both the experimental and the control groups was noticed, however, the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant (P=0.991). Pre-and post-measurement of the level of Corti sol revealed that a notable decrease in the experimental group and an increase in the control group with no significant difference in the day-day subjects (P=0.765), a significant decrease was noted on the level of Cortisol of the experimental group in the night-night nurses (P=0.036). 2) An increase of Epinephrine in both groups was noticed, however, a difference was not statistically significant between the two groups (P=0.082). Pre-and post-measurement of the level of Epinephrine revealed that a notable decrease in the experimental group and an increase in the control group with no significant difference in the day-day subjects (P=0.136). increases were noted on the level of Epinephrinel of both groups in the night-night nurses (P=0.136), 3) The level of Norepinephrine of the experimental group was significantly decreased (P=0.020). Pre-and post-measurement of the level of Norepinephrine revealed that a notable decrease in the experimental group and an increase in the control group with no significant difference in the day-day subjects (P=0.073). a significant decrease was noted on the level of Norepinephrine of the experimental group in the night-night nurses (P=0.036), 4. Symptoms of stress were reduced in both groups, with no significant differences between the groups (P=0.127). 1) The physical stress symptoms were reduced in both groups, with no significant difference (P=0.386), 2) The cognitive-behavioral stress symptoms were significantly reduced in the experimental group (P=0.037). 3) The emotional stress symptoms were reduced in both groups with no significant difference between the groups (P=0.110). 5. The assertive behavior was significantly increased in the experimental group (P=0.000). This study signified the Assertiveness Training as an effective mean of self intervention for the reduction of stress of nurses assigned to emergency rooms.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.195-206
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• 2021

In 2020, South Korea initiated research and development of a longitudinal connectivity evaluation between upstream and downstream based on stream ecosystem health. This study analyzed the migration of upstream and downstream migratory fish species, fish distribution characteristics, trophic guilds, tolerance guilds, and species composition changes from 2015 to 2020 at Songrim weir in Yeongok stream, where the cross-structure of an ice harbor-type fishway for fish movement was recently improved. A total of 5,136 fish, including 36 species, were collected and three major migratory fishes were identified, namely, Tribolodon hakonensis, Plecoglossus altivelis altivelis, and Oncorhynchus keta. According to the comparative analysis before (Pre-I) and after (Post-I) improvement of the fishway, the relative abundance of primary freshwater fish increased in the upstream section, while the number of migratory fishes decreased. The fish species that used the fishway in the Songrim weir were Tribolodon hakonensis (58.4%) and Plecoglossus altivelis altivelis(11.8%). According to the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test migratory fish showed a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) in the upstream and downstream, showing a biological improvement effect of the crossstructure. On the other hand, the annual change of migratory fish based on the MannKendall trend test did not significantly increase or decrease (p>0.05). Therefore, in the fish passage improvement project, it is necessary not only for physical, hydrological, and structural tests, but also for pre- and post-biological tests on the use and improvement effect of fishway.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.76-84
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• 2002

Objectives：This study was conducted to investigate the effect of oxygen on attention and memory functions in healthy adolescents. Methods：The participant subjects were recruited from local advertisement. All subjects are students attending ordinary middle and high school. Their degree of achievement was average or below average. Before the study, its nature and purpose were fully explained to the patients and their parents, and a written informed consent was obtained from each child's parent and a written assent from each child for entire the procedure. The Ethics Committee and Clinical Research Committee of Gyeongsang National University Hospital approved the protocol. For baseline assessment, all subjects received tests for attention and memory. All tests were conducted by a certified psychologist. Stroop test, continuous performance test and trail making test A and B were used for evaluation of attention. As memory tests, we used memory assessment scale(MAS), standardized memory assessment tools. Ten to fourteen days after initial assessments, same tests was applied to the same subjects after prior 5 minute oxygen inhalation. Results：1) Attention test：Improved performances in trail making part B, and stroop test were found in normobaric oxygen inhalation group compared to air inhalation group. Improved reaction time in those tests seemed to reflect the enhanced executive prefrontal activity. 2) Memory test：More words and digits memorization were found in short-term memory subscale score in MAS in oxygen inhalation group compared to air inhalation group. This finding suggested the improved working memory function after oxygen inhalation. Conclusion：Though interpreted cautiously, these results suggested that normobaric oxygen inhalation could enhance executive function and working memory of prefrontal lobe. Further study, however, should be performed to investigate the mechanism of effects of oxygen on cognitive enhancement.

• The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.595-606
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• 2009

Two tests were introduced for comparing several survival functions with doubly interval-censored data and illustrated with data surveyed by Korean Cancer Prevention Study (Jee et al., 2005). The test which extended Kim et al. (2006)'s test to the doubly interval-censored data has an advantage over Sun (2006)'s test in terms of saving computation time because the proposed test only depends on the size of risk set, and also the proposed test is applicable to continuous failure time data as well as discrete failure time data unlike Sun's test. Comparing male with female groups on the incubation time of diabetes was highly different and the survival of female group was longer than that of male one. Regardless of gender, the difference in survival functions of four age groups was highly significant with p-value of less than 0.001. This trend was more remarkable for female group than for male one. Simulation results showed that the significance level of both tests was well controlled and the proposed test was better than Sun's test in terms of power.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.11-23
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• 2023

In this study, we examined the effect of socioscientific issue (SSI) based science lessons on underachieving 9th-grade students. A total of seven lessons centered on two SSIs related to the national science curriculum were developed and implemented during the first semester of 2021. Data were collected from 185 9th-grade students in one middle school in a mid-sized city of South Korea. Among them, 37 were identified as achieving far below the standards (underachieving students hereafter). Quantitative data were collected from pre- and post-tests on basic science content and attitudes and competency measures. To supplement quantitative data, lesson observation notes were recorded, and student interviews with a selected number of students were conducted. The analysis of quantitative data was conducted through the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test and paired t-tests. Qualitative data were analyzed to find reasons for changing attitudes. The findings showed that the SSI-based lessons were more effective on underachieving students than the others in enhancing basic academic achievement, while there was no significant effect on all in attitudes and competency. Lesson observation data showed that underachieving students were more engaged in SSI-based lessons than before. Student interviews demonstrated several reasons why they were engaged, suggesting the aspects of SSI-based lessons that facilitated underachieving students' learning. Further research topics are suggested.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.58-68
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• 2019

Objective: To compare digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) and conventional full-field digital mammography (FFDM) in the detectability of breast cancers in patients with dense breast tissue, and to determine the influencing factors in the detection of breast cancers using the two techniques. Materials and Methods: Three blinded radiologists independently graded cancer detectability of 300 breast cancers (288 women with dense breasts) on DBT and conventional FFDM images, retrospectively. Hormone status, histologic grade, T stage, and breast cancer subtype were recorded to identify factors affecting cancer detectability. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare cancer detectability by DBT and conventional FFDM. Fisher's exact tests were used to determine differences in cancer characteristics between detectability groups. Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to determine whether the detectability score differed according to cancer characteristics. Results: Forty breast cancers (13.3%) were detectable only with DBT; 191 (63.7%) breast cancers were detected with both FFDM and DBT, and 69 (23%) were not detected with either. Cancer detectability scores were significantly higher for DBT than for conventional FFDM (median score, 6; range, 0-6; p < 0.001). The DBT-only cancer group had more invasive lobular-type breast cancers (22.5%) than the other two groups (i.e., cancer detected on both types of image [both-detected group], 5.2%; cancer not detected on either type of image [both-non-detected group], 7.3%), and less detectability of ductal carcinoma in situ (5% vs. 16.8% [both-detected group] vs. 27.5% [both-non-detected group]). Low-grade cancers were more often detected in the DBT-only group than in the both-detected group (22.5% vs. 10%, p = 0.026). Human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2)-negative cancers were more often detected in the DBT-only group than in the both-detected group (92.3% vs. 70.5%, p = 0.004). Cancers surrounded by mostly glandular tissue were detected less often in the DBT only group than in the both-non-detected group (10% vs. 31.9%, p = 0.016). DBT cancer detectability scores were significantly associated with cancer type (p = 0.012), histologic grade (p = 0.013), T and N stage (p = 0.001, p = 0.024), proportion of glandular tissue surrounding lesions (p = 0.013), and lesion type (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Invasive lobular, low-grade, or HER-2-negative cancer is more detectable with DBT than with conventional FFDM in patients with dense breasts, but cancers surrounded by mostly glandular tissue might be missed with both techniques.

• 한국노년학
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.1279-1295
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• 2008

This study was done to find out the effects that group art therapy would have on low rank cognitive functions and the self-esteem of the elderly with dementia. The study subjects were four elderly females with light dementia symptoms who scored lower than 19 points on the MMSE-K(Mini Mental State Examination-Korea) test. They were chosen from the ${\bigcirc}{\bigcirc}$ Senior Welfare Service Center located in Seoul. A total of 15 sessions of a group art therapy were given once a week for 60 minutes from January 15th to April 30th of 2008, the research tools employed were the MMSE-K and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale on which a pre-test and a post-test were given. The results obtained are as follows. First, it was shown that group art therapy is effective to improve the cognitive functions of the elderly with dementia. According to the pre-tests and post -tests based on MMSE-K, the average score improved from 16.75 to 19.75, using Wilcoxon non-parameter statistics, verification resultant p-value which significant difference exhibited as .046, from the pre-tests and post-test, the average score improved in the subordinate areas of Orientation, Registration, Attention and Calculation, language function, understanding and judgment but there was no significant difference, memory recollection improved by a score of 0.70 according to the pre-test and post-test. using Wilcoxon non-parameter statistics, the verification resultant p-value which significant difference exhibited as .043. Second, it appeared with the fact that group art therapy effects the Self-Esteem of the elderly with dementia. From the verifications of a pre-test and post-test on Self-Esteem, the average score improved from 20.75 to 24.25, the effectiveness of the program was given proven by statistically considering the statistical resultant p-value of .048.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.106-114
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• 2010

Objective: The aim of this experimental study was to evaluate the effects of direct electrical current stimulation (DECS) on bone regeneration in response to an expansion of the inter-premaxillary suture in the rat. Methods: Sixteen 50 - 60 days old Wistar male rats were separated into two equal groups (control and experimental). Both groups were subjected to expansion, and 30-gram of force was applied to the maxillary incisors with helical-spring. In the experimental group, two metallic-screws were placed at lateral parts of the maxillary segments. Electrodes were connected to the screws. The device was activated with current adjustment to measure $10{\mu}A$ continuously and the current was monitored daily during the expansion and early-retention phase. Bone regeneration in the sutural area was histomorphometrically evaluated including new-bone area (${\mu}m^2$), bone perimeter (${\mu}m$), feret's diameter (${\mu}m$) and newly formed bone (%) parameters. Kruskal-Wallis rank and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for statistical evaluation at p < 0.05 level. Results: Statistical analysis showed significant differences between groups for all investigated histomorphometric parameters. New bone area (p = 0.002), bone perimeter (p = 0.004), feret's diameter (p = 0.002) and newly formed bone percentage (p = 0.002) measurements were significantly higher in the experimental group than the control group. Bone histomorphometric measurements revealed that bone architecture in the DECS group was improved. Conclusions: The application of DECS to an orthopedically expanded inter-premaxillary suture area during the early retention phase stimulated the formation of new bone.