• The Korean Journal of Rehabilitation Nursing
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.137-151
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to develop a multidisciplinary team approach program for stroke survivors, and to identify its effects on their rehabilitation. The team was composed of 7 members: a rehabilitation nurse, a physician, a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a therapeutic recreational therapist, a nutritionist, and a researcher. A quasi-experimental study was performed with 36 subjects: 18 in the experimental group and 18 in the control group, using a noneqivalent control group pretest-posttest design. The experimental group participated 4 times in rehabilitation programsfocused on information and emotional support provided by the rehabilation team-and received telephone counseling from the researcher. The control group did not receive any treatment. The selection criteria for the subjects in this study were: (a) patients who were diagnosed as having had an ischemic stroke within the last year, (b) patients free of any communication disorder, (c) and those having a primary caregiver who could assist in filling out the form assessing the level of ADL. The data were collected from patients who had been discharged from a tertiary hospital, between October 1st, 1999 and September 30th, 2000. The data were analysed by $X^2$ test, Fisher's exact test, ANCOVA, Wilcoxon's rank sum test, and Wilcoxon's signed rank test using an SAS program. The results were as follows: 1. In terms of physical variables (blood pressure, grasp power, and ADL) 1) There was a significant difference in blood pressure between the two groups (systolic pressure P= .012, diastolic pressure P= .050). 2) There was also a significant difference in grasp power between the two groups (affected side : P= .012, unaffected side : P= .010). 3) There was no significant change in the level of ADL between the two groups. 2. In terms of psychosocial variables (depression, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and social activities) 1) There were no significant differences between the two groups. However, all four psychosocial variables showed a tendency to improve in the experimental group, while only two variables (depression and self-efficacy) showed a simalar tendency in the control group. 2) The level of social activities in the control group decreased significantly after a month (P= .050). 3. The level of life satisfaction improved in both groups, but no significant difference was found. Stroke has high recurrence rate and requires considerable follow-up care. The program used in this study was developed and designed for stimulting the rehabilitation process of stroke survivors. Through the program period of one month (meetings were held weekly), a positive effect was detected in physical variables, although the psychosocial variables did not improve significantly. In retrospect, a one month period may not be an adequate length of time to improve the psychosocial variables, as the stroke survivors were complicated cases, and most of them were elderly. Further research is therefore recommended by increasing the length of program, so that its effect can be more noticeable.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.374-379
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• 1998

From March 1985 to June 1997, 451 patients of spontaneous pneumothorax treated at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital were reviewed retrospectively. Most of the patients were male (male to female ratio, 8.2:1). The mean age of the primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) was 26.8 years, and that of secondary spontaneous pneumothorax(SSP) was 53.1 years. 330 out of 451 patients(73%) were PSP. The causes of the SSP were mostly pulmonary tuberculosis and COPD: 87 patients(72%), and 24 patients(19.2%), respectively. All the patient were treated by one of the following modalities: 1)rest and oxygen therapy in 42 patients, 2) closed thoracostomy in 208 patients, 3) thoracotomy in 156 patients, 4) VATS bullectomy in 45 patients. The mean duration of postoperative chest tube drainage was as following: thoracotomy 8.3 days, VATS bullectomy 4.7 days. For recent 3 consecutive years, VATS bullectomy has become the more frequently applied operative procedure than thoracotomy in the treatment of surgically indicated PSP, from 33% in 1994 to 78% in 1996. With the minimally invasive thoracoscopic surgery being more prevalent, VATS bullectomy will be able to be the 1st choice of treatment not only for the recurrent pneumothoracies but also for the some selected cases of the 1st episode pneumothoracies. To verify this approach as clinically acceptable one in terms of cost-effectiveness, recurrence rate, etc, a large scale of multi-institutional clinical study will be needed in a sooner time.

• Korean Journal of Family Social Work
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• no.23
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• pp.5-42
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• 2008

This research utilized the Grounded Theory and Giorgi's phenomenological research method to analyze the experience of battered women who are maintaining a non-violent marriage relationship. Due to the low accessibility of subjects and the distinctiveness of the topic, I have selected 4 participants and conducted in-depth interviews. As for data analysis results, there were 5 superior component elements and 19 inferior component elements for the experience of maintaining a non-violent marriage relationship and these appeared according to time. Thus, it can be analyzed as follows: 'the vicious cycle stage of violence: caught in a trap,' 'stage of breakaway from vicious violence cycle: making the self-rescue measures,' 'entry to a new track: retrieval of autonomy,' 'stage of forming a non-violence track: preventing the recurrence of the violence,' 'stage of maintaining non-violent track: conversion to non-violent relationship.' This research result will be useful in seeking an effective social welfare intervention plan for successful non-violent relationship in order to help 50% of the battered women from family violence who wish to maintain marriage.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.59 no.5
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• pp.507-512
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• 2021

Since 1993, vivax malaria has been recognized as a public health burden in Korea. Despite of pan-governmental malaria-control efforts and the dramatic reduction in the burden of this disease over the last 10 years, vivax malaria has not been well controlled and has remained continuously endemic. We focused interviewed and examined the charts of 28 confirmed vivax malaria patients given malarial therapy for whom daily records were kept from Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi-do of Korea. Various epidemiological characteristics of vivax malaria, including the incubation period, medication used, and recurrence, and an evaluation of the parasitic characteristics from the focused interviews of patients from this region are described here. Most of the participants indicated the 3 most common symptoms of malaria (headache, chills and fever). Of the 28 cases, 2 experienced a second attack and there were 17 and 11 cases with short- and long-term incubation periods, respectively, yielding a short-term to long-term ratio of 1.5. Based on the parasitemia stages, most of the participants were tested at 5 to 7 days (11 cases) and 7 to 15 days (11 cases) after initial wave of asexual parasites. In conclusion, public health authorities should consider developing management measures to decrease the time lag for diagnosis and drafting unified and robust guidelines for drug use for malaria and drawing up unified and robust guidelines on the use of medication for malaria. It also suggests that routine monitoring, surveillance, and precise medical surveys in high-risk vivax malaria endemic areas are pivotal to controlling this persistent public disease and finally eliminating it from Korea.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.547-559
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• 2022

This study is a qualitative study to explore caring of a mentally disabled family using mental rehabilitation facilities. As a result of the analysis, the life of a mentally disabled family appeared in 6 topics and 12 sub-themes. Life before the outbreak was warm and comfortable like an electric stove, and a frustrating and difficult life like a parrot in a cage due to family conflicts. The feeling of looking at the child who is starting to develop symptoms is fear and hopelessness that is hard to see ahead, and a sense of guilt for a child trapped in a disease before blooming his life. Forced hospitalization, and my feelings were torn apart, and my thoughts were confused by opaque recovery and worries about future life. The experience I felt as the disease lasted for a long time and hospitalized and discharged repeatedly feared that the mental illness of the family would be known to the people around me, and found that they struggled to cope with repeated recurrence and worsening symptoms. While using mental rehabilitation facilities, the changed life was comforted in a comfortable shelter, and turned out that there was hope for the future and that there was room to smile. The life expected in the future and the theme of hope turned out to be grateful for small changes and determined to be a warm fence for recovery.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.1072-1078
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• 2021

The oral pathogen Streptococcus mutans is considered a major causative agent of dental caries in humans. The use of dental hygiene products, including toothpaste and mouthwash, is used for caries control. However, food intake can lead to the recurrence of oral microorganisms. This study aimed to explore why this bacterium dies so quickly during prolonged incubation and to assess whether this growth characteristic is closely associated with the secretion of metabolic products. Notably, the number of live S. mutans cells rapidly declined after 24 hr during the entire period tested, whereas the number of Escherichia coli cells, an indicator strain, remained steady over the same period. To test whether the S. mutans supernatants contained possible signals that accelerated the death of neighbor cells, we obtained the individual supernatants at the above time points. Following pH neutralization, the cells in which the supernatant was supplemented with glucose grew well. However, pH adjustment alone could not fully recover cell growth in conditions in which the supernatant was supplemented, with or without glucose. These phenotypes of S. mutans may be associated with signaling, not only resulting from nutrient depletion. The findings on the survival phenotype of S. mutans provide new insights into cell-cell communication in the biology of this bacterium.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.139-162
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• 2022

Objectives : The review was conducted to validate the effectiveness of herbal medicines on acne. Methods : Randomized controlled trials(RCTs) reporting the effects of herbal medicine treatment on acne were searched through seven electronic databases from the time of application of the material to October 2021. Cochrane Collaboration's Risk of Bias was used to assess the risk of bias. Analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.4 and R 4.1.0 Meta, Metafor program. Results : 34 RCTs was selected and meta-analysis was performed with 30 studies. The inflammatory lesion count of the herbal medicine(MD=0.29, 95% CI:-0.59-0.01, p<0.01, I²=80%) and the non inflammatory lesion count of herbal medicine(MD=-0.30, 95% CI:-0.70-0.10, p<0.01, I²=78%) were seen. The score of IGA(RR=1.43, 95% CI:0.90-2.27, p<0.91, I²=0%), VISIA(MD=0.36, 95% CI:0.21-0.51, p=0.07, I²=40%), effective rate(RR=1.23, 95% CI:1.05-1.44, p<0.01, I²=98%), DLQI(MD : 0.59, 95% CI:0.14-1.04, p=0.07, I²=63%) and recurrence rate(RR=0.36, 95% CI:0.23-0.58, p=0.73, I²=0%) were seen. The effective rate of herbal medicine were statistically higher that of the control group(WM)(RR=1.19, 95% CI:1.04-1.37, p<0.01, I²=97%). As a result of dividing the treatment groups into OHM, EHM, and OEHM, the EHM group(RR=1.17, 95% CI:0.79-1.72, p<0.01, I²=99%) showed the most statistically significant effect. The overall risk of bias of the included studies was some concerns. No serious adverse effects were observed. Conclusions : This review found the effectiveness of herbal medicine for acne.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.75-85
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• 2023

Objectives: Suspending bisphosphonates (BPs) to reduce the risk and severity of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) remains controversial. In this study, we quantitatively evaluated the clinical significance of BP suspension before surgery in osteoporosis patients with MRONJ. Materials and Methods: We analyzed 24 osteoporosis patients with MRONJ who were treated from 2012 to 2020 at Seoul National University Dental Hospital and compared the treatment outcomes of those who suspended BPs with those who did not. The number of surgical interventions, follow-up panoramic radiographs for relative bone density measurement, and laboratory blood tests including white blood cells, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, absolute neutrophil count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and alkaline phosphatase were analyzed. ANOVA, Student's t-test, and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare results. Fisher's exact test was used to discover the association between treatment outcome and BP suspension, and Pearson's correlation test was used to measure the statistical relationship between the changes in serum inflammatory markers. Results: The number of interventions was significantly higher in the non-drug suspension group due to recurrence (P<0.05). The relative bone density in patients who suspended BPs was significantly different over time (P<0.05), with the highest density at one-year follow-up. Fisher's exact test shows an association between successful treatment outcomes and BP suspension. The alkaline phosphatase and erythrocyte sedimentation rate levels decreased significantly in the BP-suspended group, and a positive correlation was found between these elevated markers. Conclusion: A significant increase in bone density throughout follow-up and a lower number of interventions were found in the BP suspension group compared to the non-drug suspension group. Also, BP suspension decreased inflammatory markers in the serum after surgery, resulting in good treatment outcomes. BP suspension is a prognostic factor for MRONJ and should be implemented before surgery.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.652-662
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• 2021

Objective: To investigate the association between CT imaging features and survival outcomes in patients with primary invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma (IMA). Materials and Methods: Preoperative CT image findings were consecutively evaluated in 317 patients with resected IMA from January 2011 to December 2015. The association between CT features and long-term survival were assessed by univariate analysis. The independent prognostic factors were identified by the multivariate Cox regression analyses. The survival comparison of IMA patients was investigated using the Kaplan-Meier method and propensity scores. Furthermore, the prognostic impact of CT features was assessed based on different imaging subtypes, and the results were adjusted using the Bonferroni method. Results: The median follow-up time was 52.8 months; the 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival rates of resected IMAs were 68.5% and 77.6%, respectively. The univariate analyses of all IMA patients demonstrated that 15 CT imaging features, in addition to the clinicopathologic characteristics, significantly correlated with the recurrence or death of IMA patients. The multivariable analysis revealed that five of them, including imaging subtype (p = 0.002), spiculation (p < 0.001), tumor density (p = 0.008), air bronchogram (p < 0.001), emphysema (p < 0.001), and location (p = 0.029) were independent prognostic factors. The subgroup analysis demonstrated that pneumonic-type IMA had a significantly worse prognosis than solitary-type IMA. Moreover, for solitary-type IMAs, the most independent CT imaging biomarkers were air bronchogram and emphysema with an adjusted p value less than 0.05; for pneumonic-type IMA, the tumors with mixed consolidation and ground-glass opacity were associated with a longer DFS (adjusted p = 0.012). Conclusion: CT imaging features characteristic of IMA may provide prognostic information and individual risk assessment in addition to the recognized clinical predictors.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.77-84
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• 2024

Aging and damaged underground utilities cause cavity and ground subsidence under roads, which can cause economic losses and risk user safety. This study used infrared cameras to assess the thermal characteristics of such cavities and evaluate their reliability using a CNN algorithm. PVC pipes were embedded at various depths in a test site measuring 400 cm × 50 cm × 40 cm. Concrete blocks were used to simulate road surfaces, and measurements were taken from 4 PM to noon the following day. The initial temperatures measured by the infrared camera were 43.7℃, 43.8℃, and 41.9℃, reflecting atmospheric temperature changes during the measurement period. The RP algorithm generates images in four resolutions, i.e., 10,000 × 10,000, 2,000 × 2,000, 1,000 × 1,000, and 100 × 100 pixels. The accuracy of the CNN model using RP images as input was 99%, 97%, 98%, and 96%, respectively. These results represent a considerable improvement over the 73% accuracy obtained using time-series images, with an improvement greater than 20% when using the RP algorithm-based inputs.