• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.135-140
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• 2008

Purpose: Fatty liver is one of the most commonly found disease by abdominal ultrasonography. The status of fatty liver is classified into mild, moderate and severe degrees. The study was conducted to investigate the clinical significance of fatty liver using ultrasonography. Materials and method: Test set consisted of 2,185 patients who visited D healthcare center in Daejeon to receive an abdominal ultrasonic test from January to December 2007. Out of the 2185 patients, 524 patients was diagnosed as fatty liver (290 male and 234 female patients). They were divided into three groups, group I for mild degree. II for moderate degree, and III for severe degree, depending on the echo of liver parenchyma, the sound attenuation, and the visibility of intrahepatic blood vessels and diaphragm. Then the correlation of obesity indices, liver function tests and metabolic syndrome was analyzed for males and females separately. Results : As for the degree of fatty liver, 350 cases (66.8%) were classified as group I, 153 cases (29.2%) as group II, and 21 cases (4.1%) as group III. In addition, severe degree of fatty liver was more frequently found in males than in females. The mean ages of three groups for males were 46.1, 44.5, and 39.1, and those for females were 48.8, 50.2, 52.4, respectively. Males with lower mean ages have severely of fatty liver for both males and females. Conclusion: The results in this study show that the classification into three degrees of fatty liver in ultrasonography practice is helpful to treat and observe the progress of fatty liver. In addition, careful examination is required to measure the severity of fatty liver as well as detection of it. A standardized method to classify the degree of fatty liver is also needed for more objective measurement.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.225-233
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• 1997

The authors attempted to examine the allelic association between the A1 allele of Dopamine $D_2$ receptor and schizophrenia, alcoholism, drug addiction in Koreans. Schizophrenic patients(n=31), alcoholism(n=65), drug addiction(n=18) and controls(n=52) were examined by case-control study for distribution of the TaqI polymorphism of the dopamine $D_2$ receptor gene in Korean population to minimize the effect of racial differencies in gene frequencies. In schizophrenics, the numbers of schizophrenics with A1A1, A1A2, A2A2 were 9(29.0%), 15(48.4%) and 7(22.6%) respectively and in alcoholics with A1A1, A1A2, A2A2 were 14(21.5%), 36(55.4%) and 15(23.1%) respectively and in drug addiction with A1A1, A1A2, A2A2 were 2(11.1%), 10(55.6%) and 6(33.3%) respectively and in controls with A1A1, A1A2, A2A2 were 4(7.6%), 24(46.2%) and 24(46.2%) respectively. The prevalence of the A1 allele in schizophrenics, alcoholics, drug addiction and controls were 77%, 76.9%, 67% and 53.8% respectively. And the frequency of the A1 allele in schizophrenics, alcoholics, drug addiction and controls were 0.53, 0.49 0.39 and 0.31 respectively. There was significant difference in the frequency of the A1 allele between schizophrenics, alcoholics and controls. We also classified our alcoholic population. For classification by severity, we used the median MAST score 30 in our samples. There was also significant difference in the frequency of the A1 allele between less severe group(0.42) and more severe group(0.57). This data suggest that the A1 allele is associated with schizophrenia and alcoholism in Koreans. Furthermore the prevalence of the A1 allele increassed in more severely affected alcoholics. The authors conclude that our data support an allelic association between the A1 allele at dopamine $D_2$ receptor and schizophrenia, alcoholism. These results suggest the A1 allele of the $DRD_2$ gene is associated with a number of behavior disorders in which it may act as a modifying gene rather than as the primary etiological agent.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.381-392
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• 2018

Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganesis (Cmm) is a quarantine-worthy pest in $M{\acute{e}}xico$. The implementation and validation of new technologies is necessary to reduce the time for bacterial detection in laboratory conditions and Raman spectroscopy is an ambitious technology that has all of the features needed to characterize and identify bacteria. Under controlled conditions a contagion process was induced with Cmm, the disease epidemiology was monitored. Micro-Raman spectroscopy ($532nm\;{\lambda}$ laser) technique was evaluated its performance at assisting on Cmm detection through its characteristic Raman spectrum fingerprint. Our experiment was conducted with tomato plants in a completely randomized block experimental design (13 plants ${\times}$ 4 rows). The Cmm infection was confirmed by 16S rDNA and plants showed symptoms from 48 to 72 h after inoculation, the evolution of the incidence and severity on plant population varied over time and it kept an aggregated spatial pattern. The contagion process reached 79% just 24 days after the epidemic was induced. Micro-Raman spectroscopy proved its speed, efficiency and usefulness as a non-destructive method for the preliminary detection of Cmm. Carotenoid specific bands with wavelengths at 1146 and $1510cm^{-1}$ were the distinguishable markers. Chemometric analyses showed the best performance by the implementation of PCA-LDA supervised classification algorithms applied over Raman spectrum data with 100% of performance in metrics of classifiers (sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, negative and positive predictive value) that allowed us to differentiate Cmm from other endophytic bacteria (Bacillus and Pantoea). The unsupervised KMeans algorithm showed good performance (100, 96, 98, 91 y 100%, respectively).

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.17
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• pp.7781-7784
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• 2015

Background: The commonly held view of the tumor suppressor p53 is as a regulator of cell proliferation, apoptosis and many other biological processes as well as external and internal stress responses. Mdm2 SNIP309 is a negative regulator of p 53. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the correlation between the patterns of Mdm2 SNIP 309 and the inflammation grading of Helicobacter pylori associated gastritis in a Thai population. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out from November 2014 through June 2015. Biopsy specimens were obtained from infected patients and infection was proved by positive histology. The gastric mucosa specimens were sent to the Molecular Genetic Unit, Institute of Medicine, Suranaree University of Technology where they were tested by molecular methods to detect the patterns of Mdm2 SNIP 309 using the real-time PCR hybridization probe method. The results were analyzed and compared with the Updated Sydney classification. Results: A total of 100 infected patients were interviewed and gastric mucosa specimens were collected. In this study the percentage of Mdm2 SNIP 309 T/T homozygous and Mdm2 SNIP309 G/T heterozygous was 78% and 19 % respectively whereas Mdm2 SNIP309 G/G homozygous was 3%. Mdm2 SNIP 309 T/T homozygous and Mdm2 SNIP309 G/T heterozygous correlated with mild to moderate inflammation (P<0.01) whereas Mdm2 SNIP309 G/G homozygous correlated with severe inflammation (P<0.01). Conclusions: Our study found the frequency of Mdm2 SNP309 G/G in our Thai population to be very low, and suggests that this can explain to some extent the low incidence of severe inflammation and gastric cancer changes in the Thai population. Mild to moderate inflammation are the most common pathologic gradings due to the unique genetic polymorphism of Mdm2 SNIP 309 in the Thai population.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.17
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• pp.7213-7218
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• 2014

Background: Egypt has one of the highest prevalences of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection worldwide. Although the IL28B gene polymorphism has been shown to modify the course of chronic HCV infection, this has not been properly assessed in the Egyptian population. Materials and Methods: The IL28B rs12979860 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was therefore examined in 256 HCV-infected Egyptian patients (group II) at different stages of disease progression and in 48 healthy volunteers (group I). Group II was subdivided into GII-A (chronic hepatitis patients, n=119), GII-B (post hepatitis cirrhosis, n=66) and GII-C (HCC on top of cirrhosis, n=71). Results: The C/T genotype was the commonest in all groups. It was more frequent in GI (52%) than in GII (48%). There was no significant difference in the frequency of C/T and C/C or T/T genotypes between groups and subgroups (p=0.82). Within the subgroups; the C/C genotype was more common in GII-B while C/T and T/T genotypes were more common in GII-C, though with no significant difference (p=0.59 and p=0.80). There was no significant association between IL28B rs12979860 SNP and viral load, ALT, AFP level, METAVIR scores for necro-inflammation and fibrosis, and Child-Pugh classification. Conclusions: 1) IL28Brs12979860 C/T genotype is the commonest genotype in HCV-associated CH and HCC in Egypt. 2) IL28Brs12979860 polymorphisms are not associated with disease progression or aggression (histological staging, severity of fibrosis in CH or the incidence of post-HCV HCC). 3) Differences in IL28Brs12979860 genotypes could be a consequence of environmental or ethnic variation.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.54-58
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• 2006

Purpose: The committee on trauma of the american college of surgeons, in its manual resources for optimal care of the injured patients involved in falls from less than 20 feet need not be taken to trauma centers. Because triage criteria dictate less urgency for low-level falls, this classification scheme has demerits for early detection and treatment of serious problems in the emergency room. Methods: A prospective analysis was conducted of 182 patients treated for fall-related trauma from June 2003 to March 2004. Falls were classified as group A (<3 m), group B (${\geq}3m$, <6 m), and group C (${\geq}6m$). Collected data included the patient's age, gender, site and height of fall, surface fallen upon, body area of first impact, body regions of injuries, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), Revised Trauma Score (RTS), and Injury Severity Score (ISS). Results: The 182 patients were classified as group A (105) 57.7%, group B (61) 33.5%, and group C (16) 8.8%. There was a weak positive correlation between the height of fall and the patients' ISS in the three groups (p<0.001). There were significant differences in GCS (p=0.017), RTS (p=0.034), and ISS (p=0.007) between group A and B. In cases that the head was the initial impact area of the body, the GCS (p<0.001) and the RTS (p=0.002) were lower, but the ISS (p<0.001) was higher than it was for other type of injuries. Hard surfaces as an impact surface type, had an influence on the GCS (p<0.001) and the ISS (p=0.025). Conclusion: To simply categorize patients who fall over 6 meters as severely injured patients doesn't have much meaning, and though patients may have fallen less than 6 meters, they should be categorized by using the dynamics (impact surface type, initial body - impact area) of their fall.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.57-62
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• 2010

Purpose: This study analyzed the characteristics of stable pelvic bone fractures with intra-abdominal solid organ injury. Methods: Medical records were retrospectively reviewed from January 2000 to December 2009 of patients with stable pelvic bone fractures. A stable pelvic bone fracture according to Young's classification is defined as a lateral compression type I and antero-posterior compression type I. Subjects were divided into two groups, one with (injured group) and one without (non-injured group) intra-abdominal solid organ injury, to evaluate the dependences of the characteristics on the presence of an intra-abdominal solid organ injury. Data including demographics, mechanism of injury, initial hemodynamic status, laboratory results, Revised Trauma Score (RTS), Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS), Injury Severity Score (ISS), amount of transfusion, admission to intensive care unit (ICU), and mortality were analyzed. Results: The subjects were 128 patients with a mean age of 42 years old, of whom were 67 male patients (52.3%). The injured group had 21 patients(16.4%), and the most frequent injured solid organ was the liver. Traffic accident was the most common mechanism of injury and lateral compression was the most common type of fracture in all groups. Initial systolic blood pressure was lower in the injured group, and the ISS was greater in the injured group. Arterial pH was lower in the injured group, and shock within 24 hours after arrival at the emergency department was more frequent in the injured group. Transfused packed red blood cells within 24 hours were 8 patients(38.1%) in the injured group and 11 patients(10.3%) in the non-injured group. Conservative treatment was the most common therapeutic modality in all groups. Stay in the ICU was longer in the injured group, and three mortalities occurred. Conclusion: There is a need to decide on a diagnostic and therapeutic plan regarding the possibility of intra-abdominal solid organ injury for hemodynamically unstable patients with stable pelvic bone fractures and for patients with stable pelvic bone fractures along with multiple associated injuries.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.113-118
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• 2010

Purpose: Prolonged stay in the emergency department (ED), which is closely related with the time interval from the ED visit to a decision to admit, might be associated with poor outcomes for trauma patients and with overcrowding of the ED. Therefore, we examined the factors affecting the delay in the decision to admit severe trauma patients. Also, a multidisciplinary department system was preliminarily evaluated to see if it could reduce the time from triage to the admission decision. Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted at a tertiary care university hospital without a specialized trauma team or specialized trauma surgeons from January 2009 to March 2010. Severe trauma patients with an International Classification of Disease Based Injury Severity Score (ICISS) below 0.9 were included. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to find independent variables associated with a delay in the decision for admission which was defined as the time interval between ED arrival and admission decision exceeded 4 hours. We also simulated the time from triage to the decision for admission by a multidisciplinary department system. Results: A total of 89 patients were enrolled. The average time from triage to the admission decision was $5.2{\pm}7.1$ hours and the average length of the ED stay was $9.0{\pm}11.5$ hours. The rate of decision delay for admission was 31.5%. A multivariable regression analysis revealed that multiple trauma (odds ratio [OR]: 30.6, 95%; confidence interval [CI]: 3.18-294.71), emergency operation (OR: 0.55, 95%; CI: 0.01-0.96), and treatment in the Department of Neurosurgery (OR: 0.07, 95%; CI: 0.01-0.78) were significantly associated with the decision delay. In a simulation based on a multidisciplinary department system, the virtual time from triage to admission decision was $2.1{\pm}1.5$ hours. Conclusion: In the ED, patients with severe trauma, multiple trauma was a significant factor causing a delay in the admission decision. On the other hand, emergency operation and treatment in Department of Neurosurgery were negatively associated with the delay. The simulated time from triage to the decision for admission by a multidisciplinary department system was 3 hours shorter than the real one.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.232-241
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• 2010

Epilithic diatom communities and water quality were monitored to evaluate the ecological impact of the inflow of Wonju-stream passing through the urban area in the Seom River Watershed. We selected the 14 sampling stations (5 main stream sites and 9 tributary sites), and collected diatom and water samples between October 2007 and September 2008, on the seasonal basis. The results indicate that most water quality parameters showed the site-specific patterns over the study, except for water temperature and dissolved oxygen. The levels of water quality parameters were highest at the site of Wonju stream, whereas the lowest in the upstream sites, and intermediate or gradually decreased in the downstream sites of the Seom river. One species, Achnanthes convergens, showed the highest biomass and frequency over the sites, while three saprophilous species-Navicula goeppertiana, Navicula subminuscula, Nitzschia palea were appeared only in Wonju Stream and other polluted sites. According to trophic diatom index (TDI) values, which were highly correlated with nutrients and EC, the study sites were classified into three classes: upstream and tributary (Class A and B), Wonju Stream (Class D), and mixed zone and downstream (Class C). A cluster analysis supported the result of TDI classification. Therefore, Wonju-stream located in populated urban area exerted the adverse ecological effects on the epilithic diatom community and water quality of the lower Seom River System, although its severity gradually decreased downstream.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.349-357
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• 2016

Recently, the quantity of risk in construction project has been inflated due to the fact that current construction projects have been large and complicated. Therefore, a study on the risk management methods is necessary that can predict and respond to the need in complicated modern construction projects. In this study, the objective is to analyze the cause of accident in actual construction sites and develop a risk assessment model based on insurance claims records. To reach the goal of this study, first, the frequency and severity of accidents are analyzed the causes of accidents based on the classification; progress rate, season, and total construction costs. Second, a risk assessment model is developed by utilizing a multiple regression analysis. The dependent variable is loss ratio of material damage and three categories; natural hazards, geographic information, and construction method & ability, are used as the independent variables. The model's adjusted R-square is 0.455. The contributions of this study will be used as a material for a quantitative risk analysis model development and review of the construction risk factors for future study.