• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.4339-4347
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• 2014

Purpose: This study aimed at exploring treatment delay (TD) among cancer patients in China with an attempt to develop a practical methodology facilitating frontline Chinese clinicians in promoting earlier cancer diagnosis and treatment. Materials and Methods: The study comprised framework development, qualitative interviews and paired factor rating. Framework development utilized systematic literature review, soft systems thinking and consensus groups. Qualitative interviews employed a checklist of open questions soliciting information about all the domains included the framework from cancer patients drawn via stratified randomized sampling of inpatients at 10 hospitals in Hefei, China. Paired factor rating used a self-developed computer aid and the interviewed patients as referring cases to weigh the relative importance of the factors listed in the framework in terms of their contributions to specific components of total delay (TD). Results: a) A conceptual framework was proposed consisting of a 6-step path to TD and 36 category determinants. b) A total of 227 patients were interviewed; their TD was 267.3 mean or 108 median days ranging from 0 to 2475 days; average appraisal, illness, behavioral, preparation and treatment delay accounted for 52.1%, 9.4%, 0.30%, 8.8% and 29.4% of the TD respectively. Individual side factors were rated substantially more important than environmental side factors (60% vs. 40%); most influential TD factors included cancer symptoms, overall health, family relations and knowledge about cancer and health. Conclusions: The framework proposed together with the interviewing and rating approaches used provide a potential new methodology for understanding cancer patients' TD and promoting earlier cancer treatment.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.432-438
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• 2007

The reforming process for hydrogen production generates some impurities. Impurities in hydrogen such as $CO_2$, CO, $H_2S$, $NH_3$ affect fuel cell performance. It is well known that CO generated by the reforming process may negatively affect performance of cell, cause damage on catalysts resulting performance degradation. Hydrogen produced by reforming process includes about 2% methane. The presence of methane up to 10% is reported negligible degradation in cell performance. However, methane more than 10% in hydrogen stream had not been researched. The concentration of impurity supplied to the fuel cell was verified by gas chromatography(GC). In this study, the influence of $CH_4$ on performance of PEM fuel cell was investigated by means of current vs. potential experiment, long run(10 hr) test and electrochemical impedance measurement when the concentrations of impurities were 10%, 20% and 30%.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.470-477
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• 2007

This research was conducted to evaluate the effect of moisture content on direct landfilling prohibition of organic sludge. Organic sludges with moisture content (Me) of 75 and 85% were filled in two lysimeters. The lysimeters were named as Exp.75 and Exp.85, respectively. LFG of 2,064 l was generated greatly for Exp.85, compared to 1,500 l for Exp.75. LFG generations in Exp.75 and Exp.85 were 64.1 l/kg and 157.1 l/kg as dry TS basis, and 113.6 l/kg and 266.2 l/kg as dry VS basis. Total $CH_4$ generation in LFG for Exp.85 was 1,238 l, while 1,050 l for Exp.75. $H_2S$ of $3{\sim}150$ ppmv was generated from Exp.85, which was 5 times higher than $2{\sim}30$ppmv from Exp.75. Leachate was not generated from Exp.75 during operation time. However, 420 ml of leachate was generated from Exp.85. From the results of gas generation, composition, odorous compounds, and leachate generation, landfilling of organic sludge with high MC was more harmful to the environment in spite of great LFG generation. However, direct landfilling of organic sludges without great difference of MC made a severe odor problem. Therefore, it was thought that current direct landfilling prohibition law for all organic sludge was appropriate.

• Journal of The Korean Association of Information Education
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.635-644
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• 2011

This research analyzed the brainwave activities and brain hemispherity to find out any implications to design the connections between the activities of the brain function and the computerized arithmetic addition in two difficulty levels: easy: 1-5 vs. hard: 6-9. Thus, in developing the brain based math learning for the computer education by implicit association test(IAT) indicated the significant results for the exclusive brain location and the brain hemispherity on the theta, alpha, low alpha, beta brainwaves by QEEG analysis. The results of this study physiologically supported the theoretical background for the computerized math learning skills as well as the math learning material development. It shows the difficulty levels of math information education and the brain activities on cognitive process of the learner continued on the possible investigation of the brain science.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.136-141
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• 2005

Li-doped NiO was synthesized by molten salt method. $LiNO_3$-LiOH flux was used as a source for Li doping. $NiCl_2$ was added to the molten Li flux and then processed to make the Li-doped NiO material. Li:Ni ratios were maintained from 5:1 to 30:1 during the synthetic procedure and the Li doping amount of synthesized materials were found between 0.086-0.190 as a Li ion to Ni ion ratio. Li doping did not change the basic cubic structural characteristics of NiO as evidenced by XRD studies, however the lattice parameter decreased from 0.41769nm in pure NiO to 0.41271nm as Li doping amount increased. Hydrogen gas sensors were fabricated using these materials as thick films on alumina substrates. The half surface of each sensor was coated with the Pt catalyst. The sensor when exposed to the hydrogen gas blended in air, heated up the catalytic surface leaving rest half surface (without catalyst) cold. The thermoelectric voltage thus built up along the hot and cold surface of the Li-doped NiO made the basis for detecting hydrogen gas. The linearity of the voltage signal vs $H_2$ concentration was checked up to 4% of $H_2$ in air (as higher concentrations above 4.65% are explosive in air) using Li doped NiO of Li ion/Ni ion=0.111 as the sensor material. The response time T90 and the recovery time RT90 were less than 25 sec. There was minimum interference of other gases and hence $H_2$ gas can easily be detected.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.59 no.8
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• pp.328-334
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• 2016

Purpose: Although a significant number of reports on new therapeutic options for refractory Kawasaki disease (KD) such as steroid, infliximab, or repeated intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) are available, their effectiveness in reducing the prevalence of coronary artery lesions (CAL) remains controversial. This study aimed to define the clinical characteristics of patients with refractory KD and to assess the effects of adjuvant therapy on patient outcomes. Methods: We performed a retrospective study of 38 refractory KD patients from January 2012 to March 2015. We divided these patients into 2 groups: group 1 received more than 3 IVIG administration+steroid therapy, (n=7, 18.4%), and group 2 patients were unresponsive to initial IVIG and required steroid therapy or second IVIG (n=31, 81.6%). We compared the clinical manifestations, laboratory results, and echocardiographic findings between the groups and examined the clinical utility of additional therapies in both groups. Results: A significant difference was found in the total duration of fever between the groups ($13.0{\pm}4.04days$ in group 1 vs. $8.87{\pm}2.30days$ in group 2; P=0.035). At the end of the follow-up, all cases in group 1 showed suppressed CAL. In group 2, coronary artery aneurysm occurred in 2 patients (6.4%). All the patients treated with intravenous corticosteroids without additional IVIG developed CALs including coronary artery aneurysms. Conclusion: No statistical difference was found in the development of CAL between the groups. Prospective, randomized, clinical studies are needed to elucidate the effects of adjunctive therapy in refractory KD patients.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
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• 2002.09a
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• pp.154-156
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• 2002

Brachytherapy has a long history in the treatment of cancer. However, the treatment planning technique for brachytherapy has lagged somewhat behind the corresponding developments for external beam therapy as far as the imaging technique is concerned. Currently, the orthogonal-film-based treatment planning is performed at most institutions even though the CT-based planning is available. The aim of this study is to evaluate the CT-based vs. the orthogonal-film-based treatment planning in cervix cancer. The doses to point A, point B, rectum and bladder points according to ICRU 38 were calculated for the two methods above. In addition, the volumetric studies such as 3D dose computation and DVH were obtained for the CT-based planning. For the bulky tumor, the isodose lines of point A prescription were not fairly covered for the CTV. The CT -based dose planning can overestimate the maximum dose delivered to bladder and rectum by 30%. The CT-based planning has several advantages over the orthogonal-film-based such as 3D dose display, DVH, and more accurate target delineation. It is suggested that the prescription point in cervix cancer be revised especially for the bulky tumor.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.1489-1492
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• 2016

Background: Although there are no biomarkers that are routinely used in endometrial cancer (EC) management, many studies have found that serum human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) is superior to cancer antigen 125 (CA125) in the detection of EC. The correlation of HE4 with two prognostic factors for EC, primary tumor diameter (PTD) and depth of myometrial invasion (DMI) may be useful in identifying EC patients at high risk of lymphatic dissemination. Objective: To evaluate the correlation of serum HE4 with PTD and DMI in patients with EC. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 70 EC patients who were scheduled for elective surgery at Rajavithi Hospital between 1st September 2013 and 30th May 2014. Preoperative serum levels of HE4 and CA125 were investigated, and then gross measurement of PTD was taken and postoperative pathologic slides were reviewed for DMI including histologic types, grading and staging. Results: Preoperative serum HE4 levels were strongly correlated with PTD (r=0.65, p<0.001) and moderately correlated with DMI (r=0.46, p<0.001). Moreover, serum HE4 levels were significantly elevated in EC patients with PTD >2 cm (p<0.001) and DMI > 50% (p=0.004). The performance of serum HE4 in identifying EC patients at low risk and high risk of lymph node metastasis was significantly better than that of CA125 (AUC 0.88 vs. 0.65, p=0.003). At an optimal cut-off value of 70 pM/L, serum HE4 had a sensitivity of 83.3% and a specificity of 80.0%. Conclusions: In EC patients, preoperative serum HE4 is significantly correlated with PTD and DMI. Serum HE4 levels could be useful in identifying endometrial cancer patients at high risk of lymphatic spread who would benefit from systemic lymphadenectomy at the cut-off value of 70 pM/L.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.445-451
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• 2019

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and incidence of accidents with biological material, the level of knowledge, and compliance to standard precautions (SPs) among dentists, physicians, nurses, and dental and medical students. Methods: A closed cohort study with a prospective and retrospective component was conducted between August 2014 and September 2015. The participants were contacted in two moments during the follow-up period, during which a structured questionnaire divided into six sections was used; the interviews were conducted during the follow-up period (Month 6) and at the end of the observation period (Month 12). Results: The global prevalence of accidents in the previous 12 months was 10.2%, with a difference between professionals and students (13.0% vs. 5.1%, respectively; p < 0.003). The incidence rate was 6.49 per 100 person/year, with difference between the groups (6.09 per 100 person/year in professionals and 7.26 per 100 person/year in students), type of specialization (hazard ratio, 3.27), and hours worked per week (hazard ratio, 2.27). The mean of compliance to SP was 31.99 (±3.85) points, with a median of 33 (30, 35) points against the expected 27.75 points. Adherence to SP was associated with the accident report (p < 0.020). Conclusion: We conclude that the proportion/incidence rate of accidents with biological material was high in relation to that in the literature, being higher in professionals and especially among physicians. The levels of knowledge and adherence to SP were good, with the best found in dentists and dental students.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.51-86
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• 1996

The primary purpose of this study is to verify the difference of behavioural characteristics between the subject specialists and professional searchers in searching full-text databases. The major findings and conclusions from this study are summarized as follows. Analyses of Search questions(the degree of understanding with search questions, the degree of difficulty in selecting terms, and the degree of expectation of search results), search processes(the number of search terms used, the number of Boolean operators and qualifiers used, the number of documents browsed and the search time(the connecting time, time to spend per one output document, time to spend per one relevant output document) and search results(the searching efficiency(the number of relevant documents, the ,recall ratio and the precision ratio), the search cost(the total search cost. the search cost per one output document and the search cost per one relevant output document) and the degree of satisfaction with search results) are significantly different between the subject specialists and professional searchers in searching full-text databases.