• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.28
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• pp.9.1-9.5
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• 2013

Objectives Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a powerful tool for assessing exposure in epidemiologic studies. We used GIS to determine the geographic extent of contamination by perfluorooctanoic acid, C8 (PFOA) that was released into the environment from the DuPont Washington Works Facility located in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Methods Paper maps of pipe distribution networks were provided by six local public water districts participating in the community cross-sectional survey, the C8 Health Project. Residential histories were also collected in the survey and geocoded. We integrated the pipe networks and geocoded addresses to determine which addresses were serviced by one of the participating water districts. The GIS-based water district assignment was then compared to the participants' self-reported source of public drinking water. Results There were a total of 151,871 addresses provided by the 48,800 participants of the C8 Health Project that consented to geocoding. We were able to successfully geocode 139,067 (91.6%) addresses, and of these, 118,209 (85.0%) self-reported water sources were confirmed using the GIS-based method of water district assignment. Furthermore, the GIS-based method corrected 20,858 (15.0%) self-reported public drinking water sources. Over half (54%) the participants in the lowest GIS-based exposure group self-reported being in a higher exposed water district. Conclusions Not only were we able to correct erroneous self-reported water sources, we were also able to assign water districts to participants with unknown sources. Without the GIS-based method, the reliance on only self-reported data would have resulted in exposure misclassification.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.766-776
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• 2020

Recently, as interest in machine learning (ML) has increased and research using ML has become active, it is becoming more important to find an optimal hyperparameter combination for various ML models. In this paper, among various hyperparameters, we focused on ML optimizers, and measured and compared the performance of major optimizers using various datasets. In particular, we compared the performance of nine optimizers ranging from SGD, which is the most basic, to Momentum, NAG, AdaGrad, RMSProp, AdaDelta, Adam, AdaMax, and Nadam, using the MNIST, CIFAR-10, IRIS, TITANIC, and Boston Housing Price datasets. Experimental results showed that when Adam or Nadam was used, the loss of various ML models decreased most rapidly and their F1 score was also increased. Meanwhile, AdaMax showed a lot of instability during training and AdaDelta showed slower convergence speed and lower performance than other optimizers.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.412-416
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• 2014

A 7-year-old intact male Pitbull terrier dog was presented with complaints of marked abdominal distension and severe exercise intolerance. Diagnostic studies found a right-sided cardiomegaly with marked dilation of pulmonary arteries, diffuse interstitial pulmonary infiltration and heavy worm burden in the right atrium and ventricle. Color and spectral Doppler echocardiography also revealed tricuspid and pulmonic regurgitation indicating severe pulmonary hypertension. The 104 heartworms were removed by interventional extraction using a loop snare (Snare, Boston Scientific, USA) through external jugular vein. After heartworm removals, the clinical condition of this dog was remarkably improved. To author's best knowledge, this is the first case of interventional heartworm extraction using a loop snare in Korea.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.275-282
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• 2016

This study was conducted to evaluate the antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects of boiled pork powder (BPP) and hot water extract powder (HWEP) from 4 cuts of meat from Landrace × Yorkshire × Duroc (LYD). The highest DPPH radical scavenging activities determined were from BPP of Boston butt (13.65 M TE) and HWEP of loin (19.40 M TE) and ham (21.45 M TE). The 2,2-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) radical scavenging activities of BPP from shoulder ham (39.28 M TE) and ham (39.43 M TE) were higher than those of other meat cuts, while HWEP of ham exhibited the highest ABTS radical scavenging activity. A higher oxygen radical absorbance capacity was determined for BPP from ham (198.35 M TE) and in HWEP from loin (204.07 M TE), Boston butt (192.85 M TE), and ham (201.36 M TE). Carnosine content of BPP and HWEP from loin and were determined to be 106.68 and 117.77 mg/g on a dry basis, respectively. The anserine content of BPP (5.26 mg/g, dry basis) and HWEP (6.79 mg/g, dry basis) of shoulder ham exhibited the highest value as compared to the extracts from the other meat cuts. The viability of RAW 264.7 cells was increased with increasing HWEP from loin and ham treatment. In addition, the expression of IL-6 and TNF-α was significantly reduced by HWEP from loin and ham, in a dose dependent manner. These results suggested that boiled pork and hot water extract of pork have antioxidative and cytokine inhibitory effects.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.93-101
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• 2016

Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of varying resolutions of cone-beam computed tomography images on the accuracy of linear measurements of edentulous areas in human cadaver heads. Intact cadaver heads were used to simulate a clinical situation. Materials and Methods: Fiduciary markers were placed in the edentulous areas of 4 intact embalmed cadaver heads. The heads were scanned with two different CBCT units using a large field of view ($13cm{\times}16cm$) and small field of view ($5cm{\times}8cm$) at varying voxel sizes (0.3 mm, 0.2 mm, and 0.16 mm). The ground truth was established with digital caliper measurements. The imaging measurements were then compared with caliper measurements to determine accuracy. Results: The Wilcoxon signed rank test revealed no statistically significant difference between the medians of the physical measurements obtained with calipers and the medians of the CBCT measurements. A comparison of accuracy among the different imaging protocols revealed no significant differences as determined by the Friedman test. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.961, indicating excellent reproducibility. Inter-observer variability was determined graphically with a Bland-Altman plot and by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficient. The Bland-Altman plot indicated very good reproducibility for smaller measurements but larger discrepancies with larger measurements. Conclusion: The CBCT-based linear measurements in the edentulous sites using different voxel sizes and FOVs are accurate compared with the direct caliper measurements of these sites. Higher resolution CBCT images with smaller voxel size did not result in greater accuracy of the linear measurements.

• 대한예방의학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1994.02b
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• pp.313-319
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• 1994

Phase I of the Trials of Hypertension Prevention was a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial designed to determine the efficacy of seven nonpharmacologic interventions in reducing blood pressure among persons with high-normal diastolic blood pressure. the initial goal for recruitment was to enroll 2,100 participants over a nine-month period. The yield from the first screening visit to randomization was 13% overall, with clinic-specific yields ranging from 4.5% to 31.7%. After five months of recruitment, approximately 60% of the goal for that point in the recruitment timetable had been randomized. Clinical centers falling short of their goals at that time altered their recruitment strategies and intensified their efforts, and centers that had exceeded their goals recruited additional participants. As a result, 2,182 participants, or 104\% of the goal for recruitment, were randomized over a 13-month period. Those clinics using a cohort, or wave, type of enrollment were most successful in achieving their recruitment goals within the prescribed timetable.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.576-583
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• 2018

Background/Aims: Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) remains the most common EUS-guided tissue acquisition technique. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of a new Franseen tip fine needle biopsy (FNB) device for EUSguided sampling of solid lesions and compare it with the historical FNA technique. Methods: $Acquire^{(R)}$ 22 G FNB needle (Boston Scientific Co., Natick, MA, USA) was used for solid tumor sampling (Study group). Tissue was collected for rapid on-site evaluation, and touch and crush preparations were made. Historical EUS-FNA samples obtained using $Expect^{(R)}$ 22 G FNA needle (Boston Scientific Co.) were used as controls (Control group). All specimens were independently evaluated by two cytopathologists blinded to the formal cytopathological diagnosis. Results: Mean cell block histology scores were significantly higher (p=0.046) in the FNB group (51 samples) despite a significantly lower (p<0.001) mean number of passes compared to the FNA group (50 specimens). The overall diagnostic yields for the FNB vs. FNA groups were 96% vs. 88%. The degree of tumor differentiation was adequately assessed in all cell block qualifying lesions in the FNB group. Two patients developed post-FNB abdominal pain. Conclusions: The new Franseen tip FNB device provides histologically superior and cytologically comparable specimens to those obtained by FNA, but with fewer passes.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.458-465
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• 2020

Background: The aim of this study was to analyze the interaction between neck and/or wrist pain and hand grip strength (HGS) and to investigate factors (age, sex, neck disorders, and carpal tunnel syndrome) influencing the HGS of industrial quality proofing workers (N = 145). Methods: Standardized questionnaires [Neck Disability Index (NDI), Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire] were used to evaluate existing neck and/or wrist pain. HGS measurements were performed in different wrist positions. Results: Significant differences between participants with and without neck pain were found in different wrist positions, in neutral wrist position right [without neck pain (n = 48) 46.34 (43.39 - 49.30); with neck pain (n = 97) 38.46 (36.20 - 40.72), F_(1,144) = 16.82, p < 0.001, ŋ_p² = 0.11] and left [without neck pain 44.06 (41.19 - 46.94); with neck pain 37.36 (35.13 - 39.58), F_(1,144) = 12.70, p < 0.001, ŋ_p² = 0.08]. A significant difference between participants with and without wrist pain was found for neutral wrist position right [without wrist pain (n = 105) 42.53 (40.37 - 44.70); with wrist pain (n = 40) 37.24 (33.56 - 40.91), F_(1,144) = 6.41, p = 0.01, ŋ_p² = 0.04]. Regression analysis showed significant results especially for steps two (age and weight, NDI) and three (age and weight, NDI, Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire) for neutral position right (R² = 0.355, R² = 0.357, respectively). Conclusion: Neck pain has an impact on HGS but should be evaluated in consideration of age and sex.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.64 no.4
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• pp.1-10
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• 2022

A vegetative filter strip (VFS) is one of the best management practices (BMPs) to reduce pollutant loads. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of VFS in dense upland field areas. The study areas are agricultural fields in the Maedae (MD), Gaa (GA), and Jaun (JU) watersheds, where severe sediment yields have occurred and the Korean government has designated them as non-point management regions. The agricultural fields were divided into three or four clusters for each watershed based on their slope, slope length, and area (e.g., MD1, MD2). To assess the sediment trapping (STE) and pesticide reduction efficiency (PRE) of VFS, the Vegetative Filter Strip Modeling System (VFSMOD) was applied with three different scenarios (SC) (SC1: VFS with rye vegetation; SC2: VFS with rye vegetation and a gentle slope in VFS range; and SC3: VFS with grass mixture). For SC1, there were relatively short slope lengths and small areas in the MD1 and GA3 clusters, and they showed higher pollutant reduction (STE>50%, PRE>25%). For SC2 and SC3, all clusters in GA and some clusters (MD1 and MD3) in MD show higher pollutant reduction (>25%), while the uplands in JU still show a lower pollutant (<25%). With correlation analysis between geographic characteristics and VFS effectiveness slope and slope length showed relative higher correlations with the pollutant efficiency than a area. The results of this study implied that slope and slope length should be considered to find suitable upland conditions for VFS installations.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.200-206
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• 2022

Background Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common entrapment neuropathy. Studies have shown that results of CTS surgery are poorer in patients with diabetes. In this study, the effect of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on nerve regeneration was investigated through clinical and electromyographic findings in patients with diabetes who underwent CTS surgery. Methods A retrospective analysis of 20 patients with diabetes who had surgically decompressed CTS was conducted. Patients were divided into two groups. The study group received PRP treatment following surgery. The control group did not receive any treatment. Patients were assessed using electromyography and the Boston Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Questionnaire preoperatively as well as postoperatively at 3-month, 6-month, and 1-year follow-ups visits. Results There was a decrease in complaints and an improvement in sensory and motor examinations in both groups. The Boston Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Questionnaire scores did not show any statistically significant differences between the two groups. However, electromyographic findings showed that there were statistical differences between preoperative and postoperative (3 months, 6 months, and 1 year) results in both groups. When the two groups were compared using preoperative and postoperative (3 months, 6 months, and 1 year) electromyographic values, no statistically significant differences were seen. Conclusion Single injections of PRP did not have a significant impact on median nerve regeneration following CTS surgery in patients with diabetes. The effectiveness of multiple PRP injections can be investigated in patients with diabetes in future studies.