• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.236-241
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• 2012

Background: Prolonged usage of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) may induce multi-organ failure. This study is aimed to evaluate prognostic factors in the patients with ECMO. Also, the prognosis of ECMO with Kidney Injury Network Scoring system is studied. Materials and Methods: From May 2005 to July 2011, 172 cases of ECMO were performed. The cases of perioperative use of ECMO were excluded. Renal failure patient and younger than 15 years old one were also excluded. As a result, 26 cases were enrolled in this study. Male patients were 15 (57.7%), and mean age was $56.57{\pm}17.03$ years old. Demographic data, ECMO parameters, weaning from ECMO, and application of continuous renal replacement therapy are collected and Acute Kidney Injury Network (AKIN) scores were evaluated just before ECMO and day 1, day 2 during application of ECMO. Results: Venoarterial ECMO was applied in 22 cases (84.6%). The reasons for applications of ECMO were cardiac origin in 21 (80.8%), acute respiratory distress syndrome in 4, and septic shock in 1 case. Successful weaning from ECMO was achieved in 15 cases (57.7%), and survival discharge rate was 9 cases (34.6%). Mean duration of application of ECMO was $111.39{\pm}54.06$ hours. In univariate analysis, myocarditis was independent risk factors on weaning failure. Using the receiver operating characteristic curve, level of hemoglobin on 24 hours after ECMO, and base excess on 48 hours after ECMO were showed more than 0.7. AKIN score was not matched the prognosis of the patients with ECMO. Conclusion: In our study, the prognosis of the patients with myocarditis was poor. Hemoglobin level at first 24 hours, and degree of acidosis at 48 hours were useful methods in relating with prognosis of ECMO. AKIN scoring system was not related with the prognosis of the patients. Further study for prognosis and organ injury during application ECMO may be needed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.02a
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• pp.271-272
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• 2012

Bulk Metallic Glasses (BMGs or amorphous alloy) exhibit high strength and good corrosion resistance. Applications of thin films and micro parts of BMGs have been used a lot since its inception in the research of BMGs. However, Application and fabrication of BMGs are limited to make structural materials. Thin films of BMGs which is sputtered on the surface of structural materials by sputtering process is used to improve limits about application of BMGs. In order to investigate the difference of properties between designed alloys and thin films, we identified that thin films deposited on the surface that have the characteristic of the amorphous films and the composition of designed alloys. Zr-Cu (Cu=30, 35, 38, 40, 50 at.%) and Zr-Cu-Al (Al=10 at.% fixed, Cu=26, 30, 34, 38 at.%) alloys were fabricated with Zr (99.7% purity), Cu (99.997% purity), and Al (99.99% purity) as melting 5 times by arc melting method before rods 2mm in diameter was manufactured. In order to analyze GFA (Glass Forming Ability), rods were observed by Optical Microscopy and SEM and $T_g$, $T_x$, ($T_x$ is crystallization temperature and $T_g$ is the glass transition temperature) and Tm were measured by DTA and DSC. Powder was manufactured by Gas Atomizer and target was sintered using powder in large supercooled liquid region ($=T_x-T_g$) by SPS(Spark Plasma Sintering). Amorphous foil was prepared by RSP process with 5 gram alloy button. The composition of the foil and sputtered thin film was analyzed by EDS and EPMA. In the result of DSC curve, binary alloys ($Zr_{62}Cu_{38}$, $Zr_{60}Cu_{40}$, $Zr_{50}Cu_{50}$) and ternary alloys ($Zr_{64}Al_{10}Cu_{26}$, $Zr_{56}Al_{10}Cu_{34}$, $Zr_{52}Al_{10}Cu_{38}$) have $T_g$ except for $Zr_{70}Cu_{30}$ and $Zr_{60}Al_{10}Cu_{30}$. The compositions with $T_g$ made into powders. Figure shows XRD data of thin film showed similar hollow peak.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.183-192
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• 2003

A transformation methode of the chromaticity coordinates was proposed to calibrate the measured data obtained by a urine analysis system which implemented in our previous study. Generally. the reacted color of a reagent strip by urine analysis system often exhibit the color distortions due to nonlinear characteristics of the various devices that is the optic module mechanism. hardware, and surround circumstance. A color correction method for minimizing the color distortion play a few role in maintaining high accuracy and reproduction of the urine analysis system. In this work, we used the compensation method such as the shading correction, the characteristic curve extraction of RGB color by means of third order spline interpolation, and linear transformation using a reference color. In addition, 1931 CIE XYZ color space was used to compensate the color of the measured data by a standard reference system as colorimeter. A compensation matrix was obtained so that the output values of the urine analysis system is nearly equal to that of a standard reference system for identical color sample. Color correction obtained by a urine analysis system which implemented in our previous study exhibited a good color accuracy when it was compared with the reference data. Observed result from an experiments on ten items or a urinalysis strip that color difference or between two urine analysis system was 1.28.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.68 no.4
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• pp.205-211
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• 2010

Background: Procalcitonin is a well known marker in infection that plays a role in distinguishing between bacterial and viral infections in screening. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of procalcitonin in differentiating between 2009 H1N1 influenza pneumonia and community acquired pneumonia of bacterial origin, or mixed bacterial origin and 2009 H1N1 influenza infection. Methods: A retrospective observational study was performed over the 6-month winter period during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. Ninety-six patient-subjects were enrolled, all of whom had been diagnosed with community acquired pneumonia in emergency department during the study period. On admission, laboratory studies were performed, which included 2009 H1N1 influenza real-time polymerase chain reaction of nasal secretions and procalcitonin on serum; the laboratory values were compared between the study groups. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were performed on the resulting data. Results: Compared to those with bacterial or mixed infections (n=62) and bacterial pneumonia with confirmed organisms (n=30), patients with 2009 H1N1 pneumonia (n=34) were significantly more likely to have low procalcitonin levels (p=0.008, 0.001). Using cutoff of value >0.3 ng/mL, the sensitivity and specificity of procalcitonin for detection of patients with confirmed bacterial pneumonia were 76.2% and 60.6%, respectively. A significant difference in procalcitonin was found between 2009 H1N1 pneumonia and pneumonia caused by mixed influenza viral and bacterial infections (0.15 [0.05~0.84] vs. 10.3 [0.05~22.87] ng/mL, p=0.045). Conclusion: Serum procalcitonin measurement may assist in the discrimination between pneumonia of bacterial and of 2009 H1N1 influenza origin. High values of procalcitonin suggest that bacterial infection or mixed infection of bacteria and 2009 H1N1 influenza is more likely.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.604-611
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• 2005

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000-based solid dispersions (SDs), by incorporating various pharmaceutical excipients or microemulsion systems, were prepared using a fusion method, t o compare the dissolution rates and bioavailabilities in rats. The amorphous structure of the drug in SDs was also characterized by powder X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The ketoconazole (KT), as an antifungal agent, was selected as a model drug. The dissolution rate of KT increased when solubilizing excipients were incorporated into the PEG-based SDs. When hydrophilic and lipophilic excipients were combined and incorporated into PEG-based SDs, a remarkable enhancement of the dissolution rate was observed. The PEG-based SDs, incorporating a self microemulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS) or microemulsion (ME), were also useful at improving the dissolution rate by forming a microemulsion or dispersible particles within the aqueous medium. However, due to the limited solubilization capacity, these PEG-based SDs showed dissolution rates, below 50% in this study, under sink conditions. The PEG-based SD, with no pharmaceutical excipients incorporated, increased the maximum plasma concentration (C$_{max}$) and area under the plasma concentration curve (AUC$_{0-6h}$) two-fold compared to the drug only. The bioavailability was more pronounced in the cases of solubilizing and microemulsifying PEG-based SDs. The thermograms of the PEG-based SDs showed the characteristic peak of the carrier matrix around 60$^{\circ}C$, without a drug peak, indicating that the drug had changed into an amorphous structure. The diffraction pattern of the pure drug showed the drug to be highly crystalline in nature, as indicated by numerous distinctive peaks. The lack of the numerous distinctive peaks of the drug in the PEG-based SDs demonstrated that a high concentration of the drug molecules was dissolved in the solid-state carrier matrix of the amorphous structure. The utilization of oils, fatty acid and surfactant, or their mixtures, in PEG-based SD could be a useful tool to enhance the dissolution and bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs by forming solubilizing and microemulsifying systems when exposed to gastrointestinal fluid.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.139-146
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• 2018

Purpose: IBTR! 2.0 nomogram is web-based nomogram that predicts ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR). We aimed to validate the IBTR! 2.0 using an external data set. Materials and Methods: The cohort consisted of 2,206 patients, who received breast conserving surgery and radiation therapy from 1992 to 2012 at our institution, where wide surgical excision is been routinely performed. Discrimination and calibration were used for assessing model performance. Patients with predicted 10-year IBTR risk based on an IBTR! 2.0 nomogram score of <3%, 3%-5%, 5%-10%, and >10% were assigned to groups 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. We also plotted calibration values to observe the actual IBTR rate against the nomogram-derived 10-year IBTR probabilities. Results: The median follow-up period was 73 months (range, 6 to 277 months). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.607, showing poor accordance between the estimated and observed recurrence rate. Calibration plot confirmed that the IBTR! 2.0 nomogram predicted the 10-year IBTR risk higher than the observed IBTR rates in all groups. High discrepancies between nomogram IBTR predictions and observed IBTR rates were observed in overall risk groups. Compared with the original development dataset, our patients had fewer high grade tumors, less margin positivity, and less lymphovascular invasion, and more use of modern systemic therapies. Conclusions: IBTR! 2.0 nomogram seems to have the moderate discriminative ability with a tendency to over-estimating risk rate. Continued efforts are needed to ensure external applicability of published nomograms by validating the program using an external patient population.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.67-76
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• 2004

This study presents the evaluation of CSM(Capacity Spectrum Method, ATC-40) in developing fragility curves for a sample concrete bridge. The CSM is originally developed as one of the simplified procedures for building structures, while this study adopts the CSM to develop fragility curves of bridge structures. Four(4) different approaches are demonstrated and the fragility curves developed are compared those by the nonlinear time history analysis. Fragility curves in this study are represented by lognormal distribution functions with two parameters and developed as a function of PGA. The sixty(60) ground acceleration time histories for the Los Angeles area developed for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) SAC(SEAOC-ATC-CUREe) steel project are used for the bridge analysis. The comparison of fragility curves by the CSM with those by the time history analysis indicates that the agreement is excellent for one of the methods investigated in this study. In this respect. it is recommended that the demand spectrum might be improved according to the guidelines suggested in this study. However, this observation might not always apply, depending on the details of specific bridge characteristic

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.71 no.1
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• pp.8-14
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• 2011

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have demonstrated their potential as biomarkers for lung cancer diagnosis. In recent years, miRNAs have been found in body fluids such as serum, plasma, urine and saliva. Circulating miRNAs are highly stable and resistant to RNase activity along with, extreme pH and temperatures in serum and plasma. In this study, we investigated serum miRNA profiles that can be used as a diagnostic biomarker of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: We compared the expression profile of miRNAs in the plasma of patients diagnosed with lung cancer using an miRNA microarray. The data from this assay were validated by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Results: Six miRNAs were overexpressed and three miRNAs were underexpressed in both tissue and serum from squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) patients. Sixteen miRNAs were overexpressed and twenty two miRNAs were underexpressed in both tissue and serum from adenocarcinoma (AC) patients. Of the four miRNAs chosen for qRT-PCR analysis, the expression of miR-23a was consistent with microarray results from AC patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were done and revealed that the level of serum miR-23a was a potential marker for discriminating AC patients from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. Conclusion: Although a small number of patients were examined, the results from our study suggest that serum miR-23a can be used in the diagnosis of AC.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.134-143
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• 1987

In order to observe the strawberry as the raw materials and to compare the color of strawberry's products, Hunter L,a,b tristimulate color values were measured physically by color difference meter. Food textural properties of strawberry were measured by Rheo textural meter for rheological properties of strawberry jam. According to results obtained, it showed that Hunter L,a,b tristimulus color values were affected by ripening time of strawberry and Hunter color values changed regularly on different pH. Deformation of red color pigment Hunter color values changed linearlly on different pH, therefore red color pigment of elderberry showed to be used as a food color agent. The first peak of strawberry in TPA curve was high as cherry, grape and pineapple Strawberry jam showed pseudoplastic characteristic and time dependence.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.365-374
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• 2005

This study was conducted to compare the validity of obese index among body mass index(BMI), waist to hip ratio(WHR), and waist circumference(WC) and to determine which is the best in relation to cardiovascular risk factors of middle aged Korean(40-64yr).Data from the 1998 Korean Health and Nutrition Survey were used(N=3380). Anthropometric indices and cardiovascular risk factors were measured. Chi-square test, analysis of variance following duncan's multiple range test, partial correlation analysis, and Receiver Operator characteristic(ROC) curves were used in the analysis. There was a significant increasing trend in WHR, systolic blood pressure(SBP), high density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL), and fasting blood sugar(FBS) with age categories of male and in BMI, WC, WHR, diastolic blood pressure(DBP), SBP, total cholesterol(TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL), triglycerol(TG), and FBS with those of female. Specially female had the characteristics of upper body fat and systolic blood pressure risk(p<0.05). Proportions of subjects with lifestyle factors related to cardiovascular risk in overweight or upper body fat group were higher than that of normal group. Higher proportions of subjects were practiced exercise in upper body fat group of male than in other groups. Among 7 cardiovascular risk factors in partial correlation analysis, BMI had the highest correlation coefficient in 6 risk factors in male, whereas WC in 4 risk factors in female. Mean of each obese index according to cardiovascular risk groups except smoker was higher than that of normal(p<0.05). These trends were shown in upper body fat group and female. In ROC analysis of 12 risk factors and health conditions, the largest area under curve among obese indices for risk factors were BMI in male and WHR in female. The optimal cutoff values of each index(BMI: WHR: WC) for one or more cardiovascular risk factors were 23.13: 0.89: 85.35 in male and 23.57: 0.84: 78.35 in female. The results showed that cardiovascular risk factors were prevalent in middle aged Koreans within normal limits of obese indices like another Asians. For the identification of cardiovascular risk factors of middle aged Koreans, BMI for men and WHR for women are appropriate indices. But it is recommended that BMI, WHR, and WC, all three indices should be considered, when using these indices.