• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.335-341
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• 2010

Objective : Anterior cervical corpectomy with fusion (ACF) or laminoplasty may be associated with substantial number of complications for treating multilevel cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) with significant cord compression. For more safe decompression and stabilization in multilevel cervical OPLL with prominent cord compression, we propose circumferential cervical surgery (selective ACF and laminoplasty) based on our favorable experience. Methods : Twelve patients with cervical myelopathy underwent circumferential cervical surgery and all patients showed multilevel OPLL with Signal change of the spinal cord on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A retrospective review of clinical, radiological. and surgical data was conducted. Results : There were 9 men and 3 women with mean age of 56.7 years and a mean follow up period of 15.6 months. The average corpectomy level was 1.16 and laminoplasty level was 4.58. The average Japanese Orthopedic Association score for recovery was 5.1 points and good clinical results were obtained in 11 patients (92%) (p < 0.05). The average space available for the cord improved from 58.2% to 87.9% and the average Cobb's angle changed from 7.63 to 12.27 at 6 months after operation without failure of fusion (p < 0.05). Average operation time was 8.36 hours, with an estimated blood loss of 760 mL and duration of bed rest of 2.0 days. There were no incidences of significant surgical complications, including wound infection. Conclusion : Although the current study examined a small sample with relatively short-term follow-up periods, our study results demonstrate that circumferential cervical surgery is considered favorable for safety and effectiveness in multilevel OPLL with prominent cord compression.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.24 no.3 s.35
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• pp.400-413
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• 1991

The purpose of this paper is to identify factors affecting the optimum mix of required inputs and other relevant factors which account for the variation in physician's productivity in general hospitals, and to find out their implications for the efficient health planning and management. An extended version of Cobb-Douglas production function and cross sectional data of one day patient census from all general hospitals in Korea in 1988 were used in the analysis. Main results of the analysis and their implications could be summarized as follows : (1) The production function for physician's inpatient service shows the evidence of economies of scale, but the production function for physician's outpatient and adjusted-patient service, which combines both out- and in-patient service, shows that of dis-economies of scale. (2) The physician's role for production for all service is smaller than auxiliary personnel's, which imply that more intensive utilization of nurses, nursing aides and other auxiliary personnel is desirable for improving general hospital productivity (3) In case of physician's inpatient and adjusted-patient service, nurses' role is greater than nursing aides'. Therefore, more extensive utilization of nurses is recommended for the efficient operation of general hospitals. (4) The factor of hospital beds plays the leading role among required inputs in the production for physician's in- and adjusted-patient service. (5) The physician's productivity of general hospitals in rural area is lower than that in urban area. And the productivity of teaching hospitals is lower than that of the other hospitals. Further analysis was made in physician production function based upon the size of hospitals, namely those hospitals below 250 beds and those above. Explained variances by the factor of hospital beds was significantly increased in the case of those hospitals above 250. A more detailed and thorough investigation is needed for verifying factors influencing physician's productivity in general hospitals in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.121-128
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• 1996

A feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of supplementing MAXIMINERAL(72)(MM), a cornmercial product of Ca, Mg-bentonite, to the broiler diet. One thousand hatched rnale broiler chickens(Cobb strain) were randomly assigned to 4 dietary treatments; MM 0% (control), MM 1%, MM 2%, and MM 2% + tricalciurnphosphate (CaP) 0.5%. Each treatment had 5 replicates of 50 birds each. Birds were grown on floor and fed ad libitum for 5 wk. Through the whole period, weight gain and feed intake were not significantly different among treatments. However, weight gain of MM 2% + CaP 0.5% group was highest and orthogonal contrast showed that the feed intake during the period of 0~2 wk was significantly(p<0.01) lower in MM supplemented groups than the control. Feed efficiency (feed /gain) of MM supplemented groups were significantly better than the control. Feed efficiency of the control was significantly(p<0.05) higher than MM 1% and MM 2% + CaP 0.5% groups but not different from MM 2% group. Contents of ash, Ca and P of tibia were not significantly different among treatments but that of P tended to be low in MM 1% and MM 2% groups. There were significant (p<0.01) differences in plasma alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity among treatments. The highest AP activity was shown in MM 2% + CaP 0.5% group followed by the control, MM 2% and MM 1% group. It was concluded that supplernentation of MM at the level of 1% of broiler diet significantly improves feed efficiency and adjustment of P level rnay further improve the performance of the broiler chickens.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.414-419
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• 2008

A feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effects of the addition of corn distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS) to broiler diets on growth performance and meat characteristics. A total of 3,200 d-old, unsexed Cobb-500 broiler chicks were randomly allotted to 16 pens (replicates), with 200 chicks per pen. There were four diet treatments (0, 5, 10, and 15% DDGS), and four replicates per treatment. From 8 to 21 d of age, the birds were fed broiler starter diets containing similar energy (TMEn 3,100 kcal/kg) and protein (21.6%) contents. From 22 to 35 d of age, they were fed grower diets containing similar nutrients (3,150 kcal/kg, 19.5% crude protein). No significant difference was found in growth performances among the four treatments. As the DDGS level increased, the concentration of unsaturated fatty acids in meat increased (p<0.05). The color scores of breast and thigh muscles were not significantly influenced by DDGS, however, the yellowness of shank increased significantly by the addition of DDGS. The hardness of breast and thigh meats was not affected by the addition of DDGS. It was shown that the use of DDGS in broiler diets up to 15% could decrease the feed cost by replacing part of corn and soybean meal, without any negative effect on growth performance and meat qualities.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.273-289
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• 2001

Given that the culture of the mathematics classroom has been perceived as an important topic in mathematics education research, this paper deals with the construct of sociomathematical norms which can be used as an analytical tool in understanding classroom mathematical culture. This paper first reviews the theoretical foundations of the construct such as symbolic interactionism and ethnomethodology, and describes the actual classroom contexts in which social and sociomathematical norms were originally identified. This paper then provides a critical analysis of the previous studies with regard to sociomathematical norms. Whereas such studies analyze how sociomathematical norms become constituted and stabilized in the specific classroom contexts, they tend to briefly document sociomathematical norms mainly as a precursor to the detailed analysis of classroom mathematical practice. This paper reveals that the trend stems from the following two facts. First, the construct of sociomathematical norms evolved out of a classroom teaching experiment in which Cobb and his colleagues attempted to account for students' conceptual loaming as it occurred in the social context of an inquiry mathematics classroom. Second, the researchers' main role was to design instructional devices and sequences of specific mathematical content and to support the classroom teacher to foster students' mathematical learning using those sequences Given the limitations in terms of the utility of sociomathematical norms, this paper suggests the possibility of positioning the sociomathematical norms construct as more centrally reflecting the quality of students' mathematical engagement in collective classroom processes and predicting their conceptual teaming opportunities. This notion reflects the fact that the construct of sociomathematical norms is intended to capture the essence of the mathematical microculture established in a classroom community rather than its general social structure. The notion also allows us to see a teacher as promoting sociomathematical norms to the extent that she or he attends to concordance between the social processes of the classroom, and the characteristically mathematical ways of engaging. In this way, the construct of sociomathematical norms include, but in no ways needs to be limited to, teacher's mediation of mathematics discussions.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.9
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• pp.1263-1266
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• 2002

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of some production factors on commercial production of Etawah Crossbred Goats (ECG) of Inpres Desa Tertinggal member groups (AKIDT) at Krasak, Pandansari, Brajan, and Kragilan villages in Boyolali regency, Central Java, Indonesia. The study was from February to April 2000. Eighty respondents of AKIDT were selected by simple random sampling and the data were analyzed using Cobb Douglas Production Function. The results showed that ECG production simultaneously were highly significant (p<0.01) influenced by amount of feed consumed (kg TDN/year, $x_1$), number of does of ECG (Animal Unit/year, $x_2$), number of kids and does/ barn/year (Animal Unit/year, $x_3$), labor use (man-days/year, $x_4$) and work capital (US$/year, $x_5$) with $R^2= 0.6568$. In addition, ECG production was partially influenced by $x_2$, $x_3$ and $x_5$ (p<0.01) and $x_1$ (p<0.05), but not significant (p>0.05) by $x_4$. Technically, production factors of $x_1$, $x_2$, $x_3$, $x_4$, $x_5$ had reached technique efficiency (0$x_1$, $x_3$, $x_4$, $x_5$ did not showed efficiency (Ep<1) and $x_2$ was not efficient yet.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.30 no.10
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• pp.1170-1176
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• 2001

Objective : The purpose of the study was to evaluate the clinical and radiological results after discectomy and Lubboc bone graft in the surgical management of the cervical diseases with a new titanium interbody implant and integrated screw fixation(PCB) by anterior approach. Methods : The authors retrospectively analyzed 28 cases of anterior cervical fusion with PCB system and Lubboc bone(xeno graft) from september 1998 to december 2000. Twenty-eight patients with cervical diseases underwent decompression cervical lesion and followed from 5 to 27 months with a mean follow-up of 14 months. There patients were evaluated with clinically and radiologically at immediate postoperative period and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. Result : The authors investigated the pre- and postoperative intervertebral disc space, clinical outcomes, radiography fusion rate, and Cobb angle in the fixed segments by anterior approach. The lordotic angles and height of disc space were increased after the operation. The clinical outcome of patients follow-up was good or excellent result based on Odom's criteria with improvement of clinical symptom in about 92.9% of the cervical diseases. Two patients showed loosening of the lower and upper cervical screw of PCB instruments, and two patients showed swallowing difficulty and wound infection Conclusion : The PCB system is a new implant for anterior cervical interbody fusion in the degenerative cervical disease and disc herniations. It provides immediate stability and segment distraction. The results of this study indicate that the PCB system is safe, easy handling of hardware, less complications, high fusion rate, and has provide the keeping the intervertebral disc space height and lordotic angles.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.20-23
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• 2012

Objective : To compare radiographic analysis on the sagittal lumbar curve when standing, sitting on a chair, and sitting on the floor. Methods : Thirty asymptomatic volunteers without a history of spinal pathology were recruited. The study population comprised 11 women and 19 men with a mean age of 29.8 years. An independent observer assessed whole lumbar lordosis (WL) and segmental lordosis (SL) between L1 and S1 using the Cobb's angle on lateral radiographs of the lumbar spine obtained from normal individuals when standing, sitting on a chair, and sitting on the floor. WL and SL at each segment were compared for each position. Results : WL when sitting on the floor was reduced by 72.9% than the average of that in the standing position. Of the total decrease in WL, 78% occurred between L4 to S1. There were significant decreases in SL at all lumbar spinal levels, except L1-2, when sitting on the floor as compared to when standing and sitting on a chair. Changes in WL between the positions when sitting on a chair and when sitting on the floor were mostly contributed by the loss of SL at the L4-5 and L5-S1 levels. Conclusion : When sitting on the floor, WL is relatively low; this is mostly because of decreasing lordosis at the L4-5 and L5-S1 levels. In the case of lower lumbar fusion, hyperflexion is expected at the adjacent segment when sitting on the floor. To avoid this, sitting with a lordotic lumbar curve is important. Surgeons should remember to create sufficient lordosis when performing lower lumbar fusion surgery in patients with an oriental life style.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.63 no.6
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• pp.767-776
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• 2020

Objective : The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of posterior cervical foraminotomy (PCF) for adjacent segmental disease (ASD) after anterior cervical fusion (ACF). As ACF is accepted as the standard treatment for cervical spondylosis, many studies have been conducted to evaluate the efficacy of various surgical techniques to overcome symptomatic ASD after the previous surgery. Herein, PCF was performed for the treatment of symptomatic ASD and the feasibility of the surgery was evaluated. Methods : Forty nine patients who underwent PCF due to symptomatic ASD from August 2008 to November 2017 were identified. For demographic and perioperative data, the sex, age, types of previous surgery, ASD levels, operation times, and bleeding amount were recorded. The clinical outcome was assessed using the visual analogue scale for the neck and arm, the modified Odom's criteria as well as neck disability index. Radiologic evaluations were performed by measuring disc softness, disc height, the cervical 2-7 sagittal vertical axis, cervical cobb angle, and facet violation. Results : Thirty-seven patients were enrolled in this study. The patients were divided into two groups based on the location of the pathology; paracentral (group P) or foramina (group F). Both groups showed significant clinical improvement (p<0.05). The proportion of calcified disc and facet violations was significantly larger in group F (p<0.05). The minimal disc height decrease with mild improvement on sagittal alignment and cervical lordosis was radiologically measured without statistical significance in both groups (p>0.05). Conclusion : PCF showed satisfactory clinical and radiologic outcomes for both paracentral and foraminal pathologies of ASD after ACF. Complications related to anterior revision were also avoided. PCF can be considered a feasible and safe surgical option for ASD after ACF.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.8
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• pp.1170-1177
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• 2002

An experiment was conducted to assess the interaction between genotypes and dietary lysine content in commercial broiler chicks by measuring growth, and response to sheep red blood cells (SRBC) and Escherichia coli (E.coli) inoculation. Female chicks from four genotypes (A=Anak 2000; B=Hubbard; C=Cobb and D=Synthetic broiler) were fed four levels of lysine in diet from d old till the end of experiment. The lysine content of the diet was 9.61, 10.51, 11.41 and 12.31 g/kg. Body weights at 0, 14, 28 and 42 d of age and pen-wise feed intake till 14, 28 and 42 d of age were recorded. Production of antibody against SRBC and resistance to E.coli were measured at 5 d of post inoculation (PI) at 43 d of age. Also, response to phytohemaglutinin-P (PHA-P) was measured at 12 and 24 h of PI at 48 d of age. Genotype by dietary lysine interaction was significant for body weights at 14 and 28 d of age, but not at 42 d of age. Genotype by dietary lysine interaction was not significant for feed efficiency, for antibody titers against SRBC, and for air sac lesion score, relative bodyweight change, and relative weights of bursa and spleen in response to E.coli inoculation. However, a significant interaction was observed between the levels of lysine and dosage of SRBC for antibody titers. There was significant genotype by dietary lysine interaction for cutaneous basophilic hypersensitivity (CBH) response to PHA-P at 12 and 24 h of PI. It may be concluded that to obtain optimum body weight and immunity in commercial broilers the dietary lysine requirement may be recommended specific to the genotype.