• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.59-62
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• 2007

Electroencephalogram (EEG) is an indispensable tool for diagnosis of epilepsy and is the only assisting barometer of complete remission of epilepsy, which means prolonged, persistent suppression of cortical excitement in epileptic focus in addition to the clinical control of epileptic seizure. The specific morphologies or distribution of epileptic form discharges give us good information for the classification of seizure or epilepsy and epileptic syndromes, which consists of "Pros." in terms of diagnostic approach. In contrast, the EEG as a tool for long-term follow up might be limited due to the various clinical situation of each patient, which consists of "Cons." in terms of the usefulness of EEG for clinical decision. "Cons." aspect of EEG, which clinicians are more frequently coped with than those of "Pros", is an obstacle of utilization of follow up EEG in clinical practice. This is an overview about controversies in usefulness of EEG and the detailed aspects of "Pros." and "Cons." of EEG for clinical decision will be discussed following two articles. We tried to make consensus for the usefulness of EEG especially in the situation of "Cons." with plausible guideline.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.88-95
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• 2005

Even though the echocardiograph has been recognized as the method of choice among various diagnostic tools to detect congestive heart failure (CHF), there were some limitations in relation to the consumption of time, labor and process. We analyzed results of N-terminal probrain-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and various parameters of the echocardiographic findings to clarify the diagnostic usefulness of NT-proBNP in detecting patients with CHF. We analyzed the sera from total of 242 cases from in-patients and out-patients, which were requested from the cardiovascular section of department of Internal Medicine at Chungnam National University Hospital from March 2003 to May 2004. The procedures were performed in order as shown below; sampling, NT-proBNP analysis, data acquisition and data analysis. All data including personal information and echocardiographic findings ware acquired by medical record review. When classifying the study population into six groups according to the degree of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), the serum level of NT-proBNP was higher in the group with 51-60% of LVEF (P=0.023). There were low correlation between the serum level of NT-proBNP and various parameters of the echocardiographic findings with LVESD (r=0.1513), LVEDD (r=0.0831), LVEF (r=0.2035), IVST (r=0.03) and LVPWT (r=0.0728), respectively. When comparing NT-proBNP with atrial and/or ventricular enlargement, the patient group with both left atrial and left ventricular enlargement (p=0.186) or only left atrial (p=0.105) or only left ventricular enlargement (p=0.256) showed higher level of NT-proBNP without statistical significance than patient group with no enlargement. Searching the optimal cutoff of the serum level of NT-proBNP, the sensitivity (98.9%) and the specificity (100%) was highest at the cutoff of 300 pg/mL than any other cutoffs. These findings suggested that the analysis of NT-proBNP in serum might detect the patients with CHF earlier than with the echocardiograph, especially in patients with asymptomatic or mild symptomatic CHF. In conclusion, NT-proBNP test was proved to be clinically useful to diagnose CHF patients.

• Journal of Industrial Convergence
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.87-94
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to predict the usefulness and predictable effects of the use of dementia prevention games and dementia management applications provided in smart-phones for the elderly. First, 6 dementia diagnostic tools used to verify the effectiveness of the dementia prevention program were selected and the cognitive domains tested by each diagnostic tool were extracted. Second, 29 smart-phone dementia prevention game applications and dementia management applications were selected and the expected effects after using these applications were analyzed in connection with the cognitive domain extracted from the dementia diagnosis tool. As a result, it was expected that it would be helpful to manage dementia prevention by improving cognitive function in certain areas when playing games or managing dementia continuously using smart-phone dementia prevention applications. Smart-phone dementia prevention applications will be useful in improving the cognitive ability of the elderly and preventing dementia by supplementing the limitations of the dementia prevention program that is operated offline through time-space ease of use, continuous usability and economic feasibility.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.79-86
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• 2018

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical usefulness of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) as an alternative testing of invasive diagnostic testing in pregnancies with ultrasound abnormalities. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study of pregnant women with abnormal ultrasound findings before 24 weeks of gestation between April 2016 and March 2017. Abnormal ultrasound findings included isolated increased nuchal translucency, structural anomalies, and soft markers. The NIPT or diagnostic test was conducted and NIPT detected trisomy 21 (T21), T18, T13 and sex chromosomal abnormalities. We analyzed the false positive and residual risks of NIPT based on the ultrasound findings. Results: During the study period, 824 pregnant women had abnormal ultrasound findings. Among the study population, 139 patients (16.9%) underwent NIPT. When NIPT was solely performed in the patients with abnormal ultrasound findings, overall false positive risk was 2.2% and this study found residual risks of NIPT. However, the discordant results of NIPT differed according to the type of abnormal ultrasound findings. Discordant results were significant in the group with structural anomalies with 4.4% false positive rate. However, no discordant results were found in the group with single soft markers. Conclusion: This study found different efficacy of NIPT according to the ultrasound findings. The results emphasize the importance of individualized counseling for prenatal screening or diagnostic test based on the type of abnormal ultrasound.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.49-53
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• 1999

To inquire its usefulness of the clinical application of intelligent replenishment system of automatic X-ray film processor based on film density, we processed the serial 300 sheets of radiographic film of chest [$14{\times}14"$, HR-C type] and bone [elbow & ankle($8{\times}10"$), skull($10{\times}12"$), hand & foot($11{\times}14"$), pelvis($14{\times}17"$), HR-G type, 68, 70, 77, 85 sheets respectively]. We analyzed the characteristic corves, relative speeds, average gradients and base plus fog densities every twenty five sheets. We also evaluated the developer and fixer replenishment volumes every that time. In the chest and bone radiograph two all, the characteristic curves were little change, and the relative speeds, average gradients and base plus fog densities were within the maximum control limits. The average developer replenishment volumes were about 43m1/sheet and 39m1/sheet respectively. It brings decreased results about 29% in comparison with the conventional replenishment system. In our experiences, we conclude that the intelligent replenishment system of automatic X-ray film processor based on film density maintains image quality consistently, decreases also the replenishment volumes. Therefore, this system will be resulted in economic and environmental effects, and solve problems of over and low replenishment volume.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.669-676
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• 2004

To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of two commercial ELISA tests (Allied- and CSL-ELISA) for the diagnosis of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis in cattle, Meta-analysis using English language papers published during 1990-2001 was performed. Diagnostic odds ratios (DOR) were analyzed using regression analysis together with summary receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The difference in diagnostic performance between the two ELISA systems was evaluated by using linear regression. Publication bias was assessed by funnel plot and linear regression. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 44% (95% CI, 38 to 51) and 98% (95% CI, 96 to 99) for the random-effect model. The DOR between studies was heterogeneous. The area under the fitted ROC curve (AUC) was 0.72 for the unweighted and 0.77 for the weighted model. Maximum joint sensitivity and specificity for the unweighted and weighted model from their summary ROC curve were 70% and 75%, respectively. Based on the fitted model, at a specificity of 95%, sensitivity was estimated to be 52% for the unweighted and 57% for the weighted model. From the final multivariable model study characteristic, the country was the only significant variable with an explained component variance of 13.3%. There were no significant differences in discriminatory power, sensitivity, and specificity between the two ELISA tests. The overall diagnostic accuracy of two commercial ELISA tests was moderate, as judged by the AUC, maximum joint sensitivity and specificity, and estimates from the fitted model and clinical usefulness of the tests for screening program is limited because of low sensitivity and heterogeneous of DOR. It is, therefore, recommended to use ELISA tests as a parallel testing with other diagnostic tests together to increase test sensitivity in the screening program.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.5-9
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• 2001

Over-density of pancreatic duct tail part on the endoscopic retrograde pancreatogram results from patient's position and inserted air during the study. The aim of this paper is to decide the filter angle to obtain an uniform density. Endoscopic retrograde pancreatography was performed to 234 patients, and angled wedge filter was used differently. They are $10^{\circ}$ (47), $20^{\circ}$ (45), $30^{\circ}$ (50), and $40^{\circ}$ (50). We also did not use wedge filter to 42 patients. We decided reliance degree in 95%. The statistical difference was p<0.05. The patients' sex rate was 1.8 : 1 between 18 and 87 years old(average age 58 years). Their body girth was 18.71 cm on the average. Of total 234 patients, difference of right and left average density was 0.01 by $30^{\circ}$ wedge filter, -0.08 $40^{\circ}$ wedge filter and 0.27 non-wedge filter. These average values of difference density were very significant statistically, and standard deviation also was close to regular distribution. In conclusion, there is a usefulness of angled wedge filter for increasing diagnostic value of pancreatic duct tall part on the endoscopic retrograde pancreatogram.

• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.665-682
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• 2005

The sample reuse bootstrap technique has been successful to attract both applied and theoretical statisticians since its origination. In recent years a good deal of attention has been focused on the applications of bootstrap methods in regression analysis. It is easier but more accurate computation methods heavily depend on high-speed computers and warrant tough mathematical justification for their validity. It is now evident that the presence of multiple unusual observations could make a great deal of damage to the inferential procedure. We suspect that bootstrap methods may not be free from this problem. We at first present few examples in favour of our suspicion and propose a new method diagnostic-before-bootstrap method for regression purpose. The usefulness of our newly proposed method is investigated through few well-known examples and a Monte Carlo simulation under a variety of error and leverage structures.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.103-106
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• 1996

Although exfoliative colonic cytology for the diagnosis of colorectal cancer has been largely abandoned due to the widespread use of colonoscopy, some authors still insiston the usefulness of colon lavage fluid. We tried evaluating the diagnostic feasibility of colon lavage fluid cytology using an orally administered balanced electrolyte solution. We collected colon lavage fluids in 106 patients prior to colonoscopy and reviewed the slides. Cytologic examination revealed neoplastic cells in 7 of 16(44%) cases of endoscopically proven adenocarcinoma patients. Therefore, we thin cytologic study of colon lavage fluid may be considered as one of the noninvasive diagnostic tools in colorectal cancer.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.1225-1232
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• 1990

From March 1986 to June 1990, the percutaneous Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy[FNAB] of 102 thoracic lesions were performed with Westcott needle [slotted 20G or 22G thin needle], for the purpose of identifying and diagnosing thoracic lesions. There were 94 lung lesions [67 malignant tumors, 27 benign lesions] and 8 mediastinal and chest wall lesions. The results of FNAB were compared with sputum cytology and bronchoscopic examinations. The sputum cytologic examinations were performed in 54 cases of malignant lung tumor and the malignant cell was found at the 18 cases [33%]. We bronchoscopic examinations were performed in 24 cases and the malignant cell was found at the 12 cases [55%]. The positive diagnostic rate of malignancy was 100% by FNAB. Among them, 55 cases [82%] were diagnosed by cytologic examinations and 43 cases[64%] by both. The specific diagnoses for benign lung lesions in 15 cases[55%] and for mediastinal and chest well lesions in 5 cases[62%]. The 7 patients[6.9%] developed the pneumothorax and 5 of them required the treatment. Therefore, the FNAB of thoracic lesions may be a preferred diagnostic method because of its safety, simplicity and accuracy.