• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.338-348
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• 2023

Objective: Patients with a history of ischemic stroke are at risk for a second ischemic stroke. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between carotid plaque enhancement on perfluorobutane microbubble contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) and future recurrent stroke, and to determine whether plaque enhancement can contribute to risk assessment for recurrent stroke compared with the Essen Stroke Risk Score (ESRS). Materials and Methods: This prospective study screened 151 patients with recent ischemic stroke and carotid atherosclerotic plaques at our hospital between August 2020 and December 2020. A total of 149 eligible patients underwent carotid CEUS, and 130 patients who were followed up for 15-27 months or until stroke recurrence were analyzed. Plaque enhancement on CEUS was investigated as a possible risk factor for stroke recurrence and as a possible adjunct to ESRS. Results: During follow-up, 25 patients (19.2%) experienced recurrent stroke. Patients with plaque enhancement on CEUS had an increased risk of stroke recurrence events (22/73, 30.1%) compared to those without plaque enhancement (3/57, 5.3%), with an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 38.264 (95% confidence interval [CI]:14.975-97.767; P < 0.001) according to a multivariable Cox proportional hazards model analysis, indicating that the presence of carotid plaque enhancement was a significant independent predictor of recurrent stroke. When plaque enhancement was added to the ESRS, the HR for stroke recurrence in the high-risk group compared to that in the low-risk group (2.188; 95% CI, 0.025-3.388) was greater than that of the ESRS alone (1.706; 95% CI, 0.810-9.014). A net of 32.0% of the recurrence group was reclassified upward appropriately by the addition of plaque enhancement to the ESRS. Conclusion: Carotid plaque enhancement was a significant and independent predictor of stroke recurrence in patients with ischemic stroke. Furthermore, the addition of plaque enhancement improved the risk stratification capability of the ESRS.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.187-192
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• 2024

This research aimed to investigate the relationship between meat quality and muscle-to-fat ratio in specific cuts of pork (pork belly and Boston butt) utilizing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Twenty-eight pigs were selected, and 24 hours post-slaughter, pork belly and Boston butt samples were individually extracted from the left half carcass for MRI assessment. The MRI scans were reviewed using the Picture Archiving and Communications System. Muscle and fat volumes in the pork belly and Boston butt from the cross-sectional images captured by MRI were estimated using Vitrea workstation version 7. Subsequently, these data were processed using Vitrea post-processing software to automatically determine the volumes, measured in milliliters (mL). Additionally, a three-dimensional reconstruction of the organ being studied was generated. The relationship between regions (pork belly and Boston butt) was assessed using Pearson's correlation coefficient, and statistical analysis was conducted using Graph Pad Prism 8. The muscle-to-fat ratio determined by MRI for pork belly was 1 : 0.64, whereas for Boston butt it was 1 : 0.35. Results of comparing the muscle-fat ratio, the correlation coefficient between pork belly and Boston butt was found to be 0.6127 (R² = 0.3754, p < 0.001) based on MRI analysis. As a result of measuring the muscle-to-fat ratio using MRI as a non-destructive approach, there was a positive correlation between the muscle-to-fat ratios of pork belly and Boston butt.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.95-103
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• 2001

연구목적: 본 연구는 생쥐 preantral follicles의 체외 배양 조건을 확립하고 이를 기초로 높은 체외 발달률 그리고 산자 생산률을 얻고자 하였다. 연구재료 및 방법 : Preantral follicles의 oocyte-granulosa cell complexes (OGCs)는 생후 12일된 FI ($C57BL{\times}CBA$)으로부터 난소를 적출하여 효소를 이용한 방법을 통해 획득하였다. 회수된 complexes는 10일 또는 12일 동안 체외 성장을 위해 Transwell-COL membrane insert로 옮겨졌고 5% FBS, 100 mIU/ml FSH, 100 mIU/ml hMC가 첨가된 ${\alpha}MEM$에서 배양되었다. 체외 성숙을 위해 1.5 IU/ml hCG가 첨가된 ${\alpha}MEM$에서 18 hrs 배양을 실시하였다. 그 후 M16에서 수정능력이 획득된 정자와 수정을 하여 4 hrs, 7 hts, 9 hrs 후에 10% FBS가 첨가된 modified M16 배양액에서 4일간 배양하거나 또는 bovine cumulus cell과 co-culture를 실시하였다. 그리고 형태적으로 정상적인 22개의 상실배와 포배를 2마리의 위임신 대리모 (ICR)의 자궁에 이식하여 산자 생산을 유도하였다. 결과: 1) OGCs 크기가 mouse preantral follicles의 핵 및 세포질 성숙에 미치는 영향을 조사하였을 때 $120{\sim}150{\mu}m$의 preantral follicles (MII: 33.0%, 난할률: 36.7%, 상실배 이상; 20.9%)은 핵 및 세포질 성숙에 있어서 $70{\sim}110{\mu}m$ (MII: 12.2%, 난할률: 10.2%, 상실배 이상: 4.8%)보다 더 높았다(p<0.001). 2)체외 성장기간의 연장이 mouse preantral follicles의 핵 및 세포질 성숙에 미치는 영향을 조사하였을 때 10일 (난할률: 38.2%)은 12일 (난할률: 20.0%)보다 난할률에서만 더 높았다 (p<0.01). 3) 체외 수정 시간의 연장이 mouse preantral follicle의 세포질 성숙에 미치는 영향을 조사하였을 때 9 hrs (난할룰 31.5%, 상실배 이상: 14.3%)은 4 hrs (난할률: 17.5%, 상실배 이상: 4.8%), 7 hrs (난할률: 20.4%, 상실배 이상: 6.1%) 보다 세포질성숙에 있어서 유의하게 높은 발달률을 나타냈다 (p<0.01). 4) 공배양이 mouse preantral follicle의 세포질성숙에 미치는 영향을 조사하였을 때 공배양 (상실배 이상: 17.4%)을 실시했을 때와 M16 (상실배 이상17.4%)에서 배양되었을 때는 차이가 없었다. 5)preantral follicle의 크기 ($120{\sim}150{\mu}m$), 체외 성장기간 (10일), 체외 수정 기간 (9시간), 배양 환경 (단지 medium만 존재)의 적절한 결과들을 종합하여 수행하였을 때 MII 성숙률, 난할률, 상실배 이상의 발달률은 30.2%, 39.3%, 22.5%이었고 총 22개의 상실배 및 포배를 2마리의 대리모에 이식했을 때 1마리가 임신했고 1마리의 산자를 생산했다. 결론: 따라서, 본 실험은 preantral follicle을 이용한 체외 배양 시스템이 생쥐 oocyte를 공급하는 또 다른 방법으로 효과적으로 이용될 수 있다는 것을 시사한다.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.101-106
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• 2005

Purpose: The number of the deceased from free-fall is increasing nowadays. Free-fall comes to a great social problem in that even the survivor will be suffering for cord injury or brain injury, and so on. We analyzed the cases of free-fall patients to find out whether the injury severity is mainly correlated with the height of fall. Methods: We retrospectively investigated the characteristics of patients, who fall from the height above 2m from January 2000 to August 2004. We excluded the patients who transferred to other hospital, transferred from other hospital, and not known the height of fall. 145 patients were evaluated. Variables included in data analysis were age, height of fall, injury severity score (ISS), the being of barrier, and the survival or not. To find out the correlation between height of fall and death, we used receive operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis. Results: The mean age of patients was $36.5{\pm}19.4$ years old. 110 were male and 35 were female. Mean height of fall was $11.1{\pm}8.5m$. 51 patients (35.2%) were died and 30 patients of them (58.9%) got emergency room on dead body. The mean height of fall is $8.9{\pm}5.8m$ for 94 survivors and $15.2{\pm}11.0m$ for the 51 deceased (p<0.001). The area under the ROC curve was 0.646, which means the height of fall was not adequate factor for predicting for death. At 13.5m, as cut?off value, sensitivity is 52.9%, specificity is 86.2%, positive predictive value is 67.5% and negative predictive value is 77.1%. There were statistical differences in mortality rate and ISS between 'below 13.5m group' and 'above 13.5m group', but there was not statistical difference in head and neck AIS. Conclusion: The height of fall is not adequate factor for prediction of death. So other factors like intoxication or not, the being of barrier or protection device need to be evaluated for predicting of free-fall patient's death.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 1986

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the Marital Satisfaction Scale(M.S.S) is properly applicable to Korean couples and further to be devoted to the designed of a marital satisfaction scale for Korea. The scale employed in this study was a Korean adaptation of the M.S.S., which originally included 73 items but was reduced to 48 through a study of its validity by Bowden. This scale was administered to 420 couples. One kindergarten, two elementary schools, one middle school, and four high schools, all of them located in Seoul or its satellite cities were selected for the present study. The results of the study were as follows. 1) Through item analysis, 85.4% of the total items showed a high index of discrimination, i.e, of more than +.40, which all was significant discrimination (P<0.001) excluding two items. 2)Factor analysis, which was oriented toward combining factors proper to theory, showed that the M.S.S. consisted of 6 factors and its total variance was 50.18%. The 6 factors were marital satisfaction (factor 1), marital social psychological companionship (factor 2), obstacles to marriage (factor 3), dissatisfaction of marital relationship (factor 4), attitude of the reasonable marital relationship (factor 5), and cognition of married life (factor 6), 3) internal consistency reliability of the M.S.S. was 0.951 and the reliability of the total items after excluding two through item analysis 0.956 and 0.949 respectively, which showed a high internal consistency 4) The marital satisfaction examined by the M.S.S showed significant differences according to sex, education , income, the duration of marriage, the number of children but no significant differences according to age, and family type. From these results, it will be concluded that the M.S.S is a reliable and valid psychological scale for examining marital satisfaction of Korean couples. The limitations of this study were as follows. 1) It can not be generalized to all Korean couples because the subjects was sampled from Seoul or satellite cities. 2)The factor analysis in this study was oriented toward combining factors proper to theory. However, it was very difficult to find out the factors because the components of the M.S.S. was more or less abstract. Thus, from these results some suggestions follow for developing the marital satisfaction scale proper to Korean couples systematically and scientifically. 1) The subjects must be sampled form urban as well as rural areas 2)Factor analysis in this study is oriented toward finding out factors of the M.S.S. Thus, it is needed to analyze the factor validity or construct validity by multitrait - multimethod of the scale with more theoretical conceptualization. 3) It is necessary to examine whether marital satisfaction shows difference according to couples and psychological variables besides objective demographic variables. 4) More research is needed before the M.S.S. con be adapted into a turely useful marital satisfaction scale for Korea.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.9
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• pp.3911-3914
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• 2014

Background: To determine the potential clinical utility of tumor markers CEA, TPA, and SCC-Ag for early detection of cervical precancerous lesions. Materials and Methods: A case-control study was carried out on 120 women (46 patients with histologically confirmed cervical precancerous lesions and 74 healthy controls). The significance of serum selected tumor markers in early detection of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) were assessed. Results: Of the case group, the rates of CIN I, II, III, was 69.6%, 23.9%, and 6.5%, respectively. According to the manufacturer's cut-off values of 2ng/ml, 5ng/ml, and 70 U/ml for SCC-Ag, CEA and TPA tests, in that order, SCC-Ag test had a sensitivity of 13%, but CEA and TPA tests could not distinguish between case and control groups. The diagnostic sensitivities were highest at cut-off values of 0.55 ng/ml for SCC-Ag, 2.6ng/ml for CEA, and 25.5 U/ml for TPA which were 93%, 61%, and 50%, respectively. However, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was the largest for SCC-Ag (0.95 vs. 0.61 and 0.60 for CEA and TPA, respectively). Moreover, there was a highly significant direct correlation between SCC-Ag concentration and the degree of cervical precancerous lesions (r=0.847, p<0.001). Conclusions: The new cutoff of 0.5 for SCC-Ag test might be useful as a tumor marker in Iranian patients with CIN and it needs to be more evaluated by studies with larger populationa.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.162-170
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• 2017

Purpose: To evaluate the imaging findings of desmoid tumors using various imaging modalities and to evaluate whether diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) can help differentiate between desmoid and malignant tumors. Materials and Methods: The study included 27 patients with pathologically confirmed desmoid tumors. Two radiologists reviewed 23 computed tomography (CT), 12 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and 8 positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) scans of desmoid tumors and recorded data regarding the shape, multiplicity, size, location, degree of enhancement, and presence or absence of calcification or hemorrhage. The signal intensity of masses on T1- and T2-weighted imaging and the presence or absence of whirling or band-like low signal intensity on T2-weighted imaging were recorded. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of the desmoid tumors in nine patients with DWIs were compared with the ADC values of 32 malignant tumors. The maximum standardized uptake value ($SUV_{max}$) on PET-CT images was measured in 8 patients who underwent a PET-CT. Results: The mean size of the 27 tumors was 6.77 cm (range, 2.5-26 cm) and four tumors exhibited multiplicity. The desmoid tumors were classified by shape as either mass forming (n = 18), infiltrative (n = 4), or combined (n = 5). The location of the tumors was either intra-abdominal (n = 15), within the abdominal wall (n = 8) or extra-abdominal (n = 4). Among the 27 tumors, 21 showed moderate to marked enhancement and 22 showed homogeneous enhancement. Two tumors showed calcifications and one displayed hemorrhage. Eleven of the 12 MR T2-weighted images showed whirling or band-like low signal intensity areas in the mass. The mean ADC value of the desmoid tumors ($1493{\times}10^{-6}mm^2/s$) was significantly higher than the mean of the malignant soft tissue tumors ($873{\times}10^{-6}mm^2/s$, P < 0.001). On the PET-CT images, all tumors exhibited an intermediate $SUV_{max}$ (mean, 3.7; range, 2.3-4.5). Conclusion: Desmoids tumors showed homogenous, moderate to marked enhancement on CT and MRI scans and a characteristic whirling or band-like pattern on T2-weighted images. DWI can be useful for the differentiation of desmoid tumors from malignant soft tissue tumors.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.202-209
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• 2017

Background No consensus exists on the optimal treatment protocol for orofacial clefts or the optimal timing of cleft palate closure. This study investigated factors influencing speech outcomes after two-stage palate repair in adults with a non-syndromal complete unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP). Methods This was a retrospective analysis of adult patients with a UCLP who underwent two-stage palate closure and were treated at our tertiary cleft centre. Patients ${\geq}17$ years of age were invited for a final speech assessment. Their medical history was obtained from their medical files, and speech outcomes were assessed by a speech pathologist during the follow-up consultation. Results Forty-eight patients were included in the analysis, with a mean age of 21 years (standard deviation, 3.4 years). Their mean age at the time of hard and soft palate closure was 3 years and 8.0 months, respectively. In 40% of the patients, a pharyngoplasty was performed. On a 5-point intelligibility scale, 84.4% received a score of 1 or 2; meaning that their speech was intelligible. We observed a significant correlation between intelligibility scores and the incidence of articulation errors (P<0.001). In total, 36% showed mild to moderate hypernasality during the speech assessment, and 11%-17% of the patients exhibited increased nasalance scores, assessed through nasometry. Conclusions The present study describes long-term speech outcomes after two-stage palatoplasty with hard palate closure at a mean age of 3 years old. We observed moderate long-term intelligibility scores, a relatively high incidence of persistent hypernasality, and a high pharyngoplasty incidence.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.546-559
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• 2016

This study was conducted to analyze the relationship between sleep quality, stress response, physical activity and sleep hygiene in shift work nurses and identify factors influencing sleep quality. The participants were 168 shift nurses from university hospitals and general hospitals located in C city, Gyeongnam. Data were collected from March 25 to 31, 2016. The study instrument use to the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Stress Response Inventory, Korean version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form and Sleep Hygiene Scale. Date were analyzed by frequency, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation and hierarchical multiple regression using SPSS/win18.0. The sleep quality index was 7.35 (range 0-21), stress response was 2.20 (range 1-5), physical activity was 3986MET-min/week, and sleep hygiene was 2.73 (range 1-6 points). There were significant differences in sleep quality according to shift work experience, health status and circadian rhythm type. Factors influencing sleep quality included shift work experience, sleep hygiene, stress response and physical activity, which together explained 40% of the total variance of sleep quality. Therefore, it is recommended that sleep hygiene education be implemented as a strategy to reduce stress response, and that shift work nurses engage in a moderate level of physical activity to improve their sleep quality.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.41-70
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to identify a tendency in patients who seek oriental medical service and factors influencing patient satisfaction. The study was conducted with 1,520 residents of a community during the period from February 5, 2005 through June 30, 2005 using a questionnaire. This study results are summarized as follows : 1. Of subjects who sought oriental medical service, 66.2% had musculoskeletal disorder and connective tissue disease, 18.9% had digestive tract disease, 16.4% had respiratory disease, 8.2% had endocrinemetabolic disease, 7.5% had circulatory disease and the remaining subjects had other diseases(p<0.001). 2. Of subjects who sought oriental medical service for the treatment of musculoskeletal disorder, 84.9% preferred acupuncture. Of those who had digestive tract diseases, 47.0% preferred packaged herbal medicine. Of those who had respiratory disease, 63.0% preferred packaged herbal medicine. 3. Acupuncture was the most often sought by subjects with musculoskeletal disorder. Packaged herbal medicine was sought by subjects with respiratory disease, digestive tract disease, endocrine-metabolic disease or circulatory disease. Tablet-type herbal medicine was sought by subjects with musculoskeletal disorder or digestive tract disease. Combined therapy was sought by subjects with musculoskeletal disorder, digestive tract disease, hematopoietic disease or immune disorder. 4. The level of satisfaction with oriental medical service was higher in subjects with circulatory disease, subjects with digestive tract disease, subjects with neurological disorder and subjects with musculoskeletal disorder in descending order. Of total subjects, 39.4% experienced side effects of oriental medical care, 38.1% experienced side effects of herbal medicine. About 51.9% considered the price of herbal medicine costly while 23.2% considered it reasonable. 5. Subjects' knowledge of herbal medicine was measured as $29.2{\pm}3.83$ out of 42 scores or 69 out of 100 points, indicating a low knowledge level. Subjects' knowledge was influenced by occupation, religion, side effects, sex, age, residence area, the type of insurance. These variables explained 15.2% of the variance. 7. Of total subjects, 56.8% were satisfied with oriental medical service. Patient satisfaction varied with occupation, religion, the type of insurance, health state and treatment outcomes. These variables explained 37.3% of the variance. Conclusion : The majority of subjects were satisfied with oriental medical service. However, oriental medical care are not widely used to treat all kinds of diseases while its use skews to a small categories of diseases. It is therefore necessary for the government and oriental medical service providers to develop new therapy approaches for the treatment of a broader range of diseases.