• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.11-50
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• 2023

As the field of interventional pain management (IPM) grows, the risk of surgical site infections (SSIs) is increasing. SSI is defined as an infection of the incision or organ/space that occurs within one month after operation or three months after implantation. It is also common to find patients with suspected infection in an outpatient clinic. The most frequent IPM procedures are performed in the spine. Even though primary pyogenic spondylodiscitis via hematogenous spread is the most common type among spinal infections, secondary spinal infections from direct inoculation should be monitored after IPM procedures. Various preventive guidelines for SSI have been published. Cefazolin, followed by vancomycin, is the most commonly used surgical antibiotic prophylaxis in IPM. Diagnosis of SSI is confirmed by purulent discharge, isolation of causative organisms, pain/tenderness, swelling, redness, or heat, or diagnosis by a surgeon or attending physician. Inflammatory markers include traditional (C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and white blood cell count) and novel (procalcitonin, serum amyloid A, and presepsin) markers. Empirical antibiotic therapy is defined as the initial administration of antibiotics within at least 24 hours prior to the results of blood culture and antibiotic susceptibility testing. Definitive antibiotic therapy is initiated based on the above culture and testing. Combination antibiotic therapy for multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria infections appears to be superior to monotherapy in mortality with the risk of increasing antibiotic resistance rates. The never-ending war between bacterial resistance and new antibiotics is continuing. This article reviews prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infection in pain medicine.

• Archives of Craniofacial Surgery
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.37-40
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• 2023

Penetrating wounds to the face are cosmetically devastating and can be life-threatening. If the foreign body causing the penetrating wound is a piece of wood, small remnants might be left behind after the initial treatment. A 33-year-old male patient presented to the emergency center after a piece of lumber pierced his face as a passenger in a traffic accident. The patient's vital signs were stable, and emergency surgery was performed to remove the foreign body and repair the soft tissue. No noteworthy complications were seen after open reduction and internal fixation of the facial bone fractures. Seven months after the accident, the patient underwent scar revision along with full-thickness skin grafting for post-traumatic scars. After the surgery, pus-like discharge which was not previously present was observed, and the graft did not take well. A residual foreign body, which was the cause of graft failure, was found on computed tomography and the remaining foreign body was removed through revision surgery. The patient is receiving outpatient follow-up without any complications 6 months after surgery. This case demonstrates the importance of performing a careful evaluation to avoid missing a residual foreign body, especially if it is of wooden nature.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.184-193
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• 2023

This study investigates the effects of a carbon fiber layer formed on the surface of an etched aluminum current collector on the electrochemical properties of the activated carbon electrodes for an electric double layer capacitor. A particle size analyzer, field-emission SEM, and nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherm analyzer are employed to analyze the structure of the carbon fiber layer. The electric and electrochemical properties of the activated carbon electrodes using a carbon fiber layer are evaluated using an electrode resistance meter and a charge-discharge tester, respectively. To uniformly coat the surface with carbon fiber, we applied a planetary mill process, adjusted the particle size, and prepared the carbon paste by dispersing in a binder. Subsequently, the carbon paste was coated on the surface of the etched aluminum current collector to form the carbon under layer, after which an activated carbon slurry was coated to form the electrodes. Based on the results, the interface resistance of the EDLC cell made of the current collector with the carbon fiber layer was reduced compared to the cell using the pristine current collector. The interfacial resistance decreased from 0.0143 Ω·cm² to a maximum of 0.0077 Ω·cm². And degradation reactions of the activated carbon electrodes are suppressed in the 3.3 V floating test. We infer that it is because the improved electric network of the carbon fiber layer coated on the current collector surface enhanced the electron collection and interfacial diffusion while protecting the surface of the cathode etched aluminum; thereby suppressing the formation of Al-F compounds.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.727-730
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• 2023

The operation of electric automatic windows is used in harsh environments, and the energy density decreases as charging and discharging are repeated, and as soundness deteriorates due to damage to the internal separator, the vehicle's mileage decreases and the charging speed slows down, so about 5 to 10 Batteries that have been used for about a year are classified as waste batteries, and for this reason, as the risk of battery fire and explosion increases, it is essential to diagnose batteries and estimate SOH. Estimation of current battery SOH is a very important content, and it evaluates the state of the battery by measuring the time, temperature, and voltage required while repeatedly charging and discharging the battery. There are disadvantages. In this paper, measurement of discharge capacity (C-rate) using a waste battery of a Tesla car in order to predict SOH estimation of a lithium-ion battery. A Support Vector Machine (SVM), one of the machine models, was applied using the data measured from the waste battery.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.19-29
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• 2023

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to retrospectively analyze 3 years of inpatient ophthalmology consultation to Korean medicine ophthalmology, otolaryngology & dermatology department in Korean medicine hospital. Methods : We classified ophthalmological inpatient consultations between September 1st, 2019 and August 31st, 2022, based on electronic medical record by gender, age, hospitalized department, categories of diseases. Results : Total number of consultations were 111, and the average of age was 63.6. The proportion of female and male were 2.5:1. Among the 136 cases of eye disease referred, lacriminal production and discharge diseases accounted for the most at 54 cases(39.7%), of which 44 cases were dry eyes syndrome. Excluding dry eye syndrome, conjunctival disease occurred the most with 24 cases(17.6%). Consultations from department of Korean rehabilitation medicine, and Korean internal medicine were most common, because they have a comparatively large number of inpatients and long hospitalization period. Conclusions : This study identified the frequency of consultation and the disease group with many requests for each department. When inpatients complain of eye disease, consultation to Korean medicine ophthalmology, otolaryngology & dermatology department should be encouraged as accurate diagnosis and treatment using specialized equipment is possible and can be used for the purpose of progress observation and examination.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.477-485
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• 2023

In this paper, the effect of AC ripple on the lifetime of lithium-ion batteries is experimentally analyzed. Bidirectional power conversion system(PCS) is used to increase the efficiency of energy storage systems (ESS). When connected to the grid, a current ripple with a frequency twice the grid frequency is applied to the battery due to its structure. Therefore, to analyze the effect of AC ripple on Li-ion battery aging, cycle life test are performed by applying charge/discharge profiles of DC current and DC+AC current ripple specifications. Based on the experimental results, direct current internal resistance (DCIR), incremental capacitance (IC), and surface temperature were analyzed. As a result, it is confirmed that AC ripple does not directly affect degradation and that battery degradation slows down after a certain cycle. These results can serve as a guideline for optimizing filters to reduce ripple on the battery side in applications where AC ripple occurs.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.414-419
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• 2023

Background: The recurrence of ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) in patients who have already undergone treatment with antiarrhythmic medication, catheter ablation, and the insertion of implantable cardioverter defibrillators is not uncommon. Recent studies have shown that bilateral cardiac sympathetic denervation (BCSD) effectively treats VAs. However, only a limited number of studies have confirmed the safety of BCSD as a viable therapeutic option for VAs. Methods: This single-center study included 10 patients, who had a median age of 54 years (interquartile range [IQR], 45-65 years) and a median ejection fraction of 58.5% (IQR, 56.2%-60.8%), with VAs who underwent video-assisted BCSD. BCSD was executed as a single-stage surgery for 8 patients, while the remaining 2 patients initially underwent left cardiac sympathetic denervation followed by right cardiac sympathetic denervation. We evaluated postoperative complications, the duration of hospital stays, and VA-related symptoms before and after surgery. Results: The median hospital stay after surgery was 2 days (IQR, 2-3 days). The median surgical time for BCSD was 113 minutes (IQR, 104-126 minutes). No significant complications occurred during hospitalization or after discharge. During the median follow-up period of 13.5 months (IQR, 10.5-28.0 months) from surgery, no VA-related symptoms were observed in 70% of patients. Conclusion: The benefits of a short postoperative hospitalization and negligible complications make BCSD a safe, alternative therapeutic option for patients suffering from refractory VAs.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.117-122
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• 2024

A 3-year-old spayed female Russian blue cat was presented for dyspnea, nasal discharge, and stertorous breathing. Plain thoracic radiography revealed no specific findings. Computed tomography (CT) was performed to differentiate upper airway tract disorders. It revealed the presence of an iso-attenuating mass measuring 10.0 × 7.9 × 15.6 mm, with mild homogeneous contrast enhancement occupying the rostral nasopharynx. The mass was surgically debulked via a longitudinal incision in the soft palate. Histopathological and immunohistochemistry analysis of the surgically excised mass revealed CD3-/CD79a+ B cell lymphoma with an incomplete margin. The patient underwent hypofractionated radiation therapy, receiving a total of 36 Gray (Gy) in 6 Gy fractions over a six-week period. A follow-up CT examination was performed after 27 months of irradiation and the patient was confirmed to have achieved a complete response. There were no complications related to irradiation. The patient was alive for 40 months without recurrence. This study suggests that hypofractionated radiation therapy combined with surgical debulking could be considered as a treatment option for feline nasopharyngeal lymphoma.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.99-107
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• 2017

This paper proposes a battery model coefficient correction method for improving the accuracy of existing lithium battery equivalent models. BMS(battery management system) has been researched and developed to minimize shortening of battery life by keeping SOC(state of charge) and state of charge of lithium battery used in various industrial fields such as EV. However, the cell balancing operation based on the battery cell voltage can not follow the SOC change due to the internal resistance and the capacitor. Various battery equivalent models have been studied for estimation of battery SOC according to the internal resistance of the battery and capacitors. However, it is difficult to apply the same to all the batteries, and it tis difficult to estimate the battery state in the transient state. The existing battery electrical equivalent model study simulates charging and discharging dynamic characteristics of one kind of battery with error rate of 5~10% and it is not suitable to apply to actual battery having different electric characteristics. Therefore, this paper proposes a battery model coefficient correction algorithm that is suitable for real battery operating environments with different models and capacities, and can simulate dynamic characteristics with an error rate of less than 5%. To verify proposed battery model coefficient calibration method, a lithium battery of 3.7V rated voltage, 280 mAh, 1600 mAh capacity used, and a two stage RC tank model was used as an electrical equivalent model of a lithium battery. The battery charge/discharge test and model verification were performed using four C-rate of 0.25C, 0.5C, 0.75C, and 1C. The proposed battery model coefficient correction algorithm was applied to two battery models, The error rate of the discharge characteristics and the transient state characteristics is 2.13% at the maximum.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.179-184
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• 2014

Purpose: We investigated the safety and efficacy of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) in terminally ill cancer patients. Methods: A retrospective review was conducted on patients who underwent PICC at the hospice-palliative division of KEPCO (Korea Electric Power Corporation) Medical Center between January 2013 and December 2013. All PICCs were inserted by an interventional radiologist. Results: A total of 30 terminally ill cancer patients received the PICC procedure during the study period. Including one patient who had had two PICC insertions during the period, we analyzed a total of 31 episodes of catheterization and 571 PICC days. The median catheter life span was 14.0 days (range, 1~90 days). In 25 cases, catheters were maintained until the intended time (discharge, transfer, or death), while they were removed prematurely in six other cases (19%; 10.5/1000 PICC days). Thus, the catheter maintenance success rate was 81%. Of those six premature PICC removal cases, self-removal due to delirium occurred in four cases (13%; 7.0/1000 PICC days), and catheter-related blood stream infection and thrombosis were reported in one case, each (3%; 1.8/1000 PICC days). Complication cases totaled eight (26%; 14.1/1000 PICC days). The time to complication development ranged from two to 14 days and the median was seven days. There was no PICC complication-related death. Conclusion: Considering characteristics of terminally ill cancer patients, such as a poor general condition, vulnerability to trivial damage, and a limited period of survival, PICC could be a safe intravenous procedure.