• Title/Summary/Keyword: Introduction to Medicine

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Development of a Reproducibility Index for cDNA Microarray Experiments

  • Kim, Byung-Soo;Rha, Sun-Young
    • Proceedings of the Korean Statistical Society Conference
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    • 2002.05a
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    • pp.79-83
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    • 2002
  • Since its introduction in 1995 by Schena et al. cDNA microarrays have been established as a potential tool for high-throughput analysis which allows the global monitoring of expression levels for thousands of genes simultaneously. One of the characteristics of the cDNA microarray data is that there is inherent noise even after the removal of systematic effects in the experiment. Therefore, replication is crucial to the microarray experiment. The assessment of reproducibility among replicates, however, has drawn little attention. Reproducibility may be assessed with several different endpoints along the process of data reduction of the microarray data. We define the reproducibility to be the degree with which replicate arrays duplicate each other. The aim of this note is to develop a novel measure of reproducibility among replicates in the cDNA microarray experiment based on the unprocessed data. Suppose we have p genes and n replicates in a microarray experiment. We first develop a measure of reproducibility between two replicates and generalize this concept for a measure of reproducibility of one replicate against the remaining n-1 replicates. We used the rank of the outcome variable and employed the concept of a measure of tracking in the blood pressure literature. We applied the reproducibility measure to two sets of microarray experiments in which one experiment was performed in a more homogeneous environment, resulting in validation of this novel method. The operational interpretation of this measure is clearer than Pearson's correlation coefficient which might be used as a crude measure of reproducibility of two replicates.

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Learning Needs of Registered Nurse for Insertive Education (실무교육에 대한 간호원의 학습요구)

  • 현경선
    • Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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    • v.6 no.2
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    • pp.32-38
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    • 1976
  • The advanced knowledge is increasing day by day due to the progress of medicine and tectonics, the increase of nursing research nowadays. In parallel with these, nursing profession has a need of the nursing care with improvement of new Knowledge, tectonics and nursing procedure through the insertive education. Therefore, this study was attempted to investigate that to grasp learning need of nurses about inservice educational play a pivotal role in the progress of inservice education. This study was made from 242 clinical nurse at 4 hospitals in Seoul and through question- are consisting of 1) ideological part 2) basic sciences 3) nursing part 4) administrative part 5) the others from 10 July '75 to 7 Oct. '75. The data were treated by percentage, Licker method, arid chi- square examination. Significant difference p is 0.05. The results of this studies are as follows : A. learning needs of nurses 1) Generally the learning needs of nurses is very high. 2) Of the learning need of inservice education for nurses, the highest learning need is as follow (Table 2 ) 1 st : Charting 2 nd : The ability of grasping patient's needs and problems. 3 rd ; The contents and the methods of the advanced nursing skill. 4 th ; The importance of team work 5 th ; The general knowledge of the various disease 6 th : The decision of a propriety nursing diagnosis under the general condition. 7 th ; The introduction of the new nursing theory. 8 th : The Nurses role and the responsibility in emergency and disaster. 9 th : The improvement of nursing skill for the perfect interpersonal relationship. l0th ; Cultural education: B . Verification of hypothesis 1. Hypothesis I , learning needs of nurses and educational level of nurse will be correlated, is rejected (Table 3 ) 2. Hypothesis II, learning need of nurses and duties of post will be correlated, is rejected (Table 4) 3. Hypothesis III, learning need of nurse and clinical experience of nurses will be correlated, is rejected (Table 5).

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The Introduction and Clinical Applications of Nuerofeedback (Neurofeedback의 이해와 임상적용)

  • Park, Hyung-Bae;Sung, Hyung-Mo
    • Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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    • v.14 no.1
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    • pp.8-17
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    • 2006
  • Neurofeedback, also known as EEG biofeedback or neurotherapy, is a new therapy differentiated from biofeedback in that brain waves are monitored to study brain itself as well as its functions. Needless to say, it has originated from biofeedback, however it has established itself as an independent and specialized therapy in the field of neurotherapy. In order to have a better understanding of neurofeedback we are going to have a look into its historical and theoretical background first and then we will explain how it can be used clinically. Neurofeedback was clinically introduced for epilepsy for the first time and its effect was proved. Since then it has been used successfully for a number of psychiatric disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD), anxiety, anxiety and mood disorder, sleep disorder, substance dependency, etc. Furthermore, it has been used for non-psychiatric or psychosomatic symptoms, such as headache, chronic pains, chronic fatigue symptoms, etc. Recently, it has been also used for non-medical areas, such as improvement of peak performance for sports and art activities, enhancement of cognitive function, etc, making the neurofeedback a very promising field for its potential and effectiveness.

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Synthesis and Properties of 5-Aminosalicyl-taurine as a Colon-specific Prodrug of 5-Aminosalicylic Acid

  • Jung, Yun-Jin;Kim, Hak-Hyun;Kong, Hye-Sik;Kim, Young-Mi
    • Archives of Pharmacal Research
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    • v.26 no.4
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    • pp.264-269
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    • 2003
  • 5-Aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) is an active ingredient of therapeutic agents used for Crohn s disease and ulcerative colitis. Because it is absorbed rapidly and extensively in the upper intestine, delivery of the agent specifically to the colon is necessary. We selected taurine as a colon-specific promoiety and designed 5-aminosalicyltaurine (5-ASA-Tau) as a new colon-specific prodrug of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA). It was expected that introduction of taurine would restrict the absorption of the prodrug and show additive effect to the anti-inflammatory action of 5-ASA after hydrolysis. 5-ASA-Tau was prepared in good yield by a simple synthetic route. The apparent partition coefficient of 5-ASA-Tau in 1-octanol/pH 6.8 phosphate buffer or $CHCl_3$/pH 6.8 phosphate buffer was 0.10 or 0.18, respectively, at $37^{\circ}C$. To determine the chemical and biochemical stability in the upper intestinal environment, 5-ASA-Tau was incubated in pH 1.2 and 6.8 buffer solutions, and with the homogenates of tissue and contents of stomach or small intestine of rats at $37^{\circ}C$. 5-ASA was not detected from any of the incubation medium with no change in the concentration of 5-ASA-Tau. On incubation of 5-ASA-Tau with the cecal and colonic contents of rats, the fraction of the dose released as 5-ASA was 45% and 20%, respectively, in 8 h. Considering low partition coefficient and stability in the upper intestine, 5-ASA-Tau might be nonabsorbable and stable in the upper intestine. After oral administration, it would be delivered to the colon in intact form and release 5-ASA and taurine. These results suggested 5-ASA-Tau as a promising colon-specific prodrug of 5-ASA.

Epidermal growth factor receptor overexpression and K-ras mutation detection in the oral squamous cell carcinoma (구강편평상피암종에서 상피성장인자 수용체의 과발현과 K-ras 유전자 변이)

  • Moon, Byeong-Chool;Han, Se-Jin;Jeong, Dong-Jun;Kim, Kyung-Wook
    • Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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    • v.37 no.5
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    • pp.396-402
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    • 2011
  • Introduction: Epidermal growth factor is a single-chain polypeptide consisting of 53 amino acids with potent mitogenic activity that stimulates the proliferation of a range of normal and neoplastic cells through an interaction with its specific receptor (epidermal growth factor receptor, EGFR). This interaction plays a key role in tumor progression including the induction of tumor cell proliferation. An increased EGFR copy number have been associated with a favorable response to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors therapy. In contrast, K-ras mutations tend to predict a poor response to such therapy. The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between the clinicopathological factors and the up-regulation of EGFR expression and Kras mutations in oral squamous cell carcinoma. Materials and Methods: This study examined the immunohistochemical staining of EGFR, K-ras mutation detection with peptide nucleic acid (PNA)-based real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) clamping in 20 specimens from 20 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. Results: 1. In the immunohistochemical study of poorly differentiated and invasive oral squamous cell carcinoma, a high level of EGFR staining was observed. The correlation between immunohistochemical EGFR expression and histological differentiation, as well as the tumor size of the specimens was significant (Pearson correlation analysis, significance [r] >0.5, P<0.05). 2. In PNA-based real-time PCR clamping analysis, a K-ras mutation was not detected in all specimens. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the up-regulation of the EGFR may play a role in the progression and invasion of oral squamous cell carcinoma that is, independent of a K-ras mutation.

Impact of the Outpatient Prescription Incentive Program on Reduction of Pharmaceutical Costs of Clinics in South Korea

  • Kwon, Seong Hee;Han, Kyu-Tae;Park, Sohee;Moon, Ki Tae;Park, Eun-Cheol
    • Health Policy and Management
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    • v.27 no.3
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    • pp.247-255
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    • 2017
  • Background: South Korea has experienced problems with excessive pharmaceutical expenditures. In 2010, the South Korean government introduced an outpatient prescription incentive program to effectively manage pharmaceutical expenditures. Therefore, we examined the relationship between the outpatient prescription incentive program and pharmaceutical expenditures. Methods: We used data from the Korean National Health Insurance claims database, which included medical claims filed for 22,732 clinics from 2011-2014 to evaluate associated pharmaceutical expenditures. We performed multiple regression analysis and Poisson regression analysis using generalized estimating equation models to examine the associations between outpatient prescription incentives and the outcome variables. Results: The data used in this study consisted of 123,392 cases from 22,372 clinics (average 5.4 periods follow-up). Clinics that had received outpatient prescription incentives in the last period had better cost saving and Outpatient Prescribing Costliness Index (OPCI) (received: proportion of cost saving, ${\beta}=6.8179$; p-value < 0.0001; OPCI, ${\beta}=-0.0227$; p-value < 0.0001; reference = non-received). Moreover, these clinics had higher risk in the provision of outpatient prescription incentive (relative risk, 2.772; 95% confidence interval, 2.720 to 2.824). The associations were higher in clinics that had separate prescribing and dispensing programs, or had professional staff. Conclusion: The introduction of an outpatient prescription incentive program for clinics effectively managed problems with rapid increases of pharmaceutical expenditures in South Korea. However, the pharmaceutical expenditures still increased in spite of the positive impact of the outpatient prescription incentive program. Therefore, healthcare professionals and health policy makers should develop more effective alternatives (i.e., for clinics without separate prescribing and dispensing programs) based on our results.

Acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease of shrimp and import health measures (새우의 급성간췌장괴사병과 수입 위생 조치)

  • Kim, Nam-Eun;Kim, Do-Hyung
    • Journal of fish pathology
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    • v.28 no.1
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    • pp.1-7
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    • 2015
  • In 2009 outbreaks of an emerging disease in shrimp farms were first reported in China. The disease was known as early mortality syndrome (EMS), or acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND). Since 2009, the disease has been spread to Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and Mexico. The causative agent of the disease was identified as Vibrio parahaemolyticus. It is a common seawater inhabitant bacterium, and the pathogen can sometimes contaminate seafood. The disease has caused mass mortality of cultivated shrimp, and huge economic losses in the countries named above. In order to prevent the introduction and establishment of AHPND, emergency measures, such as strengthening of import conditions and even import bans, were put in place by many other countries. In Korea, on the other hand, there are large quantities of shrimp imports from countries, such as Thailand and Vietnam. Transportation of live and fresh dead shrimp is highly likely, and could be a transmission pathway if the shrimp are sourced from populations in AHPND endemic areas. It is important to recognize that importing countries may provisionally adopt sanitary or phytosanitary measures on the basis of available pertinent information, including that from the relevant international organizations, as well as from sanitary or phytosanitary measures applied by other countries based on "Agreement on Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures". It is pertinent that Korea also takes proper emergent measures to keep out diseases and provide safe seafood.

Antitumor Activity of Arylacetylshikonin Analogues

  • Kim, Seon-Hee;Song, Gyu-Yong;Jin, Guang-Zhu;Ahn, Byung-Zun
    • Archives of Pharmacal Research
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    • v.19 no.5
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    • pp.416-422
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    • 1996
  • Twenty one phenylacetylshikonin analogues were synthesized from various subsitituted phenyl acetic acids and their cytotoxicity values against A549, K562 and L1210 cell lines and antitumor action in mice bearing S-180 cells were measured. All of phenylacetylshikonin analogues expressed a potent cytotoxicity $(ED_{50}, 0.1-1.80{\mu}g/ml)$ against L1210 and K562 cells. L1210 cells were the most sensitive to shikonin analogues among these cells. Except 4-methosyphenylacetylshikonin $(0.098 {\mu}g/ml)$, and a-acetoxyphenylacetylshikonin $(0.10 {\mu}g/ml)$, all other shikonin derivatives sshowed higher $ED_{50}$ values than phenylacetylshikonin $(0.13{\mu}g/ml)$, in L1210. In K562 cell, a-substitution of phenylacetylshikonin $(0.1{\mu}g/ml)$, while other subsitutions increased it slightly; 4-methoxyphenylacetylshikonin $(0.033{\mu}g/ml)$ showed a exceptionally good cytotoxicity against K562 cell. 4-Halogenation tended to decrease the cytotoxic effect on L1210 cells, while it enhanced the effect on K562; 4-bromophenylacetyl $$[ED_{50};(L1210)=1.76{\mu}g/ml, ;ED_{50};(K 562)=0.32 {\mu}g/ml]$$ and 4-chlorophenylacetyl shikonin $$[ED_{50};(L1210)=1.64 {\mu}g/ml, ;ED_{50};(K562)=0.32 {\mu}g/ml]$$. In contrast, A549 cells were much less sensitive to these shikonin analogues which showed $ED_{50}$ values of$1.5-1.35 {\mu}g/ml)$.Most of phenylacetylshikonin derivatives showed good antitumor activity in mice bearing S-180 cells. a-A-cetoxyphenylacetylshikonin and 4-dimethylaminophenylacetylshikonin showed highest T/C value (192-195%), implying that introduction of a-acetyl or of 4-dimethylamino group enhanced the antitumor activity as shown for 4-dimethylaminophenylacetylshikonin (T/C, 192%). It might be due to improvement of water solubility by dimethylamino group in the molecule.

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A GIS-Based Spatial Analysis for Enhancing Classification of the Vulnerable Geographical Region of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Outbreak in Korea (GIS 공간분석 기술을 이용한 국내 고병원성 조류인플루엔자 발생 고위험지역 분류)

  • Pak, Son-Il;Jheong, Weon-Hwa;Lee, Kwang-Nyeong
    • Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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    • v.36 no.1
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    • pp.15-22
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    • 2019
  • Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is among the top infectious disease priorities in Korea and the leading cause of economic loss in relevant poultry industry. An understanding of the spatial epidemiology of HPAI outbreak is essential in assessing and managing the risk of the infection. Though previous studies have reported the majority of outbreaks occurred clustered in what are preferred to as densely populated poultry regions, especially in southwest coast of Korea, little is known about the spatial distribution of risk areas vulnerable to HPAI occurrence based on geographic information system (GIS). The main aim of the present study was to develop a GIS-based risk index model for defining potential high-risk areas of HPAI outbreaks and to explore spatial distribution in relative risk index for each 252 Si-Gun-Gu (administrative unit) in Korea. The risk index was derived incorporating seven GIS database associated with risk factors of HPAI in a standardized five-score scale. Scale 1 and 5 for each database represent the lowest and the highest risk of HPAI respectively. Our model showed that Jeollabuk-do, Chungcheongnam-do, Jeollanam-do and Chungcheongbuk-do regions will have the highest relative risk from HPAI. Areas with risk index value over 4.0 were Naju, Jeongeup, Anseong, Cheonan, Kochang, Iksan, Kyeongju and Kimje, indicating that Korea is at risk of HPAI introduction. Management and control of HPAI becomes difficult once the virus are established in domestic poultry populations; therefore, early detection and development of nationwide monitoring system through targeted surveillance of high-risk spots are priorities for preventing the future outbreaks.

Theory Review for Understanding Flow Experience in Occupational Therapy (작업치료에서 몰입경험 이해를 위한 이론적 고찰)

  • Lee, Jeong-Hoon;Park, Ji-Hyuk
    • Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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    • v.10 no.3
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    • pp.71-81
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    • 2021
  • Introduction : The purpose of this article was to introduce the theory of flow experience to occupational therapy for various therapeutic interventions to improve the subject's physical function, activity, and participation. Review : To understand the flow experience in occupational therapy, this study summarized the concept and characteristics of the flow experience, the stages and the scientific characteristics of the brain, measurement methods, and related studies through a review of domestic and foreign literature. In occupational therapy, the subject's flow experience can be defined as 'a psychological state in which the subject is completely flow in the therapeutic activity he is doing while forgetting the passage of time'. Subjects perceived a clear goal for the task and experienced engagement when the challenge was balanced with a high level of skill. In a previous study, positive changes in attention and concentration, executive function, upper extremity function, and performance of daily living activities were confirmed in subjects who encountered the flow experience. Conclusion : If the subject's flow experience in various therapeutic interventions in domestic occupational therapy is considered, the treatment effects will be further promoted.