• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.809-816
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• 2010

This paper proposed about a load-balanced multi-agent model in mobile distribution environment to monitor moving patients and to deal with a situation of emergency. This model was designed to have a structure based on distribution framework by expanding a mobile system, and provides healthcare services based on real time situational information on moving patients. In order to overcome the limitation of middleware when we design system, we provided an abstract layer between applications and their base network infrastructure so that balance between QoS requests and network life can be maintained. In addition, clustering was used in cells for the efficient load distribution among multi-agents. By using Clustering FCM, we got optimal resources and had solve about transmission delay.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.155-170
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• 2003

Lumbar segmental instability is considered to represent a significant sub-group within the chronic low back pain population. This condition has a unique clinical presentation that displays its symptoms and movement dysfunction within the neutral zone of the motion segment. The loosening of the motion segment secondary to injury and associated dysfunction of the local muscle system renders it biomechanically vulnerable in the neutral zone. There in evidence of muscle dysfunction related to the control of the movement system. There is a clear link between reduced proprioceptive input, altered slow motor unit recruitment and the development of chronic pain states. Dysfunction in the global and local muscle systems in presented to support the development of a system of classification of muscle function and development of dysfunction related to musculoskeletal pain. The global muscles control range of movement and alignment, and evidence of dysfunction is presented in terms of imbalance in recruitment and length between the global stability muscles and the global mobility muscles. The local stability muscles demonstrate evidence of failure of aeequate segmental control in terms of allowing excessive uncontrolled translation or specific loss of cross-sectional area at the site of pathology Motor recruitment deficits present as altered timing and patterns of recruitment. The evidence of local and global dysfunction allows the development of an integrated model of movement dysfunction. The clinical diagnosis of this chronic low back pain condition is based on the report of pain and the observation of movement dysfunction within the neutral zone and the associated finding of excessive intervertebral motion at the symptomatic level. Four different clinical patterns are described based on the directional nature of the injury and the manifestation of the patient's symptoms and motor dysfunction. A specific stabilizing exercise intervention based on a motor learning model in proposed and evidence for the efficacy of the approach provided.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2007

Unprecedented amount of genetic information being generated from the result of Human Genome Project (HGP) and advances in genetic research is already forcing changes in the paradigm of health and disease. The ultimate goal of genetic medicine is to use genetic information and technology to develop new ways of treatment or even prevention of the disease on an individual level for 'personalized medicine'. Genetics is play ing an increasingly important role in the diagnosis, monitoring and management of common multifactorial diseases in addition to rare single-gene disorders. While wide range of genetic testing have provided benefits to patients and family, uncertainties surrounding test interpretation, the current lack of available medical options for the diseases, and risks for discrimination and social stigmatization may remain to be resolved. However an increasing number of genetic tests are becoming commercially available, including direct to consumer genetic testing, yet public is often unaw are of their clinical and social implications. The personal nature of information generated by a genetic test, its power to affect major life decisions and family members, and its potential misuse raise important ethical considerations. Therefore appropriate genetic counseling is needed for patient to be informed with the benefits, limitations and risks of genetic tests, prior to informed consent for the tests. Physician also should be familiar with the legal and ethical issues involved in genetic testing to tell patients how w ell a particular genetic risk factor relates with likelihood of disease, and be able to provide appropriate genetic counseling. Genetic counseling become a mandatory requirement as global standard for many genetic testing such as prenatal diagnosis, presymtomatic DNA diagnostic tests and cancer susceptibility gene test for familial cancer syndrome. In oder to meet the challenge of genetic medicine of 21 century in korean health care system, professional education program and certification board for medical genetics specialist including non-MD genetic counselors should be addressed by medical society and regulatory policy of national health insurance reimbursement for genetic counseling to be in place to promote the implementation of clinical genetic service including genetic counseling for proper genetic testing.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.38 no.12
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• pp.971-974
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• 2014

A ventricular assist device (VAD) is used for bridge to heart transplantation and heart diseases. Knowing the status of a pneumatic pulsatile VAD when implanting it into the body is important: when the velocity of blood flow through the VAD is slow, a thrombus may occur, and thrombosis can be fatal to a patient. In order to determine the state of a VAD, various sensors need to be implanted. Because this introduces the risk of infection and difficulties with sensor management, we developed a method for estimating the state of a VAD indirectly via the pressure in an air tube that can be measured in vitro. We compared the measured values to in vitro experimental results. The estimated and measured values showed some errors, but the accuracy can be improved by refining the estimation process to minimize the risk of infection.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.503-515
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• 2018

The aim of this study was to develop a list of nursing competency for nurses' continuing education, and to propose a competency-based continuing education system according to nurses' clinical ladder. The definition of nursing competency was extracted by analyzing 10 studies. Also, the knowledge base of each nursing competency was confirmed through Carper and Chinn & Kramer's research. Nurses' clinical ladder and preliminary items of nursing competency behavior indicators were verified by seven experts for content validity. The results of this study were as follows; Nursing competencies were defined as 'evidence-based patient care', 'education and counseling', 'nursing management and leadership', 'law and ethics', 'professional value and development', 'research and policy development'. In addition, the validity of the 4 stages of clinical ladder and the 24 indicators of nursing competency were confirmed by experts. These findings suggest that the competency-based continuing education system according to the clinical ladder will be utilized as an effective human resource development strategy for improving the professionalism of nurses.

• Korean Journal of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
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• v.55 no.8
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• pp.498-507
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• 2012

Background and Objectives We aimed to develop a Korean version of the velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) speech corpus system. Subjects and Method After developing a 3-channel simultaneous speech recording device capable of recording nasal/oral and normal compound speech separately, voice data were collected from VPI patients aged more than 10 years with/without the history of operation or prior speech therapy. This was compared to a control group for which VPI was simulated by using a french-3 nelaton tube inserted via both nostril through nasopharynx and pulling the soft palate anteriorly in varying degrees. The study consisted of three transcriptors: a speech therapist transcribed the voice file into text, a second transcriptor graded speech intelligibility and severity and the third tagged the types and onset times of misarticulation. The database were composed of three main tables regarding (1) speaker's demographics, (2) condition of the recording system and (3) transcripts. All of these were interfaced with the Praat voice analysis program, which enables the user to extract exact transcribed phrases for analysis. Results In the simulated VPI group, the higher the severity of VPI, the higher the nasalance score was obtained. In addition, we could verify the vocal energy that characterizes hypernasality and compensation in nasal/oral and compound sounds spoken by VPI patients as opposed to that characgerizes the normal control group. Conclusion With the Korean version of VPI speech corpus system, patients' common difficulties and speech tendencies in articulation can be objectively evaluated. Comparing these data with those of the normal voice, mispronunciation and dysarticulation of patients with VPI can be corrected.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.154-168
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• 2023

Background: Legal regulations and fees have been established in Korea to provide visiting oral health care services to individuals with long-term care insurance (LTCI). However, beneficiaries of this service are very limited. Therefore, to improve the Korean system we propose a comparative analysis with the Japanese system. Methods: This study is a descriptive analysis based on secondary data, such as statistics, laws, and service record forms from Korea and Japan. The most recent institutional documents were obtained through a Google search. The variables investigated were financial resources of LTCI, co-payment structure, monthly limit of LTCI benefits, care levels of LTCI, service providers, service costs, contents of service, and the number of cases of service. Results: In both Korea and Japan, LTCI is financed through a combination of taxes and insurance premiums. However, the monthly limit for receiving LTCI services in Japan is about 2.4 times higher than in Korea. Visiting medical and dental treatment is also possible in Japan. Furthermore, nursing staff can provide daily oral health care services according to dental hygienists' instruction unlike Korea. Oral health care services in Korea are focused on oral hygiene and prevention of oral diseases, while Japan additionally provides oral function screening, patient education for oral health management, and training for nursing staff to enhance oral function, eating, and swallowing of the patients. Conclusion: We concluded that the possibility of visiting dental treatment, differences in monthly limit of LTCI benefits, oral function assessment and guidance, as well as collaboration with other healthcare professionals contributed to the difference in the frequency of utilization of visiting oral health care services between Korea and Japan.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.186-191
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• 2012

The sodium hypochlorite is widely used in endodontic treatment. While it is effective solution for disinfection of root canal system, complications during canal irrigation are rarely reported, especially in primary teeth. This report demonstrates that sodium hypochlorite extruding through the root apex might cause severe complications. A 4-year-old female patient was referred from local dental clinic to the emergency room for the management of sudden facial swelling and pain during re-endodontic treatment of the maxillary primary central incisor using sodium hypochlorite. The patient was given systemic steroids, antihistamines, antibiotics and analgesics and the maxillary primary central incisor was extracted to prevent secondary infection. Swelling began to subside after 2 days. A negative result was obtained from skin patch test with sodium hypochlorite. Thorough care must be taken in primary teeth to prevent the inadvertent injection of sodium hypochlorite to periapical tissues during root canal irrigation. When adverse reaction occurs, proper management such as analgesia, cold compression and adequate medication should be done.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.1045-1054
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• 2000

As cost pressures have escalated, policy makers, politicians, health care providers and families have tried to devise ways to reduce health care costs. While originally developed to enhance patient control and to provide better care at the end of life, hospice care has recently received significant attention as a mean of reducing health care costs. As a program providing care for patients who are dying at their homes, hospice has expanded slowly since the opening of the first hospice in Korea in 1963. Therefore, a variety of services that responds to the needs and concerns of many dying people and their families is limited The purpose of this study was to determine the potential cost savings at the end of life among patients who used home hospice compared with the patients who received institutional care in Korea. This study used a retrospective, descriptive design. The sample for this study included 46 patients who died of lung cancer: 25 patients who received home hospice care and 21 patients who received institutional care. Data on patient characteristics, kinds and frequencies of provided treatment and nursing services, and hospice and hospital charges during the last month before death were collected. Cost of care was measured by the average cost per patient per day in the last month of life. The results of the study indicated that there were significant differences in average cost of care between home hospice sample and institutional care sample (t=9.956, p<.001; home hospice sample: M=18,102 won, institutional care sample: M=317,578 won). The cost of the home hospice sample was approximately 6% of the cost of institutional care. The majority of the home hospice nursing services were education (35.7%) and supportive counseling (25.2%), followed by medication management (13.6%), assessment (12.1%), basic nursing (7.2%), treatment (5.5%) and others. In institutional care sample, basic nursing and treatment were more emphasized than education or supportive counseling among the nursing services provided. The results of this study showed the potential for hospice to reduce costs and implications for policymakers and clinicians to incorporate hospice program into the formal health care delivery system in Korea.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.2-10
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• 2017

Early detection and proper management of kidney rejection are crucial for the long-term health of a transplant recipient. Recipients are normally monitored by serum creatinine measurement and sometimes with graft biopsies. Donor-derived cell-free deoxyribonucleic acid (cfDNA) in the recipient's plasma and/or urine may be a better indicator of acute rejection. We evaluated digital PCR (dPCR) as a system for monitoring graft status using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based detection of donor DNA in plasma or urine. We compared the detection abilities of the QX200, RainDrop, and QuantStudio 3D dPCR systems. The QX200 was the most accurate and sensitive. Plasma and/or urine samples were isolated from 34 kidney recipients at multiple time points after transplantation, and analyzed by dPCR using the QX200. We found that donor DNA was almost undetectable in plasma DNA samples, whereas a high percentage of donor DNA was measured in urine DNA samples, indicating that urine is a good source of cfDNA for patient monitoring. We found that at least 24% of the highly polymorphic SNPs used to identify individuals could also identify donor cfDNA in transplant patient samples. Our results further showed that autosomal, sex-specific, and mitochondrial SNPs were suitable markers for identifying donor cfDNA. Finally, we found that donor-derived cfDNA measurement by dPCR was not sufficient to predict a patient's clinical condition. Our results indicate that donor-derived cfDNA is not an accurate predictor of kidney status in kidney transplant patients.