• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.237-244
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• 2011

In this paper, a feature-based registration technique is proposed for pre-contrast and post-contrast lung CT images. It utilizes three dimensional(3-D) features with their descriptors and estimates feature correspondences by nearest neighborhood matching in the feature space. We design a transformation model between the input image pairs using a free form deformation(FFD) which is based on B-splines. Registration is achieved by minimizing an energy function incorporating the smoothness of FFD and the correspondence information through a non-linear gradient conjugate method. To deal with outliers in feature matching, our energy model integrates a robust estimator which discards outliers effectively by iteratively reducing a radius of confidence in the minimization process. Performance evaluation was carried out in terms of accuracy and efficiency using seven pairs of lung CT images of clinical practice. For a quantitative assessment, a radiologist specialized in thorax manually placed landmarks on each CT image pair. In comparative evaluation to a conventional feature-based registration method, our algorithm showed improved performances in both accuracy and efficiency.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.10 no.11
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• pp.340-350
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• 2020

This study was conducted to present comprehensive professionalism measurement tools suitable for hospital administration staffs. The study used measurement tools related to the psychological and behavioral characteristics of individuals used in prior studies for administration staffs at general hospitals and hospitals. Factor analysis and reliability analysis were conducted to verify the validity and internal relevance. As a result of the analysis, it was concluded that composed of 5 factors, and that the total reliability was 94.4%, which was very reasonable as a comprehensive professionalism measurement tool. Therefore, each component was defined as Confidence of Job performance, Salary Adequacy, Pride in Duties, Ability to achieve work goals, and Work Autonomy in order to provide a clear meaning. Professionalism from a modern perspective is a broader concept than traditional professionalism, including the subjective perceptions of job values and individuals' their abilities. Therefore, comprehensive professionalism measurement tools presented in this study will be very suitable and useful for hospital administration staffs.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.107-112
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• 1998

Lovastatin is a lipid lowering agent for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and belongs to a new class of pharmacologic compounds called the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG CoA) reductase inhibitors. By competitively inhibiting HMG CoA reductase, lovastatin disrupts the biosynthesis of cholesterol in hepatic and peripheral cells and increases the synthesis of high-density-lipoprotein HDL) receptors. Following oral administration, the lactone ring of lovastatin is hydrolysed to the active inhibitor of HMG CoA reductase, lovastatin acid. Lovastatin is known to have poor oral absorption and wide individual variation. In this study, bioequivalence test of two lovastatin formulations, the test drug ($Lovaload^{TM}$, Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Co.) and the reference drug ($Mevacor^{TM}$, Chung Wae Pharmaceutical Co.) were conducted according to the guidelines of Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). A total of 18 healthy male volunteers, $31.90\pm3.60$ years old and $72.17\;7.88$ kg of body weight in average, were evaluated in a randomized crossover manner with a 2-week washout period. Concentrations of lovastatin acid in plasma were measured upto 12 hours following a single oral administration of eight tablets (20 mg of lovastatin per tablet) by high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection at 238 nm. The area under the concentration-vs-time curve from 0 to 12 hours $(AUC_{0-12h})$ was calculated by the trapezoidal summation method. The statistical analysis showed that there are no significant differences in $AUC_{0-12h),\;C_{max}\;and\;T_{max}$ between the two formulations ($6.72\%,\;1.52\%,\;and\;0.88\$, respectively). The least significant differences between the formulations at $\alpha$=0.05 were less than $20\%\;(11.65\%,\;19.73\%,\;and\;14.81\%\;for\;AUC_{0-12h},\;C_{max}\;and\;T_{max}$, respectively). The $90\%$ confidence intervals for these parameters were also within $\pm20\%\;(-1.50{\leq}{\delta}{\leq}15.00$, $-12.50{\leq}{\delta}{\leq}15.50,\;and\;-9.64{\leq}{\delta]{\leq}11.40{\leq}\;for\;\;AUC_{0-12h}$ ,$C_{max}\;and\;T_{max}$, respectively). In conclusion, the new generic product $Lovaload^{TM}$ was proven to be bioequivalent with the reference drug.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.13-18
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• 2000

The bioequivalence of two clarithromycin tablets, the $Klaricid^{TM}$ (Ciba-Geigy Korea Ltd.) and the $Pylocin^{TM}$ (Kyungdong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.), was evaluated according to the Korean Guidelines for Bioequivalence Test (KGBT 1998). Sixteen healthy male volunteers ($20\sim26$ years old) were randomly divided into two groups and a randomized $2\times2$ cross-over study was employed. After one tablet containing 250 mg of clarithromycin was orally administered, blood sample was taken at predetermined time intervals, and the concentrations of clarithromycin in serum were determined using high-performance liquid chromatographic method with electrochemical detector. The pharmaco-kinetic parameters (area under the concentration-time curve: $AUC_t$, maximum concentration; $C_{max}$ and time to maximum concentration; $T_{max}$) were calculated and analysis of variance (ANOVA) was utilized for the statistical analysis of parameters. The results showed that the differences in $AUC_t,\;C_{max}\;and\;T_{max}$ between two tablets based on $Klaricid^{TM}$ tablet were $-0.22\%,\;-0.48\%\;and\;-1.63\%$, respectively. The powers $(1-\beta)\;for\;AUC_t,\;C_{max}\;and\;T_{max}\;were\;99.07\%,\;88.15\%\;and\;99.99\%$, respectively. Detectable differences $(\Delta)\;and\;90\%$ confidence intervals ($\alpha$=0.10) were all less than $\pm20\%$ All the parameters above met the criteria of KGBT 1998, indicating that $Pylocin^{TM}$ tablet is bioequivalent to $Klaricid^{TM}$ tablet.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.132-144
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• 2017

Purpose: To identify baseline prognostic factors for survival in patients with disease progression, during or after chemotherapy for the treatment of advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer. Materials and Methods: We pooled data from patients randomized between 2009 and 2012 in 2 phase III, global double-blind studies of ramucirumab for the treatment of advanced gastric or GEJ adenocarcinoma following disease progression on first-line platinum- and/or fluoropyrimidine-containing therapy (REGARD and RAINBOW). Forty-one key baseline clinical and laboratory factors common in both studies were examined. Model building started with covariate screening using univariate Cox models (significance level=0.05). A stepwise multivariable Cox model identified the final prognostic factors (entry+exit significance level=0.01). Cox models were stratified by treatment and geographic region. The process was repeated to identify baseline prognostic quality of life (QoL) parameters. Results: Of 1,020 randomized patients, 953 (93%) patients without any missing covariates were included in the analysis. We identified 12 independent prognostic factors of poor survival: 1) peritoneal metastases; 2) Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance score 1; 3) the presence of a primary tumor; 4) time to progression since prior therapy <6 months; 5) poor/unknown tumor differentiation; abnormally low blood levels of 6) albumin, 7) sodium, and/or 8) lymphocytes; and abnormally high blood levels of 9) neutrophils, 10) aspartate aminotransferase (AST), 11) alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and/or 12) lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Factors were used to devise a 4-tier prognostic index (median overall survival [OS] by risk [months]: high=3.4, moderate=6.4, medium=9.9, and low=14.5; Harrell's C-index=0.66; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.64-0.68). Addition of QoL to the model identified patient-reported appetite loss as an independent prognostic factor. Conclusions: The identified prognostic factors and the reported prognostic index may help clinical decision-making, patient stratification, and planning of future clinical studies.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.2783-2790
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• 2010

In this paper, we first review LDPC codes in general and a belief propagation algorithm that works in logarithm domain. LDPC codes, which is chosen 802.11n for wireless local access network(WLAN) standard, require a large number of computation due to large size of coded block and iteration. Therefore, we presented three kinds of low computational algorithms for LDPC codes. First, sequential decoding with partial group is proposed. It has the same H/W complexity, and fewer number of iterations are required with the same performance in comparison with conventional decoder algorithm. Secondly, we have apply early stop algorithm. This method reduces number of unnecessary iterations. Third, early detection method for reducing the computational complexity is proposed. Using a confidence criterion, some bit nodes and check node edges are detected early on during decoding. Through the simulation, we knew that the iteration number are reduced by half using subset algorithm and early stop algorithm is reduced more than one iteration and computational complexity of early detected method is about 30% offs in case of check node update, 94% offs in case of check node update compared to conventional scheme. The LDPC decoder have been implemented in Xilinx System Generator and targeted to a Xilinx Virtx5-xc5vlx155t FPGA. When three algorithms are used, amount of device is about 45% off and the decoding speed is about two times faster than convectional scheme.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.39 no.12 s.173
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• pp.1043-1056
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• 2006

Our ultimate purpose is to investigate the potential change in regional surface climate due to the global warming and to produce higher quality regional surface climate information over the Korean peninsula for comprehensive impact assessment. Toward this purpose, we carried out two 30-year long experiments, one for present day conditions (covering the period 1971-2000) and one for near future climate conditions (covering the period 2021-2050) with a regional climate model (RegCM3) using a one-way double-nested system. In order to obtain the confidence in a future climate projection, we first verify the model basic performance of how the reference simulation is realistic in comparison with a fairly dense observation network. We then examine the possible future changes in mean climate state as well as in the frequency and intensity of extreme climate events to be derived by difference between climate condition as a baseline and future simulated climate states with increased greenhouse gas. Emphasis in this study is placed on the high-resolution spatial/temporal aspects of the climate change scenarios under different climate settings over Korea generated by complex topography and coastlines that are relevant on a regional scale.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.319-325
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• 2004

A bioequivalence of $Etodol^{TM}$ tablets (Yuhan corporation) and $Kuhnillodine^{TM}$ tablets (Kuhnil Pharm. Co., Ltd.) was evaluated according to the guideline of Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). Single 200 mg dose of etodolac of each medicine was administered orally to 24 healthy male volunteers. This study was performed in a $2{\times}2$ crossover design. Concentrations of etodolac in human plasma were monitored by a high-performance liquid chromatography. $AUC_t$ (the area under the plasma concentration-time curve from time zero to 24 hr) was calculated by the linear trapezoidal rule method. $C_{max}$ (maximum plasma drug concentration) and $T_{max}$ (time to reach $C_{max}$) were compiled from the plasma concentration-time data. Analysis of variance was performed using logarithmically transformed $AUC_t$ and $C_{max}$. No significant sequence effect was found for all of the bioavailability parameters. The 90% confidence intervals of the $AUC_t$ ratio and the $C_{max}$ ratio for $Etodol^{TM}/Kuhnillodine^{TM}$ were 1.01-1.10 and 0.87-1.06, respectively. This study demonstrated a bioequivalence of $Etodol^{TM}$ and $Kuhnillodine^{TM}$ with respect to the rate and extent of absorption.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.505-511
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• 2004

A bioequivalence study of $Bestidine^{TM}$ tablets (Choong Wae Pharma. Corp., Korea) to Dong-A $Gaster^{TM}$ (Dong-A Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Korea) tablets was conducted according to the guidelines of Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). Twenty four healthy male Korean volunteers received each medicine at the famotidine dose of 40 mg in a $2{\times}2$ crossover study. There was a one-week wash out period between the doses. Plasma concentrations of famotidine were monitored by a high-performance liquid chromatography for over a period of 12 hours after the administration. $AUC_t$ (the area under the plasma concentration-time curve from time zero to 12 hr) was calculated by the linear trapezoidal rule method. $C_{max}$ (maximum plasma drug concentration) and $T_{max}$ (time to reach $C_{max}$) were compiled from the plasma concentration-time data. Analysis of variance was carried out using logarithmically transformed $AUC_t$ and $C_{max}$. No significant sequence effect was found for all of the bioavailability parameters indicating that the crossover design was properly performed. The 90% confidence intervals of the $AUC_t$ ratio and the Cmax ratio for $Bestidine^{TM}/Gaster^{TM}$ were log 0.90-log 1.06 and log 0.98-log 1.20, respectively. These values were within the acceptable bioequivalence intervals of 0.80-1.25. Thus, our study demonstrated the bioequivalence of $Bestidine^{TM}$ and $Gaster^{TM}$ with respect to the rate and extent of absorption.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.135-142
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• 2008

The present study describes the evaluation of the bioequivalence of two atorvastatin tablets, Lipitor $Tablet^{(R)}$ (Pfizer, reference drug) and Atorva $Tablet^{(R)}$ (Yuhan, test drug), according to the guidelines of Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). Forty-nine healthy male Korean volunteers received each medicine at the atorvastatin dose of 40 mg in a $2{\times}2$ crossover study with a two weeks washout interval. After drug administration, serial blood samples were collected at a specific time interval from 0-48 hours. The plasma atorvastatin concentrations were monitored by an high performance liquid chromatography -tandem mass spectrometer (LC-MS/MS) employing electrospray ionization technique and operating in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) and positive ion mode. The total chromatographic run time was 4.5 min and calibration curves were linear over the concentration range of 0.1-100 ng/mL for atorvastatin. The method was validated for selectivity, sensitivity, linearity, accuracy and precision. $AUC_t$ (the area under the plasma concentration-time curve from time zero to 48hr) was calculated by the linear log trapezoidal rule method. $C_{max}$ (maximum plasma drug concentration) and $T_{max}$ (time to reach $C_{max}$) were complied trom the plasma concentration-time data. Analysis of variance was carried out using logarithmically transformed $AUC_t$ and $C_{max}$. No significant sequence effect was found for all of the bioavailability parameters indicating that the crossover design was properly performed. The 90% confidence intervals of the $AUC_t$ ratio and the $C_{max}$ ratio for Atorva $Tablet^{(R)}$ / Lipitor $Tablet^{(R)}$ were ${\log}\;0.9413{\sim}{\log}\;1.0179$ and ${\log}\;0.831{\sim}{\log}\;1.0569$, respectively. These values were within the acceptable bioequivalence intervals of ${\log}\;0.8{\sim}{\log}\;1.25$. Based on these statistical considerations, it was concluded that the test drug, Atorva $Tablet^{(R)}$ was bioequivalent to the reference drug, Lipitor $Tablet^{(R)}$.