• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.342-353
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• 2017

Purpose: This study evaluated the changes in nutritional status based on quality of life (QoL) item-level analysis to determine whether individual QoL responses might facilitate personal clinical impact. Materials and Methods: This study retrospectively evaluated QoL data obtained by the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 (QLQ-C30) and Quality of Life Questionnaire-Stomach (QLQ-STO22) as well as metabolic-nutritional data obtained by bioelectrical impedance analysis and blood tests. Patients were assessed preoperatively and at the 5-year follow-up. QoL was analyzed at the level of the constituent items. The patients were categorized into vulnerable and non-vulnerable QoL groups for each scale based on their responses to the QoL items and changes in the metabolic-nutritional indices were compared. Results: Multiple shortcomings in the metabolic-nutritional indices were observed in the vulnerable groups for nausea/vomiting (waist-hip ratio, degree of obesity), dyspnea (hemoglobin, iron), constipation (body fat mass, percent body fat), dysphagia (body fat mass, percent body fat), reflux (body weight, hemoglobin), dry mouth (percent body fat, waist-hip ratio), and taste (body weight, total body water, soft lean mass, body fat mass). The shortcomings in a single index were observed in the vulnerable groups for emotional functioning and pain (EORTC QLQ-C30) and for eating restrictions (EORTC QLQ-STO22). Conclusions: Long-term postoperative QoL deterioration in emotional functioning, nausea/vomiting, pain, dyspnea, constipation, dysphagia, reflux, eating restrictions, dry mouth, and taste were associated with nutritional shortcomings. QoL item-level analysis, instead of scale-level analysis, may help to facilitate personalized treatment for individual QoL respondents.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.31 no.3D
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• pp.469-476
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• 2011

The purposes of research is to understand the need of and the effectiveness of multilevel model to evaluate community support program in watershed areas. If the properties of policy target have hierarchical characteristics, the multilevel analysis is an adequate method to evaluate and test the effectiveness of policy. Also, the technique of multilevel modeling is extended to testing the relevance between performance appraisal and policy effectiveness. The case study of watershed region's community support program was estimated using satisfaction and economic aid level of policy target. This research has three results. First, the multilevel analysis should be used in nested data structure to estimate the effect of policy intervention. Second, the indexes of multilevel modeling should be used complementally to that of the traditional index approach. Third, the spatial hierarchical structure should be considered as the hierarchical structure in policy evaluation.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.87-101
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• 2017

[Purpose] This study aims to classify of healthcare decline and analyze the corresponding health outcomes among cities in Korea. In pursuing the above, this paper gives the particular attention to draw policy implications. [Methodology/Approach] Public healthcare data of 81 cities between 2014 and 2015 was obtained from the National Medical Center of Korea. A matrix analysis, t-test, ANOVA and multivariate regression were applied. [Findings] The study results indicated that declining cities tend to have the most healthcare resources, compared to growing or maintaining cities. However, accessibility to healthcare appeared to be lower in declining cities. Based on the classification of cities on healthcare decline, 42 out of 81 cities were categorized as a maintain/improvement group, while 39 cities were characterized as decline/depression. The group with a decline/depression type has significantly more healthcare facilities than maintain/improvement type. In contrast, maintain/improvement cities indicated lower incidence of morbidity and mortality than decline/depression cities. Lastly, according to the multivariate regression analysis for the healthcare outcomes by the type of healthcare decline, incidence of morbidity and mortality tended to decrease as the number of healthcare workers, the proportion of people who have healthcare accessibility, and the Timely Relevance Index increased regardless of the number of medical facilities including hospital beds and special beds. [Practical Implications] In conclusion, focusing on the improvement of healthcare accessibility as well as staffing, rather than expanding facilities is essential to set the healthcare policies.

• Agribusiness and Information Management
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.30-36
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• 2014

This study was conducted to determine the major patent and analyze the patent trend of unmanned and automated agricultural production for the open field operation. As a result of conducting a search for patent applications related to these technologies, 1,080 valid patents were selected by evaluating the relevance of the patents and removing noise patents. As a result of the country-based analysis using the selected valid patents, it was found out that the largest number of patent applications were filed in the United States with 541 cases, followed by Japan with 326 cases, the European Union with 128 cases, and Korea with 85 cases. Upon classifying the valid patents into core technology, the path generation and tracking technology accounts for 33% with 353 cases; the implementing control with environmental condition technology accounts for 22% with 236 cases; the robot design technology accounts for 21% with 228 cases; the plant and environment sensing technology accounts for 19% with 206 cases; the yield and quality monitoring technology accounts for 5% with 58 cases. Finally, 10 core patents were selected by performing a patent index evaluation. The United States registered all of the 10 core patents. The results showed that Korea falls behind in the open field-related unmanned and automated agricultural production, compared to other developed agricultural countries.

• Mycobiology
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.410-417
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• 2020

Fungal ecological interactions play a key role in structuring community assemblages. These associations may involve both antagonistic and synergistic relationships, which are commonly influenced by abiotic factors such as nutrient conditions. However, information for extreme, oligotrophic systems remain poor. Herein, interactions among key members of the aquatic transient fungal community (Aspergillus niger, Cladosporium sp., and Coprinellus micaceus) of a low-nutrient freshwater system in the Cuatro Ci enegas Basin, Mexico were studied. Pairwise interaction bioassays were explored in vitro under different nutrient conditions, including carbohydrates-rich, carbohydrates and amino peptides-rich, and low nutrients. Our results indicated that antagonistic patterns prevail among the studied taxa. However, nutrient-dependent changes were observed in Cladosporium sp. shifting to synergy under carbohydrates-rich conditions, suggesting changes in the fungal community composition as a result of nutrient enrichment. Remarkably, our findings contrast with previous work demonstrating mainly synergistic interactions between our tested fungal isolates and co-occurring autochthonous bacteria (Aeromonas spp. and Vibrio sp.) under low-nutrient conditions. This observation may indicate that bacteria and fungi exhibit distinct community-level responses, driven by nutrient conditions. This contributes to the knowledge of fungal community dynamics and interspecific interactions in an oligotrophic ecosystem, highlighting the relevance of nutrient-based shifts and antagonistic interactions in ecosystem dynamics.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.5273-5280
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• 2016

Objective: To evaluate stromal cells of the bone marrow microenvironment (BMM) in bone marrow trephine biopsy (BMTB) specimens, with a focus on fibronectin, tumor necrosis factor- alpha (TNF-${\alpha}$) and L-selectin in Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) patients, before and after therapy. Materials and Methods: A total of 80 de novo NHL patients, 64 with B-cell lymphomas 80%, (follicular cell lymphoma (FCL) in 32, chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) in 12, and diffuse large cell lymphoma in 20) and 16 with T-cell lymphomas (20%) all diagnosed as T-Lymphoblastic lymphomas, were evaluated before and after therapy. For comparison, 25 age and sex matched BM donors, were included as a control group. BMTB material and BM aspirates were taken for morphological assessment of stromal cells, the plasma of these samples being examined for $TNF{\alpha}$ and L-selectin by ELISA, and fibronectin by radial immunodiffusion (RID). Results: BM stromal cells comprising reticular macrophages and fibroblasts were elevated in 53.3% of NHL cases at diagnosis, while BM fibronectin levels were decreased and BM $TNF{\alpha}$ and L-selectin were higher than in controls (p<0.05). In NHL cases, elevated values of BM $TNF{\alpha}$ and BM L-selectin were associated with signs of aggressive disease, including >1 extra nodal sites, detectable B symptoms, high grade, BM and CNS invasion, and a high International prognostic index (IPI) (p<0.05). Conclusion: BMM components, $TNF{\alpha}$, L-selectin and fibronectin, in NHL can be useful in evaluating disease activity, extent and response to treatment and as prognostic markers according to the IPI.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.531-537
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between hematologic hyperlipemia index and severity of fatty liver abdominal ultrasonography. A total of 412 adults from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017 who underwent abdominal ultrasonography and hematologic data within 3 months of the ultrasound examination, were the target of the investigation. As a result of the study, the hematological values according to the degree of fatty liver were statistically significant in triglyceride, AST and ALT (p<.05), fatty liver was associated with gender, triglyceride, AST and ALT (p<.05). In conclusion, the degree of fatty liver was not directly related to the hematologic value of hyperlipidemia, but we confirmed the necessity of co-management with fatty liver and hyperlipidemia by confirming its relevance.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.255-265
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• 2022

Background: Research in environmental health (EH) is of crucial strategic importance for contemporary society. It is becoming even more critical in light of the increasingly rapid pace of environmental changes, opportunities, and threats. Objectives: This study aimed to identify trends and the prospective of environmental health research using SWOT analysis. Methods: The trends in environmental health research were reviewed in previous studies and reports. Reviewed manuscripts were searched for using the keywords of 'environmental health' and 'environmental hygiene' in the KCI (Korean Journal of Citation Index), KISS (Korean Academic Information), PubMed, and Google Scholar. Results: It is essential to center the EH research agenda around key priorities focusing on technological innovation, job creation, and the increasingly prominent role of the private sector. Given the rapidly evolving global sustainability agenda, greater clarity on the ever-increasing sources of complexity and growing expectations of the public might be needed. This requires the identification of criteria to identify EH research priorities with the ultimate goal of maximizing societal benefit. Public health relevance, such as extent and severity of health impact, level of exposure, and inequalities of effects, could be included. Conclusions: Considering the recent interest in and importance of environmental health, a comprehensive approach to environmental health research should be required through the application of the latest science and technology, citizen participation, and environmental health surveillance systems.

• Architectural research
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.105-111
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• 2022

During pandemic period, college students lost lots of such academic opportunities as extra-curriculum social activities, contact classes, and friendly socializing in university campus area, etc. Previous many studies have shown that physical environment has certain relevance on the well-being of human-beings. Recent public statistics on mental health had shown an increase in psychological distress and a decrease in college students and people's well-being during the lockdown in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, there were little evidence on what the college students in dormitory suffered from COVID-19 incident in relation with their physical environment. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between environmental factors and psychological well-being of dormitory students in university campus. In order to explore the impact of physical environment on students' psychological well-being, survey instrumentation consisted of 25 indices were employed to measure the level of awareness to each index. A Chi-square analysis on individual characteristics of 200 students found that number of students living in single dwelling unit was statistically significant to maintain their psychological well-being, except for number of students living in each dwelling unit (χ² =128.92, p= .004). Pearson correlation analysis also found that there exists statistically significant relationship between psychological well-being of students and environmental factors. Further, stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that the most prime predictor for psychological well-being of students residing in dorm was "use of furniture" (β= .281), implying careful design, lay-out and easy-access to interior furniture by facility planner. The study also demonstrated that as the level of positive perception of physical environmental features rose, overall psychological well-being of students also responded positively at specified rate. Finally, the findings reinforce a solid evidence that carefully well-coordinated physical environments play an important role in maintaining emotional stability of college students in dorm even in pandemic period.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.333-340
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• 2022

Objectives: This study aimed to confirm the association between cognitive function and oral health status in the elderly. Methods: In this study, 5,794 respondents, aged 55 or older, who had participated in the 7th aging research panel survey were used. Statistical analyses were performed using a complex samples cross-tabulation analysis, complex samples general linear model, and a complex sample multinomial logistic regression analysis. Results: After analyzing the cognitive function of the elderly according to their oral health conditions, it was found that suspicions of dementia (19.6%) and cognitive function decline (25.9%) were more common for those who wore dentures than for those who did not wear dentures (p<0.001). Compared to those who did not wear dentures, those who wore dentures were linked to a 1.665 times higher suspicion of dementia (p<0.001). In comparison, cognitive decline was 0.964 times lower when the number of natural teeth increased by 1, and it was 0.941 times lower when the oral health evaluation index for the elderly increased by 1 point (p<0.001). Conclusions: As a result of this study, it was confirmed that cognitive function and oral health status are related in the elderly. Therefore, systematic measures for oral health management and oral health promotion should be prepared in tandem with awareness of possible cognitive decline in the elderly.