• Journal of the Korean Statistical Society
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.49-66
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• 1996

The singular value decomposition is one of the most useful methods in the area of matrix computation. It gives dimension reduction which is the centeral idea in many multivariate analyses. But this method is not resistant, i.e., it is very sensitive to small changes in the input data. In this article, we derive the resistant version of singular value decomposition for principal component analysis. And we give its statistical applications to biplot which is similar to principal component analysis in aspects of the dimension reduction of an n x p data matrix. Therefore, we derive the resistant principal component analysis and biplot based on the resistant singular value decomposition. They provide graphical multivariate data analyses relatively little influenced by outlying observations.

• 한국데이터정보과학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.47-48
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• 2005

Multidimensional scaling is a multivariate technique for constructing a configuration of n points in Euclidean space using information about the distances between the objects. This can be done by the singular value decomposition of the data matrix. But it is known that the singular value decomposition is not resistant. In this study, we provide a resistant version of the multidimensional scaling.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.84 no.3
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• pp.237-244
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• 2021

Background: The emergence of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB), is a major menace to cast off TB worldwide. Line probe assay (LPA; GenoType MTBDRplus ver. 2) and Xpert MTB/RIF assays are two rapid molecular TB detection/diagnostic tests. To compare the performance of LPA and Xpert MTB/RIF assay for early diagnosis of rifampicin-resistant (RR) TB in acid-fast bacillus (AFB) smear-positive and negative sputum samples. Methods: A total 576 presumptive AFB patients were selected and subjected to AFB microscopy, Xpert MTB/RIF assay and recent version of LPA (GenoType MTBDRplus assay version 2) tests directly on sputum samples. Results were compared with phenotypic culture and drug susceptibility testing (DST). DNA sequencing was performed with rpoB gene for samples with discordant rifampicin susceptibility results. Results: Among culture-positive samples, Xpert MTB/RIF assay detected Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) in 97.3% (364/374) of AFB smear-positive samples and 76.5% (13/17) among smear-negative samples, and the corresponding values for LPA test (valid results with Mtb control band) were 97.9% (366/374) and 58.8% (10/17), respectively. For detection of RR among Mtb positive molecular results, the sensitivity of Xpert MTB/RIF assay and LPA (after resolving discordant phenotypic DST results with DNA sequencing) were found to be 96% and 99%, respectively. Whereas, specificity of both test for detecting RR were found to be 99%. Conclusion: We conclude that although Xpert MTB/RIF assay is comparatively superior to LPA in detecting Mtb among AFB smear-negative pulmonary TB. However, both tests are equally efficient in early diagnosis of AFB smear-positive presumptive RR-TB patients.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.170-180
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• 2009

Objectives : To assess clinical improvement and change in plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF) level after repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation(rTMS) in patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Methods : Seven patients with DSM-IV schizophrenia, who were proven to be treatment-resistant, were treated with 15 sessions of rTMS for three weeks as an adjuvant therapy to antipsychotic treatment. Clinical improvement and change in plasma BDNF level were measured after the treatment period. The symptom severity was assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale(PANSS) and the Korean Version of Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia(K-CDSS) at baseline and 7 days after the treatment. Plasma BDNF level was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) at baseline and 7 days after the treatment. Results : After the rTMS treatment, there was no significant improvement in PANSS total score(Z=-1.693, p=0.090) and no significant change in plasma BDNF was found(Z=-1.183, p=0.237). Negative correlations were found between percentage change in PANSS positive subscale score and duration of illness(rho=-0.991, N=7, p<0.0005, two-tailed), and PANSS negative subscale score at baseline and percentage change in plasma BDNF level(rho=-0.821, N=7, p=0.023, two-tailed). Conclusion : This preliminary study suggests that rTMS didn't make a significant change in clinical symptoms nor in plasma BDNF level in treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Percentage change in plasma BDNF, however, might be correlated with treatment resistance in schizophrenic patients. This is a pilot study with a small sample size, therefore, a further study with a larger sample size is needed.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.460-468
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• 2022

Objective: In this case report, we address the case of a 22-year-old man complaining of generalized tonic-clonic seizures due to drug-resistant epilepsy. Methods: A patient was treated with Korean medicine, including herbal medication, Shihogyeji-tang (SGT), and acupuncture. We evaluated improvements in symptoms using the Korean version of the Epilepsy Self-Efficacy Scale and quality of life. Results: After 37 days of Korean medicine treatment, there were improvements in the patient's quality of life and self-efficacy in seizure control. Conclusions: This case report suggests that SGT and acupuncture might be effective in drug-resistant epilepsy via action on neurons. SGT showed excellent tolerability for drug-resistant epilepsy patients. Our experience provides evidence that SGT and acupunctue may be used as alternative treatment options when antiepileptic drugs do not work in epilepsy patients.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.131-140
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• 2016

Recent destructions of outdoor signboards have frequently been caused by strong wind, resulting in damage on the property and human livelihood. One of the major causes of the problems is inadequate implementation of structural design code to the outdoor signboards which are vulnerable to wind. This leads to this paper to present the design guideline of wind-resistant outdoor signboards. In order to estimate the design wind speed, basic wind speeds over Korea suggested by KBC(2015)(revision) are corrected with land surface roughness and topography of the terrain and installation height of the signboard. This paper also suggested the procedure of wind load estimation for different types of outdoor signboards; wall attached type, wall ribbed type and ground erected type. Since the process involves complex calculation to some extent, this paper presents summarized version of wind load estimation from non-professional point of view.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.414-429
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• 2021

Purpose: This systematic review and meta-analysis analyzed the effects of 2% chlorhexidine bathing on the incidence of hospital-acquired infection (HAI) and multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) in adult intensive care units. Methods: PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane library, and RISS database were systematically searched, and 12 randomized studies were included in the analysis. Comprehensive Meta-Analysis version 3.0 was used to calculate the effect size using the odds ratio (OR) and a 95% confidence interval (CI). Subgroup analysis was performed according to the specific infection and intervention types. Results: In general, 2% chlorhexidine bathing has a significant effect on the incidence of HAI (OR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.40~0.86) and MDRO (OR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.34~0.79). Subgroup analyses show 2% chlorhexidine bathing is effective in bloodstream infections (OR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.39~0.66) but not for urinary tract infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia infections, and Clostridium difficile infections. Moreover, 2% chlorhexidine bathing alone or its combination with other interventions has a significant effect on the incidence of HAI and MDRO (OR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.38~0.92). Conclusion: This meta-analysis reveals that 2% chlorhexidine bathing significantly reduces the incidence of HAI and MDRO in intensive care units. The effect of 2% chlorhexidine bathing on pediatric patients or patients at general wards should be further assessed as a cost-effective intervention for infection control.

• Journal of English Language & Literature
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.693-718
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• 2009

Kate Burns, a disillusioned Irish woman in Quetzalcoatl, has alternating feelings of fear, repulsion, oppression, compassion, and fascination vis-à-vis Mexican people. Together, these feelings are constitutive of a psychic process in which an imaginary appropriation of the other takes place. In this process white subjectivity represents or reconstructs the dark race precisely as its other. At the same time, Kate's feelings register her anxious recognition of the resistant, unappropriated being of the dark people: their true 'otherness,' or what Žižek calls "the excess of existence over representation." The otherness, frequently racial and sexual, evokes mixed feelings in the white subject. Kate's at once amorous and aggressive response to Ramón's body provides a case in point. Kate's emotional undulation is considerably mitigated in The Plumed Serpent, the revised version of the novel in which the theme of 'blood-mixing' is pushed to the ultimate point. Yet the interracial marriage resolves neither the racial nor the ontologico-sexual issues raised in the first version. Kate is still attracted to Ramón in his sagacious sensuality but goes on to get married to Cipriano, a pure Indian, only to find his mechanical masculinity ever unpalatable. This shows, not just Lawrence's wilful commitment to the 'blood-mixing' theme, but perhaps his lingering taboo against miscegenation as well. Changes in the plot entail those in the narrative voice. In Quetzalcoatl, Owen, a spectatorial and gossipy character, frequently competes for narration with the fully participant third-person narrator. In The Plumed Serpent, the third-person narrator becomes predominant, now attempting with greater confidence to present the reality of the racial other immediately to European readership. While such immediacy is illusional, narrative insistence on it implies a struggle to displace racial stereotypes and offer an experiential understanding of the other.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.19
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• pp.8177-8182
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• 2014

Background: Blocking angiogenesis by targeting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling pathway to inhibit tumor growth has proven to be successful in treating a variety of different metastatic tumor types, including kidney, colon, ovarian, and lung cancers, but its role in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is still unknown. We here aimed to determine the efficacy and toxicities of anti-VEGF agents in patients with CRPC. Materials and Methods: The databases of PubMed, Web of Science and abstracts presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology up to March 31, 2014 were searched for relevant articles. Pooled estimates of the objective response rate (ORR) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response rate (decline ${\geq}50%$) were calculated using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (version 2.2.064) software. Median weighted progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) time for anti-VEGF monotherapy and anti-VEGF-based doublets were compared by two-sided Student's t test. Results: A total of 3,841 patients from 19 prospective studies (4 randomized controlled trials and 15 prospective nonrandomized cohort studies) were included for analysis. The pooled ORR was 12.4% with a higher response rate of 26.4% (95%CI, 13.6-44.9%) for anti-VEGF-based combinations vs. 6.7% (95%CI, 3.5-12.7%) for anti-VEGF alone (p=0.004). Similarly, the pooled PSA response rate was 32.4% with a higher PSA response rate of 52.8% (95%CI: 40.2-65.1%) for anti-VEGF-based combinations vs. 7.3% (95%CI, 3.6-14.2%) for anti-VEGF alone (p<0.001). Median PFS and OS were 6.9 and 22.1 months with weighted median PFS of 5.6 vs. 6.9 months (p<0.001) and weighted median OS of 13.1 vs. 22.1 months (p<0.001) for anti-VEGF monotherapy vs. anti-VEGF-based doublets. Conclusions: With available evidence, this pooled analysis indicates that anti-VEGF monotherapy has a modest effect in patients with CRPC, and clinical benefits gained from anti-VEGF-based doublets appear greater than anti-VEGF monotherapy.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.78 no.4
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• pp.309-314
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• 2015

Background: In tuberculosis (TB) patients, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is significant in self-management, which in turn can be effective in therapeutic acceptance and prevention of treatment failure due to multi-drug resistant TB. This study was conducted to evaluate HRQoL and associated factors in TB patients referred to the National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (NRITLD). Methods: In this study, patients were selected from TB clinics of the NRITLD in Tehran. In addition to an Iranian version of the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), demographic and disease characteristic questionnaires were used for data collection. The data were then analyzed using SPSS software. Results: Two hundred five TB patients, with the average age of $42.33{\pm}17.64$ years, participated in this study. The HRQoL scores in different domains ranged from $14.68{\pm}11.60$ for role limitations due to emotional problems to $46.99{\pm}13.25$ for general health perceptions. The variables of sex, marital status, education, job status, place of residence, and cigarette smoking, influenced the HRQoL scores in different dimensions. Conclusion: According to the study findings are the important variables that influenced the HRQoL of TB patients. The consideration of its can improve the HRQoL of TB patients.