• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.108-113
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• 2022

Speech recognition in noise situation is an important skill for effective communication. Hearing In Noise Test (HINT) has been suggested as a clinical tool to evaluate these aspects. However, this tool has not been used widely in domestic clinics. In this study, psychophysical aspects of HINT and burdens in clinical application were analyzed to improve the applicability of the tool. The difficulty in understanding speech in the elderly population is due to hearing loss based on aging of peripheral and central auditory pathways. As typical clinical cases, HINT scores for young and elderly listeners (20s vs 70s) were compared. Four conditions of HINT test were Quiet (Q), Noise Front (NF), Noise Right (NR), and Noise Left (NL). Quantitative scores showed that the elderly listener required more Signal to Noris Ratio (SNR) values than the younger counterpart in noisy situations. Although both showed Binaural Masking Level Difference (BMLD) effect, the strength was smaller in the elder. However, the age-matched normalized data were not established in detail for clinical application. Confirmed usefulness of HINT and the related improvement in clinical measuring procedure were suggested.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.199-206
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• 2022

Postpartum diseases should be predicted to prevent productivity loss before calving especially in organic dairy farms. This study was aimed to investigate the incidence of postpartum metabolic diseases in an organic dairy farm in Korea, to confirm the association between diseases and prepartum blood biochemical parameters, and to evaluate the accuracy of these parameters with a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis for identifying vulnerable cows. Data were collected from 58 Holstein cows (16 primiparous and 42 multiparous) having calved for 2 years on an organic farm. During a transition period from 4 weeks prepartum to 4 weeks postpartum, blood biochemistry was performed through blood collection every 2 weeks with a physical examination. Thirty-one (53.4%) cows (9 primiparous and 22 multiparous) were diagnosed with at least one postpartum disease. Each incidence was 27.6% for subclinical ketosis, 22.4% for subclinical hypocalcemia, 12.1% for retained placenta, 10.3% for displaced abomasum and 5.2% for clinical ketosis. Between at least one disease and no disease, there were significant differences in the prepartum levels of parameters like body condition score (BCS), non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA), total bilirubin (T-bil), direct bilirubin (D-bil) and NEFA to total cholesterol (T-chol) ratio (p < 0.05). The ROC analysis of each of these prepartum parameters had the area under the curve (AUC) <0.7. However, the ROC analysis with logistic regression including all these parameters revealed a higher AUC (0.769), sensitivity (71.0%), and specificity (77.8%). The ROC analysis with logistic regression including the prepartum BCS, NEFA, T-bil, D-bil, and NEFA to T-chol ratio can be used to identify cows that are vulnerable to postpartum diseases with moderate accuracy.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.175-191
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• 2021

Objectives: This study aims to analyze the medical record of eight cases of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in a local Korean medicine clinic, in order to provide evidence on Korean medicine treatment of PCOS and to suggest the direction of future studies. Methods: The medical records of eight cases diagnosed with PCOS based on 2003 Rotterdam Criteria and whose total testosterone level was 0.53 ng/ml and over were retrospectively analyzed. The primary outcome was total testosterone level, and the secondary outcomes included luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) levels, LH/FSH ratio, weight, last mentrual period (LMP), numerical rating scale (NRS) score of dysmenorrhea, and other associated symptoms pre- and post-treatment. Korean medicine treatment consists of the complex herbal prescription consisting of Yukmijihwang-tang, Baekho-tang, Daesiho-tang, and Gyejibokryeong-hwan, modified according to symptoms; acupuncture and electroacupuncture on 中脘 (CV12), 下脘 (CV10), 關元 (CV4), 石門 (CV5), 合谷 (LI4), 太衝 (LR3), 三陰交 (SP6), and 懸鍾 (GB39); and indirect moxibustion on 神闕 (CV8). Results: The average total testosterone level lowered statistically significantly after the treatment. The average FSH and LH levels lowered with insignificance, while the average LH/FSH ratio and weight lowered statistically significantly. During the treatment period of three to six months, every patient had the menstrual cycle shortened except for one case; and two cases with infertility problem succeeded in being pregnant. There was no adverse event. Conclusions: The Korean medicine treatment was found effective in treating PCOS, especially regarding hyperandrogenism, amenorrhea or oligomenorrhea, and infertility.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.255-265
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• 2022

We compared and analyzed the factors affecting the lecture evaluation of IT subjects, which are mandatory for all students of H University. The purpose of this study is to determine whether lecture satisfaction has a significant correlation with academic achievement, attendance rate, and categories of courses. In this study, we check whether the lecture satisfaction of IT liberal arts subjects that require a lot of computer-based practice differs from that of other liberal arts subjects. We used the 2,149 evaluation data of 12 lectures submitted by 2,322 students in the first and second semesters of year 2019 at University H. As for the lecture evaluation results, in addition to the evaluation scores of the multiple choice questions, the subjective questions were also quantified by classifying the statements submitted by the students into positive and negative types to make the results of the lecture evaluation objective. Our research results show that student group who have the higher attendance rates and academic achievements have higher level of lecture satisfaction and they also use more positive words than negative words in subjective evaluation questions. Students with the lower score use the more negative words, but the ratio between positive and negative words does not differ between groups. Higher attendance rates groups in the basic programming courses and software applications courses have higher lecture satisfaction ratio. But in the intermediate programming courses, the higher attendances rate and the lecture satisfaction do not have any significant relationship. Also students in the intermediate programming courses use more negative words than those in the basic programming courses.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.53-65
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• 2023

Objectives : Present study investigated the hepatoprotective effects and the optimal mixing ratio of fermented Schizandrae Fructus Pomace (fSFP) and Hoveniae Semen Cum Fructus (HSCF) extract combination in carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄)-induced acute liver injury mice. Methods : ICR mice were orally administered with 200 mg/kg of fSFP, HSCF and mixtures of fSFP and HSCF [MSH (w:w); 1:1, 1:2, 1:4, 1:6, 2:1, 4:1, 6:1, and 8:1] for 7 consecutive days. Silymarin (100 mg/kg) was administered as a reference drug. 0.5 mL/kg of CCl₄ was injected intraperitoneally to induce acute liver injury. Body weight gain, relative liver weight, serum chemistry, histopathological analysis, and hepatic endogenous antioxidants capacities were observed. Results : All diverse combinations of MSH significantly reduced relative liver weight increase by CCl₄. In addition, MSH administrations significantly decreased the elevation of serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase activities by CCl₄. Histopathological observation indicated that all MSH treatments significantly reduced the increase of degenerated hepatocytes, inflammatory cell infiltration, and histological activity index score by CCl₄. Moreover, all MSH administrations reduced the elevation of malondialdehyde contents, and ameliorated the reduction of hepatic glutathione contents, superoxide dismutase activity, and catalase activity. Among the various mixing ratio of MSH combinations, MSH 1:1 and 2:1 showed the most potent anti-oxidative stress, and hepatoprotective effect. Conclusion : Present results suggest that 1:1 and 2:1 combinations of MSH is promising herbal formulation with the hepatoprotective effect against oxidative stress.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.12-19
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• 2023

Purpose: Sepsis is the most common cause of neonatal death accounting for 30-50% of mortality annually in developing countries. This study was to determine the prognostic factors of neonatal sepsis mortality. Methods: A retrospective cohort was conducted in Dr. R. Sosodoro Djatikoesoemo Governor Hospital from April 2021 to September 2021 on 121 neonates in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) diagnosed with sepsis. The inclusion criteria were neonates aged 0-28 days, admitted to the NICU, and diagnosed with sepsis. The exclusion criteria were incomplete data and the presence of congenital abnormalities. A χ² test was performed on the sex, gestational age, mode of delivery, birth weight, APGAR score, birthplace, and blood culture. A normality test was performed on leukocytes, lymphocytes, neutrophils, platelets, C-reactive protein (CRP), and length of stay. Then performed a Mann-Whitney test. Results: Birth weight (P=0.038), gestational age (P=0.009), and blood culture (P=0.014) showed a significant relationship with the neonatal sepsis outcome while Mann-Whitney test showed significant differences in the platelets (P=0.018), CRP (P=0.002), and length of stay (P<0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that 3 prognostic factors associated with neonatal sepsis mortality were prematurity (odds ratio [OR], 3.906; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.344-11.356; P=0.012), low birth weight (LBW, OR, 2.833; 95% CI, 1.030-7.790; P=0.044), and gram-negative bacteria (OR, 4.821; 95% CI, 1.018-22.842; P=0.047). Conclusions: Prematurity, LBW, and gram-negative bacteria were associated with the prognostic factors of neonatal sepsis.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.187-195
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• 2023

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the risk factors associated with the severity of fall-related injuries among patients who suffered a fall from similar heights and analyze differences in injury sites according to intentionality and injury severity. Methods: The Emergency Department-based Injury In-depth Surveillance (EDIIS) data collected between 2019 and 2020 were used in this retrospective study. Patients with fall-related injuries who fell from a height of ≥6 and <9 m were included. Patients were categorized into the severe and mild/moderate groups according to their excessive mortality ratio-adjusted Injury Severity Score (EMRISS) and the intention and non-intention groups. Injury-related and outcome-related factors were compared between the groups. Results: In total, 33,046 patients sustained fall-related injuries. Among them, 543 were enrolled for analysis. A total of 256 and 287 patients were included in the severe and mild/moderate groups, respectively, and 93 and 450 patients were included in the intention and non-intention groups, respectively. The median age was 50 years (range, 39-60 years) and 45 years (range, 27-56 years) in the severe and mild/moderate groups, respectively (P<0.001). In multivariable analysis, higher height (odds ratio [OR] 1.638; 95% confidence interval [Cl], 1.279-2.098) and accompanying foot injury (OR, 0.466; 95% CI, 0.263-0.828) were independently associated with injury severity (EMR-ISS ≥25) and intentionality of fall (OR, 0.722; 95% CI, 0.418-1.248) was not associated with injury severity. The incidence of forearm injuries was four (4.3%) and 58 cases (12.9%, P=0.018) and that of foot injuries was 20 (21.5%) and 54 cases (12.0%, P=0.015) in the intention versus non-intention groups, respectively. Conclusions: Among patients who fell from a similar height, age, and fall height were associated with severe fall-related injuries. Intentionality was not related to injury severity, and patients with foot injury were less likely to experience serious injuries. Injuries in the lower and upper extremities were more common in intentional and unintentional falls, respectively.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.242-251
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• 2024

Background: This study compared the outcomes of surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR) in patients aged 50 to 70 years based on the type of prosthetic valve used. Methods: We compared patients who underwent mechanical AVR to those who underwent bioprosthetic AVR at our institution between January 2000 and March 2019. Competing risk analysis and the inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) method based on propensity score were employed for comparisons. Results: A total of 1,580 patients (984 patients with mechanical AVR; 596 patients with bioprosthetic AVR) were enrolled. There was no significant difference in early mortality between the mechanical AVR and bioprosthetic AVR groups (0.9% vs. 1.7%, p=0.177). After IPTW adjustment, the risk of all-cause mortality was significantly higher in the bioprosthetic AVR group than in the mechanical AVR group (hazard ratio [HR], 1.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07-1.80; p=0.014). Competing risk analysis revealed lower risks of stroke (sub-distributional hazard ratio [sHR], 0.44; 95% CI, 0.28-0.67; p<0.001) and anticoagulation-related bleeding (sHR, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.23-0.53; p<0.001) in the bioprosthetic AVR group. Conversely, the risk of aortic valve (AV) reintervention was higher in the bioprosthetic AVR group (sHR, 6.14; 95% CI, 3.17-11.93; p<0.001). Conclusion: Among patients aged 50 to 70 years who underwent surgical AVR, those receiving mechanical valves showed better survival than those with bioprosthetic valves. The mechanical AVR group exhibited a higher risk of stroke and anticoagulation-related bleeding, while the bioprosthetic AVR group showed a higher risk of AV reintervention.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.634-643
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• 2024

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy and safety of low-contrast-dose, dual-source dual-energy CT before transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in patients with compromised renal function. Materials and Methods: A total of 54 consecutive patients (female:male, 26:38; 81.9 ± 7.3 years) with reduced renal function underwent pre-TAVR dual-energy CT with a 30-mL contrast agent between June 2022 and March 2023. Monochromatic (40- and 50-keV) and conventional (120-kVp) images were reconstructed and analyzed. The subjective quality score, vascular attenuation, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) were compared among the imaging techniques using the Friedman test and post-hoc analysis. Interobserver reliability for aortic annular measurement was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman analysis. The procedural outcomes and incidence of post-contrast acute kidney injury (AKI) were assessed. Results: Monochromatic images achieved diagnostic quality in all patients. The 50-keV images achieved superior vascular attenuation and CNR (P < 0.001 in all) while maintaining a similar SNR compared to conventional CT. For aortic annular measurement, the 50-keV images showed higher interobserver reliability compared to conventional CT: ICC, 0.98 vs. 0.90 for area and 0.97 vs. 0.95 for perimeter; 95% limits of agreement width, 0.63 cm² vs. 0.92 cm² for area and 5.78 mm vs. 8.50 mm for perimeter. The size of the implanted device matched CT-measured values in all patients, achieving a procedural success rate of 92.6%. No patient experienced a serum creatinine increase of ≥ 1.5 times baseline in the 48-72 hours following CT. However, one patient had a procedural delay due to gradual renal function deterioration. Conclusion: Low-contrast-dose imaging with 50-keV reconstruction enables precise pre-TAVR evaluation with improved image quality and minimal risk of post-contrast AKI. This approach may be an effective and safe option for pre-TAVR evaluation in patients with compromised renal function.

• Annals of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.40-46
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• 2022

Backgrounds/Aims: The role of inflammation in malignant cell proliferation has been well described. High values of platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as markers of systemic inflammation have shown associations with unfavorable long-term outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine values of NLR and PLR evaluated prior to and after surgery and their associations with mortality and recurrence rates of liver transplant patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: A total of 105 patients with HCC who underwent orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) were retrospectively reviewed. NLR and PLR values were obtained from complete blood counts prior to and after surgery. Overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) in relation with delta NLR and PLR were estimated. Results: Serum alpha-fetoprotein levels > 100 ng/mL (p = 0.014) and lymphovascular emboli in the specimen (p = 0.048) were identified to be significant predictors of RFS. Child-Pugh score (p = 0.016) was found to be an independent factor associated with poorer OS. An increasing delta PLR was associated with worse RFS, although it showed no significant association with OS. Conclusions: The analysis of PLR as a continuous variable may predict recurrence outcomes in patients undergoing OLT for HCC. It is more representative than isolated values.