• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.64 no.1
• /
• pp.4-12
• /
• 2021

Spinal metastases can present with varying degrees of mechanical instability. The Spinal Instability Neoplastic Score (SINS) was developed as a tool to assess spinal neoplastic-related instability while helping to guide referrals among oncology specialists. Some previous papers suggested that the SINS was accurate and reliable, while others disagreed with this opinion. We performed a systematic review regarding the SINS to evaluate its accuracy and precision in predicting vertebral compression fractures (VCFs). The 21 included studies investigated a total of 2118 patients. Thirteen studies dealt with the accuracy of SINS to predict post-radiotherapy VCFs, and eight dealt with the precision. Among 13 studies, 11 agreed that the SINS categories showed statistically significant accuracy in predicting VCF. Among eight studies, body collapse was effective for predicting VCFs in six studies, and alignment and bone lesion in two studies. Location has no statistical significance in predicting VCFs in any of the eight studies. The precision of SINS categories was substantial to excellent in six of eight studies. Among the six components of the SINS, the majority of the included studies reported that location showed near perfect agreement; body collapse, alignment, and posterolateral involvement showed moderate agreement; and bone lesion showed fair agreement. Bone lesion showed significant accuracy in predicting VCFs in half of eight studies, but displayed fair reliability in five of seven studies. Although location was indicated as having near perfect reliability, the component showed no accuracy for predicting VCFs in any of the studies and deleting or modifying the item needs to be considered. The SINS system may be accurate and reliable in predicting the occurrence of post-radiotherapy VCFs for spinal metastasis. Some components seem to be substantially weak and need to be revised.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.42-49
• /
• 2022

In this study, the surface protection film based on organic-inorganic composite is manufactured for suppressing lithium dendrite growth, and the film is applied on the surface of Li metal negative electrode for lithium metal batteries (LMBs). The film is consist of the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) polymeric binder which has good mechanical strength and high electrochemical stability, and carbon black (Super-P) which has outstanding electrical conductivity as the inorganic compound. First, in order to confirm the suppression of the internal short circuit by the lithium dendrite, the time required for the short circuit is measured while a constant current is continuously applied. As a result, the internal short circuit is delayed in proportion to the carbon black content of the film, and it is significantly delayed than bare Li metal electrode which does not use protection film. The cycle performance of the thick protection film (8 ㎛), is worse than that of the thin film (4 ㎛). However, as the carbon black content of the film increased, the cycle performance is improved. Thus, the surface protection film based on carbon black/PVDF composite can delay the internal short circuit, and has low overvoltage during the cycle. However, more stable cycle performance needs to be built through further improvements.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
• /
• v.38 no.6
• /
• pp.1512-1523
• /
• 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Saengmaeg-san intake on blood lipids and arteriosclerosis index in male tennis players. Seventeen male tennis players enrolled in university were assigned to a Saengmaeg-san intake group (n=9) and a placebo control group (n=8) according to whether they took Saengmaeg-san during 4-week high-intensity tennis training. Tennis training was conducted 5 times a week for 4 weeks, and the exercise intensity was performed at 70-90% of the spare heart rate. The intake of Saengmaeg-san was 110ml at a time before breakfast, before, during, during, and after exercise, and after dinner, a total of 7 times, 770ml per day. For all data, mean and standard deviation were used. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to examine the effect of time and treatment, and Pearson's Correlation was used to examine the relevance of differences in blood lipid responses after treatment. As a result of this study, the Saengmaeg-san intake group significantly improved blood lipids (triglyceride, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) and arteriosclerosis index, and there was a significant correlation appeared between ∆TG, ∆LDL-C, and ∆TC. As a result, the intake of Saengmaeg-san during high-intensity training of male college student tennis players can have a positive effect on blood lipids and arteriosclerosis index, suggesting that it can be an effective sports drink as an exercise supplement.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.49-62
• /
• 2018

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of distress tolerance on subjective well-being and the mediating effect of experiential avoidance in the relationship between distress tolerance and subjective well-being. We conducted an online survey a total of 285 normal adults in the nation from October 21 to 24, 2015. The questionnaire was composed of a distress intolerance index, a concise measure of subjective well-being, and acceptance action questionnaire. And questionnaires were distributed and retrived by an online survey company. Collected data has been analyzed by the structural equation modeling. The correlation analysis showed that distress tolerance was positively correlated with subjective well-being, while negatively with experiential avoidance. Also, the verification of mediating effects of experiential avoidance in the relation between distress tolerance and subjective well-being indicated that experiential avoidance partly mediated the relationship at a meaningful level. Additionally, deflection correction bootstrap analysis was used to verify indirect effects and its results revealed that the mediating effect going from distress tolerance to subjective well-being passing through experiential avoidance was statistically significant. That is, distress tolerance not only influences subjective well-being directly but also influences indirectly through experiential avoidance. Finally, significance and limitations of this study were discussed along with the suggestions for further research.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.205-213
• /
• 2009

Objectives : Cancer incidence is increasing in all countries and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) in patients undergoing chemotherapeutic agents have been a clinically serious problems. So far therapeutic options for CIPN patients are limited and no confirmed methods have yet been established for dealing with peripheral neuropathy. Therefore this review is to provide an evidence-based summary of oriental medicine and CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) neuroprotective and treatment therapies which have gone through clinical trials. Methods : An overview of the domestic and international papers of adult clinical trials relating management of only CIPN symptoms through 1990 to present were searched by electronic databases. Search key words were chemotherapy-induced neurotoxicity, chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, chemotherapy toxicity & herb, chemotherapy toxicity & acupuncture, chemotherapy toxicity & CAM. Only English and Korean written papers were reviewed. Total 25 papers were reviewed in this study, 18 papers were retrieved by electronic search. Results : Clinical studies of managing CIPN were rare, two acupuncture clinical studies and four herb medicinal studies were found. Rest of 19 papers were about other CAM clinical studies. Total 25 papers were analyzed, and all interventions were focused on their pain control efficacy. Other 24 trials of potential therapies except one proved to be effective for CIPN, however some described to be inadequate positive or sufficient negative. Conclusions : As most of the studies were pilot studies, interventions for the prevention and treatment of CIPN have to go through prospective confirmatory studies, such as larger scale randomized, double-blinded, placebo controlled clinical trials must be done for the safe and effective use of proposed therapies. Also standard measurement scales have to be developed for the better clinical study of CIPN.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.44 no.1
• /
• pp.62-78
• /
• 2023

The purpose of this study is to analyze the field of Earth science at a science fair. For this purpose, 566 pieces of data spanning 21 years (2000 to 2020), acquired from entries in the Earth Science section on the science fair website, were analyzed using the semantic network method. As a result, geoscience topics have been actively explored in works submitted for the Earth Science section of the science fair. Fossils from the Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic Era were particularly predominant. Together with these, keywords corresponding to astronomy, space science, and atmospheric science formed a small-scale network. Astronomy and space science mainly dealt with the dynamic characteristics of asteroids, Venus, and Jupiter. Other subjects included the solar system, sunspots, and lunar phases. Atmospheric science has focused on atmospheric physics, atmospheric observation and analysis technology, atmospheric dynamics, air quality monitoring, while marine science has been limited to physical oceanography and geologic oceanography. This study, is expected to help select Earth Science topics and conduct inquiry activities in schools.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
• /
• 2022.10a
• /
• pp.207-207
• /
• 2022

Eating and cooking quality (ECQ) is one of the most complex quantitative traits in rice. The understanding of genetic regulation of transcript expression levels attributing to phenotypic variation in ECQ traits is limited. We integrated whole-genome resequencing, transcriptome, and phenotypic variation data from 84 Japonica accessions to build a transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) based regulatory network. All ECQ traits showed a large phenotypic variation and significant phenotypic correlations among the traits. TWAS analysis identified a total of 285 transcripts significantly associated with six ECQ traits. Genome-wide mapping of ECQ-associated transcripts revealed 66,905 quantitative expression traits (eQTLs), including 21,747 local eQTLs, and 45,158 trans-eQTLs, regulating the expression of 43 genes. The starch synthesis-related genes (SSRGs), starch synthase IV-1 (SSIV-1), starch branching enzyme 1 (SBE1), granule-bound starch synthase 2 (GBSS2), and ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase small subunit 2a (OsAGPS2a) were found to have eQTLs regulating the expression of ECQ associated transcripts. Further, in co-expression analysis, 130 genes produced at least one network with 22 master regulators. In addition, we developed CRISPR/Cas9-edited glbl mutant lines that confirmed the role of alpha-globulin (glbl) in starch synthesis to validate the co-expression analysis. This study provided novel insights into the genetic regulation of ECQ traits, and transcripts associated with these traits were discovered that could be used in further rice breeding.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.56 no.2
• /
• pp.263-275
• /
• 2023

The Sun-Earth Lagrange point L4 is considered as one of the unique places where the solar activity and heliospheric environment can be observed in a continuous and comprehensive manner. The L4 mission affords a clear and wide-angle view of the Sun-Earth line for the study of the Sun-Earth and Sun-Moon connections from he perspective of remote-sensing observations. In-situ measurements of the solar radiation, solar wind, and heliospheric magnetic field are critical components necessary for monitoring and forecasting the radiation environment as it relates to the issue of safe human exploration of the Moon and Mars. A dust detector on the ram side of the spacecraft allows for an unprecedented detection of local dust and its interactions with the heliosphere. The purpose of the present paper is to emphasize the importance of L4 observations as well as to outline a strategy for the planned L4 mission with remote and in-situ payloads onboard a Korean spacecraft. It is expected that the Korean L4 mission can significantly contribute to improving the space weather forecasting capability by enhancing the understanding of heliosphere through comprehensive and coordinated observations of the heliosphere at multi-points with other existing or planned L1 and L5 missions.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.351-362
• /
• 2024

Objective: To measure inter-reader agreement and identify associated factors in interpreting complete response (CR) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) following chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for rectal cancer. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study involved 10 readers from seven hospitals with experience of 80-10210 cases, and 149 patients who underwent surgery after CRT for rectal cancer. Using MRI-based tumor regression grading (mrTRG) and methods employed in daily practice, the readers independently assessed mrTRG, CR on T2-weighted images (T2WI) denoted as mrCR_T2W, and CR on all images including diffusion-weighted images (DWI) denoted as mrCR_overall. The readers described their interpretation patterns and how they utilized DWI. Inter-reader agreement was measured using multi-rater kappa, and associated factors were analyzed using multivariable regression. Correlation between sensitivity and specificity of each reader was analyzed using Spearman coefficient. Results: The mrCR_T2W and mrCR_overall rates varied widely among the readers, ranging 18.8%-40.3% and 18.1%-34.9%, respectively. Nine readers used DWI as a supplement sequence, which modified interpretations on T2WI in 2.7% of cases (36/1341 [149 patients × 9 readers]) and mostly (33/36) changed mrCR_T2W to non-mrCR_overall. The kappa values for mrTRG, mrCR_T2W, and mrCR_overall were 0.56 (95% confidence interval: 0.49, 0.62), 0.55 (0.52, 0.57), and 0.54 (0.51, 0.57), respectively. No use of rectal gel, larger initial tumor size, and higher initial cT stage exhibited significant association with a higher interreader agreement for assessing mrCR_overall (P ≤ 0.042). Strong negative correlations were observed between the sensitivity and specificity of individual readers (coefficient, -0.718 to -0.963; P ≤ 0.019). Conclusion: Inter-reader agreement was moderate for assessing CR on post-CRT MRI. Readers' varying standards on MRI interpretation (i.e., threshold effect), along with the use of rectal gel, initial tumor size, and initial cT stage, were significant factors associated with inter-reader agreement.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.53 no.3
• /
• pp.265-274
• /
• 2002

Background : Tumor associated antigens, which are produced specifically by tumor cells, are promising targets for the early diagnosis and immunotherapy. Among the tumor associated antigens, MAGE (a melanoma antigen), BAGE, GAGE, PRAME and NY-ESO were named as cancer/testis specific antigens they are detected exclusively in the testis or cancer cells If MAGE is easily detectable in the sputum, it would become a convenient method for diagnosing lung cancer. This study was undertaken to investigate MAGE expression in the induced sputum obtained from lung cancer patients. Materials and Methods : In 14 control patients and 30 lung cancer patients, the induced sputum was collected after inhaling 3% saline(5 cc) delivered by nebulizer for approximately 5 minutes after a mouth rinse and bronchodilator inhalation. The induced sputum was placed in a conservative-mixed solution (guanidinium isothiocyanate, Triton X-100). The total cellular mRNA was extracted from the cells and RT PCR and nested PCR were run in 30 and 35 cycles respectively, with two different types of primers specially designed to detect six subtypes of MAGE DNA simultaneously. Results : MAGE expression was not detected in the 14 controls, but in the 30 cancer patients, MAGE was found in 24 patients (80%, p=0.001). In the cancer patients, there were no differences in the expression level according to the tissue types (squamous cell cancer 13/17, adenocarcinoma 7/9, and small cell cancer 4/4, p-0.56). Among the 24 MAGE-positive patients, the tumor was not visible on a bronchoscopy in 11 patients (45.8%). Conclusion : A study of MAGE in induced sputum appears to be a useful and complementary method in the diagnosis of lung cancer. A further prospective study with more patients is recommended.