• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.210-215
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• 2001

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of gadobenate dimeglumine (GdBOPTA) enhanced MR imaging for the detection of liver lesions in patients with primary malignant hepatic neoplasms. Materials and Methods: Thirty-one patients with histologically proven primary malignancy of the liver were evaluated before and after administration of GdBOPTA at dose 0.05 or 0.10 mmol/kg. T1-weighted spin echo (T1W-SE) and gradient echo (T1W-GRE) images were evaluated for lesion number, location, size and confidence by three off-site independent reviewers and the findings were compared to reference standard imaging (intraoperative ultrasound, computed tomography during arterial portography or lipiodol computed tomography). Results were analyzed for significance using a two-sided McNemar's test. Results: More lesions were identified on Gd-BOPTA enhanced images than on unenhanced images and there was no significant difference in lesion detection between either concentration. The largest benefit was in detection of lesions under 1 cm in size (7 to 21, 9 to 15, 16 to 18 for reviewers A, B, C respectively). In 68% of the patients with more than one lesion, Gd-BOPTA increased the number of lesions detected. Conclusion: Liver MR imaging after Gd-BOPTA increases the detection of liver lesions in patients with primary malignant hepatic neoplasm.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.51-58
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• 2024

Background: The rise in national health care costs has emerged as a global problem given the ever-aging population and rapid development of medical technology. The utilization of interventional pain management has, similarly, shown a continued rise worldwide. This study evaluates the differences in the medical costs in the field of interventional pain treatment (IPT) between two countries: Korea and Japan. Methods: Korean medical insurance costs for 2019 related to pain management focused on IPT were compared to those of Japan. Purchasing power parity (PPP) was used to adjust the exchange rate differences and to compare prices in consideration of the respective societies' economic power. Results: The cost of trigger point injections in Japan was 1.06 times higher than that of Korea, whereas the perineural and intraarticular injection prices were lower in Japan. The cost of epidural blocks was higher in Japan compared to Korea in both cervical/thoracic and lumbar regions. As for blocks of peripheral branches of spinal nerves, the cost of scapular nerve blocks in Japan was lower than that in Korea, given a PPP ratio 0.09. For nerve blocks in which fluoroscopy guidance is mandatory, the costs of epidurography in Japan were greater than those in Korea, given a PPP ratio 1.04. Conclusions: This is the first comparative study focusing on the medical costs related to IPT between Korea and Japan, which reveals that the costs differed along various categories. Further comparisons reflecting more diverse countries and socio-economic aspects will be required.

• The Korean Journal of Franchise Management
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.57-75
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• 2024

Purpose: Nowadays, many restaurants use serving robots. Initially, many people thought that Covid-19 caused the spread of serving robots. However, even as the endemic, many restaurants still use serving robots. Therefore, this study examines why many customers choose restaurants with serving robots, using the UTAUT2 framework. Additionally, this study explores whether shyness has a moderating effect on these factors. Research design, data and methodology: Data were collected from 307 consumers who had visited a restaurant using a serving robot and analyzed using SmartPLS 4.0 software. A total of 286 datasets were analyzed. Result: We found that the precedence factors of UTAUT2 (Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Influence, Facilitating Condition, Hedonic Motivation) had a positive effect on attitude. Furthermore, attitude had a significant positive effect on Behavioral Intention. However, shyness did not appear to have a moderating effect among these factors. This is likely due to customers using serving robots for very short time, as identified in the literature review. Conclusions: As a result of this study, it was explained that Hedonic Motivation had the most significant positive effect on shaping attitudes toward restaurants using serving robots through the UTAUT2 model.

• Information Systems Review
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.125-144
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• 2023

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is gaining global attention as it can automatically generate sentences, images, and voices that humans previously generated. In particular, ChatGPT, a representative generative AI service, shows proactivity and accuracy differentiated from existing chatbot services, and the number of users is rapidly increasing in a short period of time. Despite this growing interest in generative AI services, most preceding studies are still in their infancy. Therefore, this study utilized LDA topic modeling and keyword network diagrams to derive success factors for generative AI services and to propose successful business strategies based on them. In addition, using ChatGPT, a new research methodology that complements the existing text-mining method, was presented. This study overcomes the limitations of previous research that relied on qualitative methods and makes academic and practical contributions to the future development of generative AI services.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.22-28
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• 2024

Background: Particulate matter (PM) has been extensively observed due to its negative association with human health. Previous research revealed the possible negative effect of air pollutant exposure on oral health. However, the predictive model between air pollutant exposure and the prevalence of periodontitis has not been observed yet. Therefore, this study aims to propose a predictive model for the number of patients with periodontitis exposed to PM and atmospheric factors in South Korea using deep learning. Methods: This study is a retrospective cohort study utilizing secondary data from the Korean Statistical Information Service and the Health Insurance Review and Assessment database for air pollution and the number of patients with periodontitis, respectively. Data from 2015 to 2022 were collected and consolidated every month, organized by region. Following data matching and management, the deep neural networks (DNN) model was applied, and the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) value was calculated to ensure the accuracy of the model. Results: As we evaluated the DNN model with MAPE, the multivariate model of air pollution including exposure to PM_2.5, PM₁₀, and other atmospheric factors predict approximately 85% of the number of patients with periodontitis. The MAPE value ranged from 12.85 to 17.10 (mean±standard deviation=14.12±1.30), indicating a commendable level of accuracy. Conclusion: In this study, the predictive model for the number of patients with periodontitis is developed based on air pollution, including exposure to PM_2.5, PM₁₀, and other atmospheric factors. Additionally, various relevant factors are incorporated into the developed predictive model to elucidate specific causal relationships. It is anticipated that future research will lead to the development of a more accurate model for predicting the number of patients with periodontitis.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.713-722
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• 2024

This study highlights the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology on journalism, discussing its utility and addressing major ethical concerns. Broadcasting companies and media institutions, such as the Bloomberg, Guardian, WSJ, WP, NYT, globally are utilizing AI for innovation in news production, data analysis, and content generation. Accordingly, the ecosystem of AI journalism will be analyzed in terms of scale, economic feasibility, diversity, and value enhancement of major media AI service types. Through the previous literature review, this study identifies key ethical and social issues in AI journalism as well. It aims to bridge societal and technological concerns by exploring mutual development directions for AI technology and the media industry. Additionally, it advocates for the necessity of integrated guidelines and advanced AI literacy through social consensus in addressing these issues.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.18-36
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• 2024

This study delved into the complex nature of medical services as experience goods and trust services, investigating the profound impact of online word-of-mouth on medical consumers' decisions to visit hospitals. Considering the restrictive legal framework for medical advertising, consumers are increasingly dependent on unrestricted sources of information like online reviews. This research aimed to provide empirical evidence for the significant role online word-of-mouth plays in hospital selection. Utilizing data from Naver reviews, hospital choice factors were classified based on the Kano model, revealing the subtle yet significant influence that word-of-mouth has on consumers' hospital visit intentions beyond merely positive or negative messages. In particular, the study provided insights into how the categorized positive and negative information, along with the presence or absence of emotional expression, affects the efficacy of word-of-mouth. The experiment targeted medical consumers aged over 20 and, through analysis using the SPSS statistical program, yielded important findings. The direction of online word-of-mouth, the presence of emotional expression, and the interaction of Kano attributes all created significant differences in hospital visit intentions. Notably, emotional expression included in negative word-of-mouth concerning one-dimensional attributes markedly decreased visit intentions, whereas the absence of emotional expression in attractive attributes actually enhanced reliability and increased visit intentions. These findings offer critical implications for redefining strategies in medical marketing and online review management. The discoveries of this study underscore the importance of active engagement and strategic management of online reviews by medical service providers, urging careful consideration of the various elements of online word-of-mouth that influence medical consumers' hospital visit intentions.

• Journal of the Health Care and Life Science
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.265-274
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• 2022

In this paper, the 2018 elderly patient data sets among the patient sample data of the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service and the 260,425 statements of patients admitted to the long-term care hospitals were together used. Accordingly, the characteristics of each hospital type were analyzed by classifying the addition type of long-term care hospitals according to whether or not to secure the required manpower and whether or no to secure more than two-thirds of required nurses. However, in evaluating whether or not to secure more than 2/3 of necessary nurses and whether or not to secure the necessary manpower, the relative value points were not considered, and the same amounts of value has been maintained for 13 years, so the relevant value needs to be revised.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.451-456
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• 2024

This study aims to diagnose the military manpower shortage problem caused by the rapid decline in fertility and aging population in South Korea and explore countermeasures. To this end, it analyzes the trends of demographic changes and military manpower supply and demand forecasts in Korea, and evaluates major alternatives such as expanding female soldiers, introducing a voluntary recruitment system, and adopting advanced weapons. It also seeks to derive implications through case studies of military manpower policies in major countries such as the United States, Japan, and Germany. The results show that in order to secure sustainable manpower for the Korean military, it is necessary to increase the proportion of female soldiers, review the voluntary recruitment system from a long-term perspective, minimize the power gap due to troop reduction, strengthen incentives for skilled manpower, and draw social consensus on improving the military service system and defense reform. This study is expected to contribute to the establishment of future military manpower policies in Korea.

• The Korean journal of internal medicine
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.469-476
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• 2024

Background/Aims: The reimbursement policy for cryptogenic stroke (CS) was expanded in November 2018 from recurrent strokes to the first stroke episode. No reports have demonstrated whether this policy change has affected trends in implantable loop recorder (ILR) utilization. Methods: We identified patients who received an ILR implant using the Korea Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service database between July 2016 and October 2021. Patients meeting all the following criteria were considered to have CS indication: 1) prior stroke history, 2) no previous history of atrial fibrillation or flutter (AF/AFL), and 3) no maintenance of oral anticoagulant for ≥4 weeks within a year before ILR implant. AF/AFL diagnosed within 3 years after ILR implant or before ILR removal was considered ILR-driven. Results: Among 3,056 patients, 1,001 (32.8%) had CS indications. The total ILR implant number gradually increased for both CS and non-CS indications and the number of CS indication significantly increased after implementing the expanded reimbursement policy. The detection rate for AF/AFL was 26.3% in CS patients over 3 years, which was significantly higher in patients implanted with an ILR within 2 months after stroke than those implanted later. Conclusions: The expanded coverage policy for CS had a significant impact on the number of ILR implantation for CS indication. The diagnostic yield of ILR for AF/AFL detection seems better when ILR is implanted within 2 months than later. Further investigation is needed to demonstrate other clinical benefits and the optimal ILR implantation timing.