• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.285-294
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• 2016

In general, employment duration is influenced by the individual characteristics (level-1) as well as type of the occupational characteristics (level-2). That is, the data has hierarchical structure in the sense that individual employment duration is influenced by the individual-level variables (level-1) and the job-level (level-2) variables. In this paper, we study the determinants of the employment duration of youth-intern in the SMEs (small and medium enterprises) using Cox's mixed effect model. Major results at level-1 variables are as followings. First, the hazard rate of treatment group is lower than that of control group. Second, the hazard rate of woman is lower than that of man. Also, the hazard rate is lower, for the older and the workers working in the bigger company. Investigation of level-2 variables has shown that random effect for job-level is statistically significant.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.34-40
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• 2009

Background: The principal surgical technique for treating an abdominal aortic aneurysm since the 1960s has been the transperitoneal approach, yet there have been some recent studies that have reported improved surgical results with using the retroperitoneal approach. However, there are only limited clinical Korean studies that have, compared between the transperitoneal and retroperitoneal approaches. Material and Method: This study included 36 patients who had been diagnosed as having an aneurysm of the abdominal aorta and they were surgically treated between January 2001 and July 2007. The patients were subdivided into the retroperitoneal approach group (n=17) and the transperitoneal approach group (n=19), and they were compared in terms of the preoperative risk factors, the postoperative complications and the operative mortality. The risk factors of operative mortality risk and long-term survival for the 36 patients were assessed by the Kaplan-Meier method. Result: There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of gender, age, the underlying disease, a history of smoking, rupture of aneurysm, the preoperative symptoms, the operation time and the incidence of postoperative complications. However, the duration of postoperative fasting, the number of days of having an indwelling nasogastric tube and the length of the stay in the intensive care unit were significantly short for the retroperitoneal approach group (p<0.05). There was a 16.7% rate of operative mortality (6/36) and five of the deaths were attributed to preoperative ruptured aneurysm. On univariate analysis, a higher preoperative serum creatinine level (SCr ${\geq}$1.8 mg/dL, p=0.016) and ruptured aneurysm (p<0.001) were the significant risk factors of operative mortality. As assessed by the Kaplan-Meier method, the long-term survival was comparable between the groups and the five-year survival rate of all the patients was 57.5%. Conclusion: In the present study, a retroperitoneal approach has several advantages such as a shorter intensive care unit stay, a shorter duration of postoperative fasting and a shorter duration of an indwelling nasogastric tube. Therefore, unless there is any contraindication for a retroperitoneal approach, it could be considered as a primary surgical access for repairing an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.23-29
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• 1999

Purpose : To evaluate the efficacy of radiation therapy and extrafascial hysterectomy in bulky stage IB, IIA-B uterine cervix cancers. Methods and Materials : Twenty four patients with bulky stage IB and IIA-B carcinoma of the uterine cervix were treated with extrafascial hysterectomy following radiation therapy due to doubts of residual disease at Department of therapeutic radiology, Keimyung University, Dongsan Hospital, from April 1986 to December 1997 According to FIGO staging system, there were 7 patients with stage IB, 9 patients with IIA and 8 patients with IIB stage whose median age was 45. Pathologic distribution showed 16 patients with squamous cell carcinoma and 8 patients with adenocarcinoma. Seven patients had tumors that are less than 5cm in size and 17 patients had tumors with larger than 5cm. The mean interval between radiation therapy and extrafascial hysterectomy was 57 days. The radiation therapy consisted of external irradition to the whole pelvis (180 cGy/fraction, mean 4100 cGy) and parametrial boost (for a mean total dose of 5000 cGy) with midline shield (4H 10 cm), followed by intracavitary irradiation up to 7500 cGy to point A (maximum 8500 cGy). The maximum follow up duration was 107 months and mean follow up duration was 42 months. Results :Ten out of 24 patients (41.7%) had residual disease found at the time of extrafascial hysterectomies. Five year overall survival rate (5Y OSR) and five year disease free survival rate (5Y DFSR) were 63.6% and 62.5% respectively. Five year overall survival rate for stage IB and IIA was 71.4% and 50% for stage IIB. There was a significant difference in 5Y OSR and 5Y DFSR between patients with and those without residual disease (negative vs positive, 83.3% vs. 40% (P=0.01), 83.3% vs 36% (P=0.01) respectively). There was a notable tendency of better survival with adenocarcinoma than with squamous cell carcinoma (adenocarcinoma vs squamous cell carcinoma, 85.7% vs. 53.3% (P=0.1), 85.7% vs. 50.9% (P=0.1) of 5Y OSR and 5Y DFS respectivey). Total dose to A point did not make a significant difference in survival rate or the existence of residual lesion (< 7500 cGy, ${\geq}$ 7500 cOy). It was also noted that significantly more frequent local failures have occurred in patients with positive residual disease compared with negative residual disease (5/10 vs. 0/14, p=0.003), There was no death related to the treatment. Conclusion : There was no improvement of residual disease and to the overall survival rate in spite of increased total dose to point A. We conclude that there is a possible beneficial effect of radiation therapy followed by extrafaseial hysterectomy in survival for adenocarcinoma of bulky stage IB and IIA-B uterine cervix. We need to confirm this with longer follow up and with large number of patients.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.29-34
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• 2018

Background: We evaluated the feasibility and outcomes of pulmonary resection and mediastinal node dissection (MND) by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) following neoadjuvant therapy for stage IIIA N2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: From November 2009 to December 2013, a total of 35 consecutive patients with pathologically or radiologically confirmed stage IIIA N2 lung cancer underwent pulmonary resection and MND, performed by a single surgeon, following neoadjuvant chemoradiation. Preoperative patient characteristics, surgical outcomes, postoperative drainage, postoperative complications, and mortality were retrospectively analyzed. Results: VATS was completed in 17 patients. Thoracotomy was performed in 18 patients, with 13 planned thoracotomies and 5 conversions from the VATS approach. The median age was $62.7{\pm}7.9years$ in the VATS group and $60{\pm}8.7years$ in the thoracotomy group. The patients in the VATS group tended to have a lower diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (p=0.077). There were no differences between the 2 groups in the method of diagnosing the N stage, tumor response and size after induction, tumor location, or histologic type. Complete resection was achieved in all patients. More total and mediastinal nodes were dissected in the VATS group than in the thoracotomy group (p<0.05). The median chest tube duration was 5.3 days (range, 1 to 33 days) for the VATS group and 7.2 days (range, 2 to 28 days) for the thoracotomy group. The median follow-up duration was 36.3 months. The 5-year survival rates were 76% in the VATS group and 57.8% in the thoracotomy group (p=0.39). The 5-year disease-free survival rates were 40.3% and 38.9% in the VATS and thoracotomy groups, respectively (p=0.8). Conclusion: The VATS approach following neoadjuvant treatment was safe and feasible in selected patients for the treatment of stage IIIA N2 NSCLC, with no compromise of oncologic efficacy.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.125-134
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• 2014

Purpose: The aim of this study was to characterize Korean patients with Fanconi anemia (FA), which is a rare but very challenging genetic disease. Methods: The medical records of 12 FA patients diagnosed at Chonnam National University Hospital from 1991 to 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. Results: The median age at diagnosis was 6.2 years. All patients showed evidence of marrow failure and one or more physical stigmata. Chromosome breakage tests were positive in 9 out of 11 available patients. The median follow-up duration was 69.5 months. The Kaplan-Meier (KM) survival of all patients was 83.3% at 10 years and 34.7% at 20 years, respectively. Seven patients underwent 9 stem cell transplantations (SCTs). Among them, 5 were alive by the end of the study. Ten-year KM survival after SCT was 71.4% with a median follow-up of 3.4 years. All 5 patients treated with supportive treatment alone died of infection or progression at the median age of 13.5 years, except for one with short followup duration. Acute leukemia developed in 2 patients at 15.4 and 18.1 years of age. Among 6 patients who are still alive, 3 had short stature and 1 developed insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Conclusion: We provide information on the long-term outcomes of FA patients in Korea. A nation-wide FA registry that includes information of the genotypes of Korean patients is required to further characterize ethnic differences and provide the best standard of care for FA patients.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.102-108
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• 2008

Many alternative biocidal additives were applied to antifouling paint to replace TBT, and Sea-Nine 211 is one of alternating organic booster compounds used in antifouling paint. In this study, extent of Sea-Nine 211 toxicity on marine benthic bivalve is evaluated. Sea-Nine 211 was injected to surf clam, Pseudocardium sachalinensis, that inhabitate northern part of Gangwon Province, Korea. Survival rate of the clam and xenobiotics metabolizing enzyme activities in digestive gland were measured during 4 day-exposure period. The results were compared with those of TBT exposed clam. There were no mortality of clam in the solvent (DMSO) control group and the three Sea-Nine 211 exposure groups (5, 25, 50 mg kg$^{-1}$ body weight), while the clam exposed to 1, 2 and 5 mg kg$^{-1}$ TBT chloride (TBTC) demonstrated 70, 30 and 0% survival rate, respectively. The Sea-Nine 211 exposure group showed a tendency of cytochrome P450 (CYP) induction according to the exposure duration, on the other hand, CYP content was decreased in the TBT exposure group. NADPH cytochrome P450 reductase activity slightly increase according to the exposure duration in the Sea-Nine 211 exposure group, while TBTC inhibit its activity as CYP content. Moreover, there was no significant change of NADH cytochrome b5 reductate activity in the clam epxosed to Sea-Nine 211. In the TBTC exposure group, its activity increased in early exposure period and then significantly decreased the rest of exposure period. All the results indicate that Sea-Nine 211 demonstrated a tendency to induce CYP level, while TBTC inhibits the CYP level, NADPH cytochrome P450 reductase and NADH cytochrome b5 reductase activities.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.160-166
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• 2006

We explored the possibilities of using the freshwater rotifer Brachionus angularis as a live food for small fishes cultured in fresh- or brackish waters. Brachionus angularis were collected from a reservoir for isolation and laboratory culture. Length and width of the lorica were $102.3{\mu}m$ and $76.6{\mu}m$, respectively, and those of amictic eggs were $64.4{\mu}m\;and\;47.9{\mu}m$, respectively. When their growth rates were examined at six different temperatures, i.e., 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and $40^{\circ}C$, the highest daily growth rate of 0.801 was observed at $35^{\circ}C$, and growth was lower with decreasing temperature. Adaptation to salinity change was evaluated with two different modes of salinity increase: step-wise elevation lasting for short durations of 5 to 30 min or a long duration of 24 h. With the short duration modes, no individuals survived salinity higher than 10 psu, and the number of live individuals did not increase throughout the experiment. However, in the 24-h elevation, the number of individuals increased when salinity was elevated by 1 to 2 psu per day for the first 2 or 3 days, while no increase in number occurred at salinity increments higher than 3 psu per day. In addition, to assess the effect of different diets, four single-component diets (Chlorella vulgaris, Nannochloris sp., baker's yeast, or dry yeast) and three combination diets (C. vulgaris + Nannochloris sp. + baker's yeast + dry yeast; C. vulgaris 70% + baker's yeast 30%; C. vulgaris 30% + baker's yeast 70%) were used. The specific growth rates of B. angularis fed combination diets were higher than those of rotifers fed any single-component diet, with the highest rate of 0.648 in B. angularis fed a mixture of C. vulgaris, Nannochloris sp., baker's yeast, and dry yeast, and the lowest rate of 0.200 in those fed dry yeast only. Our results indicate that the freshwater rotifer B. angularis can be used for seedling production of both freshwater and brackish-water fishes that require small (less than about $120{\mu}m$) live food during their early stages.

• The Journal of Dong Guk Oriental Medicine
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.107-116
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• 1999

The effects of Sosokmyung-tang(小續命湯) on global cerebral ischemia and cerebral in farction by MCA(middle cerebral artery) occlusion were evaluated in this study. This study was performed to investigate that Sosokmyung-tang would be useful for cerebrovascular diseases. In the case of global cerebral ischemia, ICR mice were used and divided into three group at random. Control group was treated after oral administration of normal saline, experimental group was treated after oral administration of 10.4mg/20g/day of Sosokmyung-tang extract. The multiple parameter of global cerebral ischemia included the duration of coma of KCN(potassium cyanide)-injected(1.2mg/kg, i.v) group and the survival time of KCN-injected(3.0mg/kg, i.v) group. In the case of cerebral infarction by MCA occlusion, Sprague-Dawley rats were used and divided into three group at random. Control group was given nothing before MCA occlusion, experimental group was given 157.2mg/250g/day of Sosokrnyung-tang extract before MCA occlusion. We investigated edema and ischemic ratio in 8 slices of rats' brain after MCA occlusion. The results were obtained as follows : 1. Sosokrnyung-tang significantly shortened the duration of coma of KCN-injected(1.2mg/kg,i.v) group and lengthened the survival time of KCN-injected(3.0mg/kg, i.v) group. 2. Sosokmyung-tang significantly decreased cerebral edema and ischemic ratio in rats after MCA occlusion. From the above results, it was concluded that Sosokmyung-tang can be effectively applied to cerebrovascular diseases.

• The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.21-30
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• 2014

Ordinary survival analysis cannot be applied when a significant fraction of patients may be cured. A cure rate model is the combination of cure fraction and survival model and can be applied to several types of cancer. In this article, the cure rate model is considered in the interval censored data with a cluster effect. A shared frailty model is introduced to characterize the cluster effect and an EM algorithm is used to estimate parameters. A simulation study is done to evaluate the performance of estimates. The proposed approach is applied to the smoking cessation study in which the event of interest is a smoking relapse. Several covariates (including intensive care) are evaluated to be effective for both the occurrence of relapse and the smoke quitting duration.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.165-174
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• 2018

Glioblastoma multiforme is the most lethal malignant brain tumor. Despite many intensive studies, the prognosis of glioblastoma multiforme is currently very poor, with a median overall survival duration of 14 months and 2-year survival rates of less than 10%. Although viral infections have been emphasized as potential cofactors, their influences on pathways that support glioblastoma progression are not known. Some previous studies indicated that human Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) was detected in healthy brains, and its microRNA was also detected in glioblastoma patients' plasma. However, a direct link between KSHV infection and glioblastoma is currently not known. In this study, we infected glioblastoma cells and glioma stem-like cells (GSCs) with KSHV to establish an in vitro cell model for KSHV-infected glioblastoma cells and glioma stem-like cells in order to identify virologic outcomes that overlap with markers of aggressive disease. Latently KSHV-infected glioblastoma cells and GSCs were successfully established. Additionally, using these cell models, we found that KSHV infection modulates the proliferation of glioma stem-like cells.