• Health Policy and Management
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.148-169
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• 2008

As the Korean Government began to perceive healthcare as one of foundational industries for national dynamics, there has been mounting advocacy for the introduction of for-profit hospitals with a view to bringing efficiency in healthcare services industries and improvement of their international competitiveness. The Government is now considering the issue from all angles in favor of permitting for-profit hospitals. However, There have been few precedent studies on this subject to provide helpful data for the discussion and in the health policy making. This study used private hospitals - for-profit and nonprofit - in Florida, USA as study subjects to accumulate basic data that may be utilized for those involved in debates and health policy making relating to the introduction of for-profit hospitals in Korea. Among all the private general hospitals in Florida, those surveyed by AHA(American Hospital Association) for four consecutive years from 2001 and 2004 and others reported about to MCR(Medicare Cost Report) included in the collected data for analysis. In total 139 private general hospitals consisting of 73 for-profit hospitals and 66 nonprofit hospitals were included in the collected analysis data. Results of analysis revealed no significant difference between for-profit hospitals and nonprofit hospitals in the usage aspects of healthcare services including the average length of stay and the ratio of Medicare vs Medicaid patients. However, financial performances indicated by such factors. as the pre-tax return on assets and the pre-tax operating margin showed to be significantly higher in for-profit hospitals compared with nonprofit hospitals. And the ratio of personnel expenses and the turn period of total assets showed to be significantly lower in for-profit hospitals. Based on the hypothesis that arguments about the introduction of for-profit hospitals have considerably different viewpoints depending on the size of hospital represented by the number of bed, these two hospital types were compared again using the number of beds as a controlled factor, but the results were similar. We, therefore, could conclude that the for-profit hospitals in Florida included in this study could, in their for-profit operation, improve their financial performance by pursuing cost reduction and effectively utilizing their assets without limiting the amount and the range of their services or avoiding less medically protected groups such as Medicare and Medicaid patients.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.199-205
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• 2013

The present study was conducted to compare on embryo survival rates by blastomere isolation methods, and establish the optimal PCR procedure for perform the sexing of bovine blastocysts produced by IVF. IVF embryos used in the study was used the Bisected or Sliced methods for blastomere isolation, and the survival rates of blastocyst with rapid way of sexing PCR was assessed. In the present study for survival rates in blastocyst was the total cleavage rate was 75% and a blastocyst development among cleaved embryos was 40%. Survival rate of embryos treated with intact, bisected or sliced method was 100, 63.3 or 81.3%, respectively. Therefore, survival rate of embryos treated with sliced method was higher compared to that of embryos treated with bisected method. The sexing rate of female or male was not significantly different between S4BFBR primer and BSY + BSP primer (1.75 : 1 vs. 1.43 : 1), respectively. Because of the PCR amplification using the S4BFBR primer was simpler method than multiplex PCR amplification method. Furthermore, the accuracy of sexing rate and reduction of PCR work time between 2-step and 3-step of PCR methods was 98.0% / 1.5 hr and 97.0% / 3.5 hr, respectively. Based on these results, it can be suggested that the sliced and PCR methods we developed was very effective method to reduce time consuming and procedure of PCR amplification for sexing with the increase of survival rate on the blastocyst.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.517-522
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• 2013

The effect on methanogens attached to the surface of rumen ciliate protozoa by the addition of plant extracts (pine needles and ginkgo leaves) was studied with particular reference to their effectiveness for decreasing methane emission. The plant extracts (pine needles and ginkgo leaves) were added to an in vitro fermentation incubated with rumen fluid. The microbial population including bacteria, ciliated-associated methanogen, four different groups of methanogens and Fibrobacter succinogenes were quantified by using the real-time PCR. Gas profiles including methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen, and runinal fermentation characteristics were observed in vitro. The methane emission from samples with an addition of individual juices from pine needles, ginkgo leaves and 70% ethanol extract from ginko leaves was significantly lower (p<0.05, 27.1, 28.1 and 28.1 vs 34.0 ml/g DM) than that of the control, respectively. Total VFAs in samples with an addition of any of the plant extracts were significantly lower than that of the control (p<0.05) as well. The order Methanococcales and the order Methanosarcinales were not detected by using PCR in any incubated mixtures. The ciliate-associated methanogens population decreased from 25% to 49% in the plant extacts as compared to control. We speculate that the supplementation of juice from pine needles and ginkgo leaves extract (70% ethanol extract) decreased the protozoa population resulting in a reduction of methane emission in the rumen and thus inhibiting methanogenesis. The order Methanobacteriales community was affected by addition of all plant extracts and decreased to less than the control, while the order Methanomicrobiales population showed an increase to more than that of the control. The F. succinogenes, the major fibrolytic microorganism, population in all added plant extracts was increased to greater than that of the control. In conclusion, pine needles and ginkgo leaves extracts appear to have properties that decrease methanogenesis by inhibiting protozoa species and may have a potential for use as additives for ruminants.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.376-380
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• 2006

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of temperature and pH on in vitro nutrient degradability, volatile fatty acid profile and methane production. The fermenter used was the semi-continuous system, known as the rumen simulation technique (RUSITEC). Sixteen cylinders were used at one time with a volume of 800 ml, the dilution rate was set at 3.5%/hour, the infused buffer being McDougall's artificial saliva. Basal diet (9.6 g DM) used in RUSITEC consisted of (DM) 6.40 g Timothy hay, 1.86 g crushed corn and 1.34 g soybean meal. The food for the fermentation vessel was provided in nylon bags, which were gently agitated in the liquid phase. The experiment lasted for 17 d with all the samples taken during the last 5 d. Treatments were allocated at random to four vessels each and were (1) two temperature levels of $39^{\circ}C$ and $41^{\circ}C$ (2) two pH levels of 6.0 and 7.0. The total diet contained ($g\;kg^{-1}$ DM) 957 OM, 115 CP and $167MJ\;kg^{-1}$ (DM) GE. Although increase in temperature from $39^{\circ}C$ to $41^{\circ}C$ reduced degradation of major nutrients in vitro, it was non-significant. Interaction effect of temperature with pH also reflected a similar trend. However, pH showed a significant (p<0.05) negative effect on the degradability of all the nutrients in vitro. Altering the in vitro pH from 7 to 6 caused marked reduction in DMD from 60.2 to 41.8, CPD from 76.3 to 55.3 and GED from 55.3 to 35.1, respectively. Low pH (6) depressed total VFA production (61.9 vs. 34.9 mM) as well as acetate to propionate ratio in vitro (from 2.0 to 1.5) when compared to pH 7. Compared to pH 7, total gas production decreased from 1,841 ml to 1,148 ml at pH 6, $CO_2$ and $CH_4$ production also reduced from 639 to 260 ml and 138 to 45 ml, respectively. This study supported the premise that pH is one of the principal factors affecting the microbial production of volatile fatty acids and gas. Regulating the ruminal pH to increase bacterial activity may be one of the methods to optimize VFA production, reduce methane and, possibly, improve animal performance.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.08a
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• pp.162-162
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• 2010

InSb has received great attentions as a promising candidate for the active layer of infrared photodetectors due to the well matched band gap for the detection of $3{\sim}5\;{\mu}m$ infrared (IR) wavelength and high electron mobility (106 cm2/Vs at 77 K). In the fabrication of InSb photodetectors, passivation step to suppress dark currents is the key process and intensive studies were conducted to deposit the high quality passivation layers on InSb. Silicon dioxide (SiO2), silicon nitride (Si3N4) and anodic oxide have been investigated as passivation layers and SiO2 is generally used in recent InSb detector fabrication technology due to its better interface properties than other candidates. However, even in SiO2, indium oxide and antimony oxide formation at SiO2/InSb interface has been a critical problem and these oxides prevent the further improvement of interface properties. Also, the mechanisms for the formation of interface phases are still not fully understood. In this study, we report the quantitative analysis of indium and antimony oxide formation at SiO2/InSb interface during plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition at various growth temperatures and subsequent heat treatments. 30 nm-thick SiO2 layers were deposited on InSb at 120, 160, 200, 240 and $300^{\circ}C$, and analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). With increasing deposition temperature, contents of indium and antimony oxides were also increased due to the enhanced diffusion. In addition, the sample deposited at $120^{\circ}C$ was annealed at $300^{\circ}C$ for 10 and 30 min and the contents of interfacial oxides were analyzed. Compared to as-grown samples, annealed sample showed lower contents of antimony oxide. This result implies that reduction process of antimony oxide to elemental antimony occurred at the interface more actively than as-grown samples.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.42-46
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• 2008

Even though fuel cell have high efficiency when pure hydrogen from gas tank is used as a fuel source, it is more beneficial to generate hydrogen from city gas (mainly methane) in residential application such as domestic or office environments. Thus hydrogen is generated by reforming process using hydrocarbon. Unfortunately, the reforming process for hydrogen production is accompanied with unavoidable impurities. Impurities such as CO, $CO_2$, $H_2S$, $NH_3$, $CH_4$, and $CH_4$ in hydrogen could cause negative effects on fuel cell performance. Those effects are kinetic losses due to poisoning of the electrode catalysts, ohmic losses due to proton conductivity reduction including membrane and catalyst ionomer layers, and mass transport losses due to degrading catalyst layer structure and hydrophobic property. Hydrogen produced from reformer eventually contains around 73% of $H_2$, 20% or less of $CO_2$, 5.8% of less of $N_2$, or 2% less of $CH_4$, and 10ppm or less of CO. This study is aimed at investigating the effect of carbon dioxide on fuel cell performance. The performance of PEM fuel cell was investigated using current vs. potential experiment, long run(10 hr) test, and electrochemical impedance measurement when the concentrations of carbon dioxide were 10%, 20% and 30%. Also, the concentration of impurity supplied to the fuel cell was verified by gas chromatography(GC).

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.305-324
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• 2000

This study compared the short-term(4 months) clinical results of regenerative therapy with bioabsorbable membranes($BioMesh^{(R)}$) and bone allograft for the treatment of periodontal(intrabony and furcation) defects in smokers and nonsmokers.(16 smokers) 32 subjects with 92 defects participated in the study(46 in smokers and 46 in non-smokers). This study also evaluated a bioresorbable barrier with and without decalcified freeze-dried bone allograft(DFDBA). The 92 periodontal defects were randomly treated with either the resorbable barrier alone or resorbable barrier in combination with DFDBA following thorough defect debridement and root preparation with tetracycline. Each patient received both types of treatment modalities. Clinical examinations(probing depth, gingival recession, clinical attachment level, plaque index and gingival index) were carried out immediately before and 4 months after surgery. Significant(p<0.001) gains in mean attachment level were observed for both smokers(2.93mm) and non-smokers(3.30mm) but there were not significant difference between two groups. Similarly, significant reductions in mean probing depthshowed for smokers(4.52mm) and non-smokers(4.26mm). However, when comparing gingival recession, smokers were found to exhibit significantly poorer treatment results(1.59mm vs 0.96mm, p<0.05). Using the split-mouth-design, no statistically significant difference between the two modalities could be detected with regard to pocket depth reduction, gingival recession, or attachment gain. These results illustrate that the attachment gain is better in the non-smoker and the best in the non-smoker with the combination therapy of resorbable barrier and DFDBA than with resorbable barrier alone but smoking had no significant effect on clinical treatment outcome, even though smokers show more significant gingival recession. In addition, both treatments, either resorbable barrier plus DFDBA or resorbable barrier alone, promoted significant resolution of periodontal defects but the addition of DFDBA with a bioabsorbable membrane appears to add no extra benefit to the only membrane treatment.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.17-25
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• 1994

We evaluated the effect of nicotinamide on cellular $O_{2}$ consumption and metabolic status i.e., adenylate phosphates and $NAD^{+}$in-vitro, and changes in blood flow in-vivo, to determine whether changes in cellular metabolism or increased oxygen availability, was responsible for increased tumor oxygenation. Thirty min, pre-incubation of cells with$\∼$4mM (= 500mg/kg) nicotinamide resulted in no change in cellular $O_{2}$ consumption. Similarly neither the adenylate Phosphates nor the cellular $NAD^{+}$levels were altered in the presence of $\∼$4mM nicontinamide. In-vivo, nicotinamide (500mg/kg) increased $O_{2}$ availability as estimated by changes in relative tumor blood flow (RBC flux). The changes in RBC flux measured by the laser Doppler method, were tumor volume dependent and increased from$\∼$35$ \% $ in$\∼$ 150$mm_{3}$tumors to$\∼$~75$ \% $ in$\∼$500$mm^{3}$ tumors. In conclusion, these observations indicate a reduction in local tissue $O_{2}$ consumption is not a mechanism of improved tumor oxygenation by nicotinamide in FSa II murine tumor model. The primary mechanism of increased $pO_{2}$ appears to be an increased local tumor blood flow.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.84-89
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to compare radiation dose and image quality between low-dose (LDP) and standard-dose protocol (SDP). LDP (120 kVp, 30 mAs, 2-mm thickness) and SDP (120 kVp, 180 mAs, 1.2-mm thickness) images obtained from 61 subjects were retrospectively evaluated at level of carina bifurcation, using multi-detector CT (Brilliance 16, Philips Medical Systems). Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were calculated at ascending aorta and infraspinatus muscle, from CT number and back-ground noise. Radiation dose from two protocols measured at 5-point using acrylic-phantom, and CT number and noise measured at 4-point using water-phantom. All statistical analysis were performed using SPSS 19.0 program. LDP images showed significantly more noise and a significantly lower SNR and CNR than did SDP images at ascending aorta and infraspinatus muscle. Noise, SNR and CNR were significantly correlated with body mass index (p<0.001). Radiation dose, SNR and CNR from phantom were significant differences between two protocols. LDP showed a significant reduction of radiation dose with a significant change in SNR and CNR compared with SDP. Therefore, exposure dose on LDP in clinical applications needs resetting highly more considering image quality.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.239-243
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• 2010

The objective of this study was to evaluate effects of supplementation of ${\beta}$-mannanase (CTCZYME$^{(R)}$, CTCBIO, Inc.) on feed intake, growth performance and fecal health of calves fed two levels (3% vs. 8%) of palm kernel meal (PKM). A total of nine Holstein calves were divided into three groups, and fed a conventional starter containing 3% PKM (CON), CON+0.1% CTCZYME$^{(R)}$ (TRT1), or a starter containing 8% PKM+0.1% CTCZYME$^{(R)}$ (TRT2). No clinical symptom of calves was observed through the trial. We did not find significant differences among the treatments on mean feed intake, growth performance, or fecal health during the four-week experimental period. Feed efficiency tended to be improved by adding CTCZYME$^{(R)}$ (0.46, 0.87 and 0.52 for CON, TRT1 and TRT2, respectively). Compared with CON (921 g/d and 786 g/d), TRT2 had lower feed intake (727 g/d) and average daily gain (ADG, 631 g/d) before weaning. However, feed intake (2300 g/d) and ADG (1012 g/d) were similar or even higher in TRT2 than CON (2269 g/d and 560 g/d) after weaning. This was probably due to the effect of a large amount of mannan-oligosaccharide released from PKM by ${\beta}$-mannanase. Salmonella was not detected any fecal samples. No significant difference was observed in the number of fecal E. coli or fecal properties including color, smell, and watery indexes among the treatments. We conclude that a calf starter containing 8% PKM with 0.1% CTCZYME$^{(R)}$ is comparable with a conventional starter in feed intake and growth performance of calf, which is beneficial in terms of reduction in feed cost.