• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• no.39
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• pp.221-252
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• 2008

The current social service delivery system for people with disabilities has four critical problems: absence of needs assessment, absence of case management, shortage of professional workers, and absence of local social welfare agencies. The Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Family of Korea has pushed forward with a project to reform the welfare infra-structure for people with disabilities since 2007. It's main purpose is to reorganize the social service delivery system for people with disabilities. A report from the project makes two suggestions: introduction of new standards for disability and set-up of disability service determination centers. The new standards for disability are suggested to include a work ability test and a welfare needs assessment tool as well as a medical standard. Three models for disability service determination centers are suggested: independent model, local governmental model, and public corporational model. Tentative operations using the three models are on the way in the second half of 2008. In order to reform the social service delivery system for people with disabilities, this study makes a fundamental suggestion: set-up of about 120 local welfare agencies over which the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Family can have direct control, and which are equipped with professional workers who are able to perform needs assessment and case management. In actuality, welfare centers for disabled people are the best options for local welfare agencies for disabled people.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.410-418
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• 2021

This study was conducted in 8.2m wide single-span greenhouse to investigate the effect of presence or absence of rafter steel pipe joint and foundation conditions on greenhouse structural performance. Structural performance was evaluated by static loading test using the structural performance evaluation system for single-span greenhouse. The measured displacement was compared with the predicted result by numerical analysis. The displacement of each measurement location showed a significant difference regardless of the conditions of the foundation and presence or absence of rafter steel pipe joint. Compared to the hinge conditions, the difference in structural performance of the greenhouse in the fixed conditions was seen to be relatively large. The difference in structural performance according to presence or absence of rafter steel pipe joints, the lateral stiffness of the joint was 8.1% greater.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.469-476
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to explore the predictors of academic probation in college. Especially, this study focused on student engagement variables among the predictors of academic probation in college. Student engagement variables include hours of absence from class and numbers of log to LMS(Learning Management System) and in extracurricular program system during four weeks after the opening of a course and the numbers of faculty counseling. GPA(grade Point Average) is a dependent variable and GPA of prior semester is a control variable in this study. 17,261 student data were collected for the study. Linear regression model and logistic regression model analyses were conducted in the study. The finding showed that the hours of absence from class and numbers of log in extracurricular program system during four weeks after the opening of a course predicted academic achievement of college students. The result also indicated that hours of absence from class and numbers of log-ins to LMS(Learning Management System) and in extracurricular program system during four weeks after the opening of a course were the predictors of academic probation in college. This study will contribute to investigate indicators of students with low academic performance and to provide proper support for underachievers.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.274-283
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• 2019

Beta diversity is an efficient means of assessing the spatial variation in community composition among sites. To present fish community variation and LCBD (Local Contribution to Beta Diversity) among sites in stream, 6 sampling sites were selected in Cheonggye stream. Fish communities, environmental and habitat variables were collected at sites from April 2014 to October 2015. We used the total variance of the fish community data table (site-by-species community table) based on different forms, presence-absence, abundance, and Hellinger transformation, to estimate and compare beta diversity and LCBD. Fish community data table transformed by Hellinger distance showed the higher values of beta diversity than presence-absence and abundance data table. A similar patterns of LCBD were observed with presence-absence and Hellinger transformed data table. Low value of beta diversity calculated by community data table with abundance was due to the non-normality of fish assemblage data. Additionally, correlation coefficients were calculated to evaluate the relationships among LCBD, community indices and physicochemical variables. LCBD showed negative correlation coefficients with Shannon diversity. Overall, application of beta diversity analysis is an efficient method of addressing spatial variation of fish communities and ecological uniqueness of the sites in stream.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.531-540
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• 2022

Group 1 metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) can positively affect postsynaptic neuronal excitability and epileptogenesis. The objective of the present study was to determine whether group 1 mGluRs might be involved in synaptically-induced intracellular free Ca²⁺ concentration ([Ca²⁺]_i) spikes and neuronal cell death induced by 0.1 mM Mg²⁺ and 10 µM glycine in cultured rat hippocampal neurons from embryonic day 17 fetal Sprague-Dawley rats using imaging methods for Ca²⁺ and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assays for cell survival. Reduction of extracellular Mg²⁺ concentration ([Mg²⁺]_o) to 0.1 mM induced repetitive [Ca²⁺]_i spikes within 30 sec at day 11.5. The mGluR5 antagonist 6-Methyl2-(phenylethynyl) pyridine (MPEP) almost completely inhibited the [Ca²⁺]_i spikes, but the mGluR1 antagonist LY367385 did not. The group 1 mGluRs agonist, 3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine (DHPG), significantly increased the [Ca²⁺]_i spikes. The phospholipase C inhibitor U73122 significantly inhibited the [Ca²⁺]_i spikes in the absence or presence of DHPG. The IP₃ receptor antagonist 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate or the ryanodine receptor antagonist 8-(diethylamino)octyl 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoate also significantly inhibited the [Ca²⁺]_i spikes in the absence or presence of DHPG. The TRPC channel inhibitors SKF96365 and flufenamic acid significantly inhibited the [Ca²⁺]_i spikes in the absence or presence of DHPG. The mGluR5 antagonist MPEP significantly increased the neuronal cell survival, but mGluR1 antagonist LY367385 did not. These results suggest a possibility that mGluR5 is involved in synaptically-induced [Ca²⁺]_i spikes and neuronal cell death in cultured rat hippocampal neurons by releasing Ca²⁺ from IP₃ and ryanodine-sensitive intracellular stores and activating TRPC channels.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.137-147
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• 2022

Purpose : The purpose of this study is to investigate how the existence of companion animals and the type of companion animals affect the quality of life and emotional stability of adults in their 20s. Methods : The subjects of this study were adults in their twenties living in Busan who could understand the method of this study. The survey method was conducted with a questionnaire, consisting of 4 questions on general characteristics, 26 questions on quality of life, and 20 questions on emotional stability for a total of 50 questions. An independent t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to verify the difference in quality of life and emotional stability according to general characteristics. Results : As a result of analyzing the difference in the quality of life of the study subjects, the case of having a companion animal scored statistically significantly higher in the satisfaction of the physical domain, psychological domain, living environment domain, overall quality of life domain, and social domain. In addition, there was a statistically significant difference in the case of companion animals according to the type of companion animal. However, there was no statistical significance in the analysis of differences in emotional stability of study subjects according to the presence or absence of companion animals. Conclusion : This study was conducted with 400 adults in their twenties to determine the effects of the presence and absence and type of companion animals on the quality of life and emotional stability of adults in their twenties. As a result, the group with companion animals showed higher satisfaction scores than the group without companion animals in terms of quality of life. This suggests that raising companion animals for adults in their 20s has a positive effect on improving their quality of life. Therefore, it can be recommended for the physical, psychological, and social health of adults in their 20s.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.573-579
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• 2023

This study compares dose difference between the presence or absence of grid in Chest PA radiography using auto exposure control and compares image quality among presence, absence or virtual grid, and proposes a new clinically useful grid combination for chest radiography. The human body phantom was placed Chest PA position and the dosimeter was placed at T6. The same irradiation conditions and field size were applied. 30 images were obtained in the state in which grid was applied and in the state in which grid was not applied, and an additional 30 images in which the virtual grid was applied to the image without the grid were obtained. Radiation dose was presented to entrance surface dose. The image quality was analyzed by comparing the signal-to-noise and contrast-to-noise ratio. ESD decreased by 48% when the grid was not used, compared to when the grid was used. SNR and CNR increased by 32% and 30% compared to grid use when grid was not used, respectively. In the case of using the virtual grid, it increased by 18% and 16% respectively, compared to the case of using the grid. As a result of this study, it is believed that when using a virtual grid instead of a grid, the quality of the image can be maintained while reducing the patient dose.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.77-83
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• 2009

This paper proposes a new noise-biased compensation of minimum statistics(MS) method using a nonlinear function and a priori speech absence probability(SAP) for speech enhancement in non-stationary noisy environments. The minimum statistics(MS) method is well known technique for noise power estimation in non-stationary noisy environments. It tends to bias the noise estimate below that of true noise level. The proposed method is combined with an adaptive parameter based on a sigmoid function and a priori speech absence probability (SAP) for biased compensation. Specifically. we apply the adaptive parameter according to the a posteriori SNR. In addition, when the a priori SAP equals unity, the adaptive biased compensation factor separately increases ${\delta}_{max}$ each frequency bin, and vice versa. We evaluate the estimation of noise power capability in highly non-stationary and various noise environments, the improvement in the segmental signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and the Itakura-Saito Distortion Measure (ISDM) integrated into a spectral subtraction (SS). The results shows that our proposed method is superior to the conventional MS approach.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.1028-1037
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• 2023

Objective: To evaluate the computed tomography (CT) features for diagnosing metastatic cervical lymph nodes (LNs) in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) and validate the CT-based risk stratification system suggested by the Korean Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (K-TIRADS) guidelines. Materials and Methods: A total of 463 LNs from 399 patients with DTC who underwent preoperative CT staging and ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration were included. The following CT features for each LN were evaluated: absence of hilum, cystic changes, calcification, strong enhancement, and heterogeneous enhancement. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent CT features associated with metastatic LNs, and their diagnostic performances were evaluated. LNs were classified into probably benign, indeterminate, and suspicious categories according to the K-TIRADS and the modified LN classification proposed in our study. The diagnostic performance of both classification systems was compared using the exact McNemar and Kosinski tests. Results: The absence of hilum (odds ratio [OR], 4.859; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.593-14.823; P = 0.005), strong enhancement (OR, 28.755; 95% CI, 12.719-65.007; P < 0.001), and cystic changes (OR, 46.157; 95% CI, 5.07-420.234; P = 0.001) were independently associated with metastatic LNs. All LNs showing calcification were diagnosed as metastases. Heterogeneous enhancement did not show a significant independent association with metastatic LNs. Strong enhancement, calcification, and cystic changes showed moderate to high specificity (70.1%-100%) and positive predictive value (PPV) (91.8%-100%). The absence of the hilum showed high sensitivity (97.8%) but low specificity (34.0%). The modified LN classification, which excluded heterogeneous enhancement from the K-TIRADS, demonstrated higher specificity (70.1% vs. 62.9%, P = 0.016) and PPV (92.5% vs. 90.9%, P = 0.011) than the K-TIRADS. Conclusion: Excluding heterogeneous enhancement as a suspicious feature resulted in a higher specificity and PPV for diagnosing metastatic LNs than the K-TIRADS. Our research results may provide a basis for revising the LN classification in future guidelines.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.11
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• pp.1102-1111
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• 2022

Objective: To evaluate the ultrasonography (US) features for diagnosing metastasis in cervical lymph nodes (LNs) in patients with thyroid cancer and compare the US classification of risk of LN metastasis between European and Korean guidelines. Materials and Methods: From January 2014 to December 2018, US-guided fine-needle aspiration was performed on 836 LNs from 714 patients for the preoperative nodal staging of thyroid cancer. The US features of LNs were retrospectively reviewed for the following features: size, presence of hilum, margin, orientation, cystic change, punctate echogenic foci (PEF), large echogenic foci, eccentric cortical thickening, abnormal vascularity, and cortical hyperechogenicity. A multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the independent US features for the diagnosis of metastatic LNs. The diagnostic performance of independent US features was subsequently evaluated. LNs were categorized according to the Korean Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (K-TIRADS) and European Thyroid Association (ETA) guidelines, and the correlation between the two sets of classifications was assessed. Results: Absence of the hilum, presence of cystic changes, PEF, abnormal vascularity, and cortical hyperechogenicity were independent US features of metastatic LNs. Cystic changes, PEF, abnormal vascularity, and cortical hyperechogenicity showed high specificity (86.8%-99.6%). The absence of the hilum had the highest sensitivity yet low specificity (66.4%). When LNs were classified according to the ETA guidelines and K-TIRADS, they yielded similar categorizations of malignancy risks and were strongly correlated (Spearman coefficient, 0.9766 [95% confidence interval, 0.973-0.979]). According to the ETA guidelines, 9.8% (82/836) of LNs were classified as "not specified." Conclusion: Absence of hilum, cystic changes, PEF, abnormal vascularity, and cortical hyperechogenicity were independent US features suggestive of metastatic LNs in thyroid cancer. Both K-TIRADS and the ETA guidelines provided similar risk stratification for metastatic LNs with a high correlation; however, the ETA guidelines failed to classify 9.8% of LNs into a specific risk stratum. These results may provide a basis for revising LN classification in future guidelines.