• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.112-121
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• 2024

Background/Aims: Since the usefulness of neoadjuvant chemo(radiation) therapy (NAT) for pancreatic cancer has been demonstrated, recurrent biliary obstruction (RBO) in patients with pancreatic cancer with a fully covered self-expandable metal stent (FCSEMS) during NAT is expected to increase. This study investigated the impact of sarcopenia on RBO in this setting. Methods: Patients were divided into normal and low skeletal muscle index (SMI) groups and retrospectively analyzed. Patient characteristics, overall survival, time to RBO (TRBO), stent-related adverse events, and postoperative complications were compared between the two groups. A Cox proportional hazard model was used to identify the risk factors for short TRBO. Results: A few significant differences were observed in patient characteristics, overall survival, stent-related adverse events, and postoperative complications between 38 patients in the normal SMI group and 17 in the low SMI group. The median TRBO was not reached in the normal SMI group and was 112 days in the low SMI group (p=0.004). In multivariate analysis, low SMI was the only risk factor for short TRBO, with a hazard ratio of 5.707 (95% confidence interval, 1.148-28.381; p=0.033). Conclusions: Sarcopenia was identified as an independent risk factor for RBO in patients with pancreatic cancer with FCSEMS during NAT.

• Journal of Cerebrovascular and Endovascular Neurosurgery
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.163-173
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• 2024

Objective: We aimed to investigate the incidence of flow arrest during carotid artery stenting (CAS) with filter-type embolic protection device (EPD), identify any predisposing factors for those situations, and contemplate intraprocedural precautionary steps. Methods: CAS was performed in 128 patients with 132 arteries using filter-type EPD. The characteristics of treated patients and arteries were compared between groups with and without flow arrest. Results: The incidence of flow arrest during CAS with filter-type EPD was 17.4%. In flow arrest group, cases of vulnerable plaques (p=0.02) and symptomatic lesions (p=0.01) were significantly more common, and there were more cases of debris captured by EPD in a planar pattern (p<0.01). Vulnerable plaques were significantly more common in the procedures showing a planar pattern than in the cases with other patterns (p<0.01). Flow arrest group showed a significantly higher rate of ischemic complications (p<0.05), although there were no significant periprocedural neurological changes. The planar pattern of captured debris in filter-type EPD was the only significant risk factor for flow arrest (adjusted odds ratio 88.44, 95% confidence interval 15.21-514.45, p<0.05). Conclusions: Flow arrest during CAS with filter-type EPD is not uncommon and associated with increased ischemic complications. Symptomatic stenoses and vulnerable plaque are related to this event. The planar pattern of captured debris on the EPD was the only significant risk factor for the flow arrest. Clinicians must pay attention to the occurrence of flow arrest and react quickly when performing CAS.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.484-489
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• 2024

Background: Catamenial pneumothorax (CP) is a rare form of spontaneous pneumothorax that is linked to endometriosis; thus, it predominantly manifests in women of reproductive age. Considerable research has explored the potential benefits of postoperative hormone therapy following various surgical interventions. This study was performed to examine the clinical implications of postoperative hormone treatment in patients with CP. Methods: The study included patients who underwent surgical intervention for CP between November 2009 and February 2023. These procedures included wedge resection, diaphragm resection, and total pleural coverage. Recurrence-free survival was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier log-rank test to assess the impact of hormone therapy. Additionally, Cox proportional hazards analysis was employed to identify risk factors associated with postoperative CP recurrence. Results: The study included 41 patients, with a median age of 38.4 years. Among them, 27 individuals received hormone therapy, 8 of whom experienced recurrence during a median follow-up period of 1 year. Patients who received hormone therapy exhibited a lower rate of recurrence than those who did not; however, the difference was not statistically significant, likely due to the small sample size. Side effects of hormone therapy included depression (6.8%), excessive sweating (3.4%), and headache (3.4%). In the analysis of risk factors for postoperative recurrence, diaphragm resection emerged as a protective factor (hazard ratio, 0.16; 95% confidence interval, 0.03-0.77; p=0.022). Conclusion: Hormone treatment combined with surgery did not significantly impact recurrence in patients with CP. The application of diaphragm resection was the sole factor that displayed significance in preventing CP recurrence.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.253-264
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• 2024

Objectives: This study investigated the association between eating habits and the utilization of dietary supplements (DSs) according to food-related lifestyle (FRL) among Korean adults. Methods: This study included a total of 300 participants (150 men and 150 women) in their 20s to 60s living in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. We identified two groups by factor and cluster analysis: an 'active pursuit' group and a 'passive pursuit' group. Differences in eating habits and DS utilization between the two groups were analyzed by chi-square test and t-test. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the effect of variables on DS consumption according to FRL. Results: There were significant differences between the two groups in terms of age, alcohol drinking frequency, total dietary score, change in DS consumption after coronavirus disease 2019, and current DS consumption (P < 0.05). The proportion who perceived many health benefits of DSs was higher in the 'active pursuit' group than in the 'passive pursuit' group (P = 0.003). The most commonly consumed type of DSs was multivitamins & minerals for the 'active pursuit' group, and omega-3 fatty acids for the 'passive pursuit' group. The 'an active pursuit' group consumed DSs 2.93 times more (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.44-5.97) compared to the 'passive pursuit' group, after adjusting for confounders. In the 'active pursuit' group, the health pursuit (odds ratio [OR] = 6.54, 95% CI: 1.44-29.61) and rational consumption pursuit factors (OR = 0.26, 95% CI: 0.08-0.83) were associated with DS consumption, whereas only the health pursuit factor had a significant association (OR = 5.37, 95% CI: 2.08-13.88) within the 'passive pursuit' group. However, total dietary score and DSs consumption did not show a relationship. Conclusions: By understanding the consumption characteristics of DSs according to FRL, this can serve as basic data necessary for promoting health through the utilization of DSs and healthy behaviors.

• Korean Security Journal
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• no.32
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• pp.7-32
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• 2012

This study aimed to evaluate the relative status using Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP) on the spiritual factors of the security martial arts for the guards to perform the best security service. There were 540 participants who were students majored in security martial arts, workers for security and specialists of practical and theoretical security martial arts for this study. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were carried out using the selecting data through literature reviews in the level of the factor-extraction about the spiritual characteristics. The specialists' survey was conducted on the relative status among factors using the spiritual concept structure based on the studied above. Selected data was calculated with SPSS 18.0 for windows, AMOS 5.0, and Expert Choice 2000 software. The conclusion can be made through those process above. First, 4 general factors and 20 detailed factors were found as the result of the factor exploration related to the spiritual characteristics of the security martial arts. The result which was verified on Construction validity of searched factors had stable figures on every standard. In other words, the participants for survey on this study "Spiritual characteristic concepts of the security martial arts" can be evaluated it is valid. The general factors of security martial arts' spirit were conceptualized with Psychological spirit, ethical spirit, martial art spirit, practical spirit through the naming process on the general factors of the security martial arts' spiritual characteristic concepts. The detailed factors of security martial arts' spirit were concentration, self-confidence, self-management, immersion, self-esteem in psychological spirit and sacrifice, justice, royalty, peace, sense of duty in ethical spirit and courtesy, toughness, defense, balance of mind and body, bravery in martial arts and responsibility, cooperation, modesty, determination, professionalism in practical spirit of security martial arts. That is, the conceptualization of security martial arts' spirit was verified that it had validity. Second, the hierarchical model of the security martial arts was composed with 4 superordinate concepts and 20 subordinate concepts. As the result of evaluating relative status based on Spiritual characteristics-hierarchy model, the impotance was proven in order of ethical spirit(.482), martial art spirit(.248), practical spirit(.188), psychological spirit(.083). Also the importance related to spiritual characteristics of security martial arts on subordinate concepts was proven in order of sacrifice(.252), courtesy(.110), sense of duty(.108), responsibility(. 073), royalty(.053), toughness(.052), justice(.049), defense(.038), professionalism(.038), determination(.035), cooperation(.029), self-confidence (.026), bravery(.025), self-esteem(.024), balance of mind and body(.023), peace(.019), concentration(.014), modesty(.013), self-management(.011), flow (.007). To sum up, the spiritual factor related to ethics such as sacrifice, justice, royalty, peace, sense of duty was the most important for the security martial arts.

• Aerospace Engineering and Technology
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.117-125
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• 2005

Generally, the inertial navigation and guidance unit uses AF(Analog-to-Frequency) converters which convert analog signals into frequency signals to enhance a measurement accuracy of gyroscope and accelerometer outputs. The confidence level of AF converter is guaranteed by a prudential decision of calibration procedure and a performance of periodic calibration test. In this paper, we focus on the synchronous charge balance type AF converter which has a separate positive or negative current input and its calibration method is described. The calibration tests are classified into the scale factor error calibration and the bias calibration. These tests are automatically performed by the calibration program.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.841-852
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• 1999

The purpose of this study is to examine the differences between the patronage consumers of the department stores and those of the non-patronage consumers in shopping orientation importance of the store attributes and self-image. Additionaly differences of the two groups are examined according to the demographic variables and the general apparel purchase behavior such as shopping frequency transportation etc,. The questionnaire were administered to 500 women living in Seoul and data were analyzed by frequency percentage factor analysis T-test and {{{{ chi ^2 }}-test. The results were as follows : 1) Significant differences were found in two groups according to shopping orientation. Namely the patronage consumers of the department stores enjoy shopping itself and have a tendency to purchase the clothing in vougue. Also they have more confidence in shopping and show higher store-loyalty that those of the non-partronage consumers. 2) Significant differences were found in two groups regarding importance of the store attributes. The patronage consumers of the department stores place more importance in information service/convenience provided by the department store than those of the non-patronage group while they less consider the product price and assortment. 3) The patronage consumers of the department stores pursue he self-image which reflects sexy and sophisticated image.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.2563-2566
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• 2013

Background: Interleukin-33 (IL-33) has recently been implicated in tumor immunity. The aim of this study was to explore the clinical role of serum IL-33 in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: Sera collected from 250 healthy volunteers (HV), 256 patients with benign lung diseases (BLD) and 262 NSCLC cases were subjected to IL-33 ELISA and relationships between serum IL-33 and clinical characteristics were evaluated. Results: Circulating IL-33 levels were higher in the NSCLC group in comparison with the HV and BLD groups (p<0.001). Using a cut-off level 68 pg/ml (95% specificity in the HV group), IL-33 showed a good diagnostic performance for NSCLC. Multivariate survival analysis indicated that serum IL-33 was an independent prognostic factor in the entire NSCLC group [hazards ratio (HR) = 0.64 for low versus high IL-33 levels, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.50-0.82; p<0.001] and in 165 selected patients with locally advanced or metastatic disease receiving chemoradiotherapy or chemotherapy (HR 0.70, 95% CI 0.52-0.94; p=0.013). Conclusions: IL-33 is a promising potential diagnostic and prognostic marker in NSCLC, independent of the therapeutic intervention.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2012.05a
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• pp.862-863
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• 2012

Recent worldwide food products for consumers due to frequent incidents of interest in the distribution of safe products is increasing. In addition, an FTA with South Korea and the United States because of the increasing international movement of agricultural product and ensure the safety of the consumer confidence is an important factor for competitiveness. Therefore, national and international growth environment introduced in stores history, distribution history information such as the need to query the system. In this paper, smart phone-based implementation of traceability management system is proposed.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.21-28
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• 2014

Purpose - This study aims to examine the Indian consumers'mall shopping patronage with the application of theory of planned behavior (TPB). The research intends to extend the TPB components (attitude, self-efficacy, subjective norms) with the addition of self-image and study their effect on Indian consumers' mall patronage intention. Research design, data and methodology - The research employed factor analysis to verify correct loading of items on corresponding factors and to confirm the applicability of constructs in the Indian context. The model was tested using stepwise regression analysis. Results -The results indicate a positive relationship between self-efficacy and intention to mall patronage. The findings show that self-image, attitude, self-efficacy, subjective norm significantly influence the mall patronage intention. Self-efficacy, which signifies self-competence and confidence in one's ability as a mall shopper indicates that as the self-efficacy increases Indian consumers' will eventually patronize malls. Conclusions - Self-image congruency plays a salient role in predicting mall-shopping patronage. The mall management should ensure that the mall marketing strategies incorporate it along with the other components of TPB to warrant decent footfall.