• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
• /
• v.61 no.4
• /
• pp.307-332
• /
• 2009

This study is about the development and effectiveness of the 'Empowerment Program' for the persons with disabilities caused by industrial accidents. The program was developed on the basis of the analysis of focus group interviews for the rehabilitation counselors who work with the persons with disabilities caused by industrial accidents. Also, it was based on Miley et al's empowerment model and the group social work practice. The goal of the program was to strengthen the level of empowerment and decrease emotional frustration for the persons with disabilities caused by industrial accidents. The program consisted of two different types: one for the hospitalized person and the other for the discharged person. The program practiced once a week for 6 weeks and 8 weeks by the choice of the rehabilitation counselors. In order to verify the effectiveness of the program, the participants included 11 persons for the experimental group and 10 persons for the control group. The empowerment scores of the two groups were estimated at the point of pre-test and post-test and were analysed through the Wilcoxon signed rank test and Mann-Whitney U test. As the results of the analyses showed, there were significant differences in the increases in the areas of total empowerment and self-image as a sub-scale between the two groups. In conclusion, the effectiveness of the program was confirmed. Also, it has been verified that the program can be an important social work practice tool for strengthening the empowerment level of the persons with disabilities caused by industrial accidents.

• The Journal of the Korean bone and joint tumor society
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.66-71
• /
• 2012

Purpose: We analyzed treatment result to examine the outcome for patients with sacral chordoma and to determine relevant prognostic factors. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 19 patients with sacral chordoma seen at out institution between 1990 and 2010. There were 9 men and 10 women with mean age of 56 years. The average follow up was 63 months (range, 25-144 months). 15 patient received surgical treatment, six of these patient had wide, eight had marginal, one had intralesional margin and 4 patient treated with Radiation therapy only. Results: The disease free and overall survival rate for all 19 patients was 34.7% and 79.7% at 5-years, respectively. Statistical analysis using the log-rank test revealed no significant difference between the surgery and radiation therapy groups in overall survival (p=0.54). Nine of 19 patients had local recurrence at a median of 2.5 years postoperatively. Seven of these 9 patients had distant metastasis at a median of 4.5 years postoperatively. Among the variables, tumor size (p=0.033) and tumor involvement of above S3 (p=0.032) were independent prognostic factor for overall survival. Nine of 15 patients who received surgical treatment had postoperative complication such as voiding difficulty and incontinence. Conclusion: Careful consideration of the patient general condition and predictable complication of the treatment might be the best way to improve patient's survival and quality of life.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
• /
• v.42 no.3
• /
• pp.280-293
• /
• 2004

Statement of problem. Glass fiber post is one of recent developments to accommodate esthetic restoration for endodontically treated teeth. This has many advantages over conventional post system in physical properties, esthetic factor, risk of root and restoration fracture, adhesion to core, radiopacity, removal and retrievabilty, biocompatibility and chemical stability. Purpose. This in vitro study was to evaluate the most suitable type of resin core for the glass fiber post through surveying the fracture modes and the maximum load that fractures the tooth. Material and methods. 50 sound maxillary premolars restored with glass fiber posts($ParaPost^{(R)}$ Fiber White) and different types of resin cores(ParaCore, $Z100^{TM}$, $Rebilda^{(R)}$ and $Admira^{(R)}$) were prepared and loaded to faiure in a universal test machine. The maximum fracture load and fracture mode were investigated in the specimens that were restored with resin and those of metal cast and core. With the data, Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to validate the significance between the test groups, and Tukey' s studentized range test was used to check if there is any significant statistical difference between each test group. Every analysis was approved with 95% reliance. Results. On measuring the maximum fracture load of teeth specimens, there was a significant difference between the maximum fracture loads of the tooth specimens. ParaCore showed the highest mean maximum fracture load followed by $Z100^{TM}$. And, the distribution of fracture mode of tooth specimens showed generally Type D, the three parted fracture of the core around the post was mostly seen(62.5%), and specifically, ParaCore showed 90% and $Z100^{TM}$ showed 100% Type D fracture. Conclusion. Referring to the values of maximum fracture load and mean compressive fracture load, ParaCore and $Z100^{TM}$ had high values and are recommended as tooth colored resin core material for glass fiber post. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS. This study was carried out intending to be of aid in selecting the appropriate resin core for the glass fiber post. The dual cure type composite resin ParaCore and light cure type composite resin $Z100^{TM}$ have good properties and are recommended as tooth colored resin core material for glass fiber post.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.485-492
• /
• 2018

This study would analyze visual components in the best seller cover design in 2017. The visual components were classified through a preliminary review with editorial design experts, and the top 20 best sellers at the Kyobo Book Centre, which recorded the top rank in sales in 2017 were selected as the subjects of the study. The subjects of the survey were 50 graduates from the design-related departments, who could judge the components, and the following results were drawn as an analysis. First, most layouts were a comparison type, and The Temperature of Language took the highest position at 45.5%. Second, in the typography, having a correlation with the section, most were composed of a Serif, and 'Sapiens' took the highest position at 92.5%. Third, the image is concerned with the illustration, in which The Miracles of the Namiya General Store took the highest position at 93.2%. These visual components of the cover design act as an important factor in choosing books for readers who first encounter the books. Thus, it would be necessary to continue to conduct studies of visual components in best sellers, and hopefully, this study would be helpful for the development of the publication market as it is utilized in the marketing field based on these studies.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.32-35
• /
• 2004

Purpose: The most important prognostic factors in gastric cancer is the depth of invasion of the primary tumor and lymph node metastasis. The nodal staging of the 5th edition of the Union Internationale Contrala Cancrums (UICC) TNM classification in 1997 was changed based on the number of metastatic lymph node. We attempted to evaluate the prognostic significance of N2 group metastasis in pT3pN1 gastric cancer patients by comparing two different nodal staging systems. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was made for 352 gastric cancer patients who underwent curative resection, including D2 dissection, from 1991 to 1997 at Asan Medical Center. A clinicopathologic comparison between two groups by using a nodal staging systems was summarized into a table. Cumulative survival rates were calculated by using the Kaplan-Meier method. The difference between the two groups was evaluated by using the log rank test with SPSS 11.5 for Windows Results: There were no statistical differences in clinicopathologic factors. However, there was a significant difference in survival rate between the two groups (P=0.0009). This suggests that N2 group metastasis in pT3pN1 gastric cancer patients has a clinical significance for predicting prognosis. Conclusion: Our results suggest a possibility of prognostic significance of N2 group metastasis. Therefore, anatomical location of the lymph node should be described.

• Journal of Broadcast Engineering
• /
• v.14 no.6
• /
• pp.661-675
• /
• 2009

The carelessly and illegally copied contents are raising serious social problem as internet and multimedia technologies are advancing. Therefore, development of video copy detection system must be settled without delay. In this paper, we propose the hierarchical video copy detection method that estimates similarity using statistical characteristics between original video and manipulated(transformed) copy video. We rank according to luminance value of video to be robust to spacial transformation, and choose similar videos categorized as candidate segments in huge amount of database to reduce processing time and complexity. The copy videos generally insert black area in the edge of the image, so we remove rig black area and decide copy or not by using statistical characteristics of original video and copied video with center part of frame that contains important information of video. Experiment results show that the proposed method has similar keyframe accuracy to reference method, but we use less memory to save feature information than reference's, because the number of keyframes is less 61% than that of reference's. Also, the proposed method detects if the video is copied or not efficiently despite expansive spatial transformations such as blurring, contrast change, zoom in, zoom out, aspect ratio change, and caption insertion.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.18
• /
• pp.7533-7537
• /
• 2014

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequent cancer type, and the leading cause of death from cancer among women in Israel. The Bedouin-Arab (BA) population in southern Israel is characterized by a high rate of consanguinity, common hereditary disorders, and transition from a semi-nomadic, traditional society to a more sedentary and urbanized society. In this hospital-based study, the demographic and the clinicopathological characteristics of BC in BA were compared with Jewish patients. Materials and Methods: 85 BA patients treated at the Soroka Medical Center, Beer Sheba, during the years 2004-2012, were studied and compared with 180 consecutive Jewish patients treated during the year 2007. Clinicopathological features compared included age, menopausal state, number of births, a history of BC in first-degree relatives, tumor size (T), extent of lymph-node involvement (N), distant metastases (M), stage, grade, estrogen and progesterone receptor (ER/PR), and Her2 status. Types of treatment, relapse rate and site, as well as outcome were also studied. Cox's regression models were applied for studying disease-free, and overall survival. Results: Compared with Jewish patients, BA patients were younger (average age $49{\pm}12$ yrs vs $59{\pm}13$, p<0.001), had a lower rate of BC in first-degree relatives (p<0.001), and a larger number of births ($6{\pm}4.2$ vs $2.5{\pm}1.9$, p<0.001). BA patients had larger tumors (p=0.02), more extensive lymph-node involvement (p=0.002), and more advanced stage (p=0.003). Grade, ER, PR, and Her2 status were similar in the two ethnic groups. Relapse type was most commonly systemic in BA patients (p=0.05), and loco-regional in Jewish patients (p=0.02). Median survival was 63, and 35 months for Jewish and BA patients, respectively (log-rank test, p=0.02). In Cox multivariate analysis, stage and PR status (HR-0.14, p<0.0001; HR-3.11, p=0.046), but not ethnicity, influenced overall survival. Conclusions: BC presents a decade earlier, and with more advanced disease in BA compared with Jewish patients. Biologic parameters including grade, ER, PR, and Her2 status were similar in both groups. Although prognosis was worse in BA than in Jewish patients, it was affected only by stage and PR status, but not by ethnicity.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.11
• /
• pp.6585-6590
• /
• 2013

Background: Although FOLFOX (infusional fluorouracil/leucovorin plus oxaliplatin) is established as a standard chemotherapeutic regimen, the long term efficacy of adjuvant XELOX (oral capecitabine plus intravenous oxaliplatin) in Asian colorectal cancer (CRC) patients remains anecdotal. Moreover, uncertainties persist as to whether pharmacogenetic differences in Asian populations preclude equally tolerable and effective administration of these drugs. Method: One hundred consecutive patients with resected colorectal cancer received adjuvant XELOX (oxaliplatin 130 $mg/m^2$ on day 1 plus capecitabine 900 $mg/m^2$ twice daily on day 1 to 14 every 3 weeks for 8 cycles) at Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong. Endpoints monitored during follow-up were disease-free survival (DFS) and disease recurrence, overall survival (OS) and adverse events (AEs). Results: The median patient age was 56 years, 56% were diagnosed with rectal cancer and 44% with colonic cancer. After a median follow-up of 4.3 years (95% confidence interval, 3.2-4.7), 24 recurrences were confirmed including 13 patients who died due to progressive disease. Four-year DFS was 81% in colon cancer patients and 67% in rectal cancer patients (p=0.06 by log-rank test). For the cohort as a whole, OS was 90% at 3 years and 84% at 5 years. Treatment-related AEs led to early withdrawal in four patients. The commonest non-hematological AEs were neuropathy (91%), hand-foot syndrome (49%) and diarrhea (46%), while the commonest grade 3/4 AEs were neutropenia (11%) and diarrhea (10%). Conclusion: These results confirm the favourable long term survival benefit with good tolerability in using adjuvant XELOX in treating East Asian colorectal cancer patients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.11
• /
• pp.6293-6299
• /
• 2013

Background: A number of clinicopathologic factors have been found to be associated with pathological lymph node metastasis (pLNM) in rectal cancer; however, most of them can only be identified by expensive high resolution imaging or obtained after surgical treatment. Just like the Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) and the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) scores which have been widely used in clinical practice, our study was designed to assess the pre-operative factors which could be obtained easily to predict intra-operative pLNM in rectal cancer. Methods: A cohort of 469 patients who were treated at our hospital in the period from January 2003 to June 2011, and with a pathologically hospital discharge diagnosis of rectal cancer, were included. Clinical, laboratory and pathologic parameters were analyzed. A multivariate unconditional logistic regression model, areas under the curve (AUC), the Kaplan-Meier method (log-rank test) and the Cox regression model were used. Results: Of the 469 patients, 231 were diagnosed with pLNM (49.3%). Four variables were associated with pLNM by multivariate logistic analysis, age<60 yr (OR=1.819; 95% CI, 1.231-2.687; P=0.003), presence of abdominal pain or discomfort (OR=1.637; 95% CI, 1.052-2.547; P=0.029), absence of allergic history (OR=1.879; 95% CI, 1.041-3.392; P=0.036), and direct $bilirubin{\geq}2.60{\mu}mol/L$ (OR=1.540; 95% CI, 1.054-2.250; P=0.026). The combination of all 4 variables had the highest sensitivity (98.7%) for diagnostic performance. In addition, age<60 yr and direct $bilirubin{\geq}2.60{\mu}mol/L$ were found to be associated with prognosis. Conclusion: Age, abdominal pain or discomfort, allergic history and direct bilirubin were associated with pLNM, which may be helpful for preoperative selection.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
• /
• v.34 no.4
• /
• pp.284-292
• /
• 2018

The study investigated the concentrations of Pb in soil, air and fruit of C. sinensis in selected landuse types in Port Harcourt Metropolis, Rivers State, Nigeria. Five fruits of C. sinensis were collected randomly in residential, commercial, industrial and natural forest (control). The weight, length and width of the C. sinensis fruits were measured. A total of three soil samples were collected around the C. sinensis trees where the fruits were collected into well labeled polythene bags and thereafter taken to laboratory for analysis. Pb concentrations in C. sinensis and soil samples were analysed using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). The concentration of Pb in the air was measured for 14 days using Aeroquel 500. The significant relationship between Pb concentration in the C. sinensis fruits, soil and air was determined using Spearman's rank correlation. Findings showed that the mean weight and width of C. sinensis fruits were highest in the residential landuse while the mean length of C. sinensis fruits was highest in the industrial landuse. However, the mean Pb concentration in the C. sinensis fruit was highest in the industrial landuse ($0.46{\pm}0.15mg\;kg^{-1}$), commercial landuse ($0.33{\pm}0.09mg\;kg^{-1}$) and the least was found in the natural forest ($0.25{\pm}0.06mg\;kg^{-1}$). The mean Pb concentration in the soil was highest in the industrial landuse ($0.177{\pm}0.16mg\;kg^{-1}$) and commercial landuse ($0.121{\pm}0.10mg\;kg^{-1}$). However, the mean Pb concentration in the air was highest in the industrial landuse ($0.85{\pm}0.09mg\;kg^{-1}$) and followed by commercial landuse ($0.30{\pm}0.17mg\;kg^{-1}$). The correlations between the Pb concentration in the C. sinensis fruit and soil (r=0.768, p<0.05) and air (r=0.642, p<0.05) were significant. The study concluded that the Pb concentration in the C. sinensis fruits was higher than the WHO standard; hence people should be discouraged to consume them, especially those from the industrial and commercial areas.