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Background and Objective Many studies have indicated that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is linked to the development of cancer. However, there have been few studies about the link between OSA and renal cell carcinoma (RCC). This study investigated the relationship between OSA and RCC by analyzing the data from the Korea National Health Insurance Service.Methods 198574 patients (≥ 20 years of age) newly diagnosed with OSA from 2007 to 2014 were included and 992870 control groups were selected through propensity score matching according to sex and age. The average follow-up period was 4.6 years. The primary outcome was newly diagnosed RCC. The hazard ratio for RCC in patients with OSA was compared to that in the control group.Results The incidence of RCC was significantly higher among patients with OSA than among controls (hazard ratio, 1.65; 95% confidence interval, 1.41–1.93).Conclusions OSA may be a potential risk factor for RCC.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate the change in near visual function after the administration of oral silodosin to patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS).Methods: This prospective study included treatment-naive patients who were scheduled to start treatment with silodosin for LUTS. A comprehensive ophthalmological evaluation including the near vision and the automated pupillometry was performed at baseline and after 3 months of silodosin treatment. For subjective assessment of near visual ability and satisfaction, a Near Activity Visual Questionnaire-10 (NAVQ-10) was also used at the same time (higher scores indicating worse quality).Results: Of 23 patients enrolled in this study, 15 continued with silodosin (8 mg once daily) treatment for 3 months and completed a follow-up evaluation. The mean age of participants was 60.4±8.4 years. Distant visual acuity and spherical error were unchanged after silodosin treatment. However, near vision acuity (logMAR) was improved after treatment (right, 0.47±0.36 vs. 0.38±0.39, P=0.018; left, 0.41±0.37 vs. 0.31±0.34, P=0.068; both, 0.27±0.26 vs. 0.21±0.27, P=0.043). Pupil size under room light decreased significantly in both eyes (right, 3.77±0.60 vs. 3.16±0.58, P=0.001; left, 3.72±0.80 vs. 3.21±0.75, P=0.002). The Rasch scale at NAVQ-10 improved from 54.7±9.9 to 48.5±11.2 (P=0.004).Conclusions: This preliminary study demonstrated that highly selective alpha-1A adrenergic receptor antagonists such as silodosin improve near visual acuity and quality in patients with LUTS/benign prostatic hyperplasia. Decrease in pupil size caused by inhibition of adrenergic alpha 1 mediated contraction of iris dilator muscle is a possible mechanism underlying improved near vision.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate the type of redo varicocelectomy according to the initial surgery type using a large population of USA insurance data. Materials and Methods:Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective observational cohort study. Administrative claims data were extracted from the IBM® MarketScan Research Database. We included all newly diagnosed patients with varicocele from January 2007 to De-cember 2014 using International Classification of Disease, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes. The treat-ment methods were identified by Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code. Results:Results: A total of 261,785 subjects were diagnosed with varicocele. Of these, a total of 19,800 (7.6%) patients underwent varicocele surgery. Inguinal, abdominal, laparoscopic, microsurgery, and embolization surgery were performed in 66%, 19%, 10%, 3%, and 2%, respectively, as initial treatment. A total of 340 patients (1.7%) underwent redo varicocele surgery. Inguinal, microscopic, embolization, abdominal, and laparoscopic surgery were used as the redo method in 43%, 25%, 16%, 8%, and 7%, respectively. The redo inguinal approach was the preferred method in patients who first underwent ingui-nal, abdominal, and laparoscopic surgery, but not in patients who underwent microscopic or embolization procedures. Most patients who initially underwent microscopic varicocelectomy or embolization underwent redo varicocelectomy using the same method. Conclusions:Conclusions: Compared to the type of initial varicocelectomy, there were changes in the proportion of each type of surgical approach in redo operation procedures. While inguinal varicocelectomy is the most common method in redo operations, the number of microscopic varicocelectomy or embolization procedures is significantly increased in redo surgery.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of androgen suppression therapy (AST), comprising a 5-α reductase inhibitor (5-ARi) and androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), on the risk of bladder cancer incidence, recurrence, and mortality.We used the PRISMA statement to report the methods and results of this meta-analysis. Bladder cancer incidence, recurrence, and mortality after 5-ARi treatment and ADT were assessed using risk ratios (RRs) and hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The protocol of this study is registered in the PROSPERO database (No. CRD42018118627).We analyzed nine studies (This study corroborates that the use of 5-ARi and ADT could be helpful in managing bladder cancer and should not be limited to prostatic abnormalities.

Background Geriatric syndromes are associated with morbidity and poor quality of life (QOL). Urinary incontinence (UI) is one of the most prevalent geriatric syndromes. However, there is little research on the association of UI and UI-related QOL with other geriatric syndromes. We investigated the relationship between geriatric syndromes and UI according to gender and UI-related QOL among older inpatients. Methods This study was conducted among 444 older inpatients (aged 65 years and older) between October 2016 and July 2017. We examined geriatric syndromes and related factors involving cognitive impairment, delirium, depression, mobility decline, polypharmacy, undernutrition, pain, and fecal incontinence. UI-related QOL was assessed using the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate these associations. Results Geriatric syndromes and related factors were associated with UI. Mobility decline (odds ratio [OR], 4.16; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.29-7.56), polypharmacy (OR, 3.35; 95% CI, 1.89-5.92), and pain (OR, 6.80; 95% CI, 3.53-13.09) were related to UI in both genders. Especially, delirium (OR, 7.55; 95% CI, 1.61-35.44) and fecal incontinence (OR, 10.15; 95% CI, 2.50-41.17) were associated with UI in men, while cognitive impairment (OR, 4.19; 95% CI, 1.14-15.44) was significantly associated with UI in women. Patients with depression were more likely to have poor UI-related QOL (OR, 8.54; 95% CI, 1.43-51.15). Conclusion UI was associated with different geriatric syndromes and related factors according to gender. Care for patients with depression, related to poor UI-related QOL, should be considered in primary care to improve the UI-related QOL of these individuals.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to show the prevalence and investigate treatment trends of pediatric nephrolithiasis based on a large population of U.S. insurance individual's data. Materials and Methods: This research involved a retrospective observational cohort study. Administrative claims data were extracted from the IBM® MarketScan® Research Database. We included all patients newly diagnosed with nephrolithiasis, aged

Introduction The efficacy and safety of arginine supplements in erectile dysfunction (ED) remain debatable. Aim To assess the potential role of arginine supplements on ED as alternatives to phosphodiesterase inhibitors. Methods Studies published up to April 2018 that evaluated the efficacy of arginine supplements were identified from multiple databases (Google Scholar, PubMed, Medline, Embase, Kiss, DBpia, and Cochrane databases). Studies comparing arginine supplements with placebo or no treatment; focusing only on patients with mild to moderate severity of ED; and presenting outcomes such as improvement rate, International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) score, and adverse effects were included. Subgroup analysis for arginine alone and arginine in combination with other substances was further conducted to increase interpretability. Main Outcome Measure The strength of the association between arginine supplements and ED was assessed using relative odds ratios and weighted mean differences with 95% CI. Results In total, 10 randomized controlled trials met the inclusion criteria, reporting the outcomes of 540 patients with ED. The analysis demonstrated that arginine supplements with dosage ranging from 1,500 to 5,000 mg significantly improved ED compared with placebo or no treatment (odds ratios, 3.37 [1.29, 8.77], P = .01, I2 = 44). Arginine supplements also caused significant improvements in the IIEF subdomain scores of overall satisfaction, intercourse satisfaction, orgasmic function, and erectile function, whereas the IIEF sexual desire score remain unchanged. The adverse effect rate in the arginine-treated group was 8.3%, and that in the placebo group was 2.3%, none of which were severe. Clinical Implications Arginine supplements can be recommended to patients with mild to moderate ED. Strength & Limitations The strength of this study is that it is the first meta-analysis to assess the potential role of arginine supplements in ED compared with placebo or no treatment. A limitation is that the treatment dosage and duration varied among studies, which may have contributed to study heterogeneity. Conclusion The results of our systematic review and meta-analysis provide evidence on the effectiveness of arginine supplements for mild to moderate ED.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of treatment in patients with non-bothering nocturia. Materials and methods In this prospective multicenter study, patients who visited hospitals for treatment of voiding symptoms were enrolled. Inclusion criteria were: 1) men >45 years, and 2) nocturia ≥2 confirmed by a three-day voiding diary. Subjects were divided into non-bothering and bothering groups based on International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Nocturia (ICIQ-N) question 2b. Changes in voiding symptoms, frequency of nocturia, and bothersomeness were evaluated with international prostate symptom score (IPSS), ICIQ-N, and three-day voiding diary at 4 and 12 weeks after treatment. Results A total of 48 patients in the non-bothering nocturia group and 50 patients in the bothering nocturia group who completed the 12-week treatment were analyzed. The total IPSS was decreased by 5.8 in the non-bothering group and 5.2 in the bothering group. There was no significant difference in decrease of IPSS between the two groups. Both groups showed significant reduction in discomfort of nocturia. The ICIQ-N 2b score decreased from 3.9 to 2.7 (p=0.01) in the non-bothering group and from 6.9 to 4.6 (p=0.02) in the bothering group. The number of nocturia episodes was significantly decreased in both groups. Conclusions Regardless of discomfort associated with nocturia, both groups showed significant improvement in nocturia-related discomfort and voiding symptoms. These results suggest that patients with nocturia who were unaware of its discomfort benefited from treatment.

To develop a questionnaire for the differential diagnosis of detrusor underactivity (DUA) and bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) without performing invasive pressure flow studies.Symptoms of men with DUA were analyzed and compared with those of men with BOO using eight questions from the developing questionnaire. Patients with DUA have a bladder contractility index (PdetQmax+5xQmax) less than 100, whereas those with BOO have a BOO index (PdetQmax-2xQmax) greater than 40 in urodynamic studies (UDS). Men with detrusor overactivity in UDS and neurogenic issues were excluded from the analysis. One urologist reviewed patients' medical records, and responded to eight questions without using information from UDS. Scores in the developing questionnaire were then compared to make a differential diagnosis between DUA and BOO.Overall, 318 men who underwent UDS were included. Symptoms were compared in patients diagnosed with DUA without BOO (n = 165) and BOO without DUA (n = 153). Questions 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7 were significantly different between groups. The sensitivity and specificity of the questionnaire were 95.8% and 95.4%, respectively, for predicting DUA in patients with scores greater than 45 points (cutoff value).Men with DUA and BOO may be distinguished using a developing questionnaire without invasive evaluation. Men with scores greater than 45 points would be expected to have DUA but not BOO.

The efficacy and safety of retropubic and transobturator tension-free vaginal tape mid urethral slings remain controversial in patients with stress urinary incontinence and risk factors for recurrence. We compared the techniques after initial mid urethral sling insertion in select groups, including patients with obesity, intrinsic sphincter deficiency, pelvic organ prolapse and recurrent stress urinary incontinence.We used the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) statement to report the methods and results of the current review. Randomized controlled trials and observational studies were included. We assessed the objective and subjective cure rates, and the complication rate using the OR with the 95% CI. The protocol of the current meta-analysis was registered on PROSPERO (No. CRD42018102233).We retrieved 28 studies in a total of 2,607 patients to compare the efficacy and safety of retropubic vs transobturator tension-free vaginal tape in select groups (mean followup 26.9 months). Meta-analysis of the objective cure rate showed the significant superiority of retropubic compared to transobturator tension-free vaginal tape in patients overall (OR 3.37, 95% CI 2.55-4.43, p0.00001, IThe meta-analysis showed the superiority of retropubic tension-free vaginal tape over transobturator tension-free vaginal tape in terms of the objective and subjective cure rates in patients with obesity, intrinsic sphincter deficiency, pelvic organ prolapse and recurrent stress urinary incontinence after mid urethral sling insertion. Retropubic tension-free vaginal tape also has morbidity comparable to that of transobturator tension-free vaginal tape.

Changes in the surgical treatment of nephrolithiasis, owing to recent technical advances and innovations, have made treatments more effective and less invasive. In this retrospective, observational cohort study, we identified the changing trends in the treatment of nephrolithiasis.We included patients with newly diagnosed nephrolithiasis who received any treatment in the United States, including extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (SWL), retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS), percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL), and open surgery, from January 2007 to December 2014. Demographic factors, such as age, sex, region, surgical treatment type, and cost data, were analyzed.The median age of patients at treatment was 52 years, and the ratio of men and women was similar. There were definite changes in the trends of all treatment modalities (p 0.01). Both the number and percentage tended to increase for RIRS, whereas for SWL, the number increased, but the percentage showed a steady decrease. In PCNL, both number and percentage increased to a minor degree. The overall cost of nephrolithiasis treatments during the study period nearly doubled (from $30,998,726 to $57,310,956). The number of treatments and average cost per treatment increased annually for each treatment modality. RIRS was the least expensive; the other procedures in decreasing order of their mean costs were as follows: SWL, PCNL, and open surgery.There was a gradual but constant change in treatment trends of nephrolithiasis, with an increasing trend for RIRS and a decreasing trend for SWL. Although PCNL has relatively invasive characteristics, it is still in steady demand.

The sorter working at high speed in semiconductor production process has been a main reason for productivity failure, causing equipment failure and process halt as socket full or full status of the semiconductor package is not monitor in loading and unloading work of the semiconductor package of test socket board. Furthermore, it is necessary to promptly control vacuum to load and unload semiconductor package at high speed, but delicate on/off control error and limitation of engineer's bare eye checking are not free form error to package sorting. Therefore, the present study developed sorter process-focused image (video) processing algorithm and hardware-based MVMS to apply to production lines.

Recently, car makers and the governmental agencies make a greater investment in and efforts to develope the application technologies for "Advanced Safety Vehicle" than ever, it is very necessary to verify each of algorithms applied to the core ECUs as existing cars have rapidly evolved into sophisticated assembles of computer devices equiped with tens of ECUs while geared with high-tech IT technologies. Therefore, this study developed a verification logging system for the electronic control algorithm of a lane keeping assistance system camera. The developed system can not only acquire the lane information of a road through the camera, but also analyze such information and adjust a vehicle automatically through controlling the control board.

The aim of the present paper was to assess and compare the long-term efficacy and safety of single-incision mini-slings (SIMSs), except tension-free vaginal tape (TVT)-Secur, with standard midurethral slings (SMUSs) for female stress urinary incontinence through an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing these two surgical methods. A literature review of all RCTs comparing SIMSs (Mini-Arc, Contasure-Needleless, Ophira, Tissue Fixation System and Ajust), except TVT-Secur, with SMUSs was performed. The Medline, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane Controlled Trial Register databases were reviewed. We retrieved 29 RCTs (including a total of 2 986 patients) that compared SIMSs, except TVT-Secur, with SMUSs. Meta-analysis of long-term results showed no significant difference in the patient-reported cure rate (odds ratio [OR] 0.67, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.44-1.60); however, we found that SMUSs had a significantly superior objective cure rate (OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.47-0.99; P = 0.04). SIMSs were associated with a significantly shorter operation time, lower immediate postoperative pain based on a visual analogue scale score, lower intra-operative blood loss, and lower postoperative voiding dysfunction. The meta-analysis showed clear evidence of the superiority of SMUSs over SIMSs, except TVT-Secur, in terms of the objective cure rate, after long-term follow-up; however, SIMSs were superior with respect to immediate postoperative pain, intra-operative blood loss, and postoperative voiding dysfunction.

To minimize stent-related symptoms, the proximal part of the Polaris™ stent is composed of a firm material and its distal part is composed of a soft material. The aim of this study was to compare stent-related symptoms of Polaris and Percuflex® stents and to assess the impacts of these stents on quality of life.A total of 144 patients were randomized to a "test" group (Polaris; n=64) or a "conventional" group (Percuflex; n=80) at the time of ureteral stent insertion after ureteroscopic stone removal surgery. Stents were allocated using a randomization program. At 1 week postoperatively, patient symptoms were evaluated using the Ureteral Stent Symptom Questionnaire (USSQ), and patients were asked complete a 10 cm visual analogue scale (VAS). Mean scores for USSQ domains and mean VAS scores were compared.Mean patient age was 50.3 years, and the male-to-female ratio was 1:0.85. No significant intergroup differences were found in the domain scores of urinary symptoms (P=0.58), pain (P=0.87), general health (P=0.20), work (P=0.24), sexual activity (P=0.64), or additional problems (P=0.24). In addition, VAS scores were nonsignificantly different (P=0.11). Analysis of USSQ item scores, however, revealed the test group had better results for "presence of pain," "frequency of pain killer use," "difficulties with respect to hard physical activity," "fatigue," "frequency of rest," "stent-related impact on work," "antibiotics use" than the conventional group except for "outpatient department visits".Compared with the conventional Percuflex ureteral stent, the new Polaris ureteral stent with a soft tail was not found to offer significant advantages in terms of voiding symptoms, pain, general health, sexual matters, or additional problems as determined by the USSQ or in VAS determined pain. Sub-analysis, however, showed that the Polaris has some advantages with respect to pain, physical activities, impact on work, and additional problems. Accordingly, the soft-tipped Polaris stent was found to have some clinical advantages over the conventional Percuflex stent.

반도체 칩의 고집적화로 과거 와이어 본딩 공정에서 BUMP 공정으로 전환되면서 반도체칩과 외부 기기로 이어지는 통신선도 더욱 미세해짐으로 인해 보다 정밀한 작업이 필요한 실정이지만 PSPI의 고점도 특성상 정량제어가 어렵고 버블 유입에 따른 수율의 저하가 계속되고 있는 실정이다. 따라서 본 논문에서는 반도체 BUMP 공정에서 고점도 감광성 폴리이미 드(PSPI : Photosensitive Polyimide)의 도포(coating)시 발생하는 기포(gas)를 제거하여 공급하는 D&P(Degassing and Pumping) 시스템을 개발하였다

Purpose. To report early results following prostatic artery embolization (PAE) and compare outcomes between nonspherical polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) particles and microspheres to treat lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Methods. PAE was performed in nine patients (mean age: 78.1 years) with symptomatic BPH. Embolization was performed using nonspherical PVA particles (250–355 μm) in four patients and microspheres (300–500 μm) in five patients. Results. PAE was technically successful in all nine patients (100%). During a mean follow-up of 10.1 months, improvements in mean International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), Quality of Life (QoL), prostatic volume (total volume and transition zone), and peak urinary flow (Qmax) were 9.8 points, 2.3 points, 28.1 mL, 17.8 mL, and 4.5 mL/s, respectively. Clinical success was obtained in seven of nine patients (78%). Patients in the microsphere group showed greater improvement in IPSS, QoL, prostatic volume, and Qmax compared to patients in the nonspherical PVA particle group. However, significant difference was noted only in the prostatic volume. Conclusion. PAE is a feasible, effective, and safe treatment option for BPH with LUTS. Use of microspheres showed greater prostatic volume reduction compared to nonspherical PVA particles.

Objective The aim of the present study was to prospectively evaluate the effect of aclatonium on dry mouth in patients with overactive bladder (OAB) after treatment with solifenacin. Methods A multicenter randomized double-blind controlled trial was conducted. The study subjects were men and women who had been diagnosed with OAB for ≥3 months and presented with a total Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS) ≥3. Eligible subjects were randomized to receive 5 mg solifenacin with placebo or 5 mg solifenacin with 150 mg aclatonium once daily for 8 weeks. Subjects rated dry mouth using a visual analog scale (VAS) and completed the OAB-questionnaire (OAB-q) short form (SF) and OABSS questionnaires at baseline and after 8 weeks treatment. Dry mouth was defined as a VAS score >30 points (range 0–100). Results Overall, 92 patients (49 and 43 in the placebo and aclatonium groups, respectively) completed the 8-week treatment. In patients who had dry mouth at baseline, no differences were detected in changes in the dry mouth VAS, OABSS, or OAB-q SF scores between the 2 groups. However, in patients who had no dry mouth at baseline, the change in dry mouth VAS score was significantly lower in the aclatonium- than placebo-treated group: the VAS score increased 20 points in the placebo group compared with 9 points in the aclatonium group (P = .03). However, there were no significant differences in changes in the OABSS and OAB-q SF scores between the 2 groups. Conclusions Aclatonium decreased dry mouth without disturbing treatment efficacy in patients who did not have dry mouth before treatment.

The previous PDA based wireless meter reading system uses the method of transmitting the meter value of the gauge using the PDA meter reader when instructed by the PDA meter reader. Such meter reading methods requires a considerable amount of time when collecting the data from multiple collectors. This paper will propose the structuring of new meter reading system (Mobile OMR) and meter reading infra (Mobile Dongle) in order to overcome the limits and disadvantages of the previous PDA wireless meter reading system using the smart devices that can directly communicate with the remote meter reading system and the mobile dongle that can be linked to the smart devices. In addition, by utilizing the many features of smart devices and to solve the problems of timely/costly occurrence of installing wireless meter reading system, meter reading and maintenance, it was configured to enable the selection change of each devices and immediate meter reading operation test directly at the site according to the situation of the site where the remote meter reading system is installed. In addition, by using the smart devices, a user authentication technique to solve the security issues on the use of application was proposed, and through the GPS and map function, the location information of installation site of each devices were accurately mapped in order to allow the convenience in management of location information on the installation site of all devices, and by receiving the log data or status information stored in the remote meter reading system in high speed, it intends to provide the installation check, meter reading and maintenance methods of remote meter reading system using the smart devices and mobile dongle that can enable to recovery of data during the failure period and reducing the maintenance time.

Purpose: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of a sclerosing solution for inducing epididymal occlusion in male rats. Materials and Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into two groups: an injection group (n=20) and control group (n=20). Before injecting the sclerosing agent, seminal vesiculectomy and sperm identification using electrostimulation were performed in all of the rats. In the injection group, 0.2 mL of 0.1% sodium tetradecyl sulfate solution was injected into the epididymis. In the sham group, only the identification of the epididymis was performed. At 4 and 12 weeks after the injection, semen was collected by electrostimulation and evaluated to assess the contraceptive effect. Epididymis was evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Results: After 4 and 12 weeks, semen collection was performed in the two groups. Sperms were not observed in the injection group, while there was no change in the sperms in the sham group. H&E staining showed the obstruction of epididymal tubules and an accumulation of inflammatory cells in the injection group. Conclusions: This study showed that the sclerosing agent induced sterilization in male rats. This result suggests that the injection method can replace vasectomy as a contraceptive method. However, a further study of large animals and a clinical study are needed. Further, the long-term effectiveness of this method needs to be studied.

The evaluation standards of management efficiency for managing the water supply can be called the Revenue Water Ratio. The revenue water ratio is an important index that shows the standards on the cost of production as well as the ratio of quantities received through the rate income from the total amount of water supply produced from the water treatment plant. In general, the calculation of revenue water ratio is made on the basis of small blocks after the progression of blocking business, thus the management of water pipe network is also made on the basis of small block unit. However, the boundaries of adjacent blocks have many obscure points with many number of blocks, there are many difficulties of performing the work by the limited management personnel. Therefore in this paper, in order to improve the problems and limits of the previous block monitoring system based on inefficient small blocks, a block monitoring system based on real-time flow analysis centering on the middle block is proposed. In addition, by performing the dynamic pattern-based abnormal flow analysis considering the characteristics of each block and also by performing the real-time analysis on the rate of water supply between the classes, it will prove that the efficiency of management can be improved.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the annual incidence of upper tract urolithiasis based on a large population-based study in Korea. This study used a subset of the 2009 Health Insurance and Review and Assessment service-National Patient Sample (HIRA-NPS). The 2009 HIRA-NPS contains data for 1,115,721 patients (711,285 inpatients and 404,436 outpatients) from January 2009 to December 2009. Based on these data, we selected patients who had been diagnosed with urolithiasis using the ICD code and calculated the incidence of urolithiasis. The total number of estimated urolithiasis patients was 219,328. The annual incidence of upper tract urolithiasis was estimated to be 457.02 per 100,000 in the overall population, with 589.09 per 100,000 men and 326.64 per 100,000 women. The male-to-female ratio was about 1.8:1. The annual incidence of urolithiasis in Korea was 457 per 100,000. It is higher than that previously reported in Japan, but lower than that in Western countries.

Sleep is an essentially physiologic phenomenon that compels humans to spend one-third of their lives sleeping. This paper deals with the correlation between sleep and condition data acquired from the data concerning bedroom sleep environments. The first thing we did in order to measure sleep environments was to install and run TinyOS, a compact operating system. Then we collected environmental data using the humidity sensor (SHT11) and the ambient light sensor (GL5507) in the H-MOTE2420 sensor. In this paper, the microphone sensor (WM62A) is not dealt with. Next, the subjects were asked to enter the information about levels of fatigue, levels of drinking, and levels of stomach emptiness as the weighting information affecting sleep. Finally, the difference image, the color histogram, and the χ 2 histogram, all of which are scene change detection methods, were used to detect scene transitions. The scenes obtained through scene change detection mean the number of the subjects' tossing and turning under different situations for different weights. In this paper, we used tables and figures, in particular, to make it easier to understand how frequently different levels of drinking left the subjects tossing and turning during sleep.

In this paper, we are study conducted on the u-Healthcare system that can transmit a patient’s emergency situations and location information at the same time as it is embedded with diverse sensors to detect emergency through a patient’s bio signals examined. The system herein developed for the research is portable to detect a patient’s emergency situations, and can sense his or her pulse, body temperature, and location information to transmit to hospital server through wireless network, and offer real-time location identification service for staff and medical appliances through kiosk installed in major locations in a hospital. For a network to transmit wireless data generated from a patient’s portable end terminal to hospital server, used was Zigbee, inexpensive mesh network, rather than high-end WLAN to accommodate the whole area of hospital to compose wireless network. Communication within a configured wireless network is connected to TTL and UART to communicate and it is configured so that IP selection is possible for WLAN Card Adapter. Through this, a system was configured so that the patient and elderly people are able to transmit the vital and location information to the hospital system.A network that is necessary for transmitting the wireless data generated by the handheld device carried by the patient to the hospital server was configured using ZigBee which is a cheaper mesh network compared to the high cost WLAN in order to cover the entire hospital.

Image processing technology is improving lately, and its importance has been greatly increased. Therefore, a lot of research and work is utilized with an image processing. For individual use, just need the effective and swift method simply process the image and make out the result immediately; while for research, it usually use more accurate and complex method for particular purpose, can somewhat tolerate the time cost and huge operands. Everyone has advantage and disadvantage; everyone deserves to be delved into. By the way, in any high level algorithm, they still take important parts in actual application. This paper contains some simple daily used and research used complex methods, describe their theories and analysis implement results, for deeper comprehension. This paper, we introduced the representative method of Gaussian smoothing technique, Laplace sharpening technique, Canny edge detection technique. After that, take an actual application of car license location, elaborate the common algorithm responsibility, and meanwhile take some subtle new attempts for algorithm development. In the experiment, the results for each algorithm showed by image and describe the characteristics for each algorithm.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a multimedia informed consent (IC) presentation on the understanding and satisfaction of patients who were scheduled to receive 120-W green-light high-performance system photoselective vaporization of the prostate (HPS-PVP). Materials and Methods: A multimedia IC (M-IC) presentation for HPS-PVP was developed. Forty men with benign prostatic hyperplasia who were scheduled to undergo HPS-PVP were prospectively randomized to a conventional written IC group (W-IC group, n=20) or the M-IC group (n=20). The allocated IC was obtained by one certified urologist, followed by a 15-question test (maximum score, 15) to evaluate objective understanding, and questionnaires on subjective understanding (range, 0∼10) and satisfaction (range, 0∼10) using a visual analogue scale. Results: Demographic characteristics, including age and the highest level of education, did not significantly differ between the two groups. No significant differences were found in scores reflecting the objective understanding of HPS-PVP (9.9±2.3 vs. 10.6±2.8, p=0.332) or in subjective understanding scores (7.5±2.1 vs. 8.6±1.7, p=0.122); however, the M-IC group showed higher satisfaction scores than the W-IC group (7.4±1.7 vs. 8.4±1.5, p=0.033). After adjusting for age and educational level, the M-IC group still had significantly higher satisfaction scores. Conclusions: M-IC did not enhance the objective knowledge of patients regarding this surgical procedure. However, it improved the satisfaction of patients with the IC process itself.

The aim of this study was to compare the lower urinary tract symptom changes and surgical outcome between the tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) procedure with and without concomitant stage II pelvic organ prolapse (cystocele) repair in a randomized clinical trial setting. Patients with urodynamically proven stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and asymptomatic stage II cystocele were randomly and equally allocated to either a TVT and concomitant cystocele repair group or TVT only group. SUI was corrected with TVT in all cases. The cystocele repair procedure was performed with Gynemesh®. Lower urinary tract symptoms and surgical outcome were assessed at postoperative year 1. Lower urinary tract symptoms were assessed with the American Urological Association Symptom Score (AUASS) questionnaire, uroflowmetry, and postvoid residual (PVR). The cure rate of TVT only and the concomitant repair group was 87 and 91 %, respectively (p > 0.05). Cystocele was cured in all patients in the concomitant repair group. After the operation, the total AUASS were 6.4 and 8.4 in the TVT only group and concomitant repair group, respectively, with no statistical difference. There was no difference in the change in peak flow rate (Qmax) and PVR between the two groups. The prevalence of postoperative mixed incontinence was not different between the two groups. In patients with stage II cystocele and SUI, there was no difference in the surgical outcome and lower urinary tract symptoms between the TVT sling only group and concomitant repair group. Cystocele repair can be safely omitted in patients with stage II cystocele.

Several fluorene or carbazole-based dithienosiloles (DTSs) have been synthesized and their thermal, photophysical, and electrochemical properties have been systematically investigated. These compounds show high thermal stability with glass transition temperature above 110 °C as well as decomposition temperatures at ∼400 °C. Intense green emission is observed in the spectral region of 500–510 nm for all compounds (ΦPL=0.31–0.80), that is, attributed to both the 5,5′-substituents of the DTS ring and DTS-based π–π∗ transition. Based on the emission spectra at 77 K, the triplet energy for these compounds was calculated to be within 2.1–2.2 eV, indicating that they may be used as host materials for red emitters in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). All compounds exhibit reversible oxidation and possess low-lying LUMO energies, owing to the conjugated fluorene/carbazole substituents on the DTS. This along with the high thermal/electrochemical stabilities and high fluorescent quantum efficiencies makes the new DTSs compounds promising candidates for use in OLEDs as emitters, host and electron-transporting materials.

In this paper, a number of anode and reference electrodes that are installed around the target anti-corrosion objects to monitor, appropriate to your situation of a fixed potential and polarization methods can be applied automatically in the system was developed. In particular, this system was configured with a remote electric anti-corrosion automatic control device that have automatically adjust function to uniformal anti-corrosion in all parts of target objects, a corrosion monitoring device to perform the function of corrosion potential detection and a web-based operating program to perform the function of real-time monitoring, control and prediction. Using this system, by preventing oxidative corrosion phenomena can maximize the life of the target anti-corrosion objects.