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Developing countries have commonly adopted financial management information systems developed by prominent international organizations or developed countries to modernize their fiscal functions. However, these systems face limitations in effectively meeting the specific needs of recipient countries and maintaining their built-in functionalities. This field report aims to investigate the module based adoption of South Korea's Integrated Financial Management Information System as a customized strategy that aligns with the demands and capacities of recipient countries. The implications of this report provide practical pathways to integrate the push for modernization efforts of donor countries and the pull for localization goals of recipient countries, improving the effectiveness of financial management systems in developing countries and promoting self-sufficiency and adaptability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Many studies have investigated the impact of prosthetic treatment on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). However, most of these have been performed among fully or partially edentulous patients. Studies involving patients with a single missing tooth are limited. The purpose of this study was to compare the OHRQoL between patients treated by single-tooth implants and three-unit fixed partial dentures (FPDs) for single missing tooth restoration. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Korea with patients drawn by stratified purposive sampling based on age. OHRQoL was measured using the Korean version of the 14-item Oral Health Impact Profile (0HIP-14K) questionnaire. Pre- and posttreatment 0HIP-14K scores were compared by paired t test. Single-tooth implants and three-unit FPDs were compared by two-sample t test. In addition, multiple regression analysis was used to evaluate the impact of treatment mode on 0HIP-14K total score after adjusting the effect of demographics and clinical factors. Results: Thirty-five patients with single-tooth implants and 36 patients with three-unit FPDs were included. All participants had a significant improvement in OHRQoL compared with before the treatment (P < .0001). However, there was no statistically significant difference in the change of 0HIP-14K score between the two treatment modes. In addition, the treatment mode had no significant impact on the change of OHIP-14K total score after adjusting the influence of covariates (P = .170). Conclusion: Both single-tooth implants and three-unit FPDs for single missing tooth replacement resulted in significant and similar improvement of OHRQoL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study assessed the cost-effectiveness from a societal perspective of a dental implant compared with a three-unit tooth-supported fixed partial denture (FPD) for the replacement of a single tooth in 2010. Materials and Methods: A decision tree was developed to estimate cost-effectiveness over a 10-year period. The survival rates of single-tooth implants and FPDs were extracted from a meta-analysis of single-arm studies. Medical costs included initial treatment costs, maintenance costs, and costs to treat complications. Patient surveys were used to obtain the costs of the initial single-tooth implant or FPD. Maintenance costs and costs to treat complications were based on surveys of seven clinical experts at dental clinics or hospitals. Transportation costs were calculated based on the number of visits for implant or FPD treatment. Patient time costs were estimated using the number of visits and time required, hourly wage, and employment rate. Future costs were discounted by 5% to convert to present values. Results: The results of a 10-year period model showed that a single dental implant cost US $261 (clinic) to $342 (hospital) more than an FPD and had an average survival rate that was 10.4% higher. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was $2,514 in a clinic and $3,290 in a hospital for a prosthesis in situ for 10 years. The sensitivity analysis showed that initial treatment costs and survival rate influenced the cost-effectiveness. If the cost of an implant were reduced to 80% of the current cost, the implant would become the dominant intervention. Conclusion: Although the level of evidence for effectiveness is low, and some aspects of single-tooth implants or FPDs, such as satisfaction, were not considered, this study will help patients requiring single-tooth replacement to choose the best treatment option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a model that captures processes leading to aggressive behaviors in the workplace. Starting with trigger events, the model outlines the development of aggressive behaviors via three processing routes that vary in their level of deliberate, mindful processing. The model outlines how repeated exposure to trigger events can lead to the escalation of workplace aggression while also highlighting the moderating role of such factors as an individual's level of self-control and attitude toward revenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employing Conversation Analysis, this study examines self-repetition with slight variation, primarily made through final particles, in the playtime interaction of Korean-English bilingual children with each other and their caregiver(s). Final particles in the Korean language provide speakers with grammatical resources with which they can effectively modify their actions as well as stances while they repeat their own prior utterances only with a change in (a) final particle(s). The analysis shows how resayings are prompted by interactional contingencies, such as some perceived issue with the first saying or the ways in which participants deal with the first saying, e.g., lack of response. The article illustrates how speakers achieve footing shifts across turns, greater precision in the actions they seek to perform via the practice of slightly variant repetition. Implications of the complex phenomenon of repetition as a site of language learning and use in children's talk are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel fast algorithm is suggested for a coding unit (CU) mode decision using pseudo rate-distortion based on a separated encoding structure in High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC). A conventional HEVC encoder requires a large computational time for a CU mode prediction because prediction and transformation procedures are applied to obtain a rate-distortion cost. Hence, for the practical application of HEVC encoding, it is necessary to significantly reduce the computational time of CU mode prediction. As described in this paper, under the proposed separated encoder structure, it is possible to decide the CU prediction mode without a full processing of the prediction and transformation to obtain a rate-distortion cost based on a suitable condition. Furthermore, to construct a suitable condition to improve the encoding speed, we employ a pseudo rate-distortion estimation based on a Hadamard transformation and a simple quantization. The experimental results show that the proposed method achieves a 38.68% reduction in the total encoding time with a similar coding performance to that of the HEVC reference model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of nodal staging surgery before chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for locally advanced cervical cancer in the era of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT). Methods: A modified Markov model was constructed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of para-aortic staging surgery before definite CRT when no uptake is recorded in the para-aortic lymph nodes (PALN) on PET/CT. Survival and complication rates were estimated based on the published literature. Cost data were obtained from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. Strategies were compared using an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). Sensitivity analyses were performed, including estimates for the performance of PET/CT, postoperative complication rate, and varying survival rates according to the radiation field. Results: We compared two strategies: strategy 1, pelvic CRT for all patients; and strategy 2, nodal staging surgery followed by extended-field CRT when PALN metastasis was found and pelvic CRT otherwise. The ICER for strategy 2 compared to strategy 1 was $19,505 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY). Under deterministic sensitivity analyses, the model was relatively sensitive to survival reduction in patients who undergo pelvic CRT alone despite having occult PALN metastasis. A probabilistic sensitivity analysis demonstrated the robustness of the case results, with a 91% probability of cost-effectiveness at the willingness-to-pay thresholds of $60,000/QALY. Conclusion: Nodal staging surgery before definite CRT may be cost-effective when PET/CT imaging shows no evidence of PALN metastasis. Prospective trials are warranted to transfer these results to guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: This study was conducted to evaluate whether medical costs can be reduced using endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) instead of conventional surgeries in patients with early gastric cancer (EGC). Methods: Patients who underwent open gastrectomy (OG), laparoscopyassisted gastrectomy (LAG), and ESD for EGC were recruited from three medical institutions in 2009. For macro-costing, the medical costs for each patient were derived from the expenses incurred during the patient's hospital stay and 1-year follow-up. The overall costs in micro-costing were determined by multiplying the unit cost with the resources used during the patients' hospitalization. Results: A total of 194 patients were included in this study. The hospital stay for ESD was 5 to 8 days and was significantly shorter than the 12-day hospital stay for OG or the 11- to 17-day stay for LAG. Using macro-costing, the average medical costs for ESD during the hospital stay ranged from 2.1 to 3.4 million Korean Won (KRW) per patient, and the medical costs for conventional surgeries were estimated to be between 5.1 million and 8.2 million KRW. There were no significant differences in the 1-year follow-up costs between ESD and conventional surgeries. Conclusions: ESD patients had lower medical costs than those patients who had conventional surgeries for EGC with conservative indications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For disease diagnostic knowledge base system (including Q&A, consistency checker, and informativity checker) requiring higher degree of strictness on the results of a query to the system, at the development stage, great efforts are necessary to improve machine learning based statistical performance tests, measured by precision and recall rates, on the training error and prediction. Performance of the test runs is generally dependent on the two basic factors as the following: first of all, the underlying technique of in-depth context analysis on corpora with inference capability, secondly, that of user's query sentence analysis with inference capability. More importantly, a disease diagnostic knowledge base system should be able to update effectively the latest research achievements in timely manner. To meet the requirements, we propose an automatic system for construction of knowledge base from the academic archive of medical literatures. For the purpose of presentation in this paper, a prototype of knowledge base construction using natural language processing system for early diagnosis of Alzheimer disease has been designed and implemented. Since there are plenty of knowledge base systems available for Alzheimer diagnosis in English language, to differentiate our works with the existing data, we performed our research with the literatures written in Korean. The natural language processing system proposed in this paper consists of 8 modules most of which are machine learning trainer/prediction model based on maximum entropy algorithm. Tests showed that, for all the modules, iterative training have been succeeded with precision over 90%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fast intra-prediction method is proposed for High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) using a fast intra-mode decision and fast coding unit (CU) size decision. HEVC supports very sophisticated intra modes and a recursive quadtree-based CU structure. To provide a high coding efficiency, the mode and CU size are selected in a ratedistortion optimized manner. This causes a high computational complexity in the encoder, and, for practical applications, the complexity should be significantly reduced. In this paper, among the many predefined modes, the intra-prediction mode is chosen without rate-distortion optimization processes, instead using the difference between the minimum and second minimum of the rate-distortion cost estimation based on the Hadamard transform. The experiment results show that the proposed method achieves a 49.04% reduction in the intra-prediction time and a 32.74% reduction in the total encoding time with a nearly similar coding performance to that of HEVC test model 2.1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To validate the Personal and Social Responsibility Questionnaire, the relations between perceived responsibility and intrinsic motivation were examined among Korean middle school students. The relations of change in stages of physical activity and students' perceived responsibility were also examined. Participants were 357 middle school students (160 boys, 197 girls) from three schools in the Seoul metropolitan area. Exploratory factor analysis supported a three-factor structure with effort and self-direction merged into one factor and the responsibilities of respect and caring for others constituted separate factors. Pearson correlations among factors showed perceptions of personal responsibility were associated with more intrinsic motivation toward physical education and a higher stage of physical activity. A moderate or low association between perceived social responsibility and intrinsic motivation implied a need to develop strategies for Korean students to use social responsibility for promoting physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Corynebacterium glutamicum whcA gene is known to play a negative role in the expression of genes responding to oxidative stress. The encoded protein contains conserved cysteines, which likely coordinate the redox-sensitive Fe-S cluster. To identify proteins which may interact with WhcA, we employed a two-hybrid system utilizing WhcA as 'bait'. Upon screening, several partner proteins were isolated from the C. glutamicum genomic library. Sequencing analysis of the isolated clones revealed out-of-frame peptide sequences, one of which showed high sequence homology with a dioxygenase encoded by NCgl0899. In vivo analysis of protein interaction using real-time quantitative PCR, which monitors his3 reporter gene expression, demonstrated that the interaction between NCgl0899-encoded protein and WhcA was specific. The interaction was labile to oxidants, such as diamide and menadione. Based on these data, NCgl0899 was named spiA (stress protein interacting with WhcA). Physical association and dissociation of the purified His6-WhcA and GST-SpiA fusion proteins, as assayed by in vitro pull-down experiments, were consistent with in vivo results. These data indicated that the interaction between WhcA and SpiA is not only specific but also modulated by the redox status of the cell and the functionality of the WhcA protein is probably modulated by the SpiA protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RamA plays a regulatory role for acetate utilization and S-layer biosynthesis in Corynebacterium glutamicum. Looking for any additional role, the function of RamA was analyzed in Corynebacterium ammoniagenes, which is closely related to C. glutamicum. In this study, we showed that the Δ ramA mutant constructed by a markerless knockout strategy possessed increased cell surface hydrophobicity, leading to the formation of aggregated cell masses in liquid media. In addition, the mutant exhibited an elongated cell shape as observed by SEM, suggesting that cell wall-associated proteins might be influenced. Furthermore, cell surface proteome analysis revealed that the expression of cmytA gene encoding corynomycoloyl transferase required for cell wall biosynthesis was down-regulated in the mutant, supporting the regulatory role of RamA in cell wall assembly. These studies support a novel regulatory role of RamA in inducing the expression of proteins required for cell wall assembly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality movement in the United States has been characterized as an impetus for organizational effectiveness and responsiveness since the late 1970s. 'Quality' can be a subjective term as each organization has its own definition and boundaries. Three emphases are evident in the field of quality improvement: quality circles, total quality management, and citizen satisfaction. Practices of quality improvement in the public sector have been driven by demands from citizens for more effective services, outcomes that require the implementation of suitable quality models and standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we analyzed the whcA gene from Corynebacterium glutamicum, which codes for a homologue of the WhiB-family of proteins. Deletion of the gene did not affect the growth of the mutant cells, indicating that the whcA gene was not essential under ordinary growth conditions. However, cells overexpressing the protein not only showed retarded growth as compared with the wild-type or the Δ whcA mutant cells but also showed increased sensitivity to a variety of oxidants, such as diamide, menadione, and hydrogen peroxide. Thioredoxin reductase activity was repressed in the whcA-overexpressing cells, whereas its activity in the Δ whcA mutant strain was derepressed regardless of the presence of oxidative stress. The whcA gene was constitutively expressed throughout the growth phase and its expression level was not affected by oxidative stress. A set of proteins under the control of whcA were identified by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and they were annotated as NADH oxidase, alcohol dehydrogenase, quinone reductase, and cysteine desulfurase. The corresponding genes encoding the identified proteins were not transcribed in Δ sigH mutant cells. Collectively, these data suggest that the whcA gene of C. glutamicum plays a negative role in the sigH-mediated stress response pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lmrB gene of Corynebacterium glutamicum, which confers specific resistance to lincosamides, such as lincomycin and clindamycin, was isolated. C. glutamicum cells, carrying the lmrB gene in a multicopy plasmid, showed increased resistance to lincomycin with a MIC of 230 µg/ml, which is a 9-fold increase compared to that of the wild type. The lmrB-disrupted mutant became sensitive to the compound. No difference in sensitivity to erythromycin, penicillin G, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, spectinomycin, nalidixic acid, gentamicin, streptomycin, ethidium bromide, and sodium dodecyl sulfate was observed. The protonophore carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone abolished the lincomycin-resistance of lmrB-carrying cells. The putative protein product of the gene contained 14-transmembrane regions and showed high amino acidsequence homology to the drug efflux pumps of other organisms. In addition, the putative protein contained a motif for major facilitators, suggesting a role in efflux- mediated resistance to lincomycin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metC gene encoding the cystathionine β-lyase, the third enzyme in the methionine biosynthetic pathway, was isolated from Corynebacterium glutamicum by heterologous complementation of the Escherichia coli metC mutant. A DNA-sequence analysis of the cloned DNA identified two open-reading frames (ORFs) of ORF1 and ORF2 that consisted of 1,107 and 978 bp, respectively. A SDS-PAGE analysis identified a putative cystathionine β-lyase band with approximate Mr of 41,000 that consisted of 368 amino acids encoded from ORF1. The translational product of the gene showed no significant homology with that of the metC gene from other organisms. Introduction of the plasmid containing the metC gene into C. glutamicum resulted in a S-fold increase in the activity of the cystathionine β-lyase. The putative protein product of ORF2, encoding a protein product of 35,574 Da, consisted of 325 amino acids and was identical to the previously reported aecD gene product, except for the existence of two different amino acids. Like the aecD gene, when present in multiple copies, the metC gene conferred resistance to S-(β-aminoethyl)- cysteine, which is a toxic lysine analog. However, genetic and biochemical evidence suggests that the natural activity of the metC gene product is to mediate methionine biosynthesis in C. glutamicum. Mutant strains of metC were constructed, and the strains showed methionine prototrophy. The mutant strains completely lost their ability to show resistance to the S-(β-aminoethyl)-cysteine. These results suggest that, in addition to the transsulfuration, other biosynthetic pathway(s), such as a direct sulfhydrylation pathway, may be functional in C glutamicum as a parallel biosynthetic route for methionine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metA gene encoding homoserine acetyItransferase, the first enzyme of the methionine biosynthetic pathway, was isolated from a pMT1-based Corynebacterium glutamicum gene library via complementation of an Escherichia coli metA mutant. A DNA-sequence analysis of the cloned DNA identified an open-reading frame of 1,137 bp which encodes a protein with the molecular weight of 41,380 comprising 379 amino acids. The putative protein product showed good amino acid-sequence homology to its counterpart in other organisms. The internal fragment of the cloned DNA was successfully used to disrupt chromosomal metA, demonstrating the identity of the cloned gene. The C. glutamicum metA mutant lost the ability to grow on glucose minimal medium supplemented with homoserine. However, the mutant could grow on a minimal medium supplemented with cystathionine, demonstrating that C glutamicum uses the cystathionine route to synthesize methionine. Introduction of a plasmid carrying cloned metA into C. glutamicum resulted in a 10-fold increase in enzyme activities and expression of a protein product of Mr 41,000, which agrees with the sequence data and is similar in size to those of other homoserine acetyItransferases. Unlike K coli whose metA product uses succinyl coenzyme A as a substrate, the cloned metA gene produced homoserine acetyItransferase which uses only acetyl coenzyme A as the acyl donor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]