• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.82-93
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• 2010

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to explore attitude and belief about menopause and severity of menopausal symptoms according to menopausal status. This study conducted a cross-sectional assessment of the effects of depressive symptoms and the severity of trait anxiety on the severity of menopausal symptoms. Methods : Participants were all outpatients at the psychiatric outpatient clinic of Korea University Guro Hospital. All participants, aged 40 to 64, had depressive or anxiety disorders and were divided into the premenopause, perimenopause, premenopause, and postmenopause groups. Menopause Rating Scale(MRS) was used to measure the severity of menopausal symptoms. The attitude toward menopause was examined by a self-report questionnaire regarding menopause. Beck Depression Inventory(BDI) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory(STAI) were used to assess depressive symptoms and anxiety. Results : The severity of menopausal symptoms was not different among the groups according to menopausal status. There was a significant correlation between a negative attitude toward menopause and the severity of menopausal symptoms. Patients with moderate to severe depressive symptoms and trait anxiety had more severe menopausal symptoms. Conclusion : Negative attitude toward menopause, depressive symptoms, and anxiety had a significantly negative impact on the severity of menopausal symptoms. The results of this study suggest that treatment to relieve depressive symptoms and anxiety and intervention to reduce negative attitude toward menopause are required. Further studies with larger sample size are needed to evaluate potentially effects of depressive symptoms and anxiety on severity of menopausal symptoms in middle-aged female psychiatric patients.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.152-160
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of aging process on the immunity in human subjects. In this investigation, nineteen families of three generations (daughters on college age, their mothers, and grandmothers) participated to avoid genetic variation among individuals. Dietary food records, anthropometric measurements and biochemical assessments of serum nutrients were used to evaluate the nutritional status of subjects. The immune parameters of subjects were assessed by the total and differential WBC count. Total B and T lymphocytes, and T cell subsets were quantified by flowcytometer. Serum immunoglobulin G, A, M concentrations were also measured as an index of humoral immunity. The result of this study can be summarized as follows: 1. Along with the aging process, body fat was found to be increased whereas lean body mass and total body water were diminished. Since there were no significant difference in serum vitamin E levels in all age groups, serum retinal concentrations tended to decrease as one gets old. 2. Although total number of T lymphocytes seemed to be unchanged, B lymphocytes and NK cell numbers were increased by aging. The Percentage of CD8 + lymphocytes was lower in the elderly subjects compared with the younger, resulting in higher ratio of CD4 +/CD8 + lymphocytes in the elderly. Serum Ig G and Ig A levels remained unchanged, but IgM levels were significantly decreased as the age processes continue. Taking all together, it could be suggested that the alteration of immune cell population by aging is selective and possibly nonage factors such as nutrition may be attributable to the change of immunity in the elderly. The nutritional status and aging process may selectively affect both the cell-mediated (CD8 +, CD4 + CD8 + ratio, NK cell) and humoral (B lymphocyte, Immunoglobulin M, G) immune parameters in human subjects.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.178-184
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• 2023

The objective of this study was to develop a critical pathway of integrative medicine to improve the quality of life of lung cancer patients who received standard western medicine treatments. A total of 10 medical professionals, including western and Korean medicine doctors, and nurses participated in a validation survey and revised clinical pathway. Then we applied the critical pathway to 11 lung cancer patients who admitted at Korean medicine hospital and evaluated quality of life at the beginning and discharge of admission using European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire(EORTC QLQ). More than 80% of the respondents gave a score of 3 (appropriate) or more for all items in the validation survey and we modified the clinical pathway by adding 'bed rest'to the activity item. When applying the revised critical pathway to 11 lung cancer patients, the score of 'Nausea and vomiting', 'Insomnia' in EORTC QLQ-30 and 'chest pain'in EORTC LC-13 showed statistically significant improvements in the before-and-after admission comparision. The application of revised inpatient critical pathway of integrative medicine for lung cancer showed improvement in some symptoms. Development of more critical pathway in various clinical setting and larger scaled application studies of critical pathway are needed.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.43
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• pp.358-384
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• 2000

The purpose of this study is to measure the home helpers' knowledge about facts on aging and attitude toward the elderly in Korea, and to find out the variables that may influence their attitude. Four hundred and thirty eight home helpers working in a home help agency were given the questionnaire containing the Kyung San Facts on Aging Quiz to measure the level of knowledge about aging and Yoon (1988)'s scale to find the direction of attitude toward the elderly. The results of this study are analyzed as follows: (1) The home helpers' level of knowledge about aging was 59.1%, which was lower than nurses' level (65.0%) and social workers' level (65.3%). And the paid home helpers' level of knowledge about aging was 61.2%, which was significantly different from the unpaid home helpers' level (57.0%). (2) Using 5 points scale, mean of home helpers' attitude toward the elderly was 2.56 (51.2%), which was different from nurses' attitude (40.6%) and social workers' attitude (62.0%). And the paid home helpers' attitude toward the elderly's action (29.9%) was significantly different from the unpaid home helpers' attitude (32.6%). (3) Using multiple regression analysis, the home helpers' levels of knowledge about aging was the most significant predictor to explain the home helpers' attitude toward the elderly. The other variables that are also statistically significant predictors of the home helpers' attitude were sex, voluntary experience for the elderly, age, city size, and personal experience with the elderly. Especially the significant predictors to explain the paid home helpers' attitude were their levels of knowledge about aging and city size. On the other hand, the significant predictors to explain the unpaid home helpers' attitude were sex and age. Based on the research results, implications for practice and future research are discussed, and education methods for making home helpers' attitude toward the elderly more positive are also suggested.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.46
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• pp.377-403
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• 2001

The purpose of this study is to measure the social worker's knowledge about facts on aging and attitude toward the elderly between Korea and Japan. and to find out the variables that may influence their attitude. Four hundred and sixty two social workers working in nursing homes were given the questionnaire containing the Kyung San Facts on Aging Quiz to measure the level of knowledge about aging and Yoon (1988)'s scale to find the direction of attitude toward the elderly. The results of this study are analyzed as follows: (1) The Korean social worker's level of knowledge about aging was 63.0%, which was lower than Japanese social worker's level (67.6%). (2) Using 5 points scale. mean of the Korean social worker's attitude toward the elderly was 2.2 (44.8%), which was significantly different from the Japanese social worker's attitude 3.2 (63.4%). (3) Using multiple regression analysis, the social worker's level of knowledge about aging was the most significant predictor to explain the social worker's attitude toward the elderly. The other variables that are also statistically significant predictors of the social workers' attitude were country, personal experience with the elderly. and voluntary experience for the elderly. Especially the significant predictors to explain the Korean social workers' attitude were their levels of knowledge about aging. age, and classification of social worker license. On the other hand. the significant predictors to explain the Japanese social workers' attitude were their levels of knowledge about aging and periods of activity, Based on the research results, implications for practice and education methods for making social workers' attitude toward the elderly more positive are also suggested.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.277-286
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• 2023

Sarcopenia is the age-related loss of muscle mass and function. It is a natural part of aging and can lead to decreased mobility and increased frailty. The ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, which is involved in muscle protein degradation, is closely linked to sarcopenia. Germinated Rhynchosia nulubilis hydrolysate (GRH) has been reported to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, but there have been no reports on its inhibitory effect on muscle reduction. However, no study has yet explored the relationship between GRH and muscle loss inhibition. In this study, we evaluated the effects of GRH on muscle atrophy inhibitory activity in dexamethasone (Dexa)-induced muscle atrophy C2C12 myotubes and mouse models. Moreover, we identified a molecular pathway underlying the effects of GRH on skeletal muscle. May Grunwald-Giemsa staining showed that the length and area of myotubes increased in the groups treated with GRH. In addition, the GRH-treated group significantly reduced the expression of muscle ring finger protein 1 and muscular atrophy F-box (MAFbx) in the Dexa-induced muscular atrophy C2C12 model. GRH also improved muscle strength in C57BL/6 mice with Dexa-induced muscle atrophy, resulting in prolonged running exhaustive time and increased grip strength. We found that muscle strengthening by GRH was correlated with a decreased expression of the MAFbx gene in mouse muscle tissue. In conclusion, GRH can attenuate Dexa-induced muscle atrophy by inhibiting the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway via downregulation of the MAFbx gene expression.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SC
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.61-66
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• 2004

To make a guide line of property control of angiography equipments, we made standard evaluation sheet forms of facility and management of angiography suite, physical properties of angiography equipments, and image quality of film and then surveyed them at 29 hospital nationwide. Survey and development of standard evaluation sheet form of physical properties of angiography equipments. By using resolution & radiation dose, physical properties of angiography equipments of 49 in number nationwide were evaluated. Most of them (91%) had good performance.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.52-61
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• 2009

Objectives : The aim of this study was to assess health-related quality of life and evaluate the risk factors affecting severity of menopausal symptoms in early and late postmenopausal women based on the stages of reproductive aging workshop(STRAW) paradigm. Methods : This cross-sectional study examined 497 Korean postmenopausal women aged 41-59 years in Seoul and Gyeonggi province. We divided subjects into early postmenopause group and late postmenopause group. Menopause Rating Scale(MRS) was used to measure the quality of life. MRS scores, sociodemographic variables, smoking, alcohol use, age at menopause, and risk factors such as attitude to menopause, depression, history of premenstrual dysphoric disorder were compared between early and late postmenopause groups. Multiple regression analysis was performed in each group to assess the independent contribution of several variables. Results : Early postmenopause group showed significantly higher MRS scores, more negative attitude toward menopause, higher scores of depressive symptoms than late postmenopause group. Moderate to very severe hot flush group showed significantly, more negative attitude toward menopause, higher score of depressive symptoms, and higher MRS scores than none to mild hot flush groups. Depressive symptoms and attitude toward menopause contributed to the severity of menopausal symptom in both early and late postmenopause groups. Chronological age, age at menopause, history of PMDD contributed to severity of menopausal symptoms in early postmenopause group while marital status and occupation contributed in late postmenopause group. Conclusion : Health-related quality of life in postmenopause women was significantly lower in early postmenopause group than the late. Attitude toward menopause and depressive symptoms contributed significantly to quality of life in both early and late postmenopause groups but other variables contributed differently in each group. Further studies on clinical samples of postmenopausal women in order to confirm quality of life and its risk factor are needed to be done.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.103-110
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• 2011

We investigated consumer perceptions of and purchase intentions for health foods. Data were collected from 454 adults over the age of 20 years living in Seoul and Gyeonggi province, from May 10 to June 5, 2010. Those that "hardly ever drink" (41.4%) were most prevalent in terms of drinking activity, whereas 80.8% of respondents did not smoke. Also, those who responded "hardly ever exercise" ranked highest; although 43.8% in fact exercised frequently. Of all respondents, 44.5% admitted to suffering slightly from stress. A total of 59.5% of respondents opined "I am healthy but I do worry about health", and "exercise" topped the list of approved (37.2% of respondents) health care methods. We also found that 83.5% of respondents claimed to have tried health foods, whereas in the case of having no taking experience, 60% had not purchased such foods because, in their view, this was unnecessary. The extent of concerns about health foods scored 3.09, and the level of purchase intentions for health food was high, with a score of 3.40. Therefore, all of government, producers, distributors, and academic researchers must provide consumers with accurate and complete information, and need to collaborate in the development of consumer education programs on health foods. This will enhance consumer interest in such foods, and empower logical choices.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.751-756
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• 2013

This research old age chestnut tree that loss function chestnut leaf renewal efficiency enlargement and development of cosmeceutical product by purpose. Chestnut leaf (CL) exhibits numerous pharmacological effect including anti-allergy and anti-microbial properties. However, the anti-wrinkle effect of CL is not completely understood. In this study, to find a possible explanation for the anti-wrinkle effects of CL, we evaluated the effects of CL on radical scavenging activity, elastase inhibition activity and collagenase inhibition activity. CL was extracted with various solvents including water (CLW), 70% ethanol (CLE) and 70% acetone (CLA). The results showed that CLW, CLE, and CLA have the radical scavenging activity. In addition, we showed that CLW, CLE, and CLA have the elastase inhibition activity and collagenase inhibition activity. Consequently, the CL has a potent anti-wrinkle effect and it could be a useful cosmeceutical product for anti-aging purposes.