• Health Policy and Management
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.334-346
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• 2024

Background: Research on the link between subjective health and unmet healthcare needs is limited. This study examines whether experiences of subjective healthcare needs and unmet needs are related to subjective health in South Korea, where the rate of poor subjective health is notably high. Methods: This analysis utilized data from the Korea Health Panel (2014-2018), incorporating 68,930 observations from 16,535 adults aged 19 or older. The dependent variable, subjective health, was dichotomized into poor (bad or very bad) and non-poor (fair, good, or very good) categories. The primary variables of interest were the experiences of subjective healthcare needs and unmet needs, while control variables included 14 socio-demographic, health, and functional characteristics. The study employed population proportion analysis and multivariable two-level binary logistic regression analysis for each gender, accounting for the complex sampling design. Results: In 2018, the rate of reporting poor health was 8.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.0%-9.5%) for men and 14.7% (95% CI, 13.8%-15.6%) for women. For both genders, compared to individuals whose healthcare needs were met, those without healthcare needs were less likely to report poor subjective health (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.58; 95% CI, 0.39-0.86 for men; AOR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.37-0.93 for women). Conversely, individuals whose healthcare needs were not met were more likely to report poor subjective health (AOR, 2.31; 95% CI, 2.01-2.65 for men; AOR, 2.19; 95% CI, 1.98-2.43 for women). A policy simulation indicated that reducing the experience of subjective healthcare needs would be approximately 5 times more effective in reducing poor subjective health than a policy focused on reducing the experience of unmet needs. Conclusion: South Korea must make significant efforts to reduce the deterioration of subjective health and promote appropriate healthcare utilization. To achieve this, a set of policies is recommended to address subjective healthcare needs. These policies should include (1) prompting individuals to proactively manage their own health, (2) providing primary healthcare similar to that in advanced countries, (3) ensuring the healthcare delivery system operates effectively, (4) decentralizing the healthcare management system, and (5) reducing the likelihood of people being misled into thinking they have a healthcare need.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.42-56
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• 2005

Hyperlipidemia is one of the risk factors for coronary artery disease. Despite of epidemiological evidence that tea consumption is associated with the reduced risk of coronary heart disease, experimental studies designed to show that drinking tea affects blood lipid concentration or oxidative stress have been unsuccessful. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether functional tea (three servings/day) supplement with medical nutrition therapy (MNT) lead to a beneficial outcomes in mildly hyperlipidemic adults. From February to October, 2003, the 43 hyperlipidemic (23 men, 20 women) subjects (total cholesterol$\geq$200 mg/dL or triglyceride$\geq$150 mg/dL) admitted to K Medical Center were studied. Subjects were randomly divided into 3 groups; placebo tea (PT), half dose of functional tea (HFT), full dose of functional tea (FFT). During 12 weeks of study period, the subjects were given placebo or functional tea daily with MNT. Anthropometric measurements, blood chemical analysis including lipid levels, total superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels, and dietary assessment were carried out at the beginning and end of experiment. The effects of functional tea were compared with the placebo in randomized clinical trial study. The placebo was prepared to match with the functional tea in color and taste. After the 12 weeks of MNT, the subjects had regular and balanced meal pattern. Consumption of foods high in cholesterol and saturated fat, salty foods, fried foods, and instant foods decreased significantly in all three groups (p<0.05). Intake of energy and cholesterol also decreased (p<0.05). Drinking three servings per day (390 mL/day) of functional tea significantly reduced the levels of blood triglyceride (HFT, 42.5%; FFT, 29.4%), total cholesterol (HFT, 8.5%; FFT, 13.7%), and atherogenic index (HFT, 14.6%; FFT, 21.7%). Whereas no changes were found in the LDL-, HDL-cholesterollevels, and LDL/HDL ratio. Plasma homocysteine (Hcy) concentration decreased significantly (p<0.05) in functional tea groups (HFT, 14.9%; FFT, 14.1%). SOD increased significantly (p<0.05) in HFT (8.3%). GSH-Px increased significantly (p<0.05) in FFT (12.8%). In conclusion, the MNT improved the dietary habits, in addition, functional tea supplement decreased blood lipid levels and Hcy, and increased SOD and GSH-Px levels. These results indicate that functional tea consumption may decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease via improving blood lipid levels and antioxidant status.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.322-329
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• 2011

This study was done to analyze the contents of minerals and vitamins to compare the measured values of minerals, vitamins with labeled values of them in food labeling and to investigate the ratio of measured values to labeled values in 437 specimen with minerals and vitamins - fortified commercial beverages and liquid teas. Content of calcium and sodium in samples after microwave digestion was analyzed with an ICP-OES (Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer) and vitamins were determined using by HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography). The measured values of calcium were ranged 80.3~142.6% of the labeled values in 21 samples composed calcium - fortified commercial beverages and liquid teas. In case of sodium, measured values were investigated 33.9~48.5% of the labeled values in 21 sports beverages. The measured values of vitamin C, vitamin $B_2$ and niacin were ranged 99.7~2003.6, 81.1~336.7, 90.7~393.2% of the labeled values in vitamins - fortified commercial beverages and liquid teas, 57, 12, 11 samples. To support achievement of the accurate nutrition label, there must be program and initiatives for better understanding and guidances on food labelling and nutrition for food manufacture.

• Proceedings of the Korean DIstribution Association Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.383-405
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• 2005

The traditional market is foremost a regionally positioned place, wherein the market directly represents regional and cultural centered traits while it plays an important role in the circulation of facilities through reciprocal, informative and cultural exchanges while sewing to form local communities. The traditional market in Korea is one of representative retail businesses and premodern marketing techniques by family owned business of less than five members such as product management, purchase method, and marketing patterns etc. Since the 1990s, the appearance of new circulation-type businesses and large discount convenience stores escalated the loss of traditional competitiveness, increased the living standard of customers, changed purchasing patterns, and expanded the ubiquity of the Internet. All of these changes in external circulation circumstances have led the traditional markets to lose their place in the economy. The traditional market should revive on a regional site basis through the formation of a community of regional neighbors and through knowledge-sharing that leads to the creation of wealth. For the purpose of creating a wealth in a place, the following components are necessary: 1) a facility suitable for the spatial place of the present, 2)trust built through exchanges within the changing market environment, which would simultaneously satisfy customer's desires, 3) international bench marking on cases such as regionally centered TCM (England), BID (USA), and TMO (Japan) so that the market unit of store placement transfers from a spot policy to a line policy, 4)conversion of communicative conception through a surface policy approach centered around a macro-region perspective. The budget of the traditional market funding policy was operational between 2001 and 2004, serving as a counter move to solve the problem of the old traditional market through government intervention in regional economies to promote national economic strength. This national treasury funding project was centered on environmental improvement, research corps, and business modernization through the expenditure of 3,853 hundred million won (Korean currency). However, the effectiveness of this project has yet to be to proven through investigation. Furthermore, in promoting this funding support project, a lack of professionalism among merchants in the market led to constant limitations in comprehensive striving strategies, reduced capabilities in middle-and long-term plan setup, and created reductions in voluntary merchant agreement solutions. The traditional market should go beyond mere physical place and ordinary products creative site strategies employing the communicative approach must accompany these strategies to make the market a new regional and spatial living place. Thus, regarding recent paradigm changes and the introduction of region-based site functions into the traditional market, acquiring a conversion of direction into the newly developed project is essential to reinvestigate the traditional market composed of cultural and economic meanings, for the purpose of the research. Excavating social policy demands through the comparative analysis of domestic and international cases as well as innovative and expert management leadership development for NPO or NGO civil entrepreneurs through advanced case research on present promotion methods is extremely important. Discovering the seeds of the cultural contents industry cored around regional resource usages, commercializing regionally reknowned products, and constructing complex cultural living places for regional networks are especially important. In order to accelerate these solutions, a comprehensive and systemized approach research operated within a mentor academy system is required, as research will reveal distinctive traits of the traditional market in the aging society.

• THE JOURNAL OF KOREAN ORIENTAL ONCOLOGY
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.37-53
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• 1998

The sprig of Jinryungtang Gagambang has been used for curing as a traditional medicine without any experimental evidence to support the rational basis for their clinical use. This experiment was carried out to evaluate the possible therapeutic or antitumoral effects of Jinryungtang Gagambang extract against cancer, and to study some mechanisms responsible for its effect. The cytotoxic and antitumor effects were evaluated on human cell liens (A549, hep3B, Caki-1, Sarcoma 180) after exposure to Jinryungtang Gagambang extract using in ILS, colony forming efficency and SRB assay which were regarded as a valuable method for cytotoxic and antitumor effects of unknown compound on tumor cell lines. The results obtained in this studies were as follows. 1. As a result of exposure to Jinryungtang Gagambang extract, the proliferation of A549, hep3B, Caki-1, good correlations were shown from the results of SRB assay and those of clogenetic assay. 2. The oral administration of Jinryungtang Gagambang extract showed significant effects of increase of MST(mean survival time) and ILS(increased life span) depending on the increasing concentration. 3. Against squamous cell carcinoma induced by MCA, Jinryungtang Gagambang decreased not only the frequency of tumor production but also the number and weight of tumors per tumor bearing mice(TBM). Jinryungtang Gagambang also significantly suppressed the development of 3LL cell-implanted tumors by frequency and their size, and some developed tumors were regressed by the continuous treatment of Jinryungtang Gagambang extract into TBM. 4. Jinryungtang Gagambang extract also increased NK cell activities. According to the above results, it could be suggested that Jinryungtang Gagambang extract has prominent antiutmor effect.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.34-48
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• 1982

1. Production and consumption of chemical fertilizers in Korea could be divided into five different phases of total imports, setting up fertilizer plants, self-sufficiency in production, net export, and diversification in compound fertilizers. Currently the nation has production capacity of 800 thousand M/T of nitrogen, 400 thousand M/T of phosphate ($P_2O_5$) and 200 thousand M/T of potash ($K_2O$). 2. Yearly consumption increased every year, since 1964, 28,000 M/T N, 7,700 M/T $P_2O_5$, and 7,500 M/T $K_2O$ until 1972, when the increase jumped by eight times for $P_2O_5$ and seven times for $K_2O$ for the following 3 years in anticipation of their short supply. Now total consumption has been more or less stabilized at the level of 450 thousand M/T N, 220 thousand M/T $P_2O_5$ and 180 thousand M/T $K_2O$ for the last 7 years. 3. Current operation rate of fertilizer plants is around 80% throughout the whole industry, after going through several different levels depending on demand at times. 4. Fertilizer export started in 1967 and reached a peak of 150 thousand nutrient ton in 1972, about 20% of total production, before temporarily stopping due to over-demand for next three years. The export resumed again in 1976 rise to the all time high of 670 thousand nutrient ton in 1980, almost half of total production, and then started to decline due to higher price of petroleum since then. 5. The decline in fertilizer export appears to be accelerated because several countries, in South-Eastern Asia, traditional export market for Korean fertilizers, started to build their own plants, since 1980, based on their raw materials of especially petroleum. 6. Current consumption in Korea is about 30 nutrient Kg per 10a, equivalent to that in Western European countries, partly due to new high-yielding rice varieties and extensive cultivation of fruit trees and vegetables. Additional fertilizer demand in future can be anticipated in reclaimed land for growing grass and forestry.