• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.95-105
• /
• 2009

Traffic accidents on highways are likely to happen when there is an imbalance in the complex relationships among key elements such as road geometries, driver related factors, and mechanical performances. The Demand-Effort Model (DEM), which evaluates highway safety, can be explained by the imbalance, which occurs when the level of demand of the driver's attention to the road environment exceeds that of the response from the driver. This study suggests a new model that improves the reliability of the current DEM through the reinterpretation on the physiological signals with the help of the Neural Network Model (NNM). The data were collected from 149 subjects, who drove a test vehicle on the Yongdong, Honam, and Seohaean Expressways in Korea. Three important results could be drawn from the recursive tests as follows; (1) Only 5 out of 10 parameters on the physiological signals which are currently used were proven to be meaningful through the Normality Test, Cluster Analysis, and Mann-Whitney Analysis. (2) The revised DEM, which internally uses the NNM, showed more reliable results than existing DEM. Group 1, which is based on the new DEM showed 80.0% of accuracy in measuring the level of driver's efforts, however, that of Group 2 based on the current DEM was 74.3%. (3) Field tests on the Honam Expressway showed lower 'type II error' with the new DEM (40.5%) than the old DEM (58.8%). The DEM is designed as a quick and easy way to determine highway safety prior to the minute road safety audit (RSA) by a professional audit team. Then a new DEM, which is based on the NNM, needs to be considered since it showed higher reliability and lower error.

• Research in Plant Disease
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.182-192
• /
• 2018

Since fire blight (Erwinia amylovora) firstly broke out at mid-Korea in 2015, it is necessary to investigate potential spread of the invasive pathogen. To speculate environmental factors of fireblight epidemic based on disease triangle, a fire blight predicting program, MARYBLYT, was run with the measured meteorological data in 2014-2017 and the projecting future data under RCP8.5 scenario for 2020-2100. After calculating blossom period of Singo pear from phenology, MARYBLYT was run for blossom blight during the blossom period. MARYBLYT warned "Infection" blossom blight in 2014-15 at Anseong and Cheonan as well as Pyungtak and Asan. In addition, it warned "Infection" in 2016-17 at Naju. More than 80% of Korean areas were covered "Infection" or "High", therefore Korea was suitable for fire blight recently. Blossom blight for 2020-2100 was predicted to be highly fluctuate depending on the year. For 80 years of the future, 20 years were serious with "Infection" covered more than 50% of areas in Korea, whereas 8 years were not serious covered less than 10%. By comparisons between 50% and 10% of the year, temperature and amount of precipitation were significantly different. The results of this study are informative for policy makers to manage the alien pathogen.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.117-132
• /
• 2022

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between metabolic syndrome and sugar intake. This study was conducted on adults aged over 19 who participated in the 2013-2016 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Subjects were classified according to the ratio of sugar intake to total energy. We used 24-hour recall survey data to investigate the daily sugar intake. The energy intake ratio from the sugar <20% group had higher % KDRI's of calcium, iron, potassium, vitamin A, riboflavin, and vitamin C than the energy intake ratio from the sugar ≥20% group. The risk of blood pressure level was higher in the ≥20% group than in the <20% group. The highest tertile of sugar intake showed an increased risk of elevated blood pressure level. This study found that increased sugar intake was associated with the risk of metabolic syndrome. It is expected that these results can be used as useful information to prepare basic data for establishing and managing sugar-reducing nutrition policies for the prevention of chronic diseases.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.207-220
• /
• 2021

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of education and counselling by nurses on anxiety, uncertainty, and pain in patients with benign uterine tumors. Electronic databases, including PubMed, OVID, CINAHL, Google Scholar, and Korean databases and were searched during January 2020. A total of 401 studies were identified of which 13 were suitable for meta-analysis. Cochrane's risk of bias tool and the R version 3.5.2 (Meta-analysis with R) program were used for analysis. The authors performed a meta-analysis of the 13 trials that met eligibility criteria. The findings in this study indicate that the effect size of nursing education for anxiety was Hedges' g=-0.89 (95% CI:-1.39 to -0.47), as indicated by a "large effect size" and the effect size of pain was Hedges' g=-0.49 (95% CI:-0.95 to -0.02) as indicated by a "moderate effect size". The effect size of uncertainty was Hedges' g=-1.38 (95% CI:-3.98 to 1.23), and it was not statistically significant. In the meta-subgroup analyses by approach intervention type, cognitive-behavioral programs, demonstration intervention, and relaxation therapy had a significant effect. The risk of publication bias was low. It may therefore be concluded that pre-operative education by nurses for patients with benign uterine tumors would affect their levels of anxiety, uncertainty, and pain.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.249-255
• /
• 2023

In this study, radiation exposure doses were measured in the course of clinical practice of radiation workers, radiological technologists in the radiation-related worker group, and preliminary-radiological technologists who were classified as frequent visitors. Radiological technologists who worked in the radiation area of C University Hospital in Incheon for a year from January 2021 and 121 students who completed clinical practice at the same medical institution from July 1 to August 31 were the subjects of the study. The nominal risk factor based on ICRP 103 was used to evaluate the probability of side effects due to the exposure dose to the lungs, which are organs at risk of damage due to radiation exposure dose. During the clinical practice period, radiology students, who were classified as frequent visitors, had a surface dose of 0.98 ± 0.14 mSv and a deep dose of 0.93 ± 0.14 mSv. In other words, 6.7 per 1,000,000 for shallow dose and 6.4 per 1,000,000 for deep dose were found to have side effects due to exposure to the lungs. This is a value in terms of exposure dose in one year. Considering that the radiation (science) education course is 3 or 4 years, systematic management and attention to prospective radiation workers who are going to clinical practice are required, and the stochastic effect of radiation In relation to this, it is considered that it will be used as basic data for radiation safety management.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.50 no.1
• /
• pp.64-73
• /
• 2017

Purpose: Excess sodium intake may contribute to the etiology of hypertension and cardiovascular disease risk. World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a daily sodium intake of less than 2 g. The aim of this study was to estimate the association of sodium intake with obesity in Korean adults. Methods: This study used Dietary intake and Health data on 22,321 subjects aged 30 years and over from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2010~2014. Information on dietary intake was obtained by the one day 24-hour recall method in KNHANES, and sodium intake was classified into five groups (< 2,000 mg, 2,000~4,000 mg, 4,000~6,000 mg, 6,000~8,000 mg, ${\geq}8,000mg$). Obesity was defined as having a body mass index (BMI) higher than $25kg/m^2$. Intake of sodium and obesity status were analyzed by logistic regression with SPSS Statistics 23. Results: Men tended to have a higher sodium intake than women (p < 0.001). After adjusting for age, sex, year, daily energy intake, education level, smoking status, drinking status, physical activity, and chronic diseases and comparing the highest sodium intake group (${\geq}8,000mg$) with the lowest intake group (< 2,000 mg), the OR of obesity was 1.351 (95% CI: 1.032~1.767) in men. The OR of obesity in the sodium intake group (4,000~6,000 mg) was 1.232 (95% CI: 1.063~1.427) in women. Conclusion: Our findings suggest an independent relationship between sodium intake and as increased risk of obesity in Korean adults, implying the necessity for future research on low-sodium diet intervention in relation to obesity.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.47 no.2
• /
• pp.113-123
• /
• 2014

Purpose: Vitamin D has been known to play an important role in the central nervous system and brain functions in the human body, and cumulative evidence has shown that vitamin D deficiency might be linked with various mental health conditions. Epidemiologic studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency may be associated with higher risk of depression in the US and European populations. However, limited information is available regarding the association between vitamin D status and depression in the Korean population. The objective of this study was to examine the associations between vitamin D levels and prevalence of depression. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using nationally representative data from the 2008-2010 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from which serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations were available. A total of 18,735 adults who had available demographic, dietary, and lifestyle information were included in our analysis. We defined "depression" with a diagnosis by a physician. "Depressed condition" was defined as having feelings of sadness or depression without diagnosis by a physician. Results: The prevalence of depression was 1.63% and 5.43% in Korean men and women, respectively; 12.5% of men and 26.1% of women were defined as the group having depressed conditions. In multivariate logistic regression models, no significant associations were observed between vitamin D status and prevalence of depression or depressed conditions in Korean men and women. Conclusion: We found no association between vitamin D insufficiency and depression/depressed conditions in Korean adults. Future large prospective studies and randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm this relationship.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.1-12
• /
• 2015

This study was performed to determine risk ranking of the combination of pathogen-livestock or livestock products to identify the most significant public health risks and to prioritize risk management strategies. First, we reviewed foodborne outbreak data related to livestock products and determined main vehicles and pathogens according to the number of outbreak and case. Second, expert's opinion about management priority of pathogen-livestock product pairing was surveyed with 19 livestock experts in the university, research center, and government agency. Lastly, we used the outcome of Risk Ranger (semi-quantitative risk ranking tool) of 14 combinations of pathogen and livestock or livestock products. We have classified the combination of pathogen-livestock products into group I (high risk), II (medium risk), and III (low risk) according to their risk levels and management priority. Group I, which is the highest risk for foodborne outbreak, includes Salmonella spp./egg and egg products, Campylobacter spp./poultry, pathogenic E. coli/meat and processed ground meat. In conclusion, the results of this study will provide the specific guideline of mid- and long-term planning for risk assessment and risk management prioritization of the combination of pathogen and livestock, or livestock product.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.113-118
• /
• 2011

Purpose: Placental corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor type 1 (CRHR1) expression is reduced in pregnancies with abnormal placental function such as preeclampsia (PE), and the levels and/or function of CRHR1 are genetically influenced. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the c.33+8199C>T polymorphism in the CRHR1 gene and PE in a Korean population. Materials and Methods: Using a case-control design, the association between the CRHR1 polymorphism and the risk of PE was investigated in 203 individuals with PE and 211 normotensive controls. Genotypes were determined using a SNapShot kit and an ABI Prism 3100 Genetic analyzer. Results: Genotypes and allele frequencies for the CRHR1 polymorphism did not differ between PE and normotensive pregnancies. The variant T allele was more frequent than the ancestral C allele in both of the groups and was more frequent in the controls than in the cases. In risk analysis for PE, there was not an increased risk of preeclampsia in subjects who were concomitant homozygous rare allele genotypes (CC) (OR, 0.3; P=0.15) or heterozygous rare allele genotypes (TC) (OR, 0.8; P=0.29). There were no differences in the complications of PE such as severity or preterm delivery in patients with the CRHR1 polymorphism. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the CRHR1 polymorphism was not associated with PE in the present Korean study group.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.38 no.4
• /
• pp.214-227
• /
• 2013

Computed tomographic scan as a screening procedures in asymptomatic individuals has seen a steady increase with the introduction of multiple-raw detector CT scanners. This report provides a brief review of the current controversy surrounding CT cancer screening, with a focus on the radiation induced cancer risks and clinical efficacy. 1. A large study of patients at high risk of lung cancer(the National Lung Screening Trial[NLST]) showed that CT screening reduced cancer deaths by 20%(1.33% in those screened compared with 1.67% in those not screened). The rate of positive screening tests was 24.2% and 96.4% of the positive screening results in the low-dose CT group were false-positive. Radiation induced lung cancer risk was estimated the most important in screening population because ERR of radiation induced lung cancer does not show the decrease with increasing age and synergistic connection between smoking and radiation risk. Therefore, the radiation risk may be on the same order of magnitude as the benefit observed in the NLST. Optimal screening strategy remain uncertain, CT lung cancer screening is not yet ready for implementation. 2. Computed tomographic colonography is as good as colonoscopy for detecting colon cancer and is almost as good as colonoscopy for detecting advanced adenomas, but significantly less sensitive and specific for smaller lesions and disadvantageous for subsequent therapeutic optical colonoscopy if polyps are detected. The average effective dose from CT colonography was estimated 8-10 $mS{\nu}$, which could be a significant dose if administered routinely within the population over many years. CT colonography should a) achieve at least 90% sensitivity and specificity in the size category from 6 and 10 mm, b) offer non-cathartic bowl preparation and c) be optimized and standardized CT parameters if it is to be used for mass screening. 3. There is little evidence that demonstrates, for whole-body scanning, the benefit outweighs the detriment. This test found large portion of patient(86~90.8%) had at least one abnormal finding, whereas only 2% were estimated to have clinically significant disease. Annual scans from ages 45 to 75 years would accrue an estimated lifetime cancer mortality risk of 1.9%. There is no group within the medical community that recommends whole-body CT. No good studies indicate the accuracy of screening CT, at this time. The benefit/risk balance for any of the commonly suggested CT screening techniques has yet to be established. These areas need further research. Therefore wild screening should be avoided.