• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.511-517
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• 2010

This study was performed to estimate the prevalence and the risk factors of metabolic syndrome in Andong rural area. A total of 1,431 people (533 males, 898 females) aged over 45 years participated in this study in 2003. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 38.2% (male 23.5%, female 46.9%, p<0.001). As age increased, the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome increased in female, but not in male. The major underlying components of metabolic syndrome were high blood pressure (67.1%), low HDL-cholesterol (60.6%), and abdominal obesity (39.9%). The distinctive component for male was high blood pressure (70.1%), and for female, low HDL-cholesterol (73.6%), high blood pressure (65.3%), and abdominal obesity (54.5%). Subjects having more than one component were 94.7%. The risk factors for metabolic syndrome were analyzed using the multiple logistic regression method according to gender and expressed as age-adjusted odds ratio (OR). The results of comparing female to male (OR=2.953), and of comparing obese by % body fat (M: OR=5.786, F: OR=13.498) or BMI (M: OR=3.782, F: OR=13.301) to normal body weight showed significantly higher risk for metabolic syndrome (p<0.001). Health related habits, such as smoking, alcohol drinking, and exercise, didn't show any effect on metabolic syndrome. This study revealed that the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was significantly higher in female subjects compared to both male and female, and high blood pressure was the main cause of metabolic syndrome. We suggest that the strategy for prevention or reducing the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in this area should be concentrated on reducing high blood pressure through lowering obesity and abdominal obesity.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.39-51
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• 2003

Objectives: The Profile of Mood States (POMS) has been used broadly and frequently in various medical studies with various subjects. For the development and application of the Korean edition of POMS, called K-POMS, we translated POMS into Korean and then evaluated the reliability and validity of K-POMS. Methods: The subjects were 161 male students with a mean age of 18.1 years (15-30) and 244 female students with a mean age of 16.6 years (14-23). They were requested to perform K-POMS and SCL-90-R (Korean version) at the same time. Means, reliability coefficients, and test-retest correlations of K-POMS were calculated. Content validities, correlations with SCL-90-R, and discrimination validities in comparison with 76 depressive patients were obtained, and factor analyses were carried out. Results: Mean scores of Total Mood Disturbance (TMD) and some subscales (T, F, C, V factor) showed a significant difference between male and female students. The internal consistency coefficient ($\alpha$) of the total 65 items was 0.93, and ranged from 0.67 to 0.90 for subscales. Test-retest correlations of 43 subjects ranged from 0.27 to 0.63. Seven psychiatrists rated the properness of the content of each item as more than moderate degree (mean scale points=2.66, in the range of 0 to 4). Every subscale of KPOMS exhibited significant correlation with the matching subscale of SCL-90-R. Mean scores of K-POMS of the total 405 subjects were significantly different from those of the 76 depressive subjects after age correction. Six factors were extracted, accounting for 51.2% of total variance. Factor 6 consisted of 6 items which came from various subscales of POMS and represented "uncertainty and helplessness," which may be somewhat different to depression or sadness proper. Conclusion: The validity and reliability of K-POMS could be confirmed. The significant difference in K-POMS scores between depressive subjects and normal subjects suggests that K-POMS can be used clinically for the evaluation and screening of depression. The main structure of K-POMS is very similar to that of POMS, except the Confusion-Bewilderment factor which shows weak factor consistency in K-POMS. This may reflect some emotional characteristic of Koreans such as an undifferentiated aspect of cognitive efficiency. The sixth factor newly extracted from K-POMS also may be indicative of an unique emotional aspect of young Koreans.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.46 no.9
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• pp.1071-1080
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• 2017

This study examined the adhesiveness of beneficial intestinal bacteria to whole-grains using confocal scanning laser microscopy (CLSM), to demonstrate the prebiotic effects of whole-grains, and to develop prebiotic puffed snacks with these whole-grains. CLSM has been used to observe the adhesiveness of Lactobacillus acidophilus, which belongs to beneficial intestinal bacteria, to whole-grain powders using optical sectioning techniques. The enhanced effects on the growth of beneficial intestinal bacteria with the hot water grain extract were verified using an indirect count method. Finally, a puffed snack was produced with the prebiotic effect and the quality was evaluated by checking the chromaticity and degree of hardness. As a result, L. acidophilus exhibited adhesive ability to whole-grain powders and growth of selected beneficial intestinal bacteria were improved significantly. The Hunter L value of the developed puffed snack increased when seasoning was added. The hardness of the puffed snack with seasoning was higher than that of the control. The results of a sensory evaluation showed that the puffed snack with seasoning was highly rated in the overall preference compared to the control.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.249-260
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• 2007

Purpose: In order to enhance the quality of IMRT as employed in Korea, we developed a remote monitoring system. The feasibility of the system was evaluated by conducting a pilot study. Materials and Methods: The remote monitoring system consisted of a head and neck phantom and a user manual. The phantom contains a target and three OARs (organs at risk) that can be detected on CT images. TLD capsules were inserted at the center of the target and at the OARs. Two film slits for GafchromicEBT film were located on the axial and saggital planes. The user manual contained an IMRT planning guide and instructions for IMRT planning and the delivery process. After the manual and phantom were sent to four institutions, IMRT was planed and delivered. Predicted doses were compared with measured doses. Dose distribution along the two straight lines that intersected at the center of the axial film was measured and compared with the profiles predicted by the plan. Results: The measurements at the target agreed with the predicted dose within a 3% deviation. Doses at the OARs that represented the thyroid glands showed larger deviations (minimum 3.3% and maximum 19.8%). The deviation at OARs that represented the spiral cord was $0.7{\sim}1.4%$. The percentage of dose distributions that showed more than a 5% of deviation on the lines was $7{\sim}27%$ and $7{\sim}14%$ along the horizontal and vertical lines, respectively. Conculsion: Remote monitoring of IMRT using the developed system was feasible. With remote monitoring, the deviation at the target is expected to be small while the deviation at the OARs can be very large. Therefore, a method that is able to investigate the cause of a large deviation needs to be developed. In addition, a more clinically relevant measure for the two-dimensional dose comparison and pass/fail criteria need to be further developed.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.37-45
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• 1984

This study was conducted to identify the problems in the medical aid program by reviewing the medical care utilization pattern of the beneficiaries. The data were abstracted from the monthly bills and vouchers for medical care of the whole benefi챠aries(17,527) in Gyeongsan Gun submitted by the physicians to county government for the period of 1 calendar year from October 1981 to September 1982. The number of medical aid beneficiary accounted for 12.7% of the total county population, a higher proportion than the national average-9.5%. Monthly primary care utilization rate per 100 beneficiaries was 9.3 persons with 14.0 visits and 42.9 medication days. for the 2nd and 3rd care, there were 1.7 admissions and 9.3 OPD visits per 100 beneficiaries per year. The beneficiaries of the first class medical aid program had a higher utilization rate of both the primary and secondary/tertiary care facilities. Females utilized more the primary care facilities than males while males utilized more the secondary/tertiary care facilities than females. A significantly lower utilization rate was observed in January than in the other months and this was seemed due to the renewal process of the medical aid certificate. Among 1,931 patients utilized the 2nd/3rd care facilities 84.4% was out-patients and the lowest ratios were in the minor specialties including ENT, ophthalmology, dermatology and urology. The average hospital days per in-patient were 21.2 days and OPD days per out patient were 4.7 days. The average hospital days for a psychiatry in-patient was 74.4 days which was the longest average hospital days among all the specialties. Average medical care cost per beneficiary in a year was W9,821:W24,240 for the 1st class and W7,464 for the 2nd class. The medical care cost for the primary care per patient was W3.901 and W840 per day compared with W49,875 per patient and W5,822 per day for the secondary/tertiary care. From the findings of this study following recommendations were made to improve the medical care program: 1) The renewal process of the medical care certificate should be expedited. 2) Minor specialty clinics should be designated as the primary medical care facility for the medical aid program to reduce the expenses by absorbing more patients referred to the secondary/tertiary care facilities directly. 3) The medical care cost for the primary care facility should be escalated to reduce the differential between the primary and secondary/tertiary care facilities.

• Atmosphere
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.489-497
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• 2012

Recently released a top secret document explicitly shows that the early development plan for an earth observation satellite in the USA has a hidden and more important purpose for a concept of 'free space' than the scientific purpose. At that time, the hidden and secret concept imbedded within the early space development plan prevail other national policies of the USA government for purpose of the national security. Under these circumstances, it is quite reasonable to accept a possibility that the meteorological satellites which play a key role in the every area of meteorology and climatology was also born for the hidden purposes. Even it is so, it is quite amazing that the first meteorological satellite is launched in the USA despite of the facts that the major users of the meteorological satellites were not very enthusiastic with the meteorological satellite and the program was not started as a formal meteorological satellite project. This was only possible because of the external socio-political impact caused by the successful launch of the Russian Sputnik satellite and a few key policy developers who favored the meteorological satellite program. It is also interesting to note that the beginning of the first Korean meteorological satellite program was initiated by a similar socio-political influence occurred by the launch of a North Korean satellite.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.779-797
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• 2016

A calibrated hydrological model is a useful tool for quantifying the impacts of the climate variations and land use/land cover changes on sediment load, water quality and runoff. In the rainy season each year, the Xe Bang Fai river basin is provisionally flooded because of typhoons, the frequency and intensity of which are sensitive to ongoing climate change. Severe heavy rainfall has continuously occurred in this basin area, often causing severe floods at downstream of the Xe Bang Fai river basin. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the climate change impact on river discharge using a Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model based on future climate change scenarios. In this study, the simulation of hydrological river discharge is used by SWAT model, covering a total area of $10,064km^2$ in the central part of country. The hydrological model (baseline) is calibrated and validated for two periods: 2001-2005 and 2006-2010, respectively. The monthly simulation outcomes during the calibration and validation model are good results with $R^2$ > 0.9 and ENS > 0.9. Because of ongoing climate change, three climate models (IPSL CM5A-MR 2030, GISS E2-R-CC 2030 and GFDL CM3 2030) indicate that the rainfall in this area is likely to increase up to 10% during the summer monsoon season in the near future, year 2030. As a result of these precipitation increases, the SWAT model predicts rainy season (Jul-Aug-Sep) river discharge at the Xebangfai@bridge station will be about $800m^3/s$ larger than the present. This calibrated model is expected to contribute for preventing flood disaster risk and sustainable development of Laos

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.401-410
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• 2012

This study examines the authenticity discrimination of the circulated honey by using stable isotope ratio methods. In the case of domestic honey, the range of ${\delta}^{13}C$ for the samples labeled as pure honey was about -27- -21‰ at the $C_3$ origin, and the range of that for artificial honey was over -19‰ at the $C_4$ origin. The range of ${\delta}^{13}C$ for all imported honey was over -27- -23‰ originating from the $C_3$ plant. According to the nectar-source, ${\delta}^2H$ and ${\delta}^{18}O$ for domestic honey were significantly different for 6 and 5 groups, respectively. However, we could not explain the detailed relationship as well as the geographical feature of ${\delta}^2H$ and ${\delta}^{18}O$. The difference for ${\delta}^2H$ and ${\delta}^{18}O$ in the wide range of latitude, such as between Australia and Canada, was more or less shown. However, it was difficult to find out the trends of ${\delta}^2H$ and ${\delta}^{18}O$ for imported honey versus the geographical information in the similar latitudinal country.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.9
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• pp.1346-1353
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• 2011

Sophora tonkinensis Gapnep has been used as a traditional herbal medicine in oriental regions since ancient times. In this study, the effect and mechanism of the MeOH extract of Sophora tonkinensis Gapnep (STME) on adipocite differentiation and adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 preadipocites were investigated. Treatment with STME in the concentration range of 0-200 ${\mu}g$/ml significantly inhibited the differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocites in a dose-dependent manner, as determined by a decrease in intracellular lipid droplets and lipid contents measured by Oil Red O staining. In association with the inhibitory effect of lipid accumulation, the expressions of the proteins concerned with adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 preadipocites were also investigated. Treatment with STME reduced the expressions of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ${\gamma}$ (PPAR${\gamma}$), cytidine-cytidine-adenosine-adenosine-thymine (CCAAT)/enhancer-binding proteins ${\alpha}$ and ${\beta}$ (C/EBP${\alpha}$ and C/EBP${\beta}$) and sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP), which are adipocyte specific markers. In flow cytometry analysis, the inhibitory effect of differentiation was caused by G1 arrest and following mitotic clonal expansion cease. Therefore, we also investigated the alteration of G1 phase arrest-related proteins. As a result, the expression of p21 protein was significantly increased, while the expressions of Cdk2, E2F-1 and phospho-Rb were reduced in a dose-dependent manner in STME treated 3T3-L1 cells. According to these results, STME might inhibit differentiation through G1 arrest in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes adipogenesis, and further studies, which are in progress, have to be completed to identify the active compounds.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.39 no.10
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• pp.1459-1466
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• 2010

This study was performed to identify the association between the metabolic syndrome and the biochemical measurements and nutrient intakes. A total of 1,431 people (533 males, 898 females) aged over 45 years living in Andong rural area participated in this study in 2003. Plasma aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), $\gamma$-glutamyl transferase ($\gamma$-GT) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) levels in metabolic syndrome were significantly higher than those in normal group. In multiple logistic regression, those biochemical measurements were found to be positively associated with the metabolic syndrome as the adjusted odds ratios (OR) 1.839 (p<0.001) by AST, 2.302 (p<0.01) by ALT, 2.143 (p<0.001) by $\gamma$-GT, and 1.874 (p<0.001) by TBARS. We also found that the increased level of those measurements tended to be strongly associated with high triglyceride among the metabolic syndrome components. However, the nutrient intakes between the metabolic syndrome and the normal group were not significantly different. Also, we could not find any nutrient intakes significantly associated with the metabolic syndrome, except high carbohydrate intake (>70% of kcal) compared to normal intake (55~70% of kcal) showed OR 0.781 (p<0.05). In analyzing the association of nutrient intakes with metabolic syndrome components, we found that the calorie intake was negatively associated with abdominal obesity (OR 0.696, p<0.05) and high fat intake (>25% of kcal) was positively associated with low HDL-cholesterol (OR 1.864, p<0.05). This study revealed that the biochemical measurements, such as plasma AST, ALT, $\gamma$-GT, and TBARS, are associated with metabolic syndrome, but considering the nutrient intakes, we suggest that further studies are needed to identify the associations.