• Health Policy and Management
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.110-143
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• 1996

The purpose of this study is to assess the extent of inequality in health outcomes and the distribution of health services according to health need under National Health Insurance System in Korea. For the empirical analysis, data were collected through an interview survey during one month of October, 1994. Interview were conducted with a total of 10, 875 of the employees and the self-employed selected through cluster, systematic sampling. The major findings of this research are as follows: 1. The analysis of the differentials in morbidity rates by socio-economic group showed that health inequality in the pro-higher groups existed in all self-reported morbidity indicators. 2. The findings of the conventional use measures showed that the lower socio-economic groups had more ambulatory and inpatient services than the higher groups. In contrast to the level of the medical care utilization, however, the higher socio-economic groups were more likely to use the high-quality source of care in terms of their treatment place compared to the lower groups. 3. By using the need-based use measures, the results were different from each use-disability ration indicator. Using the use-disability ration measured by physician visits per 100 restricted-activity days in the population, it was found that there was no evidence favoring the higher socio-economic groups. In contrast, the use-disability ration based on physician visits per a chronic patient in one year displayed that there was remarkable relative difference by income group as well as the evidence of the pro-higher income groups. 4. The results of logistic regression analysis and two-stage estimation method indicated that although the utilization is significantly affected by type and duration of insurance coverage, the use or nonuse of service and the volume of physician care consumed is determined by health need and demographic characteristics rater than economic status. In sum, these findings suggest that physician service is equitably distributed according to health need under national health insurance system in Korea. As there were some evidences of inequality including the differential in physician visits of chronic patients by income group, however, the government should strengthen the activities to guarantee the equity of health services utilization.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.153-170
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• 2012

This study investigated the educational culture experienced by married immigrant women in their own country, as well as their internalizing process of the educational culture in Korea, using a qualitative case study. The purpose of this study was to help married immigrant women solve the problem of acculturation based on their own educational and cultural experiences and to overcome limitations of previous studies, which dealt with the problem of acculturation superficially. Participants were 17 married immigrant women from eight countries who resided in Jeonnam and Jeonbuk provinces. They were selected by the sampling strategy of maximum variation. Data were collected through archives and in-depth interviews and analyzed using within-case analysis and cross-case analysis. The results showed that married immigrant women had no experience of attending private institutions and had good memories of their school life. Based on these kinds of experiences, they criticized Korean mothers who urged their children to attend private institutions. They respected their children's opinions and allowed their children to select private institutions. Despite married immigrant women apparently suffering from acculturation, they educate their children according to their own philosophy and method of education. That is, they solve the problem of acculturation actively and independently. Consequently, in order to help married immigrant women solve the problem of acculturation, it is necessary to respect the difference in the cultures and frame a system that develops the activity and subjectivity of married immigrant women.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.597-605
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• 2016

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Childhood obesity has increased in recent decades in Korea. This study was designed to examine differences in the eating habits, physical activity (PA), nutrition knowledge, and self-efficacy of children by obesity status. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Subjects were 5th-grade children from 70 elementary schools in 17 cities nationwide. Two-stage stratified cluster sampling was employed. Survey questionnaire included items related to general characteristics, eating habits, PA, nutrition knowledge and self-efficacy. Excluding incomplete responses, 3,531 data were analyzed using SPSS. Subjects were categorized into overweight obesity (OW) and normal weight (NW) groups based on body mass index percentiles for age by sex. RESULTS: A total of 21.5% of subjects was overweight or obese. There were significant differences in gender, perceived stress, perception of body shape, body satisfaction, and interest in weight control between the OW and NW groups (P < 0.001). With respect to eating habits, the OW group ate breakfast (P < 0.05) and snacks (P < 0.01) less frequently, ate bigger meals (P < 0.001), and demonstrated less desirable behaviors during meals (P < 0.05 in boys) compared to the NW group. The OW group participated in less PA than the NW group, especially boys. OW boys spent less time walking during weekdays (P < 0.05) or the weekend (P < 0.001), spent more time being sedentary during weekdays or the weekend (P < 0.001), and exercised a fewer number of days (P < 0.01). For girls, the OW group spent more time being sedentary during the weekend (P < 0.01) and exercised a fewer number of days by walking or bicycle riding (P < 0.05) than the NW group. Nutrition knowledge was not significantly different between the OW and NW groups. Self-efficacy (P < 0.01 in boys), especially PA self-efficacy (P < 0.01), was significantly lower in the OW than NW group. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed differences in eating habits, PA, and self-efficacy between OW and NW children. Obesity management programs for children need to focus on increasing self-efficacy, modifying eating habits, and increasing PA.

• 한국체육학회지인문사회과학편
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.347-367
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to explore the meaning of YangSaeng exercise as a recreational activity for older adults. Twelve older adults who participated in the 'YangSaeng Exercise' at the S Senior Welfare Service Center were interviewed through purposeful sampling method. Each participant was interviewed two times, and data were analyzed using Strauss and Corbin's(1988) grounded theory method. Centralization was appeared as 'An addiction to YangSaeng exercise' and causal conditions were appeared as 'Visiting Welfare Center' and 'Participation in YangSaeng exercise program' and situational context were appeared as 'Self-management of old ages' and 'For possession of Independent Life' as the results of Axial Coding. Moreover, arbitrational conditions were 'Coexistence of Regret and Attraction' and interaction strategies were appeared as 'Accept', 'Effort and Easing Mind' and 'Share Together'. As a result, 'Appreciation', 'YangSaeng Exercise that comes in my Life' and 'Softly Pitapat' were derived. Core category of 'Living Joyfully with comforted and eased' was selected through outline of story which means it contains Positivity and Expectations, Acceptance and Acknowledgement, Satisfaction and Appreciation, and Commitment and Hope. Based on the findings, we acknowledge that YangSaeng exercise plays a role in improving quality of life of older adults as a recreational activity. This study sheds light on the possibility of implementing 'YangSaeng Exercise' as a health promotion activity among older adults.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.39
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• pp.128-156
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• 1999

Community Service Order is a program that holds a significant place in the system of probation. With its important role in the probation, there is an equally high expectation of the intervention from the program among the people which it serves. The problem lies in that people's understanding of the program is minimized to merely a volunteer-based social activity, which cause a division on how the program is to be run. The purpose of this research is to come up with a method that can efficiently organize the administrative plan to maximize its potentiality of the program. To adopt such a plan, "Sentencing to Service," an effective community service order program in Minnesota, U. S. A. was examined. An interview with the administrative staff, as well as a survey, using systematic sampling, with the participants was conducted to study the effective process and intervention of the program that has existed for fifteen years. The result concluded that "Sentencing to Service" is a successful program with the components of success being that of a positive support from the local community and high motivation level of the participants. In order for the program to be a positive experience for the participants, it is highly contingent upon the crew leaders. On the basis of the research findings, the following suggestions are made. First, a structured guideline for those who are involved in the program is necessary. Second, thorough training provided for the crew leaders are required and a social worker is recommended for the position of crew leader. Lastly, Community Service Order should not widen the net, but ought to serve as an alternative to incarceration.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.178-188
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• 2024

The dynamics of suspended sediment (SS) in forested catchments vary depending upon human or natural disturbances, including land use change, forestry activity, forest fires, and landslides. Understanding the dynamics of SS originating from the potential sources within a forested catchment is crucial for establishing an effective water quality management strategy. Therefore, to suggest a systematic method for interpreting SS dynamics, we evaluated the performance and applicability of ten methods for calculating the hysteresis index based on observed hydrological data and two calculation models (Lawler's method and Lloyd's method) with five sampling intervals (50th, 25th, 10th, 5th, and 1st percentiles). Our results showed that Lloyd's method, which used a sampling interval at the 1st percentile, had the largest number of analyzable runoff events and exhibited the best performance. The results of this study can contribute to quantifying the hysteresis in the relationship between discharge and SS and provide useful information for interpreting SS dynamics.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.543-557
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• 2022

Purpose: Conditions that limit activity constitute one of the important factors that threaten the health of the elderly. This study sought to analyze the dietary habits and nutritional intake status of the Korean elderly who were faced with activity limitations. Methods: Utilizing data from the 2019 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, we classified 1,383 elderly people aged 65 and over into 2 groups: those with activity limitations (n = 222, LG) and those without (n = 1,161, NG). We conducted a comparative analysis of the general characteristics, dietary habits, intake of major food groups, energy, and major nutrients. The nutrient adequacy ratio (NAR), index of nutritional quality (INQ), and healthy eating practices were also analyzed. Complex sampling analysis was utilized for all the analyses with energy intake and socio-demographic variables adjusted. Results: The average age (73.8 years) of members of the LG was higher than those of the NG (72.6 years; p = 0.010). A higher percentage of participants in the LG lived alone (28.1%) compared to those in NG (17.2%; p = 0.004). The LG participants tended to regard their health status as "bad" or "very bad" (62.7%) more often than those in the NG (19.3%; p < 0.001). The LG subjects ate breakfast less frequently (p = 0.054) and ate out significantly less often than the NG subjects (p < 0.001). The LG subjects ate more grain (p = 0.001), fewer seeds (p = 0.014) and vegetables (p = 0.039). Carbohydrate made up a large percentage of their energy intake (p = 0.026). The LG subjects had significantly lower NARs of energy (p = 0.021), protein (p = 0.031), and riboflavin (p = 0.037). The LG participants also had a significantly lower rate of healthy eating practices (22.7%) compared to those in the NG (37.8%; p < 0.001). Conclusion: Activity-limited elderly, despite their need for appropriate dietary management, were poorly nourished. They were likely to live alone, thereby making it hard to provide them with social support. Hence, there is a need to provide nutrition education and policy support for the elderly bearing the burden of limited activity.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.541-546
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to evaluate ecosystem health effect in the physiological levels, based on ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) and total oxyradical scavenging capacity (TOSC) assays using sentinel fish species. We collected fish samples of Zacco platypus in May 2008 from 3 sampling sites including upstream, midstream, and downstream of the Gap Stream. EROD activity was averaged 4.54 in the downstream, 2.7 fold higher than upstream and indicated that stream condition was degraded along with longitudinal gradient from up to downstream. Downstream, especially was significantly increased (p < 0.01) so that indicated various pollutants including nutrient enrichment and toxicant exposure from the point sources, wastewater treatment plant and industrial complex may impact to the stream condition. In the mean time, TOSC assays showed higher in the midstream than other sites, but the values were not significant, compared to the previous report on oxidative stress. Overall results indicated that our approaches applying two biomarkers can be effectively used for diagnosis of the physiological levels in an integrative stream health assessments and can be applied as useful pre-warning techniques as a biochemical alarm system of organic pollutions.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.139-144
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• 1998

Eighteen lambs were used to determine the effects of zinc (Zn) level and source on Zn status and immune function during both normal conditions and conditions of physiologic stress. Treatments consisted of a basal diet (27.6 mg of Zn/kg), and the basal diet supplemented with 25 mg of Zn/kg, added as either zinc oxide or zinc methionine. The basal diet was a corn-cottonseed hull-isolated soy protein- based diet (14% CP). Lambs were weighed and blood samples taken at 28-d intervals for determination of serum Zn and alkaline phosphatase activity. Weights and serum Zn were similar (p > 0.10) among treatments at all sampling days. To evaluate immune responses and Zn status during conditions of physiologic stress lambs were administered 100 I.U. of adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH) on d 112 and feed was withheld for 48 h. Cortisol levels were elevated (p < .01) 5 h post ACTH injection, but had returned to initial levels after 48 h. Lymphocyte blastogenesis ([$^3H$]-thymidine incorporation) on d 112 (prior to ACTH injection) and 114 was unaffected (p > .10) by dietary treatment. However, blastogenesis in response to pokeweed mitogen was greater (p < .0001), whereas the response to phytohemagglutinin was reduced (p < .01) following ACTH administration and fasting. Antibody response to administration of porcine red blood cells was unaffected (p > .05) by dietary treatment. These results indicate that, given the Zn concentration of the basal diet, there was no enhancement of immune function by supplemental Zn, either before or after lambs were subjected to stress.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.70-76
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• 2009

The rhizobacteria of Panax notoginseng were isolated from six sites in Yanshan, Maguan and Wenshan Counties, Yunnan Province of China, and their antagonistic activity against P. notoginseng root-rot fungal pathogens was determined. Of the 574 rhizobacteria isolated, 5.8% isolates were antagonistic in vitro to at least one of the five pathogens, Cylindrocarpon didynum, Fusarium solani, Phytophthora cactorum, Phoma herbarum, and Rhizoctonia solani. The number of rhizo bacteria and the number that inhibited fungi differed depending on sampling sites and isolation methods. Rhizobacteria isolated from the site in Yanshan and Maguan showed more antagonistic effect than them in Wenshan. Heat treatment of rhizosphere soil at $80^{\circ}C$ for 20 min scaled the antagonists up to 14.0%. Antagonistic bacteria in the roots proportioned 3.9% of the total isolates. The most antagonistic isolates 79-9 and 81-4 are Bacillus subtilis based on their 168 rDNA sequence and biochemical and physiological characteristics. Identification and evaluation of antagonistic bacteria against P. notoginseng root-rot pathogens in the main planting areas improved our understanding of their distribution in rhizosphere soil. Furthermore these results indicated that the interactions between biocontrol agent and soil microbes should be seriously considered for the successful survival and biocontrol efficacy of the agents in soil.