• Health Policy and Management
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.185-195
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• 2024

Background: Disabled people have particularly restricted access to health care. In response to this, the pilot project for the general physician (GP) system for disabled people was implemented in 2018, based on the rights of people with disability to the Health Act in South Korea. However, its participants were 0.2% among the total of those with severe disabilities in 2021. Therefore, this study examined the factors related to registering with a GP and the access level to its services to suggest implications for activating the participation of disabled people. Methods: We analyzed factors affecting the registration with a GP and the number of using the services among the participants of the GP system during May 2018 and December 2021 by conducting hierarchical logistic regression and hierarchical regression. The data were linked with the national health insurance data to examine various predictors, including disability types, socioeconomic status, health status, and GP registration. Results: As a result of analyzing the factors affecting whether or not to register for the pilot project, those with disabilities (physical disabilities, brain lesions, visual, intellectual, mental, and autistic disability) eligible for disability care (odds ratio [OR], 4.157) than other disability, and those living in metropolitan (OR, 4.330) or cities (OR, 3.332) than rural residences were highly likely to enroll the pilot study. Health-related variables also predicted the registration status of the pilot project. The predictors related to GP enrollment types (membership type: general health or disability care, GP's affiliation: clinics or hospitals) significantly influenced levels of access to services. Conclusion: It is necessary to develop the GP project for disabled people by considering the variation in types of disability, residences, and health. Further study will be needed to investigate the impact of GPs on the level of participation among disabled people.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.541-550
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• 2010

The present study examined whether the physical similarity of test stimuli affects P300 amplitude and detection accuracy for the P300-based concealed information test (P300 CIT). As the participant pretended suffering from memory impairment by an accident, own name was used as a concealed information to be probed by the P300 CIT in which the participant discriminated between a target and other (probe, irrelevant) stimuli. One group of participants was tested in the easy task condition with low physical similarity among stimuli, the other group was tested in the difficult task condition with high physical similarity among stimuli. Using the base-to-peak P300 amplitude, the interaction effect of task difficulty and stimulus type was significant at $\alpha$=.1 level (p=.052). In the easy task condition the difference of P300 amplitude between the probe and the irrelevant stimuli was significant, while in the difficult task condition the difference was not significant. Using peak-to-peak P300 amplitude, on the other hand, the interaction effect of task difficulty and stimulus type was not significant with significant differences of P300 amplitude between the probe and the irrelevant stimuli in both task difficulty conditions. The difference of detection accuracy between task conditions was not significant with both measures of P300 amplitude although the difference was much smaller when peak-to-peak P300 amplitude was used. The results suggest that the efficiency of P300 CIT would not decrease even when the perceptual similarity among test stimuli is high.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.111-128
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• 2005

Background: Cardiac arrest is one of the most critical diseases which can likely lead to severe cerebral disability or brain death when the cases can not recover their circulation within 10 minutes. Saving out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases is a recent concern in Korea. Resuscitation has become an important multidisciplinary branch of medicine, demanding a spectrum of skills and attracting a plethora of specialities and organizations. The best survival can be achieved if all the following links have been optimized : rapid access, and early CPR, defibrillation and ACLS, Since the "Utstein Style" was advocated in 1991, many reports about out-of-hospital cardiac arrest have been published based on this guideline. These differences prevent valid inter-hospital and international comparisons. However, it is not known how effective resuscitation has become to the patients. In other words, there are no guidelines for reviewing, reporting, and conducting research on resuscitation in Korea. This dissertation aims to provide the basic data for a unified reporting guideline of resuscitation in Korea and evaluating the out-of-hospital factors associated with survival discharge of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Methods: As for this study, uses the collected data about Out-of-hospital cardiac arrests at 4 area, from January, 2005 to April. 2005. With a retrospective study, 174 cases were analyzed. The data was recorded based on the Out-of-Hospital Utstein Style. Results: Resuscitation was performed on 174 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases at the 4 area 14 patients(8.1%) recovered their spontaneous circulation. Overall, the ROSC of the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients was 8.1%, which was poorer than that of western countries. Gender distribution was 50 females(28.7%) and 124 males(71.3%), approximately twice as many males as females. ROSC of witnessed arrests was found out to be 97.7%. The ratio of the witnessed arrest groups showed higher results than that of unwitnessed arrest groups in the above-examined cases. Cardiac etiology consisted of cardiac(33.5%), non-cardiac(45.7%), trauma(20.1%), and unknown(6.0%). Cardiac was the best performance. Initial rhythm showed Ventricular Tachycardia/pulseless Ventricular Fibrillation in 8 patients(6.0%), asystole in 100(75.2%) and unknown in 25(18.8%). The results of the Ventricular Tachycardia/pulseless Ventricular Fibrillation showed higher results than the others cases, The proportion of the cardiogenic cause was 33.5%, which was only half of western countries. Ventricular Tachycardia/pulseless Ventricular Fibrillation is relatively rare. These differences were due to the prevalent pattern of Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest as well as prematurity of the EMSS. Bystander CPR was practiced on 13 patients(7.52%). ROSC was shown in 46.2% cases. CPR by EMT was carried out on 167 cases(96.5%). ACLS by EMf was rare. From collapse, 4 cases(2.6%) arrived to ED within 6 minutes. 13 (8.6%) within 10 minutes, and 49(32.5%) over 31 minutes. The sooner the patients arrived, the greater the ratio of ROSC and discharged alive became, and the same with collapse time to ROSC. As the results of the logistic regression analysis, ROSC was found out to be highly influenced by the time of ED arrival from collapse and Ventricular Tachycardia/pulseless Ventricular Fibrillation. Therefore, the ratio of ROSC depends on not any single factor but various intervention factors. Conclusion: This dissertation presents the following suggestions and directions of the study hereafter. First, the first step for a chain of survival should be taken to activate EMSS early with a phone as soon as cardiac arrests are witnessed. Second, it is keenly needed that emergency medical technicians should be increased through emergency education for living. Third, it is necessary to establish the emergency transportation system. Fourth, most of the Koreans have little understanding of EMT and the present operation systems have many problems, which should be fundamentally changed. Fifth, it is required to have an active medical control over Out-of-hospital CPR, And proper psychological supports should be given not only to patients themselves and their family but also individuals who are engaged in emergency situation. Finally, through studies hereafter on nationwide, comprehensive, and standard forms, it is needed to examine into the biological figures of human body, causes and trends of cardiac arrests, and then, to enhance the survival rate of Out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. Korean guidelines for Cardiopulmonary resuscitation need to be made.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2019

The health benefits associated with consumption of fresh produce have been clearly demonstrated and encouraged by international nutrition and health authorities. However, since fresh produce is usually minimally processed, increased consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables has also led to a simultaneous escalation of foodborne illness cases. According to the report by the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in 10 people suffer from foodborne diseases and 420,000 die every year globally. In comparison to other processed foods, fresh produce can be easily contaminated by various routes at different points in the supply chain from farm to fork. This review is focused on the identification and characterization of possible sources of foodborne illnesses from chemical, biological, and physical hazards and the applicable methodologies to detect potential contaminants. Agro-chemicals (pesticides, fungicides and herbicides), natural toxins (mycotoxins and plant toxins), and heavy metals (mercury and cadmium) are the main sources of chemical hazards, which can be detected by several methods including chromatography and nano-techniques based on nanostructured materials such as noble metal nanoparticles (NMPs), quantum dots (QDs) and magnetic nanoparticles or nanotube. However, the diversity of chemical structures complicates the establishment of one standard method to differentiate the variety of chemical compounds. In addition, fresh fruits and vegetables contain high nutrient contents and moisture, which promote the growth of unwanted microorganisms including bacterial pathogens (Salmonella, E. coli O157: H7, Shigella, Listeria monocytogenes, and Bacillus cereus) and non-bacterial pathogens (norovirus and parasites). In order to detect specific pathogens in fresh produce, methods based on molecular biology such as PCR and immunology are commonly used. Finally, physical hazards including contamination by glass, metal, and gravel in food can cause serious injuries to customers. In order to decrease physical hazards, vision systems such as X-ray inspection have been adopted to detect physical contaminants in food, while exceptional handling skills by food production employees are required to prevent additional contamination.

• The Journal of Korea Institute of Information, Electronics, and Communication Technology
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.657-665
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• 2019

In this study, we conducted a study on the transcranial magnetic electrode, a method for the study of dementia and muscle pain, a neurodegenerative disease caused by an aging society, which is becoming a problem worldwide. In particular, transcranial magnetic electrodes have been studied to improve their ability to be deteriorated by dementia symptoms such as speech, cognitive ability, and memory by outputting magnetism deep into the brain using coils on the head epidermis. In this study, simulation was performed using Maxwell 3D program for the design of coil, the core of transcranial magnetic electrode. As a result of the simulation comparison between the coil designed by the previous research and the coil through the research and development, the output was found to be superior to the conventional designed coil. The graphs of the coil outputs of B-Field and H-Field are found to be symmetrical, but the symmetry between each coil is pseudo-symmetrical and not accurate. Based on these results, an experiment was conducted to confirm whether the output of the head epidermis through both coils is possible. In the magnitude field of the reverse-coil 2-coil analysis, the maximum output was 3.3920e + 004 H [A_per_meter], and the vector field showed the strongest magnetic field around 35 to 165 degrees. It was confirmed that the magnetic output canceled due to the magnetic output. In the case of the forward 2-coil, a maximum of 3.2348e + 004H [A_per_meter] similar to the reverse coil was observed, but in the case of the vector field, the magnetic output regarding the forward output and the head skin output was confirmed. However, when the height change in the output coil, the magnetic output was reduced.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.441-449
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• 2015

This study was conducted to screen the characteristics of external and cranial characters of Crocidura shantungensis collected from Korean Peninsula, Ulleung Island and Jeju Island. There were significant differences in head-body length (HBL), tail length (TL), ear length (EL), and hind foot length (HFL) in males and HBL, TL, and HFL in females among three populations (p<0.05). The HBL and TL in the Jeju Island population were larger (8.0 mm and 4.0 mm in lengths, respectively) than those of the Korean Peninsula population. Based on skull analysis, a total of thirteen traits showed significant differences among the three populations (p<0.05). The condylo-insicive length (CIL), maximum width of brain case (MWB), mandibular length (ML), and mandibular height (MH) in the Jeju Island population were significantly larger than those of Korean Peninsula population (p<0.05). Principle component analysis (PCA) showed that two principle components (PC) identified from the PCA affected on the body size and width of the skull, respectively. Discriminant analysis revealed that these populations could be discriminated through skull traits. These findings concluded that the Jeju Island population was greater in the size than the Korean Peninsula, suggesting that the Jeju Island shrews have successfully adapted to the island environments and they had morphologically differentiated during glacial period after natural immigration into that Island. Thus, this study supports the 'Island Rule', showing that the population is well adapted to the island environments. This may provide important information for biogeographical and ecological studies on insular animals.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.59-66
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• 2001

It is a hot issue to determine the spatial location and shape of tumor boundary in fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (FSRT). We could get consecutive transaxial plane images from the phantom (paraffin) and 4 patients with brain tumor using helical computed tomography(HCT). K-means classification algorithm was adjusted to change raw data pixel value in CT images into classified average pixel value. The classified images consists of 5 regions that ate tumor region (TR), normal region (NR), combination region (CR), uncommitted region (UR) and artifact region (AR). The major concern was how to separate the normal region from tumor region in the combination area. Relative average deviation analysis was adjusted to alter average pixel values of 5 regions into 2 regions of normal and tumor region to define maximum point among average deviation pixel values. And then we drawn gross tumor volume (GTV) boundary by connecting maximum points in images using semi-automatic contour method by IDL(Interactive Data Language) program. The error limit of the ROI boundary in homogeneous phantom is estimated within ${\pm}1%$. In case of 4 patients, we could confirm that the tumor lesions described by physician and the lesions described automatically by the K-mean classification algorithm and relative average deviation analyses were similar. These methods can make uncertain boundary between normal and tumor region into clear boundary. Therefore it will be useful in the CT images-based treatment planning especially to use above procedure apply prescribed method when CT images intermittently fail to visualize tumor volume comparing to MRI images.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.23-30
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• 2012

Objectives : This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of victims of bullying and the demographic characteristics of victims, and their related psychopathology, in a Korean nationwide sample of youths in middle and high school over a one month period. Methods : During the autumn of 2009, students in the 7th to 12th grades at 23 secondary schools participated in a nationwide, cross-sectional study. The study subjects completed the Adolescent Mental Health and Problem Behavior Screening Questionnaire-II (AMPQ-II) and Symptom Checklist-90-Revision (SCL-90-R). Based on the data acquired, descriptive statistics, correlation coefficients and multiple logistic regression analysis were performed. Results : Among the 3364 participants, 2272 (67.54%) completed the questionnaire. The prevalence of victimization was 28.9%. Male gender was positively associated with victimization, and grade level was negatively related to victimization. The AMPQ-II bullying score (Factor 4) was significantly (p<.001) and positively correlated to the AMPQ-II student total score (r= 0.50), Worry and thought (Factor 1 ; r=0.38), Mood and suicide (Factor 2 ; r=0.31), Academic and Internet-related problems (Factor 3 ; r=0.24), Rule violations (Factor 5 ; r=0.23), and AMPQ-II teacher total score (r=0.11). Somatization (r=0.23), Obsessive-compulsive behavior (r=0.24), Interpersonal sensitivity (r=0.30), Depression (r=0.33), Anxiety (r=0.26), Hostility (r=0.30), Phobic anxiety (r=0.22), Paranoid ideation (r=0.36), and Psychoticism (r=0.31) results from the SCL-90-R were also found to be positively related to the AMPQ-II bullying score, and remained significant after adjusting for age and gender. A total of 26% of the victims reported suicidal ideations as compared to 9% of non-victims over the month prior to the evaluation ($x^2$=119.595, df=1, p<.001). The multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that the AMPQ-II bullying score significantly increased the risk of suicidal ideation [Exp(b)=1.55, df=1, p<.001] after adjusting for age and gender. Conclusion : School bullying was highly prevalent among Korean middle and high school students. This study provided strong evidence that suicidal ideation and psychopathology were serious problems among the victims of bullying.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.92-103
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• 2018

Purpose: This descriptive study was conducted to examine factors that affect hospital workers in their decision to withdraw from life-sustaining treatment, such as knowledge, attitude, and perception of organ donation, transplantation, death and hospice palliative care. Methods: A questionnaire was completed by 228 workers of a tertiary general hospital, and data were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson's correlation by using SPSS 21.0. Results: The subjects' knowledge of biomedical ethics awareness differed by age, education level, occupation, affiliated department, and biomedical ethics education. Their knowledge of brain death, organ donation and transplantation was positively correlated with attitudes toward tissue donation and transplantation, knowledge of hospice palliative care, and perception of hospice palliative care. Their attitudes toward tissue donation and transplantation were significantly correlated with knowledge of hospice palliative care, perception of hospice palliative care, and withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment. Their awareness of death was significantly correlated with knowledge of hospice palliative care, perception of hospice palliative care and withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment. The perception of hospice palliative care was significantly correlated with withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment. Factors associated with their withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment were work at the hospice ward (32.5%), attitudes toward tissue donation and transplantation and perception of hospice palliative care. Conclusion: This study has shown that work at the hospice ward, attitudes toward tissue donation and transplantation and perception of hospice palliative care were related to attitudes toward withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment. More research is needed to further develop various curriculums based on biomedical methods.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.379-392
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• 2019

The current study investigated the effect of Gabjubaekmok (Diospyros kaki) ethanolic extract (GEE) on $H_2O_2$-induced human neuroblastoma MC-IXC cells and amyloid beta $(A{\beta})_{1-42}$-induced ICR (Institute of Cancer Research) mice. GEE showed significant antioxidant activity that was evaluated based on ABTS, DPPH scavenging activity, and inhibition of malondialdehyde (MDA) and acetylcholinesterase activity. Further, GEE inhibited ROS production and increased cell viability in $H_2O_2$-induced MC-IXC cells. Administration of GEE ameliorated the cognitive dysfunction on $A{\beta}$-induced ICR mice as evaluated using Y-maze, passive avoidance, and Morris water maze tests. Results of ex vivo test using brain tissues showed that, GEE protected the cholinergic system and mitochondrial functions by increasing the levels of antioxidants such as ROS, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) against $A{\beta}$-induced cognitive dysfunction. Moreover, GEE decreasd the expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins such as $TNF-{\alpha}$, p-JNK, p-tau, BAX and caspase 3. While, expression levels of p-Akt and $p-GSK3{\beta}$ increased than $A{\beta}$ group. Finally, gallic acid was identified as the main compound of GEE using high performance liquid chromatography.