• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.49-57
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• 2023

Background: Several previous studies have reported that quality of life (QoL) in hemodialysis patients affects mortality. However, the 36-item Short Form Health Survey, which has been used mainly in previous studies, is complicated in terms of questionnaire composition and interpretation. This study aimed to identify the impact of QoL on mortality in hemodialysis patients using an easier and simpler diagnostic tool. Methods: This retrospective study included 160 hemodialysis patients. QoL was evaluated using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire-Brief version (WHOQOL-BREF). Psychosocial factors were evaluated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. We also evaluated medical factors, such as dialysis adequacy and laboratory results. Results: The mean hemodialysis vintage was 70.7±38.0 months. The proportion of patients who were elderly was higher in the mortality group than in the surviving group, and the Charlson Comorbidity Index score was also higher in the former group. Of the four domains of the WHOQOL-BREF, the physical health and psychological scores of the mortality group were significantly lower than those of the survival group. When the score in the physical health domain or psychological domain was ≤10, the 10-year mortality rate after hemodialysis initiation increased by approximately 2.3- and 2-fold, respectively. Conclusion: QoL may have a significant effect on mortality in patients undergoing hemodialysis. The WHOQOL-BREF is an instrument that can measure QoL relatively easily and can be used to improve the long-term prognosis of patients undergoing hemodialysis.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.84-97
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• 2023

Background: The concept of high-impact chronic pain (HICP) has been proposed for patients with chronic pain who have significant limitations in work, social life, and personal care. Recognition of HICP and being able to distinguish patients with HICP from other chronic pain patients who do not have life interference allows the necessary measures to be taken in order to restore the physical and emotional functioning of the affected persons. The aim was to reveal the risk factors and predictors associated with HICP. Methods: Patients with chronic pain without life interference (grade 1 and 2) and patients with HICP were compared. Significant data were evaluated with regression analysis to reveal the associated risk factors. Receiving operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate predictors and present cutoff scores. Results: One thousand and six patients completed the study. From pain related cognitive processes, fear of pain (odds ratio [OR], 0.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.87-0.98; P = 0.007) and helplessness (OR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.01-1.12; P = 0.018) were found to be risk factors associated with HICP. Predictors of HICP were evaluated by ROC analysis. The highest discrimination value was found for pain intensity (cut-off score > 6.5; 83.8% sensitive; 68.7% specific; area under the curve = 0.823; P < 0.001). Conclusions: This is the first study in our geography to evaluate HICP with measurement tools that evaluate all dimensions of pain. Moreover, it is the first study in the literature to evaluate predictors and cut-off scores using ROC analysis for HICP.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.139-148
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• 2024

In the post-pandemic era, the demand for online education platforms has surged, leading to increased consumer reliance on online reviews for decision-making. This study investigates the impact of Chinese online customer reviews on consumer purchase behavior in online education. By examining the role of trust, review sentiment, and the quantity and timeliness of reviews, the research aims to understand how these factors influence consumer decisions. By using regression model, findings reveal that negative reviews, timely feedback, and a higher volume of reviews positively affect consumer purchase decisions, while course pricing demonstrates an inverse relationship. Furthermore, cognitive and affective trust mediate the relationship between reviews and purchase behavior, highlighting a reverse U-shaped effect on consumer decision inclination. These insights provide valuable implications for online education providers, emphasizing the need to manage and leverage online reviews to foster consumer trust and improve sales performance.

• Journal of Information Technology Services
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.97-121
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• 2024

As data usage grows in importance, ensuring individual control over personal information becomes critical. The emergence of the 'MyData' concept addresses this, particularly in financial services. Although the institutional and technological framework for financial MyData services is in place, there's a need to establish consumer understanding and perception of its usefulness and safety for successful activation. This study focuses on investigating the impact of trust on the intention to use the new mobile banking service, financial MyData. This study has three objectives. Firstly, to analyze whether trust in financial MyData services and trust in financial MyData service providers affect the intention to use financial MyData services. Secondly, to analyze the process of forming trust in financial MyData services based on the phenomenon of transferring trust in service providers to trust in services. Thirdly, to identify the process by which trust transfer occurs between service providers and financial MyData services. Ultimately, the goal of this study is to promote the intention to use financial MyData services based on the concept of trust and to activate these services. In summary, this study emphasizes the significance of trust in financial MyData services, exploring its impact on user intention and the transfer of trust from providers to services. By promoting consumer trust, the research aims to contribute to the activation of financial MyData services.

• Dementia and Neurocognitive Disorders
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.127-135
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• 2024

Background and Purpose: To ensure data privacy, the development of defacing processes, which anonymize brain images by obscuring facial features, is crucial. However, the impact of these defacing methods on brain imaging analysis poses significant concern. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability of three different defacing methods in automated brain volumetry. Methods: Magnetic resonance imaging with three-dimensional T1 sequences was performed on ten patients diagnosed with subjective cognitive decline. Defacing was executed using mri_deface, BioImage Suite Web-based defacing, and Defacer. Brain volumes were measured employing the QBraVo program and FreeSurfer, assessing intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the mean differences in brain volume measurements between the original and defaced images. Results: The mean age of the patients was 71.10±6.17 years, with 4 (40.0%) being male. The total intracranial volume, total brain volume, and ventricle volume exhibited high ICCs across the three defacing methods and 2 volumetry analyses. All regional brain volumes showed high ICCs with all three defacing methods. Despite variations among some brain regions, no significant mean differences in regional brain volume were observed between the original and defaced images across all regions. Conclusions: The three defacing algorithms evaluated did not significantly affect the results of image analysis for the entire brain or specific cerebral regions. These findings suggest that these algorithms can serve as robust methods for defacing in neuroimaging analysis, thereby supporting data anonymization without compromising the integrity of brain volume measurements.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.179-196
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• 2015

Because of our aging population, there is increasing concern about the impact of dementia and age-related cognitive decline. Intense research efforts on effective dietary interventions for the prevention or amelioration of dementia and age-related cognitive decline have indicated that dairy products affect physiological health and potentially healthy brain function during aging. Milk is a rich source of proteins and peptides with nutritional and immunotropic activities. The preparation of biologically active proteins and peptides generally requires enzymatic degradation, chemical modification, or the addition of specific co-factors. Milk-derived preparations are widely available in the food industry in the form of hygiene products and infant formulas. However, milk-derived products could also be applied as preventive or therapeutic measures for a wide-range of pathological conditions not only in neonates and infants but also in adults, including the elderly. Because they have no adverse side effects, milk-derived proteins and peptides could be used as a supplementary treatment for dementia and age-related cognitive decline.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.33-42
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• 2013

The study looks for keys to provide development direction of digital textbooks based on educational meaning and roles for increasing satisfaction of teacher and student uses in educational activities. In the paradigm shift toward learner-centered pedagogy, digital textbooks have been actively discussed in exploiting the pedagogical ideas, such as multimedia learning, self-regulated learning, deeper learning, and collaborative learning, offered by the technology. In the study, we discuss the concept and historical background of digital textbooks based on the changes of pedagogical paradigm, and then we discuss fundamental functionality, effectiveness, physical and psychological impact, and cognitive aspects to empower the use of digital textbooks in public education system.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.823-833
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• 2014

This study examines the lifestyle and gender effects of Chinese students in Korea on the Korean apparel brand experience. In addition, this study explores the effect of various brand experiences on attitudes toward Korean apparel brands. This study targets 355 Chinese university students who live in Korea. The results show that a Chinese students' lifestyle consists of four factors: adventure-seeking, sociability, individualism, and materialism. Brand experience consists of five different experiences: cognitive, affective, relational, sensory, and behavioral experience. Adventure-seeking lifestyle affects all five brand experiences and sociability influences sensory and relational experience. Individualism influences relational and behavioral experience; however, materialism affects four brand experiences (except sensory experience). Female students indicate a higher level of brand experience (except relational experience than) male students. Finally, three brand experiences (affective, sensory, and relational experience) impact brand attitude. Theoretical and managerial implications of the results are discussed along with limitations and future research directions.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.559-574
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to develop the couple relationship improvement program for college students and to examine the effects of the program based on the family of origin and attachment. Does based on Bowen's theory of differentiation of self, adult attachment, group counseling for this and establishes program goals according to systematic group counseling program development model and composed program. In order to attain like this research objective, six male and female couples attending colleges were divided into the participating group and comparison group; the students were from H University in Daejeon, Korea, and they had the experience of participating in the comprehensive group program. The changes shown by the couples were studied, and the cases were analyzed by examining the minutes and reports, which supplemented the quantitative analysis of the effectiveness of the group counseling program. The analysis of the effectiveness of the program showed the following. The case showed that goals of the individuals and couples, enhancing the understanding of self and partners by understanding the self-differentiation and adult attachment while having a positive impact on understanding, acceptance, disclosure of self partner and couple relationship based on the social support of the cognitive emotion regulation strategies.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.508-516
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• 2007

Purpose: This study was to examine the effects of electric stimulation therapy on chronic knee pain, exercise self-efficacy, and quality of life in Korean elderly women. Methods: The design was an unequivalent control pretest-posttest study. Samples were total of 60 (experimental: 30, control: 30) elderly women with healthy cognitive and communication abilities aged 65 years old and above. The experimental treatment involved was the electric stimulation of both thigh quadriceps muscles for 15 minutes per treatment, 3times per a week, for a total of 12 weeks. Measurements taken were S-F MPQ and AIMS for chronic knee pain, exercise self-efficacy measurement for exercise self-efficacy, and S-F 36 scale for quality of life. Data were analyzed using SPSS PC+ 12. Results: Chronic knee pain according to the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (t=43.563, p=.000) and Arthritis Impact Measurement Scale (t=31.364, p=.000) were significantly decreased in the experimental group by the application of electrical stimulation therapy. Exercise self-efficacy (t=107.116, p=.000) and quality of life (t=76.429, p=.000) were significantly increased in the experimental group by the application of electrical stimulation therapy. Conclusion: Electrical stimulation therapy could be a more effective primary nursing intervention in decreasing chronic knee pain, and on increasing exercise self-efficacy and quality of life for Korean elderly women.