• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.117-124
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• 2013

Emergency operating procedures(EOPs) of nuclear power plants should be described considering the cognitive capability and limitation of operators and provide appropriate information in the aspect of human factors. Procedures which doesn't consider cognitive characteristics of operators can become causes of human errors. In previous researches, in order to reduce these problems related to the description of EOP, an improvement suggestion for EOP writer's guide has been proposed, which is reflected human factors aspects that should be considered when describing EOPs. The proposed items, however, have a necessity to be validated because it was listed from various documents such as standards and guidelines without any special validation process. For that reason, in this study, a validation process were performed to show that procedures, which are described in compliance with the requirement items proposed in the improved EOP writer's guide, have positive effects in the aspects of human errors and performance comparing with previous procedures. Experiments were performed to compare the performances of two tasks which are described in compliance with each writer's guide of before and after the improvement During each task was performed in experiments, changes of physiological responses such as EEG and ECG were measured to evaluate the cognitive workload and the stress of operators in each task. And also, as the performance, frequencies of errors and cognition speeds of each task were evaluated. In the results of the experiment, the portions of the ${\beta}$ wave decreased in the tasks overall after the improvement. In the case of ECG, change rates of the mean of R-R interval were decreased in the tasks after improvement. In the results of the performance, the cognition and the response time of the tasks after the improvement were predominant with statistical significancies. Error times in the tasks after improvement were decreased or same to the tasks before improvement. Conclusively, it was validated that the procedures were described in compliance with the improved EOP writer's guide had effects on the reduction of human errors and improvement of performance.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.582-594
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• 2008

This study aimed at evaluating current sanitation management performances in Korean-Food restaurants by their operation types and to develop sanitary training posters based on the risk factors, in an attempt to improve the level of sanitation management in Korean food service facilities. Eighteen Korean-food restaurants that are managed by franchisor, franchisees as well as self-managed with large-scale and small-scale restaurants in Seoul and Gyeonggi-Do, were evaluated by on-the-spot inspectors with an auditing tool consisting of three dimensions, nine categories and thirty four items. Data were analyzed using SPSS. The total score of each group showed that restaurants managed by franchisees ranked the highest (59 out of 100 points), while self-managed, small-scale restaurants ranked the lowest (44 out of 100 points). In the categorization of sanitation management compliance, the dimensions of food hygiene during production recorded the lowest compliance rate of 47.7% (22.89/48.0 points) followed by the dimension of environmental hygiene 59.3% (20.17/34.0 points) and personal hygiene 60.5% (10.89/18.0 points). This indicated the need for urgent improvement. The items which showed the lowest compliance rates were 'proper thawing of frozen foods' (0%), 'notifying and observing heating/reheating temperature' (6%), 'using of hand-washing facility and proper hand-washing' (33%), 'monitoring temperature of frozen-foods and cold-foods' (35%), and 'prevention of cross-contamination' (36%) among thirty four items. Self-managed, small-scale restaurants, in particular, needed to improve sanitary practices such as 'sanitation education for employee', 'verifying the employee health inspection reports', 'storing food on the shelves 15 cm distance away from the wall', 'suitability of ventilation capacity of hoods' and 'cleanliness of drainage'. On the basis of the findings of this study, we developed sanitary training posters, especially for small-scale restaurant operators. This could be an effective tool to educate food service employees on sanitary knowledge and principles and could be used to improve the existing sanitary conditions in Korean food service facilities.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.27-37
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• 2024

Objectives: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a prevalent mental health condition, and techniques using sensory stimulation in processing traumatic memories have gained attention. The Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) is a psychotherapy that combines tapping on acupoints with exposure to cognitive reframing. This pilot study aimed to assess the feasibility of EFT as a treatment for PTSD by answering the following research questions: 1) What is the compliance and completion rate of patients with PTSD with regard to EFT protocol? Is the dropout rate reasonable? 2) Is the effect size of EFT protocol for PTSD sufficient to justify a future trial? Methods: Thirty participants diagnosed with PTSD were recruited. They received weekly EFT sessions for five weeks, in which they repeated a statement acknowledging the problem and accepting themselves while tapping the SI3 acupoint on the side of their hand. PTSD symptoms were evaluated using the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) before and after the intervention. Results: Of the 30 PTSD patients (mean age: 34.1 ± 9.1, 80% female), 96.7% showed over 80% compliance to the EFT sessions, and 86.7% completed the entire study process. The mean PCL-5 total score decreased significantly after the intervention, with a large effect size (change from baseline: -14.33 [95% CI: -19.79, -8.86], p < 0.0001, d = 1.06). Conclusion: The study suggests that EFT is a feasible treatment for PTSD, with high session compliance and low dropout rates. The effect size observed in this study supports the need for a larger trial in the future to further investigate EFT as a treatment for PTSD. However, the lack of a control group and the use of a self-rated questionnaire for PTSD symptoms are limitations of this study. The findings of this pilot study can be used to plan a future trial.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.155-164
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• 2002

Hypertension is the most frequent disease of chronic circulatory diseases and major intermediate cause or risk of the cerebrovascular disease which is a leading cause of death in Korea. Therefore, management of hypertension is an important issue in Korean healthcare. Especially, therapeutic compliance of hypertensives is very important because the hypertensive patients should receive anti-hypertensive treatment as long as the condition exists. However, many patients drop out of treatment, which is a major problem that needs to be solved through a hypertension control program. This study was carried out to provide basic data and counter measule for the hypertension control program in the community which aimed to keep the patients receiving treatment continuously. In order to investigate compliance of hypertensive patients during three months follow-up and the rate of control of hypertension, the data were collected during February, 2001, by reviewing medical records of 295 hypertensive patients who had been registered to Gunnam-myeon health subcenter before November, 2000. The author also study the dropout reasons by interviewing 58 patients among 68 dropout patients. The results were as follows: 1. Among the 295 subjects, 108(36.6%) were male and 187(63.4%) were female. Statistically, female hypertensives had a higher mean age than male(64.6 vs 66.3, p<0.05). 2. The 54.9% of the patients took anti-hypertensive medicine continuously for the past three months. And 19.3% had drug intermittently, and 25.8% dropped out of treatment. 3. Among several variables, such as sex, age, health insurance, the time taken from a patient's village to the health subcenter, only the last one was found to be significantly related to therapeutic compliance in the contingency table analysis. 4. The dropout reasons by multiple response were as follows, 'no symptom or no problem' (23.9%), 'change to other hospitals'(19.4%), 'geographical barrier'(17.9%), 'change to a neighborhood drugstore' (14.9%), 'immobility'(7.5%), 'economic barrier'(6.0%), 'unsatisfactory services of the health subcenter'(4.4%). 5. The mean blood pressure of 295 subjects was $144.9{\pm}12.9/86.88{\pm}8.6mmHg$. 6. The 32.5% of the subjects were controlled below 140/90mmHg. Conclusions: In order to improve the low rates of treatment and control of hypertension in rural hypertensives, a more active and systematic hypertension control program, including out-reaching follow-up management, is required in rural area. Especially, for health education of hypertensive patients, emphasis should placed on correcting wrong attitude toward hypertension.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.237-241
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• 2012

Objective: Screening for colorectal cancer using guaiac-based fecal occult blood tests (gFOBT) is well established in Western populations, but is hampered by poor patient compliance due to the imposed dietary restrictions. Fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) do not require dietary restriction, but are more expensive than gFOBT and therefore restrict its use in developing countries in Asia. However, Asian diets being low in meat content may not require diet restriction for gFOBT to achieve equivalent results. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the validity and suitability of gFOBT and FIT or a combination of the two in screening for colorectal neoplasias without prior dietary restriction in an Asian population. Methods: Patients referred to the Endoscopic Unit for colonoscopy were recruited for the study. Stool samples were collected prior to bowel preparation, and tested for occult blood with both gFOBT and FIT. Dietary restriction was not imposed. To assess the validity of either tests or in combination to detect a neoplasm or cancer in the colon, their false positive rates, their sensitivity (true positive rate) and the specificity (true negative rate) were analyzed and compared. Results: One hundred and three patients were analysed. The sensitivity for picking up any neoplasia was 53% for FIT, 40% for gFOBT and 23.3% for the combination. The sensitivities for picking up only carcinoma were 77.8%, 66.7% and 55.5%, respectively. The specificity for excluding any neoplasia was 91.7% for FIT, 74% for gFOBT and 94.5% for a combination, whereas for excluding only carcinomas they were 84%, 73.4% and 93.6%. Of the 69 with normal colonoscopic findings, FOBT was positive in 4.3%, 23.2 %and 2.9% for FIT, gFOBT, or combination of tests respectively. Conclusion: FIT is the recommended method if we are to dispense with dietary restriction in our patients because of its relatively low-false positivity and better sensitivity and specificity rates.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.4031-4035
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• 2016

Background: In the adjuvant treatment of breast cancer, anthracycline and taxane based regimens can be used concomitantly or sequentially. The best order in the sequential regimens has yet to be well established. This study evaluated the feasibility of 4 cycles of adjuvant taxotere ($100mg/m^2$) every 3 weeks followed by 4 cycles of doxorubicin ($60mg/m^2$) and cyclophosphamide ($600mg/m^2$) every 3 weeks. The primary outcome was the safety profile. Secondary outcomes were disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Materials and Methods: This non-randomize prospective phase II stud was performed at Jordan University of Science and Technology and its affiliated King Abdulla Teaching Hospital between July 2009 and August 2010. Data collection was closed on May $31^{th}$, 2015 giving a median follow up period of 62 months. The study was approved by the institutional review board and a written informed consent was obtained for each patient. Results: Fifty patients were enrolled. The median age was 53.1 years (range 34-76). One patient (2%) had stage I disease, 17 (34%) stage II, and 32 (64.0%) stage III. Forty-six patients were evaluable for efficacy analysis. The completion rate was 95.7%. No dose modifications were needed. The incidences of grade 3-4 neutropenia and febrile neutropenia were 14 % and 10%. No grade 3-4 non-hematological adverse events were encountered. At a median follow up time of 62 months the OS and the DFS rates were 76.1% and 56.5%. Those for stages I and II combined were 100% and 75%. Conclusions: Taxotere first followed by doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide appears a feasible regimen as evidenced by an acceptable completion rate, a satisfactory safety profile, and an OS and DFS rates comparable to other studies.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.291-295
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• 2015

Various types of implantable drug delivery devices have attracted significant attention for several decades to improve drug bioavailability and reduce side effects, thus enhancing therapeutic efficacy and patients' compliance. However, when implanted into the body, the devices may be influenced by the changes in physiological condition, such as temperature, pH or ionic concentration. Thus, the drug release rates could be also altered concurrently. Therefore, in this work, we employed an implantable ALZET$^{(R)}$ Osmotic Pump, which has been widely used to locally deliver various therapeutic agents and examined the effect of pH, temperature and ionic concentration on its drug release rate. For this, we performed in vitro cell tests to simulate the condition of local tissues influenced by the altered drug release rates, where we used diclofenac sodium as a model drug.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.136-141
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• 2007

The Purpose Of This Paper Is To Use A Tactile Sensor To Compensate The Error Rate. Most Automated Sphygmomanometers Use The Oscillometric Method And Characteristic Ratio To Estimate Systolic And Diastolic Blood Pressure. However, Based On The Fact That Maximum Amplitude Of The Oscillometric Waveform And Characteristic Ratio Are Affected By Compliance Of The Aorta And Large Arteries, A Method To Measure The Artery Stiffness By Using A Tactile Sensor Was Chosen In Order To Integrate It With The Sphygmomanometer In The Future Instead Of Using Photoplethysmography. Since Tactile Sensors Have Very Weak Movements, Efforts Were Made To Maintain The Subject's Arm In A Fixed Position, And A 40hz Low Pass Filter Was Used To Eliminate Noise From The Power Source As Well As High Frequency Noise. An Analyzing Program Was Made To Get Time Delay Between The First And Second Peak Of The Averaged Digital Volume Pulse(${\Delta}t_{dvp}$), And The Subject's Height Was Divided By ${\Delta}t_{dvp}$ To Calculate The Stiffness Index Of The Arteries($Si_{dvp}$). Regression Equations Of Systolic And Diastolic Pressure Using $Si_{dvp}$ And Mean Arterial Pressure(Map) Were Computed From The Test Group (60 Subjects) Among A Total Of 121 Subjects(Age: $44.9{\pm}16.5$, Male: Female=40:81) And Were Tested In 61 Subjects To Compensate The Error Rate. Error Rates Considering All Subjects Were Systolic $4.62{\pm}9.39mmhg$, And Diastolic $14.40{\pm}9.62mmhg$, And Those In The Test Set Were $3.48{\pm}9.32mmhg,\;And\;14.34{\pm}9.67mmhg$ Each. Consequently, Error Rates Were Compensated Especially In Diastolic Pressure Using $Si_{dvp}$, Various Slopes From Digital Volume Pulse And Map To Systolic-$1.91{\pm}7.57mmhg$ And Diastolic $0.05{\pm}7.49mmhg$.

• Journal of Digital Policy
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.17-23
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• 2023

In this paper, in order to improve production processing for small and medium-sized precision processing companies, we apply a manufacturing execution system to existing process methods and integrate precision processing data to strengthen process management within the company, increase facility operation efficiency, and realize a reduction in defect rates. The differences in productivity improvement and cost reduction rates were compared and analyzed. As a result, production productivity improved by 7.0% and product defect rate improved by 0.1% point due to the introduction of the manufacturing execution system. It was confirmed that manufacturing cost reduction improved by 10.0% and delivery compliance rate improved by 1.1%. If additional smart factory technology is applied based on the manufacturing execution system proposed in this study in the future, sales and profits in the processing industry are expected to increase due to an increase in the PQCD index.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.59 no.6
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• pp.619-624
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• 2005

Background : The drug resistance rate in tuberculosis patients with history of chemotherapy is an important indicator of for evaluation of appropriateness of treatment regimens and compliance of patients. This study examined the long-term changes in the drug resistance rates among TB patients failed in treatment or reactivated. Methods : The results of drug susceptibility testing data from patients registered in health centers from 1981 to 2004 were analyzed. Results : The rate of resistance to isoniazid decreased from 90% to 20%, and the resistance to ethambutol decreased from 45% to 6%. The rate of resistance to rifampicin varied from 13% to 28% and the resistance to pyrazinamide was 5% to 10%. Multidrug resistance was about 2-3% lower than any rifampicin resistance rates. The second-line drug resistance was ranged from 1% to 3%. There was no difference between patients' genders. Patient numbers per 100,000 population increased with age. The regional distribution was even at 4-6 patients per 100,000 population, and drug resistance rates were significantly lower in big city areas than in small towns and rural areas. Conclusion : The rates of resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated from TB patients with history of chemotherapy to isoniazid, rifampin, ethambutol, and isoniazid plus rifampin were significantly decreased during over two decades.