• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.337-347
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• 2009

Dental caries during infantile and early childhood period is a complex disease resulting from multiple caries factors. Streptococcus mutans(S. mutans) plays a critical role in the initiation of caries, and its early transmission through mothers provides a strong etiologic factor for future development of caries in the primary dentition. Therefore, early detection of caries risk factor is important for prevention of caries. Recent studies about etiologic factors of caries have brought advent of various tools for caries risk assessment in order to predict progress of caries more accurately. Cariogram is a common tool for caries risk assessment, which illustrates present caries risk assessment and correlation of caries risk factors for an individual graphically. The aim of this study was to assess if there is any correlation in the level of S. mutans and caries activity and to verify the effect of caries risk factors between children with age ranging from 3 to 5 years with severe early childhood caries(S-ECC) and their mothers using caries-related salivary test and Cariogram. The results of this study were as follows. 1. Children with S-ECC had a statistically higher level of Streptococcus mutans compared to caries-free children(p<0.05). 2. There was significant correlation between mothers and their children in the aspect of the level of Streptococcus mutans(p<0.05). 3. When caries activity was assessed using Cariogram, significant correlation between mothers and their children was found(p<0.05). 4. When each caries risk factor was evaluated for its affect on caries activity, host was more influential factor compared to microorganism and diet in children. Based on these results, we could conclude that assessing the level of S. mutans can be an effective tool for predicting possibility of caries formation in future. Since prediction of future caries progression and evaluation of caries risk factor became possible with Cariogram, we may conduct early and preventive measures for treatment of caries.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.713-725
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• 1999

Women have a greater incidence of coronary heart disease(CHD) after menopause. It relates to hormone imbalance-induced changes in known CHD risk factors, especially hyperlipidemia. Accordingly, once women are diagnosed, the rate of morbidity and mortality is greater than for men. Thus, preventive strategies are critical to improve the quality oflife in the later years for women. The purpose of ths study was to explore the difference of anthropometric, environmental factors and food behaviors between normocholesterolemia and hypercholesterolemia within postmenopausal women. The subjects were classified as normocholesterolemia and hypercholesterolemia based on the Guideline for Korean Hyperlipidemia. The results obtained are summarized as follows. The distributions of general characteristics such as age, family income, occupation status, age at menarche, and menopausal period were not significantly different between the normocholesterolemia group and hypercholesterolemia group. The anthropometric factors such as body mass index(BMI) and waist hip ratio(WHR) were not significantly different between the normocholesteroemia group and the hypercholesterolemia group but odds ratio of hypercholesterolemia group was higher than that of normocholesterolemia but not significant. Aerobic activity more than 1hours/day was significantly related to low serum cholesterol concentration. Eating behaviors related to regular meal time, regular breakfast habit, and slow meal speed were related to low serum cholesterol concentration. Eating the chicken without skin was significantly related to low serum cholesterol concentration. Our data indicate that desirable eating habit, aerobic activity more than 1hr/day are important factors of serum cholesterol concentrations in postmenopausal women. The result of this study provide information that is important in designing appropriate dietary guidelines for hypercholesterolemia in postmenopausal women.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.200-207
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• 2024

Background: Workers are often exposed to hazardous heat due to their work environment, leading to various injuries. As a result of climate change, heat-related injuries (HRIs) are becoming more problematic. This study aims to identify critical contributing factors to the severity of occupational HRIs. Methods: This study analyzed historical injury reports from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Contributing factors to the severity of HRIs were identified using text mining and model-free machine learning methods. The Multinomial Logit Model (MNL) was applied to explore the relationship between impact factors and the severity of HRIs. Results: The results indicated a higher risk of fatal HRIs among middle-aged, older, and male workers, particularly in the construction, service, manufacturing, and agriculture industries. In addition, a higher heat index, collapses, heart attacks, and fall accidents increased the severity of HRIs, while symptoms such as dehydration, dizziness, cramps, faintness, and vomiting reduced the likelihood of fatal HRIs. Conclusions: The severity of HRIs was significantly influenced by factors like workers' age, gender, industry type, heat index , symptoms, and secondary injuries. The findings underscore the need for tailored preventive strategies and training across different worker groups to mitigate HRIs risks.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.441-455
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• 2010

Researchers who work in science and engineering R&D laboratories are commonly exposed to a wide range of chemical, biological and physical hazards. They also may adopt ergonomically poor postures for long periods of time. These factors may increase the risk of adverse health outcomes in laboratory workers. Recently, there were several fatal accidents in the laboratories in universities and research institutes in Korea. Consequently, the 'Laboratory Safety Act' was enacted in 2006. However, there are concerns about the health risk associated with chronic exposures to hazards, as the management measures provided in this Act are very limited, focusing primarily on accident prevention and compensation for lab work-related accidents. In this article, the methods for assessing exposure to chemicals in laboratory environments are discussed. Also, epidemiological studies examining the association between laboratory exposure and health effects, including cancer and reproductive toxicity are extensively reviewed. Finally, the possible roles of environmental health professionals in this area are suggested, along with a list of critical research needs for properly assessing laboratory workers' exposure and risk.

• Journal of Construction Engineering and Project Management
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.37-42
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• 2011

The key role in safety management is to identify any possible hazard before it occurs by identifying any possible risk factors which are critical to risk assessment. It is well known that falsework (temporary facilities) in construction projects is fundamentally important. This planning/assessment process is considered to be tedious and requires a lot of attention due to the following reasons: firstly, the installation and dismantling of those facilities are one of the high risk activities in the job sites. Secondly, temporary facilities are generally not clearly delineated on the building drawings. Therefore, it is our strong belief that safety tools have to be simple and convenient enough for the jobsite people to manage them easily and be flexible for any occasions to be occurred at various degrees. In order to develop a safety identification system of temporary facilities, this research utilizes the BIM technology in retrieving important information by importing data from BIM models and use it in the safety planning stage.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.939-950
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• 2021

The purpose of this research is to investigate the factors affecting Thai commercial bank users' behavioral intention towards QR code payment system via mobile banking applications. The researchers conducted the study based on quantitative research approach. Non-probability sampling method such as the quota and convenience sampling was applied as sampling technique. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed. The data was collected from 1,800 respondents living in Bangkok, who have had an experience with QR code payment system with the top-three mobile banking applications in Thailand. This study concentrates on confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling as a statistical tool to examine the data, model accuracy, and influence of critical variables. In addition, the researchers applied the first-order and second-order techniques to examine the relationship between constructs. Adoption readiness and perceived risk were second-order constructs. The results reveled that compatibility has an impact on attitude towards QR code payment. Moreover, adoption readiness, compatibility, attitude, and personal innovativeness are statistically significant that impact behavioral intention towards QR code payment. The strongest antecedents of behavioral intention were compatibility, attitude, adoption readiness, and personal innovativeness, respectively. Surprisingly, perceived risk and perceived trust do not statistically have a significant impact on behavioral intention towards QR code payment.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.72-78
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• 2023

The purpose of this paper is to derive a quantified approach for Operator Manual Actions (OMAs) based on the existing fire Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) methodology developed by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI). The existing fire HRA method was reviewed, and supplementary considerations for OMA quantification were established through a comparative analysis with NUREG-1852 criteria and the review of the existing literature. The OMA quantification approach involves a timeline that considers the occurrence of Multiple Spurious Operations (MSOs) during a Main Control Room Abandonment (MCRA) determination and movement towards the Remote Shutdown Panel (RSP) in the event of a Main Control Room (MCR) fire. The derived failure probability of an OMA from the approach proposed in this paper is expected to enhance the understanding of its reliability. Therefore, it allows moving beyond the deterministic classification of "reliable" or "unreliable" in NUREG-1852. Also, in the event of a nuclear power plant fire where multiple OMAs are required within a critical time range, it is anticipated that the OMA failure probability could serve as a criterion for prioritizing OMAs and determining their order of importance.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.63 no.6
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• pp.827-833
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• 2020

Objective : Spine surgery is associated with higher morbidity and mortality rates in elderly patients. The modified Frailty Index (mFI) is an evaluation tool to determine the frailty of an individual and how preoperative status may impact postoperative survival and outcomes. This study aimed to determine the usefulness of mFI in predicting postoperative complications in patients aged ≥75 years undergoing surgery with instrumentation. Methods : We retrospectively reviewed the perioperative course of 137 patients who underwent thoracolumbar-instrumentation spine surgery between 2011 and 2016. The preoperative risk factors were the 11 variables of the mFI, as well as body mass index (kg/㎠), preoperative hemoglobin, platelet, albumin, creatinine, anesthesia time, operation time, estimated blood loss, and transfusion amount. The 60-day occurrences of complication rates were used for outcome assessment. Results : Major complications after spinal instrumentation surgery occurred in 34 of 138 patients (24.6%). The mean mFI score was 0.18±0.12. When we divided patients into a pre-frail group (mFI, 0.09-0.18; n=94) and a frail group (mFI ≥0.27; n=44), only the rate of sepsis was statistically higher in the frail group than in the pre-frail group. There were significantly more major complications in patients with low albumin levels or in patients with infection or who had experienced trauma. The mFI was a more useful predictor of postoperative complications than the American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status score. Conclusion : The mFI can successfully predict postoperative morbidity and mortality in patients aged ≥75 years undergoing spine surgery. The mFI improves perioperative risk stratification that provides important information to assist in the preoperative counselling of patients and their families.

• Journal of Advanced Navigation Technology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.50-57
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• 2017

Recently, safety-critical aviation system development programs promoted domestically have been terminated in the middle stage or they have not been put to practical use at the final stage. The program failure may be caused by various factors, but this study focused on imperfect test and evaluation(T&E) procedures. In general, T&E process of a safety-critical system must be distributed throughout the entire life-cycle of the system, have a continuity in phases, and can be implemented in a variety of ways depending on the maturity of the system development and acquisition strategy. This paper aims to present a new strategy by analyzing the domestic and overseas T&E processes to reduce the risk of domestic safety-critical CNS/ATM system development program and increase the success rate of program. First, we discuss the verification and validation techniques for safety-critical systems, analyze the T&E procedures of advanced institutes and the domestic situation, and then compare the domestic and overseas T&E processes to complement the imperfect testing procedure.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.477-490
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• 2013

This study explores critical and success factor of benefits and risks for predicting the acceptance of QR code virtual fashion stores. As an exploratory approach, this study conducted focus group interviews(FGI) with 21 panels who had experience with selected QR virtual stores (e.g., Home plus, 11th Street, Pin & Fit). Content analysis was used to generate 184 excerpts and classify into benefits and risks related to QR code virtual stores. With respect to benefits, content analysis identified four factors: Affective appeal, perceived usefulness, ubiquity, and brand promotion. Also, contents regarding perceived risks were classified into four factors: Complexity, lack of information, lack of technology infrastructure, and perceived cost. A managerial implication was discussed for predicting consumer technology acceptance of a QR code virtual store in the fashion retailing market.