• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.107-112
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• 2016

The objective of this study was to determine potential contributing factors associated with biosecurity level of farrow-to-finish pig farms and to develop a classification tree model to explore how these factors related to each other based on prediction model. To this end, the author analyzed data (n = 193) extracted from a cross-sectional study of 344 farrow-to-finish farms which was conducted between March and September 2014 aimed to explore swine disease status at farm level. Standardized questionnaires with information about basic demographical data and management practices were collected in each farm by on-site visit of trained veterinarians. For the classification of the data sets regarding biosecurity level as a dependent variable and predictor variables, Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID) algorithm was applied for modeling classification tree. The statistics of misclassification risk was used to evaluate the fitness of the model in terms of prediction results. Categorical multivariate input data (40 variables) was used to construct a classification tree, and the target variable was biosecurity level dichotomized into low versus high. In general, the level of biosecurity was lower in the majority of farms studied, mainly due to the limited implementation of on-farm basic biosecurity measures aimed at controlling the potential introduction and transmission of swine diseases. The CHAID model illustrated the relative importance of significant predictors in explaining the level of biosecurity; maintenance of medical records of treatment and vaccination, use of dedicated clothing to enter the farm, installing fence surrounding the farm perimeter, and periodic monitoring of the herd using written biosecurity plan in place. The misclassification risk estimate of the prediction model was 0.145 with the standard error of 0.025, indicating that 85.5% of the cases could be classified correctly by using the decision rule based on the current tree. Although CHAID approach could provide detailed information and insight about interactions among factors associated with biosecurity level, further evaluation of potential bias intervened in the course of data collection should be included in future studies. In addition, there is still need to validate findings through the external dataset with larger sample size to improve the external validity of the current model.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.29 no.4 s.55
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• pp.705-719
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• 1996

Since the 1960s, Korea has achieved rapid economic growth, longer life expectancy, accelerated urbanization and a westenization of diet. Cardiovascular disease has become the leading cause of death; however the prevalence of ischemic heart disease(IHD) remains low. A cross-sectional multiphasic screening service for 18,426 persons aged $30\sim64$ years in a Medical Aid Program in Kyonggi-do Province was conducted from 1991 to 1993. Total cholesterol(TC), fasting blood glucose(FBG), blood pressure(BP), and electrocardiographic(EKG) data were collected. The result as follows ; 1. On the EKG findings, the age-adjusted prevalence of myocardial ischemia and myocardial infarction was 1.45% in men and 2.06% in women. 2. The mean blood pressure was 122.9/78.8mmHg. The age-adjusted prevalence of hypertension was 11.05% in men and 9.02% in women. The prevalence of hypertension showed increasing tendency according to age increase. In all age group, the prevalence of hypertension was higher in men than women. 3. The mean total cholesterol level was 184.4mg/dl in men and 189.2mg/dl in women. The age-adjusted prevalence of hypercholesterolemia was 4.88% in men and 5.67% in women. The total cholesterol level showed increasing tendency according to age increase, except $55\sim64$ age group in men. 4. The prevalence of hyperglycemia is 5.8%. The age-adjusted prevalence of hyperglycemia is 6.72% in men and 4.50% in women. The prevalence of hyperglycemia showed increasing tendency according to age increase. 5. On the EKG findings, the prevalence of myocardial ischemia and myocardial infarction was higher in hypertension than normal, in all age group of men and women less than 40 years-old. Only in women more t]fan 40 years-old, the prevalence of myocardial ischemia and myocardial infarction was higher in hypercholesterolemia and hyperglycemia. Nevertheless there is not statistical association between ischemia heart disease and previous risk factors in other age group, the prevalence of myocardial ischemia and myocardial infarction was higher in hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and hyperglycemia than normal. The result of this study suggest that relationships between major risk factor of ischemic heart disease and ischemic heart disease is similar to existing theory.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.66-73
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• 2014

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) play an important role in impairing the function of T cells. We characterized MDSCs in two chronic hepatitis C (CHC) cohorts: a cross-sectional group that included 61 treatment-naive patients with CHC, 14 rapid virologic response (RVR) cases and 22 early virologic response (EVR) cases; and a longitudinal group of 13 cases of RVR and 10 cases of EVR after pegylated-interferon-${\alpha}$/ribavirin treatment for genotype 1b HCV infection. Liver samples from 32 CHC patients and six healthy controls were subjected to immunohistochemical analysis. MDSCs frequency in treatment-naive CHC was significantly higher than in RVR, EVR, or healthy subjects and was positively correlated with HCV RNA. Patients infected with HCV genotype 2a had a significantly higher frequency of MDSCs than those infected with genotype 1b. Decreased T cell receptor (TCR) ${\zeta}$ expression on $CD8^+$ T cells was significantly associated with an increased frequency of MDSCs in treatment-naive CHC patients and was restored by L-arginine treatment in vitro. Increased numbers of liver arginase-$1^+$ cells were closely associated with the histological activity index in CHC. The TCR ${\zeta}$ chain was significantly downregulated on hepatic $CD8^+$ T cells in CHC. During antiviral follow up, MDSCs frequency in peripheral blood mononuclear cells was directly correlated with the HCV RNA load in the plasma and inversely correlated with TCR ${\zeta}$ chain expression in $CD8^+$ T cells in both RVR and EVR cases. Notably, the RVR group had a higher frequency of MDSCs at baseline than the EVR group. Collectively, this study provides evidence that MDSCs might be associated with HCV persistence and downregulation of CD8 ${\zeta}$ chain expression.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.2761-2765
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• 2016

Opisthorchiasis is a health problem in rural communities of Thailand, particularly in the northeast and north regions. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate raw fish consuming behavior related to liver fluke infection among the population at risk for opisthorchiasis and cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in Meuang Yang district, Nakhon Ratchasima province, northeast Thailand, between June and October 2015. Participants were screened for CCA, and samples who had a high score of CCA risk were purposively selected. A predesigned questionnaire was utilized to collect the data from all participants. $X^2-test$ was used for analysis of associations between demographic data and raw fish consumption. The results revealed that participants had past histories of stool examination (33.0%), liver fluke infection (21.0%), praziquantel use (24.0%), raw fish consumption (78.0%), relatives family consuming raw fish (73.0%), and relatives family with CCA (3.0%). Participants consumed several dished related to liver fluke infection, mainly raw fermented fish (13.0%), under smoked catfish (5.00%), raw pickled fish (4.00%), and raw spicy minced fish salad (3.00%). The most common types of cyprinoid fish were Barbodes gonionotus (39%), Hampala dispar (38%), Puntius brevis (37%), Cyclocheilichthys armatus (33%), Puntioplites proctozysron (32%), and Luciosoma bleekeri (30%), respectively. Participants had a low level of knowledge (mean=3.79, SD=0.74), moderate attitude (mean=7.31, SD=7.31) and practice (mean=38.64, SD=6.95) regarding liver fluke prevention and control. Demographic variables like age (>36 years old; $X^2-test=17.794$, p-value=0.001), education (primary school; $X^2-test=18.952$, p-value=0.001), marital status (married; $X^2-test=12.399$, p-value=0.002), and income (<5,000 baht; $X^2-test=27.757$, p-value=0.015) were significantly associated with raw fish consumption. This result indicates that the population had risk consumption for liver fluke infection particularly of various cyprinoid fishes that are $2^{nd}$ intermediate hosts. Therefore, health education is required to improve their behavior.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• no.39
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• pp.395-423
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• 2008

This study investigated population characteristics that influencing treatment service use of people who are voluntarily using drug dependency treatment services by using logistic and hierarchical regression analysis. The research model of the current study was driven by the framework of the 'the Behavioral Model of Health Services Use(the Andersen model)' that has been broadly applied to study on health behavior. This study used data from a sample group of 80 adults by using purposive sampling. This study found that some predisposing factors, enabling factors and need factors have direct effects on service use. In detail, individuals who graduated from high school use drug dependency treatment utilities more than those who did not. Further, individuals who were given more support from family, peers, or others, use the treatment utilities more frequently and were more willing to use the utilities continuously. Furthermore, the greater the perceived need felt by the dependent, the greater the tendency to enter hospitals or shelters. The important implications of this study for social work practice and social policy can be summarized as follows: first, this study supports the idea that intervention for drug dependents in Korea should be focused on environment resources rather than population characteristics; and government must support drug dependent treatment systems; the present study was the first to investigate Korean drug dependents through taking a more positive view, as well as the first to apply 'the Behavioral Model of Health Services Use', and as such represents an example of how studies could be productively conducted in the future. Despite these implications, there remain some limitations in this study. These include the following: limitation in generalizability of the results; the cross-sectional nature of the study design; survey research through the questionnaire method; using foreign scales; and the difficulty of classifying treatment settings.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.405-415
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• 2019

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations of frailty with perceived neighborhood walkability and environmental pollution among community-dwelling older adults in rural areas. Methods: The participants were 808 community-dwelling men and women aged 65 years and older in 2 rural towns. Comprehensive information, including demographics, socioeconomic status, grip strength, polypharmacy, perceived neighborhood environment (specifically, walkability and environmental pollution), and frailty, was collected from participants using face-to-face interviews conducted between June and August 2018. Perceived neighborhood walkability was measured using 20 items that were selected and revised from the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale, the Neighborhood Walkability Checklist from the National Heart Foundation of Australia, and the Physical Activity Neighborhood Environment Survey. The Kaigo-Yobo Checklist was used to assess participants' frailty. Results: The overall prevalence of frailty in this community-dwelling population was 35.5%. Sex, age, cohabitation status, educational attainment, employment status, grip strength, and polypharmacy were significantly associated with frailty. In the logistic regression analysis, frailty was associated with low perceived neighborhood walkability (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.881; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.833 to 0.932; p<0.001) and severe perceived neighborhood environmental pollution (aOR, 1.052; 95% CI, 1.017 to 1.087; p=0.003) after adjusting for sex, age, cohabitation status, educational attainment, employment status, monthly income, grip strength, and polypharmacy. Conclusions: More studies are warranted to establish causal relationships between walkability and environmental pollution and frailty.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.699-714
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• 2022

The objective of this study is to suggest a safe and economical pillar reinforcement method when very near-twin tunnels with a minimum interval of 1 m passes through a soft zone such as weathered soil or weathered rock. A standard cross-sectional view of a two-lane road tunnel was applied to suggest a pillar reinforcement method for the very near-twin tunnels. The thickness of the pillar was 1 m. The ground condition around the tunnel was weathered soil or weathered rock. There were four reinforcement methods for pillar stability evaluation. These were rock bolt reinforcement, pre-stressed steel strand reinforcement, horizontal steel pipe grouting reinforcement, horizontal steel pipe grouting + prestressed steel strand reinforcement. When the ground condition was weathered soil, only the pillar reinforced the horizontal steel pipe grouting + prestressed steel strand did not failed. When the ground condition was weathered rock, there were no failure of the pillar reinforced the horizontal steel pipe grouting or the horizontal steel pipe grouting + prestressed steel strand. It is considered that the horizontal steel pipe grouting reinforcement played a role in increasing the stability of the upper part of the pillar by supporting the upper load applied to the upper part of the pillar.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.105-117
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to analyze the gender differences of elementary, junior high, and high school students in the artificial intelligence ethics awareness (hereinafter referred to as AIEA). This is a study to investigate whether there is a gender difference in the AIEA, and if so, when the gender difference will occur. This study was conducted with 198 elementary school students (98 female students, 100 male students), 265 middle school students (166 female students, 99 male students), and 114 high school students (58 female students and 56 male students) in I Metropolitan City. The results are as follows: First, a gender difference in the AIEA between all boys and girls was confirmed. Second, the gender difference in the AIEA tended to be solidified as the school age increased from elementary school to middle school and high school. Third, female students at all stages of elementary school, junior high school, and high school are not yet very reliable in artificial intelligence, and there is a greater concern about non-discrimination than boys. It turns out that they have a negative position on permission to enter the territory. Fourth, the interaction effects of school age and gender have been identified in 'stability and reliability,' and in 'permit and limit' categories. Taken together, these results show that an educational strategy that approaches the gender equality perspective of the educational program is necessary so that there will be no gender difference in the AIEA during artificial intelligence education activities.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.529-537
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• 2021

Although the use of physical restraints is controversial, it is still commonly used in hospitalized patients to prevent patient accidents in clinical practice. It is, therefore, necessary to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, perception, and nursing practices related to the use of physical restraints. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study in which self-administered questionnaires were collected from 144 nursing students at two Universities. Descriptive statistics, including t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple regression, were applied to analyze the data collected. Our results reveal that the mean knowledge score of nursing students regarding the use of physical restraints was 11.55±2.81, the mean attitude score was 60.01±7.24, the mean perception score was 59.97±10.68, and the mean nursing practice score was 38.04±4.15. Significant positive correlations were observed between nursing practice and knowledge, attitude, and perception. Multiple regression analysis showed that the factors significantly related to nursing practice and the use of physical restraints were perception (β=.23, p=.005) and attitude (β=.21, p=.009), having a total explained variance of 13.0%. The findings from this study suggest that perception is the strongest predictor of the use of physical restraints in nursing practice. Thus, it is necessary to develop and apply an evidence-based educational intervention program to ensure that nursing students correctly understand the need for physical restraints and later use them appropriately in clinical practice.

• 한국노년학
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.837-851
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• 2018

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between frailty and health care utilization in a cross-sectional design of a population-based sample of community-dwelling older adults. We used the data of 516 participants who dwell in Daejon, aged between 65 and 84 years old. Using K-frailty index, frailty status were measured and categorized as three groups: robust, prefrail, and frail. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine if frailty affects emergency department(ED) visit or hospitalization. In addition, negative binomial regression was used to examine the association between outpatient visits and frailty. Our results showed that the frail elderly increased the ED visit and the number of outpatient visit significantly after controlling for demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, the number of chronic diseases, and self-rated health status. Considering that frailty is an important independent factor affecting health care utilization, more attention is required to prevent the frailty in our health care system.