• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
• /
• v.42 no.4
• /
• pp.30-36
• /
• 2014

This study was conducted to determine the causes of unreasonable prices and small numbers of azalea cultivars by analyzing the price trends and the number of azalea cultivars announced over the last 25 years based on data from the Public Procurement Service(PPS), Korea Price Research Center and the Landscaping Tree Association(LTA)(hereinafter, officially announcing agencies and organizations) which are major references used when landscape planting is decided. The prices of azalea cultivars announced by the official announcing agencies and organizations have moved in similar patterns over the past 25 years because the prices of azalea cultivars announced by the LTA were referred to by other official announcing agencies and organizations when they officially announced the prices of azalea cultivars. The PPS set lower officially fixed prices of azalea cultivars compared to other official announcing agencies and organizations, and the reason for this is considered to be the intention of the PPS to suppress landscape tree price increases because of the government's policies to suppress price increases. The prices of azalea cultivars seem to change rapidly due to the imbalance between the demand and supply of azalea cultivars rather than the effects of consumer price fluctuation rates because the production periods of azalea cultivars are shorter when compared to other landscape trees. The prices of azalea cultivars from the official announcing agencies and organizations have been set higher than the prices in actual transactions. The reason for this is considered to be the intention of the official announcing agencies and organizations to allow landscaping companies to cover defect costs resulting from the practice of subcontracting planting work and secure profits of subcontractors for planting work. The official announcing agencies and organizations have simply announced prices of 5~8 main azalea cultivars that have been used in the past. The names of azalea cultivars being cultivated and criteria for classification have not been clear; thus, landscape designers have not written clear names of azalea cultivars to be cultivated on planting drawings as practice and landscapers planted those azalea cultivars which could be easily obtained. Therefore, it is assumed that there has been no demand for new azalea cultivars. Thus, the vicious circle in which the prices of only those azalea cultivars that were produced in the past have been announced is repeated.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.46 no.12
• /
• pp.1253-1259
• /
• 2003

Backgroud : Seizures in the neonate are relatively common and their clinical features are different from those in children and adults. The study aimed to provide the clinical profiles of neonatal seizure in our hospital. Methods : A total of 41 newborns with seizures were enrolled in this study over a period of three years. They were evaluated with special reference to risk factors, neurologic examinations, laboratory data, neuroimaging studies, EEG findings, seizure types, response to treatment, and prognosis, etc. Results : The average age at onset of seizures was $6.1{\pm}4.6days$ and the majority of patients(42%) had multifocal clonic seizure and 24% had subtle seizure. Factors that are known to increase risk of neonatal seizures include abnormal delivery history, birth asphyxia, and electrolyte imbalance, etc. However, they remain obscure in about 20% of cases. More than 50 percent showed abnormal lesions on neuroimaging studies such as brain hemorrhage, periventricular leukomalacia, brain infarction, cortical dysplasia, hydrocephalus, etc. and 17 out of 32 patients showed abnormal electroencephalographic patterns. Phenobarbital was tried as a first line antiepileptic drug and phenytoin was added if it failed to control seizures. The treatments were terminated in the majority of patients during the hospital stay. The overall prognosis was relatively good except for those with abnormal EEG background or congenital central nervous system malformations. Conclusion : Neonatal seizures may permanently disrupt brain development. Better understanding of their clinical profiles and appropriate management may lead to a reduction in neurological disability in later childhood.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.89-97
• /
• 2005

Recently, for the problem solution of demand and supply imbalance of fine aggregate due to the shortage of natural fine aggregate resource and the environment regulation on sea sand extraction in the construction field, the studies for the application of recycled fine aggregate using waste concrete are being progressed versatilely. On the other hand, the treatment of fly-ashes that of industrial by-product originated in the steam power plant is discussed by the continuous increasing of origination quantities. In the ease of using fly-ash, advantages are the improvement of workability, viscosity and long-time strength, and the reduction of hydration heat under the early ages, as the admixtures for concrete, but the studies for the application of fly-ash as recycled concrete admixtures are inadequacy. There fore, in this study, through investigating the properties of fresh, hardened and durability according to the replacement of recycled fine aggregate and fly-ash, it is intended to propose the fundamental data for structural application of recycled concrete using recycled fine aggregate and fly-ash. As the result of this study, they arc shown that the engineering properties and durability, in the case of replacement ratio 100% of recycled fine aggregate, arc similar to those of concrete using natural fine aggregate, so it is considered that recycled fine aggregate could be used as the fine aggregate for concrete. Also, the performances of recycled concrete are improved by replacing fly-ash.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
• /
• v.2 no.2
• /
• pp.89-94
• /
• 2002

The present study attempts to find the ways to efficiently manage dental caries, one of the major causes of tooth loss, and to cope with oral diseases that deteriorate oral health. For this purpose, this study seeks to obtain fundamental data needed in planning the oral health projects. The study was conducted to the first-grade elementary school students in Hwa-Seong city, Gyeonggi-do, from April 1 - 30, 2002. The result was as follows: 1) Among a total of 2,710 subjects, 598 (274 boys and 324 girls) have more than 1 permanent tooth with a caries legion whether it was treated or not. 2) The number of permanent teeth examined is 6,029, in which girls' teeth are more (3,165) than boys' (2,864). 3) Out of a total of 6,029 teeth examined, 1,106 permanent teeth (508 boys' and 598 girls') have caries legions. 4) Out of 1,106 permanent teeth with caries legions, 170 (15.4%) were treated - 67 teeth for boys (13.2%) and 103 teeth for girls (17.2%). 5) 22.1% of the children have experienced dental caries in their permanent teeth. Among them, 20.1% are boys and 24.1% are girls. 6) The rate of the permanent teeth that once had, or now have caries legions are 21.2%, among which the rate for boy's teeth is 20.1% and that for girl's teeth is 22.1%. 7) The number of the permanent teeth that had caries legions is 0.5 for all the subjects. A boy has 0.4 and a girl has 0.5 teeth with caries legions regardless of whether it was treated or not. 8) The rate of the permanent teeth with caries legions is 86.7% for overall subjects - 88.3% for boys and 85.3% for girls. 9) The rate of treated permanent teeth is 13.3% for all the subjects - 11.7% for boys and 14.7% for girls. Based on the above result, the study draws a conclusion that in order to prevent dental caries in young students and to perform an early treatment for the dental caries that already occurred an oral health office should be installed at all the elementary schools so that elementary school students don't experience a loss of time and effort for learning and suffer nutritional imbalance or disorder. Besides, the oral health education concerning the importance of dental care should be conducted to the citizens, especially to the young people, in the community as an essential project of oral health centers in the community health offices, the public medical institutions.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.45 no.5
• /
• pp.1047-1057
• /
• 1998

Background : Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous disorder of unknown origin and characterized by accumulation of T cells and macrophages. Various cytokines may play crucial roles in the activation of T cells and macrophages, and thereby in the formation of granulomas. However, little is known about the balance between proinflammatory cytokines and antiinflammatory cytokines in the development of sarcoid granulomas and disease activities. In the present study, we measured IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF) from patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis to find out whether there is an imbalance between proinflammatory cytokines and antiinflammatory cytokines in the lung. Methods: Fourteen subjects with the diagnosis of sarcoidosis and six healthy volunteers were included. BALF was concentrated ten-fold by pressure ultrafiltration and each cytokine levels were measured by EUSA method. Active sarcoidosis was defined by major organ involvement or clinically progressive diseases. Results: The mean IL-6 levels in the BALF of the active sarcoidosis group were significantly increased than in controls or inactive sarcoidosis group(p<0.05). Meanwhile, the IL-8 levels were increased and IL-10 levels were decreased in the active sarcoidosis group than in controls or inactive sarcoidosis group without significance(p>0.05). In active pulmonary sarcoidosis patients, the IL-6 levels in BALF correlated with the BALF CD4/CD8 ratio(r=0.768, p<0.05) and IL-8 levels(r=0.564, p<0.05). Conclusions : The data presented showed that pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 is important in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis and decreased tendency of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 might also be involved in the development of granulomatous inflammation in sarcoidosis.

• Journal of agriculture & life science
• /
• v.53 no.1
• /
• pp.13-21
• /
• 2019

This study was carried out to acquire basic data for a long-term hydroponic culture through investigating water and inorganic ion uptake characteristics at different EC level of nutrient solution of three tomato varieties. Three different tomato varieties, the European type(cv. Daphnis), the Asian type(cv. Super Doterang) and cherry type(cv. Minichal), were used for the investigation. Also, the deep flow technique(DFT) was applied. The three different electrical conductivity(EC) level(1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 dS·m-1) of hydroponic nutrient solution were used as variable. At a high EC level of nutrient solution, the leaf area and fresh weight decreased in the early stage, and its growth(plant height, leaf number, leaf area, fresh-weight) was poor with salt stress. Result showed that the higher the EC level of the nutrient solution, the lesser was water uptake. The water uptake was not significantly different from varieties in the first survey, but In the second survey, the 'Daphnis' did not show a significant decrease in water uptake in the EC level higher than 2.0 dS·m-1., on the other hand, 'Super Doterang' presented very low water uptake. At a low EC level, N, P, and K, were absorbed more than the concentration of the irrigation water, while Ca, Mg, S uptake were low. At a high EC level, almost ions absorbed less than 50% of the initial concentration of irrigation water. Thus, imbalance among ions was severe at low EC level compared to high EC level. 'Daphnis' was a variety that effectively utilize nutrients under nutrient stress, showing high absorption at low concentration condition and low absorption at high concentration condition. However, 'Daphnis' suffered most seriously by absorbing nutrients excessively.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
• /
• v.50 no.3
• /
• pp.360-372
• /
• 2023

The aim of this study was to identify the current state of pediatric dentists, evaluate the adequacy of pediatric dentist supply and demand, and find out the perception of all pediatric dentists on the current state of pediatric dentists and policy establishment. An Online survey was conducted among pediatric dentists. The questionnaire was subdivided into 'general characteristics', 'number of dental treatments and working days per year', 'proportion of covered services', 'perceptions of supply and demand of pediatric dentists'. Through the Korean Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Services, the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), and the Korean Statistical Information Service, the current state of pediatric dentists, the number of claims for covered services, and the decrease in births per year were investigated. Dental clinics claiming to be pediatric dentistry reached half of all medical institutions, but only 3.78% of pediatric dentists actually worked. 61.36% of all pediatric dentists were concentrated in the metropolitan area, showing a national imbalance. Although the population of children and adolescents have continuously decreased over the past 20 years, the number of NHIS-covered services has shown a continuous increase. Over the past 10 years, the optimal supply of pediatric dentists has been maintained at around 4,000. According to the analysis, 92.15% of pediatric dentists thought that it was necessary to prepare policies and support measures at the government level. This study is expected to be used as basic data for establishing a demand estimation method for pediatric dentistry specialists in the future.

• Land and Housing Review
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.17-37
• /
• 2023

The rental housing market in South Korea, specifically monthly rent with deposit, has been expanding over the last three decades (8.2% in 1990 to 21.0% in 2020), partly replacing the traditional Jeonse market. The distribution of rent has changed due to public rental subsidies and the emergence of luxury rental housing, while the distribution of rental household income has been polarized because of the emergence of rich renters. This study attempts to measure the structural changes in the rental market by developing a new indicator of income-rent mismatch. Using the seven series of the Korea Housing Survey, this study analyzed the changes in rent (reflecting the conversion rate) and income levels of rental households in 2006 (base year) and 10-15 years later (the analysis year) at the national level and at the spatial unit of 16 metropolitan cities and provinces (excluding Sejong), respectively, by dividing them into quartile data. The result reveals that rental housing was undersupplied in middle- and high-income rental housing due to the decline in the highest quartile (25%→18%) and the third quartile groups (25%→20%), while the supply of public rental housing expanded for the second quartile (25%→28%) and the lowest quartile (25%→35) groups. On the demand side, the highest income quartile shrank (25%→21%), while the lowest income quartile grew (25%→31%). Comparing the 16 metropolitan cities and provinces, there were significant regional differences in the direction and intensity of changes in rent and renter household income. In particular, the rental market in Seoul was characterized by supply polarization, which led to an imbalance in the income distribution of rental households. The structural changes in the apartment rental market were different from those in the non-apartment rental market. The findings of this study can be used as a basis for future regional rental housing markets. The findings can support securing affordable rental housing stock for each income quartile group on monthly rent and developing housing stability measures for a balance between income and rent distribution in each region.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.78-86
• /
• 2024

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the specialty hospital system by comparing the medical use of inpatients who had artificial joint replacement surgery in specialty hospitals and non-specialty hospitals. Methods: This study utilized 2021-2022 healthcare benefit claims data provided by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. The dependent variable is inpatient medical use which is measured in terms of charges per case and length of stay. The independent variable was whether the hospital was designated as a specialty hospital, and the control variables were patient-level variables (age, gender, insurer type, surgery type, and Charlson comorbidity index) and medical institution-level variables (establishment type, classification, location, number of orthopedic surgeons, and number of nurses). Results: The results of the multiple regression analysis between charges per case and whether a hospital is designated as a specialty hospital showed a statistically significant negative relationship between charges per case and whether a hospital is designated as a specialty hospital. This suggests a significant low in charges per case when a hospital is designated as a specialty hospital compared to a non-specialty hospital, indicating that there is a difference in medical use outcomes between specialty hospitals and non-specialty hospitals inpatients. Conclusion: The practical implications of this study are as follows. First, the criteria for designating specialty hospitals should be alleviated. In our study, the results show that specialty hospitals have significantly lower per-case costs than non-specialty hospitals. Despite the cost-effectiveness of specialty hospitals, the high barriers to be designated for specialty hospitals have gathered the specialty hospitals in metropolitan and major cities. To address the regional imbalance of specialty hospitals, it is believed that ease the criteria for designating specialty hospitals in non-metropolitan areas, such as introducing "semi-specialty hospitals (tentative name)," will lead to a reduction in health disparities between regions and reduce medical costs. Second, it is necessary to determine the appropriateness of the size of hospitals' medical staff. The study found that the number of orthopedic surgeons and nurses varied in charges per case. Therefore, it is believed that appropriately allocating hospital medical staff can maximize the cost-effectiveness of medical services and ultimately reduce medical costs.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
• /
• v.57 no.3
• /
• pp.181-193
• /
• 2024

The increasing atmospheric imbalance caused by climate change leads to an elevation in precipitation, resulting in a heightened frequency of flooding. Consequently, there is a growing need for technology to detect and monitor these occurrences, especially as the frequency of flooding events rises. To minimize flood damage, continuous monitoring is essential, and flood areas can be detected by the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery, which is not affected by climate conditions. The observed data undergoes a preprocessing step, utilizing a median filter to reduce noise. Classification techniques were employed to classify water bodies and non-water bodies, with the aim of evaluating the effectiveness of each method in flood detection. In this study, the Otsu method and Support Vector Machine (SVM) technique were utilized for the classification of water bodies and non-water bodies. The overall performance of the models was assessed using a Confusion Matrix. The suitability of flood detection was evaluated by comparing the Otsu method, an optimal threshold-based classifier, with SVM, a machine learning technique that minimizes misclassifications through training. The Otsu method demonstrated suitability in delineating boundaries between water and non-water bodies but exhibited a higher rate of misclassifications due to the influence of mixed substances. Conversely, the use of SVM resulted in a lower false positive rate and proved less sensitive to mixed substances. Consequently, SVM exhibited higher accuracy under conditions excluding flooding. While the Otsu method showed slightly higher accuracy in flood conditions compared to SVM, the difference in accuracy was less than 5% (Otsu: 0.93, SVM: 0.90). However, in pre-flooding and post-flooding conditions, the accuracy difference was more than 15%, indicating that SVM is more suitable for water body and flood detection (Otsu: 0.77, SVM: 0.92). Based on the findings of this study, it is anticipated that more accurate detection of water bodies and floods could contribute to minimizing flood-related damages and losses.