• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.521-535
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• 2020

Background and objective: This study investigated plant type and color preference and conducted a psychological assessment for gardening activities of firefighters in a high-risk occupational group. Methods: A survey was conducted on 117 firefighters aged 39.01±9.17 in Sunchang in March 2020 to examine their preferences in plant type and color and conduct a psychological assessment of firefighters on gardening activities. Results: For plant experience and awareness, plant-related event showed the highest score, followed by plant preference tendency and plant growing experience. The level of plant gardening activities was higher among older age and higher job position. As a result of examining the quality of life according to the demographic characteristic with WHOQOL-BREF (World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment Instrument), it was found that the quality of life was higher among the 20s-30s than 50s, firefighter position than fire lieutenant or higher, those with higher average monthly income, and the singles group than married (p < .05). The administration group showed lower scores than the fire suppression group working in the field, showing statistical significance. Most firefighters showed high preference for herbal plants among the 12 types of flowering plants, in the order of Rosmarinus officinalis>Lavandula spp.>Mentha piperita, Calendula officinalis. Pelargonium spp. was preferred the least out of the flowering plants, Lycopersicon esculentum was preferred the most out of 12 types of vegetable plants, while Angelica acutiloba was preferred the least statistical significance. For the preference of plant colors, yellow was the most preferred color, followed by white, blue, orange, red, and green, showing statistical significance. For the psychological survey responses of emotion words toward 6 plants colors, it was found that 'bright' was the emotion felt most strongly by the white, yellow, and orange groups, 'calm' and 'comfortable' by the green and blue groups, and 'fancy' by the red group. Conclusion: The effect of agro-healing programs can be increased by using mostly yellow plants when creating indoor healing gardens at the workplaces of fire officials in a high-risk occupational group, and using herbal plants and Lycopersicon esculentum in the gardens for agro-healing activities.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.217-230
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• 2023

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the diet intake status and quality of adults from North Korea who had lived in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, using the nutrition quotient (NQ) for Korean adults. Methods: A number of 166 adults aged from 20 to 64 years were enrolled as study subjects. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information on their demographic characteristics, food consumption frequency, eating behaviors, and NQ. The NQ score was then used to measure the overall diet quality. The NQ score was composed of four major age-based categories. 'Balance', 'Diversity', 'Moderation', and 'Dietary behavior' were utilized as scores for measurements within each of the four categories. The scores for all four categories were summed up, resulting in the total NQ score. Participants' age groups were stratified by 20's, 30's, 40', and over 50's. A χ² test and generalized linear regression (GLM) model were used to assess a significance for difference of subject distribution in categorical and continuous variables in the food consumption frequency, eating behaviors, and NQ scores. Results: Participants in younger age groups were more likely to report consumption of ramyeon, fast food, sweet and greasy baked products, processed beverage, delivery food, and night snacks than the older age groups. Most importantly, participants in 20's age group were less likely to report the total NQ and moderation score than the 50's age group. Conclusion: In this study, the 20's age group displayed a lower NQ characteristic for an unbalanced diet. Therefore, it is imperative for adults from North Korea to be given individualized diet instructions along with nutritional education programs.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.788-797
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to identify the satisfaction with medical services of the disabled elderly who have the highest need for medical services. For this purpose, the effect of health characteristics and medical service characteristics of the disabled elderly on medical service satisfaction was verified. The subjects of analysis were 3,323 persons with disabilities aged 65 or older who were taken from the national survey of people with disabilities in 2017. For statistical analysis, descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, and regression analysis were performed using the SPSS 26.0 program. The results of the study showed as follows. As a result of the regression analysis, gender (β= -.045, p<.05) and residence status (β= -.048, p<.05) among the demographic characteristics as control variables had a statistically significant effect on the level of medical service satisfaction. Among the health characteristics, IADL (β=-.044, p<.05) had a statistically significant effect on medical service satisfaction level. In the case of medical service characteristics, satisfaction with medical facilities and equipment (β = .290, p< .001), medical staff's level of understanding of disability (β = .404, p< .001), health-related service use (β = .182, p<.05) had a statistically significant effect on the level of medical service satisfaction. Based on the results, practical alternatives to ensure health equity in the community medical system were suggested in the discussion to enhance the health management and self-determination capabilities of the disabled elderly.

• Information Systems Review
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.111-128
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• 2023

With the development of artificial intelligence technology, interest in data-based product preference estimation and personalized recommender systems is increasing. However, if the recommendation is not suitable, there is a risk that it may reduce the purchase intention of the customer and even extend to a huge financial loss due to the characteristics of the financial product. Therefore, developing a recommender system that comprehensively reflects customer characteristics and product preferences is very important for business performance creation and response to compliance issues. In the case of financial products, product preference is clearly divided according to individual investment propensity and risk aversion, so it is necessary to provide customized recommendation service by utilizing accumulated customer data. In addition to using these customer behavioral characteristics and transaction history data, we intend to solve the cold-start problem of the recommender system, including customer demographic information, asset information, and stock holding information. Therefore, this study found that the model proposed deep learning-based collaborative filtering by deriving customer latent preferences through characteristic information such as customer investment propensity, transaction history, and financial product information based on customer transaction log records was the best. Based on the customer's financial investment mechanism, this study is meaningful in developing a service that recommends a high-priority group by establishing a recommendation model that derives expected preferences for untraded financial products through financial product transaction data.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.82 no.3
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• pp.613-623
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• 2021

Purpose To evaluate the MRI findings and clinical factors that are characteristic of patients who ultimately undergo surgery for medial epicondylitis. Materials and Methods Fifty-two consecutive patients who were diagnosed with medial epicondylitis and underwent an elbow MRI between March 2010 and December 2018 were included in this retrospective study. The patients' demographic information, clinical data, and MRI findings were evaluated. All variables were compared between the conservative treatment and surgical treatment groups. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify which factors were associated with surgical treatment. Results Common flexor tear (CFT) tear size showed a statistically significant difference in both the transverse and longitudinal planes (p < 0.001, p = 0.013). The CFT abnormality grade significantly differed in both the transverse and longitudinal planes (p = 0.022, p = 0.003). A significant difference was also found in the medial collateral ligament abnormality (p = 0.025). Logistic regression analyses showed that only the transverse diameter of the CFT tear size (odds ratio: 1.864; 95% confidence interval: 1.264-2.750) was correlated with surgical treatment. Conclusion Of patients diagnosed with medial epicondylitis, patients with a larger transverse CFT tear size tend to undergo surgical treatment ultimately.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.180-188
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• 2022

Objective: To validate the performance of 3T spin-echo echo-planar imaging (SE-EPI) magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) for staging hepatic fibrosis in a large population, using surgical specimens as the reference standard. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study initially included 310 adults (155 undergoing hepatic resection and 155 undergoing donor hepatectomy) with histopathologic results from surgical liver specimens. They underwent 3T SE-EPI MRE ≤ 3 months prior to surgery. Demographic findings, underlying liver disease, and hepatic fibrosis pathologic stage according to METAVIR were recorded. Liver stiffness (LS) was measured by two radiologists, and inter-reader reproducibility was evaluated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The mean LS of each fibrosis stage (F0-F4) was calculated in total and for each etiologic subgroup. Comparisons among subgroups were performed using the Kruskal-Wallis test and Conover post-hoc test. The cutoff values for fibrosis staging were estimated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results: Inter-reader reproducibility was excellent (ICC, 0.98; 95% confidence interval, 0.97-0.99). The mean LS values were 1.91, 2.41, 3.24, and 5.41 kPa in F0-F1 (n = 171), F2 (n = 26), F3 (n = 38), and F4 (n = 72), respectively. The discriminating cutoff values for diagnosing ≥ F2, ≥ F3, and F4 were 2.18, 2.71, and 3.15 kPa, respectively, with the ROC curve areas of 0.97-0.98 (sensitivity 91.2%-95.9%, specificity 90.7%-99.0%). The mean LS was significantly higher in patients with cirrhosis (F4) of nonviral causes, such as primary biliary cirrhosis (9.56 kPa) and alcoholic liver disease (7.17 kPa) than in those with hepatitis B or C cirrhosis (4.28 and 4.92 kPa, respectively). There were no statistically significant differences in LS among the different etiologic subgroups in the F0-F3 stages. Conclusion: The 3T SE-EPI MRE demonstrated high interobserver reproducibility, and our criteria for staging hepatic fibrosis showed high diagnostic performance. LS was significantly higher in patients with non-viral cirrhosis than in those with viral cirrhosis.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.21 no.8
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• pp.998-1006
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• 2020

Objective: To compare the accuracies of quantitative computed tomography (CT) parameters and semiquantitative visual score in evaluating clinical classification of severity of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Materials and Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 187 patients with COVID-19 treated at Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College from February 15, 2020, to February 29, 2020. Demographic data, imaging characteristics, and clinical data were collected, and based on the clinical classification of severity, patients were divided into groups 1 (mild) and 2 (severe/critical). A semiquantitative visual score was used to estimate the lesion extent. A three-dimensional slicer was used to precisely quantify the volume and CT value of the lung and lesions. Correlation coefficients of the quantitative CT parameters, semiquantitative visual score, and clinical classification were calculated using Spearman's correlation. A receiver operating characteristic curve was used to compare the accuracies of quantitative and semi-quantitative methods. Results: There were 59 patients in group 1 and 128 patients in group 2. The mean age and sex distribution of the two groups were not significantly different. The lesions were primarily located in the subpleural area. Compared to group 1, group 2 had larger values for all volume-dependent parameters (p < 0.001). The percentage of lesions had the strongest correlation with disease severity with a correlation coefficient of 0.495. In comparison, the correlation coefficient of semiquantitative score was 0.349. To classify the severity of COVID-19, area under the curve of the percentage of lesions was the highest (0.807; 95% confidence interval, 0.744-0.861: p < 0.001) and that of the quantitative CT parameters was significantly higher than that of the semiquantitative visual score (p = 0.001). Conclusion: The classification accuracy of quantitative CT parameters was significantly superior to that of semiquantitative visual score in terms of evaluating the severity of COVID-19.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.593-600
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• 2009

In this study, disabled people's life quality according to their use of dental healthcare services were examined, and the factors that influence their life quality were examined. The subjects in this study were 198 domestic disabled people in Jeollabuk-do, on whom a survey was conducted from May 1 to June 1, 2008. After the collected data were analyzed with SPSS WIN 12.0 program, the following findings were acquired: 1. 68.2% of the subjects had an experience of using dental service institutes. Over 80.0% of the physically disabled, the mentally handicapped, and the sensory-disturbance sufferers each used dental service institutes in their locations. Regarding the reason for visiting dental service institutes, 43.4% of the physically disabled visited for regular examination (the largest group for that reason), followed by the mentally handicapped with 37.9%. 43.5% of the sensory-disturbance sufferers visited for pain and fracture. 2. The subjects' life quality level relating to oral health was found to be an average 3.39 point score. There was a statistically significant difference in their life quality levels in terms of demographic features, such as age, religion, marriage/non-marriage, education, and subjective health status variables. Those experienced in using dental service institutes enjoyed higher levels of life quality (p=.011). And, with regard to disability characteristics, the degree of disability and the period of disability influenced the quality of life with a statistical significance. 3. Regarding variables influencing the life quality of subjects, in terms of general characteristic variables, subjective health status were influential variables, and in terms of characteristic variables relating to the use of dental clinics and disability, the experience of using dental service institutes influenced the quality of life. In conclusion, nationwide efforts to nurture separate dental personnels responsible for the disabled, to expand relevant facilities and to improve the health care insurance are required to promote the oral health of domestic disabled people's.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.102-110
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• 1999

Objectives : The alcohol dependence in elderly people has been prevalent because of increase in geriatric population. However, it is difficult to find out alcohol dependence in the aged, because they have less specific clinical features as compared with adult alcoholics. The aims of this study were to screen alcohol dependence among elderly Koreans and to know the clinical characteristics of Korean delerly alcoholics. Methods : The questionnaires translated into Korean such as Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test(MAST-K), the Brief MAST and the MAST-Geriatirc Version (MAST-KG) were used to screen alcohol dependence in the elderly alcoholic inpatients aged over 60(N=43), adult alcoholic inpatients within 20-59 Yrs of age(N=60), which were compared with age matched normal healthy aged(N=18) or adult controls(N=45). The demographic data such as sex, age, education, occupation, socioeconomic status, marital status, numbers of children, dwelling and religion as well as alcohol history such as duration of alcohol drinking, onset age, family history, impulsivity, somatic illness and motivation were also obtained to identify characteristic features of Korean aged alcoholics by structured interviews. Results : 1) The aged alcoholics had the charateristic features of more in males, lower age, low education levels, more in blue-collar workers, lower socioeconomic class, more in single, few babies, more living alone, having no religion without statistical significance. 2) The onset age of alcohol dependence was significantly higher in the aged alcoholics($45.3{\pm}13.6Yrs$) than in the adult alcoholics($27.7{\pm}8.7Yrs$)(p<0.0001). The duration of problematic alcohol drinking was significantly longer in the aged alcoholics($22.0{\pm}15.1Yrs$) than in adult alcoholics($14.2{\pm}8.4Yrs$)(p<0.01). Otherwise, there were no significant difference between aged and adult alcoholics in the family history, imulsivity, somatic illness and motivation. 3) The mean score of the MAST-K was significantly higher in the aged alcoholics($20.6{\pm}5.4$) than in the normal aged($6.7{\pm}4.4$)(p<0.0001), which was significantly lower than in the adult alcoholics($26.2{\pm}8.0$) and in normal adult controls($9.5{\pm}3.2$)(p<0.05). The mean score of the Brief MAST was significantly lower in the aged alcoholics($9.3{\pm}3.5$) than in the adult alcoholics($14.5{\pm}6.6$)(p<0.0001). The mean score of the MAST-KG was significantly higher in the aged alcoholics($10.6{\pm}3.5$) than in the normal aged($4.8{\pm}4.3$)(p<0.0001). The former was significantly lower than in the adult alcoholics($12.9{\pm}4.3$)(p<0.005), and the mean score was $4.5{\pm}2.8$ in normal adult controls. 4) The items which showed statistically significant differences between aged alcoholics and normal aged controls could be found in 10 items of the MAST-K(items 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 14, 17, 21, 22 and 23), 2 items of the Brief MAST(items 2 and 9), and 7 items of the MAST-KG(items 6, 13, 18, 19, 22, 23 and 24)(p<0.01). Conclusions : The scores of the MAST-K, the Brief MAST and the MAST-KG were significantly lower in the aged alcoholics than those in the adult alcoholics (p<0.05). The statistically significant differences between aged alcoholics and normal aged controls could be found in 10 items of the MAST-K, 2 items of the Brief MAST and 7 items of the MAST-KG. Therefore, a briefer rating scales around 10 items are needed to screen alcohol dependence among Korean elderly people.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.122-129
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• 2001

Purpose : After Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is known to be a fatal disease, efforts and studies are made to determine the cause, treatment method and method of preventing infection. However, no treatment method is present and vaccine development has not been made. Therefore, the most effective treatment method is prevention, and almost 100% prevention is possible when correct preventive measures are taken. We suggest effective prevention education by comparing knowledge and attitude of those unmarried men who had sexual encounters with prostitutes (high risk group) and those with no sexual encounters with prostitutes (low risk group). Methods : From January 1, 2000 to June 30, 2000, a survey was done in 516 unmarried soldiers and college students. With the collected data, chi-square test was used to compare and analyze the demographic characteristic, knowledge on AIDS, and attitude on AIDS between the high risk group and low risk group. One-way ANOVA test was used to compare and analyze the scores on knowledge between these two groups. Results : Among 516 unmarried men, 256 men (49.6%) fell into the high risk group and 260 men (50.4%) into the low risk group. Both groups showed that they heard of AIDS during their middle school years. The main route of obtaining knowledge on AIDS was through TV programs with 124 men(48.4%) in the high risk group and 167 men (64.2%) in the low risk group (P=0.002). Among 20 items, the average score on knowledge was $13.9{\pm}1.9$ in the high risk group and $14.1{\pm}1.8$ in the low risk group with no statistical difference between these two groups (P=0.191). Two items showed statistical significance in the low risk group compared with the high risk group; these were the item of AIDS being transmitted through transfusion (P=0.014) and through mosquitoes (P=0.009). As for attitude, statistical significance was present in the item stating that AIDS patients should be isolated in the high risk group compared with the low risk group (P=0.029). Conclusions : The present study showed that both the high risk group and low risk group obtained knowledge on AIDS through TV. No statistical difference was present between the two groups other than the high risk group showed statistically high results in two items on knowledge and one item on attitude. Thus, these results showed that exposure to AIDS can be lowered with better knowledge and the attitude of those with a low risk of infection was more positive.