• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.128-134
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• 2016

The ambulance service time interval, in particular the response time, has been used as an important indicator for the quality control of ambulance services in that it can be improved to increase the probability of survival and decrease the sequela-related disability. Based on the 2011~2014 Prehospital Care Reports in a metropolitan city, this study analyzed the time interval of ambulance services considering the patient's characteristics and chief complaints. If the definition of the time of ambulance services can be refined further, and a variety of economic and social factors and local characteristics would can be analyzed, the quality of the ambulance service is expected to be enhanced significantly.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.125-140
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• 2013

In the study of married couples, there has been a great lack of analysis of the factors affecting the marital satisfaction of spouses until now. In this study, the subjects were couples living in Seoul or Gyeonggi Province. The data collection period was November 20 to December 20, 2009, and data ond 184 couples were collected and used for the analysis. The SPSS 17.0 program was used for the analysis. The main findings of this study are as follows: First, the husbands' marital satisfaction was higher than that of the wives. And the variables of spousal support, alternative comparison level and marital dissolution disability were also found to be statistically significant according to gender. Second, it was confirmed that the self-variables had a greater effect than partner variables on couples' marital satisfaction. Third, the influential factors of the marital satisfaction of husbands and wives depended on the individual resource variables (self-esteem, health of origin of family, parenting efficacy), the couple relationship variables (spousal support, spousal similarity, recovery attempts), and the level of marital alternatives.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.495-503
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• 2018

Purpose: This study analyzes the predictive power of upper extremity activity and the activities of daily living in patients with stroke using an easy-to-use evaluation tool. Methods: The Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) of the upper extremity and action research arm test (ARAT) are performed, and the Korean modified Barthel index (K-MBI) is measured. The predictive power of the upper extremity activity level and the daily activity level are analyzed using regression analysis. The statistical significance level is 0.05. Results: The coefficient of determination, R2, for predicting the ARAT using FMA was high at 0.88, but the regression equation for predicting the K-MBI using the FMA and ARAT did not show a statistically significant difference. Conclusion: The assessment of the upper extremity should be performed at the activity level, as well as the impairment level. The assessment for predicting the activities of daily living should be carried out for each level of the international classification of functioning (ICF), disability, and health, which can be linked to daily life, in addition to the assessment of the upper arm. Future research should conduct more diverse analyses using the ICF assessment tools at various levels.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.15-23
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• 2019

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of the myofascial meridians release technique on pain and postural control of college students with forward head posture and to compare the intervention effects of the Grastone massage and the Rollfing massage. METHODS: Thirty subjects with forward head posture were randomly and equally allocated to experimental group I (myofascial meridians release technique using Grastone massage, n=15) or experimental group II (myofascial meridians release using Rollfing massage, n=15). All subjects underwent 30 minutes of different myofascial meridians release techniques in addition to general physical therapy (hot pack: 15 min, interferential current therapy: 15 min, ultra sound: 5 min) three times a week for a total of 6 weeks. Outcome was measured before and after 4 weeks of intervention. RESULTS: In both groups, the numerical rating scale of pain was significantly decreased after intervention, with experimental group I showing a greater decrease than experimental group II. The neck disability index decreased significantly after intervention in both groups, with experimental group I showing a significantly greater decrease than the controls. The distance of the head forward displacement did not differ significantly between the two groups (p>.05). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the Grastone method combined with the myofascial meridians release technique is a more effective intervention for improvement of pain and postural control in adults with moderate forward head posture.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.639-648
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify life experiences of Korean patients with Hansen's disease (leprosy). Methods: For this study, 5 participants from Sorok Island Hospital were purposively chosen. Data were collected through in-depth individual interviews from June to July 2014. Data analysis method was based on Colaizzi's approach. Results: The study results showed that experiences of patients with Hansen's disease consisted of 14 themes and six theme clusters: 1) Bad disease approaching as fate; 2) Family breakup and far from the village; 3) New life in Sorok Island Hospital; 4) Treatment of Hansen's disease and disability; 5) Life in the disease community; 6) Comfort and hope of life. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that health care professionals should pay attention to patients with Hansen's disease not only to reduce their physical and psychological suffering, but also to help the community and public culture to reduce the social stigma surrounding this disease and causing suffering for the patients. The results of the present study can help us to have a better understanding of various aspects of patients' lived experiences.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.11-18
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• 2011

The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between physical impairments and daily activities on the basis of the outcome measurements in stroke patients. Seventy-six stroke patients participated in this study. Two physical therapists evaluated 3 clinical common measurements, i.e., the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). Multiple regression analysis was used, as the dependent variables were the BBS and FIM; the independent variables were post-stroke duration, FMA of Upper Extremity (FMU), and FMA of Lower Extremity (FML). In the regression equation of the BBS, the coefficient of determination ($R^2$) was .383, and the FML was found to be the most important variable for determining the BBS score. In the regression equation of the FIM, $R^2$ was .531, and the FML was found to be the most important variable for determining the FIM. These results suggest that there is a need to determine the function of activities on the basis of the physical impairments of stroke patients. More variable measurement tools on the levels of body function and structure, as well as activity limitations are required.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.48-55
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• 2018

While non-operative treatment with structured rehabilitation tends to be the strategy of choice in the management of Rockwood type III acromioclavicular joint injury, some advocate surgical treatment to prevent persistent pain, disability, and prominence of the distal clavicle. There is no clear consensus regarding when the surgical treatment should be indicated, and successful clinical outcomes have been reported for non-operative treatment in more than 80% of type III acromioclavicular joint injuries. Furthermore, there is no gold standard procedure for operative treatment of type III acromioclavicular joint injury, and more than 60 different procedures have been used for this purpose in clinical practice. Among these surgical techniques, recently introduced arthroscopic-assisted procedures involving a coracoclavicular suspension device are minimally invasive and have been shown to achieve successful coracoclavicular reconstruction in 80% of patients with failed conservative treatment. Taken together, currently available data indicate that successful treatment can be expected with initial conservative treatment in more than 96% of type III acromioclavicular injuries, whereas minimally invasive surgical treatments can be considered for unstable type IIIB injuries, especially in young and active patients. Further studies are needed to clarify the optimal treatment approach in patients with higher functional needs, especially in high-level athletes.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.109-114
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• 2019

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic inflammatory disease that manifests as joint damage or athletic disability via sustained inflammation of the synovial membrane. The risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is higher in RA patients. This study aimed at evaluating the association between CVD comorbidities and RA by comparing a pharmacotherapy group with a non-pharmacotherapy group. Methods: Patient sample data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA-NPS-2016) were used. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) using the propensity score was used to minimize the differences in patient characteristics. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the risk of CVD comorbidities. Results: The analyses included 1,207,213 patients, of which 33,122 (2.8%) had RA. The odds ratios (OR) of CVD comorbidities were increased in RA patients; ischemic heart disease (IHD: OR 1.75; 95% CI 1.73, 1.77), cerebral infarction (CERI: OR 1.28; 95% CI 1.26, 1.30), hypertension (HTN: OR 1.44; 95% CI 1.43, 1.45), diabetes mellitus (DM: OR 2.04; 95% CI 2.03, 2.06), and dyslipidemia (DL: OR 3.49; 95% CI 3.47, 3.51). The ORs of IHD, CERI, HTN, and DM in the traditional DMARD and biologic treatment groups were decreased, compared with those in the non-pharmacotherapy group. Conclusions: Thus, CVD risk was higher in RA patients, considering age, sex, and socioeconomic status. Appropriate pharmacotherapy could decrease the risk of CVD comorbidities in RA patients.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.110-114
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• 2018

Ataxia-telangiectasia (AT; OMIM 208900) is a rare autosomal recessive inherited progressive neurodegenerative disorder, with onset in early childhood. AT is caused by homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations in ATM (OMIM 607585) on chromosome 11q22. The average prevalence of the disease is estimated at 1 of 100,000 children worldwide. The prevalence of AT in the Republic of Korea is suggested to be extremely low, with only a few cases genetically confirmed thus far. Herein, we report a 5-year-old Korean boy with clinical features such as progressive gait and truncal ataxia, both ankle spasticity, dysarthria, and mild intellectual disability. The patient was identified as a compound heterozygote with two novel genetic variants: a paternally derived c.5288_5289insGA p.(Tyr1763*) nonsense variant and a maternally derived c.8363A>C p.(His2788Pro) missense variant, as revealed by next-generation sequencing and confirmed by Sanger sequencing. Based on claims data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service Republic of Korea, we calculated the prevalence of AT in the Republic of Korea to be about 0.9 per million individuals, which is similar to the worldwide average. Therefore, we suggest that multi-gene panel sequencing including ATM should be considered early diagnosis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.4307-4312
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• 2013

Breast cancer is the most frequent malignancy of women worldwide. It is the leading cause of female cancer related disability and mortality. In Saudi Arabia breast cancer ranks first among cancerous diseases in females. In the Gulf region, and especially in Saudi Arabia, few studies have been conducted to address breast cancer awareness. The purpose of the current study was therefore to investigate the level of breast cancer awareness among Saudi females in Jeddah, focusing on knowledge of breast cancer warning signs, risk factors, screening programs and breast self-examination (BSE). The design of this study was an exploratory correlational analysis. The sample comprised 200 Saudi females aged 20 and older living in Jeddah. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews. Breast cancer awareness was measured using a modified Arabic version of the Breast Cancer Awareness Measure (Breast CAM) version 2. Descriptive statistical analysis, Pearson's Product Moment correlation coefficients and ANOVA test were used to answer study questions. Out of 200 participants, 50.5% were aware of breast lump as a warning sign of breast cancer, 57.5% claimed that family history was risk factor, 20.5% had undergone breast screening, 79% heard about BSE, and 47.5% knew how to perform BSE. Findings indicated that Saudi females level of awareness of breast cancer is very inadequate. Public awareness interventions are needed in order to overcome an ever-increasing burden of this disease among Saudi females.