• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.557-564
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• 2018

Along with the aging society, the prevalence of dementia is also increasing. Dementia causes short-term memory loss as well as difficulties of performing daily activities and gradually causes suffering of the patients and their family. In spite of various programs for prevention of dementia of older people are being implemented, there is a lack of developing natural-based program for physical and mental health promotion. Therefore, it is necessary to develop programs for the elderly living alone who are more vulnerable to dementia because of their social and economic isolation. The purpose of this study was to develop a natural-based program and investigate the effects of 10 weeks forest therapy program for dementia prevention to improve the psychological and physical health of the elderly living alone. The experimental subjects were 30 elderly (aged 65 or older) and 31 elderly participated in control group. The Stress response, depressive symptoms, weight, body mass index (BMI), fat mass and muscle mass were measured for pre and post test. The results showed that the experimental group showed subjective stress relief (t=5.249, p=.000), improvement in symptoms of depression (t=4.152, p=.000), and decreases in weight (t=2.686, p=.012), BMI (t=2.629, p=.014) and fat mass (t=2.918, p=.007) after the forest therapy program. The experimental group showed lower stress reactions(t=-7.185, p=.000) and less depressive symptoms (t=-5.303, p=.000) than control group after participating the program. These results suggest that periodic forest exposure can help having less stressful and depressive status than non-forest exposure and the forest therapy program can reduce participants' psychological and physical risk factors of dementia.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.129-140
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• 2001

Harmful environment around school area have been increased with socio-economic development in Korea. Those entertainment facilities have caused a negative effect on the learning environment in many schools. As a result of increased entertainment harmful facilities in school area, the numbers of deviant behaviors such as drinking, smoking, substance abuse and sexual activity among junior high school students have been significantly increased. Given this situation, the aim of this study was to describe the distribution of the facilities; to access applied(experience) of the facilities according to students demographic variables; and to identify the relationship between use of the facilities and students risk health behaviors such as smoking, drinking, substance abuse and sexual activity. The field theory was used to study the relationship between the use of the facilities and risk health behaviors among students. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted in Korea. 2,114 junior and senior high school students(middle and high school students) were recruited by the method of proportional stratified random sampling from June to July 2000. Results indicated that: 1) The rates of using game centers, PC rooms, Song rooms and comic rooms were 78.3%, 75.6%, 71.6%, and 34.3% respectively. 2) High school students visited the entertainment facilities significantly more than middle school students(p〈0.001). 3) The rates of using facilities near schools were significantly associated with parents job(p〈0.05). 4) The rates of drinking, smoking, drug abuse, and sexual activity were 21.6%, 11.9%, 4.3% and 1.6% respectively. 5) Risk health behaviors such as smoking(p〈0.001) and drinking(p〈0.001), amount of smoking and drinking(p〈0.001) and sexual activity(p〈0.05) were associated with the experience of using the facilities. Those who had drinking experience were more likely to go the facilities than those without drinking experience. Also, those who were smoker had higher probability of going using the facilities than non-smokers.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.311-325
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• 2020

Background: Health statistics of pharmaceutical use and expenditure are essential to make and implement evidence-based pharmaceutical policy. This study aims to demonstrate the methods and results of pharmaceutical consumption and sales in 2018 according to the sources and methods given by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Methods: The medication list contains 39,346 medicines both reimbursed and non-reimbursed by the National Health Insurance in 2018. We used the therapeutic categories based on Anatomic Therapeutic Chemical Classification of World Health Organization. This study analyzed National Health Insurance claims data and supply data generated from wholesalers to health care facilities. The indicators are defined daily dose (DDD), per 1,000 inhabitants per day and US$ per capita. Results: In South Korea, the number of medications to which DDD were assigned was 18,055 and it was 45.9% of the total number of medications on the list. The consumption in anti-infective for systemic use (J) and musculo-skeletal system (M) was higher than the mean consumption among the OECD countries. The pharmaceutical sales per person in Korea was also higher than the mean sales per person across the OECD countries. Conclusion: We sought to explain the methods to produce pharmaceutical consumption and sales statistics which we had submitted annually to OECD. Considering the characteristics of pharmaceutical statistics, a direct comparison should be approached with caution. Since the growth in pharmaceutical spending has greatly increased over the past decade, we need to monitor pharmaceutical consumption and expenditure consistently.

• Journal of Construction Engineering and Project Management
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.8-15
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• 2016

Cost planning practices in the construction industry worldwide has gained much popularity in recent times due to economic recession and stringent measures that various procurement laws prescribe in most developed and developing countries. Nevertheless, these practices in developing countries such as Ghana are constrained with the existence of critical barriers that render them non-effective and hence, accounting for the numerous abandonment of both private and public projects. Consequently, this study was enunciated with the aim to examine the critical barriers to the practice of effective cost planning in the Ghanaian construction industry. Through an in-depth literature review and a pilot survey, questionnaires were designed and administered to quantity surveyors. Data generated from the field survey was subjected to principal component analysis. The findings of the study revealed weak cost planning knowledge base, poor cost databases and understanding, inadequate designs and planning and external conditions are the major barriers to cost planning practices in the Ghanaian construction industry. The need for this study cannot be doubted since it provides an insight for experts in the construction industry on the barriers of the practice of cost planning in the industry. The awareness of these barriers will therefore facilitate efficient and effective efforts to resolve them. A future study is thereby proposed by this study to explore effective cost planning practices in the Ghanaian construction industry that will ensure private and public stakeholders get value for their money invested.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.294-304
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• 2016

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Eating out has been reported to have negative effects on nutritional status. However, eating out can include meals prepared at home and eaten outside. Conversely, meals eaten at home can be brought from outside, as take-out and home deliveries have become common in Korea. Thus, we tested whether or not meal preparation location influences daily diet quality. SUBJECTS/METHODS: From the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2007-2009, 4,915 Korean adults (20-64 years) were classified into two groups: home-made meal group (HMG), who ate ${\geq}2$ meals per day prepared at home (n = 4,146), and non-home-made meal group (NHMG), who ate ${\geq}2$ meals per day prepared outside home (n = 769). Daily diet quality was determined by energy intake, nutrient intake, Dietary Variety Score (DVS), and Diet Diversity Score (DDS). RESULTS: Compared to the HMG, the NHMG was more likely to consist of men, single, employed, educated and of a higher economic status (all, P < 0.01). The NHMG showed higher energy intakes (1,776 vs. 2,116 kcal/day) with higher percentages of energy from protein (15 vs. 23%) and fat (14 vs. 16%) and lower intakes of dietary fiber, phosphorus, potassium, niacin, and vitamin C (all, P < 0.01) than the HMG, with some variations among age groups. The NHMG tended to consume foods prepared by frying and grilling and had more one-dish meals such as bibimbap, noodles, and dumplings but also showed higher dietary diversity. CONCLUSIONS: It should be noted that home-made meals do not necessarily guarantee a healthy diet, and the effects of meal preparation location on nutritional status might vary depending on socio-demographic characteristics.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.143-152
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• 2016

Objectives: Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. Associations between metabolic syndrome and several types of cancer have recently been documented. Methods: We analyzed the sample cohort data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service from 2002, with a follow-up period extending to 2013. The cohort data included 99 565 individuals who participated in the health examination program and whose data were therefore present in the cohort database. The metabolic risk profile of each participant was assessed based on obesity, high serum glucose and total cholesterol levels, and high blood pressure. The occurrence of cancer was identified using Korean National Health Insurance claims data. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models, adjusting for age group, smoking status, alcohol intake, and regular exercise. Results: A total of 5937 cases of cancer occurred during a mean follow-up period of 10.4 years. In men with a high-risk metabolic profile, the risk of colon cancer was elevated (HR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.14 to 1.71). In women, a high-risk metabolic profile was associated with a significantly increased risk of gallbladder and biliary tract cancer (HR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.24 to 3.42). Non-significantly increased risks were observed in men for pharynx, larynx, rectum, and kidney cancer, and in women for colon, liver, breast, and ovarian cancer. Conclusions: The findings of this study support the previously suggested association between metabolic syndrome and the risk of several cancers. A high-risk metabolic profile may be an important risk factor for colon cancer in Korean men and gallbladder and biliary tract cancer in Korean women.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.145-149
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• 2014

Arsenic (As) is one of the heavy metals which causes acute bio-toxicity even at low concentration and has disastrous effect on environment. In some countries, As contamination has become alarming and increasing day by day as consequences of unsustainable management practices. Many existing physical, chemical and biological processes for As removal from water system are not feasible due to techno-economic limitations. The present study highlights the scope of biological strategy for As removal through phytoextraction. Arsenic uptake and accumulation in the biomass of three plant species and their As tolerance abilities have been investigated to develop an efficient phytoextraction system in combination of these plant species. Three non-crop plant species, Pteris vittata; Mimosa pudica, and Eichhornia crassipus were treated with 0-200 mg/L As in liquid nutrient solution for 14 days. P. vittata accumulated total 9,082.2 mg (8,223 mg in fronds) As/kg biomass and Eichhornia total 6,969 mg (4,517 mg in fronds)/kg biomass at 200 mg/L As concentration, respectively. Bioaccumulation factor (BF) and translocation factor (TF) were estimated to differentiate between excluders, accumulators and accumulation in above ground biomass. Pteris and Eichhornia have highest BF (67 and 17) and TF (64 and 3), respectively. In contrast, Mimosa accumulated up to 174 mg As/kg plant biomass which is low in comparison with other two plants, and both BF and TF were ${\leq}1$. This study reveals that Pteris and Eichhornia are As hyperaccumulator, and potential candidates for As removal from water system.

• Mycobiology
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.49-59
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• 2023

Antrodia cinnamomea, an edible and medicinal fungus with significant economic value and application prospects, is rich in terpenoids, benzenoids, lignans, polysaccharides, and benzoquinone, succinic and maleic derivatives. In this study, the transcriptome of A. cinnamomea cultured on the wood substrates of Cinnamomum glanduliferum (YZM), C. camphora (XZM), and C. kanehirae (NZM) was sequenced using the high-throughput sequencing technology Illumina HiSeq 2000, and the data were assembled by de novo strategy to obtain 78,729 Unigenes with an N50 of 4,463 bp. Compared with public databases, about 11,435, 6,947, and 5,994 Unigenes were annotated to the Non-Redundant (NR), Gene Ontology (GO), and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome (KEGG), respectively. The comprehensive analysis of the mycelium terpene biosynthesis-related genes in A. cinnamomea revealed that the expression of acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase (AACT), acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD), 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA), mevalonate pyrophosphate decarboxylase (MVD), and isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase (IDI) was significantly higher on NZM compared to the other two wood substrates. Similarly, the expression of geranylgeranyltransferase (GGT) was significantly higher on YZM compared to NZM and XZM, and the expression of farnesyl transferase (FTase) was significantly higher on XZM. Furthermore, the expressions of 2,3-oxidized squalene cyclase (OCS), squalene synthase (SQS), and squalene epoxidase (SE) were significantly higher on NZM. Overall, this study provides a potential approach to explore the molecular regulation mechanism of terpenoid biosynthesis in A. cinnamomea.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2024

Recently, intensive research has been conducted to develop innovative methods for diagnosing plant diseases based on hyperspectral technologies. Hyperspectral analysis is a new subject that combines optical spectroscopy and image analysis methods, which makes it possible to simultaneously evaluate both physiological and morphological parameters. Among the physiological and morphological parameters are classifying healthy and diseased plants, assessing the severity of the disease, differentiating the types of pathogens, and identifying the symptoms of biotic stresses at early stages, including during the incubation period, when the symptoms are not visible to the human eye. Plant diseases cause significant economic losses in agriculture around the world as the symptoms of diseases usually appear when the plants are infected severely. Early detection, quantification, and identification of plant diseases are crucial for the targeted application of plant protection measures in crop production. Hence, this can be done by possible applications of hyperspectral sensors and platforms on different scales for disease diagnosis. Further, the main areas of application of hyperspectral sensors in the diagnosis of plant diseases are considered, such as detection, differentiation, and identification of diseases, estimation of disease severity, and phenotyping of disease resistance of genotypes. This review provides a deeper understanding, of basic principles and implementation of hyperspectral sensors that can measure pathogen-induced changes in plant physiology. Hence, it brings together critically assessed reports and evaluations of researchers who have adopted the use of this application. This review concluded with an overview that hyperspectral sensors, as a non-invasive system of measurement can be adopted in early detection, identification, and possible solutions to farmers as it would empower prior intervention to help moderate against decrease in yield and/or total crop loss.

• Journal of Computational Design and Engineering
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.179-190
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• 2016

A kind of modified epoxy resin sheet molding compounds of the impeller has been designed. Through the test, the non-metal impeller has a better environmental aging performance, but must do the waterproof processing design. In order to improve the stability of the impeller vibration design, the influence of uncertainty factors is considered, and a multi-objective robust optimization method is proposed to reduce the weight of the impeller. Firstly, based on the fluid-structure interaction, the analysis model of the impeller vibration is constructed. Secondly, the optimal approximate model of the impeller is constructed by using the Latin hypercube and radial basis function, and the fitting and optimization accuracy of the approximate model is improved by increasing the sample points. Finally, the micro multi-objective genetic algorithm is applied to the robust optimization of approximate model, and the Monte Carlo simulation and Sobol sampling techniques are used for reliability analysis. By comparing the results of the deterministic, different sigma levels and different materials, the multi-objective optimization of the SMC molding impeller can meet the requirements of engineering stability and lightweight. And the effectiveness of the proposed multi-objective robust optimization method is verified by the error analysis. After the SMC molding and the robust optimization of the impeller, the optimized rate reached 42.5%, which greatly improved the economic benefit, and greatly reduce the vibration of the ventilation system.