• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.6 no.5
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• pp.429-435
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• 2012

Atopic dermatitis (AD) has become a serious epidemic in Korean children. We aimed to investigate the association between vitamin C, E and other nutrients, and serum total IgE/specific IgE levels in children with AD. A total of 119 children (0-24 mo) diagnosed with AD were recruited for this cross-sectional study from a medical center in Seoul. A 24 h recall was used to assess dietary intakes. Serum total and six food-allergen specific IgE levels were measured by CAP-FEIA. Serum vitamin E was also measured but only in 25 out of the total 119 participants. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to estimate the coefficients between serum IgE levels and dietary intake as well as serum vitamin E. Serum vitamin E levels showed a significantly inverse association with serum total IgE and all specific IgE levels (P < 0.05). Fat intake was inversely related with specific-IgEs for egg whites, milk, buck wheat, soy, and peanuts (P < 0.05). Positive associations were found between carbohydrate (CHO) intake and total IgE and specific IgEs to egg whites, milk, soy, and peanuts (P < 0.05). Vitamin C, E and n-3/n-6 fatty acids were not related with serum total IgE and specific IgE levels except for the association between buck wheat and vitamin E. In addition, there were no significant differences between males and females in dietary intake and serum IgE levels by student's t-test. Although dietary vitamin E showed no association with serum IgE levels, serum vitamin E drew a significant inverse relationship with serum IgE levels. The evidence seems to suggest that vitamin E may possibly lower total and specific-IgEs in children with AD, and that it is important to maintain a relatively high serum vitamin E level in children with AD.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.1487-1493
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• 2016

The susceptible, exposed, infectious, and recovered model (SEIR) is used extensively in the field of epidemiology. On the other hand, dissemination information among users through internet grows exponentially. This information spreading can be modeled as an epidemic. In this paper, we derive the mathematical model of SEIR in viral communication from the view of optimal control theory. Overall the methods based on classical calculus, In order to solve the optimal control problem, proved to be more efficient and accurate. According to Pontryagin's minimum principle (PMP) the Hamiltonian function must be optimized by the control variables at all points along the solution trajectory. We present our method based on the PMP and forward backward algorithm. In this algorithm, one should integrate forward in time for the state equations then integrate backward in time for the adjoint equations resulting from the optimality conditions. The problem is mathematically analyzed and numerically solved as well.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.1009-1015
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• 2017

Recently, the wide spread of IoT (Internet of Things) based technology enables the accumulation of big biometric data on livestock. The availability of big data allows the application of diverse machine learning based algorithm in the field of agriculture, which significantly enhances the productivity of farms. In this paper, we propose an abnormal livestock detection algorithm based on deep learning, which is the one of the most prominent machine learning algorithm. In our proposed scheme, the livestock are divided into two clusters which are normal and abnormal (disease) whose biometric data has different characteristics. Then a deep neural network is used to classify these two clusters based on the biometric data. By using our proposed scheme, the normal and abnormal livestock can be identified based on big biometric data, even though the detailed stochastic characteristics of biometric data are unknown, which is beneficial to prevent epidemic such as mouth-and-foot disease.

• Smart Media Journal
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.122-129
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• 2020

The possibility that an asymptotic coronavirus-19 infected person around the world is not aware of his infection and can spread it to people around him is still a very important issue in that the public is not free from anxiety and fear over the spread of the epidemic. In this paper, the K-means clustering algorithm and deep learning-based crowd aggregation were proposed to determine the possibility of contact with confirmed cases of infectious diseases. As a result of 300 iterations of all input learning images, the PSNR value was 21.51, and the final MAE value for the entire data set was 67.984. This means the average absolute error between observations and the average absolute error of fewer than 4,000 people in each CCTV scene, including the calculation of the distance and infection rate from the confirmed patient and the surrounding persons, the net group of potential patient movements, and the prediction of the infection rate.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.65-76
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• 2010

Objectives In the later period of Choseon dynasty, korean pediatrics became a pivot part of medicine. SoAUiBang was the most important book in that era. DongEuiBoGam was the most widely read of all oriental medicine books and published in early days of the Choseon dynasty. Therefore, this comparative study on the prescription and formation of SoAUiBang and DongEuiBoGam could be a useful way to understand SoAUiBang's characteristics. Methods This study was based on SoAUiBang and DongEuiBoGam, two literatures of oriental medicine. Results 1. Formation of SoAUiBang had a similar aspect with that of DongEuiBoGam's and enlarged the area of pediatrics by featuring general medical books. However, its formation did not follow the DongEuiBoGam's, but had its unique formation. It tried to include all diseases of pediatrics in the system of DongEuiBoGam. Plus, smallpox and measles belonged to the epidemic diseases were excluded from the area of pediatrics. 2. Comparing SoAUiBang's prescription of some important diseases with DongEuiBoGam's, it was almost a prescription based on DongEuiBoGam's prescription. However, adjustment of herbs and dosages could not be found in any oriental medicine books including DongEuiBoGam. Conclusions SoAUiBang maintained the traditional Oriental medicine based on author's scholarly creativeness. In addition, it also inherited the lineage of medicine in Korea along with the pedigree of DongEuiBoGam. Therefore, SoAUiBang should be re-evaluated as a medicine book that opened a new field of pediatric and had great academic values.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.10
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• pp.1683-1690
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• 2018

Accurate and rapid diagnosis of influenza infection is essential to enable early antiviral treatment and reduce the mortality associated with seasonal and epidemic infections. Immunochromatography is one of the most common methods used for the diagnosis of seasonal human influenza; however, it is less effective in diagnosing pandemic influenza virus. Currently, rapid diagnostic kits for pandemic influenza virus rely on the detection of nucleoprotein (NP) or hemagglutinin (HA). NP detection shows higher specificity and is more sensitive than HA detection. In this study, we time-dependently screened expression conditions, and herein report optimal conditions for the expression of recombinant nucleoprotein (rNP), which was 48 h after infection. In addition, we report the use of the expressed rNP in a rapid influenza diagnostic test (SGT i-flex Influenza A&B Test). We constructed expression vectors that synthesized rNP (antigen) of influenza A and B in insect cells (Sf9 cells), employed the purified rNP to the immunoassay test kit, and clearly distinguished NPs of influenza A and influenza B using this rapid influenza diagnostic kit. This approach may improve the development of rapid test kits for influenza using NP.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.150-166
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• 2016

In the aftermath of a recent outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), legal matters on the spread of epidemics have emerged as major social issues in Korea, with the awareness that rampant contagious diseases are disasters in society. Problems arose over damages arising from patients who contract infectious diseases, compensation for people under quarantine and for a partial, or entire, shutdown of hospitals, and information disclosure on infectious diseases. As epidemic-linked problems have never been socially disputed in Korea, the relevant legal issues appear to be studied comparatively less than other areas. As interests are heightened over legal issues on infectious illnesses amid the MERS scare, in-depth, further research on such legal issues should be conducted in an utmost effort to prevent and make preparations for epidemics which potentially become a social disaster, such as new Hong Kong flu, Ebola virus and Zika virus.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.61 no.9
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• pp.291-300
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• 2018

Purpose: Understanding changes in pathogen and pneumonia prevalence among pediatric pneumonia patients is important for the prevention of infectious diseases. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data of children younger than 18 years diagnosed with pneumonia at 117 Emergency Departments in Korea between 2007 and 2014. Results: Over the study period, 329,380 pediatric cases of pneumonia were identified. The most frequent age group was 1-3 years old (48.6%) and the next was less than 12 months of age (17.4%). Based on International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision diagnostic codes, confirmed cases of viral pneumonia comprised 8.4% of all cases, pneumonia due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae comprised 3.8% and confirmed cases of bacterial pneumonia 1.3%. The prevalence of confirmed bacterial pneumonia decreased from 3.07% in 2007 and 4.01% in 2008 to 0.65% in 2014. The yearly rate of pneumococcal pneumonia also decreased from 0.47% in 2007 to 0.08% in 2014. A periodic prevalence of M. pneumoniae pneumonia (MP) was identified. Conclusion: The increased number of patients with pneumonia, bacterial pneumonia, pleural effusion, and empyema in 2011 and 2013-2014 resulted from an MP epidemic. We provide evidence that the frequency of confirmed cases of bacterial pneumonia and pneumococcal pneumonia has declined from 2007 to 2014, which can simultaneously reflect the effectiveness of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.60-66
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• 2002

Iksan city is planning to construct a waste incinerator on the site of about $110,000\textrm{m}^2$ in size that will be selected from a public bid(Oct.~Nov.2002)in the wake of expiration by June 2003 of use for Hamyeol fill-up ground. Science it has usually been difficult to find sites for filling-up or incinerating facilities owing to NIMBY phenomenon, it is badly requested to employ up-to-date technology for processing wastes without environmental pollution. The conflicts between the administrative authorities and community people with regard to construction of incineration facilities, fill-up ground and facilities for waste processing or recycling are not the matters of just today but are increasingly deepening and spreading countrywide. There seems to be no prospect for these conflicts to be amicably settled through dialogues. They rather become a social disease inflicting the whole country like an epidemic. It is therefore believed to be necessary to introduce measures to design and build environment-friendly facilities that may be accepted by residents as not abominable ones but be used as amusing place while they watch the daily operation of them as watchdogs. Iksan city's plan to construct environment-friendly waste incineration facilities of pyrolysis type without chimney has undergone the process of public hearings and explanatory gatherings from every class of Iksan citizens to get consensus but is still delayed due mainly to be the failure of inducing foreign investments. Pyrolysis technology has two advantages ; first, environment-friendly due to less emission of second pollutants ; second, production of by-products highly valuable as resources. It Is known that Germany has recently begun installation and operation of pyrolysis facility urban wastes, an evidence indicating that pyrolysis method will be widely applied to cope with the tightened regulation to preserve environment worldwide.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.265-270
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• 1999

The gene encoding Plasmodium vivax circumsporozoite protein (PvCSP) exhibits polymorphism in many geographical isolates. The present study was designed to investigate polymorphism in PvCSP gene of P. vivax isolates in Korea. Thirty isolates, obtained from indigenous cases in Yonchon-gun, Kyonggi-do in 1997, were subjected for sequencing and RFLP analysis of the repeat and post-repeat regions of PvCSP gene and two genotypes (SK-A and SK-B) were identified. The genotype of 19 isolates was SK-A and that of 11 isolates was SK-B. Although the number of 12-base repeats present in SK-A was three while two were found in a Chinese strain CH-5, the repeat sequence of SK-A was identical to that of CH-5 except for one base substitution. Compared with known data there was no identical isolates with SK-B, but the sequence of SK-B was similar to that of a North Korean (NK) isolate. These results indicate that two genotypes of PvCSP coexist in the present epidemic area of Korea and the present parasite may originate from East Asia. RFLP would be useful to classify genotypes of P. vivax population instead of gene sequencing.