• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.3-18
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• 1988

The general objective of this research is to study behavioral pattern of health care utilization and to measure the level of utilization of the traditional medicine. The specific objective is to study utilization pattern and content of folk medicine which is the indegenous medical technology recognized part of traditional medicine. This research was under taken to generate valid information that will provide basis data for formulating general direction for health education activities and for designing service package for general population. A social survey method was employed to obtain required information for the research activities, The survey field team consisted of 20 surveyors who all participated is an intensive 2 day training course. A total of 3091 households were visited and interviewed by the field team during the period 7 September to 6 October 1987. The major findings obtained from the information collected by the field survey are as follows ; 1) General characteristics of the study households 2562 households out of 3091 households visited were selected for final data process, 80.2 of the selected households were nuclear families ; 17.4%, extended families ; others 2.4%. Only 4.3 percent of the study population in the urban households indicated "no schooling" whereas 14.2% of the rural household members falls within this category. Study population in the urban areas are more protected against diseases by the national medical insurance system than those in rural areas. In their self appraisal of living standard, those who responded with low group are 39.6% and 50.3% respectively by urban and rural households. 2) Morbidity status Period prevalence rate for all diseases during the preceding 15 days before the date of the household interview v as 243,0 per 1,000 study population. For cases with the illness duration of within 15 days, the initial points of medical entry were diversied ; 56.9%, drug stores ; 30.9%, clinics and hospitals ; 4.6% folk medicine ; 1.7% clinics of Korean oriental medicine. Among the chronic case; with illness duration of over 90 days, 34.6% of these people utilized clinics and hospitals of modern medicine ; 31.6%, drug stores ; 18.6% clinics of Korean oriental medicine ; 6.8% folk medical techniques. Noticeable is the almost ten fold increase from the mere 0.9% in the utilization of Korean oriental medicine, whereas in the utilization of folk medicine, it is short of two-fold increase. 3) Folk medicine and its utilization Households that use folk medicine for relief and care of signs and symptoms commonly encountered in daily life, number 1969 households, which accounts for 76.9% of all the study households. This rather high level use of folk medicine is not different from rural to urban areas. The order of frequency of utilizing folk medicine among the study people are : the highest 14.3% for the relief of indigestion ; 8.6% for burns ; 5.1% for common cold ; 4.7% for hiccough ; and 4.2% for hordeolum. A present various procedures of folk medicine is being used to relieve all kinds of symptoms. 192 symptoms are identified at present. The most frequently used procedures of folk medicine appear to be based either on principles of the Korean oriental medicine or of scientific knowledge. Based on these survey findings, proposals for utilizing folk medicine are as follows First, this survey's findings will be feed back to both on the job training and on the spot guidance of community health practitioners, public health nurses and other peripheral work force in the health field, who are in daily contacts with community. This feed back will assure that the health personnel carry out their health education and information activities that are based on the utilization pattern of folk medicine as found in the survey result. Second, studies will be soon implemented that are designed to measure the efficiency and potency of these procedures and to improve these procedures of folk medicine were most frequently used by the community. Third, studies will continue to systematize medicinal plants and skills of Korean oriental medicine that are easily available at minimal cost in daily life for the prevention of diseases and management of emergency cases.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.29-64
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• 1973

A land resources survey in the semi-arid area, Mula in S. E. Spain, of $400km^2$ is compiled. The basic aim of the project is to investigate the intrinsic qualities of the land resources of the area by means of applying an integrated method of natural resources survey mainly concerning with analysis and synthesis of land complexes, each of them represents an area or a group of areas with similar patterns of landforms, soils and vegetation, based on a geomorphological approach. The area is characterized by a linear arrangement of relief pattern with an asymmetric homoclinal repetition of slope attitudes elongating WSW-ENE, dipping steeply on the NW sides and gently on the SE sides, which have been resulted from the post-Alpine folding of the Triassic to Cretaceous limestone, the Eocene limestone, the Oligocene sandstone and the lower Miocene limestone and marl, and the post-lower Miocene faulting, tilting and subsequent differential erosion of the Miocene sedimentary formations. An integrated body of information in geology, landforms, soils and vegetation, which are significantry interrelated as an environmental complex, has been obtained. Using this data, 26 land complexes developing on the various situations of landforms, such as folded mountain ranges, tilted tablelands, bevelled cuestas, degraded hill-lands associating with enormous foots lopes, undulating terrains and terraced or flat plains, have been differentiated, mapped and described. The soils of the area are mostly light colored calcic lithosols which have been derived dominantly from the marly parent materials and developed into remarkable slope catenas in some places depending on the relief conditions. The land uses of the area are mainly characterized by the perennially irrigated cultivation of citrus orchards along the terraced alluvial deposits fringing the Segura and Mula River, and the dry-land cereal cultivation on gentler slopes. Pioneer dry-land cultivations within the shrubs on steeper slopes are restricted to the unchannelled tributary drainage floors. The availability of water is a fundamental controlling factor for existence of native and cultivated vegetation as a whole, and a number of active processes including sheet wash and gully erosion, especially on the scarp slopes, are the other important factors to be considered in conservation and management of the land in the area.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.419-428
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• 2015

Purpose: The current study was conducted in order to develop the Korean Healthy Eating Index (KHEI) for assessing adherence to national dietary guidelines and comprehensive diet quality of healthy Korean adults using the 5th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) data. Methods: The candidate components of KHEI were selected based on literature reviews, dietary guidelines for Korean adults, 2010 Dietary Reference Intakes for Koreans (2010 KDRI), and objectives of HP 2020. The associations between candidate components and risk of obesity, abdominal obesity, and metabolic syndrome were assessed using the 5th KNHANES data. The expert review process was also performed. Results: Diets that meet the food group recommendations per each energy level receive maximum scores for the 9 adequacy components of the index. Scores for amounts between zero and the standard are prorated linearly. For the three moderation components among the total of five, population probability densities were examined when setting the standards for minimum and maximum scores. Maximum scores for the total of 14 components are 100 points and each component has maximum scores of 5 (fruit intakes excluding juice, fruit intake including juice, vegetable intakes excluding Kimchi and pickles, vegetable intake including Kimchi or pickles, ratio of white meat to read meat, whole grains intake, refined grains intake, and percentages of energy intake from carbohydrate) or 10 points (protein foods intake, milk and dairy food intake, having breakfast, sodium intake, percentages of energy intake from empty calorie foods, and percentages of energy intake from fat). The KHEI is a measure of diet quality as specified by the key diet recommendations of the dietary guidelines and 2010 KDRIs. Conclusion: The KHEI will be used as a tool for monitoring diet quality of the Korean population and subpopulations, evaluation of nutrition interventions and research.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.188-197
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• 2015

Purpose: To investigate the patterns of care for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in South Korea. Materials and Methods: A multi-institutional retrospective study was performed (Korean Radiation Oncology Group [KROG] 11-06) on a total of 1,445 patients from 15 institutions. Results: Of the 1,445 patients, more than half were stages III (39.9%) and IV (35.8%). In addition to patterns of care, we also investigated trends over time with the periods 1988-1993, 1994-2002, and 2003-2011. The frequencies of magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography-computed tomography were markedly increased in the third period compared to previous 2 periods. Concurrent chemoradiation (CCRT) was performed on 894 patients (61.9%), neoadjuvant chemotherapy on 468 patients (32.4%), and adjuvant chemotherapy on 366 patients (25.3%). Of stage II-IV patients, CCRT performed on 78.8% in 2003-2011 compared to 15.0% in 1988-1993. For patients treated with CCRT, cisplatin was the most commonly used agent in 81.3% of patients. Over the periods of time, commonly used radiotherapy (RT) techniques were changed from 2-dimensional RT (1988-1993, 92.5%) to 3-dimensional RT (2003-2011, 35.5%) or intensity-modulated RT (IMRT; 2003-2011, 56.5%). Median RT doses given to primary tumors, high-risk lymphatics, and low-risk lymphatics were 70.0 Gy, 58.1 Gy, and 48.0 Gy, respectively. Adoption of IMRT increased the dose per fraction and escalated total radiation dose. Conclusion: Assessment of the patterns of care for NPC patients in South Korea demonstrated that management for NPC including diagnostic imaging, treatment regimen, RT techniques and dose schedule, advanced in accordance with the international guidelines.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.406-414
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• 2016

This study examined the factors by which people choose auto-camping as their primary leisure activity after conducting a questionnaire survey of the visitors to the Chiaksan national park Guryong auto-campground. The majority of the visitors were employed (60%) in their 30s and 40s (85%) with relatively high education (88% of which had bachelor's degree or higher) and income levels (87% of which had family income greater than KRW30 million). Most visitors were family group visitors (82%), and for many visitors, auto-camping appeared to be their primary leisure activity as 24% of the respondents said that they visited auto-campground more than 10 times a year. Only 18% of the visitors had auto-camped for longer than 5 years, indicating that auto-camping is a relatively new leisure activity that has become popular in recent times. Factor analysis with 19 items that measured the degree of agreement on the relative advantages of auto-camping extracted four latent factors that affected the selection of auto-camping as a leisure activity: factor 1 (refreshment through contact with nature), factor 2 (novelty and a sense of accomplishment), factor 3 (convenience), and factor 4 (entertainment). Results of regression analysis that examined the effects of the four extracted factors on the visitors' level of satisfaction on auto-camping (measured by the number of visits to auto-campgrounds per year) indicated that 'refreshment through contact with nature' was the most critical factor when deciding to select auto-camping as their leisure activity. 'Novelty and a sense of accomplishment' and 'convenience' were also statistically significant -but to a lesser degree, whereas 'entertainment' did not statistically significantly affect the visitors' decision. These results suggest that, for designing and managing auto-campgrounds, it is more important to preserve the surrounding nature than to provide more facilities for campers' convenience and entertainment.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.291-307
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• 2016

Evaluation of the extinction risk of endangered plants at international, national as well as at regional levels is essential to the implementation of plans for direct conservation activities. Reports indicate that 34 endangered plants are distributed in the middle eastern area of Korea. For each endangered plant, we investigated the sites, area of extents, population size, and factors that affect population extinction. We assessed risk factors based on 10 evaluation criteria including the results from the investigation and the life traits each endangered plant has. As a result of evaluating the risk factors, these 34 endangered plants are classified into 3 groups: the first category comprises 12 endangered plants that require active and urgent conservation of habitats due to multiple risk factors; the second group has 16 endangered plants that should be able to persist with the removal of a few direct risk factors; the third category has 6 endangered plants that can persist with minimal management due to comparatively large distributed area and numerous individuals. It was found that most major risk factors in the population of endangered plants are caused by disruption of habitats and population extinction due to the increase of human habitation in the concerned areas, development and illegal harvesting. Futhermore, ecological collapse from decreasing habitats and malfunctioning mechanism of extinction and regeneration due to the changes of vegetational environment can be the other causes. From the area of the present investigations, we selected 5 regions according to the number of species and the frequency of appearance and importance of conservation measures. Also, we suggested a conservation strategy according to the regional characteristics. We suggest that the method for evaluating extinction risk of endangered plants includes distributional data and life traits of species. In addition, we underscore the necessity for understanding population dynamics and ecological niche of the each target species.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.1-8
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• 2009

The aim of this study is to investigate the microbial contamination assessment of raw Jinmichae to cook and to establish its control. Three kinds of Korean Jinmichae products(K1, K2, K3) and three kinds of imported Jinmichae products(Chile: F1, Peru: F2, Mexico: F3) were collected from markets and department stores in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do. The results were as follows; Aerobic mesophilic bacteria in raw Jinmichae(F2) was detected $7.20{\times}10^7$ CFU/g, which exceeded the acceptable standard level, $1.0{\times}10^6$ CFU/g. The rest of raw groups fell up to $1.0{\times}10^3{\sim}1.0{\times}10^4$ CFU/g. Aerobic mesophilic bacteria were detected in blanched and fried Jinmichae groups. Boiled Jinmichae group did not exceed the acceptable standard level of $1.0{\times}10^6$ CFU/g. However, all the fried groups exceeded the level. E. coli were detected in raw Jinmichae but it was able to be controlled by blanching. Unlike this, E. coli was not completely controlled by roasting for 20 seconds relative to 40, 60 seconds. S. aureus were effectively controlled by boiling, however, it was not controlled by roasting. After roasting Jinmichae for 60 seconds, S. aureus were detected in the half of all groups. In this study, Jinmichae were found to be favorable one of side dishes in school meal service. Jinmichae can be contaminated by microbial pathogens such as S. aureus, E. coli, etc. Therefore, further studies are needed to monitor microbial pathogens and to provide their control.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.65-82
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• 2009

The following research aimed to determine the effect of stress among middle school students on their addiction to the Internet. This research's target was a group of male students who had a high probability of getting addicted to the Internet while playing c/t games. The study distributed 357 questionnaires and used 340 copies, which meant discarding 17 copies that were considered inadequate. The research results are as follows: First, there appeared subordinate factors in the stress suffered by the students. These included stress from their families, from conflicts with their teachers, from the living environment, current schoolwork and future course in college, insecurity over their physical appearance, bullying from other students, and relationships with friends. Among these factors, stress caused by conflicts with teachers and family was the most frequently cited, while stress from their friends was the least cited. The motive in using the Internet was found to be bound with several factors. These include: a form of diversion, a way to communicate with others, a means in coping with loneliness, a source of news and information, a form of passing away time, a kind of habit, and others. Among these motives, passing away time and indulging a habit were cited the most, followed by news and information search, and a form of diversion. Second, as a subordinate factor in Internet addiction, the following were cited: formation of tolerance, health issues, occurrence of problems related to daily life, satisfaction or a pleasant sensation, withdrawal, cover-up on the use of the Internet, and formation of virtual interpersonal relationships, and others. Among these, the formation of tolerance came out the highest, followed by health issues, daily life, and problems related to daily life. Third, in terms of the effects of stress on the motive in using the Internet, the research found that the more the students felt stressed out by conflicts with their teachers and family, the more they tended to use the Internet to communicate with others, to cope with loneliness, to obtain newsI and information, to passawaytime, and to indulge a habit Also, the more they felt stressed out by the living environment, the more they tended to use the Internet to communicate with others, to cope with loneliness, and use news and information. The more they felt stressed out by their schoolwork and future course in college, they tended to use the Internet as a form of diversion and to secure news and information. The more they felt stressed out by their insecurity over their physical appearance and being victimized by bullies, the more they tended to use the Internet to cope with loneliness. Fourth, as for the effect of several variables on student addiction to the Internet, the study found that the more students felt stressed out by their living environment, by schoolwork and future course in college, by their physical appearance, and bullying from other students, the more they used the Internet as a form of diversion, a communication tool, and as a means of passing away time or indulging a habit. The study came up with the finding that the more the students used the computer and the Internet, the probability of their getting addicted to the Internet got higher.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.339-348
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• 2003

Objective : To quantify the economic value of the Sirolimus fluting Stent ($CYPHER^{TM}$) in treating acute coronary heart disease (CMD), and to assist in determining an adequate level of reimbursement for $CYPHER^{TM}$ in Korea. Methods : A decision-analytical model, developed by the Belgium Health Economics Disease Management group, was used to investigate the incremental cost-effectiveness of $CYPHER^{TM}$ versus conventional stenting. The time horizon was five years. The probabilities for clinical events at each node of the decision model were obtained from the results of large, randomized, controlled clinical trials. The initial care and follow-up direct medical costs were analyzed. The initial costs consisted of those for the initial procedure and hospitalization, The follow-vp costs included those for routine follow-up treatments, adverse reactions, revascularization and death. Defending on the perspective of the analysis, the costs were defined as insurance covered or total medical costs (=sum of insurance covered and uncovered medical costs). The cost data were obtained from the administrative data of 449 patients that received conventional stenting from five participating Korean hospitals during June 2002. Sensitivity analyses were peformed for discount rates of 3, 5 and 7%. Since the major clinical advantage of $CYPHER^{TM}$ over conventional stenting was the reduction in the revascularization rates, the economic value of $CYPHER^{TM}$, in relation to the direct medical costs of revascularization, were evaluated. If the incremental cost of $CYPHER^{TM}$ per revascularization avoided, compared to conventional stenting, was no higher than that of a revascularization itself, $CYPHER^{TM}$ would be considered as being cost-effective. Therefore, the maximum acceptable level for the reimbursement price of $CYPHER^{TM}$ making the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio equal to the cost of a revascularization was identified. Results : The average weighted initial insurance covered and total medical costs of conventional stenting were about 6,275,000 and 8,058,000 Won, respectively. The average weighted sum of the initial and 5-year follow-up insurance covered and total medical costs of conventional stenting were about 13,659,000 and 17,353,000 Won, respectively. The estimated maximum level of reimbursement price of $CYPHER^{TM}$ from the perspectives of the insurer and society were $4,126,897{\sim}4,325,161$ and $4,939,939{\sim}5,078,181$ Won, respectively. Conclusion : By evaluating the economic value of $CYPHER^{TM}$, as an alternative to conventional stenting, the results of this study are expected to provide a scientific basis for determining the acceptable level of reimbursement for $CYPHER^{TM}$.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.333-342
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• 1999

Objectives: Most descriptive studies of cancer have focused either or cancer incidence or mortality. Cancer prevalence has rarely been estimated. Cancer prevalence data can be used as a measure of the economic and social burden of cancer and are also useful for health care planning. This study attempts to estimate cancer prevalence in Kangwha county. Methods: This investigation is based on data of Kangwha cancer registry. The data include all cases of cancer diagnosed from 1983 through 1992. We define 'prevalent cases' as cancer patients who is alive as of January 1, 1993. For each five-year age group, the number of 'known prevalent cases' is added to the number of 'estimated prevalent cases'. Prevalence is calculated by dividing these sums by the populations of Kangwha County on December 31, 1992(derived from Kangwha Statistics Annual). Results: Crude prevalence of cancel among males and females are 536.7 and 601.1 per 100,000 respectively. Gastric cancer is the most common malignant neoplasm(213.2 per 100,000, crude prevalence) among males. It is followed by lung cancer(45.1 per 100,000), liver cancer(32.8 per 100,000), rectal cancer(25.4 per 100,000) and colon cancer(25.4 per 100,000). Cervical cancer is the most common cancer(201.9 per 100,000, crude prevalence) and is fellowed by gastric cancer(91.5 per 100,000), thyroid cancer(64.8 per 100,000), breast cancer(57.2 per 100,000) and rectal cancer(32.7 per 100,000) among females. Conclusions: We tried to estimate cancer prevalence based on the Kangwha cancer registry for the first time in Korea. The estimation of cancer prevalence based on a population-based cancer registry will be more correct and useful as the data accumulate. We will make another estimation in the near future.