• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.207-216
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• 2021

Supplement of high-protein food plays an important role in improving the symptoms of malnutrition and the immune capacity of the body, but the association of high-protein diet and gut microbiota remained unaddressed. Here, we systematically analyzed the internal organs and gut microbiota in C57(WT) or PD-1H-depleted (KO) mice (T cells were activated) fed with pupae or feed for six weeks. We observed that the body weight gain in the mice fed with pupae increased less significantly than that of the feed group, while the villi and small intestine lengths in the pupa group were reduced compared with that of mice given feed. However, the average body weight of the KO mice increased compared with that of the WT mice fed with pupae or feed. Pupae increased the concentration of blood glucose in WT, but not in KO mice. Moreover, in the feed group, there was no difference in the weight of the internal organs between the WT and KO mice, but in the pupae-fed group, liver weight was decreased and spleen weight was increased compared with that of KO mice. The amounts/plural/amounts of Melainabacteria, Chloroflexi, and Armatimonadetes were specifically upregulated by pupae, and this upregulation was weakened or eliminated by PD-1H depletion. Some bacteria with high abundance in the feed-fed KO mice, such as Deferribacteres, Melainabacteria, Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Spirochaetes and Verrucomicrobia, were decreased in pupae-fed KO mice, and Proteobacteria and Deinococcus were specifically enriched in pupae-fed KO mice. Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Akkermansia were associated with weight loss in the pupae-fed group while Lachnospiraceae and Anaerobiospirillum were related glucose metabolism and energy consumption. Based on high-throughput sequencing, we discovered that some gut bacteria specifically regulated the metabolism of a high-protein diet, and PD-1H deficiency improved life quality and sustained blood glucose. Moreover, PD-1H responses to high-protein diet through modulating the type and quantity of gut bacteria. These findings provide evidence about the association among gut microbiota, T cell activation (for PD-1H depletion) and high-protein diet metabolism, have important theoretical significance for nutrition and health research.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.37 no.8
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• pp.688-700
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• 2004

This study was conducted to analyze how appropriate the on-line nutrition information was externally as a web information. Four-hundred-ninety-seven web sites from 5 internet search engines (Yahoo, Empas, Nate, Hanmir, Naver) were selected on the basis of April 25th, 2004. The skillful personnels monitored them about 8 evaluating categories: clarity, purpose, authority, durability, advertisement, privacy and/or security, responsibility, and contents. Forty percent of the selected web sites were operated by the companies which had commercial purpose like internet shopping malls and 5.6% by academies, societies, research institutions, schools/colleges and public institutions. Most of web sites (76.1 %) were managed for advertisements and sales of companies' commodities, and 32.6% had the food and nutrition information as first purpose. Ninety-three percent of web sites were targeted to healthy individuals through whole life cycle. Specifically, there were lots of web sites for the obesity which were offered by diet related companies. Of the 497 web sites, 193 mentioned the name providing the nutrition information, but only 1/3 had reliability on their specialty. As a source of nutrition information, 52.7% of web sites were using 'books of the major field' and 42.0% 'newspapers' and 23.7% 'broadcasting', respectively. Most web sites mentioned 'setting-up date' but not 'renewal date'. Thirty-six percent of web sites took '2 - 3 days' for the operators to answer the questions through the bulletin. Forty-seven percent of web sites answered' 1 - 10 questions' per 1 week, but 40.1 % of them didn't answer for a week at all. There were 118 web sites (23.7%) to record the connected frequencies and 36.0% of them put the advertisements. Around 96% of web sites mentioned feedback addresses. Among the menus of web sites, 68.0% were about self-advertisement and 64.0% about nutrition information. Each web site was scored to judge its external quality according to the operators by selecting 13 items. Web sites managed by public institution had highest scores (9.5), and lowest in private vendors', food companies' and individual web pages. Among search engines, Naver got the highest score of 7.0 and Nate the lowest one of 6.1. As it was only the pilot study, there were several limits in evaluating tools, time and monitored quantity. To make monitoring of on-line nutrition informatiions actively, standardized monitoring forms might be developed under the integrated studies.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.550-557
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• 2014

Objectives: This study was conducted to examine the preferences and needs of typical Korean females adults for food and nutrition information provided by the mass media. Methods: A total of 343 females (77 in their 20s, 85 in their 30s, 88 in their 40s and 93 in their 50s) residing in the Seoul/Gyeonggido area was surveyed on general characteristics, main sources of food and nutrition information and needs for sources and contents of nutrition information. Results: The survey showed that typical Korean females obtained knowledge of food and nutrition mainly through the Internet (30.4%) and broadcasting (29.0%). Typical Korean females were interested in 'dietary management for weight control' (21.9%), 'the prevention and treatment of disease' (20.0%), 'food safety' (16.8%), 'proper dietary habits' (14.6%), 'cookery' (11.8%), 'functional foods' (9.6%), 'restaurant details' (3.5%) and 'life-cycle-specific dietary guideline' (1.6%). Needs for food and nutrition program forms on TV were 'educational programs' (34.3%), 'documentaries' (20.8), 'expert lecture-style' (13.0%), 'entertainment programs' (11.9%), 'expert conversation' (11.4%), 'news-style' (4.6%) and 'public campaign advertisements' (4.0%). On the Internet, 38.6% of the respondents preferred to get information provided by food and nutrition-related institutions (38.6%) while 26.1% preferred webtoons for nutritional information. The favored forms in mobile applications were 'monitoring their diets' (29.5%), 'data-based texts information' (21.4%), 'experts feedback' (20.6%), 'communities' (15.1%) and 'games' (13.1%). The rates of the preference to obtain information from experts such as nutritionists and dietitians and doctorsor dietitian turned reporters increased markedly with older ages. Conclusions: Since the mass media is a main source of food and nutrition information for the general public, the effectiveness and accuracy of the information provided should be enhanced by taking the needs of the public into account. The quality of information should be improved by involving more nutrition experts.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.664-678
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• 2021

Purpose: Food allergies in children are known to impact the quality of life for growing children as well as their parents. This study investigates the status of food allergy and its management among preschoolers, and evaluates the effect on parental burden. Methods: In May 2019, five kindergartens and daycare centers in Jeju area were randomly selected, and parents (n = 638) who had preschoolers younger than 6-year-old were surveyed using a questionnaire. A total of 387 participants were included in the final data analysis. Results: The percentage of children (aged 3 to 6 years old) who experienced food allergies was 16.8%; 44.6% had been diagnosed as having a food allergy by doctors. Food allergies were first experienced in more than two-thirds of the subjects when they were less than a year old. Egg and milk were the most frequent allergenic foods with some skin related symptoms. A mere 15.4% children suffering from food allergies were offered substitutes for their allergenic foods. Lastly, as compared to other parents, the parents of children who experienced food allergies had not only higher nutritional knowledge, but also heavier parental burden including emotional distress. Regardless of their nutritional knowledge, parents of children with food allergy expressed their willingness to attend nutrition education classes, if available in future. Conclusion: For prevention of food allergies and proper nourishment of children with food allergies, there is a necessity to provide customized-nutritional education for the affected parents to help alleviate their parental burden, especially for reducing emotional distress.

• Journal of Korean Medicine for Obesity Research
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.125-135
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• 2022

Objectives: A restrospective chart review were conducted to investigate the overall weight loss effect of the integrated Korean medicine treatment on obese patients (body mass index [BMI] ≥25 kg/m²) in Korean medicine clinic and analyze the difference in the effect according to lifestyle behaviors. Methods: The medical records of 43 obese patients were retrospectively analyzed including body weight, BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference, and body composition who received integrated Korean medicine treatment for 4 weeks at 24 Korean medicine clinics in Daejeon metropolitan city. All outcome measures were evaluated again 8 weeks after the end of treatment at week 12 for follow-up. EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D), the Korean version of the obesity-related quality of life scale (KOQOL) and patient's satisfaction were also evaluated. The analysis was divided according to the treatment period and observation period, and subgroup analysis was performed according to drinking and exercise habits. Results: Body weight, body fat, waist circumference, hip circumference, body fat were significantly reduced at week 4 and week 12. Theses weight reduction effects were significantly greater within treatment period (0 to 4 week) than observation period (4 to 12 week). Especially in the non-exercise group, the changes in body fat mass and body fat percent showed a significant difference between the treatment period and the observation period. KOQOL were also significantly improved at 12 week, but not in EQ-5D. No severe adverse events were observed. Conclusions: The integrated Korean medicine treatment could be effective to treat obesity including weight loss. It is necessary to prevent additional weight regain through regular exercise even after Korean medicine treatment.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.71-84
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• 1998

Health has been seen as a resource necessary for both maintaining oneself and for living in a society pursuing high quality of life. Therefore, the medicare provision takes place of one of the most significant indexes for evaluating the regional welfare level. The purpose of this study is to investigate the locational characteristics of medicare service facilities. For the purpose, the distribution patterns of the medicare resources are analyzed both at the regional and local scales. The medicare resources are concentrated at the Metropolitan Seoul area in the regional scale, and they are also concentrated at the economic core areas in the local scale. Especially, higher level medicare resources, such as the general hospitals and medical specialists, show more concentration at the economic core areas than lower level services. This means that access to opportunities to receive higher level medicare is poorer in a more socially disadvantaged area. Since medicare service facilities are invested and operated by both private and public sectors, whose locational mechanisms are deferent, we analyzed the distribution patterns. Most medicare facilities are invested and managed by private sector in Korea, which is operated by market mechanism. This is related with the fact that the medicare facilities are concentrated at the economic core areas. The proportion of private sector is higher in the Metropolitan Seoul area, and thus this region shows stronger spatial disparity of medicare provision. In general, the medicare service facilities are located in the hierarchical structure, and thus the services levels and facility scales are differentiated by the hierarchy. We examined the hierarchical structure in the medicare service facilities in Korea. The referral medicare system has been applied with the assumption of the three level hierarchical structures in Korea. However, we could not find any distinct hierarchical structure in the scales of the medical service facilities.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Electromagnetic Engineering and Science
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• v.28 no.8
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• pp.628-635
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• 2017

It is important to prescribe and take medicines that are appropriate for symptoms, since medicines are closely related to human health and life. Moreover, it becomes more important to accurately classify genuine medicines with counterfeit, since the number of counterfeit increases worldwide. However, the number of high-quality experts who have enough experience to properly classify them is limited and there exists a need for the automatic technique to classify medicine tablets. In this paper, we propose a method to classify the tablets by using a handheld spectrometer which provides both Near Infra-Red (NIR) and visible light spectrums. We adopted Support Vector Machine(SVM) as a machine learning algorithm for tablet classification. As a result of the simulation, we could obtain the classification accuracy of 99.9 % on average by using both NIR and visible light spectrums. Also, we proposed a two-step SVM approach to discriminate the counterfeit tablets from the genuine ones. This method could improve both the accuracy and the processing time.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.8 no.8
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• pp.127-136
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• 2017

The purpose of the study was to investigate the awareness of basic emergency care by private ambulance drivers. A self-reported questionnaire was completed by 300 private ambulance drivers in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon from February 20 to April 1, 2013. The questionnaire consisted of basic life support related airway management(3 items), respiratory management(9 items), circulation(4 items), consciousness(4 items), and infection control(3 items). The awareness of infection control accounted for 87% and emergency care including airway, breathing, consciousness, and respiration was 60%. The knowledge of emergency care was 15.20(maximum 23.0 points). Consciousness was 2.55(maximum 4.0), airway management was 2.08(maximum 3.0), respiration was 5.35(maximum 9.0), circulation was 2.56(maximum 4.0), and infection control was 2.64(maximum 4.0). In order to improve the quality of private ambulance drivers, it is important to develop the emergency care program and expansion.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.39-58
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• 2011

This study aimed to investigate recognition and satisfaction toward Korean herbal foods according to dietary lifestyle as well as the actual status of using ingredients for Korean herbal foods while looking for methods to improve use. The general characteristics of the respondents included relations with foods such as learning or working on them, and the correlations with the examined items were analyzed by grouping according to dietary lifestyle. Five significant dietary lifestyle groups were derived by analyzing the groups using the factor scores from the analysis. Recognition of Korean herbal foods was higher with older respondents and more cooking experience. Regarding experience related to Korean herbal foods, the housewives showed higher satisfaction when the ingredients of foods were bought and cooked. And satisfaction with price differed significantly by dietary lifestyle. With regard to experience of using ready-to-cook or ready-to-eat products, the groups with more cooking experience indicated relatively lower satisfaction with the taste of such products. When visiting restaurants, the groups with less cooking experience showed higher satisfaction with taste and nutritional values. Regarding the actual status of using ingredients for Korean herbal foods, most of the respondents answered that hygiene and quality management, distribution and marketing, and the promotion of ingredients are all essential.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.53-58
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• 2023

After thyroidectomy, some patients who show normal vocal cord movement still complain of subjective voice problems, which could lead to a decrease in quality of life related to communication. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of a newly designed voice therapy applying neck exercise and semi-occluded vocal tract exercise (SOVTE) to improve voice problems after thyroidectomy without neurological injury. For this purpose, voice therapy was randomly assigned to 10 women who received thyroidectomy. Acoustic analysis [fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, noise-to-harmonics ratio, min Voice Range Profile (VRP), max VRP, VRP] was performed before and after surgery and immediately after voice therapy to compare voice changes. The study showed a statistically significant increase in max VRP and VRP after voice therapy compared to before surgery. These results suggest that the voice therapy methods in this study effectively improve a major symptom of voice problems after thyroidectomy, specifically the reduction in the high-frequency range. However, this study was limited in the number of s participants and did not control for the type of surgery. Therefore, further research utilizing larger sample sizes and controlled variables is needed to investigate the long-term effects of voice therapy.