• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.355-372
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to provide baseline data for establishing a sugar reduction policy at coffee shops by analyzing the factors that affect a coffee shop user's perception and behavioral intention of reducing sugar intake. Methods: An online survey was conducted involving 1,274 Daegu citizens aged 19-49 years, who had visited coffee shops within the last month. Results: When visiting a coffee shop, the purchase of sweet drinks was higher in the younger age group, and the addition of syrup or sugar was higher in the older age group. Of the total respondents, 42.1% were aware that some coffee shops accommodate reduced sugar requests, 57.9% perceived the need to reduce sugar in coffee shop beverages and 22.3% had purchased beverages intending to reduce their sugar intake. In addition, 59.7% knew about sugar nutrition labeling, and 68.8% perceived the need for nutrition labeling for sugar. When purchasing beverages, 35.6% checked the nutrition labeling, and 77.2% purchased alternative drinks when the sugar content was high. Guiding the choice of sweetness levels in coffee shop orders was seen to have the highest effectiveness and intention to reduce sugar intake. Moreover, the perceived need to reduce sugar intake had the most positive effect on the behavioral intention to reduce sugars in coffee shop beverages (β = 0.558, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Although the overall awareness and practice of reducing the sugar intake in coffee shop users were low, the behavioral intention to reduce sugars was positive, and this was most affected by the perception of the need to reduce sugars. Therefore, there is a need for differentiated education and promotion for each age group for recognizing the necessity and outlining methods for reducing sugar intake. Furthermore, coffee shops should reflect customer's sugar reduction needs.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.1110-1119
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the inflammatory response in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages could be promoted by particulate matter 2.5 (PM_2.5) stimulation. To this end, the levels of inflammatory parameters, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inflammation-regulating genes were investigated in RAW 264.7 cells treated with PM_2.5 in the presence or absence of LPS. Our results showed that the production levels of pro-inflammatory mediators (nitric oxide and prostaglandin E₂) and cytokines (interleukin-6 and -1β) were significantly increased by PM_2.5 stimulation in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 cells, which was correlated with increased expression genes involved in their production. In addition, when LPS-treated RAW 264.7 cells were exposed to PM_2.5, nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) expression was further increased in the nucleus, and the expression of inhibitor of NF-κB as well as NF-κB in the cytoplasm was decreased. These results suggest that the co-treatment of PM_2.5 and LPS further increases the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway compared to each treatment alone, thereby contributing to the promotion of transcriptional activity of inflammatory genes. Furthermore, although the generation of ROS was greatly increased by PM_2.5 in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 cells, the NF-κB inhibitor did not reduce the generation of ROS. In addition, when the generation of ROS was artificially suppressed, the production of inflammatory mediators and the activation of NF-κB were both abolished. Therefore, our results suggest that the increase in the NF-κB-mediated inflammatory response induced by PM_2.5 in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages was a ROS generation-dependent phenomenon.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.113 no.1
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• pp.118-130
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• 2024

Rehabilitation of mining areas can reduce damage to ecosystems. However, the effects of rehabilitation on ecosystem services (ESs) and its contribution to local communities are not well known. Thus, the aims of this study were to clearly identify the ES beneficiaries affected by mining activities, to determine how the beneficiaries profit from surrounding areas in cooperation with local stakeholders, and to manage the rehabilitation areas for the ESs that the beneficiaries want. This study chose 18 ESs (4 provisioning, 7 regulating, 5 cultural, and 2 habitat services) based on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity. A semi-structured questionnaire survey using an 11-point Likert scale was conducted among 87 community residents to investigate social awareness and identify key ESs. The survey results from two local communities showed high awareness and demands mainly on cultural (mental and physical health, aesthetic appreciation, and recreation) and regulating services (local climate and air quality, and moderation of extreme events). These services were related to the daily lives of residents in local communities, provided positive benefits, and potentially improved the residents' future livelihoods. However, the average questionnaire scores were limited to 6-7 points, indicating that the benefits to local communities were meager. The residents' awareness of provisioning service was negative, even if it provided goods and profit opportunities. This indicated a disconnection between local communities and provisioning services due to forest rehabilitation that did not consider local communities that traditionally relied on specific provisioning services before the onset of mining activities. Future forest rehabilitation in abandoned mine areas must consider the welfare of local communities for sustainable use of rehabilitated forests and enhancing ESs. In this study, only a qualitative evaluation based on frequency analyses was conducted. The quantification and valuation of key ESs are warranted in the future to promote ESs from forest rehabilitation in abandoned mine areas. The study results would be useful for developing site-specific ES promotion strategies for reforesting mine areas.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.451-467
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• 2024

Purpose: This study aimed to develop a four-hour food additive education program for elementary school students to provide them with accurate information on food additives. Methods: A survey was conducted among 133 elementary school students living in Gyeonggi Province to identify the level of food additive awareness. A four-hour food additive education program and educational materials (PPT, activity sheets, and teacher guidelines) were developed based on the results of the food additive awareness survey. The developed educational programs were based on the Theoretical Model of Stages of Behavior Change. An elementary school nutrition teacher conducted a pilot education for 83 elementary school students to evaluate the feasibility of the developed education program. A survey was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and satisfaction of the pilot education program. Results: The results of the Food Additive Awareness Survey showed that only 42.1% of people were aware of food additives; 46.3% wanted to know more about food additives, and 54.3% required food additive education. Food coloring (44.7%) and artificial sweeteners (18.7%) were the most common food additives of interest. What they wanted to know about food additives was the safety of food additives (36.8%) and the role and function of food additives (20.3%). After the pilot training on food additives, the level of awareness of food additives was improved significantly, and the percentage of participants who recognized the need for food additive education and promotion increased. According to the satisfaction survey of the food additives education, the interest, understanding, real-life application, learning method, and content amount were approximately 90%. Conclusion: The educational program developed through this study will change the negative perceptions of food additives in elementary school students to a positive one. It will do so by helping nutrition educators educate students on this important subject.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.464-477
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• 2013

There is a great need to develop a training program proven to change behavior and improve knowledge. The purpose of this study was to evaluate employee hygiene knowledge, hygiene practice, and cleanliness, before and after HACCP system implementation at one small-size restaurant. The efficiency of the system was analyzed using time-temperature control after implementation of u-HACCP$^{(R)}$. The employee hygiene knowledge and practices showed a significant improvement (p<0.05) after HACCP system implementation. In non-heating processes, such as seasoned lettuce, controlling the sanitation of the cooking facility and the chlorination of raw ingredients were identified as the significant CCP. Sanitizing was an important CCP because total bacteria were reduced 2~4 log CFU/g after implementation of HACCP. In bean sprouts, microbial levels decreased from 4.20 logCFU/g to 3.26 logCFU/g. There were significant correlations between hygiene knowledge, practice, and microbiological contamination. First, personnel hygiene had a significant correlation with 'total food hygiene knowledge' scores (p<0.05). Second, total food hygiene practice scores had a significant correlation (p<0.05) with improved microbiological qualities of lettuce salad. Third, concerning the assessment of microbiological quality after 1 month, there were significant (p<0.05) improvements in times of heating, and the washing and division process. On the other hand, after 2 months, microbiological was maintained, although only two categories (division process and kitchen floor) were improved. This study also investigated time-temperature control by using ubiquitous sensor networks (USN) consisting of an ubi reader (CCP thermometer), an ubi manager (tablet PC), and application software (HACCP monitoring system). The result of the temperature control before and after USN showed better thermal management (accuracy, efficiency, consistency of time control). Based on the results, strict time-temperature control could be an effective method to prevent foodborne illness.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.188-199
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• 2021

Objectives: The purpose was to identify the ingredients that are usually surveyed for assessing real prices and to present the demand for such surveys by nutrition teachers and dietitians for ingredients used by school foodservice. Methods: A survey was conducted online from December 2019 to January 2020. The survey questionnaire was distributed to 1,158 nutrition teachers and dietitians from elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide, and 439 (37.9% return rate) of the 1,158 were collected and used for data analysis. Results: The ingredients which were investigated for price realities directly by schools were industrial products in 228 schools (51.8%), fruits in 169 schools (38.4%), and specialty crops in 166 schools (37.7%). Moreover, nutrition teachers and dietitians in elementary, middle, and high schools searched in different ways for the real prices of ingredients. In elementary schools, there was a high demand for price information about grains, vegetables or root and tuber crops, special crops, fruits, eggs, fishes, and organic and locally grown ingredients by the School Foodservice Support Centers. Real price information about meats, industrial products, and pickled processed products were sought from the external specialized institutions. In addition, nutrition teachers and dietitians in middle and high schools wanted to obtain prices of all of the ingredients from the Offices of Education or the District Office of Education. Conclusions: Schools want to efficiently use the time or money spent on research for the real prices of ingredients through reputable organizations or to co-work with other nutrition teachers and dietitians. The results of this study will be useful in understanding the current status of the surveys carried out to determine the real price information for ingredients used by the school foodservice.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.111-133
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• 2010

Marketing financial services used to be easier. Today, the competition in financial services is fierce. Not only has the competition become more intense, financial services have also changed structurally. In an environment with various customer needs and severe competitions, the marketing in financial services industry is getting more difficult and more important than before. However, there are still not enough studies on financial services marketing in Korea whereas lots of research papers have been published frequently in some international journals. The purpose of this paper is (1)to review the literature on financial services marketing, (2)to investigate current marketing activities based on in-depth interview with financial marketing managers in Korea, and (3)to suggest some implications for future research on the financial services marketing. Financial products are not consumer products. In fact, they are not products at all in the way product marketing is usually described. Nor are they altogether like services. The financial industry operates in a unique way, and its marketing tasks are correspondingly complex. However, the literature review shows that there has been a lack of basic studies which dealt with inherent characteristics of financial services marketing compared to the research on marketing in other industries. Many studies in domestic marketing journals have so far focused only on the general customer behaviors and the special issues in some financial industries. However, for more effective financial services marketing, we have to answer following questions. Is there any difference between financial service marketing and consumer packaged goods marketing? What are the differences between the financial services marketing and other services marketing such as education and health services? Are there different ways of marketing among banks, securities firms, insurance firms, and credit card companies? In other words, we need more detailed research as well as basic studies about the financial services marketing. For example, we need concrete definitions of financial services marketing, bank marketing, securities firm marketing, and etc. It is also required to compare the characteristics of each marketing within the financial services industry. The products sold in each market have different characteristics such as duration and degree of risk-taking. It means that there are sub-categories in financial services marketing. We have to consider them in the future research on the financial services marketing. It is also necessary to study customer decision making process in the financial markets. There have been little research on how customers search and process information, compare alternatives, make final decision, and repeat their choices. Because financial services have some unique characteristics, we need different understandings in the customer behaviors compared to the behaviors in other service markets. And also considering the rapid growth in financial markets and upcoming severe competition between domestic and global financial companies, it is time to start more systematic and detailed research on financial services marketing in Korea. In the second part of this paper, I analyzed the results of in-depth interview with 20 marketing managers of financial services companies in Korea. As a result, I found that the role of marketing departments in Korean financial companies are mainly focused on the short-term activities such as sales support, promotion, and CRM data analysis although the size and history of marketing departments to some extent show a sign of maturity. Most companies established official marketing departments before 2001. Average number of employees in a marketing department is about 58. However, marketing managers in eight companies(40% of the sample) still think that the purpose of marketing is only to support and manage general sales activities. It shows that some companies have sales-oriented concept rather than marketing-oriented concept. I also found three key words which marketing managers think importantly in financial services markets. They are (1)Trust in customer relationship, (2)Brand differentiation, and (3)Rapid response to customer needs. 50% of the sample support that "Trust" is the most important key word in the financial services marketing. It is interesting that 80% of banks and securities companies think that "Trust" is the most important thing, whereas managers in credit card companies consider "Rapid response to customer needs" as the most important key word in their market. In addition, there are different problems recognition of marketing managers depending on the types of financial industries they belong to. For example, in the case of banks and insurance companies, marketing managers consider "a lack of communication with other departments" as the most serious problem. On the other hand, in the case of securities firms, "a lack of utilization of customer data" is the most serious problem. These results imply that there are different important factors for the customer satisfaction depending on the types of financial industries, and managers have to consider them when marketing financial products in more effective ways. For example, It will be necessary for marketing managers to study different important factors which affect customer satisfaction, repeat purchase, degree of risk-taking, and possibility of cross-selling according to the types of financial industries. I also suggested six hypothetical propositions for the future research.

• Journal of Korean Medical Ki-Gong Academy
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.40-94
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• 2004

Recently, meditation, Zen meditation and Qigong became popular in western. For that reason, Value of Korea traditional methods for health promotion have been evaluated but theoretical evidence about that is insufficient. ${\ll}$The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic${\gg}$ (黃帝內經). So, I reviewed history of Korea Qigong according to period, in order to produce theoretical evidence of Korea medical Qigong and investigated ${\ulcorner}$Han${\lrcorner}$ thought (${\ulcorner}$한${\lrcorner}$ 思想) as theoretical evidence of Korea Qigong. I have obtained following results by comparing meaning of god, a view of human body and practice method of the ${\ll}$Samilshingo${\gg}$ (三一神誥) with ${\ll}$The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic${\gg}$ (黃帝內經). Sinsundo(神仙道) of native to race became active during the period of the Three Kingdoms but more disappeared due to under the influence of Taoism. So only has been remained in existence since the period of the unity silla. There could accept positively the foreign ideas belonging to Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism have been brought since the period of the Three Kingdoms because ${\ll}$Samilshingo${\gg}$ (三一神誥), one of three the scriptures as the origin of ${\ulcorner}$Han${\lrcorner}$ thought(${\ulcorner}$한${\lrcorner}$ 思想) included the original form of three religion belonging to Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism. Three common results as theoretical evidence of Qigong were found out by comparing ${\ll}$Samilshingo${\gg}$ (三一神誥) with ${\ll}$The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic${\gg}$ (黃帝內經). First, in meaning of god, there is not only different from the gods of heaven and the gods of human but also keep understanding with each other and there was common feature of logical structure that function of god was divided into three. Second, In a view of human body, there were in common with ${\ll}$Samilshingo${\gg}$ (三一神誥) as theory of only as energy(氣一元論), theory of bisection as truth false(眞妄二分論), theory of trisection as spirit(性) destiny(命) nature(精) and mind(心) energy(氣) body(身)(性 命 精, 心 氣 身의 三分論) and ${\ll}$The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic${\gg}$ (黃帝內經) as theory of only as energy(氣一元論), theory of bisection as shape and god(形神二分論), theory of trisection as nature(精) energy(氣) god(神) or shape(形) energy(氣) god(神)(精 氣 神, 形 氣 神의 三分論) according to formal part. Also, spirit(性) destiny(命) nature(精) as truths of three(三眞) were understand as nature(精) energy(氣) god(神) as treasure of three(三寶) by part of reason and mind(心) energy(氣) body(身) as false of three(三妄) were understand as nature(精) energy(氣) god(神) as treasure of three(三寶) by part of function. Third, In practice method, pause of thinking(止感) modulation of breath(調息). prohibition of sensibility(禁觸) mentioned in ${\ll}$Samilshingo${\gg}$ (三一神誥) as practice method each were understand regulation of an etiological cause as an internal cause, an external cause and not internal and external cause in oriental medicine. Namely, pause of thinking(止感) was understand as regulation method of emotion, mind and nature. modulation of breath(調息) was not only as modulation of energy from the inner parts of the body but also that from the internal and external parts of the body, prohibition of sensibility(禁觸) was understand as regulation method of ear, eye, mouth, and nose and posture, life style. These results suggest that ${\ll}$Samilshingo${\gg}$ (三一神誥) is worth meaning of Korea medical Qigong because meaning of god, a view of human body, practice method of mentioned in ${\ll}$Samilshingo${\gg}$ (三一神誥) is common with that of ${\ll}$The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic${\gg}$ (黃帝內經) as theoretical evidence of Qigong.