• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.42 no.6
• /
• pp.416-423
• /
• 2009

Objectives : This study was performed to examine medical care utilization of psychiatric patients and to explore patients' characteristics associated with extended hospitalization. Methods : Data were extracted from information of Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. All data associated with admission and outpatient clinic visit were analysed by patient characteristics. We selected first psychiatric admission patients who diagnosed mental and behavioral disorders due to use of alcohol (main disease code: F10), schizophrenia and related disorders (F20-29) and mood disorders (F30~33) from January to June 2005. We analysed status of admission, mean length of stay, regular access to outpatient clinic and rates of extended hospitalization during 3 years. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with extended hospitalization. Results : The number of psychiatric patients during the first six month of 2005 was 30,678. The mean length of stay was longest for schizophrenia and related disorders but shortest for mood disorders. Patients who experienced an extended hospitalization were 18.8% of total subjects. An extended hospitalization was more common in schizophrenia and related disorders than other diagnostic groups. The factors associated with the extended hospitalization were age, sex, diagnostic group, type of insurance and medical care utilization groups. Conclusions : The study indicates the problem of an extended hospitalization for psychiatric patients in Korea. It is suggested that variations in rates of extended hospitalization among medical care utilization group may need an active early intervention system in psychiatric treatment service. Particular attention needs to be devoted to planning and funding for reducing extended hospitalization.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.41 no.1
• /
• pp.1-10
• /
• 2008

The seasonal variations of water quality and periphyton were investigated in an artificial stream (the Cheonggyecheon Stream) flowing through the Seoul City. TP showed a longitudinal gradient: 10 to $59{\mu}gP\;L^{-1}$ in the upper stream sites, and 15 to $90{\mu}gP\;L^{-1}$ in downstream sites. POP was a major form of TP in the water, occupying over 60%, while the proportion of DIP was less than 10% except for St. 4. N/P atomic ratio ranged from 78 to 554, which implies phosphorus would limit algal growth more than nitrogen. The biomass of periphyton did not show much difference among sites, and it was relatively higher in spring and fall season $(10\sim20{\mu}gChl\;{\alpha}cm^{-2})$ and lower in August $(<5{\mu}gChl\;{\alpha}cm^{-2})$, possibly because biofilms were washed off during spates of summer monsoon. Cyanobacteria was the dominant taxon in the periphyton community throughout the year. The periphyton standing crop can be classified as a nuisance level. It seems that phosphorus level is sufficiently high even though the input water is treated chemically, and modest water velocity $(20\sim90cm\;sec^{-1})$ and rocky bottom provide optimal conditions for periphyton growth.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.34 no.4
• /
• pp.666-672
• /
• 2002

Changes in chemical characteristic, microflora, and sensory evaluation of fish sauce extracted at an interval of one week from fermented solution were investigated. pH was reduced from 6.0 to 4.5, and trimethylamine oxide from 132.5 to 87.2 mg/100g during fermenting periods. Trimethylamine increased from 5.6 to 50.2 mg/100g, and volatile basic nitrogen from 48.3 to 232.5 mg/100g. Bacterial flora isolated from the fish sauce were 70% Lactobacillus sp. and 13% Bacillus sp. Among the free amino acids, alanine, glutamic acid, valine, and methionine contents constitute 40% of the total free amino acids. Major non-volatile organic acid of the fish sauce was lactic acid (76%). Sensory evaluation results of the fish sauce were higher than the traditional soybean sauce after 28 days of fermentation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.93-108
• /
• 2022

PURPOSE: This review sought to confirm the correlation between dual-task gait and cognitive function in cognitively impaired and healthy older adults. METHOD: We used four databases (DBs), Pubmed, Cochrane library, Kmbase, and Koreamed. Searches were carried out according to the PICOS method, P (participants) were the elderly (above 65 years) with cognitive decline, I (intervention) was walking with dual tasks, C (control group) comprised the elderly without cognitive decline, O (outcome) was the correlation between gait and cognitive function and S (study) was the cross-sectional study. For the methodological quality assessment of each study, we used the Quality Assessment Tool for Observation Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies provided by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). RESULTS: A total of 10 articles were included in this systematic review. For the components of gait, we used pace, rhythm, and variability and we observed that mild cognitive impairment mostly causes low gait performance while performing dual tasks. Among the 10 articles, 9 articles studied pace, of which 7 showed significant results. However, 2 were not significant. Also, 1 article that studied rhythm and 3 articles that studied variability showed significant results. The methodological quality of the 10 studies was fair. CONCLUSION: Gait pace was found to have a high correlation between memory, which is a cognitive ability, and overall cognitive function. It was observed that older adults with mild cognitive impairment have reduced gait pace in single-task walking, and further decrease in dual-task gait pace shows the correlation between memory and gait pace during walking.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.42 no.2
• /
• pp.112-120
• /
• 2023

Methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) are significant contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from rice fields. Mid-summer drainage is a commonly practiced water management technique that reduces CH₄ emissions from rice fields. Slow-release fertilizers gradually release nutrients over an extended period and have been shown to reduce N₂O emissions. However, the combined effect of slow-release fertilizer and water management on GHG emissions remains unclear. This study compared GHG emissions from a rice paddy subjected to mid-summer drainage for 10 days (control) with that of a rice paddy subjected to prolonged mid-summer drainage for 20 days combined with slow-release fertilizer (W+S). Gas sampling was conducted weekly using a closed chamber method. During the rice cultivation period, cumulative CH₄ and N₂O emissions were reduced by 12.3% and 16.2%, respectively, in the W+S treatment compared to the control. Moreover, the W+S treatment exhibited a 1.9% increase in grain yield compared to the control. Under experimental conditions, slow-release fertilizers, in combination with prolonged mid-summer drainage, proved to be the optimal approach for achieving high crop yield while reducing GHG emissions. This represents an effective strategy to mitigate GHG emissions from rice paddy fields.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.141-146
• /
• 2010

Purpose: We examined the radioprotective effects of 5-androstendiol (5-AED), a natural hormone produced in the reticularis of the adrenal cortex, as a result of intestinal damage in gamma-irradiated C3H/HeN mice. Materials and Methods: Thirty mice (C3H/HeN) were divided into three groups; 1) non-irradiated control group, 2) irradiated group, and 3) 5-AED-treated group prior to irradiation. Next, 5-AED (50 mg/kg per body weight) was subcutaneously injected 24 hours before irradiation. The mice were whole-body irradiated with 10 Gy for the histological examination of jejunal crypt survival and the determination of the villus morphology including crypt depth, crypt size, number of villi, villus height, and length of basal lamina, as well as 5 Gy for the detection of apoptosis. Results: The 5-AED pre-treated group significantly increased the survival of the jejunal crypt, compared to irradiation controls (p<0.05 vs. irradiation controls at 3.5 days after 10 Gy). The evaluation of morphological changes revealed that the administration of 5-AED reduced the radiation-induced intestinal damages such as villus shortening and increased length of the basal lamina of enterocytes (p<0.05 vs irradiation controls on 3.5 day after 10 Gy, respectively). The administration of 5-AED decreased the radiation-induced apoptosis in the intestinal crypt, with no significant difference between the vehicle and 5-AED at 12 hours after 5 Gy. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the administration of 5-AED has a protective effect on intestinal damage induced by $\gamma$-irradiation. In turn, these results suggest that 5-AED could be a useful candidate for radioprotection against intestinal mucosal injury following irradiation.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.47 no.1
• /
• pp.27-36
• /
• 2015

The improved analytical method with gas chromatography (GC) and GC-mass spectrometry was established to identify and quantify disaccharides and trisacchrides in honey. In this method, the analysis of trimethylsilyl (TMS), TMS-oxime and TMS-methoxime sugars takes into account the determination of a single peak of complete separation on the chromatogram. The number of possible peaks for the qualitative and quantitative determination of TMS, TMS-oxime, and TMS-methoxime sugars was 17, 22, and 25, respectively. This new analytical method allowed for the determination of diand trisaccharides in honey by TMS-oxime and TMS-methoxime derivatives. This study suggested that the improved method is more suitable and precise than the other analytical methods for the simultaneous determination of sugars in honey.

• Journal of agriculture & life science
• /
• v.50 no.4
• /
• pp.169-177
• /
• 2016

This study was carried out to compare microbiological and hygienic quality characteristics of the products reached expiration date among meat products distributing in markets. A total of 20 meat products(6 hams, 3 bacons and 11 sausages) were examined for analyses of pH, Aw, TBARS, VBN, total aerobic microbial counts, and meat colors. The pH values of samples were between 5.33 and 6.59. The water activity (Aw) of samples ranged 0.90-0.93. TBARS and VBN values of samples were 0.11-0.59 and 2.37~14.75, respectively. The contaminated levels of total aerobic bacteria were less than 2.80 CFU/g. In meat color, L*, a*, and b* values of samples were in the range of 56-72, 5.2-34 and 0.7-16, respectively. It is suggested that the quality difference of meat products is attributed to the different additives and manufacturing processes. Therefore, we suggest that the results of this study are not only applied for evaluation of the microbiological and hygienic safety but also served as fundamental information for re-establishing the shelf-life of meat products.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.51 no.1
• /
• pp.16-27
• /
• 2018

To predict the influence of volcano eruption on agriculture in South Korea we evaluated the dispersal ranges of the volcanic ashes toward the South Korea based on the possibilities of volcano eruption in Mt. Baekdu. The possibilities of volcano eruption in Mt. Baekdu have been still being intensified by the signals including magmatic unrest of the volcano and the frequency of volcanic earthquakes swarm, the horizontal displacement and vertical uplift around the Mt. Baekdu, the temperature rises of hot springs, high ratios of $N_2/O_2$ and $_3He/_4He$ in volcanic gases. The dispersal direction and ranges and the predicted amount of volcanic ash can be significantly influenced by Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) and the trend of seasonal wind. The prediction of volcanic ash dispersion by the model showed that the ash cloud extended to Ulleung Island and Japan within 9 hours and 24 hours by the northwestern monsoon wind in winter while the ash cloud extended to northern side by the south-east monsoon wind during June and September. However, the ash cloud may extent to Seoul and southwest coast within 9 hours and 15 hours by northern wind in winter, leading to severe ash deposits over the whole area of South Korea, although the thickness of the ash deposits generally decreases exponentially with increasing distance from a volcano. In case of VEI 7, the ash deposits of Daejeon and Gangneung are $1.31{\times}10^4g\;m^{-2}$ and $1.80{\times}10^5g\;m^{-2}$, respectively. In addition, ash particles may compact close together after they fall to the ground, resulting in increase of the bulk density that can alter the soil physical and chemical properties detrimental to agricultural practices and crop growth.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.53-60
• /
• 2014

This study was conducted to investigate the changes of the residual amount in the leafstalk (end) and the fore-end (upper) portion of lettuce leaves during cultivation period to 14 days, 12 times in total (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13 and 14 days) after spraying with boscalid and lufenuron. In the case of boscalid, the initial concentrations at 3 hours (0 day) of the leafstalk and the fore-end portion of lettuce leaves were 18.26 mg/kg and 84.97 mg/kg, respectively and the residual amounts were rapidly decreased to 0.31 mg/kg and 0.37 mg/kg at 14 days after chemical application. In the case of lufenuron, the initial concentrations at 3 hours (0 day) of the leafstalk and the fore-end portion of lettuce leaves were 0.91 mg/kg and 5.21 mg/kg, respectively and the residual amounts were rapidly decreased to 0.06 mg/kg and 0.09 mg/kg at 13 days after chemical application. The variations of the residual concentrations analyzing 12 times after spraying showed that the residual amounts of the leafstalk portion of lettuce leaves were less than its fore-end portion in boscalid and lufenuron. In additon, 9 kinds of pesticide including boscalid in 16 lettuce leaf (found to contain pesticide in 2013) showed that the residual amounts of the leafstalk portion of lettuce leaves were less than its fore-end portion as well.