• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.97-119
• /
• 1991

Korea has made a rapid economic development since the last three decades. This has helped Korea narrow the gap in health service differences in resource availability and in quality of care. However urban and rural differentials are still remarkable. This study has maintained that health status of rural residents is inferior to that of urban dwellers. Therefore, this study was carried out to develop policy measures for improving health services in rural areas. In order to achieve the objective of this study the authors collaborated closely and made field visits, interviews and conducted an extensive literature review regarding rural health services. The following policy options are recommended as a summary ; First, the quality of rural health personnel is a single most important factor influencing the level of rural health services. An innovative program for public health doctors to the internship and/or residency training program such as specialty board program of family medicine. Second, dissatisfaction regarding employment of public health doctors is problematic. More rational employment and deployment programs are needed to meet their personal desire. One way to do this is to make it wide open and competitive. Third this study shows how to increase physician productivity in the rural public health sector. Incentive system needs to be elaborated for the career development of rural health workers. University linked job opportunity as clinical professor is an example. Fourth, without straightening the function of health centers and subcenters, the future of rural health services is doomed to failure. Straightening primary health care is one way to enrich the program of public health facilities and reactivating the operation of health center/hospital is another. A close linkage of public facilities with private hospitals is a minimum requirement for the operation of health delivery system within a health district. Fifth, some measures are urgently required to enhance hospital services in medically underserved areas. Financial subsidy, tax exemption, long-term public loans and higher priority of health manpower deployment are some of them. Sixth, new health programs should be in tiated to meet changing needs of peoples in rural areas. Home health care program, hospice program, nursing home, residential program for the elderly are recommended.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.1637-1642
• /
• 2015

Background: RhoGTPase-activating proteins (RhoGAPs) regulate RhoGTPases in cells, but whether individual reactive oxygen species (ROS) regulate RhoGAPs is unknown. Our previous published papers have shown that deleted in liver cancer 1 (DLC1) inhibits cancer cell migration by its RhoGAP activity. The present study was designed to explore the role of $H_2O_2$ in regulation of DLC1. Materials and Methods: We treated cells with $H_2O_2$ for 24h and phenotypic changes were analyzed by MTT, RT-PCR, Western blotting, immunofluorescence staining and wound healing assays. Results: $H_2O_2$ downregulated cyclin D1 and cyclin E to inhibit proliferation, and upregulated BAX to induce apoptosis in MCF-7 cells. Compared with non-tumorigenic cells, $H_2O_2$ increased expression of DLC1 and reduced activity of RhoA in cancer cells. Stress fiber production and migration were also suppressed by $H_2O_2$ in MDA-MB-231 cells. Conclusions: Our study suggests that $H_2O_2$ inhibits proliferation through modulation of cell cycle and apoptosis-related genes, and inhibits migration by decreasing stress fibers via DLC1/RhoA signaling.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.46 no.4
• /
• pp.292-299
• /
• 2009

Objective : Clinical and radiological results of posterior dynamic stabilization using interspinous U (ISU, $Coflex^{TM}$, Paradigm Spine $Inc.^{(R)}$, NY, USA) were analyzed in comparison with posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) in degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). Methods : A retrospective study was conducted for a consecutive series of 61 patients with degenerative LSS between May 2003 and December 2005. We included only the patients completed minimum 24 months follow up evaluation. Among them, 30 patients were treated with implantation of ISU after decompressive laminectomy (Group ISU) and 31 patients were treated with wide decompressive laminectomy and posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF; Group PLIF). We evaluated visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) for clinical outcomes (VAS, ODI), disc height ratio disc height (DH), disc height/vertebral body length ${\times}100$), static vertebral slip (VS) and depth of maximal radiolucent gap between ISU and spinous process) in preoperative, immediate postoperative and last follow up. Results : The mean age of group ISU ($66.2{\pm}6.7$ years) was 6.2 years older than the mean age of group PLIF ($60.4{\pm}8.1$ years; p=0.003). In both groups, clinical measures improved significantly than preoperative values (p<0.001). Operation time and blood loss was significantly shorter and lower in group ISU than group PLIF (p<0.001). In group ISU, the DH increased transiently in immediate postoperative period ($15.7{\pm}4.5%{\rightarrow}18.6{\pm}5.9%$), however decreased significantly in last follow up ($13.8{\pm}6.6%$, p=0.027). Vertebral slip (VS) of spondylolisthesis in group ISU increased during postoperative follow-up ($2.3{\pm}3.3{\rightarrow}8.7{\pm}6.2$, p=0.040). Meanwhile, the postoperatively improved DH and VS was maintained in group PLIF in last follow up. Conclusion : According to our result, implantation of ISU after decompressive laminectomy in degenerative LSS is less invasive and provides similar clinical outcome in comparison with the instrumented fusion. However, the device has only transient effect on the postoperative restoration of disc height and reduction of slip in spondylolisthesis. Therefore, in the biomechanical standpoint, it is hard to expect that use of Interspinous U in decompressive laminectomy for degenerative LSS had long term beneficial effect.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
• /
• v.38 no.4
• /
• pp.389-394
• /
• 2015

There is a progressive development in the medical imaging technology, especially of descriptive capability for anatomical structure of human body thanks to advancement of information technology and medical devices. But however maintenance of correct posture is essential for the medical imaging checkup on the shoulder joint requiring rotation of the upper limb due to the complexity of human body. In the cases of MRI examination, long duration and fixed posture are critical, as failure to comply with them leads to minimal possibility of reproducibility only with the efforts of the examiner and will of the patient. Thus, this study aimed to develop an auxiliary device that enables rotation of the upper limb as well as fixing it at quantitative angles for medical imaging examination capable of providing diagnostic values. An auxiliary device has been developed based on the results of precedent studies, by designing a 3D model with the CATIA software, an engineering application, and producing it with the 3D printer. The printer is Objet350 Connex from Stratasys, and acrylonitrile- butadiene-styrene(ABS) is used as the material of the device. Dimensions are $120{\times}150{\times}190mm$, with the inner diameter of the handle being 125.9 mm. The auxiliary device has 4 components including the body (outside), handle (inside), fixture terminal and the connection part. The body and handle have the gap of 2.1 mm for smooth rotation, while the 360 degree of scales have been etched on the handle so that the angle required for observation may be recorded per patient for traceability and dual examination.

• Journal of Information Management
• /
• v.42 no.3
• /
• pp.71-94
• /
• 2011

Query by visual example is the principal query paradigm for expressing queries in a content-based image retrieval environment. Query by image and query by sketch have long been purported as being viable methods of query formulation yet there is little empirical evidence to support their efficacy in facilitating query formulation. The ability of the searcher to express their information problem to an information retrieval system is fundamental to the retrieval process. The aim of this research was to investigate the query by image and query by sketch methods in supporting a range of information problems through a usability experiment in order to contribute to the gap in knowledge regarding the relationship between searchers' information problems and the query methods required to support efficient and effective visual query formulation. The results of the experiment suggest that query by image is a viable approach to visual query formulation. In contrast, the results strongly suggest that there is a significant mismatch between the searchers information problems and the expressive power of the query by sketch paradigm in supporting visual query formulation. The results of a usability experiment focusing on efficiency (time), effectiveness (errors) and user satisfaction show that there was a significant difference, p<0.001, between the two query methods on all three measures: time (Z=-3.597, p<0.001), errors (Z=-3.317, p<0.001), and satisfaction (Z=-10.223, p<0.001). The results also show that there was a significant difference in participants perceived usefulness of the query tools Z=-4.672, p<0.001.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.335-351
• /
• 1998

Salivary proteins which are produced in the saliary acinar cells have been known to be involved in the Calcium and phosphate metabolism. The acquired pellicle resulting from such metabolism is considered as a secondary defence membrane against tooth caries. In this respect, some proteins included in saliva probably play an important role in the prevention of demineralization in enamel. On the other hand, fluoride has long been known to prevent the demineralization of enamel by the inhibition of the growth of Streptococcus mutans(S. mutans) and by the chemical reaction with calcium and phosphate, Therefore, I have examined the roles of amylase and albumin in the demineralization of enamel and compared these preteins with fluoride in terms of anticariogenic effect. 1. The demineralization caused by S. mutans occurred slowly and progressively for the first 60 min, then the rate of demineralization was accelerated afterwards. 2. pH decreased continuously during the entire period of each experiment. 3. The demineralization was significantly inhibited by the preteatment of amylase and fluoride but albumin had little effect on it. 4. An addition of 0.1 mM lactic acid (final concentration 0.1 ${\mu}M$) caused a rapid increase in calcium concentration reaching a maximum within 10 min. 5. pH decreased rapidly by the addition of 0.1 mM lactic acid and reached a minimum within a few seconds followed by an increase in pH. pH reaced a plateu with 10 min. 6. Fluoride, amylase and albumin played little role in the 0.1 mM lactic acid-induced demineralization. 7. A slow infusion of 0.1 M lactic acid at a rate of 5 ${\mu}l/min$ caused a slower increase in calcium concentration compared with the bolus addition of lactic acid. 8. Fluoride had an inhibitory effect on the calcium release caused by slow infusion of lactic acid while amylase and albumin had no effect on it. These results suggest that fluoride inhibits demineralization by protecting the HA from the acid attack whereas amylase has a direct effect on S. mutans to prevent demineralization.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.1-32
• /
• 2010

The global financial crisis has exerted enormous impacts on the attainment of inflation target in Korea. The annual average CPI inflation was 3.3% during the targeting period of 2007-2009 and the target was $3.0{\pm}0.5%$. Thus Korea has succeeded in keeping annual average CPI inflation just below the upper limit of the 2007-2009 target under the global crisis. This paper intends to evaluate the performance of the inflation targeting system in Korea. First, it estimates the conventional call rate reaction equation under the global crisis and finds that the policy interest rates never reacted to expected inflation, output gap, and won/dollar exchange rate, as expected by theory. Second, it identifies the shock of global financial crisis into core and non-core, applying the structural VAR model. The core shock was defined to have no (medium- to) long-run impact on real output. The core shock was identified to have the character of the demand shock, since it has the positive impact on the inflation and output in the short run. The structural core inflation due to core shock was an attractor of headline inflation, not vice versa. Therefore, the structural core inflation that reflects the demand-side shock would be the better intermediate target for the final headline inflation target than the official core inflation that excludes the volatile inflation of agricultural and oil-related products. During the inflation targeting period of 2007-2009, the structural core inflation was more volatile than the official core inflation, because the global crisis has very large negative impacts on the domestic demand as well as the prices of agricultural and oil-related products. This paper shows that the negative core shock during the fourth quarter of 2008 was larger than that in the financial crisis in 1998. But the core shock turned into positive very quickly in 2009, as the Korean economy recovered very quickly from crisis. The volatile changes in structural core inflation suggests that the Bank of Korea barely managed to attain the 2007-2009 inflation target, owing to the very large negative impacts of the global financial crisis on the domestic demand. It also suggests that the rapid rise in core inflation with the rapid recovery of the Korean economy will lead to rapid rise in headline inflation.

• Clean Technology
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.135-145
• /
• 2018

There are various activities for reduction of the greenhouse gasses (GHG) emission around the world. The countries agreed to submit their's individual plans to the United Nations and have operated programs related to the Climate Change, in addition, the enterprises have spontaneously been developed individual calculation methodologies of GHG emission. This paper aims at examining methods for calculating the effect of the reduction of environmental impact, being divided into three categories; international standard, country, enterprise. The reduction effects of environmental impact were compared by applying an existing product of the vehicle undercover and the uni-materialized product and being selected six calculation methods of environmental footprint. There are significant differences according to the evaluation methods of product environmental footprint (PEF) reduction. Main factors of differences are a gap in system boundary, a scope of data collection and the replacement amount standard of existing products. Stakeholders are unreliable in the results of PEF reduction because of the differences in results by each methodology. Therefore, it is necessary to disclose in detail the methodologies of calculating the PEF reduction that relevant people can easily understand, also to enable comparisons of the reduction results by developing the standardization of evaluation methods of PEF in the long term.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.412-415
• /
• 2012

A 1-year-old, castrated male Yorkshire terrier (case 1) and a 7-year-old female Poodle (case 2) presented with delayed union fractures. In case 1, the dog had a fractured right distal radius and ulna. In case 2, the dog had a fractured left distal tibia and fibula. A physical examination and radiographs performed in both dogs revealed delayed union fractures with large gaps. The fracture sites were fixed by bone plate and screws. Autogenous cancellous bone graft was applied into the fracture gap. To encourage rapid bone union, we used matrigel containing $20{\mu}g$ of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) in the fracture site. Radiographs were taken postoperatively to monitor healing. Rapid bone union was noted in both dogs in long-term radiographs. In case 1, the radiographs revealed that the fracture gaps of the radius and ulna were bridged at 2 weeks. Fracture lines were not observed and normal appearance was restored at 20 weeks. In case 2, the radiographs showed that fracture repair had progressed at 11 weeks. The fractures healed faster than expected in these two cases. The results indicate that rhBMP-2 and matrigel may be effective and useful materials to enhance healing of delayed fractures.

• Journal of Distribution Science
• /
• v.14 no.9
• /
• pp.95-110
• /
• 2016

Purpose - Based on expectation-disconfirmation theory, this study attempted to fill the gap in the literature by treating the expected profitability as a moderator in the relationship between these constructs, identifying what instrumental factors have effects on dissatisfaction, in turn lead to exit intention, neglect, voice, and loyalty, and provide the managerial implications for building long-term relationship to enhance the partnership between franchisor and franchisee. Research design, data and methodology - In order to test the hypotheses, the authors developed several hypotheses. The data were collected from 254 franchisees in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province with SPSS 18.0 and SmartPLS 2.0. Results - The findings of the study are as follows. First, marketing support and competitiveness of product and service had a negative effect on dissatisfaction, but did not on logistics support. Second, franchisee dissatisfaction had a positive effect on exit intention and neglect, and had a negative effect on loyalty. However, franchisee dissatisfaction had not a significant effect on voice. Third, expected profits play a moderating role in the relationships between marketing support, competitiveness of product and service and dissatisfaction, between dissatisfaction and exit intention, voice, loyalty, and neglect. First, marketing support and competitiveness of product and service were found to have a greater influence on dissatisfaction for the low expected profitability group than the highly expected profitability group. Also, dissatisfaction had a greater impact on exit intention, voice, and neglect for the low expected profitability group than the high expected profitability group while dissatisfaction had a weaker impact on loyalty for high expected profitability group. Conclusions - The result of this study indicates that franchisors should reduce dissatisfaction and prevent or improve complaint behaviors by continuously identifying the impact relationship between franchisee dissatisfaction and decision factors caused by difference in expectations for roles of franchisees and franchisors. In addition, franchisors should acknowledge that the impacts of marketing support, and product and service competitiveness on franchisee dissatisfaction and on exit intention, neglect, and loyalty differ by expected profits. Therefore they should provide support in perceiving high expected profits through creating direct profits including high sales, low costs, and low rents.