• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.499-510
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• 2021

This is a descriptive research study on industrial workers to understand the effects of drinking patterns, job stress, and leisure satisfaction on their health promotion behavior. Subjects of the survey were 207 workers undergoing health checkups at three hospitals in U metropolitan city. Data was collected from November 1, 2019, to November 30, 2019, through a structured questionnaire. The IBM SPSS 24.0 program was used to analyze data. The subjects' drinking frequency was 2 to 3 times a week, (36.3%), and the motive was a social gathering (54.6%). The averages were 62.46±5.59 for job stress, 30.29±6.39 leisure satisfaction, 125.64±8.77 for health promotion behaviors, which was higher than the median. Health promotion behavior was found to have a statistically significant positive correlation with job stress (r=.227, p<.001) and leisure satisfaction (r=.542, p<.001). A multiple regression analysis of the factors affecting health-promoting behavior showed that this is affected by drinking patterns, job stress, and leisure with an explanatory power of 29.7%. Based on this study, continuous support is needed for industrial workers to relieve their social gathering and job stress through leisure activities, not drinking, and we expect them to improve their quality of life through a healthy lifestyle and health promotion behavior.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.587-601
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• 2020

Exposure to hazardous substances occurs through multiple pathways. Aggregated risk assessment, which includes all potential exposure pathways to a single toxicant, is necessary to prevent exposure to harmful substances. We aimed to estimate cadmium and lead exposure through various media, such as food, water, air, smoking, cosmetics, and female hygiene products. This study covered 10,733 subjects from the Seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey(2016, 2017). Dietary exposure was estimated using 24-hour recall data. For water and inhalational exposure, regional variations were considered. Water was classified as tap, bottled, and public water. Inhalational exposure was estimated using the '2014 Time Use Survey' based on daily lifestyle and social status. The frequency and volume of cosmetic usage were randomly approximated by sex and age. Post-menarcheal and premenopausal women were assumed to use feminine hygiene products. Non-carcinogenic aggregated risks were estimated using the Aggregate Risk Index from EPAs and the Total Exposure Hazard Index from Korean government guidelines. For carcinogenic risk assessment, excessive cancer risk was estimated. Ingestion, especially food, was the major route for both cadmium and lead exposure. Smoking was also associated with high cadmium exposure. Exposure to lead from cosmetics was remarkable but not critical. In aggregate risk assessments, median cadmium and lead exposure did not exceed the reference value. Sex, age, smoking status, and income affected exposure levels, unlike to regional variations.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.45-54
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• 2022

Purpose: The study aims to identify the theme list and priority criteria of patient safety theme reports in South Korea. Methods: The survey was conducted twice, and the importance of each criterion and theme was measured on a nine-point scale using the Delphi technique by a panel of 19 patient safety experts. The criteria included severity, universality, preventability, and organizational-social impact. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, median, and interval quartile range were used to analyze the data. Results: The parameters were assigned a weighted average of 35% for severity, 20% for universality, 30% for preventability, and 15% for organizational-social impact, respectively. The final top three rankings were surgery safety, blood transfusion safety, and medication safety. In addition to expert opinion, for the theme that is selected based on the priority ranking, one to five sub-topics can be derived from the theme based on the priority ranking, societal demands, or the yearly priority list of patient safety incidents. Conclusion: It is recommended that the official patient safety center distribute the report in the form of a summary that can be utilized nationwide at medical institutions, government institutions, and other places. Updates, as well as accumulated theme reports, will serve as the baseline data for the proposal of the system and for the policy designed to implement and improve institutions' safety practices as a standard of domestic patient safety practice guidelines.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.319-326
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• 2023

Objectives: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has increased the workload of healthcare workers (HCWs), impacting their health. This study aimed to assess sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and identify factors associated with poor sleep among HCWs in Vietnam during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1000 frontline HCWs were recruited from various healthcare facilities in Vietnam between October 2021 and November 2021. Data were collected using a 3-part self-administered questionnaire, which covered demographics, sleep quality, and factors related to poor sleep. Poor sleep quality was defined as a total PSQI score of 5 or higher. Results: Participants' mean age was 33.20±6.81 years (range, 20.0-61.0), and 63.0% were women. The median work experience was 8.54±6.30 years. Approximately 6.3% had chronic comorbidities, such as hypertension and diabetes mellitus. About 59.5% were directly responsible for patient care and treatment, while 7.1% worked in tracing and sampling. A total of 73.8% reported poor sleep quality. Multivariate logistic regression revealed significant associations between poor sleep quality and the presence of chronic comorbidities (odds ratio [OR], 2.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.17 to 5.24), being a frontline HCW directly involved in patient care and treatment (OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.16 to 2.16), increased working hours (OR, 1.84; 95% CI,1.37 to 2.48), and a higher frequency of encountering critically ill and dying patients (OR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.95). Conclusions: The high prevalence of poor sleep among HCWs in Vietnam during the COVID-19 pandemic was similar to that in other countries. Working conditions should be adjusted to improve sleep quality among this population.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.1006-1016
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• 2023

Objective: Computed tomography (CT) is an established method for the diagnosis, staging, and treatment of multiple myeloma. Here, we investigated the potential of photon-counting detector computed tomography (PCD-CT) in terms of image quality, diagnostic confidence, and radiation dose compared with energy-integrating detector CT (EID-CT). Materials and Methods: In this prospective study, patients with known multiple myeloma underwent clinically indicated whole-body PCD-CT. The image quality of PCD-CT was assessed qualitatively by three independent radiologists for overall image quality, edge sharpness, image noise, lesion conspicuity, and diagnostic confidence using a 5-point Likert scale (5 = excellent), and quantitatively for signal homogeneity using the coefficient of variation (CV) of Hounsfield Units (HU) values and modulation transfer function (MTF) via the full width at half maximum (FWHM) in the frequency space. The results were compared with those of the current clinical standard EID-CT protocols as controls. Additionally, the radiation dose (CTDIvol) was determined. Results: We enrolled 35 patients with multiple myeloma (mean age 69.8 ± 9.1 years; 18 [51%] males). Qualitative image analysis revealed superior scores (median [interquartile range]) for PCD-CT regarding overall image quality (4.0 [4.0-5.0] vs. 4.0 [3.0-4.0]), edge sharpness (4.0 [4.0-5.0] vs. 4.0 [3.0-4.0]), image noise (4.0 [4.0-4.0] vs. 3.0 [3.0-4.0]), lesion conspicuity (4.0 [4.0-5.0] vs. 4.0 [3.0-4.0]), and diagnostic confidence (4.0 [4.0-5.0] vs. 4.0 [3.0-4.0]) compared with EID-CT (P ≤ 0.004). In quantitative image analyses, PCD-CT compared with EID-CT revealed a substantially lower FWHM (2.89 vs. 25.68 cy/pixel) and a significantly more homogeneous signal (mean CV ± standard deviation [SD], 0.99 ± 0.65 vs. 1.66 ± 0.5; P < 0.001) at a significantly lower radiation dose (mean CTDIvol ± SD, 3.33 ± 0.82 vs. 7.19 ± 3.57 mGy; P < 0.001). Conclusion: Whole-body PCD-CT provides significantly higher subjective and objective image quality at significantly reduced radiation doses than the current clinical standard EID-CT protocols, along with readily available multi-spectral data, facilitating the potential for further advanced post-processing.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.300-308
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• 2006

$\underline{Purpose}$: To develop a wireless CCTV system in semi-beam's eye view (BEV) to monitor daily patient setup in radiation therapy. $\underline{Materials\;and\;Methods}$: In order to get patient images in semi-BEV, CCTV cameras are installed in a custom-made acrylic applicator below the treatment head of a linear accelerator. The images from the cameras are transmitted via radio frequency signal (${\sim}2.4\;GHz$ and 10 mW RF output). An expected problem with this system is radio frequency interference, which is solved utilizing RF shielding with Cu foils and median filtering software. The images are analyzed by our custom-made software. In the software, three anatomical landmarks in the patient surface are indicated by a user, then automatically the 3 dimensional structures are obtained and registered by utilizing a localization procedure consisting mainly of stereo matching algorithm and Gauss-Newton optimization. This algorithm is applied to phantom images to investigate the setup accuracy. Respiratory gating system is also researched with real-time image processing. A line-laser marker projected on a patient's surface is extracted by binary image processing and the breath pattern is calculated and displayed in real-time. $\underline{Results}$: More than 80% of the camera noises from the linear accelerator are eliminated by wrapping the camera with copper foils. The accuracy of the localization procedure is found to be on the order of $1.5{\pm}0.7\;mm$ with a point phantom and sub-millimeters and degrees with a custom-made head/neck phantom. With line-laser marker, real-time respiratory monitoring is possible in the delay time of ${\sim}0.17\;sec$. $\underline{Conclusion}$: The wireless CCTV camera system is the novel tool which can monitor daily patient setups. The feasibility of respiratory gating system with the wireless CCTV is hopeful.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.51 no.8
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• pp.848-855
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• 2008

Purpose : The objective of this study was to ascertain the incidence of congenital heart disease in the western part of Gyeongnam Province in Korea. Methods : We enrolled 849 children (M:F=390:459) who were diagnosed with congenital heart disease (CHD) and received echocardiography during January 1997 to December 2005 in Gyeongsang National University Hospital. The subjects were limited to patients born from 1997 to 2004. The CHDs were classified into acyanotic types and cyanotic type. Further, acyanotic type CHDs were divided into shunt type and valvular types. Results : Numbers of initially diagnosed patients from 1997 to 2004 were as follows: 113, 128, 116, 104, 129, 97, 84, and 78. The median age of initially diagnosed CHD patients was 1 month in the acyanotic type and 0.5 months in cyanotic type. Also, an annual frequency among CHD types and gender ratio were no significant difference in every year. Incidences of CHD from 2000 to 2004 in the western part of Gyeongnam Province were 8.9, 12.7, 10.9, 10.0, and 9.7 per 1,000 live births, respectively. Conclusion : From 1997 to 2001, 100-130, and from 2002 to 2004, less than 100 patients were diagnosed with CHD. This showed a decrease in the numbers of CHD patients in the last three years. However, the Incidence of CHD was 0.89-1.24% during the last five years. Therefore, the decrease in the annual frequency of CHD was due to the recent decline in birth rate in Korea.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.297-309
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• 2017

Jurassic granite from Geochang was analysed with respect to the characteristics of the rock cleavage. The comprehensive evaluation for rock cleavages was performed through the combination of the 16 parameters derived from the enlarged photomicrographs of the thin section and the spacing-cumulative frequency diagrams. The results of analysis for the representative values of these spacing parameters with respect to the rock cleavage are summarized as follows. First, the above parameters can be classified into group I (spacing frequency (N), total spacing ($1m{\geq}$), constant (a), exponent (${\lambda}$), slope of exponential straight line (${\theta}$), length of line (oa') and trigonometric ratios ($sin{\theta}$, $tan{\theta}$) and group II (mean spacing (Sm), difference value between mean spacing and median spacing (Sm-Sme), density (${\rho}$), lengths of lines (oa and aa'), area of a right-angled triangle (${\Delta}oaa^{\prime}$) and trigonometric ratio($cos{\theta}$). The values of the 8 parameters belonging to group I show an order of H(hardway, H1+H2)

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.54-59
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• 1999

This study was based on a series of 164 patients with zygomatic bone fracture treated at Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of Chonnam University Hospital from January 1992 to December 1996. The male-to-female ratio was 7:1. Their ages ranged from 8 to 78 years, with a median age of 35.6 years. The age frequency was highest in the second decade (30.5%), and third decade (23.8%), fifth decade (16.5%) in orders. The monthly distrbution of incidence showed October to be the month in which the greatest percentage occured (14.0%). The major cause of zygomatic bone fracture was alleged traffic accidents (53.7%). The incidence of concomitant facial bone fractures was 69,5%, and maxilla fracture (52.4%) was most frequently combined. The admission route was through emergency room (72.3%) and through outpatient department (26.8%). The incidence of associated injuries was 37.2%. The intraoral approach was the major method of treatment in zygomatic bone fracture (57.1%). The most frequent type of zygoma fracture was class IV (33.5%), and class III (25.6%) was next in order of frequency. Complications were enophthalmos (7.3%), facial asymmetry (6.7%), paresthesia (6.1%), and diplopia (2.4%) These results suggest that correct diagnosis and treatment of severity of fracture, concomitant fracture, and associated injuries are necessary, and co-operative treatment with medical department should be performed to reduce postoperative complication.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.273-291
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• 2020

The strength characteristics of the three orthogonal splitting planes, known as rift, grain and hardway planes in granite quarries, were examined. R, G and H specimens were obtained from the block samples of Jurassic granites in Geochang and Hapcheon areas. The directions of the long axes of these three specimens are perpendicular to each of the three planes. First, The chart, showing the scaling characteristics of three graphs related to the uniaxial compressive strengths of R, G and H specimens, were made. The graphs for the three specimens, along with the increase of strength, are arranged in the order of H < G < R. The angles of inclination of the graphs for the three specimens, suggesting the degree of uniformity of the texture within the specimen, were compared. The above angles for H specimens(θ^H, 24.0°~37.3°) are the lowest among the three specimens. Second, the scaling characteristics related to the three graphs of RG, GH and RH specimens, representing a combination of the mean compressive strengths of the two specimens, were derived. These three graphs, taking the various N-shaped forms, are arranged in the order of GH < RH < RG. Third, the correlation chart between the strength difference(Δσ_t) and the angle of inclination(θ) was made. The above two parameters show the correlation of the exponential function with an exponent(λ) of -0.003. In both granites, the angle of inclination(θ^RH) of the RH-graph is the lowest. Fourth, the six types of charts, showing the correlations among the three kinds of compressive strengths for the three specimens and the five parameters for the two sets of microcracks aligned parallel to the compressive load applied to each specimen, were made. From these charts for Geochang and Hapcheon granites, the mean value(0.877) of the correlation coefficients(R²) for total density(Lt), along with the frequency(N, 0.872) and density(ρ, 0.874), is the highest. In addition, the mean values(0.829) of correlation coefficients associated with the mean compressive strengths are more higher than the minimum(0.768) and maximum(0.804) compression strengths of three specimens. Fifth, the distributional characteristics of the Brazilian tensile strengths measured in directions parallel to the above two sets of microcracks in the three specimens from Geochang granite were derived. From the related chart, the three graphs for these tensile strengths corresponding to the R, G and H specimens show an order of H(R1+G1) < G(R2+H1) < R(R1+G1). The order of arrangement of the three graphs for the tensile strengths and that for the compressive strengths are mutually consistent. Therefore, the compressive strengths of the three specimens are proportional to the three types of tensile strengths. Sixth, the values of correlation coefficients, among the three tensile strengths corresponding to each cumulative number(N=1~10) from the above three graphs and the five parameters corresponding to each graph, were derived. The mean values of correlation coefficients for each parameter from the 10 correlation charts increase in the order of density(0.763) < total length(0.817) < frequency(0.839) < mean length(Lm, 0.901) ≤ median length(Lmed, 0.903). Seventh, the correlation charts among the compressive strengths and tensile strengths for the three specimens were made. The above correlation charts were divided into nine types based on the three kinds of compressive strengths and the five groups(A~E) of tensile strengths. From the related charts, as the tensile strength increases with the mean and maximum compressive strengths excluding the minimum compressive strength, the value of correlation coefficient increases rapidly.