• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.1021-1030
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• 2021

This study analyzed the status of tuberculosis patients in Korea by collecting data from the Statistics Korea and the KDCA's GLOBAL Tuberculosis Report from 2010 to 2018 to find ways to manage tuberculosis patients in Korea and provide basic data on tuberculosis policies. The results are as follows. First, the results of tuberculosis patients in Korea decreased by about 21.3% to 33,796 (65.9%) in 2018 and 26,433 (51.5%) in 2018. Second, the status of tuberculosis patient treatment in Korea was found to be 655 in 2018, an increase of about 160% compared to 2014. Third, the incidence of tuberculosis among adolescents was 1.8% in 2018 for those aged 10 to 14 and 15.0% for those aged 15 to 19, the highest rate of tuberculosis among high school students, Fourth, looking at the incidence of tuberculosis patients by age, subjects in their 60s or older showed a prevalence of tuberculosis by 60% or more, especially elderly tuberculosis patients over 80 years of age. Fifth, the status of the incidence of tuberculosis patients by gender was found to be 1.4 times higher in men than in women in 2018 compared to 2010. Sixth, 1,419 people (75.6%) in Jeollanam-do had the highest prevalence of tuberculosis nationwide, and 99 people (33.4%) in Sejong had the lowest prevalence. Seventh, the number of foreign patients in Korea continued to increase to 1,510 in 2012, increasing to 2,569 in 2016. The results this study indicate the need for rapid and accurate early tuberculosis screening policies and management for tuberculosis relapse patients, high school student, age groups over 60, a group of men such as the military, the elderly over 80, and foreigners.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.358-367
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• 2021

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as an international health emergency. Current diagnostic tests are based on the reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) method, which is the gold standard test that involves the amplification of viral RNA. However, the RT-qPCR assay has limitations in terms of sensitivity and quantification. In this study, we tested both qPCR and droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) to detect low amounts of viral RNA. The cycle threshold (CT) of the viral RNA by RT-PCR significantly varied according to the sequences of the primer and probe sets with in vitro transcript (IVT) RNA or viral RNA as templates, whereas the copy number of the viral RNA by ddPCR was effectively quantified with IVT RNA, cultured viral RNA, and RNA from clinical samples. Furthermore, the clinical samples were assayed via both methods, and the sensitivity of the ddPCR was determined to be equal to or more than that of the RT-qPCR. However, the ddPCR assay is more suitable for determining the copy number of reference materials. These findings suggest that the qPCR assay with the ddPCR defined reference materials could be used as a highly sensitive and compatible diagnostic method for viral RNA detection.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.73-86
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• 2019

Seafaring is an important occupation that requires stringent hand hygiene practices as a basic method for preventing food-borne illness and infectious diseases when the diseases occur on board. The purpose of this study is to provide fundamental data for the prevention of food-borne illness and infectious disease on the ship by investigating the level of hand hygiene practices and influencing factors. A total of 222 seafarers were surveyed at a seafarers' educational institution between July and August 2017. Their hand hygiene practice were examined by a modified method using the guidelines which are recommended by the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Hand Hygiene Australia. The mean of hand hygiene practice was 47.97 out of 75 points. By category, the most frequent hand hygiene practice was measured as 4.04 on a 5-point scale as 'after working'. Factors affecting hand hygiene practices were ship tonnage relating to in job characteristics, exercise in health-related characteristics, and soap in relation to the characteristics of the hand hygiene environment on board. To improve hand hygiene among seafarers, it is necessary to raise awareness of hand hygiene among seafarers who work on small ships in particular, and to improve the systems of hand hygiene on ships with continuous education, hygiene practice evaluation and feedback.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.26 no.8
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• pp.91-101
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• 2021

This paper intends to draw implications for preparing for Post-Corona in the health field and policy fields as the global pandemic is experienced due to COVID-19. The purpose of this study is to analyze the news and trends of media companies through temporal analysis of the three infectious diseases, SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), in which the domestic infectious disease preventive system was active throughout the first year of the outbreak. To this end, by using the news analysis program of the Korea Press Foundation 'Big Kinds', the number of news articles per year was digitized based on the period when each infectious disease had an impact on Korea, and major trends were implemented and analyzed in a word cloud. As a result of the analysis, the number of articles related to infectious diseases peaked when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a warning and (suspicious) confirmed cases occurred. According to keyword and word cloud analysis, 'infectious disease outbreak and major epidemic areas', 'prevention authorities', and 'disease information and confirmed patient information' were found to be the main common features, and differences were derived from the three infectious diseases. In addition, the current status of the infodemic was identified by performing word cloud analysis on information in uncertainty. The results of this study are significant in that they were able to derive the roles of the health authorities and the media that should be preceded in the event of a new disease epidemic through previously experienced infectious diseases, and areas to be rearranged.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.288-303
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• 2021

Background: Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is an intractable pain disease with various symptoms. Here, we investigated the disease status, work life, sleep problems, medical insurance, economic status, psychological problems, and quality of life (QOL) of CRPS patients. Methods: CRPS patients from 37 university hospitals in South Korea were surveyed. The survey questionnaire consisted of 24 questions on the following aspects of CRPS patients: sex, age, occupation, cause of injury, activities of daily living (ADL), pain severity, sleep disturbance, level of education, economic status, therapeutic effect, and suicidal ideation. Additionally, the abbreviated World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire, consisting of 26 questions, was used to identify the status of QOL. Results: A total of 251 patients completed the questionnaire. According to the survey, 54.2% patients could not perform ADL on their own. Over the previous week, the mean pain score was 7.15 ± 1.78 (out of a total of 10 points); 92.1% of patients had sleep disorders and 80.5% had suicidal ideation, with most patients suffering from psychological problems. The average for each domain of WHOQOL-BREF was as follows: 21.74 ± 14.77 for physical, 25.22 ± 17.66 for psychological, 32.02 ± 22.36 for social relationship, and 30.69 ± 15.83 for environmental (out of a total of 100 points each). Occupation, ADL, sleep time, therapeutic effect, and suicidal ideation were statistically correlated with multiple domains. Conclusions: Most patients had moderate to severe pain, economic problems, limitations of their ADL, sleep problems, psychological problems, and a low QOL score.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.235-249
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• 2021

Objectives : Acupoint LU6 (Gongchoe) is known as an acupoint for the treatment of pain and bleeding caused by hemorrhoids. The purpose of this study was to critically review acupoint LU6 for treating hemorrhoids. Methods : We searched both ancient and modern literature of acupuncture and moxibustion using keywords "Gongchoe" and "hemorrhoids". We further performed an online ancient literature search for crosscheck. The searched literature was stratified by country (Korea, China, and Japan), and data were organized chronologically. Concerning literature related to hemorrhoids, data based on acupuncture treatment were compiled. Results : The bone proportional measurement of the forearm had been 12.5 cun until the Qing Dynasty but was recorded as 10 cun in "Shinkyushinzui," and the majority of modern Japanese and Korean literature indicated it as 10 cun. Gongchoe for treating hemorrhoids has been reported in the literature, including "Shinkyushinzui" (Japan, 1941), "Shiyoungzongguozhenjiujingxuexue" (Taiwan, 1963), "Gyeonghyeolhak" (Korea, 1971), and "Jinzhenmeihuashichao" (China, late Qing dynasty), but except "Jinzhenmeihuashichao", the location is different from the World Health Organization (WHO) standard acupoint location as it is 7 cun from the wrist out of 10 cun of the forearm bone proportional measurement. In addition, classical guides published until the Qing Dynasty did not report acupoint LU6 for the treatment of hemorrhoids. Conclusions : It is necessary to distinguish between Gongchoe in "Shinkyushinzui" and LU6 in WHO standard acupuncture point locations. Gongchoe (LU6)'s primary treatment for hemorrhoids has not been described in the classical literature, and further clinical evidence is needed to support it. When using Gongchoe for hemorrhoids, we should consider that the location of Gongchoe is closer to the LU5 than the standard acupuncture point locations and it is meaningful not only for treatment but also for diagnosis.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.65 no.5
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• pp.741-750
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• 2022

Objective : In March 2020, World Health Organization declared a global pandemic caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). The disease caused by this virus is called COVID-19. Due to its high contagiousness, many changes have occurred in overall areas of our daily life including hospital use by patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on volume of spine surgery in South Korea using the National Health Insurance database and compare it with the volume of a homologous period before the pandemic. Methods : Data of related to spine surgery from January 2019 to April 2021 were obtained from the National Health Insurance and Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service database. Primary outcomes were total number of patients, rate of patients per 100000 population, and total number of procedures. The number of patients by hospital size was also analyzed. Results : COVID-19 outbreaks occurred in South Korea in March, August, and December of 2020. Compared to the previous year, the total number of patients who underwent spinal surgery showed a decrease for 2-3 months after the first and second outbreaks. However, it showed an increasing trend after the third outbreak. The same pattern was observed in terms of the ratio of the number of patients per 100000 population. Between 2019 and 2021, the mean number of spine surgeries per month tended to increase. Mean annual medical expenses increased over the years (p=0.001). When the number of spine surgeries was analyzed by hospital size, proportion of tertiary general hospital in 2021 increased compared to those in 2019 and 2020 (vs. 2019, p=0.012; vs. 2020, p=0.016). The proportion of general hospital was significantly decreased in 2020 compared to that in 2019 (p=0.037). Conclusion : After the COVID-19 outbreak, patients tended to postpone spinal surgery temporarily. The number of spinal surgeries decreased for 2-3 months after the first and second outbreaks. However, as the ability to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic at the hospital and society-wide level gradually increased, the number of spine surgeries did not decrease after the third outbreak in December 2020. In addition, the annual number of spine surgeries continued to increase. However, it should be noted that patients tend to be increasingly concentrated in tertiary hospitals for spinal surgery.

• Trans-
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• v.14
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• pp.35-63
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• 2023

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative neurological disease that affects even basic daily life movements due to impairment of body function caused by a lack of dopamine, which is charge of the body movement. Presently, it is hard to cure Parkinson's disease entirely with medical technology, so movement therapy as a solution to delay and prevent disease is getting more attention. Therefore, this study aims at desiging and disseminating a body movement program that concentrates on individual self-care and balacing the state of body and mind by applying the Feldenkrais Method® to patients with Parkinson's disease. The Feldenkrais Method® is a mind-body perceptual learning method using body movements. It is a methodology that re-educates the nervous system by connecting the brain and behavior as a function of neuroplasticity. In this study, the body movement program developed and verified by the researcher was modified and supplemented with a focus on the self-awareness of the Feldenkrais Method®. A 24-session physical exercise program was composed of 5 stages to improve the self-management ability of patients with Parkinson's disease. The stages include self-awareness, self-observation, self-organization, self-control, and self-care. The overall changes recognize one's condition and improve one's ability to detect modifications in the internal sense and external environment. In conclusion, the body movement program improves the body movement program improves mental and physical functions and self-care for Parkinson's disease patients through the Feldenkrais method. The availability of the program's on-site applicability remains a follow-up task. Furthermore, it is necessary to establish a systematic structure to spread it more widely through convergent cooperation with the scientific field applied with metaverse as a reference for the wellness of the elderly.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.381-389
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• 2007

The purpose of this study is investigation of radiation dose in CT scan. Data were collected from various references and organizations. Doses measured by CT scanners of each medical organization were analyzed and they were calculated through the examination protocol. The results are as follows : 1. $CTDI_W$ value per 100mAs measured by Head Phantom was the highest in <4-slice MDCT scanner> of 24.20 mGy. $CTDI_W$ values were significantly different among scanner generations(p < 0.01). 2. $CTDI_W$ value per 100 mAs measured using body phantom was the highest in <4-slice MDCT scanner> of 13.58 mGy and the $CTDI_W$ values were significantly different among scanner generations(p < 0.01). 3. When contrast medium was not used, the highest scanner was <16 slice MDCT> of $818.83\;mGy{\codt}cm$ in exposure dose in brain scan(p < 0.05). When the contrast medium was used, the highest scanner was <4 slice MDCT> and its average was $1,460.77\;mGy{\cdot}cm$(p < 0.1). 4. When the contrast medium was not used, the highest scanner was <16-slice MDCT> of $521.63\;mGy{\cdot}cm$ on average in terms of the exposure dose in chest inspection(p<0.05). when the contrast medium was used, the highest scanner was found in 8 slice MDCT scanner and its average was $1,174.70\;mGy{\cdot}cm$. There was no statistically significant difference among scanners. 5. When the contrast medium was not used, the highest scanner was <16-slice MDCT> and its average was $856.27\;mGy{\cdot}cm$ in exposure dose on the abdomen-pelvis(p<0.05). when the contrast medium was used, the highest scanner was <16-slice MDCT> and its average was $1,720.64\;mGy{\cdot}cm$ on average (p < 0.05). 6. When the contrast medium was not used, the highest scanner was <8-slice MDCT> and its average was $612.07\;mGy{\cdot}cm$ in exposure dose in liver inspection(p < 0.05). when the contrast medium was used, the highest scanner was <8-slice MDCT scanner> and its average was $2,197.93\;mGy{\cdot}cm$ in exposure dose(p < 0.1). seventy six point two percent of medical facilities were in risk of radiation exposure while the number of phase was three to four times in their dose inspection of contrast medium.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.1488-1502
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• 2000

This study, based on current home nursing services, aims at promoting measures for establishing a community-based home nursing system derived from the pilot home nursing demonstration project conducted by the Seoul Nurses Association. The study was based on an analysis of home nursing records from march 1993 to December 1999. The following is a summary analysis, based on individual characteristics of the patients, the organization, which recommended the service for their patients and personnel services. 1. The service has been used by many elderly people 60years of age or older(66.4%). and married people(60.9%). The average number of visits by service personnel for patients of city government was 23.5. This is 2.5 times as many visits by general patients. General patients(20.2%) had only one visit from service personnel, while 65.5% of patients of city government had 10 or more visits. Particularly, for government recommended patients, 72.7% of the patients were recommended by nurses, while only 21.9% where referred to the services by doctors. The main focus of a home nursing service was to maintain present health status (53.4%), and hospice(11.6%). Also to increase hospital-based home nursing services focused on recovery(55.9%) and maintain present health conditions (19.0%). 2. For general patients, 42.0% of patients were suffering from problems related to CVA, 11.3% from high blood pressure, and for patients referred from city, 21.2% from skeletal muscular disease. Results of home nursing services 29.4% of patients were able to recover or maintain their health status, but 48.9% of the patients died. Another main point of community-based home nursing services is medication(6.7%), other basic nursing services(6.1%), special treatment, instructions on how to use medical devices(5.9%), change of physical posture(4.6%), and training on changing physical positions(4.7%). As mentioned above there were some differences between the characteristics of patients who used the pilot home nursing service conducted by the Seoul Nurses Association and those hospital-based service users. The results are believed to be useful to support a community-based home nursing service model. Particularly, patients under medical supervision and patients recommended by government-run health clinics show a higher frequency and longer use of home nursing services compared to general patients or hospital-based home nursing service users. According to the study, nurses accounted for a large number of recommendations for home nursing services. Many patients with CVA, high blood pressure, skeletal muscular disease and bedsores used community-based home nursing services, while others used the service for minor treatments or maintaining their current health status. Based on the study, the researchers make several suggestions to establish a community- based home nursing service system. First, different ways of setting up a community-based home nursing system have to be mapped out based on the evaluation of the pilot home nursing service conducted by the Seoul Nurses Association. Secondly, a new, community-based, home health care nursing service model, and reimbursement payment system have to be developed. This is based on the outcome of the analysis, and implemented policy. Accordingly, efforts are needed to develop a community- based home nursing system with an intermediary role to promote the visiting nursing services of government-run health centers.