• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.21 no.12
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• pp.157-163
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• 2016

Purpose : This study purposed on the understanding of psychology in the elderly women using depression scale and electroephalography. The subjects were thirty elderly women in geriatric care hospital. All participants were elderly women over 65 years old. The subjects signed up with informed consent and they were divided into a normal elderly group, an exercise elderly group and a hospital elderly group. They were randomly assigned with 10 persons. Methods : The study instruments were Geriatric Depression Scale(GDS) and Poly-G-I. Brain wave activity was measured by 'power spectrum analysis' of TeleScan program. Statistic analysis consisted of average, standard deviation, One-way ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey using SPSS 21.0 version. The significance was set at .05. Results : Depression scale results showed that the exercise elderly group were $10.60{\pm}5.36$ points which was the lowest among the three groups. The Normal elderly group was $16.20{\pm}5.59$, and the hospitalized elderly group was $16.70{\pm}6.76$ points. There was no significant difference between the normal elderly group, exercise elderly group and hospitalized elderly group. The hospitalized group showed statistical difference in relative theta power in the area of Fp1, F3, F4, T3, P3 as compared to the normal elderly group and the exercise elderly groups. There was no significant difference between relative beta power and relative gamma power in three groups. Conclusion : Geriatric depressed scale showed no significant difference in each group. This is indicated in the mental problems associated with depression. This indicates a higher level of depression in the hospitalized elderly women, more than in the normal elderly women and exercise elderly women groups.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.519-529
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• 2018

With rapid economic growth, the urban environment has created a problem of human physical and mental illness. In order to solve these problems, urban forests have emerged as a way to mitigate the environmental risks through improving the polluted environment of the city and improve the quality of life. As the urban forests have expanded, the school forests movement has also been taking an important place recently. The study focused on the performance of school forests by comparing the perceptions among teachers and students about their functions. The questionnaire was composed of 4 questions concerning human matters, 10 questions for space recognition, 4 questions for thermal environment, 2 questions for health promotion, and 20 total questions for composition of survey items. The reliability of the school forest function, number of tree planting areas and quantities, the harmony of the planting, and the satisfaction of the school forest were analyzed in the questionnaire conducted by the school members. Although it does not recognize school forests, it has a positive response to the green space that is built outdoors. It is considered that outdoor education and environmental education are sufficient in school forests and green spaces. The results showed that the outdoor green space was more satisfactory when compared with the general school. Teachers and students' preferences were similar to 'seasonal changes' and' trees of various colors and shapes'. The reliability analysis between each item shows that the coefficient for cronbach's ${\alpha}$ was .700 to .834. The purpose of this study is to identify the perception of forest function among school forest members and to utilize them as a basic data in the future.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.26
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• pp.12.1-12.7
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• 2011

Objectives: Perchlorate is an emerging contaminant that is found everywhere, including various foods. Perchlorate is known to disturb the production of thyroid hormones and leads to mental disorders in fetuses and infants, as well as metabolic problems in adults. In this study, we attempted to establish an LC-MS/MS method for measuring perchlorate in dairy products and used this developed method to investigate perchlorate levels in Korean milk and yogurt samples. Methods: The developed method of perchlorate analysis requires a shaker and 1% acetic acid/acetonitrile as the extracting solvent. Briefly, the samples were extracted and then centrifuged (4000 rpm, 1hour), and the supernatant was then passed through a $Envi^{TM}$ Carb SPE cartridge that had been prewashed sequentially with 6 mL of acetonitrile and 6 mL of 1% acetic acid in water. The final volume of the sample extract was adjusted to 40 mL with reagent water and the final sample was filtered through a 0.20-${\mu}m$ pore size PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) syringe filter prior to LC-MS/MS. Results: The average levels of perchlorate in milk and yogurt samples were $5.63{\pm}3.49\;{\mu}g/L$ and $3.65{\pm}2.42\;{\mu}g/L$, respectively. The perchlorate levels observed in milk samples in this study were similar to those reported from China, Japan, and the United States. Conclusions: The exposure of Koreans to perchlorate through the consumption of dairy products was calculated based on the results of this study. For all age groups, the calculated exposure to perchlorate was below the reference of dose (0.7 ${\mu}g/kg$-day) proposed by the National Academy of Science, USA, but the perchlorate exposure of children was higher than that of adults. Therefore, further investigation of perchlorate in other food samples is needed to enable a more exact assessment of exposure of children to perchlorate.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.6168-6175
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• 2014

Several studies regarding the effects of academic achievement on mental health problems have been conducted in adolescents but not in elementary school students. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to examine the effects of school achievement on depression in Korean elementary school students. The participants were 1,048, 5th to 6th elementary students in Seoul, Korea. The Spearman correlations between school achievement and depression were -0.31 for boys and -0.37 for girls (p<0.001 for both). After controlling for grader, the family economic status and self-esteem, higher achiever group showed a significantly low risk for depression in boys and girls. This study suggests that the lower school achievement is associated with a depressive mood in Korean elementary students. Therefore, students with lower academic performance are a risk group for depression.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.62 no.3
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• pp.305-313
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• 2019

Men's climactic syndrome, andropause, or testosterone deficit syndrome, is one of the new problems with the health of older men in the age of aging. This phenomenon is a natural phenomenon occurring in men as they age, clinically characterized by a decrease in blood testosterone levels and a marked decrease in physical and mental activity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of hydrothermal extract of Taraxacum coreanum by comparing the levels of nitric oxide (NO) in the cavernosum and the levels of male hormone in the blood. Taraxacum coreanum extract increased NO production in vitro and in vivo in a dose-dependent manner. Levels of dihydrotestosterone and 17-hydroxyysteroid dehydrogenases, as well as levels of neurogenic nitric oxide synthase and cGMP, increased significantly in elderly rats (22 weeks) after 4 weeks of daily intake of Taraxacum coreanum extract. However, prostaglandin $E_2$, testosterone, and sexually-hormone-binding globulin levels were not different among all groups. Furthermore, total sperm and motile sperm counts were also no significant difference. Overall, these results suggest the possibility of Taraxacum coreanum extract as a safe and effective natural substance for enhancing NO, cGMP and free testosterone.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.31-39
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• 2019

Purpose: Cognitive function is a main concern for rehabilitation progression in individuals who have sustained brain damage, even among those whose motor function has returned after brain damage. The purpose of this study was to investigate how cognitive impairment relates to functional independence in postural stability and gait performance in patients with chronic hemiparetic stroke. Methods: This was an observational design in an outpatient rehabilitation hospital. Twenty-eight adults with chronic hemiparetic stroke, receiving a course in an outpatient rehabilitation program, participated in this study. They were divided into two groups (i.e., non-cognitive impairment and cognitive impairment groups) via a cut-off score of 23 or less on a mini-mental state examination. Functional independence was assessed with the timed up-and-go test (TUG), 10-meter walk test (10mWT), five times sit-to-stand test (FTSST), Berg balance scale (BBS), and modified Barthel index (MBI). The independent t-test was used for statistical analysis when comparing the two groups. Results: The cognitive impairment group had less functional independence, balance, and gait performance than those of the non-cognitive impairment group had. The former also showed a statistically significant decrease in their TUG score, FTSST score, BBS score, and MBI score compared to the latter, but not in their 10mWT score (p<0.05). Although the non-cognitive impairment group walked faster than the cognitive impairment group did, that difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that cognitive impairment relates to functional independence in postural stability and the activities of daily living. In rehabilitation settings, cognitive impairment would be considered a major component in therapeutic rehabilitation to overcome the patients difficult physical problems and to treat for improving functional independence more after stroke.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.529-537
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• 2022

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between social participation activities, cognitive function, and depression of middle and old single-person households in consideration of social problems such as aging population and increasing single-person households. For the analysis, path analysis and multi-group analysis were conducted. As a result of the analysis, it was found that social participation activities of middle and old single-person households reduced depression through increased cognitive function, and the positive effects of social participation activities were stronger in groups of dementia. Based on these results, we discussed ways to promote social participation activities, implications for developing programs that can help cognitive function or mental health, and suggested the need for programs or treatment methods to promote social participation rather than isolated treatment in nursing facilities.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.129-137
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the risk factors for recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) in children who presented with nonorganic acute abdominal pain. Methods: A retrospective, single study was conducted on 2-15-year-old children diagnosed with nonorganic acute abdominal pain at the pediatric outpatient department of Vajira Hospital, Nawamindradhiraj University, between January 2015 and December 2019. The potential risk factors were analyzed using univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: Of the 367 patients with nonorganic acute abdominal pain, 94 (25.6%) experienced RAP within three months. In this group with RAP, 76 patients (80.8%) were diagnosed with functional gastrointestinal disorders, including functional dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome, functional abdominal pain-not otherwise specified, and functional constipation. History of gastrointestinal infection (p=0.011), mental health problems (p=0.022), abdominal pain lasting ≥7 days (p<0.001), and change in stool frequency (p=0.001) were the independent risk factors associated with RAP in children with nonorganic acute abdominal pain; their odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were 3.364 (1.314-8.162), 3.052 (1.172-7.949), 3.706 (1.847-7.435), and 2.649 (1.477-4.750), respectively. Conclusion: RAP is a common problem among children who first present with nonorganic acute abdominal pain. The identification of risk factors may provide proper management, especially follow-up plans for this group in the future.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2022

Objectives Maltreatment experiences can alter brain function related to emotion regulation, such as cognitive reappraisal. While dysregulation of emotion is an important risk factor to mental health problems in maltreated people, studies reported alterations in brain networks related to cognitive reappraisal are still lacking. Methods Twenty-seven healthy subjects were recruited in this study. The maltreatment experiences and positive reappraisal abilities were measured using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, respectively. Twelve subjects reported one or more moderate maltreatment experiences. Subjects were re-exposed to pictures after the cognitive reappraisal task using the International Affective Picture System during fMRI scan. Results The maltreatment group reported more negative feelings on negative pictures which tried cognitive reappraisal than the no-maltreatment group (p < 0.05). Activities in the right superior marginal gyrus and right middle temporal gyrus were higher in the maltreatment group (uncorrected p < 0.001, cluster size > 20). Conclusions We found that paradoxical activities in semantic networks were shown in the victims of maltreatment. Further study might be needed to clarify these aberrant functions in semantic networks related to maltreatment experiences.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.85-100
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• 2023

Objectives: To evaluate stress patterns and coping abilities in women with infertility by conducting in-depth interviews. Methods: Ten women with infertility who visited the Korean Medicine Hospital and provided consent after being informed of the purpose and method of the study were selected after meeting the inclusion/exclusion criteria. They were requested to complete a preliminary questionnaire developed by the researchers, the Infertility Stress Scale, and the Korean version of the Fertility Problem Inventory (FPI). Subsequently, each participant was interviewed individually. Results: The preliminary questionnaire was used to evaluate sensitivity to each type of infertility-related stress and ability to express and resolve it. Among all infertility stress types, the largest proportion, accounting for an average of 47.5±26.95%, was that felt by the patient herself. Considering stress awareness intensity, the stress felt by the patient was the highest, with an average score of 4.30±0.64. Relative stress sensitivity due to infertility was the highest, with an average score of 3.90±0.94. Compared with general work stress, the average ability to relieve stress related to problems with spouses was the highest, with a score of 2.50±1.20. The average Infertility Stress Scale score was 2.88±1.35 and FPI score was 2.87±2.52. Conclusions: The highest stress scores were observed for the following items: meaning of children, need for parenthood, and stress due to the diagnosis of infertility. The lowest stress scores were allocated to the item concerning relationships with friends and co-workers. Based on the in-depth interviews conducted after the survey, stress in women with infertility may be classified as emotional, physical, and economic. Thus, the requirement for providing appropriate psychological and emotional support depending on the stress type in addition to general medical treatment for infertility treatment was confirmed.