• Korean Security Journal
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• no.50
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• pp.11-32
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• 2017

The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 in the United Kingdom provides a comprehensive definition of "Emergency", calling upon the Uk's emergency management to deal with any disaster risk regardless of cause or source. Old contingency plans for civil defense and peacetime emergencies have been integrated into current integrated emergency management. In the UK, emergencies are managed by emergency services and other responders at the local level without direct involvement of central government. On top of this, a classified assessment of the risks of civil emergencies is also conducted on a regular basis, not only at the local level but also at the national level. This research looks into the Uk's emergency management system, including recent changes, and its risk assessment systems. Finally, the research draws policy implications for the development of Korea's disaster management mechanism as follows: 1) Korea should adopt an integrated emergency management system and combine civil defense with peacetime emergency planning, 2) it should create inter-operability between emergency responding organizations such as police, fire and ambulance, and finally 3) it must develop risk evaluating tools, such as a Community Risk Register and National Risk Register, both at the local and the national level. Last but not least, the UK emergency management system cannot be directly lifted from the UK and applied to risks and hazards faced by South Korea. Therefore, cross-cultural synthesis of many national approaches to emergency management is further required particularly for customizing policy to the particular needs of Korea.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.294-305
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• 2014

In offshore structures, fire is one of the most important hazardous events. The concern of fires has recently been reflected in the rules and quantified risk assessment based design practice. Within the framework of quantified risk assessment and the management of offshore installations, therefore, more refined computations of the consequences or hazardous action effects due to fire are required. To mitigate fire risk, passive fire protection(PFP) is widely used on offshore structures. This study presents methods for a nonlinear structural response analysis considering the PFP effects under fires. It is found that a structural response analysis is most likely to use valuable technology for the optimization and design of offshore structures with PFP. Thermal and structural response analyses have been performed using LS-DYNA and FAHTS/USFOS. The results of these structural response analyses are compared with each other.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.159-165
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• 2005

The Korean Twin Register (n=154,783 pairs) was reported in 2002 as the first nationwide twin study in Korea and the largest study in Asia. The Twin Register has the information of disease outcomes since 1990, and basic clinical and questionnaire data from biennial health examination provided by Korea National Health Service. The author attempted to calculate some of the genetic parameters of cancers in this population. Common cancers in Korea known to have familial aggregation (colon and breast) and cancers of which familial aggregation is unclear (stomach cancer) were examined for their familial recurrence risks. There were 699 stomach cancers, 438 breast and 491 colorectal cancers cases in the twin register between 1991 and 2003. Like-sex twins showed recurrence risks (${\lambda}_{LS}$) of 5.1 (95% CI 3.7-6.9) for stomach cancers, 15.5 (95% CI1 0.9-20.2) for female breast cancers, and 28.1 (95% CI 23.5-34.4) for colon cancers. Colorectal cancers of female like-sex twins show significantly higher familial recurrence risk 40.7 (95% CI 34.6-47.4), suggesting higher genetic contribution in women than in men. The results show increased familial risks compared with previous studies from the same register and are largely compatible with other studies. The data of the Twin Register could be used for estimating population level genetic parameters, as well as base of the various studies.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.519-529
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• 2016

The helideck structure must satisfy the safety requirements associated with various environmental and accidental loads. Especially, there have been a number of fire accidents offshore due to helicopter collision (take-off and/or landing) in recent decades. To prevent further accidents, a substantial amount of effort has been directed toward the management of fire in the safety design of offshore helidecks. The aims of this study are to introduce and apply a procedure for quantitative risk assessment and management of fires by defining the fire loads with an applied example. The frequency of helicopter accidents are considered, and design accidental levels are applied. The proposed procedures for determining design fire loads can be efficiently applied in offshore helideck development projects.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.291-300
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• 2020

Background: The study aimed to determine the association of individual cognitive ability in late midlife with labor market participation among older workers. Methods: This prospective cohort study estimates the risk of long-term sickness absence, disability pension, early retirement, and unemployment from scores on the Intelligenz-Struktur-Test 2000R by combining data from 5076 workers from the Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank with a register on social transfer payments. Analyses were stepwise adjusted for age, gender, physical and psychosocial work environment, health behaviors, occupational social class, education, and chronic diseases. Results: In the fully adjusted model, low cognitive ability (≥1 standard deviation below the mean for each gender) and high cognitive ability (≥1 standard deviation above the mean for each gender) were not associated with risk of any of the four labor market outcomes. Conclusion: Individual cognitive ability in late midlife was not associated with risk of long-term sickness absence, disability pension, early retirement, and unemployment in the fully adjusted model. Thus, no direct effect of individual cognitive ability in late midlife was observed on the risk of permanently or temporarily leaving the labor market.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.272-281
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• 2022

Background: The constant consumption of chemical products owing to expanding industrialization has led to an increase in public interest in chemical substances. As the production and disposal processes for these chemical products cause environmental problems, regional information on the hazard level of chemical substances is required considering their effects on humans and in order to ensure environmental safety. Objectives: This study aimed to identify hazard contribution and spatiotemporal characteristics by region and chemical by calculating a hazard-based result score using pollutant release and transfer register (PRTR) data. Methods: This study calculated the chemical discharge and hazard-based result score from the Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI) model, analyzed their spatiotemporal patterns, and identified hotspot areas where chemical discharges and high hazard-based scores were concentrated. The amount of chemical discharge and hazard-based risk scores for 250 cities and counties across South Korea were calculated using PRTR data from 2011 to 2018. Results: The chemical discharge (high densities in Incheon, Daegu, and Busan) and hazard-based result scores (high densities in Incheon, Chungcheongnam-do, and some areas of Gyeongsangnam-do Province) showed varying spatial patterns. The chemical discharge (A, B) and hazard-based result score (C, D) hotspots were identified. Additionally, identification of the hazard-based result scores revealed differences in the type of chemicals contributing to the discharge. Ethylbenzene accounted for ≥80% of the discharged chemicals in the discharge hotspots, while chromium accounted for >90% of the discharged chemicals in the hazard-based result score hotspots. Conclusions: The RSEI hazard-based result score is a quantitative indicator that considers the degree of impact on human health as a toxicity-weighted value. It can be used for the management of industries discharging chemical substances as well as local environmental health management.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.233-242
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• 2022

Background and Objectives: For adult men with congenital heart disease (ACHD), data on erectile dysfunction (ED) is limited. We aimed to assess the frequency of ED, its role in patient-physician communication and to identify parameters predicting ED. Methods: Male ACHD ≥18 years registered at the German National Register for Congenital Heart Defects were invited to participate in an online questionnaire about sexual health. Participants with presumed ED according to International Index of Erectile Function Score were compared to patients without ED. Results: The 371 patients responded to the questionnaire (83% with moderate to highly complex ACHD). The 43% presented with more than mild ED. When ED was present, patients complained about general anxiety to be sexually active more often (p<0.05) and underwent sexual activity less frequently compared to those without ED (p<0.05). Age ≥40 years (odds ratio [OR], 3.04; p=0.002), being single (OR, 6.82; p<0.0001), anxiety to be sexually active (OR, 2.64; p=0.0002) and psychiatric disease (OR, 4.33; p<0.0007) emerged as independent predictors for ED. Overall, patients sought medical advice in 6.7% of cases, whilst 29.6% would appreciate an active approach by the physician to address this sensitive topic. Conclusions: ED is affecting one third to one half of male ACHD according to a questionnaire-based analysis. Older age, being single, fear of sexual activity due to ACHD and psychiatric disorder emerged as independent predictors for ED. These parameters can easily be assessed to identify patients at risk. ED should be addressed proactively by health professionals.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.63-68
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• 2024

Background: Facial nerve palsy presents a significant healthcare challenge, impacting daily life and social interactions. This systematic review investigates the potential utility of ultrasonography as a diagnostic tool for facial nerve palsy. Methods: Electronic searches will be conducted across various databases, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL (Cochrane Central register of Controlled Trials), CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure), KMBASE (Korean Medical Database), ScienceON, and OASIS (Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System), up to February 2024. The primary outcome will focus on ultrasonography-related parameters, such as facial nerve diameter and muscle thickness. Secondary outcomes will encompass clinical measurements, including facial nerve grading scales and electrodiagnostic studies. the risk of bias in individual study will be assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias assessment tool, while the grading of recommendations, assessment, development, and evaluations methodology will be utilized to evaluate the overall quality of evidence. Conclusion: This study aims to review existing evidence and evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic value of ultrasonography for peripheral facial nerve palsy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.4131-4134
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• 2013

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between allium vegetable intake and risk of prostate cancer. Methods: A systematic literature search up to May 2013 was carried out in PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane register, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases, and the references of retrieved articles were also screened. The summary relative risks with 95% confidence interval for the highest versus the lowest intake of allium vegetables were calculated. Heterogeneity and publication bias were also evaluated. Results: A total of nine epidemiological studies consisting of six case-control and three prospective cohort studies were included. We found a significantly decreased risk of prostate cancer for intake of allium vegetables (OR=0.82, 95% CI 0.70, 0.97). Moreover, in the subgroup analysis stratified by allium vegetable types, significant associations were observed for garlic (OR=0.77, 95% CI 0.64-0.91) but not onions (OR=0.84, 95% CI 0.62-1.13). Conclusions: Allium vegetables, especially garlic intake, are related to decreased risk of prostate cancer. Because of the limited number of studies, further well-designed prospective studies are warranted to confirm the findings of our study.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.57-64
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• 2015

Carbon dioxide extinguishing systems are broadly used for onshore and offshore fire accidents because of excellent performance and low cost. However, there is risk with carbon dioxide systems, which have caused many injuries and deaths by suffocation associated with industrial and marine fire protection applications. In this study, a numerical analysis was performed to predict the fire suppression characteristics of a carbon dioxide system in the compressor room of ships. A double protection safety system is suggested to prevent suffocation accidents from carbon dioxide extinguishing systems. Four scenarios were selected to study the variation of the heat release rate, maximum temperature, a $CO_2$ and $O_2$ mole fraction, and fire suppression characteristics with the carbon dioxide system. The importance of proper design is suggested for a ventilation system in the compressor room of ships.