• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.87-95
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• 2021

Macroinvertebrates in forest streams affect the overall health of other streams in the same water system. In this study, we compared differences in the benthic macroinvertebrate community at two headwater streams located at different latitudes in the southern and northern parts of South Korea. We calculated the community temperature index (CTI), which represents the thermal preferences of the benthic communities. Hierarchical cluster analyses (HCA) were conducted to compare the similarities among sampling sites. In addition, we analyzed the relationship between community composition and environmental and community characteristics using non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS). Our results showed that CTI was significantly different between the two regions, indicating that these benthic macroinvertebrate communities have different thermal preferences. These two regions were clearly distinguished from each other in the HCA; furthermore, seasonal differences in benthic community composition were observed within each region. The functional feeding groups present in the benthic macroinvertebrate communities were different even though their habitat was similar.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.94-103
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to identify the association between regular physical activity (PA) types and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in fertile women. Data were obtained from the seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES VII-3, 2018). The sample consisted of 4,172 fertile women over 19 years of age. The data were analyzed using an independent t-test, χ2 test, and multiple logistic regression analysis for examining the association of regular PA and MetS. The prevalence of MetS in fertile women was 3.1% (n =128), and 1,972 fertile women (47.2%) practiced regular PA. Compared to the non-regular PA group, regular PA resulted in a significantly lower systolic blood pressure (p =.002), lower waist circumference (p <.001), lower fasting blood sugar (p =.007), and higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p <.001). After controlling the confounding variables, multiple logistic regression showed that the regular PA group (odds ratio 0.59, 95% confidence interval 0.35-0.98, p =.040) and the regular muscle-strengthen PA group (odds ratio 0.34, 95% confidence interval 0.14-0.80, p =.013) were associated with a decreased risk of MetS. Therefore, regular PA, including muscle-strengthen PA should be considered to develop effective MetS intervention in fertile women.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.16-21
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• 2021

As the average age of national veterans has increased from 69 years old(2011) to 71 years old(since 2015) over the past five years, the overall medical service cost of veterans has increased by about 20%. The main cause of this phenomenon is 'ultra-aging', which accounts for 67% of veterans, while the proportion of health insurance patients aged 70 or older is 9%. Therefore, it is judged that the analysis of the trend of use of medical services at veterans hospitals in each region that is in charge of severe medical services of national veterans can serve as an opportunity to seek countermeasures for the severe medical system of national veterans. First of all, based on the details of major medical expenses (hospitalization, outpatient, pharmaceutical expenses) by region for the last 10 years(2010-2019), data significance was performed through a chi-square test, and the Central Veterans Hospital and Non-Central Veterans Hospital using EXCEL. 'Expected frequency' was calculated by year. By applying the CHITEST(observation frequency, expected frequency) function again, the p-value(p<0.05) was calculated, and the profit bias of each region's veterans hospital could be determined. The specific research method is for the last 10 years(2010-2019) for state-sponsored patients_outpatient treatment income, state-sponsored patients_hospitalization income, exempt patients_outpatients at the Central Veterans Hospital, Busan Veterans Hospital, Gwangju Veterans Hospital, Daegu Veterans Hospital, and Daejeon Veterans Hospital. A one-way analysis of variance was conducted to verify the significance of the difference between group averages on the status of 5 medical revenues of veterans hospitals in each of the 5 regions, including medical treatment income, reduced patients_hospitalization income, and reduced patients_medicine expenses. It was found to be significant(p<0.05) at all levels, including region and type. Finally, the bias in the profit structure of regional veterans hospitals was the highest in 2017(p=0.0004) and the lowest in 2013(p=0.0349). In addition, in the profit structure of the Veterans Hospital, the year in which the'regional' variable worked the most was 2019, and the year with the least affected was 2010. The order of the former is Jungang(=31,674,713), Busan(=12,314,614), Gwangju(=11,957,038), Daegu(=10,168,015), and Daejeon(=6,991,034), and the order of the latter is Jungang(=57,868,791), and Busan(=19,183,194). Gwangju(=17,904,712), Daegu(=15,656,034), and Daejeon(=14,377,395). In conclusion, the profit bias of veterans hospitals repeatedly raced the lowest(p=0.01986) and highest(p=0.03499) for the past five years(2010-2014) year by year, with the 'regional' variable being the most in the veterans hospital's profit structure It was identified as a major influence factor. On the other hand, for the last 5 years (2015-2019), the influence factors of the'regional' variable every year were in 2015(p=0.02015), 2016(p=0.01741), 2017(p=0.00045), and 2018(p=0.00394). in 2019(p=0.00227), a significant difference was confirmed at a very low level.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.1687-1697
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• 2020

This study is a comparative descriptive research that identifies the degree and difference of the brain education meditation program from participation stress(physical stress, psychological stress), depression, resilience(self-control ability, interpersonal relationship ability, and positive) for middle-aged women. The subjects were 26 middle-aged women who participated in the brain education meditation program at the D metropolitan city D center for more than a year, 29 middle-aged women did not participate in the brain education meditation program and a total of 55 middle-aged women collected for three weeks from November 4 to 22, 2019. Data analysis fesult that the participating groups in brain education meditation programs differ statistically significantly in physical stress(t=2.549, p=.014), psychological stress(t=2.352, p=.022), self-control ability(t=-2.219, p=.031) and positive(t=-2.387, p=.021), which are higher factors in resilience than non-participating groups. In other words, brain education meditation program participants scored lower physical and psychological stress scores than nonparticipating groups, with higher self-control ability and positive scores. Therefore, it is thought that brain education meditation programs can be used as nursing intervention to reduce stress and improve self-control ability and positive in middle-aged women.

• 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.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.106-113
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• 2022

Objectives: Herbal medicine is a worldwide health topic. Vitex agnus-castus L. (VAC) is a popular plant used for gynecologic problems due to its hormonal effects. The aim of this study is to reveal VAC extract effect on fetus when this herb is used started from antenatal period or during pregnancy. Methods: Performed from starting day of January 2019 till February 2019, 48 rats were assigned in randomly divided eight-member six groups: control (C1), treated group with 365 mg/kg VAC from initiation of insemination (T1) and 30 days prior to pregnancy (T2), control that underwent caesarean section on 15^th day of gestational age (C2) and treated group with 365 mg/kg VAC from initiation of insemination (T3) and 30 days prior to pregnancy (T4) that underwent caesarean section. Weight, sex and number of fetuses, abortion and still birth rate and estradiol level were evaluated using t-test by SPSS software. Results: We showed increased weight among T1 group considering totally and sex-dependent which is significant (all p-value < 0.05). We also detected significantly decreased weight in T2 in total (p-value < 0.0001) and when considering female fetuses (0.043) but not males (0.17). Although the results showed slightly non-significant increased weight among fetuses of T3 (totally or based on the fetus sex) compared to the control group (C2), T4 group had statistically decreased weight compared to control group. Pregnancy rate and pregnancy outcome were affected by VAC usage. The time of VAC initiation also affected live birth and abortion rates. Conclusion: VAC extract may affect pregnancy rate, live birth rate, abortion and stillbirth rates. Its effect on the weight and the sex showed dual pattern depends on the time of initiation and pregnancy trimester of evaluation. Prescribing this medicinal plant for patients being prone to pregnancy should be with caution. Further study is recommended.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information Security & Cryptology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.465-475
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• 2022

Due to the impact of COVID-19, people are paying attention to convenience and health, and the use of IoT devices to help them is increasing. In order to embed a lightweight security element in IoT devices that need to handle sensitive information even with limited resources, the development of a lightweight S-box is essential. Until 2021, it was common to develop a lightweight 4-bit S-box by a heuristic method, and to develop an extended structure or repeat the same operation for a larger size lightweight S-box. However, in January 2022, a paper that proposed a heuristic algorithm to find an 8-bit S-box with better differential uniformity and linearity than the S-box generated with an MISTY extended structure, although non-bijective, was published [1]. The heuristic algorithm proposed in this paper generates an S-box by adding AND operations one by one. Whenever an AND operation is added, they use a method that pre-removes the S-box for which the calculated differential uniformity does not reach the desired criterion. In this paper, we improve the performance of this heuristic algorithm. By increasing the amount of pre-removal using not only differential uniformity but also other differential property, and adding a process of calculating linearity for pre-removing, it is possible to satisfy not only differential security but also linear security.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.695-701
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• 2021

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the effect of COVID-19-induced household economic deterioration on gingival pain and bleeding. Methods: Data from the 16th Adolescent Health Behavior Survey 2020 were used. A total of 57,925 adolescents were included in this cross-sectional study. We evaluated the worsening of the COVID-19-induced household economic situation, gingival pain, and bleeding. All surveys were assessed in a subjective non-face-to-face online interview. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-squared tests, and logistic regression. Results: The overall prevalence of gingival pain and bleeding symptoms in the study population was 19.2%. People with COVID-19 were more likely to suffer from gingival pain and gingival bleeding than those who did not have economic deterioration due to COVID-19. There was no economic deterioration due to COVID-19 (aOR=1.048, 95% CI=1.034-1.227) and worsened very much (aOR=1.358, 95% CI=1.164-1.585). Conclusions: There were more cases of gingival pain and gingival bleeding, which are early symptoms of periodontal disease, in patients with COVID-19 compared to cases without deterioration of the household economic situation due to COVID-19. It is necessary to measure and study gingival bleeding objectively rather than relying on self-reports.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.348-358
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• 2022

Purpose: Hyperglycemia accelerates the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), a group of compounds formed via non-enzymatic glycation/glycoxidation. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is related to oxidative stress, resulting in some overgeneration of AGEs. The accumulation of AGEs in T2DM patients leads to increased inflammation, DNA damage, tissue damage, progression of diabetic microvascular disease, and nephropathy. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is an intracellular enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of heme. Expression of HO-1 in the endothelium and in muscle monocytes/macrophages was upregulated upon exposure to reactive oxygen species or oxidized low-density lipoprotein. Cells activated by oxidative stress are reported to release HO-1 in the serum. In the current study, we discuss the oxidative status according to the level of AGEs and the association of HO-1 with AGEs or urinary DNA damage marker in type 2 diabetic Korean patients. Methods: This study enrolled 36 diabetic patients. Subjects were classified into two groups by serum AGEs level (Low AGEs group: < 0.85 ng/mL serum AGEs; High AGEs group: ≥ 0.85 ng/mL serum AGEs). Body composition was measured using bioelectrical impedance analysis. Blood and urinary parameters were measured using commercial kits. Results: No significant differences were observed in the general characteristics and body composition between the two groups. Serum HO-1 concentration was significantly higher in the High AGEs group than in the Low AGEs group. After adjustment of age and gender, a correlation was performed to assess the association between serum HO-1 and serum AGEs or urinary 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG). Our results indicate that serum HO-1 is positively correlated with serum AGEs and urinary 8-OHdG. Conclusion: Taken together, our results indicate that in diabetes patients, a high level of HO-1 is associated with a high concentration of AGEs and 8-OHdG, probably reflecting a protective response against oxidative stress.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2022

Recently, nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) has been increasing considerably in school counseling. According to the Youth Counseling and Welfare Development Institute, the number of counseling support for NSSI adolescent in 2018 was more than three times higher than the previous year, and the average time when NSSI behavior first appeared was 12.43 years old. As such, adolesnect NSSI continues to increase in recent years, and the age is also gradually decreasing. Nevertheless, research on the motives and characteristics of NSSI among domestic adolescents is still insufficient. This may be attributed to the difficulty of conducting research because self-injury behavior is secretly performed. However, it is also true that this reality has another limitation in the school field, which urgently requires counseling intervention and prevention of students' mental health problems. In addition, counseling for self-injury in the school scene is the biggest cause of exhaustion for counselors because they are under very great stress to cope with repeated self-harm in the dual role of counselors and teachers in school situations. Therefore, this study examines the causes and characteristics of involuntary self-injury through previous research analysis, and examines various difficulties experienced as a school counselor, as well as the effective intervention method of non suicidal self-injury in school counseling.