• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.184-190
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• 2016

Objectives : This study analyzed the differences of body mass index(BMI) in Korean patients with Alzheimer's diseases(AD), Mild Cognitive Impairment(MCI), and healthy controls to verify whether low BMI is associated with cognitive impairment. Furthermore, this study also sought to examine any association between BMI and Mini Mental State Examination-Korean version(MMSE-K), Clinical Dementia Rating(CDR), and Global Deterioration Scale(GDS). Methods : A total of 257 subjects were included in the study. History taking, mental status examination, physical examination and neurocognitive function test were carried out for the diagnosis of AD and MCI. The subjects' demographic data and presence of diseases were also surveyed. The overall cognitive function and severity of diseases were assessed using MMSE-K, GDS, and CDR. Results : The order of BMI was found to be healthy controls>MCI>AD, with statistically significant differences among the groups. The order of MMSE-K scores was similar, with healthy controls>MCI>AD in statistically significant differences. The healthy controls had the lowest CDR and GDS scores, and AD patients had the highest scores. There was a significant positive correlation between BMI and MMSE scores(r=0.238, p=0.000). BMI was negatively correlated with CDR(r=-0.174, p=0.008) as well as with GDS(r=-0.233, p= 0.000). Conclusions : Measuring BMI of patients with AD or MCI is expected to be meaningful in that BMI could be a clinical indicator of AD. We expect this to be beneficial for the diagnosis, prevention, and therapeutic approach of AD and also expect large-scale, long-term longitudinal studies to follow.

• Clean Technology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.332-340
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• 2021

With the recent reinforcement of emission standards, it is necessary to make efforts to reduce NOx from air pollutant-emitting workplaces. The NOx reduction method mainly used in industrial facilities is selective catalytic reduction (SCR), and the most commercial SCR catalyst is the ceramic honeycomb catalyst. This study was carried out to reduce the NOx emitted from steel plants by applying De-NOx catalyst coated on metallic monolith. The De-NOx catalyst was synthesized through the optimized coating technique, and the coated catalyst was uniformly and strongly adhered onto the surface of the metallic monolith according to the air jet erosion and bending test. Due to the good thermal conductivity of metallic monolith, the De-NOx catalyst coated on metallic monolith showed good De-NOx efficiency at low temperatures (200 ~ 250 ℃). In addition, the optimal amount of catalyst coating on the metallic monolith surface was confirmed for the design of an economical catalyst. Based on these results, the De-NOx catalyst of commercial grade size was tested in a semi-pilot De-NOx performance facility under a simulated gas similar to the exhaust gas emitted from a steel plant. Even at a low temperature (200 ℃), it showed excellent performance satisfying the emission standard (less than 60 ppm). Therefore, the De-NOx catalyst coated metallic monolith has good physical and chemical properties and showed a good De-NOx efficiency even with the minimum amount of catalyst. Additionally, it was possible to compact and downsize the SCR reactor through the application of a high-density cell. Therefore, we suggest that the proposed De-NOx catalyst coated metallic monolith may be a good alternative De-NOx catalyst for industrial uses such as steel plants, thermal power plants, incineration plants ships, and construction machinery.

• 한국노년학
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.551-567
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• 2018

Demographic and socio-structural information is useful to identify potential welfare recipients who are in need of disease-prevention and intervention services. Thus, the present study aims to explore the differences in grip strength among middle and old-aged adults by living conditions and by living area. The 5th wave data of Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging was utilized. The dependent variable was grip strength, and the independent variables were living alone (living alone or not) and living area (city or non-city). Covariates were age, education, log-transformed household income, spouse existence, body mass index, self-rated health conditions, depressive symptoms, cognitive function, smoking, regular exercise, frequency of meeting with friends, and the number of social participation. Regression analysis was performed for middle-aged men, middle-aged women, old-aged men, and old-aged women, respectively. ANOVA and Chi-test were additionally used to specifically discuss significant results. Cross-sectional weight was applied to all analyses. According to the results, living alone and living area did not have significant effects on grip strength among middle-aged men, old-aged men, and old-aged women. In middle-aged women, however, living alone and living area were significantly associated with grip strength. To be specific, middle-aged women who lived alone in rural areas had the lowest grip strength compared to other middle-aged women. Additional analysis showed that middle-aged women who lived alone in rural areas had risk factors, such as low education level, low income, or high depressive symptoms. It implies that middle-aged women living alone in rural areas may have physical health risks, so they might be in need of disease prevention. This study is meaningful in that it can provide reliable information on the latent welfare recipients by using representative panel data and applying weight values.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.532-539
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• 2011

The physical and chemical properties of the dried low rank coals (LRCs) before and after the surface treatment using ozone and ammonia were characterized in this study. The contents of moisture, volatiles, fixed carbon and ash consisting of dried LRCs before the surface treatment were about 2.0, 44.8, 44.9 and 8.9%, respectively. Also, it was composed of carbon of 62.66%, hydrogen of 4.33%, nitrogen of 0.94%, oxygen of 27.01% and sulfur of 0.09%. The dried LRCs was surface-treated with the various dry methods using gases such as ozone at room temperature, ammonia at $200^{\circ}C$ and then the dried LRCs before and after the surface treatment were characterized by the various analysis methods such as FT-IR, TGA, proximate and elemental analysis, caloric value, ignition test, adsorption of $H_2O$ and $NH_3-TPD$. As a result, the oxygen content increased and the calorific value, ignition temperature and the contents of carbon and hydrogen relatively decreased because the oxygen-contained functional groups were additionally generated by the surface oxidation with ozone which plays a role as an oxidant. Also, its $H_2O$ adsorption ability got higher because the hydrophilic oxygen-contained functional groups were additionally generated by the surface oxidation with ozone. On the other hand, it was confirmed that the dried LRCs after the surface treatment with $NH_3$ at $200^{\circ}C$ have the decreased oxygen content, but the increased calorific value, ignition temperature and contents of carbon and hydrogen because of the decomposition of oxygen-contained functional groups the on the surface. In addition, the $H_2O$ adsorption ability was lowered bucause the surface of the dried LRCs might be hydrophobicized by the loss of the hydrophilic oxygen-contained functional groups. It was concluded that the various physico-chemical properties of the dried LRCs can be changed by the surface treatment.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.38 no.7
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• pp.5-24
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• 2022

The current performance evaluation of slope anchors qualitatively determines the physical bonding between the anchor head and ground as well as cracks or breakage of the anchor head. However, such performance evaluation does not measure these primary factors quantitatively. Therefore, the time-dependent management of the anchors is almost impossible. This study is an evaluation of the 3D numerical model by SfM which combines UAS images with terrestrial LiDAR to collect numerical data on the damage factors. It also utilizes the data for the quantitative maintenance of the anchor system once it is installed on slopes. The UAS 3D model, which often shows relatively low precision in the z-coordinate for vertical objects such as slopes, is combined with terrestrial LiDAR scan data to improve the accuracy of the z-coordinate measurement. After validating the system, a field test is conducted with ten anchors installed on a slope with arbitrarily damaged heads. The damages (such as cracks, breakages, and rotational displacements) are detected and numerically evaluated through the orthogonal projection of the measurement system. The results show that the introduced system at the resolution of 8K can detect cracks less than 0.3 mm in any aperture with an error range of 0.05 mm. Also, the system can successfully detect the volume of the damaged part, showing that the maximum damage area of the anchor head was within 3% of the original design guideline. Originally, the ground adhesion to the anchor head, where the z-coordinate is highly relevant, was almost impossible to measure with the UAS 3D numerical model alone because of its blind spots. However, by applying the combined system, elevation differences between the anchor bottom and the irregular ground surface was identified so that the average value at 20 various locations was calculated for the ground adhesion. Additionally, rotation angle and displacement of the anchor head less than 1" were detected. From the observations, the validity of the 3D numerical model can obtain quantitative data on anchor damage. Such data collection can potentially create a database that could be used as a fundamental resource for quantitative anchor damage evaluation in the future.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.85-96
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• 2023

The study involved the categorization of domestic lakes located in South Korea into three groups based on their salinity levels: upstream reservoirs with salinity less than 0.3 psu, estuarine reservoirs with salinity ranging from 0.3 to 2 psu, and brackish lagoons with salinity exceeding 2 psu. Subsequently, the research assessed variations in the concentrations of total nitrogen (T-N) and total phosphorus (T-P) in the sediment of these lakes using statistical analysis, specifically one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Additionally, a laboratory core incubation test was conducted to investigate the benthic nutrient fluxes in Songji lagoon (salinity: 11.80 psu), Ganwol reservoir (salinity: 0.73 psu), and Janggun reservoir (salinity: 0.08 psu) under both aerobic and anoxic conditions. The findings revealed statistically significant differences in the concentrations of T-N and T-P among sediments in the lakes with varying salinity levels (p<0.05). Further post-hoc analysis confirmed significant distinctions in T-N between upstream reservoirs and estuarine reservoirs (p<0.001), as well as between upstream reservoirs and brackish lagoons (p<0.01). For T-P, a significant difference was observed between upstream reservoirs and brackish lagoons (p<0.01). Regarding benthic nutrient fluxes, Ganwol Lake exhibited the highest diffusive flux of NH₄⁺-N, primarily due to its physical characteristics and the inhibition of nitrification resulting from its relatively high salinity. The flux of NO₃^--N was lower at higher salinity levels under aerobic conditions but increased under anoxic conditions, attributed to the impact of salinity on nitrification and denitrification. Additionally, the flux of PO₄^3--P was highest in Songji Lake, followed by Ganwol Lake and Janggun Reservoir, indicating that salinity promotes the diffusive flux of phosphate through anion adsorption competition. It's important to consider the influence of salinity on microbial communities, growth rates, oxidation-reduction processes, and nutrient binding forms when studying benthic diffusive nutrient fluxes from lake sediments.

• The Korean Journal of Coaching Psychology
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.127-170
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• 2021

This study developed a measure to measure wellness-seeking behavior in important areas of life for general adults in Korea and verified its validity. For the development of the wellness scale, 31 factors derived through literature review, expert interviews, in-depth interviews, open questionnaires 1 and 2, and 182 questions were selected as the final 10 factors and 99 questions. Through exploratory factor analysis of the results of the preliminary survey of 351 adults in Korea, 58 questions of 10 factors were derived, and some of the questions reflecting important concepts in each factor were revised, and this survey was conducted with 63 questions of 10 factors. In this survey conducted on 667 people, to verify the validity of the composition concept of this test, the entire sampling was divided into two groups, one group was subjected to exploratory factor analysis, and the other group was subjected to confirmatory factor analysis. As a result of exploratory factor analysis, 63 questions of 10 factors (work, community, family, others, economic power, self-esteem, leisure, physical health, spirituality, and self-growth) were finally derived, and confirmatory factor analysis using the structural equation model verified that the model fit criteria were met. Convergence validity was verified using the K-MHC-SF and Wellness Index for Workers to verify whether the derived wellness scale and its sub-factors actually measure wellness. As a result of analyzing the relationship between the variables and factors of the Subjective Happiness Scale and Life Scale to verify the validity related to the criteria, it was found to be a significant correlation. As a result of confirming the significance of each path through multiple regression analysis, the 'self-esteem' on the wellness scale was identified as the most important factor influencing subjective happiness and life satisfaction. Finally, discussions on this research process and results, academic significance and practical significance, limitations, and future research directions were presented.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.231-245
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• 2023

In the cosmetics industry, it is important to develop new materials for functional cosmetics such as whitening, wrinkles, anti-oxidation, and anti-aging, as well as technology to increase absorption when applied to the skin. Therefore, in this study, we tried to optimize the nanoemulsion formulation by utilizing response surface methodology (RSM), an experimental design method. A nanoemulsion was prepared by a high-pressure emulsification method using Glabridin as an active ingredient, and finally, the optimized skin absorption rate of the nanoemulsion was evaluated. Nanoemulsions were prepared by varying the surfactant content, cholesterol content, oil content, polyol content, high-pressure homogenization pressure, and cycling number of high-pressure homogenization as RSM factors. Among them, surfactant content, oil content, high-pressure homogenization pressure, and cycling number of high-pressure homogenization, which are factors that have the greatest influence on particle size, were used as independent variables, and particle size and skin absorption rate of nanoemulsion were used as response variables. A total of 29 experiments were conducted at random, including 5 repetitions of the center point, and the particle size and skin absorption of the prepared nanoemulsion were measured. Based on the results, the formulation with the minimum particle size and maximum skin absorption was optimized, and the surfactant content of 5.0 wt%, oil content of 2.0 wt%, high-pressure homogenization pressure of 1,000 bar, and the cycling number of high-pressure homogenization of 4 pass were derived as the optimal conditions. As the physical properties of the nanoemulsion prepared under optimal conditions, the particle size was 111.6 ± 0.2 nm, the PDI was 0.247 ± 0.014, and the zeta potential was -56.7 ± 1.2 mV. The skin absorption rate of the nanoemulsion was compared with emulsion as a control. As a result of the nanoemulsion and general emulsion skin absorption test, the cumulative absorption of the nanoemulsion was 79.53 ± 0.23%, and the cumulative absorption of the emulsion as a control was 66.54 ± 1.45% after 24 h, which was 13% higher than the emulsion.

• 한국체육학회지인문사회과학편
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.553-566
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• 2015

This study was performed to identify the effects of different intensities of regular aerobic exercise on erythropoietin (EPO) and BDNF levels, and cognitive function and working memory in middle-aged women. Women aged 40 to 60 years residing in G-gu, Y-si, Gyeonggi-do were divided into 3 groups: control group, moderate-intensity aerobic exercise group and high-intensity aerobic exercise. All groups were asked to exercise at the given intensities, twice a week for a total of 12 weeks. Blood samples were collected from participants on week 0 (before exercising), week 6 and week 12, and then cognitive function and working memory tests were followed to measure erythropoietin (EPO) and BDNF levels, cognitive function and working memory. Repeated measures ANOVA, univariate analysis and follow-up test were performed on all data to compare the group, period and interaction through a SPSS. As a result, a significant difference over time was observed in EPO, BDNF, cognitive function and working memory; therefore, a follow-up one-way ANOVA analysis was performed on each group. As a result of analysis, a significant increase in erythrocyte, hematocrit, BDNF level and working memory was observed in moderate-intensity aerobic exercise group while erythrocyte and working memory were significantly increased inhigh-intensity aerobic exercise group. When comparing the results between the groups, the level of hematocrit was shown to be significantly higher in both moderate-and high-intensity aerobic group than the control group and also the higher level of hemoglobin was observed in both moderate-and high-intensity aerobic group comparing to control group. Considering the results of this study, therefore, a 12-week long aerobic exercise at moderate to high intensity positively affected EPO and BDNF levels, cognitive function and working memory in middle-aged women.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.635-645
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• 2019

Non-specific chronic neck pain (CNP) is a prevalent disorder and often accompany with pain, fatigue, reduced range of motion (ROM), and hand function. Although various types of drug are commonly used to manage the symptoms following CNP, there is a need for therapeutic exercise and alternative medicine interventions that have few side effects or are easy to apply. Present study investigated the effects of salt pack and neck exercise for life care of the elderly with non-specific CNP. Sixteen patients with non-specific CNP were recruited and randomly assigned into two groups: the intervention group (n=8) or the control group (n=8). All patients performed neck self-exercise for 30 min/day, 5 times a week for 1 week. And the subjects in the intervention group additionally received salt hot pack for 20 min per session. Visual analogue scale (VAS) and pain pressure threshold (PPT) using algometer were used to assess pain intensity (primary outcome). ROM of shoulder joint and grip strength were measured to test shoulder and hand function (secondary outcome). There were significant improvements in the intervention group (p<.05), while the subjects in the control group did not show a significant change after intervention (p>.05). Also, the intervention group show significant differences in VAS and PPT compared to the control group (p<.05). Thus, our results demonstrated that salt pack and neck exercise have a positive effect for life care in elderly patients with non-specific CNP.