• Journal of the Korean Child Neurology Society
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.189-196
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• 2018

Purpose: Floppy infants or congenital hypotonia indicates decreased muscle tone in infants secondary to abnormalities of the central or the peripheral nervous system, or both. Previous literature classified its causes as those attributable to a central vs. peripheral origin; however, recent studies have introduced a newer classification describing a combined origin. We invenstigated floppy infants by applying the new etiological classification and reviewed the most common etiologies based on the age of presentation. We additionally reviewed the clinical characteristics, diagnoses, and the developmental outcomes in these infants. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the electronic medical charts and recruited 116 infants diagnosed with floppy infant syndrome between January 2005 and December 2016 at Severance Children's Hospital. Among these infants, 66 with a confirmed diagnosis were reviewed for the etiological classification. Information regarding developmental outcomes was obtained via phone interviews with the infants' families. Results: Based on the new etiological classification, among 69 infants with a confirmed diagnosis, in 40 (34.5%) this syndrome was of central origin, in 19 (16.4%) of peripheral origin, and in 10 (8.6%) of combined origin. Prader-Willi syndrome, myotonic dystrophy, and spinal muscular atrophy were the most common disorders observed and combined hypotonia showed the poorest developmental outcome. Conclusion: The study states the importance of proper evaluation of etiological diagnosis and optimal intervention for developmental prognosis. The introduction of a new etiological group of combined hypotonia especially emphasizes regular monitoring and timely rehabilitative intervention in patients for the better quality of life in them as well as their caregivers.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.86-94
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• 2021

Objectives : The risk of weight gain is high when using antipsychotic drugs, and the prevalence of obesity in people with mental illness is high. Obesity management in psychiatric patients is important because obesity causes various complications and lowers treatment adherence and quality of life. Methods : In this review, we summarized the management strategies for obesity that can occur when using antipsychotic drugs through a web search. Results : Evaluate obesity-related risk factors and related indicators from the beginning of treatment, and conduct regular monitoring. If an antipsychotic drug is used and obesity is induced, a change to a drug with a low metabolic risk may be attempted. Sufficient interventions are also needed on the need to manage obesity, a healthy diet, and exercises in patients and their families. If weight loss is not achieved and obesity-related complications are associated, the use of anti-obesity drugs may be considered. Pharmacological treatment approaches should be carefully considered. Conclusions : Non-pharmacological and pharmacological therapies can be applied to manage weight gain and obesity caused by the use of antipsychotic drugs. When using anti-obesity drugs, the characteristics of mental disorders, drug safety, and drug interactions should be considered.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.59 no.4
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• pp.281-293
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• 2020

The Korean thistle (Cirsium setidens) is grown in Gangwon province as a food ingredient called gondre. Based on regular monitoring of Korean thistle cultivation, we detected local outbreaks of a stick insect causing severe damage. Here we report the identification of the stick insect and its ecological characteristics. The survey involved 3 farms located in Jeongeon-gun, Gangwon province and lasted from May 28 to October 1 in 2019. According to morphological and DNA analyses the stick insect was identified as Ramulus koreanus Kwon Ha and Lee. a member of the family Phasmatidae. Its outbreak in the Korean thistle farms was observed from June 11 to August 22 with peak density on July 23. Spatial distribution analyses, using Taylors power law and Greens index showed that R. koreanus was uniformally distributed. Food consumption rate of Korean thistle leaves was estimated as 60.98±4.35 ㎠/day/adult. The main food plants were identified as Juglans mandshurica and Aronia melanocarpa. Further study needs to pursue the mechanism of the outbreak and its possible impact on agricultural and forest ecosystems. Additionally, means to relieve crop damage need to be identified.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.133-141
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• 2022

Candida is one of the most common causes of bloodstream infections and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among hospitalized patients. The purpose of this study was to provide important information for formulating empirical treatment plans for candidemia by investigating the antifungal resistance rate of Candida. Among the Candida strains (973 cases) isolated from blood culture tests at the S hospital in 2009~2018, 4.7% (N=44) comprising the Candida spp. (932 strains) showed resistance to fluconazole. The resistant strains included C. albicans, C. parapsilosis, C. tropicalis, and C. glabrata. In addition Candida spp. (947 strains) showed resistance to amphotericin B (N=6, 0.6%), flucytosine (N=23, 2.4%) and voriconazole (N=24, 3.1%). C. albicans was resistant to fluconazole (N=23, 6.9%) and voriconazole (N=21, 6.0%), The statistical analysis showed that C. albicans and non-albicans Candida species were resistant to fluconazole (P=0.039) and voriconazole (P<0.001). A monitoring system to understand the rate of candidiasis infections in a hospital setting is required. It is also important to make the right choice of the antifungal agent based on drug susceptibility patterns. Therefore, an infection surveillance policy that tracks Candida resistance through regular antifungal susceptibility tests is necessary.

• Economic Analysis
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.1-32
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• 2021

This study empirically analyzes whether bank capital channel and risk-taking channel for monetary policy work for domestic banks in South Korea by analyzing the impact of the expansionary monetary policy on the rate spread between deposit and loan, capital ratio, and loan amount. For the empirical analysis, the Uhlig (2005)'s sign-restricted SVAR(Structural Vector Auto-Regression) model is used. The empirical results are as follows: the bank's interest rate margin increases, the capital ratio improves, risk-weighted asset ratio increases, and the amount of loans increases in response to expansionary monetary shock. This empirical results confirm that bank capital channel and risk-taking channel work in domestic banks, similar to the previous research results. The implications of this study are as follows. Although the expansionary monetary policy has the effect of improving the bank's financial soundness and profitability in the short term as bank capital channel works, it could negatively affect the soundness of banks by encouraging banks to pursue risk in the long run as risk-taking channel works. It is necessary to note that the capital ratio according to the BIS minimum capital requirement of individual banks may cause an illusion in supervising the soundness of the bank. So, the bank's aggressive lending expansion may lead to an inherent weakness in the event of a crisis. Since the financial authority may have an illusion about the bank's financial soundness if the low interest rate persists, the authority needs to be actively interested in stress tests and concentration risk management in the pillar 2 of the BIS capital accord. In addition, since system risk may increase, it is necessary to conduct regular stress tests or preemptive monitoring of assets concentration risk.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.117-128
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• 2023

Tree dieback in Geumgang pine forest has occurred in Uljin and Bonghwa since the 2010s. In order to identify status of tree dieback and prevent further damages, a monitoring project for tree dieback in Geumgang pine forest had been launched by Southern regional office of forest service in 2020. This study was conducted to understand the characteristics of tree dieback occurrence and assess the high risk areas using the occurrence data in the project. Pine tree dieback occurred frequently in areas with mountain ridges in high elevation, dry south-facing slopes, mature stands, and high temperature rise in winter. Furthermore, the result of risk assessment showed that 6.2 percent(5,294ha) of Geumgang pine forest(85,000 ha) in total study area are at high risk of tree dieback. As the pine trees in the high risk area are prone to experience the dieback due to temperature and drought-related extreme weather events, regular forest management activities are needed to reduce the drought stress of pine trees. Forest health management for the pine forest with high protection priority can be also useful strategy to counter the risk of decline. This results can be used as the basic information for the adaptive forest management to climate change.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.271-280
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• 2024

This study examines the European Union (EU)'s policies on managing nitrate contamination in groundwater and provides implications for the future groundwater management in South Korea. Initiated by the 1991 Nitrate Directive, the EU has pursued a multifaceted approach to reduce agricultural nitrate pollution through sustainable ('good') farming practices, regular nitrate level monitoring, and designating Nitrate Vulnerable Zones. Further policy integrations, like the Water Framework Directive and Groundwater Directive, have established comprehensive protection strategies, including the use of pollutant threshold values. Recently, the 2019 Green Deal escalated efforts against nitrates, aligning with broader environmental and climate objectives. This review aims to explore these developments, highlighting key mitigation strategies against nitrate pollution, and providing valuable insights for the future sustainable groundwater nitrate management in South Korea, emphasizing the importance of preventive measures and collaborative efforts to restore and improve groundwater quality.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.17-27
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• 2024

This study investigated the fish fauna of Jeonjucheon and Samcheon Streams, flowing through the city of Jeonju, through surveys conducted at 10 sampling sites using kick net and cast net. The fish fauna collected included 10 families and 36 species, with a total of 2,064 individuals. Samcheon had 8 families and 30 species with 1,074 individuals, Jeonjucheon had 8 families and 26 species with 986 individuals. The dominant species was Zacco platypus with 1,202 individuals, and a total of 153 individuals of the subdominant were Pseudogobio esocinus. In Jeonjucheon Stream, a total of 567 individuals of the dominant species were collected as Z. platypus and 99 individuals of the subdominant species were collected as Pungtungia herzi, and there was no significant change in the stream environment except for the confluence site. Further expanded research covering the entire Jeonjucheon and Samcheon Streams region, accompanied by regular monitoring, is essential to record and understand fluctuations in fish fauna.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.541-550
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• 2024

The aim of this study is to find a way to improve the effectiveness of feedback that can contribute to the development of government work evaluation through comparison of systems between Korea and the United States. To this end, this study compared and analyzed the cases of Korea and the United States in relation to the feedback system of political affairs evaluation. In the case of the United States, it was confirmed that it was linked to a relatively high level of the learning dimension of the feedback system of achieving and improving policy goals, while in Korea, such linkage was segmented and controlled. In the case of Korea, it was confirmed that the government work evaluation system was in power, and its purpose was to improve policies and to control the evaluation target rather than learning for it. In the case of the United States, it is noteworthy that the autonomy of its own ministries is guaranteed as much as possible, the clarity and achievement of the goals presented by the ministries are prioritized, and the feedback also has a support and learning system as a regular system, not an ex post system. It is necessary to focus on policy improvement that can be linked to the achievement of policy goals in government work evaluation. It is also necessary to take a quarterly monitoring system, but to transform the ex post evaluation system into a learning and supportive system that can achieve policy goals, not control.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.373-381
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• 2024

This study aimed to identify and assess the influence of risk factors on the frequency of thyroid nodules diagnosed through ultrasonography among adults visiting for health screenings. The study analyzed 210 adult men and women who underwent thyroid ultrasound at J Hospital in Busan. The differences in variables were analyzed using Chi-square and independent t-tests, and risk ratios were calculated using binary logistic regression. The results showed significant differences in gender, age, T3, Free T4, Uric acid, T-chol, HDL-C and LDL-C. The risk ratios for risk factors indicated that women had a 2.42 times higher risk compared to men, and the age groups 41-50 and over 61 had risks 2.32 and 2.22 times higher, respectively compared to those under 40. Conversely, and increase in T3 and Free T4 levels was associated with a decreased risk of 0.12 and 0.86 times, respectively, while lipid levels had negligible influence. Based on these findings, it is concluded that regular ultrasonography monitoring, rather than solely relying on biochemical markers, is crucial for the early detection and management of thyroid nodules.