• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• 제20권4호
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• pp.631-640
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• 2019

Objective: To evaluate the value of airway computed tomography (CT) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as a predictor of cerebrocardiovascular disease (CCVD) clinically, by quantitatively analyzing carotid arterial calcification (CarAC). Materials and Methods: This study included 287 patients aged 40-80 years, who had undergone both polysomnography (PSG) and airway CT between March 2011 and October 2015. The carotid arterial calcium score (CarACS) was quantified using the modified Agatston method on each upper airway CT. The OSA severity was categorized as normal, mild, moderate, and severe using the PSG results. Clinical characteristics, comorbid diseases, and lipid profiles of all patients were analyzed, and the prevalence of CCVDs was investigated during the follow up period (52.2 ± 16.0 months). Results: CCVD occurred in 27 patients (9.3%) at the end of follow-up, and the CCVD-present groups showed a significantly older mean age (57.5 years vs. 54.2 years), higher prevalence of hypertension (59% vs. 34%) and CarAC (51.9% vs. 20.8%), whereas sex, other comorbid diseases, and severity of OSA were not significantly different from the CCVD-absent group. A univariate analysis showed that age, hypertension, incidence of CarAC, and CarACS were risk factors for the occurrence of CCVD events. In a multivariate analysis, the incidence of CarAC was the only independent risk factor for CCVD. Conclusion: CarAC is an independent risk factor for CCVD, whereas the severity of OSA is not a contributory risk factor in patients with OSA. Therefore, additional analysis of CarACS based on airway CT scans may be useful for predicting CCVD.

• Clinical Nutrition Research
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• 제12권4호
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• pp.283-292
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• 2023

The aim of this study was to investigate whether dairy intake was associated with the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease and the probability of hospitalization of patients. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 141 patients with COVID-19 with an average age of 46.23 ± 15.88 years. The number of men (52.5%) participating in this study was higher than that of women. The association between dairy intake and COVID-19 was evaluated by multivariable logistic regression analysis. The risk of hospitalization in the highest tertile of dairy intake was 31% lower than in the lowest tertile (odds ratio [OR], 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.37-1.25, p trend = 0.023). Higher milk and yogurt intake was associated with a reduced risk of hospitalization due to COVID-19. Patients in the third tertiles were about 65% (p for trend = 0.014) and 12% (p for trend = 0.050) less likely to be hospitalized than those in the first tertile, respectively. Dairy consumption, especially low-fat ones, was associated with a lower risk of hospitalization due to COVID-19 and lower severity of COVID-19.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제3권1호
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• pp.17-21
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• 2012

Objectives: Asbestos-related diseases (ARDs) have increased globally over the decades, causing an economic burden and increased health care costs. It is difficult to predict the risk of development of ARDs and of respiratory disability among workers with a history of asbestos exposure. Blood based biomarkers have been reported as promising tools for the early detection of malignant mesothelioma. This study investigated whether serum soluble mesothelin-related peptide (SMRP) would reflect severity of disablement in compensable ARDs. Methods: SMRP levels were measured in a cohort of 514 asbestos-exposed subjects. Severity of ARDs was assessed by a Medical Authority comprising four specially qualified respiratory physicians. Severity of ARDs and SMRP levels were compared. Results: Mean (standard deviation) serum SMRP level in the population with compensable ARDs (n = 150) was 0.95 (0.65) nmol/L, and was positively associated with disability assessment (p = 0.01). Mean SMRP level in healthy asbestos-exposed subjects was significantly lower than those with pleural plaques (p < 0.0001) and in subjects with ARDs who received compensation (p < 0.01). Conclusion: This study indicates that serum SMRP levels correlate with severity of compensable ARDs. Serum SMRP could potentially be applied to monitor progress of ARDs. Further prospective work is needed to confirm the relationship between SMRP and disability assessment in this population.

• 대한간학회지
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• 제24권4호
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• pp.392-401
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• 2018

Background/Aims: Leptin is associated with metabolic disorders, which predispose one to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The role of leptin in NAFLD pathogenesis is not fully understood. We aim to investigate the association between serum leptin level and severity of NAFLD using U.S. nationally representative data. Methods: Data were obtained from the United States Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. NAFLD was defined by ultrasound detection and severity of hepatic steatosis in the absence of other liver diseases. The severity of hepatic fibrosis was determined by NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS). We used multivariate survey-weighted generalized logistic regression to evaluate the association between leptin level and the degree of NAFLD. We also performed subgroup analyses by body mass index (lean vs. classic NAFLD). Results: Among 4,571 people, 1,610 (35%) had NAFLD. By ultrasound findings, there were 621 people with mild, 664 with moderate, and 325 with severe steatosis. There were 885 people with low NFS (<-1.455, no significant fibrosis), 596 with intermediate NFS, and 129 with high NFS (>0.676, advanced fibrosis). Leptin levels for normal, mild, moderate and severe steatosis were $10.7{\pm}0.3ng/mL$, $12.1{\pm}0.7ng/mL$, $15.6{\pm}0.8ng/mL$, $16{\pm}1.0ng/mL$, respectively (trend P-value<0.001). Leptin levels for low, intermediate, and high NFS were $11.8{\pm}0.5ng/mL$, $15.6{\pm}0.8ng/mL$, $28.5{\pm}3.5ng/mL$, respectively (trend P-value<0.001). This association remained significant even after adjusting for known demographic and metabolic risk factors. In the subgroup analysis, this association was only prominent in classic NAFLD, but not in lean NAFLD. Conclusions: Serum leptin level is associated with the severity of NAFLD, especially in classic NAFLD patients.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• 제27권3호
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• pp.176-185
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• 2024

Purpose: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is common among children in Bangladesh. Its management depends mainly on risk stratification. This study aimed to assess the severity of pediatric AP using computed tomography (CT). Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted in pediatric patients with AP at the Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, BSMMU, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Results: Altogether, 25 patients with AP were included, of whom 18 (mean age, 10.27±4.0 years) were diagnosed with mild AP, and 7 (mean age, 10.54±4.0 years) with severe AP. Abdominal pain was present in all the patients, and vomiting was present in 88% of the patients. Etiology was not determined. No significant differences in serum lipase, serum amylase, BUN, and CRP levels were observed between the mild and severe AP groups. Total and platelet counts as well as hemoglobin, hematocrit, serum creatinine, random blood sugar, and serum alanine aminotransferase levels (p>0.05) were significantly higher in the mild AP group than in the severe AP group (p=0.001). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of CT severity index (CTSI) were 71.4%, 72.2%, 50%, and 86.7%, respectively. In addition, significant differences in pancreatic appearance and necrosis were observed between the two groups on CT. Conclusion: CT can be used to assess the severity of AP. In the present study, the CTSI effectively assessed the severity of AP in pediatric patients.

• 대한인간공학회지
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• 제36권5호
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• pp.601-607
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• 2017

Objective: A method to assess the risk level of agricultural works considering work posture and working time was suggested, and the method was applied to the major fruit crops. Background: It is not complete to analyze only work postures when assessing risk level of agricultural works. Method: $3{\times}3$ matrix was employed, in which the severity level was taken from the REBA method and exposure level was taken from the working time, using the criteria of caution zone/hazard zone. Results: Among the 5 major fruit crops(apple, pear, grape, peach, persimmon), the highest level of ergonomic risk was found in the apple and pear, while medium level was found in other 3 crops, mainly because the working time was less in the 3 crops. Conclusion: It was found that when assessing the overall ergonomic risk of agricultural works, work posture and working time should be considered at the same time. Application: The suggested method could be applied to other non-cyclic tasks.

• 무역상무연구
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• 제49권
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• pp.379-405
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• 2011

With the fast growing of international trade and ever-changing trade environment Korea is facing more risks in international trade and they are getting more diverse and happen more frequent with high severity. Big firms of international trade are ready and treat the risks quite well, but small and medium size firms have hard time to manage the risks due to their poor understanding, not much capital to spend, and weak skills of risk management. Holding significant size of international trade of Korea, the small and medium size firms need systematic and integrated risk management and the K-sure(former Korea Export Insurance) can make a significant contribution to help them manage risks in international trade business. This study is proposing the adoption of ERM(Enterprise Risk Management) for international trade business of Korea. Especially for small and medium size firms of international trade, the K-sure may set up integrated risk management system to help them and promote the export growth, which is a great mission of K-sure.

• 대한임상검사과학회지
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• 제47권1호
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• pp.28-34
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• 2015

Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is used to non-invasively estimate the severity of arteriosclerosis by measuring arterial stiffness. Increased arterial stiffness measured by PWV stands for progressive arteriosclerosis and is caused by atherosclerotic risk factors. This study is focused on how brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) is related to the leading risk factors for arteriosclerosis or atherosclerosis. Subjects were 114, 69 males and 45 females who are in 60's and had baPWV test for acute stroke. The results are as follows: the group with increased arterial stiffness showed significant increase in HbA1c, total cholesterol, BSBP (brachial artery systolic blood pressure), BDBP (brachial artery diastolic blood pressure), CSBP (central artery systolic blood pressure), CDBP (central artery diastolic blood pressure), augmentation index (AIx) and diabetes mellitus. Correlation analysis between baPWV and atherosclerotic risk factor showed significant relationship in age, HbA1c, LDL cholesterol, BSBP, BDBP, CSBP, CDBP and augmentation index. baPWV was independently related to age and BSBP in multiple linear regression analysis. The group with increased arterial stiffness was independently related to BDBP in multiple logistic regression analysis. This study might be meaningful in evaluating the relationship between arterial stiffness and atherosclerotic risk factor in a new way, and be helped to make various studies for cardiovascular disease.

• 한국농공학회논문집
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• 제55권3호
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• pp.41-49
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• 2013

Drought risk assessment is usually performed qualitatively and quantitatively depending on the definition a drought. The meteorological drought indices have a limit of not being able to consider the hydrological components such as evapotranspiration, soil moisture and runoff, because it does not consider the water demand in paddies and water supply in reservoirs. Agricultural drought was defined as the reservoir storage shortage state that cannot satisfy water requirement from the paddy fields. The objectives of this study were to suggest improved agricultural drought risk assessment in order to evaluate of regional drought vulnerability and severity studied by using Reservoir Drought Index (RDI). The RDI is designed to simulate daily water balance between available water from agricultural reservoir and water requirement in paddies and is calculated with a frequency analysis of monthly water deficit based on water demand and water supply condition. The results indicated that RDI can be used to assess regional drought risk in agricultural perspective by comparing with the historical records of drought in 2012. It can be concluded that the RDI obtained good performance to reflect the historical drought events for both spatially and temporally. In addition, RDI is expected to contribute to determine the exact situation on the current drought condition for evaluating regional drought risk and to assist the effective drought-related decision making.

• 대한안전경영과학회지
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• 제21권4호
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• pp.7-15
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• 2019

This paper proposes the FMEA-based model to avoid backdoor transactions when purchasers select suppliers for products and services. In the model, backdoor transactions consist of two categories: backdoor selling and maverick buying. Both of which influence negative effects on cost savings due to not only uncompetitive advantage but also unusable purchasing leverage by unethical and misbehavior of purchase requestors. For the risk evaluation based on FMEA, three and five risk types of backdoor selling and maverick buying are identified respectively. Current risk priority numbers(RPN) based on those risk types are calculated by three categories: occurrence, detection and severity. Six risk mitigation strategies and fourteen mitigation tactics are identified to improve current RPN. In order to validate the model, questionnaires are collected from fifteen companies and statistically analyzed. The analysis result shows that the model reduces backdoor transaction risks and has no differences in reduction of backdoor transaction risks regardless of the type of purchasing organization units and existence of purchasing procedures in the organization.