• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.37-50
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• 2024

Korea has the highest suicide rate among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, with increasing rates observed among children and adolescents with low levels of life satisfaction. Patients in these age groups exhibit particularly turbulent and impulsive behaviors, which make suicide highly contagious and fatal. The loss of meaningful work or activities increases the risk of suicide, especially in young people. Following revisions to the Mental Health Welfare Act (2016), which has included occupational therapists among mental health professionals, a multidisciplinary approach including occupational therapy has been emphasized upon in mental health services. Screening tools for preventing suicide in children and adolescents include the Suicidal Ideation Scale, Beck's Suicidal Ideation Scale, Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale, Reasons for Living Scale for Adolescents, and the Student Emotional and Behavioral Characteristics Test. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, which is an occupational therapy evaluation tool, is also used. Various suicide prevention programs have been proposed across academic disciplines; however, due to the urgent nature of high-risk groups, there is a need for timely services. Currently, most existing programs focus primarily on the cognitive-behavioral aspects. In this study, we aimed to introduce diverse suicide prevention programs for mental health professionals working with high-risk children and adolescents in order to equip them with the relevant information and help apply their learnings effectively in different situations.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.91-99
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• 2011

Risk ranking must be determined for various hazards/food combinations to conduct microbial risk management effectively. Risk Ranger is a simple, easy-to-use calculation tool developed in Microsoft Excel and designed to rank the risk (low, medium, and high) for semi-quantitative microbial risk assessment. The user is required to answer 11 questions in Risk Ranger related to 1) severity of the hazard, 2) likelihood of a disease-causing dose of the hazard being present in the meal, and 3) the probability of exposure to the hazard in a defined time. This study determined the risk ranking for twenty three combinations of foodborne pathogens/potentially hazardous foods (PHFs) using a Risk Ranger. In this study, pathogenic E. coli in fresh cut produce salad was scored as 79, which was the highest rank among the 23 combinations of the foodborne pathogens and PHFs. On the other hand, zero risk was obtained with V parahaemolyticus in sushi, Salmonella in meat products and E. coli O157:H7 in hamburger patties. Although Risk Ranger is very simple method to rate the risk of foodborne pathogens and PHFs combination, the accuracy of result was mainly affected by the availability and accuracy of data in the literature. According to the result of literature review, the data are needed for contamination rate of raw materials, consumption amount/frequency of PHFs, and the effect of processing on pathogen. Risk ranking must be continuously revalidated with new data.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.81-91
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• 2012

Many risk factors exist for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). This study utilized a multivariate projection technique to identify which risk factors were predictive of CINV in clinical practice. A single-centre, prospective, observational study was conducted from January 2007~July 2010 in Singapore. Patients were on highly (HECs) and moderately emetogenic chemotherapies with/without radiotherapy. Patient demographics and CINV risk factors were documented. Daily recording of CINV events was done using a standardized diary. Principal component (PC) analysis was performed to identify which risk factors could differentiate patients with and without CINV. A total of 710 patients were recruited. Majority were females (67%) and Chinese (84%). Five risk factors were potential CINV predictors: histories of alcohol drinking, chemotherapy-induced nausea, chemotherapy-induced vomiting, fatigue and gender. Period (ex-/current drinkers) and frequency of drinking (social/chronic drinkers) differentiated the CINV endpoints in patients on HECs and anthracycline-based, and XELOX regimens, respectively. Fatigue interference and severity were predictive of CINV in anthracycline-based populations, while the former was predictive in HEC and XELOX populations. PC analysis is a potential technique in analyzing clinical population data, and can provide clinicians with an insight as to what predictors to look out for in the clinical assessment of CINV. We hope that our results will increase the awareness among clinician-scientists regarding the usefulness of this technique in the analysis of clinical data, so that appropriate preventive measures can be taken to improve patients' quality of life.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.78-84
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• 2015

Although researches have highlighted the important role of enhanced farm biosecurity to reduce the severity and prevalence of diseases in livestock, to date there has been little study in Korea on farmers' adoption of biosecurity measures to control porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) infection. To mitigate the risk of PRRSV infection in pigs, the risk factors by which PRRSV is introduced in pig farms must be determined. The primary aim of this study was to investigate pig producers' perceptions about on-farm biosecurity practices. We also analyzed data obtained from a cross-sectional study on 196 farrow-to-finish farms conducted between March 2013 and February 2014 to identify risk factors for PRRSV infection at farm level. Standardized questionnaires with information about basic demographical data and management practices were collected in each farm by on-site visit of trained veterinarians. Farms were classified as negative or positive through the use of infection profiles that combined data on PCR positive pigs and serological testing including antibody titer, sero-conversion pattern at each age category, and vaccination status. Data on biosecurity practices, farm management and environmental characteristics were analyzed using multivariate ordinal logistic regression. Generally, the biosecurity level in the pig farms included in this study were insufficient to reduce/prevent the risk of PRRSV infection given the high pig density areas and the considerable extent of vehicle movement. Factors associated with PRRSV infection were those where owners used on-farm vaccination programs had a lower risk of infection (OR = 0.19, 95% CI 0.06-0.61). The results from the analysis may guide to tailor biosecurity measures in the reduction or prevention of PRRS to the specific circumstances of pig farms in different localities of the world. To the best knowledge of the authors, this is the first study to report information on the biosecurity practices currently implemented on Korean pig farms.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.157-167
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• 2017

Millions of People die every year from diseases caused by exposure to outdoor air pollution. Especially, one of the most severe types of air pollution is fine particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5). South Korea also has been suffered from severe PM. This paper analyzes regional risks induced by PM10 and PM2.5 that have affected domestic area of Korea during 2014~2016.3Q. We investigated daily maxima of PM10 and PM2.5 data observed on 284 stations in South Korea, and found extremely high outlier. We employed extreme value distributions to fit the PM10 and PM2.5 data, but a single distribution did not fit the data well. For theses reasons, we implemented extreme mixture models such as the generalized Pareto distribution(GPD) with the normal, the gamma, the Weibull and the log-normal, respectively. Next, we divided the whole area into 16 regions and analyzed characteristics of PM risks by developing the FN-curves. Finally, we estimated 1-month, 1-quater, half year, 1-year and 3-years period return levels, respectively. The severity rankings of PM10 and PM2.5 concentration turned out to be different from region to region. The capital area revealed the worst PM risk in all seasons. The reason for high PM risk even in the yellow dust free season (Jun. ~ Sep.) can be inferred from the concentration of factories in this area. Gwangju showed the highest return level of PM2.5, even if the return level of PM10 was relatively low. This phenomenon implies that we should investigate chemical mechanisms for making PM2.5 in the vicinity of Gwangju area. On the other hand, Gyeongbuk and Ulsan exposed relatively high PM10 risk and low PM2.5 risk. This indicates that the management policy of PM risk in the west side should be different from that in the east side. The results of this research may provide insights for managing regional risks induced by PM10 and PM2.5 in South Korea.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.67-73
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• 2015

Bacterial blossom blight of kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae is known to be largely affected by weather conditions during the blooming period. While there have been many studies that investigated scientific relations between weather conditions and the epidemics of bacterial blossom blight of kiwifruit, no forecasting models have been developed thus far. In this study, we collected all the relevant information on the epidemiology of the blossom blight in relation to weather variables, and developed the Pss-KBB Risk Model that is based on the Maryblyt model for the fire blight of apple and pear. Subsequent model validation was conducted using 10 years of ground truth data from kiwifruit orchards in Haenam, Korea. As a result, it was shown that the Pss-KBB Risk Model resulted in better performance in estimating the disease severity compared with other two simple models using either temperature or precipitation information only. Overall, we concluded that by utilizing the Pss-KBB Risk Model and weather forecast information, potential infection risk of the bacterial blossom blight of kiwifruit can be accurately predicted, which will eventually lead kiwifruit growers to utilize the best practices related to spraying chemicals at the most effective time.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.561-568
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• 2019

Recently, Korea has suffered from severe droughts due to climate change. Therefore, we need to pay attention to the change of drought risk to develop appropriate drought mitigation measures. In this study, we investigated the changes of hydrologic risk of extreme drought using the current observed data and the projected data according to the RCP 4.5 and 8.5 climate change scenarios. The bivariate frequency analysis was performed for the paired data of drought duration and severity extracted by the threshold level method and by eliminating pooling and minor droughts. Based on the hydrologic risk of extreme drought events Jeonbuk showed the highest risk and increased by 51 % than the past for the RCP 4.5 scenario, while Gangwon showed the highest risk and increased by 47 % than the past for the RCP 8.5 scenario.

• The Korean Journal of Archival Studies
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• no.27
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• pp.119-168
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• 2011

This paper proposed risk management approach as a self-audit framework to achieve the goals which might be common among the records management organizations in Korea governmental and public area. After introducing the history and the concept and process of risk management approach and examining DRAMBORA's framework, the processes and the methods of risk management for the electronic records which are customized from DRAMBORA are explained in details: How to define the business context of organizations, how to determine the business functions and activities and related risks, how to assess the level or severity of each risks and some considerations related to risk assessment. As a result, this paper shows that application of DRAMBORA's framework to the electronic records management organizatioins is not only possible but also useful and effective. The critical point for the success of application for DRAMBORA's framwork or the risk management approach itself each organizations which wants to accept that framework should define its own business functions and activities and the goals in respect areas.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.40-46
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• 2019

Purpose: We perform an analysis of infection risk factors for fracture patients and confirm that the risk factors reported in previous studies increase the risk of actual infection among fractured patients. In addition, injury severity score (ISS) which is used as an evaluation tool for morbidity of trauma patients, confirms whether there is a relationship with infection after orthopedic fracture surgery. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 1,818 patients who underwent fixation surgery at orthopedic trauma team, focused trauma center from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2017. Thirty-five patients were infected after fracture surgery. We analyzed age, sex, open fracture criteria based on Gustilo-Aderson classification 3b, anatomical location (upper extremity or lower extremity) of fracture, diabetes, smoking, ISS. Results: Of 1,818 patients, 35 (1.9%) were diagnosed with postoperative infection. Of the 35 infected patients, nine (25.7%) were female and five (14.0%) were upper extremity fractures. Three (8.6%) were diagnosed with diabetes and eight (22.8%) were smokers. Thirteen (37.1%) had ISS less than nine points and six (17.1%) had ISS 15 points or more. Of 1,818 patients, 80 had open fractures. Surgical site infection were diagnosed in 12 (15.0%) of 80. And nine of 12 were checked with Gustilo-Aderson classification 3b or more. Linear logistic regression analysis was performed using statistical analysis program Stata 15 (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX, USA). In addition, independent variables were logistic regression analyzed individually after Propensity scores matching. In all statistical analyzes, only open fracture was identified as a risk factor. Conclusions: The risk factors for infection in fracture patients were found to be significantly influenced by open fracture rather than the underlying disease or anatomical feature of the patient. In the case of ISS, it is considered that there is a limitation. It is necessary to develop a new scoring system that can appropriately approach the morbidity of fracture trauma patients.

• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.119-127
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• 2012

For traffic safety, it is imperative for motorists to secure their clear view and to maintain a similar speed with others while driving in a lane. Large-sized vehicles at lower speeds, however, are likely to increase the risk of accident when they share a lane with cars. Although to overcome this complication the Korean Road Traffic Act established rules for the safe use of roads, the reality is that the rules are seldom observed strictly. In this light, this study was designed to analyze the severity of truck-involved accidents, thereby providing justification for the need of truck-designated lanes and thus contributing to measuring road safety more precisely. A binomial logistic regression model was applied to analyze the severity of truck-involved accidents. The analysis showed that several variables affect the severity of truck-involved accidents on freeways; i.e., violation against the rule of truck-designated lanes, weather, difference between daytime and nighttime, and parking on road shoulder. Moreover, the strong enforcement will be needed to make motorists observe the rule, because a Wald statistical test showed that the violation against the rule of truck-designated lanes has the largest influence on the severity.