• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.37 no.3
• /
• pp.198-205
• /
• 2022

Hepatic diseases are divided into two types: alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Non-alcoholic liver injury finally induces fatty liver and damages liver function. Many studies have demonstrated that Ecklonia stolonifera has antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and hepatoprotective activities. We conducted a 12-week double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial to examine the efficacy of E. stolonifera extracts (ESE) on biochemical markers of hepatic function. Sixty-five subjects with mild or moderate liver injuries were randomly allocated to receive either 420 mg/d of ESE or a placebo for 12 weeks. Fifty-five participants completed the trial. No significant adverse events were observed among the subjects during the study. The primary end points were changes in plasma levels of aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), and γ-glutamyltransferase (γ-GT). The secondary end points were changes in lipid profile levels, including total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL). Compared with the baseline, AST and ALT levels decreased significantly in the ESE group compared to those in the placebo group (P<0.001). In addition, γ-GT levels in the ESE group were significantly lower than those in the placebo group (P=0.016). There were no differences in the TC, TG, HDL, and LDL levels between groups. In conclusion, ESE consumption for 12 weeks improved liver parameters in subjects with liver injury. Regular consumption of ESE could maintain liver health in individuals at risk of hepatic damage.

• Journal of Industrial Convergence
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.67-76
• /
• 2023

COVID-19, which occurred in 2019, has a strong contagious power, has serious symptoms of infection and after-effects, and death in severe cases depending on the underlying disease and symptoms. As COVID-19 is highly contagious, in Korea, screening clinics have been set up across the country to determine whether or not to be positive for COVID-19 and isolate the infected to prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, there are cases where COVID-19 test applicants flock to screening clinics and cannot receive tests due to longer waiting times, and there is a risk that secondary infections may occur in the atmosphere. In this study, the reservation and notification system can be applied from the existing screening care system to solve spatial constraints, reducing waiting time with screening appointments, and solving population bottlenecks to screening clinics. Taking the COVID-19 pandemic as an experience, we propose a system that can present directions in future pandemic situations. To process real-time data, we use Google's Firebase to use Realtime Database in the cloud environment. Because a real-time database is used, users can check the status of screening clinics in real time through the app, make reservations, and receive notifications about test reservations.

• The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.119-129
• /
• 2023

Sleep apnea causes various secondary disease such as hypertension, stroke, myocardial infarction, depression and cognitive impairment. Early detection and continuous management of sleep apnea are urgently needed since it causes cardio-cerebrovascular diseases. In this study, wearable device for monitoring respiration during sleep using PVDF film was developed to detect vibration through trachea caused by breathing, which determines normal breathing and sleep apnea. Variables such as respiration rate and apnea were extracted based on the detected breathing sound data, and a noise reduction algorithm was established to minimize the effect even when there is a noise signal. In addition, it was confirmed that irregular breathing patterns can be analyzed by establishing a moving threshold algorithm. The results show that the accuracy of the respiratory rate from the developed device was 98.7% comparing with the polysomnogrphy result. Accuracy of detection for sleep apnea event was 92.6% and that of the sleep apnea duration was 94.0%. The results of this study will be of great help to the management of sleep disorders and confirmation of treatment by commercialization of wearable devices that can monitor sleep information easily and accurately at home during daily life and confirm the progress of treatment.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.66-74
• /
• 2022

Purpose: This study investigates the characteristics and prognosis of acute poisoning patients visiting nationwide emergency departments before and after the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Data were obtained from the National Emergency Department Information System (NEDIS). Methods: This nationwide retrospective observational study included acute poisoning patients who visited the emergency departments between February 1 to December 31, 2020, which has been determined as the pandemic period. The same periods in 2018 and 2019 were designated as the control periods. The primary outcome assessed was the length of stay in emergency departments (EDLOS). The secondary outcomes examined were intensive care unit admission rate and in-hospital mortality rate before and after the pandemic. A subgroup analysis was performed for inpatients and intentional poisoning patients. Results: A total of 163,560 patients were included in the study. During the pandemic, the proportion of women increased from 50.0% in 2018 and 50.3% in 2019 to 52.5% in 2020. Patients aged 20-29 years increased from 13.4% in 2018 and 13.9% in 2019 to 16.6% in 2020. A rise in cases of intentional poisoning was also noted - from 33.9% in 2018 and 34.0% in 2019 to 38.4% in 2020. Evaluating the hospitalized poisoned patients revealed that the EDLOS increased from 3.8 hours in 2018 and 3.7 hours in 2019 to 4.2 hours in 2020. ICU admissions were also markedly increased (2018, 48.2%; 2019, 51.8%; 2020, 53.2%) among hospitalized patients. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and prognosis of acute poisoning patients visiting nationwide emergency departments in Korea. The proportion of young adults, women, and intentional poisoning patients has increased after the COVID-19 pandemic. Prolonged length of stay at the emergency department and an increased rate of intensive care unit admissions were determined in hospitalized acute poisoning patients.

• Journal of Industrial Convergence
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.99-106
• /
• 2023

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors affecting depression according to the causes of suicidal ideation. The data used the 2021 Community Health Survey data. The participants of the study were 5,328 adults between the ages of 20 and 60 who responded that they had suicidal thoughts in the past year. For the analysis of the data, a composite sample analysis was performed using the SPSS 25.0 program. The results of the study are as follows. 1) In the economic difficulties group, age, gender, education level, economic activity, job change due to COVID-19, life satisfaction, subjective health status, stress, sleep time, and annual unmet medical care were the main factors related to depression. 2) In the interpersonal problem group, age, gender, education level, economic activity, life satisfaction, subjective health status, smoking, drinking, stress, and sleeping time were the main factors associated with depression. 3) In the disease and disability group, age, marital status, education level, life satisfaction, smoking, stress, sleep time, and annual unmet medical care were the main influencing factors of depression. Therefore, in order to reduce the rate of suicide and prevent depression, it is necessary to establish various strategies according to the causes of suicidal ideation and the influencing factors of depression.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.416-423
• /
• 2022

This study was a secondary data analysis study to determine the relationship between mental health counseling and the current prevalence of depression in the Korean adult population. Data were extracted from raw data of the 7th 3rd year (2018) of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The subjects of this study were 6,238 adults aged 19 years or older who participated in the NHANES conducted from January to December 2018. The collected data were analyzed by frequency analysis and logistic regression analysis of the complex sample by the SPSS/WIN 27.0 version program. The mental health counseling statistically significant associated with variables such as sex, marital status, economic activities, and family income level, respectively (p<0.05). The prevalence of depression statistically significant associated with age group (p<0.0001). The odds-ratio of current prevalence of depression was 5.09 times (OR, 5.085; p<0.0001) lower in subjects who had undergone mental health counseling for the past year compared to subjects who did not. These findings could be useful as evidence-based data for the prevention and management of depression by predicting the vulnerable factors for mental health in the Korean adult population.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.44 no.3
• /
• pp.387-401
• /
• 2023

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the preventive effect of herbal medicines on restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) by reviewing randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methods: RCTs were searched for herbal medicine treatment after PCI using eight online databases (PubMed, CNKI, Wanfang, J-STAGE, OASIS, ScienceON, KTKP, and KISS). Studies that confirmed restenosis through coronary angiography at follow-up were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The primary outcome was the restenosis rate, and the secondary outcome was the angina recurrence rate. Data were extracted from the final selected studies according to the research methodology and then analyzed with Review Manager 5.4.1. Study quality was assessed using Cochrane's risk-of-bias (RoB) tool. Results: Of the 252 papers obtained through the primary search, nine studies that met the selection criteria were finally selected. In these nine studies, herbal medicine combined with western medicine was used for the experimental group, and western medicine treatment was used alone for the control group. The meta-analysis result revealed that the restenosis rate and angina recurrence rate were significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group (RR=0.34, 95% CI: 0.22-0.53, p<0.00001, I²=0% and RR=0.47, 95% CI: 0.29-0.78, p=0.004, I²=0%, respectively). Furthermore, the quality of studies assessed by Cochrane's RoB was low. Conclusions: This study showed that the combined treatment of herbal medicine and western medicine was effective in preventing restenosis and angina after PCI. As the number of papers included in this study was small, a large number of high-quality clinical studies should be considered in the future.

• Journal of Korean Gerontological Nursing
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.125-134
• /
• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate factors related to use of restraints for older adults with dementia in long-term care settings. Methods: This study analyzed secondary data from the Nationwide Survey on Dementia Care in Korea (NaSDeCK). Demographic characteristics, disease characteristics, and functional characteristics were analyzed. Data were analyzed with χ² test, t-test, ANOVA, and logistic regression analysis. Results: Among participants, 8.2% experienced use of restraints. 'Strap' (78.3%) was the most commonly used restraint and 'Behavioral problem' (51.3%) was a major reason for the restraint. Persons who have low levels of daily activity and cognition deficits, higher levels of dependence, histories of falls within the past 3 months, and living in long-term hospitals have greater probability of restraint experience. Conclusion: Developing interventions for older adults who have a high risk of being restrained is essential to minimize unnecessary restraint use among older adults with dementia in long-term care settings. Further study exploring the interacting roles of organizational and staff factors related to use of physical restraints would provide more comprehensive perspectives in understanding this phenomenon.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.66
• /
• pp.236-243
• /
• 2023

Platelets act a fundamental role in primary- and secondary-hemostasis, however, platelet activation may cause thrombosis simultaneously. Therefore, control of platelet aggregation is crucial in preventing thrombosis-mediated diseases. Recently, the development of insect materials is attracting attention. Among the highly nutritious functional food sources, insects such as two-spotted cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus). Gryllus bimaculatus (G. bimaculatus) contains high protein and unsaturated fatty acids and has been registered as a food material September 2015 by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of Korea. In this study, we examined whether G. bimaculatus extract (GBE) inhibits platelet aggregation, intracellular calcium mobilization, thromboxane A₂ production and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa (integrin αIIb/β3) activation. We investigated whether GBE can regulate signaling molecules, such as 1, 4, 5-triphosphate receptor type I, extracellular signal-regulated kinase, cytosolic phospholipase A₂, mitogen-activated protein kinases p38, vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein, phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase, Akt, glycogen synthase kinase-3α/β, and SYK. Taken together, GBE is a potential therapeutic drug candidate to prevent platelet-related thrombosis and cardiovascular disease.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.149-164
• /
• 2024

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The economic recession caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic disproportionately affected poor and vulnerable populations globally. Better uunderstanding of vulnerability to shocks in food supply and demand in the Asia Pacific region is needed. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Using secondary data from rapid assessment surveys during the pandemic response (n = 10,420 in mid-2020; n = 6,004 in mid-2021) in India, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Vietnam, this study examined the risk factors for reported income reduction or job loss in mid-2021 and the temporal trend in food security status (household food availability, and market availability and affordability of essential items) from mid-2020 to mid-2021. RESULTS: The proportion of job loss/reduced household income was highest in India (60.4%) and lowest in Indonesia (39.0%). Urban residence (odds ratio [OR] range, 2.20-4.11; countries with significant results only), female respondents (OR range, 1.40-1.69), engagement in daily waged labor (OR range, 1.54-1.68), and running a small trade/business (OR range, 1.66-2.71) were significantly associated with income reduction or job loss in three out of 4 countries (all P < 0.05). Food stock availability increased significantly in 2021 compared to 2020 in all four countries (OR range, 1.91-4.45) (all P < 0.05). Availability of all essential items at markets increased in India (OR range, 1.45-3.99) but decreased for basic foods, hygiene items, and medicine in Vietnam (OR range, 0.81-0.86) in 2021 compared to 2020 (all P < 0.05). In 2021, the affordability of all essential items significantly improved in India (OR range, 1.18-3.49) while the affordability of rent, health care, and loans deteriorated in Indonesia (OR range, 0.23-0.71) when compared to 2020 (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Long-term social protection programs need to be carefully designed and implemented to address food insecurity among vulnerable groups, considering each country's market conditions, consumer food purchasing behaviors, and financial support capacity.