• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.263-267
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• 2019

BACKGROUD/OBJECTIVES: Obesity is globally a major public health issue. Evidence suggests that elevated ferritin levels are associated with obesity, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome. This study was undertaken to examine the relationship between the serum ferritin level and depression in Korean male adults with respect to classification of the prevailing obesity. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This was a case-control study; subjects were classified into obese group (${\geq}25.0kg/m^2$, 28 subjects) and normal group ($18.5-22.9kg/m^2$, 27 subjects). A survey was conducted to assess the depression levels as per the guidelines suggested by the Center program for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D). Blood was collected from each group for assessing biomarkers, and isolated plasma was evaluated for fasting glucose, insulin, quantitative insulin sensitivity check index, and ferritin levels. Data were analyzed, and groups were compared with respect to Body Mass Index (BMI), depression scale and biomarkers. RESULTS: The average depression score of the obesity group was 16.86, which was higher than the normal group (12.56). Subjects scoring more than 16 points comprised 53.6% of the population in the obese group, which was more than double that in the normal group, as assessed by the CES-D program. Furthermore, the serum ferritin level of the obesity group was 207.12 ng/mL, which was higher than that of the normal group (132.66 ng/mL). Lastly, the BMI appeared to be significantly correlated with both depression (r = 0.320, P = 0.017) and elevated ferritin levels (r = 0.352, P = 0.008). CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence of existing correlation between ferritin and depression with obesity.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.227-234
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• 2022

Background and Purpose: In 2021, lung cancer in school food workers was first recognized as an occupational cancer. The classification of the carcinogenicity of cooking fumes by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) was based on Chinese epidemiological data. This study aimed to determine the hazard levels of school cooking fumes in Korea. Materials and Methods: Based on public school cafeterias in one area, 25 locations were selected for the survey according to the number per school type, ventilation states, and environmental pre-assessments of cafeterias. Two inside cooking areas using a heat source and one outside cooking area were selected as control measurement points. Measurements of CO, CO₂, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs), including benzene, formaldehyde, and particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5, PM1, respectively), were taken. The concentrations and patterns of each substance in the kitchens were compared with the outdoor air quality. Result: Known carcinogens, such as the concentrations of PAHs, formaldehyde, TVOC (benzene), and particulate matter in school cooking fumes, were all detected at similar or slightly higher levels than those found outside. Additionally, substances were detected at relatively low concentrations compared to the Chinese cooking fumes reported in the literature. However, the short-term exposure to high concentrations of CO (or composite exposure with CO₂) and PM2.5 in this study were shown. Conclusion: The school cooking fumes in South Korea was a relatively less harmful than Chinese cooking fumes, however short-term, high exposure of toxic substances can cause a critical health effect.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.719-722
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• 2016

Background: Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a serious health problem in Thailand, particularly in northeastern and northern regions, but epidemiological studies are scarce and the spatial distribution of CCA remains to be determined. A database for the population at risk is required for monitoring, surveillance and organization of home health care. This study aim was to geo-visually display the distribution of CCA in northeast Thailand, using a geographic information system and Google Earth. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in 9 sub-districts and 133 villages in Chum Phuang district, Nakhon Ratchasima province during June and October 2015. Data on demography, and the population at risk for CCA were combined with the points of villages, sub-district boundaries, district boundaries, and points of hospitals in districts, then fed into a geographical information system. After the conversion, all of the data were imported into Google Earth for geo-visualization. Results: A total of 11,960 from 83,096 population were included in this study. Females and male were 52.5%, and 47.8%, the age group 41-50 years old 33.3%. Individual risk for CCA was identifed and classified by using the Korat CCA verbal screening test as low (92.8%), followed by high risk (6.74%), and no (0.49%), respectively. Gender ($X^2$-test=1143.63, p-value= 0.001), age group ($X^2$-test==211.36, p-value=0.0001), and sub-district ($X^2$-test=1471.858, p-value=0.0001) were significantly associated with CCA risk. Spatial distribution of the population at risk for CCA in Chum Phuang district was viewed with Google Earth. Geo-visual display followed Layer 1: District, Layer 2: Sub-district, Layer 3: Number of low risk in village, Layer 4: Number of high risk in village, and Layer 5: Hospital in Chum Phuang District and their related catchment areas. Conclusions: We present the first risk geo-visual display of CCA in this rural community, which is important for spatial targeting of control efforts. Risk appears to be strongly associated with gender, age group, and sub-district. Therefor, spatial distribution is suitable for the use in the further monitoring, surveillance, and home health care for CCA.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.1433-1436
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• 2016

Background: Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), a major problem of health in Thailand, particularly in Northeastern and Northern regions, is generally incurable and rapidly lethal because of presentation in stage 3 or 4. Early diagnosis of stage 1 and 2 could allow better survival. Therefore, this study aimed to provide a distribution map of populations at risk for CCA in BuaYai district of Nakhon Ratchasima province, Northeast Thailand. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in 10 sub-districts and 122 villages, during June and November 2015. The populations at risk for CCA were screened using the Korat CCA verbal screening test (KCVST) and then risk areas were displayed by using Google map (GM). Results: A total of 11,435 individuals from a 26,198 population completed the KCVST. The majority had a low score of risk for CCA (1-4 points; 93.3%). High scores with 6, 7 and 8 points accounted for 1.20%, 0.13% and 0.02%. The population at risk was found frequently in sub-district municipalities, followed by sub-district administrative organization and town municipalities, (F=396.220, P-value=0.000). Distribution mapping comprised 11 layers: 1, district; 2, local administrative organization; 3, hospital; 4, KCVST opisthorchiasis; 5, KCVST praziquantel used; 6, KCVST cholelithiasis; 7, KCVST raw fish consumption; 8, KCVST alcohol consumption; 9, KCVST pesticide used; 10, KCVST relative family with CCA; and 11, KCVST naive northeastern people. Geovisual display is now available online. Conclusions: This study indicated that the population at high risk of CCA in Bua Yai district is low, therefore setting a zero model project is possible. Key success factors for disease prevention and control need further study. GM production is suitable for further CCA surveillance and monitoring of the population with a high risk score in this area.

• Korean Security Journal
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• no.55
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• pp.117-141
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• 2018

Police crime statistics report that residential housing such as apartment, low rise, detached houses is the second most vulnerable to crime, which is closely followed by the number of street crimes. Also residential houses are often exposed to quality-of-life crime, e.g burglary. It threatens the basic human rights of house residents in terms of safety and comfort within the urban living environment. This study examines related precedent studies regarding the vulnerability of residential housing including studios, multi-family housing from the viewpoint of crime prevention through environment design(CPTED), extracted the elements and items suitable for the safety of residential facilities and the certification evaluation indicators and check items to be the basis for the checklist are derived. Based on these evaluation indicators and inspection items, we conducted on-site surveys of residential facilities in three areas of Seoul, Yongin and Asan, and the final draft of the checklist was revised based on the results of the field survey. There are 43 items on the 7 fields of evaluation in the final version of checklist, 11 items in the management and operation, 20 items in the surveillance, 7 items in the access control, 1 item in the territoriality, 2 items in the activity support, and 2 items in the security and safety facilities. In addition, various points of interest were added to allow the administrator of the residential facility to earn points for special measures taken for safety. This checklist can be appropriately modified and utilized in consideration of the characteristics of each facility. Korean national police agency has CPOs to check the residential facilities in their jurisdiction using checklists and to certify excellent facilities with high level of safety.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.741-747
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• 2009

For construction of 3D virtual city models, airborne digital cameras, laser scanners, multi-oblique photograph systems and other devices are currently being used. With such advanced techniques, precise 3D spatial information can be collected and high quality 3D city models can be built in a considerably large area. The 3D spatial information to be built has to provide the latest information that quickly reflects the causes of any change due to urban development. In this study, a UAV photogrammetric method using low cost UAV and digital camera was proposed to acquire and update 3D spatial information effectively on small areas where information continuously change. In the proposed UAV photogrammetric method, the elements of interior orientation were acquired through camera calibration and the vertical and oblique photographs were taken at 9 points and the 3D drawing of ground control points and buildings was performed using 20 images among the pictured images. This study also analyzed the accuracy of the proposed method comparing with ground survey data and digital map in order to examine whether the method can be used in on-demand 3D spatial information update on relatively small areas.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.105-138
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• 2009

Although the decline in fertility rate is generally observed along the history of economic development throughout the world, the continuing decline hitting below the replacement level in Korea over the recent years gathered serious social concerns on the ground that it accelerates the process of population aging. The total fertility rate in Koreareached 2.08 in 1983, and gradually fell to the levels of 1.08 in 2005 and 1.26 in 2007. The policy debate over the role of the government has been focused mainly on the level of theoretical discussion without substantial basis on firm empirical evidence and the determinants of fertility. The objective of the paper is to empirically investigate the fertility effect of the female wage, which is understood as one of the most important determinants of fertility in Koreasince 1980 focusing on one aspect of fertility, namely birth spacing. Using the Korean National Fertility Survey conducted in 2006, I estimate a duration model of first and second births taking into account individual heterogeneity, which turned out to be an important factor to control for. Compared with previous studies in the literature on the Korean fertility, the study has an advantage of using the complete pregnancy history of women in a more representative sample. Unlike the previous studies, the analysis also deals with the endogeneity of marriage by treating a certain age, rather than age at marriage, as the time in which a woman becomes exposed to the risk of pregnancy. The study shares the common problem in the literature on birth spacing of lacking relevant wage information for respondents in a retrospective survey. I estimate the wage series as a function of the basic characteristics using the annual Wage Structure Survey from 1980 to 2005, which is considered as a nationally representative sample for wage information of employees. The results suggest that the increase in female wage by 10 percent leads to a decrease in second birth hazard by 0.56~0.92 percentage points and that the increase in spouse's wage by the equal amount is accompanied by the increase in second birth hazard by 0.36~1.13 percentage points. These estimates are more precisely estimated and of smaller magnitude than those presented by the previous studies. The results are robust to the different specifications of the wage equation. The simulation analysis based on the predicted values shows that about 17% of the change in the second birth hazard over the period 1980 to 2005 was due to the change in the female wage. Although there is some limitation in data, the results can be viewed as one estimate of the role of female wage on the recent fertility decline in Korea. The question raised by the paper is not a normative one of whether a government should promote childbearing but a positive one thatexplains fertility decline. Therefore, if there is a wide consensus on promoting childbearing, the finding suggests that the policies designed to reduce the opportunity cost of women in the labor market would be effective. The recent movement of implementing a wide range of family-friendly policies including child care support, maternity leave, parental leave and tax benefit in developed countries should be understood in this context.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.175-185
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• 2007

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical effect of Moxa-Pellet treatment for nasal symptoms and quality of life(QOL) in patients with allergic rhinitis. Methods: Subjects were voluntarily recruited through newspaper and internet advertisement. In this randomized, single blind and controlled study, experimental group (n=19) received real Moxa-Pellet treatment and control group(n=20) received sham Moxa-Pellet treatment for 3 weeks. Acupuncture points used were $LI_4$, $ST_{36}$, $LU_7$, $GV_{14}$ and $GB_{20}$. Patient's nasal symptoms and QOL were assessed before and after 3 weeks treatment by the Nasal Symptom Scores(NSS) and the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey(SF-36). Results : The results were as follows; 1. Among items of NSS, Sneezing' Rhinorrhea' Itching scores and Total Nasal Symptom Scores(TNSS) were significantly improved in experimental group after 3 weeks Moxa- Pellet treatment(p<0.05). In control group, there was no significant difference in all items except Headache item of NSS. 2. Among 8 domains of SF- 36, experimental group showed significant difference in Role-Emotional(RE), Mental Health(MH) and Bodily Pain(Bp) after 3 weeks Moxa- Pellet treatment(p<0.05). Control group showed no significant difference in all domains except one domain(Role limitation-physical). Conclusions: These results suggest that Moxa-Pellet treatment can be applicable to improve nasal symptoms and QOL in the patients with allergic rhinitis. Further long tenn studies on the Moxa-Pellets treatment's sustaining power and safety is needed.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.sup1
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• pp.49-53
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• 2016

Evidence shows that tobacco advertising and promotion activities may increase tobacco consumption and usage, especially in youth. Despite the regulation on prohibiting advertisement of any tobacco product, tobacco advertisement and promotion activities are still common in Vietnam. This article presents current exposure to tobacco advertising and promotion (TAP) among school children aged 13 to 15 years in Vietnam in 2014 and potential influencing factors. Data from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey 2014 in Vietnam covering 3,430 school aged children were used. Both descriptive and analytical statistics were carried out with Stata 13 statistical software. Binary logistic regression was applied to explain the exposure to TAP among youth and examine relationships with individual factors. A significance level of p<0.05 and sampling weights were used in all of the computations. In the past 30 days, 48.6% of the students experienced exposure to at least 1 type of tobacco advertising or promotion. Wearing or otherwise using products related to tobacco was the most exposure TAP type reported by students (22.3%). The internet (22.1), points of sales (19.2) and social events (11.5) were three places that students aged 13-15 frequently were exposed to TAP. Binary logistic results showed that gender (female vs male) (OR = 0.61, 95%CI: 0.52 - 0.71), susceptibility to smoking (OR = 2.12, 95%CI: 1.53 - 2.92), closest friends' smoked (OR = 1.43, 95%CI: 1.2 - 1.7) and parents smoking status (OR = 2.83, 95%CI: 1.6 - 5.01) were significantly associated with TAP exposure among school-aged children. The research findings should contribute to effective implementation of measures for preventing and controlling tobacco use among students aged 13-15 in Viet Nam.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.781-793
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• 2003

This study was performed to investigate the stress level and health-related behaviors of nurses and to provide basic information for developing educational programs in the health care field. The subjects of this study were 197 nurses and 94 nursing assistants working at hospitals in the Kyung-nam area. A survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire in November, 2002. The results were as follows : The average age and work experience of the subjects were 26.9 and 5.6 years, respectively. The number of respondents in the shift and non-shift operations was equally distributed. The mean height and weight were 161.2 cm and 52.7 kg, respectively. Even though the average body mass index (BMI) and obesity index were normal in the subjects, 9.2% of the subjects were overweight/obese, while 28.9% of the subjects were under weight, according to the obesity index. The mean score of stress was 27.5 \pm$\pm$ 4.6 out of 50 points. Most of the subjects were highly stressed about the amount of their work, problems regarding their future, and relationships with their superiors. With regard to changes in food intake due to stress, 44.1% showed an increased intake, while 32.3% showed a reduced intake. The degree of health consciousness of the married nurses, those over 36 years of age, and those with over 10 years of nursing experience was significantly higher than that of the unmarried nurses, those under 35 years of age, and those with under 10 years of nursing experience (p<0.01). Fifty-one point three percent of the subjects thought their health status was unhealthy. Fifty-seven percent of the subjects had tried weight control. Their main reason for trying weight control was to have a slender figure (62.3%), and their methods of weight control were moderation in intake(45.6%), exercise and dieting (36.9%). TV/radio (49.5%) and newspaper/magazines (47.1%) were the primary sources of nutritional and health information for the subjects, and professional (25.1%) and the internet (13.4%) were ranked relatively highly. The food components of most concern to the subjects during meal time were (in order of importance) fats (51.9%), calories (40.2%) and salt (35.1%). The subjects considered 'taking a rest' (73.5%) as the most important factor in maintaining an optimal health status, followed by self-relaxation (56.4%), moderation in diet (39.5), bathing or using a sauna (25.7%) and exercising (22.7%).