• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.59 no.2
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• pp.355-379
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• 2007

This study examined the role of social support and mastery in the effects of hopelessness and depression on suicidal ideation in order to identify elders' suicide and it's related factors. Especially, it focused to find out whether the hopelessness excluding depression has an independent effect on elders' suicidal ideation, and psychosocial factors such as social support and mastery has an interaction effects with elders' hopelessness variables and depression on suicidal ideation. This study recruited 297 elders over 65(older persons in the elder education programs of senior welfare center in Masan, Changwon and Jinhae) and employed a self-administered survey method during January, 2007. The following are the major results of the study. First, the level of hopelessness, depression and suicidal ideation related elders' suicide indicated differences according to their educational level, marital state, income, and their chronical disease numbers. Especially, the lower income and higher chronical disease numbers showed higher level of hopelessness, depression and suicidal ideation among the elder subjects. Second, interaction effects of social support and depression were significant in suicidal ideation, the more level of social support in elder' subjects, the lower the suicidal ideation. While, interaction effects of social support and hopelessness, and mastery and depression/hopelessness in suicidal ideation were not statistically significant. Third, psychosocial factors such as social support and mastery on elders' suicidal ideation have a significant effect when other relevant variables are controlled. From these results, hopelessness is other significant factor predicting suicidal ideation(suicide) among elders. Also, social support and mastery is very significant factor influencing to prevent or decrease suicidal ideation among elders.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.101 no.4
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• pp.695-702
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• 2012

The chestnut management standard diagnostic table is developed and would be utilized in order that a manager raising chestnuts checks where the own level of management is and grasps current state of own for the purpose of planning aims and advancing toward a higher level. The developed 'Chestnut management standard diagnostic table' consisted of 3 first classified items, 19 second classified items and 2 product indicator items by the chestnut experts consultative meeting. A survey of 212 farmhouses in 4 major producing area was conducted. Except invalid survey of 53 farmers, 159 farmhouses interviewed were used in analysis. Total score was calculated with sum of each item's score. According to the survey results, average score is 68.0 and Buyeo received the highest score of 69.7 and Suncheon received the lowest score of 61.8 by regional groups. The higher the group in score, the better it is in output per hectare. But the property of 'the ratio of the best products in total products' does not show a statistical correlation. Generally the score of 'management-based evaluation indicator part' and 'management and sale capacity indicator part' in Suncheon was low because of many elderly people. In part of 'manufacturing technology indicator' as Environmentally-Friendly production is progressed in over 70% of four regions, when comes to a disease and insect pest control there are rarely farmhouses having a way of crop dusting.

• Journal of Korean Ophthalmic Optics Society
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.9-13
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• 2002

It is well known that the maximum amplitude of accommodation decreases with increasing age.(Presbyopia). With single vision lenses presbyopia can be corrected only for one viewing distance. With progressive power lenses presbyopia can be corrected for all viewing distances. But there are some other changes in the visual system with age which can not be corrected by spectacle lenses. Pupillary diameter decreases and the light transmission of the ocular media decreases. Therefore old people need more light, they need better illumination. Cone density in the retina decreases, this is only one example for changes in the sensory system. These changes in the visual system cause changes in visual functions. At the age of 80 visual acuity has decreased to half. Contrast sensitivity for gratings decreases mainly for high spatial frequencies very important is the increase of stray light in the ocular media and therefore the increase of glare. Veiling luminance increases by a multiple of approximately 4, Dark adaptation gets slower and light sensitivity is approximately 2 log units (factor 100) less when the eye is completely dark adapted. Also colour vision gets worse, especially at low luminances. Elderly people have problems with visual tasks which require divided attention between foveal and peripheral vision. An example is the measurement of the useful field of view. This useful field of view be expanded (improved) by visual training.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.94-96
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• 2020

In November 2013, a case of sustained combustion of a female body was encountered in a Korean farming village. The body was almost completely incinerated from the neck to the knees, and other parts of the body, such as the head, arms, lower legs, and feet, were slightly damaged. The most likely external ignition source was the flame from a matchstick. The elderly woman was found incinerated on the floor of the living room, while other objects in the house were largely undamaged except for having a brown oily or greasy coating. Flammable substances were not detected from the woman's intact pieces of clothing and socks, and her muscular tissues did not contain toxic chemicals. The concentration of carboxyhemoglobin in her peripheral blood was 11% and that of ethyl alcohol in her aqueous humor was below 0.010%. An autopsy failed to determine the exact cause of death because of excessive charring.

• The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.1229-1237
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• 2009

In the long-term care insurance(LTCI) system, the question of how to provide the most appropriate care has become a major issue for the elderly, their family, and for policy makers. To help beneficiaries use LTC services appropriately to their needs of care, National Health Insurance Corporation(NHIC) provide them with the individualized care plan, named the Long-term Care User Guide. It includes recommendations for beneficiaries' most appropriate type of care. The purpose of this study is to develop a recommending system for care plan(Res-CP) in LTCI system. We used data set for Long-term Care User Guide in the 3rd long-term care insurance pilot programs. To develop the model, we tested four models, including a decision-tree model in data-mining, a logistic regression model, and a boosting and boosting techniques in an ensemble model. A decision-tree model was selected to describe the Res-CP, because it may be easy to explain the algorithm of Res-CP to the working groups. Res-CP might be useful in an evidence-based care planning in LTCI system and may contribute to support use of LTC services efficiently.

• The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.637-653
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• 2018

Rapid aging of the population affects population structure and population aging. Consequently, developed countries have focused on population aging as a major issue in regards to pension sustainability finances as well as health and the elderly welfare system. Mortality projections that result from population structure changes and population aging are increasingly important. This paper compares six mortality models using KOSTAT's life table from 1970 to 2016. The models are rooted in the Lee-Carter (LC) model (Lee and Carter, Journal of the American Statistical Association, 87, 659-671, 1992) and have been modified and improved on the assumptions of the LC model. We examined the improvement process and the check assumption by models in order to find a suitable mortality model for Korea. Korea shows rapid aging and declined mortality rate by age; therefore, it is desirable to estimate and predict mortality from LL&LC-ER models by combining LC-ER, LL, and LC-ER models that reflect the phenomena and modify age-specific mortality patterns without major changes in expected life expectancy.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.164-171
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• 2021

Purpose: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a prodromal stage of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Brain atrophy in this disease spectrum begins in the medial temporal lobe structure, which can be recognized by magnetic resonance imaging. To overcome the unsatisfactory inter-observer reliability of visual evaluation, quantitative brain volumetry has been developed and widely investigated for the diagnosis of MCI and AD. The aim of this study was to assess the prediction accuracy of quantitative brain volumetry using a fully automated segmentation software package, NeuroQuant^®, for the diagnosis of MCI. Materials and Methods: A total of 418 subjects from the Korean Brain Aging Study for Early Diagnosis and Prediction of Alzheimer's Disease cohort were included in our study. Each participant was allocated to either a cognitively normal old group (n = 285) or an MCI group (n = 133). Brain volumetric data were obtained from T1-weighted images using the NeuroQuant software package. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to investigate relevant brain regions and their prediction accuracies. Results: Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that normative percentiles of the hippocampus (P < 0.001), amygdala (P = 0.003), frontal lobe (P = 0.049), medial parietal lobe (P = 0.023), and third ventricle (P = 0.012) were independent predictive factors for MCI. In ROC analysis, normative percentiles of the hippocampus and amygdala showed fair accuracies in the diagnosis of MCI (area under the curve: 0.739 and 0.727, respectively). Conclusion: Normative percentiles of the hippocampus and amygdala provided by the fully automated segmentation software could be used for screening MCI with a reasonable post-processing time. This information might help us interpret structural MRI in patients with cognitive impairment.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.355-364
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• 2009

Objectives : Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the most common diseases among elderly men. Though medicines such as 5${\alpha}$-reductase inhibitor (finasteride) have recently been developed for treating BPH, their adverse effects and low efficacy should not be overlooked. Curcuma longa has a long history of use in traditional medicines of Asian countries. Many reports conclude the component curcumin in Curcuma lonfa, has the potential to treat various diseases including prostate cancer. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic effects and action mechanism of Curcuma longa with a BPH rat model. Methods : Sprague-Dawley rats were used with subcutaneous injection of testosterone after castration, which were histologically similar to human BPH. A total of 30 rats were equally divided into five groups: Group 1 served as control (sham-operated group): Group 2 was the model group: Group 3 and Group 4 animals were administered Curcuma longa at dose levels of 0.5g/kg and 1.0g/kg: Group 5 served as a positive control group and was treated with finasteride at a dose of 1 mg/kg. The drugs were administered orally once a day for 30 days consecutively. After 31 days, the prostates were removed, and analyzed for their prostatic weight and histological examination. Results : The oral Curcuma longa ingestion group showed statistically significant decreases in their prostatic weights compared with the BPH-induced group and the oral finasteride ingestion group (p<0.05). Curcuma longa is also very safe in liver and kidney up to a dose of lg/kg. Injected testosterone histologically led to prostatic hyperplasia in rats, but oral Curcuma longa ingestion decreased this change. Conclusions : These results suggest that Curcuma longa has a definite inhibitory effect on BPH and might be an alternative medicine for treatment and prevention of human BPH.

• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.135-148
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• 2010

Objectives: In this study, knowledge of environmental disease, experience of environmental health education and necessity of environmental health education of elementary school pupils were compared and analyzed. Methods: The population of this study was from grade 1 to 6 elementary school pupils in Ulsan city, Korea. Five elementary schools were randomly selected from Ulsan City. Seven hundred and twenty-eight responses from the five schools were analyzed (seventy-two were excluded). A self-administered questionnaire measuring sociodemographic variables, Knowledge of environment related disease(atopic dermatitis, asthma etc), as well as educational experience and necessity of environmental health education was analyzed. The survey results were analyzed using SPSS-PC Program 12.0 and the following results by implementing Frequency Analysis, Cross-tabulation Analysis and ANOVA are as follows. Result: Pupils of lower grades more informed than those of higher grades about atopic dermatitis. Among asthma sufferers, many responded that symptoms occurred or improved during the lower grades of elementary school. In terms of the lifestyles of patients with atopic dermatitis or asthma, female pupils, especially those in the lower grades, tended to make changes in their daily habits based on their disease. Also, parents tended to intervene/mediate more in the dietary habits and personal hygiene habits of lower-grade pupils compared to their higher-grade counterparts. Personal hygiene education is currently not provided in schools, and upper-grade pupils have more experience with personal hygiene education compared to lower grade pupils. 430 (59.0%) of pupils replied that education about personal hygiene is necessary in their curriculum. 490 (67.3%) of elementary pupils are aware of the close connection between education in hygiene and human health. When asked if education in hygiene should also be undertaken by teachers and parents, 406 (55.7%) students said that it should be done. Conclusions: Developing a concrete health education program and raising instructors' awareness of the necessity for education in hygiene. Placement of professionals in the personal hygiene education field, is important to provide good health education for elementary school pupils.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.187-195
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• 2008

Purpose: This epidemiologic research was carried out to investigate the degree and aspects of symptoms of patients suffered from TMD using RDC/TMD. Subjects and Methods: Subjects were the patients who had visited to SNUBH dental clinic from Jan. 2005 to Dec. 2005, and total 117 patients were included (M: 22, F:95). The signs and symptoms of physical, psychological and behavioral factors were retrospectively evaluated by questionnaires in the RDC/TMD. The patients were examined through clinical and radiological method, and diagnosed by same investigator. They were divided into 3 groups such as osteoarthritis group (group 1), internal deragnement (group 2), myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome group (MPDS, group 3). In addition, in patient with complex diagnosis they were divided into subgroups in detail (ex. group 1+group 2). In the questionnaire, several items were selected to calculate the graded pain score (grade $0{\sim}IV$), depression and vegetative symptoms, nonspecific physical symptoms(pain items included) and nonspecific physical symptoms(pain items excluded) in each group. Results: As a result of classification by diagnostic criteria of this study, the patients were distributed to 45% of group 1, 47% of group 2, 8% of group 3 in this study. In younger patients (under 25-year old, n=40), group 2 was occupied 57% (n=23) and group 1 was 35%, group 3 was 8%, while group 1 was occupied 75% in elderly-patients (over 40-year old, n=28) in present study (group 2: 21%, group 3: 4%). In the analysis of depression and vegetative symptoms, majority of patients in Group 2 were included in 'normal', and in Group 3 it appeared to have larger proportion of 'moderate' & 'severe' than others. According to nonspecific physical symptoms, there have been tendencies of higher ratio of 'severe' in patients with MPDS. In graded pain score, more than half (58%) of subjects were included in grade 0 and low disability (Grade I and II), and 27% were revealed high disability (grade III, IV).