• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.259-266
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• 2018

In today's society, where people look younger than their chronological age due to improvements in the quality of life, there is a gaining interest in anti-aging and how people compare to those in the same age group. We evaluated the wrinkle index, which is the most important attribute amongst skin parameters, to evaluate external age (wrinkle age). The wrinkles of the whole face were scored by divided 8 areas (forehead, glabella, nasal root, upper eyelid, lower eyelid, crow's feet, nasolabial groove and perioral skin) and analyzed the correlation between chronological age and skin parameters. 206 subjects (Korean female, n = 105 and Mongolians female, n = 101) were enrolled. Subjects were divided into four groups by ages: 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. Wrinkle scores of 8 areas were evaluated and developed a calculation formula based on the wrinkle scores. Skin characteristic parameters were measured about skin elasticity, pore, wrinkle, sebum secretion. There was no difference between the calculated ages and the chronological ages in Korean women. On the other hand, Mongolian looked older than chronological age by 9 years. The correlation between the facial wrinkle ages and skin physiology parameters was presented in the order of skin elasticity > pore or crow's feet > skin tone > sebum secretion in both countries. Skin elasticity represented the most related parameter with the facial wrinkle ages. This study identified the skin wrinkle patterns of Korean and Mongolian women and the wrinkle age calculation formula developed from this study can be used as a tool for calculating the facial wrinkle ages in cosmetic studies.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.185-223
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• 2008

This paper considers a heterogeneous agent dynamic general equilibrium model and analyzes effects of an increase in labor income tax rate on labor market and the aggregate variables in Korea. The fiscal policy regarding how the government uses the additional tax revenue may take the two forms: 1) general transfer and 2) earned income tax credit (EITC). The model features are as follows: 1) Workers are heterogeneous in their productivity. 2)Labor is indivisible, hence the analysis focuses on the variation in labor supply through the extensive margin in response to a change in fiscal policy. 3) The incomplete markets are introduced, so individual workers can not perfectly insure themselves against risks related to stochastic changes in income or employment status. 4) The model is of general equilibrium, hence it is equiped to analyze the feedback effect of changes in aggregate variables on individual workers' decisions. In the case of general transfer policy, the government equally distributes the additional tax revenue to all workers regardless of their employment states. Under this policy, an increase in the labor income tax rate dampens work incentives of individual workers so that the aggregate employment rate decreases by 1% compared with the benchmark economy. In the case of EITC policy, only employed workers whose labor incomes are below a certain EITC ceiling are eligible for the EITC benefits. Unlike the general transfer policy, the EITC induces low-income workers to participate the labor market to be eligible for EITC benefits. Hence, the aggregate employment rate may increase by 2.7% at the maximum. As the EITC ceiling increases, too many workers can collect the EITC but the benefits per worker becomes too little so that the increase in employment rate is negligible. By and large, this study demonstrates that EITC may effectively raise the aggregate employment rate, and that it can be a useful policy tool in response to the decrease in the labor force due to population aging as observed in Korea recently.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.485-496
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• 2022

Modern agriculture is being transformed into smart agriculture to maximize production efficiency along with changes in the 4th industrial revolution. However, rural areas in Korea are facing challenges of aging, low fertility, and population outflow, making it difficult to transition to smart agriculture. Among ICT technologies, simulation allows users to observe or experience the results of their choices through imitation or reproduction of reality. The combination of the three-dimension (3D) model and the greenhouse simulator enable a 3D experience by virtual greenhouse for fruits and vegetable cultivation. At the same time, it is possible to visualize the greenhouse under various cultivation or climate conditions. The objective of this study is to apply the greenhouse climate management model for simulation development that can visually see the state of the greenhouse environment under various micrometeorological properties. The numerical solution with the mathematical model provided a dynamic change in the greenhouse environment for a particular greenhouse design. Light intensity, crop transpiration, heating load, ventilation rate, the optimal amount of CO₂ enrichment, and daily light integral were calculated with the simulation. The results of this study are being built so that users can be linked through a web page, and software will be designed to reflect the characteristics of cladding materials and greenhouses, cultivation types, and the condition of environmental control facilities for customized environmental control. In addition, environmental information obtained from external meteorological data, as well as recommended standards and set points for each growth stage based on experiments and research, will be provided as optimal environmental factors. This simulation can help growers, students, and researchers to understand the ICT technologies and the changes in the greenhouse microclimate according to the growing conditions.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.714-729
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• 2023

Purpose: Since the coronavirus pandemic, the number of obese people has increased, and accelerated aging has been reported, particularly among young population. Therefore, this study analyzed the dietary habits of university students according to their risk of obesity to provide data for improving their eating habits. Methods: Ninety students at Daegu Catholic University were surveyed for their eating habits and photo-enhanced meal intake. The obesity risk was categorized as normal if the body mass index (BMI) and percent body fat (PBF) were normal, at-risk if both indicated overweight or obese, obesity in BMI alone were analyzed as BMI group and those with obesity in percent body fat alone were analyzed as PBF group. Results: There were 23 (25.5%) in the normal group, 10 (11.1%) in the BMI group, 24 (26.7%) in the PBF group and 33 (36.7%) in the at-risk group. The dietary survey showed that the risk groups had lower consumption frequencies of vegetables (p < 0.05) than the normal group, had less sleep time (p < 0.05) and higher frequency of fast food consumption (p < 0.001). The intake of vegetables was significantly higher in the normal group than in the risk group (p < 0.05). In terms of the daily nutrient intake, there was no significant difference in energy intake according to the obesity risk, but the intakes of dietary fiber (p < 0.01), vitamin A (p < 0.01), vitamin C (p < 0.01) were higher in the normal group than in the risk groups. Conclusion: Therefore, it is important to consider the BMI and percent body fat together to diagnose obesity and provide nutrition education and counseling.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.63-71
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• 2023

Urinary incontinence (UI), affecting 3%-11% of males and 25%-45% of females globally, is expected to rise with an aging population. It significantly impacts mental health, causing depression, stress, and reduced quality of life. UI can exacerbate psychiatric conditions, affecting treatment compliance and effectiveness. It is categorized into transient and chronic types. Transient UI, often reversible, is caused by factors summarized in the acronym DIAPPERS: Delirium, Infection, Atrophic urethritis/vaginitis, Psychological disorders, Pharmaceuticals, Excess urine output, Restricted mobility, Stool impaction. Chronic UI includes stress, urge, mixed, overflow, functional, and persistent incontinence. Drug-induced UI, a transient form, is frequently seen in psychiatric treatment. Antipsychotics, antidepressants, and other psychiatric medications can cause UI through various mechanisms like affecting bladder muscle tone, altering nerve reflexes, and inducing other conditions like diabetes or epilepsy. Specific drugs like lithium and valproic acid have also been linked to UI, though mechanisms are not always clear. Managing UI in psychiatric patients requires careful monitoring of urinary symptoms and judicious medication management. If a drug is identified as the cause, options include discontinuing, reducing, or adjusting the dosage. In cases where medication continuation is necessary, additional treatments like desmopressin, oxybutynin, trihexyphenidyl, or amitriptyline may be considered.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.44-53
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• 2024

Global interest in natural functional materials to strengthen human immunity is increasing due to the increase in immune-related diseases associated with COVID-19 and the aging population. In this study, we determined the potential therapeutic effect of Eleutherococcus senticosus stems on immune enhancement according to the cultivation region. The contents of eleutheroside B and E, which are chemical components of E. senticosus stems, were analyzed. We showed that the eleutheroside B content of E. senticosus stems in different cultivation regions ranged from 2.96±0.11 to 6.24±0.05 mg/g and from 1.11±0.05 to 2.11±0.03 mg/g in 70% ethanol and hot water extracts, respectively. The eleutheroside E content ranged from 4.93±0.20 to 10.79±0.03 mg/g and 1.75±0.14 to 3.64±0.05 mg/g in 70% ethanol and hot water extracts, respectively. In addition, the immunomodulatory effect of E. senticosus stems was evaluated using RAW 264.7 macrophages. The 70% ethanol extract of E. senticosus stems showed no cytotoxicity up to 200 ㎍/mL, and the hot water extract showed no cytotoxicity up to 500 ㎍/mL. Additionally, the E. senticosus stem extract significantly increased the production of nitric oxide and cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β) compared to their production in the control group. These results suggest that E. senticosus stem extracts are a potential functional food material and ingredient to enhance the immune response.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.49-61
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• 2014

Purpose: With the aging of the population, the attack rate of osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture is in the increasing trend, and percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) is the most commonly performed standardized treatment. Although there is a research report of the excellence of usefulness of the SPECT/CT examination in terns of the exact diagnosis before and after the procedure, the bone cement material used in the procedure influences the image quality by forming an artifact in the CT image. Therefore, the objective of the research lies on evaluating the effect the bone cement gives to a SPECT/CT image. Materials and Methods: The images were acquired by inserting a model cement to each cylinder, after setting the background (3.6 kBq/mL), hot cylinder (29.6 kBq/mL) and cold cylinder (water) to the NEMA-1994 phantom. It was reconstructed with Astonish (Iterative: 4 Subset: 16), and non attenuation correction (NAC), attenuation correction (AC+SC-) and attenuation and scatter correction (AC+SC+) were used for the CT correction method. The mean count by each correction method and the count change ratio by the existence of the cement material were compared and the contrast recovery coefficient (CRC) was obtained. Additionally, the bone/soft tissue ratio (B/S ratio) was obtained after measuring the mean count of the 4 places including the soft tissue(spine erector muscle) after dividing the vertebral body into fracture region, normal region and cement by selecting the 20 patients those have performed PVP from the 107 patients diagnosed of compression fracture. Results: The mean count by the existence of a cement material showed the rate of increase of 12.4%, 6.5%, 1.5% at the hot cylinder of the phantom by NAC, AC+SC- and AC+SC+ when cement existed, 75.2%, 85.4%, 102.9% at the cold cylinder, 13.6%, 18.2%, 9.1% at the background, 33.1%, 41.4%, 63.5% at the fracture region of the clinical image, 53.1%, 61.6%, 67.7% at the normal region and 10.0%, 4.7%, 3.6% at the soft tissue. Meanwhile, a relative count reduction could be verified at the cement adjacent part at the inside of the cylinder, and the phantom image on the lesion and the count increase ratio of the clinical image showed a contrary phase. CRC implying the contrast ratio and B/S ratio was improved in the order of NAC, AC+SC-, AC+SC+, and was constant without a big change in the cold cylinder of the phantom. AC+SC- for the quantitative count, and AC+SC+ for the contrast ratio was analyzed to be the highest. Conclusion: It is considered to be useful in a clinical diagnosis if the application of AC+SC+ that improves the contrast ratio is combined, as it increases the noise count of the soft tissue and the scatter region as well along with the effect of the bone cement in contrast to the fact that the use of AC+SC- in the spine SPECT/CT examination of a PVP performed patient drastically increases the image count and enables a high density of image of the lesion(fracture).

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.19-48
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• 2008

In order to verify the risk of onset of the illnesses based on gender, age, and monthly income 1,739 subjects from Hongcheon county, Gangwon province were selected. Questionnaire on demographic sociology, health condition, existence of illnesses(cancer, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, cardiac disorders), and usage of public health services was surveyed from October 1, 2006 to October 20, 2006. Following conclusions were reached on the basis of the questionnaire : - For demographic sociological peculiarities, gender, age, occupation, and education level were evenly distributed. Most were under normal marriage(67.38%), health insurance(86.39%), 494(36.0%) individuals with less than monthly income of 1 million won, 494(36.0%) individuals with monthly income between 1 and 2 million won, 219(16.0%) with monthly income between 2 and 3 million won, and 164(12.0%) individuals with more than 3 million won, thus showing relatively low income. - For health status, 1,199(70.28%) individuals are non-smokers, 209(45.63%) individuals smoke $10{\sim}20$ cigarettes a day, 754(44.02%) individuals exercise less than twice a week are the major sector of the population. 1,518(88.10%) individuals have regular checkup more than once and 1,131(65.49%) stated their health condition less than average. - For comparison of existence of illnesses between genders, there was no statistical significance on cancer, stroke, and diabetes. But statistical significance was shown on hypertension(P value 0.025), arthritis(P value 0.000), and cardiac disorders(P value 0.016). Statistical significance was seen in the age comparison, and OR(confidence interval) drastically increased with increase in age. - There was no difference between the primary health clinic(P value 0.000), most visited clinic(P value 0.000), selection criteria(P value 0.000), and satisfaction on efficacy(P value 0.000). There was a tendency preferring hospital than public health center with increase in income. - For correlation between the existence of illnesses among different income levels, except for cancer(P value 0.172), statistical significance was seen in hypertension(P value 0.000), stroke(P value 0.003), diabetes (P value 0.001), arthritis(P value 0.000), and cardiac disorders(P value 0.000). The number of individuals suffering from illnesses and ratio all decreased for all illnesses with increase in income. - After adjusting confounding factors(gender, age, income, marriage, occupation, education) and male (1) as the standard, OR (confidence interval) of cancer, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, cardiac disorders were 0.47(0.11${\sim}$2.05), 1.27(0.89${\sim}$1.81), 0.58(0.21${\sim}$1.59), 0.71(0.41${\sim}$1.23), 1.79(1.34${\sim}$2.39, P<0.01), and 1.46(0.72${\sim}$2.96), respectively. Risk of arthritis is significantly high in female and 20's (1) as the standard, OR(confidence interval) of cancer, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, cardiac disorders were 1.01(0.96${\sim}$1.07), 1.06(1.04${\sim}$1.07, P<0.01), 1.05(1.01${\sim}$1.10, P<0.01), 1.06(1.03${\sim}$1.08, P<0.01), 1.05(1.03${\sim}$1.06, P<0.01), and 1.06(1.04${\sim}$1.09, P<0.01), respectively. Risk of onset for illnesses significantly increased with yearly aging except for cancer. - For comparison between monthly income after adjusting confounding factors(gender, age, income, marriage, occupation, education), with less than 1 million won (1) as the standard, OR(confidence interval) of cancer for 1 to 2 million won, 2 to 3 million won, and more than 3 million won were 0.23(0.03${\sim}$2.16), 2.53(0.41${\sim}$15.43), and 1.73(0.15${\sim}$19.50), respectively. OR(confidence interval) of hypertension were 1.12(0.76 ${\sim}$1.66), 0.68(0.34${\sim}$1.34), and 2.04(1.08${\sim}$3.86, P<0.01), respectively. OR(confidence interval) of stroke were 0.96(0.30${\sim}$3.08) for 1 to 2 million won, and 0.80(0.08${\sim}$8.46) for 2 to 3 million won. OR(confidence interval) of diabetes were 0.73(0.38${\sim}$1.38), 0.65(0.24${\sim}$1.71), and 0.69(0.24${\sim}$2.01), respectively. The values were 0.76(0.55${\sim}$1.03), 1.14(0.75${\sim}$1.73), and 0.90(0.56${\sim}$1.46), respectively for arthritis. OR(confidence interval) of cardiac disorders were 1.15(0.53${\sim}$2.48), 0.63(0.13${\sim}$3.12), and 1.20(0.28${\sim}$5.14), respectively. Risks of cancer, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, and cardiac disorders were dependent of monthly income, and stroke and diabetes decreased with increase in income. Summarizing above data, arthritis was significantly higher in women and increase in age by each year brought significant increase in the chance of onset in hypertension, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, and cardiac disorders except for cancer. Stroke and diabetes decreased with increase in income. Above findings can be applied and reflected in public health policies at the national level, and it can also be applied at the personal level for individual health maintenance and prevention.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.29-49
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• 2000

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence rate of hypertension, the changes of health behavior, and compliance for the drug treatment after diagnosed as hypertension. Methods: 7,030 persons who live in Cheonan City of Chungnam Province were selected by the cluster sampling method, and 5,372 persons were surveyed by questionnaire and health examination. This data is analyzed by Chi-square test on each variable. Results: 49.8%- of men and 38.8%- of women had been diagnosed as hypertension, and the prevalence rate of hypertension was significantly increased with aging in both gender. The prevalence rate tended to decrease in highly educated women group. Unemployed persons or obese persons showed relatively higher prevalence rate. The prevalence rate of hypertension increased in groups with higher total cholesterol levels over 240 mg/dl, and groups with glucose level over 200 mg/dl. 53.1%- of male patients and 66.6%- of female patients showed compliance for antihypertensive treatment. Compliance for treatment was higher in aged group or lower educated group in both gender. Among men, proportion of compliant subjects was higher in unemployed group(49.3%-), and lower in labor or primary industry than the others but among women, there was not any significant difference. And men with compliance for treatment had higher monthly income than the others, but women did not show any. Conclusion : This population had a high prevalence rate of hypertension which may lead to cardiovascular disease. Therefore health education programs and distribution of information must be emphasized in order to increase compliance to treatment and encourage the change of health behavior to promote health.