• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.194-197
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• 2021

End-of-life assessments aim to help dying patients and their families plan clinical interventions in advance and prepare them for a peaceful end of life, in which the patient accepts life and death, and the family accepts the patient's departure. It is important to assess whether death is imminent within a few days, because critical hospice care is provided intensively during that period. The following five changes constitute objective evidence of the end of life: diminished daily living performance, decreased food intake, changes in consciousness and increased sleep quantity, worsening of respiratory distress, and end-stage delirium. As subjective evidence, it is suggested that sensitive perceptions of experienced nurses and the feelings of family members caring for patients should also be considered. When notifying a patient or family members that the end of life is approaching, the members of the multidisciplinary hospice team must communicate with each other, share accurate information, and provide consistent explanations. They must also listen to non-verbal communication in an empathic and supportive manner.

• Journal of the Korean Medical Association
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• v.61 no.12
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• pp.758-764
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• 2018

Dementia is a clinical syndrome characterized by a cluster of symptoms and signs that manifest as difficulties in cognitive functions such as memory, psychological and psychiatric changes, and impairments in activities of daily living. As a result of worldwide trends of population aging, dementia has had a huge impact on public health in almost all countries. Disease modification therapies for dementia have not yet been developed. However, pharmacotherapy is essential in patients with dementia to combat delays in their cognitive and functional decline. In this article, we review the current pharmacotherapy for dementia. Three acetylcholinesterase inhibitors-donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine-and memantine are the only medications that have been approved for the treatment of dementia. We present the indications, dose recommendations, side effects, and criteria for National Health Insurance coverage in Korea of these medications for dementia treatment. Although the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in Korea has not approved any medications for managing the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, some antipsychotics and antidepressants have been studied and used clinically for those purposes. Clinicians may consider vitamin E, Ginkgo biloba extract, choline alfoscerate, or omega-3 fatty acids as additional treatment options. Non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs, estrogen hormone therapy, and statins are not generally recommended for dementia treatment. We believe that our findings will aid clinicians in the treatment of patients with cognitive decline.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.239-244
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• 2018

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) complex is the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB) in humans and bovine TB in mammalian hosts and grows very slowly. Selenium is a central molecule in nitrogen metabolism and an essential ingredient for all living cells and glutamic acid. The effects of selenium on the growth of M. tuberculosis, a representative slow-growing Mycobacterium species, were investigated and measured using the BacT Alert 3D System (MB/BacT System). Sodium selenate, at a final concentration of $10{\mu}g/mL$, reduced the average time-to detection (TTD) to 197.2 hours (95% confidence interval (CI), 179.6~214.8) from 225.1 hours (95% CI, 218~232.0) in the control culture media (P<0.05). The TTD did not increase with $\text\tiny{L}$-glutamate concentrations up to $10{\mu}g/mL$, but a significant reduction in the TTD was observed in the presence of $20{\mu}g/mL$ ${\text\tiny{L}}$-glutamate in culture media (P<0.05). In conclusion, selenate and ${\text\tiny{L}}$-glutamate enhance the growth of M. tuberculosis.

• The Journal of Fisheries Business Administration
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.15-28
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• 2018

This study categorized Korean seafood diners according to their lifestyle attributes of seafood consumption. This categorization facilitated to set more detailed marketing strategies to each consumer groups so it can lead to promote seafood dining industry in Korea. For this study, a survey was conducted from September 10 to October 9, 2017 in the form of self-completed surveys from seafood restaurant diners living in Busan, Korea. A total of 251 questionnaires were collected and used for data analysis. The results were as follows. There were eight attributes of lifestyle which Korean seafood diners have had such as 'rationality', 'freshness', 'taste', 'health', 'ambiance', 'the latest trend of seafood dining', 'scarcity' and 'familiarity'. The largest number of respondents(154 out of 251, 61.4%) responded that they considered 'rationality' important when choosing their seafood restaurants among the eight attributes. 'freshness(135 out of 251, 53.8%)' was followed. 'the latest trend of seafood dining' and 'familiarity' were the ones that the smallest number of respondents(61.4, 10.8%) considered those as significant attributes for their seafood restaurants selection.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.1255-1265
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• 2019

To investigate the diversity of gastrointestinal microflora and lignocellulose-degrading enzymes in wild Asian elephants, three of these animals living in the same group were selected for study from the Wild Elephant Valley in the Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve of Yunnan Province, China. Fresh fecal samples from the three wild Asian elephants were analyzed by metagenomic sequencing to study the diversity of their gastrointestinal microbes and cellulolytic enzymes. There were a high abundance of Firmicutes and a higher abundance of hemicellulose-degrading hydrolases than cellulose-degrading hydrolases in the wild Asian elephants. Furthermore, there were a high abundance and a rich diversity of carbohydrate active enzymes (CAZymes) obtained from the gene set annotation of the three samples, with the majority of them showing low identity with the CAZy database entry. About half of the CAZymes had no species source at the phylum or genus level. These indicated that the wild Asian elephants might possess greater ability to digest hemicellulose than cellulose to provide energy, and moreover, the gastrointestinal tracts of these pachyderms might be a potential source of novel efficient lignocellulose-degrading enzymes. Therefore, the exploitation and utilization of these enzyme resources could help us to alleviate the current energy crisis and ensure food security.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.208-217
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• 2021

Objectives: In spite of the importance of green space for reducing obesity-related problems, there has been little exploration of whether access to green space (e.g., parks and recreational facilities) influences the obesity rate of adults in the United States. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationships among accessibility of green space, obesity rates, and socioeconomic and demographic variables among adults living in the State of Indiana, United States. Methods: We conducted a secondary data analysis to investigate the relationships among accessibility to green space, obesity rates, and socio-demographic variables with employing Geographic Information System in order to measure the accessibility of green space. Results: This study found that accessibility of green space served as a strong predictor of reduced obesity rates among adults (β=-2.478; p<0.10). In addition, adults with higher education levels, as well as better access to green space, were found to have even lower obesity rates (β=-0.188; p<0.05). Other control variables such as unemployment rates, food security, and physical inactivity are additional factors that influence obesity rates among adults. Conclusions: Accessibility of green space may play an important role in facilitating physical activity participation and reducing obesity rates.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.33-44
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• 2019

Objectives : This study aims to record and conserve oral traditional knowledge of medicinal animals from the indigenous people living in the local communities of Songnisan National Park, Korea. Methods : Data was collected by participatory observations and in-depth interviews with semi-structured questionnaires. Quantitative comparative analyses were accomplished through data received from the following three methods: informant consensus factor (ICF), fidelity level (FL), and network analysis. Results : The investigation reveals that the indigenous people have used 49 species of medicinal animals distributed within 45 genera, belonging to 39 families with 336 different usages. According to the distribution of recorded families, the most representative families were Scolpendridae and Phasianidae, which were utilized 36 times each (10.71 % each). The category with the highest degree of consensus from informants was disorders related to the nervous system (0.97). 16 species were classified with a fidelity level of 100 %. The network analysis revealed that a lack of vigor was related to 23 species, including Agkistrodon blomhoffii, Gallus domesticus, and Canis familiaris, among the total 49 species investigated. Conclusions : This documentation can help preserve the traditional knowledge and local health traditions of Korea that are disappearing due to rapid industrialization, urbanization, and death of the elderly with traditional knowledge. Additionally, the animals investigated in this study can be developed into medicinal food and drug for treating specific health conditions through further research.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.122-130
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• 2023

This study aimed to identify factors associated with depression by household type among the elderly in the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. The subjects were 72,812 elderly aged 65 and over who participated in the 2020 Community Health Survey. Multivariate logistic regression with complex samples was performed to analyze the data. The incidence of depression was higher in single-person households than in multi-person households. In single-person and multi-person households, depression was higher in women, those over 75 years old, those with middle school graduates or lower, those with a household monthly income of 1 million won or less, and those receiving basic living recipients. Factors related to depression among the elderly in single-person households were physical activity, sleep time, and drinking, among the changes in lifestyle due to COVID-19. Factors related to depression among the elderly in multi-person households were physical activity, sleep time, consumption of instant food, and alcohol drinking, among the changes in lifestyle due to COVID-19, and psychological concerns due to COVID-19. Promoting mental health and developing customized programs by household type is necessary to prevent depression in the elderly in the community.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.1051-1065
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• 2021

Recent times have seen sustained increases in genetically modified (GM) crops not only for cultivation but also for the utility of food and feed worldwide. Domestically, commercial planting and the accidental or unintentional release of living modified (LM) crops into the environment are not approved. Many detection methods had been devised in an effort to realize effective management of the safety of agricultural genetic resources. In order to develop event-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) markers for LM crops, we analyzed the genetic information of LM crops. Genetic components introduced into crops are of key importance to provide a basis for the development of detection methods for LM crops. To this end, a total of 18 varieties from four major LM crop species (maize, canola, cotton, and soybeans) were subjected to an analysis. The genetic components included introduced genes, promoters, terminators and selection markers. Thus, if proper monitoring techniques and single or multiplex PCR strategies that rely on selection markers can be established, such an accomplishment can be regarded as a feasible solution for the safe management of staple crop resources.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2022.09a
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• pp.48-48
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• 2022

Ethnobotany is an interdisciplinary science at the intersection of botany and ethnology. Currently, there is a sharply increasing need for the study and conservation of traditional knowledge about plants. The loss of traditional sources, knowledge, and practices in using plants is caused by the growth of technologies in all branches of production, widespread urbanization, and globalization of the economy. This study was been conducted to collect and analyze the Koryoins (Koryo saram) traditional ethnobotanical knowledge, living in Uzbekistan, whose number 174,200 people. They are the descendants of Korean immigrants to the Russian Far East, who ended up in Central Asia as a result of the forced resettlement in 1937. In the processing of collected data, four main categories of uses were defined - Alimentary, Medicinal, Household/Handicraft, and Others. For quantitative data analysis, synthetic indices were used - RFC (Relative Frequency of Citation) and CI (Cultural Importance Index), which are commonly applied to assess the importance of plants. The respondents mentioned 72 plants belonging to 28 botanical families. A significant part of them was cultivar plants. The category that had the largest number of plants mentioned by the respondents was the Alimentary use category (51). According to quantitative indices rates, the most important plants are traditionally used for food. A comparison of ethnobotanical knowledge was made with the collected data of this study and Korean traditional knowledge.