• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.101-130
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• 2012

This study examines mortality change in North Korea and its association with state production and welfare systems. Two main subjects are analyzed. The first theme is to examine the reliability of mortality related data released by North Korea government authorities. Examining inner consistencies among mortality related statistics and comparing with mortality trends in other socialist societies, the study finds that mortality rate was under estimated. Under-estimation of mortality by North Korean authorities is regarded to result not only from political purpose which aims to propagate the regime's superiority but also from enumeration errors of vital statistics based on the residence registration. The second theme is to estimate the change in mortality of North Korean people since the establishment of DPRK, correcting errors of mortality data. Mortality of North Korean people is estimated to have improved largely by the early 1970s, to have been sluggish hereafter, and finally to have increased during the economic hardship period between 1993 and 2008. While large people died during the food crisis in the late 1990s, however the population loss caused by mortality increase was not so great as the proposition of the huge starvation was expected. It is partly because population turbulence occurred not just by mortality increase, rather it has progressed in the joint effects of fertility decline and exodus of North Korean people for food. It is also due to North Korean people's voluntary activities of informal economy. It is also worth noting the high mortality rate of North Korean men. The high mortality of North Korean men is likely due to men's mobilization for long time in army and labor with high risk of accident and their life styles.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.119-128
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• 2017

BACKGROUND: Miscellaneous cereal have been largely consumed in Korea as due to their physiological functions beneficial to human health. The cereals are currently a social concern because they have been found to contain heavy metals. Thus, monitoring heavy metals in the cereals is an important requirement for food safety analysis. In this study, we determined arsenic concentration in the cereals randomly harvested from different markets. METHODS AND RESULTS: Inorganic arsenic was determined by ICP-MS coupled with HPLC system. The HPLC-ICP-MS analysis was optimized based on the limit of detection and recover test to reach $0.13-1.24{\mu}g/kg$ and 94.3-102.1%, respectively. The concentrations of inorganic arsenic equivalent to daily exposure were levels of $19.91{\mu}g/day$ in mixed grain, $1.07{\mu}g/day$ in glutinous rice, $0.77{\mu}g/day$ in black brown rice, $0.13{\mu}g/day$ in barley and $0.11{\mu}g/day$ in soybeans. CONCLUSION: The levels of arsenic in miscellaneous cereals were found lower than the recommended The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) levels, suggesting that the cereals marketed in Korea are not potential concern in risk assessment.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.766-772
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• 2011

This study was conducted to evaluate the daily intakes of propyl gallate, EDTA (ethylenediamine tetra acetate), and erythorbic acid for average consumers by age group and the intake of high consumers ($95^{th}$ percentile) in Korea. The average intake of EDTA was $1.14{\mu}g/kg{\cdot}bw/day$, and 0.0% of the ADI (acceptable daily intake) established by JECFA (Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives). The $95^{th}$ percentile intake of EDTA was $141.24{\mu}g/kg{\cdot}bw/day$ (5.6% of ADI). The average intake of erythorbic acid was $16.93{\mu}g/kg{\cdot}bw/day$, and the 3-6 year-old group had the highest consumption ($58.43{\mu}g/kg{\cdot}bw/day$), which was <1.0% of the ADI established by the EU (European Union). The $95^{th}$ percentile intake of erythorbic acid was $1,320.31{\mu}g/kg{\cdot}bw/day$ and 22.0% of the ADI. In conclusion, daily intakes of propyl gallate, EDTA, and erythorbic acid in Korea were at safe levels in all age groups and also in high consumers.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.137-142
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• 2013

Oral Medicine includes temporomandibular disorder, orofacial pains such as neuropathic pain, soft tissue diseases, halitosis, laser treatment, snoring, sleep apnea and identification through forensic dentistry etc. Such diseases are relatively common and cause great inconvenience and pain to the patients, as well as incur fatal health scare at times. In terms of oral medicine, the number of orofacial patients is growing due to a change in the life style and an increased stress as time goes in contemporary society and the demand of areas requiring oral medical professionalism, such as soft tissue lesions, snoring and sleep apnea, forensic dentistry evaluation and others are rapidly ascending. Consequently, among the areas in dental science, the calls for the expertism in oral medicine and its role are mounting. Analyzing the distribution according to disease entity, symptoms, duration of disease, and the prehistory courses of new patients visiting the department of oral medicine in a year provides information of the role and the relative importance of oral medicine in prospect and enables effective diagnosis and treatments for the patients. Therefore, in the present study, by analyzing new patients visiting the oral medicine clinic in our dental hospital for a year and by evaluating the role and the professionalism in future oral medicine, the authors concluded the followings: 1. It was founded that new patients to oral medicine mainly had temporomandibular disorders, soft tissue diseases, and neuropathic pains. 2. The number of patients with temporomandibular disorder appeared to be the highest percentage and the order within this was the patients with combined disorders, muscle disorder, and internal derangement of joint disc. 3. The number of patients with xerostomia appeared to be the highest percentage within soft tissue disease, followed by lichen planus and recurrent apthous ulcers. 4. The number of patients with burning mouth syndrome appeared to be the highest percentage within neuropathic pain.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.693-702
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• 2015

Blocking new blood-vessel formation (angiogenesis) is now recognized as a useful approach to the therapeutic treatment of many solid tumors. The best validated approach to date is to target the vascular endothelial growth-factor (VEGF) pathway, a key regulator of angiogenesis. Many natural products and extracts that contain a variety of chemopreventive compounds have been shown to suppress the development of malignancies through their anti-angiogenic properties. Phellodendron amurense, which is widely used in Korean traditional medicine, has been shown to possess antitumor, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties, among others. The present study investigated the effects of P. amurense hot-water extract (PAHWE) on angiogenesis, a key process in tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. To investigate PAHWE’s anti-angiogenic properties, this study’s authors performed an analysis of angiogenesis and endothelial-cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and tube formation, as well as zymogram assays and the rat aortic ring-sprouting assay. PAHWE inhibited cell growth, mobility, and vessel formation in response to VEGF in vitro and ex vivo. Furthermore, it reduced VEGF-induced intracellular signaling events, such as the activation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) -2 and -9. These results indicate that PAHWE’s anti-angiogenic properties might lead to the development of potential drugs for treating angiogenesis-associated diseases such as cancer.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.334-339
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• 2014

The purpose of our study was to investigate the migration level of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), antimony (Sb), arsenic (As), hexavalent chromium ($Cr^{6+}$) and mercury (Hg) from cookwares into food simulants and to evaluate the safety of each heavy metals. The test articles for heavy metals were glassware, ceramics, enamel, earthenware, polypropylene and polyethylene cookwares for Pb and Cd, enamel for Sb, earthenware for As, polyethylene and polypropylene cookwares for $Cr^{6+}$ and Hg. All the article samples of 391 intended for contact with foods were purchased in domestic markets. Pb, Cd, Sb and As were analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES), $Cr^{6+}$ by UV visible spectrophotometer and Hg by mercury analyzer. The migration levels of heavy metals in all the samples were within the migration limits of Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS). As a result of safety evaluation, our results showed that the estimated daily intakes (EDI, mg/kg bw/day) were $9.12{\times}10^{-6}$ and $8.83{\times}10^{-7}$ for Pb and Cd from ceramics and $1.19{\times}10^{-5}$, $1.23{\times}10^{-5}$ and $7.52{\times}10^{-6}$ for Pb, Cd and Sb from enamel. Tolerable daily intakes (TDI, mg/kg bw/day) were established respectively as 0.0036, 0.00081, 0.0021, and 0.0006 for Pb, Cd, As and Hg by JECFA (Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives), as 0.0060 for Sb by WHO (World Health Organization). When comparing with TDIs, the EDIs accounted for 0.25% and 0.11% for Pb and Cd from ceramics and 0.33%, 1.52% and 0.13% for Pb, Cd and Sb from enamel.

• Korean Journal of Hospice Care
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2008

Perpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception of death between Korean and Chinese nursing students. And it will help develop curriculum for preparing death, the quality of hospice care, as well as nursing education and practice. Methods: Data was collected from 492 nursing students participated(248 Korean and 244 Chinese) by questionnaire designed for examining Death Orientation (Thorson & Powell, 1988). They were analyzed using Cronbach's Alpha coefficients, factor analysis, t-test, ANOVA and regression analysis (SPSS; win 12.0 version) Results: More than half of the Korean nursing students followed a religion (58.5%) while the majority of Chinese nursing students did not follow a religion (93.9%). In the view of the afterlife, nursing students in China had two views. 'I really don't know what happens after a person dies (30.3%)' and ‘There is no afterlife and death is the end (29.5%)’. On the other hand the Korean nursing students’ answer were, 'After dying, a person goes to heaven or hell (27.3%)' and 'I really don't know what happens after a person dies. (22.9%)' The study also found that the average of 25 items in Death Orientation is 2.36points of nursing students in Korea and 2.50points of nursing students in China. This means that the concern, anxiety and fear were of the middle level for the Chinese Students and were higher than Korean students (t=3.51, p=.000). In the low factor of death orientation, those in Korea had higher 'anxiety of burden to family' than those in China (t=-3.50, p=.001). The nursing students in China had higher 'anxiety of the unknown (t=4.96, p=.000)', 'fear of suffering (t=6.88, p=.000), 'fear of extinction body and life (t=5.20, p=.000), 'fear of lost self-control(t=2.12, p=.034)', and 'anxiety of future existence and nonexistence (t=2.33, p=.020)' than those in Korea. There was no statistically significant difference for the 'concern of body and fear of identity lost' category. The death orientation of Korean nursing students had statistically significant differences according to age (t=3.20, p=.002), religion (t=2.56, p=.011), and afterlife (F=4.64, p=.000). The contribution of Death Orientation had a statistically significant difference, the afterlife variable (0.735, p=0.001). The death orientation of Chinese nursing students did not have any statistically significant differences. Conclusion: In conclusion, there were differences in death orientation between Korean and Chinese nursing students. In particular, those who believed in afterlife showed acceptance of death. The results of this study suggest that nursing curricula should include education program on death and spiritual nursing. Additional studies are needed to establish death education in China with careful considerations on Chinese policies, cultures and social systems.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.7-15
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• 2007

[ $\underline{Purpose}$ ]: To determine the patterns of evaluation and treatment in patients with breast cancer after mastectomy and treated with radiotherapy. A nationwide study was performed with the goal of improving radiotherapy treatment. $\underline{Materials\;and\;Methods}$: A web- based database system for the Korean Patterns of Care Study (PCS) for 6 common cancers was developed. Randomly selected records of 286 eligible patients treated between 1998 and 1999 from 17 hospitals were reviewed. $\underline{Results}$: The ages of the study patients ranged from 20 to 80 years (median age 44 years). The pathologic T stage by the AJCC was T1 in 9.7% of the cases, T2 in 59.2% of the cases, T3 in 25.6% of the cases, and T4 in 5.3% of the cases. For analysis of nodal involvement, N0 was 7.3%, N1 was 14%, N2 was 38.8%, and N3 was 38.5% of the cases. The AJCC stage was stage I in 0.7% of the cases, stage IIa in 3.8% of the cases, stage IIb in 9.8% of the cases, stage IIIa in 43% of the cases, stage IIIb in 2.8% of the cases, and IIIc in 38.5% of the cases. There were various sequences of chemotherapy and radiotherapy after mastectomy. Mastectomy and chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy was the most commonly performed sequence in 47% of the cases. Mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy followed by additional chemotherapy was performed in 35% of the cases, and neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy was performed in 12.5% of the cases. The radiotherapy volume was chest wall only in 5.6% of the cases. The volume was chest wall and supraclavicular fossa (SCL) in 20.3% of the cases; chest wall, SCL and internal mammary lymph node (IMN) in 27.6% of the cases; chest wall, SCL and posterior axillary lymph node in 25.9% of the cases; chest wall, SCL, IMN, and posterior axillary lymph node in 19.9% of the cases. Two patients received IMN only. The method of chest wall irradiation was tangential field in 57.3% of the cases and electron beam in 42% of the cases. A bolus for the chest wall was used in 54.8% of the tangential field cases and 52.5% of the electron beam cases. The radiation dose to the chest wall was $45{\sim}59.4\;Gy$ (median 50.4 Gy), to the SCL was $45{\sim}59.4\;Gy$ (median 50.4 Gy), and to the PAB was $4.8{\sim}38.8\;Gy$, (median 9 Gy) $\underline{Conclusion}$: Different and various treatment methods were used for radiotherapy of the breast cancer patients after mastectomy in each hospital. Most of treatment methods varied in the irradiation of the chest wall. A separate analysis for the details of radiotherapy planning also needs to be followed and the outcome of treatment is needed in order to evaluate the different processes.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.291-301
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• 2018

BACKGROUND: Rice is one of the main sources for inorganic arsenic among the consumed crops in the world population's diet. Arsenic is classified into Group 1 as it is carcinogenic for humans, according to the IARC. This study was carried out to assess dietary exposure risk of inorganic arsenic in husked rice and polished rice to the Korean population health. METHODS AND RESULTS: Total arsenic was determined using microwave device and ICP-MS. Inorganic arsenic was determined by ICP-MS coupled with HPLC system. The HPLC-ICP-MS analysis was optimized based on the limit of detection, limit of quantitation, and recovery ratio to be $0.73-1.24{\mu}g/kg$, $2.41-4.09{\mu}g/kg$, and 96.5-98.9%, respectively. The inorganic arsenic concentrations of daily exposure (included in body weight) were $4.97{\times}10^{-3}$ (${\geq}20$ years old) $-1.36{\times}10^{-2}$ (${\leq}2$ years old) ${\mu}g/kg\;b.w./day$ (PTWI 0.23-0.63%) by the husked rice, and $1.39{\times}10^{-1}$ (${\geq}20$ years old) $-3.21{\times}10^{-1}$ (${\leq}2$ years old) ${\mu}g/kg\;b.w./day$ (PTWI 6.47-15.00%) by the polished rice. CONCLUSION: The levels of overall exposure to total and inorganic arsenic by the husked and polished rice were far lower than the recommended levels of The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), indicating of little possibility of risk.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.122-142
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• 2009

This study explored all domestic and international theories for maintenance and health enhancement of an old and big tree, and carried out the anatomical survey of the operation part of the tree toward he current status of domestic surgery and the perception survey of an expert group, and drew out following conclusion through the process of suggesting its reform plan. First, as a result of analyzing the correlation of the 67 subject trees with their ages, growth status. surroundings, it revealed that they were closely related to positional characteristic, damage size, whereas were little related to materials by fillers. Second, the size of the affected part was the most frequent at the bough sheared part under $0.09m^2$, and the hollow size by position(part) was the biggest at 'root + stem' starting from the behind of the main root and stem As a result of analyzing the correlation, the same result was elicited at the group with low correlation. Third, the problem was serious in charging the fillers (especially urethane) in the big hollow or exposed root produced at the behind of the root and stem part, or surface-processing it. The benefit by charging the hollow part was analyzed as not so much. Fourth, the surface-processing of fillers currently used (artificial bark) is mainly 'epoxy+woven fabric+cork', but it is not flexible, so it has brought forth problems of frequent cracks and cracked surface at the joint part with the treetextured part. Fifth, the correlation with the external status of the operated part was very high with the closeness, surface condition, formation of adhesive tissue and internal survey result. Sixth, the most influential thing on flushing by the wrong management of an old and big tree was banking, and a wrong pruning was the source of the ground part damage. In pruning a small bough can easily recover itself from its damage as its formation of adhesive tissue when it is cut by a standard method. Seventh, the parameters affecting the times of related business handling of an old and big tree are 'the need of the conscious reform of the manager and related business'. Eighth, a reform plan in an institutional aspect can include the arrangement of the law and organization of the old and big tree management and preservation at an institutional aspect. This study for preparing a reform plan through the status survey of the designated old and big tree, has a limit inducing a reform plan based on the status survey through individual research, and a weak point suggesting grounds by any statistical data. This can be complemented by subsequent studies.