• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.57-62
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• 1994

The demand of image compression is increasing now for the integration of medical images into the hospital information system. Even though the quantitative distortion can be measured from the difference between original and reconstructed images, it doesn't include the nonlinear characteristics of human visual system. In this study, we have evaluated the nonlinear characteristics of human visual system and applied them to the compression of medical images. The distortion measures which reflect the characteristics of human visual system has been considered. This image compression procedure consists of coding scheme using JND (Just Noticeable Difference) curve, polynomial approximation and BTC (Block Truncation Coding). Results show that this method can be applied to CT images, scanned film images and other kinds of medical images with the compression ratio of 5-10:1 without any noticeable distortion.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.12
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• pp.3957-3962
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• 2012

Iron-oxide nanoparticles (IONs) with biocompatible coatings are the only nanostructural materials which have been approved by the FDA for clinical use. Common biocompatible coatings such as hydrocarbons, polymers, and silica have profound influences on critical characteristics of IONs. Recently, amino acids were introduced as a novel biocompatible coating. In the present study, the effects of amino acids on IONs synthesis and characteristics have been evaluated. Magnetite nanoparticles with L-arginine and L-lysine coatings were synthesised by a coprecipitation reaction in aqueous solvent and their characteristics were compared with naked magnetite nanoparticles. The results showed that amino acids can be a perfect coating for IONs and would increase particle stability without any significant effects on the critical properties of nanoparticles such as particle size and magnetization saturation value.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.13-24
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• 1985

This study seeks to provide a framework for understanding differential access to medical care. The framework is provided by Anderson Model, a model of health services utilization which suggests a sequence of predisposing, enabling, illness-morbidity characteristics that determine the number of times people will visit a physician. The framework in this study is composed of two models, one is for Adults and the other is for Non-Adults. Models are operationalized using stepwise multiple regression analysis and path analysis. The data come from a national health survey conducted in 1983. The findings of the analysis can be summarized as follows : First, the causal models used in this study are able to explain only a small amount of the variance in medical care utilization(Adjusted $R^2$ is .144 in the Model for Adults and .243 in that for Non-Adults). This finding suggests that we reconsider the utility of such existing model using the predisposing, enabling, and illness-morbidity characteristics in light of their poor correspondence with these data. Second, while small amount of the valiance in medical care utilization is explained, most of the explained variance is due to the illness-morbidity characteristics. The path coefficients of study variables except illness-morbidity variables show these characteristics to be substantially unrelated to medical care utilization, and the indirect effects of the predisposing and edabling characteristics on medical care utilization are also negligible. This casts doubt on the importance of the predisposing and enabling characteristics in explaining medical care utilization. Third, among the predisposing and enabling characteristics, Medical Security variable is the only one having significant direct effect on medical care utilization in both models for Adults and for Non-Adults. Fourth, the amount of the variance explained in the Model for Non-Adults is more than in the Model for Adults. This suggests that medical care utilization of adults is more influenced by behavioral factors than that of children.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.51-59
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• 2016

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to examine the health service utilization of elderly patients who visited an emergency medical center in the Gyeongbuk region and to provide basic information for the effective management of emergency medical centers. Methods : This study analyzed the characteristics of the hospital visits and the actual situation for the use of emergency medical care of 10,264 elderly patients that visited an emergency medical center in the Gyeongbuk region from January, 2014 to December, 2014. Frequency analysis and chi-square test were done in this study. Results : This study showed that there is a difference in the characteristics of health service utilization which included hospital visits, duration of hospital visits and mode of arrival to the emergency medical center according to age, gender and other characteristics. Conclusions : Providing efficient emergency services is necessary as well as establishing an emergency medical center management plan that takes into consideration the difference in health service utilization of elderly patients.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.32-49
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• 2004

The primary purpose of this study was to provide the basic materials for C.V.A inpatients' actual use of medical service at the hospital with both the western and oriental medical department and the attitude on cooperative treatment. The results of this study were as follow: First, the subjects' general characteristics including job, monthly mean income and age made statistical differences to their pathological characteristics such as part of primary paralysis, detailed name of disease and cause of elicitation. Second, their general characteristics including religion and job produce statistical difference to their actual use of medical service, like medical institution form, term of treatment and type of medical institution at first-aid. Third, through the awareness of cooperative treatment system, the effect of C.V.A treatment and the shorten of the C.V.A treatment term were higher at oriental medical department inpatients and cooperative treatment serviced inpatients than western medical department inpatients and cooperative treatment non-serviced inpatients. Fourth, the biggest problem on current dual medical system is increase medical expenses and the biggest reason on not vitalized cooperative service is prejudice of both parts.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.440-445
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• 2014

Korean medical system is unique system that has two medical system, Western medical institution and Korean medical institution. In this environment, patients who use each medical institution have different selection factors. The study explores the selection factors' difference of korean/western medical institutions. The empirical analysis of the surveyed data produced the following outcomes. The result of factor analysis, four factors were extracted. That was Human services, Costs and Physical Environment, Prestige and reputation, Public relations and reliability. Overall, the four selection factor importance scores of Korean medical institution were higher than western medical institution's. These findings show that there is a difference between korean and western medical institutions in terms of selection factors. After this study, More study about medical management and healthcare policy including korean medical characteristics is needed.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.57-80
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to examine the information search behavior of medical consumers visiting a hospital, and investigate the consumption values of medical consumers, classified according to the information search behavior, and characteristics of online health and disease information. This study also tried to identify the factors affecting medical consumers classified according to information search behavior, and gain an extensive understanding of medical consumers'consumption values and online information use. The analysis results of this study are as follows: First, the consumption values of medical consumers were classified into a total of 7 factors, i.e. future-positive value, family-oriented value, sustainablehealth value, rational-progressive value, social-cooperative value, socialachiever value and hedonistic-individual value. Next, the characteristics of medical consumers'online information search behavior were classified into three types of consumer groups, i.e. the limited information-oriented consumer group, the practical information-oriented consumer group and the passionate information-oriented consumer group. Second, the analysis of the differences among the three groups classified according to the characteristics of the information search behavior in terms of consumption values, use of online information sources, utility and the intention to reuse online information showed that all the differences were statistically significant. The passionate information-oriented consumer group showed the highest scores in the sustainable-health value, the social-achiever value and the hedonisticindividual value. Third, the factors affecting medical consumers, classified into three groups according to the characteristics of the information search behavior, were found to be socio-demographic variables like consumers' age and occupation, consumers'consumption values, use of online information sources, and utility of online information. This study tried to understand what values medical consumers have according to the differences in the information search behavior by examining the consumption values of medical consumers according to the information search behavior. The significance of this study lies in the fact that consumption values are instrumental in understanding medical consumers by identifying the fundamental motives and desires of consumers' behavior.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.155-173
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• 2015

Objectives The purpose of this study is to investigate the characteristics of inpatients who were admitted to Korean medicine hospital due to shoulder pain. Methods Characteristics of four hundred ten shoulder pain inpatients of single institution from 2011 to 2013 were retrospectively reviewed through medical charts. Results Patients showed different characteristics in sex, age, motives, interval between onset and admission day, first occurrence or not, related medical history before admission, usage of west medication, admission days, treatment results, radiological examinations by shoulder pain disease groups. Accordingly, Korean medical treatment such as acupuncture, moxibustion, external treatment, cupping therapy, physiotherapy, herb-medication varied with the characteristics of shoulder pain disease groups. Conclusions Through retrospective medical charts review, characteristics of 410 single institution shoulder pain inpatients showed distinctive features and versatile Korean medicine treatments by disease groups. It is expected that this study would accelerate multi-institutional and large scale characteristic review of shoulder pain patients, which would raise reconsideration and expand boundary of Korean medicine.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.319-326
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• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to research the correlation between academic achievement, lifestyle, and the psychological characteristics of Korean medical students. Methods: The grade point averages of 73 Korean medical students were collected. Surveys including lifestyle and psychological properties of Korean medical students were conducted. Results: In the MBI-SS (Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey) survey, the scores of the top, medium, and bottom groups showed statistically significant difference in at least one group, and the score of the bottom group was higher than that of the top group. In the SES (Self-Esteem Scale) survey, the scores of the top, middle, and bottom groups showed statistically significant differences in at least one group, and the scores of the top group were higher than those of the medium and bottom groups. Conclusions: Some lifestyle and psychological characteristics of Korean medical students were correlated with academic achievement. Thus, the results could be used as a valuable resource for improving academic achievements of Korean medical students.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.90-95
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• 2004

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare the toxicologic characteristics of two groups of patients with acute intoxication for two different time periods and to make recommendations based on the results of this study. Methods: We reviewed retrospectively the medical records of patients with acute intoxication in our emergency center from June 1997 to May 1998 (group A) and from June 2000 to May 2003 (group B), and we evaluated differences in the epidemiologic and the toxicologic characteristics between the two groups. Results: The ratios of the number of patients with acute intoxication to the total numbers of patients who visited our emergency department were $0.49\%$ and $0.52\%$ for groups A and B, respectively. In both groups many poisoned patients visited our emergency center from 4:00 pm to midnight. The interval between the time of intoxication and arrival at the hospital was significantly shorter in group B. The number of patients transferred to our emergency center was larger in group B. Attempted suicide was the major cause of acute intoxication in both groups. Major toxic substances in both groups were centrally active drugs and insecticides. The number of comatose and mechanically ventilated patients was larger in group B. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the mortality rates. Conclusion: Emergency physicians who manage intoxicated patients should recognize regional characteristics and differences in the toxicologic characteristics of poisoning. In addition, the establishment of a poisoning control center in the regional emergency center is necessary to integrate data control and to enhance specialized management of intoxicated patients.