• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.359-365
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• 2005

Objectives : An abrupt economic decline may widen the socioeconomic differences in health between the advantaged and disadvantaged in a society. The aim of this study was to examine whether the South Korean economic crisis of 1997-98 affected the socioeconomic inequality from all-causes and from cause-specific mortality between 1995 and 2001. Methods : Population denominators were obtained from the registration population data, with the number of death (numerators) calculated from raw death certificate data. The indicator used to assess the geographic socioeconomic position was the per capita regional tax revenue. Administrative districts (Si-Gun-Gu) were ranked according to this socioeconomic measure, and divided into equal population size quintiles on the basis of this ranking. The sex- and 5-year age-specific numbers of the population and deaths were used to compute the sex- and age-adjusted mortality rates (via direct standardization method), standardized mortality ratios (via indirect standardization methods) and relative indices of inequality (RII) (via Poisson regression). Results : Geographic inequalities from all-causes of mortality, as measured by RII, did not increase as a result of the economic crisis (from 1998-2001). This was true for both sexes and all age groups. However, the cause-specific analyses showed that socioeconomic inequalities in mortalities from external causes were affected by South Korean economic crisis. For males, the RIIs for mortalities from transport accidents and intentional self-harm increased between 1995 and 2001. For females, the RII for mortality from intentional self-harm increased during the same period. Conclusions : The South Korean economic crisis widened the geographic inequality in mortalities from major external causes. This increased inequality requires social discourse and counter policies with respect to the rising health inequalities in the South Korean society.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.53-66
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• 1980

The editorials of the leading newspapers may reflect as well as help formulate the public opinions to a significant degree. Bearing this in mind, this study was carried out to provide information useful in formulating such public health policies that could practically meet the social interests and demands in health appearing in the editorials of the newspapers. This analysis covered the editorials of 5 leading newspapers such as Donga Ilbo, Chungang Ilbo, Hankook Ilto, Chosun Ilbo and Seoul Shinmoon for about 10 years from Jan. 1st, 1970 through Oct. 31th, 1979. The major findings are as follows: 1. The total number of health-concerned editorials in the five daily papers for the period was 1,768 or occupied 6.4% of the total editorials of the same sources. The increasing trend of frequnecy of the health-concerned editorials since 1976 indicates the increment of social interests and demands in health. Analysing the contents, environmental pollution received the greatest attention in those editorials, which was followed by medical affairs, environmental sanitation, and disease control in order in terms of frequency of appearance. However, there was a tendency that the interests in the environmental pollution, medical affairs and social welfare tended to increase year by year, whereas those in environmental hygiene and disease control comparatively decreased. 2. Motives of dealing with the health-concerned editorials were provided by announcement of the governmental policies and implementation for 25.6% and by out-breaks of the relevant events for 23.9%. This tendency coincides with the general characteristics of the editorials that reflect the timely issues. Closely analysing, however, the fact that the motives engendered by the out-breaks of the relevant events or by the season concerned comparatively tended to decrease as years pass by, indicates that the editorials tend more to seek the future-oriented demands in health rather than the current issue-oriented. 3. The editorials appeared to be more concerned with the governmental policies. 95.7% of all the editorials analysed were addressed to the government. This signifies the role of government in the field of public health and medical affairs. Their attitudes toward health-related policies of the government were much more negative than the other editorials that were addressed to the government in other fields. This suggests that the governmental interests in health were neither sufficient nor fair. 4. What the editorials most stressed were; (1) increment of governmental interests in health, (2) improvement of the governmental health administration, (3) enriching the basic statistics, and (4) development of various technologies pertinent to health affairs and disease control, and so forth. However, must of their suggestions were not concrete but rather abstract and conceptual. 5. The editorials also expressed strong interests in research area. The areas of the needed research most suggested by items are; (1) development of effective health care delivery system, (2) establishment of more practical system of calculating medical cost, (3) implementation of effective policies to control degenerative diseases, (4) division of medical care services and pharmaceutical services systems, (5) effective ways to prevent Co poisoning accidents, (6) changing status of environmental pollution and its effects upon health, and (7) status of occupational diseases, and so forth. 6. There were some editorials -not small in quantity -that have risk to mislead the public opinions as well as the health policies due to lack of professional knowledge of the writers. It is desirable to establish some kind of mechanism that screens the erroneous contents of the editorials to help prevent misleading opinions.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.280-290
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• 1998

This study was carried out to idenify the health problems and needs of crippled persons in order to develop a community based rehabilitation service program through public health center. Information on health problems and needs were obtained from 120 crippled persons staying at home by questionaire and a measuring ADL. The results were summarized as follows 1. Among 120 subjects, male crippled (70.3%) outnumbered female crippled (29.7%). Many crippled persons belonged to the 40-49 age group (33.6%) while others were over 60 years (17.4%). There were 36.8% crippled persons with an elementary education, 26.5% had completed high school, 14.5% had completed middle school. 31% of the crippled persons were employed but most of them had unskilled jobs. 80% of the respondents replied that their monthly income was under 800,000 won. 2. The major causes of their handicap were due to acquired factors(92%) such as accidents, in fectious & communicable diseases and chronic diseases rather than congenital factors(8%). Crippled persons who belong to the first grade of disabilities were 14.8%, the second grade 35.7%, the third grade 21.7%, the forth grade 12.2%, the fifth grade 12.2% and the sixth grade 3.5%. 3. This study measured the degree of the ADL of crippled persons by a modified Barthel Index including 11 items. 73.5% of them were fully independent, 8.5% required minimal help, 2.7% required moderate help, 6.0% required substantial help and 9.4% were unable to perform task. In response to the 11 items of ADL, crippled persons required more help in stair climbing, ambulation and bathing than in other items. 4. In responding to concerning health problems, 10.3% of the subjects replied with incontinence, 8.5% malnutrition, 7.6% fecal incontinence and bedsores 2.6%. Chronic diseases which needs treatment were chronic pain(61.0 %), hypertension(16.5%) and diabetes(16.5%) 5. To the question of what type of rehabilitation services subjects required, chronic diseases management(52.1%) and physical therapy (41.2%) were the highest. The most important social welfare services subjects required were economics support (51.3%) and introductions to job opportunities(42%).

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.34-42
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• 2004

The appropriate care to the dental emergency patients is much important in the aspect of community dental service. To attain such a purpose, the sacred duty of the training of oral and maxillofacial surgeons is required. So, a retrospective study on the characteristics of dental injuries and diseases in emergency care unit will be very meaningful. This study was carried by reviewing the charts and radiographic films of 3,394 patients, treated for dental emergency at Wonju Christian Hospital, Republic of Korea, from January 1, 1993 to December 31, 2002. All patients were classified to 6 groups including trauma, toothache, infection, hemorrhage, TMJ disorder and the others. The clinical characteristics of diseases and treatment modalities according to each group were analyzed. The trauma (73.9%) was the most frequent cause in dental emergency patients, and acute toothache, odontogenic infection, oral hemorrhage, and TMJ disorder were next in order. Gender prediction was male (68%), there were many patients on May and December in the monthly frequency, and the most frequent age group was from 0 to 9 years. In the trauma group, male (68.6%) was predominant, and soft tissue injuries and primary closures were the most frequent type of injury and treatment. In jaw fractures, traffic accidents were the most cause and the weakest site was mandibular symphysis area, and mandibular angle, condyle, and body area were next in order. In the acute toothache group, the cause was dental pulpitis mostly and treatment for that was drug administration mainly. Buccal space abscess in infection group had the largest incidence (24.5%), and common treatments were incision and drainage and medications. In the hemorrhage group, a major cause was postoperative bleeding (60.3%) and hemostasis was obtained by pressure dressing, curettage and suture. For the TMJ disorder group, the peak incidence (63.8%) was shown in the post-traumatic myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome and its primary care was medication such as analgesics and sedatives. In the other group, the various specific symptoms were complained due to acute sialadenitis, trigeminal neuralgia, acute stomatitis, chemical burn, terminal stage neuritis of head and neck cancer, and foreign body aspiration. In conclusion, for the rapid and proper care of the emergency dental diseases, well-trained education should be presented to the intern and resident course of oral and maxillofacial surgery. And it is demanded that oral and maxillofacial surgeons must be prepared in knowledge and skill for such emergency care.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.215-223
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• 2003

Against major release of radioactive material in nuclear power plant, Emergency Planning Zone(EPZ)s are typically established around nuclear power plants to effectively perform the public protective measures. The domestic methodology to determine the size of the EPZ is similar to that of Japan established in 1980, where calculations were based on the conservative accident source term. The objective of this study is to re-evaluate the validity of established EPZ, the area within the radius of $8{\sim}10km$ around domestic nuclear power plants, using the source terms covering full spectrum of accidents obtained from PSA study of ULJIN 3&4. To evaluate the risks of health effects, the computer code MACCS2(MELCOR Accident Consequence Code System2) was used. The result shows that the existing EPZ can reduce the probability of early fatality adequately for most of the source term categories(STCs) except for STC-14 and STC-19. In case of STC-14 and 19, the evacuation distance of 16km and 13km, respectively, are required. These distances can be reduced by improving emergency preparedness since the sensitivity studies for the public protective actions show that the magnitude of early fatality is largely affected by the time delays in notification and evacuation.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.61-67
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• 2000

Purpose: Most proximal humeral fractures are minimally displaced and can be treated satisfactorily with a conservative method. But in many comminuted fractures, hemiarthroplasty is usually done as a primary treatment. The authors evaluated how much functional improvement was achieved after hemiarthroplasty and which factors influence on the final functional results. Materials and Methods: Eleven hemiarthroplasties were performed for three- and four-part fractures(including fracture-dislocation) between April 1992 and June 1999. There were eight women and three men, and the mean age was 65 years. According to Neer classification, six was three-part fracture and five was four-part fracture. Six patients were injured on their right shoulder and five on the left shoulder. Among the five four-part fractures, three had axillary nerve injury and among the six three-part fractures, only one patient had axillary nerve injury. The average follow-up period was 2.4 years(1 year-7 years) after operation. The functional results were evaluated with the UCLA scoring system(Modification for hemiarthroplasty). In addition to the overall results, we compared the results according to the classification of the fracture, the cause of injury, and whether the axillary nerve was injured. Results: At the last follow-up, average total UCLA score was 18.2. The mean score for pain was 7.0, mean muscle power and motion score was 5.5 and 5.7 respectively. The pain relief was more satisfactory than any other functional results. The average score for three-part fractures was 22, and the average for four-part fractures was 13.6. The average score for the patients fractured by vehicle accidents was 15.3, and 19.3 for the patients fractured by slip-down injury. In patients without axillary nerve injury, the average score was 20, and with axillary nerve injury, the score was 15. Conclusion: Shoulder hemiarthroplasty, for the treatment of proximal humeral fractures, cannot restore the shoulder function to normal, but can achieve the functional result to some degree, especially for the activity of daily living. And as for pain, we think that it is relatively effective measure. And we think that the severer the comminution, the more the chance of axillary nerve injury, and the poorer the functional results. In conclusion, the severity of initial injury seems to be the major prognostic factor.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.17-31
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• 1982

A physician assumes toward his patient the obligation to use such reasonable care and skill as is commonly possessed and exercised by physicians in the same general line of practice in the same or similar localities and to use his best judgment at the times. Medical disputes between physicians and patients are, ever more increased in these days as human body, happens to cause a variety of changes in body unlike the function of machine. Such increased trends of medical disputes became a problem in common across the word under the influence of affluent living standard, high consciousness of life value and right by today's people. The aim of this dissertation is oriented to forming a physician's responsibilities in medicalcare accidents arising between physicians and patients. A general physician, for example, has not been negligent merely because, a specialist might have treated the patient with greater skill and knowledge. However, the fact that a physician may have acted to the best of his ability will not avoid legal problems for damages resulting from substandard treatment, that is the degree of care and skill which is to be expected of the ordinary practitioner in his field of practice. The duty of a physician who is, or holds himself out to be, a specialist is greater in the field of his specialty than one who is a general physician. A patient's consent to routine medical procedures is implied from the fact that patient comes to the physician with a medical problem and voluntarily submits to the procedures. For the more serious medical procedures and for major operations, however, it is preferable for the physician to have the patient's consent in writing, to facilitate proof of the consent in the event of a dispute or litigation. Suppose that mistakes on the part of physicians are likely to be blamed in all cases of malpractice. Then it will create a sort of shrinkage in activities of medical treatment. There should be some limitation on excessive application of 'The thing speaks for itself' on mistakes by physicians and availablity of cause and effect. It is a matter of complicity as well as a matter of importance to draw a definite boundary on responsibilities of physician. A series of further research on this particular aspect is strongly urged.

• The Journal of Korea Institute of Information, Electronics, and Communication Technology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.100-106
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• 2018

Since the concept of virtual currency called Bitcoin was announced in 2008, the blockchain technology, which is the basis of Bitcoin, is attracting attention as an important platform technology in the era of the 4th industrial revolution that can change our society in the future. Although Existing electronic financial transactions store and manage all transaction history at a reliable central organization such as government and bank, blockchain-based electronic financial transactions are composed of a distributed structure in which all participants participating in the transaction store and manage the transaction history, it is possible to secure transaction transparency while reducing system construction and operation costs. Besides the virtual currency that started with bit coins, the technology of these blockchains has been extended in various fields such as smart contracts and document management. The key technology area of this blockchain is security based on proven cryptographic technology to make it difficult to forge and hack, but there are security risks such as security vulnerabilities in the virtual currency trading service, We will discuss security risks in using virtual currency and discuss countermeasures. Especially security accidents of virtual currency exchanges are occurring frequently recently, the damage of users who trade the virtual currency is also increasing, we propose security threats and security countermeasures against virtual currency exchanges.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.113-120
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• 2018

Radioactive cesium($^{137}Cs$) can be released into the environment through severe nuclear accidents such as the Chernobyl and Fukushima, The $^{137}Cs$ is one of major monitoring radionuclides due to its chemical toxicity, ${\gamma}$ radiation and long half-life($t_{1/2}=30.2yrs$). It has been known well that illite adsorb selectively and strongly the cesium due to frayed edge sites. The quantity of the FES in the illite could be controlled by weathering processes. Therefore, this study was modified illite samples through artificial weathering in the laboratory to increase sorption efficiency for cesium. Abundant interlayer cations(i.e., K, Ca) were eluted within 1 day, while Si and Al were gradually released from the crystal structure. In addition, broad peaks of XRD indicated the occurrence of chemical weathering. The cesium sorption distribution coefficients increased up to approximately 2 times after the weathering. These results suggested that sorption capacity of illite could be enhanced for cesium through artificial weathering under low temperature.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.411-435
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• 2013

Since catastrophe from explosion of Hukushima nuclear power plant, concerns over possibility of exposure to radioactive matter has been disseminating all over the world and frequent accidents of domestic nuclear power plants also has been amplifying throughout the nation. In the past, major focus was made on compensation for local residents who live nearby nuclear power plants, but focal point of this study is on wage premium of workers who are employed in R&D of nuclear power plants. It is difficult to derive socially desirable result if private sectors are responsible for compensation on workers who suffer from physical damages due to the exposure to radioactive matter. Because victims should verify the damages that occur in the working places. This study conducted a survey on which job would prefer the respondents who are engaged with the nuclear R&D projects as exposure levels to radioactive matter, security of job, location of firms, and work intensity differ. As a result, exposure to radioactive matter was the most important attribute in choosing alternative jobs followed by job security, work intensity and job location. Annual willingness to pay for reduction of exposure to radioactive matter was estimated as 7730~7770 thousand KRW depending on different econometric models. Therefore, Korean government should prepare institutional foundation in order that appropriate compensation should be made on workers who are engaged in R&D projects on nuclear power plants if they have damages from the exposure to radioactive matter.