• Journal of The Korean Dental Society of Anesthesiology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.16-21
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• 2011

Background: Since introduced by Gow-Gates GA in 1973, Gow-Gates mandibular nerve block (GMNB) has played an important role in the area of dental local anesthesia. However, compared to the conventional inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB), this technique seems to fail to attract the attentions of general practitioners in South Korea. The aim of this study was to prove the clinical real value, mainly the anesthetic efficacy, of GMNB in minor oral surgery. Methods: The study group comprised 40 patients (15 males and 25 females) who were randomly allocated to receive GMNB or IANB for extraction of third molars. Both techniques utilized two 1.8 ml dental cartridges of 2% lidocaine including 1:100,000 epinephrine for each patient. Pulpal and gingival tissue anesthesia of mandibular premolars and molars were recorded at 0, 15 and 40 minutes after administration of local anesthetics using both an electric pulp tester and a sharp dental explorer. Results: The success rates of pulpal and gingival tissue anesthesia in the IANB group were not significantly different from the GMNB group in overall efficacy. Patient's and operator's satisfaction ratings were also not significantly different between two groups. Interestingly, the injection pain of GMNB group was significantly lower than that of IANB group. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the anesthetic efficacy of pulpal and gingival tissue of GMNB was not inferior to that of IANB. The GMNB could be a good alternative of the IANB in most of minor oral surgical procedures.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.49-59
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• 2021

Background: To evaluate changes in the effectiveness of phentolamine mesylate in combination with different local anesthetics (LAs) and vasoconstrictors. A prospective randomized double-blind study was conducted with 90 patients divided into three groups, with each group being administered one of three different LAs: lidocaine 2% 1/80,000, articaine 4% 1/200,000, and bupivacaine 0.5% 1/200,000. Methods: We compared treatments administered to the mandible involving a LA blockade of the inferior alveolar nerve. Results were assessed by evaluating reduction in total duration of anesthesia, self-reported patient comfort using the visual analog pain scale, incidence rates of the most common adverse effects, overall patient satisfaction, and patient feedback. Results: The differences among the three groups were highly significant (P < 0.001); time under anesthesia was especially reduced for both the lip and tongue with bupivacaine. The following adverse effects were reported: pain at the site of the anesthetic injection (11.1%), headaches (6.7%), tachycardia (1.1%), and heavy bleeding after treatment (3.3%). The patients' feedback and satisfaction ratings were 100% and 98.9%, respectively. Conclusions: Efficient reversal of LAs is useful in dentistry as it allows patients to return to normal life more readily and avoid common self-injuries sometimes caused by anesthesia. Phentolamine mesylate reduced the duration of anesthesia in the three studied groups, with the highest reduction reported in the bupivacaine group (from 460 min to 230 min for the lip and 270 min for the tongue [P < 0.001]).

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.500-508
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• 2020

Background: Research on the status of many chemicals used in the semiconductor industry is needed. The purpose of this study was to describe the overall status of chemical use in the semiconductor industry in Korea and to examine it from a health perspective. Methods: Data on the status of chemical use and safety data sheets at 11 of 12 major semiconductor workplaces in Korea were collected. The number of chemical products and chemical constituents, quantities of chemicals, and trade secret ingredients used, as well as the health hazards were examined. Results: On average, 210 chemical products and 135 chemical constituents were used at the surveyed workplaces. Among all chemical products, 33% (range: 16-56%) contained at least one trade secret ingredient. Most of the trade secret ingredients were used in the photolithography process. Several carcinogens, including sulfuric acid, chromic acid, ethylene oxide, crystalline silica, potassium dichromate, and formaldehyde were also used. Only 29% (39 of 135) of the chemical constituents had occupational exposure limits, and more than 60% had no National Fire Protection Association health, safety, and reactivity ratings. Based on the aforementioned results, this study revealed the following. First, many chemical products and constituents are being used in the semiconductor industry and many products contained trade secret ingredients. Second, many products contained significant amounts of carcinogenic, mutagenic, and reproductive toxicant materials. Conclusion: We conclude that protecting workers in the semiconductor industry against harm from chemical substances will be difficult, due to widespread use of trade secret ingredients and a lack of hazard information. The findings of the status of chemical use and the health and safety risks in semiconductor industry will contribute to epidemiological studies, safe workplace, and worker health protection.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.289-297
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• 2021

Purpose - This study analyzed the correlation between economic liberalization and foreign direct investment. The purpose of this study is to seek ways to attract foreign direct investment from developing countries. Design/methodology/approach - This study analysed with observations of 19 from 2000 to 2018 using a fixed effect model, a random effect model, and a two-way fixed effect model. Findings - First, it was found that economic liberalization had a positive effect on attracting foreign direct investment in the early stages of economic liberalization. Second, it was found that economic liberalization in the deepening stage of economic liberalization had a negative effect on attracting foreign direct investment. In general, it was found that the higher the level of economic liberalization in developing countries is not accompanied by innovative changes in the industrial structure, the higher the level of economic liberalization is likely to decrease the inducement of foreign direct investment due to negative factors such as an increase in labor costs. Overall, this study approved that Economic liberalization have a non-linear (inverted U-shape) relationship with the inflow of foreign direct investment. Research implications or Originality - First, this study attempted to expand the variables for the determinants of FDI by analyzing economic factors which is a determinent of FDI. Second, economic liberalization generally has a positive effect on foreign direct investment, but it proved that it does not have only positive effects as a factor of attracting foreign direct investment in developing countries. The advantage of low wages in ASEAN countries acts as a factor for foreign direct investment, but as the degree of economic liberalization increases, the environment such as government size, guarantee of property rights, international trade freedom, fiscal soundness, and regulations change positively. On the other hand, it can be suggested that if the industrial level is less, it may lead to a loss of comparative advantage and a decrease in investment.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.91-102
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• 2023

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study examines life stress, dietary attitudes, and snacking frequency for college students living in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. The purpose of this study is to assist college students feeling stressed by offering desirable dietary attitudes and choices of the appropriate snacks by providing educational materials that offer appropriate nutrition education and nutritional information. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A survey was conducted on a total of 600 college students aged 19-29-year-olds living in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province (234 male students and 366 female students). Collected data were analyzed using SPSS WIN 28.0 program. RESULTS: Life stress among college students did not differ significantly between the genders. Male students were more stressed about lover (P < 0.01), while female students were more stressed about value problems (P < 0.01) and future problems (P < 0.05). Dietary attitude ratings were 3.1 for both male and female students with no significant difference. The overall snacking frequency was 4.1 times/day-4.2 times/day for male students and 4.0 times/day for female students-thus, there was no significant difference. Male students consumed 'beverage' (P < 0.01) more frequently than female students. Life stress and snacking were positively correlated for 'biscuit/cookie,' 'chip,' 'cereal,' 'juice/smoothie,' 'café americano,' 'café latte,' 'tea,' 'jelly,' 'chocolate,' 'rice cake,' 'milk,' 'flavored milk,' and 'ice cream' among male students. Among female students, life stress and snacking were positively correlated with 'cereal,' 'caramel,' and 'soymilk,' and negatively correlated for 'biscuit/cookie' and 'carbonated drink.' CONCLUSIONS: College students should manage their stress by identifying its causes and learning how to deal with stressful situations. Additionally, providing them with proper nutrition education based on the correct nutritional information is essential for promoting good food attitudes and snacking behaviors.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2021.06a
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• pp.152-152
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• 2021

The importance of groundwater has long been recognized, but the ground water potential to become contaminated as a result of human activities has only been recognized in recently. Before 1980 it was thought that soils served as filters, preventing harmful substances deposited at the surface from migrating into groundwater. Today it is known that soils have a finite capacity to protect groundwater. It can be contaminated from divers sources. Therefore, Assessment of aquifer vulnerability to pollution is essential for the protection and management of groundwater and land use planning. In this study, we used DRASTIC and AVI for groundwater vulnerability to contamination assessment. the different methods were applied to the southern coastal sedimentary basin of Benin and DRASTIC method was modified in two different steps. First, we modified DRASTIC by adding land use parameter to include the actual pollution sources (DRASTIC_LcLu) and second, classic DRASTIC weights was modified using Shannon's entropy (Entropy weight DRASTIC). The reliability of the applied approaches was verified using nitrate (NO3^-) concentration and by comparing the overall vulnerability maps to the previous researches in the study area and in the world. The results from validation showed that the addition of landcover/land use parameter to the classic DRASTIC helps to improve the method for better definition of the vulnerable areas in the basin and also, the weight modification using entropy improved better the method because Entropy weight DRASTIC_LcLu showed the highest correlation with nitrate concentration in the study basin. In summary the weight modification using entropy approach reduced the uncertainty of the human subjectivity in assigning weights and ratings in the standard DRASTIC.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.415-427
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• 2023

The Family Education Guidance Service is a public service developed by the government to give guidance and service to parents on educating their children in China. Recently, the service has attracted increasing attention from scholars, as well as from the Chinese Government. To assess the current status of research on the Family Education Guidance Service, this paper firstly introduces the policy history and clarifies the definition of the Family Education Guidance Service and other relevant terms used in China. It then presents a review of studies on the Family Education Guidance Service published in journals with high-grade ratings and analyzes the characteristics of current research in terms of year of publication, author affiliations, research themes, research methods, and target groups. Based on these, it makes suggestions for future development. Overall, 43 papers are reviewed, the findings of which reveal that related research is at the beginning of an upswing. Most authors belong to education colleges and law colleges of universities. The themes studied most often are the strategy exploration and legal construction of the Family Education Guidance Service. The parents of primary- and middle-school students are the most commonly studied group, followed by schoolteachers. The results indicate that despite the growing number of publications, research in this field is still in its early stages and many aspects require further exploration.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.13-46
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• 2024

This study aimed to develop a Korean word tool related to solitude and loneliness. Because collecting the right words is very important, words that express the two emotions were selected from three language dictionaries. At this time, related words were collected to specifically reflect the increasing number of people seeking voluntary solitude. Consequently, 1,768 words were collected. From these, 684 words were selected based on specific criteria that everyone can understand and use, and they went through a six-iteration selection process, which extracted a total of 243 words. Considering the nature of the study, the meanings of the words collected must be clear and comprehensively represent the overall aspects of solitude and loneliness. Accordingly, a total of 243 words were selected, focusing on words that received the highest ratings in terms of familiarity and appropriateness. It is expected that this study will establish a clear concept of solitude and loneliness and provide basic data that can be used to understand the realistic and universal perception of Koreans from a developmental perspective.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.135-154
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• 2020

This paper analyzes the 5,521 samples of the small and medium-sized businesses(SMBs) obtained from the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund. From January 2014 to September 2019, 85% of the SMBs have 5 or fewer full-time employees. The proportion of SMBs is overwhelmed by the elderly men, and most founders are the CEO. Also, about 87% of the workplace types are rented, while 64% of the CEO's residence types are owner-occupation. 47% of the financial grade score is less than 10 points out of 100 and 80% of SMBs have less than 200 million won of the loan guarantee. In particular, the total guarantee loan amount or the days of net guarantee have significantly positive relations with the working period of the CEO in the same industry, the number of employees, the operation period of SMBs, and the corporate business type. In the case of the financial grading score which has the highest weight in overall credit rating gets higher with the higher number of employees, the longer the operation period, and the corporate business type. However, the quantified non-financial grading score has no significant relationship with other explanatory variables, except for the corporate business type. This implies that a non-financial grade score is measured by other determinants that are not observed by the Korea credit guarantee fund. The pure non-financial grade score has positive relations with the working period of the CEO. Overall, this paper would help Korean SMBs upgrade their credit ratings and expand the money supply when there is no standardized credit rating model or no publicly available evaluation criteria for SMBs. We expect this paper provides important insights for further research and policy-makers for SMBs. In particular, to address the financial needs of thin-filers such as SMBs, technology-based financial services (TechFin) would use alternative data to evaluate the financial capabilities of thin-filers and to develop new financial services.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.71-81
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• 2017

Purpose: To compare three, motion-resistant, T1-weighted MR sequences on the hepatobiliary phase for gadoxetic acid-enhanced MR imaging of the liver. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, 79 patients underwent gadoxetic acid-enhanced, 3T liver MR imaging. Fifty-nine were examined using a standard protocol, and 20 were examined using a motion-resistant protocol. During the hepatocyte-specific phase, three MR sequences were acquired: 1) gradient recalled echo (GRE) with controlled aliasing in parallel imaging results in higher acceleration (CAIPIRINHA); 2) radial GRE with the interleaved angle-bisection scheme (ILAB); and 3) radial GRE with golden-angle scheme (GA). Two readers independently assessed images with motion artifacts, streaking artifacts, liver-edge sharpness, hepatic vessel clarity, lesion conspicuity, and overall image quality, using a 5-point scale. The images were assessed by measurement of liver signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and tumor-to-liver contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). The results were compared, using repeated post-hoc, paired t-tests with Bonferroni correction and the Wilcoxon signed rank test with Bonferroni correction. Results: In the qualitative analysis of cooperative patients, the results for CAIPIRINHA had significantly higher ratings for streak artifacts, liver-edge sharpness, hepatic vessel clarity, and overall image quality as compared to, radial GRE, (P < 0.016). In the imaging of uncooperative patients, higher scores were recorded for ILAB and GA with respect to all of the qualitative assessments, except for streak artifact, compared with CAIPIRINHA (P < 0.016). However, no significant differences were found between ILAB and GA. For quantitative analysis in uncooperative patients, the mean liver SNR and lesion-to-liver CNR with radial GRE were significantly higher than those of CAIPIRINHA (P < 0.016). Conclusion: In uncooperative patients, the use of the radial GRE sequence can improve the image quality compared to GRE imaging with CAIPIRINHA, despite the data acquisition methods used. The GRE imaging with CAIPIRINHA is applicable for patients without breath-holding difficulties.