• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.8
• /
• pp.4811-4814
• /
• 2013

Background: To assess the significance of social factors as risk factors for carcinoma cervix and to determine the significance of blood group to prevalence of carcinoma cervix in a semi-urban population of Kolar, Karnataka, India. Materials and Methods: One hundred cases of carcinoma cervix were included in the study, along with 200 females of the same ages considered as controls. Case details were collected from the hospital record section regarding social factors and blood groups and the data were analyzed by descriptive statistical methods. Results: Blood group B showed the highest number of cases (55 cases) followed by blood group O (29 cases) in carcinoma cervix which was statistically significant (p<0.001). Age of marriage between 11 to 20 years showed highest number of carcinoma cervix cases (77 cases) and this also was statistically significant (p<0.001). Patients with rural background were 75 (p=0.112, odds ratio: 1.54), parity of more than or equal to two constituted 96 cases (p=0.006, odds ratio: 4.07) and Hindu patients were 95 in number (p=0.220, odds ratio: 1.89). Conclusions: Blood group B and age of marriage between 11 and 20 years were significantly associated with carcinoma cervix in our population. Region of residence, parity and religion presented with a altered risk for carcinoma cervix.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.48 no.2
• /
• pp.84-93
• /
• 2015

Objectives: The present study was conducted in order to examine the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and osteoporosis prevalence in Korea and to assess whether different associations are found in single-person households. Methods: A cross-sectional population-based study was conducted using the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, from 2008 to 2011. The study subjects were people aged ${\geq}50$ years with osteoporosis as defined by bone mineral density. Multivariate logistic models were used to estimate prevalence odds ratios (pORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Gender differences in the likelihood of osteoporosis were analyzed based on household income, education level, and residential area. Results: There were 8221 osteoporosis patients aged ${\geq}50$ years, of whom 927 lived in single-person households. There was a gender-specific association between osteoporosis prevalence and all three SES factors that we analyzed: income, education, and residential area. After adjusting for age, SES, and health behaviors, including body mass index (BMI), low household income was only significantly associated with osteoporosis in men, whereas education level had an inverse relationship with osteoporosis only in women (p=0.01, p<0.001, respectively). However, after controlling for age and BMI, rural residency was only associated with osteoporosis in women living in single-person households (pOR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.05 to 2.43). Conclusions: The Korean adult population showed a gender-specific relationship between SES and osteoporosis prevalence, with a different pattern found in single-person households.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
• /
• v.12 no.7
• /
• pp.105-111
• /
• 2021

The purpose of this study is to determine how the pre-test performed before training affects the results of CPR performance. In the case of the pre-test group(PTG), a pre-evaluation was performed for 1 minute before training, and the group that did not perform the pre-test(NPTG) performed only regular education. In both groups, skill test was performed for 1 minute after training. As a result of comparing the pre and post-test of PTG, there were statistically significant changes in chest compression depth, rate, and compression recoil. There was a statistically significant difference only in the chest compression rate in the chest compression performance results of the two groups after training. There was a statistically significant difference in the results of confidence after training in both groups. It is judged that the pre-test conducted before training has a good influence not only on the results of chest compression, but also on confidence improvement. Therefore, it is judged that it is necessary to develop additional programs such as pre-education test in order to increase the concentration of CPR education for the general population.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.100-105
• /
• 2020

Northern pipevine (Aristolochia contorta) commonly inhabits marginal areas between waterside and terrestrial vegetation. In particular, A. contorta is ecologically important in the marginal areas as a food plant of dragon swallowtail butterfly (Sericinus montela), which is designated as vulnerable species in the Republic of Korea. For long-term sustainability of the plant population, assessment of the genetic diversity of exist populations should be conducted. Genomic DNA of A. contorta leaf samples were extracted from four populations where the vigorous growth were observed in the South Korea. Intra-population genetic diversity and inter-population genetic distance were assessed using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) with five polymorphic random primers. Overall genetic diversity was lower, compared to other wetland species (h: 0.0607 ~ 0.1401; I: 0.0819 ~ 0.1759), while GP showed the highest intra-population genetic diversity. Despite of the geographical distance, GP showed the larger genetic distance from other populations. This result seemed to be caused by the fragmented habitat and lower sexual reproduction of A. controta. Mixture of the different source populations and construction of the proper environmental condition such as shade and physical support for sexual reproduction should be considered for conservation of A. contorta population.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.155-182
• /
• 1997

Objectives : This study was designed to compare North Korea and South Korea in measures of the quality of life (physical quality of life index and human development index) and to investigate the impact of selected medical and socioeconomic factors on PQL variables. Data and Methods : The World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, and Population Reference Bureau were the principal sources of statistical data of 121 countries. Variables included infant mortality, life expectancy at birth, literacy rate, secondary school enrollment (male and female), GNP per capita, population per doctor, daily calorie supply per capita, and a composite PQL index. The Ordinary Least Square model was employed for cross-countries analysis. Findings : Both countries under quite different political and economic systems saw big improvememts in the quality of life, reducing mortality and prolonging life expectancy during the past three decades. In recent decad, however, North Korea has experienced abrupt exacerbation in the quality of life. Significant improvements in infant mortality of the population wer attributable mainly to GNP per capita and the secondary school enrollemt of female. The principal predictors of life expectancy at birth were population per doctor, infant mortality, and literacy rate. The secondary school enrollment of female and population per doctor were significantly associated with improvements in the physical quality of life index (PQLI). Conclusion : The results of this study confirmed a point illustrated by other studies : The association between quality of life as a measure of health status and socioeconomic factors was strong and positive. The important contribution of educational attainment in general, female education level in particular to improvements in the quality of life deserves good news for building an integrated health care system in the reunified Korea, taking into account the high level of education two koreas are enjoying. Meanwhile, when a sharp drop in the quality of life has been observed in North Korea under serious economic difficulties and food shortage in recent decade, the significant contribution of economic development to improvements in the quality of life poses bad nows for reunifying Korean health care in economic terms.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.245-253
• /
• 2012

Background: Prevalence of chronic pain and its association with demographic characteristics have been reported by different studies from different geographical regions in the world. However, data from many Middle East countries including Iran (especially southern Iran) are scare. The aim of the present study was to demonstrate the prevalence of chronic pain and its association with demographic, psychological and socioeconomic factors in an Iranian population. Methods: In this population-based survey, the target population was comprised of subjects aged 20 to 85 years residing in Jahrom, southern Iran during 2009-2011. All eligible subjects were invited to participate in the study. Before a detailed questionnaire was given; face to face interviews were done for each individual. Results: There were 719 men and 874 women with an average age of 40.5 years at the onset of the study. Among the study population, 38.9% (620/1,593) complained of chronic pain, of whom 40.8% (253/620) were men and 59.2% (367/620) were women. Foot and joint pain were observed in 31.9%. Hip and spine pain, migraine and tension headaches, heart pain, and abdomen pain were observed in 21.5%, 15.5%, 9.5%, and 8.0% of chronic pain cases, respectively. There was a significant association among the covariables age, sex, overweight, educational level, income, and type of employment with chronic pain as the dependent variable (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: Our findings show the prevalence of chronic pain and its association with demographic, psychological and socioeconomic factors. Individuals with low incomes and less education became accustomed to pain due to a lack of knowledge.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.287-292
• /
• 2007

We monitored a breeding population of the Asian toad (Bufo gargarizans), in the Wonheunge pond at Sannamdong, Chungju, from 5 March to 11 April, 2006 and 14 February to 31 March, 2007 to investigate their movement patterns, breeding population sizes, and physical characteristics. Terrestrial migration to the pond started on 5 March in 2006 and 14 February in 2007. We captured a total of 266 immigrating individuals (213 males, 53 females) in 2006 and 307 (222 males, 85 females) in 2007, and found 50 adults apparently killed by motor vehicles while migrating to the pond in 2007. Emigration from the pond to terrestrial sites started on 15 March 2006 and 5 March 2007. We captured a total of 245 emigrating toads (181 males, 65 females) in 2006 and 99 (92 males, 7 females) in 2007. An additional 10 emigrating adults were found dead on the road. During both the immigration and emigration periods, two peaks in capture frequency appeared for each sex in each breeding season. The immigration peaks corresponded with higher temperatures, while the emigration peaks corresponded with high humidity. Migrating Asian toads showed sexual size dimorphism and a male-biased sex ratio. Body weights and SVL (snout-vent length) of immigrating and emigrating individuals were negatively related with migration dates.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.18-22
• /
• 2013

A recent study on the mitochondrial genetic variation of the Carassius auratus population in South Korea suggested that there are 3 distinct mitochondrial lineages in the country, and that they are geographically separated between westward rivers and southward rivers, respectively. In this study, the population genetic structure of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) of Carassius auratus was investigated. The results of analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) supported the geographic distinction between westward and southward river populations, but only 3.66% of total genetic variance lies among these populations. The panmicticity of the AFLP genetic variation is backed up by the results of the neighbor-joining dendrogram drawn from a linearized pairwise $F_{ST}$ matrix and Bayesian clustering analysis. The discordance of genetic structure between mitochondrial and AFLP genetic variation may come from difference in effective population size between these markers and/or gene flow between westward and southward river populations through river capture events.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.453-461
• /
• 1994

Size class structure and vegetative growth of a perennial herb of the temperate deciduous forests, Symplocarpus renifolius Schott, were studied from 1991 to 1994 in Namhansansung, Kyonggi Province, Korea. The size class structures of leaf number and leaf area per individual followed bell-shape curve, i.e. frequency of middle class was relatively high. The leaf area increased from the late-March to mid-May. At the end of the growing season, leaf area(length X breadth) was proportional to biomass, especially aboveground biomass. The leaf number and leaf area per individual increased at the rate of 0.08 leaf/year and 9.7 $cm^2/year$, respectively. The size of the individuals in large-sized classes, in leaf number and leaf area, decreased in next year, while the size of the individuals in small-sized classes increased. Therefore, it was concluded that the size class structure of S. renifolius population was largely determined by the growth form.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
• /
• v.17 no.12
• /
• pp.1210-1218
• /
• 2011

GA (Genetic Algorithms) are efficient for searching for global optima but may have some problems such as premature convergence, convergence to local extremum and divergence. These phenomena are related to the evolutionary operators. As population diversity converges to low value, the search ability of a GA decreases and premature convergence or converging to local extremum may occur but population diversity converges to high value, then genetic algorithm may diverge. To guarantee that genetic algorithms converge to the global optima, the genetic operators should be chosen properly. In this paper, we analyze the effects of the selection operator, crossover operator, and mutation operator on convergence properties, and propose the sweeping method of mutation probability and elitist propagation rate to maintain the diversity of the GA's population for getting out of the premature convergence. Results of simulation studies verify the feasibility of using these sweeping operators to avoid premature convergence and convergence to local extrema.