• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.172-181
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• 2016

Purpose: This study was conducted to examine the effect of education on infection control for multidrug resistant organism (MDRO). Methods: One group pre-post time series design was used. Infection control education for MDRO infection was provided to nurses working in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Knowledge and recognition were evaluated before and after education. Hand hygiene compliance, MDRO isolation rate and central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) rate were used as outcome variables. Data from 45 nurses was used for analysis. Results: General knowledge about MDRO increased (p=.011). Responses to questions about image of MDRO and MDRO management tended to change in a positive direction (p=.046). Hand hygiene compliance was 100% at pre-test, 79.5% during education period and 98.4% at post-education period. MDRO isolation rate was 6.83 per 1,000 patient days at pre-test, 10.24 during education period and 6.68 at post-education period. CLABSI rate was 3.76 per 1,000 central line days at pre-test, 6.84 during education period and 4.71 at post-education period. Conclusion: Findings indicate that the education program is effective in improving knowledge about MDRO in NICU nurses. However, more reliable indicators should be used to determine long-term effects.

• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.224-231
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• 2017

PURPOSE. This study was designed to evaluate the teeth and dental implants during dental maintenance therapy over 3 years in different conditions after periodontal and dental prosthetic treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS. 166 patients received maintenance therapy. 59 patients were treated with 2% minocycline-HCl ointment as local drug delivery (LDD) (L group) and 107 patients were treated without LDD (NL group). Clinical data was collected in maintenance period for evaluation. Patients were classified into groups depending on the application of LDD with maintenance therapy, the type of dental treatment before maintenance period (Pre-Tx), the frequency (F-MT), and regularity (R-MT) of maintenance therapy. RESULTS. The numbers of lost teeth (N-teeth, P=.003) and newly placed dental implants (N-implants, P=.022) are significantly different according to Pre-Tx. F-MT among patients who received surgical dental treatment before maintenance period showed statistical differences in N-teeth (P=.041), but not in N-implants (P=.564). All of the patients in L group showed high F-MT (F-MT1). In NL group, there were no statistical differences in N-teeth or N-implants according to F-MT or R-MT. In F-MT1 group, application of LDD made N-teeth significantly different from both Pre-Tx groups while no significant difference could be found in N-implant. Independent t-test and one-way ANOVA were selected for statistical analysis. CONCLUSION. The regular maintenance therapy and LDD can be effective for teeth during maintenance period. It is not only pharmacological efficacy in decreasing bacterial species that makes LDD a useful adjunct. Application of LDD also motivates patients to take adequate check-ups in the aspects of both frequency and regularity.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.394-407
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• 2011

Better understanding of the complex factors leading to human diseases will be necessary for both long term prevention and for managing short and long-term health problems. The underlying causes, leading to a global health crisis in both acute and chronic diseases, include finite global health care resources for sustained healthy human survival, the population explosion, increased environmental pollution, decreased clean air, water, food distribution, diminishing opportunities for human self-esteem, increased median life span, and the interconnection of infectious and chronic diseases. The transition of our pre-human nutritional requirements for survival to our current culturally-shaped diet has created a biologically-mismatched human dietary experience. While individual genetic, gender, and developmental stage factors contribute to human diseases, various environmental and culturally-determined factors are now contributing to both acute and chronic diseases. The transition from the hunter-gatherer to an agricultural-dependent human being has brought about a global crisis in human health. Initially, early humans ate seasonally-dependent and calorically-restricted foods, during the day, in a "feast or famine" manner. Today, modern humans eat diets of caloric abundance, at all times of the day, with foods of all seasons and from all parts of the world, that have been processed and which have been contaminated by all kinds of factors. No longer can one view, as distinct, infectious agent-related human acute diseases from chronic diseases. Moreover, while dietary and environmental chemicals could, in principle, cause disease pathogenesis by mutagenic and cytotoxic mechanisms, the primary cause is via "epigenetic", or altered gene expression, modifications in the three types of cells (e.g., adult stem; progenitor and terminally-differentiated cells of each organ) during all stages of human development. Even more significantly, alteration in the quantity of adult stem cells during early development by epigenetic chemicals could either increase or decrease the risk to various stem cell-based diseases, such as cancer, later in life. A new concept, the Barker hypothesis, has emerged that indicates pre-natal maternal dietary exposures can now affect diseases later in life. Examples from the studies of the atomic bomb survivors should illustrate this insight.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.29-34
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• 2011

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the short term effects of the traction and decompression device, which is a newly developed domestic medical device, on pain and functional activity in patients with chronic low back pain with or without radicular pain. Methods: Forty patients with chronic low back pain were included and allocated to decompression (n=20) and traction groups (n=20). They received decompression or traction therapy for 20 minutes a day, 3 days per week for two weeks. For evaluating pain and functional activity, a visual analogue scale (VAS) for low back pain and the Oswestry back pain disability index (ODI) were obtained on pre-treatment, and at 6, 12 and 15 days after treatment. Patients'satisfaction levels were measured 15 days after treatment. Results: VAS was significantly decreased at 12 days and 15 days post-treatment compared to pre-treatment in both groups (p<0.05). ODI was significantly decreased at 12 days and 15 days post-treatment compared to pre-treatment in the decompression group (p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in the VAS and ODI scales (p>0.05). Patients' satisfaction levels were significantly higher in the decompression group than in the traction group (p<0.05). Conclusion: These findings suggest that decompression therapy might be effective for increasing functional activity in patients with low back pain and could provide patients with higher satisfaction than traction therapy. This study provided validity data for the therapeutic effects of the decompression device in patients with low back pain and it will be useful for medical cost development and patient education of this device.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2011

This article proposes a hybrid approach involved in determining the size of stormwater control facilities as part of a very large scale urban retrofit project. The objective of the proposed hybrid approach is to restore the pre-development hydrologic cycle. Firstly, an appropriate IETD is determined to isolate single storm events from the continuous rainfall record. Then, using the NRCS-CN method, direct runoff and infiltration volume are computed for every storm events. Long-term statistics of direct runoff and infiltration volume are analyzed in each case of pre-development, post development, post development with detention only, and post-development with the proposed hybrid approach. In order to preserve long-term statistics of direct runoff and infiltration volume in the case of pre-development, the size of detention and infiltration-based retention are estimated using the genetic algorithm. The result shows that the proposed hybrid approach is very useful for restoring statistics of natural direct runoff and infiltration volume.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.135-145
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• 2023

Antibiotics are frequently administered during pregnancy. Although necessary to address acute infections, their use facilitates antibiotic resistance. Other associations have also been found with the use of antibiotics, such as perturbations of gut bacteria, delays in microbial maturation, and increased risks of allergic and inflammatory diseases. Little is known about how the prenatal and perinatal administration of antibiotics to mothers affects the clinical outcomes of their offspring. A literature search was conducted of the Cochrane, Embase, and PubMed engines. The retrieved articles were reviewed by two authors and verified for relevance. The primary outcome was the effect of pre- and perinatal maternal antibiotic use on clinical outcomes. Thirty-one relevant studies were included in the meta-analysis. Various aspects are discussed, including infections, allergies, obesity, and psychosocial factors. In animal studies, antibiotic intake during pregnancy has been suggested to cause long-term alterations in immune regulation. In humans, associations have been found between antibiotic intake during pregnancy and different types of infections and an increased risk of pediatric infection-related hospitalization. A dose-dependent positive association between pre- and perinatal antibiotic use and asthma severity has been reported in animal and human studies, while positive associations with atopic dermatitis and eczema were reported by human studies. Multiple associations were identified between antibiotic intake and psychological problems in animal studies; however, relevant data from human studies are limited. However, one study reported a positive association with autism spectrum disorders. Multiple animal and human studies reported a positive association between pre- and perinatal antibiotic use by mothers and diseases in their offspring. Our findings have potentially significant clinical relevance, particularly considering the implications for health during infancy and later in life as well as the related economic burden.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.179-186
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• 2014

Purpose: To study the long-term outcomes and tolerance in our patients who received dose escalated radiotherapy in the early salvage post-prostatectomy setting. Materials and Methods: The medical records of 54 consecutive patients who underwent radical prostatectomy subsequently followed by salvage radiation therapy (SRT) to the prostate bed between 2003-2010 were analyzed. Patients included were required to have a pre-radiation prostate specific antigen level (PSA) of 2 ng/mL or less. The median SRT dose was 70.2 Gy. Biochemical failure after salvage radiation was defined as a PSA level >0.2 ng/mL. Biochemical control and survival endpoints were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis were used to identify the potential impact of confounding factors on outcomes. Results: The median pre-SRT PSA was 0.45 ng/mL and the median follow-up time was 71 months. The 4- and 7-year actuarial biochemical control rates were 75.7% and 63.2%, respectively. The actuarial 4- and 7-year distant metastasis-free survival was 93.7% and 87.0%, respectively, and the actuarial 7-year prostate cancer specific survival was 94.9%. Grade 3 late genitourinary toxicity developed in 14 patients (25.9%), while grade 4 late genitourinary toxicity developed in 2 patients (3.7%). Grade 3 late gastrointestinal toxicity developed in 1 patient (1.9%), and grade 4 late gastrointestinal toxicity developed in 1 patient (1.9%). Conclusion: In this series with long-term follow-up, early SRT provided outcomes and toxicity profiles similar to those reported from the three major randomized trials studying adjuvant radiation therapy.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.196-205
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• 2017

Purpose: Art program has been found to enhance mood such as increasing motivation, self-expression and decreasing depression in older adults. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of clay art and drawing on depression and self-expression among elderly people at a long-term care center. Methods: The research was a pre-test and post-test non-equivalent design. Sixty older patients (clay art program=28. Drawing art program=32) over the age of 65 were recruited from 2 long-term care hospitals to participate in the 5 weeks program. Each group was scheduled with 10,120-minute evaluation sessions, twice per week. Test measures were completed before and after the 5 week intervention period for all participants. The data was collected from April 27 to May 29, 2015. It was analyzed with SPSS 22.0 using chi-square, t-test and paired t-test. Results: There were no significant difference in the levels of depression (t=0.21, p=.830) and total score of self-expression (t=-0.10, p=.919) between the two groups. However, the pre-post scores of self-expression in the clay art program (t=0.22, p=.826) were improved compared to the drawing art program (t=0.80, p=.430). Conclusion: Further studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of clay art program for extended senior care applications.

• Architectural research
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.85-91
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• 2022

The public rental housing policy aims to provide the housing to the vulnerable class who do not have enough credit to own houses. The Korean government introduced new policies for housing supply to improve the availability of new houses. However, it is difficult to expand the supply because of the accumulated deficit of public rental housing. In this study, the economic feasibility of long-term public rental housing reconstruction projects was examined to ensure the economic and sustainable growth of public rental housing. The research found that the compensation for the accumulated deficit is needed. Also the research analyzed and identified the factors affecting the economic feasibility of reconstruction projects. The significant factors identified in this research are: the supply price of pre-sale/rental housing in the reconstruction project, total cost of the reconstruction project, and total floor area of the reconstruction project. According to the analysis results, it is necessary to increase the rent of existing long-term public rental housing, expand the government subsidy, increase the supply price of pre-sale/rental housing, and reduce the total project cost. However, there are limitations. For example, the fluctuations of construction market, residents' burden of housing costs, and the limit of the budget of the public housing authority. The increasing total Floor Area Ratio(FAR) limitation of the reconstruction project would be the realistic solution to the problem because it gives incentives to the reconstruction project.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.24 no.7
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• pp.37-42
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• 2008

This paper estimates the long-term settlement of Incheon unsanitary solid waste landfill, which is 20 years old. The unsanitary solid waste landfill was subjected to pre-loading system over a period of 1 year, and 300 settlement monitoring provided the long term settlement data. This landfill contains relatively small amount of organic component, and therefore the initial stage of settlement was very small. The existing settlement models were examineed by comparing the observed behaviors of this site, and also they were used to predict the long-term settlement. Power Creep Law (PCL) model showed good agreement with the measured settlement obtained from the initial stage of the measurement, but other models showed satisfactory agreements after $50{\sim}70$ days of measurement.