• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.12-19
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• 2023

Purpose: The aim of this study was to conduct a scoping review of knowledge and information delivery modes related to preconception care (PCC) among adolescent girls and women. Methods: A scoping review was performed on studies selected from five electronic databases (Cochrane Library, PubMed, Science Direct, CINAHL/EBSCO, and ProQuest), published between 2012 and 2022, with predetermined keywords and criteria. We included English-language research articles available in full text and excluded irrelevant articles. Results: This study included eight articles, comprising seven quantitative studies and one qualitative study conducted among adolescent girls and women. Five were from low- and middle-income countries and three were from high-income countries. The synthesized themes generated from the data were PCC knowledge and PCC information delivery modes and effectiveness. In general, adolescent girls and women were found to have basic PCC knowledge, including risk prevention and management and a healthy lifestyle, although more extensive knowledge was found in higher-income countries than in lower-income countries. The delivery modes of PCC information have grown from individual face-to-face conventional methods, which are used predominantly in lower-income countries, to more effective digital mass media. Conclusion: Globally, many women still have insufficient knowledge regarding PCC, as not all of them receive access to PCC information and support. PCC promotion efforts should be initiated earlier by involving a wider group of reproductive-age women and combining individual, in-group, face-to-face, and electronic delivery modes.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.238-247
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• 2023

Objectives: Low adherence to antiretroviral (ARV) therapy in pregnant women with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) increases the risk of virus transmission from mother to newborn. Increasing mothers' knowledge and motivation to access treatment has been identified as a critical factor in prevention. Therefore, this research aimed to explore barriers and enablers in accessing HIV care and treatment services. Methods: This research was the first phase of a mixed-method analysis conducted in Kupang, a remote city in East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. Samples were taken by purposive sampling of 17 people interviewed, consisting of 6 mothers with HIV, 5 peer facilitators, and 6 health workers. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, observations, and document review. Inductive thematic analysis was also performed. The existing data were grouped into several themes, then relationships and linkages were drawn from each group of informants. Results: Barriers to accessing care and treatment were lack of knowledge about the benefits of ARV; stigma from within and the surrounding environment; difficulty in accessing services due to distance, time, and cost; completeness of administration; drugs' side effects; and the quality of health workers and HIV services. Conclusions: There was a need for a structured and integrated model of peer support to improve ARV uptake and treatment in pregnant women with HIV. This research identified needs including mini-counseling sessions designed to address psychosocial barriers as an integrated approach to support antenatal care that can effectively assist HIV-positive pregnant women in improving treatment adherence.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.63-71
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• 2023

The extreme cold regions, including the South and North Poles, are rich in resources, but there are many constraints on resource development projects due to difficult access and a construction environment that is completely different from that of Korea. In recent years, global warming has increased the demand for the construction of resource exploitation plants. For resource development construction activities, a preliminary site analysis is required to minimize the risk of project implementation. In this study, the factors were analyzed to be considered in construction activities in extreme cold and optimal location selection system based on Geographic information system(GIS) has been developed. As a result of applying the development system to Alberta, Canada, where oil sand development is actively underway, it was confirmed that the results were consistent with the currently operating oil sand mining area.

• Convergence Security Journal
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.3-11
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• 2023

Zero Trust, characterized by the principle of "Never Trust, Always Verify," represents a novel security paradigm. The proliferation of remote work and the widespread use of cloud services have led to the establishment of Work From Anywhere (WFA) environments, where access to corporate systems is possible from any location. In such environments, the boundaries between internal and external networks have become increasingly ambiguous, rendering traditional perimeter security models inadequate to address the complex and diverse nature of cyber threats and attacks. This research paper introduces the implementation principles of Zero Trust and focuses on the Micro Segmentation approach, highlighting its relevance in mitigating the limitations of perimeter security. By leveraging the risk management framework provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), this paper proposes a comprehensive procedure for the adoption of Zero Trust. The aim is to empower organizations to enhance their security strategies.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.365-373
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• 2023

Purpose: In the context of COVID-19, studies evaluating the adherence of dentists and dental students to infection control are relevant due to their high occupational exposure and risk, as well as their responsibility for disseminating information and good practices. This study evaluated the adherence of dentists and dental students to infection control in the oral radiology field in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic on different continents. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional observational study involved individuals who performed intraoral radiographic examinations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Questionnaire on Infection Control in Oral Radiology was administered virtually using a Google Form. Participants from different continents(the Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia, and Oceania) were recruited. Data were subjected to descriptive analysis and simple and multiple binary regression (5%). Results: There were 582 valid answers, and 68.73% of the participants were from the Americas, 18.90% from Europe, and 12.37% from Asia. The median score for infection control protocols was 94 points for dental students and 104 points for dentists, and participants below the median were considered to have low adherence to infection control in oral radiology. Low access to infection control was found for 53.0% of dentists in the Americas, 34.0% from Europe, and 26.9% from Asia. Conclusion: The adherence to infection control protocols in oral radiology was low even in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results may help improve the awareness of students and professionals, since oral radiology routines have the potential for transmitting COVID-19.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.66
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• pp.29-38
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• 2023

Recent studies have highlighted the link between diseases and inflammation across our lifespan. Our sedentary lifestyle, high-calorie diet, chronic stress, chronic infections, and exposure to pollutants and xenobiotics, collectively intensify the course and recurrence of infections and inflammation in our bodies, promoting the prevalence of chronic diseases and aging. Given such phenomena and considering additional factors such as the frequency of prescription, and easy access to over-the-counter drugs, the need for anti-inflammatory therapeutics is ever-increasing. However, the readily available anti-inflammatory treatment option comes with a greater risk of side effects or high cost (biologics). Therefore in this growing competition of discovering and developing new potent anti-inflammatory drugs, we focused on utilizing the established knowledge of traditional medicine to find lead compounds. Since lead optimization is an indispensable step toward drug development, we applied this concept for the production of potent anti-inflammatory compounds achieved by structural modification of flavonoids. The derivative obtained through acetylation of myricetin, 3,3',4',5,5',7-hexaacetate myricetin, showed a greater inhibitory effect in the production of pro-inflammatory mediators such as nitric oxide, Prostaglandin E₂, and pro-inflammatory cytokines like interleukin-6, interleukin1β, in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 mouse macrophage cells compared to myricetin. The increased potency of inhibition was in conjunction with an increased inhibitory effect on inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 proteins. Through such measures, this study supports lead optimization for well-established lead compounds from traditional medicine using a simpler and greener chemistry approach for the purpose of designing and developing potent anti-inflammatory therapeutics with possibly fewer side effects and increased bioavailability.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.365-374
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• 2024

This paper adopts a new approach in which nonlinear vibrations can be controlled using fuzzy controllers by optimal grey evolutionary algorithm. If the fuzzy controller cannot stabilize the systems, then the high frequency is injected into the system to assist the controller, and the system is asymptotically stabilized by adjusting the parameters. This paper uses the GM (grey model) and the neural network prediction model. The structure of the neural network is improved from a single factor, and multiple data inputs are extended to various factors and numerous data inputs. The improved model expands the applicable range of uncontrolled elements and improves the accuracy of controlled prediction, using the model that has been trained and stabilized by multiple learning. The simulation results show that the improved gray neural network model has higher prediction accuracy and reliability than the traditional GM model, improving controlled management and pre-control ability. In the combined prediction, the time series parameters and the predicted values obtained from the GM (1,1) (Grey Model of first order and one variable) are simultaneously used as the input terms of the neural network, considering the influence of the non-equal spacing of the data, which makes the results of the combined gray neural network model more rationalized. By adjusting the model structure and system parameters to simulate and analyze the controlled elements, the corresponding risk change trend graphs and prediction numerical calculation results are obtained, which also realize the effective prediction of controlled elements. According to the controlled warning principle and objective, the fuzzy evaluation method establishes the corresponding early warning response method. The goals of this paper are towards access to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services, promotion of inclusive and sustainable urbanization and participation, implementation of sustainable and disaster-resilient buildings, sustainable human settlement planning and manage.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.34-40
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• 2009

Background: The principal surgical technique for treating an abdominal aortic aneurysm since the 1960s has been the transperitoneal approach, yet there have been some recent studies that have reported improved surgical results with using the retroperitoneal approach. However, there are only limited clinical Korean studies that have, compared between the transperitoneal and retroperitoneal approaches. Material and Method: This study included 36 patients who had been diagnosed as having an aneurysm of the abdominal aorta and they were surgically treated between January 2001 and July 2007. The patients were subdivided into the retroperitoneal approach group (n=17) and the transperitoneal approach group (n=19), and they were compared in terms of the preoperative risk factors, the postoperative complications and the operative mortality. The risk factors of operative mortality risk and long-term survival for the 36 patients were assessed by the Kaplan-Meier method. Result: There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of gender, age, the underlying disease, a history of smoking, rupture of aneurysm, the preoperative symptoms, the operation time and the incidence of postoperative complications. However, the duration of postoperative fasting, the number of days of having an indwelling nasogastric tube and the length of the stay in the intensive care unit were significantly short for the retroperitoneal approach group (p<0.05). There was a 16.7% rate of operative mortality (6/36) and five of the deaths were attributed to preoperative ruptured aneurysm. On univariate analysis, a higher preoperative serum creatinine level (SCr ${\geq}$1.8 mg/dL, p=0.016) and ruptured aneurysm (p<0.001) were the significant risk factors of operative mortality. As assessed by the Kaplan-Meier method, the long-term survival was comparable between the groups and the five-year survival rate of all the patients was 57.5%. Conclusion: In the present study, a retroperitoneal approach has several advantages such as a shorter intensive care unit stay, a shorter duration of postoperative fasting and a shorter duration of an indwelling nasogastric tube. Therefore, unless there is any contraindication for a retroperitoneal approach, it could be considered as a primary surgical access for repairing an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.457-468
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• 2020

Problems arising during pile design works for plant construction, civil and architecture work are mostly come from uncertainty of geotechnical characteristics. In particular, obtaining the N-value measured through the Standard Penetration Test (SPT) is the most important data. However, it is difficult to obtain N-value by drilling investigation throughout the all target area. There are many constraints such as licensing, time, cost, equipment access and residential complaints etc. it is impossible to obtain geotechnical characteristics through drilling investigation within a short bidding period in overseas. The geotechnical characteristics at non-drilling investigation points are usually determined by the engineer's empirical judgment, which can leads to errors in pile design and quantity calculation causing construction delay and cost increase. It would be possible to overcome this problem if N-value could be predicted at the non-drilling investigation points using limited minimum drilling investigation data. This study was conducted to predicted the N-value using an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) which one of the Artificial intelligence (AI) method. An Artificial Neural Network treats a limited amount of geotechnical characteristics as a biological logic process, providing more reliable results for input variables. The purpose of this study is to predict N-value at the non-drilling investigation points through patterns which is studied by multi-layer perceptron and error back-propagation algorithms using the minimum geotechnical data. It has been reviewed the reliability of the values that predicted by AI method compared to the measured values, and we were able to confirm the high reliability as a result. To solving geotechnical uncertainty, we will perform sensitivity analysis of input variables to increase learning effect in next steps and it may need some technical update of program. We hope that our study will be helpful to design works in the future.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.209-216
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• 2002

Background: Valvular heart disease is still the most common health problem in Korea. By the end of the year 1999, there has been 94,586 cases of open heart surgery since the first case in 1958. Among them, 36,247 cases were acquired heart diseases and 20,704 of those had valvular heart disease. But there was no database system and every surgeon and physician had great difficulties in analysing and utilizing those tremendous medical resources. Therefore, we developed a valve registry database program and utilize it for risk factor analysis and so on. Material and Method: Personal computer-based multiuser database program was created using Microsoft AccessTM. That consisted of relational database structure with fine-tuned compact field variables and server-client architecture. Simple graphic user interface showed easy-to-use accessability and comprehensibility. User-oriented modular structure enabled easier modification through native AccessTM functions. Infinite application of query function aided users to extract, summarize, analyse and report the study result promptly. Result: About three-thousand cases of valve replacement procedure were performed in our hospital from 1968 to 1999. Total number of prosthesis replaced was 3,700. The numbers of cases for mitral, aortic and tricuspid valve replacement were 1600, 584, 76, respectively. Among them, 700 patients received prosthesis in more than two positions. Bioprosthesis or mechanical prosthesis were used in 1,280 and 1,500 patients respectively Redo valve replacements were performed in 460 patients totally and 40 patients annually Conclusion: Database program for registry of valvular heart disease was successfully developed and used in personal computer-based multiuser environment. This revealed promising results and perspectives in database management and utilization system.