• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.1-25
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• 2008

Purpose : Since 1967, The Korean Pediatric Society and Korean Government have developed Korean Growth Standards every 10 years. Last version was published in 1998. During past 40 years, Korean Growth Standards were mainly descriptive charts without any systematic nor statistical standardization. With the global epidemic of obesity, many authorities such as World Health Organization (WHO) and United States' Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have been changed their principles of growth charts to cope with the situations like ours. This article summarizes and reviews the whole developmental process of new 2007 Korean Growth Charts with discussion. Methods : With the initiative of Division of Chronic Disease Surveillance in Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we have performed new national survey for the development of new Standards in 2005 and identified marked increase of childhood obesity and plateau of secular increment of final height in late adolescents. We have developed new Growth Standards via adapting several innovative methods, including standardization of all available raw data, which were acquired in 1997 and 2005 national survey and full application of LMS method. Results : We could get new standardized charts; weight-for-age, length/height-for-age, weight-for-height, head circumference-for-age and BMI-for-age. Other non-standardized charts based on 2005 survey data were also published; waist circumference-for-age, mid-arm circumference-for-age, chest circumference-for-age and skinfold-for-age. Clinical guideline was also developed. Conclusion : Developmental process and results of new Korean Growth Charts are comparable with other internationally well-known Growth Standards, WHO 2006 Growth Standards and CDC Growth Charts. 2007 Korean Growth Charts are relevant especially in Korea and Korean ethnic groups.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.28 no.12 s.138
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• pp.1583-1595
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• 2004

Simon and Sullivan(l993) estimated that clothing and textile related brand equity had the highest magnitude comparing any other industry category. It reflects that fashion brands reinforce the symbolic, social values and emotional characteristics being different from generic brands. Recently, Kim and Lim(2002) developed a fashion brand equity scale to measure a brand's psychometric properties. However, they suggested that additional psychometric tests were needed to compare the relative magnitude of each brand's equity. The purpose of this study was to recognize the psychometric constructs of fashion brand equity and validate Kim and Lim's fashion brand equity scale using the measurement invariance test of cross-group comparison. First, we identified the constructs of fashion brand equity using confirmatory factor analysis through structural equation modeling. Second, we compared the relative magnitude of two brands' equity using the measurement invariance test of multi-group simultaneous factor analysis. Data were collected at six major universities in Seoul, Korea. There were 696 usable surveys for data analysis. The results showed that fashion brand equity was comprised of 16 items representing six dimensions: customer-brand resonance, customer feeling, customer judgment, brand imagery, brand performance and brand awareness. Also, we could support the measurement invariance of two brands' equities by configural and metric invariance tests. There were significant differences in five constructs' mean values. The greatest difference was in customer feeling; the smallest, in customer judgment.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.41 no.7
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• pp.634-664
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• 2008

This study investigated the effects of the nutrition education on body weight, visceral fat and diet quality in the postmenopausal women. The subjects (n = 101) were randomly divided into two groups: Nutrition education + Exercise (NEE) group (n = 51) and Exercise only (EO) group (n = 50). Nutrition education was consisted of counseling in portion control, food selection for low carbohydrate, high fiber food items and for the improvement in micronutrient intakes and diet quality. After 6 months, the reduction in the body weight and visceral fat area was significantly greater in the NEE than in the EO group. The NEE subjects were further divided into two groups according to the amount of visceral fat area reduction; high visceral fat area loss (HVL) group with a visceral fat area reduction 2.35% or greater and low visceral fat area loss (LVL) group with a reduction less than 2.35%. In the HVL group, the reduction in body weight, BMI, percent body fat, waist to hip ratio and visceral fat area was significantly greater than that in the LVL group. We observed a significant increase in the serum HDL-cholesterol level and a decrease in systolic blood pressure, fasting blood sucrose, total and LDL-cholesterol levels in the HVL group compared to the LVL group. The energyadjusted protein, fiber, calcium, vitamin $B_6$, vitamin C, vitamin E intakes were significantly increased in the HVL compared to LVL group. The index of nutritional quality (INQ) and mean adequacy ratio (MAR) were also increased in the HVL group compared to the LVL group. These results show that our nutrition education program was an effective intervention measure for the reduction of body weight and visceral fat, blood pressure, glucose and lipid levels in the blood and also for the improvement of nutrient intake and diet quality in postmenopausal women who are overweight.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.320-327
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• 2011

Purpose: To determine the effect of changing practice guidelines designed to avoid hyperoxia or hypoxia in very low birth weight or very preterm infants. Methods: We analyzed a database of <1,500 g birth weight or <32 weeks of gestation infants who were born and admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of Chungnam National University Hospital from January 2007 to July 2010. First, we defined the relationship between arterial partial pressure of oxygen ($PaO_2$) and pulse oxygen saturation ($SpO_2$). When we evaluated 96 pairs of $PaO_2$ and $SpO_2$ measurements, oxygen saturation was 90-94% at a $PaO_2$ of 43-79 mmHg on the oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve, according to pulse oximetry. Based on this observation, a change in practice was instituted in August 2008 with the objective of avoiding hypoxia and hyperoxia in preterm infants with targeting a $SpO_2$ 90-94% (period II). Before the change in practice, high alarms for $SpO_2$ were set at 100% and low alarms at 95% (period I). Results: Sixty-eight infants the met enrollment criteria and 38 (56%) were born during period II, after the change in $SpO_2$ targets. Demographic characteristics, except gender, were similar between the infants born in both periods. After correcting for the effect of confounding factors, the rates for mortality, severe retinopathy of prematurity, and IVH attended to be lower than those for infants in period II. No difference in the rate of patent ductus arteriosus needed to treat was observed. Conclusion: A change in the practice guidelines aimed at avoiding low oxygen saturation and hyperoxia did not increase neonatal complication rates and showed promising results, suggesting decreased mortality and improvements in short term morbidity. It is still unclear what range of oxygen saturation is appropriate for very preterm infants but the more careful saturation targeting guideline should be considered to prevent hypoxemic events and hyperoxia.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.74-80
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• 1999

This study was performed to investigate the mechanism of the clozapine-induced seizures in partially restrained rats by concomitant treatment with drugs affecting monoaminergic systems. Partially restrained rats treated with acute single doses of 10mg/kg clozapine exhibited myoclonic jerks (MJs). Drugs affecting the monoaminergic systems, including 2mg/kg haloperidol, 5mg/kg propranolol, 2mg/kg ritanserin, 20mg/kg fluoxetine, and 20mg/kg imipramine, were concomitantly treated with clozapine to observe the effects of these drugs on the MJs. The drugs were given intraperitoneally either as acute single doses(haloperidol, propranolol, ritanserin, and fluoxetine) or as chronic doses for 21days(haloperidol, imipramine, ritanserin, and fluoxetine). The effects of the concomitant treatment of other drugs on the clozapine-induced MJs were evaluated by comparison of the total numbers of the MJs between the clozapine-treated and concomitantly treated groups. The results were as follows. 1) Concomitant treatment with acute single doses of haloperidol, propranolol, and fluoxetine reduced the total numbers of the clozapine-induced MJs, while concomitant treatment with ritanserin did not. 2) Concomitant treatment with chronic doses of imipramine and ritanserin increased the total numbers of the MJs, while concomitant treatment with fluoxetine reduced them. Concomitant chronic treatment with haloperidol did not affect the numbers of the MJs. These results suggest that dopamine and serotonin, not noradrenalin may be involved in the clozapine-induced MJs in partially restrained rats. Future research needs to study the function of each subtype of monoaminergic receptors on the mechanism of the clozapine-induced seizure.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.19-27
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• 2012

Purpose : As the number of children who attend child care centers has increased, concerns has increased about the effect of child day care on childhood illness. This study was conducted to examine the relationship between experience in child care and common infectious diseases in children under 5 years of age. Methods : Data were collected by surveying 1,000 respondents with children under age 5 through online interviews using a structured questionnaire. The contents of the survey were composed of demographic characteristics, child care facilities usage, experience in infectious diseases, and immunization status Results : Among the 1,000 children <5 years of age, 78.5% attended a child care facility. Rates of common communicable illnesses were higher in children in child care than for children reared exclusively at home. The predominant communicable diseases which the respondents' children experienced, in order of decreasing frequency, were gastroenteritis (47.1%), otitis media (41.8%) and pneumonia (19.1%). The immunization rate of vaccines that are not included the national immunization program (NIP) (Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine - 76.6%, hepatitis A vaccine - 63.3%, pneumococcal vaccine - 59.4%, rotavirus vaccine - 43.1%) was lower than that of the NIP vaccines (90.4%) Conclusion : Children in child care experience more bouts of common infectious disease, so nationwide policies to prevent or to control the spread of infectious agents in a child-care should be available and appropriate immunization should be emphasized as the most effective method for the control of infectious disease for children.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.340-356
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• 2018

Purpose: This study was conducted to develop a nutrition quotient (NQ) to assess overall dietary quality and food behaviors of Korean adults. Methods: The NQ was developed in three steps: item generation, item reduction, and validation. Candidate items of the NQ checklist were derived from a systematic literature review, expert in-depth interviews, statistical analyses of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010 ~ 2013) data, and national nutrition policies and recommendations. A total of 368 adults (19 ~ 64 years) participated in a one-day dietary record survey and responded to 43 items in the food behavior checklist. Pearson's correlation coefficients between responses to the checklist items and nutritional intake status of the adults were calculated. Item reduction was performed, and 24 items were selected for a nationwide survey. A total of 1,053 nationwide adult subjects completed the checklist questionnaires. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to develop a final NQ model. Results: The 21 checklist items were used as final items for NQ. Checklist items were composed of four factors: nutrition balance (seven items), food diversity (three items), moderation for the amount of food intake (six items), and dietary behavior (five items). The four-factor structure accounted for 41.8% of the total variance. Indicator tests of the NQ model suggested an adequate model fit (GRI = 0.9693, adjusted GFI = 0.9617, RMR = 0.0054, SRMR = 0.0897, p < 0.05), and item loadings were significant for all subscales. Standardized path coefficients were used as weights of the items. The NQ and four-factor scores were calculated according to the obtained weights of the questionnaire items. Conclusion: NQ for adults would be a useful tool for assessing adult dietary quality and food behavior. Further investigations of adult NQ are needed to reflect changes in their food behavior, environment, and prevalence of chronic diseases.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.77-82
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• 2005

This study was conducted to identify the characteristics of non-point pollutants discharge in a small agricultural watershed during farming season. for this purpose, the Neoungchon watershed in Goesangun was selected as a typical agricultural area. Runoff and water quality data in the stream, the domestic sewage and the precipitation of the watershed were analyzed periodically from June 1 to November 6 in 2004 and pollutant loads were estimated. As a result the mean concentrations of BOD, SS, TN and TP in the stream were 3.0, 76.7, 8.7, 0.16 mg/L in rainy season and 2.4, 10.0, 3.5, 0.11 mg/L in dry season respectively. Daily discharge of non-point pollutant occurred above of 95% in rainy period. Measured pollutant loads in the watershed were $26.63kg/km^2/day$ of T-N and $0.62kg/km^2/day$ of T-P, within the range of other research results. Effluent loads based on guideline of total pollutant to stream management of MOE (Ministry of Environment) were less than delivery loads since the guideline could not reflect the agricultural practices, geomorphic and meteorological characteristics in an agricultural watershed.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.335-340
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• 2010

The paper describes the objectives of Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (YSLME) project, focusing on procedural and practical aspects. YSLME is a highly productive sea yet possibly one of the most impacted large marine ecosystems, in terms of anthropogenic stressors, due the enormous coastal population. The aim of the YSLME project is the reduction of ecosystem stress through identification of the environmental problems in the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) that are then addressed in the Strategic Action Programme (SAP). One of the major problems found to be affecting biological diversity is habitat modification through wetland reclamation, conversion and degradation. Since the early 1900's more than 40% of intertidal wetlands have been reclaimed in Korea, and 60% of Chinese coastal wetlands have been converted or reclaimed. Damaging fishing practices, pollution and coastal eutrophication have further degraded the coastal environment reducing the biological diversity. To combat this loss, the YSLME project has mounted a public awareness campaign to raise environmental consciousness targeted at all different levels of society, from politicians at parliamentary workshops, local government officer training events, scientific conferences and involvement of scientists in the project research and reporting, to university and high school students in our visiting internship programmes and environmental camps. We have also built networks through the Yellow Sea Partnership and by liaising and working with other environmental organizations and NGOs. NGO's are recognised as important partners in the environmental conservation as they already have extensive local networks that can be lacking in international organisations. Effective links have been built with many of these NGOs through the small grants programme. Working with WWF's YSESP project and other academic and research institutions we have conducted our own biodiversity assessments that have contributed to the science-based development of the SAP for the YSLME. Our regional targets for biodiversity outlined in the SAP include: Improvements in the densities, distributions and genetic diversity of current populations of all living organisms including endangered and endemic species; Maintenance of habitats according to standards and regulations of 2007; and a reduction in the risk of introduced species. Endorsement of the SAP and its successful implementation, during the proposed second phase of the YSLEM project, will ensure that biological diversity is here to benefit future generations.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.489-497
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• 2002

Purpose : The objectives of this study were to investigate the causes of chronic cough and to establish the appropriate diagnostic approach to chronic cough in children. Methods : One hundred and thirty two cases of chronic cough were prospectively evaluated. They visitors to pediatric chronic cough clinics at Kang-nam saint Mary's Hospital of Catholic University from August 2000 to July 2001 for 12 months. Careful history taking by questionnaire, physical examination, radiologic studies of chest and sinus, hematologic and immunologic studies, allergic skin tests, and methacholine challenge tests were performed. Color doppler(CD) ultrasonography were performed and compared with simultaneous 24 Hr. esophageal pH monitoring to diagnose gastroesophageal reflux disease(GERD). Results : Age distributions were demonstrated that nine in infants, 82 in early childhood, 38 in late childhood, and three in adolescence. Common causes of chronic cough were bronchial asthma in 40 cases, chronic sinusitis in 22 cases, GERD in seven cases, bronchial asthma combined with sinusitis in 28 cases, bronchial asthma combined with GERD in 14 cases, psychogenic cough in two. cases, foreign body in one case, chronic bronchitis in one case, and bronchiolitis in one case. Comparing with 24 Hr. pH monitoring, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive values of CD ultrasonography were 88%, 69%, 85 %, and 73% respectively. Conclusion : The most common causes of chronic cough in children were bronchial asthma, sinusitis and GERD in order. We suggest that CD ultrasonography can be used as a good, convenient screening method for patients with suspected GERD in outpatient settings.