• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• 제28권1D호
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• pp.29-34
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• 2008

The Korean society has been changed to the aging one. The number of elderly people has been in creasing rapidly. For their social and economic activity, more convenient transport services have to be offered. Specifically, increasing mobility is one of the most urgent policies for them. One action of the policy in Seoul has introduced low floor buses since 2003. This paper shows how low floor buses affect on passengers' boarding and alighting time through the field survey. In the analysis of the survey results it has been found that the low floor buses can reduce average boarding time by 0.8 sec, especially, by 1.1 sec (about 36%) for elderly passengers. These outcomes expect total bus operating hours as well as headways could be reduced, and operating cost and passengers' waiting time could be saved.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• 제37권6호
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• pp.1009-1015
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• 2017

Since most of the urban railway operating agencies are established and operated by local governments, Public Service Obligation(PSO) is given priority. Therefore, free riding is carried out based on individual laws and regulations. In Korea, as the aging population goes, the increase in the number of elderly passengers on the urban railways is leading to a free rider as a big part of the fiscal deficit of the city railway operators. However, there have been no previous researches on free pass riding, and especially, it is necessary to study free ride on private investment projects. Several alternatives including a full charge case, free-ride for 70 years old over case, and separate fare charge (900won) are considered. Separate fare charge (900won) was selected as the optimal alternative since there is no fare income adjustment between operating agencies and no subsidy from government.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• 제28권4호
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• pp.397-403
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• 2017

The number of patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease is increasing year after year and almost approaching 15% of the total elderly population. Although it is critical to detect the early stage of Alzheimer's disease, which is a serious illness causing cognitive deficits, various existing diagnosis methods such as MRI, PET and CSF analysis could be the burdens for patients due to their high costs and long time to diagnosis. In order to tackle some of challenging issues for such existing diagnosis methods, extensive efforts have been made on developing fast and convenient biochip sensing methodologies for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease with a droplet of patient biofluids (e.g., blood). In this mini-review, we highlight some of the latest biochip sensing technologies that could qualitatively and quantitatively analyze blood biomarkers used for Alzheimer's disease diagnostics and discuss briefly related research trends and future aspects.

• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• 제24권1호
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• pp.1-24
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• 2013

The elderly population continues to increase in Korea and there has been a growing interest in understanding normal aging. In response to this public interest, the present paper reviewed human aging research focusing on recently published neuroimaging studies. For the first half of the paper, I reviewed the effects of aging on the brain and cognition. In normal aging, structural changes in the brain include atrophy and volume reduction in the prefrontal and temporal cortices. Functional changes are exhibited in the form of overactivation of the brain. Moreover, age-related cognitive decline is particularly observed in inhibition and memory, which are also associated with the age-related structural changes in the brain. For the second half of the paper, I introduced physical exercise studies showing that exercise played a protective role in the age-related neurocognitive decline. More specifically, engaging in physical exercise (particularly, aerobic exercise) for a relatively long period of time (e. g., > 6 mon.) protected older adults from volume loss in the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus, and induced better inhibition and memory. These exercise-induced benefits appear to be associated with changes in neuronal levels, indicating that the aging brain is still plastic and this plasticity can be enhanced by physical exercise.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• 제14권5호
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• pp.537-543
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• 2020

The elderly population in the modern society is growing rapidly due to advance medical technology and minimally invasive surgery. Therefore, as the tendency to use medical device is increasing, pathogenic infection is a concern. Therefore, the first aim of modern medicine is infection prevention in medical place. Recently, patient implants are increasing using 3D printing. Hydroxyapatite is used as a representative material. And, there haven't had currently absorbed dose standard for sterilization of hydroxyapatite discs. Escherichia coli and Streptococcus mutans contaminated on the surface of hydroxyapatite discs were irradiated at each absorbed dose of 0, 0.5, 1.0, 3.0, 5.0 kGy using Gamma-ray of cobalt and Electron-beam of linear accelerator. Then, the number of bacteria was measured in the sample by the decimal dilution method. After sterilization, a non-parametric testing method was performed to compare the survival of Escherichia coli and Streptococcus mutans. As a result, Escherichia coli was sterilized at 1 kGy or more and Streptococcus mutans at 3 kGy or more on absorbed dose. It is considered possible to perform sterilization at a lower value than the recommended absorbed dose of radiation sterilization.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• 제3권2호
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• pp.161-168
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• 1997

The measurement of many biochemical changes that could be appeared as aging will be resulted in the very useful and basal marker to maintain healthy life and to predict the health condition and the retardation of the aging. We classified the geriatrics into the normal and same aged dementia on the based of clinical diagnostic as well as MMSE evaluation. And then we were collected blood samples from both groups and examined 13 biochemical assays to screen any valuable biochemical index for dementia. Among 13 assays, several assay data showed the statistically significant differences between two groups. The values of serum albumin, APase, and GOT were significantly decreased in demented group compared to control. On the other hand, the values of glucose and LDH were increased in dementia compared to control. Additionally, the value of Pi was increased but the values of calcium and GPT were decreased, without significant difference (p＞0.05). The values of other assays such as bilirubin, BUN, cholesterol, creatinine and total protein did not show any statistically significant differences. Conclusively it may be suggested that dementia might be resulted in the variable biochemical changes which could be affected by many environmental factors as well as dementia itself.

• 한국노년학
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• 제30권4호
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• pp.1359-1375
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• 2010

Expecting the expansion of the elderly population under long-term home care with the coming of the aged society, this study purposed to propose a prevention and self-reliance support model and to get practical implications for minimizing dependency on care benefits and enhancing the effectiveness of prevention and self-reliance support. Research methods employed for this study were: first, reviewing theoretical literature for clarifying the concept of prevention and self-reliance support in providing long-term care benefits for the elderly; second, identifying factors hindering prevention and self-reliance support through analyzing standard long-term care use plans and documents related to long-term care benefits at elderly welfare centers to which the research subjects belonged; and third, surveying care benefit users on factors hindering their use of prevention and self-reliance support and their needs in the use of care benefits. Based on the results of the three types of qualitative research, we proposed directions for prevention and self-reliance support modeling and suggested practical implications for enhancing the effectiveness of prevention and self-reliance support. For this study, we collected documentary materials and conducted in-depth interviews with the participants with the consents and cooperation of managers and professional social workers at day care centers and elderly welfare centers in D City. According to the results of this study, literature review suggested that long-term care prevention and self-reliance support should be provided in a way of 'strengthening user-centered support systems,' which support elderly long-term care beneficiaries' right to lead a life as the subject of their own life. Document analysis found the absence of benefits related to health and medicine and lack of social support systems for prevention and self-reliance support, and the results of in-depth interviews suggested the necessity to strengthen services related to elderly long-term care beneficiaries' prevention and self-reliance, and the keen needs of the long-term care elders for prevention and self-reliance included: ① loneliness, anxiety, fear; ② missing for and worry about children and people; ③ moving, outing; ④ health and medical services, rehabilitation programs; ⑤ desire to use day care; ⑥ inconvenience of house structure; ⑦desire for meal menus; and ⑧ the occurrence of disuse syndrome. Based on these results, we suggested the base of prevention and self-reliance support modeling with three axes: ① strengthening user-centered support systems; ② strengthening support systems connected to health and medicine; and ③ strengthening social support systems.

• Convergence Security Journal
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• 제19권5호
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• pp.85-90
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to analyze the trend of exercise intervention applying various devices to increase the physical activity of the disabled, and to suggest the exercise intervention using converged devices that meet the needs of the times due to the increase of elderly people with disabilities. Exercise intervention using converged devices applicable to the disabled is divided into two types: first, exercise intervention using virtual reality-based gamification, and second, exercise intervention based on wearable devices of wearable or body-attached such as bands and watches. For exercise intervention using converged devices that can be enjoyed by the elderly with disability, minimize of environmental limitations, and easy to personalize, there is a need for configuration requirements such as easy operation and simple rules of operation, easy device installation and wearing, a trainer who can complement immature device utilization. In order to maintain and improve the daily living performance of the elderly with disabilities who experience a significant decrease in their cognitive and physical functions, it is necessary to use a physical activity game that can be experienced and can be interested in everyday life or a variety of devices to increase the amount of physical activity.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• 제21권2호
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• pp.140-146
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• 2013

Objectives: We compared the characteristics of the pain threshold and pain experience between demented group and non-demented group. Methods: This study was part of Gangwon projects for early detection of dementia in 2010. We recruited 8302 local resident ages over 65 years old. Of theses, 1259 people who scored low MMSE were selected and 365 of them completed CERAD-K(Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's disease). Finally, 90 in non-demented group and 57 in demented group(mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease) were analyzed. Pain threshold was experimentally measured by pressure algometer and we investigated the pain experience, by Brief pain inventory (BPI), a self-report test. Results: In the demographic characteristics, there are more female, higher ages, lower education in the demented group. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the pain threshold. On the BPI results, 'shoulder pain', 'the number of pain' and 'interference of working' were significantly more prevalent in non-demented group. However, there are no significant differences between the groups in the 'pain severity', 'prevalence of pain' and 'pain treatment'. Conclusions: Demented group report less pain experience but, still perceived pain. It support previous studies that patient with dementia have increased pain tolerance but preserved pain threshold. Thus, active pain assessment and treatment for patients with dementia is needed.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• 제9권2호
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• pp.438-444
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• 2005

In Korea, the situation to use a Information Communication Technology(In) was rapidly developed that the subscriber using CDMA mobile phone are about 3,601 ten thousand and the subscriber of very high-speed service for Internet using ADSL etc., are about 1,161 ten thousand, the base June, 2004. However, nevertheless the development of In and more rapid increase of subscriber, a farming, finishing villages and an islands are being exist a sharp difference of digital divide compare with a big city because of geometrical, economical reasons. In this paper, to put empasis in an Islands that the alienation class of Information are many exist, relatively small opportunity of information access because of geometrical, economical reasons, 1 search a ICT for Information Communication Network and propose a plan for Solution of Digital Divide of an Islands.