• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.195-205
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• 2021

As Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) became a pandemic, most nursing departments in Korea implemented online non-face-to-face practices rather than the existing practice method. This study was a qualitative study that analyzed the reflection diaries written by participants to understand what they experienced in the online non-face-to-face adult nursing practice process. The online non-face-to-face adult nursing practice was 90 hours for two credits and nine hours per day for a total of 10 days. This online practice consisted of computer-based simulation practice, computer-based nursing skills practice, video and educational material production, real-time online quiz, online lecture video, and discussion. As a result of analyzing the reflection diary, six categories, 13 subcategories, and 33 codes were derived. The six categories were 'Experience of various situations', 'Experience of new study', 'Fulfillment for the clinical practice', 'Building relations with professors', 'Fear of being a pre-nurse', and 'Ambivalence for the non-face-to-face practice'. These results are significant in that in the post-corona era, adult nursing practice was conducted as a non-face-to-face practice rather than a clinical practice institution, and various educational methods were operated. This study is expected to provide important basic data for the development and operation of non-face-to-face adult nursing practice.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.179-185
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to provide basic data on the negative factors of oral health in masks and the importance of oral health management according to the use of masks to prevent novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). From May 3 to 31, 2021, 232 adults aged 20 to 59 across the country were surveyed and statistically analyzed. As for the mask selection, 63.9% of men and 61.3% of women chose the KF_94 mask for both men and women, and it was found that the older they were, the more they chose the KF_94 mask. Self-recognition of dry mouth and bad breath due to wearing a mask showed that the group wearing a cotton mask felt high dry mouth, and there was a statistically significant difference. There was a significant positive correlation between mask type, dry mouth(r=.142, p<.05), and age(r=.234, p<.01). There was a significant positive correlation between mask wearing time and age(r=.158, p<.05), and it was found to be negatively correlated according to occupation, and was statistically significant(r=-.472, p< .01). Dry mouth had a statistically significant positive correlation with bad breath(r=3.04, p<.01) and age(r=.224, p<.01).

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.422-435
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• 2024

This study intended to verify the effects of face masks on the Korean language in terms of acoustic, aerodynamic, and formant parameters. We chose all types of face masks available in Korea based on filter performance and folding type. Two professional voice actors (a male and a female) with more than 20 years of experience who are native Koreans and speak standard Korean participated in this study as speakers of voice data. Face masks attenuated the high-frequency range, resulting in decreased Vowel Space Area (VSA) and Vowel Articulation Index (VAI)scores and an increased Low-to-High spectral ratio (L/H ratio) in all voice samples. This can result in lower speech intelligibility. However, the degree of increment and decrement was based on the voice characteristics. For female speakers, the Speech Level (SL) and Cepstral Peak Prominence (CPP) increased with increasing face mask thickness. In this study, the presence or filter performance of a face mask was found to affect speech acoustic parameters according to the speech characteristics. Face masks provoked vocal effort when the vocal intensity was not sufficiently strong, or the environment had less reverberance. Further research needs to be conducted on the vocal efforts induced by face masks to overcome acoustic modifications when wearing masks.

• The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.175-182
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• 2020

The non-contact eye tracking is a nonintrusive human-computer interface providing hands-free communications for people with severe disabilities. Recently. it is expected to do an important role in non-contact systems due to the recent coronavirus COVID-19, etc. This paper proposes a novel approach for an eye mouse using an eye tracking method based on a context-aware based AdaBoost multi-region classifier and ASSL algorithm. The conventional AdaBoost algorithm, however, cannot provide sufficiently reliable performance in face tracking for eye cursor pointing estimation, because it cannot take advantage of the spatial context relations among facial features. Therefore, we propose the eye-region context based AdaBoost multiple classifier for the efficient non-contact gaze tracking and mouse implementation. The proposed method detects, tracks, and aggregates various eye features to evaluate the gaze and adjusts active and semi-supervised learning based on the on-screen cursor. The proposed system has been successfully employed in eye location, and it can also be used to detect and track eye features. This system controls the computer cursor along the user's gaze and it was postprocessing by applying Gaussian modeling to prevent shaking during the real-time tracking using Kalman filter. In this system, target objects were randomly generated and the eye tracking performance was analyzed according to the Fits law in real time. It is expected that the utilization of non-contact interfaces.

• Smart Media Journal
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.81-90
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• 2020

Due to the recent economic development and the improvement of income level in China, the desire for quality medical services is increasing compared to the past. As an alternative to satisfy these needs, various applications using smart phones and the like are being developed. The new corona that occurred in December 2019 began to show great interest in non-face-to-face telemedicine services using smart phones due to the worldwide spread of the coronavirus. Therefore, in this study, a total of 200 people were surveyed on the top three mobile medical applications in China, and the data of 120 people who actually used medical applications were analyzed based on Venkatesh's UTAUT2 theory. A study was conducted on the intent to use and the factors affecting the in-law behavior. First, it has become clear that the interactive characteristics, expectations for effort, price value, interest in privacy, habits, and promotional conditions have a positive impact on the user's use. Second, it was investigated that the user's intention to use influences the behavior of use, and among the intentions of use, it was found that the mobilization characteristic expectation, hedonistic motivation, price value, habits, and promotion conditions affect the use behavior. Third, a study result was derived that the controlling variables such as gender, age, school age, and annual income do not affect the user's intention to use mobile medical applications as a controlling variable. Finally, due to the nature of mobile devices that use the Internet, various security vulnerabilities exist, and this can cause great damage or personal and social impact. Therefore, for the development of mobile medical services in China, it is necessary to re-establish a research model through comprehensive and in-depth considerations to supplement these problems in the future.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.33.1-33.13
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• 2023

Vaccination against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been acknowledged as an effective mean of preventing infection and hospitalization. However, the emergence of highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) has led to substantial increase in infections among children and adolescents. Vaccine-induced immunity and longevity have not been well defined in this population. Therefore, we aimed to analyze humoral and cellular immune responses against ancestral and SARS-CoV-2 variants after two shots of the BNT162b2 vaccine in healthy adolescents. Although vaccination induced a robust increase of spike-specific binding Abs and neutralizing Abs against the ancestral and SARS-CoV-2 variants, the neutralizing activity against the Omicron variant was significantly low. On the contrary, vaccine-induced memory CD4⁺ T cells exhibited substantial responses against both ancestral and Omicron spike proteins. Notably, CD4⁺ T cell responses against both ancestral and Omicron strains were preserved at 3 months after two shots of the BNT162b2 vaccine without waning. Polyfunctionality of vaccine-induced memory T cells was also preserved in response to Omicron spike protein. The present findings characterize the protective immunity of vaccination for adolescents in the era of continuous emergence of variants/subvariants.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.481-491
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• 2024

Paxlovid is the first approved oral treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 and includes nirmatrelvir, a protease inhibitor targeting the main protease (M^pro) of SARS-CoV-2, as one of the key components. While some specific mutations emerged in M^pro were revealed to significantly reduce viral susceptibility to nirmatrelvir in vitro, there is no report regarding resistance to nirmatrelvir in patients and animal models for SARS-CoV-2 infection yet. We recently developed xenograft tumors derived from Calu-3 cells in immunodeficient mice and demonstrated extended replication of SARS-CoV-2 in the tumors. In this study, we investigated the effect of nirmatrelvir administration on SARS-CoV-2 replication. Treatment with nirmatrelvir after virus infection significantly reduced the replication of the parental SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV-2 Omicron at 5 days post-infection (dpi). However, the virus titers were completely recovered at the time points of 15 and 30 dpi. The virus genomes in the tumors at 30 dpi were analyzed to investigate whether nirmatrelvir-resistant mutant viruses had emerged during the extended replication of SARS-CoV-2. Various mutations in several genes including ORF1ab, ORF3a, ORF7a, ORF7b, ORF8, and N occurred in the SARS-CoV-2 genome; however, no mutations were induced in the M^pro sequence by a single round of nirmatrelvir treatment, and none were observed even after two rounds of treatment. The parental SARS-CoV-2 and its sublineage isolates showed similar IC₅₀ values of nirmatrelvir in Vero E6 cells. Therefore, it is probable that inducing viral resistance to nirmatrelvir in vivo is challenging differently from in vitro passage.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.149-164
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• 2024

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The economic recession caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic disproportionately affected poor and vulnerable populations globally. Better uunderstanding of vulnerability to shocks in food supply and demand in the Asia Pacific region is needed. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Using secondary data from rapid assessment surveys during the pandemic response (n = 10,420 in mid-2020; n = 6,004 in mid-2021) in India, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Vietnam, this study examined the risk factors for reported income reduction or job loss in mid-2021 and the temporal trend in food security status (household food availability, and market availability and affordability of essential items) from mid-2020 to mid-2021. RESULTS: The proportion of job loss/reduced household income was highest in India (60.4%) and lowest in Indonesia (39.0%). Urban residence (odds ratio [OR] range, 2.20-4.11; countries with significant results only), female respondents (OR range, 1.40-1.69), engagement in daily waged labor (OR range, 1.54-1.68), and running a small trade/business (OR range, 1.66-2.71) were significantly associated with income reduction or job loss in three out of 4 countries (all P < 0.05). Food stock availability increased significantly in 2021 compared to 2020 in all four countries (OR range, 1.91-4.45) (all P < 0.05). Availability of all essential items at markets increased in India (OR range, 1.45-3.99) but decreased for basic foods, hygiene items, and medicine in Vietnam (OR range, 0.81-0.86) in 2021 compared to 2020 (all P < 0.05). In 2021, the affordability of all essential items significantly improved in India (OR range, 1.18-3.49) while the affordability of rent, health care, and loans deteriorated in Indonesia (OR range, 0.23-0.71) when compared to 2020 (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Long-term social protection programs need to be carefully designed and implemented to address food insecurity among vulnerable groups, considering each country's market conditions, consumer food purchasing behaviors, and financial support capacity.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.75-82
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• 2024

Purpose: As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic ended, the number of patients with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) pneumonia increased during the spring/summer of 2022. This study aimed to analyze the clinical features and antibiotic usage of children hospitalized for RSV pneumonia in a recently established general hospital in Sejong city. Methods: In this retrospective review, we included inpatients of the Pediatric Department of Chungnam National University Sejong Hospital diagnosed with RSV pneumonia between March 2022 and April 2023. Patients were divided into 2 groups: with and without antibiotic treatment. Demographic data, initial presentations, and clinical courses were reviewed. Results: A total of 116 patients with RSV pneumonia were hospitalized during this period, of which 102 were analyzed, excluding 14 with underlying diseases or who did not fall within the definition of pneumonia. The median age was 17 months. Diagnoses of bacterial infections (acute otitis media and sinusitis) were documented in 9.8% of cases. Intravenous (IV) antibiotics were administered in 46% of cases. The group receiving IV antibiotics showed higher inflammatory levels (C-reactive protein; CRP), more infiltration on initial chest X-rays, and longer fever duration. There was no difference in the length of hospitalization between the groups with and without IV antibiotics. Conclusions: This study showed a tendency for the attending physician to prescribe IV antibiotics to patients with longer fever duration, pulmonary infiltrations on the initial chest X-ray, and higher CRP levels. However, given the high rate of IV antibiotic usage compared to previous studies, care should be taken in antibiotic use.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.97-111
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• 2023

Purpose: Childhood obesity has become a social problem due to the social distancing necessitated by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. This study aimed to identify the dietary problems of obese children through various dietary assessment methods and to confirm the usefulness of each method. Methods: The subjects were 88 students in the 4th to 6th grade of elementary school who participated in the nutrition camp organised by the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education, 2020. To evaluate dietary problems and assess diet quality, 24-hour meal records, monthly food intake frequency, and Dietary Screening Test (DST) data were analyzed. Results: Of the subjects, 15.7%, 30.3%, and 53.9% were normal weight, overweight, and obese, respectively. The average age was 11.77 ± 0.77 years and the average body mass index was 23.96 ± 3.01 kg/m². It was observed from the 24-hour meal record method that the overweight and obese subject groups consumed fewer green vegetables (p < 0.001) and white vegetables (p < 0.01) than the normal weight group. In the monthly food intake frequency method, the consumption of ramen (p < 0.01), snacks (p < 0.05), and sausages (p < 0.05) were high in the obese group, and that of anchovies, broccoli, and sweet pumpkin was high in the normal group (p < 0.05). The comparative data from the DST revealed that the overweight and obese groups had less vegetable intake than the normal weight group (p < 0.01) and had higher intakes of dairy products, fast food, and sweet snacks (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The usefulness of each method in the dietary evaluation of obese children was confirmed. To address the problem of obesity, it is necessary to evaluate the dietary problem and approach it with a customized solution tailor-made for the individual subject.