• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.432-437
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• 2021

Objectives: The mandible and other parts of the maxillofacial region suffer significant morbid injuries following road traffic accidents. Our study gives epidemiological description of mandibular fractures in Ghana and also evaluates the relevance of closed reduction and indirect fixation for managing mandibular fractures in low-resource health facilities in low-income countries like Ghana. Patients and Methods: This is a retrospective study involving 268 patients who reported to the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of the Sunyani Regional Hospital with mandibular fractures from January 2010 to December 2019. Patient medical records were assessed for information on age, sex, fracture etiology, anatomic location of fracture, time of day of road traffic accident, and other associated injuries. Results: A total of 268 patients were included in this study (males, 216 [80.6%]; females, 52 [19.4%]). Motor vehicular accident (MVA) was the leading cause of mandibular fractures (202 injuries, 75.4%). Other etiologies included assault (39, 14.6%), gunshot (13, 4.9%), falls (12, 4.5%), and industrial accidents (2, 0.7%). Of the 161 male cases caused by MVA, 121 (75.2%) occurred at night and in the evening while the remaining 40 (24.8%) occurred in the morning and afternoon. Among all managed 222 patients, 212 (79.1%) were treated with closed reduction and indirect fixation technique while 10 (3.7%) were treated with open reduction and direct fixation. Conclusion: Closed reduction with indirect fixation could successfully be used to manage mandibular fractures in low resourced health facilities, especially in low-income countries. The poor lightening system on roads in Ghana is a major contributory factor to motor vehicular accidents.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.302-307
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• 2022

Background: In Brazil, asbestos was intensively used from the 1960s until its ban in 2017. Mesothelioma, asbestosis, and pleural plaques are typical asbestos-related diseases (ARD-T). To create an ARD-T national database, death records from 1996-2017 were retrieved from several health information systems (HIS). Methods: All national HIS containing coded diagnoses (ICD-10) and death information were obtained. Linkage was performed to create a single database of ARD-T death records, either as underlying or contributory causes, in adults aged 30 years and older. Results: A total of 3,057 ARD-T death records were found, 2,405 (76.4%) of which being malignant mesotheliomas (MM). Pleural MM (n = 1,006; 41.8%) and unspecified MM (n = 792; 32.9%) prevailed. Male to female MM ratio (M:F) was 1.4:1, and higher ratios were found for non-malignant ARD-T: 3.5:1 for asbestosis and 2.4:1 for pleural plaques. Male crude annual mesothelioma mortality (CM_mm ×1,000,000) was 0.98 in 1996 and 2.26 in 2017, a 131.1% increment, while for females it was 1.04 and 1.25, a 20.2% increase, correspondingly. The small number of deaths with asbestosis and pleural plaques records precluded conclusive interpretations. Conclusions: Even with the linkage of several HIS, ARD-T in death records remained in low numbers. MM mortality in men was higher and showed a rapid increase and, along with non-malignant ARD-T, higher M:F ratios suggested a predominant pattern of work-related exposure. The monitoring of workplace and environmental asbestos exposure needs to be improved, as well as the workers surveillance, following the recent Brazilian ban.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2020.06a
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• pp.231-231
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• 2020

Unlike conventional treatment technologies, the performance of nature-based facilities were susceptible to seasonal changes and climatological variabilities. This study evaluated the effects of seasonal variables on the treatment performance of constructed wetlands (CWs). Two CWs treating runoff and discharge from agricultural and livestock areas were monitored to determine the efficiency of the systems in reducing particulates, organics, and nutrients in the influent. For all four seasons, the mean effluent suspended solids concentration in the agricultural CW (ACW) increased by -2% to -39%. The occurrence of algal blooms in the system during summer and fall seasons resulted to the greatest increase in the amount of suspended materials in the overlying water. unlike ACW, the livestock CW (LCW) performed efficiently throughout the year, with mean suspended solids removal amounting to 61% to 68%. Algal blooms were still present in LCW seasonally; however, the constant inflow in the system limited the proliferation of phytoplankton through continuous flushing. The total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) removal efficiencies in ACW were higher during the summer (21% to 25%) and fall (8% to 21%) seasons since phytoplankton utilize nitrogen and phosphorus during the early stages of phytoplankton blooms. In the case of LCW, the most efficient reduction in TN (24%) and TP (54%) concentrations were also noted in summer, which can be attributed to the favorable environmental conditions for microbial activities. The mean removal of organics in ACW was lowest during summer season (-52% to 35%), wherein the onset of algal decay triggered a relative increase in organic matter and stimulate bacterial growth. The removal of organics in LCW was highest (54 % to 55%) during the fall and winter seasons since low water temperatures may limit the persistence of various algal species. Variations in environmental conditions due to seasonal changes can greatly affect the performance of CW systems. This study effectively established the contributory factors affecting the feasibility of utilizing CW systems for treating agricultural and livestock discharges and runoff.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.179-190
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• 2023

The effect of the particle size and silica structure on the wear behavior of Silica/Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (SBR) compounds was investigated using a blade-type abrader and the findings were compared with those obtained with an Akron abrader. The compensated characteristic parameter (Ψ_c), which was the contributory factor of the combined effect of the particle size and filler structure, was introduced. This parameter was found to exhibit a linear relationship with the Young's modulus. The Young's modulus correlated more with Ψ_c than the uncompensated characteristic parameter (Ψ) modeled for carbon black. The wear rate and volume loss measured using a blade-type abrader and Akron abrader were respectively observed to be inversely proportional to Ψ_c, that is, the wear resistance of Silica/SBR compound improved as the particle size became smaller and the silica structure became intricate. The coefficient of determination (R²) obtained from the linear relationship between Ψ_c and wear rate was higher than those between Ψ_c and volume loss for the Silica/SBR compound. Thus, the blade-type abrader exhibited high potential to be used for accurately evaluating the effect of particle size and structural properties of silica on the wear behavior of SBR compounds.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.31-39
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• 2014

Purpose - This study investigates the following two issues. First, we attempt to find the important determinants of housing investment and to identify their significance rank using survey panel data. Recently, the expansion of global uncertainty in the real estate market has directly and indirectly influenced the Korean housing market; households demonstrate a sensitive reaction to changes in that market. Therefore, this study aims to draw conclusions from understanding how the impact of financial strength of the household is related to house investment. Second, we attempt to verify the effectiveness of diverse indices of financial strength such as DTI, LTV, and PIR as measures to monitor the housing market. In the continuous housing market recession after the global crisis, the government places top priority on residence stability. However, the government still imposes forceful restraints on indices of financial strength. We believe this study verifies the utility of these regulations when used in the housing market. Research design, data, and methodology - The data source for this study is the "National Survey of Tax and Benefit" from 2007 (1st) to 2011 (5th) by the Korea Institute of Public Finance. Based on this survey data, we use panel data of 3,838 households that have been surveyed continuously for 5 years. We sort the base variables according to relevance of house investment criteria using the decision tree model (DTM), which is the standard decision-making model for data-mining techniques. The DTM method is known as a powerful methodology to identify contributory variables for predictive power. In addition, we analyze how important explanatory variables and the financial strength index of households affect housing investment with the binary logistic multi-regressive model. Based on the analyses, we conclude that the financial strength index has a significant role in house investment demand. Results - The results of this research are as follows: 1) The determinants of housing investment are age, consumption expenditures, income, total assets, rent deposit, housing price, habits satisfaction, housing scale, number of household members, and debt related to housing. 2) The impact power of these determinants has changed more or less annually due to economic situations and housing market conditions. The level of consumption expenditure and income are the main determinants before 2009; however, the determinants of housing investment changed to indices of the financial strength of households, i.e., DTI, LTV, and PIR, after 2009. 3) Most of all, since 2009, housing loans has been a more important variable than the level of consumption in making housing market decisions. Conclusions - The results of this research show that sound financing of households has a stronger effect on housing investment than reduced consumption expenditures. At the same time, the key indices that must be monitored by the government under economic emergency conditions differ from those requiring monitoring under normal market conditions; therefore, political indices to encourage and promote the housing market must be divided based on market conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.1-12
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• 2015

This study analyzes the physiological healing effects on users according to forest types. Forest types are classified into Chamaecyparis obtusa, Quercus serrata and Pinus densiflora and the subjects of this study, 64 hypertensives, 59 diabetics and 59 ordinary people, were tested to observe their physiological effects. The index of physiological reaction comprises electroencephalogram(EEG), heart rate variability(HRV), blood pressure and cortisol level. An analysis of the stress-buffering effect from the physiological reactions of the overall subjects indicates that Quercus serrata forests have a higher stress-buffering effect than others in terms of central nervous, endocrine and autonomic nervous systems. Chamaecyparis obtusa forests are contributory to soothing stress in the central nervous and endocrine systems. Pinus densiflora forests contribute in some indexes of the endocrine and autonomic nervous systems. In contrast, Pinus densiflora forests are less influential on a stress-buffering effect than the other two. In the level of the effect for lowering blood pressure, Chamaecyparis obtusa and Quercus serrata forests are more effective than Pinus densiflora forests. Therefore, staying in the first two forests can heighten the healing effect of the lowering of blood pressure for hypertensive patients. Every forest is efficacious to lowering diabetic blood glucose levels. Spending time in Quercus serrata forests is more effective for hypoglycemic.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.207-229
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• 1995

The characteristics of weather and climate in South Korea has great influences on the annual variation pattern and the appearance of the prevailing weather. The purpose of this paper is to induce the quantity of the weather entropy and annual variation pattern using the information theory and the principal component analysis. And author tried to classify the region according to the variation of its space scale, The raw materials used for this study are the daily cloudiness and precipitation during the years 1990-1994 at 69 stations in South Korea. It is divided into four classes of fine, clear, cloudy and rainy. The rcsults of this study can be summarized as follows: 1. Thc characteristics of annual variation pattern of weather entropy can be chiefly divided into five categories and the accumulated contributory rate of these is 73.1%. 2. Annual variation pattern of the first principal component reaches smaller in May, April and September than national average, and becomes greater when the winter comes. This weather entropy's quantity(Rs1) is positive in most area to the western sife of Soback Mountains and negative in most seaside area to the eastern side of Soback Mountains. 3. The characteristics of annual variation pattern of the second principal component shows that the entropy is more smaller in summer than national average and the rest of seasons shows larger, especially in January, May and September. This weather entropy's quantity(Rs2) is positive in most Honam Inland area to the western side of Soback Mountains and negative in most Youngnam Inland area to the eastern side of Soback Mountains. 4. Eight type regions (S1-S11) are classified based on the occurrences of minimum weather entropy in South Korea, and annual variation pattern of weather entropy by principal component analysis may be classified into sixteen type regions (Rs1-Rs9). Putting these things together, South Korea can be classifieed into thirty one type regions (Rs1S7-Rs9S10).

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.289-302
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• 2013

In order to determine the provenance of the Huksan Mud Belt sediments in the southeastern Yellow Sea, the major and rare earth elements of the same sediments were analyzed. The surface sediments were sampled from top of piston-cores and box-cores taken at 51 sites within the Huksan Mud Belt. With the mean grain size of $5-6{\phi}$, the sediments of the study area are mud-dominated. The spatial distribution patterns show that silt content is high in the northern Mud Belt, whereas clay content increases as it moves toward the southern Mud Belt. Interestingly, the geochemical compositions both of major and rare earth elements have resulted in differences of sediment provenance. Among the major elements, plots of Fe/Al vs. Mg/Al ratios, $Al_2O_3$ vs. MgO ratios, and $Al_2O_3$ vs. $K_2O$ reveal that the Huksan Mud Belt sediments are dominated by the Korean river-derived sediments. However, the characteristics of rare earth elements infer sediments originating from the Chinese rivers. This discrepancy between the above provenances is attributed to the different contributory factors in the content of chemical elements. Considering strong correlation between major elements with grain sizes, the contents of the major elements are thought to be influenced by the grain size. However, there is a weak correlation between rare earth elements and grain sizes. The behaviour of rare earth elements may be controlled by heavy minerals, rather than grain sizes. Further study requires to solve the discrepancy arose from the difference in applied chemical tracers.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.30-38
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• 2001

This research was conduced to 1) examine the influence of milk group intake on the dietary, considering dietary diversity and nutrient adequacy, 2) identify which foods truly contribute to the intake of specific nutrients 3) point out the dietary problems of this age group. The subjects were 664(male 357, female 307) healthy toddlers of the ages of 12-36 months, who had neither been taking any medicine-type supplements nor had any diseases that affect the dietary intakes, chosen among the outpatients of university and private hospitals in Seoul and Kyonggi province during Mach-August, 1999. The 24 hour recall method and CAN Pro(food analysis program) were used to analyze the amount of nutrient intake. The grouping of the subjects for the analysis by monthly age was based on the 98 Korean Child growth standard. The results that the milk group intake showed significant negative correlations with the grain group(r=-0.194, p<0.01), the vegetable group(r=-0.115, p<0.01) and the fruit group(r=-0.125, p<0.01). It also showed that the more the milk group intake, the lower the Dietary Diversity Score(r=-0.131, p<0.01), and the more the intake of raw milk, the more dificient the intake of iron(r=-0.211, p<0.01), vitamin A(r=-0.169,p<0.01), vitamin B$_1$(r=-0.078, p<0.05) and vitamin C(r=-0.187, p<0.01). Foods contributory to nutrient intake for of 12-14 months of were mostly infant formula, and the contribution ratio was high. In the age of 15-17 months, the subjects obtained most of the nutrients from raw milk., liquid-type yoghurt, soybean milk, cooked rice, etc. As for iron intake, the age of 21-23 month obtained the most from ionic drinks, and 24-29 months from raw milk, chocolate cakes, ionic drinks, etc. Though the NAR(Nutrient Adequacy Ratio) and MAR(Mean Adequacy Ratio) generally tended to increase accordingly with the DDs, as for nutrients Ca, vitamin A, vitamin B$_1$, and vitamin C the NAR marked the highest when the DDS marked the lowest(due to infant formula). And for iron, even when the DDS was 5 the NAR value was low. Im conclusion, the more the milk group intake, the lower was the dietary diversity. High dependency on infant formula and others from milk group over the age of 12 months proved to result in a decrease of nutritious solid food intake, iron deficiency and a low dietary diversity score, which can lead to an unbalanced diet. Therefore, nutrition education towards mothers/caretakers of toddler is of urgent need, in order to reduce the fluid milk group intake of low nutritional density and to provide various solid foods the children. (Korean J Nutrition 34(1):30-38, 2001)

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.37-50
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• 2015

Objective : In order to understand the scale of medicinal expenditure in the Korean medicine, an analysis has been made of Korean National Health Account and statistic archives used to estimate the Korean National Health Account and also of such archives as are contributory to learn the scale of total health expenditures in the Korean medicine. Method : From the Korean National Health Account archives, an analysis has been made of National health insurance statistic annual reports, National health insurance non-payment items, Korean Economic Census (The Service Industy Survey), and Korea Health Panel data. Moreover, in order to know the sales of overall Korean medicine clinics, relevant data have been utilized and cited from investigations into National tax statistics, Korean medicine medical institutions and Korean medicines used, and current states of medicinal herbs and Korean medicine industry. Results : It is found that the average scale of each section of the medical expenditures archives in the Korean medicine in 2012 was KRW 3.5638 billion and that the average medical expenditures in the Korean medicine derived from Total Health Expenditure, The Service Industy Survey, National tax statistic, and Korean medicine industry are approximately KRW 3.3901, 3.4796, 3.7218 and 3.9634 billion. And the average expenditures derived from National health insurance patients and Korea Health Panel data are 2.5162 and 2.2292 billion won and those from the users and consumers of Korean medicines and herbs are 5.6,461 billion won. In order to verify the appropriateness of estimated medical expenditures in the Korean medicine included in the archives, an analysis has been made of uninsured costs which come from the aggregate sales amount surveyed minus health insurance treatment expenditures and it is found that the ratio of insured costs against total health expenditures in 2006 was 50.67% and 41.92% in 2012 and that the ratio based on National tax statistics and The Service Industy Survey was 52.19% and 49.28% in 2006 and 50.54% and 50.64% in 2012 and that the ratio of uninsured costs against Korean medicines and herbs and Korean medicine industry was 37.5% and 58.27% in 2013. Conclusion : It calls for the improvement of the accuracy of an investigation into Total Health Expenditure which comprise the actual conditions of health insurance and Korea Health Panel, the development of statistic schemes for understanding and classifying medical expenditures of all the Korean medicine medicinal institutions like medicinal clinics, and enhanced methods for independent panels to comprehensively collect and analyze the number of sampled Korean medicine medical institutions.