• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.467-474
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• 2007

Objectives : Gastric cancer is the most common incident cancer in Korea. Although Helicobacter pylori infection is the most important risk factor for the development of gastric cancer, cigarette smoking has also been suggested to play an important role in the development of gastric cancer. The objective of this study is to evaluate the relationship between cigarette smoking and gastric cancer risk in a Korean population. Methods : The study population consisted of 13,785 subjects who had been enrolled in the Korean Multi-Center Career Cohort between 1993 and 2002. As of December 2002, 139 incident gastric cancer cases were ascertained through the Korea Central Cancer Registry and the National Death Certificate Database. Relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for gastric cancer were estimated using Cox#s proportional hazard model adjusted for age, education, alcohol drinking status and history of gastritis or ulcer. Results : Significant dose-response relationships were observed between the duration of smoking and the risk of gastric cancer among the male subjects in comparison to non-smokers: men who smoked for 20-39 years had a 2.09-fold (95% CI 1.00-4.38) increase, and those who smoked for more than 40 years had a 3.13-fold (95% CI 1.59-6.17) increase in the risk of gastric cancer ($P_{trend}<0.01$). Conclusions : This study suggests that a longer duration of cigarette smoking may increase the risk of gastric cancer development in a dose-response manner in Korean men. The association between smoking and gastric cancer risk in women should be verified in future studies with a larger number of cases.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.3-26
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• 2005

In recent years, there is growing concern about the potential use of biological agents in war or acts of terrorism accompanied an increased realization that rapid preparedness and response are needed to prevent or treat the human damage that can be caused by these agents. The threat is indeed serious, and the potential for devastating numbers of casualties is high. The use of agents as weapons, even on a small scale, has the potential for huge social and economic disruption and massive diversion of regional and national resources to combat the threat, to treat primary disease, and to clean up environmental contamination. Biological weapons are one of weapons of mass destruction (or mass casualty weapons, to be precise. since they do not damage non-living entities) that are based on bacteria, viruses, rickettsia, fungi or toxins produced by these organisms. Biological weapons are known to be easy and cheap to produce and can be used to selectively target humans, animals, or plants. Theses agents can cause large numbers of casualties with minimal logistical requirements (in wide area). The spread of disease cannot be controlled until there is awareness of the signs of infection followed by identification of agents; and if the organism is easily spread from person to person, as in the case of smallpox, the number of casualties could run into the tens of thousands. Biological weapons could be used covertly, there can be a lot of different deployment scenarios. A lot of different agents could be used in biological weapons. And, there are a lot of different techniques to manufacture biological weapons. Terrorist acts that make use of Biological Agents differ in a number of ways from those involving chemicals. The distinction between terrorist and military use of Biological Weapon is increasingly problematic. The stealthy qualities of biological weapons further complicate the distinction between terrorism and war. In reality, all biological attacks are likely to require an integrated response involving both military and civilian communities. The basic considerations when public health agencies establish national defence plan against bioterrorism must be 1) arraying various laws and regulations to meet the realistic needs, 2)education for public health personnels and support of concerned academic society, 3)information collection and cooperative project with other countries, 4)Detection and surveillance(Early detection is essential for ensuring a prompt response to biological or chemical attack, including the provision of prophylactic medicines, chemical antidotes, or vaccines) and 5) Response(A comprehensive public health response to a biological or chemical terrorist event involves epidemiologic investigation, medical treatment and prophylaxis for affacted persons, and the initiation of disease prevention or environmental decontamination measures). The purpose of this paper is providing basic material of preparedness and response for biological terrorism in modern society.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.85-90
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• 2007

Purpose: Usually college students having a strong desire for sexual behavior, thus, knowledge about sexually transmitted disease is very important to prevent infection. The purpose of this study was to assess knowledge about AIDS and STDs in the college students, and to provide a basis for sex education for them. Methods: The subjects were 86 medical students and 59 non-medical students at One University. The data were collected by self-reported questionnaire which were consisted of 19 items (8 for AIDS, 11 for STDs). Results: The frequency of experience in sexual intercourse was significantly higher in males than females (44.0% vs 7.1%, P=0.001) and in medical students than non-medical students (36.1% vs 11.9%, P=0.015). Among 19 questions, 8 questions' score were significantly higher in medical students than non-medical students. Conclusion: Medical students had higher score for knowledge about AIDS and STDs than non-medical students. However there were no difference in the knowledge according to a experience in sexual intercourse.

• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.5-14
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• 2000

This study was conducted during the time period of September 1997 to February 1999. in order to provide data concerning important facets of horne care nursing and the degree to which practicing hospital and public health nurses believe themselves to be competent in each area. The study subjects consisted of 610 hospital nurses, 158 public health nurses and 21 other nurses from Seoul and the province of Kyunggi. Korea. Data was collected through self-reporting questionnaires which was used by Kim et al.(1999) to evaluate the status of home health nursing and the varying ideas of self-competence that practicing nurses have. The results of the study were as follows: 1) The mean scores of perceived important components and competencies on home health nursing measured on the Likert 4 point scale were $3.15{\pm}0.36$ for importance. and $2.56{\pm}0.36$ for competency. Of the four categories regarding nursing services, the 'Nursing skill' factor had the highest importance and competency. 2) There were significantly higher scores for hospital nurses' importance components and competencies of home care nursing as compared to those scores for public health nurses. 3) The significant factors of the importance component of home care nursing listed in order of priority were 'general infection control', 'bed sore care skill', 'rehabilitation care', 'keeping maintenance of the client's confidentiality', 'malpractice', 'diabetes patient care', 'ability for problem solving' respectively. In contrast, of low priority in the importance components of home care nursing were 'referring nursing as a job to others'. 'record keeping', 'family dynamics', 'medical equipment', 'economic problems', 'environmental assessment', 'suture removal', 'multidisciplinary coordination' respectively. 4) The high priority of the degree to which practicing nurses believe themselves to be competent in home health nursing were the 'blood sugar test', 'enema skill', 'injection skill', 'skin care', 'bed sore care skill', etc. In contrast, lower competence for home care nursing as perceived by nurses were 'AIDS care', 'family violence care', 'substance abuse care', 'mental health care' respectively.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.50-54
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• 2015

Podostroma cornu-damae is a rare species of fungus belonging to the Hyocreaceae family. Its fruit body is highly toxic, as it contains trichothecene mycotoxins. The morphology is similar to that of immature Ganoderma lucidum, making identification difficult for non-experts. We experienced such a case of a 56- year-old male who picked and consumed podostroma cornu-damae, and consumed. Later that day, he developed digestive system symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. He presented to the emergency room (ER), there were no abnormal physical findings, symptoms improved after gastric lavage, and the patient voluntarily discharged himself on the same day. The following day, as the symptoms gradually deteriorated, he was admitted via the ER. He was presented with severe pancytopenia, alopecia, desquamation of skin, and acute renal failure. He recovered without any complications after conservative care, antibiotics therapy, and granulocyte colony stimulating factor administration. The most commonly reported complications of podostroma cornu-damae intoxication were reported pancytopenia, infection, disseminated intravascular coagulation, acute renal failure, etc. since Prevention is especially important because its toxicity can be lethal and there is no particular treatment to date, prevention is especially important. Promotion and education for the public are needed.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.278-285
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• 2016

Epidemiological studies have shown the association between transportation of live animals and the potential transmission of infectious disease between premises. This finding was also observed in the 2014-2015 foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in Korea. Furthermore, slaughterhouses played a key role in the global spread of the FMD virus during the epidemic. In this context, in-depth knowledge of the structure of direct and indirect contact between slaughterhouses is paramount for understanding the dynamics of FMD transmission. But the social network structure of vehicle movements to slaughterhouses in Korea remains unclear. Hence, the aim of this study was to configure a social network topology of vehicle movements between slaughterhouses for a better understanding of how they are potentially connected, and to explore whether FMD outbreaks can be explained by the network properties constructed in the study. We created five monthly directed networks based on the frequency and chronology of on- and off-slaughterhouse vehicle movements. For the monthly network, a node represented a slaughterhouse, and an edge (or link) denoted vehicle movement between two slaughterhouses. Movement data were retrieved from the national Korean Animal Health Integrated System (KAHIS) database, which tracks the routes of individual vehicle movements using a global positioning system (GPS). Electronic registration of livestock movements has been a mandatory requirement since 2013 to ensure traceability of such movements. For each of the five studied networks, the network structures were characterized by small-world properties, with a short mean distance, a high clustering coefficient, and a short diameter. In addition, a strongly connected component was observed in each of the created networks, and this giant component included 94.4% to 100% of all network nodes. The characteristic hub-and-spoke type of structure was not identified. Such a structural vulnerability in the network suggests that once an infectious disease (such as FMD) is introduced in a random slaughterhouse within the cohesive component, it can spread to every other slaughterhouse in the component. From an epidemiological perspective, for disease management, empirically derived small-world networks could inform decision-makers on the higher potential for a large FMD epidemic within the livestock industry, and could provide insights into the rapid-transmission dynamics of the disease across long distances, despite a standstill of animal movements during the epidemic, given a single incursion of infection in any slaughterhouse in the country.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.147-153
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• 2015

Purpose: This study was aimed to investigate the contamination rates of blood culture in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and to examine the clinical characteristics related to the contamination. Methods: Eight hundred thirty cases of blood culture performed from March 2013 to February 2014 were analyzed. We evaluated the contamination rates of blood culture by blood sampling sites and compared the clinical characteristics such as real name system and body weights of the contaminated cases and those of non-contaminated ones. The clinical characteristics were retrospectively reviewed by medical records. Results: The overall contamination rate was 3.6% (30/830). The contamination rates by blood sampling sites were as follows: peripheral vein 15.6% (10/64), peripheral artery 2.6% (20/759), and umbilical arterial catheter 0% (0/7). There was no difference in the contamination rates between cases with and without real name system (P=0.484). However, there were significant differences in the contamination rates by the physicians who performed the culture (P=0.038) and body weight (<1,000 g vs. ${\geq}1,000g$) at the time of blood culture (P<0.001). Conclusions: These results suggest that neonates with a body weight less than 1,000 g have more risks of the contamination of blood culture. Furthermore, there is a necessity to provide blood culture performers with active feedbacks and individualized education plans that can help diminish blood culture contamination rates. Prospective studies in a systematic manner that can be applied in actual clinical settings are needed in order to figure out factors that can diminish the contamination rates of blood culture in NICU.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.259-266
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• 2019

This study aimed to identify factors that had an influence on preventive behaviors of Emergency Medical Service students against tuberculosis to promote their preventive behavior. The subjects of the study were 314 students studying emergency medical service from one 4-year college and two 3-year colleges in Jeollabukdo and they were researched with the use of a questionnaire from June 25, to July 6, 2018. For a statistical analysis of the data obtained, this study used SPSS 18.0 and conducted a t-test, an ANOVA, a Pearson's correlation coefficient and a multi-regression test to analyze the data. Pearson's correlation coefficient analysis showed that the preventive behavior levels was significantly correlated with knowledge of tuberculosis (r = 0.268, p <0.001) and attitude (r = 0.394, p<0.001). As results of the multi-regression test, the higher the knowledge of tuberculosis(${\beta}=0.152$, p<0.001) and the higher the attitude(${\beta}=0.052$, p<0.001), the higher the preventive behavior levels. In addition, Students who have experienced tuberculosis in their own or relative's relatives have a high level of prevention behavior(${\beta}=-0.186$, p=0.001). Therefore, it is suggested that organized and consistent education programs to promote knowledge on tuberculosis, change negative perception on it and improve preventive behavior levels should be developed and provided.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.123-138
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• 2019

The clinical institution of some dental hygiene students and the degree of practice and performance according to the practice contents are identified, so as to develop clinical practice guidelines and to improve the education of universities and practical institutions. From November 2016 to March 2017, the questionnaire was prepared by self-inclusion after explaining the purpose of research and how to prepare questionnaire to some dental hygiene students. This material has been analyzed using PASW Statistics 18.0. As for the clinical practice content items of basic care and infection control, the frequency of "execution" among practice methods was high, and the distribution rate was high in oral evil face radiation, preventive dentistry, prosthesis, periodontology, orthodontics, and oral internal medicine. The conservation department has conducted various practical methods such as "executing," "observing" and "preparing." Oral surgery showed similar distribution rates, such as "observation," "preparation," and "execution" in the "preparation and cooperation of the feet." In pediatric dentistry, "observation" was the most common practice, and among them, "observation," "preparation," and "execution" were performed in "preparation and cooperation for infantile development." In addition, students with more experience in clinical practice showed statistically significant differences in basic care, oral hygiene, preventative dentistry, conservation, dental dentistry, oral surgery, orthodontics, and oral internal medicine(p<0.05). Most clinical practice shows that it is more observable than performed.It is expected that the goal of clear clinical practice content should be set by grade or number of clinical practice experiences, as well as the practice method that can be performed by the trainees.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.67-77
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• 2021

Objectives: This study aimed to identify the vaccination rate for pneumococcus among aged 65 or older, and at the same time to determine the reasons for vaccination or non-vaccination. Methods: The population of this study was aged 65 or older, with a total of 1,150 subjects to be analyzed and a computer assisted telephone interviewing was used. The survey included pneumococcal vaccination status, reasons of vaccination, sources of information on vaccination, reasons for not vaccination, and other related factors. Results: The vaccination rate for pneumococcus among aged 65 or older was 56.2 percent, lower than 69.0 percent in the U.S. (2017), and 69.2 percent in the U.K. (2019). Among the factors related to the pneumococcal vaccination, the groups with the high vaccination rate were women, low age groups, residents of urban areas, people without a job, people with high education, medical insurance subscribers, married people, and people who have family members. In addition, the groups with high vaccination rates were those with high awareness, those who received recommendations from doctors, those who had vaccination records, those who believed in vaccination effects, and those who saw public service advertisements. Conclusions: In the future, it is necessary to develop alternatives to accurately manage vaccination records for adults who are not eligible for state support, and regular adult vaccination rates should be calculated so that they can be used as evidence for the country's infection control policy.