• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.135-142
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• 2017

The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) announced the TIMSS 2015 results at the end of 2016. In this research, we analyzed the relationship between Korean eighth grade students' attitude toward science and science achievement, trends in students' attitude toward science based on common items used in three to four cycles of TIMSS, and trends across grades in students' attitude toward science. According to the results, Korean eighth grade students showed the lowest level of confidence with science, interest in learning science, and valuing science among the 15 top performing countries as well as all the participant countries. In addition, according to the analysis result of common items, Korean students' confidence with science and interest in learning science have decreased, whereas students' valuing science with instrumental values has increased between TIMSS 2011 and TIMSS 2015. According to trends across grades, the cohort of students, assessed at the fourth grade in TIMSS 2011 and moved to the eighth grade four years later in 2015, decreased in their confidence with science and interest in learning science. Discussed in the conclusion are further studies and ways to improve science teaching and learning to improve students' attitude toward science.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.96-100
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the research characteristics and the trend of the Journal of the Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology by bibliometric analysis. Methods: This study was a retrospective quantitative literature review of the publications. We collected data from the internet homepage of the Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology. Among 228 publications, a total of 225 articles were included in this analysis. The data were analyzed from different perspectives, including article types, study design, number of authors, type of toxic material, and the top five ranking prolific authors and the affiliated organization were identified. Results: A total of 225 articles were analyzed; 98(43.6%) were original articles, 115(51.1%) were case reports, and 12(5.3%) were reviews. Among the original articles, nine were prospective studies and 89 were retrospective studies, which were assorted according to study design; there were two(2.0%) cross sectional studies, 93(94.9%) cohort studies, and three(3.1%) etc. The median number of authors per article was five and the top five ranking authors and affiliated organizations published 31.1% and 32.8% of total articles, respectively. The most abundant topic was pesticides, followed by natural poisons and poisons encountered in the work place. Conclusion: Since its foundation, the Journal of the Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology has published 19 issues and 228 articles and has played a key role in development of toxicology research in Korea. However, low ratio of original articles and a decrease in the number of recent articles indicates that greater effort is needed in clinical research. In addition, further interest of many experts and various institutions is necessary.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.55
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• pp.103-130
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• 2003

This study examined resettlement and adaptation condition of North Korean(NK) refugees resettling in local areas and compared the results of the examination to the life conditions for those who are living in Seoul and its vicinities. As the result indicates, the first cohort is currently inferior to their counterpart in labor market activities, life satisfaction, and quantity and quality of resettlement assistance implemented by private voluntary agencies. The reason of selecting Busan as a specific case for this study is that: 1) Busan is the largest city in the number of NK refugees residence except for Seoul, 2) Busan has a couple of community welfare centers which are involved in the work of NK refugee resettlement as well as the reason that Busan provides convenience of conducting a survey to the researcher. The most significant contribution of this study to social work research and practice is that it applied the existing theoretical and practical approach of community resources development and networking of social supports to the field of NK refugee resettlement assistance. Based on the research findings, this study suggests that the roles and functions of Community Associations of NK Refugee Assistance should be more activating and that a community welfare center should a take critical role in organizing and activating the Community Associations. This paper also suggests specific ways of enhancing the role of community welfare centers in NK refugee assistance.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.13-17
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• 2020

Purpose: Accurate and appropriate prehospital field triage is essential for a trauma system. The Korean trauma system (established in 2014) uses the trauma field triage algorithm of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This study evaluated the suitability of the CDC field triage criteria for major trauma cases (injury severity score >15) in Korea. Methods: This retrospective cohort study evaluated trauma patients who presented at the authors' regional trauma center from January 1 to May 7, 2017. The undertriage and overtriage rates of each CDC field triage step were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed, and the area under the curve (AUC) was evaluated for each step. Results: Among the 1,009 enrolled patients, 168 (16.7%) had major trauma. The undertriage/overtriage rates of each step (steps I, II, III, and IV) of CDC field triage were 9.2%/47.4%, 6.3%/50.8%, 4.5%/59.4%, and 5.3%/78.9%, respectively. The AUC values of each CDC triage step were 0.722, 0.783, 0.791, and 0.615, respectively. The AUC values of the separate components of each step (physiologic criteria, anatomic criteria, mechanism-of-injury criteria, and special considerations) were 0.722, 0.648, 0.647, and 0.456, respectively. Conclusions: The CDC field triage system is acceptable, but not ideal, for Korean trauma care. If we follow the protocol, it would be preferable to omit step IV. The Korean Triage and Acuity Scale may be a good indicator for in-hospital triage. However, a new triage protocol that is simple to estimate on-scene while having good performance should be developed.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.63 no.5
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• pp.623-630
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• 2020

Objective : A primary degenerative sagittal imbalance has been considered because of unique lifestyles such as the prolonged crouched posture during agricultural work and performing activities of daily living on the floor. Previous papers have reported that sagittal imbalance disease is often seen distinctly in the farming districts of "oriental" countries such as Korea and Japan. However, this finding was only evaluated with the use of X-ray, and other factors such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), muscle volume, compression fracture, and laboratory results were not considered. Thus, using these, we evaluate the agricultural work-associated factors for Korean elderly spinal sagittal imbalance. Methods : We recruited 103 Korean participants who had a sagittal vertical axis (SVA) of >5 cm in this Korean Elderly Sagittal Imbalance Cohort Study. The following were evaluated : radiological parameters, MRI, compression fracture, vitamin D, parathyroid hormone, C-terminal telopeptide, osteocalcin, bone mineral density and muscle fatty change, muscle volume, and health-related quality of life from patients' survey. Moreover, in this survey, the farmers' annual working hours were investigated. Subsequently, we analyzed the associated factors for spinal sagittal imbalance depending on occupation. Results : A total of 46 participants were farmers, and the others were housewives, sellers, and office workers. The farmer group had more SVA (141 vs. 99 mm, p=0.001) and pelvic tilt (31° vs. 24°, p=0.004) and lesser lumbar lordosis (20° vs. 30°, p=0.009) and thoracic kyphosis (24° vs. 33°, p=0.03) than non-farmer group. A significantly positive correlation was noted between the working hour and SVA in the farmer group (p=0.014). The visual analogue scale score for back pain (8.26 vs. 6.96, p=0.008) and Oswestry Disability Index (23.5 vs. 19.1, p=0.003) in the farmer group were higher than that in the non-farmer group, but the Short Form-36 score was not significantly different between the two groups. The Mini-Mental State Exam score was significantly lower in the farmer group than in the non-farmer group (24.85 vs. 26.98, p=0.002). Conclusion : The farmer group had more sagittal imbalance and back pain in proportion to the working hours even though the muscle and bone factors and general laboratory condition were not significantly different between the two groups. These results supported that the long hours spent in the crouched posture while performing agricultural work were a risk factor for severe sagittal imbalance.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.149-156
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• 2001

Objective : To elucidate risk factors for coronary heart diseases among Korean males. Methods : A nested case control study was conducted among a Korea Medical Insurance Cooperation(KMIC) cohort composed of 108,802 males. The eases included 246 male patients who were admitted to hospital due to coronary heart diseases from 1993 to 1997 (120-25 by ICD) and whose diagnosis was confirmed by the protocol by WHO MONICA Project(1994). The control group was composed of 483 patients selected by frequency matching considering age and resident area from an inpatient care group without coronary heart disease during the same period. For study cases and the controls, the results of a health check-up in 1990 and a questionnaire on life style in 1992 were received through the KMIC. Some additional information was collected by telephone interviews during October 1999. Results : Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the odds ratio(OR) of coronary heart diseases among past smokers and current smokers as compared to non-smokers were 1.94(95% CI : 1.14-3.31) and 2.20(55% CI : 1.35-3.59), respectively. The OR among persons who drank 4 cups or more of caffeinated beverages such as coffee or tea daily as compared to persons who drank one cup for 2-3 days was 2.50(95% CI : 1.07-6.12). The OR among persons with high normal BP and stage 3 hypertension against normotension were 2.51 (95% CI : 1.44-4.37) and 5.08(95% CI : 2.38-10.84). The OR among persons whose blood cholesterol were 240 mg/dL or mere against lower than 200mg/dL was 2.24(95% CI : 1.43-3.49). Conclusion : Smoking, drinking of excessive caffeinated beverages, hypertension and high blood cholesterol were proven to be significant risk factors for coronary heart diseases among Korean males.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.249-254
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• 2008

Objectives: To investigate whether smoking and the smoking status are predictors of the incident impaired fasting glucose (IFG) or type 2 diabetes in Korean men. Methods: A cohort of 1,717 Korean men without IFG or diabetes, who underwent annual periodic health examinations for 4 years (2002-2006), were retrospectively investigated. IFG and diabetes were defined as a serum fasting glucose concentration of 100-125 mg/dL and more than 126 mg/dL, respectively. Cox's proportional hazards model was used to evaluate the association between smoking and development of IFG or type 2 diabetes. Results: A total of 558 cases (32.5%) of incident IFG and 50 cases (2.9%) of diabetes occurred. After controlling for the potential predictors of diabetes, the relative risk for IFG, compared with the never smokers, was 1.02 (95% CI=0.88 to 1.19) for the ever-smokers, 0.96 (95% CI=0.79-1.16) for those who smoked 1-9 cigarettes/d, 1.15 (95% CI=1.01 to 1.30) for those who smoked 10-19 cigarettes/d, and 1.31 (95% CI=1.10 to 1.57) for those who smoked 20 or more cigarettes/d (the P value for the current smokers was only p<0.002). The respective multivariate adjusted relative risks for type 2 diabetes, compared with the never-smokers, were 1.07 (95% CI=0.64 to 1.92), 1.47 (95% CI=0.71 to 3.04), 1.84 (95% CI=0.92-3.04), and 1.87 (95% CI=1.13-3.67), respectively (the P value for the current smokers was only p=0.004). Conclusions: The smoking status and the number of cigarettes smoked daily are associated with an increased risk for developing IFG or type 2 diabetes in Korean men.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.63-90
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• 2003

This study aims to discover patterns of Korean women's life course in terms of their life time sequence of family roles and economic activity. Primary factors for the change and diversity of family-work role sequence are also examined. Data used in this study is the Fourth Survey of Korean Women's Economic Activity which was conducted by Korean Institute of Women Development (KIWD) in 2002. According to the main results, five distinctive patterns of life course are to be disentangled for ever married women: First, doing simultaneously family and work roles with no maternal leave (13.7%); second, reentry into labor market after maternal leave (M type, 18.6%); third, no reentry into labor market after maternal leave (latent M type, 26.9%); fourth, first job entry after child rearing (23.5%); and finally, no work experience (17.3%). The relative composition of the respective life course has changed over marriage cohorts. M type including latent M type became a dominant life pattern among married women since marriage cohorts of 1980 and later. The share of married women who begin to work first after maternal role or have no work experience has declined with recent marriage cohorts. It is also noted that the share of women with simultaneous family and work roles has increased among marital cohorts of 1990 and later. Marriage cohort differences being controlled, life patterns significantly differ by women's educational level, existence of role model of working mother at growth, women's own and husbands' gender role attitude, and family economy. Finally, some policy concerns for gender role division of family and work are raised.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.38-43
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• 2015

Purpose: Spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) are progressive neurodegenerative disorders with diverse modes of inheritance. There are several subtypes of SCAs. SCA 8, SCA 12, and SCA 17 are the less common forms of SCAs with limited information available on their epidemiological profiles in Korea. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of SCA8, SCA12, and SCA17 in Korea. Materials and Methods: Ninety-six unrelated Korean patients were enrolled and showed normal trinucleotide repeats through polymerase-chain reaction (PCR) for the genes ATXN1, ATXN2, ATXN3, CACNA1A, and ATXN7, which correspond to SCA1, SCA2, SCA3, SCA6, and SCA7, respectively. PCR products from patients were further analyzed by capillary electrophoresis using fluorescence labeled primers for the genes ATXN8OS, PPP2R2B, and TBP, which correspond to SCA8, SCA12, and SCA17. Results: Three patients had 104, 97, and 75 abnormal expanded repeats in the ATXN8OS gene, the causative gene for SCA8. None of the patients exhibited abnormal repeats in SCA12 and SCA17. Normal trinucleotide repeat ranges of the cohort in this study were estimated to be 17-34 copies (average, $24{\pm}4copies$) for SCA8, 7-18 copies (average, $13{\pm}3copies$) for SCA12, and 26-43 copies (average, $35{\pm}2copies$) for SCA17. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that SCA8, SCA12, and SCA17 are rare in Korean patients with SCA, and further genetic studies are warranted to enhance the mutation detection rate in the Korean SCA population.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Child Welfare
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• no.56
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• pp.101-132
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• 2016

Fandom is a meaningful social phenomenon that represents a significant dimension of contemporary Korean youth culture. Previous research, however, has considered fandom as a deviant activity that is negative in nature, and there is scant research on the positive effects of fandom activity. This study examined the effects of off-line and on-line fandom activity participation on adolescents' academic time management capability. Data were collected from three waves (2010, 2012, and 2014) of the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (middle school cohort; N=2,206 at baseline). Results from the multi-level growth curve analysis were as follows. First, more than half of the adolescents reported participating in fandom activities, and the majority of them participated in both online and offline activities. Second, adolescents' academic time management capability improved over time. Third, both off-line and on-line fandom activity participation was positively associated with adolescents' academic time management capability at the baseline (first year of middle school). The size of this relationship, however, decreased over time (from middle school to high school). This study presented the importance of appropriate guidance by adults to develop and promote the positive aspects of fandom activity, and highlighted the need for further research that focuses on the positive aspects of fandom activities.