• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.359-375
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• 2022

Purpose: Adult Korean men belonging to the main economically active population are known to have long sedentary hours. This study was undertaken to determine the difference and relevance of sedentary hours on the nutrition, diet, and health status of adult men, and to suggest how to prevent health risk factors. Methods: Subjects (n = 1,068) were classified into 4 groups based on their sedentary hours, ranging from the first quartile (Q1) having the least hours spent sitting, to the fourth quartile (Q4) spending the longest hours. Results: Subjects belonging to Q4 had the lowest average age, the largest waist circumference, and the highest level of education. Among those engaged in economic activities, the ratio of white-collar workers was significantly higher in Q4. Accordingly, the rate of not doing high-intensity or moderate-intensity physical activity while working was also the highest in Q4. A significant difference was obtained in the drinking frequency between groups, but this was found to be associated with the average working hours rather than sedentary hours. The proportion of not doing aerobic exercise was higher with longer sitting hours. The highest diagnosis of diabetes (8.8%) was obtained in the Q4 group. Among the factors related to cardiovascular disease, only low density lipoprotein-cholesterol showed a significant difference, with Q4 being significantly higher than Q1. Considering energy and nutrient intake, vitamin B₁ and calcium intake were the lowest in the group with the longest sitting hours, as well as the least consumption of vitamin C than the recommended estimated average requirement. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the health and nutritional status of Korean adult men are affected by sedentary hours. This should be recognized as a health risk factor and guidelines need to be developed for sedentary lifestyle management.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.185-200
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• 2022

The risk of various hazardous substances in aquatic environment comprises not only the concentration of substances in the environmental medium but also their accumulation in fish through complex food web and the health risks to humans through the fish. In Korea, the monitoring of residual toxicant in aquatic ecosystems began in 2016 following the enforcement of the Acts on registration and evaluation for the management of chemicals used in daily life (consumer chemical products), and attention has been paid to potentially hazardous substances attributed to them. Recently, studies have been carried out to investigate the distribution of these hazardous substances in the ecosystem and calculate their emission factors. These include the accumulation and transport of substances, such as detergents, dyes, fragrances, cosmetics, and disinfectants, within trophic levels. This study summarizes the results of recently published research on the inflow and distribution of hazardous substances from consumer chemical products to the aquatic environment and presents the scientific implication. Based on studies on aquatic environment monitoring techniques, this study suggests research directions for monitoring the residual concentration and distribution of harmful chemical substances in aquatic ecosystems. In particular, this study introduces the directions for research on trophic position analysis using compound specific isotope analysis and trophic magnification factors, which are needed to fulfill the contemporary requirements of selecting target fish based on the survey of major fish that inhabit domestic waters and assessment of associated health risk. In addition, this study provides suggestions for future biota monitoring and chemical research in Korea.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-50
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• 2020

Although surgery was the standard treatment for early gastrointestinal cancers, endoscopic resection is now a standard treatment for early gastrointestinal cancers without regional lymph node metastasis. High-definition white light endoscopy, chromoendoscopy, and image-enhanced endoscopy such as narrow band imaging are performed to assess the edge and depth of early gastrointestinal cancers for delineation of resection boundaries and prediction of the possibility of lymph node metastasis before the decision of endoscopic resection. Endoscopic mucosal resection and/or endoscopic submucosal dissection can be performed to remove early gastrointestinal cancers completely by en bloc fashion. Histopathological evaluation should be carefully made to investigate the presence of risk factors for lymph node metastasis such as depth of cancer invasion and lymphovascular invasion. Additional treatment such as radical surgery with regional lymphadenectomy should be considered if the endoscopically resected specimen shows risk factors for lymph node metastasis. This is the first Korean clinical practice guideline for endoscopic resection of early gastrointestinal cancer. This guideline was developed by using mainly de novo methods and encompasses endoscopic management of superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, early gastric cancer, and early colorectal cancer. This guideline will be revised as new data on early gastrointestinal cancer are collected.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.479-488
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• 2018

This study was conducted to investigate factors affecting low body weight of solitary elderly people by grasping the illness and health behavior of elderly living alone. Using the raw data of the community health survey from 2014, the data of 922 elderly living alone who are 65 years or older were used for the final analysis. Data were analyzed by technical analysis statistics, The Rao Scott $x^2$ test, and logistic regression analysis using the composite analysis module of the SPSS/WIN 22.0 program. The results of this study showed that elderly living alone had a high percentage of chronic diseases as well as poor health behaviors such as smoking, drinking, lack of exercise, poor eating habits, difficulties in dentistry due to dentures, and poor subjective health status. Result of logistic regression analysis the risk probability of low-weight due to gender of the elderly living alone is as follows. Risk of low body weight because of smoking was 3.004 times among occasional smokers in women and the elderly, while risk of low body weight due to walking amount is less than 3 days the possibility that the person walking is low is 1.420 times significantly higher. When feeling subjective stress, the possibility of low body weight was 2.220 times greater for male elderly and 1.282 times for female elderly. The probability of low body weight for a person with a poor subjective health level was 3.633 times for male elderly and 1.590 times for female elderly. Based on the results of this study, it is necessary to establish appropriate nursing intervention and management strategies to improve health behavior of low body weight elderly living alone. It is also necessary to conduct additional studies considering various variables such as physical, psychological, and social characteristics of low-weight elderly individuals.

• Journal of Korean Society of Disaster and Security
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.59-75
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• 2020

This study is a case study that applied 'UNDRR's Urban Disaster Resilience Scorecard', an evaluation tool necessary for Incheon Metropolitan City to be certified as an international safe city. I would like to present an example that the results derived from this scorecard contributed to the Incheon Metropolitan City Disaster Reduction Plan. Of course, the Disaster Resilience Scorecard can't provide a way to improve the resilience of every disaster facing the city. However, it is to find the weakness of the resilience that the city faces, and to propose a solution to reduce the city's disaster risk. This is to help practitioners to recognize the disaster risks that Incheon Metropolitan City faces. In addition, the solution recommended by UNDRR was suggested to provide resilience in areas vulnerable to disasters. It was confirmed that this process can contribute to improving the disaster resilience of Incheon Metropolitan City. UNDRR has been spreading 'Climate Change, Disaster-resistant City Creation Campaign', aka MCR (Making Cities Resilient) Campaign, to cities all over the world since 2010 to reduce global cities' disasters. By applying the disaster relief guidelines adopted by UNDRR, governments, local governments, and neighboring cities are encouraged to collaborate. As a result of this study, Incheon Metropolitan city's UN Urban Resilience Scorecard was evaluated as a strong resilience field by obtaining scores of 4 or more (4.3~5.0) in 5 of 10 essentials; 1. Prepare organization for disaster resilience and prepare for implementation, 4. Strong resilience Urban development and design pursuit, 5. Preservation of natural cushions to enhance the protection provided by natural ecosystems, 9. Ensure effective disaster preparedness and response, 10. Rapid restoration and better reconstruction. On the other hand, in the other five fields, scores of less than 4 (3.20~3.85) were obtained and evaluated as weak resilience field; 2. Analyze, understand and utilize current and future risk scenarios, 3. Strengthen financial capacity for resilience, 6. Strengthen institutional capacity for resilience, 7. Understanding and strengthening social competence for resilience, 8. Strengthen resilience of infrastructure. In addition, through this study, the risk factors faced by Incheon Metropolitan City could be identified by priority, resilience improvement measures to minimize disaster risks, urban safety-based urban development plans, available disaster reduction resources, and integrated disasters. Measures were prepared.

• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.163-173
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• 2011

The objective of this study was to determine microbiological risk factors in hot pepper farms for the application of good agricultural practices (GAP). Samples were collected from cultivation environments and utensils, plants, workers, and air at 3 hot pepper farms located in Cheongsong, Korea and were tested to detect sanitary indications [aerobic plate bacteria (APC), coliform, and Escherichia coli], foodborne pathogens, and fungi. APC, coliform, and fungi were detected at the levels of 0.7~6.2, 0.2~4.7, and 0.4~4.3 log CFU, respectively, in the three farms. Four (4.4%; l leaf, l irrigation water, and 2 soil) of 90 samples collected were revealed to be E. coli positives. For foodborne pathogens, Staphylococcus aureus was only detected at $1.0log\;CFU/100cm^2$ in the worker's cloth of B farm, and Bacillus cereus was detected at the levels 1.0~2.5 log CFU in the cultivation environments and utensils and worker of B and C farms. However, other pathogens were not detected. The results demonstrated potential microbiological risks for hot pepper cultivated in the farms. Therefore, a management system to minimize the microbial risk such as GAP is required to ensure the safety of hot pepper.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.227-235
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• 2015

Food-Health indicators have been developed and utilized internationally in the 'Food' domain of environment and health indicators. In Korea, however, Food Safety Health Indicators which are in the introductory stage had been developed separately from Environmental Health Indicators. The aim of the current study is to suggest feasible applications of the domestic Food Safety Health Indicators as a case study. We introduced 3 possible applications which are as follows: 1) production of two types of Integrated Food Safety Health Index; 2) conduction of correlation analysis between the Integrated Food Safety Health Index and Food Safety Health Indicators; 3) conduction of regression analysis to evaluate the relationship between the Integrated Food Safety Health Index and socioeconomic status. As a result, we provided the calculated Integrated Food Safety Health Index I and Integrated Food Safety Health Index II, which represents the regional food safety level in relative and absolute terms, respectively. Integrated Food Safety Health Index I was significantly correlated with the outbreaks of food-borne diseases (caused by Campylobacter jejuni, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella spp. and unknown cause) and incidence of E.coli infections. Integrated Food Safety Health Index II significantly decreased as the proportion of foreigners and women increased, and increased as the population density increased. Utilization of such Integrated Food Safety Health Indicators may be helpful in understanding the overall domestic food safety level and identifying the indicators which must be considered with priorities to enhance the food safety levels regionally and domestically. Furthermore, analyzing the association between Integrated Food Safety Health Index and factors other than food safety could be useful in conducting risk management and identifying susceptible populations. Food Safety Health Indicators can be useful in other applications, and may serve as a supporting material in establishing or modifying policy plans to enhance food safety. Therefore, keen interests by researchers accompanied by further studies on food safety health indicators are needed.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.327-339
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• 2018

This study aimed to provide basic data for establishing the clinical basis for dental hygienist-led dental hygiene process of care by identifying multiple risk factors for self-support program participants in Gangneung city; we also compared oral health status and behavioral changes through customized oral health care. Four dental hygienists who were evaluated for degree of conformity provided dental hygiene process of care to eight self-support program participants who were selected as having an oral health risk among people in the self-support center. The clinical indicators measured during dental hygiene assessment and evaluation and behavioral changes due to dental hygiene intervention were compared and analyzed. With respect to clinical indicators, at the time of probe, the retention rate of patients with gingival bleeding decreased from 61.4% to 14.7% after intervention (p=0.004). Furthermore, the retention rate of patients with a periodontal pocket >4 mm decreased from 15.6% to 5.8% (p=0.001). The average modified O'Leary index of the patients improved from 23 to 40 (p=0.002). Previously, all eight subjects used the vertical or horizontal method of brushing; after dental hygiene care interventions regarding method and frequency of toothbrushing, use of oral care products, and individual interventions, they started using the rolling or Bass method of toothbrushing. Four of eight subjects reported using interdental toothbrushes after intervention. As a result of applying the change model to the transtheoretical behavior change of the subject, the result of strengthening the health behavior was confirmed. For promotion of oral health by the prevention-centered incremental oral health care system, dental hygienist-led dental hygiene management and maintenance is essential. It is thought that continuous research, such as for feasibility evaluation, cost benefit analysis, and preparation of legal systems, is needed to establish and activate dental hygiene management.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.702-713
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• 2023

Purpose: Depression is a prevalent mental health concern globally including South Korea. Given the growing interest in the relationship between diet and mental health, this study aimed to investigate the association between seafood consumption and depression among Korean adults. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES, 2014-2020). The study included 18,149 participants (7,541 men and 10,608 women) aged 19 years and older who completed the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Seafood intake levels were assessed using a oneday 24-hour dietary recall, and participants were categorized into three tertiles by gender. Depression status was determined using the PHQ-9 scores and the self-report of the doctor's diagnosis and treatment. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association between seafood consumption and depression in both genders. Results: Participants with a higher seafood intake had a significantly lower nutritional density of total fat, while the nutritional density of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids was significantly higher. The prevalence of depression was significantly lower in the highest tertile of seafood consumption compared to the lowest tertile in both men (p < 0.001) and women (p < 0.001). After adjusting for confounding factors, the highest tertile of seafood consumption demonstrated a decreased risk of depression compared to the lowest tertile in men (odds ratio [OR], 0.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.51-0.99; p-trend = 0.020) and women (OR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.59-0.91; p-trend = 0.004). Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that consuming seafood rich in omega-3 fatty acids may potentially reduce the risk of depression in the adult population.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.113 no.1
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• pp.40-50
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• 2024

Pine forests are continuously declining due to competition with broadleaf trees, such as oaks, as a consequence of changes in the natural dynamics of forest ecosystem. This natural decline creates a risk of losing the various benefits pine trees have provided to people in the past. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare future forest management directions by considering the state of pine tree decline in each region. The goal of this study is to understand the characteristics of pine forest changes according to forest dynamics and to predict future regional changes. For this purpose, we evaluated the trend of change in pine forests and extracted various variables(topography, forest stand type, disturbance, and climate) that affect the change, using time-series National Forest Inventory (NFI) data. Also, using selected key variables, a model was developed to predict future changes in pine forests. As a results, it showed that the importance of pine trees in forests across the country has decreased overall over the past 10 years. Also, 75% of the sample points representing pine trees remained unchanged, while the remaining 25% had changed to mixed forests. It was found that these changes mainly occurred in areas with good moisture conditions or disturbance factors inside and outside the forest. In the next 10 years, approximately 14.2% of current pine forests was predicted to convert to mixed forests due to changes in natural forest dynamics. Regionally, the rate of pine forest change was highest in Jeju(42.8%) and Gyeonggi(26.9%) and lowest in Gyeongbuk(8.8%) and Gangwon(13.8%). It was predicted that pine forests would be at a high risk of decline in western areas of the Korean Peninsula, including Gyeonggi, Chungcheong, and Jeonnam. This results can be used to make a management plan for pine forests throughout the country.