• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.619-625
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• 2023

In this paper, the remote care of medical beds with multiple body pressure sensors is described. Falling is one of the factors that seriously threaten the safety of patients and harm their health. In this study, a new bed was developed to overcome this. The bed system consists of a keyboard that can operate, a keyboard controller that manages the movement of the keyboard, a sensor that measures body pressure, a sensor controller that transmits and receives sensor values, a main controller that checks it and operates automatically or manually according to the algorithm, and a server that oversees all these information. The bed system checks the patient's location through a sensor and wirelessly alerts the server through the main controller when the patient determines that there is a risk of falling, so that the nurse or nurse can recognize the patient's dangerous condition. The server may receive state data transmitted from the wired/wireless terminal to monitor whether the bed system is operating normally. The controller of the keyboard operates a keyboard-type mechanism and automatically controls the prevention of bedsores connected by body pressure sensors to physically separate the area to which the patient's pressure is applied to prevent bedsores. The main controller checks the presence of the patient's bed and transmits it to the server. In conclusion, the proposed system can smart monitor the user's state and perform remote care.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.262-274
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• 2023

Objectives: This study examined the evaluation and potential improvements of 'Integrated Healthcare and Social Welfare service model' based on the experiences of practitioners from institutions participating in the 'Dalgubeol Health Doctor Services' and the service recipients. Methods: Qualitative research was conducted from September to November 2022 in this study, focusing on 4 providers from the dedicated Dalgubeol Health Doctor Services Team, 5 contact partners from affiliated organizations, and 6 service beneficiaries. The data gathered underwent thematic analysis. Results: The evaluation indicated that Dalgubeol Health Doctor Services has proven to be effective in addressing the complex needs of vulnerable populations. By providing integrated services through quick and simple beneficiary selection and resource linkage, it has contributed to the resolution of complex demands, recovery of positive attitudes towards life, and improvement in quality of life for users who have fear the use of medical and welfare services. Dalgubeol Health Doctor Services has established an integrated health care system involving not only public but also private organizations, from the referral agency to the service provider. Centered around Daegu Medical Center and involving five tertiary hospitals, it has established a model that supports treatment appropriate to the severity of the patient, from mild to severe. Conclusions: These findings indicate an enhancement in health equity, achieved through the active identification and subsequent health and welfare issue resolution of individuals marginalized from medical benefits.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.263-280
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• 2021

Percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy (PTNB) is one of the essential diagnostic procedures for pulmonary lesions. Its role is increasing in the era of CT screening for lung cancer and precision medicine. The Korean Society of Thoracic Radiology developed the first evidence-based clinical guideline for PTNB in Korea by adapting pre-existing guidelines. The guideline provides 39 recommendations for the following four main domains of 12 key questions: the indications for PTNB, pre-procedural evaluation, procedural technique of PTNB and its accuracy, and management of post-biopsy complications. We hope that these recommendations can improve the diagnostic accuracy and safety of PTNB in clinical practice and promote standardization of the procedure nationwide.

• Knowledge Management Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.155-176
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• 2024

This study explores variations in preferences for human and AI agents within the medical and financial services. Study 1 investigates whether there are preferential disparities between human and AI agents across these service domains. It finds that human agents are favored over AI agents in medical services, while AI agents receive greater preference in the financial services. Study 2 delves into the underlying reasons for the preference differentials between human and AI agents by assessing the significance of certain capabilities as perceived by users in each domain. The findings reveal a mediating role of perceived empathy importance in the effect of service domains on human-AI preference. Furthermore, perceived empathy is deemed a more critical capability by users for preferring human over AI agents across both service domains compared to other capabilities such as experience and agency. This research is noteworthy for elucidating the variances in preferences for human and AI agents across medical and financial services and the rationale behind these differences. It enhances our theoretical comprehension of the pivotal factors influencing preferences for human and AI agents, underscoring the significance of human experiential capabilities like empathy.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.457-466
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• 2023

Background: During hot environment work tasks with whole-body enclosed anti-bioaerosol suit, the combined effect of heavy sweating and exhaled hot humid air may cause the N95 medical respirator to saturate with water/sweat (i.e., water-blocking). Methods: 32 young male subjects with different body mass indexes (BMI) in whole-body protection (N95 medical respirator + one-piece protective suit + head covering + protective face screen + gloves + shoe covers) were asked to simulate waste collecting from each isolated room in a seven-story building at 27-28℃, and the weight, inhalation resistance (R_f), and aerosol penetration of the respirator before worn and after water-blocking were analyzed. Results: All subjects reported water-blocking asphyxia of the N95 respirators within 36-67 min of the task. When water-blocking occurred, the R_f and 10-200 nm total aerosol penetration (P_t) of the respirators reached up to 1270-1810 Pa and 17.3-23.3%, respectively, which were 10 and 8 times of that before wearing. The most penetration particle size of the respirators increased from 49-65 nm before worn to 115-154 nm under water-blocking condition, and the corresponding maximum size-dependent aerosol penetration increased from 2.5-3.5% to 20-27%. With the increase of BMI, the water-blocking occurrence time firstly increased then reduced, while the R_f, P_t, and absorbed water all increased significantly. Conclusions: This study reveals respirator water-blocking and its serious negative impacts on respiratory protection. When performing moderate-to-high-load tasks with whole-body protection in a hot environment, it is recommended that respirator be replaced with a new one at least every hour to avoid water-blocking asphyxia.

• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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• v.5 no.1 s.9
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• pp.93-123
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• 2005

This work has following two research goals. First, IVF treatments that have been recently going on in Korea are reexamined from the perspective of women's reproductive rights. Second, the intimate connection between IVF and therapeutic cloning research, in that remnant embryos and eggs that have been secured through IVF treatments have served as a main source of supply for therapeutic cloning research, has been emphasized. The fact that the influencing power of tradition on Korean families and women and IVF techniques eventually joined their hands in support of therapeutic cloning research is noted. Analysis of experiences of infertility by women in the realms of family, medical care during IVF treatment, and therapeutic cloning research that requires continuous supply of eggs leads to following conclusions. First, in the realm of family, infertile women were not only relegated to the status of abnormality but pressured to question their own womanhood. Under this circumstance, IVF treatment helped to reinforce the traditional concept of biological motherhood, thus categorizing married women giving birth to babies and married women who can't or refuses to do so to 'normal ones' and 'abnormal ones' respectively. Second, in the realm of medical care an infertile woman could rediscover her own body during the process of IVF treatment. By going through the processes of hormone treatment, implantation, conception, miscarriage, and so on, she could realize that her own body is understood in diverse ways to her, her family, and the medical profession. Third, in the realm of the state, IVF treatment that was serving as the main supplier of research materials for therapeutic cloning research has been able to avoid controversy in public discourses since the latter has emerged as a signifier of new national economic workhorse for the 21st century. As therapeutic cloning research went into high gear, the status of women as egg providers began to assume a political dimension. Women as egg providers are called upon to take on a paradoxical role as patriotic contributors to national economy on the one hand and as guardians of sacred 'life' on the other hand. The direction and progress of the research will depend on the ways that women comply, compromise, and/or resist the contradiction brought about by being assigned to assume these two identities: the one as a member of the nation requested to serve as a part of national economic development project, even though considered ineligible for financial recompense, and the other one as a guardian of sacred 'life,' even though she have to serve the research that is allowed to create a 'life' to destroy a 'life.'

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.111-116
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• 2010

Ionizing radiation is most widely used for X-Ray examination among all artificial radiation exposure, it takes up the largest proportion. Even in Korea, the medical exposure by diagnostic X-Ray examination takes up 17.4% of all radiation exposure. It takes up 92% even in artificial radiation exposure. There were 111,567 cases X-Ray radiography for skull diagnosis in 2007, which is 3% annual increase since 2004. Thus, It is need to establish the diagnostic reference level and the medical facilities as a diagnostic reference level to optimize radiation protection of the patients and to reduce the doses of X-ray. In this paper, we survey patient dose on skull radiography - collected from 114 medical facilities nationwide by using human phantom and glass dosimeter. When the patient dose for the skull radiography was measured and evaluated to establish the diagnostic reference level, 2.23 mGy was established for posterior-anterior imaging and 1.87 mGy for lateral imaging was established. The posterior-anterior skull radiography entrance surface dose of 2.23 is less than the guidance level of 5 mGy from the global organizations such as World Health Organization (WHO) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and 1.87 mGy for the lateral skull imaging is less than the guidance level of 3 mGy, which is guided by the global organizations such as World Health Organization (WHO) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.2094-2123
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• 2021

Incidental thyroid nodules are commonly detected on ultrasonography (US). This has contributed to the rapidly rising incidence of low-risk papillary thyroid carcinoma over the last 20 years. The appropriate diagnosis and management of these patients is based on the risk factors related to the patients as well as the thyroid nodules. The Korean Society of Thyroid Radiology (KSThR) published consensus recommendations for US-based management of thyroid nodules in 2011 and revised them in 2016. These guidelines have been used as the standard guidelines in Korea. However, recent advances in the diagnosis and management of thyroid nodules have necessitated the revision of the original recommendations. The task force of the KSThR has revised the Korean Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System and recommendations for US lexicon, biopsy criteria, US criteria of extrathyroidal extension, optimal thyroid computed tomography protocol, and US follow-up of thyroid nodules before and after biopsy. The biopsy criteria were revised to reduce unnecessary biopsies for benign nodules while maintaining an appropriate sensitivity for the detection of malignant tumors in small (1-2 cm) thyroid nodules. The goal of these recommendations is to provide the optimal scientific evidence and expert opinion consensus regarding US-based diagnosis and management of thyroid nodules.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.55
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• pp.309-339
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• 2003

This study was made in order to evaluate the effectiveness on the activities of Community Welfare Association through the inter-agencies, carried out in 14 regions in our country as the examples. I'd like to emphasize the two main points in this study. One is whether the community practitioners have positive thoughts or not, about the evaluation on the activities through the inter-agencies. The other is how the receivers react to the inter-agency services. In order to find the solutions for two questions, the survey data of Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs were reanalyzed. First, the attitudes of the practitioners are as follows; that is, the directors of the organizations have negative opinions about the communication, while practitioners have positive evaluations. About the performance of its roles, 68.2 percent of practitioners showed positive reactions, and 77.8 percent answered it's necessary to manage the community association continuously. The receivers have positive evaluations in general about the inter-agency services. In the comparison of the community activities between before and after, domiciliary services were improved because there was a meaningful statistical difference, however, other services such as medical care service were not bettered. And there was no difference between before and after in the CSQ.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.30
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• pp.4.1-4.11
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• 2015

Objectives: This survey was designed to conduct the first nationwide dietary exposure assessment on hazardous substances including the intakes of functional food and herbal medicine. In this paper, we introduced the survey design and the results of the dietary exposure status and internal exposure levels of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg). Methods: We selected 4867 subjects of all ages throughout Korea. We conducted a food survey, dietary survey, biomonitoring, and health survey. Results: Pb and Cd were the highest (median value) in the seaweed ($94.2{\mu}g/kg$ for Pb; $594{\mu}g/kg$ for Cd), and Hg was the highest in the fish ($46.4{\mu}g/kg$). The dietary exposure level (median value) of Pb was $0.14{\mu}g/kg$ body weight (bw)/d, $0.18{\mu}g/kg$ bw/d for Cd, and $0.07{\mu}g/kg$ bw/d for Hg. Those with a blood Pb level of less than $5.00{\mu}g/dL$ (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reference value for those 1 to 5 years of age) were 99.0% of all the subjects. Those with a blood Cd level with less than $0.30{\mu}g/L$ (German Federal Environmental Agency, reference value for non-smoking children) were 24.5%. For those with a blood Hg level with less than $5.00{\mu}g/L$ (human biomonitoring I, references value for children and adults, German Federal Environmental Agency) was 81.0 % of all the subjects. Conclusions: The main dietary exposure of heavy metals occurs through food consumed in a large quantity and high frequency. The blood Hg level and dietary exposure level of Hg were both higher than those in the European Union.