• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.166-170
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• 2019

Objectives: Attentional and memory functions are important aspects of neural plasticity that, theoretically, should be amenable to pharmacopuncture treatments. A previous study from our laboratory suggested that quantitative electroencephalographic (qEEG) measurements of theta/beta ratio (TBR), an index of attentional control, may be indicative of academic performance in a first-semester medical school course. The present study expands our prior report by extracting and analyzing data on frontal theta and beta asymmetries. We test the hypothesis that the amount of frontal theta and beta asymmetries (fTA, fBA), are correlated with TBR and academic performance, thereby providing novel targets for pharmacopuncture treatments to improve cognitive performance. Methods: Ten healthy male volunteers were subjected to 5-10 min of qEEG measurements under eyes-closed conditions. The qEEG measurements were performed 3 days before each of first two block examinations in anatomy-physiology, separated by five weeks. Amplitudes of the theta and beta waveforms, expressed in ${\mu}V$, were used to compute TBR, fTA and fBA. Significance of changes in theta and beta EEG wave amplitude was assessed by ANOVA with post-hoc t-testing. Correlations between TBR, fTA, fBA and the raw examination scores were evaluated by Pearson's product-moment coefficients and linear regression analysis. Results: fTA and fBA were found to be negatively correlated with TBR (P<0.03, P<0.05, respectively) and were positively correlated with the second examination score (P<0.03, P=0.1, respectively). Conclusion: Smaller fTA and fBA were associated with lower academic performance in the second of two first-semester medical school anatomy-physiology block examination. Future studies should determine whether these qEEG metrics are useful for monitoring changes associated with the brain's cognitive adaptations to academic challenges, for predicting academic performance and for targeting phamacopuncture treatments to improve cognitive performance.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.42-49
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• 2019

Objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) is characterized by persistent airflow limitations associated with chronic inflammatory response due to noxious particles or gases in the lung. Iron deficiency is associated with chronic inflammation, such as COPD. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship among iron deficiency, iron homeostasis, and inflammation in retired miners with COPD. Methods: The serum levels of ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor(sTfR), and transferrin saturation(TSat) as biomarkers for iron deficiency and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein(hsCRP) as a biomarker for inflammation and hepcidin as a biomarker for iron homeostasis were measured in 93 male subjects. Iron deficiency was defined as any one or more of (1) sTfR>28.1 nmol/L, (2) TSat<16%, and (3) ferritin< $12{\mu}g/L$. Results: Iron deficiency was found 28% of the study subjects. Median levels of serum hsCRP was significantly increased related to airflow limitation of COPD(GOLD 1, $0.09{\mu}g/dL$ vs. GOLD 2, $0.17{\mu}g/dL$ vs. GOLD $3{\leq}$, $0.30{\mu}g/dL$, p=0.010), and was positively correlated with hepcidin(p=0.009). Mean level of serum hepcidin was lower in COPD subjects with iron deficiency(p=0.004) and serum levels of hepcidin was negatively correlated with %$FEV_1$ predicted(p=0.030). Conclusions: These results suggest that high serum levels of hepcidin are related to severe airflow limitation or inflammation and can decrease iron availability, regardless of iron status.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.49-56
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• 2019

Urban green spaces have been contributing to the improvement of environmental, mental, and physical health for humans. In addition, recent studies showed the potential role of vegetation in reducing the amount of crime in inner-city neighborhoods at the micro-scale level. However, little is known about the positive role of urban green areas in improving urban safety at the regional level. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between urban green areas and actual outdoor crime rates, while also considering socio-demographic factors. The study area is the city of Austin, Texas, USA, which consists of 506 block groups. This study utilized socio-demographic factors based on U.S. Census data and vegetation-related factors utilizing GIS and ENVI software. For analyses, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and an ordinary least square (OLS) regression were utilized. The results from ANOVA showed that yearly crime rates per acre for areas having 0%~25% trees in their neighborhoods were 0.46% and 1.05% higher than those of having 25%~50% and >50% trees in the neighborhoods, respectively. The results from the OLS regression represented that income, NDVI and park rates in neighborhoods were negatively associated with the crime rate per acre, whereas the percentage of minorities and the percentage of teenage school dropouts were positively associated with the crime rate per acre. This study implies that urban green areas may help to improve the safety of urban areas.

• 한국사회정책
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.125-150
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• 2016

This study was carried out to empirically analyze the hypothesis that the impact of the welfare status on the welfare attitudes is moderated by each individual's level of confidence in government. To do this, this study focused on the welfare status known as the significant predictors of welfare attitudes and measured the welfare status as a gap between 'welfare contribute' and 'welfare benefit' in a single dimension, which is defined as 'material sacrifice'. Also, this study examined the main effect of material sacrifice and trust in government on the welfare attitudes and moderating effect of trust in government on relationship between material sacrifice and welfare attitudes. This study was performed with secondary data from 8th year of "2013 Korea Welfare Panel Study". Hypothesis of this study were verified using hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The major findings of this study are summarized as follow. 'Material sacrifice' was found to be negatively associated with the welfare attitudes. However, as the confidence in which social policies will be carried out competently by government increases, it was confirmed that the negative effect of material sacrifice on the welfare attitudes was moderated. It suggests that self-material interests associated with welfare could be moderated by beliefs and expectations about the government's functions, which means that expanding the reliance on the social policy is an important task in order to lead a social consensus for the welfare expansion.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.26 no.8
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• pp.209-220
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• 2021

The effect of body composition such as lean mass and fat mass on bone mineral density (BMD) is complex and still controversial. In this study, we investigated the relationship between body composition and bone mineral density using nation-wide data from 2008 to 2011 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) in 2,139 men and 2,193 postmenopausal women aged 50 years or older. Subjects with history of medication for osteoporosis or with diseases or malignancy affecting bone metabolism were excluded. Data of anthropometric measurements and demographic characteristics were collected by trained examiner. Fasting blood sample was obtained for blood chemistry analysis. BMD of the lumbar spine, total femur, and femoral neck, and body composition such as total lean mass (TLM), total fat mass (TFM), truncal fat mass (TrFM) were measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). There were significant positive correlations between body composition indices such as lean mass and fat mass with BMD. In multiple regression analysis, TLM was positively associated with BMD after adjusting age, body mass index, monthly house income, education level, physical activity, daily calcium intake and vitamin D concentration in both men and postmenopausal women. BMD at lumbar spine and femur in lowest quartile of TLM was significantly lower than other quartiles after adjusting those confounding factors in both gender. TrFM was negatively associated with total femur BMD in male and femur neck BMD in postmenopausal women after adjusting confounding factors. In conclusion, TLM is very important factor in maintaining BMD in subjects aged 50 years or older in men and postmenopausal women.

• Journal of Korean Dental Hygiene Science
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.89-98
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• 2021

Background: To analyze the effect of self-regulation on the fear of dental treatment in order to use it as basic data for efficient oral health care among male adolescents. Methods: A survey was administered to 241 first graders of specialized high schools in Daegu using a self-entry method. Twenty questions about fear of dental treatment and fifteen questions about self-regulation were included. The higher the score, the higher the fear of dental treatment and the self-regulation ability, showing a high reliability of 0.972 and 0.750, respectively. Results: The mean score of the participants' self-regulation ability was 3.25±0.51 and that of the degree of fear for dental treatment was relatively low at 1.72±0.85. It was confirmed that the higher the academic performance (F=7.635, p<0.01), the better was the self-regulation based on self-diagnosis (F=3.142, p<0.05), and was associated with higher health awareness (F=5.894, p<0.01). The degree of fear for dental treatment was significantly higher in the self-diagnosis-induced poor health group (F=4.933, p<0.01) and associated with a lower awareness of health (F=3.093, p<0.05). The participants' self-regulation ability was significantly negatively correlated with the degree of fear regarding dental treatment (r=-0.269, p<0.01). Regression analysis was performed using the degree of fear as a dependent variable and including sub-area variables of self-diagnosis-based health status, perception of health, and self-regulation ability as independent variables (β=-0.163, p<0.05). Among the self-regulation abilities, controlled composition (β=-0.232, p<0.01) had a significant effect; the higher the composition, the lower the degree of fear. The total explanatory power of this variable was 8.5%. Conclusion: An appropriate customized education program that can encourage individuals to practice self-care and maintain oral hygiene along with a clear understanding of underlying individual oral health conditions during adolescence is essential for promoting oral health.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.181-192
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• 2021

This study surveyed visitors' perceptions of Mudeungsan National Park's Seoseokdae Trail Section (STS) on the visitor reservation system (VRS). Data were collected from 248 visitors to STS selected through convenient sampling in May 2019. The majority (86.9%) of the respondents rated their overall experience in STS as either "no problem at all" or "little problem". Moreover, 43.0% of the respondents were aware of the VRS. The most popular information source for VRS was the Internet (49.7%), followed by other people (18.4%) and broadcasting media, e.g., TV (17.7%). While 69.9% of the respondents thought that implementation of VRS would be effective in improving managerial conditions of the STS, respondents perceived that "cumbersome reservation procedures" (79.3%) of the VRS operation was the most important problem, followed by "unfairness associated with Internet familiarity gap" (78.7%) and "deprivation of the opportunities to visit freely" (76.3%). The support for VRS implementation was higher among higher-aged, married, higher-educated, more frequent STS visitors, Gwangju residents, and solo visitors than the other groups. The "knowledge level about VRS" and "the awareness level about potential problems associated with VRS operation" negatively influenced the support for the implementation of VRS, while "the perceived managerial effectiveness of VRS" positively influenced it.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.285-303
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the zero-sum belief scale among a sample of Korean adults. The original scale was developed by Różycka-Tran, Boski, and Wojciszke (2015) based on the Belief in a Zero-Sum Game (BZSG) model. A total of 508 participants (252 college students and 256 non-student adults) completed an online survey comprised of the scales of zero-sum belief, social trust, subjective socioeconomic status, individualistic-collectivistic tendencies, and social comparison orientation. Results of the exploratory factor analysis and the confirmatory factor analysis indicated that zero-sum belief scale has one factor. The internal consistency of the zero-sum belief scale was good. The Zero-sum belief scale did not have a significant relationship with social trust and subjective socioeconomic status. However, the scale was positively associated with vertical individualistic and vertical collectivistic tendencies and negatively associated with horizontal collectivistic tendencies. There was no significant relationship between zero-sum belief and horizontal individualistic tendencies, but there was a significant positive relationship between zero-sum belief and social comparison orientation. However, the results from the college student sample and the non-student adult sample were different. Lastly, this study could facilitate future research on zero-sum belief in South Korea, and future studies are needed to reveal the predictors and effects of zero-sum belief.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.101-123
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• 2023

As an effort to further extend the existing understanding on the Psychology of Working Theory, this study examined gender differences in the paths to the attainment of decent work with Korean emerging adults. A total of 311 South Korean employees (mean age = 25.96, men = 94, women = 217) completed online questionnaires. We found that economic constraints inversely predicted work volition and career adaptability, which were positively relatedin turn, led to decent work. The overall indirect effect of work volition and career adaptability between economic constraints and decent work was significant., hHowever, the specific indirect effect of work volition and career adaptability was not significant. Further analyses showed a gender difference in the paths. Specifically, economic constraint was significantly negatively associated with work volition, and work volition predicted decent work only for women, but not for men. Moreover, economic constraint was significantly inversely associated with career adaptability, and career adaptability positively predicted decent work only for men, but not for women. Work volition mediated between economic constraints and decent work for women, while career adaptability had a mediating effect for men. It suggests that career resources for obtaining a decent work may be distinctive by genderdifferent groups.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.125-146
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• 2023

The aims of this study was to investigate the effect of workplace support and access to workplace counseling on the depression level of employees who are workplace bullying victims and then find cross-level interaction effects between individual and group factors. A multi-level analysis was conducted using data from 642 individuals who reported experiencing workplace bullying in the 2017 National Human Rights Commission survey. The findings indicate that a worker's perceived safety of their workplace is negatively associated with depression levels. Additionally, higher perceived workplace support and access to workplace counseling were associated with lower depression levels. Lastly, a positive interaction effect was observed between access to workplace counseling and perceived workplace support in relation to depression levels. That is, higher access to workplace counseling increases the negative effect of workplace support on depression levels of employees. These results highlight the importance of creating protective factors such as a safe and supportive organizational culture to combat workplace bullying of coworkers or supervisors, and implementation of counseling and support services to assist victims in coping with workplace bullying and reducing depression symptoms.