• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.43-54
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the factors influencing infection-related characteristics and patient safety culture on awareness of blood-borne infection prevention between operating room nurses and general ward nurses. Methods: Participants were 198 nurses(operating room nurses 98 and general ward nurses: 100) working at three general hospitals and three university hospitals in three cities. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire from September 11 to October 14, 2020. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple regression with IBM SPSS/WIN 26.0 program. Results: Typically, 39.8% of nurses in the operating room and 24.0% of ward nurses experienced injuries such as needles and sharp instruments used by the patient. The awareness of patient safety culture was identified to be higher for the ward nurses. Factors influencing the awareness of blood-borne infection prevention in operating room nurses were patient safety culture and wearing protective equipment for infection prevention while nursing infected patients. Moreover, the explanatory power of these variables was 19.4%. In general ward nurses, the patient safety culture was identified as a significant predictor, which accounted for 16.5% of awareness of blood-borne infection prevention. Conclusion: To prevent hospital infection, a strategy is needed to improve the level of awareness of blood-borne infection prevention and patient safety culture of operating room nurses. To this end, the difference in infection-related characteristics and influencing factors between the operating room nurses and the general ward nurses should be considered and planned.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.894-904
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• 2021

Microencapsulation is a protective process for materials that are sensitive to harsh conditions encounted during food manufacture and storage. The objectives of this research were to manufacture a milk protein-based delivery system (MPDS) containing Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) using skim milk powder and to investigate the effects of manufacturing variables, such as reaction temerpature and holding time, on the physiccohemical properties of MPDS and viability of LGG under dairy food processing and storage conditions. MPDS was prepared using chymosin at varing reaction temperatures from 25℃ to 40℃ for 10 min and holding times from 5 to 30 min at 25℃. The morphological and physicochemical properties of MPDS were evaluated using a confocal laser scanning microscope and a particle size analyzer, respectively. The number of viable cells were determined using the standard plate method. Spherical-shaped MPDS particles were successfully manufactured. The particle size of MPDS was increased with a decrease in reaction temperature and an increase in holding time. As reaction temperature and holding time were increased, the encapsulation efficiency of LGG in MPDS was increased. During pasteurization, the use of MPDS resulted in an increase in the LGG viability. The encapsulation of LGG in MPDS led to an increase in the viability of LGG in simulated gastric fluid. In addition, the LGG viability was enhanced with an increase in reaction temperature and holding time. In conclusions, the encapsulation of LGG in MPDS could be an effective way of improving the viability of LGG during pasturization process in various foods.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.55-65
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• 2022

Caring for patients with cancer is highly stimulating and rewarding, attracting health professionals to the field who enjoy the challenge of managing a complex illness. Health professionals often form close bonds with their patients as they confront ongoing disease or treatment impacts, which may be associated with multiple losses involving function and/or eventual loss of life. Ongoing exposure to patient loss, along with a challenging work setting, may pose significant stress and impact health professionals' well-being. The prevalence rates of burnout and compassion fatigue (CF) are significant, yet health professionals have little knowledge on these topics. A 6-week continuing education program consisting of weekly small-group video-conferencing sessions, case-based learning, and an online community of practice was delivered to health care providers providing oncology care. Program content included personal, organization and team-related risk and protective factors associated with CF, grief models, and strategies to mitigate against CF. Content analysis was completed as part of the program evaluation. In total, 189 participants (93% nurses) completed the program, which was associated with significant improvements in confidence and knowledge of CF and strategies to support self and team resilience. Qualitative themes and vignettes from experiences with the program are presented. Key themes included knowledge gaps, a lack of support related to CF and strategies to support resilience, organization-and team-based factors that can inhibit expression about the impacts of clinical work, the health professional as a "person" in caregiving, and the role of personal variables, self-skill practices, and recommendations for education and support for self and teams.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.155-166
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• 2024

Purpose : This study aims to identify key factors for predicting dropout risk at the university level and to provide a foundation for policy development aimed at dropout prevention. This study explores the optimal machine learning algorithm by comparing the performance of various algorithms using data on college students' dropout risks. Methods : We collected data on factors influencing dropout risk and propensity were collected from N University. The collected data were applied to several machine learning algorithms, including random forest, decision tree, artificial neural network, logistic regression, support vector machine (SVM), k-nearest neighbor (k-NN) classification, and Naive Bayes. The performance of these models was compared and evaluated, with a focus on predictive validity and the identification of significant dropout factors through the information gain index of machine learning. Results : The binary logistic regression analysis showed that the year of the program, department, grades, and year of entry had a statistically significant effect on the dropout risk. The performance of each machine learning algorithm showed that random forest performed the best. The results showed that the relative importance of the predictor variables was highest for department, age, grade, and residence, in the order of whether or not they matched the school location. Conclusion : Machine learning-based prediction of dropout risk focuses on the early identification of students at risk. The types and causes of dropout crises vary significantly among students. It is important to identify the types and causes of dropout crises so that appropriate actions and support can be taken to remove risk factors and increase protective factors. The relative importance of the factors affecting dropout risk found in this study will help guide educational prescriptions for preventing college student dropout.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.104-112
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• 2024

Purpose: Immunosuppressive therapy is frequently administered to patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which may make them more susceptible to infections like hepatitis B. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on patients aged 5-18 years diagnosed with IBD who visited a gastroenterology clinic along with controls who were the same age as the patients with IBD and were healthy overall. A logistic regression analysis using the independent variables of age, sex, race, disease phenotype, surgery, and medications and the dependent variable of adequate hepatitis B surface antibody (HBsAb) titers (>10 mIU/mL) was performed on quantitative serum HBsAb titers. Results: The study enrolled 62 patients, including 37 males and 25 females. Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and indeterminate colitis were diagnosed in 16, 22, and 24 patients, respectively. Thirty-nine patients were taking corticosteroids at the time of the study, 42 were taking immunomodulators, and four were taking biologics. Compared to 44.7% of the control group, 9.3% of the patients had protective titers. Only 12 out of 62 patients had HBsAb titers greater than 10 million IU/mL. None of the patients who received biologics or corticosteroids and 3.2% of those who received immunomodulators were found to be seroimmuned. Conclusion: The younger patients had the highest titers. Patient-specific factors that may impact these low titers include the length of the patient's illness and the use of immunosuppressants.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.202-208
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• 1999

Schizophrenia has many clinical expressions and probably different etiologic factors. Infections, autoimmune mechanism and related neurodevelopmental abnormalities have been suggested as possible etiologic factors of schizophrenia. It has been reported that immunoreactivity to heat shock proteins, which play a protective role against environmental stresses in a cell, might be related to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Therefore, we examined the immunoreactivity to heat shock protein 70kDa and 90kDa(HSP70 and 90) in 91 patients with schizophrenia and 83 normal controls. Ig G antibodies to HSP70 and 90 of sera were quantitated by ELISA. The optical density(OD) was measured by an automated microplate reader at a wavelength of 490nm. The amounts of antibodies to HSPs were expressed as arbitrary units(AU)/ml related to a standard serum. The limit for elevated antibody titers(anti-HSPs positive or negative) was set at two standard deviations added to the mean of the normal controls. Twenty nine(31.9%) of the 91 patients showed anti-HSP70 positive and 19(20.9%) of those showed anti-HSP90 positive. On the other hand, only 1(1.4%) of the normal controls and 4(4.8%) of those showed anti-HSP70 positive and anti-HSP90 positive, respectively. The titers of anti-HSP70 positive were related with BPRS scores, while those of anti-HSP90 positive were not. There were no relationship between antibody titers and clinical variables including age at onset, duration of illness, family history of schizophrenia or number of admission. The titers of anti-HSP70 positive were significantly associated with anti-HSP90 positive. Our results suggest the presence of abnormal immune reactivity involving HSP70 and HSP90 in a subset of patients with schizophrenia.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.28 no.3 s.51
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• pp.609-622
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• 1995

Until now there are few available epidemiologic data of osteoporosis in Korea, and the severity of osteoporosis-related health problem has not been widely recognized yet. But the numbers of the old people are increasing in Korea, and in 2000, the proportion of people over 65 will be up to about 6.8% of total population. Therefore, osteoporosis, one of the most common metabolic bone disease among the old people, will be one of the most important public health problem. On this background this study was performed to find out risk factors of the development of osteoporosis in Korean women through case-control approach. The subject of this study were selected among the women who visited menopause clinic in one general hospital in Seoul and were checked bone density from Sep. 1988 to Sep. 1993. Those who were diagnosed to have hypertension, diabetes mellitus, thyroid disease, breast disease, or liver disease, which are thought to influnce bone density, were excluded. Also excluded those who are age-unknown. Finally the subjects were 2,139 women aged between 18 and 79. We operatively defined patient group as those whose bone density is below $1.039/cm^2$, 90% of average bone density of women of 4th decade who visited the same hospital. And we defined control group as whose bone dendity is above $1.15g/cm^2$. We randomly selected 201 women from the patient group and 202 from the control. As independent variables we chose age, menarche age, menopause age, menopause type, the number of siblings, the number of pregnancies, body mass index, taking oral pill or not, feeding type, and educational state. Multiple logistic regression analysis was done to see the influence of these variables on the risk of osteoporosis. Results are as follows; 1. menopausal status was statistically significant risk factor to all women irrespective of her age, while obesity and later menopause age were found to be statistically significant protective factors. 2. The more siblings and pregnancies, the greater tile risk of osteoporosis, but these factors were not statistically significant. This result is not consistent with other studies. Further studies are strongly needed.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.71-84
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• 2013

Objectives: As suicide among the elderly population has been a critical issue in Korea, this study aimed to evaluate correlations of suicidal ideation with protective and risk factors among elderly who reside in a rural community. Methods: A total of 157 elders from Gyeongju city, who had attended senior centers in, were enrolled to answer questionnaires including the Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form-Korea and the Scale for Suicidal Ideation. Data were analyzed using SPSS 18.0K for Windows, and included t-test, Pearson correlation, and a three-step hierarchical multiple regression analyses. Results: Using the hierarchical regression analyses for predicting the elderly's suicidal ideation, male gender and social group variables were entered as predictors in the first step(adjusted $R^2$=0.107, P<0.05). Pain, ADLs, family support variables were not entered in the second step. Depression variable was the only predictor in the third step(adjusted $R^2$=0.384, P<0.001). Conclusions: Although this study confirmed the impact of depression on the suicidal ideation, elderly with risk factors including male gender and social isolation should receive a special attention from community health care professionals.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.51
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• pp.311-327
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• 2002

Many studies verified the relationship between parenting stress and the abuse of children with disability. It means that disability is a risk factor for abuse. The purpose of this study is to examine the parenting stress as a predictor of child abuse potential. For this study, 150 parents of children with disabilities were recruited. A personal questionnaire, parenting stress index, and potential factors of child abuse were responded. According to the results, parents who have children with disabilities reported high parenting stress and also parenting stress significantly affected parents' attitudes toward child abuse. Income, level of education, social involvement, governmental support, and social services for disabled were related to parenting stress and child abuse. Stepwise multiple regression analysis identified the variables of social involvement and social services for disabled as the most important variables in explaining parenting stress and child abuse. This study suggests that social supports and services for the parents of children with disabilities should be provided.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.129-140
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• 2024

Background: The mental health issues caused by trauma can manifest differently depending on the characteristics of the traumatic event. Particularly, individuals who have experienced sexual trauma are known to have more negative mental health outcomes compared to those who have experienced non-sexual trauma. The mental health issues of individuals who have experienced sexual trauma are severe, and new forms of threats, such as digital sexual crimes, are emerging. This study aimed to investigate whether the type of traumatic event, particularly focusing on sexual trauma events, contributes to differences in mental health outcomes and to identify factors influencing suicidal ideation and potential post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) risk. Methods: Based on an online survey conducted nationwide among adults aged 20 to 50, participants were categorized based on the type of trauma they experienced (sexual trauma events and non-sexual trauma events). The study conducted propensity score matching (PSM) using demographic factors (sex, age group, subjective economic status, and marital status) and resilience protective factors (cognition of recoverability, social support, and protection experiences in childhood) as control variables, excluding the experience of sexual trauma events, to investigate their potential impact on mental health (suicidal ideation and potential PTSD risk). Subsequently, binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify factors influencing mental health. Results: Even after PSM, individuals who experienced sexual trauma exhibited more negative outcomes in terms of suicidal ideation and potential PTSD risk compared to those who experienced non-sexual trauma. The results of binary logistic regression analysis showed that sexual trauma survivors were 1.9 times more likely to have suicidal thoughts (odds ratio [OR], 1.911) and 2.5 times more likely to have a potential PTSD risk (OR, 2.472). Furthermore, as resilience protective factors became more negative, the likelihood of suicidal ideation and potential PTSD risk increased. Conclusion: This study emphasizes the importance of understanding and supporting individuals who have experienced sexual trauma, highlighting the necessity for strategies aimed at mitigating suicidal ideation and potential PTSD risk among sexual trauma survivors, while also facilitating recovery through the promotion of resilience protective factors.