• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.183-189
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• 2023

As South Korea faces a general decline in population, similar to other regions, its rural areas are also experiencing a downward trend. This study examines how the scale and shifts in population within rural towns(eup·myeon) are affecting the number of essential services such as hospitals, laundry shops, and beauty salons. Our analysis encompassed the populations of 1,403 towns, excluding nine areas due to lack of data as of 2020. Since the availability of basic services can vary with population size, we normalized the figures to reflect the number of services per 10,000 people, allowing for a comparative analysis across different population sizes. Generally, areas with more people showed an increase in the number of services per capita. Our review of changes from 2000 to 2020 revealed patterns in how service numbers adjust with population variations. Future research should delve into more detailed trends of these facilities and forecast the rural population's future to ensure that residents in areas where service sustainability may be challenging will have full access to necessary services.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.169-194
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• 2024

Objective: The purpose of this study is to develop a child-care support policy strategy in response to the decrease in the population of children aged 0-5 years. This will be achieved by collecting opinions from a panel of experts on child-care support policies through a Delphi survey. Methods: To achieve the purpose of this study, a panel of 20 experts in child-care policy was selected, and a Delphi survey was conducted over three sessions. Data collected through the Delphi survey underwent analysis, including frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, content validity ratio, coefficient of variation, agreement, and convergence. Data processing was carried out using Excel 2016 and SPSS 26.0. Results: As a result of the study, a child-care support policy strategy addressing the decrease in the population of children aged 0-5 years was developed, comprising three policy areas, nine policy tasks, and 38 detailed policy tasks. Conclusion/Implications: Based on these results, it is anticipated that the study will not only enable the preparation of a strategy for child-care support policy to address the decrease in the population of children aged 0-5 years but also offer significant implications for shaping the direction of child-care support policy in alignment with the common good.

• Journal of Korea Planning Association
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.71-78
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• 2019

Due to the rapid pace of low fertility and aging of Korea, population decline is rapidly progressing in the outskirts of the province and county. Demand for public transport is decreasing due to suburban population declines, while local government funding for maintenance of the bus system is expected to increase gradually. The government and municipalities are promoting the introduction of Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) in order to reduce the burden of financial support for buses while enhancing mobility of the residents in vulnerable areas. However, most DRTs in Korea have been operated mainly in the areas that are not provided with public transportation services. Although DRT is able to reduce the financial burden of local governments, it is not easy to be introduced because of the objection of the existing bus users. In this study, 11 out of 61 towns with poor public transportation services in Gyeongsangnam-Do were selected for the introduction of DRT to replace bus services by using village characteristics. The results of this study are expected to be used as a basis for decision making to use DRT instead of bus service for the burden of bus financing for local governments.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2019

Bee's population is declining and disappearing at alarming rate. There are many factors responsible for declining the population of bees including diseases, natural enemies, environmental conditions and pesticides. Insecticides play its role dramatically for their population decline and neonicotinoid insecticides are critically important due to their wide application for pest control. Keeping in view of above problem, effect of neonicotinoid insecticides on olfactory learning behavior in Apis mellifera was observed using Proboscis Extension Reflex (PER) method. In this method, bees were harnessed in centrifuges tubes and feed on insecticides mixed sugar solution after three hours hunger. Bees were checked by feeding on non-treated sugar solution to observe PER response. Minimum proboscis extension was observed for acetamiprid and imidacloprid with 26% and 20% respectively at their recommend field doses while it was maximum for dinotefuran and thiamethoxam with 73% and 60% respectively. Only 40% bees showed response when exposed at 1/10 concentration of field dose for imidacloprid and the least at 1/100 of field dose. At control (Sugar solution) about 90% bees showed PER response. Among these neonicotinoid insecticides tested, imidacloprid and acetamiprid were the most damaging which impaired the olfactory learning performance in Apis mellifera.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.43-55
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• 2024

The purpose of this study is to examine residents' perspectives on factors contributing to rural decline, including population decrease and landscape degradation, with the goal of proposing strategies to revitalize rural spaces in response to these challenges. After exploring rural decline issues in Jinan, a questionnaire was developed based on a review of existing research. Following this, participants were selected, and Focus Group Interviews(FGI) were conducted. Through the analysis of the findings, strategies for local revitalization were suggested in four sectors. Based on the research findings, there is a need to reassess public transportation and vacant property projects. On the social front, preventing the misuse of rural relocation policies and enhancing residential environments through spatial clarity are essential. Environmentally, clustering renewable energy and livestock facilities and attracting educational facilities are necessary to minimize disruption to rural landscapes. From a governance perspective, fostering entrepreneurship in rural tourism and business models utilizing the local landscape is crucial for an increase in regional visits. This study holds significance by emphasizing the practical situation of rural decline, steering away from resource-centric or business-focused policies. It underscores the potential usefulness of integrating this understanding into detailed planning within policies aimed at tackling rural decline.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.1-26
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• 2006

This paper examines the interplay among changes in socioeconomic conditions, population policies, and fertility decline during $1960{\sim}2000$ in South Korea. Period-parity-progression-ratios (PPPR) are calculated using 2% samples of Population Census with the implied distribution of completed family size. The total fertility rate based on PPPR declined from 5.21 in 1960 to 2.76 in 1980, and 1.69 in 2000. The family planning programs were successful in meeting the needs of families that wanted to prevent further childbearing after having achieved the desired family size during $1960{\sim}1970$. The 1980s mark two important landmarks: achievement of replacement fertility and emergence of high sex ratio at birth. In the 1990s the "quality and welfare" approach was emphasized. In 2000s, South Korea's fertility is one of the lowest in the world. In response to this, in 2005, the Government adopted a new population policy with the goal of increasing the total fertility level to 1.6 by 2010. The results of this study indicate that proportion of women who would have no children at all throughout their reproductive life span increased substantially from 10% in 1995 to 16% in 2000, with a sharp increase since 1997. Thus, pro-natal programs need to address the problems associated with marriage and having the first child. Towards that, it is important that work and family life become more compatible.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.105-111
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• 2018

Based on the Statistical Yearbook of 119 Emergency Medical Services in 2017 (National Fire Agency, 2018) and Population Projection by Province: 2015~2045 (Statistics Korea, 2017), this study analyzed the effects of population changes, such as low fertility and aging on the use of ambulance services in the future. The population of Korea is expected to decline after peaking in 2031, but the number of elderly people aged over 70 is expected to continue to increase. The rates of emergency ambulance transport (REAT, the number of patients transferred per 1,000 inhabitants) are not changed significantly, compared to the recent trends, but the ambulance services for elderly over 70 years of age will increase exponentially. Therefore, the population changes due to low fertility and aging is accompanied by a quantitative and qualitative change in ambulance services, and from the long term perspectives, it is necessary to consider not only the effective response of ambulance services due to aging, but also the adjustment of existing jurisdictions due to population changes and the relocation of manpower and resources.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.53-58
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• 2021

The number of patients with cardiovascular diseases who experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) are increasing among young adults as well as the aged population. An automated external defibrillator (AED) is vital in improving survival rates of OHCA victims. Survival rates of OHCA were shown to decline exponentially in time to defibrillation, yet studies in Korea are uncommon that captures the properties of their survival rates in examining optimal locations of AEDs. In this study, we worked on the maximal gradual coverage location problem (MGCLP) with exponential decay coverage function to decide on their optimal locations. The exponential decay coverage function mitigates the drawback of over-estimating survival rates of OHCA patients. It is expected that a more sophisticated facility location problem will be developed to identify the "emergent" characteristics of pedestrians who responds to the OHCA occurrence by incorporating random pedestrian locations and movement through simulation.

• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-24
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• 2013

The elderly population continues to increase in Korea and there has been a growing interest in understanding normal aging. In response to this public interest, the present paper reviewed human aging research focusing on recently published neuroimaging studies. For the first half of the paper, I reviewed the effects of aging on the brain and cognition. In normal aging, structural changes in the brain include atrophy and volume reduction in the prefrontal and temporal cortices. Functional changes are exhibited in the form of overactivation of the brain. Moreover, age-related cognitive decline is particularly observed in inhibition and memory, which are also associated with the age-related structural changes in the brain. For the second half of the paper, I introduced physical exercise studies showing that exercise played a protective role in the age-related neurocognitive decline. More specifically, engaging in physical exercise (particularly, aerobic exercise) for a relatively long period of time (e. g., > 6 mon.) protected older adults from volume loss in the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus, and induced better inhibition and memory. These exercise-induced benefits appear to be associated with changes in neuronal levels, indicating that the aging brain is still plastic and this plasticity can be enhanced by physical exercise.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.1919-1924
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• 2015

Polymorphisms in the region of the interleukin IL-28 gene on chromosome 19 have been related with clearance of hepatitis C virus (HCV), a major human pathogen responsible for chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. About 3% of the world's population is infected with HCV. The long-term response to therapy is influenced by many host and viral factors, and recent evidence has indicated that some host genetic polymorphisms related to IL-28 are the most powerful predictors of virological response in patients with HCV. This study assessed frequency of the IL-28 polymorphism (rs8099917) in 50 patients (39 men and 11 women) with chronic hepatitis C using ZNA probe real time PCR new method. All patients were tested for genotype of HCV and the HCV viral load. In parallel, the levels of SGOT, SGPT and ALK enzymes were assessed. Treatment using Peg-interferon alpha with ribavirin was conducted for patients and subsequently samples were collected to detect any change in viral load or liver enzyme rates. The overall frequency of the TT allele is 74%, TG allele 20% and GG allele 6% and the percent of patients who had T allele was 84%. Clear reduction in viral load and liver enzymes was reported in patients with the T allele. Especially for genotype 1 which is relatively resistant to treatment, these alleles may have a role in this decline. In conclusion, we showed that IL-28 polymorphism rs8099917 strongly predicts virological response in HCV infection and that real-time PCR with Zip nucleic acid probes is a sensitive, specific and rapid detection method for detection of SNPs which will be essential for monitoring patients undergoing antiviral therapy.