• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.36-44
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• 2023

The aim of this study is to predict the potential for bid-rigging among public construction bidders and develop preventive and responsive measures. By employing the Fraud Triangle Theory (FTT), which considers the factors of opportunity, pressure, and rationalization, we analyze and explore the bid-rigging potential among construction industry professionals. A survey is conducted among General and specialized construction firms to validate the FTT research model and predict individual bid-rigging tendencies. The results indicate that higher levels of pressure, greater opportunities, and stronger rationalization increase the likelihood of individual bid-rigging. Moreover, more opportunities and stronger rationalization also raise the potential for bid-rigging by others. Understanding these dynamics enhances our knowledge and contributes to the development of policies aimed at preventing bid-rigging.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.101-107
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• 2020

Objective: Avoiding a catastrophic outcome may be a more realistic goal than achieving functional independence in the treatment of acute stroke in octogenarians. This study aimed to investigate predictors of catastrophic outcome in elderly patients after an endovascular thrombectomy with an acute anterior circulation large vessel occlusion (LVO). Materials and Methods: Data from 82 patients aged ≥ 80 years, who were treated with thrombectomy for acute anterior circulation LVO, were analyzed. The association between clinical/imaging variables and catastrophic outcomes was assessed. A catastrophic outcome was defined as a modified Rankin Scale score of 4-6 at 90 days. Results: Successful reperfusion was achieved in 61 patients (74.4%), while 47 patients (57.3%) had a catastrophic outcome. The 90-day mortality rate of the treated patients was 15.9% (13/82). The catastrophic outcome group had a significantly lower baseline diffusion-weighted imaging-Alberta stroke program early CT score (DWI-ASPECTS) (7 vs. 8, p = 0.014) and a longer procedure time (42 minutes vs. 29 minutes, p = 0.031) compared to the non-catastrophic outcome group. Successful reperfusion was significantly less frequent in the catastrophic outcome group (63.8% vs. 88.6%, p = 0.011) compared to the non-catastrophic outcome group. In a binary logistic regression analysis, DWI-ASPECTS (odds ratio [OR], 0.709; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.524-0.960; p = 0.026) and successful reperfusion (OR, 0.242; 95% CI, 0.071-0.822; p = 0.023) were independent predictors of a catastrophic outcome. Conclusion: Baseline infarct size and reperfusion status were independently associated with a catastrophic outcome after endovascular thrombectomy in elderly patients aged ≥ 80 years with acute anterior circulation LVO.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.223-233
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• 2024

Objectives: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has exacerbated the rate of tuberculosis (TB) infection among close contacts of TB patients in remote regions. However, research on preventive behaviors, guided by the Health Belief Model (HBM), among household contacts of TB cases is scarce. This study aimed to employ the HBM as a framework to predict TB preventive behaviors among household contacts of TB patients in the border areas of Northern Thailand. Methods: A cross-sectional study with multi-stage random sampling was conducted in Chiang Rai Province. The study included 422 TB patients' household contacts aged 18 years or older who had available chest X-ray (CXR) results. A self-administered questionnaire was used to conduct the survey. Results: The participants' mean age was 42.93 years. Pearson correlation analysis showed that TB preventive behavior scores were significantly correlated with TB knowledge (r=0.397), perceived susceptibility (r=0.565), perceived severity (r=0.452), perceived benefits (r=0.581), self-efficacy (r=0.526), and cues to action (r=0.179). Binary logistic regression revealed that the modeled odds of having an abnormal CXR decreased by 30.0% for each 1-point score increase in preventive behavior (odds ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval, 0.61 to 0.79). Conclusions: HBM constructs were able to explain preventive behaviors among TB patients' household contacts. The HBM could be used in health promotion programs to improve TB preventive behaviors and avoid negative outcomes.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.52-58
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• 2012

Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) often have more aggravated symptoms in the supine position. We tried to investigate the clinical characteristics and the predictive factors for positional OSA. Polysomnographic data were reviewed for OSA patients (apnea hypopnea index, $AHI{\geq}5$) from April, 2008 to April, 2011 at the Asan Medical Center. Clinical data, comorbid medical condition data and questionnaires (SF-36, MFI-20, ESS, BDI, STAI) were assessed. All patients were classified into two groups: positional patients (PP) group and non-positional patients (NPP) group. PP was defined as a patient who had the AHI in the supine position was at least twice as high as that in the lateral position. The body position of patients was confirmed by sleep position sensor and video monitor. All patients had at least 30 minutes of positional and 30 minutes of non-positional sleep. We compared clinical, medical, polysomnographic data, and questionnaire results between two (PP and NPP) groups and investigated predictive factors for the PP group using binary logistic regression analysis. In total, 371 patients were investigated. 265 (71.4%) was categorized as PP group and 106 (28.5%) as NPP group. The mean age ($mean{\pm}SD$) was higher in the PP group ($52.4{\pm}9.8$) than in the NPP group ($49.5{\pm}11.9$) (p<0.05). Comparison of sleep parameters between the PP and the NPP group showed that the PP group had significantly lower BMI (PP: $26.1{\pm}3.2kg/m^2$; NPP: $27.8{\pm}4.3kg/m^2$, p<0.001), neck circumference (PP: $39.7{\pm}2.8cm$; NPP: $41.5{\pm}3.7cm$, p<0.001) and hypertension rate (PP: n=89/265 (33.5%); NPP: n=48/106 (45.2%), p=0.0240). In the PP group, the percentage of deep sleep (PP: $8.7{\pm}8.1%$; NPP: $5.6{\pm}7.0%$, P=0.001) and rapid eye movement (REM) (PP: $17.5{\pm}6.1%$; NPP: $14.0{\pm}6.9%$, p<0.001) were significantly higher whereas the percentage of light sleep (stage N1) was significantly lower than the NPP group (PP: $30.4{\pm}12.3$; NPP: $44.5{\pm}20.8%$, p<0.001). During the sleep, the AHI in the supine position (PP: $48.6{\pm}19.5$; NPP: $60.5{\pm}22.6$, p<0.001) and in the non-supine position (PP: $9.4{\pm}8.9$; NPP: $48.4{\pm}24.8$, p=<0.001) were significantly lower and the minimal arterial oxygen saturation in non-REM sleep was significantly higher in the PP group (PP: $80.3{\pm}7.6$; NPP: $75.1{\pm}9.9$, p=<0.001). There were no significant differences in all questionnaires including quality of life. The results of the binary logistic regression analysis showed that age, the amount of REM sleep(%) and AHI were significant predictive factors for positional OSA. The significant predictive factors for positional OSA were older age, higher percentage of REM and lower AHI. The questionnaire results were not significantly different between the two groups.

• 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.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.2D
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• pp.235-242
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• 2008

Due to the lack of judgement in an information processing on road sign, older drivers usually are having a hard time driving than young group. Furthermore, according to increasing in aging population, older drivers in Korea have been growing much faster. That means research for older drivers' characteristics and the number of guide name for road sign should be needed. In accordance with suggestions, this study was carried out the number of guide names for road sign with a variety of ages from the twenties to the seventies. For the sake of this study, statistical verification was conducted to confirm a change of speed, a reading time and a misreading rate with Driving Simulator and Electrooculogram tool. As the results of study, change of speed in the age range has shown that the higher the proportion of age, the lower the rate of velocity. Also reading time in the age range with regression analysis found that the higher the proportion of age, the higher the rate of reading time by 0.106sec. Finally, a binary logistic model was used to find the main factors. As the results, 4 number of guide names for road sign have been the best of them for older driver. The result of this study verified the importance of ideal guide numbers on road sign for older driver and proved itself to be an effective method to determine the road safety for the road signs.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.50 no.10
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• pp.987-994
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• 2007

Purpose : This study investigated the clinical significance of AN in children and adolescents with obesity induced metabolic complications. Methods : Forty-nine patients who had obesity induced metabolic complications were participated in this cross-sectional study. Obesity induced metabolic complications are as follows: hypertension, dyslipidemia, impaired fasting glucose (IFG), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)>3.16. Clinical characteristics, such as, age, percentage-weight-for-height (PWH), pubertal status, blood pressure (BP), fasting plasma insulin level, fasting and post-oral glucose tolerance test 2-hour glucose levels, liver function test, lipid profile, HOMA-IR were compared according to the presence of AN. Results : Sixty-five percent of patients had AN, 57.1% NASH, 57.1% dyslipidemia, 55.1% hypertension, 46.9% IFG, 24.5% HOMA-IR>3.16 and 16.2% IGT. The patients who were moderately to severely obese with AN had higher incidence of IGT and HOMA-IR>3.16. The patients with AN had significantly higher diastolic BP ($79.4{\pm}6.9$ vs $75.4{\pm}5.6mmHg$), fasting levels of plasma insulin ($10.6{\pm}6.0$ vs $6.2{\pm}5.4{\mu}IU/mL$), HOMA-IR index ($2.6{\pm}1.4$ vs $1.4{\pm}1.3$) and PWH ($42.4{\pm}13.0$ vs $34.3{\pm}1.8%$). The increasing tendency for the presence of AN was significantly related to the cumulative number of obesity induced metabolic complications. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that the presence of AN was significantly associated with fasting plasma insulin level, PWH and IFG. Conclusion : AN could be useful as a clinical surrogate of obesity induced metabolic complications.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.322-331
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• 2017

District heating was first introduced in Korea in 1985. As the service life of the underground thermal piping network has increased for more than 30 years, the maintenance of the underground thermal pipe has become an important issue. A variety of complex technologies are required for periodic inspection and operation management for the maintenance of the aged thermal piping network. Especially, it is required to develop a model that can be used for decision making in order to derive optimal maintenance and replacement point from the economic viewpoint in the field. In this study, the analysis was carried out based on the repair history and accident data at the operation of the thermal pipe network of five districts in the Korea District Heating Corporation. A failure probability model was developed by introducing statistical techniques of qualitative analysis and binomial logistic regression analysis. As a result of qualitative analysis of maintenance history and accident data, the most important cause of pipeline damage was construction erosion, corrosion of pipe and bad material accounted for about 82%. In the statistical model analysis, by setting the separation point of the classification to 0.25, the accuracy of the thermal pipe breakage and non-breakage classification improved to 73.5%. In order to establish the failure probability model, the fitness of the model was verified through the Hosmer and Lemeshow test, the independent test of the independent variables, and the Chi-Square test of the model. According to the results of analysis of the risk of thermal pipe network damage, the highest probability of failure was analyzed as the thermal pipeline constructed by the F construction company in the reducer pipe of less than 250mm, which is more than 10 years on the Seoul area motorway in winter. The results of this study can be used to prioritize maintenance, preventive inspection, and replacement of thermal piping systems. In addition, it will be possible to reduce the frequency of thermal pipeline damage and to use it more aggressively to manage thermal piping network by establishing and coping with accident prevention plan in advance such as inspection and maintenance.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.101-109
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• 2015

Purpose - A traditional retail market is a place that offers economic opportunity to employees and employers alike it also is a place where the community can meet. The Korean government has invested three trillion won to improve physical and non-physical aspects in traditional retail markets since 2004. However, little research on this has been conducted. We explore this research gap that could lead to theory extension. We analyze consumption behavior with respect to traditional retail markets through an empirical analysis, thus overcoming limits in previous research. We empirically analyze policy effects of traditional retail market projects supported by the Korean government. Research design, data, and methodology - We propose a traditional retail market improvement plan via the relation between cause and effect resulting from the analysis. More specifically, logit analysis was carried out with 1,754 consumers in 16 cities nationwide. In order to analyze consumer consumption behaviors nationwide, the probability was analyzed using a logit model. This research analyzes the link between support and non-support by the Korean government using binary values. The dependent variable is whether Korean government support is implemented; the binomial logistic regression is used as the statistical estimation technique. The object variables are:1 (support) or 0 (nonsupport), and the prediction value is between 1 and 0. As a result of the factor analysis of questions related to attributes of service quality, four factors were extracted: convenience, product, facilities, and service. Results - The results indicate that convenience, product, and facilities have a significant influence on consumer satisfaction in accordance with the government's traditional retail market support. Additionally, the results reveal that convenience, product, facilities, and service all have a significant influence on consumer satisfaction in a traditional retail market's service quality and consumer satisfaction. Finally, the analysis indicates that the highly satisfied traditional retail market customer has a significant influence on revisit intention. Moreover, the results reveal that the highly satisfied traditional retail market customer has a significant influence on recommendation intention. Conclusions - This research focused on consumers nationwide to measure policy effects of traditional retail markets compared to previous research that focused on one traditional retail market or a specific area. We verified the relationship of service quality and customer satisfaction and consumer behavior based on service quality theory. The results indicate that consumer satisfaction of traditional retail markets supported by service quality factors has a significant impact. In a concrete form, the results indicate that these effects are from facility modernization projects and marketing support projects of the Korean government. The results also imply that these facility and management support effects from the Korean government have been consistent. We realize that the Korean government has to selectively support traditional retail markets in major cities and small and medium-sized cities. To that end, the Korean government needs to select a concentration strategy for the revitalization of traditional retail markets.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.81 no.3
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• pp.247-255
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• 2018

Background: Patients with acute respiratory failure secondary to tuberculous destroyed lung (TDL) have a poor prognosis. The aim of the present retrospective study was to develop a mortality prediction model for TDL patients who require mechanical ventilation. Methods: Data from consecutive TDL patients who had received mechanical ventilation at a single university-affiliated tertiary care hospital in Korea were reviewed. Binary logistic regression was used to identify factors predicting intensive care unit (ICU) mortality. A TDL on mechanical Ventilation (TDL-Vent) score was calculated by assigning points to variables according to ${\beta}$ coefficient values. Results: Data from 125 patients were reviewed. A total of 36 patients (29%) died during ICU admission. On the basis of multivariate analysis, the following factors were included in the TDL-Vent score: age ${\geq}65$ years, vasopressor use, and arterial partial pressure of oxygen/fraction of inspired oxygen ratio <180. In a second regression model, a modified score was then calculated by adding brain natriuretic peptide. For TDL-Vent scores 0 to 3, the 60-day mortality rates were 11%, 27%, 30%, and 77%, respectively (p<0.001). For modified TDL-Vent scores 0 to ${\geq}3$, the 60-day mortality rates were 0%, 21%, 33%, and 57%, respectively (p=0.001). For both the TDL-Vent score and the modified TDL-Vent score, the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve were larger than that of other illness severity scores. Conclusion: The TDL-Vent model identifies TDL patients on mechanical ventilation with a high risk of mortality. Prospective validation studies in larger cohorts are now warranted.