• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.517-526
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• 2022

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The increased consumers' interests in health and food safety have increased the demand for organic foods. Many studies have been performed on consumers' purchase intentions for organic foods and their influencing factors, and various studies have shown that the prices of organic foods and the consumers' willingness to pay are important influencing factors. This study examined the payment value of organic foods and agrifood consumer competency index according to the food-related lifestyles in South Korean consumers. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was performed using the 2019 Consumer Behavior Survey for Food. A total of 6,176 participants aged 19 to 74 years (male: 2,783, female: 3,393) were included in the analysis. RESULTS: Three factors were extracted by factor analysis (rational consumption-seeking type, convenience-seeking type, and health, and safety-seeking type) to explain the consumers' food-related lifestyles. The results of cluster analysis suggested that consumers were classified into 3 food-related lifestyles as the 'exploratory consumers' (n = 2,485), 'safety-seeking consumers' (n = 1,544), and 'passive consumers' (n = 2,147). Exploratory consumers showed a significantly higher willingness to pay for imported organic foods (P < 0.05). Safety-seeking consumers had a significantly higher willingness to pay for domestic organic foods (P < 0.05). For the agrifood consumer competency index, exploratory consumers had the highest score, followed in order by safety-seeking consumers and passive consumers. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide basic data in understanding consumption tendency for organic foods and agrifoods based on food-related lifestyles of South Korean consumers.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.211-217
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• 2022

New buildings have been designed using different seismic design standards that have been revised. However, the seismic performance of existing buildings is evaluated through the same performance evaluation guidelines. Existing buildings may not satisfy the performance targets suggested in the current guidelines, but there are practical limitations to discriminating the existing buildings with poor seismic performance through a full investigation. In this regard, to classify buildings with poor seismic performance according to the applied standard, this study aimed to evaluate performance-based investigation of the seismic design proposals of buildings with different design standards. The target buildings were set as RC ordinary moment frames for office occupancy. Changes in seismic design criteria by period were analyzed, and the design spectrum changes of reinforced concrete ordinary moment resisting frames were compared to analyze the seismic load acting on the building during design. The seismic design plan was derived through structural analysis of the target model, compared the member force and cross-sectional performance, and a preliminary evaluation of the seismic performance was performed to analyze the performance level through DCR. As a result of the seismic performance analysis through the derived design, the reinforced concrete ordinary moment frame design based on AIK 2000 has an insufficient seismic performance level, so buildings built before 2005 are likely to need seismic reinforcement.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.517-521
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• 2021

Background: This study aimed to investigate whether working long hours was related to infertility among female Korean workers, while taking age into consideration. Methods: We used data from the 2018 National Survey on Fertility and Family Health and Welfare in Korea that is a cross-sectional, nationally representative, and population-based survey. Infertility was defined as women who were not pregnant after regular unprotected intercourse for a year. Working long hours was classified as ≥52 hours, and subgroups as per age were classified on the basis of being younger or older than 40 years of age. Differences in infertility risk between the long working hour group and none were estimated in crude and fully adjusted logistic regression models with age-group stratification. Results: Of 5,909 Korean female workers, the crude and adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of infertility for working long hours were 1.295 (0.948-1.737) and 1.303 (0.921-1.809), respectively. In the subgroup of patients below 40 years of age, the crude and adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) were 1.957 (1.216-3.039) and 1.921 (1.144-3.120), whereas those aged 40 years or older had 0.994 (0.647-1.471) and 0.939 (0.560-1.501), respectively. The weighted prevalence of infertility increased as weekly working hours increased only for the younger than 40-year subgroup. Conclusions: Infertility is associated with working long hours, especially in young-aged workers. Thus, the working schedule must be structured to better suit young female workers.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.341-348
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• 2022

The study was aimed to identify the educational needs for gerontological nursing using the nursing diagnosis classification of hospital nurses. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 245 nurses who had experience caring for older patients within 1-year at two nurse web cafes. As a result of the study, 43 nursing diagnoses were classified into 6 areas: acute care, daily life care, education and counseling, environment and resource management, health promotion, and geriatric disease management. Nursing educational needs differed according to the age, sex, marital status, education level, size of the hospital, and working experience of the nurse. In order to effectively perform nursing care for the elderly and geriatric patients, it may be necessary to investigate the needs of continuous education and develop a detailed education program.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.98-105
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• 2022

Objectives: Low back pain (LBP) is a common chronic condition among sedentary workers that causes long-term productivity loss. This study aimed to identify the relationships of individual and occupational factors with LBP among Bangladeshi online professionals. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 468 full-time online professionals who usually worked in a sitting position. One-month LBP complaints were assessed using a musculoskeletal subscale of subjective health complaints. The chi-square test was used to measure associations between categorical predictors and LBP, and multivariable logistic regression was conducted to identify the variables significantly associated with LBP. Results: LBP within the last month was reported by 65.6% of participants. Multivariable logistic regression analysis indicated that age >30 years (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.40; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.23 to 0.70) and being married (aOR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.97) had significant negative associations with LBP. Significant positive associations were found for spending >50 hours weekly on average working in a sitting position (aOR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.05 to 2.49), being overweight and obese (aOR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.16 to 2.99), sleeping on a soft mattress (aOR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.06 to 3.80), and ex-smoking status (aOR, 3.33; 95% CI, 1.41 to 7.87). Conclusions: A high prevalence of LBP was found among full-time online professionals. Long working hours in a sitting position showed a significant association with developing LBP. Smoking history, body mass index, and sleeping arrangements should also be considered while considering solutions for LBP prevalence among online professionals.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.33-43
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• 2022

The present study was conducted to determine the effect of reduced dietary crude protein (CP) with a synthetic indispensable amino acids (AA) supplement on the growth performance, economics, and breast meat quality. A total of 450 male broilers (Ross 308) were used from the age of 7 to 28 days. On d 7, the birds were individually weighed and randomly assigned to three treatment diets with six replicate pens for each treatment in a randomized complete block design. The experimental diets were: (1) a control diet, (2) a diet with a reduction of 1% of the dietary CP with synthetic AA supplements to meet the indispensable AA requirement (OAA) of broiler chickens, and (3) a diet with a reduction of 1% of the dietary CP with synthetic Lys, Met, and Thr supplementation to exceed 5% of the indispensable AA requirement (HAA). There were no differences among the treatments on the final body weight, weight gain, and feed intake. However, the HAA diet impaired the feed conversion ratio at d 21 and during the overall feeding periods (P<0.05). The predicted total feed intake and feed price required to reached 1.5 kg BW was higher than for the birds fed the HAA diet (P<0.05). The breast meat muscle fiber cross sectional area and fiber density varied between the treatments (P<0.05). However, there were no differences in breast meat weight. In conclusion, reducing 1% of dietary CP had no adverse effects on the growth performance or breast meat yields.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.67-84
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• 2022

This study aimed to explore the status of food service outsourcing behavior of long-term care institutions (LTCIs) through a cross-sectional survey using a questionnaire administered between July 16th and August 7th, 2020. The survey respondents were either dietitians or facility managers, who worked at 731 nursing homes, 477 group homes, and 673 day-care centers. Approximately 25.9% of nursing homes, 11.7% of group homes, and 33.1% of day-care centers used a managed-services company to operate their food service units. The main reason for outsourcing food service by nursing homes was related to the staffing of dietitians and cooks, whereas group homes and day-care centers outsourced food services due to factors relating to meal costs and the cooking process. Almost all the LTCIs entered into private contracts for outsourced food services. Only a few food service contracts included the types of meals, nutrition standards such as protein and calories per meal, and the parameter or ratio of food cost. Of the respondents, 84.5% from nursing homes, 87.5% from group homes, and 87.1% from day-care centers agreed that the quality of outsourced food services of the LTCIs should be regulated. Meals are essential for maintaining the health and functional status of LTCI users. As more LTCIs outsource their food services, we suggest the following: (1) Increasing the minimum dietitian staffing standards for LTCIs as per the Welfare of Senior Citizens Act and requiring at least one dietitian for every nursing home, (2) Making it mandatory to use a standard food service contract template when drafting food service contract, and (3) Developing realistic standards for food service operations considering the size and operation type of the LTCIs.

• Clinical Pain
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.80-89
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• 2020

Objective: We compared the regenerative effects of microcurrent therapy (MT) according to the type of electric current, which were direct current microcurrent therapy (DCMT) and alternating current microcurrent therapy (ACMT) on atrophied calf muscle in cast-immobilized rabbit. Method: Rabbits were allocated into control group (sham MT), ACMT group, and DCMT group. Before starting treatment, right gastrocnemius (GCM) muscle was immobilized by cast for 2 weeks. Compound muscle action potential of tibial nerve in nerve conduction study, circumference of calf muscle using a ruler, and thickness of medial and lateral GCM muscle measured by ultrasound, cross sectional area (CSA), and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) ratios (%) of muscle fibers were measured on the immunohistochemical analysis. Results: The mean atrophic changes (%) in right medial and lateral GCM muscle thickness, right calf circumference, and amplitude of CMAP of the right tibial nerve in ACMT group and DCMT group were significantly lower than those in control group, respectively (p<0.05). The mean CSA (μm²) of type I and type II and PCNA ratios (%) of medial and lateral GCM muscle fibers in ACMT group and DCMT group were significantly greater than those in control group, respectively (p<0.05). There were no significant differences between the ACMT group and DCMT group at all parameters. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that ACMT and DCMT showed better regeneration effect than sham MT. Microcurrent may be effective in regeneration of atrophied muscle regardless of the type of current.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.29-42
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• 2022

In mountainous areas of China, concrete poles with connectors are widely employed in power transmission due to its convenience of manufacture and transportation. The bearing capacity of the poles must have degenerated over time, and most of the steel connectors have been corroded. Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) offers a durable, light-weight alternative in strengthening those poles that have served for many years. In this paper, the bearing capacity and failure mechanism of CFRP sheet strengthened existing reinforced concrete poles with corrosion steel connectors were investigated. Four poles were selected to conduct flexural capacity test. Two poles were strengthened by single-layer longitudinal CFRP sheet, one pole was strengthened by double-layer longitudinal CFRP sheets and the last specimen was not strengthened. Results indicate that the failure is mainly bond failure between concrete and the external CFRP sheet, and the specimens fail in a brittle pattern. The cross-sectional strains of specimens approximately follow the plane section assumption in the early stage of loading, but the strain in the tensile zone no longer conforms to this assumption when the load approaches the failure load. Also, bearing capacity and stiffness of the strengthened specimens are much larger than those without CFRP sheet. The bearing capacity, initial stiffness and elastic-plastic stiffness of specimen strengthened by double-layer CFRP are larger than those strengthened by single-layer CFRP. Weighting the cost-effective effect, it is more economical and reasonable to strengthen with single-layer CFRP sheet. The results can provide a reference to the same type of poles for strengthening design.

• International journal of advanced smart convergence
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.187-196
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• 2022

In this paper, we propose an example of designing and constructing a roof-type solar power plant structure equipped with a Pseudo-BIPV (Building-Integrated Photovoltaic) shape suitable for use as a roof of a small warehouse with a sandwich-type panel structure. As the characteristics of the roof-type solar power generation facility to be installed in the small warehouse proposed in this study, the shape of the roof is not a general A type, but a right-angled triangle shape with the slope is designed to face south. We chose a structure in which an inverter for one power plant and a control facility are linked by grouping several roofs of buildings. In addition, the height of the roof structure is less than 20 cm from the floor, and it has a shape similar to that of the BIPV, so it is building-friendly because it is almost in close contact with the roof. At the same time, the roof creates a reflective light source due to the white color. By linking this roof with a double-sided solar panel, we designed it to obtain both the advantage of the roof-friendliness and the advantage of efficiency improvement for the electric power generation based on the double-sided panel. Compared to the existing solar power generation facilities using A-shaped cross-sectional modules, the power generation efficiency of roofs in this case is increased by more than 11%, which we can confirm, through the comparison analysis of monitoring data between power plants in the same area. Therefore, if the roof-type solar structure suitable for the small warehouse we have presented in this paper is used, the facilities of electric power generation is eco-friendly. Further it is easier to obtain facility certification compared to the BIPV, and improved capacity of the power generation can be secured at low material cost. It is believed that the roof-type solar power generation facility we proposed can be usefully used for warehouse or factory-based smart housing. Sensor devices for monitoring, CCTV monitoring, or safety and environment management, operating in connection with the solar power generation facilities, are linked with the Internet of Things (IoT) solution, so they can be monitored and controlled remotely.