• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.8
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• pp.3383-3389
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• 2014

Background: Prostate cancer is rapidly increasing in Korea and professional societies have requested adding prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing to the National Cancer Screening Program (NCSP), but this started a controversy in Korea and neutral evidence on this issue is required more than ever. The purpose of this study was to provide economic evidence to the decision makers of the NCSP. Materials and Methods: A cost-utility analysis was performed on the adoption of PSA screening program among men aged 50-74-years in Korea from the healthcare system perspective. Several data sources were used for the cost-utility analysis, including general health screening data, the Korea Central Cancer Registry, national insurance claims data, and cause of mortality from the National Statistical Office. To solicit the utility index of prostate cancer, a face-to-face interview for typical men aged 40 to 69 was conducted using a Time-Trade Off method. Results: As a result, the increase of effectiveness was estimated to be very low, when adopting PSA screening, and the incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER) was analyzed as about 94 million KRW. Sensitivity analyses were performed on the incidence rate, screening rate, cancer stage distribution, utility index, and treatment costs but the results were consistent with the base analysis. Conclusions: Under Korean circumstances with a relatively low incidence rate of prostate cancer, PSA screening is not cost-effective. Therefore, we conclude that adopting national prostate cancer screening would not be beneficial until further evidence is provided in the future.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.204-212
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• 2012

Purpose: To investigate the effectiveness and variance of a critical pathway (CP) for laparoscopic colon resection in colon cancer patients, and nurses'satisfaction with the CP. Methods: A CP for laparoscopic colon resection was applied to the CP-group that included 50 patients, who underwent elective colon resection between March and May, 2011. The non-CP group included 51 patients who had the same operation without the CP applied from March to May, 2010. Results: The means of length of hospital stay were 11.7 and 7.3 days (p<.001) and the lengths of postoperative hospital stay were 8.6 and 5.1 days (p<.001) in the non-CP group and CP group, respectively. There was no significant difference between two groups for total healthcare costs, pain score, complications, or emergency room visits within 30 days after discharge. By examining variances of the CP, there were 162 variances and the most frequent cause was patient's condition. Nurses'satisfaction with the use of CP was favorable and the mean score of satisfaction was 3.76 on the 5 point Likert scale. Conclusion: There are clear benefits to use of CP, resulting in standardized and effective patient care. In conclusion, analysis of variance data can assist in evaluating and revising CP for optimal care and reducing variances.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.673-677
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• 2013

Introduction: Capture-recapture methods have been suggested for reducing costs of disease registration as well as reducing bias in incidence estimations. This study aimed to estimate the gastric cancer incidence in the Tehran metropolis population during 2002-2006. Materials and Methods: We investigated new cases of gastric cancer reported by three sources; death certificates, pathology reports, and medical records to Tehran population-based cancer registry during 2002-2006. $G^2$ statistics and the two-source capture-recapture method were used to select the best-fitted log-linear model and to estimate incidence, respectively. EXCEL software version 2007 and SPSS software version 16 were used for this research. Results: The number of reported cases was 4,463, with an average age of 68.5 (${\pm}12.9$) years. We found the model that combined two sources of data including pathology reports and medical records and furthermore complemented by death certificates as the best model. The reported and the estimated incidences were 11.0 and 27.1 per 100,000 respectively. Conclusions: The incidence estimated by two-source capture-recapture method is about three times higher than the incidence reported by the sources under investigation. It is recommended to move towards the implementation of population-based cancer registration using various sources of data collection to achieve more accurate data.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 1998.06a
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• pp.113-133
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• 1998

In activated sludge process, sludge settling condition is affected by organic loading rate or operation condition, and if settling condition is getting worse, it is common that overall process fails due to wash-out of biomass causing low concentration in the aeration tank. Also activated sludge process has such several problems as requiring large area, consuming a lot of power and producing large volume of sludge. Increased public concern over health and the environment combined with a strong desire to reduce capital, operating and maintenance costs, have created a need for innovative technologies for building new high quality effluents which vail meet 21st century crkeria. MBR(Membrane Bioreactor) process consists of a biological reactor and ultrafiltration(UF) membrane system that replaces the conventional clarifier of an activated sludge process. The main operating advantages of this system are that the quality of the effluent is independent of the settleability of the mixed liquor and that the effluent is free of suspended solids in any operating condition. It is possible to eliminate clarifier and to reduce the volume of aeration tank because it can afford to accumulate high biomass concentration in the bioreactor(20, 000~30, 000mg/L), which would not be possible in a conventional activated sludge process. Therefore, this process reduces overall treatment plant area. In addition to those advantages, Longer SRT condition enables higher sludge digestion in MBR process so the sludge volume produced is 50 to 70% lower than that of conventional activated sludge process There are two kinds of MBR process according to the allocations of membrane. One is cross flow type MBR of which module is located outside of the bioreactor and mixed liquor is driven into the membrane module. The other is submerged type MBR process of which module is submerged in the bioreactor and mixed liquor is generally sucked from the lumen side. addition to that the cake layer is often removed by the uplifting flow of bubbling air. A submerged MBR process is superior to a crossflow MBR in regard to the power consumption because suction pressure of a submerged MBR is generally lower than that of a crossflow MBR which has recirculation pump. A submerged MBR, therefore, has the potential to be applied to small wastewater treatment plants that need low cost treatment systems.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.89-102
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• 1998

The purpose of this study is to seek AEI(Air Environmental Indices), PSI(Pollutant Standard Index) and the urban air quality control goal(the best available alternative energy program) by assessing the best ratio of energy types used in urban enterprises, based on harmful health effect and air quality standard and costs. This study is focused on an urban area(Puchun), where area sourcees are associated with heavy traffic, large population, and its industrial sources with large emissions. In the first step, air modeling, estimation of AEI and PSI, and benefit-cost analysis were carried out. In the second step, we assessed that 660 scenarios about the ratio of B-C oil, light oil and LNG used in urban enterprises with regard to air quality and cost. In the third step, the best available alternative energy program was selected for the ratio of energy species(B-C oil, light oil and LNG) by using the lexicographic method. From the emission analysis, main source of $NO_2$ is identified as industries and air quality is evaluated according to the ratio of B-C oil, light oil and LNG used in urban enterprise. The modeling data of TSP, $SO_2$, $NO_2$, CO, $O_3$, by ISC3 and PBM are respectively $118{\mu}g/m^3$, 0.027ppm, 0.025ppm, 2.0ppm, 0.55ppm in indurstrial area. That data are close to Environmental Air Quality Standard. By means of sensitivity analysis, we obtained the difference in concentration between the areas(Nae-dong, Joong-dong) according to the ratio of B-C oil, light oil and LNG used in the industries. From the result of alternatives assessment the lowest AEI value and cost, the ratio of B-C oil, light oil and LNG are 2.5%, 20%, 77.5%, respectively.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.282-290
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• 2017

A long-term resuspension of small particles, called persistent turbidity, is one of the most important water quality concerns in the dam reservoirs system located in North Han River. Persistent turbidity may incur aesthetic nuisance and harmful effect on the ecosystem health, in addition to elevated water treatment costs for the drinking water supply to the Seoul metropolitan area. These sufferings have been more intensified as the strength and frequency of rainfall events increase by climate change in the basin. This study was to analyze the effect of an extreme turbidity flow event that occurred in 2006 on the serial reservoirs system (Soyang-Uiam-Cheongpyung-Paldang) in North Han River. The CE-QUAL-W2 model was set up and calibrated for the river and reservoirs system using the field data obtained in 2006 and 2007. The results showed that Soyang Reservoir released turbid water, which was classified as the TSS concentration is greater than 25 mg/L, for 334 days with peak TSS of 264.1 mg/L after the extreme flood event (592.7 mm) occurred between July 10 and 18 of 2006. The turbid water departed from Soyang Reservoir reached at the most downstream Paldang Reservoir after about 20 days and sustained for 41 days, which was validated with water treatment plant data. Since the released water from Soyang Reservoir had low water temperature and high TSS, an underflow formed in the downstream reservoirs and vertically mixed at Paldang Reservoir due to dilution by the sufficient inflow from South Han River.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.27 no.2 s.46
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• pp.299-312
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• 1994

This survey was performed to obtain the basic information for the prevention and management of occupational low back injury (LBI). The subjects of this survey were 952 workers (male, 892 ; female, 60) who had taken occupational LBI in some industries of Pusan area from January 1 to December 31, 1991. Observation period was 2.6 years from the beginning to the end of medical treatment. The obtained results were summarized as follows ; 1. The proportion of LBI workers was 15.9% of the workers who had taken any occpational injuries and 0.32% of all workers in this surveyed area. 2. 8.0% of the workers had taken LBI on the 1st day of employment and 55.2% of the workers were within one year, 91.4% of the workers were within 10 years according to cumulative frequency distribution. 3. Handling of heavy objects was the most common cause of LBI (32.0%) and fall down (26.9%) and slip down (16.3%) were the next in order. 4. The most common causes of both lumbar sprain and HNP were handling of heavy objects and that of lumbar fracture was fall down. 5. The mean duration for medical treatment of LBI workers was 143 days. 6. The total direct compensation cost for LBI workers was 6,736 million Won and the proportion of medical, resting, disability compensation costs were 25.0%, 37.0%, 38.0 % respectively. 7. The percentages of retreated workers and disabled workers were 11.9% (113 persons) and 22.9% (218 persons) of total LBI workers respectively.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.91-122
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• 2014

For a variety of reasons, the number of medical disputes is continuously rising. Due to the intrinsic qualities of medical treatments, one would find it more apt to subject medical disputes to general conflict resolution procedures rather than to once-for-all decisions under legal suits. To address the increasing medical disputes with greater professionalism and efficiency, the Medical Disputes Mediation Act was enacted and a medical dispute mediation system put in place, while drawbacks have been blamed to both. The current mediation procedures require the respondent's agreement as a disclosure requirement. A reasonable improvement to this would be to amend the regulation of agreement supposition, or to enforce procedural participation only to public health facilities managed by the national or regional government. Furthermore, small claims cases of 20 million KRW or less in claim may be considered for conciliation-prepositive principle. The concentration on small claim medical disputes is a phenomenon that can be addressed by carrying out maximum authentication commissions or similar measures, one of the solutions by enhancing the public trust in the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency. The proper management of medical authentication teams is one way to address the existing problems in the authentication system. For this, the number of team members shall be increased under more flexible authentication procedures. All indemnity resources for medical accidents of force majeure must be borne by the Government, for it is the body principally responsible for social compensation. Placing this cost on the establisher of the subject medical facility holds the possibility of violating fundamental rights. While the costs for subrogation payment system for damages may be borne by the healthcare facility establisher, a deposit-based system must be created for cases in which the facility shuts down, without holding the responsibility for accident cause. Such change to a deposit-based system will evade the controversies of unconstitutionality, etc.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.73-80
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• 1991

In Korea, small-scale reclaimed areas have been suffering from many problems because of the lack of comprehensive developing strategy although considerable investments have been inputed by the public sector since 1970's. For 3 reclaimed sites in Chonnam Province chosen as case study areas, the analysis, the third attempt of widely-spanned studies on areal conditions, concentrated on their living conditions. Its results were as follows : 1. Although rural residents have increased their concern on health and medical services, the public sector can only serve basic and emergent level of them, and therefore, the private sector, which is mostly placed in urban areas and costed much higher than public one, has the dominant share of those services. So, because those costs are a great expense to rural residents, their supplying system should be planned with special reference to lightening the economic burden of them. 2. By the development of locally fitted programs and innovative systems, the rural education should be qualitatively improved to deal successfully with its small scale. That will result in increasing the schooling rate to schools in rural communities, lightening the economic burden of rural residents on education services and finally activating them to contribute the betterment of rural education. 3. Servicing level of water supply, sewerage and garbage disposal in the reclaimed areas has been remaining at the lower order even in other rural areas. In the design of rural water supply, average daily consumption per capita should be changed according to the composition rate of fishing households and variety of the source of water supply. 4. Most of rural residents in the reclaimed areas want to establish the welfare facilites for the infant, youth, aged and public bath However in the long-term basis, the cooperative production and processing facilities should be considered for modernized efficient farming.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.867-878
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to compare the degree of understanding about school foodservice management and environmentally friendly agricultural products between urban and rural elementary school children's mothers. The subjects were 280 elementary school children's mothers who lived in Gunsan city and the nearby countryside. The results are summarized as follows. The mothers in urban schools were higher on the degree of participation (p < 0.01) and interest (p < 0.01), but were lower on the degree of satisfaction (p < 0.001) for school foodservice than rural ones. The best improvement of school foodservice management was improving food tastes and qualities of the foodstuffs in urban schools and sanitation at the service area in the rural schools (p < 0.001). The school foodservice program contributed to cure the unbalanced diets and developing of bodies and minds; there was no difference of urban and rural schools. But eating habits in rural schools were more improved than urban schools (p < 0.001). The primary reason for using environmentally friendly agricultural products was to improve their health and in securing safe foods, there was no difference of urban and rural schools, but generating the farmer's income from the products in rural schools was higher than urban schools (p < 0.001). There are conflicting views between urban and rural schools for the additional costs brought by using the environmentally friendly agricultural products (p < 0.001). The order of preference on using environmentally friendly agricultural products was rice and various grains, vegetables, fruits, livestock, seasoning, etc. In conclusion, our central and local governments should change their roles in financially positive ways and reflect the issues in making the policy effective. Responsible administrators of school food suppliers run the system more faithfully with the above government support.