• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.1-12
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• 2012

Objectives: Several practice guidelines recommended both medication and behavior modification to control hypertension. The objective of this study was to analyze ambulatory care utilization pattern and related factors. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted among 45,267 new users who initiated treatment with hypertensive drugs in 2003. Korean National Health Insurance Claims Data was used to study the medical care utilization behavior and related factors after treatment initiation for up to four years. Taking prescription was considered as medical care utilization. Results: More than 20% of patients discontinued visiting physicians for prescription after initiating antihypertensive drug therapy. The average number of institutions visited by patients was about 1.3 annually. Clinic was the most frequently visited institution by patients. In GEE analysis, probability of continuous visit one institution after initiating antihypertensive drug treatment increased in patients who were women, old, have comorbidity, visited clinic or hospital mainly in previous year. Conclusions: Young hypertensive male patients who have no major comorbidity showed high possibility to discontinue medical service utilization. It is necessary to educate these targeted patients about importance of hypertension management in early stage after treatment initiation.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.214-224
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• 2020

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the trend in diagnostic prevalence of psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents. Methods: Individuals aged 0-18 years were included in the study based on the National Health Insurance Claims Data. To investigate the trends in diagnosis and diagnostic prevalence of psychiatric disorders reflecting the decrease in the birth rate, data were analyzed from 2010 as a reference year to 2015. Results: The number of patients diagnosed with psychiatric disorder decreased annually, from 23,412 on 2010 to 18,821 on 2015. The most common disorder was hyperkinetic disorder in male and depressive episode in female. Although there was no significant change in overall diagnostic prevalence rate of psychiatric disorders, age groups <10 years and some disorders had significant changes in prevalence rate. This study classified the diagnostic prevalence by age into two unique patterns: group in which the diagnosis rate increases with age and group in which the diagnosis rate peaks at a certain age and then decreases. Conclusion: Diagnostic prevalence of psychiatric disorders was different according to age and sex. These patterns should be reflected in the formulation of policies related to mental health and in medical practice for pediatric patients. It is urgent to identify how these patterns change in young adults.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.666-672
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• 2004

Granular media filtration is used almost universally as the last particle removal process in conventional water treatment plants. Therefore, superb particle removal efficiency is needed during this process to ensure a high quality of drinking water. However, every particle can not be removed during granular media filtration. Besides the pattern of particle attachment is different depending on physicochemical aspects of particles and suspension. Filtration experiments were performed in a laboratory-scale filter using spherical glass beads with a diameter of 0.55 mm as collectors. A single type of particle suspension (Min-U-Sil 5) and pH control was used to destabilize particles. The operating conditions were similar to those of standard media filtration practice: a filtration velocity of 5 m/h. More favorable particles, i.e., particles with smaller surface charge, were well attached to the collectors especially during the early stage of filtration. This selective attachment of the lower charged particles caused the zeta potential distribution (ZPD) of the effluent to move to a more negative range. On the other hand, the ZPD of the effluent did not keep moving from less negative to more negative during the later stages of filtration, and this result was thought to be caused by two reasons: ripening effects and the detachment of flocs.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.662-669
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• 2014

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Osteoporosis and osteoporosis-related disease are drawing a lot of attention in Korea as one of the serious health problems. Bone health status may be influenced by the general dietary quality and dietary pattern. SUBJECTS/METHODS: To determine the relationship between dietary quality and intake patterns and bone health status, the %RNI, NAR, DDS, and food group intake patterns were assessed according to their bone health status for 847 postmenopausal women using the 2010 KNHANES data after eliminating those of likely changing their diet under the advice of doctors or those taking estrogen. RESULTS: Bone health became worse as dietary quality deteriorated. All NAR and %RNI values were highly associated with bone health levels and the consumption frequency of Ca sources, DDS and the food group intake patterns also confirmed the findings. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed that dietary quality and dietary patterns were important for bone health. Nutritional education on eating foods from the five basic food groups has to be emphasized to prevent osteoporosis among older women.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.289-299
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• 2020

To investigate the long-term behavior of eccentrically loaded RC columns, which are more realistic in practice than concentrically loaded RC columns, long-term eccentric loading tests were conducted for 10 RC columns. Test parameters included concrete compressive strength, reinforcement ratio, bar yield strength, eccentricity ratio, slenderness ratio, and loading pattern. Test results showed that the strain and curvature of the columns increased with time, and concrete forces were gradually transferred to longitudinal bars due to the creep and shrinkage of concrete. The long-term behavior of the columns varied with the test parameters, and long-term effects were more pronounced in the case of using the lower strength concrete, lower strength steel, lower bar ratio, fewer loading-step, higher eccentricity ratio, and higher slenderness ratio. However, in all the columns, no longitudinal bars were yielded under service loads at the final measuring day. Meanwhile, the numerical analysis modeling using the ultimate creep coefficient and ultimate shrinkage strain measured from cylinder tests gave quite good predictions for the behavior of the columns.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.119-126
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• 2010

Purpose: The study was done to identify factors influencing the sleep of elderly women. Methods: Data were collected by questionnaires from 203 elderly women in Seoul and Gyeong-gi province. Measures were physical health state, family support, life satisfaction, sleep, depression, and quality of life. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients, t-test, ANOVA, and stepwise multiple regression with SPSS/WIN 13.0 version. Results: The mean score for sleep for elderly women was 39.04. Sleep for elderly women according to religion, education level, spouses, and monthly income showed significant differences. Sleep for elderly women showed significantly positive correlations to physical health state, family support, life satisfaction, and quality of life. The significant factors influencing sleep of elderly women were physical health state, family support, depression, and quality of life, which explained about 70.4% of the variance. The strongest factors influencing the sleep was physical health state. Conclusion: The results suggest that in developing nursing interventions and practice for sleep pattern of elderly women spouses and family support should be considered.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.988-1001
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• 2018

Arrhythmia has recently emerged as one of the major causes of death in Koreans. Premature Ventricular Contraction (PVC) is the most common arrhythmia that can be found in clinical practice, and it may be a precursor to dangerous arrhythmias, such as paroxysmal insomnia, ventricular fibrillation, and coronary artery disease. Therefore, we need for a method that can detect an abnormal heart beat and diagnose arrhythmia early. We extracted the features corresponding to the QRS pattern from the subject's ECG signal and classify the premature ventricular contraction waveform using the features. We modified the weighting and bias values based on the error back-propagation algorithm through learning data. We classify the normal signal and the premature ventricular contraction signal through the modified weights and deflection values. MIT-BIH arrhythmia data sets were used for performance tests. We used RR interval, QS interval, QR amplitude and RS amplitude features. And the hidden layer with two nodes is composed of two layers to form a total three layers (input layer 0, output layer 3).

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.77-97
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• 2007

Objectives : The aim of this study is to introduce pain measurement tools that are considered suitable for clinical practice and research for Korean Medicine Doctors. Methods : We analysed some widely used and also useful pain measurement tools in terms of their methods and dimensions. Results : Diagrams, scales and questions are usually used to measure pain intensity, temporal pattern, treatment including exacerbating and/or relieving factors, pain location, pain interference, pain quality, pain affect, pain duration, pain beliefs and pain history. Specific pain measurements are also available for specific conditions such as Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, Oswestry Disability Index and Neck Disability Index. Conclusions : Faces Pain Rating Scale, numeric rating scale, visual analogue scale, McGill Pain Questionnaire and Brief Pain Inventory and commonly used pain measurements. Specific measurements should be considered depending on research topics.

• Communications for Statistical Applications and Methods
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.211-226
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• 2017

The chain-ladder method, for which run-off data is employed is popularly used in the rate-adjustment and loss-reserving practices of non-life-insurance and health-insurance companies. The method is applicable when the underlying assumption of a consistent development pattern is in regards to a cumulative loss payment after the occurrence of an insurance event. In this study, a modified chain-ladder algorithm is proposed for when the assumption is considered to be only partially appropriate for the given run-off data. The concept of a structural-change point in the run-off data and its reflection in the estimation of unpaid loss amounts are discussed with numerical illustrations. Experience data from private health insurance coverage in Korea were analyzed based on the suggested method. The performance in estimation of loss reserve was also compared with traditional approaches. We present evidence in this paper that shows that a reflection of a structural-change point in the chain-ladder method can improve the risk management of the relevant insurance products. The suggested method is expected to be utilized easily in actuarial practice as the algorithm is straightforward.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.230-235
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• 2011

Insomnia has become a major public health issue in recent times. Although quality of sleep is affected by environmental, psychophysiological, and pharmacological factors, diet and nutrient intake also contribute to sleep problems. This study investigated the association between nutrient intake and co-morbid symptoms associated with sleep status among selected adults. Subjects in this study included 87 men and women aged 21-45 years. Presence of insomnia was assessed using the Insomnia Screening Questionnaire, and dietary intake was measured over three consecutive days by dietary survey. Descriptive analysis, ANOVA, and Chi-Square tests were performed to compute and interpret the data. Approximately 60% of the participants were insomniacs. People with insomnia consumed significantly lesser quantities of nutrients as compared to normal sleepers. Differences in intakes of energy, carbohydrates, folic acid, and $B_{12}$ were highly significant (P < 0.002). Further, intakes of protein, fat, and thiamine were significantly different (P < 0.021) between insomniacs and normal sleepers. The nutrient intake pattern of the insomniacs with co-morbid symptoms was quite different from that of the normal sleepers. Based on these results, it is probable that there is an association between nutrition deficiency, co-morbid symptoms, and sleep status. More studies are required to confirm these results.