• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.217-230
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• 2000

For the longest time, our government has played an inconsiderable role in the public health services of Korea, especially as it relates to their investment. Voices have cried out against increases in national health expenditure and for more establishment of public medical facilities. In light of this, the necessity and importance of public medical facilities have come into focus amidst the recent medical crisis. When public medical facilities filled in the gap created by the suspension or closure of private hospitals and clinics as a result of this national crisis and acted as a safety net, the demand for more establishment of such facilities increased. Although patient diagnosis and treatment are the first priority of public medical facilities, they must also deal with scopes that private medical facilities do not deal with, dislike, or have difficulty with. In this respect, the closure or privatization of public hospitals to reduce their number just because of their low profits or financial burdens that must be carried by the government is to ignore their innate importance and social role; therefore, we must do all we can to block such efforts and further empower these public health facilities according to demands of the time. The improvement of public health services can be realized by redefining its goals and roles, increasing government funding, strengthening of existing public health facilities and reorganizing the public health services system. Even if public health facilities were to increase their medical services and be reinforced, they cannot take on all the services related to public health services, Therefore, in a country like ours where public health services come second to private health services in the health care system, the health of citizens can be safeguarded only when private and public facilities cooperate and private medical facilities share the social responsibilities. Only the show of interest and effort by government, politicians, health professionals, professional organizations and public can initiate the improvement that is sought.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.15
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• pp.6257-6261
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• 2014

Background: HPV related cervical cancer as one of the most common women cancers in developing countries. Regarding accessibility of commercial vaccines, any long or short term modality for integrating preventive immunization against HPV in a national program needs comprehensive information about HPV prevalence and its genotypes. The important role of selecting most accurate diagnostic technologies for obtaining relevant data is underlined by different assays proposed in the literature. The main objective of the present study was to introduce an in-house HPV typing assay using multiplex real time PCR with reliable results and affordable cost for molecular epidemiology surveys and diagnosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 112 samples of formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissues and liquid based cytology specimens from patients with known different grades of cervical dysplasia and invasive cancer, were examined by this method and the result were verified by WHO HPV LabNet proficiency program in 2013. RESULTS: HPV was detected in 105 (93.7%) out of 112 samples. The dominant types were HPV 18 (61.6%) and HPV 16 (42.9%). Among the mixed genotypes, HPV 16 and 18 in combination were seen in 12.4% of specimens. CONCLUSIONS: According to acceptable performance, easy access to primers, probes and other consumables, affordable cost per test, this method can be used as a diagnostic assay in molecular laboratories and for further planning of cervical carcinoma prevention programs.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.104-109
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• 2016

In the current study, we investigated the longitudinal association between dietary acid load and the risk of insulin resistance (IR) in the Tehranian adult population. This longitudinal study was conducted on 925 participants, aged 22~80 years old, in the framework of the third (2006~2008) and fourth (2009~2011) phases of the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study. At baseline, the dietary intake of subjects was assessed using a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire, and the potential renal acid load (PRAL) and net endogenous acid production (NEAP) scores were calculated at baseline. Fasting serum insulin and glucose were measured at baseline and again after a 3-year of follow-up; IR was defined according to optimal cut-off values. Multiple logistic regression models were used to estimate the risk of IR according to the PRAL and NEAP quartile categories. Mean age and body mass index of the participants were 40.3 years old of $26.4kg/m^2$, respectively. Mean PRAL and NEAP scores were -11.2 and 35.6 mEq/d, respectively. After adjustment for potential confounders, compared to the lowest quartile of PRAL and NEAP, the highest quartile was accompanied with increased risk of IR [odds ratio (OR)=2.81, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.32~5.97 and OR=2.18, 95% CI=1.03~4.61, respectively]. Our findings suggest that higher acidic dietary acid-base load, defined by higher PRAL and NEAP scores, may be a risk factor for the development of IR and related metabolic disorders.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.239-262
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• 2014

The conventional medical appraisal which was done in the process of medical lawsuit was requested from the court to the designated hospital and was delivered as a pattern of one question and one answer in each. However, the comprehensiveness of medical appraisal which was pursued, for example, in Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency, could be guaranteed in terms of in-depth medical analysis as well as the broader capacity of the causality estimation besides. The comprehensiveness of appraisal would also include how well organized hospital system of medical care is and how well correlated job system among medical staffs, when medical dispute was happened at the hospital. This comprehensiveness will exert a big contribution on making a demonstrative medical care to prevent from the medical dispute and it could achieve the national plan of building the patient safety net which is effective in restoring the worsened quality of contemporary medical service. Therefore, the comprehensiveness of medical appraisal has to be designed to go forward interdisciplinary fused speciality rather than one division of medicine, which is also aiming at the reliable and consistent appraisal with the supreme dignity from one window. In addition to that, the objective and concrete frame of comprehensive appraisal under the computed connection has to be deliberated to make itself possible in collaboration with positive participation of medical community. The comprehensiveness of medical appraisal would serve to expand not only the capacity of speciality but also the ability of influence on a restorative justice, so that it give effect to an increased number of mediation and arbitration rather than medical lawsuit as well as a decreased number of the social cost and social conflict.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.40 no.7
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• pp.615-624
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• 2008

In this paper, the contribution of task types and error types involved in the human-related unplanned reactor trip events that have occurred between 1986 and 2006 in Korean nuclear power plants are analysed in order to establish a strategy for reducing the human-related unplanned reactor trips. Classification systems for the task types, error modes, and cognitive functions are developed or adopted from the currently available taxonomies, and the relevant information is extracted from the event reports or judged on the basis of an event description. According to the analyses from this study, the contributions of the task types are as follows: corrective maintenance (25.7%), planned maintenance (22.8%), planned operation (19.8%), periodic preventive maintenance (14.9%), response to a transient (9.9%), and design/manufacturing/installation (6.9%). According to the analysis of the error modes, error modes such as control failure (22.2%), wrong object (18.5%), omission (14.8%), wrong action (11.1 %), and inadequate (8.3%) take up about 75% of the total unplanned trip events. The analysis of the cognitive functions involved in the events indicated that the planning function had the highest contribution (46.7%) to the human actions leading to unplanned reactor trips. This analysis concludes that in order to significantly reduce human-induced or human-related unplanned reactor trips, an aide system (in support of maintenance personnel) for evaluating possible (negative) impacts of planned actions or erroneous actions as well as an appropriate human error prediction technique, should be developed.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.67-71
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• 2002

Capsaicin (trans-8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenarnide), a major pungent component of hot pepper, is known to exert antioxidative properties. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of capsaicin against chemical carcinogen-induced oxidative damage in rats. Male Sprague Dawley rats weighting 230~250 g were treated with chemical carcinogens such as 2-nitropropane (2NP) or n-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) after (or before) the administration of capsaicin at doses of 0.5, 1,5 mg/kg. The level of lipid peroxidation in rat liver was estimated by measuring the amounts of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances. The degree of oxidative DNA damage was evacuated by measuring a DNA adduct, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), in urine. Antioxidative activities of capsaicin and its metabolites in vitro were determined by the measurement of DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl), a radical quencher. Significant inhibition of 2-NP induced lipid peroxidation was observed in the liver of the rat when treated with capsaicin. MNNG-induced urinary excretion of 8-OHdG was decreased by capsaicin treatment. Capsaicin and its metabolites inhibited net only the formation of free radicals, but also lipid peroxidation in vitro. Our results show that capsaicin may function as a free radical scavenger against chemical carcinogen-induced oxidative cellular damage in vivo. The observed antioxidative activities of capsaicin may play an important role in the process of chemoprevention.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.49-68
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• 2008

The purpose of this paper is to extensively review the condition monitoring (CM) techniques using empirical models in an effort to reduce or eliminate unexpected downtimes in general industry, and to illustrate the feasibility of applying them to the nuclear industry. CM provides on-time warnings of system states to enable the optimal scheduling of maintenance and, ultimately, plant uptime is maximized. Currently, most maintenance processes tend to be either reactive, or part of scheduled, or preventive maintenance. Such maintenance is being increasingly reported as a poor practice for two reasons: first, the component does not necessarily require maintenance, thus the maintenance cost is wasted, and secondly, failure catalysts are introduced into properly working components, which is worse. This paper first summarizes the technical aspects of CM including state estimation and state monitoring. The mathematical background of CM is mature enough even for commercial use in the nuclear industry. Considering the current computational capabilities of CM, its application is not limited by technical difficulties, but by a lack of desire on the part of industry to implement it. For practical applications in the nuclear industry, it may be more important to clarify and quantify the negative impact of unexpected outcomes or failures in CM than it is to investigate its advantages. In other words, while issues regarding accuracy have been targeted to date, the concerns regarding robustness should now be concentrated on. Standardizing the anticipated failures and the possibly harsh operating conditions, and then evaluating the impact of the proposed CM under those conditions may be necessary. In order to make the CM techniques practical for the nuclear industry in the future, it is recommended that a prototype CM system be applied to a secondary system in which most of the components are non-safety grade. Recently, many activities to enhance the safety and efficiency of the secondary system have been encouraged. With the application of CM to nuclear power plants, it is expected to increase profit while addressing safety and economic issues.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.187-193
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• 2022

Domestic violence in our society is where the abuser and the abuser live in the same space. Problems are left unresolved in families where abuse is reproducing. Domestic violence can be viewed as a crime that violates and tramples human rights. They rely solely on family support networks for solutions to domestic violence. The physical, emotional, and psychological pain and wounds that victims of domestic violence must endure are too deep. In order to help victims of domestic violence, case management services that can provide long-term and attentive help in the neighborhood or community are needed. For this, prevention and treatment of domestic violence should be considered together. And the interest and professional role of the community must follow.

• BMB Reports
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.202-207
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• 2023

We investigated the neuroprotective effects of deca nano-graphene oxide (daNGO) against reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inflammation in the human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y and in the 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) induced Parkinsonian rat model. An MTT assay was performed to measure cell viability in vitro in the presence of 6-OHDA and/or daNGO. The intracellular ROS level was quantified using 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein diacetate. daNGO showed neuroprotective effects against 6-OHDA-induced toxicity and also displayed ROS scavenging properties. We then tested the protective effects of daNGO against 6-OHDA induced toxicity in a rat model. Stepping tests showed that the akinesia symptoms were improved in the daNGO group compared to the control group. Moreover, in an apomorphine-induced rotation test, the number of net contralateral rotations was decreased in the daNGO group compared to the control group. By immunofluorescent staining, the animals in the daNGO group had more tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cells than the controls. By anti-Iba1 staining, 6-OHDA induced microglial activation showed a significantly decrease in the daNGO group, indicating that the neuroprotective effects of graphene resulted from anti-inflammation. In conclusion, nano-graphene oxide has neuroprotective effects against the neurotoxin induced by 6-OHDA on dopaminergic neurons.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.2247-2257
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• 2024

To investigate the impact of the recently released pediatric reference voxel phantoms (0-, 1-, 5-, 10-, 15-year-old males and females) of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) on organ dose estimates for radioactive iodine (RAI) treatment in pediatric patients, we calculated and analyzed pediatric-specific iodine131 S values (r_T ← thyroid) for the 30 radiosensitive organs by conducting Monte Carlo simulations using the Geant4. The gender dependency in the S values was frequently seen for the 15-year-old phantoms with higher S values of female than male. In addition, the age dependency in the S values was observed for most target organs; that is, the S values tend to decrease for older ages (e.g., ~120 times for the gonads between the adult and newborn) due mainly to the inter-organ distances generally longer for older ages. Moreover, we observed that the iodine-131 S values tend to be significantly greater by up to ~145.5 times than those of the stylized phantoms that have been widely used for organ dose estimates of pediatric RAI patients. We believe that the pediatric-specific iodine-131 S values (r_T ← thyroid) of the ICRP pediatric reference voxel phantoms should be beneficial to improve the dosimetry of pediatric RAI patients.