• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.260-267
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• 2015

The $PM_{10}$, $SO_2$ and $NO_2$ mass concentrations were obtained over five years from monitoring stations across Nanchong, a southwest city in China. Changes in urban air quality over time, as well as the factors influencing that change, were evaluated based on air pollutant concentrations, the Air Pollution Index (API), and the Comprehensive Pollution Index (P). The results showed that the total annual mean $PM_{10}$, $SO_2$ and $NO_2$ concentrations over the five years studied were $61.1{\pm}1.1$, $45.0{\pm}3.9$ and $34.9{\pm}4.9{\mu}g{\cdot}m^{-3}$, respectively. The annual mean concentrations displayed a generally decreasing trend; lower than the annual mean second-level air quality limit. Meanwhile, the annual mean API values were in a small range of 52-53, the air quality levels were grade II, and P values were 1.06-1.21 less than the slight level ($P{\leq}1.31$). Total monthly mean $PM_{10}$, $SO_2$, $NO_2$ concentrations, and API and P values were consistently higher in winter and spring than during autumn and summer. The results of a correlation analysis showed that temperature and pressure were the major meteorological factors influencing pollution levels. Pollution sources included industrial coal and straw burning, automobiles exhaust and road dust, fireworks, and dust storms.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.186-193
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this narrative study was to understand how family caregivers interpreted themselves life during caring for dying patients with gliobalstoma, and how they integrated these experiences into their personal biographies. Methods: Three family caregivers were recruited for the study. Data were collected through a series of audio-taped unstructured interviews and conversations with participants. The interviews and observation were conducted between October and November, 2011. Data were analyzed using psychosocial analytical methods that combined case based, in-depth staged analysis of narratives. Results: The life experiences of the family caregivers with a dying family member were summarized as, in their own voices, 'the repetition of gliobalstoma,' 'a smart patient,' 'being obsessed with rehabilitation treatment,' 'the frustration from nothing but just looking at the suffering of the patient,' and 'a stubborn son'. Conclusion: Caregiving was characterised by various roles and life changes from the moment of diagnosis. Family caregivers of brain tumor reported experiences similar to those described by caregivers of people with other cancers. What differed for this group was the rapidity of change and the need for immediate information and support to assist with caring for a person with high-grade glioma.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.147-154
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• 2018

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a contested illness with ill-defined boundaries. There is no clearly defined cut-point that separates FM from non-FM. Diagnosis of FM has been faced with several challenges that occur, including patients' health care-seeking behavior, symptoms recognition, and FM labeling by physicians. This review focuses on important but less visible factors that have a profound influence on under- or over-diagnosis of FM. FM shows different phenotypes and disease expression in patients and even in one patient over time. Psychosocial and cultural factors seem to be a contemporary ferment in FM which play a major role in physician diagnosis even more than having severe symptom levels in FM patients. Although the FM criteria are the only current methods which can be used for classification of FM patients in surveys, research, and clinical settings, there are several key pieces missing in the fibromyalgia diagnostic puzzle, such as invalidation, psychosocial factors, and heterogeneous disease expression. Regarding the complex nature of FM, as well as the arbitrary and illusory constructs of the existing FM criteria, FM diagnosis frequently fails to provide a clinical diagnosis fit to reality. A physicians' judgment, obtained in real communicative environments with patients, beyond the existing constructional scores, seems the only reliable way for more valid diagnoses. It plays a pivotal role in the meaning and conceptualization of symptoms and psychosocial factors, making diagnoses and labeling of FM. It is better to see FM as a whole, not as a medical specialty or constructional scores.

• Journal of Computing Science and Engineering
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.1-30
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• 2007

In this paper we have provided an extensive survey of the databases and other resources related to the current research in bioinformatics and the issues that confront the database researcher in helping the biologists. Initially we give an overview of the concepts and principles that are fundamental in understanding the basis of the data that has been captured in these databases. We briefly trace the evolution of biological advances and point out the importance of capturing data about genes, the fundamental building blocks that encode the characteristics of life and proteins that are the essential ingredients for sustaining life. The study of genes and proteins is becoming extremely important and is being known as genomics and proteomics, respectively. Whereas there are numerous databases related to various subfields of biology, we have maintained a focus on genomic and proteomic databases which are the crucial stepping stones for other fields and are expected to play an important role in the future applications of biology and medicine. A detailed listing of these databases with information about their sizes, formats and current status is presented. Related databases like molecular pathways and interconnection network databases are mentioned, but their full coverage would be beyond the scope of a single paper. We comment on the peculiar nature of the data in biology that presents special problems in organizing and accessing these databases. We also discuss the capabilities needed for database development and information management in the bioinformatics arena with particular attention to ontology development. Two research case studies based on our own research are summarized dealing with the development of a new genome database called Mitomap and the creation of a framework for discovery of relationships among genes from the biomedical literature. The paper concludes with an overview of the applications that will be driven from these databases in medicine and healthcare. A glossary of important terms is provided at the end of the paper.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.22
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• pp.9767-9771
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• 2014

Background: Social support is an important factor in psycho-social well-being of cancer survivors. There is little information about level of social support and its predictors among cancer survivors in Iran or other Middle Eastern countries. The aims of present study were to determine the social support and its prediction factors among Iranian cancer survivors. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-correlational study 187 cancer patients in one educational center and one private oncology office in northwest of Iran participated using a convenient sampling method. The data collection tool consisted of a researcher-prepared checklist and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support Assessment (MSPSS). Data analysis was performed using SPSS statistical software with descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression analysis. Results: The total score of MSPSS was 68 from a possible score between 7 and 84. Participants believed that they received a high level of support from their family members and significant others. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that single and depressed cancer survivors and participants with lower levels of physical activity believed that they received lower levels of social support. Conclusions: Iranian cancer survivors receive high levels of social support and family members are the most important source of this support. In planning any supportive care program for Iranian cancer survivors this strength should be considered. Especially, single and depressed and patients with lower levels of physical activity need more attention.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.112-122
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• 2016

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the validity of 'Korean Diagnosis Related Groups-Korean Medicine (KDRG-KM)' which was developed by Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA) in 2013 Methods: Among inpatient EDI claim data issued by hospitals and clinics in 2012, the data which included Korean medicine procedures were selected and analyzed. We selected control targets in the Korean medicine hospitals which had longer Episodes-Costliness index (ECI) and Lengthiness index (LI) than average of total Korean medicine hospitals, and compared the results of selection between the major diagnosis-based patient classification system and the KDRG-KM system. Finally, the explanation power (R2) and coefficient of variation (CV) of the KDRG-KM system using practice expenses were calculated. Results: The numbers of control target in Korean medicine hospitals changed from 36 to 32 when patient grouping adjustment method was changed from major diagnosis to KDRG-KM. For expenses of all outpatient claim data on Korean medicine, explanation power of KDRG-KM system was 66.48% after excluding outliers. CVs of expenses of patient groups in Korean medicine hospitals were gathered from under 70% to under 90%, and those in long-term care hospitals mostly belonged under 70%. Conclusions: The validity of KDRG-KM system was assured in terms of explanation power. By adapting KDRG-KM system, fairness of control targets selection for costliness management in Korean medicine hospitals can be enhanced.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.153-164
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• 2019

Since the appearance of smartphones, the smartphone market has been in fierce completion by new technologies and marketing trends. The smartphone market is now somewhat saturated, and the manufacturers are trying to improve their position in the market through the repurchase of existing customers and the influx of competitors. At the same time, customers have their own purchasing criteria for smartphones. Therefore, manufacturers need to determine new technology and marketing trends based on customer purchasing trends and usage characteristics. The aim of this study is to analyze the quality attributes of smartphones. We conducted a survey on 220 respondents, and divided the respondents into several groups by purchasing trends and usage characteristic through cluster analysis. The groups are analyzed and compared based on the Kano model for the quality attributes of smartphone. The analysis result are as follows. Firstly, purchasing trends divide responders into groups that prefers high-end premium smartphones and those that take into account practicality in terms of purchasing trends. Secondly, usage characteristic divide responders into three groups: those with clear usage pattern, those who prefer ease of use, and the rest, and we find out that those with clear usage pattern are important customer in viral marketing. Lastly, Kano analysis is revealed the 'Slow/hi-speed camera', 'Private mode', 'Widget', 'Health care' are attractive quality attributes.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2010

To investigate acute drug intoxication trends in the elderly visited Emergency Medical Centers, Data was collected from the records of poisoning patients visited Five different Hospitals from January 1. 2007 to December 31. 2007. The analysis was conducted by using 135 cases of 624 cases. When considering only the elderly and making comparisons between the urban areas and the rural areas the following data was produced. In regard to patients with acute drug intoxication, the main substance of choice was pesticides. Cases of acute drug intoxication are definitely higher for those categorized as the rural elderly (75.0%) when compared with those categorized as the urban elderly (44.1%). The male to female ratio, those living together as a family, past suicide attempts, mental state and sobriety condition when they came, monthly distribution etc. between the two groups did not demonstrate a difference between them. In regard to reasons given for acute drug intoxication, suicide was the highest at 60.7% of the cases. When comparing accidental reasons for poisoning, the urban elderly, at 34.2% of their cases, were higher than in the rural elderly, at 23.7%. After first aid was administered, the admission rate was higher for the rural elderly (47.4%) than for the urban elderly (33.9%). This shows that the rural elderly have a more severe acute drug intoxication poisoning problem than the urban elderly do.

• Journal of Korean Medicine for Obesity Research
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.21-32
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• 2009

Objectives Identification of individuals predisposed to obesity is an important issue for prevention and control of the obesity. It was reported that a high prevalence of obesity appeared in Taeumin among Sasang constitutions, but Enneagram personality-types has not been used to classify the patterns of obesity. These two classification methods were employed in combination in the current study, and it was analyzed whether the morbidity pattern of obesity can be characterized in further detail. Methods The subjects were 125 University students(62 males and 63 females) who answered both questionnaires for Sasang constitutions and Enneagram personality types. The obesity of students was classified by the obesity index and BMI. Results Only Taeumin group of Sasang constitutions was overweight, and the male of the group was overweight or obese. Analysis of the obesity index and BMI according to the Enneagram personality types showed significant differences(p<.05) between the types in the female group. These values were highest at the type 3 and lowest at the type 4. The physical indices according to both the centers of Enneagram and Sasang constitutions showed that only Taeumin female group had significant differences(p<.05) in the obesity index and BMI. Taeumin male group was overweight or obese in all centers of Enneagram and Taeumin female group was overweight or obese only in heart-center. Conclusions Diagnosis of the present data suggest that the classification of obesity patterns using Enneagram personality types in addition to Sasang constitutions is very useful to prevent and control the obesity.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.63-76
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• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to compare postpartum symptoms of 528 women by age groups and delivery method through health questionnaires of postpartum care center. Methods: From January 2018 to December 2018, we statistically compared the 528 women's postpartal symptoms who divided into 4 age groups using SPSS Statistics 21.0 program. Results: There were no differences in weight changes, gestational age and degree of subjective discomfort by age (p>.05). On the other hand, parity, fetal weight and delivery method were statistically associated with age (p<.05). Especially the rate of cesarean delivery was increased with age. Degree of feeling dyspepsia and edema was higher in cesarean section delivery group (p<.05). Also, as the weight increased by 1 kg during pregnancy, the degree of feeling postnatal edema increased by 0.204 (β=0.204, t=4.204, p<.05). Conclusion: This study showed that age itself will not affect postpartum symptoms alone. Instead it is necessary to consider post-cesarean delivery symptoms for advanced maternal age.