• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.87-100
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• 2009

Objectives: This study was conducted to suggest the way to improve the tobacco control program of public health centers in Korea. Methods: A survey with a self-administered questionnaire was conducted among 246 persons in charge of tobacco control work in public health centers nationwide in December, 2006. Frequency analysis was performed with a final sample of 212 respondents with SPSS 12.0 for Windows. Results: The duration of engagement in tobacco control work was less than 3 years among 86.7% of respondents, and 87.3% of respondents had other duties besides tobacco control. Almost all public health centers conducted a campaign with posters or leaflets, and smoking prevention education among adolescents. The actual priority for programs was based on the community diagnosis in only 33.5% of the cases. Only 1.9% of respondents complained lack of budget, on the other hand, 44.7% of respondents appealed insufficient number of personnel. The route of knowledge and skill was largely dependent on self-learning or information from colleague. Collaboration with other related department was done well in 39.5% of the cases. The majority of respondents was satisfied with the general support from central government. Conclusions: To improve the tobacco control program of public health centers, it is needed the reinforcement of capacity and specialty among personnel, priority setting and performance of programs based on the scientific evidence, induction of community participation, utilization of community human resources, development of education and training course for practical skill, effective networking among departments.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.293-304
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• 2018

In spite of a growing number of recent studies that indicate students are coming to view scientists with more varied images, the stereotypical image of scientists remains in many students' minds. In this study, the authors explore how college students change their perceptions of science and scientists through the use of a documentary that focuses on scientists' daily lives, including laboratory life, and their emotional ups-and-downs. We analyzed 109 college students' essays on perceptions about scientists after watching the documentary. As a result, 64.2% of the college students declared that there was a change in their perception of scientists. The students' new perceptions of science and scientists are as follows: 1) scientists undergo emotional ups-and-downs just like any normal person; 2) scientists experience numerous failures while researching; 3) science does not have a fixed answer and scientists undertake research with creativity; 4) scientists conduct research in collaboration, but also in highly competitive environments; 5) scientists are often frustrated with their socio-economic status. The students' previous perceptions on science and scientists were mainly stereotypical ones that have been reported in previous studies. In addition, of the other college students who did not change their perceptions, the majority declared that they have new perceptions such as 1) - 5). Only a small percentage of students (7.3%) had unchanged stereotypical perceptions. These results are interpreted as that college students relatively easily change their stereotypical images of scientists after watching the documentary but, alternatively, the results can be interpreted that the most stereotypical images of college students are not perceptions that form a deep impression, but rather they are simply depictions of representative images of scientists given from outside sources (e.g. the mass media and school).

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.48-55
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• 2002

Objective: Stress is known to be a common cause of short-term insomnia and insomniacs often complain that stress induces sleep problems. However, previous studies on the correlation between stress and sleep do not show consistent results. We aimed to investigate the effects of minor stressful events on sleep among college students. Method: Physically and mentally healthy college student volunteers filled out a self-assessment questionnaire to evaluate their stress and sleep. To find out the status of average stress and sleep, the volunteers filled out K-DSI and daily sleep assessments on three consecutive days. In addition, we surveyed the amount of caffeine beverage intake and assessed the degree of depression and anxiety. Results: The total number of students participating in this study was 202, 101 men and 101 women. Minor stress turned out to significantly affect non-restorative sleep and secondary symptoms of insomnia (awakening difficulty, displeasure, feeling of dissatisfaction with sleep, physical uneasiness or pain at awakening, daytime sleepiness, depressive moods, tiredness and concentration difficulty). However, global PSQI score, self-reported sleeping hours, sleep latency, awakening frequency, frequency and duration of napping, were not explained by stress scores. Conclusion: In this study, minor stresses seemed to affect sleep, especially secondary symptoms caused by non-restorative sleep. We can thus infer that minor stresses impair the restorative effects of sleep by inducing arousal, and the direct relationship the two can be confirmed by polysomnogram.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.109-113
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• 2006

Purpose: Various minimally invasive surgical techniques, such as an endoscopic mucosal resection and a laparoscopic gastrectomy, are becoming common practice for some cases of early gastric cancer (EGC) defined in terms of the depth of invasion being limited to the mucosa or submucosa. However, there are rare cases of early gastric cancer with massive lymph-node metastasis. Materials and Methods: From 6 university hospitals of Korea, 2,772 EGC cases were resected during the various period of analysis (1,432 cases of mucosal cancer and 1,340 of submucosal cancer). Results: As control data, we used the data from a single institute, CHA University Hospital. There were nine cases of early gastric cancer (9/2,772, 0.32%) with N3 lymph node metastasis defined by more than 15 lymph nodes being metastasized according to the UICC-TNM classification (pT1N3, stage IV). Two cases were mucosal cancer (2/1,432, 0.1 4%), and seven cases were submucosal cancer (7/1,340, 0.52%). Metastasized lymph nodes varied in number from 18 to 52. There were three male and six female patients with a mean age of 57. This is a totally reversed sex ratio compared to the usual gastric cancer or EGC. Among the total of 9 EGC patients, there were 5 who had superficial spreading carcinomas with surface areas larger than $25\;cm^2$. This is a significantly higher proportion compared to the general EGC population. When we compared the tumor size according to the LN status, the N3 group was definitely larger than the other groups. 78% of the pT1N3 cases showed lymphatic invasion, which is very high compared to the 4.7% in general EGC cases. Among the 9 cases, 6 patients had too short a follow-up period to evaluate the correct prognosis, but there was one patient with a non-curative resection and two patients with early recurrence. Although the sample size is small and the follow-up period is short, we can expect a very poor prognosis when we consider the common prognosis of EGC that is widely known and accepted. Conclusion: From these results, we can a conclude that the risk factors for pT1N3 gastric cancer are female patients, submucosal invasion, larger tumor size, and lymphatic invasion. However rare, the existence of pT1N3 gastric cancer needs to be taken into consideration, especially during the diagnosis. Furthermore, minimally invasive treatment for EGC needs to be chosen with great precaution. Since the prognosis of pT1N3 gastric cancer is expected to be poor, aggressive adjuvant chemotherapy may be necessary. (J Korean Gastric Cancer Assoc 2006;6:109-113)

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.213-218
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• 2007

Purpose: Laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) is gaining wider acceptance for the treatment of early gastric cancer. However, firm evidence supporting the long-term outcome after LADG for gastric cancer is unknown. This study compared long-term quality of life after LADG versus an open distal gastrectomy (ODG) for early gastric cancer. Methods: This study included 29 patients who underwent LADG and 57 patients who underwent ODG for the treatment of stage I gastric cancer. Quality of life was evaluated based on the Korean version of EORTC QLQ-C30 (version 3.0) and EORTC QLQ-STO22 one year after surgery. All patients underwent a Billroth II gastrectomy for stage I gastric cancer between January 2003 and December 2004. Results: A total of 86 (58%) out of 154 patients responded to the questionnaire. Demographic features showed no difference between the two groups of patients for age, sex, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis except for tumor size and the number of retrieved lymph nodes. The mean score for global health status was not statistically different (LADG, $60.3{\pm}20.4$ vs ODG, $57{\pm}20.6$; P=0.413). The total score of 21 items related to stomach cancer (EORTC QLQ-STO22) also was not statistically different (LADG, $68.9{\pm}64.9$ vs ODG, $94.5{\pm}97.3$; P=0.340). Conclusion: Based on the results of the Korean version of EORTC QLQ-C 30 (version 3.0) and EORTC. QLQ-STO22, LADG does not seem to have any long-term benefit over ODG on 'quality of life'.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.58 no.5
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• pp.490-497
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• 2005

Background : The paraoxonase enzyme plays a significant role in the detoxification of various organophosphorous compounds in mammals, and paraoxonase (PON) 1 is one of the endogenous free-radical scavenging systems in the human body. In this study, we investigated the interaction between cigarette smoking and the genetic polymorphism of PON1 with lung cancer in Korean males. Methods : Three hundred thirty five patients with lung cancer and an equal number of age-matched controls were enrolled in this study. Every subject was asked to complete a questionnaire concerning their smoking habits and alcohol drinking habits. A 5' exonuclease assay (TaqMan) was used to genotype the PON1 Q192R polymorphism. The effects of smoking habits and drinking habits, the PON1 Q192R polymorphism and their interactions were statistically analyzed. Results : Cigarette smoking and the Q/Q genotype of PON1 were significant risk factors for lung cancer. Individuals carrying the Q/Q genotype of PON1 were at a higher risk for lung cancer as compared with those individuals carrying the Q/R or R/R genotype (odds ratio, 2.84; 95% confidence interval, 1.69 - 4.79). When the groups were further stratified by the smoking status, the Q/Q PON1 was associated with lung cancer among the current or ex-smokers (odds ratio, 2.56; 95% confidence interval, 1.52 - 4.31). Current smokers or ex-smokers who had the Q/Q genotype showed an elevated risk for lung cancer (odds ratio: 15.50, 95% confidence interval: 6.76 - 35.54) as compared with the group of subjects who never smoked, and had the Q/R or R/R genotype. The odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of smokers with the PON1 Q/Q type compared to the nonsmokers with the PON1 Q/R or R/R type were 53.77 (6.55 - 441.14) for squamous cell carcinoma, 6.25 (1.38 - 28.32) for adenocarcinoma, and 59.94 (4.66 - 770.39) for small cell carcinoma, and these results were statistically significant. Conclusion : These results suggest that cigarette smoking and the PON1 Q/Q genotype are risk factors for lung cancer. The combination of cigarette smoking and the PON1 Q/Q genotype significantly increased the lung cancer risk irrespective of the histologic type of cancer.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.60 no.3
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• pp.321-329
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• 2006

Background : To evaluate the clinical characteristics of lung cancer patients in Korea, where there is a higher number of smokers than in Western countries. Methods : A retrospective study was performed on 1655 lung cancer patients, who were diagnosed at a university hospital between September 1996 and August 2005. Age, gender, cell types and clinical stage were analysed. Of 941 patients, who responded to a questionnaire at the time of diagnosis, the smoking habits, occupational history, family history of lung cancer in the first-degree relatives, coexisting diseases (diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease), body weight loss, ECOG performance status and presenting symptoms, were examined prospectively. In addition, coexisting diseases including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and active pulmonary tuberculosis were evaluated. Results : Of the 1655 patients, the male to females ratio was 3.6. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common cancer whereas adenocarcinoma was more common in lifetime nonsmokers or women. 19.9% of the patients were non smokers and 80.1% ever smokers. Since 2000, there was an increase in the incidence of adenocarcinoma with a corresponding decrease in the incidence of squamous cell carcinoma. 6.2% of patients were asymptomatic. A coincident diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, active pulmonary tuberculosis, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis was made in: 44.1%, 22.2%, 10.7%, 3.9%, and 1.6% of patients, respectively. A positive family history of lung cancer in the first-degree relatives was identified in 4.4% of patients. An occupational history relevant to lung cancer was identified in 12.2% of patients. Conclusion : There is a high proportion of cigarette smokers in Korean lung cancer patients. The most common cell type was squamous cell carcinoma. However, a more detailed, prospective study of the clinical characteristics will be needed to better characterize lung cancer in Korea.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.45 no.8
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• pp.980-986
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• 2002

Purpose : Although the number of patients with measles have dramatically decreased since the introduction of measles vaccines in 1965, measles outbreaks have occurred periodically every 4-6 years during the 1990s(1989-1990 and 1993-1994). During 2000-2001, measles prevailed all over the country again. A characteristic of current epidemics is that the majority of affected population was infants and school-aged children. This study was designed to analyze the epidemic and clinical features of measles prevalence during 2000-2001 and to find ways to overcome vaccination failure. Methods : We reviewed the records of 59 patients with mealses admitted in the Pediatric Department of Pusan National University Hospital from January 2000 to October 2001 for patient's age, month of admission, history of vaccination, clinical features and complications. Antibody titers of measles-specific IgM and IgG were measured by enzyme immunoassay. Results : The epidemic show two peaks in the age distribution. Forty three patients(72.9%) were under 2-years of age and 14 patients(23.7%) were over 5-years of age. Outbreaks had high incidence in July to August, 2000 and March to April, 2001, then faded away after July, 2001. Vaccinated group comprised 30.5% and unvaccinated group comprised 69.5% and their mean age was $9.25{\pm}4.27$ years old and $0.95{\pm}0.30$ years old respectively. Positive rate of IgM was 86.7% in vaccinated group and 90.3% in unvaccinated group. This means there was primary vaccine failure; 13 cases of 15 vaccinated patients were positive in IgM antibody. During the prevalence, two patients died with mealses complication. One of them was immunocompromised. Conclusion : To prevent another prevalence of measles in the future, we must enhance revaccination at ages 4-6 and check vaccination status when children enter elementary school. These will produce over 95% of herd immunity, with catch-up MMR vaccination which has been completed already.

• Journal of Internet Computing and Services
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.139-148
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• 2020

Due to change in circumstances in the 2000s such as severe birthrate decline and shortened military service period, the armed forces of the Republic of Korea is currently turning to technologies and equipments from manpower, developing it to become high-tech, high-speed, and complex, resulting in an environment in which a single mistake could cause a mass mortality crisis.It is also evident that, considering aspects such as safety training curriculums and achievements of advanced countries and private education, hands-on training is a must in preventing suicides and accidents in the military, and establishing safety training centers is crucial for systematic and effective hands-on training.Soldiers who are joining the army as of now have experienced the Internet ever since they were born and easily use both virtual and augmented reality, and the current level of science and technology has developed to the point where most of the public safety experience centers are able to be replaced by virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR). Therefore, considering the aspects such as installation space, construction costs, maintenance costs, user characteristics, and education effects, other than for those trainings where real models and objects are more effective such as first aid training, it is with a strong recommendation that establishing military safety training facilities with VR/AR (Virtual and augmented reality) is a must in the coming future. We have derived the need for hands-on training by considering the development of virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), analysis of operation status of the public safety experience centers, characteristics of military units, installation and maintenance costs, and proposed plan to establish safety training centers where effective training performance can be achieved at a lower cost than the public safety experience center. In addition, we suggested the scale of the required safety training center and the composition of the experience rooms considering the number of trainees and the environment of each military units. Given this analysis it will contribute to the prevention of military safety and suicide by building a safety training center in the future.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.1811-1815
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• 2014

Background: In clinical trials with no upper age limit, the proportion of older patients is usually small, probably reflecting the more conservative approach adopted by clinicians when treating the elderly. An exploratory analysis of elderly patients in the RECORD-1 Trial showed that patients ${\geq}$ 65 y.o. had superior median PFS than overall RECORD-1 population (5.4 months and 4.9 months, respectively). We investigated the efficacy, relative benefit and safety of Everolimus (EVE) as sequential therapy after failure of VEGFr-TKI therapy for older patients with metastatic renal cell cancer (mRCC), in daily practice. Materials and Methods: 172 consecutive IRB approved patients with mRCC (median age 65, M:F 135/37, 78% clear cell) who received salvage EVE at 39 tertiary institutions between October 2009 and August 2011 were included in this analysis. Some 31% had progressed on sunitinib, 22% on sorafenib, 1% on axitinib, 41% on sequential therapy, and 5% had received other therapy. Patients with brain metastases were not included and 95% of the patients had a ECOG (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group) performance status (PS) of 0 or 1. Previous radiotherapy was an exclusion criterion, but prior chemotherapy was permitted. Adequate organ function and hematologic parameters were mandatory. EVE administration was approved by the institutional review board at each participating institution and signed informed consent was obtained from all patients. Results: Median time of the whole cohort to last follow-up was 3.5 months (range 0.4-15.2 months). Forty four percent were continuing to take EVE at last followup. There were 86 (50%) patients ${\geq}$ 65 y.o. and 86 (50%) <65 y.o. The percentage of patients who showed PR/SD was higher in the older group than in the younger one (5.9%/61.2% vs 1.2%/46.5%, respectively). Median survival of older patients was also significantly longer (3.5 +/- 0.31 vs 3.1 +/- 0.34, hazard ratio=0.45, CI; 0.255-0.802). Analysis using Cox regression model adjusted for gender, PS, number of metastases, site of metastases, histology, smoking history and age detected an association between age and PFS (p=0.011). The frequency of adverse events in elderly patients treated with EVE was no greater than that in younger patients, although such toxicity may have had a greater impact on their quality of life. Conclusions: Older patients should not generally be excluded from accepted therapies (mTOR inhibitors after failure of VEGFr-TKI therapy) for mRCC.