• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.192-199
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• 2004

Purpose: To determine the patterns on evaluation and treatment in the patient with early breast cancer treated with conservative surgery and radiotherapy and to improve the radiotherapy techiniques, nationwide survey was peformed. Materials and Methods: A web-based database system for korean Patterns of Care Study (PCS) for 6 common cancers was developed. Two hundreds sixty-one randomly selected records of eligible patients treated between 1998$\~$1999 from 15 hospitals were reviewed. Results: The patients ages ranged from 24 to 85 years(median 45 years). Infiltrating ductal carcinoma was most common histologic type (88.9$\%$) followed by medullary carcinoma (4.2$\%$) and infiltrating lobular carcinoma (1.5$\%$). Pathologic T stage by AJCC was T1 in 59.7$\%$ of the casses, T2 in 29.5$\%$ of the cases, Tis in 8.8$\%$ of the cases. Axillary lymph node dissection was peformed I\in 91.2$\%$ of the cases and 69.7$\%$ were node negative. AJCC stage was 0 in 8.8$\%$ of the cases, stage I in 44.9$\%$ of the cases, stage IIa in 33.3$\%$ of the cases, and stage IIb in 8.4$\%$ of the cases. Estrogen and progesteron receptors were evaluated in 71.6$\%$, and 70.9$\%$ of the patients, respectively. Surgical methods of breast-conserving surgery was excision/lumpectomy in 37.2$\%$, wide excision in 11.5$\%$, quadrantectomy in 23$\%$ and partial mastectomy in 27.5$\%$ of the cases. A pathologically confirmed negative margin was obtained in 90.8$\%$ of the cases. Pathological margin was involved with tumor in 10 patients and margin was close (less than 2 mm) in 10 patients. All the patients except one recieved more than 90$\%$ of the planned radiotherapy dose. Radiotherapy volume was breast only In 88$\%$ of the cases, breast+supraclavicular fossa (SCL) in 5$\%$ of the cases, and breast+ SCL+ posterior axillary boost in 4.2%$\%$of the cases. Only one patient received isolated internal mammary lymph node irradiation. Used radiation beam was Co-60 in 8 cases, 4 MV X-ray in 115 cases, 6 MV X-ray in 125 cases, and 10 MV X-ray in 11 cases. The radiation dose to the whole breast was 45$\~$59.4 Gy (median 50.4) and boost dose was 8$\~$20 Gy (median 10 Gy). The total radiation dose delivered was 50.4$\~$70.4 Gy (median 60.4 Gy). Conclusion: There was no major deviation from current standard in the patterns of evaluation and treatment for the patients with early breast cancer treated with breast conservation method. Some varieties were identified in boost irradiation dose. Separate analysis for the datails of radiotherapy planning will be followed and the outcome of treatment is needed to evaluate the process.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.79-92
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• 2007

[ $\underline{Purpose}$ ]: For the first time, a nationwide survey in the Republic of Korea was conducted to determine the basic parameters for the treatment of esophageal cancer and to offer a solid cooperative system for the Korean Pattern of Care Study database. $\underline{Materials\;and\;Methods}$: During $1998{\sim}1999$, biopsy-confirmed 246 esophageal cancer patients that received radiotherapy were enrolled from 23 different institutions in South Korea. Random sampling was based on power allocation method. Patient parameters and specific information regarding tumor characteristics and treatment methods were collected and registered through the web based PCS system. The data was analyzed by the use of the Chi-squared test. $\underline{Results}$: The median age of the collected patients was 62 years. The male to female ratio was about 91 to 9 with an absolute male predominance. The performance status ranged from ECOG 0 to 1 in 82.5% of the patients. Diagnostic procedures included an esophagogram (228 patients, 92.7%), endoscopy (226 patients, 91.9%), and a chest CT scan (238 patients, 96.7%). Squamous cell carcinoma was diagnosed in 96.3% of the patients; mid-thoracic esophageal cancer was most prevalent (110 patients, 44.7%) and 135 patients presented with clinical stage III disease. Fifty seven patients received radiotherapy alone and 37 patients received surgery with adjuvant postoperative radiotherapy. Half of the patients (123 patients) received chemotherapy together with RT and 70 patients (56.9%) received it as concurrent chemoradiotherapy. The most frequently used chemotherapeutic agent was a combination of cisplatin and 5-FU. Most patients received radiotherapy either with 6 MV (116 patients, 47.2%) or with 10 MV photons (87 patients, 35.4%). Radiotherapy was delivered through a conventional AP-PA field for 206 patients (83.7%) without using a CT plan and the median delivered dose was 3,600 cGy. The median total dose of postoperative radiotherapy was 5,040 cGy while for the non-operative patients the median total dose was 5,970 cGy. Thirty-four patients received intraluminal brachytherapy with high dose rate Iridium-192. Brachytherapy was delivered with a median dose of 300 cGy in each fraction and was typically delivered $3{\sim}4\;times$. The most frequently encountered complication during the radiotherapy treatment was esophagitis in 155 patients (63.0%). $\underline{Conclusion}$: For the evaluation and treatment of esophageal cancer patients at radiation facilities in Korea, this study will provide guidelines and benchmark data for the solid cooperative systems of the Korean PCS. Although some differences were noted between institutions, there was no major difference in the treatment modalities and RT techniques.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.177-207
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• 2012

Today's consumers perceive consumption as a representation of themselves. It is not simply an act that fulfills a consumer's physical and practical needs. Even in terms of life quality, consumers increasingly want to achieve an emotional and sensible experience through consumption. Consumers now make decisions based on their need to express their position in relation to other people, pursue emotional satisfaction, and try to improve the quality of life. Culture-art products that meet such internal and external demands of consumers have made significant improvements in both quantity and quality, because of the social interest and policy support. The recognition of personal and social values of culture and arts has brought about interest in and need for culture-art products. Businesses have agilely embraced such change and actively implemented various marketing strategies utilizing culture and arts. For example, businesses began to sponsor artists who produce culture-art products while building facilities for cultural and art performances or exhibitions. Businesses have also provided performances and exhibitions free-of-charge or at affordable prices. As a result, the supply in the market has started to exceed its demand as is often the case in many of other markets. However, such imbalance has occurred not because of over-supply but because of a lack of demand. Given these circumstances, the government and culture and art related organizations, which had mainly concentrated on the supply side, started to recognize the importance of creating personal and social values in culture and arts. As a result, the government and various organizations are now creating various strategies that include policy measures to achieve their new found goal. Unfortunately however, such efforts are not meeting the expectations. Focusing on above-mentioned circumstances and problems, this study aims to find measures to create demand for culture-art products in the internal conditions of those who consume culture-art products. In other words, given that the demand for culture-art products has not increased despite all external conditions to encourage consumption, this study aims to find the reasons in consumers' value judgment on culture-art products. Though there were recent studies on culture-art products that applied consumer behavior on marketing theories, most of them focused on peripheral aspects such as people's motivation for or satisfaction from watching culture-art events. Hence, there is a need to understand what kind of value consumers perceive from culture-art products and how such value cognition leads to consumption in a comprehensive manner. This study acts as follow-up to a separate study entitled "Qualitative Study about Value Cognition and Benefits of Consumer on Culture-Art Products". The current study aims to extend practical implications that enhance the effectiveness of marketing strategies among the producing and policy agencies in the industry. The purpose of this study is to investigate dimensions of value cognition, benefits and attributes of culture-art products, and identify the effects of consumer value cognition on benefits and attributes. The questionnaire was developed based on the conceptual structure of qualitative research and previous researches. It was composed of value cognition, benefits, attributes of culture-art products and demographic variables. This survey was conducted on-line and off-line among a total of 662 persons ranging from their teens to their 50's who were living in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do, various metropolitan cities, and small and medium-sized cities. The data collected was analyzed by factor analysis and path analysis using SPSS WIN 18.0 and AMOS 16.0. This empirical study found that the dimensions of value cognition of culture-art products were categorized into personal goods, aesthetic goods and public property. This shows that the consumers perceive culture-art products as products that are worthy enough to pay the costs not just for personal benefits but also for their social values. Also the formation of value cognition for culture-art products requires special conditions unlike that for physical consumer goods and services, which simply require marketing stimuli. The dimensions of benefits pursued by consuming culture-art products were found to be composed of four types - pursuit of aesthetic benefits, pursuit of actual benefits, pursuit of emotional benefits, and pursuit of conspicuous character. This result implies that people consume culture-art products not just to pursue pleasure from emotional and intelligent satisfaction as well as social relations, but also to seek the needs and benefits embodied at a social level. The dimensions of attributes of culture-art products had seven different factors, - environmental, price, evaluation, people, artwork, composition, and personal relations - which is plentiful. This is because the attributes of culture-art products are very complicated compared to other consumer goods or services. Since culture-art products include not just cultural or artistic works but also all physical, human, environmental, and systemic elements of the products in a comprehensive manner, consumers perceive everything they experience in the process of consuming culture-art products as part of the products. The dimensions of value cognition was found to affect attributes of the products, mostly using pursued benefits as a mediating factors. This result is consistent with the result of qualitative research, and proves that applying the means-end chain theory in the reverse direction is reasonable. The result can be interpreted that consumers' value cognitions for culture-art products turns into actual benefits leading to consumers' decisions. Furthermore, this result reveals that when consumers choose culture-art products, they take into account the attributes of culture-art products depending on the benefits they pursue. These results confirm that despite their conceptual and abstract attributes, culture-art products have values that contribute to actual benefits for individual consumers and society. Hence, value cognition generates benefits to be pursued and this in turn affects the consumers' choices of attributes on products. Based on the conceptual structure of consumers' value cognitions on culture-art products and its dimensions, it is possible to find detailed methods to provide opportunities for education and training to form and reinforce positive value cognition on culture-art products. And through those methods, it will be possible to develop attributes of culture-art products according to the dimensions of pursued benefits, and allow conceptual products become the subject to valuable consumption in real life. These results provide theoretical understanding of consumer behavior in culture marketing and useful information to culture-art producers, companies that use culture and art, and government agencies that use culture-art as a mean to improve the public perception of quality of life. As a follow up on this study, there should be experimental studies that can develop criteria visualizing the demands of consumers who purchase culture-art products and identify their detailed attributes. Studies that compare characteristics of different areas within the culture-art product category and in-depth studies on a specific area or genre will also be needed. In order to develop marketing strategies for culture-art products, studies on the formation and reinforcement of positive value cognition on culture-art products and education for the development of consumer demand as well as on the development and differentiation of attributes of culture-art products depending on types of consumer groups should also follow.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.1-24
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• 1980

One of the most important basic problems for developing the new techniques in the field of road landscape planting practices in Korea, is to clarify, analyse, and evaluate the existing technical level through actual field survey on the various kinds of planting techniques. This study is, therefore, aimed at the good grasp of detail essences of the existing level of road landscape planting techniques through field investigations of the executed sites. In this study, emphasized efforts are made to the detail analysis and systematic rearrangements of such main subjects as; 1) principles and functions of the road landscape planting techniques; 2) essential elements in planning of it; 3) advanced practices in execution of planting of it; 4) and improved methods in maintenance of plants and lands as an entire system of road landscape planting techniques. The road landscape planting techniques could be explained as the planting and landscaping practices to improve the road function through introduction of plants (green-environment) on and around the roads. The importances of these techniques have been recognized by the landscape architects and road engineers, and they also emphasize not on]y the establishment of road landscape features but also conservation of human's life environment by planting of suitable trees, shrubs, and other vegetations around the roads. It is essentially required to improve the present p]anting practices for establishment of the beautiful road landscape features, specially in planning, design, execution, establishment, and maintenance of plantings of the environmental conservation belts, roadside trees, footpathes, median strips, traffic islands, interchanges, rest areas, and including the adjoining route roads.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.48-59
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• 1999

Objectives. This study was conducted to evaluate the association between upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms and Rapid Upper Limb Assessment(RULA) in vehicle assembly line workers. The goal of this study is to show the feasibility of RULA as a checklist for work related musculoskeletal symptoms (WMSDs) in Korean workers. Methods. The total number of 199 people from the department of assembly and 115 people from the department of Quality Control(QC) in automotive plant were subjects for this cross sectional study. A standard symptom questionnaire survey has been used for the individual characteristics, work history, musculosketal symptoms and non-occupational covariates. The data were obtained by applying one-on-one interview for the all subjects. RULA has been applied for ergonomic work posture analysis and the primary ergonomic risk sure was computed by RULA method. Association between upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms and RULA were assessed by multiple logistic regression analysis. Results. A total of 314 workers was examined. The prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms by NIOSH case definition was 62.4%. The distribution of musculoskeletal symptoms by the part of the body turned out to be following; back:41.4%, neck: 32.8%, shoulder: 26.4%, arm: 10.5% and hand:29.3%. The relationship of the individual RULA scores were statistically significant for the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms. As the result of the multiple logistic regressioin analysis, grand final score (OR=2.250 95% CI: 1.402-3.612) was associated with musculoskeletal symptoms in any part of the body.; upper arm score(OR=1.786 95% CI: 1.036-3.079) and posture score A(OR=1.634 95% CI: 1.016-2.626) in neck; muscel use score(OR=3.076 95% CI:1.782-5.310) and posture score A(OR=1.798 95% CI: 1.072-3.017) in shoulder; upper arm score(OR=1.715 95% CI: 1.083-2.715) and muscel use score(OR=2.057 95% CI:1.303-3.248) in neck & shoulder; muscle use score(OR=10.662 95% CI: 3.180-35.742) in arm; writst/wist score(OR=2.068 95% CI: 1.130-3.786) and muscle use score(OR=2.215 95% CI: 1.284-3.819) in hand & wrist.; muscle use score of trunk (OR=2.601 95% CI: 1.147-5.901) in back. Conclusions. Musculoskeletal symptoms of the extremities were strongly associated with individual RULA body score. These results show that RULA can be used as a useful assessment tool for the evaluation of musculoskeletal loading which is known to contribute to work-related musculoskeletal disorders. RULA also can be used as a screening tool or incorporated into a wider ergonomic assessment of epidemiological, physical, mental, environmental and organizational factors. As shown in this study, complement of the analysis system for the other risk factors and characterizing between the upper limb and back part will be needed for future work.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.55-66
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• 1967

In view of its prevalence in the Far East area, a more detailed knowledge on the hookworm infection is one of the very important medical problems. The present study was aimed to; determine the infectivity of the artificially hatched ancylostoma duodenale larvae in man after its oral administration, evaluate the clinical symptomatology of such infection, determine the date of first appearance of the ova in the stool, calculate the blood loss per worm per day, assess the relation-ships between the ova count, infectivity(worm load), blood loss and severity of anemia. An erythrokinetic study was also done to analyse the characteristics of hookworm anemia by means of $^{59}Fe\;and\;^{51}Cr$. Materials and Methods Ten healthy male volunteers(doctors, medical students and laboratory technicians) with the ages ranging from 21 to 40 years were selected as the experimental materials. They had no history of hookworm infection for preceding several years, and care was taken not to be exposed to reinfection. A baseline study including a through physical examinations and laboratory investigations such as complete blood counts, stool examination and estimation of the serum iron levels was done, and a vermifuge, bephenium hydroxynaphoate, was given 10 days prior to the main experiment. The ancylostoma duodenale filariform larvae were obtained in the following manner; The pure ancylostoma duodenale ova were obtained from the hookworm anemia patients and a modified filter paper method was adopted to harvest larger number of infective larvae, which were washed several times with saline. The actively moving mature larvae were put into the gelatine capsules, 150 in each, and were given to the volunteers in the fasting state with 300ml. of water. The volunteers were previously treated with intramuscular injection of 15mg. of chlorpromazine in order to prevent the eventual nausea and vomiting after the larvae intake. The clinical symptoms and signs mainly of the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts, appearance of the ova and occult blood in the stool etc. were checked every day for the first 20 days and then twice weekly until the end of the experiment, which usually lasted for about 3 months. Roentgenological survey of the lungs was also done. The hematological changes such as the red blood cell, white blood cell and eosinophil cell counts, hemoglobin content and serum iron levels were studied. The appearance of the ova in the stool was examined by the formalin ether method and the ova were counted in triplicate on two successive days using the Stoll's dilution method. The ferrokinetic data were calculated by the modified Huff's method and the apparent half survival time of the red blood cells by the modified Gray's method. The isotopes were simultaneously tagged and injected intravenously, and then the stool and blood samples were collected as was described by Roche et al., namely, three separate 4-day stool samples with the blood sample drawing before each 4-day stool collection. The radio-activities of the stools ashfied and the blood were separately measured by the pulse-height analyser. The daily blood loss was calculated with the following formula; daily blood loss in $ml.=\frac{cpm/g\;stool{\times}weight\;in\;g\;of\;4-day\;stool}{cpm/ml\;blood{\times}4}$ The average of these three 4-day periods was given as the daily blood loss in each patient. The blood loss per day per worm was calculated by simply dividing the daily blood loss by the number of the hookworm recovered after the vermifuge given twice a week at the termination of the experiment. The iron loss in mg. through the gastrointestinal tract was estimated with the daily iron loss in $mg=\frac{g\;Hgb/100ml{\times}ml\;daily\;blood\;loss{\times}3.40}{100}$ 3.40=mg of iron per g Hgb following formula; Results 1. The respiratory symptoms such as cough and sputum were noted in almost all cases within a week after the infection, which lasted about 2 weeks. The roentgenological findings of the chest were essentially normal. A moderate degree of febril reaction appeared within 2 weeks with a duration of 3 or 4 days. 2. The gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, epigastric fullness, abdominal pain and loose bowel appeared in all cases immediately after the larvae intake. 3. The reduction of the red blood cell count was not remarkable, however, the hemoglobin content and especially the serum iron level showed the steady decreases until the end of the experiment. 4. The white blood cells and eosinophil cells, on the contrary, showed increases in parallel and reached peaks in 20 to 30 days after the infection. A small secondary rise was noted in 2 months. 5. The ova first appeared in the stool in 40. 1 days after the infection, ranging from 29 to 51 days, during which the occult blood reaction of the stool became also positive in almost cases. 6. The number of ova recovered per day was 164, 320 on the average, ranging from 89,500 to 253,800. The number of the worm evacuated by vermifuge was in rough correlation with the number of ova recovered. 7. The infectivity of ancylostoma duodenale was 14% on the average, ranging from 7.3 to 20.0%, which is relatively lower than those reported by other workers. 8. The mean fecal blood loss was 5.78ml. per day, with a range of from 2.6 to 11.7ml., and the mean blood loss per worm per day was 0.30ml., with a range of from 0.13 to 0.73ml., which is in rough coincidence with those reported by other authors. There appeared to exist, however, no correlation between the blood loss and the number of ova recovered. 9. The mean fecal iron loss was 2.02mg. per day, with a range of from 1.20 to 3.89mg., which is less than those appeared in the literature. 10. The mean plasma iron disappearance rate was 0.80hr., with a range of from 0.62 to 0.95hr., namely, a slight accerelation. 11. The hookworm anemia appeared to be iron deficiency in origin caused by continuous intestinal blood loss.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.9-16
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• 2010

Purpose: With increasing medical use of radiation and radioactive isotopes, there is a need to better manage the risk of radiation exposure. This study aims to grasp and analyze the individual radiation exposure situations of radiation-related workers in a medical facility by specific job, in order to instill awareness of radiation danger and to assist in safety and radiation exposure management for such workers. Materials and Methods: 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2009 to work in medical institutions are classified as radiation workers Nuclear personal radiation dosimeter regularly, continuously administered survey of 40 workers in three years of occupation to target, Imaging Unit beautifully, age, dose sector, job function-related tasks to identify the average annual dose for a deep dose, respectively, were analyzed. The frequency analysis and ANOVA analysis was performed. Results: Imaging Unit beautifully three years the annual dose PET and PET/CT in the work room 11.06~12.62 mSv dose showed the highest, gamma camera injection room 11.72 mSv with a higher average annual dose of occupation by the clinical technicians 8.92 mSv the highest, radiological 7.50 mSv, a nurse 2.61 mSv, the researchers 0.69 mSv, received 0.48 mSv, 0.35 mSv doctors orderly, and detail work employed the average annual dose of the PET and PET/CT work is 12.09 mSv showed the highest radiation dose, gamma camera injection work the 11.72 mSv, gamma camera imaging work 4.92 mSv, treatment and safety management and 2.98 mSv, a nurse working 2.96 mSv, management of 1.72 mSv, work image analysis 0.92 mSv, reading task 0.54 mSv, with receiving 0.51 mSv, 0.29 mSv research work, respectively. Dose sector average annual dose of the study subjects, 15 people (37.5%) than the 1 mSv dose distribution and 5 people (12.5%) and 1.01~5.0 mSv with the dose distribution was less than, 5.01~10.0 mSv in the 14 people (35.0%), 10.01~20.0 mSv in the 6 people (15.0%) of the distribution were analyzed. The average annual dose according to age in occupations that radiological workers 25~34 years old have the highest average of 8.69 mSv dose showed the average annual dose of tenure of 5~9 years in jobs radiation workers in the 9.5 mSv The average was the highest dose. Conclusion: These results suggest that medical radiation workers working in Nuclear Medicine radiation safety management of the majority of the current were carried out in the effectiveness, depending on job characteristics has been found that many differences. However, this requires efforts to minimize radiation exposure, and systematic training for them and for reasonable radiation exposure management system is needed.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.26-32
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• 2010

Purpose: It is to find the way to minimize occupationally exposed dose for workers in vivo tests in each working stage within the range of the working environment which does not ruin the examination and the performance efficiency. Materials and Methods: The process of the nuclear tests in vivo using a radioactive isotope consists of radioisotope distribution, a radioisotope injection ($^{99m}Tc$, $^{18}F$-FDG), and scanning and guiding patients. Using a measuring instrument of RadEye-G10 gamma survey meter (Thermo SCIENTIFIC), the exposure doses in each working stage are measured and evaluated. Before the radioisotope injection the patients are explained about the examination and educated about matters that require attention. It is to reduce the meeting time with the patients. In addition, workers are also educated about the outside exposure and have to put on the protected devices. When the radioisotope is injected to the patients the exposure doses are measured due to whether they are in the protected devices or not. It is also measured due to whether there are the explanation about the examination and the education about matters that require attention or not. The total exposure dose is visualized into the graph in using Microsoft office excel 2007. The difference of this doses are analyzed by wilcoxon signed ranks test in using SPSS (statistical package for the social science) program 12.0. In this case of p<0.01, this study is reliable in the statistics. Results: It was reliable in the statistics that the exposure dose of injecting $^{99m}Tc$-DPD 20 mCi in wearing the protected devices showed 88% smaller than the dose of injecting it without the protected devices. However, it was not reliable in the statistics that the exposure dose of injecting $^{18}F$-FDG 10 mCi with wearing protected devices had 26% decrease than without them. Training before injecting $^{99m}Tc$-DPD 20 mCi to patient made the exposure dose drop to 63% comparing with training after the injection. The dose of training before injecting $^{18}F$-FDG 10 mCi had 52% less then the training after the injection. Both of them were reliable in the statistics. Conclusion: In the examination of using the radioisotope $^{99m}Tc$, wearing the protected devices are more effective to reduce the exposure dose than without wearing them. In the case of using $^{18}F$-FDG, reducing meeting time with patients is more effective to drop the exposure dose. Therefore if we try to protect workers from radioactivity according to each radioisotope characteristic it could be more effective and active radiation shield from radioactivity.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.417-424
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• 1992

Background: There were many reports about the clinical aspect and outcomes of pulmonary tuberculosis in health center but few in a medium sized general hospital. The purposes of this study were to find any characteristic differencies in the patients and the general outcomes of the treatments and also to give some suggestive points for the insurance policy making. Methods: We made a retrograde analysis of the medical records of 1981 patients (male 992 female 1,059) who attended our clinics of the 4th internal department, Daedong general hospital during two years from January 1989 to December 1990. Result: 1) Of 1981 patients, 96 were diagnosed as pulmonary tuberculosis taking relatively large proportion in the prevalence. The ratio of prevalence between male and female was 7.81% to 2.27%. The 61.46% were the first diagnosis & initial treatment cases and the remaining 38.54% were the retreatment cases with no statistical significance between sex. 2) The most prevalent age group was between 21~40 years old and the prevalence rate was 45.45% of male and 76.76% of female. The lowest age group in male patient was above 61 showed 3.03%, and there was no female patients above age 60 years old. This phenomena could be thought as the negligence for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis in the old age groups rather than true tuberculosis prevalence and it could be proved by the higher rates towards old age groups in the national tuberculosis prevalence survey. 3) There were 57.07% of the minimal case, 48.96% of the moderate, 18.75% of the far advanced. The sputum examination showed 37.07% were culture positive, 46.88% were the negative, and 15.63% of the patients had no stutum examination. Moreover, uncoperatives among the far advanced cases were notable showing 22.22% of the stutum examination, where 16.13% in the minimal cases. The stutum positive rate among the initial treatment cases were 41.07% and 55.00% for the retreatment cases. The sputum no examination rates were 17.86% and 12.50% respectively. 4) The classfication of the mode of disease onset showed 68.75% with gradual onset, 9.38% hemoptic, 3.13% acute pneumonic and 18.75% was found through the radiologic examination in various occasions. 5) The percentages of patients who continued their treatment for more than 8 month were 35.71% (for initial treatment), 25.00% (for retrement), 16.13% (for the minimal), 27.78% (for the far advanced). 6) The group of patients who were treated more than 8 months showed the negative conversion rate of 80% on sputum and marked improvement on chest x-ray in 56.67%. However, in far advanced or retreatment cases, the rate of negative conversion on sputum and the rate of improvement on chest x-ray were low being 60% and 20% for the former and 60% and 10% for the latter, each respectively. Conclusion: It would be strongly emphasized that the improvement of National medical insurance system and social welfare system in Korea must be definite to improve overall treatment and control of tuberculosis diseases as well as physician's devotious National tuberculosis control policy.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.260-273
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• 2010

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of married Korean women regarding marriage and childbirth, and their awareness of childbirth-related issues such as low birth rates, sex preferences and sex imbalances in Korea. Methods: A total of 453 married women aged 20 or older were randomly selected from four urban districts and five rural districts out of 25 districts in Gyeongju, a consolidated city located in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, South Korea. The survey was conducted from December 2005 to February 2006. A total of 392 out of 453 questionnaires(86.5% response rate) were collected, and 44 incomplete questionnaires were excluded, leaving 348 completed questionnaires to be used for data analysis. Age was divided into three groups as below 49, 50-69, 70 or older. Results: Women's perceptions of marriage were associated with age(p<0.01). Perceptions about childbirth were also significantly related to age(p<0.01), type of residential area (p<0.01) and education level(p<0.05). Sex preferences were significantly related to age(p<0.05) and occupation(p<0.01). Of the respondents aged 49 or younger, 34.8% indicated that the ideal number of children is two, while 25.5% of respondents aged 50 to 69 and 15.3% of respondents aged 70 and 33.7% of respondents aged 70 or older considered four children to be the ideal number. Perceptions of sex imbalance were significantly related to socioeconomic status(p<0.01) and occupation(p<0.01). The largest number of respondents cited "economic burden" as the main reason for low birth rates. Multiple logistic regressions were performed for all three age groups using male sex preference as the dependent variable under the assumption that respondents can have only a single child. Socioeconomic status (p<0.01) and residential area (p<0.05) were significant variables for those aged 49 or below. Education level(p<0.05) and residential area (p<0.01) were statistically significant variables on preferring son in case of having only one child for respondents aged 50 to 69. We did not detect any significant independent variables in respondents who were 70 or older. Conclusions: Our results highlight the necessity of developing policies and public education programs to explain the consequences of low birth rates and sex imbalances in Korea. As increasing numbers of women work outside the home, it is important for the government and employers to provide social and working environments where women do not consider marriage and childbirth to be obstacles to social and business activities.