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This article examines patterns of human habitation in the South Korean border following the Korean War. Focussing in Daema-ri frontier village in Cheorwon abutting the Demilitarised Zone, I analyse...

This paper examines spatial practices in the everyday life of the villagers in a South Korean border village. Focusing on the Yugokri Unification Village in Cheorwon, the paper analyses the residen...

Background/Aims: To explore the associations between body composition and pain, disease activity, and disability in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: The study enrolled 335 patients with RA and underwent body composi tion measurement with an InBody analyzer. The associations of body mass index (BMI), body fat mass, and skeletal muscle mass with disease activity score in 28 joints (DAS28), an index derived to measure the subjective component of DAS28 (DAS28-P), a pain visual analogue scale (VAS), and disability measured with the health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) were explored. Obesity was defined as BMI ≥ 25 kg/㎡. Results: The median (interquartile range) disease duration was 6 years (3.5 to 9) and the mean DAS28 score was 3.6 ± 1.1. The mean BMI was 23.6 ± 3.6 kg/㎡ and 109 patients (32.5%) were obese. Compared with non-obese patients, obese patients had a higher C-reactive protein (1.68 mg/dL vs. < 0.1 mg/dL, p = 0.013), higher pain VAS score (40 vs. 35, p = 0.031), and higher DAS28-erythrocyte sedimentation rate score (3.75 ± 1.18 vs. 3.46 ± 1.11, p = 0.031). In multivariate regression analysis, the DAS28 score in females was positively associated with the current steroid dose, body fat mass, and HAQ score, while the HAQ score in females was associated with older age, DAS28, lower skeletal muscle mass, and higher body fat/skeletal muscle ratio. In the multivariate regression analysis, the DAS28-P score in fe males was positively associated with body fat/skeletal muscle ratio and HAQ. Conclusions: Body composition, such as the body fat mass and body fat/skeletal muscle ratio, is significantly associated with disease activity and disability in fe male RA patients.

Unnecessary and inappropriate laboratory testing accounts for a significant portion of waste in health care utilization. The aim of this study was to examine the diagnostic value of the anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) test by examining the rate of ANA associated rheumatic disease (AARD) diagnosis among ANA tested and ANA positive subjects and positive predictive value (PPV) of ANA test leading to AARD diagnosis in different ANA titers and different subsets of patients in 5 hospitals affiliated with a university.We retrospectively extracted data from all subjects who were tested for ANA from year 2010 to 2019. Those who were first evaluated at or referred to rheumatology were further evaluated with extraction of data including ANA titer and ultimate diagnosis. PPVs for ANA test were evaluated after stratification according to clinically relevant key parameters, such as patient age (younger65 years vs. older), sex, and requesting department.From 2010 to 2019, A total of 94,153 patients were tested for ANA, of which 13,600 (14.4% of the total) were positive. AARD was diagnosed in only 0.69% among all ANA tested patients and 4.74% among ANA positive patients. The AARD diagnosis rate of ANA positive patients varied widely from 0.1% to 8.7% by requesting department. Using cutoff values above 1:320 yielded PPVs of 15.6 and 7.8% for all AARs and systemic lupus erythematosus. The PPV was significantly higher in young age (65 years) and in women, and when it was requested from internal medicine vs other departments.AARD was diagnosed in less than 1% of all ANA tested patients in university-affiliated hospitals. This result shows that careful consideration before ordering the screening ANA is needed to improve the utility of the test for providers and patients and to reduce health costs spurred by unnecessary testing and its consequences.

There is a recent trend change in using non-Bayer Color Filter Array (CFA) patterns, allowing superior image quality in low-light conditions. However, these new CFA patterns have weak point on full image reconstruction showing severe visual artifacts and low details reconstruction after demosaicing. In this work, we address aforementioned problems by using deep learning approach for new CFA type - Nonacell or Nonapixel, introduced by Samsung 108MP HMX CMOS image sensor. Experimental results show that proposed method not only allows suppression of visual artifacts and perfect details and edge restoration, but also shows superior objective image quality, exceeding 40dB in CPSNR for popular Kodak dataset. Finally, our method is computationally efficient due to network structure and feasible for on-device deployment after optimization.

Many fisheries resources in large marine ecosystems (LMEs) of Northeast Asia have become depleted due to overfishing, marine environmental degradation, and other unknown factors. In addition, the quality of coastal ecosystems has been degraded. Although a variety of approaches has been applied to improve the management of fisheries and to facilitate the recovery of depleted fisheries resources in Korea, they have not been wholly successful due to a lack of information on the history of fishing, exploitable biomass, and the current state of fisheries, compared to reference points, such as exploitable carrying capacity (ECC) and potential biomass yield (PBY). In this study, we reviewed the ECC and PBY of sectors in the East China Sea, Yellow Sea, and East Sea/Sea of Japan LMEs using the ecosystem modeling method (EMM) and holistic production method (HPM). EMM uses a mass-balanced ecosystem model, Ecopath with Ecosim, together with fishery catch and ecological data for each species group. HPM utilizes time-series catch and fishing effort data for all species combined. Estimates of the ECC for sectors in the East China Sea, Yellow Sea, and East Sea/Sea of Japan LMEs from these two approaches were similar with values 5.49–6.42 million metric tons (mmt), 1.35–1.36 mmt, and 1.42–1.81 mmt, respectively. Estimates of PBY were also similar for the two approaches with values 1.02–1.03 mmt for the East China Sea, 0.18–0.26 mmt for the Yellow Sea, and 0.27–0.34 mmt for the East Sea/Sea of Japan. The exploitable biomass began to decline from the early 1970s in the Yellow Sea and the mid-1970s in the East Sea/Sea of Japan and East China Sea, when over-fishing commenced. The current exploitable biomass for the LMEs are about 30–40% of those of the late 1960s. The ecosystem risk index (ERI) was highest for the Yellow Sea at 2.17, while the ERI was 1.95 for the East China Sea and 1.87 for the East Sea/Sea of Japan. Finally, we introduce a practical approach to achieve sustainable ecosystem-based fisheries assessment and management in LMEs, since most commercially important fisheries include species that migrate seasonally across the national boundaries of Korea, Japan, and China.

The care of an individual with lower limb amputation requires many types of decisions, skills, and interventions ranging from the surgical techniques of amputation to the prescription of a prosthesis and the specialized training for optimal use of the prosthesis. Furthermore, pain management can pose challenges in terms of diagnosis and treatment as unique pain concerns such as phantom limb pain are common following amputation. Knowledge of proper residual limb care is important for the practitioner in order to properly educate patients and assure longitudinal compliance. Additionally, patients benefit from specialized training both before and after prosthesis delivery to assure that functional mobility is maximized. A thorough knowledge of prosthetic components is necessary to prescribe a prosthesis that will best meet the needs and aptitudes of the person with an amputation. These components include the socket, suspension type, pylon, prosthetic knee, and prosthetic foot. The components used will depend on the level of amputation and the functional goals of the patient. Despite the best efforts of the rehabilitation team, the patient may develop gait deviations that the practitioner should be able to identify and subsequently address with corrective measures to allow the patient to ambulate in the most safe and effective manner. This chapter addresses these issues in a systematic and thorough manner.

This article examines patterns of human habitation in the South Korean border following the Korean War. Focussing in Daema-ri frontier village in Cheorwon abutting the Demilitarised Zone, I analyse how architecture was used by the state as a versatile territorial mechanism for spreading and concentrating populations; its efficiency as a spatio-political device governing selected populations under a certain order desired by the state; and its contradictory role as a platform for political struggles which contests many fundamental aspects of the state prerogatives. Through my examination of Daema-ri’s spatial development–from an illegal, temporary makeshift shelter to a permanent state village–I argue that the frontier settlements, though portrayed as the state solution to emergency induced by the influx of refugees, was actually an outcome of a self-created disorder. It proposes a new analytical framework for the frontier settlements to be considered not simply as a border problem, but as an important architectural tool used by the modern state to establish a centralised system of control over its territory and population.

Korea's acceptable biological catch (ABC) for total allowable catch (TAC) management has been estimated by a five-tier system that relies on population-based stock assessment models according to available ecological information for pelagic or demersal species. To overcome the limitations of the current ABC estimation system based on population dynamic models, this study attempted to integrate the ecosystem-based fisheries assessment (EBFA) approach into Korea's current ABC estimation system, and has developed an ABC estimation approach for ecosystem-based TAC management. To estimate an ecosystem-based ABC, ABC estimated by the current ABC estimation system was adjusted depending on the species risk index (SRI) that was derived from risk analysis of EBFA. During the process, the SRI-F relationship which generalizes the relationship between SRI and fishing mortality (F) was devised, and was used to estimate an ecosystem-based ABC. Also, the SRI projection as a function of the F scenario was conducted to estimate the regression coefficient of a relationship of SRI and F. We demonstrated an ecosystem-based ABC estimation by applying it to the chub mackerel, one of the TAC species in Korea's large purse seine fishery. As a result, the F at ABC (0.39/year) was adjusted as 0.365/year, while ABC (180,000 mt) was reduced to 170,393 mt. We found that this approach can be used to conservatively estimate the TAC in an ecosystem-based context for quota-managed fisheries.

The economic impacts of recreational fishing in Small Sea Ranch in Gyeong-Nam (GN) province, Korea, are calculated using a multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model to overcome the weakness of a single-region IO model that ignores the spread effects in other provinces. First, multiplier decomposition analysis is conducted to substantiate the existence of strong economic linkages between GN and other provinces by calculating intra-regional effects, net closed-loop effects, net open-loop effects and spillover coefficients. Subsequently, the economic impacts from spending by anglers’ visits to Small Sea Ranch are computed using a 161-sector MRIO model for each of the sixteen provinces in Korea. The results show that there exist strong relationships between the economy of GN and those of the other provinces, and that only around 68% of the economic impacts of anglers’ spending on the total output in Korea accrues in GN, with the remaining impacts (32%) being accounted for in non-GN provinces. This indicates the importance of using a multi-regional framework to estimate the economic impacts of recreational fisheries for a region whose economy relies heavily on the economies of other regions.

We investigated the contributions made by the subjective components of the Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS28) to the treatment response of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In addition, factors associated with poor response to treatment at 6 months, despite normalization of objective measures, were examined. A total of 426 newly diagnosed RA patients were included. The DAS28-P score (the subjective components of the DAS28 relative to the total components) was calculated as DAS28-P = 0.56 ∗ sqrt(TJC28) + 0.014 ∗ (VAS-GH) /0.56 ∗ sqrt(TJC28) + 0.28 ∗ sqrt(SJC28) + 0.7 ∗ In(erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)) + 0.014 ∗ (VAS-GH). The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) response was assessed after 6 months of treatment. Of those who failed to attain good EULAR responses, those for whom the objective measures (the ESR, the C-reactive protein level, and swollen joints) were normalized were defined as having failed treatment because of subjective measures. The median (IQR) DAS28 score at baseline was 4.8 (4.04–5.49) and that after 6 months of treatment 3.21 (2.41–3.95). The DAS28-P score fell significantly from baseline to 6 months in good (0.43 versus 0.28, p

Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of and the relevant risk factors for lumbar spondylosis (LS) among middle-aged and elderly rural Korean residents and to explore the association between radiographic LS and lower back pain (LBP) in relation to age and gender. Methods This community-based, cross-sectional study evaluated 1512 subjects with available radiograph. The prevalence of LBP was obtained using a questionnaire and disability resulting from LBP was measured using a validated Korean version of the Oswestry disability index (ODI). In lumbar spine radiographs, vertebral levels from L1/2 to L4/5 were evaluated for the presence of osteophytes and joint-space narrowing (JSN), and Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) grading was applied. Results Of 4261 subjects aged 40-79 years, data from 1512 subjects were included. The prevalence of radiographic LS indicated by grade ≥2 osteophytes and JSN were 53.9 and 15.8%, respectively. Seventy-three percent of subjects had KL grade ≥2 spondylosis and LBP was present in 36.5% of subjects. Although LS was more common among males, the prevalence of LBP was higher among females. Age, male gender and history of hand or knee arthritis were risk factors for LS. LS was significantly associated with LBP mostly among females over 60 years old and correlated with the ODI after adjusting for age and gender. Conclusion Our study among rural Korean residents revealed a high prevalence of LS and LBP. The association between LS and LBP was observed mostly among females and LS was significantly correlated with the severity of back pain.

Background Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease. Psychological stress and mood disorders such as sleep disorder or depression are more frequent in patient with RA. Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between disease activities and sleep disorder or depression in Korean patients with RA. Methods The study enrolled 334 patients with RA who visited Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital (South Korea). The diagnosis of insomnia and depression is based in patient questionnaire such as Pittsburg sleep quality index (PSQI) and Beck depression inventory (BDI). Insomnia was defined as PSQI>5 and depression was defined as BDI ≥13. Patients were divided into two groups (insomnia vs no-insomnia, depression vs no-depression) and the clinical aspects were compared by Mann-Whitney U-test. Age, gender, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), 28 joint disease activity score (DAS28), DAS28-P score (the subjective components of the DAS28 relative to the total components), tender joint count (TJC) and swollen joint count (SJC), quality of life measured with health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) were analyzed. Results The median (inter-quartile range) disease duration was 6 (4–9) years and the mean DAS28 score was 3.6±1.1. Seventy percent of the patient had insomnia and 8% had depression. Compared with patients without insomnia, insomnia patients had a higher DAS28 (3.7±1.16 vs. 3.21±1.0, P On univariable logistic regression analysis, insomnia was positively associated with age, DAS28, DAS28-P and BDI score. After adjustment, insomnia was positively associated with sex (female), age, BDI and DAS28 score. On univariable logistic regression analysis, depression was positively associated with PSQI, DAS28 and DAS28-P score. After adjustment, depression was positively associated with PSQI and DAS28-P score. Conclusion Rheumatoid arthritis patient with the sleep disorder or depression had worse clinical symptoms than those without. Rheumatologist should take sleep disorder or depression into consideration on evaluation of disease severity in RA patients. Disclosure of Interests None declared

Objective We hypothesized that chronic gouty arthritis patients would develop an immune response to type II collagen that would be revealed by the presence of anti-type II collagen (CII) antibodies in serum, which may in turn be involved in progression to non-remitting arthritis. Methods Chronic gouty arthritis was defined as crystal-confirmed gout in patients with no pain-free intercritical period, with or without the presence of tophi, who did not have clinical features of other forms of chronic arthritis. Age-matched gout patients suffering acute gouty attacks who had definite intercritical periods were selected as a control group. Four RA patients who had active disease were enrolled as a positive control group. Anti-CII antibodies were quantified in patient sera via ELISA using a human IgG anti-CII antibody assay kit. Correlations between anti-CII levels and clinical parameters were sought. Results Fifteen chronic gouty arthritis patients were identified. The anti-CII level was significantly higher among subjects with chronic gout compared to controls, but did not significantly differ in control gout patients during acute attacks and in the intercritical periods. Five patients with chronic gouty arthritis had anti-CII antibody levels higher than 200 AU/mL, whereas only one control gout patient exhibited this feature. Two of four patients with active RA had anti-CII antibody levels higher than 200 U/mL.Patients with tophi had significantly higher anti-CII levels than those without, whereas patients showing radiographic erosion tended to have higher anti-CII levels than those without. Conclusion Patients with chronic gouty arthritis had significantly higher levels of anti-CII antibodies than control gout patients. Such antibody production would be triggered by initiation of cartilage damage but may also play a role in perpetuation of inflammation.

We conducted a hydroacoustic-trawl survey from April 16–19, 2013, for acoustical identification of anchovies in the South Sea of South Korea. Three types of fish schools were defined on the basis of the trawl results: L7 (schools mixed with 57 % hairtail and 37 % anchovy), L8 (schools with 95 % anchovy), and L1 (schools with unknown species). According to the results, the bathymetric characteristics (school depth, water depth, and altitude) of L1 were similar to those of L7; however, the morphometric characteristics (length, height, area, and image compactness) of L1 were similar to those of L8. To confirm whether L1 was more similar to L8 or L7, we used the ΔMVBS method [where ΔMVBS is difference of mean volume backscattering strength (MVBS) at 38 and 120 kHz] with three cell sizes, 0.1 nmi × 2 m, 0.25 nmi × 4 m, and 0.5 nmi × 5 m; the ΔMVBS pattern of L1 seemed similar to that of L8, but not that of L7. By using one-way analysis of variance, we noted significant differences of frequency characteristics between L7 and L8 and L7 and L1, supporting the results of the ΔMVBS method. Moreover, only 0.1 nmi × 2 m and 0.25 nmi × 4 m were the appropriate cell sizes for anchovy species identification. This exploratory study may form the basis for other species identification.

Content delivery service has become a major traffic load on today's Internet, and this has triggered the interest of ISPs in operating their own content delivery networks (CDNs) to optimize Internet traffic considering both content delivery caching and user-network proximity. ISPs, however, are typically regionally bound or network-domain-wise isolated; hence, their CDN gain is somewhat limited. In order to enhance the gain of ISP CDN services to the level of incumbent global CDNs, a CDN interconnection (CDNI) model is introduced by IETF, where local ISP CDN services can be extended among heterogeneous CDNs across network domains. However, despite the multiple benefits of a CDNI system, it is difficult to apply a CDNI service to the current CDN market due to the platform independence. Hence, we introduced a CDNI gateway model that is standard-capable and platform-independent. With the CDNI gateway model, we design and implement a complete CDNI system and conduct a CDNI service trial with three major ISPs in South Korea. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first CDNI service trial complying with the IETF standard achieved by a multi-ISP collaboration. According to the analysis of experimental results from the service trial, we observe that CDNI can reduce content traffic by about 40 percent at the Internet exchange link compared to a legacy CDN system.

The existing EBFA (ecosystem-based fisheries assessment) approach assesses impacts of fisheries on sustainability, biodiversity, habitat, and socio-economic benefit, however, it does not account for spatial variations. In the current study, a spatial component was incorporated into the EBFA to better assess the following risk indices: risk score, objectives risk index, species risk index, fisheries risk index, and ecosystem risk index. To demonstrate, this extended approach was applied to the ecosystems of the East Sea and East China Sea. Since the existing EBFA produced a mean value of the overall ecosystem components, it was difficult to use the results as baseline data for spatial management. The extended EBFA—the approach using data for each index and sea block—enables an ecological risk assessment for each sea block. This approach is useful for setting intensive yet practical management measures that focus on indices and/or sea blocks with high risks, making good use of the results obtained from each sea block. The approach is particularly useful for introducing fishing ground closure, fishery resource area protection, marine area protection, and other management measures rooted in spatial management.