Earticle

Purpose : We are focusing on diminishing the fall probability of elderly by serving them Fall Prevention Exercise Program(FPEP) to discipline proper physical positions and lifestyles. Method : For total three months from Jan. 2014 to April 2014, we had applied the FPEP for high-risks(n=16), low-risks(n=8), a elderly(n=24) hospitalized patients in Y Hospital. Result : After implementing the FPEP, falls did not occur in low-risk fall patients, but in high-risks. Falls happened more in medium and high exercise performance group rather than low exercise performance group. Falls took in places at restroom, bed, and automatic door, in order. Conclusion : It is necessary to expand the Fall Prevention Exercise Program continuously for all types of patients including both low and high-risk fall patients.

Technological innovation is the foundation for high-tech enterprises to enhance competitiveness and achieve sustainable development. However, there are some uncertain factors existing in the process of technological innovation, which bring about risks. In the light of this, first, based on relevant studies and an expert questionnaire survey, an index system for evaluating the risks is constructed. Then, a two-tuple-linguistic-information-based evaluation model is proposed, wherein a two-tuple group-decision method and its aggregation operators are introduced and the specific evaluation steps are given. At last, an empirical study of technological innovation risk evaluation is conducted on an enterprise of Nanchang high-tech development zone. The result indicates that by applying this method, high-tech enterprises can easily learn the overall risk level of their technological innovation projects, and then weaken or control the risks.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the accuracy and precision of continuous, non-invasive blood pressure obtained using the ClearSight system by comparing it with invasive arterial blood pressure, and to assess the hemodynamic changes using invasive methods and the ClearSight system in patients undergoing cesarean section. Methods: Arterial pressure was measured invasively with an intra-arterial catheter and non-invasively using the ClearSight system during cesarean section in patients with placenta previa or placenta accreta. Blood pressure measurements obtained using these two means were then compared. Results: Total 1,277 blood pressure measurement pairs were collected from 21 patients. Under Bland-Altman analysis, the ClearSight system demonstrated an acceptable accuracy with a bias and standard deviation of 8.8±13.4 mmHg for systolic blood pressure, -6.3±7.1 mmHg for diastolic blood pressure, and -2.7±8.0 mmHg for median blood pressure. Cardiac index levels were significantly elevated during fetal delivery and 5 minutes after placental removal, and systemic vascular resistance index levels were significantly decreased during fetal delivery and 40 minutes after placental removal. Conclusion: In patients undergoing cesarean section, the ClearSight system showed excellent accuracy and precision compared to that of the currently used invasive monitoring system.

This study was conducted to compare the rates of hyperlipidemia, hypertension, high blood glucose, and liver dysfunction, between 64 obese children (24 boys and 11 girls who were moderately obese, and 21 boys and 8 girls who were severely obese) and 45 normal weight children (31 boys and 14 girls) from 13 elementary schools in Kangnung city. Among the boys with severe obesity, the levels of serum triglycerides and LDL-cholesterol (133.60 $\pm$ 49.99 mg/dl and 105.00 $\pm$ 41.12 mg/dl( respectively) were significantly higher compared to the normal Weight group (81.16 $\pm$ 23.59 mg/dl and 87.74 $\pm$ 32.095 mg/dl, respectively) of moderately obese group (102.30 $\pm$ 36.03 mg/dl, 89.99 $\pm$ 32.10 mg/이, respectively). In girls, only serum triglycerides were significantly higher in the severely obese group (154.30 $\pm$ 46.84 mg/dl), compared with the normal weight group (80.00 $\pm$ 25.31 mg/dl) or moderately obese group (106.40 $\pm$ 41.73 mg/dl). In boys, blood pressure in the severely obese group (systolic: 120.5 $\pm$ 9.74 mmHg; diastolic: 80.95 $\pm$ 10.44 mmHg) was significantly higher compared with the groups of normal weight or moderately obese children. The rate of hypertriglyceridemia was significantly different among normal weight, moderately obese, and severely obese boys (9.7%, 41.7%, and 76.2%, respectively). The proportion of boys who had an Atherogenic Index(AI) higher than 3 was found to be significantly higher in the severely obese group (28.6%), compared to 6.5% in the normal weight group and 4.1% in the moderately obese group. Among boys, a significantly higher rate of hypertension was found in the severely obese group, which showed high systolic blood pressure and high diastolic pressure (81.0% and 81.0%), compared with the normal weight group (16.1% and 22.6%) and moderately obese group (33.3% and 33.3%). In conclusion, the diagnosis and management of obese children needs to be tailored to gender and the degree of obesity. Furthermore, a systematic management program needs to be developed for early screening and detection of obesity in order to minimize the risk of hyperlipidemia and hypertension, especially in severely obese children.

Background: High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels are lower in Japanese compared with Western subjects. Since it is uncertain whether hsCRP is a potent predictor of mortality at low CRP concentrations, the present study examined associations with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in a large population of Japanese. Materials and Methods: Subjects were 4,737 men and 6,343 women aged 49-76 years participating in the baseline survey of an ongoing cohort study of lifestyle-related diseases between February 2004 and July 2006. Hazard ratios for all-cause and cause-specific mortality associated with hsCRP levels were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression. Results: A total of 436 all-cause deaths occurred during a median follow-up of 8 years. The main cause of death was cancer. In men, hsCRP levels were positively associated with the risk of all-cause mortality as well as deaths from cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD). All-cause mortality hazards for the 2nd (0.34-0.84 mg/L) and the 3rd (${\geq}0.85mg/L$) tertiles of hsCRP were 1.27 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.93-1.73) and 1.75 (1.30-2.37), respectively (p for trend=0.001). In women, increased risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality associated with elevated hsCRP levels was observed, but the associations were not statistically significant. Conclusions: HsCRP may be an independent predictor of all-cause, cancer and CVD mortality in apparently healthy Japanese men, but not women. The differential effect of hsCRP in predicting mortality risk by sex warrants further investigation.

Background and purpose Whether pharmacologically altered high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) affects the risk of cardiovascular events is unknown. Recently, we have reported the Prevention of Cardiovascular Events in Asian Patients with Ischaemic Stroke at High Risk of Cerebral Haemorrhage (PICASSO) trial that demonstrated the non-inferiority of cilostazol to aspirin and superiority of probucol to non-probucol for cardiovascular prevention in ischemic stroke patients (clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01013532). We aimed to determine whether on-treatment HDL-C changes by cilostazol and probucol influence the treatment effect of each study medication during the PICASSO study. Methods Of the 1,534 randomized patients, 1,373 (89.5%) with baseline cholesterol parameters were analyzed. Efficacy endpoint was the composite of stroke, myocardial infarction, and cardiovascular death. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis examined an interaction between the treatment effect and changes in HDL-C levels from randomization to 1 month for each study arm. Results One-month post-randomization mean HDL-C level was significantly higher in the cilostazol group than in the aspirin group (1.08 mmol/L vs. 1.00 mmol/L, P<0.001). The mean HDL-C level was significantly lower in the probucol group than in the non-probucol group (0.86 mmol/L vs. 1.22 mmol/L, P<0.001). These trends persisted throughout the study. In both study arms, no significant interaction was observed between HDL-C changes and the assigned treatment regarding the risk of the efficacy endpoint. Conclusions Despite significant HDL-C changes, the effects of cilostazol and probucol treatment on the risk of cardiovascular events were insignificant. Pharmacologically altered HDL-C levels may not be reliable prognostic markers for cardiovascular risk.

Recent changes in American and European guidelines on the management of arterial hypertension have caused a considerable shift in the landscape of hypertension management. The 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association/American Society of Hypertension guideline recommends an office visit blood pressure (BP) > 130/80 mmHg as the new threshold for diagnosis of hypertension, and states that the treatment goal for all hypertensive patients should be lowered to < 130/80 mmHg. In contrast, the 2018 European guideline maintains the diagnostic threshold of hypertension at 140/90 mmHg. However, despite their differences in thresholds for diagnosis of hypertension, both guidelines are in agreement that treatment should be considered in patients with BPs in the range of 130 to 139/80 to 89 mmHg if they have high cardiovascular risk. The results from the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) study and recent meta-analyses suggest that BP lowering with antihypertensive treatment may be beneficial in reducing cardiovascular event rates in subjects with high-normal BP or stage 1 hypertension according to the new American guideline. However, intensive BP lowering is associated with increased incidence of treatment-associated adverse events, and evidence suggests that BP lowering below 120/70 mmHg increases the risk of cardiovascular events. In this review, we discuss the evidence supporting antihypertensive treatment in subjects with high-normal BP and discuss the specific subgroup of subjects that might benefit from BP lowering.

This study examined the effect of the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet of the Korean multi-domain dementia prevention program on the cognitive functions of the elderly with dementia risk factors. We developed the program including nutrition, exercise, cognitive training, vascular disease prevention, and motivation. One- hundred and fifty-three participants aged 60~79 years with at least 1 dementia risk factor were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio to the facility-based intervention (FMI), home-based intervention (HMI), and the control group. The nutrition education program consisted of 10 classes over 24 weeks: the FMI received 7 group sessions and three 1:1 sessions, the HMI received 4 group sessions and three 1:1 sessions with 3 homework sessions. The Nutrition Quotient for Elderly (NQ-E) and the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) were used to evaluate nutritional status. The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment Neuropsychological Status (RBANS), Korean Mini-Mental State Examination (K-MMSE), and the Cognitive Complaint Interview (CCI) were used to evaluate cognitive functions. A total of 136 people completed the program with an 11.1% dropout rate. The NQ-E (P=0.009) and RBANS (P=0.001) scores significantly increased in the FMI (N=45) and HMI (N=49) groups compared to the control group (N=42) after the study. The changes in the score of MNA and CCI did not differ significantly between groups. In conclusion, the nutritional intervention which focused on the MIND diet as a part of a multi-domain intervention program had a positive effect on the improvement of healthy eating habits and cognitive function scores in the high-risk dementia group.

[연구목적]본 연구는 주가붕괴위험이 높은 기업의 차기연도 하방경직적 원가행태가 자본시장에서 원가통제의 실패 또는 미래이익의 긍정적인 시그널로 작용되는지 검토하는 것에 그 목적이 있다. [연구방법]본 연구는 2011부터 2018년까지 유가증권시장 상장기업들을 대상으로 기준연도 주가붕괴위험의 수준과 차기연도 원가하방경직성의 정도를 측정하고, 자본시장의 반응을 분석하기 위해 초과수익률을 산출한 후 회귀분석을 실시한다. 또한, 본 연구의 주요결과에 대한 기업지배구조의 조절효과도 살펴본다. [연구결과]본 연구의 주요결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 기준연도 주가붕괴위험이 높은 기업일수록 평균적으로 차기연도 원가하방경직성이 높아지는 것으로 나타났다. 둘째, 기준연도 주가붕괴위험이 높은 기업의 차기연도 원가하방경직성의 정도와 주가수익률은 양(＋)의 관계가 있는 것으로 나타났다. 셋째, 기준연도 주가붕괴위험이 높은 기업에서 차기연도 원가의 하방경직성이 높아짐에 따라 얻게 되는 초과수익률은 기업지배구조가 양호한 기업집단에서만 유의하게 나타났다. [연구의 시사점]그동안 주가붕괴와 관련된 대부분의 선행연구들은 주가붕괴위험의 결정요인에 주목하였다. 이에 반해, 본 연구는 주가붕괴위험이 높았던 기업의 사후적 대처방안에 대한 실증증거를 제시하였다는 것에서 관련 문헌에 공헌점이 있을 것으로 판단한다. 또한, 주가붕괴위험이 높은 기업에서 강화된 원가하방경직성이 미래이익의 긍정적 시그널로 작용될 수 있음을 제시한 것에서 자본시장에 유용한 정보를 제공할 것으로 기대한다.

[Purpose]The purpose of this study is to examine whether the degree of cost stickiness in firms with high stock price crash risks indicates a failure of cost controls or a positive signal of future performance in the capital market. [Methodology]This study identifies the relation between stock price crash risks in the base year and the degree of cost stickiness in the subsequent year through regression analysis for firms listed on the Korea Stock Price Index, from 2011 to 2018. In addition, this study examines the moderating effect of corporate governance on the relation between these two. For the rubustness test, it also tests the variation of future earnings as the degree of cost stickiness in firms with high stock price crash risks is increasing. [Findings]The main findings of this study are as follows. First, there is a positive relationship between stock price crash risks in the base year and the degree of costs stickiness in the subsequent year. Second, among firms with high stock price crash risks in the base year, there is a positive relationship between the degree of cost stickiness and abnormal returns in the subsequent year. Lastly, those positive abnormal future returns are obtained only when firms have decent corporate governance structure. [Implications]This study makes several contributions to the literature. First, extant literature only focuses on the determinants of stock price crash risks. However, this study extends the literature by showing managers’ ex－post effort to overcome a stock price crash. In addition, by highlighting the unique role of the cost stickiness as a positive signal of future profits for firms with high stock price crash risks, this study provides useful information to the capital market.

본 논문은 리튬배터리의 고온 및 단락전류에 따른 폭발 및 화재 위험성을 분석하기 위한 연구이다. 이에 대표적인 리튬배터리 종류인 리튬폴리머배터리 및 리튬이온배터리를 실험시료로 선정하였다. 고온에 따른 폭발위험성 측정결과 리튬폴리머배터리의 경우 평균 $170^{\circ}C$, 리튬이온배터리의 경우 평균 $187^{\circ}C$에서 폭발이 일어났다. 단락전류에 따른 온도상승측정결과 보호회로가 정상작동 할 경우 과전류를 제한하여 온도상승이 거의 없었지만, 보호회로가 고장 났을 경우 리튬폴리머배터리의 경우 평균 $115.7^{\circ}C$ 및 리튬이온배터리 경우 평균 $80.5^{\circ}C$까지 상승하여 화재 및 화상 위험성이 높게 나타나는 것으로 측정되었다.

This study is to analyze the explosion and fire risks due to high temperature and short circuit current of Lithium batteries. This study selected the typical types of Li-polymer batteries and Li-ion batteries as the test samples. The result of explosion risk assessment due to the high temperature showed that, while a Li-polymer battery had $170^{\circ}C$ explosion on average, a Li-ion battery had $187^{\circ}C$ explosion. The measurement result of temperature increase due to short circuit current revealed that, in case that protection circuit module (PCM) was normally working, there was little of temperature increase due to over-current limitation. However, in case that PCM was out of order, the temperature of a Li-polymer battery increased up to an average of $115.7^{\circ}C$ and the temperature of a Li-ion battery increased up to an average of $80.5^{\circ}C$, which showed the higher risks of fire and burn.