Elderly Perception on the Internet of Things-Based Integrated Smart-Home System.

An integrated smart home system (ISHS) is an effective way to improve the quality of life of the elderly. The elderly's willingness is essential to adopt an ISHS; to the best of our knowledge, no study has investigated the elderly's perception of ISHS. Consequently, this study aims to investigate the elderly's perception of the ISHS by comprehensively evaluating its possible benefits and negative responses. A set of sensors required for an ISHS was determined, and interviews were designed based on four factors: perceived comfort, perceived usability, perceived privacy, and perceived benefit. Subsequently, technological trials of the sensor-set followed by two focus group interviews were conducted on nine independently living elderly participants at a senior welfare center in South Korea. Consistent with previous studies, the results of this investigation indicate that elderly participants elicited negative responses regarding usability complexity, and discomfort to daily activities. Despite such negative responses, after acquiring enough awareness about the ISHS's benefits, the elderly acknowledged its necessity and showed a high level of willingness. Furthermore, these results indicate that for a better adoption of an ISHS, sufficient awareness regarding its benefits and development of elderly-friendly smart home sensors that minimize negative responses are required.

Molecular phylogenetic, population genetic and demographic studies of Nodularia douglasiae and Nodularia breviconcha based on CO1 and 16S rRNA.

Freshwater mussels belonging to the genus Nodularia (Family Unionidae) are known to be widely distributed in East Asia. Although phylogenetic and population genetic studies have been performed for these species, there still remain unresolved questions in their taxonomic status and biogeographic distribution pathways. Here, the nucleotide sequences of CO1 and 16S rRNA were newly determined from 86 N. douglasiae and 83 N. breviconcha individuals collected on the Korean Peninsula. Based on these data, we revealed the following results: (1) N. douglasiae can be divided into the three genetic clades of A (only found in Korean Peninsula), B (widely distributed in East Asia), and C (only found in the west of China and Russia), (2) the clade A is not an independent species but a concrete member of N. douglasiae given the lack of genetic differences between the clades A and B, and (3) N. breviconcha is not a subspecies of N. douglasiae but an independent species apart from N. douglasiae. In addition, we suggested the plausible scenarios of biogeographic distribution events and demographic history of Nodularia species.

The complete mitochondrial genome of a freshwater mussel Nodularia douglasiae (Bivalvia: Unionidae).

The circular F-type mitochondrial genome (15,761 bp) was completely sequenced for a Korean freshwater mussel Nodularia douglasiae (synonym Unio douglasiae; Unionidae, Unionida, Bivalvia). It contains 13 PCGs, two rRNA genes, and 22 tRNA genes, as generally shown in metazoan mitochondrial genomes. Its gene order is identical to that of F-type mitochondrial genomes observed in other freshwater mussels. With nucleotide and amino acid sequences of the complete F-type mitochondrial genomes obtained from 38 unionid species reported so far, phylogenetic analyses were done and discussed. The present study may give valuable helps to explore genetic diversity and population structures of other freshwater mussels as well as N. douglasiae.

Influenza Vaccination Coverage Rate according to the Pulmonary Function of Korean Adults Aged 40 Years and Over: Analysis of the Fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Influenza vaccination is an effective strategy to reduce morbidity and mortality, particularly for those who have decreased lung functions. This study was to identify the factors that affect vaccination coverage according to the results of pulmonary function tests depending on the age. In this cross-sectional study, data were obtained from 3,224 adults over the age of 40 who participated in the fifth National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and underwent pulmonary function testing in 2012. To identify the factors that affect vaccination rate, logistic regression analysis was conducted after dividing the subjects into two groups based on the age of 65. Influenza vaccination coverage of the entire subjects was 45.2%, and 76.8% for those aged 65 and over. The group with abnormal pulmonary function had a higher vaccination rate than the normal group, but any pulmonary dysfunction or history of COPD did not affect the vaccination coverage in the multivariate analysis. The subjects who were 40-64 years-old had higher vaccination coverage when they were less educated or with restricted activity level, received health screenings, and had chronic diseases. Those aged 65 and over had significantly higher vaccination coverage only when they received regular health screenings. Any pulmonary dysfunction or having COPD showed no significant correlation with the vaccination coverage in the Korean adult population.

Brow archetype preferred by Korean women.

The aim of this study is to see which brow archetype is preferred by Korean women. The archetypes were chosen from a literature search, which contain detailed, replicable methods and have diagrams (Westmore, Lamas, Anastasia, Schreiber, and Hwang). A survey was conducted on 300 subjects (group A, 100 female medical students; group B, 100 women who had visited a plastic surgery clinic for periorbital rejuvenation; and group C, 100 women who visited the brow bar). They were asked whether they think there might be a method that yields an ideal brow archetype. In the cases where they said yes, they were asked to choose 1 of the illustrated 5 brow archetypes that they think is ideal. Among the 300 respondents, 232 (77.3%) thought there might be a method to yield an ideal brow archetype, whereas 68 (22.7%) answered they did not. The preference for the brow archetypes was different among the 5 archetypes (P = 0.0001, χ2). Anastasia was the most preferred (44.8%, brow starts on a perpendicular line drawn from the middle of the nostril, arches on a line drawn from the center of the nose through the center of the pupil, and ends on a line drawn from the edge of the corresponding nasal ala through the outer edge of the eye). Anastasia was followed by Lamas (22.0%). In group A, Anastasia (55.7%) was the most preferred, followed by Lamas (26.2%) and Westmore (13.1%). In group B, Anastasia (34.8%) was the most preferred, followed by Lamas (30.3%) and Westmore and Schreiber (both 13.5%). In group C, Anastasia (47.6%) was the most preferred, followed by Hwang (25.5%) and Westmore (11.0%). There was a significant difference (P < 0.001) among the 3 groups. There was a significant correlation between the preference of brow archetype and occupation (P = 0.0033). However, no significant differences were noted for the preference of brow archetype between the age groups of younger than 30 years and older than 30 years (P = 0.1374), level of education (P = 0.3403), marital status (P = 0.541), or monthly income (P = 0.1696, χ2). The result of this study might be useful in facial rejuvenation surgeries as well as in brow esthetics or tattooing of eyebrows.