1.Factors affecting the willingness to pay extra for safe food
MinSook KYUNG ; DongYoung KIM ; Sunny HAM
Nutrition Research and Practice 2023;17(3):565-582
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES:
With the outbreak of infectious diseases, such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), public interest in health and safety has increased, and consequently, interests in food safety have been heightened too. The purpose of this study was to compare and analyze the involvement of various categories of consumers in food safety, the subjective evaluation of food safety in Korea, and the willingness of the consumers to pay extra for safe food according to their demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.MATERIALS/METHODS: This study used data from the 2020 Consumer Behavior Survey for Food provided by the Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI). The subjects were 6,355 adult household members aged 19 to 75 years old. The survey was conducted from June 10th to August 21st, 2020. The data for the study were subjected to statistical analyses, including descriptive statistics, complex sample general linear model, k-means cluster, and multiple regression analyses.
RESULTS:
The factors affecting the willingness to pay extra for safe food were education level, occupation, monthly household income, presence of a young (teenager) household member, and the subjects’ involvement in food safety. the significant factors affecting the willingness to pay extra for safe food were sex, age, and income level for the group exhibiting a low level of involvement in food safety, while education level and presence of a young household member were the statistically significant factors for the group exhibiting a high level of involvement in food safety.
CONCLUSION
This study verified the differences in the factors associated with the willingness to pay extra for safe food according to the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, involvement in food safety, subjective evaluation of food safety. This study offers practical implications to the industry and government that would help in directing strategies to strengthen safe food management.
2.Bee venom phospholipase A2 ameliorates motor dysfunction and modulates microglia activation in Parkinson's disease alpha-synuclein transgenic mice.
Minsook YE ; Hwan Suck CHUNG ; Chanju LEE ; Joo Hyun SONG ; Insop SHIM ; Youn Sub KIM ; Hyunsu BAE
Experimental & Molecular Medicine 2016;48(7):e244-
α-Synuclein (α-Syn) has a critical role in microglia-mediated neuroinflammation, which leads to the development of Parkinson's disease (PD). Recent studies have shown that bee venom (BV) has beneficial effects on PD symptoms in human patients or 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) toxin-induced PD mice. This study investigated whether treatment with BV-derived phospholipase A2 (bvPLA2) would improve the motor dysfunction and pathological features of PD in human A53T α-Syn mutant transgenic (A53T Tg) mice. The motor dysfunction of A53T Tg mice was assessed using the pole test. The levels of α-Syn, microglia and the M1/M2 phenotype in the spinal cord were evaluated by immunofluorescence. bvPLA2 treatment significantly ameliorated motor dysfunction in A53T Tg mice. In addition, bvPLA2 significantly reduced the expression of α-Syn, the activation and numbers of microglia, and the ratio of M1/M2 in A53T Tg mice. These results suggest that bvPLA2 could be a promising treatment option for PD.
1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine
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alpha-Synuclein*
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Animals
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Bee Venoms*
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Bees*
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Fluorescent Antibody Technique
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Humans
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Mice
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Mice, Transgenic*
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Microglia*
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Parkinson Disease*
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Phenotype
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Phospholipases A2*
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Phospholipases*
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Spinal Cord
3.Rapid Health Needs Assessment after Typhoons Bolaven and Tembin Using the Public Health Assessment for Emergency Response Toolkit in Paju and Jeju, Korea 2012.
Ki Jeong HONG ; Kyoung Jun SONG ; Sang Do SHIN ; Sung Wook SONG ; Young Sun RO ; Joo JEONG ; Tae Han KIM ; Yu Jin LEE ; Minsook KIM ; Soo Nam JO ; Min Young KIM
Journal of Korean Medical Science 2017;32(8):1367-1373
Following natural disasters, rapid health needs assessments are required to quickly assess health status and help decision making during the recovery phase. The Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) developed the Public Health Assessment for Emergency Response (PHASER) Toolkit which was optimized for a weather disaster in Korea. The goal of this study is to assess public health needs following the 2012 typhoons Bolaven and Tembin in both urban and rural areas in Korea. We conducted pilot trials using the PHASER toolkit to assess health needs following typhoons Bolaven and Tembin in Paju and Jeju during summer 2012. We sampled 400 households in Jeju and 200 households in Paju using a multistage cluster sampling design method. We used a standardized household tracking sheet and household survey sheet to collect data on the availability of resource for daily life, required health needs, clinical results and accessibility of medical services. The primary outcomes were clinical results and accessibility of medical service after the typhoons. We completed surveys for 190 households in Paju and 386 households in Jeju. Sleeping disorders were identified in 6.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.8%–10.8%) surveyed in Paju and 17.4% (95% CI, 12.8%–22.0%) in Jeju. We used the PHASER toolkit to assess healthcare needs rapidly after 2 typhoons in Korea. Sleeping disorders were frequently identified in both Paju and Jeju following the 2 typhoons.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
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Cyclonic Storms*
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Decision Making
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Delivery of Health Care
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Disasters
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Emergencies*
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Family Characteristics
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Korea*
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Mental Health Services
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Methods
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Needs Assessment*
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Public Health*
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Weather
5.An Open Label Multi-Center Prospective Observational Study of Paliperidone Extended Release to Assess the Medication Satisfaction and Treatment Response in Patients with Schizophrenia.
Bong Ju LEE ; Donghwan SHIN ; Mankil SEO ; Yohan LEE ; Dongseok YANG ; Jinwoo PAC ; Juyeon LEE ; Won Myong BAHK ; Tae Youn JUN ; Sangkyu LEE ; Byungjin CHAE ; Kyungsik KIM ; Eunjung JEONG ; Seokyoung DO ; Yong Lee JANG ; Jongil LEE ; Jaeyeol JEONG ; Sanghoon KIM ; Bo Hyun YOON ; Shingyeom KIM ; Moonsoo LEE ; Jaewoo ROH ; Minsook GIM ; Sung Ku CHOI ; Young Hoon KIM
Korean Journal of Psychopharmacology 2012;23(3):88-96
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to demonstrate changes of subjective medication satisfaction and clinical benefit after once-daily paliperidone extended release (ER) in treatment of schizophrenia. METHODS: In an open-label, observational, and multicenter study, 374 patients with schizophrenia who switched to paliperidone ER due to any reason were recruited. Medication Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ), Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S), Clinical Global Impression-Improvement and visual analogue scale for sleep (VAS) were assessed at baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after treatment. We also examined the type, frequency, and severity of adverse events newly formed. RESULTS: Among 374 patients, 320 patients (76.5%) were included in the intent-to-treat analysis set. The mean dose of paliperidone ER was 5.33+/-2.31 mg/day at the initiation. At the endpoint, the mean dose of paliperidone ER was 6.68+/-3.13 mg/day. The percentages of patients satisfied with medication were changed from 40.9% at baseline to 67.8% at endpoint (p<0.001). Both CGI-S scores and VAS for daytime drowsiness were significantly decreased after 8 weeks (both p<0.0001) and mean scores of MSQ and VAS for sleep quality were improved after 8 weeks (both p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: After switching to paliperidone ER, 67.8% of patients with schizophrenia who had any reason to switch medication showed subjective satisfaction for medication and clinical improvement without significant adverse events. Regarding that medication satisfaction was associated with changes of clinical states, medication satisfaction can be used for measures for clinical scales in the treatment of schizophrenia.
Humans
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Isoxazoles
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Prospective Studies
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Pyrimidines
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Surveys and Questionnaires
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Schizophrenia
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Sleep Stages
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Weights and Measures