Performance Enhancement in Powder-Fabricated Cu(ZnSn)Se Solar Cell by Roll Compression.

Despite the improved conversion efficiency of Cu(ZnSn)Se (CZTSe) solar cells, their roll-to-roll fabrication nonetheless leads to low performance. The selenization time and temperature are typically considered major parameters for a powder-based CZTSe film; meanwhile, the importance of the densification during the roll-to-roll process is often overlooked. The densification process is related to the porosity of the light-absorbing layer, where high porosity lowers cell performance.

The association between carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of human hair and hypertension.

Background: The relationship between stable isotope ratios and dietary protein sources has been reported. However, few studies have examined the effect of stable isotope ratios on metabolic risk in humans. We investigated whether the stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen in human hair are associated with blood pressure and hypertension.

Association between Nitrogen Stable Isotope Ratios in Human Hair and Serum Levels of Leptin.

Stable isotope ratios have been reported to be potential biomarkers of dietary intake and nutritional status. High serum levels of leptin, a hormone which regulates energy metabolism and food intake, are associated with insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. However, little is known about the association between stable isotope ratios and the metabolic risk in humans.

Effects of ginseng on peripheral blood mitochondrial DNA copy number and hormones in men with metabolic syndrome: A randomized clinical and pilot study.

Background: It has been observed that mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with an increased risk of metabolic syndrome. There is growing evidence that hyperactivity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and hormone (testosterone and growth hormone) deficiency may lead to metabolic syndrome. Recent studies have reported that ginseng treatment improves mitochondrial and HPA-axis function and increases anabolic hormone secretion.

Blood Lead Levels and Cause-Specific Mortality of Inorganic Lead-Exposed Workers in South Korea.

The objective of this study was to identify the association of blood lead level (BLL) with mortality in inorganic lead-exposed workers of South Korea. A cohort was compiled comprising 81,067 inorganic lead exposed workers working between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2004. This cohort was merged with the Korean National Statistical Office to follow-up for mortality between 2000 and 2008.

The association between carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of human hair and metabolic syndrome.

Background: It has been reported that stable isotope ratios can be used as biomarkers for animal protein intake. Meat consumption and high protein intake could be risk factors for metabolic disorders. We investigated whether the stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen are associated with metabolic syndrome.

Addition of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels to electrocardiography criteria for detection of left ventricular hypertrophy: the ARIRANG study.

The utility of electrocardiography (ECG) in screening for left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in general populations is limited mainly because its low sensitivity. B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is released due to the remodeling processes of LVH and could improve the diagnostic accuracy for the ECG criteria for LVH. We hypothesized that addition of BNP levels to ECG criteria could aid LVH detection compared with ECG alone in a general population.

Oxidative damage markers are significantly associated with the carotid artery intima-media thickness after controlling for conventional risk factors of atherosclerosis in men.

Background: This study aimed to assess the association between oxidative damage markers and carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) after controlling for conventional risk factors of atherosclerosis in multiple logistic regression models.

Methods And Findings: Fifty-one case male participants (CIMT ≥ 0.9 mm) were enrolled during their visits to Korean Genomic Rural Cohort Study of Wonju centers between May 1 and August 31, 2011, along with 51 control participants (CIMT < 0.

Solvent-free synthesis of Cu2ZnSnS4 nanocrystals: a facile, green, up-scalable route for low cost photovoltaic cells.

Efficient Cu2ZnSnSe4 (CZTSe) solar cells were fabricated with a simple, environmentally friendly, and scalable synthetic method for Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) nanocrystals. CZTS nanoparticles were mechanochemically synthesized from elemental precursors on a relatively large scale (∼20 g), during which no solvents or additives were used, thus alleviating the complex process of particle synthesis. An analysis of the time evolution of the crystalline phase and morphology of precursor powders revealed that the formation of the CZTS compound was completed in 0.

A coronary heart disease prediction model: the Korean Heart Study.

Objective: The objectives of this study were to develop a coronary heart disease (CHD) risk model among the Korean Heart Study (KHS) population and compare it with the Framingham CHD risk score.

Design: A prospective cohort study within a national insurance system.

Setting: 18 health promotion centres nationwide between 1996 and 2001 in Korea.

Relative contribution of obesity and serum adiponectin to the development of hypertension.

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between serum adiponectin level and new-onset hypertension, and the relative contribution of obesity and low serum adiponectin levels to the development of hypertension in normotensive men and women.

Methods: We analyzed 1553 adults (584 men and 969 women) without hypertension, aged 40-70 years, who had participated in a cohort study in both time periods from 2005 to 2008 for baseline and 2008 to 2011 for follow-up. We divided participants into sex-specific tertiles according to serum adiponectin levels.

A prospective study of epicardial adipose tissue and incident metabolic syndrome: the ARIRANG study.

Increased epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) may be closely associated with the development of metabolic abnormalities. We investigated whether EAT predicts the incident metabolic syndrome in a community-based, middle-aged population. The study subjects were comprised of 354 adults (134 men and 220 women) aged 40 to 70 yr without metabolic syndrome.

Preparation of monolithic cu(In0.7Ga0.3)Se2 nanopowders and subsequent fabrication of sintered CIGS films.

Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) is a compound semiconductor and is one of the most attractive light-absorbing materials for use in thin film solar cells. Among the various approaches to prepare CIGS thin films, the powder process offers an extremely simple and materials-efficient method. Here, we report the mechano-chemical preparation of CIGS compound powders suitable for fabrication of CIGS films by a powder process.

The Korean Heart Study: rationale, objectives, protocol, and preliminary results for a new prospective cohort study of 430,920 men and women.

Background: To describe the rationale, objectives, protocol, and preliminary results for a new prospective cohort study of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in South Korea.

Methods: Study members were recruited from participants in routine health assessments at health promotion centres across South Korea. Established and emerging CVD risk factors were measured.

Prospective study of serum adiponectin and incident metabolic syndrome: the ARIRANG study.

Objective: Increased adiponectin levels may play a protective role in the development of metabolic abnormalities, but prospective studies of the predictive value of serum adiponectin to identify individuals at high risk of new-onset metabolic syndrome are lacking. We investigated whether serum adiponectin predicts incident cases of the metabolic syndrome in a population-based longitudinal study.

Research Design And Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted of 2,044 adults (831 men and 1,213 women) aged 40-70 years without metabolic syndrome examined in 2005-2008 (baseline) and 2008-2011 (follow-up).

Association between short sleep duration and high incidence of metabolic syndrome in midlife women.

Chronic sleep deprivation is increasingly common in industrialized societies. Short sleep duration has been associated with a number of negative health outcomes. The objectives of this study were to investigate the association between self-reported sleep duration and the presence of metabolic syndrome (combination of central obesity, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose) in adults during midlife.

The ratio of serum leptin to adiponectin provides adjunctive information to the risk of metabolic syndrome beyond the homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance: the Korean Genomic Rural Cohort Study.

Background: Leptin and adiponectin are adipokines, shown to have opposing functions for fat metabolism and development of metabolic syndrome. We determined if the ratio of serum leptin to adiponectin (L/A ratio) adjunctively contributes to the risk of metabolic syndrome beyond the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR).

Methods: This study included 1532 men and 1856 women, aged 40-70 y assessed in the Korean Genomic Rural Cohort Study from 2005 to 2008.

The clustering patterns of metabolic risk factors and its association with sub-clinical atherosclerosis in Korean population.

Background And Aims: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is considered to be an insulin-resistance syndrome, but recent evidence suggests that MetS has multiple physiological origins which may be related to atherosclerosis. This study investigated clustering patterns of metabolic risk factors and its association with sub-clinical atherosclerosis.

Subjects And Methods: This study used factor analysis of 11 metabolic factors in 1374 individuals to define clustering patterns and determine their association with carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT).

Normative values and correlates of mean common carotid intima-media thickness in the Korean rural middle-aged population: the Atherosclerosis RIsk of Rural Areas iN Korea General Population (ARIRANG) study.

Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) is considered as a surrogate marker for cardiovascular disease (CVD). We determined the normative value of CIMT and correlates of CVD risk factors and Framingham risk score (FRS) in Korean rural middle-aged population. We measured CIMT with a B-mode ultrasonography in 1,759 subjects, aged 40 to 70 yr, in a population-based cohort in Korea.

Relationships between serum adiponectin with metabolic syndrome and components of metabolic syndrome in non-diabetic Koreans: ARIRANG study.

Purpose: Growing evidence suggests that hypoadiponectinemia may play a significant role in the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Therefore, the relationships between serum adiponectin with MetS and components of MetS were investigated in non-diabetic samples of drawn from the Koreans general population.

Materials And Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study in samples of older Koreans (age > 40 years) including 2,471 men and 3,463 women.

N-Terminal Pro-B-type Natriuretic Peptide Levels in the Korean General Population.

Background And Objectives: B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) or N-terminal pro-BNP (NT-proBNP) levels may serve as a useful marker of cardiovascular risk for screening of the general population. We evaluated reference levels and distribution of NT-proBNP in the Korean general population based on a large cohort study.

Subjects And Methods: We included 1,518 adult subjects (ages 40-69) of a community-based cohort from the Korea Rural Genomic Cohort (KRGC) Study.

Urine Albumin Creatinine Ratio is Associated with Carotid Atherosclerosis in a Community Based Cohort: Atherosclerosis Risk of Rural Area in Korean General Population Study.

Background: Albuminuria is a surrogate marker of endothelial dysfunction and a predictor of cardiovascular events. Data are limited with regard to the relationship between albuminuria and subclinical atherosclerosis in a community-based cohort. We determined the association between albuminuria measured by the urine albumin creatinine ratio (UACR) and carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) in a Korean rural population.

[Factors influencing utilization of medical care among osteoarthritis patients in Korea: using 2005 Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey data].

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to define the association between the medical utilization of osteoarthritis patient and its related factors.

Methods: We used the 2005 Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey data and we enrolled 2833 participants who were forty or older and who were diagnosed as having osteoarthritis by a doctor within 1 year and who had suffered from osteoarthritis for more than 3 months. The Andersen behavioral model was used as the analytic framework, and the variables were categorized into predisposing, enabling, and need factors.

Cardiovascular parameters correlated with metabolic syndrome in a rural community cohort of Korea: the ARIRANG study.

Although metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with increased cardiovascular mortality and the development of atherosclerosis, consensus is still lacking on the status of cardiovascular function and geometry in MetS patients. We investigated the relation between MetS and left ventricle (LV) geometry and function, carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and arterial stiffness in a community-based cohort of 702 adult subjects. Subjects were categorized into three groups according to the number of MetS components present, as defined by the Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines: 1) Absent (0 criteria), 2) Pre-MetS (1-2 criteria) or 3) MetS (> or =3 criteria).

Optimal waist circumference cutoff values for metabolic syndrome diagnostic criteria in a Korean rural population.

The Korean Society for the Study of Obesity (KSSO) has defined the waist circumference cutoff value of central obesity as 90 cm for men and 85 cm for women. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the corresponding waist circumference values. A total of 3,508 persons in the Korean Rural Genomic Cohort Study were enrolled in this survey.