• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.127-134
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• 2022

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the impact of hyperandrogenism (HA) on the outcomes of ovulation induction (OI) using gonadotropin and intrauterine insemination (IUI) in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study including 415 patients undergoing OI using gonadotropin and IUI treatment between January 2018 and December 2020 at a single infertility center. Baseline characteristics, clinical and laboratory parameters, and pregnancy outcomes were investigated. Results: Among the study population, there were 105 hyperandrogenic (25.3%) and 310 non-hyperandrogenic patients (74.7%). The live birth rate was lower in the HA group than in the non-HA group, but this difference did not reach statistical significance due to the limited sample size (14.3% vs. 21.0%, relative risk=0.68; 95% CI, 0.41-1.14, p=0.153). No predictive factors for live birth were identified through logistic regression analysis. Conclusion: HA did not negatively affect the outcomes of OI using gonadotropin and IUI cycles in Vietnamese women with PCOS. The result may not be applicable elsewhere due to the large variation in the characteristics of women with PCOS across races and populations.

• Communications for Statistical Applications and Methods
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.287-299
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• 2022

In radiation epidemiology, the excess relative risk (ERR) model is used to determine the dose-response relationship. In general, the dose-response relationship for the ERR model is assumed to be linear, linear-quadratic, linear-threshold, quadratic, and so on. However, since none of these functions dominate other functions for expressing the dose-response relationship, a Bayesian semiparametric method using splines has recently been proposed. Thus, we improve the Bayesian semiparametric method for the selection of the tuning parameters for splines as the number and location of knots using a Bayesian knot selection method. Equally spaced knots cannot capture the characteristic of radiation exposed dose distribution which is highly skewed in general. Therefore, we propose a nonparametric Bayesian knot selection method based on a Dirichlet process mixture model. Inference of the spline coefficients after obtaining the number and location of knots is performed in the Bayesian framework. We apply this approach to the life span study cohort data from the radiation effects research foundation in Japan, and the results illustrate that the proposed method provides competitive curve estimates for the dose-response curve and relatively stable credible intervals for the curve.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.106-112
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• 2023

Background: Most international bodies recommended against musculoskeletal steroid injection during the COVID-19 pandemic, fearing that the immunosuppressive effects of the steroid could worsen COVID-19 infection, thus prolonging the suffering of patients with severe musculoskeletal disease. The authors' aim is to analyze the risk of COVID-19 infection after musculoskeletal injections. Methods: This is a retrospective study of patients who visited a sports medicine clinic and received musculoskeletal steroid injections between January 1, 2020 and February 28, 2021. The collected data was compared with the national COVID-19 registry to identify positive COVID-19 patients. The patients were only considered positive for COVID-19 following corticosteroid injection within 3 months after injection. Results: Out of 502 steroid injections; 79.7% (n = 400) received a single injection in one day, 19.1% (n = 96) received steroid injections at 2 sites in one day, and 1.2% (n = 6) received steroid injections at 3 sites in one day. Using the Fisher's exact test, there was no statistically significant association of COVID-19 infection between the steroid group and control group (relative risk, 1.44; 95% confidence interval, 0.9-23.1, P = 0.654). Only one patient contracted mild COVID-19 with no post COVID complications. Conclusions: The authors recommend the use of musculoskeletal steroid injections in clinically indicated situation without having increased risk of COVID-19.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.30-37
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• 2024

Consumption market research was conducted on gradually increasing vegetarians using various selection attributes. Factors were extracted to identify vegetarian selection attributes and to divide the study cohort into groups, continuous variables (health, animal welfare, eco-friendliness, religion, familiarity, convenience, stability, and cost) and categorical variables (age, marital status, vegetarian duration, and vegetarian frequency) were simultaneously subjected to two-step cluster analysis. Cluster 1 contained high proportions of 20-29 and 30-39 year-olds, which are MZ-generation age groups. A high proportion had a vegetarian duration of 1-3 years, and the popular reasons for vegetarian selection were animal welfare and eco-friendliness. Cluster 2 contained high proportions of 50-59 and 40-49 year-olds, and many in this cluster were married, and mean vegetarian duration was ≥15 years. In addition, significant differences were observed between Clusters 1 and 2 in terms of religion, health, familiarity, cost, stability, and convenience. This study should contribute significantly to predicting vegetarian consumers' selection decisions and consumption behaviors and provide reliable marketing data for foodservice companies that develop vegetarian foods.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.21-34
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• 2024

Purpose: This study aimed to observe change in factors over time in the first cohort of the 2018 Children and Adolescent Panel Middle School. In addition, this study attempted to examine the causal relationship and influence between variables by setting a time gap between independent and dependent variables. Methods: Frequency and descriptive statistical analyses were conducted to determine the general characteristics of the study participants. Hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to analyze the effects of smartphone dependence on health, sleep quality, and depression. After inputting the control variables (Model 2), the influence of the variables was identified based on the input model. Results: Smartphone dependence positively impacted depression in both male and female students and negatively impacted sleep and health. Conclusion: Smartphones are closely associated with teenagers' lives. Additionally, as adolescents experience various psychological anxieties owing to rapid physical changes, there are concerns that psychological dependence may increase, considering that adolescence is the most emotionally unstable period. Therefore, the results of this study consistently prove that smartphone dependence has a causal relationship with emotion-related variables, such as emotional stress, depression, and anxiety.

• Clinical Nutrition Research
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.40-53
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• 2023

Differential bitterness perception associated with genetic polymorphism in the bitter taste receptor gene taste 2 receptor member 38 (TAS2R38) may influence an individual's food preferences, nutrition consumption, and eventually chronic nutrition-related disorders including cardiovascular disease. Therefore, the effect of genetic variations on nutritional intake and clinical markers needs to be elaborated for health and disease prevention. In this study, we conducted sex-stratified analysis to examine the association between genetic variant TAS2R38 rs10246939 A > G with daily nutritional intake, blood pressure, and lipid parameters in Korean adults (males = 1,311 and females = 2,191). We used the data from the Multi Rural Communities Cohort, Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study. Findings suggested that the genetic variant TAS2R38 rs10246939 was associated with dietary intake of micronutrients including calcium (adjusted p = 0.007), phosphorous (adjusted p = 0.016), potassium (adjusted p = 0.022), vitamin C (adjusted p = 0.009), and vitamin E (adjusted p = 0.005) in females. However, this genetic variant did not influence blood glucose, lipid profile parameters, and other blood pressure markers. These may suggest that this genetic variation is associated with nutritional intake, but its clinical effect was not found. More studies are needed to explore whether TAS2R38 genotype may be a potential predictive marker for the risk of metabolic diseases via modulation of dietary intake.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.207-212
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• 2024

The study was conducted at Lake Hayq, one of the lakes of Wollo, Ethiopia. Data were collected at the landing sites for 365 days (June 8, 2022 to June 7, 2023). The basic information gathered in the fishing part of the Lake was Nile tilapia caught by fishermen, the total number of tilapia and the increase in fishing effort. The aim of the research was to estimate the size of the Nile tilapia population and the fishing mortality rate in length groups for Nile tilapia stocks occurring in the lake. A Jones length-based cohort analysis model was used to estimate Nile tilapia population. The estimated Nile tilapia population was over 46.8 Million tilapia per year. The model estimates that more than 13.3 million 8-10 cm Nile tilapia are caught in fisheries each year.

• Yonsei Medical Journal
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• v.63 no.1
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• pp.66-71
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• 2022

Purpose Proteinuria is a clinical sign of adverse cardiovascular outcomes, including stroke. We aimed to assess the relationship between proteinuria and the occurrence of cerebral infarction. Materials and Methods In total, 208854 Koreans who participated in the 2009 medical examination were followed up until 2013 using the database of the National Health Insurance Service. The results of urine dipstick tests were utilized to assess proteinuria as absent, 1+, 2+, or ≥3+. The International Classification of Diseases code 163 was used to document cerebral infarction. Results Between 2009 and 2013, 2383 cases (1.14%) of cerebral infarction occurred during 912772.9 person-years of follow-up. Hazard ratios for incident cerebral infarction increased with inceasing amounts of urine protein from 1.53 (1.23-1.90) in group 2 (1+), 1.67 (1.22-2.28) in group 3 (2+), and 2.66 (1.79-3.96) in group 4 (≥3+), compared to the reference group with little to no detectable urine protein (p<0.001, respectively). Conclusion An increase in urine protein levels was significantly related to the risk of developing cerebral infarction. Our results suggest that proteinuria might be a potential risk factor for cerebral infarction and that urine dipstick test analysis may be clinically useful for predicting stroke.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.202-211
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• 2020

Purpose: This study was to investigate the prognostic significance of the preoperative fibrinogen and systemic inflammation response index (F-SIRI) in a Chinese cohort of resectable gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: Baseline characteristics, preoperative fibrinogen levels and peripheral neutrophil, monocyte, and lymphocyte counts were retrospectively reviewed in 240 patients who underwent radical gastrectomy. The optimal cut-off values for fibrinogen and SIRI were defined as 4.0 g/L and 1.2. Then patients with hyperfibrinogenemia (≥4.0 g/L) and high SIRI (≥1.2) were assigned with an F-SIRI of 2 (both of these hematological abnormalities), 1 (one of these abnormalities), and 0 (neither abnormality), respectively. The prognostic value was examined by univariate and multivariate survival analysis. Results: Preoperative F-SIRI was significantly correlated with tumor size, fibrinogen level, and adjuvant chemotherapy. Whereas there was no significant difference in age, gender, tumor location or other characteristics between groups. In addition, high preoperative F-SIRI was significantly associated with worse disease-free survival (DFS) (hazard ratio [HR], 2.299; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.482-3.566; P<0.001) and overall survival (OS) (HR, 2.461; 95% CI, 1.584-3.824; P<0.001) by univariate survival analysis. Moreover, it remained an independent predictor for impaired DFS (HR, 2.023; 95% CI, 1.273-3.215; P=0.003) and OS (HR, 2.341; 95% CI, 1.480-3.705; P<0.001) in multivariate Cox regression analysis. Conclusions: Preoperative F-SIRI could serve as a significantly prognostic marker for long-term survival in Chinese patients who underwent radical gastrectomy.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.183-190
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• 2015

Purpose: The Lauren classification system is a very commonly used pathological classification system of gastric adenocarcinoma. A recent study proposed that the Lauren classification should be modified to include the anatomical location of the tumor. The resulting three types were found to differ significantly in terms of genomic expression profiles. This retrospective cohort study aimed to evaluate the clinical significance of the modified Lauren classification (MLC). Materials and Methods: A total of 677 consecutive patients who underwent curative gastrectomy from January 2005 to December 2007 for histologically confirmed gastric cancer were included. The patients were divided according to the MLC into proximal non-diffuse (PND), diffuse (D), and distal non-diffuse (DND) type. The groups were compared in terms of clinical features and overall survival. Multivariate analysis served to assess the association between MLC and prognosis. Results: Of the 677 patients, 48, 358, and 271 had PND, D, and DND, respectively. Their 5-year overall survival rates were 77.1%, 77.7%, and 90.4%. Compared to D and PND, DND was associated with significantly better overall survival (both P<0.01). Multivariate analysis showed that age, differentiation, lympho-vascular invasion, T and N stage, but not MLC, were independent prognostic factors for overall survival. Multivariate analysis of early gastric cancer patients showed that MLC was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (odds ratio, 5.946; 95% confidence intervals, 1.524~23.197; P=0.010). Conclusions: MLC is prognostic for survival in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma, in early gastric cancer. DND was associated with an improved prognosis compared to PND or D.