• Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.536-543
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• 2018

Culture forms an integral aspect of environmental factors which influences disease presentation and clinical outcomes in functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs). In this review, the role of culture in FGIDs in the East is briefly explored with regards to symptom presentation and diagnostic issues, lifestyle and cultural habits, epidemiology, and healthcare seeking behavior. In both functional dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome, symptom presentation and disease sub-typing in Asians are known to differ from their Western counterparts, possibly relating to cultural dietary practices and from cultural perception of symptoms. Dietary patterns, together with defecating practices are explored as factors contributing to a lower prevalence of constipation in the East. An urban-rural difference in the prevalence of FGIDs in Asia is attributed to a change in dietary patterns in rapidly developing urban communities, together with an increased level of psychological morbidity. Lastly, cultural attitudes towards traditional/local remedies, variation in healthcare systems, anxiety regarding organic disease, and religious practices have been shown to influence healthcare seeking behavior among FGID patients in the East.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.157-161
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• 2017

Background Thin hairs are critical to achieve natural result in female hairline correction surgery. However, there are few studies on the usefulness of hair thinning by intense pulsed light (IPL) after hairline correction surgery in East Asian females. Methods Hair thinning using IPL was performed in 54 women who had complained about thick hairs along the frontal hairline after hairline correction surgery. Patient mean age was 31.2 years old and patients were an average of 2.1 years post-hairline correction surgery. Initial treatment used 10 J, while second and third sessions were conducted with 10 to 15 J according to responsiveness to treatment. Results Mean thickness of individual hairs assessed before the procedure was $78.86{\mu}m$. The mean number of procedures was 1.6 per patient. Forty of 54 subjects (74%) achieved satisfactory hair thinning with only one procedure from 78.01 to $66.14{\mu}m$ after treatment. The measured thickness was $66.43{\mu}m$ at the end of the first year in patients who were satisfied after one procedure. Thirteen cases achieved satisfactory hair thinning after two sessions. Mean thickness was $74.44{\mu}m$ and $67.51{\mu}m$, before and after the second session. One case required a third session with 15J, thinning from 89.00 to $66.50{\mu}m$. Conclusions Hair thinning by IPL is a very useful method to provide a natural look after hairline correction surgery in East Asians, who have naturally thick hair.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.3937-3942
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• 2012

Background: Many studies have investigated possible association between the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphism and ovarian cancer risk, but the impact is still unclear owing to the obvious inconsistencies. This study was performed to quantify the strength of the association with a metaanalysis. Methods: We searched the PubMed, Embase, and CNKI databases for studies relating the association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and ovarian cancer risk and estimated summary odds ratios (ORs) with confidence intervals (CIs) for assessment. Results: Finally, eight studies with a total of 3,379 ovarian cancer cases and 4,078 controls were included into this meta-analysis. Overall the showed that MTHFR C677T polymorphism was not associated with ovarian cancer risk under all genetic models ($OR_{T\;versus\;C}$ = 1.03, 95%CI 0.90-1.18; $OR_{TT\;versus\;CC}$ = 1.08, 95%CI 0.79-1.47; $OR_{TT\;versus\;TC+CC}$ = 1.05, 95%CI 0.80-1.37; $OR_{TT+TC\;versus\;CC}$ = 1.05, 95%CI 0.86-1.21). Meta-analyses of studies with confirmation of HWE also showed no significant association. Subgroup analyses by ethnicity showed there was no significant association in the Caucasians but MTHFR C677T polymorphic variant T contributed to increased risk of ovarian cancer in East Asians. No evidence of publication bias was observed. Conclusion: Meta-analyses of available data show that MTHFR C677T polymorphism is not associated with ovarian cancer risk in Caucasians, but the MTHFR polymorphic variant T may contribute to increased risk in East Asians.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.337-347
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• 2012

This study was performed through one-to-one interviews or group sessions with single un-married foreigners living and working in Korea. A total of 150 questionnaires were distributed, and 109 were analyzed. This demographic becomes immersed in local cuisine searching for new food dishes and experiences. These foreigners were an excellent test group who came from a non-Korean domestic cuisine background and who were subsequently exposed to Korean cuisine over an extended period during which changes occurred in their diets and food preferences. We found that the longer the foreigners stayed in Korea, the more they ate Korean food and adapted to traditional dishes such as Korean stews and hot-pots. In general, Chinese, Japanese, and South-east Asians regarded Korean food as nutritious, whereas people from a western or European background considered it health conscious food. In contrast, South-east Asians, in particular, found Korean food aroma unpleasant. This study describes how diets and views of Korean food evolved in foreigners with time by providing objective opinions and data on the acceptance of Korean food by foreigners and hints the direction in which Korean cuisine should be developed to further its globalization.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.473-479
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• 2008

Asians tend to have prominent mandibular angle. The causes of wide lower third of the facial contour are obtuse mandibular angle and hypertrophy of masseter muscles. In cases of hypertrophy of masseter muscles, conventional treatment intends to the contraction of masseter muscle. Recently, volumetric reduction of masseter muscles using botulinum toxin type A injection and radiofrequency (RF) reduction have been introduced. The use of RF energy for masseter muscle reduction is known as a safe, simple, and effective method for aesthetic lower facial contouring. The purpose of this study is to present the effects of RF reduction applied to hypertrophy of masseter muscles, to review and to encourage RF practices in oral and maxillofacial region.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.525-532
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to compare the ability of Northeast Asians to discriminate the salinity in salt solution and foods, and to compare their preference of salinity. Panels of Korean, Japanese and Chinese evaluated three kinds of samples that contained different level of salt such as salt solutions, julienned radish salad, Bulgogi. The salt levels had been manipulated to produce five samples of each one. The salt solutions were prepared by adding 0.3%, 0.7%, 1.1%, 1.5%, 1.9% salt into water. Different levels of salt in Julienned radish salad and Bulgogi were prepared by adding 0.5%, 1.5%, 2.5%, 3.5%, 4.5% salt to the recipe. The results of this study showed that the three ethnic groups had significant differences in their ability to distinguish the intensity of salinity in solutions containing a high contents of salt(1.5~1.9%). According to the regression analysis, Koreans(a=1.050) turned out to be the most able to detect the intensity of salinity, compared to the Japanese (a=0.988) and Chinese (a=0.807). All ethnic groups preferred a salt concentration of 0.3%, and the preference for this concentration was lower in Japanese than in Koreans and Chinese. There were significant differences in the perception of salinity in the julienned radish salad containing more than 3.5% salt between Koreans and Chinese. Koreans (a=1.168) appeared to be the most able to detect the intensity of salinity, compared to the Japanese (a=0.908) and Chinese (a=0.793). Both Koreans and Japanese had the strongest preference for the julienned radish salad containing a 1.5% salt concentration, while the Chinese preferred a salt concentraion of 2.5%. The ability of ethnic groups to detect the salinity in Bulgogi were significantly different at high salt -concentrations (more than 3.5%), and the awareness of salinity was as fallows : Koreans(a=0.161) > Japanese (a=0.896) > Chinese (a= 0.845). Koreans and Japanese had a higher preference or the Bulgogi containing a salt concentration of 1.5%, and the Chinese had higher preference at a salt concentration of 2.5%.

• BMB Reports
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.133-139
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• 2010

We have performed analyses using ancient DNA extracted from 25 excavated human bones, estimating around the 1st century B.C. Ancient human bones were obtained from Nukdo Island, which is located off of the Korean peninsula of East Asia. We made concerted efforts to extract ancient DNA of high quality and to obtain reproducible PCR products, as this was a primary consideration for this extensive kind of undertaking. We performed PCR amplifications for several regions of the mitochondrial DNA, and could determine mitochondrial haplogroups for 21 ancient DNA samples. Genetic information from mitochondrial DNA belonged to super-haplogroup M, haplogroup D or its sub-haplogroups (D4 or D4b), which are distinctively found in East Asians, including Koreans or Japanese. The dendrogram and principal component analysis based on haplogroup frequencies revealed that the Nukdo population was close to those of the East Asians and clearly distinguished from populations shown in the other regions. Considering that Nukdo is geologically isolated in the southern part of the Korean peninsula and is a site of commercial importance with neighboring countries, these results may reflect genetic continuity for the habitation and migration of ethnic groups who had lived in a particular area in the past. Therefore, we suggest that phylogenetic analyses of ancient DNA have significant advantages for clarifying the origins and migrations of ethnic groups, or human races.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.655-661
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• 2007

Malignant melanoma is rare in Asians and one of the poorer prognostic diseases. Malignant melanoma accounts for only a small ratio of all skin cancers, but it causes the greatest number of skin cancer - related deaths worldwide. Melanoma incidence has continued to increase worldwide and in Korea, like other countries, the number of patients has increased compared with previous cancer incidence data. In this case report, we describe a case of a malignant melanoma patient who showed neck node metastasis (right supraclavicular area) after wide excision of facial melanoma 2 years before the diagnosis of relapse. The patient refused to get conventional western medical treatment including chemotherapy and the size of cancer increased over the 5 months of clinical follow-up. After 4 months of traditional Korean medical treatment using allergen-removed Rhus verniciflua Stokes(A-RVS), however, the size of cancer mass decreased and the patient showed no side effects. Further study will be needed in order to determine the long-term effect of allergen-removed Rhus verniciflua Stokes on patients with malignant melanoma.

• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.47
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• pp.96-119
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• 2009

Although there ate many studies on cross-cultural comparison of advertising appeals, very little is known about how receivers from different cultures process visual images in global advertising. The purpose of this study is to examine how cultural differences between East Asians and Westerners influence the cognitive process of visual images from standardized global advertising by employing the Nisbett's framework of holistic/analytic thought. Nisbett contends that East Asian tend to attend to the context and the relations between objects and contexts as holistic thinkers while Americans tend to see the worlds analytically. The results of a experimental study conducted using 80 subjects from Korea and the United States suggest that Korean participants are more likely to mention relatively peripheral, nonsalient, or background information than are American participants. Thus, this study support the Nisbett's notion that East Asians are more sensitive to contextual information than are Westerners and challenge the belief that standardized visual images are part of a "universal language".

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.199-207
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• 2012

Many factors influence food choices and many studies show personal traits that influence food choices, which can be called food neophobia and food involvement. For example, an individual's food-related tastes are thought to certainly influence personal food choices. This study aimed to determine food choice motives, the food neophobia scale (FNS) and food involvement scale (FIS) of Asians staying in or leaving Korea, and the relationship of those personal traits and food choice motives. Subjects (N=370) completed a questionnaire consisting of food choice motives (15 questions), FNS (10 questions), FIS (12 questions) and socio-demographic conditions (10 questions). Items were analyzed to determine the differences according to nationality using ANOVA. Factor analysis and reliability analysis were conducted to identify the indicators of food choice motives. And correlation analysis was conducted to confirm the relationship between food choice motives and food neophobia / food involvement. The result of analysis suggests that food neophobia and food involvement affect food choice motives and that food choice motives are unique to ethnicity and culture.