• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.139-146
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• 2012

Obese postmenopausal women increase their risk of developing breast cancer (BC), in particular if they display an android-type pattern of adiposity, which is also associated to increased risks of diabetes mellitus, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. In order to explore the associations among anthropometry (body mass index, body composition, somatotype), some specific items of medical history (diabetes, hypertension, dislypidemias, hyperuricemia) and the risk of BC in Uruguayan women, a case-control study was carried out between 2004-2009 at our Oncology Unit. 912 women of ages between 23-69 years (367 new BC cases and 545 non hospitalized, age-matched controls with a normal mammography) were interviewed. Twenty body measurements were taken in order to calculate body composition and somatotype. Patients were queried on socio-demographics, reproductive history, family history of cancer, a brief food frequency questionnaire and on personal history of diabetes, dislypidemias, hyperuricemia, hypertension and gallbladder stones. Uni- and multivariate analyses were done, generating odds ratios (ORs) as an expression of relative risks. A personal history of diabetes was positively associated to BC risk (OR=1.64, 95% CI 1.00-2.69), being higher among postmenopausal women (OR=1.92, 95% CI 1.04-3.52). The risks of BC for diabetes in postmenopausal women with overweight combined with dislypidemia (OR=9.33, 95% CI 2.10-41.5) and high fat/muscle ratio (OR=7.81, 95% CI 2.01-30.3) were significantly high. As a conclusion, a personal history of diabetes and overweight was strongly associated to BC. The studied sample had a subset of high-risk of BC featured by postmenopausal overweight and diabetic women, who also had a personal history of hypertension and/or dyslipidemia. The present results could contribute to define new high risk groups and individuals for primary as well as for secondary prevention, since this pattern linked to the metabolic syndrome is usually not considered for BC prevention.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.11
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• pp.241-250
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• 2020

This study examines the relationship between the attributes of board structure and the likelihood of financial distress for the non-financial sector of an emerging market characterized by concentrated ownership and family-controlled business. The present study utilized panel logistic regression to estimate the relationship between board structure attributes and the likelihood of financial distress. We used Altman Z-Score as a proxy for firm financial distress, as this tool measures the financial distress inversely. The study finds a significant relationship between board size and the likelihood of financial distress. The results show that a one-unit increase in board size would decrease the probability of financial distress by 3.4%. Further, we observe that a greater level of board independence is associated with a lower likelihood of financial distress. A one-unit increase in board independence would decrease the probability of financial distress by 20.4%. We also find a significant positive impact of leverage on the likelihood of financial distress. The present study contributes to the body of literature on board structure attributes and likelihood of financial distress in emerging markets, like Pakistan. Furthermore, the findings would be beneficial for corporate policymakers and investors in formulating corporate financial strategy and predicting business failure.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 2020

Purpose: D-dimer levels are known to be associated with poor outcomes in patients with various cancers, but their significance at the end of life remains unclear. This study investigated D-dimer levels as a prognostic indicator for terminal cancer patients in the last hours of life. Methods: The retrospective study was conducted at a palliative care unit of a tertiary cancer center, using a database to analyze the records of patients treated from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2018. In total, 67 terminal cancer patients with available data on D-dimer levels were included. Patients' demographic data, clinical information, and laboratory values, including D-dimer levels, were collected. Survival was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test. A Cox proportional-hazards model was used to identify prognostic factors of poor survival. Results: The most common site of cancer was the lung (32.8%) and the median survival time was 5 days. Most laboratory results, particularly D-dimer levels, deviated from the normal range. Patients with high D-dimer levels had a significantly shorter survival time than those with low D-dimer levels (4 days vs. 7 days; P=0.012). In the Cox regression analysis, only a high D-dimer level was identified as a predictor of a poor prognosis (hazard ratio, 1.83; 95% confidence interval, 1.09~3.07). Conclusion: Our results suggest that at the very end of life, D-dimer levels may serve as a prognostic factor for survival in cancer patients.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.292-295
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• 2016

Hospice and palliative care in Taiwan has been growing continuously. The 2015 Quality of Death index, as rated by the Economist Intelligence Unit, ranked Taiwan first among Asian countries and sixth in the world. In this review article, we highlight three particular areas that might have contributed to this success; the laws and regulations, spiritual care and research network. Finally, we discuss the future challenges and prospects for Taiwanese encounters. A systemic review was conducted with the keywords "hospice palliative care Taiwan" using PubMed. The passing of the "Natural Death Act" in 2000 set the example and established a landmark for patient autonomy in Asia; it guarantees the patient's right to request that medical staff do not resuscitate (DNR) them and to reject other futile medical treatments at the end of their life, thus reflecting the importance of palliative care from the policy perspective. In 2015, Taiwan passed another pioneering law entitled the "Patient Autonomy Act". This law states that a patient may decline medical treatment according to his/her own will. Taiwanese indigenous spiritual care was launched in 2000. It requires a Buddhist Chaplain to successfully complete a training program consisting of lectures, as well as bedside practicum before applying Buddhist practices to end-of-life care. The Japan-Korea-Taiwan research network was established for the purpose of enabling collaborative research for the East-Asian collaborative cross-cultural Study to Elucidate the Dying process (EASED) cohort. With consensus from the government and society to make it a priority, hospice and palliative medicine in Taiwan has been growing steadily.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Rural Architecture
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.71-78
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• 2008

It is true that the social welfare center influences on the community service. The recent change of social environment has influence on the configuration of space for the community social welfare center. The social welfare center fills the role of family welfare, domiciliary care, community welfare, education culture etc. Education culture magnified, and it is acting role as the community education culture center by various program including cultural desire according to the modern request to the whole local resident. In such sense, this study explore the conditions of spatial configuration for the education culture unit of social welfare center in small city. For this study, it was investigated the space role and service funtion, the service program, the usage characteristics, the service importance. In sum, the useful data were collected, analyzed, and colligated by case study. Case study and analysis contents about education culture unit of social welfare center present the basic design data for the space plan of suitable social welfare center in small city.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.376-384
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• 2017

In this paper, we describe a case of using robot technology in child studies to examine children's judgement and reasoning of the life phenomenon on boundary objects. In order to control the effects of the appearance of the robot, which children observe or interact directly with, on the children's judgement and reasoning of the life phenomenon, we developed a robot similar to human. Unit experimental scenarios representing biological and psychological properties were implemented based on control of robot's motion, speech, and facial expressions. Experimenters could combine these multiple unit scenarios in a cascade to implement various scenarios of the human-robot interaction. Considering that the experimenters are researchers of child studies, there was a need to develop a remote operation console that can be easily used by non-experts in the robot field. Using the developed robot platform, researchers of child studies could implement various scenarios by manipulating the biological and psychological properties of the robot based on their research hypothesis. As a result, we could clearly see the effects of robot's properties on children's understanding about boundary object like robots.

• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.99-108
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• 1994

The purpose of this study was to present basic data for better space plan of the apartment housing. It attempted to examine the possession and space usage of furniture and housing goods in three type floor plan. It also studied in relation to socidemographic variables and physical variables. The major findings were as follows :1) Housewife age, educational level, family income, number of family members were affected variables to the possession of housing goods and furniture except furniture possession to housewife age.2) It appeared similarity in the furnishing of housing goods and furniture in case of same floor plan.3) Generally, the space of living room was used often in furnishing of furniture and housing goods. 4) Linear arrangement of sofa set and corner arrangement of Anbang furniture are a tendency to get a effective space for activities in living room.5) The size of floor plan space was the most powerful variable to explain the possession and space usage of housing goods and furniture.6) The scarce of space result in pressing the household living space hard. The storage space should be planned and chosen after consideration of human factors according to the tastes, character of the users, and the space factors according to the composition of unit plan and the size of each living space. In case of the small size plan, particularly, it needed to the Built-in furniture as a effective method.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.67 no.6
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• pp.759-766
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• 2018

Although the Act on the Prevention of Light Pollution Due to Artificial Lighting has been enforced since 2013, the area of advertisement lighting has made slow progress in solving the problems of light pollution. This paper first investigated institutional problems by analyzing domestic laws and regulations relating to the light pollution of advertisement lighting, and investigated and analyzed methods for reducing light pollution that were applied in overseas countries. Then, problems of light pollution were analyzed by conducting a research on the actual status of advertisement lightings installed in South Korea and applying various methods for reducing light pollution, and advertisement lighting using LED was recommended. As a method for reducing light pollution that can be applied to the process of manufacturing channel letter-type advertisement lights, power consumption per unit area ($W/m^2$) was proposed, and $100W/m^2$ was recommended as a value currently suitable for South Korea.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.61-70
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• 1997

The purpose of this study was to identify the producing process for Korean nursing knowledge as applied by Foucault's discourse analytic method. By Foucault's discourse analytic method, the problem is not what is knowledge but what sort of knowledge is made up through specific level of practice. A Korean body of nursing knowledge has been discussed since 1980. At the end of 19th century, missionaries transplanted western nursing knowledge and method to Korea. Western nursing knowledge and methods have been developed continuously with both merits and demerits to Korean society. Recently our world has be come a global community via advances in transportation and correspondence. Although each person is different in skin color and shape. there is a clear line between Oriental people and Western people. Nursing science is only one in our world. but western humanistic nursing practice based on western worldview and human life has limits. It is natural that the Koreans as Oriental people have a systemic nursing science to reveal the specific experiential and concrete body of nursing knowledge rooted in the Korean worldview and human life. Nursing science is to understand human beings, to promote health. to prevent illness. to restore health. to alleviate suffering and to search for principles needed throughout all of human life. In Korea, now is the quickening period to shape a Korean body of nursing knowledge because of a shortage of nursing language in matters of intellectual recognition, and unfamiliar practical nursing field where there is no familiarity in the system of nursing research methodology. In reviewing articles from the Journal of the Nurses' Academic Society on Korean body of nursing knowledge, it was found that there are two common features. The first, human body and mind are inseperable that is one unit in this world and health is keeping a harmonious relationship between human body and mind. The second, Korean nursing practice is based on human nature and family ties. Accordingly discourse analysis has a good future prospect to produce a Korean body of nursing knowledge for analytic research on body and mind monism and family centered care based on human nature and family ties.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.1057-1060
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• 2016

Background: The tumor suppressor p53 is as a regulator of cell proliferation, apoptosis and many other biological processes as well as external and internal stress responses. Mdm2 SNIP309 is a negative regulator of 53. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the role of the Mdm2 SNIP 309 polymorphism in the gastric mucosal morphological patterns in patients with Helicobacter pylori associated gastritis. Materials and Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out from November 2014 through November 2015. Biopsy specimens were obtained from patients and infection was proven by positive histology. Gastric mucosa specimens were sent to the Molecular Genetics Unit, Institute of Medicine, Suranaree University of Technology where they were tested by molecular methods to detect the patterns of Mdm2 SNIP 309 polymorphism using the real-time PCR hybridization probe method. The results were analyzed and correlated with gastric mucosal morphological patterns by using C-NBI endoscopy. Results: A total of 300 infected patients were enrolled and gastric mucosa specimens were collected. In this study the percentage of Mdm2 SNIP 309 T/T homozygous and Mdm2 SNIP309 G/T heterozygous was 78% and 19 % respectively whereas Mdm2 SNIP309 G/G homozygous was 3%. Mdm2 SNIP 309 T/T homozygous and Mdm2 SNIP309 G/T heterozygosity correlated with type 1 to type 3 gastric mucosal morphological patterns (P<0.01) whereas Mdm2 SNIP309 G/G homozygous correlated with type 4 and type 5 (P<0.01). Conclusions: Our study finds the frequency of Mdm2 SNIP309 G/G in a Thai population is very low, and suggests that this can explain ae Thailand enigma. Types 1 to type 3 are the most common gastric mucosal morphological patterns according to the unique genetic polymorphism of MDM2 SNIP 309 in the Thai population.