• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.1814-1818
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• 2006

Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor isolates (n=242), collected in Korea between 1991 and 2002, were classified by NotI-digested pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The major types were Al before 1998 and B after 1999, among both domestic and imported cases. The prevalent PFGE types among domestic cases were consistent with the prevalent types among imported cases in the same year. These results suggest a close relationship between the domestic and imported cases of cholera in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.69-78
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• 2018

Objectives: This study is aimed to analyze service user's benefit and perceived-outcomes of visiting healthcare. Methods: Using a questionnaire survey we analyzed the subjective service quality and satisfaction of survey respondents. The sampling was designed with socioeconomic characteristics(age, sex, user group et al.), and each respondent (N=1,000) was presented with double-bounded dichotomous choice questions. To measure the value of visiting healthcare, we employed a contingent valuation method. Results: The respondents were satisfied with service and quality on visiting healthcare. And the acceptance-to-pay of respondent's benefit was 50,458 won for each visit and in totality, service user's benefit was 185.9 billion won. Conclusions: It is necessary to invest in visiting healthcare in public health centers.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.114-120
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• 2011

Chronic inflammation has been implicated as one of the important etiological factors in insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). To investigate the role of anti-inflammatory cytokines in the development of T2DM, we conducted a case-control study to assess the association between IL4/IL4R polymorphisms and disease risk. We firstly identified single nucleotide poly-morphisms (SNP) at IL4 and IL4RA loci by sequencing the loci in Korean participants. Case-control studies were conducted by genotyping the SNPs in 474 T2DM cases and 470 non-diabetic controls recruited from community-based cohorts. Replication of the associated signals was performed in 1,216 cases and 1,352 controls. We assessed effect of IL4 -IL4RA interaction on T2DM using logistic regression method. The functional relevance of the SNP associated with disease risk was determined using a reporter expression assay. We identified a strong association between the IL4 promoter variant rs2243250 and T2DM risk (OR=0.77; 95% CI, 0.67~0.88; p=$1.65{\times}10^{－4}$ in the meta-analysis). The reporter gene expression assay demonstrated that the presence of rs2243250 might affect the gene expression level with ~1.5-fold allele difference. Our findings contribute to the identification of IL4 as a T2D susceptibility locus, further supporting the role of anti-inflammatory cytokines in T2DM disease development.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.17-25
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• 2003

This study aimed to investigate predictors of turnover intention of home visiting nurses at 16 public health centers in Busan. There are two groups of independent factors: non-work related(i. e., age, educational level, working duration as nurses in hospitals, and certificate), and work related factors(i. e., working duration as nurses in public health centers, working duration as home visiting nurse, position, number of households visited per week, workload, cooperation among staff, support by supervisors, supply of vehicles, and supply of materials). Data were collected with self-administrated questionnaires which consisted of 4 items of non-work related factors, 9 items of work related factors, and 1 item of turnover intention to other department. Data were analyzed using an univariate logistic regression and multiple logistic regression. According to the results, heavy workload (Yes vs No, OR=4.31, $95\%$ CI=1.16-16.04) was the most powerful predictor on the turnover intention. In conclusion. this result was similar to those of other studies on the predictors of turnover intention of clinical nurses at hospitals. To decrease the turnover intention among home visiting nurses at public health centers in Busan, alleviating the workload is needed.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.9-13
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• 2010

Pentatrichomonas hominis is considered a commensal protozoan in the large intestine of a number of mammalian hosts, such as cats, dogs, and non-human primates. The resulting infections, which can induce diarrhea, have been attributed to opportunistic overgrowth of P. hominis. This study was performed to confirm the P. hominis infection and its molecular characterization from the feces of puppies with diarrhea. Fecal samples were obtained from 14 German shepherd puppies with diarrhea over 1 week (7 females and 7 males, 2-9 months of age) residing on a dog farm in August 2007. Species-specific PCR assay identified P. hominis 18S rRNA genes in 3 of the 14 puppies (1 female and 2 males; 1 aged 2 months and 2 aged 9 months). This phylogenetic analysis established that P. hominis belonged to the 1st clade, which is comprised of Bos taurus and Felines.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.1728-1735
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• 2014

Scrub typhus, caused by infection with Orientia tsutsugamushi, is a mite-borne zoonotic disease endemic to the Asian-Pacific region. In Korea, the incidence of this disease has increased with climate changes, and over 10,000 cases of infection were reported in 2013. Although this infection is treatable with antibiotics such as doxycycline and azithromycin, an effective prophylactic vaccine against O. tsutsugamushi would be more desirable for preventing scrub typhus in endemic areas. In this study, we investigated the 56-kDa type-specific antigen (TSA56), which is a major outer membrane protein of O. tsutsugamushi, as a vaccine candidate. Intranasal immunization of recombinant TSA56 (rec56) induced a higher level of TSA56-specific IgG than that induced by intramuscular immunization of tsa56-expressing DNA (p56). Both types of immunization induced a cell-mediated immune response to TSA56, as demonstrated by the splenic cell proliferation assay. Mice immunized with p56, followed by rec56 plus heat-labile enterotoxin B subunit from E. coli, had a stronger protection from a homologous challenge with the O. tsutsugamushi Boryong strain than with other combinations. Our preliminary results suggest that an effective human vaccine for scrub typhus can include either recombinant TSA56 protein or tsa56-expressing DNA, and provide the basis for further studies to optimize vaccine performance using additional antigens or different adjuvants.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.259-262
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• 2012

We assessed the prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis infection and changes in the egg positive rate (EPR) over 1-year time, using the adhesive cellophane-tape perianal swab method in 2,347 preschool children in Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do, Republic of Korea in 2008 and 2009. The overall EPR for E. vermicularis was 4.1% in 2008 and 4.5% in 2009. A study population of 389 children was repeatedly examined for 2 years. Within this group, the EPR in 2009 was twice higher than in 2008, and the EPR of the group of 5-7-year-old children was significantly higher than that of other age groups. Moreover, in the group of 5-7-year-old children in 2009, the rates of positive and negative conversion were significantly higher and lower, respectively, than in other age groups. Conclusively, enterobiasis was prevalent during 2008-2009 among preschool children in Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do, and the increased EPR in 2009 was due to an increase in newly acquired infections among 5-7-year-old children.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.121-139
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• 1999

Persons with disabilities have increased and among others, number of them in the community is at the high proportion. But they have a difficulty in physical, psychological adjusting and they don't be offered appropriate, sufficient rehabilitation services. Therefore, Community-Based Rehabilitation Services in Health Center be needed. With these backgrounds, this study was conducted to examine factors in relation to job performance of community-based rehabilitation program in Health Centers, and the factors are characteristics of district nurses, internal factors, external-environmental factors. This study provides guidelines for effective management for rehabilitation program. Subject in this study were 122 Health Centers randomly chosen. Data were collected from September, 16, 1998 to October, 9, 1998, and the data for analyses were ones of 105 respondents. The instrument of this study was job performance of community-based rehabilitation program is modified WHO guidelines. Credibility of instruments was 0.73-0.95 in main study. The summary of results was as follows. First, the mean of job performance of com munity-based rehabilitation program was 2.33 of full score 4.00. Significant differences were not obtained on the job performance among areas. Second, stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that the most powerful predictor to job performance was community-based health program. The number of volunteer workers, the score of cooperation with other institution, the number of visiting nurse, the number of facilities for person with disabilities are accountable factor to the job performance of community-based rehabilitation program. In conclusions, for all the people with disabilities, Health Centers are necessary to promote community-based rehabilitation program and to increase participation of community residents and to cooperate with other institution.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.183-191
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• 2021

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify the factors of satisfaction with regional oral health centers for people with disabilities in Korea. Methods: A survey was conducted with 784 patients who visited regional oral health care centers in Korea. A self-developed questionnaire (29 items) was adapted with a consent form and IRB (Institutional Review Board). All collected data were analyzed for statistics using SPSS version 25.0. Results: The study participants were 452 (57.7%) male patients, 207 (26.4%) aged 20-29 years old, and mostly had physical, developmental, and mental disabilities. The patients were introduced by their acquaintances, and the major reason for visit was specific dental care for the disabled. Most patients used their cars and took half to one hour to commute. The common factor affecting the comprehensive satisfaction was the facility satisfaction. Conclusions: A more comprehensive and standardized questionnaire should be developed for the annual evaluation of all centers. This study presents the basic data that can aid to activate the operation of the four oral health care centers for the disabled, which are scheduled to be implemented in the future, as well as 10 currently operated centers.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.237-245
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• 2008

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to conduct assessments of health education status and needs in health education programs in child daycare centers. Methods: An 11-subject instrument was developed to assess health education for children. The Cronbach's alpha of the importance and implementation were found to be .904 and .862. A survey was conducted by mail using a sample of 337 teachers who were working in 71 child daycare centers in a district in Seoul. Results: 26.5% of the respondents reported that they teach health education regularly, and 19.3% of them reported never teach health education. Deficits of material, knowledge, and skill were the principal reasons for difficulties in health education. All of the respondents identified a need for health education, and also that health professionals are the most appropriate people to teach health education. The priorities of needed health education were, in order: sex education, information on community health, and mental health. Conclusion: Health education programs for preschoolers should be developed by health professionals. In health education programs, environmental health should be included, as well as health and illness education.