• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.75-80
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• 2016

This study explored epidemiological trends in trichomoniasis in Daegu, South Korea. Wet mount microscopy, PCR, and multiplex PCR were used to test for Trichomonas vaginalis in vaginal swab samples obtained from 621 women visiting 2 clinics in Daegu. Of the 621 women tested, microscopy detected T. vaginalis in 4 (0.6%) patients, PCR detected T. vaginalis in 19 (3.0%) patients, and multiplex PCR detected T. vaginalis in 12 (1.9%) patients. Testing via PCR demonstrated high sensitivity and high negative predictive value for T. vaginalis. Among the 19 women who tested positive for T. vaginalis according to PCR, 94.7% (18/19) reported vaginal signs and symptoms. Notably, more than 50% of T. vaginalis infections occurred in females younger than 30 years old, and 58% were unmarried. Multiplex PCR, which simultaneously detects pathogens from various sexually transmitted infections, revealed that 91.7% (11/12) of patients were infected with 2 or more pathogens. Mycoplasma hominis was the most prevalent co-infection pathogen with T. vaginalis, followed by Ureaplasma urealyticum and Chlamydia trachomatis. Our results indicate that PCR and multiplex PCR are the most sensitive tools for T. vaginalis diagnosis, rather than microscopy which has been routinely used to detect T. vaginalis infections in South Korea. Therefore, clinicians should take note of the high prevalence of T. vaginalis infections among adolescent and young women in order to prevent persistent infection and transmission of this disease.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.16-24
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• 1993

During 7 years, from Jan. 1986 to Dec. 1992, authors studied 208 cases of the surgically managed thyroid nodules at the Department of General Surgery, Han Kang Sacred Heart Hospital and obtained the following results. 1) Among the total 208 cases, male to female ratio was 1:11.2 in benign thyroid diseases and 1:9 in malignant thyroid diseases. The benign disease was prevalent between second and forth decade comparing with malignant disease between third and fifth decade. 2) The most common duration of illness was 3 months(26.0%). 3) Palpable neck mass was the most common chief complaint(100%). Palpitation. fatigue, and sweating were common complaints in patient with benign disease, and fatigue, palpitation, and sweating in malignant disease in decreasing order of frequency. 4) 55.8 % of lesions were in right lobe, 33.2% in left lobe, 5.8% in diffuse type, 4.8% in bilateral lobes, and 0.5% in isthmus. 5) The most common size of nodule was between 2.0cm and 3.9cm in diameter, which consisted of 55.1% of benign disease and 48.0% of malignant disease. 6) 86.5% of thyroid function test showed euthyroidism, 10.1% hyperthyroidism, and 3.4% hypothyroidism. 7) Thyroid scanning of 176 patients revealed cold nodules in 92.5% of benign diseases and in 92.9% of malignant diseases. 8) The most common benign disease was adenomatous hyperplasia(62.7%), and the most common malignant disease was papillary adenocarcinoma(80.0%). 9) Fine needle aspiration cytology was performed in 91 cases, and it showed 69.0% of sensitivity, 90.3% of specificity, and 83.5% of accuracy. 10) Frozen biopsy was performed in 109 cases. and it showed 93.9% of sensitivity, 100.0% of specificity, and 98.2% of accuracy. 11) The most commonly performed operation was unilateral lobectomy(including unilateral lobectomy with isthmectomy)(79.1%) in benign disease. and total thyroidectomy(62.0%) in malignant disease. 12) Postoperative complication showed 5 cases of wound infection (2.4%), 3 cases of transient hypoparathyroidism(1.4%), 3 cases of transient hoarseness(1.4%), 2 cases of postoperative bleeding(1.0%), 1 case of permanent hypoparathyroidism(0.5%), 1 case of permanent hoarseness(0.5%), and 1 case of postoperative pneumonia (0.5%).

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.219-227
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• 2014

The objective of this study was to research the health status of the elderly population and their perception and compliance to cook medicated juk. The results from this research will be used as basic data for medicated juk development. In addition, the purpose of this study was to find a way to popularize the juk and improve their usage as medicated juk in communal feeding and convalescent hospital for elderly. The study surveyed 300 elderly residents of age over 65, in Daejeon. The following data were collected: general characteristic, health status, perception of medicated juk, and preferred kind of juk for cooking. Moreover, the study researched the constraints in cooking the juk. Data were analyzed by SPSS Windows V. 18.0 and t-test verified the differences among the questions, according to frequency analysis of each item and characteristics of the aged. You might want to specify this characteristic. Within the surveyed elderly population, 80.6% had various existing diseases with circulatory diseases being the most prevalent with 68.9%. This emphasizes on the significance of proper diet, but this recognition is not put into practice. The survey also showed that as the individuals age, they tend to care less about the necessity of proper diet. Despite of this lack of perception, 84.5% of the elderly population responded positively to the question, "Would you like to have medicated juk for curing diseases, if such juk is available?" In addition, the elderly population was in favor of developing the juk that helps to prevent and cure diseases, and many were willing to cook them. The reasons behind their will to cook are arranged in the following order: higher efficacy in curing disease than regular juk, excellence in nutrition, and unavailability of the medicated juk in the stores that requires them to cook. The sources constraining the elderly population in cooking are arranged in the following order: not knowing how to cook the juk, lack of physical strength, financial burden, and lack of information order. Please clarify this part. Suggested change: not knowing what medicated juk is. Furthermore, the main obstacle in cooking the juk is lack of cooking technique, followed by inaccessibility to the ingredients and the financial burden to purchase the ingredients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6427-6431
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• 2013

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most prevalent cancers in the world and deeply threatens people's health, especially in China. Techniques of early diagnosis, prevention and prediction are still being discovered, among which the approaches based on single nucleotide polymorphisms in microRNA genes (miRNA SNPs) are newly proposed and show prospective potential. In particular, the association between SNPs in miRNA196a-2 (rs11614913) and miRNA146a (rs2910164) and HCC has been investigated. However, the conclusions made were conflicting, possibly due to insufficient sample size or population stratification. Further confirmations in well-designed large samples are still required. In this study, we verified the association between these two SNPs and the susceptibility to HCC by MassARRAY assay in a 2,000 large Chinese case-control sample. Significant association between rs11614913 and HCC was confirmed. Subjects with the genotype of CT+TT or T allele in rs11614913 were more resistant to HCC (CT+TT: OR (95% CI)=0.73 (0.57-0.92), P=0.01; T allele: OR (95% CI)=0.85 (0.75-0.97), P=0.02) and HBV-related HCC (CT+TT: OR (95% CI)=0.69 (0.53-0.90), P=0.01; T allele: OR (95% CI)=0.82 (0.71-0.95), P=0.01). The affected carriers of CT or TT also tended to have lower levels of serum AFP (P=0.01). This study demonstrated a role of rs11614913 in the etiology of HCC. Further research should focus on the clinical use of this miRNA SNP, so as to facilitate conquering HCC.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.935-948
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• 2014

As chronic diseases have become more prevalent and problematic, effective cares for major chronic diseases have been a locus of the healthcare policy. In this regard, this study examines how region-specific characteristics affect the prevalence of hypertension in South Korea. To analyze, we combined a unique multi-year data set including key indicators of health conditions and health behaviors at the 237 small administrative districts. The data are collected from the Annual Community Health Survey between 2009 and 2011 by Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other government organizations. For the purpose of investigating regional variations, we estimated using Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) and decision tree model. Our finding first suggests that using the multi-year data is more legitimate than using the single-year data for the geographical analysis of chronic diseases, because the significant annual differences are observed in most variables. We also find that the prevalence of hypertension is more likely to be positively associated with the prevalence of diabetes and obesity but to be negatively associated with population density. More importantly, noticeable geographical variations in these factors are observed according to the results from the GWR. In line with this result, additional findings from the decision tree model suggest that primary influential factors that affect the hypertension prevalence are indeed heterogeneous across regional groups. Taken as a whole, accounting for geographical variations of health conditions, health behaviors and other socioeconomic factors is very important when the regionally customized healthcare policy is implemented to mitigate the hypertension prevalence. In short, our study sheds light on possible ways to manage the chronic diseases for policy makers in the local government.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.59 no.5
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• pp.523-529
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• 2021

The endemicity of zoonotic trematode metacercariae (ZTM) was investigated with total 871 freshwater fishes (19 species) from Deokcheon-gang (a branch stream of Gyeongho-gang) in Sancheong-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea for 3 years (2018-2020). All fishes were examined with the artificial digestion method. The metacercariae of Clonorchis sinensis (CsMc) were detected in 233 (36.3%) out of 642 fish in 11 positive fish species (PFS), and their infection intensity was 27 per fish infected (PFI). Especially, in index fish, Puntungia herzi, of CsMc infection, prevalence was 64.2% and infection intensity was 37 PFI. Metagonimus spp. metacercariae (MsMc) were found in 760 (87.5%) out of 869 fish in 18 PFS and their infection intensity was 228 PFI. In sweet smelt, Plecoglossus altivelis, the prevalence of MsMc was 97.6% and their infection intensity was 3,570 PFI. Centrocestus armatus metacercariae were detected in 209 (29.4%) out of 710 fish in 8 PFS and their infection intensity was 1,361 PFI. Echinostoma spp. metacercariae were found in 293 (42.6%) out of 688 fish in 15 PFS and their infection intensity was 5 PFI. Metacercariae of Clinostomum complanatum and Metorchis orientalis were also detected in 2.7% and 21.2% fish in 4 PFS and their infection intensities were 3.1 and 3.4 PFI respectively. By the present study, it was confirmed that some species of ZTM including CsMc and MsMc are more or less prevalent in fishes from Deokcheon-gang in Sancheong-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.59 no.4
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• pp.427-432
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• 2021

The infection status of zoonotic trematode metacercariae (ZTM) was investigated in total 568 freshwater fishes (19 species) from the irrigation canal of Togyo-jeosuji (Reservoir) in Cheorwon-gun, Gangwon-do, the Republic of Korea for 3 years (2018-2020). All fishes were examined using the artificial digestion method. The metacercariae of Clonorchis sinensis (CsMc) were detected in 180 (43.8%) out of 411 fish of positive species, and their infection intensity was 38 per fish infected (PFI). Especially, in 2 fish species, i.e., Pseudorasbora parva and Puntungia herzi, the prevalence was 82.1% and 31.3%, and the infection intensity with CsMc was 88 and 290 PFI, respectively. Metagonimus spp. metacercariae (MsMc) were found in 403 (74.1%) out of 544 fish of positive species, and their infection intensity was 62 PFI. In the pale chub, Zacco platypus, the prevalence of MsMc was 98.6%, and their infection intensity was 144 PFI. Centrocestus armatus metacercariae were detected in 171 (38.9%) out of 440 fish of positive species, and their infection intensity was 1,844 PFI. Echinostoma spp. metacercariae were found in 94 (19.6%) out of 479 fish of positive species, and their infection intensity was 3 PFI. Metorchis orientalis metacercariae were detected in 43 (29.3%) out of 147 fish of positive species, and their infection intensity was 4 PFI. By the present study, it has been confirmed that some species of ZTM, including CsMc and MsMc, are prevalent in fishes from the irrigation canal of Togyo-jeosuji in Cheorwon-gun, Gangwon-do, Korea.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.305-313
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• 1992

This study was designed to investigate the effects of the maxillary sinus development and nasal septum deviation on diseases of maxillary sinus with cleft palate. The materials was 152 cephalometric Waters' projections consist of 76 cleft patients and 76 normal subjects. The results were as follows: 1. The disease of maxillary sinus was present in 49% of a cleft group and 14% of a control group, and prevalent in cleft side. 2. It showed no statistically significant difference in size of the maxillary sinus in cleft plate patients compared to the control population and in the cleft side to the noncleft side(p>.05). 3. Nasal septum deviation was more severe in the cleft patient its average value was 3.55㎜, compared to the control group, 0.99㎜(p<0.01) and 77% of the deviated nasal septum was deviated to the cleft side.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.16
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• pp.6889-6894
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• 2015

Gastric cancer (GC) is the fifth most common cancer in the world, with a wide variation in incidence rates across different geographical areas. In Iran GC is the most common cancer in males and it is reported to be the third most prevalent after breast and colorectal in females. A geographical information system (GIS) allows investigation of the geographical distribution of diseases. The purpose of the present study was to explore the relationship between gastric cancer and effective climatic factors using GIS. The dispersion distribution and the relationship between environmental factors effective on cancer were measured using Arc GIS. Of all cases, 672 (73.8%) were in males with a sex ratio of 3 to1. The highest incidence by cities was seen in Namin with 137.5 per 100,000. The results of this study showed that the distribution of GC around the Sabalan volcanic mountain was significantly higher than other places in the same province. These results can be considered as a window to future comprehensive research on gastric cancer.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.525-534
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• 2011

This paper describes the current status of musculoskeletal disorders(MSDs) and its ergonomic risk factors, including the preventive intervention in terms of the working conditions and health promotion among agricultural workers. Korean agricultural workers have been exposed to the poor working condition. They have suffered from a variety of work-related injury and diseases more than the general population or the other occupational group. MSDs are one of the most prevalent problems threatening the agricultural worker's health and quality of life. Low back pain, osteoarthritis of hip and knee joint and carpal tunnel syndrome are well known MSDs that was found easily and frequently among agricultural workers. MSDs are worsened by poor ergonomic working conditions such as heavy weight lifting, repetitive movement and awkward posture which involves squatting with long sitting work on the ground, long working hours and heavy workload which are inherent in the greater part of agricultural works. Even though Korean agricultural workers are very weak population in terms of occupational safety and health, no many studies were conducted in the past and no many social and institutional supports were provided sufficiently. We need more interests and efforts in agricultural fields to improve its working condition and to promote health status of agricultural workers.