• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.319-325
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• 2017

We described 4 human infection cases of zoonotic fish-tapeworm, Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense, identified with morphological and molecular characters and briefly reviewed Chinese cases in consideration of it as an emerging parasitic disease in China. The scolex and mature and gravid proglottids of some cases were seen, a rosette-shaped uterus was observed in the middle of the mature and gravid proglottids, and the diphyllobothriid eggs were yellowish-brown in color and displayed a small knob or abopercular protuberance on the opposite end of a lid-like opening. The average size of the eggs was recorded as $62-67{\times}42-45{\mu}m$. The parasitic materials gathered from 4 human cases were morphologically identified as belonging to the genera Diphyllobothrium and Adenocephalus. The phylogenetic analysis based on the nucleotide sequences of cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene of the etiologic agents confirmed that the 4 cases were D. nihonkaiense infection. The finding of 4 additional D. nihonkaiense cases suggests that D. nihonkaiense might be a major causative species of human diphyllobothriasis in China. A combined morphological and molecular analysis is the main method to confirm D. nihonkaiense infection.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.319-324
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• 2010

A family of calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) is a unique enzyme which plays crucial roles in intracellular calcium signaling in plants, algae, and protozoa. CDPKs of malaria parasites are known to be key regulators for stage-specific cellular responses to calcium, a widespread secondary messenger that controls the progression of the parasite. In our study, we identified a gene encoding Plasmodium vivax CDPK4 (PvCDPK4) and characterized its molecular property and cellular localization. PvCDPK4 was a typical CDPK which had well-conserved N-terminal kinase domain and C-terminal calmodulin-like structure with 4-EF hand motifs for calcium-binding. The recombinant protein of EF hand domain of PvCDPK4 was expressed in Echerichia coli and a 34 kDa product was obtained. Immunofluorescence assay by confocal laser microscopy revealed that the protein was expressed at the mature schizont of P. vivax. The expression of PvCDPK4-EF in schizont suggests that it may participate in the proliferation or egress process in the life cycle of this parasite.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.44-53
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• 2014

Purpose: This study has examined effectiveness of a secondhand smoking prevention program for adolescents. Methods: The study was done in a nonequivalent control group pretest/posttest design. The subjects of the current study were 198 middle school students from K city in the Gyeongbuk province. The students were assigned to an experimental group (100) and participated in the secondhand smoking prevention program or to a control group (98) and did not take part. Data collection was done from June to July 2012. A Chi-square test, independent t-test, paired t test and ANCOVA were used with the SPSS 18.0 program for data analysis. Results: There were significant differences between the groups in knowledge of short-term influence of secondhand smoking (F=9.65, p<.005), knowledge of long-term influence of secondhand smoking (F=15.53, p<.001), verbal coping skills for secondhand smoking prevention (F=16.35, p<.001), behavioral coping skills for secondhand smoking prevention (F=8.49, p<.005), and assertiveness of secondhand smoking prevention (F=17.30, p<.001) measurements. Conclusion: The secondhand smoking prevention program delivered to the adolescents is an effective method of encouraging secondhand smoking prevention and can be utilized as an effective nursing intervention for adolescents.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.422-431
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• 2013

Purpose: This study was conducted to examine the impact of infection prevention program on the knowledge and performance among married Vietnamese immigrant women an infant or child. Methods: A non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used. Participants were 53 Vietnamese women with an infant or a child in G city. The treatment (n=25) received an infection prevention program series that included eight sessions over a four week period with four time through telephone interviews a weekly intervals. Data were collected between October 26 and December 14, 2012, and were analyzed Chi-square, t-test, and repeated measure analysis of variance with SPSS/WIN 18.0. Results: The treatment group reported significantly higher scores in infection prevention knowledge (F=43.98, p<.001) and infection prevention performance (F=92.61, p<.001) at four and eight weeks following the treatment as compared to the control group. Conclusion: Results suggest that an infection prevention program is beneficial in increasing knowledge and performance to prevent infection.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.358-367
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• 2008

Purpose: This study was to evaluate the effects of a smoking prevention program among preschool children. Method: This study used a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. The participants were 141 preschool children aged 6 or 7 at two childcare centers in Jecheon City, who were divided into an experimental group (n=66) and a control group (n=75). The smoking prevention program was applied through 9 sessions and 30 minutes per session. Surveys were conducted before and after the smoking prevention program to examine the preschoolers' knowledge and attitude toward smoking and smoking coping behavior. Results: There were significant differences between the experimental group and the control group in smoking knowledge (t=-2.02, p=.044) and smoking coping behavior (t=-2.01 p=.047), but smoking attitude (t=-1.20, p=.230) was not statistically significantly different between the two groups. Conclusion: As a result, further research is needed into the long term effects of a smoking prevention program on the future behavior of preschoolers so that the health benefits of early prevention can be quantified. It is necessary for parents to participate actively in influencing preschoolers' attitudes and behaviors with regard to the avoidance of smoking.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.221-230
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• 2017

Objective: The purpose of this study is to draw the accident prevention model using the signal detection theory, and to implement accident prevention program, based on a health promotion and support activities in a shipbuilding company. Background: Workers' health management is perceived important from the human resource management perspective, as well as from the personal perspective. Method: This study developed an accident prevention model by analyzing the correlation between 704 workers' health examination variables, and reviewed the verification of the model through a follow-up survey on the control variables and status of hazards targeting 650 workers for four years from 2007 to 2010. Also, a health promotion program was implemented targeting a production division to improve alcohol habits, smoking, musculoskeletal pain complaints and hearing control indices, which are the control variables of the model. Results: As a result of four years' implementation, the following effects were obtained: the days away from work fell 87.5%, and accident rate dropped 71.5% in 2010, respectively, compared to 2006, before the activity was implemented. Conclusion: This study shows that the accident prevention activities based on workers' health promotion activities are effective to prevent industrial accidents and injuries. Application: The research findings will serve as a practical guideline for establishing preventive measures in the shipbuilding company.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.132-143
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of sexual abuse prevention education program linked to elementary physical and psychological development on sexual knowledge and attitude. Methods: The participants were the elementary school students of fifth and sixth grades in S city, South Korea (experimental, comparison, and control group=96, 96, and 74, respectively). The experimental group received sexual abuse prevention education linked physical and psychological development, 6 sessions (3 sessions are physical and psychological development educations and 3 other sessions are sexual abuse prevention educations). The comparison group received sexual abuse prevention educations, 3 sessions (the same curriculum of the experimental group). The control group didn't receive any sexual education. The data were analyzed by $x^2$ test and t-test, and ANOVA using the SPSS program. Results: The experimental group showed significantly better sexual knowledge and attitude than the comparison and control group. Conclusion: Sexual abuse prevention education program linked physical and psychological development is required for elementary school students, to improve the sexual knowledge and attitude.

• 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.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.58 no.6
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• pp.647-652
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• 2020

Clonorchis sinensis is the most common fish-borne intestinal parasite in Korea. The aim of the present investigation was to survey the status of C. sinensis infection and analyze associated risk factors in residents of Haman-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do. A total of 5,114 residents from 10 administrative towns/villages voluntarily agreed to participate in the study, which comprised fecal examination, a questionnaire survey for risk factors, ultrasonography, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for cancer biomarker detection in the blood. We detected C. sinensis eggs in 5.3% of the subjects. By region, Gunbuk-myeon had the highest number of residents with C. sinensis eggs. The infection rate and intensity were higher in male than in female residents. Based on the risk factor questionnaire, infection was highly associated with drinking, a history of C. sinensis infection, and the practice of eating of raw freshwater fish. Extension of the bile duct, infection intensity, and cancer biomarker detection significantly correlated with the presence of eggs in the study population. In conclusion, the development of feasible, long-term control policies and strategies for the elimination of C. sinensis in Korea is still required.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.336-343
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• 2002

Recently the rate of adolescent smoking in Korea has increased rapidly, and various health problems related to smoking can be expected to increase in the future. Studies on smoking behavior report that assertiveness is important factor influencing on the adolescent smoking. Purpose: This study was conducted to develope a educational video for the purpose of adolescent's smoking prevention. Method: The 533 participating subjects, 269 in experimental group and 264 control group, in the study were 7th grade students. The content of video introduces three smoke tempting situations. The experimental group received 17 minute video education, and the control group did not receive any treatments. Result: The results show that the student's assertiveness was increased significantly in the experimental group after the video education. Student's attitude on smoking became more negative in the experimental group. However, in the control group, the intention, assertiveness, attitude was not changed. Conclusion: This assertiveness video can be useful educational resource for the smoking prevention program for adolescents. Also further study on longitudinal effect and application on drinking, drug abuse are needed.