• Title/Summary/Keyword: Statistical quality control

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Electromagnetic Field Exposure and Male Breast Cancer Risk: A Meta-analysis of 18 Studies

  • Sun, Jing-Wen;Li, Xiao-Rong;Gao, Hong-Yu;Yin, Jie-Yun;Qin, Qin;Nie, Shao-Fa;Wei, Sheng
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • v.14 no.1
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    • pp.523-528
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    • 2013
  • Background: The possibility that electromagnetic fields (EMF) exposure may increase male breast cancer risk has been discussed for a long time. However, arguments have been presented that studies limited by poor quality could have led to statistically significant results by chance or bias. Moreover, data fo the last 10 years have not been systematically summarized. Methods and Results: To confirm any possible association, a meta-analysis was performed by a systematic search strategy. Totals of 7 case-control and 11 cohort studies was identified and pooled ORs with 95% CIs were used as the principal outcome measures. Data from these studies were extracted with a standard meta-analysis procedure and grouped in relation to study design, cut-off point, exposure assessment method, adjustment and exposure model. A statistical significant increased risk of male breast cancer with EMF exposure was defined (pooled ORs = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.14-1.52, P < 0.001), and subgroup analyses also showed similar results. Conclusions: This meta-analysis suggests that EMF exposure may be associated with the increase risk of male breast cancer despite the arguments raised.

Diabetes Mellitus Reduces Prostate Cancer Risk - No Function of Age at Diagnosis or Duration of Disease

  • Xu, Hua;Mao, Shan-Hua;Ding, Guan-Xiong;Ding, Qiang;Jiang, Hao-Wen
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • v.14 no.1
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    • pp.441-447
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    • 2013
  • Background: Prior studies examining the relation between diabetes mellitus (DM) and prostate cancer risk have reported controversial findings. We examined this association by conducting a detailed meta-analysis of the peer-reviewed literature. Methods: A comprehensive search for articles of MEDLINE and EMBASE databases and bibliographies of retrieved articles published up to November, 2012 was performed. Methodological quality assessment of the trials was based on the Newcastle-Ottawa Scaleq and the meta-analysis was performed using STATA 12.0. Dose-response regression was conducted with SPSS 19.0. Results: We included 29 studies in the meta-analysis (13 case-control studies, 16 cohort studies), and found an inverse association between DM and prostate cancer (relative risk (RR) 0.84, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.78-0.91). An inverse association was also observed in non-Asian populations (RR 0.81, 95% CI 0.76-0.87) and population-based studies (RR 0.80, 95% CI 0.77-0.91). No statistical significance was found of the association between prostate cancer risk and the duration of DM (p=0.338), and risk seemed not related with the age of DM diagnosis. Conclusions: This study suggested an inverse relationship between DM and prostate cancer, but without links to duration of disease or age of diagnosis.

Comparative Study on Different Species of Medicinal Herbs Used as Jeonho (Qianhu) Using Morphological Appearance and Chromatographic Fingerprint (외부 형태와 Chromatographic Fingerprint를 이용한 전호류 약재 비교 연구)

  • Kim, Jung-Hoon;Lee, Guem-San;Choi, Go-Ya;Kim, Young-Sik;Lee, Seung-Ho;Kim, Hong-Jun;Jeong, Seung-Il;Ju, Young-Sung
    • The Korea Journal of Herbology
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    • v.27 no.3
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    • pp.15-21
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    • 2012
  • Objective : This study aimed to compare the difference between $Angelica$ $decursiva$, Peucedanum $praeruptorum$ and $Anthriscus$ $sylvestris$ which have been used as herbal medicine, Jeonho (Angelicae Decursivae Radix) in Korea and provided the evidence to exclude $A.$ $sylvestris$ not to use as Joenho. Methods : The similarities of original medicinal herb with samples from local market were evaluated including morphological appearance and chromatographic fingerprint. In addition, relation between original medicinal herb and local samples were analyzed using statistical clustering methods. Results : $A.$ $decursiva$, $P.$ $praeruptorum$ and $A.$ $sylvestris$ represented different morphological appearances and chromatographic fingerprint. Several samples from China exhibited similar morphological and chromatographic appearance with $A.$ $decursiva$ or $P.$ $praeruptorum$. Eleven samples from Korea showed identical similarity to $A.$ $sylvestris$. Conclusions : Since $A.$ $sylvestris$ represented obvious differences compared to $A.$ $decursiva$ and $P.$ $praeruptorum$, it is required not to use $A.$ $sylvestris$ as medicinal herb, Jeonho. Additionally, exact identification and quality control must be applied to $A.$ $decursiva$ or $P.$ $praeruptorum$ from China in order to maintain therapeutical efficacy.

A Survey on the Contents of Fluoride, Calcium, and Magnesium of Reservoir Water on a Stream in the Jeon-buk Area of Korea (전북 지역 일부 수원지의 물에서 불소, 칼슘 및 마그네슘 함량에 관한 조사 연구)

  • 이인규;김종규
    • Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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    • v.29 no.2
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    • pp.38-44
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    • 2003
  • This study was performed to investigate the levels of fluoride (F), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg) in water samples taken from five reservoirs or direct sources on a stream used for agricultural or domestic water in the Iksan and Wanjoo areas, Jeon-buk, Korea, and to find a possible link between Ca or Mg and fluoride in water sources in theses areas. The samples were collected by the recommendation methods of the World Health Organization and analyzed by the recommendations of the Japanese Standard Methods. Statistical analyses were performed by the analysis of variance and correlation analysis. The F levels in water samples wire 0.80~2.53 ppm. In four sampling sites the water fluoride levels exceeded 1 ppm. which if the recommended level for fluorosis/caries control. The Ca levels in water samples were 6.82~12.98 ppm, and the Mg levels were 0.30~1.97 ppm, which are lower compared with the natural levels of water sources previously reported by other investigators. This study showed a positive correlation between Ca and Mg (r= 0.8779. p<0.01) and a negative correlation between F and Ca (r=-0.6974, p<0.05) and also between F and Mg (r=-0.5581) in the water samples. However, the study did not find remarkable relationships in fluoride levels between sampling sites. These results support the fact that there were epidemics of dental fluorosis in this area. The lack of significant positive correlations in fluoride levels between sampling sites suggests that there may be some pathways for the transfer of the metal to the water through other environmental media besides the water course. Long-term epidemiological studies are needed on the relationship between high F together with low Ca and Mg levels in the water, and total human health in this community. There should alto be a long-term monitoring of the water quality in this area.

Estimation of Basic Wind Speed at Bridge Construction Site Based on Short-term Measurements (단기 풍관측에 의한 교량현장 기본풍속 추정)

  • Lee, Seong-Lo;Kim, Sang-Woo
    • KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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    • v.33 no.4
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    • pp.1271-1279
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    • 2013
  • In this paper, a study on the prediction method of basic wind speed at the construction site of long-span bridge using short-term measurements was conducted. To determine the basic wind speed in the wind resistant design for the long-span bridge away from the weather station, statistical analysis of long-term data at site is required. Wind observation mast was installed at site, and short-term measurements were gathered and the correlation analysis between the site and the station was done using regression analysis and MCP(Measure-Correlate-Predict). The long-term wind data of the site was obtained from correlation formula after topographical revision of long-term data of the station. And basic wind speed could be estimated by extreme probability distribution analysis. The research results show that the wind speed by regression analysis is predicted lower than by MCP and after this study a series of correlation analyses at several sites will show clearly the difference two methods. And also a quality control of long-term wind data is very important in estimation of wind speed.

Importance-Performance Analysis about Sanitation Management Items Performed by School Food service Workers (학교급식소 조리종사원 담당 위생관리항목에 대한 중요도-수행도 분석)

  • Lee, Hye-Yeon;Chang, Hew-Won;Bae, Hyun-Joo
    • Korean journal of food and cookery science
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    • v.27 no.1
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    • pp.21-31
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    • 2011
  • The purposes of this study were to investigate the gap in perceived importance-performance between dietitians and food service workers regarding school food service sanitation and to analyze items that should be given priority for improvement. Data were collected by 440 food service workers and 71 dietitians in Gyeongbuk province. All statistical analyses were conducted using the SAS package program (version 8.2 for Windows) for descriptive analysis, t-test, and importance-performance analysis (IPA). According to the performance analysis, there were significant differences between dietitians and food service workers in 18 out of the 20 items. In all of 18 items, the evaluated performance scores according to the food service workers were higher than those of the dietitians. In addition, the results of IPA confirmed the following areas as improvement priorities: proper hand washing of food service workers, cleanliness of trays and utensils, monitoring of temperature of refrigerated/frozen foods and quality of the food materials during inspection, proper washing and disinfection of raw vegetables and fruits and maintenance of CCP records, and control of food holding temperature and methods. In conclusion, dietitians should perform education about sanitation management items that have low perceived importance and should make a plan to improve sanitation management after understanding the gap in perceived importance-performance between dietitians and food service workers.

Presence of Human Papillomavirus DNA in Colorectal Cancer Tissues in Shiraz, Southwest Iran

  • Mahmoudvand, Shahab;Safaei, Akbar;Erfani, Nasrollah;Sarvari, Jamal
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • v.16 no.17
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    • pp.7883-7887
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    • 2015
  • Background: Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Viruses including human papillomavirus (HPV) have been reported to be associated with different cancers but any association with colorectal cancers remains controversial. Aim: To evaluate any association between HPV infection and adenocarcinoma of the colon and adenomatous polyps. Materials and Methods: Paraffin-embedded tissue specimens of 70 colorectal adenocarcinomas, 70 colorectal adenomatous polyps, and 70 colorectal normal tissues were subjected to DNA extraction. The quality of the extracted DNA was confirmed by amplification of a ${\beta}$-globin fragment using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR using specific primers were performed to detect HPV DNA. Specific primers targeting the E6 region of the HPVs 16 and 18 were used for genotyping. Results: HPV DNA was detected in 2 (2.85%) out of 70 adenocarcinoma colorectal tissues and 4 (5.71 %) out of 70 adenomatous colorectal tissues. All normal colorectal tissues were negative for HPV DNA. HPV-16 was the most predominant genotype (5 sample) followed by HPV-18 (4 sample). Despite the above observations, statistical analyses indicated no significant differences in the frequencies of HPV positive subjects between the cancerous and normal samples. Conclusions: Although the differences observed in the frequencies of HPV positive cases in our study was not significant relative to those of control subjects, the fact of 6 positive samples among cancerous tissues, may still suggest a role of HPV in colorectal carcinogenesis. The study collectively indicated that some colorectal cancerous tissues are infected with high risk HPV genotype. The findings merit more investigation.

Effectiveness Assesment of Bus Signal Priority Systems (버스우선신호시스템 적용 효과 평가)

  • Lee, Ho-Joon;Lee, Sang-Soo;Lee, Choul-Ki;Kim, Nam-Sun
    • The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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    • v.11 no.2
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    • pp.57-66
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    • 2012
  • This study intended to evaluate the operational performance change from the introduction of the bus signal priority system using the field data. To complete the objective, travel time and volume data were collected from the before and after study, then the distribution of individual vehicle's travel time and the difference of travel time and traffic volume were compared respectively. Analysis results showed that no significant volume change was observed from both passenger vehicle and bus for the major and cross streets. It was identified that the quality of travel time distributions of passenger vehicle and bus was improved after introducing the bus signal priority system. In terms of average speed, passenger car in a major direction increased by 6.5% and bus increased by 10.5% in general. Statistical tests showed that those speed differences were statistically significant at the 95% of confidence level. The results of this paper will be a good source for further research in the area of bus signal priority control.

A Literature Study of Topical Application of Chinese Herbal Medicine for Allergic Rhinitis (국소한약외용제의 알레르기성 비염 치료 효과에 대한 문헌 고찰)

  • Bang, Mi Ran;Kim, Jang Hyun;Min, Sang Yeon
    • The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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    • v.30 no.3
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    • pp.52-60
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    • 2016
  • Objectives The purpose of this study is to analyze studies about the effects of topical application of Chinese herbal medicine for allergic rhinitis within randomized controlled trials (RCT). Methods The search database includes KJTK (Korean Traditional Knowledge Portal), OASIS (Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated system), CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure), PubMed, and EMBASE. We used the following key search terms: "allergic rhinitis", "traditional Chinese medicine", "traditional Korean medicine", "Chinese herbal medicine", "randomized controlled trial", "clinical study", "nasal spray", and "nasal drop" Results Five studies were selected for analysis. Three studies used nasal spray of Chinese herbal medicine and two studies used nasal drops of Chinese herbal medicine for the intervention. Frequently used herbs were Magnoliae Flos (辛夷), Scutellariae Radix (黃芩), Coptidis Rhizoma (黃連), and Astragali Radix (黃芪). For the outcome measures, studies used symptom score, questionnaire of Quality of Life, nasal airway resistance, or laboratory studies. From all 5 studies, it has been shown that topical application of Chinese herbal medicine was effective for improving symptoms of allergic rhinitis. Two out of five studies showed statistical difference between study group and control group. Conclusions This study shows that topical application of Chinese herbal medicine can improve symptoms of allergic rhinitis. Well-designed RCT studies with low risk of bias and studies with outcome measures for assessing the immunomodulatory effects are necessary to confirm these findings.

Perceived Organizational Culture and Psychological Empowerment of Employees in Casino Companies (카지노 종사자의 조직문화 인식과 심리적 임파워먼트)

  • Lee, Youngran;Chang, Jihyun
    • The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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    • v.8 no.5
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    • pp.65-75
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    • 2017
  • Purpose - The purpose of this study is to verify a role of organizational culture as antecedents to influence psychological empowerment of organizational members, focusing on service workers of casino companies. Therefore, this study sought to examine the question of each clan, adhocracy, market, and hierarchy culture that the workers perceive to influence their psychological empowerment. Thus, the current study examined the relationship between organizational culture and the psychological empowerment by empirical analysis. Research design, data, and methodology - This study chose four domestic casino companies that are run only for foreigners. Using an offline survey, it analyzed the questionnaire data of the 249 surveys collected from employees working in the sales and service sectors. Independent variables were four types of organizational culture: clan, adhocracy, market, and hierarchy. Dependent variables were four subcategories of psychological empowerment: meaning, competence, self-determination, and impact. As research methods, the study applied descriptive statistics, factor analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis, using SPSS 21.0 statistical program. Results - Among the organizational culture types, the clan and adhocracy cultures, which emphasize flexibility and autonomy, were relatively more important for the psychological empowerment of workers than the hierarchy and market cultures. Clan culture was the most important factor in terms of meaning and competence, and adhocracy culture was the most important factor in self-determination and impact. However, the hierarchy and market cultures that pursue control and stability were also cultural types that positively affected psychological empowerment of the workers. Hierarchy culture showed positive effects on meaning, competence, and impact except self-determination, and market culture had positive effect only on competency. Conclusions - The study found that organizational culture is an important predictor of psychological empowerment of the employees in casino companies and that important organizational culture types may be different for each sub-factor of psychological empowerment. It suggests that casino companies have to try to recognize and secure diverse organizational culture in order to activate psychological empowerment of their employees because they can provide quality service for customers. Therefore, it is necessary to create a harmonious and balanced culture between promoting flexible and autonomous organizational atmosphere, and stably controlling and operating the organization.