• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.17
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• pp.7831-7836
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• 2015

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies of the gastrointestinal tract. The aim of this study was to assess the general knowledge of CRC in individuals living in Rasht, Iran, using a population-based cross-sectional telephone survey. Materials and Methods: A total of 1557 participants between 18 and 80 years of age were interviewed using random sampling from the telephone directory. Knowledge of risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis, and prevention of CRC was assessed using a validated questionnaire. Results: The mean knowledge level of the 1,557 respondents (average age 46 y) was $13.5{\pm}4.29$ (maximum possible score = 26), and 46.4% (722/1,557) of the subjects achieved grades lower than the mean score. The mean scores for knowledge of symptoms and risk factors were $3.97{\pm}1.83$ (range: 0-7) and $5.17{\pm}1.65$ (range: 0-9), respectively. Older age, higher education, and employment were significantly associated with better scores for recognition of risk factors and warning symptoms. The majority of subjects correctly identified weight loss (70.2%; 1,093/1,557) and rectal bleeding (63.3%; 986/1,557) as symptoms of CRC, and that smoking (85.9%; 1,337/1,557) and a low-fiber diet (73.4%; 1,143/1,557) were risk factors. Approximately half of the subjects noted increasing age, genetic background and fried food as other risk factors. A considerable number (54.8%; 853/1,557) identified colonoscopy as a screening method for detecting CRC in asymptomatic patients. However, a third of the subjects in the target group for screening (${\geq}50y$) were not interested in undergoing screening, primarily due to a lack of symptoms. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the knowledge of CRC is poor among the public, and therefore greater attempts should be made to increase awareness. Public education emphasizing the risk factors and symptoms of CRC, as well as the importance of regular screening regardless of the presence of symptoms, may help to reduce CRC morbidity and mortality.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.15
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• pp.6697-6704
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• 2015

Background: The burden of breast and cervical cancer is changing over time in developing countries. Regular screening is very important for early detection and treatment. In this study, we assessed inequalities in breast and cervical cancer screening rates in women according to household wealth status, and analyzed the potential predictors associated with a low cancer screening rate in Jordan. Materials and Methods: A nationwide populationbased cross-sectional survey collected information on different variables at the national level. All ever-married women (the phrase is used throughout the text to refer to women who had ever married) aged 15-49 years were included in the survey. Analysis of breast self-examination (BSE) and clinical breast examination (CBE) at least once in the previous year was carried out in 11,068 women, while lifetime Pap-smear testing was carried out in 8,333 women, aged 20-49 years. Results: Over 39% and 19% of ever-married Jordanian women reported having undergone a breast examination during the previous year and Pap smear examination at least once in their lifetime, respectively. The rate of BSE in the previous year was 31.5%, that of CBE in the previous year was 19.3%, and that of Pap smear examination at least once in life was 25.5%. The adjusted OR was higher for performing BSE (aOR 1.22, 95% CI 1.04-1.43), undergoing CBE (aOR 1.31, 95% CI 1.08-1.60) and undergoing Pap smear examination (aOR 2.38, 95% CI 1.92-2.93) among women in the highest wealth-index quintile as compared to those in the lowest quintile. The concentration index was 0.11 for BSE, 0.01 for CBE, and 0.27 for Pap smear examination. Women in their twenties, living in rural or the southern region of Jordan, with an elementary school education or less, who listened to the radio or read the newspaper not more than a few times a year, and nulliparous women were less likely to undergo breast and cervical cancer screening. Conclusions: The rates of breast and cervical cancer screening are low in Jordan. Reducing the sociodemographic and economic inequalities in breast and cervical cancer screenings requires concerted outreach activities for women living under socially deprived conditions.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.17
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• pp.7467-7472
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• 2015

Background: Breast cancer is known to be one of the most prevalent cancers among women in both developing and developed countries. The incidence of breast cancer in Pakistan has increased dramatically within the last few years and is the second country after Israel in Asia to have highest proportional cases of breast cancer. However, there are limited data for breast cancer available in the literature from Pakistan. Objectives: The study was conducted to bring to light the common clinical presentation of breast cancer and to evaluate the frequency of established risk factors in breast carcinoma patients and furthermore to compare the findings between premenopausal and postmenopausal women in Pakistan. Materials and Methods: A 6 months (from July 2012 to Dec 2012) cross sectional survey was conducted in Surgical and Oncology Units of Civil Hospital, Karachi. Data were collected though a well developed questionnaire from 105 female patients diagnosed with carcinoma of breast and analyzed using SPSS version 17. Institutional ethical approval was obtained prior to data collection. Results: Out of 105 patients, 43 were premenopausal and 62 were postmenopausal, 99 being married. Mean age at diagnosis was $47.8{\pm}12.4years$. A painless lump was the most frequent symptom, notived by 77.1%(n=81). Some 55.2% (n=58) patients had a lump in the right breast and 44.8%(n=47) in the left breast. In the majority of cases, the lump was present in upper outer quadrant 41.9% (n=44). Mean period of delay from appearance of symptoms to consulting a doctor was $5.13{\pm}4.8months$, from the shortest 1 month to the longest 36 months. Long delay (> 3 months) was the most frequent figure 41.9%. Considering overall risk factors most frequent were first pregnancy after 20 years of age (41%), physical breast trauma (28.6%), lack of breast feeding(21.9%), and early menarche <11 years (19%), followed by null parity (16.2%), consumption of high fat diet (15.2%), family history of breast cancer or any other cancer in first degree relatives (9.5% and 13.3%, respectively). Some of the less common factors were late menopause >54 years (8.6%), use of oral contraceptive pills (10.5%), use of hormone replacement therapy (4.7%),smoking (4.7%) and radiation (0.96%). Significant differences (p<0.005) were observed between pre and post menopausal women regarding history of physical breast trauma, practice of breast feeding and parity. Conclusions: A painless lump was the most frequent clinical presentation noted. Overall age at first child > 20 years, physical breast trauma, lack of breast feeding, early menarche <11 were the most frequent risk factors. Physical breast trauma, lower parity, a trend for less breast feeding had more significant associations with pre-menopausal than post-menopausal onset. Increase opportunity of disease prevention can be obtained through better understanding of clinical presentation and risk factors important in the etiology of breast cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.3879-3887
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• 2012

Background: Development of effective educational strategies should accompany increases in public awareness and the availability of genetic testing for breast cancer (BC). These educational strategies should be designed to fulfill the knowledge gap while considering factors that influence women's interest in order to facilitate decision making. Objective: To determine the possible correlates of Saudi women's interest in BC genes testing including socio-demographics, the level of awareness towards BC genes, the family history of BC and the perceived personal risk among adult Saudi women in Al Hassa, Saudi Arabia. Subjects and methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out during the second BC community-based campaign in Al Hassa, Saudi Arabia. All Saudi women aged ${\geq}18$ years (n=781) attending the educational components of the campaign were invited to a personal interview. Data collection included gathering information about sociodemographics, family history of BC, the perceived personal risk for BC, awareness and attitude towards BC genes and the women's interest in BC genes testing. Results: Of the included women (n=599), 19.5% perceived higher risk for BC development, significantly more among < 40 years of age, and with positive family history of BC before 50 years of age. The participants demonstrated a poor level of awareness regarding the inheritance, risk, and availability of BC genetic testing. The median summated knowledge score was 1.0 (out of 7 points) with a knowledge deficit of 87.8%. The level of knowledge showed significant decline with age (> 40 years). Of the included women 54.7% expressed an interest in BC genetic testing for assessing their BC risk. Multivariate regression model showed that being middle aged (Odds Ratio 'OR'=1.88, confidence intervals 'C.I'=1.14-3.11), with higher knowledge level (OR=1.67, C.I=1.08-2.57) and perceiving higher risk for BC (OR=2.11, C.I=1.61-2.76) were the significant positive correlates for Saudi women interest in BC genetic testing. Conclusion: Saudi women express high interest in genetic testing for BC risk despite their poor awareness. This great interest may reflect the presence of inappropriate information regarding BC genetic testing and its role in risk analysis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.18
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• pp.7897-7907
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• 2014

Background: There is paucity of studies defining the prevalence of non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors in Saudi Arabia despite the surging epidemic of obesity, change in dietary habits and sedentary lifestyle. Objectives: This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the prevalence of NCDs risk factors among employees at King Faisal University in Al Hassa, Saudi Arabia and to determine the possible correlates for clustering of NCDs risk factors among them. Materials and Methods: All employees were invited to participate; the World Health Organization STEPwise approach was used for data collection which consisted of a personal interview to collect socio-demographic characteristics, NCD history, tobacco use, vegetables and fruit consumption, and physical activity (PA), followed by anthropometric measurements namely weight, height and waist circumference and blood pressure measurements, subjects were finally subjected to biochemical tests with determination of fasting plasma glucose, serum triglycerides, cholesterol and high density lipoproteins. Results: Of the surveyed employees (n=691), daily current smokers accounted for 22.7%. 94.9%, 95.1% and 86% consumed < 5 servings per day of vegetables, fruits and both fruits and vegetables respectively, 73% were physically inactive, 64% were overweight or obese, 22.1% had hypertension, and 21.5% were diabetics. Elevated cholesterol levels were found in 36.6%, low high density lipoproteins in 36.8%, and elevated triglycerides in 36.1%. Only 3% had no NCD risk factors, and 57.6% had ${\geq}3$ factors. Multivariate logistic regression showed that gender (being male, adjusted odds ratio 'aOR'=1.51), aged ${\geq}50$ years (aOR=3.06), < college education (aOR=1.75), current smokers (aOR=2.37), being obese (aOR=6.96) and having a low PA level (aOR=4.59) were the significant positive predictors for clustering of NCD risk factors. Conclusions: Over fifty percent of the studied university's employees had multiple (${\geq}3$) NCD risk factors. Screening and health promotion initiatives should be launched at least targeting the modifiable factors to avert the excessive risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and several types of cancers.

• The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.189-195
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• 2017

The only method used in the power stations in order to deliver generated electric power is 6 kV XLPE (or CV) single core cables. Among many kinds of accidents happening in the power stations, the outbreak of fire due to the deterioration of live cables causes enormous socioeconomic losses. From the installation of the cables, the management and diagnose should be thoroughly made. Even though it differs depending on the installations and usage conditions, the cross-sectional area of cables is in shortage. The excessive allowable temperature caused from the current causes the deterioration of cables. In order to prevent an unexpected breakdown of live cables, we have invented a device to monitor and diagnose the status of cables. We have installed our device in the Korea Western Power Co., Ltd.. In this paper, we present our research results in situ that we have obtained by measuring the temperature of sheath, changing with the surrounding circumstances, especially ambient temperatures. We also show our study results of characteristics for temperature of sheath surface and load current at the ambient temperatures of $40^{\circ}C-10^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.221-227
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• 2015

Objective: This study assessed whether both physical disability and perceived dependence relate to depression or whether perceived dependence in personal care activities, household activities, community mobility and recreational activities is an intermediate step in the relationship between physical disability and depressive symptoms. Methods: Data come from a cross-sectional survey of 209 women, aged 55 or older, with osteoarthritis (OA). Mediation analyses occurred in four step and included logistic regression analyses as outlined by Baron & Kenny. Results: The results from step 1 showed that greater difficulty with each domain of physical disabilities was significantly related to greater perceived dependence. In step 2, greater perceived dependence was significantly associated with greater depressive symptoms in all domains. Step 3 analyses showed that greater physical disabilities in each domain were significantly associated with depression. The final step testing mediation indicated that personal care activities, household activities and community mobility were fully mediated by perceived dependence. That was, once dependence was taken into account, the relationship between physical disabilities and depression was no longer significant. Partial mediation was found for dependence and recreational activity limitations. Conclusion: It is important to take into account the experience of perceived dependence as a mediator in understanding the relationship between disability and depression in the domains of personal care, household, and community mobility. To conclude, these findings point to the importance of taking into account an individual's reaction to their disability rather than just focusing on the severity of disability.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.366-372
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• 1994

The experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of nitrogen application on the development of small vascular bundle in the rice plants. Two cultivars, IR58, an indica type and Unbong 7, a japonica type were used in this study. The number of small vascular bundles in peduncle of different tillers was increased with the increase of nitrogen level. In the main culm, number of small vascular bundles at higher nitrogen level was increased by 39% in IR58 and 24% in Unbong 7 compared with nitrogen free plot. The main culm had more small vascular bundles in the peduncle and number of small vascular bundle was decreased with later tiller order and tiller development. The number and cross sectional area of small vascular bundles in flag leaf blade and sheath of main culm were increased with increasing levels of nitrogen. The number of small vascular bundles in peduncle was highly correlated with the number of spikelets and grain weight per panicle.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.389-410
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• 2007

For moderately jointed to massive rock masses, the failure and deformation behaviors around an excavated opening are absolutely influenced by the initial rock stress and strength of in-situ rock mass. The localized and progressive brittle failure around an opening does not mean whole collapse of an excavated opening. But, for many cases, it may induce temporary stopping of excavation works and reexamination of the current supporting system, which can result in delay of the entire construction works and additional construction cost. In this paper, the characteristics of the brittle failure around an opening with stress level and tunnel shape was studied by the biaxial compressive test using scaled specimen and by the numerical simulation with $PFC^{2D}$. The biaxial test results were well coincided with the stress induced failure patterns around the excavated openings observed and monitored in the in-situ condition. For the circular part of the opening wall, the stress induced cracks initially occurred at the wall surface in the direction of the minimum principal stress and contributed to the localized notch shaped failure region having a certain range of angle. But for the corner and straight part of the opening wall, the cracks initiated at sharp corners were connected and coalesced each other and with existing micro cracks. Further they resulted in a big notch shaped failure region connecting two sharp corners.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.139-150
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• 2010

Reinforced-concrete (RC) columns are frequently designed and constructed. other types of columns includes composite types such as concrete-filled tube columns (CFT). Hollow RC columns may be effective in reducing both the self weight of columns and total amount of materials used. This is due to the fact that a hollow RC column possesses larger moment of inertia than that of solid RC columns of same cross sectional area. Despite the effectiveness the hollow RC column has not been popular because of its poor ductility performance. While the transverse reinforcements are effective in controlling the brittle failure of the outside concrete, they are not capable of resisting the failure of concrete of inner face which is in unconfined state of stress. To overcome these drawbacks, the internally confined hollow reinforced concrete (ICH RC), a new column type, was proposed in the previous researches. In this study, the fire resistance performance of the ICH RC columns was analyzed through a series of extensive heat transfer analyses using the nonlinear-material model program. Also, effect of factors such as the hollowness ratio, thickness of the concrete, and thickness of the internal tube on the fire resistance performance were extensively studied. Then the factors that enhance the fire-resistant performance of ICH RC were presented and analyzed.