• Journal of Korean Medicine for Obesity Research
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.37-45
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• 2017

Recently the global epidemic problem of obesity has stimulated intense interest in the study of physiological mechanisms using animal models as a way to gain crucial data required for translation to human studies. Panax ginseng has been reported to have anti-obesity or antidiabetic effects in many animal studies; however, there have been few studies investigating human obesity. Herein, we will assess and examine the evidence supporting the anti-obesity effect of Panax ginseng in animal models with respect to anthropometric and metabolic outcomes. We will include controlled, comparative studies assessing the effect of Panax ginseng in preclinical studies of obesity. Panax ginseng will be administered during or following the induction of experimental obesity. The primary outcome measure will be anthropometric assessment and the secondary outcome measures will include adipose tissue weight, total amount of food consumed and metabolic parameters. We will search MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus without language, publication date, or other restrictions. Ethical approval will not be necessary as the data collected in this study will not be individual patient data, consequently there will be no concerns about violations of privacy. After finishing the whole procedure, the results will be disseminated by publication in a peer-reviewed journal or presented at a relevant conference. This protocol has been registered on the Collaborative Approach to Meta-Analysis and Review of Animal Data from Experimental Studies (CAMARADES) website (http://www.camarades.info).

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.199-206
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• 2002

It was investigated on the relationship of the rice blast epidemics and the real-time meteorological factors, at the experimental paddy field in 1997. Weather factors(temperature, relative humidity, irradiation, precipitation, the direction of wind, wind speed, soil temperature and leaf-wetness, etc) were measured by using the automated weather station. The most influenced weather factor to blast epidemics, was the average max-temp($R^2$= 0.95) during 10 days before leaf blast epidemics, while the least thing was wind speed($R^2$= 0.24). The most potential weather factors correlated with the blast epidemics were T-ave(average temperature), T-max(maximum temperature), RH(Relative Humidity) and RD(Relative Humidity > 90% hrs). A statistics model(the regression equation) of the blast epidemics with the potential weather factors, was established as tallows ; Y = -3410.91 - 23.91 $\times$ T-ave ＋ 28.56 $\times$ T-max ＋ 41.0 $\times$ RH - 3.75 $\times$ RD, ($R^2$= 0.99). (T-ave >= 19$^{\circ}C$, T-max - T-ave >= 5.2$^{\circ}C$ and RH% >= 90.4%). According to the fitness test($\chi$$^2$) of the model, the observed blast disease severity was quite close to those expected.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.241-248
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• 1998

A result of national malaria surveillance in Korean civilians was described. Since a case of indigenous vivax malaria was detected in 1993, a total of 2,198 cases was confirmed by blood smear up to 1997. Of them, 1,548 cases were soldiers serving in the demilitarized zone (DMZ), while 650 cases were civilians. Number of civilian cases was 3 in 1994, 19 in 1995, 71 in 1996, and 557 in 1997. Of them, 239 were ex-soldiers who discharged after military service in the prevalent areas such as Paju, Yonchon, Kimpo, Kangwha, Tongduchon in Kyonggi-do and Chorwon in Kangwon-do while 308 patients were civilian residents in the prevalent areas. Seventy-two patients, living nationwide, had a history of visiting the prevalent areas during transmission season. Only 32 civilian patients denied any relation with the prevalent areas. As a whole, a half of the civilian cases was diagnosed when living in non-prevalent areas. Male patients in their twenties was the highest in number. Annual parasite index is steadily elevated in residents living in the prevalent areas. Monthly incidence showed an unimodal distribution, forming a peak in August. Ex-soldiers exhibited a delayed incubation ranging from 153 to 452 days ($279{\pm}41$ days). The time required for diagnosis was shortened from 23.6 days in 1995 to 13.7 days in 1997. Although the current epidemic of vivax malaria started as a border malaria, it seems highly probable that vivax malaria is established in the local areas and responsible for at least a part of transmission.

• Korean Security Journal
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• no.46
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• pp.171-187
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• 2016

Human trafficking is a booming underground business and is the fastest growing and criminal activity in today's society. The use of coercion or fraud marks the territory of trafficking. Most people trafficked suffer constant threats, violence, and forced acts while imprisoned by their traffickers. Such human trafficking entails significant problems not only for the victims but also for the economies and community health. Large corporations overseas have also been known to partake in the sex slave industry. Another hidden cost to the global economy is the cost of law enforcement and anti-trafficking measures being implemented. Further, sex Trafficking carries many potential health consequences, one of the biggest risks is HIV infection. That means, sex trafficking is an engine of the global AIDS epidemic with one study portraying nearly fifty six percent of all sex slaves having HIV or AIDS. Therefore, many of people are being infected with HIV and many other diseases every day through contact with the sex slave industry costing millions to society and the global economy. in this study, the author presents a case study of trafficking against Nepalese women. Nepalese women being trafficked are found to have a high prevalence of HIV infection. In conclusion and discussion, a few of solutions needed to be addressed for controling human trafficking for sex slavery suggested.

• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.307-342
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• 2018

This article is to discuss about a debate on controlling and handling rights of diagnostic instruments for the outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease(FMD) in South Korea between 2010 and 2011. The epidemic of FMD caused catastrophic shockwave to the whole Korean society and there was fierce debate what was the best diagnostic tool for the disease and who owned the controlling power. The central government insisted to have the power of controlling the diagnostic tool to maintain the nation-centered disease control while local governments and civil organisations attempted to take over the controlling power of the diagnostic tools. In this article the concept of boundary objects which was suggested by an American STS academic, Susan Leigh Star and her colleagues. The boundary object could be the useful concept for capturing the whole process of constructing and imposing meanings and social orders in the diagnostic tool, called the portable antibody/antigen diagnostic kit. The constructing process of this boundary object must be understood with relation to boundary making activities between different social groups.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.2889-2894
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• 2016

This study aimed to modify behavior regarding liver fluke and cholangiocarcinoma prevention in Chumphuang district, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand through integrated learning. A total of 180 participants were included through purposive selection of high-risk scores on verbal screening. Participants attended the health education program which applied the health belief model included family based, knowledge station based, academic merit based and community based learning. Data were collected using a questionnaire composed of 4 parts: 1) personal information, 2) knowledge, 3) perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, and barriers, 4) practice regarding liver fluke and cholangiocarcinoma prevention. The result revealed that the majority were female (79.9%), age ${\geq}60$ years old (33.2%), primary school educational level (76.1%), and agricultural occupation (70.1%). The mean scores of knowledge, perception, and practice to liver fluke and cholangiocarcinoma prevention, before participated the integrative learning were low, moderate, and low, respectively. Meanwhile, the mean score of knowledge, perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, and barriers, and practice regarding liver fluke and cholangiocarcinoma prevention, were higher with statistical significance after participation in the integrated learning. This finding indicates that health education programs may successfully modify health behavior in the rural communities. Therefore they may useful for further work behavior modification in other epidemic areas.

• The Journal of Art Theory & Practice
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• no.14
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• pp.7-32
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• 2012

The exhibition was started in 2010 in the New Acropolis Museum of Athens and embarked a journey since 2011 as a travelling exhibition inside Greece and abroad. The main purpose of the exhibition was to draw attention of the general public to the value of the 'rescue excavation' and of cultural heritage of Greece, by presenting the reconstruction bust of a girl whose skull was found in Kerameikos cemetery of ancient Athens. The new Kerameikos excavation was initiated by the construction of Metropolitan Railway lines in the center of Athens between 1992 to 1998. It revealed a pit of a mass burial where about 150 people were inhumed in a very hasty way without proper funeral rites or offerings. These bodies are identified as the victims of the infamous plague of Athens in the first years of the Peloponnesian War(430-426 BC). The epidemic disease killed almost one third of the city population including Pericles, and brought extreme fear and panic to the Athens society. The traditional funerary rites were totally disrupted, and the social decorum and the morality among the citizens became enfeebled. The plague and the civil war were the decisive factors to end the Golden Age of Democratic Athens. However, the exhibition organizers did not focus on the tragic aspect of this disaster and its casualties. Their main concern was to simplify the scholarly works of archaeological excavation and microchemistry analysis so that the exhibition viewers will easily understand and empathize the living value of the scholarly works of ancient Greek civilization. The centripetal element of the exhibition was the vivid face of an 11 years old ancient girl 'Myrtis', which was carefully reconstructed based on both the scientific data and artistic imagination. Also the set up of the exhibition was structured in order to stimuli cognitive and emotional experience of the visitors who witnessed the rebirth of a vibrant human being from an ancient debris. The museologists' continuous efforts to promote projects of contemporary artists, publications, and school programs related to the exhibition indicate that the ulterior motive of this exhibition is the cultural education of the present and future generation through the intimate experiences of ancient Greek life. Also this is the reason why the various museums that held the travelling exhibition try to make the presentation as a gesture of memorial service for an anonymous Athenian girl who deceased circa 2400 years ago. The pragmatic efforts of Greek scholars and museologists through exhibition show us a way to find a solution to the continuous threat of cultural resources by massive construction projects and land development, and to overcome public indifference to the history and cultural heritage.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.3 s.63
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• pp.249-262
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• 2005

Backgrounds : As obesity prevails as an epidemic. diet programs including low-calorie diets are developed continuously. It is generally believed that a low-calorie diet is commonly followed by resting metabolic rate decrease and ultimate weight regain. Ephedra and Evodia are known to have sympathomimetic and anti-obesity effect. Objectives : This study was a prospective, double-blinded, randomized md placebo-controlled clinical trial to evaluate the effects of Ephedra sinica and Evodia rutaecarpa on resting metabolic rate (RMR), weight, body composition, and short-term safety in obese women on low-calorie diet. Methods : 125 otherwise healthy obese women (body mass Index ${\geq}\;25kg/m^2$) were recruited and randomly assigned to three groups: Ephedra group (n=41), Evodia group (n =45), and placebo group (n=39). Subjects were administered Ephedra extract in capsules (pseudo-ephedrine 31.52mg) or Evodia extract in capsules (evodiamine 6.75mg, rutaecarpine 0.66mg) or placebo capsules as well as participating in a low-calorie diet for 8 weeks, Resting metabolic rate and body composition were measured at baseline,4 and 8 weeks. Basic serum exams were performed to evaluate the short-term safety of the herbs and changes of lipid variables. Results : All three groups showed significant BMI decreases probably due to low-calorie diet. Among them, the Ephedra group manifested most prominent BMI-reducing effect and towered total cholesterol and triglycerides significantly. The RMR was not changed during the 8-week diet in all groups. No significant difference among the groups was found in RMR, either. Stbject with higher RMR than the mean at the baseline showed a tendency to keep their RMR more stable during the diet program. Conclusions : Ephedra with a low-calorie diet was effective in reducing BMI. RMR change was not compensated by herbal medicines. RMR change seemed to be affected rather by constitution and body composition than medicine. Ephedra and Evodia were proven to be safe for sort-term use in herbal form. Especially, Ephedra was effective in lowering total cholesterol and triglycerides during the 8 weeks.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.137-146
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to derive and analyze the hub facilities that occupy major positions in the vehicle movement networks of livestock facilities. For this purpose, this study used the KAHIS data provided by Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency. The hub facilities were derived from the degree centrality & betweenness centrality. The analysis results are summarized as follows. First, in a livestock facility's vehicle movement network, there are a small number of hub facilities with very high centrality indicator values compared to other facilities. Second, the hub facilities based on the degree centrality are the feed factory, the milk collecting center, slaughterhouse, slaughterhouse for chicken, and livestock markets. Third, the hub facilities based on the betweenness centrality are the livestock markets, the feed factory, and slaughterhouse. Fourth, hub facilities based on the degree centrality are concentrated in a particular area, but the hub facilities based on betweenness centrality are distributed relatively evenly.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.14
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• pp.5895-5900
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• 2014

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a cluster of complicated disorders caused by the interactive influencing factors of heredity and environment, which predisposes to many cnacers. Results from epidemic research indicate that stress is tightly related to the pathogenesis of MS and neoplasia. This paper aims to investigate the association between psychological stress and MS with respect to the tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF${\alpha}$) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) genes in the Han and Hui ethnic groups. Methods: All subjects for this case-control study matched strict enrollment criteria (nationality, gender and age) and lived in the city of Wu Zhong of Ningxia Province in China. The enrolled group contained 102 matched pairs of Hui ethnic individuals and 98 matched pairs of Han ethnic individuals. Enrolled subjects completed the general Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90). The TNF${\alpha}$-308G/A variant and NPYrs16147 polymorphism were detected in case (81 males, 119 females) and control (81 males, 119 females) groups by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. Results: Nine factors of the SCL-90 were found to be statistically different (p<0.05) between case and control groups. The homozygous mutant genotype (AA) and the mutant allele (A) of the TNF${\alpha}$-308G/A gene were less frequently observed in the control population compared to the case group. The odds ratio (95% confidence interval) in "Allele" for MS was 2.28 (1.47-3.53), p=0.0001, while "OR" was 1.11 (0.83-1.47), p=0.15, for the NPYrs16147 gene polymorphism. Conclusions: Psychological stress has been positively associated with MS. A previous study from our group suggested there were differences in the level of psychological stress between Hui and Han ethnic groups. Furthermore, we found that the stress-related TNF${\alpha}$ gene was associated with MS for both Han and Hui ethnic groups. In contrast, NPY may be a possible contributor to MS and associated cancer for the Han ethnic group.