• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.4725-4732
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• 2012

Aim: The incidence of stomach cancer in Mizoram is highest in India. We have conducted a population based matched case-control study to identify environmental and genetic risk factors in this geographical area. Methods: A total of 102 histologically confirmed stomach cancer cases and 204 matched healthy population controls were recruited. GSTM1 and GSTT1 genotypes were determined by PCR and H. pylori infections were determined by ELISA. Results: Tobacco-smoking was found to be an important risk factor for high incidence of stomach cancer in Mizoram. Meiziol (local cigarette) smoking was a more important risk factor than other tobacco related habits. Cigarette, tuibur (tobacco smoke infused water) and betel nut consumption synergistically increased the risk of stomach cancer. Polymorphisms of GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes were not found to be directly associated with stomach cancer in Mizoram. However, they appeared to be effect modifiers. Persons habituated with tobacco smoking and/or tuibur habit had increased risk of stomach cancer if they carried the GSTM1 null genotype and GSTT1 non-null genotype. Conclusion: Tobacco smoking, especially meiziol is the important risk factor for stomach cancer in Mizoram. GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes modify the effect of tobacco habits. This study is a first step in understanding the epidemiology of stomach cancer in Mizoram, India.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.4459-4463
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• 2014

Background: Gastric cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and infection with H. pylori is considered essential for its development. Helicobacter pylori infects more than 50% of the world's population with higher prevalence in developing countries than developed countries. The prevalence of H. pylori varies in different societies and geographical locations. The objectives of this study were to estimate the seroprevalence and determine the risk factors of H. pylori infection in dyspeptic patents in Ethiopia. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 209 dyspeptic patients was carried out from February 15 to April 30, 2013. Five to ten ml venous blood was collected from each dyspeptic patient and analyzed for detection of Helicobacter pylori immunoglobulin (IgG). The socio-demographic characteristic, hygienic practices, alcohol consumption, sources of drinking water and types of latrine were also obtained with a pre-tested questionnaire. Results: The overall seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori was 72.2%. There was statistically significant difference in the prevalence of H. pylori among age groups (p=0.02). Seroprevalence of H. pylori was higher in those patients who used unprotected surface water (76.4%) than those with access to piped tap water (65.9%). There was also statistically significant differences in prevalence of H. pylori with the habit of hand washing before meal (p=0.01) and alcohol consumption (p=0.001). Conclusions: The prevalence of H. pylori was high in the study area and increased with age of dyspeptic patients. Alcohol consumption and the type of drinking water are risk factors that have associations with the prevalence of H. pylori. Molecular epidemiological techniques can show a true picture of H. pylori and improvement in the drinking water quality is recommended.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.3465-3467
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• 2013

Background: Breast cancer is the most frequent malignant disease amongst young women. If we review local data in Pakistan then breast cancer represents approximately a third of all cancers in females. The age standardized incidence rate (ASR) world per 100,000 is 53.8 and crude incidence rate is 30.9. We have observed during our surgical pathology practice and it is also reported by other Asian studies that breast carcinoma is amongst the leading malignancies in the region and the patients are at least a decade younger than counterparts in developed nations. Age is an important issue in effective screening, diagnosis and management of breast cancer, especially in this geographical region where late presentation and poor prognosis are a hallmark of the disease. Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the frequency of malignant breast lesions in symptomatic young females presenting with breast lumps. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted at the Pathology Department, Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College, Karachi. Descriptive and pathology data of malignant breast tumors 1st January 2004 to 31st December 2009 were reviewed, using the departmental archived data. It included both male and female patients up to the age of 25 years. Results: A total of 714 surgical specimens from/of symptomatic breast lesions were received at the pathology department of Liaquat National Medical, in the five years study period, in young females. There were 575 (80%) benign, 119 (16%) inflammatory and 20 (2.8%) malignant lumps. Conclusions: The obtained data for females only up to 25 years of age suggest a massive burden which requires urgent attention. Early assessment of lesions is essential in order to avoid mortality from malignancies.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.145-158
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• 2017

This paper aims to analyze the characteristics of the contemporary Chinese fashion market and the competitiveness of Korean fashion brands in China. Fashion professionals experienced in both the Korean and Chinese fashion markets participated to investigate the Shanghai market and consumers. The results of in-depth interviews show that Shanghai is the most favorable city among Tier 1 cities for Korean fashion brands planning on entering into the Chinese market. Shanghai consumers are open to international brands and highly prefer newness in fashion. Contemporary menswear was selected as a potentially big market due to the increase of unique, young, upper-middle-class male consumers. The Korean fashion brands' strength is that they are capable of satisfying Shanghai consumers with excellent product planning and sensory design capabilities. Their disadvantage is that their brand recognition is weaker than that of global and international brands, and their ability to localize to the Chinese market is weak. The opportunity comes is from the Korean Wave, which is a positive for Korea's products and has good geographical access. The threat is that the Shanghai market is fiercely competitive; having access to many worldwide brands, and the competitiveness of Chinese brands is on the rise. To enter the Shanghai market, creative design ability, trendy product development, skill, and appropriate PR methods such as using Korean culture contents would be required to satisfy the young, powerful consumers in Shanghai.

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.62-74
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• 2020

Although the government and local governments devote efforts to activate bicycles, they only access to the supply infrastructure such as bike lanes and the public bicycle rental service centers without considering the measures to overcome the geographical constraints of slope. Therefore, this study constructs bicyclist's energy consumption estimation model through experimental methods of slope gradient and heart rate measurement and suggest the bicycle route choice model which could minimize the energy by the slope gradient. After calculating the RMSE of the estimated energy consumption by applying this model to the simulation section, it is confirmed to be 41% better than the model which does not reflect slope gradient. The results of this study are expected to be applied to the bicycle infrastructure planning that considers both longitude and transverse of bike lanes and the algorithm of bicycle route guidance system in the future.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.140-152
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• 2017

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) regularly publishes various drought indices. However, most of these are meteorological drought indices that are not only difficult but often inappropriate to apply to agriculture. In this study, the meteorological drought index and the agricultural drought index were calculated for the representative points of South Korea during the same period, and the differences in geographical distribution were analyzed according to the characteristics of drought. Although the overall drought patterns estimated by multiple drought indices were similar, the differences were also confirmed due to the different simulation methods depending on the character of drought. Especially, agricultural drought index (ADI) showed higher accuracy in the agricultural sector than that of meteorological drought index (e.g., SPI, PN). In addition, the drought patterns in recent years analyzed by ADI were more severe in spring and early summer compared with normal year. In autumn and winter, drought was weaker than normal year. For the recent periods, inland areas had more droughts than coastal areas. Considering the specific drought indices for the individual sectors, it will be helpful to take measures against drought according to the individual characteristics.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.376-384
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• 2018

Selection of suitable ice class for ships operation is an important but not simple task. The increased exploitation of the Polar waters, both seasonal periods and geographical areas, as well as the introduction of new international design standards such as Polar Code, reduces the relevancy of using existing experience as basis for the selection, and new methods and knowledge have to be developed. This paper will analyse what can be the limiting ice thickness for ships navigating in the Russian Arctic and designed according to the Finnish-Swedish ice class rules. The permanent deformations of ice-strengthened shell structures for various ice classes is determined using MT Uikku as the typical size of a vessel navigating in ice. The ice load in various conditions is determined using the ARCDEV data from the winter 1998 as the basic database. By comparing the measured load in various ice conditions with the serviceability limit state of the structures, the limiting ice thickness for various ice classes is determined. The database for maximum loads includes 3-weeks ice load measurements during April 1998 on the Kara Sea mainly by icebreaker assistance. Gumbel 1 distribution is fitted on the measured 20 min maximum values and the data is divided into various classes using ship speed, ice thickness and ice concentration as the main parameters. Results encouragingly show that present designs are safer than assumed in the Polar Code suggesting that assisted operation in Arctic conditions is feasible in rougher conditions than indicated in the Polar Code.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.223-235
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• 2011

Although ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis can be used to examine the spatial relationships between environmental equity and urban quality of life, this global method may mask the local variations in the relationships between them. These geographical variations can not be captured without using local methods. In this context, this paper explores the spatially varying relationships between environmental equity and urban quality of life across the Atlanta metropolitan area by geographically weighted regression (GWR), a local method. Environmental equity and urban quality of life were quantified with an integrated approach of GIS and remote sensing. Results show that generally, there is a negatively significant relationship between them over the Atlanta metropolitan area. The results also suggest that the relationships between environmental equity and urban quality of life vary significantly over space and the GWR (local) model is a significant improvement on the OLS (global) model for the Atlanta metropolitan area.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.376-384
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• 2004

Purpose: The CHP program has been evaluated as one of the most successful program in the public health area in Korea. The objects of this study were as follows: 1) to evaluate the job activities of the CHP program, using service contents analysis. 2) to figure out personal factors and the outcome of CHP's activities. Method: Data were collected by sending questionnaires to 130 subjects through the mail from May to December 2003. The response rate was 48.0%. The Data were analyzed by the SPSS WIN program with t test and Pearson correlation coefficient. In using these methods. independent variables are CHP's personal factors (age, experience, certification of specialty) and regional factors (geographical classification, aged population, village workers, cooperation of community leaders, work-conditions), and a dependent variable is the outcome of CHP's job activities. Result: The results of t test analysis show that regional differences between factors are influential in the welfare service, the routine job, and the consultation. As a whole, this is shown that CHPs represent experience, the number of village workers and CHPs living condition of work and most of the categories of jobs that influenced over statistical meaning of differences (t=2.417, p=1.043, t=6.123, p=.004, t=4.309, p=.000). There is a significant positive relation between the routine job and the consultation(r=.455, p=.000), the consultation and the education(r=.461, p=.000). Conclusion: Finally, according to the results of this study, the CHP program should be developed and continue to meet the basic health care needs of the residents in accordance with the philosophy of their own primary health care.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.986-993
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• 2007

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare stress levels of elementary students according to three regional levels: a large city, a medium-sized city, and a rural area. Methods: This was a descriptive comparative survey using a convenience sample of 1,161 5th-and 6th-grade students. The stress level was measured by a stress scale that consisted of 65 items regarding personal characteristics, family, school, and peer factors. The data were analyzed by ${\chi}^2-test$, t-test, ANOVA and multiple regression using the SPSS 10.0 statistical program. Results: Overall, the mean stress scores reported by the participants were near the middle of a 5-point scale and the level of family-related stress was highest, followed by peer, school, and individual-related stress. Sixth-graders and female students showed higher stress levels than 5th-graders and male students, respectively. The participants reporting unsatisfaction with their lives and those living in large cities tended to have significantly higher stress levels. Conclusion: Grade, gender, life satisfaction, and regional levels were all significant factors associated with high stress levels among elementary students. Development of stress management programs for this specific population, especially targeting students who are female and living in large cities, is needed.