• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.705-711
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• 2007

Green quantum-dot nanocrystal (QD525) with anti-microcystin monoclonal antibody was applied for detection of microcystin, a monocyclic peptide hepatotoxin, extracted from the culture of Microcystis aeruginosa. The presence of microcystin in the cell lysate was verified by HPLC analysis with UV absorbance at 238 nm. Microcystis cell extract exhibited fluorescence emission spectra, which peak was around 460 nm because of their complex organic substances. When a spherical QD525 antibody conjugates (10~20 nm in diameter) were bound to the microcystins in the Microcystis cell lysate, the fluorescence intensity of the primary peak at 525 nm diminished while the secondary emission peak at 460 nm slightly increased intensities. It is due to energy transfer from the primary (major) to the secondary (minor) peak, resulting from physical deformation of QD525 and different environmental factors. On the other hand, other cell extracts did not show any fluorescence emission change. This study is very available for detecting and monitoring the microcystin because it is one step assay without washing step and portable spectrophotometer makes on-site measurement possible. For health risk assessment of the microcystin, the reliable and rapid system to detect and quantify microcystin is seriously required.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.551-566
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• 2017

As the modern society is rapidly developing and people become affluent in materials, many new chemical compounds in different forms of products (e.g., antibiotics, pesticides, detergents, personal care products and plastic goods) are produced, used, and disposed of to the environments. Some of them are persistently having a harmful impact on the environment and mimicking endocrine properties; in general they are present in the environment at low concentrations, so they are called organic pollutants. These organic micropollutants flow to sewage treatment plants via different routes. In this study, the generation characteristics, exposure pathways, detection levels, and environmental impacts of organic micropollutants were critically reviewed. In addition, currently available risk assessment methods and management systems for the compounds were reviewed. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), for example, has monitored organic micropollutants and set the monitoring and management of some of the compounds as a priority. To effectively manage organic micropollutants in sewer systems, therefore, we should first monitor organic micropollutants of potential concern and then make a watch list of specific substances systematically, as described in guidelines on listing water pollutants in industrial wastewater.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.41-52
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• 2018

Background: Few studies have evaluated the long-term impact of postoperative infectious complications in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We aimed to determine the impact of infectious complications on long-term outcomes after surgical resection for NSCLC. Methods: We performed a retrospective study of 1,380 eligible patients who underwent pulmonary resection for NSCLC from 2003 to 2012. Complications were divided into infectious complications and non-infectious complications. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to compare unadjusted 5-year cancer-specific survival (CSS) rates and recurrence-free survival (RFS) rates. Cox regression was used to determine the impact of infectious complications on 5-year CSS and RFS. Results: The rate of total complications and infectious complications was 24.3% and 4.3%, respectively. In the node-negative subgroup, the 5-year CSS and RFS rates were 75.9% and 57.1% in patients who had infectious complications, compared to 87.9% and 78.4% in patients who had no complications. Infectious complications were a negative prognostic factor for 5-year RFS (hazard ratio, 1.92; 95% confidence interval, 1.00-3.69; p=0.049). In the node-positive subgroup, the 5-year CSS rate and RFS were 44.6% and 48.4% in patients who had infectious complications, compared to 70.5% and 48.4% for patients who had no complications. Conclusion: Postoperative infectious complications had a negative impact on CSS and RFS in node-negative NSCLC. Our findings may help improve risk assessment for tumor recurrence after pulmonary resection for node-negative NSCLC.

• 한국방재학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.02b
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• pp.43-50
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• 2009

Strong ground motion attenuation relationship represents a comprehensive trend of ground shakings at sites with distances from the source, geology, local soil conditions, and others. It is necessary to develop an attenuation relationship with careful considerations of characteristics of the target area for reliable seismic hazard/risk assessments. In the study, observed ground motions from the January 2007 magnitude 4.9 Odaesan earthquake and the events occurring in the Gyeongsang provinces are compared with the previously proposed ground attenuation relationships in the Korean Peninsula to select most appropriate one. In the meantime, a few strong ground motion attenuation relationships are proposed and introduced in HAZUS, which have been designed for the Western United States and the Central and Eastern United States. The selected relationship from the ones for the Korean Peninsula has been compared with attenuation relationships available in HAZUS. Then, the attenuation relation for the Western United States proposed by Sadigh et al. (1997) for the Site Class B has been selected for this study. Reliability of the assessment will be improved by using an appropriate attenuation relation. It has been used for the earthquake loss estimation of the Gyeongju area located in southeast Korea using the deterministic method in HAZUS with a scenario earthquake (M=6.7). Our preliminary estimates show 15.6% damage of houses, shelter needs for about three thousands residents, and 75 life losses in the study area for the scenario events occurring at 2 A.M. Approximately 96% of hospitals will be in normal operation in 24 hours from the proposed event. Losses related to houses will be more than 114 million US dollars. Application of the improved methodology for loss estimation in Korea will help decision makers for planning disaster responses and hazard mitigation.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.18
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• pp.8495-8501
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• 2016

Purpose: This study was conducted to assess the agreement and differences between cervical self-sampling with a Kato device (KSSD) and gynecologist sampling for Pap cytology and human papillomavirus DNA (HPV DNA) detection. Materials and Methods: Women underwent self-sampling followed by gynecologist sampling during screening at two primary health clinics. Pap cytology of cervical specimens was evaluated for specimen adequacy, presence of endocervical cells or transformation zone cells and cytological interpretation for cells abnormalities. Cervical specimens were also extracted and tested for HPV DNA detection. Positive HPV smears underwent gene sequencing and HPV genotyping by referring to the online NCBI gene bank. Results were compared between samplings by Kappa agreement and McNemar test. Results: For Pap specimen adequacy, KSSD showed 100% agreement with gynecologist sampling but had only 32.3% agreement for presence of endocervical cells. Both sampling showed 100% agreement with only 1 case detected HSIL favouring CIN2 for cytology result. HPV DNA detection showed 86.2%agreement (K=0.64, 95% CI 0.524-0.756, p=0.001) between samplings. KSSD and gynaecologist sampling identified high risk HPV in 17.3% and 23.9% respectively (p=0.014). Conclusion: The self-sampling using Kato device can serve as a tool in Pap cytology and HPV DNA detection in low resource settings in Malaysia. Self-sampling devices such as KSSD can be used as an alternative technique to gynaecologist sampling for cervical cancer screening among rural populations in Malaysia.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.2697-2700
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• 2015

Background: The aim of this study was to assess cancer awareness among medical students in Saudi Arabia toward tobacco and alcohol use as risk factors. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey from October to December 2014, covering 1200 medical students, was performed. Results: Of the total, 975 (81.25%) responded. The male to female ratio was 1.00:7.125. 96/975 (9.8%) had smoked tobacco in their lifetime, and 51/975 (5.23%) were alcoholic beverage consumers. On asking them whether tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption can cause cancer, only 4/975 (0.4%) and 14/975 (1.43%) answered no for smoking and alcohol, respectively. Conclusions: The prevalence of smoking and alcohol use is very low among medical students, which might be due to high female contribution besides social stigma. The prevalence of second-hand smoke (SHS) was found to be very high in Hail region.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.18
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• pp.8221-8226
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• 2016

Background: Misreporting self-reported family history may lead to biased estimations. We used Bayesian methods to adjust for exposure misclassification. Materials and Methods: A hospital-based case-control study was used to identify breast cancer risk factors among Iranian women. Three models were jointly considered; an outcome, an exposure and a measurement model. All models were fitted using Bayesian methods, run to achieve convergence. Results: Bayesian analysis in the model without misclassification showed that the odds ratios for the relationship between breast cancer and a family history in different prior distributions were 2.98 (95% CRI: 2.41, 3.71), 2.57 (95% CRI: 1.95, 3.41) and 2.53 (95% CRI: 1.93, 3.31). In the misclassified model, adjusted odds ratios for misclassification in the different situations were 2.64 (95% CRI: 2.02, 3.47), 2.64 (95% CRI: 2.02, 3.46), 1.60 (95% CRI: 1.07, 2.38), 1.61 (95% CRI: 1.07, 2.40), 1.57 (95% CRI: 1.05, 2.35), 1.58 (95% CRI: 1.06, 2.34) and 1.57 (95% CRI: 1.06, 2.33). Conclusions: It was concluded that self-reported family history may be misclassified in different scenarios. Due to the lack of validation studies in Iran, more attention to this matter in future research is suggested, especially while obtaining results in accordance with sensitivity and specificity values.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.641-646
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• 2015

Breast cancer (BC) is potentially a traumatic stressor which may be associated with negative outcomes, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or positive changes, such as post-traumatic growth (PTG). This study aims to identify the core issues of BC related PTSD, PTG and psychological distress by interrogating the literature in BC survivors. We have also highlighted issues related to the assessment, diagnosis and clinical management of PTSD and PTG. The authors systematically reviewed studies published from 1985 to 2014 pertaining to PTSD, psychological distress and PTG in BC survivors with particular attention paid to incidence rates and causative factors. Multiple studies intimated that women with BC have evidence of PTSD at the initial stages of diagnosis, whereas PTG develops once patients undergo treatment. Early diagnosis and treatment of PTSD/PTG is paramount from literature review but the previously mentioned relationship between PTSD and PTG in BC patients could not be verified. It is evident from the literature that a small percentage of BC patients experience PTSD, while the majority experience PTG after BC diagnosis and treatment. Future research should include prospective studies focusing on high-risk patients, causative factors and the development of psychological interventions.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.4555-4561
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• 2015

Background: Mammography screening is a method for reducing breast cancer mortality in women over 40 years old. A participation rate of at least 70% is a prerequisite for screening programs. This study aimed at determining the participation rate of women in breast cancer screening in Iran. Materials and Methods: The study population in this prospective research consisted of 35 to 69 years old women in the villages and towns Kerman District, in 2013. The data were collected by a well-validated risk assessment questionnaire. The questionnaires were completed with the help of health workers and technicians in the health centers, who were trained on breast cancer screening program. Results: As a whole, 19,651 women were invited to complete the questionnaire, of whom 15,794 women (80.37%) completed it. In the urban region, of 3150 eligible women 2728 women (86.60%) participated in the study. The acceptance rates for mammography in rural and urban regions were 34.95% and 8.75%, respectively. Conclusions: Finally, 3.8% and 16.34% of 35 to 69 years old women in the urban regions were mammographed, respectively. Conclusion: The low participation of eligible women in breast cancer screening program alerts us against including the program in the health insurance package.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.1669-1676
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• 2013

Background: Variation in cancer incidence in geographical locations is due to different lifestyles and risk factors. Diet and socio-economic position (SEP) have been identified as important for the etiology of cancer but patterns are changing and inconsistent. The aim of this study was to investigate correlations of the incidence of common cancers with food groups, total energy, smoking, and SEP. Materials and Methods: In an ecological study, disaggregated cancer data through the National Cancer Registry in Iran (2008) and dietary intake, smoking habits and SEP obtained through a population based survey within the Urban Health Equity Assessment (Urban-HEART) project were correlated across 22 districts of Tehran. Results: Consumption of fruit, meat and dairy products adjusted for energy were positively correlated with bladder, colorectal, prostate and breast and total cancers in men and women, while these cancers were adversely correlated with bread and fat intake. Also prostate, breast, colorectal, bladder and ovarian cancers had a positive correlation with SEP; there was no correlation between SEP and skin cancer in both genders and stomach cancer in men. Conclusions: The incidence of cancer was higher in some regions of Tehran which appeared to be mainly determined by SEP rather than dietary intake. Further individual data are required to investigate reasons of cancer clustering.