• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.12 no.3_4
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• pp.31-41
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• 1997

Public concerns about hazardous health effect from the exposure to organic by-products of the chlorination have been increased. There are numerous studies reporting that chlorination of drinking water produces numerous chlorinated organic by-products including THMs, HAAs, HANs. Some of these products are known to be animal carcinogens. The purpose of this study was to estimate health risk of DBPs by chlorinated drinking water ingestion in Seoul based on methodologies that have been developed for conducting risk assessment of complex-chemical-mixture. The drinking water sample was collected seperately at six water treatment plant in Seoul at March, April, 1996. In tap water of households in Seoul, DBPs were measured wilfh the mean value of 36.6 $\mu$g/L. Risk assessment processes,. which include processes for the estimation of human cancer potency using animal bioassay data and calculation of human exposure, entail uncertainties. In the exposure assessment process, exposure scenarios with various assumptions could affect the exposure amount and excess cancer risk. The reference dose of haloacetonitriles was estimated to be 0.0023 mg/kg/day by applying dibromoacetonitrile NOAEL and uncertainty factor to the mean concentration. In the first case, human excess cancer risk was estimated by the US EPA method used to set the MCL (maximum contaminant level). In the second and third case, the risk was estimated for multi-route exposure with and without adopting Monte-Carlo simulation, respectively. In the second case, exposure input parameters and cancer potencies used probability distributions, and in the third case, those values used point estimates (mean, and maximum or 95% upper-bound value). As a result, while the excess cancer risk estimated by US EPA method considering only direct ingestion tended to be underestimated, the risk which was estimated by considering multi-route exposure without Monte-Carlo simulation and then using the maximum or 95% upper-bound value as input parameters tended to be overestimated. In risk assessment for Trihalomethanes, considering multi-route exposure with adopting Monte-Carlo analysis seems to provide the most reasonable estimations.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1439-1445
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• 2012

Objective: This paper aimed to determine the relationship between cancer information scanning and seeking experience of adolescents and cancer preventive behavior, perceived cancer risk, and levels of cancer-related knowledge. Methods: The study sample comprised 1,000 second-year students from 6 high schools: the general and vocational school systems were each represented by 1 boys', 1 girls', and 1 coeducational high school. In July 2011, trained researchers visited each classroom, explained the purpose of the study, distributed questionnaires to the students who agreed to participate, instructed them to complete the survey by self-reporting, and collected the completed questionnaires. Results: The students who attended general high schools (as compared with vocational high schools), earned higher grades, consumed more vegetables, had a higher perceived cancer risk, and answered the cancer-related questions more correctly had more cancer information scanning and seeking experience. Conclusion: These results reinforce the importance of cancer prevention health education. Furthermore, the results may help in preparing a strategy that enables people to acquire accurate cancer-related information easily and quickly.

• Journal of Korean Traditional Oncology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.51-61
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• 2016

Background : Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common adverse effect in cancer patients who were exposed to chemotherapy. CIPN impacts on the quality of life and could delay chemotherapy. The aim of this review was to assess the therapeutic effectiveness of herbal medicine in CIPN patients. Methods : Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included in this review. We searched MEDLINE, Cochrane database, EMBASE, CNKI, Wanfang and four Korean databases without restrictions on time or language. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Results : Eleven RCTs involving 706 patients met the inclusion criteria. Eleven different herbal medicines were examined in the included trials. Almost RCTs showed insufficiency in the reporting randomization method and allocation concealment. One trial used allocation concealment and a double-blinding method. Five studies reported that participants dropped out of RCTs and conducted an 'as-treated analysis'. One trials reported adverse effects of herbal medicine. In ten of the eleven trials, the use of herbal medicine had shown significant differences in clinical symptoms or nerve conduction velocity. Conclusions : The use of herbal medicines for CIPN showed significant improvements in the management of CIPN. However, conclusions cannot be drawn because of the generally low quality of methodology and low quantity of data for each single herbal medicine. Further rigorous trials are needed.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2020

A total of 1,235 studies were retrieved on June 23, 2019, from 3 databases. Selected 59 studies were evaluated by year of publication, study type, subject condition/disease, acupoint, standards for reporting interventions in clinical trials of moxibustion (STRICTOM), Cochrane risk of bias (RoB), and risk of bias assessment tool for non-randomized study (RoBANS). Most studies were conducted in 2011, after which the number of studies decreased. The most common study type was 25 case reports (CR), 16 uncontrolled clinical trials (UCT), 11 randomized controlled trials (RCT), and 7 controlled clinical trials (CCT). Moxibustion treatment was mainly used for musculoskeletal and circulatory diseases/conditions. A total of 83 acupoints were used, A-shi points being the most used. As for STRICTOM, an average of 7.4 items were satisfactory for UCT and CR without a control group, and an average of 9.4 items were satisfactory for RCT and CCT. RCT was assessed using the RoB, and many items were rated as uncertain. In this study, the need for RCT of moxibustion treatment in Korea was identified. The detailed description of study methods and results will provide evidence for the efficacy of moxibustion treatment in preventive and therapeutic aspects of Korean traditional medicine.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.219-223
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to investigate the body composition, biochemical parameters, and consumption of convenience foods according to leptin receptor polymorphism in university students. A survey was conducted on a total of 418 students - 271 males and 147 females. Based on a self-reporting method, questionnaires were administered for over 20 minutes, and leptin receptor and blood samples were analyzed. The genotype frequencies of leptin receptor polymorphism were Gln/Arg heterozygote (64.8%) and Gln/Gln homozygote (35.2%). Leptin polymormphism showed no significant association with biochemical parameters(ALT, cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and hemoglobin) and body composition. GG homozygote was associated with a higher risk of visceral fat obesity compared to those with GA heterozygote (odd ratio 1.758, 95% confidence intervals 0.812~3.803). Leptin polymorphism appeared to be a genetic risk factor for visceral fat obesity. This study suggests that leptin polymorphism has a causative role to body fat distribution in Korean.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.153-161
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to screen for the effects of climate change and climate change adaptation in the insurance industry. There is now a consensus that the climate is changing, with potential risk to the global economy and human health and so on. On the other hand, unknown is the extent to which insurance business pattern have already been affected. But the increase in damage due to climate change is likely to raise insurance company losses. In this regard, I conduct especially an effects of the insurance industry on climate change. And than, I analyzed what insurance companies would do to lessen the impact of climate change. As a result, the impact of climate change on the insurance industry is a huge increases in claims due to disasters and diseases arising from climate change. And another thing is growth in climate change-related legislation, regulations and reporting requirements such as financial soundness regulation and climate change risk disclosure. Therefore, the insurance industry needs to build a climate change adaptation strategies include capital raising, liquidity of assets, faithful debt management and so forth.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.153-174
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• 2021

Dental implants are popular for dental rehabilitation after tooth loss. The goal of this systematic review was to assess bone changes around bone-level and tissue-level implants and the possible causes. Electronic searches of PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science, and a hand search limited to English language clinical trials were performed according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) guidelines up to September 2020. Studies that stated the type of implants used, and that reported bone-level changes after insertion met the inclusion criteria. The risk of bias was also evaluated. A total of 38 studies were included. Eighteen studies only used bone-level implants, 10 utilized tissue-level designs and 10 observed bone-level changes in both types of implants. Based on bias assessments, evaluating the risk of bias was not applicable in most studies. There are vast differences in methodologies, follow-ups, and multifactorial characteristics of bone loss around implants, which makes direct comparison impossible. Therefore, further well-structured studies are needed.

• The Journal of Churna Manual Medicine for Spine and Nerves
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.1-15
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• 2022

Objectives This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of manual therapy in patients with failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS). Methods We searched eight electronic databases from October 2022 and only selected randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting outcomes for manual therapy in FBSS patients. Included studies were analyzed qualitatively. Results A total of twelve RCTs were included and three studies were meta-analyzed. Manual therapy combined with exercise demonstrated more favorable outcomes in terms of pain reduction compared to exercise therapy only (P<0.01). Some studies reported that manual therapy resulted in low efficacy, while some studies reported that specific manual techniques have a significant effect in pain relief. We, therefore, conclude that several studies have a high risk of bias. Conclusions Findings suggest that manual therapy is a safe and non-invasive, promising option for managing FBSS. However, manual therapy is not the best option in all circumstances; thus, this should be selectively applied by a well-trained practitioner. Further studies such as well-designed, risk-controlled RCTs are required to gain stronger evidence.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2024

Margin inclusion or exclusion remains the most critical and controversial aspect of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for metastatic brain tumors. This review aimed to examine the available literature on the impact of margins in SRS of brain metastasis and to assess the response of some medical physicists on the use of these margins. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses method was used to review articles published in PubMed, Embase, and Science Direct databases from January 2012 to December 2022 using the following keywords: planning target volume, brain metastasis, margin, and stereotactic radiosurgery. A simple survey consisting of five questions was completed by ten medical physicists with experience in SRS treatment planning. The results were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 26.0. Of the 1,445 articles identified, only 38 articles were chosen. Of these, eight papers were deemed relevant to the focus of this review. These papers showed an increase in the risk of radionecrosis, whereas differences in local control were variable as the margin increased. In the survey, the response rate to whether or not to use margins in SRS, a critical question, was 50%. Margin addition increases the risk of radio necrosis. The local control rate varies among treatment modalities and cannot be generalized. From the survey, no consensus was reached regarding the use of these margins. This calls for further deliberations among professionals directly involved in SRS.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.462-472
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• 2017

Sunken vessels on major fairways can cause many problems in terms of maritime safety and the marine environment. In order to prevent secondary marine pollution accidents caused by sunken vessels, information on sunken vessels has been collected, a risk assessment has been conducted, and the relevant vessels are being managed according to the results of each assessment. However, there is still a demand for improvements. The most important of the improvement plans is a paradigm shift. In other words, the management of sunken vessels needs to be transformed according to a new paradigm to manage all sunken vessels within three years from the time of sinking. Legislative improvements are also needed for the reporting system for sunken vessels, risk assessment tools, the implementation of risk mitigation measures, and criteria for the implementation cost of risk mitigation measures. In addition, close coordination between marine pollution response and sunken vessel management efforts is needed. As the division of duties between the Korea Coast Guard and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries is vague, collaboration between the two ministries is required. Close collaboration is also needed between the departments of navigation safety management and sunken vessel management. Therefore, it is necessary to more clearly establish the relationship between the two systems and create a synergy effect between the two administrative operations using the results of the risk assessment in the Marine Environment Management Act to determine the navigational risk posed by obstacles with regard to the Maritime Safety Act.