• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.189-196
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• 2015

The sequestration of infected erythrocytes in the placenta can activate the syncytiotrophoblast to release cytokines that affect the micro-environment and influence the delivery of nutrients and oxygen to fetus. The high level of IL-10 has been reported in the intervillous space and could prevent the pathological effects. There is still no data of Th17 involvement in the pathogenesis of placental malaria. This study was conducted to reveal the influence of placental IL-17 and IL-10 levels on fetal weights in malaria placenta. Seventeen pregnant BALB/C mice were divided into control (8 pregnant mice) and treatment group (9 pregnant mice infected by Plasmodium berghei). Placental specimens stained with hematoxylin and eosin were examined to determine the level of cytoadherence by counting the infected erythrocytes in the intervillous space of placenta. Levels of IL-17 and IL-10 in the placenta were measured using ELISA. All fetuses were weighed by analytical balance. Statistical analysis using Structural Equation Modeling showed that cytoadherence caused an increased level of placental IL-17 and a decreased level of placental IL-10. Cytoadherence also caused low fetal weight. The increased level of placental IL-17 caused low fetal weight, and interestingly low fetal weight was caused by a decrease of placental IL-10. It can be concluded that low fetal weight in placental malaria is directly caused by sequestration of the parasites and indirectly by the local imbalance of IL-17 and IL-10 levels.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.38-43
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• 2016

Purpose: Each ethnic group has a unique life style, including diets. Life style affects bowel movement. The aim of this study is to describe the results of colon transit time (CTT) tests in Korean children who had chronic functional constipation based on highly refined data. Methods: One hundred ninety (86 males) out of 415 children who performed a CTT test under the diagnosis of chronic constipation according to Rome III criteria at Konkuk University Medical Center from January 2006 through March 2015 were enrolled in this study. Two hundreds twenty-five children were excluded on the basis of CTT test result, defecation diary, and clinical setting. Shapiro-Wilk and Mann-Whitney U, and chi-square tests were used for statistical analysis. Results: The median value and interquartile range (IQR) of CTT was 54 (37.5) hours in Encopresis group, and those in non-encopresis group was 40.2 (27.9) hours (p<0.001). The frequency of subtype between non-encopresis group and encopresis was statistically significant (p=0.002). The non-encopresis group (n=154, 81.1%) was divided into normal transit subgroup (n=84, 54.5%; median value and IQR of CTT=26.4 [9.6] hours), outlet obstruction subgroup (n=18, 11.7%; 62.4 [15.6] hours), and slow transit subgroup (n=52, 33.8%; 54.6 [21.0] hours]. The encopresis group (n=36, 18.9%) was divided into normal transit subgroup (n=8, 22.2%; median value and IQR of CTT=32.4 [9.9] hours), outlet obstruction subgroup (n=8, 22.2%; 67.8 [34.8] hours), and slow transit subgroup (n=20, 55.6%; 59.4 [62.7] hours). Conclusion: This study provided the basic pattern and value of the CTT test in Korean children with chronic constipation.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.354-362
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• 2001

Objectives : The aim of this study was to estimate the burden of disease through an analysis of Years of Life Lost due to premature deaths, one component of the Disability-Adjusted Life years (DALY). In addition, the cause of death statistics were adjusted to improve validity, and the results were compared with those of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD). Methods : In closely fellowing the approach taken in the original GBD study, most of the explicit assumptions and the value judgments were not changed. However, the statistics for some problematic concerns such as deaths of infants or those due to senility, were adjusted. Deaths, standard expected years of life lost (SEYLL), and potential years of life lost (PYLL) were computed using vital registration data compiled by the National Statistical Office. Results : The burden for males is 1.8 and 2.3 times higher than that for females, according to SEYLL and PYLL, respectively. The proportions of deaths due to Group I, II, and III causes are 5.4%, 80.4%, and 14.3%, respectively, for PYLL, but in a major shift from Group II to III they are 6.3%, 66.2%, and 27.5%, respectively, for SEYLL. The proportion of Group III causes in Korea, 27.5%, is extremely high when compared to 10.1% for the world, 7.6% for developed countries, and 10.7% for developing countries. Conclusions : Estimation results showed that the total burden due to premature deaths is smaller than that for the entire world but larger than that for developed countries. The disease structure of Korea has changed to resemble that of developed countries. Also, an overly large portion of the total burden in Korea stems from injuries arising from car accidents.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.193-204
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• 2010

Objectives: The objective of this study was to analyze the causal relationship between smoking and depression using longitudinal data. Methods: Two waves of the Korea Welfare Panel collected in 2006 and 2007 were used. The sample consisted of 14 426 in 2006 and 13 052 in 2007 who were aged 20 and older. Smoking was measured by smoking amount (none/$\geq$ two packs). Depression was defined when the summated CESD (center for epidemiological studies depression)-11 score was greater than or equal to 16. The causal relationship between smoking and depression was tested using logistic regression. In order to test the causal effect of smoking on depression, depression at year 2 was regressed on smoking status at year 1 only using the sample without depression at year 1. Likewise, smoking status at year 2 was regressed on depression at year 1 only using those who were not smoking at year 1 in order to test the causal effect of depression on smoking. The statistical package used was Stata 10.0. Sampling weights were applied to obtain the population estimation. Results: The logistic regression testing for the causal relationship between smoking and depression showed that smoking at year 1 was significantly related to depression at year 2. Smoking amounts associated with depression were different among age groups. On the other hand, the results from the logistic regression testing for the opposite direction of the relationship between smoking and depression found no significant association regardless of age group. Conclusions: The study results showed some evidence that smoking caused depression but not the other way around.

• Journal of the korean society of oceanography
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.171-180
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• 1997

Daily mean sea level variability and its response to atmospheric pressure along the coasts of the northwestern Pacific Ocean are investigated. Daily values of sea level and atmospheric pressure covering the period 1976-1986 from 72 stations are analyzed. The sea level and the air pressure in all the data set have a definite seasonal signal, and higher frequency oscillations at time scales of several days to several weeks are also observed. Among the short-period oscillations of sea level with periods shorter than six months, the period of around 3 or 4 months is dominant in most study stations. According to the statistical analysis of sea level and air pressure, the length scale of sea level variability is smaller than that of air pressure for the present study area. The overall variability of sea level is found to be the smallest around Hokkaido, Japan and the largest in the China coasts. Large short-period (< 6 months) sea level variability is found in the southern coasts of China and Hokkaido, and large long-period (> 6 months) variability in the southern coasts of Japan and Korea along Tsushima Current and Kuroshio. The patterns of air pressure are very similar to those of sea level. The air pressure field is found to account for 31% of the overall sea level variability in the study area. Conside.ins the fact that the results (40%) of Pang and Oh (1995) were obtained through monthly sea level, the present result implies that the short-period sea level variability is less affected by air pressure. Generally the sea level response to air pressure are found to be isostatic, but significantly nonisostatic for the periods around 4 months and for those of 2 to 4 days. In particular, nonisostatic response for higher frequencies seem to be due to the restrictions to water transport necessary for barometric responsein the Korea Strait.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.215-228
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• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to figure out that Facilitation education can affect significant improvement in sales staff's understanding of precise pharmacokinetics, benefits, safety, and side effects, etc. and eventually lead to increase in call after taking courses. Methods: Data utilized in this study was collected from 413 sales staffs who completed Facilitation course for 5 months. This study used statistical methodologies, paired t-test, exploratory factor analysis, and logistic regression model in order to identify change in Call and after Facilitation courses. Results: The result shows that there are statistically significant increases in CALL quality after Facilitation courses based on the result of pared t-test. Moreover, Facilitation education is more effective in average time of one-time detail than average number of visits per day and average number of doctors per day from the result of logistic regression. Conclusions: In order for MR in pharmaceutical company to improve CALL quality, the education for precise pharmacokinetics, benefits, safety, and side effects is necessary. In addition, various professional training required for detail, including disease education, Selling Skills education, and literacy education are essential. Therefore, Facilitation education would be desirable choice in terms of pharmaceutical marketing strategy.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.325-333
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• 2007

This study was conducted to investigate the weight concerns of female university students living in Jeonju, as well as their control on behavior. Self-administered questionnaires were collected from 285 students. Statistical data analysis was completed using the SPSS v. 11.0 program. The results are summarized as follows: The average weight, height, and BMI of the subjects were 21.43 kg, 161.93 cm, and 19.8, respectively. With regard to body image, most were dissatisfied with their figures, especially the hips and thighs. About 42% of the students estimated their figures as 'slightly fat', while 5.4% stated 'very fat', even though their BMI classified as 'normal'. Four percent of the underweight students described themselves as being 'fatty'. Approximately 93% of the students had strongly pursued weight control, and 45.3% reported wanting to lose about $2{\sim}5$ kg. Almost 73% of the respondents had weight loss experience. The primary reason for weight control was to improve self-confidence. Only 19.6% had succeeded in losing weight, while nearly 48% had stopped dieting. To reduce weight, about two thirds of the students ate less(e.g. no snacks, no sweets). Fifty percent tried to reduce weight by more physical activity(e.g. sports). Television(50.9%), friends(48.4%), and newspapers/magazines(40.4%) were essential sources of pertinent information. In conclusion, the results show that female students in Jeonju have a great interest in weight reduction. Thus, the majority are willing to try several methods for weight reduction, which however, are not promising and not based on a lasting nutritional change. Therefore, it's necessary to increase cooperation among those concerned(e.g. dietitians, teachers, parents, media) and to develop weight-control programs that take into consideration lifestyle and daily habits, as well as combine physical activity, nutrition, and behavioral and personality training.

• Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.42-57
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• 2015

Purpose. : The present study is an attempt to find out the impact of self-citations on Impact Factor (IF) across disciplines. The study examines the number of research articles published across 27 major subject fields covered by SCImago, encompassing as many as 310 sub-disciplines. The study evaluates aspects like percentage of self-citations across each discipline, leading self-citing countries and continents, and the impact of self-citation on their IF. Scope. : The study is global in nature, as it evaluates the trend of self-citation and its impact on IF of all the major subject disciplines of the world, along with countries and continents. IF has been calculated for the year 2012 by analyzing the articles published during the years 2010 and 2011. Methodology/Approach. : The study is empirical in nature; as such, statistical and mathematical tools and techniques have been employed to work out the distribution across disciplines. The evaluation has been purely under-taken on the secondary data, retrieved from SCImago Journal and Country Ranking. Findings. : Self-citations play a very significant part in inflating IF. All the subject fields under study are influenced by the practice of self-citation, ranging from 33.14% to 52.38%. Compared to the social sciences and the humanities, subject fields falling under the purview of pure and applied sciences have a higher number of self-citations, but a far lesser percentage than the social sciences and humanities. Upon excluding self-citations, a substantial amount of change was observed in the IF of subject fields under study, as 18 (66.66%) out of 27 subjects fields faced shuffle in their rankings. Variation in rankings based on IF with and without self-citation was observed at subject level, country level, and continental level.

• Current Research on Agriculture and Life Sciences
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• v.5
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• pp.143-157
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• 1987

In order to determine the design precipitation, the most probable daily precipitation and annual precipitation at every spot are calculated and iso - precipitation line are drawn. Probability of precipitation and drought phenomena of each gage station are analyzied by the method of frequency analysis from the statistical conceptions. The results summarized in this study are as the follows. 1. Annual mean precipitation in kyungpook area are 1044 mm, about 115 mm less than annual mean precipitation of Korea amounts to l1S9mm, and found to regionally unequal. 2. Monthly mean rainfall of July is 242.2mm, 23.2%, August 174.2mm, 16.7%, June 115mm, 11% and September 114.2mm, 10.9% and Rainfall depth of July-August are more than 40% of annual precipition. This shows notable summer rainy weather by typoon and low pressure storm and seasonal unbalance of water supply. 3. The relation among the maximum precipi.tation per day, per two continuous days and per three contnous days are caculated and the latter is found 31.0% increased rate of the first and the last 48.2% increased rate of first. 4. Probability precipitation in Kyungpook area are shown as 9.0%(5 year), 13.3%(10 year), 17.7%(20 year), 23.1%(50 year), 27.0%(100 year) and 31.1%(200 year) increased rate of each recurrence year compared with observed average annual precipitation. 5. From annual precipitation and maximum daily rainfall data probability of precipitation and precipitation isohyetal line are derived which shown as Table 11 and Fig. 8. 6. Drought days are divided 6 class and analysed results are shown on table 12. Average occurrence time of 10-14 continuous drought days are 2.3 time per year, 15-19 days are 0.9 time per year, 20-24 days are one per six years, 30-34 days are once per nine years and over than 35days are once per 25 years.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.3007-3013
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• 2016

Background: Gastrointestinal cancers are common malignancies associated with high mortality rates. Healthcare systems are always faced with high costs of treatment of gastrointestinal cancers including stomach cancer. Identification and prioritization of these costs can help determine economic burden and then improve of health planning by policy-makers. This study was performed in 2015 in Kerman City aimed at estimating the direct hospital costs for patients with gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the medical records of 160 patients with stomach cancer admitted from 2011 to 2014 to Shafa Hospital were examined, the current stage of the disease and the patients' health status were identified, and the direct costs related to the type of treatment in the public and private sectors were calculated. SPSS-19 was used for statistical analysis of the data. Results: Of the patients studied, 103 (65%) were men and 57 (35%) were women. The mean age of patients was 65 years. Distribution into four stages of the disease was 5%, 20%, 30%, and 45%, respectively. Direct costs in four stages of the disease were calculated as 2191.07, 2642.93, 2877, and 2674.07 USD (63,045,879, 76,047,934, 82,783,019, and 76,943,800 IRR), respectively. The highest percentage of costs was related to surgery in Stage I and to medication in Stages II, III, and IV. According to the results of direct costs of treatment for stomach cancer in Kerman, the mean total cost of treating a patient in the public sector was estimated at 74,705,158 IRR, of which averages of 60,141,384 IRR and 14,563,774 IRR were the shares of insurance and patients, respectively. Conclusions: The high prevalence and diagnosis of disease in old age and at advanced stages of disease impose great costs on the patients and the health system. Early diagnosis through screening and selecting an appropriate treatment method might largely ameliorate the economic burden of the disease.