• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.2879-2883
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• 2013

Objective: To investigate differences in mutations of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene and relationships with clinicopathological features in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) between Uygur and Han ethnic groups. Methods: The Scorpions amplification refractory mutation system (Scorpions ARMS) was used to measure mutations in exons 18, 19, 20 and 21 of the EGFR gene in paraffin-embedded tumor tissue from NSCLC cases, and statistical analysis was performed to investigate links with clinicopathological features in different histological types of NSCLC. Results: Results from ARMS testing showed EGFR mutations in tumor tissues from six (6) of 50 NSCLC patients of Uygur ethnic group, with a positive rate of 12.0%; four of them (4) had exon 19 deletion in EGFR, and two (2) had L858R point mutation in exon 21 of EGFR. Statistically significant difference was noted in EGFR genetic mutation between adenocarcinoma and non-adenocarcinoma (P < 0.05), but no differences with gender, age group, smoking status, or stage (P > 0.05). EGFR mutations were detected in tumor tissues from 27 of 49 NSCLC patients of Han ethnic group, with a positive rate of 55.1%; 19 of them had exon 19 deletions, seven (7) had L858R point mutations in exon 21 of EGFR and one (1) had mutations in both exon 18 G719X and exon 20 T790M of EGFR. Statistically significant differences were noted in EGFR genetic mutations between genders and between adenocarcinoma and non-adenocarcinoma (P<0.05), but not with age group, smoking status, or stage (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Statistically significant differences were noted in the positive rates of EGFR genetic mutations in NSCLC patients between Uygur and Han ethnic groups, with lower positive rates for the Uygur cases.

• 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.

• Journal of North-East Asian Cultures
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• v.33
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• pp.23-49
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• 2012

In this paper, I examined the history of Baizu that the Brief History presented. PRC created Baizu as one the 55 ethnic minority nations, as it "nationalized" all the people living within its territorial boundary. And it constructed the narrative of the "ethnic history" of Baizu, while it constructed the grand narrative of the history of the unified, multinational "zhonghua minzu." There are two major problems in the historical narrative of Baizu, thus constructed. First, the genealogy of the ancestors of Baizu constructed by PRC lacks sufficient historical evidence to prove it. Second, the politically-driven ethnic classification project by PRC produced ethnic minority nation, which does not have their own territory and Baizu was one of them. Because of this, the history of Baizu, who historically lived mixed with other ethnic groups together in Yunnan, cannot help but becoming a part of the larger Yunnan history, rather than constituting a history of an ethnic group. Then, what would be a historically sensible way to write a history of ethnic minorities in Yunnan, who have not transformed themselves into a modern nation? What I would like to suggest is, first, to abandon the construction of the history of Baizu as an ethnic group. I also suggest to distinguish Yunnan from China (zhongguo) as a unit of historical writing, and thus to cut the relationship between the Baizu history and the larger history of the unified, multitethnic "zhonghua minzu." The narrative of the Chinese history (history of Zhongguo), which takes the PRC's current territorial boundary as the unit of historical narrative, lacks historical objectivity. Names for historical communities survive, because they have been used by those who have lived in the communities as well as by other historical communities. Members of a certain historical community occupy distinctive historical space and share common historical experience. And their historical experience is mainly informed by political changes that affected the space that the historical community occupies. If one constructs the history of "Yunnan" as a distinctive historical space and community, which could be distinguished from the historical "China" (zhongguo), one may be able to construct the history of the people of Yunnan in its fullest sense.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.511-525
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• 2008

Residential segregation is often considered to be one of the social problems that intensify urban inequality This study reviews three different frameworks about the causes of residential segregation and tests their validity in the real world. The review focuses on racial/ethnic residential segregation in U.S. cities since it has been blamed for persistent socio-economic gap among racial/ethnic groups. The three different segregation frameworks include 'spatial assimilation' that attributes segregation to low degree of assimilation and acculturation, 'place stratification' to discriminatory practices in the housing and mortgage markets such as steering, blockbusting, and redlining, and 'resurgent ethnicity' to racial/ethnic preference in residential choice, particularly in-group attraction. As an effort to test their validity, the paper examined residential pattern changes of the four major Asian nationality groups through 1990s and found that their residences got decentralized but re-cluster in some selected suburbs. This supports 'resurgent ethnicity' largely and 'spatial assimilation' only partly.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.10
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• pp.5625-5629
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• 2013

Occurrence of breast cancer is related to genetic as well as cultural, environmental and life-style factors. Variations in diversity of these factors among different ethnic groups and geographical areas emphasize the immense need for studies in all racial-ethnic populations. The incidence of breast cancer in Pakistan is highest in Asians after Jews in Israel and 2.5 times higher than that in neighboring countries like Iran and India, accounting for 34.6% of female cancers. The Pakistani population is deficient in information regarding breast cancer etiology and epidemiology, but efforts done so far had suggested consanguinity as a major risk factor for frequent mutations leading to breast cancer and has also shed light on genetic origins in different ethnic groups within Pakistan. World-wide research efforts on different ethnicities have enhanced our understanding of genetic predisposition to breast cancer but despite these discoveries, 75% of the familial risk of breast cancer remains unexplained, highlighting the fact that the majority of breast cancer susceptibility genes remain unidentified. For this purpose Pakistani population provides a strong genetic pool to elucidate the genetic etiology of breast cancer because of cousin marriages. In this review, we describe the known breast cancer predisposition factors found in the local Pakistani population and the epidemiological research work done to emphasize the importance of exploring factors/variants contributing to breast cance, in order to prevent, cure and decrease its incidence in our country.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.11
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• pp.1727-1738
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• 2021

Objective: This review consolidates the available information on the socio-economic and ecological significance of Mithun in the lives of ethnic communities in the Eastern Himalaya. Methods: Standard guidelines were followed for the review and data collection was carried out at three stages; literature search, literature screening, and literature review and analysis. Results: Records indicate a long association of Mithun with the ethnic groups. Mithun serves as a symbol of pride and local currency for barter trade in the ethnic society. Its utilities range from being used as a bride price to settling legal disputes. Several cultural festivals and local ceremonies are celebrated around this bovine. Due to its semi-wild nature, this animal also has an ecological role to conserve broad leaf sub-tropical forests. However, it remains neglected and has not received policy attention, leading to a stagnated growth. The institutions for Mithun research and development are also weak. Furthermore, the species is under threat from new diseases and habitat alteration triggered by climate change. Conclusion: Founded on the current state of knowledge, there is a need for institutional development, strengthening institutional linkages, and promoting regional cooperation among Mithun rearing countries for further research and development of this unique cattle.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.187-210
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• 2005

The acculturation of ethnic minorities is an increasingly important issue. This paper explores the role of two factors which may be related to Asian Americans' development of preferences for ethnic or non-ethnic shopping: level of acculturation and susceptibility to interpersonal influence. Several prior studies have found that strength of ethnic identification (a measure of level of acculturation) accounts for differences in consumption patterns among immigrant groups. The results of this study suggest that ethnic identification is not a unidimensional construct. Instead, two construct, ethnic identification and consumer socialization are found to be relatedto the level of influence exerted by culturally consistent in-group than "American." A strong positive relationship is found between ethnic identifi.cation and ethnocentric purchasing preferences. In contrast, no significant direct relationship between level of.consumer socialization and ethnocentric preferences is found. Implications for marketers are discussed.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.6391-6395
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• 2012

Background: Ovarian cancer is ranked as the fifth most common cause of cancer death in women. In Malaysia, it is the fourth most common cancer in females. CA125 has been the tumor marker of choice in ovarian cancer but its diagnostic specificity in early stages is only 50%. Hence, there is a critical need to identify an alternative tumor marker that is capable of detecting detect ovarian cancer at an early stage. HE4 is a new tumor marker proposed for the early diagnosis of ovarian cancer and disease recurrence. Currently, none of the normal ranges of HE4 quoted in the literature are based on data for a multiethnic Asian population. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine reference intervals for HE4 in an Asian population presenting in University Malaya Medical Centre, a tertiary reference hospital. Materials and Methods: 300 healthy women were recruited comprising 150 premenopausal and 150 postmenopausal women, aged from 20-76 years. All women were subjected to a pelvic ultrasonograph and were confirmed to be free from ovarian pathology on recruitment. Serum HE4 levels were determined by chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay (CMIA, Abbott Architect). The reference intervals were determined following CLSI guidelines (C28-A2) using a non-parametric method. Results: The upper limits of the $95^{th}$ percentile reference interval (90%CI) for all the women collectively were 64.6 pmol/L, and 58.4 pmol/L for premenopausal) and 69.0 pmol/L for postmenopausal. The concentration of HE4 was noted to increase with age especially in women who were more than 50 years old. We also noted that our proposed reference limit was lower compared to the level given by manufacturer Abbott Architect HE4 kit insert (58.4 vs 70 pmol/L for premenopausal group and 69.0 vs 140 pmol/L in the postmenopausal group). The study also showed a significant difference in HE4 concentrations between ethnic groups (Malays and Indians). The levels of HE4 in Indians appeared higher than in Malays (p<0.05), while no significant differences were noted between the Malays and Chinese ethnic groups. Conclusions: More data are needed to establish a reference interval that will better represent the multiethnic Malaysian population. Probably a larger sampling size of equal representation of the Malay, Chinese, Indians as well as the other native ethnic communities will give us a greater confidence on whether genetics plays a role in reference interval determination.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.5791-5797
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• 2012

Introduction: Return-to-work (RTW) can be a problematic occupational issue with detrimental impact on the quality of life of previously-employed breast cancer survivors. This study explored barriers and facilitators encountered during the RTW process in the area of cancer survivorship. Materials and Methods: Six focus groups were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide on 40 informants (employed multiethnic survivors). Survivors were stratified into three groups for successfully RTW, and another three groups of survivors who were unable to return to work. Each of the three groups was ethnically homogeneous. Thematic analysis using a constant comparative approach was aided by in vivo software. Results: Participants shared numerous barriers and facilitators which directly or interactively affect RTW. Key barriers were physical-psychological after-effects of treatment, fear of potential environment hazards, high physical job demand, intrusive negative thoughts and overprotective family. Key facilitators were social support, employer support, and regard for financial independence. Across ethnic groups, the main facilitators were financial-independence (for Chinese), and socialisation opportunity (for Malay). A key barrier was after-effects of treatment, expressed across all ethnic groups. Conclusions: Numerous barriers were identified in the non-RTW survivors. Health professionals and especially occupational therapists should be consulted to assist the increasing survivors by providing occupational rehabilitation to enhance RTW amongst employed survivors. Future research to identify prognostic factors can guide clinical efforts to restore cancer survivors to their desired level/type of occupational functioning for productivity and wellbeing.

• International Journal of Costume and Fashion
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.79-96
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to identify the impact of acculturation level and individualism/collectivism on shopping behaviors such as' informational influences, shopping orientations, and store patronage of Asian ethnic groups residing in the United States. A total of 129 Asian adults residing in North Carolina State of the U.S. completed questionnaires. Results showed statistically significant differences in responses to an informational influence (i.e., media source) and two shopping orientation subscales (i.e., shopping confusion in the Us. and personalized shopping) between low- and high-acculturated groups. A significant difference was found between the individualistic group and the collectivistic group on three shopping orientation subscales. Due to the potential importance of considering both acculturation and individualism/collectivism when looking at shopping behaviors, four groups were created by categorizing respondents on the basis of their acculturation level and individualism/collectivism scores. Comparison on shopping orientations and informational influences by four groups revealed statistically significant differences in response to two shopping orientation subscales and two patronage behavior subscales.