• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.107-111
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• 2019

Background and Objectives Idiopathic unilateral vocal fold paralysis (IVFP) is believed to be due to inflammation and edema of the recurrent laryngeal nerve caused by viral diseases such as upper respiratory tract infections. Corticosteroid has a potent anti-inflammatory action which should minimize nerve damage. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of oral steroid therapy on IVFP. Materials and Method Study was performed for the IVFP patient from January 2012 to August 2017. Patient's dermography, direction and location of paralyzed vocal cords, history of hypertension, diabetes, cerebrovascular disease, and other underlying disease, smoking history, alcohol consumption and upper respiratory tract infection, and symptoms were investigated. Treatment was divided into three groups: the observation group, low-dose group, and high-dose group, and the recovery rate and time of vocal cord paralysis were analyzed in each group. Results Thirty-seven patients were enrolled in this study. There was no relationship between oral steroid use, dosage and recovery of vocal cord paralysis. Oral steroids showed a rapid recovery of vocal cord paralysis, but there was no statistically significant difference in the time of recovery of vocal palsy with or without steroids (p=0.673). In addition, there was no statistically significant difference in recovery rate between the period to start of treatment, presence of diabetes mellitus, and treatment modality, but the recovery rate was high in the group with upper respiratory tract infection history (p=0.041). Conclusion In IVFP, oral steroid therapy has no significant difference in time and extent of recovery compared to the case of spontaneous recovery.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.2879-2886
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• 2012

In order to thoroughly analyze risk factors of breast cancer (BC) in premenopausal Uruguayan women, a case-control study was carried out at the Pereira Rossell Women's Hospital, Montevideo, where 253 incident BC cases and 497 frequency-matched healthy controls were interviewed on menstrual and reproductive story, were administered a short food frequency questionnaire and undertook a series of body measurements necessary to calculate body composition and somatotype. Odds ratio (OR) coefficients were taken as estimates of relative risk derived from unconditional logistic regression. Among the classical risk factors, only the family history of BC in first degree relatives was significantly associated with risk of premenopausal BC (OR=2.20, 95% CI 1.33-3.62). Interestingly, this risk factor was found to be stronger in women of ages >40 (OR=4.05, 95% CI 2.10-7.81), late menarche (OR= 2.39, 95% CI 1.18-4.85), early age for their first delivery (OR=3.02, 95% CI 1.26-7.22), short time between menarche and first delivery (OR=3.22, 95% CI 1.29-8.07), and with high parity (OR=4.10, 95% CI 1.79-9.36), although heterogeneity was detected only for age and parity. High consumption of red meat was positively associated with the disease risk (OR=2.20, 95% CI 1.35-3.60), in the same way as fried foods (OR=1.79, 95% CI 1.12-2.84). Conversely, a high intake of plant foods displayed a protective effect (OR=0.41, 95% CI 0.26-0.65). Except for hypertension (OR=1.55, 95% CI 1.03-2.35), none of the analyzed components of metabolic syndrome were associated to BC risk. Particular increases of risk for premenopausal BC were found for family history in first degree relatives in certain subsets derived from the menstrual-reproductive history. Preventive strategies could broaden their scope if new studies confirm the present results, in view of the limited prevention measures that premenopausal BC currently has.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.17
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• pp.7479-7486
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• 2014

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the interaction between the presence of a polymorphism of the XRCC1 gene and known risk factors for colorectal cancer in Thailand. Materials and Methods: A hospital-based case-control study was conducted in Thailand. The participants were 230 histologically confirmed new cases and 230 controls matched by sex and age and recruited from the same hospital. Information about demographic characteristics, life style, and dietary habits was collected using structured interviews, and blood samples were taken which were used for the detection of a homozygous and heterozygous polymorphisms of XRCC1. Associations were assessed using multiple conditional logistic regression. Results: In the univariate analysis, factors found to be significantly associated with an increased risk for CRC were the presence of the XRCC1 AA homozygote (OR= 4.95; 95% CI: 1.99-12.3), a first degree family history of cancer (OR= 1.74; 95% CI: 1.18-2.58), and a high frequency of pork consumption (OR= 1.49; 95% CI: 1.00-2.21). Intakes of fish fruit and vegetables appeared to be protective factors, but the associations were not statistically significant. In the multivariate analysis only the XRCC1 AA homozygote polymorphism and a family history of cancer emerged as risk factors (OR= 4.96; 95% CI: 1.90- 12.95 and OR=1.80; 95% CI: 1.18-2.72, respectively). Conclusions: While the XRCC1 AA homozygote and a family history of cancer were found to be associated with an increased risk of CRC, none of the dietary intake variables were clearly identified as risk or protective factors. There is a need for further research to determine the reasons for this.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.10
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• pp.5953-5956
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• 2013

Background: Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is the most common cancer in Northeast Thailand. It is also a crucial health problem for Thai people. Various risk factors for CCA have been identified in the upper part of Northeast Thailand, but no similar studies of risk factors have been conducted in the lower parts of the region. This study aimed to investigate factors associated with CCA in the resident population. Materials and Methods: A hospital-based case-control study was conducted during 2009-2012 with the recruitment of 123 CCA cases and 123 non-CCA patient controls, matched for sex, age and residential area. Information was collected by interview with a structured questionnaire. Blood samples were collected for assays of anti-OV antibodies. Associations between various personal factors, dietary habits, family history, the presence of anti-OV antibodies and CCA were analyzed using multiple conditional logistic regression. Results: Patients who consumed raw meat (beef, pork) and alcoholic beverages ${\geq}3$ times per week had a higher risk of CCA than non-consumers ($OR_{adj}$=4.33; 95%CI=1.14-16.35 and $OR_{adj}$=2.13; 95%CI=1.00-4.55, respectively). Patients who had a family history of cancer had a higher risk than those who did not ($OR_{adj}$=4.34; 95%CI=1.80-10.43). Also, patients who had anti-OV antibodies (AU>23.337) had a higher risk than those whose anti-OV antibodies were below the cut-off ($AU{\leq}23.34$) ($OR_{adj}$=3.09; 95%CI=1.04-9.16). Conclusions: As is the case in the upper part of Northeast Thailand, OV infection is a crucial risk factor for CCA in people who live in lower part of the region. Similarly, a family history of cancer and the consumption of alcohol are risk factors for CCA.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.159-165
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• 2020

The demand for food safety has emerged as a major social issue due to changes in diet patterns and consumers' perceptions, along with the advancements in society and the development of the food industry. Consumers are demanding more information about the food they consume, and are sensitive to food scandals. With such interest in food safety, blockchain technology is attracting attention as a means of effectively responding to poor food management resulting in food fraud or unsafe distribution. By ensuring the accuracy of, and trust in, traceability in the food supply chain, it is possible to build trust between traders and to ensure safe food distribution. This paper proposes a next-generation agri-food distribution system that can provide and manage (for suppliers, consumers, and distribution officials) a variety of agri-food information, such as the history, distribution, safety, quality, and freshness of food. Information on product status and distribution status in all processes, including production, processing, distribution, sales, and consumption, can be monitored and controlled in real time (anytime, anywhere), and users can check the safety level of each type of food in real time through an app.

• The KIPS Transactions:PartC
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• v.19C no.2
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• pp.135-144
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• 2012

All the servers in a traditional server cluster environment are kept On. If the request load reaches to the maximum, we exploit its maximum possible performance, otherwise, we exploit only some portion of maximum possible performance so that the efficiency of server power consumption becomes low. We can improve the efficiency of power consumption by controlling power mode of servers according to load situation, that is, by making On only minimum number of servers needed to handle current load while making Off the remaining servers. In the existing power mode control method, they used a static policy to decide server power mode at a fixed time interval so that it cannot adapt well to the dynamically changing load situation. In order to improve the existing method, we propose a dynamic server power control algorithm. In the proposed method, we keep the history of server power consumption and, based on it, predict whether power consumption increases in the near future. Based on this prediction, we dynamically change the time interval to decide server power mode. We performed experiments with a cluster of 30 PCs. Experimental results show that our proposed method keeps the same performance while reducing 29% of power consumption compared to the existing method. In addition, our proposed method allows to increase the average CPU utilization by 66%.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.86 no.2
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• pp.111-119
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• 2023

Background: The objective of this study was to investigate whether alcohol consumption might affect the quality of life (QOL), depressive mood, and metabolic syndrome in patients with obstructive lung disease (OLD). Methods: Data were obtained from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2014 and 2016. OLD was defined as spirometry of forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity <0.7 in those aged more than 40 years. QOL was evaluated using the European Quality of Life Questionnaire-5D (EQ-5D) index. Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used to assess the severity of depressive mood. Alcohol consumption was based on a history of alcohol ingestion during the previous month. Results: A total of 984 participants with OLD (695 males, 289 females, age 65.8±9.7 years) were enrolled. The EQ-5D index was significantly higher in alcohol drinkers (n=525) than in non-alcohol drinkers (n=459) (0.94±0.11 vs. 0.91±0.13, p=0.002). PHQ9 scores were considerably lower in alcohol drinkers than in non-alcohol drinkers (2.15±3.57 vs. 2.78±4.13, p=0.013). However, multiple logistic regression analysis showed that alcohol consumption was not associated with EQ-5D index or PHQ-9 score. Body mass index ≥25 kg/m², triglyceride ≥150 mg/dL, high-density lipoprotein <40 mg/dL in men and <50 mg/dL in women, and blood pressure ≥130/85 mm Hg were significantly more common in alcohol drinkers than in non-alcohol drinkers (all p<0.05). Conclusion: Alcohol consumption did not change the QOL or depressive mood of OLD patients. However, metabolic syndrome-related factors were more common in alcohol drinkers than in non-alcohol drinkers.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.391-396
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• 1994

Carcinoembryonic Antigen is one of most frequently checked tumor markers in cancer management. We performed statistical analysis with serum CEA data of 2626 persons who received regular health examination and were thought to be free of active disease to determine the cutoff values of serum CEA level in normal Korean adults and to study the factors influencing serum CEA levels in normal subjects. 1) The cutoff values of serum CEA in normal Korean adults in general were 9.28ng/ml for men, 5.90 ng/ml for women. 2) Serum CEA level was influenced by age, present smoking history, sex, and abnormal findings in chest X ray. 3) Serum CEA level had no correlation with the history of amount of alcohol consumption or obesity. 4) Cutoff values of serum CEA in normal Korean adults were tabulated according to age, sex, and smoking history. Serum CEA level was influenced by age, sex, present smoking history and abnormal findings in chest X ray and cutoff values of serum CEA were tabulated according to age, sex, and smoking history.

• Journal of Ginseng Culture
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• v.1
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• pp.57-66
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• 2019

Ginseng has been recognized as a lifespan extending medicine which has been regarded as one of the medicines classified as top medicines, as the Boncho (medical herbs) study which is influenced by the idea of guidance's costume and food concept mainly in China is gaining its bona fide form. As the demand for ginseng has been expanded to other levels, the demand for ginseng has been increasing. Ginseng from the nature reached its supply chain limit due to its extinction and difficulty of picking, so it translated into ginseng cultivation of economy rather than harvesting in nature. After the start of ginseng cultivation, the ginseng cultivation was further enhanced by the rapid development of processing methods such as white-ginseng and red-ginseng, and the surge of consumption due to the traditional belief in ginseng drug efficacy and support of scientific research. In the Joseon Dynasty, the name Gasam (cultivated ginseng) had been created as ginseng was cultivated on farmland after the stage of SanYang (wild cultivated ginseng), the purpose of the new name Gasam is to differentiate from natural ginseng, and natural ginseng lost its firm position as the genuine ginseng as the Gasam replaced the genuine ginseng, and the natural ginseng got a new name of SanSam (wild ginseng). Because the real ginseng substance concept dissipated, and as Gasam is being called ginseng, the name Gasam was also disappeared. As a result, it was possible to grow large quantities according to the arrival of the Gasam era, and it was possible to supply the demand for ginseng, and it could become one agricultural industry. In this ginseng cultivation, in Japan where ginseng did not grow naturally, it was difficult to obtain ginseng from Joseon and faced with a shortage of ginseng at all times. Therefore, the shogun cultivated the Gasam systematically at the national level by the inside of the shogunate. However, since the natural ginseng is native to China and Korea, there is a concern about the deterioration of the quality of natural ginseng due to the incorporation of cultivated ginseng (Gasam). To protect the interests, the cultivation of ginseng was subject to control. For this reason, the lack of historical information on Gasam cultivation, which had to be started secretly, would be a natural result. In this paper, althouh not sufficient enough, the historical informations were used to summarize the history of ginseng cultivation in China, Japan and Korea.

• Archives of Craniofacial Surgery
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 2024

Background: The pathogenesis of orofacial cleft (OFC) is multifactorial, involving both genetic and non-genetic factors, the latter of which play a key role in the development of these anomalies. This paper addresses the incidence of OFC in Indonesia, with a focus on identifying and examining the distribution of contributory factors, including parental medical history, pregnancy history, and environmental influences. Methods: The study was conducted through the collection of primary data. An interdisciplinary research team from Indonesia administered a standardized questionnaire to parents who had children with OFC and who had provided informed consent. The case group comprised 133 children born with cleft lip and/or palate, and the control was 133 noncleft children born full-term. The risk factors associated with OFC anomalies were analyzed using the chi-square test and logistic regression. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 25. A p-value of 0.05 or less was considered to indicate statistical significance. Results: The study comprised 138 children, of whom 82 were boys (59.4%) and 56 were girls (40.6%). Among them, 45 patients (32.6%) presented with both cleft lip and cleft palate, 25 individuals (18.1%) had a cleft palate only, and 28 patients (20.3%) had a cleft lip only. OFC was found to be significantly associated with a maternal family history of congenital birth defects (p<0.05), complications during the first trimester (p<0.05), consumption of local fish (p<0.05), caffeine intake (p<0.05), prolonged medication use (p<0.05), immunization history (p<0.05), passive smoking (p<0.05), and X-ray exposure during pregnancy (p<0.05). Conclusion: The findings indicate close relationships between the incidence of OFC and maternal medical history, prenatal factors, and environmental influences.