• Genomics & Informatics
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• 제2권2호
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• pp.107-109
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• 2004

HapAnalyzer is an analysis system that provides minimum analysis methods for the SNP-based association studies. It consists of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) test, linkage disequilibrium (LD) computation, haplotype reconstruction, and SNP (or haplotype)-phenotype association assessment. It is well suited to a case-control association study for the unrelated population.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제50권6호
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• pp.411-414
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• 2017

Antimicrobial resistance and emerging infectious diseases, including avian influenza, Ebola virus disease, and Zika virus disease have significantly affected humankind in recent years. In the premodern era, no distinction was made between animal and human medicine. However, as medical science developed, the gap between human and animal science grew deeper. Cooperation among human, animal, and environmental sciences to combat emerging public health threats has become an important issue under the One Health Initiative. Herein, we presented the history of One Health, reviewed current public health threats, and suggested opportunities for the field of public health through better understanding of the One Health paradigm.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• 제51권5호
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• pp.452-456
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• 2008

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute, self-limited vasculitis of unknown etiology that occurs predominantly in infants and young children. Initially described in 1967 by Dr. Tomisaku Kawasaki, it is now the most common cause of acquired heart disease among children in developed nations. Although KD has been reported across all racial and ethnic groups, the incidence of KD is more common among Asians, which suggests differences of race-specific susceptibility. The prevalence of the disease varies considerably among different Asian countries, and there is a higher rate of KD reported in Asian countries such as Japan and Korea than in other countries. In Korea, a nationwide epidemiological study has been conducted every three years since the 1990s by the Korean Pediatric Heart Association to determine the epidemiologic patterns and incidence rate of KD in Korea. It was thus found in a recent survey (2003-2005) that the average annual incidence of 105.0/100,000 Korean children under the age of five years was the second-highest reported rate in the world, after Japan.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제14권9호
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• pp.5037-5041
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• 2013

Accumulated evidence has indicated that Ephrin A1 (EFNA1) is associated with angiogenesis and tumorigenesis in various types of malignancies, including colorectal cancer (CRC). In the current study, we performed an online search using the public microarray database to investigate whether EFNA1 expression might be altered in CRC tissues. We then conducted a case-control study including 306 subjects (102 cases and 204 well-matched controls) in Xiaoshan County to assess any association between genetic polymorphisms in EFNA1 and CRC susceptibility. Searches in the Oncomine expression profiling database revealed EFNA1 to be overexpressed in CRC tissue compared with adjacent normal tissue. The rs12904 G-A variant located in the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of EFNA1 was observed to be associated with CRC susceptibility. Compared with the AA homozygous genotype, those carrying GA genotype had a decreased risk of developing CRC (odds ratio (OR)=0.469, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.225-0.977, and P=0.043). The association was stronger among smokers and tea drinkers, however, no statistical evidence of interaction between rs12904 polymorphism and smoking or tea drinking on CRC risk was found. Our results suggest that EFNA1 is involved in colorectal tumorigenesis, and rs12904 A>G polymorphism in the 3' UTR of EFNA1 is associated with CRC susceptibility. Larger studies and further mechanistic investigations are warranted to confirm our findings.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제4권1호
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• pp.52-62
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• 2013

Objectives: To investigate the association between psychological distress and obesity among law enforcement officers (LEOs) in the United States. Methods: Self-reported data on psychological distress based on six key questions were obtained from LEOs who participated in the National Health Interview Survey (2004-2010). We used Prochaska's cut-point of a Kessler 6 score ${\geq}5$ for moderate/high mental distress in our analysis. Mean levels of body mass index (BMI) were compared across three levels of psychological distress. Results: The average age of LEOs (n = 929) was 39.3 years; 25% were female. Overall, 8.1% of LEOs had moderate or high psychological distress; 37.5% were obese (BMI ${\geq}30$). Mean BMI increased with increasing psychological distress (no distress, BMI = $27.2kg/m^2$; mild distress, $27.6kg/m^2$; and moderate/high distress, $33.1kg/m^2$; p = 0.016) after adjustment for age, race, income, and education level among female officers only. Physical activity modified the association between psychological distress and BMI but only among male LEOs (interaction p = 0.002). Among male LEOs reporting low physical activity, psychological distress was positively associated with BMI ($30.3kg/m^2$ for no distress, 30.7 for mild distress, 31.8 for moderate/high distress; p = 0.179) after adjustment, but not significantly. This association was not significant among males reporting high physical activity. Conclusion: Mean BMI significantly increased as psychological distress increased among female LEOs. A longitudinal study design may reveal the directionality of this association as well as the potential role that physical activity might play in this association.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제27권12호
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• pp.2221-2227
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• 2017

Echovirus serotype 30 (ECHO30) has been responsible for several recent worldwide outbreaks of viral meningitis. In Zhejiang Province, China, ECHO30 has been one of the main causes of viral meningitis for years. This study, using phylogenetic analysis of the VP1 gene, was performed to investigate the general molecular epidemiology and genetic patterns of ECHO30 circulating in Zhejiang Province between the years 2002 and 2015. The nucleotide sequences of ECHO30 VP1 showed that they were 64.8% identical with the prototype strain, Bastianni, while the amino acids were 84.9% identical. Phylogenetic analyses showed that ECHO30 in the Zhejiang area has diverged into two genotypes. Genotype I consists of strains isolated since 2002, whereas genotype II includes strains that were mainly isolated during the 2002 to 2004 outbreak. ECHO30 has been endemically circulating in both humans and the environment for a long period of time. Additionally, we evaluated the significance of recombination presented during the years 2005 to 2007 to demonstrate that recombination plays an important role in the prevalence of ECHO30 in the Zhejiang area.

• 대한예방의학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한예방의학회 1996년도 제48차 추계 학술대회 연제집
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• pp.3-26
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• 1996

Epidemiology and preventive medicine are changing together with Population and health and with ever expanding medical and non medical technologies. New technologies make epidemiology methodologically more sophisticated, but such advances risk overshadowing epidemiology's most important role: raising questions, providing answers, and helping the medical decision-making at ail levels of prevention. Epidemiology also plays a major role in the evaluation of new and other technologies whose effectiveness is poorly known. Epidemiological approaches, methods, techniques, and interpretations are widely used in new and rapidly expanding fields of medicine: research evaluation and synthesis (meta-analysis), establishment of guidelines for clinical preventive practices, new medical technology assessment, guidelines for national and international health policies, evidence-based medicine, outcomes research and disease management ('population-based' medicine and quality of care improvement). In the nearest future, infectious and noninfectious diseases may cease to be almost the sole subjects of epidemiology and they may share their place with other mass phenomena of the next millennium, such as medical practices and care, or political, social and economic actions and their consequences. Not only will primary, secondary, and tertiary Prevention will remain in the epidemiological mainstream, but health protection and health promotion will require perhaps a redefinition of epidemiology in these domains. Epidemiology and preventive medicine are both subjects of medical ethics and dilemma for right choices.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권22호
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• pp.10003-10008
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• 2014

Background: Cervical cancer has been a leading female cancer in Thailand for decades, and has been second to breast cancer after 2007. The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has provided opportunistic screening with Pap smears for more than 30 years. In 2002, the MoPH and the National Health Security Office provided countrywide systematic screening of cervical cancer to all Thai women aged 35-60 years under universal health care coverage insurance scheme at 5-year intervals. Objectives: This study characterized the cervical cancer incidence trends in Songkhla in southern Thailand using joinpoint and age period cohort (APC) analysis to observe the effect of cervical cancer screening activities in the past decades, and to project cervical cancer rates in the province, to 2030. Materials and Methods: Invasive and in situ cervical cancer cases were extracted from the Songkhla Cancer Registry from 1990 through 2010. Age standardized incidence rates were estimated. Trends in incidences were evaluated by joinpoint and APC regression models. The Norpred package was modified for R and was used to project the future trends to 2030 using the power of 5 function and cut trend method. Results: Cervical cancer incidence in Songkhla peaked around 1998-2000 and then dropped by -4.7% per year. APC analysis demonstrated that in situ tumors caused an increase in incidence in early ages, younger cohorts, and in later years of diagnosis. Conclusions: Both joinpoint and APC analysis give the same conclusion in continuation of a declining trend of cervical cancer to 2030 but with different rates and the predicted goal of ASR below 10 or even 5 per 100,000 women by 2030 would be achieved. Thus, maintenance and improvement of the screening program should be continued. Other population based cancer registries in Thailand should analyze their data to confirm the success of cervical cancer screening policy of Thailand.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• 제24권3호
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• pp.40.1-40.6
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• 2023

Analysis of the VP1 gene sequence of the foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) is critical to understanding viral evolution and disease epidemiology. A standard set of primers have been used for the detection and sequence analysis of the VP1 gene of FMDV directly from suspected clinical samples with limited success. The study validated VP1-specific degenerate primer-based reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the qualitative detection and sequencing of serotype O FMDV lineages circulating in India. The novel degenerate primer-based RT-PCR amplifying the VP1 gene can circumvent the genetic heterogeneity observed in viruses after cell culture adaptation and facilitate precise viral gene sequence analysis from clinical samples.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제45권5호
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• pp.277-282
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• 2012

Field epidemiology involves the implementation of quick and targeted public health interventions with the aid of epidemiological methods. In this article, we share our practical experiences in outbreak management and in safeguarding the population against novel diseases. Given that cities represent the financial nexuses of the global economy, global health security necessitates the safeguard of cities against epidemic diseases. Singapore's public health landscape has undergone a systemic and irreversible shift with global connectivity, rapid urbanization, ecological change, increased affluence, as well as shifting demographic patterns over the past two decades. Concomitantly, the threat of epidemics, ranging from severe acute respiratory syndrome and influenza A (H1N1) to the resurgence of vector-borne diseases as well as the rise of modern lifestyle-related outbreaks, have worsened difficulties in safeguarding public health amidst much elusiveness and unpredictability. One critical factor that has helped the country overcome these innate and man-made public health vulnerabilities is the development of a resilient field epidemiology service, which includes our enhancement of surveillance and response capacities for outbreak management, and investment in public health leadership. We offer herein the Singapore story as a case study in meeting the challenges of disease control in our modern built environment.