• Title/Summary/Keyword: Disease prevention

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An Outline of the Need for Psychology Knowledge in Health Professionals: Implications for Community Development and Breast Cancer Prevention

  • Ahmadian, Maryam;Samah, Asnarulkhadi Abu
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • v.15 no.12
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    • pp.5097-5105
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    • 2014
  • Knowledge of health and community psychology in health professionals influences psychosocial and community determinants of health and promoting participation in disease prevention at the community level. This paper appraises the potential of knowledge on psychology in health care professionals and its contribution to community empowerment through individual behavior change and health practice. The authors proposed a schematic model for the use of psychological knowledge in health professionals to promote participation in health interventions/disease prevention programs in developing countries. By implication, the paper provides a vision on policies towards supporting breast cancer secondary prevention efforts for community health development in Asian countries.

A Locally Acquired Falciparum Malaria via Nosocomial Transmission in Korea

  • Kim, Jung-Yeon;Kim, Jeong-Su;Park, Mi-Hyun;Kang, Young-A;Kwon, Jun-Wook;Cho, Shin-Hyeong;Lee, Byeong-Chul;Kim, Tong-Soo;Lee, Jong-Koo
    • Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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    • v.47 no.3
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    • pp.269-273
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    • 2009
  • A 57-year old man who was admitted to an emergency room of a tertiary hospital with hemoptysis developed malarial fever 19 days later and then died from severe falciparum malaria 2 days later. He had not traveled outside of Korea for over 30 years. Through intensive interviews and epidemiological surveys, we found that a foreign patient with a recent history of travel to Africa was transferred to the same hospital with severe falciparum malaria. We confirmed through molecular genotyping of the MSP-1 gene that Plasmodium falciparum genotypes of the 2 patients were identical. It is suggested that a breach of standard infection control precautions resulted in this P. falciparum transmission between 2 patients in a hospital environment. This is the first report of a nosocomial transmission of falciparum malaria in Korea.

A Study on the concept of makwon in onbyeonghak(溫病學) and its practical application (온병학(溫病學)의 막원(膜原) 개념과 그 실제적 활용에 대한 고찰)

  • Kim, Sanghyun
    • Journal of Korean Medical classics
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    • v.30 no.4
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    • pp.83-93
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    • 2017
  • Objective : Doctors' discussions on Makwon's warm-disease are studied in an effort to contemplate a way to use the outcome in practice. Method : Doctors' discussions on Makwon as found in researches and texts are categorized into physical and pathologica, and their symptoms and treatments are analyzed. Result & Conclusion : Many doctors of warm disease explained that, in terms of the physical aspect, Makwon is closely related to stomach. Some doctors also mentioned its relationship with triple engizers, defense and nutrient qi, and spleen. In terms of pathology, most of the doctors considered Makwon to be a hiding place of foul turbidity pathogen, and explained that a treatment has to be applied before the disease pattern worsens. Diverse syndroms of Makwonwere introduced. Their discussions mainly revolved around warm and epidemic or category of dampness-heat diseases. Alternating chills and fever was also mentioned often, and generalized pain, nausea, tongue of thick and slimy fur symptoms are shown. Ouguk's Dalwonneum is used as the basic treatment. The most effective prevention method of the incubation of pathogen are the symptoms that allows the analysis of the mechanism of disease. Therefore, a good utilization method of resolve turbidity with aroma or spices may contribute to the prevention of Makwon-disease in terms of cultural aspect.

Usefulness of the recombinant liver stage antigen-3 for an early serodiagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum infection

  • LEE Hyeong-Woo;MOON Sung-Ung;RYU Hye-Sun;KIM Yeon-Joo;CHO Shin-Hyeong;CHUNG Gyung-Tae;LIN Khin;NA Byoung-Kuk;KONG Yoon;CHUNG Kyung-Suk;KIM Tong-Soo
    • Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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    • v.44 no.1 s.137
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    • pp.49-54
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    • 2006
  • In order to develop tools for an early serodiagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum infection, we evaluated the usefulness of P. falciparum liver stage antigen-3 (LSA-3) as a serodiagnostic antigen. A portion of LSA-3 gene was cloned, and its recombinant protein (rLSA-3) was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by column chromatography. The purified rLSA-3 and 120 test blood/serum samples collected from inhabitants in malaria-endemic areas of Mandalay, Myanmar were used for this study. In microscopic examinations of blood samples, P. falciparum positive rate was $39.1\%$ (47/120) in thin smear trials, and $33.3\%$ (40/120) in thick smear trials. Although the positive rate associated with the rLSA-3 $(30.8\%)$ was lower than that of the blood stage antigens $(70.8\%)$, rLSA-3 based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay could detect 12 seropositive cases $(10.0\%),$ in which blood stage antigens were not detected. These results indicate that the LSA-3 is a useful antigen for an early serodiagnosis of P. falciparum infection.

Associations Between Body Fat Percentage and Fitness among Police Officers: A Statewide Study

  • Violanti, John M.;Ma, Claudia C.;Fekedulegn, Desta;Andrew, Michael E.;Gu, Ja K.;Hartley, Tara A.;Charles, Luenda E.;Burchfiel, Cecil M.
    • Safety and Health at Work
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    • v.8 no.1
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    • pp.36-41
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    • 2017
  • Background: Police work is generally sedentary although there may be situations that require physical endurance and strength, such as foot chases and arresting suspects. Factors such as excessive body fat can impede an officer's physical ability to deal with such occurrences. Our objective was to examine associations between officers' body fat percentage (BF%) and performance on a standardized fitness protocol. Methods: Data were obtained from fitness screening among 1,826 male and 115 female officers in a large US police agency. The screening consisted of a 2.4-km run, push-ups, sit-ups, and sit-and-reach test. Sex-specific body fat percentages were estimated from skinfold thickness measured using calipers. Linear regression models were used to examine unadjusted and adjusted mean scores of fitness tests across BF% tertiles. Results: The prevalence of overall fitness was 4.3 times greater in male officers and 3.6 times greater in female officers having the lowest BF% tertile compared with the highest tertile (30.3% vs 7.1% and 46.0% vs 12.8%, respectively). BF% was linearly and positively associated with the time of 2.4-km run (p < 0.001), and linearly and inversely associated with the number of push-ups (p < 0.001), sit-ups (p < 0.001), and the distance of sit-and-reach (p < 0.001) in men. Similar associations were observed in women with the exception of sit-and-reach (p = 0.122). Associations were independent of age, race/ethnicity, rank, and duty station. Conclusion: Overall, BF% was inversely associated with fitness levels in male and female officers. Future longitudinal studies should be initiated to explore the potentially causal relationship between BF% and fitness in law enforcement officers.

SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccine Elicits Sustained T Cell Responses Against the Omicron Variant in Adolescents

  • Sujin Choi;Sang-Hoon Kim;Mi Seon Han;Yoonsun Yoon;Yun-Kyung Kim;Hye-Kyung Cho;Ki Wook Yun;Seung Ha Song;Bin Ahn;Ye Kyung Kim;Sung Hwan Choi;Young June Choe;Heeji Lim;Eun Bee Choi;Kwangwook Kim;Seokhwan Hyeon;Hye Jung Lim;Byung-chul Kim;Yoo-kyoung Lee;Eun Hwa Choi;Eui-Cheol Shin;Hyunju Lee
    • IMMUNE NETWORK
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    • v.23 no.4
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    • pp.33.1-33.13
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    • 2023
  • Vaccination against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been acknowledged as an effective mean of preventing infection and hospitalization. However, the emergence of highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) has led to substantial increase in infections among children and adolescents. Vaccine-induced immunity and longevity have not been well defined in this population. Therefore, we aimed to analyze humoral and cellular immune responses against ancestral and SARS-CoV-2 variants after two shots of the BNT162b2 vaccine in healthy adolescents. Although vaccination induced a robust increase of spike-specific binding Abs and neutralizing Abs against the ancestral and SARS-CoV-2 variants, the neutralizing activity against the Omicron variant was significantly low. On the contrary, vaccine-induced memory CD4+ T cells exhibited substantial responses against both ancestral and Omicron spike proteins. Notably, CD4+ T cell responses against both ancestral and Omicron strains were preserved at 3 months after two shots of the BNT162b2 vaccine without waning. Polyfunctionality of vaccine-induced memory T cells was also preserved in response to Omicron spike protein. The present findings characterize the protective immunity of vaccination for adolescents in the era of continuous emergence of variants/subvariants.

Sustained Viral Activity of Epstein-Barr Virus Contributes to Cellular Immortalization of Lymphoblastoid Cell Lines

  • Jeon, Jae-Pil;Nam, Hye-Young;Shim, Sung-Mi;Han, Bok-Ghee
    • Molecules and Cells
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    • v.27 no.2
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    • pp.143-148
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    • 2009
  • EBV-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) are used as a resource for human genetic, immunological, and pharmacogenomic studies. We investigated the biological activity of 20 LCL strains during continuous long-term subculture up to a passage number of 160. Out of 20 LCL strains, 17 proliferated up to a passage number of 160, at which point LCLs are generally considered as "immortalized". The other three LCL strains lost the ability to proliferate at an average passage number of 41, during which these LCLs may have undergone cellular crisis. These non-immortal LCL strains exhibited no telomerase activity, decreased EBV gene expression, and a lower copy number of the EBV genome and mitochondrial DNA when compared with immortal LCLs. Thus, this study suggests that sustained EBV viral activity as well as telomerase activity may be required for complete LCL immortalization.

Epidemiological characteristics on new cases of notified tuberculosis in Jeju Province, Korea, 2011~2018 (제주도 결핵 신환자 발생의 역학적 특성, 2011~2018)

  • Jang, Sungryul;Kim, Dae Soon;Bae, Jong-Myon
    • Journal of Medicine and Life Science
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    • v.16 no.2
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    • pp.39-42
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    • 2019
  • While the notified crude incidence rates(per 100,000 persons, CIR) of new tuberculosis between 2016 and 2017 decreased in nationwide and 16 provinces, except Jeju Province, Korea. The aim of this study was to compare CIRs of Jeju Province and nationwide by calendar years and age groups in order to interpret the increasing trend of CIR in Jeju Province. The data source was the Integrated Diseases and Health Control System of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The selection criteria were the notified new cases as tuberculosis, who had the address as Jeju Province at diagnosis, between 2011 and 2018. The 95% confidence interval of CIR was estimated based on Poisson distribution. There was not statistically significant difference of CIRs between Nationwide and Jeju Province of 2011 and 2018, except 2016. Especially the CIR of group aged over 65 years in Jeju Province, 2016 was significantly lower compared to Nationwide CIR. But, the CIR of group aged 30~50 between 2017 and 2018 showed significantly higher compared to Nationwide CIR. Based on the results, the fact of increasing CIR from 2016 to 2017 in Jeju Province might be interpreted as an introduction of new tuberculosis screening project rather than real increased CIRs.

The role of long noncoding RNAs in livestock adipose tissue deposition - A review

  • Wang, Lixue;Xie, Yuhuai;Chen, Wei;Zhang, Yu;Zeng, Yongqing
    • Animal Bioscience
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    • v.34 no.7
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    • pp.1089-1099
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    • 2021
  • With the development of sequencing technology, numerous, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been discovered and annotated. Increasing evidence has shown that lncRNAs play an essential role in regulating many biological and pathological processes, especially in cancer. However, there have been few studies on the roles of lncRNAs in livestock production. In animal products, meat quality and lean percentage are vital economic traits closely related to adipose tissue deposition. However, adipose tissue accumulation is also a pivotal contributor to obesity, diabetes, atherosclerosis, and many other diseases, as demonstrated by human studies. In livestock production, the mechanism by which lncRNAs regulate adipose tissue deposition is still unclear. In addition, the phenomenon that different animal species have different adipose tissue accumulation abilities is not well understood. In this review, we summarize the characteristics of lncRNAs and their four functional archetypes and review the current knowledge about lncRNA functions in adipose tissue deposition in livestock species. This review could provide theoretical significance to explore the functional mechanisms of lncRNAs in adipose tissue accumulation in animals.

Biosafety Risk Control Strategies in Laboratory Animal Research

  • Shun-tai Weng;Qu-wen Li;Ya-dong Gao;Yu-feng Qiu
    • Safety and Health at Work
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    • v.15 no.1
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    • pp.118-122
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    • 2024
  • To understand biosafety's current situation in laboratory animal research and risk factors affecting occupational health. Compliance surveys were conducted by questionnaire via Questionnaire Star (an application app on the Internet) in Chinese. Thirty-nine anonymous questionnaires were collected. The surveyed institution has established 24 types of ABSL (Animal Biosafety Laboratory) and biosafety management organizations and systems equipped with safety equipment. Our study also suggests that the principal of the laboratory establishment fails to perform supervision and inspection responsibilities, the inappropriate design of the animal biosafety laboratory, non-standardized personnel training and health management, non-strict waste management, and insufficient emergency management. The administrative department and work units should address certain safety and occupational health risks in laboratory animal research. The author proposes control strategies based on organizational guarantee, personnel management, emergency management, etc., to help prevent risks and ensure occupational health. Due to regional limitations and small sample size, the results may not be generalisable to all parts of the world. However, some of the key common issuesmay also be present in other regions, sowe believe that this research still has some relevance.