• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.81-88
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• 2012

Objective : Banhahubak-tang is indicated for globus hystericus, marked by a subjective sensation as if something stuffed in the throat, chest distress, cough or vomiting, greasy whitish, taut and smooth pulse. In this study, the effects of Banhahubak-Tang extract (BHTe) were tested for anti-stress action. Methods : BHTe was extracted by pure water using electronic extractor and then fed to ICR male mice ($20{\pm}2g$) orally with the dose of 100mg/kg/day for five days. Mice were exposed to sociopsychological stress by restraining and seeing foot shock stressed mice for one hour for five days. Results : BHTe administered group showed a tendency of decreasing of serum corticosterone secretion when compared with control group, and BHTe administration also significantly up-regulated noradrenaline secretions in the dorsal cortex of brain. Lipid peroxidation of the brain tissues of mice were tested by measuring malondialdehyde, but BHTe showed no significant change. The elevated plus-maze test was designed to detect the effect of anxiolytic drugs, and BHTe administered group showed a significant increase of latency time. Conclusions : These results suggest that BHTe can effectively rid the psychological stress and it's related diseases.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.127-134
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• 2016

This study aims to investigate the factors affecting tooth loss and the association between smoking and tooth loss, by using the forth Korea National Health and National Examination Survey(2007-2009) of 1,565 elderly people over 65 years old. In terms of the characteristics, as age increases, tooth loss increases. In particular, according to the results of the analysis that identify the correlation between smoking to gender, socio-economic status and dental visiting patterns after correcting socio-economic factors and behavior, it is clear that male's tooth loss is higher than female's in current smoking and tooth loss is caused highly in the lower socio-economic status. In the dental visiting patterns, tooth loss is high when visiting more than twice a year. Therefore, it seems to need a preventive non-smoking policy at the level of dental services through further studies.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.238-245
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• 2014

Purpose: Gastric cancer often occurs in the elderly but is uncommon in young individuals. Whether young patients have different clinical behaviors and outcomes from those of older patients remain unclear. Materials and Methods: We identified 1,366 cases of newly diagnosed noncardia gastric adenocarcinoma from the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Cancer Registry between 2000 and 2010. We then compared the clinicopathological features and survival among the different age groups. Results: The male : female ratio differed significantly between the younger and older patient groups (0.84 in age <50 years vs. 1.52>60 years, P<0.01). More younger patients were Hispanic (54% patients <40 years vs. 19% patients ${\geq}70$ years, P<0.0001), while more older patients were Caucasian (49% patients ${\geq}70$ years vs. 15% patients <40 years; P<0.0001). The diffuse/mixed histological type was more prevalent in younger patients (70% patients <40 years vs. 27% patients ${\geq}70$ years; P<0.0001), whereas the intestinal type was more frequent in older patients (71% in patients ${\geq}70$ years vs. 30% in patients <40 years; P<0.0001). Poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma was more common in the younger patients (80% in patients <40 years vs. 60% in patients ${\geq}70$ years; P=0.016). Survival rates at 1, 2, and 5 years gradually declined with increasing age (overall P=0.0002). Conclusions: Young patients with gastric cancer had more aggressive disease but higher overall survival rates than older patients. Younger Hispanic patients and older Caucasian patients were more likely to be diagnosed with gastric cancer. These differences may be due to biological predisposition and/or environmental exposure.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.255-259
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• 2014

Physical activity could be considered one of the factors that affect the immune system status and function. To find the relation between exercise and cytokines, we examined the possible effects of an 8-week endurance training program on the serum levels of cytokines, including tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-${\alpha}$) and interferon-gamma (IFN-${\gamma}$) in sedentary men. A total of 30 healthy young male volunteers were randomly divided into an endurance training group and a control group. The training group followed a specific exercise protocol (running on a treadmill for 15~30 min at 50~70% maximal heart rate) for 8 weeks and the control group did not participate in any exercise program. Venous blood samples were collected from both the groups 24 h before and 24 h and 48 h after the exercise. Repeated ANOVA was used for statistical purposes. The serum levels of TNF-${\alpha}$ and IFN-${\gamma}$ were determined by ELISA. Significant (p<0.05) and non-significant (p>0.05) decreases were observed in the serum levels of IFN-${\gamma}$ and TNF-${\alpha}$, respectively, after the 8-week endurance training program. Our findings indicated that an 8-week endurance exercise may affect the serum levels of some inflammatory cytokines, suggesting the beneficial role of this training protocol in elderly population and people with certain conditions (inflammation of the vertebrae or other inflammatory diseases).

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.49-59
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• 2017

In this study, We analyzed the characteristics of carsharing use and revealed the environmental factors influencing carsharing use using the records of carsharing had been operated in Incheon during 2016. The records show a higher ratio of male users, a big portion of 20s and 30s, and ascending trends in the use of elderly people and short distances compared to the past. We analyzed the relationship between carsharing use and neighborhood environmental factors using the negative binomial regression model. It was found that carsharing was more active in areas where have many public transportation users and higher portion of residential buildings. Therefore, it was concluded that these areas can be suitable candidates for placing new carsharing rental sites to expect more active carsharing use.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.51-60
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• 2008

Objectives : We examined the effect of sociodemographic factors, cancer, and psychiatric disorders on suicide by gender and age-specific patterns in South Korea. Methods : The study is a case-control study. Claim data was obtained from the national health insurance database and national death registration database. The number of people who committed suicide was 11,523, which was matched with a control group consisting of ten times as many people at 115,230 selected from the national health insurance and medical aids beneficiaries. The medical utilization of the case group was one year before death and that of the control group was from July 1,2003 to June 30, 2004. Four variables-address, economic status, presence of a psychiatric disease, and cancer-were used in multiple logistic regression analyses. Results : Living in cities or in rural areas showed a greater risk for suicide than living in a metropolitan city. Low economic status, the presence of a psychiatric disorder, and cancer were also statistically meaningful risk factors for suicide. The three major psychiatric diseases, schizophrenia, alcohol abuse, and bipolar disorder, were meaningful in all age groups, but the scale of the odds ratio differed by the age group. Only the psychiatric disorder variable was meaningful in the adolescent group, whereas a psychiatric disorder and economic status were meaningful for the young adult group, and all variables were meaningful for the middle-aged group. A psychiatric disorder and cancer were meaningful in the elderly group, economic status was meaningful for male subjects, and address was meaningful for female subjects. Conclusions : Factors such as living in city or rural areas, low economic status, the presence of a psychiatric disorder, and cancer were statistically meaningful risk factors in suicide. These factors also differed by age group. Therefore, policymakers should establish policies for suicide prevention that are relevant for each age group.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.298-307
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• 2011

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of physical activity on glycemic control among Koreans with type 2 diabetes. Methods: A total of 215 patients with type 2 diabetes (82 male and 133 female) were recruited (mean age = $59.0{\pm}9.7$ years). The amounts of physical activity was assessed using the physical activity scale for elderly (PASE). Fasting blood glucose (FBG), Hemoglobin A1c ($HbA_1c$), and 2 hours post-prandial glucose (2hrPG) were measured. Results: The highest PASE score was housework-related physical activity. However, the amounts of walking was significantly higher in good FBG level (Z = 1.39, p=.041) and the amounts of leisure-time physical activity was higher in good HbA1 and 2hrPG level than in the poor glycemic control group (Z = 2.29, p<.001; Z = 1.99, p=.001). A logistic regression analysis showed that patients with leisure-time physical activity in the top quartile more likely presented with good glycemic control in $HbA_1c$, OR=3.84 (95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.65~8.95) and in 2hrPG, OR=4.06 (95%CI = 1.77~9.27), compared to patients in the lowest quartile. Conclusion: Leisure-time physical activity is effective for controlling the glucose levels, especially $HbA_1c$ and 2hrPG among type 2 diabetic patients. It is suggested that health providers need to more focus on providing aggressive recommendations on physical activity considering physical activity patterns by individuals.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.17
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• pp.7659-7661
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• 2015

Background: Essential thrombocythemia (ET) is a Philadelphia chromosome-negative myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by sustained thrombocytosis and megakaryocytic hyperplasia. It is an uncommon hematological malignancy which primarily affects elderly individuals. The rational of this study was to determine its clinico-hematological profile along with risk stratification in Pakistan patients. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective cross sectional study, 21 patients with ET were enrolled from January 2011 to December 2014. Data was analyzed with SPSS version 21. Results: The mean age was $56.7{\pm}19.0years$ (range 18-87) and the male to female ratio was 1:1.1. Of the total, 62% of patients were above 50 years of age. Overall 61.9% were diagnosed incidentally and were asymptomatic. In symptomatic patients, major complaints were weakness (19%); erythromelalgia (14.2%), transit ischemic attack (9.5%) and gastrointestinal bleed (4.7%). The mean hemoglobin count was $11.7{\pm}2.4g/dl$ with a total leukocyte count of $13.3{\pm}8.1{\times}10^9/l$ and platelets count of $1188.8{\pm}522.2{\times}10^9/l$. Serum lactate dehydrogenase, serum creatinine and uric acid were $454.3{\pm}127.8$, $1.2{\pm}0.5$ and $7.4{\pm}3.4$ respectively. According to risk stratification, 57.1% were in high risk; 23.8% in intermediate risk while 19.1% in low risk group. Conclusions: ET in our patients in Pakistan, unlike in the West, is seen in a relatively young population. Primarily patients were asymptomatic and risk stratification revealed predominance of high risk disease in our setting.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.4447-4453
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• 2013

Purpose: To investigate the risk factors for anastomotic leakage (AL) after anterior resection for rectal cancer with a double stapling technique. Patients and Methods: Between January 2004 and December 2011, 753 consecutive patients in Jiangsu Cancer Hospital and Research Institute diagnosed with rectal cancer and undergoing anterior resection with a double stapling technique were recruited. All patients experienced a total mesorectal excision (TME) operation. Additionally, decrease of postoperative tumor supplied group of factors (TSGF), which have not been reported before, was proposed as a new indicator for AL. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed to determine risk factors for AL. Results: AL was detected in 57 (7.6%) of 753 patients with rectal cancer. The diagnosis of anastomotic leakage was confirmed between the 6th and 12th postoperative day (POD; mean 8th POD). After univariate analysis and multivariate analysis, age (p<0.001), gender (p=0.002), level of anastomosis (p<0.001), preoperative body mass index (BMI) (p=0.001) and reduction of TSGF in 5th POD was less than 10 ${\mu}/ml$ (p<0.001) were selected as 5 independent risk factors for AL. It was also indicated that a temporary defunctioning transverse ileostomy (p=0.04) would decrease the occurrence of AL. Conclusion: AL after anterior resection for rectal carcinoma is related to elderly status, low level site of the tumor (below the peritoneal reflection), being male, preoperative BMI and the decrease of TSGF in $5^{th}$ POD is less than 10 ${\mu}/ml$. Preventive ileostomy is advisable after TME for low rectal tumors to prevent AL.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.455-460
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• 2010

We evaluated the inappropriateness of metformin use in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic medical conditions to identify the frequency of the prescription metformin in violation of the food and drug administration (FDA) black box warning. We reviewed medical records of 307 outpatients who received metformin at endocrinology department in a hospital setting between January 1, 2005 and August 30, 2009. Of the 307 outpatients, 25 discontinued treatment of metformin due to elevated serum creatinine level (Scr${\geq}$1.5 mg/dl in male, Scr${\geq}$1.4 mg/dl in female), cancers, and/or liver disease. 5 were lost to follow-up. 89 (29.0%) of the patients had cardiovascular disease, 54.1% for hypertension, 9.8% for liver disease, and 60 (20.8%) for chronic kidney disease. 12 patients (3.9%) with chronic kidney disease and/or elevated serum creatinine level, and 1 patient (0.3%) with lactic acidosis were contraindicated to metformin use. Metformin should be avoided in 7 outpatients (2.3%) with active hepatitis and 1 patient (2.6%) with liver cirrhosis. Of the 307 outpatients, 13 (4.2%) patients who received metformin at the first visit and 16 (8.7%) patients who received metformin at the last visit violated to black box warning. 8 (2.6%) of the patients were in precautionary conditions to metformin use. Adjusted mean difference of serum creatinine was -0.16 mg/dl [95% CI: -0.22 to -0.11 (p<0.05)] and adjusted mean difference of alanine aminotransferase was 4.46 IU/l [95% CI: 2.47 to 6.44 (p<0.05)] between the first visit and the last visit. Critical number of elderly patients who are at the high risks of drug-disease and drug-laboratory interaction is exposed to the inappropriate metformin use in violation of black box warning. The periodic evaluation of metformin use and monitoring prescription through drug utility review (DUR) system is needed to improve patients' safety and to reduce adverse drug events.