• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.2997-3004
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• 2012

Background: This cross-sectional observational study was undertaken to identify the epidemiological characteristics of patients with gynecological malignancies in India, in relation to gynecological cancer risk. Methods: In the gynecology out-patient clinic of a tertiary care hospital in Kolkata, India, the patients with suggestive symptoms of gynecological malignancies were screened. One hundred thirteen patients with histopathologically confirmed gynecological malignancies were interviewed. Results: More than two-thirds of the cases (69.0%) occurred in the age range of 35-64 years and the same proportion of patients was from rural areas. Almost all the patients were "ever-married" (96.5%). More than half (54.9%) were illiterate/just literate. Nearly two-thirds (64.6%) were parity 3 or higher. Among the 18 patients with history of multiple sexual partners of the husband, 94.4% (17) were suffering from cervical malignancy, along with all the 3 patients with history of STD syndromes (sexually transmitted diseases) of their husbands. No one had given a history of condom use by her husband. Most of the patients (91.1%) used old / reused cloth pieces during menstruation. Conclusions: There is a need to increase awareness among women and the broader community about different epidemiological factors that may be responsible for increased risk of gynecological malignancies.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.2643-2647
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• 2013

Background: Despite anti-smoking campaigns, smoking prevalence among Thai males aged 30 or older is high, at around 50%. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between smoking and mortality in a rural Thai community. Materials and Methods: Subjects enrolled into the Khon Kaen cohort study between 1990 and 2001 were followed up for their vital status until $16^{th}$ March 2012. The death resource was from the Bureau of Policy and Strategy, Ministry of Interior, Thailand. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to analyse the association between smoking and death, controlling for age, education level and alcohol drinking, and confidence intervals were calculated using the floating risk method. Results: The study recruited 5,962 male subjects, of whom 1,396 died during a median 13.5 years of follow-up. Current smokers were more likely to die than never smokers after controlling for age, education level and alcohol drinking (HR, 95%CI: 1.41, 1.32-1.51), and the excess mortality was greatest for lung cancer (HR, 95%CI: 3.51, 2.65-4.66). However, there was no increased risk with increasing dose of tobacco, and no difference in risk between smokers of yamuan (hand-rolled cigarettes) and manufactured tobacco. Conclusion: Mortality from cancer, particularly lung cancer, and from all causes combined is dependent on smoking status among men in rural Thailand, but the relative risks are lower than have been reported from studies in high income countries, where the tobacco epidemic is more established.

• Journal of applied mathematics & informatics
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• v.38 no.5_6
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• pp.375-406
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• 2020

The anti-predator factor due to fear of predator in eco- epidemiological models has a great importance and cannot be evaded. The present paper consists of a modified Lesli-Gower predator-prey model with contagious disease in the predator population only and also consider the fear effect in the prey population. Boundedness and positivity have been studied to ensure the eco-epidemiological model is well-behaved. The existence and stability conditions of all possible equilibria of the model have been studied thoroughly. Considering the fear constant as bifurcating parameter, the conditions for the existence of limit cycle under which the system admits a Hopf bifurcation are investigated. The detailed study for direction of Hopf bifurcation have been derived with the use of both the normal form and the central manifold theory. We observe that the increasing fear constant, not only reduce the prey density, but also stabilize the system from unstable to stable focus by excluding the existence of periodic solutions.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.181-188
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• 2009

Hundreds of thousands of South Korean protesters staged candlelight vigils and demonstrations against US beef imports in 2008. The problems, however, went far beyond that of beef imports. The political party veterans, who lost the presidential election, exploited labor unions that were discontent with the economy and ideological student groups to weaken the majority party. In this study, an epidemiological model is constructed with a system of three nonlinear differential equations. The model seeks to examine the dynamics of the system through stability analysis. Two threshold conditions that spread the protests are identified and a sensitivity analysis on the conditions is performed to isolate the parameters to which the system is most responsive. The results are also explored by deterministic simulations. This model can be easily modified to apply to other protests that may occur in various circumstances.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.387-392
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• 2005

This study was attempted to investigate the properties of brucellosis in Korean indigenous cattle at the Yeongwol and Pyeongchang county. Brucella spp was differentiated and identified from cotyledons, amniotic fluids and supramammary lymph nodes which confirmed with clinical, serological, epidemiological evidences (69 cases) from January to June, 2004. Isolation frequency of this causative agent from supramammary lymph nodes, cotyledons and amniotic fluids from 38 pregnant Korean indigenous cattle were $39.1\%,\;87.5\%,\;and\;63.2\%$, respectively, and finally confirmed with Brucella abortus biotype 1 through biochemical and serological test. A Brucella specific DNA with 711bp band was detected by PCR assay using BCSP primer. The two cases were definite epidemiological evidences that infected Korean indigenous cattle acrossed the border to Yeongwol and Pyeongchang from near two provinces. Effective prevention programs are urgently needed for further spreading this epidemics.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.7
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• pp.3153-3157
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• 2012

Background: In Morocco, the epidemiological profile of cervical cancer is not well established. The focus of the present study was both epidemiological and pathological characteristics. Methods: For all cases of cervical cancer treated between 2003 and 2007 in the National Institute of Oncology and the Oncology Department of the IbnRochd hospital (Casablanca), 900 cases were randomly selected. Results: The mean age was $52.1{\pm}11.8$ years. The most (90.5%) represented histological type was squamous cell carcinoma. For more than 57.0% cases the mean distance between patient's origin and center of treatment was greater than 100km. According to the FIGO classification, only 17.2% of patients were identified as being in early stages (0 and I). For 72.2% patients the follow-up did not exceed 2 years. At 1 year of following-up 55.8% of patients were alive and 43.4% were lost to following-up. Conclusion: Our study addressed the issue of the burden of cervical cancer in Morocco. The result provides a basis for decision-makers for the development of strategic measures to implement the fight against cervical cancer in Morocco.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.195-199
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• 2008

Objectives : Malondialdehyde (MDA), a lipid peroxidation by-product, has been widely used as an indicator of oxidative stress. Urinary 2-naphthol, a urinary PAH metabolite, is used as a marker of ambient particulate exposure and is associated with lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, the stability and intra-individual variation associated with urinary MDA and 2-naphthol have not been thoroughly addressed. The objective of this study was to assess the stability and intra-individual variation associated with urinary MDA and 2-naphthol. Methods : Urine samples were collected from 10 healthy volunteers (mean age 34, range $27{\sim}42$ years old). Each sample was divided into three aliquots and stored under three different conditions. The levels of urinary MDA and 2-naphthol were analyzed 1) just after sampling, 2) after storage at room temperature ($21^{\circ}C$) for 16 hours, and 3) after storage in a $-20^{\circ}C$ freezer for 16 hours. In addition, an epidemiological study was conducted in 44 Chinese subjects over a period of 3 weeks. The urinary MDA and 2-naphthol were measured by HPLC three times. Results : There was no difference in the levels of urinary MDA and 2-naphthol between the triplicate measurements (n=10, p=0.84 and p=0.83, respectively). The intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) for urinary MDA and 2-naphthol were 0.74 and 0.42, respectively. However, the levels of PM2.5 in the air were well correlated with the levels of both MDA and 2-naphthol in the epidemiological study. Conclusions : These results suggest that urinary MDA and 2-naphthol remain stable under variable storage conditions, even at room temperature for 16 hours, and indicate that these markers can be used in epidemiological studies involving various sample storage conditions. The intra-CC of urinary 2-naphthol and MDA were acceptable for application to epidemiological studies.

• Journal of the Korean Burn Society
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.42-53
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• 2020

Purpose: It is important to consider both clinical factors and epidemiological factors in treating burn patients in emergency rooms. However, many emergency medical staffs happen to miss their chances of treating burns based on these considerations. This study is designed to find a better treatment for burn patients in emergency rooms along this approach. Methods: This study was conducted based on the data of the burn patients visiting the emergency room of a single general hospital from January 2015 to December 2019. The epidemiological and clinical factors were extracted out of the data, then the relationship between the prognosis and these factors were analyzed. Results: Most of burn accidents occurred at home, and were caused by hot water, soup, drinks, oil, etc. Especially, flame burns showed high hospitalization rate, surgical rate and mortality. In addition, their prognosis was poor when the affected area included facial, limb and perineal areas etc., or any inhalation burn co-existed. Also, the hospitalization rate and period increased when the treatment time was delayed or the pre-treatment was taken. There was a strong relationship between prognosis and the period of follow-up when patients were admitted during the period. Conclusion: It is difficult for medical staffs to evaluate prognosis of burns in emergency rooms due to progressive damages. Precise treatment and disposition are essential for patients' good prognosis. Therefore, medical staffs should establish treatment plans by identifying the patient's epidemiological and clinical factors, rather than giving prescriptions based on fragmentary and superficial symptoms.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.131-140
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• 2023

Purpose: We reviewed the cases of occupational diseases that occurred in healthcare workers from 2010 to 2019 and the cases of epidemiological investigations conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute for them. Methods: In this study, gender, age, working period, occupational characteristics, and disease characteristics by occupation, which are general characteristics of healthcare workers approved for occupational diseases. In addition, 32 cases of epidemiological investigation of healthcare workers conducted by the Institute for Occupational Safety and Health for the past 10 years (2010~2019) were analyzed. Results: The gender, age, working period, occupational characteristics, and disease characteristics by occupation of medical workers recognized as occupational diseases were all statistically significant (p<.001). In the epidemiological investigation, ionizing radiation( 50.0%) and stress (33.3%) were recognized as disease-related factors, and even in cases of disapproval, ionizing radiation (60.0%) and shift work (25.5%) were designated as related factors. And it was statistically significant (p=.008). Conclusion: The current study identified the types of diseases, various causes, and general characteristics and occupational characteristics that occur frequently in healthcare workers. Therefore, if this study is used as basic information to set the priority and direction of disease prevention project for healthcare workers, it is judged that it will be helpful in preventing industrial accidents.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.71-84
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• 2016

Objectives: Exposure assessment using questionnaires is effective in large-scale epidemiological studies. However, a limited number of studies have evaluated the questionnaires used in epidemiologic studies in terms of occupational and environmental exposure. The purpose of this study was to summarize and evaluate questionnaire items included in major epidemiological studies conducted in Korea with regard to occupational and environmental exposure. Methods: A total of 12 studies (four cohort studies, six large-scale cross-sectional surveys, and two panel studies) were selected for this study. Various questionnaire items related with occupational and environmental items were collected and summarized into tables. Results: Although job type and address were included in almost all of the studies, the information on occupational or environmental exposure to specific risk factors was collected in a limited number of studies. Moreover, questionnaire items were not standardized, warranting a continuous effort to develop questionnaires and evaluate their validity. Conclusion: Our results suggest that validated questionnaire items focusing on occupational and environmental exposure need to be developed in order to enhance the availability of the information collected from questions in epidemiological studies.