• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.21-24
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• 2018

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) can be seen in 2 forms, zoonotic and anthroponotic, in Iran. In this study, epidemiological aspects of CL were studied during an 8-year period (2009-2016) in city of Kashan, central Iran. The demographic and epidemiological data, including age, sex, occupation, number and site of the lesions, treatment regimen, past history of CL, and season of all patients were gathered from the health centers. Descriptive statistics were used to describe features of the study data. Total 2,676 people with CL were identified. The highest annual incidence was estimated to be 182 per 100,000 population in 2009 and the least was in 2016 (47 per 100,000 population). The highest frequency affected age groups were observed in 20-29 year-old patients (20.9%). More than 51% of the patients were under 30 years old. The maximum frequency of the disease, 1,134 (43.3%), was seen in autumn. The most common location of lesions was hands (61.4%). Most of the patients (81.6%) were treated by systemic glucantime regimen. In the city of Kashan, the incidence rate of the CL disease is significantly higher than many other regions of Iran. To reduce the risk of disease, control of reservoir hosts and vectors of disease, and education of individual protection are strongly recommended.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.18
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• pp.8629-8631
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• 2016

Background: Primary idiopathic myelofibrosis (PMF) is a clonal Philadelphia chromosome-negative myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by extramedullary hematopoiesis and marrow fibrosis. It is an uncommon hematopoietic malignancy which primarily affects elderly individuals. The rational of this study was to determine its clinico-epidemiological profile along with risk stratification in Pakistani patients. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective cross sectional study, 20 patients with idiopathic myelofibrosis were enrolled from January 2011 to December 2014. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 22. Results: The mean age was $57.9{\pm}16.5years$ with 70% of patients aged above 50. The male to female ratio was 3:1. Overall only 10% of patients were asymptomatic and the remainder presented with constitutional symptoms. In symptomatic patients, major complaints were weakness (80%), weight loss (75%), abdominal discomfort (60%), night sweats (13%), pruritus (5%) and cardiovascular accidents (5%). Physical examination revealed splenomegaly as a predominant finding detected in 17 patients (85%) with the mean splenic span of $22.2{\pm}2.04cm$. The mean hemoglobin was $9.16{\pm}2.52g/dl$ with the mean MCV of $88.2{\pm}19.7fl$. The total leukocyte count of $17.6{\pm}19.2{\times}10^9/l$ and platelets count were $346.5{\pm}321.9{\times}10^9/l$. Serum lactate dehydrogenase, serum creatinine and uric acid were $731.0{\pm}154.1$, $0.82{\pm}0.22$ and $4.76{\pm}1.33$ respectively. According to risk stratification, 35% were in high risk, 40% in intermediate risk and 25% in low risk groups. Conclusions: The majority of PMF patients were male and presented with constitutional symptoms in our setting. Risk stratification revealed predominance of advanced disease in our series.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.1531-1533
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• 2016

Background: Polycythaemia rubra vera (PV) is a Philadelphia chromosome negative myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by increased red cell production, independent of the mechanisms that regulate normal erythropoiesis. The aim of this study was to analyze the clinico-epidemiological profile of Pakistani patients with PV. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective cross sectional study, 26 patients with PV were enrolled from January 2010 to December 2014. They were diagnosed based on WHO criteria. Results: The mean age was $53.4{\pm}9.31years$ (range 36-72) and the male to female ratio was 2:1. Overall 30.7% of patients were asymptomatic. In symptomatic patients, major complaints were headache (30.8%), abdominal discomfort (23.1%), blurred vision (15.3%), pruritus (11.5%) and vascular incidents (11.5%). Physical examination revealed plethoric face and splenomegaly as predominant findings, detected in 34.6% and 30.7%, respectively, with the mean splenic span of $15.9{\pm}2.04cm$. The mean hemoglobin was $18.1{\pm}1.9g/dl$ with the mean hematocrit of $55.6{\pm}8.3%$. The mean total leukocyte count was $12.8{\pm}7.1{\times}10^9/l$ and the platelet count $511{\pm}341.9{\times}10^9/l$. Mean erythrocyte sedimentation rate was $3.5{\pm}1.22mm/hr$. Serum lactate dehydrogenase, serum creatinine and uric acid were $552.7{\pm}309.2$, $0.8{\pm}0.17$ and $6.60{\pm}1.89$ respectively. Conclusions: PV in Pakistani patients, unlike in the West, is seen in a moderately young population. The disease is frequently seen in male gender and primarily patients present with symptoms related to hyperviscosity.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.305-314
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine quality of life (QOL) related factors in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) members based on PRECEDE Model. Methods: A cross sectional survey was conducted with participants (N=203) from AA meeting in 11 alcohol counsel centers all over South Korea. Data were collected using a specially designed questionnaire based on the PRECEDE model and including QOL, epidemiological factors (including depression and perceived health status), behavioral factors (continuous abstinence and physical health status and practice), predisposing factors (abstinence self-efficacy and self-esteem), reinforcing factors (social capital and family functioning), and enabling factors. Data were analyzed using t-test, one way ANOVA, Tukey HSD test and hierarchical multiple regression analysis with SPSS (ver. 21.0). Results: Of the educational diagnostic variables, self-esteem (${\beta}=.23$), family functioning (${\beta}=.12$), abstinence self-efficacy (${\beta}=.12$) and social capital (${\beta}=.11$) were strong influential factors in AA members' QOL. In addition, epidemiological diagnostic variables such as depression (${\beta}=-.44$) and perceived health status (${\beta}=.35$) were the main factors in QOL. Also, physical health status and practice (${\beta}=.106$), one of behavioral diagnostic variables was a beneficial factor in QOL. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed the determinant variables accounted for 44.0% of the variation in QOL (F=25.76, p<.001). Conclusion: The finding of the study can be used as a framework for planning interventions in order to promote the quality of life of AA members. It is necessary to develop nursing intervention strategies for strengthening educational and epidemiological diagnostic variables in order to improve AA members' QOL.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.117-124
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• 2018

Purpose: This study was to analyze clinical and epidemiological characteristics of elderly patients who were admitted to the emergency department (ED) due to falls by separating male and female. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the fall patients aged 65 years or older from the data of the in-depth surveillance study of injured patients visit to the ED under the supervision of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) from 2011 to 2016 by separating male and female. Results: A total of 361,588 elderly fall patients were analyzed and, among them, 14,429 (37.3%) were males and 24,208 (62.7%) were females. Male and female showed similar frequency of damage happening season. However, they showed falling accident mostly on winter. The time of injury occurrence is mostly from 12:00 to 18:00 with 4,949 (34.3%) male and 8,564 (35.4%) female. Most falls occurred in daily activities, accounting for 7,614 (52.8%) in males and 14,957 (61.8%) in females, respectively. Unintentional damage accounted for the most part and 7,395 (51.2%) of male and 15,343 (63.4%) of female were injured indoors. Head and neck were the most common site of injuring, with 8,392 (58.2%) in males and 7,851 (32.4%) in females. According to ED examination outcomes, most of the patients were discharged, while the majority of the hospitalized patients were admitted to the general patient room. Conclusions: The elderly falls occurred mostly from 12:00 to 18:00, during winter and to elderly women. Also, they happened unintentionally indoors in everyday life, mostly. Proved clinical, epidemiological characteristics from this research will be used as useful indicator at validity research of development of prevent program of falling accident for elderly people.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.75.1-75.7
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• 2022

Background: Since 2013, the number of requests for diagnosis for horses based on neurological symptoms has increased rapidly in South Korea. The affected horses have commonly exhibited symptoms of acute seasonal hindlimb ataxia. A previous study from 2015-2016 identified Setaria digitata as the causative agent. Objectives: This study is an epidemiological investigation to find out risk factors related to the rapid increase in hindlimb ataxia of horses due to aberrant parasites in South Korea. Methods: An epidemiological investigation was conducted on 155 cohabiting horses in 41 horse ranches where the disease occurred. The surrounding environment was investigated at the disease-causing horse ranches (n = 41) and 20, randomly selected, non-infected ranches. Results: Hindlimb ataxia was confirmed in nine cohabiting horses; this was presumed to be caused by ectopic parasitism. Environments that mosquitoes inhabit, such as paddy fields within 2 km and less than 0.5 km from a river, had the greatest association with disease occurrence. Conclusions: Most horse ranches in South Korea are situated in favorable environments for mosquitoes. Moreover, the number of mosquitoes in the country has increased since 2013 due to climate change. Additional research is required; however, these data show that it is necessary to establish guidelines for the use of anthelmintic agents based on local factors in South Korea and disinfection of the environment to prevent disease outbreaks.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.520-539
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• 1996

Based upon Shennong's Ancient Chinese Medical Textbook and Tsorngji Mingyi Byelu. Ginseng has been widely used for over 2,000 years in oriental countries. Scientific basic medical study or clinical study on ginseng was seal·toed 1910's in Eastern countries and from the 1950's in Western countries To obtain kotvledge of clinical studies on Korean ginseng. I investigated the following items 1) Oriental pharmacological documents. 2) the start and corrent state of ginseng research. 3) Clinical studies, 4) epidemiological studies. 5) non-medical human studies. 6) Foreign evaluation in published papers, and 7) future perspectives of clinical study. Although wide and profound research has been carried on the effect of ginseng (diabetes cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, liver diseases. gastrointestinal disorders soress, bram function. aging, antiradiation effect. anemia. hemopoiesis. immuomodulating effect. and tonic effect). Systemic clinical study to determine the therapeutic effects of speciblc disease have hardly been done even in other countries Clinical study or researches with human as the target. on ginseng has been performed in the field of body tenperazure. Pulse, clinical symptoms and hematological findings . fatigue, porformances. anemia. essential hypertension. blood sugar. serum cholesterol. lipid and prolactin. adrenocortical function. impotence. hypospermia. male sterility, climacteric disorder. anticancer effects. cancer preventive effects. and viral hepatitis. adverse effects. and prefered type of ginseng. At the same time as trying preventives or therapeutics from dietary oi natural products scientific research to support that ginseng is not a mystery. should be porformad to prove the effectiveness of Korean ginseng in the treatment of certain diseases using scientific methods or epidemiological approach.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.4265-4269
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• 2014

Purpose: This study aimed at summarizing epidemiological evidence of the association between gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and subsequent risk of cancer. Materials and Methods: We searched Medline, Embase, Cancer Lit and CINAHL for epidemiological studies published by February 1, 2014 examining the risk of cancer in patients with history of GDM using highly inclusive algorithms. Information about first author, year of publication, country of study, study design, cancer sites, sample sizes, attained age of subjects and methods used for determining GDM status were extracted by two researchers and Stata version 11.0 was used to perform the meta-analysis and estimate the pooled effects. Results: A total of 9 articles documented 5 cohort and 4 case-control studies containing 10,630 cancer cases and 14,608 women with a history of GDM were included in this review. Taken together, the pooled odds ratio (OR) between GDM and breast cancer risk was 1.01 (0.87-1.17); yet the same pooled ORs of case-control and cohort studies were 0.87 (0.71-1.06) and 1.25 (1.00-1.56) respectively. There are indications that GDM is strongly associated with higher risk of pancreatic cancer (HR=8.68) and hematologic malignancies (HR=4.53), but no relationships were detected between GDM and other types of cancer. Conclusions: Although GDM increases the risk of certain types of cancer, these results should be interpreted with caution becuase of some methodological flaws. The issue merits added investigation and coordinated efforts between researchers, antenatal clinics and cancer treatment and registration agencies to help attain better understanding.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.436-443
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• 2019

Lyme disease is a national notifiable infectious disease as of September 2018. The number of cases of Lyme disease has recently been increasing. This study analyzed the epidemiological features and clinical symptoms of domestic and imported. From 2011 to December 31, 2018, of the 119 cases, 48 confirmed cases, 63 probable cases, and 8 suspected cases. 70 cases (58.8%) were reported in Korea and 49 cases (41.2%) of imported. In addition, 91 cases (76.5%) were reported during the summer~autumn season (June~November). In 2017, the highest number of 31 cases. The time needed to make a diagnosis was 2.8±14.7 days for domestic occurrences versus 1.4±4.5 days for those cases that infection occurred imported. Among the clinical symptoms, fever and rash were statistically significant (P<0.001). Clinical trials included early localized 31 cases (52.1%), early disseminated 43 cases (35.3%), and late disseminated 15 cases (12.6%). The estimated regions of infection in Korea were Chungnam 12 cases (17.1%), Gyeonggi 12 cases (17.1%), and Gangwon 8 cases (11.4%), Patient care is also considered to be very important as this disease occurs of all ages. Therefore, the promotion of preventive education and identification of epidemiological features are of paramount importance and should be implemented. The study's findings can be used as basic data for the prevention and management of patients with lyme disease.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.65.1-65.13
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• 2020

Background: Aleutian mink disease virus (AMDV) causes major economic losses in fur-bearing animal production. The control of most AMDV outbreaks is complex due to the difficulties of establishing the source of infection based only on the available on-farm epidemiological data. In this sense, phylogenetic analysis of the strains present in a farm may help elucidate the origin of the infection and improve the control and biosecurity measures. Objectives: This study had the following aims: characterize the AMDV strains from most outbreaks produced at Spanish farms between 2012-2019 at the molecular level, and assess the utility of the combined use of molecular and epidemiological data to track the possible routes of infection. Methods: Thirty-seven strains from 17 farms were partially sequenced for the NS1 and VP2 genes and analyzed phylogenetically with other strains described worldwide. Results: Spanish AMDV strains are clustered in four major clades that generally show a good geographical correlation, confirming that most had been established in Spain a long time ago. The combined study of phylogenetic results and epidemiological information of each farm suggests that most of the AMDV outbreaks since 2012 had been produced by within-farm reservoirs, while a few of them may have been due to the introduction of the virus through international trade. Conclusions: The combination of phylogenetic inference, together with epidemiological data, helps assess the possible origin of AMDV infections in mink farms and improving the control and prevention of this disease.