• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.141-146
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• 1975

The purposes of this study were to investigate the frequencies of acatalasemia and hypocatalasemia in Korean population to compare with those of Japanese, Chinese and chiefly Taiwan population. The results obtained were as followings; 1. In south area of Korea, Jeonju, Gwangju, Busan and Daegu, a total of 3,629 individuals were tested. No acatalasemia was found but 0.26% of hypocatalasemia in Jeonju, 0% in Gwangju, 0.21% in Busan and 0.06% in Daegu were found. 2. The frequency of hypocatalasemia in south area of Korea was found to be lower than in middle area. 3. The frequency of hypocatalasemia in this study was similar to that of Chinese(in Taiwan) and higher than that of Japanese. 4. The reason of the geographical differences in the freqency of the hypocatalasemia was considered to be due to the natural selection. And the reason of the higher frequency of Korean population living in Japan was considered that originally the frequency of Korean population is higher, and the maintenace of this higher degree is obliged to the assortative mating beteen them.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.2643-2648
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• 2016

Background: High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels are lower in Japanese compared with Western subjects. Since it is uncertain whether hsCRP is a potent predictor of mortality at low CRP concentrations, the present study examined associations with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in a large population of Japanese. Materials and Methods: Subjects were 4,737 men and 6,343 women aged 49-76 years participating in the baseline survey of an ongoing cohort study of lifestyle-related diseases between February 2004 and July 2006. Hazard ratios for all-cause and cause-specific mortality associated with hsCRP levels were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression. Results: A total of 436 all-cause deaths occurred during a median follow-up of 8 years. The main cause of death was cancer. In men, hsCRP levels were positively associated with the risk of all-cause mortality as well as deaths from cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD). All-cause mortality hazards for the 2nd (0.34-0.84 mg/L) and the 3rd (${\geq}0.85mg/L$) tertiles of hsCRP were 1.27 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.93-1.73) and 1.75 (1.30-2.37), respectively (p for trend=0.001). In women, increased risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality associated with elevated hsCRP levels was observed, but the associations were not statistically significant. Conclusions: HsCRP may be an independent predictor of all-cause, cancer and CVD mortality in apparently healthy Japanese men, but not women. The differential effect of hsCRP in predicting mortality risk by sex warrants further investigation.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.4063-4070
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• 2016

Background: Cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) genes may contribute to susceptibility to lung cancer because of their critical involvement in mechanisms of carcinogenesis. Materials and Methods: We evaluated the role of CYP2E1 rs2031920 and COMT rs4680 in a case-control study involving 462 lung cancer cases and 379 controls in Japanese. Logistic regression was used to assess adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Multiplicative and additive interactions with cigarette smoking or alcohol use were also examined. Results: Neither CYP2E1 rs2031920 nor COMT rs4680 was associated with lung cancer risk overall. However, smokers with the CC genotype of CYP2E1 rs2031920 (OR = 3.57, 95% CI = 2.26 - 5.63) presented a higher risk of lung cancer than those with at least one T allele (OR = 2.91, 95% CI = 1.70 - 4.98) as compared to never-smokers with at least one T allele (reference). Subjects with excessive drinking and the CC genotype of CYP2E1 rs2031920 had a significantly higher risk (OR = 2.22, 95% CI =1.39 - 3.56) than appropriate drinkers with at least one T allele. A similar tendency was observed between COMT rs4680 and either smoking or drinking habits. There were no multiplicative or additive interactions between the polymorphisms and either smoking or alcohol use. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that CYP2E1 rs2031920 and COMT rs4680 are not major contributors to lung cancer risk in our Japanese population. Future studies on the genetics of lung cancer in Japanese and their environment interactions are required.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.523-529
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• 2015

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Commensality, eating together with others, is a major representation of human sociality. In recent time, environments around commensality have changed significantly due to rapid social changes, and the decline of commensality is perceived as a serious concern in many modern societies. This study employs a cross-cultural analysis of university students in two East Asian countries, and examines cross-cultural variations of perceptions and actual practices of commensality and solo-eating. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The analysis was drawn from a free-list survey and a self-administrative questionnaires of university students in urban Korea and Japan. The free-listing survey was conducted with a small cohort to explore common images and meanings of commensality and solo-eating. The self-administrative questionnaire was developed based on the result of the free-list survey, and conducted with a larger cohort to examine reasons and problems of practices and associated behaviors and food intake. RESULTS: We found that Korean subjects tended to show stronger associations between solo-eating and negative emotions while the Japanese subjects expressed mixed emotions towards the practice of solo-eating. In the questionnaire, more Korean students reported they prefer commensality and tend to eat more quantities when they eat commensally. In contrast, more Japanese reported that they do not have preference on commensality and there is no notable difference in food quantities when they eat commensally and alone. Compared to the general Korean cohort finding, more proportion of overweight and obese groups of Korean subjects reported that they tend to eat more when they are alone than normal and underweight groups. This difference was not found in the overweight Japanese subjects. CONCLUSION: Our study revealed cross-cultural variations of perceptions and practices of commensality and solo-eating in a non-western setting.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.6-15
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• 2021

We investigated the taxonomic status of the Korean populations of Eurema hecabe (Linnaeus, 1758) based on morphology and nuclear triose phosphate isomerase (Tpi). Up to now, the Korean population of E. hecabe was classified into E. mandarina (de l'Orza, 1869) based on morphological characteristics. A previous study raised the possibility of the Jeju-do population to be E. hecabe based on the color of forewing's fringe. However, morphological examination showed that the Korean population found in southern areas (Gyeonsang and Jeolla provinces), including Jeju-do is E. mandarina. In particular, the external morphology of autumn seasonal type of the Korean population was almost same as the Japanese mainland population, which is known as E. mandarina. Furthermore, sequence analysis of Tpi gene from nine individuals of E. mandarina collected in South Korean localities including Jeju-do clearly showed that all Korean specimens truly belong to E. mandarina.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.23
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• pp.341-372
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• 2004

Since China was admitted to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on December 11, 2001, China has sped up its active participation in the competition of the world economy by lifting its trade and investment restrictions and limits. Its trading system is getting more and more free and its huge market with a population of 1.3 billion has been getting more and more open. With Chinas WTO accession, China has been honoring its commitments to its WTO members by complying with international business practices and WTO rules. For example, it will cut down its import tariffs for automobiles from the present 80% to 25% by 2006. Its financial sector and service industries are open to foreign investors now. As Chinas biggest business partner, Japan has benefited tremendously from Chinas open policies and deepening economic reform. In order to reduce the costs of production, a large number of enterprises from Japan have set up production bases in China since a Chinese workers wages accounts for only one tenth of those of a Japanese worker on the average. Japan has become one of Chinas biggest investors on a par with the United States of America (USA). How are the Japanese enterprises in Japan and in China adjusting themselves to the rapid changes of the Chinese market? What characteristics do the Japanese enterprises in China have? What effects has Chinas WTO accession had on those Japanese enterprises that have invested in China? This paper finds answers to the above questions. It at first reviews the Sino-Japanese economic and trade relations since 1980s, then analyses the situation and characteristics of Japanese-invested enterprises in China, and explores their problems in China. Finally it puts forward some suggestions for the Japanese enterprises in China.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Health Society Conference
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• 2005.12a
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• pp.4-15
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• 2005

Methylmercury (MeHg) is an environmental pollutant with neurotoxic effects on the central nervous system. The major exposure route of MeHg to humans is via consumption of fish and shellfish which accumulate the chemical through the food web in an aquatic environment. Hair mercury level is an excellent marker for MeHg exposure. We have been conducting a survey on hair mercury contents among general populations from 14 districts to estimate the current Japanese MeHg exposure level. Total mercury levels of all hair samples collected (12923 in total) were analyzed by the oxygen combustion-gold amalgamation method using an atomic absorption mercury detector. Multiple regression analysis revealed that mercury levels were significantly correlated with several covariates, such as sex, age, the amount of daily intake of total fish/shellfish, a preference for certain fish such as tuna or bonito, and artificial waving. The geometric means for the population without artificial waving were 2.47 and 1.65 ${\mu}g/g$ for males (n = 5623) and females (n = 3470), respectively. Hair mercury levels varied with age, and the variations were more significant in males. Since the difference between sexes was not evident at younger ages, some hormonal control might also be involved in the mercury uptake by human hair. The average mercury levels in our hair samples varied among the sampling districts. Tuna is a major carnivorous fish with high mercury accumulations that is often consumed in Japan. The amount of fish consumption and the preference rate far tuna would appear to be responsible far the regional variation in hair mercury levels in Japan. Recently, a provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) of MeHg was revised by 61st JECFA to 1.6 ${\mu}g/kg/week$, which was about half that of the Japanese standard, and corresponded to a hair level of 2.2 ppm. The distribution of hair mercury levels in Japanese populations in the present study indicated that 25% of the Japanese females of child-bearing age were estimated to be exposed to MeHg over the PTWI level. This would reflect the high Japanese consumption of marine products. However, not only mercury contamination, but also the nutritional benefit may have to be considered when discussing the risk involved in the current level of fish and shellfish consumption in Japan.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.356-381
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• 2001

This study has three objectives. One of them is to debate on the incompatible Neo-Malthusianism and Comucopianism, which give us a comparative gauge for analysis of the population elements in Korea and Japan. The other is to investigate how a variety of population elements are related to specific regions, Korea and Japan. And the last is to compare and analyze the residential preference pattems and the degree of care for the future life for the aged over 50 ages. Various elements in population show that Japan is of type superior to Korea, and that the gap between two countries is getting narrow every year. Wiber's migration expectancy is much higher in Kwangiu-si and Chollanam-do than in Hiroshima-ken. Burial customs in funeral ceremony has been vanished in Japan, but only 30 percents in Korea is crematory. This burial customs being much stiff existent in Korea, the effect of the population decrease caused by the death is reduced. A case study through questionnaire on the residential preference patterns for the aged over 50 years old shows that Japanese than Korean are more dependent on their sons and daughters, and ‘loneliness of solitary life’is the first reason in both countries. The degree of care for the future life is also remarkably higher in Japanese than in Korean. These are related in various ways to their ages, scholarships and local areas(si or gun). A general cognition in which the shortage of labour forces comes into existence in aged society is of misconception, because it comes from taking labour forces away from the aged, not from being old society. Even a minute population change is worth notice since the inertia law is also applied to the population phenomenon. Malthusinism hold fairly good even now, and the notion is very important in which population, resources and environmental problems are no longer personal or a regional matters, but the global family's issues.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.1369-1378
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• 2006

This is the first study in which genetic variability and relationships of a large number of Japanese chicken breeds were revealed along with those of several foreign breeds by using microsatellite DNA polymorphisms. Twenty-eight breeds (34 populations) of native Japanese chickens and seven foreign breeds or varieties were analyzed. The mean number of alleles per locus, the proportion of the polymorphic loci, and the expected average heterozygosity ranged from 1.75 to 4.70, from 0.55 to 1.00, and from 0.21 to 0.67, respectively. Microsatellite alleles being unique to a particular population were detected in some populations. The $D_A$ genetic distance between populations was obtained from allele frequency for every pair of the populations to construct a neighbor-joining tree. According to the phylogenetic tree, excluding a few exceptions, native Japanese chicken breeds and foreign breeds were clearly separated from each other. Furthermore, the tree topology divided native Japanese chickens into four main classes, which was almost in accordance with the classification based on body morphology; that is, (1) Cochin type, (2) Malay type, (3) layer type, and (4) intermediate type between Malay and layer types. This is the first finding for native Japanese chickens.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.87-97
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• 2010

Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of trust on work stress. Trust can be classified into three dimensions; social trust, institutional trust, and trust in others. The relationship between work stress and trust is regarded as having three components. First, trust has an influence on work stressors as an antecedent variable; secondly, trust modifies the effect of the various stressors, and finally, trust is one of the stressors. Methods: Data for this study was collected by interviews and self-administered structured questionnaires from 376 Korean and 77 Japanese workers in small businesses. Subjects were selected by two stage stratified random sampling from the working population of manufacturing industries. Results: Three different positions of trust are significantly related with the stress causation web. Social trust, institutional trust and trust in others significantly influence different work stressors in both Korean and Japanese workers. Three different kinds of trust influence work stressors among Korean workers, but institutional trust has no impact on work stressors among Japanese workers. As a moderating variable for perceived stress, distrust in an employer is statistically significant in both groups. However, stress symptom prevalence among Korean workers is modified by caution, trust in career development, and distrust in co-workers, but that of Japanese workers is modified only by distrust in employer. Job satisfaction of Korean workers is affected by general trust, utility of relation, institutional trust and trust in employer, but among Japanese workers, caution, reputation and trust in employer have influence on job satisfaction. Conclusion: The effect of trust on work stress, perceived stress, stress reaction and job satisfaction are different among Korean workers and Japanese workers. Three dimensions of trust have three different positions as antecedent, moderating and mediating factors in stress causation.