• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.101-126
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• 1999

As the WTO system launches through the agreement of Uruguay Round, the Government has to revise the office regulations or reform the system. Also, Integrating and Coordinating the like affair in health care (i. e., children's home, industry health, school health, health manpower, the administration of health center, the administration on food hygiene, health environmental education, and so on.) which is now scattered into some government departments like the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Environment, the Government has to prevent unspecialty, inefficiency, inconsistency, and uneconomy. The Government has to review and adopt above suggested the Proposal 1),2),3),4) of the Health Centers on the basis of the local autonomy law and it will help the successive settlement of the local autonomy system in Korea. According to the suggested proposal, the Central Government mainly takes charge of the Macro affairs as hardware, and transfer the Micro affairs as software into the Local Governments to attempt the appropriate functional allocation. To achieve it successfully, the Central Government also has to do the financial support, manpower training and technical support, allocation of health care resources, direction and control, research and development and the health care plan on the macro level. Local Governments which divided into the wide local government and basic local government also have to do their best for health improvement of the community societies like plan of health care program, implementation of health care service program, taking charge of the affairs of health insurance, activation of community residents' participation and security of health care resources etc. To achieve this goal, the Government have to be more active and reformative, the related social and health agencies and educational agencies have to cooperate and support for the goals, and especially, the community residents have to participate actively and voluntarily, When all these conditions promote, local health care administration will be developed, and health level of community residents will be secured. And going one step forward, the country and people will be more healthy

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.57-67
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• 2013

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore coordination strategy through reviewing policies, action plans and acts related to diet, nutrition and obesity from many sectors in Korea, and to develop a possible multi-sectoral approach. Methods: Literature reviews and empirical findings for ongoing international and domestic policies/programs on diet, nutrition and obesity in Korea. Results: Central and local governments have various policies/programs and related acts to improve nutrition and to reduce obesity. Meanwhile, those governments' activities are frequently criticized to be more coordinated in order to achieve their aims. Activities on nutrition and obesity prevention have interdepartmental characteristics but are scattered through six Ministries (including the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Culture and Sports, and Ministry of Food/Drug Safety) and 27 Acts such as 'Nutrition Management Act', 'Health Promotion Act', 'Diet Education Support Act'. As a result, a number of areas, especially dietary guidance, nationwide surveys, education programs seem to overlap. Conclusions: Inter-ministerial coordination mechanism should be established to enforce multi-sectoral engagement and cooperation in implementing policies/programs on nutrition and obesity prevention. Furthermore, functions of the Ministries should be reorganized and coordinated in reference to other countries' experiences.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.599-603
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• 2011

A new geldanamycin (GDM) derivative was discovered and isolated from the fermentation broth of Streptomyces hygroscopicus 17997. Its chemical structure was elucidated as thiazinogeldanamycin by LC-MS, sulfur analysis, and NMR. The addition of cysteine to the fermentation medium significantly stimulated the production level of thiazinogeldanamycin, suggesting cysteine as a precursor of thiazinogeldanamycin production. Although showing a decreased cytotoxicity against HepG2 cancer cells, thiazinogeldanamycin exhibited an improved water solubility and photostability. Thiazinogeldanamycin may represent the first natural GDM derivative characterized so far that uses GDM as its precursor. Its appearance also clearly indicates that an appropriate end-point of fermentation is of critical importance for the maximal production of GDM by Streptomyces hygroscopicus 17997.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.3659-3665
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• 2015

Background: Waterpipe tobacco smoking has becoming popular especially among young people worldwide. Smokers are attracted by its sweeter, smoother smoke, social ambience and the misconception of reduced harm. The objective of this study was to systematically review the effects of waterpipe tobacco policies and practices in reducing its prevalence. Materials and Methods: A systematic review was conducted electronically using the PubMed, OVID, Science Direct, Proquest and Embase databases. All possible studies from 1980 to 2013 were initially screened based on titles and abstracts. The selected articles were subjected to data extraction and quality rating. Results: Three studies met the inclusion criteria and were eligible for this review. Almost all of the waterpipe tobacco products and its accessories did not comply with the regulations on health warning labelling practices as stipulated under Article 11 of WHO FCTC. In addition, the grisly new warning labels for cigarettes introduced by Food and Drug Administration did not affect hookah tobacco smoking generally. Indoor air quality in smoking lounges was found to be poor and some hookah lounges were operated without smoke shop certification. Conclusions: Our findings revealed the availability of minimal information on the practices in controlling waterpipe smoking in reducing its prevalence. The lack of comprehensive legislations or practices in controlling waterpipe smoking warrants further research and policy initiatives to curb this burgeoning global epidemic, especially among the vulnerable younger population.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.15-23
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• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in hazardous pollutant emissions in Korea over the period of 2006-2015. Methods: A survey of hazardous pollutant emissions was conducted through the homepage for 2006-2015. The emission of hazardous chemicals and the health effect was examined using the Annual Report of Air Quality in Korea (2016) and National Health Statistics (2015) as references. Results: Hazardous pollutant emissions increased by 1.1 times over the past decade, and the circulation amount of chemicals was 15% compared to the previous year. $PM_{10}$ concentrations showed a tendency to decrease, but emissions have not declined. In addition, asthma and atopic dermatitis correlated with similar emissions, but allergic disease showed no connection. Conclusion: These results on hazardous pollutant emissions indicate that they have increased. However, no association between emissions and health effects was shown, so more research is needed.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.3075-3078
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• 2013

Background: KLK3 gene products, like human prostate-specific antigen (PSA), are important biomarkers in the clinical diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa). G protein-coupled receptor RFX6, C2orf43 and FOXP4 signaling plays important roles in the development of PCa. However, associations of these genes with PCa in northern Chinese men remain to be detailed. This study aimed to investigate their impact on occurrence and level of malignancy. Methods: All subjects were from Beijing and Tianjin, including 266 cases with prostate cancer and 288 normal individuals as controls. We evaluated associations between clinical covariates (age at diagnosis, prostate specific antigen, Gleason score, tumor stage and aggressive) and 6 candidate PCa risk loci, genotyped by PCR- high resolution melting curve and sequencing methods. Results: Case-control analysis of allelic frequency of PCa associated with PCa showed that one of the 6 candidate risk loci, rs339331 in the RFX6 gene, was associated with reduced risk of prostate cancer (odds ratio (OR) = 0.73, 95% confidence interval (CI) =0.57-0.94, P = 0.013) in northern Chinese men. In addition, subjects with CX (CC+TC) genotypes had a decreased risk for prostrate cancer compared to those carrying the TT homozygote (OR =0.64, 95% CI = 0.45- 0.90, P = 0.008). The TT genotype of 13q22 (rs9600079, T) was associated with tumor stage (P=0.044, OR=2.34, 95% CI=0.94-5.87). Other SNPs were not significantly associated with clinical covariates in prostate cancer (P > 0.05). Conclusions. rs339331 in the RFX6 gene may be associated with prostate cancer as a susceptibility locus in northern Chinese men.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.395-398
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• 2012

Objectives: Breast and colon cancer are neoplasms well known to be related to obesity. Adiponectin, a protein that increases in obesity, seems to be involved in the relationship but clinical data are limited. Methods: In this study, we therefore evaluated the serum adiponectin levels in 87 breast and 27 colon cancer patients and assessed the relation with BMI, menopausal status, receptor status and stage of disease. Results: Serum adiponectin levels were lower in cancer cases ($8583{\pm}2095$ ng/ml for breast cancer, $9513{\pm}2276$ for colon cancer) than in controls ($13905{\pm}3263$). Conclusion: A low serum adiponectin level may be associated with both breast and colon cancer, and that this association is not statistically significant for either receptor or menopausal status in breast cancer groups.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.168-180
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• 2022

Ephedra is a genus of the Ephedraceae family and is found in temperate regions, such as Central Asia and Europe. Among the various ephedra species, Ma Huang (Ephedra herb) is derived from the aerial parts of Ephedra sinica S tapf, Ephedra equisetina Bunge, and Ephedra intermedia Schrenk & C.A. Mey. Ma Huang contains various ephedra alkaloids, including (-)-ephedrine, (+)-pseudoephedrine, (-)-norephedrine, (+)-norpseudoephedrine, (-)-methylephedrine, and (+)-methylpseudoephedrine, which are found naturally as single enantiomers, although they can be prepared as racemates. Although the use of Ma Huang in foods is prohibited in Korea, products containing Ma Huang can be imported, and so it is necessary to develop a suitable analytical technique for the detection of Ma Huang in foods. Herein, we report the development of analytical methods for the detection of ephedra alkaloids in products containing Ma Huang. Following sample purification by solid phase extraction, quantitative analysis was performed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). Additionally, the enantiomers were successfully separated using HPLC-DAD. We successfully analyzed various food samples, where the ephedra alkaloids were qualitatively and quantitatively determined, and the enantiomers were separated. It is expected that these methods may contribute toward preventing the distribution of illegal products containing Ma Huang.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.7
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• pp.998-1003
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• 2014

Aspartate aminotransferase (AST; E.C. 2.6.1.1), a vitamin B6-dependent enzyme, preferentially promotes the mutual transformation of aspartate and ${\alpha}$-ketoglutarate to oxaloacetate and glutamate. It plays a key role in amino acid metabolism and has been widely recommended as a biomarker of liver and heart damage. Our study aimed to evaluate the extensive preparation of AST and its application in quality control in clinical laboratories. We describe a scheme to express and purify the 6His-AST fusion protein. An optimized sequence coding AST was synthesized and transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) strain for protein expression. Ideally, the fusion protein has a volumetric productivity achieving 900 mg/l cultures. After affinity chromatography, the enzyme activity of purified AST reached 150,000 U/L. Commutability assessment between the engineered AST and standard AST from Roche suggested that the engineered AST was the better candidate for the reference material. Moreover, the AST showed high stability during long-term storage at $-20^{\circ}C$. In conclusion, the highly soluble 6His-tagged AST can become a convenient tool for supplying a much better and cheaper standard or reference material for the clinical laboratory.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.1989-1994
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• 2012

Background and Purpose: An analysis of the current nuclear medicine (NM) status and future demand in Turkey in line with the international benchmarks was conducted to establish a comprehensive baseline reference. Methods: Data from all NM centers on major equipment and manpower in Turkey were collected through a survey and cross-checked with the primary research and governmental data. Data regarding manpower currently working were obtained from the relevant academic centers and occupational societies. Results: The current numbers of NM laboratories, NM specialists, gamma cameras, PET/CT scanners, radioiodine treatment units for thyroid cancer are 217, 474, 287, 75 and 39, respectively. There was personnel and equipment need underestimated in the field compared to developed countries. Equipment insufficiency was more significant in the Ministry of Health (MoH) hospitals. These gaps should be eliminated with strategic planning of equipment and NM laboratories. Currently, the number of the PET/CT devices is at the level of the developed countries. The number of specialists in the field should reach the expected goal in 2023. By 2023, Turkey will need around 820 NM specialists, 498 gamma cameras and 99 PET/CT devices. In addition, further studies should be made regarding other related staff, particularly for health physicians, radiopharmacists and NM technicians. Conclusion: There is an insufficiency of personnel and equipment in Turkey's NM field. Comprehensive strategic planning is required to allocate limited resources and the purchase of the equipment and employment policies should be structured as part of "National Special Feature Requiring Health Service Plan".