• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.237-241
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• 1974

A number of chemotherapeutic agents, namely antibiotics, sulfonamides and nitrofuran derivatives have been used, as a fred additive, for the purposes of growth improvement of chicken, increase of feed efficiency, decrease of animal mortality, and disease prevention. In these experiments, furamizole which is one of nitrofuran derivatives and feed additive was test, in field, its antibacterial activity against Mycoplasma gallisepticum causing air sac disease, its effect on pullorum disease control, its effect on the lowering the mortality of chicken and finally the increase of feed efficiency. Throughout the studies, furamizole, in concentration of 0.025% in feed fed to baby chicken continuously resulted as following: 1. Tested chicken showed no avian mycoplasma infection compared to 3.7% outbreak in control chicken. 2. Tested chicken showed a low degree of outbreak of pullorum disease. However, its outbreak was much more surpresed compared to that of control chicken. 3. Total mortality rate of 5.5% and 30.8% were obtained in test and control chicken respectively. 4. Feed efficiency were 2.83 and 2.97 in test and control chicken respectively.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.505-519
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• 2008

For screening the appropriate field diagnostic techniques to failure of passive immunoglobulin transfer(FPT) in Korean-indigenous calves, 258 sera was examined by spectinophotometry for total protein(TP) and globulin(Glo), sodium sulfate precipitation test(SSPT), zinc sulfate turbidity test(ZSTT), and single radial immunodiffusion test(sRID). All calves aged within 6-week old. Morbidity and mortality to various diseases, mainly including enteric and respiratory disorders, were 18.9%(49) and 4.2%(11), respectively. FPT was 27,9%(72/258) when the cutoff point of TP was $4.5g/d{\ell}$ and among them the morbidity and mortality were 27.9% and 6.9%, respectively. FPT was 29.1%(75/258) when the cutoff point of Glo was $2.0g/d{\ell}$ and among them the morbidity and mortality were 29.0% and 6.9%, respectively. FPT was 13.1%(34/258) when the cutoff point of SSPT was 1+ and among them the morbidity and mortality were 67.6% and 23.5%, respectively. FPT was 19.7%(51/258) when the cutoff point of IgG with sRID was $1,000mg/d{\ell}$ and among them the morbidity and mortality were 41.1% and 11.7%, respectively. In addition, mean concentration of IgG with sRID tested was $2,150mg/d{\ell}$ at 3-day old but $1,100mg/d{\ell}$ at 9-days with $1,100mg/d{\ell}$. The results of the study were suggested that SSPT for FPT was the relatively reliable and convinient method for evaluating the immune status of calves(P<0.05).

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.147-153
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• 2005

Objectives: Studies on the geographical differences in mortality tend to use a census population, rather than a registration population, as the denominator of mortality rates in South Korea. However, an administratively determined registration population would be the logical denominator, as the geographical areas for death certificates (numerator) have been determined by the administratively registered residence of the deceased, rather than the actual residence at the time of death. The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in the total number of a district population, and the associated district-specific mortality indicators, when two different measures as a population denominator (census and registration) were used. Methods: Population denominators were obtained from census and registration population data, and the numbers of deaths (numerators) were calculated from raw death certificate data. Sex- and 5-year age-specific numbers for the populations and deaths were used to compute sex- and age-standardized mortality rates (by direct standardization methods) and standardized mortality ratios (by indirect standardization methods). Bland-Altman tests were used to compare district populations and district-specific mortality indicators according to the two different population denominators. Results : In 1995, 9 of 232 (3.9%) districts were not included in the 95% confidence interval (CI) of the population differences. A total of 8 (3.4%) among 234 districts had large differences between their census and registration populations in 2000, which exceeded the 95% CI of the population differences. Most districts (13 of 17) exceeding the 95% CI were rural. The results of the sex- and age-standardized mortality rates showed 15 (6.5%) and 16 (6.8%) districts in 1995 and 2000, respectively, were not included in the 95% CI of the differences in their rates. In addition, the differences in the standardized mortality ratios using the two different population denominators were significantly greater among 14 districts in 1995 and 11 districts in 2002 than the 95% CI. Geographical variations in the mortality indicators, using a registration population, were greater than when using a census population. Conclusion: The use of census population denominators may provide biased geographical mortality indicators. The geographical mortality rates when using registration population denominators are logical, but do not necessarily represent the exact mortality rate of a certain district. The removal of districts with large differences between their census and registration populations or associated mortality indicators should be considered to monitor geographical mortality rates in South Korea.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.185-192
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• 2010

Objectives: We conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the relationship between low external doses of ionizing radiation exposure and the risk of cancer mortality among nuclear power plant workers. Methods: We searched MEDLINE using key words related to low dose and cancer risk. The selected articles were restricted to those written in English from 1990 to January 2009. We excluded those studies with no fit to the selection criteria and we included the cited references in published articles to minimize publication bias. Through this process, a total of 11 epidemiologic studies were finally included. A publication bias was tested for using Egger's test. The homogeneity test was performed before the integration of each of the standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and the result proved that the studies were heterogeneous. Results: We found significant decreased deaths from all cancers (SMR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.62 - 0.90), all cancers excluding leukemia, solid cancer, mouth and pharynx, esophagus, stomach, rectum, liver and gallbladder, pancreas, lung, prostate, lymphopoietic and hematopoitic cancer. The findings of this meta-analysis were similar with those of the 15 Country Collaborative Study conducted by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. A publication bias was found only for liver and gallbladder cancer (p = 0.015). Heterogeneity was observed for all cancers, all cancers excluding leukemia, solid cancer, esophagus, colon and lung cancer. Conclusions: Our findings of low mortality for stomach, rectum, liver and gallbladder cancers may explained by the health worker effect. Yet further studies are needed to clarify the low SMR of cancers, for which there is no useful screening tool, in nuclear power plant workers.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.31-38
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• 2022

Background: To prepare for future work stoppages in the medical industry, this study aimed to identify the effects of healthcare worker strikes on the mortality rate of patients visiting the emergency department (ED) at six training hospitals in Daegu, South Korea. Methods: We used a retrospective, cross-sectional, multicenter design to analyze the medical records of patients who visited six training hospitals in Daegu (August 21-September 8, 2020). For comparison, control period 1 was set as the same period in the previous year (August 21-September 8, 2019) and control period 2 was set as July 1-19, 2020. Patient characteristics including age, sex, and time of ED visit were investigated along with mode of arrival, length of ED stay, and in-hospital mortality. The experimental and control groups were compared using t-tests, and Mann-Whitney U-test, chi-square test, and Fisher exact tests, as appropriate. Univariate logistic regression was performed to identify significant factors, followed by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: During the study period, 31,357 patients visited the ED, of which 7,749 belonged to the experimental group. Control periods 1 and 2 included 13,100 and 10,243 patients, respectively. No significant in-hospital mortality differences were found between strike periods; however, the results showed statistically significant differences in the length of ED stay. Conclusion: The ED resident strike did not influence the mortality rate of patients who visited the EDs of six training hospitals in Daegu. Furthermore, the number of patients admitted and the length of ED stay decreased during the strike period.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.462-471
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• 2021

Background: The purpose of this study was to identify the association between participation in social activities and mortality rates for those aged 45 aged and older in Korea. Methods: In this study, the 1st to 6th Korea Longitude Study of Aging was used to analyze 10,217 people excluding missing values among middle and old age groups aged 45 or older. The scope of social activities was classified into "religious gatherings," "religious gatherings," "leisure/cultural/sports-related organizations," and "clubs/hometowns/religious associations," and analyzed using a chi-square test and Cox proportional risk model. Results: In the case of non-participating groups in religious activities, the mortality rate was 1.24 times higher (hazard ratio [HR], 1.24; p=0.000) than those of the participating group. The non-participating group of social gatherings had a 1.27 times higher mortality rate (HR, 1.27; p<0.0001) than the participating group. In addition, the mortality rate of non-participating groups related to leisure/cultural/sports was 1.79 times higher (HR, 1.79; p=0.000). The mortality rate of the group that did not participate in the alumni association/festival/folklore society was 1.51 times higher than that of the participating group (HR, 1.51; p<0.0001). As a result of correcting the control variable to analyze the relationship between the number of participants in social activities and the mortality rate, the mortality rate of the group participating in one or less social activities was 2.26 times higher (HR, 2.26; p<0.0001) compared to the four or more social activity participating groups, and the mortality rate of the 1-3 social activities was 1.64 times higher (HR, 1.64; p<0.0001). Conclusion: As a result of the study, it was found that participation in social activities of the middle-aged and elderly groups was effective in reducing mortality, and in particular, it was found that there was a strong relationship with mortality in less than one social activity group. Therefore, it is intended to provide an academic basis for lowering the mortality rate of the group in line with the continuous improvement of domestic social activity participation conditions, and through this, this study can be expected to serve as a policy and institutional basis for lowering the mortality rate of the group.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.289-300
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• 2016

Objectives : Taglisodog-eum(TSE), a poly herbal formula, has been widely used to improve carbuncles by removing inflammation of the lymphatic channels in Traditional Korean Medicine. We previousely reported the action mechanism of TSE on experimental atopic dermatitis and the establishment of formulation for TSE ointment. In this study, we examined the toxicity test on skin and eye irritation by TSE ointment to prove the safety of Taglisodog-eum ointment in clinical use. Methods : Acute skin toxicity of the TSE ointment was evaluated in Sprague-Dawley(SD) rats. After dermal administration of TSE ointment(2,000mg/kg), body weight, mortality, and clinical signs of the rats were observed for 14days. Primary skin irritation and ocular irritation tests for TSE ointment were performed in male New Zealand White Rabbits. In dermal and ocular irritation test, body weight, mortality, clinical signs, Primary Irritation Index(P.I.I.), and The Index of Acute Ocular Irritaion(I.A.O.I.) of rabbit were observed after applying at abraded skin and eye balls with Taglisodog-eum ointment. Results : In the results of acute skin toxicity, no significant differences were found in body weight, the clinical sign and the mortality between control and TSE ointment treated group. In primary dermal irritation test, body weight, the clinical sign and the mortality were not significantly changed and Primary Irritation Index(P.I.I.) was 0.8, indicating TSE ointment as weak irritant material. In ocular irritation test, The Index of Acute Ocular Irritaion was 0.0, indicating TSE ointment as non-irritating to the eye of the rabbits. To evaluate toxicity of the TSE ointment in animal test, body weight, the clinical signs, the skin and eye irritation check were conducted; TSE ointment was considered to be weak dermal irritant in test animals. The no response of eye irritation test was observed in this experimental condition. Conclusions : According to the above toxicity test, We consider that this results is helpful for saying about the safety of TSE ointment in clinical use.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.129-139
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• 2008

Marine ecotoxicological standard method was applicated using marine rotifer and benthic copepod as primary consumer of marine ecosystem. Marine rotifer, Brachionus plicatilis and benthic copepod, Tigriopus japonicus were designated as standard test species with the endpoints of 24hr neonate mortality (24hr $LC_{50}$) and 48hr population growth (48hr $EC_{50}$) for rotifer, and 48hr nauplius mortality (48hr $LC_{50}$) for benthic copepod. Tests method was referred to those of ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) with the replacement of test species which are widely distributed in Korean waters. The two species showed a wide tolerance on salinity ($5{\sim}35\;psu$) and can be easily cultured in small space even they were not as sensitive as in the mortality test using the nauplius of marine invertebrates. However, these species revealed the significant "concentrationresponse relationship" tested with ocean disposal wastes, and reproducibility using cadmium as standard reference material between laboratories. Accordingly, these two species have good potential as test species for marine ecotoxicological test species. Also, we strongly recommend that at least one of these species be included in the test species of "battery test" in marine bioassay.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.51 no.11
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• pp.1158-1164
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• 2008

Purpose : To investigate the discriminative ability of pediatric index of mortality 2 (PIM2) and pediatric risk of mortality III (PRISM III) in predicting mortality in children admitted into the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods : We retrospectively analyzed variables of PIM2 and PRISM III based on medical records with children cared for in a single hospital ICU from January 2003 to December 2007. Exclusions were children who died within 2 h of admission into ICU or hopeless discharge. We used Students t test and ANOVA for general characteristics and for correlation between survivors and non-survivors for variables of PIM2 and PRISM III. In addition, we performed multiple logistic regression analysis for Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit, receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) for discrimination, and calculated standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for estimation of prediction. Results : We collected 193 medical records but analyzed 190 events because three children died within 2 h of ICU admission. The variables of PIM2 correlated with survival, except for the presence of post-procedure and low risk. In PRISM III, there was a significant correlation for cardiovascular/neurologic signs, arterial blood gas analysis but not for biochemical and hematologic data. Discriminatory performance by ROC showed an area under the curve 0.858 (95% confidence interval; 0.779-0.938) for PIM2, 0.798 (95% CI; 0.686-0.891) for PRISM III, respectively. Further, SMR was calculated approximately as 1 for the 2 systems, and multiple logistic regression analysis showed ${\chi}^2(13)=14.986$, P=0.308 for PIM2, ${\chi}^2(13)=12.899$, P=0.456 for PRISM III in Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit. However, PIM2 was significant for PRISM III in the likelihood ratio test (${\chi}^2(4)=55.3$, P<0.01). Conclusion : We identified two acceptable scoring systems (PRISM III, PIM2) for the prediction of mortality in children admitted into the ICU. PIM2 was more accurate and had a better fit than PRISM III on the model tested.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.5261-5270
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• 2012

The present study is designed to compare the mortality and potential years of life lost of colorectal cancer between OECD countries and Korea before (1990-1999) and after (2000-2009) to provide data of more accurate strategy of public health policy and education about cancer treatment and prevention through examining differences of changes among the OECD countries. We statistically compared mortality and potential years of life lost from 32 OECD countries including Korea, except 2 nations with inadequate data, between before (1990-1999) and after the year 2000 (2000-2009) using 'OECD Health Data 2012' using the method of paired t-test. Male mortality of colorectal cancer was increased in 8 OECD countries including Korea and the female mortality was only increased in Chile and Korea. In particular, the increased rate of mortality was significantly high in Korean male and female. Moreover, increased rate of potential years of life lost for colorectal cancer was also significantly high in Korea: the rate in Korean male was increased over three times than in Mexico (2nd rank of the increase) and the rate of female was only increased in Korea compared with other countries, interestingly. Therefore, the present study suggested that most OECD countries well controlled the incidence and treatment of colorectal cancer after 2000 but Korea did not. From these, to control future problems, the further studies for the reason of the increase of potential years of life lost in female will be needed.