• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.229-237
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• 2008

Recently, parabens have been believed to act as xenoestrogens, an identified class of endocrine disruptors (EDs). These environmental compounds are the most well-known as preservatives in many commercial products, including food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. It has been demonstrated that the human health risks of parabens result from a long-term exposure to skin in which this chemical group is rapidly absorbed through the skin. On the other hand, parabens are also completely absorbed from gastrointestinal tract. It has reported that these substances possess several biological effects in which inhibitory property involved in membrane transports and mitochondrial functions is considered to be important for their action. Testing of parabens has revealed that estrogen-like activities of these chemicals are much less potent than natural estrogen, $17{\beta}$ estradiol (E2). Additionally, the estrogenicity of individual paraben- compounds is distinct depending upon their biochemical structure. Recent findings of paraben-estrogenic activities have shown that these compounds may affect breast cancer incidence in women, suggesting adverse ecological outcomes of this environmental group on human and animal health. Although the biological and toxicological effects of parabens have been demonstrated in many previous studies, possible mechanism(s) of their action are required to be explored in order to bring the better understanding in the detrimental impacts of parabens in human and wildlife. There have several different types of parabens which are the most widely used as preservatives. These include methyl-paraben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben and p-hydroxybenzoic acid, a major metabolite of parabens. In this review, we summarize current database based on in vitro and in vivo assays for estrogenic activities and health risk assessment of paraben- EDs which have been published previously.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.51-56
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• 2005

The detection of high-risk human papilloma virus (HPV) allows us to predict the presence and future development of cervical intraepitheliallesion. In this study, we compared Hybrid Capture II and DNA chip methods for detection of HPV in cervical swab samples. And we evaluated the clinical efficacy and diagnostic performance of HPV DNA chip and Hybrid Capture II for detecting HPV in cervical neoplastic lesions. Seventy four patients were classified into three groups according to their histologic diagnosis: Group I (nonspecific chronic cervicitis), Group II (low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (SIL); koilocytosis, and mild dysplasia), and Group III (high-grade SIL;, moderate, severe dysplasia and in situ carcinoma). Cytologic diagnosis were based on the Bethesda System. Hybrid Capture II and DNA chip methods were performed to detect HPV. In 41 of the 74 cervical samples $(55.4\%)$, HPV DNAs were detected by Hybrid Capture II. In Group III, HPV-positive cases were detected in 15 $(20.3\%)$ of 74 patients by Hybrid Capture II. 25 patients with ASCUS cytology were histopathologically examined: 9 cases $(36\%)$ were Group II. In 18 patients with low-grade SIL cytology, 13 cases $(72.2\%)$ were Group II and 3 cases $(16.7\%)$ were Group III. 12 cases $(92.3\%)$ were Group ill of 13 patients with high-grade SIL cytology. The sensitivity of each test was $82\%$ in Hybrid Capture II and $53.9\%$ in DNA chip test. And the specificity was $74.3\%,\;85.7\%$ in Hybrid Capture II and DNA chip. In conclusion, Hybrid Capture II test is more sensitive than DNA chip in detecting women with cervical neoplastic lesions. Especially, in diagnosing of ASCUS, Hybrid Capture II test is more sensitive. Therefore, Hybrid Capture II test for cancer-associated HPV DNA is a viable option in the management of women with ASCUS.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.118-122
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• 2015

Noninvasive prenatal test (NIPT) is a novel screening method for the diagnosis of fetal chromosomal aneuploidies. NIPT is based on technology that detects cell-free fetal DNA in maternal plasma and analyzes it with massively parallel sequencing technology to determine whether the fetus is at risk of trisomy 21, trisomy 18, trisomy 13 or sex chromosome abnormalities (SCAs). NIPT has been reported to have sensitivity of 99% and a false positive rate of less than 1% for detecting trisomy 21 and trisomy 18. Although extension of the application of NIPT to other SCAs has been attempted, there are concerns in extending NIPT to SCAs because of maternal or fetal mosaicism, undetected maternal SCAs, and multiple pregnancies. Recently, we assessed a pregnancy with the rare Turner syndrome mosaicism 45, X/47, XXX, which was reported as 45, X with NIPT. We present the case here and briefly review the current literatures on NIPT in testing for fetal monosomy X. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the 45, X/47, XXX mosaicism in Korea to be reported as 45, X by NIPT with whole genome sequencing. This case report will provide valuable information for counseling women who want to undergo NIPT.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.147-156
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• 2018

PURPOSE: The law pertaining to medical service technologists does not discuss the scope and limits of doctors' guidelines. My paper aims to discuss these topics. METHODS: This study was based on a review of literature and an analysis of judicial precedents. RESULTS: Physical therapists have often noted the need for independent practitioners in their articles on health care. Their continued discussions on professional and educational differences have centered round this issue, but their ideas have not been accepted. Practitioners have continued to interpret doctors' guidelines in hospitals without discussing their scope. However, the Supreme Court presented a meaningful decision outlining the conceptual limits and the scope of medical practice. The court suggested, basing its interpretation in the goal of clarifying the concept of medical activities smoothly, was to follow a specific judgment on the levels of education, testing, and professionalism. CONCLUSION: The role of physical therapists is expanding in this country, in order to meet the needs of the ultra-aged society. Education is already responding to rising training needs. By dividing the doctors' guidelines into indirect and direct types, if there's no medical risk near or around the health center or hospital, it is a good idea to allow the management of physical therapy partially, while understanding the scope and limitations of these guidelines clearly. A teleological interpretation of the law is especially relevant, and can be implemented immediately by the authoritative interpretation on part of the health authorities without any legal amendments.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.51-61
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to investigate EU, UK and USA's laws and standards related to safety criteria for commercial kitchen machines. The study was based on literature survey and web surfing. The results revealed that EU has relevant directives by kitchen machines and harmonized standards according to the directives. The directives and harmonized standards are translated into the laws and standards of EU member countries, respectively. The kitchen facility relevant legal systems of UK and USA do not prescribe the safety devices or measures, but only the basic health and safety requirements. The requirements were forcefully implemented through the certificate systems such as CE(Confommite European), UL(Underwriters Laboratories), etc. Only products with CE, UL or NRTL(ationally Recognized Testing Laboratory) certificate marking can be placed on the market of EU and USA, or put into service. For achieving the certificates, all requirements regulated in the relevant standards should be met. The standards of UK and USA were presented by kitchen machines or by standards themselves, respectively. Safety devices required by the standards were also summarized by kitchen machines and their risk factors.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.26 no.2 s.42
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• pp.179-191
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• 1993

Generally fatty liver is attributed either to chronic alcoholism, diabetes mellitus, or obesity. Based upon this commonly held clinical brief, this study was conducted to investigate the contributing factors of fatty liver and odds ratio (OR) of known contributing factors. A sample of 310 male participants, who visited at Seoul Paik Automated Multiphasic Health Testing System from November 1991 to December 1991, was separated into 112 cases and 198 controls by ultrasonographic fin ding. There were statistically significant difference between fatty liver and normal in triglyceride (TG), body mass index (BMI), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), fasting blood sugar (FBS), alcohol consumption, low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), total cholesterol, gamma-glutamyl transferase ($\gamma$-GT), duration of alcohol intake and alkaline phosphatase (Alk.P)(P<0.01, P<0.05). The statistically significant elevated odds ratio were noted for TG (4.48, confidence interval (CI) 2.66-7.55, P=0.000), alcohol consumption(3.24, CI 1.56-6.23, P=0.002), BMI(3.05, CI 1.87-4.97, P=0.000), and FBS (2.59, CI 1.53-4.40, P=0,000). In summary, it is suggested that the fatty liver could be preventive by avoiding such deleterious factors as high fat diet, alcohol and obesity.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.161-165
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• 2021

Objectives: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spreads heterogeneously, disproportionately impacting poor and minority communities. The relationship between poverty and race is complex, with a diverse set of structural and systemic factors driving higher rates of poverty among minority populations. The factors that specifically contribute to the disproportionate rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection, however, are not clearly understood. Methods: We evaluated SARS-CoV-2 test results from community-based testing sites in Los Angeles, California, between June and December, 2020. We used tester zip code data to link those results with United States Census report data on average annual household income, rates of healthcare coverage, and employment status by zip code. Results: We analyzed 2 141 127 SARS-CoV-2 test results, of which 245 154 (11.4%) were positive. Multivariable modeling showed a higher likelihood of SARS-CoV-2 test positivity among Hispanic communities than among other races. We found an increased risk for SARS-CoV-2 positivity among individuals from zip codes with an average annual household income

• Neurospine
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.329-337
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• 2018

Objective: Machine learning algorithms excel at leveraging big data to identify complex patterns that can be used to aid in clinical decision-making. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the performance of machine learning models in predicting postoperative complications following anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). Methods: Artificial neural network (ANN), logistic regression (LR), support vector machine (SVM), and random forest decision tree (RF) models were trained on a multicenter data set of patients undergoing ACDF to predict surgical complications based on readily available patient data. Following training, these models were compared to the predictive capability of American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status classification. Results: A total of 20,879 patients were identified as having undergone ACDF. Following exclusion criteria, patients were divided into 14,615 patients for training and 6,264 for testing data sets. ANN and LR consistently outperformed ASA physical status classification in predicting every complication (p < 0.05). The ANN outperformed LR in predicting venous thromboembolism, wound complication, and mortality (p < 0.05). The SVM and RF models were no better than random chance at predicting any of the postoperative complications (p < 0.05). Conclusion: ANN and LR algorithms outperform ASA physical status classification for predicting individual postoperative complications. Additionally, neural networks have greater sensitivity than LR when predicting mortality and wound complications. With the growing size of medical data, the training of machine learning on these large datasets promises to improve risk prognostication, with the ability of continuously learning making them excellent tools in complex clinical scenarios.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.235-243
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• 2018

Loss of favorable habitats for species due to temperature increase is one of the main concerns of climate change on the ecosystem, and endangered species might be much more sensitive to such unfavorable changes. This study aimed to analyze the impact of future climate change on endangered wild animals in South Korea by investigating thermal sensitivity and vulnerability to temperature increase. We determined thermal sensitivity by testing normality in species distribution according to temperature. Then, we defined the vulnerability when the future temperature range of South Korea completely deviate from the current temperature range of species distribution. We identified 13 species with higher thermal sensitivity. Based on IPCC future scenarios RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5, the number of species vulnerable to future warming doubled from 3 under RCP4.5 to 7 under the RCP8.5 scenario. The species anticipated to be at risk under RCP 8.5 are flying squirrel (Pteromys volans aluco), ural owl (Pteromys volans aluco), black woodpecker (Dryocopus martius), tawny owl (Strix aluco), watercock (Gallicrex cinerea), schrenck?s bittern (Ixobrychus eurhythmus), and fairy pitta (Pitta nympha). The other 10 species showing very narrow temperature ranges even without normal distributions and out of the future temperature range may also need to be treated as vulnerable species, considering the inevitable observation scarcity of such endangered species.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.57 no.6
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• pp.322-330
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• 2020

This study deals with underwater explosion (UNDEX) characteristics of various non-explosive underwater shock sources for the development of non-explosive underwater shock testing devices. UNDEX can neutralize ships' structure and the equipment onboard causing serious damage to combat and survivability. The shock proof performance of naval ships has been for a long time studied through simulations, but full-scale Live Fire Test and Evaluation (LFT&E) using real explosives have been limited due to the high risk and cost. For this reason, many researches have been tried to develop full scale ship shock tests without using actual explosives. In this study, experiments were conducted to find the characteristics of the underwater shock waves from actual explosive and non-explosive shock sources such as the airbag inflators and Vaporizing Foil Actuator (VFA). In order to derive the empirical equation for the maximum pressure value of the underwater shock wave generated by the non-explosive impact source, repeated experiments were conducted according to the number and distance. In addition, a Shock Response Spectrum (SRS) technique, which is a frequency-based function, was used to compare the response of floating bodies generated by underwater shock waves from each explosion source. In order to compare the magnitude of the underwater shock waves generated by each explosion source, Keel Shock Factor (KSF), which is a measure for estimating the amount of shock experienced by a naval ship from an underwater explosionan, was used.