• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.203-207
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• 2014

Hepatitis is a common and serious disease for the Korean population. It is caused by a virus, the A and B types of which are plentiful in Koreans. In this study, we tried to find genetic factors for hepatitis through genome-wide association studies. We took 368 cases and 1,500 controls from Anseong and Ansan cohort data. About 300,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms and 20 epidemiological variables were analyzed. We did not find any meaningful significant single nucleotide polymorphisms, but we confirmed the influence of major epidemiological variables on hepatitis.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.207-211
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• 2008

We investigated the leaf demography of a temperate woody liana, Akebia trifoliata, in a temperate forest in Japan, Akebia is semi-evergreen: some leaves are shed before winter, while others remain through the winter. Previous studies of semi-evergreen species found that variation in leaf life span was caused by variation in the timing of leaf emergence, Leaves that appeared just before winter over-wintered, while leaves appearing earlier were shed, However, it is unclear whether leaves of the same cohort (i.e., leaves that appear at the same time within a single site) show variation in life span under the effect of strong seasonality. To separate variation in life span among the leaves in each cohort from variation among cohorts, we propose a new method - the single leaf diagram, which shows the emergence and death of each leaf. Using single leaf diagrams, our study revealed that Akebia leaves within a cohort showed substantial variation in life span, with some over-wintering and some not. In addition, leaves on small ramets in the understory showed great variation in life span, while leaves on large ramets, which typically reach higher positions in the forest canopy, have shorter lives, As a result, small ramets were semi-evergreen, whereas large ramets were deciduous, The longer lives of leaves on small ramets can be interpreted as a shade-adaptive strategy in understory plants.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.10
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• pp.6185-6187
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• 2013

Cervical cancer has emerged as a major public health problem in Lucknow and New York in the $21^{st}$ century. Cancer genetic studies are essential to identify/stratify disease-susceptible individuals in a population-based cohort. Sample size homogeneity and North Indian caste in female urology genetic-studies are significant issues in meaningful interpretation of data. A review of scientific literature using Pubmed database was conducted, including an assessment of cervical cancer genetic studies conducted as part of the author's doctoral dissertation at a premier Lucknow-based medical research Institute. Sample size numbers and caste criteria in the North Indian cohort ($N{\leq}400$ subjects) were evaluated with homogeneity in the sample cohort data set(s). Subgroup caste-stratification of North Indian cohort is equally essential, for instance, Brahmin (e.g. Pandey), Vaishya (e.g. Mittal), Rajput (e.g. Singh) and Kshudra (e.g. Yadav) during the conception and design of genetics-based studies. Sample size homogeneity in histopathologically confirmed case and control numbers and caste-based stratification in a North Indian cohort is essential in single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) studies in cervical cancer susceptible populations to draw more definitive conclusions.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.34.1-34.11
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• 2022

Multilevel analysis is an appropriate and powerful tool for analyzing hierarchical structure data widely applied from public health to genomic data. In practice, however, we may lose the information on multiple nesting levels in the multilevel analysis since data may fail to capture all levels of hierarchy, or the top or intermediate levels of hierarchy are ignored in the analysis. In this study, we consider a multilevel linear mixed effect model (LMM) with single imputation that can involve all data hierarchy levels in the presence of missing top or intermediate-level clusters. We evaluate and compare the performance of a multilevel LMM with single imputation with other models ignoring the data hierarchy or missing intermediate-level clusters. To this end, we applied a multilevel LMM with single imputation and other models to hierarchically structured cohort data with some intermediate levels missing and to simulated data with various cluster sizes and missing rates of intermediate-level clusters. A thorough simulation study demonstrated that an LMM with single imputation estimates fixed coefficients and variance components of a multilevel model more accurately than other models ignoring data hierarchy or missing clusters in terms of mean squared error and coverage probability. In particular, when models ignoring data hierarchy or missing clusters were applied, the variance components of random effects were overestimated. We observed similar results from the analysis of hierarchically structured cohort data.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.71-75
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• 2012

The PLA2G4A catalyzes the hydrolysis of membrane phospholipids to release arachidonic acid, which is metabolized into lipid-based cellular hormones that regulate inflammatory response. The circulating blood cell numbers can be influenced by stress, infection or inflammation. Quantitative blood cell count traits analysis for the 19 SNPs in the PLA2G4A gene in the Korean Association Resource (KARE) cohort (7551 subjects) was performed. The only one SNP (rs10752979) in the all blood cell count was satisfied with the Bonferroni corrected P-value (<0.00263). Furthermore, 6 of the 19 SNPs in the PLA2G4A gene showed a weak or moderate association with blood cell count (P-values: 0.0048~0.042), suggesting the clue of an association between the PLA2G4A gene and blood cell count, especially white blood cell count. This study may provide insight into the genetic basis of blood cell count related with reaction of infection.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.187-194
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• 2021

Platelets are derived from fragments formed in the cytoplasm of bone marrow megakaryocytes. Platelet count (PLT) can be altered by factors such as platelet production, destruction, and inflammation. In a previous study, the significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were reported by the genome-wide association study (GWAS) for PLT in Koreans. In this study, it was confirmed whether significant SNPs were replicated in the HEXA (The Health Examinees) cohort. As a result, the SNPs of the THPO (rs6141), BAK1 (rs210314, rs9296095), GGNBP1 (rs75080135), ACAD10 (rs6490294), and ABCC4 (rs4148441) were significantly correlated with PLT (P < 10^-8). At the same time, it was confirmed that the direction of influence was the same according to the genotype. In conclusion, it can be seen that common SNPs are associated with the platelet count regardless of the cohort for Koreans.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.17-22
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• 2006

Since the demands not only for value-added timber but the environmental functions of forests had been increased, native tree species has been, and is rapidly being replaced by foreign tree species in many parts of the world. However, the studies on population structure and regeneration characteristics of native tree species were not conducted enough. Regeneration of Kalopanax septemlobus growing among other hardwoods in natural forests is very difficult because of its low seed viability and germination rate. The study examined the distribution of mature trees of K. septemlobus and their regeneration pattern at the 1.12 ha study plot in natural deciduous broad-leaved forest of Mt. Jeombong. The density and mean DBH of K. septemlobus was 97 trees per ha and 32 cm, respectively. The spatial distribution of K. septemlobus showed a random pattern (aggregation index is 0.935) in the 1.12 ha study plot. The age of 90 trees among 99 sample trees of K. septemlobus ranged from 90 to 110 years and represented a single cohort, thus suggesting that K. septemlobus in advance regeneration has regenerated as a result of disturbances such as canopy opening.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.213-222
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• 2003

Genomic epidemiology is defined as 'an evoking field of inquiring that uses the systematic application of epidemiologic methods are approaches in population-based studies of the impact of human genetic variation on health and disease (Khoury, 1998)'. Most human diseases are caused by the intricate interaction among environmental exposures and genetic susceptibility factors. Susceptibility genes involved in disease pathogenesis are categorized into two groups: high penetrance genes (i.e., BRAC1, RB, etc.) and lour penetranoe genes (i.e., GSTs, Cyps, XRCC1, ets.), and low penetrance susceptibility genes has the higher priority for epidemiological research due to high population attributable risk. In this paper, the summarized results of the association study between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and breast cancer in Korea were introduced and the international trends of genomic epidemiology research were reviewed with an emphasis on internee-based case-control and cohort consortium.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2019

Background: Neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy (nCRT) has become the standard of care for esophageal cancer patients prior to esophagectomy. However, the optimal timing for surgery after completion of nCRT remains unclear. Methods: A retrospective review was performed of patients who underwent esophagectomy with cervical anastomosis for esophageal cancer at a single institution between January 2000 and June 2015. Patients were categorized into 3 cohorts: those who did not receive nCRT prior to esophagectomy (no nCRT), those who underwent esophagectomy within 35 days after nCRT (${\leq}35d$), and those who underwent esophagectomy more than 35 days after nCRT (>35d). Results: A total of 366 esophagectomies were performed during the study period, and 348 patients met the inclusion criteria. Anastomotic leaks occurred in 11.8% of all patients included in the study (41 of 348). Within each cohort, anastomotic leaks were detected in 14.7% of patients (17 of 116) in the no nCRT cohort, 7.3% (13 of 177) in the ${\leq}35d$ cohort, and 20.0% (11 of 55) in the >35d cohort (p=0.020). Significant differences in the occurrence of anastomotic leaks were observed between the no nCRT and ${\leq}35d$ cohorts (p=0.044), and between the ${\leq}35d$ and >35d cohorts (p=0.007). Conclusion: Esophagectomy with cervical anastomosis within 35 days of nCRT resulted in a lower percentage of anastomotic leaks.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.534-541
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• 2018

Background Nipple-areolar complex (NAC) reconstruction following curative mastectomy is traditionally performed as a second-stage procedure several months after initial breast reconstruction. The recent literature has documented the increasing popularity of immediate nipple reconstruction carried out simultaneously during autologous reconstruction. The aim of this study was to evaluate the surgical outcomes and patient satisfaction with immediate breast and nipple reconstruction performed in a single stage after skin-sparing mastectomy. Methods All patients who underwent a skin-sparing mastectomy with immediate latissimus dorsi flap breast and NAC reconstruction as a single-stage procedure from 2007 to 2015 were included. Patient demographics, oncologic details, and surgical outcomes were recorded. The BREAST-Q questionnaire was administered to patients to assess the impact and effectiveness of this reconstructive strategy. Results During the study period, 34 breast and NAC reconstructions in 29 patients were performed at Cork University Hospital. The majority of our patient cohort were non-smokers (93.1%) and did not receive adjuvant radiotherapy. Postoperative complications were infrequent, with no cases of partial necrosis or complete loss of the nipple. The response rate to the BREAST-Q was 62% (n=18). Patients reported high levels of satisfaction with the reconstructed breast ($62{\pm}4$), nipple reconstruction ($61{\pm}4.8$), overall outcome ($74.3{\pm}5$), and psychosocial well-being ($77.7{\pm}3.2$). Conclusions Skin-sparing mastectomy with immediate nipple reconstruction during autologous latissimus dorsi reconstruction was demonstrated to be a safe and aesthetically reliable procedure in our cohort, yielding high levels of psychological and physical well-being. A single-stage procedure promotes psychosocial well-being involving issues that are intrinsically linked with breast cancer surgery.