• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.59 no.3
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• pp.189-225
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• 2021

The use of albendazole and mebendazole, i.e., benzimidazole broad-spectrum anthelmintics, in treatment of parasitic infections, as well as cancers, is briefly reviewed. These drugs are known to block the microtubule systems of parasites and mammalian cells leading to inhibition of glucose uptake and transport and finally cell death. Eventually they exhibit ovicidal, larvicidal, and vermicidal effects on parasites, and tumoricidal effects on hosts. Albendazole and mebendazole are most frequently prescribed for treatment of intestinal nematode infections (ascariasis, hookworm infections, trichuriasis, strongyloidiasis, and enterobiasis) and can also be used for intestinal tapeworm infections (taeniases and hymenolepiasis). However, these drugs also exhibit considerable therapeutic effects against tissue nematode/cestode infections (visceral, ocular, neural, and cutaneous larva migrans, anisakiasis, trichinosis, hepatic and intestinal capillariasis, angiostrongyliasis, gnathostomiasis, gongylonemiasis, thelaziasis, dracunculiasis, cerebral and subcutaneous cysticercosis, and echinococcosis). Albendazole is also used for treatment of filarial infections (lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, loiasis, mansonellosis, and dirofilariasis) alone or in combination with other drugs, such as ivermectin or diethylcarbamazine. Albendazole was tried even for treatment of trematode (fascioliasis, clonorchiasis, opisthorchiasis, and intestinal fluke infections) and protozoan infections (giardiasis, vaginal trichomoniasis, cryptosporidiosis, and microsporidiosis). These drugs are generally safe with few side effects; however, when they are used for prolonged time (>14-28 days) or even only 1 time, liver toxicity and other side reactions may occur. In hookworms, Trichuris trichiura, possibly Ascaris lumbricoides, Wuchereria bancrofti, and Giardia sp., there are emerging issues of drug resistance. It is of particular note that albendazole and mebendazole have been repositioned as promising anti-cancer drugs. These drugs have been shown to be active in vitro and in vivo (animals) against liver, lung, ovary, prostate, colorectal, breast, head and neck cancers, and melanoma. Two clinical reports for albendazole and 2 case reports for mebendazole have revealed promising effects of these drugs in human patients having variable types of cancers. However, because of the toxicity of albendazole, for example, neutropenia due to myelosuppression, if high doses are used for a prolonged time, mebendazole is currently more popularly used than albendazole in anti-cancer clinical trials.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.326-335
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• 2020

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the construct validity, reliability, measurement invariance, and latent mean differences in the Breastfeeding Adaptation Scale-Short Form (BFAS-SF) for use with mothers at 2 weeks postpartum. Methods: This methodological study was designed to evaluate the validity, reliability, and measurement invariance of the BFAS-SF at 2 weeks postpartum, with data collected from 431 breastfeeding mothers. Confirmatory factor analysis and multi-group confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to assess the factor structure and the measurement invariance across employment status, delivery mode, parity, and previous breastfeeding experience, and the latent mean differences were then examined. Results: The goodness of fit of the six-factor model at 2 weeks postpartum was acceptable. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis supported strict invariance of the BFAS-SF across employment status and delivery mode. Full configural invariance, full metric invariance, and partial scalar invariance across parity and full configural invariance and full metric invariance across previous breastfeeding experience were supported, respectively. The results for latent mean differences suggested that mothers who were employed showed significantly higher scores for breastfeeding confidence. Mothers who had a vaginal delivery showed significantly higher scores for sufficient breast milk and baby's feeding capability. Multiparous mothers showed significantly higher scores for baby's feeding capability and baby's satisfaction with breastfeeding. Conclusion: The validity and reliability of the BFAS-SF at 2 weeks postpartum are acceptable. It can be used to compare mean scores of breastfeeding adaptation according to employment status, delivery mode, and parity.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.379-387
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the actual state of childbirth in Korean women with natural childbirth and the degree of damage to the perineum during childbirth. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed the medical records of mothers who had natural childbirth at a hospital in Seoul, Korea in 2018. Data from 358 women with cephalic births at greater than 37 gestational weeks were analyzed. To determine natural childbirth characteristics and the degree of damage to the perineum, descriptive statistics were done. The difference in the degree of perineal injury according to obstetric characteristics was analyzed using independent t-test and one-way analysis of variance. Results: The mean age was 33.18±3.68 years, and 49.2% were primiparas, while 39% gave birth with a doula. The degree of perineal damage differed by age (F=9.15, p<.001), parity (t=19.13, p<.001), number of births in multiparity (F=3.68, p=.027), previous vaginal delivery in multiparity (F=3.00, p=.032) and birthing posture (F=7.44, p<.001). Having received therapeutic procedures (t=-4.62, p<.001), specifically fluid administration (t=-2.72, p=.007), oxygen supply (t=-2.76, p=.006) and epidural anesthesia (t=-2.77, p=.006) were statistically significant for perineal damage. There were no differences, however, by gestational period, doula use, water room use in labor, baby head circumference, or birth weight. Conclusion: Study findings suggest that support for older women, primiparas, and those who require therapeutic procedures may help to decrease the possibility of perineal damage during childbirth. As perineal damage was also associated with birthing posture, this should be considered when providing intrapartum nursing care.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.71-78
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• 2022

Objectives: Post-term pregnancy is a condition associated with increased maternal and fetal complications. Administration of castor oil causes cervical stimulation by increasing the production of prostaglandins. We examined the effects of castor oil on cervical ripening and labor induction through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: The search process was performed to obtain relevant articles from databases including Pubmed, Cochrane library, Scopus, Science direct, SID, Iran Medex, and Google Scholar using the English keywords of cervical ripening, post-term, castor oil, labor induction, Bishop score, and pregnancy considering all possible combinations without time constraints and their Persian equivalents from national databases. Results: A total of eight related articles from the 19 primary studies were extracted and systematically reviewed. According to a cumulative chart, the difference in the post-intervention Bishop score was statistically significant (standard mean difference [SMD]: 1.64, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.67-2.11, p = 0.001), indicating an effect of castor oil on increasing the Bishop score. In addition, the difference in labor induction was statistically significant after the intervention (odds ratio: 11.67, 95% CI: 3.34-40.81, p = 0.001), indicating an effect of castor oil on increasing the odds ratio of labor induction (experience of vaginal delivery). Conclusion: This meta-analysis showed that oral administration of castor oil is effective for cervical ripening and labor induction. Midwives should closely monitor pregnant women with prolonged labor and collaborate with obstetricians to employ castor oil as a safe intervention to induce cervical ripening and labor to prevent undue caesarean surgery.

• Journal of Convergence Korean Medicine
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.29-38
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• 2022

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of Sa-am acupuncture and Moxibustion on urgency by Overactive bladder in a 79-year-old female patient who has undergone Tension-free Vaginal Tape (TVT) operation. Methods : Patient was treated with Sa-am acupuncture on four acupoints including 太淵(LU9), 太白(SP3), 魚際(LU10) and 少府(HT8) and Moxibustion on two acupoints including 水道(ST28) and 中極(CV12). Patient's symptom was assessed Overactive Bladder Symptom Score(OABSS), Bladder diary and King's Health Questionnaire (KHQ). The treatment was executed once everyday from June, 13th to June, 22th of 2017. Patient was observed from June, 11th to June, 22th. Results : After ten sessions of Sa-am acupuncture and Moxibustion, patient's urinary symptoms were evaluated by OABSS, Bladder diary, and KHQ. After the treatment, total OABSS score decreased from 9 to 5. The frequency of Urgency decreased from 4 to 1. The Urgency grade decreased 4~5 to 1. The mean number of pad changing decreased 3.5 to 1. The score of Role Limitations, Physical Limitations, Social Limitations, Emotions in KHQ decreased. Conclusions : The results suggest that Sa-am acupuncture and Moxibustion can be a valuable option in treating urgency by OAB.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.25 no.4 s.40
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• pp.413-428
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• 1992

The aim of this study was to evaluate the appropriateness of some kinds of surgery and admission, such as cesarean section (C/S), cholecystectomy, and pediatric pneumonia. For appropriateness evaluation, we ourselves developed some criteria, which were included in the category of explicit and linear criteria, with the assistance of specialists of relevant clinical field. The evaluation of appropriateness was performed by two family physicians. The major findings were as follows: 1. For cesarean section, 77.6% of deliveries were determined to be 'appropriate', but the level of appropriateness was not significantly different among hospitals and between hospital groups by size. The most freqeunt indication of C/S was repeated operation, followed by cephalopelvic disproportion (CPD). The labor trials for vaginal delivery among repeated C/S and CPD cases were performed in 24.5% of pertinent deliveries. 2. About 73.8% of cholecystectomy cases was appropriate to one of the surgical indications, without significant differences among hospitals. Of surgical indications, 'sufficiently frequent and intense symptom recurrence' was the most frequent, and 'confirmed acute cholecystitis' was the second. 3. Of children admitted due to pneumonia, only 57.4% of cases satisfied admission criteria, and the level of appropriateness of admission was different among hospitals. The common reasons fur admission were 'failure to initial treatment', 'suspected bacterial pneumonia', 'young infant', etc. We could find that there were differences of quality among hospitals in some procedures, especially in the pediatric pneumonia and labor trial before C/S, which suggested that the implementation of quality assurance activiteis would be necessary in this country. In this study, we used some simple and primitive research tools and the numbers of subjects and tracer procedures were limited. So advanced studios with plentiful subjects and more representative diseases or procedures should be tried.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.21 no.1 s.23
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• pp.31-46
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• 1988

In order to designate a present status necessary for establishment of preventive measures and guidelines of health education against hepatitis B in the course of secondary school education, knowledge and practice toward hepatitis B virus infection was surveyed by a questionnare method on total of 4,855 college entrants in the academic year of 1987 and analyzed the data collected using IBM PC(Trigem 88-II) with SAS package program. About two per cent of college entrants had past history of HBV infections not showing any difference between both sexes and geographical regions. About one third(33.7%) of total students had tested hepatitis B surface antigen(HBsAg), only 4% had tested hepatitis B surface antibody(HBsAb) and vaccination rate amounted to 24.6%, one fourth of total subjects. Both serological tests and vaccination were most commonly performed during adolescence, showing higher rates in female students than in male students. The rates also seemed to be higher in those from urban cities than those from rural cities. Students who had acquired correct knowledge that hepatitis B was infected by virus were amounted to 78.5% of college entrants, and remaining 21.5% had misunderstood that rickettsia, bacteria, fungi or parasites were causal agents. Female students were better aware of the causal agents than male students but there was no difference between places of growth. As for mode of transmission of HBV, 51.5% of male students and 47.7% of female students had correct knowledge. A very few student had known that fact that HBV was transmitted by body fluids such as tear(6.9%), nasal discharge(10.1%) and semen or vaginal secretion(19.2%) and majority(75%) of students had misunderstood that hepatitis B virus would be transmitted per os through food ingestion. Approximately one half(48.9%) of college entrants had knew correctly whom to be vaccinated. Approximately one half of the students knew that hepatr;ma(57.8%) and liver cirrhosis(57.4%) might complicate with hepatitis B virus infection, whereas 12.0% of the students responded that bronchitis was one of the complications of hepatitis B infection. In summary of the above results, we highly recommend that health education program for eradication of hepatitis B virus infection should be introduced in curricula of secondary school education in this country.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.255-261
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• 2006

Although some phytoes rogens might have beneficiary rather than adverse effects, most endocrine disrupting compounds(EDCs) are considered to be harmful to human and wildlife health through interfering the endocrine system. Previously we found that prepubertal exposure to genistein(GS), a well-known isoflavone phytoestrogen, could activate the reproductive system of immature female rats resulting precocious puberty. Interestingly, di(2-ethyl hexyl) phthalate(DEHP) exposure brought inverse result, a delayed puberty, in the same experimental regimen. In this study, we examined whether prepubertal exposure to GS or DEHP affect the gene expressions of estrogen receptors($ER\;{\alpha}$ and $ER\;{\beta}$) and LH receptor(LHR) which represent the maturational status of ovary and uterus in immature rats. GS (100 mg/kg/day) was administered daily from postnatal day 25 to the day when the first vaginal opening(VO) was observed, and the animals were sacrificed on the next day(day 32). Similarly, DEHP(l00 mg/kg/day) was administered daily from postnatal day 25 through the day when the first V.O. in control group was observed, and the animals were sacrificed on the next day(day 36). To determine the transcriptional changes in the hormone receptors, total RNAs were extracted from ovary and uterus and were applied to semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR). In the GS group, the transcriptional activities of $ER\;{\alpha}$, $ER\;{\beta}$ and LHR in uterus and LHR in ovary were significantly increased when compared to those of control group. In the DEHP group, the transcriptional activities of all the hormone receptors measured were significantly lowered when compared to those of control group. These alteration of the reproductive hormone receptor expressions in ovary and uterus might be represent the phenotypic aspects(secondary sexual characteristics) such as tissue weights and reproductive hormone levels during perinatal period in immature female rats.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.228-240
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• 1997

It is important to asess the risk factors of parenting and provide early intervention for promotion of the maternal caretaking ability. The purpose of the study was to identify the maternal burden of caretaking, the supporting and the educational need for the caretaking activities of the mother of infant. Sixty three mothers of infants who visited the wellbaby clinic of S university hospital and one health center during the period of November 1st, to 30th in 1996 comprised the subjects of this study, Data were gathered through the instruments that were developed by researcher. Statistical analysis of this study was used ANOVA and Pearson correlation. The results were as follows : 1) The mean score of the maternal burden of caretaking was 22.06. The maternal burden of caretaking was significantly high in the mothers who had vaginal delivery compare with the mothers who had caeserean section and in the muthers who gave artificial feeding compare with the group of breast or mixed feeding. 2) The mean score of the support need for the caretaking activities was 30.69. The support need for the caretaking activities was significantly high in the mothers who had the second child, compare with the mothers who had first or third child. And the support need for the caretaking activities was significantly high in the mothers who had caretaking help compare with the mothers who had no caretaking help. The specific subjects of 'mother-infant interaction', 'immunization' and 'prevention of accident' on the support need for the caretaking activities were relatively high. 3) The mean score of the educational need of caretaking activities was 29.3. The educational need of caretaking activities was significantly high in the mother who had the second child compare with the mothers who had first or third child. And the educational need of caretaking activities was significantly high in the mothers who had caretaking help compare with the mothers who had no caretaking help. The specific subjects of 'mother-infant interaction', 'emergency care' and 'prevention of accident' on educational need of caretaking were relatively high. 4) The maternal burden of caretaking was not correlated with the support need or the educational need of caretaking activities. But the support need of caretaking activities was significantly correlated with the educational need of caretaking activities. 5) The support and educational need of caretaking activities were significantly high in the mothers who wanted home care for caretaking their infants. Through the study, it was found that there is considerable maternal burden of caretaking as well as the support and educational need on the caretaking activities in the mothers whose child is young. Therefore developing the systematic and effective program is needed to meet the mother's need. The results of this study will be useful resources to develop the program. On the other hand, it can be recommanded that home health care will be one of the approach to support the mothers caretaking activities.