• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.1917-1923
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• 2016

Background: Lynch Syndrome (LS) is a familial cancer condition caused by germline mutations in DNA mismatch repair genes. Individuals with LS have a greatly increased risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC) and it is therefore important to identify mutation carriers so they can undergo regular surveillance. Tumor DNA from LS patients characteristically shows microsatellite instability (MSI). Our aim here was to screen young CRC patients for MSI as a first step in the identification of unrecognized cases of LS in the Saudi population. Materials and Methods: Archival tumor tissue was obtained from 284 CRC patients treated at 4 institutes in Dammam and Riyadh between 2006 and 2015 and aged less than 60 years at diagnosis. MSI screening was performed using the BAT-26 microsatellite marker and positive cases confirmed using the pentaplex MSI analysis system. Positive cases were screened for BRAF mutations to exclude sporadic CRC and were evaluated for loss of expression of 4 DNA mismatch repair proteins using immunohistochemistry. Results: MSI was found in 33/284 (11.6%) cases, of which only one showed a BRAF mutation. Saudi MSI cases showed similar instability in the BAT-26 and BAT-25 markers to Australian MSI cases, but significantly lower frequencies of instability in 3 other microsatellite markers. Conclusions: MSI screening of young Saudi CRC patients reveals that approximately 1 in 9 are candidates for LS. Patients with MSI are strongly recommended to undergo genetic counselling and germline mutation testing for LS. Other affected family members can then be identified and offered regular surveillance for early detection of LS-associated cancers.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.8
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• pp.195-204
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to explore factors associated with smartphone dependence among adults in their 20s. The data were derived from the 2017 Survey on Smartphone Over-dependence conducted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Information Society Agency. There were 3,684 participants. The data were analyzed by frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, independent t-test, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and weighted hierarchical multiple regression analysis. For the results, factors related with higher smartphone dependence of participants were duration (β=.18, p=.000) and frequency (β=.04, p=.000) of usage, gaming (β=.15, p=.000), watching videos (β=.09, p=.000), mobile shopping (β=.05, p=.000), working (β=.05, p=.010), e-mailing (β=.13, p=.000), and sports betting (β=.07, p=.000). Music (β=-.07, p=.000) and adult content (β=-.07, p=.000) significantly reduced their smartphone dependence. SNS (Social Networking Services) (β=.01, p=.358) and instant messengers (β=-.02, p=.330) were not factors related to smartphone dependence. However, instant messengers were the most used by participants and had a strong correlation with working (r=.55, p=.000). This study shows that smartphone usage patterns related with smartphone dependence among adults in their 20s are different from those of children and adolescents. These results could be used to more deeply understand smartphone dependence among adults in their 20s and plan early detection and prevention and care of dependence.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.243-247
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• 2009

The prevalence of liver and intestinal helminth infections, including Opisthorchis, Haplorchis, Phaneropsolus, hookworms, Enterobius, and Taenia, was surveyed in Khammouane province, Lao PDR. Fecal specimens were collected from 1,242 people (590 men and 652 women) in 3 Mekong riverside villages and were examined by the Kate-Katz thick smear technique. The overall helminth egg positive rate was 81.1%. The positive rate for small trematode eggs, including Opisthorchis viverrini, heterophyids, and lecithodendriids, was 81.1% and the positive rate for hookworms was 6.7%. To obtain adult worms, 35 people who were positive for small trematode eggs were treated with 20-30 mg/kg praziquantel and 10-15 mg/kg pyrantel pamoate, and then purged. Diarrheic stools were collected from 33 of these people and searched for helminth parasites using a stereomicroscope. Mixed infections with various helminths (Haplorchis taichui, Haplorchis yokogawai, Prosthodendrium molenkampi, Phaneropsolus bonnei, echinostomes, hookworms, Trichostrongylus spp., Trichuris trichiura, Enterobius vermicularis, and/or Taenia saginata) were found. The total number of helminth specimens collected was 20,907 (approximately 634 per person). The most common species was H. taichui, followed by P. molenkampi, 0. viverrini, P. bonnei, E. vermicularis, hookworms, and Trichostrongylus spp. These results show that diverse species of intestinal nematodes, trematodes, and cestodes are infecting humans in Khammouane province, Lao PDR.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.701-711
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• 2013

Purpose: The plan proposed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2012 did not reflect the position of nurses and focused only on how to increase the number of nurses. There is a need for coming up with a specific and viable alternative plan considering the qualitative aspect of nursing, delegation of nursing tasks, the in-death analysis of the reasons for leaving the nursing profession, and the legal standards based on varying nursing tasks. Methods: Drawing on a review of existing literature, this report was written to examine policy directions and the factors that influence the institutional environment that regulates the supply and demand of the nursing workforce in Korea. Results: Implementing the government's plan for introducing a new type of nurse, the registered practical nurse, which generally requires a two-year associate's degree, must be reconsidered. Also, a concrete plan to make use of unemployed nurses and to close the salary gap between nurses working at hospitals in cities and those working at hospitals in rural areas must be prepared. Furthermore, there is a need for introducing a new rating system aimed at boosting the quality of nursing care in small-and medium-sized hospitals, thereby increasing the number of nursing professionals who provide high quality care. Conclusion: In preparation for expected poor quality of care and looming unemployment crisis due to the increase in the number of nursing professionals, a practical and concrete plan for the supply and demand of the nursing workforce should be made. The Korean Nurses Association should mount a profession-wide campaign to make the government formulate a new and viable policy on the supply and demand of the nursing workforce.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.303-309
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• 2005

Olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) is the major mariculture fish in Korea. The annual aquaculture production of olive flounder in Korea during the period of 2003 was 300,000 ton (2002 Statistics, Ministry of Maritime Affairs & Fisheries, Korea Government). Anesthetics is very necessary in aquaculture to minimize stress and damage during harvesting, grading, transportation, spawning induction and handling to fish. In the present study, isoeugenol as new anesthetic in marine fish, especially olive flounder, was examined to know the efficacy and proper concentration. As a result, olive flounder adult was exhibited sedation at 5 ppm at 10 and $15^{\circ}C$, and 7.5 ppm at $20^{\circ}C$, respectively. Anesthesia was required at least 10, 7.5 and 10 ppm at $10^{\circ}C$, $15^{\circ}C$ and at $20^{\circ}C$, respectively. In case of fry, the effect of sedation was observed from 2.5 ppm at $10^{\circ}C$ and 5 ppm at 15 and $20^{\circ}C$, respectively. Anesthesia was observed from 2.5 ppm at $10^{\circ}C$, 5 ppm at 15 and $20^{\circ}C$, respectively. In acute toxicity test, it was impossible to explore $LD_{50}$ with the concentration of isoeugenol adult at $15^{\circ}C$ used, but over immersion volume of 15 ppm at $15^{\circ}C$ was observed mortality in fry. Based on the present study, isoeugenol was identified as a safe and active anesthetic to olive flounder.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.58 no.1
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• pp.67-72
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• 2020

Human infection with Echinostoma aegyptica Khalil and Abaza, 1924 (Trematoda: Echinostomatidae) is extremely rare. In this study, we confirmed E. aegyptica infection in 5 riparian residents living along the Mekong River in Savannakhet Province, Lao PDR. The patients revealed eggs of Opisthorchis viverrini/minute intestinal flukes, echinostomes, and other parasites in fecal examinations using the Kato-Katz technique. Following treatment with praziquantel 30-40 mg/kg and pyrantel pamoate 10-15 mg/kg in a single dose and purging with magnesium salts, adult specimens of various helminth species were collected. Among the trematodes, echinostome flukes of 4.5-7.6 mm in length (n = 134; av. 22.3 specimens per case) were of taxonomic interest and subjected in this study. The flukes were morphologically characterized by having total 43-45 collar spines arranged in 2 alternating rows (corner spines usually 5 on each side) and compatible with previous descriptions of E. aegyptica. The patients were mixed-infected with other helminths, so specific clinical manifestations due to this echinostome fluke were difficult to determine. The present paper describes for the first time human E. aegyptica infections in Lao PDR. This is the second report of human infection (2nd-6th cases) with E. aegyptica in the world following the first one from China.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.62-73
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• 2008

Purpose: To examine the outcomes of a smoking cessation clinic at a public health center, in Hwasung city in 2006 and to examine the perceptions of the users regarding the clinic services. Method: 620 smokers who visited the smoking cessation clinic from January, 2006 to November, 2006 were enrolled. An instrument developed by the researcher was used to collect their perceptions. The instrument comprised 24 questions, on a 5-point Likert scale investigating the clinic services in terms of counseling time, environment, readiness of the counselors, counseling information, campaign method, medication use, and follow-up services. The general characteristics of the participants were collected from the database developed by the Ministry of Health & Welfare. The data were analyzed with frequencies, percentage, mean and standard deviation methods. Results: The outcomes of the smoking cessation clinic in Hwasung city in 2006 showed some limitations in terms of low-income group, female smokers, and young adult smokers. Conclusion: Strategies for solving these limitations were necessary to increase the effectiveness of the smoking cessation clinic. Clinic services focused on cognitive-behavioral therapy needed to be developed in accordance with chemotherapy. More effective publicizing campaigns of the clinic services also needed to be developed for more people to know about the clinic. Strategies to increase the accessibility for the people living far from the clinic were also necessary. Assessment of the smokers who did not visit clinic was also recommended in order to determine their intentions, or barriers to visit the clinic.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.348-355
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• 2021

Hantaan virus(HTNV) causes hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome(HFRS) with a case fatality rate ranging from <1 to 15 % in human. Hantavax^Ⓡ is a vaccine against the Hantavirus, which has been conditionally approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety(MFDS). However, only 50 % of volunteers had neutralizing antibodies 1 year following the boost. Effective antiviral treatments against HTNV infection are limited. Hantaviruses generally cause asymptomatic infection in adult mice. On the other hand, infection of suckling and newborn mice with hantaviruses causes lethal neurological diesease or persistant infection, which is different from the disease in humans. The development of vaccines and antiviral strategies for HTNV has been partly hampered by the lack of an efficient lethal mouse model to evaluate the efficacy of the candidate vaccines or antivirals. In this report, we established a lethal mouse model for HTNV, which may facilitate in vivo studies on the evaluation of candidate drugs against HTNV. The median lethal dose value of HTNV was calculated by probit analysis of deaths occurring within two weeks. Five groups of ten ICR mice were injected intracranially with serial 2-fold dilutions (from 50 to 3.125 PFU/head) of HTNV. Mice injected with HTNV began to die at 8 days post-infection. The lethal dose required to kill 50 % of the mice (LD₅₀) was calculated to be 2.365 PFU/head.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.41 no.8
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• pp.887-899
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• 2008

Recently the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea, announced the “Dietary Guidelines for Korean Adults (DGKA)”, which includes ten Dietary Goals, six Dietary Guidelines, and twenty-three Action Guidelines. DGKA are developed as the revision of the 2003 Dietary Guidelines for Koreans, targeting adult population. Dietary Guidelines are developed for general purpose as well as for different age groups. They are revised periodically to accommodate changes in diet and health problems of the population. The process of developing new DGKA can be summarized as 1) selection of focus areas, 2) analysis and review of available data for each area selected, and 3) derivation of guidelines based on the analyzed data, and 4) finalizing the guidelines after open discussions among the experts and general public. Five focus areas were selected by examining the Nutrition Goals of the Health Plan 2010 of Korea, soliciting proposals from the experts in the related fields, and reviewing existing and international guidelines. Five areas selected were 1) adequate intake of nutrients and foods, 2) balance of energy intake and physical activities, 3) alcohol intake, 4) food security and nutrition service, and 5) food safety. Adequacy of nutrient and food intakes of the Korean adult population was assessed using 2005 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) data. Newly developed Dietary Reference Intakes for Koreans were used as reference values to assess the prevalence of inadequacies and excesses in nutrient intakes. Energy balance was examined with energy intake of 2005 KNHANES survey and results of physical activity questionnaire in the survey. Alcohol intake was also examined using 2005 KNHANES results of dietary intakes as well as the results of questionnaire survey on alcohol intakes. Food security, nutrition services, and food safety were analyzed using various government data and published results on the issues. Ten Dietary Goals and six Dietary Guidelines were developed after data analysis and were subjected to reviews of experts and general public. The final DGKA are: 1) Eat a variety of foods from each food group, 2) Increase physical activity and maintain healthy weight, 3) Eat proper amount of clean foods, 4) Avoid salty foods and try to eat foods with bland taste, 5) Avoid foods with high fat contents and deep-fried foods, and 6) When you drink alcohol, limit the amount. Twenty-three action guidelines are developed in order to achieve these guidelines in actual diet and life among the population. The government is disseminating the guidelines with “337” slogan and emblem. “337” indicates everyone should practice “3” guidelines of promoting good eating practice, “3” guidelines to limit or decrease in your diet, and you should practice them for “7” days a week. The guidelines will be useful in promoting healthy food habits and good nutritional status which will result in decrease nutrition related health problems in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.109-119
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• 2015

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare and analyze the results of salty taste assessment, dietary attitudes, and dietary behaviors among adult and senior women by region and by age. The results generated from this was expected to provide fundamental data for implementing a nationwide salt reduction education program. Methods: The salty taste assessment tool was applied to 4,064 subjects from 15 areas in Korea. Also, a survey of dietary attitude and dietary behavior related to salt intake was conducted for all subjects participated in this study. Results: The salty taste assessment scores by region and by age were the lowest in capital (p < 0.01) and was highest among the 70+ year age group (p < 0.01). The dietary attitude scores and dietary behavior scores showed that Gyeongsang was the highest (p < 0.001) and the capital was the lowest. The dietary attitude scores were highest at 20&30's followed by 40's and 70's group (p < 0.001). Dietary behavior scores showed that 20's~30's and 40's groups were higher than the other age groups (p < 0.001). The score of 'I like kimchi' was $3.46{\pm}0.88$, which was the highest among 10 dietary behavior questions. The score of 'I eat a lot of kimchi' was $3.30{\pm}0.90$, which was the highest among 10 dietary behavior questions related to salt intake. The scores of salty taste assessment had significant positive correlations between the scores of dietary attitude (p < 0.001), dietary behavior (p < 0.001) and self-awareness (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Based on the results of salty taste assessment, we observed a tendency that older people and regions except the capital had higher preference for salty taste. Our results suggested the necessity for a nationwide salty reduction education program tailored for regions and for different age groups.