• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.62 no.2
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• pp.217-224
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• 2019

Objective : We attempted to discover that Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) has a comprehensive relationship with congestive heart failure and death. Methods : We used a nationwide database managed by the Korean National Health Insurance Service from 2010 to 2014. Twelve thousand nine hundred eighty-eight patients with a diagnosis of AS and 64940 age- and sex- stratified matching subjects without AS were enrolled in the AS and control groups. Incidence probabilities of 6 years congestive heart failure and death in each group were calculated. The Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was used to estimate the hazard ratio. We divided the AS and control groups into subgroups according to sex, age, income, and comorbidities. Results : During the follow-up period, 102 patients (0.79%) in the AS group and 201 patients (0.32%) in the control group developed congestive heart failure (p<0.0001). In addition, 211 (1.62%) subjects in the AS group died during the follow-up period compared to 639 (0.98%) subjects in the control group (p<0.0001). The adjusted hazard ratio of congestive heart failure and death in the AS group was 2.28 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.80-2.89) and 1.66 (95% CI, 1.42-1.95), respectively. The hazard ratios of congestive heart failure and death were significantly increased in all of the subgroups. Conclusion : The incidence rates of congestive heart failure and death were increased in AS patients.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.692-700
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• 2022

This study was conducted to analyze firms' death rate and impact factors on the death of Foreign-invested Companies in Korea which is between 20013 and 2017. Cox Proportional Hazard Model took to conduct on the death impact factors, such as 2 characteristics factors of the firm, and 4 financial characteristics variables, variables, and 4 profitability factors. As a result of the impact factors of Foreign-invested Companies' death the Labour(NE) variables of characteristics firm had negative effects. And the Debt(LB), Operating Profit (OP), and Sales Profit (SP) of the financial characteristics had a negative effect. Other factors did not produce significant results. As a result of an empirically comparative analysis of the mortality rate of foreign-invested companies by the Kaplan-Meier method, it was analyzed that fully owned companies and large enterprises had lower extinction risk and greater sustainable management potential than joint ventures or SMEs.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.5525-5528
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• 2012

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Improvements of early diagnosis modalities have led to longer survival rates. This study aimed to determine the 5, 10 and 15 year mortality rates of breast cancer patients compared to the normal female population. Materials and Methods: The follow up data of a cohort of 615 breast cancer patients referred to Iranian Breast Cancer Research Center (BCRC) from 1986 to 1996 was considered as reference breast cancer dataset. The dataset was divided into 5 year age groups and the 5, 10 and 15 year probability of death for each group was estimated. The annual mortality rate of Iranian women was obtained from the Death Registry system. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) of breast cancer patients were calculated using the ratio of the mortality rate in breast cancer patients over the general female population. Results: The mean age of breast cancer patients at diagnosis time was 45.9 (${\pm}10.5$) years ranging from 24-74. A total of 73, 32 and 2 deaths were recorded at 5, 10 and 15 years, respectively, after diagnosis. The SMRs for breast cancer patients at 5, 10 and 15 year intervals after diagnosis were 6.74 (95% CI, 5.5-8.2), 6.55 (95%CI, 5-8.1) and 1.26 (95%CI, 0.65-2.9), respectively. Conclusion: Results showed that the observed mortality rate of breast cancer patients after 15 years from diagnosis was very similar to expected rates in general female population. This finding would be useful for clinicians and health policy makers to adopt a beneficial strategy to improve breast cancer survival. Further follow-up time with larger sample size and a pooled analysis of survival rates of different centres may shed more light on mortality patterns of breast cancer.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.469-476
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• 2006

Objectives : To investigate the effect of parents' social class on infant and child mortality rates among the birth cohort, for the period of transition to and from the Koran economic crisis 1995-2004. Methods : All births reported to between 1995 and 2004 (n=5,711,337) were analyzed using a Cox regression model, to study the role of the social determinants of parents in infant and child mortality. The results were adjusted for the parents' age, education and occupation, together with mother's obstetrical history. Results. The crude death rate among those under 10 was 3.71 per 1000 births (21,217 deaths among 5,711,337 births) between 1995 and 2004. The birth cohorts from lower educated parents less than elementary school showed higher mortality rates compared with those from higher educated parents over university level (HR:3.0 (95%CI:2.8-3.7) for father and HR:3.4 (95%CI:3.3-4.5) for mother). The mother's education level showed a stronger relationship with mortality among the birth cohort than that of the fathers. The gaps in infant mortality rates by parents' social class, and educational level became wider from 1995 to 2004. In particular, the breadth of the existing gap between higher and lower parents' social class groups has dramatically widened since the economic crisis of 1998. Discussions : This study shows that social differences exist in infant and child mortality rates. Also, the gap for the infant mortality due to social class has become wider since the economic crisis of 1998.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.4115-4121
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• 2015

Background: Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death with half a million deaths per year. Incidence and mortality rates have demonstrated notable changes in Asian and African countries during the last few decades. In this study, we first aimed to determine the trend of colorectal cancer mortality rate in each Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) region, and then re-classify them to find more homogenous classes. Materials and Methods: Our study population consisted of 52 countries of Asia and North Africa in six IHME pre-defined regions for both genders and age-standardized groups from 1990 to 2010.We first applied simple growth models for pre-defined IHME regions to estimate the intercepts and slopes of mortality rate trends. Then, we clustered the 52 described countries using the latent growth mixture modeling approach for classifying them based on their colorectal mortality rates over time. Results: Statistical analysis revealed that males and people in high income Asia pacific and East Asia countries were at greater risk of death from colon and rectum cancer. In addition, South Asia region had the lowest rates of mortality due to this cancer. Simple growth modeling showed that majority of IHME regions had decreasing trend in mortality rate of colorectal cancer. However, re-classification these countries based on their mortality trend using the latent growth mixture model resulted in more homogeneous classes according to colorectal mortality trend. Conclusions: In general, our statistical analyses showed that most Asian and North African countries had upward trend in their colorectal cancer mortality. We therefore urge the health policy makers in these countries to evaluate the causes of growing mortality and study the interventional programs of successful countries in managing the consequences of this cancer.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.401-409
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• 2010

This study was designed to investigate the effects of BojungIkkiTang-Gamybang freeze dried powder (BITG) on proliferauion, protective of cell death induced by chemicals such as paraquat, hydrogen peroxide etc and anti-oxidative effects in C6 glioma cells. In our results, BITC accelerated proliferation rates of C6 cells in vitro. In addition, protective effects on cell death induced by paraquat and hydrogen peroxide. And, BITC did not have effects on SOD and total glutathione activities, but decresed malone dialdehyde activity. In conclusion, these results suggest the possibility of BojungIkkiTang-Gamybang to protect brain cell or neuronal cell from damage induced by oxidative stress. And also suggest that related mechanisms are involved in malone dialdehyde activity.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2021

Rock bream (Oplegnathus fasciatus) is a highly valued aquaculture species in Korea. However, the aquaculture industry suffers huge economic losses due to rock bream iridovirus (RBIV) infection in summer. The objective of this study was to determine genetic diversity and relationships of DNAs isolated from two groups of rock bream after RBIV infection using five microsatellite (MS) markers. The first group of fish died early and the second group of fish died later after RBIV infection. In this experiment, 90 fish (5.1±1.0 cm and 4.1±1.3 g) were injected with 50 μl of RBIV (10⁴ TCID⁵⁰/ml) and maintained at 26℃ for 15 days. Genomic DNAs were extracted from fins of 20 fish that died earlier or later after RBIV infection. These DNAs were subjected to genotyping using five MS markers (CA-03, CA3-05, CA3-06, CA-10, and CA3-36). Of these markers, CA3-05 (early death group), CA3-06 (late death group), and CA3-36 (both early and late death groups) showed different alleles distribution rates. In-depth studies are needed to provide valuable information for selecting RBIV-resistant fish. In conclusion, microsatellite marker distribution pattern differences between early- and late- death groups of rock bream after RBIV infection showing different RBIV susceptibilities were determined using MS markers and genotyping. Results of this study suggest that MS markers could be used to facilitate the selection of RBIV resistant rock bream.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.1449-1453
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• 2015

Background: Oral capecitabine is increasingly replacing intravenous 5-fluorouracil in many chemotherapy regimens. However, data on the risk of febrile neutropaenia (FN) and treatment related death (TRD) with the drug remain sparse outside of clinical trial settings despite its widespread usage. This study aimed to determine these rates in a large cohort of patients treated in the University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC). Materials and Methods: We reviewed the clinical notes of all patients prescribed with oral capecitabine chemotherapy for any tumour sites in University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) from $1^{st}$ January 2009 till $31^{st}$ June 2010. Information collected included patient demographics, histopathological features, treatment received including the different chemotherapy regimens and intent of treatment whether the chemotherapy was given for neoadjuvant, concurrent with radiation, adjuvant or palliative intent. The aim of this study is to establish the pattern of usage, FN and TRD rates with capecitabine in clinical practice outside of clinical trial setting. FN is defined as an oral temperature > $38.5^{\circ}C$ or two consecutive readings of > $38.0^{\circ}C$ for 2 hours and an absolute neutrophil count < $0.5{\times}10^9/L$, or expected to fall below $0.5{\times}10^9/L$ (de Naurois et al., 2010). Treatment related death was defined as death occurring during or within 30 days of last chemotherapy treatment. Results: Between $1^{st}$ January 2009 and $30^{th}$ June 2010, 274 patients were treated with capecitabine chemotherapy in UMMC. The mean age was 58 years (range 22 to 82 years). Capecitabine was used in 14 different tumour sites with the colorectal site predominating with a total of 128 cases (46.7%), followed by breast cancer (35.8%). Capecitabine was most commonly used in the palliative setting accounting for 63.9% of the cases, followed by the adjuvant setting (19.7%). The most common regimen was single agent capecitabine with 129 cases (47.1%). The other common regimens were XELOX (21.5%) and ECX (10.2%). The main result of this study showed an overall FN rate of 2.2% (6/274). The overall TRD rate was 5.1% (14/274). The FN rate for the single agent capecitabine regimen was 1.6% (2/129) and the TRD rate was 5.4% (7/129). All the TRDs were with single agent capecitabine regimen were used for palliative intent. Conclusions: Oral capecitabine is used widely in clinical practice in a myriad of tumour sites and bears a low risk of febrile neutropaenia. However, capecitabine like any other intravenous chemotherapeutic agent carries a significant risk of treatment related death.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.515-522
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• 2023

Objectives: The pandemic caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has exerted an unprecedented impact on the health of populations worldwide. However, the adverse health consequences of the pandemic in terms of infection and mortality rates have varied across countries. In this study, we investigate whether COVID-19 mortality rates across a group of developed nations are associated with characteristics of their healthcare systems, beyond the differential policy responses in those countries. Methods: To achieve the study objective, we distinguished healthcare systems based on the extent of healthcare decommodification. Using available daily data from 2020, 2021, and 2022, we applied quantile regression with non-additive fixed effects to estimate mortality rates across quantiles. Our analysis began prior to vaccine development (in 2020) and continued after the vaccines were introduced (throughout 2021 and part of 2022). Results: The findings indicate that higher testing rates, coupled with more stringent containment and public health measures, had a significant negative impact on the death rate in both pre-vaccination and post-vaccination models. The data from the post-vaccination model demonstrate that higher vaccination rates were associated with significant decreases in fatalities. Additionally, our research indicates that countries with healthcare systems characterized by high and medium levels of decommodification experienced lower mortality rates than those with healthcare systems involving low decommodification. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that stronger public health infrastructure and more inclusive social protections have mitigated the severity of the pandemic's adverse health impacts, more so than emergency containment measures and social restrictions.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.223-230
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the association between adenosine triphosphate-based chemotherapy response assays (ATP-CRAs) and subsets of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: In total, 15 gastric cancer tissue samples were obtained from gastrectomies performed between February 2007 and January 2011. Chemotherapy response assays were performed on tumor cells from these samples using 11 chemotherapeutic agents, including etoposide, doxorubicin, epirubicin, mitomycin, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), oxaliplatin, irinotecan, docetaxel, paclitaxel, methotrexate, and cisplatin. TILs in the tissue samples were evaluated using antibodies specific for CD3, CD4, CD8, Foxp3, and Granzyme B. Results: The highest cancer cell death rates were induced by etoposide (44.8%), 5-FU (43.1%), and mitomycin (39.9%). Samples from 10 patients who were treated with 5-FU were divided into 5-FU-sensitive and -insensitive groups according to median cell death rate. No difference was observed in survival between the two groups (P=0.216). Only two patients were treated with a chemotherapeutic agent determined by an ATP-CRA and there was no significant difference in overall survival compared with that of patients treated with their physician's choice of chemotherapeutic agent (P=0.105). However, a high number of CD3 TILs was a favorable prognostic factor (P=0.008). Pearson's correlation analyses showed no association between cancer cell death rates in response to chemotherapeutic agents and subsets of TILs. Conclusions: Cancer cell death rates in response to specific chemotherapeutic agents were not significantly associated with the distribution of TIL subsets.