• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• 제5권2호
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• pp.132-139
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• 2011

Evidence of the association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and metabolic syndrome (MeS) remains uncertain and incongruent. This study aimed to determine the association between 25(OH)D and MeS among Jordanian adults. A complex multistage sampling technique was used to select a national population-based household sample. The present report deals exclusively with adults aged > 18 years who had complete information on all components of MeS (n = 3,234). A structured questionnaire was used to collect all relevant information. Anthropometric, clinical, and laboratory measurements were obtained. MeS was defined according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) definition. Of the total, 42.0% had MeS and 31.7% had 25(OH)D < 30 ng/ml. In a stratified analysis, the prevalence of MeS did not differ significantly between subjects with low and normal 25(OH)D levels for men and women in all age groups. In the multivariate analysis, the odds of MeS were not significantly different between subjects with low and normal 25(OH)D levels (OR = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.70, 1.05, P-value = 0.133). The association between 25(OH)D and MeS remained non-significant when 25(OH)D was analyzed as a continuous variable (OR = 1.004, 95% CI; 1.000, 1.008, P = 0.057) and when analyzed based on quartiles. None of the individual components of MeS were significantly associated with 25(OH)D level. This study does not provide evidence to support the association between 25(OH)D level and MeS or its individual components. Prospective studies are necessary to better determine the roles of 25(OH)D levels in the etiology of MeS.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• 제36권5호
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• pp.491-499
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• 2003

Selenium is a strong antioxidant trace mineral, scavenging free radicals. The prevalence of chronic degenerative diseases is increasing in Korean adults with increasing age. The increased cell damage from free radicals has been implicated in the etiology of these diseases, and evidence is accumulating that the low selenium status that comes with advanced aged is involved in the prevalence of age-associated diseases. However, little is known about the selenium status of Koreans, its age-related change and its relationship to dietary nutrient intake. In this study, the serum selenium levels of healthy adult females according to life cycle and its association with blood albumin levels and nutrient intake were examined. Serum selenium level was measured with the Huwo research reactor using the neutron activation analysis method (NAA). The overall proportion of women with selenium deficiency, serum selenium concentrations below 7.0 $\mu\textrm{g}$/dl, was 9.4%. The average serum selenium levels were 12.39 $\mu\textrm{g}$/dl, 9.45 $\mu\textrm{g}$/dl and 9.16 $\mu\textrm{g}$/dl in the young adult, middle-aged and elderly groups, respectively, showing a reduction of selenium status with advancing age. Selenium deficiency was seen only in the elderly group. Generally, serum selenium levels positively or negatively correlated with nutrient intake, but these association patterns differed depending on the age. The nutrients that showed positive correlations with selenium levels were proteins and phosphate in the young adult group (p < 0.05, p < 0.05), and total calcium, potassium and vegetable-origin calcium in the middle-aged group. Vitamin C and fiber were the negative correlated nutrients with serum selenium levels in the elderly group (p < 0.05, p < 0.05). Multiple stepwise regression analysis of the determining factors responsible for selenium status showed that age and serum albumin levels were important factors which explained up to 26.9% variances in serum selenium levels. The average selenium concentrations of Korean adult female subjects were above the deficiency levels in all three age groups. There was a tendency toward decreasing selenium levels as the age of the subjects increased. The factors with the strongest in-fluence on selenium status in healthy adult Korean females were age and serum protein status. (Korean J Nutrition 36(5): 491~499, 2003)

• 생물정신의학
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• 제13권4호
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• pp.219-225
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• 2006

Depression has been causing huge direct and indirect losses to people's health because of its high prevalence, various clinical patterns, drug reaction and diverse courses different among individuals, but its treatment has not been systematic but dependent on individual clinicians' experience and knowledge. To correct this problem, it has been highly necessary to develop clinical guidelines defined as "systematically developed statements to assist practitioners' and patients' decisions about appropriate healthcare for specific clinical circumstances." Currently, countries throughout the world are making efforts to establish evidence-based guidelines among different levels of guidelines and to evaluate and test them. Although such efforts have been unsatisfactory in Korea because of several constraints including lack of high-quality RCT, the Korean Depression Clinical Practice Guideline has started to develop evidence-based guidelines, which are established through strictly designed processes. Thus, the present study purposed to review methods adopted in the development processes and to present the processes of developing the evidence-based guidelines clearly and transparently.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권18호
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• pp.7499-7503
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• 2014

Physical inactivity has reached epidemic levels in developed countries and is being recognized as a serious public health problem. Recent evidence shows a high percentages of individuals worldwide who are physically inactive, i.e. do not achieve the WHO's present recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity per week in addition to usual activities. Living in sedentary lifestyle is one of the leading causes of deaths and a high risk factor for several chronic diseases, like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes type 2, and osteoporosis. This article summarizes evidence for relative risk of the civilization diseases attributable to physical inactivity and the most important conclusions available from the recent investigations computing the economic costs specific to physical inactivity. The findings provide health and economic arguments needed for people to understand the meaning of a sedentary lifestyle. This may be also useful for public health policy in the creation of programmes for prevention of physical inactivity.

• 한국영어학회지:영어학
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• 제3권4호
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• pp.527-545
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• 2003

I look at the respective responsibilities of different components of the language faculty in the description of two radically different kinds of linguistic phenomenon. The first is the production/perception mismatch in the child's acquisition of the phonology of its first language. There is strong evidence that the child's lexical representations are the same as the adult's, but I argue that the child's own pronunciations, have no linguistic status and are best treated as the product of a neural network. The second is the nature of compositionality, where I argue that compositionality in Natural Language is derivative from that in the Language of Thought. With this assumption and using evidence from quantification in ‘backward control’ structures, I argue that chain theory is intrinsically inimical to a simple view of the legibility relation between LF and LoT.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• 제55권8호
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• pp.265-271
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• 2012

Phytoestrogen is an estrogenic compound that occurs naturally in plants. The most common sources of phytoestrogen are soybean products, which contain high levels of isoflavones. This compound, which has structural similarity with estrogen, can act as an estrogen receptor agonist or antagonist. Animal studies provide evidence of the significant effects of phytoestrogen on sexual development, including altered pubertal timing, impaired estrous cycling and ovarian function, and altered hypothalamus and pituitary functions. Although human studies examining the effects of phytoestrogen on sexual development are extremely limited, the results of some studies agree with those of the animal studies. In this paper, we review the possible mechanism of phytoestrogen action and the evidence showing the effects of phytoestrogen on sexual development in animal and human studies.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• 제36권2호
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• pp.163-170
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• 2018

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare neuroendocrine tumor of the skin initially believed to arise from the Merkel cells. In the community setting a general radiation oncologist may only encounter this pathology in a handful of cases over the course of their career. Due to the low incidence of this malignancy, few prospective randomized controlled trials have ever been conducted and therefore guidelines are based on relatively lower levels of evidence upon which the clinical recommendations are made. We discuss the case of a female in her 90s presenting with a classic MCC primary lesion, as well as satellite lesions proximal to both the primary and the draining regional lymph nodes with no evidence of nodal involvement. Here we discuss the presentation, management, treatment planning, underlying pathology, results and sequelae of treatment. We also review new treatment modalities, and the most current staging systems and guidelines.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• 제6권5호
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• pp.429-435
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• 2012

Atopic dermatitis (AD) has become a serious epidemic in Korean children. We aimed to investigate the association between vitamin C, E and other nutrients, and serum total IgE/specific IgE levels in children with AD. A total of 119 children (0-24 mo) diagnosed with AD were recruited for this cross-sectional study from a medical center in Seoul. A 24 h recall was used to assess dietary intakes. Serum total and six food-allergen specific IgE levels were measured by CAP-FEIA. Serum vitamin E was also measured but only in 25 out of the total 119 participants. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to estimate the coefficients between serum IgE levels and dietary intake as well as serum vitamin E. Serum vitamin E levels showed a significantly inverse association with serum total IgE and all specific IgE levels (P < 0.05). Fat intake was inversely related with specific-IgEs for egg whites, milk, buck wheat, soy, and peanuts (P < 0.05). Positive associations were found between carbohydrate (CHO) intake and total IgE and specific IgEs to egg whites, milk, soy, and peanuts (P < 0.05). Vitamin C, E and n-3/n-6 fatty acids were not related with serum total IgE and specific IgE levels except for the association between buck wheat and vitamin E. In addition, there were no significant differences between males and females in dietary intake and serum IgE levels by student's t-test. Although dietary vitamin E showed no association with serum IgE levels, serum vitamin E drew a significant inverse relationship with serum IgE levels. The evidence seems to suggest that vitamin E may possibly lower total and specific-IgEs in children with AD, and that it is important to maintain a relatively high serum vitamin E level in children with AD.

• 재무관리논총
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• 제6권1호
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• pp.313-334
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• 2000

In this paper, we obtained some supportive evidence for the long-run PPP relationship concerning the Korean Won currency. Previous tests of PPP in the bilateral exchange rates of the Korean Won rate vis-a-vis the U.S. Dollar have been exposed to the lack of power problem. We argue that their failure to find PPP relation in Korean Won rates was due to the low power of Augmented Dickey-Fuller tests or the Engle-Granger two-step tests applied to the Korean exchange rate data with short sample period. En attempting to alleviate this low power problem, we used the error-correction model test and the Johansen test for bilateral long-run equilibrium relationships between exchange rates and price indices from Korea's major trading partners. It is surprising that our evidence supporting for long-run PPP in Korean Won rate contrasts sharply with Bahmani-Oskooee, Moshen and Rhee, Hyun-Jae(1992)'s.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• 제26권3호
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• pp.102-116
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• 2022

Purpose - This paper empirically investigates the relationship between firm productivity and importing intermediate inputs in the Korean manufacturing sector. Design/methodology - This paper tests the two related hypotheses on the relationship between importing and productivity for a sample of Korean manufacturing firms. We test the self-selection hypothesis by comparing pre-entry levels of productivity between importers and non-importers. We test the learning-by-importing hypothesis by employing propensity score matching with differencein-differences approach. Findings - Future importers are more productive than future non-importers years before they start to import, which supports the self-selection hypothesis. In contrast, there is no strong evidence for learning-by-importing. Originality/value - This paper is the first study to explore the relationship between importing and firm-level productivity for Korean firms. The results have an important implication on trade policies to lower or raise trade barriers in imported inputs.