• Title/Summary/Keyword: low sample size

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Chicken Egg Yolk Antibodies (IgY) for Prophylaxis and Treatment of Rotavirus Diarrhea in Human and Animal Neonates: A Concise Review

  • Thu, Hlaing Myat;Myat, Theingi Win;Win, Mo Mo;Thant, Kyaw Zin;Rahman, Shofiqur;Umeda, Kouji;Nguyen, Sa Van;Icatlo, Faustino C. Jr.;Higo-Moriguchi, Kyoko;Taniguchi, Koki;Tsuji, Takao;Oguma, Keiji;Kim, Sang Jong;Bae, Hyun Suk;Choi, Hyuk Joon
    • Food Science of Animal Resources
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    • v.37 no.1
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    • pp.1-9
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    • 2017
  • The rotavirus-induced diarrhea of human and animal neonates is a major public health concern worldwide. Until recently, no effective therapy is available to specifically inactivate the rotavirion particles within the gut. Passive immunotherapy by oral administration of chicken egg yolk antibody (IgY) has emerged of late as a fresh alternative strategy to control infectious diseases of the alimentary tract and has been applied in the treatment of diarrhea due to rotavirus infection. The purpose of this concise review is to evaluate evidence on the properties and performance of anti-rotavirus immunoglobulin Y (IgY) for prevention and treatment of rotavirus diarrhea in human and animal neonates. A survey of relevant anti-rotavirus IgY basic studies and clinical trials among neonatal animals (since 1994-2015) and humans (since 1982-2015) have been reviewed and briefly summarized. Our analysis of a number of rotavirus investigations involving animal and human clinical trials revealed that anti-rotavirus IgY significantly reduced the severity of clinical manifestation of diarrhea among IgY-treated subjects relative to a corresponding control or placebo group. The accumulated information as a whole depicts oral IgY to be a safe and efficacious option for treatment of rotavirus diarrhea in neonates. There is however a clear need for more randomized, placebo controlled and double-blind trials with bigger sample size to further solidify and confirm claims of efficacy and safety in controlling diarrhea caused by rotavirus infection especially among human infants with health issues such as low birth weights or compromised immunity in whom it is most needed.

An Analysis of the Effects of Consumer Characteristics and Consumer Trust on Purchase Intention of Environment-friendly Agricultural Products (소비자 특성과 소비자 신뢰가 친환경농산물의 구매의도에 미치는 영향 분석)

  • Kim, Mi-Song;Choi, Hyung-Kyu;Kim, Dong-Hwan
    • Journal of Distribution Science
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    • v.11 no.1
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    • pp.45-53
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    • 2013
  • Purpose - The environment-friendly agricultural product market in Korea sees continual high growth. Recently, the Korean government has been actively fostering environment-friendly agriculture as an engine of future growth. Korean people have increasingly become more health-conscious and interested in food safety issues. Many distribution and retailing companies have responded with various promotional activities. However, most of these are not strategic and appear to have unsatisfactory outcomes. The main purpose of this paper is to suggest effective marketing strategies for environment-friendly agricultural products. To achieve this aim, the study empirically investigates the effects of consumer characteristics and trust on the purchase intention of environment-friendly agricultural products. Research design, data, methodology - Based on the theory of planned behavior, and previous studies related to the purchase intention and consumption of environment-friendly agricultural products, we set up five study hypotheses. These related to the demographic characteristics of consumers, purchase intention, and behavior of the products. We then set up a study model and four study hypotheses relating to health consciousness, environmental consciousness, consumer trust level, purchase intention, and behavior of the products. The data were collected using a questionnaire given to consumers living in Seoul and southern Geonggi Province. The final sample size is 403 and mean age is 44.3. SPSS 15.0 for Windows and Amos 7.0 were used as statistical analysis tools. Meaningful results were derived using frequency analysis, correlation analysis, a t-test, and structural equation modeling. Results - Empirical results of this research are as follows. (1) First, it is shown that consumers consider such attributes as intimacy and health to be important when they buy environment-friendly agricultural products. (2) We also found that consumers recognize the value of environment-friendly agricultural products as high, but their trust level as low. (3) Consumer groups consisting of married couples, with higher education, higher income, and higher age are shown to have a higher intention of buying environment-friendly agricultural products than any other consumer group. (4) It is estimated that the level of consumer trust positively affects the purchase intention of environment-friendly agricultural products. The path coefficient (.138) between consumer trust and purchase intention is statistically significant at the α = .05 level. (5). It is also estimated that environmental consciousness positively affects purchase intention. The path coefficient (.245) between environmental consciousness and purchase intention is statistically significant at the α = 0.05 level. The standardized path coefficients of consumer trust and environmental consciousness with purchase intention are .556 and .288 respectively. Therefore, consumer trust affects purchase intention more than environmental consciousness. (6) Finally, purchase intention is estimated to positively affect purchase behavior. Conclusions - Based upon empirical results, this research suggests that marketers of environment-friendly agricultural products should focus more on increasing consumer trust levels, emphasizing the training and education of employees. The government also should pay attention to a standardized certification system for environment-friendly agricultural products. Marketers of environment-friendly agricultural products should consider the consumer groups of married couples, with higher education, higher income, and higher age as a major target segment.

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An evaluation of the composition and elements in Korean traditional interior space - On Choosa-Gotack in the Chosun dynasty - (한국전통 실내공간의 구성방법과 요소 분석을 통한 의미 고찰 - 조선조 추사고택을 중심으로 -)

  • 천진희
    • Archives of design research
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    • no.16
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    • pp.101-110
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    • 1996
  • CHOOSA GORACK which is a typical example of traditional houses in the CHO SEON dynasty consists of the four terraced builfing group. Among those,SADANG CHAI are located in the highest level,and SADANG CHAI and SADANG CHAI are toward south direction.It means that building orientation and level were influenced by the distinction of social level and the idea of ancester worship. Floor and ceiling level in the same building is different which was caused by the distinetion of social level in the CHO SEON dynasty and an ariental dual as a variety of openings,exposed ceilings,and furniture against a wall were creating a typical Korean visual harmony. Although the furniture and equipments were very important elements in ONDOL BANG the occupance ratio of these were low because the free space in BANG should be utilized effectively to accommodate the space variation.Both an AN CHAI and SARANG CHAI were composed by the standard space module called KAN.And interior elements were established by several factors such as the human scale,the behavior pattern in traditional sitting life style, and the lumber size of post and lintel construction of Korean house.BANG and DAE GHUNG, composed of KAN,were expanded and arranged side by side so that the natural light and ventilation through them could be used in the result of the kind of lay out,traffic circulation was disturved.In conclusion,CHOOSA GOTACK was formed by the sirect effice of the KOREAN penisula. However this study was based on one sample. It may not enough to deduct soild conclusion.Therefore continuous and farher study is needed for the sestemane evaluation.

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Classification Tree Analysis to Assess Contributing Factors Influencing Biosecurity Level on Farrow-to-Finish Pig Farms in Korea (분류 트리 기법을 이용한 국내 일괄사육 양돈장의 차단방역 수준에 영향을 미치는 기여 요인 평가)

  • Kim, Kyu-Wook;Pak, Son-Il
    • Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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    • v.33 no.2
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    • pp.107-112
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    • 2016
  • The objective of this study was to determine potential contributing factors associated with biosecurity level of farrow-to-finish pig farms and to develop a classification tree model to explore how these factors related to each other based on prediction model. To this end, the author analyzed data (n = 193) extracted from a cross-sectional study of 344 farrow-to-finish farms which was conducted between March and September 2014 aimed to explore swine disease status at farm level. Standardized questionnaires with information about basic demographical data and management practices were collected in each farm by on-site visit of trained veterinarians. For the classification of the data sets regarding biosecurity level as a dependent variable and predictor variables, Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID) algorithm was applied for modeling classification tree. The statistics of misclassification risk was used to evaluate the fitness of the model in terms of prediction results. Categorical multivariate input data (40 variables) was used to construct a classification tree, and the target variable was biosecurity level dichotomized into low versus high. In general, the level of biosecurity was lower in the majority of farms studied, mainly due to the limited implementation of on-farm basic biosecurity measures aimed at controlling the potential introduction and transmission of swine diseases. The CHAID model illustrated the relative importance of significant predictors in explaining the level of biosecurity; maintenance of medical records of treatment and vaccination, use of dedicated clothing to enter the farm, installing fence surrounding the farm perimeter, and periodic monitoring of the herd using written biosecurity plan in place. The misclassification risk estimate of the prediction model was 0.145 with the standard error of 0.025, indicating that 85.5% of the cases could be classified correctly by using the decision rule based on the current tree. Although CHAID approach could provide detailed information and insight about interactions among factors associated with biosecurity level, further evaluation of potential bias intervened in the course of data collection should be included in future studies. In addition, there is still need to validate findings through the external dataset with larger sample size to improve the external validity of the current model.

Assessing Biosecurity Practices on Commercial Pig Farms across Korea and Risk Factors for Porcine Circovirus Type 2 Infection (국내 양돈장의 차단방역 수준 평가 및 돼지써코바이러스 2형 감염의 위험요인에 관한 연구)

  • Choi, Sung-Hyun;Pak, Son-Il
    • Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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    • v.32 no.4
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    • pp.324-329
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    • 2015
  • The primary aim of this study was to investigate biosecurity practices in pig farms and to determine the major risk factors associated with PCV2 infection for a sampled swine population in Korea. To this end, we analyzed data from a cross-sectional study of 296 farrow-to-finish farms, which was conducted between March and September 2014 to explore the prevalence of swine disease at farm level. Face-to-face interviews by on-site visit of trained veterinarians were conducted with the farm owners or managers using a standardized questionnaires with information about basic demographical data and management practices. Farms were classified as negative or positive through the use of infection profiles that combined data on serological testing including PCR antigen test result, antibody titer and sero-conversion pattern at each age category taking into account vaccination status. Data were analyzed using multivariate ordinal logistic regression. Results from this study indicated that biosecurity level of the farms was considered not good given low compliance of the biosecurity programs and facilities in the farm: off-site removal of dead stocks (7%), off-site location of storage facility for incoming feeds (12.6%), off-site pick-up location for finishers (19.3%), restrictions on feed supplier vehicles for farm entrance (19.6%), restriction of finisher trucks entering the farm (22.4%), and restriction on manure disposal trucks entering the farm (26.4%). In the final model (n = 255), allowance of finisher truck driver to the pig unit had increased risk of infection (OR = 2.4, 95% CI 1.22-4.67) whereas farms with a sign forbidding the entrance had decreased risk of infection (OR = 0.19, 95% CI 0.10-0.58). Further comprehensive research with larger sample size is required to better understand the multifactorial characteristic that some predisposing risk factors that were not available in this study. To the best knowledge of the authors, this was the first study to use empirical data to report risk factors associated with PCV2 infection in the Korean pig farms. Results from the current study could be used to decide optimal biosecurity measures to reduce the impact of PCV2 infection to farmers and policy makers.

PAPER ELECTROPHORETIC SEPARATION OF SERUM PROTEINS IN CATTLE AND SWINE (여지전기영동법(濾紙電氣泳動法)에 의(依)한 한우(韓牛) 급(及) 돈(豚)의 정상혈청단백질분획(正常血淸蛋白質分劃)에 대(對)한 연구(硏究))

  • Rim, Bong Ho
    • Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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    • v.4 no.1
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    • pp.1-6
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    • 1964
  • The ratios of cattle and swine serum proteins taken from the slaughter house were studied by Paper Electrophoresis. 1. Of 79 cattle and 53 swine, 49 cattle and 32 swine were observed in this studying as normal animals, the rest which was over 60% of albumin, globulin values and 1/2 of A/G (albumin/globulin) ratio was observed separately as abnormalities, because physiological examination was not made before slaughter. The ratios of the normal serum proteins were A (albumin) 58.8, ${\alpha}$(alpha-globulin) 13.7, ${\beta}$(beta-globulin) 11.9, ${\gamma}$(gamma-globulin) 28.6, G(total globulin) 49.2, A/G 1.03 in cattle and A 48.4, ${\alpha}$ 18.0, ${\beta}$ 13.6, ${\gamma}$ 20.0, G 51,6, A/G 0.93 in swine, the result including abnormalities showed A 45.5, ${\alpha}$ 14.8, ${\beta}$ 12.5, ${\gamma}$ 26.7, G 54.5, A/G 0.83 in cattle and A 44.5, ${\alpha}$ 19.8, ${\beta}$ 13.7, ${\gamma}$ 21.8, G 55.3, A/G 0.80 in Swine. 2. The A/G ratio of cattle and swine were 1.03 and 0.93 respectively, the A/G ratio of Korean cattle and swine are higher than the ration reported of others. Although A/G ratio of swine was below 1.00, and its value showed slightly higher than the others. The A/G ratio in this result including the abnormalities was relatively low but this ratio was higher than that values obtained by other reporters. 3. Twenty nine percent of cattles and 34 per cent of swines in this study, fluctuation of A/G ratio was great. The values of ${\alpha}$ and ${\gamma}$ globulins thought to be influenced by the amount of total globulin except ${\beta}$-globulin in swine. To obtain more occurate results, more sample size is required, in other hand some animals that is in subclinical condition might influence the values of this study. 4. The ratios of each fraction mobility which were regarded albumin as 100 were A 100, ${\alpha}$ 73, ${\beta}$ 47, ${\gamma}$ 30 in Cattle and A 100, ${\alpha}$ 71, ${\beta}$ 46, ${\gamma}$ 30 in Swine.

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Efficacy of ketamine in the treatment of migraines and other unspecified primary headache disorders compared to placebo and other interventions: a systematic review

  • Chah, Neysan;Jones, Mike;Milord, Steve;Al-Eryani, Kamal;Enciso, Reyes
    • Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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    • v.21 no.5
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    • pp.413-429
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    • 2021
  • Background: Migraine headaches are the second leading cause of disability worldwide and are responsible for significant morbidity, reduction in the quality of life, and loss of productivity on a global scale. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the efficacy of ketamine on migraines and other primary headache disorders compared to placebo and other active interventions, such as midazolam, metoclopramide/diphenhydramine, and prochlorperazine/diphenhydramine. Methods: An electronic search of databases published up to February 2021, including Medline via PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library, a hand search of the bibliographies of the included studies, as well as literature and systematic reviews found through the search was conducted to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating ketamine in the treatment of migraine/headache disorders compared to the placebo. The authors assessed the risk of bias according to the Cochrane Handbook guidelines. Results: The initial search strategy yielded 398 unduplicated references, which were independently assessed by three review authors. After evaluation, this number was reduced to five RCTs (two unclear risk of bias and three high risk of bias). The total number of patients in all the studies was 193. Due to the high risk of bias, small sample size, heterogeneity of the outcomes reported, and heterogeneity of the comparison groups, the quality of the evidence was very low. One RCT reported that intranasal ketamine was superior to intranasal midazolam in improving the aura attack severity, but not duration, while another reported that intranasal ketamine was not superior to metoclopramide and diphenhydramine in reducing the headache severity. In one trial, subcutaneous ketamine was superior to saline in migraine severity reduction; however, intravenous (I.V.) ketamine was inferior to I.V. prochlorperazine and diphenhydramine in another study. Conclusion: Further double-blind controlled studies are needed to assess the efficacy of ketamine in treating acute and chronic refractory migraines and other primary headaches using intranasal and subcutaneous routes. These studies should include a long-term follow-up and different ketamine dosages in diagnosed patients following international standards for diagnosing headache/migraine.

Efficacy of medications in adult patients with trigeminal neuralgia compared to placebo intervention: a systematic review with meta-analyses

  • Peterson-Houle, Georgia M.;AbdelFattah, Magda R.;Padilla, Mariela;Enciso, Reyes
    • Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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    • v.21 no.5
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    • pp.379-396
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    • 2021
  • Background: Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is characterized by brief, unilateral, sharp, stabbing, and shooting pain of the fifth cranial nerve. The objective of this systematic review with meta-analysis was to determine the effect of medications compared to placebo in adult patients with TN. Methods: Review authors identified randomized placebo-controlled trials (RCTs) from PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, and EMBASE up to February 2021. We assessed the inclusion and exclusion criteria as well as the risk of bias of the studies based on the Cochrane Handbook. A total of 324 unduplicated references were scanned independently and reduced to eight relevant RCTs, with 89 patients included. Medications investigated included oral carbamazepine, subcutaneous sumatriptan, lidocaine (intranasal, 8% spray on the oral mucosa or intravenous), buprenorphine (ganglionic local opioid analgesia), and oral Nav1.7, a selective sodium channel blocker. Results: Meta-analyses showed that overall patients receiving lidocaine reported a significantly lower post-treatment intensity of pain -3.8 points on a 0-10 scale (95% Cl = -4.653 to -2.873; P < 0.001). Patients who received lidocaine were 8.62 times more likely to have pain improvement than patients on placebo (P < 0.001). In one RCT, patients receiving oral carbamazepine showed a significant improvement in pain intensity of -32% compared to the placebo (P < 0.001). In one trial, patients receiving 3 mg subcutaneous sumatriptan had a significantly lower intensity of pain on average -6.1 points on a scale of 0-10 compared to placebo (P < 0.001) and a significant improvement in pain intensity of -75% compared to the improvement in the placebo group (P < 0.001). Patients who received subcutaneous sumatriptan were 10 times more likely to have pain improvement than those who received placebo (P = 0.001) in one study. Due to the unclear/high risk of bias and small sample size, the quality of the evidence for lidocaine in the treatment of TN was low. Conclusion: Further studies are needed for carbamazepine, sumatriptan, buprenorphine, and oral Nav1.7 sodium channel blockers, as only one study reported outcomes.

Reduction of headache intensity and frequency with maxillary stabilization splint therapy in patients with temporomandibular disorders-headache comorbidity: a systematic review and meta-analysis

  • Manrriquez, Salvador L.;Robles, Kenny;Pareek, Kam;Besharati, Alireza;Enciso, Reyes
    • Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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    • v.21 no.3
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    • pp.183-205
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    • 2021
  • This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to analyze the effectiveness of maxillary stabilization splint (SS) therapy to reduce headache (HA) intensity and HA frequency in patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD)-HA comorbidity. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using full-arch coverage, hard resin, and maxillary SS therapy were included. Electronic databases, including Cochrane Library, MEDLINE through PubMed, Web of Science, and EMBASE, were searched. The risk of bias was analyzed based on Cochrane's handbook. The search yielded 247 references up to January 28, 2020. Nine RCTs were included at a high risk of bias. The comparison groups included other splints, counseling, jaw exercises, medications, neurologic treatment, and occlusal equilibration. Four studies reported a statistically significant reduction in HA intensity, and five studies reported significant improvement in HA frequency from baseline at 2-12 months in patients with TMD-HA comorbidity treated with a full-arch hard maxillary SS. HA frequency in tension-type HA (TTH) comorbid with TMD diagnoses of myofascial pain (MFP) or capsulitis/synovitis improved significantly with SS than that with full-arch maxillary non-occluding splint (NOS) in two studies. Comparison groups receiving hard partial-arch maxillary splint nociceptive trigeminal inhibition (NTI) showed statistically significant improvements in HA intensity in patients with mixed TMD phenotypes of MFP and disc displacement comorbid with "general HA." Comparison groups receiving partial-arch maxillary resilient/soft splint (Relax) showed significant improvements in both HA intensity and frequency in patients with HA concomitant with MFP. The meta-analysis showed no statistically significant difference in the improvement of pain intensity at 2-3 months with comparison of the splints (partial-arch soft [Relax], hard [NTI], and full-arch NOS) or splint use compliance at 6-12 months with comparison of the splints (partial-arch Relax and full-arch NOS) versus the SS groups in patients with various TMD-HA comorbidities. In conclusion, although SS therapy showed a statistically significant decrease in HA intensity and HA frequency when reported, the evidence quality was low due to the high bias risk and small sample size. Therefore, further studies are required.

A Study on Availabilities of Self-evaluation and Peer-evaluation of Team Activities in Computer Science Basic Classes (컴퓨터학부 기초전공 수업에서 팀 활동에 대한 자기평가와 동료평가의 활용성 연구)

  • Cho, Soosun
    • Journal of Internet Computing and Services
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    • v.23 no.2
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    • pp.107-114
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    • 2022
  • In this paper, availabilities of student-evaluations of team activities in the computer science basic classes were analysed. For the purpose, correlation analysis was conducted to investigate the relationships among peer-evaluation, self-evaluation, and academic achievement, and it was found that there was a statistically significant positive correlation among them. Moreover, the gap between peer-evaluation scores and self-evaluation scores was analyzed. When a one-sample t-test was performed, it was found that the gap was very significant. However, the size of the gap was not different between the two classes. That is, regardless of grade level, the students' self-evaluation scores tended to be on average higher than the evaluation scores received from peers. Finally, when analyzing the relationship between the gap in peer-evaluation and self-evaluation scores and academic achievement, there was no significant correlation between the gap in scores and academic achievement. In other words, there was no difference in the tendency of evaluation for students with high or low academic achievement. The results of the analysis shows the availability of student-evaluations of team activities in the evaluation of team-based instruction. The high correlation between self-evaluation and peer-evaluation indicates the objectivity of student-evaluation. Although it is clear that the self-evaluation score is higher on average than the score received from peers, it is more useful in terms of objectivity because it does not vary according to grade, subject, or academic achievement.