• Journal of The Korean Society of Inherited Metabolic disease
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.39-47
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• 2017

Purpose: A sensitive gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method was developed for screening of fatty acid oxidation disorders. Methods: The assay utilized a simple protein precipitation with sulfosalicylic acid followed by tert-butyl dimethylsilyl (TBDMS) derivatization of hydroxyl functional group by N-tert-butyldimethylsilyl-N-methyltrifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA). Results: Calibration curves of spiked pooled plasma showed a linear relationship in the range of 0.01 ng -2 mg with correlation coefficient value greater than 0.98. Limits of detection (LOD) and limits of quantification (LOQ) were found in the range of 0.9-8.8 ng and 9-88 ng, respectively. Conclusion: The new developed method might be useful for a rapid, sensitive screening of inherited fatty acid oxidation disorders. In addition, the method expected to be one of the alternative method for screening newborns of metabolic disorders in the laboratories where expensive MS/MS is unavailable.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.13
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• pp.5161-5166
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• 2014

Our aim was to access the association between recreational physical activity (RPA) and risk of ovarian cancer (OC). The studies were retrieved from the PubMed and Embase databases up to February 20th, 2014. Risk ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to estimate effect sizes. Random-effects or fixed-effects models were used to pool the data. The trim and fill method was applied for sensitivity analysis. Begg's rank correlation test and Egger's regression asymmetry test were employed to assess the publication bias. A total of 6 studies (435398 participants including 2983 OC patients) were included in this meta-analysis. The overall estimate indicated that there was weakly inverse association between RPA and OC risk (RR=0.90, 95%CI: 0.72-1.12, p=0.335). Meanwhile, for prospective cohort studies, a result consistent with the overall estimate was obtained (RR=1.12, 95% CI: 0.88-1.42, p=0.356). However, for case control studies, the pooled estimate of RR was 0.76 (95%CI: 0.64-0.90, p=0.002), indicating a clear significant association between RPA and OC risk. In addition, the sensitivity analysis indicated a significant link between RPA and risk of OC after removing Lahmann's study (RR=0.80, 95% CI: 0.68-0.93, p=0.004). No significant publication bias was found (Begg's test: p=1.00; Egger's test: p=0.817). In conclusion, our meta-analysis indicated a weakly inverse relationship between RPA and the occurrence of OC.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.9
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• pp.159-168
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• 2020

This is a quantitative research, underpinned by the philosophy of natural science and deduction approach that examines the impact of the various aspects of corporate governance mechanism on the choice of capital structure of Vietnamese listed firms. We focus on the effect of factors such as the board size, the board independence, and especially different ownership structures, which include the managerial ownership, the state ownership, the concentrated ownership, and the foreign ownership. They are the main scopes of corporate governance and are supposed to be relevant to determine the corporate financing choice. To explain the causal relationship between factors, we construct the regression model and then test it by using different statistical method approaches, including the pooled OLS, the fixed effects model, and the random effects model. Data are collected from 336 firms with shares listed in the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange in Vietnam, totaling 1583 observations. Overall, the results reveal that the board size, state ownership, and concentrated ownership have positive impact on the firm's capital structure, whereas foreign ownership appears to have negative influence on the capital structure. The research does not find evidence of a the correlation between board independence, managerial ownership and corporate capital struture.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.8
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• pp.269-280
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• 2020

The study investigates Environmental Accounting Information (EAI) as well as factors affecting the environmental accounting implementation by the construction firms listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE), Vietnam. After eliminating seven enterprises that lacked data, the authors selected a sample of 112 observations from 28 construction businesses listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange in the period 2015-2018. This study uses research data extracted from the companies' annual reports. Then, the data are analyzed by Stata 13 software, including descriptive statistics, correlation coefficient analysis, regression analysis of table data using estimation methods (Pooled OLS, REM, FEM), and testing of model defects (heteroskedasticity test, multicollinearity test, autocorrelation test). The results show that construction companies listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange have out factors affecting the environmental accounting implementation by these enterprises, including independent audit firm and listed time. While the independent auditor firm has a positive and significant impact, the listed time has a negative influence. In addition, our study has confirmed the role of institutional factors affecting the disclosure level of EAI on the implementation of environmental accounting by construction enterprises listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.283-287
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• 2006

Although estrogen is known to playa role in fatty acid metabolism, it remains unclear whether fatty acid oxidation in mature female rats differs from fatty acid oxidation in peri-pubertal young rats. In this study, we measured fatty acid metabolism in the skeletal muscles and livers of 5 and 50 weeks old male and female rats. The rate of palmitate oxidation in the liver and gastrocnemius red in the 50-week-old female rats were elevated as compared to the 5-week-old females, whereas there were no differences in the male rats. The rate of palmitate oxidation in the gastrocnemius red was correlated inversely with intra-abdominal fat mass in the 5-week-old male and female rats, whereas the palmitate oxidation rate was positively correlated with fat mass in the liver and gastrocnemius red in the 50-week-old rats. HOMA-IR and plasma insulin levels were positively correlated with intra-abdominal fat mass in the pooled 50-week-old male and female rats, but this correlation was not apparent in 5-week-old rats. In summary, the rate of fatty acid oxidation measured in the middle-aged adult female rats was significantly higher than those measured in the peri-pubertal young female rats. This difference may be attributed to the influence of ovarian hormones.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.841-850
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• 2021

This study aims to evaluate the relationship between bank capital, efficiency, and risk in Islamic banks. We use data from 129 Islamic banks in the world, retrieved from various data sources. We retrieved specific banking data from Moody's Analytics BankFocus and Thomson Reuters Eikon, while data at the country level was obtained from the World Bank website. This study uses various estimates both Pooled OLS (Ordinary Least Square) and Random Effect (RE). However, to overcome the issue of serial correlation which could cause bias in the results of the study, we used fixed-effect (FE) cluster estimates. The research results confirm the previous findings that bank capital positively affects bank stability (natural logarithm of Z-Score) and negatively affects credit risk (loan loss provision to total liabilities). The findings also show that efficiency has the same effect. The interaction test of bank capital and efficiency shows that efficiency encourages banks to reduce risk, including when bank capital is relatively lower. This finding is expected to have implications for the authorities to boost bank efficiency in addition to establishing several regulations related to capital. The efficiency implemented by the bank will encourage banks to act prudently so that the bank can maintain its performance through risk mitigation.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.141-151
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• 2016

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to elucidate the clinicopathological significance and diagnostic accuracy of immunohistochemistry (IHC) for determining the mesenchymal epidermal transition (c-MET) expression in patients with gastric cancer (GC). Materials and Methods: The present meta-analysis investigated the correlation between c-MET expression as determined by IHC and the clinicopathological parameters in 8,395 GC patients from 37 studies that satisfied the eligibility criteria. In addition, a concordance analysis was performed between c-MET expression as determined by IHC and c-MET amplification, and the diagnostic test accuracy was reviewed. Results: The estimated rate of c-MET overexpression was 0.403 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.327~0.484) and it was significantly correlated with male patients, poor differentiation, lymph node metastasis, higher TNM stage, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positivity in IHC analysis. There was a significant correlation between c-MET expression and worse overall survival rate (hazard ratio, 1.588; 95% CI, 1.266~1.992). The concordance rates between c-MET expression and c-MET amplification were 0.967 (95% CI, 0.916~0.987) and 0.270 (95% CI, 0.173~0.395) for cases with non-overexpressed and overexpressed c-MET, respectively. In the diagnostic test accuracy review, the pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.56 (95% CI, 0.50~0.63) and 0.79 (95% CI, 0.77~0.81), respectively. Conclusions: The c-MET overexpression as determined by IHC was significantly correlated with aggressive tumor behavior and positive IHC status for HER2 in patients with GC. In addition, the c-MET expression status could be useful in the screening of c-MET amplification in patients with GC.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.3117-3121
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• 2013

Objective: Previous epidemiologic studies demonstrated that obesity might associated with the risk of bladder cancer. However, many of the actual association findings remained conflicting. To better clarify and provide a comprehensive summary of the correlation between obesity and bladder cancer risk, we conducted a meta-analysis to summarize results of studies on the issue. Stratified analyses were also performed on potential variables and characteristics. Methods: Studies were identified by searching in PubMed and Wanfang databases, covering all the papers published from their inception to March 10, 2013. Summary relative risks (SRRs) with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by either random-effect or fixed-effect models. Results: A total of 11 cohort studies were included in our meta-analysis, which showed that obesity was associated with an increased risk for bladder cancer in all subjects (RR=1.10, 95% CI=1.06-1.16; p=0.215 for heterogeneity; $I^2$=24.0%). Among the 9 studies that controlled for cigarette smoking, the pooled RR was 1.09 (95% CI 1.01-1.17; p=0.131 for heterogeneity; $I^2$=35.9%). No significant publication bias was detected (p = 0.244 for Egger's regression asymmetry test). Conclusions: Our results support the conclusion that obesity is associated with the increased risk of bladder cancer. Further research is needed to generate a better understanding of the correlation and to provide more convincing evidence for clinical intervention in the prevention of bladder cancer.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.72-79
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• 2022

Objective : Any traumatic event can be a risk factor, for subsequent mental disorder. However, childhood trauma, especially in interpersonal nature, is associated with later development of complex symptom patterns. This study examined the role of dissociation as a mediator between childhood trauma and symptom complexity. Methods : A pooled data of 369 psychiatric outpatients at a university-affiliated hospital was analyzed for descriptive statistics, group differences, and bivariate correlation analysis to verify a structural model. The questionnaires included the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, the Trauma History Screen, the Dissociative Experiences Scale-Taxon, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and the Abbreviated PTSD checklist. Results : When other trauma variables were controlled, childhood interpersonal trauma had significant correlation with symptom complexity (r=0.155, p=0.003). Among the paths analyzed, that of childhood interpersonal trauma and dissociation showed the greatest impact on symptom complexity (b=9.34, t=5.75, p<0.001). Based on the significance of the indirect impact, the results suggest a complete mediation impact of dissociation on symptom complexity. Conclusion : This study validated that childhood interpersonal trauma impacts symptom complexity, through the sequential mediating impact of dissociation. Thus, clinicians should understand childhood interpersonal trauma, dissociation, and symptom patterns in a complex and interacting mode, and develop effective pertinent treatment strategies.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.19
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• pp.8383-8390
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• 2014

Background: Although the predictive value of the excision repair cross-complementing group 1 (ERCC1) C118T polymorphism in clinical outcomes of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) receiving oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy has been evaluated in numerous published studies, the conclusions are conflicting. Therefore, we performed the present meta-analysis to determine the precise role of the ERCC1 C118T polymorphism in this clinical situation and help optimize individual chemotherapy. Materials and Methods: A multiple search strategy was used to identify eligible studies. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to estimate objective response and oxaliplatin-induced toxicity, with hazard ratios (HRs) with 95%CIs for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Results: A total of 22 studies including 2,846 CRC patients were eligible in the analysis. Overall, no significant correlation was found between the ERCC1 C118T polymorphism and objective response to oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy, in all patients or in the Asian and Caucasian subgroups. However, the pooled analysis showed that the PFS and OS were significantly shorter in patients who carried T/T or T/C genotypes of ERCC1 C118T as compared to the C/C genotype. On stratified analysis by ethnicity, the ERCC1 118T allele was associated with a favorable prognosis in Caucasians (PFS, HR=0.58, 95%CI: 0.24-1.44; OS, HR=0.38, 95%CI: 0.22-0.64) but an unfavorable prognosis in Asians (PFS, HR=2.49, 95%CI: 1.87-3.33; OS, HR=2.63, 95%CI: 1.87-3.69) based on a dominant model. In addition, we failed to find a statistically significant impact of ERCC1 C118T polymorphism on oxaliplatin-induced toxicity. Conclusions: The ERCC1 C118T polymorphism may have prognostic value in patients with CRC undergoing oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy.