• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.546-554
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• 2021

Background: Diabetes mellitus and hypertension often occur together, amplifying cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and emphasizing the need for a multitargeted treatment approach. American ginseng (AG) and Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) species could improve glycemic control via complementary mechanisms. Additionally, a KRG-inherent component, ginsenoside Rg3, may moderate blood pressure (BP). Our objective was to investigate the therapeutic potential of coadministration of Rg3-enriched Korean Red Ginseng (Rg3-KRG) and AG, added to standard of care therapy, in the management of hypertension and cardiometabolic risk factors in type-2 diabetes. Methods: Within a randomized controlled, parallel design of 80 participants with type-2 diabetes (HbA1c: 6.5-8%) and hypertension (systolic BP: 140-160 mmHg or treated), supplementation with either 2.25 g/day of combined Rg3-KRG + AG or wheat-bran control was assessed over a 12-wk intervention period. The primary endpoint was ambulatory 24-h systolic BP. Additional endpoints included further hemodynamic assessment, glycemic control, plasma lipids and safety monitoring. Results: Combined ginseng intervention generated a mean ± SE decrease in primary endpoint of 24-h systolic BP (-3.98 ± 2.0 mmHg, p = 0.04). Additionally, there was a greater reduction in HbA1c (-0.35 ± 0.1% [-3.8 ± 1.1 mmol/mol], p = 0.02), and change in blood lipids: total cholesterol (-0.50 ± 0.2 mmol/l, p = 0.01), non-HDL-C (-0.54 ± 0.2 mmol/l, p = 0.01), triglycerides (-0.40 ± 0.2 mmol/l, p = 0.02) and LDL-C (-0.35 ± 0.2 mmol/l, p = 0.06) at 12 wks, relative to control. No adverse safety outcomes were observed. Conclusion: Coadministration of Rg3-KRG + AG is an effective addon for improving BP along with attaining favorable cardiometabolic outcomes in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Ginseng derivatives may offer clinical utility when included in the polypharmacy and lifestyle treatment of diabetes. Clinical trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier, NCT01578837;

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.2075-2081
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• 2016

Background: Breast cancer incidence and mortality rates are increasing in North-Eastern Brazil and the patients with the disease often presented at advanced stages. The present study was focused on identifying variables that affect women's frequency of breast self- examination (BSE) performance. Materials and Methods: Data on BSE, socio-economic parameters and risk factors for breast cancer were obtained from 417 women from a community in North-Eastern Brazil by a self-informant method. To identify independent variables that affect frequency of BSE, nominal logistic regression analysis was performed. Results: Of 417 women, 330 (79.3%) reported performing BSE. Compared to high-income women, BSE performance by low-income women every month was 7.69 (OD=0.130; CI 95%: 0.044- 0.0386; p=0.000) times lower. Women who did not live in a stable union performed BSE each month 2.73 (OD=0.366; CI 95%: 0.171-0.782; p=0.010) less often than those living in a stable union. BSE performance every month and every six months or every year by women with poor knowledge about risk factors for breast cancer was 3.195 (OD=0.313; CI 95%: 0.141- 0.695; p=0.004) times and 2.028 (OD=0.493; CI 95%: 0.248- 0.979; p=0.043) times lower, compared to women with good knowledge. Participants who had a close relative with cancer performed BSE every month and every six months or every year 2.132 (OD=0.469; CI 95%: 0.220-0.997; p=0.049) times and 2.337 (OD=0.428; CI 95%: 0.219-0.836; p=0.013) times less often, compared to those women without close relatives with cancer. Conclusions: The results of this study indicated that income, marital status, knowledge about risk factors and having a close relative with breast cancer, affect the frequency of BSE performance. Information about risk factors in public health campaigns could additionally strengthen avoidance behaviour and also motivate BSE performance.

• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.139-152
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study is how Chinese users' personal traits affect the intention to use mobile payment. This research selects personal innovativeness and habit of cash payment as personal traits, and considers perceived risks and relative advantage as personal beliefs. In addition, the research divided perceived risks into three multi-faceted risks, which are privacy risk, financial risk and performance risk. Methods: The method of this study used questionnaire survey to collect 241 data on users' perception on mobile payment, and also used a structural equation modeling method. Results: The result of this paper shows that all hypotheses are statistically significant except 4 hypotheses. Conclusion: The result of this study found that personal innovativeness is negatively related with all 3 kinds of perceived risks as anticipated. And Chinese users' traditional habit of cash payment negatively affects intention to use mobile payment but is not statistically significant affecting three perceived risks. Among perceived risks, privacy risk is the most negatively influencing factor to relative advantage.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.65 no.3
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• pp.131-135
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• 2022

Purpose: There is inconsistent evidence about the association between fetal nuchal cord and the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We performed a meta-analysis to investigate whether fetal nuchal cord is associated with an increased risk of ASD in offspring. Methods: Three main English databases were searched until January 2021. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess study quality. Study heterogeneity was determined using the I 2 statistic, while publication bias was assessed using Begg and Egger tests. Results are presented as odds ratios (ORs) and relative ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CI) and were determined by a random-effects model. Results: Five articles (1 cohort, 4 case-control; 3,088 total children) were included in the present meta-analysis. Fetal nuchal cord was not a risk factor for ASD (OR, 1.11; 95% CI, 0.66-1.57). There was homogeneity among studies that reported a risk of ASD (I²=0.0%). Conclusion: Our results showed that fetal nuchal cord is not a risk factor for ASD. Future large cohort studies should confirm this finding.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.1-5
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• 2003

Leptin has a close correlation with obesity, which is known to be a major factor for stroke. This study was performed to determine whether serum leptin level would be an independent risk factor for stroke and whether it would change significantly early after stroke. Subjects were selected from those within I month after onset and non-stroke referents at Kyung Hee Oriental Medical Center in Seoul, Korea. We compared leptin and the other characteristics between stroke subjects and referents. Body mass index, hypertension history, presence of drinking and smoking, waist/hip ratio, total cholesterol and triglyceride were recorded. To assess odds ratio of leptin for stroke, we used logistic regression analysis. Leptin was rechecked 2 weeks later and compared with the former value in acute stroke subjects. In this study, serum leptin did not differ significantly between stroke subjects and referents, and its odds ratio was not significant in male (OR=0.52, 95％ Cl; 0.13-2.08) and female (OR=1.57, 95％ Cl; 0.53-4.67). In acute stroke subjects, leptin did not change significantly 2 weeks later. Hypertension had a significant odds ratio in male (OR=3.39, 95％ Cl; 1.02-11.24) and female (OR=12.37, 95％ Cl; 3.67-41.65). High waist/hip ratio was only in female (OR=6.70, 95％ Cl; 1.73-26.02). In conclusion, leptin was not an independent risk factor for stroke and its serum level did not change significantly early after stroke. Hypertension and waist/hip ratio had significant relative risks.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.517-522
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• 2014

Background: This study reports the result of endovascular treatment for arterial occlusive disease limited to femoropopliteal lesions, focusing on the recurrence of symptoms instead of patency. Methods: This was a retrospective, single-center study. From April 2007 to November 2011, 48 limbs in 38 patients underwent endovascular stenting or balloon angioplasty to treat femoropopliteal arterial occlusive disease. The factors affecting the recurrence of symptoms were analyzed. Results: The mean age of the patients was $69.60{\pm}7.62$ years. Among the baseline characteristics of the patients, initial hyperlipidemia was the most important factor affecting the recurrence of symptoms (relative risk=5.810, p=0.031). The presence of a dorsal arch was also a significant factor (relative risk=0.675, p=0.047). Conclusion: The major factors that affect the recurrence of symptoms after endovascular treatment for femoropopliteal arterial occlusive lesions are hyperlipidemia and the presence of a dorsal arch. Therefore, the usage of lipid-lowering agents after endovascular treatment and taking the presence of a dorsal arch into consideration are important elements of managing the recurrence of symptoms.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.80-85
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• 2014

A survey of risk perception in South Korea was conducted in 2007 to evaluate relative riskiness of typical industrial and technological risks. This article summarizes the characteristics of risk perception using psychometric analyses. The survey with a sample size of 1,194 reviews the perceived level of 25 risk items in the areas of transportation, chemicals, environment, industry, nuclear power generation, and newly-introduced risks. Six categories of risk identified by a factor analysis show that the level of perceived risk does not correspond to the statistical level. Psychometric analyses including voluntariness, severity, effect manifestation, exposure pattern, controllability, familiarity, benefit and necessity demonstrate that voluntary, familiar and immediate risks are perceived as less risky than involuntary, unfamiliar and delayed ones. Risk communication is critical in reducing the discrepance between objective and subjective level of risk. However, the amount of risk information does not always justify a successful risk communication. A safety policy, risk communication strategy in particular, should take into account diverse dimensions of risk reviewed by psychometric analyses in the study. Social policy toward safety can be improved by integrating policy, human, and social factors as well as technological advances.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.11-15
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• 2010

Obstructive sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder that predominantly affects adult men than women. However, the prevalence in women increases with menopause dramatically. Menopause has long been described as a risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea. Recent large well-designed population studies support that menopause increases the risk for sleep-disordered breathing. The mechanism of that hypothesis is not yet clear. But, the decline in progesterone has been thought to influence the development of obstructive sleep apnea because progesterone is a respiratory stimulant and plays a protective role against sleep apnea. Increased visceral obesity and hypertension as major symptoms of metabolic syndrome are also associated with menopause and place women at increased risk for obstructive sleep apnea and other serious health problem. Hormone replacement therapy has been associated with a lower prevalence of sleep apnea. But, relative risk and benefits of hormone replacement therapy compared with other treatment options will require thorough consideration for each individual woman. Finally, attention should be drawn to the need for obstructive sleep apnea evaluation in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.1564-1574
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• 2009

This study identifies the effects of fashion innovativeness and style-innovation attributes of young female adults in fashion adoption. Date collecting using a written survey instrument yielded 801 complete responses from female consumers between the ages 20 and 39. A factor analysis on style-innovation attributes resulted in 5 dimensional structures: relative advantage, compatibility, trialability, observability, and perceived risk. 5 groups divided by the level of fashion innovativeness showed meaningful differences on style innovation attributes. The more a group showed fashion innovativeness, the higher the level of relative advantage, compatibility, trialability, and observability the group expressed, but the more a group showed fashion innovativeness, the lower the level of perceived risk expressed by the group. To analyze fashion adoption of the samples, 5 dimensions of style-innovation attributes and fashion innovativeness were adopted as explanatory variables. All of these variables (except observability) significantly and positively affected fashion adoption; however, perceived risk significantly and negatively affected fashion adoption.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.695-705
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• 2004

The risks of the metabolic syndrome (MS) is known to be related to the dietary behavior. The objective of this study is to evaluate the association between the relative risks of MS and the dietary habit and to provide the ideal dietary habits for prevention of chronic disease of the middle-aged. Healthy subjects aged 40-64 years (male n=122, female n=173) were recruited throughout Seoul area. MS was defined according to NCEP-ATP III criteria except central obesity, and Asia-Pacific Area criteria for central obesity (2000) was adapted. Subjects were stratified into 3 groups according to the number of total risk factors:'MS group' was defined as the subjects who have three or more risk factors, 'Risk group' was defined as ones to have one or two risk factors, and 'Healthy group' defined as ones with no risk factor. In this study, 'Health group' comprised of $40.7\%$, the percentage of 'Risk group' was $49.0\%$, and the 'MS group' was $9.5\%$ of the total subjects. The MS incidence was associated with low education (p<0.001), low economic status (p<0.05), and low self-assessed health recognition (p<0.05). The risk of MS increased with adverse life styles such as cigarette smoking (p<0.05), irregular meal time (p<0.05), skipping lunch (p<0.05), low interests in balanced diet (p<0.05), and higher salt intake (p<0.01). Healthy group self-evaluated nutritional knowledge more highly (p<0.05) and scored higher nutritional knowledge (p<0.001). However, there was no difference in overall nutritional behavior among the three groups, which implies that nutritional education method should be developed for the subjects to practice their teaming efficiently.