Tightening the net: supply chain integrity for frozen shrimp

Case study traces the ethical and logistical issues involving global distribution by Sekar Shrimp, part of the conglomerate established by Indonesian entrepreneur Henry Susilo.First author draf

Risk Factors and Control Strategies for the Rapidly Rising Rate of Breast Cancer in Korea

Due to the aging population and tremendous changes in life style over the past decades, cancer has been the leading cause of death in Korea. The incidence rate of breast cancer is the second highest in Korea, and it has shown an annual increase of 6.8% for the past 6 years. The major risk factors of breast cancer in Korean women are as follows: Early menarche, late menopause, late full-term pregnancy (FTP), and low numbers of FTP. Height and body mass index increased the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women only. There are ethnic variations in breast cancer due to the differences in genetic susceptibility or exposure to etiologic agent. With the epidemiological evidences on the possibility of further increase of breast cancer in Korea, the Korean Government began implementing the National Cancer Screening Program against breast cancer in 2002. Five-year survival rates for female breast cancer have improved significantly from 78.0% in early 1993-1995 to 90.0% in 2004-2008. This data indicate that improvement of the survival rate may be partially due to the early diagnosis of breast cancer as well as the increased public awareness about the significance of early detection and organized cancer screening program. The current primary prevention programs are geared towards strengthening national prevention campaigns. In accordance with the improvement in 5-year survival rate, the overall cancer mortality has started to decrease. However, breast cancer death rate and incidence rates are still increasing, which need further organized effort by the Korean Government

Association between use of hydrochlorothiazide and nonmelanoma skin cancer: Common data model cohort study in Asian population

Although hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) has been suggested to increase skin cancer risk in white Westerners, there is scant evidence for the same in Asians. We analyzed the association between the use of hydrochlorothiazide and non-melanoma in the Asian population using the common data model. METHODS: A retrospective multicenter observational study was conducted using a distributed research network to analyze the effect of HCTZ on skin cancer from 2004 to 2018. We performed Cox regression to evaluate the effects by comparing the use of HCTZ with other antihypertensive drugs. All analyses were re-evaluated using matched data using the propensity score matching (PSM). Then, the overall effects were evaluated by combining results with the meta-analysis. RESULTS: Positive associations were observed in the use of HCTZ with high cumulative dose for non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) in univariate analysis prior to the use of PSM. Some negative associations were observed in the use of low and medium cumulative doses. CONCLUSION: Although many findings in our study were inconclusive, there was a non-significant association of a dose-response pattern with estimates increasing in cumulative dose of HCTZ. In particular, a trend with a non-significant positive association was observed with the high cumulative dose of HCTZ

Association between Cigarette Smoking History and Mortality in 36,446 Health Examinees in Korea

Background: It is well known that smoking is a preventable factor for all-cause mortality; however, it is still questionable how many years after smoking cessation that people will have reduced risk for mortality, in particular in those with a high interest in their own health. We aimed to examine the association between time since quitting smoking and total mortality among past-smokers relative to current smokers. Materials and Methods: We enrolled 36,446 health examinees that voluntarily taken with diverse health check-up packages of high cost burden in 1995-2003 and followed them till death by 2004. The history of cigarette smoking consumption was collected using a self-administrative questionnaire at the first visit time. Mortality risk by smoking cessation years was analyzed using Cox's proportional hazard model. Results: Compared to non-smokers, male smokers over 15 pack-years had higher risk for total mortality (HR=1.60, 95% CI 1.23-2.14). The mortality risk in female smokers with same pack-years was more pronounced than that in male smokers (HR=2.83, 95% CI 1.17-7.04) despite a small number of cases. Compared to current smokers, a decrease of total mortality was observed among those who ceased smoking, and inverse dose-response was found with years after cessation: RR 0.98 ( 95% CI, 0.64-1.41) (= 10 yrs). Conclusions: A reduced risk of total mortality was observed after 3 years of smoking cessation. Our findings suggest that at least 3 years of smoking cessation may contribute to reduce premature mortality among Asian men.OAIID:oai:osos.snu.ac.kr:snu2014-01/102/0000052039/11SEQ:11PERF_CD:SNU2014-01EVAL_ITEM_CD:102USER_ID:0000052039ADJUST_YN:YEMP_ID:A079543DEPT_CD:806CITE_RATE:1.5FILENAME:association between cigarette smoking history and mortality in 36,446 health examinees in korea..pdfDEPT_NM:의과학과SCOPUS_YN:YCONFIRM:

Temporal Changes of Lung Cancer Mortality in Korea

The lung cancer mortality in Korea has increased remarkably during the last 20 yr, and, it has become the first leading cause of cancer-related deaths since 2000. The aim of the current study was to examine time trends of lung cancer mortality during the period 1984-2003 in Korea, assessing the effects of age, period, and birth cohort. Data on the annual number of deaths due to lung cancer and on population statistics from 1984 to 2003 were obtained from the Korea National Statistical Office. A log-linear Poisson age-period-cohort model was used to estimate the effects of age, period, and birth cohort. The both trends of male and female lung cancer mortality were both explained by age-period-cohort models. The risks of lung cancer mortalities for both genders were shown to decline in recent birth cohorts. The decreasing trends begin with the 1939 birth cohort for men and 1959 for women. The mortality pattern of lung cancer was dominantly explained by a birth cohort effect, possibly related with the change in smoking pattern, for both men and women. Finally, the mortality of lung cancer in Korea is expected to further increase in both men and women for a while

Here Comes Grosz

Program for the eighth annual RISD Cabaret held in Cellar at the top of the Waterman Building. Publicity, posters, cartoons and program designed by Yoon Cho, Yu-Kyung Chung,Arther Jones, Scott King, Richard Lloyd and Polly Spencer.https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/liberalarts_cabaret_programs/1007/thumbnail.jp

Association between Body Mass Index and Gastric Cancer Risk According to Effect Modification by Helicobacter pylori Infection

Purpose Few studies investigated roles of body mass index (BMI) on gastric cancer (GC) risk according to Helicobacter pylori infection status. This study was conducted to evaluate associations between BMI and GC risk with consideration of H. pylori infection information. Materials and Methods We performed a case-cohort study (n=2,458) that consists of a subcohort (n=2,193 including 67 GC incident cases) randomly selected from the Korean Multicenter Cancer Cohort (KMCC) and 265 incident GC cases outside of the subcohort. H. pylori infection was assessed using an immunoblot assay. GC risk according to BMI was evaluated by calculating hazard ratios (HRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) using weighted Cox hazard regression model. Results Increased GC risk in lower BMI group (= 25 kg/m(2)) showed non-significantly increased GC risk (HR, 10.82; 95% CI, 1.25 to 93.60 and HR, 11.33; 95% CI, 1.13 to 113.66, respectively). However, these U-shaped associations between BMI and GC risk were not observed in the group who had ever been infected by H. pylori. Conclusion This study suggests the U-shaped associations between BMI and GC risk, especially in subjects who had never been infected by H. pylori.Peer reviewe