Inonotus obliquus is a fungus that causes white heart rot on several broad-leaved species. This fungus forms typical charcoal-black, sterile conks (chaga) or cinder conks on infected stems of the birche (Betula spp). The dark brown pulp of the sterile conk is formed by a pure mycelial mass of fungus. Chaga are a folk remedy in Russia, reflecting the circumboreal distribution of I. obliquus in boreal forest ecosystems on Betula spp. and in meridional mountain forests on beech (Fagus spp.) in Russia, Scandinavia, Central Europe, and Eastern Europe. Distribution at lower latitudes in Western and Southern Europe, Northern America, Asia, Japan, and Korea is rare. Infected trees grow for many years without several symptoms of decline. The infection can penetrate through stem injuries with exterior sterile conks developing later. In the Czech Republic, cinder conk is found on birches inhabiting peat bogs and in mountain areas with a colder and more humid climate, although it is widespread in other broad leaved species over the Czech Republic. The most common hosts are B. pendula, B. pubescens, B. carpatica, and F. sylvatica. Less frequent hosts include Acer campestre, Acer pseudoplatanus, Alnus glutinosa, Alnus incana, Fraxinus excelsior, Quercus cerris, Q. petraea, Q. robur, Q. delachampii, and Ulmus sp.
Acer ; Alnus ; Asia ; Betula ; Climate ; Czech Republic ; Ecology ; Ecosystem ; Europe ; Europe, Eastern ; European Continental Ancestry Group ; Fagus ; Fraxinus ; Fungi ; Heart ; Humans ; Japan ; Korea ; Medicine, Traditional ; North America ; Quercus ; Russia ; Scandinavia ; Soil ; Trees ; Ulmus ; Wetlands

This study focused on the socialist camp's North Korean medical support and its effects on North Korean medical field from liberation to 1958. Except for the Soviet assistance from liberation to the Korean War, existing studies mainly have paid attention to the ‘autonomous’ growth of the North Korean medical field. The studies on the medical support of the Eastern European countries during the Korean War have only focused on one-sided support and neglected the interactions with the North Korean medical field. Failing in utilizing the materials produced in North Korea has led to the omission of detailed circumstances of providing support. Since the review of China's support and the North Korea-China medical exchanges has been concentrated in the period after the mid-1950s, the impacts of China's medical support on North Korea during the Korean War period and the post-war recovery period have not been taken into account. In terms of these limitations, this study examined the medical activities by the Socialist camp of the Eastern European countries in North Korea after the Korean War. The medical aid teams from Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and East Germany that came to North Korea in the wake of the Korean War continued to stay in North Korea after the war to build hospitals and train medical personnel. In the hospitals operated by these countries, cooperative medical care with North Korean medical personnel and medical technology education were conducted. Moreover, medical teams from each country in North Korea held seminars and conferences and exchanged knowledge with the North Korean medical field staffs. These activities by the Socialist countries in North Korea provided the North Korean medical personnel with the opportunity to directly experience the medical technology of each country. China's support was crucial to North Korea's ‘rediscovery’ of Korean medicine in the mid-1950s. After the Korean War, North Korea began to apply the Chinese-Western medicine integration policy, which was performed in China at that time, to the North Korean health care field through China's medical support and exchanges. In other words, China's emphasis on Chinese medicine and the integration of the Chinese-Western medicine were presented as one of the directions for medical development of North Korea in the 1950s, and the experiences of China in this process convinced North Korea that Korean medicine policy was appropriate. The decision-makers of the North Korean medical policies, who returned to North Korea after studying abroad in China at that time, actively introduced the experiences from China and constantly sought to learn about them. This study identified that a variety of external stimuli had complex impacts on the North Korean medical field in the gap between ‘Soviet learning’ in the late 1940s and the ‘autonomous’ medical development since the 1960s. The North Korean medical field was formed not by the unilateral or dominant influences of a single nation but by the stimulation from many nations and the various interactions in the process.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Bulgaria ; China ; Congresses as Topic ; Czechoslovakia ; Delivery of Health Care ; Democratic People's Republic of Korea ; Education ; Germany ; Humans ; Hungary ; Korean War ; Learning ; Poland ; Romania ; USSR

Network scale-up is an indirect size estimation method, in which participants are questioned on sensitive behaviors of their social network members. Therefore, the visibility of the behavior affects the replies and estimates. Many attempts to estimate visibility have been made. The aims of this study were to review the main methods used to address visibility and to provide a summary of reported visibility factors (VFs) across populations. We systematically searched relevant databases and Google. In total, 15 studies and reports that calculated VFs were found. VF calculation studies have been applied in 9 countries, mostly in East Asia and Eastern Europe. The methods applied were expert opinion, comparison of NSU with another method, the game of contacts, social respect, and the coming-out rate. The VF has been calculated for heavy drug users, people who inject drugs (PWID), female sex workers (FSWs) and their clients, male who have sex with male (MSM), alcohol and methamphetamine users, and those who have experienced extra-/pre-marital sex and abortion. The VF varied from 1.4% in Japan to 52.0% in China for MSM; from 34.0% in Ukraine to 111.0% in China for FSWs; and from 12.0% among Iranian students to 57.0% in Ukraine for PWID. Our review revealed that VF estimates were heterogeneous, and were not available for most settings, in particular the Middle East and North Africa region, except Iran. More concrete methodologies to estimate the VF are required.
Africa, Northern ; Bias (Epidemiology) ; China ; Drug Users ; Europe, Eastern ; Expert Testimony ; Far East ; Female ; Humans ; Iran ; Japan ; Male ; Methamphetamine ; Methods ; Middle East ; Sex Workers ; Ukraine

Network scale-up is an indirect size estimation method, in which participants are questioned on sensitive behaviors of their social network members. Therefore, the visibility of the behavior affects the replies and estimates. Many attempts to estimate visibility have been made. The aims of this study were to review the main methods used to address visibility and to provide a summary of reported visibility factors (VFs) across populations. We systematically searched relevant databases and Google. In total, 15 studies and reports that calculated VFs were found. VF calculation studies have been applied in 9 countries, mostly in East Asia and Eastern Europe. The methods applied were expert opinion, comparison of NSU with another method, the game of contacts, social respect, and the coming-out rate. The VF has been calculated for heavy drug users, people who inject drugs (PWID), female sex workers (FSWs) and their clients, male who have sex with male (MSM), alcohol and methamphetamine users, and those who have experienced extra-/pre-marital sex and abortion. The VF varied from 1.4% in Japan to 52.0% in China for MSM; from 34.0% in Ukraine to 111.0% in China for FSWs; and from 12.0% among Iranian students to 57.0% in Ukraine for PWID. Our review revealed that VF estimates were heterogeneous, and were not available for most settings, in particular the Middle East and North Africa region, except Iran. More concrete methodologies to estimate the VF are required.
Africa, Northern ; Bias (Epidemiology)* ; China ; Drug Users ; Europe, Eastern ; Expert Testimony ; Far East ; Female ; Humans ; Iran ; Japan ; Male ; Methamphetamine ; Methods* ; Middle East ; Sex Workers ; Ukraine

Professor §ç TÊt Lîi was graduated pharmacist in France, who was author of Book 'Medicinal plants and herbal medicine of Vietnam. Professor attended First International Committee of National traditional pharmacy at Strasbourg, France on June 1990 with subject 'Vietnamese medicine resource: How did herbalist, scientist approached such medicine resource?'. He went France in 1991 to speak about eastern traditional medicine and Vietnamese traditional medicine. Result of Experiences of use of drug, preparation of medicine resource of forefathers is scientific subjects of studies, which is very precious and never run out
Medicine, Traditional ; Europe, Eastern ; Medicine

Human hydatid cyst of the liver is rare in Korea, although it is the most frequent cause of liver cysts in the world. It is endemic in Greece, other parts of Eastern Europe, South America, Australia, and South Africa. Until now, a few cases have been reported in the Korean literature. But it is expected to confront this disease because of recent increase in traveling to the endemic area. With this trend, we experienced a case of hydatid cyst of the liver in a 66- year-old male patient who had been worked in the middle east for 4 years. In this clinical case report, we present all the patient course and treatment with brief review of previous literature.
Australia ; Echinococcosis* ; Europe, Eastern ; Greece ; Humans ; Korea ; Liver* ; Male ; Middle East ; South Africa ; South America

Two regression models, based on panel data over the period of 2000-2011, are built and used to analyze what factors determine China's exports of primary and semi-finished products of traditional Chinese medicine to ASEAN. The results indicate that, China GDP, the ratio of ASEAN to China GDP per capita, average export price, the ratio of state-owned assets to total assets, have a significant positive influence on the export volumes of primary products of Chinese medicine. At the same time, RMB appreciation, the ratio of three kinds of foreign-invested assets to total assets, China-ASEAN Early Harvest Program, ASEAN-China Free Trade Area have a significant negative influence. In respect of the export volumes of semi-finished products of Chinese medicine, the significant influential factors are ASEAN GDP and the ratio of ASEAN to China GDP per capita. The former is positive and the latter is negative. In order to optimize the commodity composition of experts, it is needed to increase export volumes of both primary and semi-finished products of Chinese medicine. According to the analysis above, some proposals are put forward, such as, improving the performance of foreign capital, playing an exemplary and leading role in technological innovation by state-owned enterprises, taking advantage of bargaining power of suppliers, increasing outward foreign direct investment.
China ; Commerce ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; economics ; Europe, Eastern ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; economics ; standards ; Quality Control

The incidence of tuberculoma of the brain in different countries varies reatly. They form a high percentage of intracrnial lesions dealt with in countries of Asia, Eastern Europe, Italy, Spain and South America. The recent introduction of the potent antituberculosis remedies, far from diminishing the incidence of tuberculoma of the brain, is more likely to increase it. This case was a 18 year old male who had increased intracranial pressure signs and characteristic signs which was suggestive lesion in posterior fossa. Conray ventriculography revealed nearly total obstruction of distal portion of aqueduct of Sylvius with displacement to the right side. Intensive antituberclous treatment then was started after removal of tuberculoma in cerebellar vermis and then discharged with fully recovery. References were reviewed as will.
Adolescent ; Asia ; Brain ; Cerebral Aqueduct ; Europe, Eastern ; Humans ; Incidence ; Intracranial Pressure ; Italy ; Male ; South America ; Spain ; Tuberculoma*

The incidence of tuberculoma of the brain in different countries varies reatly. They form a high percentage of intracrnial lesions dealt with in countries of Asia, Eastern Europe, Italy, Spain and South America. The recent introduction of the potent antituberculosis remedies, far from diminishing the incidence of tuberculoma of the brain, is more likely to increase it. This case was a 18 year old male who had increased intracranial pressure signs and characteristic signs which was suggestive lesion in posterior fossa. Conray ventriculography revealed nearly total obstruction of distal portion of aqueduct of Sylvius with displacement to the right side. Intensive antituberclous treatment then was started after removal of tuberculoma in cerebellar vermis and then discharged with fully recovery. References were reviewed as will.
Adolescent ; Asia ; Brain ; Cerebral Aqueduct ; Europe, Eastern ; Humans ; Incidence ; Intracranial Pressure ; Italy ; Male ; South America ; Spain ; Tuberculoma*

Polyacrylamide hydrogel (PAAG) was developed in the 1980s as an injectable filler for breast augmentation and tissue contour improvement, but its potential risk for oncogenesis and the frequent occurrence of chronic complications after injections led to the prohibition of its further use as an injectable material. Although breast augmentation with PAAG injections was mostly performed in China and Eastern Europe, the migration of patients and long-term complications of the procedure made it a global concern. Herein, we describe the case of a 49-year-old woman who immigrated to Korea after undergoing breast augmentation via PAAG injection in China, and complained of persistent mastodynia and retraction of both breasts. Surgical treatment was undertaken, along with removal of the PAAG and total capsulectomy of the fibrous capsule containing the gel through an inframammary fold incision. We share our experience of diagnosing and treating this case, and present a literature review.
Breast ; Carcinogenesis ; China ; Europe, Eastern ; Female ; Humans ; Hydrogel ; Korea ; Mastodynia ; Middle Aged ; Pregnancy-Associated alpha 2-Macroglobulins