• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.29 no.8C
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• pp.1113-1124
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• 2004

In this paper, we proposed a hardware(H/W) structure which can compress and recontruct the input image in real time operation and implemented it into a FPGA platform using VHDL(VHSIC Hardware Description Language). All the image processing element to process both compression and reconstruction in a FPGA were considered each of them was mapped into H/W with the efficient structure for FPGA. We used the DWT(discrete wavelet transform) which transforms the data from spatial domain to the frequency domain, because use considered the motion JPEG2000 as the application. The implemented H/W is separated to both the data path part and the control part. The data path part consisted of the image processing blocks and the data processing blocks. The image processing blocks consisted of the DWT Kernel fur the filtering by DWT, Quantizer/Huffman Encoder, Inverse Adder/Buffer for adding the low frequency coefficient to the high frequency one in the inverse DWT operation, and Huffman Decoder. Also there existed the interface blocks for communicating with the external application environments and the timing blocks for buffering between the internal blocks The global operations of the designed H/W are the image compression and the reconstruction, and it is operated by the unit of a field synchronized with the A/D converter. The implemented H/W used the 69%(16980) LAB(Logic Array Block) and 9%(28352) ESB(Embedded System Block) in the APEX20KC EP20K600CB652-7 FPGA chip of ALTERA, and stably operated in the 70MHz clock frequency. So we verified the real time operation of 60 fields/sec(30 frames/sec).

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.97-107
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• 2017

In the field of automatic door, the infrared rays and microwave sensor are much used as the important components in charge of the motor's operation control of open and close through the incoming signal of object recognition. In case of existing system that the sensor of the infrared rays and microwave are applied to the automatic door, there are many malfunctions by the infrared rays and visible rays of the sun. Because the automatic doors are usually installed outside of building in state of exposure. The environmental change by temperature difference occurs the noise of object recognition detection signal. With this problem, the hardware fault that the detection sensor is unable to follow the object moving rapidly within detection area makes the sensing blind spot. This fault should be improved as soon as possible. Because It influences safety of passengers who use the automatic doors. This paper conducted an experiment to improve the detection area by installing extra ultrasonic sensor besides existing detection sensor. So, this paper realize the computing circuit and detection algorithm which can correctly and rapidly process the access route of objects moving fast and the location area of fixed obstacles by applying detection and advantages of ultrasonic signal to the automatic doors. With this, It is proved that the automatic door applying ultrasonic sensor is improved detection area of blind spot sensing through field test and improvement plan is proposed.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.14
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• pp.5733-5739
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• 2014

Background: Breast cancer is the most common female malignancy in the world. Beta glucan can be a hematopoietic and an immune modulator agent in cancer patients. The aim of this trial was to determine the effect of beta glucan on white blood cell counts and serum levels of IL-4 and IL-12 in women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Materials and Methods: This randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted on 30 women with breast carcinoma aged 28-65 years. The eligible participants were randomly assigned to intervention (n=15) or placebo (n=15) groups using a block randomization procedure with matching based on age, course of chemotherapy and menopause status. Patients in the intervention group received two 10-mg capsules of soluble 1-3, 1-6, D-beta glucan daily and the control group receiving placebo during 21 days, the interval between two courses of chemotherapy. White blood cells, neuthrophil, lymphocyte and monocyte counts as well as serum levels of IL-4 and IL-12 were measured at baseline and at the end of the study as primary outcomes of the study. Results: In both groups white blood cell counts decreased after 21 days of the intervention, however in the beta glucan group, WBC was less decreased non significantly than the placebo group. At the end of the study, the change in the serum level of IL-4 in the beta glucan group in comparison with the placebo group was statistically significant (p=0.001). The serum level of IL-12 in the beta glucan group statistically increased (p=0.03) and comparison between two groups at the end of the study was significant after adjusting for baseline values and covariates (p=0.007). Conclusions: The findings suggest that beta glucan can be useful as a complementary or adjuvant therapy and immunomodulary agent in breast cancer patients in combination with cancer therapies, but further studies are needed for confirmation.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.120-131
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• 2017

Purpose: Tumor bleeding is a major complication in inoperable gastric cancer. The study aim was to investigate the effects of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) treatment for the prevention of gastric tumor bleeding. Materials and Methods: This study was a prospective double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Patients with inoperable gastric cancer were randomly assigned to receive oral lansoprazole (30 mg) or placebo daily. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of tumor bleeding, and the secondary endpoints were transfusion requirement and overall survival (OS). Results: This study initially planned to enroll 394 patients, but prematurely ended due to low recruitment rate. Overall, 127 patients were included in the analyses: 64 in the lansoprazole group and 63 in the placebo group. During the median follow-up of 6.4 months, tumor bleeding rates were 7.8% and 9.5%, in the lansoprazole and placebo groups, respectively, with the cumulative bleeding incidence not statistically different between the groups (P=0.515, Gray's test). However, during the initial 4 months, 4 placebo-treated patients developed tumor bleeding, whereas there were no bleeding events in the lansoprazole-treated patients (P=0.041, Gray's test). There was no difference in the proportion of patients who required transfusion between the groups. The OS between the lansoprazole (11.7 months) and the placebo (11.0 months) groups was not statistically different (P=0.610). Study drug-related serious adverse event or bleeding-related death did not occur. Conclusions: Treating patients with inoperable gastric cancer with lansoprazole did not significantly reduce the incidence of tumor bleeding. However, further studies are needed to evaluate whether lansoprazole can prevent tumor bleeding during earlier phases of chemotherapy (ClinicalTrial.gov, identifier No. NCT02150447).

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SP
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.149-158
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• 2005

This paper proposed a blind watermarking method for video contents which satisfies both the invisibility and the robustness to attacks to prohibit counterfeiting, modification, illegal usage and illegal re-production of video contents. This watermarking algorithm targets MPEG compression system and was designed to control the amount of watermarking to be inserted according to the adaptive quantization scale code to follow the adaptive quantization of the compression system. The inserting positions of the watermark were chosen by considering the frequency property of an image and horizontal, vertical and diagonal property of a $8{\times}8$ image block. Also the amount of watermarking for each watermark bit was decided by considering the quantization step. This algorithm was implemented by C++ and experimented for invisibility and robustness with MPEG-2 system. The experiment results showed that the method satisfied enough the invisibility of the inserted watermark and robustness against attacks. For the general attacks, the error rate of the extracted watermark was less than $10\%$, which is enough in robustness against the attacks. Therefore, this algorithm is expected to be used effectively as a part in many MPEG systems for real-time watermarking, especially in the sensitive applications to the network environments.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.144-152
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• 2009

Background : Ephedra (Ephedra sinica) has been widely used to treat respiratory disease in traditional medicine of East Asia for over a hundred years. Despite safety concerns raised by some, the use of ephedra in traditional medicine is documented over more than 1,800 years. It is well established that ephedra is one of the central medicines in Korean 'Seseng constitution' medicine. In Sasang constitution medicine, all humans can be divided into one of four types: Soeumin, Soyangin, Taeumin or Taeyangin, and each constitution type has their own typical characteristics. Accordingly, it is hypothesized that the adverse effects of ephedra differ depending on the Sasang constitution classification. Objectives : The aim of this study was to determine adverse effects of ephedra which is classified as a Taeumin herb, and to observe whether the response differs or not. according to Sasang constitution classification. Methods : The study design was a double-blind randomized controlled trial. The subjects were healthy adults 20 - 50 years old who agreed to participate in this study. They were allocated through randomization to either ephedra group (N=55) or placebo group (N=24). where ephedra extract (6 g of dried ephedra) and placebo with similar opaque capsules were given twice for one day. To compare the adverse events of ephedra according to Sasang constitution classification, we analyzed blood pressure (systolic and diastolic), pulse rate, the morning questionnaire, and patient's global assessment scale score for well known adverse events: palpitation, headache, sweating, tiredness, dyspepsia, and dry mouth. Results : After ingestion of ephedra, the pulse rate had a significant increase in all constitution types. The changes of diastolic pressure in Soeumin and the changes of pulse rate in Soeumin, Soyangin and Taeumin had a significant increase in the ephedra over the control group. In the ephedra group, the palpitation and dyspepsia score of the patients' global assessment scale had a significant increase in Soeumin, with palpitation and sweating score increasing in Soyangin. Others observations were insignificant results. Conclusion : The results of this study may confirm that the physical responses or adverse effects of herbs differ for each type of Sasang constitution. Future studies using other herbs will be required to ascertain the herbal drug reaction of Sasang constitutions.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.676-683
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• 2019

Background: Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) is widely used for strengthening the immune system and fighting fatigue, especially in people with deficiency syndrome. However, there is concern that the long-term application or a high dose of KRG can cause "fireness" (上火 in Chinese) because of its "dryness" (燥性 in Chinese). The aim of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of a 4-week treatment with KRG in participants with deficiency syndrome. Methods: This was a 4-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. A total of 180 Chinese participants were randomly allocated to three groups: placebo control group, participants were given a placebo, 3.6 g/d; KRG 1.8 g and 3.6 g groups. The primary outcomes were the changes in fireness and safety evaluation (adverse events, laboratory tests, and electrocardiogram). The secondary outcomes were the efficacy of KRG on fatigue, which include the following: traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) symptom scale and fatigue self-assessment scale. Results: Of the 180 patients, 174 completed the full study. After 4 weeks of KRG treatment, the Fire-heat symptoms score including Excess fire-heat score and Deficient fire-heat score showed no significant change as compared with placebo treatment, and no clinically significant changes in any safety parameter were observed. Based on the TCM syndrome score and fatigue self-assessment score, TCM symptoms and fatigue were greatly improved after treatment with KRG, which showed a dose- and time-dependent effect. The total effective rate was also significantly increased in the KRG groups. Conclusion: Our study revealed that KRG has a potent antifatigue effect without significant adverse effects in people with deficiency syndrome. Although a larger sample size and longer treatment may be required for a more definite conclusion, this clinical trial is the first to disprove the common conception of "fireness" related to KRG.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.81-93
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• 2021

Objectives: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is condition of cognitive decline shown in transition from normal aging to dementia. Hominis placenta pharmacopuncture (HPP) is a treatment that combines effects of medication and acupuncture by injecting Hominis placenta into acupoints. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of HPP for MCI. Methods: This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, two-center clinical trial. Eligible patients were randomly allocated to either the HPP group or the placebo group. HPP or saline as placebo was administered to participants for eight weeks. Changes in symptoms were observed. The primary outcome was difference in mean change of Korean Version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-K) score between the HPP group and the placebo group. Cognitive function, overall status of mood and sleep, and quality of life (QoL) were also assessed. Safety assessment and economic analysis were then conducted. Results: Thirty participants were enrolled. One participant in the placebo group dropped out. The score of MoCA-K increased after treatment. Its mean change was smaller in the HPP group than in the control group. HPP ameliorated Global Deterioration Scale and Korean Dementia Rating Scale subtests for attention, organization, and memory compared to the placebo. However, none of them was significantly different between the two groups. Mood, sleep, and QoL all improved more in the HPP group than in the placebo group, although differences between the two groups were not statistically significant. There was no adverse event probably related to the drug. HPP treatment needed KRW 345,000 more than the placebo group in improving Geriatric Quality of Life scale-Dementia score by one point for one year. Conclusions: Although HPP treatment did not significantly improve cognition, it changed behavioral and psychological symptoms in MCI.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.129-138
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• 2004

Objective : Treatments for patients with mental retardation and pervasive developmental disorders are not curative, and are designed to help those with disabilities adjust to their environments and daily demands. As clinicians, the present authors tried to find agents with potentially curative properties. Among the numerous herbal formulations available, we chose and assessed Gami-jiwhang-tang (GJT) in the hope that it would improve cognitive development of children. Methods : Subjects were typically-developing healthy, 7- to 8-year-old boys and girls living in Seoul, Korea. The experimental group took GJT for six weeks and was followed up six weeks after discontinuation of GJT. The control group was assessed at the same intervals but did not receive placebos. To measure the effects of GJT, neuropsychological tests and intelligence test were taken before commencing GJT and twelve weeks later. Resulets and Conclusion : For all of the ANOVAs, the treatment by time interaction terms was not significant. However, the experimental group showed the tendency to be progressed in most subscales compared with the control group, especially on performance intelligence, visual organization, and verbal fluency. Conclusion : Although GJT failed to reveal significant improvement in cognition, we remain hopeful about the compound and believe that it should be evaluated by a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in the future.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.149-174
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• 2020

Objectives: This study was aimed to figure out the effect of Onkyung-tang (OKT) on cold hypersensitivity on feet in female patients. Methods: This study was designed to implement multi-center randomized clinical trial in three korean medical hospitals. The female patients who were enrolled in this study were 112 women who suffered from cold hypersensitivity on feet. They were randomly allocated into OKT group or control group in 1:1 ratio. The primary outcome was change in score of visual analogue scale of hypersensitivity on feet, and the secondary outcomes were thermometer of LU4, PC8, ST32, LR3, visual analogue scale of hypersensitivity on hands, result of cold stress test, and score of World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF. Results: In both group, the VAS of hypersensitivity on feet and hands was decreased while taking the medicine, and the effect of decreasing the VAS continues for the 4 weeks after the end of medication (p<0.001, 0.003, 0.001). In OKT group, the body temperature difference in lower extremity (ST32-LR3) was steadily decreased at every visit and it was statistically significant(p=0.003, <0.001). On the other hand, in control group, the body temperature difference in lower extremity was decreased only while taking the medicine (p<0.001). Conclusions: OKT significantly reduced discomfort coldness on feet in patients, and the effect of treatment was maintained at least for four weeks after medication.