• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.154-172
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• 2023

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the clinical evidence supporting the use of acupuncture (AC) for premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Methods: We searched randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that used AC for PMS in 9 databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, CNKI, CiNii, SCIENCE ON, KoreaMed, OASIS) from their inception to July 2022. Results: We identified 1,168 studies, of which 15 RCTs met the inclusion criteria. The risk of bias in the included studies was relatively unclear or high. Meta-analysis of 3 RCTs showed that the AC group had a significantly higher effective rate than the Medroxyprogesterone group (RR 1.48, 95% CI (1.23, 1.78), p<0.0001). Meta-analysis of 2 RCTs showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the AC group and the Sham AC group in the effective rate (RR 4.72, 95% CI (0.88, 25.36), p=0.07). In a review of individual studies, the AC group was more effective than the control group in terms of the effective rate, symptom scale, quality of life, adverse events, and recurrence rate. Conclusions: The AC group was more effective than general treatments groups such as sham AC, western medicine, and dietary supplements, and there were no serious adverse events. However, the evidence on the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for PMS was inconclusive due to the small number of included studies and low quality. Therefore, systematic reviews based on more rigorously designed randomized clinical trials are needed in the future to properly evaluate the effect of AC on PMS.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.173-195
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• 2023

Objectives: To investigate and analyze the assessment indicators and tools used in clinical practice to assess Korean medicine (KM) treatment for infertility, and to establish a basis for assessment tools to diagnose and assess infertility. Methods: Relevant studies published until March 2023 were extracted from Pubmed, Research Information Sharing Service, and National Digital Science Library databases. Results: Sixty-four studies comprising 4,105 patients were included. We investigated pregnancy outcomes, and assessed pregnancy- and childbirth-related factors, overall health, reproductive health, and mental health. Pregnancy result was most common primary outcome. Ongoing pregnancy, stillbirth, miscarriage, and ectopic pregnancy rates were suggested as indicators of pregnancy and childbirth-related assessment. Overall health was most commonly assessed with Likert and Visual analogue scale (VAS). Among reproductive health variables, menstrual history was most frequently assessed. Moreover, indicators such as reproductive function, sexual intercourse, and gynecological disease were assessed. The Infertility Stress Scale and the Fertility Quality of Life tool (FertiQoL) were used to assess mental health. Conclusions: Subjective scales and objective assessment tools, such as the Likert scale and blood tests/ultrasonography, respectively, are used to assess KM infertility treatment. Inconsistent assessment tools make quantitative analyses more challenging. The development of a standardized mental and physical function assessment questionnaire with confirmed reliability and validity ensure the effectiveness of KM infertility treatment, and promote future studies on infertility treatment.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.196-210
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• 2023

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to review the research trends of infertile women with uterine myoma in Korean medicine and to recognize the efficacy of Korean medicine intervention. Methods: A search was conducted on November 18, 2022, using six databases, including Research Information Sharing Service (RISS), Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System (OASIS), Cochrane Library Central, Pubmed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and WangFang Med Online. We analyzed the studies using Korean medicine on women with uterine myoma preparing for pregnancy or complaining infertility. Results: Total 4 studies were selected and all of which were case reports. Among 6 cases, Korean medicine treatment including herbal medicine, acupuncture, electroacupuncture, moxibustion was used alone. Ikgibohyeol-tang-gami-bang, Gyejibokryeong-hwan, Saenghwa-tang-gami-bang were prescribed in 2 cases each. Angelicae Gigantis Radix and CV4 were most frequently used herb and acupoint. All subjects were successful in becoming pregnant. Conclusion: This review shows that Korean medicine treatment can be effective in infertile women with uterine myoma. However, the number of included studies is small, so the level of evidence needs to be raised through more clinical studies in the future.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.185-194
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• 2023

Purpose : This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the characteristics of hemodialysis patients and the occurrence of sarcopenia through a comprehensive literature review. Methods : A systematic literature search was conducted to identify eligible studies in the Cochrane library, PubMed and Embase. In this review, we included all papers published since the initiative's inception and summarized results as of december 2022. Studies that investigated association between sarcopenia diagnosis and hemodialysis patients (aged≥18 years) were included. Ultimately, 16 studies met our selection criteria. The risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Results : Fourteen of the sixteen studies (88 %) reported that significant association between sarcopenia diagnosis and hemodialysis patients. However, two studies reported no association between sarcopenia diagnosis and hemodialysis patients. As a factor statistically related to sarcopenia in hemodialysis patients, Mortality (6 studies, 38 %), age (5 studies, 31 %), body composition (4 studies, 25 %), physical activity (2 studies, 13 %), diabetes (2 studies, 13 %), cardiovascular abnormalities (1 studies, 6 %), nutritional status (3 studies, 19 %), and gender (3 studies, 19 %). Conclusion : Our findings highlight the necessity of developing a physical therapy program that accurately reflects the health status of hemodialysis patients. To further investigate the association between the diagnosis of sarcopenia and hemodialysis patients, it is recommended to conduct large-scale longitudinal studies using standardized diagnostic criteria and evaluation methods, as well as analyze potential risk factors. Consequently, this study emphasizes the importance and potential of developing physical therapy programs that effectively address the health consequences associated with hemodialysis. The significance of this research lies in its ability to provide valuable insights and lay the foundation for future studies focused on developing preventive and therapeutic interventions targeting muscle wasting syndrome resulting from hemodialysis.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2022.05a
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• pp.6-8
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• 2022

Web log analysis is one of the essential procedures for service improvement. ScienceON is a representative information service that provides various S&T literature and information, and we analyze its logs for continuous improvement. This study aims to analyze ScienceON web logs recorded in May 2020 and May 2021, dividing them into humans and web crawlers and performing an in-depth analysis. First, only web logs corresponding to S (search), V (detail view), and D (download) types are extracted and normalized to 658,407 and 8,727,042 records for each period. Second, using the Python 'user_agents' library, the logs are classified into humans and web crawlers, and third, the session size was set to 60 seconds, and each session is analyzed. We found that web crawlers, unlike humans, show relatively long for the average behavior pattern per session, and the behavior patterns are mainly for V patterns. As the future, the service will be improved to quickly detect and respond to web crawlers and respond to the behavioral patterns of human users.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.131-144
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• 2022

Objectives: This study aimed to review clinical studies on thread embedding acupuncture (TEA) for the treatment of patients with post-stroke spasticity (PSS) Methods: Clinical studies related to TEA treatment for PSS were searched for in several electronic databases, including PubMed, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, OASIS, and CNKI. After the selection/exclusion process, information on study design, disease, experimental/control group, intervention, outcome measurement, between-group differences, and adverse events was extracted. Results: A total of 13 randomized controlled trials were included in this review. The usual frequency of TEA treatment was once every 1-2 weeks, and the treatment most commonly included 4 sessions. In the dorsal area, EX-B2 and the acupoints in governing vessel meridian were commonly used. Acupoints in the meridian of the large intestine were most frequently used in the treatment of upper limb spasticity. Except for HT1, PC6, and PC8, all TEA points for treating PSS of the upper limb were on the Yang meridians. For the lower limb spasticity, the most frequently used acupoints were ST36, GB34, GB30, BL60, and BL57 on Yang meridians, and LR3, SP6, SP9, and SP10 on Yin meridians. TEA treatment showed better effects than conventional treatment for PSS in terms of spasticity, motor dysfunction, and activities of daily livings. Nevertheless, the absence of the follow-up observation, lack of sham TEA treatment, and low quality of the included studies necessitated caution in interpreting the results. Conclusions: The results of this review are expected to provide basic data on the modalities of TEA treatment for PSS and provide insights to facilitate well-designed studies in the future.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.112-122
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• 2022

Objective: This study aimed to present and evaluate a new deep learning model for determining cervical vertebral maturation (CVM) degree and growth spurts by analyzing lateral cephalometric radiographs. Methods: The study sample included 890 cephalograms. The images were classified into six cervical stages independently by two orthodontists. The images were also categorized into three degrees on the basis of the growth spurt: pre-pubertal, growth spurt, and post-pubertal. Subsequently, the samples were fed to a transfer learning model implemented using the Python programming language and PyTorch library. In the last step, the test set of cephalograms was randomly coded and provided to two new orthodontists in order to compare their diagnosis to the artificial intelligence (AI) model's performance using weighted kappa and Cohen's kappa statistical analyses. Results: The model's validation and test accuracy for the six-class CVM diagnosis were 62.63% and 61.62%, respectively. Moreover, the model's validation and test accuracy for the three-class classification were 75.76% and 82.83%, respectively. Furthermore, substantial agreements were observed between the two orthodontists as well as one of them and the AI model. Conclusions: The newly developed AI model had reasonable accuracy in detecting the CVM stage and high reliability in detecting the pubertal stage. However, its accuracy was still less than that of human observers. With further improvements in data quality, this model should be able to provide practical assistance to practicing dentists in the future.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.49-78
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• 2022

Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of Korean Medicine Therapy (KMT) for the treatment of Chemotherapy-induced Cognitive Impairment (CICI) through systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) as proceeding research to further research the efficacy of KMT for CICI patients. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines (PRISMA). The RCTs on the efficacy of KMT for treatment of CICI were searched by structured search strategies in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane library, CAJD, KISS, NDSL, KoreaMed, and OASIS. The searched RCTs were screened by inclusion and exclusion criteria. We evaluated the quality of the method in the included studies using the Jadad score and Cochran ROB tool. The efficacy outcomes were the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the Clinical total Effective Rate (CER) of CICI. They were analyzed using mean difference for continuous variable or Relative Risk (RR) for Dichotomous variable in the random-effect model. The RevMan 5.3 program was used for meta-analysis. Results: We included 19 RCTs, including 653 participants, in the systematic review and meta-analysis. There were favorable results for the KMT group after the intervention compared with the pharmacotherapy group, physiotherapy group, and combined treatment group. KMT group showed improvement using CER and VAS compared with exercises, but their heterogeneities were slightly significant. KMT was more effective compared to the Rehabilitation program in CER and the subgroup analysis results showed that KMT had a significant difference compared to other therapies in VAS, to Medication therapy in CER. Conclusions: KMT presented reasonable evidence on improving the Clinical total Effective Rate and Visual Analogue Scale in CICI patients. However, further evaluation in future research is required.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.247-260
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• 2022

This paper investigates plans to expand distribution channels for books by installing a book vending machine at convenience stories for the vitalization of the publishing culture and industry. After establishing the meaning of convenience stories and the concept of a book vending machine, the researcher identified a need for the installation and management of a book vending machine at convenience stories. This plan will promote fairness and transparency in book sales through the convenience store system and push forward outsourcing between the publishing industry and the convenience store industry, the expansion of omnichannel service for consumers, and experiential values for clients to increase their customer satisfaction. The composition of the book vending machine will take the smart library form for its management with a universal design applied to a kiosk program. In the study, the researcher schematized this process and conducted a survey with 310 adults to search for practical management plans for a book vending machine. In the future, more research on the diversification of sales and distribution channels for publications such as the installation of a book vending machine at convenience stores will hopefully contribute to the growing amount of reading per capita and promotion of a reading environment for people according to the vitalization of the publishing culture and industry.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.201-201
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• 2023

Objectives: Cupping therapy (CT) has been widely used in traditional medicine worldwide for various indications, including stroke. The aim of this study was to systematically review the clinical evidence of CT for stroke. Methods: To identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting the effectiveness and/or safety of CT, seven databases including PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library were searched for articles published from January 2000 to February 2021 without language restrictions. Meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.4 software and the results were presented as mean difference (MD) or standard mean difference (SMD) for continuous variables and odds ratio (OR) for diverse variables with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Assessment of the methodological quality of the eligible trials was conducted using the Cochrane Collaboration tool for risk of bias in RCTs. Results: Twenty-two RCTs with 1653 participants were included in the final analysis. CT provided additional benefit in improving upper limb motor function (Fugl-Meyer assessment for upper limb motor function, MD 6.91, 95% CI 4.64 to 1.67, P<0.00001) and spasticity (response rate, OR 3.28, 95% CI 1.31 to 8.22, P=0.08) in stroke survivors receiving conventional medical treatment. These findings were supported with a moderate level of evidence. CT did not significantly increase the occurrence of adverse events. Conclusions: This study demonstrated the potential of CT to be beneficial in managing a variety of complications in stroke survivors. However, to compensate for the shortcomings of the existing evidence, rigorously designed large-scale RCTs are warranted in the future.