• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.221-241
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• 2023

Background: The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate the effects of digital therapeutics for insomnia on sleep disorders and mental health improvement compared to the control group. Methods: Following the guidelines on systematic review(PRISMA, NECA), a literature search was conducted through PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, RISS, KISS, and KoreaMed using keywords. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool and Review Manager version 5.3 were used for risk of bias and effect size assessment. Results: Thirty eight RCT met criteria for inclusion. When compared against three control conditions, the digital therapeutics for insomnia was an effective intervention for improvement sleep disorders and mental health in comparison to waiting list and Patient-directed care with some intervention by medical staff. However, digital therapeutics for insomnia were no more effective than face-to-face CBT-I control group. Conclusion: The efficacy of digital therapeutics for insomnia was evaluated differently depending on the control group. Therefore, in phase 3 clinical trials for efficacy evaluation, it is necessary to review whether the control group has been properly established.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.25-32
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• 2013

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hepatoprotective effect of Hovenia dulcis extract on acute and chronic liver injuries induced by alcohol and $CCl_4$ in mice and rats. Methods : In acute alcohol-induced liver injury, mice were administered Hovenia dulcis extracts (60 and 200 mg/kg) orally before and after alcohol administration. In chronic alcohol-induced liver injury, mice were administered alcohol containing liquid diet for 4 weeks. The mice were administered H. dulcis extracts (60 and 200 mg/kg) mixed with the liquid diet. In acute $CCl_4$-induced liver injury, rats received a single dose of $CCl_4$ (2 mL/kg in olive oil, intraperitoneally). Rats were administered H. dulcis extracts (30, 100 and 300 mg/kg) before and after $CCl_4$ administrations. After the ends of the administrations, the serum levels of AST and ALT were measured using chemical analyzer, and ${\gamma}$-GTP levels were measured using spectrophotometer. Results : In acute alcohol-induced liver injury, H. dulcis extracts treated group showed significant reduction in ALT levels compared to those of control group. In chronic alcohol-induced liver injury, it inhibited weight-loss compared to normal group and showed significant reduction in AST, ALT and ${\gamma}$-GTP levels compared to control group. In acute $CCl_4$-induced liver injury, it also showed significant reduction in AST, ALT levels compared to control group. Conclusions : The results show that H. dulcis extract has hepatoprotective effect in acute and chronic alcohol-induced liver injury and acute $CCl_4$-induced liver injury. These findings suggest that H. dulcis could be a potent hepatoprotective agent.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.245-256
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• 2017

Objectives: The present study is aimed at performing real-time measurement of fibrous materials using an F-1 fiber monitor, investigating the correlations between the measurements and environmental conditions, and assessing the feasibility of the use of the monitor in actual exposure assessments based on the accuracy and reliability of the device. Methods: Asbestos specimens with a fixed asbestos content were dispersed in a chamber and collected with a particle measuring test device. Measurements obtained by the existing PCM method, and with the F-1 fiber monitor were compared. In addition, concentrations of asbestos fibers obtained by the PCM method, the TEM method, and the F-1 fiber monitor were compared with that of specific ABS scenarios in NOA regions. Correlations of asbestos contents in soil and weather conditions with each method of measurement were analyzed. Results: Laboratory results showed that levels of asbestos fibers measured with each method increased as fiber contents in soil increased. In the accuracy and reproducibility assessment, no significant differences were found between the different methods of measurement. On-site assessment results showed positive correlations among the methods, and these correlations were less significant compared with what was shown by the laboratory results. Levels of asbestos fibers increased as asbestos contents in soil increased, and as temperature increased. Levels of asbestos fibers decreased as humidity increased, and wind speed did not significantly affect the extent to which asbestos fibers were scattered. Conclusions: While it would be premature to replace existing methods with the use of F-1 fiber monitors in real sites based on the results of this study, the monitor may be useful in the screening of the sites, which assesses hazard levels in different regions. Replacement of existing methods with the use of F-1 fiber monitors may be possible after the limitations identified in this study are overcome, and additional assessment data are obtained and reviewed under different conditions to confirm the reliability of the monitor in future research. Obtained assessment results may be used as basic data for the assessment of asbestos hazard in NOA regions.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.269-282
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• 2017

Objectives: Currently, masks against yellow dust and fine particulates are being certified with no consideration of facial dimensional variations among children and adults. The aims of this study were to develop masks against yellow dust and fine particulates for children in Korea and provide basic data to suggest new test methods for mask certification that consider the breathing capacity of children. Methods: A total of 730 study participants aged from six to 13 years old were recruited in the Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon region. This study used a 3D scanning instrument to obtain 16 facial anthropometric data points. Literature reviews, a comparison of breathing capacity between adults and children, and analysis of children's pulmonary physiological data were conducted in order to suggest new test standards for certifying children's masks against yellow dust and fine particulates. In addition, types of children's masks, choice of wearing a mask or not, and reasons for not wearing masks were surveyed. Results: Based on a clustering analysis of participants' facial dimensions, facial shapes were classified into three groups: small, medium, and large. The sizes of children's masks were subtracted by using 3D sketch techniques(Large: $121.25mm{\times}89.46mm$, Medium: $111.92mm{\times}78.55mm$, Small: $102.13mm{\times}72.87mm$). In certifying children's mask, flow rates of $60{\ell}/m$ for the filtering efficiency test and $20{\ell}/m$ for the breathing resistance test were recommended, since children's pulmonary physiological capacity is about 60-70% of adults' pulmonary capacity. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that three mask sizes for children would be sufficient and practical for providing protection against yellow dust and fine particulates. Revising current test methods for certifying respiratory protective devices for children is important, since children's pulmonary physiological capacity substantially differs from that of adults. Therefore, it is recommended that new test standards for certifying children's masks be promulgated in the near future.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.64 no.4
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• pp.141-148
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• 2021

There are very scant data on the epidemiology of primary immunodeficiency diseases (PIDs) in Korea. Here we attempted to estimate the PID epidemiology and disease burden in Korea. A systematic review was performed of studies retrieved from the PubMed, KoreaMed, and Google Scholar databases. Studies on PIDs published in Korean or English between January 2001 and November 2018 were analyzed. The number of PID patients and the healthcare costs were estimated from Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) Korea data for 2017. A total of 398 PID patients were identified from 101 reports. Immunodeficiencies affecting cellular and humoral immunity were reported in 11 patients, combined immunodeficiency with associated or syndromic features in 40, predominantly antibody deficiencies in 144, diseases of immune dysregulation in 58, congenital defects of phagocytes in 104, defects in the intrinsic and innate immunity in 1, auto-inflammatory disorders in 4, complement deficiencies in 36, and phenocopies of PID in none. From the HIRA reimbursement data, a total of 1,162 outpatients and 306 inpatients were treated for 8,166 and 6,149 days, respectively. In addition, reimbursement was requested for 8,200 outpatient and 1,090 inpatient cases and $1,924,000 and $4,715,000 were reimbursed in 2017, respectively. This study systematically reviewed published studies on PID and analyzed the national open data system of the HIRA to estimate the disease burden of PID, for the first time in Korea.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.257-264
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to investigate the main results of the nursing intervention program for reducing depression in menopausal women in Korea and to investigate the effects of systematic review of literature. Research methods were searched for RISS, KMbase, KoreaMed and KISS as domestic databases and limited to domestic papers published in last 10 years from 2006 to 2015. The analysis of 14 articles showed that exercised therapy among the various nursing intervention programs provided significant effects on reducing depression. The intervention methods provided oral education, demonstration training, and practical training, 6 sessions, 60 sessions per session, 5~10 weeks for intervention, and 6~12 weeks for intervention. Depression in menopausal women is not a temporary or short-term emotional state. So it is necessary to provide appropriate exercises that can be applied for their own, regardless of daily life.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.103-112
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• 2012

We demonstrate the preliminary results of ship detection application using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and automatic identification system (AIS) together. Multi-frequency and multi-temporal SAR images such as TerraSAR-X and Cosmo-SkyMed (X-band), and Radarsat-2 (C-band) are acquired over the West Sea in South Korea. In order to compare with SAR data, we also collected an AIS data. The SAR data are pre-processed considering by the characteristics of scattering mechanism as for sea surface. We proposed the "Adaptive Threshold Algorithm" for classification ship efficiently. The analyses using the combination of the SAR and AIS data with time series will be very useful to ship detection or tracing of the ship.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.193-201
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• 2019

Background and Objective: Since the introduction of hospital pharmacy residency programs in 1983, hospital pharmacists in South Korea have been expected to expand their roles. However, their services and the outcomes have not been fully understood. In this study, we conducted a systematic review of Korean hospital pharmacist-provided interventions with regard to intervention type, intervention consequences, and target patient groups. Methods: A literature search of the following databases was performed: Embase, PubMed, Medline, KoreaMed, RISS, KMbase, KISS, NDSL, and KISTI. The search words were "hospital pharmacist", "clinical pharmacist", and "Korea". Articles reporting clinical or economic outcome measures that resulted from hospital pharmacist interventions were considered. Numeric measures for the acceptance rate of pharmacist recommendations were subjected to meta-analysis. Results: Of the 1,683 articles searched, 44 met the inclusion selection criteria. Most articles were published after 2000 (81.8%) and focused on clinical outcomes. Economic outcomes had been published since 2011. The interventions were classified as patient education, multidisciplinary team work, medication assessment, and guideline development. The outcome measures were physicians' prescription changes, clinical outcomes, patient adherence, economic outcomes, and quality of life. The acceptance rate was 80.5% (p < 0.005). Conclusion: Studies on pharmacist interventions have increased and showed increased patient health benefits and reduced medical costs at Korean hospital sites. Because pharmacists' professional competency would be recognized if the economic outcomes of their work were confirmed and justified, studies on their clinical performance should also include their economic impact.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.327-336
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• 2021

It is important to prevent progression of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to Alzheimer's disease or other dementia. This study was conducted to investigate cognitive-based intervention and its effectiveness for the older patients with MCI through systematic review. Data search was conducted in September 2020, using the Korea Research Information Service (Riss) and KoreaMed. After selection of literatures according to the predefined inclusion criteria, a total of 12 articles were included. It is revealed that the cognitive-based intervention for the older adults with MCI was found to have a positive effect on the various factors including cognitive function, depression, physical health status, quality of life, and communication. However, it is difficult to draw a definite conclusion due to the various intervention strategies and instruments used. Thus, based on the results of this study, we suggest more studies to verify the effectiveness of such programs.

• Medical Lasers
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.6-12
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• 2018

Introduction Energy-based devices allow for a more rapid and efficient ligation of blood vessels during operations. In the present study, we evaluated the feasibility of a laser as an alternative energy source for the vessel sealing system and determined the optimal condition of laser for an effective vessel sealing through histologic examination. Materials and Methods The arteries (5 mm diameter) harvested from porcine legs were compressed between two glass-slides to eliminate its luminal space and were irradiated with 1,470-nm diode laser under various sealing conditions, including laser power (5-30 W), irradiation time (5 or 10 seconds), and focus mode (focus or defocus). Subsequently, the irradiated vessels were fixed in 4% formaldehyde and then processed to paraffin block. The paraffinized sample was sectioned and stained with hematoxylin and eosin for histological evaluation. Results The extent of tissue change was positively correlated with duration and power of laser. In defocus mode, the irradiated vessels showed sufficient tissue denaturation for sealing effect without severe tissue destruction. Moreover, among the various conditions of irradiation, laser power between 15 and 20 W, as well as exposure time of 5 seconds were appropriate for sealing the blood vessels. Conclusion Adequate power and irradiation duration of laser can render blood vessels to be sealed effectively, although the higher power of laser may be required to cut the vessels.