• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.74-98
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• 2023

Objectives : This study aims to evaluate the add-on effect of herbal bath combined with acitretin in patients with psoriasis. Methods : We searched randomized controlled trials(RCTs) reporting the effect of herbal bath and acitretin combined treatment for psoriasis in 10 electronic databases from their inception to January 2023. Study collection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment were performed by two independent researchers. Data synthesis and risk of bias evaluation was conducted using Revman 5.4. Results : Ten RCTs with 1,008 subjects were included. Herbal bath and acitretin combined treatment group showed higher average total effective rate than acitretin alone group(RR 1.39; 95% CI: 1.15-1.68, P=0.0006, I² =0%). Herbal bath and additional treatments such as phototherapy(NB-UVB) and oral herbal medicine, combined with acitretin group also showed higher average total effective rate than acitretin alone group(RR 1.81; 95% CI: 1.47-2.22, P<0.00001, I² =43%). Herbal bath and phototherapy(NB-UVB) combined with acitretin group also showed higher average total effective rate than acitretin alone group(RR 1.51; 95% CI: 1.18-1.93, P=0.0009, I² =0%). The overall risk of bias of the included studies was unclear or of high risks. Conclusions : This review showed that the add-on of herbal bath combined with acitretin treatment could be more effective than acitretin alone treatment in patients with psoriasis. However, because of few included studies, heterogeneity between studies, and insufficient quality of included studies, further well-designed RCTs are needed to confirm the add-on effect of herbal bath on psoriasis.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.879-890
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• 2023

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the use of Megasphaera elsdenii (M. elsdenii) as a probiotic on rumen fermentation, production performance, carcass traits and health of ruminants by integrating data from various related studies using meta-analysis. Methods: A total of 32 studies (consisted of 136 data points) were obtained and integrated into a database. The parameters integrated were fermentation products, rumen microbes, production performance, carcass quality, animal health, blood and urine metabolites. Statistical analysis of the compiled database used a mixed model methodology. Different studies were considered random effects, while M. elsdenii supplementation doses were considered fixed effects. p-values and the Akaike information criterion were employed as model statistics. The model was deemed significant at p<0.05 or had a tendency to be significant when p-value between 0.05<p<0.10. Results: Supplementation with M. elsdenii increased (p<0.05) some proportion of fermented rumen products such as propionate, butyrate, isobutyrate, and valerate, and significantly reduced (p<0.05) lactic acid concentration, acetate proportion, total bacterial population and methane emission. Furthermore, the probiotic supplementation enhanced (p<0.05) livestock production performance, especially in the average daily gain and body condition score. Regarding the carcass quality, hot carcass weight and carcass gain were elevated (p< 0.05) due to the M. elsdenii supplementation. Animal health also showed improvement as indicated by the lower (p<0.05) diarrhoea and bloat incidences as well as the liver abscess. However, M. elsdenii supplementation had negligible effects on blood and urine metabolites of ruminants. Conclusion: Supplementation of M. elsdenii is capable of decreasing ruminal lactic acid concentration, enhancing rumen health, elevating some favourable rumen fermentation products, and in turn, increasing production performance of ruminants.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.649-661
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• 2019

Objective: To systematically review the evaluation of the diagnostic accuracy of pre-treatment apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and change in ADC during the intra- or post-treatment period, for the prediction of locoregional failure in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Materials and Methods: Ovid-MEDLINE and Embase databases were searched up to September 8, 2018, for studies on the use of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging for the prediction of locoregional treatment response in patients with HNSCC treated with chemoradiation or radiation therapy. Risk of bias was assessed by using the Quality Assessment Tool for Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2. Results: Twelve studies were included in the systematic review, and diagnostic accuracy assessment was performed using seven studies. High pre-treatment ADC showed inconsistent results with the tendency for locoregional failure, whereas all studies evaluating changes in ADC showed consistent results of a lower rise in ADC in patients with locoregional failure compared to those with locoregional control. The sensitivities and specificities of pre-treatment ADC and change in ADC for predicting locoregional failure were relatively high (range: 50-100% and 79-96%, 75-100% and 69-95%, respectively). Meta-analytic pooling was not performed due to the apparent heterogeneity in these values. Conclusion: High pre-treatment ADC and low rise in early intra-treatment or post-treatment ADC with chemoradiation, could be indicators of locoregional failure in patients with HNSCC. However, as the studies are few, heterogeneous, and at high risk for bias, the sensitivity and specificity of these parameters for predicting the treatment response are yet to be determined.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.83-95
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• 2024

Objectives This review was conducted to evaluate the therapeutic effects of manual acupuncture (MA) for shoulder impingement syndrome (SIS). Methods We searched 12 electronic databases (DBpia, Korean studies Information Service System [KISS], Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System [OASIS], Research Information Sharing Service [RISS], China National Knowledge Infrastructure [CNKI], CINAHL, Clinical Key, Cochrane Library, Embase, JAMA, PubMed, Web of Science) to find randomized-controlled clinical trials (RCTs) investigating therapeutic effects of MA for treating SIS. Shoulder Pain and Disability Index scores and numeric pain rating scale or visual analogue scale were analyzed as the main evaluation criteria. Results Among 181 studies, 169 were screened and only 12 RCTs were eligible in our review. Finally, 11 RCTs could be statistically analyzed. MA was more effective than sham treatment and physical therapy in terms of reducing pain (p=0.003, p=0.0007 each). Electroacupuncture (EA) showed more significant effect than physical therapy (PT) for improving shoulder pain (p<0.00001) and shoulder functionality (p<0.00001). Conclusions These results suggest that MA and EA could be superior option for treating SIS than sham treatment or PT. However this review has its limitations due to the small sample size and lack of well-designed RCTs that were included in the study. Further well-designed RCTs are necessary to provide high-level evidence.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.173-181
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• 2023

3D printing is a technology that can transform and process computerized data obtained through modeling or 3D scanning via CAD. In the medical field, studies on customized 3D printing technology for clinical use or patients and diseases continue. The importance of research on filaments and molding methods is increasing, but research on manufacturing methods and available raw materials is not being actively conducted. In this study, we compare the characteristics of each material according to the manufacturing method of the phantom manufactured with 3D printing technology and evaluate its usefulness. We manufactured phantoms of the same size using poly methyl meta acrylate (PMMA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) based on the international standard phantom of aluminum step wedge. We used SITEC's radiation generator (DigiRAD-FPC R-1000-150) and compared the shielding rate and line attenuation coefficient through the average after shooting 10 times. As a result, in the case of the measured dose transmitted through each phantom, it was confirmed that the appearance of the dose measured for phantoms decreased linearly as the thickness increased under each condition. The sensitivity also decreased as the steps increased for each phantom and confirmed that it was different depending on the thickness and material. Through this study, we confirmed that 3D printing technology can be usefully used for phantom production in the medical field. If further development of printing technology and studies on various materials are conducted, it is believed that they will contribute to the development of the medical research environment.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.65-74
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• 2024

Objectives This study aims to establish a protocol for a systematic review to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of manual therapy (MT) for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Methods We will conduct a search for relevant randomized controlled trials using seven databases, including MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. The study includes patients with OSA treated with MT. Comparators include all other treatments excluding MT. The primary outcome is the apnea-hypopnea index; secondary outcomes include mean peripheral oxygen saturation, snoring index, quality of sleep, quality of life, peak nasal inspiratory flow, and adverse events. Results Two independent researchers will select studies based on inclusion criteria and extract necessary data. Risk of bias (RoB) will be assessed using the Cochrane RoB 2.0 tool. Meta-analysis will be conducted if there are two or more studies with the same outcome measure; otherwise, a qualitative analysis will be performed. Subgroup analysis will be conducted based on the type of MT, and evidence certainty will be evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach. Conclusions This study will evaluate the effect of MT on OSA. By systematically reviewing various MTs, it aims to refine application methods in clinical practice and provide a foundation for future research.

• KIPS Transactions on Computer and Communication Systems
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• v.11 no.12
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• pp.461-468
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• 2022

Development of the big data industry, the cases of providing data utilization services on digital platforms are increasing. In this regard, research in data-related fields is being conducted to apply the FAIR principle that can be applied to the assessment of (meta)data quality, service, and function to data quality evaluation. Especially, the European Open Data Portal applies an assessment model based on FAIR principles. Based on this, a data maturity assessment is conducted and the results are disclosed in reports every year. However, public data portals do not conduct data maturity evaluations based on metadata. In this paper, we propose and evaluate a new model for data maturity evaluation on a big data platform built for multiple domestic public data portals and data transactions, FAIR principles used for data maturity evaluation in Europe's open data portals. The proposed maturity evaluation model is a model that evaluates the quality of public data portal datasets.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05b
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• pp.2552-2557
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• 2007

Shape optimization of an internal cooling passage with staggered dimples on single surface is performed and performances of surrogates are evaluated in this paper. Optimizations are performed so that turbulent heat transfer can be enhanced compromising with pressure loss due to friction. The three-dimensional governing differential equations have been solved to find the overall Nusselt number and friction factor which are related to the objective functions of this problem. Three design variables were selected among the dimensionless geometric variables. Basic surrogate models such as second order polynomial response surface approximation (RSA), Kriging meta-modeling technique, radial basis neural network (RBNN), and derived press based averaged (PBA) surrogate model are constructed. The optimal points are searched from the above constructed surrogates by sequential quadratic programming (SQP). It is shown that use of multiple surrogates can increase the robustness in prediction of better design with minimum computational cost.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.299-304
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• 2002

This research was to investigate the invasion and diffusion properties of chloride ion on the concrete containing mineral admixtures by the electrically accelerated test. Mineral admixtures selected in mixes were fly-ash, ground granulated blast-furnace slag, silica fume, and meta-kaolin with 3 degrees of replacement ratios. Tang and Nilsson's test method was used to estimate chloride diffusion coefficients of that mixes. As a result, the total current passing charge and the diffusion coefficient of chloride ion were reduced with the use of mineral admixtures and the increase of replacement ratios. In addition, compressive strength was related with diffusion coefficient of chloride ion. Diffusion coefficients of concrete mixed with ground granulated blast-furnace slag showed relatively low value under the range of compressive strength of 400㎏f/㎠.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.833-845
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• 2015

Natural frequencies of the structural systems should be far away from the excitation frequency in order to avoid or reduce the destructive effects of dynamic loads on structures. To accomplish this goal, a structural optimization on size and shape has been performed considering frequency constraints. Such an optimization problem has highly nonlinear property. Thus, the quality of the solution is not independent of the optimization technique to be applied. This study presents the performance evaluation of the recently proposed meta-heuristic algorithm called Teaching Learning Based Optimization (TLBO) as an optimization engine in the weight optimization of the truss structures under frequency constraints. Some examples regarding the optimization of trusses on shape and size with frequency constraints are solved. Also, the results obtained are tabulated for comparison. The results demonstrated that the performance of the TLBO is satisfactory. Additionally, TLBO is better than other methods in some cases.