• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.137-145
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• 2014

The purpose of this paper is to explore the strategy of future Korean medicine(KM) clinical research through the study on the current situation and issues for KM clinical research worldwide. In this study, the papers published in English through Pubmed were investigated mainly. And we analyzed the methodological issues from the clinical research reports in the KM fields. As a result of examining the current situation of the RCTs(Randomized Controlled Trials) studies in KM, the sample size for most studies was small and the overall methodological quality appeared to be low. And there was a discussion about whether or not to apply RCTs method to the KM clinical research. The majority of studies have argued the use of RCTs method for KM clinical research. In addition, we could find some problems through the analysis of KM clinical studies. First, the majority of RCTs in KM were of low quality. Second, RCTs method was applied to the KM clinical studies according to the Western medicine methods only. Third, the actual KM diagnosis was not used in the KM studies and inadequate outcomes measurement methods were utilized without considering the characteristics of KM practice. The methodological issues in the KM clinical research were caused by the conflict between the characteristics of KM practice and clinical research method based on the western medicine.

• Proceedings of the EASDL Conference
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.47-47
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• 2010

Chilliness is a complaint among menopausal women in Japan, but increasing evidence indicates that young women also suffer from chilliness. However, neither diagnostic criteria nor drug therapies exist for treating chilliness. We noticed it and recently elucidated methodological issues related to identifying women with chills. Using a discriminant analysis, we demonstrated that four parameters were important determinants of chilliness. On the other hand, after repeated reports of serious adverse effects with hormone replacement therapy, much attention has been given to the development of new remedies to alleviate menopausal depressive state in women, but methods for their preclinical evaluation have not been clarified. We previously developed a procedure to predict the effect of candidate substance on the menopausal depressive-like state in female mice. Since either chilliness or mood disorder is known to disturb a quality of life in women, in this symposium, the efficacy of Korean red ginseng on chilliness in women and depressive-like state will be discussed.

• Journal of Evidence-Based Herbal Medicine
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.9-18
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• 2010

The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is currently widespread and appears to be growing. As an increasing proportion of the population turns to CAM therapies, whether singly or in combination with allopathic medicine, the need for quality research in this area is reinforced. Much of this research consists of clinical studies aim ed primarily at clinicians, yet challenges arising from poor methodological quality will occur w hen interpreting study findings and their implications. For clinicians to be effective consumers of the scientific literature, familiarization with the principles of evidence based medicine (EBM) is essential. The goal of this review is to introduce clinicians to the concept of critical appraisal of clinical studies and foster critical thinking when reading research articles in order to best evaluate and incorporate study findings into their daily practice.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2020

Various processing methods have a great impact on the physiochemical and nutritional properties of meat that are of health concern. Hence, the postmortem processing of meat by different methods is likely to intensify the potential effects on protein oxidation. The influence of meat protein oxidation on the modulation of the systemic redox status and underlying mechanism is well known. However, the effects of processed meat proteins isolated from different sources on gut microbiota, oxidative stress biomarkers, and metabolomic markers associated with metabolic syndromes are of growing interest. The application of advanced methodological approaches based on OMICS, and mass spectrometric technologies has enabled to better understand the molecular basis of the effect of processed meat oxidation on human health and the aging process. Animal studies indicate the involvement of dietary proteins isolated from different sources on health disorders, which emphasizes the impact of processed meat protein on the richness of bacterial taxa such as (Mucispirillum, Oscillibacter), accompanied by increased expression of lipogenic genes. This review explores the most recent evidences on meat processing techniques, meat protein oxidation, underlying mechanisms, and their potential effects on nutritional value, gut microbiota composition and possible implications on human health.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.8-20
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• 2017

Objectives: Traditional oriental herbal medicine is used in cancer care to alleviate symptoms. Anorexia is a symptom which is frequently observed in patients with cancer and impairs their quality of life. The objective of this systematic review is to summarize current available evidence to evaluate the effect of traditional oriental herbal medicine on anorexia in cancer patients. Methods: The review evaluated randomized controlled trials (RCTs) measuring the effect of any types of herbal medicine on anorexia in cancer patients within 4 electronic databases and manual search up to December 2015. The Cochrane risk of bias tool (ROB) was used to assess the quality of RCTs. Results: In total, 11 RCTs met the inclusion criteria. All of the studies reported the rate or severity of anorexia improved after treatment in herbal-conventional medicine combined group compared to conventional medicine group. 7 of 11 studies showed between-group statistical differences. The methodological quality of RCTs was insufficient with unclear and high ROB. Conclusions: Traditional oriental herbal medicine may have a potential to improve anorexia in patients with cancer. To confirm the clinical recommendation, further researches with rigorous study design are required to support the effects of herbal medicine.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.45-64
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• 2024

Objectives: This study is purposed to investigate the effect and safety of laser therapy for stroke patients by systematic review and meta-analysis of the randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methods: RCTs on the treatment of laser therapy for stroke patients were selected among the literature published from January 2000 to June 2022 in twelve domestic and foreign databases. The quality of the literature was evaluated using the Cochrane's Risk of Bias tool and RevMan 5.4 was used for the synthesis of results. Results: Total 2,598 patients with stroke were finally selected from 18 RCTs. Meta-analysis showed that laser therapy was effective in significantly improving activities of daily living (MBI), motor function (effective rate), upper motor function (FMA-UE), shoulder pain related factors (CGRP, ET-1, BK). Overall, the risk of bias was uncertain or low in the quality assessment of the literature. Conclusions: Although it is unclear that laser therapy is more effective than sham laser, laser therapy might be more effective in improving symptoms than conventional rehabilitation alone. Furthermore, no serious adverse events were founded in laser therapy studies. However, the quality of the selected literature was generally low. Therefore, further studies with high methodological quality on laser therapy for stroke patients would be required in the future.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.37-60
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to systematically review music intervention studies for patients with schizophrenia. The researcher searched nine electronic databases for clinical trials published since 2000, using combinations of keyword related to schizophrenia and music interventions. The initial search identified 272 studies, and fifteen studies were selected by reviewing the titles, abstracts and full articles, In addition, three articles were added by examining other review articles. Thus, a total of 18 articles were analyzed in terms of their general and intervention characteristics, and the PEDro scale was used to evaluate the methodological quality of the included studies. The results demonstrated that, due to the lack of randomization and blinding, the methodological qualities of the studies with high quality music interventions were often rated low. Eight Music interventions conducted by qualified music therapists included active music-making, therapeutic relationship, and supervision systems for improving intervention quality. In conclusion, the randomization, blinding, and the therapeutic rationale of intervention are recommended in future clinical trials for patients with schizophrenia.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.311-318
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to assess the methodological quality of non-randomized studies published in the Journal of Korean Fundamentals of Nursing. Methods: A search of non-randomized studies assessing intervention effects was conducted among all articles published in the Journal of Korean Fundamentals of Nursing between 2011 and 2013. Articles were assessed for quality using the Methodological Index for Non Randomized Studies (MINORS). For each index item, the frequency and percentage of articles meeting the criteria were calculated, along with mean scores by research method, publication year, and research topic. Results: A total of 22 studies were included. The mean score for studies without control groups was 11.75 (range 0-16), and for those with control groups, 19.27 (range 0-24). Results show that improvement is needed on several items: "endpoints appropriate to the aim of the study," "unbiased assessment of the study endpoint," "follow-up period appropriate to the aim of the study," "loss to follow up less than 5%," and "contemporary groups." Conclusion: Although the quality of articles published in the Journal of Korean Fundamentals of Nursing has consistently increased, more emphasis should be placed on using rigorous research methods.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Sensory Integration
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.48-59
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• 2022

Objective : This study was intended to systematically consider the sensory integration intervention methods offered in Korea for children with autism spectrum disorder and to provide an evidence base for the application of sensory integration interventions. Methods : The subjects of this study were published studies in a national journal for the last 10 years from January 2011 to December 2020. The databases used for the search were RISS and DBpia. The search terms were 'autism', 'autism spectrum', 'sensory integration', and 'intervention'. A total of 10 studies were used in the analysis, which were analyzed at the qualitative and methodological quality of the research evidence and the results were presented according to the PICO (Patient, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome). Results : In the research analysis, the quality level of the evidence was highest at level IV, followed by level II. The methodological quality of the evidence was the most common for 'Good' research, followed 'Fair'. The study subjects were children with autism spectrum disorder and their parents, and the experimental design had the highest frequency of single-subject studies. Interventions have the highest number of studies confirming adaptive behavior and sensory modulation, and the evaluation tools used to measure interventions have the highest frequency of sensory profiles and Canadian occupational performance measures (COPM). All 10 studies used in the analysis showed positive improvements and statistically significant effects on various outcome values from sensory integration interventions. Conclusion : In the recent clinical environment, sensory integration interventions have been continuously conducted in children with autism spectrum disorder. In future research, it is necessary to conduct research on various sensory integration intervention methods and the high quality of the evidence for the application of sensory integration interventions.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.64-74
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• 2014

Purpose: This study was done to develop and implement the Nursing KMS (knowledge management system) in order to improve knowledge sharing and creation among clinical nurses in outpatient departments. Methods: This study was a methodological research using the 'System Development Life Cycle': consisting of planning, analyzing, design, implementation, and evaluation. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) was applied to establish nurse requirements and to identify important design requirements. Participants were 32 nurses and for evaluation data were collected pre and post intervention at K Hospital in Seoul, a tertiary hospital with over 1,000 beds. Results: The Nursing KMS was built using a Linux-based operating system, Oracle DBMS, and Java 1.6 web programming tools. The system was implemented as a sub-system of the hospital information system. There was statistically significant differences in the sharing of knowledge but creating of knowledge was no statistically meaningful difference observed. In terms of satisfaction with the system, system efficiency ranked first followed by system convenience, information suitability and information usefulness. Conclusion: The results indicate that the use of Nursing KMS increases nurses' knowledge sharing and can contribute to increased quality of nursing knowledge and provide more opportunities for nurses to gain expertise from knowledge shared among nurses.