• Asian Spine Journal
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.1043-1052
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• 2018

Study Design: Level III retrospective cross-sectional study. Purpose: To define and characterize the presentation, symptom duration, and patient/surgical risk factors associated with 'post-decompressive neuropathy (PDN).' Overview of Literature: PDN is characterized by lower extremity radicular pain that is 'different' from pre-surgical radiculopathy or claudication pain. Although it is a common constellation of postoperative symptoms, PDN is incompletely characterized and poorly understood. We hypothesize that PDN is caused by an intraoperative neuropraxic event and may develop early (within 30 days following the procedure) or late (after 30 days following the procedure) within the postoperative period. Methods: Patients who consented to undergo lumbar laminectomy with or without an instrumented fusion for degenerative lumbar spine disease were followed up prospectively from July 2013 to December 2014. Relevant data were extracted from the charts of the eligible patients. Patient demographics and surgical factors were identified. Patients completed postoperative questionnaires 3 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year postoperatively. Questions were designed to characterize the postoperative pain that differed from preoperative pain. A diagnosis of PDN was established if the patient exhibited the following characteristics: pain different from preoperative pain, leg pain worse than back pain, a non-dermatomal pain pattern, and nocturnal pain that often disrupted sleep. A Visual Analog Scale was used to monitor the pain, and patients documented the effectiveness of the prescribed pain management modalities. Patients for whom more than one follow-up survey was missed were excluded from analysis. Results: Of the 164 eligible patients, 118 (72.0%) completed at least one follow-up survey at each time interval. Of these eligible patients, 91 (77.1%) described symptoms consistent with PDN. Additionally, 75 patients (82.4%) described early-onset symptoms, whereas 16 reported symptoms consistent with late-onset PDN. Significantly more female patients reported PDN symptoms (87% vs. 69%, p=0.03). Patients with both early and late development of PDN described their leg pain as an intermittent, constant, burning, sharp/stabbing, or dull ache. Early PDN was categorized more commonly as a dull ache than late-onset PDN (60% vs. 31%, p=0.052); however, the difference did not reach statistical significance. Opioids were significantly more effective for patients with early-onset PDN than for those with late-onset PDN (85% vs. 44%, p=0.001). Gabapentin was most commonly prescribed to patients who cited no resolution of symptoms (70% vs. 31%, p=0.003). Time to symptom resolution ranged from within 1 month to 1 year. Patients' symptoms were considered unresolved if symptoms persisted for more than 1 year postoperatively. In total, 81% of the patients with early-onset PDN reported complete symptom resolution 1 year postoperatively compared with 63% of patients with late-onset PDN (p=0.11). Conclusions: PDN is a discrete postoperative pain phenomenon that occurred in 77% of the patients who underwent lumbar laminectomy with or without instrumented fusion. Attention must be paid to the constellation and natural history of symptoms unique to PDN to effectively manage a self-limiting postoperative issue.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.349-359
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to add and revalidate items of learning cognition and learning emotion factors for online use of the K-LSS for junior college. It is important for self-reflection and improvement of academic achievement to specifically explore and analyze the sub-factors of learning cognition, learning behavior, and learning emotion for each item that can affect the learning strategy of junior college students. The added items are two items for diagnosing the concentration of attention in the learning information processing process of the learning cognitive factor and two questions about the interpersonal anxiety factor for diagnosing the level of anxiety about others in the learning emotional factor. The study area was conducted in 5 areas nationwide, and the subjects of the study were 923 junior college students excluding 327 respondents who answered insincerity. The K-LSS_r scale is a learning strategy diagnosis scale of 52 questions composed of three sub-elements of learning cognition (18 questions), learning emotion (15 questions), and learning behavior (19 questions), and reliability for generalization in this study. As a result of the verification, Cronbach's α coefficient of the entire scale was .896, and Cronbach's α coefficient of the three factors ranged from .876 to .910. The half-segment reliability coefficient of the scale was .858 in total, and the half-segment reliability coefficients of the three factors ranged from .792 to .843. The test-retest reliability verification result for 3 weeks for 350 Junior college Students in 5 regions was .884, and the validity test for generalization also confirmed that the recruitment validity is significant.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.133-150
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• 2021

Purpose: The epidemiologic understanding of allergic diseases, including prevalence and risk factors, is needed for allergy management. This study identified the prevalence of and coping patterns for various types of allergies, such as asthma, allergic rhinitis (AR), atopic dermatitis (AD), allergic conjunctivitis (AC), food allergy (FA), and drug allergy (DA), in Nam-gu, Ulsan, one of the most industrialized districts in Korea. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed using a self-report multiple choice questionnaire. The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) and other measures were reviewed to develop the questionnaire. Data was collected from May 9th to November 30th of 2018. Descriptive and frequency analyses were performed to apprehend the prevalence of symptoms, diagnostic rates, diagnosis dates, treatment history, and others. Results: By randomized sampling, 9,102 children from 25 nurseries, 25 kindergartens, and 15 elementary schools participated in the study. The prevalence of asthma, AR, AD, AC, FA, and DA were 11.1%, 48.7%, 15.5%, 17.6%, 15.1%, and 2.0%, respectively. The respective rate of ever being diagnosed with asthma, AR, AD, AC, FA, and DA were 4.2%, 38.4%, 25.5%, 23.3%, 9.7%, and 1.1%, respectively. Last year's allergy related school absenteeism rates were 10.8%, 4.1%, and 1.3% for asthma, AR, and AD, respectively. Lastly, 59.2% of the participants considered air pollution as the most challenging factor in allergy management. Conclusion: This study comprehensively investigated the current state of various allergic diseases in Nam-gu, Ulsan. The study's findings are expected to be applied to strategies for decreasing the socioeconomic burden of allergic diseases.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.37-43
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• 2022

Patients tend to return to normal pronunciation patterns after fitting new dentures. However, for some patients, it takes a long time to adapt the new complete denture. In this case, the patient came to the hospital at the address of wanting to remake dentures due to wear and tear. After diagnosis through clinical and radiological examination, the maxillary complete denture and mandibular removable partial denture were remade. The patient complained whistling /s/ sound at the first check-up after placement of the new denture. The anterior palatal area of polished surface of the new maxillary complete denture was concave comparing to old denture, and this was the cause of the whistling /s/ sound. A tissue conditioning material was applied to the maxillary complete denture and patient made /s/ sound. The tissue conditioning material was replaced with self-curing type denture base resin, and the patient was immediately satisfied with clear /s/ sound. As an objective assessment, palatogram and speech analytics software was applied. In this case, a patient who received denture treatment complaining of difficulty in pronunciation underwent immediate denture repair, which resulted in patient satisfaction and improved pronunciation through objective evaluation.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.349-363
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to develop an instrument for school STEAM education diagnostic assessment. Literature reviews, the developmental study of a prototype instrument, experts' advices, and pilot study were administrated. The school STEAM education diagnostic assessment was consist of five areas: 'STEM education action and sustainability plan,' 'STEAM curriculum and instruction,' 'STEAM professional development,' 'process-based evaluation,' and 'community and partnerships.' Each area had one to five sub-areas. A total of 14 diagnosis items were developed, including items that can diagnose the school's STEAM environment base and STEAM education execution level at the school unit and member level for each area. The validation of the diagnostic assessment was conducted through the content validity of the expert group and the validity of a survey targeting school teachers. For applying the instrument for STEAM Education School Assessment to schools, a total of 267 elementary, middle, and high schools participated. As a result, the average of the five areas was 1.46 to 2.18. This instrument comprehensively diagnoses and evaluates the implementation and effectiveness of STEAM education in schools, and is expected to be used as basic data and core data for implementing STEAM education.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.184-202
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• 2023

Purpose: This study investigates the necessary educational materials from the perspective of caregivers managing food allergies of preschoolers. Methods: An online survey enrolled 400 caregivers of preschoolers with food allergies. The study was conducted in July 2022, and data were analyzed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 25. Results: The caregivers of preschoolers with food allergies showed low food allergy knowledge. The highest percentage of incorrect answers were for items related to the cause (74.2%) and response (65.2%) to food allergies. Moreover, categorizing the levels of knowledge as high, medium, and low, we found that caregivers with younger children exhibited a better understanding of food allergies. Approximately 56.9% of subjects in the high class were caregivers with preschoolers under three years, whereas caregivers with preschoolers over four years comprised 43.2% of the high-class subjects. Regarding food allergy treatment, four questions measured how well the caregivers tended to the children. With higher levels of knowledge, caregivers were more likely to read nutrient information and check for food allergens. The caregivers of preschoolers who were clinically diagnosed with food allergies demonstrated a higher percentage of using separate ingredients and cooking utensils. Conclusion: This study shows how the caregivers' knowledge levels are critical in managing and treating food allergies among preschoolers. With caregivers' lower knowledge of food allergies and preschoolers younger than four years, self-diagnosis of food allergies and existing food allergies were not managed efficiently. Hence, customized education for caregivers is essential to improve their knowledge level regarding limiting foods that may cause allergies, reading food labels, and using ingredients and cooking utensils separately.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.41-58
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• 2023

Objectives: This retrospective observational study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of Cheongpebaedok-tang, a traditional Korean herbal medicine, provided via telemedicine to patients with asymptomatic to mild COVID-19 in Korea. Methods: From February to April 2020, a retrospective analysis investigated COVID-19 patients treated via Korean telemedicine. The study involved asymptomatic to mild cases receiving Cheongpebaedok-tang more than three times, along with continuous Korean medicine care in convalescence. Diagnoses and treatment adhered to the telemedicine guidelines of the Association of Korean Medicine, with varied Cheongpebaedok-tang prescriptions based on symptom severity. Symptom evaluation involved a detailed assessment using a 15-item tool at initial and final sessions. Results: The study included 27 patients, with a mean age of 48.7 ± 2.3 years (mean ± standard error). Patients began self-administering oral Cheongpebaedok-tang for an average of 19.4 ± 1.8 days after the date of COVID-19 diagnosis confirmation and continued the medication for 15.8 ± 1.2 days. The reported side effects of the Cheongpebaedok-tang included palpitations (11.1%), insomnia (7.4%), dizziness (3.7%), and diarrhea (3.7%). All side effects disappeared after adjusting the prescription according to standard treatment guidelines. The occurrence of all COVID-19-related adverse symptoms, except fatigue and myalgia, decreased. Fatigue was the most common chronic symptom persisting after 6 months (51.9%), followed by ocular symptoms (37.0%) and sore throat (22.2%). Conclusions: This study implies Cheongpebaedok-tang may offer a potentially safe, symptom-alleviating approach for managing mild COVID-19 cases via telemedicine, although further comprehensive research is warranted.

• Information Systems Review
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.93-113
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• 2021

Service orientation and customer orientation are recognized as important success factors in service companies. However, these constructs are evaluated through self-diagnosis within the service company based on service delivery experience. For this reason, Fintech companies that provide financial services based on non-face-to-face channels such as mobile APP have limitations in evaluating their service orientation and customer orientation. Therefore, in this study, the perceived customer orientation is conceptualized so that service orientation and customer orientation can be evaluated through customer evaluation. In addition, the antecedents and consequences of the perceived customer orientation based on the technology acceptance model were demonstrated. As a result, it was confirmed the mediating effect of perceived customer orientation in the relationship between perceived ease of use and usefulness and customer's continuous use intention and word of mouth intention. This study laid the foundation for the Fintech companies that provide all financial services throughout non-face-to-face to measure their service orientation and customer orientation through customer evaluation and utilize them in establishing service operation strategies.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.3769-3776
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• 2016

Background: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women worldwide. High breast cancer mortality has been attributed to lack of public awareness of the disease. Little is known about the level of knowledge of breast cancer in Central African Republic. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge of health professionals on breast cancer. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 158 health professionals (27 medical; 131 paramedical) in 17 hospitals in Bangui using a self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistical analysis, Person's ${\chi}^2$ test and ANOVA were applied to examine associations between variables with p < 0.05 being considered significant. Results: Data analyzed using SPSS version 20 indicates that average knowledge about breast cancer perception of the entire population was 47.6%, diagnosis method 45.5%, treatment 34.3% and risk factors 23.8%. Most respondents (65.8%) agreed that breast cancer is important in Central African Republic and that family history is a risk factor (44.3%). Clinical assessments and mammography were considered most suitable diagnostic methods, and surgery as the best treatment. The knowledge level was significantly higher among medical than paramedical staff with regard to risk factors, diagnosis and treatment. However the trainee group had very high significant differences of knowledge compared with all other groups. Conclusions: There is a very urgent need to update the various training programs for these professionals, with recommendations of retraining. Health authorities must create suitable structures for the overall management of cancer observed as a serious public health problem.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.58-65
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• 2010

Purpose: Since there are few studies involving acute pancreatitis in children, we reviewed our experience with this medical condition to describe the clinical features. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted by reviewing the medical records of 41 patients with AP who were admitted to the Department of Pediatrics of Pusan National University Hospital between January 1996 and June 2007. Results: Twenty males and 21 females (mean age, 8.7${\pm}$4.5 years) were included. In 22 patients (53.7%), no definitive causes were found. The most common etiologies were choledochal cysts (22.0%). Necrotizing pancreatitis was diagnosed in 5 patients (12.2%), and recurrent acute pancreatitis in 4 patients (9.8%). CT findings included pancreatic swelling (43.9%), peripancreatic fluid collection (29.3%), ascites (24.4%), and peripancreatic fat necrosis (12.2%). Serum amylase and lipase levels at diagnosis were 535.3${\pm}$553.2 and 766.2${\pm}$723.6 U/L, respectively, and were normalized within 1 week in 22 and 14 patients, respectively. On the basis of the Balthazar scale, 2 patients were diagnosed with severe AP. In 4 patients (9.8%), a surgical procedure was indicated. Major complications included ascites (32.3%), sepsis (16.1%), and pseudocyst and renal impairments (12.9%). Two patients died from multi-organ failure. Conclusion: The etiologies of AP in children are varied. Most children have a single episode and a self-limited course. However, AP of childhood still carries significant morbidity and mortality. Early diagnosis, appropriate treatment according to disease severity, and management of complications are important.