• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.10
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• pp.821-831
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• 2022

This study evaluated the effects of physical touch play programs in children through a systematic literature review and meta-analysis. A literature search for journal articles published before August 2022 was conducted using KERIS, KISS, DBpia, and ScienceON. The keywords used for the search were 'child', 'infant', 'physical touch', 'physical touch play', 'physical touch activities' and 'physical touch play program'. For the study's purpose, seven studies were selected through a systematic process of using several databases and were used to estimate the effect size of physical touch play programs. A meta-analysis was performed using a random effects model, and the effect size on cognitive function was calculated. Hedges' g of the physical touch play program was 6.20 (95% CI: 3.74-8.66), indicating a large effect size. To determine heterogeneity (I2= 95.4%, Q = 417.30, p<0.001), moderator analysis was performed using the total number of times and intervention duration. The total number of times was statistically significant; the other moderators did not differ significantly. This study systematically analyzed the results of physical touch play programs on children in Korea. It also provides insights that can be applied to the design of physical touch play programs for children. To present more evidence that supports the effectiveness of physical touch programs, further research is warranted.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.71-82
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• 2022

This study aimed to identify the effects of death education programs among Korean aged on death anxiety and attitudes toward death in the convergence era. The searched kew words were included aged, death education program, death anxiety, and attitudes to death in the research papers published in Korea. Finally, 11 studies were selected and the effect size was calculated. Death anxiety and death attitude were selected as dependent variables, and publication type, total duration of intervention, and frequency of intervention were selected as moderator variables. The total of 11 papers were selected to estimate the effect sizes of interventions. As a result, the overall effect size of the death education program for the aged was 1.07. The overall effect size showed death education program was able to lower death anxiety (Hedges' g=1.30, 95% Cl=0.80~1.80, p<.01) and improve attitudes to death (Hedges' g=0.93, 95% Cl=0.49~1.37, p<.01) compared with the no intervention group. In the moderator analysis to identify the cause of heterogeneity, significant results were found in the frequency of intervention. We propose a study that repeatedly verifies the effect of related studies in the future by providing the theoretical basis and basic data for the development of the death education program.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.153-159
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• 2005

Autistic disorder and other PDD are currently viewed as a largely genetically determined neurodevelopmental disorder, although its underlying biological causes remain to be established. In this review, we examine the available neurodevelopmental literature on autistic disorder and discuss the findings that have emerged. Typical neuropathological observations are rather consistent with respect to the limbic system (increased cell packing density and smaller neuronal size), the cerebellum (decreased number of Purkinje cells) and the cerebral cortex ($>50\%$ of the cases showed features of cortical dysgenesis). However, most of the reported studies had to contend with the problem of small sample sizes, the use of quantification techniques, not free of bias and assumptions, and high percentages of autistic subjects with comorbid mental retardation or epilepsy. Furthermore, data from the limbic system and on age-related changes lack replication by independent groups. It is anticipated that future neuropathological studies held great promise, especially as new techniques such as design-based stereology and gene expression are increasingly implemented and combined, larger samples are analysed, and younger subjects free of comorbidities are investigated.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.15-22
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• 2006

Objectives: The salivary gland tumor shows heterogeneity in histologic patterns and biological behavior. The aim of this study is to elucidate the relationships between apoptosis and expressions of apoptosis-related factors(bcl-2, bax, M30), p53 and MIB-1 in the salivary gland tumors. Methods: Immunohistochemical stains for apoptosis-related factors, p53 and MIB-1 and TUNEL study for apoptosis were performed in 46 cases of salivary gland tumors 02 benign and 34 malignant). Results: Twenty(43.5%) of 46 cases showed positive reaction for apoptosis, and the expression rates of bcl-2, bax, M30, p53 and MIB-1 were 85.3%, 68.8%, 65.9%, 39.1% and 26.1%, respectively. A significant difference between benign and malignant tumors was only noted in MIB-1 expression(p=0.0167). In malignant tumors, apoptosis showed no significant relationships to expressions of apoptosis-related factors. There were inverse relationships between p53 and bcl-2 expression(p=0.0375), and between M30 and MIB-1 expressions(p=0.0379). No significant differences of apoptosis, bcl-2, bax, M30, p53 and MIB-1 expression rates according to the tumor size, lymph node status, recurrence and survival were found. Conclusion: In the development of benign and malignant salivary gland tumors, apoptosis might be associated, however, apoptosis and expressions of apoptosis-related factors seemed to be not reliable prognostic factors in malignant salivary gland tumors.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.323-341
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• 2019

Background: Local anesthetics alone or in combination with adjuncts, such as oral medications, have routinely been used for pain control during endodontic treatment. The best clinical choice amongst the vast numbers of agents and techniques available for pain control for irreversible pulpitis is unclear. This network meta-analysis combined the available evidence on agents and techniques for pulpal anesthesia in the maxilla and mandible, in order to identify the best amongst these approaches statistically, as a basis for future clinical trials. Methods: Randomized trials in MEDLINE, DARE, and COCHRANE databases were screened based on inclusion criteria and data were extracted. Heterogeneity was assessed and odds ratios were used to estimate effects. Inconsistencies between direct and indirect pooled estimates were evaluated by H-statistics. The Grading of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation working group approach was used to assess evidence quality. Results: Sixty-two studies (nine studies in the maxilla and 53 studies in the mandible) were included in the meta-analysis. Increased mandibular pulpal anesthesia success was observed on premedication with aceclofenac + paracetamol or supplemental 4% articaine buccal infiltration or ibuprofen+paracetamol premedication, all the above mentioned with 2% lignocaine inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB). No significant difference was noted for any of the agents investigated in terms of the success rate of maxillary pulpal anesthesia. Conclusion: Direct and indirect comparisons indicated that some combinations of IANB with premedication and/or supplemental infiltration had a greater chance of producing successful mandibular pulpal anesthesia. No ideal technique for maxillary anesthesia emerged. Randomized clinical trials with increased sample size may be needed to provide more conclusive data. Our findings suggest that further high-quality studies are required in order to provide definitive direction to clinicians regarding the best agents and techniques to use for mandibular and maxillary anesthesia for irreversible pulpitis.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.267-275
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• 2017

Background and Objective: Whabyung is a Korean cultural disorder characterized by a combination of emotional stress and physical symptoms. Acupuncture, herbal medicines and other complementary medicinal treatments are used to treat the symptoms of whabyung. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of acupuncture treatment and herbal medicine treatments on anger, anxiety and depression of whabyung. Methods: Using PubMed, CENTRAL, AMED, MEDLINE, EMBASE, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cnii, CNKI, J-SATGE, PsycArticles, KISS, KoreaMed, kmbase, NDSL, RISS, OASIS and Korean Traditional Knowledge Portal, articles published by March 2017 for whabyung or whabyung-related syndrome were searched. The quality of selected articles was evaluated using RoB and RoBANS. The effects of acupuncture and herbal medicines on anger, anxiety, and depression levels of whabyung patients were considered for meta-analyses. Results: Of the total 2408 articles retrieved from the database, 11 were finally selected and 4 articles were used for meta-analyses. Acupuncture reduced whabyung patients' anger and anxiety. Especially, the state anxiety was significantly reduced (effect size= -0.676, p= .026). Herbal medicine had effects on reducing anxiety and state anger while trait anger was increased without statistical significance. Conclusion: The present study showed the effectiveness of acupuncture and herbal medicines for whabyung patients in general. However, considering the limited availability of articles and the heterogeneity between them included for the meta-analysis, the results should be generalized with caution. In the future, more studies within the structure of evidence-based medicine need to be conducted to generate objective and valid evidences of korean medicine.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.277-287
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• 2020

The study examines the impact of international integration on Vietnam's rural and urban income inequalities using the regression model. The data used for this study is based on the results of the Vietnam Household Living Standards survey from 2008 to 2016 of the General Statistics Office. These surveys conducted nationwide with a sample size of 46,995 households in 3,133 communes/wards which were representative at national, regional, urban, rural and provincial levels. The level of international economic integration used in the study is the proportion of import and export turnover of GDP, the proportion of FDI and GDP by province. Due to the heterogeneity and unobservableness of the single observant in the data set, we selected the models of random and fixed effects. The research results show that during the economic integration process, the Export/GDP factor is negatively related to income inequality. The remaining factors (GDP per capita, FDI/GDP, Educational level of households, Percentage of internet users, Aggregation of foreign cash inflow and GDP of the province) are all positively related to income inequality. The findings help assess the impact of international integration on rural-urban income inequality, but also provides a concrete basis to help policymakers address income inequality in the integration process.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.7613-7619
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• 2013

Background and Aims: Helicobacter pylori infection may be associated with an increased risk of colorectal carcinoma. However, as most studies on this subject were relatively small in size and differed at least partially in their designs, their results remain controversial. In this study, we aimed to carry out a meta-analysis to evaluate the potential association of H. pylori infection with colorectal adenoma and adenocarcinoma risk, covering all of the different testing methods. Methods: We conducted a search in PubMed, Medline, EBSCO, High Wire Press, OVID, and EMBASE covering all published papers up to March 2013. According to the established inclusion criteria, essential data were then extracted from the included studies and further analyzed by a systematic meta-analysis. Odds ratios were employed to evaluate the relationship between H. pylori infection and the risk of colorectal neoplasms. Results: Twenty-two studies were included, and the odds ratio for the association between H. pylori infection and colorectal cancer was 1.49 (95% confidence interval 1.30-1.72). No statistically significant heterogeneity was observed. Publication bias was ruled out. Conclusion: The pooled data suggest H. pylori infection indeed increases the risk of colorectal adenoma and adenocarcinoma.

• The Journal of Churna Manual Medicine for Spine and Nerves
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.15-28
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• 2019

Objectives : This study aimed to systematically and comprehensively review controlled clinical trials on the effectiveness and safety of Chuna Manual Therapy for stroke. Methods : By October 7, 2019, three core databases and three domestic databases were searched. Seven major academic journals on the related field were also hand-searched. Methodological quality of the included studies was evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Meta-analysis was conducted and the quality of its evidence was assessed using the GRADE methodology. Results : Five articles met the eligibility criteria. The results of most of included studies were in favor of Chuna Manual Therapy. No study described any adverse events during or after the clinical trials. Meta-analysis of three eligible studies showed that the pre- and post-treatment scores on the Modified Barthel Index (mean difference 8.00, 95% confidence interval 0.26 to 15.74) and Berg Balance Scale (mean difference 3.57, 95% confidence interval 0.64 to 6.51) of the Chuna-treated group were significantly different, but only marginally higher than those of the non-treatment group. Thus, the level of evidence gathered from these studies was assessed to be low. Conclusions : Based on current available evidence, any confirmative conclusions cannot be made on the effectiveness and safety of Chuna Manual Therapy for stroke because of the small sample size, low methodological quality, presence of statistical heterogeneity, and missing safety information. More rigorously designed large-scale multi-center studies are needed to establish more specific and credible evidence to support or oppose the use of Chuna Manual Therapy for stroke.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2013

To investigate the transmission pattern of geographical area and temporal trends of the 2010~2011 foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks in Korea, and to explore temporal intervals at which spatial clustering of FMD cases space-time analysis based on georeferenced database of 3,575 burial sites, from 30 November 2010 to 23 February 2011, was performed. The cases represent approximately 98.1% of all infected farms (n = 3,644) during the same period. Descriptive maps of spatial patterns of the outbreaks were generated by ArcGIS. Spatial Scan Statistics, using SaTScan software, was applied to investigate geographical clusters of FMD cases across the country. Overall, spatial heterogeneity was identified, and the transmission pattern was different by province. Cattle have more clusters in number but smaller in size, as compared to the swine population. In addition, spatiotemporal analysis and the comparison of clustering patterns between the first 7 days and days 8 to 14 of the outbreak revealed that the strongest spatial clustering was identified at the 7-day interval, although clustering over longer intervals (8~14 days) was also observed. We further discussed the importance of time period elapsed between FMD-suspected notice and the date of confirmation, and emphasized the necessity of region-specific and species-specific control measures.