• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.51-57
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• 2015

Objectives To evaluate the evidence supporting the effectiveness of Chuna manual therapy for nocturnal crying. Methods We conducted search across the 3 electronic databases (Pubmed, CAJ and Oasis) to find all of randomized controlled clinical trials(RCTs) that used Chuna manual therapy as a treatment for nocturnal crying. The methodological quality of each RCTs was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool and nRCTs was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment tool for Non-randomized Study tool. Results Two RCTs and three nRCTs met our inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis showed positive results for the use of Chuna manual therapy in terms of the efficacy rate when compared to medication treatments alone. Positive results were also obtained, in terms of the efficacy rate, when comparing Chuna manual therapy combined with acupoint application therapy to Chuna manual therapy alone, but was not statistically significant. Conclusions Our systematic review found encouraging but limited evidence of Chuna manual therapy for nocturnal crying. We recommend clinical trials which compare the effectiveness of Chuna manual therapy with usual care to obtain stronger evidence without the demerits of trial design.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.239-246
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• 2010

Aphids are one of the major pests in agricultural crops. A number of synthetic pesticides have been used for control of aphids in agriculture, but increasing public concerns over their adverse effects on the environment have required more environmentally-friendly methods for pest management. In this study, we examined plant oil formulations for the control of green peach aphid (Myzus persicae). Oil formulations were prepared by hydrolyzing the plant oils in ethanolic KOH solution and diluted at the rate of 1:500 for aphid control. The oil formulations showed aphid mortalities ranging from 24.44 to 43.33% in vitro. Significantly increased aphid mortalities were observed by the treatment of oil formulations combined with low-dosed imidacloprid. No significant difference in the aphid mortality was observed between the oil formulations. Mass spectrometry analyses of aphids treated with the low dosedimidacloprid plus the plant oil formulations detected similar concentrations of imidacloprid between the treatments. In field trial bioassays against aphids, significantly decreased aphid population were observed in the pepper plants treated with soybean oil formulation combined with the low-dosed imidacloprid, while aphid population dramatically increased in the pepper plants treated with the low-dosed imidacloprid alone. These results suggested that the plant oil formulations can be used as an environmentally-friendly method for enhancing the insecticidal effectiveness, which may play a role in reducing the use of synthetic pesticide in agriculture.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.447-453
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• 2006

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of $Megazone^{(R)}$ (a mineral mix) supplementation on growth performance, nutrients digestibility, blood characteristics, meat quality and carcass traits in weaning-to-finishing pigs. A total of 48 crossbred $(Landrace{\times}Yorkshire{\times}Duroc)$ pigs with initial body weight (BW) of $4.46{\pm}0.18kg$ were used in a 21 wks trial. Pigs were blocked by weight and allotted to two dietary treatments in a completly randomized design. There were 6 pens per treatment. Dietary treatments included: 1) Control (CON: basal diet) and 2) MT (basal diet+0.8% $Megazone^{(R)}$). Through the entire experimental period, there were no effects of dietary $Megazone^{(R)}$ supplementation on growth performance nutrients digestibility, blood characteristics and meat quality traits (p>0.05). Market weight and backfat thickness also had no differences between the two treatments (p>0.05). However, carcass weight and carcass ratio in MT treatment were improved significantly compared with CON treatment (p<0.05). In conclusion, supplmentation of $Megazone^{(R)}$ can increase carcass weight and carcass ratio in weaning-to-finishing pigs, however, it has no effects on growth performance, nutrients digestibility, blood characteristics and meat quality traits.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.8
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• pp.4835-4838
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• 2013

Background: We compared treatment completion rates and safety of docetaxel and cyclophosphamide sixcycle therapy (TC6) with docetaxel followed by 5FU, epirubicin and cyclophosphamide (T-FEC) therapy in Japanese patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer. Materials and Methods: We administered TC6 q3w or T-FEC q3w to HER2-negative breast cancer patients. The primary endpoint of this trial was toxicity. As second endpoints, the treatment completion rate and relative dose intensity were evaluated. Results: The TC6 and T-FEC group consisted of 22 and 21 patients, respectively. Concerning hematological toxicity, grade 3 or higher adverse reactions included neutropenia and febrile neutropenia. As non-hematological adverse events, exanthema and peripheral neuropathy were frequently reported in the TC6 group, whereas more patients of the T-FEC group reported nausea and vomiting. In TC6, the treatment completion rate was 86.4% and the relative dose intensity of docetaxel was 93.2%. In T-FEC, the values were 95.2% and 98.9%, respectively. Conclusions: These results suggest that TC6 is tolerable in Japanese, and that this regimen can also be performed in outpatient clinics. However, with the TC6 regimen, the compliance was slightly lower than with the T-FEC regimen, and supportive therapy needs to be managed appropriately.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.451-459
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• 2019

Purpose: Laparoscopic surgery is associated with lower surgical site infection (SSI) rates due to minimal skin incision and non-exposure of visceral organs. Most previous studies have analyzed the efficacy of prophylactic antibiotic use in open surgery. Here, we investigated the feasibility of total laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (TLDG) for gastric carcinoma without prophylactic antibiotic use. Materials and Methods: Seventy-one patients who underwent TLDG without prophylactic antibiotic use were 1:1 propensity score matched with 393 patients who underwent TLDG with antibiotic prophylaxis. The short-term surgical outcomes, including SSI rates, were compared between the groups. Results: After matching, 65 patients were selected in each group. The baseline clinicopathological characteristics were well balanced in the matched sample. In the matched group, there was no significant increase in postoperative morbidity in the non-prophylactic group compared with the prophylactic group (18.5% vs. 15.4%, P=0.640), and there were no grade 3≤ complications (1.4% vs. 0%, respectively; P=1.000). The SSI rates in the non-prophylactic and prophylactic groups were 3.1% and 1.5%, respectively (P=0.559). The time to gas passage, diet initiation, and mean hospital stay were not significantly different between the 2 groups. The SSI rate did not increase in the non-prophylactic group in the different subgroups based on different clinicopathological characteristics. Conclusions: Postoperative morbidity, including SSI rates, did not significantly increase in patients undergoing TLDG without prophylactic antibiotic use. A large prospective randomized trial is warranted to reappraise the efficacy of prophylactic antibiotic use in patients undergoing TLDG.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.539-543
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• 2016

Background: It is well known that peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) from colorectal cancer (CRC) is associated with a poor prognosis. However, data on the prognostic significance of modern chemotherapy containing bevacizumab, cetuximab or panitumumab are not available. Materials and Methods: This retrospective review concerned 526 patients with metastatic CRC who were classified into two groups according to the presence or absence of PC, and were treated with systemic chemotherapy, with or without bevacizumab or anti-EGFR antibodies. The genetic background, in particular KRAS, BRAF, and PIK3CA gene mutations, and overall survival (OS) were compared between the two groups. Results: The median OS values were 23.3 and 29.1 months for PC and non-PC patients, respectively (hazard ratio [HR]=1.20; p=0.17). Among all patients, tumor location, number of metastatic sites and BRAF mutation status were significant prognostic factors, whereas the presence of PC was not. In the PC group, chemotherapy with bevacizumab resulted in a significantly longer OS than forchemotherapy without bevacizumab (HR=0.38, p<0.01), but this was not the case in the non-PC group (HR=0.80, p=0.10). Furthermore, the incidence of the BRAF V600E mutation was significantly higher in PC than in non-PC patients (27.7% versus 7.3%, p<0.01). BRAF mutations displayed a strong correlation with shorter OS in non-PC (HR=2.26), but not PC patients (HR=1.04). Conclusions: Systemic chemotherapy, especially when combined with bevacizumab, improved survival in patients with PC from CRC as well as non-PC patients. While BRAF mutation demonstrated a high frequency in PC patients, but it was not associated with prognosis.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.304-319
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• 2022

Background and Objectives: De-escalation of dual-antiplatelet therapy through dose reduction of prasugrel improved net adverse clinical events (NACEs) after acute coronary syndrome (ACS), mainly through the reduction of bleeding without an increase in ischemic outcomes. Whether the benefits of de-escalation are sustained in highly thrombotic conditions such as ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is unknown. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of de-escalation therapy in patients with STEMI or non-ST-segment elevation ACS (NSTE-ACS). Methods: This is a pre-specified subgroup analysis of the HOST-REDUCE-POLYTECH-ACS trial. ACS patients were randomized to prasugrel de-escalation (5 mg daily) or conventional dose (10 mg daily) at 1-month post-percutaneous coronary intervention. The primary endpoint was a NACE, defined as a composite of all-cause death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, clinically driven revascularization, stroke, and bleeding events of grade ≥2 Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) criteria at 1 year. Results: Among 2,338 patients included in the randomization, 326 patients were diagnosed with STEMI. In patients with NSTE-ACS, the risk of the primary endpoint was significantly reduced with de-escalation (hazard ratio [HR], 0.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.48-0.89; p=0.006 for de-escalation vs. conventional), mainly driven by a reduced bleeding. However, in those with STEMI, there was no difference in the occurrence of the primary outcome (HR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.48-2.26; p=0.915; p for interaction=0.271). Conclusions: Prasugrel dose de-escalation reduced the rate of NACE and bleeding, without increasing the rate of ischemic events in NSTE-ACS patients but not in STEMI patients.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.595-602
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• 2017

In Korea, much research and development have occurred to enhance the technological competitiveness of tuna purse seining fisheries. Due to these efforts, fishing efficiency has been improved with the development of radar, sonar and global positioning systems for fish detection and revisions to the hull forms of tuna purse seiners. However, for skiff boats, net boats and speed boats, which are auxiliary working boats mounted on tuna purse seiners, technology has lagged behind relative to the modernization of the main vessel. In this study, the hull of an existing propeller-based net boat with steel wire net to protect tuna was changed to the hull of a water jet propulsion vehicle to reduce resistance and improve maneuverability. As a result, a prototype of a water jet propulsion option was produced according to the aluminum structure strength standards specified by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and safety was confirmed by performing a drop test. Moreover, through a sea trial test, an existing net boat was shown to have a speed of 12.0knots and a towing force of 2,545 kgf at 2,500 RPM. The prototype had a speed of 26.7 knots and a towing force of 2,011 kgf at 3,200 RPM, which satisfied the towing capacity standards of auxiliary working boats mounted on tuna purse seiners.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.43-51
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• 2008

배경 : 최근까지 이루어진 천식의 침치료 무작위 대조군 연구들에 의한 결과는 뚜렷한 효과를 보여주지 못하고 있다. 이러한 요인의 하나로 적절한 피험자 수를 정하기 위한 예비 임상시험의 부재가 거론되고 있다. 따라서 천식에 대한 침치료의 본 임상시험에 앞서 이의 실행 가능성 및 규모를 예측하는 예비임상시험이 필요한 상황이다. 목적 : 예비임상시험을 통해 서양의학적 치료를 받고 있는 천식환자들에 대한 침치료의 부가적 효과를 검증하기 위한 본 임상시험의 실현 가능성을 예측하기 위함. 방법 : 본 시험은 무작위 단일 맹검 대조군 평행 설계 예비 임상시험이다. 1차 평가변수는 최대 호기량 검사기로 집에서 아침, 저녁으로 매일 측정한 수치로 구해진 최대 호기 유속 일중 변동률의 1주간 평균치 변화이며 2차 평가변수는 의료기관에서 시행하는 폐기능 검사, 기준시점 호흡곤란 지수, 호흡곤란 변화에 대한 지수, 천식환자들의 삶의 질 평가를 위한 설문 등이다. 피험자 수는 총 45명으로 선정 및 제외기준을 통해서 참여하게 되며 1주간의 최대 호기 유속 기저치 평가 기간을 거친 후 진짜침 처치 군, 가짜침 처치 군, 대기군 세 군에 각각 무작위로 15명씩 할당된다. 모든 피험자에게 기존의 천식관련 약물의 사용을 허용하며, 진짜침 처치군 및 가짜침 처치군은 주 3회 4주간 해당 처치를 받고 2주 후에 각 평가 항목에 대하여 추적, 관찰하게 된다. 대기군은 기존의 천식관리를 유지하면서 2주마다 방문하여 총 6주간 평가를 받고 진짜침 처치를 4주간 받게 된다. 고찰 : 본 연구는 국내에서 최초로 이루어지는 천식에 대한 침 무작위 대조군 예비 임상시험으로 향후 적절한 피험자 수와 실행가능성을 예측할 수 있으리라 기대된다.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.59-75
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• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to examine the current status of Korean medicine health technology assessment and explore realistic plans to activate it. Methods: We investigated all the applications for new health technology assessment related to Korean medicine from 2007 to 2016. The several expert meetings were held to draw out the barriers and improvement strategies of the new health technology assessment of Korean medicine field. Results: There were 31 cases in total except for duplications or reapplies falling into 3 main types. First, 19 of them were to try to enter a medical market and be covered by National Health Insurance. Eight cases were to apply western medicine technology as new health technology in Korean medicine area. The rest was 4 cases, which were totally not appropriate for the purpose of new health technology assessment system. According to the expert opinion, the obstacles of activation in new health technology assessment of Korean medicine were application of unstandardized technology, lack of understanding and experience, lack of clinical trial supporting system for Korean medicine, lack of committee members within the nHTA(new Health Technology Assessment) review board, ambiguous definition of medical practice and sharp conflict between western medicine and Korean medicine. Conclusions: Several suggestions were derived. First of all, to activate Korean medicine in the nHTA system, the existing system should be used sufficiently, and multifaceted efforts are needed to upgrade the system, if necessary. Also, self-help efforts, Korean medicine clinical trial supporting system and increasing R&D investment, establishing extra-committee for Korean medicine in nHTA could be needed. Finally, long-term strategy for improving collaboration between Korean medicine and western medicine should be considered.