• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.133-142
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• 2009

This research is performed to estimate quality of trial pavement for construction and analyze effect of fatigue life by using the pay factor. Specially, asphalt content which is difficult to control the pavement quality, is selected by pay adjustment standard factors and pay factor is calculated by asphalt content. This research is also analyzed to present relation of fatigue life according to asphalt content, to evaluate quality of the road pavement by calculating pay factor of sampling trial field mixture 2 times. This research confirms that it is different quality of road pavement according to pay factor changes. To analyze the fatigue life of pavement by using asphalt mixture for trial field. As a result, it is conformed that high pay factor could be high fatigue life of trial field. This means that pay factor using probability theory reflects road pavement fatigue life. Also, this study is included that beam fatigue test manufacturing specimen such as mixing type of plant which purvey asphalt mixture to trial field, compared with fatigue life of trial field. As a result, the fatigue life of specimen that is manufactured by mix type is higher than trial field specimen. This means that performance of road pavement can be reduced by gradation or other effects. Therefore, to exactly evaluate the quality of road pavement, pay factor should be calculated appling various pay adjustment standard factors such as gradation, air-void in U.S. states which is adopted pay adjustment.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.115-125
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• 2010

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of Bee-venom Acupuncture on upper limb spasticity control in stroke patients. Methods : Ten stroke patients with upper limb spasticity were randomly divided into two groups, a Bee-Venom Acupuncture group(group I) and a normal saline group(group II). After 1 week resting phase, this trial was used a cross-over trial. The numbers of Pharmacopuncture treatment were 3 times a week for 3 weeks. Modified Ashworth Scale(MAS), WMFT(Wolf Motor Function Test), The 10-second Test were used for evaluation of spasticity control before experiment, after 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks. Results : Group I showed significant improvement(p<.05) in MAS, WMFT, The 10-second Test. But Group II showed no significant improvement(p<.05) in MAS, WMFT, The 10-second Test. The results showed significant difference in WMFT, The 10-second Test, but no significant difference in MAS between two groups. Conclusions : These results showed that Bee-venom Acupuncture might decrease upper limb spasticity and increase arm motor function in stroke patients. Further studies will be required to examine more cases in the long period for the effect on upper limb in spasticity by Bee-Venom Acupuncture.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.17-27
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• 2001

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of donning of a hard insole in patients with hallux valgus. Fourteen subjects were selected from patient with foot pain at Lee Chang-Heon Foot Clinic from August 4, 2000 to September 15, 2000. The hallux valgus angle and the first-second intermetatarsal angle were radiographically measured before and after donning the hard insole. Based on these two kinds of angles, a mild hallux valgus deformity group was characterized by the hallux valgus angle of less than 20 degrees, and a moderate hallux valgus deformity group was characterized by the hallux valgus angle of 20 to 40 degrees. After three weeks with the hard insole donned, the foot angles of the patients with hallux valgus were measured again. The data were analyzed by Wilcoxon signed ranks test, and the following results were obtained: 1) After the trial, both mild hallux valgus deformity group and moderate hallux valgus deformity group demonstrated that the hallux valgus angles were significantly decreased. 2) After the trial, mild hallux valgus deformity group demonstrated that the first-second intermetatarsal angle was significantly decreased. 3) After the trial, moderate hallux valgus deformity group demonstrated that the first-second intermetatarsal angle was not significantly decreased. The above findings revealed that according to donning hard insole, the hallux valgus angles of mild and moderate hallux valgus deformity groups and the first-second intermetatarsal angle of mild hallux valgus deformity group were significantly decreased. The results of this study have some limitation for generalization due to the limited number of subjects. Further studies are needed to evaluate the effect of hard insole on hallux valgus with more precise laboratory equipments and measurements in patients with hallux valgus.

• Korean Journal of Exercise Nutrition
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.7-15
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• 2021

[Purpose] Sodium bicarbonate shows ergogenic potential in physical exercise and sports activities, although there is no strong evidence which performance markers show the greatest benefit from this supplement. This study evaluated the effects of sodium bicarbonate supplementation on time trial performance and time to exhaustion in athletes and sports practitioners. [Methods] A systematic review was conducted using three databases, including 17 clinical trials. Among these clinical trials, 11 were considered eligible for the meta-analysis according to the criteria for the assessment of methodological quality using the PEDro Scale. Time to exhaustion was assessed in six studies, while time trial performance was evaluated in five studies. [Results] A significant beneficial effect of supplementation on time to exhaustion was found in a random effects model (1.48; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.49 to 2.48). There was no significant effect of supplementation on time trial performance in a fixed effects model (slope = -0.75; 95% CI, -2.04 to 0.55) relative to a placebo group. [Conclusion] Sodium bicarbonate has the potential to improve sports performance in general, especially in terms of time to exhaustion.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.79-89
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• 2009

Objectives : To address suitable method for designing clinical trial intervening Traditional Korean Herbal Medicine on General anxiety disorder through the recent clinical research in Chinese Herbal Medicine. Methods : Randomized, controlled trials(RCTs) of treatment of general anxiety disorder intervening herbal medicine were searched through CNKI databases. We examined several item of studies and evaluated using Jadad scale. We searched articles in CNKI with the key word "General anxiety disorder or 廣範性焦慮症", among them we selected the clinical trial studies related with herbal medicine except for case reports, studies of acupuncture therapy or west medicines. Results : 11 RCT studies of herbal medicine met inclusion criteria. The Studies used CCMD-3, HAMA as inclusion tool and mainly HAMA as a evaluation tool. Studies were progressed for 2-8 weeks, mostly used various positive control. Experiment medicine were mainly 理氣劑, 安神劑. In most studies, experiment group made similar or higher efficacy in comparison with control group. Mean Jadad score of studies was $1.3{\pm}0.67$, and only one study was double-blinded among 11 studies. Conclusions : RCT studies on general anxiety disorder of chinese herbal medicine tend to focus on investigating effect of herbal medicine through setting positive control group with CCMD-3 and HAMA. But, most studies had low quality of trial, for lack of pattern identification, evaluation and inclusion tool of chinese medicine. Clinical trials of general anxiety disorder should provide good quality by randomization, double-blinding, and multi-site trial.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.53-66
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• 2009

Objective : Acupuncture has been widely used throughout the world for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (knee OA). This study investigated whether acupuncture, particularly Sa-am acupuncture, could be effective in relieving pain and improving the symptoms of knee OA. Method : This study was conducted as a prospective, randomized, controlled, and patient- and investigator-blinded clinical trial. Forty volunteers with knee OA participated in the study. All participants were screened through an inclusion and exclusion criteria. Thirty four participants completed the clinical trial. In total, forty subjects were randomly selected to receive Sa-am acupuncture. Eight sessions of acupuncture were given at the contralateral side of the problematic knee for 4 weeks. Korean translation of Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (KWOMAC) scores were measured twice: at the beginning and end of the clinical trial period. Both the Patient Global Assessment and physical health scores based on the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey were also used to measure the results. Results : Compared to the pre-trial scores, the Sa-am acupuncture group (n=34) showed a significant decrease in KWOMAC total scores according to a paired t-test. The Sa-am acupuncture group also showed significant improvement in the Patient Global Assessment when compared to the pre-trial. Conclusions : Sa-am acupuncture for knee OA resulted in an improved KWOMAC total score. This was mostly driven by the function component score that was greatly affected by acupuncture. However, further studies with expanded designs are needed to solidify this finding with scientific rigor.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.676-683
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• 2019

Background: Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) is widely used for strengthening the immune system and fighting fatigue, especially in people with deficiency syndrome. However, there is concern that the long-term application or a high dose of KRG can cause "fireness" (上火 in Chinese) because of its "dryness" (燥性 in Chinese). The aim of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of a 4-week treatment with KRG in participants with deficiency syndrome. Methods: This was a 4-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. A total of 180 Chinese participants were randomly allocated to three groups: placebo control group, participants were given a placebo, 3.6 g/d; KRG 1.8 g and 3.6 g groups. The primary outcomes were the changes in fireness and safety evaluation (adverse events, laboratory tests, and electrocardiogram). The secondary outcomes were the efficacy of KRG on fatigue, which include the following: traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) symptom scale and fatigue self-assessment scale. Results: Of the 180 patients, 174 completed the full study. After 4 weeks of KRG treatment, the Fire-heat symptoms score including Excess fire-heat score and Deficient fire-heat score showed no significant change as compared with placebo treatment, and no clinically significant changes in any safety parameter were observed. Based on the TCM syndrome score and fatigue self-assessment score, TCM symptoms and fatigue were greatly improved after treatment with KRG, which showed a dose- and time-dependent effect. The total effective rate was also significantly increased in the KRG groups. Conclusion: Our study revealed that KRG has a potent antifatigue effect without significant adverse effects in people with deficiency syndrome. Although a larger sample size and longer treatment may be required for a more definite conclusion, this clinical trial is the first to disprove the common conception of "fireness" related to KRG.

• Journal of Korean Medicine for Obesity Research
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.48-58
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• 2012

Objectives These prescribing recommendations have been written to guide clinicians on the appropriate use of Bangpungtongseong-san(BT) and Bangkihwangki-tang(BH) in the treatment of obesity. These recommendation are aimed at providing evidence based information concerning diagnosis and management of obesity. Methods We collected all relevant references about treatment effect of BT and BH on obesity in the forms of meta-analysis, systematic review, randomized controlled trial, case-control study, observational study and practice guideline from international and domestic databases and paper journals. We examined treatment effect, side effects, recommendations for dose, indication and contraindication of BT and BH. Results The treatment effect of BT and BH on obesity has been proved through clinical trial. BT is indicated for obese patients (Body mass index, $BMI{\geq}25$) with strong abdomen and a tendency to constipation, BH is indicated for obese patients ($BMI{\geq}25$) with a fair skinned, soft muscled, edematous and sweat easily. Conclusion We wish the information contained in theses recommendations will help clinicians reach a reasonable and beneficial decision with evidence-based results. Further studies are strongly needed to develop better treatment strategies for herbal medicines on obesity.

• Journal of International Academy of Physical Therapy Research
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.1779-1784
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• 2019

Background: A number of researchers have attempted to improve the balance of stroke patients, however there is still a question as to whether taping is effective in increasing balance. Objective: To determine the effect of paretic and non-paretic side taping on the balance ability in patients with stroke. Design: A single-blind randomized controlled trial Methods: This randomized single-blind controlled clinical trial with a repeated measures study included 45 subjects who were randomly assigned to paretic side taping groups (n=15), non-paretic side taping groups (n=15), and trunk exercise groups (n=15). Trunk exercise and paretic side taping groups had taping on the paralyzed erector spinae, while the non-paretic side taping group had taping on the non-paralyzed erector spinae. Trunk exercises were performed for 30 minutes to promote core muscles. The balance ability measured the center of pressure movement (paretic side, non-paretic side,forward, backward, limit of stability) in the sitting position. All measurements were evaluated using BioRescue. Results: All three groups showed significant increase in all variables after 4 weeks. The paretic and non-paretic side taping groups had a significant increase in all variables after 30 min of attachment. However, there was no significant difference among the three groups. Conclusions: Paralysis and non-paralysis taping improved the balance ability of patients with stroke in an immediate effect of 30 min. However, after 4 weeks of intervention, taping with trunk exercise did not differ from single trunk exercise. In future studies, various analyses need to be conducted through more diverse evaluations.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.114-123
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• 2021

Background: Evaluation of the effectiveness of caudal epidural injection on pain, spine mobility, disease activity, and activity of daily living in axial spondyloarthritis (SpA) patients. Methods: A total sample of 47 patients were registered in this study. They were randomly assigned into 2 groups; Group I received caudal epidural injections, ultrasound-guided, with 1% lidocaine hydrochloride mixed with triamcinolone, whereas Group II did not receive any injections. All participants fulfilled the ASAS criteria for axial SpA. Outcome measures were as follows: visual analogue scale, Oswestry disability index (ODI), modified Schober test, lateral lumbar flexion, and Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) with assessment at baseline, 2 weeks, and 8 weeks post-treatment. This clinical trial was registered on clinicaltrials.gov under the number NCT04143165. Results: There was a significant difference between both groups regarding pain, ODI, spine mobility and ASDAS scores in favor of group I. This effect was at its maximum after 2 weeks. Despite the decline of this effect after 2 months, the difference between the groups remained significant. Higher disease activity, younger age, and shorter disease duration were associated with better outcomes. Conclusions: Epidural injection of lidocaine and triamcinolone is a cost effective and a practical technique for controlling pain, as well as improving the function of the spine and disease activity scores in axial SpA patients with acceptable complications and relatively sustained effect.