• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.65-90
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• 2003

To identify the effects of joint mobilization on the functional improvement of patients with neck pain, the present research investigated 60 neck pain patients, dividing them into a group doing joint mobilization, a group doing Mckenzie exercise and a group using modalities. This study examined patients degree of recovery from neck pain by comparing their neck pain before and after the treatment, and compared three groups to find difference in the degree of recovery from neck pain. The results of this study are as follows : 1. For the joint mobilization group, the visual analogue scale (VAS) decreased significantly for three weeks treatment, and the range of motion (ROM) of cervical vertebrae increased significantly(p<.05). 2. For the Mckenzie exercise group, the visual analogue scale decreased significantly for three weeks treatment, and the range of motion cervical vertebrae increased significantly(p<.05). 3. For the modality using group, the visual analogue scale decreased significantly for three weeks treatment, and the range of motion of cervical vertebrae increased significantly(p<.05). 4. In the comparison of VAS and ROM of the three groups before and after the treatment, significant differences were found among the three groups in VAS after three weeks' treatment, and in ROM before the treatment(p<.05). 5. In all the three groups, VAS decreased and the ROM of cervical vertebrae increased after the treatment, and in particular, the decrease of VAS and the increase of the ROM of cervical vertebrae were remarkable in the joint mobilization group.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.275-281
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• 2005

Objective: The prolactinoma is the most common pituitary tumor and sometimes shows severe invasiveness to the adjacent cavernous sinus, especially in the male patient. The dopamine agonist can be used as an alternative treatment modality to surgery. But, the transsphenoidal or transcranial approach for tumor removal has been more preferred treatment option of neurosurgeons in invasive prolactinoma. Especially rapid decompression of mass effect and resolution of the neurologic deficit is demanded. The prospective study is done in order to identify the therapeutic efficacy of bromocriptine as an initial treatment option for the invasive prolactionomas. Methods: Twenty patients with invasive prolactinoma were studied. Preoperative neurological and endocrinological evaluations were done, and size and invasiveness of the tumor was estimated on MRI. Bromocriptine was administrated by increasing dose planning reaching maximum dose at 1 month of treatment, with close neurological and endocrinological monitoring. At 3months after treatment, MRI was taken and decision was made whether to continue bromocriptine or to have surgical intervention. Results: Thirteen patients showed excellent result with only bromocriptine treatment. These patients showed not only marked reduction of tumor volume and prolactin level, but also, improving clinical symptoms and other hormonal deficits. 13patients who had visual field defect and decreased visual acuity had all improved visual symptoms. But, the remaining 4patients required surgical treatment due to insufficient reduction of tumor size inspite of normalized prolactin level within 3months. Remaining 2patients had $20{\sim}30%$ of tumor size reduction, but prolactin level was not normalized. One patient required radiation therapy. Conclusion: Bromociptine can be used as initial treatment for the invasive prolactinomas with careful monitoring of the neurological and endocrinological status. It should be carefully followed up for tumor size reduction within 3 months after initiation of treatment.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.125-135
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• 2013

Purpose: This study was conducted to explore nursing education modality for facilitating undergraduate students' critical thinking within the Korean nursing education context. Methods: Data were collected from four group interviews from two focus groups, which were composed of six nursing professors in each group. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results: Five themes with 13 sub-themes involving 10 categories were delineated. The five themes were managing shared resources, a supportive system in preparing qualified faculty, reflective thinking (self-directed learning), theory courses for understanding nursing resources, and clinical practicum for exercising critical thinking. Conclusion: A nursing educational model for facilitating critical thinking within Korean context was suggested. This could be used as an accelerator in developing nursing undergraduate course programs for critical thinking in Korea.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.291-299
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• 2024

Background: Postoperative pain management following minimally invasive repair of pectus excavatum (MIRPE) remains a critical concern due to severe post-procedural pain. Promising results have been reported for cryoanalgesia following MIRPE; however, its invasiveness, single-lung ventilation, and additional instrumentation requirements remain obstacles. Serratus anterior plane block (SAPB) is a regional block technique capable of covering the anterior chest wall at the T2-9 levels, which are affected by MIRPE. We hypothesized that SAPB would be a superior alternative pain control modality that reduces postoperative pain more effectively than conventional methods. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of patients who underwent MIRPE between March 2022 and August 2023. The efficacy of pain control was compared between group N (conventional pain management, n=24) and group S (SAPB, n=26). Group N received intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV-PCA) and subcutaneous local anesthetic infusion. Group S received bilateral continuous SAPB with 0.3% ropivacaine after a bilateral bolus injection of 30 mL of 0.25% ropivacaine with baseline IV-PCA. Pain levels were evaluated using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) at 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 hours postoperatively and total intravenous rescue analgesic consumption by morphine milligram equivalents (MME). Results: Mean VAS scores were significantly lower in group S than in group N throughout the 72-hour postoperative period (p<0.01). Group S showed significantly lower MME at postoperative 72 hours (group N: 108.53, group S: 16.61; p<0.01). Conclusion: SAPB improved immediate postoperative pain control in both the resting and dynamic states and reduced opioid consumption compared to conventional management.

• Journal of KIISE:Computer Systems and Theory
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• v.31 no.3_4
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• pp.224-238
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• 2004

Multi-modality image registration is a widely used image processing technique to obtain composite information from two different kinds of image sources. This study proposes an image registration method based on moment information and surface distance, which improves the previous surface-based registration method. The proposed method ensures stable registration results with low registration error without being subject to the initial position and direction of the object. In the preprocessing step, the surface points of the object are extracted, and then moment information is computed based on the surface points. Moment information is matched prior to fine registration based on the surface distance, in order to ensure stable registration results even when the initial positions and directions of the objects are very different. Moreover, surface comer sampling algorithm has been used in extracting representative surface points of the image to overcome the limits of the existed random sampling or systematic sampling methods. The proposed method has been applied to brain MRI(Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and PET(Positron Emission Tomography), and its accuracy and stability were verified through registration error ratio and visual inspection of the 2D/3D registration result images.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.107-116
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• 2014

In the current study, it is suggested that when two emotions are presented through cross-modality, such as auditory and visual, incongruence will influence arousal, recognition, and recall of subjects. The first hypothesis is that incongruent cross-modality does not only increase arousal more than the congruent, but it also increases recall and recognition more than congruent. The second hypothesis is that arousal modulates recall and recognition of subjects. To demonstrate the two hypotheses, our experiment's conditions were manipulated to be congruent and incongruent by presenting positive or negative emotions, visually and acoustically. For dependent variables, we measured recall rate and recognition rates. and arousal was measured by PAD (pleasure-arousal-dominance) scales. After eight days, only recognition was measured repeatedly online. As a result, our behavioral experiment showed that there was a significant difference between arousal before watching a movie clip and after (p<.001), but no difference between the congruent condition and incongruent condition. Also, there was no significant difference between recognition performance in the congruent condition and incongruent condition, but there was a main effect of the clips' emotions. Interestingly after analyzing recognition rates separately depending on clips' emotions, there was a significant difference between congruent and incongruent conditions in the only negative clip (p= .044), not in the positive clip. In a detailed result, recognition in the incongruent condition is more than in the congruent condition. Furthermore, in the case of recall performance, there was a significant interaction between the clips' emotions shown in the clips and congruent conditions (p=.039). Through these results, the effect of incongruence with negative emotion was demonstrated, but an incongruent effect by arousal could not be demonstrated. In conclusion, in our study, we tried to determine the impact of one method to convey a story dramatically and have an effect on memory. These effects are influenced by the subjects' perceived emotions (valence and arousal).

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.156-160
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• 2005

Background: Frozen shoulder is not an uncommon disease, which is associated with chronic pain and joint movement limitation. However, there are numerous devices to assist in the treatment of shoulder pain, but their efficacy has not been proven and their use remains immensely controversial. Therefore, a randomized clinical study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of a low-frequency stimulator for the treatment of frozen shoulder. Methods: A randomized clinical trial was carried out on 40 patients with frozen shoulder, with 40 patients assigned to two groups; a control treatment group (group C, n = 20) and a low frequency stimulator application group (group T, n = 20). Both groups were given a routine treatment modality, such as trigger point injection, intramuscular stimulation or suprascapular nerve block etc. The level of the shoulder pain was evaluated using a 100mm VAS (visual analog scale) at each visit, with the limitation in the range of motion simultaneously evaluated. Results: All the subjects improved after treatment, with the VAS scores after termination of treatment showed a statistically significant reduction (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups. One month after termination of 5 cycles of treatment, group T maintained their improved state, whereas the pain in some of those in group C reemerged, which also showed a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05). The limitation in the range of motion improved, with most subjects able to resume daily activity. Conclusions: Although the low frequency stimulation provided no more pain relief than routine treatment, the effect was significantly prolonged. From this result, low frequency stimulation can be considered to aide the therapeutic effect of classical frozen shoulder therapy.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.157-163
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• 2009

Objective : In recent years, CyberKnife has emerged as an important treatment modality in the management of pituitary adenomas. Treatment results after performing CyberKnife and the complications of this procedure are reviewed. Methods : Twenty-six patients with pituitary adenomas received stereotactic radiosurgery with the CyberKnife (CKRS). The follow-up periods ranged from 7 months to 47 months (mean$\pm$SD : $30{\pm}12.7$ months). The patients consisted of 17 with non-functioning adenomas, 3 with prolactinomas and 6 with acromegaly. The change in the tumor volume, visual acuity, hormonal function, and complications by this therapy were analyzed in each case. Results : The tumor control rate was 92.3%. Hormonal function was improved in all of the 9 (100%) functioning adenomas. Hormonal normalization was observed in 4 of the 9 (44%) patients with a mean duration of 16 months. In two patients (7.6%), visual acuity worsened due to cystic enlargement of the tumor after CKRS. No other complications were observed. Conclusion : CyberKnife is considered safe and effective in selected patients with pituitary adenomas. However, longer follow-up is required for a more complete assessment of late toxicity and treatment efficacy.

• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.34-37
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• 2015

Developing Magnetoencephalography (MEG) based on Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) facilitates to observe the human brain functions in non-invasively and high temporal and high spatial resolution. By using this MEG, we studied alpha rhythm (8-13 Hz) that is one of the most predominant spontaneous rhythm in human brain. The 8-13 Hz rhythm is observed in several sensory region in the brain. In visual related region of occipital, we call to alpha rhythm, and auditory related region of temporal call to tau rhythm, sensorimotor related region of parietal call to mu rhythm. These rhythms are decreased in task related region and increased in task irrelevant regions. This means that these rhythms play a pivotal role of inhibition in task irrelevant region. It may be helpful to attention to the task. In several literature about the alpha-band inhibition in multi-sensory modality experiment, they observed this effect in the occipital and somatosensory region. In this study, we hypothesized that we can also observe the alpha-band inhibition in the auditory cortex, mediated by the tau rhythm. Before that, we first investigated the existence of the alpha and tau rhythm in occipital and temporal region, respectively. To see these rhythms, we applied the visual and auditory stimulation, in turns, suppressed in task relevant regions, respectively.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.82-89
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• 2012

Purpose: In this study, the effects of stability exercise, extracorporeal shock wave therapy, and taping on pain and function in patients with myofascial pain syndrome of upper trapezius were compared. Methods: The subjects were divided into the stability exercise, ESWT and the taping treatment group and the clinical outcomes were evaluated by visual analog scale (VAS), pressure pain threshold (PPT) and a constant-murley scale (CMS) at pre-treatment and post-treatment. Paired t-test and ANOVA was used for statistical analysis. Results: All groups were statistical significance in the change in visual analog scale (p<0.05). The difference between the ESWT group and taping group was statistical significance in the change in pressure pain threshold (p<0.05) except for the taping group. Using the constant-murley scale, the stability exercise group showed a significant decrease in pain, and a significant increase in ROM, ADL, strength, total score of shoulder (p<0.05); however, the ESWT group showed no difference on ADL. In addition, there was no difference in strength for the taping group. The comparison of the effect between the stability exercise group, ESWT group and taping group in CMS showed a statistical significant difference in pain, ADL and ROM (p<0.05). Conclusion: These results indicate that stability exercise, ESWT and taping could be considered an effective and efficient treatment modality for myofascial pain syndrome of upper trapezius.