• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.625-642
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• 2022

Objectives: Postoperative ileus (POI) is a common impairment of gastrointestinal motility and causes a delay in postoperative recovery, as well as an increased length of hospital stay, but no single strategy has a significant recuperative effect on POI. Studies of traditional Korean medicine (TKM) have reported improvements in bowel function after surgery. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of TKM on postoperative ileus in gastric cancer patients. Methods: We used six databases to search for studies published from January 1, 2007, until May 11, 2022. The included studies were those reporting gastric cancer patients who received TKM treatment after gastrectomy through indicators related to POI. Results: The search identified 27 RCTs that used herbal medicine (Daegeonjung-tang and Gami-leejoongtang), herbal medicine combined with acupuncture (Sama-tang, Gumiseunggi-tang, Daeseunggi-tang, and Insam-tang), acupuncture, acupuncture and moxibustion, electroacupuncture, warm needling, transcutaneous electroacupuncture (TEA), low-frequency electrical acupoint stimulation (LEAS), moxibustion, auricular acupressure, and ST-36 acupoint injection with neostigmine as treatments for POI. The time to first flatus was shortened by herbal medicine combined with warm needling (Sama-tang, Gumiseunggi-tang, Daeseunggi-tang, and Insam-tang), acupuncture, electroacupuncture, warm needling, TEA, moxibustion, auricular acupressure, and ST-36 acupoint injection with neostigmine (p<0.00001). The time to the first defecation decreased significantly in response to the herbal medicine combined with warm needling (Sama-tang, Gumiseunggi-tang, Daeseunggi-tang, and Insam-tang), acupuncture, electroacupuncture, warm needling, TEA, moxibustion, auricular acupressure, and ST-36 acupoint injection with neostigmine (p<0.00001). No serious adverse events occurred. Conclusions: TKM could be a promising option for preventing and resolving POI in gastric cancer patients after gastrectomy.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.75-85
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• 2021

Objectives: This study reported about a patient with a right middle cerebral artery infarction whose gait disturbance was improved by Korean medicine treatment. Methods: The patient was treated with a Korean herbal medicine (Gami-yukmijihwang-tang) along with acupuncture, electroacupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, and physical therapy. The treatment effect was evaluated with the manual muscle test (MMT) and the Korean version of the modified Barthel index (K-MBI). The gait of the patient was evaluated by a 10-m walk test (10MWT), the timed up and go (TUG) test, the functional ambulation profile (FAP) score, and the functional ambulatory category (FAC) score. Spatiotemporal parameters were evaluated using a walkway system (GAITRite®, CIR Systems, Inc., USA). Results: After 83 days of traditional Korean medicine treatment, the K-MBI and FAC scores improved from 50 to 70 and from 1 to 4, respectively. The 10MWT and TUG tests also improved from 24.86 to 16.66 sec and from 22.35 to 17.62 sec, respectively. GAITRite® measurements reflected gait improvements: the FAP score improved from 55 to 86 sec; the step time improved from 0.72 to 0.669 sec; the step length improved from 31.076 cm to 41.284 cm; the gait velocity improved from 42.8 cm/sec to 64.1 cm/sec; the cadence improved from 93.6 steps/min to 90.8 steps/min. No adverse effects resulting from treatment or evaluation occurred during the admission period. Conclusions: This study suggests that traditional Korean medicine treatment may reduce symptoms and improve the quality of life in patients with cerebral infarction.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.130-137
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• 2022

Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, appropriate management of sequelae and treatment of infectious symptoms became increasingly important healthcare issues. Although the practice guidelines and treatment cases based on the East Asian traditional medicine have been reported, there are rare studies on the use of Korean medicine in Korea. Therefore, this study aimed to present the progress of non-contact Korean medical treatment for infected patients at a local public health center using retrospective chart review. A total of 18 patients were prescribed with 5 days of herbal decoction and medicine extract covered by the national health insurance. With the questionnaire form, the progression and improvement of symptoms before and after treatment were evaluated using the numerical rating scale (NRS), and the treatment satisfaction and opinions were obtained. The symptoms such as cough (5.56±2.23 to 2.89±2.14), sputum (6.11±1,75 to 3.28±2.47), sore throat (6.06±2.70 to 1.47±1.62), anorexia (5.56±2.63 to 1.94±2.21), nausea (3.75±1.71 to 1.17±1.11), diarrhea (3.40±2.63 to 1.50±1.51), chest tightness (4.93±2.46 to 2.29±2.30) and fatigue (6.44±1.79 to 2.67±1.88) all improved according to the NRS, and the satisfaction with herbal medicine treatment on a 5-point Likert scale was 4.24±0.90. No side effects and adverse reactions were reported. Thereupon non-contact Korean medical treatment can be concluded that it effectively reduces the COVID-19 infection mild symptoms in restrictive extent. Since the retrospective data does not include a control group, the more confirmative data is needed by multicenter and large-scale controlled clinical study afterwards.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.215-225
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• 2022

Background: Patients with hematologic cancers have a risk of drug-related problems (DRPs) from medications associated with chemotherapy and supportive care. Although the role of oncology pharmacists has been widely documented in the literature, few studies have reported its impact on cost reduction. This study aimed to describe the activities of oncology pharmacists with respect to hematologic diseases and evaluate the associated cost avoidance. Methods: From January to July 2021, patients admitted to the department of hemato-oncology at Seoul National University, Bundang Hospital were studied. The activities of oncology pharmacists were reported by DRP type following the Pharmaceutical Care Network version 9.1 guidelines, and the acceptance rate was calculated. The avoided cost was estimated based on the cost of the pharmacy intervention, pharmacist manpower, and prescriptions associated with the intervention. Results: Pharmacists intervened in 584 prescriptions from 208 patients during the study period. The most prevalent DRP was "adverse drug event (possibly) occurring" (32.4%), followed by "effect of drug treatment not optimal" (28.6%). "Drug selection" (42.5%) and "dose selection" (30.3%) were the most common causes of DRPs. The acceptance rate of the interventions was 97.1%. The total avoidance cost was KRW 149,468,321; the net profit of the avoidance cost, excluding labor costs, was KRW 121,051,690; and the estimated cost saving was KRW 37,223,748. Conclusion: Oncology pharmacists identified and resolved various types of DRPs from prescriptions for patients with hematologic disease, by reviewing the prescriptions. Their clinical service contributed to enhanced patient safety and the avoidance of associated costs.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.139-162
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• 2022

Objectives : The review was conducted to validate the effectiveness of herbal medicines on acne. Methods : Randomized controlled trials(RCTs) reporting the effects of herbal medicine treatment on acne were searched through seven electronic databases from the time of application of the material to October 2021. Cochrane Collaboration's Risk of Bias was used to assess the risk of bias. Analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.4 and R 4.1.0 Meta, Metafor program. Results : 34 RCTs was selected and meta-analysis was performed with 30 studies. The inflammatory lesion count of the herbal medicine(MD=0.29, 95% CI:-0.59-0.01, p<0.01, I²=80%) and the non inflammatory lesion count of herbal medicine(MD=-0.30, 95% CI:-0.70-0.10, p<0.01, I²=78%) were seen. The score of IGA(RR=1.43, 95% CI:0.90-2.27, p<0.91, I²=0%), VISIA(MD=0.36, 95% CI:0.21-0.51, p=0.07, I²=40%), effective rate(RR=1.23, 95% CI:1.05-1.44, p<0.01, I²=98%), DLQI(MD : 0.59, 95% CI:0.14-1.04, p=0.07, I²=63%) and recurrence rate(RR=0.36, 95% CI:0.23-0.58, p=0.73, I²=0%) were seen. The effective rate of herbal medicine were statistically higher that of the control group(WM)(RR=1.19, 95% CI:1.04-1.37, p<0.01, I²=97%). As a result of dividing the treatment groups into OHM, EHM, and OEHM, the EHM group(RR=1.17, 95% CI:0.79-1.72, p<0.01, I²=99%) showed the most statistically significant effect. The overall risk of bias of the included studies was some concerns. No serious adverse effects were observed. Conclusions : This review found the effectiveness of herbal medicine for acne.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 2016

A conflict of interest (COI) places people in ethical dilemma when providing consultation in a field of business, medical/pharmaceutical industry, research etc. Disclosure is a commonly adopted strategy for the adverse effect of COI, but previous studies have reported inconsistent results. This investigated whether individual differences in pursuing self-interest influence differently on consultation behavior during voluntary- or no-disclosure of COI conditions. A total of 190 adults participated in an on-line experiment which consisted of two tasks. On the 1^st task, participants were divided into either a role-oriented group or a self-interest group depending on their consultation choice on the task. On the 2^nd task, participants were required to choose whether to disclose COI to his/her virtual partner and provided consultation to them. No group differences were found in frequency of choosing voluntary disclosure. For the role-oriented group, the voluntary disclosure group provided unbiased information to the virtual partners than the no disclosure group. However, no group difference between voluntary- and no-disclosure group in the self-interest group. Implications and limitations are further discussed.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.65 no.2
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• pp.377-386
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• 2023

The effect of different commercially available bedding materials on the growth performance and carcass characteristics of ducks for 42 days was investigated. 336 one-day-old White-Pekin ducklings (60.48 ± 0.16 g) were randomly allocated into 24-floor pens with one of the three beddings namely i) coco peat, ii) rice husks, or iii) sawdust. 14 ducklings per pen and 8 replicate pens per bedding material were used. Birds were fed a starter diet from days 1-21 and a grower diet from days 22-42. Weekly growth performance evaluation was conducted for the average body weight, weight gains, daily feed intake, and feed conversion efficiency. One bird per pen was sacrificed on day 42 for the evaluation of carcass characteristics including the carcass, breast, and leg muscle percentages. Breast and leg muscle samples were then collected and analyzed for their proximate and pH values. Higher body weights (p < 0.05) were noticed with rice husks on day 42 only. Improved daily gains (p < 0.05) were also noticed for birds raised with rice husks over the entire period (days 1-42). Concerning feed intake, higher values (p < 0.05) were similarly noted with rice husks for the grower phase (days 22-42), and the entire experimental period (days 1-42). Marginally improved feed intake values were also noted with the use of rice husks as the bedding materials on day 42 (p = 0.092). Improved feed efficiency (p < 0.05) was noticed with rice husks on day 35, the grower period, and the entire 42-day period. However, no significant differences were noticed for most of the carcass characteristics that were evaluated. Nevertheless, higher (p < 0.05) pH values for the breast muscle were noticed with the use of coco peat and sawdust as the bedding. Conclusively, the bedding type could have a significant impact on the growth performance of ducks without adverse effects on carcass characteristics. The use of rice husks as bedding might be advantageous and is therefore recommended.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.81-86
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of vibration on primary (e.g. plasma cortisol), secondary (e.g. plasma glucose, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Na⁺, K⁺ and Cl^- and tertiary (e.g. mortality) stress responses in cultured eel, Anguilla japonica. For this purpose, three groups (including one control group and two stress groups) were set up. The control group was made exposed to vibration corresponding to 48 decibel (dB, V) (produced using electric vibrators) for 15 minutes per hour every day, and the two stress groups was made exposed to vibration corresponding to 58 and 68 dB (V) (produced using the same electric vibrators), equally, for 15 minutes per hour every day. Blood was sampled at day 0 (before starting vibration stress tests, BS), and days 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 (after starting vibration stress tests). As a result, plasma cortisol showed trend to continuously rise by consecutive stress from 4.1±0.1 ng/ml in BS. In 48 dB group (control), cortisol showed the highest level with 7.6±0.9 ng/ml after 7 days (p<0.05), but at 9 and 11 days was not significantly compared with BS level. In 58 dB group, the cortisol showed the highest level with 43.1±4.8 ng/ml after 1st day. Cortisol of 68 dB group increased significantly during the experimental period (14.4±2.3~32.0±5.7 ng/ml) (p<0.05). In 58, and 68 dB groups during the experimental period differed significantly compared to 48 group (p<0.05). Glucose in 48 dB were increased from 42.0 ±5.7 (BS) to 52.5±2.1 (1 day), the level was not significantly from 1 to 11 days. Glucose in 58 and 68 dB groups was increased significantly than BS during experimental period (p<0.05). K⁺ in 68 dB increased significantly (p<0.05) from 2.3±0.2 mE/ql (BS) to 3.3±0.5 mE/ql at 5 days. In 48 and 58 dB groups during the experimental period differed significantly (p<0.05). Na⁺ and Cl^- levels were not differed significantly during the experimental period. AST and ALT in 58 and 68 dB groups showed trend to continuously rise by consecutive stress. At 7 and 9 days in AST, between 48, 58 and 68 dB groups differed significantly (p<0.05). In 48, 58 and 68 dB groups at 1 day, blood hematocrit increased significantly higher than BS. The 11 days after vibration stress, the mortality in 48, 58 and 68 dB groups was 1.1, 5.1 and 5.8%, respectively. The present results have shown that A. japonica exhibited ''typical'' physiological responses when exposed to chronic vibration stress. These data suggested that chronic vibration stress caused substantial stress in the fish; especially the persisting elevated plasma AST and ALT levels observed would be expected to adverse effect. In conclusion, chronic vibration stress could greatly affects the hematological characteristics in A. japonica.

• Industry Promotion Research
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2023

In this study, a formula (EJ-F101) was prepared to develop a raw material for acne-prone skin improvement using wheat germ extract, and a clinical trial cream was prepared and clinical trials were conducted. As a result of the analysis, when comparing before and after using the product, both the test group and the control group showed significant improvement effects in terms of open comedones, occluded comedones, papules, sebum and oil content in the facial region at 4 weeks after product use, compared to the control group in the test group which showed a more significant improvement effect. As a result of the survey on the efficacy of the product, most items showed higher positive answers in the test product compared to the control product four weeks after the use of the product, and about 43-81% of the study subjects answered positively in the test product, except for the "open surface" item. In addition, for all items related to the usability of the product, about 14-86% of the test group and 38-90% of the control group answered positively at the time point 4 weeks after using the product. As a result of skin safety evaluation, no adverse skin reactions were observed in all subjects of this study. Based on the above results, it is considered that the cream using wheat germ extract is suitable for use on acne-prone skin(non comedogenicity).