• The Korean Journal of Food & Health Convergence
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2023

Polygala Tenuifolia, also described as Yuan Zhi, is a conventional botanic plant found in Korea and China. It's most well- known promise is to improve cognition and guard against mental disorders, cure sputum, anxiety, and sleeplessness, and keep the central nervous system health. The pharmacological aspects of Polygala Tenuifolia's genesis and component compounds reveal the neuroprotective potential in connection to Alzheimer's disease. It contains three herbs: Bokshin, Sukchangpo, and Wongi. P. Tenuifolia's primary ingredients are Xanthone glycosides, Triterpenoid saponins, and Oligosaccharides. Polygalasaponins and Etrahydrocolumbamine are the major components, and they've been widely used for more than a century to relieve mood and psychological illnesses, particularly in North Asian countries such as Korea, China, Japan, and Taiwan. P. Tenuifolia extract eliminates allergic illnesses such as eczema and contact dermatitis by modulating Protein kinase-A and Mitogen-protein kinase-38. In vitro and in vivo studies linking P. tenuifolia root ingredients to a variety of pharmacological effects pertinent to AD show that this species' isolates may function through polyvalency. In great health, people can take up to 250-300 mg per day. It was given in peer-reviewed studies at dosages of 100-150 mg many times each day. There is minimal evidence that it improves verbal memory in experimental animals.

• CELLMED
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.9.1-9.6
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• 2023

This study aims to explore the potential of Korean language learning as a means of psychological healing and improving the quality of life for Japanese middle-aged and older learners. Results showed that Korean language learning could help alleviate various psychological issues experienced by middle-aged learners and contribute to enhancing their quality of life. Learning a foreign language is not just about acquiring information but also about meeting people who use the language and understanding and experiencing their culture. In particular, for Japanese middle-aged learners, Korean language learning can be advantageous as it can lead to the discovery or development of new hobbies or interests. Results also showed that Korean language learning increased learners' opportunities for interaction with others and enjoyment of learning new cultural customs. These positive outcomes suggest the need for discussion of teaching strategies that focus on psychological healing in foreign language education. Further clinical trials with participants who learn foreign languages for healing purposes may provide more conclusive evidence on the diverse effects of language learning on stress, anxiety, depression, self-development, social connections, and cognitive ability.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.1-23
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• 2016

People receive support from others to solve problems that are difficult to solve on their own. During service encounters, customers also receive help from other customers. Inter-customer helping is a type of Customer Citizenship Behavior (CCB), which has become more prevalent with increased use of self-service technologies (SSTs). However, not all helps are created equal. The current research investigates the effects of the two types of help, autonomy- and dependency-oriented help during service encounters. Autonomy-oriented help refers to a partial hint to the problem, whereas dependency-oriented help refers to the full solution to the problem. Through experimental studies, we provide evidence that depending on the types of help received during service encounters, customers show different levels of satisfaction toward the firm. The results from Studies 1A and 1B show that autonomy- (vs. dependency-) oriented help leads to higher customer satisfaction. In addition, the current research demonstrates the mechanism for such effect. The results from Study 2 show that the relationship between the types of help and customer satisfaction is mediated by instrumentality and anxiety, which represent cognitive and affective paths respectively.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.107-118
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• 2024

Nociplastic pain by the "International Association for the Study of Pain" is defined as pain that arises from altered nociception despite no clear evidence of nociceptive or neuropathic pain. Augmented central nervous system pain and sensory processing with altered pain modulation are suggested to be the mechanism of nociplastic pain. Clinical criteria for possible nociplastic pain affecting somatic structures include chronic regional pain and evoked pain hypersensitivity including allodynia with after-sensation. In addition to possible nociplastic pain, clinical criteria for probable nociplastic pain are pain hypersensitivity in the region of pain to non-noxious stimuli and presence of comorbidity such as generalized symptoms with sleep disturbance, fatigue, or cognitive problems with hypersensitivity of special senses. Criteria for definitive nociplastic pain is not determined yet. Eight specific disorders related to central sensitization are suggested to be restless leg syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, temporomandibular disorder, migraine or tension headache, irritable bowel syndrome, multiple chemical sensitivities, and whiplash injury; non-specific emotional disorders related to central sensitization include anxiety or panic attack and depression. These central sensitization pain syndromes are overlapped to previous functional pain syndromes which are unlike organic pain syndromes and have emotional components. Therefore, nociplastic pain can be understood as chronic altered nociception related to central sensitization including both sensory components with nociceptive and/or neuropathic pain and emotional components. Nociplastic pain may be developed to explain unexplained chronic pain beyond tissue damage or pathology regardless of its origin from nociceptive, neuropathic, emotional, or mixed pain components.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.9
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• pp.1739-1747
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• 2024

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurological disorder that represents a major cause of dementia worldwide. Its pathogenesis involves multiple pathways, including the amyloid cascade, tau protein, oxidative stress, and metal ion dysregulation. Recent studies have suggested a critical link between changes in gut microbial diversity and the disruption of the gut-brain axis in AD. Previous studies primarily explored the potential benefits of probiotics and prebiotics in managing AD. However, studies have yet to fully describe a novel promising approach involving the use of synbiotics, which include a combination of active probiotics and new-generation prebiotics. Synbiotics show potential for mitigating the onset and progression of AD, thereby offering a holistic approach to address the multifaceted nature of AD. This review article primarily aims to gain further insights into the mechanisms of AD, specifically the intricate interaction between gut bacteria and the brain via the gut-brain axis. By understanding this relationship, we can identify potential targets for intervention and therapeutic strategies to combat AD effectively. This review also discusses substantial evidence supporting the role of synbiotics as a promising AD treatment that surpasses traditional probiotic or prebiotic interventions. We find that synbiotics may be used not only to address cognitive decline but also to reduce AD-related psychological burden, thus enhancing the overall quality of life of patients with AD.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.644-652
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to analyze the EEG according to the elderly's tendency to be addicted to smartphone games. We compared the effects of smartphone addiction on mental health such as brain waves, sleep problems and depression through comparative analysis of asymmetry and connectivity in quantitative EEG results. The study participants were two elderly people who were addicted to smartphone game and one elderly person who did not use smartphone (Ed- to confirm: only 3 participants?!). The participant's addiction tendency of smartphone was measured by using the smartphone addiction scale and EEG (QEEG) was used for EEG analysis. The results are as follows. First, the brain waves of elderly people and smartphone non-user elderly who showed symptoms of immersion and smartphone game showed a difference in asymmetry in both opening and closing anisles. Second, there were significant differences in the openness and the anxiety of the elderly who were immersed in the mobile phone and the elderly who did not use the smartphone. Through this, it is also meaningful to explore the relationship between senile cognitive impairment and smartphone use by exploring the effect of smartphone game use on brain cognitive function through comparison of EEG analysis.

• 한국노년학
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.1109-1124
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• 2016

We examined the effect of stereotype threat (STT) on spatial working memory and facial emotion recognition in Korean elderly. In addition, we investigated the role of expected moderator such as self-perception of aging. Seventeen seniors (male=7) received basic cognitive tests including K-WMS-IV, MMSE and answered self-report questionnaires including self-perception of aging, anxiety of aging, attitude toward aging and age identity on the first visit. On the second visit, they were exposed to negative stereotype by reading a script detailing cognitive decline related to aging while a control group was exposed to a neutral content. Following the exposure, they were tested on a spatial-working memory task (Corsi-block tapping task) and emotion recognition task (facial expression identification task). The results showed that the seniors exposed to STT showed significantly lower performance on emotion recognition task (p < .05) (i.e., especially on the more difficult facial stimuli). In addition, there was a significant interaction between STT and self-perception of aging (p< .05), indicating that those who have positive self-perception of aging did not show impairment in emotion recognition task and difficult spatial working memory task under STT. On the other hand, those with negative self-perception of aging showed impaired performance under STT. Taken together, the current study suggests that being exposed to STT could negatively influence cognitive and emotional functioning of elderly. Interestingly, having a positive self-perception of aging could protect the underperformance caused by STT.

• Korean Journal of Child Education & Care
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.213-225
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• 2018

Objective: Research on children's death concepts requires an approach considering social and cultural context. A qualitative method is necessary to explore children's cognitive process of understanding death. Thus, this study, to overcome the limitations of the quantitative approach based on the deductive logic led by adult researchers, adopted a qualitative research method. Methods: The data collection, referring to the theories of Corr and Balk (2010) and Smilansky (1987), used Death Concept Questionnaire. Each structured question was followed by open follow-up questions to explore how children understood each concept of death. Results: The results showed that participant children were still lacking in the acquisition of death sub-concepts. The qualitative result from open interview showed how children can and can not acquire the concepts of death. Conclusion/Implications: The study could be used in future development of death education programs for children. Based on the results of this research, it is necessary to develop programs for children's death education, which would help them coping with death related anxiety and loss experiences.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.61-68
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to derive their cognitive, psychological, and behavioral characteristics through a fusion study that analyzed the quantified results of post-homeless people participating in the housing support project after the electroencephalogram test. Participants in this study are 6 people who have lived in temporary homeless facilities or homeless living facilities and have expressed their intention to participate in the housing support project. Electroencephalogram measurements were performed using Brainmaster equipment according to the International 10-20 Law. As a result of the analysis, the study participants showed high levels of Theta wave, Beta wave, and High Beta wave, which show the peculiarity of the emotional aspect, which is a result of showing emotional characteristics such as anger, anxiety, and insomnia in the emotional aspect. Therefore, it is suggested that they provide stress management, counseling, and physical health management services in order to maintain a stable residential life in the community in the future. The results of this study presented a quantitative basis for the cognitive, psychological, and behavioral characteristics of homeless people, and suggests a support system necessary for them to maintain self-reliance in communities in the future.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.170-178
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• 2014

Purpose: Delirium is a common and serious neuropsychiatric complication among terminally ill cancer patients. We investigated risk factors related to the development of delirium among hospice care patients. Methods: Between May 2011 and September 2012, we included patients who were mentally alert and had no psychiatric disease or drug addiction at the hospice ward of two local hospitals. Among them, participants who had been diagnosed with delirium by two doctors according to the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-4th edition) criteria were grouped as Delirium Group. We analyzed results of psychometric and other laboratory tests performed at the time of patient's admission - psychometric tests included cognitive function (mini-mental status examination, MMSE), depression (Beck Depression Inventory, BDI), anxiety, and insomnia (Insomnia Severity Index, ISI). Logistic regression analysis was used to compare delirium and the related factors. Cox's proportional hazard model was performed using significant factors of logistic regression analysis. Results: Of the 96 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 41 (42.7%) developed delirium. According to the logistic regression analysis, primary cancer site, cognitive impairment (MMSE < 24), depression ($BDI{\geq}16$), and insomnia ($ISI{\geq}15$) were significant factors related to delirium. Among the four factors, depression (OR 5.130; 95% CI, 2.009~13.097) and cognitive impairment (OR 5.130; 95% CI, 2.009~13.097) were found significant using Cox's proportional hazard model. Conclusion: The development of delirium was significantly related to depression and cognitive impairment among patients receiving hospice care. It is necessary to carefully monitor depression and cognitive function in hospice care.