• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.113-121
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• 2011

Food allergies affect 7~8% of infants and young children, and their prevalence appears to have increased in recent years. Food allergy refers to an abnormal immunological reaction to a specific food. These reactions can be recurrent each time the food is ingested. Food allergy manifests itself with a wide spectrum of clinical characteristics including IgE-mediated diseases as immediate reactions, non-IgE-mediated disorders as delayed reactions, and mixed hypersensitivities. As a consequence, the clinical picture of a food allergy is pleomorphic. A well-designed oral food challenge is the most reliable diagnostic test for infants and young children whose clinical history and physical examination point towards a specific food allergy. Food specific IgE antibody tests (RAST, MAST, skin prick test, Uni-CAP, etc) are an alternative tool to determine oral food challenge for IgE-mediated disorders, but not for non-IgE-mediated allergies. Moreover, parents often impose their children on unnecessary diets without adequate medical supervision. These inappropriate dietary restrictions may cause nutritional deficiencies. This review aims to introduce clinical perspectives of food allergy in infants and young children and to orient clinicians towards different strains of diagnostic approaches, dietary management, and follow-up assessment of tolerance development.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.4-28
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• 2024

Liquid biopsy, a minimally invasive procedure that causes minimal pain and complication risks to patients, has been extensively studied for cancer diagnosis and treatment. Moreover, it facilitates comprehensive quantification and serial assessment of the whole-body tumor burden. Several biosources obtained through liquid biopsy have been studied as important biomarkers for establishing early diagnosis, monitoring minimal residual disease, and predicting the prognosis and response to treatment in patients with cancer. Although the clinical application of liquid biopsy in gastric cancer is not as robust as that in other cancers, biomarker studies using liquid biopsy are being actively conducted in patients with gastric cancer. Herein, we aimed to review the role of various biosources that can be obtained from patients with gastric cancer through liquid biopsies, such as blood, saliva, gastric juice, urine, stool, peritoneal lavage fluid, and ascites, by dividing them into cellular and acellular components. In addition, we reviewed previous studies on the diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers for gastric cancer using liquid biopsy and discussed the limitations of liquid biopsy and the challenges to overcome these limitations in patients with gastric cancer.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.159-168
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• 2017

Background: The aim of this study was to identify well-supported evidence to aid medical treatment of temporomandibular disorder or dysfunction (TMD) in Korea by analyzing the correlation between TMD and body posture in recent international research. Methods: We looked for recent clinical studies on TMD and body posture in Korean and English databases. Bias risk was estimated using the Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for Non-Randomized Studies and the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for assessing randomized controlled studies. Results: Nine clinical studies, published between 2005 and 2017, were analyzed. In each, TMD was assessed using the American Academy of Orofacial Pain diagnostic criteria and the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorder. Six studies evaluated body posture using photographs, four studies used stabilometry, and one used both photographs and stabilometry. Conclusion: Six of the nine studies found a correlation between TMD and body posture. Well-designed randomized controlled trials are needed to provide more data to assess the validity of this correlation.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.163-179
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• 2023

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to provide evidence for the clinical effects of foot bath therapy for insomnia disorder through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: Studies were selected from seven domestic and international literature databases. Data on diagnostic tools, pattern identification, sample size, intervention methods, outcome measurements, results, and adverse events were extracted. The quality of the selected literature was assessed using Cochrane's risk of bias (RoB) assessment tool. Results: A total of 11 studies were included in this study. The primary diagnostic tool for insomnia dis- order was the criteria for the diagnosis and therapeutic effect of diseases and syndromes in traditional Chinese medicine (CDTDSTCM), along with the Chinese classification of mental disorders-3 (CCMD-3). Treatment effects were mainly evaluated by the effective rate and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The meta-analysis results showed statistically higher effectiveness rates for treating insomnia disorder in the experimental groups receiving herbal medicine foot bath therapy with sleeping or herbal medication compared to the control group. The PSQI was lower in the treatment group receiving herbal medicine foot bath therapy with sleeping medication. The herbal materials used in herbal medicine foot bath therapy mainly included Radix Angelicae Sinensis, Polygonum Multiflorum, Ziziphi Spinosae Semen, Rhizoma Coptidis, Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae, and Cortex Albizziae. The quality of the included studies was generally poor. Conclusions: This study found that foot bath therapy had clinical efficacy for treating insomnia disorder. The research findings could provide foundational evidence for establishing the clinical basis of foot bath therapy in the treatment of insomnia.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.305-312
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• 2016

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: As the prevalence of chronic diseases has risen, the need for straightforward diagnostic tools for monitoring nutrition status to improve nutrition counseling and disease prevention has likewise increased. This study developed an easily usable dietary behavior pattern diagnosis checklist and investigated its correlation with dietary quality index. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A draft dietary pattern evaluation tool was generated by analyzing previous studies. The draft questionnaire comprised 61 questions for assessing dietary habits. A survey was administered to 320 adults (19 to 64 years old) using the dietary pattern evaluation tool and 24-hour-recall method between March and May of 2014 in Jeonbuk province and the metropolitan area. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation was performed to identify dietary behavior patterns. Nutritional analysis was conducted using CAN-Pro 4.0, and the Diet Quality Index-International (DQI-I) was calculated to assess dietary quality. The correlation between dietary pattern scores and DQI-I scores was also analyzed. RESULTS: The factor analysis resulted in a total of 34 questions mapped to four main dietary behavior patterns: "high fat and calorie" pattern (12 questions), "overeating/binge" pattern (nine questions), "dietary impulse" pattern (eight questions), and "unbalanced food intake" pattern (five questions). The four dietary behavior patterns were negatively correlated with DQI-I adequacy and total scores (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The dietary pattern evaluation tool developed in this study can be used to diagnose a client's dietary behavior problems and is available as a nutrition counseling tool in the field.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.276-282
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• 2004

Marginal Zn deficiency is prevalent through the world and yet human zinc status has not been properly assessed due to the lack of a reliable diagnostic indicator. One potential possibility for zinc status assessment using Zn-binding protein, metallothionein (MT)-mRNA, has been proposed. The purpose of the present study was aimed to show whether measurement of mononuclear cell (MNC) MT mRNA, using a competitive-reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (competitive-RT-PCR) assay, could indicate zinc status in human subjects. In this study, MNC MT-mRNA expression was measured using a competitive-RT-PCR to compare before and after 14 days of zinc supplementation (50 mg Zn/das zinc gluconate). RT-PCR oligonucleotide primers which were designed to amplify both a 278 bp segment of the human MT-2A cDNA and a 198 bp mutant competitor cDNA template from MNCs, were prepared. MT-2A mRNA was normalized by reference to the housekeeping gene, $\beta$-actin, mRNA for which was also measured by competitive-RT-PCR. There was considerable inter-individual variation in MT-mRNA concentration and yet, the mean MT-2A mRNA level increased 4.7-fold after Zn supplementation, as compared to before Zn supplementation. This MT-2A mRNA level was shown as the same pattern and, even more sensitive assay, compared to the conventional plasma and red blood cells (RBCs) Zn assessment in which plasma and RBCs zinc levels increased 2.3- and 1.2-fold, respectively (p<0.05). We suggest that MT competitive-RT-PCR can be a useful assessment tool for evaluating human zinc status.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.34 no.9
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• pp.699-704
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• 2010

Recently, the navigation risk is increasing significantly with growing of vessels' volume and propelling marine facilities, water bridges and port development etc. As a result, Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs enacted a new law called MSA(Maritime Safety Audit) as a comprehensive maritime traffic safety management scheme in order to ensure safety improvements from the early planning stage to post managing of the development which affect the maritime traffic environment. MSA as a tool for improving maritime traffic safety is a formal safety diagnosis assessment in the existing or future ship's fairway by an independent audit institute. It examines the potential hazards of maritime traffic safety about the port development, if necessary, and is to ensure the implementation of appropriate safety measures. The primary purpose of MSA is to identify potential risk elements affecting safe navigation. This paper is aimed to introduce the backgrounds, the necessity and efficiency of MSA and also to describe some technical standards and diagnostic procedures.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.115-124
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• 2013

Recently, there have been improvements in diagnostic methods for the assessment of early caries lesions. The reason is that dental professionals are seeking methods to reliably detect incipient dental caries and to remineralize them. This review examines the literature on principles, theoretical background, and history of the Quantitative Light-Induced Fluorescence (QLF) system (Inspektor Research Systems BV, The Netherlands). Furthermore, this paper discusses the potential application of QLF system to clinical practice for educational purpose, enabling dental hygiene students to perform oral health assessment using the QLF system. In addition, the clinical application of QLF system can motivate patients by providing additional visual information about caries and bacterial activity. The evidences on validity and reliability of the QLF system for detection of longitudinal changes in de/remineralization and caries were examined. The QLF system is capable of monitoring and quantifying mineral changes in early caries lesions. Therefore, it can be used to assess the impacts of caries preventive measures on the remineralization and reversal of the caries process. And the QLF system is a very promising equipment to assess educational effectiveness for dental hygiene students in their learning process. In conclusion, the QLF system is the most effective technology for more sensitive staging of caries and treatment without surgical intervention.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.79-97
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• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate the clinical effects of neurofeedback training on reducing anxiety. Methods: Eight databases were used to extract clinical reports on neurofeedback intervention for anxiety reduction published until 2016. We analyzed the characteristics of selected studies and evaluated biases using the Risk of Bias (RoB) assessment. Results: A total of 22 clinical trials were extracted for the analysis. The risk of bias in most studies was high or unclear. The Chinese Classification of Mental Disorders-3 (CCMD-3) was the most frequently used diagnostic criteria, the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAMA) was the most frequently used assessment tool, and the alpha wave activity increase, sensorimotor rhythm (SMR), and theta wave training were the most frequently used intervention methods. All papers showed a statistically significant decrease of anxiety symptoms; however, significant adverse events were not reported. Conclusions: Neurofeedback intervention might be beneficial for reducing anxiety. However, the quality of the studies used in the analysis was low, and the heterogeneity of the population and interventions was revealed. Therefore, more scientifically designed clinical studies regarding neurofeedback training are required.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.69-80
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• 2008

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation of 3 methods of bone age measurements. Methods : 102 children(49 boys, 53 girls) were involved in this study. We measured the height, weight and bone age based when they visited for the first time. We measured bone age using BoneAge of Sunlight Co.,Ltd. Two of the bone age measurement methods, Greulich-Pyle and Tanner-Whitehouse, were used to analyze the left dorsopalmar hand-wrist radiographs of 102 children who visited in Department of Pediatrics, O O University Oriental Hospital. This study was designed to investigate the correlation of the bone age between two methods. Results : The bone ages were related with age, height, weight and BMI according to this study(P<0.01). Each bone age assessment method had statistically significant correlation to each other(P<0.01). Conclusions : The ultrasound transonic velocity of inferior radiocarpal joint will become a sufficient diagnostic tool of bone age assessment if measurement error can be minimized by proper effort.