• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.510-531
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• 2021

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to review the status of numeric rating scale (NRS) usage and suggest the potential for use in multicenter retrospective studies of various diseases. Methods: Articles published from 2011 to 2021 that used the keywords "NRS", "Multi-center", and "RCT" were identified in foreign databases, including EMBASE, PubMed, CENTRAL. The articles were analyzed according to their use of "NRS" by symptoms and by disease group using the major classifications of the Korean Standard Classification of Diseases (KCD-7). Results: Classification by symptom in a total of 288 articles illustrates that the NRS was not only commonly used in pain evaluation but also for non-pain symptoms. In usage with non-pain symptoms, chief complaint of patients was the most common at 79%, and other factors included treatment satisfaction, evaluation of daily life, and sleep quality. In disease classification according to the KCD-7, the NRS was commonly used in connection with musculoskeletal and connective tissue diseases but was also utilized in various other disease groups. Conclusions: This study confirms usage of the NRS in multi-center RCTs, as the NRS was widely used in all types of diseases and symptoms. Considering the result and the advantages of the NRS, it is recommended for use as a daily evaluation tool for the collection of common data in multicenter retrospective studies.

• 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.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.344-350
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• 2020

Asthma is a chronic disease and occurs in airway in the lung. The cause of the disease has not been identified, it is assumed that both genetic and environmental risk factors play an important role in the development of asthma. Interleukin (IL)-12 is a cytokine regulating T-cell and NK cell. In this study, we analyzed the genetic polymorphisms of IL-12 receptor genes (IL-12Rβ1 and IL-12Rβ2) in asthma patients and normal individuals in a Korean population. We analyzed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IL-12Rβ1 and IL-12Rβ2 using the genotype data of 193 asthma cases and 3,228 healthy controls from the Korea Association REsource for their correlation with asthma case. IL-12Rβ1 and IL-12Rβ2 genes showed statistically significant polymorphism association with asthma case. As a results, 16 SNPs from IL-12Rβ1 and IL-12Rβ2 genes showed statistically significant association with asthma. Among them, rs375947 SNP in IL-12Rβ1 showed the greatest statistical correlation with asthma (P-value = 0.028, Odds Ratio = 1.27, 95% Confidence Interval = 1.03~1.57). The groups with minor allele of IL-12Rβ1 and IL-12Rβ2 showed increased risk of asthma. The genotype-based mRNA expression analysis showed that the group of minor allele of IL-12Rβ1 showed decreased mRNA expression. Decreased IL-12Rβ1 expression causes decreased IL-12 signaling, and this affects developing asthma. In conclusion, the SNPs in IL-12Rβ1 and IL-12Rβ2 may contribute to development of asthma in a Korean population.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.218-229
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• 2021

Purpose: Serological tests of tissue transglutaminase (TTG) and deamidated gliadin (DGP) antibodies for celiac disease diagnosis show conflicting correlation with histology in young children and in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Tests' ability to predict histology and cutoff values based on age and T1DM was evaluated. Methods: A retrospective study of children who had celiac serological tests between 6/1/2002 and 12/31/2014 at a pediatric hospital. Results: TTG IgA displayed similar results in predicting histology between <4.0 and ≥4.0 years age groups with sensitivity 98% and 93%, and specificity 88% and 86%, respectively. In children <4.0 years old, sensitivity for DGP antibodies was 100% and specificity 94%; in ≥4.0 years age groups, sensitivity was 60%, 88% for DGP IgA and IgG and specificity 95%, 96%, respectively. TTG IgA had low specificity in patients with T1DM compared with non-T1DM, 42% vs. 91%. Positive TTG IgA with normal histology was associated with higher T1DM prevalence at 36% compared with negative tests at 4%. Finally, the TTG IgA cutoff value was higher in T1DM at 36 vs. 16.3 units in non-T1DM. DGP IgG cutoff showed similar values between age groups; TTG IgA and DGP IgA cutoffs were lower in <4.0 years at 8.3 and 11.9 units than ≥4.0 years at 23.4 and 19.9, respectively. Conclusion: TTG IgA is sufficient for the <4.0 years age group and DGP antibodies had no advantage over TTG IgA in older children. The cutoff value to determine a positive TTG IgA should be higher for children with T1DM.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.11 no.7
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• pp.189-194
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of reducing noise and streaking artefacts by applying the Boost3D algorithm in the case of noise and streaking artifacts generated during computed tomography of the shoulder joint. A phantom study using a thoracic phantom including shoulder joint and clinical evaluation were conducted through shoulder joint images of 35 patients who underwent computed tomography of the shoulder joint from September 2020 to October 2020. The evaluation was divided into groups before and after the application of the Boost3D algorithm, and the noise values, signal to noise ratio, and mean to standard deviation ratio values were analyzed. Both noise values and mean to standard deviation ratio values analyzed in phantom image evaluation and clinical image evaluation were statistically significantly lower in the group after Boost3D was applied (p<0.05). Through this study, it was found that noise and streak artifacts were reduced through the application of Boost3D, and the mean to standard deviation ratio was high, which can be judged as an excellent image. If the Boost3D algorithm is used for computed tomography of the shoulder joint, it is thought that excellent images can be obtained with reduced noise and streaking artifacts that may occur in the shoulder joint area.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.227-235
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association factors of dental infection control by applying the health belief model in the dental hygienists. This study subject was 142 dental hygienists from 15 to July 5, 2020. Data were analyzed by chi-square test ANOVA, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis using SPSS version 23.0. The performance of dental infection control in accordance with the general characteristics of research subjects was high in case when they had educational experiences of infection control, and when they 'always' did medical examinations by interview about infectious diseases(p<0.01). The group of dental hygienists working for dental clinics with less than average 50 patients a day showed the highest rate of wearing a mask and latex gloves as personal protective gears(p<0.05),(p<0.01). When the wearing of protective goggles(face shield) and the frequency of exchanging masks after the outbreak of COVID-19 were more, the performance for infection control was increasing(p<0.05),(p<0.01),(p<0.001). In this study, it is difficult to generalize the results of the study because the research area and the subject are limited by selecting the subjects by convenience extraction, and focusing on the degree of awareness of infection control by dental hygienists, the actual status of infection control in dentistry is carefully illuminated. What you didn't do can be seen as a limitation. Considering the results of this study, the performance of infection control could be increased by removing obstacles and increasing the importance and perceived benefits of infection control of dental hygienists.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.65 no.4
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• pp.539-548
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• 2022

Objective : Although full-endoscopic lumbar interbody fusion (Endo-LIF) has been tried as the latest alternative technique to minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interobody fusion (MIS-TLIF) since mid-2010, the evidence is still lacking. We compared the clinical outcome and safety of Endo-LIF to MIS-TLIF for lumbar degenerative disease. Methods : We systematically searched electronic databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library to find literature comparing Endo-LIF to MIS-TLIF. The results retrieved were last updated on December 11, 2020. The perioperative outcome included the operation time, blood loss, complication, and hospital stay. The clinical outcomes included Visual analog scale (VAS) of low back pain and leg pain and Oswestry disability index (ODI), and the radiological outcome included pseudoarthosis rate with 12-month minimum follow-up. Results : Four retrospective observational studies and one prospective observational study comprising 423 patients (183 Endo-LIF and 241 MIS-TLIF) were included, and the pooled data analysis revealed low heterogeneity between studies in our review. Baseline characteristics including age and sex were not different between the two groups. Operation time was significantly longer in Endo-LIF (mean difference [MD], 23.220 minutes; 95% confidence interval [CI], 10.669-35.771; p=0.001). However, Endo-LIF resulted in less perioperative blood loss (MD, -144.710 mL; 95% CI, 247.941-41.478; p=0.023). Although VAS back pain at final (MD, -0.120; p=0.586), leg pain within 2 weeks (MD, 0.005; p=0.293), VAS leg pain at final (MD, 0.099; p=0.099), ODI at final (MD, 0.141; p=0.093) were not different, VAS back pain within 2 weeks was more favorable in the Endo-LIF (MD, -1.538; 95% CI, -2.044 to -1.032; p<0.001). On the other hand, no statistically significant group difference in complication rate (relative risk [RR], 0.709; p=0.774), hospital stay (MD, -2.399; p=0.151), and pseudoarthrosis rate (RR, 1.284; p=0.736) were found. Conclusion : Relative to MIS-TLIF, immediate outcomes were favorable in Endo-LIF in terms of blood loss and immediate VAS back pain, although complication rate, mid-term clinical outcomes, and fusion rate were not different. However, the challenges for Endo-LIF include longer operation time which means a difficult learning curve and limited surgical indication which means patient selection bias. Larger-scale, well-designed study with long-term follow-up and randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm and update the results of this systematic review.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.159-166
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• 2020

This study was conducted on 20 healthy adults in their 20s to identity the immediate effects of balance, proprioception and flexibility after conducting the PNF combined patterns using 3D Newton box. The data collected in this study were analyzed using the SPSS Window 19.0 statistical program, and the general characteristics of the subjects were calculated by calculating the mean and standard deviation using the technical statistics, and the differences before and after in-group balance, proprioception and flexibility were analyzed by the paired t-test. The balance, proprioception and flexibility of the subjects were measured using Y-balance, one-leg standing, and finger bottom contact. The exercise was applied with an combined pattern of PNF in the 3D Newton box. After exercise, balance, proprioception and flexibility all increased significantly. The results show that combined pattern of PNF using the 3D Newton box immediately works for the balance, proprioception and flexibility of adults in their 20s. Therefore, it is considered to be an exercise that can be actively utilized for adults or patients at high risk of damage due to reduced balance, proprioception and flexibility.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.209-219
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• 2020

This study was conducted to find out the differences in cognitive function, self-esteem, and life satisfaction of the elderly with mild dementia according to the cognitive intervention program. From July to October 2018, 30 minutes of computerization, cognitive integration program, computer recognition program, and cognitive integration program were applied to 30 patients in a nursing hospital located in G city for a total of 12 weeks, and 15 minutes of computerization recognition program and cognitive integration program were applied at the same time, 15 minutes of computerization recognition program and 15 minutes of cognitive integration program were applied. Pre- and post-evaluation tests were conducted for cognitive function, self-esteem, and life satisfaction of living. After examining the three groups' cognitive functions, self-esteem, and life satisfaction by applying the cognitive intervention program, it was improved to a significant level in all categories. As a result of examining the differences in cognitive function, self-esteem, and life satisfaction of the elderly with mild dementia according to the cognitive intervention program, the group applied both computerized and cognitive integration programs in all categories showed high effects. Therefore, if various cognitive intervention programs are applied according to the characteristics of the subjects to improve the cognitive function, self-esteem, and life satisfaction of the elderly, it will be an effective intervention in occupational therapy.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.188-196
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• 2022

The purpose of this study was to investigate pediatric emergency department visits patterns and characteristics of children and adolescents under the age of 20 in South Korea from 2002 to 2015 due to dental conditions. This study used a stratified sample of approximately 1 million people from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service Database. The age, region, household income, and treatment cost were included for the patient characteristic analysis. Pediatric patients were compared to the adult group (over 20 years old). In children and adolescents, the rate of emergency department visits due to dental conditions was higher for traumatic conditions than for non-traumatic conditions. Children and adolescents with higher household income visited the emergency department more often than those with lower household income. The region with the highest number of children and adolescents visiting the emergency department for dental conditions was Busan (per 100,000 population). Although this study could not confirm the annual trend of children and adolescents' dental emergency visits due to the sample size limitation, the characteristics of children and adolescents' dental emergency visits were compared with those of adults using a stratified sample.