• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.231-244
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• 2020

Objectives : This study was conducted to introduce the types and contents of books related to acupuncture published in North Korea that can be identified in South Korea, and to understand the general characteristics of North Korean acupuncture. Methods : Firstly, we identified books related to acupuncture in the Information Center on North Korea of the National Library of Korea. Specialized books on treatment interventions such as acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, electrotherapy, and manual therapy including acupressure which stimulate acupoints were included in the study. Two authors reviewed the title, table of contents, and contents of each book in the order of publication year for the searched books. Based on this, the characteristics and trends of North Korean acupuncture were comprehensively examined. Results : The included 18 books were published between 1964 and 2018. One of them was considered a Chinese book translated into Korean and published in China, and another was a North Korean book republished by a South Korean publisher. Except for these, all were published in North Korea, two of which were translations of Chinese books. Most of them were books on the theory and clinical applications of acupuncture, but some of them focused on specific treatment interventions such as auricular acupuncture, fire needling, manual therapy, cupping, or electrotherapy. Also, there was a book about the mechanism of acupuncture analgesia in a neurophysiological way. Conclusions : Since the mid-1960s, North Korea has been steadily attempting to combine acupuncture and Western medicine by applying the disease name and classification system of Western medicine, using modern diagnostic technique, and explaining the mechanism of acupuncture based on the latest research. After the 2000s, the standard international acupuncture nomenclature by World Health Organization was used. In recent years, there has been a tendency to publish and widely disseminate specialized books on non-pharmacological treatment such as cupping, electrotherapy, and fire needling.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.19-28
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• 2021

Esophagogastroduodenoscopy is a method commonly used for early diagnosis of upper gastrointestinal lesions. However, 10-20 percent of the gastric lesions are reported to be missed, due to human error. And countries including the US, the UK, and Japan, the World Endoscopy Organization (WEO) suggested guidelines about essential gastrointestinal parts to take pictures of so that all gastric lesions are observed. In this paper, we propose deep learning techniques for classification of anatomical sites, aiming for the system that informs practitioners whether they successfully did the gastroscopy without blind spots. The proposed model uses pre-processing modules and data augmentation techniques suitable for gastroscopy images. Not only does the experiment result with a maximum F1 score of 99.6%, but it also shows a error rate of less than 4% based on the actual data. Given the performance results, we found the model to be explainable with the potential to be utilized in the clinical area.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.425-429
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• 2021

We have investigated the expression of early growth response protein 1 (EGR1) in INS-1 pancreatic β-cells treated with Allomyrina dichotoma hemolymph. The Korean rhinoceros beetle, A. dichotoma (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), is important in the insect industry for medical applications. We have already established a method for purification of A. dichotoma hemolymph that can be used in many experiments. EGR1 is reported as a multifunctional transcription factor that is implicated in virus infections. EGR1 has therefore been revealed as a major mediator and regulator in the physiological and pathological conditions of several cell and tissue types. New findings in this study are that A. dichotoma hemolymph, which promotes a dose- and time-dependent upregulation of EGR1 gene expression, shows an enhancement of this gene expression when combined with hypothermia or endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. These results suggest that A. dichotoma hemolymph may provide clues to EGR1-associated disease therapies involving gene regulation of EGR1.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.13-26
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• 2021

Objectives : This study was planned to help clinical treatment by examining the efficacy and frequency of use of medicines with removing nebula and improving vision action, centering on historical literature. Methods : Chinese literature centered on CNKI published after 2000 and ophthalmic books of the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Library, regardless of the publication period. Domestic literature was searched using NDSL and OASIS, and literature published after 2000 was referenced. Results : According to traditional medical classics, as medicine with removing nebula and improving vision action, medicine with dispelling wind and clearing heat action accounted for the majority. However, it is desirable to use these medicine in the early stages of the disease. Conclusions : 1. Among the external contacts that induce corneal opacity, the wind-heat pattern was the most common. Among the visceral manifestation patterns that induce corneal opacity, liver or spleen was the most common. Cold-tempered medicine which is dispelling wind, clearing heat and bottling up the liver were most commonly used as therapeutic medicine. 2. As removing nebula and improving vision medicine, Cassiae Semen, Chrysanthmi Flos, Eriocauli Flos, and Buddlejae Flos have been widely used. 3. It has been investigated that removing nebula and improving vision medicine can be effectively used in the early stages of various diseases that cause corneal opacity.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.40-48
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• 2022

Objective: As the associations of sperm DNA fragmentation with morphology have not been examined in detail, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between abnormalities of morphological details and DNA integrity in human sperm. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, men from infertile couples were enrolled at Hue Center for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Vietnam. Conventional semen parameters, including morphological details, were analyzed following the World Health Organization 2010 criteria. Sperm DNA fragmentation was evaluated using a sperm chromatin dispersion assay. The relationships and correlations between semen parameters, sperm morphology, and the type of halosperm and the DNA fragmentation index (DFI) were analyzed. Results: Among 130 men in infertile couples, statistically significant differences were not found in the sperm halo type between the normal and abnormal sperm morphology groups. The percentage of round-head spermatozoa was higher in the DFI >15% group (16.98%±12.50%) than in the DFI ≤15% group (13.13% ±8.82%), higher values for amorphous heads were found in the DFI >15% group, and lower values for tapered heads were observed in the DFI ≤15% group; however, these differences were not statistically significant. Small-halo sperm and the DFI were positively correlated with round-head sperm (r=0.243, p=0.005 and r=0.197, p=0.025, respectively). Conclusion: The rate of general sperm morphological abnormalities in semen analysis was not related to sperm DNA integrity. However, round sperm heads were closely associated with sperm DNA fragmentation.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.283-296
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• 2022

In this study, the evidence of thread embedding acupuncture (TEA) in treating cervical radiculopathy in randomized controlled trials was investigated. We searched 16 databases up to August 22, 2022. Of the 2,644 studies retrieved, 22 randomized controlled trials (2,483 participants) were selected. Quality assessments were performed using Cochrane's risk-of-bias tool and RevMan 5.4 software. Outcome measures in the included studies typically showed TEA had a significant therapeutic effect compared with simple acupuncture and other remedies, and TEA was better than sham TEA. Catgut and polydioxanone had no difference in effectiveness, however, catgut was considered to be less safe. TEA was shown to be more therapeutic when inserted deeper into the skin. Ultrasound guided TEA was more effective and safer than conventional TEA, and using a flat blade needle was better than conventional needles for TEA. No serious adverse events were reported from using TEA, and only a few mild side effects were observed. However, the limited number and heterogeneity of the included studies, together with the unclear methodological quality, indicate that higher-quality studies need to be conducted to determine the effectiveness and safety of TEA for cervical radiculopathy.

• Clinical Pain
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.80-89
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• 2020

Objective: We compared the regenerative effects of microcurrent therapy (MT) according to the type of electric current, which were direct current microcurrent therapy (DCMT) and alternating current microcurrent therapy (ACMT) on atrophied calf muscle in cast-immobilized rabbit. Method: Rabbits were allocated into control group (sham MT), ACMT group, and DCMT group. Before starting treatment, right gastrocnemius (GCM) muscle was immobilized by cast for 2 weeks. Compound muscle action potential of tibial nerve in nerve conduction study, circumference of calf muscle using a ruler, and thickness of medial and lateral GCM muscle measured by ultrasound, cross sectional area (CSA), and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) ratios (%) of muscle fibers were measured on the immunohistochemical analysis. Results: The mean atrophic changes (%) in right medial and lateral GCM muscle thickness, right calf circumference, and amplitude of CMAP of the right tibial nerve in ACMT group and DCMT group were significantly lower than those in control group, respectively (p<0.05). The mean CSA (μm²) of type I and type II and PCNA ratios (%) of medial and lateral GCM muscle fibers in ACMT group and DCMT group were significantly greater than those in control group, respectively (p<0.05). There were no significant differences between the ACMT group and DCMT group at all parameters. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that ACMT and DCMT showed better regeneration effect than sham MT. Microcurrent may be effective in regeneration of atrophied muscle regardless of the type of current.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.93-106
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• 2023

Reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) emerged as a new concept of arthroplasty that does not restore normal anatomy but does restore function. It enables the function of the torn rotator cuff to be performed by the deltoid and shows encouraging clinical outcomes. Since its introduction, various modifications have been designed to improve the outcome of the RTSA. From the original cemented baseplate with peg or keel, a cementless baseplate was designed that could be fixed with central and peripheral screws. In addition, a modular-type glenoid component enabled easier revision options. For the humeral component, the initial design was an inlay type of long stem with cemented fixation. However, loss of bone stock from the cemented stem hindered revision surgery. Therefore, a cementless design was introduced with a firm metaphyseal fixation. Furthermore, to prevent complications such as scapular notching, the concept of lateralization emerged. Lateralization helped to maintain normal shoulder contour and better rotator cuff function for improved external/internal rotation power, but excessive lateralization yielded problems such as subacromial notching. Therefore, for patients with pseudoparalysis or with risk of subacromial notching, a medial eccentric tray option can be used for distalization and reduced lateralization of the center of rotation. In summary, it is important that surgeons understand the characteristics of each implant in the various options for RTSA. Furthermore, through preoperative evaluation of patients, surgeons can choose the implant option that will lead to the best outcomes after RTSA.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.239-247
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• 2022

Objective: Asafoetida is a gum derived from Ferula assa-foetida, which is used in traditional Iranian medicine to treat some reproductive system disorders. The effects of asafoetida on ovarian tissue, expression of certain genes associated with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and levels of liver, kidney, and blood cell factors after treatment in a rat model were investigated. Methods: Thirty rats were divided into five groups: normal, polycystic, and treatment with three doses of asafoetida (12.5, 25, and 50 mg/kg for 3 weeks after PCOS induction). PCOS was induced by letrozole at a dose of 1 mg/kg administered orally for 3 weeks. Blood samples were taken, and the ovaries were removed and prepared for histomorphometric examination. Liver and kidney parameters were measured. The mRNA expression levels of luteinizing hormone receptor, CYP11A1, adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, adiponectin, and adiponectin receptors 1 and 2 were also measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: The levels of liver, kidney, and blood parameters did not significantly differ between the treatment groups and the control group. At doses of 25 and 50 mg/kg, ovarian histopathology, especially the thicknesses of the theca and granulosa layers, was significantly improved relative to the PCOS group. The expression of target genes also improved in the 25 and 50 mg/kg treatment groups. Conclusion: Asafoetida can be used to treat PCOS as a complementary approach to conventional therapies. Asafoetida appears to act by regulating and activating metabolic and ovarian cycle enzymes.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.50.1-50.6
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• 2023

This paper reports the clinical findings and surgical treatment of feline right patent ductus arteriosus (RPDA) with a left aortic arch. A two-month-old female Maine Coon was referred for an investigation of regurgitation after weaning. RPDA with a left aortic arch was diagnosed based on the echocardiographic and computed tomography (CT) findings. A right-fourth intercostal thoracotomy was found to be an appropriate approach to the duct. Preoperative diagnosis is crucial and diagnostic imaging, including radiography, echocardiography, and cardiac CT examination, is essential for determining if the aortic arch is right or left.