• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.28-35
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• 2020

This study aimed to investigate the differences in the upper and lower limits of the 95% distribution of fasting blood glucose (FBG) by age groups. We also analyzed the changes in the mean values and dispersion of the data using the Korean Blood Glucose Reference Standard raw data published by the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS). Furthermore, the trends among 16 administrative districts were analyzed and any gender differences were determined. We also assessed whether the study results correlated with the relative standard uncertainty, as published by the NHIS. On the dispersion analysis using the differences between the upper and lower limits of the 95% distribution of FBG by age group, there were significant differences across gender and administrative districts (P<0.05). The gender differences in FBG measurements, as published by the NHIS, were significant across different administrative districts and age groups (P<0.001). This confirmed the need to recalculate the blood glucose reference standards for men and women. No significant correlation was observed between the relative standard uncertainty, as published by NHIS, and the dispersion and number of measurements analyzed in this study. However, it showed a high correlation with the measured mean value (R²=0.95). Therefore, further research on the reference standard and uncertainty is needed.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.444-448
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• 2018

From January 2 to December 30, 2017, out of 691 children diagnosed with dermatophytoses infection, 179 children had infections caused by Trichophyton among the total 13,093 patients who visited the Dermatology department. According to a survey, the patients included 317 adolescents, 203 elementary school age children, and 171 infants. In seasonal variation, the diagnosis was higher in summer (195 cases, 28%) and winter (191, 28%) and comparatively lower in spring (165, 24%) and autumn (140, 20%). The infection among the patients was caused by, from maximum to minimum, T. pedis (351, 51%), T. corporis (91, 13%), and T. unguinum (77, 11%). In all age groups, the highest number of patients were infected with T. pedis. After T. pedis, in descending order, the infection was caused by T. corporis, T. unguinum, T. manus and Tinea capitis in the infants and elementary school age children and by T. corporis, T. unguinum and T. cruris in adolescents. Among infections caused by Trichophyton, T. rubrum was the highest isolated causative agent. This data analysis confirmed the distribution of dermatophytoses and the different species according to paediatric age and will aid the study of paediatric dermatomycosis through continuous research.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.133-141
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• 2022

Candida is one of the most common causes of bloodstream infections and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among hospitalized patients. The purpose of this study was to provide important information for formulating empirical treatment plans for candidemia by investigating the antifungal resistance rate of Candida. Among the Candida strains (973 cases) isolated from blood culture tests at the S hospital in 2009~2018, 4.7% (N=44) comprising the Candida spp. (932 strains) showed resistance to fluconazole. The resistant strains included C. albicans, C. parapsilosis, C. tropicalis, and C. glabrata. In addition Candida spp. (947 strains) showed resistance to amphotericin B (N=6, 0.6%), flucytosine (N=23, 2.4%) and voriconazole (N=24, 3.1%). C. albicans was resistant to fluconazole (N=23, 6.9%) and voriconazole (N=21, 6.0%), The statistical analysis showed that C. albicans and non-albicans Candida species were resistant to fluconazole (P=0.039) and voriconazole (P<0.001). A monitoring system to understand the rate of candidiasis infections in a hospital setting is required. It is also important to make the right choice of the antifungal agent based on drug susceptibility patterns. Therefore, an infection surveillance policy that tracks Candida resistance through regular antifungal susceptibility tests is necessary.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.33-45
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• 2022

Objectives The purpose of this review was to investigate clinical treatment trends of Achilles tendinopathy. Methods Clinical studies about Korean medicine treatments on Achilles tendinopathy were searched in 5 databases. The included studies were classified according to the authors, published years, study designs, purposes of study, methods, interventions outcome measures and adverse event. Results In 23 studies, total number of patients were 1,135. The included studies consist of 14 randomized controlled trials (RCT), 5 non-RCT, 2 retrospective study and 2 case reports. Patients were conducted with 9 kinds of treatment, which is acupuncture, electro-acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, acupotomy, moxibustion, cupping, Chuna, herbal medicine, physiotherapy. Most studies used visual analogue scale as primary outcome. Conclusions Based on the results of the collected studies, the use of Korean medicine treatment on Achilles tendinopathy seem to be effective. Despite the large number of RCTs, the level of research cannot be guaranteed, so it is considered that more rigorous researches are needed in future studies.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.163-186
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• 2022

The study was conducted to reveal the influence of variables causing post-traumatic growth and suggest ways to utilize it in the counseling and clinical field. Data from 208 youths in Korea were collected and analyzed using the SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 26,0 statistic programs. This study took the perspective that post-traumatic growth was affected by the balanced- time-perspective and social-connectedness and tried to examine the influence and relation of the two variables. A frequency-analysis was performed to identify the demographic characteristics and the trends of the variables, and a Pearson's -correlation analysis was conducted to examine the relations between variables. A hierarchical- regression- analysis was performed to examine the influence of the major variables, And path-analysis was carried out to verify the research model, and the indirect effect was confirmed by using the bootstrapping method. First, religion, among all demographic variables, showed a significant effect on the post-traumatic growth. Second, the balanced-time-perspective and social-connectedness had a significant effect on post-traumatic growth. Third, the balanced time perspective influenced social-connectedness and through this process, the path explaining how post traumatic growth occurs was revealed. This suggests that the both balanced time perspective and social connectedness are important for inducing post- traumatic growth, and the utility of the variables in the counseling and clinical field.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.235-243
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• 2023

As next-generation sequencing has been developed and used widely, RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) has rapidly emerged as the first choice of tools to validate global transcriptome profiling. With the significant advances in RNA-seq, various types of RNA-seq have evolved in conjunction with the progress in bioinformatic tools. On the other hand, it is difficult to interpret the complex data underlying the biological meaning without a general understanding of the types of RNA-seq and bioinformatic approaches. In this regard, this paper discusses the two main sections of RNA-seq. First, two major variants of RNA-seq are described and compared with the standard RNA-seq. This provides insights into which RNA-seq method is most appropriate for their research. Second, the most widely used RNA-seq data analyses are discussed: (1) exploratory data analysis and (2) pathway enrichment analysis. This paper introduces the most widely used exploratory data analysis for RNA-seq, such as principal component analysis, heatmap, and volcano plot, which can provide the overall trends in the dataset. The pathway enrichment analysis section introduces three generations of pathway enrichment analysis and how they generate enriched pathways with the RNA-seq dataset.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.313-353
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• 2023

Objectives: Heart failure is a chronic disease with increasing prevalence rates despite advancements in medical technology. Korean medicine utilizes herbal prescriptions to treat heart failure, but little is known about the specific herbal medicines comprising the network of herbal prescriptions for heart failure. This study proposes a novel methodology that can efficiently develop prescriptions and facilitate experimental research on heart failure by utilizing existing databases. Methods: Herbal medicine prescriptions for heart failure were identified through a PubMed search and compiled into a Google Sheet database. NetMiner 4 was used for network analysis, and the individual networks were classified according to the herbal medicine classification system to identify trends. K-HERB NETWORK was utilized to derive related prescriptions. Results: Network analysis of heart failure prescriptions and herbal medicines using NetMiner 4 produced 16 individual networks. Uhwangcheongsim-won (牛黃淸心元), Gamiondam-tang (加味溫膽湯), Bangpungtongseong-san (防風通聖散), and Bunsimgi-eum (分心氣飮) were identified as prescriptions with high similarity in the entire network. A total of 16 individual networks utilized K-HERB NETWORK to present prescriptions that were most similar to existing prescriptions. The results provide 1) an indication of existing prescriptions with potential for use to treat heart failure and 2) a basis for developing new prescriptions for heart failure treatment. Conclusion: The proposed methodology presents an efficient approach to developing new heart failure prescriptions and facilitating experimental research. This study highlights the potential of network pharmacology methodology and its possible applications in other diseases. Further studies on network pharmacology methodology are recommended.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.61-70
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• 2017

Objectives The purpose of this review is to analyse the trend in papers related with Korean Medicine Treatment after musculoskeletal disorder surgery. Methods We reviewed Korean Medicine papers by searching Korean web databases 'Korea Traditional Knowledge Portal', 'Scientific and Technological Information Integration Service (NDSL)', 'Academic Research Information Service (RISS)', 'Korea Medical Informati on Portal (OASIS)'. We classified the papers by the year of publishment, the title of journals, the type of study, surgery region, chief complain after surgery, main treatment, periods after surgery, assessment for outcomes. Results 1. Korean Medicine treatment after musculoskeletal disorder surgery has received more attention than in the past and there are attempts to do various studies besides the case reports. 2. 41 research papers were divided in to 3 original articles, 3 review articles, 35 case reports. But almost presented a low level of evidence. 3. Pain was the most common symptom after the musculoskeletal disorder surgery. Pain should be the primary goal of Korean rehabilitation treatment after musculoskeletal disorder surgery. 4. Assessment tools for outcome were concentrated in questionnaries, VAS and NRS. In order to evaluate better, it is necessary to evaluate the overall condition of the patient such as the quality of life evaluation and patient satisfaction. Conclusions In this study, we expect that the development and clinical application of Korean rehabilitation treatment program after musculoskeletal disorder surgery will be actively pursued.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.85-102
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• 1982

The current employment status among young home economists and perspectives in occupations for prospective Home Economics graduates were explored in this study which utilized information from 17 to 21 colleges in Korea and colleges in the United States during the five years of 1977∼1981. The Home Economics content areas covered in this study were Clothing and Textiles, Foods and Nutrition, Housing and Interior Design, and Child Development and Family Life. The highest percentage of Korean graduates in Clothing and Textiles was employed either as teachers at the junior high school level or as designers in the clothing and textile industries. Quite a number of the graduates were engaged in further studies at the graduate level. Korean graduates with a master's degree were teaching at the college level and some had furthered their studies at the doctorate level either here or abroad. Koreans with a bachelor's degree in Foods and Nutrition held jobs as teachers in junior high school, dieticians at mass feeding institutions and hospitals, food scientists in food industries, and researchers in institutions. Those with a master's degree were teaching at the college level. Americans with a bachelor's degree worked as dieticians, supervisors in restaurants and institutions, extension workers, researchers at various facilities, teachers and clerks. Americans with a master's or doctorate degree were engaged in teaching at colleges or supervising at research or working as extension specialists. In general, Korean graduates were found to hold positions in less varied areas than their American counter-parts. Among forty-nine graduates those working in their professional field reported less sex discrimination that those working in other fields. The major area of employment in Housing and Interior Design or Home Management graduates in Korea was teaching while in the United States it was extension work, business, governmental work and teaching. It was suggested that in the future, career development in Korea be further explored to include extension service, research, social welfare, financial planning, business, free-lancing, funeral home, home-call, and correctional education. Interviews with executives from 6 business enterprises indicated that most of them were aware of the potential contribution home economists could make for their companies but they expressed a negative attitude towards women in general due to their short stay on the job. Jobs held by Child Development and Family Life majors with a bachelor's degree in Korea were mostly teaching positions in public, junior and senior high school. However, jobs such as nursery school teaching, working in clinical setting, business, and teaching at public, junior and senior high school predominated in the United states. Most Korean graduates with a master's degree were teaching in professional colleges while in the United Stated the job variation among the graduates was rather evenly distributed among teaching at college level, public and high school, nursery school and administration areas. Reports from 7 child development majors on the job indicated that they were paid less that secretarial workers. Only half of them were working in their major area and these expressed satisfaction with their work. Two thirds of the respondents indicated no sex discrimination. It was suggested that in the future Child Development and Family Life majors pursue employment in counseling, guidance, recreation, mass media, administration and outreach work as well as education, research and parent education in services for children, teen-agers, adults and families.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.105-115
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• 2013

Objectives : This study was aimed to review the trend of occupational health in korean medicine and to suggest the strategic approach. Methods : We collected 40 articles on occupational health in the internet site OASIS using the keyword 'workplace', 'worker'. Then we analyzed them. Results : There were 40 papers that were published between 2000 and 2012. Published papers on the korean journal of oriental preventive medicine were more than the other journals. Affiliation of the first author of the published papers was concentrated to one. Clinical research papers accounted for 90% of the total study. Papers on health management were more than half. Conclusions : Related to occupational health, high quality and large amount of research and development is needed and the active policy of the government should be supported in Korean medicine.