• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.35-46
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• 2018

Objectives: The aim of this trial is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Yukwool-tang (Liuyu-tang) for the treatment of major depression in women by comparing the Yukwool-tang (Liuyu-tang)-treated group with the placebo-treated group and assessing the association of various biological factors related to depression through various outcome measures. Methods: This study is a single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-design clinical trial. The subjects to be selected are women between the ages of 19 and 65, and the registered subjects are to be randomly assigned to treatment with Yukwool-tang or the placebo control. The Yukwool-tang group will take 1 bottle of Yukwool-tang (30 mg) for 8 weeks, 3 times a day, before meals. The control group will take the placebo in the same way. The primary outcome to be examined will be the change between the total score after 8 weeks and the total score before the start of the study of the K-HDRS score. Secondary outcomes are assessed by the change in total score after 12 weeks of K-HDRS, K-HDRS remission rate, K-HDRS improvement rate, BDI-K, PITD, KSCL-95, ISI, STAI-K, EQ-5D, VAS, Emotional Stimulation Test, BDNF test, inflammatory cytokine and tumor necrosis factor test, intestinal microbiome test, dietary report and Beck's hopelessness scale. Results: This protocol has been approved by the IRB of Dunsan Korean Medicine Hospital of Daejeon University and is registered in the CRIS, and it is made public in advance to ensure transparency of the research process and conduct ethical clinical trials. Conclusions: Based on this protocol, when the trial is completed, its data can be used to access the validity and safety of Yukwool-tang for major depression in women, and it is also expected to be helpful in the study of the correlation between future treatment of Korean medicine for depression and related biological factors, and quality of life.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.135-150
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• 1996

This study was performed to analyze the patient's experience during the progress of disease in the patients with osteoarthritis, who are taken the replacement surgery of knee Joint. The examine was consisted of five patients with osteoarthritis, who are taken the replacement surgery of knee joint from Dec. 4. 1995 to May, 20, 1996 at C university hospital. After hospitalization, the physical and psycho-logical status of the patients during preoperation, postoperation and discharge was examined. The data were examined according to the ethnographic method. The results are as follows. The patients experienced the periods of embarrasment, conflict, before surgery suffering, acceptance period after surgery. In the embarrasment period, the patients take a multiple medication therapy including hospital treatment, oriental medication and folk medication to ameliorate joint pain after first diagnosis on arthritis. The embarrasment period includes compulsive drug medication, oriental medication, folk medication, trouble some, sadness and survey of hospitals. In the conflict period, the patients consider the operation of knee because of working difficulty and severe Joint Pain, while they feel anxiety about the surgery. They condemn their physical situations. They have the conflict and anxiety on surgical operation. they consider the quality of life. They hope the surgery makes patients to improve walking ability. This period includes self-condemned, sorry, tiresomeness, expectation, worrisomeness, anxiety and hesitance. In the suffering period, the patients experience post operation physical discomfort after the total knee replacement. They do physical exercise, including extension and straight leg raising to maintain walking ability, while they endure to wait approximately 6 months for normal walking movements and they are also unstable to environmental people's sight. This period includes postoperative pain, continuous discomfort, inability and communication difficulty to other's people. In the acceptance period, the patients consider longerity of artificial Joint and also endure mild remaining joint pain. Some of them have religions for their wellbeing of life. This period include a self-protesting policy, abandonment, self-consolation, dependence on religions. According to the result from this study I suggested these shown below. 1) After replacement surgery of knee joint, continuous investigation on outcome patient is necessary. 2) It is also necessary to analyze on patient's experiences, who are taken the replacement surgery of hip Joint. 3) Study on disease experiences of patients with rhematoid arthritis, who take drug medication and physical therapy alone without surgery, is necessary. 4) Investigation on patient's favorable folk medication may be helpful to analyze disease experience of patients with osteoarthritis.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.67-75
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• 2021

The structure of universities needs to be adjusted and reformed to cope with the decrease in admission resources and the quality of education due to the low birth rate and aging population. Such a policy is receiving much attention. To analyze the relative efficiency of private universities in Korea from the perspective of resource and performance, this study evaluated the efficiency of private university operation by applying a DEA(Data Envelopment Analysis) technique. The DEA measurements were compared with the diagnosis results of the department of education (Government) in 2018. The input and output variables used in the research analysis were utilized by the university's notification materials (public disclosure information). An analysis of the operational efficiency showed that 48% (12 universities) of the 25 DMUs (Decision Making Unit) were efficient for DEA-BCC models and that some of the capacity-building universities were operating efficiently. In addition, the DEA analysis found ways to improve inefficient groups through DEA-Additive results. This paper can be meaningful because it confirmed the relative efficiency of private universities and suggested improvement directions through the DEA method, which is characterized by the simultaneous consideration of various input and output factors. This will help apply the limited resources related to the input and output elements of each university.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.229-243
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• 2020

This study selected a total of 19 studies using databases of PubMed, SAGE Journal, and Wiley Online Library from 2000 to 2019 to find out about vocational rehabilitation of patients with schizophrenia in the area of overseas occupational therapy. First, the quality level of the study was all Level I. Second, the diagnosis for participants of the studies other than schizophrenia had the most schizoaffective disorder. Third, by types of interventions, 11 papers, the largest, were about social skills and cognitive rehabilitation training plus supported employment, followed by 4 about supported employment and 3 about social skills and cognitive rehabilitation training, 1 about other vocational approaches. Regarding studies showing effects in the employment rate by interventions type following three types of employment, as the most effective of studies, they were social skills and cognitive rehabilitation training plus support employment in competitive employment, social skills and cognitive rehabilitation training in non-competitive employment, and support employment in paid employment. Fifth, looking at the studies trend in the last 5 years, the most studies were social skills and cognitive rehabilitation training plus supported employment. Since this study classified the types and effects of vocational rehabilitation for patients with schizophrenia based on previous overseas studies, it is hoped that this study will be provided as basic data for understanding vocational rehabilitation of schizophrenic patients and applying them in domestic clinical settings.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.81 no.1
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• pp.21-40
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• 2020

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an essential modality for the diagnosis of musculoskeletal system defects because of its higher soft-tissue contrast and spatial resolution. With the recent development of MRI-related technology, faster imaging and various image plane reconstructions are possible, enabling better assessment of three-dimensional musculoskeletal anatomy and lesions. Furthermore, the image quality, diagnostic accuracy, and acquisition time depend on the MRI protocol used. Moreover, the protocol affects the efficiency of the MRI scanner. Therefore, it is important for a radiologist to optimize the MRI protocol. In this review, we will provide guidance on patient positioning; selection of the radiofrequency coil, pulse sequences, and imaging planes; and control of MRI parameters to help optimize the MRI protocol for the six major joints of the musculoskeletal system.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.126-132
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• 1999

Objectives: The purposes of this study were to investigate 1) the incidence of insomnia, 2) the clinical characteristics of the insomniacs, 3) the correlation of severity of insomnia with somatic complaints and psychological distresses, and 4) the beliefs and attitudes about sleep in patients with chronic renal failure on hemodialysis. Methods: The author evaluated 153 patients, receiving hemodialysis therapy at the four outpatients hemodialysis units in Pusan, Korea. The patients had completed a self-administered questionnaire package, which consisted of basic demographic findings, questions characterizing insomnia, Beck Depression Inventory(BDI), Spielburger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory(STAI), and visual analogue scales measuring quantitatively the severity of the self-perceived psychological and somatic symptoms. And several laboratory data were collected. Diagnosis of insomnia was made in the base of insomnia criteria of DSM-IV and international classification of sleep disorders. Subjects were dichotomized into those who reported any characteristics of insomnia or those who had no insomnia during the preceding two weeks. Results: Insomnia was found in 100(65.4%) of 153 patients. No statistical differences were found between the patients with and without insomnia in terms of age, gender, education, marital status, mean duration of hemodialysis and all considered laboratory findings except serum albumin. The patients with insomnia had significantly higher BDI score and predialysis systolic blood pressure, and lower serum albumin as compared to non-insomnia group. Significant differences were found between two groups in terms of self-perceived distress such as sadness, anxiety, worry, pruritus, and dysfunction of daily life. The data showed statistically significant correlation between insomnia severity and some variables such as physical dysfunction, pruritus, bone pain, sadness, anxiety, worry, dysfunction of daily life and excessive daytime sleepiness. The patients with insomnia had significantly several dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep than those without insomnia. Conclusion: These results indicate that insomnia is very common in hemodialysis patients and likely contribute to the impaired quality of life experienced by many these patients. The author suggests that physical and psychological distresses would be reduced and the quality of life could be improved if their sleep disturbances are properly ameliorated in patients on hemodialysis.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.1234-1244
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• 2013

This study aimed to analyze the ten years cancer incidence based on diagnosis years 2000-2009, and to evaluate the quality of cancer registry in Daejeon City and Chungcheongnam-Do, Korea. Crude incidence rate and age-standardized incidence rate (ASR) in these two regions were compared, and validity of incidence data was assessed by three indicators; age unknown (Age UNK%), histological verification (HV%), and death certificate only (DCO%). Mortality/incidence ratio (M/I ratio) was used to evaluate completeness of incidence data. Incidence rate differences were assessed using Poission distribution and calculated their 95% confidence interval of ASR, and those by sex, age, and region were compared by incidence rate curve. As a result, the highest cancer site during 2000-2009 was stomach in both regions, and incidence prpportion were 18.8% in Daejeon, 21.5% in Chungnam. The overall cancer incidence was higher in males than in females, and ASR of total cancer in Daejeon increased 0.6% (from 322.1 to 323.9 per 100,000) for men and 60.3% (from 203.9 to 326.8) for women, that in Chungnam increased 14.3% (from 294.7 to 336.9) for men and 70.7% (from 156.5 to 267.1) for women. The Age UNK% during 2000-2009 were 0.0% in both regions. MV% for men was increased from 71.8% to 88.5% and that for women was increased from 78.1% to 93.2%. DCO% for men was decreased from 6.4% to 0.7% and that for women was decreased from 5.4% to 0.8%. M/I ratio was ranged from 15.3% to 62.1% and can be evaluated fairy good registration.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.620-627
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• 2010

The study purpose was to investigate correlations among dietary habits score, life stress score and health-related quality of life (HRQL) score for female college students with functional constipation (FC). The data were collected in 2008 from 265 female college students: 86 with FC and 179 without FC. The diagnosis of FC was based on the Rome II criteria, and life stress and HRQL were assessed using self-administered life stress questionnaire and SF-36, respectively. The correlations among dietary habit score, life stress score, and HRQL score were evaluated. The averages of age, height, weight, body fat percentage and body mass index (BMI) of female college students were 20.8 years, 160.9 cm, 53.7 kg, 27.8%, and $20.7\;kg/m^2$, respectively. The average dietary habit score of "having meals with diverse foods" was significantly lower in the FC group than in the normal group (p < 0.05). The average faculty problem (p < 0.05), grade problem (p < 0.05), economy problem (p < 0.05), value problem (p < 0.05), and total stress (p < 0.01) scores of the FC group were significantly higher than those of the normal group. The average HRQL score was 70.4 in the FC group and 74.3 in the normal group (p < 0.05). There were significantly negative correlations between total stress score and total food habits score (r = -0.221; p < 0.01) and HRQL score (r = -0.539; p < 0.01) in the FC. These results suggest that female students with FC are highly perceptive to stress and have low HRQL. In addition, female students with FC may require nutritional education about eating diversity.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.129-155
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• 2008

The rate of antibiotics prescription for an acute airway infection significantly varies depending upon the diagnosis type, specialty, and the location of the hospital along with many other related factors. The objective of this study is to empirically investigate the possible relationship between the antibiotics prescription rates for an acute airway infection and the degree of competition in the hospital market regions of mainly the providers of primary medical care services such as clinics, internal medicines, pediatrics and otorhinolaryngology department. Using the data from Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) regarding the hospitals' antibiotics prescription rates for the acute airway infection and controlling for selected variables of demand and supply sectors, this study tries to figure out that the degree of competition in the hospital market, regardless of what type of competition indexes we employed, has a statistically significant effect on the variations of antibiotics prescription rate of the clinics in local areas. This result implies that as an economic consideration itself, the change in the degree of competition in the hospital market can play a crucial role influencing the treatment behaviors of the medical doctors. More specifically, this study reveals that as the degree of competition increases the antibiotics prescription rate goes up. This result means that if the market becomes more competitive in a specific region so that it might cause a reduction in doctor's income, doctors with rational decision-making process, recognize that the benefit created from inducing patients' seemingly unnecessary demand for medical care (income effect) would be higher than the costs associated with sustaining their targeted income (substitution effect). It is because that the doctors are more likely to prescribe antibiotics which create relatively higher margins than other medical care services in order to sustain their targeted income when the hospital market competition becomes tighter. Even though this study empirically confirms that antibiotics prescription can be affected by the economic incentives, it still raises following issues as limitations of the study: first issue is about the representativeness of the hospital regions segregated for this study, which might be weak in explaining whether these regions are mutually exclusive in reality. Patients actually consider the quality of services, transportation cost, time costs, and any other related factors choosing the doctors or hospitals, and in that sense, this study rules out 'border-crossing' in using the medical care services. Second issue arises in capturing the data of antibiotics prescription rate. Since we use the average rate for each medical institution, we cannot figure out the average rate for each patient so that we are not able to control for the variation of patients' medical conditions. It is because of the unavailability of data regarding each patient's medical condition from HIRA. Thirdly, since this study mainly analyzes the medical institutions providing primary care such as clinics, internal medicines, pediatrics, and otorhinolaryngology department, it is skeptical of whether those institutions can represent the hospital market in respective regions and truly reflect the degree of competition. It needs to extend the study areas and disease types as well as any micro data for future studies.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.269-275
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• 2008

Although MR imaging is generally applicable to depict knee joint deterioration it, is sometimes occurred to mis-read and mis-diagnose the common knee joint diseases. In this study, we employed magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) method to improve the diagnosis of the various knee joint diseases. Spin-echo (SE) T2-weighted images (TR/TE 3,400-3,500/90-100 ms) were obtained in seven cases of knee joint deterioration, FSE T2-weighted images (TR/TE 4,500-5,000/100-108 ms) were obtained in seven cases of knee joint deterioration, gradient-echo (GRE) T2-weighted images (TR/TE 9/4.56/$50^{\circ}$ flip angle, NEX 1) were obtained in 3 cases of knee joint deterioration, In six cases of knee joint deterioration, fat suppression was performed using a T2-weighted short T1/tau inverse recovery (STIR) sequence (TR/TE =2,894-3,215 ms/70 ms, NEX 3, ETL 9). Calculation of MTR for individual pixels was performed on registration of unsaturated and saturated images. After processing to make MTR images, the images were displayed in gray color. For improving diagnosis, three-dimensional isotropic volume images, the MR tristimulus color mapping and the MTR map was employed. MTR images showed diagnostic images quality to assess the patients' pathologies. The intensity difference between MTR images and conventional MRI was seen on the color bar. The profile graph on MTR imaging effect showed a quantitative measure of the relative decrease in signal intensity due to the MT pulse. To diagnose the pathologies of the knee joint, the profile graph data was shown on the image as a small cross. The present study indicated that MTR images in the knee joint were feasible. Investigation of physical change on MTR imaging enables to provide us more insight in the physical and technical basis of MTR imaging. MTR images could be useful for rapid assessment of diseases that we examine unambiguous contrast in MT images of knee disorder patients.