• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.49-57
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• 2023

Purpose : This study aimed to systematically review the correlation between hand dexterity and cognitive function in the elderly, and summarize various evaluation tests and results analysis methods for manual dexterity tests applied to this population. Methods : We searched published studies in the Korean Studies Information Service System and PubMed databases from January 2013 to March 2023. The main keywords used were "dexterity," "fine motor," "elderly," "cognitive function," and "correlation." A total of 10 studies were selected for analysis from the 1,524 searched articles. The included studies consisted of a cohort study, a longitudinal study, and eight cross-sectional studies which were analyzed for patients, intervention, comparison, and outcomes. Results : Analyzing the qualitative level of 10 studies, 8 articles (80%) were non-randomized two-group studies that provided level II evidence whereas the remaining 2 studies (20%) were non-randomized single-group studies (level III evidence). Therefore, these results indicated that the level of evidence in this field is generally high. The Purdue pegboard test was the most commonly used evaluation test for manual dexterity, and velocity speed was the most frequently employed analysis method. Results indicated that there were significant differences in manual dexterity test between the normal elderly, those with mild cognitive impairment, or dementia. Conclusions : These results can be used as a basis for selecting dexterity test evaluation items and methods to analyze it in the elderly while screening for cognitive impairment. In addition, this study highlights potential areas for future research on the development of manual dexterity evaluation tools and techniques for analysis and the need for more reliable and valid methods for assessing cognitive function in the elderly.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.201-201
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• 2023

Objectives: Cupping therapy (CT) has been widely used in traditional medicine worldwide for various indications, including stroke. The aim of this study was to systematically review the clinical evidence of CT for stroke. Methods: To identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting the effectiveness and/or safety of CT, seven databases including PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library were searched for articles published from January 2000 to February 2021 without language restrictions. Meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.4 software and the results were presented as mean difference (MD) or standard mean difference (SMD) for continuous variables and odds ratio (OR) for diverse variables with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Assessment of the methodological quality of the eligible trials was conducted using the Cochrane Collaboration tool for risk of bias in RCTs. Results: Twenty-two RCTs with 1653 participants were included in the final analysis. CT provided additional benefit in improving upper limb motor function (Fugl-Meyer assessment for upper limb motor function, MD 6.91, 95% CI 4.64 to 1.67, P<0.00001) and spasticity (response rate, OR 3.28, 95% CI 1.31 to 8.22, P=0.08) in stroke survivors receiving conventional medical treatment. These findings were supported with a moderate level of evidence. CT did not significantly increase the occurrence of adverse events. Conclusions: This study demonstrated the potential of CT to be beneficial in managing a variety of complications in stroke survivors. However, to compensate for the shortcomings of the existing evidence, rigorously designed large-scale RCTs are warranted in the future.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.89-107
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• 2024

Objective: This systematic review aimed to provide a comparative analysis of the treatment outcomes, including hard and soft tissues, postoperative stability, temporomandibular disorders (TMD), and quality of life (QoL), in patients with facial asymmetry who underwent orthognathic surgery. Methods: The primary objective was to address the question, "How do different factors related to surgery affect the outcomes and stability of orthognathic surgery in the correction of facial asymmetry?" A meta-analysis was conducted on the outcome parameters, such as skeletal, dental, and soft tissue symmetry, TMD, QoL, and relapse, using the Hartung-Knapp-Sidik-Jonkman method for random-effects models. Subgroup analyses were conducted considering surgery-related factors such as surgical techniques (one-jaw vs. two-jaw), use of the surgery-first approach, utilization of computer simulation, and analytical methods employed to evaluate asymmetry (2D vs. 3D). Results: Forty-nine articles met the inclusion criteria. The metaanalysis demonstrated a significant improvement in the symmetry of hard and soft tissues. The subgroup analysis indicated that the treatment outcomes showed significant improvement, regardless of the factors related to surgery. Changes in TMD signs and symptoms varied according to the surgical technique used. Quality of life improved in the facial, oral, and social domains. Skeletal relapse was observed during the follow-up. Conclusions: Our findings support the positive outcomes of orthognathic surgery in the treatment of facial asymmetry in terms of skeletal and soft tissue improvements, stability, relief of TMD symptoms, and enhancement of QoL. However, most of the included studies showed a low certainty of evidence and high heterogeneity.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.605-613
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• 2014

Epistemic uncertainty, the lack of knowledge, is often more important than aleatory uncertainty, variability, in estimating reliability of a system. While the probability theory is widely used for modeling aleatory uncertainty, there is no dominant approach to model epistemic uncertainty. Different approaches have been developed to handle epistemic uncertainties using various theories, such as probability theory, fuzzy sets, evidence theory and possibility theory. However, since these methods are developed from different statistics theories, it is difficult to interpret the result from one method to the other. The goal of this paper is to compare different methods in handling epistemic uncertainty in the view point of calculating the probability of failure. In particular, four different methods are compared; the probability method, the combined distribution method, interval analysis method, and the evidence theory. Characteristics of individual methods are compared in the view point of reliability analysis.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Sensory Integration
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.48-59
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• 2022

Objective : This study was intended to systematically consider the sensory integration intervention methods offered in Korea for children with autism spectrum disorder and to provide an evidence base for the application of sensory integration interventions. Methods : The subjects of this study were published studies in a national journal for the last 10 years from January 2011 to December 2020. The databases used for the search were RISS and DBpia. The search terms were 'autism', 'autism spectrum', 'sensory integration', and 'intervention'. A total of 10 studies were used in the analysis, which were analyzed at the qualitative and methodological quality of the research evidence and the results were presented according to the PICO (Patient, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome). Results : In the research analysis, the quality level of the evidence was highest at level IV, followed by level II. The methodological quality of the evidence was the most common for 'Good' research, followed 'Fair'. The study subjects were children with autism spectrum disorder and their parents, and the experimental design had the highest frequency of single-subject studies. Interventions have the highest number of studies confirming adaptive behavior and sensory modulation, and the evaluation tools used to measure interventions have the highest frequency of sensory profiles and Canadian occupational performance measures (COPM). All 10 studies used in the analysis showed positive improvements and statistically significant effects on various outcome values from sensory integration interventions. Conclusion : In the recent clinical environment, sensory integration interventions have been continuously conducted in children with autism spectrum disorder. In future research, it is necessary to conduct research on various sensory integration intervention methods and the high quality of the evidence for the application of sensory integration interventions.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.80-83
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• 1999

Recently, it has been possible to the alphoid gene, which has X and Y specificity, and determine the sex from human physical evidence using PCR methods. Samples from single sources, PCR method applied to the alphoid gene results in highly sensitive and accurate results even when only 60 pg of the genomic DNA was available for sex determination. Even for samples containing DNA from more than one gender source where the female DNA was present in the amount 10 times than that of the male, sex determination was possible. Therefore, this result suggests that alphoid gene, which has X and Y specificity, could be used effectively for sex determination in case of mixed DNA samples from biological evidence.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.13
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• pp.5565-5571
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• 2015

Background: Previous studies evaluating the association between the excision repair cross complementing group 5 (ERCC5) gene rs17655 polymorphism and colorectal cancer susceptibility generated controversial results. To generate large-scale evidence on whether the ERCC5 rs17655 polymorphism might indeed be associated with colorectal cancer susceptibility, the present meta-analysis was performed. Materials and Methods: Data were collected from PubMed, Embase and Web of Science, with the last report up to Apr 03, 2015. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of any association. Results: A total of nine studies including 5,102 cases and 6,326 controls based on the search criteria were included and significant associations were found between ERCC5 rs17655 polymorphism CG vs GG overall (OR = 1.29, 95% CI =1.18~1.40) and in the dominant model (OR=1.23, 95% CI =1.13~1.33). On subgroup analysis by ethnicity and source of controls, the ERCC5 rs17655 polymorphism was found to correlate with the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer among Asians and Caucasians and with hospital-based populations. Conclusions: This meta-analysis suggests that the ERCC5 rs17655 polymorphism might contribute to genetic susceptibility to colorectal cancer.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.343-350
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• 2021

Objective: The most common type of cancer in women is breast cancer, and pain in the upper extremity and trunk is a discomfort experienced by more than half. Based on the evidence that manual therapy is effective for pain control in postoperative rehabilitation, this study aims to analyze the effects of manual therapy on upper extremity pain and function in patients after breast cancer surgery. Design: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Embase, PEDro, and CINAHL databases until August 2021. We included randomized controlled trial evaluating pain and function in patients after breast cancer surgery. Qualitative analysis was performed using Cochrane's risk of bias tool, and quantitative analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 to analyze post-intervention outcomes. Results: Four randomized controlled trials were selected to evaluate the effects of upper extremity pain and function in 133 patients who underwent manual therapy after breast cancer surgery. In the results of qualitative and quantitative analysis, the experimental group treated with manual therapy showed a significant improvement in pain compared to the control group (-0.62; 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.97 to -0.27). However, there was no significant improvement in upper extremity function (-0.09; 95% CI -0.43 to 0.25). Conclusions: Current evidence shows that manual therapy is effective for pain control in patients who complain of upper extremity pain after breast cancer surgery.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.5.1-5.22
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• 2023

This systematic review and network meta-analysis aimed to answer the following focused research question: "Does the type of endodontic sealer affect the postoperative pain in patients who received endodontic treatment?" Different databases and grey literature were surveyed. Only one randomized controlled trial were included. The risk of bias in the studies was evaluated by using the Cochrane Collaboration's tool. A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted to compare the risk and intensity of postoperative pain. The quality of the body of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach. Out of 11,601 studies, 15 remained for qualitative analyses and 12 for meta-analysis. Seven studies were classified at high risk of bias, and 8 studies raised some concerns. No significant differences between the endodontic materials were observed in the direct comparisons, both in risk and in intensity of postoperative pain (pairwise comparisons with 2 studies: I² = 0%; p > 0.05 and 8 studies: I² = 23%; p > 0.05, respectively). The certainty of the evidence was graded as low or moderate. There was no difference in the risk and intensity of postoperative pain after filling with different endodontic sealers. Further systematic reviews should be conducted.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.419-440
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• 2006

This article synthesizes the literature on the meteorology, experimental simulation, and wind engineering ramifications of intense downburst outflows. A novel design of a large-scale test facility and experimental evidence of its validity are presented. A two-dimensional slot jet is used to simulate only the outflow region of a downburst. Profiles of mean velocity and turbulence quantities are acquired using hot-wire anemometry. Comparison with the literature provides empirical evidence that supports the current approach. A geometric analysis considers the validity of applying a two-dimensional approximation for downburst wind loading of structures. This analysis is applicable to power transmission lines in particular. The slot jet concept can be implemented in a large boundary layer wind tunnel to enable large-scale laboratory experiments of thunderstorm wind loads on structures.