• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.77-88
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• 2004

Objectives ; This study was to investigate the anti-cancer effects of herbal acupuncture with distilled fresh ginseng. The herbal acupuncture was injected to Chung-wan($C.V_{12}$) and Wisu($BL_{21}$) of mice that were subjected to Sarcoma-180 adbominal cancer cell and A549 human epithelial lung cancer cells in vitro. Methods : Anti-cancer effects of distilled fresh ginseng herbal acupuncture were tested by measruing Cox, Bcl-2, and Bax by using RT-PCR in A549 human epithelial lung cancer cells in vitro. And four weeks old Balb/c line male mice weighing around $20\;{\pm}\;3g$ were used to measure survival rate and anti-cancer effect to outputs of interleukin-2 and interleukin-4 using flow cytometry, possibility of mRNA menifestation using RT-PCR, and Cox mRNA. The results are as follows. Results : 1. In measuring mRNA menifestation in Cox, Bcl-2, and Bax by using RT-PCR in A549 human epithelial lung cancer cells in vitro, the result showed that fresh ginseng decreased Cox-2 which is directly involved in Inflammation process. 2. Survival rate was measured in an anti-cancer effect experiment against Sarcoma-180 abdorminal cancer. Median survival time of controlled group was 27 days, of experiment group I was 21 days, and of experiment group II was 27 days. Therefore, experiment group I showed -22.2% increase in survival rate and experiment group II showed no difference compare to controlled group. 3. There was no difference between condition group and controlled and experiment group in measuring outputs of interleukin-2 and interleukin 4 by using flow cytometry 4. In measuring outputs of interleukin-2 by using ELISA, there was no significant difference between condition group and controlled group and there was decrease in experiment group II compared to conditioned and controlled group. 5. In measuring cytokine mRNA menifestation by using RT-PCR, experiment group I showed increase of mRNA menifestation in interleukin-2,4 and $interferon-{\gamma}$ and experiment group II showed no significant difference in $interferon-{\gamma}$. Conclusion : According to the results, fresh ginseng herbal-acupuncture took a little effects in cancer. In using distilled fresh ginseng herbal acupuncture has effect on Cox-2 decrease. However, the difference in concentration of fresh ginseng showed no effect on killing cancer cell. It is assumed that inaccurate concentration of herbal acupuncture and fresh ginseng component could be the reason for this result. Therefore, future consideration will be studies on herbal acupuncture concentration.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.93-100
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• 2010

Background: Auricular acupressure is one of the traditional health care treatments in oriental medicine. Approximately, 30~40% of the cancer patients have said to be suffering from insomnia and half of them having chronic and severe insomnia at the same time. Insomnia caused cancer patients feel more pain, fatigue, depression and anxiety and it sometimes let the power to have the best of cancer pull down. Objective: To investigate how effective the auricular acupressure treatment to cancer patients suffering from insomnia. Methods: We recruited participants from East-West Cancer Center of Daejeon University. Finally, of the people whose age range from 20 to 75, 12 patients who got less than 40 points from the score of Oh's sleeping score (OSS) were recruited. Single-blind, randomized pilot study was performed. The treatment group received auricular acupressure treatment (AAT) on active points and the control group had received sham acupressure treatment (SAT) for five times. Sleep parameters were checked by using OSS and numeric rating scale (NRS). We checked the scale everytime, both before and after treatment. We analyzed the data statistically by using independent T-test, paired T-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. (p<0.05) Results: Twelve cancer patients participated in this pilot study and there was no significant difference between control and treatment group. Only 7 of them had completed the whole treatment process, 4 patients of AAT group and 3 participants of SAT. The OSS of AAT group had increased from $34.0{\pm}4.3$ to $39.5{\pm}3.1$ and that of SAT group had increased from $38.3{\pm}3.5$ to $40.0{\pm}0.0$. There was no significant difference between them. The NRS of AAT group had increased from $6.3{\pm}2.9$, $04.8{\pm}2.1$ and that of SAT group had increased from $7.0{\pm}1.0$ to $5.0{\pm}2.6$. No significant difference was observed between them. Conclusion: Although both groups did not show significant differences, most of the experimental participants showed increasing OSS and NRS after treatments. Significant participants' number will be needed in the next study.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.18-25
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• 2018

Objective: D-galactose (D-gal) is well-known agent to induce aging process. In the present study, we selected crocin, the main constituent of Crocus sativus L. (saffron), against D-gal- induced cytotoxicity in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. Methods: Pretreated cells with crocin ($25-500{\mu}M$, 24 h) were exposed to D-gal (25-400 mM, 48 h). The MTT assay was used for determination cell viability. Dichlorofluorescin diacetate assay (DCF-DA) and senescence associated ${\beta}$-galactosidase staining assay (SA-${\beta}$-gal) were used to evaluate the generation of reactive oxygen species and beta-galactosidase as an aging marker, respectively. Also advanced glycation end products (AGEs) expression which is known as the main mechanism of age-related diseases was measured by western blot analysis. Results: The findings of our study showed that treatment of cells with D-gal (25-400 mM) for 48h decreased cell viability concentration dependency. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels which are known as main factors in age-related diseases increased from $100{\pm}8%$ in control group to $132{\pm}22%$ in D-gal (200 mM) treated cells for 48h. The cytotoxic effects of D-gal decreased with 24h crocin pretreatment of cells. The cell viability at concentrations of $100{\mu}M$, $200{\mu}M$ and $500{\mu}M$ increased and ROS production decreased at concentrations of 200 and $500{\mu}M$ to $111.5{\pm}6%$ and $108{\pm}5%$, respectively. Also lysosomal biomarker of aging and carboxymethyl lysine (CML) expression as an AGE protein, significantly increased in D-gal 200 mM group after 48h incubation compare to control group. Pre-treatment of SHSY-5Y cells with crocin ($500{\mu}M$) before adding D-gal significantly reduced aging marker and CML formation. Conclusion: Treatment of SH-SY5Y cells with crocin before adding of D-gal restored aging effects of D-gal concentration dependency. These findings indicate that crocin has potent anti- aging effects through inhibition of AGEs and ROS production.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.15-24
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• 2008

Objective The aim of this study is to investigate if Sweet Bee Venom(SBV) Therapy has the equal effect in comparison with Bee Venom (BV) Therapy on Chronic Lower Back Pain. Methods Clinical studies were conducted to 39 patients who were treated Chronic Lower Back Pain in Dept. of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Dongeui University from March 1 to June 30, 2008. Subjects were randomly devided into 2 groups : BV treated group(Group A, n=19), SBV treated group(Group B, n=20) In BV treated group(Group A), we treated patients with dry needle acupuncture and BV Therapy. In SBV treated group(Group B), we treated patients with dry needle acupuncture and SBV Therapy. All process of treatment were performed by double blinding method. 1. To estimate the efficacy of venom in controlling pain, we have checked Visual Analog Scale(VAS). 2. For evaluating functional changes of patients, we have checked Oswestry Lower Back Disability Questionnaire(ODI). 3. To estimate Itching which is the most prominent symptom of allergic reaction, we have checked Visual Analog Scale(VAS). Results 1. In controlling pain, the results of BV treated group(Group A) is more effective than that of SBV treated group(Group B). 2. In promoting function, the results of BV treated group (Group A) is more effective than that of SBV treated group(Group B). 3. In controlling itching, the results of SBV treated group(Group B) is more effective than that of BV treated group(Group A). Conclusions According to the study, SBV Therapy shows more effective result than BV Therapy in controlling itching. But BV Therapy is more effective than SBV Therapy in controlling pain and promoting function.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.7-18
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• 2015

Objectives: Lawsone (1,4 naphthoquinone) is a non redox cycling compound that can be catalyzed by DT diaphorase (DTD) into 1,2,4-trihydroxynaphthalene (THN), which can generate reactive oxygen species by auto oxidation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the toxicity of the phytomarker 1,4 naphthoquinone and its metabolite THN by using the molecular docking program AutoDock 4. Methods: The 3D structure of ligands such as hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$), nitric oxide synthase (NOS), catalase (CAT), glutathione (GSH), glutathione reductase (GR), glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate hydrogen (NADPH) were drawn using hyperchem drawing tools and minimizing the energy of all pdb files with the help of hyperchem by $MM^+$ followed by a semi-empirical (PM3) method. The docking process was studied with ligand molecules to identify suitable dockings at protein binding sites through annealing and genetic simulation algorithms. The program auto dock tools (ADT) was released as an extension suite to the python molecular viewer used to prepare proteins and ligands. Grids centered on active sites were obtained with spacings of $54{\times}55{\times}56$, and a grid spacing of 0.503 was calculated. Comparisons of Global and Local Search Methods in Drug Docking were adopted to determine parameters; a maximum number of 250,000 energy evaluations, a maximum number of generations of 27,000, and mutation and crossover rates of 0.02 and 0.8 were used. The number of docking runs was set to 10. Results: Lawsone and THN can be considered to efficiently bind with NOS, CAT, GSH, GR, G6PDH and NADPH, which has been confirmed through hydrogen bond affinity with the respective amino acids. Conclusion: Naphthoquinone derivatives of lawsone, which can be metabolized into THN by a catalyst DTD, were examined. Lawsone and THN were found to be identically potent molecules for their affinities for selected proteins.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.27-37
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• 2024

Objectives: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a prevalent mental health condition, and techniques using sensory stimulation in processing traumatic memories have gained attention. The Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) is a psychotherapy that combines tapping on acupoints with exposure to cognitive reframing. This pilot study aimed to assess the feasibility of EFT as a treatment for PTSD by answering the following research questions: 1) What is the compliance and completion rate of patients with PTSD with regard to EFT protocol? Is the dropout rate reasonable? 2) Is the effect size of EFT protocol for PTSD sufficient to justify a future trial? Methods: Thirty participants diagnosed with PTSD were recruited. They received weekly EFT sessions for five weeks, in which they repeated a statement acknowledging the problem and accepting themselves while tapping the SI3 acupoint on the side of their hand. PTSD symptoms were evaluated using the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) before and after the intervention. Results: Of the 30 PTSD patients (mean age: 34.1 ± 9.1, 80% female), 96.7% showed over 80% compliance to the EFT sessions, and 86.7% completed the entire study process. The mean PCL-5 total score decreased significantly after the intervention, with a large effect size (change from baseline: -14.33 [95% CI: -19.79, -8.86], p < 0.0001, d = 1.06). Conclusion: The study suggests that EFT is a feasible treatment for PTSD, with high session compliance and low dropout rates. The effect size observed in this study supports the need for a larger trial in the future to further investigate EFT as a treatment for PTSD. However, the lack of a control group and the use of a self-rated questionnaire for PTSD symptoms are limitations of this study. The findings of this pilot study can be used to plan a future trial.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.163-179
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• 2010

Recentlythe concept of fast fashion is drawing attention as customer needs are diversified and supply lead time is getting shorter in fashion industry. It is emphasized as one of the critical success factors in the fashion industry how quickly and efficiently to satisfy the customer needs as the competition has intensified. Because the fast fashion is inherently susceptible to trend, it is very important for fashion retailers to make quick decisions regarding items to launch, quantity based on demand prediction, and the time to respond. Also the planning decisions must be executed through the business processes of procurement, production, and logistics in real time. In order to adapt to this trend, the fashion industry urgently needs supports from intelligent quick response(QR) system. However, the traditional functions of QR systems have not been able to completely satisfy such demands of the fast fashion industry. This paper proposes an intelligent quick response system for the fast fashion(IQRS-FF). Presented are models for QR process, QR principles and execution, and QR quantity and timing computation. IQRS-FF models support the decision makers by providing useful information with automated and rule-based algorithms. If the predefined conditions of a rule are satisfied, the actions defined in the rule are automatically taken or informed to the decision makers. In IQRS-FF, QRdecisions are made in two stages: pre-season and in-season. In pre-season, firstly master demand prediction is performed based on the macro level analysis such as local and global economy, fashion trends and competitors. The prediction proceeds to the master production and procurement planning. Checking availability and delivery of materials for production, decision makers must make reservations or request procurements. For the outsourcing materials, they must check the availability and capacity of partners. By the master plans, the performance of the QR during the in-season is greatly enhanced and the decision to select the QR items is made fully considering the availability of materials in warehouse as well as partners' capacity. During in-season, the decision makers must find the right time to QR as the actual sales occur in stores. Then they are to decide items to QRbased not only on the qualitative criteria such as opinions from sales persons but also on the quantitative criteria such as sales volume, the recent sales trend, inventory level, the remaining period, the forecast for the remaining period, and competitors' performance. To calculate QR quantity in IQRS-FF, two calculation methods are designed: QR Index based calculation and attribute similarity based calculation using demographic cluster. In the early period of a new season, the attribute similarity based QR amount calculation is better used because there are not enough historical sales data. By analyzing sales trends of the categories or items that have similar attributes, QR quantity can be computed. On the other hand, in case of having enough information to analyze the sales trends or forecasting, the QR Index based calculation method can be used. Having defined the models for decision making for QR, we design KPIs(Key Performance Indicators) to test the reliability of the models in critical decision makings: the difference of sales volumebetween QR items and non-QR items; the accuracy rate of QR the lead-time spent on QR decision-making. To verify the effectiveness and practicality of the proposed models, a case study has been performed for a representative fashion company which recently developed and launched the IQRS-FF. The case study shows that the average sales rateof QR items increased by 15%, the differences in sales rate between QR items and non-QR items increased by 10%, the QR accuracy was 70%, the lead time for QR dramatically decreased from 120 hours to 8 hours.