• Clinical Nutrition Research
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.74-87
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• 2024

Since the effects of cinnamon supplementation on lipid profiles are still controversial, this study conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to assess the effect of cinnamon supplementation on lipid profiles. The study was designed and conducted according to the guidelines of the 2020 preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) statements. A systematic and comprehensive search was performed in several databases from inception up to 11 November 2023. The meta-analysis on the impact of Cinnamon on lipid profiles indicates a non-significant overall effect on low-density lipoprotein (weighted mean differences [WMD], -2.48; 95% confidence interval [CI], -9.70, 4.72). However, significant reductions are seen with doses < 500 mg/day (-10.26), and non-significant increases with doses ≥ 500 mg/day (1.18). The overall effect on high-density lipoprotein is non-significant (WMD, 3.97; 95% CI, -7.877, 15.831), showing varying responses at different doses. Triglycerides exhibit a significant overall reduction (WMD, -6.88; 95% CI, -12.62, -1.15), particularly in the < 500 mg/day group. The overall effect on cholesterol is non-significant (WMD, -4.314; 95% CI, -15.011, 6.384), with diverse responses at different doses. High heterogeneity underlines the importance of standardized study designs and further exploration of dosage-specific effects. Findings from this study suggest that cinnamon supplements might be beneficial to modulate the blood lipid profile.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.186-197
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• 2018

This study was a systematic review and meta-analysis designed to investigate the effects of physical activity programs on sleep among community-dwelling elders in Korea. Based on the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) guidelines, research articles published until November 20, 2016 were systematically analyzed and a total of seven papers were finally selected. Meta-analysis of the studies was conducted using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis 3.0. The results showed that the total effect of the physical activity program for elderly people, such as healing yoga, aerobic dance, aquarobics, Korean dance, BeHas exercise, exercise programs and Tai Chi exercise on sleep was Hedges' g=0.577 (95% CI: 0.337-0.817) The BeHas exercise program had the largest effect size on elderly's sleep, with a Hedges' g=0.758 (95% CI: 0.248-1.267). This was followed by the Tai Chi exercise program (Hedges' g=0.697; 95% CI: 0.071-1.324) and the exercise program (Hedges' g=0.650; 95% CI: 0.141-1.159). Therefore, when applying nursing interventions to improve quality of sleep of elderly people living in the community, it would be helpful to apply the BeHas exercise and the Tai Chi exercise, which have a positive effect on sleep of the elderly.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.385-396
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• 2014

Objectives: By conducting a meta-analysis of cohort studies reporting standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for workers exposed to trichloroethylene, we attempted to adjust for healthy hired effect by applying the same methods as described in a recent report from the Agricultural Health Study. Methods: Among all cohort studies that evaluated the association between all cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), kidney cancer, liver cancer and occupational exposure to trichloroethylene, a total of 10 studies reporting SMR values were selected. A random-effects model was used to estimate the summary SMRs or rSMRs and 95% confidence intervals. Relative SMR ($rSMR=SMR_x/SMR_{not\;x}$) was calculated comparing observed and expected counts for all cancer, NHL, kidney cancer, and liver cancer with an independent referent set of values consisting of the observed and expected counts for other causes. Results: The SMR values for all causes ranged from 0.68 to 1.03, suggesting moderate to weak healthy worker effect for the selected studies. When the healthy worker hire effect was taken into account, the summarized risk became statistically significant; the summary SMR of all cancer was 0.95 (0.91-1.00) and the summary rSMR of all cancer was 1.10 (1.04-1.15). The summary SMR of NHL was 1.04 (0.93-1.14) and the summary rSMR of NHL was 1.23 (1.04-1.46). The summary SMR of kidney cancer was 1.08 (0.88-1.33) and the summary rSMR of kidney cancer was 1.23 (1.02-1.49). The summary SMR of liver cancer was 0.88 (0.78-0.99), and the summary rSMR of liver cancer was 0.95 (0.84-1.07). Conclusion: The rSMR method is useful to determine summary risk adjusted for healthy worker effect through meta-analysis.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.101-134
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• 2024

Objectives The purpose of this study is to observe the effectiveness of acupotomy treatment for lateral epicondylitis by comparing it with various control groups. Methods We searched 11 domestic and international databases for systematic reviews and meta-analysis. The subjects were studies published from January 1, 2017 to September 1, 2023, and only randomised controlled trials were included. Results 208 studies were searched, of which 21 studies were finally selected. Among the studies published after 2017, the largest number of studies was published in 2019. The average number of participants per study was 72.28±20.26 and the average age was in the 40s. The most frequent intervention in the study was acupotomy alone, and the treatment most often mentioned as a control group was local nerve block. The most used evaluation tool is efficiency. Acupotomy+manipulation had statistically better effect than that of local nerve block in terms of pain (standard mean difference -1.87, 95% confidence interval, -2.18 to -1.57, p<0.00001) and elbow joint function (standard mean difference 2.25, 95% confidence interval, 1.65 to 2.86, p<0.00001). Conclusions As a result of the meta-analysis, the effect of acupotomy added manual therapy treatment was statistically significant compared to the local nerve block frequently used for lateral epicondylitis. Based on these results, it appears that more research on combination treatments other than acupotomy treatment will be needed. Also, it appears that more large-scale randomized controlled studies that strictly adhere to the standards for reporting interventions in controlled trials of acupuncture, risk of bias 2 criteria will be needed.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.176-181
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• 2017

Objective: The timed up and go (TUG) test is method used to determine the functional mobility of persons with stroke. Its reliability, validity, reaction rate, fall prediction, and psychological characteristics concerning ambulation ability have been validated. However, the relationship between TUG performance and community ambulation ability is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the TUG performance time could indicate community ambulation levels (CAL) differentially in persons with chronic stroke. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Eighty-seven stroke patients had participated in this study. Based on the self-reporting survey results on the difficulties experienced when walking outdoors, the subjects were divided into the independent community ambulation (ICA) group (n=35) and the dependent community ambulation group (n=52). Based on the area under the curve (AUC), the discrimination validity of the TUG performance time was calculated for classifying CAL. The Binomial Logistic Regression Model was utilized to produce the likelihood ratio of selected TUG cut-off values for the distinguishing of community ambulation ability. Results: The selected TUG cut-off values and the area under the curve were <14.87 seconds (AUC=0.871, 95% confidence interval=0.797-0.945), representing a mid-level accuracy. Concerning the likelihood ratio of the selected TUG cut-off value, it was found that the group with TUG performance times shorter than 14.87 seconds showed a 2.889 times higher probability of ICA than those with a TUG score of 14.87 seconds or longer (p<0.05). Conclusions: The TUG can be viewed as an assessment tool that is capable of classifying CAL.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.127-132
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• 2004

Objectives : Cotinine, the major metabolite of nicotine, is a useful marker of exposure to tobacco smoke and self-reporting of smoking status is thought not to be reliable. This study aimed to evaluate the agreement between the smoking self-report among adolescents and the urinary cotinine test. Methods : The study subjects were 1226 middle and high school students in Hanam city, who were selected by stratified random sampling. The self-report about smoking behavior was compared with urine cotinine value measured with PBM $AccuSign^{\circledR}fi$ Nicotine(Princeton BioMeditech Corporation, USA). The percentage agreement, kappa and 95% confidence interval(CI) were calculated. Results : The overall percentage agreement was 88.6%, and those for boys, girls, middle school, general school and vocational school students were 87.3%, 90.1%, 93.7%, 85,5%, 90.7%, and 78.4%, respectively. The overall kappa index was 0.46(95% CI=0.39-0.54)for overall, .and those for boys, girls, middle school, general school and vocational school students were 0.56(95% CI=0.48-0.65), 0.20(95% CI=0.07-0.32), 0.21(95% CI=0.09-0.34), 0.55(95% CI=0.47-0.64), 0.42(95% CI=0.33-0.52), and 0.48(95% CI=0.36-0.60), respectively. Conclusion : The percentage agreement was relatively high but the kappa values very low for girls, and middle school students. Though the prevalence bias can be influenced by these results, the self-report was not a sufficient tool for the evaluation of adolescents' smoking status, especially in girls or middle school students.

• Korean Parent-Child Health Journal
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.144-159
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• 2004

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore mother's perception and practice of Taegyo. In addition, belief factors toward Taegyo oriented Korean mother-fetus interaction are identified in order to obtain baseline data for the development of Taegyo oriented program enhancing mother-fetus interaction. Method: The sample consisted to 186 pregnant women who visited public health center or hospital for prenatal care. Self-reporting questionnaire devised by investigator was used. Data were analyzed by SPSS win program and contents analysis was used. Result: Although mothers intended to a pregnancy, many of them were perceived negatively toward pregnancy. The study revealed that most of pregnant women continued cultural practices related to Taegyo, they focused on mother-fetus interaction behavior-such as listen to the music, reading a book, talk to fetus, stroke the fetus- with being altered traditional beliefs toward Taegyo or Taemong. Most of pregnant women had Taemong and believed a it's predictive functions. Beliefs toward mother-fetus interaction were classified to 6 factors, pregnancy, Taemong. fetus, practice behavior, infant's abilities and mother-fetus interaction behavior. The scores of belief toward mother-fetus interaction and each factors of pregnancy, fetus, practice behavior, infant's ability were statistically significant different depending upon husbands education. Also pregnancy factor in belief toward mother-fetus interaction was statistically significant different depending upon the number of children, child birth, experience of abortion, premature birth. Conclusion: Developing Taegyo oriented program enhancing the mother-fetus interaction need to include the elements of being facilitated maternal identity formation and maternal confidence for the pregnant women. In addition, it should be developed the program concerning with the characteristics of the pregnant women.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.595-600
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• 2015

Background: Accumulating evidence suggests that metformin possesses anticarcinogenic properties, and its use is associated with favorable outcomes in several cancers. However, it remains unclear whether metformin influences prognosis in prostate cancer (PCa) with concurrent type 2 diabetes (T2D). Materials and Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library from database inception to April 16, 2014 without language restrictions to identify studies investigating the effect of metformin treatment on outcomes of PCa with concurrent T2D. We conducted a meta-analysis to quantify the risk of recurrence, progression, cancer-specific mortality, and all-cause mortality. Summary relative risks (RRs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Publication bias was assessed by Begg's rank correlation test. Results: A total of eight studies fulfilled the eligibility criteria. We found that diabetic PCa patients who did not use metformin were at increased risk of cancer recurrence (RR, 1.20; 95%CI, 1.00-1.44), compared with those who used metformin. A similar trend was observed for other outcomes, but their relationships did not reach statistical significance. Funnel plot asymmetry was not observed among studies reporting recurrence (p=0.086). Conclusions: Our results suggest that metformin may improve outcomes in PCa patients with concurrent T2D. Well-designed large studies and collaborative basic research are warranted.

• International Journal of Reliability and Applications
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.27-39
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• 2006

Many real world cases in material failure analysis do not follow perfectly the normal distribution. Forcing of the normality assumption may lead to inaccurate predictions and poor product quality. We examine the failure process of the internal bond (IB or tensile strength) of medium density fiberboard (MDF). We propose a forced censoring technique that closer fits the lower tails of strength distributions and better estimates extremely smaller percentiles, which may be valuable to continuous quality improvement initiatives. Further analyses are performed to build an accelerated common-shaped Weibull model for different product types using the $JMP^{(R)}$ Survival and Reliability platform. In this paper, a forced censoring technique is implemented for the first time as a software module, using $JMP^{(R)}$ Scripting Language (JSL) to expedite data processing, which is crucial for real-time manufacturing settings. Also, we use JSL to automate the task of fitting an accelerated Weibull model and testing model homogeneity in the shape parameter. Finally, a package script is written to readily provide field engineers customized reporting for model visualization, parameter estimation, and percentile forecasting. Our approach may be more accurate for product conformance evaluation, plus help reduce the cost of destructive testing and data management due to reduced frequency of testing. It may also be valuable for preventing field failure and improved product safety even when destructive testing is not reduced by yielding higher precision intervals at the same confidence level.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.120-132
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• 2018

Purpose: This study is a systematic review and meta-analysis designed to investigate effects of alcohol management programs for Korean university students. Methods: Research results published until October 14, 2016 were systematically collected in accordance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis). A total of 12 papers were selected for the meta-analysis. To estimate the effect size, meta-analysis of the studies was performed with the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis 3.0. Results: The mean effect size of 12 studies in total (Hedges' g=-0.36; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: -0.76~0.05) was not significant statistically. In a study of college students classified as problematic drinking (total of 9), the drinking program showed a median effect size of Hedges' g=-0.57(95% CI: -0.96~-0.18). Results of the drinking-related outcome variables showed a significant effect size (Hedges' g=-0.61; 95% CI: -1.10~-0.13), but psychosocial related outcome variables were not significant (Hedges' g=-0.50; 95% CI: -1.24~0.23). Conclusion: It can be seen that the alcohol management program for college students has a significant effect on controlling the problem drinking of college students. In addition, application of a differentiated drinking program with problem drinkers selected as a risk group will be effective in controlling drinking and drinking related factors.