• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.233-241
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• 2022

Objectives: Asthma is a chronic disease, and the demand for herbal medicines in this field has increased in recent years. The new findings highlight the role of the gut-lung axis in the pathophysiology of asthma. Hence, this study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of Glasthma syrup, an herbal formula based on Persian medicine, in improving asthma and regulating intestinal permeability. The formula consists of five herbal ingredients that have anti-inflammatory effects on the respiratory tract, also known as gut tonics. Methods: The study will be conducted as a placebo-controlled, triple-blind, randomized trial. It will consist of a 4-week intervention followed by a 4-week follow-up period. The target sample size is 20 patients with moderate asthma aged 18 to 60 years. Eligible participants will be randomly assigned to either the experimental group or the control group in equal numbers. Patients in the experimental group will take Glasthma syrup (7.5 mL, twice a day), while patients in the control group will take a matching placebo. Both groups will receive a 4-week combination of a long-acting beta2 agonist and a leukotriene modulator as standard of care. Inhaled corticosteroids can be used as rescue medication as needed. Results: The primary outcomes are asthma symptom scale, lung function, and intestinal permeability. Secondary outcomes include quality of life, symptom recurrence rates, and blood tests. A safety assessment will also be conducted during the trial. Conclusion: In this trial, the effects of Glasthma syrup in patients with moderate asthma will be examined. The study will also assess the effects of the formulation on the gut-lung axis by simultaneously monitoring the gut permeability index, asthma symptoms, and lung function.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.7-22
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• 2022

Objectives : This study was a systematic review of tongue movements in stroke patients with dysphagia. This study aimed to provide a basis for verifying the effects of tongue movement and identifying the tendency of tongue movement. Methods : A systematic review was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist and flow chart. PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, RISS, and e-articles databases were searched. A total of six documents were investigated, and the PEDro scale was used to evaluate the quality of the papers. Results : Three intervention methods were included in the six papers analyzed. Regarding the type of tongue exercise, three TPRT (Tongue to Palate Resistance Trainings) and two TSAT (Tongue Strength and Accuracy Training) were mediated through the IOPI (Iowa Oral Performance Instrument), and only one study applied TSE (Tongue Stretching Exercise). The treatment effects for each intervention implemented in the literature were confirmed to be effective. However, generalizability of findings is difficult because of the small sample size. Further, no significant difference was found between the experimental and control groups. Conclusions : This study can help occupational therapists provide efficient swallowing rehabilitation treatment by applying tongue exercises to stroke patients with dysphagia. More research should be conducted to determine the effects of tongue exercise.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.287-297
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• 2021

The goal of this study is to investigate and provide information to the Fintech Industry on the main factors responsible for customer loyalty via the mediating effect of customer satisfaction. Secondly, providing traditional banking reasons for customer shifts from banking to Fintech, therefore these factors could be more focused. The consumer choices presented in this study can thus serve as a foundation for further research into post-adoption behaviors associated with Fintech for cross-border payments. This study examines consumer evaluations of how key attributes of fintech using mobile payment services affect their choice by using a conjoint analysis approach, which allows for the approximation of user preferences for specific features. In our study we have used SPSS 26 to test the reliability and mediation effect on the sample size of 348 people who regularly used Fintech for cross border payments. All the questionnaires were prepared if the customers were given fintech as an option instead of traditional banks to send their remittances abroad. The result shows that(Service Quality, Customer's trust and product quality) effecting customer satisfaction significantly would be very helpful for the current fintechs working for home remittances to improve these factors and would serve as a benchmark for the upcoming fintech startups and traditional banks to focus on these factors and catch up the fintech Industry. Finally, it is argued that, in order to be successful, focusing on service quality, customer trust, and product quality triggered customer loyalty for the Fintech in comparison to other traditional options for cross-border payments via the mediation effect of customer satisfaction.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.77-90
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• 2022

This study seeks to develop a stretch sensor for measuring the wrist movements of people using fishing lures. In order to confirm wrist movement, a stretch sensor was attached to the wrist band, and measurements of the dorsiflexion, plantar flexion, and fishing landing motion were measured using a scale to gauge factor, tensile strength, and elongation recovery rate. A conductive sensor using CNT dispersion was developed and applied to the E-band under the same conditions. A total of 15 sensors of the same size and five types of impregnation once, twice, and three times each were used to measure the gauge factor using UTM. The sensor that was impregnated twice had the best gauge rate, and the prototypes were manufactured with three sensors with high gauge rates and tensile strength. The results of the operation test conducted by connecting to the Arduino showed that Sample 1, which had the highest tensile strength and gauge factor, had a stable graph wavelength in three operations. Samples 2 and 3 showed stable wavelengths in the dorsiflexion and the plantar flexion; however, signal noise appeared in the fishing landing motion. This showed stable wavelengths in the two motions, but the wavelengths of the graphs differ depending on the tensile strength and gauge factor in the fishing landing motion. As a result, it was possible to identify the conditions necessary for manufacturing a stretch sensor for measuring wrist movement. This study will contribute to the development of smart wearable products for lure fishing.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.64 no.3
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• pp.574-587
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• 2022

This study was performed to development the alternative farrowing pen (AFP) and to investigate performance and behavior of lactating sows and their litter. A total of 64 multiparous sows were randomly divided into two groups and were allocated to farrowing crates (FCs) and AFPs. The AFPs contained a crate and support bars that could be folded to provide the sows with extra space on day 5 postpartum. Behavior was recorded by charge-coupled device cameras and digital video recorders, and the data were scanned every 2 min to obtain an instantaneous behavioral sample. Farrowing systems did not affect feed intake, back-fat thickness, litter size and piglet weight at birth and weaning (p > 0.05). In addition, there were no differences in the number of crushed piglets between the two farrowing systems (p > 0.05). However, the weaning-to-estrus interval was shorter in the sows of the AFPs than in thous of the FCs (p < 0.05). The sows spent most of their time lying down during the lactating period, at about 80% lateral recumbency and 10%-15% ventral recumbency. The only significant differences were in the feeding and drinking behavior between sows in the two farrowing systems (p < 0.05). The FC sows displayed more feeding and drinking behavior than the AFP sows, especially in the late lactating period (p < 0.05). Piglets in the FCs tended to spend more time walking than piglets in the AFPs (p < 0.05), whereas there were no differences in suckling and lying behavior between piglets in the two farrowing systems (p > 0.05). It is concluded that the AFPs with temporary crating until day 4 postpartum did not negatively affect performance and crushed piglet compared with the FCs. It also may improve animal welfare by allowing sows to move and turn around during the lactating period. Further research is needed to find suitable housing designs to enhance productivity and animal welfare.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.193-198
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• 2023

Purpose: Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to play a major role in medical diagnostics. Periodontal disease is one of the most common oral diseases. The early diagnosis of periodontal disease is essential for effective treatment and a favorable prognosis. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of AI in diagnosing periodontal bone loss through radiographic analysis. Materials and Methods: A literature search involving 5 databases (PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Health and Medical Collection, Dentistry and Oral Sciences) was carried out. A specific combination of keywords was used to obtain the articles. The PRISMA guidelines were used to filter eligible articles. The study design, sample size, type of AI software, and the results of each eligible study were analyzed. The CASP diagnostic study checklist was used to evaluate the evidence strength score. Results: Seven articles were eligible for review according to the PRISMA guidelines. Out of the 7 eligible studies, 4 had strong CASP evidence strength scores (7-8/9). The remaining studies had intermediate CASP evidence strength scores (3.5-6.5/9). The highest area under the curve among the reported studies was 94%, the highest F1 score was 91%, and the highest specificity and sensitivity were 98.1% and 94%, respectively. Conclusion: AI-based detection of periodontal bone loss using radiographs is an efficient method. However, more clinical studies need to be conducted before this method is introduced into routine dental practice.

• Land and Housing Review
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.17-36
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• 2023

This research aims to investigate the socio-demographic, financial, and housing statuses of young married couples in Chonsei housing and to analyze the determinants of their residential environment quality and housing expenditure in four districts - Seoul and Gyeonggi-Incheon Area(GIA) of the Seoul Metropolitan Area(SMA), and metropolises and non-metropolises of non-SMA. From the 2020 Korean Housing Survey(KHS), this cross-sectional analysis examined a sample of 691 households, and the findings revealed that most were headed by college-educated, salaried male workers aged 31 years old. While childless dual-earner couples were common in Seoul, single-income families of three were prevalent in non-SMA. The financial status of the couples in Seoul was a lot better than in the other three areas, particularly much higher in Chonsei deposit and total asset value. Further, many lived in a three-bedroom apartment unit sized 60m² and bigger, using a Chonsei loan. Regardless of areas, almost all the households spent a very low portion of their living expenses and income on housing costs. However, dual-earner families positively increased borrowing capacity, which improves the household's financial position that is likely to lead to equity increment in a volatile asset market in the long run. The statistical results indicated that residential environment assessment was influenced by neighborhood quality and housing expenditure was affected by housing size in Seoul, urban amenities in GIA and householder's gender in non-metropolises. Thus, this research proposes that strong measures be considered to mitigate housing inequality embedded in geographical and socio-economic disparities.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.81-91
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• 2022

The use of lithium-ion batteries increases significantly with the rapid spread of electronic devices and electric vehicle and thereby an increase in the amount of waste batteries is expected in the near future. Therefore, studies are continuously being conducted to recover various resources of cathode active material (Ni, Co, Mn, Li) from waste battery. In order to recover the cathode active material, black mass is generally recovered from waste battery. The general process of recovering black mass is a waste battery collection - discharge - dismantling - crushing - classification process. This study focus on the crushing/classification process among the processes. Specifically, the particle size distribution of various samples at each crushing/classification step were evaluated, and the particle shape of each particle fraction was analyzed with a microscope and SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy)-EDS(Energy Dispersive Spectrometer). As a result, among the black mass particle, fine particle less than 74 ㎛ was the mixture of cathode and anode active material which are properly liberated from the current metals. However, coarse particle larger than 100 ㎛ was present in a form in which the current metal and active material were combined. In addition, this study developed a PBM(Population Balance Model) system that can simulate two-species mixture sample with two different crushing properties. Using developed model, the breakage parameters of two species was derived and predictive performance of breakage distribution was verified.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.112 no.1
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• pp.32-39
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• 2023

Using the logarithmic methods and the generalized method of moments (GMM), this study developed carbon storage equations for maple trees (Acer palmatum Thunb.) planted in an urban settlement area. A total of 20 maple trees of various ages and diameters were destructively harvested to determine their dry weight and carbon concentration by component. The allometric equations with DBH and DBH²×H as independent variables were developed to estimate the carbon storage for each tree component. The carbon concentration of tree components was the highest in stem wood (49.8%) and lowest in stem bark (46.5%). Allometric equations to estimate the carbon storage of tree components (stem, root, aboveground, and total) showed a similar coefficient of determinations (R²) between the allometric equations of the logarithmic method (0.7494-0.9036) and the GMM (0.7085-0.8847). However, the R² values of the leaves and branches were in the range of 0.3027 to 0.6380, lower than those of the R² of the other tree components. These results indicate that the carbon storage of maple trees growing in urban settlement areas can be efficiently predicted from the equations of GMM methods in the case of a small sample size or the heteroscedasticity of logarithmic equations.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.1-19
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• 2022

Objectives: The objective of this study was to confirm the Chiljeong (七情) characteristics of Hwa-byung patients using the core seven-emotions inventory-short form. Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study based on the electronic medical records from a Korean medicine hospital. We included patients who were diagnosed with Hwa-byung and examined with Core Seven-Emotions Inventory-short Form (CSEI-S) during hospitalization periods. We presented the characteristics of Hwa-byung by demographic information, CSEI-S, Hwa-byung scale, and Korean Symptom Checklist 95. A correlation analysis was performed between CSEI-S and other clinical and psychological characteristics. Results: The Chiljeong characteristics of Hwa-byung were high in the order of Sorrow (悲), Thought (思), Fear (恐), Fright (驚), Depression (憂), Joy (喜), and Anger (怒). There was no significant difference between each emotion. After combined Korean medical treatment, Sorrow (悲) and Thought (思) significantly decreased. There were static correlations between sorrow (悲) and fright (驚), thought (思) and sorrow (悲), depression (憂) and sorrow (悲), depression (憂) and fright (驚), thought (思) and depression (憂), fear (恐) and fright (驚), anger (怒) and thought (思), thought (思) and fright (驚), sorrow (悲) and fear (恐). Sorrow (悲) and Hwa-byung characteristics scale showed static correlation. Joy (喜) showed a static correlation with disharmony between the heart and kidney scores of the Hwa-byung pattern identification. Between KSCL-95 and CSEI-S, static correlation appeared in depression (憂) with depression, anxiety, and sleep problem scale, sorrow (悲) with depression and anxiety, fright (驚) with depression and obsessive symptoms. Conclusions: Despite several limitations due to the study design and small sample size, this research successfully used CSEI-S to study the Chiljeong (七情) characteristics of Hwa-byung for the first time.