• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2023

Objective: There are currently no disease-modifying medications or definite long-term sustainable interventions for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), indicating an unmet treatment need. Our goal was to create a long-term sustainable intervention for PD patients that can be used in Korean medicine clinics. Methods: The Meridian Activation Remedy System (MARS) was created to stimulate a patient's 12 meridians and sinew channels using a combination of acupoint stimulation and exercise. The acupoints and motions used in MARS were selected through literature studies and expert advice. The methodologies were refined using observational and case studies. With slow and fast movements, the MARS intervention was intended to activate both slow- and fast-twitch muscle fibers. Intradermal acupuncture and motion that shift the center of gravity were employed to enhance the patient's balance and proprioception. In addition, the intervention included alternating movement exercises to address the complex cognitive decline commonly occurring in PD patients. Results: The following acupoints were chosen for the MARS intervention: bilateral Hegu (LI4), Houxi (SI3), Waiguan (TE5), Neiguan (PC6), Zhongchong (PC9), Yuji (LU10), Zusanli (ST36), Yanglingquan (GB34), Taichong (LR3), Kunlun (BL60), and Taixi (KI3). We also developed actions that can stimulate the body's 12 meridians. Conclusion: We developed the MARS intervention, which combines acupuncture and exercise, to address the unmet therapeutic needs of PD patients. We hope that with additional research, the MARS intervention can be set as an effective therapeutic program for PD patients.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.75-82
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• 2020

This study is a descriptive research study to identify Unmet Dementia Information Needs (UDIN) for caregivers of dementia patients at Dementia Relief Center and to understand the effectiveness of the program for workers. The subjects were 114 caregivers and 217 practitioners from dementia relief centers in 25 autonomous districts of S city from November 1, 2019 to January 31, 2020. The UDIN questionnaire is a 7-point Likert scale. The Crisis Management Questionnaire is a Likert 5-point scale consisting of 10 questions from 6 categories. As a result of the study, the proportion of depressed caregivers experiencing UDIN was 12.3times higher than those who did not (p<.001). The program effectiveness was 8.98times better than those who perceived the lack of risk management as good (p=.004), and social workers were 2.81times better than nurses (p=.091). It is necessary to conduct interactive operations to meet the needs of the community residents by listening to their diverse opinions rather than simply implementing a one-sided policy to raise the service of a dementia relief center to the highest level in a short period of time.

• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.115-121
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• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the needs of family caregivers of home care patients. Methods: A total of 40 caregivers had been selected from a hospital-based home care agency in Gyunggi province. The instrument developed by Hileman, Lackey, & Hassanein(1992) was modified to 55 items and used in this study. The instrument consists of 6 categories: informational, household, patient care, personal, spiritual, and psychological needs. Out of 29 analysed with descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U test, and Spearman correlation test using SPSS 14.0. Results: Most caregivers were females, with a mean age of $60.0{\pm}15.5$, 32.1% were spouses, and 92.9% were living with patients. Patient's activities of daily living score was very low, and 44% of patients had cerebrovascular disease. Caregiver's needs were moderate, and the greatest being personal need. There was a significant difference between caregiver's monthly income and needs. Conclusion: Home care nurses need to teach and support family caregivers with specific programs and services to meet the identified and unmet needs of caregivers of home care patients. In-home respite and institutional respite are recommended for family caregivers taking care of patients with chronic disease.

• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.156-168
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• 2020

Purpose: This study aimed to examine factors influencing health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and compare them between young-aged and old-aged patients with cancer. Methods: Data of 291 patients (young-aged: 168, old-aged: 123) were obtained from the 10th wave of the 2015 Korea Health Panel Survey. The HRQOL was measured using the Korean version of Euro-QoL-5D. Independent t-test, analysis of variance, and multiple regression analysis were performed to identify factors influencing HRQOL. Results: The average HRQOL score was 0.87±0.10 and 0.82±0.15 among young-aged and old-aged, respectively. The factors differed partially between the two groups. For young-aged, the influencing factors were activity restriction, subjectively perceived health status, and smoking. For old-aged, the influencing factors were activity restriction, subjective health status, and unmet healthcare needs. Conclusion: Strategies to improve the HRQOL of elderly adults need to be developed considering the age group. Additionally, studies that include clinical factors such as symptoms are required to prepare need-based practical approaches for better quality of life of such patients.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.209-219
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• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe pregnant women's lived experiences of hospitalization due to preterm labor in Korea. Methods: This qualitative study adopted a phenomenological approach. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with nine participants, over the age of 20 years, who had been hospitalized for more than 1 week after being diagnosed with preterm labor. All interviews were audio-taped and verbatim transcripts were made for analysis. The data were analyzed following Colaizzi's phenomenological method. Results: The participants' ages ranged from 26 to 36 years, and all were married women. They were hospitalized for 13.1 days on average. Five thematic clusters emerged from the analysis. 'Withstanding hospitalization for the fetus's well-being' describes women's feelings during preterm labor and their endurance during their prolonged hospitalization, rooted in their conviction that the fetus comes first. 'Endless frustration in the hospital' encompasses women's emotions while lying in bed and quietly thinking to themselves. 'Unmet physiological needs' describes participants' awareness of their inability to independently handle human physiological needs given the need for careful and limited movement. 'Gratitude for the support around oneself' reflects the support from family and medical staff. 'Shifting perceptions and accepting one's circumstances' describes accepting hospitalization and making efforts to spend their remaining time in the hospital in a meaningful way. Conclusion: The findings in this study provide a deeper understanding and insights into the experiences of Korean women with preterm labor during hospitalization, underscoring the need to develop interventions for these patients.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.246-256
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• 2010

Atopic dermatitis is a common skin disease affecting up to 10% of children and approximately 2% of adults. Atopic dermatitis exhibits four major symptoms, including intense itching, dry skin, redness and exudation. The "itch-scratch-itch" cycle is one of the major features in atopic dermatitis. The pathophysiology and neurobiology of pruritus is unclear. Currently there are no single and universally effective pharmacological antipruritic drugs for treatment of atopic dermatitis. Thus, controlling of itch is a very important unmet need in patients suffering from atopic dermatitis. This article will update progress during the past 10 years of research in the field of pruritus of atopic dermatitis, focusing on aspects of pruritogens (including inflammatory lipids, histamine, serotonin, proteinases, proteinase-activating receptors, neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, and opioid peptides), antipruritic therapies, and emerging new targets. Based on recent progress, researchers expect to identify exciting possibilities for improved treatments and to develop new antipruritic drugs acting through novel targets, such as histamine H4 receptor, gastrin-releasing peptide receptor, MrgprA3, thromboxane A2 receptor and the putative SPC receptor.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.10-20
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• 2023

Antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) technology has become an attractive therapeutic modality for various diseases, including Mendelian disorders. ASOs can modulate the expression of a target gene by promoting mRNA degradation or changing pre-mRNA splicing, nonsense-mediated mRNA decay, or translation. Advances in medicinal chemistry and a deeper understanding of post-transcriptional mechanisms have led to the approval of several ASO drugs for diseases that had long lacked therapeutic options. For instance, an ASO drug called nusinersen became the first approved drug for spinal muscular atrophy, improving survival and the overall disease course. Mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene cause cystic fibrosis (CF). Although Trikafta and other CFTR-modulation therapies benefit most CF patients, there is a significant unmet therapeutic need for a subset of CF patients. In this review, we introduce ASO therapies and their mechanisms of action, describe the opportunities and challenges for ASO therapeutics for CF, and discuss the current state and prospects of ASO therapies for CF.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.20 no.2 s.22
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• pp.287-300
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• 1987

Island regions suffer from a shortage of health care in part because they are less developed, they cover a widespread area relative to the population, and due to transportation barriers. The purpose of this study was to assess the level of illness and the magnitude of medical care utilization, and to investigate the determinants of utilization in these area. The data were collected by means of a household survey conducted from February 16 to 25, 1987 on S islands which were selected in consideration of the size of the population, the distance from the main land, and the distribution of health care facilities. The household response rate was 89.1% (491 of 551 households), and 1971 persons were surveyed. The major findings of this study are as follows: 1) The morbidity rate of the island inhabitants was 27.7% during the two weeks, and 25.5 chronic illnesses and 9.1 acute illnesses per 100 persons, were noted. Differences in the magnitude of illness were statistically significant by sex, age, education, and family size. 2) The magnitude of total ambulatory carl utilization was 16.8 visits per 100 persons during the two weeks, which was less than that of other regions; and differences in the magnitude of total ambulatory care were statistically significant by sex, age, education, occupation, and family size. 3) Unmet needs were classified as 56.0% in chronic illnesses and 19.6% in acute illnesses; and differences in unmet needs were statistically significant by sex, age, education, occupation, income, and family size. 4) Statistically significant determinants in medical care utilization included the frequency of acute illness and chronic illness, and income in total utilization; the frequency of chronic illness and acute illness, and medical care insurance in physician visits. 5) According to the results of the path analysis, need factors had the greatest effect on utilization, and predisposing factors had more indirect effects through enabling or need factors than direct effects.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.249-258
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• 2019

The health care services are the most basic social institutions that are provided to citizen including disabled persons for improvement of health. However, the study of the difference of health care services according to the speech therapy use in the people with speech-language disorders was insufficient. The aim of this investigation was to compare the awareness of health care services and characteristics of people with speech-language disorders according to speech therapy use. The researchers selected 229 people with language disorder using raw data of National Survey of the Disabled Person (2017). We compared the characteristics and health care services of people with speech-language disorders by distinguishing between speech therapy non-users and speech therapy users. Among the 229 people with language disorder, speech therapy users were 37 persons (16.2%). In comparison with non-users, users were younger, more preschoolers, more family incomes, and intellectual disabilities and autistic disorder were the most common types of disability enrollment. Users had a lower proportion of unmet medical needs than non-users. For the reasons of unmet medical need, there were 6.8% and 6.3% of the "economic reasons" and "communication difficulties" Both users and non-users responded that "disability management services" need to be strengthened by the government. In conclusion, we suggest that access to health care services needs to be increased to lower the barriers of speech therapy use.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.51
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• pp.465-495
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• 2011

Domestic franchised businesses have been showing relatively fast growth, but the growth is expected to slow down as in those developed countries. In face of this changing market environment, domestic franchisers will have to turn their eyes abroad to achieve sustainable growth. On the other hand, more international franchisors could pursue expanding into the Korean market due to economic or strategic reasons in their home countries. In general, enterprises are faced with several barriers when entering foreign markets by franchising their operation. Issues relating to such entry barriers can be broadly classified into legal and managerial. To begin, international franchising necessitates enterprises to handle various aspects of legal issues. There are no internationally unified rules for franchise agreements as in international goods purchase contracts. This forces franchisors to have deep knowledge of concerned regulations and practices of each of the individual target countries, in particular franchising practices which differ from those of their own countries in terms of rights and obligations of the involved parties. Having regard to this situation, this study reviewed the EU's PEL CAFDC and other domestic and overseas regulations governing franchising. From the results, several contractual obligations were derived that need to be taken into account when handling the issues around the international franchise agreement. In closing this paper mainly having in mind enterprises in various business lines seeking to expand into international franchising, some unmet needs are worth commenting. First, there is an urgent need to establish practical guidelines along with the model agreement addressing the issues of international franchising in the absence of any unified international rules. Second, to meet the first need above, it is needed that the relevant authorities conduct a comprehensive review of the existing franchising regulations available across overseas countries and, based on the results, embark on gathering good common elements in the existing franchising regulations in individual countries, ultimately developing the best possible guidelines and examples.