• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.409-416
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• 2015

Purpose: This study evaluates a new banana bulk packaging method under the real transport conditions of Sri Lanka. Methods: A field evaluation of optimized 8-mm thick Styrofoam sheets used as the cushioning material was applied. A trial transport was conducted from Thambuttegama to Colombo using a medium-sized open truck, with banana leaves as the control material. Data were recorded at the farmer, transporter, retailer, and consumer stages of the supply chain. Mechanical damage, physiological loss in weight, fruit firmness, total soluble solids, ripeness index, visual quality ratings, and the physical damage index of the bananas were measured at each stage. A cost-benefit analysis was also conducted for both packaging methods. Results: The 8-mm styrofoam sheets significantly reduced (p < 0.05) the mechanical damage from 26.3% to 12.9% compared to the conventional method for long-distance transport, and the physiological loss in weight showed a decrease of 2.88%. The loss of firmness of the fruits followed a simmilar pattern for both methods until reaching the retailer, but at the consumer was significantly higher (p < 0.05) for the control. However, the physical damage index at the retail stage for the control showed symptoms of physical injury, whereas the bananas transported using the cushioning materials exhibited only minor symptoms. Further, the visual quality of the fruits after transport from the farmer to the consumer was preserved, which is one of the main factors affecting consumer preference and retail price. The proposed method increases the profit margin by 51.2% for Embul bananas owing to the reduced postharvest losses. Conclusion: The 8-mm thick Styrofoam sheets reduced the physical damage to the bananas, with the quality parameters maintained at the prefered level. Moreover, profits may be increased.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.270-274
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• 2020

This study aimed to show the effects of Korean medicine treatment (particularly bee-venom pharmacopunture) on a patient with brachial plexus palsy. A 64-year-old woman was diagnosed with brachial plexus palsy on the right upper extremity and was treated with Korean and Western medicine from September 30^th to November 6^th, 2019. Improvement of the patient's symptoms was evaluated using the Manual Muscle Test, Range of Motion and visual analogue scale. After treatment, the patient's Manual Muscle Test grade and Range of Motion were improved, and the Visual Analogue Scale score indicated the intensity of her right hand numbness had decreased. These results suggested that improper use of crutches can result in brachial plexus palsy and a Korean-Western medicine treatment regimen primarily focused on bee-venom pharmacopunture, may be effective in reducing the symptoms of brachial plexus palsy.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.25-45
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• 1994

The purposes of this study were to investigate the effect of pilocarpine-containing chewing gum for the treatment of xerostomia and to compare the effect of pilocarpine-containing chewing gum with that of pilocarpine oral administration. The 20 subjective and objective xerostomic patients were included in this study and divided into 3 groups. Five subjects were included in gum base chewing group, 10 in pilocarpine-containing gum chewing, and 5 in pilocarpine oral administration. The author measured unstimulated whole salivary flow rate, stimulated parotid salivary flow rate, pH of resting whole saliva, viscosity of stimulated whole saliva, and subjective symptoms and discomforts using VAS(visual analogue scale) at the beginning of the experiment. And the author investigated the changes of these factors at 1, 2, 3, and 4 week after. The obtained results were as follows : 1. There were significant increases in the unstimulated whole salivary flow rate in pilocarpine-containing gum chewing and pilocarpine oral administration groups. But there was no significant difference between pilocarpine-containing gum chewing and pilocarpine oral administration groups. 2. There was a significant increase in the stimulated parotid salivary flow rate in pilocarpine- containing gum chewing group. But there was no significant difference between pilocarpine- containing gum chewing and pilocarpine oral administration groups. 3. The change of salivary pH showed the increasing pattern in all groups. But there was no significant difference among groups. 4. There were no significant changes in the values of salivary viscosity in all groups through the experimental period. 5. There were significant decreases of VAS(visual analogue scale) in the degree of subjective symptoms and discomforts in pilocarpine-containing gum chewing and pilocarpine oral administration groups. But there was no significant difference between pilocarpine- containing gum chewing and pilocarpine oral administration groups.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.300-310
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• 2016

Pathogen infection in plants induces complex responses ranging from gene expression to metabolic processes in infected plants. In spite of many studies on biotic stress-related changes in host plants, little is known about the metabolic and phenotypic responses of the host plants to Pseudomonas cichorii infection based on image-based analysis. To investigate alterations in tomato plants according to disease severity, we inoculated plants with different cell densities of P. cichorii using dipping and syringe infiltration methods. High-dose inocula (${\geq}10^6cfu/ml$) induced evident necrotic lesions within one day that corresponded to bacterial growth in the infected tissues. Among the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters analyzed, changes in quantum yield of PSII (${\Phi}PSII$) and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) preceded the appearance of visible symptoms, but maximum quantum efficiency of PSII ($F_v/F_m$) was altered well after symptom development. Visible/near infrared and chlorophyll fluorescence hyperspectral images detected changes before symptom appearance at low-density inoculation. The results of this study indicate that the P. cichorii infection severity can be detected by chlorophyll fluorescence assay and hyperspectral images prior to the onset of visible symptoms, indicating the feasibility of early detection of diseases. However, to detect disease development by hyperspectral imaging, more detailed protocols and analyses are necessary. Taken together, change in chlorophyll fluorescence is a good parameter for early detection of P. cichorii infection in tomato plants. In addition, image-based visualization of infection severity before visual damage appearance will contribute to effective management of plant diseases.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.139-148
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• 2018

Objectives : This study was performed to examine the toxicity on the long term procedure of Aconitum ciliare Decaisne pharmacopuncture(ADP) solution. Methods : To evaluate the long term toxicity of 3 different repeated doses, 60, 150, and 300 mg/kg/day for 13 weeks were injected into BALB/c mice, respectively. The ADP solution was injected into near ST36 of the right leg and normal saline of the same volume was used for the vehicle control group. To evaluate the toxicity of 60, 150, and 300 mg/kg of repeated doses for 13 weeks, toxic symptoms, weight measurement, hematological test, blood biochemical test, visual examination and weight measurement of major organs, and histopathological test were conducted. Results : No significant changes in toxic symptoms, weight measurement, hematological test, blood biochemical test, visual examination and weight measurement of major organs, and histopathological test were observed in different doses of ADP solution treated groups compared to vehicle control group. Conclusions : As a result, repeated dose at a concentration of 300 mg/kg or less is considered to be not harmful for clinical treatment.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.1-17
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to identify the differences of the static and the dynamic balance reactions in the flexion syndrome (FS) and the extension syndrome (ES) group of the patients with chronic lowback pain (LBP) and healthy subjects. Twenty subjects were included in each group. By using EquiTest 5.02, the static balance was measured by the equilibrium score and the strategy score of sensory organization test (SOT), while the dynamic balance was measured by the latency of motor control test (MCT) and the sway energy of adaptation test (ADT). Oswestry Disability Index (OSI) was used to measure level of the disability in patients with chronic LBP. The equilibrium scores, the strategies of SOT, and thelatencies of MCT of three groups were compared with one way ANOVA, while the sway energy of ADT was compared with repeated measures one way ANOVA. The results of this study showed that the equilibrium scores and the strategy scores of SOT were significantly lower in patients with chronic LBP than in healthy subjects. The equilibrium scores and the strategy scores of SOT were significantly differences between the FS and ES groups in condition 5 (support surface was sway-referenced and visual information waseliminated by eye closure), and 6 (support surface was sway-referenced and visual information was altered by sway-referencing). The FS group showed delayed average reaction time at large posterior translation, however, the ES group showed delayed average reaction time at large anterior translation, Even though the sway energy of the patients with chronic LBP were greater than that of healthy subjects during the toe down (plantar flexion rotation), the values between the FS and ES groups didn't show any significant difference. The disability level showed highly correlation with the equilibrium score of the condition 5. As the results, the FS and ES groups divided by the their symptoms and signs in patients with chronic LBP showed different balance reaction. Therefore, more accurate evaluation and balance treatments are needed to focus on their symptoms and signs in patients with chronic LBP.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.120-127
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• 1998

Background : This study is to identify preoperative patient characteristics associated with a lack of improvement on one or more measures peri operatively, postoperative 3-4 months, and postoperative 12 months. Methods : For the assessment, prospective study was performed with 92 patients who had undergone either one eye or both eye cataract surgery by 3 ophthalmologists practicing at a university hospital. The criteria of improvement were (1) Snellen visual acuity, (2) a cataract-related symptom score(possible range: 0, 0 of 6 symptoms present or bothersome, to 18, all 6 symptoms very bothersome), and (3) VF-14 score - a measure of functional impairment in patient with cataract - (possible range: 0, inability to perform any of the applicable activities, to 100, no difficulty in performing any of the applicable activities). Results : Although 14 patients (15.2%) failed to improve on one or more of the outcome measures assessed, no one failed to improve on all three measures. Both eyes of surgery than one eye, preoperative cataract symptom score of 1-4, 5 or higher than 0 were associated independently with the increased likelihood of improvement (odds ratio 8.95, 7.16, 8.87 respectively). And the preoperative level of Snellen visual acuity was not associated with the likelihood of improvement Conclusion : We conclude that specific preoperative characteristics (both eyes, cataract symptom score) are independent predictors of patient outcome after cataract surgery.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.61-72
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• 2018

Objectives : This study was conducted to review the research trends in Korean Medicine of pompholyx based on publications in Korea. Methods : Literature published after 2000 were collected using OASIS, NDSL, KISS, and key words searched were "한포진" "발한이상" "pompholyx" "dyshidrotic eczema". Results : 10 case reports and 4 patient studies were selected for study. Conclusions : Korean medicine treatments included acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, venesection therapy, herbal medicine, ointments and carbon arc lamp therapy. The most commonly used diagnostic method for pompholyx was inspection along with pulse diagnosis, abdominal diagnosis, tongue diagnosis, culture test, and KOH smear screening. The most frequently used treatment evaluation method was Likert scale while VAS(Visual Analog Scale) and Visual&Subjective symptoms were each used in 4 studies. Among 29 patients in 14 papers who showed clinical manifestations of pompholyx, there were 15 male patients (52%), 14 female patients (48%), and the male to female ratio showed 1.07:1. Symptoms were improved using Korean Medicine treatments including acupuncture and herbal medicine. Concurrent treatment using special treatments such as pharmacopuncture, jiyang-go, bojungikgi-tang(ex), external applications showed higher treatment effects. Korean medical treatment of pompholyx was effective in all studies, but the lack of numbers of research on Korean medicine of pompholyx was witnessed compared to other diseases such as psoriasis. Also considering the number of patients suffering from pompholyx, further studies should be conducted.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.184-193
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• 2022

'Burnout', which has been frequently used recently, is one of the representative expressions representing the psychology of modern people living in fierce competition. In this paper, I approached and analyzed two films, 'Hector and the Search for Happiness' and 'To Each His Own' from the perspective of burnout, which are considered two of the most healing movies for office workers. The symptoms of burnout in the work were lethargy, irritability, anger, insomnia, depression, and suicidal thoughts. In the case of 'Hector and the Search for Happiness' the clash of values from repeated consulting work, and in the case of 'To Each His Own', work overload, performance pressure, and the absence of a community of colleagues were the causes. This burnout state is visually expressed through the dialogues and expressions of the characters, as well as looking down shots of various sizes, low lighting, and placing objects in front of the main character. This intuitively expressed the symptoms of burnout, which is difficult to diagnose. In particular, it was confirmed through the movie that one of the diagnostic criteria for burnout, such as hobbies, physical activity, and the presence or absence of a fellow community, helps to get out of burnout.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.1-7
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• 2022

Objectives: This study aimed to determine whether comparing the pressure pain threshold (PPT) with an algometer before and after treatment for functional dyspepsia is of diagnostic value and investigate a possible correlation between PPT measured using an algometer and symptom improvement before and after treatment. Methods: A total of 99 patients with functional dyspepsia symptoms admitted to the OO Korean Medical Hospital from April 14, 2020 to January 21, 2021 were investigated. On the 1st and 14th days of hospitalization, the pressure of the first pain complaint at acupuncture points Juque (巨厥, CV14), Shangwan (上脘, CV13), Zhongwan (中脘, CV12), Xiawan (下脘, CV10), Guanuan (關元, CV4), Tianshu (天樞, ST25), and Daju (大巨, ST27) was measured using the algometer, and the visual analog scale (VAS) scores for patient's symptoms were evaluated. The algometer PPT and patient-symptom VAS scores were compared by repeated measures corresponding to the sample t-test to analyze the changes after treatment. A correlation analysis was performed to identify the correlation between patient-symptom VAS scores and algometer PPT. Results: The PPT measured using the algometer significantly increased after treatment in the 99 patients. The patient-symptom VAS score decreased significantly in most cases as treatment progressed. Analysis of the correlation between algometer PPT and patient-symptom VAS scores revealed some notable negative correlations. Conclusion: The algometer can help to set the diagnostic and treatment baselines for patients with functional dyspepsia.