• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.96-109
• /
• 2021

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupotomy for the treatment of patients with knee osteoarthritis. There were 9 databases searched to retrieve randomized controlled trials until August 3, 2019 regarding acupotomy versus conventional Western medicine, conventional Western medicine treatment with and without acupotomy, and Korean medicine treatment with and without acupotomy, and meta-analysis was performed. Of 303 potentially relevant studies retrieved, 43 were systematically reviewed. All studies were conducted in China. Effective rate, visual analogue scale, and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis index were used as the evaluation scales. The Ashi point was selected most frequently. In all studies, the intervention group was more effective than the control group. Meta-analysis revealed that acupotomy showed statistically significant beneficial results. Although acupotomy had a beneficial effect on knee osteoarthritis, the risk of bias of the included studies was not low. The majority of the results from the evaluation scales used were highly heterogeneous (> 50%) which reduced confidence in the estimation of effect, or had a small sample size. Further clinical research and development is required in the future.

• Journal of Industrial Convergence
• /
• v.19 no.5
• /
• pp.79-90
• /
• 2021

This study aimed to review the literature on the effects of the meaning enhancement program for college students studied in Korea, and to analyze the content and formal characteristics and the meaning enhancement effects of the program for college students. The literature was collected for studies aimed at enhancing meaning of life in college students among research papers and dissertations published in Korea until May 2021. Six databases were used to conduct searches with 'logotherapy' in Korean and English OR "meaning therapy" OR "meaning of life" OR 'meaning'. Two independent researchers performed an assessment of bias risk and research quality using a standardized tool, with seven final selected papers. All seven meaning enhancement programs were effective in discovering the meaning of life among college students, and both single and merged interventions were found to be effective. In order to analyze the effect size of meaning enhancement programs for college students, randomized control experimental studies need to be conducted in the future.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.42 no.3
• /
• pp.323-339
• /
• 2021

Objectives: This study investigates the effect of electro-acupuncture on aphasia after stroke. Methods: A search of OASIS, NDSL, PubMed, Cochrane, and CNKI was executed between 4 January 2021 and 4 February 2021, with no limitation on publication year. Extraction and selection from the studies were made by 3 authors. The quality of the studies was evaluated using Cochrane's risk of bias (RoB) tool. Results: 10 studies met the selection criteria. As the treatment site for electro-acupuncture, GV20 (Baihui) was used the most. In all studies, the region located on the head was used for treatment without distinguishing between acupoints and areas of scalp acupuncture, and the stimulation was organized into 3 conditions: speed, intensity, and time. The outcome indicators used before and after treatment focused on the evaluation of language function and the degree of aphasia. The results showed that using electro-acupuncture with speech rehabilitation therapy for aphasia after stroke was more effective than using speech rehabilitation therapy alone. Conclusions: In this review, electro-acupuncture for aphasia after stroke was found to have a significant effect compared to the previous treatment alone. However, because of limitations, information was not reliable enough. Additional research is needed to produce more objective evidence.

• Journal of Industrial Convergence
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.87-97
• /
• 2021

This study aimed to systematically review the literature on the stress reduction of meaning-centered therapy (MCT) studies in Korea and to identify the characteristics of MCT for stress reduction. MCT studies aimed at reducing stress symptoms were searched among peer reviewed journal articles and unpublished dissertations until April, 2020. Two independent researchers assessed the risk of bias and the quality of the report using Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network criteria. As a result of searching with 7 databases, 7 studies were finally selected. Seven MCTs were for all age groups, and 5 studies reported MCT was effective in reducing stress symptoms. Both single and combined type interventions were effective in reducing stress symptom, Researchers used the combined MCT more than single MCT program. The study with no significant effect was related to school test stress. There is a need to develop MCTs suitable for school-age youth with test stress in the future.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.29-35
• /
• 2022

Objectives The purpose of this systematic review is to analyse randomized controlled trials about acupuncture for patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) and evaluate it's pain improvement effect. Methods Studies will be searched from ten databases (Medline/PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, China National Knowledge Infrastructure [CNKI], WanFang Data, Citation Information by NII [CiNII], ScienceON, Koreanstudies Information Service System [KISS], KMBASE, and KoreaMed). Participants will be patients diagnosed with PFPS, regardless of cause, gender, age or race, and interventions will be acupuncture, electroacupuncture, dry needling, fire needle, and acupotomy. Other treatments than interventions will be the control group and the main outcome will be reviewed by visual analogue scale (VAS). Results Data will be extracted and assessed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis flow chart and Cochrane risk of bias tools. Meta-analysis will be conducted using random effect model within 95% confidence interval. Conclusions We expect this systematic review to provide useful data about the pain improvements of patellofemoral pain using acupuncture and expect to stimulate and systematize acupuncture treatment on PFPS in the future.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.55 no.6
• /
• pp.442-451
• /
• 2022

Background: This meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the effect of fractional flow reserve (FFR) on clinical outcomes after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Methods: Five online databases were searched for studies that (1) enrolled patients who underwent isolated CABG or CABG with aortic valve replacement and (2) demonstrated the effect of an FFR-guided strategy on major adverse cardiac events (MACE) after surgery based on a randomized controlled trial or adjusted analysis. MACE included cardiac death, acute myocardial infarction (MI), and repeated revascularization. The primary outcomes were all MACE outcomes and a composite of all-cause death and MI, and the secondary outcomes were the individual MACE outcomes. Publication bias was assessed using a funnel plot and the Egger test. Results: Six articles (3 randomized and 3 non-randomized studies: n=1,027) were selected. MACE data were extracted from 4 studies. The pooled analyses showed that the risk of MACE was not significantly different between patients who underwent FFR-guided CABG and those who underwent angiography-guided CABG (hazard ratio [HR], 0.80; 95% CI, 0.57-1.12). However, the risk of the composite of death or MI was significantly lower in patients undergoing FFR-guided CABG (HR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.41-0.94). The individual MACE outcomes were not significantly different between FFR-guided and angiography-guided CABG. Conclusion: FFR-guided CABG might be beneficial in terms of the composite outcome of death or MI compared with angiography-guided CABG although data are limited.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
• /
• v.27 no.9
• /
• pp.59-68
• /
• 2022

A recommender system covers users, searches the items or services which users will like, and let users purchase them. Because recommendations from a recommender system are predictions of users' preferences for the items which they do not purchase yet, it is rarely possible to be drawn a perfect answer. An evaluation has been conducted to determine whether a prediction is right or not. However, it can be lower user's satisfaction if a recommender system focuses on only the preferences, that is caused by a 'filter bubble effect'. The filter bubble effect is an algorithmic bias that skews or limits the information an individual user sees on the recommended list. It is the reason why multiple metrics are required to evaluate recommender systems, and a diversity metrics is mainly used for it. In this paper, we compare three different methods for enhancing diversity for personalized recommendation - bin packing, weighted random choice, greedy re-ranking - with a practical e-commerce data acquired from a fashion shopping mall. Besides, we present the difference between experimental results and F1 scores.

• Tribology and Lubricants
• /
• v.38 no.6
• /
• pp.274-280
• /
• 2022

There is a problem that semiconductor probe pin has a short lifespan. In order to solve this problem, Ti having excellent conductivity was doped to tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) having excellent hardness and abrasion resistance. This experiment was planned through the Taguchi robust design to determine the effect of the control factor of the ta-C:Ti coating film. The effect and contribution of control factors such as Unbalanced Magnetron Sputter(UBM) discharge current, arc discharge current, temperature, and bias voltage on ta-C:Ti characteristics were analyzed from the perspective of electrical and mechanical characteristics. The UBM discharge current was set to 4, 6, and 8 A. The main control factor of thickness and resistance is the UBM discharge current, and the thickness increased and the resistance decreased as the current increased. The decrease in resistance is due to the increase in the Ti content of the ta-C:Ti coating film. The arc discharge current was set to 60, 80, and 100 A. The main control factor of hardness and wear is the arc discharge current, and as the current rises, the hardness increases and the wear area decreases. This is due to the increased ta-C content of the ta-C:Ti coating film. Since resistance and wear are important for Probe Pin, the optimal level is set from the perspective of resistance and wear and a confirmation experiment is conducted.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.52 no.4
• /
• pp.464-475
• /
• 2022

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the mediating effects of depression amid the influence of fear and social distancing arising from Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Korean women's suicidal ideation. Methods: A descriptive correlation study was conducted. Study participants, recruited by Hankook Research from March 2 to March 5, 2021, included 300 women aged 19 to 49 living in South Korea, and 100 people were randomly allocated and enlisted for each age group out of 700,000 Hankook Research Panels recruited in advance from 17 cities and provinces nationwide. Data were collected through a self-reported questionnaire and analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient and Hayes' Process Macro Model 4 with 95% bias-corrected bootstrap confidence interval via SPSS statistics 27.0. Results: Suicidal ideation was significantly correlated with fear of COVID-19 (r = .16, p = .006) and depression (r = .65, p < .001). The mediation effect of depression in the relationship between the fear of COVID-19 and suicidal ideation was found to be significant (B = 0.40, boot 95% CI: 0.21~0.61). However, social distancing did not significantly affect suicidal ideation via depression (B = - 0.79, boot 95% CI: - 1.94~0.26). Conclusion: It is necessary to develop and apply interventions to prevent depression and suicidal behaviors by continuously observing and reducing the negative psychological responses caused by COVID-19.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.1-14
• /
• 2023

Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Samryungbaekchul-san on childhood anorexia. Methods We searched 11 English, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese databases for studies published up to May 30, 2022. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effect of Samryungbaekchul-san on childhood anorexia were included. In the meta-analysis, relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were indicated as dichotomous variables, and mean difference (MD) or standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% CIs were indicated as continuous variables. Results We included 12 RCTs with 1345 participants. The Samryungbaekchul-san treatment group had a significantly higher total effective rate (TER) than that of the western medicine control group (RR 1.42, 95% CI 1.23-1.64, I² = 0%). The combined Samryungbaekchul-san and western medicine treatment group had significantly higher TER (RR 1.31, 95% CI 1.23 to 1.40, I² = 0%) and levels of neuropeptide Y (SMD 0.93, 95% CI 0.47-1.39, I² = 70%) and ghrelin (SMD 1.45, 95% CI 1.14-1.76, I² = 0%) than those of the western medicine alone group. Additionally, leptin levels were significantly lower in the combined treatment group (SMD -1.19, 95% CI -1.88 to -0.51, I² = 86%) compared with the western medicine alone group, although statistical heterogeneity was substantial. Conclusions Samryungbaekchul-san may be effective for childhood anorexia. However, owing to limitations such as high clinical heterogeneity between the studies, unclear risks of biases, and insufficient reports of adverse events and follow-ups, well-designed RCTs with a low risk of bias are needed in the future.