• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.23-30
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• 2022

PURPOSE: This study was designed to investigate the effects of keeping contraction of abdominal and pelvic floor muscles on 3D pelvic stability in individuals with nonspecific chronic low back pain (CLBP) during normal speed walking. METHODS: The subjects were 20 adults with CLBP deformity and had moderate pain intensity of the visual analog scale. A three-dimensional camera capture system was used to collect kinematic pelvic motion data with and without contraction of the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles during gait. The subjects were asked to walk on a walkway in the lab room and they were attached 40 reflective markers to their pelvic segment and lower extremities. A Visual3D Professional V6 program and Vicon Nexus software were used to analyze 3D pelvic kinematic data. RESULTS: There were significant differences between with and without contraction of the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles of the pelvic depression and the total pelvic motion in coronal plane during gait (p < .05). However, there were no significant differences in any of the maximal motion of the pelvic segment in sagittal and transverse motion plane according to the different muscle contraction conditions (p > .05). CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that maintaining co-contraction of the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles in individuals with CLBP increased pelvic stability and contributed to preventing excessive pelvic movements during gait.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.307-317
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• 2023

Objectives: To introduce the progress of treatment and improve clinical use after application of Emotion-to-Emotion Therapy (ETE Therapy) for treating Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Methods: A patient who was diagnosed with PTSD that occurred after violence in the family mainly complained about abdominal pain, depression, and fear. We treated the patient with ETE therapy as the main treatment. Subjective Units of Distress scale (SUDs), The Core Seven-Emotions Inventory Short Form (CSEI-s), and Mentalizing the Rooms of Mind (MRM) were evaluated before and after the treatment for assessing the clinical effect. Results: After treatment, overall clinical symptoms of the patient were alleviated. This result was supported by a decrease in SUDs. There were meaningful drops in 'Fear', 'Fright', 'Sorrow' in CSEI-s scores, consistent with the direction of 'Sa-seung-Gong (思勝恐)' used as major technique of ETE therapy. Resources and positive emotions in MRM were increased after treatment. Conclusions: ETE therapy may be effective for treating PTSD. It might play a significant role in cognitive reconstruction.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.102-130
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• 2022

Objectives: The persistence and unpredictability of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and new measures to prevent direct medical intervention (e.g., social distancing and quarantine) have induced various psychological symptoms and disorders that require self-treatment approaches and integrative treatment interventions. To address these issues, the Korean Medicine Mental Health (KMMH) center developed a field manual by reviewing previous literature and preexisting manuals. Methods: The working group of the KMMH center conducted a keyword search in PubMed in June 2021 using "COVID-19" and "SARS-CoV-2". Review articles were examined using the following filters: "review," "systematic review," and "meta-analysis." We conducted a narrative review of the retrieved articles and extracted content relevant to previous manuals. We then created a treatment algorithm and recommendations by referring to the results of the review. Results: During the initial assessment, subjective symptom severity was measured using a numerical rating scale, and patients were classified as low- or moderate-high risk. Moderate-high-risk patients should be classified as having either a psychiatric emergency or significant psychiatric condition. The developed manual presents appropriate psychological support for each group based on the following dominant symptoms: tension, anxiety-dominant, anger-dominant, depression-dominant, and somatization. Conclusions: We identified the characteristics of mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic and developed a clinical mental health support manual in the field of Korean medicine. When symptoms meet the diagnostic criteria for a mental disorder, doctors of Korean medicine can treat the patients according to the manual for the corresponding disorder.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.28-42
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• 2023

Objective This study aimed to analyze the efficacy and safety of external washing therapy for seborrheic dermatitis based on randomized controlled clinical studies in China. Methods We used the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) as a data resource and conducted a search using the following key words: "Seborrheic Dermatitis" and "外洗" Seven randomized controlled clinical studies were identified and analyzed in this study. Results 1. The external washing treatment group showed significant changes in total efficiency, relapse rates, Quality of life, and Hamilton depression rating scale, compared with the control group. 2. The most commonly used herbal medicines were Sophorae Radix (苦蔘), Thujae Orientalis Folium (側柏葉), Impatiens balsamina L. (透骨草), Phellodendri Cortex (黃柏), and Stemonae Radix (百部根). Conclusions The results indicate that external washing treatment is effective for patients with seborrheic dermatitis. Futher research on external washing treatment of seborrheic dermatitis in the future may be useful.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.79-111
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• 2022

Major depressive disorder (MDD) causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. It can lead to emotional and physical problems. Treatments such as antidepressant and cognitive behavioral therapy for MDD have many limitations. Traditional East Asian Herbal Medicine (TEAM) is a representative modality of Complementary and Integrative Medicine (CIM) which can be used for MDD. However, no study has systematically reviewed the efficacy or safety of TEAM for MDD so far. Therefore, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate effectiveness and safety of TEAM as a monotherapy for MDD. We only included TEAM that could be used in context of clinical setting in Korean Medicine. Outcomes were the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) and total effective rate (TER). After comprehensive electronic search of 11 databases, we included 28 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared HM as monotherapy with antidepressant for MDD. Meta-analysis showed that TEAM had significant benefits in reducing HAMD (MD=-0.40, 95% CI: -0.67 to -0.13, p=0.003, I²=85%) and improving TER (RR=1.06, 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.10, p=0.003, I²=0%). It also appeared to be safer than antidepressant in terms of adverse effects. Methods used for RCTs were poor and the quality of evidence was graded 'low' or 'moderate'. These findings indicate that the use of HM as a monotherapy might have potential benefits in MDD treatment as an alternative to antidepressant. However, considering the methodological quality of included RCTs, the clinical evidence is uncertain. Further well-designed RCTs are required to confirm these findings.

• Journal of Practical Agriculture & Fisheries Research
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.21-43
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• 2015

Korean floricultural industry has grown under the full backing of government, as it placed itself as the main export item since 2000s. Despite its high-speed growth after the domestic production scale of trillion won, the floricultural industry lost its pace after 2005, due to the market-opening of agricultural product and global economic depression. Although the national income is growing and the level of civilized living is following, spending on flowers is faltering. As of such circumstances, necessity for analyzing flower consumption trend and behavior has came out, along with the calls for expansion plan of flower consumption, under the basis of result analysis on consumer reports. The result of the research contains the trend/consumption behavior analysis on domestic and foreign flower industry to boost floricultural industry, along with reviews on various studies of the developmental process of domestic and foreign cut-flowers/pot-plants consumption trend. Also this study has reached to the various recognition of people toward flower, through a public survey. Through such results, this study would like to propose the measures for diffusion of flower-consumption culture, achieving the improvement of life-quality of public along. First, efforts on reviewing the customer accessibility is essential to create flower- culture and the consumption. Second, to eliminate the obstacles that prevents flowers from public's daily life is essential. Third is the effective public-relations on flowers. To create consuming culture and to adhere the positive images, it is essential to research and systematically organize categories of color, scent, and elements of flower and utilize them. Last proposal is the organization of flower-concerned personnels and the leading groups. The change is affected by the economical, social environment, along with the emotions of consumers. Therefore the necessity for the leading group to be the control-tower of such changes are very clear.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.72-79
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• 2022

Objective : Any traumatic event can be a risk factor, for subsequent mental disorder. However, childhood trauma, especially in interpersonal nature, is associated with later development of complex symptom patterns. This study examined the role of dissociation as a mediator between childhood trauma and symptom complexity. Methods : A pooled data of 369 psychiatric outpatients at a university-affiliated hospital was analyzed for descriptive statistics, group differences, and bivariate correlation analysis to verify a structural model. The questionnaires included the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, the Trauma History Screen, the Dissociative Experiences Scale-Taxon, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and the Abbreviated PTSD checklist. Results : When other trauma variables were controlled, childhood interpersonal trauma had significant correlation with symptom complexity (r=0.155, p=0.003). Among the paths analyzed, that of childhood interpersonal trauma and dissociation showed the greatest impact on symptom complexity (b=9.34, t=5.75, p<0.001). Based on the significance of the indirect impact, the results suggest a complete mediation impact of dissociation on symptom complexity. Conclusion : This study validated that childhood interpersonal trauma impacts symptom complexity, through the sequential mediating impact of dissociation. Thus, clinicians should understand childhood interpersonal trauma, dissociation, and symptom patterns in a complex and interacting mode, and develop effective pertinent treatment strategies.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.153-162
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• 2024

Objectives: Among OECD countries, South Korea has been having the highest suicide rate since 2018, with 24.1 deaths per 100,000 people reported in 2020. The objectie of this study was to examine the use of generative artificial intellicence (AI) chatbots to train third-year Korean medicine (KM) students in conducting suicide risk assessments for patients with depressive disorders to train students for their clinical practice skills. Methods: The Claude 3 Sonnet model was utilized for chatbot simulations. Students performed mock consultations using standardized suicide risk assessment tools including Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) tool and ASQ Brief Suicide Safety Assessment. Experiences and attitudes were collected through an anonymous online survey. Responses were rated on a 1~5 Likert scale. Results: Thirty-six students aged 22~30 years participated in this study. Their scores for interest and appropriateness (4.66±0.57), usefulness (4.60±0.61), and overall experience (4.63±0.60) were high. Their evaluation of the usability of artificial intelligence chatbot was also high at 4.58±0.70 points. However, their trust in chatbot responses (Q12) was lower (3.86±0.99). Common issues related to dissatisfaction included conversation disruptions due to token limits and inadequate chatbot responses. Conclusions: This is the first study investigating generative AI chatbots for suicide risk assessment training in KM education. Students reported high satisfaction, although their trust in chatbot accuracy was moderate. Technical limitations affected their experience. These preliminary findings suggest that generative AI chatbots hold promise for clinical training, particularly for education in psychiatry. However, improvements in response accuracy and conversation continuity are needed.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.8-17
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• 2024

Objective: This study aims to explore the relationship between isokinetic strength training and the enhancement of physical function in older adults. It also evaluates the effectiveness of isokinetic strength training equipment. Method: This study randomly divided twenty healthy adults into two groups.The experimental group engaged in isokinetic strength training for 30 minutes, three times a week, over a four-week period. In contrast, the control group did not participate in any exercise regimen. We assessed several outcome measures including physical functions (sit-to-stand test, flexibility, Timed Up and Go test), grip strength, balance, thigh circumference, the Korean version of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and the Korean version of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). Additionally, the experimental group's self-perceived improvement in lower limb condition was evaluated using the Global Rating of Change (GROC) scale. Results: The experimental group showed significant improvements compared to the control group in various aspects: reduced sit-to-stand test duration (7.00±2.05 seconds), increased flexibility (4.69±3.90 cm), improved grip strength (1.54±1.74 kg), increased thigh circumference (left: 1.29±1.19 cm, right: 1.19±1.27 cm), enhanced Timed Up and Go test performance (-1.47±0.86 seconds), better balance (eyes open stance: -8.08±4.03 cm, eyes closed stance: -0.27±0.13 cm/s), and a decrease in depression severity (-0.15±1.51 points). Furthermore, significant increases were observed in the experimental group's maximal isokinetic strength at 90°/s for both flexion (19.62±7.03 Nm) and extension (19.60±14.65 Nm) over the study period. Conclusion: The findings suggest that isokinetic strength training equipment can significantly enhance physical functions in seniors when incorporated into an exercise regimen.

• Dementia and Neurocognitive Disorders
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.130-138
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• 2023

Background and Purpose: Growing evidence has shown that cognitive interventions can mitigate cognitive decline in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, most previous cognitive interventions have been group-based programs. Due to their intrinsic limitations, group-based programs are not widely used in clinical practice. Therefore, we have developed a tablet-based cognitive intervention program. This preliminary study investigated the feasibility and effects of a 12-week structured tablet-based program on cognitive function in patients with MCI. Methods: We performed a single-arm study on 24 patients with MCI. The participants underwent a tablet-based cognitive intervention program 5 times a week over a 12-week period. The primary outcome was changes in cognitive function, measured using the Korean version of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Packet (CERAD-K). Outcomes were evaluated at baseline, within two weeks of the last program (post-intervention), and at the six-month follow-up session. Results: The completion rate of the tablet-based program was 83.3% in patients with MCI. The program improved cognitive function based on the CERAD-K total score (p=0.026), which was maintained for at least three months (p=0.004). There was also an improvement in the depression scale score (p=0.002), which persisted for three months (p=0.027). Conclusions: Our 12-week structured tablet-based program is feasible for patients with MCI. Furthermore, although further studies with a double-arm design are required, the program appears to be an effective strategy to prevent cognitive decline in patients with MCI.