• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.183-197
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• 2020

Purpose: In this study, the researchers closely investigated the psychosocial problems faced by terminal cancer patients and their family members in hospice palliative care units. Methods: The investigators conducted four sessions of art therapy intervention programs for the terminal cancer patients and their family members, carried out in-depth interviews about the influence of the cancer experience on their family function and quality of life, and analyzed their experiences using grounded theory methodology. Results: After providing autonomous written informed consent, six pairs of terminally ill cancer patients and their family members, accounting for a total of 17 participants with the inclusion of additional family members who took part sporadically, took part in the art therapy intervention and interviews. The raw data, in the form of verbatim records, were analyzed according to the procedures of grounded theory (open, axial, and selective coding). Through these processes, a total of 154 concepts, 56 subcategories, and 13 categories were identified. Families were classified into four types according to their family function, quality of life, and attitude toward death. Though the art therapy intervention, patients and their family members experienced three stages over time. Conclusion: This research focused on essential aspects of the family relationships and the art therapy experiences of terminal cancer patients and their family members through an art therapy intervention in the context of hospice palliative care. Based on these observations, the researchers constructed a theoretical rationale for art therapy interventions delivered to patients and their family members in the process of hospice palliative care.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.177-189
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• 2024

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of Resource Mindfulness on participants' emotional state, focusing on anxiety and stress reduction and to explore the importance of psychological resources in this process. The effectiveness of Resource Mindfulness was investigated through both quantitative and qualitative analyses, examining its influence on subjective distress, mindfulness, core emotions, and identification of personal resources. Methods: This study involved 27 participants, including Korean medicine students, psychological counselors, clinical psychologists, and Korean medicine specialists, who attended a 2-night, 3-day M&L psychological support education program from July 2 to July 4, 2022. Participants were informed of the study's purpose and procedures. They provided written consent. Quantitative measures included Subjective Units of Disturbance Scale (SUDS), Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), and Core Seven-Emotions Inventory Short Form (CSEI-s). Qualitative analysis was conducted using the "Drawing the Rooms of the Mind" technique. Pre- and post-program assessments were conducted to compare changes in subjective distress, mindfulness, and core emotions. Data were analyzed using paired t-tests and qualitative content analysis methods. Results: Significant reductions in subjective distress and improvements in mindfulness components were observed. Core emotions showed significant decreases in negative emotions. Qualitative analysis revealed increased tranquility, relief, and confidence, with resourceful places often being nature-related. Conclusions: Resource Mindfulness effectively reduced anxiety and stress and enhanced self-awareness and self-efficacy. It is useful for managing various mental health issues. Further research is needed to generalize these findings.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.199-209
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• 2008

Objectives : To explore the adverse events and safety following facial cosmetic acupuncture treatment (Miso-Acupuncture). Subjects and methods : This study was a retrospective survey of practitioner's reports. The practitioners worked as facial cosmetic acupuncturists, gave informed consent, and completed a case report form between July and November of 2007. On this form, practitioners were asked to report the degree of adverse events relating to the Miso-Acupuncture, the total safety of the treatment, and reasons patients gave for quitting treatment. The practitioners in this study were all Oriental Medicine Doctors(OMD) who had trained at the Miso-Acupuncture Academy for 40 hours we received 23 final report cases. Results : In this study, adverse events following Miso-Acupuncture treatment were mild bruising(15 ; 65.2%), bleeding(12 ; 52.2%), pain(8 ; 34.8%), fatigue(7 ; 30.4%), headache(5 ; 21.7%), and others(10 ; 43.5%). The average degree of adverse events was between mild and moderate, which needs no extra treatment. The total safety of treatment for 16 weeks was between safe and nearly safe, and there was no need to quit treatment in spite of mild adverse events. Eight patients(34.8%) quit treatment, almost all for personal reasons unrelated to the Miso-Acupuncture. Conclusions : These results suggest that the Miso-Acupuncture has no serious adverse events and is a relatively safe treatment.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.350-357
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the difference of differentiation potential in each passage of dental pulp stem cells from supernumerary tooth (sDPSCs). The sDPSCs were obtained from a healthy 6-year-old male patient under the guidelines and got the informed consent. Cells were cultured until passage number 16 and divided into two groups; 1 - 8 passages as a young group and 9 - 16 passages as an old group. It was taken $2.25{\pm}0.46days$ in a young group and $3.25{\pm}0.46days$ in an old group to propagate cells of each passage until confluence and there were statistically significant differences between two groups (p < 0.05). In every passage, cell morphology was observed with microscope and evaluated the capacity to form high levels of minerals by alizarin red solution staining after treating differentiation medium. Fibroblast-like, spindle shaped, elongated cells and a few nodules were found in uninduced cultures of passage number 1, 8 and 9. But at 16 passage culture, cell size became larger and broader and observed with more nodules. After inducing differentiation, mineralized nodules were detected at the first passage of 7th day culture whereas at the 8 passage culture, nodules were seen clearly at 14th day culture. In addition, the amount of mineralized nodules were remarkably decreased after passage 9. From the data presented in this study, it is recommended to use sDPSCs of passage number within 8 for utilizing as stem cells.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.4053-4056
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• 2013

Background: Colposcopy is the gold standard procedure for evaluating cervical cytological abnormalities. Although it is essentially a minimally invasive intervention, referral for colposcopy may cause significant distress on patients. In this study, we aimed to determine if pre-procedural anxiety levels have a significant association with procedure related pain and discomfort in women undergoing colposcopy for evaluation of abnormal cervical cytology. We also assessed the impact of various clinical factors on anxiety, pain and discomfort in these patients. Materials and Methods: This prospective study was performed at the gynecologic oncology department of Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Education and Research Hospital in Ankara, Turkey between January and June 2013. After taking informed consent, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) form and a 14-item questionnaire were filled for women who were admitted to our outpatient colposcopy unit for evaluation of abnormal cervical cytology. STAI scores were calculated for each participant. Immediately after the procedure, visual analog scale (VAS) scores for procedure-related pain and discomfort were obtained. Associations between STAI and VAS scores were investigated using correlation analyses. The effect of various contributing factors on anxiety, pain and discomfort were evaluated with linear regression analysis. The p values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 222 women met the inclusion criteria within the study period. Mean patient age was $38.5{\pm}9.6$. Median state and trait anxiety scores were 47 and 46, respectively. Median VAS scores for pain and discomfort were 4 for both variables. State anxiety had a significant correlation with procedure related discomfort (p=0.02). Colposcopy related pain VAS scores were significantly affected by state anxiety level, marital status and prior gynecological examination (p<0.05). Colposcopy related discomfort VAS scores were significantly affected by state anxiety level, marital status, prior gynecological examination and educational status. Conclusions: Additional measures should be implemented in women that carry higher risk for experiencing pain and discomfort. Social, cultural and lifestyle issues may also affect women's experiences during colposcopy, therefore further studies are needed to define specific determining factors in various populations.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.115-125
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• 2007

Grould Reaction force(GRF) is important in human movements and GRF measurements are one of the most frequently used tool in biomechanical studies. In the studies of the golf swing motion, people refer to GRF as weight transfer. A successful golf swing motion requires many segments activation sequences which are controled by the nerve system. Due to the inter- and intra-individual variability of the human movement and the movement strategies, reliability of the measurements are important in human movement studies. Previous golf researches were based on group studies and certain events' values were analyzed. The purposes of this study were to determine the number of trials for the reliable golf swing GRF data collection, to reveal the variability level of the meaningful components of the golf swing GRF, and to classify the types of the golf swing GRF patterns. Twenty three male professional golfers($26.4{\pm}6.6$ years, $174.3{\pm}5.2\;cm$, $71.3{\pm}6.5\;kg$) signed an informed consent form prior to participation in this study. GRFs of driver swings were collected with Kistler 9285 force platform and 9865A amplifier, and calculated by the KwonGRF program(Visol, Korea). Sampling frequency was 1080 Hz. GRF data were trimmed from 1.5 s prior to the impact to 0.5 s after the impact. The number of trials for the reliable GRF collection was determined when the change in floating mean overs the 25 % of the standard deviation of that variable. Variabilities of the variables were determined by the coefficient of variation(CV) of 10 %. The types of GRF patterns were determined by visual inspection of the peak GRF shapes. The minimum number of trials for the reliable golf swing GRF data collection was five. Ten-trial seems more conservative. The value of the peak GRF was more reliable than the value of the impact GRF. The CV of the peak GRF and impact GRF were 7.4 %, 15.2 %, respectively. Because of the +/- sigh of the peak GRF appearance time, it was impossible to calculate CV of the peak GRF appearance time. Golf swing GRF patterns were classified as sing peak type, double peak type, and plateau peak type. This classification suggests the presence of the different golf swing weight transfer strategies.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.28 no.7
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• pp.1179-1190
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• 2022

The purpose of this study was to identify, analyze and address problems in the current scuba diving rescue curriculum in Korea by using the Delphi method to collect expert opinions on the topic. This expert information can form a data-based foundation for the scuba diving rescue curriculum, allowing teaching to be conducted more professionally and systematically, and allowing participants to enjoy scuba diving with greater safety and confidence. In this study, eight experts, all involved in developing the scuba rescue curriculum, were selected, and the research was conducted with informed consent from all participants and in accordance with all related ethical rules. Improvement measures were identified for scuba rescue leaders, teaching programs and training facilities. The study revealed that to improve leadership, a system to verify the leader's ability should be developed and that, in general, the ability of scuba rescue leaders should be strengthened. To improve teaching programs, each scuba organization should produce updated program manuals, prepare evaluation standards, and develop programs that employ a wide variety of training equipment. Finally, in terms of facilities, improvements should be made by constructing artificial wave devices at training centers.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.2 s.70
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• pp.66-79
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• 2007

Objectives : To explore the type and frequency of short term reactions, de Qi associated with acupuncture treatment and to determine the incidence of adverse events following acupuncture in Korea. Subjects and methods : This study is a retrospective and cross-sectional survey of patient reports. 1095 subjects, 585 of out-patients of the Oriental Medicine of Stroke & Neurological Disorders Center, East-West NEO Medical Center of Kyunghee University and 510 of out-patients of the Department of Cardiovascular & Neurologic Diseases (Stoke Center), Hospital of Oriental Medicine, Kyunghee Medical Center, from June through November of 2006, who had acupuncture, gave informed consent and completed one survey form. On this form, patients were asked to report short term acupuncture reactions, de Qi, patient satisfaction measurement (using VAS), and adverse events relating to acupuncture treatment. The acupuncturists of this study are Korean Medicine Doctors (KMD) who had worked as practitioners for 3-30 years or more. Results : The average age of the 1095 subjects was 58 years old. Positive short term acupuncture reactions after treatment were reported by 878 (80.2%), negative short term acupuncture reactions by 75 (6.8%) and no reactions were reported by 142 (13.0%). The most common positive short term acupuncture reactions were feeling 'relaxed', 472 (43.1%), followed by feeling 'less pain' 90 (8.2%), 'energized' 16 ( 1.5%), 'tingling' 16 (1.5%), 'heat feeling or Cold feeling' 10 (0.9%), and others 274 (25.0%), respectively. Negative short term acupuncture reactions were feeling 'pain' 37 (3.4%), tiredness 24 (2.2%), dizziness 9 (0.8%), and others 5 (0.2%), respectively. Traditionally described needling sensations of de Qi refer to a patient's response to distention, pulling, soreness, heaviness, numbness. 39.7% of subjects reported de Qi during needling, experiencing 'distention' 333 (30.4%), 'soreness' 52 (4.7%), 'pulling' 22 (2.0%), 'heaviness' 18 (1.6%), and 'numbness' 10 (0.9%) respectively. Positive short term acupuncture reactions and de Qi rate were the highest in the less than 40 years group (83/96 86.5%, 50/96 52.1%). No acupuncture reactions were highly seen in the over 70 years old group (31/187, 16.6%). Patient satisfaction level using VAS was a comparatively high $72.9{\pm}19.9$. Adverse events were only bleeding in 92 (8.4%) of the total subjects. High sensitive acupoints were 95 points as GV26 (54 times), LI4 (54 times), ST36 (53 times), GB20 (37 times), HT8(34 times), LV3 (29 times), SI3 (29 times), and LI11 (27 times) in order. Main impressions were stroke patients 430 (16.9%), headache 185 (16.9%), hypertension 97 (8.9%), and dizziness 85 (7.8%). Conclusions : Although 8 different Korean Medicine Doctors participated in this research, we obtained similar results from each. There were no significantly different results between the two hospitals. Short term acupuncture reactions and de Qi were most related to age. Except for bleeding there were no adverse events relating to acupuncture treatment in this study. We consider acupuncture treatment as very safe depending on practitioners. Positive short term acupuncture reactions after treatment were 12 times higher than negative short term acupuncture reactions. Subjects were comparatively satisfied with acupuncture treatment.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.104-112
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• 2008

Purpose: To assess the toxicity and tumor response induced by $DCVac/IR^{(R)}$ dendritic cell(DC) immunotherapy combined with irradiation for refractory colorectal cancer patients with multiple liver metastases. Materials and Methods: Between May 2004 and November 2006, applicants from a pool of refractory colorectal cancer patients with multiple liver metastases were enrolled. The patients were registered after having signed the informed consent form, which had been approved by the Institutional Review Board from the Dong-A University and Busan National University Hospital. DCs were obtained from peripheral blood of each patient, and then cultured in vitro. A total of $6{\times}10^6$ DCs were packed into a vial($DCVac/IR^{(R)}$, 0.5 ml) at the convenience of each patient's schedule. On the day before and on the day of each vaccination, each patient received a 4 Gy radiation dose to the target tumor. On the day of vaccination, the indicated dose of autologous DCs was injected into the irradiated tumor using ultrasound-guided needle injection procedures. A total of four vaccinations were scheduled at three 2-week intervals and one 4 week interval at the Dong-A University and Busan National University Hospital. If the tumor status was deemed to be stable or responding to therapy, an additional vaccination dose or two was approved at 4 week intervals beyond the fourth immunization. A tolerance test for DCs was conducted by injecting a range of doses($3{\times}10^6\;to\;12{\times}10^6$ DCs) after the 3rd injection. Moreover, the maximal tolerable dose was applied to additional patients. Treatment safety was evaluated in all patients who had at least one injection. Treatment feasibility was evaluated by the 10th week by assessing the response of patients having at least 4 injections. For systemic toxicities, the evaluation was performed using the National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria, whereas adverse effects were recorded using common WHO toxicity criteria. Results: Of the 24 registered patients, 22 received the DCs injections. Moreover, of the 14 patients that applied for the tolerance test, only 11 patients completed it because 3 patients withdrew their testing agreement. A grade 3 or more side effect, which was possibly related to the DC injection, did not occur in additional patients. The $12{\times}10^6$ DC injection was identified as the maximum tolerable dose, and was then injected in an additional 8 patients. Patients tolerated the injection fairly well, with no fatal side effects. In order to assess the feasibility of DC immunotherapy, the response was evaluated in other hepatic lesions outside of the targeted hepatic lesion. The response evaluation was performed in 15 of the 17 patients who received at least 4 injections. Stable and progressive disease was found in 4 and 11 patients, respectively. Conclusion: The DC-based immunotherapy and radiotherapy is theoretically synergistic for the local control and systemic control. The $DCVac/IR^{(R)}$ immunotherapy combined with irradiation was tolerable and safe in the evaluated cases of refractory colorectal cancer with multiple liver metastases. Future work should include well designed a phase II clinical trials.