• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.212-224
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• 2014

There are several studies on the effects of emissions of highly reactive volatile organic compounds (HRVOC) from the industrial sources in the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria (HGB) area on the high ozone events during the Texas Air Quality Study (TexAQS) in summer of 2000. They showed that the modeled atmosphere lacked reactivity to produce the observed high ozone event and suggested "imputation" of HRVOC emissions from the base inventory. Byun et al. (2007b) showed the imputed inventory leads to too high ethylene concentrations compared to the measurements at the chemical super sites but still too little aloft compared to the NOAA aircraft. The paper suggested that the lack of reactivity in the modeled Houston atmosphere must be corrected by targeted, and sometimes of episodic, increase of HRVOC emissions from the large sources such as flares in the Houston Ship Channel (HSC) distributed into the deeper level of the boundary layer. We performed retrospective meteorological and air quality modeling to achieve better air quality prediction of ozone by comparison with various chemical and meteorological measurements during the Texas Air Quality Study periods in August-September 2006 (TexA QS-II). After identifying several shortcomings of the forecast meteorological simulations and emissions inputs, we prepared new retrospective meteorological simulations and updated emissions inputs. We utilized assimilated MM5 inputs to achieve better meteorological simulations (detailed description of MM5 assimilation can be found in F. Ngan et al., 2012) and used them in this study for air quality simulations. Using the better predicted meteorological results, we focused on the emissions uncertainty in order to capture high peak ozone which occasionally happens in the HGB area. We described how the ozone predictions are affected by emissions uncertainty in the air quality simulations utilizing different emission inventories and adjustments.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.39-47
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• 2016

Objectives : This study was conducted to examine the clinical effects of thread embedding acupuncture on lumbar herniated intervertebral disc patients. Methods : This is a retrospective study based on clinical charts. Despite the treatments of acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, herbal medicine, and physical therapy during admission period, 10 lumbar herniated intervertebral disc patients who had shown few improvements in their symptoms were selected as subjects. Thread embedding acupuncture was conducted to reduce patient pain. Patient progress was categorized into three periods based on when the embedding procedure performed. Verbal numeric rating scale (VNRS), Oswestry disability index (ODI), and a 5 step evaluation scale for satisfaction were used to analyze the outcome. Results : Regarding comparison of VNRS improvement rate, both 3 and 6 days after embedding progress showed significant difference compared to before embedding progress. ODI improvement rate showed significant difference only 6 days after embedding progress. Patients' satisfaction with treatment had increased by several degrees. Conclusion : Thread embedding acupuncture for lumbar herniated intervertebral disc patients may be effective in reducing pain and improving their quality of life.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.96-99
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• 2014

Purpose: The objective of this retrospective pilot study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Gabapentin in patients with primary burning mouth syndrome (BMS). Methods: Ten subjects were diagnosed with primary BMS (8 women and 2 men). The mean age was 60.1 years. They had clinical examination to exclude local factors such as the presence of Candida species, xerostomia, lichen planus, etc. They also underwent hematological examination to exclude secondary BMS due to systemic disorders. Pain was assessed by patients on an 11-point numerical rating score system (0 to 10). Gabapentin was administered at a starting dose of 300 mg/day, slowly titrated up to maximum of 1,800 mg/day. All patients were treated for 4 weeks. Results: One half of the patients (n=5) obtained reduction in pain over the treatment period. Four patients reported no reduction in pain symptoms. One patient reported that symptoms were worsening. The average pain score before the treatment was 6.3 and after the treatment was 5.25. No significant relationship was detected between pretreatment and posttreatment pain score. Only one patient noted mild side effect (dizziness). Conclusions: This retrospective pilot study provides no preliminary evidence that Gabapentin has effect in the management of BMS. However, further research (well-designed, randomized, and controlled trial with large sample) would be needed to investigate the efficacy of Gabapentin in treatment of BMS.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.14-22
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• 2010

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate any clinical research regarding asthma published by the Korean Oriental Medical Society and its sub-societies for future rigorous clinical research. Methods: Every article relevant to asthma was initially obtained from journals in the Korean Oriental Medical Society and its sub-societies by electronic search at journal web sites or manual search. Journals were limited to those registered by the Korea Research Foundation. From initial findings, two independent reviewers selected clinical articles and these articles were further analyzed separately into predefined criteria according to prospective and retrospective studies. For prospective studies, quality assessment was also conducted. Results: From 99 articles initially obtained, 19 were finally analyzed. 14 were prospective whereas 5 were retrospective. Among the prospective articles, there were no randomized controlled trials and the non-randomized studies had no control groups, with several problems of quality regarding pre-calculated study size and unbiased assessment. None of the retrospective studies described asthma diagnosis objectively and outcome measures were either non-relevant to asthma or non-validated. Conclusions: Well-designed randomized controlled studies for asthma are needed and more rigorous non-randomized controlled studies should be conducted.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.315-321
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• 2011

The goal of this study is to reduce patient exposure dose by providing image quality and radiation dose according to inspection methods. Volume Computed Tomography Dose Index(CTDIvol) and Dose Length Product(DLP) of prospective and retrospective ECG gating snapshot segment of Coronary CT angiography(CTA) were measured each snapshot segment methods. CT number, noise, uniformity, and resolution were also measured using phantom under the same condition of coronary CTA. The results showed that CT number, noise, uniformity and resolution are similar to each other. In terms of CTDIvol and DLP, however, measurement dose of prospective ECG gating snapshot segment was lower than the retrospective case by 37.5% and 40.3%. Therefore, it is highly recommended that in the coronary CTA, prospective ECG gating scan mode should be chosen to reduce patient dose.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.238-245
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• 2017

This retrospective observational study was aimed to evaluate that Daoyin Exercise therapy improves the symptoms related to lumbar disc herniation. We analyzed the medical records of 7 patients, who satisfied with inclusion and exclusion criteria. The subjects of the study were the patients who were prescribed Daoyin Exercise Therapy and Korean medical treatments for lumbar intervertebral disc herniation at Dunsan Korean Medicine Hospital of Daejeon University from July 25th, 2016 to March 31th, 2017. The effects of Daoyin Exercise Therapy was evaluated by comparing before and after taking Daoyin Exercise Therapy through 0-10 Numeric Rating Scale(NRS), Roland & Morris Disability Questionnaire(RMDQ), Trunk Extension Flexion(TEF) Program, EuroQol five Demension Questionnaire(EQ-5D, EQVAS) of the symptoms including lower back pain. The Daoyin Exercise Therapy combined with Korean medicine treatment reduced NRS($3.357{\pm}3.038$) and RMDQ($9.50{\pm}6.364$), and improved Muscle endurance($44.429{\pm}45.136$), EQ-5D($0.09{\pm}0.12$) and EQVAS($6.571{\pm}19.260$) of the 7 patients without side effects. These results implied that Daoyin Exercise Therapy might helps to improve symptoms of patients with lumbar disc herniation by reducing the symptoms of lower back pain and improving muscle endurance, quality of life, strength enhancement and core muscles.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.327-338
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• 2012

Environmental specimen banks provide the baselines for the scientists and decision makers to do research using the past and present specimens to expect the possible contaminant implications of the future. Many chemicals that are considered harmless now but not found may be found and pose threats in the future. Collected specimens of animals and plants should be conserved without contamination for future analysis. To ensure the availability of samples for the retrospective analysis, the establishment and maintenance of specimen banks in the developing and developed nations has become absolutely necessary. National Environmental Specimen Bank (NESB) established at National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) in 2009. For the application of NESB, several activities such as standard operating procedures (SOPs) development have been prepared. This study applied the guidelines for sampling and sample treatment of five environmental specimens which had been prepared from 2007 to 2009. The target species were shoots of red pine and Korean pine, leaves of Mongolian oak, eggs of domestic pigeon and muscles and livers of common carp. The NESB will enhance the quality of environmental assessment and environmental monitoring based on real time and retrospective analysis.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.53 no.12
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• pp.949-957
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• 2015

We investigate the clinical characteristics of odontoma in childhood and adolescence. A retrospective analysis was performed in 105 patients under 15 years old who were diagnosed with odontoma in Kyungpook National University Dental Hospital, the department of pediatric dentistry between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2013. The ratio of compound odontoma, immature odontoma and complex odontoma were 67.6%, 21.9% and 10.5%, respectively. Odontoma was more prevalent in males and the ratio of males to females was 1.5:1. The age of patients ranged from 3 to 14 years old with an average age of 9.3 years old. The odontoma was more frequently located in the maxilla (73.3%) than in the mandible(26.7%). In 98 cases, it was treated by surgical removal. Among adjacent teeth impacted by odontoma, 26 cases (34.7%) of successional permanent teeth were erupted when only odontoma were removed and 6 cases (8.0%) were erupted when surgical exposure was performed. Orthodontic tractions were performed in 43 cases (57.3%). In conclusion, odontoma could cause complications such as impaction of teeth. If they are found early and treated properly, high eruption success of successional permanent teeth can be obtained. The occurrence frequency of immature odontoma are higher than that of complex odontoma, and they are observed intensively in anterior maxillary teeth. Therefore, it is considered that they are important causes of dental impaction in anterior maxillary teeth.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.671-679
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• 2007

Background: $TiUnite^{TM}$ is a highly crystalline and phosphate enriched titanium oxide surface which has a unique porous surface structure. This improved implant surface enhances bone response and reduces healing period. It also assures early stability of implant. These help to increase the success of implant. The aim of this study is to evaluate the survival rate of $TiUnite^{TM}$ surfaced single implant. Materials and methods: A retrospective analysis of 89 $TiUnite^{TM}$ surfaced implants replacing a single tooth was assessed according to their dental record. The age of the patients ranged from 17 to 82 years (mean age: $45.8{\pm}14.6)$. Data were recorded regarding the survival rate of these implants. Results: Fifty-two implants (57%) were placed in the maxilla, and 37 (43%) in the mandible. Over 75% were placed in the posterior area. Of the placed implants, 67% were the wide type. while 25% were the regular type and only 8% were of the narrow type. The single implants produced an overall clinical survival rate of 96.6% over the observation period (mean 17.9 months). Among 89 implants, only 2 implants were removed and one implant was submerged. Conclusion: According to these data, $TiUnite^{TM}$ surfaced implant in a single tooth restoration showed favorable survival rate although this study was done in a short term period.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.91-104
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• 2018

Objectives The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of Acupotomy on the pain reduction and functional improvement of patients with Acute low back pain. Methods We studied 60 patients with Acute low back pain with Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) 5 or higher in admission and had admitted to Department of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation of Daejeon University from March 1, 2017 to October 31, 2017. 30 patients had received Acupotomy combined Korean Medicine treatment(such as acupuncture, moxabustion, herbal medicine, etc) and the other 30 had received Korean Medicine treatment only. The analysis was conducted as a retrospective study which analyzes the patient's medical records. Statistical analysis was performed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 24 program. We used NRS to evaluate pain reduction, used Range of Motion (ROM) and Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) to evaluate function improvement, and used EuroQol-5 Dimension (EQ-5D) and EuroQoL-Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS) to assess quality of life. Finally, a five-point Likert scale was used to assess treatment satisfaction. Results The analysis revealed that patients who were treated with Acupotomy showed statistically significant NRS reduction, improvement of ROM and RMDQ, improvement of EQ-5D and EQ-VAS and satisfaction compared to those who just recevied Korean Medicine treatment. Conclusions In conclusion, we found that the Acupotomy showed a positive effect on pain resolving, functional rehabilitation and quality of life in patients with Acute low back pain.