• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.526-530
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• 2018

Human fingernails were used to estimate the radiation dose via electron paramagnetic resonance measurements of radiation-induced radicals. The limiting factors in this research were mechanically induced electron paramagnetic resonance signals due to the mechanical stress during the preparation of the samples. Therefore, different treatment methods of fingernails were used to reduce the mechanically induced signals. The results demonstrate that the mechanically induced and radiation-induced signals have apparently different microwave power saturation behaviors. In addition, the mechanically induced signal shows a fading evolution over time and reaches a constant value. Chemical treatment using the different reagents showed that the minimum mechanically induced signal was obtained using the dithiothreitol reagent. The dose-response curves of the samples treated with dithiothreitol for 30 minutes demonstrated a greater linearity than those of samples treated for 5 minutes. Therefore, to find an unknown absorbed dose in a fingernail sample using a calibration curve, we recommend adopting the mentioned chemical treatment procedure to reduce the uncertainty.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.291-303
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• 2012

As respiratory tract infections (RTI) account for about 60% of all antibiotic prescriptions in outpatient care setting, there are significant concerns about emerging resistance that are largely due to the excessive or inappropriate use of antibacterial agents for viral respiratory infections. This study was aimed to develop retrospective drug utilization review (DUR) program of antibiotics for RTIs using Delphi methods. Retrospective DUR criteria of antibiotics for RTIs were identified based on clinical practice guidelines and opinion of experts. Expert panel members were clinical doctors and pharmacists and Delphi method was applied by survey on 16 members of panels. The claim data from Korean Health Insurance Review & Assessment (HIRA) were used to examine trends in outpatient antibiotic prescription between Janunary to December of 2008. As results, Quality index for RTI was assessed for the claim type, antibiotics use of quantity, duration, number and cost. Antibiotic prescription rate for RTIs, Defined Daily Dose (DDD), and duration of antibiotics use were more recognized as significant quality index by experts' opinion. Use of first line agents suggested by guidelines was low and duration of antibiotics use was shorter compared to the recommendations. Antibiotics were over prescribed for RITs. However, dose and duration of antibiotics were under-used.

• 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.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.325-343
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• 2024

Objective : To understand how Chungsangboha-tang (CSBHT) is being utilized in clinical practice and research in Korea, clinical studies related to CSBHT published in domestic academic journals were analyzed. Methods : The search was conducted using the following six databases: Korean Traditional Knowledge Portal, Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System, ScienceON, Research Information Sharing Service, Koreanstudies Information Service System, and The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine. After selecting relevant literature published before June 24, 2024, the studies were classified and analyzed according to their research design. Results : The final selection comprised 20 studies categorized as follows: 1 non-randomized controlled trial and 10 before-and-after studies in prospective clinical research, along with 7 case reports and 2 retrospective chart reviews in retrospective clinical studies. Among the 233 participants included in these studies, 169 had asthma, 53 had chronic cough, and 5 had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Additionally, other conditions reported included Churg-Strauss syndrome, pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis, non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease, bronchiectasis, and pulmonary hypertension. CSBHT was administered as a decoction in 13 studies, as granules in 6 studies, and both in one study. The most frequently used assessment tools were pulmonary function tests and quality of life evaluations. For safety assessment, liver function test results and adverse events were reported. Conclusion : To enhance the utilization of CSBHT in Korean medicine clinical practice, continuous accumulation of domestic clinical research is essential. Moreover, meticulously designed randomized controlled trials are necessary to elevate the level of evidence.

• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.1317-1325
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• 2015

There are two types of clinical research to figure out risk factor for disease using collected data. One is prospective study to approach the subjects from the present time and the other is retrospective study to find the risk factor using the subject's information in the past. Both approached and study design are different but the purpose of the two studies is to identify a significant difference between two groups and to find out what the variables to influence groups. Especially when comparing the two groups in clinical research, we have to look at the difference between the impact clinical variables by group while controlling the influence of the baseline characteristics variables such as age and sex. However, in the retrospective study, the difference of baseline characteristic variables can occur more frequently because the past records did not randomly assign subjects into two groups. In clinical data analysis use covariates to solve this problem. Typically, the analysis method using the analysis of covariance of variance, adjusted model, and propensity score matching method. This study is introduce the way of equality adjustment between groups data analysis using covariates in retrospective clinical studies and apply it to the recurrence of gastric cancer data.

• 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 Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.149-160
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• 2024

Purpose: The objective of this retrospective clinical study was to provide evidence supporting the adjunctive local application of doxycycline solution or minocycline ointment, in conjunction with drainage, for the treatment of acute periodontal abscesses. Methods: The study included 63 patients who had received treatment for acute periodontal abscesses through drainage supplemented with 1 of 3 types of adjunctive medications during their initial visit (visit 1; baseline): 1) saline irrigation (the control group), 2) 2% minocycline ointment (the TM group), or 3) 300 mg/mL doxycycline irrigation (the TD group). The same adjunctive medication was administered at visit 2, which took place 1 week after visit 1. Probing depth (PD), bleeding on probing (BOP), plaque index, gingival recession, clinical attachment level, and tooth mobility were clinically evaluated at visits 1, 2, and a third visit (visit 3; 4 weeks after visit 1). Statistical significance was considered to be indicated by P values <0.05. Results: By visit 3, all clinical indices and tooth mobility had significantly decreased in each group. At this visit, PD and BOP on the abscess side were significantly lower in the TM and TD groups compared to the control group. The TD group showed a significantly greater improvement than the TM group, with mean PD reductions of 1.09 mm in the control group, 1.88 mm in the TM group, and 2.88 mm in the TD group. Similarly, mean BOP reductions were 45% in the control group, 73.02% in the TM group, and 95.45% in the TD group. Conclusions: Local and adjunctive administration of doxycycline and minocycline in combination with drainage exhibited clinical advantages over drainage alone in improving PD and BOP. Notably, a doxycycline solution of 300 mg/mL was more effective than a 2% minocycline ointment.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.135-148
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• 2012

This is a retrospective, quantitative review of the English Teachers Association in Korea, namely the ETAK and its journals during the period of 18 years ever since the establishment in August 1994. It examines the history of the association, its domestic and international conferences, and most importantly, its articles. The purpose was to learn how it has emerged into a full-fledged organization, what the preferred language of the article has been, how the volume size has changed, and how many foreign scholars' articles have been contributed. It also looked into the number of authors each article was written by to examine the trend of cooperative work in the field of English education. Classification of the research topic was focused on the 4 skills of the language, grammar and vocabulary, literature, linguistics and all the rest areas were categorized into others. From the results of the study, suggestions for the future ETAK in the Korean English teaching were to be given.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.208-210
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• 2020

Recently, after reviewing the online journal, Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, we found a recently published original article by Manzano et al., entitled, "Retrospective study of osteoradionecrosis in the jaws of patients with head and neck cancer". Although this original article was well written and provided a great deal of information regarding osteoradionecrosis in the jaws, we would like to add a few additional recommendations based on our small concerns and recently updated articles.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.2751-2755
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• 2016

Background: Melanoma, the most life-threatening type of skin cancer, is a malignant tumor initiating in melanocytes that rapidly metastasizes and causes death. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, samples were selected from patients' information files in our Cancer Institute in Tehran with a designed checklist. A total of 322 files were found from 2003 until 2012. Then the raw data were transferred to Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 16 and additional analysis was performed by Students t-test. The important variables were considered according to the available information from history of pathology including age, gender, occupation, stage and location of tumor. Results: Our data showed that incidence of melanoma has been different in the studied 10-year period according to age. Also, incidence of melanoma was higher in men than women. It was more common in lower limbs. More commonly housewives among women and farmers among men were affected by melanoma. Conclusions: Taken together the descriptive data clarified general aspects of this disease for further screening and interventions.