Improving patient satisfaction based on service quality in clinical trials: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Participants' satisfaction is an important factor in securing competitiveness in clinical trials. In many industries, such as healthcare, customer service quality has been analyzed to increase customer satisfaction. However, no study so far has attempted to measure participants' perceptions of service quality in the clinical trial area and identify its effect on participant satisfaction.

Improving Upper Limb Spasticity in Patients with Stroke by Electroacupuncture Therapy: a Pre- and Post-Treatment Study.

Background: : Post-stroke upper limb spasticity (PS-ULS) causes a decline in the quality of life of patients by reducing their ability to perform normal daily activities.

Objectives: : We performed pre- and post-treatment analyses of the changes in stroke patients with ULS following constant electroacupuncture therapy (EAT).

Methods: : Thirty patients with PS-ULS underwent 12 sessions of EAT over 4 weeks.

Shallow and reverse attention network for colon polyp segmentation.

Polyp segmentation is challenging because the boundary between polyps and mucosa is ambiguous. Several models have considered the use of attention mechanisms to solve this problem. However, these models use only finite information obtained from a single type of attention.

Genome-Wide Association Study of Arabinoxylan Content from a 562 Hexaploid Wheat Collection.

The selection of wheat varieties with high arabinoxylan (AX) levels could effectively improve the daily consumption of dietary fiber. However, studies on the selection of markers for AX levels are scarce. This study analyzed AX levels in 562 wheat genotypes collected from 46 countries using a GWAS with the BLINK model in the GAPIT3.

Subjective life expectancy of middle-aged and older adult cancer survivors: A cross-sectional study in Korea using age-specific subgroup analysis.

Objective: As the population ages and the survival rate of cancer patients increases, long-term management of older adult cancer survivors has become important. Subjective life expectancy (SLE) is a concept that refers to an individual's particular predicted lifespan, which enables individuals to live an active life with hopeful expectations for the extension of a healthy life. Therefore, this study aims to identify the factors related to SLE according to age group, to help enable middle-aged and older adult cancer survivors to actively live out their lives with a sense of control.

Thermoelectric and Transport Properties of Permingeatite CuSbSe Prepared Using Mechanical Alloying and Hot Pressing.

Permingeatite (CuSbSe) is a promising thermoelectric material because it has a narrow band gap, large carrier effective mass, and abundant and nontoxic components. Mechanical alloying (MA), which is a high-energy ball mill process, has various advantages, e.g.

Scalp acupuncture for children with cerebral palsy: A protocol for a systematic review.

Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) describes a group of permanent disorders of movement and posture causing activity limitations, leading the most common movement disorder to children. Scalp acupuncture (SA) is one of several specialized acupuncture techniques, and it has been used widely in China to alleviate several CP symptoms, despite the deficiency of high-quality evidence related to this practice. Therefore, we plan to conduct a protocol of systematic review aimed at systematically reviewing all the clinical evidence on the effectiveness of scalp acupuncture for treating CP in children.

Non-pharmacological interventions for patients with dementia: A protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: This protocol for a systematic review describes the methods that will be used to evaluate the efficacy and safety of non-pharmacological interventions for patients with dementia.

Methods: We will search ALOIS, the specialized register of the Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group (CDCIG), without language or publication status restrictions. Additional separate searches will be run in many of the above six databases to ensure the most up-to-date results are retrieved.

Validation of the Core Seven-Emotions Inventory - short form.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of short form of the Core Seven Emotions Inventory (CSEI-s) scale.

Methods: The participants were third-grade Korean Medicine University students As with the original CSEI, the scales in the short form (CSEI-s) were composed of seven factors and consisted of 28 items in total. The internal consistency coefficient was calculated, and a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to verify the reliability of the short form scale.

Mixed Histology Is a Risk Factor for Lymph Node Metastasis in Early Gastric Cancer.

Background: The risk factors of lymph node (LN) metastasis are important factors to consider in endoscopic submucosal dissection in early gastric cancer (EGC). The aim of the study was to identify the correlation between mixed histology and LN metastasis in EGC.

Methods: A total of 1645 patients who underwent curative radical gastrectomy for EGC were divided into three groups (pure differentiated [pure D], mixed, and pure undifferentiated [pure UD]) according to histologic type.

Clinical effects of mindfulness meditation and cognitive behavioral therapy standardized for insomnia: A protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: This systematic review protocol describes the methods that will be used to evaluate the efficacy and safety of mindfulness meditation and cognitive behavioral therapy programs as a psychological intervention for insomnia disorders.

Methods And Analysis: We will search the following 11 electronic databases without language or publication status restrictions: MEDLINE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and PsycARTICLES. Furthermore, we will also search 5 Korean-language databases (Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System, Korean studies Information Service System, Research Information Service System, Korean Medical Database, and Korea Citation Index).

Meditation-based clinical study to determine the correlation of quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG) and 24-hour EEG activity.

Background: The heart continuously transmits information to the cerebrum during each pulse, and influences information processing such as perception, cognition, and emotion, which are processed in the cerebrum. This is the basis for the theory of oriental medicine widely used in psychiatric medicine and clinical practice, so-called Simjushinji (heart and brain) theory, that the heart controls the mind. The present study aims to analyze the correlation between heart and brain function by 24-hour active electrocardiogram and quantitative electroencephalogram (EEG) measurement under meditation.

Gallotannin Improves the Photoaged-Related Proteins by Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinases/c-Jun N-Terminal Kinases Signaling Pathway in Human Epidermal Keratinocyte Cells.

Tannins are a type of polyphenols found in several fruits such as grapes and berries, and nuts such as aronias and acorns. Both hydrolyzable tannins and condensed tannins are referred to as tannins. Among the hydrolyzable tannins, gallotannin has a strong antioxidative property and is known to protect the skin by inhibiting the precursors of elastolytic enzymes.

Induction by HT7 Acupuncture Alters Theta and Alpha Band Coherence in Human Healthy Subjects.

The aim of this preliminary study is to investigate the changes in phase synchronization in the theta and alpha bands before and during the performance of classical acupuncture on the Sinmun (HT7). The electroencephalogram (EEG) signals from nine healthy young subjects were recorded before and during acupuncture in the "closed-eye" state. The EEG signals were acquired from 19 surface scalp electrodes (FP1, FP2, F7, F3, Fz F4, F8, T3, C3, Cz, C4, T4, T5, P3, Pz, P4, T6, O1, and O2).

Effect of body weight and lifestyle changes on long-term course of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in Koreans.

Background: Although the prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been increasing, there have been few studies of long-term changes in NAFLD in large numbers of subjects. This study was performed to assess the long-term changes in severity of fatty liver and to analyze the association with changes in body weight and lifestyle factors.

Methods: We analyzed lifestyle factors, biochemical data, and abdominal ultrasonography in subjects who underwent voluntary medical checkups at a 5-year interval.

Inorganic metal hydroxide nanoparticles for targeted cellular uptake through clathrin-mediated endocytosis.

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are biocompatible materials which can be used as drug-delivery nanovehicles. In order to define the optimum size of LDH nanoparticles for efficient cellular uptake and drug-delivery pathway, we prepared different sized LDH nanoparticles with narrow size distribution by modulating the crystal growth rate, and labelled each LDH particle with a fluorophore using a silane coupling reaction. The cellular uptake rate of LDHs was found to be highly dependent on particle size (50 > 200 > or = 100 > 350 nm), whose range of 50 to 200 nm was selectively internalized into cells through clathrin-mediated endocytosis with enhanced permeability and retention.

Association between BMI and metabolic syndrome and adenomatous colonic polyps in Korean men.

Obesity and insulin resistance are associated with the risk of colon cancer. Adenomatous colonic polyps are precancerous lesions of colon cancer. We investigated whether BMI and the metabolic syndrome are associated with the presence of adenomatous colonic polyps in Korean men.

A cross-sectional study of socioeconomic status and the metabolic syndrome in Korean adults.

Purpose: Socioeconomic status may influence the risk of the metabolic syndrome. We investigated the association between socioeconomic status and the metabolic syndrome in Korean adults.

Methods: We analyzed a total of 8,541 subjects ages 20 to 79 years who participated in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2001.