• PNF and Movement
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.253-262
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• 2022

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify the effects of performing the half squat exercise with Kinesio taping (HSEKT) on trunk and lower extremity muscle activity and balance ability in general university students. Methods: The 32 participants were randomly assigned to either the HSEKT group (half squats with Kinesio taping) or the control group (half squats with sham Kinesio taping). Both groups performed half squats with either Kinesio taping (HSEKT group) or sham Kinesio taping (control group) for 30 min/day, 3 times/week for 6 weeks. The Noraxon mini direct transmission system (DTS) electromyography (EMG) system was used to evaluate trunk and lower extremity muscle activity. BioRescue equipment was used to measure the movement area of the center of pressure with eyes open and eyes closed. The muscle activity of the trunk and lower extremities and the balance ability of all participants were measured before and after the intervention. An independent t-test was used to statistically analyze the pre- and post-intervention EMG and balance ability results. Results: The trunk and lower extremity muscle activity was found to have significantly improved in the HSEKT group and the control group after the intervention (p < 0.05). Also, the balance ability of the HSEKT group differed significantly after 6 weeks of training compared to that of the control group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The findings of this study show that performing half squats with Kinesio taping had a positive effect on trunk and lower extremity muscle activity and balance ability in general university students.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.325-333
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• 2022

Heart failure (HF) has become one of the severe public health problems. The detailed role of mitochondrial function in HF was still unclear. Benzoylaconine (BAC) is a traditional Chinese medicine, but its role in HF still needs to be explored. In this study, oxygen-glucose deprivation and reperfusion (OGD/R) was executed to mimic the injury of H9C2 cells in HF. The viability of H9C2 cells was assessed via MTT assay. OGD/R treatment markedly decreased the viability of H9C2 cells, but BAC treatment evidently increased the viability of OGD/R-treated H9C2 cells. The apoptosis of H9C2 was enhanced by OGD/R treatment but suppressed by BAC treatment. The mitochondrial membrane potential was evaluated via JC-1 assay. BAC improved the mitochondrial function and suppressed oxidative stress in OGD/R-treated H9C2 cells. Moreover, Western blot analysis revealed that the protein expression of p-AMPK and PGC-1α were reduced in OGD/R-treated H9C2 cells, which was reversed by BAC. Rescue assays indicated that AMPK attenuation reversed the BAC-mediated protective effect on OGD/R-treated cardiomyocytes. Moreover, BAC alleviated myocardial injury in vivo. In a word, BAC modulated the mitochondrial function in OGD/R-induced cardiomyocyte injury by activation of the AMPK/PGC-1 axis. The findings might provide support for the application of BAC in the treatment of HF.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.225-233
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• 2023

This paper implements a system that monitors human body lifting information in the event of a marine accident. The monitoring system performs ultrasonic communication through a lifting device controller that transmits underwater environment information, and LoRa communication is performed on the water to provide GPS information within 10 km to the control center or mother ship. The underwater lifting controller transmits pneumatic sensor, gyro sensor, and temperature sensor information. In an environment where the underwater conditions increase by one atmosphere of water pressure every 10m in depth, and the amount of air in the instrument decreases by half compared to land, a model of a 60kg underwater mannequin is used. Using one 38g CO2 cartridge in the lifting appliance SMB(Surface Maker Buoy), carry out a lifting appliance discharge test based on the water level rise conditions within 10 sec. Underwater communication constitutes a data transmission environment using a 2,400-bps ultrasonic sensor from a depth of 40m to 100m. The monitoring signal aims to ensure the safety and safe human structure of the salvage worker by providing water depth, water temperature, and directional angle to rescue workers on the surface of the water.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.10-19
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• 2023

Fall accidents account for the highest accident fatality rate in the construction industry. In addition, wearing and using a safety belt is the most realistic and important preventive measure to reduce fall accidents. Safety belts are protective devices worn by individual workers; they prevent workers from falling and allow for time to rescue the workers. However, the legal standards for safety belts only stipulate the materials, specifications, and strength of parts; there is no provision for an auxiliary rope fixing method to fix the safety belts safely. Due to this reason, workers in industrial sites arbitrarily fix and use the auxiliary rope. Currently, the most used method to fix the auxiliary rope is to tie a knot, which significantly lowers the strength of the material compared to the standard strength. Moreover, many construction sites are located outdoors, so the strength of the materials used in the auxiliary rope is inevitably reduced due to various external environmental conditions. Therefore, to solve this problem, this study was conducted to evaluate the strength of the material of the auxiliary rope for fixing the safety belt and the knot-tying method for the auxiliary rope. In this study, the exposure conditions for the effects of temperature and moisture were set to reflect the characteristics of the construction industry. The results of this study are expected to be used for standards establishment and the safe use of the auxiliary rope for safety belts in actual field applications.

• Journal of Advanced Navigation Technology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.473-480
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• 2023

This study evaluated a novel method of defining the automatic flight path of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for search and rescue missions in a VR environment. The developed VR content reserves miniature digital twins of a building in the fire and a steep mountain terrain site. The users drow the UAV's scanning path using hand gestures on the surface of digital twins, and then the UAV make an automatic flight along the defined path. According to human-in-the-loop simulation tests comparing the novel method with a conventional manual flight task with 19 participants, the novel method did not improve the mission performance but participants felt a lower mental workload. The designer may need to consider the automation support on the vulnerable points of the SAR mission environment while maintaining experts' mapping capability.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.127-135
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• 2023

Purpose : This study was performed to evaluate the effects of magnetic therapy (MT) on pain threshold, blood flow, and balance in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Methods : A single-blind, randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted with 30 patient with knee osteoarthritis. They were randomly allocated 2 groups; magnetic therapy group (MTG; n=15) and placebo magnetic therapy group (PG; n=15). The MTG group received 30 minutes magnetic therapy and 20 minute conservative physical therapy (Hotpack, ICT), magnetic therapy was conducted in magnetic therapy device (OM-100, NUGA, Korea). In the placebo magnetic group received 30 minutes placebo magnetic therapy and 20 minute conservative physical therapy. Each group performed 50 minutes a day 3 times a week for 8 weeks. The primary outcome pressure pain threshold test, blood flow, balance ability were measured by a pressure threshold meter (Commander algometer, JTECH medical, USA), laser dofler image (Moor LDI2-IR, Moor instruments, USA), balance measurement system (BioRescue, Marseille, France). The measurement were performed before and after the 8 weeks intervention period. Results : Both groups demonstrated significant improvement of outcome in pain threshold, blood flow, and balance ability during intervention period. magnetic therapy group revealed significant differences in pain threshold, blood flow, and balance as compared to the placebo magnetic therapy group groups (p<.05). Our results showed that magnetic therapy was more effective than placebo therapy on pain threshold, blood flow, and balance in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Conclusion : Our findings indicate that magnetic therapy can improve pain threshold, blood flow, and Balance, highlight the benefits of magnetic therapy. This study will be able to be used as an intervention data for recovering pain threshold, blood flow, and balance in patients with knee osteoarthritis.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.415-421
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• 2023

The revision of the Korea Organ Transplantation Act (KOTA) in 2018 included hand/arm among the organs that can be transplanted. The first hand transplantation since the revision of KOTA took place in January 2021. A 62-year-old male patient experienced hand amputation on July 13, 2018, by a catapult injury. The patient first visited our institute 3 months after the injury. After serial interviews and an overall evaluation, the patient was registered on the hand transplantation waiting list in January 2020. On January 9, 2021, the patient underwent hand transplantation at the right distal forearm level. The total operation time was 17 hours 15 minutes, and the cold ischemic time was 4 hours 9 minutes. Postoperative immunosuppression was administered based on the protocol used for kidney transplantation. Two acute rejection episodes occurred, on postoperative days 33 and 41. Both rejection episodes were reversible with rescue therapy of a higher tacrolimus trough level, steroid pulse therapy, and topical immunosuppressants. Controlled passive range of motion exercise was started on postoperative day 10. Dynamic splint was applied on postoperative day 18. At 1 year, graft maintenance and functional improvement were satisfactory, and the patient showed a Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder and Hand score of 25.8. We successfully performed the first hand transplantation surgery under the KOTA amendment. It came from the organic and effective cooperation of plastic, orthopaedic, and transplantation departments and we believe it will guarantee the future ongoing success.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.177-184
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• 2023

Objective: Reconstructed oocytes after polar body genome transfer constitute a potential therapeutic option for patients with a history of embryo fragmentation and advanced maternal age. However, the rescue of genetic material from the first polar body (PB1) through introduction into the donor cytoplasm is not yet ready for clinical application. Methods: Eighty-five oocytes were obtained following in vitro maturation (IVM) and divided into two groups: PB1 nuclear transfer (PB1NT; n=54) and control (n=31). Following enucleation and PB1 genomic transfer, PB1 fusion was assessed. Subsequently, all fused oocytes underwent intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and were cultured in an incubator under a time-lapse monitoring system to evaluate fertilization, embryonic morphokinetic parameters, and cleavage patterns. Results: Following enucleation and fusion, 77.14% of oocytes survived, and 92.59% of polar bodies (PBs) fused. However, the normal fertilization rate was lower in the PB1NT group than in the control group (56.41% vs. 92%, p=0.002). No significant differences were observed in embryo kinetics between the groups, but a significant difference was detected in embryo developmental arrest after the four-cell stage, along with abnormal cleavage division in the PB1NT group. This was followed by significant between-group differences in the implantation potential rate and euploidy status. Most embryos in the PB1NT group had at least one abnormal cleavage division (93.3%, p=0.001). Conclusion: Fresh PB1NT oocytes successfully produced normal zygotes following PB fusion and ICSI in IVM oocytes. However, this was accompanied by low efficiency in developing into cleavage embryos, along with an increase in abnormal cleavage patterns.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.3-12
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• 2023

Fire accidents in buildings are reported more frequently nowadays. Existing building fire accidents can lead to large-scale accidents as damage to human and physical resources increases over time, so it is necessary to quickly find ways to suppress fires and rescue them. Currently, more attention is being paid to new buildings than the existing buildings. In addition, fire information can not be captured in a real time basis for the buildings. In line with the demands of this technology, this study presents a quick and systematic fire management method to minimize damage caused by fire in buildings. As a way to achieve the purpose of the study, ArduinoTM sensors and ExcelTM and RevitTM-DynamoTM tools have been combined to develop a new fire information management system and develop a real-time 3D visualization model. It is expected to contribute to the real-time smart fire management system by proposing a fire management application as a way to utilize it in the future.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.221-230
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• 2023

Purpose : This study was performed to evaluate the effects of virtual reality combined robot assist gait training (VRG) on improvement of balance and respiratory function in chronic stroke patients. Methods : A single-blind, randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted with 35 chronic stroke patients. They were randomly allocated 2 groups; VRG group (n=18) and conservative treatment group (CG; n=17). The VRG group received 30 minutes robot assisted gait training combined virtual reality training, robot assisted gait training was conducted in parallel using a virtual reality device (2 sessions of 15 minutes in a 3D-recorded walking environment and 15 minutes in a downtown walking environment). In the conservative treatment group, neurodevelopmental therapy and exercise therapy were performed according to the function of stroke patients. Each group performed 30 minutes a day 3 times a week for 8 weeks. The primary outcome balance and respiratory function were measured by a balance measurement system (BioRescue, Marseille, France), Berg balance scale, functional reach test for balance, Spirometry (Cosmed Micro Quark, Cosmed, Italy) for respiratory function Forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV₁), and maximum expiratory volume (PEF) were measured according to the protocol. The measurement were performed before and after the 8 weeks intervention period. Results : Both groups demonstrated significant improvement of outcome in balance and respiratory function during intervention period. VRG revealed significant differences in balance and respiratory function as compared to the CG groups (p<.05). Our results showed that VRG was more effective on balance and respiratory function in patients with chronic stroke. Conclusion : Our findings indicate that VRG can improve balance and respiratory function, highlight the benefits of VRG. This study will be able to be used as an intervention data for recovering balance and respiratory function in chronic stroke patients.