• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.64-73
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• 2011

After stroke, many people have problems with balance during movement. Balance is essential for the optimal functioning of the locomotor system and the performance of many activities of daily living. The Functional Gait Assessment (FGA) is a clinical tool for evaluating balance ability during walking. The test consists of ten tasks, seven tasks of the Dynamic Gait Index and three additional tasks. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability and internal consistency of data obtained with the Korean version of the FGA when used with people after suffering a stroke. One-hundred participants, at least three months poststroke and able to walk at least six meters with or without a walking aid, participated in the study (age range=30~83 years; $mean{\pm}SD=58.8{\pm}10.9$). Two physical therapists and two physical therapy students rated the FGA. Intrarater and interrater reliability of the FGA were assessed using kappa statistic and intraclass correlation coefficients (2,1). The internal consistency of the FGA was assessed using the Cronbach alpha. The Cronbach alpha was good (${\alpha}$=.86~.93). The intrarater (intraclass correlation coefficient=.92~.95) and interrater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient=.91, .95) of the total scores administered by the therapists and students were good, whereas the reliability for single item scores when administered by the physical therapists was moderate to good (kapa value=.42~.97). This study found that intrarater and interrater reliability for total FGA scores and internal consistency were good. Therefore, the Korean version of the FGA can be used as a reliable tool to assess the functional gait performance of patients after stroke.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.179-186
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• 2024

Objective: This study aims to assess the reliability and validity of the new hand-held spirometer as a potential substitute for traditional pulmonary function testing (PFT) devices. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: In this study, thirty healthy adults underwent spirometry using both the new hand-held spirometer and the MIR spirometer, which is a standard PFT device. Parameters including peak expiratory flow (PEF), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁), and forced vital capacity (FVC) were measured and analyzed for validity and reliability. Inter-rater reliability and validity were evaluated through 95% limits of agreement (LOA) and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Statistical analyses, including the Bland-Altman plots and the ICC, were utilized to assess agreement between the two devices. Results: The new hand-held spirometer exhibited a good agreement with intra-class coefficient (ICC [2,1]) ranging 0.762 to 0.956 and 95% LOA of -1.94 to 1.80 when compared with MIR. The test-retest reliability of the hand-held spirometer analyzed using - ICC [2,1] demonstrated a good level of consistency (ICC [2,1] =0.849-0.934). Conclusions: In conclusion, the study aimed to assess the potential of the new hand-held spirometer as a viable alternative to traditional PFT devices, with a specific focus on its reliability and validity in spirometric measurements. The new hand-held spirometer exhibited good test-retest reliability across all measured variables, suggesting its potential as a valid and reliable tool for simultaneous PFT measurements.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.90-96
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• 2014

Purpose: The aim of the study was to develop the Korean version of the Working Alliance Inventory (KWAI) and to assess reproducibility of both its therapist and client forms. Methods: The 12-item WAI was translated into Korean. The translation procedure followed the guidelines proposed by Beaton et al. (2000). Development of KWAI involved its translation, back-translation, and pilot testing of the pre-final version to establish Korean cultural adaptation of the original version of WAI. For test-retest reliability, therapists (N=30) and clients (N=47) completed the questionnaire on two different occasions. The interval between occasions was two to seven days, depending on subject availability. Data were collected from clinicians working in general hospitals and private clinics, and clients who had received treatment within three months. The intra-class correlation (ICC ($_{2.1}$)) was calculated for assessment of the reproducibility of the translated questionnaire. Results: The test-retest ICC ($_{2.1}$) of the client form and the therapist form was 0.92 (95%CI:0.86-0.95) and 0.94 (95%CI:0.89-0.97), respectively. Answers to items 2, 8, and 11 showed a tendency to be omitted due to ambiguity of meaning in Korean. Idiomatic expression was employed rather than word-to-word translation to have clear meaning of those items. Conclusion: The KWAI was successfully translated and adapted for applications to Korean clients and therapists, with a satisfactory level of reliability. Therefore, it can be suggested that the KWAI is useful in providing a reliable assessment of working alliance between therapists and clients.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.443-448
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• 2005

Objectives : This study was done to evaluate the reliability of education and occupational class between using the health survey and the death certificate data. Methods : The 1998 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) was conducted on a cross-sectional probability sample of South Korean households, and it contained unique 13-digit personal identification numbers that were linked to the data on mortality from the Korean National Statistical Office. The data from 263 deaths were used to estimate the agreement rates and the Kappa indices of the education and occupational class between using the NHANES data and the death certificate data. Results : The simple and weighted Kappa indices for education were 0.60 (95% CI=0.53-0.68) and 0.73 (95% CI=0.67-0.79) respectively, if the educational level was grouped into five categories: no-formal-education, elementary-school, middle-school, high-school and college or over. The overall agreement rate was 71.9% for these educational groups. The magnitude of reliability, as measured by the overall agreement rates and Kappa indices, tended to increase with a decrease in the educational class. The number of non-educated people with using the death certificate data was smaller than that with using the NHANES data. For the occupational class (manual workers, non-manual workers and others), the Kappa index was 0.40 (95% CI=0.30-0.51), which was relatively lower than that for the educational class. Compared with the NHANES, the number of non-manual workers for the deceased who were aged 30-64 tended to be increased (8 to 12) when using the death certificate data, whereas the number of manual workers tended to be decreased (59 to 41). Conclusions : The socioeconomic inequalities in the mortality rates that were based on the previous unlinked studies in South Korea were not due to a numerator/denominator bias. The mortality rates for the manual workers and the no-education groups might have been underestimated.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.225-234
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• 2022

Background: Trunk movements are an important factor in activities of daily living; however, these movements can be impaired by stroke. It is difficult to quantify and measure the active range of motion (AROM) of the trunk in patients with stroke. Objects: To determine the reliability and validity of measurements using a digital goniometer (DG) and smart phone (SP) applications for trunk rotation and lateral flexion in stroke patients. Methods: This is an observational study, in which twenty participants were clinically diagnosed with stroke. Trunk rotation and lateral flexion AROM were assessed using the DG and SP applications (Compass and Clinometer). Intrarater reliability was determined using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) with 95% confidence intervals. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to determine the validity of the DG and SP in AROM measurement. The level of agreement between the two instruments was shown by Bland-Altman plot and 95% limit of agreement (LoA) was calculated. Results: The intrarater reliability (rotation with DG: 0.96-0.98, SP: 0.98; lateral flexion with DG: 0.97-0.98, SP: 0.96) was excellent. A strong and significant correlation was found between DG and SP (rotation hemiplegic side: r = 0.95; non-hemiplegic side: r = 0.90; lateral flexion hemiplegic side: r = 0.88; non-hemiplegic side: r = 0.78). The level of agreement between the two instruments was rotation (hemiplegic side: 23.02° [LoA 17.41°, -5.61°]; non-hemiplegic side: 31.68° [LoA 23.87°, -7.81°]) and lateral flexion (hemiplegic side: 20.94° [LoA 17.48°, -3.46°]; non-hemiplegic side: 27.12° [LoA 18.44°, -8.68°]). Conclusion: Both DG and SP applications can be used as reliable methods for measuring trunk rotation and lateral flexion in patients with stroke. Although, considering the level of clinical agreement, DG and SP could not be used interchangeably for measurements.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.59-65
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• 1991

Failure criteria for asphalt concrete pavements are developed combining the AASHTO design equation and the multi-layered elastic theory. Thickness range including typical layer thicknesses of four-layer Korea highway structures are employed for pavement structure models. Total of 2430 pavement models with different layer thicknesses and moduli are analyzed. Models with crushed stone and asphalt stabilized base courses are equally included in the analysis. Number of load repetition and the maximum tensile strain at the bottom of asphalt layer are computed from the AASHTO design equation with terminal PSI=2.5 and multi-layered elastic computer program, SINELA, respectively. Failure criteria are developed through the regression analysis. From the analysis, failure criteria for the asphalt concrete pavements with 50% and 95% reliability levels are developed. It is found that the failure criterion of 95% reliability level gives similar results with existing fatigue failure criteria whose terminal performance condition is crack development when compared in a graphical form an equation to estimate failure criterion for a specific reliability level is also proposed.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.84 no.4
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• pp.274-281
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• 2021

Background: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) is a well-designed survey to collect national data, which many researchers have used for their studies. In KNHANES, although portable spirometry was used, its reliability has not been verified. Methods: We prospectively enrolled 58 participants from four Korean institutions. The participants were classified into normal pattern, obstructive pattern, and restrictive pattern groups according to their previous spirometry results. Lung function was estimated by conventional spirometry and portable spirometry, and the results were compared. Results: The intraclass correlation coefficients of forced vital capacity (FVC) (coefficient, 9.993; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.988-0.996), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV₁) (coefficient, 0.997; 95% CI, 0.995-0.998), FEV₁/FVC ratio (coefficient, 0.995; 95% CI, 0.992-0.997), and forced expiratory flow at 25-75% (FEF25-75%; coefficient, 0.991; 95% CI, 0.984-0.994) were excellent (all p<0.001). In the subgroup analysis, the results of the three parameters were similar in all groups. In the overall and subgroup analyses, Pearson's correlation of all the parameters was also excellent in the total (coefficient, 0.986-0.994; p<0.001) and subgroup analyses (coefficient, 0.915-0.995; p<0.001). In the paired t-test, FVC, FEV₁/FVC, and FEF25-75% estimated by the two instruments were statistically different. However, FEV₁ was not significantly different. Conclusion: Lung function estimated by portable spirometry was well-correlated with that estimated by conventional spirometry. Although the values had minimal differences between them, we suggest that the spirometry results from the KNHANES are reliable.

• IE interfaces
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.382-392
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• 2012

Reactor protection system to keep nuclear safety and operational economy of plants requires high reliability. Such a high reliability of the system can be achieved through the redundant design of components. However, common cause failures of components reduce the benefits of redundant design. Thus, the common cause failure analysis, to accurately calculate the reliability of the reactor protection system, is carried out using alpha-factor model. Analysis results to 24 operating months are that 1) the system reliability satisfies the reliability goal of EPRI-URD and 2) the common cause failure contributes 90% of the system unreliability. The uncertainty analysis using alpha factor parameters of 0.05 and 0.95 quantile values shows significantly large difference in the system unreliability.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Systems Engineering
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.105-112
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• 2016

An aircraft must be designed to minimize system failure rate for obtaining the aircraft safety, because the aircraft system failure causes a fatal accident. The safety of the aircraft system can be predicted by analyzing availability, reliability, and maintainability of the system. In this study, the reliability and the maintainability of the hydraulic system are analysed except the availability, and therefore the reliability and the maintainability analysis process and the results are presented for a helicopter hydraulic system. For prediction of the system reliability, the failure rate model presented in MIL-HDBK-217F is used, and MTBF is calculated by using the Part Stress Analysis Prediction and quality/temperature/environmental factors described in NPRD-95 and MIL-HDBK-338B. The maintainability is predicted by FMECA(Failure Mode, Effect & Criticality Analysis) based on MIL-STD-1629A.

• International Journal of Reliability and Applications
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.79-95
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• 2003

Manufacturers collect and analyze field reliability data to enhance the quality and reliability of their products and to improve customer satisfaction. To reduce the data collecting and maintenance costs, the amount of data maintained for evaluating product quality and reliability should be minimized. With this in mind, some industrial companies assemble warranty databases by gathering data from different sources for a particular time period. This “marginal count failure data” does not provide (i) the number of failures by when the product entered service, (ii) the number of failures by product age, or (iii) information about the effects of the operating season or environment. This article describes a method for estimating age-based claim rates from marginal count failure data. It uses covariates to identify variations in claims relative to variables such as manufacturing characteristics, time of manufacture, operating season or environment. A Poisson model is presented, and the method is illustrated using warranty claims data for two electrical products.