• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.269-273
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• 2022

Background: Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is used for muscle strengthening. While voluntary muscle contraction follows Henneman et al.'s size principle, the NMES-induced muscle training disrespects the neurophysiology, which may lead to unwanted changes (i.e., declined balance ability). Objects: We examined how the balance was affected by abdominal muscle training with the NMES. Methods: Fifteen young adults (10 males and 5 females) aged between 21 and 30 received abdominal muscle strengthening with NMES for 23 minutes. Before and after the training, participants' balance was measured through one leg standing on a force plate with eyes open or closed. Outcome variables included mean distance (MDIST), root mean square distance (RDIST), total excursion (TOTEX), mean velocity (MVELO), and 95% confidence circle area (AREA) of center of pressure data. Two-way repeated measures analysis of variance was used to test if these outcome variables were associated with time (pre and post) and vision. Results: All outcome variables were not associated with time (p > 0.05). However, all outcome variables were associated with vision (p = 0.0001), and MVELO and TOTEX were 52.4% (45.5 mm/s versus 95.6 mm/s) and 52.4% (364.1 mm versus 764.5 mm) smaller, respectively, in eyes open than eyes closed (F = 55.8, p = 0.0005; F = 55.8, p = 0.0005). Furthermore, there was no interaction between time and vision (F = 0.024, p = 0.877). Conclusion: Despite the different neurophysiology of muscle contraction, abdominal muscle strengthening with NMES did not affect balance.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.187-193
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• 2022

Background: Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is a physical modality used to activate skeletal muscles for strengthening. While voluntary muscle contraction (VMC) follows the progressive recruitment of motor units in order of size from small to large, NMES-induced muscle contraction occurs in a nonselective and synchronous pattern. Therefore, the outcome of muscle strengthening training using NMES-induced versus voluntary contraction might be different, which might affect balance performance. Objects: We examined how the NMES training affected balance and proprioception. Methods: Forty-four young adults were randomly assigned to NMES and VMC group. All participants performed one-leg standing on a force plate and sat on the Biodex (Biodex R Corp.) to measure balance and ankle proprioception, respectively. All measures were conducted before and after a training session. In NMES group, electric pads were placed on the tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius, and soleus muscles for 20 minutes. In VMC group, co-contraction of the three muscles was conducted. Outcome variables included mean distance, root mean square distance, total excursion, mean velocity, 95% confidence circle area acquired from the center of pressure data, and absolute error of dorsi/plantarflexion. Results: None of outcome variables were associated with group (p > 0.35). However, all but plantarflexion error was associated with time (p < 0.02), and the area and mean velocity were 37.0% and 18.6% lower in post than pre in NMES group, respectively, and 48.9% and 16.7% lower in post than pre in VMC group, respectively. Conclusion: Despite different physiology underlying the NMES-induced versus VMC, both training methods improved balance and ankle joint proprioception.

• ETRI Journal
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.336-352
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• 2007

Sequential pattern mining has become an essential task with broad applications. Most sequential pattern mining algorithms use a minimum support threshold to prune the combinatorial search space. This strategy provides basic pruning; however, it cannot mine correlated sequential patterns with similar support and/or weight levels. If the minimum support is low, many spurious patterns having items with different support levels are found; if the minimum support is high, meaningful sequential patterns with low support levels may be missed. We present a new algorithm, weighted interesting sequential (WIS) pattern mining based on a pattern growth method in which new measures, sequential s-confidence and w-confidence, are suggested. Using these measures, weighted interesting sequential patterns with similar levels of support and/or weight are mined. The WIS algorithm gives a balance between the measures of support and weight, and considers correlation between items within sequential patterns. A performance analysis shows that WIS is efficient and scalable in weighted sequential pattern mining.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.161-171
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• 1998

Balance can be defined as the ability to maintain the body's center of gravity within the base of support with minimal sway. Falls occur frequently in the elderly persons by the physiological change and dysfunction with age. Injuries resulting from falls include soft tissue damage and fractures of the radius, humerus, and femoral neck other consequences of falls include decreased mobility, reduced confidence, long lies (which can give rise to hypothermia, dehydration and pneumonia), and death Risk factors for falls have beau classified as intrinsic (those related to the individual) and extrinsic(those associated with environmental features), Intrinsic factors include decreased strength, visual deficits, vestibular dysfunction, and decreased vibratory sensation in the feet. Improvement of the balance related to the increased probability for fells in the elderly persons and is important for fall preventions and improvement of the living quality ef the elderly persons

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.102-108
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• 2018

Objective: To investigate whether the Minimal Clinically Important Difference (MCID) clinically defines improvement of Berg Balance Scale (BBS) scores in people with acute stroke in response to rehabilitation. Design: Retrospective study. Methods: Seventy-three participants with acute stroke participated in the study. Balance evaluation was performed using the BBS. All patients received rehabilitation with physical therapy for 4 weeks, 5 times a week, for 2 hours and 20 minutes a day. An anchor-based approach using the clinical global impression was used to determine the MCID of the BBS. The MCID was used to define the minimum change in the BBS total score (postintervention-preintervention) that was needed to perceive at least a 3-point improvement on the global rating of change. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves was used to define the cut-off values of the optimal MCID of the BBS in order to discriminate between improvement and no improvement groups. Results: The optimal MCID cut-off point for the BBS change scores was 12.5 points for males with a sensitivity (Sn) of 0.62 and a specificity (Sp) of 0.89, and 12.5 points for females with a Sn of 0.69 and Sp of 0.85. The area under the curve of the ROC curve for all participants were 0.84 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.72; 0.95, p<0.001), and 0.89 (95% CI, 0.77; 1.00, p<0.001), respectively. Conclusions: The MCID for improvement in balance as measured by the BBS was 13.5 points, indicating that the MCID does clinically detect changes in balance abilities in persons with stroke.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.44-53
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• 2008

The purpose of this preliminary study was to develop a measurement for assessing risk factors for falling in community-dwelling elderly persons. Rasch analysis and principal component analysis were performed to examine whether items on the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence (ABC), assessing self-efficacy, and items on the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), assessing balance function, contribute jointly to a unidimensional construct in the elderly. A total of 35 elderly persons (4 men, 31 women) participated. In this study, each item of ABC (16 items) and BBS (14 items) was scored on a 5-point ordinal rating scale from 0 to 4. The initial Rasch and principal component analysis indicated that 3 of the ABC items and 2 of the BBS items were misfit for this study. These 5 items were excluded from further study. After combining ABC and BBS, Rasch and principal component analyses were examined and finally 23 items selected; 12 items from ABC, 11 items from BBS. The 23 combined ABC-BBC items were arranged in order of difficulty. The hardest item was 'walk outside on icy sidewalks' and the easiest item was 'pivot transfer'. Although structural calibration of each 5 rating scale categories was not ordered, the other three essential criteria of Linacre's optimal rating scale were satisfied. Overall, the ABC-BBS showed sound item psychometric properties. Each of the 5 rating scale categories appeared to distinctly identify subjects at different ability levels. The findings of this study support that the new ABC-BBS scale measure balance function and self-efficacy. It will be a clinically useful assessment of risk factors for falling in the elderly. However, the number of subjects was too small to generalize our results. Further study is needed to develop a new assessment considering more risk factors of falling in elderly.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.85-92
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• 2016

PURPOSE: A good, valid, and feasible tool for evaluating sit to stand (STS) is needed to help clinicians quantify the STS ability of stroke patients and people with balance disorders. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the concurrent validity of the Nintendo Wii Balance Board (WBB) and a force plate during STS and gait. METHODS: Seventeen healthy adults performed five trials of STS and gait on the WBB placed on the force plate. The force plate and the WBB were compared in regard to center of pressure (COP) and ground reaction force (GRF) data that were collected simultaneously. The variables used for analysis were time (s), integral summation (%), COP path length (mm), COP x range, and COP y range, all of which were measured for both tasks. Counter (%), peak (%), and rebound (%) were analyzed for STS, and $1^{st}$ peak (%), min peak (%), and 2nd peak (%) were analyzed for gait. The concurrent validity was analyzed using an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and a standard error of measurement (SEM) with a 95% confidence interval. RESULTS: The concurrent validity of the WBB for STS ranged from fair to good (ICC=.701~.994, SEM=.029~3.815). The concurrent validity for gait was good (ICC=.869 ~.989, SEM=.007~2.052) aside from path length and x and y ranges of COP (ICC=-.150~.371, SEM=3.635~4.142). CONCLUSION: The GRF of the WBB has a good validity for STS and gait analysis. The WBB is remarkably portable, easy to use, and convenient for clinically assessing STS and gait.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.142-147
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• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to objectively and systematically investigate the effect of Kinesio taping by organizing and analyzing the research results using effect size. Methods: A total of 1,000 papers was searched, and 100 of them were selected the first time. Afterward, the effects of taping were analyzed and classified papers that studied balance, muscle strength, and pain, and finally 34 papers were selected. The effect size was calculated using the Effect Size Calculators (University of Colorado, USA) program. Statistical analysis was performed by using PASW Statistics software version 23.0 (IBM Co., Armonk, NY, USA). Descriptive statistics were used to obtain the effect size and confidence interval for each group. Results: In a study related to balance control ability, the effect size was 1.519 in the young subjects group (20-39 years old), and the effect size in the elderly group (65 years or older) was 0.360. In a study related to muscle strength, the effect size was 0.469 in the group of young subjects and 0.250 in the middle-aged group (40-65 years old), and the effect size of the elderly group was 0.848. In the study related to pain control, the effect size was 0.469 in the young group, the effect size of the middle-aged group was 0.972, and the effect size of the elderly group was 1.040. Conclusion: Kinesio taping differed in the degree of effect according to the age group of the subjects, but it was effective in balance control ability, muscle strength, and pain.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.231-237
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• 2013

New method of volume measurement for reference weights of a pressure balance using a gas pycnometer is proposed. The result of volume measurement of proposed method shows the uncertainties of approximately 0.2% at the level of confidence of 95% for reference weights in the ranges of 1 kg, 2 kg, and 5 kg. This measuring system consists of a sample chamber, an expansion chamber, a precision pressure gage, a precison thermometer, a vacuum pump, and helium as a medium gas. The measurement principle of this proposed method is based on Boyle's law. This method will contribute a reliability of the volume measurements of reference weights for a pressure balance to the national measurement standard.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.226-233
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• 2017

In general, quantitative chemical analysis in various areas including food, the environment, in vitro diagnostics, etc., requires traceability in order to increase the reliability of the measurements. Measurement traceability is a property of an unbroken chain of comparisons relating an instrument's measurements to SI units. Purity analysis is the first process for establishing traceability to SI units in chemical measurements. The purpose of this study is to develop and validate a method of purity assignment for establishing the traceability of $17{\beta}$-estradiol measurements in an in vitro diagnostics field. The establishment of this method is very important as it can be applied to the development of CRM and to the analysis of the purity of other hormones. The method of assignment of the purity of $17{\beta}$-estradiol was developed using the mass balance method and was validated through participation in an International comparison. In the mass balance method, impurities are categorized into four classes as follows: total related structure impurities, water, residual organic solvents, and nonvolatiles/inorganics. In this study, total related structure impurities were characterized by a gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and a high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet (HPLC-UV) detector, water content was determined by a Karl-Fisher coulometer, and total residual solvents and nonvolatiles/inorganics were checked simultaneously by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The purity of the $17{\beta}$-estradiol was 985.6 mg/g and the expanded uncertainty was 2.1 mg/g at 95% confidence. The developed method can be applied to the development of certified reference materials, which play a critical role in traceability.