• Journal of Korean Living Environment System
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.549-561
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• 2017

We conducted a nationalwide questionnaire to investigate accidental experiences and injuries at flashover or flame-fire for active firefighters in the line of duty. A total of 794 firefighters participated in this survey (764 males, 27 females, and 3 respondents; $39.2{\pm}8.4yr$ in age, $173.7{\pm}5.1cm$ in height, $73.4{\pm}8.6kg$ in body mass). The results showed that high risk circumstances the most frequently experienced while firefighting in Korea was flashover followed by backdraft, rollover and flameover. At the high risk circumstances the most frequently-experienced injuries were bruise, stabs and burns. Firefighters hoped to reduce the total mass of personal protective equipment (PPE), improve the mobility of the PPE and dexterity of protective gloves, so that they could escape from the high risk circumstances as fast as possible. In particular, requirements for improvement on protective gloves were greater than those on other PPE. The present study suggested that the need for improvements on the current firefighters' PPE to cope with emergency high risk situations in terms of PPE mass reduction and mobility.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.123-132
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• 2014

Purpose: The discovery of mirror neuron system may positively affect functional recovery; therefore, rehabilitation is needed that is practical for use in clinical settings. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of action observation training on upper motor function in people who had suffered strokes. Methods: Three elderly patients with stroke, aged to years, were recruited from a stroke rehabilitation center. A nonconcurrent, multiple baseline subject approach was taken, with an A-B-A treatment single-subject experimental design, and the experiment was conducted for 3 weeks. The action observation training was repeated 5 times in 5 days during the intervention period. The arm function, including WMFT, BBT, and grip and pinch strength, was evaluated in each subject 5 times during the baseline period, the intervention period, and the baseline regression period. Results: The results of the evaluation for each subject were presented as mean values and video graphs. The WMFT scores of 2 subjects were improved during the intervention period in comparison with the baseline period, and this improvement was maintained even during the regression baseline period. The BBT and the grip and pinch strength were not improved. Conclusion: Based on these results, we suggest that the action observation training for 5 sessions was effective in improving upper limb function of stroke patients but was not effective in improving hand dexterity or grip and pinch strength.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.67-75
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to develop an effective horticultural activity program for the vocational rehabilitation of people with mental disabilities. The subjects of this study were seven persons with mental disabilities in the vocational rehabilitation team of a public health center located in G city, Gyeongsangbuk-do. A total of 10 horticultural programs were held from October 10 to December 11, 2018. Five programs were selected among those that were easy for the persons with mental illness to handle and their preference was high. In each session, the same task was repeated 10 times and finally changes in hand functions and working speed were measured. As a result, the assembly task of the Purdue Pegboard test was 23.6 (SD = 10.5) before the program, 26.6 (SD = 11.5) after planting, 27.7 (SD = 12.2) after wrapping pots, and 28.0 (SD = 13.9) after making mini flower baskets, 26.9 (SD = 12.0) after wrapping a single flower, and 29.1 (SD = 11.9) after making corsages. There was a significant difference between the five programs (p = .016). As a result of measuring the time taken to produce the same 10 products, the average planting time was 9.9 (SD = 4.0) minutes in the first class and 6.0 (SD = 2.3) minutes in the second class (p = .018), and making mini flower baskets was reduced from 35.2 (SD = 10.1) minutes to 21.0 (SD = 7.7) minutes (p = .018), wrapping a single flower from 23.3 (SD = 7.9) minutes to 16.2 (SD = 7.3) minutes (p = .043), and making corsages from 53.6 (SD = 15.9) to 40.8 (SD = 16.8) minutes (p = .043). The working time was significantly shortened in the second class compared to the first class. The class for wrapping pots was shortened from 52.7 (SD = 11.7) to 49.6 (SD = 17.8) minutes, but there was no significant difference (p = .398).

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.520-533
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• 2023

The present study developed a test protocol for evaluating the mobility of firefighting chemical and flame personal protective equipment (PPE) for the National 119 Rescue Headquarters in Korea and suggested ergonomic design factors to improve their mobility and performance. Six types of PPE were employed, including three types for flame protective PPE (5 ~ 6 kg excluding the self-contained breathing apparatus), and three types for chemical and flame protective PPE (8 ~ 11 kg). These PPEs are used by the 119 Rescue firefighters. Three male firefighters (34.3 ± 1.2 y in age, 175 ± 8 cm in height, 81 ± 13 kg in body weight) participated in the mobility test and interview. A mobility test protocol consisting of 16 components (nine postures and seven motions including a dexterity test) along with a visibility test were developed based on pre-interviews and literature reviews. The findings indicated that the clothing microclimate humidity on the neck and chest exceeded 85%RH on average for all the six PPE conditions, with the chest area reaching as high as 98%RH. This high humidity caused fogging inside the visor and impaired visibility. The requirements for improving the PPE design in terms of mobility varied depending on whether it was the separated types or all-in-one types, particularly regarding the hood and gloves design. The findings of this study can be applied to improve the design of Level A_PPE for firefighters. The mobility test protocol and visibility test developed in this study can also be applied to other types of Level A impermeable PPE.

• Journal of the Korean Regional Science Association
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.73-90
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• 2023

This research examines the impact of robotics integration on job dynamics in the U.S. manufacturing sector, adding to the critical dialogue on technological evolution and the future of jobs. Anchored in the task-model framework, the study hypothesizes that robotic integration exerts differential influences on diverse occupational clusters, each identified by their unique task-specific attributes. An in-depth examination was undertaken to elucidate the interplay between robotic integration and the occupation clusters. Employing a multilevel growth curve model, our empirical investigation tracked employment dynamics from 2012 to 2022 across 52 U.S. regions, covering 307 manufacturing occupations. The findings suggest a pronounced job decline within occupations necessitating manual dexterity. Nonetheless, the evidence does not conclusively support that the extent of robotics integration exacerbates this trend. These findings imply that the employment shifts in the U.S. manufacturing sector are predominantly driven by long-standing trends of deindustrialization and functional specialization, rather than by the recent diffusion of robotic technologies.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.573-577
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• 2023

Pachyonychia congenita is a rare genetic disorder characterized by hypertrophic nail plates, hyperkeratotic nail beds, and thickened hyponychium of the fingers and toes, impairing manual dexterity and resulting in poor aesthetics. The current body of literature describes various treatment modalities, but no singular approach has been defined as the gold standard. In this case, the authors employed different surgical techniques for treating pachyonychia congenita to evaluate the most effective approach. A 3-year-old boy presented with hypertrophic nail growth involving all digits of both hands and feet. Three surgical procedures were performed on the patient's fingers and toes using germinal matrix excision (GME) alone, GME plus partial sterile matrix excision (pSME), or GME plus complete sterile matrix excision (cSME). The digits treated with GME + cSME exhibited no recurrence of nail growth. Those treated with GME alone exhibited recurrence of hypertrophic nail growth, although their growth slowed. Excision of GME + cSME prevented recurrence of hypertrophic nails, while GME alone or with pSME led to slower-growing hypertrophic nails. Complete excision of the germinal and sterile matrices with skin graft closure may be a definitive treatment for pachyonychia congenita, but further studies are needed to validate these findings.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Sensory Integration
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.23-35
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• 2009

Objective : The purpose of this study is to understand whether group Sensory Integration(SI) therapy has the effect on improvement of motor skill and social function for children with developmental disorder. Method : The subjects were recruited among children received sensory integration therapy at a Children's Development Institute in Dae-Jeon, experimental group is total 5 participating in group sensory integration therapy and control group is also 5 participating in individual sensory integration therapy. The program was constructed for 90 minutes and all children either in the experimental or in the control group went through intervention for 20 weeks. Bruininks-Oseretsky test of Motor Proficiency II, Korean-Scales of Independent Behavior-Revised and Social Maturity Scale were used in order to evaluate the degree of improvement in motor skill and social function. Results : Most children in the experimental group showed improvement in overall aspects of motor skill and the social function comparing pre-intervention with post-intervention, but they did not show any statistically significant differences. However, comparing experimental group with control group, children in the experimental group showed improvement in motor skill and social function. Furthermore, there is statistically significant improvement especially in manual coordination, manual dexterity, and social age and social quotient in Behavior-Revised and Social Maturity Scale. Conclusions : It is found that a group Sensory Integration therapy program has effect on motor skill and social function for children with developmental disorder in this study. In the future study, group SI therapy should be applied for children with diverse diagnosis in order to generalize the effectiveness of therapy.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.28 no.4 s.51
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• pp.911-923
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• 1995

With increased use of neurotoxic agents in manufacturing industries, hazardous effects of neurotoxic agents pose significant problems in protecting health of workers who work in these industries. A normal range of neurobehavioral performance is required to study hazardous effects of neurotoxic agents among workers. However, such reference for Korean population is not available yet. The objective of this study is to estimate a normal range of neurobehavioral test performance of female workers in Korea. Data for neurobehavioral test performance developed by the World Health Organization were obtained from 165 female workers. Study subjects, 140 production workers and 25 clerks, who voluntarily participated in this study were not occupationally exposed to neurotoxic agents. The mean age and the mean education years of them were 32 years and 10.9 years, respectively Santa Ana dexterity, pursuit aiming, digit symbol, simple reaction time, and Benton visual retention tests among the Neurobehavioral Core Test Battery(NCTB) were included in the evaluation. Subjects were interviewed by a trained interviewer for their detailed occupational history $Mean({\pm}SD)$ performance of the participants were: $45.7{\pm}7.1\;and\;41.9{\pm}6.4$ in the Santa Ana dexterity test of the preferred and non-preferred hands; $45.7{\pm}7.1\;and\;41.9{\pm}6.4$ in correct dot of the pursuit aiming test; $57.7{\pm}16.0$ in the digit symbol test; $274.8{\pm}44.6$ msec in the mean simple reaction time and $70.5{\pm}69.0$ msec in the mean standard deviation of it; and $7.8{\pm}1.7$ in the Benton visual retention test. Most neurobehavioral performance scores were correlated significantly with age and educational level. Educational level was found to be a significant independent variable which was associated with all test scores. Age was significantly associated with scores of pursuit aiming and digit symbol tests.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.141-158
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• 1997

The purpose of this study were to investigate the job analysis questionnaire was mailed to 250 dietitians who are members of The Korean dietetic association practice group in self-operated foodservices(hereafter group A)and 250 dietitians who are employed in contracted foodservice companies(hereafter group B). Completed questionnaires were received from 285 dietitians(121 in self-operated, 164 in contracted) ; a response rate of 57%. Statistical data analysis was completed using the SAS/win packages for descriptive analysis, t-test, $x^2$-test, The results of this study can be summarized as follows. 1. The dietetic training or internship experiences were significantly different between the two sample group(p<.001), but the perceptions of needs for training or internship were not different between and they thought one to six month training would be needed for the job. 2. The question about the time needed in order to perform an expert job was answered significantly differently(p<.001) 3. Group A usually took part in obligatory continuing education and short-term training courses, and group B usually took part in obligatory continuing education and on-the-job trainings, respectively. However both group perceived all three types of educations would be needed for performing the job better. 4. As for the physical demands of the job, a certain degree of accuracy and dexterity for physical tasks and equipment operations was needed for the job. Concerning the mental demands, they answered that their job needs considerable creativity and judgement for planning and performing their tasks was needed. 5. As for responsibilities, group B's responsibilities were heavier than group A’s(p<.001) and need for confidentiality was also greater for group B than for group A(p<.001). 6. As for the supervising role differences, group A rarely received supervision from others and they were given directions only in essential situations, whereas group B was usually supervised when planning and performing their job and tasks, showing significant difference in positions between the two sample groups(p<.001). But each group supervised co-workers and employees in their department. 7. With regard to personal contact, both groups frequently contacted people in their department and other departments at the company and sometimes people outside the company. 8. Concerning the work environment, there were some risks and discomforts in the physical environment and there was no significant difference between the two sample groups.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.67-75
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• 2016

Objective : This study was examined the effects of task-oriented training therapy after botulinum toxin injection, upper extremity function and activities of daily living for stroke patient. Methods : The subject was a 44 year old male who suffered from hemiplegic patient received a task-oriented training therapy after botulinum toxin injection on involved upper extremity for 30-min sessions 5 times every week during 8 weeks. The scores were obtained before the injection, at 4 weeks, and 8 weeks after the injection. The upper extremity function was assessed using a Manual Function Test and Box and Block Test, and also Modified Barthel Index was applied for evaluation of Activities of Daily Living performance ability. Results : The results of this study show that the subject's In-hand manipulation and dexterity function increase significantly. Also, In activities of daily living, personal hygiene area, feeding area, toilet area, dressing area scores are improved significantly. Conclusion : Through this study, task-oriented training after botulinum toxin injection can improve upper extremity function and Activities of Daily Living performance ability of patient with stroke.