• International Journal of Automotive Technology
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.33-46
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• 2004

A finite element model development of a 50th percentile male cervical spine is presented in this paper. The model consists of rigid, geometrically accurate vertebrae held together with deformable intervertibral disks, facet joints, and ligaments modeled as a series of nonlinear springs. These deformable structures were rigorously tuned, through failure, to mimic existing experimental data; first as functional unit characterizations at three cervical levels and then as a fully assembled c-spine using the experimental data from Duke University and other data in the NHTSA database. After obtaining satisfactory validation of the performance of the assembled ligamentous cervical spine against available experimental data, 22 cervical muscle pairs, representing the majority of the neck's musculature, were added to the model. Hill's muscle model was utilized to generate muscle forces within the assembled cervical model. The muscle activation level was assumed to be the same for all modeled muscles and the degree of activation was set to correctly predict available human volunteer experimental data from NBDL. The validated model is intended for use as a post processor of dummy measurement within the simulated injury monitor (SIMon) concept being developed by NHTSA where measured kinematics and kinetic data obtained from a dummy during a crash test will serve as the boundary conditions to "drive" the finite element model of the neck. The post-processor will then interrogate the model to determine whether any ligament have exceeded its known failure limit. The model will allow a direct assessment of potential injury, its degree and location thus eliminating the need for global correlates such as Nij.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.1043-1058
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to identify how attitudes toward menopause and family-related variables (living with a first child, satisfaction with children, and marital satisfaction) were associated with the perceived menopausal symptoms of middle-aged Korean females. Data for the study were based on a community sample of 628 women whose ages ranged from 45 to 60, who were currently married and had at least one child. The respondents reported lower levels of menopausal symptoms, medium levels of marital satisfaction and slightly higher levels of satisfaction with children. Feelings of tiredness, irritability, and nervousness without apparent reason, and aches in the lumbago and joints were common menopausal symptoms reported in this study. Regression analysis was conducted to investigate the effects of monthly income, educational level, employment status, attitudes toward menopause, living with a first child, satisfaction with children, and marital satisfaction on perceived menopausal symptoms. Attitudes toward menopause, living with a first child, satisfaction with children and marital satisfaction were significantly associated with perceived menopausal symptoms. In particular, marital satisfaction had the strongest effect on perceived menopausal symptoms. The results showed that in the face of the developmental challenges experienced during the menopausal transition, family-related variables served as positive reinforcement for married middle-aged women. This finding suggests that in order to improve the menopausal transition, family education programs need to be developed and offered to middle aged females who suffer from severe menopausal symptoms.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate the analysis on exercise effect of basic physical fitness, flexibility and muscle function using electric horseback riding machine. Subjects were ten males and ten females who were 20th aged young adults. They exercised every 45-min a day. Horse riding exercise has progressed 3-days a week till 4-weeks. We measured contents of basic physical fitness, flexibility and joint torque in lumbar. The results showed that contents of human body effect were higher than before exercise. We thought that stimulated by 3-D movement in horseback riding exercise instrument could be activated joints and muscles with the unused generally This continuous movement could reduce tonus of muscle and relax stiff muscles. horseback riding have significant effect with whole body exercise, also it could provide efficient exercise for the elder and disabled person.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.9-14
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• 2012

In this study, an advanced knee joint for active prosthesis leg driven by a linear actuator is suggested. The structure of knee joints of existing active prosthesis legs consists of three links. This kind of linkage requires large torque to drive the active prosthesis legs. Thus a new linkage structure is suggested to solve such problem in this paper. Motion characteristics of the suggested linkage are examined in the simulation. The motion simulation results show that the proposed linkage is able to imitate human gait cycles with the half of linear actuator speed in existing linkages.

• Proceedings of the ESK Conference
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• 1998.04a
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• pp.31-35
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• 1998

Many reaearchers have reproted that poor body postures are associated with pains or symptoms of musculoskeletal dissoders. Therefore, the ergonomic evaluation of postural stresses as well as biomechanical stresses is important when a job such as automobile assembly tasks involves highly repetitive and/or prolonged poor body postures. A macropostural classification shema was developed to characterise various body postures occurring in automobile assembly tasks in the study. To specify a postural code and stress level to each body posture, perceived joint discomforts were subjectively evaluated in the lab experiments for the full range of motion in five human body joints. Based on the reaults, a postural classification scheme was developed where the full range of motion in each body joint was classified into several codes repressenting different stress levels. The automobile tasks were clustered into 12 types based on the result walk-in-surveillance and the possible posture codes for each task type are defined. I was exposed that the poor postural problems in automobile assembly tasks were concerned in most part with arms, trunk and neck. Application of te developed schema to seven operations in automobile assembly tasks showed that the schema can be used as a tool to identify the operations and tasks involving highly stressful body postures. The schema can also be utilised as a basis to prioritise the candidate assembly operations for redesign of work methods.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.10 no.12
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• pp.1223-1232
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• 2004

We present a new technique to the design and real-time implementation of fuzzy control system basedon digital signal processors in order to improve the precision and robustness for system of industrial robot in this paper. The need to meet demanding control requirement in increasingly complex dynamical control systems under significant uncertainties, leads toward design of intelligent manipulation robots. The TMS320C80 is used in implementing real time fuzzy control to provide an enhanced motion control for robot manipulators. In this paper, a Self-Organizing Fuzzy Controller for the industrial robot manipulator with a actuator located at the base is studied. A fuzzy logic composed of linguistic conditional statements is employed by defining the relations of input-output variables of the controller. In the synthesis of a Fuzzy Logic Controller, one of the most difficult problems is the determination of linguistic control rules from the human operators. To overcome this difficult Self-Organizing Fuzzy Controller is proposed for a hierarchical control structure consisting of basic and high levels that modify control rules. The proposed Self-Organizing Fuzzy Controller scheme is simple in structure, fast in computation, and suitable for implementation of real-time control. Performance of the SOFC is illustrated by simulation and experimental results for a Dual-Arm robot with eight joints.

• Biomaterials and Biomechanics in Bioengineering
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.207-223
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• 2015

In this paper a method for simultaneous swift non-linear analysis and optimal design/posture of mechanical/biomechanical systems is presented. The method is developed to get advantages of iterations in non-linear analysis and/or generations in genetic algorithm (GA) for the purpose of efficient analysis within the optimal design/posture. The method is applicable for both size and geometry optimizations wherein material and geometry non-linearity are present. In addition to established mechanical systems, the method can solve biomechanical models of human musculoskeletal system. Optimization-based procedures are popular methods for resolving the redundancy at joints wherein the number of unknown muscle forces is far more than the number of equilibrium equations. These procedures involve optimization of a cost function(s) which is assumed to be consistent with the central nervous system's strategy when activating muscles to assure equilibrium. However, because of the complexity of biomechanical problems (i.e., due to non-linear biomaterial, large deformation, redundancy of the problem and so on) efficient analysis are required within optimization procedures as suggested in this paper.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.5-10
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• 2016

Variable systemic diseases affect larynx and vocal fold and result in voice change. Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease make increase of intra-abdomimal pressure followed by reflux of gastric acid, which stimulate vagal-bronchopulomary reflex aggravating cough and respiratory disturbance. Fungal laryngitis in the general population is extremely rare, but can occur in immunocompromised AIDS patients. Although, initially, empirical antifungal therapy for candidiasis is often given without biopsy, diagnostic direct laryngoscopy and biopsy is imperative if a substantial clinical response is not rapidly achieved. In the highly active anti-retroviral therapy era, HIV-positive patients are living longer and are at higher risk for developing non-AIDS-defining malignancies. The incidence of head and neck cancer (HNC) which is related with human papilloma virus infection has increased. The survival is significantly lower among the AIDS-HNC patients with CD4 counts ${\leq}200cells/{\mu}L$. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) cause voice disturbance by developing cricoarytenoid joints fixation or nodule on vocal fold. Post-menopausal voice disorder (PMVD) is caused by decreased secretion of estrogen-progesterone resulting in decrease of fundamental frequency (F0). Hormonal replacement therapy is helpful to reduce F0 decrease. RA and PMVD result in slight voice change, but it could crucial in professional voice user.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.53 no.11
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• pp.921-930
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• 2010

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) is the most common rheumatic childhood disease; its onset is before 16 years of age and it persists for at least 6 weeks. JRA encompasses a heterogeneous group of diseases that is classified according to 3 major presentations: oligoarthritis, polyarthritis, and systemic onset diseases. These presentations may originate from the same or different causes that involve interaction with specific immunogenetic predispositions, and result in heterogeneous clinical manifestations. An arthritic joint exhibits cardinal signs of joint inflammation, such as swelling, pain, heat, and loss of function; any joint can be arthritic, but large joints are more frequently affected. Extra-articular manifestations include high fever, skin rash, serositis, and uveitis. The first 2 types of JRA are regarded as T helper 1 (Th1) cell-mediated inflammatory disorders, mainly based on the abundance of activated Th1 cells in the inflamed synovium and the pathogenetic role of proinflammatory cytokines that are mainly produced by Th1 cell-stimulated monocytes. In contrast, the pathogenesis of systemic onset disease differs from that of other types of JRA in several respects, including the lack of association with human leukocyte antigen type and the absence of autoantibodies or autoreactive T cells. Although the precise mechanism that leads to JRA remains unclear, proinflammatory cytokines are thought to be responsible for at least part of the clinical symptoms in all JRA types. The effectiveness of biologic therapy in blocking the action of these cytokines in JRA patients provides strong evidence that they play a fundamental role in JRA inflammation.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.107-115
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• 2017

In this paper, four-bar linkage mechanism for the knee joint is developed which is used in prosthetics. But unlike the prosthetics, the feature of this mechanism is that the instantaneous center of rotation of the four-bar linkages can be moved behind the ground reaction force vector so that it can be passively supported without any external power. In addition, this mechanism is developed similar to the structure of the human knee joint for eliminating the sense of heterogeneity of the wearer. In order to design the mechanism with these two objectives, optimization design process is done using the PIAnO tool and detailed design is carried out through optimized variable values. The developed mechanism is attached to the robot which can assist the hip and ankle joints. In order to verify the operation of the developed knee mechanism, an insole type sensor was attached to the shoes to compare data values before and after wearing the robot. Result data showed that wearer wearing the exoskeleton robot with the knee mechanism was the same value regardless of whether the heavy tool is loaded or not.