• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.1-10
• /
• 2010

Background: Recent studies indicate that reactive oxygen species (ROS) are involved in persistent pain, including neuropathic and inflammatory pain. Since the data suggest that ROS are involved in central sensitization, the present study examines the levels of activated N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in the dorsal horn after an exogenous supply of three antioxidants in rats with chronic post-ischemia pain (CPIP). This serves as an animal model of complex regional pain syndrome type-I induced by hindpaw ischemia/reperfusion injury. Methods: The application of tight-fitting O-rings for a period of three hours produced CPIP in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Allopurinol 4 mg/kg, allopurinol 40 mg/kg, superoxide dismutase (SOD) 4,000 U/kg, N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) 10 mg/kg and SOD 4,000 U/kg plus L-NAME 10 mg/kg were administered intraperitoneally just after O-ring application and on the first and second days after reperfusion. Mechanical allodynia was measured, and activation of the NMDA receptor subunit 1 (pNR1) of the lumbar spinal cord (L4-L6) was analyzed by the Western blot three days after reperfusion. Results: Allopurinol reduced mechanical allodynia and attenuated the enhancement of spinal pNR1 expression in CPIP rats. SOD and L-NAME also blocked spinal pNR1 in accordance with the reduced mechanical allodynia in rats with CPIP. Conclusions: The present data suggest the contribution of superoxide, produced via xanthine oxidase, and the participation of superoxide and nitric oxide as a precursor of peroxynitrite in NMDA mediated central sensitization. Finally, the findings support a therapeutic potential for the manipulation of superoxide and nitric oxide in ischemia/reperfusion related pain conditions.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.3-11
• /
• 2004

In this work, the cure behaviors of the DGEBA/PMR-15 blends initiated by N-benzylpyrazinium hexafluoroantimonate (BPH) as a cationic latent catalyst were performed in DSC and DMA analyses. And, the thermal stabilities were carried out by TGA analysis and their mechanical interfacial properties of blends were measured in the context of critical stress intensity factor ($K_{IC}$). As a result, the curing activation energy ($E_a$) determined from Ozawa's equation in DSC and the relaxation activation energy ($E_r$) from DMA were increased with increasing PMA-15 content. Also, the thermal stabilities obtained from the integral procedural decomposition temperature (IPDT) and the glass transition temperature ($T_g$) were highly improved with increasing the PMR-15 content, which were probably due to the high heat resistance. And, the $K_{IC}$ showed a similar behavior with $E_a$, which was attributed to the improving of the interfacial adhesion or hydrogen bondings between intermolecular chains.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.13-18
• /
• 2018

At ruthenium (Ru) catalyst was exposed from the atmosphere, the degree of catalyst activation decreased. The change of catalyst activity with the number of days of exposure to air for the Ru catalyst was confirmed using the surface tension method quantitatively. Mechanical properties and surfactant change after polymerization by DCPD using Ru catalyst for each air exposure day was evaluated. The Ru catalyst mixed with a dilution agent was exposed in the air and color was monitored for each day. Surface tension was measured using Wilhelmy and PTFE and associated with different catalyst activities. Heat was measured in real time during polymerizing DCPD with Ru catalyst. After polymerization, tensile strength was measured for p-DCPD and the change of material property was measured. Interfacial properties were also evaluated via microdroplet pull-out tests between glass fiber and p-DCPD. The surface tension was stable until the 4 days (33 dyne/cm) whereas the surface energy increased at the 10 days (34 dyne/cm), which could be correlated with oxidation of the catalyst. Tensile property and interfacial shear strength (IFSS) was also stable until the 4 days (tensile strength: 38 MPa and IFSS: 26 MPa) whereas the mechanical property decrease at 10 days (tensile strength: 15 MPa and IFSS: 3 MPa) dramatically.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.59 no.2
• /
• pp.98-105
• /
• 2016

Objective : Lumbar disc herniation can induce sciatica by mechanical compression and/or chemical irritation. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of GCSB-5 (Shinbaro$^{(R)}$) and NSAIDs on pain-related behavior and on the expressions of microglia, astrocytes, CGRP, TRPV1, IL-6, and CX3CL1 in a rat model of lumbar disc herniation. Methods : 112 male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent implantation of nucleus pulposus to a dorsal root ganglion (DRG). Rats were divided into five groups as follows; a saline group (the vehicle control group) (n=27), a 10 mg/kg aceclofenac group (the aceclofenac group) (n=22), and 100, 300 or 600 mg/kg GCSB-5 groups (the GCSB-5 100, 300, or 600 groups) (n=21 for each group). Rats were tested for mechanical allodynia at 3 days after surgery and at 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, 14 days, 21 days, 28 days, 35 days, 42 days, 49 days, and 56 days after treatment commencement. Immunohistochemical staining of microglia (Iba1), astrocytes (GFAP), CGRP, and TRPV1, and PCR for IL-6 and CX3CL1 were performed on spinal dorsal horns and DRGs at 56 days after medication commencement. Results : After 56 days of GCSB-5 300 administration, mechanical withdrawal thresholds were significantly increased (p<0.05), and immunohistochemical expressions of Iba1, GFAP, CGRP, and TRPV1 were reduced than other groups, but this difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion : These results indicate GCSB-5 reduces mechanical allodynia and downregulates neuroglial activity and the expressions of CGRP and TRPV1 in the spinal segments of a rat model of lumbar disc herniation.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.16 no.5
• /
• pp.363-369
• /
• 2009

The amorphization process and the thermal properties of amorphous Ti$_{40}$Cu$_{40}$Ni$_{10}$Al$_{10}$ powder during milling by mechanical alloying were examined by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The chemical composition of the samples was examined by an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX) facility attached to the scanning electron microscope (SEM). The as-milled powders showed a broad peak (2$\theta$ = 42.4$^{\circ}$) with crystalline size of about 5.0 nm in the XRD patterns. The entire milling process could be divided into three different stages: agglomeration (0 < t$_m$ $\leq$ 3 h), disintegration (3 h < t$_m$ $\leq$ 20 h), and homogenization (20 h < t$_m$ $\leq$ 40 h) (t$_m$: milling time). In the DSC experiment, the peak temperature T$_p$ and crystallization temperature T$_x$ were 466.9$^{\circ}C$ and 444.3$^{\circ}C$, respectively, and the values of T$_p$, and T$_x$ increased with a heating rate (HR). The activation energies of crystallization for the as-milled powder was 291.5 kJ/mol for T$_p$.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.28-35
• /
• 2017

Recently, conventional hydraulic car lift systems face the technological limitations due to a lack of height control. The demand for height controllability is required in many tasks such as wheel alignment, and requires compensation for the structural deformation of the lift caused by irregular load distribution. In order to resolve this limitation of the conventional car lift, in this work, a new type of a hydraulic vehicle lift using a magneto-rheological (MR) valve system is proposed and analyzed. Firstly, the dynamic model of vehicle lift is formulated to evaluate control performance; subsequently, an MR valve is designed to obtain the desired pressure drop required in the car lift. Next, a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller is formulated to achieve accurate control of the lifting height and then computer simulations are undertaken to show accurate height control performances of the proposed new car lift system.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.34 no.4
• /
• pp.212-217
• /
• 2013

Falling is one of the major public problems to the elderly, resulting in limitations of daily living activities. It can be induced by the functional loss of the balance ability and muscle strength in the elderly. It has been, however, not well investigated to suggest an effective methodology improving the balance ability and muscle strength for the prevention of the falling due to lack of information about the characteristics of the balance and muscle activations responded to the dynamic motions. The aim of the current study is, therefore, to identify the characteristics of the balance and muscle activations responded to the dynamic motions in Anterior-Posterior(AP) and Medial Lateral(ML) directions. For that, a motion capture system with eight infrared cameras, surface electromyogram system and Wii Fit system with a customized variable unstable base were used and kinematic and kinetic data obtained from the systems were analyzed for five healthy male($24.8{\pm}3.3years$, $177.4{\pm}2.0cm$, $73.9{\pm}12.9kg$, $23.5{\pm}4.0kg/m$). The results showed that the characteristics of the balance and muscle activations were differently responded to between the dynamic motions in Anterior-Posterior(AP) and Medial Lateral(ML) directions. These findings may indicate that customized dynamic motions should be applied to the training of the balance ability and muscle strength for the effective prevention of the falling. This study may be meaningful to providing basic information to establish a guideline improving effectively the balance ability and muscle strength.

• Polymer(Korea)
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.91-97
• /
• 2003

The effect of fluorination of nanoscaled silicas on mechanical interfacial properties and thermal stabilities of the silica/polyurethane composites was investigated. The surface properties of the silica were studied in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and contact angle measurements. Their mechanical interfacial properties and thermal stabilities of the composites were characterized by tearing energy and decomposition activation energy, respectively. As experimental results, the London dispersive component of surface free energy and fluorine functional groups of silica surfaces were increased as a function of fluorination temperature resulting in improving the trearing energy ($G_{IIIC}$) of the composites. Also, the thermal stabilities of the composites were increased as the treatment temperature increases. These results could be explained that the fluorine functional groups on silica surfaces played an important role in improving the intermolecular interactions at interfaces between silicas and polyurethane matrix in a composite system.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.185-192
• /
• 2015

Background: Neuropathic pain is a global clinical problem; nevertheless, nerve injury treatment methods remain limited. Olanzapine has antinociceptive and anti-nueropathic properties; however, its preventive effects have not been assessed in nerve injury models. Methods: We prepared a partial sciatic nerve ligation (Seltzer model) or sham-operated model in male Sprague-Dawley rats under isoflurane anesthesia. In a pre-treatment study, we administered olanzapine (10 mg/kg) intraperitoneally 1 h before nerve ligation. In post-treatment and dose-dependent studies, we injected 3 different doses of olanzapine intraperitoneally 1 h after nerve ligation. Mechanical allodynia was measured before and 7 days after surgery. Immunohistochemical analysis using anti-Iba-1 antibody was used to assess the effect of olanzapine at the spinal level. Results: In the pre-treatment study, median withdrawal thresholds of the normal saline groups were significantly lower than those of the sham-operated groups; however, those of the olanzapine (10 mg/kg) and sham-operated groups were not different. In the post-treatment and dose-dependent studies, the median withdrawal thresholds of the olanzapine (2.5 mg/kg) and normal saline groups were not different; however, those of the olanzapine (10 and 50 mg/kg) groups were significantly higher than those of the normal saline groups. Olanzapine did not have a significant effect on the density of Iba-1 staining. Conclusions: Olanzapine attenuated mechanical allodynia dose-dependently in the Seltzer model. This anti-allodynic effect of olanzapine was observed even when injected 1 h after nerve ligation. This effect of olanzapine appeared to be unrelated to microglia activation in the ipsilateral dorsal horn of the lumbar spinal cord.

• Journal of Auto-vehicle Safety Association
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.44-49
• /
• 2013

This paper presents a lateral collision risk index between an ego vehicle and a rear-side vehicle. The lateral collision risk is designed to represent a lateral collision risk and provide the appropriate threshold value of activation of the lateral collision management system such as the Blind Spot Detection(BSD). The lateral collision risk index is designed using the Time to Line Crossing(TLC) and the longitudinal collision index at the predicted TLC. TLC and the longitudinal collision index are calculated with the signals from the exterior sensor such as the radar equipped on the rear-side of a vehicle and a vision sensor which detects the distance and time to the lane departure. For the robust situation assessment, the perception of driving environment determining whether the road is straighten or curved should be determined. The relative motion estimation method has been proposed with the road information via the integrated estimator using the environment sensors and vehicle sensor. A lateral collision risk index was composed with the estimated relative motion considering the relative yaw angle. The performance of the proposed lateral collision risk index is investigated via computer simulations conducted using the vehicle dynamics software CARSIM and Matlab/Simulink.