• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.24-24
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• 2003

For the elderly, achieving a close-to-normal ambulation is important for activities of daily life. Recent researches of SE(Silver Engineering) restoring physical ability would help the elderly by developing the advanced gait assisting devices and orthoses. For the applications using the advanced technologies, the gait characteristics of the elderly must be understood. However, a few studies were performed to investigate the physiological or pathological gaits. The purpose of this study is to provide the gait analysis data and also to investigate relationships between alignment of the lower limb, foot progression angle and knee joint moments in the healthy elderly. By participating a total of 20 healthy elderly persons in this study, the following facts were found: 1) Cadence showed 114.8 steps/min, gait speed showed 1.05 m/s, time per a stride showed 1.06 sec, time per a step showed 0.53 sec, single-supporting phase was 0.41 sec, double-supporting phase was 0.24 sec, stride length was 1.04m, Step length was 0.56m; 2) The maximum knee flexion angle through swing phase showed left 46.82$^{\circ}$, right 40.19$^{\circ}$ and the maximum knee extension angle showed left -1.32$^{\circ}$, right 2.01$^{\circ}$. Knee varus showed left 26.90$^{\circ}$, right 30.93$^{\circ}$; 3) The maximum knee flexion moment showed left 0.363 Nm/kg, right 0.464 Nm/kg, The maximum knee extension moment showed left 0.389 Nm/kg, right 0.463 Nm/kg. The maximum knee adduction moment showed left 0.332 Nm/kg, right 0.379 Nm/kg. The maximum internal rotational moment showed left 0.13 Nm/kg, right 0.140 Nm/kg; 4) The subjects who had varus alignment of the lower extremity had statistically higher in knee adduction moment in mid stance phase; and 5) The subjects who had large foot progression angle had statistically lower in knee adduction moment in late stance phase.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.58 no.3
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• pp.231-235
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• 2015

Objective : Degenerative changes in the cervical spine are commonly accompanied by cervical kyphosis which can cause neck pain. This study examined the relationship between neck pain and cervical alignment. Methods : A total of 323 female nursing staff from our hospital were enrolled. Sagittal radiographs of the cervical spine, Body Mass Index (BMI), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) measures of neck and arm pain, Neck Disability Index (NDI) and the Short Form (36) Health Survey (SF-36 scores) were obtained and reviewed retrospectively. Global lordosis (GL) of the cervical spine was measured on radiograph images. Correlations between GL and questionnaire scores were investigated using the following three methods : 1) correlation between GL and questionnaire scores among the entire sample; 2) subgroup analysis of patients with "kyphosis (KYP) : GL scores<0" vs. those with "lordosis (LOR) : GL scores>0" on questionnaire measures; and 3) subgroup analysis of patients with pain vs. those without pain, on GL and questionnaire measures. Results : There was no significant correlation between GL and any questionnaire measure. There was a significant difference between the mean GLs of the KYP and LOR groups, but there were no group differences in BMI, age or any questionnaire measures. There was no difference between the pain (n=92) and pain-free (n=231) groups in age, BMI or GL, but there were differences in neck, and arm pain, and physical function and NDI scores. Conclusions : Our data suggest that kyphotic deformity was not associated with neck pain.

• Journal of Satellite, Information and Communications
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.89-93
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• 2015

Ion-beam irradiation(IB) on $HfO_2$ surface induced high-performance liquidcrystal(LC) driving at a 1-V threshold with vertical alignment of liquid crystals(LC). The high-k materials Atomic layer deposition was used to obtain LC orientation on ultrathin and high-quality films of $HfO_2$ layers. To analyze surface morphological transition of $HfO_2$ which can act as physical alignment effect of LC, atomic force microscopy images are employed with various IB intensities. The contact angle was measured to elucidate the mechanism of vertical alignment of LC on $HfO_2$ with IB irradiation. Contact angle measurement show the surface energy changes via IB intensity increasing.

• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.73-90
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• 2019

The growth in the number of single-member households is a critical issue worldwide, especially among the elderly. For those living alone, who may be unaware of their health status or routines that could improve their health, a continuous healthcare monitoring system could provide valuable feedback. Assessing the performance adequacy of activities of daily living (ADL) can serve as a measure of an individual's health status; previous research has focused on determining a person's daily activities and extracting the most frequently performed behavioral patterns using camera recordings or wearable sensing techniques. However, existing methods used to extract common patterns of an occupant's activities in the home fail to address the spatio-temporal dimensions of human activities simultaneously. Though multiple sequence alignment (MSA) offers some advantages - such as inherent containment of the spatio-temporal data in sequence format, and rapid identification of hidden patterns - MSA has rarely been used to extract in-home ADL routines. This research proposes a method to extract a household occupant's ADL routines from a cumulative spatio-temporal data log of occupancy collected using a non-intrusive method (i.e., a tomographic motion detection system). The findings from an occupant's 28-day spatio-temporal activity log demonstrate the capacity of the proposed approach to identify routine patterns of an occupant's daily activities and to reveal the order, duration, and frequency of routine activities. Routine ADL patterns identified from the proposed approach are expected to provide a basis for detecting/evaluating abrupt or gradual changes of an occupant's ADL patterns that result from a physical or mental disorder, and can offer valuable information for home automation applications by enabling the prediction of ADL patterns.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.251-260
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to adjust the craniovertebral angle and shoulder alignment through shoulder and abdominal stabilization exercises in adults with a forward head posture. Methods: The study participants were 29 adults with a forward head posture, and they were randomly divided into the following groups: 14 participants in a combined exercise group that used shoulder and abdominal stabilization exercises and 15 participants in a shoulder exercise group that used just shoulder stabilization exercises. The participants performed the stabilization exercises for 30 minutes per day, three times a week for five weeks. Results: There were significant differences in the craniovertebral angle after intervention in the shoulder stabilization exercise group (p < 0.05). There were significant differences in the craniovertebral angle and location of the right root of the spine and both inferior angles before and after intervention in the shoulder and abdominal stabilization exercise group (p < 0.05). There was a significant difference in the location of the right root of the spine and the left inferior angle between the groups at the post-test (p < 0.05), and there was a larger change in the shoulder and abdominal stabilization exercise group. Conclusion: There was a significant difference in the craniovertebral angle and a partially significant difference in shoulder alignment before and after intervention in both groups.

• Journal of Korean Foot and Ankle Society
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.43-47
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• 2014

Hallux valgus is a lateral deviation of the first phalanx and medial deviation of the first metatarsal at the first metatarsophalangeal (MP) joint. Its incidence has increased due to developing footwear. The etiologies include fashion footwear, genetic causes, anatomical abnormality around the foot, rheumatoid arthritis, and neuromuscular disorders. Physiologic alignment of the first MP joint is maintained by congruent and symmetric alignment of the articular surface of the first proximal phalanx and first metatarsal head, physiologic relationship of the distal first metatarsal articular surface and the first metatarsal shaft axis, and stable balance of soft tissue around the first MP joint and stable tarsometatarsal joint. Several factors have been associated with hallux valgus, including pes planus, hypermobility of the first tarsometatarsal joint, flattened shape of the first metatarsal head, increased distal metatarsal articular angle, and deformation of the medial capsular integrity. History and physical examination are very important to diagnosis of hallux valgus. Simple radiography provides information on deformity, particularly in weight-bearing anteroposterior and lateral radiographs. Understanding the etiologies and pathophysiology is very important for success in treatment of patients with hallux valgus.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.33.3-34
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• 2020

The Milky Way (MW) and other systems including M31 and Cen A have flattened structures of their satellites (Disk of Satellites, DoS). Such structures are rare in simulations under the ΛCDM paradigm. DoS is known to depend mainly on 1) the alignment of satellite orbits and 2) the degree of central concentration of satellites. In this work, we examine quantitatively how these two parameters affect the flatness of a system. We find that the MW-like DoS is rare in IllustrisTNG100 simulation because its two parameters are out of the 1-s range and furthermore the MW has a structure more flattened than the other systems having similar parameters. Besides, we propose a new criterion for the MW-like systems superseding the conventional ones such as major-minor axis ratio of the MW's DoS with a value of 0.183. Each satellite system has a specific orbital combination and thus has a particular distribution of its parameters (and thus flatness). The median of the distribution is set as the representative value of each system. And the representative value of the MW can be used as a new criterion for classifying the MW-like DoS. We reconstruct the orbital combination of the observed MW satellites using GAIA DR2 data and find the systems in the simulation that have representative values similar to the new criterion from the reconstructed MW system. This allows us a new interpretation on the rarity of MW-like DoS in cosmological simulations.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.205-209
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• 2016

Objective: Children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy show weakness especially in the lower-extremity rather than upper-extremity muscles and display characteristics such as asymmetric alignment, deficits in postural control or balance ability, and slow walking speed. Various therapeutic interventions are applied to children with cerebral palsy, of which taping is widely used in the field of rehabilitation, however, there are few studies of the effects of kinesio taping on gait patterns of children with cerebral palsy. The present study investigated the effects of kinesio taping on gait parameters of children with cerebral palsy. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Four children with spastic diplegia participated in this study. The participants' gait parameters while walking 10 m with and without kinesio taping (tibialis anterior, quadriceps femoris, and gluteus maximus) were recorded. Gait parameters including gait velocity, cadence, step length, stride length, single support time, and double support time were evaluated using the GAITRite. Mean values were obtained after having the subjects walk three times in each condition with a 5-minute rest period between each condition. The order of each condition was assigned randomly. Results: There were significant improvements in gait velocity, step length, stride length, and single support time of the right leg with kinesio taping condition compared to the without kinesio taping condition taping (p<0.05). However, there were no significant differences in cadence, single support time of the left leg, or double support time. Conclusions: The results show that kinesio taping may have a positive effect for improving gait parameters of children with spastic diplegia. However, its usefulness in the rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy needs to be further investigated.

• Journal of International Academy of Physical Therapy Research
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.2119-2125
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• 2020

Background: Adults with forward head posture (FHP) often suffer from thoracic hyperkyphosis and thoracic dysfunction, and including reduction of the craniovertebral angle (CV angle) and tightening of the superficial neck muscles. In order to treat thoracic dysfunction, interventions aimed at improving thoracic mobility are necessary. Objectives: To examine the effects of maitland manual mobilization therapy on the thoracic spine in adults with FHP. Design: Single-blind randomized controlled trial. Methods: Thirty adults with FHP who met the selection criteria were randomized to the thoracic multiple joint mobilization (TMJM; n=15) group and the thoracic general joint mobilization (TGJM; n=15) group. Joint mobilizations were performed for 23 minutes a day for 4 weeks continuously, two times per week. Outcome measures were ImageJ, BTS FREE EMG 1000, neck disability Index (NDI). Results: Although changes in the left sternocleidomastoid muscle activity and NDI scores over time between the two groups differed, other variables were noted only changes observed over time. Muscle activity in the right sternocleidomastoid increased again in the TGJM group post-intervention and 2 weeks after the end of the experiment, but changes in other variables were retained or improved, confirming the lasting effects of thoracic joint mobilization. Conclusion: Thoracic multiple joint mobilization may be recommended as a more effective intervention for adults with FHP.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.1556-1566
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Nurida-Ball exercise on isokinetic muscle function, spinal alignment, and dynamic balance capacity in middle-aged men. All middle-aged men(n=16) were divided into 2 groups: Ball exercise(BE, n=8) and control(CON, n=8) group. BE group performed the Nurida-Ball exercise(30 min/day, 3 days/week, 8 weeks) and isokinetic knee and trunk muscle function, spinal alignment, and dynamic balance capacity were measured. All of the measured variables calculated the mean and standard deviation and verified normality using the Shapiro-Wilk test. The independent t-test method and the Paired t-test method were then analyzed to identify differences between groups. This study found that isokinetic knee and trunk muscle function was significantly strengthened in the BE compared with CON group by increasing peak torque(PT) of right and left knee extension(60°/sec, p<0.01, respectively), average power(AP) of right and left knee extension(60°/sec, p<0.05, p<0.01, respectively), and PT of right knee flexion(180°/sec, p<0.05) and AP of right knee extension(180°/sec, p<0.05). In the change of isokinetic trunk muscle function, only PT of trunk extension(180°/sec) was increased in the BE compared with the CON group(p<0.05). In addition, Nurida-ball exercise can improve the spinal alignment by reducing the trunk inclination(p<0.05) in the BE compared with the CON group. Finally, dynamic balance capacity was also enhanced in the BE compared with the CON group by decreasing the score of overall balance index(OBI, p<0.01) and Antero-posterior balance index(p<0.05) in the Stage-6, and OBI(p<0.05) in the Stage-1. This result demonstrated that Nurida-ball exercise may improve spinal alignment, dynamic balance capacity, and isokinetic muscle function, which might be an effective way for the improvement of health-related fitness in middle-aged men.