• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• 제6권2호
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• pp.65-70
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• 2017

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the intertester reliability and validity of four nonradiologic measurements of thoracic spine rotation in healthy adults. Design: Descriptive laboratory study. Methods: This study was conducted on 20 male and 20 female university students aged between 19 and 26. To measure thoracic rotation, a goniometer, a bubble inclinometer, a dual inclinometer, and a smartphone application-clinometer were used. The measurement was performed twice for each device and the same measurement was performed by two examiners. The measurements were performed in the lumbar locked position. The arm in the direction of rotation was taken back and placed onto the back of the lumbar region. With right and left trunk rotation, the head was rotated together but remained in the center line so that the axial rotation was maintained. Both examiners performed the measuring procedures and directly handled the measuring instrument. All measurement results were recorded by the recorder. Results: The range of motion (ROM) of thoracic rotation in lumbar locked position for all four devices was 47 degrees. The intra-rater reliability estimates ranged from 0.738 to 0.906 (p<0.05). The inter-rater reliability estimates ranged from 0.736 to 0.853 (p<0.05). The goniometer, bubble inclinometer, dual inclinometer, and smartphone clinometer showed high validity (p<0.05). This result indicates that all four devices may be used by the same examiner and by other examiners obtaining follow-up measurement. Conclusions: The use of the goniometer, bubble inclinometer, dual inclinometer, and smartphone clinometer for measurements in the lumbar locked posture are reliable and valid nonradiologic measures of thoracic rotational ROM in healthy adults.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제11권1호
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• pp.10-18
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• 2020

Background: The elevated risk of occupational infection such as tuberculosis among health workers in many countries raises the question of whether the quality of occupational health and safety (OHS) and infection prevention and control (IPC) can be improved by auditing. The objectives of this study were to measure (1) audited compliance of primary health-care facilities in South Africa with national standards for OHS and IPC, (2) change in compliance at reaudit three years after baseline, and (3) the inter-rater reliability of the audit. Methods: The study analyzed audits of 60 primary health-care facilities in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Baseline external audits in the time period 2011-2012 were compared with follow-up internal audits in 2014-2015. Audits at 25 facilities that had both internal and external audits conducted in 2014/2015 were used to measure reliability. Results: At baseline, 25% of 60 facilities were "noncompliant" (audit score<50%), 48% "conditionally compliant" (score >50 < 80%), and only 27% "compliant" (score >80%). Overall, there was no significant improvement in compliance three years after baseline. Percentage agreement on specific items between internal and external audits ranged from 28% to 92% and kappa from -0.8 to 0.41 (poor to moderate). Conclusion: Low baseline compliance with OHS-IPC measures and lack of improvement over three years reflect the difficulties of quality improvement in these domains. Low inter-rater reliability of the audit instrument undermines the audit process. Evidence-based investment of effort is required if repeat auditing is to contribute to occupational risk reduction for health workers.

• 대한한의학회지
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• 제38권3호
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• pp.111-123
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• 2017

Objectives: To develop and investigate the reliability of the pathologic aging scale based on korean medical theory and korean medical pattern identification for dementia. Methods: We searched the textbook of korean neurophychiatry and Donguibogam and selected items through professional consensus. We compared between dementia(n=40) and normal elderly(n=38) and tested the reliability of two scales. Results: After professional consensus, we drafted the Korean Medical Pathologic Aging Scale(12 items, Likert 3 scale) and Korean Medical Pattern Identification for Dementia(4 patterns, 28 items, Likert 5 scale). On Korean Medical Pathologic Aging Scale, There is no significant difference between two groups. We had good internal consistency(Cronbach's alpha = 0.6) and test-retest reliability(r=0.631) but low inter-rater reliability(r=0.430). On Korean Medical Pattern Identification for Dementia, dementia patients diagnosed with Qi deficiency are significantly more than those in normal group. We had fairly good internal consistency(Cronbach's alpha = 0.574) and excellent test-retest(kappa= .800) and inter-rater reliability(kappa = .733). Conclusions: Korean Medical Pattern Identification for Dementia is appropriate for diagnosing korean medical pattern. But Korean Medical Pathologic Aging Scale isn't appropriate to discriminate dementia from normal elderly because of many subjective items. Therefore objective measurement of sensory dysfunction would be needed to measure pathologic aging based on korean medical theory.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• 제6권2호
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• pp.112-120
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to analyze whether quantitative evaluation of the color of the tongue substance using $L^*a^*b^*$ color coordinates system could minimize the problems arising from the different illuminating conditions or not. In controlled 4 different illuminating conditions (by natural light, flashlight, f-number, shutter speed),12 healthy subjects were photographed of their tongue substance through a digital camera (C-2100uz, Olympus Co.), both on the top surface and on the bottom surface of the tongue substance by two examiners, twice at 3 day intervals. Clinician evaluation was also performed grading the redness of the tongue substance in the form of 5-points scale by 6 clinicians. As a result, there was no significant difference in color differences between the color of the tongue substance and the reference red card in the 4 different illuminating conditions. Intra-rater reliability was satisfied and even though limitedly, inter-rater reliability was satisfied. Color differences were significantly correlated with the results by the clinicians, although they were applicable limitedly to specific illuminating conditions. Our results indicate that the application of the color differences in tongue diagnosis could not only evaluate the color information quantitatively, but also minimize the problems arising from the different illuminating conditions and that there was the significant difference in the visual evaluation of the red color of the tongue substance, both between the clinicians and between the illuminating conditions.

• 한국지능시스템학회논문지
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• 제16권2호
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• pp.156-163
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• 2006

협동적 여과(CF) 시스템은 구현의 용이성과 뛰어난 성능으로 널리 활용되고 있다. 그러나 이 시스템은 데이터 희소성 신상품 추천 불가, 추천 근거에 대한 설명 부족 등의 문제점을 포함하고 있어 이를 해결하기 위한 많은 연구가 진행되었다. 데이터 희소성 문제는 데이터의 누적에 따라 해결될 수 있지만, 협동적 여과 기법의 특성상 새로이 출시되는 품목에 대한 추천이 불가능하다. 이를 해결하기 위해 내용 기반(CB) 기법을 같이 사용하는 연구들이 제안되었다. 또한 협동적 여과 시스템은 추천 과정에 있어 추천 근거에 대한 설명을 제공하지 않는다. 본 연구에서는 추천에 대한 설명 기능을 포함하고 있는 선호 단어를 활용한 내용기반 예측 시스템을 제안한다. 이 시스템은 새로이 출시되는 영화에 대해 사용자의 영화에 대한 평가 정보를 예측하며, 추천의 근거가 되는 선호 단어를 제시한다. 또한 기존의 내용기반 예측 시스템에서 일어나는 속성 비매칭 문제로 인한 성능 저하를 막기 위해 기호 네트워크를 활용한 성능 개선 방법을 제안한다. 성능 비교를 위해 EachMovie 데이터베이스와 IMDb 사의 영화 홍보 데이터를 사용하였다.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• 제46권4호
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• pp.359-364
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• 2019

Background Few scales are currently available to evaluate changes in hand volume. We aimed to develop a hand grading scale for quantitative assessments of dorsal hand volume with additional consideration of changes in skin texture; to validate and prove the precision and reproducibility of the new scale; and to demonstrate the presence of clinically significant differences between grades on the scale. Methods Five experienced plastic surgeons developed the Hand Volume Rating Scale (HVRS) and rated 91 images. Another five plastic surgeons validated the scale using 50 randomly selected images. Intra- and inter-rater agreement was calculated using the weighted kappa statistic and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Paired images were also evaluated to verify whether the scale reflected clinical differences. Results The intra-rater agreement was 0.95 (95% confidence interval, 0.922-0.974). The interrater ICCs were excellent (first rating, 0.94; second rating, 0.94). Image pairs that differed by 1, 2, and 3 grades were considered to contain clinically relevant differences in 80%, 100%, and 100% of cases, respectively, while 84% of image pairs of the same grade were found not to show clinically relevant differences. This confirmed that the scale of the HVRS corresponded to clinically relevant distinctions. Conclusions The scale was proven to be precise, reproducible, and reflective of clinical differences.

• PNF and Movement
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• 제16권3호
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• pp.441-449
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• 2018

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the impact of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation leg patterns emphasizing hallux abduction (PNF-LPHA) on the intrinsic foot muscles of participants with hallux valgus (HV) using the toe-spread-out exercise (TSO). Methods: The present study recruited 12 individuals with HV. All the participants voluntarily agreed to participate in the study after hearing explanations of its purpose and process. All participants performed the TSO, PNF-LPHA 1, and PNF-LPHA 2. The participants' abductor hallucis (AbH), adductor hallucis (AdH), extensor hallucis longus (EHL), and flexor hallucis brevis (FHB) activity was measured, and the ratio of AbH:AdH was measured during the three interventions using electromyography. Additionally, the participants' AbH thickness was measured by ultrasonography. An intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to verify the intra-rater reliability of ultrasonography at rest and during contraction. Results: The intra-rater reliability was excellent at rest and during contraction ($ICC_{3,1}=0.90$ and $ICC_{3,1}=0.83$, respectively). There were no statistically significant differences in the activity of the AbH, the ratio of AbH: AdH, and the thickness of AbH between the TSO and PNF-LPHA2 groups. Additionally, EHL activity was significantly higher in the PNF-LPHA2 group than in the TSOgroup. Conclusion: PNF-LPHA 2 can be recommended as a method to optimize AbH and EHL activity, the ratio of AbH:AdH, and the thickness of AbH in individuals with HV.

• PNF and Movement
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• 제17권2호
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• pp.329-337
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• 2019

Purpose: Ultrasound imaging is commonly used to measure the pennation angle of human skeletal muscles in vivo. However, manual assessment of the pennation angle using ultrasound images is subjective and time-consuming and requires a high level of examiner skill. The architectural analysis of human skeletal muscles is thus challenging. Automated approaches using image processing techniques are therefore required to estimate the pennation angle in ultrasound images. The purpose of this study was thus to assess the intra-tester and inter-tester reliability and validity of the pennation angle using an automatic measurement program. Methods: Twenty-two healthy young adults (mean age = 22.55 years) with no medical history of neurological or musculoskeletal disorders voluntarily participated in this study. Ultrasound imaging was used to measure the pennation angle of the gastrocnemius muscle at rest. One examiner acquired images from all the participants. The intra-tester and inter-tester reliability were evaluated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) to estimate reliability. Validity was measured using Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results: The intra-rater reliability was excellent for the automatic pennation angle measuring program and the manual pennation angle assessment method (ICC>0.95). The inter-rater reliability was also excellent for both methods (ICC>0.93). All the correlation coefficients for the automatic pennation angle measuring program and the manual pennation angle assessment method were 0.79, which indicated a significantly positive correlation (p<0.05). Conclusion: Pennation angle measurement using the automatic pennation angle measuring program showed acceptable reliability and validity. This study therefore demonstrated that the automatic measuring program was able to automatically measure the pennation angle of skeletal muscles using ultrasound images, and thus made it easy to investigate skeletal muscle architecture.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• 제7권4호
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• pp.186-190
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• 2018

Objective: Deep neck flexor muscle endurance (DNFET) is important to cervical pain patients. However, there is no normative data of the DNFET hold time of Korean university students. The purpose of this study was to provide normative data and the reliability of the DNFET times of Korean university students and to compare the DNFET hold times between male and female subjects. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: The participants included 39 male and 39 female students with no cervical pain. Each DNFET was measured while the subjects kept their chin tucked in while in a supine (hook-lying) position and with the head lifted 2.5 cm off the bed. The DNFET was conducted on each subject twice and the mean values were obtained. After each measurement, the participants rested for 5 minutes. Inter-rater reliability was measured by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) by three separate evaluators. Results: The inter-rater reliability was good, showing an ICC (2,3) value = 0.785 (95% confidence interval, 0.370-0.942). The DNFET time scores for men and women were $25.14{\pm}9.96$ seconds and $15.23{\pm}6.10$ seconds, respectively, in which the time scores of the men were significantly longer compared to women (p<0.05). Conclusions: Asymptomatic men displayed higher DNFET scores than women. This study can help clinicians test cervical function of patients and set an interventional goal. These findings serve as a basis that insists Korean women to increase their amount of physical activity.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• 제32권6호
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• pp.341-347
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to introduce a tool for evaluating eye movement and analyze the reliability of measurement based on 10 cases of evaluating the oculomotor function of children with spastic cerebral palsy Methods: The participants were selected by 6 medical and welfare institutions in Busan as GMFCS grade 1-3 among spastic diplegia and hemiplegia. Seven examiners evaluated 3 children for the evaluation of inter-rater agreement of Ocular Motor Score (OMS) and evaluated the condition of the ocular motor of 10 children using OMS, a re-examination was performed at six weeks after the initial examination. SPSS ver.25.0 was used to calculate the interclass correlation coefficient and Wilcoxon's signed-rank test, Mann Whitney-U test. Results: The inter-rater agreement of OMS was 0.89. Second mean values were decreased compared first examination in motility/ductions/version, saccades and smooth pursuit, but there was no significant difference. Children under 6 years old had a high mean value of saccades in first examination and the motility/ductions/version, fixation, saccades in second examination, but there was no significant difference. Spastic diplegia children's mean values were higher in head posture, fixation in 8 gaze directions than hemiplegia children in both first and second examination, but there were no significant differences. Conclusion: Ocular motor function in 10 children of spastic children who participated in the study and could see that the scores was differed depending on age, type, grade of cerebral palsy. OMS may be available for this purpose.