• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.311-319
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• 2021

Objective: To investigate the effect of emphasized initial contact by using a wearable air-pressure insole to provide auditory-feedback with variations of maximum peak pressure (MPP) of the affected side on spatiotemporal gait parameters and gait symmetry of stroke patients Design: A cross-sectional study Methods: Eighteen stroke patients participated in this study. All subjects walked five trials using an air-pressure insole that provides auditory feedback with different thresholds set on the insole. First, subjects walked without any auditory feedback. Then, the MPP threshold on the affected side was set from 70% and increase threshold by 10% after each trial until 100%. They walked three times or more on the gait analyzer for each trial, and the average values were measured. Before starting the experiment, subjects measured body weight, initial gait abilities and affected side MPP without auditory feedback. Results: Temporal and spatial variables were significantly increased in trials with auditory feedback from air-pressure insole except for non-paralyzed single support time and spatial gait symmetry compared to trials without auditory feedback(p<0.05). Among the four different thresholds, the walking speed, unaffected side single support time, affected and unaffected side stride, and affected side step length were greatest at 80% threshold of maximum peak, while affected single support time, temporal gait symmetry, and unaffected step length were greatest at the maximum peak of 100% threshold. Conclusions: These results indicate that auditory feedback gait using air-pressure insoles can be an effective way to improve walking speed, single support time, step length, stride, and temporal gait symmetry in stroke patients.

• Nano
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.1850131.1-1850131.19
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• 2018

In this paper, an electrochemical sensor for epinephrine (EP), a neurotransmitter was developed by anchoring molecularly imprinted polymeric matrix (MIP) on the surface of gold-coated quartz crystal electrode of electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) using starch nanoparticles (Starch NP) - reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanocomposite as polymeric format for the first time. Use of EP in therapeutic treatment requires proper dose and route of administration. Proper follow-up of neurological disorders and timely diagnosis of them has been found to depend on EP level. The MIP sensor was developed by electrodeposition of starch NP-RGO composite on EQCM electrode in presence of template EP. As the imprinted sites are located on the surface, high specific surface area enables good accessibility and high binding affinity to template molecule. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and piezoelectrogravimmetry were used for monitoring binding/release, rebinding of template to imprinted cavities. MIP-coated EQCM electrode were characterized by contact angle measurements, AFM images, piezoelectric responses including viscoelasticity of imprinted films, and other voltammetric measurements including direct (DPV) and indirect (using a redox probe) measurements. Selectivity was assessed by imprinting factor (IF) as high as 3.26 (DPV) and 3.88 (EQCM). Sensor was rigorously checked for selectivity in presence of other structurally close analogues, real matrix (blood plasma), reproducibility, repeatability, etc. Under optimized conditions, the EQCM-MIP sensor showed linear dynamic ranges ($1-10{\mu}M$). The limit of detection 40 ppb (DPV) and 290 ppb (EQCM) was achieved without any cross reactivity and matrix effect indicating high sensitivity and selectivity for EP. Hence, an eco-friendly MIP-sensor with high sensitivity and good selectivity was fabricated which could be applied in "real" matrices in a facile manner.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.30-36
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• 2018

Automotive fuel efficiency regulations and air pollution control are hot issues of recent years in the automotive industry. To solve these regulation problems, many studies are continuing to improve the transmission efficiency of transmissions. Tapered roller bearings are useful to improve the transmission efficiency in the recent automobile parts. The frictional losses in the tapered roller bearings are mainly composed of the rolling friction and the sliding friction, and are dependent upon the load, the lubrication, the rotation speed of bearings, and etc. In this paper, the operating conditions of the transmission are defined and then the power losses of each bearing are calculated. In addition, improvement options are suggested after identifying the design factors influenced much by the improvement effect of power loss under the operating conditions of each bearing. We compare the power losses of the entire transmission system due to bearing improvements by comparing the friction losses between the original design and the improved design. Lastly, it is shown that the calculated power losses are valid by comparing the test values and the theoretical values for the frictional torque characteristics of the original and improved bearings.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.383-389
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• 2018

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is an innovative environmental and energy system that converts organic wastewater into electrical energy. For practical implementation of MFC as a wastewater treatment process, a number of limitations need to be overcome. Improving cathodic performance is one of major challenges, and introduction of a current collector can be an easy and practical solution. In this study, three types of current collectors made of stainless steel (SS) were tested in a single-chamber cubic MFC. The three current collectors had different contact areas to the cathode (P $1.0cm^2$; PC $4.3cm^2$; PM $6.5cm^2$) and increasing the contacting area enhanced the power and current generations and coulombic and energy recoveries by mainly decreasing cathodic charge transfer impedance. Application of the SS mesh to the cathode (PM) improved maximum power density, optimum current density and maximum current density by 8.8%, 3.6% and 6.7%, respectively, comparing with P of no SS mesh. The SS mesh decreased cathodic polarization resistance by up to 16%, and cathodic charge transfer impedance by up to 39%, possibly because the SS mesh enhanced electron transport and oxygen reduction reaction. However, application of the SS mesh had little effect on ohmic impedance.

• Acute and Critical Care
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.238-245
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• 2018

Background: Infection by multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens leads to poor patient outcomes in intensive care units (ICUs). Contact precautions are necessary to reduce the transmission of MDR pathogens. However, the importance of the surrounding environment is not well known. We studied the effects of ICU relocation on MDR respiratory pathogen detection rates and patient outcomes. Methods: Patients admitted to the ICU before and after the relocation were retrospectively analyzed. Baseline patient characteristics, types of respiratory pathogens detected, antibiotics used, and patient outcomes were measured. Results: A total of 463 adult patients admitted to the ICU, 4 months before and after the relocation, were included. Of them, 234 were admitted to the ICU before the relocation and 229 afterward. Baseline characteristics, including age, sex, and underlying comorbidities, did not differ between the two groups. After the relocation, the incidence rate of MDR respiratory pathogen detection decreased from 90.0 to 68.8 cases per 1,000 patient-days, but that difference was statistically insignificant. The use of colistin was significantly reduced from 53.5 days (95% confidence interval [CI], 20.3 to 86.7 days) to 18.7 days (95% CI, 5.6 to 31.7 days). Furthermore, the duration of hospital stay was significantly reduced from a median of 29 days (interquartile range [IQR], 14 to 50 days) to 21 days (IQR, 11 to 39 days). Conclusions: Incidence rates of MDR respiratory pathogen detection were not significantly different before and after ICU relocation. However, ICU relocation could be helpful in reducing the use of antibiotics against MDR pathogens and improving patient outcomes.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.30-36
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• 2019

The tribological properties of paper-based friction materials are crucial to the performance of a wet clutch system. In this work, the friction and wear characteristics of a paper-based friction material in boundary lubrication state was experimentally investigated using a pin-on-reciprocating tribotester under various normal forces and temperatures. It was found that the wear rate of the friction material increased from $5.8{\times}10^{-6}mm^3/N/cycle$ to $5.5{\times}10^{-5}mm^3/N/cycle$ after 1,700 cycles of testing at $80^{\circ}C$ as normal force increased from 2 N to 7 N. The friction coefficient was also found to increase from 0.135 to 0.155 with increasing normal force from 2 N to 7 N. The increase in contact pressure with increasing normal force may be responsible for these results. In addition, as temperature increased from $20^{\circ}C$ to $80^{\circ}C$, the wear rate of the friction materials increased from $2.0{\times}10^{-5}mm^3/N/cycle$ to $3.6{\times}10^{-5}mm^3/N/cycle$ while the friction coefficient decreased from 0.163 to 0.146. This result may be associated with the decrease in the hardness of friction materials with increasing temperature. Furthermore, plastic deformation on the friction materials was mainly observed after the test. The outcome of this work may be useful to gain a better understanding of the tribological properties of friction materials, and therefore can contribute to the development of friction materials with enhanced performance for wet clutch systems.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.117-126
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• 2019

When designing reinforced concrete (RC) members, the rebar is assumed to resist all tensile forces, but the resistance of the concrete in the tension area is neglected. However, concrete can also resist tensile forces and increase the tensile stiffness of RC members, which is called the tension stiffening effect (TSE). Therefore, this study assessed the TSE, particularly after yielding of the steel bars and the effects of the steel ratio on the TSE. For this purpose, RC member specimens with steel ratios of 2.87%, 0.99%, and 0.59% were fabricated for uniaxial tensile tests. A vision-based non-contact measurement system was used to measure the behavior of the specimens. The cracks on the specimen at the stabilized cracking stage and the fracture stage were measured with the image analysis method. The results show that the number of cracks increases as the steel ratio increases. The reductions of the limit state and fracture strains were dependent on the ratio of the rebar. As the steel ratio decreased, the strain after yielding of the RC members significantly decreased. Therefore, the overall ductility of the RC member is reduced with decreasing steel ratio. The yielding plateau and ultimate load of the RC members obtained from the proposed equations showed very good agreement with those of the experiments. Finally, the image analysis method was possible to allow flexibility in expand the measurement points and targets to determine the strains and crack widths of the specimens.

• Metals and materials international
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.1241-1248
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• 2018

The reactive wetting behaviors of molten Zn-Al-Mg alloys on MnO- and amorphous (a-) $SiO_2$-covered steel sheets were investigated by the sessile drop method, as a function of the Al and Mg contents in the alloys. The sessile drop tests were carried out at $460^{\circ}C$ and the variation in the contact angles (${\theta}_c$) of alloys containing 0.2-2.5 wt% Al and 0-3.0 wt% Mg was monitored for 20 s. For all the alloys, the MnO-covered steel substrate exhibited reactive wetting whereas the $a-SiO_2$-covered steel exhibited nonreactive, nonwetting (${\theta}_c>90^{\circ}$) behavior. The MnO layer was rapidly removed by Al and Mg contained in the alloys. The wetting of the MnO-covered steel sheet significantly improved upon increasing the Mg content but decreased upon increasing the Al content, indicating that the surface tension of the alloy droplet is the main factor controlling its wettability. Although the reactions of Al and Mg in molten alloys with the $a-SiO_2$ layer were found to be sluggish, the wettability of Zn-Al-Mg alloys on the $a-SiO_2$ layer improved upon increasing the Al and Mg contents. These results suggest that the wetting of advanced high-strength steel sheets, the surface oxide layer of which consists of a mixture of MnO and $SiO_2$, with Zn-Al-Mg alloys could be most effectively improved by increasing the Mg content of the alloys.

• International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing-Green Technology
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• v.5 no.5
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• pp.583-591
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• 2018

Tool-chip adhesion impacts on cutting performance significantly, especially in finish cutting process. To promote cutting tools' anti-adhesion property, the concave micro-grooves texture (MGT) and convex volcano-like texture (VLT) were fabricated separately on lathe tools' rake faces by laser surface texturing (LST). Various orientations of MGT and different area densities (9% and 48%) and regions (partial and full) of VLT were considered in textured patterns designing. The following orthogonal cutting experiments, machining of aluminum alloy 5038, analyzed tools' performances including cutting force, cutting stability, chip shape, rake face adhesion and abrasion. It indicated that under dry finish cutting conditions, MGT contributed to cutting stability and low cutting forces, meanwhile friction and normal force reduced by around 15% and 10%, respectively with a weak correlation to the grooves' orientation. High density VLT tools, on the other hand, presented an obvious anti-adhesion property. A $5{\mu}m$ reduction of crater wear's depth can be observed on textured rake faces after long length cutting and textured rake faces presented half size of BUE regions comparing to the flat tool, however, once the texture morphologies were filled or worn, the anti-adhesion effect could be invalid. The bearing ratio curve was employed to analysis tool-chip contact and durability of textured surfaces contributing to a better understanding of anti-adhesion and enhanced durability of the textured tools.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.677-681
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• 2018

In this study, the carbon block was prepared using the fluorinated coke and binder pitch by molding compression to increase its density. After fluorination, it is confirmed that the fluorine element on the coke surface was introduced up to 24.14 at% using XPS analysis. The wettability between the fluorinated coke and binder pitch was evaluated according to the reaction temperature. From the result of contact-angle tests, it can be found that the wettability was improved up to 64.7% as more fluorine atoms were introduced on the surface of cokes. Also, the density of the carbon block with the highest amount of fluorine increased with 6.8% compared to that of using the carbon block prepared by the untreated cokes.