• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.222-229
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• 2019

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Aging is an imperative problem for many countries in this century, and presents several challenges for the maintenance of good nutritional status. This study aims to assess the impact of socio-demographic factors, lifestyle and health status on the nutritional status among the elderly in Taiwan. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out in Taiwan. Data were obtained from the Mei Jau Health Management Institution, which is a private health evaluation provider with multiple health screening centers in Taiwan and Asia. This study included 7947 adults aged 65 years or above. The data were extracted between 2001 to 2010. Nutritional status was assessed using anthropometric data, biochemical data and dietary intake information. RESULTS: Among the 7947 participants with mean age of 70.1 (SD = 4.5) years, 20.2%, 6.6%, 10.5% and 52.5% experienced underweight, protein malnutrition, anemia and inadequate dietary intake in the past month, respectively. Age was negatively correlated with body weight (r = -0.19, P = 0.02), body mass index (r = -0.41, P < 0.001), albumin level (r = -0.93, P < 0.001) and hemoglobin level (r = -0.30, P = 0.008). Age above 70 years, gender, unmarried status, retirement, lack of education, low family income, smoking, alcohol drinking, sleep duration of 6-8 hours, vegetarian diet, multiple medications, comorbidity and dysphagia were positively associated with malnutrition in older adults. CONCLUSIONS: Underweight and inadequate dietary intake are prevalent among the elderly in Taiwan. Vegetarian diet, multiple medications, comorbidity, dysphagia and lifestyle factors such as smoking, alcohol drinking and sleep duration of 6-8 hours are risk factors for undernutrition in older adults.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.217-225
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess socio-demographic, disaster-related, physical health-related, psychological, and social factors that may adversely affect disaster victims' QoL (Quality of Life). Methods: A cross sectional study was designed by using the secondary data. From the 3rd Disaster Victims Panel Survey (2012~2017), a total of 1,659 data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics including frequency, percentage, t-test, ANOVA, and multivariate linear regression. Results: Older people with lower health status lacking financial resources prior to a disaster were more at risk of low levels of QoL. Lower levels of perceived health status, resilience, and QoL were reported by disaster exposed individuals, while their depression was higher than the depression in the control group of disaster unexposed ones. Resilience, social and material supports were positively associated with QoL whereas depression and PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders) were negatively associated. Conclusion: These findings suggest that psychological symptoms and loss due to disasters can have adverse impacts on the QoL of disaster victims in accordance with their prior socio-demographic background. They also indicate that targeted post-disaster community nursing intervention should be considered a means of increased social support as well as physical and mental health care for disaster victims.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.130-140
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• 2019

Purpose: The aim of this study is to explore levels of suicidal ideation and identify subgroups of high suicidal risk among the depressed elderly in Korea. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted on secondary data from the 6th (1st year) Korean national health and nutrition examination survey (KNHANES). A total of 239 depressed elders aged 60 or over who participated in the KNHANES. The prevalence of suicidal ideation and its related factors, including sociodemographic, physical, psychological characteristics and quality of life (EQ-5D index) were examined. Descriptive statistics and a decision tree analysis were performed using the SPSS/WIN 23.0 and SPSS Modeler 14.2 programs. Results: Of the depressed elderly, 28.9% had suicidal ideation. Three groups with high suicidal ideation were identified. Predictive factors included perceived stress level, household income level, quality of life and restriction of activity. In the highest risk group were those depressed elderly with moderate and low levels of stress, less than .71 of EQ-5D index and restriction of activity, and 80.0% of these participants had suicidal ideation. The accuracy of the model was 80.8%, its sensitivity 85.9%, and its specificity 68.1%. Conclusion: Multi-dimensional intervention should be designed to decrease suicide among the depressed elderly, particularly focusing on subgroups with high risk factors. This research is expected to contribute itself to the policy design and solution building in the future as it suggests policy implications in preventing the suicide of the depressed elderly.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.198-204
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• 2019

In this study, we propose a wearable force sensor using 3D printed mold and liquid metal. Liquid metal, such as Galinstan, is one of the promising functional materials in stretchable electronics known for its intrinsic mechanical and electronic properties. The proposed soft force sensor measures the external force by the resistance change caused by the cross-sectional area change. Fused deposition modeling-based 3D printing is a simple and cost-effective fabrication of resilient elastomers using liquid metal. Using a 3D printed microchannel mold, 3D multichannel Galinstan microchannels were fabricated with a serpentine structure for signal stability because it is important to maintain the sensitivity of the sensor even in various mechanical deformations. We performed various electro-mechanical tests for performance characterization and verified the signal stability while stretching and bending. The proposed sensor exhibited good signal stability under 100% longitudinal strain, and the resistance change ranged within 5% of the initial value. We attached the proposed sensor on the finger joint and evaluated the signal change during various finger movements and the application of external forces.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.40-44
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• 2019

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the changes in postural stability according to ankle fixation in healthy university students. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Thirty healthy subjects (15 males and 15 females, 20.13 years, 167.49 cm, 65.87 kg) were recruited on a voluntary basis. The BT4 system (HUR Laps Oy, Tampere, Finland) was used to measure the static (standing posture with eyes open and eyes closed) and dynamic (external perturbation and limits of stability (LOS) in the forward, backward, left, and right side) balance abilities. External perturbation was measured by the subject's postural sway velocity and area for 20 seconds after being impacted by a gym ball. Static and dynamic stabilities were measured with ankle joint fixation and non-fixation conditions. Ankle fixation was provided using Mueller tape on both ankle joints. Results: For static stability under the standing posture, there was no significant difference between standing with ankle joint fixation and non-fixation conditions. However, dynamic stability (external perturbation and LOS in the forward, backward, left, and right side) was significantly higher in the standing with the non-fixation condition compared to the standing with ankle joint fixation condition (p<0.05). Conclusions: Our results reveal that ankle joint fixation can influence dynamic stability during standing. Thus, we believe that this result provides basic information for making improvements in postural control and may be useful in balance training for fall prevention.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.87-94
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• 2019

Background: Lead (Pb) exposure in shooting ranges has been reduced by various measures such as jacketed ammunition and lead-free primers. Nevertheless, this may lead to exposure to other metals, potentially resulting in adverse health effects. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 35 subjects from seven different shooting ranges were studied: four shooting instructors, 10 police officers, 15 Special Forces, and six maintenance staff members. Metals and metalloids were determined in blood and urine by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Results: The concentrations of most elements did not differ significantly between groups or compared to reference values, except for Sb and Pt in urine and Pb in blood. Mean values for Sb were considerably higher in urine from the Special Forces ($0.34{\mu}g/L$), the maintenance staff ($0.13{\mu}g/L$), and shooting instructors ($0.32{\mu}g/L$) compared to the police officers before shooting ($0.06{\mu}g/L$) and a Belgian reference value ($0.04{\mu}g/L$). For Pt, the Special Forces showed higher mean urinary concentrations ($0.078{\mu}g/L$) compared to a Belgian reference value (<$0.061{\mu}g/L$). Mean values for blood lead were markedly higher in the Special Forces ($3.9{\mu}g/dL$), maintenance staff ($5.7{\mu}g/dL$), and instructors ($11.7{\mu}g/dL$) compared to police officers ($1.4{\mu}g/dL$). One instructor exceeded the biological exposure index for blood Pb ($38.8{\mu}g/dL$). Conclusion: Since both Pb and Sb were found to be higher in shooting range employees, especially among frequent shooters, it is advisable to provide appropriate protective equipment, education, and medical follow-up for shooting range personnel in addition to careful choice of ammunition.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.216-226
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• 2019

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate child abuse awareness and reporting intention among nursing and education students and correlations among the variables involved. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted by administering an online questionnaire to 70 nursing college students and 70 education college students. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, chi-squared test, the Mann-Whitney U test, and Pearson's correlation in SPSS 21.0 (IBM, Armonk, NY). Results: The mean score of child abuse awareness was $3.61{\pm}0.32$ for nursing students and $3.60{\pm}0.36$ for education students. The mean score of reporting intention was $5.65{\pm}0.90$ for nursing students and $5.38{\pm}1.03$ for education students. Females presented higher scores than males in the awareness of sexual abuse. The awareness of emotional abuse was higher in students who knew of reporting obligations or who had experienced abuse. Child abuse awareness and reporting intention were significantly positively correlated. Also, the number of times having received child abuse education was correlated with reporting intention in both mild and severe cases of abuse. Conclusion: Reporting intention is not only related to having received education, but also to the frequency of that education. Child abuse education is important to increase reporting intention and should be delivered repeatedly.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2019

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of using static surface electromyography (sEMG) on persons with neck pain and in healthy adults. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Twenty-two female participants with neck pain and thirty healthy adults in the age group of 20-65 years were recruited in this study. To evaluate the validity and reliability of sEMG in subjects with neck pain, the subjects'characteristics were recorded and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Neck Disability Index (NDI) were examined in addition to sEMG and algometer tests being carried out on the subjects. The site for using the sEMG and algometer was the upper trapezius. sEMG test-retest reliability was measured by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Independent t-tests were used to analyze the differences in the dependent variables between subjects with neck pain and healthy adults. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to examine the linear relationship between measured variables. Results: sEMG and algometer tests were reliable according to the test-retest reliability results in subjects with neck pain and healthy adults (ICC=0.815-0.979). The results of this study showed that there were significant differences in respect to age, VAS, sEMG and algometer tests between persons with neck pain and healthy adults (p<0.05). The VAS and NDI were statistically correlated with sEMG and algometer results (p<0.05). Conclusions: In this study, we investigated the clinical usefulness of the static sEMG test in evaluating the pain scale of persons with neck pain with high reliability and validity.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.170-180
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• 2019

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the facial skeletal patterns and the shape of the mandibular symphysis in adults with malocclusion by using a structural equation model (SEM). Methods: Ninety adults who had malocclusion and had records of facial skeletal measurements performed using cone-beam computed tomography were selected for this study. The skeletal measurements were classified into three groups (vertical, anteroposterior, and transverse). Cross-sectional images of the mandibular symphysis were analyzed using generalized Procrustes and principal component (PC) analyses. A SEM was constructed after the factors were extracted via factor analysis. Results: Two factors were extracted from the transverse, vertical, and anteroposterior skeletal measurements. Latent variables were extracted for each factor. PC1, PC2, and PC3 were selected to analyze the variations of the mandibular symphyseal shape. The SEM was constructed using the skeletal variables, PCs, and latent variables. The SEM showed that the vertical latent variable exerted the most influence on the mandibular symphyseal shape. Conclusions: The relationship between the skeletal pattern and the mandibular symphysis was analyzed using a SEM, which showed that the vertical facial skeletal pattern had the highest effect on the shape of the mandibular symphysis.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.164-171
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• 2018

Objective: The purpose of this research was to determine the immediate effects of wearing a foot-pressure-based insole (FPBI) on ankle dorsiflexion range of motion (DFROM), postural sway, and muscle activation in healthy individuals with genu varum. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: This study was conducted on thirteen adults, with six male and seven females subjects. The mean age was 24.08 years. Foot pressure was measured to apply the FPBI and the weight bearing lunge test was performed with the application of a flat insole (FI) and FPBI. Examination was randomly performed in four conditions to measure both postural sway and muscle activation. All participants applied both the FI and FPBI with four conditions. The four conditions were as follows: 1) Romberg test posture with eyes closed, 2) Romberg test posture with eyes opened, 3) dominant single leg standing with eyes opened, and 4) non-dominant single leg standing with eyes opened. Results: For ankle DFROM between the FI and FPBI, a significant increase was observed in both the dominant and non-dominant leg (p<0.05). For postural sway between the FI and FPBI in the Romberg test posture with eyes closed and dominant single leg standing with eyes opened conditions, a significant decrease was observed (p<0.05). However, the postural sway between FI and FPBI in the Romberg test posture with eyes opened and non-dominant single leg standing with eyes opened, no significant decrease was observed. Also, there were no significant effects on muscle activation between the application of the FI and FPBI. Conclusions: The result showed that FPBI immediately improved ankle DFROM and postural sway. It seems that FPBI may improve genu varum in healthy individuals with genu varum.