• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.104-110
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• 2008

The aim of this study ultimately is verifying that PGO gait is more efficient than RGO fur paraplegics because the air muscle assists hip flexion power in heel off movement. The gait characteristics of the paraplegic wearing the PGO or RGO are compared with that of a normal person. PGO with air muscles was used to analyze the walking of patients with lower-limb paralysis, and the results showed that the hip joint flexion and pelvic tilt angle decreased in PGO. In comparison to RGO gait, which is propelled by the movements of the back, PGO uses air muscles, which decreases the movement in the upper limb from a stance phase rate of 79$\pm$4%(RGO) to 68$\pm$8%. The energy consumption rate was 8.65$\pm$3.3 (ml/min/Kg) for RGO, while it decreased to 7.21t2.5(ml/min/Kg) for PGO. The results from this study show that PGO decreases energy consumption while providing support for patients with lower-limb paralysis, and it is helpful in walking for extended times.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2004.08a
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• pp.1229-1234
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• 2004

Face robots capable of expressing their emotional status, can be adopted as an e cient tool for friendly communication between the human and the machine. In this paper, we present a face robot actuated with arti cial muscle based on dielectric elastomer. By exploiting the properties of polymers, it is possible to actuate the covering skin, and provide human-like expressivity without employing complicated mechanisms. The robot is driven by seven types of actuator modules such as eye, eyebrow, eyelid, brow, cheek, jaw and neck module corresponding to movements of facial muscles. Although they are only part of the whole set of facial motions, our approach is su cient to generate six fundamental facial expressions such as surprise, fear, angry, disgust, sadness, and happiness. Each module communicates with the others via CAN communication protocol and according to the desired emotional expressions, the facial motions are generated by combining the motions of each actuator module. A prototype of the robot has been developed and several experiments have been conducted to validate its feasibility.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.35 no.7
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• pp.713-720
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• 2011

This study investigated the effect of cold acclimatization training on body composition including weight, fat mass, and muscle mass with 10 subjects (5 males and 5 females). During the 3-week acclimatization training program, they visited an artificial climate chamber ($15^{\circ}C$) 15 times and were exposed to cold environment with light clothing for 2 hours. Body composition was measured before and after cold training using bioelectric impedance analysis that was later compared by a paired t-test. In the process of thermoregulation, muscle contraction was accompanied by increased substrate metabolism for rising heat production. After cold training, the muscle mass increased and fat mass decreased significantly (p<.1, p<.05), subsequently the body composition changed. It was found that cold acclimatization training could be used as a treatment for obesity. It was suggested that further investigation on the long term effects of mild cold exposure using clothing and its potential applicability as an obesity treatment.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.163-168
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• 2009

In this study, we would be developed the fuzzy controlled PGO that controlled the flexion and the extension of each PGO's hip joint using the bio-signal and FSR sensor. The PGO driving system is to couple the right and left sides of the orthosis by specially designed hip joints and pelvic section. This driving system consists of the orthosis, sensor, control system. An air supply system of muscle is composed of an air compressor, 2-way solenoid valve (MAC, USA), accumulator, pressure sensor. Role of this system provide air muscle with the compressed air at hip joint constantly. According to output signal of EMG sensor and foot sensor, air muscles and assists the flexion of hip joint during PGO gait. As a results, the maximum hip flexion angles of RGO's gait and PGO's gait were about $16^{\circ}\;and\;57^{\circ}$ respectively. The maximum angle of flexion/extention in hip joint of the patients during RGO's gait are smaller than normal gait, because of the step length of them shoes a little bit. But maximum angle of flexion/extention in hip joint of the patients during PGO's gait are larger than normal gait.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.166-170
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• 2023

Diaphragmatic reconstruction is required for extensive diaphragmatic defects associated with tumor resection. Methods using artificial mesh and autologous tissues, such as pedicled flaps, have been reported predominantly for diaphragmatic reconstruction. We present the case of a 61-year-old woman who presented with a 14×13×12 cm tumor in the abdominal cavity of the upper left abdomen on computed tomography. The diaphragm defect measuring 12×7 cm that occurred during excision of the malignant tumor was reconstructed using the rectus abdominis muscle and fascial flap. The flap has vertical and horizontal vascular axes; therefore, blood flow is stable. It also has the advantage of increasing the range of motion and reducing twisting of the vascular pedicles. Fascial flap does not require processing such as thinning and can be used during suture fixation. This procedure, which has rarely been reported so far, has many advantages and may be a useful option for diaphragm reconstruction.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.17-25
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• 2023

Gold nanoparticles have recognized a promising drug carriers in many diseases. These nanoparticles could carry anti-inflammatory drugs in the case of muscle injury and for fatigue relief. On the other hand, specific surface of this kind of nanoparticles could be critical in amount of drug they could carry. Therefore, in this study, we explore different methodology and influencing parameters on the specific surface of gold nanoparticles. After specifying the main parameters, different machine learning and artificial neural network are adopted to model the effects of different parameters. Furthermore, response surface methodology is utilized to obtain a quadrilateral relationship between different parameters and specific surface. The results indicate that concentration of the gold salt solution is the most important parameter in increasing the size of gold nanoparticle and, as a consequence, increasing specific surface. Moreover, the ability of gold nanoparticles in prolonging retention of the drugs is discussed in detail.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.240-249
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• 2021

Phenotypic plasticity is a rapid response mechanism that enables organisms to acclimate and survive in changing environments. The Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) survives and thrives in different and even introduced habitats, thereby indicating its high phenotypic plasticity. However, the underpinnings of the high plasticity of E. sinensis have not been comprehensively investigated. In this study, we conducted an integrated gut microbiome and muscle metabolome analysis on E. sinensis collected from three different environments, namely, an artificial pond, Yangcheng Lake, and Yangtze River, to uncover the mechanism of its high phenotypic plasticity. Our study presents three divergent gut microbiotas and muscle metabolic profiles that corresponded to the three environments. The composition and diversity of the core gut microbiota (Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Tenericutes, and Firmicutes) varied among the different environments while the metabolites associated with amino acids, fatty acids, and terpene compounds displayed significantly different concentration levels. The results revealed that the gut microbiome community and muscle metabolome were significantly affected by the habitat environments. Our findings indicate the high phenotypic plasticity in terms of gut microbiome and muscle metabolome of E. sinensis when it faces environmental changes, which would also facilitate its acclimation and adaptation to diverse and even introduced environments.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.377-383
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• 2009

Ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) actuator generates bending actuation via ion/water flux to the cathode side under an electric field. Polyelectrolytes in IPMC should possess high water-retention capability, proton conductivity, and Young's modulus. In this study. for endowing IPMCs with these properties, Nafion-alumina composite membranes containing $\alpha$- or $\gamma$-aluminas of $4{\sim}8$ wt% were prepared. Mechanical moduli of Nafion-alumina composite membranes were $7{\sim}3$ MPa higher than that of Nafion, with the slight decrease in proton conductivity. At DC 3 V. the actuation performance of the Nafion-$\alpha$-alumina (8 wt%)-IPMC was superior to that of the typical Nafion-IPMC. exhibiting 2.7 times the displacement with an enhanced blocking force. The enhanced actuation performance with the Nafion-$\alpha$-alumina composite membranes was attributed to the higher proton conductivity, the elevated ion/water flux, and the lower interfacial electric resistance of platinum electrodes and membrane, compared with those containing $\gamma$-alumina.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.727-730
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• 2005

Cellulose based Electro-Active Papers (EAPap) is very promising material due to its merits in terms of large bending deformation, low actuation voltage, ultra-lightweight, and biodegradability. These advantages make it possible to utilize applications, such as artificial muscles and achieving flapping wings, micro-insect robots and smart wall papers. This paper investigates the in-plane strains of EAPap under electric fields, which are useful for a contractile actuator application The preparation of EAPap samples and the in-plane strain measurement system are explained, and the test results are shown in terms of electric field, frequency and the oriental ions of the samples. The power consumption and the strain energy of EAPap samples are discussed. Although there are still unknown facts in EAPap material, this in-plane strain may be useful for artificial muscle applications.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.533-541
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• 2011

This paper presents a frequency-response test performed on an antagonistic actuation system consisting of two Mckibben pneumatic artificial muscles and a pneumatic circuit with pressure valves. Varying switching frequency to pressure valves from 0.1 Hz to 5 Hz, parameters of a linear model were estimated optimally to predict dynamic characteristics of the antagonistic actuation. A model-base control scheme with estimated parameters was built for the precise trajectory tracking of the antagonistic structure and realized on a reconfigurable embedded control system, CompactRIO. Experimental results showed that the proposed model-based control scheme gave good performance in trajectory tracking comparing with a PD control scheme when square wave and sinusoidal wave were given as references to follow.