• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2011

This study was to investigate the influence of using Therapeutic Instrumental Music Performance (TIMP) in uninvolved hand function for children with spastic cerebral palsy. Participants were recruited from a welfare center for people with cerebral palsy(CP). Ages ranged from 11 to 12, and a total of 15 TIMP sessions were provided for 3 weeks. Hand function tests were used including Jebsen Hand Function Test for hand function, Box and Block Test for dexterity of uninvolved hand, and MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) evaluation for velocity of fingers. The TIMP program consisted of hand percussion playing and keyboard playing with changes of timbre and tempo. While the scores of Jebsen test and Box and Block test were improved for all participants, outcomes of MIDI analysis showed differences among participants. Overall, hand function improvements were observed after the completion of using the TIMP program, and the results implies that the TIMP program can be applied in upper extremity rehabilitation for children with CP.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.520-533
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• 2023

The present study developed a test protocol for evaluating the mobility of firefighting chemical and flame personal protective equipment (PPE) for the National 119 Rescue Headquarters in Korea and suggested ergonomic design factors to improve their mobility and performance. Six types of PPE were employed, including three types for flame protective PPE (5 ~ 6 kg excluding the self-contained breathing apparatus), and three types for chemical and flame protective PPE (8 ~ 11 kg). These PPEs are used by the 119 Rescue firefighters. Three male firefighters (34.3 ± 1.2 y in age, 175 ± 8 cm in height, 81 ± 13 kg in body weight) participated in the mobility test and interview. A mobility test protocol consisting of 16 components (nine postures and seven motions including a dexterity test) along with a visibility test were developed based on pre-interviews and literature reviews. The findings indicated that the clothing microclimate humidity on the neck and chest exceeded 85%RH on average for all the six PPE conditions, with the chest area reaching as high as 98%RH. This high humidity caused fogging inside the visor and impaired visibility. The requirements for improving the PPE design in terms of mobility varied depending on whether it was the separated types or all-in-one types, particularly regarding the hood and gloves design. The findings of this study can be applied to improve the design of Level A_PPE for firefighters. The mobility test protocol and visibility test developed in this study can also be applied to other types of Level A impermeable PPE.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.28 no.4 s.51
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• pp.911-923
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• 1995

With increased use of neurotoxic agents in manufacturing industries, hazardous effects of neurotoxic agents pose significant problems in protecting health of workers who work in these industries. A normal range of neurobehavioral performance is required to study hazardous effects of neurotoxic agents among workers. However, such reference for Korean population is not available yet. The objective of this study is to estimate a normal range of neurobehavioral test performance of female workers in Korea. Data for neurobehavioral test performance developed by the World Health Organization were obtained from 165 female workers. Study subjects, 140 production workers and 25 clerks, who voluntarily participated in this study were not occupationally exposed to neurotoxic agents. The mean age and the mean education years of them were 32 years and 10.9 years, respectively Santa Ana dexterity, pursuit aiming, digit symbol, simple reaction time, and Benton visual retention tests among the Neurobehavioral Core Test Battery(NCTB) were included in the evaluation. Subjects were interviewed by a trained interviewer for their detailed occupational history $Mean({\pm}SD)$ performance of the participants were: $45.7{\pm}7.1\;and\;41.9{\pm}6.4$ in the Santa Ana dexterity test of the preferred and non-preferred hands; $45.7{\pm}7.1\;and\;41.9{\pm}6.4$ in correct dot of the pursuit aiming test; $57.7{\pm}16.0$ in the digit symbol test; $274.8{\pm}44.6$ msec in the mean simple reaction time and $70.5{\pm}69.0$ msec in the mean standard deviation of it; and $7.8{\pm}1.7$ in the Benton visual retention test. Most neurobehavioral performance scores were correlated significantly with age and educational level. Educational level was found to be a significant independent variable which was associated with all test scores. Age was significantly associated with scores of pursuit aiming and digit symbol tests.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.442-449
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• 2004

As underwater robotic vehicles (URVs) become attractive for more sophisticated underwater tasks, the demand of high performance in terms of accuracy and dexterity has been increased. An autonomous underwater robotic vehicle, ODIN (Omni-Directional Intelligent Navigator) was designed and built at the Autonomous Systems Laboratory of the University of Hawaii in 1991. Since 1991, various studies were conducted on ODIN and have contributed to the advancement in underwater robotics. Its refurbished model ODIN II was based on VxWorks in VMEbus. Recently, ODIN was born again as a PC based system, ODIN III with unique features such as new vehicle system software architecture with an objective-oriented concept, a graphical user interface, and an independent and modular structure using a Dynamic Linking Library (DLL) based on the Windows operating system. ODIN III software architecture offers an ideal environment where various studies for advanced URV technology can be conducted. This paper describes software architecture of ODIN III and presents initial experimental results of fine motion control on ODIN III.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.15-21
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• 2005

Use of a glove made of materials with a low elasticity decreases the performance of the hand such as agility, dexterity, range of motion, and grip strength. The present study examined if the adverse effects of a low-elastic glove can be reduced by a design which accommodates the changes of hand surface lengths by hand motion. Two glove designs which provide patches of elastic cloth and pleats at the finger joints and knuckle were developed by considering the hand surface length changes, and then compared with two conditions(bare hand and conventional glove design that does not consider the dynamic characteristics of the hand dimensions) in terms of completion time in peg board insertion task, maximum grip strength, discomfort in hand motion, discomfort in force exertion, and overall discomfort by 24 right-handed participants. The test results confirmed that wearing of a glove significantly reduced the agility and grip strength capability of the hand and indicated that the novel designs were effective to lessen the performance decreases compared to the conventional design. Also, of the glove designs, the pleat glove design was found most preferred for both better hand performance and less subjective discomfort.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.10
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• pp.315-322
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• 2020

This study investigates the application of management information systems to the quality of local government financial reports, especially the principle of transparency and the law of accountability, which have been measures of financial statement performance evaluation. The study was conducted in Enrekang Regency, Indonesia, which, based on the results of the examination, the Supreme Audit Board reported the status of Disclaimer, Fair with Exceptions, and Fair without Exceptions for three years each. This study used a sample of 35 respondents, finance department employees who worked on local government financial reports. Descriptive quantitative data were collected using a questionnaire instrument, then with the assistance of the Program Solution and Product Statistics (SPSS) Program, data were processed to test hypotheses. The results showed that the use of management information systems based on information and communication technology (ICT) had a significant influence on the quality of local government financial reports. The findings of this study indicate that the application of ICT-based management information systems affects the accountability and transparency of local government financial reports. This finding is reinforced by the use of the principles of government agility in the form of government apparatuses that apply responsive dexterity, flexibility agility, and competency agility.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.156-167
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• 2010

To evaluate the effect of lead biomarkers including bone lead on neurobehavioral test in retired lead workers, 131 retired lead workers without any occupational exposure to organic solvent, mercury and arsenic were agreed to participate this study. For the control subjects 56 non-occupationally lead exposed subjects were recruited from same area of retired lead workers with consideration of demographic characteristics. The mean levels of blood and bone lead of retired lead workers were significantly higher than control group and there were significant correlation among other lead biomarkers. Compared with controls without occupational lead exposure, lead exposured subjects had worse performance on 10 tests out of 12 neurobehavioral tests, but only two tests(Purdue pegboard nondominant and both hand) showed statistical significance of differences. In multiple linear regression analysis of neurobehavioral tests with lead biomarkers and demographic and lifestyle variables, age was associated negatively with 11 neurobehavioral tests, whereas log-transformed ZPP was associated with Purdue pegboard(both hand) and Santa Ana manual dexterity(non-dominant hand). On the other hand, tibia lead was associated Pursuit aiming test(correct) and Purdue pegboard(dominant hand) and calcaneal lead was associated with Purdue pegboard(dominant hand). This study confirmed that among all relevant variables age was most significantly associated with the poor performance of neurobehavioral tests. The blood lead did not have any significant association with neurobehavioral tests, but tibia and calcaneal bone lead and blood ZPP showed significant association with a few tests even after more than mean 9 years from their retirements.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.99-103
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• 2013

Objective: Clinical measures that quantify upper extremity function are needed for the accurate evaluation of patients and to plan an intervention strategy. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS)-Motor Exam and upper extremity performance as a quantifying clinical tool of upper extremity function in persons with Parkinson's disease. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Thirty-two idiopathic Parkinson's Disease persons participated in this study. To investigate the relationship between the UPDRS-motor exam, Box and Block test (BBT), and Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) by two physical therapists. The examination took up to 1 hour, and the participants were invited to rest between each clinical measure in order to minimize the effects of fatigue. Clinical measures were assessed while the subjects were in the "on" phase of their medication cycle, generally 1-3 hour after taking their anti-Parkinson's medications. Results: In more affected side, the UPDRS-motor exam was significantly negative correlated with the BBT (p<0.05) but it was not significantly correlated with the ARAT. In less affected side, only positively correlation was significantly shown between BBT and ARAT (p<0.05). On the other hand, between BBT and ARAT were not significantly correlated with the UPDRS-motor exam. Conclusions: The UPDRS-motor exam is effective tool which was significantly correlated with manual dexterity in more affected upper extremity. But The UPDRS-motor exam is not effective tool in less affected upper extremity.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.7-12
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• 2011

Purpose: The cane is one of the most popular assistive devices for stroke patients. Clinical complaints of sensorimotor functions on the ipsilateral upper limb were appealed in stroke patients who had used a cane for a long period. Therefore, we investigated whether cane usage for a long-term period affected sensoriomotor dysfunctions on the non-affected upper limb, in terms of pain presence, shoulder joint sense, a nine-hole pegboard test, and a tracking task. Methods: We recruited 12 stroke patients, who were divided into the cane-using (CU) group or the non-cane using (NCU) group, according to cane usage experience. We evaluated joint position sense for the integrity of proprioceptive reposition sense in the shoulder joint, used a nine-hole pegboard test for upper limb dexterity evaluation, and a tracking task for visuomotor coordination. Results: Four patients in the CU group had complained of shoulder pain none did in the NCU group. In addition, the CU group showed more reposition errors on the shoulder joint than the NCU group did. In addition, the CU group had more difficulty in proprioceptive sense perception and in performance of the nine-hole pegboard teat and tracking task, compared with the NCU group. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that cane usage for a long period in stroke patients could give rise to trigger joint pain and decrease proprioceptive sense. In addition, complex motor performance in the ipsilateral upper limb could deteriorate. In stroke patients who had used acane for long period, careful observation and proper intervention will be necessary.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.665-676
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• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to analyze the association between indirect vision skills and neck, shoulder, and back pain in dental hygienists. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 85 dental hygienists working full-time at dental clinics. A survey was performed for musculoskeletal symptoms in the neck, shoulders, and back of the subjects. The O'Connor tweezer dexterity test was performed using a mirror to evaluate their indirect vision skills. For statistical analyses, the t-test and one-way analysis of variance were performed. Results: The neck was the most common region of musculoskeletal pain (89.4%). The most intense pain was experienced in the neck (70.6%) and right shoulder (60.0%). Neck pain (20.0%) caused the most interference with clinical practice. Indirect vision skills were lower in the group with severe pain in the left shoulder or with high interference in work due to the left shoulder pain (p=0.026 and p= 0.017, respectively) or right shoulder pain (p=0.004). Conclusions: In this study, neck pain was a major musculoskeletal symptom among dental hygienists, and poor indirect vision skills were associated with the development of shoulder pain. Therefore, to prevent such musculoskeletal symptoms, dental hygienists should become proficient in indirect visualization, which enables a balanced and neutral posture.