• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2021

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate 1) the difference in static lower extremity alignment (SLEA) according to a history of lateral ankle sprain (LAS), 2) to identify SLEA factors affecting LAS, and 3) to present the cut-off value and 4) the usefulness and limitations of the SLEA measurement. Method: This case-control study recruited 88 men (age: 27.78±4.69 yrs) and 39 women (age: 24.62±4.20 yrs) subjects with and without LAS. SLEA measurement protocol included Q angle, tibiofemoral angle, genu recurvatum, rear foot (RF) angle, tibal varum and torsion, navicular drop, ankle dorsiflexion range of motion (DF ROM). Independent t-test, logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used for statistical analysis. Results: Men with a history of LAS had significantly smaller Q angles both in standing and in supine position, while women with a history of LAS had significantly greater DF ROM in non-weight bearing (NWB; p < 0.05). Logistic regression model suggests tibial varum (OR = 0.779, p = 0.021) and WB DF ROM (OR = 1.067, p = 0.045) were associated with LAS in men. In case of women, there were no significant SLEA factors for LAS, however, ROC curve analysis revealed standing RF angle (AUC = 0.647, p = 0.028) and NWB DF ROM (AUC = 0.648, p = 0.026) could be affecting factors for LAS. Conclusion: There are differences in SLEA according to the history of LAS, furthermore, the identified items were different by sex. In case of men, tibial varum and WB DF ROM affect LAS occurrence. Standing RF angle and NWB DF ROM of women could be a predictor for LAS. However, since the sensitivity and specificity in most of the SLEA measurements are low, kinematic in dynamic tasks should be considered together for a more accurate evaluation of LAS risk.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.89-93
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• 2022

Earthing, caused by direct skin contact with the Earth's surface, is used to reduce the symptoms of inflammation (fever, fever, swelling and pain). However, there is little evidence to support the anti-inflammatory effects of earthing mattresses. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate whether anti-inflammatory effect of earthing mattress using an in vivo animal model. The anti - inflammatory effect was evaluated by measuring ear thickness and foot volume in 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13 acetate (TPA) - induced ear edema and carrageenan - induced paw edema model, respectively. Balb/c mouse in carrageenan paw edema model showed significant anti - inflammatory effect in the group treated with earthing mattress for 4 hours or 24 hours for 3 days. For females, the anti-inflammatory effect was greater when the earthing mattress was added to the mattress than the mattress alone treatment. From the above results, it was found that the female responds more to the effect of the earthing as well as the mattress effect. In addition, when the male and female Balb/c mice were exposed to mattresses and earthing mattresses for 24 h for 3 days, respectively, the mattress and earthing mattresses showed significant inhibition of IL (Interleukin)-1β levels compared to the control. In the TPA ear edema model, Balb/c mouse showed significant anti - inflammatory effect in the group treated with the earthing mattress for 4 hours or 24 hours for 3 days. Both males and females showed more anti-inflammatory effects when they were exposed to earthing mattresses with mattresses added to the mattresses. From the above results, it was found that both male and female respond to the effect of earthing as well as the mattress effect in the TPA ear edema model. In conclusion, in this study, we have verified that earthing mattress shows inhibitory effects on TPA and carrageenan-induced inflammation. From these results, it is suggested that the anti-inflammatory effect can be expected by applying the earthing mattress to patients suffering from inflammatory diseases. However, there is a need to pinpoint exactly how the earthing mattress relieves inflammation, and further research is needed to investigate the mechanism.

• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.573-597
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• 2016

Recent fMRI and EEG research for neural representations of action concepts insist that processing of action concepts evoke the simulation of sensory-motor information. Moreover, there are several behavioral studies showing that understanding of action verbs or sentences describing actions interfere or facilitate current action performance. However, it is unclear that online interaction between processing of action concepts and current action is based on the simulation of sensory-motor information, or other neural mechanisms. The present research aims to explore the underlying neural mechanism that how the perception of action language influence the performance of current action using high-spacial temporal resolution EEG and multiple source analysis techniques. For this, participants were asked to perform a cued-motor reaction task in which button-pressing hand action and pedal-stepping foot action were required according to the color of the cue, and we presented auditorily action verbs describing the responding actions (i.e., /press/, /step/, /stop/) just before the color cue and examined the interaction effect from the semantic congruency between the action verbs and the current action. Behavioral results revealed consistently a facilitatory effect when action verbs and responding actions were semantically congruent in both button-pressing and pedal-stepping actions, and an inhibitory effect when semantically incongruent in the button-pressing action condition. In the results of EEG source waveform analysis, the semantic congruency effects between action verbs and the responding actions were observed in the Wernicke's area during the perception of action verbs, in the anterior cingulate gyrus and the supplementary motor area (SMA) at the time when the motor-cue was presented, and in the SMA and primary motor cortex (M1) during action execution stage. Based on the current findings, we argue that perceived action verbs evoke the facilitation/inhibition effect by influencing the expectation and preparation stage of following actions rather than the directly activating the particular motor cortex. Finally we discussed the implication on the neural representation of action concepts and methodological limitations of the current research.