• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.1434-1440
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• 2011

In this paper, we assessed muscular activities of lower limbs and foot pressure for car and bus drivers according to operating three electronic pedals that we developed. To analyze drivers' physical exhaustion, muscular fatigue of lower limbs was evaluated. Eleven car drivers and six urban bus drivers were participated in this experiment. The virtual driving system was used for the real driving environment. The virtual driving system was comprised of a spring seat, a steering wheel, pedals (clutch, excel and brake pedals), a manual transmission and a virtual driving simulation. For the real vibration like situation on the road, six degree of freedom motion base system was used. Measured muscles were rectus femoris (RF), biceps femoris (BF), tibialis anterior (TA) and gastrocnemius (Gn) muscles. For the quantitative muscular activities, integrated electromyography (IEMG) was analyzed. Muscular fatigues also were analyzed through the analysis of the median frequency. In addition, foot pressures were analyzed and compared through the peak and averaged pressure during the operating three developed electronic pedals. The experiments are conducted with total 17 drivers, 11 general public and 6 drivers. As a result of the analysis, electromyogram and fatigue analysis through intermediate frequency reduction for pedal-1 more efficient than other pedals. And foot pressure also was decreased. Consequently, we suggested the most efficient pedal and method to minimize the amount of cumulative fatigue.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.11-25
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• 2018

The Ln-least method is commonly used to estimate the Weibull parameters from the observed wind speed data. In previous studies, the bin method has been used to calculate the cumulative frequency distribution for the Ln-least method. The purpose of this study is to obtain better performance in the Ln-least method by applying probability plotting position(PPP) instead of the bin method. Two types of the wind speed data were used for the analysis. One was the observed wind speed data taken from three sites with different topographical conditions. The other was the virtual wind speed data which were statistically generated by a random variable with known Weibull parameters. Also, ten types of PPP formulas were applied which were Hazen, California, Weibull, Blom, Gringorten, Chegodayev, Cunnane, Tukey, Beard and Median. In addition, in order to suggest the most suitable PPP formula for estimating Weibull parameters, two accuracy tests, the root mean square error(RMSE) and $R^2$ tests, were performed. As a result, all of PPPs showed better performances than the bin method and the best PPP was the Hazen formula. In the RMSE test, compared with the bin method, the Hazen formula increased estimation performance by 38.2% for the observed wind speed data and by 37.0% for the virtual wind speed data. For the $R^2$ test, the Hazen formula improved the performance by 1.2% and 2.7%, respectively. In addition, the performance of the PPP depended on the frequency of low wind speeds and wind speed variability.

• Medical Lasers
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.39-43
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• 2020

Background and Objectives Breast reconstruction has the advantage of reducing the loss of the body image of patients after mastectomy surgery, and also improving the quality of the social and sexual life of breast cancer patients. However, in surprising and unfortunate number of patients, acute postoperative pain persists beyond the normal course of postsurgical recovery. We set out to investigate the effect of local dynamical micro-massage (LDM) treatment for achieving pain relief and reducing other postoperative complications. Materials and Methods We performed a retrospective analysis on 58 patients who underwent LDM treatment for postoperative pain management at Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital between February 2017 and June 2019. Those patients who complained of persistent postoperative pain, which was uncontrollable with medication, were treated with LDM. The degree of pain and discomfort with contracture were recorded using numerical rating scale (NRS) scoring system with numbers from 0 to 10 ('none' to 'worst'). Results The median NRS score of pain was reduced by 62.3% from the start to the end of LDM treatment (p<0.001). Further, the NRS score of discomfort with contracture was reduced 66.0% (p<0.001). There was no complication related to the LDM treatment. Conclusion Dual-frequency ultrasound LDM can be an effective therapeutic option for persisting pain after breast reconstruction surgery. It was also effective in improvement of discomfort with contracture and erythema of the surgical wound.

• The Journal of Korea Institute of Information, Electronics, and Communication Technology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.108-112
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• 2024

The pronation foot can increase muscle activity, and may result in muscle fatigue and overuse syndromes. This paper aims to examine the relationships between muscle fatigue indices and pronation angles (PRA) larger than 20° for pronated foot subjects. Twelve subjects in the 15-61 age range were participated, and EMG of their biceps femoris were measured during treadmill walking at 4.5 km/h for 30 seconds. Slopes of the median frequency and the magnitude in the low frequency band were estimated respectively as muscle fatigue indices (MFIs). We hypothesized that the relationships between MFIs and PRA for the subjects in this paper be similar to those for normal ones. The test results demonstrated that we could obtain the significant correlation coefficients between MFIs and PRA (r>0.60; p<0.05).

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.62 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2024

Purpose. To investigate the differences in the frequency of post-fitting denture check-ups based on gender, age, insurance status, denture arch, and type among patients aged 65 and above. Methods. This research analyzed 988 patients from National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital's Department of Prosthodontics, who had denture fittings over the last 10 years. Variables including gender, age, insurance status and type, denture arch, and denture type were assessed. Statistical analyses were performed at a 5% significance level. Results. The study incorporated 988 dentures, revealing a median of 3 check-ups post-fitting. Male patients significantly had more visits than females (P = .017), and those with full metal dentures visited significantly more than those with partial dentures (P = .005). Other variables were not significantly influential on the post-fitting check-up frequency. Conclusion. Within this study's confines, an increase in denture adjustment sessions was observed for male patients and those with full metal dentures.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.247-255
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• 2024

Background: Little is known about the frequency and impact of the persistent headache and about the incidence of chronic daily headache (CDH) after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The aim of this prospective cohort study was to assess the incidence, risk factors, characteristics, and impact of CDH in patients with COVID-19. Methods: In the first stage, 288 patients were interviewed by telephone after the acute phase of COVID-19. Subsequently, 199 patients who presented headache were reinterviewed at least one year after COVID-19. Headaches that persisted beyond the acute phase of COVID-19 for three or more months and presented frequency ≥ 45 days over the first three months were considered to be CDH. Results: One hundred and twenty-three patients were included, 56% were females; median age: 50 years (25th and 75th percentile: 41;58). The headache persisted beyond the acute phase of COVID-19 in 52%, and 20.3% had CDH (95% confidence interval: 13.6-28.2). Individuals who previously had headaches and who had headaches of greater intensity during the acute phase were at higher risk of developing CDH. The group with CDH included more females, greater impact of headache, more persistence of headache beyond the 120th day of COVID-19 and less throbbing headache than did the other individuals whose headache persisted. Conclusions: Patients who had COVID-19 had a high incidence of CDH. Previous headache and greater intensity of headache were associated with higher risk of CDH.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2000.04a
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• pp.44-48
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• 2000

Several parameters to represent the characteristics of the observed at the domestic networks from several earthquakes occurred in the Korean Peninsula. Parameters to fit most the multiple Fourier amplitude spectra of the observed accelerations are estimated. This study adopts the stochastic ground motion model referred to the BLWN mode in which the energy is distributed randomly over the duration of the source and which has proven to be very effective in modeling a wide range of ground motion observations. The stochastic ground motion model employed here uses an omega-squared ({{{{ omega ^2 }}) Brune source model with a single corner frequency and a constant stress drop,. The {{{{ omega ^2 }} source model has become a seismological standard because of its simplicity an ability to predict spectral amplitudes and shapes over an extremely broad ranges of magnitudes distances and from the inversion show very unstable based on the fact of high values of mean/median. These results may imply that more observed data and more precise site classification including accurate preparation analysis of data such as more accurate scaling from counts to kine are needed for more stable are effective inversion of Fourier amplitude spectrum of the observed ground motions.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.139-146
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• 2010

Recent studies suggest that prolonged standing at work is associated with varicose veins (VV). The objective of this study was to analyze the differences of VV risk in terms of work types in casino dealers and hotel service workers. Symptoms of VV were evaluated using a self-reported questionnaire from 2,092 participants, and muscle fatigue in the lower legs were evaluated using surface electromyography. The shift rate of median frequency in Gastrocnemius was -30.0% among the casino dealers working in prolonged static standing posture, and - 14.3% among the casino dealers sitting during working time. After adjusting age, gender, smoking, and family history of VV, the risk ratio of VV was 3.67(95% CI 2.03-6.59) in group I (prolonged standing and occasional walking at work), 6.29(95% CI 3.48-11.35) in group II (prolonged standing, occasional walking and heavy lifting at work), and 8.07(95% CI 4.51-14.43) in groupIII(prolonged static standing at work). In conclusion, prolonged standing at work may be a work related risk factor of VV.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.5695-5699
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• 2012

We investigated the relationships between demographics, lifestyle characteristics, and serum total prostate specific antigen (PSA) concentration and examined the population-based distribution of total PSA by age among 2,246 Korean men with a median age of 45 years. We obtained data about demographic and lifestyle characteristics based on self-reporting using a quetionnaire. We also performed physical examinations, anthropometric measurements, and biochemical measurements. The PSA concentration increased with age and there was a significant difference in total PSA concentration between the age groups of 21-60 years and >60 years. Age >60 years, height ${\geq}1.8$ m, a low frequency of alcohol consumption, and taking nutritional supplements showed a significantly increased odds ratio for increased PSA when 3.0 ng/mL was chosen as the PSA cut-off level. Smoking status, BMI, percent body fat, diabetes mellitus, fatty liver, herbal medicine use, vitamin use, and diet were not significantly associated with total PSA regardless of the cut-off level. When interpreting a single PSA test, height, alcohol consumption, and nutritional supplement use should be considered, in addition to age.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Clinical Electrophysiology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.31-42
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• 2008

This study performed in order to investigate the effect of isometric resistance exercise for vastus medialis oblique muscle with EMG(electromyography) biofeedback training which are applied to the patello-femoral joint of patients with osteoarthritis on the improve of function. The subjects had no neuromuscular disorders, and they were elder patients with osteoarthritis, 20 women. And the experiment was performed in control group, taping with EMG biofeedback training group respectively, and the measurement was carried out before and after the treatment and 4 weeks after the treatment. Motor unit action potential analysis with surface electromyography showed a significant change in RMS(root mean square) amplitude and MDF(median frequency) in vastus medialis oblique muscle(p<0.05). VMO/VL(vastus medialis oblique/vastus lateralis oblique) MDF ratio showed a significant change between groups(p<0.05). Taping with EMG biofeedback training applied to patello-femoral joint of osteoarthritis patients appeared to be effective for muscle function improvement. However, increase of muscular force in vastus medialis oblique muscle appears to have a positive effect on improve of function along with correction effect on patella malalignment. In conclusion, in case of osteoarthritis patients with loss of patello-femoral joint function, it appears to be effective to practice isometric resistance exercise of vastus medialis oblique muscle selective with taping.