• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.77-88
• /
• 2009

Background : Qigong is an exercise therapy based on the principles of Traditional East Asian Medicine. The exercises combine the practice of motion and breathing, both guided by mental imagery. Beneficial effects of qigong have been reported on a variety of complaints in chronically ill patients and on gait imbalance in the elderly. Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects neurophysiological function, movement abilities, and quality of life. Objectives : We developed a qigong program based on the Traditional East Asian medical theory regarding the improvement of clinical symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Methods and Results : Our qigong program consists of three parts. The first one includes movements which stimulate the meridians that run from the toes to the top of the head. The second one is composed of breathing and qigong movements that create harmony and balance with the circulation of Qi and blood on the Meridians. The third is a stage of finger pressure therapy and massage from Daoyin medical qigong to maintain meridian stability. Conclusions : These qigong program would help relieve the clinical symptoms of Parkinson's disease patients.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society for Energy Engineering kosee Conference
• /
• 1999.05a
• /
• pp.185-191
• /
• 1999

An air-conditioning system based on the chemical heat storage principle was considered. $H_2O$ was chosen as the reaction gas and the working fluid as well. Na$_2$S, CaCl$_2$, MnCl$_2$, BaCl$_2$, MgCl$_2$, Fe$_2$(SO$_4$)$_3$ and MnSO$_4$ were tested as the solid reactants by using Cahn pressure balance. Na$_2$S was superior to other salts in respect of high capability of absorption of water gas, 5 moles of $H_2O$ per unit mole of Na$_2$S, and adequate temperature of adsorption, $65^{\circ}C$ at 7torr, and of desorption, 13$0^{\circ}C$ at 76torr. Clausius-Clapeyron diagram of Na$_2$S was obtained via adsorption experiments at several vapor pressures of water gas. To enhance heat and mass transfer characteristics, usually below 1W/m K, of the reactor bed of general adsorption systems, expanded graphite block was adapted as the support of Na$_2$S salt. Expanded graphite blocks had thermal conductivity values of 20~80W/mK with respect to 100~400kg/㎥ of block bulk density. Permeability values of expanded graphite blocks were 10$^{-13}$ ~ 10$^{-14}$ $m^2$ with respect to 100~300kg/㎥ of block bulk density showing highly decreasing values of permeability, below 10$^{-l4}$$m^2$, in the range of above 150kg/㎥ of block bulk density.y.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.41-46
• /
• 2005

Objective : A study of the histopathologic and neurobehavioral correlates of cortical impact injury produced by increasing impact velocity using the controlled cortical impact[CCI] injury model is studied. Methods : Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley rats [$200{\sim}250g$] were given CCI injury using a pneumatically driven piston. Effect of impact velocity on a 3mm deformation was assessed at 2.5m/sec [n=6], 3.0m/sec [n=6], 3.5m/sec [n=6], and no injury [n=6]. After postoperative 24hours the rats were evaluated using several neurobehavioral tests including the rotarod test, beam-balance performance, and postural reflex test. Contusion volume and histopathologic findings were evaluated for each of the impact velocities. Results : On the rota rod test, all the injured rats exhibited a significant difference compared to the sham-operated rats and increased velocity correlated with increased deficit [p<0.001]. Contusion volume increased with increasing impact velocity. For the 2.5, 3.0, and 3.5m/sec groups, injured volumes were $18.8{\pm}2.3mm^3$, $26.8{\pm}3.1mm^3$, and $32.5{\pm}3.5mm^3$, respectively. In addition, neuronal loss in the hippocampal sub-region increased with increasing impact velocity. In the TUNEL staining, all the injured groups exhibited definitely positive cells at pericontusional area. However, there were no significant differences in the number of positive cells among the injured groups. Conclusion : Cortical impact velocity is a critical parameter in producing cortical contusion. Severity of cortical injury is proportional to increasing impact velocity of cortical injury.

• Journal of Korean Medical Science
• /
• v.33 no.48
• /
• pp.316.1-316.10
• /
• 2018

Background: Water pressure and muscle contraction may influence bone mineral density (BMD) in a positive way. However, divers experience weightlessness, which has a negative effect on BMD. The present study investigated BMD difference in normal controls and woman free-divers with vertebral fracture and with no fracture. Methods: Between January 2010 and December 2014, traditional woman divers (known as Haenyeo in Korean), and non-diving women were investigated. The study population was divided into osteoporotic vertebral fracture and non-fracture groups. The BMD of the lumbar spine and femoral neck was measured. The radiological parameters for global spinal sagittal balance were measured. Results: Thirty free-diving women and thirty-three non-diving women were enrolled in this study. The mean age of the divers was $72.1{\pm}4.7$ years and that of the controls was $72.7{\pm}4.0$ years (P = 0.61). There was no statistical difference in BMD between the divers and controls. In divers, cervical lordosis and pelvic tilt were significantly increased in the fracture subgroup compared to the non-fracture subgroup (P = 0.028 and P = 0.008, respectively). Sagittal vertical axis was statistically significantly correlated with cervical lordosis (Spearman's rho R = 0.41, P = 0.03), and pelvic tilt (Spearman's rho R = 0.46, P = 0.01) in divers. Conclusion: BMD did not differ significantly between divers and controls during their postmenopausal period. When osteoporotic spinal fractures develop, compensation mechanisms, such as increased cervical lordosis and pelvic tilt, was more evident in traditional woman divers. This may be due to the superior back muscle strength and spinal mobility of this group of women.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
• /
• 2011.04a
• /
• pp.93-96
• /
• 2011

A genetic algorithm (GA) has been employed to optimize the major design variables of the liquid rocket engine. Mass flow rate to the main thrust chamber, mass flow rate to the gas generator and chamber pressure have been selected as design variables. The target engine is the open gas generator cycle using the LO2/RP-1 propellant. The objective function of design optimization is to maximize the specific impulse with condition of energy balance between the pump and the turbine. The properties of the combustion chamber have been obtained from CEA2. Pump & turbine efficiencies and properties of the gas generator have been modeled mathematically from reference data. The result shows 3~4% errors for the specific impulse and 2~6% errors for the pump power of the gas generator cycle compared to references.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.2 no.2
• /
• pp.115-126
• /
• 2006

The Terra-Scope system is an affordable 4-D down-hole seismic monitoring system based on independent, microprocessor-controlled sensor Pods. The Pods are nominally 50 mm in diameter, and about 120 mm long. They are expected to cost approximately $6000 each. An internal 16-bit, extremely low power MCU controls all aspects of instrumentation, eight programmable gain amplifiers, and local signal storage. Each Pod measures 3-D acceleration, tilt, azimuth, temperature, and other parametric variables such as pore water pressure and pH. Each Pod communicates over a standard digital bus (RS-485) through a completely web-based GUI interface, and has a power consumption of less than 400 mW. Three-dimensional acceleration is measured by pure digital force-balance MEMS-based accelerometers. These accelerometers have a dynamic range of more than 115 dB and a frequency response from DC to 1000 Hz with a noise floor of less than $30ng_{rms}/{\surd}Hz$. Accelerations above 0.2 g are measured by a second set of MEMS-based accelerometers, giving a full 160 dB dynamic range. This paper describes the system design and the cooperative shared-time scheduler implemented for this project. Restraints accounted for include multiple data streams, integration of multiple free agents, interaction with the asynchronous world, and hardened time stamping of accelerometer data. The prototype of the device is currently undergoing evaluation. The first array will be installed in the spring of 2006.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.82-89
• /
• 2021

This study proposes a DAB two-stage series structure with insulated bidirectional DC-DC converter for two-way power transfer between the renewable energy of high voltages (1 kV and above). The proposed circuit transforms the existing DAB converter into a two-stage series structure to reduce the pressure in the switch. The problem of power imbalance occurring in the design of the DAB converter second-stage series is improved by applying the cell balancing method circuit and the common mode coupled inductor using an external flying capacitor instead of reflecting the existing improvement measures, voltage balance control, and inductor current control. In addition, a no-load supercharging sequence is proposed in high voltages and high-speed switching by using the fixed duty output method. This study presents the analysis results through the structure of the proposed circuit, the principle of improving the power imbalance problem, and simulations. Prototypes were manufactured to meet the specifications of input/output voltage of 1700 V, maximum load of 65 kW, and switching frequency of 51kHz, and the validity of the topology was verified using the experimental results and efficiency data.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.281-292
• /
• 2019

In this paper, analysis of critical fluid velocity and heat transfer in the nanocomposite pipes conveying nanofluid is presented. The pipe is reinforced by carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and the fluid is mixed by $AL_2O_3$ nanoparticles. The material properties of the nanocomposite pipe and nanofluid are considered temperature-dependent and the structure is subjected to magnetic field. The forces of fluid viscosity and turbulent pressure are obtained using momentum equations of fluid. Based on energy balance, the convection of inner and outer fluids, conduction of pipe and heat generation are considered. For mathematical modeling of the nanocomposite pipes, the first order shear deformation theory (FSDT) and energy method are used. Utilizing the Lagrange method, the coupled pipe-nanofluid motion equations are derived. Applying a semi-analytical method, the motion equations are solved for obtaining the critical fluid velocity and critical Reynolds and Nusselt numbers. The effects of CNTs volume percent, $AL_2O_3$ nanoparticles volume percent, length to radius ratio of the pipe and shell surface roughness were shown on the critical fluid velocity, critical Reynolds and Nusselt numbers. The results are validated with other published work which shows the accuracy of obtained results of this work. Numerical results indicate that for heat generation of $Q=10MW/m^3$, adding 6% $AL_2O_3$ nanoparticles to the fluid increases 20% the critical fluid velocity and 15% the Nusselt number which can be useful for heat exchangers.

• Research in Vestibular Science
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.142-151
• /
• 2018

Objectives: Excitability o medial vestibular nucleus (MVN) in the brainstem can be affected by changes in the arterial blood pressure. Several animal studies have demonstrated that acute hypotension results in the alteration of multiunit activities and expression of cFos protein in the MVN. In the field of extracellular electrophysiological recording, tetrode technology and spike sorting algorithms can easily identify single unit activity from multiunit activities in the brain. However, detailed properties of electrophysiological changes in single unit of the MVN during acute hypotension have been unknown. Methods: Therefore, we applied tetrode techniques and electrophysiological characterization methods to know the effect of acute hypotension on single unit activities of the MVN of rats. Results: Two or 3 types of unit could be classified according to the morphology of spikes and firing properties of neurons. Acute hypotension elicited 4 types of changes in spontaneous firing of single unit in the MVN. Most of these neurons showed excitatory responses for about within 1 minute after the induction of acute hypotension and then returned to the baseline activity 10 minutes after the injection of sodium nitroprusside. There was also gradual increase in spontaneous firing in some units. In contrast small proportion of units showed rapid reduction of firing rate just after acute hypotension. Conclusions: Therefore, application of tetrode technology and spike sorting algorithms is another method for the monitoring of electrical activity of vestibular nuclear during acute hypotension.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.303-311
• /
• 2019

Reversible solid oxide fuel cell (RSOFC) has become a prospective device for energy storage and hydrogen production. Many studies have been conducted around the world focusing on system efficiency improvement and realization. The system should have not only high efficiency but also a certain level of simplicity for stable operation. External waste steam utilization was proved to remarkably increase the efficiency at solid oxide electrolysis system. In this study, RSOFC system coupled with waste steam was proposed and optimized in term of simplicity and efficiency. Ejector for fuel recirculation is selected due to its simple design and high stability. Three system configurations using ejector for fuel recirculation were investigated for performance of design condition. In parametric study, the system efficiencies at different current density were analyzed. The system configurations were simulated using validated lumped model in EBSILON(R) program. The system components, balance of plants, were designed to work in both electrolysis and fuel cell modes, and their off-design characteristics were taken into account. The base case calculation shows that, the system with suction pump results in slightly lower efficiency but stack can be operated more stable with same inlet pressure of fuel and air electrode.