• Clinical Nutrition Research
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.304-319
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• 2023

Previous studies have suggested that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, predominantly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), have several health benefits. However, their effect on changes in skeletal muscle mass and strength has not been established, owing to differences in study designs. This systematic review aimed to investigate the recent evidence regarding the role of dietary EPA and DHA in muscle mass changes and their association with muscle strength. Databases including PubMed and Google Scholar were searched for randomized controlled trials and single-arm interventions that investigated the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on skeletal muscle mass, strength, and body composition in adults aged 18 years and older. A total of 18,521 studies were retrieved from the databases and manual searches; 21 studies were quality assessed, and the findings were summarized. Studies were categorized into 3 main categories according to the type of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation: pure compounds such as oil tablets, formulated forms with protein, leucine, and vitamin D, and ingredients added to enteral nutrition support products. Overall, the majority of the study results appeared to indicate that omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial for muscle health. However, meta-analysis was not conducted because of the heterogeneity of the study participants, evaluation method of muscle indices, and intervention periods among the studies. High-quality studies are required to validate our conclusions. However, this systematic review of the effects of EPA and DHA on skeletal muscle and body composition provides evidence that can be applied in both clinical and industrial settings.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.379-399
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• 2015

Existing building structures can easily present material mechanical properties which can largely vary even within a single structure. The current European Technical Code, Eurocode 8, does not provide specific instructions to account for high variability in mechanical properties. As a consequence of the high strength variability, at the occurrence of seismic events, the structure may evidence unexpected phenomena, like torsional effects, with larger experienced deformations and, in turn, with reduced seismic performance. This work is focused on the torsional effects related to the irregular stiffness and strength distribution due to the concrete strength variability. The analysis has been performed on a case-study, i.e., a 3D RC framed 4 storey building. A Normal distribution, compatible to a large available database, has been taken to represent the concrete strength domain. Different plan layouts, representative of realistic stiffness distributions, have been considered, and a statistical analysis has been performed on the induced torsional effects. The obtained results have been compared to the standard analysis as provided by Eurocode 8 for existing buildings, showing that the Eurocode 8 provisions, despite not allowing explicitly for material strength variability, are conservative as regards the estimation of structural demand.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.218-225
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• 2013

Although the functional ingredient has been evaluated by the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) based on scientific evidence, the levels of scientific evidence and consistency of the results might vary according to emerging data. Therefore, periodic re-evaluation may be needed for some functional ingredients. In this study, we re-evaluated scientific evidence for the antioxidant activity of coenzyme Q10 as a functional ingredient in health functional food. Literature searches were conducted using the Medline and Cochrane, KISS, and IBIDS databases for the years 1955-2010 with the search term of coenzyme Q10 in combination with antioxidant. The search was limited to human studies published in Korean, English, and Japanese. Using the KFDA's evidence based evaluation system for scientific evaluation of health claims, 33 human studies were identified and reviewed in order to evaluate the strength of the evidence supporting a relation between coenzyme Q10 and antioxidant activity. Among 33 studies, significant effects for antioxidant activities were reported in 22 studies and their daily intake amount was 60 to 300 mg. Based on this systematic review, we concluded that there was possible evidence to support a relation between coenzyme Q10 intake and antioxidant activities. However, because inconsistent results have recently been reported, future studies should be monitored.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.686-711
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• 2015

The performance of a novel medical question-answering engine called CliniCluster and existing search engines, such as CQA-1.0, Google, and Google Scholar, was evaluated using known-item searching. Known-item searching is a document that has been critically appraised to be highly relevant to a therapy question. Results show that, using CliniCluster, known-items were retrieved on average at rank 2 ($MRR@10{\approx}0.50$), and most of the known-items could be identified from the top-10 document lists. In response to ill-defined questions, the known-items were ranked lower by CliniCluster and CQA-1.0, whereas for Google and Google Scholar, significant difference in ranking was not found between well- and ill-defined questions. Less than 40% of the known-items could be identified from the top-10 documents retrieved by CQA-1.0, Google, and Google Scholar. An analysis of the top-ranked documents by strength of evidence revealed that CliniCluster outperformed other search engines by providing a higher number of recent publications with the highest study design. In conclusion, the overall results support the use of CliniCluster in answering therapy questions by ranking highly relevant documents in the top positions of the search results.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.161-168
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• 2019

Most athletes with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures undergo a surgical ACL reconstruction (ACLR) and rehabilitation. On the other hand, controversy still exists because neither a reconstruction nor rehabilitation have been proven to be superior in the management of ACL injury. This study reviewed the success rates of interventions to provide recommendations for the optimal management after an ACL injury. One of the most important considerations after an ACL injury is the timing and type of intervention. At the early stages, which involve the loss of volume and strength of quadriceps femoral muscle, weight bearing (closed kinetic chain) exercises with pain management followed by high velocity resistance exercises in an open kinetic chain environment are recommended to improve the quadriceps function. After that, it is important to apply intensive isokinetic exercise with a lower extension rate. In this case, it is important to apply overload to the muscles and to simultaneously lead the co-contraction of the hamstrings. Standards are essential because the timing and type of interventions are crucial to prevent re-injury and complications, such as osteoarthritis, as well as to confirm the successful outcome of the treatment. Different interventions recommended for ACL damage have yet to reach consensus. Further studies will be needed to observe the effects of the intervention through multidisciplinary approaches.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.81-89
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• 2024

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to provide evidence-based recommendations for customized interventions by identifying the incidence of low grip strength (LGS) in an elderly population in Korea. METHODS: Adults over 65 years of age were selected as subjects using the data from 2016-2018 of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Survey provided by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the 24,269 subjects who participated in the survey, 19,313, 533, and 2664 participants who were under the age of 65, did not take the grip strength test, and did not take the health survey, respectively, were excluded. Finally, 1,759 subjects were selected. RESULTS: The incidence rate of LGS was 30.27%: 22.82% in men and 38.48% in women. The related factors of LGS had a high risk of occurrence of old age, low education level, low BMI, alcohol status, aerobic and muscle strength exercise, and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). CONCLUSION: This study provided basic data for introducing health promotion policies to improve the grip strength of the elderly in consideration of related factors affecting LGS.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.143-150
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• 2019

This study presents the fracture properties of nano modified medium strength concrete (MSC). The nano particle used in this study is nano silica which replaces cement about 1 and 2% by weight, and the micro steel fibers are added about 0.4% volume of concrete. In addition to fracture properties, mechanical properties, namely, compressive strength, split tensile strength, and flexural strength of nano modified MSC are studied. To ensure the durability of the MSC, durability studies such as rapid chloride penetration test, sorptivity test, and water absorption test have been carried out for the nano modified MSC. From the study, it is observed that significant performance improvement in nano modified MSC in terms of strength and durability which could be attributed due to the addition pozzolanic reaction and the filler effect of nano silica. The incorporation of nano silica increases the fracture energy about 30% for mix without nano silica. Also, size independent fracture energy is arrived using two popular methods, namely, RILEM work of fracture method with $P-{\delta}$ tail correction and boundary effect method. Both the methods resulted in nearly the same size-independent $G_F$ irrespective of the notch to depth ratio of the same specimen. This shows evidence that either of the two procedures could be used in practice for analysis of cracked concrete structures.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.145-155
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• 2019

The strength or resilience of refugees is a less emphasized area as the discourse in refugee mental health study mainly weighs on pathologizing the effects of refugee experiences. Within the lenses of strength and resilience, this study explored how refugees and asylum seekers, who experienced violence and loss, coped with trauma and hardship in their newly established lives in South Korea. In this study we analyzed survey data collected from 100 participants (55 asylum seekers and 45 refugees) through open-ended questions. We analyzed narratives for both content and form and provided evidence for factors that reflect coping strategies used by participants to overcome their life adversities. The findings gave rise to; (a) character traits like strong religiosity, personal determination, patience to forbear, hopefulness, and peaceful acceptance of current circumstance; (b) relationships, in the sense of meaningful strong bonds within family members and the instinctive personal resourcefulness to utilize support resources within and outside of their communities; (c) learned skills after migraing to korea; (d) knowledge sets in how to get by in korea; (e) personal talents, and (f) extra abilities that gave power to pass socio-economic difficulties. The findings underscore the importance of considering the strength-based approach either in discussing resilience or intervention. Our approach will allow practitioners to acknowledge that refugees and asylum seekers potentially have a unique set of strengths and abilities that they rely on to overcome their immediate and future problems. It will also guide practitioners as they devise their intervention schemes.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.321-337
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• 2015

Existing building structures can easily present material mechanical properties which can largely vary even within a single structure. The current European Technical Code, Eurocode 8, does not provide specific instructions to account for high variability in mechanical properties. As a consequence of the high strength variability, at the occurrence of seismic events, the structure may evidence unexpected phenomena, like torsional effects, with larger experienced deformations and, in turn, with reduced seismic performance. This work is focused on the reduction in seismic performance due to the concrete strength variability. The analysis has been performed on a case-study, i.e., a 3D RC framed 4 storey building. A Normal distribution, compatible to a large available database, has been taken to represent the concrete strength domain. Different plan layouts, representative of realistic strength distributions, have been considered, and a statistical analysis has been performed on the induced reduction in seismic performance. The obtained results have been compared to the standard analysis as provided by Eurocode 8 for existing buildings. The comparison has shown that the Eurocode 8 provisions are not conservative for existing buildings having a large variability in concrete strength.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.71-77
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of elastic band resistance training for muscle strength among community-dwelling older adults. The systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted by following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA). Data were pooled using fixed effect models. Sit to stand, arm curl, and grip strength were analyzed for main effects. Heterogeneity between studies was assessed using the I2 statistics and publication bias was evaluated by funnel plots. Twelves studies were included representing 611 participants. Elastic band resistance training was effective for lower (d=3.89, 95% CI: 3.03, 4.75) and upper extremity muscle strength (d=4.08, 95% CI: 2.94, 5.23). Heterogeneity was moderate and no significant publication bias was detected. Based on these findings, there is clear evidence that elastic band resistance training has significant positive effects on muscle strength among community-dwelling older adults. Further study will be needed to perform subgroup analysis using number of sessions and exercise intensity as predictors.