• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.38-45
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• 2017

Background: To improve muscle flexibility, static stretch is the most common type and is considered safe and effective for improving overall flexibility of muscles. During the stretch, the intensity is more likely to be determined by the degree of an athlete's pain and practitioner's skills rather than quantitative measures of stretch. It is necessary to determine the optimal intensity for the stretch. Objects: The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between hand held dynamometer (HHD) and verbal rating scale (VRS) in comparison of the effects of continuance time on active (walking) and inactive (sitting) movement after static stretch. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample (n=62) recruited from a university. Participants were randomly assigned to 2 different groups (n=31 for each group) based on participants' positions either remaining in sitting or freely walking around for a series of re-assessments. Data was collected at pre-warm up, pre-stretch, post-stretch, and additional assessments at the time of 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 20 and 30 minutes after the stretch. Results: Relationship between VRS and HHD scores represents very weak correlation (Spearman's p=-.16, p>.05). Pearson's correlation analysis was conducted following the logarithmic transformation of the two scores. Pearson's correlation after the transformation still showed a very low relationship and a poor linear relationship between the two scores (Pearson's r=-.18, p>.05). Conclusion: The optimal intensity for stretch cannot be solely determined by the subjective pain perception. The objective measurement such as HHD could be used in conjunction with the pain perception.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SP
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.175-182
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• 2010

In this paper, we propose a robust speech reinforcement technique to enhance the intelligibility of the degraded speech signal under the ambient noise environments based on soft decision scheme incorporating a speech absence probability (SAP) with speech reinforcement gains. Since the ambient noise significantly decreases the intelligibility of the speech signal, the speech reinforcement approach to amplify the estimated clean speech signal from the background noise environments for improving the intelligibility and clarity of the corrupted speech signal was proposed. In order to estimate the robust reinforcement gain rather than the conventional speech reinforcement method between speech active periods and nonspeech periods or transient intervals, we propose the speech reinforcement algorithm based on soft decision applying the SAP to the estimation of speech reinforcement gains. The performances of the proposed algorithm are evaluated by the Comparison Category Rating (CCR) of the measurement for subjective determination of transmission quality in ITU-T P.800 under various ambient noise environments and show better performances compared with the conventional method.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.139-146
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• 2012

This study was designed to examine comfort levels of pitch and loudness with target matching and their effects on electroglottographic (EGG) and acoustic measures. Twelve speakers, six males and six females, were instructed to produce /a/ sustained vowel for three seconds at a comfortable pitch and loudness level without any instruction and with a target matching procedure of either a certain f0 or SPL separately with visual and auditory feedback. The range of pitch for females and males were presented by progressing up and down randomly at intervals of 5Hz from 150 Hz to 310 Hz (total 33 frequency targets) and from 85 Hz to 190 Hz (total 22 frequency targets), respectively. The loudness levels were 65, 75, 85, 95 dB (total of four intensity targets) for both males and females. Subjective estimations of comfortable levels were obtained using a 10-point equal-appearing interval rating scale following each phonation. The results showed that males and females demonstrated similar trends in loudness levels with greatest comfort at 75 dB, whereas pitch comfort ratings showed a greater variability with females having a wider range with target matching. In the comfort levels of individuals, most male and female speakers rated higher comfort at soft, rather than loud phonations. On the other hand, most male speakers perceived highest comfort levels below the comfort pitch levels they phonated under natural conditions. Higher frequency ranges, however, were perceived to be more comfortable than those of natural condition in most female speakers, although the comfortable pitch levels in spontaneous phonations were within the comfort level ranges determined by targeted phonations. When comparing acoustic (%jitter, %shimmer, SNR) and EGG measures (CQ%) between spontaneous comfortable phonations and targeted phonations produced by the same subject at similar f0 and intensity, no significant differences were observed (p>0.05). Thus, target matching procedures may be considered a compatible and alternative method to reduce the variability of comfortable pitch and loudness levels by eliciting consistent comfortable phonations.

• Journal of Internet Computing and Services
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.41-48
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• 2015

On movie review sites, movie ratings are determined by netizens' subjective judgement. This means that inconsistency between ratings and opinions from netizens often occurs. To solve this problem, this paper proposes sentiment sentence sets which affect movie evaluation, and apply sets to comments to infer ratings. Creation of sentiment sentence sets is consisted of two stages, construction of sentiment word dictionary and creation of sentiment sentences for sentiment estimation. Sentiment word dictionary contains sentimental words and its polarities included in reviews. Elements of sentiment sentences are combined with movie related noun and predicate from words sentiment word dictionary. In this study, to make correspondence between polarity of sentiment sentence and sentiment word dictionary, sentiment sentences which have different polarity with sentiment word dictionary are removed. The scores of comments are calculated by applying averages of sentiment sentences elements. The result of experiment shows that sentence scores from sentiment sentence sets are closer to reflect real opinion of comments than ratings by netizens'.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.967-975
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• 2021

This study investigated the case of a nineteen-year-old female patient with chronic nausea, vomiting, and abdominal distension, who was diagnosed with CNVS and Spleen-Qi deficiency. Subjective symptoms were recorded with the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) every morning, and the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS) was used on the days of admission and discharge. For eleven days following admission, she took Bojungikki-tang-gagam and received acupuncture and moxibustion therapy. After three days of treatment, her nausea and vomiting ceased, and abdominal distension improved from NRS 3 to 0 after seven days of treatment. The GSRS score for the specific symptoms improved from 3 to 2; however, the total score remained largely unchanged (from 20 to 21). This case suggests that Korean medical treatment may improve CNVS.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.134-139
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• 2021

Background: This study aimed to investigate the demographic characteristics of patients with knee pain caused by traffic accidents and test the effectiveness of Korean medicine (KM) treatment. Methods: The medical charts of 114 inpatients with knee pain caused by a traffic accident were reviewed from July 1, 2019 to October 31, 2019 at Bucheon Jaseng Hospital of KM. The patients' demographics including gender, age, period of hospitalization, and type of pharmacopuncture and herbal medicine prescribed were reviewed. The Numeric Rating Scale scores and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index scores were used to assess subjective knee pain. Results: There were more females (55%) than males in this study. Patients were more likely to be in their 30s (27.2%), be hospitalized for 11-14 days (41.2%), treated with Hwangryunhaedok pharmacopuncture (78.1%), and be prescribed Hwalhyeoljitong decoction (62.3%).The mean Numeric Rating Scale score for patients with knee pain caused by a traffic accident decreased significantly from 4.26 ± 1.39 to 2.53 ± 1.60 (p < 0.001), and the mean Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index score also decreased significantly from 32.72 ± 18.36 to 23.40 ± 15.80 (p < 0.001) following KM treatment. Conclusion: As a result of analyzing 114 hospitalized patients with knee joint pain due to TAs, inpatients were more likely to be female (55%), a patient in their 30s (27.2%), and be a patient hospitalized for 11-14 days (41.2%). KM treatment of traumatic knee injury using pharmacopuncture therapy and herbal medicine can be an may be effective at reducing pain, and healing functional disorders of the knee.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.51-61
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• 2023

Background: Mobile applications (apps) on dietary supplements can increase consumers' access to information. However, it can lead to indiscriminate use of dietary supplements. This study aims to systematically review dietary supplement apps released in English and Korean and evaluate the quality of those apps. Methods: Through the app stores, apps on dietary supplements were systemically searched and examined. Two independent evaluators evaluated the apps and presented a mean score using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS). The correlation between MARS scores, user and evaluator ratings, and the number of secondary features of the apps were analyzed. Results: Of the 2,772 dietary supplement apps identified, 17 apps were included according to the selection criteria. The mean MARS score was 3.28 (standard deviation: 0.29) out of 5. Apps had higher scores in aesthetics and functionality dimensions, while engagement and information dimensions had lower scores. There was a positive correlation between the number of app downloads and information among MARS dimensions. The subjective evaluation also correlated with the information dimension. There was a positive correlation between the secondary features of the apps and MARS total score as well as the engagement dimension. Conclusion: The dietary supplement apps need to be managed at a higher level of quality to provide safe and reliable information to consumers. Especially, quality on information and engagement dimensions can be improved. Involvement of healthcare professionals in the app development, management with adequate referencing of information, and use of secondary features for enhanced user engagement can be helpful.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.3-11
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• 2023

This research examines the need for a quantitative and objective method of calculating baseline productivity in the construction industry, which is known for its high volatility in performance and productivity. The existing literature's baseline productivity calculation methods rely heavily on subjective criteria, limiting their effectiveness. Additionally, data collection methods such as the "Five-minute Rating" are costly and time-consuming, making it challenging to collect detailed data at construction sites. To address these issues, this study proposes an objective baseline calculation method using unimpacted productivity BP, a work check sheet to systematically record detailed data, and a data collection and utilization process that minimizes cost and time requirements. This paper also suggests using unimpacted productivity BP and comparative analysis to address the objectivity and reliability issues of existing baseline productivity calculation methods.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.379-385
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• 2008

In this paper, we propose an effective speech reinforcement technique under the near-end and the far-end noise environments. In general, since the intelligibility of the far-end speech for the near-end listener is significantly reduced under near-end noise environments, we require a far-end speech reinforcement approach to avoid this phenomena. Specifically, based on the estimated background noise spectrum of the near-end, we reinforce the far-end speech spectrum by incorporating the more general cases under the near-end with background noise. Also, we propose the novel approach to reinforce the actual speech signal except for the noise signal in the far-end noisy speech signal. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated by the CCR (Comparison Category Rating) test of the method for subjective determination of transmission quality in ITU-T P.800 under various noise environments and shows better performances compared with the conventional method.

• Fibers and Polymers
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.450-456
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• 2006

The objectives of this study were to investigate physiological and psychological responses to the rustling sound of Korean traditional silk fabrics and to figure out objective measurements such as sound parameters and mechanical properties determining the human responses. Five different traditional silk fabrics were selected by cluster analysis and their sound characteristics were observed in terms of FFT spectra and some calculated sound parameters including level pressure of total sound (LPT), Zwicker's psychoacoustic parameters - loudness(Z), sharpness(Z), roughness(Z), and fluctuation strength(Z), and sound color factors such as ${\Delta}L\;and\;{\Delta}f$. As physiological signals, the ratio of low frequency to high frequency (LF/HF) from the power spectrum of heart rate variability, pulse volume (PV), heart rate (HR), and skin conductance level (SCL) evoked by the fabric sounds were measured from thirty participants. Also, seven aspects of psychological state including softness, loudness, sharpness, roughness, clearness, highness, and pleasantness were evaluated when each sound was presented. The traditional silk fabric sounds were likely to be felt as soft and pleasant rather than clear and high, which seemed to evoke less change of both LF/HF and SCL indicating a negative sensation than other fabrics previously reported. As fluctuation strength(Z) were higher and bending rigidity (B) values lower, the fabrics tended to be perceived as sounding softer, which resulted in increase of PV changes. The higher LPT was concerned with higher rating for subjective loudness so that HR was more increased. Also, compression linearity (LC) affected subjective pleasantness positively, which caused less changes of HR. Therefore, we concluded that such objective measurements as LPT, fluctuation strength(Z), bending rigidity (B), and compression linearity (LC) were significant factors affecting physiological and psychological responses to the sounds of Korean traditional silk fabrics.