• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.879-914
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• 2013

In part I of the article, formulation and characteristics of the several well-known structural geometrical nonlinear solution techniques were studied. In the present paper, the efficiencies and capabilities of residual load minimization, normal plane, updated normal plane, cylindrical arc length, work control, residual displacement minimization, generalized displacement control and modified normal flow will be evaluated. To achieve this goal, a comprehensive comparison of these solution methods will be performed. Due to limit page of the article, only the findings of 17 numerical problems, including 2-D and 3-D trusses, 2-D and 3-D frames, and shells, will be presented. Performance of the solution strategies will be considered by doing more than 12500 nonlinear analyses, and conclusions will be drawn based on the outcomes. Most of the mentioned structures have complex nonlinear behavior, including load limit and snap-back points. In this investigation, criteria like number of diverged and complete analyses, the ability of passing load limit and snap-back points, the total number of steps and analysis iterations, the analysis running time and divergence points will be examined. Numerical properties of each problem, like, maximum allowed iteration, divergence tolerance, maximum and minimum size of the load factor, load increment changes and the target point will be selected in such a way that comparison result to be highly reliable. Following this, capabilities and deficiencies of each solution technique will be surveyed in comparison with the other ones, and superior solution schemes will be introduced.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.215-224
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• 2022

Background: The presence of the lumbopelvic-hip neuromuscular chain is essential for dynamic spinal stabilization; its therapeutic effects on dynamic movements of the distal extremity segment and underpinning motor mechanism remain unknown and warrant further study on participants with low back pain (LBP). Objects: We aim to compare the effects of the broken chain exercise (BCE) and connected chain exercise (CCE) on electromyography (EMG) amplitude and onset time in participants with and without LBP. Methods: Randomized controlled clinical trial. A convenience sample of 40 nonathletic participants (mean age: 24.78 ± 1.70) with and without LBP participated in this study. All participants underwent CCE for 30 minutes, 30-minute daily. We measured EMG amplitude and onset times on bilateral erector spinae (ES), gluteus maximus (GM), hamstring (HAM), transverse abdominis (TrA), internal oblique (IO), and external oblique (EO) during the prone hip extension (PHE) test before and after the BCE and CCE. We used multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to analyze the amplitude and onset time difference between exercises (BCE and CCE) and Pearson's correlations to determine any synergistic relationship among the HAM, GM, bilateral TrA/IO, and ES muscles. The statistical analyses were used at p < 0.05. Results: MANOVA showed that CCE was more decreased on EMG amplitude in HAM and bilateral ES, while increased GM and contralateral TrA/IO than BCE (p < 0.05). MANOVA EMG onset time data analyses revealed that the main effect of the conditions was significant for all HAM, GM, and bilateral ES muscles, whereas the main effect for the group was significant only for GM and contralateral ES in healthy and LBP groups. Pearson's correlation coefficient was computed to assess the relationship between BCE and CCE on dependent variables. In most of the muscles, there was a strong, positive correlation between the two variables, and there was a significant relationship (p < 0.001). Conclusion: CCE produced more effective and coordinated core stabilization and motor control mechanism in the lumbopelvic-hip muscles in participants with and without LBP during PHE than BCE.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.419-424
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• 2015

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of lumbar stabilization exercise on the abdominal muscle-back muscle ratio in white-collar workers. Methods: Forty white-collar workers without any pain who worked at an information technology (IT) company located in the Gyeonggi province were included in this study. Of these, 20 subjects were randomly allocated to the lumbar stabilization exercise group, whereas the remaining 20 were randomly allocated to the control group. The lumbar stabilization exercise group performed a 40-minute-long exercise once a week for 8 weeks. The strength of the abdominal and back muscles was measured using the CENTAUR 3-D Spatial Rotation Device (BFMC, Germany). Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 18.0 for Windows. The Paired t-test was performed to compare the values measured before and after exercise within each group. The independent sample t-test was performed to analyze the differences between the 2 groups. The statistical significance for all the analyses was set at .05. Results: The strength of the abdominal muscles after the exercise significantly differed between the lumbar stabilization exercise group and the control group (p<0.05). However, the increase in the abdominal muscle-back muscle ratio was significant in only the lumbar stabilization exercise group (p<0.05), but not in the control group (p>0.05). Conclusion: The improvement of the abdominal muscle-back muscle ratio through lumbar stabilization exercise may have positive effects on lumbar stabilization. Moreover, lumbar stabilization exercise is considered beneficial for the prevention of back pain and musculoskeletal diseases.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.118-123
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• 2007

We have studied the effect of Au-Cu back layer system ${\sim}10{\AA}$ thick on the properties of a spin valve. The back layers were Cu, Au, co-sputtered $Cu_xAu_{1-x}$, laminated $[Au/Cu]_n$. and bi-layer [Au/Cu]. When Au was added to the Cu, the resistance of the spin valve abruptly increased most likely due to impurity scattering. The GMR values were not increased significantly for all the structures. In the case of co-sputtered $Cu_xAu_{1-x}$, the changes in the resistance, ${\Delta}R$, was increased at a composition of ${\sim}Au_{0.5}Cu_{0.5}$. This increase in ${\Delta}R$ is due to increase in the resistance and not from the enhanced spin-dependent scattering. The structural analyses showed that the orthorhombic $Au_{0.5}Cu_{0.5}$ was formed in the back layer instead of the face-centered tetragonal $Au_{0.5}Cu_{0.5}$ as we expected. Thermal annealing over $400^{\circ}C$ may be required to have face-centered tetragonal in the $10{\AA}$ thick ultra-thin film. In the case of a laminated or bi-layered back layer, the properties of the spin valve were improved, which may be attributed to the increase in the mean free path of conduction electrons.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.130-137
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• 2007

Background: We evaluated the role and effects of prolotherapy in patients presenting with lower back pain and detected sacral asymlocation, by retrospectively analyzing the results of prolotherapy performed at our institute. Methods: Twenty-three patients with referred pain in the lower back rather than distinct radiculopathy, were detected to have sacral asymlocation by simple X-ray from May 2004 through July 2005. The patients were treated with prolotherapy and manipulation by the Ongley's method around the lumbosacral junction, iliolumbar ligament, and sacroiliac joint. They were treated for approximately one to two week intervals, and during this period were rechecked by X-ray and evaluated using the visual analogue scale (VAS). Results: A total of 23 patients were included in the study (10 male and 13 female), and the average age was 41 years. The average VAS at the time of visit was B.5, the average treatment time was 4,7 days, and the average VAS after treatment was 2.1. Conclusions: Back pain, and associated leg and buttock pain, originate from several causes. In these case analyses, instability around the lumbosacral area and sacral asymlocation might have been important causes of patient back pain and associated buttock and leg pain. We therefore applied prolotherapy as well as manipulation techniques devised by Ongley to these patients, and obtained good results.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.154-164
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• 2003

The explicit consideration of different pressurization rates in estimating the probabilities of containment failure modes has a profound effect on the confidence of containment performance evaluation that is so critical for risk assessment of nuclear power plants. Except for the sophisticated NUREG-1150 study, many of the recent containment performance analyses (through Level 2 PSAs or IPE back-end analyses) did not take into account an explicit distinction between slow and fast pressurization in their analyses. A careful investigation of both approaches shows that many of the approaches adopted in the recent containment performance analyses exactly correspond to the NUREG-1150 approach for the prediction of containment failure mode probabilities in the presence of fast pressurization. As a result, it was expected that the existing containment performance analysis results would be subjected to greater or less conservatism in light of the ultimate failure mode of the containment. The main purpose of this paper is to assess potential conservatism of a plant-specific containment performance analysis result in light of containment failure mode probabilities.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.45-53
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• 2013

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between cross-sectional areas of the paraspinal and psoas muscles with low back pain. Methods : We assessed the cross-sectional area of the psoas and paraspinal muscles at the superior part of L4 level and vertebral body of L4 of 132 patients who were hospitalized with a chief complaint of low back pain at Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine from January 2013 to April 2013. After calculating the mean psoas area, we divided the patients into 2 groups by whether the psoas cross section was larger or smaller than the mean, and compared the admission period, verbal numeric rating scale(NRS) of low back pain(LBP), and improvement of verbal NRS of LBP. We also subcategorized the patients into acute and chronic groups according to the duration period, and compared the cross-sectional area of the psoas and paraspinal muscles. Results : Although analyses of the verbal NRS of LBP, and improvement of verbal NRS of LBP between groups with larger and smaller psoas cross section areas showed no significant difference, the admission period was significantly shorter in the group with larger psoas cross section areas. There was no significant difference in analyses of cross section areas in the acute and chronic groups. Of the possible prognostic variables, improvement of verbal NRS of LBP showed no correlation, while the admission period displayed a significant correlation. The cross-sectional area of the psoas and paraspinal muscles divided by the area of the vertebral body of L4 had a significant negative correlation with age. Conclusions : The cross-sectional area of the psoas and paraspinal muscles were correlated with the admission period in LBP patients, and the cross-sectional area of the surrounding muscles divided by the area of the L4 vertebral body was negatively correlated with age.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.1-11
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of lumbar stabilization training and additional thoracic mobilization on pain, proprioception and static balance in patients with chronic low back pain. The subjects of this study were 48 chronic low back pain patients who were randomly allocated to an experimental group 1 ($n_1=16$, lumbar stabilization and thoracic mobilization, thoracic hypomobility), experimental group 2 ($n_2=16$, lumbar stabilization and thoracic mobilization, thoracic normal mobility), and a control group ($n_3=16$, lumbar stabilization, thoracic hypomobility) after a thoracic mobility test. Both experimental groups underwent lumbar stabilization training and additional thoracic mobilization. The control group underwent only lumbar stabilization training. The intervention was performed 3 times per week, 30 minutes each time, for a total of 6 weeks. Thoraco-lumbar joint reposition error was measured using an electrogoniometer and static balance ability was measured using the Tetrax posture analysis system. Subjects' pain level was measured using a 100 mm visual analogue scale. Statistical analyses were performed using a one-way analysis of variance and a paired t-test. Post-hoc testing was carried out with a Bonferroni test. The pain level was significantly lower in both experimental groups compared to the control group. Both experimental groups showed significant reductions in joint reposition error angle (flexion, extension, and side bending) compared to the control group. The static balance level was significantly lower in both experimental groups than in the control group. In summary, lumbar stabilization exercises and additional thoracic mobilization significantly improved the pain level, proprioception, and static balance in patients with chronic low back pain.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.137-144
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• 2002

This study was to provide the fundamental data for a scientific and rational clothing construction by investigating the variation of the upper body surface with the use of the method of Surgical tape. The subject were 3 middle elementary schoolboys classified standard somatotype, and arm-movements were consisted of 6 types. The statistical analyses used in this study were mean, standard deviation and the ANOVA and LSD procedure. Shoulder point was moved to be the inside or upside and the shape of the armhole-line was differently changed as the arm-movement become larger. By moving to upside of the anterior armpit point, posterior armpit point and armpit point, the increase of the side seam length and the ascent of the line of width between armpits were distinct. And by arm-movements, in the items of horizontal, front neck base girth, back upper bust girth, back bust girth and back waist girth were increased and the other standard lines were apt to be decreased. In the items of vertical, all standard lines of front side and side seam length showed increased, back waist length and back length showed decreased. The variation of armhole was indefinite. In the rate of the variation, the shoulder length showed the maximum rate of contraction by 41.3%, decreasing 3.7 cm in $180^{\circ}$ degrees, and the side seam length showed the maximum rate of expansion by 60.6%, increasing 8.97 cm in the same degrees.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.33-41
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• 2002

Soil nailing type of retaining structures has been widely used in Korea far the purpose of the temporary and permanent support in excavations and slope stability. The important factors in application of soil nailing systems in urban excavation site nearby the existing structures are the displacement of the wall and tensile farce of the nails, etc. In this paper, the fled back analyses are carried out at 11 excavation sites to investigate the behavior of tensile farce of nails at stepwise excavation in the multi-layered strata including various rock layers. The results of the fled back analysis are less than about 50% of the measured ones. The distance of active zone by measurements are shown almost larger than that of fled back analysis when the distance of active Bone is defined from the surface of wall to the potential failure surface. And the results of fled back analysis are within the range proposed by the project CLOUTERRE and Cartier & Gigan (1983) which were 0.3$H_f$, and 0.5$H_f$, of the final excavation depth ($H_f$,) respectively, but the values of the measurement were larger than these values.