The aim of this research was to investigate how the effects of body supported treadmill training with visual feedback affect the gait factors of stroke patients. Thirty subjects (21 male, 9 female) with a diagnosis of stroke were taken to the hospital to participate in this study. The subjects received body supported treadmill training with visual feedback. The training was executed for 6 minutes, 3 times a day per week for 19 weeks after general exercise. The effects of the visual feedback in the body supported treadmill training were evaluated by measuring the average gait cycle and the average step length of the affected and unaffected. The collected data were statistically analyzed by using a paired t-test. The results of this study were a significant improvement of the average gait cycle and no statistically significant difference of the average step length. The gait cycle average had a statistically significant difference in gender, age, etiology, paretic side, and step length average. There was no statistically significant difference in infarction within etiology. Therefore, it was necessary to apply the easy and simple with the treadmill training in the rehabilitation of the stroke patients. This study will require a variety of outcome measures related to the effects of treadmill training with gait factors.

This study was carried out survey to compare using status of physical therapy for elderly persons between urban and rural area in Honam. There were 16 places consisting of general clinics, departments of family medicine, pain medicine, and orthopedics that run outpatient physical therapy. This study distributed 636 questionnaires in total and collected 400 responses. Regionally, 200 responses out of 311 questionnaires from Gwangju and 200 responses out of 325 questionnaires from Jeollanam-do and Jeollabuk-do were collected. Regionally speaking, Gwangju was 62% while Jeollanam-do and Jeollabuk-do regions were 88%, indicating patients in rural areas employed more public transportation, which was statistically significantly different. There was a difference between urban and rural areas with regard to questions regarding improvement with physical therapy. Factors related to the number of physical therapy visits per week that showed a significant difference between urban and rural areas found by the linear regression analysis result were working hours, whether the patient exercised or not, and pain stress. This result suggest that it is necessary to reduce working hours and pain stress experienced by rural elderlies as well as to encourage regular exercise via national polices.

Nitrogen-doped ZnO nanoparticle-carbon nanofiber composites were prepared using electrospinning. As the relative amounts of N-doped ZnO nanoparticles in the composites were controlled to levels of 3.4, 9.6, and 13.8 wt%, the morphological, structural, and chemical properties of the composites were characterized by means of field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In particular, the carbon nanofiber composites containing 13.8 wt% N-doped ZnO nanoparticles exhibited superior catalytic properties, making them suitable for use as counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). This result can be attributed to the enhanced surface roughness of the composites, which offers sites for I3- ion reductions and the formation of Zn3N2 phases that facilitate electron transfer. Therefore, DSSCs fabricated with 13.8 wt% N-doped ZnO nanoparticle-carbon nanofiber composites showed high current density (16.3mA/cm2), high fill factor (57.8%), and excellent power-conversion efficiency (6.69%); at the same time, these DSSCs displayed power-conversion efficiency almost identical to that of DSSCs fabricated with a pure Pt counter electrode (6.57%).

To synthesize a high-performance photocatalyst, N doped TiO2 nanotubes deposited with Ag nanoparticles were synthesized, and surface characteristics, electrochemical behaviors, and photocatalytic activity were investigated. The TiO2 nanotubular photocatalyst was fabricated by anodization; the Ag nanoparticles on the TiO2 nanotubes were synthesized by a reduction reaction in AgNO3 solution under UV irradiation. The XPS results of the N doped TiO2 nanotubes showed that the incorporated nitrogen ions were located in interstitial sites of the TiO2 crystal structure. The N doped titania nanotubes exhibited a high dye degradation rate, which is effectively attributable to the increase of visible light absorption due to interstitial nitrogen ions in the crystalline TiO2 structure. Moreover, the precipitated Ag particles on the titania nanotubes led to a decrease in the rate of electron-hole recombination; the photocurrent of this electrode was higher than that of the pure titania electrode. From electrochemical and dye degradation results, the photocurrent and photocatalytic efficiency were found to have been significantly affected by N doping and the deposition of Ag particles.

The present study deals with the effects of tempering treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Cu-bearing high-strength steels. Three kinds of steel specimens with different levels of Cu content were fabricated by controlled rolling and accelerated cooling, ; some of these steel specimen were tempered at temperatures ranging from 350˚C to 650˚C for 30 min. Hardness, tensile, and Charpy impact tests were conducted in order to investigate the relationship of microstructure and mechanical properties. The hardness of the Cu-added specimens is much higher than that of Cu-free specimen, presumably due to the enhanced solid solution hardening and precipitation hardening, result from the formation of very-fine Cu precipitates. Tensile test results indicated that the yield strength increased and then slightly decreased, while the tensile strength gradually decreased with increasing tempering temperature. On the other hand, the energy absorbed at room and lower temperatures remarkably increased after tempering at 350˚C; and after this, the energy absorbed then did not change much. Suitable tempering treatment remarkably improved both the strength and the impact toughness. In the 1.5 Cu steel specimen tempered at 550˚C, the yield strength reached 1.2 GPa and the absorbed energy at -20˚C showed a level above 200 J, which was the best combination of high strength and good toughness.

A zinc oxide (ZnO) hybrid structure was successfully fabricated on a glass substrate by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). In-situ growth of a multi-dimensional ZnO hybrid structure was achieved by adjusting the growth temperature to determine the morphologies of either film or nanorods without any catalysts such as Au, Cu, Co, or Sn. The ZnO hybrid structure was composed of one-dimensional (1D) nanorods grown continuously on the two-dimensional (2D) ZnO film. The ZnO film of 2D mode was grown at a relatively low temperature, whereas the ZnO nanorods of 1D mode were grown at a higher temperature. The change of the morphologies of these materials led to improvements of the electrical and optical properties. The ZnO hybrid structure was characterized using various analytical tools. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to determine the surface morphology of the nanorods, which had grown well on the thin film. The structural characteristics of the polycrystalline ZnO hybrid grown on amorphous glass substrate were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Hall-effect measurement and a four-point probe were used to characterize the electrical properties. The hybrid structure was shown to be very effective at improving the electrical and the optical properties, decreasing the sheet resistance and the reflectance, and increasing the transmittance via refractive index (RI) engineering. The ZnO hybrid structure grown by MOCVD is very promising for opto-electronic devices as Photoconductive UV Detectors, anti-reflection coatings (ARC), and transparent conductive oxides (TCO).

Microstructural and mechanical characteristics of Al-6Si-2Cu alloy for lightweight automotive parts were investigated. The test specimens were prepared by gravity casting process. Solution heat treatments were applied to as-cast alloys to improve mechanical properties. The microstructure of the gravity casting specimen presents a typical dendrite structure, having a secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) of 37μm. In addition to the Al matrix, a large amount of coarsened eutectic Si, Al2Cu intermetallic phase, and Fe-rich phases were identified. After solution heat treatment, single-step solution heat treatments were found to considerably improve the spheroidization of the eutectic Si phase. Two-step solution treatments gave rise to a much improved spheroidization. The mechanical properties of the two-step solution heat treated alloy have been shown to lead to higher values of properties such as tensile strength and microhardness. Consequentially, the microstructural and mechanical characteristics of Al alloy have been successfully characterized and are available for use with other basic data for the development of lightweight automotive parts.

In this study, highly sensitive hydrogen micro gas sensors of the multi-layer and micro-heater type were designed and fabricated using the micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) process and palladium catalytic metal. The dimensions of the fabricated hydrogen gas sensor were about 5mm×4mm and the sensing layer of palladium metal was deposited in the middle of the device. The sensing palladium films were modified to be nano-honeycomb and nano-hemisphere structures using an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template and nano-sized polystyrene beads, respectively. The sensitivities (Rs), which are the ratio of the relative resistance were significantly improved and reached levels of 0.783% and 1.045 % with 2,000 ppm H2 at 70˚C for nano-honeycomb and nano-hemisphere structured Pd films, respectively, on the other hand, the sensitivity was 0.638% for the plain Pd thin film. The improvement of sensitivities for the nano-honeycomb and nano-hemisphere structured Pd films with respect to the plain Pd-thin film was thought to be due to the nanoporous surface topographies of AAO and nano-sized polystyrene beads.

Thermal shock resistance property has recently been considered to be one of the most important basic properties, in the same way that the transverse-rupture property is important for sintered hard materials such as ceramics, cemented carbides, and cermets. Attempts were made to evaluate the thermal shock resistance property of 10 vol% TaC added Ti(C,N)-Ni cermets using the infrared radiation heating method. The method uses a thin circular disk that is heated by infrared rays in the central area with a constant heat flux. The technique makes it possible to evaluate the thermal shock strength (Tss) and thermal shock fracture toughness (Tsf) directly from the electric powder charge and the time of fracture, despite the fact that Tss and Tsf consist of the thermal properties of the material tested. Tsf can be measured for a specimen with an edge notch, while Tss cannot be measured for specimens without such a notch. It was thought, however, that Tsf might depend on the radius of curvature of the edge notch. Using the Tsf data, Tss was calculated using a consideration of the stress concentration. The thermal shock resistance property of 10 vol% TaC added Ti(C,N)-Ni cermet increased with increases in the content of nitrogen and Ni. As a result, it was considered that Tss could be applied to an evaluation of the thermal shock resistance of cermets.

Effects of Cu and B on effective grain size and low-temperature toughness of thermo-mechanically processed high-strength bainitic steels were investigated in this study. The microstructure of the steel specimens was analyzed using optical, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy; their effective grain size was also characterized by electron back-scattered diffraction. To evaluate the strength and low-temperature toughness, tensile and Charpy impact tests were carried out. The specimens were composed of various low-temperature transformation products such as granular bainite (GB), degenerated upper bainite (DUB), lower bainite (LB), and lath marteniste (LM), dependent on the addition of Cu and B. The addition of Cu slightly increased the yield and tensile strength, but substantially deteriorated the low-temperature toughness because of the higher volume fraction of DUB with a large effective grain size. The specimen containing both Cu and B had the highest strength, but showed worse low-temperature toughness of higher ductile-brittle transition temperature (DBTT) and lower absorbed energy because it mostly consisted of LB and LM. In the B-added specimen, on the other hand, it was possible to obtain the best combination of high strength and good low-temperature toughness by decreasing the overall effective grain size via the appropriate formation of different low-temperature transformation products containing GB, DUB, and LB/LM.

The aim of this paper is to consider the effect of annealing on the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of electroplated Invar Fe-Ni alloy. The CTE of the as-electroplated alloy is lower than those of alloys annealed at 400˚C and 800˚C. XRD peaks become sharper as the as-electroplated alloy is annealed, which means the grain growth. The average grain sizes of as-electroplated and as-annealed alloys at 400˚C and 800˚C are 10 nm, 70 nm, and 2μm, respectively, as determined by TEM and EBSD analyses. The CTE variation for the various grain sizes after annealing may come from the magnetostriction effect, which generates strain due to changes in the magnetization state of the alloys. The thermal expansion coefficient is considered to be affected by nano grain size in electroplated Fe-Ni Invar alloys. As grain size decreases, ferromagnetic forces might change to paramagnetic forces. The effect of lattice vibration damping of nano grain boundaries could lead to the decrease of CTE.

We demonstrate a simple and effective method to accurately position silicon nanowires (Si NWs) at desirable locations using drop-casting of Si NW inks; this process is suitable for applications in nanoelectronics or nanophotonics. Si NWs were assembled into a lithographically patterned sacrificial photoresist (PR) template by means of capillary interactions at the solution interface. In this process, we varied the type of solvent of the SiNW-containing solution to investigate different assembly behaviors of Si NWs in different solvents. It was found that the assembly of Si NWs was strongly dependent on the surface energy of the solvents, which leads to different evaporation modes of the Si NW solution. After Si NW assembly, the PR template was cleanly removed by thermal decomposition or chemical dissolution and the Si NWs were transferred onto the underlying substrate, preserving its position without any damage. This method enables the precise control necessary to produce highly integrated NW assemblies on all length scales since assembly template is easily fabricated with top-down lithography and removed in a simple process after bottom-up drop-casting of NWs.

Recently, improvement in the conversion efficiency of silicon-based solar cells has been achieved by decreasing emitter doping concentration, because the lightly doped emitter can effectively prevent the recombination of electrons and holes generated by solar light irradiation. This type of emitter is very thin due to the low doping concentration, thus conductive materials (i.e., silver) used for front electrodes can easily penetrate the emitter during a firing process because of their large diffusivity in silicon. This results in junction leakage currents which might reduce cell efficiencies. In this study, Al2O3-coated Ag powders were synthesized by an ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method and applied to the conductive materials of the front electrode to control the junction leakage current. The Al2O3 shell obstructs the Ag diffusion into the emitter during the firing process. The powder is spherical with a core-shell structure and the thickness of the Al2O3 shell is tens of nanometers. Solar cells were fabricated using pure Ag powders or the Al2O3-coated Ag powder as front electrode materials, and the conversion efficiency and junction leakage current were compared to investigate the role of the Al2O3 shell during the firing processes.

Despite having many attractive properties, ZrO2 ceramic has a low fracture toughness which limits its wide application. One of the most obvious tactics to improve its mechanical properties has been to add a reinforcing agent to formulate a nanostructured composite material. Nanopowders of ZrO2 and Cr were synthesized from CrO3 and Zr powder by high energy ball milling for 10 h. Dense nanocrystalline 2/3Cr-ZrO2 composite was consolidated by a high-frequency induction heated sintering method within 5 min at 600˚C from mechanically synthesized powder. The method was found to enable not only rapid densification but also the inhibition of grain growth, preserving the nano-scale microstructure. Highly dense 2/3Cr-ZrO2 composite with relative density of up to 99.5% was produced under simultaneous application of a 1 GPa pressure and the induced current. The hardness and fracture toughness of the composite were 534 kg/mm2 and 7MPa·m1/2, respectively. The composite was determined to have good biocompatibility.

The effect of tungsten (W) addition on the hardenability of low-carbon boron steels was investigated using dilatometry, microstructural observations and secondary ion mass spectroscopy. The hardenability was discussed with respect to transformation behaviour aspects depending on the segregation and precipitation of boron at austenite grain boundaries. A critical cooling rate producing a hardness corresponding to 90 % martensite structure was measured from a hardness distribution plot, and was used as a criterion to estimate hardenability at faster cooling rates. In the low-carbon boron steel, the addition of 0.50 wt.% W was comparable to that of 0.20 wt.% molybdenum in terms of critical cooling rate, indicating hardenability at faster cooling rates. However, the addition of 0.50 wt.% W was not more effective than the addition of .0.20 wt.% molybdenum at slower cooling rates. The addition of 0.20 wt.% molybdenum completely suppressed the formation of eutectoid ferrite even at the slow cooling rate of 0.2˚C/s, while the addition of 0.50 wt.% W did not, even at the cooling rate of 1.0˚C/s. Therefore, it was found that the effect of alloying elements on the hardenability of low-carbon boron steels can be differently evaluated according to cooling rate.

The effect of alpha phase on the fatigue properties of Fe-29%Ni-17%Co low thermal expansion alloy was investigated. Two kinds of alloys (Base alloy and Alpha alloy) were prepared by controlling the minimal alloy composition. Microstructure observation, tensile, high-cycle fatigue, and low-cycle fatigue results were measured in this study. The Base alloy microstructure showed typical austenite γ phase. Alpha alloy represented the dispersed phase in the austenite γ matrix. As a result of tensile testing, Alpha alloy was found to have higher strengths (Y.S. & T.S.) and lower elongation compared to those of the Base alloy. High cycle fatigue results showed that Alpha alloy had a higher fatigue limit (360MPa) than that (330MPa) of the Base alloy. The Alpha alloy exhibited the superior high cycle fatigue property in all of the fatigue stress conditions. SEM fractography results showed that the alpha phase could act to effectively retard both fatigue crack initiation and crack propagation. In the case of low-cycle fatigue, the Base alloy had longer fatigue life in the high plastic strain amplitude region and the Alpha alloy showed better fatigue property only in the low plastic strain amplitude region. The fatigue deformation behavior of the Fe-29%Ni-17%Co alloy was also discussed as related with its microstructure.

Process conditions for the impregnation of polycarbosilane preceramic polymer into SiC-based composites were investigated. Two kinds of preceramic polymer (PCP) was impregnated into SiC-fiber fabrics with different solvents of n-hexane and divinylbenzene (DVB). Both microstructural observations and mechanical tests were conducted to evaluate the impregnation. The matrix phases were particulated in the case of hexane solvents. Apparent relative density of the matrix was about 78.8%. The density of matrix was increased to about 96.1-98.8% when the DVB was used; however, brittle fracture was observed during a bending test. The modulus of toughness was less than 0.74J/m3. The fabric impregnated with a mixed PCP-dissolved solution showed intermediate characteristics with relative high density of filling (apparent density of ~96.1%) as well as proper bending behavior. The modulus of toughness was increased to about 5.31J/m3. The composites developed by changing the precursor and solvent suggested the possibility of fabricating SiCf/SiC composites without a fiber to matrix interphase coating.

SrSnO3 phosphor powders were synthesized with two different contents of activator ions Eu3+ and Tb3+ using thesolid-state reaction method. The structural, morphological, and optical properties of the phosphors were investigated using X-ray diffractometry, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and fluorescence spectrophotometry, respectively. All thephosphors showed a cubic structure, irrespective of the type and the content ratio of activator ions. For Eu3+-doped SrSnO3phosphors, the intensity of the 620nm red emission spectrum resulting from the 5D0→7F2 transition of Eu3+ was stronger thanthat of the 595nm orange emission signal due to the 5D0→7F1 transition in the range 0.01-0.05mol of Eu3+, but the ratio ofthe intensity was reversed in the range 0.10-0.20mol of Eu3+. The variation in the emission intensity indicates that the sitesymmetry of the Eu3+ ions around the host crystal was changed from non-inversion symmetry to inversion. For the Tb3+-dopedSrSnO3 phosphors under excitation at 281nm, one strong green emission band at 550nm and several weak bands wereobserved. These results suggest that the optimum red and green emission signals can be realized when the activator ion contentfor Eu3+- or Tb3+-doped SrSnO3 phosphors is 0.20mol and 0.15mol, respectively.

The crystallization effects of boron (B) powder on the phase, full width at half maximum (FWHM) values, and critical properties were investigated for in-situ reacted MgB2 bulk superconductors. The semi-crystalline B powder was heat-treated at different temperatures of 1000, 1300 and 1500˚C for 5 hours in an Ar atmosphere. Then, using as-received and heat-treated B powders, the MgB2 samples were prepared at 600˚C for 40 hours in an Ar atmosphere. As the heat-treatment temperature of the B powder increased, both the particle size of the B powder and crystalline phase increased. In the case of MgB2 samples using B powders heat-treated at above 1300˚C, unreacted magnesium (Mg) and B remained due to the improved crystallinity of the B powder. As the heat-treatment temperature of B powder increased, the critical current density of MgB2 decreased continuously due to the reduction of grain boundary density and superconducting volume caused by unreacted Mg and B.

Light scattering enhancement is widely used to enhance the optical absorption efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells. In this work, we systematically analyzed the effects of spherical voids distributed as light-scattering centers in photoanode films made of an assembly of zinc oxide nanoparticles. Spherical voids in electrode films were formed using a sacrificial template of polystyrene (PS) spheres. The diameter and volume concentration of these spheres was varied to optimize the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells. The effects of film thickness on this efficiency was also examined. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was performed to study electron transport in the electrodes. The highest power conversion efficiency of 4.07 % was observed with 12μm film thickness. This relatively low optimum thickness of the electrode film is due to the enhanced light absorption caused by the light scattering centers of voids distributed in the film.