Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films have been widely used in many industrial applications because of their outstanding mechanical and chemical properties like hardness, wear resistance, lubricous property, chemical stability, and uniformity of deposition. Also, DLC films coated on paper, polymer, and metal substrates have been extensively used. In this work, in order to improve the printing quality and plate wear of polymer printing plates, different deposition conditions were used for depositing DLC on the polymer printing plates using the Pulsed DC PECVD method. The deposition temperature of the DLC films was under 100˚C, in order to prevent the deformation of the polymer plates. The properties of each DLC coating on the polymer concave printing plate were analyzed by measuring properties such as the roughness, surface morphology, chemical bonding, hardness, plate wear resistance, contact angle, and printing quality of DLC films. From the results of the analysis of the properties of each of the different DLC deposition conditions, the deposition conditions of DLC + F and DLC + Si + F were found to have been successful at improving the printing quality and plate wear of polymer printing plates because the properties were improved compared to those of polymer concave printing plates.

In semiconductor manufacturing, the circuit integrity of packaged BGA devices is tested by measuring electrical resistance using test sockets. Test sockets have been reported to often fail earlier than the expected life-time due to high contact resistance. This has been attributed to the formation of Sn oxide films on the Au coating layer of the probe pins loaded on the socket. Similar to contact failure, and known as "fretting", this process widely occurs between two conductive surfaces due to the continual rupture and accumulation of oxide films. However, the failure mechanism at the probe pin differs from fretting. In this study, the microstructural processes and formation mechanisms of Sn oxide films developed on the probe pin surface were investigated. Failure analysis was conducted mainly by FIB-FESEM observations, along with EDX, AES, and XRD analyses. Soft and fresh Sn was found to be transferred repeatedly from the solder bump to the Au surface of the probe pins; it was then instantly oxidized to SnO. The SnO2 phase is a more stable natural oxide, but SnO has been proved to grow on Sn thin film at low temperature (< 150˚C). Further oxidation to SnO2 is thought to be limited to 30%. The SnO film grew layer by layer up to 571 nm after testing of 50,500 cycles (1 nm/100 cycle). This resulted in the increase of contact resistance and thus of signal delay between the probe pin and the solder bump.

We have grown AlN nanorods and AlN films using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy by changing the Al source flux. Plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy of AlN was performed on c-plane Al2O3 substrates with different levels of aluminum (Al) flux but with the same nitrogen flux. Growth behavior of AlN was strongly affected by Al flux, as determined by in-situ reflection high energy electron diffraction. Prior to the growth, nitridation of the Al2O3 substrate was performed and a two-dimensionally grown AlN layer was formed by the nitridation process, in which the epitaxial relationship was determined to be [11-20]AlN//[10-10]Al2O3, and [10-10]AlN//[11-20]Al2O3. In the growth of AlN films after nitridation, vertically aligned nanorod-structured AlN was grown with a growth rate of 1.6μm/h, in which the growth direction was<0001>, for low Al flux. However, with high Al flux, Al droplets with diameters of about 8μm were found, which implies an Al-rich growth environment. With moderate Al flux conditions, epitaxial AlN films were grown. Growth was maintained in two-dimensional or three-dimensional growth mode depending on the Al flux during the growth; however, final growth occurred in three-dimensional growth mode. A lowest root mean square roughness of 0.6 nm (for 2μm×2μm area) was obtained, which indicates a very flat surface.

Hollow silica spheres were prepared by spray drying of precursor solution of colloidal silica. The precursor solution is composed of 10-20 nm colloidal silica dispersed in a water or ethanol-water mixture solvent with additives of tris hydroxymethyl aminomethane. The effect of pH and concentrations of the precursor and additives on the formation of hollow sphere particles was studied. The spray drying process parameters of the precursor feeding rate, inlet temperature, and gas flow rate are controlled to produce the hollow spherical silica. The mixed solvent of ethanol and water was preferred because it improved the hollowness of the spheres better than plain water did. It was possible to obtain hollow silica from high concentration of 14.3 wt% silica precursor with pH 3. The thermal conductivity and total solar reflectivity of the hollow silica sample was measured and compared with those values of other commercial insulating fillers of glass beads and TiO2 for applications of insulating paint, in which the glass beads are representative of the low thermal conductive fillers and the TiO2 is representative of infrared reflective fillers. The thermal conductivity of hollow silica was comparable to that of the glass beads and the total solar reflectivity was higher than that of TiO2.

Silica-based ceramic-matrix composites have shown promise as advanced materials for many applications such as chemical catalysts, ceramics, pharmaceuticals, and electronics. SiO2-CuO-CeO2 multi-component powders and their thin film, using an oxalic acid template as a chelating agent, have larger surface areas and more uniform pore size distribution than those of inorganic acid catalysts. SiO2-CuO-CeO2 composite powders were synthesized using tetraethylorthosilicate, copper (II) nitrate hemi (pentahydrate), and cerium (III) nitrate hexahydrate with oxalic acid as template or pore-forming agent. The process of thermal evolution, the phase composition, and the surface morphology of these powders were monitored by thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDXS). The mesoporous property of the powders was observed by Brunner-Emmett-Teller surface (BET) analysis. The improved surface area of this powder template with oxalic acid was 371.4m2/g. This multi-component thin film on stainless-steel was prepared by sol-gel dip coating with no cracks.

Enhancement of light trapping in solar cells is becoming increasingly urgent for the development of next generation thin film solar cells. One of the possible candidates for increasing light trapping in thin film solar cells that has emerged recently is the use of scattering from metallic nanostructures. In this study, we have investigated the effects of the geometric parameters of Ag nanorings on the light scattering efficiency by using three dimensional Finite Different Time Domain (FDTD) calculations. We have found that the forward scattering of incident radiation from Ag nanorings strongly depends on the geometric parameters of the nanostructures such as diameter, height, etc. The forward scattering to substrate direction is increased as the outer diameter and height of the nanorings decrease. In particular, for nanorings larger than 200 nm, the inner diameter of Ag nanorings should be optimized to enhance the forward scattering efficiency. Light absorption and scattering efficiency calculations for the various nanoring arrays revealed that the periodicity of nanorings arrays also plays an important role in the absorption and the scattering efficiency enhancement. Light scattering efficiency calculations for nanoring arrays also revealed that enhancement of scattering efficiency could be utilized to enhance the light absorption through the forward scattering mechanism.

Recently, automobile parts have been required to have high strength and toughness to allow for weight lightening or improved stability. But, traditional micro-alloyed steel cannot be applied in automobile parts. In this study, we considered the influence of quenching temperature and cooling rate for specimens fabricated by vacuum induction furnace. Directly quenched micro-alloyed steel for hot forging can be controlled according to its micro structure and the heat-treatment process. Low carbon steel, as well as alloying elements for improvement of strength and toughness, was used to obtain optimized conditions. After hot forging at 1,200˚C, the ideal mechanical properties (tensile strength ≥ 1,000 MPa, Charpy impact value ≥ 100 J/cm2) can be achieved by using optimized conditions (quenching temperature : 925 to 1,050˚C, cooling rate : ≥ 5˚C/sec). The difference of impact value according to cooling rate can be influenced by the microstructure. A fine lath martensite micro structure is formed at a cooling rate of over 5˚C/sec. On the other hand, the second phase of the M-A constituent microstructure is the cause of crack initiation under the cooling rate of 5˚C/sec.

ZnO thin films were grown on a sapphire substrate by RF magnetron sputtering. The characteristics of the thin films were investigated by ellipsometry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), photoluminescence (PL), and Hall effect. The substrate temperature and growth time were kept constant at 200˚C at 30 minutes, respectively. The RF power was varied within the range of 200 to 500 W. ZnO thin films on sapphire substrate were grown with a preferred C-axis orientation along the (0002) plan; X-ray diffraction peak shifted to low angles and PL emission peak was red-shifted with increasing RF power. In addition, the electrical characteristics of the carrier density and mobility decreased and the resistivity increased. In the electrical and optical properties of ZnO thin films under variation of RF power, the crystallinity improved and the roughness increased with increasing RF power due to decreased oxygen vacancies and the presence of excess zinc above the optimal range of RF power. Consequently, the crystallinity of the ZnO thin films grown on sapphire substrate was improved with RF sputtering power; however, excess Zn resulted because of the structural, electrical, and optical properties of the ZnO thin films. Thus, excess RF power will act as a factor that degrades the device characteristics.

Synthesis of RGO (reduced graphene oxide)-CdS composite material was performed through CBD (chemical bath deposition) method in which graphene oxide served as the support and Cadmium Sulfate Hydrate as the starting material. Graphene-based semiconductor photocatalysts have attracted extensive attention due to their usefulness for environmental and energy applications. The band gap (2.4 eV) of CdS corresponds well with the spectrum of sunlight because the crystalline phase, size, morphology, specic surface area and defects, etc., of CdS can affect its photocatalytic activity. The specific surface structure (morphology) of the photocatalyst can be effective for the suppression of recombination between photogenerated electrons and holes. Graphene (GN) has unique properties such as a high value of Young's modulus, large theoretical specific surface area, excellent thermal conductivity, high mobility of charge carriers, and good optical transmittance. These excellent properties make GN an ideal building block in nanocomposites. It can act as an excellent electron-acceptor/transport material. Therefore, the morphology, structural characterization and crystal structure were observed using various analytical tools, such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. From this analysis, it is shown that CdS particles were well dispersed uniformly in the RGO sheet. Furthermore, the photocatalytic property of the resulting RGO-CdS composite is also discussed in relation to environmental applications such as the photocatalytic degradation of pollutants. It was found that the prepared RGO-CdS nanocomposites exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity as compared with that of CdS nanoparticles. Therefore, better efficiency of photodegradation was found for water purification applications using RGO-CdS composite.

The present study is intended to comparatively investigate the changes in microstructure and tensile properties at room and elevated temperatures in commercial AM50(Mg-5%Al-0.3%Mn) and 0.3 wt%CaO added ECO-AM50 alloys produced by permanent mould casting. The typical microstructure of AM50 alloy was distinctively characterized using two intermetallic compounds, β(Mg17Al12) and Al8Mn5, along with α-(Mg) matrix in an as-cast state. The addition of a small amount of CaO played a role in reducing dendrite cell size and quantity of the β phase in the AM50 alloy. It is interesting to note that the added CaO introduced a small amount of Al2Ca adjacent to the β compounds, and that inhomogeneous enrichment of elemental Ca was observed within the β phase. The ECO-AM50 alloy showed higher hardness and better YS and UTS at room temperature than did the AM50 alloy, which characteristics can be mainly ascribed to the finer-grained microstructure that originated from the CaO addition. At 175˚C, higher levels of YS and UTS and higher elongation were obtained for the ECO-AM50 alloy, demonstrating that even 0.3 wt%CaO addition can be beneficial in promoting the heat resistance of the AM50 alloy. The combinational contributions of enhanced thermal stability of the Ca-containing β phase and the introduction of a stable Al2Ca phase with high melting point are thought to be responsible for the improvement of the high temperature tensile properties in the ECO-AM50 alloy.

The purpose of this study is to identify the level of masseter muscle tension according to the levels of restricted movement and pain in the temporomandibular joint(TMJ), thereby verifying the fact that excessive masseter muscle tension can be a cause for restricted movement and pain in the TMJ. The subjects of this study were 81 men and women in their 20s and 30s, who feel uncomfortable with their masticatory function on the preferred chewing side. The subjects were measured in terms of the range of motion (ROM) and deviation of the TMJ and the degree of pain in the affected region. The ROM and deviation of the TMJ were measured using the Global Posture System(GPS) after instructing each subject to open his/her mouth to the fullest and taking photos of the subject with a digital camera. The tension of the masseter muscle was measured with a Pressure Threshold Meter(PTM). After the measurements, in order to compare the ROM of the TMJ, the subjects were divided into two groups based on the ROM of above 35mm and below 35mm. For the deviation and pain, based on the average of total subjects, the subjects were divided into two groups of above and below average. Thereafter, the levels of masseter muscle tension were compared between each pair of groups. According to the results, when each variable was compared between the respective two groups, in terms of the deviation, the pressure pain threshold(PPT) of the masseter muscle revealed a statistically significant difference(p<.05). However, the ROM and pain showed no statistically significant difference. Consequently, masseter muscle tension may cause restricted movement in the TMJ. In particular, the deviation and tension in the masseter muscle is considered to be a factor that causes deviation in the TMJ.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the correlation between the stature and the muscle performance ratings and the subjective discomfort rations at performing lower arm's pronation and supination according to change sin the height of working table for more efficient performance at designing a working table and performing a work. For the purpose, this study conducted an experiment targeting 40 people in their 20s, who were classified into 4 groups each group composing 10 people at intervals of 5cm from the standard stature of 166.5cm. The experiment measured the maximum isometric pronation and the supination muscular power, and at measuring the factors, the heights of working tables were set as 800mm, 850mm, and 900mm. From the measurement results, it was found that the stature and the maximum muscular power was correlated. That is, as the experiment groups's average stature is higher, the maximum muscular power was higher. For the correlation between the motion patterns(pronation and supination) and the maximum muscular power, it was seen that the maximum muscular power was higher at performing the pronation than the supination. In the correlation between motion patterns and the subjective discomfort ratings, it was seen that the subjective discomfort rating was higher at performing the supination than the pronation. For the correlation between height adjustment and the subjective discomfort ratings, as the height of working table was lower, the subject discomfort rating was lower. Therefore there was no difference in the maximum muscular power according to the height changes of working table, but it was found that as the working table was higher, the user felt more comfortable.

The objective of this study is to provide basic information on coupled motions in thoracic spine during lateral bending from a neutral position for football and baseball players as well as for general university students. In the experiment, a total of 30 subjects participated(football players: 10, baseball players: 10, general students: 10). All subjects were in their 20’s. The subjects sat on a chair with lumbar support in a neutral position and bent to the right. As a result, for baseball players, coupled motions were observed in the opposite direction of the lateral bending in all parts of thoracic spine. For both football players and general students, coupled motions were observed in the same direction. These results confirmed that unilateral movements like baseball could affect coupled motions.

This study is to examine the effects of a feedback breathing device exercise and diaphragm breathing exercise on pulmonary functions of chronic strokes patients. The selection of 20 subjects was divided equally and placed into a experiment group and a control group and the intervention was applied four times per a week for five weeks. In each session, both groups received rehabilitative exercise treatment for 30 minutes, and a feedback breathing device exercise for 15 minutes. In addition, experimental group conducted a combination of diaphragm breathing exercise for 15 minutes. Prior to and after the experiment, patients’ pulmonary functions were measured using a spirometer. The pulmonary function tests included FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, PEF, VC, TV, IC, ERV, IRV. With respect to changes in the pulmonary functions of both groups, the experimental group significantly differed in FVC, FEV1, TV, ERV but did not in PEF, FEV1/FVC, VC, IRV. The control group did not significantly differ in any of the tests. There were significant differences in FEV1, FEV1/FVC, TV, ERV between the two groups, but no significant differences in FVC, PEF, FEV1/FVC, VC, IRV between them after the experiment. The experimental group, which conducted a combination of a feedback breathing device exercise and diaphragm breathing exercise, saw their respiratory ability increase more significantly than the control group. The breathing exercise was found to improve pulmonary function in chronic stroke patients.

The Goal of this study was to assess the effect of aerobic exercise on cognitive function of elderly people. The participants' cognitive functions were measured before exercise. Exercise was practiced three times a week for nine weeks. The aerobic exercises consisted of warm-up exercises for five minutes followed by cycling for 30 minutes. The exercise intensity was set to 65%~75% of the intensity for the maximum heart rate(220-age). The control group did not perform any exercises. The subjects' cognitive functions were measured nine weeks later. In the aerobic exercise group, between before and after the exercises, significant increases appeared in total K-MMSE scores and scores of some sub items comprising memory registration, concentration and calculation abilities but not in other items. In the control group, no significant differences appeared in any items between before and after the experiment. In a comparison between the aerobic exercise group and the control group, significant differences appeared in total K-MMSE scores and scores of two sub items comprising concentration and calculation abilities but not in other items(p<.05). Aerobic exercises were effective in the improvement of cognitive functions and among sub items of cognitive functions, concentration and calculating abilities were improved. Aerobic exercises performed by elderly persons are considered to be effective in improving cognitive functions.

This study aims to examine the effects of taping of the ankle joint on the static and dynamic balance and gait ability of stroke patients. Twenty-six stroke patients receiving physical therapy at a hospital located in Gyeonggi-do were divided equally into a group that had taping in physical therapy and an ordinary physical therapy group. They exercised for 30 minutes each, 3 times per week for 8 weeks from June to August 2011. Romberg’s eye open and eye closed tests, limits of stability(LOS), forward and back test, timed up and go test(TUG) and 10-meter gait velocity test were performed to evaluate static balance, dynamic balance, and gait ability, respectively, prior to and 8 weeks after the intervention. Differences within each group in relation to the lapse of time were compared by a paired t-test. Differences between the two groups were compared by an independent t-test. Regarding comparison of differences within each group, all tests resulted in significant changes in both groups after the intervention (p<.05). Comparison of differences between the two groups showed that taping in the physical therapy group had significantly better test results than the ordinary physical therapy group in all measured items(p<.05). The after effects of ankle taping on stroke patients are more efficient and effective than ordinary physical therapy alone in improving balance and gait ability.

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of lower extremity resistance training using elastic bands on balance in elderly people. Eight elderly persons each were randomly assigned to a test group(resistance exercise group, REG) or a control group(CG). FRT and TUG test were used to compare balance before and after exercise. Exercise programs were implemented three times a week for 40 minutes for nine weeks. They did warm-up exercise for 5 minutes and then lower extremity resistance exercise using elastic bands for 30 minutes. And then they did cool-down exercise for 5 minutes. TUG and FRT significantly decreased but in the control group it did not significantly decrease. In comparison between the groups, TUG and FRT significantly reduced in the resistance exercise group compared to the control group. Lower extremity resistance training using elastic bands performed by elderly persons are considered to be effective in improving balance.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of the exercise on elderly balance ability by using hippotherapy and therapeutic ball exercise. 10 patients were assigned to the hippotherapy group and they got with 30 minutes of hippotherapy. Another 10 elderly were assigned to the therapeutic ball group and they got with 30 minutes of therapeutic ball exercise. All procedures were repeated 5 times a week for the total of four weeks. To investigate the participants balancing abilities, the Time“ Up & Go”(TUG) and One Leg Stand Test(OLST) were evaluated. The results of study were significant differences between pre-test and post-test of TUG and OLST(p<.05), and there were no significant differences between hippotherapy and therapeutic ball exercise(p>.05). The conclusion showed that both the hippotherapy and the therapeutic ball exercises were effective on elderly balancing ability. Consequently, it would be better to practice therapeutic ball than hippotherapy for elderly exercise because the more economical and there is less restriction of space than the hippotherapy.

Ischemia, the leading cause of strokes, is known to be deeply related to synaptic plasticity and apoptosis in tissue damage due to ischemic conditions or trauma. The purpose of this study was to research the effects of NEES(needle electrode electrical stimulation) in brain cells of ischemiainduced rat, more specifically the effects of Poly[ADP-ribose] polymerase(PARP) on the corpus striatum. Ischemia was induced in SD mice by occluding the common carotid artery for 5 minutes, after which blood was re-perfused. NEES was applied to acupuncture points, at 12, 24, and 48 hours post-ischemia on the joksamri, and at 24 hours postischemia on the hapgok. Protein expression was investigated through PARP antibody immuno-reactive cells in the cerebral nerve cells and western blotting. The number of PARP reactive cells in the corpus striatum 24 hours post-ischemia was significantly(p<.05) smaller in the NEES group compared to the global ischemia(GI) group. PARP expression 24 hours post-ischemia was very significantly smaller in the NEES group compared to the GI group. Results show that ischemia increases PARP expression and stimulates necrosis, making it a leading cause of death of nerve cells. NEES can decrease protein expression related to cell death, protecting neurons and preventing neuronal apoptosis.

The present study purposed to examine the effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, self-stretching and functional massage on the recovery of muscle contraction force for muscle fatigue caused by sustained isotonic contraction. The subjects of this study were 45 healthy students. They were divided into transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation group(n=15), self-stretching group(n=15) and functional massage group(n=15), and using Primus RS. We observed the pattern of changes in maximal voluntary isometric contraction force(MVIC) after causing muscle fatigue in quadriceps femoris muscle through sustained isotonic contraction. Maximal voluntary isometric contraction force(MVIC) were greatly increased after transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, self-stretching and functional massage. In the comparison of recovery rate of muscle contraction force for muscle fatigue caused by sustained isotonic contraction among the treatment groups, it did not show any significant differences. However, it showed that each treatment may be effective in recovery of muscle fatigue caused by sustained isotonic contraction.