The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of handicraft activities on hand promptness and grasp in the elderly. Subjects were comprised of 14 senior citizens between the ages of 70-85, with 7 subjects in the experiment group and 7 in the control group. Subjects in the experiment group practiced various handicrafts twice a day, while those in the control group did not participate in any special activity. The Jebsen Taylor Hand Function Test was used to evaluate the results, while a dynamometer and pinch gauge were used to measure hand promptness and grasp. The 7 senior citizens in the experiment group were able to increase their hand promptness and grasping skills. Conclusively, handicrafts can help improve hand promptness and grasp in the elderly. Furthermore, the development and improvement of such skills can have a positive influence on the daily lives of senior citizens. Such skills are expected to improve the overall neuro-function in the elderly population.

The purpose of this study was an determine whether elastic band on treadmill training might effect the chest expansion and pulmonary function of the 20's men. 40 subjects with experimental group(male: 20) and control group(male: 20) was participated in experiment. During four weeks, each group participated thirty minutes for three times per week. Subjects were assessed using pre-value and postvalue measurement chest length(chest length for resting, chest expansion) and pulmonary function(forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume at one second, FEV1/FVC, peak expiratory flow, vital capacity, tidal volume, expiratory reserve volume, inspiratory reserve volume) by the CardioTouch 3000S(BIONET, USA). These findings suggest that experimental group can be used to improve chest expansion, pulmonary function than control group. In comparison of both groups, post-test was more improved in experimental group. In conclusion, experimental group helped improving function of pulmonary volume and respiratory muscle, and thus it indicates that the functions will be more improved through the continued respiratory exercise program.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of the static pelvic inclination and declination in the static standing position on weight bearing rate and gait elements. Fourteen healthy adults in their twenties were participated. Two groups of healthy adults were allocated in this study: above and below the average of pelvic tilt. The correlation between the pelvic inclination, weight bearing rate and gait elements were measured. There was a statistical correlation between the pelvic tilt and step. Also, there was a statistical difference when we compared anterior declination with swing period and posterior declination with step. There was an asymmetric correlation between pelvic tilt and step. However, there was no statistical difference between the groups above and below the average of pelvic tilt. This result indicates that dipper pelvic inclination doesn't affect the asymmetry of step.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of gait training using functional electrical stimulation on the improvement of hemiplegic patients' functions for balance and gait velocity. The subjects of the experiment were determined to be 10 each hemiplegic patients who had been diagnosed with stroke or brain damage six months or longer earlier assigned to an experimental group and a control group respectively. The subjects were evaluated before the experiment using Tetrax and 10M gait tests, received gait training five times a week for four weeks using functional electrical stimulation and were evaluated after the experiment in the same method as used in the evaluation before the experiment. In order to examine differences between the experimental group that received gait training using functional electrical stimulation and the control group that was treated by functional electrical stimulation and received gait training thereafter, differences between before and after the experiment were analyzed using paired sample t-tests and differences in changes after the experiment between the experimental group and the control group were analyzed using independent sample t-tests in order to compare the two groups with each other. Experimental results showed significant differences in weight bearing, balance and gait velocity between before and after the experiment in the experimental group(p<.05). In the control group, whereas weight bearing and gait velocity did not show any significant difference between before and after the experiment(p>.05), balance showed significant differences(p<.05). Weight bearing, balance and gait velocity change rates showed significant differences between the experimental group and the control group(p<.05). In conclusion, it was indicated that gait training using functional electrical stimulation is effective for enhancing stroke patients' weight bearing rates, balance abilities and gait velocity.

This research was attempted to seek for a positive approach within the framework of physical therapy instead of the drug treatment in the past, with regard to the ischemic brain injury in the early stage. Accordingly, the aim of this research is to observe the change of HSP27 and HSP70, the genes that are expressed in the early stage of brain injury and to investigate the effects of needle electrode electrical stimulation(NEES), upon applying NEES after ischemia. The experimental method is to give rise to global ischemia and apply NEES to 27 SD-Pat rats with the particulars of being eight-week-old, male, around 300g, and adapted to laboratory environment for more than a week, and divide them into three groups, that is, GV20 NEES group(n=9), L14 NEES group(n=9), no applied NEES global ischemia(GI) group(n=9), and then observe their changes of HSP27 and HSP70 at the time lapse of 6, 9 hr and 12 hr after ischemia, using immunohistochemistry methods. Upon observing through the immunohistochemistry method, it was noticed that there was a significant difference between the GV20 NEES group and the L14 NEES group as for HSP27 and there were significant differences among all groups as for HSP70(p<.05). Accordingly, it is supposed that the application of NEES after the outbreak of cerebral ischemia delay the apoptosis in the early ischemic part of forebrain or protect neurons against apoptosis.

This study was designed to analyze repetitive dorsiflexion and plantarflexion exercises in ankles have effects on the muscle tones of triceps, vastus medialis and gastrocnemius. 25 healthy woman volunteers(ankle dorsiflexion exercise group: 13, ankle plantarflexion exercise group: 12) participated in the two ankle exercise models, which have performed 3 times a week for 3 weeks. Myotonometer was used to measure the muscle tones of the triceps, vastus medialis, gastrocnemius muscles, and measurements were performed before and after the application of the each exercise model. Repeated measured paired t-test and independent t-test was used to determine a statistical significance. The group of repetitive dorsiflexion exercise of the ankle have effects on the muscle tones of triceps, vastus medialis and gastrocnemius (p>.05). The group of repetitive plantarflexion exercise of the ankle have effects on the muscle tones of triceps, vastus medialis and gastrocnemius(p>.05). The groups of repetitive dorsiflexion and plantarflexion exercise of the ankle have effects on the muscle tones of triceps, vastus medialis and gastrocnemius(p>.05).

The purpose of this study is to examine the changes in bone mineral density in long-stay patients of a geriatric hospital in relation to physical therapy, thereby providing basic data for preventing the onset or deterioration of osteoporosis in inpatients of geriatric hospitals or relevant facilities. The subjects of this study were 133 elderly patients who had been in H geriatric hospital in Yongin-si for more than four years. Their bone mineral density T-scores at admission and those after four years were measured to compare and analyze the changes in bone mineral density in relation to physical therapy. According to the results, the decrease in T-score for the group without physical therapy was greater by .40 than that for the group with physical therapy, indicating a statistically significant difference between the two groups(p<.01). Accordingly, physical therapy proved to be effective in preventing bone mineral density loss and maintaining the current density.

Porous W with controlled pore characteristics was fabricated by a freeze-drying process. WO3 powder and camphene were used as the source materials of W and sublimable vehicles, respectively. Camphene slurries with WO3 contents of 10 and 15 vol% were prepared by milling at 50˚C with a small amount of oligomeric polyester dispersant. Freezing of a slurry was done in a Teflon cylinder attached to a copper bottom plate cooled at -25˚C while the growth direction of the camphene was unidirectionally controlled. Pores were generated subsequently by sublimation of the camphene during drying in air for 48 h. The green body was hydrogen-reduced at 800˚C for 30 min and sintered in a furnace at 900˚C for 1 h under a hydrogen atmosphere. Microstructural observation revealed that all of the sintered samples were composed of only W phase and showed large pores which were aligned parallel to the camphene growth direction. The porosity and pore size increased with increasing camphene content. The difference in the pore characteristics depending on the slurry concentration may be explained by the degree of powder rearrangement in the slurry. The results strongly suggest that a porous metal with the required pore characteristics can be successfully fabricated by a freeze-drying process using metal oxide powders.

The purpose of this study was to determine the optimal firing condition and composition for Al2TiO5 crystal, which is suitable for stable coloration in glazes at high temperatures, using Cr2O3 as chromophore for the synthesis of Al2TiO5 system pigments. Al2TiO5 has a high refractive index and good solubility of chromophore in the Al2TiO5 lattice, making this structure a good candidate for the development of new ceramic pigments. Pigments were synthesized by using Al2O3 and TiO2 mainly. Various amounts of Cr2O3 such as 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04 and 0.05 mole were also added. Each compound was synthesized at 1300˚C, 1400˚C, and 1500˚C for 2 hours and cooled naturally. The crystal structure, solubility limit, and color of the synthesized pigments were analyzed by XRD, SEM, Raman spectroscopy, UV and UV-vis. The changes in color as the result of applying 6 wt% of the synthesized pigments to lime barium glaze were expressed as CIE-L*a*b* values. A Cr2O3 0.03 mole doped Al2TiO5 brown pigment was successfully synthesize at 1400˚C, and the values of CIE-L*a*b* parameters were L* = 44.62, a* = 3.10, and b* = 17.25. In the case of the pigment synthesized at 1500˚C, the brown color was obtained at 0.01 mole and 0.02 mole Cr2O3, and the CIE-L*a*b* values were 55.34, 1.73, 28.64, and 49.39, 0.51, 21.33, respectively. At 1500˚C, the maximum limit of solid solution was 0.03 mole Cr2O3. The glazed sample showed green color, and the values of the CIEL* a*b* parameters were L* = 45.69, a* = -0.98, and b* = 20.38.

In this study, optical emission spectroscopy was used to monitor the plasma produced during the RF magnetron sputtering of a BaTiO3 target. The intensities of chemical species were measured by real time monitoring with various discharge parameters such as RF power, pressure, and discharge gas. The emission lines of elemental and ionized species from BaTiO3 and Ti targets were analyzed to evaluate the film composition and the optimized growth conditions for BaTiO3 films. The emissions from Ar(I, II), Ba(I, II) and Ti(I) were found during sputtering of the BaTiO3 target in Ar atmosphere. With increasing RF power, all the line intensities increased because the electron density increased with increasing RF power. When the Ar pressure increased, the Ba(II) and Ti(I) line intensity increased, but the Ar+ line intensity decreased with increasing pressure. This result shows that high pressure is of greater benefit for the ionization of Ba than for that of Ar. Oxygen depressed the intensity of the plasma more than Ar did. When the Ar/O2 ratio decreased, the intensity of Ba decreased more sharply than that of Ti. This result indicates that the plasma composition strongly depends on the discharge gas atmosphere. When the oxygen increased, the Ba/Ti ratio and the thickness of the films decreased. The emission spectra showed consistent variation with applied power to the Ti target during co-sputtering of the BaTiO3 and Ti targets. The co-sputtered films showed a Ba/Ti ratio of 1.05 to 0.73 with applied power to the Ti target. The films with different Ba/Ti ratios showed changes in grain size. Ti excess films annealed at 600˚C did not show the second phase such as BaTi2O5 and TiO2.

The goal of the present work was to investigate the development of a geopolymeric ceramic material from a mixture of mine residue, coal fly ash, blast furnace slag, and alkali activator solution by the geopolymer technique. The results showed that the higher compressive strength of geopolymeric ceramic material increased with an increase in active filler (blast furnace slag + coal fly ash) contents and with a reduction of mine residue contents. The geopolymeric ceramic had very high early age strength. The compressive strength of the geopolymeric ceramic depended on the added active filler content. The maximum compressive strength of the geopolymeric ceramic containing 20 wt.% mine residue was 141.2 MPa. The compressive strength of geopolymeric ceramic manufactured by adding mine residue was higher than that of portland cement mortar, which is 60 MPa, when cured for 28 days. SEM observation showed the possibility of having amorphous aluminosilicate gel within geopolymeric ceramic. XRD patterns indicate that the geopolymeric ceramic was composed of amorphous aluminosilicate, calcite, quartz, and muscovite. The Korea Standard Leaching Test (KSLT) was used to determine the leaching potential of the geopolymeric ceramic. The amounts of heavy metals were noticeably reduced after the solidification of mine residue with active filler.

The CdS thin film used as a window layer in the CdTe thin film solar cell transports photo-generated electrons to the front contact and forms a p-n junction with the CdTe layer. This is why the electrical, optical, and surface properties of the CdS thin film influence the efficiency of the CdTe thin film solar cell. When CdTe thin film solar cells are fabricated, a heat treatment is done to improve the qualities of the CdS thin films. Of the many types of heat treatments, the CdCl2 heat treatment is most widely used because the grain size in CdS thin films increases and interdiffusion between the CdS and the CdTe layer is prevented by the heat treatment. To investigate the changes in the electrical, optical, and surface properties and the crystallinity of the CdS thin films due to heat treatment, CdS thin films were deposited on FTO/glass substrates by the rf magnetron sputtering technique, and then a CdCl2 heat treatment was carried out. After the CdCl2 heat treatment, the clustershaped grains in the CdS thin film increased in size and their boundaries became faint. XRD results show that the crystallinity improved and the crystalline size increased from 15 to 42 nm. The resistivity of the CdS single layer decreased from 3.87 to 0.26 Ωcm, and the transmittance in the visible region increased from 64% to 74%.

Transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) used in the antireflection layer and current spreading layer of heterojunction solar cells should have excellent optical and electrical properties. Furthermore, TCOs need a high work function over 5.2 eV to prevent the effect of emitter band-bending caused by the difference in work function between emitter and TCOs. Sn-doped In2O3 (ITO) film is a highly promising material as a TCO due to its excellent optical and electrical properties. However, ITO films have a low work function of about 4.8 eV. This low work function of ITO films leads to deterioration of the conversion efficiency of solar cells. In this work, ITO films with various Zn contents of 0, 6.9, 12.7, 28.8, and 36.6 at.% were fabricated by a co-sputtering method using ITO and AZO targets at room temperature. The optical and electrical properties of Zn-doped ITO thin films were analyzed. Then, silicon heterojunction solar cells with these films were fabricated. The 12.7 at% Zn-doped ITO films show the highest hall mobility of 35.71 cm2/Vsec. With increasing Zn content over 12.7, the hall mobility decreases. Although a small addition of Zn content increased the work function, further addition of Zn content over 12.7 at.% led to decreasing electrical properties because of the decrease in the carrier concentration and hall mobility. Silicon heterojunction solar cells with 12.7 at% Zn-doped ITO thin films showed the highest conversion efficiency of 15.8%.

Nano-indium-coated ZnO:In thick films were prepared by a hydrothermal method. ZnO:In gas sensors were fabricated by a screen printing method on alumina substrates. The gas sensing properties of the gas sensors were investigated for hydrocarbon gas. The effects of the indium concentration of the ZnO:In gas sensors on the structural and morphological properties were investigated by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. XRD patterns revealed that the ZnO:In with wurtzite structure was grown with (1 0 0), (0 0 2), and (1 0 1) peaks. The quantity of In coating on the ZnO surface increased with increasing In concentration. The sensitivity of the ZnO:In sensors was measured for 5 ppm CH4 gas and CH3CH2CH3 gas at room temperature by comparing the resistance in air with that in target gases. The highest sensitivity to CH4 gas and CH3CH2CH3 gas of the ZnO:In sensors was observed at the In 6 wt%. The response and recovery times of the 6 wt% indiumcoated ZnO:In gas sensors were 19 s and 12 s, respectively.

La0.6Sr0.4MnO3 (LSMO) thin films, which are known as colossal magnetoresistance materials, were prepared on fused silica thin films by conventional RF magnetron sputtering, and the interfacial reactions between them were investigated by rapid thermal processing. Various analyses, namely, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy combined with energy adispersive X-ray spectrometry, and secondary ion mass spectrometry, were performed to explain the mechanism of the interfacial reactions. In the case of an LSMO film annealed at 800˚C, the layer distinction against the underplayed SiO2 was well preserved. However, when the annealing temperature was raised to 900˚C, interdiffusion and interreaction occurred. Most of the SiO2 and part of the LSMO became amorphous silicate that incorporated La, Sr, and Mn and contained a lot of bubbles. When the annealing temperature was raised to 950˚C, the whole stack became an amorphous silicate layer with expanded bubbles. The thermal instability of LSMO on fused silica should be an important consideration when LSMO is integrated into Si-based solid-state devices.

Composites of insulating polyethylene and carbon black are widely used in switching elements, conductive paint, and other applications due to the large gap of resistance value. This research addresses the critical exponent of dielectric breakdown strength of polymer matrix composites (PMC) made with carbon black and polyethylene below the percolation threshold (Pt) for the first time. Here, Pt means the volume fraction of carbon black of which the resistance of the PMC is transferred from its sharp decrease to gradual decrease in accordance with the increase of carbon-black-filled content. First, the Pt is determined based on the critical exponents of resistivity and relative permittivity. Although huge cohesive bodies of carbon black are formed in case of being less than the Pt, a percolation path connecting the conducting phases is not formed. The dielectric breakdown strength (Dbs) of the PMC below Pt is measured by using an impulse voltage in the range from 10 kV to 40 kV to avoid the effect of joule heating. Although the observed Dbs data seems to be well fitted to a straight line with a slope of 0.9 on a double logarithm of (Pt-VCB) and Dbs, the least squares method gives a slope of 0.97 for the PMC. It has been found that finite carbon-black clusters play an important role in dielectric breakdown.

Macrophages can recognize antigens and microorganisms, and then initiate an appropriate defense. However, there has been a lack of comprehensive information regarding the genes that are modulated by commensal yeasts, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae or Saccharomyces exiguus. In addition, it is not clear to what extent the beneficial yeasts modulate the immune response against microbes and/or microbial toxins. Using DNA microarray, which contains approximately 25,000 genes, we studied interactions between host cells and yeast/bacterial toxin (LPS) by analyzing the transcriptional response of macrophages stimulated by Saccharomyces exiguus and/or Lipopolysaccharides. Thirty three genes were identified to be modulated by more than two folds between groups of macrophage cells. Pathway analysis provided insight into the mutual interactions. Of particular interest was the responses elicited by fungus in murine macrophage cells, including modulation of immunity/defense, cellular signal transduction, cell proliferation/differentiation, and transport. This finding indicates that the yeast induces immune response pathways as well as those associated with cell proliferation and transport. Among the 33 genes identified from the DNA microarray screening, eight genes were further checked by RT-PCR analysis using gene specific primers. Compared to those of negative control, sequential treatment with the yeast strain followed by LPS apparently induced expression of Tnfaip3, IL7R, and CD86, while it inhibited expression of Cxcl10 and CD83. In conclusion, this study identified the genes that are up-regulated by Saccharomyces exiguus. A further study is needed in order to determine whether these genes are modulated at the protein level, and also for their roles in control of immune responses.

Immunotherapeutic approaches using agonist antibodies or fusion proteins of immunomodulatory molecules significantly inhibit tumor growth and boost cell-mediated immunity. We isolated mRNA from previously reported 1D4 hybridoma cells and amplified the variable regions of the heavy chain (VH) and light chain (VL) genes using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Using a linker, the amplified sequences for the heavy and light chains were each connected to the sequence for a single polypeptide chain that was designed to be expressed. VL and VH fragments were cloned into the pOptiVEC-TOPO vector containing the human CH2-CH3 fragment. Then, 293T cells were transfected with the 1D4 single-chain Fv-Fc (scFv-Fc) constructs. A549 cells were used for presentation of the 1D4 antigen. Flow cytometry was performed for analysis of the secreted 1D4 scFv-Fc constructs. The DNA sequence of 1D4 scFv-Fc was obtained. The 1D4 scFv-Fc constructs were expressed by the transfected 293T cells and secreted into the culture medium. The immunoreactivity of the secreted scFv-Fc construct was lower than that of the murine 1D4 antibody for A549 cells. A 1D4 scFv-Fc construct for immunotherapy was developed.

MIt is important to estimate odor impact from the emission sources located in the industrial complex to near-by residential area. To understand modeling capacity in describing the odor dispersion, we examined an accuracy of odor modeling comparing with concentric measurements of sensory odors from the industrial complex. The odor measurements were carried out 6 times at 10 sites along the concentric circles and they were compared with odor modeling results using CALMET and CALPUFF. Although there are some discrepancies between the modeled and measured odor intensities, the model could depict key characteristics of odor dispersion patterns. The uncertainties in emission data and meteorology were main causes of the discrepancies. The odor modeling procedure developed in this study can be used in odor forecasting system and odor impact assessment. In order to improve the accuracy of odor modeling, the improvement of odor emission data and systematic monitoring of the odor using sensor network are necessary in future.

In this study, a nanofibrous scaffold was obtained by co-electrospinning poly (3-hydroxybutyrate- co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and collagen in 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol at a ratio of 3/7. The fiber diameters were in the range of 250-600 nm. It was found that PHBV/Collagen (PHCP) nanofibrous scaffold showed greater proliferation than the PHBV nanofibrous scaffold induced by oxidant in NIH3T3 cells. Otherwise, in the early-stage wound-healing mouse model, wound closure was evaluated according to wound size reduction and histology of regenerated skin on the backs of mice. Each of the tissues removed on day 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 was used for analysis of biochemical and pathological changes. None of the nanofiber-attached mice showed significant difference on the third day, however, from the third day until the ninth day, significantly faster healing was observed in PHCP-attached mice, compared to control wounds in epithelialization, wound contraction, and histopathological examinations. These results strongly support the beneficial effects of biomedical application of PHCP nanofiber in acceleration of the initial phase of wound healing through α-SM actin contraction.