Background: Choosing to perform squats on an unstable surface potentially offers advantages surpassing those of their stable counterpart. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare muscle activation during squats on stable and unstable surfaces and investigate the relationship among thigh muscles. Design: Observational study. Methods: Nineteen adults participated in this study. The stable surface consisted of a flat floor. The unstable surface involved the use of an air cushion. An air cushion was positioned beneath each foot of the study participants. Surface electromyography was employed to measure muscle activation. %MVC was calculated by measuring muscle activation during squat execution and manual muscle testing. Results: The comparison of muscle activation during squats between stable and unstable surfaces revealed a significant difference in the rectus femoris and biceps femoris (P<.05). On stable surfaces, positive correlations were observed in the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, and vastus medialis (P<.05). On unstable surfaces, positive correlations were found between the rectus femoris and vastus medialis (P<.05). Conclusion: This study observed an increase in muscle activation of the rectus femoris and biceps femoris during squats on an unstable support surface compared to a stable support surface.

Timber structures are susceptible to moisture, contamination, and pest infestation, which can compromise their integrity and pose a significant fire hazard. Despite these drawbacks, timber's lightweight properties, eco-friendliness, and alignment with current architectural trends emphasizing sustainability make it an attractive option for construction. Moreover, timber structures offer economic benefits and provide a natural aesthetic that regulates building temperature and humidity. In recent years, timber domes have gained popularity due to their high recyclability, lightness, and improved fire resistance. Researchers are exploring hybrid timber and steel domes to enhance stability and rigidity. However, shallow dome structures still face challenges related to structural instability. This study investigates stability problems associated with timber domes, the behavior of timber and steel hybrid domes, and the impact of timber member positioning on dome stability and critical load levels. The paper analyzes unstable buckling in single-layer lattice domes using an incremental analysis method. The critical buckling load of the domes is examined based on the arrangement of timber members in the inclined and horizontal directions. The analysis shows that nodal snapping is observed in the case of a concentrated load, whereas snap-back is also observed in the case of a uniform load. Furthermore, the use of inclined timber and horizontal steel members in the lattice dome design provides adequate stability.

Background: The scapulo-thoracic musculatures including serratus anterior (SA), upper trapezius and lower trapezius can provide shoulder stability and functional shoulder movement. Objects: The muscle activities of upper and lower SA were compared during three different scapular protraction exercises in healthy individuals in sitting position. Methods: Twenty-five healthy subjects were participated. Electromyography device was used to measure muscle activity of upper and lower SA and trapezius muscles. Each subject was asked to perform three different scapular protraction exercises (scapular protraction [SP], SP with self-resistance [SPSR], SPSR with hand-exerciser [SPSRH]) in random order. One-way repeated measures analysis of the variance and a Bonferroni post hoc test were used. Results: The muscle activity of lower SA muscle was significantly different among three conditions (SP vs. SPSR vs. SPSRH) (p < 0.01). The lower SA muscle activity was significantly greater during SPSRH compared to SP and SPSR, which required joint stability more than SP and SPSR (p < 0.01). Conclusion: SPSRH exercise can be recommended to facilitate the muscle activity of lower SA. In addition, the intramuscular variation in the upper and lower SA during scapular protraction exercise is required to consider the effective rehabilitation.

Background: Weakness of the trunk muscles decreases the trunk control ability of stroke patients, which is significantly related to balance and gait. Objectives: To compare the impact of diagonal pattern self-exercise on an unstable surface and a stable surface for trunk rehabilitation on trunk control, balance, and gait ability in stroke patients. Design: Nonequivalent control group design. Methods: Twenty four participants were randomized into the experimental group (diagonal pattern self-exercise while sitting on an unstable surface, n=12) and the control group (diagonal pattern self-exercise while sitting on a stable surface, n=12). All interventions were conducted for 30 minutes, three times a week for four weeks, and the trunk impairment scale (TIS), berg balance scale (BBS), functional gait assessment (FGA), and G-walk were measured. Results: All groups indicated significant increases in all variables (TIS, BBS, FGA, cadence, speed, stride length) after four weeks. The TIS, BBS, FGA, cadence, gait speed, and stride length group-by-time were significantly different between the two groups. Conclusion: We found that, in stroke patients, diagonal pattern self-exercise on an unstable surface is a more effective method for improving trunk control, balance, and gait ability than diagonal pattern self-exercise on a stable surface.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of stable and unstable bridging exercises on the EMG activity of abdominal muscles. Twenty healthy women participated in this study and the muscle activities of left-right rectus abdominis (RA), external oblique (EO), and internal oblique (IO) muscles were recorded during 4 bridging exercises (unilateral/ bilateral, stable/unstable). The activity of the right EO muscle was the highest during unilateral exercise in unstable condition, and left EO muscle also produced the same result. The activity of the right IO muscle was the highest during unilateral exercise in an unstable condition, and left IO muscle also produced the same result. The activity of the right RA muscle was the highest during unilateral exercise in a stable condition, and left RA muscle produced the same result. Unstable/unilateral (USUL) represented the highest activity among the 4 exercises. EO/IO muscles represented the highest activity during the USUL exercise, and RA did so during the stable/unilateral exercise. These results suggest that specific posture (USUL) can be administered targeting a specific side of abdominal muscles.

This study examines changes in walking ability among patients with stroke after applying dual-task training under the condition of visual control and unstable supporting ground; the purpose is to provide reference data for selecting intervention methods that enhance the walking ability of patients with stroke. Among the patients with stroke who received rehabilitation treatment(at Rehabilitation Hospital B in Gyeonggi, South Korea from May 2014 to July 2014), 29 patients were selected as research subjects; all of them understood the purpose and contents of this research and agreed to participate in the experiment. The research subjects were divided into a visual control and unstable supporting ground dual-task(VUDT) group(10 patients), a visual control dual-task(VDT) group(10 patients), and an unstable supporting ground dual-task(UDT) group(9 patients); all of the subjects received 30-minute trainings, three times a week for a total of four weeks. A Timed-Up-and-Go(TUG) test was performed to investigate the change of walking function among the subjects, and a 10m walking test was conducted to measure their walking speed. According to the study results, all three groups showed significant differences after dual-task training; the dual-task training group under the condition of visual control and unstable supporting ground showed the most prominent change. This study confirmed that dual-task training using visual control and unstable supporting ground has a positive impact on the walking ability of patients with stroke. Through the study results, we found that implementing dual-task training under the condition of visual control and unstable supporting ground can more effectively improve the walking ability of patients with stroke, rather than performing visual control dual-task training or unstable supporting ground dual-task training only.

This paper investigates the characteristics of unstable behaviour and critical buckling load by joint rigidity of framed large spatial structures which are sensitive to initial conditions. To distinguish the stable from the unstable, a singular point on equilibrium path and a critical buckling level are computed by the eigenvalues and determinants of the tangential stiffness matrix. For the case study, a two-free node example and a folded plate typed long span example with 325 nodes are adopted, and these adopted examples' nonlinear analysis and unstable characteristics are analyzed. The numerical results in the case of the two-free node example indicate that as the influence of snap-through is bigger; that of bifurcation buckling is lower than that of the joint rigidity as the influence of snap-through is lower. Besides, when the rigidity decreases, the critical buckling load ratio increases. These results are similar to those of the folded-typed long span example. When the buckling load ratio is 0.6 or less, the rigidity greatly increases.

The objective of this study was to determine the duration of maintained calf muscle flexibility gained in young adults with calf muscle tightness, as measured by increases in ankle active and passive dorsiflexion range of motion (DFROM) after three stretching interventions. Twenty subjects (5 men and 15 women) with calf muscle tightness received the following three stretching interventions in one leg (assigned at random): static stretching (SS), eccentric training on stable surface (ETS), and eccentric training on unstable surfaces (ETU). The subjects received all three interventions to the same leg, applied in a random order. Each intervention had a break of at least 24 h in-between, in order to minimize any carryover effect. Each intervention used two types of stretching: with the calf muscle stretched and both knees straight, and with the knee slightly bent in order to maximize the activation of the soleus muscle. All three interventions were performed for 200 seconds. We measured the duration of maintained calf muscle flexibility through active and passive ankle DFROM before intervention, immediately after intervention (time 0), and then 3, 6, 9, 15, and 30 min after intervention. We found a difference in the duration of maintained calf muscle flexibility between the three interventions. In the ETS and ETU interventions, a significant improvement in calf muscle flexibility, both ankle active and passive dorsiflexion ranges of motion (ADFROM and PDFROM), was maintained for 30 min. In the SS intervention, however, ADFROM before 9 min and PDFROM before 6 min were statistically different from the baseline. Our results suggest that ETS and ETU may be more effective than SS for maintaining calfmuscle flexibility in young adults.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the changes in the electromyographic (EMG) activity of the trunk and the lower limb muscles during quiet standing on an unstable surface while wearing low-heeled shoes (3 ㎝), high-heeled shoes (7 ㎝) and without footwear (0 ㎝) in 20 young healthy women. The subjects stood on an unstable surface for 30 seconds. We examined the differences in the EMG data of the erector spinae, rectus abdominis, biceps femoris, rectus femoris, tibialis anterior, and the gastrocnemius medialis muscle. A one-way repeated analysis of variance was used to compare the effects of shoe heel height on the EMG activity with the level of significance set at α=.05. The EMG activity of the erector spinae and the rectus femoris were significantly increased (p<.05) in the subjects who wore elevated heel height, while the tibialis anterior and the gastrocnemius medialis were significantly decreased (p<.05). However, the rectus abdominis and the biceps femoris exhibited no significant difference among the three conditions. The above results indicate that wearing high-heeled shoes may change the postural strategy. The findings of this study suggest that excessive heel height could contribute to an increased fall risk during quiet standing.

The purpose of this study is to observe how balance exercise on an unstable platform and on a stable platform affects balance ability. The subjects were 35 adults in their 20s and were randomly assigned to a stable platform group and an unstable platform group. They performed balance exercise three times per week for six weeks. Balance exercise introduced by previous research was modified and complemented for use in this study. Balance ability of the subjects was measured through center of pressure(COP) area, medial-lateral displacement, and anterior-posterior displacement using a portable balance platform BT4. There was significant difference in the COP area between the unstable platform exercise group and the stable platform exercise group. In comparison in differences between the unstable platform exercise group and the stable platform exercise group after the exercise, there was significant difference in anteriorposterior movement. Therefore, exercise on an unstable platform is more effective than exercise on a stable platform in strengthening balance ability.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of sit-to-stand training on unstable surfaces in individuals with stroke. Nineteen subjects with chronic stroke were divided into two groups: an experimental group (10 subjects) and a control group (9 subjects). They received 30 minutes of Neuro-developmental therapy (NDT) treatment, and sit-to-stand exercise for 15 minutes three times a week for four weeks. During the sit-to-stand training, the experimental group performed on an unstable AIREX balance pad, but the control group performed on a stable surface. Balance ability and weight-bearing distribution during quiet standing were measured before and after training period using the 7-item Berg balance scale-3P (BBS-3P) and the Five-times-sit-to-stand test (FTSST). In addition, the muscle strength of the knee extensor was evaluated before and after the training period. The results were as follows: 1) The weight-bearing distribution forward of the affected leg, increased significantly in the experimental group after the four-week intervention (p<.05), 2) The 7-item BBS-3P and FTSST increased significantly in the experimental group after the four-week intervention (p<.05), 3) The knee extensor muscle strength in both groups increased significantly after the four-week intervention (p<.05). In conclusion, the results of this study did not show that the sit-to-stand training on an unstable surface was more effective than on a stable surface. However, the results suggested that sit-to-stand training is effective in the balance training of stroke patients.

The paternal sex ratio (PSR) chromosome is considered as an extremely selfish genetic element. It has only been found in the two hymenopteran insects- Nasonia and Trichogramma- with haplodiploid sex determination. When an egg is fertilized by sperm bearing PSR, the paternal genome is destroyed by PSR soon after fertilization resulting in haploid restoration and the egg develops into a male with only the maternal genome and PSR itself. Recently PSR is paid much attention, since it may be used for controlling haplodiploid pests. PSR can be successfully transferred from its natural host, T. kaykai to the novel host, T. deion. In the two hosts another sex ratio distorter, Wolbachia, is found. Wolbachia is a cytoplasmically inherited bacterium that induces parthenogenesis in this genus resulting in female offspring production without fertilization. The transmission efficiency of PSR in T. deion is lower than that in T. kaykai and is negatively influenced by the Wolbachia infection. The results show that 1) there is a negative host genetic background effect on the transmission of PSR in the novel host, 2) the transmission efficiency becomes even lower, when PSR males are infected with Wolbachia. The results imply that complex interactions among the bacterium, PSR and the species specific genetic background.

Sintered steels are materials characterized by residual porosity, whose dimension and morphology strongly affect the fatigue crack growth behaviour of the material. Prismatic specimens were pressed at from Astaloy CrM powder and sintered varying the sintering temperature and the cooling rate. Optical observations allowed to evaluate the dimensions and the morphology of the porosity and the microstructural characteristics. Fatigue tests were performed to investigate the threshold zone and to calculate the Paris law. Moreover tests were performed to complete the investigation. Both on fatigue and samples a fractographic analysis was carried out to investigate the crack path and the fracture surface features. The results show that the Paris law crack growth exponent is around 6.0 for sintered and around 4.7 for sintered materials. The same dependence to process parameters is not found for .

대공간 구조는 3차원적인 힘의 흐름과 면내력에 의해 외부하중에 대한 저항능력을 확보하는 형태저항형 구조로서 기본적인 구조저항 메커니즘은 구조물 자체의 곡률을 이용하여 면외방향으로 작용하는 외력을 주로 면내력으로 저항할 수 있게 한 구조시스템이다. 따라서 최소의 재료로, 가볍고 얇게 대공간을 만들 수 있는 장점이 있다. 대공간 구조시스템 중 연성 구조물의 일종인 막 구조, 케이블 구조 또는 복합 구조체로서의 막-케이블 구조물의 비약적인 발전이 최근 주목을 끌고 있다. 즉, 기존의 일반 구조재보다 가볍고 축 강성은 강하나 휨 강성은 매우 작은 막 및 케이블을 사용하여 대공간 구조물을 보다 효과적으로 구축할 수 있는 구조시스템을 말한다. 그러나, 이러한 구조물은 하중 레벨이 어느 임계값에 도달하면 구조물의 형상에 따라 뜀좌굴(snap-through) 또는 분기좌굴(bifurcation)에 의한 불안정 현상이 일어나며, 이로 인한 파괴 메커니즘의 파악은 구조설계에서 매우 중요하다. 본 연구에서는 텐세그리티형 케이블 돔 구조물의 구조시스템에 따른 정적 불안정 거동 특성을 파악하기 위해 먼저, 형상해석을 통해 복합 케이블 돔 구조물인 Geiger형, Zetlin형 및 Flower형 케이블 돔 구조물의 초기응력에 의한 형상을 결정하고, 형상해석 결과를 기준으로 하여 정적 외력에 의한 불안정 문제를 파악하고자 한다.

트러스형 공간 구조물은 무주의 대공간을 덮을 수 있는 장점과 구조적 성질이 동일한 등가 연속체 쉘 로 치환하여도 비교적 정확한 해를 얻을 수 있다는 장점으로 인해 21세기 첨단 구조물의 한 장인 초대형 구조물 분야에 많이 활용되고 있으며, 효율적인 부재의 이용과 대량생산의 가능성으로 인해 많은 발전을 해 왔다. 그러나 이러한 쉘 형태의 공간 구조물은 구조 거동의 특성상 주로 구조안정문제가 구조설계에서 해결해야하는 핵심적인 기술력이 되며, 이를 어떻게 해결하여야 할 것인가의 문제는 아직도 많은 연구자들에게 난제로 남아 있다. 즉, 연속체 쉘 구조의 원리에서 긴 경간을 얇게 만들면, 뜀좌굴과 분기좌굴같은 불안정 거동이 나타나게 되며, 이러한 쉘형 구조 시스템에서 구조 불안정 문제의 특징은 초기 조건에 매우 민감하게 반응한다는 것이고, 이런 문제들은 수학적으로 비선형 문제에 귀착하게 된다. 따라서, 본 논문에서는 공간 프레임형 구조물의 불안정 현상을 살펴보기 위하여, 다양한 파라메타중 초기불완전량과 rise-span 비가 트러스 구조물의 불안정 현상에 미치는 영향을 알아보고자 하며, 이를 위해 1-자유절점 공간구조물, 2-자유절점 공간구조물, 다-자유절점 공간구조물을 예제로 채택하여 불안정 거동을 살펴보고자 한다.

막이나 케이블 요소는 재료의 경량성과 유연성으로 인해 여타의 철강이나 콘크리트와는 다른 대공간 구조물이다. 막이나 케이블 요소가 유연성을 가지는 이유는 휨 강성이 인장 강성에 비해 무시할 수 있을 정도로 아주 작기 때문이다. 이러한 막이나 케이블 구조물이 강성 구조물과 다른 가장 큰 특징중의 하나는 전체적인 구조물을 구성하는 부재들에 의하여 발생하게 되는 변위보다는 구조물 자체의 변형이 더 지배적이다. 다시 말하면, 이러한 구조물은 변형없이 대변위를 발생시킨다는 것이다. 본 논문에서는 이러한 변위를 '불신장 변위(inextensible displacement)'라고 부른다. 그리고 불신장 변위가 발생하는 구조물을 '불안정 구조물'이라고 정의한다. 따라서, 이러한 불안정한 구조물을 안정한 구조물의 형태로 이행하기 위한 과정이 필요하고 이러한 과정을 '불안정 구조물의 안정화 이행과정'이라고 한다. 기존에는 준정적인 해석을 통해 구조물의 초기 불안정 형태를 안정화 시켰다. 여기서 '준정적'이라고 하는 것은 시간에 따라 속도는 일정하고 가속도는 존재하지 않는다는 것이다. 더 나아가 로봇공학, 생물역학 그리고 대공간 구조물에의 적용을 위하여 이러한 종류의 구조물을 동적인 메카니즘하에서 구속되어 있는 다수요소로써 모델화하는 연구가 진행되어졌다. 본 논문에서는 불안정 구조물의 동적 해석을 위한 정식화 과정중에서 수치적인 방법을 제안하였다. 제안된 방법은 기존의 동적 해석기법과는 달리 본 논문에서는 차원을 저감시키는 수치해석기법으로써 RREF를 이용하였고, 불신장 변위모드를 추출함으로써 불안정 구조물의 동적 거동을 추적하였다. 본 논문에서 제안하는 수치해석기법을 이용하면 불안정 구조물의 효율적인 동적 해석이 가능하다는 것을 알 수 있었고, 나아가서 이러한 방법은 트러스 구조물 뿐만 아니라, 케이블이나 막 구조, 케이블과 막이 결합된 형태인 복합구조물에도 그 응용이 가능하리라고 사료된다.

There exists a structural problem for link structures in the unstable state. The primary characteristics of this problem are in the existence of rigid body displacements without strain, and in the possibility of the introduction of prestressing to change an unstable state into a stable state. When we make local linearized incremental equations in order to obtain knowledge about these unstable structures, the determinant of the coefficient matrices is zero, so that we face a numerically unstable situation. This is similar to the situation in the stability problem. To avoid such a difficult situation, in this paper a simple and straightforward method was presented by means of the generalized inverse for the numerical analysis of stability problem.

The structural system that discreterized from continuous shells is frequently used to make a large space structures. As well these structures show the unstable phenomena when a load level over the limit load, and snap-through and bifurcation are most well known of it. For the collapse mechanism, rise-span ratio, element stiffness and load mode are main factor, which it give an effect to unstable behavior. In our real situation, most structures have semi-rigid joint that has middle characteristic between pin and rigid joint. So the knowledge of semi-rigid joint is very important problem of stable large space structure. And the instability phenemena of framed space structures show a strong non-linearity and very sensitive behavior according to the joint rigidity For this reason In this study, we are investigating to unstable problem of framed structure with semi-rigidity and to grasp the nonlinear instability behavior that make the fundamental collapse mechanism of the large space frame structures with semi-rigid joint, by proposed the numerical analysis method. Using the incremental stiffness matrix in chapter 2, we study instability of space structures.