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This study investigated the effect of digital therapeutics on ROM, flexibility, dynamic balance, satisfaction, and adherence. A sample of 34 volunteers was randomly assigned into a Digital Therapeutic Group (DTG) (n = 17) and a Non-Digital Therapeutic Group (NDG) (n = 17). The groups performed four calf muscle stretches and two hamstring stretches for 4 weeks. Flexibility and balance were evaluated to assess the effectiveness of the exercise program. A survey was conducted to assess subjects’ satisfaction, and exercise performance record papers and video records were assessed for exercise adherence. The paired t-test was used to compare the two populations before and after the program. The independent t-test was used to compare the change scores between groups. In the pre- and post-comparison within each group, the DTG group showed significant differences in all items except the dorsiflexion range of motion (ROM) (p < 0.05). The left straight leg raise (SLR) was significantly different (p < 0.05), and there was a significant difference in exercise satisfaction and participation between the two groups (p < 0.05). DTG showed improved flexibility, dynamic balance, and higher exercise satisfaction and adherence than NDG. The application, providing lower extremity stretching, can improve dorsiflexion ROM, flexibility of the lower extremity, dynamic balance, exercise satisfaction, and exercise adherence.

The present study investigated the feasibility and effectiveness of pseudo-weight resistance training using mixed-reality (MR) technology for shoulder muscle activation in healthy individuals. Thirty-two healthy students aged 20~35 years participated in this preliminary study and were divided into two groups. Participants in the MR group received 30 min of training three times a week for 4 weeks using a customized MR-based pseudo-weight resistance training system. Those in the control group performed the same exercises using a conventional training program. Muscle activation of the deltoids, upper trapezius, infraspinatus, and supraspinatus were measured before and after the intervention. There was a statistically significant difference in middle deltoid, upper trapezius, and supraspinatus muscle activation in the MR group (p < 0.05), while the control group showed a significant difference in the anterior and middle deltoid, upper trapezius, and supraspinatus (p < 0.05). Regarding the between-group comparison, no statistically significant difference was observed for all six muscles (p > 0.05). Without any superiority of physical weight resistance training in the pseudo-weight training program, an MR-based pseudo-weight resistance training system can potentially be used for muscle-strengthening training, especially for early rehabilitation programs. However, further study using a large sample size with a long experimental duration is needed for more evidence of the presented technology and its use in home training.

Objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate hypertension with simple anthropometry data related to obesity in Korean adults and identify whether age specific waist circumference (WC) may be a useful screening tool for determining hypertension. Methods Subjects (n = 571) were classified into 3 groups by age; young (18–39 years), middle aged (40–64 years), and old aged (≥ 65 years). Correlations between demographic and anthropometric parameters and hypertension were performed using Spearman correlation analysis. Logistic regression analysis and ROC (receiver operating characteristics) curves were also analyzed for correlations with hypertension. Results Spearman correlation analyses, age, gender, WC, and body mass index were positively correlated with hypertension. When logistic regression analysis was performed, increased age and increased WC was associated with a higher incidence of hypertension, although gender and body mass index were not significantly related to hypertension. In ROC analysis of WC for hypertension demonstrated that patients in the old age group showed higher WC cutoff value than patients in the young and middle aged groups. Conclusion The findings of this study demonstrate that WC may be a useful predictor of hypertension incidence among demographic and anthropometric factors in Korean adults. In addition, WC in the young population was more sensitive to the incidence of hypertension than in the elderly population.

Background and objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of hip joint abduction an-gle change on trunk muscle activities during plank exercise. Materials and methods: This study was conducted with 34 subjects but 4 subjects dropped out during the measurement and 30 subjects completed the study. Muscle activities were measured while performing plank exercise with hip joint abduction angles at 0, 15, 30, or 45 degrees. Electrodes were placed on four muscles: rectus abdominis, external oblique, internal oblique, and erector spinae muscles. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to analyze the interaction between hip joint abduction angle and trunk muscle activities. One-way repeated measures ANOVA was performed to determine trunk muscle activities of each muscle at each hip joint abduction angle. Eta-squared (η2) values were used to determine effect sizes. Results: A significant interaction was found between hip joint abduction angle and muscle type (p < 0.05). Hip joint abduction angle was significantly associated with rectus abdominis and erector spinae activities (p < 0.05). Conclusions: When the hip joint is abducted during plank exercise in healthy young adults, the muscle activities of rectus abdominis and erector spinae are inversely proportional to hip joint abduction angles.

Background: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of horse-riding simulator (HRS) exercise on balance control ability and gait in the elderly with dementia. Material and Methods: This study was conducted on people aged 65 years or older living in D city (Korea) enrolled in the day care center with a diagnosis of dementia as documented by the Korean Ministry of Health andWelfare. The control group performed the same exercise therapy previously performed at the center for 30 minutes (per session), and the experimental group performed the conventional intervention (15 minutes per session) and HRS exercise (15 minutes per session). In both groups, intervention was performed 3 times a week for 8 weeks. Functional reach test (FRT), timed up-and-go (TUG), 10 MeterWalk Test (10MWT), and Short Form Berg Balance Scale (SFBBS) tests were used measured to evaluate balance control ability and gait ability before and after intervention to confirm its effect. Results: Pre-intervention no intergroup differences were found between FRT, TUG, 10MWT, or SFBBS results. (p > 0.05). However, post-intervention comparison, the experimental group had significantly better FRT, TUG, 10MWT, and SFBBS results (p < 0.05). Conclusion: We found HRS exercise and exercise therapy improved balance control ability and gait speed, and that HRS exercise produced better results than convention exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Tibial rotation accompanying sagittal movement contains the phenomenon of screw-home movement (SHM) of the knee, which plays an important role in knee stability during extension. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the change of SHM in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: Thirty-one sex-matched patients with knee OA and 31 normal subjects were recruited. The total tibial rotation was obtained during knee sagittal movement (extension and flexion) using an inertial measurement unit. The acquired angle of tibial rotation was divided into eight periods. The total tibial rotation and the variation of each period were compared between the OA and control groups. The difference in tibial rotation according to Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) grade was compared. RESULTS: The total tibial rotation of the OA group decreased compared with the control group during knee extension and flexion (P< 0.001). Variations of tibial rotation were significantly different between groups in all periods (P< 0.001) except for knee extension at 70° to 45° (P= 0.081). There was no significant difference in tibial rotations among the KA grades of OA patients. CONCLUSION: We found a reduction in the total tibial rotation and loss of the SHM in the unloaded OA knee. It could be predicted that reduced SHM appeared early in knee OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study was performed to establish the relationship between these diseases by analysing the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its link to pulmonary dysfunction. Material and Methods: This study obtained data from the 6th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES, 2013-2015), a cross-sectional and nationally representative survey conducted by the Korean Centres forDiseases Control and Prevention. Results: Of the 8,156 participants included in this study, the prevalence rate of restrictive pattern in the subjects of this study was 8.71% and 14.39% in the obstructive pattern. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 29.38%. The results of the relationship between pulmonary function and metabolic syndrome throughlogistic regression analysis showed a significant difference in the restrictive pattern, but no difference in the obstructive pattern, in odds ratio corrected for variables that could affect metabolic syndrome and pulmonary dysfunction (restrictive: OR 1.308, 95% CI 1.024-1.671; obstructive: OR0.928, 95%CI0.739-1.166). Conclusion: The conclusion of this study found that, rather than obstructive pattern, the restrictive pattern was highly correlated with metabolic syndrome regardless of the confounding variables or riskfactors of various metabolic syndromes that could be mediated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives: This study analyzed the correlations between the FES and fall risk assessment tools in the frail elderly. Methods: This study was conducted with 44 female elderly residing in the nursing facility in Y city, Korea. Subjects conducted fall risk assessment tools such as 10 meter walk test (10MWT), functional reach test (FRT), short form berg balance scale (SFBBS) and timed up & go test (TUG). Tinetti Falls Efficacy Scale (FES) was used to measure fear of falling. Correlations between the FES and fall risk assessment tools and among the tools were accessed through Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: FES had positive linear correlation with TUG (p <0.05) and negative linear correlation with 10MWT and SFBBS (p <0.05). There were linear correlations among fall risk assessment tools (FRT, TUG, 10MWT, and SFBBS) (p <0.05). Conclusions: Activities with higher risk of falling are greatly affected by fear of falling because of increased posture instability during movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze the correlation between scapular asymmetry in young female adults and differences in left and right side activity of muscles adjacent to the scapula. Methods: This study included 60 female students from U university in Korea. In order to examine scapular asymmetry, the lateral scapular slide test (LSST) was used. The LSST was performed in 3 different postures (LSST-1, LSST-2, and LSST-3; i.e., 0°, 45°, and 90° of upper limb abduction, respectively). Muscle activity was measured during external and internal rotation of the shoulder joints. Muscle activity was measured at the upper, middle, and lower trapezius, and the serratus anterior. Results: In external shoulder rotation, there was a significant correlation (R = 0.450) between LSST-2 and the middle trapezius. In internal shoulder rotation, there was a significant correlation (R = 0.472) between LSST-2 and the upper trapezius, and between LSST-3 and the lower trapezius (R = 0.657); these results demonstrated a moderate positive linear correlation. Conclusion: There was a positive correlation between left and right scapular asymmetry and the difference in left and right muscle activity of the trapezius in female adults. Problems in the trapezius may lead to scapular asymmetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial distributions and temporal variations of trace metals in Korean coastal sediments were investigated by determining seven metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, and Zn) in sediment collected from 71 stations between 2004 and 2010 (n=491). Highmetal concentrations were found in the southeastern coast, where there aremany cities and industrial complexes, indicating that metal concentrations in Korean coastal sediment are significantly influenced by human activities associated with urbanization and industrialization. However, metal concentrations in sediment did not markedly vary temporally,which was because the coast is managed sustainably and because of the characteristics of the sediment environments. Based on the sediment quality guidelines and geoaccumulation index, Korean coastal sediments are practically unpolluted with Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn but moderately polluted with As. More intensive monitoring is required to determine the potential As sources and to understand the As geochemical cycles in Korean coastal sediments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the impact of cervical stabilization exercise for a period of 5 weeks on active joint position sense in healthy young adults. Topics discussed include the assignation of research subjects into the control and exercise groups, the involvement of the latter in a cervical stabilization exercise program, and measurement of the cervical active joint position sense by utilizing the head repositioning accuracy test. Improved sense for four position senses is mentioned.

The effects of ammonia and nitrite on survival, growth and moulting were investigated in juvenile tiger crab,Orithyia sinica(carapace length 3.91±0.15 mm, carapace width 3.84±0.23 mm,n=440), after 30 days exposure to ammonia-N (0, 20, 50, 100 and 150 mg L−1) and nitrite-N (0, 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 mg L−1) using a continuous flow system. Survival rates of tiger crab exposed to ammonia and nitrite decreased linearly with the exposure time and concentration. The growth rate of tiger crab exposed to 50, 100 and 150 mg L−1 ammonia was significantly lower than that of control crabs. The growth rate of tiger crab exposed to nitrite decreased at 150, 200 and 250 mg L−1 nitrite. During the ammonia and nitrite exposure, the intermoult period of the juveniles of tiger crabO. sinicawas shortened between the first and second moult, and the number of moulting of crabs exposed to a higher concentration were significantly higher than that of control crabs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiments were carried out to investigate the growth and haematological parameters in juvenile rockfish, Sebastes schlegeli, exposed to sub-chronic dietary cadmium (Cd) (0, 0.5, 5, 25, and 125 mg kg−1) for 60 days. The daily growth rates of weight and length of the rockfish were significantly different from control, and a significant inverse relationship was observed between weight gain and the exposure concentration of dietary Cd at 25 and 125 mg kg−1 ( P<0.05). Glucose in serum was also increased significantly ( P<0.05). The concentration of total protein in serum was significantly lower than control at 5, 25, and 125 mg kg−1. No differences were observed in serum calcium concentration. The magnesium concentration in serum was increased significantly with dietary Cd concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]