Earticle

Objective To evaluate the effect of hyaluronidase in lumbar interlaminar epidural injection (LIEI) for low back pain and sciatica. Method Sixty-one patients suffering from severe low back pain and sciatica were randomly allocated into three groups. Group T (n=18, mean duration of illness: 2.12±1.16 months) received lumbar interlaminar epidural injection (LIEI) with 2 ml triamcinolone (40 mg/ml) and 5 ml bupivacaine (0.25%). Group H (n=16, mean duration of illness: 2.05±1.12 months) received LIEI with 1,500 IU hyaluronidase and 5 ml bupivacaine (0.25%). Group TH (n=27, mean duration of illness: 2.16±1.65 months) received LIEI with 1,500 IU hyaluronidase, 2 ml triamcinolone (40 mg/ml), and 5 ml bupivacaine (0.25%). Th e eff ects were evaluated using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) at preinjection and 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks after LIEI. Results Pain improved in all groups after 2 weeks (p<0.05). After 8 weeks, there was no signifi cant diff erence in VAS improvement among the 3 groups. However, pain improved in 70.4% of Group TH compared with preinjection,in contrast to 44.4% of Group T and 31.3% of Group H. Th e ODI improved signifi cantly only in Group TH after 8weeks (p<0.05). Conclusion LIEI with triamcinolone and hyaluronidase is more effective for reducing pain after 8 weeks than injection with triamcinolone or hyaluronidase alone.

Objective: Active joint mobilization (AJM) is an effective strategy for treating chronic ankle instability. Recent studies have shown that incorporating blood-flow restriction (BFR) training into joint exercise programs can enhance physical function. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of BFR during active joint mobilization in individuals with chronic ankle instability. Design: A pilot randomized controlled trial. Methods: Thirty participants with chronic ankle instability were randomly assigned to either the BFR plus AJM group (n=15) or the AJM group (n=15). The BFR plus AJM group had BFR applied during the AJM, while the AJM group did not. AJM was performed 10 times with voluntary movement, and BFR was performed only during AJM. Static and dynamic balance abilities were assessed using standardized measurements before and after the study. Data were compared using appropriate statistical analysis. Results: The results showed statistically significant improvements in static and dynamic balance abilities after the AJM intervention program in both the BFR and non-BFR groups (p<0.05). However, the BFR group demonstrated greater improvements in dynamic balance abilities compared to the non-BFR group(p<0.05). Applying BFR during AJM in individuals with CAI was found to be an effective strategy for improving static and dynamic balance abilities. Conclusions: These findings suggest that BFR may be beneficial for the treatment of CAI. Further research is needed to evaluate the long-term effects and safety of BFR training in this population.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an additional weight aquatic exercise program on the balance and lower extremity strength on aquatic environment in persons with stroke. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Methods: All subjects were randomly divided into three groups where thirteen subjects were in the additional weight aquatic exercise group, twelve subjects in the aquatic exercise group, and fifteen subjects in the control group. Subjects received a graded aquatic exercise program for 30 minutes, with 3 sessions per week for 6 weeks, and subjects in all groups received conventional physical therapy. All subjects were assessed with the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Berg Balance scale (BBS), Timed Up and Go test (TUG), and 10-meter walk test (10MWT) pre and post intervention. Results: The MRC, BBS, TUG, and 10MWT scores significantly improved post-intervention (p<0.05), and the control group also had significantly improved in all areas post-treatment (p<0.05). In addition, it has been confirmed that the additional weight aquatic exercise group had significantly improved in MRC, BBS, and TUG scores compared with the aquatic exercise and control group (p<0.05). Conclusions: The findings of this study suggested that the additional weight aquatic exercise program improves lower extremity and balance in persons with stroke.

Objective: To study the effects of gait training with additional weight and gait training with non-additional weight on balance ability and gait ability in patients with chronic stroke through comparative analysis. Design: Randomized controlled trials. Methods: The subjects were divided randomly into two groups: additional weight group (AWG, n=12), and non-additional weight group (NAWG, n=10). Both groups received general physical therapy for 30 min in 1 session, 5 sessions per week during 6 months. The AWG practiced gait training with additional weight of 0.1 and 0.5 kg for 20 min a day, 3 days per week for 6 months and the NAWG practiced gait training with non-additional weight for 20 min a day, 3 days per week for 6 months. Patients in both groups were instructed to walk as fast as they could along a 35 m long track (straight for 20 m and curved for 15 m). Patients walked with their hemiplegic side on the inside of the track while a physical therapist followed along to instruct patients to maintain a straight posture. Balance ability was tested with the Functional Reach Test, the Timed Up and Go test, and the Berg Balance Scale, and gait ability was tested with GAITRite. The results of balance and gait ability were analyzed before and after interventions. Results: A significant increase in FRT, TUG, BBS was seen in both groups after intervention (p<0.05). A significant increase in gait ability was seen in the AWG after intervention (p<0.05). For balance and gait ability, the results from the AWG was significantly improved compared with the NAWG (p<0.05). Conclusions: Gait training with additional weight improves balance ability and gait ability in stroke patients, this gait training method is effective and suitable for stroke patients to increase the ability of functional performance.

For designing broadcast protocols in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs), one of the important goals is to reduce the rebroadcast packets redundancy while reaching all the nodes in network. In this paper, we propose a probabilistic broadcasting mechanism based on selfishness and additional coverage in MANETs. Our approach dynamically adjusts the rebroadcast probability according to the extra covered area and number of neighbor nodes. By these two factors, mobile hosts can be classified into three groups: normal, low selfishness, and high selfishness groups. The nodes in the normal group forward packets for other nodes with high probability, whereas the nodes in the low selfishness group rebroadcast packets with low probability and the nodes in the high selfishness group do not rebroadcast packets. We compared our approach with simple flooding and the fixed probabilistic approach. The simulation results show that the proposed schemes can significantly reduce the number of retransmissions by up to 40% compared simple flooding and fixed probabilistic scheme without significant reduction in the network reachability and end-to-end packet delay.

Purpose: This purpose of this study was to compare additionally applied weight underwater gait training and over-ground gait training to improve balance and lower extremity strength in stroke patients. Methods: Subjects were randomly allocated into two groups. Underwater gait training group (n=10) and Over-ground gait training group (n=9). The groups performed their respective programs as well as conventional physical therapy 3 times/week for 6 weeks. All subjects were assessed with the Berg balance scale test, the timed up and go test, and the medical research council test pre and post intervention. A paired t test was applied to compare the differences before and after the intervention, and an independent t test was used to compare the differences between the groups. The level of statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results: The results showed that subjects in the underwater gait training group had a significantly increased Berg balance scale, timed up and go, and medical research council scores (p<0.05), and over-ground gait training group showed a significantly increased medical research council score (p<0.05) after intervention. The underwater gait training group showed a more significant improvement in medical research council, Berg balance scale and the timed up and go test scores compared to the over-ground gait training group (p<0.05). Conclusion: Findings of this study suggest that applying additional weight during underwater gait training improves lower extremity strength and balance in stroke patients. It' findings can contribute to the development of more efficient rehabilitation for stroke patients.

Most engineering components are subjected to multiaxial rather than uniaxial cyclic loading, which causes multiaxial fatigue. The pre-requisite to predict the fatigue life of such components is to determine the multiaxial stress-strain relationship. In this paper the multiaxial cyclic stress-strain model under proportional loading is derived using the modified power law stress-strain relationship. The equivalent strain amplitude consisted of the normal strain excursion and maximum shear strain amplitude is used in the proportional model to include the additional hardening effect due to nonproportional loading. Therefore a new multiaxial cyclic stress-strain relationship is devised for out of phase nonproportional loading. The model is applied to the nonproportional loading case and the results are compared with the other researchers' experimental data published in the literature, which are in a reasonable agreement with the experimental data. The relationship presented here is convenient for the engineering applications.

Objective: Core training is a key exercise for conditioning and fitness programs, injury prevention, and more. This study aimed to find out the effect of adding dynamic core training, which is frequently prescribed in clinical practice, on dynamic balance and muscle activity compared to conventional static core training. Design: An experimental study Methods: This study is an experimental pilot study of prospective parallel design. Six healthy young adults were allocated to static core training group (SCG; crunch and plank) and blended group (BG; crunch, plank, and dead bug exercise) for two weeks to perform core training. Dynamic balance and muscle activity (erector spinae, rectus abdominis) were measured for all participants before and after core training. Results: All six healthy young adults enrolled completed the study. No significant difference was found before and after 6 sessions of core training in each group (P>0.05). Likewise, no significant difference was found in the results of the difference comparison between groups (P>0.05). Conclusions: In conclusion, in this experimental study, no difference was found when dynamic core training was added. Although the results before and after core training did not show improvement in dynamic balance and muscle activity, a randomized controlled trial is needed considering the results of previous studies and the limitations of this experimental study.

EEG-based brain-computer interfaces has focused on explicitly expressed intentions to assist physically impaired patients. For EEG-based-computer interfaces to function effectively, it should be able to understand users' implicit information. Since it is hard to gather EEG signals of human brains, we do not have enough training data which are essential for proper classification performance of implicit intention. In this paper, we improve the subject independent classification of implicit intention through the generation of additional training data. In the first stage, we perform the PCA (principal component analysis) of training data in a bid to remove redundant components in the components within the input data. After the dimension reduction by PCA, we train ICA (independent component analysis) network whose outputs are statistically independent. We can get additional training data by adding Gaussian noises to ICA outputs and projecting them to input data domain. Through simulations with EEG data provided by CNSL, KAIST, we improve the classification performance from 65.05% to 66.69% with Gamma components. The proposed sample generation method can be applied to any machine learning problem with fewer samples.

This study aims to exploit additional revenue streams for subscription-based OTT services that face a negative free cash flow. The study examines consumers’ evaluation of subscription plans bundled with different revenue streams, including advertising, personal data sharing, and premium membership, with discounts and privileges provided as incentives. The results of a conjoint analysis indicate that discounts can serve as an effective incentive for OTT subscribers to trade their data with third parties or endure advertising, implying a personal data market in the media industry; however, privileges that can motivate users to purchase a premium subscription need to be further explored. This study indicates a new approach for OTT services to create additional revenues and also direct the further discussion regarding the hybrid revenue models applied to streaming platforms in literature.

Al-laminated packaging film incorporating ascorbic acid or tocopherol at inner food contact layer was tested in the potential to improve antioxidative preservation of powdered infant formula under CO2-enriched atmosphere. Product of 200 g was packaged with the packaging film containing 0.3% antioxidant in sealant layer of low density polyethylene and stored at 30oC for 286 days with periodic measurement of package atmosphere and product’s quality attributes. The CO2-flushed package resulted in shrinkage of tight contact between the product and the film not allowing gas sampling of package atmosphere after 140 days. Package of tocopherol-incorporated film allowed some ingress of oxygen after 112 days presumably due to its weakening of heat-seal area. The increased oxygen concentration in the tocopherol-added film package led to the concomitant increase of peroxide value, an index of lipid oxidation. On the other hand, packaging of ascorbic acid-added film pouch could suppress lipid oxidation marginally in consistent manner compared to control package without any antioxidant.

The paper discusses the relation between error tendency and translation quality in additional translation with the Chinese-Japanese translation corpus for patent name as a subject of the study. The paper divides errors of additional translation into three classes: Additional translation [missed]: there is no additional translation if the additional translation is necessary; Additional translation [excessive]: there is an additional translation if the additional translation is unnecessary; Additional translation [wrong]: there is an additional translation if the additional translation is necessary, but the additional translation is wrong. The corpus adopted for the study is Chinese-Japanese translation corpus with 676 translated patent documents provided by a translation company in Dalian, including the Chinese original version, Japanese version translated by translators with Chinese nationality and Japanese version proofread by proofreaders with Japanese nationality. The proofreaders graded the translated documents in the corpus into 5 grades based on the translation quality, i.e. translation versions with grade 1, 2 and 3 have low translation quality and with grade 4 and 5 have high translation quality. The corpus consists of 55 translated patent documents with grade 5 (8%), 473 translated patent documents with grade 4 (70%), 130 translated patent documents with grade 3 (19%) and 18 translated patent documents with grade 2 (3%). The study conclusion is as follows: 1. Among the translation errors, errors of additional translation account for more than 50%, take the second place among errors in translation versions with low quality and take the first place among errors in translation versions with high quality. 2. Among the errors of additional translation, missed translation accounts for more than 70% and is positively related to the translation quality; excessive translation accounts for 10%~30% and isn’t related to the translation quality; wrong translation accounts for less than 10% and isn’t related to the translation quality. 3. Among the errors of additional translation, functional word errors account for more than 90% and content word errors account for less than 10%. A Japanese auxiliary word, “no”, takes the first place and isn’t related to the translation quality.

Plyometric training is a training method to increase the motor output, stretch-shortening cycle which could be associated with power output. To increase the neuromuscular output, various training variables have been incorporated in training programs. Weight vest is one of the vari-ables to develop it. However, how much load can effectively develop the neural response is still not clearly understood. The aim of this study was to identify the effects of additional external loads on neuromuscu-lar response of lower body during plyometric jump. Total 19 men per-formed jump tests with weight vest (two jumps in each additional load; 0%, 10%, 15% and 20% of bodyweight [BW]). During the tests, neuro-muscular responses of lower extremity were measured. In vertical jump, 0%BW group was higher than the other heavier loads. In rate of force development (RFD), 10%BW was higher than 15%BW and 20%BW. In 0–30 msec of interval RFD, the heavier load groups were greater than 0%BW and in 0–50 msec, 15%BW and 20%BW were higher than 0%BW. In neuromuscular efficiency (NME), 15%BW and 20%BW were greater than 0%BW in ankle joint. This research indicated that plyometric jump with additional load causes greater RFD and NME of lower extremity compared with jump training without additional load. During weight vest plyometric jump, 10%–20% of BW load is advantageous to NME of lower body and 10% of BW load is effective to develop RFD of lower extremity.