Earticle

Objective To compare the pain-reducing effect of forest bathing alone versus forest bathing in combination with stretching and strengthening exercises in patients with chronic posterior neck pain. Methods Sixty-four subjects with posterior neck pain that had lasted more than 3 months were enrolled. They were randomly divided into a forest bathing alone (FBA) group and a forest bathing with exercise (FBE) group; each group included 32 subjects. All subjects from both groups walked every morning in the forest for about 2 hours for 5 days. In the afternoon, the FBE group did a stretching and strengthening exercise for about 4 hours; the FBA group had free time in the woods. Visual analog scale (VAS) on one day, VAS over the previous week, neck disability index (NDI), EuroQol 5D-3L VAS (EQ VAS) and index (EQ index), McGill pain questionnaire (MPQ), the number of trigger points in the posterior neck region (TRPs), and the range of motion of the cervical spine were evaluated on the first and last day of the program and compared between the two groups. Results The number of TRPs were significantly reduced in the FBE group compared with the FBA group (p=0.013). However, the other scales showed no significant difference between the two groups. Conclusion When patients with chronic posterior neck pain underwent a short-term forest bathing (less than 7 days) program, FBE was more effective in the reduction of the number of TRPs than FBA. However, all other pain measurement scales we evaluated showed no statistically significant difference between the two protocols.

Objective To evaluate the short-term clinical effects of the intra-articular injection of botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) for the treatment of adhesive capsulitis.Methods A prospective, controlled trial compared the effects of intra-articular BoNT-A (Dysport; 200 IU, n=15) with the steroid triamcinolone acetate (TA; 20 mg, n=13) in patients suffering from adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder. All patients were evaluated using a Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) of the pain intensity and a measurement of the range of motion (ROM) at baseline (before treatment) and at 2, 4, and 8 weeks post-treatment.Results The NRS at 2 weeks (BoNT-A vs. TA; 5.0 vs. 5.2), 4 weeks (4.1 vs. 4.9) and 8 weeks (3.8 vs. 4.6) of both treatment groups were significantly lower than that measured at baseline (7.4 vs. 7.6). The ROM of patients’ shoulders increased significantly from baseline in both treatment groups. There was no significant difference in the NRS of pain intensity or the ROM between the two groups. Reduction in the pain intensity score was maintained for 8 weeks post-injection in both groups. There were no significant adverse events in either treatment group.Conclusion The results suggest that there are no significant short-term differences between the intra-articular injections of BoNT-A and TA. Although BoNT-A has a high cost, it may be used as a safe alternative of TA to avoid the steroid-induced side effects or as a second-line agent, for patients who have failed to respond to the current treatments.

Background Hip flexor strength is important for functional movements such as active straight leg raise (ASLR) and walking. However, little research has been reported comparing hip flexor strength in subjects with and without femoral anterior glide type (FAGT) according to manual fixation of femoral head during ASLR. Purpose We compare the manual fixation effects of femoral head anterior glide on hip flexor strength during ASLR in subjects with and without FAGT. Study design A parallel-groups design. Methods A total of 30 subjects (15 with FAGT, 15 without FAGT) were participated. Each group was classified through the Kinetic Exercise based on Movement Analysis approach for FAGT. The strength of hip flexor muscles was measured during ASLR with and without femoral anterior glide fixation. The therapist’s manual provided the fixation of the femoral head during ASLR. The two-way mixed analysis of variance was applied to identify significant differences between groups (with vs. without FAGT: between factor) and conditions (with vs. without a manual fixation: within factor). The level of statistical significance was at α=0.05. Results In subjects with FAGT, the strength of the hip flexor was smaller during ASLR with manual fixation compared to without manual fixation (p=0.014). In subjects without FAGT, there were no significant differences in the strength of the hip flexor in the presence or absence of a manual fixation (p=0.064). Conclusions The findings reported that a manual fixation of femoral head anterior glide during ASLR may contribute to the strength difference of hip flexor in subjects with and without FAGT. Therefore, it is important to consider FAGT during ASLR in the clinical evaluation of hip flexor strength.

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence and lifestyle habits of cardiovascular disease (CVD) according to the type of disability in Korean adults compared to adults without disability. Methods: This study was secondary data analysis using the National Health check-up database from 2010 to 2013. Among the total 395,627 adults aged 30~80, the physically disabled (n=21,614) and the mentally disabled (n=1,448) who met the diagnosis criteria were extracted and compared with non-disabled (n=372,565) through 1:2 propensity score matching for nine characteristics. Results: Prior to matching, the prevalence of CVD was 34.4% in individuals without disabilities, accounting for 53.8% in those with physical disabilities and 22.4% in those with mental disabilities, showing significant differences between groups (p<.001). After matching, compared to the individuals without disability, those with physically disabled had significantly higher prevalence of CVD and the average number of CVD (p<.001). The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, and vascular disease was significantly higher in the physically disabled (p<.05). Drinking was significantly higher in the non-disabled than in the physically and mentally disabled, and smoking was more in the non-disabled than in the mentally disabled. Physical activity was found to be significantly less in both the physically and mentally disabled than in the non-disabled (p<.01). Conclusion: It is necessary to confirm the differences in the prevalence of CVD risk factors and lifestyle according to the type of disability, suggesting the development and verification of health promotion programs including physical activity for CVD prevention in the disabled with CVD risk factors.

Objective To evaluate whether age influences a change in the spasticity of the ankle plantar flexor after botulinum toxin type A (BTA) injection in children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP). Methods Sixteen children with spastic CP were enrolled in the study. Seven children (group 1) were under 5 years of age, and nine (group 2) were over 5 years of age. They all received BTA injection in the gastrocnemius muscle (GCM) under ultrasound guidance. Passive range of motion (PROM) of ankle dorsiflexion, Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) of the ankle plantar flexor, Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) and median red pixel intensity (RPI) of the medial GCM on real-time sonoelastography were measured at baseline (pre-injection) and 1-, 3-, and 6-month post-injection.Results In both groups, the mean PROM, MAS, and RPI were significantly improved after injection until 6-month post-injection. The change of PROM of ankle dorsiflexion in group 1 was significantly greater than that in group 2, until 6-month post-injection. The change in the MAS and GMFM between baseline and 6-month post-injection in group 1 was greater than that in group 2. The changes in the median RPI between baseline and 3- and 6-month post-injections were greater in group 1 than in group 2. Conclusion Our pilot study demonstrated the different changes in spasticity of the ankle plantar flexor after BTA injection based on age. Therefore, age may be considered when establishing a treatment plan using BTA injection for children with spastic CP.

Mobile applications (apps) have become central to the digital economy, yet the proliferation of Dark Patterns—deceptive interface designs hindering user autonomy—increasingly undermines user experience (UX) and trust, posing a significant challenge. While this issue is internationally recognized (e.g., by the OECD), systematic analysis leveraging large-scale app store review data, which captures authentic user voices, to investigate the prevalence of dark patterns and compare their characteristics across service types remains limited. This study addresses this gap by applying text mining techniques to user reviews from major South Korean mobile apps, focusing on leading e-commerce and OTT streaming platforms. The primary objective is to exploratorily identify core complaint themes, keywords, and specific user experience narratives related to Dark Patterns within this dataset. Furthermore, the research aims to deepen the multifaceted understanding of the issue by comparatively analyzing whether distinct patterns of Dark Pattern-related complaints emerge across these different service types. Methodologically, the study involves collecting review data, preprocessing it using Natural Language Processing (NLP), applying LDA topic modeling and keyword analysis to uncover complaint patterns, and qualitatively examining review texts for contextual insights. The findings are expected to provide empirical evidence on the real-world landscape of Dark Pattern issues in the Korean app ecosystem, demonstrating the utility of text mining for this purpose. This research will contribute to the academic discourse on Information Systems (IS) design and UX, while offering practical insights for businesses towards ethical interface improvements and informing future consumer protection policies and regulatory considerations.

IT portfolio, meaning the ratio of investment with four different purposes of IT, is widely used for evaluating the adequacy of investment and its performance within firms. Despite of such a useful framework looking at investment on IT, IT portfolio in agriculture industry seems to be differentiated from other industries. In this study, we compared IT portfolios of farms: grain, field fruit and vegetable, greenhouse fruit, greenhouse vegetable, beef cattle and pig. We classified farms by their return on equity (ROE) in order to analyze the relationship between IT portfolio of each crop and performance. Then, we found patterns of IT portfolios of top-performance farms compared to all farms for each agricultural product. Lastly, peculiarities of each crop are interpreted and discussed to find out top-performance farms’ IT investment patterns. From our study, it could be inferred that monotonous IT investments may not be as effective.

Formation of amyloid-β (Aβ) aggregates is a core process in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. Importance of interaction of the length variants, Aβ42 and Aβ40 in the process and consequent cytotoxicity has been pointed out for wild-type Aβ previously. In addition to confirming the findings, the current study demonstrates that the potential interaction is also important for cytotoxicity of the Flemish and Dutch sequence variants. The interaction could strengthen or inhibit cytotoxicity of Aβ42/Aβ40 mixture, depending on interaction time of the length variants as well as the ratio and amyloidogenic property. The inhibitory effect was prominent at the early stage of aggregate formation in less amyloidogenic Flemish Aβ42/Aβ40 mixture, while strengthened cytotoxicity was exhibited at the stage in potently amyloidogenic Dutch variant and at the later stage in wild-type and the Flemish variant. The samples showing relatively robust cytotoxicity were those enriched in Aβ protofibril-like structures, implying strong correlation of the structure with cytotoxicity. The different consequence of the interaction on sequence variants is likely due to differential amyloidogenic property of each Aβ40 variant, rather than that of Aβ42, because aggregation rates and levels of Aβ40 variants are greatly variable depending on the sequence, compared to Aβ42 variants. These studies may highlight a potential role of Aβ40 in the cytotoxicity, providing a novel mechanistic insight into the pathogenesis of each FAD- associated variant.

The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in the activity of trunk muscles according to the type of support and height of the unstable surface during plank exercise. 13 male college students volunteered for this study. All the subject engaged in plank exercises on a stable surface, an unstable surface, an unstable surface whose height was at 40% of arm length, and an unstable surface whose height was at 80% of arm length. A sling was employed as the unstable surface. Measurements were randomly taken of the subjects by the researcher. Plank exercises were carried out three times for 15 seconds each, with a 60-second rest between each exercise. Surface electromyography was used to measure trunk muscle activity during the exercises. The electrodes were attached to the pectoralis major, upper trapezius, transverse abdominis, serratus anterior, multifidus, and external oblique. Muscle activity according to the type of support was analyzed using a paired T-test, while muscle activity according to the height of the unstable support was analyzed using repeated measured analysis of variance. There were significant differences in muscle activity of the external oblique, and transverse abdominis for exercises conducted on a stable surface compared to on an unstable surface (p<0.05). In addition, there was a substantial difference in muscle activity of the serratus anterior and upper trapezius for exercises conducted on an unstable surface, an unstable surface whose height was at 40% of arm length, and an unstable surface whose height was at 80% of arm length (p<0.05). The above results suggest that utilizing an unstable surface rather than a stable surface in a clinical setting is more effective for strengthening the muscles around the abdomen. In addition, it is best for the exercise to be done on an unstable surface of a 80% height to ensure the effectiveness of the abdominal muscle training while decreasing participation by the muscles around the shoulder joints.

This study compared and analyzed the differences in workers' perceptions by work type for the safety roles and responsibilities of field managers and workers. The considered work types were earth work, RC work, temporary work, steel work, electrical work, mechanical work, landscaping work, dry finishing work, and wet finishing work. The questionnaire was composed of manager's safety compliance, manager's safety practice, worker's accident reporting, worker's noncompliance with safety rules, and worker's perception of safety. ANOVA analysis was performed on the response results. Results shows that the manager's safety compliance in the temporary work was found to be high, whereas the levels of manager's safety compliance were lower in earth work and RC work compared to other work types. For manager's safety practice, there was a significant difference in earth work being lower than that in electrical and mechanical work. When examining worker's perception of noncompliance with safety rules, temporary work, electrical work, landscaping work, and dry finishing work showed higher noncompliance compared to other work types.

In 1482, during the Joseon dynasty (조선, 朝鮮, 1392-1910), volumes of books on the history of the previous Goryeo dynasty (고려, 高麗, 918-1392) were written and printed with metal type. The similarities and differences between these books on the Goryeo history (고려사, 高麗史), printed with metal type in the 15th century and the identical book printed using re-engraved woodblocks in the 16th century were compared. The printed pages had the same width in both the metal printed books and woodblock books, but differences in page height were observed: the original metal printed books from the 15th century had larger heights than the woodblock printed books from the 16th century. Using image comparison and analysis between various versions of works of Goryeo history, we investigated the correlations between the directional shrinkage of the wood as a potential root cause of the size difference in only one direction between the metal type and the re-engraved woodblock-printed versions. It was confirmed that the comparison of the size and directions of the printed areas is a very effective method of determining the printing method and the sequence of changes in very similar versions of old Korean books.

본 연구의 목적은 출소자를 대상으로 범죄유형 및 수감기간에 따른 정서 및 사회적 적응과 관련된 다양한 정신병리 증상 및 성격 특성의 차이를 이해하는데 있다. 범죄유형은 강력범죄와 기타범죄로 구분하였고, 수감기간은 수감기간 별 수형자수 추이를 고려하여 2년 이상과 2년 미만으로 구분하였다. 출소자의 정신병리 증상 및 성격 특성은 MMPI-2의 6개 척도군으로 측정하였다. 범죄유형 및 수감기간에 따라 MMPI-2 척도에서 차이가 있는지를 알아보기 위해 판별분석과 t검증으로 분석하였다. 분석을 위해 한국법무보호복지공단의 숙식지원을 받고 있는 남성 출소자 91명의 설문조사 자료를 사용하였다. 연구 결과, 내용 척도의 공포(FRS)와 분노(ANG)가 범죄유형에 따른 출소자의 차이를 잘 변별하였고, 기타범죄 출소자는 강력범죄 출소자에 비해 공포와 분노가 유의하게 낮았다. 성격병리 5요인 척도의 부정적 정서성/신경증(NEGE)과 내용 척도의 낮은 자존감(LSE)은 수감기간에 따른 출소자의 차이를 잘 변별하였고, 2년 이상 수감한 출소자들이 2년 미만 수감한 출소자에 비해 부정적 정서성/신경증과 낮은 자존감 점수가 높았다. 연구 결과를 바탕으로 출소자에 대한 이해 및 심리적 개입에 대한 함의와 연구의 제한점에 대해 논의하였다.

The aim of the current study is to investigate which MMPI-2 subscales can distinguish psychological characteristics according to type of offences and length of imprisonment of male ex-offenders through discriminant analysis. The types of offences were divided into violent and other offences. The length of imprisonment was divided into less than two years and more than two years. This research was conducted on a sample of 91 male ex-offenders who were receiving accommodations and meals from the Korean Rehabilitation Agency. Criminal records and MMPI-2 test data were used for analysis. MMPI-2 responses were compared by both the type of offences and length of imprisonment. According to the results, other offenders scored lower on Fears(FRS) and Anger(ANG) subscales, and individuals imprisoned for 2 years or more scored higher on Negative Emotionality/Neuroticism(NEGE) and Low Self-Esteem(LSE) subscales. Finally, the implications and limitations of this research are discussed.

본 연구에서는 Han(2017)의 연구에서 수정된 오정보 효과 검증을 위한 실험재료를 번역한 후 이 실험재료를 사용하여 한국인들에게서도 오정보 효과를 관찰할 수 있는지 확인하였다(연구 1). 또한 한국인들의 자료와 Han(2017)의 연구에서 사용된 미국인들의 자료를 통합하여 오정보 제시여부, 정보의 유형 및 서로 다른 인지양식을 반영할 것으로 기대되는 참가자 국적에 따른 시간적 구조 및 대상정보에 대한 기억을 비교하였다(연구 2). 연구 결과, 연구 1에서 번역한 Han(2017)의 실험재료를 사용하여 한국인들에게서 오정보 효과를 관찰할 수 있었으며, 오정보 효과는 시간정보와 대상정보 모두에서 관찰되었다. 연구 2에서 오정보 제시여부, 정보유형, 참가자 국적에 따라 재인검사의 정답률을 비교한 결과, 세 독립변인의 주효과, 오정보 제시여부와 정보유형의 이원 상호작용효과 및 세 독립변인의 삼원 상호작용효과가 통계적으로 유의한 것으로 나타났다. 요약하면, 오정보를 제시 받지 않은 정보와 대상정보에 대한 정답률이 높았고, 미국자료의 정답률이 한국자료의 정답률보다 높았다. 오정보 효과는 시간정보보다 대상정보에서 더 크게 나타났으나, 오정보 제시여부와 정보유형의 이원 상호작용효과는 한국자료에서만 관찰되었다. 논의에서는 본 연구의 학문적 가치와 제한점에 대해 논의하였다.

In Study 1, the author translated the material which is modified by Han(2017) and allows researchers to examine misinformation effect about background (temporal structure of event) and object information. Eighty-five Korean participants were participated in Study 1 and tested their memory after misled by temporal and object post-event information about a story. The translated material could produce misinformation effect in both types of information. In Study 2, a 3-way ANOVA was conducted with combined data collected from Korea and the U.S to test the effects of three IVs (whether misled or not, the type of information and the nationality of the participants) on memory after misled by temporal and object information. As results, the main effects of all three IVs, the 2-way interaction effect of whether misled or not and the type of information, and the 3-way interaction effect of all the three IVs were statistically significant. In sum, the higher accuracy rate was obtained when the participants were not misled, and they were more accurate about the information about object. Americans tended to be more accurate. The misinformation effect was larger when the participants were misled by object information. The 2-way interaction effect was found only in the Korean sample. In the discussion, the implication of the current study was discussed.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of self management behavior of patients with type 2 diabetes and to compare the factors influencing self management behavior between the elderly and adults. Methods: The participants consisted of 105 adults and 100 elderly who visited the outpatient department of a hospital from August to December 2011. Data was collected by questionnaires and analyzed using the SPSS/WIN 18.0. Results: The elderly showed higher mean scores of subcategory of self management behavior than adults. In stepwise multiple regression analysis, a total of 42% (adults), 52% (elderly) respectively of variance in self management behavior were accounted for by self-efficacy, perceived barriers, perceived benefits, yes or no smoking and regular exercise in adults and readiness, self efficacy, perceived benefits in the elderly. Conclusion: Therefore, a diabetics intervention program should be designed and provided as a tailored one for adults and elderly separately in Korea. In the strategy for adults with type 2 diabetes in the promotion of self efficacy, perceived benefits and reduction of perceived barriers, and correction of life habits such as smoking and exercise are needed, whereas in the elderly promotion of readiness, self efficacy, perceived benefits are required.

본 연구는 사회공포증 환자들의 MMPI 프로파일 특성을 살펴보고, 가해의식을 동반한 사회공포증 환자들과 비가해형 사회공포증 환자들간의 프로파일 차이를 비교하였다. DSM-III-R, DSM-IV 진단기준에 의해 사회공포증으로 진단된 환자 57명을 대상으로 하였고, 이들을 이시형 등(1987)의 분류기준에 따라 가해형과 비가해형으로 구분하였다. MMPI 프로파일을 분석한 결과, 전체 사회공포증 환자의 특징적인 코드유형은 발견할 수 없었으나, 척도 7, 2, 0에서 평균 T점수가 60점 이상 상승하였다. 가해형과 비가해형의 비교에서는, 두 집단의 전체적인 프로파일은 유사했으나, 척도 L, 2, 7에서 유의미한 평균 T점수의 차이를 보였다. 특히, 가해형 집단에서는 척도 2와 7이 각각 평균 T점수 70.0, 69.4점으로 상승되어 있어, 2-7 코드유형이 사회공포증 가해형 집단의 특징적인 코드유형으로 밝혀졌다. 향후 연구에서는 두 집단간 충분한 사례수를 확보하고, MMPI 검사결과를 보완할 수 있는 다른 객관적인 평가도구를 함께 이용한 연구가 이루어져야 할 것이다.

This study was attempted to identify MMPI profile characteristics of social phobic patients. Also it was investigated to find the differences between offensive type and non-offensive type for social phobia. Fifty-seven social phobic patients were selected based on DSM-III-R and DSM-IV criteria, and their MMPI responses were analysed. The results showed that the specific codetype was not found for the whole social phobic patients, but showed elevated scores on the 7, 2 and 0 scales over 60T score. Compared offensive type with non-offensive type, both profile pattern was similar but had differences in the L, 2 and 7 scales. Especially, the 2 and 7 scales were elevated scores on 70.0T and 69.4T score in offensive type. These results suggest that 2-7 codetype might be a specific codetype of offensive type. The clinical implication and limitation of present study were discussed.

본 연구는 재난경험자들의 정서, 행동, 신체, 인지적 어려움의 위험요인과 그 효과크기를 비교하고 재난유형별 위험요인에 차이가 있는지 탐색적으로 검토하는 것을 목표로 한다. 이를 위해 재난경험자 2000명 데이터를 활용하여 다변량 분산분석을 실시하였다. 그 결과, 재난 후 정서, 행동, 신체, 인지적 어려움에 공통적인 위험요인 중 중간 효과크기 이상의 영향력을 가진 요인은 ‘재난을 인생 전반에 영향을 미친 사건으로 인식하는지 여부’, ‘경제적 및 신체적 피해 정도’였다. 이들 요인의 효과크기를 상대적으로 비교해 보면, ‘재난을 인생 전반에 영향을 미친 사건으로 인식하는지 여부’와 ‘경제적 피해 정도’는 재난 후 정서적 어려움에 미치는 영향력이 가장 컸고, ‘신체적 피해 정도’는 재난 후 신체적 어려움에 미치는 영향력이 가장 컸다. 재난 유형별로 차이를 보였던 위험요인들을 살펴보면, 자연재해 경험자의 경우에는 연령에 따라 행동적 어려움과 신체적 어려움에 유의한 차이가 있었고, 사회재난 경험자의 경우에는 연령 차이보다는 성별에 따라 신체적 어려움에 유의한 차이가 있었다. 재난 지속 기간이 길어질수록 자연재해 경험자들의 신체적 어려움이, 사회재난 경험자들은 정서적 어려움이 증가하고 있었으며, 법적 소송 여부는 사회재난 경험자의 인지적 어려움에만 유의한 차이를 가져왔다. 본 연구 결과는 재난 후 심리지원을 위한 선별평가를 위한 위험 기준을 마련하고 개입 전략의 다각화를 위한 기초 정보를 획득하는데 유용한 정보를 제공했다는 점에서 의의가 있다.

This study aims to compare the risk factors and effect sizes of emotional, behavioral, physical, and cognitive difficulties among disaster survivors and exploratively examine whether there are differences in risk factors by type of disaster. To this end, a multivariate analysis of variance was conducted using data from 2000 disaster survivors. The results showed that among the risk factors common to emotional, behavioral, physical, and cognitive difficulties after a disaster, the most influential factors with a medium effect size or higher were “perceiving the disaster as a life-changing event” and “the extent of economic and physical damage”. Comparing the relative effect sizes of these factors, “perceiving the disaster as a life-altering event” and “level of economic damage” had the largest effect on emotional distress after the disaster, and “level of physical damage” had the largest effect on physical distress after the disaster. In terms of risk factors that differed by disaster type, there were significant differences in behavioral and physical difficulties based on age for those who experienced natural disasters, and significant differences in physical difficulties based on gender rather than age for those who experienced social disasters. As the duration of the disaster increased, physical difficulties increased among natural disaster survivors and emotional difficulties increased among social disaster survivors, while the presence of legal proceedings made a significant difference only for cognitive difficulties among social disaster survivors. The findings of this study are significant in that they provide useful information for establishing risk criteria for screening assessments for post-disaster psychological support and providing a basis for diversifying intervention strategies.