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[Purpose] To verify, using Rasch analysis, the applicability of the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) to elderly Koreans, as this instrument would be useful for determining elderly individuals’ overall performance and providing them with health information. [Subjects and Methods] The SF-36 was administered to a sample of 510 individuals aged over 60 living in the Seoul and Gyeonggi areas of South Korea. When testing for goodness-of-fit, we considered items with infit and outfit indexes of over 1.30 or less than 0.70 to be incongruent. SF-36 factors that contained over three items, including physical functioning, role limitations (physical and emotional), mental health, vitality, and general health, were analyzed. Each factor was examined through step calibration of the response categories in the probability curve. [Results] The response categories were found to be appropriate because the adjustment values of each factor increased. We found five items in physical functioning, two items in role limitation–emotion, one item in mental health, and one item in general health to be incongruent; all items in the role limitation–physical and vitality factors were congruent. [Conclusion] We conclude that the SF-36 could be revised to more accurately measure the health status of elderly Koreans.

This study sought to determine whether there is any difference on participation in regular exercise between middle-aged and older adults and to determine whether the benefits of regular exercise differed between middle-aged and older adults in terms of health capability, mood, or anxiety symptoms and life-satisfaction level. The results indicated that older adults engaged in regular exercise more frequently than middle-aged adults. In addition, exercise participants among middle-aged adults had the better health capabilities, lower depression and anxiety symptoms, and higher life-satisfaction level than nonparticipants. On the other hands, older adults tended to be negatively associated with depression and anxiety symptoms and be positively correlated with life-satisfaction level than middle-aged adults even if middle-aged adults had the better health capabilities. These findings might be beneficial to provide appropriate exercise programs, to prevent and minimize the negative symptoms of anxiety and depression, and to facilitate the life-satisfaction level.

Fabrication of 1D gold nanoparticle (NP) arrays by crack templated reduction lithography (CTRL) isdemonstrated. The gold NPs are synthesized in situ on the cracks in a polydimethoxysiloxane (PDMS) substrate without additional reducing/stabilizing agents. Upon directionally bending the substrate, various array patterns formed on the PDMS rubber.Highly aligned gold nanoparticles (NPs) and nanowires (NWs) have attracted considerable interest owing to their diverse applications in electrical 1-4 and optical sensors. 5-7 Enormous efforts have been devoted to producing aligned gold NPs and NWs on a large scale. Electrodeposition of metal NWs in a conned region, such as anodized anodic membranes, and the synthesis of metal NPs by reducing agents are well-known conventional solution processes to prepare metal NWs and NPs.1,2,8-11 Although these approaches can produce large quantities, their applications are restricted when the NPs and NWs must be aligned on a solid surface because this alignment requires additional transfer processes. In situ synthesis methods on solid surfaces have also been investigated, including lithographically patterned electrodeposition, 12,13 microstructured template-guided methods, 14-16and biomolecule-templated methods.17-20 Currently, these approaches enable the preparation of selectively aligned NPs and NWs, but obtaining a highly aligned 1D array of NPs and NWs without using an additional nano-or microstructure patterned substrate is difficult. Hence, a simple route for the preparation of 1D arrays of NPs and NWs on solid surfaces is still required to achieve selective alignment, diverse patterns, and size control.Herein, we report a novel synthesis approach for 1D gold NP arrays based on regulated crack templated reduction lithography (CTRL) on a liquid PDMS surface. The selective aqueous synthesis of gold nanoparticles along the cracks on PDMS rubber has not been investigated thus far. In our experiments, liquid PDMS on an elastomer substrate is treated with oxygen plasma and stretched, resulting in the formation of a patterned crack in the stiff silica layer on the surface of the liquid PDMS. The native liquid PDMS was thereby exposed to the environment by cracking this silica layer covering the silicon oil. The uncovered regions of liquid PDMS were subsequently exposed to the gold precursor solution. The curing agent in the PDMS caused 1D gold NP arrays to spontaneously form along the crack on the liquid PDMS surface. Furthermore, we generated various patterns of gold NP arrays by manipulating the PDMS in various ways. Notably, we successively fabricated wide and narrow gold NP arrays by controlling the liquid PDMS thickness. Therefore, we were able to realize a novel approach for well-aligned gold nanoarrays, such as wires, based on cracking a stiff silica layer on PDMS rubber and using precursor chemistry. Gold NP arrays prepared by the developed approach may be utilized in optical and chemical sensing and stretchable electronics in the near future.The aligned crack patterns on th...