[Purpose] Gait function after a stroke is an important factor for determining a patient’s ability to independently perform activities of daily living (ADL). The objective of this study was to elucidate the factors associated with gait function in post-stroke patients. [Subjects] Thirty-nine stroke patients (16 females and 23 males; average age 67.82 ± 10.96 years; post-onset duration: 200.18 ± 27.14 days) participated in this study. [Methods] Their gait function, motor function (Manual Muscle Test [MMT] and Brünnstrom stage), level of cognition (Mini-Mental State Examination score [MMSE], and the Loewenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment for the Geriatric Population [LOTCA-G]), and ADL (Korean modified Barthel index [K-MBI]) were assessed. [Results] The degree of gait function showed significant positive correlations with the following variables: MMT of the elbow, knee, ankle and wrist; Brünnstrom stage; MMSE; LOTCA-G subscores except motor praxis; K-MBI. Stepwise linear regression analysis revealed the Brünnstrom stage was the only explanatory variable closely associated with gait level. [Conclusion] Gait function of post-stroke patients was related to motor function, cognition, and ADL. In particular, there is a significant association between gait level and the Brünnstrom stages, reflecting the importance of monitoring the motor recovery of gait function in post-stroke patients.

The styrene divinylbenzene copolymer (SDBC) supported platinum catalyst and the liquid phase catalytic exchange (LPCE) column have been developed to be applicable to the Wolsong tritium removal facility (WTRF) in Korea. The catalyst deactivation subject to both reversible uniform poisoning and permanent loss by impurity poisoning was investigated using a time-on-stream theory and a simplified shell progressive poisoning scenario in special case of higher internal diffusion resistance. Experimental data from fixed bed reactors with the Pt/SDBC catalysts have been used to establish the deactivation model and to estimate key parameters to be used in the WTRF LPCE column design. It was found that an impurity control in the streams would be critical to the WTRF LPCE column operation since the impurity poisoning played a very important role in the overall catalytic exchange reaction. Except for the case of the severe impurity poisoning of the whole catalysts, the LPCE column can be in operation over 10 years without any regeneration of the catalysts.