• Title/Summary/Keyword: Agents

Search Result 10,975, Processing Time 0.049 seconds

A Geographical Study of Therapeutic Spaces after the Disaster of the MV Sewol in a Local Community (세월호 참사 이후 지역 커뮤니티에 형성된 치유의 공간에 대한 지리적 고찰)

  • Park, Sookyung
    • Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
    • /
    • v.52 no.1
    • /
    • pp.25-53
    • /
    • 2017
  • The ultimate goal of this research is to examine the geographical characteristics of therapeutic spaces where have been appeared in Wa-dong and Gojan-dong, Ansan-si after the disaster of the MV Sewol. As looking into the inside, the aim of the therapeutic spaces, which cover each target group (victims) individually, is various and different because the disaster of the MV Sewol generated various direct and indirect victims requiring healing. The therapeutic spaces are estimated at about 10 organizations and are leaded by private agents predominantly. Furthermore, the therapeutic spaces are located near, but are aside from Danwon high school where many students are reported killed and injured in the incident. And the therapeutic spaces provide simple and repetitive diversions, for example, having a meal, knitting and studying, rather than special programs to restore a broken daily life to the original state. On the basis of such a background, the geographical characteristics of the therapeutic spaces related to the disaster of the MV Sewol can be summarized as follows; first, it seems that target groups accept the therapeutic spaces as the concept of place gradually. Even though most of the therapeutic spaces were suggested by third parties at first, target groups are involved in the management and recollection of their own therapeutic spaces as well as the plan for a future direction now; and consider the therapeutic spaces as exclusive properties. Second, the disaster of the MV Sewol have embedded collective trauma to not only direct victims, but extensive groups such as parents, brothers and sisters, relatives, friends and neighbors as noted earlier. Therefore, the therapeutic spaces support comprehensive target groups; but each therapeutic space is not overlapped each other. However, to solve collective trauma in a local community effectively, the therapeutic spaces are networked closely and build a regular cooperative system. Third, a continuous memory is mentioned as an important point to overcome collective trauma, but some phenomena such as fatigue and conflict with neighbors, out-migrants and a faded atmosphere as time passes act as risk factors in Ansan-si. To keep a continuous memory, the therapeutic spaces attempt the recovery of local communities and devise various events, for example, cultural performances; furthermore, are closely connected with external organizations.

  • PDF

Effects of Zinc Plus Arachidonic Acid on Insulin Resistance in High Fructose-Fed Rats (Zinc와 Arachidonic Acid가 고 Fructose 식이로 유도된 인슐린 저항성에 미치는 영향)

  • Choi, Chul-Soo;Kim, Young-Wook;Lee, Hyo-Sun;Yoon, Tae-Ho;Cho, Byung-Mann;Lee, Soo-Il;Kim, Sung-Soo;Hwang, In-Kyung
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
    • /
    • v.38 no.4
    • /
    • pp.415-422
    • /
    • 2009
  • We previously demonstrated that zinc plus arachidonic acid (ZA) treatment lowered blood glucose levels in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, genetically diabetic obese (ob/ob) mice, and genetically diabetic, non-obese Goto-Kakizaki rats. However, plasma insulin levels did not increase with ZA treatment, suggesting that ZA lowers blood glucose levels not by stimulating pancreatic insulin secretion. However, it is unclear whether these agents lower blood glucose levels by decreasing hepatic glucose output (HGO) or by increasing glucose utilization in peripheral tissues, or both. In order to determine ZA target organ of insulin action, we divided 18 Sprague-Dawley rats weighing ${\sim}130g$ into 3 groups (6 rats per group) and treated them for four weeks with: (1) Control diet (regular rat chow), (2) High fructose (60.0%) diet only, and (3) the same fructose diet plus zinc (10 mg/L) and arachidonic acid (50 mg/L) containing drinking water. After 4 weeks, insulin action was assessed using the hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp technique. Food intake and body weights were comparable in all three groups of rats throughout the study period. Plasma glucose and insulin concentrations, glucose uptake, and HGO in the basal state were all the same in these three rat groups. During the clamp study, fructose-treated and fructose+ZA treated rat groups did not exhibit any detectable change on insulin-mediated glucose uptake compared to controls. High fructose feeding impaired insulin mediated suppression of HGO, compared to controls during clamp (4.39 vs. 2.35 mg/kg/min; p<0.05). However, ZA treatment in high fructose-fed rats showed a remarkable increase in hepatic insulin sensitivity compared to high fructose-fed rats, reflected by a complete recovery in suppression of HGO during the clamp (4.39 vs. 2.18 mg/kg/min; p<0.05). This data suggests that ZA increases insulin sensitivity in liver but not glucose utilization of peripheral tissues in high fructose-fed rats.

The Immunological Effect of Mistletoe Extract on Gastric Cancer Patients (미슬토 추출물(Mistletoe Extract)이 위암환자의 수술 후 면역기능에 미치는 효과)

  • Yang, Sung-Woo;Shin, Dong-Gue;Kim, Il-Myung;Yoon, Seong-Min;Lee, Yong-Jik;Heo, Su-Hak;Kim, Tae-Hee
    • Journal of Gastric Cancer
    • /
    • v.7 no.3
    • /
    • pp.167-173
    • /
    • 2007
  • Purpose: Mistletoe (Viscum album L.) extract is one of the most widely used agents in alternative cancer therapeutic regimens in Europe. This study was conducted to determine the effect of mistletoe extract on immune function in gastric cancer patients. Materials and Methods: Ten patients that had undergone a curative gastrectomy were enrolled in the prospective study. ABNOBAviscum $Q^{(R)}$ was injected subcutaneously three times a week from postoperative-day 7 to week 16 with an increasing dose. All of the patients simultaneously received chemotheraphy with mitomycin, oral 5-FU and a cisplatin regimen. The WBC count, differential count, lymphocyte/WBC ratio and the level of cytokines (IL-$1{\beta}$, IL-2, IL-6, IFN-$\gamma$, TNF-$\alpha$) were checked in the peripheral blood preoperatively, at postoperative week 8 and at postoperative week 16. Results: The WBC and neutrophil counts significantly decreased after treatment on week 8 and week 16 (P=0.001), but the total eosinophil count was slightly increased (P=0.15). The total lymphocyte count also decreased during treatment but the lymphocyte/WBC ratio was slightly increased without statistical significance (P=0.91). The cytokine levels did not significantly change during treatment. Conclusion: It is somewhat difficult to determine the direct effect of mistletoe therapy on immune function as the effect may be compromised by the concurrent chemotherapy. It can be assumed that the slightly increased lymphocyte/WBC ratio and eosinophil count may be a result of the immunomodulatory effect of the mistletoe extract.

  • PDF

Underpricing of Initial Offerings and the Efficiency of Investments (신주(新株)의 저가상장현상(低價上場現象)과 투자(投資)의 효율성(效率成)에 대한 연구(硏究))

  • Nam, Il-chong
    • KDI Journal of Economic Policy
    • /
    • v.12 no.2
    • /
    • pp.95-120
    • /
    • 1990
  • The underpricing of new shares of a firm that are offered to the public for the first time (initial offerings) is well known and has puzzled financial economists for a long time since it seems at odds with the optimal behavior of the owners of issuing firms. Past attempts by financial economists to explain this phenomenon have not been successful in the sense that the explanations given by them are either inconsistent with the equilibrium theory or implausible. Approaches by such authors as Welch or Allen and Faulhaber are no exceptions. In this paper, we develop a signalling model of capital investment to explain the underpricing phenomenon and also analyze the efficiency of investment. The model focuses on the information asymmetry between the owners of issuing firms and general investors. We consider a firm that has been owned and operated by a single owner and that has a profitable project but has no capital to develop it. The profit from the project depends on the capital invested in the project as well as a profitability parameter. The model also assumes that the financial market is represented by a single investor who maximizes the expected wealth. The owner has superior information as to the value of the firm to investors in the sense that it knows the true value of the parameter while investors have only a probability distribution about the parameter. The owner offers the representative investor a fraction of the ownership of the firm in return for a certain amount of investment in the firm. This offer condition is equivalent to the usual offer condition consisting of the number of issues to sell and the unit price of a share. Thus, the model is a signalling game. Using Kreps' criterion as the solution concept, we obtained an essentially unique separating equilibrium offer condition. Analysis of this separating equilibrium shows that the owner of the firm with high profitability chooses an offer condition that raises an amount of capital that is short of the amount that maximizes the potential profit from the project. It also reveals that the fraction of the ownership of the firm that the representative investor receives from the owner of the highly profitable firm in return for its investment has a value that exceeds the investment. In other words, the initial offering in the model is underpriced when the profitability of the firm is high. The source of underpricing and underinvestment is the signalling activity by the owner of the highly profitable firm who attempts to convince investors that his firm has a highly profitable project by choosing an offer condition that cannot be imitated by the owner of a firm with low profitability. Thus, we obtained two main results. First, underpricing is a result of a signalling activity by the owner of a firm with high profitability when there exists information asymmetry between the owner of the issuing firm and investors. Second, such information asymmetry also leads to underinvestment in a highly profitable project. Those results clearly show the underpricing entails underinvestment and that information asymmetry leads to a social cost as well as a private cost. The above results are quite general in the sense that they are based upon a neoclassical profit function and full rationality of economic agents. We believe that the results of this paper can be used as a basis for further research on the capital investment process. For instance, one can view the results of this paper as a subgame equilibrium in a larger game in which a firm chooses among diverse ways to raise capital. In addition, the method used in this paper can be used in analyzing a wide range of problems arising from information asymmetry that the Korean financial market faces.

  • PDF

Diagnosis and Treatment of Endobronchial Actinomycosis (기관지 방선균증의 임상적 고찰)

  • Choi, Jae Chol;Koh, Won-Jung;Kwon, Yong Soo;Ryu, Yon Ju;Yu, Chang-Min;Jeon, Kyeongman;Kang, Eun Hae;Suh, Gee Young;Chung, Man Pyo;Kim, Hojoong;Kwon, O Jung;Kim, Tae Sung;Lee, Kyung Soo;Han, Joungho
    • Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
    • /
    • v.58 no.6
    • /
    • pp.576-581
    • /
    • 2005
  • Background : Thoracic actinomycosis is a relatively uncommon anaerobic infection caused by Actinomyces israelii. There have been only a few case reports of endobronchial actinomycosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical manifestation and treatment of endobronchial actinomycosis. Material and Methods : Seven patients with endobronchial actinomycosis, who were diagnosed in the past 10 years, were retrospectively reviewed. Results : Cough and sputum were the most common symptoms. The chest radiograph and computed tomography showed necrotic consolidation (n=3), atelectasis (n=2), mass (n=1) and an endobronchial nodule (n=1). Proximal broncholithiasis was observed in five patients. All cases were initially suspected to have either lung cancer or tuberculosis. In these patients, the median duration of intravenous antibiotics was 3 days (range 0-12 days) and the median duration of oral antibiotics was 147 days (range 20-412 days). Two patients received oral antibiotic therapy only. There was no clinical evidence of a recurrence. Conclusion : Endobronchial actinomycosis frequently manifests as a proximal obstructive calcified endobronchial nodule that is associated with distal post-obstructive pneumonia. The possibility of endobronchial actinomycosis is suggested when findings of broncholithiasis are present at chest CT. The traditional recommendation of 2-6 weeks of intravenous antibiotics and 6-12 months of oral antibiotic therapy are not necessarily essential in all cases of endobronchial actinomycosis.

The Implications and Characteristics of the Policies for Park and Green Spaces in England (영국 공원녹지 정책의 최근 경향과 특성)

  • Kim, Yun-Geum;Choi, Jung-Min
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
    • /
    • v.40 no.2
    • /
    • pp.86-96
    • /
    • 2012
  • Recently parks and green spaces contribute not only as a place of leisure but also for environmental welfare, social education, new jobs and $CO_2$ Emissions Reduction. Parks and green spaces are understood as urban infrastructures like roads and rivers. They are also included in social infrastructures like education, culture, and welfare facilities. These changes are applied to policies for parks and green spaces, many governments and local authorities make investments on them. The modification of policies for parks and green spaces in England is a good example about this trend From this view point, this study now deals with the changing process of policies, results, and evaluation. Some implications have been deducted. The first is the inducement in participation in policies and implementation of practices through policy papers. They are more practical than written laws which are composed of abstract sentences and generalizations. Secondly, the status of parks and green spaces is highly raised with the establishment of CABE Space and so on. This organization controls many different policies and programs related to parks and green spaces. Third is the funding for the improvement of parks and green spaces. Fourth, are the short-term measures, such as funding and management, and the long-term measures such as pursuing building of partnership and training. Fifth, the government strives to establish its partnership with the local authorities and communities through a spectrum of support in terms of information, monitoring, and developing good practices among networks. Finally, parks and green spaces are being addressed from multiple directions through the participation of numerous agents like voluntary groups, development companies, communities and so on. Recently, in Korea, the influences of the Sunset Law for Park Site, Landscape Architecture Law, Urban Forest Law, and other related ordinances have encouraged the review on the policies on parks and green spaces needed. However, there are not many studies about them. Owing to these reasons, the cases of England will he helpful.

Study on the Development and Properties of Ceramics Restoration Purpose Urethane resin with Excellent Reversibility (가역성이 우수한 도자기 복원용 Urethane resin의 개발 및 물성에 대한 연구)

  • Oh, Seung Jun;Park, Gi Jung;Wi, Koang Chul
    • Journal of Conservation Science
    • /
    • v.31 no.1
    • /
    • pp.37-46
    • /
    • 2015
  • In the case of adhesives & restoration agents currently being used for the preservation treatment of ceramics and earthenware, epoxy type, cellulose type and cellulose type are mainly being used. However, they are showing various problems such as re-detachment from severe contraction, color change from yellowing, work inconvenience of staining on tools and hand during usage and irreversibility. For the purpose of solving the issues of yellowing and irreversibility of epoxy resin being used to restore ceramics, urethane synthetic resin with low yellowing excellent reversibility has been developed in this study. The adhesive strength of urethane resin that has been developed has excellent properties with 2.07MPa for undiluted solution, which is 1.5 times higher than that of existing material EPO-$TEK301^{(R)}$ 1.21MPa. The result of workability measurement showed that the wear rate of urethane resin (in Talc 50wt%) was 1.09%, which was somewhat higher than that of existing material Quick $Wood^{(R)}$ (1.02%). In addition, its wear rate is two times higher than that of $EPO-TEK301^{(R)}$ (0.41%) and $L30^{(R)}$ (0.39%), thereby showing an advantage in its forming process compared to existing materials. As for the advantage of urethane resin of reversibility experiment, 12 hours after acetone, ethyl alcohol deposition, urethane resin and filler talc were dissolved 100% while showing powdering phenomenon. Compared to 0% reversibility of existing epoxy resin, it has much superior reversibility. The result of UV rays experiment to evaluate its durability showed that ${\Delta}E^*ab$ color change value based on undiluted solution of urethane resin was 2.76 before & after UV rays exposure, which was a decrease by about 7-20 times compared to that of existing resin, thereby minimizing the issue of heterogeneity.

A Study on the Optimal Operating Conditions for Removal of Nutrient Influential Substances Using Functional Media (기능성 여재를 활용한 부영양화 영양물질 제거의 최적 운전조건 연구)

  • Lee, Jong-Jun;Oh, Jong-Min;Choi, Seung-Jong;Kim, Ki-Jung
    • Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
    • /
    • v.28 no.6
    • /
    • pp.549-555
    • /
    • 2019
  • The purpose of this study is to ensure optimal operating conditions for improving the removal efficiency of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) that are the causative agents of eutrophication by utilizing functional media. The main ingredients of the functional media used in this study are Si, Al, and Fe, SiO2, KAlSiO3O8, Al2O2·2SiO2O, H3Al2Si2O9, Fe3O4O), and berylite. To identify the maximum efficiency of the filtration process, the processing efficiency experiment was carried out according to flow method, velocity, and thickness of residual media. The flow method carried out two experiments, 50 m/day, 100 m/day, 150 m/day, 200 m/day, 250 m/day, and 20 cm, 40 cm, 50 cm, 60 cm, 80 cm of lead depth. Experiments have shown that SS, T-N, and T-P all showed higher elimination efficiency of the upflow current conditions than the downflow current conditions, and that the processing efficiency of the linearity is the highest at SS 50 m/day, T-N 150 m/day and T-P 100 m/day. In addition, the analysis of the removal efficiency according to the residual thickness showed that SS, T-N, and T-P all showed the highest efficiency at 60 cm. In addition, the analysis of the removal efficiency according to the residual thickness showed that SS, T-N, and T-P all showed the highest efficiency at 60 cm. It is considered desirable to set the top-down flow conditions and residual thickness of 60 cm and adjust the velocity of the line according to the target media for removal.

Effects of Permeable Cryoprotectants on Viability of Mammalian Embryo Model (침투성 동결보호제가 포유류 초기배자의 생존성에 미치는 영향)

  • Kim, Hyun;Cho, Sang-Rae;Kim, Dong Kyo;Choe, Changyong;Seong, Hwan-Hoo
    • Journal of Embryo Transfer
    • /
    • v.30 no.3
    • /
    • pp.195-200
    • /
    • 2015
  • The objective of this study was to evaluate the toxicities of permeable cryoprotectants and finally to establish the cryopreservation method of surplus embryos obtained during assisted reproductive technology (ART). Toxicities of permeable cryoprotectants, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), ethylene glycol (EG), Glycerol, and 1,2-PROH were investigated using a murine embryo model. Female $F-{_1}$ mice were stimulated with gonadotropin, induced ovulation with hCG and mated. Two cell embryos were collected and cultured after exposure to among DMSO, EG, Glycerol, and 1,2-PROH. Embryo development was evaluated up to the blastocyst stage. The total cell count of blastocysts that were treated with DMSO and Glycerol at the 2-cell stage was significantly lower than that were treated with EG ($81.1{\pm}15.1$), 1,2-PROH ($88.0{\pm}21.1$) or the control ($99.9{\pm}21.3$) (p<0.001). On comparison of four cryoprotectant treated groups, the DMSO and Glycerol treated group showed a decreased cell count compared with the EG and 1,2-PROH treated group (p<0.05). Both DMSO ($14.7{\pm}1.3$), EG ($12.1{\pm}1.1$), Glycerol ($15.2{\pm}1.8$), and 1,2-PROH ($11.5{\pm}1.3$) treated groups showed higher apoptosis rates of cells in the blastocyst compared with the control ($6.5{\pm}0.7$, p<0.0001). In addition, the DMSO or Glycerol treated group showed more apoptotic cells than the EG or 1,2-PROH treated group (p<0.001). The potential toxicity of cryoprotectants was uncovered by prolonged exposure of murine embryos to among DMSO, EG, Glycerol, and 1,2-PROH at room temperature. When comparing four permeable cryoprotective agents, EG and 1,2-PROH appeared to be less toxic than DMSO and Glycerol at least in a murine embryo model.

Antioxidative and Antibacterial Activities of Artemisia princeps Pampanini Extracts (사자발쑥 추출물의 항산화 및 항균 활성)

  • Yang, Hyun Gab;Kim, Hye Jin;Kim, Hae Soo;Park, Soo Nam
    • Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
    • /
    • v.40 no.3
    • /
    • pp.250-260
    • /
    • 2012
  • In the present study, the antioxidative and antibacterial activities of Artemisia princeps Pampanini (A. princeps Pamp.) extract were investigated. The ethyl acetate fraction of A. princeps Pamp. showed the most prominent free radical (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl, DPPH) scavenging activity ($FSC_{50}=12.27{\mu}g/mL$). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging activities ($OSC_{50}$) of A. princeps Pamp. extract on $Fe^{3+}-EDTA/H_2O_2$ systems were investigated using a luminol-dependent chemiluminescence assay. The ethyl acetate fraction of the extract ($OSC_{50}=0.33{\mu}g/mL$) had a 5 times greater ROS scavenging activity than L-ascorbic acid ($1.50{\mu}g/mL$), known as a water soluble antioxidant. The cellular protective effects of fractions of A. princeps Pamp. on the rose-bengal sensitized photohemolysis of human erythrocytes were examined. The aglycone fraction of extracts suppressed photohemolysis in a concentration dependent manner. The inhibitory effects of A. princeps Pamp. extract on tyrosinase were investigated to assess their whitening efficiency. The ethyl acetate fraction demonstrated a 7 times higher tyrosinase inhibitory effect ($IC_{50}=29.20{\mu}g/mL$) than albutin, known as a whitening agent. The antibacterial activity of ethyl acetate fractions against various normal skin flora were measured. The results showed that the antibacterial activity of the fraction was the highest on Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, and Propionibacterium acnes. Antioxidant substances were isolated and purified from the ethyl acetate fractions. Eupatilin and jaceosidin were identified. These results indicate that the extract/fractions of A. princeps Pamp. can function as antioxidant and/or antibacterial agents for the skin.