• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.59 no.5
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• pp.513-518
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• 2021

The incidence of vivax malaria in Korea was reduced to a low plateau. For successful elimination of vivax malaria, socio-behavioral changes in the communities are essential. This study aimed to figure out awareness of the inhabitants on the vivax malaria endemicity. The 407 participants including vivax malaria patients and uninfected inhabitants in Gimpo- and Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do, known as high-risk areas in Korea. We used a community-based study design and non-probability sampling method using primary data. Except for the perception about the public health facilities' capability to cope with anti-malaria programs, the 2 groups of participants shared the same level of awareness about public promotional and educational measures and opinions for malaria elimination from the community. Thus, our future goals for malaria prevention and elimination are to develop more active and well-organized community-based education and evaluation programs collaborating with the community healthcare authorities and local governments.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.351-358
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• 2021

Backgrounds: Irregular and unpredictable work schedules have become more common in most societies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between unpredictable work schedules and depressive symptoms in Korea. Methods: Data from 34,486 workers who participated in the Korean Working Condition Survey in 2017 were used. Unpredictable work schedules were measured by questions about the frequency of changes in work schedule and limited advanced notice. Depressive symptoms were assessed by a single item asking if the participants had depressive symptoms over the last 12 months. Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) for high depressive symptoms. Results: The OR for depressive symptoms was significantly higher in the workers with unpredictable work schedules compared to those with predictable work schedules after controlling for age, sex, education, salary, marital status, occupation, contract period, full-time versus part-time, shift work, weekly working hours, and having a child under the age of 18 years (OR = 2.43, 95% confidence interval 1.93-3.07). Conclusion: Unpredictable work schedules were associated with depressive symptoms controlling for the other dimensions of precarious employment in a representative working population in Korea.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.354-364
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• 2021

Purpose: Kangaroo mother care (KMC) was introduced in Indonesia 30 years ago, but the extent of its use has not been fully documented. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the use of KMC and evaluate the characteristics of infants who received KMC at Koja District Hospital in North Jakarta, Indonesia. This retrospective cohort study recorded the characteristics of infants with birthweights less than or equal to 2,200 g at the above-mentioned hospital. Methods: Data collected from infant registers included gestational age, birthweight, Apgar score, number of complications, history of neonatal intensive care unit treatment, and KMC status. Cox regression analysis was conducted. Results: This study found that 57.7% of infants received KMC. Infants with birthweights over 1,500 g were 2.16 times (95% CI: 1.20-3.89) more likely to receive KMC. Conclusion: Efforts to promote KMC are recommended, specifically for infants with birthweights greater than 1,500 g. KMC for infants with other conditions can also be considered based on the infants' stability.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.274-282
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• 2019

Female Siberian sturgeon Acipenser baerii were crossed with male Russian sturgeon A. gueldenstaedtii and the development, ontogenetic behavior, and phototactic characteristics of the resultant hybrid prolarvae were examined. The fertilization rate of the hybrid group was similar to that of Siberian sturgeon (the maternal species), and the overall developmental characteristics of hybrid embryos were not significantly different from those of either parental species. The time window from first hatch to the completion of hatching was wider in Russian sturgeon than in Siberian and hybrid sturgeon groups. The prolarval viability of the hybrid group was similar to that of the maternal species, and significantly higher than that of the paternal species. Hybrid prolarvae displayed ontogenetic behavioral patterns that were quite similar to those of Siberian sturgeon. In an illumination preference test, hybrid prolarvae displayed significant positive phototaxis, similar to the maternal species, and clearly distinct from the negative phototactic character of the paternal species. Taken together, our data indicate that the prolarval traits of hybrid sturgeon from this cross more closely resemble those of the maternal than the paternal species.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.74-80
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• 2019

Nonylphenol is an endocrine-disrupting chemical that is the degradation product of the nonionic surfactants nonylphenol ethoxylates. To understand the contamination and behavioral characteristics of nonylphenol, we measured the nonylphenol concentrations in surface water in the lower reaches of the Suyeong River, Korea. The results were used to estimate the material balance. The target area was divided into three regions to estimate the material balance of nonylphenol. In region 1, in flux of the dissolved nonylphenol was 282.3 g/day and the nonylphenol influx in particulate suspended solids was 1,582.8 g/day. The dissolved nonylphenol outflow discharged toward region 2 was 192.5 g/day, while the adsorption to particulate suspended solids was 89.8 g/day. Within the particulate suspended solids, the outflow to region 2 was 1,250.0 g/day, while the estimated amount settling in the sediments was 422.7 g/day. The adsorption of dissolved nonylphenol to the particulate suspended solids in regions 1 and 2 was 31.8% and 54.9%, respectively. In region 3, the desorption rate was 8.8%.

• Advances in Energy Research
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.17-33
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• 2019

This study aimed to observe trends in the literature on research, development, and innovation management in the energy sector, using performance assessment systems. The paper presented a bibliometric analysis of 40 studies on the subject. These materials come from ScienceDirect, Scopus and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) databases from 2006 to 2016. The results showed an increasing trend in the number of publications on the theme, showing the scientific community's interest in the subject. In addition, it was verified that the predominant language used to write the publications was English, the country that most published articles in the area was Brazil and most of the articles were produced through collaboration between researchers. It was found that the journal with the greatest number of publications on the subject was the Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, while the Expert Systems with Applications journal presented the article with the greatest number of citations. This analysis allowed us to identify important points of the research and its future directions, in addition to enabling a better understanding of the world trend of the subject approached.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.687-697
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• 2021

This study aims to address the prevailing skepticism that conventional leadership models are not effective in the Middle East. With the same logic, selecting leaders is a confusing task in the Middle East due to the haphazardness surrounding this task and the lack of clarity of appropriate selection criteria. This study employs samples of leadership theories and frameworks that were scrutinized to classify specific leadership dimensions. The triangular model stemmed from the previous studies that addressed Leadership in general and the Leadership model for the Middle East. With the use of the literature review methodologies and historical analysis, the leadership model's description will be demonstrated. The results revealed that there are various dimensions of Leadership, especially concerning the Middle East's organizational environment. The findings of this study suggested a new model which assists in clarifying the issue by setting a group of 10 personality traits with eight behavioral skills and social status. Implications of this study enable making Leadership easier in practice. Furthermore, this will enable recognition of Leadership according to specific criteria, which will help make greater equality and empowerment at all levels of the system. This research localizes Leadership and paves the way to automate leaders' selection process with a guarantee of fairness among candidates.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.327-335
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• 2020

As the interest in oral health is increasing with quality of life. The most representative oral diseases include dental caries, periodontal disease, and malocclusion, as well as dry mouth and oral mucosa. Cinnamaldehyde have an antioxidant effect that has been studied not only to treat rheumatism and hypertension, but also to protect liver, and gastrointestinal tract, but there are few studies related to the control of oral diseases. The purpose of this study was the effect of enhanced orofacial pain when oral administration of cinnamaldehyde in the oral diseases. Cinnamaldehyde (5, 12.5, 25, and 50 mg/kg) orally administered at a dose of 1 mL, and the change in biological response was confirmed after a week. In addition, 5% formalin (30, 50 μL) was injected into TMJ and subcutaneous areas of the whiskers of rats to observe the change in the threshold of the improved orofacial pain model. As a result of the experiment, in the xerostomia model, drinking water was decreased in the cinnamaldehyde-administered group, feed intake and weight increased, and saliva was also increased compared to the naïve group. In particular, the most significant increase trend was observed at the concentrations of 25 and 50 mg/kg. In addition, it was confirmed that the pain behavioral response of the orofacial area improved by oral diseases decreased depending on the concentration of cinnamaldehyde. Based on these results, cinnamaldehyde effectively reduced symptoms related to xerostomia and showed improved pain relief in the orofacial areas.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.208-215
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to explain the pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to investigate the correlation between AD and microRNA. AD is the most common type of dementia, accounting for about 80% of all types of dementia, causing dysfunction in various daily activities such as memory loss, cognitive impairment, and behavioral impairment. The typical pathology of AD is explained by the accumulation of beta-amyloid peptide plaques and neurofibrillary tangles containing hyperphosphorylated tau protein. On the other hand, microRNA is small non-coding RNA 22~23 nucleotides in length that binds to the 3' untranslated region of messenger RNA to inhibit gene expression. Many reports explain that microRNAs found in circulating biofluids are abundant in the central nervous system, are involved in the pathogenic mechanism of AD, and act as important factors for early diagnosis and therapeutic agents of AD. Therefore, this paper aims to clarify the correlation between AD and microRNA. In this review, the basic mechanism of miRNAs is described, and the regulation of miRNAs in the pathological processes of AD are highlighted. Furthermore, we suggest that miRNA-based system in development of therapeutic and diagnostic agents of AD can be a promising tool.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.115-121
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• 2022

The Yezo sika deer (Cervus nippon yesoensis) is a subspecies of sika deer originated from Hokkaido, Japan. This paper is a study on the ecological impact caused by large mammals invading the ecosystem. Two pairs of deer were donated to the Agency for Defense Development in Taean in the late 1980s, and the population expanded to over 280 in 2018. The thermal imaging camera showed that the population ranged from 8 to 53 herds, divided into approximately 10 groups. It was confirmed that some of the herds had escaped the management area and invaded the nearby natural ecosystem, causing damage to cultivated land and natural vegetation. Herds of over 50 individuals have been studied in large grassland areas near drinking water sources such as streams and ponds. In places with excessive deer concentration, 1) feeding damage to herbs, shrubs and sub-trees, 2) tree withering due to antler-rubbing, and their habit of migrating along forest edges 3) excessive soil loss on slopes, 4) destruction of herbaceous layers due to compaction, and finally 5) damage to infrastructure were also investigated. As such, it is expected that the results of this study on the ecological and economic damage of Yezo sika deer can be used to predict the impact of other exotic sika deer in South Korea with similar behavioral characteristics and to establish a management plan.