• Title/Summary/Keyword: Critical levels

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Impact of Shift Work on the Eating Pattern, Physical Activity and Daytime Sleepiness Among Chilean Healthcare Workers

  • Farias, Rut;Sepulveda, Alejandro;Chamorro, Rodrigo
    • Safety and Health at Work
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    • v.11 no.3
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    • pp.367-371
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    • 2020
  • We evaluated the eating pattern, physical activity, and daytime sleepiness level in Chilean shift workers. Fifty, middle-aged adult health workers from a public hospital in Santiago, Chile, were included: a group undergoing shift work (shift workers, including at least one "night shift" and one "long day", n = 33), and day workers under traditional schedule (from 8:00 to 17:00h, n = 17). Body composition, physical activity, and daytime sleepiness levels, and diet characteristics (diet composition, meals' timing, and diet quality) were assessed. Despite similar total energy intake, shift worker showed lower carbohydrate (% of energy) and higher protein intake (both P < 0.01), decreased diet quality, an irregular eating pattern, and delayed meal timing (all P < 0.05). Physical activity and daytime sleepiness levels did not differ between groups. Findings from this first Chilean study in healthcare shift workers support the fact that meal timing and diet quality appear as critical factors for upcoming intervention studies in this group.

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae triggers complex transcriptomic defense network in rice

  • Nino, Marjohn;Nogoy, Franz M.;Song, Jae-Young;Kang, Kwon-Kyoo;Cho, Yong-Gu
    • Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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    • 2017.06a
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    • pp.164-164
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    • 2017
  • High throughput transcriptome investigations of immunity in plants highlight the complexity of gene networks leading to incompatible interaction. To identify genes crucial to resistance against Xanthomonas oryzae pv oryzae, functional genetic analysis of selected differentially expressed genes from our microarray data set was carried out. A total of 13 overexpression vector constructs were made using 35S CaMV promoter which drive constitutive expression in rice. Most of the genes are developmentally expressed especially during maximum tillering stage and are commonly highly expressed in the leaves. When screened against Xoo strain K2, the transgenic plants displayed shorter lesion length compared with wild type Dongjin which indicates partial resistance. The levels of ROS continuously magnified after inoculation which indicates robust cellular sensing necessary to initiate cell death. Elevated transcripts levels of several defense-related genes at the downstream of defense signal network also corroborate the phenotype reaction of the transgenic plants. Moreover, expression assays revealed regulation of these genes by cross-communicating signal-transductions pathways mediated by salicylic and jasmonic acid. These collective findings revealed the key immune signaling conduits critical to mount full defense against Xoo.

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Occupational Therapists' Professional Quality of Life

  • Chung, Jaeyeop
    • International Journal of Contents
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    • v.16 no.3
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    • pp.45-50
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    • 2020
  • Occupational therapists (OTs) interface patients much longer than other healthcare workers and, thus, are likely to experience a high level of stress because of work, physical fatigue, lack of professional knowledge and skills, and problematic relationships with patients, etc. This study examined the quality of the lives of OTs and the workplace which is an influential factor. This study recruited 200 OTs and used a professional quality of life scale. We found that, only 27.0% experience high levels of compassion satisfaction (CS) and 80.5% and 74.5% experience high or average levels of burnout (BO) and secondary traumatic stress (STS) of compassion fatigue (CF), respectively. We discovered that CS was higher in temporary employees; and CF was higher in females, subjects in their 30s; and those working at general hospitals. Also, BO was higher in those with one to five years of clinical experience and regular employees. Last, STS was higher in the group without stable income. This study verified that clinical experience is a critical factor that reduces BO, and excessive workload outside of treatment lowers the professional quality of life. This suggests that work environment and regulations related to OTs must be improved to increase CS and reduce CF.

Regulatory Viral and Cellular Elements Required for Potato Virus X Replication

  • Kim, Kook-Hyung
    • The Plant Pathology Journal
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    • v.17 no.3
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    • pp.115-122
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    • 2001
  • Potato virus X (PVX) is a flexuous rod-shaped virus containing a single plus-strand RNA. Viral RNA synthesis is precisely regulated by regulatory viral sequences and by viral and/or host proteins. RNA sequence element as well as stable RNA stem-loop structure in the 5' end of the genome affect accumulation of genomic RNA and subgenomic RNA (sgRNA). The putative sgRNA promoter regions upstream of the PVX triple gene block (TB) and coat protein (CP) gene were critical for both TB and CP sgRNA accumulation. Mutations that disrupted complementarity between a region at the 5' end of the genomic RNA and the sequences located upstream of each sgRNA initiation site is important for PVX RNA accumulation. Compensatory mutations that restore complementarity restored sgRNA accumulation levels. However, the extent of reductions in RNA levels did not directly correlate with the degree of complementarity, suggesting that the sequences of these elements are also important. Gel-retardation assays showed that the 5' end of the positive-strand RNA formed an RNA-protein complex with cellular proteins, suggesting possible involvement of cellular proteins for PVX replication. Future studies on cellular protein binding to the PVX RNA and their role in virus replication will bring a fresh understanding of PVX RNA replication.

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Transcriptional Profiling and Dynamical Regulation Analysis Identify Potential Kernel Target Genes of SCYL1-BP1 in HEK293T Cells

  • Wang, Yang;Chen, Xiaomei;Chen, Xiaojing;Chen, Qilong;Huo, Keke
    • Molecules and Cells
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    • v.37 no.9
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    • pp.691-698
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    • 2014
  • SCYL1-BP1 is thought to function in the p53 pathway through Mdm2 and hPirh2, and mutations in SCYL1-BP1 are associated with premature aging syndromes such as Geroderma Osteodysplasticum; however, these mechanisms are unclear. Here, we report significant alterations in miRNA expression levels when SCYL1-BP1 expression was inhibited by RNA interference in HEK293T cells. We functionally characterized the effects of potential kernel miRNA-target genes by miRNA-target network and protein-protein interaction network analysis. Importantly, we showed the diminished SCYL1-BP1 dramatically reduced the expression levels of EEA1, BMPR2 and BRCA2 in HEK293T cells. Thus, we infer that SCYL1-BP1 plays a critical function in HEK293T cell development and directly regulates miRNA-target genes, including, but not limited to, EEA1, BMPR2, and BRCA2, suggesting a new strategy for investigating the molecular mechanism of SCYL1-BP1.

An Efficiency Analysis of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) using Nonparametric Frontier Analysis (비모수 프런티어 접근을 통한 ICT 효율성 분석 연구)

  • Kim, Changhee;Yang, Hongsuk;Kim, Soo Wook
    • Journal of Information Technology Services
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    • v.16 no.4
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    • pp.1-13
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    • 2017
  • This study examines how specific technology from Information and Communications Technology (ICT)-which plays a critical role in increasing productivity by promoting a spread of technology across the society though the use of big data, mobile or wearable devices-impacts of the productivity of society and productivity of added values, respectively. The impact of technology was studied from the perspective of efficiency levels of input. In order to provide an analysis, we have categorized ICT into 16 specific technologies and have set the number of companies and number of employees each as an input factor while setting the respective output and the output of added values as an output factor. Afterwards, we have applied data envelopment analysis (DEA) which is a form of nonparametric frontier analysis and measured the productivity and efficiency of added values for each technology. According to the analysis results, there were 2 technologies by the CRS standards, and 3 technologies by the VRS standards that showed relative efficiency levels. We have also presented some efficiency improvement strategies for specific technologies that revealed relative inefficiency and offered a reference set and projection point. In addition, we provide an analysis on scale efficiencies (SE), diminishing returns to scale (DRS), and increasing returns to scale (IRS) of each ICT.

Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching and Teachers' Backgrounds: A study of U.S. Teachers (교수를 위한 수학적 지식과 교사의 배경: 미국 교사에 관한 연구)

  • Kim, Yeon
    • School Mathematics
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    • v.15 no.3
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    • pp.533-550
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    • 2013
  • Teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) strongly influence student achievement (Hill, Rowan, & Ball, 2005). However, there is generally no record that shows the levels of teachers' MKT in schools and districts. Because of the limited resources, schools and districts need some criteria to decide how to distribute their resources to help teachers improve MKT. This study explores what factors in teachers' backgrounds are related to their levels of MKT. This article examines the relationships between the MKT of 336 elementary teachers and their demographic, educational, and teaching backgrounds. To measure MKT, I used a series of multiple-choice problems. The number of years teaching mathematics is not critical to these measures. Implications are discussed with regard to policy for mathematics teacher education.

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Introduction to the Intelligent Excavating System: Concept design of Intuitive Operator Control Unit (지능형 굴삭시스템 개발: 직감형 원격제어 시스템 개념설계)

  • Yu, Byung-Gab;Lee, Seung-Yeol;Lee, Sang-Ho;Yu, Seok-Jong;Yu, Bo-Hyun;Jang, June-Hyun;Han, Chang-Soo
    • Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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    • 2007.04a
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    • pp.68-73
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    • 2007
  • Civil engineering construction work has always been accompanied by a high proportion of tasks that are either dangerous or unpleasant or both. Enhancing the general working environment and boosting safety levels are critical issues for the industry. In addition to that, the industry has been slow to utilize automation & robot technology, and there is substantial scope for the use of technology th boost efficiency, cut costs and improve quality levels in construction. In a bid to address this issue, Ministry of Construction & Transportation launched a five-year project in 2003 entitled Development of Intelligent Excavating System. The aim of the project is to use telecommunications and robotics technology to minimize inefficiencies and eliminate the dangerous and unpleasant aspects of tile construction process through the development of specific applications such as IT-equipped construction machinery and advanced construction management systems. In this paper, the project introduces on the research and development content related to multi-disciplinary, a intuitive operator control unit(Robot Technology) included.

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Human selenium binding protein-1 (hSP56) is a negative regulator of HIF-1α and suppresses the malignant characteristics of prostate cancer cells

  • Jeong, Jee-Yeong;Zhou, Jin-Rong;Gao, Chong;Feldman, Laurie;Sytkowski, Arthur J.
    • BMB Reports
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    • v.47 no.7
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    • pp.411-416
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    • 2014
  • In the present study, we demonstrate that ectopic expression of 56-kDa human selenium binding protein-1 (hSP56) in PC-3 cells that do not normally express hSP56 results in a marked inhibition of cell growth in vitro and in vivo. Down-regulation of hSP56 in LNCaP cells that normally express hSP56 results in enhanced anchorage-independent growth. PC-3 cells expressing hSP56 exhibit a significant reduction of hypoxia inducible protein (HIF)-$1{\alpha}$ protein levels under hypoxic conditions without altering HIF-$1{\alpha}$ mRNA (HIF1A) levels. Taken together, our findings strongly suggest that hSP56 plays a critical role in prostate cells by mechanisms including negative regulation of HIF-$1{\alpha}$, thus identifying hSP56 as a candidate anti-oncogene product.

Critical Evaluation of and Suggestions for a Comprehensive Project Based on the Special Act on Seoul Metropolitan Air Quality Improvement (수도권 대기환경 개선사업-진단과 제언)

  • Baek, Sung-Ok;Koo, Youn-Seo
    • Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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    • v.24 no.1
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    • pp.108-121
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    • 2008
  • On January 1, 2005, the Korean Ministry of Environment put into operation a comprehensive program, so called 'Blue Sky 21' project, for the improvement of air quality in greater Seoul metropolitan area. This program was legally based on the 'Special Act on Metropolitan Air Quality Improvement' for Greater Seoul area, which was established in 2003, and should be updated every 10 years. The principal objective of this program is to improve the air quality in Seoul and surrounding area by 2014 to the levels of air quality in Tokyo and Paris, with particular emphases on reducing the concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and $PM_{10}$. Any regulation of the emission of toxic air pollutants in general, and $NO_2$ and $PM_{10}$ in particular, should be based on human exposure levels and consequential health effects. In this article, the contents and feasibility of the special program were critically evaluated with respect to the reduction of health risks. Important issues for improving not only air quality but public health are discussed, and future requirements for the success of the special program are suggested.