• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.134-144
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• 2022

Purpose: A descriptive correlational survey was conducted to examine nurses' attitudes and stress related to perinatal bereavement care (PBC) and their relationships, with the ultimate goal of improving nurses' capabilities related to PBC. Methods: Korean nurses (N=136) who had experienced perinatal death at least once were recruited from seven hospitals. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The Korean version of Nurses' Attitudes towards Perinatal Bereavement Support was assessed in terms of three subdomains (attitudes to PBC, importance of policies related to PBC, and importance of training related to PBC), and nurses' stress was measured. Results: The participants gave high scores for the attitude-related items of "giving sufficient time to bereaved parents to mourn for their dead baby" (4.54 points) and "nurses should treat bereaved parents with respect and dignity" (4.51 points), and they perceived a high level of importance for the policy-related items of "every staff member in the hospital should understand the policies relevant for PBC" and "when nurses feel emotional exhaustion, they should seek support" (4.58 points). Nurses' attitude toward PBC was associated with the perceived importance of policies (r=.40, p<.001), the perceived importance of PBC-related training (r=.61, p<.001), and stress related to PBC (r=.29, p<.001). Nurses' perceived importance of PBC-related training was associated with stress related to PBC (r=.38, p<.001). Conclusion: Establishing hospital policies related to PBC and providing PBC training for nurses could positively affect nurses' attitudes toward PBC. A stress management program for nurses could reduce the stress caused by PBC.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2023.05a
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• pp.519-519
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• 2023

Estuarine dams are a recent and global phenomenon. While estuarine dams can provide the benefit of improved freshwater resources, they can also alter estuarine processes. Due to the wide range of estuarine types and estuarine dam configurations, the effect of estuarine dams on estuaries is not well understood in general. To develop a systematic understanding of the effect of estuarine dam location and freshwater discharge interval on a range of estuarine types (strongly stratified, partially mixed, periodically stratified, and well-mixed), this study used a coupled hydrodynamic-sediment dynamic numerical model (COAWST) and compared flow, sediment transport, and morphological conditions in the pre- and post-dam estuaries. For each estuarine type, scenarios with dam locations at 20, 55 and 90 km from the mouth and discharge intervals of a discharge every 0.5, 3, and 7 days were investigated. The results were analyzed in terms of change in tide, river discharge, estuarine classification, and sediment flux mechanism. The estuarine dam location primarily affected the tide-dominated estuaries, and the resonance length was an important length scale affecting the tidal currents and Stokes return flow. When the location was less than the resonance length, the tidal currents and Stokes return flow were most reduced due to the loss of tidal prism, the dead-end channel, and the shift from mixed to standing tides. The discharge interval primarily affected the river-dominated estuaries, and the tidal cycle period was an important time scale. When the interval was greater than the tidal cycle period, notable seaward discharge pulses and freshwater fronts occurred. Dams located near the mouth with large discharge interval differed the most from their pre-dam condition based on the estuarine classification. Greater discharge intervals, associated with large discharge magnitudes, resulted in scour and seaward sediment flux in the river-dominated estuaries, and the dam located near the resonance length resulted in the greatest landward tidal pumping sediment flux and deposition in the tide-dominated estuaries.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.251-262
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• 2023

Schistosomiasis causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. This study aimed to assess the effect of schistosomula lung antigen preparation (SLAP) and soluble egg antigen (SEA) on a murine schistosomiasis mansoni model. Ninety laboratory-bred male Swiss albino mice were divided into 6 groups. Two doses of the vaccine were given at 2-week intervals. All mice were subcutaneously infected with 80±10 Schistosoma mansoni cercariae 2 weeks after the last vaccination dose. They were sacrificed 7 weeks post-infection. Parasitological and histopathological studies were conducted to assess the effect of inoculated antigens (single or combined). The results showed that the combination of SLAP and SEA (combination group) led to a significant reduction in worm burden (65.56%), and liver and intestine egg count (59% and 60.59%, respectively). The oogram pattern revealed a reduction in immature and mature eggs (15±0.4 and 10±0.8, respectively) and an increased number of dead eggs in the combination group (P<0.001). In terms of histopathological changes, the combination group showed notably small compact fibrocellular egg granuloma and moderate fibrosis in the liver. A high percentage of destroyed ova was observed in the intestine of the combination group. This study demonstrates for the first time the prophylactic effect of combined SLAP and SEA vaccine. The vaccine induced a significant reduction in the parasitological and pathological impacts of schistosomiasis mansoni in hepatic and intestinal tissues, making it a promising vaccine candidate for controlling schistosomiasis.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.2140-2156
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• 2023

The Wireless Sensor Network (WSN), is constructed out of teeny-tiny sensor nodes that are very low-cost, have a low impact on the environment in terms of the amount of power they consume, and are able to successfully transmit data to the base station. The primary challenges that are presented by WSN are those that are posed by the distance between nodes, the amount of energy that is consumed, and the delay in time. The sensor node's source of power supply is a battery, and this particular battery is not capable of being recharged. In this scenario, the amount of energy that is consumed rises in direct proportion to the distance that separates the nodes. Here, we present a Hybrid Firefly Glow-Worm Swarm Optimization (HF-GSO) guided routing strategy for preserving WSNs' low power footprint. An efficient fitness function based on firefly optimization is used to select the Cluster Head (CH) in this procedure. It aids in minimising power consumption and the occurrence of dead sensor nodes. After a cluster head (CH) has been chosen, the Glow-Worm Swarm Optimization (GSO) algorithm is used to figure out the best path for sending data to the sink node. Power consumption, throughput, packet delivery ratio, and network lifetime are just some of the metrics measured and compared between the proposed method and methods that are conceptually similar to those already in use. Simulation results showed that the proposed method significantly reduced energy consumption compared to the state-of-the-art methods, while simultaneously increasing the number of functioning sensor nodes by 2.4%. Proposed method produces superior outcomes compared to alternative optimization-based methods.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.85-98
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• 2022

Background: Korean white pine (Pinus koraiensis) is a major commercial species, and the importance of the oak trees (Quercus spp.) is increasing due to various factors such as environmental and ecological values. However, more information is required to clearly understand the growth characteristics of these species especially regarding thinning intensity. This study was performed to provide the basic information to develop the silvicultural guideline and field manual by analyzing tree and stand characteristics in line with thinning intensity in the Korean white pine plantation and oak-dominated natural deciduous forest. Results: Diameter at breast height (DBH) and volume changes by the thinning intensity in the Korean white pine plantation were significantly different from those in the oak-dominated deciduous natural forest. In particular, DBH distribution in the pine stand appeared that there were more large diameter trees as the thinning intensity was higher. DBH periodic annual increment (PAI) of the pine stand was higher as the thinning intensity was stronger and the growth period was shorter. This trend was similarly shown in the natural deciduous forest, but the amount of PAI was smaller than in pine stand. The volume PAI after thinning was not decreased over time. In each stand type, the PAI tended to be lower as stand density was higher. The volume PAI in the pine stand was significantly higher than that in the oak-dominated natural deciduous forest. Dead trees occurred the most in the unthinned plots of each stand type, and those were higher in the natural deciduous forest. Ingrowth trees were observed only in the natural deciduous forest, and its distribution was the lowest in unthinned plots; Korean white pine as ingrowth occurred the most frequently among many tree species. Conclusions: Different effects of thinning treatment on DBH and volume PAI, mortality, and ingrowth were observed for each stand. With respect to forest growth, Korean white pine plantation was superior to the oak-dominated natural deciduous forest. The results of this study offer fundamental information for the development of silvicultural guidelines for Korean white pine plantations and oak-dominated natural deciduous forests in Korea.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.70-76
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• 2023

Background: Despite considerable technological advancements, polyspermy remains a significant challenge in in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures in pigs, disrupting normal embryonic development. Here, we aimed to determine whether optimal fertilization conditions reduce the polyspermy incidence in pigs. Methods: In vitro-matured oocytes were co-incubated with sperm according to a modified two-step culture system. Results: In the first experiment, oocytes were briefly co-incubated with sperm, washed in IVF medium, and then moved to fresh IVF medium for 5 or 6 h. Although the 6 h sperm-free cultured group had a higher penetration rate than the 5 h cultured group, the polyspermy rate significantly increased in the 6 h sperm-free cultured group. The gamete co-incubation period was either 20 or 40 min. The 40 min cultured group had a higher rate of blastocyst formation and number of total cells in blastocysts than the 20 min cultured group. In experiment 2, oocytes were inseminated with sperm separated by Pecroll treatment. Percoll treatment increased the rate of oocyte penetration and blastocyst formation compared to the control. In experiment 3, fertilized oocytes were cultured in 25 µL microdroplets (10 gametes/drop) or 500 µL (100 gametes/well) of culture medium in 4-well plates. The large volume of medium significantly reduced the number of dead oocytes and increased the rate of blastocyst formation compared to the small volume. Conclusions: Collectively, these results demonstrate that various fertilization conditions, including modified co-culture period, active sperm separation, and culture medium volume, enhance fertilization efficiency and subsequent embryonic development by decreasing polyspermy occurrence.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.86-90
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• 2012

Purpose: Quantification of myocardial blood flow (MBF) using dynamic PET imaging has the potential to assess coronary artery disease. Rb-82 plays a key role in the clinical assessment of myocardial perfusion using PET. However, MBF could be overestimated due to the underestimation of left ventricular input function in the beginning of the acquisition when the scanner has non-linearity between count rate and activity concentration due to the scanner dead-time. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated the count rate linearity as a function of the activity concentration in PET data acquired in list mode. Materials & methods: A cylindrical phantom (diameter, 12 cm length, 10.5 cm) filled with 296 MBq F-18 solution and 800 mL of water was used to estimate the linearity of the Biograph 40 True Point PET/CT scanner. PET data was acquired with 10 min per frame of 1 bed duration in list mode for different activity concentration levels in 7 half-lives. The images were reconstructed by OSEM and FBP algorithms. Prompt, net true and random counts of PET data according to the activity concentration were measured. Total and background counts were measured by drawing ROI on the phantom images and linearity was measured using background correction. Results: The prompt count rates in list mode were linearly increased proportionally to the activity concentration. At a low activity concentration (<30 kBq/mL), the prompt net true and random count rates were increased with the activity concentration. At a high activity concentration (>30 kBq/mL), the increasing rate of the prompt net true rates was slightly decreased while the increasing rate of random counts was increased. There was no difference in the image intensity linearity between OSEM and FBP algorithms. Conclusion: The Biograph 40 True Point PET/CT scanner showed good linearity of count rate even at a high activity concentration (~370 kBq/mL).The result indicates that the scanner is useful for the quantitative analysis of data in heart dynamic studies using Rb-82, N-13, O-15 and F-18.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.317-323
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• 2009

In this study the nanofiltration (NF) membrane treatment of a nitric acid waste solutions containing $Pb^{+2}$ heavy metal ion discharging from the etching processes of an electronics and semiconductors industry has been studied for the purpose of recycling of nitric acid etching solutions. Three kinds of NF membranes (General Electric Co. Duraslick NF-4040 membrane, Dow Co. Filmtec LP-4040 membrane and Koch Co. SelRO MPS-34 4040 membrane) were tested for their separation efficiency (total rejection) of $Pb^{+2}$ ion and membrane stability in nitric acid solution. NF experiments were carried out with a dead-end membrane filtration laboratory system. The membrane permeate flux was increased with the increasing storage time in nitric acid solution and lowering pH of acid solution because of the enhancing of NF membrane damage by nitric acid. The membrane stability in nitric acid solution was more superior in the order of Filmtec LP-4040 < Duraslick NF-4040 < SelRO MPS-34 4040 membrane. The total rejection of Pb+2 ion was decreased with the increasing storage time in nitric acid solution and lowering the pH of acid solution. The total rejection of $Pb^{+2}$ ion after 4 months NF treatment was decreased from 95% initial value to 20% in the case of Duraslick NF-4040 membrane, from 85% initial value to 65% in the case of SelRO MPS-34 4040 membrane and from 90% initial value to 10% in the case of Filmtec LP-4040 membrane. These results showed that SelRO MPS-34 4040 NF membrane was more suitable for the treatment of an acidic etching waste solutions containing heavy metal ions.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.137-145
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• 2012

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is the most important etiologic agent of aggressive periodontitis and can interact with endothelial cells. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) are chemokines, playing important roles in periodontal pathogenesis. In our current study, the effects of A. actinomycetemcomitans on the production of MCP-1 and IL-8 by human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were investigated. A. actinomycetemcomitans strongly induced the gene expression and protein release of both MCP-1 and IL-8 in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Dead A. actinomycetemcomitans cells were as effective as live bacteria in this induction. Treatment of HUVEC with cytochalasin D, an inhibitor of endocytosis, did not affect the mRNA up-regulation of MCP-1 and IL-8 by A. actinomycetemcomitans. However, genistein, an inhibitor of protein tyrosine kinases, substantially inhibited the MCP-1 and IL-8 production by A. actinomycetemcomitans, whereas pharmacological inhibition of each of three members of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase family had little effect. Furthermore, gel shift assays showed that A. actinomycetemcomitans induces a biphasic activation (early at 1-2 h and late at 8-16 h) of nuclear factor-${\kappa}B$ (NF-${\kappa}B$) and an early brief activation (0.5-2 h) of activator protein-1 (AP-1). Activation of canonical NF-${\kappa}B$ pathway ($I{\kappa}B$ kinase activation and $I{\kappa}B-{\alpha}$ degradation) was also demonstrated in these experiments. Although lipopolysaccharide from A. actinomycetemcomitans also induced NF-${\kappa}B$ activation, this activation profile over time differed from that of live A. actinomycetemcomitans. These results suggest that the expression of MCP-1 and IL-8 is potently increased by A. actinomycetemcomitans in endothelial cells, and that the viability of A. actinomycetemcomitans and bacterial internalization are not required for this effect, whereas the activation of protein tyrosine kinase(s), NF-${\kappa}B$, and AP-1 appears to play important roles. The secretion of high levels of MCP-1 and IL-8 resulting from interactions of A. actinomycetemcomitans with endothelial cells may thus contribute to the pathogenesis of aggressive periodontitis.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.43-48
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• 1997

To exam infestation rate and removal rate of head louse, we did delousing at 27 primary schools and 19 kindergartens established as an annex to the primary school in Namwon-shi, Jollabuk-do, Korea, from May to December 1995. Total of 3123 subjects were examined ed for the presence of head lice and nits The overall infestation rate was 9.6%, 9.5% in primary school children and 10.1% in kindergarten children. Among 299 infested children, 55 children evaluated by live nit had louse, and 79 children had dead nit. According to distractive research, Ibaek-myon and Songdong-myon revealed high infestation rate of 27.3%, and 21.7% respectively. Infestation rate of primary school was 0 to 50.9%, kindergarten was 0 to 100%. Infestation rate of female children were higher than male in all grades. When we executed one time treatment with PARA$^{(R)}$ aerosol(bioallethrin with piperonyl butoxide), treatment rate of 65.1% was examined, 82.8% was examined in three times of treatment. We concluded that 3 times of treatments interval of 14 days were more effective than one time in the case of treatment of only infested children. In order to prevent the spread of head lice, education of school hygiene and suitable delousing attempts should be executed in the present situation.