• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.216-225
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• 2020

Background: Garlic oil is a rich source of organosulfur compounds including diallyl disulfide and diallyl trisulfide. There have been studies showing the neuroprotective actions of these organosulfur compounds. However, the potential of these organosulfur compounds in neuropathic pain has not been explored. The present study was aimed at investigating the pain attenuating potential of diallyl disulfide and diallyl trisulfide in chronic constriction injury (CCI)-induced neuropathic pain in rats. The study also explored their pain-attenuating mechanisms through modulation of H₂S, brain-derived neurotrophin factor (BDNF) and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2). Methods: The rats were subjected to CCI injury by ligating the sciatic nerve in four places. The development of neuropathic pain was measured by assessing mechanical hyperalgesia (Randall-Selittotest), mechanical allodynia (Von Frey test), and cold allodynia (acetone drop test) on 14th day after surgery. Results: Administration of diallyl disulfide (25 and 50 mg/kg) and diallyl trisulfide (20 and 40 mg/kg) for 14 days led to a significant reduction in pain in CCI-subjected rats. Moreover, treatment with these organosulfur compounds led to the restoration of H₂S, BDNF and Nrf2 levels in the sciatic nerve and dorsal root ganglia. Co-administration of ANA-12 (BDNF blocker) abolished pain attenuating actions as well as BDNF and the Nrf2 restorative actions of diallyl disulfide and diallyl trisulfide, without modulating H₂S levels. Conclusions: Diallyl disulfide and diallyl trisulfide have the potential to attenuate neuropathic pain in CCI-subjected rats possibly through activation of H₂S-BDNF-Nrf2 signaling pathway.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.83-96
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• 2011

The open space of apartment complex has changed diversely according to construction periods which were divided into the introduction stage (the 1980s), the development stage (the 1990s), and the maturity stage (after 1999). This study set out to analyze the periodic changes of visual characteristics and preference with the open space of apartment complexes in Cheongju City. For analysis of visual characteristics and preference, nineteen adjectives that were determined to sufficiently express the feeling of the open space of apartment complex. The results are as follows. As for adjective image assessment by using descriptive statistics, favorable images were shown in complexes of maturity stage phase that were constructed after the liberalization of apartment sale in 1999. These results may be caused both by quantitative increase and diversification of materials in planting and landscaping furniture and by nature-friendly designing. The results of factor analysis by Varimax rotation method showed that common variance was 73.9%, which indicates higher explanation. The nineteen adjectives could be divided into three factors, 'pleasantness factor,' 'negative factor,' and 'irregular factor.' Visual preference was analysed by using Least significant Difference (LSD) by analysis of variance : complexes of maturity stage phase that were constructed according to the liberalization of apartment sale in 1999 were highest in assessment. The correlation between view preference and adjective images was analyzed by multiple regression analysis, and 'feeling like walking,' 'well-arranged,' 'beautiful,' 'friendly,' and 'clean' (in order) were adjective images that most affected the preference. As for the analysis of the correlation between visual preference and physical components of view, the preference increased as the rate of pavement and greens was higher, while it decreased as size of building was larger. Therefore, backgrounds of walking and greens had strong effects on the preference.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.1253-1263
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to develop and examine a validity and reliability of an instrument to assess hospital workers' perception for protection of personal health information. The process included construction of a conceptual framework, generation of initial items, verification of content validity, preliminary study, and extraction of final items. Content validity was verified by 3 experts from nursing and health information management areas, and the construct validity was evaluated by item analysis, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. The reliability was examined by Cronbach's alpha. The participants were 279 hospital workers including nurses, administrative officers, and other medical health professionals. Using a confirmatory factor analysis, a four-factor structure was validated with construct validity. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of a total of 13 items categorized into 4 factors was .83. Finally, the instrument is a valid and reliable to assess hospital workers' perception for protection of personal health information.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.495-504
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• 2000

Objectives : To examine various dimensions of consumer ratings of health care service with factor analysis and to find which factors influence the overall quality of health care service. Methods : A cross-sectional study was conducted on outpatients of a general hospital located in Sungnam City. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess the consumer's ratings of health care service received. The response rate was 92.8% with a total of 537 persons completing the questionnaire. Factor analysis was performed on 34 items evaluating the quality of health care service. Items were grouped into 5 dimensions as a result of factor analysis and the reliability and validity of influence on patient service assessment were evaluated for each dimension. Results : The 5 dimensions were as follows, 1) physician services, 2) non-physician services, 3) process 4) facilities, and 5) cleanliness A positive correlation with the quality of health care service was found for the dimensions of non-physician services and process, while no significant correlation was found for the dimensions of physician services, facilities, and cleanliness. Conclusions : The result of this study may provide basic information for the development of future self-administered questionnaires of consumer ratings and for the evaluation of quality improvement activities in hospital outpatient settings.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.337-341
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• 2013

Objective : After spinal cord injury (SCI), functional and structural reorganization occurs at multiple levels of brain including motor cortex. However, the underlying mechanism still remains unclear. The current study was performed to investigate the alterations in the expression of the main regulators of neuronal development, survival and death, in the brain following thoracic contusive SCI in a mouse model. Methods : Eight-week-old female imprinting control region mice (n=60; 30-35 g) were used in this study. We analyzed the expression levels of regulators such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), nerve growth factor (NGF) and histone deacetylase (HDAC) 1 in the brain following thoracic contusive SCI. Results : The expression of BDNF levels were elevated significantly compared with control group at 2 weeks after injury (p<0.05). The expression of NGF levels were elevated at 2, 4 weeks compared with control group, but these difference were not significant (p>0.05). The GDNF levels were elevated at 2 week compared with control group, but these differences were not significant (p>0.05). The difference of HDAC1 levels were not significant at 2, 4 and 8 weeks compared with control group (p>0.05). Conclusion : These results demonstrate that the upregulation of BDNF may play on important role in brain reorganization after SCI.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.468-479
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• 2016

In order to supply power to online monitoring systems that are attached to high voltage catenary or overhead wires, a wireless power transfer system is required that is able to transmit power over the insulation gap. Such wireless power transfer systems have transmitter and receiver coils that have diameters of over 10cm. This paper focused on an investigation of the sources of loss in the coils when the coils are fabricated using printed circuit board technology. Using finite element simulation results, it has been shown that the dielectric loss in the substrate was the dominant source of the total loss. It has been demonstrated that the selection of a proper dielectric material was the most critical factor in reducing the loss. For further reduction of the loss, the distributed tuning capacitor method and the slotting of the inter-turn spaces have been proposed. For the evaluation of the proposed methods, four coils have been fabricated and their equivalent series resistances and quality factors were measured. Measured quality factors were greater than 300, which means that these devices will be helpful in achieving high coil-to-coil efficiency.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.10
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• pp.109-117
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• 2021

This study investigates the effects of FDI and other macroeconomic variables on Total Factor Productivity (TFP) in selected ASEAN+3 countries from 1981 till 2016. Total Factor Productivity (TFP) for each ASEAN+3 country was constructed using the Malmquist productivity index method. Then, a panel ARDL framework (dynamic heterogeneous panel), namely Pooled Mean Group (PMG), Mean Group (MG), and Dynamic Fixed Effect (DFE) are employed in examining the effects of FDI and other controlling variables on TFP. The new findings show that FDI has a significant and positive impact on TFP in the long run and the short run in ASEAN+3 countries. Besides, the results also reveal that in the long run, other variables such as the average number of years of schooling and the ratio of high-skilled to low-skilled labor also have a significant and positive effect on TFP. However, economic openness, government expenditure on R&D, and interaction between countries and FDI have a negative and significant impact on TFP. These findings implied that the recipient countries must ensure their political stability and offer various incentives to attract more investors. Furthermore, the influx of foreign investors, especially large ones and lower costs, should be encouraged by each country as FDI inflows can boost their TFP growth.

• The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.79-87
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• 2021

This study suggests a design process for vibrotactile interface that can apply haptic perception factors reflecting human tactile mechanisms. This process consists of 4 stages: the haptic sense requirement analysis stage, the haptic element analysis stage, the haptic perception factor analysis stage, the haptic requirement detailed design, and the prototype implementation stage. The advantage of this design process is that unnecessary tasks can be excluded in deriving and implementing user requirements, by applying haptic perception factor analysis, and the biggest feature is that research results on ergonomic mechanisms can be reflected in the haptic design, completes prototype development simultaneously while determining the haptic requirements statement by performing user evaluation, usability testing, and haptic feature optimization tasks simultaneously. This design process includes all stages from user requirements to haptic function detailed design and prototype implementation, so it is expected that general developers who lack expertise in haptic will also be able to design user-centered designs, enabling design and implementation of haptic functions at a certain level.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.99-110
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• 2019

Objective: The aim of the present study was to develop a valid and reliable scale that measures the healthy life styles among young adults. Design: A methodological study design was employed to develop and validate the Healthy Lifestyle Screening Tool (HLST). Methods: The validity and reliability of the HLST were established in accordance with DeVellis' 8 steps guideline for tool development. The question items were generated based on literature reviews and interviews, which were then classified into 12 categories. The HLST was administered to 272 students attending a Korean university. The reliability was tested using Cronbach's alpha. The validity of the scale was examined with the mean inter-item correlations (MIIC) and factor analysis, and was also examined for content validity by experts. Results: The reliability of the HLST was found to be acceptable, as indicated by a Cronbach's alpha of 0.71. In the validity test, items with less than 80% "agreement" ratings on the content validity index by experts were revised. The MIIC values were greater than 0.25. A factor analysis of 36 items extracted 9 factors (i.e., four items per factor), which together explained 50.4% of the variance. The HLST consists of 36 items that measure 9 factors based on a 4-point Likert rating scale, with 4 items per factor, as follows: sunlight, water, air, rest, exercise, nutrition, temperance, trust, and general physical condition. High scores on the HLST are indicative of a healthy lifestyle (HL). Conclusions: The HLST is a valid and reliable scale that can be used to measure HL among young adults. Identification of HL by using the HLST can provide guidance to integrated therapeutic approaches along with conventional physical therapy.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.314-321
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• 2019

The Self-Adaptive Vision Correction Algorithm (SAVCA) developed in this study was suggested for improving usability by modifying four parameters (Modulation Transfer Function Rate, Astigmatic Rate, Astigmatic Factor and Compression Factor) except for Division Rate 1 and Division Rate 2 among six parameters in Vision Correction Algorithm (VCA). For verification, SAVCA was applied to two-dimensional mathematical benchmark functions (Six hump camel back / Easton and fenton) and 30-dimensional mathematical benchmark functions (Schwefel / Hyper sphere). It showed superior performance to other algorithms (Harmony Search, Water Cycle Algorithm, VCA, Genetic Algorithms with Floating-point representation, Shuffled Complex Evolution algorithm and Modified Shuffled Complex Evolution). Finally, SAVCA showed the best results in the engineering problem (speed reducer design). SAVCA, which has not been subjected to complicated parameter adjustment procedures, will be applicable in various fields.