• Title/Summary/Keyword: agent-based control

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Factors affecting Pig Farmers' Adoption of the HACCP System

  • Jung, Gu-Hyun;Ahn, Kyeong Ah;Kim, Han-Eul;Jo, Hye Bin;Choe, Young-Chan
    • Agribusiness and Information Management
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    • v.3 no.2
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    • pp.43-62
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    • 2011
  • The goal of this study is to determine, based on survey results, the underlying factors that affect the intention of the farmers who have not adopted the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system for the rearing phase of pig production to adopt this system in the future. The research model for this study was con structed based on strategic contingency theory, the theory of the diffusion of innovation, and the technology acceptance model (TAM). Using structural equation modeling with partial least squares (PLS), this study analyzes the effects of the intensity of competition, the environmental uncertainty, the innovativeness and self-efficacy of the individual farmers, and the impact of the credibility of the Agricultural Technology Service Center (ATSC), which acts as the principal agent of technology dissemination and as a leader of change, on the perceived usefulness of technology and the farmers' intention to adopt the system. The results of the analysis are as follows. First, with regard to the underlying factors affecting the intention to adopt the new system, the intensity of competition within the industry and the institutional credibility of the ATSC were inferred to underlie the perceived usefulness. Second, institutional credibility has a positive impact on the perceived usefulness of the system, and the perceived usefulness, in turn, has a positive impact on the intention to adopt. The perceived ease of use also has a positive impact on the intention to adopt. Because the factor that has the biggest impact on the intention of a farm to adopt is the credibility of the ATSC, it is crucial for extension organizations, such as the ATSC, to make greater efforts to promote the expansion of the HACCP system. Because farmers feel that the implementation of the HACCP system is an instrumental strategy for coping with the high intensity of competition within the industry, they attempt to gain a competitive edge through the production of safe livestock products.

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Antidepressant Effects of JG02 on Chronic Restraint Stress Animal Model (만성구속스트레스 동물모델에 대한 JG02의 항우울 효과)

  • You, Dong Keun;Seo, Young Kyung;Lee, Ji-Yoon;Kim, Ju Yeon;Jung, Jin-Hyeong;Choi, Jeong June;Jung, In Chul
    • Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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    • v.30 no.3
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    • pp.209-220
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    • 2019
  • Objectives: As a general emotion, everyone can temporarily experience depression, but depressive disorder is a disease that excessively affects daily life. Among the various causes of depression, the deficiency of monoamine-based neurotransmitters such as serotonin and epinephrine are considered significant. Thus, antidepressants that target monoamines are used frequently. However, side effects such as nausea, vomiting, insomnia, anxiety, and sexual dysfunction are observed. Thus, it is necessary to develop a new therapeutic agent with fewer side effects. In this study, we investigated the antidepressant effect of JG02, used to treat depression by normalizing the flow of qi (氣) in Korean medicine. Methods: C57BL/6 mice were selected and randomly divided into six groups: normal, control, amitriptyline, and JG02 (50, 125, 250 mg/kg), respectively. Except for normal, depression was induced by applying restraint stress at the same time for six hours daily for 14 consecutive days. Saline, amitriptyline or JG02 samples were orally administered two hours before applying the stress. After that, a forced swimming test and an open field test were performed. Additionally, serum corticosterone, serotonin mRNA, BDNF mRNA, and protein in the hippocampal region were measured and compared. Results: JG02 decreased immobility time rate in the FST and increased the zone transition number and travel distance in the OFT. Also, JG02 inhibited the release of serum corticosterone, and increased serotonin, BDNF gene expression, and BDNF protein in the hippocampus. Conclusions: In this study, JG02 showed significant antidepressant effects on the chronic restraint stress mice model. When further research is performed based on JG02, the development of a new antidepressant is considered highly possible.

Suggestions for the Independent Body in the era of Artificial Intelligence Choreography (인공지능 안무 시대의 주체적 몸을 위한 제언)

  • Yim, Sujin
    • Trans-
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    • v.12
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    • pp.1-19
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    • 2022
  • This study predicts and raises the changes that AI will bring to dance art when machine-based choreography began, and finds questions we can ask as human artists. Research suggests that one of the crises of dance in the era of machine creative arts is that artificial intelligence does not stay in the tool of human choreography but becomes the subject of choreography. It is based on the political discourse of choreography that artificial intelligence has the power to control and restrict human dancers. This comes from a sense of crisis that the AI takes over the area of choreography and the human choreographer remains an incompetent coordinator, and as a result, the dancer's dancing body can be reduced to a mechanical body controlled by AI. In order for these concerns not to become a reality, this study proposes three measures. First, choreographer and dancer should develop digital literacy to live in the age of AI art. Secondly, choreographer should acquire the ability to accurately distinguish the roles of human choreographer, dancer, and AI in creative work. Thirdly, various levels of discourse on AI dance should be formed by actively conducting mutual media research of dance and technology. Through these efforts, the human dancer will exist as a subject of art, not a passive agent in the new dance ecosystem brought by the innovation of artificial intelligence technology and will be able to face an era coexistence with artificial intelligence creativily and productively.

Sustained release of alginate hydrogel containing antimicrobial peptide Chol-37(F34-R) in vitro and its effect on wound healing in murine model of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection

  • Shuaibing Shi;Hefan Dong;Xiaoyou Chen;Siqi Xu;Yue Song;Meiting Li;Zhiling Yan ;Xiaoli Wang ;Mingfu Niu ;Min Zhang;Chengshui Liao
    • Journal of Veterinary Science
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    • v.24 no.3
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    • pp.44.1-44.17
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    • 2023
  • Background: Antibiotic resistance is a significant public health concern around the globe. Antimicrobial peptides exhibit broad-spectrum and efficient antibacterial activity with an added advantage of low drug resistance. The higher water content and 3D network structure of the hydrogels are beneficial for maintaining antimicrobial peptide activity and help to prevent degradation. The antimicrobial peptide released from hydrogels also hasten the local wound healing by promoting epithelial tissue regeneration and granulation tissue formation. Objective: This study aimed at developing sodium alginate based hydrogel loaded with a novel antimicrobial peptide Chol-37(F34-R) and to investigate the characteristics in vitro and in vivo as an alternative antibacterial wound dressing to treat infectious wounds. Methods: Hydrogels were developed and optimized by varying the concentrations of crosslinkers and subjected to various characterization tests like cross-sectional morphology, swelling index, percent water contents, water retention ratio, drug release and antibacterial activity in vitro, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa infected wound mice model in vivo. Results: The results indicated that the hydrogel C proved superior in terms of cross-sectional morphology having uniformly sized interconnected pores, a good swelling index, with the capacity to retain a higher quantity of water. Furthermore, the optimized hydrogel has been found to exert a significant antimicrobial activity against bacteria and was also found to prevent bacterial infiltration into the wound site due to forming an impermeable barrier between the wound bed and external environment. The optimized hydrogel was found to significantly hasten skin regeneration in animal models when compared to other treatments in addition to strong inhibitory effect on the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α). Conclusions: Our results suggest that sodium alginate -based hydrogels loaded with Chol-37(F34-R) hold the potential to be used as an alternative to conventional antibiotics in treating infectious skin wounds.

A Study on the Resource Recovery of Fe-Clinker generated in the Recycling Process of Electric Arc Furnace Dust (전기로 제강분진의 재활용과정에서 발생되는 Fe-Clinker의 자원화에 관한 연구)

  • Jae-hong Yoon;Chi-hyun Yoon;Hirofumi Sugimoto;Akio Honjo
    • Resources Recycling
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    • v.32 no.1
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    • pp.50-59
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    • 2023
  • The amount of dust generated during the dissolution of scrap in an electric arc furnace is approximately 1.5% of the scrap metal input, and it is primarily collected in a bag filter. Electric arc furnace dust primarily consists of zinc and ion. The processing of zinc starts with its conversion into pellet form by the addition of a carbon-based reducing agent(coke, anthracite) and limestone (C/S control). These pellets then undergo reduction, volatilization, and re-oxidation in rotary kiln or RHF reactor to recover crude zinc oxide (60%w/w). Next, iron is discharged from the electric arc furnace dust as a solid called Fe clinker (secondary by-product of the Fe-base). Several methods are then used to treat the Fe clinker, which vary depending on the country, including landfilling and recycling (e.g., subbase course material, aggregate for concrete, Fe-source for cement manufacturing). However, landfilling has several drawbacks, including environmental pollution due to leaching, high landfill costs, and wastage of iron resources. To improve Fe recovery in the clinker, we pulverized it into optimal -sized particles and employed specific gravity and magnetic force selection methods to isolate this metal. A carbon-based reducing agent and a binding material were added to the separated coarse powder (>10㎛) to prepare briquette clinker. A small amount (1-3%w/w) of the briquette clinker was charged with the scrap in an electric arc furnace to evaluate its feasibility as an additives (carbonaceous material, heat-generating material, and Fe source).

Survey the Occurrences and Establishment of Environment-friendly Control System of Ricania shanthungensis in Jeonnam Province (전남지역 갈색날개매미충 발생현황과 친환경 방제)

  • Choi, Duck-Soo;Ma, Kyung-Cheol;Kim, Hyo-Jeong;Lee, Jin-Hee;Oh, Sang-A;Kim, Seon-Gon
    • Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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    • v.26 no.3
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    • pp.439-452
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    • 2018
  • This study was carried out to establish of environment-friendly control system and to survey the occurrence status of Ricania shanthungensis in Jeonnam province from 2016 to 2017. R. shanthungensis occurred at 1,344 ha in 61 towns of 15 cities in Gwangju and Jeonnam province. At four sites in the stationary area, the densities of eggmass and pupae were lower in 2017 than in 2016, the hatching rate decreased, and the first hatching time, emergence of adults, and the start of spawning tended to be slower. Telenomus sp., an egg parasitoid of R. shanthungensis, was found in most areas. Sunchon had the highest rate of 46.1%, followed by Muan 40.6, Goksung 29.2, Gurye 25.8, and Gwangju 17, respectively. The optimum spraying time for the control of R. shanthungensis was early March. The spraying material and the dilution multiples are 10 times of the machine oil at environmental friendly cultivation and 500 times of the chlorpriphosphate wp. at normal cultivation. When sprayed these materials, 95% of egg prohibited to hatch. There was more than 80% of the insecticidal effects on the organic materials of the machine oil emulsion, the Sophora root extrect + microbial extract agent, and the castor emulsion. For adults, Sophora root extrect + microbial extract, neem extract, and machine oil were better. Four kinds of chemical pesticides such as dinotefuran wp were effective for nymph and adult control. We have developed an adult catching device using the most preferred daylight color and behavioral habits of R. shanthungensis. The capture device consisted of two daylight compact lamps (30W and 20W), a yellow plate, and a catcher using water, and caught about 700 individuals a day. Based on the above results, we have established a system for controlling and life cycle of R. shanthungensis in Jeonnam province.

An Empirical Study on the Improvement of In Situ Soil Remediation Using Plasma Blasting, Pneumatic Fracturing and Vacuum Suction (플라즈마 블라스팅, 공압파쇄, 진공추출이 활용된 지중 토양정화공법의 정화 개선 효과에 대한 실증연구)

  • Jae-Yong Song;Geun-Chun Lee;Cha-Won Kang;Eun-Sup Kim;Hyun-Shic Jang;Bo-An Jang;Yu-Chul Park
    • The Journal of Engineering Geology
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    • v.33 no.1
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    • pp.85-103
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    • 2023
  • The in-situ remediation of a solidified stratum containing a large amount of fine-texture material like clay or organic matter in contaminated soil faces limitations such as increased remediation cost resulting from decreased purification efficiency. Even if the soil conditions are good, remediation generally requires a long time to complete because of non-uniform soil properties and low permeability. This study assessed the remediation effect and evaluated the field applicability of a methodology that combines pneumatic fracturing, vacuum extraction, and plasma blasting (the PPV method) to improve the limitations facing existing underground remediation methods. For comparison, underground remediation was performed over 80 days using the experimental PPV method and chemical oxidation (the control method). The control group showed no decrease in the degree of contamination due to the poor delivery of the soil remediation agent, whereas the PPV method clearly reduced the degree of contamination during the remediation period. Remediation effect, as assessed by the reduction of the highest TPH (Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons) concentration by distance from the injection well, was uncleared in the control group, whereas the PPV method showed a remediation effect of 62.6% within a 1 m radius of the injection well radius, 90.1% within 1.1~2.0 m, and 92.1% within 2.1~3.0 m. When evaluating the remediation efficiency by considering the average rate of TPH concentration reduction by distance from the injection well, the control group was not clear; in contrast, the PPV method showed 53.6% remediation effect within 1 m of the injection well, 82.4% within 1.1~2.0 m, and 68.7% within 2.1~3.0 m. Both ways of considering purification efficiency (based on changes in TPH maximum and average contamination concentration) found the PPV method to increase the remediation effect by 149.0~184.8% compared with the control group; its average increase in remediation effect was ~167%. The time taken to reduce contamination by 80% of the initial concentration was evaluated by deriving a correlation equation through analysis of the TPH concentration: the PPV method could reduce the purification time by 184.4% compared with chemical oxidation. However, the present evaluation of a single site cannot be equally applied to all strata, so additional research is necessary to explore more clearly the proposed method's effect.

Monitoring Technique of Pumpkin Fruit Flies Using Terpinyl Acetate-Protein Diet Lure and Development of Its Spraying Formulation for The Fly Control (Terpinyl acetate-단백질먹이 유인제를 이용한 호박과실파리류 연중발생 모니터링 기술 및 살포용 방제 제형 개발)

  • Kim, Yonggyun;Ahn, Jeong Joon
    • Korean journal of applied entomology
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    • v.59 no.1
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    • pp.15-22
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    • 2020
  • Two tephritid fruit flies are infesting pumpkins in Korea. Both are classified into genus of Zeugodacus. The striped fruit fly, Z. scutellata, males are attracted to a lure called Cuelure (CL), which has been used to monitor the occurrence of this fruit fly in the crop field. In contrast, no effective male lure was not developed to monitor the pumpkin fruit fly, Z. depressa. Protein diet lure has been used to attract females of most fruit flies. The addition of terpinyl acetate (TA) was effective to increase the attractiveness of Z. depressa. This study aimed to monitor the occurrence of Z. depressa in pumpkin field with TA-protein diet lure. To validate the efficiency of TA-protein diet lure, Z. scutellata was monitored in a year of 2019 using CL and TA-protein diet lures, and the yearly monitoring data were compared. The occurrence patterns derived from both lures were similar except late season after October. The extended catches of TA-protein diet lure might be explained by the adult diapause induction of Z. scutellata at late September. Monitoring Z. depressa with TA-protein diet lure gave two peaks at mid July and August-September, in which more than 80% catches were females. Based on the attractiveness of TA-protein diet lure, its wettable powder with an addition of spinosad insecticide was formulated and sprayed to pumpkin crops. After 7 days post-spray, the control efficacy recorded more than 70%. However, the control efficacies decreased as the time progressed after the spray. These results demonstrated the application of TA-protein diet lure for monitoring occurrence of Z. depressa in pumpkin-cultivating field conditions. The wettable powder containing spinosad can be applied to develop a new control agent against two pumpkin fruit flies.

Prospective Multi-Center Korean Registry of Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization with Drug-Eluting Embolics for Nodular Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Two-Year Outcome Analysis

  • Myungsu Lee;Jin Wook Chung;Kwang-Hun Lee;Jong Yun Won;Ho Jong Chun;Han Chu Lee;Jin Hyoung Kim;In Joon Lee;Saebeom Hur;Hyo-Cheol Kim;Yoon Jun Kim;Gyoung Min Kim;Seung-Moon Joo;Jung Suk Oh
    • Korean Journal of Radiology
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    • v.22 no.10
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    • pp.1658-1670
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    • 2021
  • Objective: To assess the two-year treatment outcomes of chemoembolization with drug-eluting embolics (DEE) for nodular hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Materials and Methods: This study was a prospective, multicenter, registry-based, single-arm trial conducted at five university hospitals in Korea. Patients were recruited between May 2011 and April 2013, with a target population of 200. A DC Bead loaded with doxorubicin was used as the DEE agent. Patients were followed up for two years. Per-patient and per-lesion tumor response analysis, per-patient overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) analysis, and per-lesion tumor control analysis were performed. Results: The final study population included 152 patients, with 207 target lesions for the per-lesion analysis. At one-month, six-month, one-year, and two-year per-patient assessments, complete response (CR) rates were 40.1%, 43.0%, 33.3%, and 19.6%, respectively. The objective response (OR) rates were 91.4%, 55.4%, 35.1%, and 19.6%, respectively. The cumulative two-year OS rate was 79.7%. The cumulative two-year PFS rate was 22.4% and the median survival was 9.3 months. In multivariable analysis, the Child-Pugh score (p = 0.019) was an independent predictor of OS, and tumor multiplicity (p < 0.001), tumor size (p = 0.020), and Child-Pugh score (p = 0.006) were independent predictors of PFS. In per-lesion analysis, one-month, six-month, one-year and two-year CR rates were 57.5%, 58.5%, 45.2%, and 33.3%, respectively, and the OR rates were 84.1%, 65.2%, 46.6%, and 33.3%, respectively. The cumulative two-year per-lesion tumor control rate was 36.2%, and the median time was 14.1 months. The Child-Pugh score (p < 0.001) was the only independent predictor of tumor control. Serious adverse events were reported in 11 patients (7.2%). Conclusion: DEE chemoembolization for nodular HCCs in the Korean population showed acceptable survival, tumor response, and safety profiles after a two-year follow-up. Good liver function (Child-Pugh score A5) was a key predictor of per-patient OS, PFS, and per-lesion tumor control.

Anti-inflammatory effects of HC001 on atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions in mice (HC001의 아토피성 피부염에 대한 항염증 효능 및 기전 연구)

  • Choi, You-Youn;Kim, Mi-Hye;Kum, Chang-Jun;Choi, Young-Jin;Hwang, Man-Ki;Sohn, Young-Joo;Jung, Hyuk-Sang;Yang, Woong-Mo
    • Herbal Formula Science
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    • v.20 no.1
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    • pp.41-49
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    • 2012
  • Objectives : The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of external application of HC001 on atopic dermatitis. HC001, newly composed herbal medicine combinations contains 9 medicinal herbs which are known to have anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effects. We investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of HC001 on atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions in mice. Methods : Seven-week-old BALB/c mice were sensitized with DNCB to develop atopic dermatitis. Animals were divide into three group: Normal, DNCB (Negative control group), HC001 (Experimental group, treated with DNCB and HC001). Skin sections were stained with H&E to measure the thicknesses of the epidermis and dermis, respectively. The expression of NF-${\kappa}B$ protein was measured by western blotting analysis in skin lesion. Results : Topical HC001 treatment significantly restored the skin thickening and hyperplasia of the epidermis and dermis compared with DNCB-sensitized group in histopathological analyse. In addition, HC001 inhibited the expression of NF-${\kappa}B$ protein increased in DNCB-induced atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions in mice. Conclusions : These results suggest that HC001 may be useful as an external application agent for atopic dermatitis based on reductions of various inflammatory responses.