• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.40 no.3
• /
• pp.390-408
• /
• 2019

Objectives: Several pattern diagnosis questionnaires have been developed to objectify the process of pattern diagnosis in Korean medicine. In this context, this study aimed to develop a food retention questionnaire for functional dyspepsia (FRQ-FD) by modifying the previously developed food retention questionnaire (FRQ) and to verify its reliability and validity. Furthermore, this study aimed to identify the optimal cut-off value of the FRQ-FD for standardization and use in clinical situations. Methods: To develop the FRQ-FD, we extracted the major symptoms of food retention pattern for functional dyspepsia from Chinese/Korean medicine textbooks and requested an importance survey from experts using the Delphi method. The first draft of the FRQ-FD was composed of 25 questions comprising 8 questions from the textbooks and the Delphi method and 17 questions from the FRQ already developed in 2013. To analyze its reliability, validity, and optimal cut-off value, 60 subjects were enrolled in this study from June 25 to August 13, 2018. Thirty patients were diagnosed as both functional dyspepsia and food retention pattern, and 30 healthy participants were not. All participants were requested to fill up the FRQ-FD, Stomach Qi Deficiency Questionnaire (SQDQ), Scale for Stomach Qi Deficiency pattern (SSQD), visual analog scale (VAS) for dyspepsia, Nepean Dyspepsia Index-Korean version (NDI-K), and functional dyspepsia-related quality of life (FD-QoL). Results: No statistically significant differences were found in sex distribution, age, and body mass index between the patient group and the control group. As five questions affected the reliability negatively and three questions affected the clinical validity negatively, we decided to exclude the eight questions upon further investigation. The Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ coefficient of the revised FRQ-FD (17 items) was 0.899, and its clinical validity was verified. Construct validity was analyzed by factor analysis and produced five factors. Statistically significant positive correlations were found between the revised FRQ-FD and the other dyspepsia scales, namely, SQDQ, SSQD, VAS, NDI-K, and FD-QoL. VAS and NDI-K especially had strong positive correlations with FRQ-FD. Conclusions: The FRQ-FD developed in this study can provide fundamental reliability and validity for a pattern diagnosis questionnaire. FRQ-FD can help to diagnose food retention pattern in functional dyspepsia patients. Further studies are required to inspect several statistical factors.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.37 no.5
• /
• pp.381-397
• /
• 2021

Off-flavor materials (geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB)) produced by microorganisms, such as, cyanobacteria and actinomycetes, cause freshwater use problems worldwide. Due to unpleasant taste and odor, these microorganisms have raised issues especially in drinking water resources. Recently, there has been increasing concern about 2-MIB and causal cyanobacteria, namely, Pseudanabaena, in Korea. However, material production and ecological dynamics remain largely unexplored. This study reviewed the distribution of Pseudanabaena, its species diversity, and the research trend of molecular ecology related to 2-MIB production in Korea. Based on published literature, we found that seven species of Pseudanabaena which include P. mucicola, P. limnetica, P. redekei, P. catenata, P. galeata, P. yagii, and P. cinerea appeared to occur in a variety of Korean water systems. All of these Pseudanabaena species were found in the North-Han River system (Lakes Soyang, Chuncheon, Uiam, and Paldang). Some of these species were also detected in other watersheds, but the precise species diversity was not identified. Species belonging to the Pseudanabaena genus are hard to classify through general microscopic alpha taxonomy, due to their very small cell size and similar morphological characters. Moreover, the potential of 2-MIB production cannot be detected by microscopic observation. Combining molecular ecological techniques, such as, environmental genomic materials (eDNA, eRNA) analyses to conventional methods could be useful to better understand the off-flavor material production and dynamics, thereby providing more efficient management strategies of freshwater systems.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
• /
• v.49 no.2
• /
• pp.125-137
• /
• 2022

This study aimed to determine the effects of dietary microalgae (Tetradesmus sp. (TO)) on intestinal immunity and microbiota of pre-starter broilers. One hundred and twenty 1-day-old birds (Ross 308) were allocated to two dietary treatment groups with six blocks in a randomized complete block design. The two experimental diets consisted of a corn-soybean meal-based basal diet and a diet with 0.5% TO powder instead of cornstarch in the basal diet. After feeding the experimental diets for ten days, all birds' body weight and feed intake were measured, and representative eight birds were selected from each treatment group. Small intestinal lamina propria cells were isolated using flow cytometry to examine the frequency of immune cells. Cecal feces were harvested for 16s rRNA gut microbiota analysis and fecal IgA levels. Here, we found that 0.5% TO supplementation increased CD3⁺CD4⁺ T cells in the small intestine, but decreased CD3⁺CD8⁺ T cells in the small intestine. Gut microbial analysis showed that TO supplementation significantly increased the alpha diversity of the gut microbiome. Taxonomic analysis showed that TO treatment increased the abundance of Firmicutes and decreased that of Bacteroidetes at the phylum level. The distribution of Enterobacteriaceae containing many harmful bacteria at the family level, was lower in the TO group. In the LEfSe analysis, the TO group had a significantly enriched abundance of Agathobaculum at the genus level. Overall, results show that Tetradesmus sp. supplementation influences intestinal T-cell immunity and induces the expansion of beneficial gut microbes in pre-starter broiler chickens.

• Animal Bioscience
• /
• v.35 no.11
• /
• pp.1808-1816
• /
• 2022

Objective: The study of Hanwoo (Korean native cattle) has mainly been focused on meat quality and productivity. Recently the field of microbiome research has increased dramatically. However, the information on the microbiome in Hanwoo is still insufficient, especially relationship between vagina and feces. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the microbial community characteristics by analyzing the 16S rRNA sequencing data of Hanwoo vagina and feces, as well as to confirm the difference and correlation between vaginal and fecal microorganisms. As a result, the goal is to investigate if fecal microbiome can be used to predict vaginal microbiome. Methods: A total of 31 clinically healthy Hanwoo that delivered healthy calves more than once in Cheongju, South Korea were enrolled in this study. During the breeding season, we collected vaginal and fecal samples and sequenced the microbial 16S rRNA genes V3-V4 hypervariable regions from microbial DNA of samples. Results: The results revealed that the phylum-level microorganisms with the largest relative distribution were Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria in the vagina, and Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Spirochaetes in the feces, respectively. In the analysis of alpha, beta diversity, and effect size measurements (LefSe), the results showed significant differences between the vaginal and fecal samples. We also identified the function of these differentially abundant microorganisms by functional annotation analyses. But there is no significant correlation between vaginal and fecal microbiome. Conclusion: There is a significant difference between vaginal and fecal microbiome, but no significant correlation. Therefore, it is difficult to interrelate vaginal microbiome as fecal microbiome in Hanwoo. In a further study, it will be necessary to identify the genetic relationship of the entire microorganism between vagina and feces through the whole metagenome sequencing analysis and meta-transcriptome analysis to figure out their relationship.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.35-44
• /
• 2020

Objectives : The objective of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effect of Corni Fructus 30% ethanol extract (CFE) on the monosodium iodoacetate (MIA)-induced osteoarthritis rats. Methods : The subjects were divided into 4 groups ; Normal group (N, n=10), MIA-induced osteoarthritis control group (Con, n=10), indomethacin 5 mg/kg treated group (INDO, n=10), CFE 200 mg/kg treated group (CFE, n=10). Blood and articulation tissues were collected after two weeks of drug administration. Oxidative stress was analyzed with reactive oxygen species (ROS), peroxynitrite (ONOO-). And the Nuclear factor erythroid-2 (Nrf2), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, glutathione peroxidase-1/2 (GPx-1/2), Nuclear Factor Kappa B p65 (NF-κBp65), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα), interleukin-6 (IL-6), Interleukin 1β (IL-1β), matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1), and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP-1) were investigated by western blot. Results : The administration of CFE showed a significant reduction of changes in relative hind paw weight distribution. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and peroxy nitrite (ONOO-) levels of articulation tissues were significantly decreased in CFE compared to the control group. Western blot measurements of Nrf2, HO-1, SOD, catalase, GPx-1/2 showed that the CFE group was increased compared to the Con group. And western blot measurements of NF-κBp65, COX-2, iNOS, TNFα, IL-6, IL-1β showed that the CFE group was reduced compared to the Con group. Also CFE group decreased MMP-1 and increased TIMP-1. Conclusion : Based on the above results, it can be seen that osteoarthritis is improved when Corni Fructus 30% ethanol extract treated.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.66 no.2
• /
• pp.353-365
• /
• 2024

Rumen cannulation is a surgical technique used to collect rumen contents from ruminants. However, rumen cannulation surgery may potentially impact the composition of the rumen microbiota. This study aimed to examine the longitudinal alterations in the rumen microbiota composition of Hanwoo steers after cannulation surgery. In this study, eight Hanwoo steers were used; four steers underwent rumen cannulation surgery (cannulation group), while the remaining four were left intact (control group). Rumen samples were collected from all eight steers using the stomach tubing method on the day before surgery (day 0) and on postoperative days 1, 4, 7, 10, 14, 17, 21, 24, and 28, resulting in 80 samples (10 timepoints × 8 animals). The microbiota of all 80 samples were analyzed using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing with Quantitative Insights into Microbial Ecology version 2 (QIIME2). There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) in all major phyla and most major genera representing at least 0.5% of total sequences across all 80 samples between the control and cannulation groups on the preoperative and postoperative days. However, while the alpha diversity indices did not differ (p > 0.05) between the two groups on the preoperative day, they significantly differed (p < 0.05) between the two groups on the postoperative days. Further, the overall microbial distribution based on both unweighted and weighted principal coordinate analysis plots significantly differed (p < 0.05) between the two groups on both the preoperative and postoperative days. Orthogonal polynomial contrasts indicated that major genera and microbial diversity in the cannulation group decreased following surgery but returned to their initial states by postoperative day 28. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that rumen cannulation surgery affects some major taxa and microbial diversity, suggesting that the rumen cannulation method can alter the composition of rumen microbiota in Hanwoo steers.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.45 no.1
• /
• pp.62-67
• /
• 1979

Ultraviolet microscopy of ultrathin sections of wood has proved to be one of the useful means for determining the lignin distribution in the various regions of the cell wall. Also, spectral approach and quantitative analysis of isolated compound middle lamella fraction from birch xylem have revealed that the lignin associated with the vessel secondary wall and middle lamella is composed predominantly of gualacylpropane units. Lignin deposited in the fiber and ray parenchyma secondary walls is composed mostly of syringylpropane units. The middle lamella lignin around fibers and ray cells contains both guaiacyl and syringyl propane quits. On the basis of the results above, this research was carried out to clarify the origin of milled wood lignin (MWL) by analysing the chemical characteristics of ML MWLs extracted at various milling stages. The amount of phenolic hydroxyl-, ${\alpha}$-carbonyl-, and methoxyl-group in the MWL's increases the milling time. And progressive mining contributes to the merease of ratio of syringylaldehyde to vanillin(S/V ratio) after nitrobenzene oxidation of MWL. Accordingly, It could be concluded that milled wood lignin extracted at the initial milling stage derives from compound middle lamella region of cell wall, whereas, with progressive milling, lignin of secondary wall of fiber is introduced gradually to milled wood lignin. These results are suggesting that heterogeneous chemical structure of lignins in hardwood exists. Although milled wood lignin at the initial stage seems to have lower molecular weight in comparison with milled wood lignin extracted at final milling stage from the result of Gel-filtration curves, further study would be required on molecular weight distribution of milled wood lignin in future.

• Journal of Distribution Science
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.43-52
• /
• 2012

With the slowdown in environmental issues and the change of environmental consciousness, ecotourism is being discussed in various social fields. Ecotourism is being popularized for environmental protection, and now it is becoming a mainstream product from one of mass tourism. Ecotourism's emphasis on sustainable development in the tourism destination's society, economy, and environment, through ecotourism study and education, enable people to understand the core value of the ecological environment. 2011 was nominated as "the Year of World Forest" by the UN. In the recent years, forests are becoming increasingly important with their own values and functions in environment, economy, society, and culture. In particular, the global environmental issues caused by climate change are becoming an international agenda. Forests are the only effective solution for the carbon dioxide that causes global warming. Moreover, forests constitute a major part of ecotourism, and are now most used by ecotourists. For example, Korea, wherein 60% of the land is forest, attracts ecotourists. With the increasing interests in environment, the number of tourists visiting the ecosystem forest, which is highly valued for its conservation, is increasing significantly every year and is receiving considerable attention from the government. However, poor facilities in the forest ecotourism sites and improper market strategies are the reasons for the poor running of these sites. Furthermore, tourists' environmental awareness affects ecology environmental pollution or the optimization of forest ecotourism. In order to verify the relationships among tourist attractiveness, environmental consciousness, charm degrees of the attractions, and attitudes after tours, we established some scales based on existing research achievement. Then, using these scales, the researcher completed the questionnaire survey. From December 20, 2010 to February 20, 2011, after conducting surveys for 12 weeks, we finally obtained 582 valid questionnaires, from a total of 700 questionnaires, that could be used in statistical analysis. First, for the method of research and analysis, the researcher initially applied the Cronbach's (Alpha) for verifying the reliability, and subsequently applied the Exploratory factor analysis for verifying the validity. Second, in order to analyze the demographics, the researcher makes use of the Frequency analysis for the AMOS, measurement model, structural equation model computing, and also utilizes construct validity, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and nomological validity. Third, for the analysis of the ecotourists' environmental consciousness, impacts on tourist attractiveness, charm degrees of the attractions, and attitudes after the tour, the researcher uses AMOS 19, with the path analysis and equation of structure. After the research, researchers found that high awareness of natural protection lead to high tourist motivation and satisfaction and more positive attitude after the tour. Moreover, this research shows the psychological and behavioral reactions of the ecotourists to the ecotourist development. Accordingly, environmental consciousness does not affect the tourist attractiveness that has been interpreted as significant. Furthermore, people should focus on the change of natural protection consciousness and psychological reaction of ecotourists while ensuring the sustainable development of ecotourists and developing some ecotourist programs.

• Journal of Distribution Research
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.59-92
• /
• 2012

With accumulated research evidence, there is little doubt that leadership behavior is related to a wide variety of positive individual and organizational outcomes. Indeed, leadership behavior has been empirically linked to increased employee satisfaction, organizational commitment, extra effort, turnover intention, organizational citizenship behavior, and overall employee performance. Although leadership behavior has been linked to a number of positive organizational outcomes, research regarding the antecedents of such behavior is limited. Especially there is little research dealing with the antecedents of inter-organizational leadership behavior. This study interests in inter-organizational ethical leadership among marketing channel members. In both the mass media and the academic association, there has been a surge in interest in the ethical and unethical behavior of leaders. Although the corporate scandals in recent years may explain much of the mass media and popular focus, academics' interest has been limited by evidence that ethical leadership behavior is associated with both positive and negative inter-organizational processes and performances. This study tried to contribute to this body of knowledge by examining antecedents of ethical leadership. Ethical leadership is defined "the demonstration of normatively appropriate conduct through personal actions and interpersonal relationships, and the promotion of such conduct to followers through two-way communication, reinforcement, and decision-making." Ethical leaders not only inform individuals of the behefits of ethical behavior and the cost of inappropriate behavior, such leaders also set clear standards and use rewards and fair and balanced punishment to hold followers accountable for their ethical conduct. Despite the assume importance and prominence of ethical leadership among organizations, there are still many questions relating to its antecedents and consequences. One is whether the likelihood of an leading organization being perceived as an ethical leader among other following organizations in marketing channels can be predicted using its characteristics and inter-organizational relationship maintenance skills. Identifying trait and skill antecedents will aid in the development of strategies for selecting and developing ethical leaders and determining the best means to reinforce ethical behaviors. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of three categorized variables on ethical leadership of channel leader. To be concrete, this study develops a model of the antecedents of three conceptually distinct forms of channel leader characteristics, such as organizational traits, inter-organizational relationship maintenance strategies, and supplier management strategies, and tests the hypothesized differential effects on ethical leadership of marketing channel leaders. The reason why this study deals with discount store channel is that there is very strong inter-dependence between a discount store and its suppliers. Their strong inter-dependence makes their relationship as the relationship between a leader and suppliers and creates an atmosphere that leadership occur without difficulty. The research model is as follows. For the purpose of empirical testing, 295 respondents of suppliers of discount store channel in Korea were surveyed. The procedures included scale reliability, and discriminant and convergent validity were used to validate measures. Also, the reliability measurements traditionally employed, such as the Cronbach's alpha, were used. All the reliabilities were greater than .70. This study conducted confirmatory factor analyses to assess the validity of our measurements. All items loaded significantly on their respective constructs(with the lowest t-value being 15.2), providing support for convergent validity. We then examined composite reliability and average variance extracted(AVE). The composite reliability of each construct was greater than .70. The AVE of each construct was greater than .50. This study tested research model using Partial Least Square(PLS). The estimation of the structural equation model revealed an acceptable fit of the model to the data($r^2$=.851). Thus, This study concluded that the model fit was considered acceptable. The results of PLS are as follows. The results indicated that conscientiousness, openness, conflict management, social networks, training, fair reward had positive effects on ethical leadership of channel leaders. On the other hand, emotional insecure had negative effect and agreeableness, assurance, and inter-organizational communication had no significant effect on supply chain leadership.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.551-574
• /
• 2014

The occurrence, distribution, and hydrogeochemical characteristics of uranium and radon in groundwater within different lithologies in Gyeongnam and Gyeongbuk provinces were investigated. A total of 201 groundwater samples from sedimentary rocks taking a large portion of the geology and from igneous rocks taking a small portion of the geology were analyzed and examined using factor analysis. Their radionuclide levels were used to construct detailed concentration maps. The groundwater types, defined using a Piper diagram, are mainly Ca-$HCO_3$ with less Na-$HCO_3$. Among the samples, one site exceeds $30{\mu}g/L$ of uranium (i.e., the maximum contaminant level of the USEPA) and three sites exceed 4,000 pCi/L of radon (i.e., the alternative maximum contaminant level). No samples were found to exceed the 15 pCi/L level of gross alpha or the 5 pCi/L level of radium. The concentration of uranium ranges from 0.02 to $53.7{\mu}g/L$, with a mean of $1.56{\mu}g/L$, a median of $0.47{\mu}g/L$, and a standard deviation of $4.3{\mu}g/L$. The mean concentrations of uranium for the different geological units increase in the following order: Shindong Group, Granites, Hayang Group, Yucheon Group, and Tertiary sedimentary rocks. The concentration of radon ranges from 2 to 8,740 pCi/L, with an mean of 754 pCi/L, a median of 510 pCi/L, and a standard deviation of 907 pCi/L. The mean radon concentrations for the investigated geological units increase in the following order: Granites, Yucheon Group, Tertiary sedimentary rocks, Hayang Group and Shindong Group. According to the factor analysis for each geological unit, uranium and radon behave independently of each other with no specific correlation. However, radionuclides show close relationships with some components. Regional investigations of radionuclides throughout the country require an integrated approach that considers the main lithological units as well as administrative districts.