• Title/Summary/Keyword: deterioration factor

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Combination Effects of Large Dam and Weirs on Downstream Habitat Structure: Case Study in the Tamjin River Basin, Korea (대형 댐과 농업용 보가 하류 서식처 특성에 미치는 영향 연구: 탐진강 유역을 대상으로)

  • Ock, Giyoung;Kang, Ji-Hyun;Park, Hyung-Geun;Kang, Dong-Won
    • Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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    • v.36 no.4
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    • pp.638-646
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    • 2018
  • The purpose of this study was to investigate the long-term habitat morphological alteration resulting from a large dam and weirs in the Tamjin River. To achieve this, we carried out a hydrograph analysis and a substrate size distribution analysis. We also estimated the channel width, bar area and vegetation encroachment using aerial photographs taken before and after the construction of the dam and weirs. The result of the hydrological analysis showed that flooding downstream was greatly reduced with small peaks occurrence after the dam construction. Interestingly, normal hydrographs in the main channel appeared just after tributary conjunction. There was a similar pattern in the substrate size analysis. Despite coarsened substrate just downstream of the dam site, more sand appeared again after introduction of the tributary. However, there was an increase in the bar area downstream of the dam's channels with most bars covered with vegetation. The channel width increased at the upper area of weirs through impoundment, but decreased downstream because of vegetation encroachment. This study indicate that unregulated tributary plays an important role in restoring hydro-physical habitat conditions in mainstream channels below a large dam. However, numerous weirs could be a causal factor to accelerate habitat deterioration in the dam downstream channels.

Risk Factors of Allogenous Bone Graft Collapse in Two-Level Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion

  • Woo, Joon-Bum;Son, Dong-Wuk;Lee, Su-Hun;Lee, Jun-Seok;Lee, Sang Weon;Song, Geun Sung
    • Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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    • v.62 no.4
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    • pp.450-457
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    • 2019
  • Objective : Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is commonly used surgical procedure for cervical degenerative disease. Among the various intervertebral spacers, the use of allografts is increasing due to its advantages such as no harvest site complications and low rate of subsidence. Although subsidence is a rare complication, graft collapse is often observed in the follow-up period. Graft collapse is defined as a significant graft height loss without subsidence, which can lead to clinical deterioration due to foraminal re-stenosis or segmental kyphosis. However, studies about the collapse of allografts are very limited. In this study, we evaluated risk factors associated with graft collapse. Methods : We retrospectively reviewed 33 patients who underwent two level ACDF with anterior plating using allogenous bone graft from January 2013 to June 2017. Various factors related to cervical sagittal alignment were measured preoperatively (PRE), postoperatively (POST), and last follow-up. The collapse was defined as the ratio of decrement from POST disc height to follow-up disc height. We also defined significant collapses as disc heights that were decreased by 30% or more after surgery. The intraoperative distraction was defined as the ratio of increment from PRE disc height to POST disc height. Results : The subsidence rate was 4.5% and graft collapse rate was 28.8%. The pseudarthrosis rate was 16.7% and there was no association between pseudarthrosis and graft collapse. Among the collapse-related risk factors, pre-operative segmental angle (p=0.047) and intra-operative distraction (p=0.003) were significantly related to allograft collapse. The cut-off value of intraoperative distraction ${\geq}37.3%$ was significantly associated with collapse (p=0.009; odds ratio, 4.622; 95% confidence interval, 1.470-14.531). The average time of events were as follows: collapse, $5.8{\pm}5.7months$; subsidence, $0.99{\pm}0.50months$; and instrument failure, $9.13{\pm}0.50months$. Conclusion : We experienced a higher frequency rate of collapse than subsidence in ACDF using an allograft. Of the various preoperative factors, intra-operative distraction was the most predictable factor of the allograft collapse. This was especially true when the intraoperative distraction was more than 37%, in which case the occurrence of graft collapse increased 4.6 times. We also found that instrument failure occurs only after the allograft collapse.

Immunostimulatory Activity of Agarwood through Activation of MAPK Signaling Pathway in RAW 264.7 Murine Macrophages (RAW 264.7 대식세포에서 MAPKs 신호 전달 경로의 활성화를 통한 침향의 면역 자극 활성)

  • Ji, Seon Yeong;Hwangbo, Hyun;Lee, Hyesook;Koo, Young Tae;Kim, Jin Soo;Lee, Ki Won;Noh, Dong Jin;Choi, Yung Hyun
    • Journal of Life Science
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    • v.31 no.8
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    • pp.745-754
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    • 2021
  • Deterioration of the immune function weakens the body's resistance to various infections, leading to a series of diseases. Immunomodulatory biomaterials have been used to reduce the side effects of immunosuppressants or to enhance immunity. Agarwood is the aromatic resinous portion of Aquilaria trees that has been traditionally used as a medicinal herb for the treatment of various diseases. Although previous studies have shown that agarwood can improve the body's immunity, evidence for this claim is still lacking. In this study, the immune-enhancing effects of the agarwood methanol extracts of Aquilaria malaccensis Lamk were evaluated in a RAW 264.7 macrophage model. Based on the results, the agarwood extracts markedly enhanced phagocytosis in the absence of cytotoxicity. The agarwood extract-treated RAW 264.7 cells exhibited the typical morphology of activated macrophages, which are spindle-shaped with elongated filopodia. Agarwood extract also significantly increased the production of nitric oxide (NO), which is associated with the increased expression of inducible NO synthase. Moreover, the secretion and expression levels of cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6, were increased by agarwood treatment. Notably, these are also associated with a mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway. Taken together, our findings provide scientific evidence that agarwood has potential immune-enhancing effects in vitro.

E-commerce Food Purchases by Adult Women according to their Household Types (가구 형태별 성인 여성의 전자상거래 식품 구매 실태)

  • Park, Yu-Jin;Kim, Yu-Mi;Choi, Mi-Kyeong
    • Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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    • v.25 no.6
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    • pp.464-473
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    • 2020
  • Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare and analyze e-commerce food purchase behavior and the perceptions of adult women according to their household types. Methods: The e-commerce food purchases of 318 adult women were surveyed and analyzed according to their household types (one-person or couple household (OCH); a household with children (HC); a household with parents (HP)). Results: The total amount of food purchases over 6 months through e-commerce according to household types was in the descending order of OCH (60.3%), HC (57%), and HP (55.1%) thus showing a significant difference (P < 0.05) in behavior between household types. The reasons for purchasing food through e-commerce included: a lower price than offline (30.8%), convenient delivery and transportation (30.2%), and food diversity (21.1%). When purchasing food online, the most important factor was price and quality, followed by quick and accurate delivery for OCH, exact information given about the product for HC, and recommendation from other consumers for HP (P < 0.01). The main foods purchased through e-commerce were coffee, tea (42.1%), instant and frozen foods (39.9%), water, beverages, dairy products (37.7%), snacks, bread, rice cakes (31.5%), and functional foods (27.4%). The percentage of respondents who were very satisfied or satisfied with their e-commerce food purchases was HP (84.1%), OCH (69.9%), and HC (65.6%) in that order (P < 0.05), and 96.5% of all subjects stated that they would be willing to purchase food through e-commerce in the future. The advantages of purchasing food through e-commerce were seen to be the highest in order and payment convenience with 4.1 points out of 5, followed by low price (4.0), variety of products (3.9), and ease of food purchase (3.9). Among the disadvantages listed, concerns about product damage and deterioration during delivery and differences between the displayed product and the delivered product were the highest with 3.7 points. Conclusions: The characteristics and perceptions of female consumers according to household types are important factors in enhancing the reach of e-commerce, and in preparing guidelines for food selection through e-commerce.

Structural Relationship Analysis between Tourists' Time Perception, Perceived Satisfaction and Behavioral Intention of Nostalgic Urban Regeneration Tourist Destination (감성적 도시재생관광지 관광자의 시간관과 지각된 만족, 행동의도 간의 구조관계 분석)

  • Lee, Jae-Dal
    • Land and Housing Review
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    • v.13 no.1
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    • pp.23-38
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    • 2022
  • As city tourism has recently been evaluated as a major indicator of urban competitiveness, strengthening the role of cities as tourist destinations has received more attention. However, industrialization and urbanization of many cities lead to population decline, extinction of traditional industries, and deterioration of living environments, weakening urban functions and competitiveness. Thus, it is essential for declining cities to build a measure to restore urban competitiveness by enhancing urban functions. Accordingly, this study focused on socio-cultural urban regeneration by exploring physical spaces for tourism destinations in declining cities. Different from general tourist destinations, tourism destinations of urban regeneration have a temporal perspective covering the past, present, and future. How does the temporal perspective of urban regeneration tourist destinations affect tourists' satisfaction and behavioral intention? In order to address these questions, this study conducts an empirical analysis based on structural equation modeling (SEM) using the sample of tourists who have visited urban regeneration tourism destinations. With SEM, this paper investigates structural relationships across variables by testing the hypothesis established in the proposed research model. The results show that precious memories of the past are the most important factor for tourists to visit urban regeneration tourist destinations. The empirical findings of this study will contribute to the research areas of urban tourism, urban regeneration tourism, and urban regeneration tourism destinations. In addition, this study can provide practical implications to develop socio-cultural contents of urban regeneration areas as tourism resources to establish plans for urban regeneration projects and achieve sustainable development strategies.

A Study on the Performance Degradation Pattern of Caisson-type Quay Wall Port Facilities (케이슨식 안벽 항만시설의 성능저하패턴 연구)

  • Na, Yong Hyoun;Park, Mi Yeon;Jang, Shinwoo
    • Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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    • v.18 no.1
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    • pp.146-153
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    • 2022
  • Purpose: In the case of domestic port facilities, port structures that have been in use for a long time have many problems in terms of safety performance and functionality due to the enlargement of ships, increased frequency of use, and the effects of natural disasters due to climate change. A big data analysis method was studied to develop an approximate model that can predict the aging pattern of a port facility based on the maintenance history data of the port facility. Method: In this study, member-level maintenance history data for caisson-type quay walls were collected, defined as big data, and based on the data, a predictive approximation model was derived to estimate the aging pattern and deterioration of the facility at the project level. A state-based aging pattern prediction model generated through Gaussian process (GP) and linear interpolation (SLPT) techniques was proposed, and models suitable for big data utilization were compared and proposed through validation. Result: As a result of examining the suitability of the proposed method, the SLPT method has RMSE of 0.9215 and 0.0648, and the predictive model applied with the SLPT method is considered suitable. Conclusion: Through this study, it is expected that the study of predicting performance degradation of big data-based facilities will become an important system in decision-making regarding maintenance.

The Effects of Firefighters Sleep on Mental Health and Quality of Life in COVID-19 (코로나 19 시대 소방공무원의 수면의 질이 정신건강 및 삶의 질에 미치는 영향)

  • Lim, Eun-Jung;Oh, Hye-Won;Park, Bo-Ra;Cho, Seung-Hyun
    • Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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    • v.15 no.1
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    • pp.161-169
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    • 2021
  • The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of sleep quality on mental health and quality of life of firefighters in the COVID-19. The results of this study were analyzed by SPSS Win(ver. 21.0) program, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis. The results of this study are summarized as follows. The quality of sleep of firefighters can predict the quality of sleep when the bedtime requirement is longer, and if the quality of sleep is not good, the deterioration of mental health and the quality of life can be predicted. It was confirmed that the quality of sleep of firefighters is an important factor affecting mental health and quality of life, Currently, the importance of improving the quality of infection control and emergency medical care is emerging due to COVID-19, but the analysis according to the characteristics of firefighters is insufficient. Therefore, based on the results of this study, it is necessary to develop and study the effectiveness of programs to alleviate the mental health problems of firefighters in the future.

Crisis of trust of journalism in France: Cracks in journalistic institutions and professionalism, and the impact of social movement (프랑스 언론의 신뢰도 위기: 저널리즘 제도의 내적 균열과 사회운동의 영향)

  • Park, Jin woo;Kim, Soel ah
    • Analyses & Alternatives
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    • v.6 no.2
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    • pp.185-226
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    • 2022
  • This study examines the crisis of trust of French journalism in the context of a global decline of media credibility. First of all, in the process of a huge social movement called the 'yellow vest' movement that started in 2018, distrust of the French journalism was expressed in an extreme form. This study examines some external factors in terms of the historical development of the French journalism and the public's long-standing 'criticism of journalism'. Specifically, this study first examines the quantitative indicators of trust of French journalism which were shown in Digital News Report published by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Next, it examines the historical and institutional formation process of French journalism and public distrust that emerged along with it. And specifically, the structural crisis-economic crisis, digital transformation and intensification of competition, and deterioration of quality problems etc.-of the French journalism exposed in media coverage on social movement in 2018 is review in relation with the working process or 'routine' of actual news production. In conclusion, this study asserts that the various aspects of internal rifts in French journalism system, as well as external shocks (the influence of social movements), are a key factor in explaining the recent decline of trust in French journalism.

Damage Analysis of Manganese Crossings for Turnout System of Sleeper Floating Tracks on Urban Transit (도시철도 침목플로팅궤도 분기기 망간크로싱의 손상해석)

  • Choi, Jung-Youl;Yoon, Young-Sun;Ahn, Dae-Hee;Han, Jae-Min;Chung, Jee-Seung
    • The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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    • v.8 no.5
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    • pp.515-524
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    • 2022
  • The turnout system of the sleeper floating tracks (STEDEF) on urban transit is a Anti-vibration track composed of a wooden sleeper embedded in a concrete bed and a sleeper resilience pad under the sleeper. Therefore, deterioration and changes in spring stiffness of the sleeper resilience pad could be cause changes in sleeper support conditions. The damage amount of manganese crossings that occurred during the current service period of about 21 years was investigated to be about 17% of the total amount of crossings, and it was analyzed that the damage amount increased after 15 years of use (accumulated passing tonnage of about 550 million tons). In this study, parameter analysis (wheel position, sleeper support condition, and dynamic wheel load) was performed using a three-dimensional numerical model that simulated real manganese crossing and wheel profile, to analyze the damage type and cause of manganese crossing that occurred in the actual field. As a result of this study, when the voided sleeper occurred in the sleeper around the nose, the stress generated in the crossing nose exceeded the yield strength according to the dynamic wheel load considering the design track impact factor. In addition, the analysis results were evaluated to be in good agreement with the location of damage that occurred in the actual field. Therefore, in order to minimize the damage of the manganese crossing, it is necessary to keep the sleeper support condition around the nose part constant. In addition, by considering the uniformity of the boundary conditions under the sleepers, it was analyzed that it would be advantageous to to replace the sleeper resilience pad together when replacing the damaged manganese crossing.

Lightning Protection System of Solar Power Generation Device (태양광발전장치의 낙뢰보호 시스템)

  • Yongho Yoon
    • The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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    • v.23 no.2
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    • pp.157-162
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    • 2023
  • Among the failures of photovoltaic power generation facilities, failures caused by surges account for 20% of the total failure rate, and energy emissions of tens to hundreds [A] during power generation and electrical damage to inverters and connection boards lead to electrical safety accidents. In particular, in the case of lightning, an abnormal voltage is induced in an electric circuit to destroy insulation, and the current flowing at this time causes a fire and acts as a factor that accelerates the deterioration of parts. Due to this action, the problem of electrical safety of solar power generation devices spreading from outside the city center to the inside of the city center such as houses, apartments, and government offices is emerging. Since lightning strikes cause both field-based and conducted electrical interference, this effect increases with increasing cable length or conductor loops. In addition, surge damages not only solar modules, inverters and monitoring devices, but also building facilities, which can eventually cause operational shutdown due to fire of the photovoltaic power generation system and consequent financial loss. Therefore, in this paper, a lightning protection system for solar power generation devices is studied for the purpose of reducing property damage and human casualties due to the increase in fire and electrical safety accidents caused by lightning strikes in photovoltaic power generation systems.