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Research on Radiation Shielding Film for Replacement of Lead(Pb) through Roll-to-Roll Sputtering Deposition (롤투롤 스퍼터링 증착을 통한 납(Pb) 대체용 방사선 차폐필름 개발)

  • Sung-Hun Kim;Jung-Sup Byun;Young-Bin Ji
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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    • v.17 no.3
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    • pp.441-447
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    • 2023
  • Lead(Pb), which is currently mainly used for shielding purposes in the medical radiation, has excellent radiation shielding functions, but is continuously exposed to radiation directly or indirectly due to the harmfulness of lead itself to the human body and the inconvenience caused by its heavy weight. Research on shielding materials that are human-friendly, lightweight, and convenient to use that can block risks and replace lead is continuously being conducted. In this study, based on the commonly used polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film and the fabric material used in actual radiation protective clothing, a multi-layer thin film was realized through sputtering and vacuum deposition of bismuth, tungsten, and tin, which are metal materials that can shield radiation. Thus, a shielding film was produced and its applicability as a radiation shielding material was evaluated. The radiation shielding film was manufactured by establishing the optimized conditions for each shielding material while controlling the applied voltage, roll driving speed, and gas supply amount to manufacture the shielding film. The adhesion between the parent material and the shielding metal thin film was confirmed by Cross-cut 100/100, and the stability of the thin film was confirmed through a hot water test for 1 hour to measure the change of the thin film over time. The shielding performance of the finally realized shielding film was measured by the Korea association for radiation application (KARA), and the test conditions (inverse wide beam, tube voltage 50 kV, half layer 1.828 mmAl) were set to obtain an attenuation ratio of 16.4 (initial value 0.300 mGy/s, measured value 0.018 mGy/s) and damping ratio 4.31 (initial value 0.300 mGy/s, measured value 0.069 mGy/s) were obtained. by securing process efficiency for future commercialization, light and shielding films and fabrics were used to lay the foundation for the application of films to radiation protective clothing or construction materials with shielding functions.

A Study on the Precipitation Mechanism of Quartz Veins from Sangdong Deposit by Analyses of Vein Texture and Trace Element in Quartz (상동광산 석영맥의 조직 및 석영의 미량원소 분석을 통한 광맥 침전 기작 도출)

  • Youseong Lee;Changyun Park;Yeongkyoo Kim
    • Economic and Environmental Geology
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    • v.56 no.3
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    • pp.239-257
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    • 2023
  • Sangdong deposit, a W-Mo skarn deposit, is located in Taebaeksan mineralized district, hosting vertically developed scheelite-quartz veins that formed at the late ore-forming stage. In this study, we tried to examine the geochemical signatures of ore-forming fluids and vein-forming mechanisms by analyzing the micro-texture of quartz veins and trace element concentrations of quartz. As a result of texture analyses, quartz veins in the hanging wall orebody and the foot wall orebody commonly exhibit the blocky and the elongate blocky texture, respectively, whereas quartz veins in the main orebody show both textures. These textural differences indicate that quartz veins from the hanging wall orebody were precipitated by the primary hydrofracturing due to H2O saturation in the igneous body with relatively high temperature and pressure at a vein-skarn stage, and after that, repeated hydrofracturing caused the formation of quartz veins from the main orebody and foot wall orebody. The results of trace element concentrations show that Li++Al3+↔Si4+ is a main substitution mechanism. However, those of the foot wall orebody were clearly divided into a Li+-dominated substitution and a Na+-, K+-dominated substitution. Considering that quartz veins from the foot wall orebody commonly show the elongate blocky texture, such a distinction means that it is a result of repeated injections of fluid with the different composition. Ti concentrations of quartz from the hanging wall, main, and the foot wall orebody are 28.6, 8.2, and 15.7 ppm in average, respectively. Given a proportional relationship between the precipitation temperature and Ti concentrations, it seems that quartz veins from the hanging wall orebody were precipitated at the highest temperature. Al concentrations of the hanging wall, main, and the foot wall orebody having an inverse relationship with fluid pH are 162.3, 114.2, and 182.5 ppm in average, respectively. These results show that Al concentrations in vein-forming fluids were not changed dramatically. Moreover, these concentrations are extremely low in comparison with the other hydrothermal deposits. This indicates that quartz in overall ore veins at Sangdong deposit was precipitated from the constant condition with slightly acidic to near neutral pH.

The Effect of Disgust on Legal Judgment: Disgust Induced by the Crime Scene vs. Sexual Minority Stereotypes (혐오 정서가 법적 판단에 미치는 영향: 범죄현장으로부터 유발된 혐오와 성 소수자 고정관념에서 비롯된 혐오)

  • Lee Yoonjung
    • Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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    • v.29 no.4
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    • pp.537-567
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    • 2023
  • This study compared the nature of disgust caused by the crime scene with that by the stereotype of the sexual-minority defendant, and compared the effect of each type of disgust on evidence evaluation and legal judgment. A total of 600 participants (300 men, average age of 44.40) were randomly assigned to sources of disgust (crime scene, sexual minorities defendant, control condition), the existence of additional evidence of innocence (o/x), and the existence of judicial directives (o/x). As a result of the study, disgust under the condition of a cruel crime scene with strong physical disgust was significantly higher than that of the sexual minority defendant, interpreted the evidence in a more guilty direction, and was more prone to_evaluate that the defendant was guilty. It is noteworthy that evidence evaluation was a significant moderating variable between disgust and probability of guilt under conditions where the source of disgust was a sexual minority, but not under control conditions and crime scene condition. It means that the effect of disgust on legal judgment may not be direct when the defendant is a sexual minority. In addition, the existence of the judicial instruction had a significant inverse effect on the sentence. And simple effect analysis found that presenting judicial instruction lowered probability of guilt only under the control condition. This makes it reasonable to infer that disgust derived from the characteristics of the crime scene and the defendant can be recognized as integral emotions that are difficult to correct with instructions. Finally, pity for the defendant was significantly higher under the conditions of sexual minority which shows that an emotional response of sympathy may occur in addition to disgust for sexual minorities. After examining the nature of disgust (physical & moral), legal judgment according to the source and degree of disgust was reviewed. In addition, the meaning of disgust and sympathy for the sexual minority defendant was discussed.

The Dynamics of Organizational Change: Moderated Mediating Effects of NBA Teams' Playoff Berth (조직변화와 성과 간 상호역동에 관한 연구: 미국프로농구팀의 트레이드와 플레이오프 진출 여부에 따른 조절된 매개효과)

  • Philsoo Kim;Tae Sung Jung;Sang Bum Lee;Sang Hyun Lee
    • Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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    • v.18 no.4
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    • pp.117-129
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    • 2023
  • Organizations must seek change in order to adapt to environmental changes and achieve better performance. However, despite this obvious statement, empirical analysis has been almost non-existent due to the difficulty of manipulating organizational performance or change. In this study, we overcame these limitations and analyzed the causes and effects of organizational change by assuming a professional sports team as a venture company, which is relatively easy to objectively measure and evaluate organizational change or performance. We systematically collected and preprocessed traditional and advanced metrics of National Basketball Association (NBA) statistics along with preprocessed trade data from eight years of regular seasons (2014~2015-2021~2022) to analyze our research model. Assessment of process macro model 7 derives the following empirical result. The results of the empirical analysis depict that NBA teams with low organizational performance in the previous season are more likely to make organizational changes through player trades to improve performance. Into the bargain player trades mediate the static relationship between the winning percentage in the previous season and the winning percentage in the current season. However, the indirect effect of a team's previous season's performance on player trades appears to vary depending on the current situations and context of each NBA team. Teams that made the playoffs in the previous season tend to make fewer trades than teams that did not and the previous season's performance is highly correlated with the current season's performance. On the other hand, teams that did not make the playoffs in the previous season tend to make a relatively larger amount of player trades in total, and the mediating effect of trades vanishes in this case. In other words, teams that did not make the playoffs in the previous season experience a larger change in performance due to trades than teams that made the playoffs, even if they achieved the same winning percentage. This empirical analysis of the inverse relationship between organizational change and the performance of professional sports teams has both theoretical and practical implications in the field of sports industry and management by analyzing the fundamentals of organizational change and the performance of professional sports teams.

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The Effect of Superoxide Anion Production by PMN on Pneumocyte Injury in Patients with Bronchial Asthma (기관지천식환자에서 다형핵구의 과산화 음이온 생성능이 폐포세포 손상에 미치는 영향)

  • Kim, Young-Kyoon;Park, Sung-Hak
    • Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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    • v.40 no.3
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    • pp.213-222
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    • 1993
  • Background : Bronchial asthma has been known as an inflmmatory disease. There have been many evidences that polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) might play an important role in the pathogrnesis of asthma. Although many investigators suggested that pneumocyte injury by PMN-derived oxygen radicals may contribute to the pathogenesis of asthma, there has been few report for a direct evidence of oxygen radicals-mediated pneumocyte injury in bronchial asthma. Furthermore the exact mechanism of oxygen radicals-mediated pneumocyte injury is still controversy. This study was designed to establish a direct in vitro evidence and its clinical significance of pneumocyte injury by PMN-derived superoxide anion in bronchial asthma and to elucidate the main mechanism of superoxide anion-mediated pneumocyte injury. Methods : 12 stable asthmatics and 5 healthy volunteers were participated in this study. PMN was separated from peripheral venous blood samples by using dextran sedimentation and Ficoll-Hypaque density gradient separation method. Superoxide anion productions by PMN and plasma SOD activities were measured by spectrophotometric assay using the principle of SOD inhibitable cytochrome c reduction. PMN-mediated pneumocyte injuries were measured by $^{51}Cr$-release assay using A549 pneumocytes and were expressed as percent lysis and percent detachment. Results: 1) PMN from asthmatics produced more amount of superoxide anion compared to PMN from normal subjects ($6.65{\pm}0.58$ vs $2.81{\pm}0.95\;nmol/1{\times}10^6$ cells, p<0.05), and showed an inverse correlation with $FEV_1$(R=-0.63, p<0.05), but no correlation with $PC_{20}$ histamine in asthmatics. 2) Plasma SOD activities were decreased in asthmatics compared to normal subjects but not significant, and showed a positive correlation with $FEV_1$(R=0.63, p<0.05) but no correlation with $PC_{20}$ histamine in asthmatics. 3) There were a positive correlation between plasma SOD activity and superoxide anion production by PMN in normal subjects (R=0.88, p<0.05) but not in asthmatics. 4) PMN-mediated pneumocyte injury was predominantly expressed as cell detachment rather than cell lysis in both groups, and PMN from asthmatics showed more potent cytotoxic effect on A549 pneumocytes compated to PMN from normal subjects. PMN-mediated detachment rather than lysis of A549 pneumocytes was significantly inhibited by in vitro SOD but not by diluted serum. 5) PMN-mediated detachment rather than lysis of A549 pneumocytes showed a good correlation with superoxide anion production by PMN (R=0.90 in normal subjects, R=0.82 in asthmatics, p<0.05) but no correlation with plasma SOD activity. PMN-mediated pneumocyte injuries were not correlated with $FEV_1$ or $PC_{20}$ histamine in asthmatics. 6) There were no significant differences in PMN-mediated pneumocyte injuries between allergic and nonallergic asthmatics. Conclusion : Our results suggest that pneumocyte injury by PMN-derived superoxide anion may partially contribute to the pathogenesis of asthma and that cell detachment rather than cell lysis may be the mechanism of superoxide anion-mediated pneumocyte injury.

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The Changes of Pulmonary Function and Systemic Blood Pressure in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (폐쇄성 수면 무호흡증후군 환자에서 혈압 및 폐기능의 변화에 관한 연구)

  • Moon, Hwa-Sik;Lee, Sook-Young;Choi, Young-Mee;Kim, Chi-Hong;Kwon, Soon-Seog;Kim, Young-Kyoon;Kim, Kwan-Hyoung;Song, Jeong-Sup;Park, Sung-Hak
    • Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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    • v.42 no.2
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    • pp.206-217
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    • 1995
  • Background: In patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome(OSAS), there are several factors increasing upper airway resistance and there is a predisposition to compromised respiratory function during waking and sleep related to constitutional factors including a tendency to obesity. Several recent studies have suggested a possible relationship between sleep apnea(SA) and systemic hypertension. But the possible pathophysiologic link between SA and hypertension is still unclear. In this study, we have examined the relationship among age, body mass index(BMI), pulmonary function parameters and polysomnographic data in patients with OSAS. And also we tried to know the difference among these parameters between hypertensive OSAS and normotensive OSAS patients. Methods: Patients underwent a full night of polysomnography and measured pulmonary function during waking. OSAS was diagnosed if patients had more than 5 apneas per hour(apnea index, AI). A careful history of previously known or present hypertension was obtained from each patient, and patients with systolic blood pressure $\geq$ 160mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure $\geq$ 95mmHg were classified as hypertensives. Results: The noctural nadir of arterial oxygen saturation($SaO_2$ nadir) was negatively related to AI and respiratory disturbance index(RDI), and the degree of noctural oxygen desaturation(DOD) was positively related to AI and RDI. BMI contributed to AI, RDI, $SaO_2$ nadir and DOD values. And also BMI contributed to $FEV_1,\;FEV_1/FVC$ and DLco values. There was a correlation between airway resistance(Raw) and AI, and there was a inverse correlation between DLco and DOD. But there was no difference among these parameters between hypertensive OSAS and normotensive OSAS patients. Conclusion: The obesity contributed to the compromised respiratory function and the severity of OSAS. AI and RDI were important factors in the severity of hypoxia during sleep. The measurement of pulmonary function parameters including Raw and DLco may be helpful in the prediction and assessment of OSAS patients. But we could not find clear difference between hypertensive and normotensive OSAS patients.

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Association of osteoarthritis and bone mineral density in women -The health and nutritional examination survey in Kuri- (여성의 골관절염과 골밀도간의 관련성 분석 -구리시민 건강.영양진단 조사결과를 바탕으로-)

  • Sheen, Seung-Soo;Lee, Soon-Young;Min, Byung-Hyun;Suh, Il
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.30 no.4 s.59
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    • pp.669-685
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    • 1997
  • Previous studies, reporting the inverse relationship between osteoarthritis and osteoporosis suggest the existence of possible pathophysiologic mechanisms between them. To examinine the hypothesis that 'bone mineral densities of women with osteoarthritis are significantly higher than that of women without osteoarthritis in Korea', subjects from the health and nutritional examination survey in Kuri city were sampled. Samples were selected through multi-stage sampling frame using established clusters in Kuri city. From August 18 to September 10,1997, the survey was conducted. Among the. total number of selected sample population (1,656 people), response .ate was 52.4 percent (348 men and 519 women). 420 women who took BMD measurement, radiologic exam, and anthropometric exam were selected for the analysis. The analytic results are as follows. 1. General characteristics: Mean BMD was $0.493g/cm^2$, mean age was 43.0, mean BMI was $23.9kg/m^2$. The number of women who experienced menopause was 106, hysterectomy was 19. There were 0 case of osteoarthritis of hip, 64 cases of osteoarthritis of knee, and 2 cases of osteoarthritis of hand. 2. Univariate analysis results: Mean BMD of women with the osteoarthritis of knee was significantly lower than that of women without the osteoarthritis of knee(0.4269 vs. $0.5057g/cm^2$). But, there were too few cases of osteoarthritis of hip and hand, so comparative studies of BMD in osteoarthritis of hip and hand could not be conducted. There were significant differences of BMD among pre-menopause group(0.5204), post-menopause group(0.4206), and hysterectomy group(0.4881). Additionally, there were significant differences of BMD among diabetes group(0.4297), impaired glucose tolerance group(0.4874), and normal group(0.5057). Furthermore, age, parity, BMI, bioimpedance were significantly related with BMD. 3. Multivariate analysis results: To examinine the relationship between osteoarthritis and BMD while controlling the other variables' effects which were significant in the univariate analyses, multiple linear regression analysis was done. But, it was found that osteoarthritis of knee was not a significant variable to BMD anymore. While age and menopause had significant negative relationship with BMD. Diabetes, parity, BMI, and bioimpedance did not have significant relationships with BMD. After stratification of subjects according to menopause, multiple linear regression analyses were done to each strata. Consequently, age in post-menopause group, age and osteoarthritis of knee in hysterectomy group showed significant negative relationship with BMD. The results did not support the many results of other previous studies done with white men and women. further studies of biological plausibility to Korean women are recommended. Also it is suggested that longitudinal study to verify the relationship between osteoarthritis and BMD will be valuable.

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Studies on the Derivation of the Instantaneous Unit Hydrograph for Small Watersheds of Main River Systems in Korea (한국주요빙계의 소유역에 대한 순간단위권 유도에 관한 연구 (I))

  • 이순혁
    • Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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    • v.19 no.1
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    • pp.4296-4311
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    • 1977
  • This study was conducted to derive an Instantaneous Unit Hydrograph for the accurate and reliable unitgraph which can be used to the estimation and control of flood for the development of agricultural water resources and rational design of hydraulic structures. Eight small watersheds were selected as studying basins from Han, Geum, Nakdong, Yeongsan and Inchon River systems which may be considered as a main river systems in Korea. The area of small watersheds are within the range of 85 to 470$\textrm{km}^2$. It is to derive an accurate Instantaneous Unit Hydrograph under the condition of having a short duration of heavy rain and uniform rainfall intensity with the basic and reliable data of rainfall records, pluviographs, records of river stages and of the main river systems mentioned above. Investigation was carried out for the relations between measurable unitgraph and watershed characteristics such as watershed area, A, river length L, and centroid distance of the watershed area, Lca. Especially, this study laid emphasis on the derivation and application of Instantaneous Unit Hydrograph (IUH) by applying Nash's conceptual model and by using an electronic computer. I U H by Nash's conceptual model and I U H by flood routing which can be applied to the ungaged small watersheds were derived and compared with each other to the observed unitgraph. 1 U H for each small watersheds can be solved by using an electronic computer. The results summarized for these studies are as follows; 1. Distribution of uniform rainfall intensity appears in the analysis for the temporal rainfall pattern of selected heavy rainfall event. 2. Mean value of recession constants, Kl, is 0.931 in all watersheds observed. 3. Time to peak discharge, Tp, occurs at the position of 0.02 Tb, base length of hlrdrograph with an indication of lower value than that in larger watersheds. 4. Peak discharge, Qp, in relation to the watershed area, A, and effective rainfall, R, is found to be {{{{ { Q}_{ p} = { 0.895} over { { A}^{0.145 } } }}}} AR having high significance of correlation coefficient, 0.927, between peak discharge, Qp, and effective rainfall, R. Design chart for the peak discharge (refer to Fig. 15) with watershed area and effective rainfall was established by the author. 5. The mean slopes of main streams within the range of 1.46 meters per kilometer to 13.6 meter per kilometer. These indicate higher slopes in the small watersheds than those in larger watersheds. Lengths of main streams are within the range of 9.4 kilometer to 41.75 kilometer, which can be regarded as a short distance. It is remarkable thing that the time of flood concentration was more rapid in the small watersheds than that in the other larger watersheds. 6. Length of main stream, L, in relation to the watershed area, A, is found to be L=2.044A0.48 having a high significance of correlation coefficient, 0.968. 7. Watershed lag, Lg, in hrs in relation to the watershed area, A, and length of main stream, L, was derived as Lg=3.228 A0.904 L-1.293 with a high significance. On the other hand, It was found that watershed lag, Lg, could also be expressed as {{{{Lg=0.247 { ( { LLca} over { SQRT { S} } )}^{ 0.604} }}}} in connection with the product of main stream length and the centroid length of the basin of the watershed area, LLca which could be expressed as a measure of the shape and the size of the watershed with the slopes except watershed area, A. But the latter showed a lower correlation than that of the former in the significance test. Therefore, it can be concluded that watershed lag, Lg, is more closely related with the such watersheds characteristics as watershed area and length of main stream in the small watersheds. Empirical formula for the peak discharge per unit area, qp, ㎥/sec/$\textrm{km}^2$, was derived as qp=10-0.389-0.0424Lg with a high significance, r=0.91. This indicates that the peak discharge per unit area of the unitgraph is in inverse proportion to the watershed lag time. 8. The base length of the unitgraph, Tb, in connection with the watershed lag, Lg, was extra.essed as {{{{ { T}_{ b} =1.14+0.564( { Lg} over {24 } )}}}} which has defined with a high significance. 9. For the derivation of IUH by applying linear conceptual model, the storage constant, K, with the length of main stream, L, and slopes, S, was adopted as {{{{K=0.1197( {L } over { SQRT {S } } )}}}} with a highly significant correlation coefficient, 0.90. Gamma function argument, N, derived with such watershed characteristics as watershed area, A, river length, L, centroid distance of the basin of the watershed area, Lca, and slopes, S, was found to be N=49.2 A1.481L-2.202 Lca-1.297 S-0.112 with a high significance having the F value, 4.83, through analysis of variance. 10. According to the linear conceptual model, Formular established in relation to the time distribution, Peak discharge and time to peak discharge for instantaneous Unit Hydrograph when unit effective rainfall of unitgraph and dimension of watershed area are applied as 10mm, and $\textrm{km}^2$ respectively are as follows; Time distribution of IUH {{{{u(0, t)= { 2.78A} over {K GAMMA (N) } { e}^{-t/k } { (t.K)}^{N-1 } }}}} (㎥/sec) Peak discharge of IUH {{{{ {u(0, t) }_{max } = { 2.78A} over {K GAMMA (N) } { e}^{-(N-1) } { (N-1)}^{N-1 } }}}} (㎥/sec) Time to peak discharge of IUH tp=(N-1)K (hrs) 11. Through mathematical analysis in the recession curve of Hydrograph, It was confirmed that empirical formula of Gamma function argument, N, had connection with recession constant, Kl, peak discharge, QP, and time to peak discharge, tp, as {{{{{ K'} over { { t}_{ p} } = { 1} over {N-1 } - { ln { t} over { { t}_{p } } } over {ln { Q} over { { Q}_{p } } } }}}} where {{{{K'= { 1} over { { lnK}_{1 } } }}}} 12. Linking the two, empirical formulars for storage constant, K, and Gamma function argument, N, into closer relations with each other, derivation of unit hydrograph for the ungaged small watersheds can be established by having formulars for the time distribution and peak discharge of IUH as follows. Time distribution of IUH u(0, t)=23.2 A L-1S1/2 F(N, K, t) (㎥/sec) where {{{{F(N, K, t)= { { e}^{-t/k } { (t/K)}^{N-1 } } over { GAMMA (N) } }}}} Peak discharge of IUH) u(0, t)max=23.2 A L-1S1/2 F(N) (㎥/sec) where {{{{F(N)= { { e}^{-(N-1) } { (N-1)}^{N-1 } } over { GAMMA (N) } }}}} 13. The base length of the Time-Area Diagram for the IUH was given by {{{{C=0.778 { ( { LLca} over { SQRT { S} } )}^{0.423 } }}}} with correlation coefficient, 0.85, which has an indication of the relations to the length of main stream, L, centroid distance of the basin of the watershed area, Lca, and slopes, S. 14. Relative errors in the peak discharge of the IUH by using linear conceptual model and IUH by routing showed to be 2.5 and 16.9 percent respectively to the peak of observed unitgraph. Therefore, it confirmed that the accuracy of IUH using linear conceptual model was approaching more closely to the observed unitgraph than that of the flood routing in the small watersheds.

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The Effect of Glucocorticoid on the Change of Nitric Oxide and Cytokine Levels in Induced Sputum from Patients with Bronchial Asthma (기관지 천식 환자에서 부신피질 스테로이드 투여 전후 유도객담내 Nitric Oxide 및 Cytokine의 변화)

  • Kim, Tae-Yon;Yoon, Hyeong-Kyu;Choi, Young-Mee;Lee, Sook-Young;Kwon, Soon-Seog;Kim, Young-Kyoon;Kim, Kwan-Hyoung;Moon, Hwa-Sik;Park, Sung-Hak;Song, Jeong-Sup
    • Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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    • v.48 no.6
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    • pp.922-931
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    • 2000
  • Background : It has been well known that bronchia1 asthma is a chronic airway inflammatory disorder. Recently, sputum induced with hypertonic saline was introduced as a simple and useful nonivasive medium to investigate airway inflammation and symptom severity in patients with asthma. We examined the eosinophil, eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), interleukin(IL)-3, IL-5, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating facta (GM-CSF), and nitric oxide (NO) derivatives in induced sputum from patients with bronchia1 asthma in order to determine the role of NO and various inflammatory cytokines as a useful markers of airway inflammation or changes in pulmonary function tests and symptoms. Methods : A total 30 patients with bronchia1 asthma received oral prednisolone 30 mg daily for 2 weeks. Forced expiratory volume in one second ($FEV_1$), total blood eosinophil count and induced sputum eosinophil count, ECP, IL-3, IL-5, GM-CSF, and NO derivatives were determined before and after the administration of prednisolone. Results : Of the 30 patients, 13 (43.3%) were male and 17 (56.7%) were female. The mean age of patients was 41.8 years (range 19-64 years). Two patients could not produce sputum at the second study and 3 could not be followed up after their first visit. Two weeks after the prednisolone administration, there was a significant increase in $FEV_1$ (% of predicted value) from 78.1$\pm$20.6 % to 90.3$\pm$ 18.3 % (P<0.001). The eosinophil percentages in induced sputum were significantly decreased after treatment with prednisolone, with values of 56.1$\pm$27.2 % versus 29.6$\pm$21.3 % (P<0.001), and ECP were $134.5\pm68.1\;{\mu}g/L$ versus $41.5\pm42.4\;{\mu}g/L$ (P<0.001) respectively. After the prednisolone treatments, the eotaxin concentration also showed a decreasing tendency from 26.7$\pm$12.8 pg/ml to 21.7$\pm$8.7 pg/ml. There was a decreasing tendency but no significant differences in total blood eosinophil count (425.7$\pm$265.9 vs 287.7$\pm$294.7) and in the concentration of NO derivatives ($70.4\pm44.6{\mu}mol/L$ vs $91.5\pm48.3\;{\mu}mol/L$) after the prednisolone treatments. IL-3, IL-5, GM-CSF were undetectable in the sputum of most subjects either before the prednisolone treatments or after the treatments. Before the prednisolone treatments, a significant inverse correlation was observed between FEV1 and sputum ECP (r=-D.364, P<0.05) and there was a significant correlation between sputum eosinophils and eotaxin (r=0.369, P<0.05) Conclusion : The eotaxin and ECP concentration in induced sputum may be used as markers of airway inflammation after treatments in bronchia1 asthma. In addition, the measurement of sputum eosinophil percent ages is believed to be a simple method displaying the degree of airway inflammation and airway obstruction before and after the prednisolone treatment in bronchia1 asthma. However, unlike exhaled NO, the examination of NO derivatives with Griess reaction in induced sputum is considered an ineffective marker of changing airway inflammation and obstructing symptoms.

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Nature of Suppressiveness and Conduciveness of Some plant pathogens in Soils (토양내(土壤內) 식물(植物) 병원균(病原菌)의 발병억제(發病抑制) 및 유발성질(誘發性質))

  • Shim, Jae-Ouk;Lee, Min-Woong
    • The Korean Journal of Mycology
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    • v.18 no.3
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    • pp.164-177
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    • 1990
  • This study was carried out to obtain some useful data for increasing an effective ginseng production. There was a direct relationship (r=0.2645) between spore germination of Fusarium solani and soil pH, and (r=0.315) between Cylindrocarpon destructans and soil pH. On the other hand, there was a direct relationship (r=0.19) between relative hyphal growth of Rhizoctonia solani and soil pH. There was a direct relationship (r=0.21) between number of total bacteria and F. solani, (r=0.37) between actinomycetes and F. solani and (r=0.20) between celluloytic bacteria and F. solani. However, there was an inverse relationship (r=-0.20) between number of total fungi and F. solani. There was a direct relationship (r=0.24) between number of actinomycetes and R. solani. Each ginseng pathogen-suppressive soil screened was 40 in F. solani, 20 in C. destructans and 9 soil samples in R. solani among 146 soil samples, respectively. The mean contents of K, Ca and Mg were fairly lower in each ginseng pathogen-suppressive soil than conducive soil, whereas Na were somewhat lower. The mean contents of organic matter were over 2 times higher in each ginseng pathogen-suppressive soil than conducive soil. The mean contents of phosphate were fairly lower in F. solani and R. solani-suppressive soil than conducive soil and, on the other hand, were somewhat higher in C. destructans-suppressive soil than conducive soil. The mean soil pH was somewhat lower in each ginseng pathogen-suppressive soil than conducive soil. The mean contents of sand were about 2 times higher in each ginseng pathogen­suppressive soil than conducive soil, whereas silt and clay were somewhat lower. The microbial numbers of total bacteria, total fungi and celluloytic fungi were higher in F. solani-suppressive soil than conducive soil, whereas actinomycetes and celluloytic bacteria were lower. Each microbial number of total bacteria or total fungi indicated a significant difference (p=0.05) between F. solani­suppressive and conducive soil, and the microbial number of actinomycetes was a highly significant difference (p=0.01) between F. solani-suppressive and conducive soil. The microbial numbers of total bacteria, total fungi, actinomycetes and celluloytic fungi were higher in C. destructans-suppressive soil than conducive soil, whereas celluloytic bacteria were about 2 times lower. On the other hand, the microbial numbers of total fungi were higher in R. solani-suppressive soil than conducive soil, whereas total bacteria, actinomycetes, celluloytic bacteria and celluloytic fungi were lower. Fourteen of 16 F. solani-suppressive soils tested were suppressive to ginseng root rot, whereas fifteen of 16 C. destructans-suppressive soils were suppressive. Ginseng root rots of ginseng disease-suppressive soils were in the range of 1.0-17.4% in F. solani-suppressive soil and 0.2-20.4% in C. destructans-suppressive soil, respectively.

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