• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.10-15
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• 2018

Background: To identify a new strategy for postoperative pain management, we investigated the analgesic effects of allopregnanolone (Allo) in an incisional pain model, and also assessed its effects on the activities of the primary afferent fibers at the dorsal horn. Methods: In experiment 1, 45 rats were assigned to Control, Allo small-dose (0.16 mg/kg), and Allo large-dose (1.6 mg/kg) groups (n = 15 in each). The weight bearing and mechanical withdrawal thresholds of the hind limb were measured before and at 2, 24, 48, and 168 h after Brennan's surgery. In experiment 2, 16 rats were assigned to Control and Allo (0.16 mg/kg) groups (n = 8 in each). The degree of spontaneous pain was measured using the grimace scale after the surgery. Activities of the primary afferent fibers in the spinal cord (L6) were evaluated using immunohistochemical staining. Results: In experiment 1, the withdrawal threshold of the Allo small-dose group was significantly higher than that of the Control group at 2 h after surgery. Intergroup differences in weight bearing were not significant. In experiment 2, intergroup differences in the grimace scale scores were not significant. Substance P release in the Allo (0.16 mg/kg) group was significantly lower than that in the Control group. Conclusions: Systemic administration of Allo inhibited mechanical allodynia and activities of the primary afferent fibers at the dorsal horn in a rat postoperative pain model. Allo was proposed as a candidate for postoperative pain management.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.451-459
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• 2014

To solve the serious problem of insufficient manpower in medium and small scaled companies, our country allows introduction of foreign manpower for 5 business types such as manufacture industry, service industry, etc. and there are 226,825 people who entered by employment license system(E-9) in Sep. 2013. However, according to the results of investigation "actual status and difficulties of foreign manpower's employment of medium and small scaled manufacturing companies" of KFTA in 2013, 36.4% of respondents responded that current scale of introducing foreign manpower is insufficient to solve difficulties of insufficient manpower in industrial world and 37.7% of them responded that the quarter of new employment is insufficient. So, they hope that current quarter system of foreign manpower can be abolished. Meanwhile, introduction scale of foreign manpower was decided by 53,000 people so as to solve enterprise difficulties in manpower and vitalize economics this year, but illegal aliens are 39,623, more than 17.5%, in Sep. 2013 after employment expiration. Therefore, it becomes serious social problem. Government displays various support businesses so that foreign workers after employment expiration can return to their homeland legally. This thesis intends to find measures to maintain royalty for our country and support their smooth resettlement through the analysis on homecoming support business of foreign workers.

• The Journal of Sustainable Design and Educational Environment Research
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.10-21
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• 2015

Due to the impact of birth rate, the school age population decreases year by year, and as a result, the Ministry of Education conducts the layout adjustment for middle and primary schools and cancels substantial rural schools. Nearly half of the cancelled and idle schools are not applied till now. Combining the practical demand of local residents, it is quite necessary to make use of the idle schools effectively again. Consequently, field investigation is conducted for the architectural status of 28 idle schools in Pingle County of Guilin, Guangxi, and detail investigation and analysis has been carried out for the different scales of schools from various aspects, including the covered area, traffic, building construction, space composition, degree of aging, etc. The investigation result shows that small teaching schools are remote, being small in scale, single in space and serious in aging. Complete primary schools are close to the villages and towns, being large in scale, abundant in space, and well preserved. The teaching schools are between the previous two types. Meanwhile, it is generally convenient in traffic, and good in structure. It can provide fundamental data for the future utilization and study.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.778-784
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• 2009

The purpose of this study is to figure out the differences of the inflow rates of Sewage Treatment Plants (STP), invested by public fund or public-private partnership (PPP). This paper finds that the average ratio of sewage inflow according to facility capacities (medium and small scale STP) was either nearly below 30% or above 100% in the first year. As the size of STP increased, there was decrease in the accuracy of demand assumption. This was because the operation time when the ratio of sewage inflow was uniform was different according to the size of STP, whereby the time was short when the STP were small. The design average ratio of sewage inflow was 10% larger than the real average ratio; this was considered overdesigned. In the case of a plant built by the PPP scheme, the average ratio of inflow of the STP before an abolition of MRG was larger than after the abolition of MRG. This may be explained by moral hazard from too much reliance on MRG. After the abolition of MRG, the demand risk of PPP was shifted from a PPP project to a conventional project.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.1617-1620
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• 2014

Background: Evidence shows direct link of HER2 to increased glycolysis and over production of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). HER2 overexpression, high LDH and low glucose pleural levels are associated with poor prognosis in lung cancer. Here, their relationships were investigated. Materials and Methods: HER2 positivity was studied using immunohistochemistry in non-small cell lung cancer. Glucose and LDH levels were measured using commercial colorimetric kits. Results: Of 42 patients (29 adenocarcinoma and 13 squamous cell carcinoma), 28 (66.7%) were HER2-negative, 14 (33.3%) were HER2- positive, including 9 (21.4%) weakly stained (1+) and 5 (11.9%) moderately stained (2+) samples. The relationship between HER2 and glucose and LDH levels were tested in 20 newly diagnosed lung cancer patients who had simultaneous pleural and serum samples. Pleural and serum LDH levels were increased, and pleural glucose levels were decreased with the scale of HER2 positivity, and that the difference in glucose levels between HER2-negative group and HER2-positive patients scored at 2+ reached statistical significance (p=0.02). This latter group all had pleural glucose levels below 40 mg/dl. Conclusions: For the first time, we showed a significant association between low pleural glucose level and overexpression of HER2 in lung cancer. Further investigations are warranted to disclose the association of HER2 with low pleural glucose levels in other populations, with a larger sample size, in malignant pleural effusions caused by other types of cancer, and finally to assess employment as a screening tool for finding HER2-positive cases of lung cancer.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.73-78
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• 2016

Bhutanese forests have been well preserved and can sequester the atmospheric carbon (C). In spite of its importance, understanding Bhutanese forest C dynamics was very limited due to the lack of available data. However, forest C model can simulate forest C dynamics with comparatively limited data and references. In this study, we aimed to simulate Bhutanese forest C dynamics at 6 plots with the Forest Biomass and Dead organic matter Carbon (FBDC) model, which can simulate forest C cycles with small amount of input data. The total forest C stock ($Mg\;C\;ha^{-1}$) ranged from 118.35 to 200.04 with an average of 168.41. The C stocks ($Mg\;C\;ha^{-1}$) in biomass, litter, dead wood, and mineral soil were 3.40-88.13, 4.24-24.95, 1.99-20.31, 91.45-97.90, respectively. On average, the biomass, litter, dead wood, and mineral soil accounted for 36.0, 5.5, 2.5, and 56.0% of the total C stocks, respectively. Although our modeling approach was applied at a small pilot scale, it exhibited a potential to report Bhutanese forest C inventory with reliable methodology. In order to report the national forest C inventory, field work for major tree species and forest types in Bhutan are required.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.36 no.9
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• pp.1087-1094
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• 2012

This study deals with structural analysis and testing under loading conditions calculated by computational fluid dynamics for a small composite blade that is utilized in a dual rotor wind turbine system. First, the aerodynamic forces were analyzed at the rated and cutout wind speed to identify the bending moment distribution along the blade length in previous research. Then, full-scale structural tests were conducted according to IEC 61400-2 to evaluate the structural integrity of the composite blade. These results were compared with finite element analysis to identify the accuracy of the structural analysis. Based on these results, it was revealed that the existing blade has a very high safety margin. Then, the layup of the composite blade was redesigned and analyzed using finite element analysis to achieve structural integrity and economic efficiency.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.275-277
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• 2000

The status of intestinal parasite infections was investigated in two rural villages (Chitrasar, Jerona) in Chitwan District, Nepal in 1999. Stool examination was performed with a total of 300 specimens from schoolchildren by formalin-ether sedinentation technique. The prevalence rate of intestinal parasite infections in the surveyed areas was 44.0%. The prevalence rate in Jerona was slightly higher than that in Chitrasar. The prevalence rate of intestinal parasite infections in female was slighly higher than that in male without statistically significant difference. Entamoeba coli was the most commonly found protozoan parasite (21.0%) followed by Giardia lamblia (13.7%) and others (5.3%). Hookworm was the most prevalent intestinal helminth (13.0%) followed by Trichuris trichiura (3.0%) and others (5.0%). forty-three specimens (14.3%) Showed mixed infections. It is necessary to implement large-scale treatment with anthelminthics, health education and sanitary improvement for intestinal parasite control in the surveyed areas.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.65 no.6
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• pp.645-656
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• 2018

Importance of procuring adequate knowledge about the mechanical behavior of double-layered graphene sheets (DLGSs) incensed the authors to investigate wave propagation responses of mentioned element while rested on a visco-Pasternak medium under hygro-thermal loading. A nonlocal strain gradient theory (NSGT) is exploited to present a more reliable size-dependent mechanical analysis by capturing both softening and hardening effects of small scale. Furthermore, in the framework of a classical plate theory the kinematic relations are developed. Incorporating kinematic relations with the definition of Hamilton's principle, the Euler-Lagrange equations of each of the layers are derived separately. Afterwards, combining Euler-Lagrange equations with those of the NSGT the nonlocal governing equations are written in terms of displacement fields. Interaction of the each of the graphene sheets with another one is regarded by the means of vdW model. Then, a widespread analytical solution is employed to solve the derived equations and obtain wave frequency values. Subsequently, influence of each participant variable containing nonlocal parameter, length scale parameter, foundation parameters, temperature gradient and moisture concentration is studied by plotting various figures.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2015

Thermoelectric (TE) technology is becoming increasingly important in applications of solid-state cooling and renewable energy sources. $Bi_2Te_3$-based TE materials are widely used in small-scale cooling and temperature control applications; however, higher levels of TE performance are required for new applications such as large-scale cooling (e.g., domestic refrigerators or air conditioners) and for highly efficient power generation system. Recently, the TE performance of $Bi_2Te_3$-based materials has been remarkably enhanced by the introduction of nanostructuring technologies which can be used to prepare TE raw materials. Because it takes into account the theoretical and experimental characteristics, nanostructuring has been shown to be one of the most promising ways to realize the simultaneous control of the electronic and thermal transport properties. In this review, emphasis is placed on bulk-type nanostructured $Bi_2Te_3$-based TE materials. Nanostructuring technologies for enhanced TE performance are summarized, and a few important strategies are presented.