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Separate and Joint Associations of Shift Work and Sleep Quality with Lipids

  • Charles, Luenda E.;Gu, Ja K.;Tinney-Zara, Cathy A.;Fekedulegn, Desta;Ma, Claudia C.;Baughman, Penelope;Hartley, Tara A.;Andrew, Michael E.;Violanti, John M.;Burchfiel, Cecil M.
    • Safety and Health at Work
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    • v.7 no.2
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    • pp.111-119
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    • 2016
  • Background: Shift work and/or sleep quality may affect health. We investigated whether shift work and sleep quality, separately and jointly, were associated with abnormal levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol (TC), and low-and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in 360 police officers (27.5% women). Methods: Triglycerides, TC, and high-density lipoprotein were analyzed on the Abbott Architect; low-density lipoprotein was calculated. Shift work was assessed using City of Buffalo payroll work history records. Sleep quality (good, ${\leq}5$; intermediate, 6-8; poor, ${\geq}9$) was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaire. A shift work + sleep quality variable was created: day plus good sleep; day plus poor sleep; afternoon/night plus good; and poor sleep quality. Mean values of lipid biomarkers were compared across categories of the exposures using analysis of variance/analysis of covariance. Results: Shift work was not significantly associated with lipids. However, as sleep quality worsened, mean levels of triglycerides and TC gradually increased but only among female officers (age- and race-adjusted p = 0.013 and 0.030, respectively). Age significantly modified the association between sleep quality and TC. Among officers ${\geq}40$ years old, those reporting poor sleep quality had a significantly higher mean level of TC ($202.9{\pm}3.7mg/dL$) compared with those reporting good sleep quality ($190.6{\pm}4.0mg/dL$) (gender- and race-adjusted p = 0.010). Female officers who worked the day shift and also reported good sleep quality had the lowest mean level of TC compared with women in the other three categories (p = 0.014). Conclusion: Sleep quality and its combined influence with shift work may play a role in the alteration of some lipid measures.

The Relationship of Country Image, Product-Country Image, and Purchase Intention of Korean Products: Focusing on Differences among Ethnic Groups in South Africa

  • Lee, You-Kyung;Robb, Charles Arthur
    • Journal of Korea Trade
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    • v.23 no.6
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    • pp.33-51
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    • 2019
  • Purpose - The purpose of this study is to provide practical implications for Korean companies searching for new market opportunities. From the experimental analysis, the impact of country image on product-country image and purchase intention of Korean products are measured. In addition, this study disaggregates the impacts of country image and product-country image and purchase intention among ethnic groups in South Africa for searching further useful implications. Design/methodology - To examine South African consumers' country image and product-country image towards Korean products, data were collected between June and July 2019 through an online questionnaire, and 335 questionnaires were used for analysis. Firstly, the multivariate analysis was conducted to examine the general tendency of South African consumers' perceptions of country image to Korea, product-country image, and purchase intention among three ethnic group consumers. Then in order to verify the country image model and hypotheses of the study, we analyzed the structural models for each of the three ethnic groups and compared the sizes of the path coefficients for each groups. To compare the difference of path coefficients across ethnic groups, configural invariance, metric invariance, and scalar invariance tests were conducted sequentially. Findings - In the black and white ethnic groups, the country image had a statistically significant impact on product-country image, but it did not affect the purchase intention to Korean products. The product-country image showed a statistically significant impact on the purchase intention to Korean products in both ethnic group. However, in the coloured ethnic group consumer, the country image had a significant effect on the product-country image, but it did not affect the purchase intention of Korean products. In addition, the product-country image did not have a significant influence on the purchase intention of coloured ethnic group consumers unlike black and white ethnic group consumers. The results of this study suggest that even though differences in terms of the impact of CoI on PCI and PI were investigated for the sample of white, coloured, and black respondents, the groups seemed to respond in a reasonably comparable manner. Originality/value - South Africa occupies more than 20% of Africa's total GDP in sub-Saharan Africa and is a hub for Southern African logistics as a hub for Korean companies to enter Africa. However, it is rare to find a study focused on the determinants of consumer behavior in South Africa. In particular, this study disaggregates the impacts of country image and product-country image on consumer behavior across ethnic groups in South Africa. Therefore, this study could provide practical implications for Korean firms which desire to diversify their export markets and pioneer future markets.

Validity of Self-reported Hypertension and Factors Related to Discordance Between Self-reported and Objectively Measured Hypertension: Evidence From a Cohort Study in Iran

  • Najafi, Farid;Pasdar, Yahya;Shakiba, Ebrahim;Hamzeh, Behrooz;Darbandi, Mitra;Moradinazar, Mehdi;Navabi, Jafar;Anvari, Bita;Saidi, Mohammad Reza;Bazargan-Hejazi, Shahrzad
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.52 no.2
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    • pp.131-139
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    • 2019
  • Objectives: Self-reporting can be used to determine the incidence and prevalence of hypertension (HTN). The present study was conducted to determine the validity of self-reported HTN and to identify factors affecting discordance between self-reported and objectively measured HTN in participants in the Ravansar Non-Communicable Diseases (RaNCD) cohort. Methods: The RaNCD cohort included permanent residents of Ravansar, Iran aged 35-65 years. Self-reported data were collected before clinical examinations were conducted by well-trained staff members. The gold standard for HTN was anti-hypertensive medication use and blood pressure measurements. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and overall accuracy of self-reporting were calculated. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to examine the discordance between self-reported HTN and the gold standard. Results: Of the 10 065 participants in the RaNCD, 4755 (47.4%) were male. The prevalence of HTN was 16.8% based on self-reporting and 15.7% based on medical history and HTN measurements. Of the participants with HTN, 297 (18.8%) had no knowledge of their disease, and 313 (19.9%) had not properly controlled their HTN despite receiving treatment. The sensitivity, specificity, and kappa for self-reported HTN were 75.5%, 96.4%, and 73.4%, respectively. False positives became more likely with age, body mass index (BMI), low socioeconomic status, and female sex, whereas false negatives became more likely with age, BMI, high socioeconomic status, smoking, and urban residency. Conclusions: The sensitivity and specificity of self-reported HTN were acceptable, suggesting that this method can be used for public health initiatives in the absence of countrywide HTN control and detection programs.

The Records and Archives as the Conceptual Constructs and Sunglihak World View of Joseon Dynasty ('개념적 구성물로서의 기록'의 관점에서 보는 조선시대 성리학 세계관과 기록·기록관리)

  • Noh, Meung-Hoan
    • The Korean Journal of Archival Studies
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    • no.51
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    • pp.235-278
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    • 2017
  • Then, why was the system so thorough and strict? How could that be possible? I approached this question by explaining the task of the Joseon Dynasty for the construction of a Confucian community based on Sunglihak. Sunglihak meant the metaphysics of human nature and universe order, or the rule of heaven. The people who opened the Joseon Dynasty aimed at constructing a Confucian community based on propriety as the principle of the society. The records and archives played an administrative function, for example, controlling royal power, as well as the role of constructing a national community identity based on Sunglihak. This kind of records and records management practices of the Joseon Dynasty can be seen as conceptual construction and conceptual constructs, although they were physical entities in reality. They reflected the Sunglihak value system as, in the words of Michel Focault, an "episteme" and played a social role based on it. In particular, I explained it in light of the constructivism of Sunglihak and the semiosis concept of Charles Sanders Peirce.

Graded levels of phytase on performance, bone mineralization and carcass traits of broiler fed reduced dicalcium phosphate

  • de Freitas, Henrique Barbosa;de Souza Nascimento, Karina Marcia Ribeiro;Kiefer, Charles;Gomes, Gilson Alexandre;Santos, Tiago Tedeschi dos;Garcia, Elis Regina Moraes;da Silva, Thiago Rodrigues;Paiva, Luanna Lopes;Berno, Patricia Rodrigues
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.32 no.5
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    • pp.691-700
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    • 2019
  • Objective: This study was conducted to assess increasing doses of phytase added to broiler diets formulated with different levels of available phosphorus (avP), calcium (Ca), and sodium (Na), and the respective effects on performance parameters, quantitative carcass characteristics, ash and phosphorus deposition in tibia and weight of organs. Methods: Three different matrices were assumed for phytase with the following nutritional values: matrix A (MT A): 0.165% Ca, 0.150% avP, and 0.035% Na; matrix B (MT B): 0.215% Ca, 0.195% avP, and 0.045% Na; matrix C (MT C): 0.245% Ca, 0.225% avP, and 0.053% Na. There were six different diets: No phytase (formulated to meet the nutritional requirements); phytase 500 FTU/kg+MT A; phytase 1,000 FTU/kg+MT A; phytase 1,500 FTU/kg+MT A; phytase 1,000 FTU/kg+MT B and phytase 1,500 FTU/kg+MT C. Results: There was no significant phytase influence on performance, quantitative carcass characteristics, ash and phosphorus deposition in tibia and weight of the organ throughout the study period, however, it was possible to observe a tendency of improvement in body weight corrected feed conversion for broilers fed the phytase 1,500+MT C diet, where potentially these birds were more efficient on utilize phytic phosphorus and other nutrients bounded to phytate molecule, translating into improvement in performance, and there was also a non significant numerical improvement in body weight corrected feed conversion of broilers fed this diet. Conclusion: Broilers fed with diets formulated with different levels of avP, Ca, and Na and increasing doses of phytase have shown no change on performance, quantitative carcass characteristics, ash and phosphorus deposition in tibia and weight of organs.

Destitution as an Expenditure: Beckett's Literature of Poverty (소모로서의 궁핍: 베케트의 빈궁문학)

  • Park, Ilhyung
    • English & American cultural studies
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    • v.10 no.2
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    • pp.73-97
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    • 2010
  • Representation of destitution may be considered as an expression of a social desire toward forging a bond or solidarity with the impoverished. However, political and ethical demands of the solidarity force the formulaic framework structuring the form of representation to its limits. The thesis aims to examine the responses to such demands within the tradition of modernist literature that can be traced from Charles Baudelaire, Knut Hamsun to Franz Kafka and that somehow culminates with Samuel Beckett, and to analyze how the issue of destitution that weaves through Beckett's works criticizes and inherits such a heritage. Whereas destitution in 19th century Realism is structurally fixed and its potential for change is inherently excluded, for these writers, destitution is no longer the state of rigid reality in which any possibility is limited. It is destitution as an imperative that calls for exploitation of possibilities that can be recuperated from the impoverished condition of destitution. What these writers consistently resist against is destitution that leads to compensation and reward. Since occupying a superior position toward the other as the subject of description or sympathy can be seen as one form of profit or reward, they have persistently pursued absolute solitariness and austere conditions rather than prematurely simulating a sense of solidarity and community. The ultimate goal of destitution as an imperative is to pursue destitution in order to worsen it by identifying and then excluding and expending possessions and assets to a state of penury. This is a paradoxical process that opens up the realm of possibilities of destitution and redefines it as abundance and wealth. Destitution for Beckett as seen in the writers above is the objective of literature. But, what he focuses on is to amplify the shreds of economic world that still remain in a state of poverty and to reveal extreme poverty as a state of odd affluence and to transform it into a pursuit of accumulation and profit. One of his famous axioms, "less is more", contains the essence of such a paradoxical strategy. In a sense, such approach is a twist on the strategy that identifies and uses any remaining potential hidden in destitution as was pursued by other writers. It also expands on the imagination of the destitute described by Hamsun. But Hamsun and Beckett are diametrical opposites. Unlike Hamsun, Beckett does not link imagination with a sense of guilt. Imagination is not intended to overcome the destitute reality nor to culminate in artistic martyrdom as in the case of Kafka's hunger artist. The imagination of the impoverished in Beckett is simply a hilarious game and not an escape that ends in a sense of guilt. This game formulates a "rhetorical question" or derision at the ironical situation where the pursuit of hunger and art as the disinterestedness has been turned into symbolic capital. It is inherently a fundamental critique at the aestheticization of destitution that has been pursued by Modernism. Beckett's efforts at divulging falsehood inherent in non-profit acts such as charity, donation and hospitality are dissections of social fictions in which aestheticization of destitution remains a part of the whole.

A Study on the Space Characteristics of Wong Kar-wai's Movie: Focusing on Hong Kong's Urban Space (왕가위(王家衛) 영화의 공간 특성 연구: 홍콩도시 공간을 중심으로)

  • Zheng-Yun, Li;Yoojin, Kim;Park Eun Kwang
    • The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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    • v.9 no.3
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    • pp.461-470
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    • 2023
  • This paper analyzes the spatial representations constructed by reality, filming, and narrative in the works of Hong Kong film director Wong Kar-wai, and how these spaces influence Hong Kong's urban culture, perception, and interpersonal relationships. To analyze Wong Kar-wai's films, Charles Sanders Peirce's semiotics concepts and Paul Virilio's spatial concepts were applied. Through this, we examined how the meaning embedded in the spatial representations of Wong Kar-wai's films could become a crucial factor in their success. Wong Kar-wai focused on the values of human relationships formed by society in his subject expression, directly representing the human inner world and prompting audiences to think about it. In this paper, we categorized the spaces depicted in Wong Kar-wai's films as public, private, and connective spaces, and analyzed them as a means to show the living environment and emotions of Hong Kong's youth. Through this, we determined that the spatial representations in Wong Kar-wai's films effectively demonstrate the cultural interpretation function of Hong Kong's citizen consciousness at the junction of Eastern and Western cultures and social connections. In conclusion, Wong Kar-wai's works provide a rich understanding of contemporary people's lives, emotions, and urban spaces, offering valuable insights into Hong Kong's film industry and cultural values.

Application of peak based-Bayesian statistical method for isotope identification and categorization of depleted, natural and low enriched uranium measured by LaBr3:Ce scintillation detector

  • Haluk Yucel;Selin Saatci Tuzuner;Charles Massey
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.55 no.10
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    • pp.3913-3923
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    • 2023
  • Todays, medium energy resolution detectors are preferably used in radioisotope identification devices(RID) in nuclear and radioactive material categorization. However, there is still a need to develop or enhance « automated identifiers » for the useful RID algorithms. To decide whether any material is SNM or NORM, a key parameter is the better energy resolution of the detector. Although masking, shielding and gain shift/stabilization and other affecting parameters on site are also important for successful operations, the suitability of the RID algorithm is also a critical point to enhance the identification reliability while extracting the features from the spectral analysis. In this study, a RID algorithm based on Bayesian statistical method has been modified for medium energy resolution detectors and applied to the uranium gamma-ray spectra taken by a LaBr3:Ce detector. The present Bayesian RID algorithm covers up to 2000 keV energy range. It uses the peak centroids, the peak areas from the measured gamma-ray spectra. The extraction features are derived from the peak-based Bayesian classifiers to estimate a posterior probability for each isotope in the ANSI library. The program operations were tested under a MATLAB platform. The present peak based Bayesian RID algorithm was validated by using single isotopes(241Am, 57Co, 137Cs, 54Mn, 60Co), and then applied to five standard nuclear materials(0.32-4.51% at.235U), as well as natural U- and Th-ores. The ID performance of the RID algorithm was quantified in terms of F-score for each isotope. The posterior probability is calculated to be 54.5-74.4% for 238U and 4.7-10.5% for 235U in EC-NRM171 uranium materials. For the case of the more complex gamma-ray spectra from CRMs, the total scoring (ST) method was preferred for its ID performance evaluation. It was shown that the present peak based Bayesian RID algorithm can be applied to identify 235U and 238U isotopes in LEU or natural U-Th samples if a medium energy resolution detector is was in the measurements.

Prognostic Value of Coronary CT Angiography for Predicting Poor Cardiac Outcome in Stroke Patients without Known Cardiac Disease or Chest Pain: The Assessment of Coronary Artery Disease in Stroke Patients Study

  • Sung Hyun Yoon;Eunhee Kim;Yongho Jeon;Sang Yoon Yi;Hee-Joon Bae;Ik-Kyung Jang;Joo Myung Lee;Seung Min Yoo;Charles S. White;Eun Ju Chun
    • Korean Journal of Radiology
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    • v.21 no.9
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    • pp.1055-1064
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    • 2020
  • Objective: To assess the incremental prognostic value of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) in comparison to a clinical risk model (Framingham risk score, FRS) and coronary artery calcium score (CACS) for future cardiac events in ischemic stroke patients without chest pain. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 1418 patients with acute stroke who had no previous cardiac disease and underwent CCTA, including CACS. Stenosis degree and plaque types (high-risk, non-calcified, mixed, or calcified plaques) were assessed as CCTA variables. High-risk plaque was defined when at least two of the following characteristics were observed: low-density plaque, positive remodeling, spotty calcification, or napkin-ring sign. We compared the incremental prognostic value of CCTA for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) over CACS and FRS. Results: The prevalence of any plaque and obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) (stenosis ≥ 50%) were 70.7% and 30.2%, respectively. During the median follow-up period of 48 months, 108 patients (7.6%) experienced MACE. Increasing FRS, CACS, and stenosis degree were positively associated with MACE (all p < 0.05). Patients with high-risk plaque type showed the highest incidence of MACE, followed by non-calcified, mixed, and calcified plaque, respectively (log-rank p < 0.001). Among the prediction models for MACE, adding stenosis degree to FRS showed better discrimination and risk reclassification compared to FRS or the FRS + CACS model (all p < 0.05). Furthermore, incorporating plaque type in the prediction model significantly improved reclassification (integrated discrimination improvement, 0.08; p = 0.023) and showed the highest discrimination index (C-statistics, 0.85). However, the addition of CACS on CCTA with FRS did not add to the prediction ability for MACE (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Assessment of stenosis degree and plaque type using CCTA provided additional prognostic value over CACS and FRS to risk stratify stroke patients without prior history of CAD better.

The Instructional Effect of Varying Visuals in Drawing and Writing Applied to Learning with Multiple Representations (다중 표상 학습에 적용한 그리기와 쓰기에서 시각정 정보의 형태에 따른 교수 효과)

  • Kang, Hun-Sik;Lee, Sung-Mi;Noh, Tae-Hee
    • Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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    • v.26 no.3
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    • pp.367-375
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    • 2006
  • This study investigated the effects of varying visuals in drawing and writing as methods to assist students in connecting and integrating multiple external representations provided in learning the particulate nature of matter. Seventh graders (N=233) at a coed middle school were assigned to control, static drawing (SO), dynamic drawing (DD), static writing (SW), and dynamic writing (DW) groups. The students were taught about "Boyle's Law" and "Charles's Law" for two class periods. Two-way ANCOVA results revealed that the scores of a conception test for the two drawing (SD, DD) groups and the two writing (SW, DW) groups were significantly higher than those for the control group. Within the writing groups, students of lower spatial visualization ability in the DW group scored significantly higher than those in the SW group. However, no significant differences were found in the scores of the conception test for the two drawing (SD, DD) groups regardless of students' visualization ability. Researchers also found that most students in both DD and DW groups had respectively positive perceptions of dynamic visuals in drawing or writing.