• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• 제48권1호
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• pp.85-90
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• 2021

We present data from three Caucasian men with Zinner syndrome who attended our center for the treatment of primary couple's infertility. Each patient was scheduled for conventional testicular sperm extraction (cTESE) and cryopreservation. Sperm analysis confirmed absolute azoospermia. Patient 1 had right and left testis volumes of 24 mL and 23 mL, respectively; left seminal vesicle (SV) agenesis, severe right SV hypotrophy with right renal agenesis. Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) was 3.2 IU/L. Patient 2 exhibited right and left testis volumes of 18 mL and 16 mL, respectively; a left SV cyst of 32 × 28 mm, ipsilateral kidney absence, and right SV agenesis. FSH was 2.8 IU/L. Patient 3 showed a testicular volume of 10 mL bilaterally, a 65 × 46 mm left SV cyst, right SV enlargement, and left kidney agenesis. FSH was 32.0 IU/L. Sperm retrieval was successful in all patients. Nevertheless, cTESE should be performed on the day of oocyte retrieval.

• 한국노년학
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• 제40권4호
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• pp.577-598
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• 2020

As the socialization of care is progressing rapidly, the necessity of community-level mental health intervention for older adults with severe social isolation and depression is also increasing. In line with the reorganization of the Individualized Support Services for Older Adults in 2020, the social relations revitalization project for the elderly living alone, which had been conducted as a pilot project in 2014~19, was expanded and reorganized into a separate specialized project within the Individualized Support Services for Older Adults. The purpose of this study is to enhance understanding of the specialized service and to clarify its conceptual framework. The characteristics and conceptual framework of the specialized service were examined through a review of the process of institutionalization of the specialized service, which included analysis of related literature and the pilot projects. Finally, it discussed what to consider in order for the specialized service to proceed as intended in the future, focusing on a couple of situations that occur at the fields.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• 제28권4호
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• pp.307-316
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• 2022

Purpose: This study investigated the vulnerability to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and associated factors among married women in northwest Ethiopia. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional survey (n=657) was conducted from April 1 to 15, 2020, in Metema District, northwest Ethiopia, in four randomly selected kebele administrations (the lowest level of local government). The inclusion criteria were married women aged ≥18 years residing with their husbands. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with married women's vulnerability to HIV infection. Results: Participants were on average 33.70±9.50 years and nearly one-fourth (n=148, 22.5%) were identified as vulnerable to HIV infection (i.e., experienced sexually transmitted disease symptoms or an extramarital affair of either spouse within the past 12 months). Only 18.9% reported sexual communication with their husband. Respondents who did not discuss the risk of HIV infection with their husbands had fivefold odds of vulnerability (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 5.02; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.43-17.5). Those who did not have premarital sex (AOR, 0.20; 95% CI, 0.05-0.77) had no worries about HIV infection (AOR, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.08-0.94), sufficient income (AOR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.16-0.86), and less than four children (AOR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.50-0.97) had decreased odds of being vulnerable to HIV than their counterparts. Conclusion: Not discussing risk of HIV infection with husband was a major factor of vulnerability to HIV infection as was premarital sex, worry about HIV, income, and number of children. Measures to strengthen couple's sexual communication and support economical stability is important for decreasing HIV vulnerability.

• 한국노년학
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• 제30권3호
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• pp.759-778
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• 2010

The purposes of this study were to identify living behavioral patterns in of single or couple elderly households in residential environment, to find out ubiquitous home services for the elders, and finally to suggest the ubiquitous home services according to each household's type. For this study, literature review, field works for ubiquitous home services for the elders, and in-depth interview and observation by 74 elderly participants were conducted. The major findings of the study were as follows: single or spouse elderly households were classified into 8 types according to the combination of their household types, income level, and health status. Among 8 types, 2 types were excluded for final analysis due to small sample size. Living behavioral characteristics of 6 types were analyzed and the behavioral pattern of each type was drawn. Based on this behavioral pattern of each type, ubiquitous home services which meet the needs of each type were suggested. The implications and limitations of this study were also discussed and the suggestions for further studies were recommended.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• 제38권6호
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• pp.29-44
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• 2023

Objectives : This study was planned to evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness and possible underlying mechanism of TPE (Tetrapanax papyrifer stem(inner part of the stem Extract) and AQE (Akebiae quinata stem Extract) on osteoarthritis. Methods : Osteoarthritis models were induced through intra-articular injection of MIA (monosodium iodoacetate) 50 μL with 80 mg/ml in rats. Excluding the normal group, Osteoarthritis-induced rats were divided into 4 groups (Control, INDO, TPE, AQE). The drug concentrations were indomethacin 5 mg/kg, TPE 200 mg/kg, and AQE 200 mg/kg, and were orally administered once a day for a couple of weeks. After drug supplementation, the effects of TPE and AQE were measured with serum diagnosis, western blotting, and histopathological staining. Results : It was found that the DPPH and ABTS free radical erasure ability of AQE was better than that of TPE. AQE administration improved rear limb overload and it led to relieving pain. Both PTE and AQE significantly reduced the expression of inflammatory mediators COX-2, iNOS, and inflammatory cytokine IL-1β and IL-6 by inhibiting the phosphorylation of IκBα and deactivating the pathway of NF-κBp65. On the other hand, TNF-α was significantly reduced only by administration of AQE. In addition, histopathological analysis showed that the administration of AQE compared to PTE suppressed cartilage degeneration and effectively suppressed damage to proteoglycan, a component of ECM. Conclusion : Reviewing these experimental results, TPE and AQE possessed the effect of delaying the progress of osteoarthritis and protecting cartilage. In addition, the results of this study show that AQE has a better cartilage protection effect than TPE.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제90권3호
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• pp.219-232
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• 2024

In current study, for the first time, Nonlinear Bending of a skew microplate made of a laminated composite strengthened with graphene nanosheets is investigated. A mixture of mechanical and thermal stresses is applied to the plate, and the reaction is analyzed using the First Shear Deformation Theory (FSDT). Since different percentages of graphene sheets are included in the multilayer structure of the composite, the characteristics of the composite are functionally graded throughout its thickness. Halpin-Tsai models are used to characterize mechanical qualities, whereas Schapery models are used to characterize thermal properties. The microplate's non-linear strain is first calculated by calculating the plate shear deformation and using the Green-Lagrange tensor and von Karman assumptions. Then the elements of the Couple and Cauchy stress tensors using the Modified Coupled Stress Theory (MCST) are derived. Next, using the Hamilton Principle, the microplate's governing equations and associated boundary conditions are calculated. The nonlinear differential equations are linearized by utilizing auxiliary variables in the nonlinear solution by applying the Frechet approach. The linearized equations are rectified via an iterative loop to precisely solve the problem. For this, the Differential Quadrature Method (DQM) is utilized, and the outcomes are shown for the basic support boundary condition. To ascertain the maximum values of microplate deflection for a range of circumstances-such as skew angles, volume fractions, configurations, temperatures, and length scales-a parametric analysis is carried out. To shed light on how the microplate behaves in these various circumstances, the resulting results are analyzed.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• 제15권2호
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• pp.1-22
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• 2024

Purpose - The Chinese fan community includes a significant number of young and middle-aged individuals, playing a crucial role in emotional mobilization and social engagement. In recent years, the impact of Celebrity Pairing or Character Pairing (CP) on Weibo has grown notably, partly due to features like Super Topics and Hot Searches. This phenomenon has enhanced fan engagement, resulting in heightened participation in discussions and interactions on the platform. Our study targets CP fans of movies and television dramas on Weibo and aims to identify the factors that drive their emotional sharing. Design/methodology/approach - The research methodology integrates Self-Determination Theory and Social Sharing of Emotion Theory within the EASI (Emotion, Attachment, and Social Integration) model. This approach aims to uncover how CP fans meet their emotional needs via social media and determine the factors influencing their sharing intentions and behaviours. Data were collected through online surveys, yielding 504 valid responses Findings - The analysis, performed with SPSS and Smart PLS software, reveals that self-determination, interpersonal relationships, and social media tolerance significantly affect fans' intentions to share content. Specifically, intrinsic motivation, driven by self-determination, is a critical factor in CP fans' propensity to share content, highlighting the importance of 'inward socialization.' Additionally, the study finds that external factors, like the social media environment, play a more minor role than internal motivators. Research implications or Originality - This research enhances quantitative research methodologies by identifying intrinsic and extrinsic motivations that satisfy the emotional needs of CP fans. It distinguishes between individual, interpersonal, and collective/social factors as motivational elements, providing insights into the emotional and psychological needs of the Chinese movie and TV drama fan community.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• 제20권1호
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• pp.75-82
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• 2007

This paper addresses a method for shape optimization of a continuous elastic body considering stability, i.e., buckling behavior. The sensitivity formula for critical load is analytically derived and expressed in terms of shape variation, based on the continuum formulation of the stability problem. Unlike the conventional finite difference method (FDM), this method is efficient in that only a couple of analyses are required regardless of the number of design parameters. Commercial software such as ANSYS can be employed since the method requires only the result of the analysis in computation of the sensitivity. Though the buckling problem is more efficiently solved by structural elements such as a beam and shell, elastic solids have been chosen for the buckling analysis because solid elements can generally be used for any kind of structure whether it is thick or thin. Sensitivity is then computed by using the mathematical package MATLAB with the initial stress and buckling analysis of ANSYS. Several problems we chosen in order to illustrate the efficiency of the presented method. They are applied to the shape optimization problems to minimize weight under allowed critical loads and to maximize critical loads under same volume.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• 제20권6호
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• pp.1-9
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• 2016

The paper aims at evaluating effects of preventive maintenance on life cycle cost(LCC) reduction of bridges. The preventive maintenance activities capable to delay bridge deteriorations can reduce overall maintenance costs and extend service life of a bridge by regularly providing maintenance activities and avoiding larger maintenance(repairs or rehabilitations) costs. Couple of prediction models were proposed in order to calculate LCC of a typical bridge: a health score model and repair rehabilitation cost model. In addition, the maintenance activities such as wash and painting were also suggested in order to consider effects of preventive maintenance in the analysis based on literature reviews. According to analysis results, new maintenance strategy(reactive maintenance + preventive maintenance) can save \0.5 billion per bridge for future life-cycle costs over 100 year analysis or \184 billion for entire HBMS(Highway Bridge Management System) inventory over 20 years. Small investments for preventive maintenance in improved bridge management can have a very significant return when considering the large bridge inventory.

• Journal of Family Relations
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• 제21권1호
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• pp.143-160
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• 2016

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to empirically verify the difference between traditional gender role attitude and realistic dual earner attitude. Most preceding studies analyzed gender role attitude by summated rating scale while few studies have been conducted on the difference between traditional gender role attitude and dual earner attitude. Method: By using the 9th Korea Welfare Panel Data (year 2014), this study extracted households of married couples and with children in working age (18 through 64 years of age) who are the main subjects in work-family relationship. First, this study classified traditional group and modern group in their gender role attitude and passive group and active group in their dual earner attitude and by crossing these attitudes, drew out 4 gender role/dual earner attitudes. For analysis, this study investigated frequency of attitude types through descriptive statistics. By conducting ANOVA, study verified if there are significant differences in the satisfaction with family relationship depending on the types of gender role/dual earner attitudes. Lastly, study examined the effect of socio-economic status and demographic characteristics on the types of gender role/dual earner attitudes by conducting multi-nominal logistic regression analysis. Results: As the result of analysis, first, half of respondents belonged to 'equal-role-oriented type' who has modern gender role attitude and active dual earner attitude. However, there were not a few 'dual-earner-avoiding type' who has modern gender role attitude but passive dual earner attitude and 'incongruous attitude type' who has traditional gender role attitude but active dual earner attitude. Next, 'incongruous attitude type' had significantly low level of satisfaction with overall family life, relationship with spouse and relationship with children than other attitude types. Lastly, those whose incomes belong to poor strata, those who are high school graduates and lower, males and those who are over the age of 60 had significantly higher probability of belonging to 'incongruous attitude type.' Conclusion: The results of analysis demonstrate that the difference between gender role attitude and dual earner attitude is an important matter and since 'incongruous attitude type' exhibits low level of satisfaction with family relationship, scrupulous policy approaches are required for those who have high possibility of belonging to 'incongruous attitude type.'