• Title/Summary/Keyword: Mixed Methods Research

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Application of Proxy-basin Differential Split-Sampling and Blind-Validation Tests for Evaluating Hydrological Impact of Climate Change Using SWAT (SWAT을 이용한 기후변화의 수문학적 영향평가를 위한 Proxy-basin Differential Split-Sampling 및 Blind-Validation 테스트 적용)

  • Son, Kyong-Ho;Kim, Jeong-Kon
    • Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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    • v.41 no.10
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    • pp.969-982
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    • 2008
  • As hydrological models have been progressively developed, they are recognized as appropriate tools to manage water resources. Especially, the need to evaluate the effects of landuse and climate change on hydrological phenomena has been increased, which requires powerful validation methods for the hydrological models to be employed. As measured streamflow data at many locations may not be available, or include significant errors in application of hydrological models, streamflow data simulated by models only might be used to conduct hydrological analysis. In many cases, reducing errors in model simulations requires a powerful model validation method. In this research, we demonstrated a validation methodology of SWAT model using observed flow in two basins with different physical characteristics. First, we selected two basins, Gap-cheon basin and Yongdam basin located in the Guem River Basin, showing different hydrological characteristics. Next, the methodology developed to estimate parameter values for the Gap-cheon basin was applied for estimating those for the Yongdam basin without calibration a priori, and sought for validation of the SWAT. Application result with SWAT for Yongdam basin showed $R_{eff}$ ranging from 0.49 to 0.85, and $R^{2}$ from 0.49 to 0.84. As well, comparison of predicted flow and measured flow in each subbasin showed reasonable agreement. Furthermore, the model reproduced the whole trends of measured total flow and low flow, though peak flows were rather underestimated. The results of this study suggest that SWAT can be applied for predicting effects of future climate and landuse changes on flow variability in river basins. However, additional studies are recommended to further verify the validity of the mixed method in other river basins.

Study on the Environmental Quality Assessment of River Revetment Technique by Life-Cycle-Assessment (전과정 평가에 의한 하천 호안 공법의 환경성 평가에 관한 연구)

  • Kim, Kook-Il;Ahn, Won-Sik
    • Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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    • v.40 no.6 s.179
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    • pp.485-494
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    • 2007
  • This study was performed to evaluate the environmental qualities of the revetment construction methods and the river-facility materials using Life-Cycle-Assessment(LCA) for the nature-friendly design of close-to-nature river, The investigation results on the environmental qualities of energy and materials used to the close-to-nature river plan showed that the environmental impacts per unit weight increased in the order of gasoline > diesel > cement > wood. The environmental impacts per unit area of revetment construction method exhibited that the environmental loadings increased in the order of gabion > revetment > cribwork. In addition, it was observed that the environmental impact was reduced by improving the materials of zinc-galvanized wire. The model basin investigated in this study was the $0.3km^2$ area of river improvement works in Kyung stream, which is a tributary to the Seomjin river and the second regional stream. The research was conducted based on the 30years by life expectancy of artificial facilities. For the comparisons of revetment techniques with respect to the environmental qualities, the method resulted in the highest environmental loadings. The method using ready-mixed concrete ranked second in the environmental loadings of revetment techniques. The present results of this study are expected to play a beneficial role in the nature-friendly design of close-to-nature river by quantitatively identifying the environmental quality of total procedures (i.e., combination of techniques, selection of river-facility materials, maintenance of river-facility) applied to close-to-nature river plan.

A Study on Domestic Consumers' Needs and Importance-Performance Analysis of Selective Attributes for Developing Home Meal Replacement (HMR) Products (가정간편식 제품 개발을 위한 소비자의 요구도 및 선택속성의 중요도-만족도 분석)

  • Park, Sung-Bae;Lee, Hyun-Jun;Kim, Hae Young;Hwang, Hye-Sun;Park, Dae-Sub;Hong, Wan-Soo
    • Korean journal of food and cookery science
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    • v.32 no.3
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    • pp.342-352
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    • 2016
  • Purpose: This study conducted an Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) of selective attributes of Home Meal Replacement (HMR) as well as it examined the consumers' needs and willingness to buy HMR products to explore the need for developing more HMR products. Methods: This study was conducted among domestic consumers living in Seoul and its metropolitan areas, in the age range from the 20s to the 50s, and who had experience in purchasing HMR products. From the 490 surveys retrieved, 472 (96.3%) valid surveys were analyzed. Results: The analysis of the frequency of consuming HMR products showed the following results: 247 respondents answered '1-3 times a month' (52.3%); 167 respondents stated '1-2 times a week' (35.3%). With respect to the reason of purchase, 'simplicity of the recipe' was the most common, accounting for 188 respondents (39.8%), followed by 'time efficiency' accounting for 172 respondents (36.4%). Analysis of the demand for bibimbap (mixed rice) HMR products showed that 'chicken bibimbap' had the highest preference with 5.32 points, followed by 'bulgogi bibimbap' (5.08 points), and 'kimchi bibimbap' (4.96 points). In the case of HMR products that need to undergo further development, 'low-sodium products' received the highest points of 5.41 points, followed by 'small packaged products' (5.05 points), and 'functional products' (4.98 points). The factor analysis of the 13 selective attributes showed that they can be divided into 3 factors. The IPA analysis of the selective attributes of HMRs showed 'hygiene', 'taste', 'easy to go packaging', 'convenience in intake', and 'accessibility' in the 1st quadrant. In the 2nd quadrant, 'price' and 'freshness' were shown as the factors. In the 3rd quadrant, 'easy to serve', 'familiar food menu', and 'consistent menu' were shown as the leading factors, and in the 4th quadrant, 'saving labor' was the only factor. Conclusion: Based on these results, the research concludes that with respect to developing HMR products, there is a high demand for low sodium, low calorie, small packaged products; thus, showing the need to develop various HMR products for customer satisfaction. Furthermore, it shows that there is a need to consider developing HMR products that can maintain freshness at an affordable price.

Grip Strength as a Predictor of Cerebrovascular Disease (뇌혈관질환의 예측인자로서의 악력)

  • Jung, Seok-Hwan;Kim, Jae-Hyun
    • Health Policy and Management
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    • v.29 no.3
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    • pp.303-311
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    • 2019
  • Background: Cerebrovascular disease is included in four major diseases and is a disease that has high rates of prevalence and mortality around the world. Moreover, it is a disease that requires a high cost for long-term hospitalization and treatment. This study aims to figure out the correlation between grip strength, which was presented as a simple, cost-effective, and relevant predictor of cerebrovascular disease, and cerebrovascular disease based on the results of a prior study. And furthermore, our study compared model suitability of the model to measuring grip strength and relative grip strength as a predictor of cerebrovascular disease to improve the quality of cerebrovascular disease's predictor. Methods: This study conducted an analysis based on the generalized linear mixed model using the data from the Korea Longitudinal Study of Ageing from 2006 to 2016. The research subjects consisted of 9,132 middle old age people aged 45 years or older at baseline with no missing information of education level, gender, marital status, residential region, type of national health insurance, self-related health, smoking status, alcohol use, and economic activity. The grip strength was calculated the average which measured 4 times (both hands twice), and the relative grip force was divided by the body mass index as a variable considering the anthropometric figure that affects the cerebrovascular disease and the grip strength. Cerebrovascular diseases, a dependent variable, were investigated based on experiences diagnosed by doctors. Results: An analysis of the association between grip strength and found that about 0.972 (odds ratio [OR], 0.972; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.963-0.981) was the incidence of cerebral vascular disease as grip strength increased by one unit increase and the association between relative grip strength and cerebrovascular disease found that about 0.418 (OR, 0.418; 95% CI, 0.342-0.511) was the incidence of cerebral vascular disease as relative grip strength increased by unit. In addition, the model suitability of the model for each grip strength and relative grip strength was 11,193 and 11,156, which means relative grip strength is the better application to the predictor of cerebrovascular diseases, irrespective of other variables. Conclusion: The results of this study need to be carefully examined and validated in applying relative grip strength to improve the quality of predictors of cerebrovascular diseases affecting high mortality and prevalence.

Method development for efficacy testing of veterinary disinfectants using bacteriophage MS2 (Bacteriophage MS2를 이용한 소독제 효력시험 확립에 관한 연구)

  • Rhee, Chae Hong;Kim, Soohee;Han, Bokhee;Kim, Young-Wook;Her, Moon;Jeong, Wooseog
    • Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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    • v.44 no.3
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    • pp.149-155
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    • 2021
  • In virucidal efficacy testing, the chemical inactivation cannot be determined for all viruses due to the difficulties or the inability to culture sufficiently or the risk of exposure to the viruses. Therefore, disinfectants against these viruses could be evaluated by different methods and surrogate viruses are used as alternative. In this study we developed a method for efficacy testing of veterinary disinfectants using one of the candidate surrogate viruses, bacteriophage MS2, as part of the research on the selection of surrogate viruses for efficiency of efficacy testing of veterinary disinfectants. This method is based on the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA) guidelines for efficacy testing of veterinary disinfectants. Bacteriophage and disinfectant are reacted in suspension in accordance with the APQA guidelines and then a newly established double agar layer method is applied for the efficacy test. The double agar layer method is summarized as follows: 1) The bottom agar with 1.5% agar is boiled and cooled before poured into petri dishes at volume of 20 mL, and dried under biological safety cabinet. 2) The top agar with 0.7% agar is boiled and kept at 50℃ before E. coli culture was seeded. 3) The serially diluted bacteriophage MS2-disinfectant mixtures 0.05 mL and E. coli host 0.01 mL (OD600 0.2~0.3) are mixed with 5 mL of top agar and incubate them at 50℃ for 5 min for reaction. 4) The resulting mixture is poured over top of a bottom agar plate and rocked sufficiently to ensure that the top agar covers the entire surface of the bottom agar. 5) The double agar layer is then placed under biological safety cabinet to allow the agar layer to solidify and subsequently incubated at 37℃ for 24 hr. 6) Following incubation, the plates may be inspected for plaques and record results.

Effect of microbial inoculants on fermentation quality and aerobic stability of sweet potato vine silage

  • Joo, Young Ho;Kim, Dong Hyeon;Paradhipta, Dimas H.V.;Lee, Hyuk Jun;Amanullah, Sardar M.;Kim, Sang Bum;Chang, Jong Soo;Kim, Sam Churl
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.31 no.12
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    • pp.1897-1902
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    • 2018
  • Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of homo or hetero fermentative inoculants on fermentation quality and aerobic stability of sweet potato vine (SPV) silage containing Italian ryegrass hay as moisture absorbent. Methods: The SPV was harvested at 15% dry matter, mixed with Italian ryegrass hay at 1:1 ratio on a fresh weight basis, and chopped to 3 to 5 cm length. After then, the chopped forage mixture was ensiled into 20-L mini silos in quadruplicate for 7, 48, and 100 days after application of microbial inoculants at $1.2{\times}10^5$ colony forming units (cfu)/g of forage following: no inoculant (CON), Lactobacillus plantarum as a homo fermentative (LP), Lactobacillus buchneri as a hetero fermentative (LB), and mixture of LP and LB at 1:1 ratio as a combo fermentative (MIX). Results: The LP and MIX silages had lowest pH (p<0.001) on 7 and 48 days, while MIX and CON silages had greatest lactate concentrations (p<0.05) on 7 and 48 days, respectively. Acetate concentrations were highest (p<0.01) in LB and MIX silages on 7 days, and in LB silage on 48 days, while lactate to acetate ratios were lowest (p<0.001) in LB silages. The chemical compositions and nutrient digestibility of silage ensiled for 100 days was not affected by inoculants. On 100 days of ensiling, LB silage had lowest (p<0.01) lactate concentration and lactate to acetate ratio, but highest acetate concentration. Aerobic stability was highest (p<0.001) in LB silage followed in MIX silage. On contrast, LB silage had lowest (p<0.05) lactic acid bacteria and mold. Conclusion: The results indicated that application of LB solely had a better effect on aerobic stability than not only LP, but also MIX. However, LP application did not show beneficial effects from the viewpoints of fermentation quality and aerobic stability compared to CON.

Frame Analysis on the News About CCTV in Day Care Center (어린이집 CCTV 관련 뉴스보도에 대한 프레임 분석)

  • Oh, Ji Eun;Chung, Hoe Wook;Yun, Bit Na Ra
    • Korean Journal of Child Education & Care
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    • v.19 no.1
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    • pp.45-57
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    • 2019
  • Objective: The purpose of this study is to critically analyze the process of framing child abuse cases through the news coverage after the enforcement of mandatory CCTV installation policy which was initiated in 2015. Methods: The research uses the revised and supplemented frame analysis tools developed by Iyengar (1990) and Semetko and Valkenburg (2000) to investigate 25 broadcasting news reported by KBS, from September 2015 to December 2017. Results: First, according to the formal analysis, the reports on abuse cases prove to be either a mixed or episodic frame which covers the cases heavily based on a particular incident rather than holistically looks into the situation. Second, in content analysis, child abuse news is delivered mainly through "human interest frame." Conclusion/Implications: The study identifies three dominant discourses formed as a result of the child abuse CCTV news: 'CCTV is a all-around player' discourse, 'preschool teachers as potential criminals' discourse and 'preschool teachers as nonprofessionals' discourse. This study is significant in that it presents that mass media do not always say the truth, but frame social issues within an ideological delivery system.

Effects of bamboo leaf extract on the production performance, rumen fermentation parameters, and rumen bacterial communities of heat-stressed dairy cows

  • Li, Yi;Fang, Luoyun;Xue, Fuguang;Mao, Shengyong;Xiong, Benhai;Ma, Zhu;Jiang, Linshu
    • Animal Bioscience
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    • v.34 no.11
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    • pp.1784-1793
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    • 2021
  • Objective: An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of bamboo leaf extract (BLE) on the production performance, rumen fermentation parameters, and rumen bacterial communities of heat-stressed dairy cows. Methods: The experiment comprised a 14-day adaptation period and a 21-day experimental period and was conducted in a high-temperature and humidity environment (daily mean ambient temperature = 33.5℃±1.3℃; daily mean relative humidity = 64.9%±0.8%, daily mean temperature-humidity index = 86.2±0.4). Twelve Holstein dairy cows were randomly allocated into two groups. A total mixed ration supplemented with BLE at 0 (CON) and 1.3 g/kg dry matter (DM) were fed, respectively. Feed intake and milk yield were recorded daily. Milk samples were collected on 1, 11, and 21 d of the experimental period to analyze milk performance. Rumen fluid samples were collected on 21 d of the experimental period to analyze rumen fermentation parameters and rumen bacterial communities. Results: Compared with the control group, supplementation of BLE increased milk yield (p<0.01), milk fat yield (p = 0.04), 4% fat-corrected milk (p<0.01) and milk fat content (p<0.01); reduced somatic cell count (p<0.01). No differences in DM intake and milk protein or lactose content were observed between two groups. Supplementation of BLE also increased the rumen total volatile fatty acid (p<0.01), acetate (p<0.01), butyrate (p<0.01), and valerate (p = 0.05) concentrations. However, no significant effects were observed on rumen pH, ammonia nitrogen, propionate, acetate/propionate ratio, isobutyrate, or isovalerate. Furthermore, BLE increased the rumen bacterial abundance and the diversity of the rumen bacterial community. The BLE reduced the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes abundance ratio and increased the abundances of Butyrivibrio_2 (p<0.01) and Ruminococcus_2 (p<0.01). Conclusion: The BLE supplementation at 1.3 g/kg DM could improve production performance and rumen fermentation in dairy cows during heat stress.

Effects of dietary flavonoids on performance, blood constituents, carcass composition and small intestinal morphology of broilers: a meta-analysis

  • Prihambodo, Tri Rachmanto;Sholikin, Muhammad Miftakhus;Qomariyah, Novia;Jayanegara, Anuraga;Batubara, Irmanida;Utomo, Desianto Budi;Nahrowi, Nahrowi
    • Animal Bioscience
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    • v.34 no.3_spc
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    • pp.434-442
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    • 2021
  • Objective: This study aims to evaluate the influence of dietary flavonoids on the growth performance, blood and intestinal profiles, and carcass characteristics of broilers by employing a meta-analysis method. Methods: A database was built from published studies which have reported on the addition of various levels of flavonoids from herbs into broiler diets and then monitored growth performance, blood constituents, carcass proportion and small intestinal morphology. A total of 42 articles were integrated into the database. Several forms of flavonoids in herbs were applied in the form of unextracted and crude extracts. The database compiled was statistically analyzed using mixed model methodology. Different studies were considered as random effects, and the doses of flavonoids were treated as fixed effects. The model statistics used were the p-values and the Akaike information criterion. The significance of an effect was stated when its p-value was <0.05. Results: Dietary flavonoids increased (quadratic pattern; p<0.05) the average daily gain of broilers in the finisher phase. There was a reduction (p<0.01) in the feed conversion ratio of the broilers both in the starter (linear pattern) and finisher phases (quadratic pattern). The mortality rate tended to decrease linearly (p<0.1) with the addition of flavonoids, while the carcass parameter was generally not influenced. A reduction (p<0.001) in cholesterol and malondialdehyde concentrations (both linearly) was observed, while super oxide dismutase activity increased linearly (p<0.001). Increasing the dose of flavonoids increased (p<0.01) the villus height (VH) and villus height and crypt depth (VH:CD) ratio (p<0.05) in the duodenum. Similarly, the VH:CD ratio was elevated (p<0.001) in the jejunum following flavonoid supplementation. Conclusion: Increasing levels of flavonoids in broilers diet leads to an improvement in growth performance, blood constituents, carcass composition and small intestinal morphology.

Expression of Neurotrophic Factors, Tight Junction Proteins, and Cytokines According to the Irritable Bowel Syndrome Subtype and Sex

  • Lee, Ju Yup;Kim, Nayoung;Park, Ji Hyun;Nam, Ryoung Hee;Lee, Sun Min;Song, Chin-Hee;Kim, Geun;Na, Hee Young;Choi, Yoon Jin;Kim, Jin Joo;Lee, Dong Ho
    • Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility
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    • v.26 no.1
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    • pp.106-116
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    • 2020
  • Background/Aims Emerging evidence shows that the mechanism of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is associated with neurotrophic factors and tight junction proteins (TJPs). It is known that there are sex differences in the pathophysiology of IBS. The aim of the present study is to determine expression levels of neurotrophic factors, TJPs, and cytokines according to IBS subtype and sex. Methods From 59 IBS (33 IBS-constipation, 21 IBS-diarrhea, and 5 IBS-mixed) and 36 control patients, colonic mucosa mRNA expression levels of transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 (TRPV1), nerve growth factor (NGF), glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), and various TJPs were assessed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Western blot was performed to determine levels of zonular occludens-1 (ZO-1). Serum levels of cytokines were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results TRPV1, GDNF, and NGF mRNA levels were significantly increased in those with IBS-constipation compared to those in controls (all P < 0.05). However, they showed no significant difference between those with IBS-diarrhea and controls. Expression level of TRPV1 correlated with that of GDNF (r = 0.741, P < 0.001) and NGF (r = 0.935, P < 0.001). ZO-1 RNA expression levels were lower (P = 0.021) in female IBS-diarrhea than those in controls, although they showed no significant differences between male IBS-diarrhea and controls. Serum IL-1β levels in female IBS were significantly higher than those of male IBS, especially in IBS-constipation (P < 0.001). Conclusion Our results suggest that neurotrophic factors and IL-1β are closely related to IBS-constipation and that decrease of ZO-1 is an important factor in female with IBS-diarrhea.