• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.506-515
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• 2021

Objective: Initial consequence of inbreeding is inbreeding depression which impairs the performance of growth, production, health, fertility and survival traits in different animal breeds and populations. The effect of inbreeding on economically important traits should be accurately estimated. The effect of inbreeding depression on growth traits in sheep has been reported in many breeds. Based on this, the main objective of the present research was to evaluate the impact of inbreeding on some growth traits of Iranian Baluchi sheep breed using quantile regression model. Methods: Pedigree and growth traits records of 13,633 Baluchi lambs born from year 1989 to 2016 were used in this research. The traits were birth weight, weaning weight, six-month weight, nine-month weight, and yearling weight. The contribution, inbreeding and co-ancestry software was used to calculate the pedigree statistics and inbreeding coefficients. To evaluate the impact of inbreeding on different quantiles of each growth trait, a series of quantile regression models were fitted using QUANTREG procedure of SAS software. Annual trend of inbreeding was also estimated fitting a simple linear regression of lamb's inbreeding coefficient on the birth year. Results: Average inbreeding coefficient of the population was 1.63 percent. Annual increase rate of inbreeding of the flock was 0.11 percent (p<0.01). The results showed that the effect of inbreeding in different quantiles of growth traits is not similar. Also, inbreeding affected differently on growth traits, considering lambs' sex and type of birth. Conclusion: Quantile regression revealed that inbreeding did not have similar effect on different quantiles of growth traits in Iranian Baluchi lambs indicating that at a given age and inbreeding coefficient, lambs with different sex and birth type were not equally influenced by inbreeding.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.25-36
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• 2021

The honey bee has a crucial ecological status for maintaining the natural ecology system. Pollination mediations by honey bees are recognized as an efficient way to enhance the quality of biological diversity and green areas in the nature and the urban ecological system. However, the population of bee around the world is decreasing and we do not know exactly how bees react to the physical environment in the urban area. This study is a basic research for the improvement of pollination services in the Korean urban ecological system. It aims to induce and review environmental variables which have high relations with the activities of pollination mediation insects in the urban area. The study established a Maxent model using five urban environmental variables that reflect the ecology of Bombus ignitus and the place information where Bombus ignitus appears in 18 spots of Seoul city, and compared with previous research results on Apis millifera. Bombus ignitus preferred places with more natural environments such as mountain forest areas and vicinities of streams. They preferred Stratified Tree Area the most among the vegetation types existing in the urban area. Comparing chicken models, both species saw their response value drop as the building coverage rose. In the case of Apis millifera and Bombus ignitus variables, the response value of both species was high in 10 out of 20 types. The result of this study is expected to provide basic information for improving the pollination services in the Korean urban area and to be utilized as the basic materials for the future urban planning.

• Electronics and Telecommunications Trends
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.54-63
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• 2021

Since the recent COVID-19 pandemic, countries have been strengthening trade protection for their security, and the importance of securing strategic materials, such as food, is drawing attention. In addition to the cultural aspects, the global preference for food produced in Korea is increasing because of the Korean Wave. Thus, the Korean food industry can be developed into a high-value-added export food industry. Currently, Korea has a low self-sufficiency rate for foodstuffs apart from rice. Korea also suffers from problems arising from population decline, aging, rapid climate change, and various animal and plant diseases. It is necessary to develop technologies that can overcome the production structures highly dependent on the outside world of food and foster them into export-type system industries. The global agricultural industry-related technologies are actively being modified via data accumulation, e.g., environmental data, production information, and distribution and consumption information in climate and production facilities, and by actively expanding the introduction of the latest information and communication technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence. However, long-term research and investment should precede the field of living organisms. Compared to other industries, it is necessary to overcome poor production and labor environment investment efficiency in the food industry with respect to the production cost, equipment postmanagement, development tailored to the eye level of field workers, and service models suitable for production facilities of various sizes. This paper discusses the flow of domestic and international technologies that form the core issues of the site centered on the 4th Industrial Revolution in the field of agriculture, livestock, and fisheries. It also explains the environmental awareness production technologies centered on sustainable intelligence platforms that link climate change responses, optimization of energy costs, and mass production for unmanned production, distribution, and consumption using the unstructured data obtained based on detection and growth measurement data.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.453-459
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• 2022

A decrease in fertility rates causes problems such as decrease in the working-age population, and has a significant impact on national policies. Currently, the Republic of Korea has a conscription system that imposes military service on all men over the age of 18. However, the transition to the volunteer miliatry system is emerging as a social issue due to the decrease in the fertility rate. In this paper, news articles and comments searched for through the keyword ' volunteer miliatry system' were collected to analyze the social perception of the volunteer miliatry system from 2018, when the fertility rate dropped to less than 1. Some of the collected comments were labeled, and emotional levels were calculated through deep learning models. Through this study, we found that awareness of recruitment system conversion did not increase as the decrease in the fertility rate, and it was confirmed that people's interest is gradually increasing.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.260-271
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• 2022

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The prevalence of obesity has been increasing in Korean children. As an unhealthy diet is known as one of the major determinants of childhood obesity, assessing and monitoring dietary fat intake of children is needed. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This analysis included 9,998 children aged 3-11 yrs from the 2007-2017 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. Dietary data were obtained from a single 24-h dietary recall. Intakes of total fat and fatty acids, including saturated fatty acid (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA), polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), n-3 fatty acid (n-3 FA), and n-6 fatty acid (n-6 FA) were evaluated as the absolute amount (g) and proportion of energy from each fatty acid (% of energy). The total fat and SFA intake were also assessed according to compliance with dietary guidelines. Linear trends in the dietary fats intake across the survey period were tested using multiple regression models. RESULTS: Total fat intake significantly increased from 38.5g (20.3% of energy) to 43.4g (23.3% of energy) from 2007 to 2017. This increase was mainly accounted for the increases in intakes of SFA (7.2% to 8.4% of energy) and MUFA (6.2% to 7.5% of energy). PUFA intake increased from 4.4 to 4.7% of energy during the 11-yrs period: from 0.57 to 0.63% of energy for n-3 FA and from 3.8 to 4.1% of energy for n-6 FA. The proportions of children who consumed amounts exceeding the dietary guidelines for total fat and SFA significantly increased from 2007 to 2017, with increases from 9.8% to 17.4% for total fat and from 36.9% to 50.9% for SFA. CONCLUSIONS: Prominent increasing trends in the consumption of total fat and SFA but tiny change in n-3 FA intake were observed in Korean children. The healthy intake of dietary fats should be emphasized in this population.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.139-148
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• 2022

Saxifraga hirculus is classified as a vulnerable plant species in Europe, and it is confined to base-rich flushes in the British uplands. However, a lack of available information about its conservation status hampers the development of adaptive strategies for its in-situ conservation, especially with respect to grazing. To assess the effectiveness of sheep grazing in maintaining viable populations of S. hirculus, we compared the community dynamics of the vegetation in a base-rich flush over 44 years in two plots: one sheep-grazed under business-as-usual sheep grazing densities and the other fenced to exclude grazing. The plots were established in 1972, and the abundances of all vascular plants, bryophytes, and litter were measured at six intervals until 2016. Our results showed that although the presence of S. hirculus was maintained in both plots over the 44 years, it declined and reached a minimum between 1995 and 2010, when it was close to extinction. Since 2013, Saxifraga has recovered only slightly. Interestingly, the S. hirculus response appeared to be independent of grazing treatment, but it mirrored wider changes in the vegetation composition and structure within the flush over the 44 years. These changes are similar to others reported in broader uplands that have been attributed to a combination of reduced nitrogen and sulfur deposition and global warming. Thus, the simple adaptive management approach of "just managing" sheep grazing appeared ineffectual for preserving the S. hirculus population. S. hirculus showed signs of recovery at the end of the study period within this base-rich flush.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.415-423
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• 2022

Economic evaluations in the healthcare are used to assess economic efficiency of pharmaceuticals and medical interventions such as diagnoses and medical procedures. This study introduces the main concepts of economic evaluation across its key steps: planning, outcome and cost calculation, modeling, cost-effectiveness results, uncertainty analysis, and decision-making. When planning an economic evaluation, we determine the study population, intervention, comparators, perspectives, time horizon, discount rates, and type of economic evaluation. In healthcare economic evaluations, outcomes include changes in mortality, the survival rate, life years, and quality-adjusted life years, while costs include medical, non-medical, and productivity costs. Model-based economic evaluations, including decision tree and Markov models, are mainly used to calculate the total costs and total effects. In cost-effectiveness or costutility analyses, cost-effectiveness is evaluated using the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, which is the additional cost per one additional unit of effectiveness gained by an intervention compared with a comparator. All outcomes have uncertainties owing to limited evidence, diverse methodologies, and unexplained variation. Thus, researchers should review these uncertainties and confirm their robustness. We hope to contribute to the establishment and dissemination of economic evaluation methodologies that reflect Korean clinical and research environment and ultimately improve the rationality of healthcare policies.

• Design & Manufacturing
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.36-42
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• 2022

Globally, as population growth and economic development continue, resource consumption is increasing rapidly. As an alternative to electric vehicles was suggested as the environmental pollution problem emerged, the number of registered electric vehicles in Korea increased by more than 137 times compared to 2013. Secondary batteries are expected to expand into various markets such as small IT devices and electric vehicles, and the most important part of electric vehicles is the battery (secondary battery). Therefore, in this study, to analyze the stability of the CSM (Classifier Separator Mill) grinding disc that crushes secondary battery raw materials, structural analysis and vibration analysis of the 1st to 4th grinding discs and the final model were performed. The change of bending by the weight of the Grinding Disc is at least 0.065㎛ and maximum 0.075㎛, and the change by the standard gravity is judged to be very low. The strain is at least 0.00031㎛/㎛ and maximum 0.00078㎛/㎛, and even if the number of Hamer increases, the change by the weight is judged to be insignificant. When the Grinding Disc rotates at a maximum of 6000rpm, the deformation and deformation rate of the first to third models are similar, but the fourth model (Hamer 10EA) is more than three times and the final model (Hamer 12EA) is about four times. However, the maximum deformation is 28.21㎛, which is considered to be insignificant when the change is 6000rpm. Six modes of natural Frequency analysis of the 1st~4th order and final model of the grinding disc appeared to be bent or twisted.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.517-521
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• 2021

Background: This study aimed to investigate whether working long hours was related to infertility among female Korean workers, while taking age into consideration. Methods: We used data from the 2018 National Survey on Fertility and Family Health and Welfare in Korea that is a cross-sectional, nationally representative, and population-based survey. Infertility was defined as women who were not pregnant after regular unprotected intercourse for a year. Working long hours was classified as ≥52 hours, and subgroups as per age were classified on the basis of being younger or older than 40 years of age. Differences in infertility risk between the long working hour group and none were estimated in crude and fully adjusted logistic regression models with age-group stratification. Results: Of 5,909 Korean female workers, the crude and adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of infertility for working long hours were 1.295 (0.948-1.737) and 1.303 (0.921-1.809), respectively. In the subgroup of patients below 40 years of age, the crude and adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) were 1.957 (1.216-3.039) and 1.921 (1.144-3.120), whereas those aged 40 years or older had 0.994 (0.647-1.471) and 0.939 (0.560-1.501), respectively. The weighted prevalence of infertility increased as weekly working hours increased only for the younger than 40-year subgroup. Conclusions: Infertility is associated with working long hours, especially in young-aged workers. Thus, the working schedule must be structured to better suit young female workers.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.348-368
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• 2022

Purpose: Chromosomal instability is a hallmark of gastric cancer (GC). It can be driven by single nucleotide variants (SNVs) in cell cycle genes. We investigated the associations between SNVs in candidate genes, PLK2, PLK3, and ATM, and GC risk and clinicopathological features. Materials and Methods: The genotyping study included 542 patients with GC and healthy controls. Generalized linear models were used for the risk and clinicopathological association analyses. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method. The binding of candidate miRs was analyzed using a luciferase reporter assay. Results: The PLK2 C_rs15009-C_rs963615 haplotype was under-represented in the GC group compared to that in the control group (P_corr=0.050). Male patients with the PLK2 rs963615 CT genotype had a lower risk of GC, whereas female patients had a higher risk (P=0.023; P=0.026). The PLK2 rs963615 CT genotype was associated with the absence of vascular invasion (P=0.012). The PLK3 rs12404160 AA genotype was associated with a higher risk of GC in the male population (P=0.015). The ATM T_rs228589-A_rs189037-G_rs4585 haplotype was associated with a higher risk of GC (P<0.001). The ATM rs228589, rs189037, and rs4585 genotypes TA+AA, AG+GG, and TG+GG were associated with the absence of perineural invasion (P=0.034). In vitro analysis showed that the cancer-associated miR-23b-5p mimic specifically bound to the PLK2 rs15009 G allele (P=0.0097). Moreover, low miR-23b expression predicted longer 10-year survival (P=0.0066) in patients with GC. Conclusions: PLK2, PLK3, and ATM SNVs could potentially be helpful for the prediction of GC risk and clinicopathological features. PLK2 rs15009 affects the binding of miR-23b-5p. MiR-23b-5p expression status could serve as a prognostic marker for survival in patients with GC.