• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.183-188
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• 2017

Background: Recommendations have been proposed for minimum aerobic fitness among firefighters but it is unclear if those criteria relate to performance on the fireground. Less fit individuals fatigue more quickly than fit individuals when working at comparable intensity and may have gait changes, increasing risk of falls. We evaluated the effect of fatigue during a live burn evolution on gait parameters and functional balance comparing them to aerobic fitness levels. Methods: A total of 24 firefighters had gait and balance tested before and after a live burn evolution. Data were stratified by aerobic fitness of greater/less than 14 metabolic equivalents (METs). Results: Analysis of gait cycles measurements before and after the live burn evolution revealed that single leg stance, cycle, and swing time decreased (p < 0.05) but there were no differences in the other measures. There were no differences in time to complete the functional balance test, or errors committed before or after a live burn evolution. When firefighters were sorted by fitness level of 14 METs, there were no differences for errors or time before or after the live burn evolution. Balance data were analyzed using a linear regression. Individuals with lower fitness levels required more time to complete the test. Conclusion: A 14-MET criterion failed to distinguish gait or balance characteristics in this group. However, less fit firefighters did require more time to complete the balance test (p = 0.003). Aerobic fitness alone does not predict gait changes among firefighters following a live burn evolution but does appear to influence functional balance.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.183-196
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• 2020

The protective effect of pig skin gelatin water extracts (PSW) and the low molecular weight hydrolysates of PSW generated via enzymatic hydrolysis with Flavourzyme® 1000L (LPSW) against scopolamine-induced impairment of cognitive function in mice was determined. Seventy male ICR mice weighing 20-25 g were randomly assigned to seven groups: Control (CON); scopolamine (SCO, 1 mg/kg B.W., intraperitoneally (i.p.); tetrahydroaminoacridine 10 [THA 10, tacrine; 10 mg/kg B.W. per oral (p.o.) with SCO (i.p.)]; PSW 10 (10 mg/kg B.W. (p.o.) with SCO (i.p.); PSW 40 (40 mg/kg B.W. (p.o.) with SCO (i.p.); LPSW 100 (100 mg/kg B.W. (p.o.) with SCO (i.p.); LPSW 400 (400 mg/kg B.W. (p.o.) with SCO (i.p.). All treatment groups, except CON, received scopolamine on the day of the experiment. The oxygen radical absorbance capacity of LPSW 400 at 1 mg/mL was 154.14 μM Trolox equivalent. Administration of PSW and LPSW for 15 weeks did not significantly affect on physical performance of mice. LPSW 400 significantly increased spontaneous alternation, reaching the level observed for THA and CON. The latency time of animals receiving LPSW 400 was higher than that of mice treated with SCO alone in the passive avoidance test, whereas it was shorter in the water maze test. LPSW 400 increased acetylcholine (ACh) content and decreased ACh esterase activity (p<0.05). LPSW 100 and LPSW 400 reduced monoamine oxidase-B activity. These results indicated that LPSW at 400 mg/kg B.W. is a potentially strong antioxidant and contains novel components for the functional food industry.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.563-572
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• 2017

Ordinary reinforced concrete (RC) and prestressed concrete bridges are two popular and typical types of short- and medium-span bridges that accounts for the vast majority of all existing bridges. The cost of maintaining, repairing or replacing degraded existing RC bridges is immense. Detecting the abnormality of RC bridges at an early stage and taking the protective measures in advance are effective ways to improve maintenance practices and reduce the maintenance cost. This study proposes a systematic method from influence line (IL) identification to damage detection with applications to RC bridges. An IL identification method which integrates the cubic B-spline function with Tikhonov regularization is first proposed based on the vehicle information and the corresponding moving vehicle induced bridge response time history. Subsequently, IL change is defined as a damage index for bridge damage detection, and information fusion technique that synthesizes ILs of multiple locations/sensors is used to improve the efficiency and accuracy of damage localization. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed systematic method is verified through experimental tests on a three-span continuous RC beam. The comparison suggests that the identified ILs can well match with the baseline ILs, and it demonstrates that the proposed IL identification method has a high accuracy and a great potential in engineering applications. Results in this case indicate that deflection ILs are superior than strain ILs for damage detection of RC beams, and the performance of damage localization can be significantly improved with the information fusion of multiple ILs.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.2 s.70
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• pp.1-12
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• 2007

Objective : Gagamchongmyung-tang is clinically one of the most popular prescriptions as an herbal medicine for the treatment of amnesia. In order to evaluate its neuroprotective effects on the ischemia-induced cognitive deficits caused by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), we examined its ability to reduce impairments of learning and memory of rats in the Morris water maze. Method and Result : Focal cerebral ischemia produced a decrease in acetylcholine transmission in the hippocampus, and deficits of learning and memory in the Morris water maze task. Treatment with two types of Gagamchongmyung-tang, methanol and water extracts, produced a substantial increase in acquisition in the Morris water maze. Treatment with methanol extract of Gagamchongmyung-tang increased the performance of the retention test in the Morris water maze. Consistent with behavioral data, immunohistochemical data showed that treatment with methanol extract, but not water extract, of Gagamchongmyung-tang significantly recovered reduction of AchE and ChAT reactivity in the hippocampal CAl area. Conclusion : These results demonstrated that methanol extract of Gagamchongmyung-tang has protective effects against ischemia-induced learning and memory impairments, and provided evidence of methanol extract of Gagamchongmyung-tang as a putative treatment for amnesia, vascular dementia, and longer memory.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.203-208
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• 2006

This experiment was conducted to explore the efficacy of ${\alpha}$-tocopherol acetate (AT), a commercial supplement containing tocopherols, in commercial broilers. Three hundred and thirty Ross broiler chicks (4-d old) were randomly distributed and allotted to five dietary treatments for six weeks. Each treatment comprised 3 pens as replicates containing 22 chicks per pen. The five dietary treatments were: 0 mg/kg AT (negative control); 10 mg/kg AT; 50 mg/kg AT; 100 mg/kg AT; and 200 mg/kg AT; respectively, supplied totally by the supplement under study. Supplementation of AT improved weight gain significantly (p<0.05), with higher values in the 100 and 200 mg/kg AT fed group than the control during all phases of study, but feed intake remained unaffected. The nutrient digestibility studies conducted after 15 and 35 days of experimental feeding showed significantly higher digestibility of CP, ether extract and gross energy, in these two groups over the control diet. Carcass traits like dressing percentage and the color of the breast meat did not differ significantly due to treatments, but significantly (p = 0.0152) lower abdominal fat percent was noted in the 200 mg/kg fed group. Higher (p = 0.0003) tibia bone strength was noticed in groups fed diets above 50 mg/kg AT because of higher bone mineral content. The serum levels of tocopherols were not influenced but the muscle tocopherols content showed a positive linear trend with the dietary levels supplemented. The thio-barbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) level in meat also suggested that supplemental AT has a protective role in rancidity. Overall, it could be concluded that AT supplementation at higher levels was found beneficial for growth and increased chicken meat quality.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.1253-1259
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• 2005

This paper dealt with the development of surge protection devices (SPDs) that can protect high speed computer network devices from overvoltages caused by switching operations or lightning surges. The designed SPD is a form of hybrid circuit which is composed of a gas tube having large current diverting capability, high response bi-directional avalanche diodes, and fast recovery diodes to reduce insertion loss on high frequency domain. Surge protection and signal transmission characteristics of the fabricated SPD was tested according to the international standards, IEC 61000-4-5 and IEC 61643-21. From the test results, the SPD is satisfied with the international standards and the high cut-off frequency was 204 MHz. Also, the SPD showed a good performance without an insertion loss on a field test of 100 Mbps class Local Area Network.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.17.1-17.7
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• 2016

Background: The Sapsaree (Canis familiaris) is a Korean native dog that is very friendly, protective, and loyal to its owner, and is registered as a natural monument in Korea (number: 368). To investigate large-scale gene expression profiles and identify the genes related to exercise-induced stress in the Sapsaree, we performed whole-transcriptome RNA sequencing and analyzed gene expression patterns before and after exercise performance. Results: We identified 525 differentially expressed genes in ten dogs before and after exercise. Gene Ontology classification and KEGG pathway analysis revealed that the genes were mainly involved in metabolic processes, such as programmed cell death, protein metabolic process, phosphatidylinositol signaling system, and cation binding in cytoplasm. The ten Sapsarees could be divided into two groups based on the gene expression patterns before and after exercise. The two groups were significantly different in terms of their basic body type ($p{\leq}0.05$). Seven representative genes with significantly different expression patterns before and after exercise between the two groups were chosen and characterized. Conclusions: Body type had a significant effect on the patterns of differential gene expression induced by exercise. Whole-transcriptome sequencing is a useful method for investigating the biological characteristics of the Sapsaree and the large-scale genomic differences of canines in general.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.63 no.9
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• pp.361-367
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• 2020

Background: Length of stay is a significant indicator of care effectiveness and hospital performance. Owing to the limited number of healthcare centers and facilities, it is important to optimize length of stay and associated factors. Purpose: The present study aimed to investigate factors associated with neonatal length of stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) using parametric and semiparametric models and compare model fitness according to Akaike information criterion (AIC) between 2016 and 2018. Methods: This retrospective cohort study reviewed 600 medical records of infants admitted to the NICU of Bandar Abbas Hospital. Samples were identified using census sampling. Factors associated with NICU length of stay were investigated based on semiparametric Cox model and 4 parametric models including Weibull, exponential, log-logistic, and log-normal to determine the best fitted model. The data analysis was conducted using R software. The significance level was set at 0.05. Results: The study findings suggest that breastfeeding, phototherapy, acute renal failure, presence of mechanical ventilation, and availability of central venous catheter were commonly identified as factors associated with NICU length of stay in all 5 models (P<0.05). Parametric models showed better fitness than the Cox model in this study. Conclusion: Breastfeeding and availability of central venous catheter had protective effects against length of stay, whereas phototherapy, acute renal failure, and mechanical ventilation increased length of stay in NICU. Therefore, the identification of factors associated with NICU length of stay can help establish effective interventions aimed at decreasing the length of stay among infants.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.20-25
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• 2014

Steel column is very important an structural element in steel framed building and plays a key role in sustataining the applied external load. Generally, the fire resistance performance of steel column has been executed by application of fire standard and vertical furnace having a limitation in height. Therefore, the fire resistance test was conducted with a H-section column having 3500 mm in length and hinge to hinge boundary condition. And the fire protective material derived from the fire test can be applied to any kind of boundary conditions and lengths. However, it is hard to determine the fire resistance. In this paper, to make sure the structural stability of them at high temperature according to various boundary conditions and lengths of H-section column, an analysis was done by using the mechanical properties and an heat transfer theory.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.54-66
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• 2020

This study was conducted to evaluate usefulness of numerical weather prediction data generated by the Unified Model (UM) for plant disease forecast. Using the UM06- and UM18-predicted weather data, which were released at 0600 and 1800 Universal Time Coordinated (UTC), respectively, by the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), disease forecast on bacterial grain rot (BGR) of rice was examined as compared with the model output based on the automated weather stations (AWS)-observed weather data. We analyzed performance of BGRcast based on the UM-predicted and the AWS-observed daily minimum temperature and average relative humidity in 2014 and 2015 from 29 locations representing major rice growing areas in Korea using regression analysis and two-way contingency table analysis. Temporal changes in weather conduciveness at two locations in 2014 were also analyzed with regard to daily weather conduciveness (C_i) and the 20-day and 7-day moving averages of C_i for the inoculum build-up phase (C_inc) prior to the panicle emergence of rice plants and the infection phase (C_inf) during the heading stage of rice plants, respectively. Based on C_inc and C_inf, we were able to obtain the same disease warnings at all locations regardless of the sources of weather data. In conclusion, the numerical weather prediction data from KMA could be reliable to apply as input data for plant disease forecast models. Weather prediction data would facilitate applications of weather-driven disease models for better disease management. Crop growers would have better options for disease control including both protective and curative measures when weather prediction data are used for disease warning.