• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.294-301
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• 2013

In this study, we examined the hepatic anti-steatosis activity of carnosic acid (CA), a phenolic compound of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) leaves, as well as its possible mechanism of action, in a high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice model. Mice were fed a HFD, or a HFD supplemented with 0.01% (w/w) CA or 0.02% (w/w) CA, for a period of 12 weeks, after which changes in body weight, blood lipid profiles, and fatty acid mechanism markers were evaluated. The 0.02% (w/w) CA diet resulted in a marked decline in steatosis grade, as well as in homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index values, intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IGTT) results, body weight gain, liver weight, and blood lipid levels (P < 0.05). The expression level of hepatic lipogenic genes, such as sterol regulating element binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c), liver-fatty acid binding protein (L-FABP), stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1), and fatty acid synthase (FAS), was significantly lower in mice fed 0.01% (w/w) CA and 0.02% (w/w) CA diets than that in the HFD group; on the other hand, the expression level of ${\beta}$-oxidation-related genes, such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ${\alpha}$ (PPAR-${\alpha}$), carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT-1), and acyl-CoA oxidase (ACO), was higher in mice fed a 0.02% (w/w) CA diet, than that in the HFD group (P < 0.05). In addition, the hepatic content of palmitic acid (C16:0), palmitoleic acid (C16:1), and oleic acid (C18:1) was significantly lower in mice fed the 0.02% (w/w) CA diet than that in the HFD group (P < 0.05). These results suggest that orally administered CA suppressed HFD-induced hepatic steatosis and fatty liver-related metabolic disorders through decrease of de novo lipogenesis and fatty acid elongation and increase of fatty acid ${\beta}$-oxidation in mice.

• Korea Real Estate Review
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.21-34
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• 2017

In this study, we defined abandoned vacant housing, as well as analyzed where and how the vacancies occurred. The temporal range of this study is 2005 and 2010, while the spatial range is nationwide. The minimum unit of space for the analysis is city district. First, we suggested that in the rural areas, it is necessary to manage an aged detached housing, while in the urban areas, it is necessary to manage aged apartments in order to prevent a large amount of old apartment buildings from becoming an abandoned vacant houses. Second, we proposed to select and manage the priority area in the empty area management. Finally, in the areas where other vacant houses are populated, the abandoned housing problem should be discussed with different measures from a long-term point of view in terms of population movement, population decline, and aging population.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.99-111
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• 2019

With the low birth rate and the inner city decline, the number of small schools is expected to increase. In this trend, the Ministry of Education has consistently used the number of students as a standard for the merger and abolition of schools since 1982, but it seems that has generated a vicious circle of education in rural areas and also it did not reflect realistic requirements and changes in the times although it is efficiency of local education finances. With the number of students constantly decreasing, it has a high probability to make villages without schools in urban areas if decisions are made by the number of students. In this sense, it is suggested that regional contexts and socioeconomic environment should be taken into account rather than to conduct the merger and abolition of small schools with economic logic. It is necessary to change the direction of improving the quality of education through the operation of small schools for coexistence of schools and villages and a cultivating the manpower needed in the 21st century knowledge information society and the 4th industrial revolution era. Therefore, we tried to find tasks for expanding small schools of the local community and developing small schools suitable for future social change.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.100-113
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• 2021

Background: This study aims to figure out the gaps in health status by estimating amenable mortality rate by region, reflecting the characteristics of Korea, and estimating the years of life lost (YLL) per capita by disease. Methods: People who died from amenable diseases between 2008 and 2018 were extracted from the cause of death statistics provided by Statistics Korea. The age-standardized amenable mortality rates were estimated to compare the health status of 229 regions. YLL per capita was calculated to compute the burden of diseases caused by treatable deaths by region. The YLL per capita by region was calculated to identify the burden of disease caused by amenable deaths. Results: First, while the annual amenable mortality rate in Korea is on a steady decline, but there is still a considerable gap between urban and rural areas when comparing the mortality rates of 229 areas. Second, YLL per capita due to the amenable deaths is approximately 14 person-years during the analysis period (2008-2018). Conclusion: Although the health status of Koreans has continuously improved, there is still a gap in health status region by region in terms of amenable mortality rates. Amenable death accounts for a loss of life equivalent to 14 person-years per year. Since the amenable mortality rate is an indicator that can measure the performance of the health care system, efforts at each local area are required to lower it.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.34-44
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• 2021

Buffalo animals are slaughtered at their early age and carcasses are chilled rapidly which deteriorates its meat quality and decreases the consumer likeliness of buffalo meat. This study investigated the appropriate methods to prevent the quality deterioration of buffalo meat during chilling. Twenty four 18-mon-old buffalo bulls were slaughtered, electrically stimulated and suspended either by hip or achilles tendon. After 24 h postmortem, meat quality characteristics were recorded. Results showed that electrical stimulation (ES) led to rapid decline of carcass pH compared to non-ES method (p<0.05). Furthermore, electrically stimulated meat presented lower shear force accompanied with the higher CIE L⁎, a⁎, and b⁎ values (p<0.05). Suspension methods only affect the meat shear values and were lowered in hip suspended samples. It can be concluded that ES combined with hip suspension can be adopted to prevent the meat quality deterioration of young buffalo bulls during postmortem storage.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.61-66
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• 2022

Objectives: In the epidemiology of communicable diseases, the term epidemic period, also referred to as "wave" is often used in the general and academic milieu. A wave refers to a natural pattern of increase in the number of sick individuals, a defined peak, and then a decline in the number of cases. It implies a pattern of peaks and valleys after a particular peak is taken. The idea of epidemic waves is a useful tool for predicting the course as well as helping to accurately describe an epidemic. However, in many domestic and foreign news as well as in various research results in Korea, most of the reports either had no standard, were inaccurate, had a questionable classification of the period of the epidemic, or the basis for classification of a given wave was not presented. Methods: The author reviewed and organized related literature with epidemic wave. The author made several suggestions of an epidemic wave as follows. Results: To start with, it should be based on the number of incident cases in consideration of the size of the outbreak, then the period from the bottom to the peak and then reaching the next bottom; also, the period over a certain scale based on the number of incident cases; and the period according to the change in the major infection type (mutation-dominant species). In addition, according to the period of change in the vaccination rate (formation of herd immunity), as well as the content and duration of the intervention, that is, classification according to the applied quarantine stage. Furthermore, the classification of epidemic periods by the time-dependent reproduction number or time-varying reproduction number (Rt), and lastly the application of mathematical methodology. Conclusions: Therefore, classifying the epidemic period into generally known and accepted time frames is considered to be a very important task for future research analysis and development of intervention strategies.

• The Journal of Korea Institute of Information, Electronics, and Communication Technology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.210-219
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• 2023

The decline in the rural populace and an aging workforce have led to fatalities due to worsening environments and hazards within vinyl greenhouses. Therefore, it is necessary to automate crop cultivation and disease detection system in greenhouses to prevent labor loss. In this paper, an object detection-based model is used to detect diseased crop in greenhouses. In addition, the system proposed configures the environment of the artificial intelligence model in the cloud to ensure stability. The system captures images taken inside the vinyl greenhouse and stores them in a database, and then downloads the images to the cloud to perform inference based on Yolo-v4 for detection, generating JSON files for the results. Analyze this file and send it to the database for storage. From the experimental results, it was confirmed that disease detection through object detection showed high performance in real environments like vinyl greenhouses. It was also verified that efficient monitoring is possible through the database

• Acta Via Serica
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-30
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• 2023

Traditional Kurdish weavings are among the world's most ancient living textile traditions. One of the largest regional ethnic and linguistic groups, Kurds have inhabited a significant part of Western Asia for millennia. Historically, Kurdish territories were crisscrossed by old and important trade routes, including the Silk Roads. This led to the formation of some of the most significant Kurdish artistic and cultural traditions, including textiles, which influenced and were influenced by those of other non-Kurdish ethnic groups from Caucasia to Central Asia and beyond. One example of Kurdish carpet traditions born in the eighteenth century at the cross-sections of Safavid (1501-1736) urban carpets workshops and centuries-old indigenous Kurdish tribal/rural weaves is senneh gelim or sojaee. A finely flatwoven carpet that was exchanged regionally and internationally as a diplomatic gift and a highly prized commodity. Although in decline, senneh gelims continue to be made by Kurdish women weavers in their original birthplace Sanandaj, the provincial capital of Iranian Kurdistan to date. This study adopts an inter-disciplinary approach to present an image of senneh gelim and women gelim weavers, tracing the developmental trajectories of the craft from the eighteenth century to the present time by drawing on extant art-historical and social scientific studies along with primary ethnographic data collected in Iranian Kurdistan (2018-2019). It investigates the craft tradition's historical origin, various aspects such as techniques, materials, aesthetics, functions, and meanings, and how these transformed over time. Additionally, the paper looks at the social contexts of production, focusing on women carpet weavers and how their socioeconomic and cultural situation has formed senneh carpet production in the past and present and the implications for long-term preservation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.113 no.2
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• pp.153-163
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• 2024

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a significant shift in the lifestyle patterns of the populace across various domains. Concerns surrounding COVID-19 have emerged as pivotal catalysts of change in recreational habits with people giving a particular preference for environments with low population density and increased openness. This trend has resulted in an uptick in excursions to natural reserves, coastlines, and parks. However, during the peak of infectious outbreaks, widespread adherence to social distancing measures has precipitated a steep decline in tourist footfall across natural recreation forests, exacerbating financial deficits to a considerable extent. Thus, this research sought to compare and analyze the operational efficacy and productivity of national, public, and private natural recreation forests pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic by utilizing non-parametric methodologies, such as data envelopment analysis and the Malmquist productivity index analysis. The objective was to identify the factors contributing to the decreases in efficiency and productivity and ultimately offer nuanced recommendations tailored to respective administrative bodies. This study's distinctive focus on the analysis of management efficiency and productivity in natural recreation forests nationwide offers significant academic and practical relevance.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.517-532
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• 2010

After establishment of Banwol industrial complex in 1987, Ansan city becomes the largest industrial sector development in Gyeonggi-do, Korea. As the population and industrial activity grow over this region, toxic air pollutants, particularly POPs (Persistent Organic Pollutants) from various emission sources have been major public concerns. Air samples for POPs monitoring were collected at the industrial sites ($A_2$), residential sites ($B_1$, $B_2$), commercial site (C), and rural/remote site (D) of the area of Ansan during 2008 with a prolonged industrial sampling site $A_1$ from 2001 to 2008. All samples were analysed for 2,3,7,8 substituted-polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin like polychlorinatd diphenyls (dl-PCBs). In site $A_1$, a steady decline of their concentrations from 2003 to 2008 was observed due to the reinforced emission guideline from waste incinerators. The average concentration of the PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs ranged between 0.118 pg-TEQ/$m^3$ (rural/remote site D) and 0.532 pg-TEQ/$m^3$ (industrial area $A_2$). These level were generally consistent with previous studies in Gyeonggi-do, while higher than other places. Most of PCDD/Fs congener were partitioned into particle phase, whereas dl-PCBs were partitioned into gas phase. The logarithm of gas-particle partition coefficient $K_P$ of dl-PCBs and PCDD/Fs were well correlated with sub-cooled liquid vapor pressure $P_L$. The slope $m_T$ of log $K_P$ versus log $P_L$ for PCDD/Fs (-1.22) and dl-PCBs (-1.02) in industrial area ($A_2$) were high compared to other residential/commercial area. It suggests that this area was likely influenced by the direct emission source of PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs. To simulate the partition of PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs between gas and particle phase, Junge-Pankow model ($P_L$-base) and $K_{oa}$ model were applied. It was found that J-P model was more suitable than the $K_{oa}$ model in this study.