• Development and Reproduction
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.1-11
• /
• 2009

Implantation itself is governed by an array of endocrine, paracrine and autocrine modulators, of embryonic and maternal origin. Window of implantation is the unique temporal and spatial expression of factors allows the embryo to implant via signaling, appositioning, attachment, and invasion in a specific time frame of $2{\sim}4$ days. When the embryo has arrived in the uterine cavity, a preprogrammed sequence of events occurs, which involves the production and secretion of a multitude of biochemical factors such as cytokines, growth factors, and adhesion molecules by the endometrium and the embryo, thus leading to the formation of a receptive endometrium. Cytokines such as LIF, CSF-1, and IL-1 have all been shown to play important roles in the cascade of events that leads to implantation. Integrin, L-selectin ligands, glycodelin, mucin-1, HB-EGF and pinopodes are involved in appositioning and attachment. The embryo also produces cytokines and growth factors (ILs, VEGF) and receptors for endometrial signals such as LIF, CSF-1, IGF and HB-EGF. The immune system and angiogenesis play an important role. The usefulness of these factors to assess endometrial receptivity and to estimate the prognosis for pregnancy in natural and artificial cycles remains to be proven. Integrins, pinopodes, glycodelin and LIF (from biopsies) are promising candidates; from uterine flushings, glycodelin and LIF are also candidates. The ideal serum marker is not available, but VEGF, glycodelin and CSF have some clinical implications. Further evaluation that includes larger groups of infertile women and fertile controls are needed to elucidate whether their presence in plasma, flushing fluid, or endometrial samples can be used as some kind of a screening tool to assess endometrial function and prognosis for pregnancy before and after artificial reproductive therapy. A better understanding of their function in human implantation may lead to therapeutic intervention, thereby improving the success rate in reproduction treatment. New molecular techniques are becoming available for measuring both embryonic and endometrial changes prior to and during implantation. The use of predictive sets of markers may prove to be more reliable than a single marker. Ultimately, the aim is to use these tools to increase implantation in artificial cycles and consequently improve live-birth rates.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.33-41
• /
• 2004

Purpose : Film has been the primary tool in coincidence testing between the light field and the radiation field, which constitutes the quality assurance list of a linear accelerator. But there is a great chance of errors being different among the observer when using film. Thus this study set out to use the BIS(Beam Image System) in addition to film in comparing and evaluating coincidence results between the two fields and in searching for the improvement measures. Materials & Methods : Photon beam of 6 and 15MV was exposed to film and the BIS using a linear accelerator. The light and radiation fields were each $50{\times}50,\;100{\times}100,\;and\;200{\times}200mm^2$. The gantry angle was $0^{\circ}$ when using film and $0^{\circ}\;and\;270^{\circ}$ when using the BIS. The devices adopted to test coincidence between the two fields were a ruler and film scanner when using film. With the BIS, the width of the scanned light and radiation fields was measured for errors with setting the X and Y axis. Results : The visual measurements of the observer with film resulted that the radiation field was bigger than the light field and that their maximum error was 1.9mm. The results were the same with the measurements using the film scanner except for the average error, which was less than 1.9mm. On the contrary, the measurements using the BIS showed that the light field was bigger than the radiation field at the gantry angle of $0^{\circ}\;and\;270^{\circ}$. The maximum error was 0.96mm, and the error range was $<{\pm}2mm$ both in the X and Y axis. The average error of ${\Delta}X$, Y was the smallest in the order of the visual film measurements, film scanner measurements, and BIS measurements Conclusion . This requires a careful measurement for accurate quality assurance since errors are much different according to each observer that tests coincidence between visual fields with film. And an observer needs to use another image device or develop a measuring device of his own if it seems necessary for accurate measurements.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.157-175
• /
• 2012

It is difficult to evaluate the performance of process innovation of e-procurement which has large scale and complex processes. The existing evaluation methods for measuring the effects of process innovation have been mainly done with statistically quantitative methods by analyzing operational data or with qualitative methods by conducting surveys and interviews. However, these methods have some limitations to evaluate the effects because the performance evaluation of e-procurement process innovation should consider the interactions among participants who are active either directly or indirectly through the processes. This study considers the e-procurement process as a complex system and develops a simulation model based on MAS(Multi-Agent System) to evaluate the effects of e-procurement process innovation. Multi-agent based simulation allows observing interaction patterns of objects in virtual world through relationship among objects and their behavioral mechanism. Agent-based simulation is suitable especially for complex business problems. In this study, we used Netlogo Version 4.1.3 as a MAS simulation tool which was developed in Northwestern University. To do this, we developed a interaction model of agents in MAS environment. We defined process agents and task agents, and assigned their behavioral characteristics. The developed simulation model was applied to G2B system (KONEPS: Korea ON-line E-Procurement System) of Public Procurement Service (PPS) in Korea and used to evaluate the innovation effects of the G2B system. KONEPS is a successfully established e-procurement system started in the year 2002. KONEPS is a representative e-Procurement system which integrates characteristics of e-commerce into government for business procurement activities. KONEPS deserves the international recognition considering the annual transaction volume of 56 billion dollars, daily exchanges of electronic documents, users consisted of 121,000 suppliers and 37,000 public organizations, and the 4.5 billion dollars of cost saving. For the simulation, we analyzed the e-procurement of process of KONEPS into eight sub processes such as 'process 1: search products and acquisition of proposal', 'process 2 : review the methods of contracts and item features', 'process 3 : a notice of bid', 'process 4 : registration and confirmation of qualification', 'process 5 : bidding', 'process 6 : a screening test', 'process 7 : contracts', and 'process 8 : invoice and payment'. For the parameter settings of the agents behavior, we collected some data from the transactional database of PPS and some information by conducting a survey. The used data for the simulation are 'participants (government organizations, local government organizations and public institutions)', 'the number of bidding per year', 'the number of total contracts', 'the number of shopping mall transactions', 'the rate of contracts between bidding and shopping mall', 'the successful bidding ratio', and the estimated time for each process. The comparison was done for the difference of time consumption between 'before the innovation (As-was)' and 'after the innovation (As-is).' The results showed that there were productivity improvements in every eight sub processes. The decrease ratio of 'average number of task processing' was 92.7% and the decrease ratio of 'average time of task processing' was 95.4% in entire processes when we use G2B system comparing to the conventional method. Also, this study found that the process innovation effect will be enhanced if the task process related to the 'contract' can be improved. This study shows the usability and possibility of using MAS in process innovation evaluation and its modeling.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.51 no.1
• /
• pp.87-102
• /
• 2018

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a valid instrument for measuring the dietary quality and behaviors of Korean elderly. Methods: The development of the Nutrition Quotient for Elderly (NQ-E) was conducted in three steps: item generation, item reduction, and validation. The 41 items of the NQ-E checklist were derived from a systematic literature review, expert in-depth interviews, statistical analyses of the fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, and national nutrition policies and recommendations. Pearson's correlation was used to determine the level of agreement between the questionnaires and nutrient intake level, and 24 items were selected for a nationwide survey. A total of 1,000 nationwide elderly subjects completed the checklist questionnaire. The construct validity of the NQ-E was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis, LISREL. Results: The nineteen checklist items were used as final items for NQ-E. Checklist items were composed of four-factors: food behavior (6 items), balance (4 items), diversity (6 items), and moderation (3 items). The standardized path coefficients were used as the weights of the items. The NQ-E and four-factor scores were calculated according to the obtained weights of the questionnaire items. Conclusion: NQ-E would be a useful tool for assessing the food behavior and dietary quality of the elderly.

• 한국노년학
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.1249-1264
• /
• 2008

Guilt feelings are dysfunctional feelings that the primary caregiver of the frail elder are apt to have and those feelings increase a burden of caring, while there is lack of empirical study on the effect of guilt feelings on caring behaviors. In light of this, this study lays its purpose on examining the effect of the primary caregivers' guilt feelings on their burden of caring and request behaviors for help with caring, paying attention to their guilt feelings in our society where Confucian values toward supporting the elderly have remained. The questionnaire survey was conducted for 220 primary caregivers caring frail elders over 60 years of age by visiting. As a tool for measuring guilt feelings, a self-designed measure for caregivers was used (${\alpha}=.949$), and factors of guilt feelings were classified into four namely, the factors of lack of self-control, lack of resources, burnout, and the normative factor As a result, the following findings were derived. First, it was revealed that the guilt feelings of caregivers as family members have a positive correlation with a feeling of burden of caring and the feeling of burden have even effects on the four factors of guilt feelings. Second, when primary caregivers request help with caring, they feel guilty toward cohabiting family members and neighbors, and also they show no guilt feelings when using day-care services for the elderly. Especially, guilt feeling factors affecting primary caregivers were found to be the normative factor to cohabiting family members, the factor of lack of resources to neighbors, and the factor of burnout to using day-care services for the elderly. This result tells that the dysfunctional feelings of primary caregivers namely guilt feelings arising when asking help with caring not only increase their burden of caring but also can cause difficulties in sharing the role of the caregiver. Accordingly for the mental health of caregivers, we should develop programs with which we could understand and cope with their guilt feelings.

• Korean Journal of Child Education & Care
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.177-196
• /
• 2019

Objective: This study aims to analyze research trends related to software education for young children, focusing on studies published in Korea from 2016 to 2019 March. Methods: A total of 26 research publications on software education for young children, searched from Korea Citation Index and Research Information Sharing Service were identified for the analysis. The trend in these publications was classified and examined respectively by publication dates, types of publications, and the fields of study. To investigate a means of research, the analysis included key topics, types of research methods, and characteristics of the study variables. Results: The results of the analysis show that the number of publications on the topic of software education for young children has increased over the three years, of which most were published as a scholarly journal article. Among the 26 research studies analyzed, 16 (61.5%) are related to the field of early childhood education or child studies. Key topics and target subjects of the most research include the curriculum development of software education for young children or the effectiveness of software education on 4- and 5-year-old children. Most of the analyzed studies are experimental research designs or in the form of literature reviews. The most frequently studied research variable is young children's cognitive characteristics. For the studies that employ educational programs, the use of a physical computing environment is prevalent, and the most frequently used robot as a programming tool is "Albert". The duration of the program implementation varies, ranging from 5 weeks to 48 weeks. In the analyzed research studies, computational thinking is conceptualized as a problem-solving skill that can be improved by software education, and assessed by individual instruments measuring sub-factors of computational thinking. Conclusion/Implications: The present study reveals that, although the number of research publications in software education for young children has increased, the overall sufficiency of the accumulated research data and a variety of research methods are still lacking. An increased interest in software education for young children and more research activities in this area are needed to develop and implement developmentally appropriate software education programs in early childhood settings.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• v.49 no.3
• /
• pp.240-249
• /
• 2022

Measuring chlorophyll fluorescence (CF) is a useful tool for assessing a plant's ability to tolerate abiotic stresses such as drought, waterlogging and high temperature. Korean ginseng is highly sensitive to water stress in paddy fields. To evaluate the possibility of non-destructively diagnosing waterlogging stress using chlorophyll fluorescence (CF) imaging techniques, we screened 57 ginseng accessions for waterlogging tolerance. To evaluate waterlogging tolerance among the 2-year-old Korean ginseng accessions, we treated ginseng plants with water stress for 25 days. The physiological disorder rate was characterized through visual assessment (an assigned score of 0-5). The physiological disorder rates of Geumjin, Geumsun and GS00-58 were lower than that of other accessions. In contrast, lines GS97-62, GS97-69 and GS98-1-5 were deemed susceptible. Root traits, chlorophyll content and the reduction rates decreased in most ginseng accessions. Further, these metrics were significantly lower in susceptible genotypes compared to resistant ones. All CF parameters showed a positive or negative response to waterlogging stress, and this response continuously increased over the treatment time among the genotypes. The CF parameter Fv/Fm was used to screen the 57 accessions, and the results showed clear differences in Fv/Fm between the susceptible and resistant genotypes. Susceptible genotypes had an especially low Fv/Fm value of less than 0.8, reflecting damage to the reaction center of photosystem II. It is concluded that Fv/Fm can be used as a CF parameter index for screening waterlogging stress tolerance in ginseng genotypes.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.66 no.4
• /
• pp.305-322
• /
• 2022

In this study, a practice-based teacher education program was developed and applied to improve the TPACK of pre-service chemistry teachers. Also the program effect and obstacles were confirmed by measuring the development of TPACK. The participants of this study were 20 pre-service chemistry teachers of 3rd grade and 2 pre-service chemistry teachers of 4th grade who took chemistry education courses at K University located in Chungcheongbuk Province. The developed teacher education program consisted of four stages: preparation, rehearsal, practice, and reflection. The feedbacks from researchers and colleagues pre-service teachers were provided in preparation, rehearsal, and reflection stages. As a result of the study, the program of this study did not show an educational effect in the "constructive learning activities" of preservice teachers, but it was found to have an educational effect in "problem solving". In other words, in "constructive learning activity", most pre-service teachers were at 0 level before and after the program. The pre-service teachers designed the class to unilaterally provide technology to simply use it as a tool to explain subject content or revise misconceptions, and learners can passively acquire knowledge. However, in the case of "problem solving", the pre-service teachers who were at level 0 before the educational program changed to level 1. Before the program, the pre-service teachers designed classes to solve problems by memory without using technology, but after the program they planned classes that provides opportunities to approach and solve various problems through the technology presented by the teacher. However, there were not many pre-service teachers corresponding to level 2, which constitutes voluntary learning in which learners use technology to solve various problems while selecting and variously manipulating technology. In addition, as obstacles to the TPACK development of pre-service chemistry teachers, there were external factors such as lack of classroom support environment for TPACK implementation, lack of time for education planning, and inadequate technology competency. And there were internal factors such as perspectives of traditional education and negative attitude toward technology. In particular, the proportion of pre-service teachers who preceived inappropriate technical competency as an external obstacles of TPACK development was high. Therefore, it was necessary to develop an education program corresponding to type 2 or type 3 that enables TPACK development through TK for pre-service teachers.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.213-220
• /
• 2019

Desire for a happy life becomes the will that man instinctively desires. In that the conditions of happiness are subjective and varied, the will of subjective desires has been studied with the attention of objective tendencies. The positive and meaningful will of life in the desire for happiness leads us to be the functionaries who act. These wills can be the driving force of a happy life, which allows one to have a hopeful reflective will in one's inner life, connecting oneself with others, and working in relationships with others. In addition, those who become lazy or lose their orientation in life can instill a will to be the main character of life, and furthermore, to give the ultimate meaning and goals of life. To understand and analyze these wills for happy lives more specifically, structural model compatibility and confirmatory factors were conducted. relatively reliable α=.855 value, the coefficient of correlation between recognition and will **p<.01, *p<.05 statistically significant measuring tool of not less than 05 was used. The study results of the structural model suitability of the factors of will and the confirmatory factor analysis showed that the model set by the researcher could reflect the characteristics of the data collected, and that the χ²(Chi-square) value was .126, which was consistent with the model by satisfying the acceptance criteria, and that the comparison of the reference values of the study model showed a relatively high level of suitability. To identify the relationship between cognitive and defined and behavioral factors of subjective will and existent will variables, the results of a verification factor analysis show that the χ²(Chi-square) value is 2.36 and the model and data are consistent with the acceptance criteria, and that the test data is consistent with the model and data set by the researcher are consistent with the model5.0 Through structural model analysis of human will, it was confirmed that the variables of subjective and existential, sensible and reflective will directly and indirectly influence and form a complex relationship. Our will is recognized as the subjective will, and the structure of the subjective will consists of the sensible and reflective will, and the relationship between the cognitive and just action elements and the subjective will of the human life and the will to exist is shown to be very meaningful, so we should conduct the education of the happy will of the emotional and just areas of life as well as the reestablishment of the cognitive educational direction that can lead to action.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.9-21
• /
• 2024

Objective : The purpose of this study was to confirm the characteristics and quality of a single-subject research that conducted interventions to improve activities of daily living (ADL) in stroke patients. Methods : 'Stroke,' 'activities of daily living,' and 'single-subject studies' were searched as keywords among papers published in the last 15 years between 2009 and 2023 among Research Information Sharing Service, DBpia, and e-articles. A total of nine papers were examined for the characteristics and quality before analysis. Results : The independent variables applied to improve ADL included constraint-induced therapy, mental practice for performing functional activities, virtual reality-based task training, subjective postural vertical training without visual feedback, bilateral upper limb movement, core stability training program, traditional occupational therapy and neurocognitive rehabilitation, smooth pursuit eye movement, neck muscle vibration, and occupation-based community rehabilitation. Assessment of Motor and Process Skills was the most common evaluation tool for measuring dependent variables, with four articles, and Modified Barthel Index and Canadian Occupational Performance Measure were two articles each. As a result of confirming the qualitative level of the analyzed papers, out of a total of nine studies, seven studies were at a high level, two at a moderate level, and none were at a low level. Conclusion : Various types of rehabilitation treatments have been actively applied as intervention methods to improve the daily life activities of stroke patients; the quality level of single-subject studies applying ADL interventions was reliable.