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During the Ming Dynasty, China and Korea exchanged frequently and recorded a large amount of written information, which is of great value for understanding the culture of that time. The large amount of data makes it difficult to conduct quantitative analysis by researchers, which makes the analysis limited. This paper carries out a research on the cognition and analysis method of Chinese and Korean envoys to foreign cultures in Ming Dynasty based on big data analysis technology. Based on the literature research, this paper determines the ontology model establishment method to efficiently detect the written records of Chinese and Korean envoys in Ming Dynasty. The established ontology model and the improved clustering analysis method can improve the efficiency of data detection, reduce the error of data detection, and provide data basis for the research of this paper. According to the technology of big data analysis, this paper analyzes the focus and status class of Chinese and Korean envoys in Ming Dynasty and analyzes cognition of the Chinese and Korean envoys for the foreign culture. The results show that the envoys of the Chinese and Korean pay different attention to the foreign culture due to their different cognition of the foreign culture, compared with Ming Dynasty envoys, Korean envoys paid 15.3 percent less attention to geography, 19.7 percent more to history, 11.7 percent more to people, and 16 percent less to customs. This reflects the two envoys' different perceptions of the foreign culture. And the status class of the envoys exacerbates this difference. In the early Ming Dynasty, the creative diversity of Ming envoys was far lower than that of Korean envoys. As time went by, the creative diversity of Ming envoys increased. The results provide support for further understanding of Chinese and Korean culture and their relationship in Ming Dynasty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent experience with the strongest earthquakes greater than magnitude 5.4 in Korea leads to public interest in the safety and resilience of critical infrastructures. There are many nuclear power plants near the epicenters of the earthquakes. Nuclear power plants are essential infrastructures that provide stable and enough energy for human life, and simultaneously, control systems for the safety and security of nuclear power plants are critical due to the risk of nuclear accidents on public health and the environment. The nuclear area uses probabilistic risk assessment to estimate the risk of structures, systems, and components in nuclear power plants, and the evaluation of the fragility curve is a key process for probabilistic risk assessment. The challenges of a seismic fragility analysis lie in estimating the influence of various uncertainties in material, geometry, and earthquake and improving the existing fragility analysis methods, which require time-consuming nonlinear time history analysis. Thus, this paper conducts a multivariate seismic fragility analysis using surrogate models for reinforced concrete squat shear walls and proposes a simplified closed form equation for a chosen surrogate seismic demand model. The surrogate models are trained and validated by several approaches: response surface method, support vector machine, Gaussian process regression, and neural network. In addition, a correlation analysis is used to evaluate the relative importance of the variables to the seismic demand to simplify the surrogate model further. Finally, simplified surrogate models based on the importance of the variables are proposed as closed form of polynomials, and the performance of these models on the fragility analysis is evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Among the surgical methods for lumbar disc herniation, open lumbar microdiscectomy is considered the gold standard. Recently, percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy is also commonly performed for lumbar disc herniation for its various strong points. Objectives. The present study aims to examine whether percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy and open lumbar microdiscectomy show better results as surgical treatments for lumbar disc herniation in the Korean population. Methods. In the present meta-analysis, papers on Korean patients who underwent open lumbar microdiscectomy and percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy were searched, both of which are surgical methods to treat lumbar disc herniation. The papers from 1973, when percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy was first introduced, to March 2018 were searched at the databases of MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, and Cochrane Library. Results. Seven papers with 1254 patients were selected. A comparison study revealed that percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy had significantly better results than open lumbar microdiscectomy in the visual analogue pain scale at the final follow-up (leg: mean difference [MD]=-0.35; 95% confidence interval [CI]=-0.61, -0.09; p=0.009; back: MD=-0.79; 95% confidence interval [CI]=-1.42, -0.17; p=0.01), Oswestry Disability Index (MD=-2.12; 95% CI=-4.25, 0.01; p=0.05), operation time (MD=-23.06; 95% CI=-32.42, -13.70; p<0.00001), and hospital stay (MD=-4.64; 95% CI=-6.37, -2.90; p<0.00001). There were no statistical differences in the MacNab classification (odds ratio [OR]=1.02; 95% CI=0.71, 1.49; p=0.90), complication rate (OR=0.72; 95% CI=0.20, 2.62; p=0.62), recurrence rate (OR=0.83; 95% CI=0.50, 1.38; p=0.47), and reoperation rate (OR=1.45; 95% CI=0.89, 2.35; p=0.13). Limitations. All 7 papers used for the meta-analysis were non-RCTs. Some differences (type of surgery (primary or revisional), treatment options before the operation, follow-up period, etc.) existed depending on the selected paper, and the sample size was small as well. Conclusion. While percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy showed better results than open lumbar microdiscectomy in some items, open lumbar microdiscectomy still showed good clinical results, and it is therefore reckoned that a randomized controlled trial with a large sample size would be required in the future to compare these two surgical methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nurses' turnover intention has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic. Emotional labor is reportedly high among nurses in Korea, and a positive psychological capital can help reduce turnover intention. This cross-sectional study investigated the factors influencing turnover intention in nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Survey data were collected from 155 nurses caring for patients with COVID-19 at a university hospital in South Korea in March 2022. Self-reported and paper-based questionnaires on emotional labor, positive psychological capital, and turnover intention were employed. The mean values for emotional labor, positive psychological capital, and turnover intention were 54.52/80, 58.03/90, and 38.92/50, respectively, and 77.8% of nurses reported planning to quit working. Turnover intention correlated with emotional labor (r = 0.17; p = 0.041) and had no significant relationship with positive psychological capital. Sex (β = 0.24; p = 0.003) and emotional labor (β = 0.18; p = 0.019) affected turnover intention, with 9% explanatory power. Female nurses caring for patients with COVID-19 had a higher turnover intention than male nurses. Finally, the higher the emotional labor of nurses caring for patients with COVID-19, the higher the turnover intention. To reduce the turnover intention of nurses, hospitals need to help them enhance their emotional labor and positive psychological capital by establishing measures such as emotional coaching programs or psychological capital interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Influenced by cultural background, economic development, social system, education system, and other factors, there is still a big gap between Chinese institutions and developed countries in flute teaching, even with our neighbors, South Korea and Japan. Under the influence of cultural background, economic development, social system, and educational system, there is still a very big gap between Chinese colleges and universities and developed countries in flute teaching, even with our neighbors, South Korea and Japan. Because of its local perception and weight-sharing structure, the convolutional neural network is closer to the biological neural network in the real world. The weight-sharing structure reduces the complexity of the neural network, which can avoid the complexity of feature extraction and classification process in data reconstruction. This paper studies the analysis and optimization of flute playing and teaching system based on a convolutional neural network. By applying local perception field and parameter sharing in a convolutional neural network at the same time and adding multiple filters, it can not only effectively reduce the number of parameters but also extract features layer by layer. In the process of convolution, the parameters of the characteristic map obtained by each layer decrease layer by layer, but the number increases gradually. Based on the analysis of the problems faced by the flute performance teaching, this paper puts forward the corresponding solutions in order to promote the flute performance teaching in China to achieve better results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Occupational stress is a phenomenon affecting people worldwide. Investigating occupational stress among immigrant worker populations will unravel some of the intricacies of this condition and its psychological effects on this population. Aim. This paper conceptually examined occupational stress within the context of immigrant workers' mental health and offer an operational definition to aid nurse researchers, educators, and practitioners in assessing and managing patients and developing culturally appropriate interventions for this population. Design. Walker and Avant's eight-step concept analysis is used as an organizing framework. Data Source. MEDLINE, CINAHL, OVID, PubMed, and APA Psych Info. Review Methods. Keywords job stress, immigrant work stress, occupational stress scale, immigrant work-related stress, and mental health were used. The search yielded 142 articles; 17 were selected based on the effect of work stress on mental health. Results. This analysis found that occupational stress can be attributed to communication problems, alienation, discrimination, and barriers to work-life balance can cause negative consequences among immigrants. An operational definition is also provided. Conclusion. There is a growing need to examine closely and differentiate between occupational and acculturative stress to navigate a more profound understanding of how these conditions negatively complement each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local roads have numerous blind spots caused by complex geometry, obstacles, and narrow width. Thus, conventional proactive countermeasures, such as passive traffic signs and convex mirrors, have not always been effective in preventing local road collisions. In this paper, we present a novel proactive two-step approach for traffic safety on local roads, comprised of detection of pedestrian-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-vehicle collision risks and warning systems. First, using video surveillance and radars to eliminate blind spots, the system detects road objects, predicts their trajectories and reachable areas, and identifies a potential risk situation. Second, it provides road users such as vehicles and pedestrians with warnings through LED variable message signs, which allows them to react effectively in risky situations. We have applied the system to two local road sites in South Korea, including a university campus in Seoul City and an apartment complex in Daejeon City. The detecting system has been validated using a confusion matrix. We have assessed the warning effect through a before-and-after study and found that the proposed system contributed to the improvement of traffic safety at the case study site in that traffic conflicts decreased by 55–62%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Passive transit-signal priority (TSP) is an effective approach to improve the operational efficiency of transit systems on arterial roads. This paper presents an integrated TSP model that benefits both transit vehicles and other road users. The proposed model uses the random arrival characteristics of transit vehicles related to their stochastic dwell times at near-side stops. Thus, it enables not only two-way bandwidth maximization within subsystems but also the combined optimization of adjacent subsystems. To minimize any negative impact on side-street traffic, this study, unlike previous research, considers the influential area by the introduction of TSP. Case studies on 15 intersections in Sejong, Korea, verify the superior performance of the proposed model for both transit and general vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem that the relationship between human capital and industrial development goes beyond the logarithmic production function is solved, the needs of human capital's understanding of the economic development process and the lack of understanding of the relationship between human capital and development are met, and the understanding of the relationship between human investment and business development is improved. Based on the new characteristics of industry development and population emergence, this paper adopts a functional model with no further elasticity of logarithmic production, resulting in an empirical analysis of national development observations based on Chinese statistics and beyond logarithmic performance. From 2003 to 2016, 31 finance scholars were interviewed to examine the human capital process of economic development since the new century. The first is to establish a theoretical model of industry development including human capital, operations, and capital resources; the second is to establish human capital assessment tools including education, health, technology, and population migration to determine the accuracy of the measurement system. Then, the main concepts of regression analysis are used to describe the relationships or interrelationships of various factors and the development of an industry. The results show that since the beginning of the new century, my country's human capital generally includes two major themes: "education and scientific research human capital" reflects the well-being of human beings, among which "public human capital" is the main one. Won adopts a two-stage trans-logarithmic calculation and believes that South Korea's strength and capital change one by one, and the elasticity values are 0.78 and −1.42, respectively, when added to the performance. While the growth of the economy has not been separated from the increase of human and capital, the best way is human capital, which means more than population growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, intermodal transport focused on reducing external cost, congestion, and carbon dioxide emissions, which have been caused by road transportation. Many policy measures for the modal shift from road to rail have been introduced to address these problems. This study aims at examining the impact of policy measures on promoting modal shift. In line with the previous research on modal shift, a system dynamics model, which can calculate both expected and real modal share, was developed. The proposed model was applied to the steel industry for steel rolled coils transport in South Korea. Under our analysis conditions, the modal shift by the containerization occurred more rapidly than taxations. The major contributions of this paper are as follows: (1) supporting the model to anticipate the modal shift from road to rail and (2) suggesting new insight to promote the modal shift using containerization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Absorption of microwave radio frequency signal by atmospheric rain and losses is prevalent at frequencies above 5 GHz. The functioning frequencies of 18 GHz are taken for the point-to-point microwave link system. This paper presents studies on rain attenuation at 18 GHz, which specifies minimum performance parameters for terrestrial fixed service digital radio communication equipment. It presents a 3.2 km experimental link at 18 GHz between Khumdang (Korea Telecom, KT station) and Icheon (National Radio Research Agency, RRA station). The received signal data for rain attenuation and the rain rate were collected at 10-second intervals over three year's periods from 2013 to 2015. During the observation period, rain rates of about 50 mm/hr and attenuation values of 33.38 dB and 21.88 dB occurred for 0.01% of the time for horizontal and vertical polarization. This paper highlights the discussion and comparison of ITU-R P.530-16, Moupfouma, Silva Mello, and Abdulrahman models and proposed an attenuation prediction approach where it presents the relationship between theoretical specific rain attenuation as specified by ITU-R P.838-3, γ%p, and effective specific rain attenuation, γeff. Additionally, it studies 1-minute rain rates derived from higher time integration of 5-minute, 10-minute, 20-minute, 30-minute, and 60-minute instances which are obtained from experimental 1-minute rainfall amounts that are maintained by the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The effectiveness of the proposed approach is further analyzed for 38 and 75 GHz links which shows better prediction capability. Particularly, in an 18 GHz link under horizontal polarization, ITU-R P. 530-16 shows the relative error margin of 71%, 60%, and 38% where as 64%, 49%, and 42% were obtained under vertical polarization for 0.1%, 0.01%, and 0.001% of the time, respectively. The limitation of research lies on the experimental system that is set up in only one location; however, the preliminary results indicate the application of a suitable 1-minute rain attenuation model for a specific site. The method provides useful information for microwave engineers and researchers in making decisions over the choice of the most suitable rain attenuation prediction for terrestrial links operating in the South Korea region, particularly for lower frequency ranges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A foreign body in the respiratory tract is one of the common accidental injuries of children in our country, and is usually an important and serious event. Injuries caused by foreign substances in the respiratory tract seriously threaten the health and life of children in Korea and are a great challenge for parents as well. In the process of diagnosis of foreign bodies in the respiratory tract, there is often missed diagnosis or serious complications. Therefore, this article proposes the application of 64-slice spiral CT imaging technology based on smart medical augmented reality in the diagnosis of foreign bodies in the respiratory tract in order to improve the diagnosis of foreign bodies in the respiratory tract, provide help with treatment to improve the prognosis of foreign bodies in the respiratory tract, and reduce the incidence of foreign bodies in the respiratory tract. In this paper, 36 children underwent a 64-slice spiral CT scan of their lungs, and images were transferred to a workstation for multiplanar reconstruction, minimal density projection, three-dimensional volume reconstruction imaging, and CT virtual endoscopic reconstruction, the location, shape, size, and size of the foreign body in contrast with adjacent structural lesions and lesions seen during surgery. Experiments have shown that the left bronchial granulation accounted for 27.3%, the right bronchial granulation 18.75%, the main tracheal granulation 28.6%; there was no significant difference between the left and right bronchial granulation (P > 0.05), while the main tracheal granulation and bilateral bronchial granulation there are significant differences between the shape distributions (P < 0.05). This shows that CT imaging technology has enabled more patients to avoid surgical operations and ensure that the spiral computer can bring the greatest benefits to children. A 64-slice spiral CT scan can diagnose foreign bodies in the child's respiratory tract. The detection rate is high and the diagnostic failure rate is low. The diagnostic rationale provides a reference for early clinical treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper employs the threshold cointegration methodology to assess the long- and short-run dynamics of asymmetric adjustment between economic policy uncertainty (EPU) of China-India, China-Japan, China-Korea, India-Japan, India-Korea, and Japan-Korea pairs using monthly EPU data ranging from January 1997 to April 2020. The relationship between the EPU pairs is examined in terms of Engle-Granger and threshold cointegrations. The findings provide evidence of long-run threshold cointegration and that the adjustments towards the long-run equilibrium position are asymmetric in the short run for the China-India and India-Japan EPU pairs in M-TAR specification with nonzero threshold values. Also, the results suggest a unidirectional causal relationship between China-India, China-Japan, and India-Korea EPU pairs in the long and short run using the spectral frequency domain causality approach. However, a bidirectional causal relationship between China-Korea, India-Japan, and Japan-Korea pairs exists in the long and short run. Therefore, the findings provide some clues to economic policymakers within the Asian subregion for possible policy uncertainty synergies and spillovers among the Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a remote testbed for metallic fuel fabrication using surrogates or depleted uranium. The testbed named "remote fuel fabrication mock-up (RFFM)" was created at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and specifically designed to incorporate remote operation and maintenance. The subsystems of the RFFM are described, and test results regarding remotely conducted metallic fuel slug fabrication at the RFFM are also presented. After fabricating fuel slugs using copper ingots, their specifications and properties were analyzed and evaluated using chemical analysis, radiographic tests, and diameter and weight measurements. Analysis results showed that the fabricated metallic fuel slugs have an acceptance rate of more than 90% and a casting ratio (ratio of weight of injected metal to charged metal) of more than 0.7. Moreover, operations involving remote handling of in-cell equipment were also satisfactory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Extreme events like flooding, extreme temperature, and ozone depletion are happening in every corner of the world. Thus, the need to model such rare events having enormous damage has been getting priorities in most countries of the world. Methods. The dataset contains the ozone data from 29 representative air monitoring sites in South Korea collected from 1991 to 2015. Spatial generalized extreme value (GEV) using maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) and two max-stable and Bayesian kriging models are the statistical models used for analysis. Moreover, predictive performances of these statistical models are compared using measures like root-mean-squared error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), relative bias (rBIAS), and relative mean separation (rMSEP) have been utilized. Results. From the time plot of ozone data, extreme ozone concentration is increasing linearly within the specified period. The return level of ozone concentration after 10, 25, 50, and 100 years have been forecasted and showed that there was an increasing trend in ozone extremes. High spatial variability of ozone extreme was observed, and those areas around the territories were having extreme ozone concentration than the centers. Moreover, Bayesian Kriging brought about relatively the minimum RMSE compared to the other models. Conclusion. The extreme ozone concentration has clearly showed a positive trend and spatial variation. Moreover, among the models considered in the paper, the Bayesian Kriging has been chosen as the better model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information technology's introduction of online retail has deeply influenced methods of doing business. However, offline retail has not changed as radically in comparison to online retailing. Recently, studies in computer science have suggested newtechnology that can support offline retailers, including sensors, indoor positioning, augmented reality, vision, and interactive systems. Retailers have recently shown interest in these technologies and rapidly adopted them in order to improve operational efficiency and customer experience in their retail shops. Marketing studies also address immersive marketing that employs these technologies in order to change ways of doing offline retail business. Even though there is much discussion concerning new trends, technologies, and marketing concepts, there is, as of yet, no investigation that comprehensively explains howthey can be combined together seamlessly in the real world retail environment. This paper employs the term "smart store" to indicate retail stores equipped with these new technologies and modern marketing concepts. This paper aims to summarize discussions related to smart stores and their possible applications in a real business environment. Furthermore, we present a case study of a business that applies the smart store concept to its fashion retail shops in Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phoridae are a family of necrophagous flies commonly found in indoor death scene. They account for approximately 19.7% of the entomofauna in human cadavers in Korea. Additionally, this taxon is an indicator of indoor hygiene, and these flies appear in environments where access by other necrophagous insects is difficult, such as enclosed rooms. Thus, they are likely to be used as forensic evidence. Despite their importance in forensic investigations and environmental hygiene, detailed studies on the taxonomy and molecular barcoding for this family are scarce, including in Korea. Because accurate taxonomic information regarding necrophagous insects collected from a death-related scene is essential during medicolegal investigations, molecular barcoding data could be useful as well as reliable. In this paper, full-length nucleotide sequences of genes coding for the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) in 79 Phoridae larvae collected from 20 medicolegal autopsy cases in Korea were phylogenetically analyzed by comparing their sequences to the foreign barcoding data of Phoridae. Six mitochondrial haplogroups were identified, which two of them matched to foreign Phoridae fly species haplotypes, Megaselia scalaris (Loew, 1866) and M. spiracularis Schmitz 1938. Taxonomies of five other haplogroups, with nucleotide distances ranging from 1.68% to 2.26% from the M. scalaris group, could not be confirmed solely based on the molecular barcoding data. Further research should be performed to determine whether these five haplogroups are diverged conspecifics of M. scalaris or a closely related sister cryptic species of M. scalaris. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an IoT-based indoor air quality monitoring platform, consisting of an air quality-sensing device called "Smart-Air" and a web server, is demonstrated. This platform relies on an IoT and a cloud computing technology to monitor indoor air quality in anywhere and anytime. Smart-Air has been developed based on the IoT technology to efficiently monitor the air quality and transmit the data to a web server via LTE in real time. The device is composed of a microcontroller, pollutant detection sensors, and LTE modem. In the research, the device was designed to measure a concentration of aerosol, VOC, CO, CO2, and temperature-humidity to monitor the air quality. Then, the device was successfully tested for reliability by following the prescribed procedure from the Ministry of Environment, Korea. Also, cloud computing has been integrated into a web server for analyzing the data from the device to classify and visualize indoor air quality according to the standards from the Ministry. An application was developed to help in monitoring the air quality. Thus, approved personnel can monitor the air quality at any time and from anywhere, via either the web server or the application. The web server stores all data in the cloud to provide resources for further analysis of indoor air quality. In addition, the platform has been successfully implemented in Hanyang University of Korea to demonstrate its feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A well-balanced diet habit of a wide variety of foods and adequate nutrition can help to maintain proper growth and healthy life for young children. In Korea, young children aged 3 to 6 years use their own plates to eat lunch served in the kindergarten or childcare facilities. In this paper, we propose a smart plate that can easily measure how much food children have eaten. The smart plate has five load cell sensors to measure the weight of five places. Using them, the amount of food intake can be determined by measuring the weight of food before and after meals, respectively. This helps to know which foods young children prefer and which foods they do not prefer and identifies nutritional deficiencies in them. In addition, long-term accumulated data can be used to predict the growth index of young children. Finally, menus are recommended based on the nutrition facts consumed on a monthly basis by analyzing nutrition ingredients that were insufficient or excessive for children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A geostatistical framework for spatial quality assessment framework of coarse resolution remote sensing products is presented that can account for either the scale difference or the uncertainty of reference value prediction at coarse resolutions. A set of multiple reference field realizations is first generated at a fine spatial resolution using geostatistical simulation to explore the uncertainty in the true unknown reference field. The upscaling of multiple reference field realizations to coarse resolution is then followed to match the spatial resolution of the target remote sensing product and create coarse resolution reference fields. The simulated reference values at each coarse pixel are compared to the corresponding reported value from the coarse resolution remote sensing product, yielding alternative error values, from which several location-dependent statistics such as mean error, mean absolute error, and probability of overestimation can be computed. An experiment involving monthly Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) precipitation products and point-level rain gauge data over South Korea illustrates the applicability of the proposed approach. The spatially distributed error statistics are useful to identify areas with larger errors and the degree of overestimation in the study area, leading to the identification of areas with unreliable estimates within the TRMM precipitation products. Therefore, it is expected that the geostatistical assessment framework presented in this paper can be effectively used to evaluate the spatial quality of coarse resolution remote sensing products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biological separation and purification technology is the basic technology of modern biotechnology, which is widely used in the pharmaceutical industry, especially the biopharmaceutical industry. In recent years, the biopharmaceutical industry has had a lot of room for development in the development of science and technology in South Korea, and the research on biopharmaceutical equipment and pharmaceutical technology has also achieved good research results. This article proposes a brief discussion on the design of biopharmaceutical separation and purification technology courses. In this study, by analyzing the synthesis potential of the secondary metabolites of the strain, using the α-glucosidase inhibition rate as an inspection indicator, the fermentation medium of the strain was optimized, and batch fermentation was carried out, and then, the metabolites were separated and purified, and the following conclusion was obtained: the α-glucosidase inhibition rate of the crude extract of the strain in the optimized fermentation medium is 35% higher than that of the initial medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. This study aimed to analyze the effects of the surgery preparation time on patient outcomes. Background. Postoperative complications have a decisive effect on postoperative survival. The anesthesia time is a crucial determinant of such complications. Competent operating room nurses can shorten the surgery preparation time, which is the time from when anesthesia is first administered to the making of the surgical incision. The shortening of this preparation time can shorten the anesthesia time and may reduce postoperative complications. However, discussion of this preparation time is insufficient. Therefore, this study analyzed the effect of the surgery preparation time on patient outcomes. Methods. From electronic health records data, this retrospective cohort study used the data of 1,944 patients who had been immediately admitted to the ICU after their surgery between 2017 and 2020. The patients were divided into two groups: ≥30 minutes preparation time and <30 minutes preparation time groups. We performed chi-squared tests and t-tests to determine differences in preoperation, intraoperation, and postoperation characteristics of the patients and patient outcomes based on the surgery preparation time. Furthermore, we performed a multiple logistic regression by including 12 adjusted variables to determine the influence of the surgery preparation time on patient outcomes. Results. Among the 1,944 patients, 820 were in the ≥30 minutes preparation time group and 1,124 in the <30 minutes preparation time group. The multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the surgery preparation time affects alertness (OR = 1.44; 95% CI: [1.09, 1.90]), ventilator application (OR = 1.32; 95% CI: [1.03, 1.70]), and length of stay in the ICU (OR = 1.69; 95% CI [1.16, 2.47]). Conclusions. The surgery preparation time affects postoperative patient outcomes. The competence of operating room nurses is the most essential aspect of the surgery preparation time. Implications for Nursing Management. It is important to analyze operating room nurses' tasks, standardize the tasks, and educate nurses according to their experience level to reduce the surgery preparation time and improve patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Korea was the first to administer the Indoor Air Quality Control Act in 1996, followed by Taiwan's implementation in 2012. This study investigated indoor air quality (IAQ) in public facilities before and after the enactment of Taiwan's Indoor Air Quality Management (IAQM) Act in 2012 to assess the effectiveness of the Act. The study also calculates health risks for employers, and consumers/visitors separately. The mean concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) after the IAQM Act's enactment was higher than before, except for government offices. The lowest attainment rates for CO2, below 80%, were 73% in hospitals and 78% in libraries. As for formaldehyde, average concentrations were higher after the IAQM Act's implementation, except for the exhibition room and library. Notably, improvements in particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) levels were evident in hospitals and libraries compared to other environments (attainment rates increased from 85% to 100% and 89% to 94%, respectively). However, in schools, preschools, and public transport spaces, unattainment rates worsened. Regarding cancer risk from formaldehyde exposure in the public, the 95% of upper risk limits ranged from 3.44 × 10 − 5 in the public transport system to 8.80 × 10 − 4 in preschools. Our findings highlight the necessity of integrating more measurement data after IAQM Act implementation and formulating management strategies based on risk assessments for future investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, smart intersections have emerged as a novel intelligent transportation system (ITS) solution that integrates traffic monitoring, optimal signal control, and even traffic safety. Although smart intersections have been prevalent in many cities, there are a few drawbacks in their practical operations. First, there are inevitable delays in transmitting and processing the video data. Second, there is still a need to develop a real-time signal control method leveraging the acquired data from smart intersections. Thus, this study aims to construct edge AI-based smart intersections and to provide their application for traffic signal coordination. To this end, we install smart intersections on three consecutive intersections of Route 45 in Pyeongtaek city, South Korea. The real-time traffic data are collected by an edge AI video analysis model which is compressed and optimized for its operation in on-site edge devices. The optimized model maintains a similar level of accuracy (93.64%), even if the size is reduced by 97.8% compared to the original. Next, we utilize the LT2 model to treat the coordination failure problem in nonpeak hours occurring unnecessary delays of the side-streets with relatively high demands. We complement some constraint conditions in order to consider the compatibility with the current legacy system. The experiment is conducted on a virtual environment of which geometry and traffic demand are configured based on the features of the study site. The numerical results conclude that the optimal offsets calculated by the LT2 model effectively manage bandwidths for multidirectional flows based on the real-time traffic demands collected from the edge AI-based smart intersections. This study contributes to serve high-resolution real-time traffic data using edge AI on smart intersections and to provide a case study for signal coordination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A lot of mobile applications which provided location information by using a location-based service are being developed recently. For instance, a smart phone would find my location and destination by running a program using a GPS chip in a device. However, the information leakage and the crime thatmisused the leaked information caused by the cyberattack of mobile information system occurred. So the interest and importance of information security are increasing. Also the number of users who has used mobile devices in Korea is increasing, and the security of mobile devices is becoming more important. Snort detection system has been used to detect and handle cyberattacks but the policy of Snort detection system is applied differently for each of the different kinds of equipment. It is expected that the security of mobile information system would be improved and information leakage would be blocked by selecting options through optimization of Snort detection policy to protect users who are using location-based service in mobile information system environment in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the emergence of deep learning-based chatbots for knowledge services, numerous research and development projects have been conducted in various industries. A high demand for chatbots has drastically increased the global market size; however, the limited functional scalability of open-domain chatbots is a challenge to their application to industries. Moreover, as most chatbot frameworks employ English, it is necessary to create chatbots customized for other languages. To address this problem, this paper proposes KoRASA as a pipeline-optimization method, which uses a deep learning-based open-source chatbot framework to understand the Korean language. KoRASA is a closed-domain chatbot that is applicable across a wide range of industries in Korea. KoRASA's operation consists of four stages: tokenization, featurization, intent classification, and entity extraction. The accuracy and F1-score of KoRASA were measured based on datasets taken from common tasks carried out in most industrial fields. The algorithm for intent classification and entity extraction was optimized. The accuracy and F1-score were 98.2% and 98.4% for intent classification and 97.4% and 94.7% for entity extraction, respectively. Furthermore, these results are better than those achieved by existing models. Accordingly, KoRASA can be applied to various industries, including mobile services based on closed-domain chatbots using Korean, robotic process automation (RPA), edge computing, and Internet of Energy (IoE) services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bereaved mothers with a deep bond to their sick child experience a distinct grieving process. This study delved into how Korean bereaved mothers come to terms with their child's death from cancer by exploring their bereavement and adaptation processes. In-depth interviews with 15 bereaved mothers yielded 14 subthemes within three overarching themes. These themes included the diverse coping mechanisms employed by the participants, attribution of meaning to their children's deaths, and personal growth intertwined with their experiences. These findings underscore the critical need for professional support to assist these mothers in their search for meaning and coping with the loss, particularly in the context of the unique cultural context of Korea. Understanding cultural variations is crucial for expanding the knowledge base in this field and advancing culturally informed interventions to support mothers who grapple with the loss of a child due to cancer across varied cultural settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tick-borne virus detection in livestock and slaughterhouse animals has recently surged in the United States and Europe. Although cases of patients with tick-borne illnesses have been reported in Korea, food contamination from tick-borne viruses has yet to be investigated. Therefore, this study investigated severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), and Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) prevalence in meat and dairy products. A total of 628 products were collected from a Korean retail market during 2021–2022, including 195 beef, 130 goats, 90 lambs, 61 pork, 50 chicken, and 38 commercial cheese samples. In addition, 64 raw cow milk samples were collected from a ranch in Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, from 2021 to 2022. Real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-nPCR), virus cultivation, and sequence analysis were conducted. SFTSV was detected in 1.53% (3/195) beef and 0.76% (1/130) goat meat samples with a low Ct value titer from 33.18 to 38.60. In contrast, SFTSV was neither detected in lamb, pork, chicken, raw milk, or cheese samples nor were TBEV and CCHFV detected in any of the tested samples. Although no existing cases or studies have indicated SFTSV transmittance through food, this study confirmed SFTSV genotype B RNA in SFTSV-positive meat samples. Therefore, monitoring for and evaluating SFTSV-contaminated meat products must be investigated in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kori Unit 1 was permanently shut down on June 18, 2017. Since then, Korea is actively preparing for the decommissioning of the nuclear power plant. Because decommissioning work is performed in a radioactive environment, worker radiation exposure is a significant consideration. In this study, worker radiation exposure is evaluated during the steam generator, one of the heavy components of nuclear power plant, dismantling process. A radiation evaluation for the dismantling process is performed using the code RESRAD-BUILD. A steam generator dismantling scenario and optimal cutting method are designed to evaluate worker radiation exposure, considering pipe dimensions, cutting tool speed, and experience in steam generator replacement. The evaluation results are derived for each work type and year. As a result of the evaluation, worker radiation exposure is 7.5 man-mSv at the year of planned decommissioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We estimated the inhaled and deposited dose in humans using the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) and multiple-path particle dosimetry (MPPD) models following exposure to humidifier disinfectant containing polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG). The disinfectant has caused at least 1,810 deaths, with an odds ratio of lung injury of 47.3 (95% confidence interval: 6.1–369.7), because of its application in Korea. In this study, the Oxy product, which is regarded as the causative agent of most lung diseases, was sprayed into a cleanroom at normal (6.5 ppm in solution) and worst case (65 ppm in solution) dilutions; the airborne aerosol was monitored with direct reading instruments. Areas of deposition were divided into the head airway, tracheobronchial, and alveolar regions. Four dose scenarios were considered in this study: adults and children in both daily average and sleep conditions. Most PHMG aerosols were smaller than PM1 (96%). Number-based concentration analysis showed that <100 nm nanoparticles comprised 81% and 69% of the aerosol when the 6.5 and 65 ppm solutions were used, respectively. In all scenarios, the number-based deposited dose increased in the order of alveolar, tracheobronchial, and head airway regions; the mass-based deposited dose increased in the order of the head airway, alveolar, and tracheobronchial regions. The deposited dose per unit body weight was higher in children than in adults in terms of both number- and mass-based concentrations. When the humidifier was sprayed, the highest number-based concentration was found at a particle size of 15.4 nm; the highest deposition fraction or dose by PM1 was observed in the pulmonary and head airways in both models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Boston Scientific INGEVITY+ pacing lead (Boston Scientific, Marlborough, MA, USA) has been upgraded to INGEVITY. The performance of the INGEVITY+ pacing lead has not yet been reported. This study aimed to evaluate the short- and long-term safety, effectiveness, and handling experience of INGEVITY+ leads. Methods. Consecutive patients were included from 9 institutions in Korea, where 400 leads (200 right ventricular active fixation leads and 200 right atrial active fixation leads) were implanted or attempted in 200 subjects. Results. During the implantation, only one patient required a lead change because of lead screw failure. The handling questionnaires of the lead received very positive feedback with 88% of operators agreeing that it is easy for leads to pass through small vessels or vessels with multiple leads. At the 3-month follow-up, 95.7% of RA leads and 99.5% of RV leads had pacing thresholds less than 1.5 V. A total of 92.4% of atrial leads had amplitudes greater than 1.5 mV, and 96.5% of ventricular leads had sensing amplitudes greater than 5 mV at 3 months. A total of 99.8% had impedances between 300 and 1,300 ohms. The lead-related complication-free rate for all leads during follow-up was 100%, and the overall rates of lead dislodgment, perforation, and pericardial effusion were all 0.0%. Conclusions. The INGEVITY+ pacing lead exhibited exceptional clinical performance, with a high complication-free rate throughout the 3-month follow-up period. In addition, the lead displayed excellent electrical characteristics, and the lead-handling experience was reported to be very good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of biological products has experienced continuous growth over the past three decades. The expiration of patent protection for many biological medicines has led to the development of biosimilars in many countries around the world. This paper reviews the literature on biosimilar drugs and covers their therapeutic status, clinical trials, approved biosimilars, and regulatory guidelines in Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia. The literature suggests that biosimilars are comparable but not identical to the reference product. They are not a generic version of an innovative product and do not ensure therapeutic equivalence. Biosimilars present more challenges than conventional generics and their marketing approval is also much more complicated. Guidelines for biosimilars were published in Japan in July 2009 by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), in South Korea in March 2009 by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), and in Malaysia in July 2008 by the National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau (NPCB). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the SIR epidemiological model for the COVID-19 with unknown parameters is considered in the first strategy. Three curves (S , I , and R) are fitted to the real data of South Korea, based on a detailed analysis of the actual data of South Korea, taken from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Using the least square method and minimizing the error between the fitted curve and the actual data, unknown parameters, like the transmission rate, recovery rate, and mortality rate, are estimated. The goodness of fit model is investigated with two criteria (SSE and RMSE), and the uncertainty range of the estimated parameters is also presented. Also, using the obtained determined model, the possible ending time and the turning point of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States are predicted. Due to the lack of treatment and vaccine, in the next strategy, a new group called quarantined people is added to the proposed model. Also, a hidden state, including asymptomatic individuals, which is very common in COVID-19, is considered to make the model more realistic and closer to the real world. Then, the SIR model is developed into the SQAIR model. The delay in the recovery of the infected person is also considered as an unknown parameter. Like the previous steps, the possible ending time and the turning point in the United States are predicted. The model obtained in each strategy for South Korea is compared with the actual data from KDCA to prove the accuracy of the estimation of the parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bad weather conditions can affect normal driving by substantially hindering visibility. Among all adverse weather conditions, road freezing is probably the most dangerous to drivers because slippery roads reduce surface friction and can lead to loss of vehicle control. This paper evaluates driver preference of receiving real-time road freezing risk information and explores the factors that would most influence drivers' trust in a future road freezing information service. A survey was conducted in the metropolitan areas of South Korea during January and February 2019. The survey was completed by 231 driver's license holders of 18 years or older, and the results were used for statistical analysis. According to the survey results, the variable message sign (VMS) is a very important system from the perspective of public benefit. Car-navigation systems are preferred for age categories of 21∼30 and over 50. In addition, ordinal regression was used to analyze the causal relationship between the level of trust regarding road freezing risk information and its controlling factors. The ordered log odds of drivers with previous accident experience due to slippery roads exhibit a higher level of trust in road freezing risk information because the coefficient is positive. Moreover, drivers with a constant commute time show a lower level of trust in road freezing risk information. These findings provide a foundation for planning the scope of future road freezing risk information service, as well as the specific service targets and type of information, especially during the winter season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to identify factors affecting the noise management performance of adult intensive care unit (ICU) nurses in Korea. The ICU environment is exposed to various types of noises due to the use of medical devices for the treatment of critically ill patients. The noise has an adverse effect on nurses' health and their nursing performance, which might potentially threaten patient safety. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a total of 148 nurses working in adult ICUs from two university hospitals in Korea. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires, which included various aspects such as noise knowledge, response to noise, patient safety culture, and noise management performance. Multiple regression analysis revealed that teamwork (β = 0.33, p = 0.004), patient safety policy, and procedure (β = 0.25, p = 0.037), which were subscales of patient safety culture, as well as frequency of noise experience (β = 0.16, p = 0.030) were significant factors affecting adult ICU nurses' performance of noise management. This study provides a significant basis for promoting adult ICU nurses' performance in noise management. A structured policy and procedure for noise management should be established for reducing noise in adult ICUs. In terms of nursing education, it is necessary to consider and develop team-based training programs to promote noise management performance in the ICU. Nurse managers and nursing organizations should consider how to create conditions in which nurses can recognize the importance of noise reduction and perform well in noise management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate photovoltaic (PV) power forecasting is essential for the stable and reliable operation of PV power generation systems. Recently, various deep learning- (DL-) based forecasting models have been proposed for accurate forecasting, but newly built systems cannot benefit from them due to the absence of PV power data. Although zero-shot methods based on single site can be used for PV power forecasting, they suffer from performance degradation problems when the characteristics of the source data and target data are different. To address this issue, we propose a novel zero-shot PV power forecasting scheme that leverages historical data from multiple PV generation systems at different sites. The proposed scheme constructs an individual forecasting model using historical data from each PV generation system. Then, two correlation coefficients are calculated for each forecasting model: one based on the correlation between the input variables of the source data and target data and the other on the correlation between the input variables and output variables of the source data. Lastly, the final forecasting value is calculated as a weighted sum of the predicted values of the constructed forecasting models for the input variables of the target data. In the extensive experiments for diverse DL models for forecasting, correlation coefficient types for weights, and data time intervals, the combination of recurrent neural network, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and solar-noon time yielded the best prediction performance, with an improvement of up to 34.47% in mean absolute error and up to 15.94% in root mean square error compared to the best single-site zero-shot prediction. In addition, in experiments on PV power data from 9 cities in Korea using this combination, the proposed scheme achieved the best predictive performance in almost all cases and the second-best performance with a very narrow margin only in a few cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. People with disabilities face considerable obstacles when exercising, which precludes them from the social and health benefits of physical activity. Especially for individuals with paraplegia with spinal cord injuries, it is necessary to maintain continuous participation in physical activity even after discharge, as it helps to maintain mobility and daily living activities through upper body strength. However, the participation rate of people with disabilities in physical activity in Korea is still low, mainly due to the lack of exercise equipment and facilities. Objectives. The aim of this study is to identify aspects that can be improved for better accessibility to exercise equipment for individuals with paraplegia with spinal cord injuries and to reach a consensus on possible guidelines for accessible exercise equipment. Methods. This study reviews and evaluated the usability of four existing upper-body exercise equipment for individuals with paraplegia with spinal cord injuries. To assess usability, task performance scores and time were measured, and a survey was conducted on safety and satisfaction. Based on these results, areas for improvement were identified. Through literature review, usability results, and opinions from various stakeholders, eight requirements for universal accessibility were proposed. Results. It is necessary to consider how wheelchair users access the exercise equipment. The access method to the exercise area (facility regulations, auxiliary equipment to be provided, etc.) and placement of exercise equipment should also be considered. Information such as explanations of the exercise equipment and how to use it should be located within the wheelchair user's field of vision. Considering the participation rate in sports for people with disabilities in Korea, it is necessary to explain the exact exercise equipment and exercise method. It is also necessary to consider how wheelchair users transfer from the wheelchair to the seat of the exercise equipment. Parts that require manipulation of each exercise equipment must be within the wheelchair user's range of motion. Various supports or assistive devices that provide body support according to each piece of equipment are needed. In addition to the wheelchair's own brake, it is necessary to provide a fixing device so that the wheelchair does not move during the exercise. Conclusion. For people with spinal cord injuries, the arm ergometer, aerobic exercise equipment, showed higher scores in performance, stability, and satisfaction compared to other exercise equipment. Among the strength exercise equipment, shoulder press had an effect on performance, seated lat pull-down had an effect on stability, and seated chest press had an effect on satisfaction. Therefore, when selecting exercise equipment, it is necessary to recommend aerobic and strength exercise equipment according to the preferences of people with spinal cord injuries. When developing strength exercise equipment, it is necessary to consider usability evaluation factors for individuals with spinal cord injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. This study aimed to explore the influencing factors to the practice of cardiovascular disease (CVD) preventive behaviors among rural residents based on socio-ecological model (SEM). Methods. We used a mixed-methods research using the sequential explanatory design. From a total of 109 participants, quantitative data including CVD preventive behavior, self-efficacy, social support, and sense of community were collected using previously developed measurement tools. For quantitative research, descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis were conducted. For quantitative research, descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis were conducted. Questions for qualitative research were constructed based on SEM for the three subareas identified in quantitative research. Qualitative content analysis was conducted on qualitative data collected through focus group interviews from 14 participants. Results. According to quantitative research results, participants had a low level of practice in physical exercise, stress management, and self-checking among seven subdomains. At the individual level, self-efficacy was positively correlated with sleep management, and at the interpersonal level, family support was positively correlated with smoking cessation and support from significant others was positively correlated with stress management. On the other hand, at the community level, sense of community did not show significant correlation with the practice of cardiovascular disease prevention. Next, according to qualitative research results, 8 themes were identified in three levels as obstacles. At the personal level, overwork, loneliness, and lack of knowledge about CVD; at the interpersonal and community level, decreased activities with residents due to increased individualistic tendencies and decreased sense of community; and at the community environmental level, inconvenience of sidewalks, lack of community space, and insufficient functioning of village health clinics. Conclusion. In order to reduce obstacles to health behavior practice to prevent cardiovascular disease, multidimensional efforts are needed in terms of socio-ecological aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the case of asphalt pavement construction, better smoothing and reliable material performance acquisition are essential. In South Korea, the next-generation asphalt pavement-smoothing technology, known as the noncontact digital ski (NCDS), started to be used in expressway construction in 2018, making this system an essential tool in the paving industry. The present work thoroughly assessed how employing the NCDS system affected the response of the pavement material at low temperatures. Portions of paved roads with and without NCDS were assessed for the international roughness index (IRI, m/km). The development of thermal stress propagation was then examined using the bending beam rheometer on asphalt samples from the road. Based on straightforward visual and statistical analysis, it was discovered that using NCDS produces significantly lower IRI and reduced thermal stress, which raises the possibility that using NCDS has the potential for better low-temperatures predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. This study aimed to (a) examine the relationship between staff nurses' perceptions of patient safety rules and procedures and their patient safety performance and (b) investigate potential mediators of this relationship. Background. Implementation of effective management interventions to improve patient safety requires knowledge of the extent to which nurses' perceptions of a hospital's rules and procedures regarding patient safety affect their patient safety performance. Methods. This correlational study involved a secondary analysis of cross-sectional survey data collected from 1,053 staff nurses in South Korea. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the proposed mediation model. Five standardized measures were used to assess key study variables: patient safety compliance, patient safety participation, nurses' perceptions of patient safety rules and procedures, communication about errors, and coworker support. Cronbach's alpha values for the scales ranged from 0.82 to 0.90. Results. Nurses' perceptions regarding the usefulness and effectiveness of rules and procedures about patient safety were positively related to their patient safety performance, measured in terms of safety compliance and participation behaviors. Communication about errors and coworker support showed significant mediating effects on these relationships. Conclusions. The findings indicate that the implementation of effective and useful rules and procedures for improving patient safety would facilitate error communication and coworker support, enhancing nurses' patient safety performance. Implications for Nursing Management. Hospital administrators and nurse managers should consider how they can foster conditions in which nurses perceive rules and procedures regarding patient safety as useful and effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Korea, municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment is conducted by converting wastes into energy resources using the mechanical biological treatment (MBT). The small size MSW to be separated from raw MSW by mechanical treatment (MT) is generally treated by biological treatment that consists of high composition of food residue and paper and so forth. In this research, the hydrothermal treatment was applied to treat the surrogate MT residue composed of paper and/or kimchi. It was shown that the hydrothermal treatment increased the calorific value of the surrogate MT residue due to increasing fixed carbon content and decreasing oxygen content and enhanced the dehydration and drying performances of kimchi. Comparing the results of paper and kimchi samples, the calorific value of the treated product from paper was increased more effectively due to its high content of cellulose. Furthermore, the change of the calorific value before and after the hydrothermal treatment of the mixture of paper and kimchi can be well predicted by this change of paper and kimchi only. The hydrothermal treatment can be expected to effectively convert high moisture MT residue into a uniform solid fuel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the technical efficiency of shippers using data envelopment analysis (DEA) techniques. The data including 7365 shipping firms in Korea collected from the 2005 commodity flow survey were used in the analysis. Several DEA models were applied to determine efficiency scores based on both input- and output-orientations which each includes variable returns, constant returns, and non-increasing returns models. Accordingly, the technical and scale efficiency scores of each evaluated shipper in the same industry were measured and the best-practice firms for each industry were identified. Further, in order to handle the number of observed decision units and the diversity of data, the paper performed the cluster-base analysis, including industry-, business-, and spatial-based, to identify the effectiveness of the cluster-based DEA in estimating the efficiency score. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insampaedok-san (IS) has traditionally been prescribed as a medication for cold-related symptoms in Northeast Asia, including Korea and China. In this study, we focused on elucidating the molecular mechanism underlying the immunomodulatory activity of IS water extract (ISE) in macrophages. ISE significantly enhanced the levels of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) by increasing the expression of inducible NO synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in a dose-dependent manner. ISE, which consists of many herbs, contains a large number of active compounds whose pharmacological targets and mechanisms are complicated. Therefore, network pharmacology analysis was used to predict the potential key components, targets, and mechanisms of ISE as immunomodulators. Subsequently, the network pharmacology results were validated experimentally. Seven key components were identified through HPLC-QTOF-MS. As predicted by the network pharmacology analysis, ISE increased the mRNA expression of Tnf and Il6. Furthermore, ISE increased the phosphorylation, nuclear translocation, and transcriptional activity of the p65 subunit of the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling pathway. In contrast, rapamycin, an NF-κB inhibitor, suppressed the ISE-induced mRNA expression of Tnf and Il6. In conclusion, ISE is an immune activator that can elevate the production of NO, PGE2, and proinflammatory cytokines mediated by NF-κB signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the perceptions and experiences of Korean occupational therapists (OTs) about their role in managing elderly patients with orthopedic conditions. The goal is to inform policy discussions for better integration of OT services in orthopedic care settings in Korea. A survey was conducted among Korean clinical OTs to gather data on their perceptions, experiences, and challenges in providing orthopedic OT services. Snowball sampling was used, and the survey addressed general characteristics, orthopedic OT status, perceptions, and competence. The data were analyzed using frequency and percentage calculations in SPSS 22.0. Out of 171 respondents, only 18 had experience working in orthopedic departments, while 78 (45.6%) had provided occupational therapy to orthopedic patients. Rehabilitation medicine physicians were the primary prescribers of orthopedic OT. Key challenges included a lack of awareness among professionals, an absence of appropriate fees, and insufficient knowledge among OTs. The majority of respondents agreed that providing OT in orthopedic departments was appropriate and expressed a need for education and clinical guidelines. The study examines the current state of orthopedic OT in Korea, showing low levels of experience and highlighting challenges, such as a lack of professional awareness, inadequate fees, and insufficient knowledge among OTs. Respondents mostly agreed on the necessity for education and clinical guidelines to improve their capabilities in orthopedic settings. This study emphasizes the need for healthcare system improvements that allow OTs to participate more widely without being confined to specific medical disciplines, promoting a more comprehensive approach to OT, especially as the aging population continues to grow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. This study examined the influence of nurse staffing level, measured using various methods, on nurses' perceived adequacy of nurse staffing level, fatigue, and nursing care quality. Background. Although previous studies have recommended various methods of measuring nurse staffing level, there is a lack of research that compares different measurement methods or considers nurses' perceptions of staffing level on a daily basis. Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional study using work sampling and the questionnaire method in a general hospital in South Korea from July 18 to August 14, 2022. Results based on responses from 90 nurses and scores of 5,536 inpatients derived from the Korean Patient Classification System were included in the analysis. Results. The average nurse-to-patient ratio a day was 1 : 3.20, and the registered nursing hours per patient day was 2.35. Perceived insufficient nurse staffing and fatigue were higher on weekdays than on weekends (p < 0.001). All variables measuring the nurse staffing level affected the nurses' perceived inadequacy of nurse staffing level, fatigue, and nursing care quality, compared to other variables related to nurse staffing level, such as work intensity and demanding nursing hours per nurse (R2: 0.19–0.31), the nurse-to-patient ratio had the lowest explanatory power in explaining the nurses' perceptions (R2: 0.14–0.18). Conclusions. Nurse staffing level measurement should consider the acuity of inpatients and nursing care time. Further research is needed to utilize nurses' perceptions of the appropriate nurse staffing level. Implications for Nursing Management. Efforts are required to maintain an appropriate nurse staffing level through continuous monitoring of nurses' perceptions and acuity of inpatients to preserve nurses' alertness during work and improve nursing care quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The home environment is increasingly emphasized as a key factor in home falls among frail older people. In this study, we aimed at exploring and synthesizing empirical studies that considered the environmental factors of home falls among frail older people. We performed a systematic review to draw comprehensive conclusions regarding these environmental factors by searching MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, and Cochrane Library, as well as gray literature databases. Intervention and nonintervention studies that specifically reported home environmental factors related to falls in community-dwelling frail older people aged 65 years and over were selected. Of the 8374 studies initially retrieved, seven intervention and seven nonintervention studies were included in the analysis. In seven of the 14 studies, environmental hazards were evaluated using relevant assessment tools. Interventions were provided for the bathroom/toilet, bedroom, living room, and for slipping and tripping, identified as frequent fall locations and situations, respectively, through nonintervention studies. The most common intervention was to provide advice/counseling and disseminate information to enhance knowledge after visiting the home and evaluating the home environmental factors that could affect falls. In the majority of the studies, the intervention was of a multicomponent nature, and in only two intervention studies was there practical modification of the home environment to lower the fall risk. In all the four studies with statistically significant results, the intervention was provided by a multidisciplinary team. Through this review, we identified environmental factors for home falls, helping clinicians and health professionals gain a better understanding of the situation to prevent recurrence in frail older people who have experienced falls. The findings indicate that comprehensive standardized environmental evaluations should be conducted considering older people's functional characteristics and needs and that the intervention process requires the participation of older people with a multidisciplinary team. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2012, the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine proposed an objective and comprehensive physical diagnostic model to address quantification problems in the existing Sasang constitutional diagnostic method. However, certain issues have been raised regarding a revision of the proposed diagnostic model. In this paper, we propose various methodological approaches to address the problems of the previous diagnostic model. Firstly, more useful variables are selected in each component. Secondly, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator is used to reduce multicollinearity without the modification of explanatory variables. Thirdly, proportions of SC types and age are considered to construct individual diagnostic models and classify the training set and the test set for reflecting the characteristics of the entire dataset. Finally, an integrated model is constructed with explanatory variables of individual diagnosis models. The proposed integrated diagnostic model significantly improves the sensitivities for both the male SY type (36.4% → 62.0%) and the female SE type (43.7% → 64.5%), which were areas of limitation of the previous integrated diagnostic model. The ideas of these new algorithms are expected to contribute not only to the scientific development of Sasang constitutional medicine in Korea but also to that of other diagnostic methods for traditional medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transportation-disadvantaged population is rapidly increasing through aging; moreover, the mobility of the elderly has increased due to life expectancy improvements and lifestyle changes. To respond to these changes, a customized mobility service specifically tailored to the travel patterns of the elderly was developed in this study. In particular, an autonomous shuttle service that can improve the operational efficiency and the accessibility of existing transportation methods was proposed by considering the travel characteristics of elderly people, who mainly travel short distances. To this end, a study was conducted in Seongnam City, Republic of Korea, where mobility support services for the elderly are insufficient. Using smart card data, the elderly were classified according to their travel patterns, with autonomous shuttle routes suggested for each travel purpose. We derived four clusters via the Gaussian mixture model clustering, with travel purposes classified according to the spatiotemporal travel patterns. Finally, the major routes for each travel purpose were selected, and feasible road paths for autonomous shuttle operation were suggested using the concept of ODD (operational design domain). This holistic methodology is expected to contribute to the development of autonomous mobility services for the elderly and for the establishment of welfare policies based on the smart card data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stagnant water in asphalt-overlaid bridge decks is a primary cause of deterioration. Rainwater seeping through the asphalt layer stagnates on waterproofing membranes of the bridge deck, consequently degrading the asphalt pavement and the underlying concrete deck. Thus, identifying ponding regions under pavements potentially containing water can facilitate the prognostic maintenance of bridge decks. This study proposes a framework to estimate the subsurface ponding zone in bridge decks using ground-penetrating radar (GPR). The depth distribution of the nonpermeable layer in the subsurface of the bridge is extracted (depth map) from the GPR C-scan using a conventional thickness evaluation method and used to build a bathymetric dendrogram to model subsurface water flows. The subsurface ponding zone can be identified by considering drainage on the bathymetric dendrogram. The proposed framework is demonstrated using an in-service bridge in Korea. The estimated subsurface ponding zone is compared with damage locations of concrete observed after hydrodemolition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developments in next-generation wireless transmission technology and efficient frequency-use research are based on understanding the characteristics of the exact radio channel. With regard to developments in next-generationmobile communication systems, performance verification of the development system is essential, for which it is necessary to estimate the exact wireless-space channel. This paper presents results of the analysis of radio propagation characteristics based on location variation in outdoor environments for small-cell 5th generation (5G) mobile systems. Changes due to variation in location were measured using a channel sounder in a microcell environment with a 0.5 km radius in Korea. In order to analyze the propagation characteristics, the best distribution model reflecting the characteristics of the locations was derived. A comparison between actualmeasurements and three-dimensional ray-tracing simulation results confirmed the validity of the measurement result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]