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In addition to physical risks such as electrical, chemical, and mechanic ones in the workplace, psychosocial risks are also raising as an important issue in recent years in connection with human rights and work-life balance policies. The purpose of this study is to confirm the degree of effect of the psychosocial risk management plan at the workplace on workers through logistic regression analysis. Input data for logistic regression analysis is the results of a survey of 4,558 people conducted by the Institute for Occupational Safety and Health were used. There are 9 independent variables, including the change a workplace and confidential counseling, and the dependent variable is whether the worker feels the effect on the psychosocial risk management plan. As a result of this study, changes in work organization, dispute resolution procedures, provision of education program, notification of the impact of psychosocial risks on safety and health, and the persons in charge of solving psychosocial problems are shown effective in reducing worker’s psychosocial risks. This study drives which of the management plans implemented to reduce the psychosocial risk of workers in the workplace are effective, so it can contribute to the development of psychosocial risk management plans in the future.

Bcl-2-interacting cell death suppressor (BIS), also called as BAG3, regulates numerous physiological processes, such as apoptosis, protein quality control, and senescence. Whole-body Bis-knockout (KO) mice exhibit early lethality following cardiac and skeletal muscle dysfunction. The first attempt to generate organ-specific knockout mice resulted in constitutive or inducible heart-specific Bis-knockout mice, which exhibited cardiac dilation and underwent premature death. Here, we generated hepatocyte-specific Bis-knockout (Bis-HKO) mice and found no abnormalities in metabolic function and survival. However, depletion of HSPB8 and accumulation of p62 indicated impaired autophagy in Bis-HKO livers. Interestingly, the number of peroxisomes wrapped by phagophore membranes increased as evidenced by transmission electron microscopy analysis, indicating defects in the progression of pexophagy. In addition, increased dihydroethidine intensities and histone H3 K9me3-positive nuclei indicated increased oxidative stress and senescence induction in Bis-HKO livers. Mechanistically, p27 was upregulated in Bis-HKO livers. In SNU368 hepatocellular carcinoma cells, BIS depletion led to p27 upregulation, and increase in histone H3 K9me3 levels and senescence-associated β-galactosidase staining; therefore, reproducing the in vivo senescence phenotype. Despite the observation of no metabolic abnormalities, BIS depletion led to defective autophagy, increased oxidative stress, and senescence in Bis-HKO livers. Collectively, our results suggest a role for BIS in maintaining liver regeneration potential under pathological conditions.

The steroid hormones act by binding to their receptors and subsequently interacting with coactivators. Several classes of coactivators have been identified and shown to be essential in estradiol (E2) responsiveness. The major coregulators are the p160 steroid receptor coactivator (SRC) family. Although the function of SRCs in other organs has been well studied, it has not been thoroughly studied in the placenta. In addition, the correlation between preeclampsia (PE) and SRCs has not been examined previously. Therefore, we compared the expression patterns of SRCs in normal and PE placentas. In human PE placental tissues, SRC-1 mRNA, and protein levels were downregulated in the PE group. In addition, to assess the expression of SRCs in a PE environment, we used Reduced Uterine Perfusion Pressure (RUPP) model and placental cells were cultured in hypoxia condition. SRC-1 proteins were reduced in the placenta of PE-like rat RUPP model. Furthermore, SRCs proteins were significantly downregulated in hypoxia-grown placental cells. To examine the interaction between estrogen receptors (ERs) and SRC-1 protein, we performed co-immunoprecipitation. The interaction of SRC-1 with ERα was significantly stronger than that with ERβ. In PE placenta, the interaction of both ERα and ERβ with SRC-1 was stronger than that in normal placenta. In summary, our results demonstrate that expression levels of SRC-1, not SRC-2 and SRC-3, were decreased in hypoxia-induced PE placenta, which may further reduce the signaling of sex steroid hormones such as E2. The dysregulated signaling of E2 by SRC-1 expression could be associated with the PE placental symptoms of patients.

Anterior gradient protein 2 homolog (AGR2), an endoplasmic reticulum protein, is secreted in the tumor microenvironment. AGR2 is a member of the disulfide isomerase family, is highly expressed in multiple cancers, and promotes cancer metastasis. In this study, we found that etravirine, which is a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, could induce AGR2 degradation via autophagy. Moreover, etravirine diminished proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro. Moreover, in an orthotopic xenograft mouse model, the combination of etravirine and paclitaxel significantly suppressed cancer progression and metastasis. This drug may be a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of ovarian cancer.

The customer of massage chair is expanding day by day from middle age to all ages. In 2018, the market size was 700 billion KRW, an increase of 30 times over 10 years. However, most related SMEs suffer from excessive competition by the market monopoly of some major companies. In this situation, in order for a related company to survive, it is necessary to steadily research and develop new products. Founded in 2009, company L produces massage chairs for health and relaxation of customers. L’s products use a sound wave vibration module that is favorable for human body, unlike other products that use vibration motor type. However, frequent breakdowns of massage chair due to the vulnerability of plate (leaf) springs, which play an important role in sound wave vibration modules, made sap its competitiveness. In this paper, we propose a method to design desirable plate spring structure by sequentially experimenting with five different plate springs. The results of this study are expected to contribute to improve the quality of plate spring and the reliability of sound wave vibration module. In the future, it is necessary to find a way to use it in the development of foot massage or scalp management device as well as continuous research to find optimal plate spring structure through various analysis.

Automobiles are largely divided into passenger cars with less than five passengers and commercial vehicles such as construction machines, trucks, mixers, special lorries, and large buses. Automobile maintenance companies are also divided into passenger cars and commercial vehicles. Because commercial vehicles are the livelihood vehicles of individual carriers engaged in cargo transportation, passenger transportation, and construction, fast and accurate maintenance is important. Access to the expressway is also important because the car is large and uses highways. In addition, the time required for troubleshooting is long, so sufficient space must be secured for parking the vehicle, and ease of entry and exit of the vehicle in the maintenance shop should be fully considered. For this reason, commercial vehicle maintenance companies have higher initial investment costs than car maintenance companies, and it is difficult to supply and maintain maintenance personnel. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully examine and analyze various related factors for successful commercial vehicle maintenance company selection. However, most existing commercial vehicle maintenance companies often choose their location based on the empirical judgment of the founder, the customs and the case, without a clear analysis. In this study, we show how to derive the location selection factors to be considered when establishing professional maintenance company for commercial vehicles and to select the optimal location by using AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) method.

Women and men share similar diseases; however, women have unique issues, including gynecologic diseases and diseases related to menstruation, menopause, and post menopause. In recent decades, scientists paid more attention to natural products and their derivatives because of their good tolerability and effectiveness in disease prevention and treatment. Olive oil is an essential component in the Mediterranean diet, a diet well known for its protective impact on human well-being. Investigation of the active components in olive oil, such as oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol, showed positive effects in various diseases. Their effects have been clarified in many suggested mechanisms and have shown promising results in animal and human studies, especially in breast cancer, ovarian cancer, postmenopausal osteoporosis, and other disorders. This review summarizes the current evidence of the role of olives and olive polyphenols in women’s health issues and their potential implications in the treatment and prevention of health problems in women.

Recently, automobile manufacturing companies, which are major customers of them, are requiring IATF 16949 (ISO/TS 16949) certification as a mandatory requirement to secure product quality. In particular, IATF 16949 : 2016, revised in October 2016, was reinforced product traceability requirements for production information management by lot in the production process. Therefore, small and medium-sized precision parts processing companies in the automobile industry are very difficult to survive due to quality and price competition for customers satisfaction.MES (Manufacturing Execution System) is required to solve this problem. However, small and medium sized precision parts processing enterprises are reluctant to introduce the MES which is not suitable for the manufacturing environment of them such as high cost and low utilization. Even if the system is introduced, it is difficult to operate and maintain the system because the lack of computer manpower.In this paper, we propose a method for building a lot tracking system for small and medium precision parts processing companies by reviewing relevant literature and analyzing cases. In addition, by managing the production history for each lot of the final product in the system, we will grasp the effect of reducing the quality failure cost obtained by minimizing the range of defect selection.

Domestic SMEs play a key role in production and employment, accounting for 98.9% of total enterprises, 74.4% of employment, 50.8% of production, and 49.0% of value added (as of 2016). However, they are faced with difficulties of survival because of continuous decrease in profitability, shortage of funds and manpower, insufficient accumulation of technology, minimum wage increase, and 52-hour workweek. In order for SMEs to continue to develop in such a difficult environment, we must constantly innovate our organization by making full use of our knowledge, information, experience and ability. To do this, CEO (management) leadership is very important to ensure that the best people are focused on the organizational innovation and management performance without moving the company. In this study, we wanted to establish empirically how the newly emerging compassionate rationalism leadership of SMEs business managers affected the innovation activities and management performance of companies. Research has shown that management’s compassionate rationalism leadership has a positive and significant causal relationship with the innovation activities and management performance of the enterprise. Therefore, SMEs managers need to learn the bottom eight strategic factors of compassionate rationalism leadership and use them strategically to make efforts to create positive emotions for the organization so that members can be immersed in innovative activities and management performance creation.

The population of domestic companion animals is estimated to be about 10 million now. In recent years, the domestic pet market has been launching a wide range of products and services for high quality, smart and well-being. As a result, the market size will increase from 900 billion won in 2012 to 2.3 trillion won in 2016, which has more than doubled in five years. The industry expects to reach 6 trillion won by 2020, expecting 3 trillion won this year. In particular, domestic dogs and cats market is estimated at 275.5 billion won, accounting for 19% of the domestic animal market and 1.425 billion won for the world market. However, despite the growing market for companion animals products, unfortunately the import dependence on related industrial goods is still high and the quality of service is very low. Unlike Europe and the United States, 90% of companion animals are housed in apartments, often causing problems in the health and safety of companions and companions. The purpose of this study is to develop a smart house for companion animals with environmental friendliness and AI function that can be won in competition with products of developed countries. The results of this study are expected to contribute to the creation of a new value - added base for the related industries through the strengthening of the competitiveness of the related SMEs and further the effect of employment increase and import substitution.

Angiogenesis plays a critical role in embryo development, tissue repair, tumor growth and wound healing. In the present study, we investigated the role of the serine/threonine kinase Akt in angiogenesis. Silencing of Akt1 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells significantly inhibited vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)‐induced capillary‐like tube formation. Mice lacking Akt1 exhibited impaired retinal angiogenesis with delayed endothelial cell (EC) proliferation. In addition, VEGF‐induced corneal angiogenesis and tumor development were significantly inhibited in mice lacking Akt1. Loss of Akt1 resulted in reduced angiogenic sprouting, as well as the proliferation of ECs and mural cells. Addition of culture supernatant of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in which Akt1 was silenced suppressed tube formation, the stability of preformed tubes and the proliferation of ECs. In addition, attachment of VSMCs to ECs was significantly reduced in cells in which Akt1 was silenced. Mural cell coverage of retinal vasculature was reduced in mice lacking Akt1. Finally, mice lacking Akt1 showed severe retinal hemorrhage compared to the wild‐type. These results suggest that the regulation of EC function and mural cell coverage by Akt1 is important for blood vessel maturation during angiogenesis.

Small enterprises in the root industry are currently experiencing difficulties in fulfilling their deadlines due to the recent increase in the minimum wage, shortened working hours, and low productivity. Therefore, it is very important to establish a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) that can increase production and process efficiency with minimum manpower.

While the wheel and the rail are in contact, the stress on the wheel affects the safety of the vehicle and causes ride discomfort and noise. Therefore, the design of the wheel to reduce the damage is needed. To solve these problems, the shape optimization on the railway wheel web was carried out using the finite-element analysis and shape-morphing technique. First, thermo-mechanical analysis, with consideration to mechanical and thermal loads under tread braking, was developed and the contact pressure and stress generated on the wheel were obtained. Then, the integrated shape-morphing design process was proposed to improve the efficiency of the shape optimization. It made it possible to parameterize the finite-element models and modify them directly without returning to the computer-aided design model. Based on the analysis results, we performed the metamodel and genetic algorithm based optimization by using response surface method, Kriging and Gaussian process, then compared their optimal solutions. Optimization proceeded in two stages, two-dimensional optimization under axisymmetric conditions and three-dimensional optimization in which the shape changed in the period of 60°. For the post-optimization work, fatigue evaluation for the verifications on initial and optimal wheel models was performed and the results were discussed.

Bulk ultrafine-grained (UFG) materials usually show superior mechanical and physical properties. The development of micro-mechanical behavior is observed after significant changes in microstructure through high-pressure torsion (HPT) processing. This report summarizes recent results on the evolution of small-scale mechanical response examined by the nanoindentation technique on two UFG materials including a high-entropy alloy and an Al-Mg metal matrix nanocomposite processed by HPT. Special emphasis is placed on demonstrating the interrelationship of essential microstructural changes with increasing torsional strain and applying a post-deformation annealing treatment and the evolution of the micro-mechanical behavior in these UFG materials by estimating the strain rate sensitivity.

Background Physical function may influence perioperative outcomes of lung transplantation. We investigated the feasibility of a pulmonary rehabilitation program initiated in the immediate postoperative period at an intensive care unit (ICU) for patients who underwent lung transplantation. Methods We retrospectively evaluated 22 patients who received pulmonary rehabilitation initiated in the ICU within 2 weeks after lung transplantation at our institution from March 2015 to February 2016. Levels of physical function were graded at the start of pulmonary rehabilitation and then weekly throughout rehabilitation according to criteria from our institutional pulmonary rehabilitation program: grade 1, bedside (G1); grade 2, dangling (G2); grade 3, standing (G3); and grade IV, gait (G4). Results The median age of patients was 53 years (range, 25 to 73 years). Fourteen patients (64%) were males. The initial level of physical function was G1 in nine patients, G2 in seven patients, G3 in four patients, and G4 in two patients. Patients started pulmonary rehabilitation at a median of 7.5 days (range, 1 to 29 days) after lung transplantation. We did not observe any rehabilitation-related complications during follow-up. The final level of physical function was G1 in six patients, G3 in two patients, and G4 in 14 patients. Fourteen of the 22 patients were able to walk with or without assistance, and 13 of them maintained G4 until discharge; the eight remaining patients never achieved G4. Conclusions Our results suggest the feasibility of early pulmonary rehabilitation initiated in the ICU within a few days after lung transplantation.