The n-type Bi2-xSbxTe3 compounds have been of great interest due to its potential to achieve a high thermoelectric performance, comparable to that of p-type Bi2-xSbxTe3. However, a comprehensive understanding on the thermoelectric properties remains lacking. Here, we investigate the thermoelectric transport properties and band characteristics of n-type Bi2-xSbxTe3 (x = 0.1 – 1.1) based on experimental and theoretical considerations. We find that the higher power factor at lower Sb content results from the optimized balance between the density of state effective mass and nondegenerate mobility. Additionally, a higher carrier concentration at lower x suppresses bipolar conduction, thereby reducing thermal conductivity at elevated temperatures. Consequently, the highest zT of ~ 0.5 is observed at 450 K for x = 0.1 and, according to the single parabolic band model, it could be further improved by ~70 % through carrier concentration tuning.

This study was conducted to investigate the growth characteristics of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. ‘Joeunbaekdadagi’) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. ‘Dotaerang Dia’) seedlings by light intensities and CO2 concentrations in a closed-type plant production system (CPPS). Cucumber and tomato seeds were sown in 50-cell trays and germinated in CPPS at air temperature 25 ± 1°C and relative humidity 50 ± 10% for 4 days. After germination, the CO2 concentrations and light intensity treatment were treated at 500 (ambient), 1,000, and 1,500 μmol·mol-1 and 100, 200, and 300 μmol·m-2·s-1 photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), respectively. The leaf area of cucumber showed the highest value in CO2 1,500 μmol·mol-1. However, the leaf area of the tomato had no significant difference in CO2 concentrations and light intensities treatments. In cucumber and tomato both seedlings, the growth and quality such as compactness and leaf area rate were increased with the increase of light intensity, and there were highest in 300 μmol·m-2·s-1. The root surface and number of root tips of cucumber and tomato seedlings were significantly increased with the increase in light intensity. In conclusion, the regulation of the CO2 concentrations and light intensity can control the growth and quality of cucumber and tomato seedlings in CPPS, especially, increasing the light intensity can improve more significantly the growth and quality of seedlings.

As various accidents have occurred in underground spaces, we aim to improve the quality validation standards and methods as specified in the Regulations on Producing Integrated Map of Underground Spaces devised by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of the Republic of Korea for a high-quality integrated map of underground spaces. Specifically, we propose measures to improve the quality assurance of pipeline-type underground facilities, the so-called life lines given their importance for citizens’ daily activities and their highest risk of accident among the 16 types of underground facilities. After implementing quality validation software based on the developed quality validation standards, the adequacy of the validation standards was demonstrated by testing using data from two-dimensional water supply facilities in some areas of Busan, Korea. This paper has great significance in that it has laid the foundation for reducing the time and manpower required for data quality inspection and improving data quality reliability by improving current quality validation standards and developing technologies that can automatically extract errors through software.

To investigate L2 adolescent learners’ use of machine translation (MT), an MT error correction (EC) test was developed, based on the analysis of MT errors arising from translating the learners’ L1 of middle school EFL textbooks. Learners were also asked to report on their use of MT EC strategies on the EC task. Results indicated that mistranslated sentence and verb tense are the most difficult types of MT errors to correct. Furthermore, to resolve MT errors, guessing from context and literal translations were the two most frequently employed EC strategies. When multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the contribution of EC strategies to the learners’ ability to correct errors, the mid proficiency learners’ reliance on literal translations and the low proficiency learners’ use of multiple EC strategies were positively associated with improved corrections of MT errors. The results of the study are discussed in light of how L2 learners need to develop competence for using MT in L2 writing.

This study investigated the extent to which explicit and implicit instruction improve L1-Arabic speakers’ articulation of English words whose cognates were acquired earlier in their L2 French. Sixty-eight secondary school students, explicit (n=35) and implicit (n=33), participated in a programme incorporating focus-on-pronunciation activities, comprising three 45-minute sessions. Their learning motivation was first rated using an adapted version of Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB). Their pronunciation improvement was assessed through an oral-reading task. Ten new words were included in the post-test to see if they would generalize the instructed knowledge analogically. Results indicated that both explicit and implicit instruction had a positive impact on the students’ pronunciation advancement. However, the explicit group outperformed the implicit group with both the targeted and untaught words. There was insignificant interaction effect between instructional method and students’ motivation level, with higher motivation uniformly enhancing the effect of instruction. Nevertheless, motivation played a more crucial role in the learnt knowledge transferability when instruction was of implicit.

Canine parvovirus type-2 (CPV-2) is a major etiological agent causing gastrointestinal enteritis in domestic and wild carnivores. Since the emergence of CPV-2 in the late 1970s, subtypes CPV-2a, CPV-2b, and CPV-2c have spread worldwide. CPV-2 prevalence differed according to region and season. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of CPV-2 infection in Korea. Samples were collected from 536 dog feces in animal shelters and 225 necropsied intestinal tissues of dog carcasses submitted in the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA) for diagnostic purposes from 2016 to 2020 in Korea. Among the 761 samples, 181 (23.8%) were positive for the following subtypes: CPV-2a (n=138), CPV-2c (n=16), CPV-2b (n=14), and CPV-2 (n=2). Feline parvovirus (n=2) and co-infection with CPV-2a and CPV-2c (n=1) were also detected. There was no significant difference in the regional distribution of CPV-2 in Korea, which is prevalent in winter. This result shows the prevalence of CPV-2 according to various environments in Korea and will be useful in establishing an effective prevention strategy against CPV-2 that reflects the situation in Korea with continuous monitoring.

This study aimed to provide directions and implications for a future program by analyzing studies on diabetes programs from 2000 to 2020. Among the studies with control and experimental groups, the selected studies included ones that provided intervention to patients with diabetes and ones that contained descriptive statistics. Sixteen studies were selected to verify the effectiveness and homogeneity of the data coding meta-analysis. The overall effect size in the diabetes program combined estimate was 0.398 (95% CI: 0.268, 0.425, p=0.000). Among the dependent variables, fasting blood glucose (－0.616) and glycated hemoglobin (－0.442) showed median effect sizes, but the effect of fasting blood glucose was not statistically significant. In terms of the study design, non-randomized control trials (NRCTs) (－0.543) was more effective than randomized control trials (RCTs) (0.719). Among, the counseling and self-management program (－3.241) showed a very large effect size. Furthermore, the cognitive-behavioral (－0.828) and self-management (－0.482) programs were also found to have a positive effect on lowering fasting blood glucose. As the importance of diabetes management increases, further studies based on RCT should be actively performed, and differentiated and specialized diabetes intervention plans need to be established.

Zintl phase Mg3Sb2 is a promising thermoelectric material in medium to high temperature range due to its low band gap energy and characteristic electron-crystal phonon-glass behavior. P-type Mg3Sb2 has conventionally exhibited lower thermoelectric properties compared to its n-type counterparts, which have poor electrical conductivity. To address these problems, a small amount of Sn doping was considered in this alloy system. P-type Mg3Sb2 was synthesized by controlled melting, pulverizing, and subsequent vacuum hot pressing (VHP) method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to investigate phases and microstructure development during the process. Single phase Mg3Sb2 was successfully formed when 16 at.% of Mg was excessively added to the system. Nominal compositions of Mg3.8Sb2-xSnx (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.008) were considered in this study. Thermoelectric properties were evaluated in terms of Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity. A peak ZT value ≈ 0.32 was found for the specimen Mg3.8Sb1.994Sn0.006 at 873 K, showing an improved ZT value compared to intrinsic one. Transport properties were also evaluated and discussed.

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B (MEN2B), which is an autosomal dominant hamartoneoplastic syndrome, is a genetic syndrome. Patients with this syndrome are characterized by multiple mucosal neuromas on the tongue, lips, eyelid margins, and conjunctiva with marfanoid habitus, thick and protruding lips, open bite, and maxillary central diastema. Multiple oral mucosal neuromas are known to appear before the development of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) or pheochromocytoma. Therefore, understanding the oral symptoms is very important for the early diagnosis of this syndrome. We report multiple submucosal neuromas in a 19-year-old male patient diagnosed with MEN2B and review this syndrome.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary vitamin B intake on biomarkers related to lipid metabolism, inflammation and blood glucose control, that are important in the development of type 2 diabetes and its complications. Seventy-six adults (42 males, 34 females) were recruited from a group of diabetes patients who had visited the medical center for treatment. Data on anthropometric characteristics and dietary intake of thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6 and folate were collected using 24-hour diet recall and the CAN Pro 4.0 program. Also, data on clinical indices such as serum lipids, blood pressure, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and homeostasis model assessment 2-insulin resistance (HOMA2-IR) were collected and analyzed for correlation with dietary vitamin B intake. Results from the dietary intake survey showed that riboflavin and folate intake (in males) and folate intake (in females) were below the Dietary Reference Intake for Koreans. Statistical analysis revealed a negative correlation between hs-CRP and dietary intake of B vitamins. Riboflavin intake was inversely associated with systolic blood pressure after adjustments for age, BMI, smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise, ingestion of diabetes mellitus medication and energy intake (p<0.05). Our results suggest that dietary vitamin B may influence inflammation and consequently may help in better management of type 2 diabetes.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of ladder-climbing exercise training on neurobiological markers in the hippocampus of mice with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Twenty-one C57BL/6 male mice were randomly assigned to the non-diabetic control (NDC, n = 7), diabetic control (DC, n = 7), and diabetic training (DT, n = 7) groups. The DT group performed ladder-climbing training (LCT) five times a week for eight weeks. We measured the levels of hippocampal neurobiological markers (catalase [CAT], brain-derived neurotrophic factor [BDNF], nerve growth factor [NGF], amyloid-beta [Aβ], tau, and CC motif chemokine ligand 11 [CCL11]). The BDNF levels were significantly higher in the DT group than in the DC group (p < 0.05). The Aβ and CCL11 levels were significantly higher in the DC group than in the NDC and DT groups (p < 0.05). The tau levels were significantly higher in the DC group than in the NDC group (p < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in CAT and NGF levels among the groups (p > 0.05). These results suggest that while T2DM could induce neurodegeneration, LCT may be effective in alleviating neurodegeneration caused by T2DM.

In this paper, the heat transfer performance of nanofluids is predicted by numerical analysis methods. The nanoparticles used in this study is SiO2, with concentrations of 1, 2, 3vol.%, and the base fluid is water. Reynolds number of nanofluids ranges from 10,000 to 50,000. A numerical study on the heat transfer characteristics of nanofluid was conducted using a single-phase model. The temperature of the fluid entering from the inlet of the tube is 293.15K. A constant heat flux of 31,650W/m2 was applied at the wall, and the thickness of the wall was ignored. Heat transfer coefficients, thermal conductivity and Nusselt number were selected as indicators for comparing heat transfer performance of nanofluids. As the nanofluid concentration increases, the temperature and velocity distribution by the cross section of the coil tube and straight tube increased. As the Reynolds number increases, temperature difference between inner direction and outer direction reduced in coil tube. For straight tube, the temperature difference between the wall and the center of the tube also decreased.

본 연구는 서로 다른 운동유형이 당뇨처치 그룹의 베타 아밀로이드, BDNF 및 인지기능에 미치는 영향을 알아보기 위하여 24마리의 C57BL/6 쥐를 당뇨처치를 하지 않은 그룹 6마리(통제그룹: 6)와 당뇨처치 그룹 18마리로 무작위 할당하여, 이를 다시 당뇨처치 그룹의 경우 통제그룹 6마리, 유산소 운동그룹 6마리, 저항운동 그룹 6마리로 나누었고 운동그룹은 8주간 주 5회 저강도로 각각 트레드밀 운동과 사다리 운동을 실시하였다. 그 결과 베타아밀로이드는 8주 후 당뇨처치 그룹의 통제그룹 (DM.G.)이 나머지 세 그룹에 비하여 높은 수준을 나타내었으나 통계적으로 유의한 차이는 나타나지 않았다. BDNF의 경우는 당뇨통제그룹이 나머지 세 그룹에 비하여 낮은 수준을 나타냈으며 통계적으로 유의한 차이를 나타냈다(p<.05). 인지기능을 알아보기 위한 Y-미로 검사에서도 당뇨통제 그룹이 나머지 세그룹에 비하여 낮은 수준을 보였으며 통계적으로도 유의한 차이를 나타냈다(p<.05).