The slaughter of livestock is inevitably required to obtain meat products from livestock. Since slaughter means pain and death for animals, reducing the pain and distress of animals during slaughter is very important from a perspective of animal welfare based on the principle of respect for life. Generally, two stunning methods, CO2 stunning and electrical stunning, are used for slaughter. When the carotid arteries of the lungs are cut off for bleeding, the bronchial tubes are also severed. To determine the degree of blood inflow into the lungs through the severed bronchial tubes, the prevalence rates of pulmonary diseases and pulmonary congestion in slaughtered pigs were analyzed. In this study, the prevalence of pneumonia was 24.9% in Slaughterhouse A using the gas method, but it was decreased by about 10% to 15.7% and 12.6%, respectively, in Slaughterhouses B and C using the electric method. On the other hand, the prevalence of pulmonary congestion in Slaughterhouses A, B, and C was 4.24%, 14.10% and 16.40%, respectively. In other words, the prevalence of pulmonary congestion was higher by about 10% in the groups of pigs slaughtered by the electric method (Slaughterhouses B and C) than in the group of pigs slaughtered by the gas method (Slaughterhouse A). These results indicate that blood inflow into the pulmonary alveoli led to a diagnosis of pulmonary congestion instead of pneumonia in some pigs with pneumonia. In short, it was found that about 10% of pigs stunned by the electric method were not in a state of complete unconsciousness but in a partially conscious state during slaughter. It is suggested that slaughterhouses should be equipped with gas stunning equipment instead of applying the electric method due to lower costs.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious vesicular disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, causing substantial economic losses to the livestock industry. The causative FMD virus (FMDV) comprises four structural proteins (VP1, VP2, VP3, and VP4) and several non-structural proteins. Among the capsid proteins, VP4 is the most conserved, making it an attractive target as a diagnostic and vaccine antigen, regardless of FMDV serotype. In this study, we attempted to express the VP4 protein N-terminally fused to a glutathione S-transferase (GST) tag in Escherichia coli. Whereas VP0 and VP2 proteins were expressed in the soluble fraction, we failed to detect VP4, even in the insoluble fraction. To investigate the effect of VP4 C-terminal amino acid residues on protein expression, we constructed three VP4 mutants fused to GST, among which the mutant in which the C-terminal 15 amino acid residues had been deleted showed the highest level of protein expression. Furthermore, protein expression was observed even in the mutant in which three amino acid residues (DKK) had been fused to the C terminus. However, unlike the other two mutants, the wild-type VP4 mutant was poorly expressed, thereby indicating that the C-terminal amino acid residues could play a pivotal role in determining expression of the VP4 protein in E. coli.

Background: The PyeongChang 2018 Winter Paralympic Games (WPG) being one of the most successful Paralympic Games (PG) in modern athletic world history, hosted the largest number of elite athletes representing 49 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs). Objects: The present investigation highlighted the demographic and clinical characteristics of injured athletes and non-athletes and the physiotherapy services provided during the PyeongChang 2018 WPG. Methods: Prospective descriptive epidemiology study, in which the study group comprised of 201 participants (51 athletes and 150 non-athletes) who were admitted to and utilized the polyclinic physiotherapy service of 2018 PyeongChang WPG in Physiotherapy Department of Paralympic Village from March 1, 2018 to March 20, 2018. Results: Qualitative frequency analysis of injury type demonstrated highest number of chronic injuries (51%, n = 100) in athletes and non-athletes. Anatomical injury site analysis revealed that the spine and shoulder areas were affected with equal frequency for athletes (54.9%, n = 14), whereas for non-athletes, the frequencies of spine and shoulder area injuries were 36.7% (n = 55) and 26% (n = 39), respectively. The Pyeongchang WPG showed a high rate of athletes visiting the physiotherapy service during the pre-competition period (33.3%, n = 50), which may have led to smaller incidence rate of traumatic injury. The physiotherapy treatment service analysis demonstrated that manual therapy (35.4%, n = 230) was most commonly utilized, followed by transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation/interference current therapy (TENS/ICT), therapeutic massage and therapeutic exercise. Conclusion: We established the importance of prophylactic and preventive physiotherapy services to reduce the risk of sports injuries during WPG.

Background: The presence of the lumbopelvic-hip neuromuscular chain is essential for dynamic spinal stabilization; its therapeutic effects on dynamic movements of the distal extremity segment and underpinning motor mechanism remain unknown and warrant further study on participants with low back pain (LBP). Objects: We aim to compare the effects of the broken chain exercise (BCE) and connected chain exercise (CCE) on electromyography (EMG) amplitude and onset time in participants with and without LBP. Methods: Randomized controlled clinical trial. A convenience sample of 40 nonathletic participants (mean age: 24.78 ± 1.70) with and without LBP participated in this study. All participants underwent CCE for 30 minutes, 30-minute daily. We measured EMG amplitude and onset times on bilateral erector spinae (ES), gluteus maximus (GM), hamstring (HAM), transverse abdominis (TrA), internal oblique (IO), and external oblique (EO) during the prone hip extension (PHE) test before and after the BCE and CCE. We used multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to analyze the amplitude and onset time difference between exercises (BCE and CCE) and Pearson’s correlations to determine any synergistic relationship among the HAM, GM, bilateral TrA/IO, and ES muscles. The statistical analyses were used at p < 0.05. Results: MANOVA showed that CCE was more decreased on EMG amplitude in HAM and bilateral ES, while increased GM and contralateral TrA/IO than BCE (p < 0.05). MANOVA EMG onset time data analyses revealed that the main effect of the conditions was significant for all HAM, GM, and bilateral ES muscles, whereas the main effect for the group was significant only for GM and contralateral ES in healthy and LBP groups. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was computed to assess the relationship between BCE and CCE on dependent variables. In most of the muscles, there was a strong, positive correlation between the two variables, and there was a significant relationship (p < 0.001). Conclusion: CCE produced more effective and coordinated core stabilization and motor control mechanism in the lumbopelvic-hip muscles in participants with and without LBP during PHE than BCE.

Background: The oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES) is the most important index for accurately measuring cardiopulmonary function in patients with acute ischemic heart disease. However, the relationship between the OUES variables and important cardiopulmonary function parameters remain unelucidated for patients with acute ischemic heart disease, which accounts for the largest proportion of heart disease. Objects: The present cross sectional clinical study aimed to determine the multiple relationships among the cardiopulmonary function variables mentioned above in adults with acute ischemic heart disease. Methods: A convenience sample of 110 adult inpatients with ischemic heart disease (age: 57.4 ± 11.3 y; 95 males, 15 females) was enrolled at the hospital cardiac rehabilitation center. The correlation between the important cardiopulmonary function indicators including peak oxygen uptake (VO2 peak), minute ventilation (VE)/carbon dioxide production (VCO2) slope, heart rate recovery (HRR), and ejection fraction (EF) and OUES was confirmed. Results: This study showed that OUES was highly correlated with VO2 peak, VE/VCO2 slope, and HRR parameters. Conclusion: The OUES can be used as an accurate indicator for cardiopulmonary function. There are other factors that influence aerobic capacity besides EF, so there is no correlation with EF. Effective cardiopulmonary rehabilitation programs can be designed based on OUES during submaximal exercise in patients with acute ischemic heart disease.

The effect of oxidation time on the characteristics and mechanical properties of spent nuclear fuel cladding was investigated using Raman spectroscopy, tube rupture test, and tensile test. As oxidation time increased, the Raman peak associated with the tetragonal zirconium oxide phase diminished and merged with the Raman peak associated with the monoclinic zirconium oxide phase near 333 cm−1. Additionally, the other tetragonal zirconium oxide phase peak at 380 cm−1 decreased after 100 d of oxidation, whereas the zirconium monoclinic oxide peak became the dominant peak. The oxidation time had no effect on the tube rupture pressure of the oxidized zirconium alloy tube. However, the yield and tensile stresses of the oxidized nuclear fuel cladding tube decreased after 100 d of oxidation. The results of the scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were represented with the in-situ Raman analysis result for the oxide characteristics generated on the cladding of spent nuclear fuel.

최근 AI 기술은 하루가 다르게 빠르게 발전하고 있고, AI기술은 각 분야에서 다양하게 사용되어지고 있다. 본 논문은 예술분야에서 AI기술의 활용으로 COVID-19 상황에서 인간관계, 개인적인 이유로 지친 마음을 위 로해주는 힐링 게임을 제작하였다. 제작한 힐링게임에서는 주로 Self-help-therapy의 효과를 얻을 수 있어, 치 료자의 도움없이 이용자가 힐링게임을 통하여 일상적 이용과정에서 치유적 효과를 얻을 수 있는 것을 기대 하고 있다. 게임 리뷰 데이터를 통계 분석하여 힐링게임으로 대중들이 요구하는 부분을 수용하여 힐링게임 이 제작되었으며, 사용자는 게임 시작 전 간단한 스토리라인과 AI와 상호작용할 수 있는 간단한 대화를 통 화여 Self-help-therapy 효과를 얻을 수 있었다.