본 연구는 PFEG(글루코실세라마이드 4.0% 함유)가 저미네랄 특수사료(HR-AD)를 섭취시킨 헤어리스 마우스에서 발생하는 피부장벽 붕괴에 대한 억제작용이 있는지를 확인하고자 하였다. 4주간의 투여를 통해 정상군(Rabo MR Stock)과 비교하여 대조군(HR-AD)에서는 경피 수분 손실량(TEWL)이 서서히 상승하여 피부장벽기능의 붕괴가 발생함과 동시에 표피 수분량 및 각층 수분량도 서서히 저하되는 것이 확인되었다. 육안적으로는 깊은 주름 형성이 확인되었으며 조직학적 소견에서는 표피의 비후와 각화 항진이 확인되었다. 그러나 PFEG를 섭취시킨 시험군에서는 대조군에서 유발되는 피부장벽기능 붕괴에 대한 억제 효과가 확인되었다. 즉, 글루코실세라마이드 0.01% 배합군 및 0.1% 배합군에서는 섭취 시작 2주일째 이후 야기되는 TEWL 상승을 완전히 억제하였다. 또한, 저하되는 표피 수분량, 각층 수분량에 대해서도 유의하게 억제하여 피부 보습 기능을 유지하고 있었다. 육안적으로도 깊은 주름 형성은 억제되었으며, 조직학적인 검토에서도 표피의 비후나 각화 항진은 확인되지 않았다. 이러한 결과는 HR- 1 마우스의 피부 세라마이드 생산 개선에 기인한 결과라고 예상된다. 즉, HR-AD 섭취에 의해 HR-1 마우스는 세라마이드를 포함한 피부 지질의 함량 및 구성에 이상이 생기고, 피부 수분량이 급격히 줄어들어 피부 보습 능력이 저하된다. 그런데 PFEG의 혼합 투여는 손상된 피부의 세라마이드 함량 및 구성을 정상과 가깝게 만들어, 대조군에서 나타나는 증상의 발현을 억제하는 것으로 판단된다. 이상의 결과로부터 PFEG의 섭취는 피부장벽기능의 손상으로 발생하는 다양한 피부 수분 손실을 억제함으로써 피부 보습 개선에 우수한 효능이 있음을 알 수 있었다. 따라서 PFEG가 피부 보습에 도움을 주는 건강기능성 원료로서 이용 가능성이 높음을 확인할 수 있다.

Influenza A virus (IAV) causes respiratory disease in birds and mammals, including pigs and humans. Infection by IAV in pigs increases not only economic losses in the swine industry but also the emergence of novel IAV variants via gene reassortment, which is important due to the susceptibility of both birds and humans to IAV. This study provides serological data obtained during a study to detect IAV infections in pigs in the Republic of Korea during 2018 and 2019. A total of 1,559 samples were collected from 74 domestic pig farms. Hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assays were performed using the A/Swine/Korea/25-13(H1N1), A/Swine/Korea/E102 (H1N2), and A/Swine/Korea/Cy10/2007 (H3N2) viruses as antigens. The HI assay results showed that 266 of the 1,559 samples were seropositive (17.0%). Among these, H1N1, H1N2, and H3N2 comprised 7.3% (114), 6.0% (93), and 8.8% (137) of the 1,559 samples, respectively. Co-infections of H1N1/H1N2, H1N1/H3N2, H1N2/H3N2 and H1N1/H1N2/H3N2 were observed in 2.1% (31), 1.5% (23), 1.5% (24), and 0.8% (13) of the 1,559 samples, respectively. Interestingly, IAV infections were detected in all nine provinces of the country.

Numerous studies have reported that good adhesion and fluorination of carbon materials in a fluoropolymer matrix enhance their electrical and mechanical properties. However, a composite reinforced with oxyfluorinated graphite has not been reported for improving mechanical properties. This paper discusses the fabrication of conductive fluorinated ethylene–propylene (FEP)/oxyfluorinated graphite (f-graphite) composite bipolar plates (BPs) via compression molding. To investigate the effects of fluorinating graphite, graphite with a large particle size of 500 μm was mixed with FEP powder with a small particle size of 8 μm through ball milling. The FEP/graphite composites exhibited high anisotropic electrical conductivity with the in-plane conductivity much higher than the through-plane conductivity because of the planar orientation of the graphite sheets. Therefore, the mechanical properties of the composites such as flexural strength tended to deteriorate with increasing graphite content. In particular, the FEP/f-graphite composites exhibited excellent flexural strength of 12 MPa, much higher than that of FEP/graphite composites at 9 MPa with a graphite content of 80 wt%. The interfacial interaction between FEP and f-graphite led to improved physical compatibilization, which contributed to enhance the mechanical properties of these composites. Our results are a step toward developing BPs for use in high-temperature fuel cells and heat-sink components.

Various elements of Fabrication (FAB), mass production of existing products, new product development and process improvement evaluation might increase the complexity of production process when products are produced at the same time. As a result, complex production operation makes it difficult to predict production capacity of facilities. In this environment, production forecasting is the basic information used for production plan, preventive maintenance, yield management, and new product development. In this paper, we tried to develop a multiple linear regression analysis model in order to improve the existing production capacity forecasting method, which is to estimate production capacity by using a simple trend analysis during short time periods. Specifically, we defined overall equipment effectiveness of facility as a performance measure to represent production capacity. Then, we considered the production capacities of interrelated facilities in the FAB production process during past several weeks as independent regression variables in order to reflect the impact of facility maintenance cycles and production sequences. By applying variable selection methods and selecting only some significant variables, we developed a multiple linear regression forecasting model. Through a numerical experiment, we showed the superiority of the proposed method by obtaining the mean residual error of 3.98%, and improving the previous one by 7.9%.

공공정원이 현대도시의 새로운 영역으로 등장하며 시민가드너 양성교육이 확대되는 현상에 주목하여, 시민가드너 교육 참가자, 참여의향자, 일반시민으로 집단을 구분하여 도시정원에 대한 이미지와 효과 및 공동체성을 분석하여 다음과 같은 결과를 도출하였으며, 교육 의의 및 활성화 방안을 함께 고찰하였다. 24개 형용사 어의구별척도를 이용한 도시정원 이미지 평가 결과, 자연과의 관계를 나타내는 “친숙한, 정서적인” 등의 어의변수와 정원활동에 대한 태도를 나타내는 “상호교류적인, 적극적인”, 그리고 공간적 평가와 관련된 “확장적인, 자율 적인” 이미지에서 상대적으로 높은 평가치를 보였다. 교육참 가자는 “자율적인, 지속적인” 등의 어의변수를 높게 평가하여, 도시정원의 형태나 디자인보다는 유지관리와 지속성을 중시함을 알 수 있었다. 주성분분석에 의한 요인분석 결과로부터 교육참가자 집단의 요인적재값을 중심으로 요인별 특성을 파악하면, 잠재적(Potential) 차원의 1 요인은 “도시정원의 공공적 역할과 공동체성”, 평가적(Evaluative) 차원의 2 요인은 “공공조경으로서의 차별성”, 활동적(Active) 차원의 3 요인은 “미적 체험성”으로 명명할 수 있었다. 도시정원 효과에 대해 교육 참가자일수록 사회적, 환경적 측면을 중요하게 인식하고 있었고, 공동체의식지표 평균값(3.4)은 잠재참가 집단(3.31)과 일반시민 집단(2.69)에 비해 높게 나타났다는 점에서 공공성 인식 상의 차이를 볼 수 있었다. 시민가드너 교육이 정원식물 지식 습득의 의미를 넘어 평생교육이나 공동체 활동으로 인식 된다는 점에서 지속가능성을 위한 교육의 체계화 필요성을 확인할 수 있었다.

Thromboelastography or rotational thromboelastometry, is being increasingly utilized in cardiac surgery of late. However, it is an indirect test and is not available in all centers. Low fibrinogen levels before and after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) have been described to be associated with postoperative bleeding in cardiac surgery. This study explored the usefulness of reduction ratio of the fibrinogen levels before CPB (preCPB) and after CPB (postCPB) in predicting postoperative hemorrhage. A retrospective, observational study of adult patients who underwent cardiac surgery with CPB between February 2014 and January 2016 was conducted, which included a total of 264 patients. The fibrinogen levels were measured twice, preCPB and postCPB, and the fibrinogen reduction ratio was acquired [(preCPB − postCPB)/preCPB]. Postoperative blood loss, which was defined as the blood collected from the chest drain for 12 hours following arrival at the intensive care unit, was considered severe if it was more than 1,000 mL. A multivariate analysis showed that fibrinogen reduction ratio, sex, and postCPB platelet count were significantly associated with severe postoperative bleeding. However, the pre- and postCPB fibrinogen levels were not significantly associated with severe bleeding. Furthermore, a fibrinogen reduction ratio of > 41.3% was independently associated with postoperative severe bleeding, with an odds ratio of 3.472 (1.483–8.162). These results suggest that the reduction ratio of pre- and postCPB fibrinogen levels may be utilized in predicting postoperative bleeding.