Patient-controlled sedation systems, in which the patient has control of sedative administration, have been shown to be effective and safe for patients undergoing minor procedures. Safety depends on the adequacy of the step-wise increase in dose of the sedative, the lockout time and patient’s ability to adjust the effective activation of the handset. While there is no patient-controlled sedation (PCS) system available domestically, we have developed a new purpose-built PCS pump, and determined its degree of precision using a microweight measuring scale. The PCS system was designed to be applied to most intravenous sedatives and work through a newly developed operating software algorithm that titrates the doses and lockout times. Our system titrates the doses through software modification, and for experimental purposes, the number of steps for handset activation by the patient was set to four, and the lockout time was set to 30 s. The degree of precision of the PCS system was tested using an electronic weighing scale. The comparison of the amount infused via the PCS system with weight on the scale showed nearly same patterns at the four infusion stages, and the difference was minimal (3% on average at each infusion step). We designed and manufactured a pilot button-type PCS pump capable of use by the patient for optimal sedation, and confirmed the precise working mechanism of the pump, thereby reducing the margin of error for infusion accuracy to 3% or less on average

C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute-phase protein produced by hepatocytes. The plasma concentration of CRP peaks around 48 hours following stimulation. A rapid decrease in CRP levels is observed when the stimuli end. Considering these characteristics of CRP, it is used to evaluate acute inflammatory responses in clinics. In addition, as it reflects the degree of surgical trauma, measuring the CRP concentration is an effective method of evaluating tissue damage depending upon the surgical method. As CRP is also an acute-phase protein in dogs, the purpose of the present study was to compare the factors related to acute inflammatory responses between dogs undergoing elective general surgery (GS) and orthopedic surgery (OS). A total of 44 healthy dogs were included in this study. The sex ratio of dogs that underwent OS was similar. Both groups showed increased CRP levels and white blood cell (WBC) counts on post-operative day (POD) 1-2. The CRP level in the OS group on POD 1-2 was significantly higher than that of the GS group and it was increased about 16-fold compared to the pre-operative value. No significant difference in WBC counts was observed between the two groups. Although a slight increase in the WBC count was observed on POD 1-2 in both groups, it was near the reference range during follow-up. Thus, measuring CRP levels can be more effective in evaluating acute inflammatory responses than WBC counts. Although a high level of post-operative serum CRP concentrations was observed in the OS group, it rapidly decreased to a level similar to the pre-operative value if there were no post-operative complications.

비모란 선인장 ‘Ahwang’ 품종이 2016년에 국립원예특작과 학원에서 육성되었다. 증식력이 우수한 밝은 황색 ‘Ahwang’ 품종 육성을 위해서, 황색 ‘Hwangun’품종을 모본으로, 황색 ‘0930001’ 계통을 부본으로 하여 2012년 6월 25일에 교배하였다. 어린 비모란 선인장을 2014년 이전에 삼각주에 2번 접목하여 계통을 양성하였으며 2014년부터 2016년까지 총 3회에 걸쳐 생육특성을 조사하였다. ‘Ahwang’ 품종의 모구는 편원형 모양에 황색 구색(Y9A)이다. 모구는 평균 8.6개의 능(rip)과 2.7mm의 짧은 직립형 회색 가시를 가지고 있고 혹(tubercle)이 돌출된 형태를 띠고 있다. 10개월 재배 후 ‘Ahwang’ 품종의 구직경은 44.5mm였으며 자구는 평균 26.9개가 생성되었다. ‘Ahwang’ 품종은 모구 능마다 황색의 자구가 3-4개가 착생되었다. 2016년 육성계통 평가회에서 ‘Ahwang’ 품종은 기호도 점수 3.9을 받았다. 이 품종은 2018년 5월 16일 국립종자원에 등록되었으며 식물신품종보호법에 의해 품종보호(등록번호 7193)를 받게 되었다.

Teacher professional development is critical because teachers play a pivotal role in students' positive learning experience in schools. In particular, teachers' systematic class goal-setting practice is important for their performance outcomes such as effective classroom management and student learning. This study investigates the effects of teachers' engagement in class goal-setting activities using strategies derived from Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADDIE) framework as a systematic guideline by exploring the relationship among the four variables: teachers' class goal-setting, their partnership with stakeholders, teacher effectiveness, and student satisfaction. By using Process analysis techniques to estimate the dual mediation model on data from 55 elementary school teachers and their 1790 students, the findings indicate the positive relationship between teachers' systematic efforts for their class goal setting and student satisfaction was fully and sequentially mediated by teachers' partnership activities with the stakeholders and perceived teacher effectiveness. The findings propose the importance of teachers' systematic goal-setting strategies in their classes, which can be developed for professional development opportunities leading to successful performance outcomes. The study also highlights the various indirect effects produced by teachers' engagement in class goal setting. The practical implications of the research as well as theoretical contributions for teachers are discussed.

Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is a naturally occurring antioxidant and has been previously used to treat diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, the autophagy effects of ALA against oxidative stress-induced dopaminergic neuronal cell injury remain unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of ALA in autophagy and apoptosis against oxidative stress in the SH-SY5Y human dopaminergic neuronal cell line. We examined SH-SY5Y phenotypes using the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay (cell viability/proliferation), 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride nuclear staining, Live/Dead cell assay, cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) assay, immunoblotting, and immunocytochemistry. Our data showed ALA attenuated hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced ROS generation and cell death. ALA effectively suppressed Bax up-regulation and Bcl-2 and BclxL down-regulation. Furthermore, ALA increased the expression of the antioxidant enzyme, heme oxygenase-1. Moreover, the expression of Beclin-1 and LC-3 autophagy biomarkers was decreased by ALA in our cell model. Combined, these data suggest ALA protects human dopaminergic neuronal cells against H2O2-induced cell injury by inhibiting autophagy and apoptosis.

Since the first detection of the African swine fever (ASF) virus in the Republic of Korea in 2019, the Korean government has applied interventions, including fencing, increasing the biosecurity level at domestic pig farms, and the capture-and-removal of wild boars. In particular, wild boars are an important risk factor for ASF control because they can spread disease among susceptible animals, such as wild boars or domestic pigs. A capture-and-removal method aims to reduce the likelihood of ASF transmission from wild boars to domestic boars or among wild boars by decreasing the number of susceptible wild boars. This study estimated the required number of wild boars captured and removed for ASF control using population viability analysis. Population factors, such as a life span, sex ratio, or an inbreeding depression with different capture-and-removal proportions of wild boars, were included in the analysis. Ten scenarios with different capture-and-removal proportions of wild boars and different periods of culling were considered. According to the results, a method in which 75% of wild boars are captured-and-removed for at least three years showed long-term effectiveness for more than ten years. The current ASF control method, in which 33% of wild boars are captured-and-removed, decreased the number of wild boars for three years, after which the wild boar population increased to more than its initial number. Given the limited human and material resources for controlling ASF in the Republic of Korea, it is recommended that resources be prioritized to increase the capture-and-removal proportion of wild boars to take full advantage of the ASF-control effectiveness.