Linking Food Industry and Agriculture: The Case of Fruit-Juice Industry and Korean Food Franchise

In Korea, the portion of food industry has increased, while the portion of agriculture keeps decreasing. The alliance between agriculture and food industry results in the synergy between both industries as well as higher farmers' income. The goal of this study is to analyze the current status of the linkages between two food industries (fruit-juice industry and Korean-style meal franchise industry) and agriculture, and then to present the ways to strengthen the linkages. The discussion in this paper will be a policy baseline aiming for synergy between both industries, which is of a special concern to the next regime.food industry, fruit-juice industry, Korean food franchise industry, agriculture, linkages, Korea, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Investigation of ZrN Non-Reactively Sputtered Diffusion Barrier Coating for U-Mo Dispersion Fuel

Department of Nuclear EngineeringZirconium nitride (ZrN) coating as a diffusion barrier layer has been applied to a U-7wt.% Mo (U-7Mo)/Al dispersion fuel plate owing to its high melting point, high thermodynamic stability against U-Mo and Al, high hardness, and low absorption cross section for thermal neutrons. However, it has been experimentally revealed that a ZrN coating layer adopted in a U-Mo/Al dispersion fuel plate experiences a functional failure locally, and hence undesirably extensive fission-induced interaction layers (ILs) between U-7Mo fuel powders and the surrounding Al matrix reaction layer are locally produced when irradiated. It is believed that the local coating damage generated during the dispersion-fuel-plate fabrication process accelerates the U-Mo/Al interdiffusion by acting as a fast diffusion path of solid materials. Unfortunately, there have been no studies scientifically identifying the causes of, or presenting solutions to, the problem of ZrN coating damage. Accordingly, based on comprehensive microstructural studies, the aim of this research is to experimentally and numerically investigate ZrN coating fracturing as a function of several variables at a high heat-treatment temperature during dispersion-fuel-plate fabrication. This research will help present appropriate solutions for preventing the occurrence of coating fracturing at the heat-treatment temperature, taking into account a realistic coating microstructure. ZrN coating was deposited onto U-7Mo powders using a direct-current magnetron non-reactive sputtering machine equipped with a turnable mixing drum. Microstructural studies on the as-fabricated ZrN coatings were conducted using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray diffractometer (XRD). This research is composed of the following three parts: First, the microstructural properties and residual stress of as-deposited ZrN coatings were measured as a function of the coating thickness ranging from 0.1 to 2.6 ??m. SEM and XRD results show that the microstructural characteristics (e.g., compact density and crystallographic properties) of the ZrN coating varied depending on the coating thickness. In addition, interlaminar delamination occurred when the coating thickness grew to greater than 2.2 ??m. Therefore, the thickness of the ZrN coating is considered to be an important factor influencing its microstructure, and thus its fracture resistance. Second, the effects of the U-7Mo substrate size on the thickness and microstructure of as-fabricated ZrN coatings with a mean thickness of 0.9 ??m deposited on 45???90-??m sized U-7Mo powders were investigated. With an increase in the U-7Mo substrate size, the ZrN coatings showed an increase in the coating thickness and grain size, and a decrease in the compact density owing to the increased macroscopic defects. Based on the measured coating thickness, a semi-empirical model expressing the relationship between the coating thickness and substrate size was newly developed. Based on the experimental results, it can be predicted that the U-7Mo substrate size, as well as the ZrN coating thickness, also affects the fracture resistance of the ZrN coating. Based on the above parametric studies on the ZrN coating microstructure, the structural integrity of ZrN coating was investigated at a high fabrication temperature as a function of the coating thickness, U-7Mo substrate size, and annealing temperature. To theoretically assess whether a mechanical failure of the ZrN coatings occurs at a given coating thickness, U-7Mo substrate size, and annealing temperature, a finite element simulation (FES) was conducted. The FES results show that the coating fracture is dependent on the given coating thickness, U-7Mo powder size, and annealing temperature, which affect the fracture criteria or induced tensile-hoop-stress of the corresponding coating. The thicker the coating, the larger the U-Mo substrate size, whereas the higher the heat-treatment temperature, the more likely a coating fracturing is to occur. The FES results are in good accordance with the corresponding experimental results.ope

The Amateur: Digital Transindividuation in South Korea

This thesis inquires into the cultural-political constitution of what are commonly known as the Amateur and Amateurism, terms which need to be seen from a new perspective in the digital era. The discussion begins with whether amateur production of culture and media and the role of monetary compensation are changing upon the emergence of the Web and digital technologies. Amateur productions networked to online audience communities are here understood using Simondon’s concepts of individuation, recently re-interpreted by Stiegler and Virno, as transindividual activities that realise human potential in newly structured society and politics. At the same time, however, it is not overlooked that such transindividual activities are technologically mediated by cognitive capitalist digital platforms specialised in mediating and monetising user-created content. Thus, the formation of gift culture around production and circulation of amateur content is discussed with its relationship to the commodity economy on such platforms. In this context, live streaming videos from Afreeca TV and Web-cartoons (Webtoons) have been selected as case studies to investigate audiovisual content production of professional-like amateurs on South Korean-based digital platforms, specifically during the candlelight rallies of 2008 and the impeachment proceedings of 2017. Conducted over three years, a variety of empirical studies on the multimedia interaction between amateur producers and their audience community provides a critical analysis of how the amateur's individual, self-fulfilling activities are transformed into the gift culture-based transindividual and competitive commercial activities and are embedded in the logic of cognitive capitalism. The counter-commercial movement of the amateur self-publishers concerned with the transindividuality of the memory technics is also presented. Their dedication to materalise individual and collective memories through paper-book publishing evokes the original value and ethos of amateurism devoted to the diversity of culture and life

Insight into highly conserved H1 subtype-specific epitopes in influenza virus hemagglutinin

Influenza viruses continuously undergo antigenic changes with gradual accumulation of mutations in hemagglutinin (HA) that is a major determinant in subtype specificity. The identification of conserved epitopes within specific HA subtypes gives an important clue for developing new vaccines and diagnostics. We produced and characterized nine monoclonal antibodies that showed significant neutralizing activities against H1 subtype influenza viruses, and determined the complex structure of HA derived from a 2009 pandemic virus A/Korea/01/2009 (KR01) and the Fab fragment from H1-specific monoclonal antibody GC0587. The overall structure of the complex was essentially identical to the previously determined KR01 HA-Fab0757 complex structure. Both Fab0587 and Fab0757 recognize readily accessible head regions of HA, revealing broadly shared and conserved antigenic determinants among H1 subtypes. The beta-strands constituted by Ser110-Glu115 and Lys169-Lys170 form H1 epitopes with distinct conformations from those of H1 and H3 HA sites. In particular, Glu112, Glu115, Lys169, and Lys171 that are highly conserved among H1 subtype HAs have close contacts with HCDR3 and LCDR3. The differences between Fab0587 and Fab0757 complexes reside mainly in HCDR3 and LCDR3, providing distinct antigenic determinants specific for 1918 pdm influenza strain. Our results demonstrate a potential key neutralizing epitope important for H1 subtype specificity in influenza virus

St. John’s Wort Regulates Proliferation and Apoptosis in MCF-7 Human Breast Cancer Cells by Inhibiting AMPK/mTOR and Activating the Mitochondrial Pathway

St. John’s Wort (SJW) has been used as an estrogen agonist in the systems affected by menopause. Also, hypericin, a bioactive compound of SJW, has been used as a photosensitizer in photodynamic therapy. In the present study, we investigate the anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects of SJWto demonstrate the chemo-preventive effect in human breast cancer cells. MCF-7 cellswere culturedwith DMSO or various concentrations of SJWethanol extract (SJWE). Cell viability, proliferation, apoptosis, the expression of proteins involved in cell growth and apoptosis, and caspase-3/7 activity were examined. SJWE dose-dependently suppressed cell growth and induced apoptosis ofMCF-7 cells. Mechanistically, SJWE enhanced the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and decreased the expression of p-mammalian target of rapamycin (p-mTOR) and p-eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E)-binding protein 1 (4E-BP1). Also, SJWE inhibited the phosphorylation of protein kinase B (Akt) and showed increases in the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and Bad with decreases in the expression of anti-apoptotic proteins including B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), B-cell lymphoma-extra large (Bcl-xL), and p-Bcl-2-associated death promoter (p-Bad). SJWE at 50 µg/mL showed markedly enhanced caspase-7 activation. Taken together, our results provide evidence that SJWE shows anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects via inhibition of AMPK/mTOR and activation of a mitochondrial pathway. Therefore, SJWE can be used as a chemo-preventive agent without photo-activation

Separatrix modes in weakly deformed microdisk cavities

Optical modes in deformed dielectric microdisk cavities often show an unexpected localization along unstable periodic ray orbits. We reveal a new mechanism for this kind of localization in weakly deformed cavities. In such systems the ray dynamics is nearly integrable and its phase space contains small island chains. When increasing the deformation the enlarging islands incorporate more and more modes. Each time a mode comes close to the border of an island chain (separatrix) the mode exhibits a strong localization near the corresponding unstable periodic orbit. Using an EBK quantization scheme taking into account the Fresnel coefficients we derive a frequency condition for the localization. Observing far field intensity patterns and tunneling distances, reveals small differences in the emission properties. © 2017 Optical Society of America.1

Intelligent CCTV Surveillance Based on Sound Recognition and Sound Localization

CCTV is used for many purposes, especially for surveillance and fortraffic condition monitoring. This paper proposesan intelligent CCTV system that tracks sound events based on sound recognition and sound localization. From the experimental results, it is evident that the proposed method can be successfully used for the intelligent CCTV system of CCTV

Korean Society of Nephrology hemodialysis unit accreditation report (2016–2020) and future directions

Background Patients receiving hemodialysis have various complications with a high mortality rate and require specialized treatment at an institution equipped with an appropriate workforce, equipment, and facilities. The Korean Society of Nephrology (KSN) is conducting hemodialysis unit accreditation to manage the quality of hemodialysis institutions, present standard treatment guidelines, and establish a network between regional medical institutions for the safe treatment of hemodialysis patients. This study aimed to summarize the previous accreditation results and discuss future directions. Methods After the proposal of hemodialysis unit accreditation in 2009, pilot projects were undertaken for hemodialysis units and dialysis subspecialist training hospitals in the metropolitan area for 5 years. Since 2016, five hemodialysis unit accreditation projects have been conducted. Results The cumulative number of participating units was 599, and the number of accredited units was 473 (average accreditation rate, 79.0%). The participating units consisted of clinics (58.6%), non-university hospitals (28.2%), and university hospitals (13.2%). Overall, 92.4% of university hospitals, 81.2% of clinics, and 68.0% of non-university hospitals were accredited. Over 5 years, new units were added annually to apply for accreditation, and the rate of previous participants applying for reaccreditation was high (77.7%). However, considering that the total number of member institutions of the KSN is 637, the number of units with valid accreditation as of 2020 was low (267 [41.9%]). Conclusion The efforts of the KSN and its members, as well as institutional support from the government, are required for quality management of hemodialysis units through hemodialysis unit accreditation