Abstract
Background & objective
The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to cause death and socioeconomic problems worldwide. This study examined the spatial distribution of ...social vulnerability to COVID-19 and its relationship with the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in 2020, focusing on the Capital region of South Korea.
Methods
A traditional social vulnerability index (SVI), healthy SVI, and the difference of each SVI were constructed in 2015 and 2019. The traditional SVI was constructed across five domains: age, socioeconomic disadvantage, housing, income, and environment. The healthy SVI domains were: prevention, health-related habits, chronic disease, healthcare infrastructure, and mortality. The spatial distribution of the traditional SVI, healthy SVI, and confirmed cases of COVID-19 was explored using ArcGIS 10.5. Pearson correlation was used to identify the relationship between confirmed COVID-19 cases and the two SVIs and their changes between 2015 and 2019. Four multiple linear regression models were used to identify the impact of the changes of the two SVIs on the confirmed COVID-19 cases for the three episodes and total period with control of population using STATA/MP 16.1.
Results
Confirmed COVID-19 cases were concentrated in a specific area of the Capital region. The traditional SVI was more vulnerable in the outer regions of the Capital region, and some central, western, and eastern areas reflected an increase in vulnerability. Healthy SVI was more vulnerable in the northern part of the Capital region, and increase in vulnerability showed in some central areas above Seoul. By multiple regression with the population controlled, the difference of the traditional SVI between 2015 and 2019 showed a positive relationship with the confirmed COVID-19 cases in all models at a significance level of 0.05, and the 2019 integrated SVI showed a negative relationship with confirmed COVID-19 cases in all models.
Conclusions
The results of this study showed that the confirmed COVID-19 cases are associated with increased traditional SVI vulnerability between 2015 and 2019 and have a high positive relationship with the spread of COVID-19. Policy efforts are needed to reduce confirmed COVID-19 cases among the vulnerable in regions with relatively increased traditional SVI.
Currently, a theoretical understanding of thermodynamics and kinetics of the oxidative polymerization of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (best known as PEDOT) is missing. In the present study, ...step-by-step density functional theory calculations of the radical polymerization of PEDOT with tosylate counterions (PEDOT:TOS) using Fe3+(TOS–)3 as oxidant and dopant are performed. We calculate the Gibbs free energy for the conventional mechanism that consists of the polymerization of neutral PEDOT oligomers first, followed by their oxidation (doping). We also propose an alternative mechanism of polymerization, in which the already oxidized oligomers are used as reactants, leading to doped (oxidized) oligomers as products during polymerization. Our calculations indicate that the alternative mechanism is more efficient for longer PEDOT oligomers (chain length N > 6). We find that the oxidation of the EDOT monomer is the rate-limiting step for both mechanisms. Another focus of our study is the understanding of the maximum oxidation level that can be achieved during polymerization. Our calculations provide a theoretical explanation of “the magic number” of 33% for the oxidation level typically reported for the pristine (i.e., as-polymerized) materials and relate it to the change of the character of the bonds in the oligomers (aromatic to quinoid) that occurs at this oxidation level.
A vehicle stability enhancement control algorithm for a four-wheel-drive hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is proposed using rear motor driving, regenerative braking control, and electrohydraulic brake ...(EHB) control. A fuzzy-rule-based control algorithm is proposed, which generates the direct yaw moment to compensate for the errors of the sideslip angle and yaw rate. Performance of the vehicle stability control algorithm is evaluated using ADAMS and MATLAB Simulink cosimulations. HEV chassis elements such as the tires, suspension system, and steering system are modeled to describe the vehicle's dynamic behavior in more detail using ADAMS, whereas HEV power train elements such as the engine, motor, battery, and transmission are modeled using MATLAB Simulink with the control algorithm. It is found from the simulation results that the driving and regenerative braking at the rear motor is able to provide improved stability. In addition, better performance can be achieved by applying the driving and regenerative braking control, as well as EHB control.
•Defining the “personal information system.”•Developing a research model integrating the innovation diffusion theory and the task-technology fit model.•Empirical tests show the direct and indirect ...effects of five PIS usage drivers through four features of PIS to adoption.
The purpose of this study is to develop a research model that integrates the relationship between innovation characteristics (innovation diffusion theory) and technology characteristics (task-technology fit model). With the research model, the current study investigates the adoption of the “personal information system,” a concept that we develop in the context of mobile technologies. In this paper, we performed the first quantitative test of the model by integrating the innovation diffusion and task-technology fit models. Further, we proposed a theoretical definition of “personal information systems” by highlighting the differences in the types of tasks across individual users’ needs. To test our research model, 202 college students were surveyed. Partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modeling was employed to analyze our data, and these analyses provided empirical support for the proposed hypotheses. Quality, compatibility, cost, and relative advantage were found to be important indicators of the intention to adopt due to their impact on the intended communication, information, transaction, and entertainment tasks, while compatibility, relative advantage, and complexity had a direct impact on the intention to adopt.
So far, cymbal transducers have been developed primarily for transmitting purposes, and even when used for receiving, the focus has been mostly on improving the receiving sensitivity. In this study, ...we developed a cymbal hydrophone with a higher sensitivity and a wider bandwidth than other existing hydrophones. First, the initial structure of the cymbal hydrophone was established, and then the effects of structural variables on the hydrophone’s performance were analyzed using the finite element method. Based on the analysis results, the structure having the highest sensitivity and widest bandwidth, with a receiving voltage sensitivity level above a certain threshold, was derived using optimal design techniques. A prototype of the cymbal hydrophone with the designed structure was fabricated, and its performance was measured, validating the effectiveness of the design by comparing the measurement results with the design values. The developed cymbal hydrophone is expected to be utilized in various underwater precision measurements, as it possesses a significantly broader reception frequency bandwidth when compared with other hydrophones used for the same purpose.
The nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT5), also known as a tonicity-responsive enhancer-binding protein, was originally identified as a key transcription factor involved in maintaining cellular ...homeostasis against hypertonic and hyperosmotic environments. Although NFAT5 has been expressed and studied in various types of hyperosmolar tissues, evidence has emerged that NFAT5 plays a role in the development and activation of immune cells, especially T cells and macrophages. The immune-regulatory function of NFAT5 is achieved by inducing different target genes and different signaling pathways in both tonicity-dependent and -independent manners. Particularly in response to hyperosmotic stress, NFAT5 induces the generation of pathogenic T
17 cells and pro-inflammatory macrophages, contributing to autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Meanwhile, with tonicity-independent stimuli, including activation of the Toll-like receptors and inflammatory cytokines, NFAT5 also can be activated and promotes immune cell survival, proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis. Moreover, under isotonic conditions, NFAT5 has been implicated in the pathogenesis of a variety of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis. This review describes the current knowledge of NFAT5, focusing on its immune-regulatory functions, and it highlights the importance of NFAT5 as a novel therapeutic target for chronic inflammatory diseases.
This study examined the records of forest fire outbreaks and characteristics over the 518 years of the Joseon Dynasty period (1392–1910) through the analysis of major historical records of Korea. The ...historical books used in this study were 14 major national historical books, and include the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty (朝鮮王朝實錄), the Diaries of the Royal Secretariat (承政院日記), and the literature was examined, centering on official records of the royal palace in the Joseon Dynasty period. The contents of forest fires recorded in the historical record literature include the overviews of outbreak, forest fire types, and forest fire damage. According to the results of analysis of historical records, the largest forest fire damage was in the forest fire that occurred on the east coast in 1672, in which 65 persons died and in the forest fire that occurred in the same area in 1804, in which 61 persons died and 2600 private houses were destroyed by fire. The causes of fire outbreak were shown to be unknown causes in 42 cases, accidental fires in 10 cases, arson in 3 cases, thunder strike in 3 cases, hunting activities in 2 cases, child playing with fire in 1 case, cultivating activities in 1 case, and house fire in 1 case. Forest fire outbreaks were analyzed by region and by season and according to the results, 56% (39 cases) of the forest fires broke out on the east coast and 73% (46 cases) broke out in the spring. Forest fire policies include those for general forests, those for reserved forests, those for prohibited forests, those for capital city forests, those for royal family’s graves, royal ancestral shrine, and placenta chamber, those for hunting grounds such as martial art teaching fields, and relief policies for people in areas damaged by forest fires, forest fire policies for national defense facilities such as beacon fire stations, and burning and burning control policies for pest control. In conclusion, due to the seriousness of forest fires in the Joseon Dynasty period, the royal authority and local administrative agencies made various forest fire prevention policies, policies for stabilization of the people’s livelihood damaged due to forest fires, and methods to manage major facilities in forests.
Visual Fatigue Prediction for Stereoscopic Image KIM, Donghyun; SOHN, Kwanghoon
IEEE transactions on circuits and systems for video technology,
02/2011, Letnik:
21, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
In this letter, we propose a visual fatigue prediction metric which can replace subjective evaluation for stereoscopic images. It detects stereoscopic impairments caused by inappropriate shooting ...parameters or camera misalignment which induces excessive horizontal and vertical disparities. Pearson's correlation was measured between the proposed metrics and the subjective results by using k -fold cross-validation, acquiring ranges of 78-87% with sparse feature and 74-85% with dense feature.
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