The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the worst infectious disasters in human history. The best way to minimize COVID-19 transmission is to follow preventive measures. This study aimed to examine the factors influencing adolescents' COVID-19 prevention behaviors. The study was conducted online from 1 to 15 February 2023 with 196 adolescents aged between 13 and 18 years of age. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, the independent t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and multiple hierarchical regression analysis. Adolescents' COVID-19 prevention behaviors were influenced by intrapersonal factors, such as knowledge of and attitudes toward COVID-19, and interpersonal factors, such as social support. Community and governmental factors had no impact. Public health education strategies should be planned to include friends and family members in programs for preventing new infectious diseases such as COVID-19 so that adolescents can learn and share what they have learned, correct wrong behavior, and understand and change infection prevention behavior. In addition, it is necessary to actively support the development of public health education with appropriate contents in accordance with the characteristics and preferences of adolescents.

This study examines the relationship among consumer confidence, food away from home (FAFH) and food at home (FAH) in the U.S. to figure out the high potential food sector for reducing food waste. Specifically, this paper uses the monthly data from January 2010 to December 2020 and the threshold vector error correction model (TVECM) for the analysis. Our test results of Johansen cointegration and threshold cointegration show that pairs of consumer confidence–FAFH and consumer confidence–FAH have a nonlinear long-run relationship. According to TVECM results, consumer confidence has a positive long-run Granger causation on FAFH approximately 93% (regimes 2 and 3), and on FAH over 5.4% (regime 3). About 7% of periods (regime 1) not included for a long-run Granger causation of consumer confidence on FAFH, and 5.4% period on FAH pertain to the COVID-19 period. Therefore, we conclude that a positive long-run Granger causation of consumer confidence on food consumption in the U.S. exists only in the FAFH. Based on our results, the policy implication is that the U.S. should focus on the FAFH to reduce food waste by predicting food demand to manage food stock.

This paper examines whether the quality-certification system might benefit developing economies while there is a widespread conjecture that the system might negatively affect technologically less developed economies. Based on a simple oligopoly model where a developing economy trades with an advanced economy that produces higher quality products, we demonstrate that the introduction of a quality certification system between technologically asymmetric countries might deteriorate the trade balance of the developing economy with the widened technology gap. In addition, we demonstrate that the empirical evidence from the Chinese experience of introducing a quality certification system for imported products from the EU supports the theoretical findings. That is, the imports from the EU to China have significantly increased with the increased quality gap after China introduced the quality certification system. The results implicate that the quality certification system might damage less developed economies when advanced economies hesitate technology transfer, and therefore, it is increasingly imperative to introduce an international coordination mechanism for active technology transfer when quality certification systems are introduced with respect to developing economies.

Ultrasonic neuromodulation (UNMOD) provides a non-invasive brain stimulation. However, the high-resolution region-specificity of UNMOD with a single element transducer combined with a mechanical positioning system could have limits due to the intrinsic positioning error from mechanical systems. A phased array system could lead to highly selective neuromodulation with electronic control. A specialized phased-array system with a robotic arm is implemented for a rhesus monkey model. Various primary motor cortex areas related to tail, hand, and mouth were stimulated with a 200μm step size. The ultrasonic parameters were ISPTA of 840mW/cm2, pulse repetition frequency of 100Hz, and a 5% duty factor at 600kHz. The induced movement were recorded and analyzed. Separate digits, mouth, and tongue motions were successfully induced by electronically controlling the focus. The identical body part movement could be induced when the focus was moved back to the identical primary motor cortex with electronic control. Accordingly, the reproducibility of UNMOD could be partially validated with rhesus monkey model. A phased-array system appears to have a potential for the non-invasive and region-selective neuromodulation method.

This study investigated the impact of population aging on the relationship between exports and economic growth in Korea using the export-led growth hypothesis framework with an autoregressive distributed lag model and data for the period 1990–2021. We found that export positively influenced economic growth. However, the effect of export on economic growth was negative considering population aging. Furthermore, the negative effect of export increased with aging. Our results also show a positive effect of population aging on economic growth in the long run, which implies the dominance of the human capital effect over the negative productivity effect. Hence, our results indicate that developed countries seeking to achieve sustainable growth through exports should control the population aging problem. Our study suggests two possible policies for solving the population aging problem: promote births and encourage immigration growth.

Ambipolar field-effect transistors (FETs) possessing both electron and hole carriers enable implementation of novel reconfigurable transistors, artificial synaptic transistors, and output polarity controllable (OPC) amplifiers. Here, we fabricated a two-dimensional (2D) material-based complementary ambipolar FET and investigated its electrical characteristics. Properties of ohmic-like contacts at source/drain sides were verified from output characteristics and temperature-dependent measurements. The symmetry of electron and hole currents can be easily achieved by optimization of the MoS2 or WSe2 channels, different from the conventional ambipolar FET with fundamental issues related to Schottky barriers. In addition, we demonstrated successful operation of a complementary inverter and OPC amplifier, using the fabricated complementary ambipolar FET based on 2D materials.

This study aims to determine whether the effect of interactivity on participation in virtual sports has risen because of the COVID-19 pandemic and if there is a difference in decision-making. The significance of social factors may be highlighted even more as a rationale for using virtual reality (VR) sports apps throughout the prolonged COVID-19 epidemic. A model was built based on the literature to describe the intention to participate in VR sports, and eight associated hypotheses were established. A sample of 301 submissions from a user poll on Korea's cycling information sharing website was used for our analysis. SPSS 23.0 (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA) and AMOS 18.0 (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA) were used to validate Hypotheses 1-8 using a multigroup structural equation model (SEM) analysis and multigroup analysis. Although some hypotheses were not validated, the impact of perceived interaction presented as an extra variable altered based on the group participating before and after the COVID-19 epidemic, and the study's goal was achieved. Given that information technology has evolved by overcoming physical space and socio-cultural constraints to create a society that connects people, the importance of online interaction, such as networking and competition between users, will be emphasized in the VR sports field in the future.

This study aimed to investigate factors affecting behavioral intentions to use defibrillators among clinical nurses in South Korea, using a modified predictive technology acceptance model 2 (TAM 2) that facilitates understanding of what prompts apparent spontaneous actions. This descriptive, cross-sectional study included 467 clinical nurses with more than 6 months of clinical experience. The path analysis results showed that the variables directly affecting the intention to use a defibrillator among clinical nurses were the image, organizational support, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness. Moreover, job autonomy and total career indirectly affected the intention to use a defibrillator. Clinical nurses need to know how to use defibrillators and be able to act promptly on patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA). Organizational managers need to improve the work environments of clinical nurses accordingly. Additionally, it is necessary to establish a policy foundation to ensure the development of competence and job autonomy that can lead to the use of defibrillators by improving various factors, including anxiety or reluctance of nurses to use defibrillators in acute cardiac arrest.

Lumbar central spinal stenosis (LCSS) is a common disorder that causes disability and pain in the elderly. It causes pain in the radicular leg. Recently, transforaminal epidural steroid injection (TFESI) has been widely used to control radicular leg pain caused by LCSS. However, in cases of severe LCSS, drugs injected using TFESI cannot spread into the spinal canal and would have less therapeutic effects than in mild LCSS. To compensate for this limitation of TFESI, we injected steroids and botulinum toxin type A into the bilateral facet joints, evaluated their effects, and compared them with those of TFESI. One hundred patients with severe LCSS were included in the study and randomly allocated to either the facet injection (FI) or TFESI group. For 50 patients in the FI group, 30 mg (40 mg/mL) of triamcinolone with 50 IU of botulinum toxin type A mixed with a 1 mL solution of 100 mL of 50% dextrose water and 30 mL of 4% lidocaine were administered into the bilateral facet joints under fluoroscopy. For 50 patients in the TFESI group, 30 mg (40 mg/mL) of triamcinolone with 0.8 mL of 2% lidocaine and 2.5 mL of 50% dextrose water was injected bilaterally under fluoroscopy. Radicular leg pain (measured with a numeric rating scale) and pain-related disability (measured with the modified Oswestry Disability Index) due to severe LCSS were significantly reduced after facet joint injection. The therapeutic effects were greater after facet joint injection than after bilateral TFESI. The injection of a mixed solution of steroids and botulinum toxin type A into the bilateral facet joints would be a beneficial therapeutic option in patients with severe LCSS.

This study investigates the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and CO2 emissions in Korea, applying the autoregressive distributed lag model. Specifically, we test the impact of FDI on CO2 emissions based on Korea’s level of economic growth, using yearly data from 1971 to 2015. Our results show that, in the long run, FDI inflows positively affect CO2 emissions. However, the absolute size of the positive effect decreases with an increase in income. Eventually, the effect of FDI inflows changes from positive to negative, increasing the GDP per capita, in the long run. Thus, while the pollution haven hypothesis is satisfied at a lower income level, the pollution halo hypothesis becomes applicable at a higher income level. For Korea, the optimal policy strategy at the current income level, is to maximize FDI inflows. Our results also imply that a policy promoting FDI inflows to developed countries, is beneficial both economically and environmentally. Meanwhile, policymakers in developing countries should adopt a balanced policy for FDI inflows, considering their negative effects on the environment and positive effects on economic growth.