NP [RSA]

The South Korean government has been pushing for an energy transition, reducing nuclear power (NP) generation and increasing renewable energy (RE) generation, since mid-2017. The government needs quantitative information on the economic effects of the two sectors. This article aims to derive such information through an input-output (IO) analysis using the recently published 2015 IO table. The production-inducing effects, value-added creation effects, and wage-inducing effects of one dollar of production in the two sectors are analyzed using a demand-driven model. One dollar of production or investment in the two sectors causes 1.606 and 1.718 dollars of production, 0.856 and 0.859 dollars of value-added, and 0.168 and 0.174 dollars of wage, respectively. The economic effects of the RE sector are greater than those of the NP sector. The supply-shortage effects of the two sectors are examined using a supply-driven model. One dollar of supply shortage in the RE and NP sectors brings 1.673 and 1.670 dollars of production failure, respectively. The production failure resulting from the supply shortage in the RE sector is smaller than that of the NP sector. A price-side model also revealed that a 10% increase in the price of output in the NP and RE sectors raises the overall price levels by 0.05858% and 0.01304%, respectively. The RE sector is thus better than the NP sector in terms of minimizing supply shortage effects and price-pervasive effects, as well as maximizing economic effects.

Collagen plays a key structural role in both the annulus fibrosus (AF) and nucleus pulposus (NP) of intervertebral disks (IVDs). Changes in collagen content with degeneration suggest a shift from collagen type II to type I within the NP, and the activation of pro-inflammatory factors is indicative of fibrosis throughout. While IVD degeneration is considered a fibrotic process, an increase in collagen content with degeneration, reflective of fibrosis, has not been demonstrated. Additionally, changes in collagen content and structure in human IVDs with degeneration have not been characterized with high spatial resolution. The collagen content of 23 human lumbar L2/3 or L3/4 IVDs was quantified using second harmonic generation imaging (SHG) and multiple image processing algorithms, and these parameters were correlated with the Rutges histological degeneration grade. In the NP, SHG intensity increased with degeneration grade, suggesting fibrotic collagen deposition. In the AF, the entropy of SHG intensity was reduced with degeneration indicating increased collagen uniformity and suggesting less-organized lamellar structure. Collagen orientation entropy decreased throughout most IVD regions with increasing degeneration grade, further supporting a loss in collagen structural complexity. Overall, SHG imaging enabled visualization and quantification of IVD collagen content and organization with degeneration. There was an observed shift from an initially complex structure to more uniform structure with loss of microstructural elements and increased NP collagen polarity, suggesting fibrotic remodeling.