• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.35-47
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• 2024

Objective : This study aimed to investigate the association between lifestyle factors and risk of frailty and depressive symptoms among older South Korean adults. Methods : This study included 10,072 individuals aged 65 or older from the 2017 National Survey of Older Koreans, a cohort of community-dwelling older South Koreans. The following lifestyle factors were assessed: physical activity, nutrition management (NM), and leisure/social activity participation (AP). Frailty was measured using the frail scale and depressive symptoms were measured using the Geriatric Depression Scale. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the odds ratios. Results : All lifestyle factors were associated with the risk of frailty and depressive symptoms in the study population. Regular exercise (≥3 times/wk, odds ratio [OR] = 0.59, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 0.52~0.91; OR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.59~0.75), active NM (OR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.80~0.91; OR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.76~0.86), leisure AP (OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.74~0.84; OR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.66~0.77) and social AP (OR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.88~0.96; OR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.78~0.87) were correlated with lower odds ratios of frailty and depressive symptoms. Conclusion : Adopting a healthier lifestyle characterized by regular exercise, balanced nutrition, and active engagement in various activities can effectively reduce the risk of frailty and depressive symptoms among the older population. Ultimately, this study emphasized the essential role of lifestyle choices in promoting the physical and mental well-being of older adults.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.1082-1094
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• 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of Leuconostoc spp. isolated from radish kimchi and to investigate the potential for the use of functional ingredients by evaluating enzymatic characteristics, safety, and immune-enhancing effects among the isolates, including Lactobacillus rhamnosus ATCC53103 (LGG) as a control strain. All test strains exhibited β-glucosidase enzyme activity that releases β-1,4 sugar chain bonds. In addition, as a result of antibiotic resistance assay among the isolates, MIC values on 8 antibiotics were below compared to the EFSA standard, and hemolytic experiments confirmed that all showed gamma hemolysis without hemolytic ability. As a result of the antibacterial activity experiment, the Leu. mesenteroides K2-4 strain showed a higher activity than LGG against Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus. Additionally, the activity of the NF-kB/AP-1 transcription factor increased when the isolates were treated in macrophage RAW cells. These results were related to increasing the high mRNA expression levels on TNF-α and IL-6 by Leu. mesenteroides K2-4 strain to be treated at low concentration. Consequently, we suggest that it will be useful as a candidate for functional food ingredients.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.97-106
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• 2024

This study utilized the non-invasive MyotonPRO^® device to analyze the stiffness in breast muscles of commercial broilers (Ross 308 and Arbor Acres) and compared these findings with data reported for Ross 708, where Woody Breast (WB) symptoms had been previously documented. The research revealed that Ross 308 and Arbor Acres displayed relatively lower stiffness values compared to Ross 708, suggesting a lack of WB expression. These results indicate differentiation in breast muscle traits across strains and underscore the necessity for further research into factors influencing WB manifestation. The study also measured additional muscle tone characteristics such as Frequency, Decrement, Relaxation, and Creep across various growth stages (2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks), finding significant variations with pronounced severity at weeks 2 and 8. An increase in stiffness was observed as the broilers aged, pointing to potential growth-related or stress-induced changes affecting WB severity. A strong positive correlation was established between increased breast meat weight and WB severity, highlighting that heavier breast meat could exacerbate the condition. This correlation is vital for the poultry industry, suggesting that weight management could help mitigate WB effects. Moreover, the potential for genetic selection and breeding strategies to reduce WB occurrence was emphasized, which could aid in enhancing management practices in commercial poultry production. Collectively, these insights contribute to a deeper understanding of WB in broilers and propose avenues for future research and practical strategies to minimize its impact.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.155-173
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• 2024

Using Regional Employment Survey, this article analyzes the widening employment gap between Capital and Non-Capital regions since the 2008 global financial crisis through describing the spatial distribution of employment by industry and occupation, calculating the regional downward employment rate of university graduates, and estimating the regional distribution of employment growth in terms of wage distribution, and then statistically analyzes the effect of the declining manufacturing employment in the Non-Capital region since the mid-2010s on total employment change. The results from these analyses are as follows. First, since the mid-2000s, the share of producer services and white-collar jobs has increased in the Capital region. Second, the Non-Capital region has a higher share of non-regular workers relative to wage workers than the Capital region. Third, while the downward employment rate has increased in the Non-Capital region since the mid-2010s, it has risen very modestly or stagnated in the Capital region. Fourth, in terms of wage distribution, the pattern of employment growth since the mid-2010s has been U-shaped, a typical polarized pattern of simultaneous growth in low- and high-wage jobs and decline in middle-wage jobs in the Non-Capital region, while in the Capital region it has been L-shaped with the sides reversed, driven by growth in high-wage jobs. Fifth, this employment polarization in the Non-Capital region since the mid-2010s is associated with employment changes in manufacturing, which accounts for a large share of middle wage jobs. Finally, according to the analysis of the effect of regional manufacturing employment changes on total employment changes since the mid-2010s, declines in manufacturing employment reduce the region's regular employment rate and have a larger negative employment effect in the Non-Capital region. Based on these findings, some policy issues are discussed including the branch plant economy regime based on spatial separation of conception and execution, the mix of geographic and skill mobility, the need to improve employability and jobs through human capital accumulation, and short- and long-term responses to employment fluctuations.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.113-121
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• 2024

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress responses are markedly induced during toxic responses caused by various chemical substances, including difenoconazole, but no research has been conducted on 1,2,3-trichloropropane (TCP), a chemical that is generally used in agriculture and industry, which induces hepatotoxicity. Therefore, in this study, the changes in indicators for hepatotoxicity, apoptosis, and ER stress were analyzed in TCP-treated Sprague Dawley (SD) rats to study the regulatory mechanism of ER stress during the hepatotoxicity. The TCP-treated group decreased in body weight and dietary intake compared to the vehicle-treated group, and necrosis and vacuolation increased significantly in liver histology. In addition, the expression of apoptosis-related factors, including Bax/Bcl-2 and cleaved caspase (Cas)-3/Cas-3 increased significantly in the TCP-treated group compared to the vehicle-treated group. In the analysis of ER stress response indicators, the expression of C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), phospho-eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha subunit (eIF2α), and phospho-inositol-requiring enzyme 1α (IRE1α) increased only in the TCP100-treated group and decreased in the TCP200-treated group. However, the transcriptions of growth arrest and DNA damage-34 (GADD34) increased in the TCP200-treated group, while Spliced X-box binding protein-1 (XBP1s) and unspliced XBP1(XBP1u) decreased in the same group. These results suggest that the ER stress response is successfully triggered during the hepatotoxicity induced by TCP treatment through the alternative regulation of the unfolded-protein response (UPR) pathway.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.175-191
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• 2011

With the MICE(Meeting, Incentive travel, Convention, Exhibition) industry coming into the spotlight, there has been a growing interest in the domestic exhibition industry. Accordingly, in Korea, various studies of the industry are being conducted to enhance exhibition performance as in the United States or Europe. Some studies are focusing particularly on analyzing visiting patterns of exhibition visitors using intelligent information technology in consideration of the variations in effects of watching exhibitions according to the exhibitory environment or technique, thereby understanding visitors and, furthermore, drawing the correlations between exhibiting businesses and improving exhibition performance. However, previous studies related to booth recommendation systems only discussed the accuracy of recommendation in the aspect of a system rather than determining changes in visitors' behavior or perception by recommendation. A booth recommendation system enables visitors to visit unplanned exhibition booths by recommending visitors suitable ones based on information about visitors' visits. Meanwhile, some visitors may be satisfied with their unplanned visits, while others may consider the recommending process to be cumbersome or obstructive to their free observation. In the latter case, the exhibition is likely to produce worse results compared to when visitors are allowed to freely observe the exhibition. Thus, in order to apply a booth recommendation system to exhibition halls, the factors affecting the performance of the system should be generally examined, and the effects of the system on visitors' unplanned visiting behavior should be carefully studied. As such, this study aims to determine the factors that affect the performance of a booth recommendation system by reviewing theories and literature and to examine the effects of visitors' perceived performance of the system on their satisfaction of unplanned behavior and intention to reuse the system. Toward this end, the unplanned behavior theory was adopted as the theoretical framework. Unplanned behavior can be defined as "behavior that is done by consumers without any prearranged plan". Thus far, consumers' unplanned behavior has been studied in various fields. The field of marketing, in particular, has focused on unplanned purchasing among various types of unplanned behavior, which has been often confused with impulsive purchasing. Nevertheless, the two are different from each other; while impulsive purchasing means strong, continuous urges to purchase things, unplanned purchasing is behavior with purchasing decisions that are made inside a store, not before going into one. In other words, all impulsive purchases are unplanned, but not all unplanned purchases are impulsive. Then why do consumers engage in unplanned behavior? Regarding this question, many scholars have made many suggestions, but there has been a consensus that it is because consumers have enough flexibility to change their plans in the middle instead of developing plans thoroughly. In other words, if unplanned behavior costs much, it will be difficult for consumers to change their prearranged plans. In the case of the exhibition hall examined in this study, visitors learn the programs of the hall and plan which booth to visit in advance. This is because it is practically impossible for visitors to visit all of the various booths that an exhibition operates due to their limited time. Therefore, if the booth recommendation system proposed in this study recommends visitors booths that they may like, they can change their plans and visit the recommended booths. Such visiting behavior can be regarded similarly to consumers' visit to a store or tourists' unplanned behavior in a tourist spot and can be understand in the same context as the recent increase in tourism consumers' unplanned behavior influenced by information devices. Thus, the following research model was established. This research model uses visitors' perceived performance of a booth recommendation system as the parameter, and the factors affecting the performance include trust in the system, exhibition visitors' knowledge levels, expected personalization of the system, and the system's threat to freedom. In addition, the causal relation between visitors' satisfaction of their perceived performance of the system and unplanned behavior and their intention to reuse the system was determined. While doing so, trust in the booth recommendation system consisted of 2nd order factors such as competence, benevolence, and integrity, while the other factors consisted of 1st order factors. In order to verify this model, a booth recommendation system was developed to be tested in 2011 DMC Culture Open, and 101 visitors were empirically studied and analyzed. The results are as follows. First, visitors' trust was the most important factor in the booth recommendation system, and the visitors who used the system perceived its performance as a success based on their trust. Second, visitors' knowledge levels also had significant effects on the performance of the system, which indicates that the performance of a recommendation system requires an advance understanding. In other words, visitors with higher levels of understanding of the exhibition hall learned better the usefulness of the booth recommendation system. Third, expected personalization did not have significant effects, which is a different result from previous studies' results. This is presumably because the booth recommendation system used in this study did not provide enough personalized services. Fourth, the recommendation information provided by the booth recommendation system was not considered to threaten or restrict one's freedom, which means it is valuable in terms of usefulness. Lastly, high performance of the booth recommendation system led to visitors' high satisfaction levels of unplanned behavior and intention to reuse the system. To sum up, in order to analyze the effects of a booth recommendation system on visitors' unplanned visits to a booth, empirical data were examined based on the unplanned behavior theory and, accordingly, useful suggestions for the establishment and design of future booth recommendation systems were made. In the future, further examination should be conducted through elaborate survey questions and survey objects.