• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.1522-1542
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• 2019

To adapt to environmental changes and to maintain cellular homeostasis, microorganisms adjust the intracellular concentrations of biochemical compounds, including metal ions; these are essential for the catalytic function of many enzymes in cells, but excessive amounts of essential metals and heavy metals cause cellular damage. Metal-responsive transcriptional regulators play pivotal roles in metal uptake, pumping out, sequestration, and oxidation or reduction to a less toxic status via regulating the expression of the detoxification-related genes. The sensory and regulatory functions of the metalloregulators have made them as attractive biological parts for synthetic biology, and the exceptional sensitivity and selectivity of metalloregulators toward metal ions have been used in heavy metal biosensors to cope with prevalent heavy metal contamination. Due to their importance, substantial efforts have been made to characterize heavy metal-responsive transcriptional regulators and to develop heavy metal-sensing biosensors. In this review, we summarize the biochemical data for the two major metalloregulator families, SmtB/ArsR and MerR, to describe their metal-binding sites, specific chelating chemistry, and conformational changes. Based on our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms, previously developed metal biosensors are examined to point out their limitations, such as high background noise and a lack of well-characterized biological parts. We discuss several strategies to improve the functionality of the metal biosensors, such as reducing the background noise and amplifying the output signal. From the perspective of making heavy metal biosensors, we suggest that the characterization of novel metalloregulators and the fabrication of exquisitely designed genetic circuits will be required.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.753-767
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• 2020

The commercial value of strawberries is affected by various factors such as their shape, size and color. Among them, size determined by weight is one of the main factors determining the quality grade of strawberries. In this study, image technology was developed to predict the weight of strawberries using the shape characteristics of strawberry cultivars. For realtime weight measurements of strawberries in transport, an image measurement system was developed for weight prediction with a charge coupled device (CCD) color camera and a conveyor belt. A strawberry weight prediction algorithm was developed for three cultivars, Maehyang, Sulhyang, and Ssanta, using the number of pixels in the pulp portion that measured the strawberry weight. The discrimination accuracy (R2) of the weight prediction models of the Maeyang, Sulhyang and Santa cultivars was 0.9531, 0.951 and 0.9432, respectively. The discriminative accuracy (R2) and measurement error (RMSE) of the integrated weight prediction model of the three cultivars were 0.958 and 1.454 g, respectively. These results show that the 2D imaging technology considering the shape characteristics of strawberries has the potential to predict the weight of strawberries.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.241-250
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• 2021

This investigation assessed the berry quality after two months of low-temperature storage (3 ± 1℃) of 'Shine Muscat' grapes, which were treated with CPPU (N-[2-chloro-4-pyridyl]-N'-phenylurea) or TDZ (1-phenyl-3-[1,2,3-thiadiazol-5-yl] urea) in combination with gibbrellic acid (GA₃). The berry shatter rate was the lowest (1%) in 4 cm + CPPU treatment, while it was the highest (2.4%) in 3 cm floral length treated with CPPU. On the other hand, the 4 cm + TDZ treatment resulted in a shatter rate of 2.0%, which was twice as high as that observed after 4 cm + CPPU treatment. The 4 cm + TDZ treatment resulted in a 5.5% berry decay rate, which was the highest among all treatments. Alternatives to using a sulfur dioxide (SD) pad to maintain the quality of 'Shine Muscat' grapes, namely, using ethylene scrubbers (ESs, 3 g × 2 sachet) and alcohol releasers (ARs, 2 g × 2 sachet) in a 2 kg carton package for export, were explored in this study. The berry shatter rate with ES treatment (1.0%) was found to be comparable to that with SD treatment (0.6%) during three months of cold storage. Regarding the berry decay rate, that of the untreated control surged to 36.0% in the three months of storage, followed by 19.9% and 15.5% in samples subjected to AR and ES treatments respectively. Compared with the untreated control, the samples subjected to SD treatment showed a decay rate of 2.2%, which was the most effective in reducing berry decay by 95%. These results demonstrated that SD pad treatment of 'Shine Muscat' grapes was the most effective method of maintaining berry quality, and ES treatment partially reduced the berry shatter and berry decay rates.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.211-219
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• 2022

Over the past decade, double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-mediated gene silencing technology has progressed significantly for pest management in agriculture and for protecting beneficial insects from pathogens. Recently, breakthroughs in RNA interference (RNAi) applications for insect pest management by academia and commercial entities have provided RNAi products as commercial biopesticides. Although RNAi technology has vast potential and advantages for pest control, challenges, and limitations remain in practical applications. This review explores current challenges in the development of dsRNAs as a pest management tool and considers new approaches to overcome biological and environmental obstacles, such as poor stability and resistance.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.15-28
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• 2022

Neuropeptides produced in neurosecretory cells are the largest group of insect hormones. They regulate various physiological functions, such as fat body homeostasis, feeding, digestion, excretion, circulation, reproduction, metamorphosis, and behavior throughout all life stages. The PRXamide peptide family (X, a variable amino acid) is a well-characterized neuropeptide component with a common amino acid sequence, PRXamide (NH₂), at the C-terminal end conserved across Insecta. The PRXamide peptides are classified into three subfamilies, each having diverse biological roles in insects: (1) pyrokinin (PK) includes the pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (PBAN) and the diapause hormone (DH), (2) the capability (CAPA) peptides, and (3) the ecdysis-triggering hormone (ETH). PBAN as a member of PK subfamily was first identified to stimulate pheromone biosynthesis in moths three decades ago. Since then, PBAN peptides have been extensively studied by various research groups from a broad spectrum of arthropods. In this paper, we briefly review insect PBAN molecules with emphasis on gene structure and expression, signal transduction, physiological mechanism in sex pheromone biosynthesis, and application for pest management.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.37-46
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• 2009

The movement of the MR loaded on the train is confined to the bidirectional movement along the rail. Therefore, the AR connected to the MR can use the address information of the neighboring ARs and configure CoA in advance before performing L2 and L3 handoff. The MR can acquire new CoA immediately from the present AR after the movement detection procedure. The performance analysis shows that the proposed scheme can provide CoA to the MR about 1.8(s) at minimum and 4.98(s) at maximum faster than the Stateless scheme because the proposed scheme does not carry out any additional CoA and DAD procedure unlike the Stateless scheme.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.33-33
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• 2022

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a widely studied domesticated model plant. Seed awning is an unfavorable trait during rice harvesting and processing. Hence, awn was one of the target characters selected during domestication. However, the genetic mechanisms underlying awn development in rice are not well understood. In this study, we analyzed the genes for awn development using a mapping population derived from a cross between the Korean indica cultivar 'Milyang23' and NIL4/9 (derived from a cross between 'Hwaseong' and O. minuta). Two quantitative trait loci (QTLs), qAwn4 and qAwn9 were mapped on chromosome 4 and 9, respectively, increased awn length in an additive manner. Through comparative sequencing analyses parental lines, LABA1 was determined as the causal gene underlying qAwn4. qAwn9 was mapped to a 199-kb physical region between markers RM24663 and RM24679. Within this interval, 27 annotated genes were identified, and five genes, including a basic leucine zipper transcription factor 76 (OsbZIP76), were considered candidate genes for qAwn9 based on their functional annotations and sequence variations. Haplotype analysis using the candidate genes revealed tropical japonica specific sequence variants in the qAwn9 region, which partly explains the non-detection of qAwn9 in previous studies that used progenies from interspecific crosses. This provides further evidence that OsbZIP76 is possibly a causal gene for qAwn9. The O. minuta qAwn9 allele was identified as a major QTL associated with awn development in rice, providing an important molecular target for basic genetic research and domestication studies. Our results lay the foundation for further cloning of the awn gene underlying qAwn9.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.182-191
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• 2011

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the sleep patterns of South Korean elementary school children and whether the differences in sleep patterns were related to behavior, emotional problems, attention and academic performance. Method: This study included a community sample of 268 boys and girls from fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade classes in a South Korean metropolitan city from November to December 2010. The primary caregivers completed a questionnaire that included information on demographic characteristics, as well as the Child's Sleep Habit Questionnaire (CSHQ), the Korean version of Child Behavior Checklist (K-CBCL), the Korean version of the Learning Disability Evaluation Scale (K-LDES), the Korean version of ADHD Rating Scale (K-ARS) and the Disruptive Behavior Disorder Scale (DBDS). We conducted analyses on the CSHQ individual items, between the subscales, on the total scores and on the K-CBCL, the K-LEDS, the K-ARS and the DBDS. Results: Based on the findings from the CHSQ, the subjects had significantly higher scores for bedtime resistance ($9.18{\pm}2.17$), delayed sleep onset ($1.32{\pm}0.62$), the sleep duration ($4.19{\pm}1.52$) and daytime sleepiness ($14.10{\pm}3.55$) than the scores from the previous reports on children from western countries. The total CHSQ score showed positive correlations to all subscales of the K-CBCL : withdrawn (r=0.24, p<.005), somatic complaint (r=0.24, p<.005) and anxious/depressive (r=0.38, p<.005). Bedtime resistance was associated with oppositional defiant disorder (r=0.15, p<.05) and a positive correlation was demonstrated between sleep anxiety and the oppositional defiant disorder score (r=0.13, p<.05), night waking and the conduct disorder score (r=0.16, p<.05). Delayed sleep onset was related with low performance on the K-LDES with respect to thinking (r=-0.17, p<.05) and mathematical calculation (r=-0.17, p<.05). Conclusion: The results of this study reconfirm Korean children's problematic sleep patterns. Taken together the results provide that the reduced sleep duration and disruption of sleep pattern can have a significant impact on emotion, behavior, performance of learning in children. Further studies concerning more diverse psychosocial factors affecting sleep pattern will be helpful to understanding of the sleep health in Korean children.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.183-196
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• 2003

Objectives：The Purpose of this study is to investigate the reliability and validity of Korean Parent and Teacher Conners' Rating Scale. Methods：Randomly selected 1st to 6th graders of the two elementary schools(N=1044) in Anyang City participated in the study. Children diagnosed with ADHD(N=23) at the child and adolescent clinic at a university affiliated hospital were included in the study for the analysis of clinical validity of the scales. Parent and teacher completed Korean Conners' Rating Scale and Korean-ADHD Rating Scale(KARS). In addition, parents completed Korean-Children Behavior CheckList(K-CBCL). Descriptive statistics, t-test, and analysis of variance were performed. Results：Scores of Korean Conners' Parents Rating Scale were significantly correlated with those of Korean Conners Teacher Rating Scale. High internal consistency reliability were demonstrated in both parent and teacher rating scales. There were significant correlations among sub-scales of Conners' Rating Scales, K-CBCL and K-ARS. Factor analyses revealed that the K-CTRS had three-factor structure (Inattention-Passivity, Hyperactivity, Conduct Problem) and the K-CPRS had five-factor structure(Impulsive-Hyperactive, Conduct Problem I, Anxiety, Psychosomatic, Conduct Problem II). Conners' Rating Scales effectively distinguish children with ADHD from children without ADHD. Conclusion：Korean Parent and Teacher Conners' Rating Scales are valid and reliable instruments that are useful for screening and identifying childhood problem behaviors. Future studies are required with a larger number of sample sizes including adolescents from various geographic regions.

• Cartoon and Animation Studies
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• s.49
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• pp.611-631
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• 2017

At first there was practice, then festivals and theory followed. Compared to the animation production, which is older then the medium film itself, festivals and theory in this area started with a delay. While animation programs where shown in film festivals like Cannes since the mid 1940s, the first animation festival in Annecy, France was founded in 1960, followed by several short-lived events in Romania, Italy and Tokyo and finally in 1972 by the second oldest festival up to date, Animafest Zagreb. Animation theory evolved in the late 1980s in the Anglo-American area with associations like the Society for Animation Studies, following its 'big sister' film studies. Expanding ever since as a research area, European animation studies in e.g. France, German speaking countries, Poland or Croatia have been catching up in recent years by organizing theoretical conferences and publications. A vivid synergy between practice, festivals and theory has always been a key factor for establishing a platform for the art form and culture of animation. However, in the past few years a trend could be observed towards a more intense interaction between animation festivals and theory. Animation festivals are hosting theoretical and scientific symposia or conferences, which are open for artist positions and insights into the industry. At the beginning of the lecture a short reflection of the concept of Animafest Scanner itself is followed by an introduction of the Symposium Expanded Animation at the media festival Ars Electronica Linz. The talk will subsequently focus on the multilayered academic symposia at the Festival of Animated Film ITFS and the International Conference on Animation, Effects, VR, Games and Transmedia in Stuttgart. These case studies will reveal the blurring boundaries between art, science, theory and industry as well as the specificities of the interplay between artists, practitioners, scholars, curators and festival visitors in different formats.