• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.694-702
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• 2007

The adaptation effect originating from the chemical synapse between auditory nerve and inner hair cell gives advantage in accurate representation of temporal cues of incoming speech such as speech onset. Thus it is expected that the modification of conventional speech processing strategies of cochlear implant(CI) by incorporating the adaptation effect will result in considerable improvement of speech perception performance such as consonant perception score. Our purpose in this paper was to evaluate our new CI speech processing strategy incorporating the adaptation effect by the observation of auditory nerve responses. By classifying the presence or absence of speech from the auditory nerve responses, i. e. spike trains, we could quantitatively compare speech onset detection performances of conventional and improved strategies. We could verify the effectiveness of the adaptation effect in improving the speech onset representation characteristics.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.1-14
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• 2013

A species restoration plan requires a process where the first is to thoroughly study the target species, second is to provide them with an onsite reproduction and adaptation period, and finally, third is to release them to their natural habitat. This study focuses on the space planning for target species' successful onsite reproduction and adaptation. For the study, a site planning near Sobaeksan National Park was implemented with Red Fox's behavior and habitat characteristics in mind for its recovery, reproduction, and natural adaptation. During site selection and planning, the basic aim was to incorporate the existing site as much as possible thus reducing the impact on the environment from the recovery plan. In addition, for a stable recovery of the Red Fox population, the site was classified into three different areas : core area, buffer zone, and transition area. Then, the facilities that help Red Fox's reproduction and adaptation such as reproduction center, foraging site, adaptation training center were planned. Under the condition that the site will be off limit to the public, a limited number of paths for monitoring was provided. For the site's vegetation, the existing species were planted as much as possible with the addition of plants that the Red Fox consume. The facilities included as Red Fox's habitat were fox burrows for hiding and ecological ponds for drinking. From this study, the recovery of the endangered fox species is expected as well as the contribution to an effort to increase of awareness toward the biological resources in Korea through Nagoya protocol. Furthermore, it has the potential to change the public's attitude toward endangered species recovery projects through publicizing and providing experience to the national park visitors.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.34-44
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• 1998

Living organisms are influenced by many external rhythms and they have adapted their physiology to periodically changing conditions. These adaptive strategies are controlled by endogenous innate programs of behavior and physiology which are determined by external signals ("Zeitgeber"). There are many biological rhythms, each with its own characteristic functional adaptation. Among them, the presence of endogenous time control of feeding and drinking becomes obvious. There are increasing evidences that the control of food intake, food selection, and drinking are regulated by the endogenous rhythms including a circadian rhythm. However, there have been many restrictions in understanding the endogenous control of food intake itself and its mechanism. To broaden our know ledges of the endogenous time control of feeding and drinking, the author reviwed the characteristics of the endogenous timing for food intake, the influence of circadian pacemakers and food-entrainable oscillators, the interaction between the circadian control and the external and internal conditions in the control of food intake, the conseqences of feeding, the circadian control of food selection, and the biological cycles in energy balance.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
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• 2015.05a
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• pp.15-15
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• 2015

Aspergillus fumigatus is a major cause of invasive aspergillosis (IA), a significant health issue worldwide with high mortality rates up to 95%. Our lab is interested in how A. fumigatus adapts to low oxygen conditions 'hypoxia', which is one of the important host microenvironments. A. fumigatus SrbA is a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcriptional regulator and belongs to sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP) family members. Loss of SrbA completely blocks growth in hypoxia and results in avirulence in murine models of IA suggesting an essential role of SrbA in hypoxia adaptation and virulence in A. fumigatus. We conducted chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) with A. fumigatus wild type using a SrbA specific antibody, and 97 genes were revealed as SrbA direct targets. One of the 'SrbA regulons' (AFUB_099590) was a putative bHLH transcriptional regulator whose sequence contained a characteristic tyrosine substitution in the basic portion of the bHLH domain of SREBPs. Therefore, we designated AFUB_099590 SrbB. Further characterization of SrbB demonstrated that SrbB is important for radial growth, biomass production, and biosynthesis of heme intermediates in hypoxia and virulence in A. fumigatus. A series of quantitative real time PCR showed that transcription of several SrbA regulons is coordinately regulated by two SREBPs, SrbA and SrbB in hypoxia. This suggests that SrbA and SrbB have both dependent and independent functions in regulation of genes responsible for hypoxia adaptation in A. fumigatus. Together, our data provide new insights into complicated roles of SREBPs in adaptation of host environments and virulence in pathogenic fungi.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.81-89
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• 2000

To determine the optimal rotational shift system, the effect of the direction of the rotational work shifting on the nocturnal rhythm of plasma melatonin were investigated in nursing students. Two groups of nine volunteers participated as experimental subjects, and two nursing students participated as a control group. The directions of the rotational work shift were as follows: CW(clockwise)-shift were rotated in the direction of day shift(3 days), evening shift(3 days), off duty(1 day) and night shift(5 days), and CCW(conuterclockwise)-shift were done in the reverse direction. Plasma melatonin concentrations was measured by radioimmunoassay. The results were as follows : The plasma melatonin levels were kept low at night and in the following morning in the CW night shift workers, whereas the level started to increase at 05 : 00 hr in two workers of four CCW shift workers. These result suggests that the shift rotation in the CW direction is more acceptable in terms of the adaptation of hormonal rhythms. These results indicate that the CCW rotation of shift work is somewhat better than CCW rotation for the adaptation to shift work on hormonal aspects in nurses.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2022

Objectives In regard to the social competition hypothesis, depression is viewed as an involuntary defeat strategy. A previous study has demonstrated that adaptation in microenvironments can result in a wide range of behavioural patterns including defense activation disorders. Using a simulation model with evolutionary ecological agents, we explore how the fitness of various defence activation traits has changed over time in different environments with high and low social mobility. Methods The Evolutionary Ecological Model of Defence Activation Disorder, which is based on the Marginal Value Theorem, was used to examine changes in relative fitness for individuals with defensive activation disorders after adjusting for social mobility. Results Our study examined the effects of social mobility on fitness by varying the d-values, a measure of depression in the model. With a decline in social mobility, the level of fitness of individuals with high levels of defense activation decreased. We gained insight into the evolutionary influence of varying levels of social mobility on individuals' degrees of depression. In the context of a highly stratified society, the results support a mismatch hypothesis which states that high levels of defence are detrimental. Conclusions Despite the fact that niche specialization in habitats composed of multiple microenvironments can result in diverse levels of defensive activation being evolutionary strategies for stability, decreased social mobility may lead to a decrease in fitness of individuals with highly activated defence modules. There may be a reason behind the epidemic of depression in modern society.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.55-60
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• 2011

Although sound intensity is considered as one of important factors in auditory processing, its neural mechanism in auditory neurons with limited dynamic range of firing rates is still unclear. In this study, we examined the effect of sound intensity adaptation on the change of glucose metabolism in a rat brain using [F-18] micro positron emission tomography (PET) neuroimaging technique. In the experiment, broadband white noise sound was given for 30 minutes after the [F-18]FDG injection in order to explore the functional adaptation of rat brain into the sound intensity levels. Nine rats were scanned with four different sound intensity levels: 40 dB, 60 dB, 80 dB, 100 dB sound pressure level (SPL) for four weeks. When glucose uptake during the adaptation of a high intensity sound level (100 dB SPL) was compared with that during adaptation to a low intensity level (40 dB SPL) in the experiment, the former induced a greater uptake at bilateral cochlear nucleus, superior olivary complexes and inferior colliculi in the auditory pathway. Expectedly, the metabolic activity in those areas linearly increased as the sound intensity level increased. In contrast, significant decrease interestingly occurred in the bilateral auditory cortices: The activities of auditory cortex proportionally decreased with higher sound intensities. It may reflect that the auditory cortex actively down-regulates neural activities when the sound gets louder.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.326-335
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• 2020

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the construct validity, reliability, measurement invariance, and latent mean differences in the Breastfeeding Adaptation Scale-Short Form (BFAS-SF) for use with mothers at 2 weeks postpartum. Methods: This methodological study was designed to evaluate the validity, reliability, and measurement invariance of the BFAS-SF at 2 weeks postpartum, with data collected from 431 breastfeeding mothers. Confirmatory factor analysis and multi-group confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to assess the factor structure and the measurement invariance across employment status, delivery mode, parity, and previous breastfeeding experience, and the latent mean differences were then examined. Results: The goodness of fit of the six-factor model at 2 weeks postpartum was acceptable. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis supported strict invariance of the BFAS-SF across employment status and delivery mode. Full configural invariance, full metric invariance, and partial scalar invariance across parity and full configural invariance and full metric invariance across previous breastfeeding experience were supported, respectively. The results for latent mean differences suggested that mothers who were employed showed significantly higher scores for breastfeeding confidence. Mothers who had a vaginal delivery showed significantly higher scores for sufficient breast milk and baby's feeding capability. Multiparous mothers showed significantly higher scores for baby's feeding capability and baby's satisfaction with breastfeeding. Conclusion: The validity and reliability of the BFAS-SF at 2 weeks postpartum are acceptable. It can be used to compare mean scores of breastfeeding adaptation according to employment status, delivery mode, and parity.

• Korean journal of health promotion
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.147-158
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• 2018

Background: This study was designed to investigate the effects of usual negative emotional experiences on biological aging progression of human. Methods: A total of 237 subjects who visited the Health Promotion Center at Chungnam National University Hospital from May 2013 through September 2013 was enrolled. Each subject had been drawn up a structured questionnaire about usual experiences of depression, anxiety, anger, and anger expression. The degree of biological aging progression of each subject was computed by a specific formula which consisted of chronological age and biological age reflecting obesity and aging of main organs. Results: Trait anger and low education level showed the significant correlations with biological aging (r=0.160, P=0.014, and r=-0.189, P=0.024, respectively). Trait anger and low education level solely displayed the significant $R^2s$ for biological aging in consequence of multivariate analyses; $R^2=0.044$, P=0.020, and $R^2=0.022$, P=0.038, respectively. Conclusions: This study suggests that the significant relationship between usual anger experience (i.e., trait anger) and biological aging would be present. In addition, lower education level may be related with biological aging.

• Journal of Korean Institute of Industrial Engineers
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.239-249
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• 2001

Competitive coevolution models, often called host-parasite models, are searching models that imitate the biological coevolution that is a series of reciprocal changes in two competing species. The models are known to be an effective method of solving complex and dynamic problems such as game problems, neural network design problems and constraint satisfaction problems. However, previous models consider only ectoparasites that live on the outside of the host when designing the models, not considering endoparasites that live on the inside of the host. This has a limitation to exploiting some information. In this paper, we develop an artificial adaptation model simulating the process in which hosts coevolve with both ectoparasites and endoparasites. In the model, the endoparasites play important roles as follows. By means of them, we can keep the history on results of previous competition between hosts and parasites, and use endogeneous fitness, not exogeneous. Extensive experiments are carried out to show the coevolution phenomenon and to verify the performance of the proposed model. Nim game problems and neural network problems are used as test-bed problems. The results are reported in this paper.