• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.538-549
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• 2019

Purpose: This study aimed to explore and compare the knowledge structure of pain management nursing research, between Korea and other countries, applying a text network analysis. Methods: 321 Korean and 6,685 international study abstracts of pain management, published from 2004 to 2017, were collected. Keywords and meaningful morphemes from the abstracts were analyzed and refined, and their co-occurrence matrix was generated. Two networks of 140 and 424 keywords, respectively, of domestic and international studies were analyzed using NetMiner 4.3 software for degree centrality, closeness centrality, betweenness centrality, and eigenvector community analysis. Results: In both Korean and international studies, the most important, core-keywords were "pain," "patient," "pain management," "registered nurses," "care," "cancer," "need," "analgesia," "assessment," and "surgery." While some keywords like "education," "knowledge," and "patient-controlled analgesia" found to be important in Korean studies; "treatment," "hospice palliative care," and "children" were critical keywords in international studies. Three common sub-topic groups found in Korean and international studies were "pain and accompanying symptoms," "target groups of pain management," and "RNs' performance of pain management." It is only in recent years (2016~17), that keywords such as "performance," "attitude," "depression," and "sleep" have become more important in Korean studies than, while keywords such as "assessment," "intervention," "analgesia," and "chronic pain" have become important in international studies. Conclusion: It is suggested that Korean pain-management researchers should expand their concerns to children and adolescents, the elderly, patients with chronic pain, patients in diverse healthcare settings, and patients' use of opioid analgesia. Moreover, researchers need to approach pain-management with a quality of life perspective rather than a mere focus on individual symptoms.

• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.23-35
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• 2023

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to examine the marital status, drinking behavior, and mental health characteristics of alcohol consumers, and to explore the relationship between marital status and mental health among alcohol consumers. Methods: The research data utilized raw data from the 8th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2020), Second Round. A total of 3,713 participants were included in the final analysis. Data analysis was performed using the statistical software SPSS version 26.0. Results: The relationship between the study participants and mental health revealed that compared to those with a spouse, individuals who were divorced or separated had an odds ratio (OR) of 2.598 for 'depression' and an OR of 2.142 for 'suicidal thoughts'. In the case of 'stress perception', individuals who were divorced or separated had an OR of 3.434. In terms of gender, females had an OR of 4.867 for 'depression', an OR of 2.510 for 'suicidal thoughts', and an OR of 1.847 for 'stress perception', compared to males. Regarding age, the odds of 'depression' were 1.801 times higher in the 60 to 79 age group compared to the 18 to 39 age group. For smoking status, smokers had an OR of 2.812 for 'depression' compared to non-smokers. The OR for 'suicidal thoughts' was 3.047, and the OR for 'stress perception' was 1.463. However, the relationship between mental health and binge drinking frequency and quantity of alcohol consumed in a single session was not significant. Conclusion: The divorced, separated, or bereaved groups may be vulnerable to 'depression,' 'suicidal ideation,' and 'stress.' Therefore, there is an expectation to explore strategies for the development and enhancement of community-based mental counseling and health education support programs, aiming to improve the mental well-being and quality of life of individuals and the local community.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.51
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• pp.17.1-17.10
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• 2021

Our previous study on the binding activity between Cel5H and clay minerals showed highest binding efficiency among other cellulase enzymes cloned. Here, based on previous studies, we hypothesized that the positive amino acids on the surface of Cel5H protein may play an important role in binding to clay surfaces. To examine this, protein sequences of Bacillus licheniformis Cel5H (BlCel5H) and Paenibacillus polymyxa Cel5A (PpCel5A) were analyzed and then selected amino acids were mutated. These mutated proteins were investigated for binding activity and force measurement via atomic force microscopy (AFM). A total of seven amino acids which are only present in BlCel5H but not in PpCel5A were selected for mutational studies and the positive residues which are present in both were omitted. Of the seven selected surface lysine residues, only three mutants K196A(M2), K54A(M3) and K157T(M4) showed 12%, 7% and 8% less clay mineral binding ability, respectively compared with wild-type. The probable reason why other mutants did not show altered binding efficiency might be due to relative location of amino acids on the protein surface. Meanwhile, measurement of adhesion forces on mica sheets showed a well-defined maximum at 69±19 pN for wild-type, 58±19 pN for M2, 53±19 pN for M3, and 49±19 pN for M4 proteins. Hence, our results demonstrated that relative location of surface amino acids of Cel5H protein especially positive charged amino acids are important in the process of clay mineral-protein binding interaction through electrostatic exchange of charges.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.1452-1463
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• 2024

Fungi generate different metabolites some of which are intrinsically bioactive and could therefore serve as templates for drug development. In the current study, six endophytic fungi namely Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus tubigenesis, Aspergillus oryzae, Penicillium oxalicum, Aspergillus niger, and Aspergillus brasiliensis were isolated and identified from the medicinal plant, Silybum marianum. These endophytic fungi were identified through intra transcribed sequence (ITS) gene sequencing. The bioactive potentials of fungal extracts were investigated using several bioassays such as antibacterial activity by well-diffusion, MIC, MBC, anti-biofilm, antioxidant, and haemolysis. The Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 was used to determine the antibiofilm activity. The ethyl acetate extract of Aspergillus flavus showed strong to moderate efficacy against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, P. aeruginosa, and Bacillus spizizenii. Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus brasiliensis exhibited significant antibiofilm activity with IC₅₀ at 4.02 and 3.63 mg/ml, while A. flavus exhibited maximum antioxidant activity of 50.8%. Based on HPLC, LC-MS, and NMR experiments kojic acid (1) and carbamic acid (methylene-4, 1-phenylene) bis-dimethyl ester (2) were identified from A. flavus. Kojic acid exhibited DPPH free radical scavenging activity with an IC₅₀ value of 99.3 ㎍/ml and moderate activity against ovarian teratocarcinoma (CH1), colon carcinoma (SW480), and non-small cell lung cancer (A549) cell lines. These findings suggest that endophytic fungi are able to produce promising bioactive compounds which deserve further investigation.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.423-428
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• 2009

Selenium was investigated using human origin preadipocytes to see whether it possesses preventive or therapeutic effects for obesity. Unveiling the potential of selenium in the reduction of adipogenesis can help predict the therapeutic capabilities of selenium in obesity. In the present study, the molecular mechanism of the inhibition of adipogenesis by selenium was explored to unravel the involvement of the AMP-activated protein kinase. There is emerging evidence that AMPK, a sensor of cellular energy status, is a possible molecular target of controlling adipocyte differentiation on the basis of discovery that AMPK is responsible for the major metabolic responses to exercise, and integration of nutritional and hormonal signals to modulate feeding behavior or energy expenditure in the hypothalamus. Treatment of selenium resulted in inhibition of the adipocyte differentiation process and induction of mature apoptosis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. We hypothesized that selenium may exert anti-adipogenic potential though modulating AMPK. We have found that selenium significantly activated AMPK and phosphorylated its substrate acetyl-CoA carboxylase ($ACC-serine^{79}$) during the inhibitory process of adipocytes. Also, the inhibition process of adipocyte differentiation by selenium was comparable to either reveratrol or a synthetic AMPK activator, AICAR (5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-${\beta}$-D-ribofuranoside). To evaluate the involvement of AMPK in anti-lipogensis, we applied AICAR and Compound C, an AMPK inhibitor, to 3T3-L1-adipocytes and found that AMPK is required for the adipocyte differentiation blocking process. These results suggest that selenium has a potential to control adipogenesis and that this effect is mediated by AMPK, an essential kinase for both inhibition of adipocyte differentiation and apoptosis of mature adipocytes.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.10 no.10
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• pp.246-252
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• 2020

In this study, we surveyed the students enrolled in the dental hygiene program to identify how academic self-efficacy and subjective happiness affect academic resilience and, therefore, to help in guidance and adaptation to college life for dental hygiene students. We conducted the self-administered survey by randomized inclusion of dental hygiene students from Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province. A total of 175 students were finally analyzed. The study result showed that subjective happiness and academic self-efficacy were the factors that affected academic resilience and explanatory power accounting for 25.6%. This study has provided a foundational basis for the development of programs to enhance students' adaptation to college life by providing guidance for dental hygiene students and suggesting factors related to adaptation to college life.

• Korean Business Review
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• v.15
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• pp.1-24
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• 2002

Many of the universities in Korea recently is changing the school policy oriented from the supply approach to the demand as the case of business companies. Customer orientation is the key point of the customer satisfaction. But there are few studies focused on the satisfaction of students as a customer. In this paper, we studied the components of satisfaction in university life, the factors affecting on the satisfaction of students, and the relationship among them. The principal components of satisfaction in university life are services related to the activities of students, the utilization of welfare facilities, curriculum, the adminstration on students, and the department office. Factors affecting on the satisfaction of students are expectation, pride, self evaluation on learning, and special activities. Demographic variables, for example, sex, grade, colleges, and so on are also important factors. We also found the fact that the pride was the most important factor, and it gives positive drive on the satisfaction of students in university life. It gives us the important implication to the school policy.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.38C no.1
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• pp.118-130
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• 2013

With the advent of a new services environment based on high-speed mobile networks and high-performance mobile devices, users in real life require content-centric services that provide personalized information conveniently and efficiently. These services are defined as ambient services. To implement and support sustainable ambient services, there is a critical need to conduct research regarding practicable models and methodologies. This paper proposes an effective model for ambient services based on the personalization of real-life space. The model consists of Public Info-space, Universal Info-space and Private Info-space. We also show a methodology for implementing the model with currently available techniques in order to prove that the model and methodology constitute an applicable solution to developing true ambient services. Finally, a kind of role-playing game which is built on a real university campus is presented to show the model to be available, where the test bed infrastructure consists of wireless mesh networks and real-time location systems (RTLSes).

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.134-145
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• 2023

Background: The flowering and fruiting periods play an important role in biological processes. The deciduous dipterocarp forest is an important forest type in Thailand, however the phenological studies are still limited, particularly in different plant life forms. Thus, the present study focused on the flowering and fruiting phenology of herbs, climbers, shrubs, and trees in the deciduous dipterocarp forest at Lampang province of Northern Thailand. Field visits were made to record plant life forms and observe reproductive phenological events at monthly intervals from November 2018 to October 2019 and September to December 2020. Results: The phenological observations were based on 126 species of 45 families and 102 genera. Flowering and fruiting periods showed similar patterns in herbaceous plants, climbers, and shrubs. Most of these species produced flowers and fruits from the end of the rainy season (October) to the winter season (November-January). Whereas most of flowering and fruiting trees were found from the summer season (March-April) to the beginning of the rainy season (May-June). Most of the dry-fruited species occurred during the dry period (winter and summer seasons), while the majority of fleshy-fruited species dominated in the wet period (rainy season). The statistical analysis supported the phenological patterns of flowering and fruiting in the present study. There were significant negative correlations between the number of flowering and fruiting species and temperature. The number of flowering and fruiting species is significantly impacted by the interaction between seasons and plant life forms. Conclusions: Plant life form seems to be the important factor that affects the different phenological patterns in the studied plants. The abiotic and biotic factors play major roles in reproductive phenology. However, long-term study and in-depth phenological observations are necessary for better understanding.

• The Journal of Sustainable Design and Educational Environment Research
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.10-25
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• 2011

Area Offices of Education in Korea assign and execute government budget based on the evaluation of school buildings' safety rating and degree of their deterioration. However, it is never easy to estimate the most appropriate investment amount for old buildings under consideration of their service lives and residual values together. A model of estimating optimum investment cost for obsolete school building is developed taking its life cycle cost into account. The model is also applied to six old buildings in five different schools and found that some of the facilities hardly needed further investment and were better to be rebuilt. The study results will be a great beneficial for officers to make right decision on maintaining obsolete school buildings and to maximize tax payers' money.