• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.99-110
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• 2019

Objective: The aim of the present study was to develop a valid and reliable scale that measures the healthy life styles among young adults. Design: A methodological study design was employed to develop and validate the Healthy Lifestyle Screening Tool (HLST). Methods: The validity and reliability of the HLST were established in accordance with DeVellis' 8 steps guideline for tool development. The question items were generated based on literature reviews and interviews, which were then classified into 12 categories. The HLST was administered to 272 students attending a Korean university. The reliability was tested using Cronbach's alpha. The validity of the scale was examined with the mean inter-item correlations (MIIC) and factor analysis, and was also examined for content validity by experts. Results: The reliability of the HLST was found to be acceptable, as indicated by a Cronbach's alpha of 0.71. In the validity test, items with less than 80% "agreement" ratings on the content validity index by experts were revised. The MIIC values were greater than 0.25. A factor analysis of 36 items extracted 9 factors (i.e., four items per factor), which together explained 50.4% of the variance. The HLST consists of 36 items that measure 9 factors based on a 4-point Likert rating scale, with 4 items per factor, as follows: sunlight, water, air, rest, exercise, nutrition, temperance, trust, and general physical condition. High scores on the HLST are indicative of a healthy lifestyle (HL). Conclusions: The HLST is a valid and reliable scale that can be used to measure HL among young adults. Identification of HL by using the HLST can provide guidance to integrated therapeutic approaches along with conventional physical therapy.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.102-106
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• 2018

Aggrecan is a proteoglycan in the extracellular matrix of growth plate and cartilaginous tissues. Aggrecanopathy has been reported as a genetic cause not only for severe skeletal dysplasia but also for autosomal dominant short stature with normal to advanced bone age. We report a novel heterozygous mutation of ACAN in a Korean family with proportionate short stature identified through targeted exome sequencing. We present a girl of 4 years and 9 months with a family history of short stature over three generations. The paternal grandmother is 143 cm tall (-3.8 as a Korean standard deviation score [SDS]), the father 155 cm (-3.4 SDS), and the index case 96.2 cm (-2.9 SDS). Evaluation for short stature showed normal growth hormone (GH) peaks in the GH provocation test and a mild delayed bone age for chronological age. This subject had clinical characteristics including a triangular face, flat nasal bridge, prognathia, blue sclerae, and brittle teeth. The targeted exome sequencing was applied to detect autosomal dominant growth palate disorder. The novel variant c.910G>A (p.Asp304Asn) in ACAN was identified and this variant was found in the subject's father using Sanger sequencing. This is the first case of Korean familial short stature due to ACAN mutation. ACAN should be considered for proportionate idiopathic short stature, especially in cases of familial short stature.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.82 no.3
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• pp.217-226
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• 2019

Background: Depression is a recognized complication of lung cancer underreported in developing countries such as Malaysia. Treating and identifying depression in cancer patients increases survival and quality of life. Our objectives are to study prevalence of depressive symptoms in newly diagnosed lung carcinoma, and examine the relationship of depressive symptoms with other influencing risk factors. Methods: A 2-year, cross sectional study February 2015-February 2017, was conducted at Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan, and Penang General Hospital. One hundred and three patients with newly diagnosed, biopsy confirmed primary lung carcinoma were recruited. Self-rated patient's identification sheet, validated Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D), and Dukes University Religion Index score from three different main languages were used. Results: Prevalence of current depressive symptoms (CES-D total score ${\geq}16$) is 37.9%. The result suggests prevalence of those at high risk of moderate to major depression, may need treatment. Multivariate analysis reveals those with good Eastern Cooperation Oncology Group factor (${\eta}2=0.24$, p<0.001) married (${\eta}2=0.14$, p<0.001) with intrinsic religiosity (IR) (${\eta}2=0.07$, p<0.02) are more resistant to depression. Conclusion: One in three of lung carcinoma patients, are at increased risk for depression. Clinicians should be aware that risk is highest in those with poor performance status, single, and with poor IR. We suggest routine screening of depression symptoms as it is feasible, to be performed during a regular clinic visit with immediate referral to psychiatrist when indicated.

• Mycobiology
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.230-241
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• 2019

The Great Sebkha of Oran is a closed depression located in northwestern of Algeria. Despite the ranking of this sebkha among the wetlands of global importance by Ramsar Convention in 2002, no studies on the fungal community in this area have been carried out. In our study, samples were collected from two different regions. The first region is characterized by halophilic vegetation and cereal crops and the second by a total absence of vegetation. The isolated strains were identified morphologically then by molecular analysis. The biotechnological interest of the strains was evaluated by testing their ability to grow at different concentration of NaCl and to produce extracellular enzymes (i.e., lipase, amylase, protease, and cellulase) on solid medium. The results showed that the soil of sebkha is alkaline, with the exception of the soil of cereal crops that is neutral, and extremely saline. In this work, the species Gymnoascus halophilus, Trichoderma gamsii, the two phytopathogenic fungi, Fusarium brachygibbosum and Penicillium allii, and the teleomorphic form of P. longicatenatum observed for the first time in this species, were isolated for the first time in Algeria. The halotolerance test revealed that the majority of the isolated are halotolerant. Wallemia sp. and two strains of G. halophilus are the only obligate halophilic strains. All strains are capable to secrete at least one of the four tested enzymes. The most interesting species presenting the highest enzymatic index were Aspergillus sp. strain A4, Chaetomium sp. strain H1, P. vinaceum, G. halophilus, Wallemia sp. and Ustilago cynodontis.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.31.1-31.7
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• 2018

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in the nonobese population is not low. However, the identification and risk mitigation of MS are not easy in this population. We aimed to develop an MS prediction model using genetic and clinical factors of nonobese Koreans through machine learning methods. A prediction model for MS was designed for a nonobese population using clinical and genetic polymorphism information with five machine learning algorithms, including naïve Bayes classification (NB). The analysis was performed in two stages (training and test sets). Model A was designed with only clinical information (age, sex, body mass index, smoking status, alcohol consumption status, and exercise status), and for model B, genetic information (for 10 polymorphisms) was added to model A. Of the 7,502 nonobese participants, 647 (8.6%) had MS. In the test set analysis, for the maximum sensitivity criterion, NB showed the highest sensitivity: 0.38 for model A and 0.42 for model B. The specificity of NB was 0.79 for model A and 0.80 for model B. In a comparison of the performances of models A and B by NB, model B (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC] = 0.69, clinical and genetic information input) showed better performance than model A (AUC = 0.65, clinical information only input). We designed a prediction model for MS in a nonobese population using clinical and genetic information. With this model, we might convince nonobese MS individuals to undergo health checks and adopt behaviors associated with a preventive lifestyle.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.151-158
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• 2019

Objectives of this study were to identify the hotspot for displacement of the on-line water quality sensors, in order to detect illicit discharge of untreated wastewater. A total of twenty-six water quality parameters were measured in sewer networks of the industrial complex located in Daejeon city as a test-bed site of this study. For the water qualities measured on a daily basis by 2-hour interval, the self-organizing maps(SOMs), one of the artificial neural networks(ANNs), were applied to classify the catchments to the clusters in accordance with patterns of water qualities discharged, and to determine the hotspot for priority sensor allocation in the study. The results revealed that the catchments were classified into four clusters in terms of extent of water qualities, in which the grouping were validated by the Euclidean distance and Davies-Bouldin index. Of the on-line sensors, total organic carbon(TOC) sensor, selected to be suitable for organic pollutants monitoring, would be effective to be allocated in D and a part of E catchments. Pb sensor, of heavy metals, would be suitable to be displaced in A and a part of B catchments.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.186-198
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• 2021

The introduction of digital technologies affects most socio-economic processes and activities in the economy, from agriculture to public services. Even though the world is currently only in the early stages of digital transformation, the digital economy is growing rapidly, especially in developing countries. Shortly, digital platforms will be able to replace the "invisible hand" of the market and turn it into digital. Some digital platforms have already reached global reach in some sectors of the economy. The growing value of data and artificial intelligence is reflected in the high capitalization of these enterprises. Their growing role has far-reaching consequences for the organization of economic activity and integration into the field of e-business. However, their importance and level of development in different countries differ significantly. The main purpose of this article is an assessment of the level and trends of the digital economy in the world and the identification of homogeneous groups of states following the main trends in the development of its components from among the EU countries. The methodology of the conducted research is based on the use of general scientific research methods in the analysis of secondary sources and the application of statistical methods of correlation-regression and cluster analysis. Macroeconomic indicators and components of DESI (Digital Economy and Society Index) were used for the analysis. Results. Based on the analysis established that most developed countries have a medium level of digitalization of the business environment and a high level of digitalization of socially oriented public services, while countries with lower GDP focus their policies on building digital infrastructure and training qualified personnel. The study summarizes and analyzes current trends in digital technology, analyzes the level and dynamics of integration of digital technologies of the studied EU countries, the level of development of e-business and e-commerce. The conceptualization of mechanisms of creation of added value in the digital economy is offered and the possible consequences of digitalization of the economy of developing countries are generalized.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.283-297
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• 2021

Investigation of genetic diversity and molecular characterization in high yielding rice varieties is important for their identification. The experiment was conducted during 2016 - 2017 to analyse the genetic diversity of fifteen high yielding rice varieties in Bangladesh by using random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Polymorphism was revealed in 12 RAPD primers out of 30, whereas no other reaction was detected on the remaining 18 primers. The 40 out of 45 bands (88.89%) polymorphics were produced by the primers and ranged from 50 to 100%. The maximum number of polymorphic bands was produced by the primer OPB-18 whereas the lowest number of polymorphic bands belonged to OPC-12. The genetic similarity coefficients were determined with the RAPD data, which ranged from 0.47 to 0.94. The unweighted paired group of arithmetic means (UPGMA) dendrogram presented the studied rice varieties into two major clusters. Moreover, the value of Nei's genetic diversity is 0.26 and the Shanon information index is 0.41. The study produced distinct positions, suggesting that the genotypes were different from each other. The results indicated that these markers could be efficient for comparing the genetic relationships, patterns of variation, and measurement of genetic distance among rice varieties. Considering all of these results, RAPD analysis is found to be an effective tool for estimating the genetic diversity of different rice varieties. The outcomes of this research may contribute to the germplasm data of rice accessions and a future breeding program of rice genotypes.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.55-64
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• 2021

Tephrochronology is the study of tephra layers to correlate and date geologic events. As tephra layers can be used as time-markers, they are essential for the dating of Quaternary deposits. In this study, two types of tephra layers were found in the upper and lower parts of marine terrace deposits distributed in the Sanha-dong and Jeongja-dong, Ulsan areas. Based on the morphological features of glass shards, refractive indices, major element compositions, and similarity coefficients, the upper and lower tephras were identified as AT (ca. 25 ka) and Ata (ca. 105-110 ka) tephra, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first official report of Ata tephra on terrestrial deposits in Korea. These results are expected to aidin the research of the Quaternary paleoclimate, paleoenvironment, and active faults in the southeastern part of Korea.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.255-265
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• 2022

Background: Research in environmental health (EH) is of crucial strategic importance for contemporary society. It is becoming even more critical in light of the increasingly rapid pace of environmental changes, opportunities, and threats. Objectives: This study aimed to identify trends and the prospective of environmental health research using SWOT analysis. Methods: The trends in environmental health research were reviewed in previous studies and reports. Reviewed manuscripts were searched for using the keywords of 'environmental health' and 'environmental hygiene' in the KCI (Korean Journal of Citation Index), KISS (Korean Academic Information), PubMed, and Google Scholar. Results: It is essential to center the EH research agenda around key priorities focusing on technological innovation, job creation, and the increasingly prominent role of the private sector. Given the rapidly evolving global sustainability agenda, greater clarity on the ever-increasing sources of complexity and growing expectations of the public might be needed. This requires the identification of criteria to identify EH research priorities with the ultimate goal of maximizing societal benefit. Public health relevance, such as extent and severity of health impact, level of exposure, and inequalities of effects, could be included. Conclusions: Considering the recent interest in and importance of environmental health, a comprehensive approach to environmental health research should be required through the application of the latest science and technology, citizen participation, and environmental health surveillance systems.