• Horticultural Science & Technology
• /
• v.30 no.6
• /
• pp.700-708
• /
• 2012

In order to optimize a method to determine the firmness of Chinese cabbage, hardness of midrib tissues was examined based on their chronological order of emergence. Texture measurement using volodkevich bite jaws gave a consistent and highest regression ($r^2=0.85$) between firmness and the order of leaf emergence, while blade set, cylinder probe, and crisp fracture support rig showed a lower coefficient of determination. Thickness of midrib tissue within an individual head from 16 cultivars of Chinese cabbage was positively correlated with the order of emergence, becoming thinner toward inner leaves. Mean thickness of midrib tissue from the head ranged from 7.74 mm for 'CR-shingshing' and 9.28 mm for 'Norangyeorum'. The covariance of leaf thickness within a head was highly cultivar-dependent, ranging from 23.6% for 'Chihili' and 5.8% for 'Bulam'. Firmness of the midrib tissue, defined as maximum peak height per tissue thickness, became higher from outer to inner leaves, showing $2^{nd}$ order of regression. Mean firmness of the midrib tissue from individual head varied from 1.58 N for 'Rangno' to 3.46 N for 'CR-shingshing'. The $10^{th}$ or $11^{th}$ leaf brought the best correlation coefficient (r = 0.81) between firmness of an individual leaf and the mean firmness of the entire leaves in a head, suggesting a reliable and rapid method to estimate the firmness of a head in lieu of examining all leaves in the head. The relationship between firmness of midrib tissue and dry mass ($r=0.70^{**}$) as well as cell wall content ($r=0.58^*$) of the head were positively correlated. Results obtained from the present study suggested that a new method to determine midrib firmness would enable to clarify the relationship between textural quality of fresh Chinese cabbage and their processed product, 'Kimchi'. It will also be important to apply this method to screen textural quality of various genotypes under breeding programs.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
• /
• v.57 no.3
• /
• pp.305-335
• /
• 2005

This paper is a result from validation study for SPDA(A Screening Scale For Potential Drug-use Adolescents) created in 2003 and newly developed during 2004. SPDA aims to screen adolescents in their early stage of drug-use and to help practitioners make a preventive approach for the adolescents. 4307 junior and senior high school students were selected as primary research subjects by stratified and quota sampling methods. 305 adolescents on probation were also selected as a comparison group and asked to answer the same questionnaire. Reliability for SPDA recorded 0.914, which proved to be better than previous year's (0.898). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to test construct validity proved that SPDA could be divided into 7 factors and that each factor structure of SPDA could be a proper measurement model with high level of fitness and factor loadings. Discriminant analysis to test predictive validity confirmed that SPDA could classify the adolescents excellently by the frequency of drug-use, with hit ratio of 86.6 percent(78.8% and 87.4% for junior and senior high school students respectively). For concurrent validity test, Hare Home Self-Esteem Scale, Hare School Self-Esteem, Zuckerman-Kuhlman Sensation-seeking Scale were employed to find correlation with SPDA and all the three scales had significant Pearson correlation coefficients with SPDA. Known-groups validity test indicated that SPDA had an adequate power to classify out adolescents on probation from those in schooling, with a hit ratio of 71.8 percent. Cut-off point to detect adolescents with high risk of substance use was 77, which indicated approximately T score, 55 (0.5 SD), satisfying sensitivity, specificity, and efficiency criteria.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.53 no.2
• /
• pp.152-157
• /
• 2010

Purpose : Vitamin D deficiency rickets is a significant public health problem that results from insufficient exposure to sunlight and inadequate vitamin D supplementation. The purpose of this study is to identify the clinical characteristics of vitamin D deficiency rickets in infants. Methods : Data of 35 infants diagnosed as vitamin D deficiency rickets at Sanggye-Paik Hospital, Seoul, Korea, from March 2007 to May 2009 were reviewed. Children with plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <15 ng/mL and 15-30 ng/mL were considered to have vitamin D deficiency and vitamin D insufficiency, respectively. Results : Thirty-five infants (22 boys, 13 girls) were diagnosed with rickets. Mean age at diagnosis was $7.4{\pm}7.1$ months (range: 0.1-29.8 months). Eighteen infants (51%) were vitamin D deficient and seventeen infants (49%) were insufficient. Twenty-eight of all (80%) diagnosed as subclinical rickets. Twenty-nine infants (83%) were below the age of 12months. Twenty infants (57%) had breastfed and ten infants (29%) had iron deficiency anemia. Nine of breastfed infants (45%) were vitamin D deficient and ten of their mothers were vitamin D insufficient. Overall, radiographic evidence of rickets was present in 93% of the cases. Radiographic sign of rickets was evident even in vitamin D insufficient state. Conclusion : It is important for the clinician to screen for subclinical vitamin D deficiency rickets in inadequately supplemented infants by pairing 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels with wrist radiographs. A nationwide epidemiological study of vitamin D deficiency rickets must be conducted and evidence-based national guidelines must be defined to prevent rickets.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Inherited Metabolic disease
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.135-141
• /
• 2014

Objectives: Fabry disease (FD) is a lysosomal storage disease caused by the inappropriate accumulation of globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) in tissues due to a deficiency in the enzyme ${\alpha}$-galactosidase A. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is one of the chronic complications of FD. We tried to evaluate the prevalence of Fabry disease in the Korean patients with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Methods: A total of 257 patients with LVH were recruited and they were 172 males (mean 56 years, range 30-81 years) and 84 females (mean 66 years, range 45-85 years). Urinary Gb3 was used to screen FD by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Confirmatory tests were done by alpha-galactosidaseA activity using fluorometric assay and by GLA mutation analysis using sequencing. Results: Four patients were screening positive by urinary Gb3 analysis (cutoff, 25 ug/mmol creatinine). But, one female patient was diagnosed with FD confirmed by enzyme analysis in leukocytes as well as by genetic analysis (1/257 patients, 0.4%). She showed 54.3 ug/mmoL creatinine of Gb3 and 15.5 nmole/hr/mg protein (reference range, $55.2{\pm}12.7nmole/hr/mg$ protein) of alphagalactosidase A activity. And she had a heterozygous GLA mutation of c.796G>A (p.D266N). Her daughter was found to be a carrier for FD confirmed by GLA mutation analysis. Asymptomatic carrier showed 25.5ug/mmol creatinine of Gb3 and 42.5 nmole/hr/mg protein (reference range, $55.2{\pm}12.7nmole/hr/mg$ protein) of alpha-galactosidase A activity. Conclusions: The prevalence of FD in Koran patients with LVH was detected as 0.4%. Although the prevalence seems to be low, screening studies are of great importance for detecting hidden cases as well as for identifying other effected family members.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
• /
• v.28 no.5
• /
• pp.574-581
• /
• 2015

This study describes a preliminary evaluation of the anti-inflammatory activity of Acrosorium yendoi Yamada extracts. A. yendoi Yamada was extracted using 80% ethanol and then fractionated sequentially with n-hexane, ethyl acetate and butanol. To screen for anti-inflammatory agents effectively, we first examined the inhibitory effect of 80% EtOH extract and solvent fractions of A. yendoi Yamada on the production of pro-inflammatory factors and cytokines stimulated with lipopolysaccharide. In addition, we examined the inhibitory effect of 80% EtOH extract and solvent fractions of A. yendoi Yamada on pro-inflammatory mediators (NO, iNOS, PGE₂, and COX-2) in RAW 264.7 cells. In the sequential fractions of n-hexane and EtOAc inhibited the NO and PGE₂ production and the protein level of iNOS and COX-2, and protein expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, and IL-6). These results suggest that A. yendoi Yamada may have significant effects on inflammatory factors and may be provided as possible anti-inflammatory therapeutic seaweed.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.45 no.1
• /
• pp.63-70
• /
• 2017

A functional screen of 60,672 fosmid metagenomic clones amplified from marine sediment obtained from the Dokdo islets in Korea identified the gene EstES1, whose product, EstES1, displayed lipolytic properties on tributyrin-supplemented media. EstES1 is a 576 amino acid protein with a predicted molecular weight of 59.4 kDa including 37 N-terminal leader amino acids. EstES1 exhibited the highest sequence similarity (44%) to a carboxylesterase found in Haliangium ochraceum DSM14365. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that EstES1 belongs to a currently uncharacterized family of lipases. Within the conserved domain, EstES1 retains the catalytic triad that consists of the consensus penta-peptide motif, GESAG. EstES1 demonstrated a broad substrate specificity toward the long acyl group of ethyl esters (C2-C12), and its optimal activity was recorded toward p-Nitrophenyl butyrate (C4) at pH 9.0 and $40^{\circ}C$ (specific activity of 255.4 U/mg). The enzyme remained stable in the ranges of $60-65^{\circ}C$ and pH 9.0-10.5 and in the presence of methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, and dimethyl sulfoxide. Therefore, EstES1 has potential for use in industrial applications involving high temperature, organic solvents, and/or alkaline conditions.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.303-311
• /
• 2018

In this study, a preliminary evaluation of the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of the Ficus erecta var. sieboldii (Miq.) King (FES) leaf extract has been performed to assess its potential as a natural resource for food and medicinal materials. FES was extracted using 70% EtOH and then fractionated sequentially using n-hexane, $CH_2Cl_2$, EtOAc, and n-BuOH. To screen for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents effectively, the inhibitory effect of the FES extracts on the production of oxidant stresses (DPPH, xanthine oxidase, and superoxide) and pro-inflammatory factors (NO, iNOS, COX-2, $PGE_2$, IL-6, and $IL-1{\beta}$) in the murine macrophage cell line RAW 264.7 activated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was examined. Among the sequential solvent fractions of FES, the $CH_2Cl_2$ and EtOAc fractions showed decreased production of oxidant stresses (DPPH, xanthine oxidase and superoxide), and the hexane and $CH_2Cl_2$ fractions of FES inhibited the production of pro-inflammatory factors (NO, iNOS, COX-2, and $PGE_2$). The $CH_2Cl_2$ fraction also inhibited the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines ($TNF-{\alpha}$, IL-6, and $IL-1{\beta}$). These results suggest that FES has a significant effects on the production of oxidant stresses and pro-inflammatory factors and may be used a natural resource for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.32 no.4
• /
• pp.398-404
• /
• 1999

Factor analysis technique was employed to screen the principal indicators influencing soil and water qualities in the intensively cultivated areas of the Han River Basin. Soil chemical parameters were analyzed for the soil samples collected at intensive farming area in Pyungchang-Gun, and water quality monitoring data were obtained from the agricultural small catchments of Han River Basin during 1996 and 1997. Among the $11{\times}11$ cross correlation matrix, 29 correlations were significant out of 55 soil quality indicator pairs. The overall Kaiser's measure of sampling adequacy(KMS) value was acceptable with 0.60. Most indicators except iron were acceptable. Among soil indicators, the first factors showing high factor loadings were pH, Ca and Mg. The factor loading was the highest for Ca. The second factor could be characterized as phosphate and micronutrient. The third factor was organic matter and EC, and the fourth factor was potassium and Fe. Out of 190 water quality indicators, 86 correlations were significant. Overall KMS value was 0.74, but the KMS values for pH, TSS, Cd, Cu and Fe were lower than 50. The first factor of EC accounts 27.1 percents of the total variance, and showed high factor loadings with Na, Ca, $SO_4$, Mg, K, Cl, $NO_3$, and T-N. The second factor showed high loadings with Zn, Fe, Mn and Cd. The third to seventh factors could be characterized as $PO_4$, TSS, inorganic nitrogen, pH and T-P, and Cu factors, respectively. The factor score for EC was the highest in Kuri, followed by Chunchon, Dunnae and Daegwanryng. The factor score for heavy metals were the highest in the Daegwanryng. The results demonstrated that the factor analysis could be useful to select the most principal factor influencing soil and water qualities in the agricultural watershed.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.53-69
• /
• 2011

Vision and voice-based technologies are commonly utilized for human-robot interaction. But it is widely recognized that the performance of vision and voice-based interaction systems is deteriorated by a large margin in the real-world situations due to environmental and user variances. Human users need to be very cooperative to get reasonable performance, which significantly limits the usability of the vision and voice-based human-robot interaction technologies. As a result, touch screens are still the major medium of human-robot interaction for the real-world applications. To empower the usability of robots for various services, alternative interaction technologies should be developed to complement the problems of vision and voice-based technologies. In this paper, we propose the use of accelerometer-based gesture interface as one of the alternative technologies, because accelerometers are effective in detecting the movements of human body, while their performance is not limited by environmental contexts such as lighting conditions or camera's field-of-view. Moreover, accelerometers are widely available nowadays in many mobile devices. We tackle the problem of classifying acceleration signal patterns of 26 English alphabets, which is one of the essential repertoires for the realization of education services based on robots. Recognizing 26 English handwriting patterns based on accelerometers is a very difficult task to take over because of its large scale of pattern classes and the complexity of each pattern. The most difficult problem that has been undertaken which is similar to our problem was recognizing acceleration signal patterns of 10 handwritten digits. Most previous studies dealt with pattern sets of 8~10 simple and easily distinguishable gestures that are useful for controlling home appliances, computer applications, robots etc. Good features are essential for the success of pattern recognition. To promote the discriminative power upon complex English alphabet patterns, we extracted 'motion trajectories' out of input acceleration signal and used them as the main feature. Investigative experiments showed that classifiers based on trajectory performed 3%~5% better than those with raw features e.g. acceleration signal itself or statistical figures. To minimize the distortion of trajectories, we applied a simple but effective set of smoothing filters and band-pass filters. It is well known that acceleration patterns for the same gesture is very different among different performers. To tackle the problem, online incremental learning is applied for our system to make it adaptive to the users' distinctive motion properties. Our system is based on instance-based learning (IBL) where each training sample is memorized as a reference pattern. Brute-force incremental learning in IBL continuously accumulates reference patterns, which is a problem because it not only slows down the classification but also downgrades the recall performance. Regarding the latter phenomenon, we observed a tendency that as the number of reference patterns grows, some reference patterns contribute more to the false positive classification. Thus, we devised an algorithm for optimizing the reference pattern set based on the positive and negative contribution of each reference pattern. The algorithm is performed periodically to remove reference patterns that have a very low positive contribution or a high negative contribution. Experiments were performed on 6500 gesture patterns collected from 50 adults of 30~50 years old. Each alphabet was performed 5 times per participant using $Nintendo{(R)}$ $Wii^{TM}$ remote. Acceleration signal was sampled in 100hz on 3 axes. Mean recall rate for all the alphabets was 95.48%. Some alphabets recorded very low recall rate and exhibited very high pairwise confusion rate. Major confusion pairs are D(88%) and P(74%), I(81%) and U(75%), N(88%) and W(100%). Though W was recalled perfectly, it contributed much to the false positive classification of N. By comparison with major previous results from VTT (96% for 8 control gestures), CMU (97% for 10 control gestures) and Samsung Electronics(97% for 10 digits and a control gesture), we could find that the performance of our system is superior regarding the number of pattern classes and the complexity of patterns. Using our gesture interaction system, we conducted 2 case studies of robot-based edutainment services. The services were implemented on various robot platforms and mobile devices including $iPhone^{TM}$. The participating children exhibited improved concentration and active reaction on the service with our gesture interface. To prove the effectiveness of our gesture interface, a test was taken by the children after experiencing an English teaching service. The test result showed that those who played with the gesture interface-based robot content marked 10% better score than those with conventional teaching. We conclude that the accelerometer-based gesture interface is a promising technology for flourishing real-world robot-based services and content by complementing the limits of today's conventional interfaces e.g. touch screen, vision and voice.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.65-75
• /
• 2013

Movie captured audience's whole sense organs to the screen which is made up of visual story-telling decorated by color, sound, and smell. The audience rediscovered native emotions(pleasure, fear, terror) suppressed and left in the compressed world of space and time, that is to say a movie world separated from the real world, by being immersed in the movie story. This study revealed audience's feelings of pleasure and fear by analyzing the movie . First of all, the pleasure would be discussed in terms of Nietzsche's "the will to power." Nietzsche defined something to breathe, move, and will as being alive, and he insisted that its power to life is 'the will to power.' Human beings wish to have power and want to increase it: pleasure, the real motivation of human behaviors and phenomena. The movie well revealed the pleasure by showing nonperson's challenge and victory against social rulers. Second, the fear and terror of the audience will be discussed in terms of in Lacan's psychoanalysis. Lacan extended Freud's id, ego, and superego into the worlds of reality, imagine, and symbol, and suggested a father in symbol world among those worlds. He suggested as a basic and connecting instrument of the socialization just like Signifi$\acute{e}$ and Signifiant, Saussure' basic linguistic structure in "Cours de lingustique g$\acute{e}$n$\acute{e}$rale"(1916). Because father is the symbol and the metaphor of law, the absence of him and resistance against him means obstacles of social stabilization. Finally this paper will also discuss that the fear from the absence of law and the pleasure provoked by self-preserving instincts, that is to say natural feelings, are connected to values of progressivism and conservatism.