• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.1101-1110
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• 2023

Streptococcus mutans is the primary causative agent of caries, which is one of the most common human diseases. Thus, rapid and early detection of cariogenic bacteria is critical for its prevention. This study investigated the combination of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) and microfluid technology to quantitatively detect S. mutans. A low-cost, rapid microfluidic chip using LAMP technology was developed to amplify and detect bacteria at 2.2-2.2 × 10⁶ colony-forming units (CFU)/ml and its detection limits were compared to those of standard polymerase chain reaction. A visualization system was established to quantitatively determine the experimental results, and a functional relationship between the bacterial concentration and quantitative results was established. The detection limit of S. mutans using this microfluidic chip was 2.2 CFU/ml, which was lower than that of the standard approach. After quantification, the experimental results showed a good linear relationship with the concentration of S. mutans, thereby confirming the effectiveness and accuracy of the custom-made integrated LAMP microfluidic system for the detection of S. mutans. The microfluidic system described herein may represent a promising simple detection method for the specific and rapid testing of individuals at risk of caries.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.861-869
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• 2015

One of the domesticated species; the dog has been selectively bred for various aims by human. The dog has many breeds, which are artificially selected for specific behaviors and morphologies. Dogs contribute their life to human as working dogs for guide, rescue, detection or etc. Working dogs requires good personality, such as gentleness, robustness and patience for performing their special duty. Many studies have concentrated on finding genetic marker for selecting the high-quality working dog. In this study, we confirmed quantitative expression patterns of eight genes (ABAT; 4-Aminobutyrate Aminotransferase, PLCB1; Phospholipase C, Beta 1, SLC10A4; Solute Carrier Family 10, Member 4, WNT1; Wingless-Type MMTV Integration Site Family, Member 1, BARX2; BarH-Like Homeobox 2, NEUROD6; Neuronal Differentiation 6, SEPT9; Septin 9 and TBR1; T-Box, Brain, 1) among brains tissues from four dog breeds (Beagle, Sapsaree, Shepherd and Jindo), because these genes were expressed and have functions in brain mostly. Specially, BARX2, SEPT9, SLC10A4, TBR1 and WNT1 genes were highly expressed in Beagle and Jindo, and Sapsaree and German Shepherd were vice versa. The biological significance of total genes was estimated by database for annotation, visualization and integrated discovery (DAVID) to determine a different gene ontology (GO) class. In these analyses, we suppose to these eight genes could provide influential information for brain development, and intelligence of organisms. Taken together, these results could provide clues to discover biomarker related to functional traits in brain, and beneficial for selecting superior working dogs.

• Archives of design research
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• v.19 no.1 s.63
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• pp.215-224
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• 2006

As the competition becomes more severe, the importance of brand confidence is coming to the front mainly because there has been a tendency of the customer for choosing a product or service in conjunction with the confidence. The concept of brand personality has formed as a result of various efforts for establishing a differentiated and confident brand image. The brand personality is regarded a useful mean for meeting objectives of a corporation for establishing a distinctive brand identity as well as customers for expressing their self-image. In line with the growing importance of the brand personality, researchers have attempted to measure it by various methods. However, most of researches were based on verbal and quantitative methods which take a long period of time and lots of efforts to analyze their results. Such methods also have limitations for visualizing the results. In this vein, this study aims to develop a new visible brand personality measurement system by utilizing the purpose-designed avatar. Major findings of the study are as follows: Firstly, the avatar can be an effective mean for visualizing the brand personality. As the avatar can visualize the personalities of human-beings through facial expressions, clothing, attitudes and movements, a specially designed avatar can express the brand personality. Secondly, types of the brand personality can be segregated into distinctive seven classes and such classes are used as guidelines for developing specially designed brand personality avatars. Thirdly, the purpose-designed brand personality avatar can be an effective mean for measuring the brand personality as a result of various tests for the validity. In condusion, avatar can be a more powerful tool than language for measuring the brand personality.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.1269-1276
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• 2015

The mission capability of tank depends on its survivability. The survivability is ability for protection and tolerance by damage from threats. To improve the survivability of tank, we need an effectiveness analysis for loss of components, and accomplish performance enhancement using the result of analysis. In this paper, we develop a survivability analysis system for tank based on the importance. The importance numerically represents weight of each component which consisting of whole tank, also the importance is basic method of quantitative survivability analysis. To do this, we assign weight values to each component of tank, compose a weight tree, apply the importance calculation equation, and analyze the survivability of tank. Also we develop the system that consists of component structuralization and weight value setting program and survivability analysis and visualization program, and evaluate the system using implemented 3D CAD models of components of tank. The developed system apply to arrangement components.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.13-18
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• 2010

Purpose : Diffusion tensor imaging(DTI) allows the visualization of fiber tract damage in patients with cerebral infarction. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the correlation between degree of NIH stoke scale and fractional anisotropy (FA) in patient with cerebral infarction. Material and Methods : 16 patients aged 36~77 years(male : 11, female : 5, mean age : 61y), diagnosed cerebral infarction by diffusion weighted imaging(DWI), underwent 24 directional diffusion tensor imaging(DTI). Patients had the DTI taken within 3days of stroke onset. Comparison of DWI, FA value on DTI were measured infarcted area and counter part of specific region of interest (ROI). And evaluation of differences between clinically improved patient group (n=9) and unimproved patient group (n=7) until 2 week follow up after development of cerebral infarction. Clinical status was scaled by NIH stroke scale. Results : Quantitative measurements of FA confirmed statistically the significant diffusion changes in the infarct compared with the matched-counter part region. In DWI, the infarcted area shows high signal intensity, however FA value on DTI was lower than normal brain parenchyma. The FA value of clinically improved patient by NIH stroke scale was 0.49, and the value of contralateral normal brain parenchyma was 0.41. On the contrary, FA value of infarcted area shows about 15% lower than normal brain parenchyma. But, the FA value of unimproved patient by NIH stroke scale represents a half those of contralateral normal brain parenchyma (0.28 on infarcted area vs. 0.56 on normal brain parenchyma). So, the FA value of unimproved patient group was considerably less than those of improved. Conclusion : It is concluded that the unimproved patient group after cerebral infarction showed much less FA value than that of normal brain parenchyma. The FA value of DTI may be one of the useful parameter to predict outcome of cerebral infarction patients.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.23-31
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• 2018

The dredging project became more important with the recent construction of off shore structures and reclamation projects. Accordingly, more exact quantitative estimation of the dredged amount should be required. The sub-sea ground information can be obtained generally by the boring investigation and the dredged amount can be estimated based on the depth or the deeper bound of a ceratin layer via 3D visualization program. During the estimation process, the input DB should be constructed with 1D elevation information from boring investigation for the spatially approximated distribution of a deeper bound of each ground layer. The input DB can be varied with the application of the borings and the approximation targets. Therefore, the 3D visualized ground profile and dredged amounts are compared on the actively dredged sites, vicinity of Saemangeum area and outer port area in Gunsan with regard to the input DB construction methods. Conclusively, the input DB based on the spatially approximated depths show higher precision results and more reasonable 3D visualized ground profiles.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.81-87
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• 2016

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is produced by Aspergillus flavus growing in feedstuffs. Early detection of maize contamination by aflatoxigenic fungi is advantageous since aflatoxins exert adverse health effects. In this study, we report the development of an optimized conventional PCR for AFB1 detection and a rapid, sensitive and simple screening Real-time PCR (qPCR) with SYBR Green and two pairs of primers targeting the aflR genes which involved aflatoxin biosynthesis. AFB1 contaminated maize samples were divided into three groups by the toxin concentration. Genomic DNA was extracted from those samples. The target genes for A. flavus were tested by conventional PCR and the PCR products were analyzed by electrophoresis. A conventional PCR was carried out as nested PCR to verify the gene amplicon sizes. PCR-RFLP patterns, obtained with Hinc II and Pvu II enzyme analysis showed the differences to distinguish aflatoxin-producing fungi. However, they are not quantitative and need a separation of the products on gel and their visualization under UV light. On the other hand, qPCR facilitates the monitoring of the reaction as it progresses. It does not require post-PCR handling, which reduces the risk of cross-contamination and handling errors. It results in a much faster throughout. We found that the optimal primer annealing temperature was $65^{\circ}C$. The optimized template and primer concentration were $1.5{\mu}L\;(50ng/{\mu}L)$ and $3{\mu}L\;(10{\mu}M/{\mu}L)$ respectively. SYBR Green qPCR of four genes demonstrated amplification curves and melting peaks for tub1, afIM, afIR, and afID genes are at $88.0^{\circ}C$, $87.5^{\circ}C$, $83.5^{\circ}C$, and $89.5^{\circ}C$ respectively. Consequently, it was found that the four primers had elevated annealing temperatures, nevertheless it is desirable since it enhances the DNA binding specificity of the dye. New qPCR protocol could be employed for the determination of aflatoxin content in feedstuff samples.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.162-170
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• 2003

The probabilistic anatomical maps are used to localize the functional neuro-images and morphological variability. The quantitative indicator is very important to inquire the anatomical position of an activated legion because functional image data has the low-resolution nature and no inherent anatomical information. Although previously developed MNI probabilistic anatomical map was enough to localize the data, it was not suitable for the Korean brains because of the morphological difference between Occidental and Oriental. In this study, we develop a probabilistic anatomical map for Korean normal brain. Normal 75 blains of T1-weighted spoiled gradient echo magnetic resonance images were acquired on a 1.5-T GESIGNA scanner. Then, a standard brain is selected in the group through a clinician searches a brain of the average property in the Talairach coordinate system. With the standard brain, an anatomist delineates 89 regions of interest (ROI) parcellating cortical and subcortical areas. The parcellated ROIs of the standard are warped and overlapped into each brain by maximizing intensity similarity. And every brain is automatically labeledwith the registered ROIs. Each of the same-labeled region is linearly normalize to the standard brain, and the occurrence of each legion is counted. Finally, 89 probabilistic ROI volumes are generated. This paper presents a probabilistic anatomical map for localizing the functional and structural analysis of Korean normal brain. In the future, we'll develop the group specific probabilistic anatomical maps of OCD and schizophrenia disease.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.8 no.8
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• pp.128-146
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• 2008

Cyworld has created a new social phenomenon that relationship between people and communities could be built by committing to digital writing. It has altered the way of people's writing attitudes from self-confessed to self-describing and self-broadcasting ways in which one regards oneself as the center of the cyber world. The purpose of this paper is to identify the shift in one's writing attitudes and how he/she develops technologies of the self in the Cyworld space. Quantitative and qualitative methods support the result; The analysis of 100 Cyworld users' mini-homepages show how the visual images in Cyworld affects their way of digital writing and the analysis of the change of writing habit due to sharing data how virtual 'family' that has been created by Cyworld. I categorize the characteristics of digital writing into three; 1)Visualization of technologies of the self 2)Networked technologies of the self 3)Sharing secretes. The aim of writing in Cyworld is not to keep the secrete but to share and, eventually, texts are circulated in the networked society where one is participated(Cyworld family). Therefore, the usage of images plays a significant role in Cyworld communities because the opened secretes are usually prepared to be presented on the basis of trustworthy toward other members.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.335-340
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• 1997

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) techniques allow the enumeration of chromosome abnormalities and from a great potential for many clinical applications. In order to produce quantitative and reproducible results, expensive tools such as a cooled CCD camera and a computer software are required. We have developed a Chromosome Image Processing System (Chips) using FISH that allows the detection and mapping of the genetic aberrations. The aim of our study, therefore, is to evaluate the capabilities of our original system using a black-and-white video camera. As a model system, three repetitive DNA probes (D18Z1, DXZ1, and DYZ3) were hybridized to variety different clinical samples such as human metaphase spreads and interphase nuclei obtained from uncultured peripheral blood lymphocytes, uncultured amniocytes, and germ cells. The visualization of the FISH signals was performed using our system for image acquisition and pseudocoloring. FISH images were obtained by combining images from each of probes and DAPI counterstain captured separately. Using our original system, the aberrations of single or multiple chromosomes in a single hybridization experiment using chromosomes and interphase nuclei from a variety of cell types, including lymphocytes, amniocytes, sperm, and biopsied blastomeres, were enabled to evaluate. There were no differences in the image quality in accordance with FISH method, fluorochrome types, or different clinical samples. Always bright signals were detected using our system. Our system also yielded constant results. Our Chips would permit a level of performance of FISH analysis on metaphase chromosomes and interphase nuclei with unparalleled capabilities. Thus, it would be useful for clinical purposes.