• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.1017-1028
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• 2024

Lignocellulolytic enzymes play a crucial role in efficiently converting lignocellulose into valuable platform molecules in various industries. However, they are limited by their production yields, costs, and stability. Consequently, their production by producers adapted to local environments and the choice of low-cost raw materials can address these limitations. Due to the large amounts of olive stones (OS) generated in Morocco which are still undervalued, Penicillium crustosum, Fusarium nygamai, Trichoderma capillare, and Aspergillus calidoustus, are cultivated under different fermentation techniques using this by-product as a local lignocellulosic substrate. Based on a multilevel factorial design, their potential to produce lignocellulolytic enzymes during 15 days of dark incubation was evaluated. The results revealed that P. crustosum expressed a maximum total cellulase activity of 10.9 IU/ml under sequential fermentation (SF) and 3.6 IU/ml of β-glucosidase activity under submerged fermentation (SmF). F. nygamai recorded the best laccase activity of 9 IU/ml under solid-state fermentation (SSF). Unlike T. capillare, SF was the inducive culture for the former activity with 7.6 IU/ml. A. calidoustus produced, respectively, 1,009 ㎍/ml of proteins and 11.5 IU/ml of endoglucanase activity as the best results achieved. Optimum cellulase production took place after the 5th day under SF, while ligninases occurred between the 9th and the 11th days under SSF. This study reports for the first time the lignocellulolytic activities of F. nygamai and A. calidoustus. Furthermore, it underlines the potential of the four fungi as biomass decomposers for environmentally-friendly applications, emphasizing the efficiency of OS as an inducing substrate for enzyme production.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.8
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• pp.1671-1679
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• 2024

Aspergillus flavus, the primary mold that causes food spoilage, poses significant health and economic problems worldwide. Eliminating A. flavus growth is essential to ensure the safety of agricultural products, and extracellular compounds (ECCs) produced by Bacillus spp. have been demonstrated to inhibit the growth of this pathogen. In this study, we aimed to identify microorganisms efficient at inhibiting A. flavus growth and degrading aflatoxin B₁. We isolated microorganisms from soil samples using a culture medium containing coumarin (CM medium) as the sole carbon source. Of the 498 isolates grown on CM medium, only 132 bacterial strains were capable of inhibiting A. flavus growth. Isolate 3BS12-4, identified as Bacillus siamensis, exhibited the highest antifungal activity with an inhibition ratio of 43.10%, and was therefore selected for further studies. The inhibition of A. flavus by isolate 3BS12-4 was predominantly attributed to ECCs, with a minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum fungicidal concentration of 0.512 g/ml. SEM analysis revealed that the ECCs disrupted the mycelium of A. flavus. The hydrolytic enzyme activity of the ECCs was assessed by protease, β-1,3-glucanase, and chitinase activity. Our results demonstrate a remarkable 96.11% aflatoxin B1 degradation mediated by ECCs produced by isolate 3BS12-4. Furthermore, treatment with these compounds resulted in a significant 97.93% inhibition of A. flavus growth on peanut seeds. These findings collectively present B. siamensis 3BS12-4 as a promising tool for developing environmentally friendly products to manage aflatoxin-producing fungi and contribute to the enhancement of agricultural product safety and food security.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.161-195
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• 2006

The purpose of this study is to examine factors influencing quality of life for individuals in the family, school or workplace, leisure settings, and Korean society using the indigenous psychological analysis. A total of 3,406 participants, consisting of 1,331 elementary, middle, high school students and 2,075 parents and teacher, completed an open-ended questionnaire developed by Kim and Park (2004b). The respondents reported the factors that influence quality of life in Korean society as follows: Economic condition, collective effort, leisure and cultural life, harmonious interpersonal relationships, effective government policy, and educational attainment. The factors that reduce quality of life in Korean society are as follows: Economic uncertainty, political instability, lack of citizenry, ingroup favoritism, corruption, lack of facilities for leisure and social life, and overemphasis on educational achievement. Second, the factors that influence quality of life in the family are as follows: Harmonious family relations and financial security. For students relationship with friends and academic achievement are reported as important factors influencing quality of life at school. For adults, harmonious interpersonal relationship, financial factors and occupational achievement are reported as important factors influencing quality of life at the workplace. For leisure and social leisure life, financial security, leisure time and interpersonal relationships are reported as important factors influencing quality of life. Third, as for generational differences, students reported political instability and adults reported economic uncertainty as the most important factor reducing quality of life in Korean society. For family life, students reported conflicts among family members and adults reported financial constraints as the most important factor reducing quality of life. For leisure and social life, students reported lack of leisure time and adults reported financial constraints as the most important factor reducing quality of life. Fourth, for students the following characteristics were associated with higher quality of life: Higher socio-economic status of the family, younger, and higher academic achievement. For adults, the following characteristics were associated with higher quality of life: Higher socio-economic status of the family and greater achievement their social life. Implications of these results on the quality of life in Korea, focusing on human relationship, financial factors, self-regulation and educational achievement are discussed.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.175-181
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• 2024

The U.N. Security Council's North Korea Sanctions Committee estimated that the amount of North Korea's cyberattacks on virtual asset-related companies from 2017 to 2023 was about 4 trillion won. North Korea's cyberattacks have secured funds through cryptocurrency hacking as it has been restricted from securing foreign currency due to economic sanctions by the international community, and it also shows the form of technology theft against defense companies, and illegal assets are being used to maintain the Kim Jong-un regime and develop nuclear and missile development. When North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test on September 3, 2017, and declared the completion of its national nuclear armament following the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile on November 29 of the same year, the U.N. imposed sanctions on North Korea, which are considered the strongest economic sanctions in history. In these difficult economic situations, North Korea tried to overcome the crisis through cyberattacks, but as a result of analyzing the changes through the North's cyber attack cases, the strategic goal from the first period from 2009 to 2016 was to verify and show off North Korea's cyber capabilities through the neutralization of the national network and the takeover of information, and was seen as an intention to create social chaos in South Korea. When foreign currency earnings were limited due to sanctions against North Korea in 2016, the second stage seized virtual currency and secured funds to maintain the Kim Jong-un regime and advance nuclear and missile development. The third stage is a technology hacking of domestic and foreign defense companies, focusing on taking over key technologies to achieve the five strategic weapons tasks proposed by Chairman Kim Jong-un at the 8th Party Congress in 2021. At the national level, security measures for private companies as well as state agencies should be established against North Korea's cyberattacks, and measures for legal systems, technical problems, and budgets related to science are urgently needed. It is also necessary to establish a system and manpower to respond to the ever-developing cyberattacks by focusing on cultivating and securing professional manpower such as white hackers.

• Korean Security Journal
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• no.14
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• pp.413-429
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• 2007

The Guard over the royal household in the "Goryeo" era was the same as if was over the President or Ruler of a nation today. In those days, a king represented a nation and any threat to the safety of a king could bring the destruction of a nation and the dispersion of the people. by reviewing the change of the 2-Gun 6-Wi system of the era, it can be, summed up as follow, Ther will be suggestions. The Guard might focus on a king's personal safety in the wake of the system of the Silla and Taebong dynasties until the establishment of the Goryeo Dynasty's unique political system. "Goryeo" rebuilt the royal palace in Gyeonyeong-gun to take the shape of unified country after its accomplishment of unification of the late three countries, Then it was afraid of the rebellion and uprising of local powerful clans, The country put them under control and organized the local army with them in the era of Kings, Seongjong, through the kings, Seongjong and Gwangjong. The army system of "Goryeo" consisted of 2-Gun and 6-Wi, and 2-Gun placed above the 6-Wi played the role of the Royal guards, and among the organizations a certain army under the specific name of "Gyeonyong-gun" guarded the kings in the nearest position. An aristocratic culture enjoyed its golden age in the period of stability of the aristocracy of "Goryeo", but afterward in the confusion of the aristocratic disruption and incompatible confrontation the country lost its control, and faced military rebellions by treating civil officials well and ill-treating military officials The safety of kings become unstable with the grasping political power by the military officials, and "Dobang" was established in the era of Choi's family to grasp political power. In the era of Choi Woo, he gathered his men and organized his familys army with them and managed the personnel administration with the civil officials of "Jeongbang and Seobang under his command. Such a fact shows the similarity to today's task of guarding. Considering the facts that "Sambyeolcho, the military ground of the military-men-rule, was at the center of the struggling against Mongolia and that even after the fall of the military regime, they rebelled and fought against Mongolia to the end, we came to know that the nationalism in the era of the military era was great. In the transition of external situations from "Myeong" to "Won"(Chinese dynasties), the conflict between the old "Won"-friendly power and the new "Myeong"-friendly power caused the weakness of the power to guard the royal household, and "Goryeo" at last gave way to the newly rising "Joseon" led by Lee, Seong Gye who won the people's confidence.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.457-479
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• 2013

Through a Chinese rise, Chinese dream is actualizing as the world's great power. According to outlook of World Bank and IMF, Around 2030 China will be a great power bigger than America's economic power. The rise of China will give a huge impact to the whole world. China expands her influence through a global manufacturing base and a global market. To actualize 'Peaceful Rise' Strategy, China has many constraints. Chinese society is facing many difficult social problem due to side effects of a rapid development. Such as the spread of corruption, the severity of wealth gap, environmental degradation and energy shortage. Internationally there are containment from hegemon so-called 'China threat' dispute, Taiwan issue and territorial disputes. Western countries are hostile to China for two reasons. Based on expectations, one is China's socialist system and the other is the rising China which will compete for supremacy with Europe and America. Recent emergence of Chinese nationalism and the containment of the neighboring countries are also serious limiting factors. Domestically they have the rampant corruption in the bureaucracy, weakened capacity of Communist rule, wealth disparity due to the discriminatory economic development strategy, seriousness of rural problem, social instability, lack of social security systems and the development gap between the eastern coastal areas and western inland areas, ethnic minorities problems, the constraint of sustainable development issues due to lack of resources, environmental pollution and energy constraints. Like the former Soviet Union, China may face a dismantlement. After the rise, China may encounter possibilities of a war between great powers or a collapse of Chinese society caused by deepening internal conflict. Serious economic polarization would make peasants and urban workers, who are social vulnerable people, to turn their back to communist party and threaten the justification and the appropriateness of the ruling communist party. Chinese government will think internal system security threat is more formidable risk factor than a system security threat from the hegemon. The decline of great country comes from internal reasons rather than external reasons. To achieve peaceful rise, unification with Taiwan is an essential prerequisite. Taiwan issues are complex problems which equipped with international and domestic factors. Lack of energy resources, environmental pollution in China will bring economic crisis to Korean enterprises. Important influence to Korean economy will be a changeover of the method in economic development. It will turn the balance of investment and consumption, GDP-centered growth to consumption and environment-centered growth. Services industries including finance, environment, culture, education, health care and social welfare will grow. Change in China's growth model will give a great challenge upon the intermediate goods industry in Korea. Korea should reduce the portion of machinery, automotive, semiconductor, steel and chemical-centered export industry to China, and should increase the proportion of the service industry.

• Journal of Venture Innovation
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.75-93
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• 2023

As non-face-to-face contact was activated due to the progress of the 4th Industrial Revolution and COVID-19, the government's civil service was also rapidly reflecting this phenomenon. However, there were cases in which it was quite burdensome and rather uncomfortable for the elderly who were relatively alienated from the digital culture. Therefore, in this study, we tried to empirically analyze the factors that affect the use of government 24(a government civil integration service) by the elderly. For this purpose, the characteristics of the elderly and the characteristics of services were paid attention. As the characteristic factors of the elderly, cognitive characteristics, psychological characteristics, and physical characteristics were derived, and as service characteristics, usefulness, ease of use, security, and government support were derived when using government 24. The effect of these factors on the intention to use Government 24 was empirically analyzed. For empirical analysis, a survey was conducted targeting the elderly in their 60s and older, and 250 valid sample were used for analysis. The analysis results were as follows. Among the characteristics of the elderly, cognitive characteristics, psychological characteristics, and physical characteristics were all found to had a significant negative (-) effect on the intention to use Government 24. On the other hand, usefulness, ease of use, and government support were found to had a significant positive (+) effect on the intention to use government 24. On the other hand, security was not tested for a significant relationship with government 24 use intention. Among the variables that have a significant impact, the psychological characteristics of the elderly had the greatest impact on the intention to use Government 24. Usefulness, cognitive characteristics, physical characteristics, ease of use, and government support were in order. The fact that this study conducted an empirical analysis by combining the characteristics of the elderly and the characteristics of services was meaningful at the academic level. In addition, considering that psychological characteristics appeared to be the most important factor, it seemed necessary to consider these points to promote the use of Government 24 by the elderly.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.925-931
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• 2015

We performed a molecular marker-based analysis of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for traits that determine the quality of the appearance of grains, using 120 doubled-haploid (DH) lines developed by another culture from the F1 cross between ‘Cheongcheong’ (Oryza sativa L. ssp. Indica) and ‘Nagdong’ (Oryza sativa L. ssp. Japonica). The traits studied included length, width, and thickness of the grains, as well as length-to-width ratio and 1,000-grain weight. The objective of this study was to determine the genetic control of these traits in order to formulate a strategy for improving the appearance of this hybrid. Within the DH population, five traits exhibited wide variation, with mean values occurring within the range of the two parents. Three QTLs were identified for grain length on chromosomes 2, 5, and 7. Three QTLs were mapped for grain width on chromosome 2: qGW2-1, qGW2-2, and qGW2-3. Six chromosomes were identified for the grain length-to-width ratio; four of these were on chromosome 2, whereas the other two were on chromosomes 7 and 12. One QTL influencing 1,000-grain weight was identified and located on chromosome 8. The results presented in the present study should facilitate rice-breeding, especially for improved hybrid-rice quality.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.365-384
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• 2012

Microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms that are highly productive in the presence of basic renewable natural sources (light, $CO_2$, water and nutrients). They can synthesize lipids, carbohydrates and proteins in a small number of days. Subsequently, these carbon-captured products can be processed into both biofuels and valuable co-products. Additionally, microalgae would be an ideal feedstock for replacing land-based food crops with cellular products as high energy density transportation fuels. These microscopic organisms could contribute a significant amount of renewable energy on a global scale. In Korea, microalgae biofuel research was common in the early 1990s. The research activities were unfortunately stopped due to limited governmental funds and low petroleum prices. Interest in algal biofuels in Korea has been growing recently due to an increased concern over oil prices, energy security, greenhouse gas emissions, and the potential for other biofuel feedstock to compete for limited agricultural resources. The high productivity of microalgae suggests that much of the Korean transportation fuel requirements can be met by biofuels at a production cost competitive with the increasing cost of petroleum seen in early 2008. At this time, the development of microlalgal biomass production technology remains in its infancy. This study reviewed microalgae culture systems and biomass production, harvesting, oil extraction, conversion, and technoeconomical bottlenecks. Many technical and economic barriers to using microalgal biofuels need to be overcome before mass production of microalgal-derived fuel substitutes is possible. However, serious efforts to overcome these barriers could become a large-scale commercial reality. Overall, this study provides a brief overview of the past few decades of global microalgal research.

• Archives of design research
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• v.18 no.1 s.59
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• pp.135-144
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• 2005

Consumers' awareness of product value, and their product preferences, are becoming increasingly influential in product development, particularly in corporations' efforts in manufacturing products with a competitive edge. Corporations conduct surveys on consumers' product satisfaction and preferences and conduct in-depth studies on consumer needs. They then manufacture products in accordance with the results of these surveys and studies. With the necessity and demand for digital door lock products recently growing, this research sought to explore product competitiveness reinforcement factors that could facilitate market penetration, and to formulate corresponding design strategies. In-depth consumer interviews were also conducted to identify consumer lifestyles and needs. Furthermore, consumer preference images, purchase and use-related patterns, and the status of door lock markets were studied. In the past, to design and manufacture consumer-oriented products, corporations primarily resorted to the improvement of the products' technological features. At present, the users' product preferences and the ways that they use these products are the factors that determine product design. Consumers today tend to adjust their lifestyles according to available products, and prefer products that have greater value in terms of lifestyle and culture. Strategic points for reinforcing competitiveness were presented in this study: first, offering different values that will enhance consumer satisfaction, second, positively developing bio-recognizable methods that will boost consumer preference, third, meeting the consumers' expectations that door lock products should not be mere 'entrance and exit control' systems, but network security systems and fourth, adopting convenient authentication methods backed by advanced technologies.