• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.8
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• pp.1077-1083
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• 2019

Objective: Sow longevity is important for efficient and profitable pig farming. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in social genetic effect (SGE) of pigs on stress-tolerance and behavior. The present study aimed to estimate genetic correlations among average daily gain (ADG), stayability (STAY), and number of piglets born alive at the first parity (NBA1) in Korean Yorkshire pigs, using a model including SGE. Methods: The phenotypic records of ADG and reproductive traits of 33,120 and 11,654 pigs, respectively, were evaluated. The variances and (co) variances of the studied traits were estimated by a multi-trait animal model applying the Bayesian with linear-threshold models using Gibbs sampling. Results: The direct and SGEs on ADG had a significantly negative (-0.30) and neutral (0.04) genetic relationship with STAY, respectively. In addition, the genetic correlation between the social effects on ADG and NBA1 tended to be positive (0.27), unlike the direct effects (-0.04). The genetic correlation of the total effect on ADG with that of STAY was negative (-0.23) but non-significant, owing to the social effect. Conclusion: These results suggested that total genetic effect on growth in the SGE model might reduce the negative effect on sow longevity because of the growth potential of pigs. We recommend including social effects as selection criteria in breeding programs to obtain satisfactory genetic changes in both growth and longevity.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.595-602
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• 2016

In pigs, individuals in the same pen may show aggressive behavior toward each other, such as tail biting. Such social interactions among pen mates may considerably affect their welfare and performance, both in negative and positive ways. The present study was conducted to investigate social genetic effects on days to 90 kg using data from 12,208 Duroc and Yorkshire pigs that were born between 2008 and 2012. Heritability was estimated using the five following animal models: a basic model with direct heritable effects only (Model 1), a social model with direct and social heritable effects (Model 2), a model accounting for covariance between direct and social heritable effects (Model 3), and two models considering a dilution factor with direct and social heritable effects (Models 4 and 5). The optimal model to represent Duroc pigs was Model 1 which only uses direct heritable effects. Direct heritability (0.21) was higher than total heritability (0.09) and covariance was negative. Model 2 was evaluated as the optimum model for Yorkshire pigs. Yorkshire data showed that total heritability (0.5) was twice as high as direct heritability (0.25) and covariance was positive. Our results suggest that the efficiency of social effects differed among breeding lines. Further research on social effects related to breeds by group size would clarify which is the most efficient selection method that accounts for social genetic effects.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.784-790
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• 2018

Objective: The genetic effects of an individual on the phenotypes of its social partners, such as its pen mates, are known as social genetic effects. This study aims to identify the candidate genes for social (pen-mates') average daily gain (ADG) in pigs by using the genome-wide association approach. Methods: Social ADG (sADG) was the average ADG of unrelated pen-mates (strangers). We used the phenotype data (16,802 records) after correcting for batch (week), sex, pen, number of strangers (1 to 7 pigs) in the pen, full-sib rate (0% to 80%) within pen, and age at the end of the test. A total of 1,041 pigs from Landrace breeds were genotyped using the Illumina PorcineSNP60 v2 BeadChip panel, which comprised 61,565 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. After quality control, 909 individuals and 39,837 markers remained for sADG in genome-wide association study. Results: We detected five new SNPs, all on chromosome 6, which have not been associated with social ADG or other growth traits to date. One SNP was inside the prostaglandin $F2{\alpha}$ receptor (PTGFR) gene, another SNP was located 22 kb upstream of gene interferon-induced protein 44 (IFI44), and the last three SNPs were between 161 kb and 191 kb upstream of the EGF latrophilin and seven transmembrane domain-containing protein 1 (ELTD1) gene. PTGFR, IFI44, and ELTD1 were never associated with social interaction and social genetic effects in any of the previous studies. Conclusion: The identification of several genomic regions, and candidate genes associated with social genetic effects reported here, could contribute to a better understanding of the genetic basis of interaction traits for ADG. In conclusion, we suggest that the PTGFR, IFI44, and ELTD1 may be used as a molecular marker for sADG, although their functional effect was not defined yet. Thus, it will be of interest to execute association studies in those genes.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.158-170
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• 2009

This paper considers how the optimal export level is influenced by export risk, the degree of risk-averseness for exporting firms, and those firms' cost structure. In addition, export insurance is incorporated into some simple theoretical model to analyze the optimal export level. This paper applies genetic algorithm simulation to show that the exporting firms'risk-averseness do not affect the optimal export decision while export risk and cost function characteristic have relatively more significant effects on the optimal export level. Finally, our findings suggest that the most influential factor for the optimal export levels seems to be the monopoly power of exporting firms.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.1836-1843
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• 2019

Objective: Social genetic effects (SGE) are an important genetic component for growth, group productivity, and welfare in pigs. The present study was conducted to evaluate i) the feasibility of the single-step genomic best linear unbiased prediction (ssGBLUP) approach with the inclusion of SGE in the model in pigs, and ii) the changes in the contribution of heritable SGE to the phenotypic variance with different scaling ${\omega}$ constants for genomic relationships. Methods: The dataset included performance tested growth rate records (average daily gain) from 13,166 and 21,762 pigs Landrace (LR) and Yorkshire (YS), respectively. A total of 1,041 (LR) and 964 (YS) pigs were genotyped using the Illumina PorcineSNP60 v2 BeadChip panel. With the BLUPF90 software package, genetic parameters were estimated using a modified animal model for competitive traits. Giving a fixed weight to pedigree relationships (${\tau}:1$), several weights (${\omega}_{xx}$, 0.1 to 1.0; with a 0.1 interval) were scaled with the genomic relationship for best model fit with Akaike information criterion (AIC). Results: The genetic variances and total heritability estimates ($T^2$) were mostly higher with ssGBLUP than in the pedigree-based analysis. The model AIC value increased with any level of ${\omega}$ other than 0.6 and 0.5 in LR and YS, respectively, indicating the worse fit of those models. The theoretical accuracies of direct and social breeding value were increased by decreasing ${\omega}$ in both breeds, indicating the better accuracy of ${\omega}_{0.1}$ models. Therefore, the optimal values of ${\omega}$ to minimize AIC and to increase theoretical accuracy were 0.6 in LR and 0.5 in YS. Conclusion: In conclusion, single-step ssGBLUP model fitting SGE showed significant improvement in accuracy compared with the pedigree-based analysis method; therefore, it could be implemented in a pig population for genomic selection based on SGE, especially in South Korean populations, with appropriate further adjustment of tuning parameters for relationship matrices.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.50-54
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• 2014

It is becoming increasingly important for medical doctors to have a thorough understanding of human genetics and the ethical, legal, and social implications of genetic testing, counseling, and treatment. As genetic engineering and technology evolves, medical doctors will find themselves called in to counsel patients about a rapidly increasing number of diseases for which genetic testing and treatments are available. Medical doctors will need to master a new set of principles and clinical skills. A lack of knowledge about these issues and problems may lead to serious, lifelong or even fatal negative effects on patients. Medical genetics has moved from the study of rare conditions to the illumination of disorders that impact the entire spectrum of medical practice. This study demonstrates several areas in which medical genetics is clearly an important tool in medical practice and the necessity of establishing new curriculum for clinical genetic education in Korea. Medical students nearing graduation may lack genetic knowledge that is essential for daily practice because genetics has little or no place in clinical teaching. Medical schools should make extensive curriculum changes to increase students' awareness of clinical genetics and its ethical implications. The medical school curriculum will need creative new approaches to keeping up with the rapid pace of evolution of clinical genetics.

• Interdisciplinary Bio Central
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1.1-1.6
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• 2014

A growing body of evidence shows that most psychological traits are polygenic, that is they involve the action of many genes with small effects. However, the study of selection has disproportionately been on one or a few genes and their associated sweep signals (rapid and large changes in frequency). If our goal is to study the evolution of psychological variables, such as intelligence, we need a model that explains the evolution of phenotypes governed by many common genetic variants. This study illustrates simple statistical tools to detect signals of recent polygenic selection: a) ANOVA can be used to reveal significant deviation from random distribution of allele frequencies across racial groups. b) Principal component analysis can be used as a tool for finding a factor that represents the strength of recent selection on a phenotype and the underlying genetic variation. c) Method of correlated vectors: the correlation between genetic frequencies and the average phenotypes of different populations is computed; then, the resulting correlation coefficients are correlated with the corresponding alleles' genome-wide significance. This provides a measure of how selection acted on genes with higher signal to noise ratio. Another related test is that alleles with large frequency differences between populations should have a higher genome-wide significance value than alleles with small frequency differences. This paper fruitfully employs these tools and shows that common genetic variants exhibit subtle frequency shifts and that these shifts predict phenotypic differences across populations.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.345-354
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• 2008

Objectives : Our objective is to review and summarize the previous studies on the health effects of exposure to oil spills in order to make suggestions for mid- and long-term study plans regarding the health effects of the Hebei Spirit oil spill occured in Korea. Methods : We searched PubMed to systemically retrieve reports on the human health effects related to oil spill accidents. The papers' reference lists and reviews on the topic were searched as well. Results : We found 24 articles that examined seven oil spill accidents worldwide over the period from 1989 to August 2008, including the Exxon Valdes, Braer, Sea Empress, Erika, Nakhodka, Prestige and Tasman Spirit oil spills. Most of the studies applied cross-sectional and short-term follow-up study designs. The exposure level was measured by assessing the place of residence, using a questionnaire and environmental and personal monitoring. Studies on the acute or immediate health effects mainly focused on the subjective physical symptoms related to clean-up work or residential exposure. Late or mid-term follow-up studies were performed to investigate a range of health effects such as pulmonary function and endocrine, immunologic and genetic toxicity. The economic and social impact of the accidents resulted in the socio-psychological exposure and the psychosocial health effects. Conclusions : Studies of the health effects of exposure to oil spills should consider a range of health outcomes, including the physical and psychological effects, and the studies should be extended for a considerable period of time to study the long-term chronic health effects.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.501-512
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• 2012

Social welfare maximization in a double-sided auction market is performed by implementing an aggregation-based particle swarm optimization (CAPSO) algorithm for optimal placement and sizing of one Static Synchronous Series Compensator (SSSC) device. Dallied simulation results (without/with line flow constraints and without/with SSSC) are generated to demonstrate the impact of SSSC on the congestion levels of the modified IEEE 14-bus test system. The proposed CAPSO algorithm employs conventional quadratic smooth and augmented quadratic nonsmooth generator cost curves with sine components to improve the accurate of the model by incorporating the valve loading effects. CAPSO also employs quadratic smooth consumer benefit functions. The proposed approach relies on particle swarm optimization to capture the near-optimal GenCos and DisCos, as well as the location and rating of SSSC while the Newton based load flow solution minimizes the mismatch equations. Simulation results of the proposed CAPSO algorithm are compared to solutions obtained by sequential quadratic programming (SQP) and a recently implemented Fuzzy based genetic algorithm (Fuzzy-GA). The main contributions are inclusion of customer benefit in the congestion management objective function, consideration of nonsmooth generator characteristics and the utilization of a coordinated aggregation-based PSO for locating/sizing of SSSC.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.312-319
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• 2008

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsiveness. Current estimates suggest that 4-12% of school age children are affected by ADHD, which hampers proper social relationship and achievements in school. Even though the exact etiology of the disorder is still in the middle of active investigation, the availability of pharmacological treatments for the disorder suggest that at least the symptoms of ADHD are manageable. To develop drugs with higher efficacy and fewer side effects, it is essential to have appropriate animal models for in vivo drug screening processes. Good animal models can also provide the chances to improve our understanding of the disease processes as well as the underlying etiology of the disorder. In this review, we summarized current animal models used for ADHD research and discussed the point of concerns about using specific animal models.