• Journal of Advanced Information Technology and Convergence
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.103-113
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• 2019

Motivation: Polymerized actin-based cytoskeletal structures are crucial in shape, dynamics, and resilience of a cell. For example, dynamical actin-containing ruffles are located at leading edges of cells and have a significant impact on cell motility. Other filamentous actin (F-actin) bundles, called stress fibers, are essential in cell attachment and detachment. For this reason, their mechanistic understanding provides crucial information to solve practical problems related to cell interactions with materials in tissue engineering. Detecting and counting actin-based structures in a cellular ensemble is a fundamental first step. In this research, we suggest a new method to characterize F-actin wrapping fibers from confocal fluorescence image stacks. As fluorescently labeled F-actin often envelope the fibers, we first propose to segment these fibers by diminishing an energy based on maximum flow and minimum cut algorithm. The actual actin is detected through the use of bilateral filtering followed by a thresholding step. Later, concave actin bundles are detected through a graph-based procedure that actually determines if the considered actin filament is enclosing the fiber.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.42-52
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• 2020

Objectives : Firefighters are always under stress due to their job environment, and they are likely to become psychologically vulnerable due to continuous exposure to traumatic events, which is a stressful situation that requires emergency standby at all times. The aims of this study were to examine mental health factors for each division of firefighters and to see the relationship between sleep and somatization symptoms among them. Methods : General characteristics and related inspections were conducted through self-reporting questionnaires for 1,264 firefighters working at Chungbuk fire stations. Several mental health factors were investigated by the Insomnia Severity Index, Severity of somatic symptoms, Impact of Event Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, Resilience Scale, Alcohol Dependent Screening Scale, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Depression Scale and Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Results : Among the mental health variables, the relationship between insomnia and somatization varies significantly depending on types of work. It was reported that the first aid team was significantly higher than the fire suppression and rescue team. Post-traumatic stress, depression and drinking also differ significantly depending on types of work. The first aid team reported more posttraumatic stress than the fire suppression team and more depressed mood than the rescue team. The administration part had more alcohol consumption than the fire suppression or first aid team. Resilience was significantly higher in the rescue team than the first aid team. No significant differences between the types of work about stress and suicide risks. Insomnia, stress, and post-traumatic stress were significant predictors of somatization among firefighters. Above all, insomnia was significant mental health variable affecting somatization. Conclusions : Various mental health factors were different according to the types of work in firefighters. The First aid team was more vulnerable to mental health variables such as insomnia and somatization than other divisions. Insomnia is the most important cause of somatization in firefighters, so it is recommended that they be treated for insomnia and to prepare institutional policies.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.515-524
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• 2022

The turnout system of the sleeper floating tracks (STEDEF) on urban transit is a Anti-vibration track composed of a wooden sleeper embedded in a concrete bed and a sleeper resilience pad under the sleeper. Therefore, deterioration and changes in spring stiffness of the sleeper resilience pad could be cause changes in sleeper support conditions. The damage amount of manganese crossings that occurred during the current service period of about 21 years was investigated to be about 17% of the total amount of crossings, and it was analyzed that the damage amount increased after 15 years of use (accumulated passing tonnage of about 550 million tons). In this study, parameter analysis (wheel position, sleeper support condition, and dynamic wheel load) was performed using a three-dimensional numerical model that simulated real manganese crossing and wheel profile, to analyze the damage type and cause of manganese crossing that occurred in the actual field. As a result of this study, when the voided sleeper occurred in the sleeper around the nose, the stress generated in the crossing nose exceeded the yield strength according to the dynamic wheel load considering the design track impact factor. In addition, the analysis results were evaluated to be in good agreement with the location of damage that occurred in the actual field. Therefore, in order to minimize the damage of the manganese crossing, it is necessary to keep the sleeper support condition around the nose part constant. In addition, by considering the uniformity of the boundary conditions under the sleepers, it was analyzed that it would be advantageous to to replace the sleeper resilience pad together when replacing the damaged manganese crossing.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.13-13
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• 2022

Recently, stable crop production is threatened by the effects of climate change. In particular, it is difficult to consistently maintain agricultural policies due to large price fluctuations depending on the difference in total domestic rice production from year to year. For stable rice production amid changes in the crop growing environment, development of varieties with improved disease resistance and abiotic stress stability is becoming more important. In here, drought and cold tolerant trait have been studied. First, for the development of drought tolerant varieties, we analyzed which agricultural traits are mainly affected by domestic drought conditions. As a result, it was observed that drought caused by the lack of water during transplanting season inhibits the development of the number of tiller and reduces the yield. 'Samgang' was selected as a useful genetic resource with strong drought tolerant and stable tiller number development even under drought conditions by phenotype screening. Three of drought tolerant QTLs were identified using doubled haploid (DH) population derived from a cross between Nacdong and Samgang, a drought sensitive and a tolerant, respectively. Among these QTLs, when qVDT2 and qVDTl1 were integrated, it was investigated that the tiller number development was relatively stable in the rainfed paddy field conditions. It is known that the high-yielding Tongil-type cultivars are severely affected by cold stress throughout the entire growth stage. In this study, we established conditions that can test the cold tolerance phenotype with alternate temperature to treat low temperatures in indoor growth conditions similar to those in field conditions at seedling stage. Three cold tolerant QTLs were explored using population derived from a cross between Hanareum2 (cold sensitive variety, Tongil-type) and Unkwang (cold tolerant variety, Japonica). Among these QTLs, qSCT12 showed strong cold tolerant phenotype, and when all of three QTLs were integrated, it was investigated that cold tolerant score was relatively similar to its donor parent, Unkwang, in our experimental conditions. We are performing that development of new variety with improved cold tolerant through the introduction of these QTLs.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.31-33
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• 2024

Purpose: Music therapy helps alleviate anxiety, depression, and pain for cancer patients, contributing to stress relief. With such advantages, music therapy is applied across a broad spectrum of treatment areas, including mental disorders, developmental disabilities, and conditions affecting the elderly. It has been shown to enhance the quality of life for terminally ill cancer patients. Recent research has revealed its positive effects in boosting immune function and resilience. In light of these findings, the author conducted a study to investigate patient satisfaction with music listening. Materials and Methods: First, a survey was conducted with 30 individuals to inquire about the perceived necessity of listening to music in a waiting area. Next, participants were asked whether listening to music could contribute to psychological stability. Finally, preferences for music genres and satisfaction with music listening were assessed with a sample of 20 individuals. Results: In terms of the perceived necessity of listening to music in the waiting area, 28 out of 30 individuals, or 93%, expressed agreement. Regarding the belief that music listening could contribute to psychological stability, 28 out of 30 individuals, or 93%, believed that it would indeed help with stability. When it comes to preferred music genres, 4 individuals (13%) favored classical music, 2 individuals (6%) preferred traditional Korean music, 2 individuals (6%) enjoyed trot music, and 20 individuals (66%) had no specific genre preference. As for music listening satisfaction, 17 out of 20 individuals, or 85%, reported being satisfied. Conclusion: When patients visit the hospital, stress can increase due to concerns about their medical conditions. To address this, providing a variety of music genres at the hospital has been effective in reducing patient stress and promoting psychological stability.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.53-62
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• 2024

Molded pulp products has become more attractive than traditional materials such as expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) owing to low-priced recycled paper, environmental benefits such as biodegradability, and low production cost. In this study, various design factors regarding compression and cushioning characteristics of the molded pulp cushion with truncated pyramid-shaped structural units were analyzed using a test specimen with multiple structural units. The adopted structural factors were the geometric shape, wall thickness, and depth of the structural unit. The relative humidity was set at two levels. We derived the cushion curve model of the target molded pulp cushion using the stress-energy methodology. The coefficient of determination was approximately 0.8, which was lower than that for EPS (0.98). The cushioning performance of the molded pulp cushion was affected more by the structural factors of the structural unit than by the material characteristics. Repeated impacts, higher static stress, and drop height decreased the cushioning performance. Its compression behavior was investigated in four stages: elastic, first buckling, sub-buckling, and densification. It had greater rigidity during initial deformation stages; then, during plastic deformation, the rigidity was greatly reduced. The compression behavior was influenced by structural factors such as the geometric shape and depth of the structural unit and environmental conditions, rather than material properties. The biggest difference in the compression and cushioning characteristics of molded pulp cushion compared to EPS is that it is greatly affected by structural factors, and in addition, strength and resilience are expected to decrease due to humidity and repetitive loads, so future research is needed.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.30-39
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• 2024

The conservation of the endangered Korean fir, Abies koreana, is of critical ecological importance. In our previous study, a yeast-like fungus identified as Aureobasidium pullulans AK10, was isolated and shown to enhance drought tolerance in A. koreana seedlings. In this study, the effectiveness of Au. pullulans AK10 treatment in enhancing drought tolerance in A. koreana was confirmed. Furthermore, using transcriptome analysis, we compared A. koreana seedlings treated with Au. pullulans AK10 to untreated controls under drought conditions to elucidate the molecular responses involved in increased drought tolerance. Our findings revealed a predominance of downregulated genes in the treated seedlings, suggesting a strategic reallocation of resources to enhance stress defense. Further exploration of enriched Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways and protein-protein interaction networks revealed significant alterations in functional systems known to fortify drought tolerance, including the terpenoid backbone biosynthesis, calcium signaling pathway, pyruvate metabolism, brassinosteroid biosynthesis, and, crucially, flavonoid biosynthesis, renowned for enhancing plant drought resistance. These findings deepen our comprehension of how AK10 biostimulation enhances the resilience of A. koreana to drought stress, marking a substantial advancement in the effort to conserve this endangered tree species through environmentally sustainable treatment.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.132-141
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• 2019

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of a forest therapy program on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mood states of fire fighters. A total of 293 participants completed two psychological questionnaires before and after the program was conducted: the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL) and the Profile of Mood States (POMS). Data were analyzed with paired t-test and ANCOVA using SPSS 24.0. The PTSD results showed a significant decrease from 11.38 ± 12.58 points before the program to 6.91 ± 10.50 points after the program. Results of the POMS questionnaire revealed an increase in positive factors and a decrease in negative factors, with a significant overall decrease in POMS results from 8.58 ± 18.47 points before the program to -0.63 ± 15.83 points after the program. As a result of analyzing the differences in stress reduction effects according to the amount of sleep participants had, PTSD showed improvement at 6-8 hours of sleep. These results are expected to be utilized as a basis for stress management and relief in fire fighters.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.238-249
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• 2015

This study was carried out to analyze the mediating effect of self-soothing ability in the relationship of job environment stress and psychological burnout of youth counselors. To achieve the study purpose, a survey was executed on 150 counselors who gathered for a academic meeting held at Korea National University of Education with the theme of youth counseling on May 5, 2015. The participants included nation-wide counselors working at public agencies, schools, university and colleges, and private counseling offices. Analysis was executed for 113 questionnaires found valid with SPSS v.20, and study findings are as follows: first, career and working conditions youth counselors showed no difference in job environment stress between groups; second, 'lack of challenge' and 'role ambiguity' were found to affect psychological burnout; third, 'resilience' and 'self-disclosure' were found to affect psychological burnout; fourth, self-soothing ability was shown to have a mediating effect in the relationship between job environment stress and psychological burnout of youth counselors. This result will contribute to helping develop programs to cope with stress faced by both experienced youth counselors and counselors in general.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.181-186
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• 2022

This study examines the effect of parenting stress on children's social competence in relation to parenting stress, children's social competence, and parents' self-esteem, The purpose of this study is to investigate whether parental self-esteem mediates the relationship between parenting stress and children's social competence. Frequency analysis and descriptive statistical analysis were performed on the data of the 7th year of 2014 Panel Study of Korean Children(PSKC), and Pearson's moment correlation coefficient was calculated for correlation analysis between variables. In addition, in order to verify the mediating effect of parental self-esteem in the relationship between parenting stress and the child's social competence, Process Macro Model 4 was applied to verify the mediating effect, The significance of the indirect effect was verified by the bootstrapping method. As a result of this study, first, the correlations between all latent variables showed significant correlations. Second, it was confirmed that mother and father self-esteem had a mediating effect in the effect of father and mother's stress on infants' social competence. These results suggest that in order to improve children's social competence, parents should be able to increase their self-esteem so that they can have faith and confidence in themselves and control their emotions well in parenting stressful situations.