• Journal of Life Science
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.145-152
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• 2024

Seaweeds represent a widely harnessed marine resource that are valued for their abundant supply of essential nutrients, particularly proteins and amino acids. In Korea, where over 500 species of seaweed thrive and more than 50 are utilized for culinary purposes, seaweed has become a staple in regular diets. In this study, we focused on five of the most commonly consumed seaweed species in Korea: Capsosiphon fulvescens, Hizikia fusiforme, Porphyra yezoensis, Saccharina japonica, and Undaria pinnatifida. We closely examined the amino acid compositions of these five species. High-performance liquid chromatography showed that aspartic acid, glutamic acid, alanine, and leucine were the most abundant amino acids in the seaweeds. Principal component analysis revealed that the five seaweed species could be classified into three clusters according to their amino acid composition, partially corroborating findings from the phylogenetic analysis. Among various amino acids, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, and alanine were the primary amino acids driving differentiation. Notably, U. pinnatifida and C. fulvescens, which demonstrated close phylogenetic proximity, exhibited remarkably similar amino acid profiles. Conversely, although P. yezoensis and S. japonica shared a phylogenetic relationship, they displayed distinctly different amino acid compositions. H. fusiforme emerged as a distinct group in both analyses.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.66
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• pp.484-491
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• 2023

Maize is one of the major crops consumed in worldwide, which nutrients accounts for a large amount of starch, but also functional components, and phenolic acid is known to have a high content. Maize is divided into waxy maize, sweet maize, and normal maize with its shape and use, therefore there is also a difference in nutritional composition. This study was conducted to analyze the content of functional components according to the type of maize and to produce natural variation data in consideration of environmental factors. 3 shapes of maize (waxy maize, sweet maize, and normal maize) samples cultivated in 3 regions (Suwon, Daegu, and Hongcheon) were analyzed using HPLC and GC-TOF-MS. Comparing with type through ANOVA, multivariate statistical analysis, Pearson correlation analysis, 28 components, including carotenoids and tocopherols, showed significant differences among a total of 32 components (p <0.05), 15 of them showed very significant differences (p <0.001). When comparing with regions, 15 components showed significant differences and only vanillate, syringate, C23-ol of them showed most significant differences (p <0.001). As a result of principal component analysis, cluster classification was distinguished by shape than by region, with α-carotene, cholesterol for waxy maize, vanillate and stigmasterol for sweet maize, lutein and β-carotene for normal maize had a great effect on cluster formation. It suggests that the content of functional components is more affected by genetic factors than environmental factors.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.66
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• pp.394-403
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• 2023

In the pursuit of sustainable and environmentally-friendly agricultural practices, we conducted an extensive study on the rhizosphere bacteria inhabiting soils that have been devoid of chemical fertilizers for an extended period exceeding 40 years. Through this investigation, we isolated a total of 80 species of plant growth-promoting rhizosphere bacteria and assessed their potential to enhance plant growth. Among these isolates, Burkholderia cepacia CD2 displayed remarkable plant growth-promoting activity, making it an optimal candidate for further analysis. Burkholderia cepacia CD2 exhibited a range of beneficial characteristics conducive to plant growth, including phosphate solubilization, siderophore production, denitrification, nitrate utilization, and urease activity. These attributes are well-known to positively influence the growth and development of plants. To validate the taxonomic classification of the strain, 16S rRNA gene sequencing confirmed its placement within the Burkholderia genus, providing further insights into its phylogenetic relationship. To delve deeper into the potential mechanisms underlying its plant growth-promoting properties, we sought to confirm the presence of specific genes associated with plant growth promotion in CD2. To achieve this, whole genome sequencing (WGS) was performed by Plasmidsaurus Inc. (USA) utilizing Oxford Nanopore technology (Abingdon, UK). The WGS analysis of the genome of CD2 revealed the existence of a subsystem function, which is thought to be a pivotal factor contributing to improved plant growth. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that Burkholderia cepacia CD2 has the potential to serve as a microbial fertilizer, offering a sustainable alternative to chemical fertilizers.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.87 no.2
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• pp.176-184
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• 2024

Background: Results of studies investigating the association between body mass index (BMI) and mortality in patients with coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) have been conflicting. Methods: This multicenter, retrospective observational study, conducted between January 2020 and August 2021, evaluated the impact of obesity on outcomes in patients with severe COVID-19 in a Korean national cohort. A total of 1,114 patients were enrolled from 22 tertiary referral hospitals or university-affiliated hospitals, of whom 1,099 were included in the analysis, excluding 15 with unavailable height and weight information. The effect(s) of BMI on patients with severe COVID-19 were analyzed. Results: According to the World Health Organization BMI classification, 59 patients were underweight, 541 were normal, 389 were overweight, and 110 were obese. The overall 28-day mortality rate was 15.3%, and there was no significant difference according to BMI. Univariate Cox analysis revealed that BMI was associated with 28-day mortality (hazard ratio, 0.96; p=0.045), but not in the multivariate analysis. Additionally, patients were divided into two groups based on BMI ≥25 kg/m² and underwent propensity score matching analysis, in which the two groups exhibited no significant difference in mortality at 28 days. The median (interquartile range) clinical frailty scale score at discharge was higher in nonobese patients (3 [3 to 5] vs. 4 [3 to 6], p<0.001). The proportion of frail patients at discharge was significantly higher in the nonobese group (28.1% vs. 46.8%, p<0.001). Conclusion: The obesity paradox was not evident in this cohort of patients with severe COVID-19. However, functional outcomes at discharge were better in the obese group.

• Journal of Advanced Technology Convergence
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.17-27
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• 2024

This study focuses on the development and evaluation of a chatbot system based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) framework to enhance community participation among elderly individuals with mild dementia in South Korea. The study involved 12 elderly participants who were living alone and had been diagnosed with mild dementia, along with 15 caregivers who were actively involved in their daily care. The development process included a comprehensive needs assessment, system design, content creation, natural language processing using Transformer Attention Algorithm, and usability testing. The chatbot is designed to offer personalized activity recommendations, reminders, and information that support physical, social, and cognitive engagement. Usability testing revealed high levels of user satisfaction and perceived usefulness, with significant improvements in community activities and social interactions. Quantitative analysis showed a 92% increase in weekly community activities and an 84% increase in social interactions. Qualitative feedback highlighted the chatbot's user-friendly interface, relevance of suggested activities, and its role in reducing caregiver burden. The study demonstrates that an ICF-based chatbot system can effectively promote community participation and improve the quality of life for elderly individuals with mild dementia. Future research should focus on refining the system and evaluating its long-term impact.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.343-350
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• 2024

Since the release of Meta's Segment Anything Model (SAM), a large-scale vision transformer generation model with rapid image segmentation capabilities, several studies have been conducted to apply this technology in various fields. In this study, we aimed to investigate the applicability of SAM for water bodies detection and extraction using the QGIS Geo-SAM plugin, which enables the use of SAM with satellite imagery. The experimental data consisted of Compact Advanced Satellite 500 (CAS500)-1 images. The results obtained by applying SAM to these data were compared with manually digitized water objects, Open Street Map (OSM), and water body data from the National Geographic Information Institute (NGII)-based hydrological digital map. The mean Intersection over Union (mIoU) calculated for all features extracted using SAM and these three-comparison data were 0.7490, 0.5905, and 0.4921, respectively. For features commonly appeared or extracted in all datasets, the results were 0.9189, 0.8779, and 0.7715, respectively. Based on analysis of the spatial consistency between SAM results and other comparison data, SAM showed limitations in detecting small-scale or poorly defined streams but provided meaningful segmentation results for water body classification.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.383-391
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• 2007

This study was conducted for an assessment through the estimation of soil loss by each catchment classified by soil catena. Ten catchments, which are Geumgang21, Namgang03, Dongjincheon, Gapyongcheon01, Gyongancheon02, Geumgang16, Byongsungcheon01, Daesincheon, Bukcheon02, Youngsangang08, were selected from the hydrologic unit map and the detailed soil digital map (1:25,000) for this study. The catchments like Geumgang21, Namgang03, Dongjincheon, Gapyongcheon01 and Gyongancheon02 were mainly composed with soils originated from gneiss. The catchments like Geumgang16, Byongsungcheon01, Daesincheon, Bukcheon02 and Youngsangang08 were mainly composed with soils originated from granites. The grades, which are divided into seven grades with A(very tolerable), B(tolerable), C(moderate), D(low), E(high), F(severe), G(very severe), of soil erosion estimated by USLE in catchments were distributed in most A and B because of paddy land and forestry. In detailed, the soil erosion grade of catchments mainly distributing soils originated from gneiss showed more the distribution of B and C than it of catchments mainly distributing soils originated from granites. The reason of results would be derived from topographic characteristics of soils originated from gneiss located at mountainous. The soil loss according to soil catena linked with Songsan and Jigok series, which are soils originated from gneiss was calculated with $7.66ton\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$. The soil loss of Geumgang16, Byongsungcheon01, Daesincheon, Bukcheon02 which have the soil catena linked with Samgak and Sangju soil series originated from granite, was calculated with $5.55ton\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$. The soil loss of Youngsangang08 which have the soil catena linked with Songjung and Baeksan soil series originated from granite was calculated with $9.6ton\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$, but the conclusion on soil loss in this kind of soil catena would be drawn from the analysis of more catchments. In conclusion, the results of this study inform that the classification of soil catena by catchments and estimation of soil loss according to soil catena would be effective for analysis on the grade of non-point pollution by soil erosion in a catchment.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.306-315
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• 2006

Two different experiments, adsorption/desorption and runoff by rainfall simulation of four pesticides, such as alachlor, ethalfluralin, ethoprophos and pendimethalin were undertaken their runoff and erosion losses from sloped land and to assess the influence of their properties and environmental factors on them. The mobility of four pesticides and which phase they were transported by were examined in adsorption study, and the influence of rainfall pattern and sloping degree on the pesticide losses were evaluated in simulated rainfall study. Freundlich adsorption parameters (K) by the adsorption and desorption methods were 1.2 and 2.2 for ethoprophos, 1.5 and 2.6 for alachlor, respectively. And adsorption distribution coefficients (Kd) by the adsorption and desorption methods were 56 and 94 for ethalfluralin, and 104 and 189 for pendimethalin, respectively. K or Kd values of pesticides by the desorption method which were desorbed from the soil after thoroughly mixing, were higher than these ones by the adsorption method which pesticides dissolved in water were adsorbed to the soil. Another parameter (1/n), representing the linearity of adsorption, in Freundlich equation for the pesticides tested ranged from 0.96 to 1.02 by the desorption method and from 0.87 to 1.02 by the adsorption method. Therefore, the desorption method was more independent from pesticide concentration in soil solution than the adsorption method. By Soil Survey and Land Research Center (SSLRC)'s classification for pesticide mobility, alachlor and ethoprophos were classified into moderately mobile $(75{\leq}Koc<500)$, and ethalfluralin and pendimethalin were included to non-mobile class (Koc > 4000). Runoff and erosion loss of pesticides by three rainfall scenarios were from 1.0 to 6.4% and from 0.3 to 1.2% for alachlor, from 1.0 to 2.5% and from 1.7 to 10.1% for ethalfluralin, from 1.3 to 2.9% and from 3.9 to 10.8% for pendimethalin, and from 0.6 to 2.7% and from 0.1 % 0.3% for ethoprophos, respectively. Distribution of pesticides in soil profile were investigated after the simulated rainfall study. Alachlor and ethoprophos were leached to from 10 to 15 cm of soil layer, but ethalfluralin and pendimethalin were mostly remained at the top 5 cm of soil profile. The losses of the pesticides at 30% of sloping degree were from 0.2 to 1.9 times higher than those at 10%. The difference of their runoff loss was related with their concentration in runoff water while the difference of their erosion loss must be closely related with the quantity of soil eroded.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.392-407
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• 2006

This study was seasonally undertaken to investigate the benthic polychaetous community along the South-eastern coast of Geoje Is., in February 2004 to November. The macrobenthic fauna showed mean density of 953 md. $m^{-2}$ in February, 1,193 ind. $m^{-2}$ in May, 1,130 ind. $m^{-2}$ in September and 991 ind. $m^{-2}$ in November. Major faunal groups are polychaetes, crustaceans and mollusks, corresponding to 81.6%, 7.9%, 7.0% in total mean density during the sampling seasons, respectively. There was significant difference (two-way ANOVA, p<0.001) among stations in densities of polychaetes. But no significant relationship could be found between the densities of polychaetes and sampling seasons (two-way ANOVA, p>0.05). The density and the species number of polychaetes were high in the coastal area near the Jisepo port, independent of sampling seasons. Several indicator species for the organically enriched environments such as Lumbrineris longifolia, Tharyx sp., Heteromastus filiformis showed high densities during all study periods. Also Magelona japonica included in Ecolgical group I was the most abundant in the whole study period except for February. Cluster analysis on the basis of the species composition showed that the study area could be divided into 3 regions. The density of benthic polychaetes in the coastal area near Jisepo was higher than that in the other assemblages of the study area, due to some predominant opportunistic species, such as Lumbrineris longifolia, Tharyx sp. and Heteromastus filiformis. In addition, the two-way ANOVA showed significant differences among the distribution of AMBI (AZTI's Marine Biotic Index) values, both in sampling stations (p<0.001) and seasons (p<0.01). According to the classification proposed by Borja et at. (2000), the study area was slightly disturbed site.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.446-452
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• 1986

This paper presents the composition of neutral and polar lipids obtained from puple shell, Rapana venosa and the abalone, Haliotis discus hannai. The fatty acid composition and the classification of neutral lipids from two species were determined by gas chromatography (GLC) and thin layer chromatography (TLC). Total lipid contents of samples were $0.5\%$ in purple shell and $0.4\%$ in the abalone. The predominant fatty acids of total lipids were eicosapentaenoic acid ($19.30\%$). eicosenoic acid ($12.10\%$) and palmitic acid ($11.77\%$) in the purple shell, and palmitic acid ($21.29\%$), oleic acid ($14.55\%$) and linoleic acid ($14.21\%$) in the abalone. The lipid composition of non-polar lipid fractions in purple shell and abalone was separated and identified as free sterol, free fatty acid, triglyceride and hydrocarbon & esterified sterol by TLC. The contents of triglyceride from both neutral lipids were shown more abundant than any other subclasses. The main fatty acids of neutral lipids were eicosapentaenoic acid ($18.6\%$), palmitic acid ($14.90\%$) and eicosenoic acid ($14.76\%$) in the purple shell, and palmitic acid ($28.12\%$), oleic acid($20.5\%$) and myristic acid ($12.5\%$) in the abalone. Eicosapentaenoic acid ($17.57\%$), stearic acid ($13.26\%$) and eicosatetraenoic acid ($11.24\%$) were important fatty acids of glycolipid in the purple shell, and myristic acid ($12.75\%$), stearic acid ($12.10\%$) and eicosatetraenoic acid ($10.64\%$) in the abalone. The major fatty acids of phospholipids were eicosapentaenoic acid ($20.18\%$), palmitic acid ($11.26\%$) and eicosenoic acid ($10.90\%$) in the purple shell, and palmitic acid ($21.10\%$), eicosapentaenoic acid ($12.90\%$) and oleic acid($11.13\%$) in the abalone.