• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.216-221
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• 2011

Objective: To differentiate the human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) into the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) in the defined culture condition and determine its therapeutic potential for the treatment of retinal degenerative diseases. Methods: The embryoid bodies were formed from hESCs and attached on the matrigel coated culture dishes. The neural structures consisting neural precursors were selected and expanded to form rosette structures. The mechanically isolated neural rosettes were differentiated into pigmented cells in the media comprised of N2 and B27. Expression profiles of markers related to RPE development were analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunostaining. Dissociated putative RPE cells ($10^5$ cells/5 ${\mu}L$) were transplanted into the subretinal space of rat retinal degeneration model induced by intravenous sodium iodate injection. Animals were sacrificed at 1, 2, and 4 weeks after transplantation, and immnohistochemistry study was performed to verify the survival of the transplanted cells. Results: The putative RPE cells derived from hESC showed characteristics of the human RPE cells morphologically and expressed molecular markers and associated with RPE fate. Grafted RPE cells were found to survive in the subretinal space up to 4 weeks after transplantation, and the expression of RPE markers was confirmed with immunohistochemistry. Conclusion: Transplanted RPE cells derived from hESC in the defined culture condition successfully survived and migrated within subretinal space of rat retinal degeneration model. These results support the feasibility of the hESC derived RPE cells for cell-based therapies for retinal degenerative disease.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.747-760
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• 2014

This study presents the extent of disparity of human capital across regions, its trend, and the impact of aging on it, using Korean census data of years 1985, 1995, and 2005. Main results are as follows. First, the absolute level of human capital in cities and districts have increased, but the relative positions of those regions have not changed over time. Second, the proportion of college graduated tends to increase as the size of cities increases. Third, following Berry and Glaeser(2005), the increase in the proportion of college graduated is regressed on the initial proportion and the estimates indicate that the disparity of human capital across regions has increased over time. Fourth, the proportion of aging population is shown to have a negative relationship with the proportion of college graduated. Finally, using a counter-factual scenario that there were no differences in proportions of aging population across regions, it is shown that the disparity of human capital across regions could be reduced substantially.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.815-836
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• 1999

The role of animal agriculture for the quality of human life has always been emphasized during 20th century and it is expected to be even more important in terms of food supplies and in providing additional functions in the future. The world human population has almost tripled during a period of half century. The world population of animals has increased 2~3 times (6 times for chicken) during the last 60 years, and the total amount of livestock products has increased 5~6 times (more than 10 times in pork) with higher annual growth rate (9%) in developing countries. Increased personal income certainly encouraged demand for animal products over grains and lower animal production costs resulted from scientific and technological advances. Similarly the production of total grains has more than doubled owing to the advances in agricultural science during the later part of the 20th century. The average life span of world people in 1950s was only 46 years, which will be increased to almost 66 years in the year 2000. Present date clearly indicate that the life span of people is proportional to their income (GNP) and/or animal protein intake. Animals can provide other resources than foods. The increase of human population indicates that the number of animals as well as per capita consumption of animal products will be increased in the 21st century. The other resources we get from animals are drafts, packing, riding, hunting and herding. Guiding the blind, protection and companionship are also examples of what we can expect from animals. In the very near future, animals will become major donors of organs, skin and producers of drugs or special functional foods. It may be concluded that animals are very closely associated and related to the quality of human life, and they are expected to remain the same way in the 21st century.

• BMB Reports
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• v.54 no.10
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• pp.505-515
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• 2021

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) include human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) derived from blastocysts and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) generated from somatic cell reprogramming. Due to their self-renewal ability and pluripotent differentiation potential, hPSCs serve as an excellent experimental platform for human development, disease modeling, drug screening, and cell therapy. Traditionally, hPSCs were considered to form a homogenous population. However, recent advances in single cell technologies revealed a high degree of variability between individual cells within a hPSC population. Different types of heterogeneity can arise by genetic and epigenetic abnormalities associated with long-term in vitro culture and somatic cell reprogramming. These variations initially appear in a rare population of cells. However, some cancer-related variations can confer growth advantages to the affected cells and alter cellular phenotypes, which raises significant concerns in hPSC applications. In contrast, other types of heterogeneity are related to intrinsic features of hPSCs such as asynchronous cell cycle and spatial asymmetry in cell adhesion. A growing body of evidence suggests that hPSCs exploit the intrinsic heterogeneity to produce multiple lineages during differentiation. This idea offers a new concept of pluripotency with single cell heterogeneity as an integral element. Collectively, single cell heterogeneity is Janus-faced in hPSC function and application. Harmful heterogeneity has to be minimized by improving culture conditions and screening methods. However, other heterogeneity that is integral for pluripotency can be utilized to control hPSC proliferation and differentiation.

• 대한생식의학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.74-75
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• 2004

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Embryo Transfer Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.86-87
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• 2006

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.6-15
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• 2024

Background: People's activities have been restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These changes in activity patterns may lead to a decrease in fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) concentrations. Additionally, the level of population exposure to PM_2.5 may be changed. Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the impact of population movement and meteorological factors on the distribution of PM_2.5 concentrations before and after the outbreak of COVID-19. Methods: The study area was Guro-gu in Seoul. The research period was selected as January to March 2020, a period of significant population movement changes caused by COVID-19. The evaluation of the dynamic population was conducted by calculating the absolute difference in population numbers between consecutive hours and comparing them to determine the daily average. Ambient PM_2.5 concentrations were estimated for each grid using ordinary kriging in Python. For the population exposure assessment, the population-weighted average concentration was calculated by determining the indoor to outdoor population for each grid and applying the indoor to outdoor ratio to the ambient PM_2.5 concentration. To assess the factors influencing changes in the ambient PM_2.5 concentration, a statistical analysis was conducted, incorporating population mobility and meteorological factors. Results: Through statistical analysis, the correlation between ambient PM_2.5 concentration and population movement was positive on both weekends and weekdays (r=0.71, r=0.266). The results confirmed that most of the relationships were positive, suggesting that a decrease in human activity can lead to a decrease in PM_2.5 concentrations. In addition, when population-weighted concentration averages were calculated and the exposure level of the population group was compared before and after the COVID-19 outbreak, the proportion of people exceeding the air quality standard decreased by approximately 15.5%. Conclusions: Human activities can impact ambient concentrations of PM_2.5, potentially altering the levels of PM_2.5 exposure in the population.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.893-899
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• 2009

Few studies have reported the existence of imprinted genes in cattle compared to the human and mouse. Genomic imprinting is expressed in monoallelic form and it depends on a single parent-specific form of the allele. Comparative analysis of mammals other than the human is a valuable tool for explaining the genomic basis of imprinted genes. In this study, we investigated 34 common imprinted genes in the human and mouse as well as 35 known non-imprinted genes in the human. We found short interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs), long interspersed nuclear elements (LINEs), and long terminal repeats (LTRs) in imprinted (human and mouse) and control (cattle) genes. Pair-wise comparisons for the three species were conducted using SINEs, LINEs, and LTRs. We also calculated 95% confidence intervals of frequencies of repetitive sequences for the three species. As a result, most genes had a similar interval between species. We found 11 genes with conserved SINEs, LINEs, and LTRs in the human, mouse, and cattle. In conclusion, eleven genes (CALCR, Grb10, HTR2A, KCNK9, Kcnq1, MEST, OSBPL5, PPP1R9A, Sgce, SLC22A18, and UBE3A) were identified as candidate imprinted genes in cattle.

• IE interfaces
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• v.16 no.spc
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• pp.144-148
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• 2003

A group of digital human models with various sizes which properly represents a population under consideration is needed in the design process of an ergonomic product in virtual environment. The present study proposes a two-step method which produces a representative group of human models in terms of stature and weight. The proposed method first generates a designated number of pairs of stature and weight within an accommodation range from the bivariate normal distribution of stature and weight of the target population. Then, from each pair of stature and weight, the method determines the sizes of body segments by using 'hierarchical' regression models and corresponding prediction distributions of individual values. The suggested method was applied to the 1988 US Army anthropometric survey data and implemented to a web-based system which generates a representative group of human models for the following parameters: nationality, gender, accommodation percentage, and number of human models.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.331-341
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• 2012

Using data sets for Japan as a whole, as arranged with approximately $10{\times}10$ km squares (a secondary grid), we investigated the relationship between population density and the habitats of threatened vascular plants listed in the Japanese Red Data Book; depopulated areas in the present and future, areas where under-use may be serious, and those with a predominance of elderly people; and the present state of the habitats in terms of a characteristic land use pattern. Regarding the habitats of threatened vascular plants, the progress of deterioration [$(N_{CR}+N_{EN})/(N_{CR}+N_{EN}+N_{VU})$] in depopulated areas has been confirmed, where $N_{CR}$, $N_{EN}$, and $N_{VU}$ are the numbers of species classified as critically endangered, endangered, and vulnerable, respectively. Moreover, in grid squares used by a human such as farmland, the progress of the deterioration simply increases when population density becomes low. However, for many vascular plants, they are particularly endangered in populous areas. Local populations will decrease throughout Japan with the rate of depopulation in and around large cities being relatively slow. We also propose some issues that need further study. The deterioration by human activity may be reduced. On the other hand, some vascular plants may be adversely influenced by depopulation. Additionally, we should keep a close watch on grasslands and water areas in large cities to preserve vascular plants.