• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.35
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• pp.237-268
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• 2014

Examining swear words found in Korean and English, we aim to answer the following two questions: (i) 'What words develop into swear words?' and (ii) 'Why they do?' The utility of a swear word is frequently recognized as intimidation directed towards an opponent, emotional catharsis, and solidarity building among in-group members (Jay 1992, 2000, Kim 1997). We seek to go beyond this simple enumeration of possible functions of swearing and suggest an underlying mechanism at work to explain how these functions are achieved and why only certain types of words are employed in this pursuit. A close examination reveals that a swear word must contain either taboo or sadism as an essential component. Sexual pleasure adds another dimension to the basic components. Thus, if an expression contains a subset of the component set {taboo, sadism, sex} in its semantics, it becomes available for swearing (one of the underlined components must be included in the set). For example, many religiously sacred expressions and words for excretion are common swear words as they violate social and religious taboo. On the other hand, words referring to social minorities are a convenient target for sadism. Furthermore, words describing sexual activity contain all three components, violating social taboo, evoking sadism, and giving the initiator guilty sexual pleasure. A combination of the components can produce an emotional effect called catharsis for the initiator. When directed towards others, these components, especially taboo and sadism, can be exploited as a verbal attack, an intimidation, preceding or replacing a physical attack. However, solidarity building is analyzed as a secondary function of swearing, achieved by sharing a sense of accomplice when in-group members behave badly together, such as violating social taboo and committing sadism.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.245-256
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• 2019

The study is aimed at examining the influence of empathy and pro-social behavior on school life happiness of multicultural and Korean adolescents through sports activities. The results of the analysis of total 461 adolescents participating in sports activities and not participating in sports activities are as follows. Adolescents participating in sports activities have higher levels of empathy, pro-social behavior and school life happiness than those who do not participate. And the more experience involved in sports activities, the higher the level of empathy, the level of pro-social behavior and the level of school life happiness. There is a significant correlation between empathy and pro-social behavior and school life happiness. Empathy and pro-social behavior factors affecting school life happiness are statistically influencing factors such as "relationship formation", "communication", "cooperation", "assistance", "emotional expression", and "comfort". The results of this study suggest the importance of dealing with empathy and pro-social behavior through sports activities in the school life happiness of multicultural families and Korean adolescents.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2019.04a
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• pp.97-97
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• 2019

Chaga mushroom and Cheonggukjang have been used in alternative medicine. In this study, we determined the anti-obesity effects of fermented Chaga-Cheonggukjang (FCC), an extract prepared by secondary fermentation of a mixture of Cheonggukjang and Chaga by Lactobacillus acidophilus on highfat diet (HFD)-induced mice. Male ICR mice were fed a normal diet or HFD in the presence or absence of 3% and 5% FCC (FCC3 and FCC5). After 3 months, the mice were sacrificed, and serum and tissue samples were examined. Body weight and epididymal fat pad (EFP) weight were significantly lowered in FCC3 and FCC5 groups compared to those in the HFD control group. FCC supplementation suppressed serum triglyceride (TG) and increased serum HDL levels. Serum GOT, GPT, leptin levels and hepatic COX-2 mRNA expression were significantly higher in the HFD groups, and these increases were significantly attenuated by FCC supplementation. FCC suppressed body weight and EFP weight gain, as well as inflammatory responses in the liver in HFD-fed mice. Thus, FCC supplementation may have protective effects for obesity-related disease.

• Genes and Genomics
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• v.40 no.12
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• pp.1363-1371
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• 2018

One of the main concerns in biology is extracting sophisticated features from DNA sequence for gene interaction determination, receiving a great deal of researchers' attention. The epigenetic modifications along with their patterns have been intensely recognized as dominant features affecting on gene expression. However, studying sequenced-based features highly correlated to this key element has remained limited. The main objective in this research was to propose a new feature highly correlated to epigenetic modifications capable of classification of genes. In this paper, classification of 34 genes in PPAR signaling pathway associated with muscle fat tissue in human was performed. Using different statistical outlier detection methods, we proposed that 5-mers highly correlated to epigenetic modifications can correctly categorize the genes involved in the same biological pathway or process. Thirty-four genes in PPAR signaling pathway were classified via applying a proposed feature, 5-mers strongly associated to 17 different epigenetic modifications. For this, diverse statistical outlier detection methods were applied to specify the group of thoroughly correlated genes. The results indicated that these 5-mers can appropriately identify correlated genes. In addition, our results corresponded to GeneMania interaction information, leading to support the suggested method. The appealing findings imply that not only epigenetic modifications but also their highly correlated 5-mers can be applied for reconstructing gene regulatory networks as supplementary data as well as other applications like physical interaction, genes prioritization, indicating some sort of data fusion in this analysis.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.1230-1239
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• 2019

Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi has been widely used in China for treatment of various diseases. This study investigated the effect of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi extracts (SBE) against Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3)-induced myocarditis in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, Hela cells and primary myocardial cells were infected with CVB3 and treated with SBE ($50-800{\mu}g/ml$) and ribavirin ($200{\mu}M$) for 48 h and then determined by CCK8 assay. Real-time PCR and western blotting assays were performed. In vivo, a myocarditis model was induced in male BALB/c mice by injecting CVB3 suspension intraperitoneally for three times, followed by treatment with SBE (400 and 200 mg/kg) and ribavirin (100 mg/kg) for 28 days. SBE ameliorated the cytotoxicity of CVB3 in Hela cells, especially at $400{\mu}g/ml$ (39.93% vs 65.67%, p < 0.05) without influencing cell growth and also significantly reduced CVB3 replication in primary myocardial cells. The levels of AKT, ERK, and p38 were increased after CVB3 infection. SBE could downregulate the expressions of AKT and p38. In vivo, the mortality rate from CVB3 reached to 66.67%, while 10.00% and 23.33% of this came after 400 and 200 mg/kg SBE treatment, respectively (p < 0.05). The CVB3 replication was obviously reduced after SBE administration from day 5. Similarly, the levels of AKT, ERK, and p38 mRNAs and proteins were increased, and SBE suppressed the expression of AKT and p38. Our study indicates that SBE is a promising potent antiviral agent against CVB3-induced myocarditis by inhibition of virus replication via depressing AKT and p38 expressions.

• Land and Housing Review
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.91-103
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• 2022

Home has significant meaning in the real world. In contrast, there's a lack of interest in homes in the Metaverse compared to other architectural spaces. This study aims to establish the concept of a home in the Metaverse based on meaning, typology, and characteristics of real-world homes. For this purpose, previous research and existing models of real- world homes were analyzed and case studies and a survey were conducted of homes in the Metaverse. As a result of the research, a model of home in the Metaverse is proposed based on physical, social, and personal models. Modifying one's dwelling, a refuge from the outside world, and self-expression/personalized space was also identified as the most significant characteristic of a home in the Metaverse. The results of this study will be helpful in future Metaverse virtual world research and development of Metaverse service platforms.

• Industry Promotion Research
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2021

The study aims to examine the connection between psychology in human unconsciousness and color, after looking at the meaning and symbolism of the characteristics and colors in Klimt's paintings from an analytical psychological point of view, Gustaf Jung's archetype theory. After analyzing Jung's archetype theory, First, in Klimt's paintings, the gold and yellow colorful decorations and patterns expressed desire with unconsciousness, sex, and especially a woman's desire for sex. The physical relationship between men and women is described as eros, life, and death. Second, the main colors in the paintings were blue, black green, gold, yellow, and orange, indicating anger and oppression, passion, desire, hope, and eroticism, and orange and yellow colors represented the inner healing colors of hope. Third, the artist's inner healing process contains color for himself and incorporates the inner unconsciousness and consciousness. The colors expressed in paintings are not only therapeutic meaning but also being conscious of inner unconsciousness, which is valuable as healing. Therefore, the color will be useful as a means of conveying psychological expression in the psychological counseling sessions.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.238-245
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• 2022

Previous reports have demonstrated that genetic mechanisms greatly mediate responses to drugs of abuse, including methamphetamine (METH). The circadian gene Period 2 (Per2) has been previously associated with differential responses towards METH in mice. While the behavioral consequences of eliminating Per2 have been illustrated previously, Per2 overexpression has not yet been comprehensively described; although, Per2-overexpressing (Per2 OE) mice previously showed reduced sensitivity towards METH-induced addiction-like behaviors. To further elucidate this distinct behavior of Per2 OE mice to METH, we identified possible candidate biomarkers by determining striatal differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in both drug-naïve and METH-treated Per2 OE mice relative to wild-type (WT), through RNA sequencing. Of the several DEGs in drug naïve Per2 OE mice, we identified six genes that were altered after repeated METH treatment in WT mice, but not in Per2 OE mice. These results, validated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, could suggest that the identified DEGs might underlie the previously reported weaker METH-induced responses of Per2 OE mice compared to WT. Gene network analysis also revealed that Asic3, Hba-a1, and Rnf17 are possibly associated with Per2 through physical interactions and predicted correlations, and might potentially participate in addiction. Inhibiting the functional protein of Asic3 prior to METH administration resulted in the partial reduction of METH-induced conditioned place preference in WT mice, supporting a possible involvement of Asic3 in METH-induced reward. Although encouraging further investigations, our findings suggest that these DEGs, including Asic3, may play significant roles in the lower sensitivity of Per2 OE mice to METH.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.184-193
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• 2022

'Burnout', which has been frequently used recently, is one of the representative expressions representing the psychology of modern people living in fierce competition. In this paper, I approached and analyzed two films, 'Hector and the Search for Happiness' and 'To Each His Own' from the perspective of burnout, which are considered two of the most healing movies for office workers. The symptoms of burnout in the work were lethargy, irritability, anger, insomnia, depression, and suicidal thoughts. In the case of 'Hector and the Search for Happiness' the clash of values from repeated consulting work, and in the case of 'To Each His Own', work overload, performance pressure, and the absence of a community of colleagues were the causes. This burnout state is visually expressed through the dialogues and expressions of the characters, as well as looking down shots of various sizes, low lighting, and placing objects in front of the main character. This intuitively expressed the symptoms of burnout, which is difficult to diagnose. In particular, it was confirmed through the movie that one of the diagnostic criteria for burnout, such as hobbies, physical activity, and the presence or absence of a fellow community, helps to get out of burnout.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.17-29
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• 2022

Objective : The present study comparatively analyzed the anti-obesity effect of Arctium lappa L. roots with and without microwave processing. Methods : Four HFD groups except for the Normal group (n=8) were allocated: Control, microwave-processed dried Arctium lappa L. roots (MAL) extract 400 mg/kg/d (MAL400), MAL extract 800 mg/kg/d (MAL800), and the dried Arctium lappa L. roots (DAL) extract 800 mg/kg/d (DAL800). The efficacy of MAL and DAL was confirmed in terms of the serum biochemical index, protein expressions related to the synthesis of triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) and 𝛽-oxidation, and histopathological staining. Results : Both MAL and DAL treatments significantly reduced final body weight and body weight gain. MAL800 treatment significantly reduced serum TG, TC, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and leptin levels, but the serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and adiponectin concentrations were dramatically increased. In particular, leptin in the MAL800 group was reduced by 14.1% compared with the DAL800 group. Moreover, the MAL800 treatment showed an effect superior to the DAL800 treatment in the reduction of serum TC, the sirtuin 1 (Sirt1) activation, and the inhibition of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl glutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR) gene expression. In particular, unlike the DAL800 treatment, MAL treatment significantly led to the activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPAR𝛼). Subsequently, PPAR𝛼 meaningfully regulated downstream proteins associated with 𝛽-oxidation. Conclusion : These findings suggest that Arctium lappa L. roots with microwave processing effectively ameliorate obesity through the regulation of leptin and TC and the promotion of 𝛽-oxidation compared with Arctium lappa L. roots without microwave processing.