• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.189-217
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• 2023

The metaverse is a virtual world where individuals engage in social, economic, and cultural activities using avatars, which represent an alternate version of oneself within the virtual realm. While the metaverse has garnered global attention recently, research exploring the identity manifested through avatars within the metaverse remains limited. This study investigates the influence of four IT artifact characteristics related to avatar usage in the metaverse-avatar representation, avatar copresence, avatar profiling, and avatar-space interaction-on perceived avatar identity verification. A survey was conducted with 196 experienced users of the Zepeto platform, and hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. The analysis results indicate that the use of IT artifacts enabling avatar representation, avatar copresence, and avatar-space interaction has a positive impact on perceived avatar identity verification. This achieved self-verification indirectly influences the satisfaction and subsequent intention to continue using the metaverse. This study contributes to the academic field by empirically verifying the metaverse technological factors that influence the projected identity onto avatars within the metaverse. Furthermore, it is expected to provide effective guidelines for metaverse platform companies in designing and implementing the metaverse.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.481-489
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• 2023

The taste and quality of soy sauce, a fermented liquid condiment, is greatly influenced by microbial metabolism during fermentation. To investigate the microbiological characteristics of ganjang during the initial fermentation process, we prepared meju (fermented soybean) blocks fermented with starter cultures and solar salts and analyzed the microbial community quantitively using 16S rRNA gene profiling from ganjang that had been fermented over a five-week period. The ganjang samples were collected and analyzed after soaking for week one (1W), three (3W), and five (5W) weeks. We found that Halomonadaceae was significantly higher in the 1W group (89.83%) than the 3W and 5W groups (14.46%, and 13.78%, respectively). At a species level, Chromohalobacter beijerinckii and Chromohalobacter canadensis were the dominant species in the 1W group but several taxa such as Bacillus subtilis, Pediococcus acidilactici, and Enterococcus faecalis were more abundant in the 3W and 5W groups. Pearson correlation analysis of the relative abundance of the bacteria showed a negative correlation between Chromohalobacter and two bacterial genera Bacillus and Enterococcus. Beta-diversity showed a statistical distinction between the 1W and the 3W and 5W groups, while no significance was evident between the 3W and 5W groups. Linear discriminant effect size analysis was used to identify biomarkers and significant differences in the relative abundance of several halophilic bacteria, Bacillus sp. and lactic acid bacteria at 1W, 3W, and 5W, recpectively, which indicates the important role of the bacterial community at these time points.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.5C
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• pp.293-301
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• 2008

Soil profiling is one of the most important work among geotehnical engineering practice. Generally, soil profile is estimated from the observation of soil samples during subsurface exploration but such estimation also includes some experiencing aspects such as flushed water from the borehole, slime colour, boring speed and so on. In addition, since the capacity of hydraulic drill rig is significantly increased, thin layers might be easily missed. So, continuous soil profile is almost impossible over all depth to be bored from conventional subsurface exploration. While CPT or CPTu can serve continuous soil profile information over all depth generally in 5cm interval. Many charts or methods for soil profile from CPT result have been proposed during last several decades over the world. However they have not been verified in local ground condition in Korea. In this research, CPT results and soil classification results based on USCS were compiled from 17 sites over the Korea. Soil classification results by using 7 CPT soil classification charts were compared with those of USCS for the compiled database. Most proper CPT soil classification chart for Korean soil characteristics was evaluated and effective parameters for the soil classification from CPT were discussed. Finally interrelationship between CPT soil classification chart and USCS soil classification was evaluated.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.312-312
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• 2022

Peanut hull as by-product has been discarded during peanut processing. However, peanut hull contains plenty of polyphenols that shows various physiological activities. The objectives of this study were to investigate anti-inflammatory and enzyme inhibitory activities of polyphenols from 'Sinpalkwang' peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) hull. Compounds were isolated from methanol extracts of peanut hull by preparative-high performance liquid chromatography after identifying and quantifying polyphenols using Ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) and UPLC-Quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrometry profiling. The structures of compounds were elucidated by one-dimensional [¹H, ¹³C] nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and two-dimensional NMR (correlated spectroscopy, heteronuclear single quantum coherence and heteronuclear multiple bond correlation). Three compounds were identified as 5,7-dihydroxy-4H-chromen-4-one (peak 2), luteolin (peak 4) and eriodictyol (peak 5). Significant differences in inflammatory mediator such as nitric oxide (NO), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-1β (IL-lβ) in lipopolysaccharide stimulated Raw 264.7 macrophages and in enzyme (xanthine oxidase [XO] and α-glucosidase [AG]) inhibitory activities were observed between three compounds (p < 0.05). Peak 5 treated Raw 264.7 macrophages showed lower content of NO (16.4 uM), IL-6 (7.0 ng/mL), and IL-1β (60.6 pg/mL) than peak 2 (NO: 28.3 uM, IL-6: 11.3 ng/mL, IL-1β: 66.9 pg/mL) and peak 4 (NO: 24.7 uM, IL-6: 9.3 ng/mL, IL-1β: 62.6 pg/mL). Peak 5 showed higher XO inhibitory activity (84.7%) and higher AG inhibitory activity (52.4%) than peak 2 (XO inhibitory activity: 45.4%, AG inhibitory activity: 21.6%) and peak 4 (XO inhibitory activity: 37.9%, AG inhibitory activity: 37.5%) at concentration of 0.5mg/mL. This study suggests that peanut hull could be a potential source of anti-inflammatory and physiological materials while creating new use of discarded peanut hull as by-products concomitantly.

• BMB Reports
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• v.56 no.10
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• pp.563-568
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• 2023

DNA methylation regulates gene expression and contributes to tumorigenesis in the early stages of cancer. In colorectal cancer (CRC), CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) is recognized as a distinct subset that is associated with specific molecular and clinical features. In this study, we investigated the genome-wide DNA methylation patterns among patients with CRC. The methylation data of 1 unmatched normal, 142 adjacent normal, and 294 tumor samples were analyzed. We identified 40,003 differentially methylated positions with 6,933 (79.8%) hypermethylated and 16,145 (51.6%) hypomethylated probes in the genic region. Hypermethylated probes were predominantly found in promoter-like regions, CpG islands, and N shore sites; hypomethylated probes were enriched in open-sea regions. CRC tumors were categorized into three CIMP subgroups, with 90 (30.6%) in the CIMP-high (CIMP-H), 115 (39.1%) in the CIMP-low (CIMP-L), and 89 (30.3%) in the non-CIMP group. The CIMP-H group was associated with microsatellite instability-high tumors, hypermethylation of MLH1, older age, and right-sided tumors. Our results showed that genome-wide methylation analyses classified patients with CRC into three subgroups according to CIMP levels, with clinical and molecular features consistent with previous data.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2020.08a
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• pp.33-33
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• 2020

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a non-seasonal, economically important, cucurbit cultivated throughout the world with Asia as a continent contributing the most. As part of the effort in diversifying watermelon genetic resources in the already cultivated group, this study was devoted to providing baseline data on morphological quality traits and health-beneficial phytonutrients of watermelon germplasm collections, thereby promoting watermelon research and cultivation programs. To this end, we reported morphological traits, citrulline, and arginine levels of watermelon genetic resources obtained from the gene bank of Agrobiodiversity Center, Republic of Korea, and discussed the relationship between each other. Diverse characteristics were observed among many of the traits. But, most of the genetic resources (>90%) were either red or pink-fleshed. Korean origin fruits contained intermediate levels of soluble solid content (SSC) while The USA, Russian, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Taiwan, and Uruguay originated had generally the highest levels of soluble solids. The citrulline and arginine contents using HPLC method were ranged from 6.9 to 52.1 mg/g (average, 27.3 mg/g) and 1.8 to 21.3 mg/g (average, 9.8 mg/g), respectively. The citrulline content determined using Citrulline Assay Kit was ranged from 6.5 to 42.8 mg/g (average, 27.0 mg/g). Resources with high citrulline and arginine levels contained low SSC. Whereas, red- and pink-colored flesh samples had less citrulline compared to yellow and orange. In addition to the profiling of morphological characters and phytonutrients, molecular marker characterization and identification of sources of resistance to diseases and pests are recommended for a more complete diversity analysis of watermelon genetic resources.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.781-789
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• 2023

We investigated the sensory and quality characteristics of gambas al ajillo retort foods with nondigestible maltodextrin (trial gambas) compared with commercially available frozen gambas al ajillo (control). Trial gambas demonstrated approximate compositions of 75.8% moisture, 11.3% protein, 5.8% lipid, 1.7% ash, and 5.4% carbohydrates, indicating lower lipid and carbohydrate contents but higher moisture, protein, and ash levels than that of the control. Sensory assessments conclusively established the superior overall acceptability of trial gambas over the control. Trial gambas exhibited a total amino acid content of 9.62 g/ 100 g, surpassing the 5.39 g of the control. The major amino acids, such as lysine, leucine, arginine, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid, contributed significantly to its enhanced nutritional profile. Mineral analysis revealed higher calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and iron levels in trial gambas and lower potassium levels than that in the control. Fatty acid profiling identified 18:1n-9 (67.8%) and 16:0 (11.9%) as the predominant fatty acids, in concordance with the control. This study substantiates trial gambas with the health-oriented preferences of the MZ generation while presenting superior sensory and quality attributes compared with the control.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.1021-1030
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• 2024

Objective: R-loops are DNA:RNA triplex hybrids, and their metabolism is tightly regulated by transcriptional regulation, DNA damage response, and chromatin structure dynamics. R-loop homeostasis is dynamically regulated and closely associated with gene transcription in mouse zygotes. However, the factors responsible for regulating these dynamic changes in the R-loops of fertilized mouse eggs have not yet been investigated. This study examined the functions of candidate factors that interact with R-loops during zygotic gene activation. Methods: In this study, we used publicly available next-generation sequencing datasets, including low-input ribosome profiling analysis and polymerase II chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing (ChIP-seq), to identify potential regulators of R-loop dynamics in zygotes. These datasets were downloaded, reanalyzed, and compared with mass spectrometry data to identify candidate factors involved in regulating R-loop dynamics. To validate the functions of these candidate factors, we treated mouse zygotes with chemical inhibitors using in vitro fertilization. Immunofluorescence with an anti-R-loop antibody was then performed to quantify changes in R-loop metabolism. Results: We identified DEAD-box-5 (DDX5) and histone deacetylase-2 (HDAC2) as candidates that potentially regulate R-loop metabolism in oocytes, zygotes and two-cell embryos based on change of their gene translation. Our analysis revealed that the DDX5 inhibition of activity led to decreased R-loop accumulation in pronuclei, indicating its involvement in regulating R-loop dynamics. However, the inhibition of histone deacetylase-2 activity did not significantly affect R-loop levels in pronuclei. Conclusion: These findings suggest that dynamic changes in R-loops during mouse zygote development are likely regulated by RNA helicases, particularly DDX5, in conjunction with transcriptional processes. Our study provides compelling evidence for the involvement of these factors in regulating R-loop dynamics during early embryonic development.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.235-243
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• 2023

As next-generation sequencing has been developed and used widely, RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) has rapidly emerged as the first choice of tools to validate global transcriptome profiling. With the significant advances in RNA-seq, various types of RNA-seq have evolved in conjunction with the progress in bioinformatic tools. On the other hand, it is difficult to interpret the complex data underlying the biological meaning without a general understanding of the types of RNA-seq and bioinformatic approaches. In this regard, this paper discusses the two main sections of RNA-seq. First, two major variants of RNA-seq are described and compared with the standard RNA-seq. This provides insights into which RNA-seq method is most appropriate for their research. Second, the most widely used RNA-seq data analyses are discussed: (1) exploratory data analysis and (2) pathway enrichment analysis. This paper introduces the most widely used exploratory data analysis for RNA-seq, such as principal component analysis, heatmap, and volcano plot, which can provide the overall trends in the dataset. The pathway enrichment analysis section introduces three generations of pathway enrichment analysis and how they generate enriched pathways with the RNA-seq dataset.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.81 no.3
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• pp.632-643
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• 2020

Purpose To investigate the correlation between magnetic resonance (MR) image-based radiomics features and the genomic features of breast cancer by focusing on biomolecular intrinsic subtypes and gene expression profiles based on risk scores. Materials and Methods We used the publicly available datasets from the Cancer Genome Atlas and the Cancer Imaging Archive to extract the radiomics features of 122 breast cancers on MR images. Furthermore, PAM50 intrinsic subtypes were classified and their risk scores were determined from gene expression profiles. The relationship between radiomics features and biomolecular characteristics was analyzed. A penalized generalized regression analysis was performed to build prediction models. Results The PAM50 subtype demonstrated a statistically significant association with the maximum 2D diameter (p = 0.0189), degree of correlation (p = 0.0386), and inverse difference moment normalized (p = 0.0337). Among risk score systems, GGI and GENE70 shared 8 correlated radiomic features (p = 0.0008-0.0492) that were statistically significant. Although the maximum 2D diameter was most significantly correlated to both score systems (p = 0.0139, and p = 0.0008), the overall degree of correlation of the prediction models was weak with the highest correlation coefficient of GENE70 being 0.2171. Conclusion Maximum 2D diameter, degree of correlation, and inverse difference moment normalized demonstrated significant relationships with the PAM50 intrinsic subtypes along with gene expression profile-based risk scores such as GENE70, despite weak correlations.