• Title/Summary/Keyword: Computer Studies

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Genome-Wide Association Analyses on Blood Pressure Using Three Different Phenotype Definitions

  • Park, Ji-Wan;Uhmm, Saan-Yong;Shin, Chol;Cho, Nam-H.;Cho, Yoon-Shin;Lee, Jong-Young
    • Genomics & Informatics
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    • v.8 no.3
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    • pp.108-115
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    • 2010
  • Hypertension is the most prevalent disease worldwide and is itself a risk factor for cerebral, cardiac, and renal diseases. The inconsistency of candidate genes suggested by previous genomewide association studies (GWASs) may be due to not only differences in study design and genetic or environmental background but also the difference in the power of analysis between continuous traits and discrete traits. We analyzed 352,228 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 8842 unrelated Koreans obtained from Ansan and Ansung cohorts. We performed a series of GWA analyses using three different phenotype models; young hypertensive cases (278 subjects) versus elderly normotensive controls (680 subjects); the upper 25% (2211 hypertensive cases) versus the lower 25% of the SBP distribution (2211 hypotensive controls); and finally SBP and DBP as continuous traits (8842 subjects). The numbers of young hypertensive cases and elderly normotensive controls were not large enough to achieve genomewide significance. The model comparing the upper 25% subjects to the lower 25% of subjects showed a power that was approximate to that of QTL analysis. Two neighboring SNPs of the ATP2B1 gene, rs17249754 (SBP, p=$2.53^{-10}$; DBP, p=$1.28{\times}10^{-8}$) and rs7136259 (SBP, p=$1.30{\times}10^{-9}$; DBP, p=$6.41{\times}10^{-8}$), were associated with both SBP and DBP. Interestingly, a SNP of the RPL6 gene, rs11066280, revealed a significant genomewide association with SBP in men only (p=$3.85{\times}10^{-8}$), and four SNPs located near the MAN2A1 gene showed a strong association with DBP only in elderly men aged 60-70 years (e.g., rs6421827, p=$4.86{\times}10^{-8}$). However, we did not observe any gene variant attaining genomewide significance consistently in the three phenotype models except for the ATP2B1 gene variants. In general, the association signal with blood pressure was stronger in women than in men. Genes identified in GWASs are expected to open the way for prevention, early diagnosis, and personalized treatment of hypertension.

Difference of Facial Skin Temperature Responses between Fear and Joy (공포와 기쁨 정서 간 안면온도 반응의 차이)

  • Eum, Yeong-Ji;Eom, Jin-Sup;Sohn, Jin-Hun
    • Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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    • v.15 no.1
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    • pp.1-8
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    • 2012
  • There have been many emotion researches to investigate physiological responses on specific emotions with physiological parameters such as heart rate, blood volume flow, and skin conductance. Very few researches, however, exists by detecting them with facial skin temperature. The purpose of present study was to observe the differences of facial skin temperature by using thermal camera, when participants stimulated by monitor scenes which could evoke fear or joy. There were totally 98 of participants; undergraduate students who were in their adult age and middle, high school students who were in their adolescence. We measured their facial temperature, before and after presenting emotional stimulus to see changes between both times. Temperature values were extracted in these regions; forehead, inner corners of the eyes, bridge of the nose, end of the nose, and cheeks. Temperature values in bridge and end of the nose were significantly decreased in fear emotion stimulated. There was also significant temperature increase in the area of forehead and the inner corners of the eyes, while the temperature value in end of the nose decreased. It showed decrease in both stimulated fear and joy. These results might be described as follows: When arousal level going up, sympathetic nervous activity increases, and in turn it makes blood flow in peripheral vessels under the nose decrease. Facial temperature changes by fear or joy in this study were the same as the previous studies which measured temperature of finger tip, when participants experiencing emotions. Our results may help to develop emotion-measuring techniques and establish computer system bases which are to detect human emotions.

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Effect of Supplementation of Trehalose, Glycerol on Conventional Freezing and Vitrification of Boar Sperm

  • Choi, Sun-Ho;Lee, Mi-Jin;Lee, Kyung-Mi;Sa, Soo-Jin;Kim, Hyun-Jong;Jin, Hyun-Ju;Song, Yong-Sup;Park, Jun-Cheol
    • Journal of Embryo Transfer
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    • v.29 no.4
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    • pp.397-401
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    • 2014
  • The boar sperm has more lipid droplets and specialty of seminal plasma compared with other species, causing difficulties of freezing sperm and decreases for the utilization of frozen semen into the artificial insemination. However, several studies reported significant results for the recovery of sperm motility and reproductive by addition of cryoprotectants and seminal plasma after thawing. This study was designed to investigate the effects of supplementation of trehalose or glycerol in the LEY (lactose and egg yolk in BTS) solution for the conventional freezing and vitrification process. Two boars aged 16 months were used to collect semen for 2 times in a week. The samples were allotted to 3 freezing solutions (LEY + glycerol 10.5% + OEP 1.5%, LEY + trehalose 1M + OEP 1.5%, and sucrose 1.5M + trehalose 1 M + OEP 1.5%) after centrifugation at 800 g for 10 minutes. Semen was equilibrated in freezing solutions for 10 minutes and injected into plastic straws with 2~3 air bubbles to minimize freezing damages. Vitrification was performed to locate sperm in 5 cm above $LN_2$ for 5 minutes, and the conventional freezing was conducted with an automatic freezer. Motility and survival rates were measured by CASA (Computer assisted sperm an alyzing system) and FITC (Fluorescein isothiocyanate), respectively after thawing semen at $50^{\circ}C$ for 12 seconds. The results were analyzed by ANOVA with STATVIEW statistical program. The vitrificatioin solution (LEY + 10.5% glycerol + 1.5% OEP) presented higher motility (20.9%) than other solutions while the solution (LEY + 1M trehalose + 1.5% OEP) showed the lowest (motility : 5.2%). However, survival rates of vitrified sperms detected by FITC showed 1~4% live sperms in almost of dead sperms at all vitrification solutions' groups, but survival rate of freezing solution of LEY + 1M trehalose + 1.5% OEP LEY and LEY + 10.5% glycerol + 1.5% OEP were showed 49%, and 79%, respectively. There were differences (P<0.05) survival rate of conventional freezing in LEY + 10.5% glycerol + 1.5% OEP and LEY + 1M trehalose + 1.5% OEP and the remaining showed no differences. The results suggested that vitrified boar semen was not enough to be utilized for the artificial insemination, but it showed possibility to utilize for ICSI and conventional freezing with glycerol would be useful method for artificial insemination in pig while we choose the outstanding semen against tolerance to freezing damages.

Longitudinal Analysis of Information Science Research in JASIST 1985-2009 (정보학연구의 25년간 동향 분석 : JASIST 논문을 중심으로)

  • Seo, Eun-Gyoung
    • Journal of the Korean Society for information Management
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    • v.27 no.2
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    • pp.129-155
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    • 2010
  • In recent years, the changes in information technology have been so dramatic and the rate of changes has increased so much that information science research rigorously evolves with the passage of time and proliferates in diverging research directions dynamically. The aims of this study are to provide a global overview of research trends in information science and to trace its changes in the main topics over time. The study examined the topics of research articles published in JASIST between 1985 and 2009 and identified its changes during five 5 year periods. The study found that the most productive area has consistently been 'Information Retrieval', followed by 'Informetrics', 'Information Use and Users', 'Network and Technology', and 'Publishing and Services'. Information retrieval is a predominant core area in Information Science covering computer-based handling of multimedia information, employment of new semantic methods from other disciplines, and mass information handling on virtual environments. Currently Informetric studies shift from finding existing phenomena to seeking valuable descriptive results and researchers of information use have concentrated especially on information-seeking aspects, so adding greater sophistication to the relatively simple approach taken in information retrieval.

D-$\Pi$-A designed dye chromophores and nanoparticles: optical properties, chemosensor effects and PE/Aramid fiber colorations

  • Son, Young-A;Kim, Su-Ho;Kim, Young-Sung
    • Proceedings of the Korean Society of Dyers and Finishers Conference
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    • 2010.03a
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    • pp.40-40
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    • 2010
  • Studies on attractive color changing property of dye chromophore and fluorophore have been greatly enjoyed in the related industrial and research fields such as optoelectronics, chemosensor, biosensor and so on. The optical property based on D-$\Pi$-A intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) system of chromophore molecules can be utilized as suitable sensing probes for checking media polarity and determining colorimetric chemosensing effect, especially heavy metal detection. These finding are obtained by absorption and emission properties. In this work, donor-acceptor D-$\Pi$-A type fluorescent dyes were designed and synthesized with the corresponding donor and acceptor groups. The selected donor moieties might be provided prominent amorphous properties which are very useful in designing and synthesizing functional polymers and in fabricating devices. Another reasons to choose are commercial availabilities in high purity and low price. Donor-bridge-acceptor (D-A) type dyes can produce impressive optical-physical properties, yielding them potentially suitable for applications in the synthesis of small functional organic molecules. Small organic functional molecules have unique advantages, such as better solubility, amorphous character, and represent an area of research which needs to be explored and developed. Currently, their applications in metalorganic compounds is rapidly expanding and becoming widespread in self-assembly processes, photoluminescence applications, chiral organocatalysts, and ingrafts with nanomaterials. Colloidal nanoparticles have received great attentions in recent years. The photophysical properties of nanoparticles, particularly in terms of brightness, photostability, emission color purity and broad adsorption range, are very attractive functions in many applications. To our knowledge background, colloidal nanoparticles have been enjoyed their applications in bio-probe research fields. This research interest can be raised by the advantages of the materials such as high photoluminescence quantum yields, sharp emission band, long-term photostability and broad excitation spectra. In recent, the uses of nanoparticles being embedded in a polymer matrix and binded on polymer surface have been explored and their properties such as photo-activation and strong photoluminescence have been proposed. The prepared chromophores and nanoparticles were investigated with absorption and emission properties, solvatochromic behaviors, pH induced color switching effects, chemosensing effects and HOMO/LUMO energy potentials with computer simulation. In addition, synthesized fluorophore dyes and particles were applied onto PE/Aramid fiber fluorescing colorations. And the related details were then discussed.

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A Case Study of User-Centered Design Process for Developing Mobile Contents - Focused on Occupation Simulation Game Contents for Children on the Wireless Internet (사용자 중심 디자인 프로세스를 적용한 모바일 컨텐츠 개발 사례 - 어린이를 위한 무선인터넷 기반의 직업 시뮬레이션 게임 컨텐츠 개발을 중심으로)

  • 최수의;김현정
    • Archives of design research
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    • v.17 no.1
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    • pp.309-318
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    • 2004
  • As the mobile market has been expanded and segmented, a mobile market for kids could be possibly appeared sooner or later. Then, it is necessary to develop a new contents for the new media - a mobile game hardware for kids. These days, kids are most interested in computer games, and they do not have enough time to play with peers. Therefore, in this paper, edutainment game contents based on the wireless internet, are developed. The game could supply kids' learning, fun and especially, peer interaction. In order to develop a game contents through user centered design process, the state of art in mobile hardware and contents was examined, a secondary research and interviews and survey was conducted to understand users. Then, when ideas for game contents has suggested, behavior prototype test was done to verify and modify contents. The suggested game contents in this study, is a occupation simulation game, in which kids simulate their own future career and learn related knowledge in a unintentional way. The result of the study suggests the new direction of edutainment game contents and platform. Also, this study shows the representation of user-centered contents developing process for kids, which could be helpful for the following studies.

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A Study on the Application of 3D Virtual Human in the prior stage of Design Works - With the emphasis on the determining design layout of a forklift truck (디자인 초기단계에서의 3차원 가상인간(Virtual Human) 활용에 관한 연구 - 지게차 레이아웃 결정 단계를 중심으로)

  • 김관명
    • Archives of design research
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    • v.12 no.4
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    • pp.294-303
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    • 1999
  • With the breakthrough development of computing environment, the design phases have been changed a lot nowadays. In the case of prior phases of transportation design such as cars and forklift-trucks design, designers have depended on surveys and 2D line drawings for fixing a product layout and extracting ergonomic data. In this method, designers don't meet only the problem of reliability of measuring data but also, the problems of unknown situation of operators' fatigue and comfort in work situation. In these methods, it has much less creditability to have a 2D human model to check the real world motion due to the limitation of the 3 Dimension. Even though with a 2D human model, perfect layout is determined, it is still difficult to measure about comfort and fatigue for a user because it measuring an analysing method is static. The development of computer hardware and software have not only changed the flow in the social-wide range but also immerged design into Virtual Environment. In conventional design method, visualization and data transferring have been the main issues but, in virtual environment, determining of design layout and analysing ergonomic data with sophisticated feeling about comfort and fatigue are possible by using 3D virtual human. In this study, the general characteristics of virtual environment was discussed and the possibility of digital process of design was treated. For these studies, layout design for forklift-trucks was tested. Eventually, the merits of each design phase applied virtual environment are discussed.

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Analysis of Characteristics of Linkage between Science and Technology in U.S. Considering R&D Expenditure (연구개발비규모를 고려한 과학지식의 기술연계 특성 분석 : 미국 사례)

  • Shim, Woo-Jung
    • Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
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    • v.15 no.1
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    • pp.47-75
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    • 2012
  • Basic research have contributed to technological growth or economic growth in U.S. Specially recent studies say that universities also contribute to economic development through scientific activities like science research, education, technology transfers. But we can not assure whether scientific knowledge was connected to real technology or economic performance, and it is difficult to figure out the effect of scientific output. "What is the exact performance of scientific knowledge?" It is still obscure. In this context, this paper analyzes characteristics of the linkage of science and technology. Data are U.S. R&D expenditure, scientific articles, citation of articles in U.S. patents by fields and sectors. As a result, university sector has the most weight of the linkage of science and technology. But, in relative connection rate analysis, industrial sector's is stronger than any other sectors. In the field analysis, linkage of science and technology is very strong in Chemistry, Physics, Biological sciences fields. And recently the linkage was increased in the fields of Computer science, Agricultural science, Engineering. Finally, this paper supports funding policy or estimation policy of government to product of scientific knowledge. University sector is still important because it has the most weight of the linkage. Scientific knowledge of industrial sector is also important. The connection rate of industrial science is the strongest in all sectors. And this research classify the R&D type by science fields. Considering the differences of science fields is needed to product science knowledge effectively.

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Traffic Information Extraction and Application When Utilizing Vehicle GPS Information (차량의 GPS 정보를 활용한 도로정보 추출 및 적용 방법)

  • Lee, Jong-Sung;Jeon, Min-Ho;Cho, Kyoung-Woo;Oh, Chang-Heon
    • Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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    • v.17 no.12
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    • pp.2960-2965
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    • 2013
  • Customized services for individuals in analysis of recently collected GPS information have been investigated in various aspects. As the size of collected GPS data gets larger, a variety of services is being released accordingly. Existing studies, however, are limited to presenting service models for users while there is little study on developing intelligent computing technologies in the introduction of GPS information into the system. This study suggests an algorithm to analyze traffic information by introducing GPS information into the system in order to take the lead among intelligent computing technologies. The suggested algorithm analyzes a map by means of the collected vehicle GPS information and sectional traffic information interpretation method; thus, the computer judges the traffic information collected by humans. The experiment result shows that the traffic information was properly analyzed upon the utilization of the given data. Although a small quantity of analyzed data was less reliable, the system maintained high reliability as the data was sufficient.

Theory of X-ray microcomputed tomography in dental research: application for the caries research (치과 분야 연구에서 미세전산화 단층촬영술의 이론: 치아우식증에 대한 적용)

  • Park, Young-Seok;Bae, Kwang-Hak;Chang, Ju-Hea;Shon, Won-Jun
    • Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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    • v.36 no.2
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    • pp.98-107
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    • 2011
  • Caries remains prevalent throughout modern society and is the main disease in the field of dentistry. Although studies of this disease have used diverse methodology, recently, X-ray microtomography has gained popularity as a non-destructive, 3-dimensional (3D) analytical technique, and has several advantages over the conventional methods. According to X-ray source, it is classified as monochromatic or polychromatic with the latter being more widely used due to the high cost of the monochromatic source despite some advantages. The determination of mineral density profiles based on changes in X-ray attenuation is the principle of this method and calibration and image processing procedures are needed for the better image and reproducible measurements. Using this tool, 3D reconstruction is also possible and it enables to visualize the internal structures of dental caries. With the advances in the computer technology, more diverse applications are being studied, such automated caries assessment algorithms.