• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.79-87
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• 2010

This is the first of the two papers dealing with reliability analyses for external and internal stability of a quay wall constructed on a special foundation. A new practical reliability analysis method is proposed in this paper to evaluate the quantitative risk associated with external stability of a quay wall constructed on the deep cement mixed ground. The method can consider uncertainties in various design variables. For the risk estimation to external stability of the improved soil-quay wall, three corresponding limit state functions of sliding, overturning and bearing capacity are fully defined by introducing concept of the secondary random variable. Three representative reliability methods, MVFOSM, FORM and MCS are then applied to evaluate the failure probabilities of the three limit state functions explicitly expressed in terms of the basic and secondary random variables. From the reliability analysis results, the failure probabilities obtained from the three approaches are very close to each other, and the sliding failure mode appears to be the most critical when the earthquake loading is under consideration.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.570-583
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• 2023

Objective: Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) play critical roles in embryo development, and immune responses to infectious diseases. In this study, to investigate the roles of FGFs, we performed genome-wide identification, expression, and functional analyses of FGF family members in chickens. Methods: Chicken FGFs genes were identified and analyzed by using bioinformatics approach. Expression profiles and Hierarchical cluster analysis of the FGFs genes in different chicken tissues were obtained from the genome-wide RNA-seq. Results: A total of 20 FGF genes were identified in the chicken genome, which were classified into seven distinct groups (A-F) in the phylogenetic tree. Gene structure analysis revealed that members of the same clade had the same or similar exon-intron structure. Chromosome mapping suggested that FGF genes were widely dispersed across the chicken genome and were located on chromosomes 1, 4-6, 9-10, 13, 15, 28, and Z. In addition, the interactions among FGF proteins and between FGFs and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) proteins are limited, indicating that the remaining functions of FGF proteins should be further investigated in chickens. Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes pathway analysis showed that FGF gene interacts with MAPK genes and are involved in stimulating signaling pathway and regulating immune responses. Furthermore, this study identified 15 differentially expressed genes (DEG) in 21 different growth stages during early chicken embryo development. RNA-sequencing data identified the DEG of FGFs on 1- and 3-days post infection in two indigenous Ri chicken lines infected with the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 (HPAIV). Finally, all the genes examined through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and RNA-Seq analyses showed similar responses to HPAIV infection in indigenous Ri chicken lines (R² = 0.92-0.95, p<0.01). Conclusion: This study provides significant insights into the potential functions of FGFs in chickens, including the regulation of MAPK signaling pathways and the immune response of chickens to HPAIV infections.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.1-20
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• 2022

Digital transformation refers to the economic and social effects of digitisation and digitalisation. Although digital transformation acts as a useful tool for economic/social development and enhancing the convenience of life, it can have negative effects (misuse of personal information, ethical problems, deepening social gaps, etc.). The government is actively establishing policies to promote digital transformation to secure competitiveness and technological hegemony, however, understanding of digital transformation-related risk issues and implementing policies to prevent them are relatively slow. Thus, this study systematically identifies risk issues of the future society that can be caused by digital transformation based on quantitative analysis of media articles big data through the Embedded Topic Modeling method. Specifically, first, detailed issues of negative effects of digital transformation in major countries were identified. Then detailed issues of negative effects of artificial intelligence in major countries and Korea were identified. Further, by synthesizing the results, future direction of the government's digital transformation policies for responding the negative effects was proposed. The policy implications are as follows. First, since the negative effects of digital transformation does not only affect technological fields but also affect the overall society, such as national security, social issues, and fairness issues. Therefore, the government should not only promote the positive functions of digital transformation, but also prepare policies to counter the negative functions of digital transformation. Second, the detailed issues of future social risks of digital transformation appear differently depending on contexts, so the government should establish a policy to respond to the negative effects of digital transformation in consideration of the national and social context. Third, the government should set a major direction for responding negative effects of digital transformation to minimize confusion among stakeholders, and prepare effective policy measures.

• Journal of Practical Engineering Education
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.535-541
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• 2022

Zoom has been most popularly used as a non-face-to-face online class tool since COVID19, but due to the recent spread of the metaverse, the use of the metaverse platform is increasing. In particular, since a metaverse platform 'Spatial' provides online classroom creation and various learning functions, and various interactions between instructors and learners or learners and learners are possible, it is highly likely to be used in university classes. Since Zoom and Spatial each have their own strengths and weaknesses for the purpose of class use, it is necessary to find out the strengths and weaknesses of each by comparing and analyzing the learner's experience in class use. In this study, a quantitative analysis of usability, immersion, and satisfaction and a qualitative analysis of individual opinions were performed in order to compare and analyze the learner's experience. SUS (System Usability Scale) was used for usability evaluation, and Magnitude Estimation method was used for immersion and satisfaction evaluation. Thirty-five people who had participated in classes using Zoom and Spatial participated as subjects in this study. Zoom was higher than Spatial at the significance level of 0.05 in usability and satisfaction. On the other hand, the immersion in class was higher in Spatial than in Zoom. Since Spatial provides online classroom creation and various learning functions, and provides various interactions and fun elements between instructors and learners or learners and learners, the immersion in classes was high. If the user interface and interaction of Spatial are improved in the future, it is judged that it can be used as an effective online teaching tool that can replace zoom in university classes.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.868-880
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• 2023

This study is a qualitative study conducted to analyze the functions and needs of social robots for parents of children with developmental disabilities in order to utilize care robots for treatment of children with developmental disabilities. The subjects of the study were 11 primary caregivers with children under the age of 18 whose children were diagnosed with developmental disabilities or who had been receiving special education for more than one year. The interview questionnaire was composed of a semi-structured questionnaire and consisted of awareness, necessity, expectation, concern, and other opinions about social robots. The interview was conducted as a non-face-to-face online video interview due to COVID 19. As a result of the study, 4 themes and 7 sub-topics were derived. The four topics were derived from the unfamiliar but soon-to-be-faced reality, social robots with active functions, opinions on the appearance and materials of social robots, and concerns about social robots. Through this study, it was possible to identify the expectations and suggestions of the main caregivers for social robots, which could not be identified in quantitative studies, and if these can be reflected in social robots to be developed in the future, it is expected that positive results with higher acceptance will be derived.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.61-66
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• 2008

In railroad operation, turnout is the device designed to provide very critical functions of moving the train to the neighboring rail. It's the only movable section among the rail and track equipment, which has a complicated structure and as rapid movement between the wheel and rail during operation is unavoidable, the safety and the vibration caused by the impact load of the passing train becomes always the major concern. Response to rail vibration tends to vary depending on physical properties of the rail, rail base and the ground, making it difficult to estimate the quantitative outcome through the measurement. Thus, experimental or empirical approach, rather than an analytic method, has been more commonly employed to deal with the ground vibration. To predict the vibration of the turnout, an experimental value and the measured values are applied in parallel to the factors with a high degree of uncertainty. This study hence was intended to compare and analyze the vibration values measured at the crossing part of manganese turnout by type of train and turnout and distance, as well as predict the intensity of vibration generated at the crossing part of manganese turnout when tilting train accelerates.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.615-623
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• 2016

Angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL4) is involved in a variety of functions, including lipoprotein metabolism and angiogenesis. To reveal the role of ANGPTL4 in fat metabolism of sheep, ovine ANGPTL4 mRNA expression was analyzed in seven adipose tissues from two breeds with distinct tail types. Forty-eight animals with the gender ratio of 1:1 for both Guangling Large Tailed (GLT) and Small Tailed Han (STH) sheep were slaughtered at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 months of age, respectively. Adipose tissues were collected from greater and lesser omental, subcutaneous, retroperitoneal, perirenal, mesenteric, and tail fats. Ontogenetic mRNA expression of ANGPTL4 in these adipose tissues from GTL and STH was studied by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction. The results showed that ANGPTL4 mRNA expressed in all adipose tissues studied with the highest in subcutaneous and the lowest in mesenteric fat depots. Months of age, tissue and breed are the main factors that significantly influence the mRNA expression. These results provide new insights into ovine ANGPTL4 gene expression and clues for its function mechanism.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.249-255
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• 2013

Intercellular interactions are important for the proper development and regulation of tissue function. This is especially necessary in the epididymis, a part of male reproductive tract where sperm become mature and acquire their fertilizing capacity. The caput region of the epididymis consists of several types of cells, including principal, basal, and apical cells. Direct intercellular communication is thus required to precisely regulate the functions of the caput epididymis. In this regard, connexin (Cx) is a molecule that forms channels, which allow the direct exchange of small molecules between cells, enabling intercellular communication. In this study, the expression of Cx isoforms in the caput epididymis at different postnatal ages was determined by using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis. Nine of 13 Cx isoforms were detected. The transcript levels of Cx30.3, 31, 31.1, 32, and 40 were highest at 45 days of age, while the expression of Cx43 and 45 gradually decreased with age. A substantial fluctuation of Cx26 expression was detected, with significant decreases before and during puberty, followed by a transient increase at adult-hood and rapid decreases at an old age. A significant increase in Cx37 transcript was observed at 25 days of age, followed by gradual decreases at adult and old ages. These results indicate the significant differential expression of various Cx isoforms in the caput epididymis during postnatal development. It further suggests that the functional regulation and developmental maturation of the caput epididymis are highly related to the postnatal age-related differential expression of Cx isoforms.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.4499-4505
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• 2014

Glioblastoma, the most aggressive and malignant form of glioma, appears to be resistant to various chemotherapeutic agents. Hence, approaches have been intensively investigated to targeti specific molecular pathways involved in glioblastoma development and progression. Aloe emodin is believed to modulate the expression of several genes in cancer cells. We aimed to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effect of Aloe emodin on gene expression profiles in the human U87 glioblastoma cell line utilizing microarray technology. The gene expression analysis revealed that a total of 8,226 gene alterations out of 28,869 genes were detected after treatment with $58.6{\mu}g/ml$ for 24 hours. Out of this total, 34 genes demonstrated statistically significant change (p<0.05) ranging from 1.07 to 1.87 fold. The results revealed that 22 genes were up-regulated and 12 genes were down-regulated in response to Aloe emodin treatment. These genes were then grouped into several clusters based on their biological functions, revealing induction of expression of genes involved in apoptosis (programmed cell death) and tissue remodelling in U87 cells (p<0.01). Several genes with significant changes of the expression level e.g. SHARPIN, BCAP31, FIS1, RAC1 and TGM2 from the apoptotic cluster were confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). These results could serve as guidance for further studies in order to discover molecular targets for the cancer therapy based on Aloe emodin treatment.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.701-711
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• 2017

This research aimed to understand selfie behavior in social networking sites (SNSs). The research was conducted on the basis of the functional theories of attitude, verified self-presentation attitude, and self-expression attitude that affect selfie behaviors (i.e., taking selfies, posting selfies, and taking selfies for fashion product exposure). The moderating effect of satisfaction toward one's appearance was identified. The participants of the study were SNS users aged 20-30 years who had posted selfies in the past month. A survey was performed using an online panel of an international survey firm. The data were analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis on SPSS 22.0. Results corroborated that self-expression attitude affected the number of selfies taken but not the number of selfies posted and those uploaded for fashion product exposure. Self-presentation attitude exerted a significant effect on the number of selfies posted and those uploaded for fashion product exposure. When satisfaction toward one's appearance was high, self-presentation attitude increased the influence of the behaviors of posting selfies and uploading selfies for fashion product exposure. Self-expression attitude also significantly influenced the number of selfies taken due to the moderating effect of satisfaction toward one's appearance. This research was made meaningful by its quantitative analysis of selfie behavior in SNSs. The results confirmed the different functions of attitudes affecting selfie behavior. With the improved understanding of selfie behavior obtained from this research, Social Media marketing may be carried out in various industrial fields in the future.