• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.209-218
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• 2024

Objectives: This study aimed to develop educational content for a smartphone app on oral muscle training and examine its effects on the elderly population. Methods: A total of twelve training sessions were delivered through the smartphone app over a six-week period, from late August to early October 2023. Each session lasted approximately 60 minutes. Participants were followed up after the program. Results: The experimental group showed significant improvements in oral health before and after using the smartphone app. These improvements included decreased dental plaque (p<0.05) by 0.69 units, decreased gingivitis (p<0.001) by 0.99 units, decreased tongue plaque (p<0.01) by 1.11 units, increased salivary secretion rate (p<0.001) by 0.73 units, increased hard palate strength (p<0.001) by 5.25 units, and increased soft palate strength (p<0.01) by 6.82 units. Compared to the control group, the experimental group showed significant improvements in dental plaque (p<0.001), gingivitis (p<0.001), and tongue coating (p<0.01). Conclusions: This study found that oral muscle strengthening training using the smartphone app effectively improved oral health in the elderly. The developed app content has the potential to be a valuable tool for promoting oral health in this population within their daily routines. However, further efforts are needed to ensure clear communication and effective utilization of the training program through user training or educational materials.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.9-17
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• 2024

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the main global health problems. Chronic exposure to hyperglycemia can lead to cellular dysfunction that may become irreversible over time, a process that is termed glucose toxicity. Our perspective about glucose toxicity as it pertains to the pancreatic β-cell is that the characteristic decreases in insulin secretion are caused by regulated apoptotic gene expression. In this study, we examined whether ferulic acid protects INS-1 pancreatic cells against high glucose-induced apoptosis. High glucose concentration (30 mM) induced glucotoxicity and death of INS-1 pancreatic β cells. However, treatment with 1, 5, 10, or 20 μM ferulic acid increased the cell viability in a concentration-dependent manner. Treatment with ferulic acid dose-dependently decreased the intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, and nitric oxide in INS-1 pancreatic β cells pretreated with high glucose. These effects influence the apoptotic pathway, increasing the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and reducing the levels of pro-apoptotic proteins, including Bax, cytochrome C, and caspase 9. Annexin V/propidium iodide staining indicated that ferulic acid significantly reduced high glucose-induced apoptosis. These results demonstrate that ferulic acid is a potential therapeutic agent to protect INS-1 pancreatic β cells against high glucose-induced apoptosis.

• Journal of Korean Library and Information Science Society
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.359-392
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• 2023

Digital citizenship includes an evolving set of knowledge and skills related to effectively and ethically using technology, especially when interacting with other people, information, and media in the online context. As public libraries have long provided access to and training with a variety of technologies, this study explores how digital citizenship has been covered in public library programming to identify potential trends and best practices. A purposive sampling of public library recipients of the American Library Association (ALA) and Information Today Inc.'s Library of the Future Award over the past 11 years (2013-2023) identified 7 case libraries to review. The titles and descriptions of 337 relevant library programs for audiences of school-aged children (5 years old and up) to seniors were collected for a 2-month period from each library's website and analyzed using Ribble & Parks (2019) 9 elements of digital citizenship. The findings suggest that programming related to digital citizenship most often addresses themes connected to digital access and digital fluency through coverage of topics related to computer and technology use. Based on themes and examples from the findings, public libraries are encouraged to expand upon existing programs to integrate all elements of digital citizenship, strive for inclusive and accessible digital citizenship education for all ages, and leverage resources and expertise from relevant stakeholders and community partnerships.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.83 no.1
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• pp.54-69
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• 2022

Early detection of potential asymptomatic coronary artery disease is very important, as patients with sudden cardiac death often do not show symptoms such as chest pain or motor dyspnea. Coronary CT angiography (CCTA) has long been unjustified as a screening tool for asymptomatic patients because of the risks posed by radiation exposure. However, there are still various opinions regarding the usefulness of CCTA for screening for coronary artery disease (CAD) in asymptomatic healthy individuals or patients. This review investigated the usefulness of coronary artery calcium score and CCTA as screening tests for CAD in asymptomatic healthy individuals or patients through various literature reviews. With the development of CT technology, recent studies have been conducted in asymptomatic CAD patients with a reduced radiation dose of less than 1 mSv. A total of 2.6% of asymptomatic subjects on CCTA found significant CAD over 70%, and it was concluded that screening CCTA for CAD showed prognostic power in predicting the future occurrence of CAD in asymptomatic people. However, after the completion of the current NIH SCOT-HEART 2 study, it may be possible to determine whether CCTA is appropriate as a screening tool for CAD in asymptomatic healthy individuals.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.185-196
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• 2024

Objectives: Excess mortality associated with long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) has been documented. However, research on the disease burden following short-term exposure is scarce. We investigated the cause-specific mortality burden of short-term exposure to PM_2.5 by considering the potential non-linear concentration-response relationship in Korea. Methods: Daily cause-specific mortality rates and PM_2.5 exposure levels from 2010 to 2019 were collected for 8 Korean cities and 9 provinces. A generalized additive mixed model was employed to estimate the non-linear relationship between PM_2.5 exposure and cause-specific mortality levels. We assumed no detrimental health effects of PM_2.5 concentrations below 15 ㎍/m³. Overall deaths attributable to short-term PM_2.5 exposure were estimated by summing the daily numbers of excess deaths associated with ambient PM_2.5 exposure. Results: Of the 2 749 704 recorded deaths, 2 453 686 (89.2%) were non-accidental, 591 267 (21.5%) were cardiovascular, and 141 066 (5.1%) were respiratory in nature. A non-linear relationship was observed between all-cause mortality and exposure to PM_2.5 at lag0, whereas linear associations were evident for cause-specific mortalities. Overall, 10 814 all-cause, 7855 non-accidental, 1642 cardiovascular, and 708 respiratory deaths were attributed to short-term exposure to PM_2.5. The estimated number of all-cause excess deaths due to short-term PM_2.5 exposure in 2019 was 1039 (95% confidence interval, 604 to 1472). Conclusions: Our findings indicate an association between short-term PM_2.5 exposure and various mortality rates (all-cause, non-accidental, cardiovascular, and respiratory) in Korea over the period from 2010 to 2019. Consequently, action plans should be developed to reduce deaths attributable to short-term exposure to PM_2.5.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.116-125
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• 2024

The COVID-19 pandemic is not over despite the emergency use authorization as can see recent COVID-19 daily confirmed cases. The viruses are not only difficult to diagnose and treat due to random mutations, but also pose threat human being because they have the potential to be exploited as biochemical weapons by genetic manipulation. Therefore, it is inevitable to the rapid antibody-based therapeutic platform to quickly respond to future pandemics by new/re-emerging viruses. Although numerous researches have been conducted for the fast development of antibody-based therapeutics, it is sometimes hard to respond rapidly to new viruses because of complicated expression or purification processes for antibody production. In this study, a novel rapid antibody-based therapeutic platform using single B cell sorting method and mRNA-antibody. High immunogenicity was caused to produce antibodies in vivo through mRNA-antigen inoculation. Subsequently, antigen-specific antibody candidates were selected and obtained using isolation of B cells containing antibody at the single cell level. Using the antibody-based therapeutic platform system in this study, it was confirmed that novel antigen-specific antibodies could be obtained in about 40 days, and suggested that the possibility of rapid response to new variant viruses.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.165-172
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• 2024

This study illuminates the relationship between childhood abuse experiences and early maladaptive schemas, and compares the moderating effects of expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal within this relationship. Conducting a self-report survey among 220 graduate students in Daejeon and Chungcheong regions, data from 210 participants were analyzed. The results notably revealed that the interaction effect of suppression, but not cognitive reappraisal, significantly moderates the relationship between childhood abuse experiences and disconnection/rejection schemas. Specifically, high levels of expressive suppression were associated with a decrease in the negative impact of childhood abuse on disconnection/rejection schemas, whereas low levels of suppression increased this negative impact. This suggests that for individuals with long-standing early maladaptive schemas, which have solidified over time akin to personality traits, cognitive reappraisal strategies may be less effective in inducing change. Conversely, expressive suppression strategies may more effectively reduce the intensity of disconnection/rejection schemas, among other early maladaptive schemas. These findings provide important implications for understanding the long-term effects of childhood abuse and developing intervention strategies to mitigate its resultant maladaptive schemas. Based on the outcomes of this study, suggestions for future research are discussed, along with the potential applicability and limitations of suppression and reappraisal strategies in psychological interventions.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.63 no.2
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• pp.187-207
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• 2024

In this study, we explored the feasibility of automatically scoring descriptive assessment items using GPT-4 based ChatGPT by comparing and analyzing the scoring results between teachers and GPT-4 based ChatGPT. For this purpose, three descriptive items from the permutation and combination unit for first-year high school students were selected from the KICE (Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation) website. Items 1 and 2 had only one problem-solving strategy, while Item 3 had more than two strategies. Two teachers, each with over eight years of educational experience, graded answers from 204 students and compared these with the results from GPT-4 based ChatGPT. Various techniques such as Few-Shot-CoT, SC, structured, and Iteratively prompts were utilized to construct prompts for scoring, which were then inputted into GPT-4 based ChatGPT for scoring. The scoring results for Items 1 and 2 showed a strong correlation between the teachers' and GPT-4's scoring. For Item 3, which involved multiple problem-solving strategies, the student answers were first classified according to their strategies using prompts inputted into GPT-4 based ChatGPT. Following this classification, scoring prompts tailored to each type were applied and inputted into GPT-4 based ChatGPT for scoring, and these results also showed a strong correlation with the teachers' scoring. Through this, the potential for GPT-4 models utilizing prompt engineering to assist in teachers' scoring was confirmed, and the limitations of this study and directions for future research were presented.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.71-82
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• 2024

It would be advantageous to grow legume forage crops in order to increase the productivity and sustainability of sloped croplands in Hamkyongbukdo. In particular, the identification of potential cultivation areas for alfalfa in the given region could aid decision-making on policies and management related to forage crop production in the future. This study aimed to analyze the climate suitability of alfalfa in Hamkyongbukdo under current and future climate conditions using the Fuzzy Union model. The climate suitability predicted by the Fuzzy Union model was compared with the actual alfalfa cultivation area in the northern United States. Climate data obtained from 11 global climate models were used as input data for calculation of climate suitability in the study region to examine the uncertainty of projections under future climate conditions. The area where the climate suitability index was greater than a threshold value (22.6) explained about 44% of the variation in actual alfalfa cultivation areas by state in the northern United States. The climatic suitability of alfalfa was projected to decrease in most areas of Hamkyongbukdo under future climate scenarios. The climatic suitability in Onseong and Gyeongwon County was analyzed to be over 88 in the current climate conditions. However, it was projected to decrease by about 66% in the given areas by the 2090s. Our study illustrated that the impact of climate change on suitable cultivation areas was highly variable when different climate data were used as inputs to the Fuzzy Union model. Still, the ensemble of the climate suitability projections for alfalfa was projected to decrease considerably due to summer depression in Hamkyongbukdo. It would be advantageous to predict suitable cultivation areas by adding soil conditions or to predict the climate suitability of other leguminous crops such as hairy vetch, which merits further studies.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.358-364
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• 2024

Type A carrier structures that support blocks or equipment gradually deform over time with load changes, reducing the area in contact with the block and changing the load pattern from distributed to concentrated during construction work in the shipyard. This phenomenon has the potential to misrepresent actual service loads. In particular, A carriers are often used by small manufacturers, who often do not have specialized engineering capabilities, necessitating the development of a method for easy calculation of carrier safe working load. This study proposes a quick evaluation method for the long-term safe working load of Type A carriers, to predict the plastic deformation and safety issues resulting from changes in load distribution. Based on the results of finite element analysis (beam and shell modeling) of the centralized load, beam-theory was modified to propose a method for determining the distributed load conditions of the A-carrier. In beam modeling, the theoretical value was multiplied by a correction factor of 0.73 for concentrated loads and 0.69 for distributed loads to obtain a safe working load. For shell modeling, a correction factor of 0.75 can be used for concentrated loads and 0.69 for distributed loads. This study can serve as a basis for improving the safety of shipbuilding, enabling quick and effective decisions for determining safe working loads in actual working environments.