• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.218-228
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• 2023

Invasive predators are one of the most damaging species groups to biodiversity. In the Nakdong River, the lake skygazer Chanodichthys erythropterus is a dominant species that is fiercely carnivorous and a concern for commercial fish. Although it is important to understand the ecological characteristics related to the feeding habit, studies on the diets of lake skygazer in Nakdong River have been limited to studies of gut contents. In this study, the trophic position (TP) and feeding habits of C. erythropterus were studied by calculating TPs using samples collected from 13 sites throughout the Nakdong River. Compound-specific isotopic analysis of amino acids provided reliable TPs from the muscle of Lake skygazer C. erythropterus without any isotope baseline. The results were approximately 3 to 3.6 and suggesting a carnivorous but size-dependent prey variation. In particular, the TP variability of C. erythropterus observed in the Nakdong River showed that it had a selective feeding habit compared to carnivorous fish species of relatively similar trophic levels.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.171-180
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• 2009

Based on the constituent analysis of sediments near Dok Island, the origin and sedimentary facies were Investigated. The sediments are mainly from originated from volcanic and volcaniclastic rock fragments derived from Dok Island and carbonate sediments formed by a variety of shallow-dwelling organisms that secreted calcareous skeletons. Carbonate producers include mollusks (bivalves and gastropods), encrusting & branching bryozoans, encrusting & segmented red algae, worm tubes, barnacles, diatoms, sponge spicules and echinoderm fragments. The distribution and relative amount of these constituents are basically dependent upon water depth and grain size even though local variations can be observed within the same depth interval. Five sedimentary facies can be divided: nearshore facies (<20 m), neritic facies ($20{\sim}100m$), upper transitional facies ($100{\sim}200m$), lower transitional facies ($200{\sim}700m$), and hemipelagic facies (>700 m). The sediments that were sampled below the water depth of 2,000 m still contain a significant amount of carbonates (ca. $10{\sim}20%$), implying that the carbonate compensation depth in the East Sea may well exceed this water depth.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.287-295
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• 2024

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, necessitating novel therapeutic strategies. The chemotherapeutic agents used to treat HCC patients are toxic and have serious side effects. Therefore, we investigated the efficacy of anticancer drugs that reduce side effects by targeting tumor cells without causing cytotoxicity in healthy hepatocytes. Berberine, an isoquinoline alkaloid derived from plant compounds, has emerged as a potential candidate for cancer treatment due to its diverse pharmacological properties. The effect of berberine on HepG2 cell viability was determined using the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay. HepG2 cell proliferation was determined through a colony-forming assay. The effects of berberine on HepG2 cell migration were evaluated using a wound-healing assay. Berberine inhibited the proliferation of HepG2 cells, as well as colony formation and migration. Berberine treatment increased the expression of autophagy-related genes and proteins, including Beclin-1 and LC3-II, and elevated the activities and mRNA expression of Caspase-9 and Caspase-3. Additionally, in experiments utilizing the Cell-Derived Xenograft animal model, berberine treatment reduced tumor size and weight in a concentration-dependent manner. These results demonstrate the potential of berberine as a versatile anticancer agent with efficacy in both cellular and animal models of hepatocellular carcinoma. The findings herein shed light on berberine's efficacy against HCC, presenting opportunities for targeted and personalized therapeutic interventions.

• Land and Housing Review
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.39-56
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• 2024

This study addressed housing issues among various social problems of youth. With a focus on residential independence, this study analyzed the factors that lead youth to achieve residential independence. This study drew on nationwide data from the 'Youth Life Survey (2022)' with a sample size of 12,578. Binary logistic regression analysis was employed, with the dependent variable being residential independence. Key factors were as follows. The probability of residential independence was higher for men than women. Residential independence occurred mainly in non-metropolitan areas compared to metropolitan areas. Findings revealed that greater age, income, and assets facilitate achieving residential independence. In addition, public transport and cultural facilities were important for their residential independence, and it was found that the previous experience of residential independence had a positive effect. Policy implications derived from the findings are as follows. It is required to consider the heterogeneity and diversity of youth rather than implementing unitary policies. To ensure continuity and sustainability of self-reliance, long-term support programs are needed rather than temporary support. Moreover, it is required to offer public support comprehensively, instead of youth relying on support from personal networks, including their parents. An inclusive housing policy should be established to support youth for their residential independence in the future.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.43-52
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• 2024

Purpose: Cancer is the leading cause of death in Koreans, with breast cancer being the most common among women. Breast cancer readily metastasizes, and the existing treatment processes impose a significant burden on patients. This study examined whether pomegranate-derived exosome-like nanovesicles (PNVs) have anti-cancer effects by inhibiting cell infiltration and metastasis while increasing apoptosis on breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells. Methods: Initially, exosome-like nanovesicles were isolated from pomegranate using ultracentrifugation. Subsequently, the size range of these nanovesicles was confirmed using nanoparticle tracking analysis. The ability of breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells to internalize these natural nanovesicles was assessed with flourescence microscope. The anti-cancer effects of the PNVs were confirmed by applying various concentrations of PNVs (10, 50, 100 ㎍/mL) to MDA-MB-231 cells and systematically assessing their impact on cell viability and migration. Results: The round shape of the lipid bilayer in the PNVs was confirmed, providing crucial insights into their structural properties. We demonstrate that PNVs-associated DiD dye can be efficiently internalized by the MDA-MB-231 cells. The data showed that the PNVs inhibited cell viability, invasion rates, and migration in MDA-MB-231 cells. In addition, PNVs were absorbed into the MDA-MB-231 cells, leading to an increased expression of apoptosis proteins, such as cleaved caspase-3 and phosphorus-JNK, in a concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, a reduction in cell infiltration and decreased expression of the transition markers MMP-2 and MMP-9 proteins were observed. Conclusion: For the first time, this study suggests that PNVs may be useful in the prevention or treatment of breast cancer by inhibiting the infiltration and metastasis of MDA-MB-231 cells and inducing apoptosis.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.24 no.7
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• pp.128-142
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• 2024

Creation and implementation of export-oriented strategy is an urgent issue of economic development of any country. In an export-oriented model of economic development, exports should be a means of promoting economic growth and a tool to strengthen existing and potential competitive advantages. Agricultural production is the key factor in exports and the source of foreign exchange earnings in many countries. However, the export potential of agricultural producers may be inefficiently fulfilled due to the heterogeneity of countries in terms of economic development, trade relations and border policy. The aim of the research is to study the nature, main trends and problematic aspects of fulfilling the export potential of agricultural production in the context of aggravating food crisis. The study involved general scientific methods (induction and deduction, description, analysis, synthesis, generalization) and special (statistical method, economic analysis, descriptive statistics and interstate comparisons, graphical method). The need to ensure food security by countries around the world urges the importance of the agricultural sector as a catalyst for economic development, sources of foreign exchange earnings, investment direction, etc. The study of agricultural specialization led to the conclusion that wheat and sugar are goods with the highest export potential. It is substantiated that the countries of South America, OECD, North America and Europe have the highest level of realization of export potential of agricultural production, and African countries are import-dependent. In addition, the low export orientation of Africa and Asia due to the peculiarities of their natural and climatic conditions is established based on the assessment of export-import operations in the regional context. The internal and external export potential of each of the regions is analysed. Economic and mathematical simulation of assessing the impact of the most important factors on the wheat exports volumes was applied, which allowed predicting wheat exports volume and making sound management decisions regarding the realization of the export potential of agricultural companies. The inverse correlation between the exports volume and wheat consumption per capita, and the direct correlation between the effective size and area of land used for wheat cultivation was established through the correlation and regression analysis.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.111-122
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• 1993

The mechanism by which $V_H$ region gene segments is selected in B lymphocyte is not known. Moreover, evidence for both random and nonrandom expression of $V_H$ genes in matured B cells has been presented previously. In this report, the technique of in situ hybridization allowed us to analyze expressed $V_H$ gene families in normal B lymphocyte at the single cell level. The analysis of normal B cells in this study eliminated any posssible bias resulting from transformation protocols used previously and minimized limitation associated with sampling size. Therefore, an accurate measure of the functional and expressed $V_H$ gene repertoire in B lymphocyte could be made. One of the most important controls for the optimization of in situ hybridization is to establish probe concentration and washing stringency due to the degree of nucleotide sequence similarlity between different families which in some cases can be as high as 70%. When the radioactive $C{\mu}$ and $V_{H}J558$ RNA probes are tested on LPS-stimulated adult spleen cells, $2{\sim}4{\times}106cpm$/slide shows low background and reasonable frequency of specific positive cells. For the washing condition. 40~50% formamide at $54^{\circ}C$ is found to be optimum for the $C{\mu}$. $V_{H}S107$ and $V_{H}J558$ probes. The analyzed results clearly demonstrate that the level of each different $V_H$ gene family expression is dependent upon the complexity or size of that family. These findings are also extended to the level of $V_H$ gene family expression in separated bone marrow B cells depend upon the various stage of differentiation and conclude no preferential utilization of specific $V_H$ gene family. Thus, the utilization of VH gene segments in B lymphocyte of adult BALB/c mice is random and is not regulated or changed during the differentiation of B cells.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.287-292
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• 2008

Position information of radiation interactions in detection material is essential to reconstruct a radiation source image. With most position sensing techniques, the position information of a single interaction inside the detectors can be precisely obtained. Each interaction position of multi-scattering inside scintillators, however, can not be individually measured and only the average of the scattering positions can be obtained, which causes the uncertainty in the measured interaction position. In this paper, the position uncertainties due to the multi-scattering were calculated by Monte Carlo simulation. The simulation model was a 50 by 50 by 5 mm $LaCl_3$(Ce) scintillator(pixel size is 2 by 2 by 5mm) which was utilized for the dual collimation camera. The dual collimation camera uses the information from both photoelectric effect and Compton scattering, and therefore, position uncertainties for both partial and full energy deposition of radiation interactions are calculated. In the case of partial energy deposition(PED), the standard deviations of positions are less than $1{\sim}2mm$, which means the uncertainty caused by multi-scattering is not significant. Because the effect of the multi-scattering with PED is insignificant, the multi-scattering has little effect on the performance of Compton imaging of dual collimation camera. In the case of full energy deposition(FED), however, the standard deviation of the positions is about twice that of the pixel size of the 1stdetector, except for 122keV incident radiations. Therefore, the standard deviations caused by multi-scatterings should be considered in the design of the coded mask of the dual collimation camera to avoid artifact on the reconstructed image. The position uncertainties of the FEDs are much larger than those of the PEDs for all radiation energies and the ratio of PEDs to FEDs increases when the incident radiation energy increases. The position uncertainties of both PEDs and FEDs are dependent on the incident radiation energy.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.767-773
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• 1998

In this study, we have investigated the distributions and killing effects of marine bacteria that tend to kill the red tide microalgae, C. polykikoides in the area of Masan bay from June to October, 1996. To summarize, C. polykikoides killing bacteria were detected at $10^2$ to $10^3$ cells/ml of seawater samples during the survey period, and the bloom was observed in September by containing $4.8\times10^3$cells/ml. It appears however that the number of these bacteria is decreased ($2.0\times10^2$cells/ml) in October, A total of 110 strains were isolated from seawater samples and seawater filtrate (pore size, 0.8 $\mu$m)-containing mixed culture of C. polykikoides in which the mixed culture was grown in f/2 medium. As results we have successfully isolated Micrococcus sp. LG-1 which decreased to less than 10cells/ml within 6days and 5days sfter inoculation of Micrococcus sp. LG-1 into the la9 and logarithmic growth phases of C. polykrikoides respectively. Therefore, it appears that inoculation of Micrococcus sp. LG-1 against the logarithmic C. polykrikoides is more effective than the lag growth phase, (n addition, the killing effects were increased in accordance with bacterial cell densities inoculated in a dose dependent manner. Especially, the filtrate of kitling bacterium culture (nore size, 0.2 $\mu$m) revealed a dramatic effect in which C. polykrikoides were decreased to less than 10 cells/mf of culture within 1 hr, 1,5 hrs, 1,5 hrs, 3.5 hrs. and 5,5 hrs after inoculations of the culture filtrate with concentration of $30\%,\;20\%,\;10\%,\;5\%$ and $2.5\%$, respectively. Moreover Micrococcus sp. LG-1 showed a selective specificity against C. polykrikoides and any other killing effects of Micrococcus sp. LG-1 were not observed against Alexandrium tamarense, Prorocentrum micans, Scrippsiella trochoidea. ana Gymnodinium sanguineum.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.47-75
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• 2009

Recently, researches on Management Information Systems (MIS) have laid out theoretical foundation and academic paradigms by introducing diverse theories, themes, and methodologies. Especially, academic paradigms of MIS encourage a user-friendly approach by developing the technologies from the users' perspectives, which reflects the existence of strong causal relationships between information systems and user's behavior. As in other areas in social science the use of structural equation modeling (SEM) has rapidly increased in recent years especially in the MIS area. The SEM technique is important because it provides powerful ways to address key IS research problems. It also has a unique ability to simultaneously examine a series of casual relationships while analyzing multiple independent and dependent variables all at the same time. In spite of providing many benefits to the MIS researchers, there are some potential pitfalls with the analytical technique. The research objective of this study is to provide some guidelines for an appropriate use of SEM based on the assessment of current practice of using SEM in the MIS research. This study focuses on several statistical issues related to the use of SEM in the MIS research. Selected articles are assessed in three parts through the meta analysis. The first part is related to the initial specification of theoretical model of interest. The second is about data screening prior to model estimation and testing. And the last part concerns estimation and testing of theoretical models based on empirical data. This study reviewed the use of SEM in 164 empirical research articles published in four major MIS journals in Korea (APJIS, ISR, JIS and JITAM) from 1991 to 2007. APJIS, ISR, JIS and JITAM accounted for 73, 17, 58, and 16 of the total number of applications, respectively. The number of published applications has been increased over time. LISREL was the most frequently used SEM software among MIS researchers (97 studies (59.15%)), followed by AMOS (45 studies (27.44%)). In the first part, regarding issues related to the initial specification of theoretical model of interest, all of the studies have used cross-sectional data. The studies that use cross-sectional data may be able to better explain their structural model as a set of relationships. Most of SEM studies, meanwhile, have employed. confirmatory-type analysis (146 articles (89%)). For the model specification issue about model formulation, 159 (96.9%) of the studies were the full structural equation model. For only 5 researches, SEM was used for the measurement model with a set of observed variables. The average sample size for all models was 365.41, with some models retaining a sample as small as 50 and as large as 500. The second part of the issue is related to data screening prior to model estimation and testing. Data screening is important for researchers particularly in defining how they deal with missing values. Overall, discussion of data screening was reported in 118 (71.95%) of the studies while there was no study discussing evidence of multivariate normality for the models. On the third part, issues related to the estimation and testing of theoretical models on empirical data, assessing model fit is one of most important issues because it provides adequate statistical power for research models. There were multiple fit indices used in the SEM applications. The test was reported in the most of studies (146 (89%)), whereas normed-test was reported less frequently (65 studies (39.64%)). It is important that normed- of 3 or lower is required for adequate model fit. The most popular model fit indices were GFI (109 (66.46%)), AGFI (84 (51.22%)), NFI (44 (47.56%)), RMR (42 (25.61%)), CFI (59 (35.98%)), RMSEA (62 (37.80)), and NNFI (48 (29.27%)). Regarding the test of construct validity, convergent validity has been examined in 109 studies (66.46%) and discriminant validity in 98 (59.76%). 81 studies (49.39%) have reported the average variance extracted (AVE). However, there was little discussion of direct (47 (28.66%)), indirect, and total effect in the SEM models. Based on these findings, we suggest general guidelines for the use of SEM and propose some recommendations on concerning issues of latent variables models, raw data, sample size, data screening, reporting parameter estimated, model fit statistics, multivariate normality, confirmatory factor analysis, reliabilities and the decomposition of effects.