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Objectives: There should be an objective analysis on the academic competency for incorporating Computer-based Test (CBT) in the education of traditional Korean medicine (TKM). However, the Item Response Theory (IRT) for analyzing latent competency has not been introduced for its difficulty in calculation, interpretation and utilization.Methods: The current study analyzed responses of 390 students of 8 years to the herbology test with 14 items by utilizing Rasch model, and the characteristics of test and items were evaluated by using characteristic curve, information curve, difficulty, academic competency, and test score. The academic competency of the students across gender and years were presented with scale characteristic curve, Kernel density map, and Wright map, and examined based on T-test and ANOVA.Results: The estimated item, test, and ability parameters based on Rasch model provided reliable information on academic competency, and organized insights on students, test and items not available with test score calculated by the summation of item scores. The test showed acceptable validity for analyzing academic competency, but some of items revealed difficulty parameters to be modified with Wright map. The gender difference was not distinctive, however the differences between test years were obvious with Kernel density map.Conclusion: The current study analyzed the responses in the herbology test for measuring academic competency in the education of TKM using Rasch model, and structured analysis for competency-based Teaching in the e-learning era was suggested. It would provide the foundation for the learning analytics essential for self-directed learning and competency adaptive learning in TKM.

The purpose of this study was to determine the best model fit among the six models in the Korean version of Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (K-PANAS). Therefore, this study compared and analyzed the dimensional structure of this schedule for Korean college students. Specifically, the model fitness of six models, which are under debate, were compared: a single model for K-PANAS, a two-factor model (PA&NA) without any factor correlation, a three-factor model (PA, NA-Afraid, NA-Upset), a two-factor bifactor model, a three-factor bifactor model, and a three-factor bifactor model with error correlation. A total of 875 samples were analyzed, and the results show that best model fit is the three-factor bifactor model with error correlation. We named the general factor of the bifactor model “activation (or arousal).” This findings of this study will provide a richer explanation of emotions for researchers analyzing emotional activation (or arousal), a general factor of emotion, PA, and NA future studies that use PANAS.

Background: This study aimed to examine the mediating effects of parenting style on the relationship between parental stress and behavioral problems of girls with precocious puberty. Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed a convenience sample of 200 mothers of girls with precocious puberty at a university hospital located in a metropolitan area. The Parental Stress measurement, Parents as Social Context Questionnaire, and Korean version Child Behavior Checklist (K-CBCL) 6-18 were measured via self-report questionnaires. Descriptive, t-test, Pearson correlation, and bootstrapping analyses were used to analyze the data. Results: Negative parenting styles had a full mediating effect on the relationship between parental stress and internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems. Conclusions: Care plans for parents of girls with precocious puberty should be designed and applied in health care settings to reduce internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems by decreasing negative parenting styles.

Objective This study tested the validity and reliability of the Behavior Development Screening for Toddlers-Questionnaire-Parents (BeDevel-Q/P), a new autism spectrum disorder (ASD) screening instrument being developed in South Korea. The parents of 24-35-month-old infants were recruited to complete the questionnaire. Methods The participants were 791 infants aged 24-35 months. There were 623 typically developing infants, 88 infants with ASD, and 80 developmentally delayed infants. For test-retest, the participants were surveyed every 1-4 weeks. Participants were recruited nationwide. Subjects' parents completed the BeDevel-Q/P and concurrent validity questionnaires. The data were used for statistical analysis. Results A total of 24 items consisting of 16 items from factor 1 (F1), 6 items from factor 2 (F2), and 2 items from factor 3 (F3), were selected for the final BeDevel-Q/P items. Conclusion The factors of the screening instrument developed in this study were analyzed, and three factors were extracted, confirming the theoretical foundation of the BeDevel-Q for the parents of 24-35-month-old infants.

Objectives Early detection of developmental issues in infants and necessary intervention are important. To identify the comorbid conditions, a comprehensive evaluation is required. The study’s objectives were to 1) generate scale items by identifying and eliciting concepts relevant to young children (12–71 months) with developmental delays, 2) develop a comprehensive screening tool for developmental delay and comorbid conditions, and 3) assess the tool’s validity and cut-off. Methods Multidisciplinary experts devised the “Infant Comprehensive Evaluation for Neurodevelopmental Delay (ICEND),” an assessment method that comes in two versions depending on the age of the child: 12–36 months and 37–71 months, through monthly seminars and focused group interviews. The ICEND is composed of three parts: risk factors, resilience factors, and clinical scales. In parts 1 and 2, there were 41 caretakers responded to the questionnaires. Part 3 involved clinicians evaluating ten subscales using 98 and 114 questionnaires for younger and older versions, respectively. The Child Behavior Checklist, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, Infant- Toddler Social Emotional Assessment, and Korean Developmental Screening Test for Infants and Children were employed to analyze concurrent validity with the ICEND. The analyses were performed on both typical and high-risk infants to identify concurrent validity, reliability, and cut-off scores. Results A total of 296 people participated in the study, with 57 of them being high-risk (19.2%). The Cronbach’s alpha was positive (0.533–0.928). In the majority of domains, the ICEND demonstrated a fair discriminatory ability, with a sensitivity of 0.5–0.7 and specificity 0.7–0.9. Conclusion The ICEND is reliable and valid, indicating its potential as an auxiliary tool for assessing neurodevelopmental delay and comorbid conditions in children aged 12–36 months and 37–71 months.

High-throughput molecular markers with high genotyping accuracy will be helpful for genetic analysis, mapping of interesting genes, and rice breeding program. To develop high-throughput and cost-effective molecular markers for Korean japonica rice varieties, which are closely-related genetically, we designed kompetitive allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (KASP) assays from the sequence data of 13 Korean japonica rice varieties. Of the 504 new KASP assays, 371 (73.6%) showed polymorphisms among the tested varieties. In addition to the 400 previously developed KASP markers, this resulted in 771 KASP markers being applicable for Korean japonica rice varieties. These KASP markers were used to map the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for rice bakanae disease (BD) resistance. From the results of QTL mapping and determination of the mortality rate of BD in two F2:F3 populations, a major QTL, qFfR1-1, and a novel QTL, qFfR6, were revealed on chromosome 1 in the Junam/Nampyeong F2:F3 population and on chromosome 6 in the Saenuri/Nampyeong F2:F3 population, respectively. Further, the insertion/deletion markers in the qFfR1-1 region were developed to select BD-resistant japonica rice varieties. The 771 developed KASP markers will accelerate the molecular breeding in Korean japonica rice varieties, and the detected QTLs will be helpful in identifying candidate genes for BD resistance.

Temperate japonica rice varieties exhibit wide variation in the phenotypes of several important agronomic traits, including disease resistance, pre-harvest sprouting resistance, plant architecture, and grain quality, indicating the presence of genes contributing to favorable agronomic traits. However, gene mapping and molecular breeding has been hampered as a result of the low genetic diversity among cultivars and scarcity of polymorphic DNA markers. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) markers allow high-throughput genotyping for marker-assisted selection and quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping within closely related populations. Previously, we identified 740,566 SNPs and developed 771 KASP markers for Korean temperate japonica rice varieties. However, additional markers were needed to provide sufficient genome coverage to support breeding programs. In this study, the 740,566 SNPs were categorized according to their predicted impacts on gene function. The high-impact, moderate-impact, modifier, and low-impact groups contained 703 (0.1%), 20,179 (2.7%), 699,866 (94.5%), and 19,818 (2.7%) SNPs, respectively. A subset of 357 SNPs from the high-impact group was selected for initial KASP marker development, resulting in 283 polymorphic KASP markers. After incorporation of the 283 markers with the 771 existing markers in a physical map, additional markers were developed to fill genomic regions with large gaps between markers, and 171 polymorphic KASP markers were successfully developed from 284 SNPs. Overall, a set of 1225 KASP markers was produced. The markers were evenly distributed across the rice genome, with average marker density of 3.3 KASP markers per Mbp. The 1225 KASP markers will facilitate QTL/gene mapping and marker-assisted selection in temperate japonica rice breeding programs.

The sustainable computer-based evaluation system (SCE) is a scenario-based formative evaluation system, in which students are assigned a task during a course. The tasks include the diversity conditions in real-world scenarios. The goals of this system are learning to think as a professional in a certain discipline. While the substantive, psychological, instructional, and task developmental aspects of the assessment have been investigated, few analytic methods have been proposed that allow us to provide feedback to learners in a formative way. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a framework of a learning analytic method including (1) an assessment design through evidence-centered design (ECD), (2) a data mining method using social network analysis, and (3) an analytic method using a Bayesian network. This analytic framework can analyze the learners&rsquo, performances based on a computational psychometric framework. The tasks were designed to measure 21st century learning skills. The 250 samples of data collected from the system were analyzed. The results from the social network analysis provide the learning path during a course. In addition, the 21st century learning skills of each learner were inferred from the Bayesian network over multiple time points. Therefore, the learning analytics proposed in this study can offer the student learning progression as well as effective feedback for learning.

Background: The biopsychological, pathological and physical characteristics of Yin-Yang (Eum-Yang in Korean) have been suggested using Sasang Personality Questionnaire (SPQ), however, the revision of SPQ is required for escalating its clinical use and multidimensional study on Yin-Yang. Methods: 274 university students were recruited to complete the SPQ, candidate items of revised SPQ (rSPQ) along with the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). After selecting rSPQ items using Item Analysis and Explorative Factor Analysis, its psychometric property was examined using Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Pearson’s correlation and t-test. The biopsychological features of Yin and Yang personality groups based on rSPQ total score were illustrated with the TCI using ANOVA and Profile Analysis. Results: The behavior, cognition and emotion subscales of 15-item rSPQ had robust psychometric construct and showed distinctive psychological characteristics of Yin-Yang. The rSPQ-total score was correlated positively with SPQ-total (r = 0.644, p

Objective This article examined the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (K-ITSEA). Methods Translation and back-translation of the K-ITSEA were conducted after obtaining a permission. Two thousand two hundred thirty six Korean community infants (1,199 boys and 1,037 girls) between the ages of 12 and 36 months (M=34.23, SD=3.80) and 90 clinical infant samples (60 boys and 30 girls) between the ages of 12 and 36 months (M=26.84, SD=6.24) participated in the present study. Results Confirmatory factor analyses supported the Internalizing, Externalizing, Dysregulation, and Competence domains as well as the 17 individual scales that comprise the K-ITSEA. Young children's sex and age differences emerged for some problem and most competence scales. All domains showed adequate intrascale reliability and test-retest reliability. Scale intracorrelation analyses and associations between the K-ITSEA and Korean version of PSI, Korean version of CBCL1.5-5 supported the validity of the assessment. Comparisons of the K-ITSEA scores for the Autism Spectrum Disorder, Psychiatric Disorders and Matched control groups supported the discriminant validity of the K-ITSEA. Conclusion This preliminary results indicate that the K-ITSEA would be a useful assessment for detecting the early childhood's behavior problems and competences in Korean population.

Empirical support for the factor structure of the Child Oral Health Impact Profile (COHIP) has not been fully established. The purposes of this study were to evaluate the factor structure of the Korean version of the COHIP (COHIP-K) empirically using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) based on the theoretical framework and then to assess whether any of the factors in the structure could be grouped into a simpler single second-order factor. Data were collected through self-reported COHIP-K responses from a representative community sample of 2,236 Korean children, 8-15 yr of age. Because a large inter-factor correlation of 0.92 was estimated in the original five-factor structure, the two strongly correlated factors were combined into one factor, resulting in a four-factor structure. The revised four-factor model showed a reasonable fit with appropriate inter-factor correlations. Additionally, the second-order model with four sub-factors was reasonable with sufficient fit and showed equal fit to the revised four-factor model. A cross-validation procedure confirmed the appropriateness of the findings. Our analysis empirically supported a four-factor structure of COHIP-K, a summarized second-order model, and the use of an integrated summary COHIP score.

Temperate japonica rice varieties exhibit wide variation in the phenotypes of several important agronomic traits, including disease resistance, pre-harvest sprouting resistance, plant architecture, and grain quality, indicating the presence of genes contributing to favorable agronomic traits. However, gene mapping and molecular breeding has been hampered as a result of the low genetic diversity among cultivars and scarcity of polymorphic DNA markers. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) markers allow high-throughput genotyping for marker-assisted selection and quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping within closely related populations. Previously, we identified 740,566 SNPs and developed 771 KASP markers for Korean temperate japonica rice varieties. However, additional markers were needed to provide sufficient genome coverage to support breeding programs. In this study, the 740,566 SNPs were categorized according to their predicted impacts on gene function. The high-impact, moderate-impact, modifier, and low-impact groups contained 703 (0.1%), 20,179 (2.7%), 699,866 (94.5%), and 19,818 (2.7%) SNPs, respectively. A subset of 357 SNPs from the high-impact group was selected for initial KASP marker development, resulting in 283 polymorphic KASP markers. After incorporation of the 283 markers with the 771 existing markers in a physical map, additional markers were developed to fill genomic regions with large gaps between markers, and 171 polymorphic KASP markers were successfully developed from 284 SNPs. Overall, a set of 1225 KASP markers was produced. The markers were evenly distributed across the rice genome, with average marker density of 3.3 KASP markers per Mbp. The 1225 KASP markers will facilitate QTL/gene mapping and marker-assisted selection in temperate japonica rice breeding programs.

Purpose To examine the possible relationship between parenting stress and quality of life of children with epilepsy together with the mediating effects of family management styles on this relationship. Design and methods We conducted a descriptive and exploratory study using data of participants were 93 parents with an epileptic child. Instruments were self-reported questionnaires including the Korean version of the Quality of Life (QOL) in Childhood Epilepsy Questionnaire (K-QOLCE), the Korean version of the Parenting Stress Index (PSI), and the Korean version of the Family Management Measure (FaMM). Six domains of FaMM were clustered into two domains: easy or difficult family management styles. Descriptive and Pearson correlation path analyses were used to analyze the data. Results The direct effects of PSI on QOL were not significant (b = −0.21, t = −0.94, p = .349). Indirect effects of PSI through easy family management styles on QOL were significant (b = −0.33, 95% CI = [−0.77, −0.05]). Additionally, two other effects (i.e., indirect effects through difficult family management styles and direct effects) were non-significant. All effects of PSI on QOL were fully mediated through easy family management styles. Conclusion Easy family management styles are the most important factor in predicting QOL in childhood epilepsy patients. Practice implications Comprehensive intervention programs are recommended for parents and families of epileptic children to promote positive perceptions of the child's life and to increase parental management ability of the child's condition and parental mutuality.

The study was aimed to examine the effect of job satisfaction and organization commitment on turnover intention for flight attendants and the moderating effect of age and marriage on these effects. In doing so, 294 flying attendants were surveyed. To examine the interaction effect, hierarchical regression analysis was conducted. The results of the study showed that the moderating effect of age and marriage on relation between job satisfaction and turnover intention was significant. Moderating effect of marriage on association between organizational commitment and turnover intention was significant whereas the moderating effects of age were not significant. Finally, the significance and limitation of the current study are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to classify latent group according to changes of internet usage pattern based on the degree of internet usage. At the same time, the study sought to validate differences of variables such as level of individual and school environment between latent groups classified by longitudinal internet using patterns. This study used longitudinal data(2010-2013) "Korean Children and Youth Panel Study(KCYPS) conducted by National Youth Policy Institute targeting middle school students. In examing hypotheses, Latent Class Analysis(LCA) and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were employed. The results are as follows. First, it was divided in to 4 latent groups based on longitudinal internet using patterns and each of them were designated as "High-Usage Group", "Low-Usage Group", "Informative-Usage Received (June 19, 2015), Review Request(June 22, 2015), Review Result(July 09, 2015) Accepted(July 30, 2015), Published(August 31, 2015) 136-742 Dept. of Psychology, Sungshin Women's Univ., 249-1, Dongseon-Dong 3-Ga, Seongbuk-Gu, Seoul, Korea. email: jo_oseon@naver.com 136-742 Dept. of Psychology, Sungshin Women's Univ., 249-1, Dongseon-Dong 3-Ga, Seongbuk-Gu, Seoul, Korea. email: merryharry94@gmail.com (Corresponding Author) 136-742 Dept. Psychology, Sungshin Women’s University, 34, Bomun-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, Korea email: ymiezr@gmail.com * 본 연구는 2013학년도 성신여자대학교 교내연구비(2013-1-28-004)에 의해서 지원되어 실시되었다. Latent Groups in Internet Use Types and Their Characteries Copyright c 2015 HSST 614 Group", and "Declining Group". Second, differences of individual factors (depression, social withdrawal, aggression, somatic symptoms) and school environment factors (learning activity, regulations, peer relationships, student-teacher relationships) between latent classes based on longitudinal internet using patterns were statistically significant. Implications of the study and future for future research are discussed.

A fundamental problem in analyzing complex multilevel-structured periodontal data is the violation of independency among the observations, which is an assumption in traditional statistical models (e.g., analysis of variance and ordinary least squares regression). In many cases, aggregation (i.e., mean or sum scores) has been employed to overcome this problem. However, the aggregation approach still exhibits certain limitations, such as a loss of power and detailed information, no cross-level relationship analysis, and the potential for creating an ecological fallacy. In order to handle multilevel-structured data appropriately, mixed effects models have been introduced and employed in dental research using periodontal data. The use of mixed effects models might account for the potential bias due to the violation of the independency assumption as well as provide accurate estimates. Graphical Abstract

Theory of mind (ToM) is the ability to understand mental states of others and it is crucial for building sensitivity to other persons or events. Measuring ToM is important for understanding and rehabilitating social cognitive impairments in persons with schizophrenia. The Social Attribution Task-Multiple Choice (SAT-MC) has been successfully employed to measure ToM between individuals with schizophrenia (SZ) and healthy controls (HC) in North America. Given that the SAT-MC uses geometric shapes, is nonverbal and less culturally loaded than other social cognition measures, it may serve for measuring ToM in schizophrenia across cultures. A total of 120 participants (30 per group; Korean SZ; Korean HC; North American SZ; North American HC) were selected from existing databases to examine the reliability and validity of the SAT-MC. Internal consistency, factor structure, measurement invariance, discriminant validity, and convergent/divergent validity were examined. The SAT-MC had good internal consistency regardless of the clinical and cultural group as evidence by Cronbach's α ≥ 0.78 in all groups. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the one-factor model with a good model fit (χ2 = 188.122, TLI = 0.958, CFI = 0.963, RMSEA = 0.045). The SAT-MC was sensitive to detect individual differences in ToM of SZ and HC, regardless of culture (p The SAT-MC is a reliable measure for evaluating ToM in both Koreans and North Americans with or without schizophrenia, supporting its potential utility in diverse language and cultures for schizophrenia research.

Next-generation sequencing technique has been known as a useful tool for de novo transcriptome assembly, functional annotation of genes and identification of molecular markers. This study was carried out to mine molecular markers from de novo assembled transcriptomes of four chilli pepper varieties, the highly pungent ‘Saengryeg 211’ and non-pungent ‘Saengryeg 213’ and variably pigmented ‘Mandarin’ and ‘Blackcluster’. Pyrosequencing of the complementary DNA library resulted in 361,671, 274,269, 279,221, and 316,357 raw reads, which were assembled in 23,607, 19,894, 18,340 and 20,357 contigs, for the four varieties, respectively. Detailed sequence variant analysis identified numerous potential single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and simple sequence repeats (SSRs) for all the varieties for which the primers were designed. The transcriptome information and SNP/SSR markers generated in this study provide valuable resources for high-density molecular genetic mapping in chilli pepper and Quantitative trait loci analysis related to fruit qualities. These markers for pepper will be highly valuable for marker-assisted breeding and other genetic studies.

Acknowledging separable factors underlying negative symptoms may lead to better understanding and treatment of negative symptoms in individuals with schizophrenia. The current study aimed to test whether the negative symptoms factor (NSF) of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) would be better represented by expressive and experiential deficit factors, rather than by a single factor model, using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Two hundred and twenty individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders completed the PANSS; subsamples additionally completed the Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS) and the Motivation and Pleasure Scale—Self-Report (MAP-SR). CFA results indicated that the two-factor model fit the data better than the one-factor model; however, latent variables were closely correlated. The two-factor model’s fit was significantly improved by accounting for correlated residuals between N2 (emotional withdrawal) and N6 (lack of spontaneity and flow of conversation), and between N4 (passive social withdrawal) and G16 (active social avoidance), possibly reflecting common method variance. The two NSF factors exhibited differential patterns of correlation with subdomains of the BNSS and MAP-SR. These results suggest that the PANSS NSF would be better represented by a two-factor model than by a single-factor one, and support the two-factor model’s adequate criterion-related validity. Common method variance among several items may be a potential source of measurement error under a two-factor model of the PANSS NSF.

An air-cooled condenser is a device that is used for converting steam into condensate by using ambient air. The air-cooled condenser is prone to suffer from a serious explosion when the condensate inside the tubes of a heat exchanger is frozen; in particular, tubes can break during winter. This is primarily due to the structural problem of the tube outlet of an existing conventional air-cooled condenser system, which causes the backflow of residual steam and noncondensable gases. To solve the backflow problem in such condensers, such a system was simulated and a new system was designed and evaluated in this study. The experimental results using the simulated condenser showed the occurrence of freezing because of the backflow inside the tube. On the other hand, no backflow and freezing occurred in the advanced new condenser, and efficient heat exchange occurred.

We examined the association of joint trajectories of ethnic identity and criminal offending to psychosocial maturity, gang membership, and Mexican American affiliation among 300 Mexican American male juvenile offenders from ages 14 to 22. There were two low-offending groups: one was the highest in ethnic identity and changing slightly with age and the other was the lowest in ethnic identity and stable with age. A third group displayed moderately declining offending and moderately stable ethnic identity. A fourth group displayed high-offending individuals with moderate, but increasing, levels of ethnic identity, who were initially lower in psychosocial maturity and more likely to be gang members. The findings highlight the need to contextualize theories of ethnic identity development.

This study examined the interplay between the influence of peers who promote alcohol use and μ-opioid receptor M1 (OPRM1) genetic variation in the intergenerational transmission of alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptoms while separating the “traitlike” components of AUD symptoms from their age-specific manifestations at three ages from emerging adulthood (17–23 years) to adulthood (29–40 years). The results for males were consistent with genetically influenced peer selection mechanisms as mediators of parent alcoholism effects. Male children of alcoholics were less likely to be carriers of the G allele in single nucleotide polymorphism A118G (rs1799971), and those who were homozygous for the A allele were more likely to affiliate with alcohol use promoting peers who increased the risk for AUD symptoms at all ages. There was evidence for women of an interaction between OPRM1 variation and peer affiliations but only at the earliest age band. Peer influences had stronger effects among women who were G-carriers. These results illustrate the complex ways in which the interplay between influences at multiple levels of analysis can underlie the intergenerational transmission of alcohol disorders as well as the importance of considering age and gender differences in these pathways.

Research indicates greater educational achievements and occupational aspirations of Asian Americans. However, little research has explicated the relationship between educational attainment and actual income among Asian Americans. Factors related to the ethnic minority experience may be related to or may change the positive, linear relationship between education and income found in the general population. The current study examined how education and gender are associated with income, as well as the incremental variance explained by ethnic minority-related factors. The sample consisted of 1,187 employed Asian Americans in the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS). Education and gender were associated with income, such that men and those who attained more education reported greater incomes. When ethnic minority factors were included also, gender, acculturation, foreign early education, and English proficiency were associated with income. An interaction emerged between education and English proficiency such that more proficient individuals reported greater income, but only among those who attended college. The opposite pattern emerged for less educated individuals. Implications are discussed for how accounting for ethnic minority factors is important in understanding the more nuanced relationship between education and income among Asian Americans.

The experimental determination of equilibrium constants is required to estimate concentrations of reagents and/or products in environmental chemical reactions. For an example, the choice of copper (Cu) complexation reactions was motivated by their fast kinetics and the ease of measurement of Cu by an ion‐sensitive electrode. Each individual titrant of sulfate (SO 42‐ ) and oxalate (C 2 O 42‐ ) was expected to have its own unique characteristics, depending on the bonding in Cu‐ligands connected to the aqueous species. The complexation reaction of Cu with SO 42‐ somewhat fast reached equilibrium status compared with C 2 O 42‐ . The experimental equilibrium constants (K eq ) of copper sulfate (CuSO 4 ) and copper oxalate (CuC 2 O 4 ) were determined 10 2.2 and 10 3~4.3 , respectively. Key Words : Equilibrium constants, Copper (Cu), Complexation reaction, Cu-ligands, Sulfate (SO 42- ), Oxalate (C 2 O 42- ) 1) 1. Introduction Equilibrium constants have been measured for metal complexes in water system due to their importance in environmental chemistry. In general, chemical reactions move towards a dynamic equilibrium in which both reactants and products are present but have no further tendency to undergo net change (Atkins and Paula, 2005). Due to this phenomenon, both reactants and products have the significant concentrations in the equilibrium mixture. Equilibrium constants for chemical reactions can be computed from thermodynamic data. However, if thermodynamic data are unavailable for a particularly environmental chemical reaction, they can be estimated experimentally (Brewer and Baughman, 2004). Equilibrium constants can be determined by

This study investigated the associations of psychological and social variables with the likelihood of exhibiting three different behaviors as a bystander in a bullying situation. The sample comprised 238 Korean-American and Korean students, from the 3rd to 12th grades, studying in the USA. Students receiving classmate support showed a lower probability of exhibiting outsider behaviors in a bullying situation as compared to non-involvers, whereas those receiving teacher support showed less likelihood of exhibiting assistant, outsider, and defender behaviors as compared to non-involvers. Furthermore, students showing higher responsibility exhibited a lower probability of being a defender group as compared to the non-involvers, while those showing higher empathy demonstrated a greater probability of being in the defender group over non-involvers. The current study discusses the implications for bullying preventive interventions in school settings.

Transcriptome analysis is becoming a powerful tool for the identification and characterization of molecular markers, splicing-specific mRNA mutants, and differentially expressed genes. In this study, we present the first comprehensive characterization of the transcriptomes of the mature fruits of two red pepper (Capsicum annuum) accessions, YCM334 and Taean, using the 454 Genome Sequencer (GS)-FLX Titanium System. For YCM334, sequencing runs yielded 121,152 reads (average length = 409 nucleotides), which were assembled into 11,770 contiguous sequences (contigs) and 13,827 singletons. Sequencing runs for Taean yielded 154,088 reads (average length = 395 nucleotides) assembled into 14,200 contigs and 15,135 singletons. Using a BLAST search against the NCBI non-redundant (NR) and UniProt databases with an arbitrary expectation value of E-5, over 10,000 unigenes were functionally annotated and classified using the FunCat functional annotation scheme, and were found to distribute in 18 FunCat categories for YCM334 and 17 for Taean. Expression pattern analysis identified 540 Tentative Consensus (TC) sequences that were specifically detected in YCM334. Most of these differential TCs assigned with specific annotations covered 16 FunCat categories, of which 4 were annotated with resistance terms. Polymorphic marker discovery revealed a total of 1265 and 1436 simple sequence repeat (SSR) motifs for YCM334 and Taean, respectively, and a total of 3218 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with high confidence. The information generated in this study provides valuable resources for characterization of some important agronomic traits and identification of molecular mechanism such as phytopathogen resistance.

The purpose of the present research was to examine Deese–Roediger–McDermott false memory for trauma-related and nontrauma-related lists in adolescents and adults with and without documented histories of child sexual abuse (CSA). Individual differences in psychopathology and adult attachment were also explored. Participants were administered free recall and recognition tests after hearing CSA, negative, neutral, and positive Deese–Roediger–McDermott lists. In free recall, CSA and negative lists produced the most false memory. In sharp contrast, for recognition, CSA lists enjoyed the highest d′ scores. CSA-group adolescents who evinced greater posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms had higher rates of false memory compared to (a) non-CSA group adolescents with higher PTSD symptom scores (free recall), and (b) CSA-group adolescents with lower PTSD symptom scores (recognition). Regression analyses revealed that individuals with higher PTSD scores and greater fearful-avoidant attachment tendencies showed less proficient memory monitoring for CSA lists. Implications for trauma and memory development and for translational research are discussed.

Sixteen polymorphic microsatellite (SSR) markers, developed from an SSR-enriched genomic DNA library of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.), were used to assess genetic diversity, phylogenetic relationships, and population structure among 150 sesame accessions collected from 22 countries. A total of 121 alleles were detected among the sesame accessions. The number of detected alleles varied from 2 to 18, with an average of 7.6 alleles per locus. Polymorphism information content values ranged from 0.03 to 0.79, with an average of 0.42. These values indicated an excess of heterozygous individuals at 16 loci and an excess of homozygous individuals at three loci. Of these, 32 genotype-specific alleles were identified at 11 of 16 polymorphic SSR markers. Cluster analyses were performed by accession and population, revealing a complex accession distribution pattern with mean genetic similarity coefficient of 0.45 by accession and 0.52 by population. The wide variation in genetic similarity among the accessions revealed by SSRs reflected a high level of polymorphism at the DNA level. Model-based structure analysis revealed the presence of three groups that were basically consistent with the clustering results based on genetic distance. These findings may be used to augment the sesame germplasm and to increase the effectiveness of sesame breeding.

Two subspecies in rice, japonica and indica, have their own ecotypic traits. However, reproductive barriers such as spikelet sterility in hybrid progenies between subspecies have been an obstacle in breeding programs for combining desirable traits from both subspecies through inter-subspecific hybridization. The 166 F9 RILs and two BC1F1s’ were analyzed for spikelet and pollen fertility with the parents and F1 between Dasanbyeo (DS, indica) / TR22183 (TR, japonica). A frame map was constructed using a total of 218 polymorphic STS and SSR markers. In both BC1F1s’ of DS//DS/TR and TR//DS/TR, clusters of significant QTLs for spikelet and pollen fertility were identified on the short arm of chromosome 5 and chromosome 8. Nine and ten digenic epistatic interactions for DS//DS/TR and TR//DS//TR were identified, respectively. HF-QTLs were detected at the similar position with subspecies-specific markers and segregation distortion loci, implying that HF-QTLs might be associated with the differentiation of indica and japonica. Hybrid fertility/sterility and its relationship with other traits are discussed in relation to the reproductive barriers between subspecies of rice.

To survey protein expression patterns in the reduced culm number (RCN) rice, a comparative shotgun proteomic analysis was conducted. For large-scale protein identification, multidimensional protein identification technology (MudPIT) coupled with pre-fractionation of plant shoot proteins led to the identification of 3004 non-redundant rice proteins. By statistically comparing relative amounts of 1353 reproducibly identified proteins between the RCN rice and the wild-type rice, 44 differentially expressed proteins were detected, where 42 proteins were increased and 2 proteins were decreased in the RCN rice. These proteins appear to have roles in glycolysis, trichloroacetic acid cycle, secondary metabolism, nutrient recycling, and nucleotide metabolism and repair. Consequently, we hypothesized that the RCN rice might fail to maintain sugar nutrient homeostasis. This was confirmed with the observation that the sucrose concentration was increased significantly in the RCN rice compared with the wild-type rice. Also, the RCN rice showed a hypersensitive response to exogenous sucrose treatment.

Mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) is a unique species in its ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen, with early maturity, and relatively good drought resistance. We used 454 sequencing technology for transcriptome sequencing. A total of 150 159 and 142 993 reads produced 5 254 and 6 374 large contigs (≥ 500 bp) with an average length of 833 and 853 for Sunhwa and Jangan, respectively. Functional annotation to known sequences yielded 41.34% and 41.74% unigenes for Jangan and Sunhwa. A higher number of simple sequence repeat (SSR) motifs was identified in Jangan (1 630) compared with that of Sunhwa (1 334). A similar SSR distribution pattern was observed in both varieties. A total of 8 249 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and indels with 2 098 high-confidence candidates were identified in the two mungbean varieties. The average distance between individual SNPs was approximately 860 bp. Our report demonstrates the utility of transcriptomic data for implementing a functional annotation and development of genetic markers. We also provide large resource sequence data for mungbean improvement programs.

Based on the sequences of Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis, we carried out a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) study for genes controlling disease resistance (clubroot, turnip mosaic virus and soft rot) and leaf traits in B. rapa leafy genotypes ‘VC40’ and ‘SR5’. In total, 7645 SNP markers were obtained based on the annotation of a B. rapa database for disease resistance. Among these 7645 SNP markers, 141 were related to 125 genes linked to leaf traits. From these 141 SNP markers, 63 were screened and High Resolution Melt (HRM) primers were designed for genomic studies. A total of 20 polymorphic SNP primers were finally obtained. Eventually, these markers will be further used for the detection of quantitative trait loci and mapping studies.