Suggesting A Guideline To Information And Communication Technolgoy Service Development In Accordance With User Value Driven Perspective

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) service industry, especially the mobile service market, has been one of the core growth engines for Korean economy during the last decades. However, ICT service market is currently experiencing severe stagnation mainly due to the saturation in customer expenditure. Until recently, a technology intensive approach has been playing a critical role in terms of ICT service development in Korea. However, limitations in this technology based method have been exposed with respect to locating and addressing dynamic and in-depth user needs and demands. Various ICT services have been introduced into the market in accordance with the technology intensive approach; however, there is only the mere presence of success in fulfilling user satisfaction. Thus, nowadays, a user value-driven approach is widely gaining attention as a substitute or/and complement to conventional methods. In fact, user value-driven approach is not a brand new idea; it has been broadly practiced in many none-ICT relevant fields, however, as for ICT industry, user-driven approach is still in early stage of the adoption. Therefore, the major research question of this study is to explore user’s hidden needs and demands and consider appropriate methods to apply them into ICT service developments

Exploring Care Givers’ Desires for their Older Counterparts toward the Advanced Information and Communications Technology with market oriented approach

There are many countries which suffer from high increase rate of old people population over the world. The steep increase in elderly has caused many changes and challenges, and one of the most serious and biggest challenges is caring issues. It became hard for the aged care receivers to receive caring from human caregivers, and also difficult for caregivers to take care of the aged well due to many reasons. Thus, it is time to find alternatives which can support or help caregivers‟ caring activities. The research focuses on exploring caregivers‟ intention which want to use ICT as supporter or helper of their caring. Moreover, it reveals more specific needs under different circumstances, and common values which caregivers want to receive from ICT caring services. The findings shows there are enough needs for ICT as helper or supporter for caring in the market and exploration of more specific needs and common values provides useful guideline for the ICT service providers

Boesenbergia pandurata Attenuates Diet-Induced Obesity by Activating AMP-Activated Protein Kinase and Regulating Lipid Metabolism

Obesity, a chronic metabolic disorder, is characterized by enlarged fat mass and dysregulation of lipid metabolism. The medicinal plant, Boesenbergia pandurata (Roxb.) Schltr., has been reported to possess anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties; however, its anti-obesity activity is unexplored. The present study was conducted to determine whether B. pandurata extract (BPE), prepared from its rhizome parts, attenuated high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity in C57BL/6J mice. The molecular mechanism was investigated in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and HepG2 human hepatoma cells. BPE treatment decreased triglyceride accumulation in both 3T3-L1 adipocytes and HepG2 hepatocytes by activating AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling and regulating the expression of lipid metabolism-related proteins. In the animal model, oral administration of BPE (200 mg/kg/day for 8 weeks) significantly reduced HFD-induced body weight gain without altering the amount of food intake. In addition, elevated serum levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides were suppressed by BPE administration. Fat pad masses were reduced in BPE-treated mice, as evidenced by reduced adipocyte size. Furthermore, BPE protected against the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver by decreasing hepatic triglyceride accumulation. BPE also activated AMPK signaling and altered the expression of lipid metabolism-related proteins in white adipose tissue and liver. Taken together, these findings indicate that BPE attenuates HFD-induced obesity by activating AMPK and regulating lipid metabolism, suggesting a potent anti-obesity agent

Accuracy of predictive equations for resting energy expenditure (REE) in non-obese and obese Korean children and adolescents

Weight-controlling can be supported by a proper prescription of energy intake. The individual energy requirement is usually determined through resting energy expenditure (REE) and physical activity. Because REE contributes to 60-70% of daily energy expenditure, the assessment of REE is very important. REE is often predicted using various equations, which are usually based on the body weight, height, age, gender, and so on. The aim of this study is to validate the published predictive equations for resting energy expenditure in 76 normal weight and 52 obese Korean children and adolescents in the 7-18 years old age group. The open-circuit indirect calorimetry using a ventilated hood system was used to measure REE. Sixteen REE predictive equations were included, which were based on weight and/or height of children and adolescents, or which were commonly used in clinical settings despite its use based on adults. The accuracy of the equations was evaluated on bias, RMSPE, and percentage of accurate prediction. The means of age and height were not significantly different among the groups. Weight and BMI were significantly higher in obese group (64.0 kg, 25.9 kg/m2) than in the non-obese group (44.8 kg, 19.0 kg/m2). For the obese group, the Molnar, Mifflin, Liu, and Harris-Benedict equations provided the accurate predictions of > 70% (87%, 79% 77%, and 73%, respectively). On the other hand, for non-obese group, only the Molnar equation had a high level of accuracy (bias of 0.6%, RMSPE of 90.4 kcal/d, and accurate prediction of 72%). The accurate prediction of the Schofield (W/WH), WHO (W/WH), and Henry (W/WH) equations was less than 60% for all groups. Our results showed that the Molnar equation appears to be the most accurate and precise for both the non-obese and the obese groups. This equation might be useful for clinical professionals when calculating energy needs in Korean children and adolescents

International Asteroid Warning Network Timing Campaign : 2019 XS

Peer reviewe

Apophis planetary defense campaign

We describe results of a planetary defense exercise conducted during the close approach to Earth by the near-Earth asteroid (99942) Apophis during 2020 December–2021 March. The planetary defense community has been conducting observational campaigns since 2017 to test the operational readiness of the global planetary defense capabilities. These community-led global exercises were carried out with the support of NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office and the International Asteroid Warning Network. The Apophis campaign is the third in our series of planetary defense exercises. The goal of this campaign was to recover, track, and characterize Apophis as a potential impactor to exercise the planetary defense system including observations, hypothetical risk assessment and risk prediction, and hazard communication. Based on the campaign results, we present lessons learned about our ability to observe and model a potential impactor. Data products derived from astrometric observations were available for inclusion in our risk assessment model almost immediately, allowing real-time updates to the impact probability calculation and possible impact locations. An early NEOWISE diameter measurement provided a significant improvement in the uncertainty on the range of hypothetical impact outcomes. The availability of different characterization methods such as photometry, spectroscopy, and radar provided robustness to our ability to assess the potential impact risk

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

Photometry of the Didymos System across the DART Impact Apparition

On 2022 September 26, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft impacted Dimorphos, the satellite of binary near-Earth asteroid (65803) Didymos. This demonstrated the efficacy of a kinetic impactor for planetary defense by changing the orbital period of Dimorphos by 33 minutes. Measuring the period change relied heavily on a coordinated campaign of lightcurve photometry designed to detect mutual events (occultations and eclipses) as a direct probe of the satellite’s orbital period. A total of 28 telescopes contributed 224 individual lightcurves during the impact apparition from 2022 July to 2023 February. We focus here on decomposable lightcurves, i.e., those from which mutual events could be extracted. We describe our process of lightcurve decomposition and use that to release the full data set for future analysis. We leverage these data to place constraints on the postimpact evolution of ejecta. The measured depths of mutual events relative to models showed that the ejecta became optically thin within the first ∼1 day after impact and then faded with a decay time of about 25 days. The bulk magnitude of the system showed that ejecta no longer contributed measurable brightness enhancement after about 20 days postimpact. This bulk photometric behavior was not well represented by an HG photometric model. An HG 1 G 2 model did fit the data well across a wide range of phase angles. Lastly, we note the presence of an ejecta tail through at least 2023 March. Its persistence implied ongoing escape of ejecta from the system many months after DART impact