Genome-Wide Association Study on Longitudinal Change in Fasting Plasma Glucose in Korean Population

Background Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have identified more than 400 distinct genetic loci associated with diabetes and nearly 120 loci for fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and fasting insulin level to date. However, genetic risk factors for the longitudinal deterioration of FPG have not been thoroughly evaluated. We aimed to identify genetic variants associated with longitudinal change of FPG over time. Methods We used two prospective cohorts in Korean population, which included a total of 10,528 individuals without T2DM. GWAS of repeated measure of FPG using linear mixed model was performed to investigate the interaction of genetic variants and time, and meta-analysis was conducted. Genome-wide complex trait analysis was used for heritability calculation. In addition, expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis was performed using the Genotype-Tissue Expression project. Results A small portion (4%) of the genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) interaction with time explained the total phenotypic variance of longitudinal change in FPG. A total of four known genetic variants of FPG were associated with repeated measure of FPG levels. One SNP (rs11187850) showed a genome-wide significant association for genetic interaction with time. The variant is an eQTL for NOC3 like DNA replication regulator (NOC3L) gene in pancreas and adipose tissue. Furthermore, NOC3L is also differentially expressed in pancreatic β-cells between subjects with or without T2DM. However, this variant was not associated with increased risk of T2DM nor elevated FPG level. Conclusion We identified rs11187850, which is an eQTL of NOC3L, to be associated with longitudinal change of FPG in Korean population

Bstick: Handheld Virtual Reality Haptic Controller for Hand Rehabilitation

This study proposes Bstick, the first handheld-type haptic controller that can monitor and control the placement of five fingers in real-time using linear motors attached on the fingers. As a handheld device, it can be used with both hands, and it was designed and produced to allow it to be freely moved and used with other virtual reality (VR) devices via Bluetooth. Bstick also provides stiffness that can maintain the pressing forces of an adult man’s fingers, providing a realistic sense of grabbing and controlling a virtual object with rigidity and softness. By changing the location of the finger buttons, the device can render virtual objects of various shapes and sizes. A component that can be implemented in the Unity game engine was developed to provide convenience in the content development, using a haptic controller feature where a user can move five fingers independently, and this was applied for hand rehabilitation contents. Bstick includes five linear motors that can sustain approximately 22 N of force per finger, and the hardware and circuitry are compact, so as to be held in the user’s hand. Bstick can be used to create VR services and contents based on five-fingered force feedback using a haptic controller that can independently manage the motions of five fingers, and Unity game engine software that can modify hardware

A Study on Attention Attracting Elements of 360-Degree Videos Based on VR Eye-Tracking System

In 360-degree virtual reality (VR) videos, users possess increased freedom in terms of gaze movement. As a result, the users’ attention may not move according to the narrative intended by the director and miss out on important parts of the narrative of the 360-degree video. Therefore, it is necessary to study a directing technique that can attract user attention in 360-degree VR videos. In this study, we analyzed the directing elements that can attract users’ attention in a 360-degree VR video and developed a 360 VR eye-tracking system to investigate the effect of the attention-attracting elements on the user. Elements that can attract user attention were classified into five categories: object movement, hand gesture, GUI insertion, camera movement, and gaze angle variation. We developed a 360 VR eye-tracking system to analyze whether five attention-attracting elements influence the user’s attention. Based on the eye tracking system, an experiment was conducted to analyze whether the user’s attention moves according to the five attention-attracting elements. Based on the experimental results, it can be seen that ‘hand gesture’ attracted the second most attention shift of the subjects, and ‘GUI insertion’ induced the smallest shift of attention of the subjects

Bstick: Handheld Virtual Reality Haptic Controller for Hand Rehabilitation

This study proposes Bstick, the first handheld-type haptic controller that can monitor and control the placement of five fingers in real-time using linear motors attached on the fingers. As a handheld device, it can be used with both hands, and it was designed and produced to allow it to be freely moved and used with other virtual reality (VR) devices via Bluetooth. Bstick also provides stiffness that can maintain the pressing forces of an adult man’s fingers, providing a realistic sense of grabbing and controlling a virtual object with rigidity and softness. By changing the location of the finger buttons, the device can render virtual objects of various shapes and sizes. A component that can be implemented in the Unity game engine was developed to provide convenience in the content development, using a haptic controller feature where a user can move five fingers independently, and this was applied for hand rehabilitation contents. Bstick includes five linear motors that can sustain approximately 22 N of force per finger, and the hardware and circuitry are compact, so as to be held in the user’s hand. Bstick can be used to create VR services and contents based on five-fingered force feedback using a haptic controller that can independently manage the motions of five fingers, and Unity game engine software that can modify hardware

A Study on Attention Attracting Elements of 360-Degree Videos Based on VR Eye-Tracking System

In 360-degree virtual reality (VR) videos, users possess increased freedom in terms of gaze movement. As a result, the users’ attention may not move according to the narrative intended by the director and miss out on important parts of the narrative of the 360-degree video. Therefore, it is necessary to study a directing technique that can attract user attention in 360-degree VR videos. In this study, we analyzed the directing elements that can attract users’ attention in a 360-degree VR video and developed a 360 VR eye-tracking system to investigate the effect of the attention-attracting elements on the user. Elements that can attract user attention were classified into five categories: object movement, hand gesture, GUI insertion, camera movement, and gaze angle variation. We developed a 360 VR eye-tracking system to analyze whether five attention-attracting elements influence the user’s attention. Based on the eye tracking system, an experiment was conducted to analyze whether the user’s attention moves according to the five attention-attracting elements. Based on the experimental results, it can be seen that ‘hand gesture’ attracted the second most attention shift of the subjects, and ‘GUI insertion’ induced the smallest shift of attention of the subjects

Research on Effective Advertising Types in Virtual Environment

Virtual reality (VR) applies various types of advertisements (ads) to promote brands while collaborating with companies. This study aims to present effective advertisement types by verifying user responses in a VR environment. First, by analyzing the cases of advertisements with immersive content, the types of advertisements in VR were defined as avatar costumes, products, and wall posters. The user response was measured in two categories: gaze response measured by the eye-tracking VR advertisement monitoring system (EVAMS) and the advertisement effect analyzed through surveys. As a result of analyzing the user responses, the avatar costumes among the advertisement types caused the highest visual attention and advertisement effect. In addition, by analyzing the correlation between visual attention and the advertisement effect, it was observed that there was a positive relationship between the number of fixations and advertisement attention, fixation time, and advertisement recall. Thus, it was confirmed that the higher the number of fixations and the longer the fixation time, the more positively an advertisement was affected. In addition, it is expected that the results of this study can be used as a reference for effective advertisement directing in VR content development and advertisement directing and processing

Stereoscopic Media Art That Changes Based on Gender Classification Using a Depth Sensor

Physical and psychological characteristics of people vary depending on gender and are used in various fields including the arts such as media art. An interface that provides different interaction results based on the gender of the users enhances participant satisfaction. For gender classification in a dark environment such as an exhibition hall, a depth sensor that discerned between the human head and the body and a support vector machine (SVM) that classified internal factors were used. In terms of the stereoscopic media art, factors that influenced the audience were set to be color, depth, and velocity in a certain direction, and a survey was conducted to examine the preferences of men and women. After gender classification, the preference factors of men and women were applied to produce interactive media art that showed different results depending on the interaction. The possibility of the interface based on gender classification was identified through the survey on preferences between a conventional interactive system and an interactive system based on gender classification

Learning Cultural Spaces: A Collaborative Creation of a Virtual Art Museum Using Roblox

This study proposes education on creating virtual art museums using metaverse technology to broaden the understanding of art museums. It investigates the effect of creating a virtual art museum using Roblox Studio, a metaverse platform, on the acquisition of knowledge about art museums, artists, and artworks and the ability to create metaverse content. This study selected the Moonshin Art Museum (MAM), the art museum to be created in the metaverse space, as its local cultural space. Fifteen students participated in a creation workshop to learn to create virtual spatial content using Roblox Studio and also visited an actual art museum. The students were then assigned to architecture, artwork, avatar, and content teams and collaborated with one another. To evaluate the activities, students filled out pre- and post-questionnaires containing items about the MAM, the sculptor Moonshin, and Moonshin’s artwork, as well as the ability to produce metaverse content. Findings showed that creating a virtual art museum through a metaverse platform facilitates the acquisition of spatial knowledge about art museums as well as information about artists and artworks. In addition, collaboration not only helped in the creation task but also identified and solved technical difficulties and improved creative abilities. These results suggest possibilities for using metaverse technology in delivering education regarding virtual art museums

DNA Bending Force Facilitates Z-DNA Formation under Physiological Salt Conditions

© 2022 American Chemical Society.Z-DNA, a noncanonical helical structure of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), plays pivotal roles in various biological processes, including transcription regulation. Mechanical stresses on dsDNA, such as twisting and stretching, help to form Z-DNA. However, the effect of DNA bending, one of the most common dsDNA deformations, on Z-DNA formation is utterly unknown. Here, we show that DNA bending induces the formation of Z-DNA, that is, more Z-DNA is formed as the bending force becomes stronger. We regulated the bending force on dsDNA by using D-shaped DNA nanostructures. The B-Z transition was observed by single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer. We found that as the bending force became stronger, Z-DNA was formed at lower Mg2+ concentrations. When dsDNA contained cytosine methylations, the B-Z transition occurred at 78 mM Mg2+ (midpoint) in the absence of the bending force. However, the B-Z transition occurred at a 28-fold lower Mg2+ concentration (2.8 mM) in the presence of the bending force. Monte Carlo simulation suggested that the B-Z transition stabilizes the bent form via the formation of the B-Z junction with base extrusion, which effectively releases the bending stress on DNA. Our results clearly show that the bending force facilitates the B-Z transition under physiological salt conditions.N

Developing a Cross-National Disability Measure for Older Adult Populations across Korea, China, and Japan

This study aims to develop a universal scale for comparing cognitive and physical functions among countries using health survey data from China, Korea, and Japan. This study used the data of 934 participants from the Korean Longitude Study of Aging, 2506 participants from the China Health and Retirement Longitude Study, and 178 participants from the Japanese Study of Aging and Retirement. Each physical and cognitive function item in the three countries has five key items. The anchoring method used the key items to link each cognitive and physical function of the three countries. We investigated the psychometric characteristics of the final item using the Rasch analysis. We extracted 13 items of 19 cognitive function items and 20 items out of 29 physical function items using the anchoring method and the Rasch analysis. The Rasch analysis showed good fit statistics for 13 cognitive function items and 20 physical function items. The measurement scale developed in this study will enable valid comparisons of older adults’ cognitive and physical functions across these three countries