Ainsliaea acerifolia, a perennial herbaceous plant endemic to forested regions of the Korean Peninsula, has drawn attention for its bioactive properties and potential as a functional food and medicinal resource. Despite its ecological and economic value, little is known about its spatial distribution or habitat preferences under changing climatic conditions. This study aims to quantify the current and future habitat suitability of A. acerifolia in southeastern Korea—including Gyeongsangnam-do, Busan, and Ulsan—using the MaxEnt (Maximum Entropy) species distribution model. A total of 217 presence records were compiled from both GBIF data and field surveys, and seven key environmental variables were selected through multicollinearity screening. Model performance was robust (mean AUC = 0.845), and key predictors included topographic roughness (TRI), precipitation of the driest month (Bio14), and mean diurnal range (Bio2). Under current climate conditions, 31.5% of the study area was identified as suitable habitat (≥0.222), with only 4.7% categorized as core habitat (≥0.6). Future projections under SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, and SSP5-8.5 scenarios indicated substantial habitat contraction, particularly in coastal and lowland areas, with refugial zones likely to persist in mid-elevation inland mountains (500–900 m). These findings suggest that A. acerifolia is highly sensitive to climatic variability and emphasizes the urgent need for conservation strategies focused on climate-resilient refugia and ecological corridors. The study provides a spatial framework for species conservation planning under future climate uncertainty.

Background: The progressive digitalization of contemporary life, coupled with prolonged sedentary behavior, has contributed to the widespread occurrence of forward head posture (FHP) in the general population. Among the various exercise interventions aimed at correcting FHP, stretching exercises and proprioceptive training have garnered significant attention. Objectives: To investigate the effects of stretching exercises and proprioceptive training on craniovertebral angle (CVA), an indicator of forward head posture (FHP), and on the muscle tone of the suboccipital muscles. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Methods: Thirty participants were randomly assigned to either the stretching exercise group (n=15) or the proprioceptive training group (n=15), and each group underwent intervention three times per week for six weeks. CVA and muscle tone of the suboccipital muscles were measured before and after the six-week intervention, and the results were statistically analyzed for comparison. Results: Both groups showed a significant increase in CVA after the intervention (P<.05), with no significant difference between the groups. The muscle tone of the suboccipital muscles did not show statistically significant changes either within or between the groups. Conclusion: Six weeks of stretching exercise and proprioceptive training both resulted in a significant increase in CVA, demonstrating that both interventions are effective in improving FHP. However, neither intervention produced significant changes in the muscle tone of the suboccipital muscles.

Nitrogen fertilizers are generally known to be of great help in improving crop yields, but excessive nitrogen fertilizer usage can not only destroy the environment but also negatively affect crop growth. This study aims to develop a decision-making system for optimal nitrogen fertilizer use for efficient production of Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa), one of the major vegetables. The proposed system has the functions of detecting farmland based on satellite images, predicting cabbage yields and greenhouse gas (e.g., nitrous oxide) emissions according to nitrogen fertilizer use, and making decisions using the prediction results. To develop the proposed system, a generalized prediction model is developed using experimental data collected from South Korea, Egypt, India, Canada, Lithuania, and China, and the effectiveness of the proposed system is validated through experiments. As a result, the proposed system will enable farmers to conduct eco-friendly agricultural activities through appropriate nitrogen fertilizer use while stably maximizing productivity of Chinese cabbages.

This study aims to enhance kiosk accessibility for digitally vulnerable users by designing and implementing a new type of kiosk interface that integrates AI-based motion and speech recognition technologies with gamification elements. Users can explore functions without touch using hand gestures and naturally learn how to operate the system through immersive interactions with mini-games. To evaluate the system’s effectiveness, a Focus Group Interview (FGI) was conducted with older adults, and a heuristic evaluation was carried out with UI/UX experts. The results showed that the proposed interface effectively lowered entry barriers and encouraged repeated use. However, some improvements were identified in visual guidance elements. This study goes beyond conventional UI improvements and serves as an experimental attempt to innovate kiosk user experience through AI technologies and gamified design.

This study analyzes the fragmented landscape of global loot box regulations, which have emerged from a discourse predominantly focused on negative aspects such as gambling. The analysis reveals a variety of coexisting regulatory models—including prohibition under gambling law, mandatory disclosure, and self-regulation—that lack a unified standard and raise issues of practical effectiveness and reverse discrimination. Consequently, this paper argues for an urgent shift beyond a problem-solving approach toward balanced research that examines the positive functions of loot boxes for players and the industry ecosystem to inform rational policymaking.

While the game industry is stagnating due to the limitations of its business model, high-quality storytelling is being considered as an alternative, and generative AI has made it possible to create storytelling. In this study, I propose a methodology for webtoon gamification, a collaboration between webtoon and game, to apply AI-based storytelling in practice. The player experience (Player eXperience, PX) in gamification is an experience befitting the player as an active agent, and the main beneficiaries of gamification, such as users, customers, guests, audiences, learners, and gamers, are proposed as ‘players’[1,2], which includes webtoon readers. This study proposes a webtoon gamification and webtoon×game collaboration type that enhances the format and expression of webtoons and the reader's experience, and also presents the commands (AI Story_Prompt) required for efficient AI storytelling, and studies the direction of convergence production between webtoons and games.

Virtual Reality Head Mounted Display (VR HMD)-based flight simulators have recently emerged as promising tools for enhancing pilot training effectiveness. This study aims to establish a set of evaluation criteria for the development of VR HMD-based flight simulators and to determine their relative importance and priority using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Through an extensive review of the literature, a hierarchical evaluation model was constructed, consisting of three primary criteria and ten sub-criteria. A structured questionnaire was administered to experienced pilots, and the collected data were analyzed using the AHP methodology to assess the relative weights of each criterion. The analysis revealed that the fidelity of system performance is the most influential factor in evaluating VR HMD-based flight simulators. These findings present a structured evaluation framework and offer practical insights for guiding the strategic development and optimization of VR HMD-based flight training systems.

In this study, proteins were extracted from sesame and perilla meals (agricultural by-products) by using hot-water defatting and acid precipitation, and their functional properties were compared with those of a commercial soy protein isolate (SPI). According to the SDS-PAGE results, the sesame meal protein extract (SMPE) exhibited a higher content of hydrophobic amino acids than the perilla meal protein extract (PMPE), alongside a relatively lower intensity of the 7S globulin band. SMPE showed 1.41-fold higher solubility than SPI at pH 10 and 1.72- and 1.66-fold higher emulsifying activity indices (EAIs) at pH 8 and 10, respectively. PMPE exhibited similar trends in solubility and EAI as SPI at the corresponding pH values. However, the emulsifying stability indices of SMPE and PMPE were lower than that of SPI. In particular, the fat absorption capacity of SMPE was significantly higher than those of SPI and PMPE, likely because of its higher content of hydrophobic or nonpolar amino acid residues. These results suggest that SMPE and PMPE are promising alternative protein sources for food applications and may promote value-added utilization of plant-derived by-products in the food industry.