• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.366-375
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• 2019

This experiment aims to determine the proper irrigation scheduling based on a whole-substrate capacitance using a newly developed device (SCMD) by comparing with the integrated solar radiation automated irrigation system (ISR) and sap flow sensor automated irrigation system (SF) for the cultivation of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. 'Hoyong' 'Super Doterang') during spring to winter season. For the SCMD system, irrigation was conducted every 10 minutes after the first irrigation was started until the first run-off was occurred, of which the substrate capacitance was considered to be 100%. When the capacitance threshold (CT) was reached to the target point, irrigation was re-conducted. After that, when the target drain volume (TDV) was occurred, the irrigation stopped. The irrigation volume per event for the SCMD was set to 50, 75, or 100 mL at CT 0.9 and TDV 100 mL during the spring to summer cultivation, and the CT was set to 0.65, 0.75, 0.80, or 0.90 in the winter cultivation. When the irrigation volume per event was set to 50, 75, or 100 mL, the irrigation frequency in a day was 39, 29, and 19, respectively, and the drain rate was 3.04, 9.25, and 20.18%, respectively. When the CT was set to 0.65, 0.75, or 0.90 in winter, the irrigation frequency was about 6, 7, 15 times, respectively and the drain rate was 9.9, 10.8, 35.3% respectively. The signal of stem sap flow at the beginning of irrigation starting time did not correspond to that of solar irradiance when the irrigation volume per event was set to 50 or 75 mL, compared to that of 100 mL. In winter cultivation, the stem sap flow rate and substrate volumetric water content at the CT 0.65 treatment were very low, while they were very high at CT 0.90 was high. All the integrated data suggest that the proper range of irrigation volume per event is from 75 to 100 mL under at CT 0.9 and TDV 100 mL during the spring to summer cultivation, and the proper CT seems to be higher than 0.75 and lower than 0.90 under at 75 mL of the irrigation volume per event and TDV 70 mL during the winter cultivation. It is going to be necessary to investigate the relationship between capacitance value and substrate volumetric water content by determining the correction coefficient.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.801-809
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• 2019

Existing Gamma Knife Radiosurgery(GKRS) for large lesions is often conducted in stages with volume or dose partitions. Often in case of volume division the target used to be divided into sub-volumes which are irradiated under the determined prescription dose in multi-sessions separated by a day or two, 3~6 months. For the entire course of treatment, treatment informations of the previous stages needs to be reflected to subsequent sessions on the newly mounted stereotactic frame through coordinate transformation between sessions. However, it is practically difficult to implement the previous dose distributions with existing Gamma Knife system except in the same stereotactic space. The treatment area is expanding because it is possible to perform the multistage treatment using the latest Gamma Knife Platform(GKP). The purpose of this study is to introduce the image-coregistration based on the stereotactic spaces and the strategy of multistage GKRS such as the determination of prescription dose at each stage using new GKP. Usually in image-coregistration either surgically-embedded fiducials or internal anatomical landmarks are used to determine the transformation relationship. Author compared the accuracy of coordinate transformation between multi-sessions using four or six anatomical landmarks as an example using internal anatomical landmarks. Transformation matrix between two stereotactic spaces was determined using PseudoInverse or Singular Value Decomposition to minimize the discrepancy between measured and calculated coordinates. To evaluate the transformation accuracy, the difference between measured and transformed coordinates, i.e., ${\Delta}r$, was calculated using 10 landmarks. Four or six points among 10 landmarks were used to determine the coordinate transformation, and the rest were used to evaluate the approaching method. Each of the values of ${\Delta}r$ in two approaching methods ranged from 0.6 mm to 2.4 mm, from 0.17 mm to 0.57 mm. In addition, a method of determining the prescription dose to give the same effect as the treatment of the total lesion once in case of lesion splitting was suggested. The strategy of multistage treatment in the same stereotactic space is to design the treatment for the whole lesion first, and the whole treatment design shots are divided into shots of each stage treatment to construct shots of each stage and determine the appropriate prescription dose at each stage. In conclusion, author confirmed the accuracy of prescribing dose determination as a multistage treatment strategy and found that using as many internal landmarks as possible than using small landmarks to determine coordinate transformation between multi-sessions yielded better results. In the future, the proposed multistage treatment strategy will be a great contributor to the frameless fractionated treatment of several Gamma Knife Centers.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.293-301
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• 2019

The experiment was conducted to determine the performance of DME combustion gas when used as a fuel for DME burner for raising temperature and $CO_2$ concentration in greenhouse and also to examine its effects on chlorophyll content, and fresh and dry weight of lettuce and Chinese cabbage. DME-1 and DME-2 treatments consisted of average DME flow quantity in duct were $17.4m^3min^{-1}$ and $10.2m^3min^{-1}$ respectively to greenhouse-1 and greenhouse-2 and no DME gas was supplied to greenhouse-3 which was left as control (DME-3). DME supply times were $0.5hr\;day^{-1}$, $1hr\;day^{-1}$, $1:30hrs\;day^{-1}$ and $2hrs\;day^{-1}$ on week 1, 2, 3, and 4 respectively. Chlorophyll content and fresh and dry weight of lettuce and Chinese cabbage were measured for each treatment and analyzed through analysis of variance with a significance level of P<0.05. The result of the study showed that $CO_2$ concentration increased up to 265% and 174% and the level of temperature elevated $4.8^{\circ}C$ and $3.1^{\circ}C$ in greenhouse-1 and 2, respectively as compared to greenhouse-3 due to application of DME combustion gas. Although, the same crop management practices were provided in greenhouse-1, 2 and 3 at a same rate, the highest change (p<0.05) of chlorophyll content, fresh weight and dry weight were found from the DME-1 treatment, followed by DME-2. As a result, DME combustion gas that raised the level of temperature and $CO_2$ concentration in the greenhouse-1 and greenhouse-2, might have an effect on growth of lettuce and Chinese cabbage. At end of experiment, the highest fresh and dry weight of lettuce and Chinese cabbage were measured in greenhouse-1 and followed by greenhouse-2. Similarly chlorophyll content of greenhouse-1 and greenhouse-2 were more compared to greenhouse-3. In general, DME was not producing any harmful gas during its combustion period, therefore it can be used as an alternative to conventional fuel such as diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for both heating and $CO_2$ supply in winter season. Moreover, endorsed quantify of DME combustion gas for a specified crop can be applied to greenhouse to improve the plant growth and enhance yield.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.420-428
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• 2019

This study is the heating energy saving test of the high-bed strawberry crown heating system. The system consists of electric hot water boiler, thermal storage tank, circulation pump, crown heating pipe(white low density polyethylene, diameter 16mm) and a temperature control panel. For crown heating, the hot water pipe was installed as close as possible to the crown part after planting the seedlings and the pipe position was fixed with a horticultural fixing pin. In the local heating type, hot water at $20{\sim}23^{\circ}C$ is stored in the themal tank by using an electric hot water boiler, and crown spot is partially heated at the setting temperature of $13{\sim}15^{\circ}C$ by turning on/off the circulation pump using a temperature sensor for controlling the hot water circulation pump which was installed at the very close to crown of strawberry. The treatment of test zone consisted of space heating $4^{\circ}C$ + crown heating(treatment 1), space heating $8^{\circ}C$(control), space heating $6^{\circ}C$ + crown heating(treatment 2). And strawberries were planted in the number of 980 for each treatment. The heating energy consumption was compared between November 8, 2017 and March 30, 2018. Accumulated power consumption is converted to integrated kerosene consumption. The converted kerosene consumption is 1,320L(100%) for space $8^{\circ}C$ heating, 928L(70.3%) for space $4^{\circ}C$ + crown heating, 1,161L($88^{\circ}C$) for space $6^{\circ}C$ + crown heating). It was analyzed that space $4^{\circ}C$ + pipe heating and space $6^{\circ}C$ + crown heating save heating energy of 29.7% and 12% respectively compared to $8^{\circ}C$ space heating(control).

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.12
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• pp.1092-1100
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• 2020

The six-transmembrane epithelial antigen of prostate 4 (Steap4) is a metalloreductase that plays a role in intracellular iron and cupper homeostasis, inflammatory response, and glucose and lipid metabolism. Previously, Steap4 has been reported to stimulate adipocyte differentiation; however, the underlying mechanisms of this action remain unexplored. In the present study, we investigated the molecular mechanisms involved in Steap4-induced adipocyte differentiation using 3T3-L1 cells, immortalized brown adipocyte (iBA) cells, and mouse embryonic fibroblast C3H10T1/2 cells. The knockdown of Steap4 using adenovirus-containing shRNA attenuated mitotic clonal expansion (MCE), as evidenced by the impaired proliferation of 3T3-L1 cells, iBA cells, and C3H10T1/2 cells within 48 hr after adding the differentiation medium. Steap4 knockdown downregulated G1/S phase transition-related cell cycle regulators (including cyclin A and cyclin D) and upregulated cell cycle inhibitors (including p21 and p27). Furthermore, Steap4 knockdown inhibited the phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, extracellular signal-regulated kinase, and Akt. Moreover, Steap4 knockdown repressed the expression of early adipogenic activators, such as CCAAT-enhancer-binding protein β (C/EBPβ) and Kruppel-like factor family factor 4 (KLF4). On the other hand, Steap4 knockdown stimulated the expression of adipogenic inhibitors, including KLF2, KLF3, and GATA2. The overexpression of Steap4 using an adenovirus removed the repressive histone marks H3K9me2 and H3K9me3 on the promoter of C/EBPβ. These results indicate that Stepa4 stimulates adipocyte differentiation through the induction of MCE and the modulation of early adipogenic transcription factors, including C/EBPβ, during the early phase of adipocyte differentiation.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.229-236
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• 2021

This study was carried out to evaluate the antioxidant properties of the dried leaves and branches of Stewartia koreana Nakai. The dried leaf and branch of S. koreana were extracted with 70% ethanol at 80℃. The antioxidant activities of ethanol extracts of S. koreana leaf (EESL) and S. koreana branch (EESB) were analyzed. The total polyphenol contents in EESL and EESB were 162.57±0.9 mg of GAEs/extract g and 59.1±0.9 mg of GAEs/extract g, respectively. The flavonoid contents in EESL and EESB were 59.1±0.9 mg of QEs/extract g and 4.7±0.1 mg of QEs/extract g, respectively. EESL showed a better scavenging ability with DPPH and ABTS than EESB, at 0.4 mg/ml. Moreover, EESL were more effective according to ORAC values than EESL. The toxicity of EESL was investigated using a WST-1 assay on the human skin fibroblast cell line CCD-986sk. Therefore, EESL can be used as a potential source of functional, naturally-sourced material in cosmetics as well as food.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.687-694
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• 2020

Two oxidizing agents (KMnO4, H2O2), and one neutralizing agent (NaOH) were applied to evaluate Mn removal in mine drainage. A Mn2+ solution and artificial mine drainage were prepared to identify the Fe2+ influence on Mn2+ removal. The initial concentrations of Mn2+ and Fe2+ were 0.1 mM and 1.0 mM, respectively. The injection amount of oxidizing and neutralizing agents were set to ratios of 0.1, 0.67, 1.0, and 2.0 with respect to the Mn2+ mole concentration. KMnO4 exhibited a higher removal efficiency of Mn2+ than did H2O2 and NaOH, where approximately 90% of Mn2+ was removed by KMnO4. A black MnO2 was precipitated that indicated the oxidation of Mn2+ to Mn4+ after an oxidizing agent was added. In addition, MnO2 (pyrolusite) is a stable precipitate under pH-Eh conditions in the solution. However, relatively low removal ratios (6%) of Mn2+ were observed in the artificial mine drainage that included 1.0 mM of Fe2+. The rapid oxidation tendency of Fe2+ as compared to that of Mn2+ was determined to be the main reason for the low removal ratios of Mn2+. The oxidation of Fe2+ showed a decrease of Fe concentration in solution after injection of the oxidizing and neutralizing agents. In addition, Mn7+ of KMnO4 was reduced to Mn2+ by Fe2+ oxidation. Thus, the concentrations of Mn increased in artificial mine drainage. These results revealed that the oxidation method is more effective than the neutralization method for Mn removal in solution. It should also be mentioned that to achieve the Mn removal in mine drainage, Fe2+ removal must be conducted prior to Mn2+ oxidation.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.85-93
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• 2021

In hydroponic cultivation, in order to investigate the change of lettuce growth and physiologically active substances through CO2 tablet treatment in nutrient solution, we used a solid carbonated tablets commercially available in the Netherlands. The experiment consisted of 0.5-fold, 1-fold, and 2-fold treatment groups with no treatment as a control. As a result, the atmospheric CO2 concentration in the chamber after CO2 tablet treatment showed the highest value at 472.2 µL·L-1 in the 2-fold treatment zone immediately after treatment, and the pH in the nutrient solution decreased the most to pH 6.03 in the 2-fold treatment zone. After that, over time, the CO2 concentration and pH recovered to the level before treatment. Leaf width and leaf area of lettuce showed the highest values of 17.1cm and 1067.14 ㎠ when treated 2-fold with CO2 tablet, while fresh weight and dry weight of the above-ground part were highest at 63.87 g and 3.08 g in 0.5-fold treatment. The root length of lettuce was the longest (28.4 cm) in the control, but there was no significant difference in the fresh weight and the dry weight among the treatments. Apparently, it was observed that the root length of the lettuce was shortened by CO2 tablet treatment and a lot of side roots occurred. In addition, there was a growth disorder in which the roots turned black, but it was found that there was no negative effect on the growth of the above-ground part. As a result of analyzing the bioactive compounds of lettuce by CO2 tablet treatment, chlorogenic acid and quercetin were detected. As a result of quantitative analysis, chlorogenic acid increased by 249% compared to the control in 1-fold treatment, but quercetin decreased by 37%. As a result of comparing the DPPH radical scavenging ability showing antioxidant activity, the control and 0.5-fold treatment showed significantly higher values than the 1-fold and 2-fold treatments. This suggests that carbonated water treatment is effective in increasing the growth and bioactive compounds of hydroponic lettuce.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.11 no.12
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• pp.329-341
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• 2020

As COVID-19 pandemic sweeps across the world, more than 45 million confirmed cases and over 1,000,000 deaths have occurred till now, and this situation is expected to continue for some time. In particular, more than half of the infections in European countries such as Italy and Spain occurred in nursing homes, and it is reported that over 4,000 people died in nursing homes for older adults in the United States. Therefore, the issues that need to be addressed after the COVID-19 crisis include finding a fundamental solution to group care and shifting to family-centered care. More specifically, it is expected that there will be ever more lively discussion on establishing and expanding hyper-technology based community care, that is, family-centered care integrated with ICT and other Industry 4.0 technologies. This poses a challenge of how to combine social security and social welfare with Industry 4.0 in concrete ways that go beyond the abstract suggestions made in the past. A case in point is the proposal involving smart welfare cities. Given this background, the present paper examined the concept, scope, and content of non-face-to-face care in the context of previous literature on the function and scope of the social security platform, and the concept and expandability of the smart welfare city. Implementing a smart city to realize the kind of social security and welfare that our society seeks to provide has significant bearing on the implementation of community care or aging in place. One limitation of this paper, however, is that it does not address concrete measures for implementing non-face-to-face care from the policy and legal/institutional perspectives, and further studies are needed to explore such measures in the future. It is expected that the findings of this paper will provide the future course and vision not only for the smart welfare city but also for the social security and welfare system in administrative, practical, and legislative aspects, and ultimately contribute to improving the quality of human life.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.612-623
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• 2020

This study was initiated to quantitatively evaluate the inhibitory effects of five heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni) on bacterial growth and phosphorus removal in the binary culture of Alcaligenes sp. plus Pseudomonas sp. IC50 values of Alcaligenes sp. plus Pseudomonas sp. for Cd, Cu, Zn, Pb, and Ni were 0.75, 10.93, 7.08, 13.30, and 15.78 mg/L, respectively. For the binary treatments of heavy metals, IC50 was the lowest in the treatment of Cd + Cu, whereas, it was the highest in the Ni + Pb treatment. The EC50 values for Cd, Cu, Zn, Pb, and Ni were 0.54, 11.08, 6.14, 9.33, and 13.81 mg/L, respectively. For the binary treatments of heavy metals, EC50 was the lowest in the Cd + Zn, whereas, the highest in the Zn + Ni. Based on both IC50 and EC50 values for the binary culture of bacteria with the binary mixtures of heavy metals, the most interactive effect was found to be antagonistic, though the only synergistic effect was found in Cu + Ni treatment. Therefore, our results can provide basic data on the toxic effects of heavy metals on the bacterial growth and phosphorus removal in the wastewater treatment process.