• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.35-39
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• 2011

Objective: Diurnal preference is an attribute reflecting whether people are alert and preferring to be active either early or late in the day. It also referred to as chronotype or morningness-eveningness trait. The PER3 genes have been known to influence diurnal preference. In this study, we have investigated the associations between the PER3 gene polymorphisms and diurnal preference in a healthy young population, controlling for the social and environmental confounding factors. Methods: The participants in this experiment included 299 unrelated medical college students (M=191, F=108), with a mean age of 22.9 years. Diurnal preference was measured by a single administration of the 13-item Composite Scale for Morningness (CSM). Genotyping of the PER3 VNTR (rs57875989) was performed using polymerase chain reaction. A two-tailed alpha of 0.05 was chosen. Results: The mean${\pm}$SD score on the CSM scale for all subjects was 31.90${\pm}$6.39. There was no significant difference in total CSM score between gender groups, although females showed a trend towards higher morningness score. Although PER3 5R/5R showed the tendency towards high CSM scores, there were no significant differences on CSM scores among genotypes and allele status of PER3 VNTR (rs57875989). Conclusions: We could not confirm that the PER3 VNTR is associated with diurnal preference in a Korean healthy young population. The future studies need to investigate the association between diurnal preference and other polymorphisms of PER3 gene in larger sample of Korean young healthy population.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.13 no.7
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• pp.53-61
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• 2015

Purpose - This research analyzes overseas expansion support systems for small- and medium-sized enterprises in Germany and Japan. Germany and Japan have developed overseas expansion support policies for such enterprises. The study then explores the implications for Korea and its local governments. Research design, data, and methodology - We did a comparative analysis of Japan and Germany and their support for overseas expansion of small and medium companies. Data were mainly collected from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Japan) and the Germany Trade and Invest (Germany) agency through statistics and literature surveys, and analysis studies. Results - First, human resources cultivation and funding support policies, which both Germany and Japan use as part of small- and medium-sized enterprise policies, should be modified to Korean circumstances and to reflect its own small- and medium-sized enterprise support needs. Second, both the German policies that support overseas expansion of small- and medium-sized enterprises and those of Japan's include the philosophy and methods that put an emphasis on these enterprises, despite the fact that there are big differences in the overseas policies in these two countries. Third, German and Japanese governments are embracing the idea that small- and medium-sized enterprises are key to their national economies and implementing policies based on the ratio occupied by these enterprises in the domestic consumption or GDP. In other words, Germany and Japan consider small- and medium-sized enterprises as central to their nation's industry, and assess them as economic industry that should definitely exist for the continued survival of big businesses, and not just as merely supplemental to big business. Fourth, whereas Germany emphasizes support to product exhibition in its overseas expansion support policies, Japan is providing integrated support containing foreign direct investment to small- and medium-sized enterprises. Fifth, there are differences in the overseas expansion support in Germany and Japan in terms of their support to big business. Whereas Germany considers support to big business unnecessary, Japan is implementing active support policies to areas corresponding to big business. Korea will have to benchmark the policies of Germany and Japan, and decide whether or not to give full support to small- and medium-sized enterprises, while excluding areas supporting big business. Conclusions - Based on this analysis of German and Japanese overseas expansion support policies, we need to choose the policies that will engender a solid outcome and derive modified policies for the circumstances of Korea. Additionally, we can use the comparison of the overseas support policies of Japan and Germany to choose small- and medium-sized enterprise overseas expansion support policies for Korea. However, we cannot provide specific overseas support policies by industry. This point will be referenced as a limitation of this study. In future research, we expect that some researchers will take an empirical approach to exploring Korean overseas expansion support through collecting cases of overseas support policies and interviewing policy authorities.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.1401-1407
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• 2009

Many Lactobacillus strains have been promoted as good probiotics for the prevention and treatment of diseases. We engineered recombinant Lactobacillus casei, producing biologically active canine granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (cGM-CSF), and investigated its possibility as a good probiotic agent for dogs. Expression of the cGM-CSF protein in the recombinant Lactobacillus was confirmed by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting methods. For the in vivo study, 18 Beagle puppies of 7 weeks of age were divided into three groups; the control group was fed only on a regular diet and the two treatment groups were fed on a diet supplemented with either $1\times10^9$ colony forming units (CFU)/day of L. casei or L. casei expressing cGM-CSF protein for 7 weeks. Body weight was measured, and fecal and blood samples were collected from the dogs during the experiment for the measurement of hematology, fecal immunoglobulin (Ig)A and IgG, circulating IgA and IgG, and canine corona virus (CCV)-specific IgG. There were no differences in body weights among the groups, but monocyte counts in hematology and serum IgA were higher in the group receiving L. casei expressing cGM-CSF than in the other two groups. After the administration of CCV vaccine, CCV-specific IgG in serum increased more in the group supplemented with L. casei expressing cGM-CSF than the other two groups. This study shows that a dietary L. casei expressing cGM-CSF enhances specific immune functions at both the mucosal and systemic levels in puppies.

• Journal of the Korean Regional Science Association
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.155-187
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• 1999

The East Asian Region has experienced remarkable economic growth and transformation of interurban networking over the past three decades, and urban competiti veness for a networking hub in this region has become a critical issue confronting cities. Competitiveness of the Seoul capital region for a networking hub in Northeast Asia is outstripped by other competing cities in East Asia, notwithstanding its geo-politically and geo-economically advantageous location in this region. In this paper, we aim to appraise the Seoul capital region's competitiveness in terms of logistics distribution, financial function and logistics distribution, financial function and agglomeration of transnational corporations (especially of RHOs and other managerial functions), and to advance the networking strategies of the region for a Northeast Asia hyb. As a result of analysis, we suggest that the Seoul capital region be developed as a Northeast Asian center for regional headquarters or leading global corporations and financial services for being a strategic nodal point in Northeast Asia in the 21st century. A recent survey shows that where to locate an RHQ is influenced by various factors, such as potential market and manufacturing site in the city's hinterland, quality of life, such things as culture, health, safety, education, a well-educated, English-speaking population, reliable air transport, state-of-the-art communications, and an active policy to offer foreign companies generous incentives. The Seoul capital region, which is located at a strategic nodal point advantageous as a springboard for its Northeast Asian hinterland, cannot meet the other conditions mentioned above. To overcome these drawbacks in attracting transnational capital and to create competitiveness as a strategic hub of RHQs in Northeast Asia, it is urgent to initiate a structural reform of the Korean economy, politics, and overall society, to minimize the regulation of FDI, and to provide various incentives for foreign investment. Moreover, we propose the construction of an 'International Business Town' in the Seoul capital region, as a medium to intermediate these strategies and to shape them in a spatial scale. The projected 'International Business Town(IBT)' will be a 'free city' open to international business in which liberal economic activities are guaranteed by special legislation and administration, infrastructures needed for international and improved accessibility to the airport are furnished, and the preference of foreign high-income investors for cultural and living environment are satisfactorily met. IBT is conspicuously differentiated from a raft of other cities' incentives in that it combines deregulation and incentive programs to attract the investment of transnational capital, with a spatial program of offering an urban environment preferred by the high-income investors for cultural and living environment are satisfactorily met. IBT is conspicuously differentiated from a raft of other cities' incentives in that it combines deregulation and incentive programs to attract the investment of transnational capita, with a spatial program of offering an urban environment preferred by the high-income and managerial class. Furthermore, it can be an excellent way of overcoming the xenophobia that has spread among the Korean population by concentrating foreign businesses and their lifestyles in a specific foreign businesses and their lifestyles in a specific zone. In conclusion, 'International Business Town', in line with other legislative and administrative incentive programs, will function as a driving force to make the Seoul capital regional more competitive as a regional business hub in Northeast Asia.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.262-267
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• 2005

In order to commercialize Paenibacillus sp. AC-1 and to minimize its harmful side effects, four granular formulations were prepared using AC-1 powder, adjuvant, and carrier and then their physicochemical properties of the formulations were investigated. Out of the carriers tested, the best one was talc for the formulation. Viable cells was stabilized during the formulating process. Viable cells in the granules formulated with Paenibacillus sp. AC-1 powder were stabilized at storage temperature range ($4{\sim}50^{\circ}C$) after 12 weeks. The release rate of viable cells from granules into water under a static condition were eluted over 90% in 7 hours and breakdown rates of particle were 100% in 1 day. Among the tested formulations, granular formulation comprising of 20% of Paenibacillus sp. AC-1 powder, 7% of polycarboxylate as surface active agent, 1% of sodium polyacrylate as adjuvant, the rest as carrier showed to be best.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.339-347
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• 1997

Disulfiram (DSF) and diethyldithiocarbamate (DDC), a reduced form of DSF, protect the liver against toxicant-induced injury through inhibition of cytochrome P450 2E1. The effect of DSF and DDC on the levels of major hepatic microsomal epoxide hydrolase (mEH) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) expression was comparatively studied, given the view that these enzymes are involved in terminal detoxification events for high energy intermediates of xenobiotics. Treatment of rats with a single dose of DSF (20-200 mg/kg, po) resulted in 2- to 15-fold increases in the mEH mRNA level at 24 hr with the ED$_{50}$ value being noted as 60 mg/kg. The mEH mRNA level was elevated ~15-fold at 24 hr after treatment at the dose of 100 mg/kg, whereas the hepatic mRNA level was rather decreased from the maximum at the dose of 200 mg/kg, indicating that DSF might cause cytotoxicity at the dose. In contrast to the effect of DSF, DDC only minimally elevated the mEH mRNA level at the doses employed. DSF moderately increased the major GST mRNA levels in the liver as a function of dose, resulting in rGSTA2, rGSTA3/5 or rGSTM1 mRNA levels being elevated 3- to 4-fold at 24 hr post-treatment, whereas the rGSTM2 mRNA level was not altered. DDC, however, failed to stimulate the mRNA levels for major GST subunits, indicating that the reduced form of DSF was ineffective in stimulating the GST the expression. The effect of other organosulfides including aldrithiol, 2, 2'-dithiobis(benzothiazole) (DTB), tetramethylthiouram disulfide (TMTD) and allyl disulfide (ADS) on the hepatic mEH and GST mRNA expression was assessed in rats in order to further confirm the increase in the gene expression by other disulfides. Treatment of rats with aldrithiol (100 mg/kg, po) resulted in a 16-fold increase in the mEH mRNA level at 24 hr post-treatment. DTB, TMTD and ADS also caused 5-, 9- and 12-fold increases in the rnRNA level, respectively, as compared to control. Thus, all of the disulfides examined were active in stimulating the mEH gene in the liver. The organosulfides significantly increased the rGSTA2, rGSTA3, rGSTA5 and rGSTM1 mRNA levels at 24 hr after administration. In particular, aldrithiol was very efficient in stimulating the rGSTA and rGSTM genes among the disulfides examined. These results provide evidence that DSF and other sulfides effectively stimulate the mEH and major GST gene expression at early times in the liver and that DDC, a reduced form of DSF, was ineffective in stimulating the expression of the genes, supporting the conclusion that reduced form(s) of organosulfur compound(s) might be less effective in inducing the mEH and GST genes through the antioxidant responsive element(s).

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.39 no.12
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• pp.855-861
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• 2016

Ginsenosides, which are the active materials of ginseng, have biological functions that include anti-osteoporotic effects. Aqueous ginseng extract inhibits osteoclast differentiation induced by receptor activator of NF-${\kappa}B$ ligand (RANKL). Aqueous ginseng extract produces chromatography peaks characteristic of ginsenosides. Among these peaks, ginsenoside Re is a major component. However, the preventive effects of ginsenoside Re against osteoclast differentiation are not known. We studied the effect of ginsenoside Re on osteoclast differentiation, RANKL-induced tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) activity, and formation of multinucleated osteoclasts in vitro. Ginsenoside Re hampered osteoclast differentiation in a dose-dependent manner. In an in vivo zebrafish model, aqueous ginseng extract and ginsenoside Re had anti-osteoclastogenesis effects. These findings suggest that both aqueous ginseng extract and ginsenoside Re prevent bone resorption by inhibiting osteoclast differentiation. Ginsenoside Re could be important for promoting bone health.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.5-20
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• 2008

GLP-1-based drugs (GLP-1 analogues and DPP IV inhibitors) and incretin mimetics are currently one of the most exciting classes of agents for type II diabetes. GLP-1, a gut peptide, is an incretin that potentiates glucose-dependent insulin release from the pancreas, slows GI-transit and stimulates the proliferation of beta-cells. DPP IV inhibitors act like incretins by inhibiting DPP IV which inactivates GLP-1. LC15-0133 is a competitive, reversible DPP IV inhibitor ($IC_{50}$ = 24 nM, Ki=0.247 nM) with excellent selectivity over other critical human proteases such as DPP II, DPP 8, elastase, trypsin. and urokinase. LC15-0133 showed long half-life and good bioavailability in rats and dogs. Inhibition of plasma DPP IV activity by LC15-0133 was kept more than 50% 24 hours after oral dosing in rats and dogs at 0.1 mg/kg and 0.02 mg/kg, respectively. The Minimum effective doses of LC15-0133 were 0.01 mg/kg for lowering blood glucose excursion during oral glucose tolerance test and 0.1 mg/kg for increasing glucose-induced GLP-1 response in C57BL/6 mice. Repeat oral administration of LC15-0133 for 1 month delayed the progression to diabetes and reduced HbA1c levels in a dose-dependent manner in Zucker Diabetic Fatty rats. In conclusion, LC15-0133 is a novel, potent, selective and orally active DPP IV inhibitor and showed an excellent blood glucose lowering effects in various animal models.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.708-714
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• 2007

In this study, the 163 edible plants that are permitted as foods by the Korea Food and Drug Administration, were extracted in methanol. Following extration, their macrophage immunostimulating effects (MIE) were examined using a macrophage from BALB/C mice at four different concentrations of plant extract, such as $10\;{\mu}g/mL$, $100\;{\mu}g/mL$, $500\;{\mu}g/mL$, and $1,000\;{\mu}g/mL$, in vivo. Forty-two samples significantly showed MIEs. Among them, 20 samples had increased MIEs at higher than 10%, as compared to the negative control group. Nineteen samples had increased MIEs at two of the plant extract concentrations, and 3 samples [Allium schoenoprasmum (chive), Aralia elata (fatsia), Capsosiphon fulvescens (seaweed fulvescens)] had increased MIEs at three of the concentration conditions. In particular, Dioscorea batatas (yam) showed MIEs at all concentrations, as well as slightly higher MIEs as compared to the positive control group. Therefore, Dioscorea batatas was evaluated to be an excellent MIE.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.111-122
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• 2020

Objectives: The study aims to compare indirect form of employment with direct form of employment on the variables of occupational danger and physical health. Methods: I studied based on the data of 5th Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS) which was performed by Occupational Safety & Health Research Institute of Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency in 2017. SAS 9.4 was used for statistical analysis of the final data. Results: Based on the verification result, the hazard is higher for direct employment than for dispatch or subcontract in case of exposure to risks in the health and social welfare industry. Based on cross tabulation, significant differences were found in the proportions of harmful and safe tasks in direct employment and those in outsourcing in the physical health industry. It was found that the risk of hazard is 2.18 times higher in outsourcing jobs than in direct employment. Conclusions: It is necessary to consider a dispatch and subcontract partner as a strategic partner and not simply hand over dangerous or hard tasks to them. Active and aggressive cooperation along with support from the employer enterprise built in the contract is necessary for the safety and health of dispatch or subcontract laborers.