• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.95-103
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• 2012

In order to improve the dimensional stability and mechanical performance of cement-based composites, the effect of an expansive admixture based on calcium sulphoaluminate (CSA) on the shrinkage and mechanical properties of strain-hardening cement-based composite (SHCC), which exhibits multiple cracks and pseudo strain-hardening behavior in the direct tension, is investigated. Polyethylene fibers reinforced SHCC mixtures with three levels (30, 70, and 100MPa) of compressive strength were compared through free shrinkage, compressive strength, flexural strength, and direct tensile strength measurements. The SHCC mixtures were cast with and without replacing 10% of Portland cement content with CSA admixture. According to test results, CSA admixture is effective in reducing shrinkage of SHCC material. SHCC mixture with CSA admixture exhibited a little higher strength than companion mixture without CSA admixture.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.1-11
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• 1998

To increase peel strength, low temperature properties and flowability of pressure sensitive adhesives(PSA) used in a heat shrinkable sheet, these properties were evaluated by changing each components in type and content. In this study, Isobutylene-co-Isoprene Rubber (IIR) which has good wetherability was selected as a base polymer. Instead of rosin ester, petroleum resin was selected as a tackifier because of superior peel strength. By decreasing petroleum resin contents, flowability of PSA was decreased. High molecular weight of polybutene was better than low molecular weight for the peel strength of PSA. Large particle size of carbon black showed better properties than small one in peel strength and brittleness temperature. By adding calcium carbonate, the cost of compound was able to be reduced. But it must be used with carbon black.

• Journal of Korean Medical Science
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• v.33 no.53
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• pp.322.1-322.14
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• 2018

Background: Osteoprotegerin (OPG) plays protective roles against the development of vascular calcification (VC) which greatly contributes to the increased cardiovascular events in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The present study aimed to find the non-traditional, kidney-related cardiovascular risk factors correlated to serum OPG and the effect of serum OPG on the arterial stiffness measured by brachial ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) in patients with the pre-dialysis CKD. Methods: We cross-sectionally analyzed the data from the patients in whom baPWV and the serum OPG were measured at the time of enrollment in a prospective pre-dialysis CKD cohort study in Korea. Results: Along with traditional cardiovascular risk factors such as age, diabetes mellitus, pulse pressure, and baPWV, non-traditional, kidney-related factors such as albuminuria, plasma level of hemoglobin, total $CO_2$ content, alkaline phosphatase, and corrected calcium were independent variables for serum OPG in multivariate linear regression. Reciprocally, the serum OPG was positively associated with baPWV in multivariate linear regression. The baPWV in the 3rd and 4th quartile groups of serum OPG were higher than that in the 1st quartile group after adjustments by age, sex and other significant factors for baPWV in linear mixed model. Conclusion: Non-traditional, kidney-related cardiovascular risk factors in addition to traditional cardiovascular risk factors were related to serum level of OPG in CKD. Serum OPG level was significantly related to baPWV. Our study suggests that kidney-related factors involved in CKD-specific pathways for VC play a role in the increased secretion of OPG into circulation in patients with CKD.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2019.11a
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• pp.33-34
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• 2019

Malaysia, as a tropical rainforest country, enjoys an abundance of bamboo plant that proliferate throughout the country. The application of geopolymer technology has become a trend and preserve the environment from harm. Fly ash geopolymer concrete has low early strength and requires 24 hours for the concrete to harden. Thus, the presence of calcium and potassium content in bamboo ash could remedy this problem. Besides, there is no research regarding the use of bamboo ash as a binder in geopolymer concrete. Therefore, the presence of bamboo ash could improve the research field with the use of agriculture waste in a building construction. This research aim is to use bamboo ash in the production of fly ash geopolymer concrete. The specimens were casted in $100mm{\times}100mm{\times}100mm$ cubes and sodium based activator were used as the alkaline solutions. The binders are formulated with different binder ratio. All test specimens were cured at ambient temperature ($23^{\circ}C-25^{\circ}C$) and 100% fly ash was chosen as control specimen. To determine the mechanical properties of fly sh geopolymer concrete with the presence of bamboo ash, compressive strength test was conducted. The test results depicted that as the percentage of bamboo ash decreases, compressive strength increases. Also, the addition of 5% of bamboo ash into fly ash geopolymer concrete could improve the early strength in 7 days. The results were proven with the result explained by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Therefore, it can be concluded that the addition of bamboo ash improved the properties of fly ash geopolymer concrete at early ages.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.582-587
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• 2015

This study was conducted to compare the plant growth and fruit quality of blueberries grown in different soil textures of Korea, in order to utilize the results for stable production and soil improvement. Rabbiteye blueberry cultivars 'Tifblue' and 'Baldwin' were planted and grown for three years from 2013 in wagner pot (1 $2000a^{-1}$) in a greenhouse of Namhae Sub-station, Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science. The plants were grown in four soil textures, sand, sandy loam, loam and silt loam, and nutrient uptake and growth characteristics of plants were investigated. Leaf nitrogen and phosphorus contents of two cultivars grown in different soil textures ranged between 8.6 to $10.5gkg^{-1}$, which was lower than appropriate level for rabbiteye blueberry. However, the contents of potassium, calcium and magnesium in leaves were appropriate levels as $2.29{\sim}3.62gkg^{-1}$, $4.46{\sim}5.46gkg^{-1}$ and $1.45{\sim}2.12gkg^{-1}$, respectively. Nitrogen and phosphate contents in leaves were higher in the two cultivars grown in silt loam soil. There was no significant difference in plant volume and root dry weight among four soil textures in two cultivars. However, dry weight of leaves and branches were highest in loam soil. Fruit production was highest in loam and silt loam soil in two cultivars, showing negative correlation with the amount of sand in soil. However, sugar and acidity showed no correlation with sand content in soil. These results show the limit to the blueberry growth in soil that has no nutrient holding capacity; however, most of Korean soils that have good nutrient holding capacity can produce competitive fruits if the drainage is improved.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.436-441
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• 2015

The chemical properties of paddy fields in Gyeonggi province were monitored every 4 years from 1999 to 2015 in order to provide basic information for soil fertility management of paddy fields. In 2015, the soil chemical properties of paddy fields were 5.9 in pH, $23g\;kg^{-1}$ in organic matter (OM), and $84mg\;kg^{-1}$ in available phosphate (Avail. $P_2O_5$). Exchangeable (Exch.) potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) were 0.30, 5.1 and $1.3cmol_ckg^{-1}$, respectively, and available silicate (Avail. $SiO_2$) was $129mg\;kg^{-1}$. In the long-term analysis, the contents of Avail. $SiO_2$, Exch. Ca and pH of paddy soils showed increasing tendency. However, Avail. $P_2O_5$ and Exch. K tended to decrease, and there were no significant changes in the contents of OM and Exch. Mg. Paddy soil within appropriate pH range increased from 44% in 1999 to 76% in 2003, 84% in 2007, 63% in 2011, and 80% in 2015. But soil within appropriate range of Exch. Ca tended to decrease, showing 36% in 1999, 42% in 2003, 38% in 2007, 37% in 2011 and 32% in 2015. In case of Avail. $SiO_2$, soil within appropriate range increased from 14% in 1999 to 17% in 2003, 18% in 2007, 16% in 2011, and 31% in 2015. As a result, paddy fields with less in nutrient level need to be more fertilized based on soil analysis. And the application of silicate fertilizer is strongly recommended to those of paddy fields in need. Also soil management such as the cultivation of green manure crop or application of rice straw will be necessary to increase the organic matter content of paddy soil.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.193-200
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• 2021

Sophora flavescens Ait. (Fabaceae) is a medicinal plant widely founded in Northeast Asia, and its dried root (Kushen) has been used as a traditional Chinese herbal medicine. The therapeutic effects of Kushen in micturition disorder was not investigated comprehensively yet. In the present study, we examined and compared the efficacy of three batches of Kushen extract using different ethanol content through an in vitro cell-based assay. Among them, we chose the batch with the highest efficacy and augmented the volume of extract for industrial purpose. The bulk extract was examined in its efficacy in the in vitro cell-based assay, and the therapeutic effects through an in vivo behavioral assay of OAB rats. The main components of the extracts were analyzed by liquid chromatography. Cytotoxicity of the extracts was investigated by MTT assay. The overall efficacy of the extract was as much as, or more than, kurarinone, a potent BK_Ca channel activator. Thus, the extract was a potent relaxant of urinary smooth muscle by upregulating the activity of BK_Ca channel. The Kushen extract could be explored as an alternative medicine against overactive bladder patients indicating severe dysfunction of BK_Ca channel.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.25-30
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• 2019

Atmospheric-pressure plasma technique is a technology for sterilizing agricultural product. In this study, dielectric barrier discharge plasma was applied to silkworm powder for 1 to 5 h with less than 2 ppm of $O_3$ and $NO_2$. Quantitative compositions including proximate contents, mineral and heavy metal contents, fatty acids, vitamins, and DNJ contents were measured. Proximate contents of silkworm powder were protein (57.2%), fat (9.9%), fiber (4.6%), ash (10.1%), and moisture (5.7%). These compositions were not affected by the treatment of plasma. Silkworm powder has 5 abundant minerals potassium (K), phosphorus (P), sulfur (S), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg). Among these minerals, plasma treatment decreased the contents of P and S sharply from 732.3 to 176.8, and 492.7 to 185.2 mg/100g, respectively. Heavy metal contents including lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), and mercury (Hg) were not detected in the silkworm powder. Five vitamins such as ascorbic acid (13.6 mg/100g), riboflavin (5.4 mg/100g), ${\beta}$-carotene (1.8 mg/100g), niacin (0.6 mg/100g), and thiamine (0.4 mg/100g) were not significantly changed by plasma treatment. Silkworm powder is composed of 30 parts saturated fatty acids and 70 parts unsaturated ones. The fatty acid composition was not significantly changed by plasma treatment. The DNJ content of silkworm powder (3.72 mg/g) was also nearly constant within the experimental condition of plasma treatment.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.427-437
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• 2019

Waste materials are being produced in huge quantities globally, and the usual practice is to dump them into legal or illegal landfills. Recycled tiles (RT) are being used in soil stabilisation which is considered as sustainable solution to reduce the amount of waste and solve the geotechnical problems. Although the stabilisation of soil using RT improved the soil properties, it could not achieve the standard values required for construction. Thus, this study uses 20% RT together with low cement content (2%) to stabilise soft soil. Series of consolidated undrained triaxial compression tests were conducted on untreated and RT-cement treated samples. Each test was performed at 7, 14, and 28 days curing period and 50, 100, and 200 kPa confining pressures. The results revealed an improvement in the undrained shear strength parameters (cohesion and internal frication angle) of treated specimens compared to the untreated ones. The cohesion and friction angle of the treated samples were increased with the increase in curing time and confining pressure. The peak deviator stress of treated samples increases with the increment of either the effective confining pressures or the curing period. Microstructural and chemical tests were performed on both untreated and RT-cement treated samples, which included field emission scanning electron microscopic (FESEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX). The results indicated the formation of cementation compounds such as calcium aluminium hydrate (C-A-H) within the treated samples. Consequently, the newly formed compounds were responsible for the improvement observed in the results of the triaxial tests. This research promotes the utilisation of RT to reduce the amount of cement used in soil stabilisation for cleaner planet and sustainable environment.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.1-19
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• 2019

Objectives: To select the optimal ranges showing obvious synergic anti-osteoporotic potential after adjust mixed formula consisted of Morindae Radix (MR) and Cistanchis Herba (CH) as compared with those of each single formula or risedronate sodium (RES) using bilateral ovariectomized (OVX) female mice. Methods: Fourteen groups, total eight sham or 104 OVX mice were selected based on the body weights at 34 days after OVX surgery. After that, 9 types mixed compositions, single formula of MR and CH, and RES were orally administered for 35 days. And we measured changes in body weight and gain, femur weight, bone mineral density (BMD), bone strength (failure load) and mineral content - calcium (Ca) and inorganic phosphorus (IP), osteocalcin contents and bone specific alkaline phosphatase (bALP) activities of all mice. Results: The OVX-induced estrogen-deficient osteoporotic signs were significantly inhibited by 35 days of continuous oral treatment of all treated mice as compared with OVX control mice. Especially, MR:CH 1:3 and 1:1 mixed formula treated mice showed significantly more favorable inhibitory activities against estrogen-deficient osteoporosis symptoms as compared to those of each single formula of MR and CH. Although RES also ameliorated the decreases of the femur BMD, strength and trabecular bone architectures through the inhibited the increases of bone turnover, but they did not critically influenced on the bone formations. Conclusions: The results suggest that MR:CH 1:3 mixed formula showed somewhat lower anti-resorptive effects as compared to those of RES, but they also showed bone formation effects. therefore, it is expected that MR:CH 1:3 mixture will be promising as a potent protective agents for relieving the osteoporosis in menopausal women.