• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.102-107
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• 2017

The dependence of the IR optical properties of PMMA/$Al_2O_3$ nanocomposite on the alumina content was investigated in the wavelength range of $3500-2800cm^{-1}$. The samples were prepared via emulsion polymerization technique using oleic acid as a coupling agent. Grafting density calculations were carried out by means of elemental analysis CHN to yield the best coupling agent content. FTIR analysis confirmed the existence of a chemical bond between aluminum oxide and oleic acid. The outcomes of XRD analyses showed the presence of cubic gamma aluminum oxide in the nanocomposite, in contrast to the amorphous nature of PMMA. TEM images showed the core-shell morphology of the particles other than pristine PMMA. Optical constants of the nanocomposite were calculated based on FTIR spectra and the Kramers-Kronig equations. The presence of nano alumina modified some of the optical indexes in IR region.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.445-451
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• 2021

Salicylamide, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), is used as an analgesic and antipyretic agent. We have previously shown that several NSAIDs have anti-melanogenic properties in B16F1 melanoma cells. In contrast, we have found that salicylamide enhances melanin contents in B16F1 melanoma cells; however, the underlying mechanism is not known. Therefore, we investigated the mechanism through which salicylamide stimulates melanogenesis. Interestingly, salicylamide enhanced diphenolase activity in a cell-free assay. Western blotting and real-time RT-PCR revealed that salicylamide increased tyrosinase expression via transcriptional activation of the Mitf gene. Together, our results indicate that salicylamide could be used as an anti-hypopigmentation agent for skin and/or hair.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.33-39
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• 2023

In this study, the effect of mixing condition of raw material powders possessing various particle size and particle size distribution on thermite reaction efficiency was investigated. When fine raw powders are used, rather the reaction yield tends to decrease due to agglomeration. In contrast, coarse raw powders make deteriorate the contact area between raw material powders containing Al reducing agent. To ensure the optimal thermite reaction efficiency, it is required to optimize a mixture condition of raw material powders prior to thermite reaction. From the current experiment, the maximum thermite reaction efficiency is 77%, which came from Nb₂O₅ + NiO +Al mixtures with size distribution from 9.25 to 22.63 ㎛.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.363-390
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• 2009

This study investigates the role of private participation in FTA Negotiation in case of US, Mexico and Japan. We utilize Putnam(1988)'s two stage negotiation model, Schelling Conjecture and Principal-Agent(P-A) theory to understand the role of private sector in FTA Negotiation. Those theories are useful to understand the behavior and interaction of key players such as private sector, congress and government in FTA negotiation. Putnam(1988)'s two stage negotiation model divides the FTA negotiation process into two processes: the external negotiation with foreign country and domestic negotiation with domestic interest group. Principal-Agent(P-A) theory provides the theoretical foundation of Putnam's two stage negotiation model, which is that principal's interest is not identical to the interest of Agent. We showed that the private sector and congress play an important role in FTA negotiation in United States. In case of Mexico, the private sector and government occupy the dominant position in FTA negotiation. In particular, the cooperation of industry and government has been successfully established via COECE in Mexico. In contrast to these countries, the role of private participation in trade policy is relatively low in Japan and Korea.

• International Journal of Contents
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.25-33
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• 2020

We develop a simulation method that affords very high variability of virtual pedagogical situations involving many independent plans, still achieves authoring (or implementation) scalability. While each individual plan would be coherently drawn up by an agent for its respective goal, those independently-made plans might be coincidentally intertwined in their execution. The inevitable non-determinism involved in this multi-event plan encompassing pre-planned and unforeseen events is resolved by (multi-phase) dynamic planning and articulated sequencing of events in contrast to static planning and monolithic authoring in conventional narrative systems. Connections between events are dictated by their associated rules and their actual connections are dynamically determined in execution time by current conditions of background-world. This unified connection scheme across pre-planned and unforeseen events allows a multi-plan, multi-agent situation to be coherently planned and executed in a global scale. To further the variability of a situation, the inter-event coupling is made in a fine level of action along with a limited episteme of each agent involved. We confirm analytically the viability of our approach with respect to the situation variability and authoring scalability, and demonstrate its practicality with an implementation of a composite situation.

• Proceedings of the KSMRM Conference
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• 2005.09a
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• pp.28-28
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• 2005

• Proceedings of the KSMRM Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.79-80
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• 2003

In existing method, the threshold has determined the points to be used in extrapolation and only pre-peak points were used to find t0. However, to reduce error in using this fitting method, in this study, finding t0is considered the correlation between fitting result and each profile in using iteration method. And the proposed method is compared with the existing method.

• Journal of the Korean neurological association
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.399-401
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• 2018

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.81-87
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• 2009

Purpose : We sought to evaluate enhancement of plaque with gadolinium-based contrast agent by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in comparison with histopathology, namely lipid-rich and macrophage-rich components that were two representative characteristics of plaque vulnerability using atherosclerotic rabbit aorta in order to determine which histopathologic component is relevant to the enhancement. Materials and Methods : New Zealand white rabbit (n=4, weight 3.0 to 3.5 kg, all male) was used for animal model of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerotic aortic lesions were induced by high-cholesterol diet and double balloon injury. T1-weight axial images were acquired before and after gadolinium-based contrast agent using a 3-T MRI. MR images and the matched histopathological sections (n=35) were divided into 4 quadrants or 3 (n=130). Enhancement ratio (ER, ER=SIpost/SIpre) on MRI was calculated for each quadrant and compared with histopathology in regard to lipid-rich and macrophage-rich areas. Results : Lipid-rich quadrants were 72 and fibrous quadrants were 58. The number of quadrants which had macrophage-rich areas was 105 and that of quadrants which did not have macrophage-rich areas was 25. ER was significantly higher in lipid-rich quadrants than in fibrous quadrants (mean ER 2.25c$\pm$0.41 vs. 2.72$\pm$0.65, p=0.013). ER poorly correlated with macrophage-rich areas when lipid-component was controlled (correlation coefficient -0.203, p=0.236). Conclusion : Lipid-rich plaques showed stronger enhancement than fibrous plaques using a standard gadolinium-based extracellular contrast agent. Macrophage infiltration did not correlate with degree of enhancement. Further study is warranted that account for optimal time of imaging after contrast injection using various plaque models from early to advanced stages and all possible parameters associated with contrast enhancement.

• Journal of the HCI Society of Korea
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.45-55
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• 2017

In recent years, some service providers have introduced chatbot agents to provide engagement in the healthcare field. However, current research on chatbot agents is still limited to designing various chatbot identities for healthcare services. By contrast, this study aims to investigate how various agent identities affect users' perceptions and behaviors differently. We developed three chatbot agents with different identities: a doctor (an individual), a hospital (an institution), and a virtual agent (a machine). Then, we recruited 36 users and divided them into three groups, each using a different chatbot agent. They were asked to track their behaviors and review advice from the chatbot agent for six days. Post-hoc surveys and interviews were conducted in order to investigate users' perceptions. The findings are as follows: participants felt more trusting and intimate with the doctor and hospital agents than with the virtual agent. Many of the participants preferred the hospital agent due to its higher reliability. However, all three agents did not lead the participants to change their behaviors. This study contributes to providing practical guidelines for designing chatbots in the healthcare field by studying users' perceptions and behaviors depending on chatbot identities.