• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.187-194
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• 2011

Atherosclerosis and post-angiography restenosis are associated with intimal thickening and concomitant vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation. Obovatol, a major biphenolic component isolated from the Magnolia obovata leaf, is known to have anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor activities. The goal of the present study was to enhance the inhibitory effects of obovatol to improve its potential as a preventive or therapeutic agent in atherosclerosis and restenosis. Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB-induced proliferation of rat aortic smooth muscle cells (RASMCs) was examined in the presence or absence of a newly synthesized obovatol derivative, OD78. The observed anti-proliferative effect of OD78 was further investigated by cell counting and [$^3H$]-thymidine incorporation assays. Treatment with 1-4 ${\mu}M$ OD78 dose-dependently inhibited the proliferation and DNA synthesis of 25 ng/ml PDGF-BB-stimulated RASMCs. Accordingly, OD78 blocked PDGF-BB-induced progression from the $G_0/G_1$ to S phase of the cell cycle in synchronized cells. OD78 decreased the expression levels of CDK4, cyclin E, and cyclin D1 proteins, as well as the phosphorylation of retinoblastoma protein and proliferating cell nuclear antigen; however, it did not change the CDK2 expression level. In addition, OD78 inhibited downregulation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (CKI) $p27^{kip1}$. However, OD78 did not affect the CKI $p21^{cip1}$ or phosphorylation of early PDGF signaling pathway. These results suggest that OD78 may inhibit PDGF-BB-induced RASMC proliferation by perturbing cell cycle progression, potentially through $p27^{kip1}$ pathway activation. Consequently, OD78 may be developed as a potential anti-proliferative agent for the treatment of atherosclerosis and angioplasty restenosis.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.138-147
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• 2019

Purpose: Several studies have shown that the oral cavity is a secondary location for Helicobacter pylori colonization and that H. pylori is associated with the severity of periodontitis. This study investigated whether H. pylori had an effect on the periodontium. We established an invasion model of a standard strain of H. pylori in human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (hPDLFs), and evaluated the effects of H. pylori on cell proliferation and cell cycle progression. Methods: Different concentrations of H. pylori were used to infect hPDLFs, with 6 hours of co-culture. The multiplicity of infection in the low- and high-concentration groups was 10:1 and 100:1, respectively. The Cell Counting Kit-8 method and Ki-67 immunofluorescence were used to detect cell proliferation. Flow cytometry, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, and western blots were used to detect cell cycle progression. In the high-concentration group, the invasion of H. pylori was observed by transmission electron microscopy. Results: It was found that H. pylori invaded the fibroblasts, with cytoplasmic localization. Analyses of cell proliferation and flow cytometry showed that H. pylori inhibited the proliferation of periodontal fibroblasts by causing G2 phase arrest. The inhibition of proliferation and G2 phase arrest were more obvious in the high-concentration group. In the low-concentration group, the G2 phase regulatory factors cyclin dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) and cell division cycle 25C (Cdc25C) were upregulated, while cyclin B1 was inhibited. However, in the high-concentration group, cyclin B1 was upregulated and CDK1 was inhibited. Furthermore, the deactivated states of tyrosine phosphorylation of CDK1 (CDK1-Y15) and serine phosphorylation of Cdc25C (Cdc25C-S216) were upregulated after H. pylori infection. Conclusions: In our model, H. pylori inhibited the proliferation of hPDLFs and exerted an invasive effect, causing G2 phase arrest via the Cdc25C/CDK1/cyclin B1 signaling cascade. Its inhibitory effect on proliferation was stronger in the high-concentration group.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.573-580
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• 2007

This paper presents the numerical estimation of the fatigue life for the frame box's welded parts of the marine vessel engine S60MC-C. The time-variations of the effective stresses at the critical points during a piston cycle are computed through the finite element analysis, by applying the dynamic loadings that were analytically derived in the previous paper. The fatigue lives of the welded parts are estimated by making use of the hot-spot stress extrapolation and the Palmgren-miner cumulative damage rule.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.96.2-96.2
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• 2013

The solar images are taken by the CCD detectors of the Sun monitoring satellites. The solar images are constructed after removing the traces of cosmic rays on the raw CCD data files. Thus, while applying the method of removing the cosmic rays traces, we can estimate the cosmic rays flux by counting the number of traces. The cosmic ray flux in the steady state might be the sum of the solar and galactic cosmic rays. However, the abrupt change in the flux could be assumed to be originated from the Sun. Therefore, we can identify the solar origins of the sudden solar cosmic ray flux changes from the phenomena shown in the processed solar images taken by SOHO/EIT. As the results, the estimated cosmic ray flux in the steady state is the anti-correlated with sunspot numbers, which shows the minima in cosmic ray flux at the solar cycle maxima defined by the sunspot numbers. The profiles of estimated solar cosmic ray associated with the ground level enhancements have the significant increase in the cosmic ray flux with good correlation. Thus, the solar images are valuable data useful in estimating the solar cosmic ray long term and transient flux variations.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.152-158
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• 2007

Most of experimental visualizations and numerical results on the flow field separated form a leading edge around an unsteady foil show a continuous streakline from the leading edge and large reverse flow between the streakline and the suction surface. However, they have not exactly clarified yet the dynamic behavior of vortices separated from the leading edge because separation around an unsteady foil is very complicated phenomenon due to many parameters. In the present study the flow fields around pitching foils have been visualized by using a Schlieren method with a high speed camera in a wind tunnel at low Reynolds number regions. It has been observed that small vortices are shed discretely from the leading and trailing edge and that they stand in line on the integrated streakline of separation shear layer. By counting vortices in the VTR frames it was clarified that the number of vortex shedding from the leading and trailing edge during one pitching cycle strongly depends on the non-dimensional pitching rate. Futhermore the vortices moving up to the leading edge on the suction surface of the pitching foil are visualized. They play an important role to balance the number of vortex shedding from both edges.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.16-24
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• 2005

Mathematical model was developed to verify a sequential particle removal taking place in a granular media gravity filter. Consequential multi-layer filtration cycle model was applied to verify the fraction of filter effluent particles that are filter influent particles that were never removed as well as the fraction of filter effluent particles that were detached after deposition were performed through laboratory experiments. Three sizes of marker particles were injected ahead of the filter column as a pulse in the presence of four sizes of polystyrene particles that were used as a primary source of particles in the raw suspension to investigate particle attachment alone in contrast to net removal from attachment and detachment. Microscopic counting of filter effluent particles was assumed to reflect attachment. Experimental results indicated that particle detachment is significant beginning from the early phase of filtration. For each size of fluorescent microspheres at one filter depth, fluorescent microsphere removal increased with filter runtime to a maximum due to ripening. The detached fraction of effluent particles increased with particle size and filter depth. The presence of detached particles and the increasing fraction of detached particles in deeper bed were confirmed.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.83-90
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• 2003

Since histopathological examination was known to be the most sensitive evaluation for testicular toxicity, regulatory authorities have been published the guidelines on practical testicular assay approach. Those guidelines specified details of evaluation including fixation, embedding, stain-ing, histological examination and also seminiferous tubular staging methods. However, there have been confusing understanding among toxicologists and even pathologists on staging theory and its application on industrial testicular toxicity. Guidelines did not intend to conduct quantitative assay with staging but recommended the use of knowledge of staging. To count each tubular stage with statistical analysis is known to be time consuming and labor burdening work but the significance of toxicity has little value. It also has been pointed out that the application of staging theory for longer-term toxicity considered to be lacking of rationale. It could be recommended that qualitative assay with aware-ness of germ cell loss is more efficient method rather than quantitative counting of each tubular stage. Therefore it would be required that comprehensive understanding of testicular toxicity evaluation and the use of testicular staging method.

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.94-94
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• 2003

Endocrine disrupters (EDs) are exogenous chemicals that interfere with the production, releasing, metabolism, excretion, binding of natural hormones, and whole endocrine systems. EDs are very dangerous since they are extremely stable, not easily degraded, and accumulated in fat and tissue. 2, 3, 7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is known as the most toxic EDs. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of TCDD on proliferation of human breast cancer (MCF-7) and endometrial adenocarcinoma (Hec-1B) cells. 10, 100, and 1000 nM of TCDD were treated with steroid free condition. Viable cell counting, MTT, and BrdU assay was performed to investigate cell proliferation. Apoptosis was investigated using DNA laddering. Although, DNA fragmentation as the evidence of apoptosis was not detected, all of these cell lines showed restricted proliferation at 48 hrs after 100 and 1000 nM TCDD treatments. Recently, it has been reported that the expression of transforming growth factor $\beta$s (TGF-$\beta$s) are increased in TCDD treatment and also involved in regulation of cell cycle. Therefore, these results were considered that the decreased cell prolifcration by TCDD is related to the expression of TGF-$\beta$s.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.5 no.6
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• pp.527-542
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• 2002

Wind-excited vibrations of slender structures can induce fatigue damage and cause structural failure without exceeding ultimate limit state. Unfortunately, the growing importance of this problem is coupled with an evident lack of simple calculation criteria. This paper proposes a mathematical method for evaluating the crosswind fatigue of slender vertical structures, which represents the dual formulation of a parallel method that the authors recently developed with regard to alongwind vibrations. It takes into account the probability distribution of the mean wind velocity at the structural site. The aerodynamic crosswind actions on the stationary structure are caused by the vortex shedding and by the lateral turbulence, both schematised by spectral models. The structural response in the small displacement regime is expressed in closed form by considering only the contribution of the first vibration mode. The stress cycle counting is based on a probabilistic method for narrow-band processes and leads to analytical formulae of the stress cycles histogram, of the accumulated damage and of the fatigue life. The extension of this procedure to take into account aeroelastic vibrations due to lock-in is carried out by means of ESDU method. The examples point out the great importance of vortex shedding and especially of lock-in concerning fatigue.

• International Journal of Ocean System Engineering
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.209-217
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• 2013

This paper presents a mooring design procedure for a floating offshore wind turbine. Offshore environmental data for Jeju are taken from KHOA (Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Administration) and used for the environmental conditions in numerical analyses. A semi-submersible-type floating wind system with a 5-MW-class wind turbine studied by the DeepCwind Consortium is applied. Catenary mooring with a studless chain is chosen as the mooring system. Design deliverables such as the nominal sizes of chain and length of the mooring line are decided by considering the long-term prediction of the breaking strength of the mooring lines where a 100-year return period is used. The designed mooring system is verified using a fatigue calculation based on rain-flow cycle counting, an S-N curve, and a Miner's damage summation of rule. The mooring tension process is obtained from time-domain motion analyses using ANSYS/AQWA.