• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.30 no.3A
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• pp.297-307
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• 2010

Recently, maintenance engineering and technology for civil and building structures have begun to draw big attention and actually the number of structures that need to be evaluate on structural safety due to deterioration and performance degradation of structures are rapidly increasing. When stiffness is decreased because of deterioration of structures and member cracks, dynamic characteristics of structures would be changed. And it is important that the damaged areas and extent of the damage are correctly evaluated by analyzing dynamic characteristics from the actual behavior of a structure. In general, typical measurement instruments used for structure monitoring are dynamic instruments. Existing dynamic instruments are not easy to obtain reliable data when the cable connecting measurement sensors and device is long, and have uneconomical for 1 to 1 connection process between each sensor and instrument. Therefore, a method without attaching sensors to measure vibration at a long range is required. The representative applicable non-contact methods to measure the vibration of structures are laser doppler effect, a method using GPS, and image processing technique. The method using laser doppler effect shows relatively high accuracy but uneconomical while the method using GPS requires expensive equipment, and has its signal's own error and limited speed of sampling rate. But the method using image signal is simple and economical, and is proper to get vibration of inaccessible structures and dynamic characteristics. Image signals of camera instead of sensors had been recently used by many researchers. But the existing method, which records a point of a target attached on a structure and then measures vibration using image processing technique, could have relatively the limited objects of measurement. Therefore, this study conducted shaking table test and field load test to verify the validity of the method that can measure multi-point displacement responses of structures using image processing technique.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.56 no.8
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• pp.497-508
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• 2023

Agricultural reservoirs are crucial structures for water resources monitoring especially in Korea where the resources are seasonally unevenly distributed. Optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites, being utilized as tools for monitoring the reservoirs, have unique limitations in that optical sensors are sensitive to weather conditions and SAR sensors are sensitive to noises and multiple scattering over dense vegetations. In this study, we tried to improve water body detection accuracy through optical-SAR data fusion, and quantitatively analyze the complementary effects. We first detected water bodies at Edong, Cheontae reservoir using the Compact Advanced Satellite 500(CAS500), Kompsat-3/3A, and Sentinel-2 derived Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), and SAR backscattering coefficient from Sentinel-1 by K-means clustering technique. After that, the improvements in accuracies were analyzed by applying K-means clustering to the 2-D grid space consists of NDWI and SAR. Kompsat-3/3A was found to have the best accuracy (0.98 at both reservoirs), followed by Sentinel-2(0.83 at Edong, 0.97 at Cheontae), Sentinel-1(both 0.93), and CAS500(0.69, 0.78). By applying K-means clustering to the 2-D space at Cheontae reservoir, accuracy of CAS500 was improved around 22%(resulting accuracy: 0.95) with improve in precision (85%) and degradation in recall (14%). Precision of Kompsat-3A (Sentinel-2) was improved 3%(5%), and recall was degraded 4%(7%). More precise water resources monitoring is expected to be possible with developments of high-resolution SAR satellites including CAS500-5, developments of image fusion and water body detection techniques.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.602-614
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• 2023

Purpose: The balance between synthesis and degradation of proteins plays a critical role in the maintenance of skeletal muscle mass. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been closely associated with skeletal muscle atrophy caused by aging, cancer, and chemotherapy. Polygalacin D is a saponin derivative isolated from Platycodon grandiflorum (Jacq.) A. DC. This study aimed to investigate the effects of polygalacin D on myoblast differentiation and muscle atrophy in association with mitochondrial function in in vitro and in zebrafish models in vivo. Methods: C2C12 myoblasts were cultured in differentiation media containing different concentrations of polygalacin D, followed by the immunostaining of the myotubes with myosin heavy chain (MHC). The mRNA expression of markers related to myogenesis, muscle atrophy, and mitochondrial function was determined by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Wild type AB^* zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos were treated with 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, and irinotecan (FOLFIRI) with or without polygalacin D, and immunostained to detect slow and fast types of muscle fibers. The Tg(Xla.Eef1a1:mitoEGFP) zebrafish expressing mitochondria-targeted green fluorescent protein was used to monitor mitochondrial morphology. Results: The exposure of C2C12 myotubes to 0.1 ng/mL of polygalacin D increased the formation of MHC-positive multinucleated myotubes (≥ 8 nuclei) compared with the control. Polygalacin D significantly increased the expression of MHC isoforms (Myh1, Myh2, Myh4, and Myh7) involved in myoblast differentiation while it decreased the expression of atrophic markers including muscle RING-finger protein-1 (MuRF1), mothers against decapentaplegic homolog (Smad)2, and Smad3. In addition, polygalacin D promoted peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator (Pgc1α) expression and reduced the level of mitochondrial fission regulators such as dynamin-1-like protein (Drp1) and mitochondrial fission 1 (Fis1). In a zebrafish model of FOLFIRI-induced muscle atrophy, polygalacin D improved not only mitochondrial dysfunction but also slow and fast muscle fiber atrophy. Conclusion: These results demonstrated that polygalacin D promotes myogenesis and alleviates chemotherapy-induced muscle atrophy by improving mitochondrial function. Thus, polygalacin D could be useful as nutrition support to prevent and ameliorate muscle wasting and weakness.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.68 no.3
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• pp.188-196
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• 2023

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is an important crop in Korea, with a per capita consumption of 31.6 kg in 2019. In the southern region, wheat is grown after paddy rice, and it is harvested during the rainy season in mid-June. This timing, in combination with high humidity and untimely rainfall, activates the enzyme alpha-amylase, which breaks down starch in the wheat grains. As a result, sprouted grains have lower quality and value for flour. However, seeds that absorb water before sprouting are expected to maintain better quality. The aim of the study was to identify the critical period during wheat maturation when rainfall has the greatest impact on grain quality, to prevent price declines due to quality deterioration. Two wheat cultivars, Jokyoung and Hwanggeumal, were grown in a speed breeding room, and artificial rainfall was applied at different times after heading (30, 35, 40, 45, 50, and 55 days). The proportion of vitreous grains decreased from 40 to 55 days after heading (DAH). Both cultivars had chalky grain sections from 35 DAH, with Hwanggeumal having a higher proportion of vitreous grains. Starch degradation was observed using FE-SEM (Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope) at 40 DAH for Jokyoung and 50 DAH for Hwanggeumal. Color measurements indicated increased L and E values from 40 DAH, with rain treatment at 55 DAH leading to a significant increase in L values for both cultivars. Ash content increased at 45 DAH, whereas SDSS decreased at 35 DAH. Overall, grain quality from 40 DAH until harvest was found to be affected to the greatest extent by direct exposure of the spikes to moisture. Red wheat showed better quality than white wheat. These findings have implications for the cultivation of high-quality wheat and can guide future research efforts in this area.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.46
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• pp.1-32
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• 2023

The purpose of this article is to critically reflect on the 2022 national curriculum on religions. The perspective of this reflection is that since the religious curriculum is meant to be a national curriculum, it should be applicable to all high school students, be shareable, and function as a place for meta-reflection regarding the proper use of the category of religion. For this purpose, I reviewed the form and content of the 2022 curriculum on religions in Section 2. The form of the 2022 curriculum on religions looks similar to the previously utilized curriculum. However, the main change is that the subject of religions was arbitrarily placed into the category of 'subjects for choosing a career.' And the 2022 curriculum on religions has two characteristics in terms of content: the orientation of 'making religious people (spiritual formation)' and the reemergence of the concept of 'pseudo-religion.' In Section 3, I delved into the orientation of 'making religious people through religious reflection' among the characteristics of the 2022 curriculum on religions. In this process, I discovered that the concept of 'reflection as a metacognitive technology,' which was the core of the prior curriculum and school education, was transformed into the concept of 'religious reflection,' and the concepts of spirituality and religiosity were also added. In Section 4, I delved into the dichotomy of 'religion and pseudo-religion.' 'Pseudo-religion' is a new focus in the 2022 curriculum on religions. In this process, I revealed that the concept of 'pseudo-religion' is a combination of an outdated administrative term of the Japanese Government-General of Korea during Japan's occupation of Korea, and as such, the term is inherently value-laden and harmful. I also revealed that determining 'pseudo-religion' in school education regenerates the colonial Japanese Government-General's biased attitudes toward Korean religions and forces teachers to 'invent' (detect or personally appraise) modern day pseudo-religions through arbitrary judgements. The 'curriculum to emphasize religious reflection and detect pseudo-religions in order to create religious people' can distort the subject of religion in the national curriculum as into a 'subject for religion (promotion or degradation).' If this distortion continues, the appropriateness of curriculum on religions existing within the national curriculum will eventually become a subject of debate.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.33-51
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• 2022

This study analyzes newly listed companies on KOSDAQ from 2011 to 2020 for both firms having experience in attracting venture investment before listing (VI) and those without having experience in attracting venture investment (NVI) by examining differences between two groups (VI and NVI) with respect to both the level of listing performance and that of firm performance (growth) after the listing. This paper conducts descriptive statistics, mean difference, and multiple regression analysis. Independent variables for regression models include VC investment, firm age at the time of listing, firm type, firm location, firm size, the age of VC, the level of expertise of VC, and the level of fitness of VC with investment company. Throughout this paper, results suggest that listing performance and post-listed growth are better for VI than NVI. VC investment shows a negative effect on the listing period and a positive effect on the sales growth rate. Also, the amount of VC investment has negative effects on the listing period and positive effects on the market capitalization at the time of IPO and on sales growth among growth indicators. Our evidence also implies a significantly positive effect on growth after listing for firms which belong to R&D specialized industries. In addition, it is statistically significant for several years that the firm age has a positive effect on the market capitalization growth rate. This shows that market seems to put the utmost importance on a long-term stability of management capability. Finally, among the VC characteristics such as the age of VC, the level of expertise of VC, and the level of fitness of VC with investment company, we point out that a higher market capitalization tends to be observed at the time of IPO when the level of expertise of anchor VC is high. Our paper differs from prior research in that we reexamine the venture ecosystem under the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 which stimulates the degradation of the business environment. In addition, we introduce more effective variables such as VC investment amount when examining the effect of firm type. It enables us to indirectly evaluate the validity of technology exception policy. Although our findings suggest that related policies such as the technology special listing system or the injection of funds into the venture ecosystem are still helpful, those related systems should be updated in a more timely fashion in order to support growth power of firms due to the rapid technological development. Furthermore, industry specialization is essential to achieve regional development, and the growth of the recovery market is also urgent.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.62 no.1
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• pp.36-43
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• 2024

Fishing net waste (FNW) constitutes over half of all marine plastic waste and is a major contributor to the degradation of marine ecosystems. While current treatment options for FNW include incineration, landfilling, and mechanical recycling, these methods often result in low-value products and pollutant emissions. Importantly, FNWs, comprised of plastic polymers, can be converted into valuable resources like syngas and pyrolysis oil through pyrolysis. Thus, this study presents a process for generating high-purity hydrogen (H₂) by catalytically pyrolyzing FNW in a CO₂ environment. The proposed process comprises of three stages: First, the pretreated FNW undergoes Ni/SiO₂ catalytic pyrolysis under CO₂ conditions to produce syngas and pyrolysis oil. Second, the produced pyrolysis oil is incinerated and repurposed as an energy source for the pyrolysis reaction. Lastly, the syngas is transformed into high-purity H₂ via the Water-Gas-Shift (WGS) reaction and Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA). This study compares the results of the proposed process with those of traditional pyrolysis conducted under N₂ conditions. Simulation results show that pyrolyzing 500 kg/h of FNW produced 2.933 kmol/h of high-purity H₂ under N₂ conditions and 3.605 kmol/h of high-purity H₂ under CO₂ conditions. Furthermore, pyrolysis under CO₂ conditions improved CO production, increasing H₂ output. Additionally, the CO₂ emissions were reduced by 89.8% compared to N₂ conditions due to the capture and utilization of CO₂ released during the process. Therefore, the proposed process under CO₂ conditions can efficiently recycle FNW and generate eco-friendly hydrogen product.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.69 no.1
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• pp.34-48
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• 2024

The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety of biodegradable mulching films in soybean (Glycine max) cultivation by measuring their effects on crop growth and yield, film decomposition and soil chemical and physical properties. In 2022 and 2023, plant height, branch number, chlorophyll contents, yield components, and yield of soybean did not vary significantly in areas using PE films and biodegradable mulching films. The light transmission rate of the biodegradable mulching films ranged from 6.4 to 15.8% when measured 112 days after soybean transplanting, and was higher, on average, in 2023 than in 2022. In both years, degradation of the biodegradable mulching films began 20 days after soybean transplantation and increased over time. In addition, remains of biodegradable mulching films were present in fields at soybean harvest and remained until 50 days after harvest. Decomposition rates of the biodegradable mulching films at 112 days after soybean transplanting ranged from 9.8 to 26.7% in 2022 and 13 to 36% in 2023. Although soil pH and EC varied based on the year and timing of measurements, there was no significant difference between areas that used biodegradable mulching films and PE films. Soil organic matter, nitrate and exchangeable cation contents such as Ca, Mg, and K were not significantly different in areas that used both PE films and biodegradable films. However, significantly higher levels of available phosphoric acid content were measured in areas that used biodegradable mulch films E, S, and T. Regardless of which films were used, there were no significant differences in the soil's physical properties. In 2022 and 2023, there was no difference between areas that used biodegradable mulch films and PE films. However, soil temperature in mulched areas was 2℃ higher and soil moisture was 5-15% higher than in non-mulched areas. Barley growth was not affected by being planted in soil that had been used for soybean cultivation with biodegradable films. Therefore, the biodegradable mulch films used in this study can be used without negatively affecting the growth, yield, and soil environment of soybeans.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.26 no.12
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• pp.738-751
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• 2023

The Sembilan Archipelago is famous for its great biodiversity, in which the humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) (locally named Napoleon fish) is the primary commodity (economically important), and currently, the environmental degradation occurs due to anthropogenic activities. This study aimed to examine the eco-environmental parameters and assess their influence on the abundance of humphead wrasse and other coral reef fish compositions in the Sembilan Archipelago. Direct field monitoring was performed using a visual census throughout an approximately one km transect. Coral cover data collection and assessment were also carried out. A coastal water quality index (CWQI) was used to assess the water quality status. Furthermore, statistical-based analyses [hierarchical clustering, Pearson's correlation, principal component analysis (PCA), and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA)] were performed to examine the correlation between eco-environmental parameters. The Napoleon fish was only found at stations 1 and 2, with a density of about 3.8 Ind/ha, aligning with the dominant composition of the family Serranidae (covering more than 15% of the total community) and coinciding with the higher coral mortality and lower reef fish abundance. The coral reef conditions were generally ideal for supporting marine life, with a living coral percentage of about > 50% in all stations. Based on CWQI, the study area is categorized as good and excellent water quality. Of the 60 parameter values examined, the phytoplankton abundance, Napoleon fish, and temperature are highly correlated, with a correlation coefficient value greater than 0.7, and statistically significant (F < 0.05). Although the adaptation of reef fish to water quality parameters varies greatly, the most influential parameters in shaping their composition in the study area are living corals, nitrites, ammonia, larval abundance, and temperature.

• Trans-
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• v.16
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• pp.1-31
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• 2024

The advent of digital media has facilitated easy access for adolescents to environments conducive to the purchase of narcotics. In particular, there's an increasing trend in the purchase and consumption of narcotics mediated through Social Network Services (SNS) and messenger services. Adolescents, sensitive to such environments, are at risk of experiencing neurological and mental health issues due to narcotic addiction, increasing their exposure to criminal activities, hence necessitating national-level management and support. Consequently, the quest for sustainable treatment methods for adolescents exposed to narcotics emerges as a critical challenge. In the context of high relapse rates in narcotic addiction, the necessity for cost-effective and user-friendly treatment programs is emphasized. This study conducts a literature review aimed at utilizing digital platforms to create an environment where adolescents can voluntarily participate, focusing on the development of therapeutic content through art. Specifically, it reviews societal perceptions and treatment statuses of adolescent drug addiction, analyzes the impact of narcotic addiction on adolescent brain activity and cognitive function degradation, and explores approaches for developing digital therapeutics to promote the rehabilitation of the addicted brain through analysis of precedential case studies. Moreover, the study investigates the benefits that the integration of digital therapeutic approaches and art therapy can provide in the treatment process and proposes the possibility of enhancing therapeutic effects through various treatment programs such as drama therapy, music therapy, and art therapy. The application of art therapy methods is anticipated to offer positive effects in terms of tool expansion, diversification of expression, data acquisition, and motivation. Through such approaches, an enhancement in the effectiveness of treatments for adolescent narcotic addiction is anticipated. Overall, this study undertakes foundational research for the development of digital therapeutics and related applications, offering economically viable and sustainable treatment options in consideration of the societal context of adolescent narcotic addiction.