• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.39-61
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• 2008

Objectives : The present study was performed to investigate whether acupuncture stimulation in the rats affected regeneration properties of the injured sciatic nerve. A differential effect of acupuncture stimulation on the one point near the spinal nerve root controlling sciatic nerve activity and the other point in the peripheral area subordinated by injured nerve was compared. Materials and Methods: Rat sciatic nerves were injured by crush, and the effects on axonal regeneration on injured sciatic nerves were evaluated by acupuncture stimulation at two different regions. In proximal acupuncture stimulation group, acupuncture stimulation was performed on Huatuo Jiaji(EX B2) points located from L5 to S1 vertebral levels to stimulate the nearest spinal nerve root that innervates sciatic nerves. In distal acupuncture stimulation group, acupuncture stimulation was performed on Zusanli(ST 36) and Weizhong(BL 40) points to stimulate at peripheral area dominated by injured sciatic nerves. Acupuncture stimulation was given every other days for 1 or 2 weeks. Sciatic nerve tissues collected from acupuncture stimulation experimental groups, injury control group, and intact animal group were used for protein analysis by Western blotting or Hoechst nuclear staining. To determine axonal regeneration, Dil fluorescence dye was injected into the sciatic nerve 0.5 cm distal to the injury site in individual animal groups and Dil-labeled cells by retrograde tracing were measured in the DRG at lumbar 5 or in the spinal cord. DRG sensory neurons prepared from individual animal groups were used to measure the extent of neurite outgrowth and for immunofluorescence staining with anti-GAP-43 antibody. Results : Animal groups given proximal or distal acupuncture stimulation showed upregulation of GAP-43 and Cdc2 protein levels in the sciatic nerve at 7 days after injury. Cdk2 protein levels were strongly induced by nerve injury, but did not show changes by acupuncture stimulation. Phospho-Erk1/2 protein levels were elevated by acupuncture stimulation above those present in the injury control animals. These increase in regeneration-associated protein levels appeared to be related with increase cell proliferation in the injured sciatic nerves. Hoechst 33258 staining of sciatic nerve tissue to visualize nuclei of individual cells showed increased Schwann cell number in the distal portion of the injured nerve 7 and 14 days after injury and further increases by acupuncture stimulation particularly at the proximal position. Measurement of axonal regeneration by retrograde tracing showed significantly increased Dil-labeled cells in proximal acupuncture stimulation group compared to distal acupuncture stimulation group and injury control group. Finally, an evaluation of axonal regeneration by retrograde tracing showed increased number of Dil labeled cells in the DRG at lumbar 5 or in the ventral horn of the spinal cord at lower thoracic level at 7 days after nerve injury. Conclusions : The present data show that the proximal acupuncture stimulation at Huatuo Jiaji(EX B2) points governing injured sciatic nerves was more effective for axonal regeneration than the distal acupuncture stimulation. Further studies on functional recovery or associated molecular mechanisms should be critical for developing animal models and clinical applications.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.200-213
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• 2000

Lasers have given dentistry a new rapid, economic, and accurate technique for metal joining. Although laser welding has been recommended as an accurate technique, there are some limitations with this technique. For example, the two joining surfaces must have a tight-fitting contact, which may be difficult to achieve in some situations. The tensile samples used for this study were made from a custom-made pure titanium and type III gold alloy plates. 27 of 33 specimens were sectioned perpendicular to their long axis with a carborundum disk and water coolant. Six specimens remained and served as the control group. A group of 6 specimens was posed as butt joints in custom parallel positioning device with a feeler gauge at each of three gaps : 0.00, 0.25. and 0.50mm. All specimens were then machined to produce a uniform cross-sectional dimension, none of the specimens was subjected to any subsequent form of heat treatment. Scanning electron microscopy was performed on representative tested specimens at fractured surfaces in both the parent metal and the weld. Vickers hardness was measured at the center of the welds with a micropenetrometer using a force of 300gm for 15 seconds. Measurement was made at approximately $200{\mu}m\;and\;500{\mu}m$ deep from each surface. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Scheffe's test was calculated to detect differences between groups. The purpose of this study is to compare the strength and properties of the joint achieved at various butt Joint gaps by the laser welding of type III gold alloy and pure titanium tensile specimens in an argon atmosphere. The results of this study were as follows : 1. When indexing and welding pure titanium, there was no decrease in ultimate tensile strength as compared with the unsectioned alloys for indexing gaps of 0.00 to 0.50mm, although with increasing gap size may come increased distortion (p>0.05). 2. When indexing and welding type III gold alloy, there were significant differences in ultimate tensile strength among groups with weld gaps of 0.00mm, 0.25 and 0.50mm, and the control group. Group with butt contact without weld gap demonstrated a significant higher ultimate tensile strength than groups with weld gaps of 0.25 and 0.50mm (p<0.05). 3. When indexing and welding the different metal combination of type III gold alloy and pure titanium, there were significant differences in ultimate tensile strength between groups with weld gaps of 0.00, 0.25, and 0.50mm. However, the mechanical properties of the welded joint would become too brittle to be acceptable clinically (p<0.05). 4. The presence of large pores in the laser welded joint appears to be the most important factor in controlling the tensile strength of the weld in both pure titanium and type III gold alloy.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.400-405
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• 2016

Ferric oxide (${\alpha}-Fe_2O_3$, hematite) is an n-type semiconductor; due to its narrow band gap ($E_g=2.1eV$), it is a highly attractive and desirable material for use in solar hydrogenation by water oxidation. However, the actual conversion efficiency achieved with $Fe_2O_3$ is considerably lower than the theoretical values because the considerably short diffusion length (2-4 nm) of holes in $Fe_2O_3$ induces excessive charge recombination and low absorption. This is a significant hurdle that must be overcome in order to obtain high solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency. In consideration of this, it is thought that elemental doping, which may make it possible to enhance the charge transfer at the interface, will have a marked effect in terms of improving the photoactivities of ${\alpha}-Fe_2O_3$ photoanodes. Herein, we report on the synthesis by pulsed electrodeposition of ${\alpha}-Fe_2O_3$-based anodes; we also report on the resulting photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties. We attempted Ti-doping to enhance the PEC properties of ${\alpha}-Fe_2O_3$ anodes. It is revealed that the photocurrent density of a bare ${\alpha}-Fe_2O_3$ anode can be dramatically changed by controlling the condition of the electrodeposition and the concentration of $TiCl_3$. Under optimum conditions, a modified ${\alpha}-Fe_2O_3$ anode exhibits a maximum photocurrent density of $0.4mA/cm^2$ at 1.23 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) under 1.5 G simulated sunlight illumination; this photocurrent density value is about 3 times greater than that of unmodified ${\alpha}-Fe_2O_3$ anodes.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.103-110
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• 2019

Cu(In,Ga)₃Se₅ (β-CIGS) has a band gap of 1.35 eV, which is an optimum value for high solar-energy conversion efficiency. The effects of Cu and Ga content on the cell performance were investigated previously. However, the effect of Se content on the cell performance is not well understood yet. In this work, β-CIGS films were fabricated by three-stage co-evaporation of elemental sources with various Se fluxes at the third stage instead of at all stages. The average composition of five samples was Cu_1.05(In_0.59,Ga_0.41)3Se_y, where the stoichiometric y value is 5.03 and the stoichiometric Se/metal (Se/M) ratio is 1.24. We varied the Se/metal ratio in a range from 1.18 to 1.28. We found that the best efficiency was achieved when the Se/M ratio was 1.24, which is exactly the stoichiometric value where the CIGS grains on the CIGS surface were tightly connected and faceted. With the optimum Se/M ratio, we were able to enhance the cell efficiency of a β-CIGS solar cell from 9.6% to 12.0% by employing a Na₂S post deposition treatment. Our results indicate that Na₂S post deposition treatment is very effective to enhance the cell efficiency to a level on par with that in α-CIGS cell.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.860-873
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• 1998

In a low speed open-type wind tunnel, a group of parallel wakes downstream of two dimensional grid model consisting of several circular cylinders were experimentally investigated to study the response of the wake flows to the acoustic excitation, in hoping to promote the understanding of the underlying mechanism behind the gross flow change due to artificial excitation. In the unexcited wake flows, the development of the individual wakes behind cylinders was almost uniform for the ratio of the spacing to the cylinder diameter of s/d.geq.1.5. For smaller s/d, however, the jet streams issued through the gaps between the cylinders became biased in one side and the cylinders had wakes of different sizes. At s/d=1.25, the gap flow directions change in time, leading to unstable wake patterns. Further reduction in s/d made this unstable flip-flopping of the jets stable. The most effective excitation frequency was found to be in the Strouhal number range of St=0.5-0.6. This frequency was related to the vortex shedding. At s/d=1.75, the excitation frequency was 2 or 4 times the vortex shedding frequency. When the flow was excited at this frequency, the vortex sheddings were energized, and pairings between neighboring vortices were generated. Also, the merging process between individual wakes was accelerated. The unstable and unbalanced wake patterns at s/d=2.15 were made stable and balanced. The unstable and unbalanced wake patterns at s/d=2.15 were made stable and balanced. For smaller spacing of s/d .leq,1.0, the acoustic excitation became less effective in controlling the flow.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.279-285
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• 2002

Two $SnO_2$ based sensing films(pure $SnO_2$ and $SnO_2$/Pt) and a Pt thin film for temperature sensor on an alumina substrate were designed and fabricated for classifying the indoor environmental gases. By controlling the heating power in the shape of trapezoid, unique four sensing response curves created from both $SnO_2$ film and $SnO_2$/Pt film. Then, various parameters were extracted from sensing response curves and carried out principal component analysis(PCA). The results confirm that a sensor array with the proposed operating mode was extremely effective in classifying indoor environmental gases such as $CO_2$, $C_3H_8$, $C_4H_{10}$.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.1-29
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• 2017

We examine the extent to which students' performance relative to peers affects their career choice. Specifically, we analyze the relationship between a student's mathematics ranking in his/her school and the likelihood of choosing Mathematics and Science track in high school. Using a panel dataset of students in Seoul, we measure a student's performance using two variables: absolute performance and relative performance. The former measures a student's performance relative to the entire sample, while the latter measures performance relative to the student's peers in the same school. After controlling for test scores and other characteristics, we find that the students with a poor relative ranking are 11 percentage points less likely to choose the Mathematics and Science track. Relative performance affects girls more greatly than boys. Although relative performance affects a student's self-efficacy and class participation, our accounting exercise suggests that this channel accounts for only 12 percent of the impact, implying that students may respond to the relative ranking mostly due to other factors, such as strategic consideration to perform well in college applications.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.132-139
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• 2015

The tourism police force has been established on 16th October 2013 for foreign tourists' safety and security. The major roles of tourism police officers were provided a crime prevention patrol and maintenance of order in tourist destination, a clampdown on illegal activities for foreign tourists, a controlling for overcharging of restaurants accommodations taxi, an administrative guidance and controls on tourism industry and worker in union relative organ like the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism local government. However, the roles of tourism police officers overlap the work of general police officers and work of tourism police officers need a cooperative business with relative organs. It is caused a role ambiguity conflict between tourism police officers and general police officers. The object of this study is to improve the tourism police system through investigate a perceived gap of role ambiguity conflict between tourism police officers and general police officers and influencing relationship of role ambiguity conflict between job Satisfaction and job Performance.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.287-298
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• 2020

Ca²⁺ signaling of endothelial cells plays a critical role in controlling blood flow and pressure in small arteries and arterioles. As the impairment of endothelial function is closely associated with cardiovascular diseases (e.g., atherosclerosis, stroke, and hypertension), endothelial Ca²⁺ signaling mechanisms have received substantial attention. Increases in endothelial intracellular Ca²⁺ concentrations promote the synthesis and release of endothelial-derived hyperpolarizing factors (EDHFs, e.g., nitric oxide, prostacyclin, or K⁺ efflux) or directly result in endothelial-dependent hyperpolarization (EDH). These physiological alterations modulate vascular contractility and cause marked vasodilation in resistance arteries. Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels are nonselective cation channels that are present in the endothelium, vascular smooth muscle cells, or perivascular/sensory nerves. TRP channels are activated by diverse stimuli and are considered key biological apparatuses for the Ca²⁺ influx-dependent regulation of vasomotor reactivity in resistance arteries. Ca²⁺-permeable TRP channels, which are primarily found at spatially restricted microdomains in endothelial cells (e.g., myoendothelial projections), have a large unitary or binary conductance and contribute to EDHFs or EDH-induced vasodilation in concert with the activation of intermediate/small conductance Ca²⁺-sensitive K⁺ channels. It is likely that endothelial TRP channel dysfunction is related to the dysregulation of endothelial Ca²⁺ signaling and in turn gives rise to vascular-related diseases such as hypertension. Thus, investigations on the role of Ca²⁺ dynamics via TRP channels in endothelial cells are required to further comprehend how vascular tone or perfusion pressure are regulated in normal and pathophysiological conditions.

• Progress in Superconductivity
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.78-82
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• 2001

The spatial resolution of $high-T_{c}$ scanning SQUID microscope is limited by the washer size of SQUID and the gap distance between SQUID sensor and the sample. In this work, we tried to improve the spatial resolution of scanning SQUID microscope by reducing the size of SQUID sensor fabricated with $YBa_2$$Cu_3$$O_{7}$ thin film. Outer dimensions of the SQUiDs we tested are 24 $\mu\textrm{m}$ $\times$ $ 28\mu\textrm{m}$, $12 \mu\textrm{m}$ $\times$ $16\mu\textrm{m}$, $12\mu\textrm{m}$ x $12\mu\textrm{m}$, $10 \mu\textrm{m}$ $\times$ $10 \mu\textrm{m}$ each. To operate them in the flux-locked loop scheme, we used a direct-coupled electronics instead of using conventional electronics involving a modulation scheme. Since the direct-coupled feedback scheme does not require modulation current adjustment that poses as a practical difficulty in the SQUID operation in modulation-scheme, the direct feedback operation is rather simpler than the conventional modulation method. The resulting noise features were dominated by the noise of preamp in FLL electronics except that of the largest SQUID. The noise levels of SQUIDs are expected below 1$\times$$10^{-5}$ $\Phi_{0}$H $z^{1}$2/ (at 300 Hz), that is a typical noise level for SQUID made of $YBa_2$C $u_3$$O_{7}$ thin film. The data acquisition and motion-controlling parts were also improved, resulting in faster data acquisition rate and less vibration of the system.m.