• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.268-276
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• 2018

BACKGROUND: In the month of January 2018, fine dust alerts and warnings were issued 36 times for $PM_{10}$ and 81 times for PM2.5. Air quality is becoming a serious issue nation-wide. Although interest in air-purifying plants is growing due to the controversy over the risk of chemical substances of regular air-purifying solutions, industrial spread of the plants has been limited due to their efficiency in air-conditioning perspective. METHODS AND RESULTS: This study aims to propose a vegetation-based bio-filter system that can assure total indoor air volume for the efficient application of air-purifying plants. In order to evaluate the quantitative performance of the system, time-series analysis was conducted on air-conditioning performance, indoor air quality, and comfort index improvement effects in a lecture room-style laboratory with 16 persons present in the room. The system provided 4.24 ACH ventilation rate and reduced indoor temperature by $1.6^{\circ}C$ and black bulb temperature by $1.0^{\circ}C$. Relative humidity increased by 24.4% and deteriorated comfort index. However, this seemed to be offset by turbulent flow created from the operation of air blowers. While $PM_{10}$ was reduced by 39.5% to $22.11{\mu}g/m^3$, $CO_2$ increased up to 1,329ppm. It is interpreted that released $CO_2$ could not be processed because light compensation point was not reached. As for the indoor comfort index, PMV was reduced by 83.6 % and PPD was reduced by 47.0% on average, indicating that indoor space in a comfort range could be created by operating vegetation-based bio-filters. CONCLUSION: The study confirmed that the vegetation-based bio-filter system is effective in lowering indoor temperature and $PM_{10}$ and has positive effects on creating comfortable indoor space in terms of PMV and PPD.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.325-331
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• 2019

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is one of the most popular green leafy vegetables, and it contains various beneficial components including polyphenolic compounds and has been known to possess various biological functions such as anti-microbial, anti-oxidative, and anti-inflammatory activities. In the present study, we prepared ethanol extract of dried lettuce (DLE) and investigated its anti-inflammatory activity. To evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of DLE, nitric oxide (NO) production was measured in LPS-activated mouse macrophage RAW 264.7 cells. DLE significantly suppressed NO production in these cells without affecting cell viabilities while resveratrol was used as a positive control. DLE dramatically decreased the expression of pro-inflammatory genes such as iNOS and COX-2 at the mRNA and protein levels and reduced the expression of several cytokines including $IL-1{\alpha}$, $IL-1{\beta}$, IL-1F6, $TNF-{\alpha}$, CSF2 and CXCL10. In addition, DLE suppressed phosphorylation of MAPKs and the nuclear translocation of $NF-{\kappa}B$ p65 indicating DLE shows its anti-inflammatory activity via regulating MAPKs pathway and $NF-{\kappa}B$ pathways. And also, DLE reduced the production of reactive oxygen species in a dose-dependent manner. DLE increased HO-1 protein expression, and also increased the nuclear translocation of Nrf2. Overall, our results suggest that lettuce down-regulate various pro-inflammatory genes and have its anti-inflammatory activity via regulating MAPKs, $NF-{\kappa}B$, and Nrf2/HO-1 pathways.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.460-471
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• 2019

The aim of this study was to examine the scale and market share of Chinese's research facility & equipment in the domestic research equipment market of basic and analytical science field for analyzing the difference of the number and amount of construction by year of acquisition, national research facility equipment standard classification code, and type of institution based on the information of the research equipment invested by the Korean government for the past 14 years. In addition, we analyzed the correlation among the year of acquisition, equipment standard classification code, and type of institution variables. As of January 1 2019, from 2005 to 2018, 50 Chinese's research facilities & equipments (main equipment with a construction cost of 30 million won or more) built in the basic and analytical science fields were selected for this study and their number of construction, amount of construction, year of acquisition, type of institution, and standard classification code were analyzed. Differences of the number and amount of construction with-in and by year of acquisition, standard classification code, and type of institution were tested using a single sample Chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Kruskal-wallis test. The correlation among the three variables was analyzed by using the Chi-square test of cross-tabulation analysis. And there was a statistically significant correlation among the year of acquisition, standard classification code, and type of institution (p<.05). Compared to the 2000s, in the 2010s, high-priced Optical Electronics/Video Equipment was installed at private universities, private enterprises, and government-affiliated research institute. Therefore, the domestic construction status of Chinese's research facility & equipment in the basic science and analytical science field is less than that of the domestic ones, but the number and the amount of construction are increasing statistically. So it is necessary for the government to be able to recognize the possibility that the Chinese's research facility and equipment can encroach on the domestic research industry market and to prepare related provision.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.54-65
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• 2019

China government recently tries to preserve not only the famous national historic-culture cities, but also the small and medium-sized cities due to the damages and destruction of the cities by the rapid economic development, urban expansion and the development of tourism industry. Hence, this study chose 'Zhoucun ancient mall' which is one of the hotness of cultural heritage located in a mid-sized city named 'Zhoucun district Zibo city Shandong province' that has continuously cared historical landscapes by the protective policy regarding the city as a historic-culture resource from '80s, and considered the character of the city's development process on how the historical landscapes were well protected. In fact, the protection policy in Zhoucun ancient mall had been started in early '80s, however, the viable plan was established in 2001 entitled 'Historical block protection planning of Zhoucun Da street'. And then, 'Regulatory plan for the ancient mall site of Zhoucun Da street' established in 2008 has expanded the area of the blocks for protection. However, this plan organized area only block-by-block so that the small blocks couldn't have the unity when expanded. Later in 2015, 'Regulation Organization Plan' hastried to expanded the protect-area to solve the unity problem. As a result of the study, the historical landscape management plan of Zhoucun in Zibo city has been systematically changed in 2001 after. In other words, this 2001's plans established buffer zones for the maintenance of protected areas and the surrounding environment. And then the detailed regulatory plan for 2008 led to a concrete urban management plan. After that, in 2015, it was found that the expansion plan to protect and manage the whole area of Zhoucun disrict is to manage the landscape of the surrounding area including the historical landscape of 'Zhoucun ancient mall'.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.103-110
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• 2019

Recently, Korea has been affected by extreme weather events including extended summers and increased temperatures caused by global warming and climate change. Environmental temperature is especially important to the livestock industry because it is closely related to livestock productivity. This study was conducted to investigate the influence of different environmental temperatures on respiration rate, rectal temperature and body-surface temperature in finishing pigs. Pigs ($98.3{\pm}6.6kg$) were housed in individual cages inside an experimental chamber and exposed continuously to one of five environmental treatments ($22^{\circ}C$, $24^{\circ}C$, $26^{\circ}C$, $28^{\circ}C$, $30^{\circ}C$) for 10 days without providing additional rest time. Feed and water intake, respiration rate, rectal temperature and body-surface (head, ear, neck, back, side) temperature were measured two times daily during the experimental period. A significant increase in respiration rate from $26^{\circ}C$ and in body-surface temperature from $24^{\circ}C$ (p<0.05) was observed. At $30^{\circ}C$, the respiration rate had almost doubled and the body-surface temperature increased by about $5^{\circ}C-7^{\circ}C$. Moreover, ear skin temperature was very sensitive to environmental temperature. However, feed intake, water intake and rectal temperature did not change significantly during the experiment.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.283-295
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• 2011

Many actions against climate change have been taken to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions at home and abroad. As of 2007, the GHGs emitted from buildings accounted for about 23 % of Korea's total GHGs emission, which is the second largest GHG reduction potential following industry. In this study, we introduced Carbon Zero Building (CZB), which was constructed by the National Institute of Environmental Research to cut down GHGs from buildings in Korea, and evaluated the main applied technologies, the amount of energy load and reduced energy, and economic values for CZB to provide data that could be a basis in the future construction of this kind of carbon-neutral buildings. A total of 66 technologies were applied for this building in order to achieve carbon zero emissions. Applied technologies include 30 energy consumption reduction technologies, 18 energy efficiency technologies, and 5 eco-friendly technologies. Out of total annual energy load ($123.8kWh/m^2$), about 40% of energy load ($49kWh/m^2$) was reduced by using passive technologies such as super insulation and use of high efficiency equipments and the other 60% ($74.8kWh/m^2$) was reduced by using active technologies such as solar voltaic, solar thermal, and geothermal energy. The construction cost of CZB was 1.4 times higher than ordinary buildings. However, if active technologies are excluded, the construction cost is similar to that of ordinary buildings. It was estimated that we could save annually about 102 million won directly from energy saving and about 2.2 million won indirectly from additional saving by the reduction in GHGs and atmospheric pollutants. In terms of carbon, we could reduce 100 ton of $CO_2$ emissions per year. In our Life Cycle Cost (LCC) analysis, the Break Even Point (BEP) for the additional construction cost was estimated to be around 20.6 years.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.580-589
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• 2018

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the food insecurity status and dietary behavior and examine the association between the food insecurity status and consumption of processed beverage for secondary school students in Vientiane, capital city of Lao PDR. Methods: The study subjects are 714 students (boys = 307 and girls = 407) in four secondary schools (Chao_Anouvong, Phiavat, Saysetha, and Chansavang) of Vientiane, Lao PDR. Data on study subject's demographic characteristics, dietary behavior, food insecurity, and Mini Dietary Assessment (MDA) index were collected. A "Self-Administered Food Security Survey Module for Children Aged 12 Years and Older" developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) was used for the food insecurity assessment. Results: As a result, 72.7% of the subjects were in a state of food insecurity, and food security was associated with higher socioeconomic status (higher life satisfaction, higher parent's education attainment, higher item ownership, fewer number of siblings, and having more lunches at the school restaurant than at home). Compared to the food insecurity group, the frequency of breakfast, self-rated diet, and the total score of MDA index were higher in the food security group. On the other hand, multiple logistic regression analysis showed that 'food security' was also associated with a higher consumption of processed beverages (OR 1.544; 95% CI 1.078-2.213; p = 0.018). Conclusion: Improving the quality of the diet is essential for adolescents in both the food insecurity and food security groups in Lao PDR. Therefore, it is necessary to provide well organized nutrition education and establish adequate nutrition policy for adolescents in Lao PDR.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.266-272
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• 2018

In this study, we created grassland establishment(paddock No.39), grassland improvement(Paddock No.44), and tall fescue seeding(paddock No.64), and the rate botanical composition, DM yield, nutritive value were examined through 2016 to 2017. The rate of botanical composition was 81% in 2016, 75% in 2017, up to 21% higher than No.39 67%, 60%, No.44 58% and 54%. The annual average DM yield was the highest at 13,234kg/ha in the district, followed by No.39, No.44, followed by 10,636kg/ha and 10,235kg/ha, respectively. The crude protein content was the highest at No.39 12.16%, with No.44 and No.64 showing 10.7%, respectively. NDF content (average for two years) was 55.90% in No.44 and No.39, slightly lower than 58.42% and 57.00%, respectively. The two-year ADF average content was 31.07% for the same trend as the NDF capacity in the No.44, below 31.71% and 32.65%, respectively. To sum up the results, Although there was a high level of incentive sowing plot(No.39) in nutritive value, considering the botanical composition and productivity of the pasture, it is also deemed desirable to have a tall fescue plot(No.64).

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.590-598
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• 2018

Purpose: This study was conducted to compare the food involvement scale (FIS) of American and Japanese consumers. In addition, the effects of familiarity, likability, and expectations on willingness to use intentions for block type sauce by nationality were evaluated. Methods: A total of 149 and 112 American and Japanese consumers, respectively, completed the survey. Consumers were asked about familiarity, likability, expectation, willing to use intention, and usage frequency of block type sauce, food involvement scale (FIS), and demographic information. Results: There were differences in the using frequency of block type sauce according to nationality, with consumers in Japan showing significantly higher frequency of using block type sauce than those in the United States (US) (p < 0.001). According to the FIS, US consumers were more focused on how to provide food than food, such as cooking process, table setting, and food shopping, compared to Japanese consumers. In addition, 'expectation' and 'likability' among US consumers and 'expectation' and 'familiarity' among Japanese consumers were positive attributes for willing to use intention (p < 0.01). Conclusion: In the case of the US consumers, 'familiarity' was not significant because the using frequency of the block type sauce was lower than that of Japanese consumers. In the case of the Japanese consumers, 'likability' was not significant because they enjoy cooking itself according to the FIS. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize positive attributes as a key factor for block type sauce, as well as to search for ways to apply marketing strategies based on attributes by nationality.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1347-1353
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• 2018

The fermentation of non-digestible soy meal can convert polysaccharides into many compounds that have a wide variety of biological functions. Bacillus strains are capable of hydrolyzing non-digestible saccharides, such as melibiose, raffinose, and stachyose, found in soy meal components. A highly active ${\alpha}$-galactosidase (${\alpha}$-d-galactoside galactohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.22) was isolated from a bacterium in a traditional Korean fermented medicinal herb preparation. The isolate, T2-16, was identified as Bacillus coagulans based on its 16S rRNA sequence and biochemical properties, and the strain was named Bacillus coagulans NRR-1207. When incubated in 10%(w/v) skim milk, Bacillus coagulans NRR1207 caused a decrease in the pH of the culture medium, as well as an increase in titratable acidity and viable cell counts. This strain also showed higher activities of ${\alpha}$-galactosidase, ${\beta}$-galactosidase, ${\alpha}$-glucosidase, naphthol-AS-BO-phosphohydrolase, and acid phosphatase when compared to other enzymes. It hydrolyzed oligomeric substrates, such as raffinose and stachyose, and liberated galactose, indicating that the Bacillus coagulans NRR1207 ${\alpha}$-galactosidase hydrolyzed the ${\alpha}$-1,6 glycoside linkage. These results suggest that the decreased stachyose and raffinose contents observed in fermented soy meal are due to this ${\alpha}$-galactosidase activity. Bacillus coagulans NRR1207 therefore has potential probiotic activity and could be utilized in feed manufacturing, as well as for hydrolyzing non-digestible soy meal components.