• BMB Reports
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.275-280
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• 2022

The treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD) is challenging due to its complex etiology. From epidermal disruption to chronic inflammation, various cells and inflammatory pathways contribute to the progression of AD. As with immunosuppressants, general inhibition of inflammatory pathways can be effective, but this approach is not suitable for long-term treatment due to its side effects. This study aimed to identify a plant extract (PE) with anti-inflammatory effects on multiple cell types involved in AD development and provide relevant mechanistic evidence. Degranulation was measured in RBL-2H3 cells to screen 30 PEs native to South Korea. To investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of Parasenecio auriculatus var. matsumurana Nakai extract (PAE) in AD, production of cytokines and nitric oxide, activation status of FcεRI and TLR4 signaling, cell-cell junction, and cell viability were evaluated using qRT-PCR, western blotting, confocal microscopy, Griess system, and an MTT assay in RBL-2H3, HEK293, RAW264.7, and HaCaT cells. For in vivo experiments, a DNCBinduced AD mouse model was constructed, and hematoxylin and eosin, periodic acid-Schiff, toluidine blue, and F4/80-staining were performed. The chemical constituents of PAE were analyzed by HPLC-MS. By measuring the anti-degranulation effects of 30 PEs in RBL-2H3 cells, we found that Paeonia lactiflora Pall., PA, and Rehmannia glutinosa (Gaertn.) Libosch. ex Steud. show an inhibitory activity of more than 50%. Of these, PAE most dramatically and consistently suppressed cytokine expression, including IL-4, IL-9, IL-13, and TNF-α. PAE potently inhibited FcεRI signaling, which mechanistically supports its basophil-stabilizing effects, and PAE downregulated cytokines and NO production in macrophages via perturbation of toll-like receptor signaling. Moreover, PAE suppressed cytokine production in keratinocytes and upregulated the expression of tight junction molecules ZO-1 and occludin. In a DNCB-induced AD mouse model, the topical application of PAE significantly improved atopic index scores, immune cell infiltration, cytokine expression, abnormal activation of signaling molecules in FcεRI and TLR signaling, and damaged skin structure compared with dexamethasone. The anti-inflammatory effect of PAE was mainly due to integerrimine. Our findings suggest that PAE could potently inhibit multi-inflammatory cells involved in AD development, synergistically block the propagation of inflammatory responses, and thus alleviate AD symptoms.

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.225-240
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• 2022

Gyeonggi-do comprises several types of areas, including urban, semi-urban, and rural areas. The availability of public transportation services varies depending on the area types, but the fare structure is based on a simple transfer rule, i.e., a transfer is free when completed within 30 minutes. As a result, users in non-urban areas with a poor frequency of public transportation services do not receive transfer discounts because most of the bus routes in these areas have a gap of more than 30 minutes between services. In terms of equality of opportunity, the transfer rule is being applied unfavorably and, as a result, equality of opportunity of the non-urban commuter is severely affected. Therefore, this study analyzed the user benefits mainly stemming from transfer fares using the smart card data of commuters using public transportation in Gyeonggi-do. An index called the beneficiary rate of the free transfer was developed and a scenario analysis was conducted based on the various levels of the rate. The results of this analysis proved that the users of public transportation services in non-urban areas in Gyeonggi-do can only receive transfer benefits by the extended time for free transfer and not by the implementation of a uniform policy irrespective of the type of area. The study also suggested an equitable fare transfer system and policy alternatives.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.315-323
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• 2023

Post-mortem computed tomography (PMCT) is commonly employed in the field of forensic pathology. PMCT was mainly performed using a whole-body scan with a wide field of view (FOV), which lead to a decrease in spatial resolution due to the increased pixel size. This study aims to evaluate the potential for developing a super-resolution model based on conditional generative adversarial networks (CGAN) to enhance the image quality of CT. 1761 low-resolution images were obtained using a whole-body scan with a wide FOV of the head phantom, and 341 high-resolution images were obtained using the appropriate FOV for the head phantom. Of the 150 paired images in the total dataset, which were divided into training set (96 paired images) and validation set (54 paired images). Data augmentation was perform to improve the effectiveness of training by implementing rotations and flips. To evaluate the performance of the proposed model, we used the Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR), Structural Similarity Index Measure (SSIM) and Deep Image Structure and Texture Similarity (DISTS). Obtained the PSNR, SSIM, and DISTS values of the entire image and the Medial orbital wall, the zygomatic arch, and the temporal bone, where fractures often occur during head trauma. The proposed method demonstrated improvements in values of PSNR by 13.14%, SSIM by 13.10% and DISTS by 45.45% when compared to low-resolution images. The image quality of the three areas where fractures commonly occur during head trauma has also improved compared to low-resolution images.

• Clean Technology
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.172-181
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• 2010

Hydrofluoroethers (HFEs) with fluoride molecules in their structure which are evaluated as the third generation replacement alternatives to chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are known to be excellent for removal of nanoparticles and fluoride-type soils due to their low surface tension and high wetting index. In addition, HFEs have good physical properties with no flash point and excellent drying characteristics. But, HFEs also have shortcomings in that they are not effective for removal of organic soils due to their poor solubility in soil. In this study, $C_5$ HFE-based cleaning agents were formulated through addition of solvents such as isopropyl alcohol (IPA), ethyleneglycol monoether (EG), propyleneglycol monoethylether (PM) to HFE-7100 [$CF_3CF_2CF_2CF_2OCH_3$] or HFE-mec-f [$CF_3CHF=CF_2OCH_2CF_3$] with its maximum amount, respectively, in order to have no flash point for the safety in the working environment. These solvents are known to be excellent for dissolving organics in soil. Their physical properties and cleaning abilities for fluxes, water-insoluble cutting oils, and fluoride-type oils were evaluated and compared with those of other cleaning agents with single components. The experimental results show that the HFE-based formulated cleaning agents have various good physical properties which are almost similar to those of a single type of HFE cleaner. They show excellent cleaning ability for fluxes, water-insoluble cutting oils, and fluoride-type oils. These results indicate that the HFE-based formulated cleaning agents can be applicable to various industrial cleaning fields because of their good physical properties and cleaning abilities for various soils.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.7
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• pp.991-1002
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• 2023

Objective: This study aimed to elucidate the underlying gene regions responsible for productive, phenotypic or adaptive traits in different ecological types of Tibetan sheep and the discovery of important genes encoding valuable traits. Methods: We used whole-genome resequencing to explore the genetic relationships, phylogenetic tree, and population genetic structure analysis. In addition, we identified 28 representative Tibetan sheep single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and genomic selective sweep regions with different traits in Tibetan sheep by fixation index (Fst) and the nucleotide diversity (θπ) ratio. Results: The genetic relationships analysis showed that each breed partitioned into its own clades and had close genetic relationships. We also identified many potential breed-specific selective sweep regions, including genes associated with hypoxic adaptability (MTOR, TRHDE, PDK1, PTPN9, TMTC2, SOX9, EPAS1, PDGFD, SOCS3, TGFBR3), coat color (MITF, MC1R, ERCC2, TCF25, ITCH, TYR, RALY, KIT), wool traits (COL4A2, ERC2, NOTCH2, ROCK1, FGF5, SOX9), and horn phenotypes (RXFP2). In particular, a horn-related gene, RXFP2, showed the four most significantly associated SNP loci (g. 29481646 A>G, g. 29469024 T>C, g. 29462010 C>T, g. 29461968 C>T) and haplotypes. Conclusion: This finding demonstrates the potential for genetic markers in future molecular breeding programs to improve selection for horn phenotypes. The results will facilitate the understanding of the genetic basis of production and adaptive unique traits in Chinese indigenous Tibetan sheep taxa and offer a reference for the molecular breeding of Tibetan sheep.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.325-333
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• 2023

This study compared and analyzed the microbial composition and physicochemical characteristics of kimchi (gimjang kimchi) and mukeunji (aged kimchi). Commercial kimchi and mukeunji products were purchased through an online market. After an analysis of physicochemical characteristics, the pH of the mukeunji samples was found to be lower and the acidity higher than in the kimchi samples. There was no significant difference in salinity between kimchi and mukeunji, but the sugar content was higher in the kimchi samples. The phylogenetic diversity index, which incorporates phylogenetic difference between species, was significantly higher in mukeunji than in the kimchi. The most dominant order in both groups was Lactobacillales, but several lactic acid bacteria, such as the Pediococcus and Lactobacillus species, which may be more acid tolerant or more competitive, are relatively predominant in mukeunji. Beta set-significance analysis based on two different distance metric results revealed that microbial distributions of population were different at the statistical confidence level (p<0.001). We investigated the effect of respective species on total microbial community using the LEfSe (linear discriminant analysis effect size) mechanism. According to the results of LEfSe testing, a relatively higher abundance of Weissella kandleri in kimchi and a higher abundance of Pediococcus inopinatus in mukeunji have the greatest influence on the differences in microbial structure between the two groups.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.264-271
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• 2023

In this study, ASCO^Ⓡ SLES-430 surfactant was synthesized by adducting 3 moles of ethylene oxide and 1 mole of propylene oxide to lauryl alcohol followed by a sulfation process, and the structure of the synthesized ASCO^Ⓡ SLES-430 was elucidated by performing FT-IR, ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR analyses. Interfacial properties such as critical micelle concentration, static surface tension, emulsification index, and contact angle were measured, and environmental compatibility indices such as oral toxicity and skin irritation were also estimated for ASCO^Ⓡ SLES-430. Both results were compared with ASCO^Ⓡ SLES-226 and ASCO^Ⓡ SLES-328 SLES surfactants possessing 2 moles and 3 moles of ethylene oxide, respectively. In particular, both foaming ability and foam stability were evaluated for ASCO^Ⓡ SLES-430 and compared with ASCO^Ⓡ SLES-226 and ASCO^Ⓡ SLES-328, which have been widely used in detergent products, in order to test the potential applicability of ASCO^Ⓡ SLES-430 in detergent product formulation for a small capacity built-in washing machine.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.14 no.10
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• pp.43-53
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• 2009

Knowledge retrieval service that uses collective intelligence which has special quality of open structure and can share the accumulative data is gaining popularity. However, acquiring the right needs for users from massive public knowledge is getting harder. Recently, search results from Google which is known for it's exquisite algorism, shows results for collective intelligence such as Wikipedia, Yahoo Q/A at the highest rank. Objective of this paper is to show that most answers come from human and to find the most influential people in on-line knowledge retrieval service. Hereupon, this paper suggest the influence value calculation algorism by analyzing user relation as centrality which social network is based on user activeness and reliance in Naver 지식iN. The influence value calculated by the suggested algorism will be an important index in distinguishing reliable and the right user for the question by ranking users with troubleshooting solutions in the knowledge retrieval service. This will contribute in search satisfaction by acquiring the right information and knowledge for the users which is the most important objective for knowledge retrieval service.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.325-331
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• 2022

As IoT devices are used in various ways in an edge network environment, multiple studies are being conducted that utilizes the information collected from IoT devices in various applications. However, it is not easy to apply accurate IoT data immediately as IoT data collected according to network environment (interference, interference, etc.) are frequently missed or error occurs. In order to minimize mistakes in IoT data collected in an edge network environment, this paper proposes a management technique that ensures the reliability of IoT data by randomly generating signature values of IoT data and allocating only Security Information (SI) values to IoT data in bit form. The proposed technique binds IoT data into a blockchain by applying multiple hash chains to asymmetrically link and process data collected from IoT devices. In this case, the blockchainized IoT data uses a probability function to which a weight is applied according to a correlation index based on deep learning. In addition, the proposed technique can expand and operate grouped IoT data into an n-layer structure to lower the integrity and processing cost of IoT data.

• Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.353-360
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• 2019

Purpose: In the treatment of Dupuytren's contracture, the aim of optical treatment is to lower the recurrence rate and reduce complications. This paper reports the results of subtotal fasciectomy in Dupuytren's contracture, extending the excision of palmar fascial structures from the diseased to normal appearing adjacent fascial structure. Materials and Methods: From 2007 to 2017, 45 patients with Dupuytren's contracture treated by subtotal fasciectomy were reviewed retrospectively. The mean follow-up period was 45.9 months. Ninety-two digits were involved (index: 2, middle: 10, ring: 44, little: 36). The predisposing factors and affected joint were reviewed and the preoperative and postoperative contracture was measured. For clinical results, quick disabilities of the arm, shoulder, and hand (quick DASH) were used. Complications, including wound or skin problems, nerve injuries, hematoma, and complex regional pain syndrome, were assessed. Results: Preoperative flexion contracture was 43.2° in the proximal interphalangeal joint and 32.9° in the metacarpophalangeal joint. In nine cases, patients had residual contracture of 9.7° (range, 5°-20°) on average and if the total number of cases were included, the mean residual contracture was 2.3° on average. The quick DASH score at the 12 months follow-up was 12.4. The overall complication rate was 26.6%. Conclusion: Subtotal fasciectomy can be a good surgical treatment option for Dupuytren's contracture with a low recurrence and low complication rate compared to other open procedures.