• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.120-132
• /
• 2008

Remotely sensed images from a satellite can be applied for detecting and quantifying spatial and temporal variations in terms of landuse & landcover, crop growth, and disaster for agricultural applications. The purposes of this study were to analyze topography using DEM(digital elevation model) and classify landuse & landcover into 10 classes-paddy field, dry field, forest, bare land, grass & bush, water body, reclaimed land, salt farm, residence & building, and others-using Landsat TM images in North Korea. Elevation was greater than 1,000 meters in the eastern part of North Korea around Ranggang-do where Kaemagowon was located. Pyeongnam and Hwangnam in the western part of North Korea were low in elevation. Topography of North Korea showed typical 'east-high and west-low' landform characteristics. Landcover classification of North Korea using spectral reflectance of multi-temporal Landsat TM images was performed and the statistics of each landcover by administrative district, slope, and agroclimatic zone were calculated in terms of area. Forest areas accounted for 69.6 percent of the whole area while the areas of dry fields and paddy fields were 15.7 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively. Bare land and water body occupied 6.6 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively. Residence & building reached less than 1 percent of the country. Paddy field areas concentrated in the A slope ranged from 0 to 2 percent(greater than 80 percent). The dry field areas were shown in the A slope the most, followed by D, E, C, B, and F slopes. According to the statistics by agroclimatic zone, paddy and dry fields were mainly distributed in the North plain region(N-6) and North western coastal region(N-7). Forest areas were evenly distributed all over the agroclimatic regions. Periodic landcover analysis of North Korea based on remote sensing technique using satellite imagery can produce spatial and temporal statistics information for future landuse management and planning of North Korea.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.52 no.12
• /
• pp.1337-1347
• /
• 2009

Purpose:Taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid) is a simple sulfur-containing amino acid. It is abundantly present in tissues such as brain, retina, heart, and skeletal muscles. Current studies have demonstrated the neuroprotective effects of taurine, but limited data are available for such effects during neonatal period. The aim of this study was to determine whether taurine could reduce hypoxic-ischemic (HI) cerebral injury via anti-apoptosis mechanism. Methods:Embryonic cortical neurons isolated from Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats at 18 days gestation were cultured in vitro. The cells were divided into hypoxia group, taurine-treated group before hypoxic insult, and taurine-treated group after HI insult. In the in vivo model, left carotid artery ligation was performed in 7-day-old SD rat pups. The pups were exposed to hypoxia, administered an injection of 30 mg/kg of taurine, and killed at 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, and 4 weeks after the hypoxic insult. We compared the expressions of Bcl-2, Bax, and caspase-3 among the 3 groups by using real- time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and western blotting. Results:The cells in the taurine-treated group before hypoxic insult, although similar in appearance to those in the normoxia group, were lesser in number. In the taurine-treated group, Bcl-2 expression increased, whereas Bax and caspase-3 expressions reduced. Conclusion:Taurine exerts neuroprotective effects onperinatal HI brain injury due to its anti-apoptotic effect. The neuroprotective effect was maximal at 1-2 weeks after the hypoxic injury.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
• /
• v.27 no.5
• /
• pp.385-396
• /
• 2001

The purpose of this experiment was to examine the histological changes and the pattern of expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen(PCNA) and type I collagen in the elongated bone affected by osteodistraction of the mandibular body in an adult canine model. Seven adult male mongrel dogs weighing over 20kg were used for this experiment. The author excluded 3 animals because they died before the planned time of sacrifice. The custom-made linear extraoral device and 4 bicortical fixation screws 2.3mm in diameter, 50mm in total length, 15mm in screw length were used in each animal. The distal part of the distractor produced a 0.75mm gap between proximal and distal bony segments every $360^{\circ}$ turn of the rotation rod of the device. The mandibular body of the right side from each animal was experimental side and the left side was left intact and served as control. At the experimental side, the mandibular body was osteotomized. After 5-day latency period, the segments were distracted with a rate of 1.1mm/day and a rhythm of two/day for ensuing 7 days. The animals were sacrificed at the 4th. 17th, and 32th day after the end of the distraction. The bony specimens were decalcified, embedded in paraffin, sectioned $5{\mu}m$ thick and stained with Masson trichrome and examined under the light microscope. The immunohistochemical examinations using anti-PCNA antibody and anti-type-I collagen antibody were performed to examine the pattern of the expression of PCNA and type I collagen, respectively. Results : 1. The mean increment of the distance between the proximal and distal screw-holding parts of the distractor was 6.8mm. The average elongation of the mandible in the experimental side was 5.3mm. The loss of elongation was 1.5mm in average. 2. New bone was already observed at the 4th. day after the end of distraction. But, bony union was not completed in the distraction gap at the 32th. day after the end of distraction by radiographic and microscopic examinations. 3. The expression rate of PCNA positive cells in the distraction gap had a tendency of decrease from 35.1-68.8% initially, to 49.1%, and finally to 17.6-27.2%. But at the final period, the tissue of the elongated gap still had the ability of cell proliferation. On the other hand, the expression of PCNA positive cells in the control side were negligible through the experimental period. 4. PCNA positive cells were observed primarily both at the central fibrous zone and at the region of just adjacent to CFZ which initiated new bone formation. 5. The expression pattern of the type I collagen was not zone-specific. They were observed diffusely throughout the elongation gap. 6. The predominant mechanism of new bone formation in the distraction gap was intramembranous. But, some of the regenerated bone was formed by endochondral ossification.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
• /
• v.23 no.6
• /
• pp.283-290
• /
• 2013

A stoichiometric mixture of evaporating materials for $MgGa_2Se_4$ single crystal thin films was prepared from horizontal electric furnace. To obtain the single crystal thin films, $MgGa_2Se_4$ mixed crystal was deposited on thoroughly etched semi-insulating GaAs(100) substrate by the Hot Wall Epitaxy (HWE) system. The source and substrate temperatures were $610^{\circ}C$ and $400^{\circ}C$, respectively. The crystalline structure of the single crystal thin films was investigated by double crystal X-ray diffraction (DCXD). The temperature dependence of the energy band gap of the $MgGa_2Se_4$ obtained from the absorption spectra was well described by the Varshni's relation, $E_g(T)=2.34 eV-(8.81{\times}10^{-4}eV/K)T^2/(T+251K)$. The crystal field and the spin-orbit splitting energies for the valence band of the $MgGa_2Se_4$ have been estimated to be 190.6 meV and 118.8 meV, respectively, by means of the photocurrent spectra and the Hopfield quasicubic model. These results indicate that the splitting of the ${\Delta}so$ definitely exists in the ${\Gamma}_5$ states of the valence band of the $MgGa_2Se_4$/GaAs epilayer. The three photocurrent peaks observed at 10 K are ascribed to the $A_{1^-}$, $B_{1^-}$exciton for n = 1 and $C_{27}-exciton$ peaks for n = 27.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
• /
• v.25 no.5
• /
• pp.341-348
• /
• 2002

Correlations among the island area, distance to mainland, latitude, longitude, human impacts, diversity and composition of vascular plants were investigated by analyzing data on 261 islands(10.3% of total number of islands in Korea) selected from the annual reports for 'the natural evironment survey of the uninhabited islands in Korea' published by 'Ministry of Environment' during three years from 1999. The area of surveyed 261 islands ranged 1,100 to 961,000㎡(average of 75,000㎡), and the distance to mainland ranged 0.15 to 51.5km (average of 14.9km). Total number of plant species recorded in those islands was 1,109 species throughout 30 families, and mean mumber of plant species of each island was 98.7 species. Native species were 1,003 species (90.4%), and exotic species were 106 species(9.6%). The families with the largest number of species was the Compositae with 114 species, and followed in the order of Gramineae(90), Leguminosae(54), and Rosaceae(53). The result of multi-dimensional scaling analysis based on the plant species composition showed that 261 islands were distinctly divided into two groups, western sea group(131 islands) and southern sea group(130 islands). The islands of western sea group(average area of 93,000㎡) had greatly larger area than them of southern sea group(average area of 57,000㎡), but the average number of species (average species of 192) per island were less than in southern sea group (average species of 233). And, the partitioning into two groups was responsible for the species restricted to southern than to western sea group. Therefore, this results suggest that the distribution pattern and the composition of plant species could be also affected by the latitude of the island. When the species-area model was applied to total island and plant species, these results indicate that the island area was the most significant predictor of plant species diversity, and the distance to mainland and the human impacts were also shown to be significant predictors of plant species richness. But when applied to both groups of islands by the stepwise selection method, the result showed that islands of southern sea group were greatly affected by the factors such as human impacts, distance to mainland and longitude than western sea group. For the purpose of conservation of natural ecosystem on the uninhabited islands in Korea, we will also examine how the human impacts and the invasion of exotic plant species will disturb the native species diversity.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
• /
• v.33 no.3
• /
• pp.316-326
• /
• 1999

Purpose: We evaluated the feasibility of extracting pure left ventricular blood pool and myocardial time-activity curves (TACs) and of generating factor images from human dynamic N-13 ammonia PET using factor analysis. The myocardial blood flow (MBF) estimates obtained with factor analysis were compared with those obtained with the user drawn region-of-interest (ROI) method. Materials and Methods: Stress and rest N-13 ammonia cardiac PET imaging was acquired for 23 min in 5 patients with coronary artery disease using GE Advance tomograph. Factor analysis generated physiological TACs and factor images using the normalized TACs from each dixel. Four steps were involved in this algorithm: (a) data preprocessing; (b) principal component analysis; (c) oblique rotation with positivity constraints; (d) factor image computation. Area under curves and MBF estimated using the two compartment N-13 ammonia model were used to validate the accuracy of the factor analysis generated physiological TACs. The MBF estimated by factor analysis was compared to the values estimated by using the ROI method. Results: MBF values obtained by factor analysis were linearly correlated with MBF obtained by the ROI method (slope = 0.84, r = 0.91), Left ventricular blood pool TACs obtained by the two methods agreed well (Area under curve ratio: 1.02 ($0{\sim}1min$), 0.98 ($0{\sim}2min$), 0.86 ($1{\sim}2min$)). Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrates that MBF can be measured accurately and noninvasively with dynamic N-13 ammonia PET imaging and factor analysis. This method is simple and accurate, and can measure MBF without blood sampling, ROI definition or spillover correction.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.51 no.2
• /
• pp.87-97
• /
• 2018

The cesium (Cs) removal from the contaminated water system has been considered to be difficult because the cesium likes to exist as soluble phases such as ion and complexes than the solid in water system. Many researches have focused on developing the breakthrough adsorbent to increase the cesium removal efficiency in water. In this study, the laboratory scale experiments were performed to investigate the feasibility of the adsorption process using the bamboo charcoal for the Cs contaminated water system. The Cs removal efficiency of the bamboo charcoal were measured and the optimal adsorption conditions were determined by the adsorption batch experiments. Total 5 types of commercialized bamboo charcoals in Korea were used to identify their surface properties from SEM-EDS and XRD analyses and 3 types of bamboo charcoals having large specific surface areas were used for the adsorption batch experiment. The batch experiments to calculate the Cs removal efficiency were performed at conditions of various Cs concentration (0.01 - 10 mg/L), pH (3 - 11), temperature ($5-30^{\circ}C$), and adsorption time (10 - 120 min.). Experimental results were fitted to the Langmuir adsorption isotherm curve and their adsorption constants were determined to understand the adsorption properties of bamboo charcoal for Cs contaminated water system. From results of SEM-EDS analyses, the surfaces of bamboo charcoal particles were composed of typical fiber structures having various pores and dense lamella structures in supporting major adsorption spaces for Cs. From results of adsorption batch experiments, the Cs-133 removal efficiency of C type bamboo charcoal was the highest among those of 3 bamboo charcoal types and it was higher than 75 % (maximum of 82 %) even when the initial Cs concentration in water was lower than 1.0 mg/L, suggesting that the adsorption process using the bamboo charcoal has a great potential to remove Cs from the genuine Cs contaminated water, of which Cs concentration is low (< 1.0 mg/L) in general. The high Cs removal efficiency of bamboo charcoal was maintained in a relatively wide range of temperatures and pHs, supporting that the usage of the bamboo charcoal is feasible for various types of water. Experimental results were similar to the Langmuir adsorption model and the maximum amount of Cs adsorption (qm:mg/g) was 63.4 mg/g, which was higher than those of commercialized adsorbents used in previous studies. The surface coverage (${\theta}$) of bamboo charcoal was also maintained in low when the Cs concentration in water was < 1.0 mg/L, investigating that the Cs contaminated water can be remediated up with a small amount of bamboo charcoal.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.185-192
• /
• 2007

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the role of adiponectin, leptin, and tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$) in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in obese children, and to elucidatethe relationship between these adipokines and insulin resistance. Methods: A total of 61 obese children (M : F=42 : 19, mean age 11.2${\pm}$1.3 years) admitted to our facility between March 2004 and June 2005 were included in this study. Patients were divided into three groups based on their NAFLD status obese children without fatty liver (N=23); obese children with simple steatosis (N=20); and obese children with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) (N=18). The serum levels of adiponectin, leptin, and TNF-${\alpha}$ were measured, and insulin resistance determined by homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) was calculated to estimate insulin resistance. In addition, the VSR (visceralsubcutaneous fat ratio) was estimated using abdominal computed tomography. Results: There was no difference in serum TNF-${\alpha}$ and leptin levels observed between the 3 groups (22.13${\pm}$6.37 vs. 21.35${\pm}$6.95 vs. 25.17${\pm}$9.30; p=0.342 & 20.29${\pm}$8.57 vs. 16.42${\pm}$6.85 vs. 20.10${\pm}$7.86; p=0.330). However, the serum adiponectin level was significantly lower in children with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) than in the other two groups (6.08${\pm}$1.38 in children without steatosis vs. 5.69${\pm}$0.79 in simple steatosis vs. 4.93${\pm}$1.75 in NASH; p=0.026). In addition, the VSR was significantly increased in the NASH group (0.31${\pm}$0.08 vs. 0.32${\pm}$0.11 vs. 0.47${\pm}$0.14; p=0.001), and HOMA-IR revealed a significant difference among the three groups (4.77${\pm}$3.67 vs. 6.89${\pm}$7.05 vs. 10.42${\pm}$6.73; p=0.000). However, there was no significant correlation observed between the adiponectin levels and the HOMA-IR or the VSR (r=-0.117; p=0.450 & r=-0.106; p=0.499). Conclusion: Insulin resistance may affect the development of hepatic steatosis and steatohepatitis in children, and the results of this study suggest that, of several adipokines evaluated, adiponectin is important in the progression of steatosis to steatohepatitis in obese children.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
• /
• v.46 no.5
• /
• pp.535-543
• /
• 2008

Purpose: The objective of this study was to compare the bonding characteristics of a new self-adhesive resin cement to dentin, which does not require bonding and conditioning procedure of the tooth surface, and conventional resin cement. The effect of phosphoric acid etching prior to application of self-adhesive resin cement on the shear bond strength was also evaluated. Material and methods: Fortyfive non-carious human adult molars extracted within 6 months were embedded in chemically cured acrylic resin. The teeth were ground with a series of SiC-papers ending with 800 grit until the flat dentin surfaces of the teeth were exposed. The teeth were randomly divided into 3 experimental groups. In group 1, self-adhesive resin cement, RelyX Unicem (3M ESPE, Seefeld, Germany) was bonded without any conditioning of teeth. In group 2, RelyX Unicem was bonded to teeth after phosphoric acid etching. For group 3, Syntac Primer (Ivoclar Vivadent AG, Schaan, Liechtenstein) was applied to the teeth before Syntac adhesive (Ivoclar Vivadent AG, Schaan, Liechtenstein) and Helibond (Ivoclar Vivadent AG, Schaan, Liechtenstein) followed by conventional resin cement, Variolink II (Ivoclar Vivadent AG, Schaan, Liechtenstein). To make a shear bond strength test model, a plastic tuble (3 mm diameter, 3 mm height) was applied to the dentin surfaces at a right angle and filled it with respective resin cement, and light-polymerized for 40 seconds. All the specimens were stored in distilled water at $37^{\circ}C$ for 24 hours before test. Universal Testing Machine (Z020, Zwick, Ulm, Germany) at a cross head speed of 1 mm/min was used to evaluate the shear bond strength. The failure sites were inspected under a magnifier and Scanning Electron Microscope. The data was analyzed with One way ANOVA and Scheffe test at ${\alpha}$= 0.05. Results: (1) The shear bond strengths to dentin of RelyX Unicem was not significantly different from those of Variolink II/Syntac. (2) Phosphoric acid etching lowered the shear bond strength of RelyX Unicem significantly. (3) Most of RelyX Unicem and Variolink II showed mixed fractures, while all the specimens of RelyX Unicem with phosphoric acid etching demonstrated adhesive failure between dentin and resin cement. Conclusion: Shear bond strength to dentin of self-adhesive resin cement is not significantly different from conventional resin cement, and phosphoric acid etching decrease the shear bond strength to dentin of self-adhesive resin cement.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.52 no.2
• /
• pp.129-138
• /
• 2019

Purpose: Medicinal herbs have recently attracted attention as health beneficial foods and source materials for drug development. Recent studies have demonstrated that extracts of Lycium's fruits and roots have a range of physiologically active substances. The extract of Lycium's leaves has been reported to have excellent anti-oxidant and anti-microbial activity, but its anti-inflammatory efficacy is not known. The chlorophyll present in the leaves can act as an anti-oxidant or pro-oxidant depending on the presence of light. Therefore, this study analyzed the anti-inflammatory effects of Lycium's fruit extract (LFE), leaf extract (LLE), and leaf extract with chlorophyll removal (LLE with CR). Methods: This study examined the inhibitory effects of LFE, LLE, and LLE with CR on pro-inflammatory mediator production as well as on the expression of iNOS and COX-2 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells and BALB/c mice. Results: LFE, LLE, and LLE with CR inhibited the production of pro-inflammatory mediators (NO, $TNF-{\alpha}$, IL-6, and $IL-1{\beta}$) and the expression of iNOS and COX-2 in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the administration of LLE and LLE with CR inhibited the serum pro-inflammatory cytokine levels and suppressed DNA damage in BALB/c mice. In particular, LLE with CR exhibited the highest anti-inflammatory activity. Conclusion: These results suggest that the fruit and leaves of Lycium are potential therapeutic agents against inflammation.