• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.593-607
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• 2012

The Ministry of Environment have started the 'National Ecosystem Survey' since 1986. It has been carried out nationwide every ten years as the largest survey project in Korea. The second one and the third one produced the GIS-based inventory of species. Three survey methods were different from each other. There were few studies for species distribution using national survey data in Korea. The purposes of this study are to test species distribution models for finding the most suitable modeling methods for the National Ecosystem Survey data and to investigate the modeling results according to survey methods and taxonominal group. Occurrence data of nine species were extracted from the National Ecosystem Survey by taxonomical group (plant, mammal, and bird). Plants are Korean winter hazel (Corylopsis coreana), Iris odaesanensis (Iris odaesanensis), and Berchemia (Berchemia berchemiaefolia). Mammals are Korean Goral (Nemorhaedus goral), Marten (Martes flavigula koreana), and Leopard cat (Felis bengalensis). Birds are Black Woodpecker (Dryocopus martius), Eagle Owl (Bubo Bubo), and Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo). Environmental variables consisted of climate, topography, soil and vegetation structure. Two modeling methods (GAM, Maxent) were tested across nine species, and predictive species maps of target species were produced. The results of this study were as follows. Firstly, Maxent showed similar 5 cross-validated AUC with GAM. Maxent is more useful model to develop than GAM because National Ecosystem Survey data has presence-only data. Therefore, Maxent is more useful species distribution model for National Ecosystem Survey data. Secondly, the modeling results between the second and third survey methods showed sometimes different because of each different surveying methods. Therefore, we need to combine two data for producing a reasonable result. Lastly, modeling result showed different predicted distribution pattern by taxonominal group. These results should be considered if we want to develop a species distribution model using the National Ecosystem Survey and apply it to a nationwide biodiversity research.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.129-135
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• 2007

Ecdysteroids are known as insect molting hormone. At the same time, ecdysteroids and plant ecdysteroids (phytoecdysteorids) reveal beneficial effects on mammal. The present study was undertaken to determine the possible cellular mechanism of action of phytoecdysteroids in bone metabolism. The effects on the osteoblasts were determined by measuring cell proliferation, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and gelatinase activity. The effects on the osteoclasts were investigated by measuring tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)(+) multinucleated cells (MNCs) formation after culturing osteoclast precursors. Phytoecdysteroid treatment showed a increase in ALP activity of osteoblasts. Phytoecdysteroid increased the activity of gelatinase. In addition, phytoecdysteroid decreased the osteoclast generation induced by macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) and receptor activator of NF-kB ligand (RANKL) in (M-CSF)-dependent bone marrow macrophage (MDBM) cell cultures. Taken these results, phytoecdysteroid may be a regulatory protein within the bone marrow microenvironment.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.285-291
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• 2017

Many methods have been studied to estimate the time delay between incoming signals to two receivers. In the case of the method based on the channel estimation technique, the relative delay between the input signals of the two receivers is estimated as an impulse response of the channel between the two signals. In this case, the characteristic of the channel has sparsity. Most of the existing methods do not take advantage of the channel sparseness. In this paper, we propose a time delay estimation method using BPD (Basis Pursuit Denoising) optimization technique, which is one of the sparse signal optimization methods, in order to utilize the channel sparseness. Compared with the existing GCC (Generalized Cross Correlation) method, adaptive eigen decomposition method and RZA-LMS (Reweighted Zero-Attracting Least Mean Square), the proposed method shows that it can mitigate the threshold phenomenon even under a white Gaussian source, a colored signal source and oceanic mammal sound source.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.186-194
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• 2017

A brain-enriched secreting signal peptide, NELL2, has been suggested to play multiple roles in the development, survival, and activity of neurons in mammal. We investigated here a possible involvement of central NELL2 in regulating feeding behavior and metabolism. In situ hybridization and an immunohistochemical approach were used to determine expression of NELL2 as well as its colocalization with proopiomelanocortin (POMC) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the rat hypothalamus. To investigate the effect of NELL2 on feeding behavior, 2 nmole of antisense NELL2 oligodeoxynucleotide was administered into the lateral ventricle of adult male rat brains for 6 consecutive days, and changes in daily body weight, food, and water intake were monitored. Metabolic state-dependent NELL2 expression in the hypothalamus was tested in vivo using a fasting model. NELL2 was noticeably expressed in the hypothalamic nuclei controlling feeding behavior. Furthermore, all arcuatic POMC and NPY positive neurons produced NELL2. The NELL2 gene expression in the hypothalamus was up-regulated by fasting. However, NELL2 did not affect POMC and NPY gene expression in the hypothalamus. A blockade of NELL2 production in the hypothalamus led to a reduction in daily food intake, followed by a loss in body weight without a change in daily water intake in normal diet condition. NELL2 did not affect short-term hunger dependent appetite behavior. Our data suggests that hypothalamic NELL2 is associated with appetite behavior, and thus central NELL2 could be a new therapeutic target for obesity.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.281-287
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• 2013

In mammal, unfertilized oocytes remain in the oviduct or under in vitro culture, which is called "oocyte aging". This asynchrony negatively affects fertilization in pre- and post-implantation embryo development. Caffeine a phosphodiesterase inhibitor is known to rescue oocyte aging in several species. The objective of this study is to determine the cytoskeleton distribution in aged oocytes and the embryo developmental ability of aged oocytes in the present or absence of caffeine during maturation. Caffeine treatment increased the incidence of normal spindle assembly of aged oocytes (treatment, $67.57{\pm}4.11%$ aging, $44.61{\pm}6.4%$) and no significant differences compared to control group. Fluorescence values were compared using ROS (Reactive oxidation species) stain. Fluorescence values appear of control group intensity rate ($51.53.{\pm}3.80$), aging group ($68.10{\pm}5.54$) and treatment of caffeine ($45.04{\pm}2.98$). Aged oocytes that were derived from addition of caffeine to the IVM (in vitro maturation) medium had significantly increased 2-cell that developed to the blastocyst stage compared to the aging group. Blastocysts, derived from caffeine treatment group, significantly increased the total cell number compare aging ($90.44{\pm}10.18$ VS $67.88{\pm}7.72$). Apoptotic fragments of genomic DNA were measured in individual embryo using TUNEL assay. Blastocyst derived from caffeine treatment group decreased significantly the apoptotic index compared to blastocyst derived from aging group. In conclusion, we inferred that the caffeine treatment during oocyte aging can improve the developmental rate and quality in bovine embryos developing in vitro.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.230-236
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• 2012

The Korean hare, Lepus coreanus, is an important mammal in ecosystem food chains, and is distributed across the entire Korean peninsula and northeastern China. Polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed using the biotinenrichment technique for use in population genetics studies. Five trinucleotide and four dinucleotide microsatellite loci were selected and tested on 22 Korean hare specimens collected from Gangwon Province and Gyeongsangbuk Province in South Korea. The number of alleles across the two sampling regions ranged from three to nine with a mean of 6.1. Mean observed and expected heterozygosities and polymorphic information content were 0.540, 0.627 and 0.579, respectively. Only one locus, Lc06, showed departure from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium after applying the Bonferroni correction. Four microsatellites, Lc01, Lc03, Lc12, and Lc19, satisfied the criteria to serve as a core set of markers recommended for population genetics studies. These new microsatellite markers will be widely applicable to future genetic studies for management and conservation of the Korean hare and related species, including assessment of the genetic diversity and population structure of L. coreanus.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.321-334
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• 2021

'Marine mammals-based observations' refers to data acquisition activities from marine mammals by instrumenting CTD (Conductivity-Temperature-Depth) sensors on them for recording vertical profiles of ocean variables such as temperature and salinity during animal diving. It is a novel data collecting platform that significantly improves our abilities in observing extreme environments such as the Southern Ocean with low cost compared to the other conventional methods. Furthermore, the system continues to create valuable information until sensors are detached, expanding data coverage in both space and time. Owing to these practical advantages, the marine mammals-based observations become popular to investigate ocean circulation changes in the Southern Ocean. Although these merits may bring us more opportunities to understand ocean changes, the data should be carefully qualified before we interpret it incorporating shipboard/autonomous vehicles/moored CTD data. In particular, we need to pay more attention to salinity correction due to the usage of an unpumped-CTD sensor tagged on marine mammals. In this article, we introduce quality control methods for the marine mammals-based CTD profiles that have been developed in recent studies. In addition, we discuss strategies of quality control specifically for the seal-tagging CTD profiles, successfully having been obtained near Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea, Antarctica since February 2021. It is the Korea Polar Research Institute's research initiative of animal-borne instruments monitoring in the region. We anticipate that this initiative would facilitate collaborative efforts among Polar physical oceanographers and even marine mammal behavior researchers to understand better rapid changes in marine environments in the warming world.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.179-187
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• 2023

Nanogenerators containing biomaterials are eco-friendly electronic devices in terms of being a non-polluting energy source and biodegradable electronic waste. In particular, the amount of waste will be also reduced if the biomaterial can be extracted from biowaste. In this study, a triboelectric nanogenerator was fabricated using animal collagen present in the skin of a mammal and its characteristion was proformed. The electro-anodic layer of the triboelectric nanogenerator was constructed by forming a collagen film using the spin coating method, and it was confirmed that the film was porous from scanning electron microscopy. The fabricated triboelectric nanogenerator exhibited an open-circuit voltage from 7 V at 3 Hz to 15 V at 5 Hz due to periodic mechanical movement, and a short-circuit current of 3.8 uA at 5 Hz. In conclusion, collagen-containing triboelectric nanogenerators can be power source for low-power operating devices such as sensors and are also expected to be useful for reducing electronic waste.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.227-234
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• 2022

Covert Underwater Communication (CUC) signals should not be detected by other unintended users. Similar to the method used in Radio Frequency (RF), covert communication technique sending information underwater is designed in consideration of the characteristics of Low Probability of Detection (LPD) and Low Probability of Intercept (LPI). These conventional methods, however, are difficult to be used in the underwater communications because of the narrow frequency bandwidth. Unlike the conventional methods of reducing transmission power or increasing the modulation bandwidth, a method of mimicking the acoustic signal of an underwater mammal is being studied. The biomimetic underwater acoustic communication mainly mimics the click or whistle sound produced by dolphin or whale. This paper investigates biomimetic communication method and introduces research trends to understand the potential for the development of such biomimetic covert underwater acoustic communication and future research areas.

• KIPS Transactions on Software and Data Engineering
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.237-242
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• 2023

Research on high-performance walking robots is being actively conducted, and quadruped walking robots are receiving a lot of attention due to their excellent mobility and adaptability on uneven terrain, but they are difficult to introduce and utilize due to high cost. In this paper, to increase utilization by applying intelligent functions to a low-cost quadruped robot, we present a method of improving uneven terrain overcoming ability by mounting IMU and reinforcement learning on embedded board and automatically detecting objects using camera and deep learning. The robot consists of the legs of a quadruped mammal, and each leg has three degrees of freedom. We train complex terrain in simulation environments with designed 3D model and apply it to real robot. Through the application of this research method, it was confirmed that there was no significant difference in walking ability between flat and non-flat terrain, and the behavior of performing person detection in real time under limited experimental conditions was confirmed.