• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.12 no.10
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• pp.1845-1852
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• 2008

The key elements of inter prediction are motion estimation(ME) and motion compensation(MC). Motion estimation is to find the optimum motion vectors, not only by using a distance criteria like the SAD, but also by taking into account the resulting number of 비트s in the 비트 stream. Motion compensation is compensate for movement of blocks of current frame. Inter-prediction Encoding is always the main bottleneck in high-quality streaming applications. Therefore, in real-time streaming applications, dedicated hardware for executing Inter-prediction is required. In this paper, we studied a motion estimator(ME) for H.264/AVC. The designed motion estimator is based on 2-D systolic array and it connects processing elements for fast SAD(Sum of Absolute Difference) calculation in parallel. By providing different path for the upper and lower lesion of each reference data and adjusting the input sequence, consecutive calculation for motion estimation is executed without pipeline stall. With data reuse technique, it reduces memory access, and there is no extra delay for finding optimal partitions and motion vectors. The motion estimator supports variable-block size and takes 328 cycles for macro-block calculation. The proposed architecture is local memory-free different from paper [6] using local memory. This motion estimation encoder can be applicable to real-time video processing.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.172-180
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• 2002

Polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs) are large scale industrial chemicals which are using in diverse applications. The goal of this study was to determine if exposure to 2,2',5,5'-tetrachlorobiphenyl (PCB 52) leads to an increase in the production of active oxidants, and subsequently promotes apoptosis of neuronal SK-N-MC cells. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation was examined in SK-N-MC cells after treatment of PCB 52 by concentrations and incubation times, respectively. It showed that the rate of ROS production in the cells was increased in a does-dependent manner to 45 min, followed by a return towards control levels after 120 min treatment. We also examined the association of PCB-induced apoptosis with the modulation of biomakers of oxidative damage to lipids (malondialdehyde [MDA]) in SK-N-MC cells. Increased MDA was observed in a dose-dependent manner in groups treated with 10, 15, and 20 figJ me of PCB 52 for 24 h. After treatment of PCB 52, the cells did not show any significant change in the rate of Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-SOD) activity. Whereas, the cells had a two-fold greater rate of change in catalase activity at 20 ㎍/㎖ of PCB 52 for 24 h when compared to control group. Korean Ginseng is one of the most important crude drugs which has been used as a traditional Oriental medicine. We next investigated protective effect of extracts of ginseng on cytotoxicity induced by PCB 52 in SK-N-MC cells. Pretreatment of SK-N-MC cells with 25-200 μg/ml of ginseng were reduced cell death in a dose-dependent manner in PCB 52-treated cells. To examine the sensitivity of beta-catenin to ginseng, the protective effect of a range of ginseng concentrations was examined in SK-N-MC cells treated with PCB 52. The result demonstrated that ginseng efficiently blocked PCB 52 inducible beta-catenin proteolysis in a concentration dependent manner. The ROS formation was also measured in the presences of extract of ginseng and superoxide dismutase (inhibitor of oxygen free radical production). The both SOD (400 U/ml) and ginseng (200 μg/ml) significantly inhibited RDS generation in PCB 52-treated group.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SP
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.417-425
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• 2003

H.264, which is the latest video coding standard of both ITU-T(International Telecommunication Union-Telecommunication standardization sector) and MPEG(Moving Picture Experts Group), adopts new video coding tools such as variable block size motion estimation, multiple reference frames, quarter-pel motion estimation/compensation(ME/MC), 4${\times}$4 Integer DCT(Discrete Cosine Transform), and Rate-Distortion Optimization, etc. These new video coding tools provide good coding of efficiency compared with existing video coding standards as H.263, MPEG-4, etc. However, these new coding tools require the increase of encoder complexity. Therefore, in order to apply H.264 to many real applications, fast algorithms are required for H.264 coding tools. In this paper, when encoder MacroBlock(MB) mode is decided by rate-distortion optimization tool, fast mode decision algorithm by skipping variable block size ME/MC and spatial-predictive coding, which occupies most encoder complexity, is proposed. In terms of computational complexity, the proposed method runs about 4 times as far as JM(Joint Model) 42 encoder of H.264, while the PSNR(peak signal-to-noise ratio)s of the decoded images are maintained.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.28-35
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• 2010

The variable block size motion estimation (ME) and compensation (MC) using multiple reference frames is adopted in H.264/AVC to improve coding efficiency. However, the computational complexity for ME/MC increases proportional to the number of reference frames and variable blocks. In this paper, we propose a new efficient reference frame selection algorithm to reduce the complexity while keeping the visual quality. First, a motion vector reference map is constructed by SAD of $4{\times}4$ block unit for multi reference frames. Next, the variable block size motion estimation and motion compensation is performed according to the motion vector reference map. The computer simulation results show that the average loss of BDPSNR is -0.01dB, the increment of BDBR is 0.27%, and the encoding time is reduced by 38% compared with the original method for H.264/AVC.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.58 no.5
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• pp.294-299
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• 2014

In this study, we investigate anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory effects of Leonurus sibiricus seed (LSS) extract in basophilic leukemia RBL-2H3 cells. To identify anti-allergic actions of LSS, the degranulation was evaluated in IgE and DNP-BSA stimulated RBL-2H3 cells. At the concentration of $100{\mu}g/ml$ of methanol (MeOH) extract and Methylene chloride (MC) and Ethyl acetate (EtOAc) fractions, the degranulation was significantly inhibited 16.7%, 16.7% and 27.9% respectively. And then, to assess anti-inflammatory effects of LSS, IL-4 and IL-13 mRNA level were detected in PMA/ionomycin (PI)-induced RBL-2H3 cells and cell proliferation and IL-4 mRNA level in isolated splenocytes from Balb/c mice. LSS MeOH extract and MC and EtOAc fractions significantly decreased the level of IL-4 and IL-13 mRNA in PI-induced RBL-2H3 cells and showed inhibitory effects on cell proliferation and expression of IL-4 mRNA level in mouse splenocytes. Taken together, these results suggest that LSS has potential anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory effects and EtOAc fraction is the most effective in regulating immune responses.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.8
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• pp.2767-2773
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• 2021

We used the GEANT4 Monte Carlo MC Toolkit to simulate carbon ion beams incident on water, tissue, and bone, taking into account nuclear fragmentation reactions. Upon increasing the energy of the primary beam, the position of the Bragg-Peak transfers to a location deeper inside the phantom. For different materials, the peak is located at a shallower depth along the beam direction and becomes sharper with increasing electron density NZ. Subsequently, the generated depth dose of the Bragg curve is then benchmarked with experimental data from GSI in Germany. The results exhibit a reasonable correlation with GSI experimental data with an accuracy of between 0.02 and 0.08 cm, thus establishing the basis to adopt MC in heavy-ion treatment planning. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov K-S test further ascertained from a statistical point of view that the simulation data matched the experimentally measured data very well. The two-dimensional isodose contours at the entrance were compared to those around the peak position and in the tail region beyond the peak, showing that bone produces more dose, in comparison to both water and tissue, due to secondary doses. In the water, the results show that the maximum energy deposited per fragment is mainly attributed to secondary carbon ions, followed by secondary boron and beryllium. Furthermore, the number of protons produced is the highest, thus making the maximum contribution to the total dose deposition in the tail region. Finally, the associated spectra of neutrons and photons were analyzed. The mean neutron energy value was found to be 16.29 MeV, and 1.03 MeV for the secondary gamma. However, the neutron dose was found to be negligible as compared to the total dose due to their longer range.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.11
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• pp.4019-4025
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• 2023

Recently, a new monkey computational phantom, called Visible Monkey, was developed for non-ionizing radiation studies in animal research. In this study, we extended its applications to ionizing radiation studies by implementing the voxel model of the Visible Monkey into three general-purpose Monte Carlo (MC) codes: MCNP6, PHITS, and Geant4. The implementation work for MCNP and PHITS was conducted using the LATTICE, UNIVERSE, and FILL cards. The G4VNestedParameterisation class was used for Geant4. Then, organ dose coefficients (DCs) for idealized photon beams in the antero-posterior direction were calculated using the three codes and compared, showing excellent agreement (differences <3%). Additionally, organ DCs in other directions (postero-anterior, left-lateral, and right-lateral) were calculated and compared with those of the newborn and 1-year-old reference phantoms. Significant differences were observed (e.g., the stomach DC of the monkey was 5-fold greater than that of the 1-year-old phantom at 0.03 MeV) while the differences tended to decrease with increasing energy (mostly <20% at 10 MeV). The results of this study allows conducting MC simulations using the Visible Monkey to estimate organ-level doses, which should be valuable to support/improve monkey experiments involving ionizing radiation exposures.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 1994.04a
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• pp.297-297
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• 1994

It has been known that adrenal corticosteroids influence the expression of adrenomedullary catecholamine-synthetizing enzymes and also suppress the emission of axonal-like processes in cultured chromaffin cells. In the present study, it was attempted ta investigate the effect of 17${\alpha}$-estradiol on catecholamine(CA) secretion evoked by acetylcholine(ACh), DMPP, McN-A-343, excess K$\^$+/ and Bay-K-8644 from the isolated perfused rat adrenal gland. The perfusion of 17${\alpha}$-estradiol (10$\^$-6/ 10$\^$-4/M) me an adrenal vein for 20min produced relatively dose-dependent inhibition in CA secretion evoked by ACh (5.5 ${\times}$ 10$\^$-3/M), DMPP (10$\^$-4/M for 2min), McN-A-343 (10$\^$-4/M for 4min) and Bay-K-8644 (10$\^$-5/M for 4min), while did not affect the CA secretory effect of high K$\^$+/(5.6 x 10$\^$-2/M). Also, in the presence of 17${\beta}$-estradiol, CA secretion of ACh, DMPP and McN-A-343 without any effect on excess K$\^$+/-evoked CA secretion. However, in adrenal glands preloaded with 17${\alpha}$-estradiol (10$\^$-5/M) plus tamoxifen (10$\^$-5/M), which is known to be a selective antagonist of estrogen receptors (for 20min), CA secretory responses evoked by ACh, DMPP and McN-A-343 were considerably recovered as compared to that of 17${\alpha}$-estradiol only, but excess K$\^$+/-induced CA secretion was not affected.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.261-266
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• 2014

Environmental pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been implicated in cancer development and progression. However, the effects of PAHs on carcinogenesis are still poorly understood. Here, we characterized a mouse cancer cell line BNL 1ME A. 7R.1 (1MEA) derived by transformation of non-tumorigenic liver cell line BNL CL.2 (BNL) using 3-methylcholanthrene (3MC), a carcinogenic PAH. RT-PCR and immunoblot analysis were used to determine the expression level of mRNA and proteins, respectively. To determine functionality, cell motility was assessed in vitro using a transwell migration assay. Both mRNA and protein levels of E-cadherin were significantly decreased in 1MEA cells in comparison with BNL cells. While the expression levels of mesenchymal markers and related transcription factors were enhanced in 1MEA cells, which could lead to increase in cell motility. Indeed, we found that 7-day exposure of BNL cells to 3-MC reduced the level of the adhesion molecule and epithelial marker E-cadherin and increased reciprocally the level of the mesenchymal marker vimentin in a dose-dependent manner. Taken together, these results indicate that the process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) may be activated during premalignant transformation induced by 3-MC. A mechanism study to elucidate the relation between 3-MC exposure and EMT is underway in our laboratory.

• International Journal of Stem Cells
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.135-144
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• 2023

Background and Objectives: Melanocyte (MC), derived from neural crest stem cell (NCSC), are involved in the production of melanin. The mechanism by which NCSC differentiates to MC remains unclear. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification was applied to discuss the potential mechanism. Methods and Results: NCSCs were isolated from hair follicles of rats, and were obtained for differentiation. Cell viability, tyrosinase secretion and activity, and transcription factors were combined to evaluated the MC differentiation. RT-qPCR was applied to determine mRNA levels, and western blot were used for protein expression detection. Total m6A level was measured using methylated RNA immunoprecipitation (MeRIP) assay, and RNA immunoprecipitation was used to access the protein binding relationship. In current work, NCSCs were successfully differentiated into MCs. Fat mass and obesity associated gene (FTO) was aberrant downregulated in MCs, and elevated FTO suppressed the differentiation progress of NCSCs into MCs. Furthermore, microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (Mitf), a key gene involved in MC synthesis, was enriched by FTO in a m6A modification manner and degraded by FTO. Meanwhile, the suppression functions of FTO in the differentiation of NCSCs into MCs were reversed by elevated Mitf. Conclusions: In short, FTO suppressed the differentiating ability of hair follicle-derived NCSCs into MCs by m6A modifying Mitf.