• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.117-125
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• 2012

We present $^{12}CO$ J = 2-1 line observations of G54.1+0.3, a composite supernova remnant with a mid-infrared (MIR) loop surrounding the central pulsar wind nebula (PWN). We map an area of $12^{\prime}{\times}9^{\prime}$ around the PWN and its associated MIR loop. We confirm two velocity components that have been proposed to be possibly interacting with the PWN/MIR-loop; the +53 km $s^{-1}$ cloud, which appears in contact with the eastern boundary of the PWN and the +23 km $s^{-1}$ cloud, which has CO emission coincident with the MIR loop. However, we have not found a direct evidence for the interaction in either of these clouds. Instead, we detected an 5'-long arc-like cloud at +15-+23 km $s^{-1}$ with a systematic velocity gradient of ~3 km $s^{-1}$ $arcmin^{-1}$ and broad-line emitting CO gas with widths (FWHM) of ${\leq}7km\;s^{-1}$ in the western interior of the supernova remnant. We discuss their association with the supernova remnant.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.34.2-35
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• 2018

Galaxy transition from star-forming to quiescent, accompanied with morphology transformation, is one of the key unresolved issues in extragalactic astronomy. Although several environmental mechanisms have been proposed, a deeper understanding of the impact of environment on galaxy transition still requires much exploration. My Ph.D. thesis focuses on which environmental mechanisms are primarily responsible for galaxy transition in different environments and looks at what happens during the transition phase using multi-wavelength photometric/spectroscopic data, from UV to mid-infrared (MIR), derived from several large surveys (GALEX, SDSS, and WISE) and our GMOS-North IFU observations. Our multi-wavelength approach provides new insights into the *late* stages of galaxy transition with a definition of the MIR green valley different from the optical green valley. I will present highlights from three areas in my thesis. First, through an in-depth study of environmental dependence of various properties of galaxies in a nearby supercluster A2199 (Lee et al. 2015), we found that the star formation of galaxies is quenched before the galaxies enter the MIR green valley, which is driven mainly by strangulation. Then, the morphological transformation from late- to early-type galaxies occurs in the MIR green valley. The main environmental mechanisms for the morphological transformation are galaxy-galaxy mergers and interactions that are likely to happen in high-density regions such as galaxy groups/clusters. After the transformation, early-type MIR green valley galaxies keep the memory of their last star formation for several Gyr until they move on to the next stage for completely quiescent galaxies. Second, compact groups (CGs) of galaxies are the most favorable environments for galaxy interactions. We studied MIR properties of galaxies in CGs and their environmental dependence (Lee et al. 2017), using a sample of 670 CGs identified using a friends-of-friends algorithms. We found that MIR [3.4]-[12] colors of CG galaxies are, on average, bluer than those of cluster galaxies. As CGs are located in denser regions, they tend to have larger early-type galaxy fractions and bluer MIR color galaxies. These trends can also be seen for neighboring galaxies around CGs. However, CG members always have larger early-type fractions and bluer MIR colors than their neighboring galaxies. These results suggest that galaxy evolution is faster in CGs than in other environments and that CGs are likely to be the best place for pre-processing. Third, post-starburst galaxies (PSBs) are an ideal laboratory to investigate the details of the transition phase. Their spectra reveal a phase of vigorous star formation activity, which is abruptly ended within the last 1 Gyr. Numerical simulations predict that the starburst, and thus the current A-type stellar population, should be localized within the galaxy's center (< kpc). Yet our GMOS IFU observations show otherwise; all five PSBs in our sample have Hdelta absorption line profiles that extend well beyond the central kpc. Most interestingly, we found a negative correlation between the Hdelta gradient slopes and the fractions of the stellar mass produced during the starburst, suggesting that stronger starbursts are more centrally-concentrated. I will discuss the results in relation with the origin of PSBs.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.sup3
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• pp.219-224
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• 2016

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary malignancy of the liver making up more than 80 percent of cases. It is known to be the sixth most prevalent cancer and the third most frequent cause of cancer related death worldwide. Epigenetic regulation constitutes an important mechanism by which dietary components can selectively activate or inactivate target gene expression. The miR-34 family members including mir-34a, mir-34b and mir-34c are tumor suppressor micro RNAs, which are expressed in the majority of normal tissues. Several studies have indicated silencing of miR-34 expression via DNA methylation in multiple types of cancers. Bioactive nutrients like curcumin (Cur) have excellent anticarcinogenic activity and minimal toxic manifestations in biological systems. This compound has recently been determined to induce epigenetic changes. However, Cur is lipophilic and has a poor systemic bioavailability and poor absorption. Its bioavailability is increased through employing dendrosome nanoparticles. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of dendrosomal nanocurcumin (DNC) on expression of mir-34 family members in two HCC cell lines, HepG2 and Huh7. We performed the MTT assay to evaluate DNC and dendrosome effects on cell viability. The ability of DNC to alter expression of the mir-34 family and DNA methyltransferases (DNMT1, DNMT3A and 3B) was evaluated using semi-quantitative and quantitative PCR. We observed the entrance of DNC into HepG2 and Huh7 cells. Gene expression assays indicated that DNC treatment upregulated mir34a, mir34b and mir34c expression (P<0.05) as well as downregulated DNMT1, DNMT3A and DNMT3B expression (P<0.05) in both HepG2 and Huh7 cell lines. DNC also reduced viability of Huh7 and HepG2 cells through restoration of miR-34s expression. We showed that DNC could awaken the epigenetically silenced miR-34 family by downregulation of DNMTs. Our findings suggest that DNC has potential in epigenetic therapy of HCC.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 1997

The frequency dependence of magnetoimpedance (MI) effect in amorphous $Fe_{78}B_{13}Si_9$ alloy has been obtained. Magnetoimpedance (MI) effect is a high-frequency phenomenon, which describes the changes of impedance in any ferromagnetic sample, when a magnetic field is applied on it. MIR (Magnetoimpedance ratios) is defined as $\Delta$ Z/Z ≡ [Z (0) / Z ($H_s$)]-1 where $H_s$ is the saturating field along the long side of the sample, The MIR of the samples annealed in vacuum has been decreased normally except that the sample annealed at 5 MHz has been reached as much as 58%.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.95-104
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• 2013

In this study, a novel method is proposed for retrieving relative surface temperature from single-channel middle infra-red (MIR, 3-5 ${\mu}m$) remotely sensed data. In order to retrieve absolute temperature from MIR data, it is necessary to accommodate at least atmospheric effects, surface emissivity and reflected solar radiance. Instead of retrieving kinematic temperature of each target, we propose an alternative to retrieve the relative temperature between two targets. The core idea is to minimize atmospheric effects by assuming that the differential at-sensor radiance between two targets experiences the same atmospheric effects. To reduce effective simplify atmospheric parameters, each atmospheric parameter was examined by MODTRAN and MIR emissivity derived from ASTER spectral libraries. Simulation results provided a required accuracy of 2 K for materials with a temperature of 300 K within 0.1 emissivity errors. The algorithm was tested using MODIS band 23 MIR day time images for validation. The accuracy of retrieved relative temperature was $0.485{\pm}1.552$ K. The results demonstrated that the proposed algorithm was able to produce relative temperature with a required accuracy from only single-channel radiance data. However, this method has limitations when applied to materials having very low temperatures using day time MIR images.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.1187-1195
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• 2018

Objective: To compare correlations between pulmonary function test (PFT) results and different reconstruction algorithms and to suggest the optimal reconstruction protocol for computed tomography (CT) quantification of low lung attenuation areas and airways in healthy individuals. Materials and Methods: A total of 259 subjects with normal PFT and chest CT results were included. CT scans were reconstructed using filtered back projection, hybrid-iterative reconstruction, and model-based IR (MIR). For quantitative analysis, the emphysema index (EI) and wall area percentage (WA%) were determined. Subgroup analysis according to smoking history was also performed. Results: The EIs of all the reconstruction algorithms correlated significantly with the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) (all p < 0.001). The EI of MIR showed the strongest correlation with FEV1/FVC (r = -0.437). WA% showed a significant correlation with FEV1 in all the reconstruction algorithms (all p < 0.05) correlated significantly with FEV1/FVC for MIR only (p < 0.001). The WA% of MIR showed the strongest correlations with FEV1 (r = -0.205) and FEV1/FVC (r = -0.250). In subgroup analysis, the EI of MIR had the strongest correlation with PFT in both eversmoker and never-smoker subgroups, although there was no significant difference in the EI between the reconstruction algorithms. WA% of MIR showed a significantly thinner airway thickness than the other algorithms ($49.7{\pm}7.6$ in ever-smokers and $49.5{\pm}7.5$ in never-smokers, all p < 0.001), and also showed the strongest correlation with PFT in both ever-smoker and never-smoker subgroups. Conclusion: CT quantification of low lung attenuation areas and airways by means of MIR showed the strongest correlation with PFT results among the algorithms used, in normal subjects.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.58 no.2
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• pp.89-99
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• 2019

In total, 654,362 adult mosquitoes were captured using black light traps in Gangwon-do Province of the Republic of Korea from 2012 to 2017. The collected mosquitoes were identified to the species level, placed in pools of up to 50 mosquitoes each, by species and date of collection, and screened for flaviviruses using a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assay. A total of 276,224 adult mosquitoes were grouped in 7,721 pools for virus testing, and 68 flavivirus positive pools (0.9%) were detected. Flavivirus-positive products were confirmed by DNA sequencing. Japanese encephalitis viruses were detected in single pools collected from Chuncheon (2012, 2017: Culex pipiens, 2,728 and 1,111 mosquitoes, respectively), Hoengseong (2013: Culex orientalis, 19), and Gangneung (2017: C. pipiens, 724). All the Japanese encephalitis viruses detected were revealed as genotype V. Chaoyang viruses were detected in 63 pools of 5,055 Aedes vexans nipponii and a single pool of 585 C. pipiens collected in Gangwon-do Province from 2012 to 2017. Chuncheon was the region with the highest minimum infection rates (MIR, 0.32) and maximum likehood estimate (MLE, 0.33; confidence interval (CI) 95%, 0.23-0.46) of A. vexans nipponii for Chaoyang virus, followed by Hoengseong (MIR 0.30, MLE 0.30, CI 0.16-0.52) and Gangneung (MIR 0.21, MLE 0.21, CI 0.13-0.31). Monthly MIR and MLE values of A. vexans nipponii for Chaoyang virus were the highest in October (MIR 0.38, MLE 0.38, CI 0.07-1.25).

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.77.1-77.1
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• 2010

I summarize highlights from extragalactic research activities performed with AKARI infrared space telescope. The main emphasis will be given to the works carried out by Korean astronomers. The activities span a wide range of topics, such as MIR properties of nearby galaxies in cluster environment, MIR diagnosis of star-forming galaxies at z=0 through z=2 in the North Ecliptic Pole (NEP) survey field, the Extended Groth Strip (EGS), and the First Look Survey (FLS) field, and the NIR spectroscopy of Luminous Infrared Galaxies (LIRGs) and Active Galactic Nuclei/Super-massive Black Holes at low redshift as well as near the re-ionization epoch of z~6. I describe FIR and MIR all sky data which can be used as a precious resource for extragalactic research, and other future and ongoing works with AKARI. These AKARI results will form a strong basis for future studies using other facilities, such as infrared surveys with UKIRT, FIR study of dusty universe with Herschel, and the SPICA mission.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.7-16
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• 2019

The objective of this study was the development of a discrimination model for the cultivational origin of paper mulberry bast fiber and Hanji using near infrared (NIR) and mid infrared (MIR) spectroscopy combined with partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). Paper mulberry bast fiber was purchased in 10 different regions of Korea, and used to make Hanji. PLS-DA was performed using pre-treated FT-NIR and FT-MIR spectral data for paper mulberry bast fiber and Hanji. PLS-DA of paper mulberry bast fiber and Hanji samples, using FT-NIR spectral data, showed 100 % performance in cross validation and the confusion matrix (accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity). The discrimination models showed four regional groups which demonstrated clearer separation and much superior score plots in the NIR spectral data-based model than in the MIR spectral data-based model. Furthermore, the discrimination model based on the NIR spectral data of paper mulberry bast fiber had highly similar score morphology to that of the discrimination model based on the NIR spectral data of Hanji.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.2337-2342
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• 2013

Meta-analyses have shown that microRNA polymorphisms have variable effects in different population. Yet, no meta-analysis investigated the association of two common polymorphisms of miRNA, mir-499 rs3746444 polymorphism and mir-149 rs2292832 polymorphism, with cancer risk in the Chinese population. We searched the PubMed, Web of Knowledge, MEDLINE, CNKI databases, as well as Cochrane library, updated on December 31, 2012 for assays regarding cancer risk association with these two common polymorphisms in the present meta-analysis. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were used to explore the strength of associations. The results showed that rs3746444 polymorphism was associated with increased cancer risk (dominant model: GG/AG vs. AA: OR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.14-1.80; recessive model: GG vs. AG/AA: OR = 1.54, 95% CI: 1.04-2.30; homozygote model: GG vs. AA: OR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.10-2.60; heterozygote model: AG vs. AA: OR = 1. 35, 95% CI: 1.09-1.67), and rs3746444 was associated with liver cancer in the subgroup of cancer types. For the rs2292832 polymorphism, the results showed no significant risk association in both overall pooled analysis and subgroup of cancer types, smoking status, gender and tea drinking status in the Chinese population. This meta-analysis suggested that the rs3746444 GG genotype is associated with increased cancer risk, especially liver cancer, while the rs2292832 polymorphism showed no association with cancer risk in Chinese.