• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.29 no.6
• /
• pp.653-661
• /
• 2019

The first small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapeutics have recently been approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S., and the demand for a new RNA therapeutics bioanalysis method-which is essential for pharmacokinetics, including the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of siRNA therapeutics-is rapidly increasing. The stem-loop real-time qPCR (RT-qPCR) assay is a useful molecular technique for the identification and quantification of small RNA (e.g., micro RNA and siRNA) and can be applied for the bioanalysis of siRNA therapeutics. When the anti-HPV E6/E7 siRNA therapeutic was used in preclinical trials, the established stem-loop RT-qPCR assay was validated. The limit of detection was sensitive up to 10 fM and the lower limit of quantification up to 100 fM. In fact, the reliability of the established test method was further validated in three intra assays. Here, the correlation coefficient of $R^2$>0.99, the slope of -3.10 ~ -3.40, and the recovery rate within ${\pm}20%$ of the siRNA standard curve confirm its excellent robustness. Finally, the circulation profiles of siRNAs were demonstrated in rat serum, and the pharmacokinetic properties of the anti-HPV E6/E7 siRNA therapeutic were characterized using a stem-loop RT-qPCR assay. Therefore, the stemloop RT-qPCR assay enables accurate, precise, and sensitive siRNA duplex quantification and is suitable for the quantification of small RNA therapeutics using small volumes of biological samples.

• International Area Studies Review
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.121-148
• /
• 2018

This paper examines the role of accounting conservatism on investment expenditure for non-financial Korean listed firms around the 2007-2008 global financial crisis using a differences-in-differences design. Specifically, this paper examines the association between an ex ante classification of firms by their level of accounting conservatism prior to the credit crisis and the ex post magnitude of the decline in investment. Consistent with prior literature, this study found that firms experienced a decline in their investment when hit by the financial crisis (Campello et al. 2010). And also this study found that firms with more conservative financial reporting experienced a smaller decline in investment activity following the financial crisis than did firms with less conservative financial reporting. Together, the results suggest that negative shocks to the supply of external finance hampers firm-level investment and that conservative financial reporting can lessen the sensitivity of firms' investment to such negative shocks. Next, this study shows that the magnitude of our findings is greater for firms more likely to suffer from underinvestment (as opposed to overinvestment). Firms that are financially constrained or have greater demand for external finance are more likely to experience underinvestment. Consistent with the predictions, this study finds stronger benefits of conservatism for firms that face relatively greater costs in raising external capital (i.e., financially constrained firms) or that have a relatively greater need to do so (i.e., firms that lack internal financial resources). This study also finds that the role for conservatism is greater in firms with a higher level of information asymmetry, consistent with the notion that conservatism mitigates financing frictions arising from information problems.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• v.45 no.4
• /
• pp.375-381
• /
• 2018

The consumption of oats (Avena sativa L.) with high nutritional utility is accelerating due to the increased consumers' demand for functional foods. In Korea, naked oats are used as food, while covered oats are used for animal feed. However, it is difficult to distinguish naked oats from covered oats when the husk is removed from the grains by a special process. The present study was carried out to investigate experimental methods that would be beneficial in the segregation of different types of oats after husk removal. Grain quality-related biochemical compounds were analyzed in a bid to differentiate the oat dehulling characteristics. In addition, 61 SSR markers were examined for genetic relationship and variety identification of oats using five naked and seven covered oat varieties. Results showed that, the contents of protein, lipid, and ${\beta}-glucan$ were not significantly different among the oat varieties and this could not be used as an index for distinguishing oats husk character. However, in the fatty acid composition ratio,, naked oats had a higher ratio of stearic acid (C18:0) and oleic acid (C18:1) than covered oats, and covered oats had a higher ratio of linoleic acid (C18:2) and linoleic acid (C18:3) than naked oats. The assessment of SSR marker genotype revealed that 33 polymorphic bands among 12 oat varieties and 1 variety could be distinguished through the combination of polymorphic markers thus indicating the usability of these markers for variety identification in oats.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.108 no.1
• /
• pp.67-76
• /
• 2019

With an increasing demand of timber production, the use of heavy machinery in forest management has significantly increased, causing the changes of soil physical properties and the decline of long-term site productivity. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of logging slash (non-slash, slash $7.3kg/m^2$, and slash $11.5kg/m^2$) and machine passes(harvester 1 pass and forwarder 1 to 10 passes) on soil physical properties at 10 cm, 20 cm and 30 cm soil depths in harvester and forwarder operations and also to estimate the degree of soil surface disturbance. The results indicated that soil bulk density in the non-slash treatment site increased 10 %~29 % (25~139 % in soil penetration resistance) at all soil depths, compared with the slash treatment site(slash $11.5kg/m^2$). Therefore, the creation of a slash mat could be an effective way to minimize the changes of soil physical properties. In addition, 92 % of total soil compaction in slash treatment site was created within harvester 1 pass and forwarder 5 passes. In non-slash treatment site, 84 % of total soil compaction was created within first harvester and forwarder passes. The results showed that slash treatment was effective to reduce soil compaction caused by machine passes and also it is necessary to create designed forwarding trails for minimizing soil compaction area at timber harvesting sites.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.39 no.2
• /
• pp.184-194
• /
• 2021

Since the construction of a dike in 1983, the water quality in the Bunam Lake has continued to deteriorate due to algal bloom caused by agricultural nutrient loading. Therefore, we evaluated the change in water quality and phytoplankton ecological characteristics in Bunam Lake and Cheonsu Bay, Korea. Water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chemical oxygen demand (COD), chlorophyll, and phytoplankton community were surveyed in April during the dry season and in July during the rainy reason. As a result, during the dry period, phytoplankton proliferated greatly and stagnated in the Bunam Lake while a very high population of cyanobacteria Oscillatoria spp. (8.61×10⁷ cells L^-1) was recorded. Most of the nutrients, except, nitrate and nitrite, were consumed due to the large growth of phytoplankton. However, during the rainy period, concentrations of ammonia, phosphate, silicate, nitrate, and nitrite, were very high towards the upper station due to the inflow of fresh water. Cyanobacteria Oscillatoria and Microcystis spp. were dominant in the Bunam Lake during the rainy period. Even in the Cheonsu Bay, cyanobacteria dominated due to the effect of discharge and diatoms, such as, Chaetoceros spp. and Eucampia zodiacus, which also proliferated significantly due to increased levels of nutrients. Since the eutrophication index was above 1 in Bunam Lake, it was classified as eutrophic water and the Cheonsu Bay was classified as eutrophic water only during the rainy season. In addition, a stagnant seawater-derived hypoxia water mass was observed at a depth of8m in the Bunam Lake adjacent to the tide embankment and the COD concentration reached 206 mg L^-1 in the bottom layer at B3. Based on this result, it is considered that the water quality will continue to deteriorate if organic matters settle due to continuous inflow of nutrients and growth of organisms while the bottom water mass is stagnant.

• Food Science and Industry
• /
• v.55 no.2
• /
• pp.188-202
• /
• 2022

In the insect industry, as the scope of application of insects is expanded from pet insects and natural enemies to feed, edible and medicinal insects, the demand for quality control of insect raw materials is increasing, and interest in securing the safety of insect products is increasing. In the process of expanding the industrial scale, controlling the temperature and humidity and air quality in the insect breeding room and preventing the spread of pathogens and other pollutants are important success factors. It requires a controlled environment under the operating system. European commercial insect breeding facilities have attracted considerable investor interest, and insect companies are building large-scale production facilities, which became possible after the EU approved the use of insect protein as feedstock for fish farming in July 2017. Other fields, such as food and medicine, have also accelerated the application of cutting-edge technology. In the future, the global insect industry will purchase eggs or small larvae from suppliers and a system that focuses on the larval fattening, i.e., production raw material, until the insects mature, and a system that handles the entire production process from egg laying, harvesting, and initial pre-treatment of larvae., increasingly subdivided into large-scale production systems that cover all stages of insect larvae production and further processing steps such as milling, fat removal and protein or fat fractionation. In Korea, research and development of insect smart factory farms using artificial intelligence and ICT is accelerating, so insects can be used as carbon-free materials in secondary industries such as natural plastics or natural molding materials as well as existing feed and food. A Korean-style customized breeding system for shortening the breeding period or enhancing functionality is expected to be developed soon.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.129-149
• /
• 2021

The purposes of this study were to examine the current status of the establishment of home economics-related departments in colleges and universities and the changes required in the home economics curriculum of secondary schools, and to structure the elective courses of home economics subject(group) that can be organized in the next high school curriculum. To achieve these purposes, related literature and data were analyzed, and a questionnaire survey and FGI were conducted by home economics experts. The research results are as follows. First, home economics was considered to be highly related not only to the human ecology but also to social sciences, education, engineering, and arts and physical education. The numbers of technical colleges and 4-year universities with departments related to home economics were 1,405 and 961 respectively in 2019. Therefore, it was confirmed that there is a sufficient basis for opening home economics subject(group) elective courses in high school. Second, in the secondary school home economics curriculum, the concepts of culture, relations, independence, and sustainability were emphasized based on the changing life patterns and values. It was proposed that the contents of the home economics course would be structured in a way that allows deep and high-level thinking and helps students to enjoy culture. This demand can be implemented by diversifying, specializing, and structuring the elective courses of the home economics subject(group). Third, a total of 18 elective subjects and subject outlines were structured in the fields of child/family, food/nutrition, clothing, housing, consumption/family management, and home economics integration. This study results will contribute to the establishment of the high school credit system by providing basic information for organizing the next home economics curriculum, and expanding the options for home economics subject(group) to high school students.

• Informatization Policy
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.24-37
• /
• 2022

Amid rapid changes in the ICT environment attributed to the 4th Industrial Revolution, the development of information & communication technology, and COVID-19, the existing internet developed without considering security, mobility, manageability, QoS, etc. As a result, the structure of the internet has become complicated, and problems such as security, stability, and reliability vulnerabilities continue to occur. In addition, there is a demand for a new concept of the internet that can provide stability and reliability resulting from digital transformation-geared advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and IoT. Therefore, in order to suggest a way of implementing the Korean future internet that can strengthen cybersecurity, this study suggests the direction and strategy for promoting the future internet that is suitable for the Korean cyber environment through analyzing important key factors in the implementation of the future internet and evaluating the trend and suitability of domestic & foreign research related to future internet. The importance of key factors in the implementation of the future internet proceeds in the order of security, integrity, availability, stability, and confidentiality. Currently, future internet projects are being studied in various ways around the world. Among numerous projects, Bright Internet most adequately satisfies the key elements of future internet implementation and was evaluated as the most suitable technology for Korea's cyber environment. Technical issues as well as strategic and legal issues must be considered in order to promote the Bright Internet as the frontrunner Korean future internet. As for technical issues, it is necessary to adopt SAVA IPv6-NID in selecting the Bright Internet as the standard of Korean future internet and integrated data management at the data center level, and then establish a cooperative system between different countries. As for strategic issues, a secure management system and establishment of institution are needed. Lastly, in the case of legal issues, the requirement of GDPR, which includes compliance with domestic laws such as Korea's revised Data 3 Act, must be fulfilled.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
• /
• v.55 no.11
• /
• pp.923-929
• /
• 2022

The Chuncheon Mullori area is an underprivileged area of water welfare where local water supply is not supplied, and it is supplying water to the villages with small water supply facilities using lateral flow and groundwater as water sources. This is an area with poor water supply conditions, such as relying on water trucks due to water shortages during the recent severe drought. Therefore, in order to solve the problem of water shortage during drought and to prepare for the increasing water demand, a sand dam was installed along the valley, and this facility has been operating since May 2022. In this study, repeated simulations were performed according to the hydraulic conductivity of the filler material and the storage coefficient value for the inflow condition for about two years from mid-March 2020 to mid-March 2022. For each case, the amount of discharge through the perforated drain pipe was calculated. Overall, as the hydraulic conductivity increased, the amount of discharge and its ratio increased. However, when the hydraulic conductivity of the second floor was relatively low, the amount of discharge increased and then decreased as the hydraulic conductivity of the third floor increased. This is considered to be due to the fact that the water level was kept low due to the rapid drainage compared to the net inflow into the third floor because the water permeability of the third floor and the drainage coefficient of the drain pipe were large. As a result of simulating the flow of the open channel in the upper part of the sand dam as a hypothetical groundwater layer with very high hydraulic conductivity, the decrease in discharge rate was slower than the increase in the hydraulic conductivity of the hypothetical layer, but it was clearly shown that the discharge volume decreased relatively as the hydraulic conductivity of the virtual layer increased.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.79-105
• /
• 2023

Due to unprecedented extreme weather events such as global warming and climate change, many parts of the world suffer from severe pain, and economic losses are also snowballing. In order to address these problems, 'The Paris Agreement' was signed in 2016, and an intergovernmental consultative body was formed to keep the average temperature rise of the Earth below 1.5℃. Korea also declared 'Carbon Neutrality in 2050' to prevent climate catastrophe. In particular, it was found that the increase in temperature caused by greenhouse gas emissions hurts the environment and society as a whole, as well as the export-dependent economy of Korea. In addition, as the diversification of transportation types is accelerating, the change in means of choice is also increasing. As the development paradigm in the low-growth era changes to urban regeneration, interest in idle railway sites is rising due to reduced demand for routes, improvement of alignment, and relocation of urban railways. Meanwhile, it is possible to partially achieve the solar power generation goal of 'Renewable Energy 3020' by utilizing already developed but idle railway sites and take advantage of being free from environmental damage and resident acceptance issues surrounding the location; but the actual use and plan for these solar power facilities are still lacking. Therefore, in this study, using the big data provided by the Korea National Railway and the Renewable Energy Cloud Platform, we develop an algorithm to discover and analyze suitable idle sites where solar power generation facilities can be installed and identify potentially applicable areas considering conditions desired by users. By searching and deriving these idle but relevant sites, it is intended to devise a plan to save enormous costs for facilities or expansion in the early stages of development. This study uses various cluster analyses to develop an optimal algorithm that can derive solar power plant locations on idle railway sites and, as a result, suggests 202 'actively recommended areas.' These results would help decision-makers make rational decisions from the viewpoint of simultaneously considering the economy and the environment.