• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.11
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• pp.923-935
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• 2023

Rubus crataegifolius (RC), Ulmus macrocarpa (UM), and Gardenia jasminoides (GJ) are well-known folk medicines in Asia used to treat various gastrointestinal disturbances. The present study evaluated the gastroprotective effect of LS-RUG-com, a mixture of commercially prepared powders of RC, UM, and GJ with a ratio of 3:1:2(w/w/w) against HCl/ethanol-induced gastritis, indomethacin-induced ulcers, and esophageal reflux-induced esophageal mucosal damage and Helicobacter pylori infections. In addition, TNF-α and IL-1β expressions were also determined and measured in esophageal tissue. As to HCl/ethanol-induced gastritis, the LS-RUG-com treatment at a dose of 150 mg/kg showed a remarkable anti-gastritis effect. Regarding indomethacin-induced gastric ulcers, the LS-RUG-com treatment had a significant anti-gastric ulcer effect. Furthermore, in the gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) model experiment, the LS-RUG-com treatment resulted in the histological recovery of stomach damage and mucosal injuries. Furthermore, the LS-RUG-com treatment led to an increase in gastric content pH, an increase in mucus protection, and a decrease in gastric pepsin output with a significant decrease in TNF-α and IL-1β. As to the Helicobacter pylori infected animal model, LS-RUG-com had a notable inhibitory effect on Helicobacter growth. The use of RC, UM, or GJ in isolation or the LS-RUG-com treatment as whole had good effects in terms of anti-oxidation, anti-neutralization, gastric acid secretion inhibition, and anti-lipid peroxidation, which supported the use of natural products as systemic gastric protective agents. Our results suggest that the LS-RUG-com might be a significant systemic gastroprotective agent that could be utilized for the treatment and/or protection from gastric disturbances and related damage.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.11
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• pp.915-922
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• 2023

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are widespread in a variety of environments including fermented dairy products, gastroinstetinal and urogenital tracts of human and animals, plant, soil and water. Leuconostoc mesenteroides DB3 was detected by the strongest antibacterial activities among 24 Leuconostoc strains isolated from Camellia japonica flowers. Acid tolerance of L. mesenteroides DB3 existed up to pH 2.5, but the resistance did not show at pH 2.0, which relatively excellent acid resistance existed. Bile acid tolerance was very stable within the test range to 1.2%. L. mesenteroides DB3 exhibited the optimal growth at 30℃, and showed a slight slow growth when compared with L. mesenteroides KCTC3505, which reached a stationary phase at 18 hr. The pH was changed along with the growth curve, but was maintained above pH 3.98. L. mesenteroides DB3 had higher initial antibacterial activities when compared to L. mesenteroides KCTC3505, but it showed similar activities with the standard strain after the latter part of the logarithmic growth phase. Although lactic acid production in L. mesenteroides DB3 was induced by lower amount in the initial part to the standard strain, it was exhibited by similar amounts after the late logarithmic growth phase. Muicin adhesion of L. mesenteroides DB-3 maintained superior to L. mesenteroides KCTC3505. Both strains showed excellent emulsification ability for kerosene. In summary, we evaluate that L. mesenteroides DB-3 has a high potential for application as probiotics owing to its excellent antibacterial activity, acid resistance, bile acid resistance, and muicin adhesion.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.131-150
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• 2023

The purpose of this study was to find a countermeasure to the U.S. import refusals for the Korean healthcare and life sciences industry. To this end, an analysis of trends during the pandemic was conducted using the KITA Border Rejection Database, which includes information on items and types of import refusals. The reason for rejection was also analyzed according to the FDA violation codes. The degree of countermeasure for import refusals was identified by measuring the unit rejection rate (URR). The results of the analysis showed that the major U.S. import refusals for the Korean healthcare and life sciences industry had expanded from contact lenses to COVID-19 diagnostic kits and drugs after the pandemic broke out. The major reasons for import refusals were non-compliance with the Predicate Device and Drugs Act and non-approval by the FDA for products and facilities. On the other hand, the unit rejection rate (URR) of major items in the Korean healthcare and life sciences industry was measured higher than the industry average. The results therefore showed a low level of response to U.S. import refusals. The results of the analysis of reasons for import refusals by item according to FDA violation codes were as follows. First of all, the main violation for contact lenses and COVID-19 diagnostic kits corresponded to misbranding. This was often due to the fact that Korean companies did not provide the relevant notices and information required by the FDA. Many cases also failed to demonstrate a substantial equivalency compared to predicate devices already on the market. On the other hand, applications for new unapproved drugs were not accepted as they had yet to pass relevant regulations that would prove their safety and efficacy. In conclusion, import refusals for the Korean healthcare and life sciences industry were found to be closely related to technical barriers to trade (TBT).

• Journal of Internet Computing and Services
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.31-39
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• 2023

The purpose of this study is to propose a scientific performance evaluation framework for measuring and managing the overall outcome of complex types of projects that are linked to public demand-based commercialization, such as information system projects and public procurement, in integrated national R&D projects. In the case of integrated national R&D projects that involve multiple research institutes to form a single final product, and in the case of demand-based demonstration and commercialization of the project results, the existing evaluation system that evaluates performance based on the short-term outputs of the detailed tasks comprising the R&D project has limitations in evaluating the mid- and long-term effects and practicality of the integrated research products. (Moreover, as the paradigm of national R&D projects is changing to a mission-oriented one that emphasizes efficiency, there is a need to change the performance evaluation of national R&D projects to focus on the effectiveness and practicality of the results.) In this study, we propose a performance evaluation framework from a structural perspective to evaluate the completeness of each national R&D project from a practical perspective, such as its effectiveness, beyond simple short-term output, by utilizing the Hourglass model. In particular, it presents an integrated performance evaluation framework that links the top-down and bottom-up approaches leading to Tool-System-Service-Effect according to the structure of R&D projects. By applying the proposed detailed evaluation indicators and performance evaluation frame to actual national R&D projects, the validity of the indicators and the effectiveness of the proposed performance evaluation frame were verified, and these results are expected to provide academic, policy, and industrial implications for the performance evaluation system of national R&D projects that emphasize efficiency in the future.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.39 no.6_2
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• pp.1553-1563
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• 2023

The Geostationary Ocean Color Imager-II (GOCI-II) is a satellite designed for ocean color observation, covering the Northeast Asian region and the entire disk of the Earth. It commenced operations in 2020, succeeding its predecessor, GOCI, which had been active for the previous decade. In this study, we aimed to enhance the atmospheric correction algorithm, a critical step in producing satellite-based ocean color data, by performing cross-calibration on the GOCI-II near-infrared (NIR) band using the GOCI NIR band. To achieve this, we conducted a cross-calibration study on the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiance of the NIR band and derived a vicarious calibration gain for two NIR bands (745 and 865 nm). As a result of applying this gain, the offset of two sensors decreased and the ratio approached 1. It shows that consistency of two sensors was improved. Also, the Rayleigh-corrected reflectance at 745 nm and 865 nm increased by 5.62% and 9.52%, respectively. This alteration had implications for the ratio of Rayleigh-corrected reflectance at these wavelengths, potentially impacting the atmospheric correction results across all spectral bands, particularly during the aerosol reflectance correction process within the atmospheric correction algorithm. Due to the limited overlapping operational period of GOCI and GOCI-II satellites, we only used data from March 2021. Nevertheless, we anticipate further enhancements through ongoing cross-calibration research with other satellites in the future. Additionally, it is essential to apply the vicarious calibration gain derived for the NIR band in this study to perform vicarious calibration for the visible channels and assess its impact on the accuracy of the ocean color products.

• Journal of Venture Innovation
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.59-73
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• 2022

Untact marketing is being activated due to COVID-19. As a result, live commerce, an untact seller, is also active in the e-commerce market. Therefore, in this study, we tried to find out what factors influence consumers when they purchase through live commerce. In particular, since consumers' trust and flow in live commerce platforms and products is important, their mediating effects were analyzed. The research model was established by deriving common variables among the characteristics of live commerce based on previous studies. An online survey was conducted for empirical analysis. 200 users who made at least one purchase in live commerce were analyzed. The study results are as follows. Among the characteristics of live commerce, entertainment, economics, professionality were found to have a positive (+) effect on purchase intention. On the other hand, ease of use did not significantly affect purchase intention. The influence was shown in the order of entertainment, professionality and economics. The mediating effect of trust was found to play a mediating role in that entertainment, economics, and professionality affect purchase intention. On the other hand, a significant mediating effect was not tested between ease of use and purchase intention. As for the mediating effect of flow, it was found that flow plays a mediating role in that entertainment and economics affect purchase intention. On the other hand, the mediating effect of flow in terms of ease of use and economics affecting purchase intention was not tested. As for the multiple mediating effect of flow and trust, the mediating effect of flow was stronger than the mediating effect of trust when entertainment had an effect on purchase intention. In terms of professionality affecting purchase intention, the mediating effect of flow was also stronger than the mediating effect of trust. On the other hand, it was analyzed that only trust had a mediating effect when economics had an effect on purchase intention. The results of this study empirically tested that entertainment, which is a fun and interesting factor of live commerce content, is the most important factor when consumers use live commerce. In addition, various results were derived, such as cases where trust and flow act as mediators at the same time or not at all. Practical implications can be found in that it provided a clue about what to prioritize in order to reach consumers for live commerce platform.

• Journal of Venture Innovation
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.23-40
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• 2023

This study examines the customer value factors affecting the intention to continue using the mobile app of department stores, which are traditional offline retailers, in the retail industry that is rapidly digitalizing and becoming mobile. This study clarifies multidimensional customer value in three dimensions; functional, convenience, and social. Functional value refers to the integrated channel, and consistent customer experience provided between channels in the omnichannel retail environment, while convenience value is the convenience of saving time and effort save while customers use a mobile app. Social value refers to the improvement of social approval or social self-concept occurring due to the use of products or services related to green marketing within the mobile app of the department store. The influence of each on the dependent variable, the mobile app's continuous use intention, was analyzed by using the three dimensions of customer value as independent variables. Data was collected from customers who have a history of using the mobile app of Shinsegae Department Store in Korea, and a confirmatory analysis was conducted using Smart PLS 4.0. The analysis results showed that all three dimensions of customer value; functional value, convenience value, and social value, had a positive (+) influence on customers' intention to continue using the mobile app, and the influence of functional value had the greatest impact. As functional value appears to be the most important influencing factor due to the omnichannel retail trend by advancement of technology, it suggests that it is important for department stores, and offline retailers, to provide integrated channels. This provides insights into the direction of customer-centered strategy formulation for activating department store mobile apps and suggests basic analytical data for customized services and marketing activities that department stores can effectively meet the changing expectations and demands of customers through new mobile channels rather than existing offline channels.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.39 no.5_3
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• pp.933-948
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• 2023

Atmospheric aerosols not only have adverse effects on human health but also exert direct and indirect impacts on the climate system. Consequently, it is imperative to comprehend the characteristics and spatiotemporal distribution of aerosols. Numerous research endeavors have been undertaken to monitor aerosols, predominantly through the retrieval of aerosol optical depth (AOD) via satellite-based observations. Nonetheless, this approach primarily relies on a look-up table-based inversion algorithm, characterized by computationally intensive operations and associated uncertainties. In this study, a novel high-resolution AOD direct retrieval algorithm, leveraging machine learning, was developed using top-of-atmosphere reflectance data derived from the Geostationary Ocean Color Imager-II (GOCI-II), in conjunction with their differences from the past 30-day minimum reflectance, and meteorological variables from numerical models. The Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LGBM) technique was harnessed, and the resultant estimates underwent rigorous validation encompassing random, temporal, and spatial N-fold cross-validation (CV) using ground-based observation data from Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) AOD. The three CV results consistently demonstrated robust performance, yielding R²=0.70-0.80, RMSE=0.08-0.09, and within the expected error (EE) of 75.2-85.1%. The Shapley Additive exPlanations(SHAP) analysis confirmed the substantial influence of reflectance-related variables on AOD estimation. A comprehensive examination of the spatiotemporal distribution of AOD in Seoul and Ulsan revealed that the developed LGBM model yielded results that are in close concordance with AERONET AOD over time, thereby confirming its suitability for AOD retrieval at high spatiotemporal resolution (i.e., hourly, 250 m). Furthermore, upon comparing data coverage, it was ascertained that the LGBM model enhanced data retrieval frequency by approximately 8.8% in comparison to the GOCI-II L2 AOD products, ameliorating issues associated with excessive masking over very illuminated surfaces that are often encountered in physics-based AOD retrieval processes.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.808-819
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• 2023

This study was conducted to develop a selection marker for the identification of the Bacillus licheniformis K12 strain in microbial communities. The strain not only demonstrates good growth at moderate temperatures but also contains enzymes that catalyze the decomposition of various polymer materials, such as proteases, amylases, cellulases, lipases, and xylanases. To identify molecular markers appropriate for use in a microbial community, a search was conducted to identify variable gene regions that show considerable genetic mutations, such as recombinase, integration, and transposase sites, as well as phase-related genes. As a result, five areas were identified that have potential as selection markers. The candidate markers were two recombinase sites (BLK1 and BLK2), two integration sites (BLK3 and BLK4), and one phase-related site (BLK5). A PCR analysis performed with different Bacillus species (e.g., B. licheniformis, Bacillus velezensis, Bacillus subtilis, and Bacillus cereus) confirmed that PCR products appeared at specific locations in B. licheniformis: BLK1 in recombinase, BLK2 in recombinase family protein, and BLK3 and BLK4 as site-specific integrations. In addition, BLK1 and BLK3 were identified as good candidate markers via a PCR analysis performed on subspecies of standard B. licheniformis strains. Therefore, the findings suggest that BLK1 can be used as a selection marker for B. licheniformis species and subspecies in the microbiome.