• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.22-31
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• 2022

Objectives Recently, weight loss has emerged as a national concern in South Korea, and this has resulted in an increase in the frequency of use of central nervous system (CNS)-stimulating appetite suppressants. This study aimed to collect cases of psychotic disorders and bipolar disorders triggered by phentermine and phendimetrazine and explore the clinical features and courses. Methods In this retrospective study, we analyzed the electronic medical records of patients and selected eight patients who developed psychotic symptoms and manic symptoms for the first time after taking phentermine and phendimetrazine. All cases were reviewed, and their clinical features and course were summarized. Results All eight patients developed psychotic symptoms, and one had accompanying manic symptoms. The final diagnosis was appetite-suppressant-induced psychotic disorder in four patients, schizophrenia in three, and appetite-suppressant-induced bipolar disorder in one. In addition, three patients were diagnosed as having substance-use disorder. The key psychotic symptoms of these patients were hallucinations and paranoia. Conclusions These case findings suggest that phentermine and phendimetrazine can cause psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, or substance use disorder and that medical professionals and the public should practice caution when prescribing and using these drugs.

• Journal of Internet Computing and Services
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.71-86
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• 2023

The purpose of this exploratory study is to compare the differences in public perceptual characteristics of Korean and Chinese societies regarding the metaverse using big data analysis. Due to the environmental impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, technological progress, and the expansion of new consumer bases such as generation Z and Alpha, the world's interest in the metaverse is drawing attention, and related academic studies have been also in full swing from 2021. In particular, Korea and China have emerged as major leading countries in the metaverse industry. It is a timely research question to discover the difference in social awareness using big data accumulated in both countries at a time when the amount of mentions on the metaverse has skyrocketed. The analysis technique identifies the importance of key words by analyzing word frequency, N-gram, and TF-IDF of clean data through text mining analysis, and analyzes the density and centrality of semantic networks to determine the strength of connection between words and their semantic relevance. Python 3.9 Anaconda data science platform 3 and Textom 6 versions were used, and UCINET 6.759 analysis and visualization were performed for semantic network analysis and structural CONCOR analysis. As a result, four blocks, each of which are similar word groups, were driven. These blocks represent different perspectives that reflect the types of social perceptions of the metaverse in both countries. Studies on the metaverse are increasing, but studies on comparative research approaches between countries from a cross-cultural aspect have not yet been conducted. At this point, as a preceding study, this study will be able to provide theoretical grounds and meaningful insights to future studies.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.97-107
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• 2023

Aristolochic acid (AA), extracted from Aristolochiaceae plants, plays an essential role in traditional herbal medicines and is used for different diseases. However, AA has been found to be nephrotoxic and is known to cause aristolochic acid nephropathy (AAN). AA-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) is a syndrome in AAN with a high morbidity that manifests mitochondrial damage as a key part of its pathological progression. Melatonin primarily serves as a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant. However, its mitochondrial protective role in AA-induced AKI is barely reported. In this study, mice were administrated 2.5 mg/kg AA to induce AKI. Melatonin reduced the increase in Upro and Scr and attenuated the necrosis and atrophy of renal proximal tubules in mice exposed to AA. Melatonin suppressed ROS generation, MDA levels and iNOS expression and increased SOD activities in vivo and in vitro. Intriguingly, the in vivo study revealed that melatonin decreased mitochondrial fragmentation in renal proximal tubular cells and increased ATP levels in kidney tissues in response to AA. In vitro, melatonin restored the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in NRK-52E and HK-2 cells and led to an elevation in ATP levels. Confocal immunofluorescence data showed that puncta containing Mito-tracker and GFP-LC3A/B were reduced, thereby impeding the mitophagy of tubular epithelial cells. Furthermore, melatonin decreased LC3A/B-II expression and increased p62 expression. The apoptosis of tubular epithelial cells induced by AA was decreased. Therefore, our findings revealed that melatonin could prevent AA-induced AKI by attenuating mitochondrial damage, which may provide a potential therapeutic method for renal AA toxicity.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.73-81
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• 2023

In the present study, we prepared hot water extracts and the subsequent organic solvent fractions of methanol extracts of Houttuynia cordata (HC) and Lespedeza cuneata (LC), and investigated their anti-inflammatory effects on lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. Among the treated samples, hexane, chloroform, and ethyl-acetate fractions of HC and LC inhibited nitric oxide (NO) production in a dose-dependent manner, and decreased inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) protein expression. And, we analyzed the flavonoid contents of the ethyl-acetate fraction of HC and LC, and chose apigenin for the further experiments because apigenin was one of flavonoids commonly found in HC and LC. Apigenin dramatically inhibited NO production in a dose-dependent manner without affecting cell viability and decreased iNOS and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression. In addition, apigenin suppressed the phosphorylation of p38 and Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) indicating that apigenin exerts anti-inflammatory activity via the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. Subsequently, we conducted RNA-sequencing analysis to detect differentially expressed genes upon apigenin treatment. Among the down-regulated genes, four cytokine genes (interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, and colony stimulating factor 2 (CSF2)) were selected for the further analysis, and the reduction of their expression by apigenin was confirmed with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Overall, our results suggest that Houttuynia cordata and Lespedeza cuneata have the anti-inflammatory effects and apigenin can be the one of key molecules responsible for their anti-inflammatory activities.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.249-255
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• 2022

Alzheimer's disease (AD) represents a major public health concern and has been identified as a research priority. Clinical research evidence supports that the core cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers for AD, including amyloid-β (Aβ42), total tau (T-tau), and phosphorylated tau (P-tau), reflect key elements of AD pathophysiology. Nevertheless, advances in the clinical identification of new indicators will be critical not only for the discovery of sensitive, specific, and reliable biomarkers of preclinical AD pathology, but also for the development of tests that facilitate the early detection and differential diagnosis of dementia and disease progression monitoring. The early detection of AD in its presymptomatic stages would represent a great opportunity for earlier therapeutic intervention. The chance of successful treatment would be increased since interventions would be performed before extensive synaptic damage and neuronal loss would have occurred. In this study, the importance of developing an early diagnostic method using cognitive decline biomarkers that can discriminate between normal, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and AD preclinical stages has been emphasized.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information Security & Cryptology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.295-303
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• 2023

As the cloud computing market grows, a variety of cloud services are now reliably delivered. Administrative agencies and public institutions of South Korea are transferring all their information systems to cloud systems. It is essential to develop security solutions in advance in order to safely operate cloud services, as protecting cloud services from misuse and malicious access by insiders and outsiders over the Internet is challenging. In this paper, we propose a zero trust model for cloud storage services that store sensitive data. We then verify the effectiveness of the proposed model by operating a cloud storage service. Memory, web, and network forensics are also performed to track access and usage of cloud users depending on the adoption of the zero trust model. As a cloud storage service, we use Amazon S3(Simple Storage Service) and deploy zero trust techniques such as access control lists and key management systems. In order to consider the different types of access to S3, furthermore, we generate service requests inside and outside AWS(Amazon Web Services) and then analyze the results of the zero trust techniques depending on the location of the service request.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.71-80
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to analyze the social perception of invention education center using big data analysis method. For this purpose, data from January 2014 to September 2021 were collected using the Textom website as a keyword searched for 'invention+education+center' in blogs, cafes, and news channels of NAVER and DAUM website. The collected data was refined using the Textom website, and text mining analysis and semantic network analysis were performed by the Textom website, Ucinet 6, and Netdraw programs. The collected data were subjected to a primary and secondary refinement process and 60 keywords were selected based on the word frequency. The selected key words were converted into matrix data and analyzed by semantic network analysis. As a result of text mining analysis, it was confirmed that 'student', 'operation', 'Korea Invention Promotion Association', and 'Korean Intellectual Property Office' were the meaningful keywords. As a result of semantic network analysis, five clusters could be identified: 'educational operation', 'invention contest', 'education process and progress', 'recruitment and support for business', and 'supervision and selection institution'. Through this study, it was possible to confirm various meaningful social perceptions of the general public in relation to invention education center on the internet. The results of this study will be used as basic data that provides meaningful implications for researchers and policy makers studying for invention education.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.30 no.3D
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• pp.295-302
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• 2010

Since the late 1990s, the BOT mode in China has been extensively used in the water sector in order to attract private investment, improve technical and operational efficiency, and expand the coverage of water services. The BOT mode has been hailed as this provides a win-win structure between the government and private players through formalized procedures and an optimal risk allocation. However, recent market analyses show that some foreign investors are reluctant to participate in the market or even retreat due to uncertainties and risks in the market. This study aims to explore various risks in the Chinese water BOT market based on the thorough literature review, fieldwork, and the case studies on the two wholly foreign-owned BOT water projects: the Chengdu No. 6 and the Shanghai Dachang Water Supply BOT projects. The research results indicate that the Chinese BOT market embraces high risks in political, institutional and legal, and financial systems. The key to a successful takeoff of the BOT mode in the Chinese water market depends on the extent to which the government will be able to remove risky factors in political, institutional and legal, and financing systems. This research outcome will provide a useful reference to the Korean construction companies which consider expanding business to overseas water markets in the form of public private partnership.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.30 no.6D
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• pp.569-575
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• 2010

The occupancy based O/D is essential for measuring efficiency of various transportation policies like HOV/HOT lane, ramp metering, and public parking station. There has been many studies on occupancy survey methodology and O/D estimation using TCS (Toll Collection System) data separately. The occupancy O/D estimation methodology using TCS data has not been attempted thus far. An overall process from data collection stage to the occupancy O/D estimation stage has been suggested. Field survey was performed at the northbound Seoul toll station of Gyeongbu Expressway by each 2 hours of AM peak, PM non-peak, PM peak, midnight periods on a day. The process of matching the TCS data and field survey data classified by tollbooth ID, car type/mode, and arrival time was also performed. One typical output of the results showed that the ratio of single occupancy vehicles bounding for Seoul during the AM peak amounted to 60%. With the key output of this study and the specific O/D estimation methodology suggested, the whole centroid-to-centroid occupancy O/D of the country could be available, and then various applications in which the occupancy information is required could be possible.

• Convergence Security Journal
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.11-25
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• 2023

Since President Biden's inauguration, significant cyberattacks have occurred several times in the United States, and cybersecurity was emphasized as a national priority. The U.S. is advancing efforts to strengthen the cybersecurity both domestically and internationally, including with allies. In particular, the Biden administration announced the National Cybersecurity Strategy in March 2023. The National Cybersecurity Strategy is the top guideline of cybersecurity and is the foundation of other cybersecurity policies. And it includes public-privates as well as international policy directions, so it is expected to affect the international order. Meanwhile, In Korea, a new administration was launched in 2022, and the revision of the National Cybersecurity Strategy is necessary. In addition, cooperation between Korea and the U.S. has recently been strengthened, and cybersecurity is being treated as a key agenda in the cooperative relationship. In this paper, we examine the cyber security strategies of the Trump and Biden administration, and analyze how the strategies have changed, their characteristics and implications in qualitative and quantitative terms. And we derive the implications of these changes for Korea's cybersecurity policy.