• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.137-144
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• 2020

Epilepsy is a brain disorder that affects millions of people worldwide and is usually managed using currently available antiepileptic drugs, which result in adverse effects and are ineffective in approximately 20-25% of patients. Thus, there is growing interest in the development of new antiepileptic drugs with fewer side effects. In a previous study, we showed that a Rehmannia glutinosa (RG) water extract has protective effects against electroshock- and pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced seizures, with fewer side effects. In this study, the objective was to identify the RG components that are responsible for its anticonvulsant effects. Initially, a number of RG components (aucubin, acteoside, catalpol, and mannitol) were screened, and the anticonvulsant effects of different doses of catalpol, mannitol, and their combination on electroshock- and chemically (PTZ or strychnine)-induced seizures in mice, were further assessed. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor binding assay and electroencephalography (EEG) analysis were conducted to identify the potential underlying drug mechanism. Additionally, treated mice were tested using open-field and rotarod tests. Catalpol, mannitol, and their combination increased threshold against electroshock-induced seizures, and decreased the percentage of seizure responses induced by PTZ, a GABA antagonist. GABA receptor binding assay results revealed that catalpol and mannitol are associated with GABA receptor activity, and EEG analysis provided evidence that catalpol and mannitol have anticonvulsant effects against PTZ-induced seizures. In summary, our results indicate that catalpol and mannitol have anticonvulsant properties, and may mediate the protective effects of RG against seizures.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.408-414
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• 2008

Importance of climate change and its impact on agriculture and environment has increased with the rise Green House Gases (GHGs) concentration in the atmosphere. To slow down the speed of climate change many efforts have been applied in industrial sectors to reduce GHGs emission and to enhance carbon storage. In agricultural sector, many researches have been performed on GHGs emission reduction, but few on the role of carbon sink. In this study, we investigated carbon balance and soil carbon storage in agricultural field in the barley-red pepper and barley-soybean cropping system. With the system for automatic measuring of carbon dioxide, net ecosystem production(NEP) was estimated to be $6.3ton\;CO_2\;ha-1$ for N-P-K chemical fertilizer treatment plot and $10.6ton\;CO_2\;ha^{-1}$ for N-P-K chemical fertilizer with swine manure treatment plot in the barley-soybean rotation cropping. In the barley-red pepper rotation cropping, it was $12.0ton\;CO_2\;ha^{-1}$ for N-P-K chemical fertilizer treatment plot and $13.2ton\;CO_2\;ha^{-1}$ for N-P-K chemical fertilizer with swine manure treatment plot. Soil carbon storage rate was estimated to be $0.7ton\;C\;ha^{-1}$ for the barley-soybean cropping system and $0.5ton\;C\;ha^{-1}$ for barley-pepper cropping system. In appeared that agricultural lands may contribute to the greenhouse effect as a potential carbon sink preserving carbon into soil.

• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.303-314
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• 2014

This study develops a $CO_2$ emissions estimation method, which considers different O/D travel patterns and through traffic volumes, in different regions for $CO_2$ emissions management in the field of transportation. In the research, O/D and network data provided by the Korea Transport Database (KTDB) Center are used as basic data. The results show that the total emission was similar to the Metropolitan's total emission which was estimated by KTDB (2009). With the analysis focusing on Gyeonggi-do, the results show that $CO_2$ emission from through traffic volumes was greater than $CO_2$ emissions of the Intra-Regional in southern regions; By contrast, $CO_2$ emissions of the Intra-Regional was greater than that from through traffic volumes in northern regions. Therefore, the $CO_2$ emissions management needs to be segregated into local government and nation with each travel pattern.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.1-15
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• 2020

As the entrepreneurial ecosystem turns out to be a leading factor in improving nation's entrepreneurship, many studies are underway in the country to develop the start-up ecosystem. Although the entrepreneurial ecosystem is receiving attention as an essential factor for the nation's economic growth as well as entrepreneurship due to its inter-relationship with start-ups, government agencies and investors, criticism of measurement indicators has been increasing due to the different institutional and political contexts of each country, including the various definition of start-up ecosystem. In this study, we develop indicators that are suitable for domestic conditions in Korea and that can measure the level of start-up ecosystems in each regional level. FGI and Delphi surveys by scholarly experts in each field of start-ups & entrepreneurship were conducted to verify how well existing indicators fit the domestic situation and to develop indicators that can measure the local entrepreneurial ecosystem in Korea through close examination. As a result, the local entrepreneurial ecosystem consisted of three to four sub-components and 38 sub-components, each consisting of seven indicators, including Policy, Investment, Culture, Market, Human Capital, Support and Knowledge. It is expected that this research will be used to diagnose local start-up ecosystems and to propose discriminatory policies that can complement regional strengths and weaknesses.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.2402-2411
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• 2018

Fluoronitriles-$CO_2$ gas mixtures are promising alternatives to $SF_6$ in environmentally-friendly gas-insulated transmission lines (GILs). Insulating gas heat transfer characteristics are of major significance for the current-carrying capacity design and operational state monitoring of GILs. In this paper, a three-dimensional calculation model was established for a GIL using the thermal-fluid coupled finite element method. The calculated results showed close agreement with experimentally measured data. The temperature distribution of a GIL filled with the Fluoronitriles-$CO_2$ mixture was obtained and compared with those of GILs filled with $CO_2$ and $SF_6$. Furthermore, the effects of the mixture ratio of the component gases and the gas pressure on the temperature rise and current-carrying capacity of the GIL were analyzed. Results indicated that the heat transfer performance of the Fluoronitriles-$CO_2$ gas mixture was better than that of $CO_2$ but worse than that of $SF_6$. When compared with $SF_6$, use of the Fluoronitriles-$CO_2$ gas mixture caused a reduction in the GIL's current-carrying capacity. In addition, increasing the Fluoronitriles gas component ratio or increasing the pressure of the insulating gas mixture could improve the heat dissipation and current-carrying capacity of the GIL. These research results can be used to design environmentally-friendly GILs containing Fluoronitriles-$CO_2$ gas mixtures.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.59-65
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• 2014

Generally, nitrogen (N) fertilization higher than the recommended dose is applied during vegetable cultivation for increasing in productivity. However, excessive N application rate beyond plant requirement could cause adverse environmental impact such as nitrate leaching and nitrous oxide emission. In this experiment, the impacts of N fertilization was studied on nitrous oxide ($N_2O$) emission to standardize the optimum fertilization level for minimizing of $N_2O$ emission as well as most of the crop productivity. Herein, we assessed the $N_2O$ emission in the flat upland soil which was cultivated with different N application rates on red pepper for 3 years (2010~2012). $N_2O$ emission was measured in chemical N fertilizer amounts 0 (N 0), 95 (N 0.5), 190 (N 1.0), $380(N_2.0)kgha^{-1}$ by using the abnormal shape chamber closed repeating three times. In average for 3 years, the total $N_2O$ emissions of each treatment in field of soybean were 2.110 (N 0), 3.165 (N 0.5), 5.039 (N 1.0), and $7.228(N_2.0)kgN_2Oha^{-1}yr^{-1}$, respectively. And then the primary regression between nitrogen fertilizer amount and the total $N_2O$ emission was showed as y = 0.0138x + 2.0942 ($r^2=0.9885$), and an average of the emission factor was $EF_1$ 0.0148(0.0118~0.0191) $N_2O-NkgN^{-1}kg^{-1}$ from 2010 to 2012. The result was a little higher than the emission default of the IPCC 1996 Guideline ($EF_1$ 0.0125) when the results are converted into $N_2O$ emission factor.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.561-568
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• 2020

A performance analysis was conducted according to changes in inflow velocity and the tip speed ratio of a portable horizontal-axis hydro turbine that can be used for marine leisure sports and outdoor activities by using the commercial computational fluid dynamics software ANSYS CFX. By using the analysis result and flow field analysis, the design was reviewed and the performance of the device was confirmed. In addition, data necessary to improve the performance of the hydro turbine were acquired by performing an additional performance analysis according to the variable blade pitch angle. The results among the numerical analysis cases show that the highest performance at all inflow velocities and blade pitch angles if achieved at a tip speed ratio of 4. The output power was found to be 30 W even under some conditions below the design flow rate. Among the numerical analysis cases, the highest output power (~ 85 W) and power coefficient (~ 0.30) were observed at an inlet flow rate of 1.5 m/s, a blade pitch angle of 3°, and a tip speed ratio of 4.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.7725-7730
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• 2013

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure inside selected public places to provide basic data for the development and promotion of smoke-free policies. Methods: Between March and May 2009, an SHS exposure survey was conducted. $PM_{2.5}$ levels and air nicotine concentrations were measured in hospitals (n=5), government buildings (4), restaurants (10) and entertainment venues (10) in Seoul, Republic of Korea, using a common protocol. Field researchers completed an observational questionnaire to document evidence of active smoking (the smell of cigarette smoke, presence of cigarette butts and witnessing people smoking) and administered a questionnaire regarding building characteristics and smoking policy. Results: Indoor $PM_{2.5}$ levels and air nicotine concentrations were relatively higher in monitoring sites where smoking is not prohibited by law. Entertainment venues had the highest values of $PM_{2.5}$(${\mu}g/m^3$) and air nicotine concentration(${\mu}g/m^3$), which were 7.6 and 67.9 fold higher than those of hospitals, respectively, where the values were the lowest. When evidence of active smoking was present, the mean $PM_{2.5}$ level was 104.9 ${\mu}g/m^3$, i.e., more than 4-fold the level determined by the World Health Organization for 24-hr exposure (25 ${\mu}g/m^3$). Mean indoor air nicotine concentration at monitoring sites with evidence of active smoking was 59-fold higher than at sites without this evidence (2.94 ${\mu}g/m^3$ vs. 0.05 ${\mu}g/m^3$). The results were similar at all specific monitoring sites except restaurants, where mean indoor $PM_{2.5}$ levels did not differ at sites with and without active smoking evidence and indoor air nicotine concentrations were higher in sites without evidence of smoking. Conclusion: Nicotine was detected in most of our monitoring sites, including those where smoking is prohibited by law, such as hospitals, demonstrating that enforcement and compliance with current smoke-free policies in Korea is not adequate to protect against SHS exposure.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.8
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• pp.1461-1471
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• 2017

Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) and its non-toxic mutant (LTm) are well-known powerful mucosal adjuvants and immunogens. However, the yields of these adjuvants from genetically engineered strains remain at extremely low levels, thereby hindering their extensive application in fundamental and clinical research. Therefore, efficient production of these adjuvant proteins from genetically engineered microbes is a huge challenge in the field of molecular biology. In order to explore the expression bottlenecks of LTm in E. coli, we constructed a series of recombinant plasmids based on various considerations and gene expression strategies. After comparing the protein expression among strains containing different recombinant plasmids, the signal sequence was found to be critical for the expression of LTm and its subunits. When the signal sequence was present, the strong hydrophobicity and instability of this amino acid sequence greatly restricted the generation of subunits. However, when the signal sequence was removed, abundantly expressed subunits formed inactive inclusion bodies that could not be assembled into the hexameric native form, although the inclusion body subunits could be refolded and the biological activity recovered in vitro. Therefore, the dilemma choice of signal sequence formed bottlenecks in the expression of LTm. These results reveal the expression bottlenecks of LTm, provide guidance for the preparation of LTm and its subunits, and certainly help to promote efficient preparation of this mucosal adjuvant protein.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.9 no.3 s.43
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• pp.43-50
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• 2005

Composite slab structures consisted with steel deck plate and concrete material show generally anisotropic structural behavior because of different stillness between the major direction and sub-direction of deck plate, and also the structures can be regarded as the laminated slab structures. It is necessary for the composite deck slab structures to carry out the exact vibration analysis to evaluate the serviceability. Also, it is needed to evaluate the exact structural behavior of composite deck slab with a layered orthotropic materials. In this paper, the thickness of lopping concrete and deck plate are used to calculate the material coefficient stiffness of a sub-direction, and an equivalent depth calculated from sectional stiffness of concrete and deck plate is applied to get the silliness of a major direction. The stiffness of two layered composite plates with different depth is determined by laminated theory. It is concluded that the presented method car efficiently analyze the structural behavior of composite deck slab consisted with steel deck plate and concrete material in the practical engineering field.