• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.156-163
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• 2015

This paper presents a new framework for design and economic evaluation of wind energy-based electricity supply system. We propose a network optimization (mixed-integer linear programming) model to design the underlying energy supply system. In this model we include practical constraints such as land limitations of onshore wind farms and different costs of offshore wind farms to minimize the total annual cost. Based upon the model, we also analyze the sensitivity of the total annual cost on the change of key parameters such as available land for offshore wind farms, required area of a wind turbine and the unit price of wind turbines. We illustrate the applicability of the suggested model by applying to the problem of design of a wind turbines-based electricity supply problem in Jeju. As a result of this study, we identified the major cost-drivers and the regional cost distribution of the proposed system. We also comparatively analyzed the economic performance of on/off shore wind farms in wind energy-based electricity supply system of Jeju.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.263-268
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• 2015

Coelomocytes are specialized cells that continually and nonspecifically scavenge fluid from the body cavity through endocytosis in Caenorhabditis elegans. Our previous study revealed that coelmocytes were specifically required for dietary-restriction-induced longevity in C. elegans. In the present study, we examined the effect of coelomocyte ablation on the response to environmental stressors and reproduction in C. elegans. Coelomocytes were ablated using diphtheria toxin specifically expressed in coelomocytes. After exposing worms to 20 J/cm²/min of ultraviolet irradiation in vivo, the survival of the worms was monitored daily. To examine their response to heat stress, their survival after 10 h of 35℃ heat shock was measured. Oxidative stress was induced using paraquat, and the susceptibility to oxidative stress was compared between wild-type control and coelomocyte-ablated worms. The total number of progeny produced was counted, and the time-course distribution of the progeny was determined. The worms with ablated coelomocytes showed reduced resistance to ultraviolet irradiation, but the ablation of coelomocytes had no effect on their response to heat or oxidative stress. The number of progeny produced during the gravid period was significantly decreased in the coelomocyte-ablated worms. These findings suggest that coelomocytes specifically modulate the response to ultraviolet irradiation and are required for normal reproduction in C. elegans. The findings could contribute to understanding of the mechanisms underlying dietary-restriction-induced longevity.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.79-90
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• 2013

Geophysical investigation in non-destructive testing is economically less expensive than boring testing and providing geotechnical information over wide-area. But, it provides only limited geotechnical information, which is hardly used to the design. Accordingly, we performed electrical resistivity experiments on large scale of soil model to analyze the correlation between electrical resistivity response and soil water contents. The soils used in the experiments were the Jumunjin standard sand and weathered granite soil. Each soil particle size distribution and coefficient of uniformity of experimental material obtained in the experiments were maintained in a state of the homogeneous. The specifications of the model used in this study is $160{\times}100{\times}50$(cm) of acrylic, and each soil was maintained at the height 30 cm. The water content were measured using the 5TE sensors (water contents sensors) which is installed 7 ~ 8 cm apart vertically by plugging to floor. The results of the resistivity behavior pattern for Jumunjin standard sand was found to be sensitive to the water content, while the weathered granite soil was showing lower resistivity over the time, and there was no significant change in behavior pattern observed. So, it results that the Jumunjin standard sand's particle current conduction was better than the weathered granite soil's particle through contact with the distilled water. This lab test was also compared with the result of a test bed site composed of similar weathered soil. It was confirmed that these experiments were underlying research of non-destructive investigation techniques to improve the accuracy to estimate the geotechnical parameter.

• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.339-348
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• 2017

One of the major issues of statistical process control for variables data is monitoring both the mean and the standard deviation. The traditional approach to monitor these parameters is to simultaneously use two seperate control charts. However there have been some works on developing a single chart using a single plotting statistic for joint monitoring, and it is claimed that they are simpler and may be more appealing than the traditonal one from a practical point of view. When using these control charts for variables data, estimating in-control parameters and checking the normality assumption are the very important step. Nonparametric Shewhart-Lepage chart, proposed by Mukherjee and Chakraborti (2012), is an attractive option, because this chart uses only a single control statistic, and does not require the in-control parameters and the underlying continuous distribution. In this paper, we introduce the Shewhart-Lepage chart, and propose the design procedure to find the optimal diagnosis limits when the location and the scale parameters change simultaneously. We also compare the efficiency of the proposed method with that of Mukherjee and Chakraborti (2012).

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.58 no.6
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• pp.600-606
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• 2005

Background : The development of bronchoscopic equipment along with the precision of radiographic techniques had reduced the mortality rate of patients with tracheobronchial foreign bodies but has been no change in the incidence of tracheobronchial foreign bodies since their introduction. The aim of this study was to assess the clinical characteristics of a tracheobronchial foreign body aspiration and to evaluate the efficacy of the treatment modality in children and adults. Methods : This is a retrospective review of 64 patients who underwent bronchoscopic procedures for the treatment of aspirated foreign bodies from December 1994 through March 2004 at the Chonnam national university hospital. Results : There were 47 males and 17 females, aged from 1 month to 78 years. Most of the patients had no underlying illness except for one patient with a cerebrovascular accident that contributed to the foreign body aspiration. The most common symptom was cough, which was noted in 54 patients (84.3%). The other presenting symptoms were dyspnea (48.8%), fever (20.3%), sputum (14%), vomiting (7.8%), and chest pain (4.6%). Those whose tracheobronchial foreign bodies were diagnosed more than 2 days after the aspiration (21 patients) were more likely to have pneumonia than those whose foreign bodies were diagnosed within 2 days (p = 0.009). Foreign bodies were visualized in the plain chest radiographs in 12 cases (18.8%), while others showed air trapping (21, 32.8%), pneumonia (15, 23.4%), atelectasis (7, 10.9%), and normal findings (9, 14.1%). The foreign bodies were more frequently found in the right bronchial tree (36) compared with the left bronchial tree (22, p = 0.04). In order to remove the foreign bodies, twenty (31.2%) cases were removed using flexible bronchoscopy, while 42 (65.6%) and 2 (3.2%) cases required rigid bronchoscopy and surgery, respectively. Conclusions : Tracheobronchial Foreign body aspiration had a bimodal age distribution in the infancy and old age around 60 years. They were found more frequently in the right bronchial tree. In addition, patients whose foreign bodies were diagnosed more than 2 days after the aspiration were more likely have a infection. Rigid bronchoscopy is the procedure of choice for uncooperative children and for those with foreign bodies lodged deeply in the small bronchial tree.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.247-256
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• 2017

Background: KG-135, a standardized formulation enriched with Rk1, Rg3, and Rg5 ginsenosides, has been shown to inhibit various types of cancer cells; however, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. In this study, we explored its effects in A549 human lung cancer cells to investigate the induction of Forkhead Class box O3a (FOXO3a) and autophagy. Methods: Cell viability was determined by sulforhodamine B staining. Apoptosis and cell cycle distribution were analyzed using flow cytometry. The changes of protein levels were determined using Western blot analysis. Autophagy induction was monitored by the formation of acidic vesicular organelles stained with acridine orange. Results: KG-135 effectively arrested the cells in G1 phase with limited apoptosis. Accordingly, a decrease of cyclin-dependent kinase-4, cyclin-dependent kinase-6, cyclin D1, and phospho-retinoblastoma protein, and an increase of p27 and p18 proteins were observed. Intriguingly, KG-135 increased the tumor suppressor FOXO3a and induced the accumulation of autophagy hallmark LC3-II and acidic vesicular organelles without an increase of the upstream marker Beclin-1. Unconventionally, the autophagy adaptor protein p62 (sequestosome 1) was increased rather than decreased. Blockade of autophagy by hydroxychloroquine dramatically potentiated KG-135-induced FOXO3a and its downstream (FasL) ligand accompanied by the cleavage of caspase-8. Meanwhile, the decrease of Bcl-2 and survivin, as well as the cleavage of caspase-9, were also drastically enhanced, resulting in massive apoptosis. Conclusion: Besides arresting the cells in G1 phase, KG-135 increased FOXO3a and induced an unconventional autophagy in A549 cells. Both the KG-135-activated extrinsic FOXO3a/FasL/caspase-8 and intrinsic caspase-9 apoptotic pathways were potentiated by blockade of autophagy. Combination of KG-135 and autophagy inhibitor may be a novel strategy as an integrative treatment for cancers.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.86-95
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• 2020

Background: Ginsenoside Rb1 (Rb1), one of the most abundant protopanaxadiol-type ginsenosides, exerts excellent neuroprotective effects even though it has low intracephalic exposure. Purpose: The present study aimed to elucidate the apparent contradiction between the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of Rb1 by studying the mechanisms underlying neuroprotective effects of Rb1 based on regulation of microflora. Methods: A pseudo germ-free (PGF) rat model was established, and neuroprotective effects of Rb1 were compared between conventional and PGF rats. The relative abundances of common probiotics were quantified to reveal the authentic probiotics that dominate in the neuroprotection of Rb1. The expressions of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors, including GABAA receptors (α2, β2, and γ2) and GABAB receptors (1b and 2), in the normal, ischemia/reperfusion (I/R), and I/R+Rb1 rat hippocampus and striatum were assessed to reveal the neuroprotective mechanism of Rb1. Results: The results showed that microbiota plays a key role in neuroprotection of Rb1. The relative abundance of Lactobacillus helveticus (Lac.H) increased 15.26 fold after pretreatment with Rb1. I/R surgery induced effects on infarct size, neurological deficit score, and proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α) were prevented by colonizing the rat gastrointestinal tract with Lac.H (1 × 10⁹ CFU) by gavage 15 d before I/R surgery. Both Rb1 and Lac.H upregulated expression of GABA receptors in I/R rats. Coadministration of a GABA_A receptor antagonist significantly attenuated neuroprotective effects of Rb1 and Lac.H. Conclusion: In sum, Rb1 exerts neuroprotective effects by regulating Lac.H and GABA receptors rather than through direct distribution to the target sites.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.60 no.3
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• pp.639-647
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• 2011

In this paper, we introduce a design methodology of data-centroid Radial Basis Function neural networks with extended polynomial function. The two underlying design mechanisms of such networks involve K-means clustering method and Particle Swarm Optimization(PSO). The proposed algorithm is based on K-means clustering method for efficient processing of data and the optimization of model was carried out using PSO. In this paper, as the connection weight of RBF neural networks, we are able to use four types of polynomials such as simplified, linear, quadratic, and modified quadratic. Using K-means clustering, the center values of Gaussian function as activation function are selected. And the PSO-based RBF neural networks results in a structurally optimized structure and comes with a higher level of flexibility than the one encountered in the conventional RBF neural networks. The PSO-based design procedure being applied at each node of RBF neural networks leads to the selection of preferred parameters with specific local characteristics (such as the number of input variables, a specific set of input variables, and the distribution constant value in activation function) available within the RBF neural networks. To evaluate the performance of the proposed data-centroid RBF neural network with extended polynomial function, the model is experimented with using the nonlinear process data(2-Dimensional synthetic data and Mackey-Glass time series process data) and the Machine Learning dataset(NOx emission process data in gas turbine plant, Automobile Miles per Gallon(MPG) data, and Boston housing data). For the characteristic analysis of the given entire dataset with non-linearity as well as the efficient construction and evaluation of the dynamic network model, the partition of the given entire dataset distinguishes between two cases of Division I(training dataset and testing dataset) and Division II(training dataset, validation dataset, and testing dataset). A comparative analysis shows that the proposed RBF neural networks produces model with higher accuracy as well as more superb predictive capability than other intelligent models presented previously.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.320-333
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• 2016

This study was carried out to elucidate the development of unprecedented water-bloom caused by a single species of colonial green algae Eudorina elegans in the upstream area of the Seungchon weir located in the Yeongsan River from late April to May 2013. The Yeongsan River is typically regulated system and the waterbody is seriously enriched by both external and internal sources of nutrients. Seasonal algal outbreaks were highly probable due to various potential factors, such as the excessive nutrients contained in treated wastewater, slow current, high irradiation and temperature, in diatom (winter), green algae (spring) and bluegreen algae (summer). Spring green-tide was attributed to E. elegans with level up to $1,000mg\;m^{-3}$(>$50{\times}10^4cells\;mL^{-1}$). The bloom was exploded in the initial period of the algal development and after then gradually diminished with transporting to the downstream by the intermittent rainfall, resulting in rapid expansion of the distribution range. Although the pulsed-flows by the weir manipulation was applied to control algal bloom, they were not the countermeasures to solve the underlying problem, but rather there still was a remaining problem related to the impact of pulsed-flows on the downstream. The green-tide of E. elegans in this particular region of the Yeongsan River revealed the blooming characteristics of a colonial motile microalga, and fate of vanishing away by the succeeding episodic events of mesoscale rainfall. We believe that the results of the present study contribute to limno-ecological understanding of the green-tide caused by blue-green algae in the four major rivers, Korea.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.8
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• pp.1112-1121
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• 2019

Objective: Gram-negative bacteria lipopolysaccharide (LPS) has been reported to be associated with uterine impairment, embryonic resorption, ovarian dysfunction, and follicle retardation. Here, we aimed to investigate the toxic effects of LPS on the maturation ability and parthenogenetic developmental competence of bovine oocytes. Methods: First, we developed an in vitro model to study the response of bovine cumulusoocyte complexes (COCs) to LPS stress. After incubating germinal vesicle COCs in $10{\mu}g/mL$ of LPS, we analyzed the following three aspects: the expression levels of the LPS receptor toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in COCs, activities of intracellular signaling protein p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-${\kappa}B$); and the concentrations of interleukin (IL)-$1{\beta}$, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-${\alpha}$, and IL-6. Furthermore, we determined the effects of LPS on the maturation ability and parthenogenetic developmental competence of bovine oocytes. Results: The results revealed that LPS treatment significantly elevated TLR4 mRNA and protein expression levels in COCs. Exposure of COCs to LPS also resulted in a marked increase in activity of the intracellular signaling protein p-p38 MAPK and NF-${\kappa}B$. Furthermore, oocytes cultured in maturation medium containing LPS had significantly higher concentrations of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-$1{\beta}$, TNF-${\alpha}$, and IL-6. LPS exposure significantly decreased the first polar body extrusion rate. The cytoplasmic maturation, characterized by polar body extrusion and distribution of peripheral cortical granules, was significantly impaired in LPS-treated oocytes. Moreover, LPS exposure significantly increased intracellular reactive oxygen species levels and the relative mRNA abundance of the antioxidants thioredoxin (Trx), Trx2, and peroxiredoxin 1 in oocytes. Moreover, the early apoptotic rate and the release of cytochrome C were significantly increased in response to LPS. The cleavage, morula, and blastocyst formation rates were significantly lower in parthenogenetically activated oocytes exposed to LPS, while the incidence of apoptotic nuclei in blastocysts was significantly increased. Conclusion: Together, these results provide an underlying mechanism by which LPS impairs maturation potential in bovine oocytes.