• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.145-154
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• 2006

Heterotrimeric G proteins (G proteins) are conserved in all eukaryotes and are crucial components sensing and relaying external cues into the cells to elicit appropriate physiological and biochemical responses. Basic units of the heterotrimeric G protein signaling system include a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), a G protein composed of ${\alpha},\;{\beta},\;and\;{\gamma}$ subunits, and variety of effectors. Sequential sensitization and activation of these G protein elements translates external signals into gene expression changes, resulting in appropriate cellular behaviors. Regulators of G protein signaling (RGSs) constitute a crucial element of appropriate control of the intensity and duration of G protein signaling. For the past decade, G protein signaling and its regulation have been intensively studied in a number of model and/or pathogenic fungi and outcomes of the studies provided better understanding on the upstream regulation of vegetative growth, mating, development, virulence/pathogenicity establishment, and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in fungi. This review focuses on the characteristics of the basic upstream G protein components and RGS proteins, and their roles controlling various aspects of biological processes in the model filamentous ascomycete fungus Aspergillus nidulans. In particular, their functions in controlling hyphal proliferation, asexual spore formation, sexual fruiting, and the mycotoxin sterigmatocystin production are discussed.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.173-184
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• 1990

A mathematical model was proposed to predict the predominant reactions and transport pathways of anthracene in a conventional activated sludge wastewater treatment system. The model consists of five differential equations with seven kinetic parameters and eighteen input variables. Volatilization, biodegradation, adsorption/desorption as well as the convective inputs and outputs are included in the model. The steady state calculations showed that volatilization (61%) in aeration tank and the withdrawal of primary sludge (33%) were two major pathways for removal of anthracene from the system. The overall removal was about 97%. The system reached a practical steady state at about 160 hours via dynamic modeling. The proposed model can give plausible predictions of the fate of priority organic pollutants in activated sludge processes.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.343-353
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• 2022

An attempt to derive the surface temperature from the Korea Multi-purpose Satellite (KOMPSAT)-3A mid-wave infrared (MWIR) data acquired over the southern California on Nov. 14, 2015 has been made using the MODerate resolution atmospheric TRANsmission (MODTRAN) radiative transfer model. Since after the successful launch on March 25, 2015, the KOMPSAT-3A spacecraft and its two payload instruments - the high-resolution multispectral optical sensor and the scanner infrared imaging system (SIIS) - continue to operate properly. SIIS uses the MWIR spectral band of 3.3-5.2 ㎛ for data acquisition. As input data for the realistic simulation of the KOMPSAT-3A SIIS imaging conditions in the MODTRAN model, we used the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) atmospheric profiles, the KOMPSAT-3Asensor response function, the solar and line-of-sight geometry, and the University of Wisconsin emissivity database. The land cover type of the study area includes water,sand, and agricultural (vegetated) land located in the southern California. Results of surface temperature showed the reasonable geographical pattern over water, sand, and agricultural land. It is however worthwhile to note that the surface temperature pattern does not resemble the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiance counterpart. This is because MWIR TOA radiances consist of both shortwave (0.2-5 ㎛) and longwave (5-50 ㎛) components and the surface temperature depends solely upon the surface emitted radiance of longwave components. We found in our case that the shortwave surface reflection primarily causes the difference of geographical pattern between surface temperature and TOA radiance. Validation of the surface temperature for this study is practically difficult to perform due to the lack of ground truth data. We therefore made simple comparisons with two datasets over Salton Sea: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) field data and Salton Sea data. The current estimate differs with these datasets by 2.2 K and 1.4 K, respectively, though it seems not possible to quantify factors causing such differences.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.11-19
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• 2002

Background: Ischemia-reperfusion myocardial injury is an important factor to determine the early and the late mortality of transplanted patients. Recently, modulation of the cytosolic NADH/NAD+ ratio by Pyruvate and aspartate was tested to Protect the heart from ischemia-reperfusion injury. Material and Method: We added pyruvate and aspartate to the University of Wisconsin solution, and evaluated their effect on myocardial protection. We used 16 piglet(age 1 to 3 days) hearts. Eight hearts were arrested with and stored in the University of Wisconsin solution(UW solution) for 24 hours(control group), and the other eight hearts were arrested with and stored in the modified UW solution added pyruvate(3mmol/L) and aspartate(2 mmol/L)(test group). All hearts underwent modified reperfusion with blood cardioplegic solution followed by conversion to a left-sided working model with perfusion from a support pig. And then, we measured stroke work index(SWI), high-energy phosphate stores, and myocardial water content of the hearts. SWI was calculated at left ventricular end-diastolic pressures of 3, 6, 9, and 12 mmHg after 60 and 120 minutes reperfusion, respectively, Result: At 60 minutes and 120 minutes after reperfusion, SWI was higher in the test group than in the control group significantly. The levels of AMP, ADP, ATP of the test group were also higher. But, the creatine phosphate level and myocardial water content were similar in the two groups. Conclusion: From these results, we could Prove that pyruvate and aspartate enhance cardiac contractility and high-energy phosphate stores after ischemia.

• Journal of International Area Studies (JIAS)
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.287-310
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• 2010

Developed nations are increasingly seeking to secure competitiveness in the international market through the development of human resources of workers in high value-added industries. And what is especially important in this process is the fact that workers, employers, and concerned government agencies are participating together in building and improving workers' skills through partnerships. This is based on the perception that workers training programs conducted according to the interest of one side are difficult to bring desired results. For the past decades, Korea has focused mostly on labor-management-government partnerships and strategies for developing the human resources of workers in developed nations in Europe. Related case studies show labor-management-government partnerships in European countries established through powerful trade unions, and interested parties actively cooperate and participate in employment and training programs that benefit both workers and employers. In contrast, studies on human resource development participated by workers and employers are relatively rare in the US, the reason being the lack of a mechanism for establishing labor-management-government partnership due to the country's strong tradition of decentralization and the emphasis on market principles. However, while it is difficult to find such channels for dialogue between workers, employers, and the government in th US on the federal level, there are many regional-level or industry-level programs that tackle common problems through partnerships between interested parties. This study analyzes how the regional labor-management-government partnerships in the US work and examines the types of programs operated by investigating the One-Stop Center based on the Workforce Investment Act and the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership. While the One-Stop Center is a regional labor-management-government partnership model that is institutionally executed in each state according to the Workforce Investment Act, the WRTP is a regional labor-management -government partnership model led by the private sector. The two examples are introduced in the OECD as best practice examples of regional partnerships, and are key references to Korea's current human resource development policy.

• Particle and aerosol research
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.59-68
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• 2011

The objective of the study was to investigate the main factors that contribute the variation of $PM_{10}$ concentration of Seoul and to quantify their effects using generalized additive model (GAM). The analysis was performed with 3 year air pollution data (2004~2006) measured at 27 urban sites and 7 roadside sites in Seoul, a background site in Gangwha and a rural site in Pocheon. The diurnal variation of urban $PM_{10}$ concentrations of Seoul showed a typical bimodal pattern with the same peak times as that of roadside, and the maximum difference of $PM_{10}$ level between urban and roadside was about $14{\mu}g/m^{3}$ at 10 in the morning. The wind direction was found to be a major factor that affects $PM_{10}$ level in all investigated areas. The overall $PM_{10}$ level was reduced when air came from east, but background $PM_{10}$ level in Gangwha was rather higher than the urban $PM_{10}$ level in Seoul, indicating that the $PM_{10}$ level in Gangwha is considerably influenced by that in Seoul metropolitan area. When hourly variations of $PM_{10}$ were analyzed using GAM, wind direction and speed explained about 34% of the variance in the model where the variables were added as a 2-dimensional smoothing function. In addition, other variables, such as diurnal variation, difference of concentrations between roadside and urban area, precipitation, month, and the regression slope of a plot of carbon monooxide versus $PM_{10}$, were found to be major explanatory variables, explaining about 64% of total variance of hourly variations of $PM_{10}$ in Seoul.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.620-625
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• 2000

The mechanisms of liver injury from cold storage and reperfusion are not completely under-stood. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the inactivation of Kupffer cells (KCs) by gadolinium chloride ($GdCl_3$) modulates ischemia-reperfusion injury in the rat liver. Hepatic function was assessed using an isolated perfused rat liver model. In livers subjected to cold storage at $4^{\circ}C$ in University of Wisconsin solution for 24 hrs and to 20 min rewarm-ing ischemia, oxygen uptake was markedly decreased, Kupffer cell phagocytosis was stimulated, releases of purine nucleoside phosphorylase and lactate dehydrogenase were increased as compared with control livers. Pretreatment of rats with $GdCl_3$) , a selective KC toxicant, suppressed kupffer cell activity, and reduced the grade of hepatic injury induced by ischemia-reperfusion. While the initial mixed function oxidation of 7-ethoxycoumarin was not different from that found in the control livers, the subsequent conjugation of its meta-bolite to sulfate and glucuronide esters was suppressed by ischemia-reperfusion, CdCl$_3$restored sulfation and glucuronidation capacities to the level of the control liver. Our findings suggest that Kupffer cells could play an important role in cold/warm ischemia-reperfusion hepatic injury.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.18 no.8
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• pp.1401-1417
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• 2004

Experimental and computational studies were performed to determine the effects of different blade designs on a flow pattern inside a double-spindle counter rotating mower deck. In the experimental study, two different blade models were tested by measuring air velocities using a forward-scatter LDV system. The velocity measurements were taken at several different azimuth and axial sections inside the deck. The measured velocity distributions clarified the air flow pattern caused by the rotating blades and demonstrated the effects of deck and blade designs. A high-speed video camera and a sound level meter were used for flow visualization and noise level measurement. In the computational works, two-dimensional blade shapes at several arbitrary radial sections have been selected for flow computations around the blade model. For three-dimensional computation applied a non-inertia coordinate system, a flow field around the entire three-dimensional blade shape is used to evaluate flow patterns in order to take radial flow interactions into account. The computational results were compared with the experimental results.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.409-419
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• 2016

Filamentous Aspergillus spp. are the most common fungi in our environment and can be beneficial and/or pathogenic to humans. Many Aspergillus spp. reproduce by forming asexual spores and can synthesize various secondary metabolites. A series of studies has revealed that Velvet regulators are fungus-specific transcription factors coordinating fungal growth, development, and secondary metabolism in the model fungus Aspergillus nidulans. Proteins of the Velvet family form various complexes that play diverse roles in the life cycle of A. nidulans. In other Aspergillus spp., proteins of this family are highly conserved and coordinate asexual development and secondary metabolism. This review summarizes the functions of Velvet proteins in Aspergillus spp.

• Mycobiology
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.229-237
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• 2010

Members of the genus Aspergillus are the most common fungi and all reproduce asexually by forming long chains of conidiospores (or conidia). The impact of various Aspergillus species on humans ranges from beneficial to harmful. For example, several species including Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus niger are used in industry for enzyme production and food processing. In contrast, Aspergillus flavus produce the most potent naturally present carcinogen aflatoxins, which contaminate various plant- and animal-based foods. Importantly, the opportunistic human pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus has become the most prevalent airborne fungal pathogen in developed countries, causing invasive aspergillosis in immunocompromised patients with a high mortality rate. A. fumigatus produces a massive number of small hydrophobic conidia as the primarymeans of dispersal, survival, genome-protection, and infecting hosts. Large-scale genome-wide expression studies can now be conducted due to completion of A. fumigatus genome sequencing. However, genomics becomes more powerful and informative when combined with genetics. We have been investigating the mechanisms underlying the regulation of asexual development (conidiation) and gliotoxin biosynthesis in A. fumigatus, primarily focusing on a characterization of key developmental regulators identified in the model fungus Aspergillus nidulans. In this review, I will summarize our current understanding of how conidiation in two aspergilli is regulated.