• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.1436-1457
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• 2018

Secure routing services in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are essential, especially in mission critical fields such as the military and in medical applications. Additionally, they play a vital role in the current and future Internet of Things (IoT) services. Lightness and efficiency of a routing protocol are not the only requirements that guarantee success; security assurance also needs to be enforced. This paper proposes a Secure-Fuzzy Energy Aware Routing Protocol (S-FEAR) for WSNs. S-FEAR applies a security model to an existing energy efficient FEAR protocol. As part of this research, the S-FEAR protocol has been analyzed in terms of the communication and processing costs associated with building and applying this model, regardless of the security techniques used. Moreover, the Qualnet network simulator was used to implement both FEAR and S-FEAR after carefully selecting the following security techniques to achieve both authentication and data integrity: the Cipher Block Chaining-Message Authentication Code (CBC-MAC) and the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA). The performance of both protocols was assessed in terms of complexity and energy consumption. The results reveal that achieving authentication and data integrity successfully excluded all attackers from the network topology regardless of the percentage of attackers. Consequently, the constructed topology is secure and thus, safe data transmission over the network is ensured. Simulation results show that using CBC-MAC for example, costs 0.00064% of network energy while ECDSA costs about 0.0091%. On the other hand, attacks cost the network about 4.7 times the cost of applying these techniques.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.23-28
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• 2015

Teaching programming skills is not only required for computer related departments but through the area of engineering and natural science. Moreover recently teaching programming skill is emphasized in software education for primary schools and secondary schools. Since programming ability is considered an essencial element of national competitiveness, we need programming learning system which alleviates the difficulty. We implemented Blockly webc Programming Convergent Learning System which is based on the graphic tools called Blockly by Google. Inside system problem sets for the programming beginners are embedded in the system. These problem sets are gone under more than 20 years verification and these problem sets may be used to help beginning programmers escape novice coder in short time. Blockly webc Programming Convergent Learning System together with already developed Simple Visual Language2 Programming Learning System is expected to play an important role as a programming learning system for the beginners.

• Journal of Broadcast Engineering
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.225-235
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• 2004

In this paper, we propose a new stereoscopic video coding approach for heterogeneous consumer devices by exploiting the concept of spatio-temporal scalability. The proposed method uses MPEG-2 standard for coding the left or main sequence and an enhanced compatible coding scheme for predicting the P- and B-type of frames of the right or auxiliary sequence. The enhanced compatible coding scheme predicts matching block by interpolating both two forward and backward motion predicted macroblocks and disparity predicted macroblock. To provide flexible stereo video service, we define both a temporally scalable layer and a spatially scalable layer for each eye-view. The experimental results show the efficiency of proposed coding scheme by comparison with already known methods and the advantages of disparity estimation in terms of scalability overhead. According to the experimental results, we expect the proposed functionalities will play a key role in establishing highly flexible stereo video service for ubiquitous computing environment where devices and network connections are heterogeneous.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.17-26
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• 2014

Background: Despite children's unique characteristics that distinguish them from adults, relatively few attempts have been made to measure exposure factors for characterization of children's exposure to hazardous chemicals in child-specific products (CSP). This study was conducted to establish the child-specific exposure factors for exposure and risk assessment of hazardous substances in CSP. Methods: We investigated the exposure factors (e.g., time use of child-products, time and frequency of object-to-body contact, time and frequency of object-to-mouth contact) influencing children's exposure to CSP (e.g., toys, playmats, oil pastels, etc.) in 650 children through a parent-completed questionnaire using a web-based survey. Participants were recruited in five age groups, <1, 1-2, 2-3, 3-6, and 6-12 years of age. Results: The child-specific exposure factors were presented as the mean, median, $95^{th}$ percentile, minimum, and maximum values. Time activity for play mats was the longest among CSP and infants spent more time on them than did elder age groups (189.3-224.7 min/day for <1-2 years vs. 91.2 min/day for 6-12 years). It is apparent that time and frequency of toy block- and plastic toy-to-mouth contact significantly decreased as a function of age. When the variation of CSP use patterns was compared by gender, the only variable that was statistically different between genders was time activity in child-products exposure space. Conclusion: We believe the five child-specific exposure factors suggested in the present study will be valuable for reducing uncertainty in the estimation of chemical exposure during risk assessment of CSP and furthermore, in the appropriate regulations to protect children's health.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute Of Construction Engineering and Management
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• autumn
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• pp.258-261
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• 2003

Demolition is mort dangerous than construction and causes a lot of harmful environmental factors. But temporary fences used on demolition sites cannot play out their roles of blocking harmful environmental factors or securing stability and work space. They only block the view from the outside. This study begins with the possibility that the temporary fence can be installed prior to demolition. As a preceding step. we performed research on the actual conditions of using it. We then realized that it can be installed according to our research plan. First, we focused on actualizing the integration of temporary fences for demolition and construction. Here are the results of this study. First, we need to grasp the limiting factors of integration. Second, we ought to revise the Korean Architecture Standard Specification. Third, we should prepare against damage and transformation of fences. Finally, we can expect to reduce harmful environmental factors, cut down expenses, improve the working environment and raise the image of demolition by the integration of these fences.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.193-200
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• 2016

Sertraline, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), has been reported to lead to cardiac toxicity even at therapeutic doses including sudden cardiac death and ventricular arrhythmia. And in a SSRI-independent manner, sertraline has been known to inhibit various voltage-dependent channels, which play an important role in regulation of cardiovascular system. In the present study, we investigated the action of sertraline on Kv1.5, which is one of cardiac ion channels. The effect of sertraline on the cloned neuronal rat Kv1.5 channels stably expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells was investigated using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. Sertraline reduced Kv1.5 whole-cell currents in a reversible concentration-dependent manner, with an $IC_{50}$ value and a Hill coefficient of $0.71{\mu}M$ and 1.29, respectively. Sertraline accelerated the decay rate of inactivation of Kv1.5 currents without modifying the kinetics of current activation. The inhibition increased steeply between -20 and 0 mV, which corresponded with the voltage range for channel opening. In the voltage range positive to +10 mV, inhibition displayed a weak voltage dependence, consistent with an electrical distance ${\delta}$ of 0.16. Sertraline slowed the deactivation time course, resulting in a tail crossover phenomenon when the tail currents, recorded in the presence and absence of sertraline, were superimposed. Inhibition of Kv1.5 by sertraline was use-dependent. The present results suggest that sertraline acts on Kv1.5 currents as an open-channel blocker.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.343-348
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• 2012

Blocking or regulating $K^+$ channels is important for investigating neuronal functions in mammalian brains, because voltage-dependent $K^+$ channels (Kv channels) play roles to regulate membrane excitabilities for synaptic and somatic processings in neurons. Although a number of toxins and chemicals are useful to change gating properties of Kv channels, specific effects of each toxin on a particular Kv subunit have not been sufficiently demonstrated in neurons yet. In this study, we tested electro-physiologically if heteropodatoxin2 ($HpTX_2$), known as one of Kv4-specific toxins, might be effective on various $K^+$ outward currents in CA1 neurons of organotypic hippocampal slices of rats. Using a nucleated-patch technique and a pre-pulse protocol in voltage-clamp mode, total $K^+$ outward currents recorded in the soma of CA1 neurons were separated into two components, transient and sustained currents. The extracellular application of $HpTX_2$ weakly but significantly reduced transient currents. However, when $HpTX_2$ was added to internal solution, the significant reduction of amplitudes were observed in sustained currents but not in transient currents. This indicates the non-specificity of $HpTX_2$ effects on Kv4 family. Compared with the effect of cytosolic 4-AP to block transient currents, it is possible that cytosolic $HpTX_2$ is pharmacologically specific to sustained currents in CA1 neurons. These results suggest that distinctive actions of $HpTX_2$ inside and outside of neurons are very efficient to selectively reduce specific $K^+$ outward currents.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.2 no.5
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• pp.611-616
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• 1998

Although the $Ca^{2+}-activated\;K^+\;(I_{K,Ca})$ channel is known to play an important role in the maintenance of resting membrane potential, the regulation of the channel in physiological condition is not completely understood in vascular myocytes. In this study, we investigated the role of cytoplasmic $Mg^{2+}$ on the regulation of $I_{K,Ca}$ channel in pulmonary arterial myocytes of the rabbit using the inside-out patch clamp technique. $Mg^{2+}$ increased open probability (Po), but decreased the magnitude of single channel current. $Mg^{2+}-induced$ block of unitary current showed strong voltage dependence but increase of Po by $Mg^{2+}$ was not dependent on the membrane potential. The apparent effect of $Mg^{2+}$ might, thus, depend on the proportion between opposite effects on the Po and on the conductance of $I_{K,Ca}$ channel. In low concentration of cytoplasmic $Ca^{2+},\;Mg^{2+}$ increased $I_{K,Ca}$ by mainly enhancement of Po. However, at very high concentration of cytoplasmic $Ca^{2+},$ such as pCa 5.5, $Mg^{2+}$ decreased $I_{K,Ca}$ through the inhibition of unitary current. Moreover, $Mg^{2+}$ could activate the channel even in the absence of $Ca^{2+}.\;Mg^{2+}$ might, therefore, partly contribute to the opening of $I_{K,Ca}$ channel in resting membrane potential. This phenomenon might explain why $I_{K,Ca}$ contributes to the resting membrane potential where membrane potential and concentration of free $Ca^{2+}$ are very low.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.3751-3755
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• 2012

Aim: Tea polyphenols are known to play roles in critical steps of human lung carcinoma cell metastasis. For understanding the mechanisms whereby they inhibit tumor metastasis, the present study was conducted to investigate their effects on the adhesion of highly metastatic lung carcinoma cell lines (PG cells) to endothelial cells (EC cells) and adhesion molecule expression in vitro. Methods: The expression of CD44 or CD54 in the PG cells was detected by flow cytometry and adhesion of PG cells to EC cells was assessed by confocal microscopy double fluorescence staining. Results: The results showed that tea polyphenols: (1) inhibited the expression of CD44 and CD54, two important adhesion molecules in the PG cells in a dose-dependent manner; (2) significantly blocked the adhesion of PG cells to EC cells not only in a state of rest but also when active; and (3) influenced CD44 and CD54 expression during the adhesion process of PG cells to EC cells. Conclusions: The data indicated that the blocking role of tea polyphenols in the adhesion of PG cells to EC cells is related to CD44 and CD54. The mechanism of tea polyphenol prevention of human lung carcinoma metastasis might be through inhibiting adhesion molecule expression to block cancer cell adhesion.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.5017-5021
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• 2013

Objective: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a small class of non-coding, single-stranded RNAs with a critical role in genesis and maintenance of renal cancer mainly through binding to 3'-untranslated regions (3'UTR) of target mRNAs, which causes a block of translation and/or mRNA degradation. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential effects of miR-122 in human renal cell carcinomas. Methods: The expression level of miR-122 was quantified by qRT-PCR. MTT, colony formation, invasion and migration assays were used to explore the potential functions of miR-122 in human renal cell carcinoma cells. Results: Cellular growth, invasion and migration in two A498 and 786-O cells were significantly increased after miR-122 transfection. Further experiments demonstrated that overexpression of miR-122 resulted in the increase of phospho-Akt (Ser473) and phospho-mTOR (Ser2448), then activation of mTOR targets, p70S6K and 4E-BP1. Conclusions: The up-regulation of miR-122 may play an important role in the progress of renal cancer through activating PI3K/Akt signal pathway and could be a potential molecular target for anti-cancer therapeutics.