• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.27-37
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• 2023

Objectives: Moroccan Arbutus unedo is an essential medicinal plant; however, little is known about the biological properties of its leaves mentioned in Moroccan traditional medicine. Methods: Various standard experiments were performed to evaluate the phytochemical, antidiabetic, antioxidant, antibacterial, and acute and sub-chronic toxicity characteristics of A. unedo leaves. Results: Phytochemical screening led to the identification of several phytochemical classes, including tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, and anthraquinones, with high concentrations of polyphenols (31.83 ± 0.29 mg GAEs/g extract) and flavonoids (16.66 ± 1.47 mg REs/g extract). Further, the mineral analysis revealed high levels of calcium and potassium. A. unedo extract demonstrated significant antioxidant and anti-diabetic activities by inhibiting α-amylase (1.350 ± 0.32 g/mL) and α-glucosidase (0.099 ± 1.21 g/mL) compared to the reference drug Acarbose. Also, the methanolic extract of the plant exhibited significantly higher antibacterial activity than the aqueous extract. Precisely, three of the four examined bacterial strains exhibited substantial susceptibility to the methanolic extract . Minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC)/minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values indicated that A. unedo harbor abundant bactericidal compounds. For toxicological studies, mice were administered with A. unedo aqueous extract at single doses of 2,000 and 5,000 mg/kg. They did not exhibit significant abnormal behavior, toxic symptoms, or death during the 14-day acute toxicity test and the 90-day sub-chronic toxicity test periods. The general behavior, body weight, and hematological and biochemical status of the rats were assessed, revealing no toxicological symptoms or clinically significant changes in biological markers observed in the mice models, except hypoglycemia, after 90 days of daily dose administration. Conclusion: The study highlighted several biological advantages of A. unedo leaves without toxic effects in short-term application. Our findings suggest that conducting more comprehensive and extensive in vivo investigations is of utmost importance to identify molecules that can be formulated into pharmaceuticals in the future.

• The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.97-126
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• 2014

October 4, 1957 the Soviet Sputnik 1 was launched into space the first time in the history of mankind. After launching, the realm of humankind was expanded to space. Today all countries of the world wage a fierce competition in order to utilize space for various purposes. World powers of space such as United States, Russia, China, and Japan, put reconnaissance satellites and ocean surveillance satellites into orbit, being able to easily see equipment and troops movement on earth. Each country makes efforts to occupy space assets through the militarization of space and expand national interests. Recently private companies or individuals involved in commercial space activities are becoming more prevalent. Thus, in addition to space activities for military purposes, commercial space activities become widespread. Individuals and private companies as well as nations are also involved in space activities. Outer space is not the monopoly of space powers such as the United States and Russia. The whole human race can benefit from free access to space, being the common heritage of mankind. In particular, outer space becomes an indispensable element of military activities and human life. Many countries are now entering space development, putting a lot of budget into new development programs. Republic of Korea also built the Narodo Space Center, starting its space development with budget and manpower. We have to find out ways to use space not only for military purposes but also for commercial space activities that can contribute to the national economy. In addition, through the joint efforts of the international community, we have to make efforts for preservation and peaceful use of space. Various issues relating to space activities and research should be studies in order to contribute to the progress of humanity. Those issues include the definition of outer space, space debris reduction and environmental conservation issues, non-bind measure cooperation - European International Code of Conduct, space law and national legislation related empowerment issues, arms control measures in space, and restrictions on the use of nuclear fuel. We also need to be involved in the discussion of those issues as one of responsible space countries. In addition, we try to find out regional cooperation schemes such as the ESA in the Europe actively. Currently in the Northeast Asia, cooperation bodies led by Japan and China respectively, are operated in the confrontational way. To avoid such confrontation, a new cooperative body needs to be established for cooperation on space exploration and information. The system to allow the exchange of satellite information for early warning of natural disasters needs to be built as well. In addition, efforts to enhance the effectiveness of the relevant international treaties on space, and fill in the blanks in international space laws should be made at the same time. To this end, we have to do a leading role in the establishment of standards such as non-binding measures (resolution) - Code of Conduct, being discussed in the UN and other organizations, and compliance with those standards. Courses in aerospace should be requires in law schools and educational institutes, and professional manpower need to be nurtured. In addition, the space-related technology and policy needs to be jointly studied among the private, public, and military groups, and the cross exchange among them should be encouraged.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.1467-1478
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• 2000

The purpose of this study was to develop a curriculum for the oriental clinical nurse specialist program based on the understanding of Korean human beings so as to develop nursing as a profession and promote the client's health. The design of this study was based on literature review and nominal group study. The research was managed by East-West Nursing Research Institute of nursing science college at Kyung Hee University. The research team was composed of 17 professors of nursing departments of oriental medical colleges. We obtained opinions from Oriental Nurses Association, Oriental Nursing Research Association, and professors in oriental medical college. We reviewed articles, curriculums of other clinical nurse specialist programs, medical laws and the curriculum development plan for the oriental clinical nurse specialist program from Korean Nurses Association. We discussed a curriculum thoroughly in numerous meetings. We developed a following curriculum: 1. Educational philosophy was founded on the oriental human view which was based on Chun-In union theory. It was founded on the oriental health view which recognized health being in harmony with nature and the balance of body function with the harmony of Yin-Yang in the five elements. In addition, it was founded on oriental nursing view to promote these health states. 2. Educational goals were to train oriental clinical nurse specialists, oriental nursing educators and oriental nursing researchers who developed knowledge of oriental nursing theory, nursing practice and created a leadership. 3. Curriculum consisted of 48 credits, of which 36 credits are based on lectures and laboratory classes and 12 credits are based on clinical practice. 36 credits consisted of 5 general subject credits and 31 core subject credits. General subjects consisted of nursing theory, nursing research, law and ethics. Students who had earned master's degrees are not required to take the general subjects. Core subjects consisted of 11 subjects such as advanced physical examination and laboratory, oriental nursing theory, original text of oriental nursing, oriental medical nursing, oriental pediatric nursing, oriental gynecologic nursing, oriental gerontologic nursing, oriental pharmacology, oriental constitutional nursing, advanced nursing of channels and acupuncture points and laboratory and oriental rehabilitation nursing and laboratory. In addition, clinical practice in a hospital ward, out patient department, herb prepation room, department of physical therapy and health promotion center in oriental medical hospitals for 12 weeks. To admit this program, students should complete prerequisites of introduction to oriental nursing and nursing of channels and acupuncture points. 4. Course contents of each subjects were developed to include the course's goal and objectives and specific items. 5. Evaluation involved lecture, laboratory and in field practice. We applied various evaluation systems and methods that were based on both knowledge and skills of the students to ensure full credibility and validity.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.63-70
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• 2006

Natural product compounds are the source of numerous therapeutic agents. The marine environment produces natural products from a variety of structural classes exhibiting activity against numerous disease targets including anticancer agents. Among these, pectenotoxin-2 (PTX-2), which was first identified as a cytotoxic entity in marine sponges, which depolymerizes actin filaments, was found to be highly effective and more potent to activate an intrinsic pathway of apoptosis in p53-deficient tumor cells compared to those with functional p53 both in vitro and in vivo. However, the anti-proliferative mechanism of the compound at non-cytotoxic concentrations has not yet been explored. In the current study, we sought to investigate anti-proliferation and apoptosis of PTX-2 against U937 human leukemic cells and its underlying molecular mechanism. Exposure of U937 cells to PTX-2 resulted in growth inhibition and induction of apoptosis in dose- and time-dependent manner as measured by MTT assay, fluorescent microscopy and flow cytometric analysis. The anti-proliferative effect of PTX-2 was associated with a marked increase in the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase p21 (WAF1/CIP1) mRNA which was tumor suppressor p53-independent. The increase in apoptosis was connected with a time-dependent down-regulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-XL and inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) family such as XIAP and cIAP-2. Though additional studies are needed, these findings suggested that PTX-2-induced inhibition of U937 cells was associated with the induction of apoptotic cell death and the results provided important new insights into the possible molecular mechanisms of the anti-cancer activity of PTX-2.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.356-364
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• 2010

This study was carried out to investigate the exposure pathway of PBDEs in human breast milk collected from new mothers residing in Chuncheon, a comparatively clean area in Korea. The congeners of PBDE in 22 human breast milk samples were analyzed using a high resolution gas chromatography with a high resolution mass detector. The residue level of ${\sum}PBDEs$ was higher in primipara subjects than in multipara subjects (p<0.05). The levels in this study were similar to those of people in some Asian and European countries, but were lower than those of people in north America. In the congener profiles, BDE-47 (mean contribution=36.1%) was predominant, followed by BDE-153 (27%), BDE-99 (11.7%), BDE-100 (11.1%), BDE-28 (7.9%) and BDE-183 (3.5%). The sum of BDE-47 and BDE-153 accounted for more than 50% of ${\sum}PBDEs$ in most samples. BDE-47 was highly correlated with ${\sum}PBDEs$ (r=0.94, p<0.001). No strong trend was observed between PBDE levels and a number of key biological factors (women's age, weight, height and body mass index) examined in this study, however, weak correlations were observed in PBDE levels measured against dietary habits, particularly in fish consumption frequency. It seems that Korean people might be exposed to multiple sources including products of PBDEs, and particularly food resources.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.71-78
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• 2016

Objectives : Diabetic nephropathy is one of the most common chronic complications of diabetes and a leading cause of end-stage renal failure in the world. Mesangial cell proliferation is known as the major pathologic features such as glomerulosclerosis and renal fibrosis. Wiryeongtang (WRT) is a well-known traditional herbal formula as therapeutic agents for chronic edema and dysuresia of renal homeostasis. In the present study, we investigated whether WRT inhibits high glucose (HG)-induced renal dysfunction by TGF-β/Smads signal regulation in cultured mesangial cells.Methods : Inhibitory effect of WRT (10-50 ㎍/ml) on HG-stimulated mesangial cells proliferation and dysfunction were evaluated by [³H]-thymidine incorporation, Western blot, and RT-qPCR.Results : WRT significantly decreased HG-accelerated thymidine incorporation in human renal mesangial cell in a dose-dependent levels. WRT induced down-regulation of cyclins/CDKs and up-regulation of CDK inhibitor, p21waf1/cip1 and p27kip1 expression. In addition, HG enhanced expression of dysfunction biomarker such as collagen IV and CTGF, which was markedly attenuated by WRT. WRT decreased TGF-β1 and Smad-2/Smad-4 expression, whereas increased Smad-7 expression under HG. Furthermore, WRT inhibited HG-induced inflammatory factors level such as ICAM-1 and MCP-1 as well as NF-κB p65 nuclear translocation and intracellular ROS production.Conclusions : These results suggested that WRT may alleviate mesangial proliferation and inflammation possibly involved in renal fibrotic process, further diabetic nephropathy through disturbing TGF-β1/Smad signaling and NF-κB/ROS pathway. Thus, WRT might prove to be effective in the treatment of renal dysfunction leading to diabetic nephropathy.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.441-455
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• 2017

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to describe beverage patterns among healthy Korean adults and investigate their association with prevalence and components of metabolic syndrome. Methods: Subjects consisted of 6,927 Korean adults, aged 19-64 years in the $6^{th}$ Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES, 2013-2015). Beverages were regrouped into twelve groups based on food codes and beverage intake (g/day) was assessed by 24-hour recall. Factor analysis was used to obtain beverage patterns. Waist circumference and body mass index (BMI) were used as anthropometric data; fasting blood glucose, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein (HDL), and blood pressure were used as biochemical indicators. The odds ratio (OR) for prevalence of metabolic syndrome and components of metabolic syndrome was assessed using logistic regression analysis. Results: Three beverage patterns were identified using factor analysis: 1) carbonated soft drinks 2) coffee (without added sugar or powdered creamer), and 3) alcoholic beverages. Subjects with high scores for the carbonated soft drink and coffee without added sugar or powdered creamer patterns were younger and subjects with high scores for the alcoholic beverage pattern were older. There were significant differences in gender distribution in all three beverage patterns, with men more likely to have high scores for carbonated soft drink and alcoholic beverage patterns. On the other hand, women were more likely to have higher scores for coffee without added sugar or powdered creamer pattern. Within each pattern, there were significant differences in sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics such as education, household income, frequency of eating out, and smoking status according to the quartile of pattern scores. Alcoholic beverages and carbonated soft drinks patterns were associated with an increased levels of metabolic syndrome components, but coffee without added sugar or powdered creamer was not associated with any of metabolic syndrome components in healthy Korean adults after adjusting for age, sex, education, BMI, weight management, household income, smoking status, frequency of eating out, and energy intake. Conclusions: Alcoholic beverages and carbonated soft drinks patterns are associated with increased levels of metabolic syndrome components while coffee without added sugar or powdered creamer pattern is not associated with any of metabolic syndrome components in healthy Korean adults.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.243-248
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• 2023

This study aims to analyze the secondary carcinogenesis rate caused by exposure of organs at risk of damage using a glass dosimeter during radiosurgery in vestibular schwannoma disease. Using a pediatric phantom of human tissue equivalent material, the volume of the tumor was set to a total of three volumes: 0.506 cm³, 1.008 cm³, and 2.032 cm³, and a radiosurgery plan was established with an average dose of 18.4 ± 3.4 Gy. After mounting the human body phantom on the table of surgical equipment, glass dosimeters were placed on the right eye, left eye, thyroid gland, thymus, right lung, and left lung to measure the exposure dose, respectively. In this study, the incidence of secondary cancer due to exposure to damaged organs during gamma knife radiosurgery in vestibular schwannoma disease with the largest tumor volume of 2.032 cm³ was measured with a glass dosimeter. This study studies the risk of secondary radiation exposure dose that can occur during stereotactic radiosurgery, and it is considered that it will be used as basic data in the field of radiation damage related to the stochastic effect of radiation in the future.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.63 no.6
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• pp.415-419
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• 2019

Fipronil is an insecticide that belongs to the N-phenylpytazole and has been used mainly for an insect pest control. However, it is known that acute poisoning of the human body causes various symptoms such as dizziness, muscle weakness, dyspnea, skin irritation, and increased heart rate. Lately, eggs containing fipronil have been distributed and toxic problems are spreading around the world. In this study, we tried to develop analytical methods to evaluate the exposure of fipronil and fipronil sulfone in animal serum samples. The differences according to mobile phase and the results of liquid - liquid extraction and solid phase extraction pretreatment method were compared. Distilled water (A) and acetonitrile (B) were selected for the mobile phase, and the pretreatment method was determined by solid phase extraction. As a result of the method validation, the intra-day / inter-day accuracies were 82.2~114.1% and the precisions were less than 20%. The detection limit was 0.027 ng/ml for fipronil and 0.087 ng/ml for fipronil sulfone. The linearity obtained was satisfying, with a coefficient of determination (r²) higher than 0.99. The concentrations in some animal sera were determined using the methods of analysis for fipronil and fipronil sulfone in animal sera developed in this study. Using the method developed in this study, it could be used as an analytical method for human bio-monitoring of fipronil and fipronil sulfone as well as animal serum.

• Journal of Internet Computing and Services
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.237-246
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• 2020

this paper, a data modeling method based on decision-making conditions is proposed for making combat and battlefield management systems to be intelligent, which are also a decision-making support system. A picture of a robot seeing and perceiving like humans and arriving a point it wanted can be understood and be felt in body. However, we can't find an example of implementing a decision-making which is the most important element in human cognitive action. Although the agent arrives at a designated office instead of human, it doesn't support a decision of whether raising the market price is appropriate or doing a counter-attack is smart. After we reviewed a current situation and problem in control & command of military, in order to collect a big data for making a machine staff's advice to be possible, we propose a data modeling prototype based on decision-making conditions as a method to change a current control & command system. In addition, a decision-making tree method is applied as an example of the decision making that the reformed control & command system equipped with the proposed data modeling will do. This paper can contribute in giving us an insight of how a future AI decision-making staff approaches to us.