• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.21-25
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• 2008

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) have the capacity for self-renewal and differentiation into a variety of cell types. They represent an attractive source of cells for gene and cell therapy. The purpose of this study is to direct the specific expression of the DsRed reporter gene in $Sca-1^+$ BMMSCs differentiated into a cardiomyogenic lineage. We constructed the prMLC-2v-DsRed vector expressing DsRed under the control of the 309 tp fragment of the rat MLC-2v 5'-flanking region. The specific expression of the DsRed reporter gene under the transcriptional control of the 309 bp fragment of the rat MLC-2v promoter was tested in 5-azacytidine healed-$Sca-1^+$ BMMSCs over 2 weeks after the prMLC-2v-DsRed transfection. The prMLC-2v-DsRed was specifically expressed in the $Sca-1^+$ BMMSCs with cardiomyogenic lineage differentiation and it demonstrates that the 309 bp sequences of the rat MLC-2v 5'-flanking region is sufficient to confer cardiac specific expression on a DsRed reporter gene. The cardiac-specific promoter-driven reporter vector provides an important tool for the study of stem cell differentiation and cell replacement therapy in ischemic cardiomyopathy.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.411-432
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• 2008

This study presents the pattern and determinants of intra-industry trade in Korea's machinery and transport equipment industry focusing the influence of foreign direct investment on intra-industry trade. Using an OLS regression model the determinants of intra-industry trade are investigated. Results indicate that a statistically significant negative relationship is found between intra-industry trade and foreign direct investment, and show that intra-industry trade is positively affected by the degree of product differentiation and export structure similarity. Intra-industry trade is also positively associated with the economies of scale, the level of trade barrier, and transportation costs, although this is not statistically significant. The study found strong evidence that the propensity of foreign direct investment toward export specialized industry makes the negative relationship between intra-industry trade and foreign direct investment.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2016.11a
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• pp.122.2-122.2
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• 2016

Surface topographical cues has been highlighted to control the fate of neural stem cells (NSCs). Herein we developed a hierarchically patterned substrate (HPS) platform for regulating NSC differentiation. The HPS induced cytoskeleton alignment and highly activated focal adhesion in hNSCs as indicated by enhanced expression of focal adhesion proteins such as focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and vinculin. hNSCs cultured on HPS exhibited enhanced neuronal differentiation compared to flat group. We also developed a graphene oxide (GO)-based hierarchically patterned substrates (GPS) that promote focal adhesion formation and neuronal differentiation of hNSCs. Enhanced focal adhesion and differentiation of hNSCs on the HPS was reversed by blocking the ${\beta}1$ integrin binding and mechanotransduction-associated signals including Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) and extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway, which may suggest a potential mechanism of beneficial effects of HPS. In addition, hNSCs on the HPS differentiated into functional neurons exhibiting sodium currents and action potentials as confirmed by whole cell patch-clamping analysis. The hierarchical topography can direct differentiation of NSCs towards functional neurons, and therefore would be an important element for the design of functional biomaterials for neural tissue regeneration applications.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 1995

1, 25(OH)2-23ene-D3 is a novel vitamine D3 analog which has a double bond between C-23 and C-24. We describe the effects of this analog on cell differentiation and cell proliferation in vitro using the human histiocytic lymphoma cell line U937, and on calcium metabolism in rats in vivo. In the present investigation 1, 25(OH)2-23ene-D3 was compared to the natural metabolite of vitamin D3, 1$\alpha$, 25-dihydroxycholecalciferol[1, 25(OH)2-23ene-D3 was more potent than 1, 25(OH)2-23ene-D3 for inhibition of proliferation and induction of differentiation of U937 cells. Especially, its effect on induction of differentiation, as measured by superoxide production and nonspecific esterase(NSE) activity, was about 20-fold more potent that 1, 25(OH)2-23ene-D3. This analog morphologically and functionally differentiated U937 cells to monocyte-macrophage phenotype showing a decrease of N/C ratio in Giemsa staining and the increase of adherence ability to surface. Intraperitoneal administration of 1, 25(OH)2-23ene-D3 to rats showed that the compound had at least 50 times less activity than 1, 25(OH)2-23ene-D3 in causing hypercalcemia and hypercalciuria. The strong direct effects of 1, 25(OH)2-23ene-D3 on cell proliferation and cell differentiation, coupled with its decreased activity of calcium metabolism make this compound an interesting candidate for clinical studies including patients with leukemia, as well as several skin disorders, such as psoriasis.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.427-435
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• 1999

In the field of shape optimum design, much efforts are needed in regridding method and shape design sensitivity analysis. In this paper, Bezier curve is used to make the boundary of a structure and the improved direct differentiation method is used to calculate the shape design sensitivity. To regrid the finite element model, modified displacement field is presented in this paper. The modified displacement field makes more fine grid at large curvature. The purpose of this paper is to obtain the optimum shape of a cantilever with weight and a 3-dimensional journal bearing cap.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.1099-1120
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• 2014

In this paper, reliability-based design optimization (RBDO) of structures is addressed. For this purpose, the global search and optimization capabilities of genetic algorithm (GA) are combined with the efficiency and reasonable accuracy of an advanced moment-based finite element reliability method. For performing RBDO, three variants of GA including a real-coded, a binary-coded and an improved binary-coded GA are developed. In these methods, GA performs (finite element) reliability analyses to evaluate reliability constraints. For truss structures which include finite element modeling, reliability constraints are evaluated using finite element reliability analysis. Response sensitivity required for finite element reliability analysis is obtained by direct differentiation method (DDM) rather than finite difference method (FDM). The proposed methods are examined within four standard test examples and real-world design problems. The results illustrate the superiority and efficiency of the improved binary-coded GA. Results also illustrate that DDM significantly reduces the computational cost and improves the efficiency of the optimization procedure.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.14-20
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• 2000

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of length of storage period under low temperature, $CO_2$ enrichment and addition of plant growth regulators in Murashige and Skoog medium on the plant regeneration of Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer). Seeds were treated for 60 and 80 days respectively under $5^{\circ}C$ environment. 2500ppm of $CO_2$ was enriched by ventilation. Three plant growth regulators added to the medium were Indolbutyric acid, Benzyladenin and Gibberellic acid (GA3). The result indicated that : The capacity of differentiation was higher in the aged cotyledons from the seeds treated for 80 days under low temperature condition than in those treated for 60 days. $CO_2$ enrichment had stimulating effects on the growth and development of shoot primordium significantly but less effects on the formation of adventitious buds. From one zygotic embryo hundreds of plantlets were differentiated. $CO_2$ enrichment had effects on the formation of both indirect somatic embryo and direct somatic embryo. Indirect somatic embryo showed little growth and differentiation, being undifferentiated vascular stele and epicotyl. Direct somatic embryos were formed on the epidermis of backside basal part of cotyledon. Those embryos developed to whole plant having latent bud.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2010

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the multipotent capacity and this potential can be applied for obtaining valuable cell types which can use for cell therapy on various regenerative diseases. However, insufficient availability of cellular source is the major problem in cell therapy field using adult stem cell sources. Recently, human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have been highlighted to overcome a limitation of adult cellular sources because they retain unlimited proliferation capacity and pluripotency. To use of hESCs in cell therapy, above all, animal pathogen free culture system and purification of a specific target cell population to avoid teratoma formation are required. In this study, we describe the differentiation of a mesenchymal stem cell-like cells population from feeder-free cultured hESCs(hESC-MSCs) using direct induction system. hESC-MSCs revealed characteristics similar to MSCs derived from bone marrow, and undifferentiated cell markers were extremely low in hESC-MSCs in RT-PCR, immunostaining and FACS analyses. Thus, this study proffer a basis of effective generation of specialized human mesenchymal stem cell types which can use for further clinical applications, from xenofree cultured hESCs using direct induction system.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.15-51
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• 1998

compensation is a major function of human resources management. The hospital industry is characterized by its remarkable labor intensity and human resource input by unit. That is why the hospital industry has a higher level of wage/cost ration. The issues of how much the hospital personnel's direct financial compensation amounts to and how the organizational and other factors generate compensation differentiation, are central problems for research in hospitals. But there have been few approaches to study staff compensation in hospitals, its magnitude and inter-hospital relative compensation amounts for the same personnel. A worker who moves from low-wage to a high-wage employer can usually increase his or her pay without change in job description. This means in the cases of same jobs, relative importance is different for each hospitals. The purpse of this study were to find the compensation levels of hospital personnel and to determine the factors affecting compensation levels of hospital personnel. The unit of analysis is the hospital and 145 hospitals were studied for nurse(RN), medical technoloist(MT), managerial personnel(MP) and 100 hospitals for medical doctor(MD). In this study the definitions of direct financial compensation are before tax, excluding employer's contriution and total annual remuneration received by the employee. Main findings of the research can be summarized as follows. 1. Direct financial compensation of hospital personnel are MD 45,056,000 won, RN 9,222,000 won, MT 9,513,000 won and MP 9,185,000 won in the starting year's employment in hospital. 2. According to determinants of hospital personnel compensations, there are no statistical significant variables to determine the level of MD's compensation. Wlith RN and MT's compensation level, the greater the patient revenue per 100 hospital beds, the higher the RN compensation and the tertiary hospital's compensation is much more than other types of hospitals. The location of hospital is another determinant factor for the MT's compensation level. Hospitals that are in the uban area have lower compensation level than rural area. There are the same results in MP with MT. Conclusions can be drawn from the results of the study. First, the wage differentiation of MD and other health personnel still remains and the differentiation existed in inter and intra job personnel of hospitals. Second, determinants of hospital personnel personnel compensation level are patient revenue, location, and type of hospital level.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.291-301
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• 2015

This study compared the in vitro cell viability and differentiation potentials of human deciduous dental pulp cells (DPCs) on mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA)-like products (ProRoot MTA, RetroMTA and Endocem Zr). The experimental materials were prepared as circular discs, which were used to test the effects of the materials on the viability of human DPCs when placed in direct and indirect contact. Furthermore, the pH of the extracted materials was recorded, and their effect on cell differentiation potential was evaluated by evaluating the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and Alizarin Red S staining of DPCs incubated with the test materials. In direct contact, the cell viability of human DPCs was higher with ProRoot MTA and RetroMTA than with Endocem Zr. However, when in indirect contact, the cell viability of human DPCs was generally higher in Endocem Zr than in ProRoot MTA and Retro MTA. With respect to pH, the alkalinity was lower for Endocem Zr than for the other test materials. The ALP activities of the cells were not enhanced by any of the experimental materials. Alizarin Red S staining of the tested human DPCs revealed that their differentiation potential was lower than for cells incubated with osteogenic induction medium. While there were differences in the responses of the human DPCs to the test materials, all displayed degrees of cytotoxicity and were unable to enhance either the viability or differentiation of human DPCs. However, Endocem Zr exhibited better cell viability and was less alkaline than the other test materials.