• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.99-107
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• 2020

Fibromyalgia is a disorder characterized by the core symptom of chronic widespread pain, along with fatigue, sleep disturbances, mood changes, and cognitive difficulties. The etiology of fibromyalgia involves a combination of biological factors, such as genetic vulnerability, alterations in pain processing and stress response system ; psychological factors, such as anxiety, depression, anger, and perceived stress ; environmental factors, such as infections, febrile diseases, and trauma. Central sensitization, which is amplified in the process of sensory stimulation, has been emphasized as a key etiological factor, as supported by enhanced wind-up, delayed aftersensation, decreased nociceptive flexion reflex threshold and functional imaging studies. Several guidelines recommend that a multimodal approach be used to treat fibromyalgia, including both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments, tailored to each individual, and that clinicians should provide an intellectual framework through sufficient education and emphasis on the importance of self-management. The prevalence of mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and other psychiatric problems is 7-9 times higher in patients with fibromyalgia than in the general population ; moreover, the association between fibromyalgia and certain psychopathologies or sleep problems has also been suggested. Since psychiatric problems, with shared vulnerabilities and risk factors, interact with fibromyalgia bidirectionally and also affect the disease course, an integrated management approach is needed to determine the risk of comorbidities.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.67 no.1
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• pp.67-75
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• 2022

Roots play important roles in water and nutrient uptake and in response to various environmental stresses. Investigating diversification of cultivars through root phenotyping is important for crop improvement in adzuki beans. Therefore, we analyzed the morphological and architectural root traits of 22 adzuki bean cultivars using 2-dimensional (2D) root imaging. Plants were grown in plastic tubes [6 cm (diameter) × 40 cm (height)] in a greenhouse from July 25^th to August 28^th. When the plants reached the 2^nd or 3^rd trifoliate leaf stage, the roots were removed and washed with tap water to remove soil particles. Clean root samples were scanned, and the scanned images were analyzed using the WinRHIZO Pro software. The cultivars were analyzed based on six root phenotypes [total root length (TRL), surface area (SA), average diameter (AD), and number of tips (NT) were included as root morphological traits (RMT); and link average length (LAL) and link average diameter (LAD) were included as root architectural traits (RAT)]. According to the analysis of variance (ANOVA), a significant difference was observed between the cultivars for all root morphological traits. Distribution analysis demonstrated that all root traits except LAL followed a normally distributed curve. In the correlation test, the most important morphological trait, TRL, showed a strong positive correlation with SA (r = 0.97^***) and NT (r = 0.94^***). In comparison, between RMT and RAT, TRL showed a significantly negative correlation with LAL (r = -0.50^***); however, TRL did not show a correlation with LAD. Based on RMT and RAT, we identified the cultivars that ranked 5% from the top and bottom. In particular, the cultivar "IT 236657" showed the highest TRL, SA, and NT, while the cultivar "IT 236169" showed the lowest values for TRL, SA, and NT. In addition, the coefficient of variance for the six tested root traits ranged from (14.26-40%) which suggested statistical variability in root phenotypes among the 22 adzuki bean varieties. Thus, this study will help to select target root traits for the adzuki bean breeding program in the future, generating climate-resilient adzuki beans, especially for drought stress, and may be useful for developing biotic and abiotic stress-tolerant cultivars based on better root trait attributes.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.38 no.11
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• pp.69-86
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• 2022

The railway is widely used to transport passengers and freight due to its punctuality and large transport capacity. The recent remarkable development in construction technology enables various subsea railway tunnels for continent-continent or continent-island connectivity. In Korea, design and construction experience is primarily based on the successful completion of the Boryeong subsea tunnel (2021) and the Gadeok subsea tunnel (2010). However, frequent earthquakes with diverse magnitudes, globally induced and continuously increased the awareness of seismic risks and the frequency of domestic earthquakes. The effect of an earthquake on the subsea tunnel is very complicated. However, ground conditions and seismic waves are considered the main factors. This study simulated four ground types of 3-dimensional numerical models, such as soil, rock, composite, and fractured zone, to analyze the effect of ground type and seismic wave. A virtual subsea railway shield tunnel considering external water pressure was modeled. Further, three different seismic waves with long-term, short-term, and both periods were studied. The dynamic analyses by finite difference method were performed to investigate the displacement and stress characteristics. Consequently, the long-term period wave exhibited a predominant lateral displacement response in soil and the short-term period wave in rock. The artificial wave, which had both periodic characteristics, demonstrated predominant in the fractured zone. The effect of an earthquake is more noticeable in the stress of the tunnel segment than in displacement because of confining effect of ground and structural elements in the shield tunnel. 

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.2C
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• pp.71-79
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• 2009

This study is to develope the resilient modulus prediction model, which is the function of mean effective principal stress and axial strain, for three types of railroad trackbed materials such as crushed stone, weathered granite soil, and crushed-rock soil mixture. The model consists of the maximum Young's modulus and nonlinear values for higher strain, analogous to dynamic shear modulus. The maximum value is modeled by model parameters, $A_E$ and the power of mean effective principal stress, $n_E$. The nonlinear portion is represented by modified hyperbolic model, with the model parameters of reference strain, ${\varepsilon}_r$ and curvature coefficient, a. To assess the performance of the prediction models proposed herein, the elastic response of a test trackbed near PyeongTaek, Korea, was evaluated using a 3-D elastic multilayer computer program (GEOTRACK). The results were compared with measured elastic vertical displacement during the passages of freight and passenger trains at two locations, whose sub-ballasts were crushed stone and weathered granite soil, respectively. The calculated vertical displacements of the sub-ballasts are within the order of 0.6mm, and agree well with measured values. The prediction models are thus concluded to work properly in the preliminary investigation.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.291-297
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• 2023

Gastritis is an inflammation of the gastric mucosa and gastric ulcers are a break in the mucosa of the stomach lining. Past research on gastritis and gastric ulcers has been mainly conducted from the perspective that environmental factors are the primary cause of these gastric diseases. However, recently the importance of genetic factors has been emphasized due to current developments in genetic research. The SLC25A26 gene is believed to be associated with the accumulation of reactive oxygen species. Oxidative stress promotes an inflammatory response, which increases the production of free radicals and causes cellular damage, and these lead to the development of gastric diseases. In this study, the correlation between SLC25A26 and gastric diseases was analyzed. Polymorphisms in SLC25A26 were analyzed in 1,369 domestic gastric disease patients and 7,471 healthy controls. As a result, 11 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (in the genotype) and 13 SNPs (in the imputation) showed statistical significance (P<0.05), and high relative risk of gastric diseases. Among them, the rs13874 allele of SLC25A26 showed a highly significant association with gastric diseases. In the genotype-based mRNA expression analysis, the minor allele (C) group showed increased mRNA expression and this could increase oxidative stress. In conclusion, SLC25A26 polymorphisms are associated with gastric diseases. These results may provide a basis for new guidelines for gastric disease management in the Korean population.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.85-92
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• 2015

This article presents the dynamic instability response of sigmoid functionally graded material plates on elastic foundation using the higher-order shear deformation theory. The higher-order shear deformation theory has ability to capture the quadratic variation of shear strain and consequently shear stress through the plate thickness. The governing equations are then written in the form of Mathieu-Hill equations and then Bolotin's method is employed to determine the instability regions. The boundaries of the instability regions are represented in the dynamic load and excitation frequency plane. The results of dynamic instability analysis of sigmoid functionally graded material plate are presented using the Navier's procedure to illustrate the effect of elastic foundation parameter on dynamic response. The relations between Winkler and Pasternak elastic foundation parameter are discussed by numerical results. Also, the effects of static load factor, power-law index and side-to-thickness ratio on dynamic instability analysis are investigated and discussed. In order to validate the present solutions, the reference solutions are used and discussed. The theoretical development as well as numerical solutions presented herein should serve as reference for the dynamic instability study of S-FGM plates.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.80 no.3
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• pp.247-254
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• 2017

Background: Airway epithelial cells are the first line of defense, against pathogens and environmental pollutants, in the lungs. Cellular stress by cadmium (Cd), resulting in airway inflammation, is assumed to be directly involved in tissue injury, linked to the development of lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We had earlier shown that ACN9 (chromosome 7q21), is a potential candidate gene for COPD, and identified significant interaction with smoking, based on genetic studies. However, the role of ACN9 in the inflammatory response, in the airway cells, has not yet been reported. Methods: We first checked the anatomical distribution of ACN9 in lung tissues, using mRNA in situ hybridization, and immunohistochemistry. Gene expression profiling in bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B), was performed, after silencing ACN9. We further tested the roles of ACN9, in the intracellular mechanism, leading to Cd-induced production, of proinflammatory cytokines in BEAS-2B. Results: ACN9 was localized in lymphoid, and epithelial cells, of human lung tissues. ACN9 silencing, led to differential expression of 216 genes. Pathways of sensory perception to chemical stimuli, and cell surface receptor-linked signal transduction, were significantly enriched. ACN9 silencing, further increased the expression of proinflammatory cytokines, in BEAS-2B after Cd exposure. Conclusion: Our findings suggest, that ACN9 may have a role, in the inflammatory response in the airway.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.300-304
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• 2008

Cysteine proteinases play an essential role in plant growth and development but also in senescence and programmed cell death. They participate in both anabolic and catabolic processes. In addition, they are involved in signalling pathways and in the response to biotic and abiotic stresses. A cDNA clone encoding cysteine proteinase (CP) gene, designated PgCysP1, was isolated from Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer. Reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR results showed that PgCysP1 expressed at different level in P. ginseng hairy root. Different stresses such as biotic as well as abiotic stresses triggered a significant induction of PgCysP1. The positive responses of PgCysP1 to the various stimuli suggested that PgCysP1 may help to protect the plant against reactive environmental stresses.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.32 no.5C
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• pp.199-210
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• 2012

The effects of tunnelling in weak weathered rock on the behaviour of a pre-existing single pile and pile groups ($3{\times}3$ and $5{\times}5$ pile groups) above a tunnel have been studied by carrying out three-dimensional (3D) elasto-plastic numerical analyses. Numerical modelling of such effects considers the response of the single pile and pile groups in terms of tunnelling-induced ground and pile settlement as well as changes of the shear transfer mechanism at the pile-soil interface due to tunnelling. Due to changes in the relative shear displacement between the pile and the soil at the pile-soil interface with tunnel advancement, the shear stresses and axial pile force distributions along the pile change drastically. Based on the computed results, upward shear stresses are induced up to about Z/L=0.775 from the pile top, while downward shear stresses are mobilised below Z/L=0.775, resulting in a reduction in the axial pile force distribution with depth equivalent to a net increase in the tensile force on the pile. A maximum tensile force of about $0.36P_a$ developed on the single pile solely due to tunnelling, where $P_a$ is the service axial pile loading prior to tunnelling. The degree of interface shear strength mobilisation at the pile-soil interface was found to be a key factor governing pile-soil-tunnelling interaction. Overall it has been found that the larger the number of piles, the greater is the effect of tunnelling on the piles in terms of pile settlement, while changes of the axial pile forces for the piles in the groups are smaller than for a single pile due to the shielding effect. The reduction of apparent allowable pile capacity due to tunnelling-induced pile head settlement was significant, in particular for piles inside the groups.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.151-159
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• 2020

The secondary health status of the disabled is more vulnerable due to the aging of the disabled, the nature of primary disabilities, and social and environmental disability suppression and stress. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the experiences of secondary disabilities of the disabled and how they responded when secondary disorders occurred. A total of 13 people with severe disabilities with secondary disabilities were interviewed in a focus group and analyzed by applying phenomenological research methods. As a result of the analysis, people with disabilities were experiencing secondary disorders due to variations in the experiences of aging and primary disorders, management problems and life accidents in the primary disorder, misunderstanding of the labor market for disorders and health, misunderstanding of risks of secondary disorders and lack of prevention. In response, people with disabilities live alternatively between body and work, body and academic, try to prevent worsening of secondary disabilities at the individual level, continue to enter the hospital, or choose a life that puts health first. While experiencing secondary disabilities, people with disabilities experienced the threat of life, recognized life as having to endure and fought to the end, acknowledged the difference between the disabled and non-disabled people, and standed aloof from their ongoing secondary disability. It also requested institutional support. Based on the results of this study, medical-level measures, institutional support measures in the labor market, and social welfare practices were discussed.