• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.9-13
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• 2019

The paper aims to investigate the performance of domestic Saudi Arabian ETFs. ETFs are investment vehicles in vogue. These instruments were the first levers for investors allowing them to enter some markets that have been highly protected or out of reach. Saudi Arabia, which has been promoted as an emerging country by MSCI, seeks to attract more foreign investors. The first ETFs were launched in the years 2010-2011. Even though their number has not increased since then, there is a desire to attract a large number of investors. We use premiums/discounts analysis, standard risk-return models, and tracking errors measurements to assess how closely their replicate the underlying benchmark based on monthly data. The results indicate that out of the three funds investigated two are slightly traded at premium, while the latter exhibit a price discount. However, tracking errors are at minimum for all funds suggesting that they track well the benchmark index. Further, the Jensen's model shows that alphas are negative or null, and betas capture largely the systematic risk which is consistent with index investing strategies. Finally, traditional risk-adjusted measures of performance are used to compare ETFs, and results exhibit negative ratios showing that portfolios achieve lower return than the risk-free rate.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.08a
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• pp.279-279
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• 2010

Smart gels have recently associated with photonic crystals to form photonic gels. Since these photonic gels are capable of reversibly converting the volume change of gels induced in response to external chemical or electric stimuli into characteristic optical signals, they have been considered not only as a good platform for label-free chemical or biological detection, actuators or optical switches but also as a good model system to investigate gel swelling behaviour. Recently, we reported block copolymer photonic gels self-assembled from polystyrene-b-poly(2-vinyl pyridine) (PS-b-P2VP) block copolymers, and demonstrated that selective swelling of lamellar structure allows extremely large tunability of the photonic stop band from UV region to IR region ($\lambda$ peak=350~1,600 nm). Herein we report block copolymer photonic gels which exhibit strong tunable optical hysteresis and their applications. As nonlinear responses in swelling of hydrogels were often observed, photonic gels exhibit optical hysteresis with change of external pH. We demonstrate such optical hysteresis can be precisely programmed by controlling ion-pairing affinity. We anticipate that photonic gels with carefully tunned optical hysteresis are applicable to optical memory devices.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.1469-1474
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• 1999

New platinum(II) complexes with asymmetrically substituted chiral diamine ligands A₂PtX₂, (A₂ = NH₂CH(CH₃)CH₂NH($c-C_5H_9)$ (apcpa), NH₂CH(CH₃)CH₂NH($c-C_6H_11)$ (apcha); X₂ = 2Cl, isopropylidenmalonate (IPM), 1,1'-cyclobutandicarboxylate (CBDCA)) have been synthesized and characterized by means of elemental analyses, infrared and NMR spectroscopies, and X-ray crystallography. The crystal structures of (S-apcha)Pt[CBDCA] ·3H₂O (orthorhombic, P2₁2₁2(No. 18), a = 6.926(3), b = 15.243(3), c = 19.319(4)Å, V = 2039.5(10) ų, Z = 4, R = 0.072) and (S-apcha)Pt[IPM] ·2.5 H₂O (monoclinic, P2/C(No. 13), a = 9.882(1), b =18.502(1), c = 22.056(1)Å, V = 4032.8(5)ų, Z = 8, R=0.093) exhibit that the platinum atoms achieve a typical square planar arrangement with two nitrogen atoms in cis position and with the chiral center retained. The spectroscopic data disclose that these platinum complexes are stable and their molecular structures are retained in aqueous solution. Among these platinum complexes, the asymmetric diamine-Pt(II) complexes with chloride leaving group exhibit high in vivo activity comparable to cisplatin against leukemia L1210 cell line.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.365-384
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• 2014

The intensity of a ground motion can be measured by a number of parameters, some of which might exhibit robust correlations with the damage of structures subjected to that motion. In this study, 204 near-fault pulse-type records are selected and their seismic parameters are determined. Time history and damage analyses of a tested 3-storey reinforced concrete frame representing for low-rise reinforced concrete buildings subjected to those earthquake motions are performed after calibration and comparison with the available experimental results. The aim of this paper is to determine amongst several available seismic parameters, the ones that have strong correlations with the structural damage measured by a damage index and the maximum inter-story drift. The results show that Velocity Spectrum Intensity is the leading parameter demonstrating the best correlation, followed by Housner Intensity, Spectral Acceleration and Spectral Displacement. These seismic parameters are recommended as reliable parameters of near-fault pulse-type motions related to damage potential of low-rise reinforced concrete structures. The results also reaffirm that the conventional and widely used parameter of Peak Ground Acceleration does not exhibit a good correlation with the structural damage.

• Nano
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.1850149.1-1850149.10
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• 2018

Ferroelectric particles have been applied in the photocatalytic field because the spontaneous polarization results in the internal electric field, which can accelerate the separation and migration of photogenerated carriers. In this study, the $BaTiO_3$ (BT) fibers are synthesized by electrospinning. The BT fibers calcined above $800^{\circ}C$ exhibit a strong ferroelectric property, which is verified by a typical butterfly-shaped displacement-voltage loop. It is found that the BT fibers with the single-domain structure exhibit better photocatalytic performance than that with the multi-domain configuration. When the single-domain transforms into multi-domain, the integrated internal electric field correspondingly breaks up, inducing that the internal electric field might cancel each other out and diminish the separation of photogenerated carriers. Also, the Au nanoparticles can improve the photocatalytic activity further on account of the surface plasmon resonance. Therefore, it is suggested that Au nanoparticles decorated on ferroelectric BT nanomaterials are promising photocatalysts.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.527-539
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• 2018

This study analyzed the substitute behavior of mothers of infants or elementary-school-aged children in terms of consumption. For this study, in-depth interviews were conducted with women residing in the Seoul metropolitan area who show significant interest in their children. The interviews were analyzed based on the grounded theory. The findings of this study are as follows. First, mothers show substitute behavior for their children's appearance. The younger the children, the more substitute consumption exhibited by mothers. As children grow older and are able to choose what to wear, mothers show less substitute behavior tendencies regarding appearance management. Second, mothers tend to exhibit substitute behavior regarding their children's academic achievements. Mothers hope their children will be more successful than themselves were or will achieve the dreams that they failed to accomplish, which drives substitute behavior. Mothers affectionately provide children with financial support so they can obtain academic achievement and they hope their children will have successful occupations in the future. Third, mothers who are not satisfied with their appearance and have low self-esteem are more likely to exhibit substitute behavior with their children. This study will be helpful in understanding mothers' motivation and psychological factors regarding the support of their children.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.263-270
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• 2019

Hydrogen sulfide is well-known to exhibit anti-inflammatory and cytoprotective activities, and also has protective effects in the liver. This study aimed to examine the protective effect of hydrogen sulfide in rats with hepatic encephalopathy, which was induced by mild bile duct ligation. In this rat model, bile ducts were mildly ligated for 26 days. Rats were treated for the final 5 days with sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS). NaHS ($25{\mu}mol/kg$), 0.5% sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, or silymarin (100 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally once per day for 5 consecutive days. Mild bile duct ligation caused hepatotoxicity and inflammation in rats. Intraperitoneal NaHS administration reduced levels of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase, which are indicators of liver disease, compared to levels in the control mild bile duct ligation group. Levels of ammonia, a major causative factor of hepatic encephalopathy, were also significantly decreased. Malondialdehyde, myeloperoxidase, catalase, and tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ levels were measured to confirm antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects. N-Methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptors with neurotoxic activity were assessed for subunit NMDA receptor subtype 2B. Based on these data, NaHS is suggested to exhibit hepatoprotective effects and guard against neurotoxicity through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.63 no.2
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• pp.281-294
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• 2021

Although somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is frequently employed to produce cloned animals in laboratories, this technique is expensive and inefficient. Therefore, the handmade cloning (HMC) technique has been suggested to simplify and advance the cloning process, however, HMC wastes many oocytes and leads to mitochondrial heteroplasmy. To solve these problems, we propose a modified handmade cloning (mHMC) technique that uses simple laboratory equipment, i.e., a Pasteur pipette and an alcohol lamp, applying it to porcine embryo cloning. To validate the application of mHMC to pig cloning, embryos produced through SCNT and mHMC are compared using multiple methods, such as enucleation efficiency, oxidative stress, embryo developmental competence, and gene expression. The results show no significant differences between techniques except in the enucleation efficiency. The 8-cell and 16-cell embryo developmental competence and Oct4 expression levels exhibit significant differences. However, the blastocyst rate is not significantly different between mHMC and SCNT. This study verifies that cloned embryos derived from the two techniques exhibit similar generation and developmental competence. Thus, we suggest that mHMC could replace SCNT for simpler and cheaper porcine cloning.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2022

In this investigation, Bi₂MoO₆ deposited graphene nanocomposite (BMG) was synthesized using a simple microwave assisted hydrothermal synthesis method. The synthesized BMG nanocomposite was characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray analysis, and photocurrent analysis. The study revealed that the catalysts prepared have high crystalline nature, enhanced light responsive property, high catalytic activity, and good stability. XRD results of BMG composite exhibit a koechlinite phase of Bi₂MoO₆. The surface property is shown by SEM and TEM, which confirmed a homogenous composition in the bulk particles of Bi₂MoO₆ and nanosheets of graphene. The catalytic behavior was investigated by the decomposition of Rhodamine B as a standard dye. The results exhibit excellent yields of product derivatives at mild conditions under ultrasonic/visible light-medium. Approximately 1.6-times-enhanced sono-photocatalytic activity was observed by introduction of Bi₂MoO₆ on graphene nanosheet compared with control sample P25 during 50 min test.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.132-151
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• 2022

The CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy (HEA), which is the most widely known HEA with a single face-centered cubic structure, has attracted significant academic attention over the past decade owing to its outstanding multifunctional performance. Recent studies have suggested that CoCrFeMnNi-type HEAs exhibit excellent printability for selective laser melting (SLM) under a wide range of process conditions. Moreover, it has been suggested that SLM can not only provide great topological freedom of design but also exhibit excellent mechanical properties by overcoming the strength-ductility trade-off via producing a hierarchical heterogeneous microstructure. In this regard, the SLM-processed CoCrFeMnNi HEA has been extensively studied to comprehensively understand the mechanisms of microstructural evolution and resulting changes in mechanical properties. In this review, recent studies on CoCrFeMnNi-type HEAs produced using SLM are discussed with respect to process-induced microstructural evolution and the relationship between hierarchical heterogeneous microstructure and mechanical properties.