• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.1-13
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• 2015

Objectives Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a human pathogen and a major cause of hospital-acquired infections. New antibacterial agents that have not been compromised by bacterial resistance are needed to treat MRSA-related infections. In this study, we investigated the antimicrobial activity ofethanol extract of Haedokgeumhwa-san (HGH) which prescription is composed of korean medicine against MRSA. Methods The antibacterial activity of HGH extract was evaluated against MRSA strains by using the Disc diffusion method, broth microdilution method (minimal inhibitory concentration; MIC), checkerboard dilution test, and time-kill test; its mechanism of action was investigated by bacteriolysis, detergent or ATPase inhibitors. The checkerboard dilution test was used to examined synergistic effect of ampicillin, oxacillin, ciprofloxacin, vancomycin, gentamicin and norfloxacin in combination with HGH ethanol extract. A time-kill assay was performed a survival curve which was obtained by plotting viable colony counts depending on time on bacterial growth. Results The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ethanol extract (HGH) ranged from 1,000 to $2,000{\mu}g/mL$ against all the tested bacterial strains, respectively. We are able to confirm that HGH extract has potentially strong antibacterial activity. In the checkerboard dilution test, fractional inhibitory concentration index of HGH in combination with antibiotics indicated synergy or partial synergism against S. aureus. A time-kill study showed that the growth of the tested bacteria was considerably inhibited after 8 hr of treatment with the combination of HGH with selected antibiotics. For measurement of cell membrane permeability, HGH $250{\sim}1,000{\mu}g/mL$ along with concentration of Triton X-100 (TX) and Tris-(hydroxymethyl) aminomethane (Tris) were used. In the other hand, N,N-dicyclohexylcarbodimide (DCCD) and Sodium azide ($NaN_3$) was used as an inhibitor of ATPase. TX, Tris, DCCD and $NaN_3$ cooperation against S. aureus showed synergistic action. Accordingly, antimicrobial activity of HGH was affected by cell membrane and inhibitor of ATPase. Conclusions These results suggest that Haedokgeumhwa-san extract has antibacterial activity, and that HGH extract offers a potential as a natural antibiotic against MRSA.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.380-389
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• 2005

The Goldschmidt iterative algorithm for a floating point divide calculates it by performing a fixed number of multiplications. In this paper, a variable latency Goldschmidt's divide algorithm is proposed, that performs multiplications a variable number of times until the error becomes smaller than a given value. To calculate a floating point divide '$\frac{N}{F}$', multifly '$T=\frac{1}{F}+e_t$' to the denominator and the nominator, then it becomes ’$\frac{TN}{TF}=\frac{N_0}{F_0}$'. And the algorithm repeats the following operations: ’$R_i=(2-e_r-F_i),\;N_{i+1}=N_i{\ast}R_i,\;F_{i+1}=F_i{\ast}R_i$, i$\in${0,1,...n-1}'. The bits to the right of p fractional bits in intermediate multiplication results are truncated, and this truncation error is less than ‘$e_r=2^{-p}$'. The value of p is 29 for the single precision floating point, and 59 for the double precision floating point. Let ’$F_i=1+e_i$', there is $F_{i+1}=1-e_{i+1},\;e_{i+1}',\;where\;e_{i+1}, If '$[F_i-1]<2^{\frac{-p+3}{2}}$ is true, ’$e_{i+1}<16e_r$' is less than the smallest number which is representable by floating point number. So, ‘$N_{i+1}$ is approximate to ‘$\frac{N}{F}$'. Since the number of multiplications performed by the proposed algorithm is dependent on the input values, the average number of multiplications per an operation is derived from many reciprocal tables ($T=\frac{1}{F}+e_t$) with varying sizes. 1'he superiority of this algorithm is proved by comparing this average number with the fixed number of multiplications of the conventional algorithm. Since the proposed algorithm only performs the multiplications until the error gets smaller than a given value, it can be used to improve the performance of a divider. Also, it can be used to construct optimized approximate reciprocal tables. The results of this paper can be applied to many areas that utilize floating point numbers, such as digital signal processing, computer graphics, multimedia, scientific computing, etc

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.32 no.8
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• pp.1328-1336
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• 2003

This study was done to investigate the effects of n-3, n-6 fatty acid and d-limonene on the hepatic membrane lipid composition, protein kinase C (PKC) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities in experimental rat hepatocarcinogenesis. Sprague-Dawley female rats were fed with two different types of dietary oil for 20 weeks. Corn oil (CO) and sardine oil (SO) were used at 15% by weight as a source of n-6 and n-3 fatty acid, respectively. One week after feeding, rats were intraperitoneally injected twice with a dose of diethylnitrosamine (DEN, 50 mg/kg body weight) and after 1 week 0.05% phenobarbital (PB) was provided with drinking water. Membrane fractional lipid composition showed that the content of cholesterol was higher in 50 group than CO group and also significantly decreased by d-limonene. The content of phospholipid was increased by carcinogen treatment but not affected by dietary oils or d-limonene. Membrane C/PL molar ratio was significantly decreased by d-limonene or carcinogen treatment in 50 groups but not in CO groups. Fatty acid composition was changed by dietary oils but not by carcinogen treatment or d-limonene. Cytosolic PKC activity was not significantly different by dietary oils, d-limonene or carcinogen treatment. However, membrane PKC activity was significantly increased by carcinogen treatment and decreased by d-limonene. Cytosolic GST activity was affected by d-limonene or carcinogen treatment in all dietary groups. These data indicate that dietary oils, d-limonene and carcinogen treatment can not change much membrane phospholipid composition. But membrane C/PL molar ratio was changed by carcinogen treatment and d -limonene although the effect was different between dietary oils. Therefore, it is suggested that different dietary oils and d-limonene can somewhat modulate the changes of membrane fluidity and activities of membrane bound enzymes like membrane associated PKC during carcinogenesis.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.57-70
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• 1999

The volcanic rocks of Ulleungdo reveal very high alkali element abundances and most of them have high K20/Na20 ratios and belong to potassium-series. Ulleungdo volcanics show very wide range of variation in their composition from basalts to trachytic basalt, basaltic trachyandesite, trachyandesite, and finally to trachyte on total alkali-silica diagram. Such a general trend of compositional variation can be explained well by differentiation due to fractional crystallization of various minerals. Olivine, clinopyroxene, plagioclase, ilmenite, and apatite are suggested as the major fractionated minerals. Ulleungdo volcanics show Nb/U and PbICe ratios similar to oceanic volcanics such as MORB and OIB, but significantly different .from volcanic rocks of island arc environments, which suggest that they are not directly related with subduction along the Japanese arc. LREE abundances of Ulleungdo volcanics are highly enriched compared with HREE abundances ((La)N=193-420, (L~)~=7.5-19.5).O nly trachyte-1 show appreciable negative Eu anomalies among various rock types, which suggests significant amount of plagioclase were fractionated. However, trachyte-2, trachyte-3, phonolite, and pumice reveal quite different variation trend of trace and rare earth element abundances from trachyte-1, which suggest that they have originated from different magma batches and have experienced different differentiation processes. A prominent bimodal distribution, thus lacking of intermediate composition, is observed from the Ulleundo volcanics.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.166-184
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• 1997

The Wondong caldea is a deeply eroded structure that offers spectacular exposures through the core and margins of a resurgent caldera. The Wondong Tuff and the postcollapse intrusions range from medium-silica rhyolite to rhyodacite in composition and the postcollapse lava and tuff, preresurgent and resurgent intrusions also range from medium-silica rhyolite to an-desite, which jump to gap dacite composition. The continuous compositional zonations generally define a large stratified magma system in the postcollapse and resurgent magma chamber. Isotopic and trace element evidence suggest that the compositional zonations might have resulted from the differentiations from crystal fractionations of a parental andesitic magma, accompanying a little contamination from the crustal assimilations near the chamber roof and wall. But chemically and isotopically distinct late intusions might have resulted from emplacement of any different magma batch.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SD
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• v.46 no.9
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• pp.68-73
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• 2009

This paper presents an easily modifiable structure of a serial peripheral interface (SPI) that is suitable for efficient testing of CMOS RF integrated circuits. The proposed SPI Is designed so that the address size and the accompanying software can be easily adjusted and modified according to the requirements and complexity of RF IC's under development. The hardware architecture and software algorithm to achieve the flexibility are described. The proposed SPI is fabricated in $0.13{\mu}m$ CMOS and successfully verified experimentally with a 2.7GHz fractional-N delta-sigma frequency synthesizer as a device under test.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SD
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• v.46 no.9
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• pp.74-80
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• 2009

This paper describes a $2{\sim}6GHz$ CMOS frequency synthesizer that employs only one LC-tank voltage controlled oscillator (VCO). For wide-band operation, optimized LO signal generator is used. The LC-tank VCO oscillating in $6{\sim}8GHz$ provides the required LO frequency by dividing and mixing the VCO output clocks appropriately. The frequency synthesizer is based on a fractional-N phase locked loop (PLL) employing third-order 1-1-1 MASH type sigma-delta modulator. Implemented in a $0.18{\mu}m$ CMOS technology, the frequency synthesizer occupies the area of $0.92mm^2$ with of-chip loop filter and consumes 36mW from a 1.8V supply. The PLL is completed in less than $8{\mu}s$. The phase noise is -110dBC/Hz at 1MHz offset from the carrier.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.483-489
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• 2020

Background: Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) has been known to possess many ginsenosides. These ginsenosides are used for curing cardiovascular problems. The present study show the protective potential of KRG against doxorubicin (DOX)-induced myocardial dysfunction, by assessing electrocardiographic, hemodynamic, and biochemical parameters and histopathological findings. Methods: Animals were fed a standard chow and adjusted to their environment for 3 days before the experiments. Next, the rats were equally divided into five groups (n = 9, each group). The animals were administered with KRG (250 and 500 mg/kg) for 10 days and injected with DOX (20 mg/kg, subcutaneously, twice at a 24-h interval) on the 8th and 9th day. Electrocardiography and echocardiography were performed to study hemodynamics. Plasma levels of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and malondialdehyde were measured. In addition, the dose of troponin I and activity of myeloperoxidase in serum and cardiac tissue were analyzed, and the histopathological findings were evaluated using light microscopy. Results: Administration of KRG at a dose of 250 and 500 mg/kg recovered electrocardiographic changes, ejection fraction, fractional shortening, left ventricular systolic pressure, the maximal rate of change in left ventricle contraction (-dP/dt_max), and left ventricle relaxation (-dP/dt_max). In addition, KRG treatment significantly normalized the oxidative stress markers in plasma, dose dependently. In addition, the values of troponin I and myeloperoxidase were ameliorated by KRG treatment, dose dependently. And, KRG treatment showed better histopathological findings when compared with the DOX control group. Conclusion: These mean that KRG mitigates myocardial damage by modulating the hemodynamics, histopathological abnormality, and oxidative stress related to DOX-induced cardiomyopathy in rats. The results of the present study show protective effects of KRG on cardiac toxicity.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.241-247
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• 2015

In an effort to discover alternative phytotherapeutic antimicrobial agents to combat Streptococcus parauberis, a fish pathogenic bacterium, we evaluated the antibacterial activity of seaweed extracts in vitro. A methanolic extract of Ecklonia cava exhibited strong antibacterial activity against S. parauberis isolated from olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus. Furthermore, the n-hexane soluble (Hexane) fraction of the E. cava methanolic extract exhibited the greatest antibacterial effect on S. parauberis strains with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranging from 256 to $1,024{\mu}g/mL$. In addition, the MIC values of oxytetracycline against antibiotic-resistant S. parauberis were markedly reduced up to 64-fold in combination with the Hexane fraction, suggesting that the antibacterial activity of the antibiotic was restored when combined with the Hexane fraction. The interaction between both antibiotics and the Hexane fraction was assessed by the fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) index. The Hexane fraction and oxytetracycline combination against antibiotic-resistant S. parauberis strains resulted in a median ${\sum}FIC$ range of 0.502 to 0.516. Thus, the synergistic ranges of median ${\sum}FIC$ < 1 were observed for all combinations of the Hexane fraction and oxytetracycline against S. parauberis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report indicating the efficacy of an E. cava extract against fish pathogenic bacterium S. parauberis.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.185-193
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• 2008

This study has been carried out to examine the feasibility of soil washing process for reducing arsenic contamination level of soil around $Dalch\hat{e}n$ Mine. The results of physicochemical tests of the target soil showed that pH was weak alkalic ($pH{\simeq}7.8$), soil texture was coarse sand, and organic contents (5.7%) and CEC (Cation exchange capacity; 21.5 meq/100 g) were similar with those of soils generally found in Korea. Contamination levels of arsenic were found to over 201 mg/kg which exceed the Korea standard levels of countermeasure and concern. To investigate chemical partitioning of heavy metals, sequential extraction procedures were adopted and it was found that arsenic was predominantly associated with the residual fraction among five fractional forms as much as over 85%, which is demonstrating that only less than 15% of all might be vulnerable to a selected washing agents. Among 6 kinds of washing agents applied on the screening for arsenic-contaminated soil, HCl and $H_3PO_4$ solution were selected as promising washing agents. In comparison with HCl and $H_3PO_4$ solutions for arsenic washing by kinetic experiment in the change of pH, soil-solution ratio, temperature, and washing solution concentration, $H_3PO_4$ solution was determined to best one of agents tested, which showed faster washing rate than HCl to accomplish regulatory goal.