• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.25-36
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• 2022

To identify the effect and mechanism of carbon monoxide (CO) on delayed rectifier K⁺ currents (I_K) of human cardiac fibroblasts (HCFs), we used the wholecell mode patch-clamp technique. Application of CO delivered by carbon monoxidereleasing molecule-3 (CORM3) increased the amplitude of outward K⁺ currents, and diphenyl phosphine oxide-1 (a specific I_K blocker) inhibited the currents. CORM3-induced augmentation was blocked by pretreatment with nitric oxide synthase blockers (L-NG-monomethyl arginine citrate and L-NG-nitro arginine methyl ester). Pretreatment with KT5823 (a protein kinas G blocker), 1H-[1,-2,-4] oxadiazolo-[4,-3-a] quinoxalin-1-on (ODQ, a soluble guanylate cyclase blocker), KT5720 (a protein kinase A blocker), and SQ22536 (an adenylate cyclase blocker) blocked the CORM3 stimulating effect on I_K. In addition, pretreatment with SB239063 (a p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase [MAPK] blocker) and PD98059 (a p44/42 MAPK blocker) also blocked the CORM3's effect on the currents. When testing the involvement of S-nitrosylation, pretreatment of N-ethylmaleimide (a thiol-alkylating reagent) blocked CO-induced I_K activation and DL-dithiothreitol (a reducing agent) reversed this effect. Pretreatment with 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(1-methylpyridinium-4-yl)-21H,23H porphyrin manganese (III) pentachloride and manganese (III) tetrakis (4-benzoic acid) porphyrin chloride (superoxide dismutase mimetics), diphenyleneiodonium chloride (an NADPH oxidase blocker), or allopurinol (a xanthine oxidase blocker) also inhibited CO-induced I_K activation. These results suggest that CO enhances I_K in HCFs through the nitric oxide, phosphorylation by protein kinase G, protein kinase A, and MAPK, S-nitrosylation and reduction/oxidation (redox) signaling pathways.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.119-126
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• 2022

With the rise and rapid development of the "Internet+" economic model, the internet is deeply integrated with the social economy and penetrates every corner of life. Compared with expanding the scale of business operations through internal investment and capital accumulation, e-commerce companies are more inclined to directly gain control of other companies through efficient merger and acquisition (M&A). The purpose of this study is to analyze changes in financial performance before and after M&A of Alibaba, China's largest e-commerce company in the Internet era. To present the impact of M&A events on Alibaba's stock price and shareholder wealth more intuitively, this study selected the market model in the event study method to measure abnormal returns. The results show that an M&A event led to a reduction in Alibaba's shareholder wealth in the short term. This study presents the theoretical basis for the M&A performance of e-commerce companies.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.389-396
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• 2022

This paper aims to identify the causes and mechanisms of contraction-expansion noise in refrigerators and proposes noise reduction methods. Contraction-expansion noise generated in refrigerators is mainly due to stick-slip phenomenon occurring on the contact surface between inner parts. Friction experiments were conducted to identify the factors causing the stick-slip phenomenon. Furthermore, the vibration level of the internal components was measured to determine the characteristics and location of the contraction-expansion noise. Based on the experimental results, experiments have been conducted to verify the noise characteristics for each factor. From this, it was confirmed that the friction experiment and the refrigerator contraction-expansion noise generation location and frequency were the same. The vibration level also increased as the vertical force was increased due to load loading. Also, it was confirmed that the contraction-expansion noise was reduced when the surface roughness was increased. Therefore, it was concluded that increasing the surface roughness of the contact surface in the same way as the results of the friction experiment was the method of reducing contraction-expansion noise.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.308-320
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• 2022

The high internal resistance (R_int) that develops across the sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFC) limits their power production (~4/10 mW m^-2) that can be recovered from an initial oil-contaminated sediment (OCS). In the anolyte, R_int is related to poor biodegradation activity, quality and quantity of contaminant content in the sediment and anode material. While on the catholyte, R_int depends on the properties of the catholyte, the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and the cathode material. In this work, the main factors limiting the power output of the SMFC have been minimized. The power output of the SMFC was increased (47 times from its initial value, ~4 mW m^-2) minimizing the SMFC R_int (28 times from its initial value, 5000 ohms), following the main modifications. Anolyte: the initial OCS was amended with several amounts of gasoline and kerosene. The best anaerobic microbial activity of indigenous populations was better adapted (without more culture media) to 3 g of kerosene. Catholyte: ORR was catalyzed in birnessite/carbon fabric (CF)-cathode at pH 2, 0.8M Na₂SO₄. At the class level, the main microbial groups (Gammaproteobacteria, Coriobacteriia, Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria) with electroactive members were found at C-anode and were associated with the high-power densities obtained. Gasoline is more difficult to biodegrade than kerosene. However, in both cases, SMFC biodegradation activity and power output are increased when ORR is performed on birnessite/CF in 0.8 M Na₂SO₄ at pH 2. The work discussed here can focus on bioremediation (in heavy OCS) or energy production in future work.

• Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.39-56
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to observe the expressive characteristics of Neo-Deconstruction design, examine the expressive characteristics of Neo-Deconstruction design in the collections of Jacquemus, and analyze their internal meanings. For research, observations were made based on the concepts and expressive characteristics of Deconstruction through prior research and literary review, and analysis was conducted focusing on the expressive characteristics of Neo-Deconstruction. The scope of analysis included a total of 605 photographs collected from a total of 17 season collections of Jacquemus from the 2013 S/S to the 2021 S/S season. The results are as follows. First, the Neo-Deconstruction of Jacquemus expresses the youth culture using bright images such as diverse colors and patterns with 'positive playfulness' and pass on positive messages with deconstructive and playful forms, such as exaggeration and reduction and recombination and reconstitution. Second, with tendencies of 'symbolic receptivity', Jacquemus gained inspiration from his own life, memories, and hometown, and attempted to express the street women of places such as southern France, Paris, and Monaco in a number of collections. Also, he proposed designs that can be worn easily by anyone, regardless of gender, and as plus size models began to become more common respect was given to the tastes and preferences of diverse individuals without distinctions based on body type or sexuality. Third, 'geometric simplicity' was generally expressed by pursuing simple and practical fashion with the addition of details, such as geometric forms including stripes or asymmetrical expressions centering around everyday material that is used in clothing. Fourth, with "open communication," Jacquemus constructed his identity by addressing the various needs of consumers based on social network services and continuously sharing his creative ideas with the public. He is gaining popularity in a unique way by responding quickly to the changing atmosphere of society.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.115-122
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• 2023

The hip joint device is an important immobilization device for internal rotation in the diagnosis of bone density test, microfracture, and arthritis. These fixing mechanisms have limitations in maintaining reproducibility due to the use of Velcro. In this study, we developed an improved hip joint device and evaluated its usefulness. For 30 students enrolled in the Department of Radiology, we evaluated the reproducibility through medical imaging and the time required for positioning by applying the conventionaling and improved device. Changes over time were also evaluated. As a result, compared to the conventional device, the improved device showed a 32% reduction in positioning time and improved reproducibility by about 6.2 times. As for the amount of change over time, the positioning time increased in the conventional device, but decreased in the improved device, and the reproducibility of the conventional device was lower than that of the improved device. Through this, it can be said that the use of the improved device improved the image quality and reduced the radiologist's workload.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.166-171
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• 2021

Background: This study aims to compare the clinical outcomes of steroid injections during the rehabilitation period after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ACRC). Methods: Among patients who underwent ARCR, 117 patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled. Pain and range of motion (ROM) recovery at the 3-, 6-, and 24-month follow-up visits and functional outcome at the 24-month follow-up were compared between 45 patients who received ultrasound-guided subacromial steroid injection at postoperative week 4 or 6 and 72 patients who did not. Functional outcome was assessed using the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score and Constant score. Healing of the repaired tendon and retear were observed at the 6-month follow-up via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) arthrography. Results: At the 3-month follow-up, the steroid injection group showed lower visual analog scale scores than the control group (p<0.05) and showed faster recovery of forward flexion and internal rotation (p<0.05). From the 6-month follow-up, the two groups did not show differences in pain and ROM, and the ASES score and Constant score also did not significantly differ at the 24-month follow-up. The two groups did not differ in retear rate as determined by MRI or CT arthrography at the 6-month follow-up. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that ultrasound-guided subacromial steroid injection at 4 or 6 weeks after ARCR leads to quick pain reduction and ROM recovery until 3 months after surgery. Therefore, subacromial steroid injection is speculated to be an effective and relatively safe method to assist rehabilitation.

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.132-144
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• 2023

European and American countries are actively promoting eco-friendly cars to reduce exhaust emissions from internal combustion engines. In Korea, the "4th Basic Plan for Eco-Friendly Vehicles" aims to promote eco-friendly cars by improving charging infrastructure, expanding incentive systems, and targeting the supply of 1.13 million eco-friendly cars by 2025. As rapid growth in the number of electric vehicles sold is expected, estimates are required of this growth and corresponding power demands. In this study, the authors used a growth model to predict future growth in the electric vehicle market and a previously derived electricity generation model to estimate corresponding power demands up to 2036, the target year of the "10th Basic Plan for Power Supply and Demand". The results obtained provide useful basic research data for future electric vehicle infrastructure planning.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2009.05a
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• pp.272-275
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• 2009

Carbon finance is the investment in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission reduction projects in developing countries and countries with economies in transition within the framework of the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) or Joint Implementation (JI) and with creation of financial instruments, i.e., carbon credits, which are tradable in carbon market. The additional revenue generated from carbon credits will increase the bankability of projects by reducing the risks of commercial lending or grant finance. Meantime, it has also demonstrated numerous opportunities for collaborating across sectors, and has served as a catalyst in bringing climate issues to bear in projects relating to rural electrification, renewable energy, energy efficiency, urban infrastructure, waste management, pollution abatement, forestry, and water resource management. Establishing additionality is essential for successful CDM project development. One of the key steps is the investment analysis. As guided by UNFCCC, financial indicators such as IRR, NPV, DSCR etc are most commonly used in both Option II & Option III. However, economic indicator such as Economic Internal Rate of Return(EIRR) are often overlooked in Option III even it might be more suitable for the project. This could be due to the difficulties in economic analysis. Although Asian Development Bank(ADB) has given guidelines in evaluating EIRR, there are still large amount of works have to be carried out in estimating the economic, financial, social and environmental benefits in the host country. This paper will present a case study of a CDM development of a 18 MW hydro power plant with carbon finance option in central Vietnam. The estimation of respective factors in EIRR, such as Willingness to Pay(WTP), shadow price etc, will be addressed with the adjustment to Vietnam local provincial factors. The significance of carbon finance to Vietnam renewable energy development will also be addressed.

• Archives of Craniofacial Surgery
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.37-40
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• 2023

Penetrating wounds to the face are cosmetically devastating and can be life-threatening. If the foreign body causing the penetrating wound is a piece of wood, small remnants might be left behind after the initial treatment. A 33-year-old male patient presented to the emergency center after a piece of lumber pierced his face as a passenger in a traffic accident. The patient's vital signs were stable, and emergency surgery was performed to remove the foreign body and repair the soft tissue. No noteworthy complications were seen after open reduction and internal fixation of the facial bone fractures. Seven months after the accident, the patient underwent scar revision along with full-thickness skin grafting for post-traumatic scars. After the surgery, pus-like discharge which was not previously present was observed, and the graft did not take well. A residual foreign body, which was the cause of graft failure, was found on computed tomography and the remaining foreign body was removed through revision surgery. The patient is receiving outpatient follow-up without any complications 6 months after surgery. This case demonstrates the importance of performing a careful evaluation to avoid missing a residual foreign body, especially if it is of wooden nature.