• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• 제36권2호
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• pp.67-77
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• 2019

The paradigm of chronic liver diseases has been shifting. Although hepatitis B and C viral infections are still the main causes of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the introduction of effective antiviral drugs may control or cure them in the near future. In contrast, the burden of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been increasing for decades, and 25 to 30% of the general population in Korea is estimated to have NAFLD. Over 10% of NAFLD patients may have nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a severe form of NAFLD. NASH can progress to cirrhosis and HCC. NASH is currently the second leading cause to be placed on the liver transplantation list in the United States. NAFLD is associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndrome. The pathophysiology is complex and associated with lipotoxicity, inflammatory cytokines, apoptosis, and insulin resistance. The only proven effective treatment is weight reduction by diet and exercise. However, this may not be effective for advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis. Therefore, effective drugs are urgently needed for treating these conditions. Unfortunately, no drugs have been approved for the treatment of NASH. Many pharmaceutical companies are trying to develop new drugs for the treatment of NASH. Some of them are in phase 2 or 3 clinical trials. Here, pharmacologic therapies in clinical trials, as well as the basic principles of drug therapy, will be reviewed, focusing on pathophysiology.

• BMB Reports
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• 제52권3호
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• pp.163-164
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• 2019

The ribosomal synthesis of proteins in the eukaryotic cytosol has always been thought to start from the unformylated N-terminal (Nt) methionine (Met). In contrast, in virtually all nascent proteins in bacteria and eukaryotic organelles, such as mitochondria and chloroplasts, Nt-formyl-methionine (fMet) is the first building block of ribosomal synthesis. Through extensive approaches, including mass spectrometric analyses of the N-termini of proteins and molecular genetic techniques with an affinity-purified antibody for Nt-formylation, we investigated whether Nt-formylated proteins could also be produced and have their own metabolic fate in the cytosol of a eukaryote, such as yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We discovered that Nt-formylated proteins could be generated in the cytosol by yeast mitochondrial formyltransferase (Fmt1). These Nt-formylated proteins were massively upregulated in the stationary phase or upon starvation for specific amino acids and were crucial for the adaptation to specific stresses. The stress-activated kinase Gcn2 was strictly required for the upregulation of Nt-formylated proteins by regulating the activity of Fmt1 and its retention in the cytosol. We also found that the Nt-fMet residues of Nt-formylated proteins could be distinct N-terminal degradation signals, termed fMet/N-degrons, and that Psh1 E3 ubiquitin ligase mediated the selective destruction of Nt-formylated proteins as the recognition component of a novel eukaryotic fMet/N-end rule pathway, termed fMet/N-recognin.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제17권5호
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• pp.413-420
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• 2019

The changes in earth pressure and ground settlement due to underground excavation near an existing retaining wall were studied experimentally according to the separation distance between the underground excavation and the retaining wall. In addition, this study attempted to experimentally prove that the arching phenomenon occurred during the construction of the underground space. A model tank having 120 cm in length, 160 cm in height, and 40 cm in width was manufactured to simulate underground excavation through the use of five separated base wall bodies. The variation of earth pressure on the retaining wall was measured according to the underground excavation phase through the use of 10 separated right wall bodies. The results showed that the earth pressure on the retaining wall was changed by the lowering of the first base bottom wall; however, the earth pressure was not changed significantly by the lowering of the third base bottom wall, since the third base wall had sufficient separation distance from the retaining wall. Lowering of the first base wall induced a decrease in the earth pressure in the lower part of the retaining wall; in contrast, lowering of the first base wall induced an increase in the earth pressure in the middle part of the retaining wall, proving the arching effect experimentally. It is necessary to consider the changes in earth pressure on the retaining wall in designing earth retaining structures for sections where the arching effect occurs.

• 한국기계가공학회지
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• 제20권4호
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• pp.94-105
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• 2021

A graphical user interface (GUI) program for steam tracing system selection was developed by using a theoretical model. We derived the model on the basis of the one-dimensional heat transfer theory of conduction and convection through a composite wall. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and experiments were performed for validation at steam temperatures of 120.4[℃] and 158.9[℃]. The temperature of a pipe's outer surface obtained through CFD matched well with that predicted by the proposed model for both conditions. By contrast, the experiment results showed a small error at 120.4[℃] and a large error at 158.9[℃] because of the melting of the heat transfer compound and water phase transition. Thus, the steam temperature range of the proposed model is below 120.4[℃].

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제11권3호
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• pp.209-214
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• 1990

A series of compounds consisting of 4'-oxybenzylidene-4-n-butylaniline, a mesogen, and a p-substituted phenoxyterephthaloyl structure a non-mesogen, interconnected through a central hexamethylene spacer were synthesized and their thermal behavior and liquid crystallinity were studied. p-Substituents included in this study are H, Cl, CN, $NO_2,\;n-C_4H_9O$ and phenyl groups. The compounds having phenyl and $n-C_4H_9O$ substituents are enantiotropic and form smectic-A(SA) and nematic (N) phases. The compound with $NO_2$ substituent is monotropic and forms only a nematic phase on heating the solid, whereas it forms nematic as well as $S_A$ phases on cooling the isotropic liquid. The rest compounds were found to be non-liquid crystalline. This is in great contrast to the fact that the monomesogenic model compound 4'-n-hexyloxybenzylidine-4-n-butylaniline forms $S_B,\;S_C,\;S_A$ and N phases enantiotropically.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• 제14권12호
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• pp.4816-4834
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• 2020

This paper proposes transfer learning and fine-tuning techniques for a deep learning model to detect three distinct brain tumors from Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans. In this work, the recent YOLOv4 model trained using a collection of 3064 T1-weighted Contrast-Enhanced (CE)-MRI scans that were pre-processed and labeled for the task. This work trained with the partial 29-layer YOLOv4-Tiny and fine-tuned to work optimally and run efficiently in most platforms with reliable performance. With the help of transfer learning, the model had initial leverage to train faster with pre-trained weights from the COCO dataset, generating a robust set of features required for brain tumor detection. The results yielded the highest mean average precision of 93.14%, a 90.34% precision, 88.58% recall, and 89.45% F1-Score outperforming other previous versions of the YOLO detection models and other studies that used bounding box detections for the same task like Faster R-CNN. As concluded, the YOLOv4-Tiny can work efficiently to detect brain tumors automatically at a rapid phase with the help of proper fine-tuning and transfer learning. This work contributes mainly to assist medical experts in the diagnostic process of brain tumors.

• 국제물리치료학회지
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• 제12권2호
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• pp.2365-2369
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• 2021

Background: Patients with dysphagia after stroke are treated with neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), but its effect on masseter muscle thickness and bite force in the oral phase is not well known. Objectives: To investigated the effect of NMES on masseter muscle thickness and occlusal force in patients with dysphagia after stroke. Design: Two group, pre-post design. Methods: In this study, 25 patients with dysphagia after stroke were recruited and allocated to either the experimental or the control groups. Patients in the experimental group were treated with NMES to the masseter muscle at the motor level for 30 minutes and were additionally treated with traditional swallowing rehabilitation for 30 minutes. In contrast, patients in the control group were only treated with traditional swallowing rehabilitation for 30 minutes. Masseter muscle thickness was measured using ultrasonography before and after intervention, and bite force was measured using an bite force meter. Results: The experimental group showed significant improvement in masseter muscle thickness and bite force compared to the control group. Conclusion: NMES combined with traditional dysphagia rehabilitation is effective in improving masseter muscle thickness and bite force in patients with dysphagia after stroke.

• 한국분무공학회지
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• 제25권4호
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• pp.188-195
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• 2020

To meet stringent emission regulations of automotive engines, fuel injection control techniques have advanced based on reliable and fast computing prediction models. This study aims to develop a reliable lightweight prediction model of fuel injection rates using a small number of input parameters and based on simple fluid dynamic theories. The prediction model uses the geometry of the injector nozzle, needle motion data, injection conditions and the fuel properties. A commercial diesel injector and US No. 2 diesel were used as the test injector and fuel, respectively. The needle motion data were measured using X-ray phase-contrast imaging technique under various fuel injection pressures and injection pulse durations. The actual injector rate profiles were measured using an injection rate meter for the validation of the model prediction results. In the case of long injection durations with the steady-state operation, the model prediction results showed over 99 % consistency with the measurement results. However, in the case of short injection cases with the transient operation, the prediction model overestimated the injection rate that needs to be further improved.

• Journal of Species Research
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• 제10권4호
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• pp.350-355
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• 2021

In 2020, 11 Basidiomycetous yeast strains were isolated from soil samples collected from the forests of Namhansanseong in Korea. Among them, seven species were reported, but four species were unreported in Korea. To identify wild yeasts, pairwise sequence comparisons of D1/D2 domain of the 26S rRNA were performed using Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST). The cell morphologies and assimilation test are observed by phase contrast microscope and API 20C AUX kit, respectively. The 11 strains were assigned to the genera Rhodotorula (4 strains) of the order Sporidiobolales of the class Microbotryomycetes; and Cryptococcus(2 strains), Goffeauzyma (1 strains), Naganishia (2 strains) of the order Filobasidiales and Saitozyma (2 strains) of the order Tremellales of the class Tremellomycetes in the phylum Basidiomycota. The unreported yeast strains Cryptococcus gastricus 20n5-2, Goffeauzyma gilvescens 20n2-7, Naganishia adeliensis 20n8-1, and Naganishia friedmannii 20n24-1 belong to the family Filobasidiaceae. All strains had oval shaped cells and cream-colored colonies cultured on on YM agar for 3 days. In this study, we focus on the description of four unreported yeast species in Korea.

• Journal of Species Research
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• 제12권3호
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• pp.197-202
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• 2023

The purpose of this study was to isolate and identify wild yeasts from the soil collected in Gwangju and Pocheon City, Gyeonggi Province, Republic of Korea. Among 10 strains, six strains were already reported, but four strains were unrecorded in Republic of Korea. To identify wild yeast strains, pairwise sequence comparisons of the D1/D2 region of the 26S rRNA gene sequence were performed using Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST). The cell morphologies were observed by phase contrast microscope and assimilation tests were carried out using API 20C AUX kit. The 10 strains were assigned to the phyla Basidiomycota (8 strains) and Ascomycota (2strains). The unrecorded four yeast strains, NH33, NH19, NH20, and YP416, belong to the phylum Basidiomycota and the genera Buckleyzyma, Leucosporidium, Holtermanniales, and Mrakia, respectively. All strains had oval-shaped and polar budding cells. In this research, the morphological and biochemical properties of four unreported yeast species were characterized intensively, which were not officially reported in Korea.