• Development and Reproduction
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.231-239
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• 2020

Many benefits of silk protein fibroin (SPF) have been suggested in biomedical applications; and notably, significant SPF effects have been observed for metabolic syndromes that are directly linked to insulin resistance, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Based on our previous findings, we believe that SPF from spiders exhibits outstanding glucose-lowering effects in diabetic BKS.Cg-m+/+Lepr^db mice. In order to evaluate the dietary effects of SPF in diabetic animals, we generated several lines of transgenic rice (TR) that expresses SPF, and the feeding of TR-SPF to diabetic animals decreased blood glucose levels, but did not change insulin levels. Western blot analyses of hepatic proteins showed that AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) expression and phosphorylation both decreased in TR-SPF-fed groups, compared with controls. This finding suggests that the glucose-lowering effects in this diabetic animal model might be AMPK-independent. In contrast, six-transmembrane protein of prostate 2 (STAMP2) was upregulated after TR-SPF exposure. Together with STAMP2, the Akt protein phosphorylation increased after TR-SPF exposure, which indicates that STAMP2 leads to Akt phosphorylation and thus increases insulin sensitivity in hepatocytes. Importantly, the hepatic steatosis that was seen in the liver of diabetic mice was remarkably alleviated in TR-SPF-fed mice. Hepatocytes that were immunopositive for STAMP2 were overwhelmingly observed in hepatic tissues from TR-SPF-fed mice compared to the control. Taken together, these results suggest that feeding diabetic mice with TR-SPF upregulates STAMP2 expression and increases Akt phosphorylation in hepatic tissues and thus potentially alleviates insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.635-643
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• 2014

Sustaiable development yield of groundwater in Korea has been determined according to 10 year drought frequency of groundwater recharge in the standard mid-sized watershed or relatively large area of district. Therefore, the evaluation of groundwater impact in a small watershed is hard to apply. Fot this purpose, a novel approach to estimate cell based sustainable development yield of groundwater (SDYG) is suggested and applied to Gyeongju region. Cell based groundwater recharge is computed using hydrological component analysis using the SWAT-MODFLOW which is an integrated surface water-groundwater model. To estimate the potential amount of groundwater development, the existing method which uses 10 year drought frequency rainfall multiplied by recharge coefficient is adopted. Cell based SDYGs are computed and summed for 143 sub-watersheds and administrative districts. When these SDYGs are combined with groundwater usage data, the groundwater usage rate (total usage / SDYG) shows wide local variations (7.1~108.8%) which are unseen when average rate (24%) is only evaluated. Also, it is expected that additional SDYGs in any small district could be estimated.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.191-198
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• 2018

BACKGROUD/OBJECTIVES: Neuroinflammation plays critical role in neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). We investigated the effect of three licorice varieties, Glycyrhiza uralensis, G. glabra, and Shinwongam (SW) on a mouse model of inflammation-induced memory and cognitive deficit. MATERIALS/METHODS: C57BL/6 mice were injected with lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 2.5 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) and orally administrated G. uralensis, G. glabra, and SW extract (150 mg/kg/day). SW, a new species of licorice in Korea, was combined with G. uralensis and G. glabra. Behavioral tests, including the T-maze, novel object recognition and Morris water maze, were carried out to assess learning and memory. In addition, the expressions of inflammation-related proteins in brain tissue were measured by western blotting. RESULTS: There was a significant decrease in spatial and objective recognition memory in LPS-induced cognitive impairment group, as measured by the T-maze and novel object recognition test; however, the administration of licorice ameliorated these deficits. In addition, licorice-treated groups exhibited improved learning and memory ability in the Morris water maze. Furthermore, LPS-injected mice had up-regulated pro-inflammatory proteins, such as inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2, interleukin-6, via activation of toll like receptor 4 (TLR4) and nuclear factor-kappa B ($NF{\kappa}B$) pathways in the brain. However, these were attenuated by following administration of the three licorice varieties. Interestingly, the SW-administered group showed greater inhibition of iNOS and TLR4 when compared with the other licorice varieties. Furthermore, there was a significant increase in the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the brain of LPS-induced cognitively impaired mice that were administered licorice, with the greatest effect following SW treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The three licorice varieties ameliorated the inflammation-induced cognitive dysfunction by down-regulating inflammatory proteins and up-regulating BDNF. These results suggest that licorice, in particular SW, could be potential therapeutic agents against cognitive impairment.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.77-87
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• 2014

Ecotourism has the potential to boost the energy of a village as it pays keen attention to the ecosystem and the residents of the village. It is empowered by participation of and cooperation among stakeholders who are closely involved in ecotourism. However, many of them express difficulty in striking a right balance between development and conservation with regard to promoting ecotourism. Against this backdrop, this research paper investigates the structure of conflict that the stakeholders, especially those in Stork Village in Yesan County, South Chungcheong Province of Korea, experience during the process of establishment of government-led ecotourism. In addition, this study examines the problems of government-led ecotourism model and how they can be addressed. To analyze conflict structure, this paper used Q methods and found out that the budget-related stakeholders are largely divided into four groups as who; a) complain about how business profits are distributed; b) secure profits by expanding programs; c) consider human settlement, and; d) broaden people's participation. The biggest contributor to the conflicts is found that compensation was given discriminately to different jurisdictions. The second finding is that residents became less cooperative when the financial compensation did not live up to their expectation. For instance, they would demand the tourism facility physically expanded, repeatedly complain about the process of the work, and even accuse the government of degrading ecosystem. In other words, unless the compromise is reached with the residents regarding financial compensation, it could be difficult to encourage their participation and develop as a program-oriented tour. Lastly, the tour program needs to induce voluntary participation of the residents and deliver proper information on ecosystem and natural resources so as to last as sustainable ecotourism. The success of ecotourism will be subject to the cooperation of stakeholders in a region, conservation of our fragile ecosystem, and realization of sustainable growth through sharing economic benefits. This study looks into the cause of the conflicts of ecotourism sites and their structure. If this paper can bring about cooperation of stakeholders, the management and operation of ecotourism sites would be more sustainable.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.277-283
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• 2011

Solid dispersion is mainly used for improved dissolution of poorly water-soluble drugs. Solid dispersion of pranlukast was prepared by spray-drying with plasdone S-630. When pH of water was high, pranlukast was highly soluble in the solubility experiment of solid dispersions with varying pH. The particle size of pranlukast particles in solid dispersions was measured to be in nanometers scale based on particle size analysis. Zeta-potential analysis confirmed the negative charge of solid dispersion. SEM was used to observe the surface of solid dispersion, which confirmed spherical morphology, DSC and XRD confirmed the amorphous nature of solid dispersions. The in vitro test was carried out to find improved dissolution rate of pranlukast solid dispersion in simulated juice gastric and a controlled experiment was carried out to compare pranlukast solid dispersions with a conventional drug (Onon$^{(R)}$), These results showed the dissolution properties of pranlukast solid dispersions prepared by spray drying proper for the oral pharmaceutical formulation.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.531-537
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• 2009

Purpose: Alveolar bone grafting has become an essential process in the treatmemt of alveolar cleft patient for stabilization of the maxillary arch, elimination of oronasal fistula, the reconstruction of the soft tissue nasal base support, and creation of bony support for tooth eruption for implant. The use of Autologous iliac cancellous bone is preferable because of the adequate quantity and high osteoinductive potential. However, even with iliac bone, insufficient osteoregeneration and absorption occur due to several factors such as the patient's age, cleft width, functional stress, and others. In order to increase osteoregeneration where the iliac bone is placed, the present study is associated with bone marrow aspirate (BMA). The experimental study evaluated the efficacy of osteoregeneration in normal cleft rabbits when alveolar bone grafting was performed with autologous iliac corticocancellous bone. Methods: Twenty - four New Zealand White rabbits were divided randomly into 2 groups (BMA, control). All animals underwent harvesting of corticocancellous bone graft from the right posterior iliac crest via standard surgical technique. $1m{\ell}$ of BMA were obtained by scraping the needle and aspirate with $10m{\ell}$ syringe from the contralateral iliac bone wall. The muco - periosteal flap on the palate was elevated. A mixture of Equal bone's volumes with BMA and saline as its control was inserted into the cleft. Animals were sacrificed at 2, 4, and 8 weeks and maxilla was harvested for dental peri - apical X-ray, bone matrix density (BMD),and histologic analysis. Result: BMD of regenerated bone to the cleft in the rabbits was higher than that of the control rabbits. X-ray, histologic analysis showed that increased osteoregeneration and low absorption rate were observed in the BMA group. Conclusion: Our experimental study showed BMA enhanced the osteoregeneration and survival rate of alveolar bone grafting. BMA is easy to extract & cost - time effective. So it can be an effective enhancers for bone grafting mixtures.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.43 no.8
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• pp.681-694
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• 2010

In this study, methodology to determine optimal location of washlands based on economic analysis is presented. Install costs of washlands are calculated by construction cost and land compensatory cost and benefits of washlands are calculated from flood damage reduction and befit from using washland as wetland. Indirect approach for runoff-flood damage relationship is suggested and benefit-cost analysis is used for economic analysis. Economic analysis is added to existing models that used only flood reduction effect to determine optimal location of washlands. Suggested methodology is applied to 13 potential washlands in Anseong River basin to examine its applicability. Applied result of new methodology is compared with that of existing model. As the application results, it is possible to determine the optimal combinations of washlands can provide more economic benefit compared to existing studies. It is determined that considering economic analysis can be better option for decision making problem searching for optimal location of washlands.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.300-305
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• 2011

The present study was investigated the neuroprotective effects of acupuncture at ST36 on learning and memory deficits after transient cerebral ischemia in a gerbil model. The animals were randomly divided into three groups (n=7 in each group): the sham operation group (SHAM), ischemia-induced and ST36 acupuncture group (ISC + ST36), and the ischemia-induced and Tail-acupuncture group (ISC + TAIL). For the acupuncture stimulation, stainless steel needles, 0.3 mm in diameter, were inserted bilaterally into the ST36 locus or the tail and stimulated for 1 min/day for 14 days. Using the Morris water maze test, the animals were tested on spatial learning and memory. In addition, the effects of acupuncture on memory storage and the choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity, in the hippocampal CA1 area, were investigated by ChAT immunohistochemistry. Transient cerebral ischemia produced impaired performance on the MWM test (DAY 5: p<0.01 and retention test: p<0.05) and severely decreased ChAT immunoreactivity in the CA1 hippocampal area compared to the SHAM group (p<0.05). However, improved learning and memory were observed (DAY 5: p<0.05 and retention test: p<0.01) as well as a significantly reduced loss of ChAT immunoactivity in the hippocampal CA1 region (p<0.001) after acupuncture stimulation at ST36 were observed. These results show that acupuncture at ST36 ameliorated the learning and memory deficits at least in part through the cholinergic system. The findings of this study provide potential data that acupuncture is useful for the treatment of some of the behavioral impairs of transient cerebral ischemia.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography
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• v.32 no.4_1
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• pp.319-326
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• 2014

The accurate geo-referencing processes that apply ground control points is prerequisite for effective end use of HRSI (High-resolution satellite imagery). Since the conventional control point acquisition by human operator takes long time, demands for the automated matching to existing reference data has been increasing its popularity. Among many options of reference data, the airborne LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) data shows high potential due to its high spatial resolution and vertical accuracy. Additionally, it is in the form of 3-dimensional point cloud free from the relief displacement. Recently, a new matching method between LiDAR data and HRSI was proposed that is based on the image projection of whole LiDAR data into HRSI domain, however, importing and processing the large amount of LiDAR data considered as time-consuming. Therefore, we wmotivated to ere propose a local LiDAR chip generation for the HRSI geo-referencing. In the procedure, a LiDAR point cloud was rasterized into an ortho image with the digital elevation model. After then, we selected local areas, which of containing meaningful amount of edge information to create LiDAR chips of small data size. We tested the LiDAR chips for fully-automated geo-referencing with Kompsat-2 and Kompsat-3 data. Finally, the experimental results showed one-pixel level of mean accuracy.

• Journal of Korea Society of Industrial Information Systems
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.94-110
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• 2000

While most of the previous information technology adoption and diffusion researches focus the critical factors not on the organizational perspective but on the individual perspective based on the various reasons such as informational characteristics. This paper will try to analysis the adoption and diffusion factors of the Internet related technologies based on the organizational perspective. Nowadays, in especially, the evolving and fast diffusing Internet related technologies and the flourishing e-commerce applications pressure retail banks that prepare the new types of online payment systems to maintain their existing and new customer relationship and compete with their potential competitors in the coming market environments. In addition, while most previous researches only focus on the adoption of new information technologies, this paper not only analysis the adoption of innovational technology but also analysis the diffusion process in an organization, which encourage practitioners and researchers to reveal more detail and practical analysis of the innovational technology adoption and diffusion process in ann organizational setting. Based on the previous researches, there are several factor-category will be selected for this research: 1) organizational factor, 2) within banking industry factor, 3) non-banking industry factor, 4) customer acceptance factor, 5) government factor, and 6) the functionality of e-commerce systems factor. Finally, in this study, we assumed that the more sophisticated e-commerce adopting banks provide the more broad range of banking services in general. Thus, we develop the extended integrated technology diffusion model to provide empirical evidences to distinguish between adopters and non-adopters and explain the diffusion levels of e-commerce using the level of services provided via Internet to the customer in retail bank industry.