• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.43-53
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• 2022

Objectives : Paeonia lactiflora Pallas (PLP) have been reported to have pharmacological effects such as anti-inflammatory and analgesic. However, it is not yet known whether PLP extract has anti-inflammatory effect on HaCaT cells, human keratinocyte. Methods : To confirm the anti-inflammatory effect of PLP on keratinocyte, TNF-𝛼/IFN-𝛾-stimulated HaCaT cells were used. HaCaT cells were pre-treated with PLP for 1h before stimulation with TNF-𝛼/IFN-𝛾. Then HaCaT cells were stimulated with TNF-𝛼/IFN-𝛾 for 24 h, the cells and media were harvested to measure the inflammatory cytokines levels. Granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), interleukin 1 beta (IL-1𝛽), and TNF-𝛼 were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the mRNA expression of thymus and activation-regulated chemokines (TARC), IL-6, and IL-8 were measured by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). We also investigated the inhibitory mechanism of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPKs) including ERK, JNK, and p38 and nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-𝜅B) by PLP using western blot. Results : PLP did not show cytotoxicity in HaCaT cells. In TNF-𝛼/IFN-𝛾-stimulated HaCaT cells, PLP significantly inhibited the expression of GM-CSF, MCP-1 IL-1𝛽, TNF-𝛼, TARC and IL-6. PLP inhibited the phosphorylation of ERK and translocation of NF-𝜅B into the nucleus. Conclusions : These results indicate that PLP could ameliorate the TNF-𝛼/IFN-𝛾-stimulated inflammatory response through inhibition of MAPK and NF-kB signal pathway. This suggests that PLP could be used beneficial agent to improve skin inflammation.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.94-100
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• 2022

Chronic infection by hepatitis B virus (HBV) greatly increases the risk for liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The outcome of HBV infection is shaped by the complex interplay of the mode of transmission, host genetic factors, viral genotype, adaptive mutations, and environmental factors. The pregenomic RNA transcription of HBV for their replication is regulated by the core promoter activation. Core promoter mutations have been the reason for acute liver failure and are associated with HCC development. We obtained HBV genes from a patient in Myanmar who was infected with HBV and identified gene variations in the core promoter region. For measuring the relative transactivation activity of the core promoter, we prepared the core-promoter reporter construct. Among the gene variations of the core promoter, the mutations of C1731T and G1806A were associated with increase in the transactivation of the HBV core promoter. Through computer analysis for searching for a tentative transcription factor binding site, we showed that the mutations of C1713T and G1806A newly created C/EBPβ and XBP1-responsive elements of the core promoter, respectively. The ectopic expression of C/EBPβ largely increased the HBV core promoter containing the C1713T mutation and that of XBP1 activated the M95 promoter containing the G1806A mutation. Our efforts to treat and prevent HBV infections are hampered by the emergence of drug-resistant mutations and vaccine-escape mutations. Our results provide the biological properties and clinical significance of specific HBV core promoter mutations.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.148-163
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• 2021

The diversification of the New Deal urban regeneration projects, that started in 2017 in accordance with the "Special Act on Urban Regeneration Activation and Support", generated the increased demand for the accuracy of data-driven diagnosis and project type forecast. Thus, this research was conducted to develop an application model able to identify the most appropriate New Deal project type for "eup", "myeon" and "dong" across the country. Data for application model development were collected through Statistical geographic information service(SGIS) and the 'Urban Regeneration Comprehensive Information Open System' of the Urban Regeneration Information System, and data for the analysis model was constructed through data pre-processing. Four models were derived and simulations were performed through polynomial regression analysis and multinomial logistic regression analysis for the application of the appropriate New Deal project type. I verified the applicability and validity of the four models by the comparative analysis of spatial distribution of the previously selected New Deal projects by targeting the sites located in Seoul by each model and the result showed that the DI-54 model had the highest concordance rate.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.29-36
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• 2022

The hydrogen reduction behavior of molybdenum oxides was studied using a horizontal-tube reactor. Reduction was carried out in two stages: MoO₃ → MoO₂ and MoO₂ → Mo. In the first stage, a mixed gas composed of 30 vol% H₂ and 70 vol% Ar was selected for the MoO₃ reduction because of its highly exothermic reaction. The temperature ranged from 550 to 600 ℃, and the residence time ranged from 30 to 150 min. In the second step, pure H₂ gas was used for the MoO₂ reduction, and the temperature and residence time ranges were 700-750 ℃ and 30-150 min, respectively. The hydrogen reduction behavior of molybdenum oxides was found to be somewhat different between the two stages. For the first stage, a temperature dependence of the reaction rate was observed, and the best curve fittings were obtained with a surface reaction control mechanism, despite the presence of intermediate oxides under the conditions of this study. Based on this mechanism, the activation energy and pre-exponential were calculated as 85.0 kJ/mol and 9.18 × 10⁷, respectively. In addition, the pore size within a particle increases with the temperature and residence time. In the second stage, a temperature dependence of the reaction rate was also observed; however, the surface reaction control mechanism fit only the early part, which can be ascribed to the degradation of the oxide crystals by a volume change as the MoO₂ → Mo phase transformation proceeded in the later part.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.119-131
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• 2023

Objectives: Betula Platyphylla(BP) has been used as a analgesic, anti-microbial, anti-oxidant drug in Eastern Asia. However, it is still unknown whether BP ethanol extract could exhibit the inhibitory activities against ultraviolet B(UVB)-induced skin injury on human keratinocytes, HaCaT cells. This study was aimed to investigate the protective activity of BP ethanol extract on UVB-irradiated skin injury in HaCaT cells. Methods: The skin injury model of HaCaT cells was established under UVB stimulation. HaCaT keratinocyte cells were pre-treated with BP ethanol extract for 1 h, and then stimulated with UVB. Then, the cells were harvested to measure the cell viability, production of reactive oxygen species(ROS), pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin(IL) 1-beta, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-𝛼, hyaluronidase, type 1 collagen, matrix metalloproteinase(MMP)s. In addition, we examined the mitogen activated protein kinases(MAPKs) and inhibitory kappa B alpha(I𝜅;-B𝛼) as inhibitory mechanisms of BP ethanol extract. Results: The treatment of BP ethanol extract inhibited the UVBinduced cell death and ROS production in HaCaT cells. BP ethanol extract treatment inhibited the UVB-induced increase of IL-1beta, IL-6, and TNF-𝛼. BP ethanol extract treatment inhibited the increase of hyaluronidase, MMP and decrease of collagen. BP ethanol extract treatment inhibited the activation of MAPKs and the degradation of I𝜅-B𝛼. Conclusions: Our result suggest that treatment of BP ethanol extract could inhibit the UVB-induced skin injury via deactivation of MAPKs and nuclear factor kappa B(NF-𝜅B) in HaCaT cells. This study could suggest that BP ethanol extract could be a beneficial agent to prevent skin damage or inflammation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.2139-2146
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• 2023

During reactor operation, the divertor must withstand unprecedented simultaneous high heat fluxes and high-energy neutron irradiation. The extremely severe service environment of the divertor imposes a huge challenge to the bonding quality of divertor joints, i.e., the joints must withstand thermal, mechanical and neutron loads, as well as cyclic mode of operation. In this paper, potassium-doped tungsten (KW) is selected as the plasma facing material (PFM), oxygen-free copper (OFC) as the interlayer, oxide dispersion strengthened copper (ODS-Cu) alloy as the heat sink material, and reduced activation ferritic/martensitic (RAFM) steel as the structural material. In this study, a vacuum brazing technology is proposed and optimized to bond Cu and ODS-Cu alloy with the silver-free brazing material CuSnTi. The most appropriate brazing parameters are a brazing temperature of 940 ℃ and a holding time of 15 min. High-quality bonding interfaces have been successfully obtained by vacuum brazing technology, and the average shear strength of the as-obtained KW/Cu and ODS-Cu alloy joints is ~268 MPa. And a fabrication route for manufacturing the flat-type divertor target based on brazing technology is set. For evaluating the reliability of the fabrication technologies under the reactor relevant condition, the high heat flux test at 20 MW/m² for the as-manufactured flat-type KW/Cu/ODS-Cu/RAFM mockup is carried out by using the Electron-beam Material testing Scenario (EMS-60) with water cooling. This paper reports the improved vacuum brazing technology to connect Cu to ODS-Cu alloy and summarizes the production route, high heat flux (HHF) test, the pre and post non-destructive examination, and the surface results of the flat-type KW/Cu/ODS-Cu/RAFM mockup after the HHF test. The test results demonstrate that the mockup manufactured according to the fabrication route still have structural and interfacial integrity under cyclic high heat loads.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.965-975
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• 2023

Education in radiology involves a large portion of practical training, and it is difficult to conduct it through non-face-to-face online education. In this study, we utilized the Metaverse platform, which can replace hands-on education, to implement a practice room that is difficult to access through non-face-to-face classes into a virtual world, and then evaluated the satisfaction of learners after the practice class, the practicality of the Metaverse platform class, and the future orientation of the curriculum. I wanted to find out. Using the metaverse platforms ZEPETO (Build It) and ZEP (ZEP), the S University radiology department lab was implemented into a virtual world and used for students' classes. A total of 50 students were surveyed twice, divided into pre- and post-surveys, and all questions used a 5-point Likert scale. As a result of the study, satisfaction was low at 2.32 for education without using Metaverse virtual space, while education using virtual space was very high at 4.16. As a result of the analysis, the satisfaction level of the new education system and the practicality of the Metaverse platform classes are very high, and it is believed that it will be a more effective education platform when conducting additional education such as app explanations in the future.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.222-227
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• 2023

Mushrooms have a unique taste and aroma, so in the processing of mushroom products with other ingredients, a separate pre-processing step is often taken to eliminate the mushroom aroma. In this study, we analyzed the changes in the concentration of volatile compounds according to drying conditions to promote the activation of processing using the fruiting bodies of yellow oyster mushrooms(Pleurotus citrinopileatus) and pink oyster mushrooms(P. djamor). The caps and stipes of yellow oyster and pink oyster mushrooms were separated and freeze-dried at -70℃ for 120 hours. Subsequently, they were hot air-dried at temperatures of 40, 50, 60, and 70℃ for 24, 24, 16, and 12 hours, respectively. The dried samples were pulverized and quantitatively analyzed by SPME-GC-MS. In the case of yellow oyster mushrooms, the concentration of t-2-nonenal in caps and stipes during freeze-drying was 164.43 ㎍/g d.w. and 174.80 ㎍/g d.w., respectively, whereas during hot air-drying, it significantly decreased to 0.35~3.41 ㎍/g d.w. and 0.98~59.88 ㎍/g d.w. In a similar manner, for pink oyster mushrooms, the concentration of 1-octen-3-ol during freeze-drying in caps and stipes was 31.05 ㎍/g d.w. and 176.17 ㎍/g d.w., respectively, whereas during hot air-drying, it significantly decreased to 1.59~9.66 ㎍/g d.w. and 1.96~15.77 ㎍/g d.w. Furthermore, most volatile compounds showed a tendency to decrease in concentration as the temperature during hot air-drying increased.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.332-342
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• 2000

Background : The importance of pro-inflammatory cytokines, especially tumor necrosis factor $\alpha$ (INF-$\alpha$) and interleukin-1$\beta$ (IL-1$\beta$), have been extensively documented in the generation of inflammatory lung disease. Lung epithelial cells are also actively involved in initiating and maintaining inflammation by producing pro-inflammatory mediators. Understanding the mechanism of pro-inflammatory cytokine expression in lung epithelial cells is crucial to the development of new therapeutic modalities for inflammatory lung disease. Transcription of most pro-inflammatory cytokines is dependent on the activation of NF-${\kappa}B$. However, the relationship between pro-inflammatory cytokine expression and NF-${\kappa}B/I{\kappa}B$ pathway in lung epithelial cells is not clear. Methods : BEAS-2B, A549, Na-H157, NCI-H719 cells were stimulated with IL-$1{\beta}$ or TNF-$\alpha$ at various times, and then IL-8 and TNF-$\alpha$mRNA expressions were assayed by Northern blot analysis. IL-$1{\beta}$ or TNF-$\alpha$-induced NF-${\kappa}B$ activation was assessed by the nuclear translocation of p65 NF-${\kappa}B$ subunit. The degradation of $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$ and $I{\kappa}B{\beta}$ by IL-$1{\beta}$ or TNF-$\alpha$stimulation was assayed by Western blot analysis. The phosphorylation of $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$ was evaluated by Western blot analysis after pre-treating cells with proteasome inhibitor followed by IL-$1{\beta}$ or TNF-$\alpha$ stimulation. The basal level of IKK $\alpha$ expression was evaluated by Western blot analysis. Results: $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$ and $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$ was rapidly degraded after 5 minutes of incubation with IL-$1{\beta}$ or TNF-$\alpha$ in BEAS-2B, A549, and NCI-H157 cells. The activation of NF-${\kappa}B{\alpha}$ and the induction of IL-8 and TNF-$\alpha$ mRNA expression were observed by IL-$1{\beta}$ or TNF-$\alpha$ stimulation in these cells. In contrast, neither the changes in NF-${\kappa}B/I{\kappa}B$ pathway nor IL-8 and TNF-$\alpha$mRNA expression was induced by IL-$1{\beta}$ or TNF-$\alpha$ stimulation in NCI-H719 cells. IL-$1{\beta}$ and TNF-$\alpha$-induced $I{\kappa}B$ phosphorylation was observed in BEAS-2B, A549, and NCI-H157 cells, but not in NCI-H719 cells. The basal level of IKK$\alpha$ expression was not different between cell. Conclusion : NF-${\kappa}B/I{\kappa}B$ pathway plays an important role in the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokine in most lung epithelial cells. The absence of the effect on NF-${\kappa}B/I{\kappa}B$ pathway in NCI-H719 cells sæms to be due to the defect in the intracellular signal transduction pathway upstream to IKK.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.191-199
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• 2004

This study was conducted to examine in vitro development of porcine embryos constructed by the microinjection of cultured fetal fibroblast cells into porcine oocytes matured in vitro. Single fetal donor cells were deposited into the perivitelline space of enucleated oocytes, followed by electrical fusion and activation. Activated embryos were cultured in NCSU-23 medium supplemented with 5％ FBS, at 38.5$^{\circ}C$ for 6 to 8 days in 5％ $CO_2$ and air. In experiment 1, fusion rates of nuclear transfer embryos did not differ for fetal fibroblast cells incubated in 5％ FBS + NCSU-23 or 5％ FBS + TL Heaps medium, nor did fusion rates of donor cells differ between 1-8 hr incubation durations. Fusion rates for the four treatment subclasses ranged from 72.1％ to 78.0％. In experiment 2, Pre-synchronization in medium containing 0.1 $\mu\textrm{g}$/m Hoechst 33342 an increase from 0 and 8 versus 15 h culture an increased percentage of porcine fibroblast cells in G2/M at the end of the synchronization period (12.4％, 17.5％ and 47.6％). Neither an increase in the concentration of H 33342 (0.2-1.6 $\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$) nor a longer exposure time (12h, 18h and 24h) increased the proportion of porcine G2/M fibroblasts. In experiment 3, fusion rates did not differ significantly far nuclear transfer embryos constructed using donor cells cultured in 5％ FBS + NCSU-23 medium for 1-2, 6-8 or 12-14 days (60.0％, 73.3％ and 62.5％), respectively. The cleavage rate for nuclear transplant embryos using fetal fibroblast cells cultured for 1-2 days was 44.0％, significantly less than 56.7％ and 50.0％. for 6-8 or 12-14 days duration of culture, respectively. In experiment 4, the proportions of nuclear transfer embryos that developed to the $\geq$2 cell and to the blastocyst stage were not affected significantly by culture medium (5％ FBS + NCSU-23 or 5％ FBS + TL-Heaps) or by $O_2$ concentration of the culture (5％ vs 10％). Rates of development to the $\geq$2 cell stage ranged from 65.9％ to 70.1％, and development rates to the blastocyst stage ranged from 9.8％ to 12.5％ for the four treatment subclasses. Developmental rate was highest for embryos cultured in 5％ FBS + NCSU-23 under a gas atmosphere of 5％ $O_2$ in air.