• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.70 no.5
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• pp.405-415
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• 2011

Background: In an effort to find alternative therapeutic agents to prevent excessive fibrosis as a sequela to complicated parapneumonic effusion or empyema, we examined the effect of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) as a fibrinolytic agent combined with talc or transforming growth factor (TGF)-${\beta}1$ in a human pleural mesothelial cell line, MeT-5A. Methods: MeT-5A cells were stimulated with various doses of talc, doxycycline or TGF-${\beta}1$ for 24 h and then were treated with tPA for an additional 24 h. Cell viability was measured by MTT assay. The production of interleukin (IL)-8 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the culture supernatants was measured by ELISA. Real-time PCR was carried out for measurement of type I collagen mRNA. Results: MeT-5A cells treated with talc showed a dose-dependent increase in production of IL-8. Talc also increased production of type I collagen mRNA at low doses, but talc did not influence the induction of VEGF. Addition of tPA to talc-stimulated cells showed further increases in the production of IL-8, but tPA did not influence the production of VEGF or type I collagen mRNA. TGF-${\beta}1$ increased the production of both VEGF and collagen type I mRNA, both of which were effectively inhibited by additional tPA treatment in MeT-5A cells. Conclusion: TGF-${\beta}1$ is a potent inducer of collagen synthesis without induction of IL-8 in MeT-5A cells. Addition of tPA after TGF-${\beta}1$ stimulation inhibited further fibrosis by direct inhibition of collagen mRNA synthesis as well as by inhibition of VEGF production.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.382-390
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• 2011

Smart sensors embedable in composite wind turbine blades have been required to be researched for monitoring the health status of large wind turbine blades during real-time operation. In this research, the feasibility of packaged FBG sensor probes was studied through the experiments of composite blade trailing edge specimens in order to detect cracking and debonding damages. The instants of cracking and debonding generated in the shear web were confirmed by rapid changes of the wavelength shifts from the bare FBG sensor probes. Packaged FBG sensor probes were proposed to remove the fragile property of bare FBG sensor probes attached on composite wind blade specimens. Strain and temperature sensitivity of fabricated probes installed on the skin of blade specimen were almost equal to those of a bare FBG sensor. Strain sensitivity was measured to be ${\mu}{\varepsilon}$/pm in a strain range from to 0 to 600 ${\mu}{\varepsilon}$, and the calculated temperature sensitivity was to be 48 pm/$^{\circ}C$ in the heating test up to 80 degree.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.64-73
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• 2009

Background: 15d-$PGJ_2$ has been known to act as an anti-inflammatory agent and has anti-hypertensive effects. As a result of these properties, we examined the effect of 15d-$PGJ_2$ on the LPS-induced IL-8/CXCL8 mRNA expression in VSMCs from SHR. Methods: Effect and action mechanism of 15d-$PGJ_2$ on the expression of LPS-induced IL-8/CXCL8 mRNA in VSMCs from SHR and WKY were examined by using real-time polymerase chain reaction, electrophoretic mobility shift assay for NF-${\kappa}B$ avtivity, Western blotting analysis for ERK and p38 phosphorylation and flow cytometry for NAD(P)H oxidase activity. Results: 15d-$PGJ_2$ decreased the expression of LPS-induced IL-8/CXCL8 mRNA in WKY VSMCs, but increased the expression of LPS-induced IL-8/CXCL8 mRNA in SHR VSMCs. The upregulatory effect of 15d-$PGJ_2$ in SHR VSMCs was mediated through PPAR${\gamma}$, and dependent on NF-${\kappa}B$ activation and ERK phosphorylation. However, inhibition of the p38 signaling pathway augmented the upregulatory effect of 15d-$PGJ_2$ on LPS-induced IL-8/CXCL8 mRNA. A NAD(P)H oxidase inhibitor inhibited the upregulatory effect of 15d-$PGJ_2$ on LPS-induced IL-8/CXCL8 mRNA expression in SHR VSMCs, and an increase in NAD(P)H oxidase activity was detected in SHR VSMCs treated with 15d-$PGJ_2$/LPS. Conclusion: Our results indicate that the upregulatory effect of 15d-$PGJ_2$ on LPS-induced IL-8/CXCL8 expression in SHR VSMCs is mediated through the PPAR${\gamma}$ and ERK pathway, and may be related to NAD(P)H oxidase activity. However, p38 inactivation may also play an important role in 15d-$PGJ_2$/LPS-induced IL-8/CXCL8 expression in SHR VSMCs.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.596-606
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• 2019

N-acyl-homoserine lactone quorum sensing (AHL-QS) has been shown to regulate many physiological behaviors in Serratia marcescens MG1. In the current study, the effects of AHL-QS on the biosynthesis of acid and neutral products by S. marcescens MG1 and its isogenic ${\Delta}swrI$ with or without supplementing exogenous N-hexanoyl-L-homoserine lactone ($C_6-HSL$) were systematically investigated. The results showed that swrI disruption resulted in rapid pH drops from 7.0 to 4.8, which could be restored to wild type by supplementing $C_6-HSL$. Furthermore, fermentation product analysis indicated that ${\Delta}swrI$ could lead to obvious accumulation for acidogenesis products such as lactic acid and succinic acid, especially excess acetic acid (2.27 g/l) produced at the early stage of fermentation, whereas solventogenesis products by ${\Delta}swrI$ appeared to noticeably decrease by an approximate 30% for acetoin during 32-48 h and by an approximate 20% for 2,3-butanediol during 24-40 h, when compared to those by wild type. Interestingly, the excess acetic acid produced could be removed in an AHL-QS-independent manner. Subsequently, quantitative real-time PCR was used to determine the mRNA expression levels of genes responsible for acidogenesis and solventogenesis and showed consistent results with those of product synthesis. Finally, by close examination of promoter regions of the analyzed genes, four putative luxI box-like motifs were found upstream of genes encoding acetyl-CoA synthase, lactate dehydrogenase, ${\alpha}$-acetolactate decarboxylase, and Lys-like regulator. The information from this study provides a novel insight into the roles played by AHL-QS in switching from acidogenesis to solventogenesis in S. marcescens MG1.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.163-169
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to estimate the antimicrobial activity of Maesil (Japanese apricot, Prunus mume) extract against Vibrio vulnificus. The strains tested in the study were 28 V. vulnificus isolates originated from fish, seawater, mud flat and seawater in fish restaurant. The vvhA gene was detected using real-time PCR and biochemical identification expressed above good identification in 28 isolates of V. vulnificus. All of V. vulnificus used in this study was susceptible to tetracycline and chloramphenicol antibiotics. These two antibiotics were considered to be useful for the treatment of patients. Maesil extracts 2.5% and 5% showed antimicrobial activity against V. cholerae NCCP 13589 and V. parahemolyticus NCCP 11143. V. vulnificus isolate and V. vulnificus NCCP 11135 showed growth inhibition at 1.25%, 2.5% and 5% of Maesil extract, respectively. Compared with V. cholerae and V. parahemolyticus, the antibacterial activity of Maesil extract against V. vulnificus was high. The minimum bactericidal concentration of Maesil extract for V. vulnificus was 1.6%. These results revealed that Maesil extract was found to be very useful for inhibiting the growth of V. vulnificus and can be expected to prevent food poisoning caused by V. vulnificus.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.347-359
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• 2023

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the suitability of polydeoxyribonucleotides (PDRN) as a storage medium for avulsed teeth. Materials and Methods: The viability of human periodontal ligament (PDL) cells stored in Hank's balanced salt solution and PDRN solutions (concentrations, 10, 25, 50, and 100 ㎍/mL) and tap water was measured using the Cell Counting Kit-8 and Live/Dead assays. In addition, Nitric oxide detection and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were performed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of PDRN. Results: The viability of PDL cells stored in a 100 ㎍/mL PDRN solution was significantly higher than that of cells stored in the other solutions (p < 0.01). Furthermore, cells stored in 100 ㎍/mL PDRN solution demonstrated a significantly reduced NO production (p < 0.0001), and cells stored in 50 and 100 ㎍/mL PDRN solutions expressed significantly lower levels of tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin (IL) -4, IL-6, and IL-10 (p < 0.01) compared to cells stored in HBSS. Conclusion: The PDRN solution exhibited cell-preserving and anti-inflammatory effects on the PDL cells. The findings of this study can serve as a basis for further experiments directed at the development of an effective storage medium for avulsed teeth.

• Journal of Korean Society for Geospatial Information Science
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.105-113
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• 2016

Fire radiative power(FRP), which means the power radiated from wildfire, is used to estimate fire emissions. Currently, the geostationary satellites of East Asia do not provide official FRP products yet, whereas the American and European geostationary satellites are providing near-real-time FRP products for Europe, Africa and America. This paper describes the first retrieval of Himawari-8 FRP using the mid-infrared radiance method and shows the comparisons with MODIS FRP for Sumatra, Indonesia. Land surface emissivity, an essential parameter for mid-infrared radiance method, was calculated using NDVI(normalized difference vegetation index) and FVC(fraction of vegetation coverage) according to land cover types. Also, the sensor coefficient for Himawari-8(a = 3.11) was derived through optimization experiments. The mean absolute percentage difference was about 20%, which can be interpreted as a favourable performance similar to the validation statistics of the American and European satellites. The retrieval accuracies of Himawari FRP were rarely influenced by land cover types or solar zenith angle, but parts of the pixels showed somewhat low accuracies according to the fire size and viewing zenith angle. This study will contribute to estimation of wildfire emissions and can be a reference for the FRP retrieval of current and forthcoming geostationary satellites in East Asia.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.36-42
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• 2021

With recent developments in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the manufacturing industry has changed rapidly. Through key aspects of Fourth Industrial Revolution super-connections and super-intelligence, machine learning will be able to make fault predictions during the foam-making process. Polyol and isocyanate are components in polyurethane foam. There has been a lot of research that could affect the characteristics of the products, depending on the specific mixture ratio and temperature. Based on these characteristics, this study collects data from each factor during the foam-making process and applies them to machine learning in order to predict faults. The algorithms used in machine learning are the decision tree, kNN, and an ensemble algorithm, and these algorithms learn from 5,147 cases. Based on 1,000 pieces of data for validation, the learning results show up to 98.5% accuracy using the ensemble algorithm. Therefore, the results confirm the faults of currently produced parts by collecting real-time data from each factor during the foam-making process. Furthermore, control of each of the factors may improve the fault rate.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.71 no.1
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• pp.8-14
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• 2011

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have demonstrated their potential as biomarkers for lung cancer diagnosis. In recent years, miRNAs have been found in body fluids such as serum, plasma, urine and saliva. Circulating miRNAs are highly stable and resistant to RNase activity along with, extreme pH and temperatures in serum and plasma. In this study, we investigated serum miRNA profiles that can be used as a diagnostic biomarker of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: We compared the expression profile of miRNAs in the plasma of patients diagnosed with lung cancer using an miRNA microarray. The data from this assay were validated by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Results: Six miRNAs were overexpressed and three miRNAs were underexpressed in both tissue and serum from squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) patients. Sixteen miRNAs were overexpressed and twenty two miRNAs were underexpressed in both tissue and serum from adenocarcinoma (AC) patients. Of the four miRNAs chosen for qRT-PCR analysis, the expression of miR-23a was consistent with microarray results from AC patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were done and revealed that the level of serum miR-23a was a potential marker for discriminating AC patients from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. Conclusion: Although a small number of patients were examined, the results from our study suggest that serum miR-23a can be used in the diagnosis of AC.

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.23-29
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• 2015

In this paper, we propose a microscope system for detecting both a tumor and blood vessels in brain tumor surgery as fluorescence images by using multiple light sources and a beam-splitter module. The proposed method displays fluorescent images of the tumor and blood vessels on the same display device and also provides accurate information about them to the operator. To acquire a fluorescence image, we utilized 5-ALA (5-aminolevulinic acid) for the tumor and ICG (Indocyanine green) for blood vessels, and we used a beam-splitter module combined with a microscope for simultaneous detection of both. The beam-splitter module showed the best performance at 600 nm for 5-ALA and above 800 nm for ICG. The beam-splitter is flexible to enable diverse objective setups and designed to mount a filter easily, so beam-splitter and filter can be changed as needed, and other fluorescent dyes besides 5-ALA and ICG are available. The fluorescent images of the tumor and the blood vessels can be displayed on the same monitor through the beam-splitter module with a CCD camera. For ICG, a CCD that can detect the near-infrared region is needed. This system provides the acquired fluorescent image to an operator in real time, matching it to the original image through a similarity transform.