• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.530-539
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• 2021

Background: In South Korea, areas around abandoned metal mines are designated as regions with high arsenic (As) contamination. However, studies assessing urinary As exposure, As metabolism, and relevant genetic polymorphisms in residents of these metal mine areas are lacking. Objectives: To identify factors associated with As exposure and evaluate the effects of MTHFR, As3MT, and GSTO1 genetic polymorphisms on As metabolism in residents of abandoned metal mine areas by measuring urinary As species. Methods: Urinary As species (arsenite [As³⁺], arsenate [As⁵⁺], monomethyl arsonic acid, and dimethylarsinic acid) were isolated using high-performance liquid chromatography in combination with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS). Four genetic polymorphisms (MTHFR A222V, MTHFR E429A, GSTO1 A140D, As3MT M287T) were analyzed in 144 residents of four areas around abandoned metal mines. Results: The study sample was comprised of 34.7% men and 65.3% women, with a mean age of 70.7±10.9 years. The urinary inorganic As concentration was higher among those consuming more than half locally produced rice (0.31 ㎍/L) than those consuming less than half such rice (0.18 ㎍/L). The urinary dimethylarsinic acid concentration was higher in the group that had consumed seafood in the past day (31.68 ㎍/L) than in those who had not (22.37 ㎍/L). Furthermore, individuals heterozygous in the MTHFR A222V and GSTO1 A140D polymorphism had higher urinary arsenic species concentrations than did individuals with a wild type or homozygous for the variant allele. Conclusions: Consumption of locally produced rice was associated with inorganic As exposure, whereas seafood consumption was associated with organic As exposure among residents of abandoned metal mine areas. There was no clear association between MTHFR A222V and GSTO1 A140D polymorphisms and As metabolism.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.7
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• pp.567-577
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• 2022

Recently, the prevalence of ischemic diseases, such as ischemic heart disease, cerebral ischemia, and peripheral arterial disease, has been continuously increasing due to the aging population. The current standardized treatment for ischemic diseases is reperfusion therapy through pharmacotherapy and surgical approaches. Although reperfusion therapy may restore the function of damaged arteries, it is not effective at restoring the function of the surrounding tissues that have been damaged due to ischemia. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a new treatment strategy that can safely and effectively treat ischemic damage and restore the function of surrounding tissues. To overcome these limitations, stem cell-based therapy to regenerate the damaged region has been studied as a promising strategy for ischemic vascular diseases. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be isolated from diverse tissues and have been shown to be promising for the treatment of ischemic disease by regenerating damaged tissues through immunomodulation, the promotion of angiogenesis, and the secretion of various relevant factors. Moreover, new approaches to enhancing MSC function, such as cell priming or enhancing transplantation efficiency using a 3D culture method, have been studied to increase stem cell therapeutic efficacy. In this review, we provide various strategies by which MSCs are used to treat ischemic diseases, and we discuss the challenges of MSC transplantation, such as the differentiation, proliferation, and engraftment of MSCs at the ischemic site.

• Land and Housing Review
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.93-106
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• 2022

Ventilation plays an important role in controlling indoor air quality. Due to the recent spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and with people spending more time indoors, there's been increased attention on the importance of ventilation performance. In many countries, ventilation is regulated by airflow rates and the number of air changes per hour (ACH). However, airflow rates and ACH alone do not provide an accurate account of actual indoor pollutant removal and ventilation uniformity in a space. This study looked into the ventilation performance of an actual residential unit using several sampling points instead of basing it off of airflow and air change rates. Literature review was used to derive relevant influencing factors and the tracer gas dilution method was used for the field test. The study measured air velocity, age of air, and ventilation efficiency at several locations and compared them to the average value at the center of the test space to determine the differences in ventilation performance at the selected measurement points. The study showed that different sampling locations resulted in different ventilation values. Findings of this study will be used to develop an experimental procedure for evaluating indoor ventilation performance of actual residential spaces.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.55-74
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• 2021

The role of container ports contributes greatly to international trade and national or regional economic development by supporting maritime transportation and occupies a central position in the supply chain connecting sea and land. The performance(traffic volume) of a port generally depends on geographic, economic, and operational factors etc. For the past several decades, container port volumes have grown with fluctuation. This study amis to analyze how global ports have undergone changes in terms of cargo volume by region, size and period. For the analysis, only the volumes of global top 100 ports were used. Shift-share analysis and BCG matrix analysis were employed as methodologies. According to the result of the analysis, the relative volatility of port traffic over the past 16 years as a whole was found to be limited. On the other hand, ports in China and Southeast and Southwest Asia, which are economically growing for the last decades, showed growing trends, while ports in Northeast Asia and Europe appeared to be in a stagnant or declining phase. It also shows that most of the global ports maintain limited changes in cargo volume because they are already positioned as central ports in the region. In addition, it can be seen that the global port volume has a close relationship with the change in the economic capability of the relevant region or country.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.9
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• pp.349-359
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• 2022

At present, with the diversified development of the global economy, the trade of cultural products has become an important factor affecting the competition of comprehensive strength among countries. As a neighboring country to China, South Korea has a similar cultural development environment to China. As an important pillar of South Korea's economy, cultural product trade, its development experience has reference significance for China. This paper adopts literature research method, comparative analysis method and empirical analysis method to conduct research. The article firstly analyzes the export level of China and South Korea from the scale of the import and export of cultural products, and finds the difference between the import and export of cultural products between the two countries. Then, it compares and analyzes the insufficiency of China's cultural product trade structure and the advantage of Korea's cultural product trade structure. Finally, this paper uses the stochastic frontier gravity model to conduct empirical analysis and draws relevant conclusions about the trade potential of cultural products between China and South Korea. The research results show that: (1) the international competitiveness of cultural products trade in China and South Korea is relatively high, but the competitiveness of China's cultural products has been improved slowly; (2) compared with South Korea, China's cultural product exports are affected by trade inefficiency factors larger. (3) The improvement of government efficiency has a great effect on reducing the inefficiency of trade in China.

• Journal of the Korean Regional Science Association
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.31-44
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• 2022

This study was conducted with the aim of confirming the relevance and effect of the characteristics of the cities and cities in the neighborhood area, focusing on the sale price per square meter of apartment. Specifically, it was intended to determine whether cities in the relevant city and neighborhood area have differential characteristics between the metropolitan area and the non-metropolitan area, whether industrial characteristics, urban planning and development project characteristics, and location characteristics. Comparing the research results of the city and metropolitan area, it was found that there was a correlation in all areas of population characteristics. Industrial and urban planning projects and development project characteristics sectors are not significant in the city, but they appear significant when analyzed in the urban area of the year. When classifying and analyzing the metropolitan area and the non-metropolitan area, both the metropolitan area and the non-metropolitan area were significant in the population sector, and only the distance from Gangnam-gu was significant in the local sector. Since the population is concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area now, the sale price per square meter of apartments is also concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, which is believed to result in such a result. This is judged to be an analysis that appears because the characteristics of the developable status of the metropolitan area and the non-metropolitan area are different. Accordingly, this study shows that the characteristics of neighboring areas as well as the city should be analyzed when analyzing the factors affecting the sale price per square meter of apartment, and suggests that housing market monitoring needs to be carried out together.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.154-161
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• 2022

The carbon-neutrality induced by the global warming is important for the modern society. Hydrogen has been received the attention as a new energy source to replace the fossil fuels. Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, which convert the chemical reaction energy of hydrogen into electric power directly, are a type of eco-friendly power for future vehicles. Due to the sluggish oxygen reduction reaction and costly Pt catalyst in the cathode, the research related to the replacement of Pt-based catalysts has been vitally carried out. In this case, however, the performance is significantly different from each other and a variety of factors have existed. In this review paper, we rearrange and summarize relevant papers published within 5 years approximately. The selection of precursors, synthesis method, and co-catalyst are represented as a core factor, while the necessity of research for the further enhancement of activity may be raised. It can be anticipated to contribute to the replacement of precious metal catalysts in the various fields of study. The final objective of the future research is depicted in detail.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.51-59
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• 2023

The Nakdong river is both a natural resource crucial to underwater ecosystems and a water source for its basin's residents. Industrial wastewater and domestic sewage must meet the relevant standards for discharged water before they can flow into the river. The correlation between old and new measures of organic matter was examined using water quality data from 50 monitoring locations in the main stream of the Nakdong river. The coefficient of determination (R²) for total organic carbon (TOC), the new measure of organic matter, and chemical oxygen demand (COD), the old measure of organic matter, in the main stream of the Nakdong river was 0.6134, indicating high correlation. Water quality at each location assessed using TOC and COD showed disparities that cannot be ignored: quality appeared higher when evaluating the main stream of the Nakdong river using TOC instead of COD. Therefore, there remains a need to review water quality ratings based on TOC; continuous monitoring of COD is also required. In addition, the cause of the difference should be clearly identified to help assess artificial sources of pollution and natural factors affecting organic matter. Water management of the Nakdong river will then be possible using the water quality rating.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.107-145
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• 2023

The first edition of 'A Standardized Pathology Report for Gastric Cancer' was initiated by the Gastrointestinal Pathology Study Group of the Korean Society of Pathologists and published 17 years ago. Since then, significant advances have been made in the pathologic diagnosis, molecular genetics, and management of gastric cancer (GC). To reflect those changes, a committee for publishing a second edition of the report was formed within the Gastrointestinal Pathology Study Group of the Korean Society of Pathologists. This second edition consists of two parts: standard data elements and conditional data elements. The standard data elements contain the basic pathologic findings and items necessary to predict the prognosis of GC patients, and they are adequate for routine surgical pathology service. Other diagnostic and prognostic factors relevant to adjuvant therapy, including molecular biomarkers, are classified as conditional data elements to allow each pathologist to selectively choose items appropriate to the environment in their institution. We trust that the standardized pathology report will be helpful for GC diagnosis and facilitate large-scale multidisciplinary collaborative studies.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2010.05a
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• pp.48-48
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• 2010

Sound quality and NVH-issues(Noise, Vibration and Harshness) of vehicles has become very important for car manufacturers. It is interpreted as among the most relevant factors regarding perceived product quality, and is important in gaining market advantage. The general sound quality of vehicles was gradually improved over the years. However, today the development cycles in the automotive industry are constantly reduced to meet the customers' demands and to react quickly to market needs. In addition, new drive and fuel concepts, tightened ecological specifications, increase of vehicle classes and increasing diversification(increasing market for niche vehicles), etc. challenge the acoustic engineers trying to develop a pleasant, adequate, harmonious passenger cabin sound. Another aspect concerns the general pressure for reducing emission and fuel consumption, which lead to vehicle weight reductions through material changes also resulting in new noise and vibration conflicts. Furthermore, in the context of alternative powertrains and engine concepts, the new objective is to detect and implement the vehicle sound, tailored to suit the auditory expectations and needs of the target group. New questions must be answered: What are appropriate sounds for hybrid or electric vehicles? How are new vehicle sounds perceived and judged? How can customer-oriented, client-specific target sounds be determined? Which sounds are needed to fulfil the driving task, and so on? Thus, advanced methods and tools are necessary which cope with the increasing complexity of NVH-problems and conflicts and at the same time which cope with the growing expectations regarding the acoustical comfort. Moreover, it is exceedingly important to have already detailed and reliable information about NVH-issues in early design phases to guarantee high quality standards. This requires the use of sophisticated simulation techniques, which allow for the virtual construction and testing of subsystems and/or the whole car in early development stages. The virtual, testing is very important especially with respect to alternative drive concepts(hybrid cars, electric cars, hydrogen fuel cell cars), where complete new NVH-problems and challenges occur which have to be adequately managed right from the beginning. In this context, it is important to mention that the challenge is that all noise contributions from different sources lead to a harmonious, well-balanced overall sound. The optimization of single sources alone does not automatically result in an ideal overall vehicle sound. The paper highlights modern and innovative NVH measurement technologies as well as presents solutions of recent NVH tasks and challenges. Furthermore, future prospects and developments in the field of automotive acoustics are considered and discussed.