• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.548-555
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• 2017

Background: Korean Red Ginseng has been used for several decades to treat many diseases, enhancing both immunity and physical strength. Previous studies have documented the therapeutic effects of ginseng, including its anticancer, antiaging, and anti-inflammatory activities. These activities are mediated by ginsenosides present in the ginseng plant. Ginsenoside Rg3, an effective compound from red ginseng, has been shown to have antiplatelet activity in addition to its anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities. Platelets are important for both primary hemostasis and the repair of the vessels after injury; however, they also play a crucial role in the development of acute coronary diseases. We prepared ginsenoside Rg3-enriched red ginseng extract (Rg3-RGE) to examine its role in platelet physiology. Methods: To examine the effect of Rg3-RGE on platelet activation in vitro, platelet aggregation, granule secretion, intracellular calcium ($[Ca^{2+}]_i$) mobilization, flow cytometry, and immunoblot analysis were carried out using rat platelets. To examine the effect of Rg3-RGE on platelet activation in vivo, a collagen plus epinephrine-induced acute pulmonary thromboembolism mouse model was used. Results: We found that Rg3-RGE significantly inhibited collagen-induced platelet aggregation and $[Ca^{2+}]_i$ mobilization in a dose-dependent manner in addition to reducing ATP release from collagen-stimulated platelets. Furthermore, using immunoblot analysis, we found that Rg3-RGE markedly suppressed mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation (i.e., extracellular stimuli-responsive kinase, Jun N-terminal kinase, p38) as well as the PI3K (phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase)/Akt pathway. Moreover, Rg3-RGE effectively reduced collagen plus epinephrine-induced mortality in mice. Conclusion: These data suggest that ginsenoside Rg3-RGE could be potentially be used as an antiplatelet therapeutic agent against platelet-mediated cardiovascular disorders.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.405-418
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• 2007

Mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs) have been though to be multipotent cells that can replicate that have the potential to differentiate into lineages of mesenchymal tissue including the bone, cartilage, fat, tendon, muscle, and marrow stroma. Especially, scaffolds to support cell-based tissue engineering are critical determinants of clinical efforts to regenerate and repair the body. Selection of a matrix carrier imvolves consideration of the matrix's role as a scaffold for physical support and host tissue integration as well as its ability to support of synergize the osteoinductive program of the implanted mesenchymal stem cell. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of autobone and Bio-$Oss^{(R)}$ to adherent mesenchymal stem cells as scaffolds on sinus augmentation with fibrin glue mixture in a rabbit model. 16 New Zealand White rabbits were divided randomly into 4 groups based on their time of sacrifice(1, 2, 4 and 8 weeks). First, mesenchymal stem cells were isolated from iliac crest marrow of rabbits and expanded in vitro. Cell culture was performed in accordance with the technique described by Tsutsumi et al. In the present study, the animals were sacrificed at 1, 2, 4 and 8 weeks after transplantation, and the bone formation ability of each sides was evaluated clinically, radiologically, histologically and histomorphologically. According to the histological observations, autobone scaffolds group showed integrated graft bone with host bone from sinus wall. At 2 and 4 weeks, it showed active newly formed bone and neovascularization. At 8 weeks, lamellae bone was observed in sinus graft material area. Radiologically, autobone with stem cell showed more radiopaque than Bio-$Oss^{(R)}$ scaffolds group. there were significant differences in bone volume between 4 and 8 weeks(p<0.05).

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.1140-1147
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• 2016

The plasma and serum of Crocodylus siamensis have previously been reported to exhibit potent antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities. During wound healing, these biological properties play a crucial role for supporting the formation of new tissue around the injured skin in the recovery process. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the wound healing properties of C. siamensis plasma and serum. The collected data demonstrate that crocodile plasma and serum were able to activate in vitro proliferation and migration of HaCaT, a human keratinocyte cell line, which represents an essential phase in the wound healing process. With respect to investigating cell migration, a scratch wound experiment was performed which revealed the ability of plasma and serum to decrease the gap of wounds in a dose-dependent manner. Consistent with the in vitro results, remarkably enhanced wound repair was also observed in a mouse excisional skin wound model after treatment with plasma or serum. The effects of C. siamensis plasma and serum on wound healing were further elucidated by treating wound infections by Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 on mice skin coupled with a histological method. The results indicate that crocodile plasma and serum promote the prevention of wound infection and boost the re-epithelialization necessary for the formation of new skin. Therefore, this work represents the first study to demonstrate the efficiency of C. siamensis plasma and serum with respect to their wound healing properties and strongly supports the utilization of C. siamensis plasma and serum as therapeutic products for injured skin treatment.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.401-411
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• 2015

This study was performed to investigate the wound healing effect of skin regeneration cosmetics utilizing low molecular weight Polydeoxynucleotide (PDRN). High purity PDRN was prepared from salmon testes poly-deoxy-ribonucleotide through protein and toxin removal process and molecular weight reduction. In order to evaluate the wound healing effect of PDRN in SD rats, 4 sites of dorsal skin of each animal were excised by using biopsy punch and $500{\mu}L$ of test solution was topically applied once daily for 4 weeks. The tissue changes were observed for every week during the application periods. After applying the PDRN to the wound, the skin was cut flower and contraction of the wounds more quickly, and the coating of PDRN in the wound area was reduced significantly as compared to the positive control group $Fucidin^{(R)}$ applied. The microscopic observation of stained tissue showed that a positive control was most rapid in re-epithelialization ability followed by the PH group, PDRN group, HA group. In addition, transforming growth factor ($TGF-{\beta}$) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), such as in the growth factor was similar to the results of staining of tissue lesions. In conclusion, it is determined that the low molecular weight PDRN has the therapeutic effect to the wound, and could be used as a functional material of cosmetics and medical industries.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.94-101
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• 2019

Most of the existing rail structures have undergone a lot of aging since a considerable period of time has passed from completion. In particular, among existing railway bridges, many of the plate girder bridges are older bridges that have lived 40 to 60 years or more. Since the treadmill is directly connected to the girder without the ballast, the running load of the vehicle is directly transmitted to the bridge. Therefore, the shock and noise applied to the bridge are larger than those of the ballast bridge, and the dynamic shock and vibration are also relatively large. Therefore, it is very urgent to develop appropriate maintenance, repair and reinforcement technology for existing steel plate bridge. In this study, the authors introduced the characteristics of embedded rail (ERS) developed for improving the performance of the existing plate girder bridge and the techniques solving the vibration and noise problems. In order to evaluate the vibration and noise reduction performance of ERS, a non-ballast plate girder bridge with 5m length of sleepers installed and a plate girder bridge with ERS were fabricated. And, then, the vibration response generated under the same excitation condition was measured and analyzed. Also, the radiated noise analysis was performed using the vibration response data obtained from the experiment as the input data of the acoustic analysis model. As a result of experiments and analyses, it was confirmed that the plate girder bridge's vibration using ERS was reduced by 15.0~18.8dB and the average noise was reduced by 7.7dB(A) more than the non-ballast bridge.

• Journal of the Korea Society for Simulation
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.23-34
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• 2009

In the railroad rolling stock depot, long-term maintenance tasks is done regularly every two or four year basis to maintain the functionality of equipments and rolling stock body or for the repair operation of the heavily damaged rolling stocks by fatal accidents. This paper addresses the computer simulation model building for the rolling stock maintenance shop for the CDC(Commuter Diesel Car) and Generator Car planned to be constructed at Daejon Rolling Stock Depot, which will be moved from Yongsan Rolling Stock Depot. We evaluated the processing capacity of two layout design alternatives based on the maintenance process chart through the developed simulation models. The performance measures are the number of processed cars per year, the cycle time, shop utilization, work in process and the average number waiting car for input. The simulation result shows that one design alternative outperforms another design alternative in every aspect and superior design alternative can process total 340 number of trains per year 15% more than the proposed target within the current average cycle time.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.189-200
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• 2022

Ground subsidence on urban roads is a social issue that can lead to human and property damages. Therefore, it is crucial to detect underground cavities in advance and repair them. Underground cavity detection is mainly performed using ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys. This process is time-consuming, as a massive amount of GPR data needs to be interpreted, and the results vary depending on the skills and subjectivity of experts. To address these problems, researchers have studied automation and quantification techniques for GPR data interpretation, and recent studies have focused on deep learning-based interpretation techniques. In this study, we described a hyperbolic event detection process based on deep learning for GPR data interpretation. To demonstrate this process, we implemented a series of algorithms introduced in the preexisting research step by step. First, a deep learning-based YOLOv3 object detection model was applied to automatically detect hyperbolic signals. Subsequently, only hyperbolic signals were extracted using the column-connection clustering (C3) algorithm. Finally, the horizontal locations of the underground cavities were determined using regression analysis. The hyperbolic event detection using the YOLOv3 object detection technique achieved 84% precision and a recall score of 92% based on AP50. The predicted horizontal locations of the four underground cavities were approximately 0.12 ~ 0.36 m away from their actual locations. Thus, we confirmed that the existing deep learning-based interpretation technique is reliable with regard to detecting the hyperbolic patterns indicating underground cavities.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.102-110
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• 2023

PSC-I girder bridges constitute the largest proportion among highway bridges in Korea. According to the precision safety diagnosis data for the past 10 years, approximately 41.3% of the PSC-I bridges have been graded as C. Furthermore, with the increase in the aging of bridges, preemptive management is becoming more important. Damage and deterioration to the deck and girder with a long replacement cylce can have considerable impacts on the service and deterioration of a bridge. In addition, the high rate of device damages, including expansion joints and bearings, necessitates an investigation into the influence of the device damage in the structural members of the bridge. Therefore, this study defined representative PSC-I girder bridges with single and multiple spans to evaluate heterogeneous damages that incorporate the damage of the bridge member and device with the deterioration of the deck. The heterogeneous damages increased a crack area ratio compared to the individual single damage. For the single-span bridge, the occurrence of bearing damage leads to the spread of crack distribution in the girder, and in the case of multi-span bridges, expansion joint damage leads to the spread of crack distribution in the deck. The research underscores that bridge devices, when damaged, can cause subsequent secondary damage due to improper repair and replacement, which emphasizes the need for continuous observation and responsive action to the damages of the main devices.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.113-119
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• 2023

Most infrastructure structures were completed during periods of economic growth. The number of infrastructure structures reaching their lifespan is increasing, and the proportion of old structures is gradually increasing. The functions and performance of these structures at the time of design may deteriorate and may even lead to safety accidents. To prevent this repercussion, accurate inspection and appropriate repair are requisite. To this end, demand is increasing for computer vision and deep learning technology to accurately detect even minute cracks. However, deep learning algorithms require a large number of training data. In particular, label images indicating the location of cracks in the image are required. To secure a large number of those label images, a lot of labor and time are consumed. To reduce these costs as well as increase detection accuracy, this study proposed a learning structure based on mean teacher method. This learning structure was trained on a dataset of 900 labeled image dataset and 3000 unlabeled image dataset. The crack detection network model was evaluated on over 300 labeled image dataset, and the detection accuracy recorded a mean intersection over union of 89.23% and an F1 score of 89.12%. Through this experiment, it was confirmed that detection performance was improved compared to supervised learning. It is expected that this proposed method will be used in the future to reduce the cost required to secure label images.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.375-395
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• 2006

Purpose: Lingual nerve (LN) damage may be caused by either tumor resection or injury such as wisdom tooth extraction, Although autologous nerve graft is sometimes used to repair the damaged nerve, it has the disadvantage of necessity of another operation for nerve harvesting. Moreover, the results of nerve grafting is not satisfactory. The nerve growth factor (NGF) is well-known to play a critical role in peripheral nerve regeneration and its local delivery to the injured nerve has been continuously tried to enhance nerve regeneration. However, its application has limitations like repeated administration due to short half life of 30 minutes and an in vivo delivery model must allow for direct and local delivery. The aim of this study was to construct a well-functioning $rhNGF-{\beta}$ adenovirus for the ultimate development of improved method to promote peripheral nerve regeneration with enhanced and extended secretion of hNGF from the injured nerve by injecting $rhNGF-{\beta}$ gene directly into crush-injured LN in rat model. Materials and Methods: $hNGF-{\beta}$ gene was prepared from fetal brain cDNA library and cloned into E1/E3 deleted adenoviral vector which contains green fluorescence protein (GFP) gene as a reporter. After large scale production and purification of $rhNGF-{\beta}$ adenovirus, transfection efficiency and its expression at various cells (primary cultured Schwann cells, HEK293 cells, Schwann cell lines, NIH3T3 and CRH cells) were evaluated by fluorescent microscopy, RT-PCR, ELISA, immunocytochemistry. Furthermore, the function of rhNGF-beta, which was secreted from various cells infected with $rhNGF-{\beta}$ adenovirus, was evaluated using neuritogenesis of PC-12 cells. For in vivo evaluation of efficacy of $rhNGF-{\beta}$ adenovirus, the LNs of 8-week old rats were exposed and crush-injured with a small hemostat for 10 seconds. After the injury, $rhNGF-{\beta}$ adenovirus($2{\mu}l,\;1.5{\times}10^{11}pfu$) or saline was administered into the crushed site in the experimental (n=24) and the control group (n=24), respectively. Sham operation of another group of rats (n=9) was performed without administration of either saline or adenovirus. The taste recovery and the change of fungiform papilla were studied at 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks. Each of the 6 animals was tested with different solutions (0.1M NaCl, 0.1M sucrose, 0.01M QHCl, or 0.01M HCl) by two-bottle test paradigm and the number of papilla was counted using SEM picture of tongue dorsum. LN was explored at the same interval as taste study and evaluated electro-physiologically (peak voltage and nerve conduction velocity) and histomorphometrically (axon count, myelin thickness). Results: The recombinant adenovirus vector carrying $rhNGF-{\beta}$ was constructed and confirmed by restriction endonuclease analysis and DNA sequence analysis. GFP expression was observed in 90% of $rhNGF-{\beta}$ adenovirus infected cells compared with uninfected cells. Total mRNA isolated from $rhNGF-{\beta}$ adenovirus infected cells showed strong RT-PCR band, however uninfected or LacZ recombinant adenovirus infected cells did not. NGF quantification by ELISA showed a maximal release of $18865.4{\pm}310.9pg/ml$ NGF at the 4th day and stably continued till 14 days by $rhNGF-{\beta}$ adenovirus infected Schwann cells. PC-12 cells exposed to media with $rhNGF-{\beta}$ adenovirus infected Schwann cell revealed at the same level of neurite-extension as the commercial NGF did. $rhNGF-{\beta}$ adenovirus injected experimental groups in comparison to the control group exhibited different taste preference ratio. Salty, sweet and sour taste preference ratio were significantly different after 2 weeks from the beginning of the experiment, which were similar to the sham group, but not to the control group.