• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.181-188
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• 2013

The increase of carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) emission is known as one of the major causes of global warming, and it has a strong influence on the global environment. Therefore many researchers and politicians have tried to regulate the $CO_2$ emission. In regards to the matter, the IMPACT (Inclusive Marine Pressure Assesment and Classification Technology) committee under the Japan Society of Naval Architects and Ocean Engineers (JASNAOE) has developed an inclusive environmental impact assessment index, so-called "Triple I(III)", in order to assess the environmental impact including economic factors due to the artificial development of marine. In this study, III was applied to compare between the environmental impact of $CO_2$ emitted by container vessels during their life-cycle period and economic benefit due to their operating. Furthermore, III was also applied to assess the comprehensive environmental impact for the cases with various capacities of container vessels and different sailing route. From the results, the case for shortening of the sailing route is more effective to get the advantageous assessment results of III than the case for varying the size of vessels.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.63 no.5
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• pp.566-578
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• 2020

Objective : Radiation is known to induce autophagy in malignant glioma cells whether it is cytocidal or cytoprotective. Dexamethasone is frequently used to reduce tumor-associated brain edema, especially during radiation therapy. The purpose of the study was to determine whether and how dexamethasone affects autophagy in irradiated malignant glioma cells and to identify possible intervening molecular pathways. Methods : We prepared p53 mutant U373 and LN229 glioma cell lines, which varied by phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) mutational status and were used to make U373 stable transfected cells expressing GFP-LC3 protein. After performing cell survival assay after irradiation, the IC₅₀ radiation dose was determined. Dexamethasone dose (10 μM) was determined from the literature and added to the glioma cells 24 hours before the irradiation. The effect of adding dexamethasone was evaluated by cell survival assay or clonogenic assay and cell cycle analysis. Measurement of autophagy was visualized by western blot of LC3-I/LC3-II and quantified by the GFP-LC3 punctuated pattern under fluorescence microscopy and acridine orange staining for acidic vesicle organelles by flow cytometry. Results : Dexamethasone increased cell survival in both U373 and LN229 cells after irradiation. It interfered with autophagy after irradiation differently depending on the PTEN mutational status : the autophagy decreased in U373 (PTEN-mutated) cells but increased in LN229 (PTEN wild-type) cells. Inhibition of protein kinase B (AKT) phosphorylation after irradiation by LY294002 reversed the dexamethasone-induced decrease of autophagy and cell death in U373 cells but provoked no effect on both autophagy and cell survival in LN229 cells. After ATG5 knockdown, radiation-induced autophagy decreased and the effect of dexamethasone also diminished in both cell lines. The diminished autophagy resulted in a partial reversal of dexamethasone protection from cell death after irradiation in U373 cells; however, no significant change was observed in surviving fraction LN229 cells. Conclusion : Dexamethasone increased cell survival in p53 mutated malignant glioma cells and increased autophagy in PTEN-mutant malignant glioma cell but not in PTEN-wildtype cell. The difference of autophagy response could be mediated though the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.50-57
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• 2018

Millettia erythrocalyx, a species of plant in the Fabaceae family, is widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, such as the Indies, China, and Thailand. The antiviral activity of flavonoids from M. erythrocalyx has been reported; however, the antioxidative and anticancer activities of M. erythrocalyx remain unclear. In this study, we evaluated the antioxidative and anticancer effects of ethanol extract of M. erythrocalyx (EEME) and the molecular mechanism of its anticancer activity in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells. EEME exhibited significant antioxidative effects, with a concentration at 50% inhibition ($IC_{50}$) value of $2.74{\mu}g/ml$, as measured by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay; moreover, it inhibited cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner in HepG2 cells. Cell cycle analyses showed that EEME induced HepG2 cell accumulation in the subG1 phase in a dose-dependent manner. EEME also induced apoptosis of HepG2 cells, with increases in apoptotic cells and apoptotic bodies, as detected by Annexin V and 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining, respectively. Treatment with EEME resulted in increased expression of First apoptosis signal (Fas), a death receptor, and Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax), a proapoptotic protein, and the activation of caspase-3, 8, and 9, resulting in the cleavage of poly (Adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase (PARP). Collectively, these results suggest that EEME may exert an anticancer effect in HepG2 cells by inducing apoptosis via both the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.6191-6196
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• 2012

Aims and Background: Traditional chemotherapy strategies for human leukemia commonly use drugs based on cytotoxicity to eradicate cancer cells. One predicament is that substantial damage to normal tissues is likely to occur in the course of standard treatments. Obviously, it is urgent to explore therapies that can effectively eliminate malignant cells without affecting normal cells. Our previous studies indicated that ginsenoside $Rg_1$ ($Rg_1$), a major active pharmacological ingredient of ginseng, could delay normal hematopoietic stem cell senescence. However, whether $Rg_1$ can induce cancer cell senescence is still unclear. Methods: In the current study, human leukemia K562 cells were subjected to $Rg_1$ exposure. The optimal drug concentration and duration with K562 cells was obtained by MTT colorimetric test. Effects of $Rg_1$ on cell cycle were analyzed using flow cytometry and by SA-${\beta}$-Gal staining. Colony-forming ability was measured by colony-assay. Telomere lengths were assessed by Southern blotting and expression of senescence-associated proteins P21, P16 and RB by Western blotting. Ultrastructural morphology changes were observed by transmission electron microscopy. Results: K562 cells demonstrated a maximum proliferation inhibition rate with an $Rg_1$ concentration of $20{\mu}\;mol{\cdot}L^{-1}$ for 48h, the cells exhibiting dramatic morphological alterations including an enlarged and flat cellular morphology, larger mitochondria and increased number of lysosomes. Senescence associated-${\beta}$-galactosidase (SA-${\beta}$-Gal) activity was increased. K562 cells also had decreased ability for colony formation, and shortened telomere length as well as reduction of proliferating potential and arrestin $G_2$/M phase after $Rg_1$ interaction. The senescence associated proteins P21, P16 and RB were significantly up-regulated. Conclusion: Ginsenoside $Rg_1$ can induce a state of senescence in human leukemia K562 cells, which is associated with p21-Rb and p16-Rb pathways.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.98 no.2
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• pp.183-188
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• 2009

It is necessary to determine the amount of carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) absorbed by plants and released from forest floor into atmosphere, to gain a better understanding how forests participate in the global carbon cycle. Soil $CO_2$ efflux, litter production, and decomposition were investigated in Q. variabilis and P. densiflora stands in the vicinity of Gwangju, Chonnam province. Soil $CO_2$ efflux was measured using Infrared Gas Analyzer (IRGA) at midday of the 10th day at every month over 12-month period, to quantify seasonal and annual budgets of soil $CO_2$ efflux. Soil temperature and soil moisture were measured at the same time. Seasonal soil $CO_2$ efflux in Q. variabilis and P. densiflora were the highest in summer season. In August, maximum soil $CO_2$ efflux in Q. variabilis and P. densiflora was 7.49, $4.61CO_2{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$, respectively. Annual $CO_2$ efflux in each stand was 1.77, $1.67CO_2kg{\cdot}m^{-2}$ respectively. Soil $CO_2$ efflux increased exponentially with soil temperature and related strongly in Q. variabilis ($r^2$=0.96), and in P. densiflora ($r^2$=0.91). Litter production continued throughout the year, but showed a peak on November and December. Annual litter production in the Q. variabilis and P. densiflora stands were $613.7gdw{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}yr^{-1}$ and $550.5gdw{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}yr^{-1}$.$yr^{-1}$, respectively. After 1 year, % remaining mass of Q. variabilis and P. densiflora litter was 48.2, 57.1%, respectively. The soil $CO_2$ efflux rates in this study showed clear seasonal variations. In addition, the temporal variation in the $CO_2$ efflux rates was closely related to the soil temperature fluctuation rather than to variations in the soil moisture content. The range of fluctuation of soil $CO_2$ efflux and litter decomposition rate showed similar seasonal changes. The range of fluctuation of soil $CO_2$ efflux and litter decomposition rate was higher during summer and autumn than spring and winter.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.21-29
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• 2004

The growth of water resources engineering associated with stable supply, management, development is essential to overcome the coming water deficit of our country. Large scale remote sensing and the analysis of sub-pixel variability of soil moisture fields are necessary in order to understand water cycle and to develop appropriate hydrologic model. The target resolution of coming Global monitoring of soil moisture field is about 10km which is not appropriate for the regional scale hydrologic model. Therefore, we need a downscaling scheme to generate hydrologic variables which are suitable for the regional hydrologic model. The results of the analysis of sub-pixel soil moisture variability show that the relationship between ancillary data and soil moisture fields shows there is very weak linear relationship. A downscaling scheme was developed using physically-based classification scheme and Neural Networks which are able to link the nonlinear relationship between ancillary data and soil moisture fields. The model is demonstrated by downscaling soil moisture fields from 4km to 0.2km resolution using remotely-sensed data from the Washita'92 experiment.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.1001-1007
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• 2004

Chloroform layer from methanol extract of Corni fructus (Cornaceae) showed strong antiproliferation effect on human cancer cell lines by SRB assay. Anticarcinogenic-active compound was isolated and purified by silica gel column and thin layer chromatograpies, and identified as ursolic acid ($3{\beta}$-hydroxyrus-12-ene-28-oic acid, MW:456) by mass and IR spectrophotometries, and $^1H-and\;^{13}C-NMRs$. The compound inhibited proliferation of A549 (human lung cancer cell line) and MCF-7 (human breast cancer cell line) cells in dose-dependant manner when treated for 48 hr. Inhibition rates of both cells were over 40% and 90% compared with control cells at the $30\;{\mu}g/mL\;and\;100\;{\mu}g/mL$, respectively. Morphology of cells treated with the compound for 15 hr at $10\;{\mu}g/mL$ was distorted with shrinked cell mass, and cell number was lower than that of control cells. Cell cycle analysis showed sub-G1 phase arrest in both cell lines following 15 hr exposure to the compound; % of cell phase increased to 11.7 and 11.2% compared to the control of 4.0% and 2.1% in A549 and MCP-7 cells, respectively.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.653-658
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• 2016

In this work, we developed a synthetic method for preparing one-dimensional $MnO_2$ nanowires through a hydrothermal method using a mixture of $KMnO_4$ and $MnSO_4$ precursors. As-prepared $MnO_2$ nanowires had a high surface area and porous structure, which are beneficial to the fast electron and ion transfer during electrochemical reaction. The microstructure and chemical structure of $MnO_2$ nanowires were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller measurements. The electrochemical properties of $MnO_2$ nanowire electrodes were also investigated using cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge with a three-electrode system. $MnO_2$ nanowire electrodes showed a high specific capacitance of 129 F/g, a high rate capability of 61% retention, and an excellent cycle life of 100% during 1000 cycles.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.13-19
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• 2005

The radio-sensitivity of pathogens and the effect of irradiation on microbiologican safety and mutagenicity of meat products such as seasoned and cooked beef and ham were investigated. Samples were radiation-sterilized and inoculated at 10/sup 7/ cfu/g with each of the four pathogens including Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli, Staphylcoccus aureus, and Listeria ivanovii. No viable cells of pathogens were observed in the sample irradiated with 3 kGy. The D/sub 10/ value of inoculated pathogens in seasoned and cooked beef and ham were 0.24∼0.48 and 0.39∼0.45, respectively. Results of Ames test performed with non-irradiated and irradiated seasoned and cooked beef and ham were both negative at the level of 625, 1,250, 2,500, 50,000, and! 10,000 ㎍ sample/plate, respectively. Results indicate that low dose (2∼3 kGy) irradiation is effective to ensure safety for seasoned and cooked beef and ham with toxicological wholesomeness.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SP
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• v.43 no.4 s.310
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• pp.55-65
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• 2006

Most of fast block motion estimation algorithms reported so far in literatures aim to reduce the computation in terms of the number of search points, thus do not fit well with multimedia processors due to their irregular data flow. For multimedia processors, proper reuse of data is more important than reducing number of absolute difference operations because the execution cycle performance strongly depends on the number of off-chip memory access. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a Hexagon-shape line search (HEXSLS) algorithm using line search pattern which can increase data reuse from on-chip local buffer, and check sub-sampling points in line search pattern to reduce unnecessary SAD operation. Our experimental results show that the prediction error (MAE) performance of the proposed HEXSLS is similar to that of the full search block matching algorithm (FSBMA), while compared with the hexagon-based search (HEXBS), the HEXSLS outperforms. Also the proposed HEXSLS requires much lesser off-chip memory access than the conventional fast motion estimation algorithm such as the hexagon-based search (HEXBS) and the predictive line search (PLS). As a result, the proposed HEXSLS algorithm requires smaller number of execution cycles on media processor.