• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.478-484
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• 2012

This study was carried out to investigate the plant growth and ion absorbance balance of various native plants affected by the NaCl concentration (0, 100, 200, 300 mM). Carex blepharicarpa, Carex lenta, Carex matsumarae, Carex sendaica, Iris pseudacorus L., Sedum oryzifolium Makino, Sedum polytrichoides Hemsl., and Typha angustifolia L. were used in this experiment. Carex blepharicarpa, Carex lenta, Carex matsumarae, and Iris pseudacorus L. were tolerant of salinity at the NaCl concentration of 200 mM. The root growth of Carex sendaica and Typha angustifolia L. was suppressed at the NaCl concentration of 100 mM, expecially the root growth responded more sensitively than the upper growth to salinity. The K absorbance of Carex sendaica decreased according to the NaCl application, and the Na/K rate value was 3 at the NaCl concentration of 300 mM. The K, Ca, and Mg absorbance of Typha angustifolia L. decreased at the NaCl concentration of 200~300 mM, and the Na/K rate value was 0.8 at the NaCl concentration of 300 mM. The plant growth of Sedum oryzifolium Makino and Sedum polytrichoides Hemsl. was suppressed at the NaCl concentration of 100~200 mM. The K, Ca, and Mg absorbance of Sedum oryzifolium Makino decreased at the NaCl concentration of 200~300 mM, and Sedum polytrichoides Hemsl. was unaffected by the NaCl application. The Na/K value was 1 in both plants. Therefore, Carex blepharicarpa, Carex lenta, Carex matsumarae, and Iris pseudacorus L. were tolerant plants of salinity at the NaCl concentration of 200 mM considering the plant growth and ion absorbance balance. Especially, the Carex plants were expected to expanding use by the proven tolerance of salinity. The root growth of Carex sendaica, Sedum oryzifolium Makino, Sedum polytrichoides Hemsl., and Typha angustifolia L., was suppressed at the NaCl concentration of 100 mM, but there was no distinct tendency of ion absorbance in leaves according to the NaCl application.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.172-180
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• 2007

Among the nuclear medicine imaging methods available today, $H_2^{15}O-PET$ is most widely used by cognitive neuroscientists to examine regional brain function via the measurement of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). The short half-life of the radioactively labeled probe, $^{15}O$, often allows repeated measures from the same subjects in many different task conditions. $H_2^{15}O-$ PET, however, has technical limitations relative to other methods of functional neuroimaging, e.g., fMRI, including relatively poor time and spatial resolutions, and, frequently, insufficient statistical power for analysis of individual subjects. However, recent technical developments, such as the 3-D acquisition method provide relatively good image quality with a smaller radioactive dosage, which in turn results in more PET scans from each individual, thus providing sufficient statistical power for the analysis of individual subject's data. Furthermore, the noise free scanner environment $H_2^{15}O$ PET, along with discrete acquisition of data for each task condition, are important advantages of PET over other functional imaging methods regarding studying state-dependent changes in brain activity. This review presents both the limitations and advantages of $^{15}O-PET$, and outlines the design of efficient PET protocols, using examples of recent PET studies both in the normal healthy population, and in the clinical population.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.69-78
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• 2009

Korea has achieved significant economic growth with building the Gyeongbu Expressway. As the number of new road construction projects has decreased, it becomes more important to maintain optimal status of the current road networks. One of the best ways to accomplish it is weight enforcement as active control measure of traffic load. This study is to develop High-speed Weigh-in-motion System in order to enhance efficiency of weight enforcement, and to analyze patterns of overloaded trucks on highways through the system. Furthermore, it is to review possibilities of developing overweight control system with application of the HS-WIM system. The HS-WIM system developed by this study consists of two sets of an axle load sensor, a loop sensor and a wandering sensor on each lane. A wandering sensor detects whether a travelling vehicle is off the lane or not with the function of checking the location of tire imprint. The sensor of the WIM system has better function of classifying types of vehicles than other existing systems by detecting wheel distance and tire type such as single or dual tire. As a result, its measurement errors regarding 12 types of vehicle classification are very low, which is an advantage of the sensor. The verification tests of the system under all conditions showed that the mean measurement errors of axle weight and gross axle weight were within 15 percent and 7 percent respectively. According to the WIM rate standard of the COST-323, the WIM system of this study is ranked at B(10). It means the system is appropriate for the purpose of design, maintenance and valuation of road infrastructure. The WIM system in testing a 5-axle cargo truck, the most frequently overloaded vehicle among 12 types of vehicles, is ranked at A(5) which means the system is available to control overloaded vehicles. In this case, the measurement errors of axle load and gross axle load were within 8 percent and 5 percent respectively. Weight analysis of all types of vehicles on highways showed that the most frequently overloaded vehicles were type 5, 6, 7 and 12 among 12 vehicle types. As a result, it is necessary to use more effective overweight enforcement system for vehicles which are seriously overloaded due to their lift axles. Traffic volume data depending upon vehicle types is basic information for road design and construction, maintenance, analysis of traffic flow, road policies as well as research.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.33-43
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• 2007

Because usually signal controllers on the crosswalks of mid-block provide pedestrian signals every cycle based on the fixed signal plan, pedestrian signals are provided even when there is no pedestrian demand. Consequently, signal is operated inefficiently and this may cause drivels to experience useless delay or violate the signal. Even though recently pushbuttons have been installed to improve the efficiency of pedestrian signal control in the crosswalks of mid-block and the pedestrian safety. they are not spread out national-wide in Korea because of the cost of the pushbutton equipments and the lack of an acknowledgement of the efficiency of the pushbutton. In this study, the effectiveness of the pushbutton on saving the vehicle delay was verified through before and after study in 4 study sites using a traffic micro-simulation model, VISSIM. To evaluate the viability of the pushbutton, a benefit/cost analysis was also performed for 4 study sites. It was found that B/C ratio of all of 4 study sites was greater than 1. The sensitivity analysis for the traffic volume and pedestrian volume were performed to identify the impact of the both volume on the operation of pushbutton. And, a benefit/cost analysis was performed for all scenarios. It was found that when the pedestrian volume is greater than 90ped/h, the pedestrian signal was operated same as the fixed signal plan. That is, there is no benefit of pushbutton at all once the pedestrian volume is greater than 90ped/h. When the pedestrian volume is equal to or less than 90ped/h and the traffic volume is greater than 2,500veh/h, B/C ratio is greater than 1. Also it was found that as traffic volume increases and pedestrian volume decreases, the benefit increases. In this study, the criteria for installation of pushbutton on the crosswalks of mid-block are developed through the sensitivity analysis and benefit/cost analysis. The results of this study may be used as a criteria for expansion of pushbutton system.

• Laboratory Medicine Online
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.13-19
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• 2017

Background: We evaluated a sensitive and quantitative method utilizing fragment analysis of the fms-like tyrosine kinase 3-internal tandem duplication (FLT3-ITD), simultaneously measuring mutant allele burden and length, and verified the analytical performance. Methods: The number and allelic burden of FLT3-ITD mutations was determined by fragment analysis. Serial mixtures of mutant and wild-type plasmid DNA were used to calculate the limit of detection of fragment analysis, conventional PCR, and Sanger sequencing. Specificity was evaluated using DNA samples derived from 50 normal donors. Results of fragment analysis were compared to those of conventional PCR, using 481 AML specimens. Results: Defined mixtures were consistently and accurately identified by fragment analysis at a 5% relative concentration of mutant to wild-type, and at 10% and 20% ratios by conventional PCR and direct sequencing, respectively. No false positivity was identified. Among 481 AML specimens, 40.1% (193/481) had FLT3-ITD mutations. The mutant allele burden (1.7-94.1%; median, 28.2%) and repeated length of the mutation (14-153 bp; median, 49 bp) were variable. The concordance rate between fragment analysis and conventional PCR was 97.7% (470/481). Fragment analysis was more sensitive than conventional PCR and detected 11 additional cases: seven had mutations below 10%, three cases represented conventional PCR failure, and one case showed false negativity because of short ITD length (14 bp). Conclusions: The new fragment analysis method proved to be sensitive and reliable for the detection and monitoring of FLT3-ITD in patients with AML. This could be used to simultaneously assess ITD mutant allele burden and length.

• Journal of Christian Education in Korea
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• v.67
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• pp.195-227
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• 2021

In a situation where it is difficult to plan face-to-face worship or assembly-type evangelism due to the continuation of the corona pandemic, it seems that evangelism is not a way to present the gospel, but to strengthen the gospel life. This is the era of evangelism as a spiritual care where the church can comfort those who are struggling and share the gospel naturally by accompanying them, and the time has come to set and practice various ministry directions that combine Christian education and counseling. At this time, this paper aims to analyze not only in the area of counseling, but also studies and papers on professional ministry through a convergence and complex approach between Christian education and counseling. This study focused on the papers on practical trials and cases. The research contents to be dealt with include the concept and understanding of counseling in Christian education, the application of counseling as various Christian education methods, and the development of programs necessary for the field. In addition, the purpose of this study is to analyze what kind of trend characteristics the subjects developed in advance show, what kind of trend characteristics research methodologies were used in the preceding studies, and what are the issues and tasks of Christian education and counseling based on the subject and method analysis. This study aims to analyze various influences on Korean society by meta-analyzing the discourse and issues of Christian education and counseling developed in the field of Christian education in Korea and suggest the convergence and direction of counseling in the field of Christian education in the future. First, many studies should be conducted to lay a systematic and clearer theoretical foundation for the convergence and complex approach of Christian education and counseling. Second, various studies on the understanding and psychological evaluation of learners based on psychology should be conducted. Finally, research on various counseling techniques should be conducted in Christian education counseling, and in particular, various studies on the application and practice of Christian education counseling using basic counseling theory should be conducted. The author also hope that studies on effectiveness verification based on utilization cases will be actively carried out to develop counseling programs that can help our neighbors who are struggling during the coronavirus era and provide direction for Christian education counseling.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.466-473
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• 2018

An analytical method of sodium polyacrylate in processed food products was developed and monitored by using size-exclusion chromatography. GF-7M HQ column and UV/VIS detector were selected based on peak shape and linearity. Flow rate, column oven temperature, and mobile phase were selected as 0.6 mL/min, $45^{\circ}C$, and 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer of pH 9.0, respectively. Samples for analysis of sodium polyacrylate were extracted with 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer of pH 7.0 for 3 hr at $20^{\circ}C$ and 150 rpm. Analytical method validation revealed proper selectivity and calibration curve was selected in the range of 50-500 mg/L, and correlation coefficient of calibration curve was more than 0.9985. Limit of detection of sodium polyacrylate was 10.95 mg/kg and limit of quantification was 33.19 mg/kg. Accuracy and coefficient of variation for sodium polyacrylate analysis was 99.6-127.6%, 3.0-8.3% for intra-day and 94.3-121.9%, 1.3-2.6% for inter-day, respectively. Sodium polyacrylate was detected in 40 samples among monitored 125 processed food products. Detected contents were less than 0.2%, limited by the Food Additives Code. Results suggest the established size-exclusion chromatography method could be used to analyze sodium polyacrylate in processed food products.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.65-72
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• 2019

This study was aimed at investigating the levels of the natural preservatives of benzoic, sorbic and propionic acids in cereal grains, nuts and seeds. Benzoic and sorbic acid were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography with a diode-array detector (HPLC-DAD) and further confirmed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), whereas propionic acid was analyzed using a gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and further confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Benzoic, sorbic and propionic acids were found in 44, 22, and 550 samples out of 702 samples, respectively. From the total of 702 samples. The concentrations of benzoic, sorbic and propionic acid were ranged from not detected (ND) to 23.74 mg/L, from ND to 7.90 mg/L, and from ND to 37.39 mg/L in cereal grains, nuts and seeds, respectively. The concentration ranges determined in this study could be used as standard criteria in the process of inspecting cereal grains, nuts and seeds for preservatives as well as to address consumer complaints or trade disputes.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.379-392
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• 2019

The current study investigated the effect of Gabjubaekmok (Diospyros kaki) ethanolic extract (GEE) on $H_2O_2$-induced human neuroblastoma MC-IXC cells and amyloid beta $(A{\beta})_{1-42}$-induced ICR (Institute of Cancer Research) mice. GEE showed significant antioxidant activity that was evaluated based on ABTS, DPPH scavenging activity, and inhibition of malondialdehyde (MDA) and acetylcholinesterase activity. Further, GEE inhibited ROS production and increased cell viability in $H_2O_2$-induced MC-IXC cells. Administration of GEE ameliorated the cognitive dysfunction on $A{\beta}$-induced ICR mice as evaluated using Y-maze, passive avoidance, and Morris water maze tests. Results of ex vivo test using brain tissues showed that, GEE protected the cholinergic system and mitochondrial functions by increasing the levels of antioxidants such as ROS, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) against $A{\beta}$-induced cognitive dysfunction. Moreover, GEE decreasd the expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins such as $TNF-{\alpha}$, p-JNK, p-tau, BAX and caspase 3. While, expression levels of p-Akt and $p-GSK3{\beta}$ increased than $A{\beta}$ group. Finally, gallic acid was identified as the main compound of GEE using high performance liquid chromatography.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.64 no.2
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• pp.185-192
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• 2021

Psoriasis is a chronic intractable skin disease caused by various inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, CXCL8, TNF-α, and IFN-γ, as well as IL-17A secreted from Th17 cells and is characterized by hyperkeratosis and chronic inflammation of the epidermis. Brazilin, an active ingredient of Caesalpinia sappan L., is known to exert antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity, and function in skin barrier improvement. In particular, it was shown as a potential material for treating psoriasis in a tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-stimulated HaCaT keratinocyte model. However, the direct regulation of the C-C motif chemokine ligand (CCL) 20, a psoriasis-inducing factor, by brazilin has not been reported. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the suppression of CCL20 and the regulatory mechanism by brazilin using a psoriasis-like model. First, brazilin downregulated CCL20 and CXCL8 in IL-17A-stimulated HaCaT cells in a concentration-dependent manner by inhibiting signal transducer and transcription (STAT)3 phosphorylation. In addition, brazilin significantly inhibited the expression of psoriasis-related genes CXCL8, CCL20, IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-α in TNF-α/IL-17A/IFN-γ-stimulated HaCaT cells. Moreover, brazilin also had a positive effect on improving the skin barrier in TNF-α/IL-17A/IFN-γ-stimulated HaCaT cells. The above results indicated that brazilin ultimately downregulated CCL20 expression by inhibiting STAT3 phosphorylation, and also suppressed the expression of psoriasis-induced cytokines. If the efficacy of brazilin in improving psoriasis is verified through animal models and clinical trials in the future, it may represent a potentially therapeutic substance for psoriasis patients.