• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.1110-1119
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the inflammatory response in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages could be promoted by particulate matter 2.5 (PM_2.5) stimulation. To this end, the levels of inflammatory parameters, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inflammation-regulating genes were investigated in RAW 264.7 cells treated with PM_2.5 in the presence or absence of LPS. Our results showed that the production levels of pro-inflammatory mediators (nitric oxide and prostaglandin E₂) and cytokines (interleukin-6 and -1β) were significantly increased by PM_2.5 stimulation in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 cells, which was correlated with increased expression genes involved in their production. In addition, when LPS-treated RAW 264.7 cells were exposed to PM_2.5, nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) expression was further increased in the nucleus, and the expression of inhibitor of NF-κB as well as NF-κB in the cytoplasm was decreased. These results suggest that the co-treatment of PM_2.5 and LPS further increases the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway compared to each treatment alone, thereby contributing to the promotion of transcriptional activity of inflammatory genes. Furthermore, although the generation of ROS was greatly increased by PM_2.5 in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 cells, the NF-κB inhibitor did not reduce the generation of ROS. In addition, when the generation of ROS was artificially suppressed, the production of inflammatory mediators and the activation of NF-κB were both abolished. Therefore, our results suggest that the increase in the NF-κB-mediated inflammatory response induced by PM_2.5 in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages was a ROS generation-dependent phenomenon.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.483-499
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• 2021

The curriculum localization policy is closely related to the decentralization and autonomy policy, which is a direction of the 2022 revised curriculum. In particular, considering the continuously expanding and changing environment and contents in science education, the localization of the science curriculum has the advantage of advancing to expertise through diversity. In this paper, through experts' perception of the science curriculum localization policy, the implications of the curriculum revision were confirmed, focusing on 'MPOE(Metropolitan and Provincial Offices of Education) curriculum arrangement and implementation guidelines(hereinafter referred to as 'guidelines')' and the achievement standards revision of science curriculum. In conclusion, study participants considered that the possibility of expanding the localization of the curriculum was high due to the unique characteristics of science practices. And they recognized the level of localization at the 'district office of education or village'-level between MPOE-level and school-level. When localization reaches the school-level in the future, it was considered necessary to discuss linkage with teacher policies such as teacher's competency, noting that the level of teachers could become the level of localization. In addition, there was a common perception that in order for the science 'guidelines' to be localized, 17 MPOE must be given the authority to autonomously organize some achievement standards in parallel. It was considered that 'restructuring or slimming of achievement standards' should precede localization of achievement standards in connection with this. On the other hand, it was predicted that the curriculum localization policy would enhance the aspect of diversification and autonomy of the science curriculum, and the establishment of achievement standards was directly related to evaluation, so it recognized the need to refine policies such as new description for evaluation clause in future science 'guidelines'. Finally, considering science and characteristics, it was mentioned that it is necessary to specify regional intensive science education policies in the 'guidelines' themselves beyond the localization of teaching materials.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.241-259
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• 2022

In general, the REE were produced by mining conventional deposits, such as the carbonatite or the clay-hosted REE deposits. However, because of the recent demand increase for REE in modern industries, unconventional REE deposits emerged as a necessary research topic. Among the unconventional REE recovery methods, the REE-bearing coal deposits are recently receiving attentions. R-types generally have detrital originations from the bauxite deposits, and show LREE enriched REE patterns. Tuffaceous-types are formed by syngenetic volcanic activities and following input of volcanic ash into the basin. This type shows specific occurrence of the detrital volcanic ash-driven minerals and the authigenic phosphorous minerals focused at narrow horizon between coal seams and tonstein layers. REE patterns of tuffaceous-types show flat shape in general. Hydrothermal-types can be formed by epigenetic inflow of REE originated from granitic intrusions. Occurrence of the authigenic halogen-bearing phosphorous minerals and the water-bearing minerals are the specific characteristics of this type. They generally show HREE enriched REE patterns. Each type of REE-bearing coal deposits may occur by independent genesis, but most of REE-bearing coal deposits with high REE concentrations have multiple genesis. For the case of the US, the rare earth oxides (REO) with high purity has been produced from REE-bearing coals and their byproducts in pilot plants from 2018. Their goal is to supply about 7% of national REE demand. For the coal deposits in Korea, lignite layers found in Gyungju-Yeongil coal fields shows coexistence of tuff layers and coal seams. They are also based in Tertiary basins, and low affection from compaction and coalification might resulted into high-REE tuffaceous-type coal deposits. Thus, detailed geologic researches and explorations for domestic coal deposits are required.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.267-274
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• 2022

The effect of year, varieties, nitrogen application, and transplant time were examined in relation to rice of protein. An experiment was conducted using 12 rice varieties to investigate the effect of management and weather conditions on brown rice protein of during the filling stage. The transplanting time was set to be three groups including early, medium, and late timing. The nitrogen application was set to be 0 N kg / 10a, 9N kg / 10a and 18 N kg / 10a to examine the effect of fertilizer management on protein content. Field experiments were conducted in three growing seasons including 2019, 2020, and 2021. The brown rice of protein content were 5.7%, 5.9%, and 6.6% under early, medium, and late transplanting time conditions, respectively. The protein content differ by variety. For example, Chucheong, Hopum, Ilpum, Mipum, Odae, Saenuri, and Saeilmi had more than 6.1%, and Chindeul, Shindongjin, Samkwang, Unkwang, Younhojinmi were less than 6.1%. Nitrogen content was 5.7% for 0kgN /10a, 6.1% for 9kgN /10a, and 6.8% for 18kgN /10a. The contribution of the characteristics to the protein content was highest in nitrogen content (38.8%), followed by transplanting time (13.7%), variety (8.2%), and year (3.5%). The average temperature for 20 days after heading time was the highest (9.3%), followed by sunshine duration (3.9%) and solar radiation (3.5%). Our results revealed that brown rice protein content was determined to be affected by changes in average temperature, sunshine duration and solar radiation for 20 days after heading time. This suggested that assessment of temperature and solar radiation after heading time would indicate the degree of rice quality in terms of protein.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.330-336
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• 2022

It is likely that the heading would occur early when air temperature increases. In 2022, however, the heading date was delayed unusually, e.g., by 3 to 5 days although temperature during the vegetative growth stage was higher than normal years. The objective of this study was to identify the cause of such event analyzing weather variables including average temperature, sunshine hours, and day-length for each growth stage. The observation data were collected for medium-late maturing varieties, which has been grown at crop yield experiment sites including Daegu, Andong, and Yesan. The difference in heading date was compared between growing seasons in 2021 and 2022 because crop management options, e.g., the cultivars and cultivation methods, were identical at those sites during the study period. It appeared that the heading date was delayed due to the difference in temperature responsiveness under a given day-length condition The effect of the temperature increase on the heading date differed between the periods during which when the day-length was more than 14.3 hours before and after the summer-solstice.. The effect of the temperature decrease during the period from which the day-length decreased to less than 14.3 hours to the heading date was relatively greater. This merits further studies to examine the response of rice to the temperature change under different day-length and sunshine duration in terms of heading.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.373-383
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• 2022

Inflammation caused by active oxygen and the resulting barrier damage have been consistently pointed out as the cause of wrinkle formation. In this study, effective index ingredient search and efficacy analysis were performed to verify the value of use as a functional cosmetic material related to antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and skin barrier improvement, and anti-aging for extracts of four types of Eleutherococcus divaricatus var. chiisanensis (ED), Eleutherococcus senticosus (EN), Eleutherococcus sessiliflorus (ES), and Eleutherococcus sieboldianus (EI) belonging to the Eleutherococcus genus. To identify the effective index composition, the content of the ingredients was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. The content of eleutheroside E and chlorogenic acid was the highest in ED among the Eleutherococcus genus. As for anti-oxidant activity, DPPH radical scavenging activity was the highest in ED. In anti-inflammatory effects, ED extracts inhibited nitric oxide generation in inflammatory macrophage cells due to lipopolysaccharide by 40% at 100 ㎍/mL. In the case of IL-6 inhibition, which is known as a pro-inflammatory cytokine, ED showed 41% inhibition at 100 ㎍/mL. In addition, filaggrin and involucrin, which are skin barrier-related factors, were increased by 2.5 times and 1.6 times, respectively, in 100 ㎍/mL of ED extracts, and as for the collagenase, which is a wrinkle-related factor, ED extract showed 29% efficacy at 100 ㎍/mL. Thus, these result suggested that ED extract, among the four Eleutherococcus genus, can be used as a cosmetic ingredient for suppressing inflammation in the skin, reinforcing the skin barrier, and reducing wrinkles.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.365-372
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• 2022

Cellobiose is a dissacharide constituted by two glucose units joined by a β-('1,4') glycosidic bond that is produced by the decomposition of cellulose. This product exists naturally in plants and has been utilized in different industries as a food sweetener, and as a cosmetic and pharmaceutical material. In this study, the potential of cellobiose as a whitening cosmetic product was evaluated by analyzing autophagy induction and the inhibition of melanin production. A cytotoxicity test conducted in the human melanin-producing cell line MNT-1 with increasing concentrations of cellobiose revealed that this compound did not cause cytotoxicity at 20 mg/mL or less. Based on this, autophagy was firstly evaluated by immunostaining with the autophagy marker microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) after treatment with 20 mg/mL of cellobiose. The subsequent confocal microscopy analysis revealed an increase in LC3 puncta, indicating induction of autophagy. In addition, autophagy was further confirmed by western blot analysis, which demonstrated that cellobiose converted LC3-I to LC3- ∏ in a concentration- and time-dependent manners. An analysis of melanin contents after cellobiose treatment at a concentration of 20 mg/mL during 7 days revealed that melanin production was reduced by more than 50%. Additionally, the expression levels of melanogenesis-related proteins TYR and TYRP1 were markedly decreased after cellobiose treatment. Based on these studies, a cosmetic cream formulation containing cellobiose was prepared and the change in formulation was tested for 4 weeks, and it was confirmed that the appearance changed to liquid form at high temperature, but the pH did not change. In conclusion, the present research demonstrated that cellobiose activates autophagy and inhibits melanin production, and showed the potential of this product as a material for whitening cosmetics.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.740-753
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• 2022

This study was conducted to develop and apply an out-of-school STEAM program model based on Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) for underprivileged students in the lower grades. To this end, a STEAM program based on SEL was developed, with the following characteristics. First, by integrating traditional STEAM learning elements and SEL elements, a structured program was designed with consistent stages, including mindfulness meditation→present an authentic situation→creative design→emotional experiences→reflection. Second, the program was structured so that elementary school students could develop mathematical thinking and scientific inquiry skills in problem-solving situations in daily life. Third, the detailed themes for each STEAM program involved storytelling-based problem situations, as well as activities centered on play and sympathy to reflect the educational needs of underprivileged students. From these characteristics, a total of five programs were developed and applied to 16 teachers and 354 lower-grade elementary school students in 16 community children centers nationwide. The results were as follows. First, while students' satisfaction with the STEAM program was 4.16, there were no significant differences in STEAM satisfaction according to gender. Second, while all students' interest and self-efficacy, which was one of sub factors of STEAM attitude, were significantly improved, no significant difference was seen in STEAM attitudes according to gender. Third, although students' SEL competencies were not significantly improved, relationship skills, which were among the sub factors of SEL competencies, were significantly improved, and there were no significant differences in SEL competencies according to gender. From these results, a discussion on the effect of the out-of-school STEAM program for underprivileged students and directions for follow-up studies was suggested.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.430-437
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• 2022

We conducted a study on the whitening activity of Abies nephrolepis MAX. extracts. The electron-donating ability of 70% ethanol extracts from A. nephrolepis MAX. Stem (AN-S) and A. nephrolepis MAX. Leaf (AN-L) were found to be 89.4% and 90.9% at 1,000 ㎍/ml concentration, respectively. Their ABTS⁺ radical scavenging abilities were found to be 88.8% and 96% 500 ㎍/ml concentration, respectively. Their tyrosinase inhibitory effects were found to be 48.5% and 31.1% at 500 ㎍/ml concentration, respectively. Cell survival rates measured in B16F10 were examined with the AN-S and AN-L extracts. Results showed cell viabilities of 98.3% and 94.4% at 500 ㎍/ml concentration, respectively. The protein and mRNA expression inhibitory effects of AN-S and AN-L extracts were measured by Western blotting and RT-PCR, respectively, at 25, 50 and 100 ㎍/ml concentrations. The results of western blotting showed that the AN-S extract at 100 ㎍/ml concentration decreased the TRP-1 protein expression rate by 46%. The results of Western blotting also showed that the AN-L extract at 100 ㎍/ml concentration decreased the MITF protein expression rate was by 54.6%. Consequently, in the case of MITF, TRP-1, TRP-2, and tyrosinase, the amount of mRNA expressed decreased as the concentration of the extracts increased. Our results suggested that A. nephrolepis MAX. extracts can be used as a functional cosmetic material by confirming that they can be used as a whitening material.

• Journal of Space Technology and Applications
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.283-301
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• 2021

In order to satisfy the intellectual curiosity of mankind to explore the unknown, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States and European Space Agency (ESA) in Europe are embarking on various R&D under the motto of the grand dream of pioneering space into a safe and sustainable environment. In the 2020s and 30s, it is expected that advanced giant observation equipment will be in operation, such as the development of a 10-meter-class telescope in space. In Korea, following the development of the 0.15 m Near-Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (NISS), Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) is also participating a 0.2 m Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) as an international cooperation partner in small exploration telescope. However, domestic experience in the development and operation of the space telescopes is still insufficient, and there is no plan with long-term prospects for constructing telescopes. In order to answer questions about the unknown world that mankind has not experienced using our own equipment, planning and preparation for the construction of a space telescope through close cooperation among industry-university-institute-government is urgently needed. In this paper, the necessity, background, development goals, and expected effects of the development of the Korean Space Telescope are summarized conceptually, and a working group (WG) is also proposed. In the WG activities, Korea shall take the lead in establishing the Korean-style space telescope development plan, and will start a valuable step to establish the national direction in the field of space astronomy and related technologies. We hope that the WG will be another milestone in Korea's space development.