• Membrane Journal
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.127-136
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• 2023

In this study, the electrochemical performance of a 5-layer fuel cell stack using silica composite membranes as polymer electrolyte membranes was evaluated. It was observed that the flow rate of the fuel gases plays a crucial role in stack performance, particularly being mainly dependent on the flow rate of hydrogen. Increasing the flow rate of oxygen resulted in negligible changes in performance, whereas an increase in the flow rate of hydrogen demonstrated performance improvements. However, this led to an imbalance in the ratio of hydrogen to oxygen flow rates, causing significant degradation in stack performance and durability. A decline in stack performance was also observed over time due to the degradation of stack components. This phenomenon was consistently observed in individual unit cells. Based on these findings, it was emphasized that, in addition to optimizing the performance of each component during stack operation, it is important to optimize design and operating conditions for uniform flow rate control. Lastly, the developed silica composite membrane was assessed to have sufficient performance for application in actual fuel cell systems, exhibiting a performance of over 25 W based on maximum power.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.327-334
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• 2024

In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of Alpinia officinarum (A. officinarum), a Korean herbal medicine ingredient, on melanogenesis. For this research, A. officinarum was extracted using 70% ethanol, and its whitening functionality was evaluated by treating B16F10 cells, a mouse-derived melanogenic cell line. To confirm the whitening effect, we examined melanin production inhibition, the activity and expression inhibition of tyrosinase, and changes in the transcriptional activity of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF). The results showed that the extract of A. officinarum (100 ㎍/mL) inhibited melanin production by 57.63%, which was associated with a concentration-dependent decrease in both the activity and expression of tyrosinase. Additionally, the expression of MITF, a transcription factor for tyrosinase, also decreased, indicating that the whitening efficacy of the A. officinarum extract occurs through the regulation of transcription factor activity. These findings suggest that A. officinarum extract possesses significant whitening functionality and may be utilized as a novel whitening functional material in the future. This study provides fundamental data on the whitening effects of A. officinarum and contributes to exploring modern applications of traditional herbal materials.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.51-58
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• 2016

This research examined the effects of Compositae extract on the inhibition of proliferation and apoptosis in human breast and human gastric cancer cells. Compositae extracts which is used in the experiment are Taraxacum coreanum (TC), Youngia sonchifolia (YS) and Ixeris dentata (ID). The proliferation of SK-BR-3, MDA-MB-231 and AGS cells were investigated by MTT assay. ID and YS extracts inhibited proliferation of SK-BR-3, MDA-MB-231 and AGS cells in a dose-dependent manner, but TC have barely affected. In addition, the most effective extract was ID. To assess the apoptosis of ID extract, the nuclei of human cancer cells were stained with DAPI solution respectively. Chromatin condensation, indicated apoptosis, was increased in a dose-dependent manner. We investigated change of ID extract-induced apoptosis proteins on human cancer cells by western blot analysis. The level of Bcl-2 decreased, whereas the level of Bax, cleaved-PARP increased in dose-dependent manner compared with non-treatment. Also Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, which is used in clinical indicator of apoptosis, was increased at ID extract treatment group compared with non-treatment. Moreover the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio of MDA-MB-231 cell was significantly increased as against SK-BR-3, AGS cells. These results indicated that ID extract have anti-proliferation effect better than YS or TC, and induced apoptosis in human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cell better than human breast cancer SK-BR-3 cell, human gastric cancer. Even if further research is needed, ID can be developed as a chemopreventive or therapeutic agent of breast cancer.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.12
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• pp.1501-1508
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• 2013

This study investigated antioxidant activity and the lipid content of serum for the possible outcome of improving the activity of Ishige okamurae extracts in ovariectomized rats. The antioxidant effects of an Ishige okamurae water extract and an Ishige okamurae ethanol extract were measured by evaluating DPPH free radical scavenging activity and SOD-like activity. Fifty, seven-week old female Sprague Dawley rats were randomly assigned to five groups as follows: sham-operated rats (SHAM), ovariectomized rats (OVX-CON), ovariectomized rats that were treated with 17-beta-estradiol (200 ${\mu}g/kg/day$), and ovariectomized rats that were treated with Ishige okamurae extracts (50 mg/kg/day and 200 mg/kg/day, respectively). The diets were fed to the rats for seven weeks after ovariectomy. The antioxidant activities of the water and ethanol extracts of Ishige okamurae increased in a dose-dependent manner, and the ethanol extract was found to be higher than the water extract. Therefore, we examined the effect of an Ishige okamurae ethanol extract on total serum cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, and LDL-cholesterol levels, and anti-platelet aggregation. The total-cholesterol and triglyceride content of the serum increased in the OVX-CON group compared to the SHAM group, but supplementation with the Ishige okamurae ethanol extract caused these factors to decrease. Notably, the serum LDL-cholesterol concentration in the supplemented 200 mg/kg/day Ishige okamurae ethanol extract group was significantly more reduced than it was in the OVX-CON group. In addition, the platelet aggregation ability was lower in the groups treated with Ishige okamurae than it was in the OVX-CON group. According to these results, the effects of Ishige okamurae extract on serum lipid content in ovariectomized rats were illuminated.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.159-189
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• 2012

What attracts consumers to bloggers' reviews? Consumers would be attracted both by the Bloggers' expertise (i.e., knowledge and experience) and by his/her unbiased manner of delivering information. Expertise and trustworthiness are both virtues of information sources, particularly when there is uncertainty in decision-making. Noting this point, we postulate that consumers' motives determine the relative weights they place on expertise and trustworthiness. In addition, our hypotheses assume that tie strength moderates consumers' expectation on bloggers' expertise and trustworthiness: with expectation on expertise enhanced for power-blog user-group (weak-ties), and an expectation on trustworthiness elevated for personal-blog user-group (strong-ties). Finally, we theorize that the effect of credibility on willingness to accept a review is moderated by tie strength; the predictive power of credibility is more prominent for the personal-blog user-groups than for the power-blog user groups. To support these assumptions, we conducted a field survey with blog users, collecting retrospective self-report data. The "gourmet shop" was chosen as a target product category, and obtained data analyzed by structural equations modeling. Findings from these data provide empirical support for our theoretical predictions. First, we found that the purposive motive aimed at satisfying instrumental information needs increases reliance on bloggers' expertise, but interpersonal connectivity value for alleviating loneliness elevates reliance on bloggers' trustworthiness. Second, expertise-based credibility is more prominent for power-blog user-groups than for personal-blog user-groups. While strong ties attract consumers with trustworthiness based on close emotional bonds, weak ties gain consumers' attention with new, non-redundant information (Levin & Cross, 2004). Thus, when the existing knowledge system, used in strong ties, does not work as smoothly for addressing an impending problem, the weak-tie source can be utilized as a handy reference. Thus, we can anticipate that power bloggers secure credibility by virtue of their expertise while personal bloggers trade off on their trustworthiness. Our analysis demonstrates that power bloggers appeal more strongly to consumers than do personal bloggers in the area of expertise-based credibility. Finally, the effect of review credibility on willingness to accept a review is higher for the personal-blog user-group than for the power-blog user-group. Actually, the inference that review credibility is a potent predictor of assessing willingness to accept a review is grounded on the analogy that attitude is an effective indicator of purchase intention. However, if memory about established attitudes is blocked, the predictive power of attitude on purchase intention is considerably diminished. Likewise, the effect of credibility on willingness to accept a review can be affected by certain moderators. Inspired by this analogy, we introduced tie strength as a possible moderator and demonstrated that tie strength moderated the effect of credibility on willingness to accept a review. Previously, Levin and Cross (2004) showed that credibility mediates strong-ties through receipt of knowledge, but this credibility mediation is not observed for weak-ties, where a direct path to it is activated. Thus, the predictive power of credibility on behavioral intention - that is, willingness to accept a review - is expected to be higher for strong-ties.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.41-53
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• 2024

The Korean government's SME policy has shifted from the traditional focus of protecting SMEs against large business groups to foster innovative SMEs by upgrading their innovation base. From the government's policy perspective, innovative SMEs are defined as SMEs that can secure technological competitiveness or have the potential for future growth through technological innovation activities. Based on the resource-based theory and resource dependence theory, this study aims to explain whether both R&D capabilities of innovative SMEs and the acquisition of venture certification have a significant impact on enhancing global technological competitiveness. According to the resource-based theory, differences in a firm's tangible and intangible resources and R&D capabilities determine its innovation activities and performance. On the other hand, the resource dependence theory argues that government certification programs to support SMEs positively affect SMEs' innovation activities and performance by increasing their access to the external resources needed for innovation. Going a step further, this study examines the moderating effect of the product life cycle. As a moderating variable, the product life cycle is expected to have an opposite effect on the internal and external resource utilization. The results based on the SME Technology Statistics(2020) support the direct effect of both R&D capability and venture certification on global technological competitiveness and the differential moderating effect of product life cycle. The finding that the technological competitiveness effect of internal resource utilization is greater for longer product life cycles, while the technological competitiveness effect of external resource utilization is greater for shorter product life cycles suggests that product life cycle should be considered as an important contextual variable when studying the relationship between R&D, technological innovation, and performance. These results also suggest that in a global competitive environment where product life cycles are dramatically shortening, innovative SMEs that suffer the dual liabilities of newness and smallness should focus not only on strengthening internal R&D capabilities but also on strategically securing external resources.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.368-374
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• 2006

Purpose : The prevalence of obesity in children is increasing rapidly. Epidemiologic studies suggest that obesity induced atherosclerosis may start in childhood. We investigated whether obese children show early abnormalities of the arterial wall and endothelial dysfunction. Methods : Thirty-eight obese children(14-16 years old of age, male, body mass index $29.40{\pm}3.18kg/m^2$) and forty-five age and sex-matched healthy control children(body mass index $18.43{\pm}1.01kg/m^2$) were enrolled. Their carotid artery intima-media thickness(IMT) and brachial artery flowmediated dilation(FMD) response were measured by high-quality ultrasound system, and compliance, distensibility, stiffness index, incremental elastic modulus and wall stress were calculated by equation. In addition, we looked at the relations between these arterial features and metabolic cardiovascular risk factors. Results : The obese children had significantly increased IMT($0.52{\pm}0.09mm$ vs $0.40{\pm}0.07mm$, P< 0.001) and markedly impaired FMD($7.35{\pm}7.78$ percent vs $20.34{\pm}16.81$ percent, P<0.001) than the healthy controls. But the compliance and distensibility were lower, and the stiffness index, incremental elastic modules and wall stress were higher in the obese group than the control group, but not statistically significantly. Body mass index was highly associated with increased IMT(r=0.612, P<0.001) and reduced FMD(r=-0.414, P<0.001). Conclusion : We showed the deleterious effect of child obesity on both early functional and structural atherosclerotic markers. The ultrasonic findings will be used for screening and follow up markers to identify high-risk patients among obese children.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.184-190
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• 2016

We investigated the antioxidative and protective effects of corn silk (Zea mays L.) ethanol extracts on human HaCaT cells and erythrocytes. The NICS-2 fraction, extracted from corn silk, exhibited favorable 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) radical scavenging activities with $IC_{50}$valuesof$13.3{\pm}0.3{\mu}g/mL$ and $14.2{\pm}0.1{\mu}g/mL$ when compared with those of ${\alpha}$-tocopherol, a positive control, with $IC_{50}=10.4{\pm}02.2$ and $22.2{\pm}3.6{\mu}g/mL$, respectively. In addition, we investigated skin protection effects of NICS extracts of corn silk in HaCaT keratinocytes. To investigate the pharmacological potential of NICS-1 and NICS-2 extracts of corn silk on UV-B-induced damage in HaCaT cells, we measured the activity of interleukin (IL) 1a. Our results showed that all the corn silk extracts inhibited the UV-B-induced activity of IL-1a. In particular, NICS-1 extracts of corn silk significantly suppressed IL-1a activity in a dose-dependent manner without inducing cytotoxicity. These results indicate that the ethanol extracts of corn silk (Zea mays L.) could function as natural cytoprotective agents and antioxidants in biological systems, particularly the skin exposed to UV radiation, by protecting cellular membrane against reactive oxygen species (ROS).

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.664-672
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• 2015

In order to develop new immuno-stimulating ingredients from mature leaves of green tea, crude polysaccharides were isolated from pectinase digests of tea leaves (green tea enzyme digestion, GTE-0), after which their immuno-stimulating activities and chemical properties were examined. GTE-0 mainly contained neutral sugars (54.9%) such as glucose (14.2%), arabinose (12.2%), rhamnose (11.1%), and galacturonic acid (45.1%), which are characteristic of pectic polysaccharides. The anti-complementary activity of GTE-0 was similar to that of polysaccharide K (used as positive control). Number of morphologically activated macrophages was significantly increased in the GTE-0-treated group. GTE-0 significantly augmented $H_2O_2$ and reactive oxygen species production by murine peritoneal macrophage cells in a dose-dependent manner, whereas production of nitric oxide showed the highest activity at a dose of $100{\mu}g/mL$ among all tested concentrations. Murine peritoneal macrophages stimulated with GTE-0 showed enhanced production of various cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-6, IL-12, and tumor necrosis factors-${\alpha}$ in a dose-dependent manner. Further, GTE-0 induced higher phagocytic activity in a dose-dependent manner. In ex vivo assay for cytolytic activity of murine peritoneal macrophages, GTE-0-treated group showed significantly higher activity compared to the untreated group at an effector-to-target cell ratio of 20. The above results lead us to conclude that polysaccharides from leaves of green tea have a potent immuno-stimulating effect on murine peritoneal macrophage cells.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.7
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• pp.975-982
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• 2015

Piceatannol (trans-3,4,3',5'-trihydroxystilbene), a natural stilbene, is an analogue of resveratrol. In the present study, possible mechanisms by which piceatannol exerts its pro-apoptotic action in cultured human oral cancer YD-15 cells were investigated. To investigate whether or not piceatannol has effects on cancer cell viability, human oral YD-15 cells were treated with piceatannol (0, 50, and $100{\mu}M$). Piceatannol treatment ($100{\mu}M$) showed the strongest inhibition of cell proliferation and reduced cell viability in a dose-dependent manner. Chromatin condensation detected by DAPI staining significantly increased in a concentration-dependent manner, indicating apoptosis. Piceatannol treatment activated initiator Bax (pro-apoptotic) and cPARP in a concentration-dependent manner. Further, piceatannol induced down-regulation of Bcl-2 (anti-apoptotic). We also evaluated the activity of piceatannol against oral cavity cancer tumors in mice. Piceatannol-treated nude mice bearing YD-15 xenograft tumors exhibited significantly reduced tumor volume and weight due to the potent effect of piceatannol on tumor cell apoptosis, as determined by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling assay. Immunohistochemistry staining showed elevated expression of cleaved-caspase-3 as well as reduced expression of Ki-67 in the piceatannol-treated group. Therefore, piceatannol can be developed as a cancer preventive medicine due to its growth inhibitory effects and induction of apoptosis in human oral cancer cells.