• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.229-236
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• 2006

Objective: We investigated the expression of uPA and uPAR in eutopic endometrium of advanced stage endometriosis and control patients. Methods: The 33 endometriosis patients and 32 controls were enrolled. Endometrial samples were obtained from 65 premenopausal women aged 29-44 years, undergoing laparoscopic surgery or hysterectomy for non-malignant lesions. Sufficient samples were collected from 33 patients with endometriosis stage Ill and IV and 32 controls without endometriosis confirmed by laparoscopic surgery. The mRNA expression of uPA and uPAR from eutopic endometrium were analyzed by RT-QC PCR. Results: The mRNAs of uPA and uPAR were expressed in eutopic endometrium from endometriosis and normal controls throughout the menstrual cycle. Uterine endometrium from women with endometriosis expresses significantly (p<0.05) higher levels of u-PA mRNA than endometrium from normal women without endometriosis in the proliferative phase. There were no significant differences in expression of uPAR in eutopic endometrium between controls and endometriosis patients. Conclusion: These results suggest that eutopic endometrium from endometriosis patients may be more invasive and prone to peritoneal implantation because of greater u-PA mRNA expression than endometrium from women without endometriosis. Thus, increased proteolytic activity may be one etiology for the invasive properties of the endometrium resulting in the development of endometriosis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.23
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• pp.10407-10412
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• 2015

Background: ${\beta}$-elemene, extracted from herb medicine Curcuma wenyujin has potent anti-tumor effects in various cancer cell lines. However, the activity of ${\beta}$-elemene against glioma cells remains unclear. In the present study, we assessed effects of ${\beta}$-elemene on human glioma cells and explored the underlying mechanism. Materials and Methods: Human glioma U87 cells were used. Cell proliferation was determined with MTT assay and colony formation assay to detect the effect of ${\beta}$-elemene at different doses and times. Fluorescence microscopy was used to observe cell apoptosis with Hoechst 33258 staining and change of glioma apoptosis and cell cycling were analyzed by flow cytometry. Real-time quantitative PCR and Western-blotting assay were performed to investigated the influence of ${\beta}$-elemene on expression levels of Fas/FasL, caspase-3, Bcl-2 and Bax. The experiment was divided into two groups: the blank control group and ${\beta}$-elemne treatment group. Results: With increase in the concentration of ${\beta}$-elemene, cytotoxic effects were enhanced in the glioma cell line and the concentration of inhibited cell viability ($IC_{50}$) was $48.5{\mu}g/mL$ for 24h. ${\beta}$-elemene could induce cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase. With Hoechst 33258 staining, apoptotic nuclear morphological changes were observed. Activation of caspase-3,-8 and -9 was increased and the pro-apoptotic factors Fas/FasL and Bax were upregulated, while the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 was downregulated after treatment with ${\beta}$-elemene at both mRNA and protein levels. Furthermore, proliferation and colony formation by U87 cells were inhibited by ${\beta}$-elemene in a time and does-dependent manner. Conclusions: Our results indicate that ${\beta}$-elemene inhibits growth and induces apoptosis of human glioma cells in vitro. The induction of apoptosis appears to be related with the upregulation of Fas/FasL and Bax, activation of caspase-3,-8 and -9 and downregulation of Bcl-2, which then trigger major apoptotic cascades.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.117-131
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• 2006

A coupled T-H-M(Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical) analysis was carried out for KENTEX (KAERI Engineering-scale T-H-M Experiment for Engineered Barrier System), which is a facility for validating the coupled T-H-M behavior in the engineered barrier system of the Korean reference HLW(high-level waste) disposal system. The changes of temperature, water saturation, and stress were estimated based on the coupled T-H-M analysis, and the influence of the types of mechanical constitutive material laws was investigated by using elastic model, poroelastic model, and poroelastic-plastic model. The analysis was done using ABAQUS, which is a commercial finite element code for general purposes. From the analysis, it was observed that the temperature in the bentonite increased sharply for a couple of days after heating the heater and then slowly increased to a constant value. The temperatures at all locations were nearly at a steady state after about 37.5 days. In the steady state, the temperature was maintained at $90^{\circ}C$ at the interface between the heater and the bentonite and at about $70^{\circ}C$ at the interface between the bentonite and the confining cylinder. The variation of the water saturation with time in bentonite was almost same independent of the material laws used in the coupled T-H-M processes. By comparing the saturation change of T-H-M and that of H-M(Hydro-Mechanical) processes using elastic and poroelastic material mod31 respectively, it was found that the degree of saturation near the heater from T-H-M calculation was higher than that from the coupled H-M calculation mainly because of the thermal flux, which seemed to speed up the saturation. The stresses in three cases with different material laws were increased with time. By comparing the stress change in H-M calculation using poroelasetic and poroelasetic-plastic model, it was possible to conclude that the influence of saturation on the stress change is higher than the influence of temperature. It is, therefore, recommended to use a material law, which can model the elastic-plastic behavior of buffer, since the coupled T-H-M processes in buffer is affected by the variation of void ratio, thermal expansion, as well as swelling pressure.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.213-219
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• 2009

Purpose:Iron is a critical nutritional element that is essential for a variety of important biological processes, including cell growth and differentiation, electron transfer reactions, and oxygen transport, activation, and detoxification. Iron is also required for neoplastic cell growth due to its catalytic effects on the formation of hydroxyl radicals, suppression of host defense cell activities, and promotion of cancer cell multiplication. Chronic transfusion-dependent patients receiving chemotherapy may have iron overload, which requires iron-chelating therapy. We performed this study to demonstrate whether the iron chelating agent deferoxamine induces apoptosis in Saos-2 osteosarcoma cells, and to investigate the underlying apoptotic mechanism. Methods:To analyze the apoptotic effects of an iron chelator, cultured Saos-2 cells were treated with deferoxamine. We analyzed cell survival by trypan blue and crystal violet analysis, apoptosis by nuclear condensation, DNA fragmentation, and cell cycle analysis, and the expression of apoptotic related proteins by Western immunoblot analysis. Results:Deferoxamine inhibited the growth of Saos-2 cell in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The major mechanism for growth inhibition with the deferoxamine treatment was by the induction of apoptosis, which was supported by nuclear staining, DNA fragmentation analysis, and flow cytometric analysis. Furthermore, bcl-2 expression decreased, while bax, caspase-3, caspase-9, and PARP expression increased in Saos-2 cells treated with deferoxamine. Conclusion:These results demonstrated that the iron chelating agent deferoxamine induced growth inhibition and mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis in osteosarcoma Saos-2 cells, suggesting that iron chelating agents used in controlling neoplastic cell fate can be potentially developed as an adjuvant agent enhancing the anti-tumor effect for the treatment of osteosarcoma.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.104-109
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• 1998

Purpose : The proliferative nuclear antigen Ki-67, present in all cell cycle phases except G0, is a useful marker for the detection of proliferative cells in vivo. MIB I has been found to recognize an antigen in formalin-fixed and wax-embedded material. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of MIB-1 expression as a marker of representing the status of mesangial cell proliferation in renal tissues. Methods : Immunohistochemical staining for Ki-67 Ag using monoclonal antibody MIB-1 (Immunotech,505) were performed in 41 renal tissuses which were obtained by percutaneous renal biopsy done between January 1994 and December 1996. Results : In both glomeruli and renal tubules, MIB-1 expression was observed only in 2 of 18 ($11.1\%$) cases of IgA nephropathy, in 2 of the 4 ($50\%$) cases of mebranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, in 4 of the 5 ($80\%$) cases of poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis. But MIB-1 expression was not detected in all cases of minimal lesion and membranous nephropathy. Renal tubules In another 7 cases of IgA nephropathy were MIB-1 positive. Conclusion : MIB-1 expression in renal tissues may relate to the cell proliferation in glomeruli and renal tubules. But the efficacy of MIB-1 expression as a marker of mesangial cell proliferation may reveal a limited value because of it's lower positive rate in IgA nephropathy.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.83 no.2
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• pp.148-154
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• 1994

As a vegetative propagation method for ash species, which is a dioecism and a long cycle of fructification, cut-stem was soaked in water to induce adventitious sprouts, and 2-year-old ash seedling was cut in a nursery to induce adventitious sprouts. We obtained the 1,019 adventitious sprouts from branches of 101 plus trees througout the country. The mean ortet-age is 48. There is not a correlation between ortet ages and production of adventitious sprouts. These sprouts were placed in a cutting bed for rooting. Root ability varied with environmental factors of cuttings. The best rooting(87%) resulted from cutting performed in a vinyl-plastic greenhouse. Rooting was better on perlite+peat moss(2 : 1) medium than other media tested. The rooting ability was generally higher in 2-year-old ortet than plus tree ortet. In the root development of cuttings the non-container cuttings was better than container cuttings.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.343-356
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• 2016

The Korea Radioactive Waste Agency (KORAD) has developed a dual-purpose metal cask for the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel that has been generated by domestic light-water reactors. The metal cask was designed in compliance with international and domestic technology standards, and safety was the most important consideration in developing the design. It was designed to maintain its integrity for 50 years in terms of major safety factors. The metal cask ensures the minimization of waste generated by maintenance activities during the storage period as well as the safe management of the waste. An activation evaluation of the main body, which includes internal and external components of metal casks whose design lifetime has expired, provides quantitative data on their radioactive inventory. The radioactive inventory of the main body and the components of the metal cask were calculated by applying the MCNP5 ORIGEN-2 evaluation system and by considering each component's chemical composition, neutron flux distribution, and reaction rate, as well as the duration of neutron irradiation during the storage period. The evaluation results revealed that 10 years after the end of the cask's design life, $^{60}Co$ had greater radioactivity than other nuclides among the metal materials. In the case of the neutron shield, nuclides that emit high-energy gamma rays such as $^{28}Al$ and $^{24}Na$ had greater radioactivity immediately after the design lifetime. However, their radioactivity level became negligible after six months due to their short half-life. The surface exposure dose rates of the canister and the main body of the metal cask from which the spent nuclear fuel had been removed with expiration of the design lifetime were determined to be at very low levels, and the radiation exposure doses to which radiation workers were subjected during the decommissioning process appeared to be at insignificant levels. The evaluations of this study strongly suggest that the nuclide inventory of a spent nuclear fuel metal cask can be utilized as basic data when decommissioning of a metal cask is planned, for example, for the development of a decommissioning plan, the determination of a decommissioning method, the estimation of radiation exposure to workers engaged in decommissioning operations, the management/reuse of radioactive wastes, etc.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.51-60
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• 1998

Concerned to the lyfe cycle of Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, the experimental infection and development of the parasites were studied in the several freshwater cultured fishes. Opitimum conditions for the propagation of the parasite by serial passage with the rainbow trout fry was observed. Visiable white spots were examined in the body surface, fins and gills of the healthy fries, and a stable infection has been maintained for 2 months in the experimental system (Temperature: $18{\pm}1^{\circ}C$ DO: 7-7.5 ppm; pH: $7{\pm}0.2$). Induction conditions for artificial infection of the parasite by interms of the host fishes, stages of the parasites, and rearing temperature regimes was investigated. Rainbow trout fries showed a positive infection which was resulted from exposure of theront at $18^{\circ}C$. The rainbow trout fries induced white spots on the body surface at 3-7 days exposure to the theronts at $18^{\circ}C$. It was found that exposure of the rainbow trout fries exposed to 1,000 theronts per fish (10 theront/ml) for 45-60 minutes at $18^{\circ}C$ would consistently produce infection. Perfect infection (100%) was induced when the fries were exposed to 1,500 theront per fish (15 theront/ml) under laboratory condition. Development of I. multifiliis in the rainbow trout was observed for 7 days postexposure (PE). The parasite increased in average diameter from $54{\mu}m$ on the 1st day PE to $426{\mu}m$ on the 7th day PE. In the initial infestation period, the parasites were found on the gill epithelium, and on the 3rd day PE they invaded into the basal part of the gill filament adjacent to the major blood vessels, particularly the afferent vessels. Morphological change of buccal apparatus were observed on the 2nd day PE. Contractile vacuoles were more prominent on the 4th day PE, and they had notable changes on the 7th day PE.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.365-370
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• 2012

In this study, Economic analysis of supercritical coal-fired power plant with $CO_2$ capture process was performed. For this purpose, chemical absorption method using amine solvent, which is commercially available and most suitable for existing thermal power plant, was studied. For the evaluation of the economic analysis of coal-fired power plant with post-combustion $CO_2$ capture process in Korea, energy penalty after $CO_2$ capture was calculated using the power equivalent factor suggested by Bolland et al. And the overnight cost of power plant (or cost of plant construction) and the operation cost reported by the IEA (International Energy Agency) were used. Based on chemical absorption method using a amine solvent and 3.31 GJ/$tonCO_2$ as a regeneration energy in the stripper, the net power efficiency was reduced from 41.0% (without $CO_2$ capture) to 31.6% (with $CO_2$ capture) and the levelized cost of electricity was increased from 45.5 USD/MWh (Reference case, without $CO_2$ capture) to 73.9 USD/MWh (With $CO_2$ capture) and the cost of $CO_2$ avoided was estimated as 41.3 USD/$tonCO_2$.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.59 no.3
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• pp.185-202
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• 2020

The diapause induction season in Ostrinia furnacalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) was estimated in Suwon. Three batches of adult generations were observed, the first one from early May to early July, the second from early or mid-July to early or mid-August, and the third from mid-August to October. In outdoor larval rearing, colony rearing occurring from mid-July to mid-August produced both non-overwintering and overwintering larvae, whereas late-reared colonies produced only overwintering larvae. Larvae collected during July and August in maize fields produced both non-overwintering and overwintering larvae, whereas late-collected larvae produced only overwintering larvae. The results indicated that O. furnacalis has a bi- or trivoltine complex life cycle in this area. In the laboratory, when larvae of all instars within 9 h after molting were first treated to a diapause induction condition (11:13 h = light:dark photoperiod and 20℃), almost all larvae were induced to diapause. However, when similar treatments were conducted age-specifically for the 5th instar larvae, diapause induction rates in 3- and 4-day-old larvae of the 5th instar decreased. In contrast, when larvae were subjected to the diapause induction treatment only during the periods from the hatching stage to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th instar, almost all larvae were not induced to diapause. The results suggest that the early age of the 5th larval instar is the last stage for sensitivity to diapause induction stimuli. In the diapause-induced larvae, hemolymph trehalose content increased and body supercooling points dropped, compared with those in non-diapause larvae.