• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.1-9
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• 2019

GGBFS(Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag), one of the representative concrete mineral admixtures, improves the long-term durability and engineering performance of concrete by latent hydraulic activity. In this study, considering 3 levels of W/B(0.37, 0.42, 0.47) and GGBFS replacement ratio(0 %, 30 %, 50 %), durability performances for chloride attack are evaluated, and equations which predict behavior of accelerated chloride diffusion are proposed. Also, the relationship between accelerated chloride diffusion coefficient and passed charge is evaluated. In target curing day, accelerated chloride diffusion tests(Tang's method, ASTM C 1202) and compressive strength(KS F 2405) are performed. In the 730 day's results of accelerated chloride diffusion coefficient, GGBFS concrete has up to 28 % of decreasing ratio compared to OPC concrete, and in those of passed charge, GGBFS concrete has up to 29 % of decreasing ratio compared to OPC concrete. Also, it is deemed that the impact of variation of W/B is less in GGBFS concrete than in OPC concrete. The equations which predict accelerated chloride diffusion coefficient and passed charge are drawn, based on the characteristics of mixture and test results. The equation which predicts passed charge shows slightly higher coefficient of determination than that which predicts accelerated chloride diffusion coefficient.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.101-120
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• 2019

PURPOSE : Euonymi Lignum Suberalatum (EL) is the stem fin of Euonymi alatus. In traditional Korean medicine, EL is used for treatment of uterine bleeding, metritis and static blood. Recently, many studies have reported several pharmacological effects of EL including anticancer, antimicrobial, antidiabetic activity, and anti-oxidative stress. However, the mechanisms underlying anti-inflammatory effects by the EL is not established. METHODS : To investigate anti-inflammatory effects of Euonymi Lignum Suberalatum Water (ELWE), Raw 264.7 cells were pre-treated with $10-300{\mu}g/mL$ of ELWE, and then exposed to $1{\mu}g/mL$ of LPS. Levels of NO, IL-6, $IL-1{\beta}$ and $TNF-{\alpha}$ were detected by ELISA kit. Expression of pro-inflammatory proteins were determined by immunoblot analysis. To evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect in vivo, rat paw edema volume, and expressions of COX-2 and iNOS proteins in carrageenan (CA)-induced rat paw edema model. RESULTS : NO production activated by LPS, was decreased by $30-300{\mu}g/mL$ of ELWE. Production of inflammatory mediators such as $TNF-{\alpha}$, ILs, $PGE_2$ were decreased by ELWE 100 and $300{\mu}g/mL$. In addition, ELWE reduced LPS-mediated iNOS and COX-2 expression. Moreover, ELWE increased $I-{\kappa}B{\alpha}$ expression in cytoplasm and decreased $NF-{\kappa}B$ expression in nucleus. In vivo study, ELWE reduced the increases of paw swelling, and expression of iNOS and COX-2 proteins in paw edema induced by CA injection. CONCLUSION : The results indicate that ELWE could inhibit the acute inflammatory response, via modulation of $NF-{\kappa}B$ activation. Furthermore, inhibition of rat paw edema induced by CA is considered as clear evidence that ELWE may be a useful source to treat acute inflammation.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.45-54
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• 2019

Empathy has been observed to be pivotal in enhancing both social relations and the efficiency of task performance. Empathetic interaction has been shown to begin with individuals mirroring each other's facial expressions, vocal tone, actions, and so on. The internal responses of the cardiovascular activity of people engaged in empathetic interaction are also known to be synchronized. This study attempted to objectively and quantitatively define the rules of empathy with regard to the synchronization of cardiac rhythm between persons. Seventy-four subjects participated in the investigation and were paired to imitate the facial expressions of their partner. An electrocardiogram (ECG) measurement was taken as the participants conducted the task. Quantitative indicators were extracted from the heart rhythm pattern (HRP) and the heart rhythm coherence (HRC) to determine the difference of synchronization of heart rhythms between two individuals as they pertained to empathy. Statistical significance was confirmed by an independent sample t-test. The HRP and HRC correlation(r) between persons increased significantly with empathy in comparison to an interaction that was not empathetic. A difference of the standard deviation of NN intervals (SDNN) and the dominant peak frequency decreased. Therefore, significant parameters to evaluate empathy have been proposed through a step-wise discrimination analysis. Empathic interactions may thus be managed and monitored for high quality social interaction and communication.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1016-1022
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• 2019

Owing to increased interest in preventing obesity in an aging society, both men and women spend considerable amount of cost on obesity managements. In this study, we investigated the natural substances on anti-obesity activities in 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes. Also, to improve anti-obesityeffects, research using 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes cells is crucial. The anti-obesity effect of 70% ethanol extract from Torilis Japonica Decandolle on the differentiation of 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes to adipocytes was investigated by suppressing adipocyte differentiation and lipid accumulation with Oil Red O assay, and western blot analysis. Compared to the control, 70% ethanol extract of Torilis Japonica Decandolle was significantly inhibited adipocyte differentiation and intracellular triglyceride (TG) level at a concentration of $100{\mu}g/ml$. To determine the mechanism of reduction in TG content, we determined the level of protein expression of obesity-related proteins, such as peroxisome-proliferatorsactivated-receptor-${\gamma}$ ($PPAR{\gamma}$) and CCAAT enhancer-binding-proteins-${\alpha}$ ($C/EBP{\alpha}$), and Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) phosphorylation. As a results, 70% ethanol extract of Torilis Japonica Decandolle significantly decreased protein expression of $PPAR{\gamma}$, $C/EBP{\alpha}$ and ACC phosphorylation. These results indicate that 70% ethanol extract of Torilis Japonica Decandolle is the most effective candidate for preventing obesity. However further studies will be needed to identify the active compounds that confer the anti-obesity activity of Torilis Japonica Decandolle.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.379-385
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• 2019

Osteoporosis is a disease that increases the risk of fractures by inducing a decrease in bone strength by the changes in hormones and a decrease in minerals. Recent reports have indicated that the long-term administration of Adefovir dipivoxil (ADV), which is used as a treatment for the hepatitis virus and AIDS, may have osteoporotic side effects. On the other hand, there are few studies on the cytopathic correlation of these causes. In this study, the biological relevance of ADV was evaluated using osteoblast hFOB1.19 and vascular endothelial cell HUVEC. First, the cells were treated with ADV at different concentrations, and DAPI and crystal violet staining were performed for morphological analysis of each cell and nucleus. A CCK-8 assay, real-time PCR, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining, and activity was performed to evaluate the drug effects on cell proliferation, gene expression, and osteoblast differentiation. As a result, ADV induced cell hypertrophy in hFOB1.19 cells and HUVEC cells. Furthermore, ADV not only inhibited cell proliferation and TGF-${\beta}$ expression but was also involved in osteoblast differentiation. Overall, these results provide basic data to help better understand the mechanism of ADV-induced osteoporosis and its clinical implications.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.157-166
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• 2019

Objective: This study examined the effects of stimulating fingertip temperature on the patterns of force sharing and stability properties during multi-finger force production tasks. Method: 9 adult subjects (male: 3, female: 6, age: $26.11{\pm}4.01yrs$, height: $169.22{\pm}5.97cm$, weight: $61.44{\pm}11.27kg$) participated in this study. The experiment consisted of three blocks: 1) maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) task, 2) single-finger ramp task to quantify enslaving (i.e., unintended force production by non-task fingers), and 3) 12 trials of multi-finger steady-state force production task at 20% MVC. There were three temperature conditions including body-temperature (i.e., control condition), $40^{\circ}C$, and $43^{\circ}C$, and the stimulation was given to the index finger only for all experimental conditions. Results: There were no significant differences in the MVC forces, enslaving, and the accuracy of performance during the steady-state task between the conditions. However, the share of stimulated index finger force increased with the index fingertip temperature, while the share of middle finger force decreased. Also, the coefficient of variation of both index and middle finger forces over repetitive trials increased with the index fingertip temperature. Under the framework of the uncontrolled manifold (UCM) hypothesis used to quantify indices of multi-finger synergies (i.e., stability property) stabilizing total force during the steady-state task, the two variance components within the UCM analysis increased together with the fingertip temperature, while no changes in the synergy indices between the conditions. Conclusion: The current results showed that fingertip temperature stimulation only to index finger does not affect to muscle force production capability of multi-finger, independence of individual fingers, and force production accuracy by the involvement of all four fingers. The effect of fingertip temperature on the sharing pattern and force variation may be due to diffuse reflex effects of the induced afferent activity on alpha-motoneuronal pools. However, the unchanged stability properties may be the reflection of the active error compensation strategies by non-stimulated finger actions.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.465-472
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• 2019

Candida albicans is an opportunistic human pathogen that causes infections. Candidiasis is often related to antifungal resistance because the pathogen has the ability to form biofilms. In a previous study, we found that the Salvia miltiorriza ethanol extract demonstrated anticandidal activity by altering membrane permeability and inhibiting the cell wall synthesis in C. albicans. Our results here demonstrate that $78{\mu}g/ml$ of the S. miltiorriza extract significantly diminished the early stage biofilms formed by 10 clinical C. albicans isolates by 51.3%; this was analyzed by 2,3-Bis-(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide salt (XTT) reduction assay. The effect of the S. miltiorrhiza extract on the adhesion of C. albicans cells to polystyrene plates and germ tube formation was examined via microscopic investigation. Although the density of the adhered cells was remarkably reduced up on incubation with $39{\mu}g/ml$ S. miltiorrhiza extract, germ tube formation by C. albicans was rarely affected. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed that the S. miltiorrhiza extract downregulated the expression of C. albicans hypha-specific genes, EAP1 by 34.7% (p < 0.001), ALS1 by 45.0% (p < 0.001), ALS3 by 48.1% (p < 0.001), and ECE1 by 21.3% (p = 0.006), respectively. Our data suggest that the S. miltiorrhiza ethanol extract significantly inhibited the early stage of biofilm formation by C. albicans by interfering with cell adhesion, by downregulating EAP1, ALS1 and ALS3, and presumably by modifying the cell wall and membrane structure.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.322-330
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• 2018

Herbivory is a major functional component of forest ecosystems, and herbivorous insects comprise about 25% of all insect species. Increasing plant diversity is related to herbivore abundance and diversity, which affects the level of leaf damage caused by insects. This study was conducted to identify plant-related variables such as plant diversity and number of leaves and density-related variables, basal area, and diameter at breast height (DBH) in a temperate forest of southern South Korea. To assess the level of leaf damage caused by leaf chewing insects, we set up two 0.1 ha plots in a temperate deciduous forest on Mt. Jirisan National Park. Plant richness differed between two sites: 16 species in 14 families(site 1) and 19 species in 15 families (site 2). Fisher's alpha index based on plant species richness and abundance resulted in 4.41 (site 1) and 6.57 (site 2). However, the sum of basal area of each site was higher in site 1 ($6.6m^2$) than site 2 ($3.7m^2$). The total surveyed leaves at two sites were 3,832 and 4,691, respectively and the damage leaves were 1,544 and 2,136, respectively. The mean leaf damage level was 11.2% (${\pm}1.76%$) in two study sites: the leaf damage level of the site 1 (11.99%) was significantly higher than site 2 (10.59%). Stepwise regression analysis showed that species diversity and evenness were the significant variables for leaf damages by chewing herbivores. NMDS ordination also identified that high tree density and low species diversity were the significant variables. This suggested that the level of damage was significantly higher in plots with low plant diversity and high tree density. In the future, we will investigate other guilds of herbivores such as sap-suckers, miners and gallers in temperate deciduous forests.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.81-93
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• 2019

Phytoplankton is one of the important primary producers providing organic matter through photosynthesis in aquatic environments. In order to determine a temporal and spatial variation in primary productivity after weir construction in the Nakdong River, we investigated carbon uptake rates using in-situ $^{13}C$ labeling experiments and identified algal communities contributing to primary productivity using HPLC-CHEMTAX analysis from October to December, 2017. The primary productivity gradually decreased from fall to early winter season ($249{\sim}933mgC\;m^{-2}d^{-1}$ in October, $64{\sim}536mgC\;m^{-2}d^{-1}$ in November and $60{\sim}274mgC\;m^{-2}d^{-1}$ in December, respectively). This is attributed to the temporally declining light intensity and the decreasing biomass and physiological activity of phytoplankton in winter. The contribution of diatoms to the phytoplankton community in the Nakdong River was approximately 63% at all the sampling sites and seasons, while the contribution of cryptophytes increased from 9% in October to 32% in November and December. The temporal changes in the primary productivity and the dominant phytoplankton species in the mid and downstream weirs of the Nakdong River was investigated for the first time, after construction of the weirs, and major environmental factors controlling the temporal variation in primary productivity and phytoplankton communities were identified in this study. We suggest that seasonal field investigations will provide further information on the major environmental factors which affect the annual variation of primary productivity and phytoplankton communities.

• The Journal of Society for e-Business Studies
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.35-51
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• 2019

The two main goals of this study are to derive independent factors affecting the success rate of crowdfunding and to empirically analyze the variation of independent factors' effects on the success of crowdfunding by industry (Internet, culture/art, manufacturing/distribution), and funding type (stock type, bond type). To identify the success factors of crowdfunding for invigoration and strategic utilization, first, several variables were refined after interviews with experts and platform operators with investment experiences in numerous crowdfunding projects. Then, independent factors affecting project involvement were categorized as follows: a characteristic of project, participant activity, and enterprise. Also, the results derived from the influence of independent variables on crowdfunding after moderating effects were driven. Selected independent factors in this study are as follows: crowdfunding period, target amount, visual contents, minimum account money, number of comments, number of SNS followers, level of interest, financial Statement disclosure, investment attraction, venture company, intellectual property rights disclosure, and business operation period. Selected moderating factors in this study are as follows: industry (Internet, culture/art, manufacturing/distribution), and funding type (stock type, bond type). In conclusion, a discussion of the academical and practical implications and a suggestion of directions for further research are explained.