• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.119-123
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• 2019

BACKGROUND: Estimation of soil nitrogen supply is essential to manage nitrogen fertilization in arable land. In Korea, nitrogen fertilization is recommended based on the soil organic matter content because it is difficult to assess nitrogen (N) mineralization of upland soils directly. In this study, the relationship between soil organic matter (SOM) content and N mineralization was investigated to explore the limitation of using SOM in predicting soil N mineralization. METHODS AND RESULTS: Soil samples from the 0 to 10 cm depth were collected from 18 individual pepper cultivated fields in Tae-an and Chung-yang provinces before fertilization. N mineralization in the soils was quantified using incubation for 70 days at $30^{\circ}C$. The mineralizable soil N (MSN) was positively correlated with SOM, and the relation equation between MSN and SOM was '$MSN(kg\;10a^{-1})=0.2933{\ast}SOM(g\;kg^{-1})+0.0897$ ($r^2=0.6224$, p<0.001)'. However, the differences of N mineralization among the soils with the similar concentrations of soil organic matter were about 3 to 4.6 times, suggesting that the other soil factors such as total N concentration or EC should affect N mineralization. CONCLUSION: We concluded that SOM alone could not reflect the capacity of soil to supply N that is used for recommendation of N fertilization rate. Therefore, other soil properties should be considered to improve N fertilization management in arable land for sustainable agriculture.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.482-489
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• 2021

Background: Asthma is an incurable hyper-responsive disease of the pulmonary system that is caused by various allergens, including indoor and outdoor stimulators. According to the Global Asthma Network, 339 million people suffered from asthma in 2018, with particularly severe forms in children. Numerous treatments for asthma are available; however, they are frequently associated with adverse effects such as growth retardation, neurological disorders (e.g., catatonia, poor concentration, and insomnia), and physiological disorders (e.g., immunosuppression, hypertension, hyperglycemia, and osteoporosis). Methods: Korean Red Ginseng has long been used to treat numerous diseases in many countries, and we investigated the anti-asthmatic effects and mechanisms of action of Korean Red Ginseng. Eighty-four BALB/c mice were assigned to 6 treatment groups: control, ovalbumin-induced asthma group, dexamethasone treatment group, and 3 groups treated with Korean Red Ginseng water extract (KRGWE) at 5, 25, or 50 mg/kg/day for 5 days. Anti-asthmatic effects of KRGWE were assessed based on biological changes, such as white blood cell counts and differential counts in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, serum IgE levels, and histopathological changes in the lungs, and by examining anti-asthmatic mechanisms, such as the cytokines associated with Th1, Th2, and Treg cells and inflammation pathways. Results: KRGWE affected ovalbumin-induced changes, such as increased white blood cell counts, increased IgE levels, and morphological changes (mucous hypersecretion, epithelial cell hyperplasia, inflammatory cell infiltration) by downregulating cytokines such as IL-12, IL-4, and IL-6 via GATA-3 inactivation and suppression of inflammation via NF-κB/COX-2 and PGE₂ pathways. Conclusion: KRGWE is a promising drug for asthma treatment.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.471-526
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• 2016

In order to investigate water flow characteristics after inrushing in process of karst tunnel excavation, numerical simulations for five case studies of water inrush from the tunnel floor are carried out by using the FLUENT software on the background of Qiyueshan high risk karst tunnel. Firstly, the velocity-distance curves and pressure-distance curves are drawn by selecting a series of probing lines in a plane. Then, the variation characteristics of velocity and pressure are analyzed and the respective optimized escape routes are made. Finally, water flow characteristics after inrushing from the tunnel floor are discussed and summarized by comparing case studies under the conditions of different water-inrush positions and excavation situations. The results show that: (1) Tunnel constructors should first move to the tunnel side wall and then escape quickly when water inrush happens. (2) Tunnel constructors must not stay at the intersection area of the cross passage and tunnels when escaping. (3) When water inrush from floor happens in the left tunnel, if tunnel constructors meet the cross passage during escaping, they should pass through it rapidly, turn to the right tunnel and run to the entrance. (4) When water inrush from floor happens in the left tunnel, if there is not enough time to escape, tunnel constructors can run to the trolley and other equipment in the vicinity of the right tunnel working face. In addition, some rescuing equipment can be set up at the high location of the cross passage. (5) When water inrush from floor happens in the cross passage, tunnel constructors should move to the tunnel side wall quickly, turn to the tunnel without water inrush and run to the entrance. (6) When water inrush from floor happens in the cross passage, if there is not enough time to escape, tunnel constructors can run to the trolley and other equipment near by the left or the right tunnel working face. The results are of important practical significance and engineering value to ensure the safety of tunnel construction.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.928-935
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• 2008

The myostatin gene of seven important meat (Beltex (Australia), Beltex$\times$Huyang (F1), Meat and Multi-Prolific Chinese Merino Fine Wool, Meat Chinese Merino Fine Wool and Dorper (South Africa)) and non-meat (Huyang and Kazak) sheep breeds was analyzed to study the genetic basis of muscular hypertrophy (double muscling) phenotype in sheep. SNPs, four in regulatory regions and several in the introns in the myostatin gene, were identified, and the former four SNPs were used for further studies. Twelve haplotypes were predicted by PHASE program, of which four main haplotypes (1, 3, 7, 9) were present in 90% of the 364 sheep in the study. Haplotypes 1-4 were mainly present in meat breeds while haplotypes 7 and 9 dominated the non-meat breeds. The association between haplotypes and average daily gain (ADG) was analyzed among 116 sheep with production data, Haplo2 (CGAA) and Haplo8 (TGAA) were identified to have significant (p<0.05) effect on ADG by the model (JMP5.1 software) taking into account the effects of breed, family background, haplotype, birth weight and sex. ADG of these haplotype groups also correlated well (r = 0.82) with hypertrophic phenotype scores. In conclusion, the mutations -956 (T$\rightarrow$C), -41 (C$\rightarrow$A) and 6223 (G$\rightarrow$A) involved in Haplo2 and 8 may be associated with the double-muscling trait by influencing myostatin function and be suitable markers in selecting meat sheep.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.162-169
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• 2001

Background: Nitric oxide (NO), a cytotoxic molecule is produced in various tissues including tumor cells during interleukin-2 (IL-2) therapy . Lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells are induced during IL-2 therapy, and have cytotoxic activity against tumor cells. The current study investigated the effects of NO synthesized in target cells or exposure of target cells to NO on the sensitivity of target cells to LAK cell cytotoxicity. Methods: Cytotoxicity was measured using 4 h chromium release assays. LAK cells which were induced by a 4 day incubation of BALB/c mouse splenocytes with IL-2 (6,000 IU/mL) were employed as effector cells. RD-995 skin tumor cells originated from a C3H/HeN mouse were employed as target cells. NO synthesis in target cells was induced by a 24 h incubation of RD-995 cells with $IFN{\gamma}$ (25 U/mL), TNF (50 U/mL) and IL-1 (20 U/mL). S-nitrosyl acetylpenicillamine (SNAP), an NO donor, was used to expose target cells to NO. $N^G$-monomethyl-L-arginine (MLA) and carboxy-PTIO were added during cytotoxicity assays to inhibit NO synthesis, and to scavenge NO produced by target cells, respectively. Results: Sensitivity of NO-producing RD-995 cells to LAK cell cytotoxicity was decreased by addition of MLA and carboxy-PTIO during cytotoxicity assays. However, the two reagents had no effect on the sensitivity of non-NO-producing RD-995 cells. Pretreatment of RD-995 target cells with SNAP increased the sensitivity in comparison with untreated cells. Conclusions: Sensitivity of target cells to LAK cell cytotoxicity is increased by target cell NO synthesis or exposure to NO. Further studies are needed to evaluate whether these in vitro results have relevance to in vivo phenomena.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.276-287
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• 2006

Background & Objective : The herbal medicine Sojukgunbihwan granule has been used for the treatment of functional dyspepsia, generally categorized as a gastric dysmotility disease. However, its mechanisms are not yet well known. Therefore, the effects of Sojukgunbihwan granules on gastric motility in rats was investigated. Methods : The myoelectrical activity of the gastric smooth muscle was recorded by a bipolar electrode placed at the gastric antrum of rats. The contractile waves were measured for 30 minutes before and after intragastric administration of each solution(normal saline, Pyungwisan 40mg/kg, Sojukgunbihwan granules 60mg/kg) and expressed as the motility index. Gastric emptying was measured by the number of glass beads expelled from the stomach(containing one hundred 1mm glass beads) within an hour after glass beads and test drugs(normal saline, Pyungwisan 40mg/kg, Pyungwisan 120mg/kg, Sojukgunbihwan granules 60mg/kg, Sojukgunbihwan granules 180mg/kg) were administered. In another series of experiments to evaluate the mechanisms of Sojukgunbihwan granules under delayed conditions, the rats were treated with atropine sulfate(1 mg/kg, s.c.), cisplatin(10mg/kg, i.p.), and NAME($N^G$-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, 75mg/kg, s.c.) respectively. Results : Intragastric administration of Sojukgunbihwan granules increased the myoelectrical activity significantly, gastric motility index rose 25%, and gastric emptying of glass beads was significantly enhanced over a period of 60minutes. Under the delayed gastric emptying induced by atropine sulfate, cisplatin, and NAME, Sojukgunbihwan granules aggravated gastric emptying in the atropine sulfate($5.71{\pm}3.45\;vs\;3.71{\pm}4.42$) and cisplatin($13.86{\pm}3.53\;vs\;5.14{\pm}5.05$, p<0.01) treated groups, but enhanced gastric emptying in the NAME treated group($5.00{\pm}3.21\;vs\;11.71{\pm}5.65$, p<0.05). Conclusions : Results suggest that Sojukgunbihwan granules stimulate gastric motility through cholinergic and 5-hydroxytryptamine 3 receptors. Results are indicative of Sojukgunbihwan as an especially effective remedy in dysmotility-like functional dyspepsia with impaired reservoir functions such as gastric adaptive relaxation.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2011

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of the fertilizer sources and ground cover mulches on nutrient release, growth, and photosynthesis in small one-year-old apple (Malus ${\times}$ domestica Borkh.) trees in controlled conditions. METHODS AND RESULTS: Treatments included no fertilizer (NF), commercial organic fertilizer (CF), and poultry litter (PL) for fertilizer treatments, and wood chips (WC), shredded paper (SP), green compost (GC), and grass clippings (GR) for cover mulch treatments. All treatments were applied proportionally based on the volume ratio equivalent to the soil. CF, PL, and GR treatments that had optimum carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) ratios (less than 30:1) for N mineralization through the microbes released the greatest $NH_4^+$ concentrations in the pot media at 90 days after the treatments, but GC mulch with the optimum C:N ratio did not. CF-, PL- and GR-treated plants had the largest leaf area, thickest stem diameter, longest shoot extension, and greater dry matter production. CONCLUSION(s): CF and PL showed an suitable organic nutrient source for improving plant growth in an orchard. Interestingly, GR also could be a nutrient source for tree growth, if vegetation competition is controlled by maintaining vegetation height and recycling enough grass clippings to the soil in an orchard.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.23
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• pp.10513-10524
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• 2015

Background: Metastasis is a major reason for poor prognosis in patients with cancer, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A salient feature is the ability of cancer cells to colonize different organs. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in numerous cellular processes, including metastasis. Materials and Methods: In this study, the lncRNA expression profiles of two HCC cell lines, one with high potential for metastasis to the lung (HCCLM3) and the other to lymph nodes (HCCLYM-H2) were assessed using the Arraystar Human LncRNA Array v2.0, which contains 33,045 lncRNAs and 30,215 mRNAs. Coding-non-coding gene co-expression (CNC) networks were constructed and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed to identify lncRNAs with potential functions in organ-specific metastasis. Levels of two representative lncRNAs and one representative mRNA, RP5-1014O16.1, lincRNA-TSPAN8 and TSPAN8, were further detected in HCC cell lines with differing metastasis potential by qRT-PCR. Results: Using microarray data, we identified 1,482 lncRNAs and 1,629 mRNAs that were differentially expressed (${\geq}1.5$ fold-change) between the two HCC cell lines. The most upregulated lncRNAs in H2 were RP11-672F9.1, RP5-1014O16.1, and RP11-501G6.1, while the most downregulated ones were lincRNA-TSPAN8, lincRNA-CALCA, C14orf132, NCRNA00173, and CR613944. The most upregulated mRNAs in H2 were C15orf48, PSG2, and PSG8, while the most downregulated ones were CALCB, CD81, CD24, TSPAN8, and SOST. Among them, lincRNA-TSPAN8 and TSPAN8 were found highly expressed in high lung metastatic potential HCC cells, while lowly expressed in no or low lung metastatic potential HCC cells. RP5-1014O16.1 was highly expressed in high lymphatic metastatic potential HCC cell lines, while lowly expressed in no lymphatic metastatic potential HCC cell lines. Conclusions: We provide the first detailed description of lncRNA expression profiles related to organ-specific metastasis in HCC. We demonstrated that a large number of lncRNAs may play important roles in driving HCC cells to metastasize to different sites; these lncRNAs may provide novel molecular biomarkers and offer a new basis for combating metastasis in HCC cases.

• Journal of Korean Library and Information Science Society
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• v.9
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• pp.63-83
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• 1982

Among many open libraries under the rule of the Japanese imperialism, only the railroad library as the character of special library under the control of the Japanese Government General is remarkable for having opened its facilities to outsiders as well as the interior users. This study tries a) To look into what were the colonial background, aim and motive of the establishment of the railroad library under the Japanese rule, b) To analyze its activities and the change of its organization, c) And to find out its vestiges an the effects which it has on our country's library circles. The following are the result: A. The railroad library under the rule of the Japanese imperialism functioned as a public library by the outside book's circulation rather than the interior using. B. The outsiders were qualified to use it only when they got the joint guarantee for the city resident, which means that the o n.0, pportunity of the circulation was not free for the Koreans rather than the Japanese. C. From the aspect of collections, technical books such as natural science, and reference ones tended to be collected, and their whole composition was focused on the materials for the Japan-Korea identification scheme and development of the national spirit as the Japanese empire's subjects. D. In the respect of its organization, all the clerical employees, as well as the chief librarian were composed of the Japanese. Although the Koreans were in principle prohibited from working there, a few of them were employed as guard or servant as the China-Japan War was close to the end. E. The area of the outside book's, circulation service was expanded throughout the whole region along the railroad connecting Pusan with Manchuria. Such a service activity which contained several meanings, was tried by means of culture's books, circuit's books, train's books, hotel's books, mind's development books and reader's reading books etc. F. Such matters as the limitation on book circulating and the quantity of circulation book, the paid circulation and the partial restriction on free circulation mean the wartime system under the rule of the Japanese imperialism and also a n.0, ppeared as a factor of hampering the Koreans from getting accustomed to using library, which has affected them until now. G. The noticeable thing in the service activity is shown in attempting the diversified and positive way of service like free circulation in order to solidify the attitude of the Koreans toward war by organizing mind's development books as well as culture's books with the China-Japan War. H. On the other hand, it can not be passed over that the diversified service activity of the railroad library played a role of bridge in turning of today's library circles of ours to the modernization.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.89-98
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• 1998

The search for tumor-avid agents for use in nuclear medicine imaging is an ongoing field of importance. The purpose of this study was to determine the affinity for radio labeled vitamin $B_{12}$ by a wide histologic variety of tumor types in mice. Seventeen different types of tumor were grown subcutaneously in female Balb/C or Balb nu/nu(nude) mice. When the tumors reached about 1 cm in diameter, mice were injected intraperitoneally with $^{57}Co$-vitamin $B_{12}$. Twenty-four hours later, the mice were sacrificed. Organs and tissues were removed, weighed, and activity per mg determined by gamma counter. Values represented cpm/mg tissue that was normalized to 20 grams body weight for each mouse. A wide variety of tumor types showed significant uptake and concentration of $^{57}Co$-vitamin $B_{12}$, as evidenced by tumor:tissue activity ratios. For many tissues of great importance in terms of background(bone, muscle, blood), the tumor:tissue activity ratios of uptake were high. These data strongly suggest that further efforts to evaluate the utility of radio labeled adducts of vitamin $B_{12}$ for clinical use in oncologic imaging are warranted.