• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.63 no.1
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• pp.95-101
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• 2020

Psoriasis is an autoimmune skin disease that is accompanied by hyper proliferation of the epidermis, erythema of various sizes, and ulceration. However, the mechanism of the development of psoriasis dermatitis is unclear. Recently, it is known that the inflammatory cytokines and Th17 cells as well as chemokine (CC motif) ligand 20 (CCL20) are involved in the process of keratinocytes hyper-differentiation, which is common in psoriasis dermatitis. Therefore, we studied the effects of yakuchinone-A, an active ingredient of Alpinia oxyphylla Miquel known for its anti-inflammatory activity, to improve psoriasis dermatitis. First, cytotoxicity of yakuchinone-A was observed in cell counting kit-8 assay and not observed in 10 ㎍/mL concentration on the human keratinocyte HaCaT cells. Yakuchinone-A in the presence of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) on HaCaT cells inhibited mRNA expression of IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α by up to 61.4±7.5, 23.6±1.5, 46.0±4.8%. CCL20, a chemokine that attracts immune cells such Th17 cells to the inflammation location, was also significantly suppressed by yakuchinone-A. In addition, IκB and STAT3 phosphorylation involved in the CCL20 expression was inhibited by yakuchinone-A in a concentration-dependent manner up to the level of 79.1±5.0, 80.8±2.3%. Furthermore, yakuchinone-A downregulated CCL20 mRNA expression level on IL-17A-activated HaCaT cells as a concentration-dependent manner. Based on these results, yakuchinone-A is expected to be developed as a new material for improving psoriasis dermatitis in the future.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.125-137
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• 2006

Pleurotus eryngii is one of the most promising mushrooms produced on the domestic farms. The quality as well as quantity of Eryngii is sensitively affected by micro climate factors such as temperature, relative humidity, $CO_2$ concentration, and light intensity. To safely produce high-quality Eryngii all the yew round, it is required that the environmental factors be carefully controlled by well designed structures equipped with various facilities and control systems. At the commercial mushroom cultivation houses of permanent frame type (A, B), this study was carried out to find out reasonable range of each environmental factor and yield together with economic and safe structures influencing on the optimal productivity of Eryngii. This experiment was conducted for about two-year ken Nov. 2003 to Dec. 2005 in cultivation house. Ambient temperature during the experiment period was not predominantly different from that of a normal year. The capacity of the hot water boiler and the piping systems were not enough. Because the capacity of electric heater and air circulation were not enough, air temperatures in cultivation house before improvement of system were maintained somewhat lower than setting temperature, and maximum air temperature difference between the upper and lower growth stage during a heating time period was about 5.1. But the air temperatures after system improvement were maintained within the limits range of setting temperature without happening stagnant of air. Air temperature distribution was generally distributed uniform. Relative humidity in cultivation house before , improvement was widely ranged about $44{\sim}100%$. But as the relative humidity after improvement was ranged approximately $80{\sim}100%$, it was maintained within the range of relative humidity recommended. And $CO_2$ concentration was maintained about $400{\sim}3,300mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ range. The illuminance in cultivation house was widely distributed in accordance with position, and it was maintained lower than the recommended illuminance range $100{\sim}200lx$. The acidity of midium was some lower range than the recommend acidity range of pH $5.5{\sim}6.5$. The yield was relatively ununiform. In case of bottle capacity of 1,300cc, the mushroom of the lowest grade was less than 3%. The consumption electric energy was quite different according to the cultivation season. The electric energy consumed during heating season was much more than that of cooling season.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.21-26
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• 2003

To evaluate the newly designed gastroduodenal coil catheter:in-vitro test. The coil catheter that we made in our laboratory was 150 cm. The coil that is made of stainless steel wire was composed 1.3 mm inner diameter and this coil spring was covered with heat-shrinkable polyethylene tube. To measure the length under fluorocopy, 8 radiopaque marks were attached at 5 cm, 10 cm, 11 cm, 12 cm, 13 cm, 14 cm, 15 cm, 20 cm apart from distal end of the catheter and 6, 2, 1 pores were made at 7 cm, 13 cm, 19 cm apart from the distal end. Radio-opacity and the amount of injected contrast was investigated in formerly used 5 Fr. vessel catheter, which is possible in measuring length, and newly designed coil catheter. Film density was tested for radio-opacity with autodensitometer. For measuring the volume of injected salin, the catheter was located in the acryl box(26 cm, 3 cm, 16 cm) that divided into 4 chambers. After injection 50 cc of contrast with autoinjector, the contrast's quantity in each chamber was measured with and without over the guide wire. Radio-opacity was 0.51 in 5 Fr. vessel catheter, 0.31 in newly made catheter. The amount of injected contrast was measured. In case of 5 Fr. vessel catheter, the amount was 99.5% from the distal part, there was no difference between with and without the guide wire. Otherwise, using a coil catheter, the pacentage the ejected saline was 1.17%, 18.8%, 41.8%, 38.2% from the distal part with the guide wire, 19.5%, 32.6%, 27.7%, 20.3% without the guide wire. Compare with formerly established catheter, this new coil catheter is easy to measure the length thanks to easy confirming under fluoroscopy and excellent in injecting contrast. Therefore, newly designed gastrointestinal catheter seems to be useful in gastrointestinal intervention procedure.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.150-154
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• 2010

Purpose: Ejection fraction (EF) is one of the most important factors that evaluate heart function. Recently, according to echocardiography and myocardial perfusion SPECT, the number of gated blood pool scan (planar GBP) is declining. Measurement of left ventricular ejection fraction using gated blood pool SPECT (GBPS) is known as relatively correspond with echocardiography. We compared EF derived from plnar GBP, GBPS and echocadiography using modified simpson method to determine the accuracy. Materials and Methods: From January 2007 to June 2010, planar GBP and GBPS were performed on 34 patients who admitted to Pusan National University Hospital (men 23, women 11, mean age $52.6{\pm}27.2$). Each patient was injected with $^{99m}{TcO_4}^-$ of 20 mCi after pyrophosphate injection and then scanned using both planar GBP and GBPS techniques. For image analysis, we use ADAC Laboratories, Ver. 4.20 software. The result analyzed was processed by SPSS 17.0 Win statistic program and statistical method applied in data analysis is one-way anova, Tukey's post hoc test, pearson correlation test. Results: One-way anova test show no significant difference (planar GBP $56.3{\pm}13.9%$; GBPS $60.4{\pm}16.0%$; echocardiography $59.1{\pm}14.4%$, p=0.486, p>0.05). Tukey's post hoc test show no significant difference (planar GBP-echocardiography p=0.697; GBPS-echocardiography p=0.928; planar GBP-GBPS p=0.469, p>0.05). Values for EF obtained with planar GBP and GBPS correlated well with those obtained with echocardiography (planar-echocardiography r=0.697; GBPS-echocardiography r=0.928; planar GBP-GBPS r=0.469). Conclusion: The problems of accuracy and reproducibility for planar GBP still remain. But planar GBP is a safe and non-invasive method. In addition, planar GBP is useful to evaluate patient with low resolution echocardiography images. GBPS is not appicated clinically. but GBPS can be obtain various left ventricular functional parameters. planar GBP, GBPS and echocardiography show a good correlation between each other. Therefore, planar GBP and GBPS are useful for evaluating left ventricular ejection fraction.

• The KIPS Transactions:PartD
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• v.14D no.1 s.111
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• pp.121-130
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• 2007

in a software development, the design or architecture prior to implementing the software is essential for the success. This paper presents a case that we successfully designed a software architecture of radiation monitoring system (RMS) for HANARO research reactor currently operating in KAERI by applying the quality attribute-driven design method which is modified from the attribute-driven design (ADD) introduced by Bass[1]. The quality attribute-driven design method consists of following procedures: eliciting functionality and quality requirements of system as architecture drivers, selecting tactics to satisfy the drivers, determining architectures based on the tactics, and implementing and validating the architectures. The availability, maintainability, and interchangeability were elicited as duality requirements, hot-standby dual servers and weak-coupled modulization were selected as tactics, and client-server structure and object-oriented data processing structure were determined at architectures for the RMS. The architecture was implemented using Adroit which is a commercial off-the-shelf software tool and was validated based on performing the function-oriented testing. We found that the design method in this paper is an efficient method for a project which has constraints such as low budget and short period of development time. The architecture will be reused for the development of other RMS in KAERI. Further works are necessary to quantitatively evaluate the architecture.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.7-12
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• 2018

This study was conducted to determine effects of precooling and storage methods on asparagus spears' quality such as changes of fresh weight and color during simulated export distribution. Two types of precooling methods, air cooling and hydrocooling, were applied prior to packaging by comparing with no precooling as a control. Asparagus spears were packed with oxygen transmission rate (OTR) film for modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) and perforated (PF) film for a conventional packaging. All treatments were stored at $8^{\circ}C$ for 20 hours, and subsequently at $4^{\circ}C$ by final storage day, which is simulated distribution temperature condition from Yanggu, Korea to Shimonoseki, Japan. The half cooling time was 12 minutes for air cooling and 15 seconds for the hydrocooling, indicating precooling process of asparagus spears faster with the hydrocooling. Rates of respiration and ethylene production were lowest with hydrocooling. Fresh weight loss was higher, approximately 11%, at the control condition in conventional storage, compared with the MAP, less than 0.5%. Carbon dioxide and oxygen content in the MAP was in the permissible ranges for asparagus spears under recommended CA/MA conditions under both the air cooling and hydrocooling. Ethylene content in the film package was lower with the precooling treatment. Firmness of stems was lowest with the hydrocooling prior to the MAP. Visual quality, off-odor, and hue angle value were best with hydrocooling prior to the MAP. In conclusion, the combination of hydrocooling with the MAP is effective in preserving quality during the export distribution process.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.135-142
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• 2010

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of soft stimulation protocol using GnRH antagonist/clomiphene citrate (CC)/recombinant FSH (rFSH) in patients undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) with intrauterine insemination (IUI), compared with GnRH antagonist multiple dose protocol (MDP) using GnRH antagonist/rFSH. Methods: Eighty infertile women were randomized to soft stimulation protocol group (n=40) or GnRH antagonist MDP group (n=40). In both groups, IUI was performed 36~40 hours after hCG injection. Statistical analysis was performed using Student's t-test, $\chi^2$ test or Fisher's exact test as appropriate. Results: Total dose and days of rFSH required for COS were significantly fewer in soft stimulation protocol group (p<0.001, p<0.001). A premature LH surge did not occur in any patients of both groups. Clinical pregnancy rate per cycle was similar between the two groups. Conclusion: Soft stimulation protocol provides comparable pregnancy rates to GnRH antagonist MDP despite fewer total dose and days of rFSH, and so can become one of the patient-friendly, cost-effective alternatives for infertile patients undergoing COS with IUI.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.27-40
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• 2010

Background and Objective : Increasing interest in anti-aging and anti-wrinkling agents for the skin has triggered the recent outflow of researches and studies in this field. This study was designed to investigate the effects of bee venom on skin wrinkling and skin aging by testing the skin wrinkling, skin elasticity, trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL), free radical level, anti-oxidative agent level, and skin tissue after infusion of bee venom on hairless mouse. Materials and Methods : Fifteen hairless mice aged between 36~40 weeks were divided randomly into 3 Group; the Bee Venom Syringe Group, the Bee Venom Needle Group, and the control group. The Bee Venom Syringe Group were injected subcutaneously with bee venom (0.1cc in total) using an insulin syringe on three spots in the lumbar spine (one spot on the center and two spots 1~2cm to the side bilaterally). The Bee Venom Needle Group were pricked with bee venom-smeared acupuncture needles on three longitudinal spots in the lumbar spine each 1cm apart, after which the needles were removed 10 minutes later. The Control Group did not receive any form of intervention. All procedures took place thrice a week for four weeks, during which the mice were allowed free access to water and fodder. The mice were measured and compared in the weight, skin wrinkling scale, skin elasticity, and TEWL before and after the experiment. After the experiment, blood samples were taken to measure the free radical and anti-oxidative agent level, and the skin tissue was sliced for examination. Data was analyzed using the SPSS program (ver 12.0). The ANOVA analysis was used to compare and contrast the three groups, and t-test for paired samples was used to evaluate skin-wrinkling before and after experiment. The cut-off p-value of significance was set at p<0.05. Results : 1. Administration of bee venom did not cause serious weight loss or gain. 2. Compared to the control group, the Bee Venom Syringe Group and the Bee Venom Needle Group both showed a decrease in skin wrinkling scale after intervention. Especially, the Bee Venom Syringe Group showed a significant decrease (p<0.05). 3. Compared to the control group, the Bee Venom Syringe Group and the Bee Venom Needle Group both showed an increase in skin elasticity. Especially, the Bee Venom Syringe Group showed a significant increase (p<0.05). 4. No significant change in TEWL was found in the mice in all the three groups before and after experiment. 5. Free radical level was normal in all 15 mice in all the three groups, and anti-oxidative agent was not significantly different across the three groups. 6. The Bee Venom Syringe Group, the Bee Venom Needle Group, and the control group did not show any significant difference in the thickness of epidermis and dermis, infiltration of inflammatory cells, and skin wrinkling. The epidermis layer was relatively better preserved in the Bee Venom Syringe Group as compared to the Bee Venom Needle Group and the control group. Conclusion : Direct injection of bee venom on the hairless mouse using a syringe was found to improve wrinkling of the skin and increase skin elasticity but did not show effectiveness on skin dryness due to water loss. The bee venom appears to have suppressive effects on skin wrinkling, one of the symptoms of skin aging, through a process independent of suppression of free radicals or increase of anti-oxidative agent.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.61-72
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• 2014

This paper analyzed transition pathways toward a low carbon society in Korea to meet global $2^{\circ}C$ climate target. Lower economic growth, industrial structure change, enhance of energy demand management, decarbonization of power sector, and replacement of low carbon fuel could reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emission from fuel combustion in 2050 by 67% against in 2011, or by 74% against in BAU (Business-As-Usual). Lower economic growth contributes to 13% of cumulative emission reduction relative to BAU, industrial structure change 9%, enhance of energy demand management 72%, decarbonization of power sector 5% and replacement of low carbon fuel 1% respectively. Final energy consumption in 2050 needs to be reduced to 50% relative to 2011, or to 41% relative to BAU. Nuclear, coal and renewable energy represent 31%, 40%, 2% respectively among electricity generation in 2011, but 38%, 2%, 32% in 2050. CCS represents 23% of total generation in 2050. Emission intensity of electricity in 2050 was decreased to 19% relative to 2011, or to 24% relative to BAU. Primary energy in 2050 was decreased to 64% compared to 2011, or to 44% compared to BAU. Final energy consumption, primary energy supply and GHG emission from fuel combustion from 1990 to 2011 increased by 176%, 197%, 146%. Radical change from historical trend is required to transit toward a low carbon society by 2050. Appropriate economic growth, structural change to non-energy intensive industries, energy technology research, development and deployment (RD&D) in terms of enhancement of energy efficiency and low carbon energy supply technologies, and fuel change to electricity and renewable energy are key instruments.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.65-71
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• 2006

Background : Hemoptysis, when massive and untreated, has a mortality rate of over 50 percents, is considered as one of most dreaded of all respiratory emergencies and can have a variety of underlying causes. Bronchial artery embolization (BAE) has become an established procedure in the management of massive and recurrent hemoptysis, and its efficacy is widely documented thereafter by number of articles. However, the long-term success rate of BAE is known to be unfavorable. Risk factors influencing that control failure are inevitably needed. Materials and methods : Seventy-five patients underwent bronchial artery embolization due to massive hemoptysis in Severance Hospital from Jan. 2000 to Jan. 2005. Nine patients' data were not available and could not be contacted with. Finally 66 patients' (48 males, 18 females) medical records were analyzed retrospectively during a mean follow up period of 20.4 months (ranging from 1 month to 54 months). Results : Among 66 patients whose data were available, 23(34.9%) patients had recurrent major hemoptysis. Patients' age, sex, underlying disease, previous intervention history, and number of feeding vessels had no statistical validity as risk factors of recurred major hemoptysis. But bilaterality of lesion, amount of hemoptysis, and pleural thickening were revealed as meaningful factors for predicting relapse (p = 0.008, 0.018, and 0.001, respectively). Conclusion : According to our series, patients presenting with larger amount of hemoptysis, pleural thickening of chest radiography and bilateral lesion are associated with increased risk of major hemoptysis in patients treated with BAE.