• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.151-160
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• 1997

This study was planned to evaluate the urinary ascorbic acid as a new biological marker for the intoxication of cadmium, which could possibly be driven by its increased utilization and environmental pollution. In order to meet this goal, we have peformed measurement of urinary ascorbic acid concentration, histopathological examination of the kidney, and biochemical test for the liver function using cadmium-intoxicated rats by oral administration. The average concentrations of urinary ascorbic acid in the $CdCl_2$-treated rats were 214.0 mg/dl for 100 ppm group and 254.3 mg/dl for 200 ppm group during experimental period of 50 days. These levels are 24 and 28 times higher than one in the control group (9.0 mg/dl), respectively. Ultrastructural study showed the eosinophilic hyaline cast and focal effacement, fusion in the renal tubules, as well as loss of foot processes on the glomerular epithelial cells. These results suggested that cadmium may be responsible for renal glomerular injury. The blood levels of AST, ALT and LDH in the treated groups (199 IU/I, 88 IU/I, 1190 U/I for the 100 ppm group and 270 IU/I, 226 IU/I, 760 U/I for the 200 ppm group) were higher than ones in the control group(143 IU/I, 50 IU/I, 334 U/I). These results indicated the cadmium induced the damage of liver function. In conclusion, the administration of cadmium showed a remarkable increase of urinary ascorbic acid with renal and hepatic damage. Therefore, it is expected that measurement of urinary ascorbic acid would be an powerful method as a noninvasive biomarker for cadmium intoxication.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.59 no.sup1
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• pp.49-52
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• 2016

X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) is a hereditary humoral immunodeficiency that results from Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK ) gene mutations. These mutations cause defects in B-cell development, resulting in the virtual absence of these lymphocytes from the peripheral circulation. Consequently, this absence leads to a profound deficiency of lg all isotypes, and an increased susceptibility to encapsulated bacterial infections. A 15-month-old Korean boy presented with recurrent sinusitis and otitis media after 6 months of age, and had a family history of 2 maternal uncles with XLA. Laboratory tests revealed a profound deficiency of Ig isotypes, and a decreased count of $CD19^+$ B cells in the peripheral circulation. Based on his family history and our laboratory test results, he was diagnosed with XLA. We performed BTK gene analysis of peripheral blood samples obtained from family members to confirm the diagnosis. Mutational analysis revealed a novel hemizygous frameshift mutation (c.82delC, p.Arg28Alafs*5), in the BTK gene. His mother and maternal grandmother were heterozygous carriers of this mutation and his two maternal uncles were hemizygous at the same position. After XLA diagnosis, intravenous immunoglobulin (400 mg/kg, monthly) treatment was initiated; recurrent sinusitis and otitis media were subsequently brought under control. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a Korean pedigree with a novel mutation in the BTK gene.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.12 no.10
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• pp.4359-4368
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• 2011

Among several macroeconomic missteps blamed for the recent global financial crisis including the social problems of income distribution and the lack of proper financial remedies, two of them have received particular attention: the global BOP(Balance of Payment) imbalance and the misguided monetary policy. Such BOP imbalance was blamed for massive foreign exchange investment flows from Asia into the U.S., triggering the financial and real estate bubble in America. The latter refers to the excessively loose monetary policy of the U.S. Federal Reserve, which pushed financial institutions and households into reckless investment behavior in search of higher returns. Given the abuse of certain innovative financial techniques and new investment instruments that have been created in recent decades, both collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and credit default swaps (CDS) enjoyed a symbiotic and toxic relationship prior to the financial crisis This paper is organized as follows: The first section analyzes the real causes of the recent financial crisis. The second details the role of CDOs and CDS. Then, to identify key determinants of the CDS spreads in an emerging capital market, the sample data of major Korean firms' CDS spreads are used to estimate the risk premium by utilizing the multiple regression analysis. The empirical test result indicates that Korean 3-year treasury bond rate(TYIELD), market to book value ratio(MV/BV), and assets size(INASSETS) are shown to demonstrate statistically significant influences on the changes of the CDS premium for sample firms.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.314-322
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• 2008

This study was carried out to assess aerobic stabilized waste sludge as liquid fertilizer for the growth of cucumber, cabbage and chrysanthemum. Sludge was pretreated with NaOH(40 meq/L) at 40$^{\circ}C$ for 330 min. The number of fecal coliforms in batch test sludge fertilizer was more efficiently reduced than those in continuous one, maybe due to longer SRT. All produced fertilizer belonged to class B according to US EPA requirement at least. Among 6 heavy metals regulated in Korea, As, Cd and Hg were not detectable in plant amended with fertilizer whereas the concentration of Cr, Cu and Pb in plant was less than 10 mg/kg dw. However, Zn and Ni, which were restricted in other country, but not in Korea, were detected in most amount of 118 mg/kg and 15.7 mg/kg, respectively. Furthermore, based on dry weight of plant, digested sludge(5.4 mg, dw) functioned as better fertilizer rather than activated sludge (4.3 mg, dw), much more fertile when those sludge was pretreated(1.24 mg, dw) compared to untreated one(1.12 mg, dw). But its fertility was 60$\sim$80% of commercial fertilizer and accumulation of Zn, Ti and Cr in plant was founded. Therefore, it could be concluded that sludge-fertilizer can be used for flower unlimitedly, but for edible plant limitedly as additive fertilizer.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.686-694
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• 2015

Background Rosa damascena, a type of herb, has been used for wound healing in Eastern folk medicine. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of rose placenta from R. damascena in a full-thickness wound model in mice. Methods Sixty six-week-old C57BL/6N mice were used. Full-thickness wounds were made with an 8-mm diameter punch. Two wounds were made on each side of the back, and wounds were assigned randomly to the control and experimental groups. Rose placenta ($250{\mu}g$) was injected in the experimental group, and normal saline was injected in the control group. Wound sizes were measured with digital photography, and specimens were harvested. Immunohistochemical staining was performed to assess the expression of epidermal growth factor (EGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), transforming growth factor-${\beta}1$ (TGF-${\beta}1$), and CD31. Vessel density was measured. Quantitative analysis using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for EGF was performed. All evaluations were performed on postoperative days 0, 2, 4, 7, and 10. Statistical analyses were performed using the paired t-test. Results On days 4, 7, and 10, the wounds treated with rose placenta were significantly smaller. On day 2, VEGF and EGF expression increased in the experimental group. On days 7 and 10, TGF-${\beta}1$ expression decreased in the experimental group. On day 10, vessel density increased in the experimental group. The increase in EGF on day 2 was confirmed with ELISA. Conclusions Rose placenta was found to be associated with improved wound healing in a mouse full-thickness wound model via increased EGF release. Rose placenta may potentially be a novel drug candidate for enhancing wound healing.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Electromagnetic Engineering and Science
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.1096-1103
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• 2008

This paper proposes an individual order predistortion linearizer using intermodulation distortion(IMD) generator for cancellation the third and the fifth IMD of power amplifier. The IMD generator for controlling the third and the fifth IMD consist of common Emitter amplifier and Schottky diode. These signals are generated by series feedback of Schottky diode to obtain the inverse AM/AM and AM/PM characteristics of power amplifier. The individual order predistorters are consisted of individual IMD generator, power splitter and combiner. The test results show that the third and the fifth IMD can be improved by a maximum 13.5 dB and 0.9 dB in case of CW 2-tone signals. Also, the Adjacent Channel Leakage Ratio(ACLR) can be improved 2.3 dB, 2.5 dB at ${\pm}0.885$ MHz, ${\pm}1.23$ MHz offset frequency for CD-MA IS-95 2FA signals.

• BMB Reports
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.556-561
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• 1995

The purpose of this study was to establish an in vitro culture method of tumor-specific T cells, and determine the efficacy of the cultured tumor-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL) as an agent of anti-tumor immunotherapy against a murine lymphoma, TIMI.4. Tumor-specific T-lymphocytes derived from C57BL/6 mice (thy-1.2) immune to TIMI.4 were activated by in vitro stimulation with the irradiated TIMI.4 cells, and expanded by restimulation with TIMI.4 in the presence of the concanavalin A-stimulated rat spleen culture supernatant, and splenic antigen-presenting cells. In vitro restimulation enhanced markedly the proportion of $CD8^+$, a predominant surface marker of CTL and the cytotoxic activity in the cultured immune T cell population. The resulting TIMI.4-specific T cells were adoptively transferred into nude mice. The tumor cells residing in the host after 7 days of adoptive transfer to B6.PL (thy-1.1) mice were quantified by use of an antibody directed to the thy-1.2 allele. The TIMI.4 cells in the recipient nude mice were decreased in a dose-dependent manner. Anti-tumor activity of the TIMI.4-specific T cells was also demonstrated by a survival test, where the tumor-bearing nu/nu mice which received the activated T-cells survived about 30% longer than the control mice which received the tumor cells alone. These suggest that adoptive transfer of TIMI.4-specific T cells could be a candidate for effective therapy of the murine lymphoma.

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 1993

This paper describes the design and development of a KrF excimer laser stepper and discusses the detailed system parameters and characterization data obtained from the performance test. We have developed a deep UV step-and-repeat system, operating at 248 nm, by retrofitting a commercial modules such as KrF excimer laser, precision wafer stage and fused silica illumination and 5X projection optics of numerical aperture 0.42. What we have developed, to the basic structure, are wafer alignment optics, reticle alignment system, autofocusing/leveling mechanisms and environment chamber. Finally, all these subsystem were integrated under the control of microprocessor-based controllers and computer. The wafer alignment system comprises the OFF-AXIS and the TTL alignment. The OFF-AXIS alignment system was realized with two kinds of optics. One is the magnification system with the image processing technique and the other is He-Ne laser diffraction type system using the alignment grating on the wafer. 'The TTL alignment system employs a dual beam inteferometric method, which takes advantages of higher diffraction efficiency compared with other TTL type alignment systems. As the results, alignment accuracy for OFF-AXIS and TTL alignment system were obtained within 0.1 $\mu\textrm{m}$/ 3 $\sigma$ for the various substrate on the wafers. The wafer focusing and leveling system is modified version of the conventional systems using position sensitive detectors (PSD). This type of detection method showed focusing and leveling accuracies of about $\pm$ 0.1 $\mu\textrm{m}$ and $\pm$ 0.5 arcsec, respectively. From the CD measurement, we obtained 0.4 $\mu\textrm{m}$ resolution features over the full field with routine use, and 0.3 $\mu\textrm{m}$ resolution was attainable under more strict conditions.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1222-1227
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• 2006

In this study, nine strains were isolated from heavy metal-contaminated soil in a mine. The high efficiency bacteria, JH1, to be able removal cadmium and copper, was selected by the screen test. JH1 was identified as Ralstonia eutropha by 16S rDNA analysis, fatty acid analysis, and its morphological and biochemical characteristics. After the cadmium-contaminated soil was washed with citric acid solution(pH 6, 10 mM), Ralstonia eutropha JH1 was inoculated in the soil washing water. In order to determine the optimal cell concentration for inoculation, cell concentrations were considered in 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0 g/L, respectively. The removal efficiencies for cadmium in each cell concentration of Ralstonia eutropha JH1 were 49.9, 84.4, 89.7% and 89.9% of 110 mg/L(Cd), after 5 days culture in soil washing water. When Ralstonia eutropha JH1 was inoculated in soil washing water containing each cadmium(110 mg/L) and copper(100 mg/L), each of them was removed completely during 6 days culture. The completely removing time for cadmium and copper in each low concentration, 10, 30 and 60 mg/L were 12, 18 and 48 hrs, respectively.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.721-725
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• 2010

Purpose: The survival of composite graft is dependent on three steps, (1) plasmatic imbibitions, (2) inosculation, and (3) neovascularization. Among the many trials to increase the survival rate of composite graft, prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) has beneficial effects on the microcirculatory level with vasodilating, antithrombotic, anti-inflammatory and neoangiogenic properties. Lipo-PGE1 which is lipid microspheres containing PGE1 had developed to compensate the systemic and local side effects of PGE1. This study was proposed to determine whether Lipo-PGE1 administration enhanced the survival of composite graft through neovascularization quantitatively in a rabbit ear model. Methods: Fourteen New Zealand White Rabbits each weighing 3~4 kg were divided in two groups: (1) intravenous Lipo-PGE1 injection group and (2) control group. A $2{\times}1\;cm$ sized, full-thickness rectangular composite graft was harvested in each auricle. Then, the graft was reaaproximated in situ using a 5-0 nylon suture. For the experimental group, $3{\mu}g$/kg/day of Lipo-PGE1 ($5{\mu}g$/mL) was administered intravenously through the marginal vein of the ear for 14 days. The control group was received no pharmacologic treatment. On the 14th postoperative day, composite graft of the ear was harvested and immunochemistry staining used Monoclonal mouse anti-CD 31 antibody was performed. Neoangiogenesis was quantified by counting the vessels that showed luminal structures surrounded by the brown color-stained epithelium and counted from 10 random high-power fields (400x) by independent blinded observer. Statistical analysis (Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test for nonparametric data) was performed using SPSS v12.0, with values of p<0.05 considered significant. Results: The mean number of the microvessels was $15.48{\pm}8.65$ in the experimental group and $9.82{\pm}7.25$ in the control group (p=0.028). Conclusion: The use of Lipo-PGE1 facilitated the neoangiogenesis, resulted in the improvement of the survival rate of graft. On the basis of this results, we could support wider application of Lipo-PGE1 for more effective therapeutic angiogenesis and successful survival in various cases of composite graft in the human.