• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.704-716
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• 2020

Background: Ginsenoside Rh2 (GRh2) is a characterized component in red ginseng widely used in Korea and China. GRh2 exhibits a wide range of pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer properties. However, its effects on Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection have not been clarified yet. Methods: The effect of GRh2 against T. gondii was assessed under in vitro and in vivo experiments. The BV2 cells were infected with tachyzoites of T. gondii RH strain, and the effects of GRh2 were evaluated by MTT assay, morphological observations, immunofluorescence staining, a trypan blue exclusion assay, reverse transcription PCR, and Western blot analyses. The in vivo experiment was conducted with BALB/c mice inoculated with lethal amounts of tachyzoites with or without GRh2 treatment. Results and conclusion: The GRh2 treatment significantly inhibited the proliferation of T. gondii under in vitro and in vivo studies. Furthermore, GRh2 blocked the activation of microglia and specifically decreased the release of inflammatory mediators in response to T. gondii infection through TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. In mice, GRh2 conferred modest protection from a lethal dose of T. gondii. After the treatment, the proliferation of tachyzoites in the peritoneal cavity of infected mice markedly decreased. Moreover, GRh2 also significantly decreased the T. gondii burden in mouse brain tissues. These findings indicate that GRh2 exhibits an antieT. gondii effect and inhibits the microglial activation through TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway, providing the basic pharmacological basis for the development of new drugs to treat toxoplasmic encephalitis.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.469-477
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• 2012

Ostrinia larvae feed the pods and stem of red bean and seriously damage the bean production from farmers. In this study we investigated biological and developmental characteristics including field collection, host feeding preference, artificial rearing diet, morphological and molecular taxonomical identification, and pheromone analysis for an Ostrinia sp. in Korea. The male adults have massive tibia in the middle legs and 3-lobed uncus in the genitalia. The partial nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and II (COII) were not corresponded to those DNA sequences from other Ostrinia species reported previously in Japan and China. Host plants for this species are also different from the previous species reported. In the gas chromatography (GC) analyses, (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate was not detected from the pheromone gland of our species while the component as a sex pheromone was found in O. zaguliaevi and O. zealis, With taken results, we conclude this Ostrinia species in Korea is Ostrinia scapulalis or closely related species. When larvae collected in a fall were incubated in the outdoor condition, they emerged to adult between June and July in the next year. The result indicates that the winter diapause could be started in late larval stage. In addition, we developed a semi-synthetic artificial diet adopted for mass rearing of the O. scapulalis in laboratory.

• Spatial Information Research
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.101-109
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• 2011

Climate change affects all components of the global environment system and, in turn, all components mutually interact and affect climate change through non-linear feedback processes. It is thus necessary to study the interaction between the climate and the environment, in order to comprehensively understand and predict climate and environment change. However, current relevant systems are limited to particular areas and do not sufficiently support the mutual linking of research studies. Therefore, this study develops prototype a GIS based integrated DB management system for supporting the climate and environment data storage, management and distribution. The integrated DB management system was developed using VB.NET languages and ArcObjects component. First, considering the demands of climate environment experts, the study areas are selected and the methods of data management and utilization were defined. In addition, a location-based GIS DB was created in order to aid in understanding climate change through visual representation. Finally, the integrated DB management system provides an efficient data management and distribution data and it creates synergistic effect on climate and environment study. It also contributes significantly to the comprehensive diagnosis and prediction of climate change and environment systems.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea CI
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.95-101
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• 2008

Modeling of stock prices forecast has been considered as one of the most difficult problem to develop accurately since stock prices are highly correlated with various environmental conditions including economics and political situation. In this paper, we propose a agent system approach to predict Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) using neural network and statistical methods. To minimize mean of prediction error and variation of prediction error, agent system includes sub-agent modules for feature extraction, variables selection, forecast engine selection, and forecasting results analysis. As a first step to develop agent system for KOSPI forecasting, twelve economic indices are selected from twenty two basic standard economic indices using principal component analysis. From selected twelve economic indices, prediction model input variables are chosen again using best-subsets regression method. Two different types data are tested for KOSPI forecasting and the Prediction results showed 11.92 points of root mean squared error for consecutive thirty days of prediction. Also, it is shown that proposed agent system approach for KOSPI forecast is effective since required types and numbers of prediction variables are time-varying, so adaptable selection of modeling inputs and prediction engine are essential for reliable and accurate forecast model.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.96-108
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• 2011

Going abreast of high public concerns on the environment, the need of environmental modeling has been increased to assess the impact of space exploitation of environment. GIS offers potential solutions to the many problems encountered during water-quality modeling. But there are also many problems associated with the modeling. The preparation of necessary parameters for the modeling can be complicated. Also, the results from one model can be different from each other even the same area is analyzed. This paper aims to develop the data processing system to couple the Qual2E and HyGIS in which Qual2E input and output data files can be created, modified and processed using HyGIS and assess the performance of the system. A structural analysis and standardization of modeling are conducted to identify data flow and processing of Qual2E. Algorithms of the defined processors are designed and developed as component modules. The data model of HyGIS-Qual2E is designed, and GUI(Graphical User Interface) is developed using Visual Basic 6.0 and GDK.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.80-86
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• 2011

Background: A dry-type electrode is an alternative to the conventional wet-type electrode, because it can be applied without any skin preparation, such as a conductive electrolyte. However, because a dry-type electrode without electrolyte has high electrode-to-skin impedance, an impedance-converting amplifier is typically used to minimize the distortion of the bioelectric signal. In this study, we developed an active dry electroencephalography (EEG) electrode using an impedance converter, and compared its performance with a conventional Ag/AgCl EEG electrode. Methods: We developed an active dry electrode with an impedance converter using a chopper-stabilized operational amplifier. Two electrodes, a conventional Ag/AgCl electrode and our active electrode, were used to acquire EEG signals simultaneously, and the performance was tested in terms of (1) the electrode impedance, (2) raw data quality, and (3) the robustness of any artifacts. Results: The contact impedance of the developed electrode was lower than that of the Ag/AgCl electrode ($0.3{\pm}0.1$ vs. $2.7{\pm}0.7\;k{\Omega}$, respectively). The EEG signal and power spectrum were similar for both electrodes. Additionally, our electrode had a lower 60-Hz component than the Ag/AgCl electrode (16.64 vs. 24.33 dB, respectively). The change in potential of the developed electrode with a physical stimulus was lower than for the Ag/AgCl electrode ($58.7{\pm}30.6$ vs. $81.0{\pm}19.1\;{\mu}V$, respectively), and the difference was close to statistical significance (P=0.07). Conclusions: Our electrode can be used to replace Ag/AgCl electrodes, when EEG recording is emergently required, such as in emergency rooms or in intensive care units.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.269-275
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• 2007

This paper was study to develop an extract of Elaeagnus multiflora as a beverage component, and was part of a broader research project for at the development of processed foods using extract of Elaeagnus multiflora. Acceptable mixing properties of the beverage were significantly related to brix values, pH, total acidity, and total phenol contents. When brown rice vinegar was used as a supplement, the vinegar contributed only 1% of total acidity content, and the brix was below 5% of acceptable level. Maximal total acidity of the mixed beverage was attained which added 19.2%(v/v) of Elaeagnus multiflora extract and 7.6%(v/v) of brown rice vinegar. The mixed beverage contributed 0.88% of the total acidity content. The maximum condition of brix(11.5) of the mixed beverage was arrived to 24.7%(v/v) of Elaeagnus multiflora extract and 4.9%(v/v) of brown rice vinegar. The maximum polyphenol contents of beverage(14.47 mg%) was achieved which added 25.0%(v/v) of Elaeagnus multiflora extract and 4.3%(v/v) of brown rice vinegar.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.770-776
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• 2010

Sarcodon aspratus (Berk.) S. Ito is a wild mushroom commonly consumed in Korea due to its beneficial effects on health. However, only limited information on the volatile and nonvolatile constituents of S. aspratus is available. In the present study, the total concentration of mushroom soluble sugars, including glucose, trehalose, sucrose, and xylose, was found to be 202.5 mg/kg. The total contents of free and essential amino acids were 2,592.1 mg/kg and 1,249.5 mg/kg, respectively; arginine, lysine, methionine, and valine were the major amino acids present. The contents of total 5'-nucleotides and flavor 5'-nucleotides in S. aspratus were 2,510.7 mg/kg and 773.4 mg/kg, respectively. The volatile components of S. aspratus were collected by simultaneous distillation-extraction (SDE) and analyzed by gas chromatography-massspectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 27 volatile compounds were isolated and identified. The most abundant was l-octen-3-ol, which accounted for more than 68% of total volatiles; other important compounds were 2-octen-1-ol, 1-octen-3-one, and 2-octenol. Our results provide preliminary data for the development of S. aspratus as a food material.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.96-102
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• 2007

Measurement of globotriaosylceramide (Gb3, ceramide trihexoside) in urine has clinical importance for monitoring after enzyme replacement therapy in Fabry disease patients. The disease is an X-linked lipid storage disorder that results from a deficiency of the enzyme ${\alpha}$-galactosidase A (${\alpha}$-Gal A). The lack of ${\alpha}$-Gal A causes an intracellular accumulation of glycosphingolipids, mainly Gb3. A simple, rapid, and highly sensitive analytical method for Gb3 in urine was developed without labor-extensive pre-treatment by electrospray ionization MS/MS (ESI-MS/MS). Only simple 5-fold dilution of urine is necessary for the extraction and isolation of Gb3 in urine. Gb3 in diluted urine was dissolved in dioxane containing C17:0 Gb3 as an internal standard. After centrifugation it was directly injected and analyzed through guard column by in combination with multiple reaction monitoring mode of ESI-MS/MS. Eight isoforms of Gb3 were completely resolved from urine matrix. C24:0 Gb3 occupied 50% of total Gb3 as a major component in urine. Linear relationship for Gb3 isoforms was found in the range of 0.005${\sim}$5.0 ${\mu}$g/ml. The limit of detection (S/N=5) was 0.005 ${\mu}$g/ml and limit of quantification was 0.05 ${\mu}$g/ml for C24:0 Gb3 with acceptable precision and accuracy. Correlation coefficient of calibration curves for 8 Gb3 isoforms ranged from 0.9598 to 0.9975. This method could be useful for rapid and sensitive 1st line Fabry disease screening, monitoring and/or diagnostic tool for Fabry disease.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.851-862
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• 2007

The main reason of environmental pollution and destruction due to an indiscreet development of spa is the law of spa in use. According to the law of spa, the water of spa is ordained not mineral component and its efficacy but water temperature of over $25^{\circ}C$. Therefore this research was to analyze the differences between traditional spa and newly-established spa based on heat flow, geological rock, and fault relating to spa in order to call attention to a revision of the law of spa. According to the results, the location of the traditional spas was in accord with places which are Pohang, Bugok, Dongrae and Haeundae-gu of Busan, Uljin, Chungju, Usung-gu of Daejeon, Yesan, Asan, and Ichon. The heat flow of these places is over 67mW/m2 that is an average of South Korea. Relating to a fault, 92.3% of the traditional spas concurs with a fault and 33.5% of newly-established spa is in accord with a fault. 58.2% of the traditional spas and 42.7% of the newly-established spa are consistent with the granite.