• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.33 no.11
• /
• pp.905-914
• /
• 2023

To evaluate the effectiveness of the skin barrier improvement of lactic acid (LA) and gluconolactone (GL), the expression of filaggrin, loricrin, hyaluronic acid (HA), hyaluronan syhthase-2 (HAS2), and aquaporine-3 (AQP3) in keratinocytes, and the moisture content and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) by clinical trials were evaluated. The expression levels of filaggrin and locricrin, which are the main factors affecting the proper functioning of skin barrier function, and HA, HAS2, and AQP3, which are skin moisturizing-related proteins measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blotting. The results showed that the expression levels of the factors that decreased by H2O2 treatment were significantly increased by LA, GL, and a mixture of LA and GL at the mRNA and protein levels (p<0.05). The nanoemulsion containing a mixture of LA and GL was prepared using the emulsion inversion method, and the average particle size was 299.9 ± 0.287 nm. After measuring the TEWL of nanoemulsion using Vapometer, it was found that TEWL significantly decreased by 15.53% and 26.73% after two weeks and four weeks of product use, respectively, compared to TEWL before product use (p<0.001). Similarly, the skin moisture content of the nanoemulsion significantly increased by 15.40% and 26.59% after two weeks and four weeks of product use, respectively, compared to skin moisture content before product use (p<0.001). Therefore, the skin barrier function and moisturizing effect of a mixture of LA and GL are shown by increasing the moisture content and decreasing the TEWL by increasing the expression of filaggrin, loricrin, HA, HAS2, and AQP3. This suggests the possibility for the development of functional cosmetic ingredients in the future.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.61 no.4
• /
• pp.555-560
• /
• 2023

Conventional aqueous amine-based CO₂ capture has a problem in that a large amount of renewable energy is required for CO₂ stripping and solvent regeneration in its industrial applications. This work proposes a water-lean absorbent that can reduce regeneration energy by lowering the water content in the absorbent with high absorption capacity for CO₂. To this purpose, this water-lean solvent introduced NMP (N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone), which has a higher physical solubility in CO₂ and a low specific heat capacity comparing to water, along with 3-methylaminopropylamine (MAPA), a diamine, into the absorbent. The circulating absorption capacity and absorption rate for CO₂ of this water-lean solvent were measured using a packed tower. When NMP was added to the absorbent, the absorption rate was improved. In the case of the absorbent containing 2.5M MAPA was used, the maximum circulating absorption capacity was obtained when 10 wt% of NMP was included in absorbent. The overall mass transfer coefficient increased as the concentration of NMP increased. However, at loading values higher than 0.5, the increment in mass transfer coefficient decreased as the concentration of NMP increased. When the lean loading value is low, the mass transfer resistance due to viscosity of the absorbent is low, so the overall mass transfer coefficient increases with the addition of NMP. However, as the lean loading value increases, the viscosity of the absorbent increases, and the diffusivity of CO₂ and MAPA decreases, resulting in sharply decreasing of the overall mass transfer coefficient.

• Journal of Public Diplomacy
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.35-52
• /
• 2023

Korea has developed as an influential country over Asia and all over the world based on remarkable economic development. And the background of this development was possible due to the existence of those who sacrificed precious lives and contributed to the nation's existence in the past crisis. Every year, Korea holds an annual commemorative event with people of national merit, Korean War veterans, and their families, expressing gratitude for sacrifices and contributions at home and abroad, and providing economic support. The tragedy of the Korean War and the pro-democracy movement in Korea over the past half century will one day become a history of the distant past over time. As generations change and the purpose and method of exchange by region change, the tragic situation that occurred earlier and the way people sacrificed for the country are expected to be different from before. In particular, it is true that the number of Korean War veterans and their families is gradually decreasing as they are now old. In addition, due to the outbreak of global infectious diseases such as COVID-19, it is difficult to plan and conduct face to face events as well as before. Currently, Korea's digital technology is introducing various methods. 5G communication networks, smart-phones, tablet PCs, and smart devices that can experience virtual reality are already used in our real lives. Business meetings are held in a metaverse environment, and concerts by famous singers are held in an online environment. Artificial intelligence technology has also been introduced in the field of human resource recruitment and customer response services, improving the work efficiency of companies. And it seems that this technology can be used in the field of veterans. In particular, there is a metaverse technology that can vividly show the situation during the Korean War, and a way to digitalize the voices and facial expressions of currently surviving veterans to convey their memories and lessons to future generations in the long run. If this digital technology method is realized on an online platform to hold a veterans' celebration event, veterans and their families on the other side of the world will be able to participate in the event more conveniently.

• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.181-196
• /
• 2023

Size, velocity, and time equivalence are mechanisms that allow us to perceive objects in three-dimensional space consistently, despite errors on the two-dimensional retinal image. These mechanisms work on common cues, suggesting that the perception of motion distance, motion speed, and motion time may share common processing. This can lead to the hypothesis that, despite the spatial nature of visual stimuli distorting temporal perception, the perception of motion speed and the perception of motion duration will tend to oppose each other, as observed for objects moving in the environment. To test this hypothesis, the present study measured perceived speed using Müller-Lyer illusion stimulus to determine the relationship between the time-perception consequences of motion stimuli observed in previous studies and the speed perception measured in the present study. Experiment 1 manipulated the perceived motion trajectory while controlling for the retinal motion trajectory, and Experiment 2 manipulated the retinal motion trajectory while controlling for the perceived motion trajectory. The result is that the speed of the inward stimulus, which is perceived to be shorter, is estimated to be higher than that of the outward stimulus, which is perceived to be longer than the actual distance traveled. Taken together with previous time perception findings, namely that time perception is expanded for outward stimuli and contracted for inward stimuli, this suggests that when the perceived trajectory of a stimulus manipulated by the Müller-Lyer illusion is controlled for, perceived speed decreases with increasing duration and increases with decreasing duration when the perceived distance of the stimulus is constant. This relationship suggests that the relationship between time and speed perceived by spatial cues corresponds to the properties of objects moving in the environment, i.e, an increase in time decreases speed and a decrease in time increases speed when distance remains the same.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.28-41
• /
• 2024

The carbon balance serves as a valuable indicator of a plant's physiological status under diverse environmental conditions. We investigated the photosynthetic and respiratory responses of the Asian surfgrass Phyllospadix iwatensis along the northeast coast of the Korean peninsula in response to changing water temperature (ranging from 5℃ to 30℃) to estimate the seasonal whole-plant carbon balance through a series of incubation experiments. The maximum gross photosynthetic rate (P_max) showed a significant difference among the temperature treatments, while there was no significant difference in photosynthetic efficiency (α). The maximum gross photosynthetic rate of P. iwatensis reached its peaks at 20℃ treatment (101.65 μmol O₂ g^-1 DW h^-1) but decreased rapidly at 30℃. The saturation irradiance (I_k), compensation irradiance (I_c), and respiration rate (R) of P. iwatensis exhibited significant differences among the temperature treatments. The saturation irradiance increased up to 20-25℃ (121.59-124.50 μmol photons m^-2 s^-1) and sharply decreased at 30℃. The compensation irradiance and respiration rate increased steadily with rising water temperature. The ratio of P_max to R (P_max:R ratio) was the highest at 5℃ but dramatically decreased at 30℃. The whole-plant carbon balance, calculated based on photosynthetic parameters, respiration rates, and biomass, exhibited distinct seasonal variation, increasing during winter and spring and decreasing during summer and fall, which is consistent with the highest in situ growth in spring and severely limited growth at the highest water temperature conditions. Phyllospadix iwatensis displayed a negative carbon balance during late summer, fall, and winter, but demonstrated a positive carbon balance during spring and early summer. Our findings suggest that the rising seawater temperatures associated with climate change may lead to significant alterations in the seagrass ecosystem functioning along the rocky shores of the Korean east coast.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.16-22
• /
• 2024

Along with the high interest in electric vehicles and new renewable energy, there is a growing demand to apply lithium-ion batteries in the construction equipment industry. The capacity of heavy construction equipment that performs various tasks at construction sites is rapidly decreasing. Therefore, it is essential to accurately predict the state of batteries such as SOC (State of Charge) and SOH (State of Health). In this paper, the errors between actual electrochemical measurement data and estimated data were compared using the Dual Extended Kalman Filter (DEKF) algorithm that can estimate SOC and SOH at the same time. The prediction of battery charge state was analyzed by measuring OCV at SOC 5% intervals under 0.2C-rate conditions after the battery cell was fully charged, and the degradation state of the battery was predicted after 50 cycles of aging tests under various C-rate (0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5C rate) conditions. It was confirmed that the SOC and SOH estimation errors using DEKF tended to increase as the C-rate increased. It was confirmed that the SOC estimation using DEKF showed less than 6% at 0.2, 0.5, and 1C-rate. In addition, it was confirmed that the SOH estimation results showed good performance within the maximum error of 1.0% and 1.3% at 0.2 and 0.3C-rate, respectively. Also, it was confirmed that the estimation error also increased from 1.5% to 2% as the C-rate increased from 0.5 to 1.5C-rate. However, this result shows that all SOH estimation results using DEKF were excellent within about 2%.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.113 no.1
• /
• pp.88-96
• /
• 2024

This study was conducted to determine the optimal light conditions for the in situ and ex situ conservation and restoration of Osmanthus insularis, a rare plant species in South Korea. Evaluations included the growth performance, leaf morphological features, photosynthetic characteristics, and photosynthetic pigment contents of seedlings grown from April to November under different light conditions (100%, 55%, 20%, and 10% relative light intensity). The shoot lengths and root collar diameters did not differ significantly with relative light intensity. The dry weights of leaves, stems, and roots and the leaf number were highest at 55% relative light intensity. The leaf shape showed morphological acclimation to light intensity, with leaf area decreasing and thickness increasing as the relative light intensity increased. Several leaf parameters, including photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance at light saturation point, net apparent quantum yield, and dark respiration, as well as chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoid contents, were all highest at 55% relative light intensity. Under full light conditions, the leaves were the smallest and thickest, but the chlorophyll content was lower than at 55% relative light intensity, resulting in lower photosynthetic ability. Plants grown at 10% and 20% relative light intensity showed lower chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoid contents, as well as decreased photosynthetic and dark respiration rates. In conclusion, O. insularis seedlings exhibited morphological adaptations in response to light intensity; however, no physiological responses indicating enhanced photosynthetic efficiency in shade were evident. The most favorable light condition for vigorous photosynthesis and maximum biomass production in O. insularis seedlings appeared to be 55% relative light intensity. Therefore, shading to approximately 55% of full light is suggested for the growth of O. insularis seedlings.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
• /
• v.52 no.1
• /
• pp.46-58
• /
• 2024

Pollinators are organisms that carry out the pollination process of plants and include Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, and Coleoptera. Among them, bees not only pollinate plants but also improve urban green spaces damaged by land use changes, providing a habitat and food for birds and insects. Today, however, the number of pollinating plants is decreasing due to issues such as early flowering due to climate change, fragmentation of green spaces due to urbanization, and pesticide use, which in turn leads to a decline in bee populations. The decline of bee populations directly translates into problems, such as reduced biodiversity in cities and decreased food production. Urban beekeeping has been proposed as a strategy to address the decline of bee populations. However, there is a problem asurban beekeeping strategies are proposed without considering the complex structure of the socio-ecological system consisting of bees foraging and pollination activities and are therefore unsustainable. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the socio-ecological system of honeybees, which are pollinators, structurally using system thinking and propose a green space planning strategy to revitalize urban beekeeping. For this study, previous studies that centered on the social and ecological system of bees in cities were collected and reviewed to establish the system area and derive the main variables for creating a causal loop diagram. Second, the ecological structure of bees' foraging and pollination activities and the structure of bees' ecological system in the city were analyzed, as was the social-ecological system structure of urban beekeeping by creating an individual causal loop diagram. Finally, the socio-ecological system structure of honey bees was analyzed from a holistic perspective through the creation of an integrated causal loop diagram. Citizen participation programs, local government investment, and the creation of urban parks and green spaces in idle spaces were suggestedas green space planning strategies to revitalize urban beekeeping. The results of this study differ from previous studies in that the ecological structure of bees and the social structure of urban beekeeping were analyzed from a holistic perspective using systems thinking to propose strategies, policy recommendations, and implications for introducing sustainable urban beekeeping.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.38-47
• /
• 2024

Background: Korea's population of children and adolescents has decreased by 2.88 million over the past decade and is expected to decline further due to the unprecedented low birth rate. In the fee-for-service compensation system, the decline in the pediatric population relates directly to the profit decrease in the pediatric clinics. This study analyzed whether the worsening profits of pediatric clinics impacted their closure. Methods: We built annual data for pediatric and other department clinics (internal medicine, otolaryngology, and family medicine) using the status of medical institute and health insurance claims data from 2012 to 2022. Then, we analyzed whether institutional variables such as annual profit and regional variables (Herfindahl-Hirschman index, the number of clinics per 100,000, etc.) affected the closure of clinics. The methods used in this study are descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis. Odds ratios for each variable were estimated by generalized estimating equations (GEE). Results: The closure rate of pediatric clinics was 2.66%-7.04% in 2012-2022, which was consistently higher than those of internal medicine, otolaryngology, and family medicine clinics. The profit gap per institution between the pediatric and the other clinics grew from 126 million won in 2012 to 245 million won in 2019. In the GEE analysis, profit decrease compared to the previous year with lower profit was the main factor that increased the closure of pediatric and other department clinics. After adjusting profit-related variables, the decrease in the pediatric population itself did not relate to the closure of pediatric clinics. The number of pediatric clinics or monopolies also did not affect the closure of pediatric clinics. Conclusion: The worsening profit is the crucial factor for the closure of pediatric clinics, while the pediatric population is decreasing. For this reason, it is necessary to actively seek ways to maintain a stable treatment system for children and adolescents.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.113 no.2
• /
• pp.222-238
• /
• 2024

Coniferous species in subalpine ecosystems are known to be highly sensitive to climate change. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important to monitor community and population dynamics. This study monitored 37 plots within the distribution area of Abies koreana on Mt. Jirisan for a period of eight years. We analyzed the importance value, density of living stems, mortality rate, recruitment rate, basal area, DBH (diameter of breast height) class distribution, and tree health status. Our results showed changes in the importance value based on the tree stratum, with A. koreana decreasing by 3.6% and Tripterygium regelii increasing by 2.5% in the tree layer. Between 2015 and 2023, there were 149 dead trees/ha (17.99% mortality rate) and 12 living trees/ha (1.02% recruitment rate) of A. koreana. The decrease in basal area was attributed to a decrease in the number of living trees. Tree mortality occurred in all DBH classes, with a particularly high decline in the <10 cm class (65 trees/ha reduced). In terms of changes in tree health status, the population of alive standing (AS) type trees, initially consisting of 539 trees/ha, has been transformed into alive standing (AS), alive lean (AL), and death standing (DS), accounting for 69.7%, 0.5%, and 13.8%, respectively. Meanwhile, DS-type trees have transitioned into dead broken (DB) and dead fallen (DF) types. This phenomenon is believed to be caused by strong winds in the subalpine region that pull up the rootlets from the soil. Further research on this finding is recommended.