• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.152-161
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• 2004

Double-peak normal distribution function was suggested as the probability density function of the tidal elevation data in Korean coastal zone. Frequency distribution analysis was carried out using hourly tidal elevation data of the ten tidal gauging stations, i.e., Incheon, Kunsan, Mokpo, Cheju, Yeosu, Masan, Gadeokdo, Pusan, Pohang, and Sokcho which were served through the Internet Homepage by the National Ocean Research Institute. Based on the RMS error and $R^2$ value comparison analysis, it was found that this suggested function as the probability density function of the tidal elevation data was found to be more appropriate than the normal distribution function. The parameters of the double-peak function were estimated optimally using Levenberg-Marquardt method which was modified from the Newton method. The estimated parameters were highly correlated with the non-tidal constants of the tidal gauging stations.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.7-13
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• 2020

This paper focuses on detecting abnormal patterns of respiration of humans. In this study, a contact-based device was used to acquire both normal and abnormal respiration signals. To this end, this paper reports the development of a monitoring system to investigate the respiratory status of humans in a normal environment. This work aims to classify the respiratory status, i.e., normal and abnormal status, quantitatively. The respiration signal is acquired using a contact-based medical device (BIOBPAC), and noise reduction is carried out before classifying the respiratory status. To reduce noise, a mixed filter that combines the Savitzky-Golay filter and Median filter is applied to the acquired respiration signals. The inter-class distance is maximized, and the intra-class distance is minimized. The proposed algorithm is straightforward and can be applied to a practical environment. In addition, the experimental results are provided to substantiate the proposed approach.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.37-57
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• 2020

This work investigates a new type of quasi-3D hyperbolic shear deformation theory is proposed in this study to discuss the statics and free vibration of functionally graded porous plates resting on elastic foundations. Material properties of porous FG plate are defined by rule of the mixture with an additional term of porosity in the through-thickness direction. By including indeterminate integral variables, the number of unknowns and governing equations of the present theory is reduced, and therefore, it is easy to use. The present approach to plate theory takes into account both transverse shear and normal deformations and satisfies the boundary conditions of zero tensile stress on the plate surfaces. The equations of motion are derived from the Hamilton principle. Analytical solutions are obtained for a simply supported plate. Contrary to any other theory, the number of unknown functions involved in the displacement field is only five, as compared to six or more in the case of other shear and normal deformation theories. A comparison with the corresponding results is made to verify the accuracy and efficiency of the present theory. The influences of the porosity parameter, power-law index, aspect ratio, thickness ratio and the foundation parameters on bending and vibration of porous FG plate.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.579-585
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• 2015

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Sonchus asper is used extensively as an herbal anti-inflammatory for treatment of bronchitis, asthma, wounds, burns, and cough; however, further investigation is needed in order to understand the underlying mechanism. To determine its mechanism of action, we examined the effects of an ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) of S. asper on nitric oxide (NO) production and prostaglandin-E2 levels in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. MATERIALS/METHODS: An in vitro culture of RAW264.7 macrophages was treated with LPS to induce inflammation. RESULTS: Treatment with EAF resulted in significant suppression of oxidative stress in RAW264.7 macrophages as demonstrated by increased endogenous superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and intracellular glutathione levels, decreased generation of reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxidation, and restoration of the mitochondrial membrane potential. To confirm its anti-inflammatory effects, analysis of expression of inducible NO synthase, cyclooxygenase-2, tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$, and the anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-$1{\beta}$ and IL-6 was performed using semi-quantitative RT-PCR. EAF treatment resulted in significantly reduced dose-dependent expression of all of these factors, and enhanced expression of the antioxidants MnSOD and heme oxygenase-1. In addition, HPLC fingerprint results suggest that rutin, caffeic acid, and quercetin may be the active ingredients in EAF. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, findings of this study imply that the anti-inflammatory effect of EAF on LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells is mediated by suppression of oxidative stress.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.140-149
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• 2011

This study was conducted to evaluate the rate of obesity of 212 women (age 45-60 years) in Seoul and the Kyunggi area through analysis of BMI and the dietary life factors related to obesity using a survey on dietary habits, dietary assessment, and nutrient intake. The height of the underweight group was taller than normal. The height of the obese group was equal to that of the normal group, but the weight was 8.5 kg greater than the normal group. Women in the underweight group consumed meals irregularly, and only 33.4% ate breakfast. Additionally, the rate of overeating was low in the underweight group, and milk, dairy products (yogurt, etc.), fruit, and fruit juice were consumed more than once a day. It was found that 62.1% of the women in the obese group never ate out, and the rate of eating one serving of fruit, drinking one cup of fruit juice, and eating various kinds of foods was high. The average point of women's dietary life was $21.9{\pm}2.9$, and 12.7% of all women responded that their dietary life was good. However, in the obese group, only 6.9% of the women reported that their dietary life was good. Evaluation of snacking habits revealed that the underweight group consumed a high level of carbonated drinks and ice cream, whereas for in the obese group, 24.1% of the women consumed milk and its products and 5.6% regularly consumed fast and fried foods. Evaluation of nutrient intake revealed that the consumption of energy, protein, vitamin A, vitamin $B_1$, $B_2$, $B_6$, niacin, vitamin C, and vitamin E was high in all of the groups, but the intake of folic acid in the underweight group was lower than the required level. Overall, 24.1% of the women in the obese group were found to have metabolic diseases, mostly hypertension (43%). In conclusion, a balanced diet to avoid excessive nutrient intake is needed to prevent obesity.

• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-24
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• 2013

The elderly population continues to increase in Korea and there has been a growing interest in understanding normal aging. In response to this public interest, the present paper reviewed human aging research focusing on recently published neuroimaging studies. For the first half of the paper, I reviewed the effects of aging on the brain and cognition. In normal aging, structural changes in the brain include atrophy and volume reduction in the prefrontal and temporal cortices. Functional changes are exhibited in the form of overactivation of the brain. Moreover, age-related cognitive decline is particularly observed in inhibition and memory, which are also associated with the age-related structural changes in the brain. For the second half of the paper, I introduced physical exercise studies showing that exercise played a protective role in the age-related neurocognitive decline. More specifically, engaging in physical exercise (particularly, aerobic exercise) for a relatively long period of time (e. g., > 6 mon.) protected older adults from volume loss in the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus, and induced better inhibition and memory. These exercise-induced benefits appear to be associated with changes in neuronal levels, indicating that the aging brain is still plastic and this plasticity can be enhanced by physical exercise.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.95-102
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• 2008

Multiple physical changes of the larynx and its components occur with age. Vocal pitch, commonly expressed through measures of fundamental frequency (Fo) relate to physical conditions of the larynx. Available data is lacking for the senescent voice, and should be applied to the of changes of elderly speakers' Fo characteristics. The purpose of this study was to investigate the Fo of normal elderly speaker's voice. A total of 406 normal elderly speakers (207 males and 199 females) participated in this experiment. Age ranged from 60 years to 89 years. The subjects were asked to produce sustained corner vowels (/a/ /i/ /u/) three times each and the data were analyzed using the MDVP of CSL. According to the results of this study, the mean Fo from the ages of 60's to 80's shows 143.95Hz(SD 13.94) for men and 185.42Hz (SD 15.29) for women. For men, a significant change is found as a function of age in the Fo (F=16.181, p<.05). A post-hoc Scheffe test revealed significant differences between the Fo data of subjects aged 60's and 70's, 60's and 80's. For women, a significant change is found as a function of age in the Fo (F=49.013, p<.05). A post-hoc $Scheff'{e}$ test revealed significant differences between the Fo data of subjects in their 60's and 70's, 70's and 80's, 60's and 80's. The Fo of men goes up from their 60's to 80's gradually, whereas the Fo of women goes down gradually until their 70's, and after their 70's it again increases. It has been known that diminishing estrogen levels in women in old age may be a factor in lowering Fo, whereas diminishing testosterone levels in men may contribute to a rising Fo. This result may be used as some meaningful guideline and lead the basic data to differentiate between normal aged voice and aged voice disorders.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.17
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• pp.7883-7887
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• 2015

Background: Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Viruses including human papillomavirus (HPV) have been reported to be associated with different cancers but any association with colorectal cancers remains controversial. Aim: To evaluate any association between HPV infection and adenocarcinoma of the colon and adenomatous polyps. Materials and Methods: Paraffin-embedded tissue specimens of 70 colorectal adenocarcinomas, 70 colorectal adenomatous polyps, and 70 colorectal normal tissues were subjected to DNA extraction. The quality of the extracted DNA was confirmed by amplification of a ${\beta}$-globin fragment using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR using specific primers were performed to detect HPV DNA. Specific primers targeting the E6 region of the HPVs 16 and 18 were used for genotyping. Results: HPV DNA was detected in 2 (2.85%) out of 70 adenocarcinoma colorectal tissues and 4 (5.71 %) out of 70 adenomatous colorectal tissues. All normal colorectal tissues were negative for HPV DNA. HPV-16 was the most predominant genotype (5 sample) followed by HPV-18 (4 sample). Despite the above observations, statistical analyses indicated no significant differences in the frequencies of HPV positive subjects between the cancerous and normal samples. Conclusions: Although the differences observed in the frequencies of HPV positive cases in our study was not significant relative to those of control subjects, the fact of 6 positive samples among cancerous tissues, may still suggest a role of HPV in colorectal carcinogenesis. The study collectively indicated that some colorectal cancerous tissues are infected with high risk HPV genotype. The findings merit more investigation.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.12
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• pp.1626-1631
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• 2010

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary replacement of normal maize (NM) with quality protein maize (QPM) on performance, immune response and carcass characteristics of broiler (Krishibro) chickens. Six experimental diets were prepared separately for starter and finisher phases. Diet 1 was a control diet formulated with NM and soybean meal. In diets 2-5, the NM was replaced with QPM at 25, 50, 75 and 100%, respectively. Diet 6 was the same as the control diet, but supplemented with synthetic lysine similar to the industry standard. Each test diet was fed to 8 replicates, each of 5 chicks, reared in stainless steel battery brooders. The AME content of QPM (3382 kcal/kg) was similar to that of NM (3,352 kcal/kg), but protein (9.91 vs. 8.94%), lysine (0.40 vs. 0.26%) and tryptophan (0.09 vs. 0.07%) contents of QPM were higher than NM. Dietary replacement of NM with 50% QPM significantly (p<0.05) improved body weight gain, feed conversion ratio, humoral immune response, relative bursa weight, and breast muscle yield and lowered abdominal fat content. No further improvement in these parameters was recorded by increasing the level of replacement of NM with QPM to either 75% or 100%. Further, the improvement noticed in the 50% QPM group was similar to the group fed the NM diet with lysine supplementation, and thus dietary replacement of NM with QPM at 50% did not need extra synthetic lysine supplementation. It is concluded that dietary replacement of NM with QPM at the 50% level resulted in optimum performance, higher breast muscle yield and higher immune response in broiler chickens.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.17-28
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• 2016

Objectives : This study was designed to investigate the analgesic effects of Taxus cuspidata pharmacopuncture(TCP) at KI03 on formalin-induced pain in rats and to evaluate the efficiency of different extraction methods of Taxus cuspidata(TC). Methods : 30 rats were divided into 5 groups, each consisting of 6 rats. Each of the groups was treated two times. The first treatment for its right KI03 was as follows: rats were treated with normal saline(NOR), normal saline(CON), hot-water extraction of TC(W), ethanol extraction of TC(E), and ultrasonification extraction of TC(U). The second treatment was given 35 mins after the first one. Rats in NOR were treated with normal saline at their hind-paw. All groups, except NOR, were treated with formalin(5 %, $40{\mu}{\ell}$) at their hind-paw. To evaluate pain behavior, Ultrasonic vocalization(USV) was examined to be around 18~30 kHz. After analysis of USV, blood samples were taken from the rats for analysis of Substance P, aspartate aminotransferase(AST) and alanine aminotransferase(ALT). Results : In the experimental groups, USV was significantly decreased compared with CON and similar to that of NOR in the early phase. But there were no significant differences among the three extraction methods of TC. In addition, Substance P of W was significantly decreased. AST and ALT activation showed no significant differences among the 5 groups. Conclusion : These results show that regardless of extraction methods of TC, TCP at KI03 has analgesic effects in the early phase on formalin-induced pain in rats. In particular, hot-water extraction of TC significantly reduces Substance P activation.