• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.227-233
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• 2021

Benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and ubiquitous environmental toxin with known harmful effects to human health. Abnormal phenotypes of keratinocytes are closely associated with their exposure to B[a]P. Resorcinol is a component of argan oil with reported anticancer activities, but its mechanism of action and potential effect on B[a]P damage to the skin is unknown. In this study, we investigated the effects of resorcinol on B[a]P-induced abnormal keratinocyte biology and its mechanisms of action in human epidermal keratinocyte cell line HaCaT. Resorcinol suppressed aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activity as evidenced by the inhibition of B[a]P-induced xenobiotic response element (XRE)-reporter activation and cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1) expression. In addition, resorcinol attenuated B[a]P-induced nuclear translocation of AhR, and production of ROS and pro-inflammatory cytokines. We also found that resorcinol increased nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) activity. Antioxidant response element (ARE)-reporter activity and expression of ARE-dependent genes NAD(P)H dehydrogenase [quinone] 1 (NQO1), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) were increased by resorcinol. Consistently, resorcinol treatment induced nuclear localization of Nrf2 as seen by Western analysis. Knockdown of Nrf2 attenuated the resorcinol effects on ARE signaling, but knockdown of AhR did not affect resorcinol activation of Nrf2. This suggests that activation of antioxidant activity by resorcinol is not mediated by AhR. These results indicate that resorcinol is protective against effects of B[a]P exposure. The mechanism of action of resorcinol is inhibition of AhR and activation of Nrf2-mediated antioxidant signaling. Our findings suggest that resorcinol may have potential as a protective agent against B[a]P-containing pollutants.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.1-18
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• 2022

Prior studies have shown positive effects of outdoor activities on the elderly's physical, mental and social health. 'Active aging' and 'age-friendly' neighborhood can be created by modifying the experiences and perceptions of the outdoor environment. This study aims to investigate the outdoor activities of the elderly living in a low-income elderly concentrated area and their perception of the neighborhood environment. We also explored the context of interactions between the facilitators and inhibitors of outdoor activities on the basis of temporal, spatial, and social conditions. We used a mixed method approach by collecting two different types of qualitative GIS data : observation maps of the main places and individual cognitive maps with in-depth interviews. The observational map analysis indicated that the preferred places and activity patterns differ by age, gender, and size of the group. The cognitive map and interviews demonstrated that the elderly's activity goals and perception of the landscape differ by places such as forests, parks, streams, open-spaces, vegetable gardens, and alleys. The elderly's desire for outdoor activities can be better fulfilled when their front doors and alleys are well-connected to an open-sight pleasant space. Familiarity is an important factor for the elderly, therefore it is important to remove the psychological and physical barriers by increasing the legibility and accessibility of places. In addition, social interactions and conflicts can have a significant influence on the elderly's occupation of space in the neighborhood environment.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.779-783
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• 2021

The amount of sunlight (irradiation) acts as a very important factor for paprika (Capsicum annuum L.) productivity, but there are difficulties in developing a standard model for estimating paprika productivity using irradiation factors. This study was conducted to investigate how to increase the suitability of using irradiation as an independent variable when developing a standard model. In the linear regression analysis using the independent variable (cumulative irradiation) and the dependent variable (cumulative productivity) were classified as the average value of the total farm productivity (MTFP), and above and below (MHFP, MLFP) based on the average value, respectively. The RMSE value of the estimated linear regression model was 0.9418 kg·m^-2 in the MHFP, which was significantly lower than 1.5468 kg·m^-2 in the MTFP and 1.3812 kg·m^-2 in the MLFP. And in due course of time (month), RMSE value was also the lowest in MHFP, below 1.0 kg·m^-2 in all months. Therefore, when developing a regression model for estimating paprika productivity using irradiation, it is judged that it will improve the suitability of the estimation model by classifying and analyzing the difference in productivity of farms with an appropriate method.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.94-100
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• 2022

Chronic infection by hepatitis B virus (HBV) greatly increases the risk for liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The outcome of HBV infection is shaped by the complex interplay of the mode of transmission, host genetic factors, viral genotype, adaptive mutations, and environmental factors. The pregenomic RNA transcription of HBV for their replication is regulated by the core promoter activation. Core promoter mutations have been the reason for acute liver failure and are associated with HCC development. We obtained HBV genes from a patient in Myanmar who was infected with HBV and identified gene variations in the core promoter region. For measuring the relative transactivation activity of the core promoter, we prepared the core-promoter reporter construct. Among the gene variations of the core promoter, the mutations of C1731T and G1806A were associated with increase in the transactivation of the HBV core promoter. Through computer analysis for searching for a tentative transcription factor binding site, we showed that the mutations of C1713T and G1806A newly created C/EBPβ and XBP1-responsive elements of the core promoter, respectively. The ectopic expression of C/EBPβ largely increased the HBV core promoter containing the C1713T mutation and that of XBP1 activated the M95 promoter containing the G1806A mutation. Our efforts to treat and prevent HBV infections are hampered by the emergence of drug-resistant mutations and vaccine-escape mutations. Our results provide the biological properties and clinical significance of specific HBV core promoter mutations.

• Atmosphere
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.625-635
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• 2021

South Korea established the 2050 Carbon Neutral Plan in response to the climate crisis, and to achieve this policy, it is very important to monitor domestic carbon emissions and atmospheric carbon concentration. Both CO₂ and CO are emitted from fossil fuel combustion processes, but the relative ratios depend on the combustion efficiency and the strength of local emission regulations. In this study, the relationship between CO₂ and CO was analyzed using ground observation data for the period of 2018~2020 at Anmyeon-do site and the CO/CO₂ ratio according to regional origin during high CO₂ cases was investigated based on the footprint simulated from Stochastic Time-Inverted Lagrangian Transport (STILT) model. CO₂ and CO showed a positive correlation with correlation coefficient of 0.66 (p < 0.01), and averaged footprints during high CO₂ cases confirmed that air particles mainly originated from eastern and north-eastern China, and inland of Korean Peninsula. In addition, it was revealed that among the cases of high CO₂ concentration, when the CO/CO₂ ratio is high, the industrial area of eastern China is greatly affected, and when the ratio is low, the contribution of the domestic region is relatively high. The ratio of CO₂ and CO in this study is significant in that it can be used as a useful factor in determining the possibility of domestic and foreign origins of climate pollutants.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.351-357
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• 2022

A conventional seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) and a forward osmosis (FO) and reverse osmosis (RO) hybrid process to produce 1,000 m³/d of fresh water, were designed and compared in terms of carbon emission. When FO was adapted for the osmotic dilution, the required pressure for RO decreases, and thus energy consumption decreases. The decrease in carbon emission by decreased energy consumption (up to -0.73 kgCO₂/m³ using coal as the energy source) was compared with the increase in carbon emission by the FO system (+0.16 kgCO₂/m³), which is a function of various factors such as the number of FO modules and energy consumption. The comparison revealed that the FO-RO process causes less carbon emission compared with the SWRO process when the energy sources are coal and oil. However, if energy sources with low carbon emission such as solar, wind, and nuclear energy are selected, the carbon emission of the FO-RO process becomes higher than that of the SWRO process. This implies that the type of energy source is a key factor to determine the necessity of the FO-RO process from the aspect of carbon emission.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.311-322
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• 2022

This study performed 4-point flexural tests of reinforced concrete to which was attached a distributed optical fiber sheet and carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets in order to assess the effect of the CFRP sheets and the applicability of a BOTDR sensor simultaneously. To evaluate the reinforcing effect, various degrees of CFRP sheet attachment were manufactured, and to evaluate the sensing ability, strains obtained from a BOTDR sensor were compared with strains measured from electric resistance strain gauges that were attached to the concrete surface. From the results, the reinforcing effects were evidently different according to the attachment type of the CFRP sheets, and it was confirmed that the main influencing factor on the reinforcing effect was the type of attachment rather than the attachment area. The reinforced concrete structural behavior was visualized with strains measured from the BOTDR sensor as load increased, and it was identified that load was concentrated in the CFRP reinforced area. Strains from the BOTDR sensor were similar to those from the electric resistance strain gauge; thereby a BOTDR sensor can be effective in the analysis of structural behaviorsof massive infrastructure. Finally, the strain from a BOTDR sensor was high where CFRP sheet fall-off occurs, and it would therefore be efficient to track local damage locations of CFRP sheets by utilizing a BOTDR sensor.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.23-30
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• 2022

The weight of an object is an important research topic in terms of sense, and objects have size-weight, color-weight, and material-weight illusions due to the influence of size, color, and material and the weight of the object. Although temperature is a very important environmental factor in our daily life, there is a dearth of studies on how the temperature of an object affects its perceived weight. This study analyzed the effect of an object's temperature on the perceived weight. A stainless steel cup, in which weight and temperature are easily adjustable, was selected as a perceived weight measurement object; 5 temperature levels (0, 9, 20, 40, 70 degrees) and 2 weight levels (250, 400 g) were set. A total of 40 healthy men and women in their 20s participated in the experiment. The weight of the given cup compared to the reference cup was evaluated according to the modulus method. The study revealed that both temperature and weight significantly affected the perceived weight. The effect of temperature on the weight was different depending on the weight of the object. When the cup's weight was small (250 g), the temperature of the cup did not affect the weight. However, the perceived weight of a large cup (400 g) increased at a low temperature. This result suggests that the effect of temperature on the weight of an object depends on the size-weight illusion.

• Journal of Internet Computing and Services
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.61-69
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• 2023

Recently, as the fishery resources are depleted, expectations for productivity improvement by 'rearing fishery' in land farms are greatly rising. In the case of land farms, unlike ocean environments, it is easy to control and manage environmental and breeding factors, and has the advantage of being able to adjust production according to the production plan. On the other hand, unlike in the natural environment, there is a disadvantage in that operation costs may significantly increase due to the artificial management for fish growth. Therefore, profit maximization can be pursued by efficiently operating the farm in accordance with the planned target shipment. In order to operate such an efficient farm and nurture fish, an accurate growth prediction model according to the target fish species is absolutely required. Most of the growth prediction models are mainly numerical results based on statistical analysis using farm data. In this paper, we present a growth prediction model from a stochastic point of view to overcome the difficulties in securing data and the difficulty in providing quantitative expected values for inaccuracies that existing growth prediction models from a statistical point of view may have. For a stochastic approach, modeling is performed by introducing a Gaussian process regression method based on water temperature, which is the most important factor in positive growth. From the corresponding results, it is expected that it will be able to provide reference values for more efficient farm operation by simultaneously providing the average value of the predicted growth value at a specific point in time and the confidence interval for that value.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.51-66
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• 2022

SST (Sea Surface Temperature) is based on the atmosphere-ocean interaction, one of the most important mechanisms for the Earth system. Because it is a crucial oceanic and meteorological factor for understanding climate change, gap-free grid data at a specific spatial and temporal resolution is beneficial in SST studies. This paper examined the production of daily SST grid maps from 137 stations in 2020 through the ordinary kriging with variogram optimization and their accuracy assessment. The variogram optimization was achieved by WLS (Weighted Least Squares) method, and the blind tests for the interpolation accuracy assessment were conducted by an objective and spatially unbiased sampling scheme. The four-round blind tests showed a pretty high accuracy: a root mean square error between 0.995 and 1.035℃ and a correlation coefficient between 0.981 and 0.982. In terms of season, the accuracy in summer was a bit lower, presumably because of the abrupt change in SST affected by the typhoon. The accuracy was better in the far seas than in the near seas. West Sea showed better accuracy than East or South Sea. It is because the semi-enclosed sea in the near seas can have different physical characteristics. The seasonal and regional factors should be considered for accuracy improvement in future work, and the improved SST can be a member of the SST ensemble around South Korea.