• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.5-14
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• 2024

PHC piles demonstrate superior resistance to compression and bending moments, and their factory-based production enhances quality assurance and management processes. Despite these advantages that have resulted in widespread use in civil engineering and construction projects, the design process frequently relies on empirical formulas or N-values to estimate the soil-pile friction, which is crucial for bearing capacity, and this reliance underscores a significant lack of experimental validation. In addition, environmental factors, e.g., the pH levels in groundwater and the effects of seawater, are commonly not considered. Thus, this study investigates the influence of vibrating machine foundations on PHC pile models in consideration of the effects of varying pH conditions. Concrete model piles were subjected to a one-month conditioning period in different pH environments (acidic, neutral, and alkaline) and under the influence of seawater. Subsequent repeated direct shear tests were performed on the pile-soil interface, and the disturbed state concept was employed to derive parameters that effectively quantify the dynamic behavior of this interface. The results revealed a descending order of shear stress in neutral, acidic, and alkaline conditions, with the pH-influenced samples exhibiting a more pronounced reduction in shear stress than those affected by seawater.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.410-418
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• 2023

Recently, advancements and commercialization in the field of maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS) has rapidly progressed. Concurrently, studies are also underway to develop methods for automatically surveying the condition of various on-board equipment remotely to ensure the navigational safety of MASS. One key issue that has gained prominence is the method to obtain values from analog gauges installed in various equipment through image processing. This approach has the advantage of enabling the non-contact detection of gauge values without modifying or changing already installed or planned equipment, eliminating the need for type approval changes from shipping classifications. The objective of this study was to identify a dynamically changing indicator needle within noisy images of analog gauges. The needle object must be identified because its position significantly affects the accurate reading of gauge values. An analog pressure gauge attached to an emergency fire pump model was used for image capture to identify the needle object. The acquired images were pre-processed through Gaussian filtering, thresholding, and morphological operations. The needle object was then identified through Hough Transform. The experimental results confirmed that the center and object of the indicator needle could be identified in images of noisy analog gauges. The findings suggest that the image processing method applied in this study can be utilized for shape identification in analog gauges installed on ships. This study is expected to be applicable as an image processing method for the automatic remote survey of MASS.

• Convergence Security Journal
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.59-68
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• 2024

With advancements in artificial intelligence technology, intelligent CCTV systems are being deployed across various environments, such as river bridges and construction sites. However, a conflict arises regarding the opening and closing of rooftop access points due to concerns over potential accidents and crime incidents and their role as emergency evacuation spaces. While the relevant law typically mandates the constant opening of designated rooftop access points, closures are often tacitly permitted in practice for security reasons, with a lack of appropriate legal measures. In this context, this study proposes a detection system utilizing intelligent CCTV to respond to emergencies that may occur on rooftops. We develop a system based on the YOLOv5 object detection model to detect assault and suicide attempts by jumping, introducing a new metric to assess them. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system rapidly detects assault and suicide attempts with high accuracy. Additionally, through a legal analysis of rooftop access point management, deficiencies in the legal framework regarding rooftop access and CCTV installation are identified, and improvement measures are proposed. With technological and legal improvements, we believe that crime and accident incidents in rooftop environments will decrease.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.8-15
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• 2024

In this study, nitrogen plasma treatment was performed in 5, 10, and 15 minutes to improve the tetracycline adsorption performance of activated carbon. All nitrogen plasma-treated activated carbons showed improved tetracycline adsorption compared to untreated activated carbons. The nitrogen functional groups in activated carbon lead to chemisorption with tetracycline via π-π interactions and hydrogen bonding. In particular, in the nitrogen plasma treatment at 80 W and 50 kHz, the activated carbon treated for 10 minutes had the best adsorption performance. At this time, the nitrogen content on the surface of the activated carbon was 2.03% and the specific surface area increased to 1,483 m²/g. As a result, nitrogen plasma treatment of activated carbon improved its physical and chemical adsorption capabilities. In addition, since the adsorption experimental results were in good agreement with the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second order model, it was determined that the adsorption of tetracycline on the nitrogen plasma-treated activated carbon was dominated by chemical adsorption through a monolayer. As a result, nitrogen plasma-treated activated carbon can be used as an adsorbent to efficiently remove tetracycline from water due to the synergistic effect of physical adsorption and proactive chemical adsorption.

• Journal of Platform Technology
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.72-83
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• 2023

ChatGPT, commercial launch in late 2022, has shown successful results in various professional exams, including US Bar Exam and the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE), demonstrating its ability to pass qualifying exams in professional domains. However, further experimentation and analysis are required to assess ChatGPT's scholastic capability, such as logical inference and problem-solving skills. This study evaluated ChatGPT's scholastic performance utilizing the Korean College Scholastic Ability Test (KCSAT) subjects, including Korean, English, and Mathematics. The experimental results revealed that ChatGPT achieved a relatively high accuracy rate of 69% in the English exam but relatively lower rates of 34% and 19% in the Korean Language and Mathematics domains, respectively. Through analyzing the results of the Korean language exam, English exams, and TOPIK II, we evaluated ChatGPT's strengths and weaknesses in comprehension and logical inference abilities. Although ChatGPT, as a generative language model, can understand and respond to general Korean, English, and Mathematics problems, it is considered weak in tasks involving higher-level logical inference and complex mathematical problem-solving. This study might provide simple yet accurate and effective evaluation criteria for generative artificial intelligence performance assessment through the analysis of KCSAT scores.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.546-555
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• 2024

Aromadendrin is a phenolic compound with various biological effects such as anti-inflammatory properties. However, its protective effects against acute lung injury (ALI) remain unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the ameliorative effects of aromadendrin in an experimental model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI. In vitro analysis revealed a notable increase in the levels of cytokine/chemokine formation, nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) activation, and myeloid differentiation primary response 88 (MyD88)/toll-like receptor (TLR4) expression in LPS-stimulated BEAS-2B lung epithelial cell lines that was ameliorated by aromadendrin pretreatment. In LPS-induced ALI mice, the remarkable upregulation of immune cells and IL-1β/IL-6/TNF-α levels in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and inducible nitric oxide synthase/cyclooxygenase-2/CD68 expression in lung was decreased by the oral administration of aromadendrin. Histological analysis revealed the presence of cells in the lungs of ALI mice, which was alleviated by aromadendrin. In addition, aromadendrin ameliorated lung edema. This in vivo effect of aromadendrin was accompanied by its inhibitory effect on LPS-induced NF-κB activation, MyD88/TLR4 expression, and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 activation. Furthermore, aromadendrin increased the expression of heme oxygenase-1/ NAD(P)H quinone dehydrogenase 1 in the lungs of ALI mice. In summary, the in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that aromadendrin ameliorated endotoxin-induced pulmonary inflammation by suppressing cytokine formation and NF-κB activation, suggesting that aromadendrin could be a useful adjuvant in the treatment of ALI.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.25-33
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• 2006

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether embryonic stem (ES) cells can be established from isolated blastomeres of mouse embryos. Methods: Blastomeres were separated from mouse (C57Bl/6J) 2- or 4-cell embryos. Isolated blastomeres or whole 4-cell embryos were co-cultured with mitosis-arrested STO feeder cells in DMEM supplemented with recombinant murine leukemia inhibitory factor and ES-qualified fetal bovine serum. After the tentative ES cell lines were maintained from isolated blastomeres or whole embryos, some of them were frozen and the others were sub-cultured continually. Characteristics of tentative ES cell lines as were evaluated for specific genes expressions with immunocytochemistry and RT-PCR. Results: One ES cell line (3.0%) was established from isolated blastomere of 2-cell embryo and one cell line (4.0%) from isolated two blastomeres of 4-cell embryo. And five cell lines (16.7%) were established from whole 4-cell embryos. Both cell lines from isolated blastomere and whole embryo expressed mouse ES cell specific markers such as SSEA-1, Oct-4 and alkaline phosphatase. Marker genes of three germ layers were expressed from embryoid bodies of both cell lines. Conclusion: This study suggests that mouse ES cells could be established from isolated blastomeres, although the efficiency is lower than whole embryos. This animal model could be applied to establishment of autologous human ES cells from biopsied blastomeres of preimplantation embryos in human IVF-ET program.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.596-601
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• 2010

Background: This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of a mixture of hyaluronic acid and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose ($Guardix-sol^{(R)}$) on experimental pericardial adhesion. Material and Method: Thirty rats were divided into 2 groups of 15 rats each and pericardial mesothelial injury was induced during surgery by abrasion. In the control group, blood and normal saline were administered into pericardium; in the test group, blood and HA-CMC solution were administered. Pericardial adhesions were evaluated at 2 weeks (n=5), 4 weeks (n=5), and 6 weeks (n=5) after surgery. The severity of adhesions was graded by macroscopic examination, and the adhesion tissue thickness was analyzed microscopically with Masson trichrome stain and an image processing program. Result: The test group had significantly lower macroscopic adhesion scores ($2.9{\pm}0.6$ : $3.9{\pm}0.4$, p<0.000) compared with the control group. For microscopic adhesion tissue thickness, the test group had lower scores compared with the control group, but this difference was not statistically significant ($91.73{\pm}49.91$ : $117.67{\pm}46.4$, p=0.106). Conclusion: We conclude that an HA-CMC solution ($Guardix-sol^{(R)}$) reduces the formation of pericardial adhesions in this animal model.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.95-118
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• 2020

Objectives: The objective of this in vivo study is to observe the analgesic effects or improvements of Gyejibokryeong-hwan aqueous extracts (GJBRHe) on the Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) in rats as compared to those of Indomethacin (IND). Methods: The rats were administered with estradiol benzoate for 10 days and oxytocin 1 hour after the last 10th administration of estradiol benzoate to make the primary dysmenorrhea rat model. Gyejibokryeong-hwan aqueous extracts 500, 250 and 125 mg/kg were orally administrated, for 10 days once a day. Then the changes on the body weights and gains during experimental periods, uterine weights and gross inspections, abdominal writhing response for analgesic activities, uterus lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde (MDA) levels), antioxidant defense system - glutathione (GSH) contents, activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), Nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and Cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 mRNA expressions, were monitored with uterus histopathology and immunohistochemistry for tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). The results of Gyejibokryeong-hwan aqueous extracts were compared to those of Indomethacin adminstered rats. Results: As results of estradiol benzoate and oxytocin treatment, noticeable decreases of body weights and gains, uterus GSH contents, SOD and CAT activities, increases of abdominal writhing responses, uterus lipid peroxidation (MDA level), uterus weights, NF-κB and COX-2 mRNA expressions were observed with increases of TNF-α and iNOS immunolabeled cells, inflammatory cell infiltrations, congestion and enlargement of the uterus at gross and histopathological inspections. These means classic inflammatory and oxidative stress mediated primary dysmenorrhea are relatively well induced. However, these signs were favorably and dose-dependently inhibited by administration of three different dosages of Gyejibokryeong-hwan aqueous extracts, but lesser than those of Indomethacin. Conclusions: The results obtained in this study suggest that Gyejibokryeong-hwan aqueous extracts has favorable analgesic and refinement activities dose-dependently on the estradiol benzoate and oxytocin treatment-induced primary dysmenorrhea signs.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.38 no.7
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• pp.935-945
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• 2009

This study was performed to find the optimum ratio of ingredients in the Chinese quince jam. The experiment was designed according to the D-optimal design of mixture design, which included 14 experimental points with 4 replicates for three independent variables (Chinese quince paste $45{\sim}60%$, pectin $1.5{\sim}4.5%$, sugar $45.5{\sim}63.5%$). A mathematical analytical tool was employed for the optimization of typical ingredients. The canonical form and trace plot showed the influence of each ingredient in the mixture against final product. By use of F-test, sweetness, pH, L, b, ${\Delta}E$, and firmness were expressed by a linear model, while the spreadmeter value, a, and sensory characteristics (appearance, color, smell, taste, and overall acceptability) were by a quadratic model. The optimum formulations by numerical and graphical method were similar: Chinese quince paste 54.48%, pectin 2.45%, and sugar 53.07%. Optimum ingredient formulation is expected to improve use of Chinese quince and contribute to commercialization of high quality Chinese quince jam.