• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.126-133
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• 2019

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The glycemic index (GI) is a measure of the postprandial glucose response (PPGR) to food items, and glycemic load (GL) is a measure of the PPGR to the diet. For those who need to maintain a healthy diet, it is beneficial to regulate appropriate levels of blood glucose. In reality, what influences the meal GI or GL depends on the macronutrient composition and the physical chemistry reactions in vivo. Thus, we investigated whether different macronutrients in a meal significantly affect the PPGR and the validity of calculated GI and GL values for mixed meals. SUBJECTS/METHODS: 12 healthy subjects (6 male, 6 female) were recruited at a campus setting, and subjects consumed a total of 6 test meals one by one, each morning between 8:00 and 8:30 am after 12 h of fasting. PPGR was measured after each consumed meal and serial finger pricks were performed at indicated times. Test meals included 1) 68 g oral glucose, 2) 210 g rice, 3) rice plus 170 g egg white (RE), 4) rice plus 200 g bean sprouts (RS), 5) rice plus 10 g oil (RO), and 6) rice plus, egg white, bean sprouts, and oil (RESO). The incremental area under the curve (iAUC) was calculated to assess the PPGR. Mixed meal GI and GL values were calculated based on the nutrients the subjects consumed in each of the test meals. RESULTS: The iAUC for all meals containing two macronutrients (RS, RO, or RE) were not significantly different from the rice iAUC, whereas, the RESO iAUC ($2,237.5{\pm}264.9$) was significantly lower (P < 0.05). The RESO meal's calculated GI and GL values were different from the actual GI and GL values measured from the study subjects (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The mixed meal containing three macronutrients (RESO) decreased the PPGR in healthy individuals, leading to significantly lower actual GI and GL values than those derived by nutrient-based calculations. Thus, consuming various macronutrient containing meals is beneficial in regulating PPGR.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.229-240
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• 2020

Background: Genus Quercus is a successful group that has occupied the largest area of forest around the world including South Korea. The acorns are an important food source for both wild animals and humans. Although the reproductive characteristics of this genus are highly variable, it had been rarely studied in South Korea. Therefore, in Seoraksan and Odaesan National Parks (i) we measured the acorn production of Quercus mongolica, an overwhelmingly dominant species in South Korea, for 3 years (2017-2019), (ii) evaluated the spatial-temporal variation of acorn production, and (iii) analyzed the effects of oak- and site-related variables on the acorn production. Results: The annual acorn production of Q. mongolica increased 36 times from 1.2 g m-2 in 2017 to 43.2 g m-2 in 2018, and decreased to 16.7 g m-2 in 2019, resulting in an annual coefficient of variation of 104%. The coefficient of spatial variation was high and reached a maximum of 142%, and the tree size was the greatest influencing factor. That is, with an increase in tree size, acorn production increased significantly (2018 F = 16.3, p < 0.001; 2019 F = 8.2, p < 0.01). Elevation and slope also significantly affected the production in 2019. However, since elevation and tree size showed a positive correlation (r = 0.517, p < 0.001), the increase in acorn production with increasing elevation was possibly due to the effect of tree size. The acorn production of Odaesan for 3 years was 2.2 times greater than that of Seoraksan. This was presumed that there are more distribution of thick oak trees and more favorable site conditions such as deep soil A-layer depth, high organic matter, and slower slopes. Conclusion: As reported for other species of the genus Quercus, the acorn production of Q. mongolica showed large spatial and annual variations. The temporal variability was presumed to be a weather-influenced masting, while the spatial variability was mainly caused by oak tree size.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.321-329
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• 2019

A series of poly(hyroxyamide)s (PHAs) was prepared by direct polycondensation reaction of 4,4'-(2,3-pyridinedioxy)dibenzoic acid and/or isophthalic acid with 3,3'-dihydroxybenzidine. The yield percentages of the products were high, and the inherent viscosities of the polymer in DMAc solution at 35℃ were 0.31-0.59 dL/g. All PHA polymers were found to be soluble in polar aprotic solvents such as DMAc, DMSO, NMP, and DMF. On the other hand, LiCl was required to dissolve IPHA-1 in aprotic solvents. Poly(benzoxazole)s (PBOs) were partially soluble in conc-H₂SO₄; IPBO-4, -5, and -6 were partially soluble in NMP only when LiCl was added to the solution, and the solution was heated. The PBO polymers showed a maximum weight loss in the temperature range of 654-680℃, and the char yields at 900℃ under nitrogen atmosphere exceeded 63%.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.118-122
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• 2019

Four different polymer compounds were manufactured to make cable sheaths for the shipping industry. Two kinds of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) as the main matrix polymers and EVA-grafted maleic anhydride (EVA-g-MAH) as the coupling agent were selected for compounding with fire retardant, crosslinking agent, filler, plasticizer, and other additives. The properties of the four compounded materials were investigated with different contents of the fire retardant, silanecoated magnesium dihydroxide (S-MDH). In the rheology evaluation, the $t_{60}$ and ${\Delta}T$ values increased with increasing S-MDH contents. On the other hand, the tensile strength decreased with increasing S-MDH content due to a relative decrease in binder polymers. With increasing S-MDH content, fire resistance increased, but cold resistance showed no obvious enhancement due to the polar effect of vinyl acetate in EVA.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.339-348
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• 2019

This study was conducted to predict sociocultural psychological variables affecting successful aging of the elderly. The participants were 187 elderly people aged at least sixty who used 16 elderly welfare centers in G metropolitan city and J and S city from december 2018 to january 2019. Data analysis was done by using SPSS WIN 23.0 program, for one-way ANOVA, independent t-test, pearson correlation coefficients and multiple regression. This study showed a positive correlation between successful aging and basic psychological need, ego-integrity, cultural competence. The ego-integrity(${\beta}=.372$, p<.001), cultural competence(${\beta}=.410$, p<.001), relationship(${\beta}=.168$, p=.003) have a 71.1% explanatory power for the successful aging of the elderly. It is necessary to develop sociocultural psychological programs to promote self-integration, cultural competence, and relationship for successful aging of the elderly.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.241-248
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• 2019

Recent researches demonstrated well promising anticancer activities for antibiotics. Such effects would be significantly increased while nanoparticle based delivery systems were applied. In this study, the goal was aim to improve anticancer and antitoxic effects of Streptomycin by loading on special kind of dendrimer (anionic-linear-globular second generation). In the current study, Size and zeta potential as well as AFM techniques have been used to prove the fact that the loading was performed correctly. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) of the drug loaded on dendrimer nanoparticle were determined and compared with both of dendrimer alone and free drug with respect to staphylococcus aureus as the test microorganism. The anticancer activity among three groups including Streptomycin, Streptomycin -G2 dendrimer, and control was measured in vitro. In vitro studies showed that G2 anionic linear-globular polyethylene-glycol-based dendrimer, which loaded on Streptomycin was able to significantly improve the treatment efficacy over clinical Streptomycin alone with respect to proliferation assay. Maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) was calculated to be $257{\mu}g/mL$ for streptomycin alone and $55{\mu}g/mL$ for Streptomycin -G2 dendrimer. In addition, Streptomycin -G2 dendrimer conjugate prevented the growth of MCF-7 cancerous cells in addition to enhance the number of apoptotic and necrotic cells as demonstrated by an annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate assay. Streptomycin -G2 dendrimer conjugate was able to increase Bcl-2/Bax ratio in a large scale compared with the control group and Streptomycin alone. Based on results a new drug formulation based nano-particulate was improved against S. aureus with sustained release and enhanced antibacterial activity as well as anticancer activity shown for functional cancer treatment with low side effects.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.84-89
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• 2019

Previous screening of novel antibacterial agents revealed that some bacterial isolates exhibited antibiotic activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and that they showed antibacterial activity, even against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Among these isolates, one bacterial strain, BCNU 1204, was identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa using phenetic and phylogenetic analysis, based on 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences. The maximum productivities of antimicrobial substances of BCNU 1204 were obtained after being cultured at $35^{\circ}C$ and pH 7.0 for 4 d in King's medium B (KMB). Dichloromethane (DCM) and ethylacetate (EA) extracts of P. aeruginosa BCNU 1204 exhibited strong antimicrobial activity, particularly against gram-positive bacteria. The EA extracts exhibited broad-spectrum activity against antibiotic resistant strains. Fraction 5-2, was obtained by recycling preparative liquid chromatography (LC) and preparative thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and was identified as phenazine-1-carboxylic acid belonging to phenazines using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were $25{\mu}g/ml$, $50{\mu}g/ml$, ${\geq}25{\mu}g/ml$, and ${\geq}50{\mu}g/ml$ for MRSA CCARM 3089, 3090, 3091, and 3095 strains, respectively. P. aeruginosa BCNU 1204 may be a potential resource for the development of anti-MRSA antibiotics. Additional research is required to identify the active substance from P. aeruginosa BCNU 1204.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2019.07a
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• pp.150-152
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• 2019

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.345-360
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• 2019

Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) is one of the leading advanced energy conversion technology for the use in transport. It generates water droplets through the catalytic processes and dispenses the water through the gas-flowed microchannels. The droplets in the dispensing microchannel experience g-forces from different directions during the operation in transport. Therefore, this paper reviews the computational modelling topics of droplet dynamics behaviour specifically for three categories, i.e. (i) the droplet sliding down a surface, (ii) the droplet moving in a gas-flowed microchannel, and (iii) the droplet jumping upon coalescence on superhydrophobic surface; in particular for the parameters like hydrophobicity surfaces, droplet sizes, numerical methods, channel sizes, wall conditions, popular references and boundary conditions.

• Electronics and Telecommunications Trends
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.1-14
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• 2019

Recent trends in deep reinforcement learning (DRL) have revealed the considerable improvements to DRL algorithms in terms of performance, learning stability, and computational efficiency. DRL also enables the scenarios that it covers (e.g., partial observability; cooperation, competition, coexistence, and communications among multiple agents; multi-task; decentralized intelligence) to be vastly expanded. These features have cultivated multi-agent reinforcement learning research. DRL is also expanding its applications from robotics to natural language processing and computer vision into a wide array of fields such as finance, healthcare, chemistry, and even art. In this report, we briefly summarize various DRL techniques and research directions.