• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.8
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• pp.1090-1095
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• 2008

Marbling (intramuscular fat) is an important factor in determining meat quality in Korean beef market. A grain based finishing system for improving marbling leads to inefficient meat production due to an excessive fat production. Identification of intramuscular fat-specific gene might be achieved more targeted meat production through alternative genetic improvement program such as marker assisted selection (MAS). We carried out ddRT-PCR in 12 and 27 month old Hanwoo steers and detected 300 bp PCR product of the inducible cAMP early repressor (ICER) gene, showing highly gene expression in 27 months old. A 1.5 kb sequence was re-sequenced using primer designed base on the Hanwoo EST sequence. We then predicted the open reading frame (ORF) of ICER gene in ORF finder web program. Tissue distribution of ICER gene expression was analysed in eight Hanwoo tissue using realtime PCR analysis. The highest ICER gene expression showed in Small intestine followed by Longissimus dorsi. Interestingly, the ICER gene expressed 2.5 time higher in longissimus dorsi than in same muscle type, Rump. For gene expression analysis in high- and low marbled individuals, we selected 4 and 3 animal based on the muscle crude fat contents (high is 17-32%, low is 6-7% of crude fat contents). The ICER gene expression was analysed using ANOVA model. Marbling (muscle crude fat contents) was affected by ICER gene (P=0.012). Particularly, the ICER gene expression was 4 times higher in high group (n=4) than low group (n=3). Therefore, ICER gene might be a functional candidate gene related to marbling in Hanwoo.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2004.05a
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• pp.814-817
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• 2004

Deterioration due to de-icer salt occurs in practice in concrete pavement, dike, barrier and similar structure. This paper reports the results of effect of de-icer salt on. durability of concrete structure in winter. To protect concrete structure from damage by de-icer salt in winter, the exposure test was performed using three countermeasures such as increase in design strength upto $350kg/cm^2$, application of ggbf slag powder, and concrete sealer. Of these, the method of increase in design strength upto $350kg/cm^2$ showed better durability for deterioration by de-icer salt.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.456-466
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• 2018

This paper introduces the development of a de-icer based on a full-bridge modular multilevel converter (FMMC). The FMMC can generate a wide range of DC voltages owing to its modularity, scalability, and redundancy, which makes it suitable for ice-melting applications. First, operating principles and voltage ranges are analyzed when FMMC is applied as a mobile de-icer. Second, two new startup strategies, constant modulation index and constant power startup strategies, are proposed. Third, the main control strategies of the de-icer are proposed. Fourth, a novel rated-current zero-power test scheme is proposed to simplify test conditions. Finally, a 10 kV 1.5 kA mobile MMC de-icer is designed and built, and experiments are carried out to validate the proposed startup, control strategies, and rated-current zero-power test scheme.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.523-526
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• 2005

In order to traffic safety during winter season, snowfall and cold area has been spread the deicing chemicals, and the spraying amount is increasing every year. Use of deicing chemicals has been and will continue to be a major part of highway snow and ice control methods. Chloride-containing chemicals such as calcium chloride or rock salt are main deicers for the road. Extensive use of chloride deicers is, however, the source of substantial cost penalties due to their corrosive action and acceleration to deterioration concrete structures. Deterioration due to de-icer salt occurs in practice in concrete pavement, dike, barrier and similar structure. This paper reports the results of effect of de-icer salt on durability of concrete structure in winter. To protect concrete structure from damage by de-icer salt in winter, the exposure test was performed using three methods such as increase in design strength upto 32MPa application of granulated blast furnace slag powder, and concrete sealer. Of these, the method of increase in design strength upto 32MPa showed better durability for deterioration by de-icer salt.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2005.05b
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• pp.221-224
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• 2005

In order to traffic safety during winter season, snowfall and cold area has been spread the deicing chemicals, and the spraying amount is increasing every year. Use of deicing chemicals has been and will continue to be a major part of highway snow and ice control methods. Chloride-containing chemicals such as calcium chloride or rock salt are main deicers for the road. Extensive use of chloride deicers is, however, the source of substantial cost penalties due to their corrosive action and acceleration to deterioration concrete structures. Deterioration due to de-icer salt occurs in practice in concrete pavement, dike, barrier and similar structure. This paper reports the results of effect of de-icer salt on durability of concrete structure in winter. To protect concrete structure from damage by de-icer salt in winter, the exposure test was performed using three methods such as increase in design strength upto 35MPa application of granulated blast furnace slag powder, and concrete sealer. Of these, the method of increase in design strength upto 35MPa showed better durability for deterioration by de-icer salt.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.98-120
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• 2009

The purpose of this study is to elicit preference for drug listing decision criteria and to estimate the ICER threshold in South Korea using the discrete choice experiment (DCE) method. To collect the data, a DCE survey was administered to a subject sample either educated in the principle concepts of pharmacoeconomics or were decision makers within that field. Subjects chose between alternative drug profiles differing in four attributes: ICER, uncertainty, budget impact and severity of disease. The orthogonal and balanced designs were determined through computer algorithm to take the optimal set of drug profiles. The survey employed 15 hypothetical choice sets. A random effect probit model was used to analyze the relative importance of attributes and the probabilities of a recommendation response. Parameter estimates from the models indicated that three attributes (ICER, Impact, Severity of disease) influenced respondents' choice significantly(p${\pm}$0.001). In addition, each parameter displayed an expected sign. The Lower the ICER, the higher the probability of choosing that alternative. Respondents also preferred low levels of uncertainty and smaller impact on health service budget. They were also more likely to choose drugs for serious diseases rather than mild or moderate ones. Uncertainty however is not statistically significant. The ICER threshold, at which the probability of a recommendation was 0.5, was 29,000,000 KW/QALY in expert group and 46,500,000 KW/QALY in industry group. We also found that those in our sample were willing to accept high ICER to get medication for severe diseases. This study demonstrates that the cost-effectiveness, budget impact and severity of disease are the main reimbursement decision criteria in South Korea, and that DCE can be a useful tool in analyzing the decision making process where a variety of factors are considered and prioritized.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.40-50
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• 2018

Objective: This study presented the analysis period, the complexity of combined therapy and comparator choice as the key limitations in the economic evaluation of new drugs, and discussed programs for coping with these limitations. Methods: This study evaluated the post-evaluation, risk-sharing agreement, extra funding program, and flexible incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) threshold as actions or programs that would increase accessibility to costly new drugs. The study also presented the cases of other countries. The application of the post-evaluation was considered to deal with high uncertainty regarding new drugs. Results: The risk-sharing agreement was introduced in European countries as well as South Korea and has been responsible for the shift from using the financial schemes to outcome-based schemes. The drug funding program has had troubled in securing stable extra funds. The application of higher ICER in the economic evaluation of expensive and innovative oncology drugs was criticized because of the inequity between oncology patients and patients with other diseases. Conclusion: Therefore, introducing and applying actions that would increase the accessibility to costly new drugs in South Korea have been deemed necessary after careful reviews and discussions with various stakeholders (insurer, policy makers, pharmaceutical companies and patients).

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.2533-2540
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• 2013

Background: Although screening is necessary where gastric cancer is particularly common in Asia, the performance outcomes of mass screening programs have remained unclear. This study was conducted to evaluate cost-effectiveness outcomes of the national cancer screening program (NCSP) for gastric cancer in South Korea. Materials and Methods: People aged 40 years or over during 2002-2003 (baseline) were the target population. Screening recipients and patients diagnosed with gastric cancers were identified using the NCSP and Korea Central Cancer Registry databases. Clinical outcomes were measured in terms of mortality and life-years saved (LYS) of gastric cancer patients during 7 years based on merged data from the Korean National Health Insurance Corporation and National Statistical Office. We considered direct, indirect, and productivity-loss costs associated with screening attendance. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) estimates were produced according to screening method, sex, and age group compared to non-screening. Results: The age-adjusted ICER for survival was 260,201,000-371,011,000 Korean Won (KW; 1USD=1,088 KW) for the upper-gastrointestinal (UGI) tract over non-screening. Endoscopy ICERs were lower (119,099,000-178,700,000 KW/survival) than UGI. To increase 1 life-year, additional costs of approximately 14,466,000-15,014,000 KW and 8,817,000-9,755,000 KW were required for UGI and endoscopy, respectively. Endoscopy was the most cost-effective strategy for males and females. With regard to sensitivity analyses varying based on the upper age limit, endoscopy NCSP was dominant for both males and females. For males, an upper limit of age 75 or 80 years could be considered. ICER estimates for LYS indicate that the gastric cancer screening program in Korea is cost-effective. Conclusion: Endoscopy should be recommended as a first-line method in Korea because it is beneficial among the Korean population.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.548-555
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• 2015

This paper aims to estimate the service life of the target bridge structures subjected to chloride ingress from de-icer, which is used for safety of vehicles in winter, by investigating the chloride ingress into concrete. In this study, the 10-year-old bridge structures were investigated by measuring the chloride along the depth from the exposed surface to derive the surface chloride concentration and the diffusion coefficient for the prediction of service life. The service life of each measured point on the structures were estimated with the surface chloride concentration and the diffusion coefficient by using Life-365 software. As a result, it was estimated for all measured points to have over 100-year service life. Furthermore, the diffusion coefficient and the service life from the measured data were compared to another method calculated with the concrete mix, considering the time dependency of diffusion coefficient.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.265-270
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• 2010

Adipogenesis has been one of the most intensely studied models of cellular differentiation. During adipogenesis, differential expression of many adipogenesis related genes lead to profound changes in cellular, morphological, and physiological characteristics of the differentiating cells. The aim of the present study was to examine the expression levels of adipogenic candidate genes, cAMP early repressor (ICER), nephroblastoma over-expressed protein (NOV), heat shock protein beta 1 (HSPB1) and succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), during adipogenesis of bovine mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC). The BMSC were cultured in DMEM / low glucose medium with adipogenic inducers for 6 days and the expression of various candidate genes which seemed related to adipogenesis were measured by real-time PCR. This study showed that the expression of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor ${\gamma}$(PPAR${\gamma}$) and fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) genes as adipogenic indicators were increased to 3.11 and 3.11 folds on day 6 than on day 0, respectively (p<0.05). To determine whether candidate genes were related to adipogenesis, the expression levels of ICER, NOV, HSPB1, and SDH genes were measured during adipogenesis in BMSC. Our results showed that the expression level of ICER gene was significantly increased to 4.12 folds (0.01729 vs. 0.07138; p<0.05), whereas NOV, HSPB1, and SDH genes were decreased to 2.89, 3.18 and 2.36 folds, respectively, on day 6 when compared to day 0. These results suggest that these candidate genes have stimulatory or inhibitory effects on adipogenesis in BMSC, indicating that these genes may be directly or indirectly related to the adipogenic event of adipose precursor cells.