• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.10
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• pp.898-904
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• 2021

Locusta migratoria is a widespread locust species in many parts of the world and is considered an alternative source for the production of protein for value-added ingredients. We previously identified putative antimicrobial peptides derived from L. migratoria through an in silico analysis of its transcriptome. However, its anti-inflammatory effect has not been studied. In this study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory activities of the antimicrobial peptide locustacin (KTHILSFFPSFLPLFLKK-NH₂) derived from L. migratoria on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophage cells. Locustacin (50, 100, and 200 ㎍/ml) significantly reduced the production of nitric oxide (NO) in LPS-stimulated macrophages without any cytotoxicity. Locustacin also inhibited the mRNA and protein expression of pro-inflammatory mediators, such as inducible NO synthase and cyclooxygenase-2, in contrast to the presence of LPS alone. Locustacin decreased the release of LPS-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-1β, and their gene expression in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, locustacin (100 and/or 200 ㎍/ml) inhibited phosphorylation levels of extracellular signal regulated kinase, p38, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase. Locustacin also suppressed the degradation of inhibitory kappa B alpha, which was considered to be an inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB). Collectively, these results demonstrate that locustacin can exert anti-inflammatory effects through the inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphorylation, activation of NF-κB, and downstream inflammatory mediators in LPS-stimulated macrophage cells.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.351-358
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• 2021

The study was investigated to compare growth characteristics, the antioxidant activity, and the triterpenoid content of two Centella asiatica cultivars ('Giant Tiger Care' and 'Good Tiger Care'). At 41 days after transplanting, lengths of leaf and petiole were significantly longer in 'Good Tiger Care' than in 'Giant Tiger Care'. However, the growth characteristics (leaf area, petiole thickness, petiole length, and weight) were greater in 'Giant Tiger Care' than in 'Good Tiger Care' at 104 days after transplanting (harvest time). Antioxidant activity and total phenol content in four extracts (WE, water extract; HWE, hot water extract; 50E, 50% EtOH extract; 70E, 70% EtOH extract) of the two cultivars were high in 70E of 'Giant Tiger Care'. As a result of the triterpenoids analysis, the major triterpenoids of the two cultivars were identified as madecassoside and asiaticoside. The total triterpenoid content was high in 50E and 70E of 'Giant Tiger Care' and 'Good Tiger Care', respectively but the total triterpenoid content was highest in Good Tiger Care'. However, at the 104 days after planting, the yield of 'Giant Tiger Care' was three times higher than that of 'Good Tiger Care'. In addition, the total triterpenoid content that can be produced in the same cultivation area (3.3m²) was 2.459mg in 50E of 'Giant Tiger Care', which was ~2.2times higher than that of 70E of 'Good Tiger Care' (1.103 mg). Thus, it is considered economical to cultivate 'Giant Tiger Care' which has the highest antioxidant activity and high total triterpenoid production per cultivation area.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.37 no.5_2
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• pp.1329-1340
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• 2021

The intertidal zone, which is a transitional zone between the ocean and the land, requires continuous monitoring as various changes occur rapidly due to artificial activity and natural disturbance. Monitoring of coastal topography changes using remote sensing method is evaluated to be effective in overcoming the limitations of intertidal zone accessibility and observing long-term topographic changes in intertidal zone. Most of the existing coastal topographic monitoring studies using remote sensing were conducted through high spatial resolution images such as Landsat and Sentinel. This study extracted the waterline using the NDWI from the GOCI-II (Geostationary Ocean Color Satellite-II) data, identified the changes in the intertidal area in Gyeonggi Bay according to various tidal heights, and examined the utility of DEM generation and topography altitude change observation over a short period of time. GOCI-II (249 scenes), Sentinel-2A/B (39 scenes), Landsat 8 OLI (7 scenes) images were obtained around Gyeonggi Bay from October 8, 2020 to August 16, 2021. If generating intertidal area DEM, Sentinel and Landsat images required at least 3 months to 1 year of data collection, but the GOCI-II satellite was able to generate intertidal area DEM in Gyeonggi Bay using only one day of data according to tidal heights, and the topography altitude was also observed through exposure frequency. When observing coastal topography changes using the GOCI-II satellite, it would be a good idea to detect topography changes early through a short cycle and to accurately interpolate and utilize insufficient spatial resolutions using multi-remote sensing data of high resolution. Based on the above results, it is expected that it will be possible to quickly provide information necessary for the latest topographic map and coastal management of the Korean Peninsula by expanding the research area and developing technologies that can be automatically analyzed and detected.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.1-14
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• 2021

Innovation and Scale-up of Start-up companies are becoming important national tasks. In the past, it was spread the start-up policy paradigm such as 'Start-up America', 'Start-up Chile', 'Start-up Britain' to overcome the recession globally. However as the economic recovery has become more visible recently in advanced economies, it is shifting from a start-up support policy to a scale-up oriented policy paradigm such as 'Scale-up America', Scale-up UK', 'Scale-up Denmark'. It is necessary to enter the scale-up phase beyond the start-up phase to increase the number of high-quality jobs and to continue economic growth. Therefore, it is necessary to grow the start-up into a strong medium-sized company and to lay the foundation for survival. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to consider the antecedent factors that influence the scale-up aspiration for the start-up firm to grow into a scale-up company, and empirically identifies the differences between the stages of economic development and entrepreneurs in the country. In order to accomplish the purpose, this study predicted scale-up by aspiration which is a predictor of scale-up behavior because it is difficult to achieve visible growth in a short period of time due to the characteristics of start-up companies. In order to empirically explore these relationships, the data were collected from nascent entrepreneurs who have less than 3.5 years of the Adult Population Survey(APS) among the subjects surveyed by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor(GEM) and the national economic development stage are divided into Innovation-driven, Efficiency-driven, Factor-driven type economies. For the test hypotheses, this study adopted the multi-level model analysis for comparison between national economic development stages and using the R 3.5.0 program. The results of this study are as follows. There is difference between the national economic development and the entrepreneur in the relationship between innovation orientation of entrepreneurs and scale-up aspirations. As the economy of the country develops, the innovation activity of the entrepreneur becomes more active. Since start-ups are heavily influenced by entrepreneurs, there is a difference in the degree of aspiration depending on how innovative an entrepreneur is in the same environment. In terms of the relationship between innovation orientation and scale-up aspiration, the fear of failure was found to differ between national economic development and entrepreneurs. The fear of failure differ from country to country, and this is one of the important factors affecting entrepreneurial activities. It is expected that the factors influencing the growth of the start-up companies which are identified through the results of these studies, will be used to create a suitable scale-up ecosystem according to the national economic development stage.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.205-212
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• 2021

The skin fibroblasts of different origins showed different expression levels of MMP-1 in response to TNF-α treatment or UV irradiation. We hypothesized that this is caused by polymorphism in the MMP-1 promoter region. To elucidate it, first of all, we analyzed and classified the genotype of the -1607 site of the MMP-1 promoter in 23 commercially available primary fibroblasts, and then we examined the expression of MMP-1 by TNF-α or UVB stimulation for each classified genotype. As a result of the analysis, fibroblasts with 6 1G/1G genotypes, 10 1G/2G genotypes, and 7 2G/2G genotypes were identified. Hs68 and Detroit 551 cell lines were confirmed to have 1G/2G genotypes. In the 1G/1G genotype, MMP-1 was expressed twice as high as that of the control group by TNF-α treatment, and was hardly expressed by UV light. In the case of the 1G/2G genotype, MMP-1 was expressed 2.45 fold higher by TNF-α treatment, and 1.4 fold by UV light than the control. In the case of the 2G/2G genotype, MMP-1 was expressed 1.35 fold by TNF-α treatment, and was highly expressed by 2.5 fold by ultraviolet rays compared to control. It can be estimated that MMP-1 expression is better induced in the 1G genotype by TNF-α and in the 2G genotype by UV light. In addition, it can be presumed that MMP-1 expression is increased by creating a site where the Ets transcription factor can bind by another G inserted at the -1607 position. These studies have not been conducted at all in fibroblasts in relation to skin aging, so it is an area that needs to be further studied in the future. In conclusion, since the skin is an organ that is affected by both intrinsic aging and photoaging at the same time, when analyzing the expression of MMP-1 as a target for improving skin aging, it is necessary to select cells with a genotype suitable for the experimental conditions of the study.

• Journal of the Korean Society for information Management
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.23-39
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• 2021

This study aims to explore research trends in Blockchain studies in South Korea using dynamic topic modeling and network analysis. To achieve this goal, we conducted the university & institute collaboration network analysis, the keyword co-occurrence network analysis, and times series topic analysis using dynamic topic modeling. Through the university & institute collaboration network analysis, we found major universities such as Soongsil University, Soonchunhyang University, Korea University, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and major institutes such as Ministry of National Defense, Korea Railroad Research Institute, Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute that led collaborative research. Next, through the analysis of the keyword co-occurrence network, we found major research keywords including virtual assets (Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Virtual currency), blockchain technology (Distributed ledger, Distributed ledger technology), finance (Smart contract), and information security (Security, privacy, Personal information). Smart contracts showed the highest scores in all network centrality measures showing its importance in the field. Finally, through the time series topic analysis, we identified five major topics including blockchain technology, blockchain ecosystem, blockchain application 1 (trade, online voting, real estate), blockchain application 2 (food, tourism, distribution, media), and blockchain application 3 (economy, finance). Changes of topics were also investigated by exploring proportions of representative keywords for each topic. The study is the first of its kind to attempt to conduct university & institute collaboration networks analysis and dynamic topic modeling-based times series topic analysis for exploring research trends in Blockchain studies in South Korea. Our results can be used by government agencies, universities, and research institutes to develop effective strategies of promoting university & institutes collaboration and interdisciplinary research in the field.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.153-161
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• 2021

Backgrounds: This study was performed to analyze the main key words of newspaper articles related to COVID-19 in 2020 for each category of quarantine measures according to the epidemic period of COVID-19. Methods: We analyzed articles related to COVID-19 in three major newspapers of Korea between February 17 and December 31, 2020. We targeted the front page articles on mondays and thursdays. The analysis of the relationship between the two variables was confirmed through the chi-square test. Results: As a result of analyzing the main key words for each category of quarantine measures, non-pharmaceutical intervention were the most common at 54.3%, followed by 3Ts(test, tracing, treatment and vaccine) at 31.9%. In the category of non-pharmaceutical intervention, social distancing was the most common at 33.9%. In the categories such as 3Ts(test, tracing, treatment) and vaccine, diagnostic tests were the most common at 41.8%. Conclusions: It was identified that non-pharmaceutical intervention were the most common, and there was a difference in the reporting of main key words by category of quarantine measures for each epidemic period related to COVID-19 in 2020.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.68-89
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• 2021

In August 1837, a list of wedding gifts was given by Queen Sunwon (1789-1857) to her son-in-law, Namnyeong-wie, Yun Eui-Seon (1823-1887) at the wedding of Princess Deok-on (1822-1844). This Honsubalgi is now kept at the National Hangeul Museum. This text was used in the present study to examine the everyday clothes of the royal son-in-law in the early 19th century. First, the everyday clothes were organized into about 36 types. They were classified as tops, bottoms, hats, accessories, belts, pouches, fans and shoes. Second, the most important clothes were the ordinary formal attire, composed of the namgwangsa dopo and namgwangcho changui. As for the bottoms, the pants, the Chinese hemp leggings, two pairs of socks, the green silk belt, and a pair of light blue ankle ties were identified. Third, as for the head and accessories, there were heukrip, with the gemstone string and silk string, the jeong-ja-gwan and dong-pa-gwan, as well as tang-geon and bok-geon. And there were the sangtu-gwan, three types of donggos, and the mang-geon equipped with okgwanja. On the other hand, the jeong-ja-gwan and dong-pa-gwan are peculiar hats whose status has changed over time since the mid-18th century. The fact that the jeong-ja-gwan and dong-pa-gwan were given to Namnyeong-wie showed that the status of these hats improved in the early reign of King Heonjong. The belt was given with the sejodae that is suitable for the dangsang, the coral plates, and the silk bag containing a flint pouch. Fourth, there were the red-colored sejodae, a ssamji silk pouch for flint and the fan decorated with okseonchu, and shoes, such as unhye and danghye.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.250-293
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• 2021

Limestone areas are sedimentary rock outcrops consisting of calcium carbonate created several hundreds of millions of years ago by calcium-secreting marine organisms and subsequently lifted above sea level by tectonic movement. Limestone areas support very high levels of endemic species of plants and are recognized as biodiversity areas with much biological information. The purpose of this study is to devise a strategy for the comprehensive conservation of the vegetation of limestone areas through analyses of the floristics and plant species compositions in ten limestone areas on the Korean Peninsula. The results of 153 field surveys from April of 2010 to October of 2016 identified 1,202 taxa in total, representing 1,096 species, 18 subspecies, 84 varieties, 2 forms, and 2 hybrids in 530 genera and 133 families. Among them, 55 taxa were endemic plants to Korea, and 38 taxa were red data plants. The floristic target plants amounted to 102 taxa, specifically 27 taxa of grade V and 75 taxa of grade IV. In all, 121 alien plants were recorded in the investigated area. Calciphilous plants amounted to 102 taxa, specifically 14 taxa of calciphilous indicator plants, 30 taxa of superlative most calciphilous plants, and 58 taxa of comparative more calciphilous plants. A cluster analysis showed a high degree of similarity between sites that are geographically adjacent with similar habitat environments. Limestone areas also supported groups distinct from those in non-limestone areas, demonstrating the specificity of limestone flora. Plant geography approaches therefore appear to be crucial to gain a better understanding of the level of biodiversity in limestone areas, not only at the interspecific but also at the intraspecific level. These results highlight the importance of protecting limestone habitats to preserve not only their interspecific but also the intraspecific diversity, which is highly threatened.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.423-433
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• 2021

This study was performed to examine the neuroprotective effect of the ethyl acetate fraction from Eucommia ulmoides oliver leaf (EFEL) on PM_2.5-induced cytotoxicity. EFEL had higher total phenolic and flavonoid contents than the other fractions. In ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging activities, the IC₅₀ of EFEL was measured as 212.80 and 359.13 ㎍/mL, respectively. To investigate the neuroprotective effect of EFEL, MTT and DCF-DA assays were performed on HT22, MC-IXC, and BV-2 cells. EFEL effectively decreased PM_2.5-induced intercellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) content and inhibited PM_2.5-induced cell death. In the results of protein expression related to cellular cytotoxicity on microglial cells (BV-2), EFEL had an improvement effect on cell apoptosis and inflammatory pathways. Rutin and chlorogenic acid were identified as the main physiological compounds. Moreover, it was expected that EFEL, including rutin and chlorogenic acid, could be functional food substances with neuroprotective effects against PM_2.5-induced oxidative stress.