• International Journal of Stem Cells
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.415-424
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• 2023

Therapeutic efficacy of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is determined by biodistribution and engraftment in vivo. Compared to intravenous infusion, biodistribution of locally transplanted MSCs are partially understood. Here, we performed a pharmacokinetics (PK) study of MSCs after local transplantation. We grafted human MSCs into the brains of immune-compromised nude mice. Then we extracted genomic DNA from brains, lungs, and livers after transplantation over a month. Using quantitative polymerase chain reaction with human Alu-specific primers, we analyzed biodistribution of the transplanted cells. To evaluate the role of residual immune response in the brain, MSCs expressing a cytosine deaminase (MSCs/CD) were used to ablate resident immune cells at the injection site. The majority of the Alu signals mostly remained at the injection site and decreased over a week, finally becoming undetectable after one month. Negligible signals were transiently detected in the lung and liver during the first week. Suppression of Iba1-positive microglia in the vicinity of the injection site using MSCs/CD prolonged the presence of the Alu signals. After local transplantation in xenograft animal models, human MSCs remain predominantly near the injection site for limited time without disseminating to other organs. Transplantation of human MSCs can locally elicit an immune response in immune compromised animals, and suppressing resident immune cells can prolong the presence of transplanted cells. Our study provides valuable insights into the in vivo fate of locally transplanted stem cells and a local delivery is effective to achieve desired dosages for neurological diseases.

• KIPS Transactions on Software and Data Engineering
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.61-66
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• 2019

Augmented reality is a technology that makes a virtual object appear as if it exists in reality by composing a virtual object in real time with the image captured by the camera. In order to augment the virtual object on the object existing in reality, the homography of images utilized to estimate the position and orientation of the object. The homography can be estimated by applying the RANSAC algorithm to the feature points of the images. But the homography estimation method using the RANSAC algorithm has a problem that accurate homography can not be estimated when there are many feature points in the background. In this paper, we propose a method to filter feature points of a background when the object is near and the background is relatively far away. First, we classified the depth image into relatively near region and a distant region using the Otsu's method and improve homography estimation performance by filtering feature points on the relatively distant area. As a result of experiment, processing time is shortened 71.7% compared to a conventional homography estimation method, and the number of iterations of the RANSAC algorithm was reduced 69.4%, and Inlier rate was increased 16.9%.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.701-707
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• 2021

In this study, we examined the sea surface temperature (SST), air temperature (AT), and their time lag in response to an extreme cold wave in 2018 and a weak cold wave in 2019, cross-correlating these to the northern wind direction frequency. The data used in this study include SST observations of seven ocean buoys Real-time Information System for Aquaculture Environment provided by the National Institute of Fisheries Science and automatic weather station AT near them recorded every hour; null data was interpolated. A finite impulse response filter was used to identify the appropriate data period. In the extreme cold wave in 2018, the seven locations indicated low SST caused by moving cold air through the northern wind direction. A warm cold wave in 2019, the locations showed that the AT data was similar to the normal AT data, but the SST data did not change notably. During the extreme cold wave of 2018, data showed a high correlation coefficient of about 0.7 and a time lag of about 14 hours between AT and SST; during the weak cold wave of 2019, the correlation coefficient was 0.44-0.67 and time lag about 20 hours between AT and SST. This research will contribute to rapid response to such climate phenomena while minimizing aquaculture damage.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.390-397
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• 2015

Purpose: In this study, we investigated the effects of chronic alcohol and excessive iron intake on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage and the progression of alcoholic liver injury in rats. Methods: Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley male rats were divided into four groups (Control, EtOH, Fe, and EtOH + Fe), and fed either control or ethanol (36% of total calories) liquid diet with or without 0.6% carbonyl iron for eight weeks. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities, liver malondialdehyde concentrations were measured by colorimetric assays. Liver histopathology was examined by Hematoxylin-eosin staining of the fixed liver tissues. The integrity of the hepatic mtDNA and nuclear DNA was measured by long-range PCR. The gene expression levels of cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (Cox1) and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4 (Nd4) were examined by real-time PCR. Results: Serum ALT and AST activities were significantly higher in the EtOH+Fe group, as compared to the Control group. Similarly, among four groups, liver histology showed the most severe lipid accumulation, inflammation, and necrosis in the EtOH + Fe group. PCR amplification of near-full-length (15.9 kb) mtDNA showed more than 50% loss of full-length product in the liver of the EtOH + Fe group, whereas amounts of PCR products of a nuclear DNA were unaffected. In addition, the changes in the mtDNA integrity showed correlation with reductions in the mRNA levels of mitochondrial gene Cox1 and Nd4. Conclusion: Our data suggested that the liver injury associated with excessive iron and alcohol intake involved mtDNA damage and corresponding mitochondrial dysfunction.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.98-107
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• 2016

Purpose: The aim of this study was to find an appropriate polymer film, which could reduce the water condensation for pallet-size modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). Methods: Five different types of films were selected from several commercialized films. Prior to the real food storage test, plastic boxes with wetted plastic balls were used to simulate the high humidity conditions of real food storage. The initial MAP condition was 5% oxygen and 95% nitrogen, and the $O_2$ concentration, the relative humidity and water condensation inside the films were checked on a daily basis. The MAP test for tomatoes was conducted by using the most appropriate film from the five films examined in this study. Results: Every film except Mosspack(R) indicated a similar variation in the $O_2$ concentration over the course of time. The relative humidity near the surfaces of all the films except nylon-6 approached saturation conditions over time. For three kinds of films, namely, low-density polyethylene (LDPE) film, anti-fogging oriented polypropylene (AFOPP) film, and Mosspack(R), the inner surfaces of the films were fully covered with dew after a storage period of a day. Conversely, an area of 4.5% was covered with dew in the case of the poly lactic acid (PLA) film, and there was no dew inside the nylon-6 film. The pallet-size MAP test for tomatoes was conducted by using the nylon-6 film and there was no water condensation inside the nylon-6 film over three weeks of storage. Conclusions: During the pallet scale MAP, water condensation could cause severe fungal infection and wetting of the corrugated box. Hence, it was important to minimize water condensation. This study showed that the MAP films with high WVTR such as nylon-6 and PLA could reduce the water condensation inside the pallet scale MAP.

• Journal of Korean Society for Geospatial Information Science
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.19-26
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• 2007

The renewal update of the digital map constructed through NGIS has been conducted for the enhancement of usage, maintenance so that the latest data is guaranteed. The total update has been done every five years for five regions of the country using aerial photographs and satellite images. By launching the third phase of NGIS, the updating plan was changed from total to total or partial update including the real time update scheme. Furthermore, the update period was improved from five to two years and four years for a large and a small city, respectively. Therefore, it is necessary to develope a matching technique which combines various geographic information (such as drawing map, surveying drawing and map) with exact position on the digital map. In this study, we developed a matching algorithm based on central point and suggested a method which uses general surveying drawing for revision/update of the digital map. The general survey is conducted when a civilian development on lands are approved. Thus, the outcome from the survey, which is the general survey drawing, contains the latest various contents such as road, building, water pipe and manhole. A consistent and efficient method using the general survey drawing for near real time update of the digital map by applying the developed matching algorithm is presented.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.41-49
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• 2019

In the present experimental study, based on a real-scale theater, a 1/14 reduced-scale model was constructed, and the effects of natural vent and fire curtain in fire of a theater stage were investigated. The case without fire curtain under the opened natural vent showed lower temperatures in the stage, whereas the case with fire curtain under the opened natural vent showed lower temperatures in the auditorium. On the other hand, through analyzing the starting time of the temperature rise at the point near the proscenium opening in the auditorium, it was found that the opened natural vent condition can delay the starting time of smoke spread from the stage to the auditorium and suppress the temperature rise in the auditorium. Under the present experimental conditions, the fire curtain installation did not affect significantly the velocity and mass flow rate of the outflow through the natural vent of the stage, which might be due to openings in the stage. The present results can be used to examine the effects of natural vent and fire curtain in a real-scale fire of a theater and to check the accuracy of the numerical simulation code.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.13-22
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• 2017

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the exposure levels of door-to-door deliverers to fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Another objective was to confirm the general working patterns of door-to-door deliverers via survey. Methods: In the city of Daegu, ten door-to-door deliverers who wished to join the study were recruited. The general working characteristics of door-to-door deliverers were surveyed using self-reported questionnaires. In the cabin of each car driven by a deliverer, a real-time PM2.5 sampler (Sidepak, Model AM510, TSI Inc., MN, USA) and a GPS device (GPS 741, Ascen, Korea) were installed. Each deliverer was monitored for four days per week so that each day could be monitored at least four times. Results: A total of 40 measurements of PM2.5 concentrations were taken during delivery of parcels. The average exposure levels of door-to-door deliverers to PM2.5 was $44.62{\mu}g/m^3$ ($7-9443{\mu}g/m^3$. Exposure levels to PM2.5 according to the day of the week and coverage areas were not significantly different (p>0.05). Door-to-door deliverers using trucks with older diesel engines manufactured before 2006 had significantly higher exposure levels to PM2.5 than in the case of trucks with diesel engines manufactured after 2006 (p<0.05). Many of the door-to-door deliverers reported the status of having windows open during the delivery task. During delivery services, the working hours spent in residential areas were higher than on roadsides, but exposure levels to PM2.5 in residential areas and on roadsides were $46.17{\mu}g/m^3$ and $49.90{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively. Real-time PM2.5 exposure levels were significantly different between roadways and residential areas (p<0.001). Conclusions: PM2.5 exposure levels of door-to-door deliverers were found to be affected by higher vehicle emissions from the roadsides near their vehicle during deliveries and while driving to other locations compared to by PM2.5 from the diesel engines of their own trucks. Particle concentrations from roadsides and emissions from nearby vehicles through open windows were the main source of PM2.5.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.307-326
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• 2021

Real-time sea level observations from tide gauges include missing and erroneous values. Classification as abnormal values can be done for the latter by the quality control procedure. Although the 3𝜎 (three standard deviations) rule has been applied in general to eliminate them, it is difficult to apply it to the sea-level data where extreme values can exist due to weather events, etc., or where erroneous values can exist even within the 3𝜎 range. An artificial intelligence model set designed in this study consists of non-annotated recurrent neural networks and ensemble techniques that do not require pre-labeling of the abnormal values. The developed model can identify an erroneous value less than 20 minutes of tide gauge recording an abnormal sea level. The validated model well separates normal and abnormal values during normal times and weather events. It was also confirmed that abnormal values can be detected even in the period of years when the sea level data have not been used for training. The artificial neural network algorithm utilized in this study is not limited to the coastal sea level, and hence it can be extended to the detection model of erroneous values in various oceanic and atmospheric data.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2021.06a
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• pp.111-111
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• 2021

메콩지역은 최근 연 7%에 육박하는 경제성장률을 달성하며 아세안의 고성장을 지속 견인하고 있으나, 기후변화 및 급속한 도시화로 매년 가뭄·홍수 등 물 관련 재해 발생 빈도 및 강도 증가와 이에 따른 상·하류 국가간 물 분쟁 등으로 인해 메콩지역 지속가능 발전에 지장이 초래되고 있다. 이에 한국과 미국은 메콩우호국(Friends of the Lower Mekong, FLM) "메콩지역 수자원 데이터 관리 및 정보공유 강화에 관한 공동성명(2018년 8월)"을 계기로 메콩유역의 실시간 수자원 변동 모니터링 및 분석과 수자원 데이터 공동활용 역량을 강화하여 효율적이고 과학적인 수자원관리 지원과 함께 한국의 신남방정책과 미국의 인도-태평양 전략 시너지효과를 극대화하고자 메콩 주변국 재해경감 및 수자원 데이터 활용 역량강화를 위한 글로벌 위성기반 수문자료의 생산·활용 및 홍수·가뭄 등의 수재해 분석기술을 개발하고 있다. 여기에는 한국 K-water의 물관리 기술과 미국 NASA, USACE의 위성활용 및 수자원분석 기술을 접목하여 메콩지역의 체계적인 물관리 및 재해로부터 안전성 확보 기여에 목표를 두고 연구를 진행 중에 있다. 본 연구에서는 전 세계적으로 광범위하게 활용되고 있는 미공병단(USACE, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)의 HEC software 프로그램을 메콩 시범지역(pilot area)에 적용하여 수리/수문모델 구축을 진행코자 한다. 구축되는 모형은 유역 상류 댐의 연계 모의운영 및 하류 홍수분석이 동시 가능한 HEC-RTS(Real-Time Simulation)로 이는 HEC-HMS, -ResSim, -RAS와 -FIA 모형이 순차적으로 결합된 수리/수문 모델링 시스템이다. 모형의 시범적용 지역은 현지 메콩위원회(MRC, Mekong River Comission)의 의견 등을 반영, 메콩강 하류지역(Lower Mekong) 본류 유역에 위성 자료 활용 및 준실시간(near real-time)으로 댐 모의운영 등을 고려할 수 있는 JingHong댐(중국 란창강 최하류)에서 라오스 Xayaburi댐(메콩강 최상류)까지의 구간을 선정하였다. 한편, 금번 연구에서는 HEC-RTS 중 HMS 모형 적용을 중심으로 가용한 위성자료(GPM IMERG)와 K-LIS 지표 모형 생산 자료를 활용하여 과거 홍수사상에 대한 모의를 고려하였다. 아울러, 연구에서 구축된 HMS 모형은 HEC-RTS에 포함되어 메콩 시범지역의 종합적 수리/수문분석에 적용될 예정이다.