• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.121-138
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• 2011

More affordable and available cutting-edge technologies (e.g., wireless vehicle communication) are regarded as a possible alternative to the fixed infrastructure-based traffic information system requiring the expensive infrastructure investments and mostly implemented in the uninterrupted freeway network with limited spatial system expansion. This paper develops an advanced decentralized traveler information System (ATIS) using vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication system whose performance (drivers' travel time savings) are enhanced by three complementary functions (autonomous automatic incident detection algorithm, reliable sample size function, and driver behavior model) and evaluates it in the typical $6{\times}6$ urban grid network with non-recurrent traffic state (traffic incident) with the varying key parameters (traffic flow, communication radio range, and penetration ratio), employing the off-the-shelf microscopic simulation model (VISSIM) under the ideal vehicle communication environment. Simulation outputs indicate that as the three key parameters are increased more participating vehicles are involved for traffic data propagation in the less communication groups at the faster data dissemination speed. Also, participating vehicles saved their travel time by dynamically updating the up-to-date traffic states and searching for the new route. Focusing on the travel time difference of (instant) re-routing vehicles, lower traffic flow cases saved more time than higher traffic flow ones. This is because a relatively small number of vehicles in 300vph case re-route during the most system-efficient time period (the early time of the traffic incident) but more vehicles in 514vph case re-route during less system-efficient time period, even after the incident is resolved. Also, normally re-routings on the network-entering links saved more travel time than any other places inside the network except the case where the direct effect of traffic incident triggers vehicle re-routings during the effective incident time period and the location and direction of the incident link determines the spatial distribution of re-routing vehicles.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.38
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• pp.43-107
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• 2005

A ritual ceremony accompanied by a song and dance is called as Kagura in Japan. The word Kagura is originally derived from Kamukura, which means the place where spirits reside. However, later it came to refer to the whole process of the ritual ceremony itself. Through the field studies, this paper examines Takachiho-kagura, helded in Takachiho, known as the village of myths, located in northern Miyazaki-ken in Japan. Kagura takes place all night through in each and every village in Takachiho and it normally runs from the end of November when the harvest season ends until early February the next year. One ordinary house is especially chosen for this ceremony, in which Kagura performs 33 repertoires. Takachiho-kagura is sometimes called as Yokagura, since the performance takes place over-night. A song and dance is performed by ordinary village people called hoshyadong, who inherited Takachiho-kagura. Currently, the ceremony is held in more than 20 villages and designated by the government as "Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property" in Japan. Takachiho-kagura follows the example of rituals held in Sada shrine in Izumo, which is now eastern Hiroshima-ken. It is the dance using a bell, a sword, a fan, which signify Norimono and is usually combined with mask-play called as Shinno. From the shrine of village, itwelcomes the gods who defense their village, called Ujikami and other 8 million gods, called Yaoyorozunokami, in Kagurayado, where Kagura of 33 repertoires is played in order. Kagura starts from dances for attendance of the gods, Hikomai, Daidono, Kamioroshi, performs dances of Amanoiwato, the gate of heaven's cave in Japanese myths, Dazikara, Uzume, Dotori, and continues dances for the old ghosts Shibahiki, Yatsubachi mixed with acrobatics. Finally, this performance ends with dances to send off the gods, Hinomae, Gurioroshi, Gumooroshi, until the dawn the next morning. This paper explores Takachiho-kagura from the perspective of folk performance with ethnography. These days, ecstasy and oracle do not happen in Takachiho-kagura. However, it kept the old form of folk performance as Kagura held in ordinary house. Especially, in Takachiho, remarkable venue of the Japanese myths, Takachiho-kagura is developed artistically. The first field study was held in Gokamura, Iwato-zone and Ashakabe, Mitai-zone between December 6th and December 12th 1997. Afterwards, the second field study was conducted in the area of Shiba and Ashakabe from December 17th until December 19th 1997 and from December 1st until December 10th 2000.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.58 no.1
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• pp.31-42
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• 2005

Background : Peroxiredoxins (Prxs) are a relatively newly recognized, novel family of peroxidases that reduce $H_2O_2$ and alkylhydroperoxide into water and alcohol, respectively. There are 6 known isoforms of Prxs present in human cells. Normally, Prxs exist in a head-to-tail homodimeric state in a reduced form. However, in the presence of excess $H_2O_2$, it can be oxidized on its catalytically active cysteine site into inactive oxidized forms. This study surveyed the types of the Prx isoforms present in the pulmonary epithelial, macrophage, endothelial, and other cell lines and observed their response to oxidative stress. Methods : This study examined the effect of exogenous, excess $H_2O_2$ on the Prxs of established cell lines originating from the pulmonary epithelium, macrophages, and other cell lines, which are known to be exposed to high oxygen partial pressures or are believed to be subject to frequent oxidative stress, using non-reducing SDS polyacrylamide electrophoresis (PAGE) and 2 dimensional electrophoresis. Result : The addition of excess $H_2O_2$ to the culture media of the various cell-lines caused the immediate inactivation of Prxs, as evidenced by their inability to form dimers by a disulfide cross linkage. This was detected as a subsequent shift to its monomeric forms on the non-reducing SDS PAGE. These findings were further confirmed by 2 dimensional electrophoresis and immunoblot analysis by a shift toward a more acidic isoelectric point (pI). However, the subsequent reappearance of the dimeric Prxs with a comparable, corresponding decrease in the monomeric bands was noted on the non-reducing SDS PAGE as early as 30 minutes after the $H_2O_2$ treatment suggesting regeneration after oxidation. The regenerated dimers can again be converted to the inactivated form by a repeated $H_2O_2$ treatment, indicating that the protein is still catalytically active. The recovery of Prxs to the original dimeric state was not inhibited by a pre-treatment with cycloheximide, nor by a pretreatment with inhibitors of protein synthesis, which suggests that the reappearance of dimers occurs via a regeneration process rather than via the de novo synthesis of the active protein. Conclusion : The cells, in general, appeared to be equipped with an established system for regenerating inactivated Prxs, and this system may function as a molecular "on-off switch" in various oxidative signal transduction processes. The same mechanisms might applicable other proteins associated with signal transduction where the active catalytic site cysteines exist.