• BMB Reports
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.209-220
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• 1998

How did nature create the first set of genes at the beginning of life on Earth? One of the goals of molecular biology is to elucidate the fundamental rules governing how genes and, therefore, proteins were created. Through experiments carried out in the emerging field of "in vitro" or "benchtop" evolution studies, we are gaining new insights into the origins of genes and proteins as well as the origins of their functions (e.g., catalysis). In this review, I present an overview of recent experimental approaches to the question of the origin and evolution of genes. In addition, I will introduce a novel in vitro protein emergence system that was recently developed in my laboratory.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.19-27
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• 2008

Since 1995, the facility of class 1 and 2, classified by law had been subject to system of post maintenance management where periodic safety inspection and diagnosis to identify any problems and to take appropriate measures as a matter of urgency. Although the standards and systems had been revised many times for continuous improvement due to surrounding environmental factors, the technical factors and other factors for improvements, continuous researches and efforts are needed to ensure even higher effectiveness. Furthermore, the consciousness of the management body that executes and implements such improvements for facility management is most important. Therefore in this study, through such analysis, more realistic management consciousness review was performed. Also the direction for improvements is proposed, to carry out more effective facility safety management systems implementation.

• Journal of the Korean Operations Research and Management Science Society
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.61-74
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• 2011

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of sharing uncertain yield information with a downstream supply chain player. We are interested in understanding how the amount of yield uncertainty affects the supply-side benefits and/or costs, which has not been considered in the literature, in addition to the customer-side benefits. With that purpose, this work evaluates a supplier who provides yield information in comparison with another supplier who shares no information. We simulate an order-up-to type heuristic policy that is adapted from the literature and reasonably modified to represent yield information sharing with error. From the simulation study, we argue that the customer would experience cost reduction, but the cost for supplier's inventory is increasing when sharing yield information. Furthermore, the amount of benefits and costs are situational and affected by level of yield uncertainty and demand variance. Based on the simulation study, we finally make several recommendations for the supply-side approaches to yield information sharing.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.337-348
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• 2020

Although the WTO has fulfilled several key tasks it was set up to do - providing periodic reviews of members' trade policies, resolving disputes, supporting negotiations - with the notable exceptions of the Trade Facilitation and Information Technology agreements, WTO members have not been able to negotiate new rules on "bread and butter" trade policies. The importance of doing so was illustrated by the COVID-19 pandemic which saw widespread uncoordinated recourse to trade policy instruments. This paper highlights four reforms that would bolster the effectiveness of the WTO as a forum for trade cooperation: (1) improving collection and reporting of information on trade-related policies; (2) supporting analysis-informed deliberation to establish a common understanding of the need and scope for cooperation in specific policy areas; (3) putting in place a stronger multilateral governance framework for plurilateral cooperation between groups of WTO members; and (4) reestablishing an effective dispute settlement system.

• Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.276-286
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• 2018

Circadian rhythm is a periodic and continuous change in physiological, behavioral, and mental characteristics that occurs in most organisms on the Earth, because the Earth rotates in a 24-hour cycle. The circadian system regulates daily rhythms of physiology and behavior, such as the sleep/wake cycle, body temperature, hormonal secretion, and mood. The influence of circadian rhythm is very powerful, but limited research has addressed its effects. However, many recent studies have shown that circadian dysregulation may play an important role in the pathogenesis of bipolar disorder. This review study examined current and noteworthy studies, including the authors' own works, and proposes a possible clinical application of bipolar disorder based on evidence that circadian rhythm dysregulation in bipolar disorder may be a key pathogenetic mechanism.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.189-206
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• 2013

In this paper, we investigate if the new merchant fee system has problems. The fee was fixed by government policies and there were no processes of listening to market participants. Therefore, we suggest improvements as follows. First, large-sized stores take burdens for the rest of stores so credit card companies and the government should try to minimize the increasing rate for large-sized stores. Second, credit card firms need to give VAN companies roles of stabilizing authorizing processes. Third, periodic update requires because of credibility. Fourth, contents of merchant fee should be disclosed to merchants. Fifth, there needs discussions for merchant fees of debit cards.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.764-775
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• 2020

Periodic safety reviews (PSRs) are conducted on operating nuclear power plants (NPPs) and have been mandated also for research reactors in Korea, in response to the Fukushima accident. One safety review tool, the probabilistic safety assessment (PSA), aims to identify weaknesses in the design and operation of the research reactor, and to evaluate and compare possible safety improvements. However, the PSA for research reactors is difficult due to scarce data availability. An important element in the analysis of research reactors is the reactor protection system (RPS), with its functionality and importance. In this view, we consider that of the AGN-201K, a zero-power reactor without forced decay heat removal systems, to demonstrate a risk-informed safety improvement study. By incorporating risk- and safety-significance importance measures, and sensitivity and uncertainty analyses, the proposed method identifies critical components in the RPS reliability model, systematically proposes potential safety improvements and ranks them to assist in the decision-making process.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.469-497
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• 2004

Environmental R&D management system has been analyzed with LCA method. Based on the analysis, we found the following four elements were essential for improving effciency of environmental R&D management system: establishment of an information clearinghouse that collects and distributes information on the status of the domestically owned environmental technology, Periodic survey of the environmental technology demand to give guidance in selecting the environmental R&D project that are to be subsidized, dissemination of information on the technology transfer and commercialization assistance program, and increased funding as well as the expansion of project categories eligible for R&D subsidy.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.139-161
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• 2016

This study reviewed the perspective of the institutional application and trade finance settlement of Bank Payment Obligation(BPO). The BPO is a payment method based on trade data-matching which can be used for risk mitigation and payment. The BPO offers the institutional advantages such as an automated solution, an assurance of payment, an improved overall efficiency of business, risk mitigation for all parties, trade financing, etc. The BPO will be developed as a new trade payment method that meets the periodic paradigm thanks to many benefits and usefulness. The BPO will greatly improve the efficiency and stability of the trade payment system in that it is operated by a technology-enabled, databased mechanism that can be applied to a variety of trade transactions. So, the BPO is expected to evolve into an alternative instrument of the trade payment system. This paper is based on documentary research focusing on papers, websites of ICC and SWIFT, and international regulation and laws and so on.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.218-225
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• 2013

Although the functional ingredient has been evaluated by the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) based on scientific evidence, the levels of scientific evidence and consistency of the results might vary according to emerging data. Therefore, periodic re-evaluation may be needed for some functional ingredients. In this study, we re-evaluated scientific evidence for the antioxidant activity of coenzyme Q10 as a functional ingredient in health functional food. Literature searches were conducted using the Medline and Cochrane, KISS, and IBIDS databases for the years 1955-2010 with the search term of coenzyme Q10 in combination with antioxidant. The search was limited to human studies published in Korean, English, and Japanese. Using the KFDA's evidence based evaluation system for scientific evaluation of health claims, 33 human studies were identified and reviewed in order to evaluate the strength of the evidence supporting a relation between coenzyme Q10 and antioxidant activity. Among 33 studies, significant effects for antioxidant activities were reported in 22 studies and their daily intake amount was 60 to 300 mg. Based on this systematic review, we concluded that there was possible evidence to support a relation between coenzyme Q10 intake and antioxidant activities. However, because inconsistent results have recently been reported, future studies should be monitored.