• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.206-212
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• 2019

Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) lives in the hair follicles and pores, and it uses cell debris, sebum and metabolic byproducts of surrounding skin tissues as energy and nutrients. Increased production of sebum due to sebaceous hyperplasia or blockage of the follicle can cause growth and proliferation of P. acnes. The rapid growth of P. acnes in follicles produces cell damage, metabolic byproducts and bacterial chips, which can cause inflammation. In this study, we examined the possibility of Senecio iscoensis Hieron. (S. iscoensis) extract to regulate P. acnes-induced inflammatory signaling pathways. We observed that S. iscoensis extract effectively inhibited P. acnes-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine expressions such as IL-$1{\beta}$, TNF-${\alpha}$, and iNOS in mouse macrophage cell line Raw 264.7. The inhibitory effect of S. iscoensis in pro-inflammatory cytokine levels was accompanied by the inhibition of the transcription factors NF-${\kappa}B$ and NF-AT. However, S. iscoensis did not alter the P. acnes-induced MAPK signaling pathways. This study first suggests the potential of using S. iscoensis extract as an alternative agent for the treatment of acne.

• Journal of Korean Dental Science
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.71-81
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• 2018

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the corrosion behaviors of dental implant alloy after microsized surface modification in electrolytes containing Mn ion. Materials and Methods: $Mn-TiO_2$ coatings were prepared on the Ti-6Al-4V alloy for dental implants using a plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) method carried out in electrolytes containing different concentrations of Mn, namely, 0%, 5%, and 20%. Potentiodynamic method was employed to examine the corrosion behaviors, and the alternatingcurrent (AC) impedance behaviors were examined in 0.9% NaCl solution at $36.5^{\circ}C{\pm}1.0^{\circ}C$ using a potentiostat and an electrochemical impedance spectroscope. The potentiodynamic test was performed with a scanning rate of $1.667mV\;s^{-1}$ from -1,500 to 2,000 mV. A frequency range of $10^{-1}$ to $10^5Hz$ was used for the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. The amplitude of the AC signal was 10 mV, and 5 points per decade were used. The morphology and structure of the samples were examined using field-emission scanning electron microscopy and thin-film X-ray diffraction. The elemental analysis was performed using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Result: The PEO-treated surface exhibited an irregular pore shape, and the pore size and number of the pores increased with an increase in the Mn concentration. For the PEO-treated surface, a higher corrosion current density ($I_{corr}$) and a lower corrosion potential ($E_{corr}$) was obtained as compared to that of the bulk surface. However, the current density in the passive regions ($I_{pass}$) was found to be more stable for the PEO-treated surface than that of the bulk surface. As the Mn concentration increased, the capacitance values of the outer porous layer and the barrier layer decreased, and the polarization resistance of the barrier layers increased. In the case of the Mn/Ca-P coatings, the corroded surface was found to be covered with corrosion products. Conclusion: It is confirmed that corrosion resistance and polarization resistance of PEO-treated alloy increased as Mn content increased, and PEO-treated surface showed lower current density in the passive region.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.574-584
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• 2019

Objective: Research was conducted to test the effect of including fiber-rich feedstuffs in practical pig diets on nutrient digestibility, nitrogen balance and ammonia emissions from slurry. Methods: Three Vietnamese fiber sources were screened, namely cassava leaf meal (CL), cassava root residue (CR), and tofu by-product (TF). Accordingly, a control diet (Con) with 10% of dietary non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) and three test diets including one of the three fiber-rich feedstuffs to reach 15% of NSP were formulated. All formulated diets had the same level of crude protein (CP), in vitro ileal protein digestible and metabolisable energy, whereas the in vitro hindgut volatile fatty acid (VFA) production of the test diets was 12% to 20% higher than the control diet. Forty growing barrows with initial body weight at $28.6{\pm}1.93kg$ ($mean{\pm}standard$ deviation) were allocated to the four treatments. When pigs reached about 50 kg of body weight, four pigs from each treatment were used for a nitrogen balance trial and ammonia emission assessment, the remaining six pigs continued the second period of the feeding trial. Results: The TF treatment increased fecal VFA by 33% as compared with the control treatment (p = 0.07), suggesting stimulation of the hindgut fermentation. However, urinary N was not significantly reduced or shifted to fecal N, nor was slurry pH decreased. Accordingly, ammonia emissions were not mitigated. CR and CL treatments failed to enhance in vivo hindgut fermentation, as assessed by fecal VFA and purine bases. On the contrary, the reduction of CP digestibility in the CL treatment enhanced ammonia emissions from slurry. Conclusion: Dietary inclusion of cassava and tofu byproducts through an increase of dietary NSP from 10% to 15% might stimulate fecal VFA excretion but this does not guarantee a reduction in ammonia emissions from slurry, while its interaction with protein digestibility even might enhance enhanced ammonia emission.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.483-493
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• 2021

Urban overcrowding has created an explosive supply and demand for high-rise buildings. High-rise buildings are contributing to enhancing the image of the city by serving as focal points, but due to the stack effect, malfunction of elevator doors, difficulties in opening and closing the doors and windows of the outer wall, smoke and odors spreading to the upper floors, noise, energy loss, fire and pollutants have been causing various unexpected problems such as rapid spread of fire. This study classified high-rise buildings according to their vertical zoning, analyzed the causes of and solutions to the stack effect, and derived design and construction methods. Through the initial plan to block the outside air and securing airtightness through precise construction, we sought ways to secure the airtightness inside and outside the building by actively blocking the airflow from the lower floors. In addition, the facility solution can be a measure to reduce the specific phenomena caused by the stack effect, but it should only be applied to the minimum extent because the potential for secondary damage is high. This study emphasized the need for systematic stack effect management by suggesting design and construction measures for each vertical zoning of the causes and countermeasures of the stack effect. It is expected that this study will be helpful not only for design and construction, but also for building maintenance.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.76 no.6
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• pp.687-708
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• 2020

Openings in steel plate shear walls (SPSWs) are usually used for decorative designs, crossing locations of multiple utilities and/or structural objectives. However, earlier studies showed that generating an opening in an SPSW has a negative effect on the cyclic performance of the SPSW. Therefore, this study proposes tripling or doubling the steel-sheet-plate (SSP) layer and stiffening the opening of the SPSW to provide a solution to undesirable opening effects, improve the SPSW performance and provide the infill option of potential strengthening measures after the construction stage. The study aims to investigate the impact of SSP doubling with a stiffened opening on the cyclic behaviour, expand the essential data required by structural designers and quantify the SPSW performance factors. Validated numerical models were adopted to identify the influence of the chosen parameters on the cyclic capacity, energy dissipation, ductility, seismic performance factors (SPF) and stiffness of the suggested method. A finite Element (FE) analysis was performed via Abaqus/CAE software on half-scale single-story models of SPSWs exposed to cyclic loading. The key parameters included the number of SSP layers, the opening size ratios corresponding to the net width of the SSP, and the opening shape. The findings showed that the proposed assembly method found a negligible influence in the shear capacity with opening sizes of 10, 15, 20%. However, a deterioration in the wall strength was observed for openings with sizes of 25% and 30%. The circular opening is preferable compared with the square opening. Moreover, for all the models, the average value of the obtained ductility did not show substantial changes and the ultimate shear resistance was achieved after reaching a drift ratio of 4.36%. Additionally, the equivalent sectional area of the SSP in the twin and triple configuration of the SPSWs demonstrated approximately similar results. Compared with the single SSP layer, the proposed configuration of the twin SSP layer with a stiffened opening suggest to more sufficiency create SSP openings in the SPSW compared to that of other configurations. Finally, a tabular SPF quantification is exhibited for SPSWs with openings.

• Current Applied Physics
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.1306-1312
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• 2018

The Mn-doped copper nitride ($Cu_3N$) films with Mn concentration of 2.0 at. % have high crystallinity and uniform surface morphology. We found that the as-synthesized Mn-doped $Cu_3N$ films show suitable optical absorption in the visible region and the band gap is ~1.48 eV. A simple photodetector based on Mn doped $Cu_3N$ films was firstly fabricated via magnetron sputtering method. The fabricated device with doping of Mn demonstrated high photocurrent response and fast response shorter than 0.1 s both for rise and decay time superior to the pure $Cu_3N$. Furthermore, the energy levels of Mn-doped Cu3N matched well with ITO and Ag electrode. The excellent photoelectric properties reflect a good balance between sensitivities and response rate. Our investigation reveals the excellent potential of Mn-doped $Cu_3N$ films for application of photodetectors.

• Journal of Korean Society of Disaster and Security
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.9-21
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• 2021

Recently, the importance of eco-friendly power generation facility using renewable energy has newly appeared. Hydropower plant is a very important source of electricity generation and supply which is very important to secure safety because it is commonly connected with multi facility and operated on a large scale. In this study, a scenario-based analysis method was suggested to assess vulnerability of a penstock system caused by water hammer commonly occurred in the operation of hydropower plants. A hypothetical hydropower plant was used to demonstrate the applicability of a transient analysis model. In order to verify reliability of the model, the prediction of pressure behaviors were compared with the results of commercial model (SIMSEN) and measured data, then a real hydroelectric power plant was applied to develop all potential water hammer scenarios during the actual operation. The scenario-based simulation and vulnerability assessment for water hammer in the penstock system were performed with internal and external load conditions. The simulation results indicated that the vulnerability of a penstock system was varied with the operating conditions of hydropower facilities and significantly affected by load combination consisting of different load scenarios. The proposed numerical method could be an useful tool for the vulnerabilityty assessment of the hydropower plants due to water hammer.

• Journal of Apiculture
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.47-55
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• 2019

Honey bees are a vital part of the food chain as the most important pollinators for a broad palette of crops and wild plants. The climate change and colony collapse disorder (CCD) phenomenon make it challenging to develop ICT solutions to predict changes in beehive and alert about potential threats. In this paper, we report the test results of the bee-counting system which stands out against the previous analogues due to its comprehensive components including an improved dual infrared sensor to detect honey bees entering and leaving the hive, environmental sensors that measure ambient and interior, a wireless network with the bluetooth low energy (BLE) to transmit the sensing data in real time to the gateway, and a cloud which accumulate and analyze data. To assess the system accuracy, 3 persons manually counted the outgoing and incoming honey bees using the video record of 360-minute length. The difference between automatic and manual measurements for outgoing and incoming scores were 3.98% and 4.43% respectively. These differences are relatively lower than previous analogues, which inspires a vision that the tested system is a good candidate to use in precise apicultural industry, scientific research and education.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.904-914
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• 2020

Through the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, South Korea is trying to support the "Building Project for Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Bunkering Ship," centered on the Korea Gas Corporation, while the Ministry of Maritime Af airs and Fisheries is pushing to construct an LNG bunkering terminal at Busan New Port. LNG bunkering ships are essential for supplying LNG fuel from the terminal to the ships, resulting in the need for safety operation procedures. Therefore, in this study, the stability of a coastal LNG bunkering ship operating from Busan New Port to the anchorage in Busan Port was assessed to investigate the need for operational procedures for coastal LNG bunkering ships. Seakeeping analysis of the LNG bunkering ship was performed for each significant wave height by combining the response amplitude operator from the ship motion analysis under the potential flow theory with the actual observed sea data for five years and Texel, Marsen, and Arsloe (TMA) spectrum suitable for the Busan coast. The results showed that the roll and horizontal acceleration were the main risks that affected the navigation seakeeping performance above a significance wave height of 2 m. The operational periods of the LNG bunkering ship ranged from 83.3% to 99.9% of the total observation period.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.15-23
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• 2021

A method of improving the post-management end system of a landfill that reflected total pollutant load was applied to the SUDOKWON 1st Landfill Site. Modeling results showed that the ratio of remaining methane, when compared to the total maximum potential of 2,521 × 106 Nm3, was estimated to be 8.8% in 2020, 7.0% in 2030, and 6.5% in 2040. If the average oxidation rate of 89.1% in 2005-2019 was applied, the ratio decreased by 1.01% in 2020, 0.76% in 2030, and 0.70% in 2040. This suggests that if the amount of methane generated is all emitted from the surface of the landfill after 2025, the real amount emitted to the atmosphere is less than that in 2019; therefore, the post-management end is possible. According to the results of trend analysis of the quality of leachate water, effluent criteria for Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) can be satisfied in 2024, while those for Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Total Nitrogen (T-N) can be satisfied in 2047 and 2117, respectively. If the post-management end system changed based on total pollutant load, the post-management can be terminated BOD today and COD within a few years; however, the fact that T-N could be terminated only after 2041 shows the need to fundamentally change management methods.