• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.64 no.3
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• pp.25-32
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• 2022

To understand the distribution characteristics of PM_2.5 concentration in the Saemangeum Reclamation Area and nearby areas, three points of the background area, the occurrence area, and the affected area were selected and samples were collected for each season. The chemical composition was determined. As a result of analyzing the chemical composition contained in PM_2.5, NO₃^- (7.2 ㎍/m³), SO₄^2- (4.3 ㎍/m³), NH₄+ (4.3 ㎍/m³), OC (2.5 ㎍/m³), Si (1.3 ㎍/m³) m³) and EC (0.5 ㎍/m³) seemed to be the main components, and NO₃-, SO₄^2-, NH₄⁺, which are components that form secondary particles, occupied a large proportion. The composition ratio of PM_2.5 was investigated in the order of ion component (56.8%) > Unknown (27.4%) > carbon component (11.8%) > heavy metal component (4.0%). During the PM_2.5 high concentration case days, the ionic component accounted for 90.7% during atmospheric stagnation cases, whereas the chemical composition ratio was in the order of ionic component (51.7%) > heavy metal component (41.5%) > carbon component (6.8%) during yellow dust cases. It was found that the characteristic of PM_2.5 in the Saemangeum reclaimed land and surrounding areas is mainly influenced by outside (domestic and overseas) throughout the year. Ion components accounted for the largest portion of PM_2.5 components in this area, but there were few sources of SOx and NOx emission in the Seamangeum area, which are precursors for secondary particle formation. Therefore, it is judged that most of these are generated and influenced as a secondary reaction in the atmosphere from the outside.

• Clean Technology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.258-264
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• 2010

This study estimated the possibility of phosphate removal characteristics to utilize EAF(electric arc furnace) slag as submarine cover material. The major phosphate removal mechanism was a certain formation of HAP precipitation occurred by the ionization reaction between $Ca^{2+}$ and $OH^-$, which were leached from the EAF Slag. Another phosphate removal mechanism was the adsortion of EAF slag surface. As a result of $PO_4{^-}-P$ removal characteristics using continuous column reactor, $PO_4{^-}-P$ concentration decreased rapidly after 3 days and 10 days later, it show under 0.5 ppm. The result as applied in real sea water, shows that the phosphate removal effects were 93~98% by the subaqueous sediment removal using the EAF slag. In conclusion, EAF slag is useful in $PO_4{^-}-P$ removal and control and it is possible to use without additional process like crush and selection.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.122-133
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• 2022

The aim of this study was to investigating whether lncRNA H19 promotes myocardial fibrosis by suppressing the miR-29a-3p/miR-29b-3p-VEGFA/TGF-β axis. Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and healthy volunteers were included in the study, and their biochemical parameters were collected. In addition, pcDNA3.1-H19, si-H19, and miR-29a/b-3p mimic/inhibitor were transfected into cardiac fibroblasts (CFs), and proliferation of CFs was detected by MTT assay. Expression of H19 and miR-29a/b-3p were detected using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), collagen I, collagen II, matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), and elastin were measured by western blot analysis. The dual luciferase reporter gene assay was carried out to detect the sponging relationship between H19 and miR-29a/b-3p in CFs. Compared with healthy volunteers, the level of plasma H19 was significantly elevated in patients with AF, while miR-29a-3p and miR-29b-3p were markedly depressed (P < 0.05). Serum expression of lncRNA H19 was negatively correlated with the expression of miR-29a-3p and miR-29b-3p among patients with AF (r_s = -0.337, r_s = -0.236). Moreover, up-regulation of H19 expression and down-regulation of miR-29a/b-3p expression facilitated proliferation and synthesis of extracellular matrix (ECM)-related proteins. SB431542 and si-VEGFA are able to reverse the promotion of miR-29a/b-3p on proliferation of CFs and ECM-related protein synthesis. The findings of the present study suggest that H19 promoted CF proliferation and collagen synthesis by suppressing the miR-29a-3p/miR-29b-3p-VEGFA/TGF-β axis, and provide support for a potential new direction for the treatment of AF.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.9
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• pp.1336-1349
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• 2023

Objective: The study was conducted to screen differentially expressed miRNAs in sows at early pregnancy by high-throughput sequencing and explore its mechanism of action on embryo implantation. Methods: The blood serum of pregnant and non-pregnant Landrace×Yorkshire sows were collected 14 days after artificial insemination, and exosomal miRNAs were purified for high throughput miRNA sequencing. The expression patterns of 10 differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs were validated by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The qRT-PCR quantified the abundance of serum exosomal miR-192 in pregnant and control sows, and the diagnostic power was assessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The target genes of DE miRNAs were predicted with bioinformatics software, and the functional and pathway enrichment analysis was performed on gene ontology and the Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes terms. Furthermore, a luciferase reporter system was used to identify the target relation between miR-192 and integrin alpha 4 (ITGA4), a gene influencing embryo implantation in pigs. Finally, the expression levels of miRNAs and the target gene ITGA4 were analyzed by qRT-PCR, and western blot, with the proliferation of BeWo cells detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8). Results: A total of 221 known miRNAs were detected in the libraries of the pregnant and non-pregnant sows, of which 55 were up-regulated and 67 were down-regulated in the pregnant individuals compared with the non-pregnant controls. From these, the expression patterns of 10 DE miRNAs were validated. The qRT-PCR analysis further confirmed a significantly higher expression of miR-192 in the serum exosomes extracted from pregnant sows, when compared to controls. The ROC analysis revealed that miR-192 provided excellent diagnostic accuracy for pregnancy (area under the ROC curve [AUC]=0.843; p>0.001). The dual-luciferase reporter assay indicated that miR-192 directly targeted ITGA4. The protein expression of ITGA4 was reduced in cells that overexpressed miR-192. Overexpression of miR-192 resulted in the decreased proliferation of BeWo cells and regulated the expression of cell cycle-related genes. Conclusion: Serum exosomal miR-192 could serve as a potential biomarker for early pregnancy in pigs. miR-192 targeted ITGA4 gene directly, and miR-192 can regulate cellular proliferation.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.965-981
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• 2024

Objective: Milk composition varies considerably and depends on paratypical, genetic, and epigenetic factors. MiRNAs belong to the class of small non-coding RNAs; they are one of the key tools of epigenetic control because of their ability to regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. We compared the relative expression levels of miR-106b, miR-191, and miR-30d in milk to demonstrate the relationship between the content of these miRNAs with protein and fat components of milk in Holstein and Ayrshire cattle. Methods: Milk fat, protein, and casein contents were determined in the obtained samples, as well as the content of the main fatty acids (g/100 g milk), including: saturated acids, such as myristic (C14:0), palmitic (C16:0), and stearic (C18:0) acids; monounsaturated acids, including oleic (C18:1) acid; as well as long-, medium- and short-chain, polyunsaturated, and trans fatty acids. Real-time stem-loop one-tube reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction with TaqMan probes was used to measure the miRNA expression levels. Results: The miRNA expression levels in milk samples were found to be decreased in the first two months in Holstein breed, and in the first four months in Ayrshire breed. Correlation analysis did not reveal any dependence between changes in the expression level of miRNA and milk fat content, but showed a multidirectional relationship with individual milk fatty acids. Positive associations between the expression levels of miR-106b and miR-30d and protein and casein content were found in the Ayrshire breed. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that miR-106b and miR-30d expression levels can cause changes in fatty acid and protein composition of milk in Ayrshire cows, whereas miR-106b expression level determines the fatty acid composition in Holsteins. Conclusion: The data obtained in this study showed that miR-106b, miR-191, and miR-30d expression levels in milk samples have peculiarities associated with breed affiliation and the lactation period.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.1213-1224
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• 2021

Objective: To develop a machine learning (ML) pipeline based on radiomics to predict Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity and the future deterioration to critical illness using CT and clinical variables. Materials and Methods: Clinical data were collected from 981 patients from a multi-institutional international cohort with real-time polymerase chain reaction-confirmed COVID-19. Radiomics features were extracted from chest CT of the patients. The data of the cohort were randomly divided into training, validation, and test sets using a 7:1:2 ratio. A ML pipeline consisting of a model to predict severity and time-to-event model to predict progression to critical illness were trained on radiomics features and clinical variables. The receiver operating characteristic area under the curve (ROC-AUC), concordance index (C-index), and time-dependent ROC-AUC were calculated to determine model performance, which was compared with consensus CT severity scores obtained by visual interpretation by radiologists. Results: Among 981 patients with confirmed COVID-19, 274 patients developed critical illness. Radiomics features and clinical variables resulted in the best performance for the prediction of disease severity with a highest test ROC-AUC of 0.76 compared with 0.70 (0.76 vs. 0.70, p = 0.023) for visual CT severity score and clinical variables. The progression prediction model achieved a test C-index of 0.868 when it was based on the combination of CT radiomics and clinical variables compared with 0.767 when based on CT radiomics features alone (p < 0.001), 0.847 when based on clinical variables alone (p = 0.110), and 0.860 when based on the combination of visual CT severity scores and clinical variables (p = 0.549). Furthermore, the model based on the combination of CT radiomics and clinical variables achieved time-dependent ROC-AUCs of 0.897, 0.933, and 0.927 for the prediction of progression risks at 3, 5 and 7 days, respectively. Conclusion: CT radiomics features combined with clinical variables were predictive of COVID-19 severity and progression to critical illness with fairly high accuracy.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.388-393
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• 2023

Background: Differentiating between bacterial and nonbacterial colitis remains a challenge. We aimed to evaluate the value of serum procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in differentiating between bacterial and nonbacterial colitis. Methods: Adult patients with three or more episodes of watery diarrhea and colitis symptoms within 14 days of a hospital visit were eligible for this study. The patients' stool pathogen polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing results, serum PCT levels, and serum CRP levels were analyzed retrospectively. Patients were divided into bacterial and nonbacterial colitis groups according to their PCR. The laboratory data were compared between the two groups. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to evaluate diagnostic accuracy. Results: In total, 636 patients were included; 186 in the bacterial colitis group and 450 in the nonbacterial colitis group. In the bacterial colitis group, Clostridium perfringens was the commonest pathogen (n=70), followed by Clostridium difficile toxin B (n=60). The AUC for PCT and CRP was 0.557 and 0.567, respectively, indicating poor discrimination. The sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing bacterial colitis were 54.8% and 52.6% for PCT, and 52.2% and 54.2% for CRP, respectively. Combining PCT and CRP measurements did not increase the discrimination performance (AUC, 0.522; 95% confidence interval, 0.474-0.571). Conclusion: Neither PCT nor CRP helped discriminate bacterial colitis from nonbacterial colitis.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.57-67
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• 1975

The poxvirus group is considered to be a typical cytoplasmic inclusion forming virus. Every poxvirus has been reported to produce only one kind of inclusion in the infected tissues. A vague concept that inclusions of poxviruses are eosinophilic or acidophilic has prevailed. Although many papers and theories about the nature of the inclusion have been presented, most of them are not quite convincing on the point of the relations with virus multiplication, and an analysis of papers published showed that there seem to be many discrepancies in the descriptions of the nature of the poxvirus inclusions. Comparative studies on host-virus interaction with cowpox, orf, swinepox and fowlpox viruses which selected from each Group (I-IV) of poxviruses were performed from the morphological and virological standpoints. At first, in cowpox virus-FL cell system, as a comparative model, cytoplasmic inclusion, nucleic acid metabolism by autoradiography and detection of viral antigen by immunofluorescence were studied and obtained the results as follows: 1. The focus-like cytopathic effect (CPE) at early stage developed to entire culture at terminal stage of infection, and also the developing status of CPE was correlated to viral doses for inoculation. Two kinds of cytoplasmic inclusions which named A and B type were easily observed by Giemsa, hematoxylin-eosin (H & E) and May-Greenwald Giemsa (MGG) stainings in the infected cells. The B type inclusions were formed at early stage of infection and the A type inclusions were produced subsequently the B type formation. The B type which common type inclusion in poxviruses was a small compact or aggregate at early stage and developed to a large diffuse body at terminal stage of infection. On the other hand, the A type inclusion which depend upon the kind of virus was appeared as round and discrete shape, and its size and number was increased gradually during the culture period. It was characteristic to form distinct halos around the both types of inclusions in acid fixed, H & E stained preparations of infected cultures. The B type inclusion was always positive in Feulgen reaction and showed as DNA containing body but the A type inclusion was not. 2. In the relationship between inclusion and DNA metabolism of infected cells by the qualitative autoradiography using 3H-thymidine, the appearance of silver grains was coincided with B type inclusion but not with A type inclusion. This showed that the DNA synthesis was proceeded in all B type inclusions except those in the terminal stage with a diffuse form. This suggested that the B type inclusions are only sites of DNA synthesis and this was proceeded after the cell infection independently. The activity of DNA synthesis of the inclusions was nearly the same as that of the nucleic of normal cells and non-inclusion bearing cells. and non-inclusion bearing cells. Regardless of the size of the degree of DNA synthesis of the B type inclusion, inclusion bearing cells all showed remarkable suppression of nuclear DNA synthesis. 3. By the direct fluorescent antibody technique viral antigen in infected cells was detected. The B type inclusions have been proved to contain a great deal of viral antigen, whereas the basic substance of A type inclusion did not show antigenicity except the round edge. It was suggested that the round edge fluorescence might be caused by the glare of cytoplasmic viral antigen which pushed out and concentrated by the A type inclusion development. 4. Hemorrhagic red pock formations on chorioallantoic membrane of embryonated chicken egg had proved the characteristic of used viral strain. 5. By the above studies on the nature of two types of inclusions and the role they play in virus multiplication, it was concluded that the B type inclusion must be the site of the synthesis of viral DNA and protein as well as the site of the virus.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.97-105
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• 1997

Purpose : Aseptic meningitis mainly caused by enterovirus is common in pediatric population especially during summer & fall. Most of pediatric patients restore their health without any complications with proper management. Between May to August of 1996, Masan and surrounding areas of the Kyoungsangnamdo were epidemic areas for the aseptic meningitis. The purpose of this study was to determine causative virus and describe correlation between disease and clinical symptoms in aseptic meningitis patients and those with fever and characteristic rashes without apparent meningitis symptoms. Methods : Between May to August, 1996, 57 patients with high fever and characteristic feature of rashes were reviewed. From 22 cerebrospinal fluid & 57 stool obtained specimens, viral culture and detection of enterovirus RNA were conducted. Collected specimens were kept in $-30^{\circ}C$ environment until sending of specimens to labortory. The virus identified through indirect immunofluorescence. RT-PCR method was used to identify enterovirus RNA in cerebralspinal fluid. Results : 1) One hundred fifty five pediatric patients with viral infection required hospitalization. Disease occurred higher rate in male than female with ratio of 1.94:1. Examined patients' age ranged from 15days old to 15years old. But most of patients(74.8%) were under age of 5years old. The time of occurrence was between May to August of 1996. 2) All patients had high fever and physical symptoms in those patients include headache, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and rashes. The rashes observed mainly in patients under age of 4 years and were predominantly commom patients under age of 18 months olds)<0.001). 3) Between sampled patients and non-sampled patients, clinical course was similar. Echovirus type 9 was cultivated in 41 out of 57 cases of collected stool specimens. RT-PCR that used on CSF showed positive results in 10 out of 22 cases. Three cases of positive cultivated of positive results in RT-PCR were echovirus type 9. Conclusions : Echovirus type 9 was thought to be the causative agent of aseptic meningitis that was prevalent throughout mid areas of Kyoungsangnamdo from May to August, 1996. Additionally causative agent that responsible for high fever with rashes without meningitis symptoms also thought to be the same echovirus type 9.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.131-142
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• 2011

In recent years, Social Network Service, which is defined as a web-based service that allows an individual to construct a public or a semi-public profile within a bounded system, articulates a list of other users with whom they share connections, and traverses their list of connections. For example, Facebook and Twitter are the representative sites of Social Network Service, and these sites are the big issue in the world. A lot of people use Social Network Services to connect and maintain social relationship. Recently the users of Social Network Services have increased dramatically. Accordingly, many organizations become interested in Social Network Services as means of marketing, media, communication with their customers, and so on, because social network services can offer a variety of benefits to organizations such as companies and associations. In other words, organizations can use Social Network Services to respond rapidly to various user's behaviors because Social Network Services can make it possible to communicate between the users more easily and faster. And marketing cost of the Social Network Service is lower than that of existing tools such as broadcasts, news papers, and direct mails. In addition, Social network Services are growing in market place. So, the organizations such as companies and associations can acquire potential customers for the future. However, organizations uniformly communicate with users through Social Network Service without consideration of the characteristics of the networks although networks have different effects on information deliveries. For example, members' cohesion in an offline communication is higher than that in an online communication because the members of the offline communication are very close. that is, the network of the offline communication has a strong tie. Accordingly, information delivery is fast in the network of the offline communication. In this study, we compose two networks which have different characteristic of communication in Twitter. First network is constructed with data based on an offline communication such as friend, family, senior and junior in school. Second network is constructed with randomly selected data from users who want to associate with friends in online. Each network size is 250 people who divide with three groups. The first group is an ego which means a person in the center of the network. The second group is the ego's followers. The last group is composed of the ego's follower's followers. We compare the networks through social network analysis and follower's reaction analysis. We investigate density and centrality to analyze the characteristic of each network. And we analyze the follower's reactions such as replies and retweets to find differences of information delivery in each network. Our experiment results indicate that density and centrality of the offline communicationbased network are higher than those of the online-based network. Also the number of replies are larger than that of retweets in the offline communication-based network. On the other hand, the number of retweets are larger than that of replies in the online based network. We identified that the effect of information delivery in the offline communication-based network was different from those in the online communication-based network through experiments. So, you configure the appropriate network types considering the characteristics of the network if you want to use social network as an effective marketing tool.