• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.53-60
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• 2017

Objectives: Beakdugu-tang (BDGT) consists of three medicinal herbs, and this prescription has long been used in treatment of various digestant problem in Korea. In this study, we designed to clarify mechanisms by which Korean traditional digestive medicine, BDGT, may exert anti-hepatic steatosis effects via improved insulin resistance cell model in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) and monocyte (THP-1). Materials and methods: The preparation of BDGT and constituents were extracted with 70% ethanol. HepG2 and THP-1 were treated with different concentrations of BDGT and constituents in the presence and absence of stimulants such as free fatty acids (FFAs) and oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL), respectively. Results: The BDGT and its constituents inhibited the FFAs-stimulated lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells. Ethanol extracts of Amomum cardamomum (ACE) improved the ox-LDL induced insulin resistance in THP-1 cells. Also, treatment of monocytic cells with ACE increased anti-hepatic steatosis related gene levels including ABCA, ABCG and SR-B1. Conclusion: The results suggest that the ethanol extract of BDGT and its constituents potently inhibit the FFAs- and ox-LDL induced liver steatosis via improved insulin resistance.

• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.101-111
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• 2012

Soybean cyst nematode(SCN) (Heterodera glycines Ichinohe) causes the greatest yield loss to soybean compared to any other pest worldwide. Yield loss due to SCN is estimated 7.6 million megagrams in the USA and nearly 9 million worldwide. SCN causes yield reductions by feeding on plant nutrients, retarding root growth, and inhibiting Bradyrhizpbium japonicum(Kirchner) Buchanan nodulation. The primary methods for controlling SCN include planting resistant cultivars and rotation with nonhost crops. Genetically diverse field populations of SCN combined with the limited germplasm base of commercial soybean for resistance could potentially leads to population shifts over time, and this makes controlling H. glycines more difficult. This paper reviewed the importance of soybean, soybean cyst nematode, researches on resistance to SCN, and prospects. Tremendous effort must still be endeavored for elucidating resistance mechanisms and managing H. glycines in the soybean field.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.145-155
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• 2022

Multidrug resistance of tumors has been a severe obstacle to the success of cancer chemotherapy. The study wants to investigate the reversal effects of imperatorin (IMP) on doxorubicin (DOX) resistance in K562/DOX leukemia cells, A2780/Taxol cells and in NOD/SCID mice, to explore the possible molecular mechanisms. K562/DOX and A2780/Taxol cells were treated with various concentrations of DOX and Taol with or without different concentrations of IMP, respectively. K562/DOX xenograft model was used to assess anti-tumor effect of IMP combined with DOX. MTT assay, Rhodamine 123 efflux assay, RT-PCR, and Western blot analysis were determined in vivo and in vitro. Results showed that IMP significantly enhanced the cytotoxicity of DOX and Taxol toward corresponding resistance cells. In vivo results illustrated both the tumor volume and tumor weight were significantly decreased after 2-week treatment with IMP combined with DOX compared to the DOX alone group. Western blotting and RT-PCR analyses indicated that IMP downregulated the expression of P-gp in K562/DOX xenograft tumors in NOD/SCID mice. We also evaluated glycolysis and glutamine metabolism in K562/DOX cells by measuring glucose consumption and lactate production. The results revealed that IMP could significantly reduce the glucose consumption and lactate production of K562/DOX cells. Furthermore, IMP could also remarkably repress the glutamine consumption, α-KG and ATP production of K562/DOX cells. Thus, IMP may sensitize K562/DOX cells to DOX and enhance the antitumor effect of DOX in K562/DOX xenograft tumors in NOD/SCID mice. IMP may be an adjuvant therapy to mitigate the multidrug resistance in leukemia chemotherapy.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.482-489
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• 2022

Fire blight caused by Erwinia amylovora (Ea) is a devastating disease in apple and pear trees. Oxolinic acid (OA), a quinolone family antibiotic that inhibits DNA gyrase, has been employed to control fire blight in South Korea since 2015. The continuous use of this bactericide has resulted in the emergence of OA-resistant strains in bacterial pathogens in other countries. To investigate the occurrence of OA-resistant Ea strains in South Korea, we collected a total of 516 Ea isolates from diseased apple and pear trees in 2020-2021 and assessed their sensitivities to OA. We found that all isolates were susceptible to OA. To explore the possibility of emerging OA-resistant Ea by continuous application of OA, we exposed Ea stains to a range of OA concentrations and constructed OA-resistant mutant strains. Resistance was associated with mutations in the GyrA at codons 81 and 83, which result in glycine to cysteine and serine to arginine amino acid substitutions, respectively. The in vitro growth of the mutants in nutrient media and their virulence in immature apple fruits were lower than those of wild-type. Our results suggest that OA-resistance decreases the fitness of Ea. Future work should clarify the mechanisms by which OA-resistance decreases virulence of this plant pathogen. Continuous monitoring of OA-resistance in Ea is required to maintain the efficacy of this potent bactericide.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.605-619
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• 2024

The increase of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) content in recycled asphalt concrete (RAC) is accompanied by the degradation of low-temperature cracking resistance, which has become an obstacle to the development of RAC. This paper aims to reveal the meso-scale mechanisms of the low-temperature fracture behavior of RAC and provide a theoretical basis for the economical recycling of RAP. For this purpose, micromechanical heterogeneous peridynamic model of RAC was established and validated by comparing three-point bending (TPB) test results against corresponding numerical simulation results of RAC with 50% RAP content. Furthermore, the models with different aggregate shapes (i.e., average aggregates circularity (${\bar{C_r}}=1.00$, 0.75, and 0.50) and RAP content (i.e., 0%, 15%, 30%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) were constructed to investigate the effect of aggregate shape and RAP content on the low-temperature cracking resistance. The results show that peridynamic models can accurately simulate the low-temperature fracture behavior of RAC, with only 2.9% and 13.9% differences from the TPB test in flexural strength and failure strain, respectively. On the meso-scale, the damage in the RAC is mainly controlled by horizontal tensile stress and the stress concentration appears in the interface transition zone (ITZ). Aggregate shape has a significant effect on the low-temperature fracture resistance, i.e., higher aggregate circularity leads to better low-temperature performance. The large number of microcracks generated during the damage evolution process for the peridynamic model with circular aggregates contributes to slowing down the fracture, whereas the severe stress concentration at the corners leads to the fracture of the aggregates with low circularity under lower stress levels. The effect of RAP content below 30% or above 50% is not significant, but a substantial reduction (16.9% in flexural strength and 16.4% in failure strain) is observed between the RAP content of 30% and 50%. This reduction is mainly attributed to the fact that the damage in the ITZ region transfers significantly to the aggregates, especially the RAP aggregates, when the RAP content ranges from 30% to 50%.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.259-269
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• 2024

The current research on the wind resistance of standing seam metal roofs primarily focuses on the failure modes of the entire roof panel and the contact areas between the seams and supports, with little consideration given to the synergy between the roof seam reinforcements, the web, and the supports. As a result, the failure mechanisms of roof systems cannot be accurately represented. This paper, based on wind uplift tests and ABAQUS simulation modeling, provides a detailed analysis of the wind resistance and failure mechanisms of reinforced standing seam metal roof systems. The study reveals that the deformation and failure of the roof system under wind load can be divided into three stages: elastic deformation, plastic deformation, and failure. In the elastic deformation stage, the areas with higher stress are mainly distributed in the mid-span of the roof panels and along the ribs, where the roof stress remains below the material's yield strength, and the displacement at the roof panel seams is minimal. During the plastic deformation stage, as the load increases, significant vertical deformations appear in the roof panels, the lateral displacement at the seams gradually increases, and the stress growth is pronounced. Without reinforcement, the roof panel withstands a maximum wind pressure of 3.2 kPa, with a central vertical displacement of 109 mm, while the ultimate lateral displacement at the seams reaches 2.3 mm, resulting in unseating failure, marking the structural failure. With reinforcement, the roof panel can withstand a maximum wind pressure of 4.3 kPa, corresponding to a central vertical displacement of 122 mm. The growth of lateral displacement at the seams slows down, and the reinforcement significantly suppresses seam displacement. As the load continues to increase, the reinforcements and the web work synergistically, exhibiting reciprocating counterclockwise and clockwise rotations, with the maximum lateral displacement at the seams increasing to 3.05 mm. Ultimately, unseating occurs at the roof panel seams or tearing at the web. Therefore, the reinforcement system significantly enhances the wind resistance of the roof system, providing theoretical guidance for wind-resistant design in roofing engineering.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.147-152
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• 2010

Conventional paints for conversion coating applications in steel production derived mainly from water-based polymer dispersions containing several additives actually show good general performance, but suffer from poor scratch and abrasion resistance during use. The reason for this is because the relatively soft organic binder matrix dominates the mechanical surface properties. In order to maintain the high quality and decorative function of coated steel sheets, the mechanical performance of the surface needs to be improved significantly. In fact the wear resistance should be enhanced without affecting the optical appearance of the coatings by using appropriate nanoparticulate additives. In this direction, nanocomposite coating compositions (Nanomer$^{(R)}$) have been derived from water-based polymer dispersions with an increasing amount of surface-modified nanoparticles in aqueous dispersion in order to monitor the effect of degree of filling with rigid nanoparticles. The surface of nanoparticles has been modified for optimum compatibility with the polymer matrix in order to achieve homogeneous nanoparticle dispersion over the matrix. This approach has been extended in such a way that a more expanded hybrid network has been condensed on the nanoparticle surface by a hydrolytic condensation reaction in addition to the quasi-monolayer type small molecular surface modification. It was expected that this additional modification will lead to more intensive cross-linking in coating systems resulting in further improved scratch-resistance compared to simple addition of nanoparticles with quasi-monolayer surface modification. The resulting compositions have been coated on zinc-galvanized steel and cured. The wear resistance and the corrosion protection of the modified coating systems have been tested in dependence on the compositional change, the type of surface modification as well as the mixing conditions with different shear forces. It has been found out that for loading levels up to 50 wt.-% nanoparticles, the mechanical wear resistance remains almost unaffected compared to the unmodified resin. In addition, the corrosion resistance remained unaffected even after $180^{\circ}$ bending test showing that the flexibility of coating was not decreased by nanoparticle addition. Electron microscopy showed that the inorganic nanoparticles do not penetrate into the organic resin droplets during the mixing process but rather formed agglomerates outside the polymer droplet phase resulting in quite moderate cross linking while curing, because of viscosity. The proposed mechanisms of composite formation and cross linking could explain the poor effect regarding improvement of mechanical wear resistance and help to set up new synthesis strategies for improved nanocomposite morphologies, which should provide increased wear resistance.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.59 no.4
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• pp.341-348
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• 2020

The ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter superfamily represents the largest transmembrane protein that transports a variety of substrates across extra- and intra-cellular membranes. In insects, the ABC transporter proteins play crucial roles in insecticide resistance. To date, no studies have investigated the involvement of ABC transporter gene for cross-resistance to insecticide chemistries. Here, we studied such possible mechanisms against six conventional insecticides using transgenic Drosophila melanogaster strains carrying Mdr49 transcript variant A. For the 91-R and 91-C strains of Drosophila melanogaster, although they have a common origin, 91-R has been intensely selected with DDT for over 60 years, while 91-C has received no insecticide selection. Our transgenic analyses showed that overexpression of 91-R-MDR49 transcript variant A along with three amino acid variations can yield a relatively low degree of cross-resistance to carbofuran (2.0~6.7-fold) and permethrin (2.5~10.5-fold) but did not show cross-resistance to abamectin, imidacloprid, methoxychlor, and prothiofos as compared to the Gal4-driver control strain without transgene expression. These results indicate that the overexpression of Mdr49A in itself leads to a cross-resistance and three amino acid changes have additional effects on positive cross-resistance to carbofuran and permethrin.

• Proceedings of the Korean Reliability Society Conference
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• 2001.06a
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• pp.337-337
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• 2001

High voltage ceramic capacitors are widely applied in power electronic circuits, such as filters, snubbers, and resonant circuits, due to their excellent features of high voltage endurance and low aging. This paper presents a result of failure analysis and reliability evaluation for high voltage ceramic capacitors. The failure nodes and failure mechanisms were identified in order to understand the failure physics in a component. The causes of failure mechanisms for zero resistance phenomena under withstanding voltage test in high voltage ceramic capacitors molded by epoxy resin were studied by establishing an effective closed-loop failure analysis. Also, the condition for dielectric breakdown was investigated. Particular emphasis was placed on breakdown phenomena at the ceramic-epoxy interface. The validity of the results in this study was confirmed by the results of accelerated testing. Thermal shock test as well as pressure cooker test for high voltage ceramic capacitor mounted on a magnetron were implemented. Delamination between ceramic and epoxy, which, might cause electrical short in underlying circuitry, can occur during curing or thermal cycling. The results can be conveniently used to quickly identify defective lots, determine mean time to failure (MTTF) of each lot at the level of Inspection, and detect major changes in the vendors processes.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.8-13
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• 1999

Hypersensitive cell death of plants during incompatible plant-pathogen interactions is one of the efficient defense mechanisms of plants against pathogen infections. For better understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the plant hypersensitive response (HR), TMV-induced biotic plant cell death and CuSO4-induced abiotic plant cell death were compared in terms of expression patterns of ten different defense-related genes as molecular markers. The genes include five pathogenesis-related protein genes, two plant secondary metabolite-associated genes, two oxidative stress-related genes and one wound-inducible gene isolated from tobacco. Northern blot analyses revealed that a same set of defense-related genes was induced during both biotic and abiotic cell death but with different time and magnitude. The expression of defense-related genes in tobacco plants was temporarily coincided with the time of cell death. However, when suspension cell cultures was used to monitor the expression of defense-related genes, different patterns of the gene expression were detected. This result implies that three are common and, in addition, also different branches of signaling pathways leading to the induced expression of defense-related genes in tobacco during the pathogen- and heavy metal-induced cell death.