• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.175-186
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• 2023

The buffer materials in disposal hole are exposed to the decay heat from spent nuclear fuels and groundwater inflow through adjacent rockmass. Since understanding of thermal-hydro-mechanical-chemical (T-H-M-C) interaction in buffer material is crucial for predicting their long-term performance and safety of disposal repository, it is necessary to investigate the heating-hydration characteristics and consequent T-H-M-C behavior of the buffer materials under disposal conditions considering geochemical factors. In response, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute developed a laboratory-scale 'Lab.THMC' experiment system, which characterizes the T-H-M behavior of buffer materials under different geochemical conditions by analyzing heating-hydration process and stress changes. This technical report introduces the detail design of the Lab.THMC system, summarizes preliminary experimental results, and outlines future research plans.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.33-42
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• 2024

Objectives : The sigma-1 receptor is implicated in stress, depression, psychostimulant sensitization, and addiction vulnerability. Prior studies have indicated that ethanol exposure modulates sigma-1 receptor activity within the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA). Here, we explore the sub-mechanisms underlying sigma-1 receptor activity induced by HT7 (Shinmun) stimulation in behavioral alterations following acute ethanol (ETOH) administration. Methods : Male Wistar rats were investigated for pro- and anti-inflammatory markers after injection of ETOH (1 g/kg) using cytokine enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)s. After confirming that HT7 stimulation changed the total distance traveled in the open field test (OFT), protein changes in the Ventral tegmental area (VTA) were measured by Western blotting. The expression level of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) after administration of a sigma-1 receptor antagonist (dihydrobromide 1047; BD1047, 10 mg/kg i.p.) and Shenmen (HT7) stimulation was compared. Results : As a result, acute ETOH administration increased proinflammatory marker levels (TNF-𝛼 and IL-6). HT7 stimulation restored the total distance response after acute ethanol administration. In addition, in the VTA, the levels of a microglial marker (iNOS), sigma-1 receptor and protein kinase C, which are predicted to be involved in up- and downregulation, were restored by HT7 stimulation. In particular, HT7 stimulation modulates iNOS expression through effects similar to BD treatment. This study suggests that the stimulatory effect of HT7 may be driven by microglial activation. Conclusions : Microglial activity is regulated by sigma-1 receptor, and sigma-1 receptor activity is regulated by HT7 stimulation. Significantly, we demonstrate that HT7 stimulation ameliorates behavioral alterations induced by acute ETOH administration through microglial activation within the VTA.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.51-62
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• 2010

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of multiple probiotics on the performance, small intestinal microflora and immune response in laying hens and broilers. In Exp.1, a total of 800, 82 wk old Hy-line Brown$^{(R)}$ laying hens were assigned to one of the following five dietary treatment; Control, Antibiotics (avilamycin 6 ppm), Probiotics; PB-M (Micro-ferm$^{(R)}$ 0.2%), PB-L (Lacto-sacc$^{(R)}$ 0.1%), PB-Y (Y University probiotics 0.2%). Each treatment was replicated eight times with 20 birds in each replicate and two birds were housed in each cage. Twenty birds units were arranged according to completely randomized block design. Feeding trial lasted 6 wk under 16 h lighting regimen. The Exp. 2, was conducted with a total of 1,000 broilers chicks (Ross$^{(R)}$). They were divided into five treatments, same as those of Exp. 1. Birds were fed starter (0~3 wk) and grower (4~5 wk) diets. Each treatment was replicated four times with 50 birds per pen comprising of deep litter. In Exp. 1, egg production parameters, such as hen-day and hen-house egg production, egg weight, broken and soft shell egg production, feed intake and feed conversion were not significantly different among treatments. However, strength and thickness of eggshell were significantly (P<0.05) different. Among the probiotics, PB-Y showed the highest strength and thickness of eggshell. Eggshell color, egg yolk color and Haugh unit were not significantly influenced. In Exp. 2, overall weight gain (0~5 wk) and mortality were not significantly different among treatments. However, weight gain of birds from PB-Y treatment during starter (0~3 wk) was significantly lower than the birds from Control and Antibiotic treatment. During the whole period (0~5 wk), birds from Antibiotics treatment had higher feed intake and Production Index (PI) and lower feed conversion than birds from Control treatment. Probiotics treatments were not significantly different from the Control on feed intake and feed conversion. In Exp.1, there were significant (P<0.05) differences in leukocytes parameters, such as white blood cell (WBC), hetrophil (HE), lymphocytes (LY), monocyte (MO), eosinophil (EO) and stress index (SI; HE/LY) in the blood of layers. Birds from Antibiotics and probiotics treatments tended to increase these parameters. In Exp. 2, however, only SI was significantly (P<0.05) decreased in Antibiotics treatments. Concentration of serum immunoglobulin (IgG) were higher (P<0.05) in PB-M and PB-Y treatments when compared with Control treatment in Exp. 1. The population of E. coli significantly (P<0.05) decreased in birds from Antibiotics, PB-L and PB-Y treatments when compared with birds from Control treatment in Exp. 1. Metalbolizability of crude fat decreased significantly (P<0.05) in birds from probiotic treatments in Exp. 2. It was concluded that the response of probiotics on the productivity of layers and broilers were different. Probiotics increased strength and thickness of eggshell in layers, and decreased feed conversion and increased PI in broilers. Leukocytes and IgG tended to increase by supplementation of antibiotics and probiotics in layers. Intestinal E. coli tended to decrease in layers. Digestibility of crude fat of diet decreased in probiotics treatments broilers. Parameters of blood and microbial were more sensitive in layers than broilers.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.137-146
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• 2020

Calcium is one of the important secondary signaling molecules in plant cells. Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPK)-the sensor proteins of Ca²⁺ and phosphorylating enzymes-are the most abundant serine/threonine kinases in plant cells. They convert and transmit signals in response to various stimuli, resulting in specific responses in plants. In rice, 31 CDPK gene families have been identified, which are mainly involved in plant growth and development and are known to play roles in response to various stress conditions. However, little is known about the biochemical characteristics of CDPK proteins. In this study, OsCPK11-a CDPK in rice-was partially purified, and its biochemical characteristics were found. Partially purified OsCPK11 from rice seedlings was obtained by three-step column chromatography that involved anion exchange chromatography consisting of DEAE, hydrophobic interaction chromatography consisting of phenyl-Sepharose, and gel filtration chromatography consisting of Sephacryl-200HR. An in vitro kinase assay using partially purified OsCPK11 was also performed. This partially purified OsCPK11 had a molecular weight of 54 kDa and showed a strong hydrophobic interaction with the hydrophobic resin. In vitro kinase assay showed that the OsCPK11 also had Ca²⁺-dependent autophosphorylation activity. The OsCPK11 phosphorylated histone III-S, and the optimum pH for its kinase activity was found to be 7.5~8.0. The native OsCPK11 shared several biochemical characteristics with recombinant OsCPK11 studied previously, and both had Ca²⁺-dependent autophosphorylation activity and favored histone III-S as a substrate for kinase activity, which also had a Ca²⁺-dependence.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.169-176
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• 2008

Salicylic acid(SA) is a phytohormone that is related to plant defense mechanism. The SA accumulation is triggered by abiotic and biotic stresses. SA acts as a signal molecular compound mediating systemic acquired resistance and hypersensitive response in plant. Although the role of SA has been studied extensively, an understanding of the SA regulatory mechanism is still lacking in plants. In order to comprehend SA regulatory mechanism, we have been transformed with a SID2 promoter:GUS::LUC fusion construct into siz1-2 mutant and wild plant(Col-0). SIZ1 encodes SUMO E3 ligase and negatively regulates SA accumulation in plants. SID2(SALICYLIC ACID INDUCTION DEFICIENT2) is a crucial enzyme of SA biosynthesis. The Arabidopsis SID2 gene encodes isochorismate synthase(ICS) that controls SA level by conversion of chorismate to isochorismate. We compared the regulation of SID2 in wild-type and siz1-2 transgenic plants that express SID2 promoter:GUS::LUC constructs respectively. The expressions of $\beta$-GLUCURONIDASE and LUCIFERASE were higher in siz 1-2 transgenic plant without any stress treatment. SID2 promoter:GUS::LUC/siz1-2 transgenic plant will be used as a starting material for isolation of siz1-2 suppressor mutants and genes involved in SA-mediated stress signaling pathway.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.141-149
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• 2006

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary acidifier($Lactacid^(R)$) and essential oil($Immunocin^(R)$) on the performance, nutrient metabolizability, small intestinal microflora, IgG level and leukocytes and erythrocytes in broiler chickens. Five hundred males and 500 females broiler chickens($Ross^(R)$) were divided into 20 pens of 50 chickens(25 birds in each sex). Five pens were assigned to each of four dietary treatments: control, diets containing antibiotics(Bacitracin methylene disalicilate), acidifier($Lactacid^(R)$) and essential oil($Immunocin^(R)$) dietary treatments. Birds were fed experimental diets ad libitum 5 wks. Weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion rate were significantly affected by dietary treatment(P<0.05). Overall weight gain($0{\sim}5$ wks) of $Lactacid^(R)$ treatment was significantly lower than the others. Feed intake was highest(P<0.05) in the control followed by antibiotics, $Lactacid^(R)\;and\;Immunocin^(R)$ treatment. Feed conversion rate of $Immunocin^(R)$ treatment was lowest(P<0.05) followed by antibiotics, $Lactacid^(R)$ treatment and the control. Production indices of $Immunocin^(R)$ and antibiotics treatments were significantly higher than those of the control and $Lactacid^(R)$ treatment(P<0.05). $Immunocin^(R)$ treatment was the highest and antibiotics was lowest in serum IgG level. The number of leukocytes and stress index(neutrophil/lymphocytes) tended to be lower in $Immunocin^(R)$ treatment than others. There were no significant differences in erythrocytes among the treatments. The cfu of E. coli was significantly lower in $Immunocin^(R)$ and antibiotics treatments than $Lactacid^(R)$ treatment and the control. Metabolizability of crude protein was significantly lower in the control than $Lactacid^(R)\;and\;Immunocin^(R)$ treatment while that of NFE was significantly lower in $Immunocin^(R)\;than\;Lactacid^(R)$ and antibiotics treatments. It was concluded that essential oil product $Immunocin^(R)$ is as effective as antibiotics in improving feed conversion efficiency and production index while $Lactacid^(R)$ is not.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.251-261
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• 2007

The wind-wave interaction around the Kyung-gi Bay, Korea, was studied using the observed data from ocean buoy at DeuckJeuck-Do from Jan. to Dec., 2005, and from waverider data at KeuckYeulBee-Do on Mar. 19-26 and May 23-28, 2005. Wind-driven surface waves and wave-driven wind speed decrease were estimated from the ocean buoy data, and the characteristics of wave spectrum response were also investigated from the waverider data for the wave developing and calm stages of sea surface, including the time series of spectrum pattern change, frequency trend of the maximum energy level and spectrum slope for the equilibrium state range. The wind speed difference between before and after considering the wave effect was about $2ms^{-1}$ (wind stress ${\sim}0.1Nm^{-2}$) for the wind speed range $5-10ms^{-1}$ and about $3ms^{-1}$ (wind stress ${\sim}0.4Nm^{-2}$) for the wind speed range $10-15ms^{-1}$. Correlation coefficient between wind and wave height was increased from 0.71 to 0.75 after the wave effect considered on the observed wind speed. When surface waves were generated by wind, the initial waves were short waves about 4-5 sec in period and become in gradual longer period waves about 9-10 sec. For the developed wave, the frequency of maximum energy was showed a constant value taking 6-7 hours to reach at the state. The spectrum slope for the equilibrium state range varied with an amplitude in the initial stage of wave developing, however it finally became a constant value 4.11. Linear correlation between the frictional velocity and wave spectrum for each frequency showed a trend of higher correlation coefficient at the frequency of the maximum energy level. In average, the correlation coefficients were 0.80 and 0.82 for the frequencies 0.30 Hz and 0.35 Hz, respectively.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.98 no.6
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• pp.733-739
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• 2009

This study was carried out to analyze the relationship between major climatic factors (monthly temperature, precipitation) and radial growth of Korean Pine (Pinus koraiensis) in Inje-gun(Mt. Seorak), Sanchung-gun and Namwon-si(Mt. Jiri). Radial growth measurements were crossdated and correlated with climate variables. The climatic factors used were monthly mean temperature and monthly precipitation from August of previous year to September of the current year. In Inje-gun, radial growth was negatively correlated with monthly mean temperature in April, May, June, and August of the current year and was positively correlated with precipitation in August, October of the previous year and in April, August of the current year. Sanchung-gun showed a negative correlation with monthly mean temperature in September of the previous year and August of the current year but positive correlation in January of the current year. In contrast, precipitation in September of the previous year and August of the current year showed a positive influence. The results suggest that high temperature together with low precipitation may thus cause water stress and thereby limit radial growth in this region. In Namwon-si, the climategrowth relationships show that radial growth was negatively correlated with monthly mean temperature in August, October of the previous year and June of the current year. But August of the previous year and May, August of the current year in precipitation was positively correlated with radial growth. In the study areas, precipitation plays an important role for the radial growth of Kroean Pine (Pinus koraiensis). The results suggest that precipitation is important in the radial growth because water deficit in trees would take place in response to high temperature in the study area. Also there was some differences with study areas in the effects of both climatic variables probably as a result of different stand structure and geographical conditions and micro-climate.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.18-22
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• 2000

In previous reports we have shown that ginsenosides inhibit high threshold voltage-dependent $Ca^{2+}$ channels in neuronal cells. However, these studies did not show whether ginsenosides-induced inhibition of $Ca^{2+}$ currents discriminates among the various $Ca^{2+}$ channel subtypes, although it is known that there are at least five different $Ca^{2+}$ channel subtypes in neuronal cells. In this study we investigated the effect of ginsenosides on high threshold voltage-dependent $Ca^{2+}$ channel subtypes using their selective $Ca^{2+}$ channel blockers nimodipine (L-type), $\omega$-conotoxin GVIA (N-type), or $\omega$-agatoxin IVA (P-type) in bovine chromaffin cells. We could observe that ginsenosides inhibited high threshold voltage-dependent $Ca^{2+}$ currents in a dose-dependent manner. The $IC_{50}$/ was about 120 $\mu$g/ml. Nimodipine had no effect on ginsenosides response. However, the effect of ginsenosides on $Ca^{2+}$ currents was reduced by $\omega$-conotoxin GVIA, $\omega$-agatoxin IVA, and mixture of nimodipine, $\omega$-contoxin GVIA, and $\omega$-agatoxin IVA. These data suggest that ginsenosides are negatively coupled to three types of calcium channels in bovine chromaffin cell, including an $\omega$-conotoxin GVIA-sensitive (N-type) channel, an $\omega$-agatoxin IVA-sensitive (P-type) channel and nimodipine/$\omega$-conotoxin GVIA/$\omega$-agatoxin IVA-resistant (presumptive Q-type) channel.Q-type) channel.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.109-118
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• 2012

Objectives : The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for chronic fatigue syndrome and idiopathic chronic fatigue. Methods : A randomized, controlled pilot trial was conducted. Twenty-four participants were randomized into one of the two groups: an acupuncture group(n=12) and wait-list group(n=12). The treatment group received 12 sessions of acupuncture over 4 weeks. Eight points($GV_{20}$; bilateral GB20, $BL_{11}$, $BL_{13}$, $BL_{15}$, $BL_{18}$, $BL_{20}$, and $BL_{23}$) were selected for needling. The control group did not receive acupuncture treatment during study period and follow-up were done in the $5^{th}$ and $9^{th}$ weeks after randomization in both groups. The primary outcome was fatigue severity scale(FSS) and the secondary outcomes included a short form of stress response inventory(SRI-short form), beck depression inventory(BDI), and insomnia severity index(ISI). Safety was assessed at every visit. Results : There were statistically significant differences in the between group values of FSS at $5^{th}$ weeks after randomization(p=0.0002), SRI-short form, BDI, and ISI at $5^{th}$, $9^{th}$ weeks after randomization(p<0.01). There were no adverse events. Conclusions : The results suggest that acupuncture is associated with benefits on the short-term outcomes in chronic fatigue syndrome and idiopathic chronic fatigue.