• Advances in nano research
• /
• v.12 no.5
• /
• pp.501-514
• /
• 2022

This study aimed to investigate the effects and potential mechanisms of Chikusetsusaponin V (CsV) on endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and vascular endothelial cell functions. Different concentrations of CsV were added to animal models, bovine aorta endothelial cells (BAECs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) cultured in vitro. qPCR, Western blotting (WB), and B ultrasound were performed to explore the effects of CsV on mouse endothelial cell functions, vascular stiffness and cellular eNOS mRNA, protein expression and NO release. Bioinformatics analysis, network pharmacology, molecular docking and protein mass spectrometry analysis were conducted to jointly predict the upstream transcription factors of eNOS. Furthermore, pulldown and ChIP and dual luciferase assays were employed for subsequent verification. At the presence or absence of CsV stimulation, either overexpression or knockdown of purine rich element binding protein A (PURA) was conducted, and PCR assay was employed to detect PURA and eNOS mRNA expressions, Western blot was used to detect PURA and eNOS protein expressions, cell NO release and serum NO levels. Tube formation experiment was conducted to detect the tube forming capability of HUVECs cells. The animal vasodilation function test detected the vasodilation functions. Ultrasonic detection was performed to determine the mouse aortic arch pulse wave velocity to identify aortic stiffness. CsV stimulus on bovine aortic cells revealed that CsV could upregulate eNOS protein levels in vascular endothelial cells in a concentration and time dependent manner. The expression levels of eNOS mRNA and phosphorylation sites Ser1177, Ser633 and Thr495 increased significantly after CsV stimulation. Meanwhile, CsV could also enhance the tube forming capability of HUVECs cells. Following the mice were gavaged using CsV, the eNOS protein level of mouse aortic endothelial cells was upregulated in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, and serum NO release and vasodilation ability were simultaneously elevated whereas arterial stiffness was alleviated. The pulldown, ChIP and dual luciferase assays demonstrated that PURA could bind to the eNOS promoter and facilitate the transcription of eNOS. Under the conditions of presence or absence of CsV stimulation, overexpression or knockdown of PURA indicated that the effect of CsV on vascular endothelial function and eNOS was weakened following PURA gene silence, whereas overexpression of PURA gene could enhance the effect of CsV upregulating eNOS expression. CsV could promote NO release from endothelial cells by upregulating the expression of PURA/eNOS pathway, improve endothelial cell functions, enhance vasodilation capability, and alleviate vessel stiffness. The present study plays a role in offering a theoretical basis for the development and application of CsV in vascular function improvement, and it also provides a more comprehensive understanding of the pharmacodynamics of CsV.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.224-236
• /
• 2022

This study tests the hypotheses that city slogan reduces the retrieval of city memory unrelated to the slogan from the long term memory and that some variables moderate this effect, using the experimental method. The theoretical basis for the hypotheses is from the structure of the long term memory and the principle of memory retrieval discussed in ANM(Associative Network Model). For the test of hypotheses, the study adopted 4 experimental groups (2(slogan relevance: high or low) * 2(slogan concreteness: high or low)) and 1 control group. Each experimental group was exposed to one slogan corresponding to its condition while the control group was not. Then, the recall score was compared among experimental and control groups. One hundred and seventy-four undergraduate students belonging to the college of the authors participated in the study. The sample group was between 18 and 27 years of age, with an average of 22.4 years, and 54 percent comprised males. Results showed that city slogan had a negative effect on the retrieval of city memory unrelated to the slogan in most experimental conditions. This effect was more evident when the slogan had high relevance or high concreteness. But the main effect did not appear when the slogan had low relevance and low concreteness.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.26-37
• /
• 2022

Recently, multiple methods using small aircraft for geophysical exploration have been suggested as a result of the development of information and communication technology. In this study, we introduce the hybrid unmanned aircraft electromagnetic system of the Korea Institute of Geosciences and Mineral resources, which is under development. Additionally, data processing and interpretation methods are suggested via the analysis of datasets obtained using the system under development to verify the system. Because the system uses a three-component receiver hanging from a drone, the effects of rotation on the obtained data are significant and were therefore corrected using a rotation matrix. During the survey, the heights of the source and the receiver and their offsets vary in real time and the measured data are contaminated with noise. The noise makes it difficult to interpret the data using the conventional method. Therefore, we developed a recurrent neural network (RNN) model to enable rapid predictions of the apparent resistivity using magnetic field data. Field data noise is included in the training datasets of the RNN model to improve its performance on noise-contaminated field data. Compared with the results of the electrical resistivity survey, the trained RNN model predicted similar apparent resistivities for the test field dataset.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.270-278
• /
• 2022

This study was conducted using deep learning technology to classify for 'Mihwang' peach maturity with RGB images and fruit quality attributes during fruit development and maturation periods. The 730 images of peach were used in the training data set and validation data set at a ratio of 8:2. The remains of 170 images were used to test the deep learning models. In this study, among the fruit quality attributes, firmness, Hue value, and a^* value were adapted to the index with maturity classification, such as immature, mature, and over mature fruit. This study used the CNN (Convolutional Neural Networks) models for image classification; VGG16 and InceptionV3 of GoogLeNet. The performance results show 87.1% and 83.6% with Hue left value in VGG16 and InceptionV3, respectively. In contrast, the performance results show 72.2% and 76.9% with firmness in VGG16 and InceptionV3, respectively. The loss rate shows 54.3% and 62.1% with firmness in VGG16 and InceptionV3, respectively. It considers increasing for adapting a field utilization with firmness index in peach.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
• /
• v.50 no.3
• /
• pp.263-276
• /
• 2023

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of a model using You Only Look Once (YOLO) for object detection of proximal caries in periapical radiographs of children. A total of 2016 periapical radiographs in primary dentition were selected from the M6 database as a learning material group, of which 1143 were labeled as proximal caries by an experienced dentist using an annotation tool. After converting the annotations into a training dataset, YOLO was trained on the dataset using a single convolutional neural network (CNN) model. Accuracy, recall, specificity, precision, negative predictive value (NPV), F1-score, Precision-Recall curve, and AP (area under curve) were calculated for evaluation of the object detection model's performance in the 187 test datasets. The results showed that the CNN-based object detection model performed well in detecting proximal caries, with a diagnostic accuracy of 0.95, a recall of 0.94, a specificity of 0.97, a precision of 0.82, a NPV of 0.96, and an F1-score of 0.81. The AP was 0.83. This model could be a valuable tool for dentists in detecting carious lesions in periapical radiographs.

• Korea Trade Review
• /
• v.42 no.2
• /
• pp.319-344
• /
• 2017

The international standard certification evaluates the extend to which the supplier satisfies the international standard certification standards of the supplier of the product and the service, recognizes the quality assurance ability and reliability of the supplier, thereby resolving the international trade regulation that can occur to various fields and strengthening the network of the global partnership it is making an important contribution. Therefor, in this study, the survey was conducted on 153 companies of Korean import and export companies. The research method was empirically analyzed by the structural equation model. The results of the hypothesis test of this study are as follows. First, resource management factors among the international standard certification factors in the global trade supply chain integration had a positive effects on CRM satisfaction. Second, the measurement, analysis and improvement factors of international standard certification factors had a positive effects on CRM satisfaction. Third, CRM satisfaction has a positive effects on business performance. Through this study, it is concluded that the Korean import and export companies have an important role in improving the business performance of the global trade partners.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.373-385
• /
• 2009

A new indexing methodology so called KTH-index was developed to quantitatively evaluate a potential level for tunnel collapse hazard, which has been successfully applied to tunnel construction sites to date. In this study, an attempt is made to apply this methodology for validating an outcome of tunnel design by checking the variation of KTH-index along longitudinal tunnel section. In this KTH-index simulation, it is the most important to determine the input factors reasonably. The design factor and construction condition are set up based on the designed outcome. Uncertain ground conditions are arranged based on borehole test and electro-resistivity survey data. Two scenarios for ground conditions, best and worst scenarios, are set up. From this simulation, it is shown that this methodology could be successfully applied for providing quantitative validity of a tunnel design and also potential hazard factors which should be carefully monitored in construction stage. The hazard factors would affect sensitively the hazard level of the tunnel site under consideration.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.28 no.5A
• /
• pp.673-683
• /
• 2008

This study improved the existing method of using the longitudinal strain and concept of influence line to develop Bridge Weigh-in-Motion system without axle detector using the dynamic strain of the bridge girders and concrete slab. This paper first describes the considered algorithms of extracting passing vehicle information from the dynamic strain signal measured at the bridge slab, girders, and cross beams. Two different analysis methods of 1) influence line method, and 2) neural network method are considered, and parameter study of measurement locations is also performed. Then the procedures and the results of field tests are described. The field tests are performed to acquire training sets and test sets for neural networks, and also to verify and compare performances of the considered algorithms. Finally, comparison between the results of different algorithms and discussions are followed. For a PSC I-girder bridge, vehicle weight can be calculated within a reasonable error range using the dynamic strain gauge installed on the girders. The passing lane and passing speed of the vehicle can be accurately estimated using the strain signal from the concrete slab. The passing speed and peak duration were added to the input variables to reflect the influence of the dynamic interaction between the bridge and vehicles, and impact of the distance between axles, respectively; thus improving the accuracy of the weight calculation.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
• /
• v.42 no.4
• /
• pp.591-604
• /
• 2023

This study investigated the impact of elementary science classes using metaverse on the academic achievement, positive experience in science, and digital literacy of elementary school students. In addition, we examined their perceptions. The respondents were derived from two classes in the sixth grade at an elementary school in Gyeonggi-do, who were selected designated as the experimental (n=29 students) and comparative (n=29) groups, respectively. Across five lessons under the "Plant Structure and Function" unit, the experimental group conducted science classes using the metaverse, whereas the comparative group conducted general textbook-based classes. To investigate instructional effects, the study performed ANCOVA using the pre-test score as a covariate, a survey on the perception of students about science classes using metaverse, and conducted interviews with a number of subjects. The result demonstrated that science classes using metaverse exerted no significant effect on scientific academic achievement and digital literacy. However, the study observed a statistically significant effect on science learning emotion which is a sub-element of positive experiences in science. The students were positively aware of science classes using metaverse in terms of interesting and diverse activities, and free expression of inquiry results and perceived the instability of smart devices and network connections as regrettable. Finally, the study posed the implications of the use of metaverse in science classes.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.51 no.4
• /
• pp.500-506
• /
• 2023

Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) is emerging as a worldwide public health threat. Recently, Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase-2 (KPC-2)-producing sequence type (ST) 307 was identified main clone of CRKP, and dissemination of ST307 was reported in South Korea. This study examined the molecular characteristic and antimicrobial resistance pattern of 50 CRKP isolated from a tertiary hospital in Daejeon, from March 2020 to December 2021. Epidemiological relationship was analyzed by Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and antimicrobial susceptibility test was determined using disk-diffusion method. PCR and DNA sequence analysis were performed to identify carbapenemase genes. CRKP infections were significantly more frequent in males and the patients aged ≥ 60 years. Among the 50 CRKP isolates, 46 isolates (92.0%) were multidrug-resistant (MDR), and 44 isolates (88.0%) were carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae (CPKP). The major carbapenemase type was KPC-2 (36 isolates, 72.0%) and New Delhi metalloenzyme-1 (NDM-1) and NDM-5 were identified in 7 isolates (14.0%) and 1 isolate (2.0%), respectively. In particular, 88.9% (32/36) of KPC-2-producing K. pneumoniae belonged to ST307, whereas 87.5% (7/8) of NDM-1,-5-producing K. pneumoniae belonged to non-ST307. These results suggest that proper infection control and effective surveillance network need to prevent not olny the spread of ST307, but also the development of non-ST307.