• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.573-580
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• 2021

This study analyzed the induced effects of the aggregate and stone sectors using the industry association table. First, the added value of the aggregate and stone sectors was summarized, and then the intermediate input structure and induced effect were analyzed. In terms of value-added structure, aggregate and stone showed a higher employee remuneration rate compared to the manufacturing industry, and a higher rate of operating surplus compared to other mining industries. The intermediate input structure summarizes the sector using aggregate and stone products as intermediate inputs and their input ratio. The proportion of the intermediate element input structure was confirmed. In addition, the main input sectors of ready-mixed concrete, the largest consumer of aggregate and stone, are also summarized. The production-inducing effect of aggregate and stone showed a higher influence coefficient than the sensitivity coefficient, confirming that they had a relatively large rear chain effect. The production inducement effect was reviewed by reconstructing the industry association table, and it was found to show a relative superiority in the influence coefficient, similar to the results derived according to the provisional classification of the Bank of Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.822-831
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• 2021

Although programs have been developed to evaluate the risk of dragging anchors, it is practically difficult for VTS(vessel traffic service) operators to calculate and evaluate these risks by obtaining input factors from anchored ships. Therefore, in this study, the gross tonnage (GT) that could be easily obtained from the ship by the VTS operators was set as an independent variable, and linear and nonlinear regression analyses were performed using the input factors as the dependent variables. From comparing the fit of the polynomial model (linear) and power series model (nonlinear), the power series model was evaluated to be more suitable for all input factors in the case of container ships and bulk carriers. However, in the case of tanker ships, the power supply model was suitable for the LBP(length between perpendiculars), width, and draft, and the polynomial model was evaluated to be more suitable for the front wind pressure area, weight of the anchor, equipment number, and height of the hawse pipe from the bottom of the ship. In addition, all other dependent variables, except for the front wind pressure area factor of the tanker ship, showed high degrees of fit with a coefficient of determination (R-squared value) of 0.7 or more. Therefore, among the input factors of the dragging anchor risk assessment program, all factors except the external force, seabed quality, water depth, and amount of anchor chain let out are automatically applied by the regression analysis model formula when only the GT of the ship is provided.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.140-150
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• 2021

Objectives : The increase of osteoclasts could cause osteoporosis and bone-related diseases. Also, the inhibition of osteoclast differentiation is important in treating bone-related diseases. Traditionally, Psoraleae Semen has been used for geriatric diseases, aging and musculoskeletal diseases. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of Psoraleae Semen ethanol extract (PS) on osteoclast differentiation and its function. Methods : To confirm the effect of PS on osteoclastogenesis and bone resorption activity, various levels of concentrations of PS (5, 10, 20 and 40 ㎍/ml) were tested on RAW 264.7 cells cultured with RANKL. We measured tartarate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)-positive cells, TRAP activity, pit formation and F-actin ring formation. The expressions of nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFATc1) and c-Fos were confirmed through western blot and reverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Also, the expression of bone resorption and fusion-related genes in osteoclast was confirmed by RT-PCR. Results : PS decreased the number of TRAP-positive cells and the TRAP activity. In addition, PS significantly inhibited the formation of pit and F-actin ring. Furthermore, PS decreased the expression of osteoclast related genes. Conclusions : PS inhibits osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption ability through inhibition of the expression of osteoclast-related genes. This indicates that PS may be a potential therapeutic agent to osteoporosis by suppressing osteoclastogenesis.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.83-92
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• 2021

Purpose : Keratinocytes are the main cellular components involved in wound healing during re-epithelization and inflammation. Dysfunction of tight junction (TJ) adhesions is a major feature in the pathogenesis of various diseases. The purpose of this study was to identify the various effects of a Sparassis crispa water extract (SC) on HaCaT cells and to investigate whether these effects might be applicable to human skin. Methods : We investigated the effectiveness of SC on cell HaCaT viability using MTS. The antioxidant effect of SC was analyzed by comparing the effectiveness of ABTS to that of the well-known antioxidant resveratrol. Reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) is the most widely applied method Quantitative RT-PCR analysis has shown that SC in HaCaT cells affects mRNA expression of tight-junction genes associated with skin moisturization. In addition, Wound healing is one of the most complex processes in the human body. It involves the spatial and temporal synchronization of a variety of cell types with distinct roles in the phases of hemostasis, inflammation, growth, re-epithelialization, and remodeling. wound healing analysis demonstrated altered cell migration in SC-treated HaCaT cells. Results : MTS analysis in HaCaT cells was found to be more cytotoxic in SC at a concentration of 0.5 mg/㎖. Compared to 100 µM resveratrol, 4 mg/㎖ SC exhibited similar or superior antioxidant effects. SC treatment in HaCaT cells reduced levels of claudin 1, claudin 3, claudin 4, claudin 6, claudin 7, claudin 8, ZO-1, ZO-2, JAM-A, occludin, and Tricellulin mRNA expression by about 1.13 times. Wound healing analysis demonstrated altered cell migration in SC-treated HaCaT cells and HaCaT cell migration was also reduced to 73.2 % by SC treatment. Conclusion : SC, which acts as an antioxidant, reduces oxidative stress and prevents aging of the skin. Further research is needed to address the effects of SC on human skin given the observed alteration of mRNA expression of tight-junction genes and the decreased the cell migration of HaCaT cells.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.957-966
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• 2021

Objective: Ovarian follicular development, which dependent on the proliferation and differentiation of granulosa cells (GCs), is a complex biological process in which miRNA plays an important role. Our previous study showed that miR-458b-5p is associated with ovarian follicular development in chicken. The detailed function and molecular mechanism of miR-458b-5p in GCs is unclear. Methods: The luciferase reporter assay was used to verify the targeting relationship between miR-458b-5p and catenin beta-1 (CTNNB1), which is an important transcriptional regulatory factor of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. The cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, flow cytometry with propidium iodide (PI) and annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) labeling were applied to explore the effect of miR-458b-5p on proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis of chicken GCs. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression levels. Results: We demonstrated that the expression of miR-458b-5p and CTNNB1 showed the opposite relationship in GCs and theca cells of hierarchical follicles. The luciferase reporter assay confirmed that CTNNB1 is the direct target of miR-458b-5p. Using CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry with PI and Annexin V-FITC labeling, we observed that transfection with the miR-458b-5p mimics significantly reduced proliferation and has no effects on apoptosis of chicken GCs. In addition, miR-458b-5p decreased the mRNA and protein expression of CD44 molecule and matrix metallopeptidase 7, which are the downstream effectors of CTNNB1 in Wnt/β-Catenin pathway and play functional roles in cell proliferation. Conclusion: Taken together, the data indicate that miR-458b-5p regulates ovarian GCs proliferation through Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway by targeting CTNNB1, suggesting that miR-458b-5p and its target gene CTNNB1 may potentially play a role in chicken ovarian follicular development.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.801-810
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• 2021

Objective: microRNAs (miRNAs) can play a role in a variety of physiological and pathological processes, and their role is achieved by regulating the expression of target genes. Our previous high-throughput sequencing found that ssc-miR-185 plays an important regulatory role in piglet diarrhea, but its specific target genes and functions in intestinal porcine epithelial cell (IPEC-J2) are still unclear. We intended to verify the target relationship between porcine miR-185 and cell division cycle 42 (CDC42) gene in IPEC-J2 and to explore the effect of miR-185 on the proliferation of IPEC-J2 cells. Methods: The TargetScan, miRDB, and miRanda software were used to predict the target genes of porcine miR-185, and CDC42 was selected as a candidate target gene. The CDC42-3' UTR-wild type (WT) and CDC42-3'UTR-mutant type (MUT) segments were successfully cloned into pmirGLO luciferase vector, and the luciferase activity was detected after co-transfection with miR-185 mimics and pmirGLO-CDC42-3'UTR. The expression level of CDC42 was analyzed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot. The proliferation of IPEC-J2 was detected using cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT), and 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) assays. Results: Double enzyme digestion and sequencing confirmed that CDC42-3'UTR-WT and CDC42-3'UTR-MUT were successfully cloned into pmirGLO luciferase reporter vector, and the luciferase activity was significantly reduced after co-transfection with miR-185 mimics and CDC42-3'UTR-WT. Further we found that the mRNA and protein expression level of CDC42 were down-regulated after transfection with miR-185 mimics, while the opposite trend was observed after transfection with miR-185 inhibitor (p<0.01). In addition, the CCK-8, MTT, and EdU results demonstrated that miR-185 promotes IPEC-J2 cells proliferation by targeting CDC42. Conclusion: These findings indicate that porcine miR-185 can directly target CDC42 and promote the proliferation of IPEC-J2 cells. However, the detailed regulatory mechanism of miR-185/CDC42 axis in piglets' resistance to diarrhea is yet to be elucidated in further investigation.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.44 no.7
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• pp.468-480
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• 2021

Ubiquitin D (UBD) is highly upregulated in many cancers, and plays a pivotal role in the pathophysiological processes of cancers. However, its roles and underlying mechanisms in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) are still unclear. In the present study, we investigated the role of UBD in patients with OSCC. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot were used to measure the expression of UBD in OSCC tissues. Immunohistochemistry assay was used to detect the differential expressions of UBD in 244 OSCC patients and 32 cases of normal oral mucosae. In addition, CCK-8, colony formation, wound healing and Transwell assays were performed to evaluate the effect of UBD on the cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in OSCC. Furthermore, a xenograft tumor model was established to verify the role of UBD on tumor formation in vivo. We found that UBD was upregulated in human OSCC tissues and cell lines and was associated with clinical and pathological features of patients. Moreover, the overexpression of UBD promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of OSCC cells; however, the knockdown of UBD exerted the opposite effects. In this study, our results also suggested that UBD promoted OSCC progression through NF-κB signaling. Our findings indicated that UBD played a critical role in OSCC and may serve as a prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target for OSCC treatment.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.219-227
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• 2019

This study aims to examine Blockchain research trend using bibliometrics-based network analysis. The data were collected from WoS, Scopus, Korea Citation Index and National science & Technology Information Service, from 2009 to 2018. As results, the number of publications has started increasing rapidly from 2017 and it showed the initial stage of formation of coauthor network. Words often used in the title of the publications were related to application development, controversy and technology development. In addition, the majority of domestic papers are in the subject of social science, while international papers tend to focus on engineering issues. The results of the temporal analysis show that Korean researchers' block chain 3.0 started in 2017 and are rapidly increasing in 2018. The number of citations was associated with publication year in a statistically signifiant way. By examining these research trends, we hope that this paper can be a useful basis for the development of blockchain. Future research is expected to reveal more clearly the knowledge structure and characteristics of blockchain around the world.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.285-294
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• 2019

Objectives: For suitable risk management of the domestic aquatic environment, it is necessary to conduct toxicity tests using species native to Korea. In the present study, we performed toxicity ring tests using endemic freshwater arthropoda Neocaridina denticulata and evaluated its validity and reproducibility as an international standard test species. Methods: To evaluate the sensitivity levels of N. denticulata to hazardous chemicals, toxicity values for several chemicals were compared with other standard test species. Intra- and inter-laboratory acute toxicity tests were performed both within a single laboratory and among four laboratories respectively using 3,4-Dichloroaniline, which is generally used as a reference test substance in fish toxicity tests. In addition, intra- and inter-laboratory coefficient of variations (CVs) were calculated to evaluate reproducibility based on the estimated toxicity values. Results: The sensitivity of N. denticulata to several chemicals was found to be similar with D. manga, indicating that the species is valid as a test species. The CVs of the intra- and inter-laboratory tests were 22.946% with four qualified runs and 8.828% among the four laboratories, respectively. Conclusions: N. denticulata serves in an important role in the food chain of Korean aquatic ecosystems and also inhabits several other Asian countries. Since the validity and reproducibility of the species were confirmed as a toxicity test species in this study, further efforts are needed to establish N. denticulata as the international standard test species for the appropriate risk assessment of aquatic ecosystems at home and abroad.

• Journal of the Korean Data Analysis Society
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.3087-3099
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• 2018

Due to the constant changes of companies' global networks, the expansion of global e-commerce as well as the market-oriented global supply chain management, global enterprises are strategically selecting and entering into viable countries able to become global footholds. Therefore, this study aims to scrutinize the trend of changes in the global networks of Korean companies by analyzing the current overseas countries over the past decade. From the analysis, it has been found that there is a significant difference in the priorities of targeting countries among shipping, manufacturing and logistics companies. Logistics companies preferred to enter Germany first while they attached to a lower priority to Singapore. Manufacturing companies had a lower priority to advance to India, while they preferred to advance to Mexico; however, shipping companies were analyzed to prefer to enter the US. In addition, all of these companies identified the importance of securing volume and network by entering overseas markets to achieve economies of scale and scope and to maintain global competitiveness. Joint overseas expansion of manufacturers with shipping and logistics companies can be recommended to facilitate the entry and thus, enhance global competitiveness and service capabilities and also secure new growth engines.