• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.245-252
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• 2024

Ginseng is a traditional herbal medicine used for prevention and treatment of various diseases as a tonic. Recent scientific cohort studies on life prolongation with ginseng consumption support this record, as those who consumed ginseng for more than 5 years had reduced mortality and cognitive decline compared to those who did not. Clinical studies have also shown that acute or long-term intake of ginseng total extract improves acute working memory performance or cognitive function in healthy individuals and those with subjective memory impairment (SMI), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or early Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia who are taking AD medication(s). Ginseng contains various components ranging from classical ginsenosides and polysaccharides to more recently described gintonin. However, it is unclear which ginseng component(s) might be the main candidate that contribute to memory or cognitive improvements or prevent cognitive decline in older individuals. This review describes recent clinical contributors to ginseng components in clinical tests and introduces emerging evidence that ginseng components could be novel candidates for cognitive improvement in older individuals, as ginseng components improve SMI cognition and exhibits add-on effects when coadministered with early AD dementia drugs. The mechanism behind the beneficial effects of ginseng components and how it improves cognition are presented. Additionally, this review shows how ginseng components can contribute to SMI, MCI, or early AD dementia when used as a supplementary food and/or medicine, and proposes a novel combination therapy of current AD medicines with ginseng component(s).

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.165-171
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• 2023

COVID-19 infection heightens the risk of thromboembolism. To see the similarities between the COVID-19 infection and Taeyang blood retention pattern, we conducted a PubMed search using specific terms related to blood circulation issues in the context of COVID-19, summarizing findings from 13 cases and 4 observational studies involving actual patients. Patients with COVID-19 are at risk of blood coagulation due to factors such as viral-induced cytokine storms, vascular endothelial dysfunction, reduced mobility in bedridden or isolated individuals, and resulting constipation. Additionally, cytokine storms and severe inflammation can lead to delirium in COVID-19 patients. The Taeyang blood retention pattern manifests as symptoms arising from delirium and an increased blood coagulation tendency in patients with a robust immune response. According to the Sanghan theory, certain herbal treatments can alleviate symptoms in patients with a tight lower abdomen who do not experience urinary issues. Studies show that components like Persicae Semen and Rhei Redix et Rhizoma in these prescriptions enhance blood circulation and reduce hypercoagulability. Additionally, these treatments aim to promote blood flow by relieving abdominal pressure through facilitating bowel movements. The excessive inflammation and heightened blood coagulation tendency in COVID-19 resemble the Taeyang blood retention pattern, although they are caused by different pathogens. Reinterpreting classical oriental medicine's principles in a modern context may enhance our understanding of traditional East Asian Medicine and foster future developments.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.187-195
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• 2024

This paper presents two-dimensional boundary value problems of the stress-based gradient elasticity within the smoothed finite element method (S-FEM) framework. Gradient elasticity is introduced to address the limitations of classical elasticity, particularly its struggle to capture size-dependent mechanical behavior at the micro/nano scale. The Ru-Aifantis theorem is employed to overcome the challenges of high-order differential equations in gradient elasticity. This theorem effectively splits the original equation into two solvable second-order differential equations, enabling its incorporation into the S-FEM framework. The present method utilizes a staggered scheme to solve the boundary value problems. This approach efficiently separates the calculation of the local displacement field (obtained over each smoothing domain) from the non-local stress field (computed element-wise). A series of numerical tests are conducted to investigate the influence of the internal length scale, a key parameter in gradient elasticity. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in smoothing stress concentrations typically observed at crack tips and dislocation lines.

• International Journal of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.17-28
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• 2024

As listed as one of the most important requirements for Post-Quantum Cryptography standardization process by National Institute of Standards and Technology, the resistance to various side-channel attacks is considered very critical in deploying cryptosystems in practice. In fact, cryptosystems can easily be broken by side-channel attacks, even though they are considered to be secure in the mathematical point of view. The timing attack(TA) and the simple power analysis attack(SPA) are such side-channel attack methods which can reveal sensitive information by analyzing the timing behavior or the power consumption pattern of cryptographic operations. Thus, appropriate measures against such attacks must carefully be considered in the early stage of cryptosystem's implementation process. The Montgomery multiplier is a commonly used and classical gadget in implementing big-number-based cryptosystems including RSA and ECC. And, as recently proposed as an alternative of building blocks for implementing post quantum cryptography such as lattice-based cryptography, the big-number multiplier including the Montgomery multiplier still plays a role in modern cryptography. However, in spite of its effectiveness and wide-adoption, the multiplier is known to be vulnerable to TA and SPA. And this paper proposes a new countermeasure for the Montgomery multiplier against TA and SPA. Briefly speaking, the new measure first represents a multiplication operand without 0 digits, so the resulting multiplication operation behaves in a very regular manner. Also, the new algorithm removes the extra final reduction (which is intrinsic to the modular multiplication) to make the resulting multiplier more timing-independent. Consequently, the resulting multiplier operates in constant time so that it totally removes any TA and SPA vulnerabilities. Since the proposed method can process multi bits at a time, implementers can also trade-off the performance with the resource usage to get desirable implementation characteristics.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.299-318
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• 2024

The main objective of this paper is to compute the far-field acoustic radiation (sound radiation) of functionally graded plates (FGM) loaded by sinusoidally varying point load subjected to the arbitrary boundary condition is carried out. The governing differential equations for thin functionally graded plates (FGM) are derived using classical plate theory (CPT) and Rayleigh integral using the elemental radiator approach. Four cases, segregated on power-law index k=0,1,5,10, are studied. A novel approach is illustrated to compute sound fields of vibrating FGM plates using the physical neutral surface with an elemental radiator approach. The material properties of the FGM plate for all cases are calculated considering the power law indexes. An in-house MATLAB code is written to compute the natural frequencies, normal surface velocities, and sound radiation fields are analytically calculated using semi-analytical formulation. Ansys is used to validate the computed sound power level. The parametric effects of the power law index, modulus ratios, different constituent of FGM plates, boundary conditions, damping loss factor on the sound power level, and radiation efficiency is illustrated. This work is the benchmark approach that clearly explains how to calculate acoustic fields using a solid layered FGM model in ANSYS ACT. It shows that it is possible to asymptotically stabilize the structure by controlling the intermittent layers' stiffness. It is found that sound fields radiated by the elemental radiators approach in MATLAB, ANSYS and literatures are in good agreement. The main novelty of this research is that the FGM plate is analyzed in the low-frequency range, where the stiffness-controlled region governs the whole analysis. It is concluded that a clamped mono-ceramic FGM plate radiates a lesser sound power level and higher radiation efficiency than a mono-metallic or metal-rich FGM plate due to higher stiffness. It is found that change in damping loss factor does not affect the same constituents of FGM plates but has significant effects on the different constituents of FGM plates.

• Information Systems Review
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.87-110
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• 2019

The Fintech services provide innovation to financial services users using various mobile devices and computers in wired and wireless communication environments. In this study, we develope a theoretical research framework to explain the psychology of Fintech services users based on a cognitive, affective, and conative framework. Using this framework, this study analyzes the relationships between the cognitive characteristics (i.e., innovation, relative advantage, ease of use, and usefulness), emotional characteristic (i.e., attitude), and behavioral characteristic (i.e., actual use) toward Fintech services users. This study conducted an online survey of people who have experienced using Fintech services. And the data of the collected Fintech services users was analyzed using structural equation model software (i.e., SMART PLS 2.0 M3). The results of the empirical analysis show the relationships between innovation, relative advantage, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude, and actual use of Fintech service users. The results of this study provide useful information to improve the practical use of Fintech services users in the Internet of Things (IoT) environment.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.61-74
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• 2016

Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen-presenting cells that sample their environment and present antigens to naïve T lymphocytes for the subsequent antigen-specific immune responses. DCs exist in a range of distinct subpopulations including plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) and classical DCs (cDCs), with the latter consisting of the cDC1 and cDC2 lineages. Although the roles of DC-specific transcription factors across the DC subsets have become understood, the posttranscriptional mechanisms that regulate DC development are yet to be elucidated. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are pivotal posttranscriptional regulators of gene expression in a myriad of biological processes, but their contribution to the immune system is just beginning to surface. In this study, our in-house probe collection was screened to identify miRNAs possibly involved in DC development and function by targeting the transcripts of relevant mouse transcription factors. Examination of DC subsets from the culture of mouse bone marrow with Flt3 ligand identified high expression of miR-124 which was able to target the transcript of TCF4, a transcription factor critical for the development and homeostasis of pDCs. Further expression profiling of mouse DC subsets isolated from in vitro culture as well as via ex vivo purification demonstrated that miR-124 was outstandingly expressed in CD24⁺ cDC1 cells compared to in pDCs and CD172α⁺ cDC2 cells. These results imply that miR-124 is likely involved in the processes of DC subset development by posttranscriptional regulation of a transcription factor(s).

• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.481-496
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• 2023

Purpose: The main theme of this study is to derive a profit curve by a cubic cost function for nonlinear CVP analysis. According to the analytical approach to derive a nonlinear profit function in this study, it is possible with only the existing cost structure to calculate the profit maximization and downtime point sales unlike the classical CVP analysis. Furthermore, the profit curve by the mathematical model of this study could serve as a tool to quantify the qualitative evaluation of each stage of the industry life cycle. Methods: This study followed the mathematical approach from the cubic cost function model of microeconomics, and using real data of the Bank of Korea Results: The nonlinear profit function suggested by this study is as follows; ${\pi}(x)=-a\left(x-\frac{f}{1-v}\right)^3+(1-v)x-k$ where $a=\frac{1}{3}v\left(\frac{(1-v)}{f}\right)^2,k=f-a\left(1-\frac{f}{1-v \right)^3$ Conclusion: The process and results of this study would be able to contribute not only in practice of nonlinear CVP analysis required in the management accounting or financial management, but also in cost theory of microeconomics. Also, since the life cycle of all industries in Korea was verified to the growth or mature stage, decision makers should pay careful attention to determining life cycle stages and consider the profit curve by the average variable cost ratio over multi periods.

• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.31
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• pp.55-70
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• 2024

Style transfer algorithms are currently undergoing active research and are used, for example, to convert ordinary images into classical painting styles. However, such algorithms have yet to produce appropriate results when applied to Korean cultural heritage images, while the number of cases for such applications also remains insufficient. Accordingly, this study attempts to develop a style transfer algorithm that can be applied to styles found among Korean cultural heritage. The algorithm was produced by improving data comprehension by enabling it to learn meaningful characteristics of the styles through representation learning and to separate the cultural heritage from the background in the target images, allowing it to extract the style-relevant areas with the desired color and texture from the style images. This study confirmed that, by doing so, a new image can be created by effectively transferring the characteristics of the style image while maintaining the form of the target image, which thereby enables the transfer of a variety of cultural heritage styles.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.87 no.3
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• pp.221-233
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• 2024

The 2023 Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) revised the definition of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to broadly include a variety of etiologies. A new taxonomy, composed of etiotypes, aims to highlight the heterogeneity in causes and pathogenesis of COPD, allowing more personalized management strategies and emphasizing the need for targeted research to understand and manage COPD better. However, controversy arises with including some diseases under the umbrella term of COPD, as their clinical presentations and treatments differ from classical COPD, which is smoking-related. COPD due to infection (COPD-I) and COPD due to environmental exposure (COPD-P) are classifications within the new taxonomy. Some disease entities in these categories show distinct clinical features and may not benefit from conventional COPD treatments, raising questions about their classification as COPD subtypes. There is also controversy regarding whether bronchiectasis with airflow limitations should be classified as an etiotype of COPD. This article discusses controversial issues associated with the proposed etiotypes for COPD in terms of COPD-I, COPD-P, and bronchiectasis. While the updated COPD definition by GOLD 2023 is a major step towards recognizing the disease's complexity, it also raises questions about the classification of related respiratory conditions. This highlights the need for further research to improve our understanding and approach to COPD management.