• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.45-56
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• 2019

Urban green areas are generally composed of relatively small and fragmented patches, but it is a critical factor for the quality of an urban environment. They have positive effects such as increasing green connectivity, reducing runoff, and mitigating urban heat. But, there is a lack of urban greening plans that consider the comprehensive effects of green space in real urban areas. To fill this gap in this literature, this study identifies a planning model that determines the optimal locations for maximizing green areas' multiple effects(e.g., heat mitigation and enhancement of connectivity) by using unused lots. This model also considers minimizing costs using meta-heuristic optimization algorithms. As a results, we finds 50 optimal plans that considers two effects within the limited cost in Nowon-gu. The optimal plans show the trade-off effect between connectivity, heat mitigation and cost. They also show the critical unused land lots for urban greening that are commonly selected in various plans. These optimal plans can effectively inform quantitative effectiveness of green space and their trade-off. We expect that our model will contribute to the improvement of green planning processes in reality.

• Journal of Ceramic Processing Research
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.378-382
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• 2018

It is a known fact that the cement production is responsible for almost 5% of total worldwide $CO_2$ emission, the primary factor affecting global warming. Geopolymers are valuable as ordinary Portland cement (OPC) substitutes because geopolymers release 80% less $CO_2$ than OPC and have mechanical properties sufficiently similar to those of OPC. Therefore, geopolymers have proven attractive to eco-friendly construction industries. Geopolymers can be fabricated from aluminum silicate materials with alkali activators such as fly ash, blast furnace slag, and so on. Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) slag has been used for fabricating geopolymers. In general, IGCC slag geopolymers are fabricated with finely ground and sieved (<128 mesh) IGCC slag. The grinding process of as-received IGCC slag is one of the main costs in geopolymer production. Therefore, the idea of using as-received IGCC slag (before grinding the IGCC slag) as aggregates in the geopolymer matrix was introduced to reduce production cost as well as to enhance compressive strength. As-received IGCC slag (0, 10, 20, 30, 40 wt%) was added in the geopolymer mixing process and the mixtures were compared. The compressive strength of geopolymers with an addition of 10 wt% as-received IGCC slag increased by 19.84% compared to that with no additional as-received IGCC slag and reached up to 41.20 MPa. The enhancement of compressive strength is caused by as-received IGCC slag acting as aggregates in the geopolymer matrix like aggregates in concrete. The density of geopolymers slightly increased to $2.1-2.2g/cm^3$ with increasing slag addition. Therefore, it is concluded that a small addition of as-received IGCC slag into the geopolymer can increase compressive strength and decrease the total cost of the product. Moreover, the direct use of as-received IGCC slag may contribute to environment protection by reducing process time and $CO_2$ emission.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.342-347
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• 2011

We fabricated the silicon nanodots using the low pressure chemical vapor deposition technique to investigate their electron field emission characteristics. Atomic force microscope measurements performed for the silicon nanodot samples having various process parameters, such as, deposition time and deposition pressure, revealed that the silicon nanodots with an average size of 20 nm, height of 5 nm, and density of $1.3\;{\times}\;10^{11}\;cm^{-2}$ were easily formed. Electron field emission measurements were performed with the silicon nanodot layer as the cathode electrode. The current-voltage curves revealed that the threshold electric field was as low as $8.3\;V/{\mu}m$ and the field enhancement factor reached as large as 698, which is compatible with the silicon cathode tips fabricated by other techniques. These electron field emission results point to the possibility of using a silicon-based light source for display devices.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.228-237
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• 2022

In this study, the effects of the immune stimulator Euglena gracilis (Euglena) in cyclophosphamide (CCP)-induced immunocompromised mice were assessed. The key component β-1,3-glucan (paramylon) constitutes 50% of E. gracilis. Mice were orally administered Euglena powder (250 and 500 mg/kg body weight (B.W.)) or β-glucan powder (250 mg/kg B.W.) for 19 days. In a preliminary immunology experiment, ICR mice were intraperitoneally injected with 80 mg of CCP/kg B.W. during the final 3 consecutive days. In the main experiment, BALB/c mice were treated with CCP for the final 5 days. To evaluate the enhancing effects of Euglena on the immune system, mouse B.W., the spleen index, natural killer (NK) cell activity and mRNA expression in splenocytes lungs and livers were determined. To detect cytokine and receptor expression, splenocytes were treated with 5 ㎍/ml concanavalin A or 1 ㎍/ml lipopolysaccharide. The B.W. and spleen index were significantly increased and NK cell activity was slightly enhanced in all the experimental groups compared to the CCP-only group. In splenocytes, the gene expression levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, interferon-γ, interleukin (IL)-10, IL-6, and IL-12 receptor were increased in the E. gracilis and β-glucan groups compared to the CCP-only group, but there was no significant difference. Treatment with 500 mg of Euglena/kg B.W. significantly upregulated dectin-1 mRNA expression in the lung and liver compared to the CCP-only group. These results suggest that Euglena may enhance the immune system by strengthening innate immunity through immunosuppression.

• Composites Research
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.394-399
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• 2021

Piecewise Integrated Composite (PIC) is a new concept to design composite structures of multiple stacking angles both for in-plane direction and through the thickness direction in order to improve stiffness and strength. In the present study, PIC beam was suggested based on 3D training data instead of 2D data, which did offer a limited behavior of beam characteristics, with enhancing the stiffness accompanied by reduced tip deformation. Generally training data were observed from the designated reference finite elements, and preliminary FE analysis was conducted with respect to regularly distributed reference elements. Also triaxiality values for each element were obtained in order to categorize the loading state, i.e. tensile, compressive or shear. The main FE analysis was conducted to predict the mechanical characteristics of the PIC beam.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.131-139
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• 2020

This study intended to analyze the early childhood education freshmen's academic interest. For this study relationship pre-service early childhood teacher's playfulness and play teaching efficacy. The study subjects were 145 early childhood education students in third grade at K-college in Deagu. They answered the survey regarding playfulness scale and play teaching efficacy scale. The collected data were analyzed by frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis using SPSS 18.0 program. The study finding are as follows. First, the average of playfulness and play teaching efficacy were near at the intermediate-level. Second, playfulness and play teaching efficacy were significantly correlated. Third, when examining the relative effect of pre-service early childhood teacher's playfulness on play teaching efficacy, cheerfulness and improvisation is influential factor in play teaching efficacy.

• BMB Reports
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• v.55 no.8
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• pp.370-379
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• 2022

Human pregnancy is a delicate and complex process where multiorgan interactions between two independent systems, the mother, and her fetus, maintain pregnancy. Intercellular interactions that can define homeostasis at the various cellular level between the two systems allow uninterrupted fetal growth and development until delivery. Interactions are needed for tissue remodeling during pregnancy at both fetal and maternal tissue layers. One of the mechanisms that help tissue remodeling is via cellular transitions where epithelial cells undergo a cyclic transition from epithelial to mesenchymal (EMT) and back from mesenchymal to epithelial (MET). Two major pregnancy-associated tissue systems that use EMT, and MET are the fetal membrane (amniochorion) amnion epithelial layer and cervical epithelial cells and will be reviewed here. EMT is often associated with localized inflammation, and it is a well-balanced process to facilitate tissue remodeling. Cyclic transition processes are important because a terminal state or the static state of EMT can cause accumulation of proinflammatory mesenchymal cells in the matrix regions of these tissues and increase localized inflammation that can cause tissue damage. Interactions that determine homeostasis are often controlled by both endocrine and paracrine mediators. Pregnancy maintenance hormone progesterone and its receptors are critical for maintaining the balance between EMT and MET. Increased intrauterine oxidative stress at term can force a static (terminal) EMT and increase inflammation that are physiologic processes that destabilize homeostasis that maintain pregnancy to promote labor and delivery of the fetus. However, conditions that can produce an untimely increase in EMT and inflammation can be pathologic. These tissue damages are often associated with adverse pregnancy complications such as preterm prelabor rupture of the membranes (pPROM) and spontaneous preterm birth (PTB). Therefore, an understanding of the biomolecular processes that maintain cyclic EMT-MET is critical to reducing the risk of pPROM and PTB. Extracellular vesicles (exosomes of 40-160 nm) that can carry various cargo are involved in cellular transitions as paracrine mediators. Exosomes can carry a variety of biomolecules as cargo. Studies specifically using exosomes from cells undergone EMT can carry a pro-inflammatory cargo and in a paracrine fashion can modify the neighboring tissue environment to cause enhancement of uterine inflammation.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.516-521
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• 2022

We investigated the microstructure, crystal structure, dielectric, and elecromechanical strain properties of lead-free BaTiO₃ (BT)-modified (Bi_1/2Na_1/2)TiO₃-SrTiO₃ (BNT-ST) piezoelectric ceramics. Samples were prepared by a conventional ceramic processing route. Temperature dependent dielectric properties confirmed that a phase transition from a nonergodic relaxor to an ergodic relaxor was induced when the BT concentration reached 1.5 mol%, interestingly, where the average grain size reached a maximum value of 4.5 ㎛. At the same time, enhanced electromechanical strain (S_max/E_max = 600 pm/V) was obtained. It is suggested that the induced ferroelectric-relaxor phase transition by the BT modification is responsible for the enhancement of electromechanical strain in 1.5 mol% BT-modified BNT-ST ceramics.

• Current Optics and Photonics
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• v.6 no.5
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• pp.497-505
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• 2022

Topological photonic nanocavities are considered to possess outstanding optical performance, and provide new platforms for realizing strong interaction between light and matter, due to their robustness to impurities and defects. Here hybrid plasmonic topological photonic nanocavities are proposed, by embedding various plasmon nanoantennas such as gold nanospheres, cylinders, and rectangles in a topological photonic crystal corner-state nanocavity. The maximum quality factor Q and minimum effective mode volume V_eff of these hybrid nanocavities can reach the order of 10⁴ and 10^-4 (𝜆/n)³ respectively, and the high figures of merit Q/V_eff for all of these hybrid nanocavites are stable and on the order of 10⁵ (𝜆/n)^-3. The relative positions of the plasmon nanoantennas will influence the coupling strength between the plasmon structures and the topological nanocavity. The hybrid nanocavity with gold nanospheres possesses much higher Q, but relatively large V_eff. The presence of a gold rectangular structure can confine more electromagnetic energy within a smaller space, since its V_eff is smallest, although Q is lowest among these structures. This work provides an outstanding platform for cavity quantum electrodynamics and has a wide range of applications in topological quantum light sources, such as single-photon sources and nanolasers.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.425-429
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• 2021

We have investigated the expression of early growth response protein 1 (EGR1) in INS-1 pancreatic β-cells treated with Allomyrina dichotoma hemolymph. The Korean rhinoceros beetle, A. dichotoma (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), is important in the insect industry for medical applications. We have already established a method for purification of A. dichotoma hemolymph that can be used in many experiments. EGR1 is reported as a multifunctional transcription factor that is implicated in virus infections. EGR1 has therefore been revealed as a major mediator and regulator in the physiological and pathological conditions of several cell and tissue types. New findings in this study are that A. dichotoma hemolymph, which promotes a dose- and time-dependent upregulation of EGR1 gene expression, shows an enhancement of this gene expression when combined with hypothermia or endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. These results suggest that A. dichotoma hemolymph may provide clues to EGR1-associated disease therapies involving gene regulation of EGR1.