• Magazine of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.145-153
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• 1996

The fracture process zone in concrete is a region ahead of a traction-free crack, in which two major mechanisms, microcracking and bridging, play important roles. The toughness due to bridging is dominant compared to toughness induced by microcracking, so that the bridging is dominani: mechanism governing the fracture process of concrete. Fracture mechanics does work for concrete provided that the fracture process zone is being considered, so that the development of model for the fracture process zone is most important to describe fracture phenomena in concrete. In this paper the bridging zone, which is a part of extended rnacrocrack with stresses transmitted by aggregates in concrete, is modelled by a Dugdale-Barenblatt type model with linear tension-softening curve. Two finite element techniques are shown for the analysis of progressive cracking in concrete based on the discrete crack approach: one with crack element, the other without crack element. The advantage of the technique with crack element is that it dees not need to update the mesh topology to follow the progressive cracking. Numerical results by the techniques are demonstrated.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Health Society Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.289-292
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• 2005

An imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants, in favor of oxidants leading to oxidative stress, is known to play an important role in the pathogenesis of various diseases. Isoprostanes are structurally stable isomers of the conventional enzymatically derived prostaglandins, which are produced in vivo primarily by a free radical catalyzed peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids. In asthmatics, disease severity can occur from environmental exposure to air pollution. Some surveys suggested that air pollutants, especially diesel-exhaust particulates, could trigger allergic sensitization and development of atopic diseases. Sick house syndrome (SHS) presents healthy damage owing to the indoor environment of a building. The aim of this study was to examine isoprostane as a parameter fur oxidative stress in environments related diseases such as sick house syndrome, atopy and asthma. We measured plasma and urinary levels of isoprostane from health volunteers, sick house syndrome, atopy and asthma patients. Plasma isoprostane concentrations in asthma and sick house syndrome group were significantly higher than in control. Urinary isoprostane levels were significantly higher in volunteers with sick house syndrome and asthma compared with health volunteers. These findings suggest that plasma and urinary isoprostane measurement may have useful clinical implications for investigating sick house syndrome and asthma. The interventions that decrease exposure to environmental reactive oxygen species might be beneficial in these diseases.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.75-83
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• 2016

Background: In order to evaluate the effect of pH, known as a critical factor for shaping the biogeographical microbial patterns in the studies by others, on the bacterial diversity, we selected two sites in a similar geographical location (site 1; north latitude 35.3, longitude 127.8, site 2; north latitude 35.2, longitude 129.2) and compared their soil bacterial diversity between them. The mountain soil at site 1 (Jiri National Park) represented naturally acidic but almost pollution free (pH 5.2) and that at site 2 was neutral but exposed to the pollutants due to the suburban location of a big city (pH 7.7). Methods: Metagenomic DNAs from soil bacteria were extracted and amplified by PCR with 27F/518R primers and pyrosequenced using Roche 454 GS FLX Titanium. Results: Bacterial phyla retrieved from the soil at site 1 were more diverse than those at site 2, and their bacterial compositions were quite different: Almost half of the phyla at site 1 were Proteobacteria (49 %), and the remaining phyla were attributed to 10 other phyla. By contrast, in the soil at site 2, four main phyla (Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Cyanobacteria) composed 94 %; the remainder was attributed to two other phyla. Furthermore, when bacterial composition was examined on the order level, only two Burkholderiales and Rhizobiales were found at both sites. So depending on pH, the bacterial community in soil at site 1 differed from that at site 2, and although the acidic soil of site 1 represented a non-optimal pH for bacterial growth, the bacterial diversity, evenness, and richness at this site were higher than those found in the neutral pH soil at site 2. Conclusions: These results and the indices regarding diversity, richness, and evenness examined in this study indicate that pH alone might not play a main role for bacterial diversity in soil.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.477-484
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• 2016

Although ports play one of the most important roles in international trade, little research has been done on the influence of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) on maritime transport and port volume. While the quantity of goods transported is a great indicator for composing ship groups that can lead to an expansion of port infrastructure, routes, ships, and processing abilities; previous research has focused only on the amount of money involved. Even though it is essential to understand the expected economic effects that FTAs will bring in the future, this study analyzes the current influences of FTAs, that have been already contracted, using existing experimental data. Study results show how FTA affects the volume of transported goods in South Korea with the example of the FTA between South Korea and India. Finally, we provide a network model based on the existing experiment data.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.65-76
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• 2007

Purpose: It is generally accepted that smooth muscle contraction is triggered by intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ ($[Ca^{2+}]_i$) released from intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ stores such as sarcoplasmic teticulum (SR) and from the extracellular space. The increased $[Ca^{2+}]^i$ can phosphorylate the 20,000 dalton myosin light chain $(MLC_{20})$ by activating MLC kinase (MLCK), and this initiates smooth muscle contraction. In addition to the $[Ca^{2+}]_i$MACK-tension pathway, a number of intracellular signal molecules, including mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), protein kinase C (PKC) and others, play important roles in the regulation of smooth muscle contraction. However, the mechanisms regulating contraction of depletion of SR $Ca^{2+}$ in mouse gastric smooth muscle strips is not still clear. Methods: To investigate the rotes of $Ca^{2+}$ influx and SR $Ca^{2+}$ release channel on gastric motility, isometric contraction and $[Ca^{2+}]_i$ were examined in mouse gastric smooth muscle strips. Results: High KCl, ryanodine, an activator of $Ca^{2+-}$induced $Ca^{2+}$ release channel, and cyclopiazonic acid (CPA), an inhibitor of SR $Ca^{2+-}$ATPase evoked a sustained increase in muscle contraction and $[Ca^{2+}]_i$. These increases induced by high KCl, ryanodine, and CPA were partially blocked by application of verapamil ($10{\mu}M$), a L-type $Ca^{2+}$ channel inhibitor. Additionally, in $Ca^{2+-}$free solution (1 mM EGTA), ryanodine and CPA had no effect contraction and $[Ca^{2+}]_i$ in fundic muscle strips. Conclusion: These results that extracellular $Ca^{2+}$ influx and depletion of SR trigger $Ca^{2+}$ influx through verapamil-sensitive $Ca^{2+}$ channel, and extracellular and SR $Ca^{2+}$ store may functionally involve in the subcellular $Ca^{2+}$ mobilization in mouse gastric muscle.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.193-196
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• 2011

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT)/ bismuth ferrite (BFO) multilayer thin films have been fabricated by the spin-coating method on Pt(200 nm)/Ti(10 nm)/$SiO_2$(100 nm)/p-Si(100) substrates using $BiFeO_3$ and $Pb(Zr_{0.52}Ti_{0.48})O_3$ metal alkoxide solutions. The PZT/BFO multilayer thin films show a uniform and void-free grain structure, and the grain size is smaller than that of PZT single films. The reason for this is assumed to be that the lower BFO layers play an important role as a nucleation site or seed layer for the formation of homogeneous and uniform upper PZT layers. The dielectric constant and dielectric losses decreased with increasing number of coatings, and the six-layer PZT/BFO thin film has good properties of 162 (dielectric constant) and 0.017 (dielectric losses) at 1 kHz. The remnant polarization and coercive field of three-layer PZT/BFO thin films were 13.86 ${\mu}C/cm^2$ and 37 kV/cm respectively.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.122-128
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• 2004

Since reactive oxygen species, prostaglandins, and nitric oxide are closely involved in various pathological conditions anti play important roles in the initiation, promotion, and progression of carcinogenesis, agents that modulate the production or activity of them might be considered as cancer chemopreventive agents. In the present study, we evaluated chemopreventive potential of some grape shoot extracts and their refined materials using various in vitro assay systems. As a result, both grape shoot extracts and refined materials possessed effective radical scavenging activities about 70~80% at the concentration of 500 ${\mu}$g/ml, and especially the Sheridan shoot extract showed the most potent 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity that was similar to resveratrol. In addition, refined materials from grape shoot extracts suppressed lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide production in macrophage cells, anti refined materials from Kyoho and Campbell shoot extracts exhibited similar inhibitory activities with $IC_{50}$ value of 224 ${\mu}$g/ml and 285 ${\mu}$g/ml, respectively. In addition, at the concentration of 50 ${\mu}$g/ml, all of refined materials inhibited cell proliferation against various human cancer cells about 30~40% compared to control. These findings suggest that grape shoot extract and their refined materials might be useful sources for the development of chemopreventive agents and/or functional foods.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.151-151
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• 2011

Large amounts of natural gas, mainly methane, in the form of hydrates are stored on continental margins. When gas hydrates are dissociated by any environmental trigger, generation of excess pore pressure due to released free gas may cause sediment deformation and weakening. Hence, damage on offshore structures or submarine landslide can occur by gas hydrate dissociation. Therefore, geotechnical stability of gas hydrate bearing sediments is in need to be securely assessed. However, geotechnical characteristics of gas hydrates bearing sediments including small-strain elastic moduli have been poorly identified. Synthesizing gas hydrate in natural seabed sediment specimen, which is mainly composed of silty-to-clayey soils, has been hardly attempted due to their low permeability. Moreover, it has been known that hydrate loci in pore spaces and heterogeneity of hydrate growth in specimen scale play a critical role in determining physical properties of hydrate bearing sediments. In the presented study, we synthesized gas hydrate containing sediments in an instrumented oedometric cell. Geotechnical and geophysical properties of gas hydrate bearing sediments including compressibility, small-strain elastic moduli, elastic wave, and electrical resistivity are determined by wave-based techniques during loading and unloading processes. Significant changes in volume change, elastic wave, and electrical resistivity have been observed during formation and dissociation of gas hydrate. Experimental results and analyses reveal that geotechnical properties of gas hydrates bearing sediments are highly governed by hydrate saturation, effective stress, void ratio, and soil types as well as morphological feature of hydrate formation in sediments.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.26-35
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• 2017

The hydrolysis of proteins constitutes an invaluable tool, granting access to a variety of peptide fragments with potentially interesting biological properties. Therefore, a hemoglobin (Hb) hydrolysate of Crocodylus siamensis was generated by digestion under acidic conditions. The antibacterial and antioxidant activities of the Hb hydrolysate were assessed in comparison with intact Hb. A disc diffusion assay revealed that the Hb hydrolysate exhibited antibacterial activity against eight strains of gram-positive bacteria and showed a higher efficacy than intact Hb. Moreover, the antioxidant activity of intact Hb and its hydrolysate was evaluated using ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging assays. The Hb hydrolysate exhibited free radical scavenging rates of 6-32%, whereas intact Hb showed a slightly higher activity. In addition, non-toxicity to human erythrocytes was observed after treatment with quantities of Hb hydrolysate up to $10{\mu}g$. Moreover, active fragmented Hb (P3) was obtained after purifying the Hb hydrolysate by reversed-phase HPLC. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated the induction of bacterial cell membrane abnormalities after exposure to P3. Antibacterial and antioxidant activities play crucial roles for supporting the wound healing activity. Consequently, an in vivo mice excisional skin wound healing assay was carried out to investigate the effects of intact Hb treatment on wound healing in more detail. The results clearly demonstrate that intact Hb is capable of promoting 75% wound closure within 6 days. These findings imply that intact Hb of C. siamensis and its acid hydrolysate may serve as valuable precursors for food supplementary products benefitting human health.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.63-73
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• 2008

Objectives The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of Crataegi Fructus Pharmacopuncture(CFP) on the adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells, lipolysis in rat epididymal adipocytes and histological changes in porcine adipose tissue. Methods Inhibiton of preadipocyte differentiation and/or stimulation of lipolysis play important roles in reducing obesity. 3T3-L1 preadipocytes were differentiated with adipogenic reagents by incubating for 3days in the absence or presence of CFP ranging from 0.01 to 1mg/mL. The effect of CFP on adipogenesis was examined by measuring GPDH activity and by Oil Red O staining. Mature adipocytes from rat epididymal fat pad was incubated with CFP ranging from 0.01 to 1mg/mL for 3 hrs. The effect of CFP on lipolysis was examined by measuring free glycerol released. Fat tissue from pig skin was injected with CFP ranging from 0.1 to 10mg/mL to examine the effect of CFP on histological changes under light microscopy. Results The following results were obtained from present study on adipogenesis of preadipocytes, lipolysis of adipocytes and histological changes in fat tissue. 1. Crataegi Fructus Pharmacopuncture inhibited adipogenic differentiation at the concentration of 1.0mg/mL. 2. Crataegi Fructus Pharmacopuncture decreased the activity of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase(GPDH) at the concentration of 0.1mg/mL. 3. Crataegi Fructus Pharmacopuncture ok. lipolysis at the concentration of 0.1mg/ml. 4. Crataegi Fructus Pharmacopuncture ranging 0.1 to 10mg/mL failed to exert lysis of cell membrane in porcine fat tissue. Conclusions These results suggest that Crataegi Fructus Pharmacopuncture at relatively high concentration inhibited adipogenesis and increased lipolysis of adipocytes. However, Crataegi Fructus Pharmacopuncture didn't exert any effect on lysis of cell membrane in fat tissue.