• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.134-141
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• 2017

General hospitals in Korea have increased more in size since 2000, and as not only medical service but the quality of the environment also got important, the considerable changes have appeared revolving around the lobbies. This study is a basic research to find a direction of a plan for general hospital lobbies in response to the demands that change. It was examined the current condition of lobbies so as to derive the idea of types of lobbies and of functional elements, and based on the research, it was compared and analyzed in terms of the spatial configuration to draw the characteristics by type. The result of the research is as follows. (1) The lobbies were explored after being classified into four types; the plan(central type/street type) and the elevation(eclectic type/double-story type). (2) The hall and corridor were ranked high in order of importance in the whole spatial configuration, and it has been utilized in various ways. (3) Also, each type differed with the others in its main functional area, regarding traffic line efficiency and spatial intelligibility.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.63 no.3
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• pp.593-602
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• 2021

Mammalian milk including microRNAs (miRNAs) as a novel class of noncoding RNAs, that can be transferred to infants and it plays on a critical role in biological functions such as immune regulation and development. However, the origin and functional importance of milk-derived miRNAs are still undetermined. This study applied RNA sequencing to explore the featured profiles of miRNA expression in colostrum and mature milk-originated exosomes from human, bovine, and caprine milk. These dietary exosome-derived miRNAs are highly conserved in human, bovine and caprine milk. Interestingly, abundant miRNAs expressed in human milk are similarly conserved across species. In addition, we confirmed that immune-related miRNAs (miR-30a-5p, miR-22-3p, and miR-26a) are commonly observed in the colostrum and mature milk of cows and caprines as well as humans. Our results provide new insights and resources for investigating the functionality of immune-associated miRNAs and evaluating physiological and biological condition in human, bovine and caprine milk as biomarkers.

• Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.491-499
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• 2018

Background: Advances in surgical techniques, implant technology, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy have increased the recovery chances of patients with bone sarcomas. Accordingly, patients' expectations on life quality have also increased, highlighting the importance of objective evaluation of the functional results of reconstruction. Methods: Thirteen patients with distal femoral endoprosthesis, who had been followed for an average of 2.9 years were evaluated. Postural stability, daily energy expenditure, muscle power, and range of motion were the four parameters analyzed in this study. The Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) score and Toronto Extremity Salvage Score (TESS) were used to assess postoperative function and examine correlations with other parameters. Results: Patients had sedentary activities in 84% of their daily lives. They exhibited a slower speed in the walk across test and a higher sway velocity in the sit-to-stand test (p = 0.005). MSTS scores were significantly correlated with the daily energy expenditure and walking speed. Conclusions: Objective functional results acquired from various clinics will provide significant data to compare reconstruction techniques, rehabilitation protocols, and surgical techniques. In this way, it will be possible to satisfy the expectations of patients that increase in relation to enhanced recovery.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.465-476
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• 2022

The importance of beneficial microorganisms, particularly probiotics, that coexist in the human body, is being increasingly recognized. Probiotics are representative health functional foods that provide health benefits to humans through the production of various metabolites, including short-chain fatty acids. However, the health benefits are strain-specific, and the use of each probiotic strain should follow guidelines that assure its safety. Accurate identification of the strain should be managed through genetic and phenotypic analyses of the strain. Besides, the functionality of probiotics should be disclosed in vitro and in vivo so that they can be used as legal functional ingredients (i.e., individual standards). In this review, we deal with the guidelines, including the technical factors related to probiotic strains. The common health effects of probiotic strains include proliferation of beneficial bacteria, control of harmful bacteria, and facilitation of bowel activities. Probiotics with various functionalities (e.g., body fat and cholesterol reduction, vaginal health, and improvement of skin's immune system) have been investigated as "individual standards of raw materials for health functional foods" provided by MFDS. In the future, various biotechnologies including synthetic biology can be applied to produce customized probiotics to improve human health.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.65 no.2
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• pp.293-310
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• 2023

Protein-translated mRNA analysis has been extensively used to determine the function of various traits in animals. The non-coding RNA (ncRNA), which was known to be non-functional because it was not encoded as a protein, was re-examined as it was studied to actually function. One of the ncRNAs, long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), is known to have a function of regulating mRNA expression, and its importance is emerging. Therefore, lncRNAs are currently being used to understand the traits of various animals as well as human diseases. However, studies on lncRNA annotation and its functions are still lacking in most animals except humans and mice. lncRNAs have unique characteristics of lncRNAs and interact with mRNA through various mechanisms. In order to make lncRNA annotations in animals in the future, it is essential to understand the characteristics of lncRNAs and the mechanisms by which lncRNAs function. In addition, this will allow lncRNAs to be used for a wider variety of traits in a wider range of animals, and it is expected that integrated analysis using other biological information will be possible.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.37-44
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• 2023

This study investigates perceptual confusions of English fricatives among 121 Korean elementary school English as a foreign language (EFL) learners with shorter periods of learning English. The objective is to examine how they perceive English fricative consonants and to provide educational guidelines. Two sets of English fricative identification tasks-voiceless fricatives and voiced fricatives-were administered to participants in a High Variability Phonetic Training (HVPT) setting. Their phonemic awareness of the fricatives was visualized in perceptual confusion maps via multidimensional scaling analysis. The findings are explored in terms of the impacts of Korean EFL learners' L1 linguistic aspects and a comparison with L1 learners. Learners' phonemic awareness patterns are then compared with their relative importance in speech intelligibility based on a functional load hierarchy. The results indicated that Korean elementary EFL learners recognized English fricatives in a manner largely akin to L1 learners, suggesting their ongoing acquisition progress. Additionally, the findings demonstrated that the young EFL learners possess sufficient phonemic awareness for most high functional load segments but encounter some difficulties with one high and one low functional pair. The findings of this study offer suggestions for diagnosing language learners' phonemic awareness abilities, thereby aiding in the development of practical guidelines for language instructional design and helping educators make informed decisions regarding teaching priority in L2 classes.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.811-828
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• 2021

Following the introduction of a novel pathological concept of usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) by Liebow and Carrington in 1969, diffuse interstitial pneumonia has evolved into UIP, nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP), and interstitial lung abnormality (ILA); the histopathological and CT findings of these conditions reflect the required multidisciplinary team approach, involving pulmonologists, radiologists, and pathologists, for their diagnosis and management. Concomitantly, traction bronchiectasis and bronchiolectasis have been recognized as the most persistent and important indices of the severity and prognosis of fibrotic lung diseases. The traction bronchiectasis index (TBI) can stratify the prognoses of patients with ILAs. In this review, the evolutionary concepts of UIP, NSIP, and ILAs are summarized in tables and figures, with a demonstration of the correlation between CT findings and pathologic evaluation. The CT-based UIP score is being proposed to facilitate a better understanding of the spectrum of pulmonary fibrosis, from ILAs to UIP, with emphasis on traction bronchiectasis/bronchiolectasis.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.1445-1453
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• 2023

In 2022, the domestic production performance of functional cosmetics in South Korea reached 4.6 trillion won, accounting for 33.85% of the total cosmetics production. The number of functional cosmetics reviewed increased by about 7.5% from the previous year, totaling 974 items. Especially with the increasing importance of the skin barrier function due to skin sensitivity caused by various environmental pollutants, domestic cosmetic companies are showing interest in the development of new ingredients and products related to this area. This study aims to analyze academic research trends related to in vitro experiments for the development of cosmetics improving the skin barrier, to provide practical information for the cosmetic industry. The findings are as follows: Academic research mainly focused on the efficacy of natural ingredients in improving the skin barrier, but there is a significant lack of quantitative accumulation of research. For the development of skin barrier-improving cosmetic ingredients, efficacy evaluation indicators were set, including hyaluronic acid production, expression of filaggrin gene, loricrin, formation of cornified envelope (CE), and expression of ceramide synthesis enzyme genes. Moreover, effective cosmetic ingredients for improving the skin barrier included lemongrass and perilla leaf extracts, flavonoids, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, Exosomelike Nanovesicles derived from apple callus, Eleutherococcus sessiliflorus, Acanthopanax sessiliflorus, Eleutherococcus gracilistylus, Acer okamotoanum extracts, Aloe vera adventitious root extract, ethanol extract of Aruncus dioicus, and organic solvent fraction of Dracocephalum argunense.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.65-75
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• 2024

The growing demand for functional cosmetics, driven by modern individuals' quest for healthy and aesthetically pleasing skin, is being challenged by reports of side effects and toxicity associated with these products. This underscores the importance of exploring natural plant-based materials for functional cosmetics. This research focuses on the assessment of antioxidant and whitening properties of mixed extracts from Ipomoea nil, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, and Angelica gigas Nakai, all of which have proven pharmacological benefits. The study evaluated the extracts' total polyphenol and flavonoid contents, ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging activities, SOD-like activity, and xanthine oxidase inhibition to determine their antioxidant capabilities. Moreover, the whitening potential was investigated through tyrosinase activity and melanin production assays, alongside a cytotoxicity evaluation via a cell viability test. The findings revealed that the extracts, IAA-1 to IAA-4, demonstrated both antioxidative and whitening capabilities without exhibiting cytotoxic effects. Notably, the extract IAA-4, processed through ultrasonic and ultrahigh pressure extraction, exhibited superior effectiveness. These results indicate that the cavitation formed during ultrasonic irradiation effectively destroys the plant cell wall by creating high pressure, and as a result, it is judged that useful components are easily extracted. As a result of the study, it was confirmed that the IAA-4 extract could be applied as a material for functional cosmetics.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.1585-1592
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• 2013

Functional food for prevention of chronic diseases is one of this century's key global challenges. Cancer is not only the first or second leading cause of death in China and other countries across the world, but also has diet as one of the most important modifiable risk factors. Major dietary factors now known to promote cancer development are polished grain foods and low intake of fresh vegetables, with general importance for an unhealthy lifestyle and obesity. The strategies of cancer prevention in human being are increased consumption of functional foods like whole grains (brown rice, barley, and buckwheat) and by-products, as well some vegetables (bitter melon, garlic, onions, broccoli, and cabbage) and mushrooms (boletes and Tricholoma matsutake). In addition some beverages (green tea and coffee) may be protective. Southwest China (especially Yunnan Province) is a geographical area where functional crop production is closely related to the origins of human evolution with implications for anticancer influence.