• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.160-174
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• 2005

Despite the decrease in the number of children due to low birth rate, the domestic children's apparel market has been achieving steady growth as family income is rising thanks to more opportunities for working women, parents spend more on their children, and they prefer brand products that make their children look special. In addition, the market is suffering from hard competition as large enterprises have joined the race. The present study purposed to survey the children's apparel market in Korea, which is in a transitional period, and to contribute to the development of the market with Korean brands. For this purpose, we analyzed the characteristics of children's apparel brands in the 21st century based on the current state of the domestic children's apparel market and, based on the findings, forecasted the future trend of children's apparel brands, suggested improvements for expected problems, proposed standards for coping with changes such as diversification, high quality and differentiation in the children's apparel market, and provided consumers with information on how to purchase products. According to the result of analyzing the characteristics of children's apparel brands in the 21st century, brands are categorized largely into four types - life cultural brands, functional product brands, character brands and brands advancing to China. Life cultural brands equipped with all necessities for children are expanding, and with the deepening social problems of environmental pollution and the reduction of the child population, functional products made of environment-friendly materials are spreading widely, targeting infants and children. Furthermore, for extending age targets and diversifying products, children's apparel is using characters. The use of characters is expected to have a considerable effect on the growth of brands because children are more subjective as consumers than before and they are more easily persuaded with characters. Domestic children's apparel brands advancing to China have a high expectation of success in overcoming the limitation of the local market that has reached its peak and growing into global brands. Korean apparel makers are struggling to overcome the depressed domestic market, to recover consumers' consumption, to cope with market opening, to pursue high value of sensibility and to expand the seniors' market, etc. In this situation, future trends of children's apparel brands will be the expansion of family brands, brand totalization, quality price, niche market (pre-teen market), etc. In response to these trends, we made the following suggestions for improvement. 1. Children's apparel brands are evolving into family brands as well as into total brands through voluming. Today, however, apparel makers are advancing to the children's apparel market with the concept of adults' apparel and, as a result, children's apparel is merely adults' apparel of reduced size, having problems in design, color and materials. Thus, apparel makers must develop design considering the wide range of size and the characteristics of children's apparel, strengthen sourcing abilities to create revenues, and make thorough survey of customers to find common denominators between adults' apparel and children's apparel considering that characteristic that the target class is different from the buyer class. Furthermore, they must make active investments in human resources, develop outstanding products through advanced planning and design, and support marketing techniques and management systems to stores. 2. As the declining birth rate will continue to have a negative effect on the market, it may be difficult to expand the market size but there is still a margin for growth through high-sensibility and high-quality products. The competitiveness of brands is determined by their market shares. Accordingly, concepts should be specialized according to lifestyle, customers' diverse needs should be satisfied, and cross-coordination should be achieved within a brand. 3. Considering Korean parents who do not spare investment in their children despite shrinking consumption, functional products must be high value-added goods that can enhance efficiency. However, in the current situation of the infants' apparel industry where a textile manufacturer supply its products to multiple brands, it is difficult to develop unique products only based on materials. Thus, it is considered urgent to appeal to consumers not by relying on materials only but by finding methods of applying their own characters to children's dress.

• Journal of Korean Classical Literature and Education
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• no.32
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• pp.327-355
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• 2016

This study aims to identify petit bourgeois desires through the characters in "Oksosun Stories" from Cheonyerok, an eighteenth-century Yadam anthology. The desires and motivations of the characters are quite secular and egocentric. Because of this, their shared characteristics are similar to those of the petit bourgeois, as neutral existence begins to emerge during the transition from feudal to modern society. The concept of petit bourgeois generally means the public and the working class of modern society. The main character's behavior in the story differs little from general petit bourgeois attitudes. An important belief in petit bourgeois is not the ruling ideology in society but the achievement and stability of realistic and ordinary desires to fulfill their lives' satisfaction. Also selfish or antisocial attitudes and boundary characteristics appear in the process, depending on whether subject having any desire. However, the character's actions are limited in the governance system of a huge reality. And It is characterized by end goal being to meet their upward mobility and stability. This corresponds with Seang's (書生) actions of turning his back on his family and country as well as promising Jaran his love; and, he redeems himself with his family and society by acquiring stability after he passed the state examination. Furthermore, the contemporary significance of this work demonstrates Seang (書生) discovering his desires for human love; therefore, in order to affirm and gratify this desire, he endures the societal state of semi-feudalism against filial duty (不孝), disloyalty (不忠), and non-chastity (不烈), and he acts independently. In addition, on the strength of his pursuit of his desires, Oksosun frees herself from the caste restraint called gisaeng (妓生) and affirms her desire to become a subject of love, but she then deviates from the social system. Moreover, the limitations and achievements of the petit bourgeois are indicated in the actions of recognizing the social threshold of their past in the process, making independent efforts using their capabilities, fulfilling success in the state examination with their intellectual capacity, and re-entering society. From the late Chosun Dynasty to modern times, there is not only the type of contemporary people who hunger for fulfillment of their personal desire and live in free will, but there is also the feudal type that is still lacking in the understanding of independent life. This is not as different as in these present times. This literature asserts the meaning of awakening one's self-existence and assigning great value to the fulfillment of self-desires against the odds that are created by socio-political, cultural, economic norms of the era. "Oksosun Story" affirms the small efforts and successes of private individuals in reality. It also validates the search for life happiness through positivity. In this sense, even the contemporary reader would derive valid meaningfulness from this literature.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.10
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• pp.913-921
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• 2021

Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) which is characterized by progressive muscle weakening of the hip and shoulder shows both dominant and recessive inheritances with many pathogenic genes including TTN. This study performed to identify genetic causes of a male patient with late onset (45 years old) autosomal recessive LGMD and atrial flutter. By application of the whole exome sequencing, we identified bi-allelic variants of TTN gene in the patient. One allele had a single missense variant of [c.24124G>T (p.V8042F)], while the other allele consisted of three missense variants of [c.29222G>C (p.R9741P) + c.67490A>G (p.H22497R) + c.75376C>T (p.R25126C)]. The p.V8042F allele was transmitted from his mother, while the other haplotype allele was putatively transmitted from his father. His two unaffected sons had only the p.R9741P. These variants have been not reported or rarely reported in the public human genome databases (1,000 Genome, gnomAD, and KRGDB). Most variants were located in the highly conserved immunoglobulin or fibronectin domains and were predicted to be pathogenic by the in silico analyses. The TTN giant protein plays a key role in muscle assembly, force transmission at the Z-line, and maintenance of resting tension in the I-band. In conclusion, we think that these bi-allelic compound heterozygous mutations may play a role as the genetic causes of the LGMD phenotype.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.10
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• pp.885-897
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• 2021

Schisandrae Fructus (SF) and Corni Fructus (CF) have been used for a long time for the prevention and treatment of various diseases. Although reports have highlighted the possibility of inhibiting the onset and progression of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), studies on related mechanisms are still lacking. In this study, we investigated the potential of SF and CF in improving BPH by using a dihydrotestosterone (DHT)-induced in vitro BPH model using LNCaP prostate carcinoma cells. According to our results, water and ethanol extracts of SF and CF significantly inhibited the proliferation of LNCaP cells by DHT treatment and markedly downregulated the expression of DHT-induced BPH biomarkers and growth factors. They also regulated the expression of apoptosis regulatory factors and significantly reduced DHT-mediated oxidative stress. In addition, the protective effect on major factors involved in the pathogenesis of BPH was more effective in the ethanol extract treatment group than in the water extract group. Furthermore, the improvement effect on BPH was higher in the 1:1 combined treatment group than in the ethanol extract alone treatment group of SF and CF, and 60% ethanol extracts showed a better effect than 40% ethanol extracts. Therefore, our findings demonstrate that SF and CF can protect against BPH by preventing the hyperproliferation of prostate cells through the inhibition of the androgen signaling pathway, which was correlated with their antioxidant activities. Therefore, SF and CF extracts may be useful in the clinical treatment of BPH, and the combination of these two extracts can be synergistic.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.9
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• pp.827-833
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• 2021

Dendropanax morbiferus leaves (DPL) has been used as a medicine since ancient times in various diseases such as inflammation, diabetes, and cancer. In particular, it has been found to have anticancer effects on several types of cancer cells, but the anticancer effect on breast cancer cells SK-BR-3 has not yet been revealed. Therefore, in this study, DPL caused proliferation inhibition in breast cancer cells SK-BR-3 and the anticancer effect by inducing apoptosis was confirmed, through an in vitro experiment. In order to examine the effect of DPL on cell viability, MTT assay was performed to confirm a significant decrease in the concentration of cell viability. DAPI staining was performed to examine the effect of DPL on cellular morphological changes and increase of apoptotic bodies. To supplement this, an increase in the apoptosis rate was also confirmed through flow cytometry after staining with annexin V/PI. Western blot was performed to confirm apoptosis-related proteins. DPL increased the expression of Cleaved-PARP, Bax whereas decreased the expression of Bcl-2. Changes in the expression levels of MAPK pathway proteins p-ERK1/2, p-JNK, and p-p38 were also confirmed, and a significant increase in p-p38 was observed. These results indicated that DPL induced apoptosis, through p-p38 MAPK signal pathway in SK-BR-3 breast cancer cells.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.82-96
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• 2019

This study evaluated the status of watershed health in Geum River Basin by SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) hydrology and water quality. The watershed healthiness from watershed hydrology and stream water quality was calculated using multivariate normal distribution from 0(poor) to 1(good). Before evaluation of watershed healthiness, the SWAT calibration for 11 years(2005~2015) of streamflow(Q) at 5 locations with 0.50~0.77 average Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency and suspended solid (SS), total nitrogen(T-N), and total phosphorus(T-P) at 3 locations with 0.67~0.94, 0.59~0.79, and 0.61~0.79 determination coefficient($R^2$) respectively. For 24 years (1985~2008) the spatiotemporal change of watershed healthiness was analyzed with calibarted SWAT and 5 land use data of 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2008. The 2008 SWAT results showed that the surface runoff increased by 40.6%, soil moisture and baseflow decreased by 6.8% and 3.0% respectively compared to 1985 reference year. The stream water quality of SS, T-N, and T-P increased by 29.2%, 9.3%, and 16.7% respectively by land development and agricultural activity. Based on the 1985 year land use condition. the 2008 watershed healthiness of hydrology and stream water quality decreased from 1 to 0.94 and 0.69 respectively. The results of this study be able to detect changes in watershed environment due to human activity compared to past natural conditions.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1255-1261
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• 2018

Whole genome analysis have been made possible with the development of DNA sequencing technologies and discovery of many single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Large number of SNP can be analyzed with SNP chips, since SNPs of human as well as livestock genomes are available. Among the various missing nucleotide imputation programs, Minimac3 software is suggested to be highly accurate, with a simplified workflow and relatively fast. In the present study, we used Minimac3 program to perform genomic missing value substitution 1,226 animals 770K SNP chip and imputing missing SNPs with next generation sequencing data from 311 animals. The accuracy on each chromosome was about 94~96%, and individual sample accuracy was about 92~98%. After imputation of the genotypes, SNPs with R Square ($R^2$) values for three conditions were 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8 and the percentage of SNPs were 91%, 84%, and 70% respectively. The differences in the Minor Allele Frequency gave $R^2$ values corresponding to seven intervals (0, 0.025), (0.025, 0.05), (0.05, 0.1), (0.1, 0.2), (0.2, 0.3). (0.3, 0.4) and (0.4, 0.5) of 64~88%. The total analysis time was about 12 hr. In future SNP chip studies, as the size and complexity of the genomic datasets increase, we expect that genomic imputation using Minimac3 can improve the reliability of chip data for Hanwoo discrimination.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1361-1368
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• 2018

Inflammation is the most common condition in the human body. Tissue damage triggers inflammation, together with vasodilation and increased blood flow at the inflamed site, resulting in edema. Inflammatory responses are also triggered by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a Toll-like receptor Enterococcus faecalis, a gram-positive organism, has been reported to possess immunomodulatory and preventive activities; however, its use may present risks of sepsis and other systemic infections. Heat-killed Enterococcus faecalis (EF-2001) has been reported to induce antitumor activity, but its effects on inflammation are not known. In the present study, we investigated the effect of EF-2001 on LPS-induced macrophage inflammatory responses. EF-2001 treatment reduced nitric oxide (NO) production, indicating suppression of inflammatory reactions. EF-2001 showed no cytotoxicity in macrophages. Further investigation of the anti-inflammatory mechanism of EF-2001 indicated that EF-2001 reduced the LPS-induced expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2. EF-2001 also reduced f the LPS induction of several inflammatory molecules involved in the nuclear factor-${\kappa}B$ ($NF-{\kappa}B$) and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways, including ERK, JNK, and p38 phosphorylation, in a concentration-dependent manner. Additionally, EF-2001 inhibited Akt phosphorylation and increased the expression of the inhibitory ${\kappa}B$ ($I{\kappa}B$) protein, an inhibitor of $NF-{\kappa}B$. EF-2001 also inhibited the nuclear translocation of p65. These results suggest that EF-2001 has anti-inflammatory properties and may be useful for treating inflammatory diseases.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.484-491
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• 2019

Proanthocyanidins are naturally occurring polyphenolic compounds abundant in many vegetables, plant skins (rind/bark), seeds, flowers, fruits, and nuts. Numerous in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated myriad effects potentially beneficial to human health, such as antioxidation, immunomodulation, DNA repair, and antitumor activity. Among immune cells, macrophages are crucial players in a variety of inflammatory responses to environmental conditions. However, it has been widely reported that macrophages cause chronic inflammation and are involved in a variety of diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cancer. In this study, we report the suppressive effect of proanthocyanidins via the heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1)-related system, on the immune response of the LPS-stimulated mouse macrophage cell line RAW264.7. Increased HO-1 expression at mRNA and protein levels were found in proanthocyanidins-treated RAW264.7 cells. Further, proanthocyanidins enhanced nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 translocation into the nucleus. RAW264.7 cells were treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) with or without proanthocyanidins, and inflammatory mediator expression levels were assessed. Proanthocyanidins treatment resulted in the attenuation of nitric oxide production and inducible nitric oxide synthase expression in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. In addition, mRNA and protein expression of proinflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ and interleukin-6, was inhibited by proanthocyanidins treatment in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. These findings support proanthocyanidins as a promising anti-inflammatory agent.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.1507-1515
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• 2018

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is characterized by prostatic hypertrophy mainly in the elderly. Corni Fructus is reportedly effective in the prevention and treatment of various diseases, but its efficacy on BPH has not been previously studied. In the present study, we investigated whether or not a Corni Fructus water extract (CF) could prevent testosterone-induced prostatic hyperplasia in rats. To induce BPH, castrated rats were subcutaneously injected with testosterone propionate (TP). CF was administered daily by oral gavage, along with the TP injections, and finasteride, a selective inhibitor of $5{\alpha}$-reductase type 2, was used as a positive control. The results show that CF significantly reduces prostate weight and histopathologic changes while also decreasing levels of serum dihydrotestosterone, similar to the finasteride-treated group. CF also suppresses TP-induced $5{\alpha}$-reductase expression and concentration in prostate tissue and serum, respectively. Furthermore, CF markedly inhibited TP-induced expression of the androgen receptor (AR) and the steroid receptor coactivator 1, an AR coactivator, which was associated with a decrease in prostate-specific antigen levels in both serum and prostate tissue. In conclusion, the results of this study indicate that CF weakens BPH status by inactivation of $5{\alpha}$-reductase and AR.