• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.1452-1461
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• 2017

Melanin production by melanocytes in human hair follicles decreases with time and leads to the graying process, which is a phenotype of human aging and an index of aging. The reduction in melanin production is the result of decreased tyrosinase activity in hair follicles and an accumulation of active oxygen species, such as hydrogen peroxide. This study investigated antioxidant effects and melanin-promoting effects in B16F1 cells treated with black sesame ethanolic nonpolar-soluble extract (SBEEO) and black sesame ethanolic polar-soluble extract (SBEEP). In antioxidation experiments, both SBEEP and SBEEO did not eliminate 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, but SBEEO at $64{\mu}g/ml$ showed low reducing power. SBEEP exerted cytotoxic effects at concentrations greater than $8{\mu}g/ml$, whereas SBEEO showed cytotoxic effects at concentrations greater than $4{\mu}g/ml$. SBEEP and SBEEO induced melanin synthesis, tyrosinase activity, and DOPA oxidase activity in vitro. In live cells, melanin synthesis was greater in the SBEEP treatment group as compared with that in the SBEEO treatment group. SBEEP stimulated melanin synthesis by modulating the expression of tyrosinase-related protein-2 (TRP-2), which is an important enzyme in melanin synthesis. These results imply that SBEEP obtained from black sesame ethanolic extract may have the potential to improve melanin synthesis.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.213-222
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• 2018

We investigated seasonal variations in the abundance of the adults and the resting eggs of copepods to understand the role of copepod resting eggs for maintaining their population inhabiting the coastal area of Dadaepo, Korea. Adults and resting eggs of copepods were collected bi-monthly with a conical net (45 cm mouth diameter, $330{\mu}m$ mesh size) and van Veen grab ($0.1m^2$ area), respectively, from October 2016 to September 2017. The species of resting eggs were identified using mtCOI gene. The mean abundance of copepods was highest in October ($3686{\pm}1190inds{\cdot}m^{-3}$) and lowest in January ($176{\pm}60inds{\cdot}m^{-3}$) with the dominance of Paracalanus parvus s.l.. Among copepod producing resting eggs, Acartia omorii and Centropages abdominalis were dominant. The mean abundance of resting eggs was the highest in July ($9148{\pm}6787eggs{\cdot}m^{-2}$) and the lowest in October ($530{\pm}348eggs{\cdot}m^{-2}$). Most of the collected resting eggs were identified as A. omorii's. The mean abundances of A. omorii adults and resting eggs were highest in July, and both abundances fluctuated in a similar pattern except in September. In September, A. omorii adults were observed in a state of low abundance, while their resting eggs occurred in a state of high abundance. These results suggest that A. omorii maintain their population by producing a large quantity of resting eggs, particularly diapause eggs, before the seawater temperature rises. These eggs would hatch and be newly recruited to their population when the environmental condition becomes favorable.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.89-97
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• 2019

Long chain plant waxes (n-alkanes, n-alkanoic acids, and n-alcohols) and their carbon isotopic compositions (${\delta}^{13}C$) in geologic archives are valuable tools for paleovegetation reconstruction. However, the sensitivity of different plant wax constituents to vegetation shift is not well understood. This study explores controls on the variation in ${\delta}^{13}C$ values of long-chain n-alkanes ($C_{27}$ to $C_{33}$) and n-alkanoic acids ($C_{26}-C_{30}$) in the Gulf of Mexico core sediments (ODP 625B) near the Mississippi River delta. n-Alkanoic acids' ${\delta}^{13}C$ values were higher than those of n-alkanes by 1-2‰ on average and such a pattern is the opposite from their isotope fractionation observed in living plants: 1-2‰ smaller in n-alkanes than n-alkanoic acids. We attribute this offset to contributions from aquatic plants or microbes that produce high concentrations of $^{13}C-enriched$ long-chain n-alkanoic acids. The sensitivity of n-alkanes and n-alkanoic acids to vegetation and climate varied among chain lengths. The $n-C_{33}$ alkanes were most sensitive to $C_4$ grassland expansion among n-alkane homologues, while no specific trend was observed in n-alkanoic acids. This is due to the similarity in n-alkanoic acid concentrations between $C_3$ and $C_4$ plants by homologues and low terrestrial plant-derived n-alkanoic acid contributions to the sediments. The results of this study suggest that long chain n-alkanoic acids' ${\delta}^{13}C$ values in sediments may be influenced by contributions from different sources such as aquatic plants or microbial inputs and therefore interpretations regarding this matter should be cautiously formulated. We suggest that there is a need for further studies on characterizing long-chain n-alkanoic acids ($C_{26}-C_{34}$) in aquatic plants and microbes from various climates and environments in order to investigate their production and integration into sedimentary archives.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.34 no.6_2
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• pp.1273-1282
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• 2018

Recently, active research on the Arctic Ocean has been conducted due to the influence of global warming and new Arctic ship route. Although previous studies already calculated quantitative extent of sea ice using passive microwave radiometers, melting at the edge of sea ice and surface roughness were hardly considered due to low spatial resolution. Since Sentienl-1A/B data in Extended Wide (EW) mode are being distributed as free of charge and bulk data for Arctic sea can be generated during a short period, the entire Arctic sea ice data can be covered in high spatial resolution by mosaicking bulk data. However, Sentinel-1A/B data in EW mode, especially in HV polarization, needs significant radiometric correction for further classification. Thus, in this study, we developed algorithms that can correct thermal noise and scalloping effects, and confirmed that Arctic sea ice and open-water were well classified using the corrected dual-polarization SAR data.

• Atmosphere
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.87-103
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• 2019

This study introduces the overall characteristics of LOVECLIM version 1.3, the earth system model of intermediate complexity (EMIC), including the installation and operation processes by conducting two kinds of past climate simulation. First climate simulation is the equilibrium experiment during the mid-Holocene (6,000 BP), when orbital parameters were different compared to those at present. The overall accuracy of simulated global atmospheric fields by LOVECLIM is relatively lower than that in Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) and Paleoclimate modelling Intercomparison Project phase 3 (PMIP3) simulations. However, surface temperature over the globe, the 800 hPa meridional wind over the mid-latitude coastal region, and the 200 hPa zonal wind from LOVECLIM show similar spatial distribution to those multi-model mean of CMIP5/PMIP3 climate models. Second one is the transient climate experiment from mid-Holocene to present. LOVECLIM well captures the major differences in surface temperature between preindustrial and mid-Holocene simulations by CMIP5/PMIP3 multi-model mean, even though it was performed with short integration time (i.e., about four days in a single CPU environment). In this way, although the earth system model of intermediate complexity has a limit due to its relatively low accuracy, it can be a very useful tool in the specific research area such as paleoclimate.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.493-502
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• 2021

Recently, because of changes in temperature and rising water temperatures due to increased pollution sources, many algae have been produced in the water system. Therefore, there has been a lot of research using satellite images for the generation and monitoring of green algae. However, in prior studies, it is difficult to consider the optical properties of the local water system by using only a single index, and by using medium and low-resolution satellite images to conduct large-scale algae detection, there is a problem of accuracy in narrow, broad rivers. Therefore, in this work, we utilize high-resolution images of Sentinel-2 satellites to perform green algae detection on a single index (NDVI, SEI, FGAI) and development index (NDVI & SEI, FGAI & SEI) that mixes single indices. In this study, POD, FAR, and PC values were utilized to evaluate the accuracy of green algae detection algorithms, and the FGAI & SEI index showed the highest accuracy with 98.29% overall accuracy PC.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.297-310
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• 2022

To understand the chemical composition of aerosols in the Cheju-Korea Straits and their contribution to the ocean by deposition, aerosol samples were collected on board R/V Eardo from November 1997 to May 1999. The average concentrations of Al, NO₃^-, non-sea-salt (nss)-SO₄^2-, and NH₄⁺ in aerosols were 2.19, 5.59, 6.16 and 2.08 ㎍ m^-3, respectively. The Al concentration in the high yellow dust period was about 100 times higher than that in the non-yellow dust period. The concentration ratio of NO₃^-/nss-SO₄^2- ranged between 0.47 and 1.5, indicating that the aerosols in the Cheju-Korea Straits are under the effects of NO_x and SO_x emitted from China, Korea and Japan. The equivalent concentration ratio of [NH₄⁺]/[nss-SO₄^2-+ NO₃^-] with the average of 0.58±0.29 indicates that nss-SO₄^2- and NO₃^- are not neutralized by NH₄⁺. A high activity concentration of ²¹⁰Pb with 1.13-1.23 mBq m^-3 was observed during the high yellow dust period, indicating that ²¹⁰Pb is easily adsorbed in the yellow dust originating from the continent of Asia. The distribution of ⁷Be and NH₄⁺ concentrations showed a strong negative linear correlation during the low yellow dust period, April 1998. The total mineral dust flux in the Cheju-Korea Straits was estimated to be 1.21×10⁶ tons yr^-1, accounting for about 12% of the annual sediment discharge via the Nakdong River. The combined annual deposition of NH₄⁺ and NO₃^- was 0.103 mole N m^-2 yr^-1 was estimated to support 4% of the annual primary productivity in the East China Sea.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.199-212
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• 2023

Diffusion is a powerful tool to understand geological processes recorded in terrestrial rocks as well as extraterrestrial materials. Since the diffusive exchange of elements or isotopes may have occurred differently in the solar nebula (high temperature and rapid cooling) and on the parent bodies (fluid-assisted thermal metamorphism at relatively low temperature), it is particularly important to model elemental or isotopic diffusion profiles within the mineral grains to better understand the evolution of the early solar system. A numerical model with the finite difference method for the fast grain boundary diffusion was established for the exchange of elements or isotopes between constituent minerals in a closed system. The fast grain boundary diffusion numerical model was applied to 1) ²⁶Mg variation in plagioclase of an amoeboid olivine aggregate (AOA) from a CH chondrite and 2) Fe-Mg interdiffusion between chondrules, AOA, and matrix minerals in a CO chondrite. Equilibrium isotopic fractionation and equilibrium partitioning were also included in the numerical model, based on the assumption that equilibrium can be reached at the interfaces of mineral crystals. The numerical model showed that diffusion profiles observed in chondrite samples likely resulted from the diffusive exchange of elements or isotopes between the constituent minerals. This study also showed that the closure temperature is determined not only by the mineral with the slowest diffusivity in the system, but also strongly depends on the constituent mineral abundances.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.8
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• pp.1323-1331
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• 2021

Objective: To identify the association between renal tumor complexity and pathologic renal sinus invasion (RSI) and evaluate the usefulness of computed tomography tumor features for predicting RSI in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 276 consecutive patients who underwent radical nephrectomy for RCC with a size of ≤ 7 cm between January 2014 and October 2017. Tumor complexity and anatomical renal sinus involvement were evaluated using two standardized scoring systems: the radius (R), exophytic or endophytic (E), nearness to collecting system or sinus (N), anterior or posterior (A), and location relative to polar lines (RENAL) nephrometry and preoperative aspects and dimensions used for anatomical classification (PADUA) system. CT-based tumor features, including shape, enhancement pattern, margin at the interface of the renal sinus (smooth vs. non-smooth), and finger-like projection of the mass, were also assessed by two independent radiologists. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify significant predictors of RSI. The positive predictive value, negative predictive value (NPV), accuracy of anatomical renal sinus involvement, and tumor features were evaluated. Results: Eighty-one of 276 patients (29.3%) demonstrated RSI. Among highly complex tumors (RENAL or PADUA score ≥ 10), the frequencies of RSI were 42.4% (39/92) and 38.0% (71/187) using RENAL and PADUA scores, respectively. Multivariable analysis showed that a non-smooth margin and the presence of a finger-like projection were significant predictors of RSI. Anatomical renal sinus involvement showed high NPVs (91.7% and 95.2%) but low accuracy (40.2% and 43.1%) for RSI, whereas the presence of a non-smooth margin or finger-like projection demonstrated comparably high NPVs (90.0% and 91.3% for both readers) and improved accuracy (67.0% and 73.9%, respectively). Conclusion: A non-smooth margin or the presence of a finger-like projection can be used as a preoperative CT-based tumor feature for predicting RSI in patients with RCC.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.24-31
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• 2007

Global fates of polychlorinated biphenyl(PCB) were investigated with a fugacity based multimedia transport and fate model, Globe-POP(persistent organic pollutant). The accumulation of PCB was directly affected by the emission patterns of PCB into the atmosphere and surface areas of environmental compartments. Partition coefficients and reaction rates also influenced on the accumulation patterns of PCB. The emission patterns of PCB in 10 climate zones were consistent for the past 70 years, while the contribution of PCB in high-latitude zones to the globe has increased by cold condensation. Considering the amounts of emission and accumulation of PCB, the North temperature zone is regarded as an important source and sink of PCB. Meanwhile, in spite of no significant sources, POPs accumulate in Antarctic environments mainly due to extremely low temperature. Finally we suggested that a global water balance accounting for snow/ice should be incorporated into multimedia environmental models for high-latitude zones and polar regions with the seasonal snow pack and/or permanent ice caps. The modified model will be useful to evaluate the influence of climate change on the fate of POPs.