• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.38 no.7
• /
• pp.643-650
• /
• 2015

The use of conditioned medium from mesenchymal stem cells may be a feasible approach for regeneration of bone defects through secretion of various components of mesenchymal stem cells such as cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors. Mesenchymal stem cells secrete and accumulate multiple factors in conditioned medium under specific physiological conditions. In this study, we investigated whether the conditioned medium collected under hypoxic condition could effectively influence bone regeneration through enhanced migration and adhesion of endogenous mesenchymal stem cells. Cell migration and adhesion abilities were increased through overexpression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 in hypoxic conditioned medium treated group. Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 was upregulated by microRNA-221 in mesenchymal stem cells because microRNAs are key regulators of various biological functions via gene expression. To investigate the effects in vivo, evaluation of bone regeneration by computed tomography and histological assays revealed that osteogenesis was enhanced in the hypoxic conditioned medium group relative to the other groups. These results suggest that behavioral changes of endogenous mesenchymal stem cells through microRNA-221 targeted-intercellular adhesion molecule-1 expression under hypoxic conditions may be a potential treatment for patients with bone defects.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.15 no.1 s.68
• /
• pp.152-159
• /
• 2005

This research was conducted to make suggestions for the promotion of research activities in the Life Sciences field, and we evaluated the research funding trend and the present status of research funding offered by KOSEF in this field. Researchers in this field have received more research funding from the group-based programme than from the individual-based programme. Also, they have received less money (per project) than did researchers in other Science and Technology fields. The portion of research funds given to the Medical Sciences fields has markedly increased year by year, whereas the portion of funding given to the Agricultural Sciences and Biological Sciences fields has decreased annually. To encourage research activities in the Life Sciences field in Korea, the following actions and systems are required: 1) formulation of a mid-and a long-term research master plan, 2) development of a database on man power in related fields, 3) activation of top-down research topics, and associated increase of individual research grants, 4) development of special national programs for basic researches in Life Sciences, 5) organization of a committee for policy and planning within related societies, and 6) system development for fair evaluation of the results of research activities.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.221-232
• /
• 2008

This paper represents the final results of a research program sponsored by the European Commission through project WIND-CHIME ($\underline{W}$ide Range Non-$\underline{IN}$trusive $\underline{D}$evices toward $\underline{C}$onservation of $\underline{HI}$storical Monuments in the $\underline{ME}$diterranean Area), in which the possibility of using advanced seismic protection technologies to preserve historical monuments in the Mediterranean area is investigated. In the current research, the dynamic characteristics of two outstanding Mamluk-Style minarets, which similar minarets were reported to experience extensive damage during Dahshur 1992 earthquake, are investigated. The first minaret is the Qusun minaret (1337 A.D, 736 Hijri Date (H.D)) located in El-Suyuti cemetery on the southern side of the Salah El-Din citadel. The minaret is currently separated from the surrounding building and is directly resting on the ground (no vaults underneath). The total height of the minaret is 40.28 meters with a base rectangular shaft of about 5.42 ${\times}$ 5.20 m. The second minaret is the southern minaret of Al-Sultaniya (1340 A.D, 739 H.D). It is located about 30.0 meters from Qusun minaret, and it is now standing alone but it seems that it used to be attached to a huge unidentified structure. The style of the minaret and its size attribute it to the first half of the fourteenth century. The minaret total height is 36.69 meters and has a 4.48 ${\times}$ 4.48 m rectangular base. Field investigations were conducted to obtain: (a) geometrical description of the minarets, (b) material properties of the minarets' stones, and (c) soil conditions at the minarets' location. Ambient vibration tests were performed to determine the modal parameters of the minarets such as natural frequencies and mode shapes. A $1/16^{th}$ scale model of Qusun minaret was constructed at Cairo University Concrete Research Laboratory and tested under free vibration with and without SMA wire dampers. The contribution of SMA wire dampers to the structural damping coefficient was evaluated under different vertical loads and vibration amplitudes. Experimental results were used along with the field investigation data to develop a realistic 3-D finite element model that can be used for seismic risk evaluation of the minarets. Examining the updated finite element models under different seismic excitations indicated the vulnerability of such structures to earthquakes with medium to high a/v ratio. The use of SMA wire dampers was found feasible for reducing the seismic risk for this type of structures.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.235-247
• /
• 2012

BACKGROUND: Gohyeon Stream is the municipal eco-stream of 7.1km in total length which flows through the downtown area of Gohyeon in Geoje city, rising from the watershed of Mundong Water Fall. Gohyeon district in Geoje city has been a rapid growing area centering in Geoje city and then experienced an rapid increase in population. Large amounts of sewage pollutants have been spewed into Gohyeon Stream from its tributaries, due to the lack of sewer system. Gohyeon Stream is laced with unhealthy levels of fecal coliform (FC). Restoration of water quality in Gohyeon Stream is no less inevitable in behalf of its ecosystem and the citizen. In this study, the water quality of Gohyeon Stream and its tributaries was examined temporally and spatially, and their relationships were comparatively analyzed to give useful basic data applying to a restoration project of the water quality of Gohyeon Stream. METHODS AND RESULTS: The samples ware taken at 20 points in Gohyeon Stream and 19 points in its tributaries during the rainy and dry seasons, respectively, and examined on the parameters of pH, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen (DO), suspended solid (SS), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN; $NH_3$-N, $NO_3$-N, $NO_2$-N), disolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP; $PO_4$-P) and FC. The data were analyzed using a comparative analysis and Pearson's correlation analysis among the parameters. During the rainy season, the concentration of SS was high in the upper region of Gohyeon Stream, and the concentrations of COD, DIN and DIP were low in the upper region and high in the middle and lower regions. During the dry season, the concentration of SS was low and the concentrations of COD, DIN, DIP and FC were high in all regions. The Pearson's correlation analyses showed that the relationships between DO and FC, COD and DIP, and DIN and FC during the rainy season as well as between DO and DIN, SS and FC, COD and DIP, and DIN and DIP during the dry season were significant. CONCLUSION: During the rainy season, the upper region of Gohyeon Stream flowed the high level of SS, the middle region the high level of nutrients due to an agricultural run-off, and the lower region the high level of nutrients due to a sewage inflow. During the dry season, the water quality of Gohyeon Stream was directly and sensitively influenced on the inflow of sewage from the tributaries.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
• /
• v.43 no.6
• /
• pp.876-883
• /
• 2015

Han-green project, which pursues Korean style post and beam timber house with traditional construction technique of Han-ok, has been carried out in KFRI (Korea Forest Research Institute) since 2006. Recently, the improvement of its building energy performance was studied with energy-saving elements. This study was conducted to provide the insulation details of building envelopes in a post-beam timber house for recent enhanced insulation standards and following effect on building energy performance. The level of thermal transmittance (U-value) values of building envelopes was composed of two stages: present Korean insulation standards and passive house. To evaluate building energy performance, the building airtightness values of two stages was ACH50 = $3.0h^{-1}$ for common domestic timber house constructed recently, and ACH50 = $0.6h^{-1}$ for passive house. Consequently, four cases of the building energy performance according to the combination of U-value with airtightness were evaluated. The test house for evaluation was located in Seoul and its energy performance was evaluated with CE3 commercial building energy simulation program. The result showed that enhanced insulation from level I to II reduced $14kWh/(m^2{\cdot}a)$ of annual heating energy demand regardless of airtightness.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.85-93
• /
• 2008

This study summarizes the results of a research project aimed at investigating the inelastic rotation capacity of beam-column joints of reinforced concrete special moment frames. All of the test specimens were classified as special moment frame (SMF), based on the design and detailing requirements of the ACI 318-02 provisions. The acceptance criteria, originally defined for steel moment frame connections in the 1997 edition of the AISC Seismic provisions, were used to evaluate the beam-column joints of the reinforced concrete moment frames. A total of 39 test specimens were examined in detail. Most of the joints that satisfy the design requirements for special moment frame structures were found to be ductile up to a plastic rotation of 3% without any major degradation in strength. This is mainly due to the stringent ACI 318-02 requirements for special moment frame joints. The presence of transverse beams increases confinement and shear resistance of joints, which results in better performance than for joints without transverse beams. All of the SMF connections that satisfy the ACI 318-02 limitations on joint shear stress turned out to meet the acceptance criteria.

• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.7-41
• /
• 2018

The projects of citizen science which is originated from citizen data collecting action driven by governmental institutes and science associations have been implemented with different form of collaboration with scientists. The themes of citizen science has extended from the ecology to astronomy, distributed computing, and particle physics. Citizen science could contribute to the advancement of science through cost-effective science research based on citizen volunteer data collecting. In addition, citizen science enhance the public understanding of science by increasing knowledge of citizen participants. The community-led citizen science projects could raise public awareness of environmental problems and promote the participation in environmental problem-solving. Citizen science projects based on local tacit knowledge can be of benefit to the local environmental policy decision making and implementation of policy. These social values of citizen science make many countries develop promoting policies of citizen science. The korean government also has introduced some citizen science projects. However there are some obstacles, such as low participation of citizen and scientists in projects which the government has to overcome in order to promote citizen science. It is important that scientists could recognize values of citizen science through the successful government driven citizen science projects and the evaluation tool of scientific career could be modified in order to promote scientist's participation. The project management should be well planned to intensify citizen participation. The government should prepare open data policy which could support a data reliability of the community-led monitoring projects. It is also desirable that a citizen science network could be made with the purpose of sharing best practices of citizen science.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.95-104
• /
• 2016

In general, the crash reduction effect of the rumble strip is reported to be about 30% in Korea, while it is about 40-60% in the United States. However, the effect is erroneously overestimated because the simple comparison was only made before and after the installation. Accordingly, this study will reassess the crash reduction effect of the rumble strip. The study will also examine the former's geometric characteristics as well as its effect on the causes of the crash. This study analyzed the crash effect while taking into consideration the changes in the horizontal and vertical alignment, including the width of pavement shoulders, using the crash data for two years before and after the installation of the rumble strip. The types of crash caused by the rumble strip were identified using the classification discriminant function. The crash effect on the rumble strip is estimated to be 28.3%, but the pure effect, with the exception of the effect by other elements, was analyzed to be 7.4%. For each expressway design element, the downhill section (2.0-3.0%), the section with less than 3,000 m and more than 10,000 m of the curve radius, and the section with less than 3.0 m of the pavement shoulder width were found to be effective in crash reduction. For each cause of crash, the rumble strip was analyzed to be effective in the reduction of crash caused by "not keeping the safe distance", "sleeping", "negligence in keeping eyes forward", and "excessive handle operation". In particular, the rumble strip was analyzed and seen to be especially effective in preventing crash caused by "not keeping a safe distance," and "sleeping". The installation of the rumble strip was found to be effective in the prevention of crash caused by "not keeping the safe distance" and "sleeping". The results of this study may thus be used in deciding the causes of crash and the installation location of the tailored rumble strip that would be suitable for the geometric characteristics of the roads. This study will also be helpful in the establishment of future traffic safety measures.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
• /
• v.17 no.7
• /
• pp.35-42
• /
• 2016

There are many reclamation projects domestically and internationally which requires large quantity of reclaimable materials. To provide enough reclaimable soils which are limited in land, there have been various research focusing on the dredged soils in the marine environments. As a part of this research, a GIS based 3D dredging reclamation visualization program was developed for the volume estimation of dredged soils in 2015. The developed program is based on the digitized spatial information of the site investigation data with a consideration of the reliability of the data. Prior to the validation with the comparisons with the actual dredged volume measurement data, the developed program was compared with the commercial 3D visualization program with 3D visualized results from the test site near the Gunjang harbor. The validation of the developed program was performed in terms of the degree of visualized precision, the sectional and profiling of soil layers and the dredged volume estimation results. Based on the comparisons, both commercial and developed program show similar dredged volume with minor discrepancies in soil layers.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.177-181
• /
• 2016

This cross-sectional descriptive and qualitative study was aimed to study the people participation and their approaches toward the human carcinogenic liver fluke, Opisthorchis viverrini, prevention and control in Ban Chaun sub-district administrative organization (BCSAO) and Bamnet Narong sub-district municipality (BNSM), Bamnet Narong district, Chaiyaphum Province, Thailand between June 2013 and February 2014. Participants were purposive selected, included chiefs of sub-district administrative organizations, sub-district municipalities, sub-district health promotion hospitals (SHPHs), heads of village, and a further sample was selected with a multi-stage random sampling for public health volunteers, and villagers. The pre-designed questionnaire contained items for individualized status and the participatory steps of sharing ideas, decision-making, and planning, procession, evaluation, and mutual benefit, for the project O. viverrini prevention and control (POPC). In-depth interviews were used for collection of need approaches to POPC. With 375 participants who completed the questionnaire, it was found that people had a high level regarding to participate in the POPC, particularly in the process stage ($\bar{X}=3.78$, S.D. = 0.56), but the lowest level was found in sharing ideas, decision making, and planning step ($\bar{X}=3.65$, S.D. = 0.63). By comparison, participant status and organization did not significantly differ with people participation. In each step, Ban Chaun sub-district had a high level of participation in the step of sharing ideas, decision making, and planning toward POPC, more than Bamnet Narong sub-district municipality (t=2.20, p=0.028). Approaches for POPC in Ban Chaun sub-district and Bamnet Narong sub-district municipality included requirements for budget support, annual campaigns for liver fluke prevention and control, campaign promotion, risk group observation, home visiting, community rules regarding reducing raw fish consumption in their communities, and a professional public health officer for working in their communities, BCSAO, BNSM, and SHPH, for O. viverrini prevention and control. This study indicates that people realize that eradication of the liver fluke needs a continuous people participation for O. viverrini prevention and control in their communities.