• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.227-241
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• 2019

Purpose: This study examined the relationship between caffeine intake and metabolic syndrome in Korean adults using the 2013 ~ 2016 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data (KNHANES). Methods: The caffeine database (DB) developed by Food and Drug Safety Assessment Agency in 2014 was used to estimate the caffeine consumption. The food and beverage consumption of the 24 hr recall data of 2013 ~ 2016 KNHANES were matched to items in the caffeine DB and the daily caffeine intakes of the individuals were calculated. The sample was limited to non-pregnant healthy adults aged 19 years and older, who were not taking any medication for disease treatment. Results: The average daily caffeine intake was 41.97 mg, and the daily intake of caffeine of 97% of the participants was from coffee, teas, soft drinks, and other beverages. Multivariate analysis showed that the caffeine intake did not affect metabolic syndrome, hypertension, low HDL-cholesterol, and abdominal obesity. Diabetes and hypertriglyceridemia, however, were 0.76 (95% CI: 0.63 ~ 0.93), and 0.87 (95% CI: 0.77 ~ 0.98) in third quintile (Q3), and 0.66 (95% CI: 0.53 ~ 0.82) and 0.83 (95% CI: 0.73 ~ 0.94) in fourth quintile (Q4) compared to Q1, respectively. Therefore, caffeine intake of 3.66 ~ 45.81 mg per day is related to a lower risk of diabetes and hypertriglyceridemia. Conclusion: The study showed that adequate caffeine intake (approximately 45 mg) was associated with a lower prevalence of diabetes and hypertriglyceridemia. Therefore, it can be used as a guideline for the adequate level of caffeine intake for maintaining health.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.402-409
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• 2019

Korean red ginseng made from steaming and drying fresh ginseng has long been used as a traditional herbal medicine due to its effects on the immune, endocrine, and central nerve systems and its anti-inflammatory activity. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanism responsible for the anti-inflammatory effects of a formulated Korean red ginseng extract (RGE) in response to lipoteichoic acid (LTA), a cell wall component of gram-positive bacteria. RGE inhibited LTA-induced nitric oxide (NO) secretion and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression in BV-2 microglial cells, without affecting cell viability. RGE also inhibited nuclear translocation of nuclear factor kappa B ($NF-{\kappa}B$) p65 and degradation of $I{\kappa}B-{\alpha}$. In addition, RGE increased the expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in a dose-dependent manner, and the inhibitory effect of RGE on iNOS expression was abrogated by small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of HO-1. Moreover, RGE induced nuclear translocation of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), a transcription factor that regulates HO-1 expression. Furthermore, the phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI-3K) inhibitor and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitors suppressed RGE-mediated expression of HO-1, and RGE enhanced the phosphorylation of Akt, extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs), p38, and c-JUN N-terminal kinases (JNKs). These results suggested that RGE suppressed the production of NO, a proinflammatory mediator, by inducing HO-1 expression via PI-3K/Akt- and MAPK-dependent signaling in LTA-stimulated microglia. The findings indicate that RGE could be used for the treatment of neuroinflammation induced by grampositive bacteria and that it may have therapeutic potential for various neuroinflammation-associated disorders.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.337-344
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• 2019

The free radical scavenging, cytotoxic effects, and flavonoid content of fractions from Lycopus lucidus Turcz leaves were here investigated. The flavonoid contents of 85% methanol (MeOH) and n-butanol (BuOH) fractions of the leaves were 41.5 mg/g and 77.2 mg/g, respectively. In DPPH and ABTs+ assays, 85% MeOH and n-BuOH fractions from the L. lucidus Turcz leaves had a greater scavenging effect (p<0.05). The n-BuOH fraction (0.5 mg/ml concentration) had scavenging effects of 88% and 92% in the DPPH and ABTs+ assays, respectively (p<0.05). Cell viability tests showed that treatment with L. lucidus Turcz leaf fractions caused cytotoxicity in the growth of AGS, HT-29, and HT-1080 cancer cells. Of the different fractions, the 85% MeOH sample displayed the highest cytotoxic activity; the $IC_{50}$ values of this fraction against AGS, HT-1080, and HT-29 cancer cells were 0.03 mg/ml, 0.14 mg/ml, and 0.16 mg/ml, respectively. These biological results indicate that the n-BuOH fraction was more effective in anti-oxidant activity while the 85% MeOH fraction was stronger in cytotoxic effects, and they suggest that these two fractions from L. lucidus Turcz leaves may contain valuable bioactive compounds, such as flavonoids.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.39-48
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• 2019

Objective of this study was to evaluate an optimum biochar application rate and estimate the carbon sequestration based on the soil chemical properties and growth responses for biochar application during tomatoes cultivation. The treatments consisted of control as recommended application rates of fertilizers, 0.01%, 0.03%, 0.05%, and 0.07% of biochar application(w/w, biochar:soil). For effects of soil chemical properties, the $NO_3-N$contents in the soil were peaked at 9 days after transplanting. But there was not significant difference(p>0.05) among the treatments during cultivation periods. However, $NH_4-N$ contents in the biochar treatment were lower than the control until 14 days of transplanting. $P_2O_5$ contents in the biochar treatments were lower than that of the control until 19 days after transplanting except 0.01% of biochar application plot. $K_2O$ contents in soils treated with 0.01% and 0.03% of biochar were higher until 6 days after transplanting than that in the control. For N use efficiency of biochar application, it was observed that the 0.05% biochar application plot was highest among the treatments. The highest carbon sequestration was estimated at $2.83mg\;kg^{-1}$ for 0.03% of biochar application. However, it is considered that the optimum biochar application rate was 0.05% for tomato cultivation, considering the growth characteristics and yield components.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.245-252
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• 2018

This study investigated the effect of LED light wavelength (color) on reproductive hormones and egg production of brown laying hens raised on floor. Red, blue, green and white colors of LED light were four treatments with four pens per treatment. One hundred forty four Hy-line brown laying hens (47 wks old) were allocated in a floor pen for six weeks trial. Egg production, egg quality, yolk cholesterol and hormones ($17{\beta}$-estradiol, progesterone) concentrations in plasma and oviduct were analyzed. Egg production of red group was higher (P<0.01) than that of green group. Haugh unit of eggs from red group was higher (P<0.01) than that of blue and green groups. Egg weight of green group was heavier (P<0.05) than that of red group. Shell of blue group was stronger (P<0.05) than that of red and white groups. Shell color of white group was browner (P<0.01) than that of blue and green groups. Yolk cholesterol of red group was higher (P<0.01) than that of others. Plasma $17{\beta}$-estradiol of red group was higher (P<0.05) than that of others at $3^{rd}$ week, but that of white group was highest (P<0.05) at $6^{th}$ week. Oviduct progesterone of green group was higher (P<0.01) than that of others. The result showed that the LED colors affect the reproductive hormone concentrations, egg production, egg weight and egg quality. This study suggested that red LED would be the most appropriate color for floor raising brown laying hens to sustain the egg production when it begins to decline with aging.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.1108-1119
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• 2018

As the interest on the air pollution is gradually rising at home and abroad, automotive and fuel researchers have been studied on the exhaust and greenhouse gas emission reduction from vehicles through a lot of approaches, which consist of new engine design, innovative after-treatment systems, using clean (eco-friendly alternative) fuels and fuel quality improvement. This research has brought forward two main issues : exhaust emissions (regulated and non-regulated emissions, PM particle matter) and greenhouse gases of vehicle. Exhaust emissions and greenhouse gases of automotive had many problem such as the cause of ambient pollution, health effects. In order to reduce these emissions, many countries are regulating new exhaust gas test modes. Worldwide harmonized light-duty vehicle test procedure (WLTP) for emission certification has been developed in WP.29 forum in UNECE since 2007. This test procedure was applied to domestic light duty diesel vehicles at the same time as Europe. The air pollutant emissions from light-duty vehicles are regulated by the weight per distance, which the driving cycles can affect the results. Exhaust emissions of vehicle varies substantially based on climate conditions, and driving habits. Extreme outside temperatures tend to increasing the emissions, because more fuel must be used to heat or cool the cabin. Also, high driving speeds increases the emissions because of the energy required to overcome increased drag. Compared with gradual vehicle acceleration, rapid vehicle acceleration increases the emissions. Additional devices (air-conditioner and heater) and road inclines also increases the emissions. In this study, three light-duty vehicles were tested with WLTP, NEDC, and FTP-75, which are used to regulate the emissions of light-duty vehicles, and how much emissions can be affected by different driving cycles. The emissions gas have not shown statistically meaningful difference. The maximum emission gas have been found in low speed phase of WLTP which is mainly caused by cooled engine conditions. The amount of emission gas in cooled engine condition is much different as test vehicles. It means different technical solution requires in this aspect to cope with WLTP driving cycle.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.618-626
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• 2019

Stem cell therapy is not expected to bestow any therapeutic benefit because of the low engraftment rates after transplantation.Various cell-carrying scaffolds have been developed in order to overcome this problem. When the scaffold is formed by 3-dimensional (3D) printing, it is possible to create various shapes of scaffolds for specific regions of injury. At the same time, scaffolds provide stem cells as therapeutic-agents and mechanically support an injured region. PCL is not only cost effective, but it is also a widely used material for 3D printing. Therefore, rapid and economical technology development can be achieved when PCL is printed and used as a cell carrier. Yet PCL materials do not perform well as cell carriers, and only a few cells survive on the PCL surface. In this study, we tried to determine the conditions that maximize the cell-loading capacity on the PCL surface to overcome this issue. By applying a plasma treated condition and then collagen coating known to improve the cell loading capacity, it was confirmed that the 3% collagen coating after plasma treatment showed the best cell engraftment capacity during 72 hours after cell loading. By applying the spheroid cell culture method and scaffold structure change, which can affect the cell loading ability, the spheroid cell culture methods vastly improved cell engraftment, and the scaffold structure did not affect the cell engraftment properties. We will conduct further experiments using PCL material as a cell carrier and as based the excellent results of this study.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.303-312
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• 2019

Oxidative stress in kidneys can precede the development of chronic renal injury. We investigated the antioxidative effect of membrane-free stem cell extract (MFSCE) from adipose tissue in LLC-$PK_1$ renal proximal tubule cells. Treatment of LLC-$PK_1$ cells with MFSCE showed the up-regulation of heme-oxygenase-1, thioredoxin reductase 1, and NADPH quinine oxidoreductase-1 protein expressions, which are proteins related with antioxidative activities. When oxidative stress was induced by 3-morpholinosydnonimine (SIN-1), cell viability was decreased, indicating that LLC-$PK_1$ cells were damaged by SIN-1. However, MFSCE significantly elevated cell viability from 58.84% to 64.43% at the concentration of $2.5{\mu}g/mL$ in oxidative stress-induced LLC-$PK_1$ cells. Furthermore, MFSCE ameliorated inflammation and apoptosis in SIN-1-treated LLC-$PK_1$ cells by modulating protein expressions. Inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 protein expressions were down-regulated when LLC-$PK_1$ cells were treated with MFSCE. Apoptosis-related proteins, including B-cell lymphoma-2-associated X protein/B-cell lymphoma-2 ratio, cleaved caspase-3, and cleaved-poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, were also down-regulated. It indicated that MFSCE protected apoptosis against oxidative stress in LLC-$PK_1$ cells. Taken together, these results suggested that MFSCE had a protective effect against SIN-1-induced oxidative stress in LLC-$PK_1$ cells. Therefore, MFSCE could be a promising therapeutic agent for oxidative stress-induced renal injury.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.146-169
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• 2018

Artificial or natural artifacts, which have historical, artistic, academic or scenic value as national, ethnic or global assets, are designated as "cultural heritages" under the Act on the Protection of Cultural Heritage. Cultural heritages can be divided into tangible cultural heritages, intangible cultural heritages, and monument and folklore heritages. In addition, depending on the object of designation, a cultural heritage can be designated either as a city or a provincial cultural heritage or a cultural heritage material, by a city mayor or provincial governor, and as a state-designated heritage by the administrator of the Cultural heritage Administration. The regular survey is a part of the policy for the preservation and management of state-designated heritages, which requires that surveys be undertaken every three to five years for the preservation, repair and maintenance of cultural heritages. It was stipulated in the Act on the Protection of Cultural Heritage in 2006, and since then has substantially contributed to the preservation and management of state-designated heritages based on the identification of damage to cultural heritages and the application of appropriate treatment measures. However, some parts of the guidelines on the regular survey, legislated in 2006, occasionally give rise to confusion in managing the regular survey system of state-designated movable cultural heritages, and need to be modified to facilitate the systematic management and improvement of the regular survey system. This study attempts to analyze the structure and operation of the regular survey system of state-designated movable cultural heritages, and proposes plans for improving the way of specifying each department which leads, manages and executes the regular survey, the process of entrusting the survey, and its guidelines and forms. I hope that these plans concerning the regular survey of state-designated movable cultural heritages will contribute to improving the quality and management of the system.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.44-48
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• 2019

Objectives: Insomnia is one of the most prevalent sleep disorders. Recent studies suggest that cognitive and physical arousal play an important role in the generation of primary insomnia. Studies have also shown that information processing disorders due to cortical hyperactivity might interfere with normal sleep onset and sleep continuity. Therefore, focusing on central nervous system arousal and normalizing the information process have become current topics of interest. It has been well known that neurofeedback can reduce the brain hyperarousal by modulating patients' brain waves during a sequence of behavior therapy. The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of neurofeedback therapy on electroencephalography (EEG) characteristics in patients with primary insomnia. Methods: Thirteen subjects who met the criteria for an insomnia diagnosis and 14 control subjects who were matched on sex and age were included. Neurofeedback and sham treatments were performed in a random order for 30 minutes, respectively. EEG spectral power analyses were performed to quantify effects of the neurofeedback therapy on brain wave forms. Results: In patients with primary insomnia, relative spectral theta and sigma power during a therapeutic neurofeedback session were significantly lower than during a sham session ($13.9{\pm}2.6$ vs. $12.2{\pm}3.8$ and $3.6{\pm}0.9$ vs. $3.2{\pm}1.0$ in %, respectively; p < 0.05). There were no statistically significant changes in other EEG spectral bands. Conclusion: For the first time in Korea, EEG spectral power in the theta band was found to increase when a neurofeedback session was applied to patients with insomnia. This outcome might provide some insight into new interventions for improving sleep onset. However, the treatment response of insomniacs was not precisely evaluated due to limitations of the current pilot study, which requires follow-up studies with larger samples in the future.