• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.102 no.3
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• pp.446-454
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• 2013

The present study investigated the biological agents and environmental conditions of the habitats of the Kirengeshoma koreana, a class 2 endangered species class according to the South Korean Ministry of Environment (MOE), elucidated the structural characteristics of the forest stands in the habitats with the importance value and the diversity index, conducted comparative analysis of the factors, and explored their relationship with environmental factors. According to the results of direction analysis of natural habitats of the Kirengeshoma koreana, the direction was distributed to the north or the northeast, and the slope amounted to $15-40^{\circ}$, thus demonstrating that the slope has little effect. In addition, the results showed that the distribution of Kirengeshoma koreana populations dramatically increased starting in areas at least 600 m above the sea level and that the relative light intensity was 3.79% on an average. Most populations were native to gorges and crevices between rocks so that they mainly tended to inhabit areas that could see soil loss in times of precipitation. In addition, a considerable number of the populations were close to hiking trails as well, thus leading to concerns about their artificial destruction. The soil of layer a in the main growth space of the Kirengeshoma koreana was analyzed and turned out to be strongly acidic, measuring pH 4.45-4.89 (average: 4.68). All investigation sections were typical natural broad-leaved tree areas, and, judging from the fact that the Kirengeshoma koreana was most likely to appear in colonies of the Mongolian oak tree (Quercus mongolica Fisch. ex Ledeb.), the Mongolian oak tree seems to be the species of tree that has the greatest effect on the inhabitation of the Kirengeshoma koreana.

• Textile Coloration and Finishing
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.132-139
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• 2010

Sericin pulverization process was applied by freezing-thawing of sericin protein concentration solution and physicochemical properties of sericin/chitosan blended films were investigated. In sericin pulverization process by freezing-thawing method, the refrigeration storage at $4^{\circ}C$ maximized gelling between sericin molecules, which increased 10% of recovery ratio from sericin concentration solution that using ultrafiltration procedure. In physicochemical properties of sericin/chitosan blended films, the maximum load of chitosan (6.7kgf) had higher than that of sericin (1.2kgf), and the elongation of sericin and chitosan had 96% and 34%, respectively. Also FT-IR analysis of sericin/chitosan blended films showed that both sericin and chitosan films had amide I peak (N-H bond) in $1,521cm^{-1}$ and amide II peak (C=O bond) in $1,630cm^{-1}$. In addition, it could confirm compatibility between both materials as indicated by the decrease in the amide I peak's absorption value as chitosan content increases.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.2145-2150
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• 2016

Background: Infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major global public health problem, with a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations. Human cytosolic glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs) include several classes such as alpha (A), mu (M), pi (P), sigma (S), zeta (Z), omega (O) and theta (T). The present study aimed to investigate the role of GST omega genes (GSTO1 and GSTO2) in different groups of patients infected with HBV. Materials and Methods: HBV groups were classified according to clinical history, serological tests and histological analysis into normal carriers (N), acute (A), chronic (CH), cirrhosis (CI) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cases. The study focused on determination of the genotypes of GST omega genes (GSTO1 and GSTO2) and GST activity and liver function tests. Results: The results showed that GSTO1 (A/A) was decreased in N, A, CH, CI and HCC groups compared to the C-group, while, GSTO1 (C/A) and GSTO1(C/C) genotypes were increased significantly in N, A, CH, CI and HCC groups. GSTO2 (A/A) was decreased in all studied groups as compared to the C-group but GSTO2(A/G) and GSTO2(G/G) genotypes were increased significantly. In addition, GST activities, albumin and TP levels were decreased in all studied groups compared to the C-group, while the activities of transaminases were increased to differing degrees. Conclusions: The results indicate that GSTO genetic polymorphisms may be considered as biomarkers for determining and predicting the progression of HBV infection.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.230-236
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• 2009

An extract of Allomyrina dichotoma larva (ADL), one of the insects used most frequently in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of liver diseases such as hepatocirrhosis and hepatofibrosis, was assessed for antioxidant bioactivity in this study. In the current work, we have investigated the protective effects of ADL extracts on tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP)-induced hepatotoxicity in cultured hepa1c1c7 cells and in the mouse liver. The treatment of the hepa1c1c7 cells with ADL extracts induced a significant reduction of t-BHP-induced oxidative injuries, as determined by cell cytotoxicity, lipid peroxidation (LPO) and reactive oxygen species contents, in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, ADL extracts evidenced a protective effect against t-BHPinduced oxidative DNA damage, as revealed by the results of the Comet assay in hepa1c1c7 cells. ADL extracts also protected against hydroxyl radical-induced 2-deoxy-d-ribose degradation by ferric ion-nitrilotriacetic acid and $H_2O_2$. In addition, ADL extracts were shown to be able to quench 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radicals. Our in vivo study revealed that ADL extracts pretreatment applied prior to t-BHP administration significantly prevented an increase in the serum levels of hepatic enzyme markers and reduced LPO in the mouse liver in a dose-dependent manner. Taken together, these results suggest that the protective effects of ADL extracts against t-BHP-induced hepatotoxicity may be attributable, at least in part, to its ability to scavenge free oxygen radicals, and to protect against DNA damage due to oxidative stress.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.18-27
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• 2002

Poly(ο-hydroxyamide)s as polybenzoxazoles precursors were synthesized by polycondensation from 2,2'-bis(3-amino-4-hydroxyphenyl) hexafluoropropane and various bis-acids. And the polymers were modified to acid-sensitive polyamides by introducing tetrahydropyran in order to impart photosensitivity. A study of optical transmittance at 365 nm, according to the chemical structure of bis-acid, revealed that the polymer derived from 4,4'-oxydibenzoic acid showed better optical transparency than those from other bis-acids. This tendency of optical transmittance could be explained by formation of charge transfer complex. In case of the polymer derived from 4,4'-oxydibenzoic acid, the electron accepting characteristic of bis-acid is reduced by introduction of electron donating group, -O-. Thus, optical transmittance increased due to the diminished formation of intramolecular charge transfer complex. In addition, the optical transmittance increased with increasing the THP content in the polymer. This is attributed to the reduced intermolecular interaction by the loosening of the packing density of the polymer chain.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.56 no.12
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• pp.885-892
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• 2018

Molybdenum disulfide ($MoS_2$) based electrocatalysts have been proposed as substitutes for platinum group metal (PGM) based electrocatalyst to hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in water electrolysis. Here, we studied $MoS_2/CNFs$ hybrid catalyst prepared by electrospinning method with heat treatment for polymer electrolyte membrane(PEM) water electrolysis to improve the HER activity. The physicochemical and electrochemical properties such as average diameter, crystalline properties, electrocatalitic activity for HER of synthesized $MoS_2/CNFs$ were investigated by the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Raman Spectroscopy (Raman) and Linear Sweep Voltammetry (LSV). The as spun ATTM/PVP nanofibers were prepared by sol-gel and electrospinning method. Subsequently, the $MoS_2/CNFs$ was dereived from reduction heat treatment of ATTM at the ATTM/PVP nanofibers and carbonization heat treatment. Synthesized $MoS_2/CNFs$ electrocatalyst had an average diameter of $179{\pm}30nm$. We confirmed that the $MoS_2$ layers in $MoS_2/CNF$ electrocatalyst consist of 3~4 layers from the Raman results. In addition, We confirmed that the $MoS_2$ layers in $MoS_2/CNF$ catalyst consist of 7.47% octahedral 1T phase $MoS_2$, 63.77% trigonal prismatic 2H phase $MoS_2$ with 28.75% $MoO_3$ through the XRD, Raman and XPS results. It was shown that $MoS_2/CNFs$ had the overpotential of 0.278 V at $10mA/cm^2$ and tafel slope of 74.8 mV/dec in 0.5 M sulfuric acid ($H_2SO_4$) electrolyte.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.137-141
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• 2007

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary yeast (Saccharomyces exguus) supplementation on growth performance, cecal microflora and fecal ammonia gas in broiler chicks. A total of two hundred seventy, 1-d-old male broiler chicks (Ross strain) were randomly allotted to nine pens (replicates), 30 birds per pen. There were three dietary treatments with three replicates. The treatments were control (virginiamycin 0.05%+salinomycin 0.03%), Saccharomyces exguus 0.5 and 1.0%. Total body weight gain were significantly higher in Saccharomyces exguus1 1.0% treatment than the control (P<0.05). Although not significant, the yeast supplementation tended to improve the feed conversion ratio. No significant differences were observed on the numbers of cecal E. coli, Salmonella and Lactobacillus in yeast treatments compared to those of control. The production of fecal ammonia gas was significantly lower in yeast treatments than the control (P<0.05). The concentrations of fecal short chain fatty acids and volatile organic compounds were not different among the groups. These results suggest the possibility that yeast (Saccharomyces exguus) could be used as the alternative of antibiotic growth promoters by improving the performance of broiler chicks. In addition, dietary yeast could improve the environment of broiler houses by reducing fecal ammonia production.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.122-133
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• 2014

Purpose: This study was to develop an effective process for fabricating biocompatible calcium phosphate powders (CPPs) using horse bones, and to investigate the characteristics of them. Methods: The characteristics of horse bone powders (HBPs) were investigated according to the different osseous tissue types (compact bone and cancellous bone), bone types (spine and tibia), pretreatment methods (cold water, $H_2O_2$, and hot water), sintering time (4, 8 and 12h), and sintering temperature (600, 900, 1100 and $1300^{\circ}C$). In addition, the grinding methods were compared based on the wet grinding (ball mill) and dry grinding (blade grinder) method to make it as powders. Finally, their cytotoxicity and cell viability were checked. Results: Regardless of the types of osseous tissues and bones, HBPs were well fabricated as biocompatible CPPs. It was also found that the pretreatment methods did not influence on the resultants, showing well-fabricated HBPs. Considering the processing time, the hot water method was the most suitable compared to other pretreatment methods. Further, 12h-sintering time was sufficient to remove residual organic compounds. The sintering temperatures greatly affected the properties of bone powders fabricated. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) peak of horse bone sintered at $600^{\circ}C$ was most closed to that of hydroxyapatite (HA). Our bioactivity study demonstrated that the HBPs fabricated by sintering horse bones at $1300^{\circ}C$ showed the best performance in terms of cell viability whereas the HBPs $1100^{\circ}C$ showed the cytotoxicity. Conclusions: Using various types of horse bone tissues, biocompatible CPPs were successfully developed. We conclude that the HBPs may have a great potential as biomaterials for various biological applications including bone tissue engineering.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.149-157
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• 2021

Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc is widely distributed in East Asia (Korea, Japan, and China), and its fruit is often used as a medication and food material. However, because most previous studies have only investigated the state of Prunus mume fruit extract, studies on the various ways of processing this extract are still needed to increase its utilization. In this study, we evaluated the physicochemical properties and physiological activities of spray-dried Prunus mume vinegar powder (SPP). The sugar content, pH, total acidity, and moisture content of the SPP were 8.90 °Brix, 3.19, 1.05%, and 3.07%, respectively. The SPP exhibited significantly high antioxidant activity in terms of DPPH radical scavenging activity (65.55%), reducing power (1.48), and hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity (48.07%). In addition, the SPP remarkably decreased the cell viability of human breast MDA-MB-231 and human skin cancer SK-MEL-28 in a dose-dependent manner. The morphological results of the treatment of MDA-MB-231 cells with SPP were distorted, shrunken cell masses. Furthermore, apoptotic bodies and nuclear condensation formed in the SPP-treated MDA-MB-231 cells. The total polyphenol and flavonoid contents of the SPP were 59.58 ㎍/g (gallic acid equivalent) and 57.56 ㎍/g (quercetin equivalent). The results of this study indicate that SPP, which has antioxidant activity and anticancer effects, can be useful in the development of natural medicines and functional food ingredients.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.141-150
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• 2022

To abate the environmental burden derived from the massive generation of cattle manure (CM), pyrolysis of CM was suggested as one of the methods for manure treatment. In respect of carbon utilization, pyrolysis has an advantage in that it can produce usable carbon-based chemicals. This study was conducted to investigate a syngas production from pyrolysis of CM in CO₂ condition. In addition, mechanistic functionality of CO₂ in CM pyrolysis was investigated. It was found that the formation of CO was enhanced at ≥ 600 ℃ in CO2 environment, which was attribute to the homogeneous reactions between CO₂ and volatile matters (VMs). To expedite reaction kinetics for syngas production during CM pyrolysis, Catalytic pyrolysis was carried out using Co/SiO2 as a catalyst. The synergistic effects of CO₂ and catalyst accelerate the formation of H₂ and CO at entire temperature range. Thus, this result offers that CO₂ could be a viable option for syngas production with the mitigation of greenhouse gas.