• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.256-262
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• 2022

Oxysterols are oxygenated metabolites of cholesterol generated by serial enzymatic reactions during bile acid synthesis. Similar to cholesterol, oxysterols move rapidly to the intracellular region and modulate various cellular processes, such as immune cell responses, lipid metabolism, and cholesterol homeostasis. Different nuclear transcription factors, such as glucocorticoid, estrogen, and liver X receptors, can be modulated by oxysterols in multiple tissues. The most abundant oxysterol, 27-hydroxycholesterol (27-OHC), is a well-known selective modulator that can either activate or suppress estrogen receptor activity in a tissue-specific manner. The contribution of 27-OHC in atherosclerosis development is apparent because a large amount of it is found in atherosclerotic plaques, accelerating the transformation of macrophages into foam cells that uptake extracellular modified lipids. According to previous studies, however, there are opposing opinions about how 27-OHC affects lipid and cholesterol metabolism in metabolic organs, including the liver and adipose tissue. In particular, the effects of 27-OHC on lipid metabolism are entirely different between in vitro and in vivo conditions, suggesting that understanding the physiology of this oxysterol requires a sophisticated approach. This review summarizes the potential effects of 27-OHC in atherosclerosis and metabolic syndromes with a special discussion of its role in metabolic tissues.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.238-253
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• 2000

In the eastern part of the Euiseong Basin acidic~intermediate volcanic rocks widely distribute on the Cretaceous sedimentary basement. Coeval granitic rocks and dyke rocks intruded into the volcanic rocks. Volcanic stratigraphy of study area are andesite lava, dacitic lapilli tuff, dacitic flow-banded lava, rhyolitic bedded tuff, rhyolitic massive tuff, dacitic massive lava, rhyolitlc welded tuff occur from the lower to the upper strata. $SiO_2$ content of the volcanic rocks range from 51 to 74 wt.%. With the increase of $SiO_2$, the contents of $TiO_2$, $Al_2$$O_3$, MgO, FeOT MnO, CaO, $P_2$$O_{5}$ decrease but those of $K_2$O increase. The contents of $Na_2$O show dispersive variation. This trend is quite sim-ilar to the major oxide variation in the volcanic rocks from the Yucheon sub-basin. The geochemical natures indicate that the volcanic rocks in the study area are discriminated to the island-arc type high K to medium K calc-alkaline rocks. The compositional variation of the volcanic rocks can be explained by the plagioclase fractionation of the volcanic magmas originated from similar source materials. The volcanic stratigraphy seems to have formed by at least two eruptive sequences of andesitic to rhyolitic and dacitic to rhyolitic magmas which underwent crystallization differentiation.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.340-348
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• 2003

A previous stud-pull test was modified to measure the bond strength of polyurethane foam to carbon steel substrate. This test was appropriate in that the specimen foamed on Zn phosphated steel (0.95 kN) was broken at higher load than that of smooth galvanizing treated steel (0.38 kN). Among the samples foamed on the substrate atvarious preheating temperatures, the polyurethane foam to the steel held over 60$^{\circ}C$ exhibited very high bond strength. The samples were exposed at water vapor absorption, and, then, their bond strengths were measured. The adhesion was significantly reduced in the samples foamed on the steel at temperatures below 40$^{\circ}C$ and above 70$^{\circ}C$. For the polyurethane foams formulated with two blowing gases, the adhesion was higher by 0.03 kN in the samples with HCFC-l4lb than that with HFC-245fa. When the these samples were exposed at water vapor soaking, the reduction of the bond strength for the HFC-245fa blown sample was negligible due to smaller area fraction of void area filled with gas at interfacial area. Consequently, it was found that adhesion of polyurethane foam to metal substrate was determined by variation of microstructural features with substrate preheating, surface treatment type of blowing agent.

• Clean Technology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.10-21
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• 2023

Hydrogels that are made of natural polymer-based double networks have excellent biocompatibility, low cytotoxicity, and high water content, assuring that the material has the properties required for a variety of biomedical applications. However, hydrogels also have limitations due to their relatively weak mechanical properties. In this study, hydrogels based on an alginate di-aldehyde (ADA) and gelatin (Gel) double network that is reinforced with additional hydrogen bonds formed between the hydroxyl (-OH) groups of the hyperbranched polymer (HPG) and the functional groups present inside of the hydrogels were successfully synthesized. The enhanced mechanical properties of these synthesized hydrogels were evaluated by varying the amount of HPG added during the hydrogel synthesis from 0 to 25%. In addition, magnetite nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄ NPs) were synthesized within the hydrogels and the structures and the magnetic properties of the hydrogels were also characterized. The hydrogels that contained 15% HPG and Fe₃O₄ NPs exhibited superparamagnetic behaviors with a saturation magnetization value of 3.8 emu g^-1. These particular hydrogels also had strengthened mechanical properties with a maximum compressive stress of 1.1 MPa at a strain of 67.4%. Magnetic hydrogels made with natural polymer-based double networks provide improved mechanical properties and have a significant potential for drug delivery and biomaterial application.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.35-46
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• 2015

Recently, much attention has been paid to the development of a value-added food category containing probiotics so as to improve human health and prevent diseases. Among various foods, the health benefits of milk and dairy products are known to humanity, and could be attributed to the bioactive components present in milk. In fermented milk products, the health benefits could be due to suitable modulation activities produced by the action of probiotic bacteria. Besides the modification of various milk components, probiotics might also act directly as preventive and therapeutic agents against some severe diseases. Probiotics promote health via their positive effects on the immune response, stimulation of natural immunity, and modulation of the production of antimicrobial peptides, cytokines, and so on. Whey proteins, a byproduct of cheese production could also have anticarcinogenic, immunostimulatory, antimicrobial, and health-promoting activities such as improving insulin sensitivity and reducing fat deposition. Therefore, milk and dairy products containing probiotics could provide various opportunities in the field of functional foods. Additionally, these functional foods may be important in the human diet and may help improve human health and prevent diseases.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.23 no.3 s.31
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• pp.358-368
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• 1990

To investigate the possibility of utilizing of sister chromatid exchange(SCE) analysis in lymphocytes as an indicator which could evaluate the effects of mutagenicity after in vivo exposure to hexavalent chromium, this study was conducted using some of chromium plating workers occupationally exposed to hexavalent chromium, chromium trioxide ($CrO_3$) in Taegu city. The study population was 12 Cr platers with perforation of nasal septum, 12 Cr platers without perforation of nasal septum and 20 controls. The SCE in peripheral blood lymphocytes of the subjects was analyzed and blood chromium concentration was estimated using the atomic absorption spectrophotometer (IL551) equipped with furnace atomizer (IL755). The mean SCE frequencies for Cr platers with and without perforation of nasal septum were statistically higher than those for control. The difference in SCE frequencies by age, smoking habits were not statistically significant both in Cr platers and controls. There was no difference in SCE frequencies by career of Cr platers workers. In Cr platers, the correlation between the mean SCE frequencies and chromium concentration in blood was not statistically significant. Using the transformation $y=(sum\;SCE)^{\frac{1}{2}}+(sum\;SCE+1)^{\frac{1}{2}}$, when the data was studied by multiple regression, it appeared that the influence of the occupation was the most important. Age, smoking, occupation and CrB(blood chromium concentration) together explain only 32.3% of interpersonal variation on SCE. The results in this study suggest tt a genetic risk due to occupationally exposure to hexavalent chromium is clearly inferable and thus, SCE analysis in human lymphocytes may be used indicator of biological toxic effects of chromium. Further, populatio analysis stuies are required before SCE frequency can be used as a mutagenic indicator in human population.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.157-169
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• 2019

Pseudotachylytes, produced by frictional heating during seismic slip, provide information that is critical to understanding the physics of earthquakes. We report the results of occurrence, structural characteristics, scanning electron microscopic observation and geochemical analysis of pseudotachylytes, which is presumed to have formed after the Late Cretaceous in outcrops of the Paleoproterozoic granitic gneiss on the Bulil waterfall of the Jirisan area, Yeongnam massif, Korea. Fault rocks, which are the products of brittle deformation under the same shear stress regime in the study area, are classified as pseudotachylyte and foliated cataclasite. The occurrences of pseudotachylyte identified on the basis of thickness and morphology are fault vein-type and injection vein-type pseudotachylyte. A number of fault vein-type pseudotachylytes occur as thin (as thick as 2 cm) layers generated on the fault plane, and are cutting general foliation and sheared foliation developed in granitic gneiss. Smaller injection vein-type pseudotachylytes are found along the fault vein-type pseudotachylytes, and appear in a variety of shapes based on field occurrence and vein geometry. At a first glance fault vein-type seudotachylyte looks like a mafic vein, but it has a chemical composition almost identical to the wall rock of granitic gneiss. Also, it has many subrounded clasts which consist predominantly of quartz, feldspar, biotite and secondary minerals including clay minerals, calcite and glassy materials. Embayed clasts, phenocryst with reaction rim, oxide droplets, amygdules, and flow structures are also observed. All of these evidences indicate the pseudotachylyte formed due to frictional melting of the wall rock minerals during fault slip related to strong seismic faulting events in the shallow depth of low temperature-low pressure. Further studies will be conducted to determine the age and mechanical aspect of the pseudotachylyte formation.