• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.498-506
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to examine the restorative effect of Semisulcospira libertina extract, on damaged liver cells induced by D-galactosamine in rats. Treatment of damaged liver cells with S. libertina extract significantly reduced local fatty degeneration, and inflammatory cell necrosis, to levels similar with the undamaged control group. In addition, S. libertina extracts were found to reduce plasma levels of liver damage indicator enzymes, such as AST, ALT, LDH and ALP, to control levels. It also reduced lipid peroxides, and lipid contents within damaged liver tissues. This suggests that S. libertina extract has a restorative effect on liver cells, thus reducing release of damage-associated liver enzymes, and oxidative degradation of lipids. Also, S. libertina extracts were found to be involved in recovery of damaged cells from inflammatory response by suppressing expression of $TNF-{\alpha}$, which leads to tissue injury and necrosis, whereas inducing expression of HO-1 that protects cells during inflammation. Thus, S. libertina extract restores liver tissue from necrosis and fibrosis, as well modulates expression of inflammation-related genes against liver damage. Our findings suggest that S. libertina extract is an effective medicinal resource, for improving and recovering liver cells from hepatic injury.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.377-384
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• 2018

This study focused on the effects of feeding on postlarvae of shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, during the identified acclimation time to low salinity. A total of 5 different salinity groups with or without feeding (32, 24, 16, 8, and 2 psu, 1 liter, triplicates) were prepared, and 30 shrimp were settled at PL21 (postlarvae) and placed in each group. After 24 hours of the experimentation process, the survival rate of the fed and starved groups was observed to be lower in the 2 psu group compared to other salinity groups, with the rate of 86.6% and 81.1%, respectively. The condition index of glucose and triglyceride, which are important factors for osmoregulation and as energy sources, was 4.2-7.6 times and 2.7-3.4 times higher in the fed groups than the starved groups at all the levels of salinities. The creatine level increased by 1.1-1.5 times in the starved groups as compared to the fed groups. Likewise, the activity of all the digestive enzymes like, lipase, ${\alpha}$-amylase, trypsin, and alkaline protease were clearly higher in the fed groups (ANOVA, p<0.05). Apparently, it was observed that feeding is effective for the postlarvae of shrimp, which shows a characteristic fast metabolism and larval development, during the acclimation period to low salinity.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.266-273
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• 2019

Heavy metal contamination in freshwater ecosystem has been receiving increased worldwide attention due to their direct or indirect effect on human health and aquatic organisms. In this study, we investigated biological effects such as survival rate, growth rate, emergence rate, sex ratio and mouthpart deformity of Chironomus plumosus. The survival rate of C. plumosus decreased with the increase in heavy metal concentration as well as exposure time after cadmium (Cd) or zinc (Zn) exposure. The growth rate decreased at days 4 and 7 after Cd exposure and significantly reduced at the relatively high concentration of $50mg\;L^{-1}$ Cd. The emergence rate was decreased at $50mg\;L^{-1}$ Cd and $100mg\;L^{-1}$ Zn. The sex ratio showed imbalance pattern at relatively low concentrations (0.5 and $2mg\;L^{-1}$ Cd) with high proportion of male and relatively high concentration ($100mg\;L^{-1}$ Zn) with high proportion of female (60%). In addition, mentum deformities were observed at high concentration of Cd and Zn. These results suggest that heavy metal exposure in aquatic ecosystem may affect biological and morphological responses, and aquatic midge C. plumosus is a potential indicator for assessment of environmental pollutant such as heavy metals.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.509-513
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• 2019

The Beer-Lambert law states that absorbance is proportional to the concentration of a solute in a solution at a given wavelength. This linearity works for an ideal or a 'sufficiently diluted' solution, so this linearity is often used as a criterion for the fidelity of the absorbance value measured. In this study, we used a chlorophyll (Chl) solution, isolated from rice leaves with 80% acetone to test the use of the Chl a/b ratio as an additional criterion for checking the fidelity of measured values using four different absorption spectrophotometers: Cary4E, UV-1650PC, Versamax (a microplate reader), and NanoDrop 1,000(which can handle a $4{\mu}l$ aliquot). We used Chl solutions of varying concentrations from $0.2{\mu}g/ml$ to $200{\mu}g/ml$ to measure absorbance values at 645 nm and 663 nm and checked the linearity first. The results indicated that the range of Chl concentrations that we can rely on based on the linearity was similar to the range in which the calculated Chl concentrations based on the measured absorbance values agreed with the known concentrations. However, some border cases or cases with very low Chl concentrations inside the fidelity range of Chl concentrations did not agree with the criterion that the Chl a/b ratio should not change after dilution of the Chl in the solution. These results suggest that the Chl a/b ratio is a better criterion for the reliability of the absorbance values measured for the determination of chlorophyll concentration than the criterion based on the linearity suggested by the Beer-Lambert law.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.94-100
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• 2020

Objectives Amyloid β positron emission tomography (Aβ PET) is widely used as a diagnostic tool in patients who have symptoms of cognitive impairment, however, this diagnostic examination is too expensive. Thus, predicting the positivity of Aβ PET before patients undergo the examination is essential. We aimed to analyze clinical predictors of patients who underwent Aβ PET retrospectively, and to develop a predicting model of Aβ PET positivity. Methods 468 patients who underwent Aβ PET with cognitive impairment were recruited and their clinical indicators were analyzed retrospectively. We specified the primary outcome as Aβ PET positivity, and included variables such as age, sex, body mass index, diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, education, dementia family history, Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE), Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Box (CDR-SB), hypertension (HTN), diabetes mellitus (DM) and presence of apolipoprotein E (ApoE) E4 as potential predictors. We developed three final models of amyloid positivity prediction for total subjects, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia using a multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed and the area under curve (AUC) value was calculated for the ROC curve. Results Aβ PET negative patients were 49.6% (n = 232), and Aβ PET positive patients were 50.4% (n = 236). In the final model of all subjects, older age, female sex, presence of ApoE E4 and lower MMSE are associated with Aβ PET positivity. The AUC value was 0.296. In the final model of MCI subjects (n = 244), older age and presence of ApoE E4 are associated with Aβ PET positivity. The AUC value was 0.725. In the final model of AD subjects (n = 173), lower MMSE scores, the presence of ApoE E4 and history of HTN are associated with Aβ PET positivity. The AUC value was 0.681. Conclusions The cerebral amyloid positivity model, which was based on commonly available clinical indicators, can be useful for prediction of amyloid PET positivity in MCI or AD patients.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2023

Understanding the light environment in greenhouse cultivation and the light utilization characteristics of crops is important in the study of photosynthesis and transpiration. Also, as the plant grows, the form of light utilization changes. Therefore, this study aims to develop a light extinction coefficient model reflecting the plant growth. To measure the extinction coefficient, five pyranometers were installed vertically according to the height of the plant, and the light intensity by height was collected every second during the entire growing season. According to each growth stage in the early, middle, and late stages, the difference between the top and bottom light intensity tended to increase to 69%, 72%, and 81%. When leaf area index and plant height increased, the extinction coefficient decreased, and it showed an exponential decay relationship. Three-dimensional model reflecting the two growth indexes, the paraboloid had the lowest RMSE of 1.340 and the highest regression constant of 0.968. Through this study, it was possible to predict the more precise light extinction coefficient during the growing period of plants. Furthermore, it is judged that this can be utilized for predicting and analyzing photosynthesis and transpiration according to the plant height.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.341-351
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• 2022

Among various environmental stresses, humid stress lacks mechanisms and biochemical understanding compared to drought, low temperature, and high salt stresses. The aim of this study was to investigate enzyme activity of field crops under humidity stress. Results of this study could be used as basic data for understanding humidity stress and early diagnosis. Growth and enzyme activities of sesame, perilla, red beans, sorghum, and beans as major field crops in Korea when flooded were investigated. It was confirmed that growths of both shoots and roots were retarded. In plants, anaerobic fermentation occurred due to flooding stress, which increased the activity of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) compared to the control group. Increases of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were also observed. All flooded plants showed increased peroxidase (POD) activity and lipid peroxidation. Their dyeing strength was darker than that of the control group, even in 3,3'-diaminobenzidine (DAB) staining. Since enzyme activity changes in plants appear relatively faster than changes in phenotype at the ground level, they could be used as biomarkers for early diagnosis of humidity stress in crops.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.651-659
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• 2022

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of different water temperatures (8, 11, 14 and 17℃) on growth, survival and hematological parameters of juvenile chum salmon(Oncorhynchus keta) for eight weeks. At the end of the experiment, at 14℃, the final body weights of the O. keta group were the highest compared to the other groups. Also, the O. keta showed a higher tendency in the 14℃ group than the 8, 11, and 17℃ groups in terms of growth performances, including specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR), feed efficiency (FE), weight gain (WG), and condition factor (CF). The survival rate (SR) was 100% at 8 and 11℃ groups, 96% at 14℃ group and 98% at 17℃ group. In the plasma components, the alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was significantly decreased at 17℃ group, whereas there was no significant change in the albumin (ALB), total protein (TP), sodium (Na⁺), potassium (K⁺) and chloride (Cl^-) levels. Among the whole-body composition of salmon, moisture, crude protein, and ash were not significantly affected by water temperature. However, crude lipid in the 8℃ group was significantly higher than in other water temperature groups. The results of this study demonstrated that the optimal temperature to stable growth performance for juvenile O. keta was 14℃.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.556-566
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• 2022

The temperature-dependent development of Poinsettia thrips, Echinothrips americanus was studied at eight constant temperatures (15.0, 17.5, 20.0, 22.5, 25.0, 27.5, 30.0, and 32.5±1℃), 65±5% RH and photoperiod of 16L:8D conditions. The developmental stages were divided into egg, 1st instar, 2nd instar, pre-pupa, pupa, and adult. The total developmental time in the immature stage was 40.4 days at 15.0℃ and 11.6 days at 30.0℃, and it decreased with increasing temperature. The lowest temperature of the whole immature period was 10.7℃, and the cumulative temperature to complete the entire immature period was 217.4 degree days. The optimal development temperature (T_opt) for the whole immature stage was estimated to be in the range of 30.51-31.21℃. T_opt for each immature stage was 31.64-35.47℃ at egg, 30.02-33.08℃ at 1st instar, 29.16-34.43℃ at 2nd instar, 27.63-29.21℃ at pre-pupa, and 29.81-30.12℃ at pupa. In the analysis of the six non-linear models, Logan 6 model was the most appropriate as Zi(Weighting Factors) was 0.18.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.337-345
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• 2023

Monitoring river microplastics is a challenging task since it is a time-consuming and high-cost process. The use of a physical model to have a better understanding of river microplastics' behaviors can complement the challenging monitoring process. However, there have been very limited studies on modeling river microplastics. In this study, therefore, we evaluated the applicability of one commonly used river water quality model, i.e., the Water Quality Analysis Simulation Program (WASP), in simulating the microplastic concentration in the river environment. We simulated the microplastic concentration in the Anyangcheon stream using the WASP's biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and suspended solid (SS) variables as possible surrogate variables for the microplastics. Simulation analyses indicate that the SS state variable performs better than the BOD state variable to mimic the observed concentrations of microplastics. This is because of the characteristics of each water quality parameter; the BOD variable, a biochemical indicator, is inappropriate for modeling the behaviors of microplastics, which have generally constant biochemical features. In contrast, the SS variable, which has similar physical behaviors, followed the observed patterns of the microplastic concentrations well. To build a more advanced and accurate model for simulating the microplastic concentration, comprehensive and long-term monitoring studies of the river microplastics under different environmental conditions are needed, and the unit of microplastic concentration should be carefully addressed before its modeling application.