• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.332-337
• /
• 1996

Purpose : It has been known that the activity of extracellular matrix degradative enzymes such as collagenase correlate well with the metastatic potential of various tumor cells in experimental study. This study was aimed at comparing the activities of type IV collagenase with bone scan findings in patients with breast cancer. Materials and Methods : We retrospectively correlated bone scan findings with the results of immunohistochemical staining for 92kDa, 72kDa type IV collagenase in 28, and 30 patients with metastatic breast cancer, respectively, as well as 23, and 27 patients with primary breast cancer, respectively. The immunohistochemical staining was performed with tissue specimens obtained from primary or metastatic breast tumor lesions. The amounts of the enzyme were graded from 0 to 4 and scored by multiplication with the percentage of tumor cells. The confidence of bone scan interpretation for metastasis was also scored from 1 to 5 with increasing probability. Results : There was a significant difference in enzyme scores between patients with and without metastasis. In patients with primary breast cancer group, the frequency of patients with enzyme score of less than 170 were 96%(26/27) and 100%(26/26) with 92kDa and 72kDa collagenase, respectively. In contrast, in patients with metastatic breast cancer group, the frequency of patients with enzyme score of more than 200 were 93%(28/30) and 87%(26/30) with 92kDa and 72kDa collagenase, respectively. All patients with each enzyme score of less than 170 show no active bony metastasis, however, there were variable bone scan findings in patients with each enzyme score of more than 200. Conclusion : Bone scan is useful to confirm, localize or follow up of bony metastasis in patients with each enzyme scores of more than 200. Acitve metastatic lesions were hardly seen on the bone scintigraphy in patients with collagenase scores of less than 170.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.41 no.4
• /
• pp.449-455
• /
• 2013

Human skin is constantly exposed to environmental conditions such as UV rays, polluted air, and chemical products. UV rays, in particular, affect skin in many ways causing wrinkles, fine wrinkles, rough skin, and xeroderma through a skin aging process. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-wrinkling effect of Juniperus rigida Sieb., derived from a common cedar tree found the world over. Measuring the elastase to investigate wrinkling efficacy, it was shown that at a concentration level of $1,000{\mu}g/ml$ of the two extracts, the water extract exhibited a lower than 10% inhibition activity, while the ethanol extract exhibited a 68.5% inhibition activity. Collagenase inhibition activity in the water extract and ethanol extract were 44.9% in the former and 97.2% in the latter extract, which in the case of the ethanol extract, is similar to ascorbic acid (99.6%). Moreover, measuring the biosynthesis of collagen by fibroblast, a concentration level of $50{\mu}g/ml$ of ethanol extract produced 151.52% of biosynthetic promotion, proving that the ethanol extract acts as a superb anti-wrinkling agent. The result of an investigation conducted on the influence of the ethanol extract on MMP-1 caused by UVA showed that at a concentration level of $1,00{\mu}g/ml$ of the ethanol extract of J. rigida Sieb a 67.1% inhibition activity was noted. At a concentration level of $50{\mu}g/ml$ of the ethanol extract of J. rigida Sieb a 35% and 39% inhibition ratio to MMP-1 protein and mRNA were observed respectively, thereby restraining the appearance of the collagen breakdown enzyme MMP-1 and wrinkle creation by skin photo-aging.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.52 no.2
• /
• pp.266-271
• /
• 2014

The effects of antioxidants on the properties of Polycarbonate/Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene(PC/ABS) blends were studied for the functions of the screw speed and loaded duration of high shear rate processing in order to investigate the degradation for PC/ABS blends. Tris-(2,4-di-tert-butyl-phenyl phosphate) (A1) and Bis(2,4-dicumylphenyl) pentaerythritol diphosphite (A3) as phosphite antioxidants and Octadecyl 3-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate (A2) as a phenolic antioxidant are used. The thermal properties were detected by TGA and severely decreased, after the processing. The stress-induced and thermal degradation for PC/ABS blends with the antioxidant A3 was retarded better than the others. By using UTM, the mechanical properties also showed individually decreased according to the antioxidants, after the processing, especially, the elongations showed considerable decline behaviors, while the tensile strengths of PC/ABS blends changed very little. For example, in the operating conditions of 1000rpm of screw speed and 20 seconds of loaded period, the elongations decreased from 148% before the processing, to 91.6% with the A1, to 63% with the A2 and to 131% with the A3 after the processing, respectively. In order to get the morphological properties, the size distributions of the dispersed phases for PC/ABS were investigated by SEM analysis and tended to decrease, as the screw speed and loaded period of the processing increased. Therefore, we confirmed that the antioxidant A3 was the best of all of three to inhibit the stress-induced degradation of PC/ABS blends during the high shear rate processing.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.52 no.6
• /
• pp.608-615
• /
• 2002

Background : ADA is an enzyme found in most cells, and is involved in purine metabolism, but its chief role concerns the proliferation and differentiation of lymphocytes, especially T-lymphocytes. For that reason ADA has been looked on as a marker of cell-mediate immunity, which is the key mechanism of the tuberculous pleural effusion. Thus, the pleural fluid ADA activity is increased in the tuberculous pleural effusion. Age associated immune decline is characterized by decreases in both B and T-lymphocyte function and the former may be largely a result of the latter. Therefore, the pleural fluid ADA activity would be lower in old rather than in young, patients with tuberculous pleural effusion. We studied the relationship between age, and pleural fluid ADA activity, in patients with tuberculous pleural effusion. Materials and Methods : In the 46 patients with tuberculous pleural effusion enroll in this study, the pleural fluid ADA activities were measured by means of an automated kinetic method. Results : The mean age of the patients was $53.0{\pm}22.0$ years, with a male to female ratio of 30:16. The patients were divided into two groups, young patients, regarded as < 65 and old regarded as ${\geq}65$ years with 28 and 18 patients, respectively. The pleural fluid ADA activity in both groups show significant differences : $99.4{\pm}22.6$ IU/L(young patients) Vs. $75.8{\pm}30.9$ IU/L(old patients)(p<0.05), but a negative correlation with age (r=-0.311, p<0.05). Conclusion : Although pleural fluid ADA activity was not adequately increased, tuberculous pleural effusion, in older patients, would have to be considered clinically suspicious tuberculous pleural effusion.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
• /
• v.6 no.1
• /
• pp.41-47
• /
• 1988

Thirty-five patients with locally advanced gastric carcinoma were treated with combined modalities of external radiation therapy (RT) and 5-FU based chemotherapy at the Division of Radiation Therapy, Department of Radiology, Kangnam 51. Mary's Hospital, Catholic University Medical College from May 1983 to May 1987. The purpose of this retrospective study is for the evaluation of the palliative response to RT. There were 25 men and 10 women. The age ranged from 38 to 80 years (median: 56 years). The pathologic classification showed $14(40\%)$ poorly differentiated, $12 (34\%)$ moderately differentiated, $3(9\%)$ well differentiated adenocarcinomas, 2 mucinous cystadenocarcinomas, 1 signet ring cell and 3 not specified ones. The time intervals from the initial surgicopathologic diagnosis to the starting day of RT was within 1 year for $18 (51\%)$, 1 to 2 years for $8 (23\%)$ and 2 to 3 years for $5 (14\%)$, respectively. The major symptoms to be treated were pain in $30 (80\%)$, mass for $29 (83\%)$, obstruction for $11 (31\%)$ and jaundice for $9 (20\%)$ patients. The response rate (patient number of positive response/total patient number) according to treated radiation doses were observed as follows; $14/16(88\%)$ for $40\~50Gy,\;8/10(80\%)$ for over $50Gy,6/8 (75\%)\;for\;30\~40Gy\;and\;8/10(53\%)\;for\;20\~30 Gy$ in decreasing order. The over ail survival was 3.0 months and that of 5FU+RT, FAM+RT and RT alone groups were 4.6 months, 3.7 months and 2.5 months respectively. Complications induced by RT were nausea and vomiting in $16(46\%)$, diarrhea in $7(20\%)$, leukopenia in $6(17\%)$ and anemia and intercurrent pneumonia in each $3(9\%)$ patients in decreasing order.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.625-639
• /
• 2019

Microplastics are one of the substances threatening the marine ecosystem. Here, we summarize the status of research on the effect of microplastics on marine life and suggest future research directions. Microplastics are synthetic polymeric compounds smaller than 5 mm and these materials released into the environment are not only physically small but do not decompose over time. Thus, they accumulate extensively on land, from the coast to the sea, and from the surface to the deep sea. Microplastic can be ingested and accumulated in marine life. Furthermore, the elution of chemicals added to plastic represents another risk. Microplastics accumulated in the ocean affect the growth, development, behavior, reproduction, and death of marine life. However, the properties of microplastics vary widely in size, material, shape, and other aspects and toxicity tests conducted on several properties of microplastics cannot represent the hazards of all other microplastics. It is necessary to evaluate the risks according to the types of microplastic, but due to their variety and the lack of uniformity in research results, it is difficult to compare and analyze the results of previous studies. Therefore, it is necessary to derive a standard test method to estimate the biological risk from different types of microplastics. In addition, while most of the previous studies were conducted mostly on spheres for the convenience of the experiments, they do not properly reflect the reality that fibers and fragments are the main forms of microplastics in the marine environment and in fish and shellfish. Furthermore, studies have been conducted on additives and POPs (persistent organic pollutants) in plastics, but little is known about their toxic effects on the body. The effects of microplastics on the marine ecosystems and humans could be identified in more detail if standard testing methods are developed, microplastics in the form of fibers and fragments rather than spheres are tested, and additives and POPs are analyzed. These investigations will allow us to identify the impact of microplastics on marine ecosystems and humans in more detail.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.202-210
• /
• 2017

As an effort to find a potential biopreservative, we isolated bacterial strains producing bacteriocin from fermented foods. A strain was finally selected and characteristics of the bacteriocin were investigated. The selected strain was identified as Bacillus subtilis E9-1 based on the 16S rRNA gene analysis. The culture supernatant of B. subtilis E9-1 showed antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria. Subtilisin A, ${\alpha}$-chymotrypsin, trypsin and proteinase K inactivated the antimicrobial activity, which means its proteinaceous nature, a bacteriocin. The bacteriocin activity was fully retained at the pH range from 2.0 to 8.0 and stable at up to $100^{\circ}C$ for 60 min. Solvents such as ethanol, isopropanol and methanol had no effect on the antimicrobial activity at the concentration of 100% but acetone and acetonitrile reduced the activity at up to 100% concentration. Cell growth of four indicator strains was dramatically decreased in dose-dependent manner. Listeria monocytogenes was the most sensitive, but Enterococcus faecium was the most resistant. Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus showed the medium sensitivity. The bacteriocin showed its antimicrobial activity against B. cereus and L. monocytogenes via bactericidal action. The number of viable cells of L. monocytogenes started to reduce after addition of bacteriocin to the minced beef. The bacteriocin was purified through acetone concentration, gel filtration chromatography and RP-HPLC. The whole purification step led to a 6.82 fold increase in the specific activity and 6% yield of bacteriocin activity. The molecular weight of the purified bacteriocin was determined to be 3.3 kDa by MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.43 no.1
• /
• pp.146-152
• /
• 2005

The activated carbon was produced from Sancheong bamboo by carbon dioxide gas activation methods. The carbonization of raw material was conducted at $900^{\circ}C$, and $CO_2$ activation reactions were conducted under various conditions: activation temperatures of $750-900^{\circ}C$, flow rates of carbon dioxide $5-30cm^3/g-char{\cdot}min$, and activation time of 2-5 h. The yield, adsorption capacity of iodine and methylene blue, specific surface area and pore size distribution of the prepared activated carbons were measured. The adsorption capacity of iodine (680.8-1450.1 mg/g) and methylene blue (23.5-220 mg/g) increased with increasing activation temperature and activation time. The adsorption capacity of iodine and methylene blue increased with the $CO_2$ gas quantity in the range of $5-18.9cm^3/g-char{\cdot}min$. But those decreased over those range due to the pore shrinkage. The specific volume of the mesopore and macropore of bamboo activated carbon were $0.65-0.91cm^3/g$. Because of this large specific volume, it can be used to the biological activated carbon process. Bamboo activated carbon phisically adsorbed the $CO_2$ of maximum 106 mg/g-A.C in the condition of 90% $CO_2$ and adsorption temperature of $20^{\circ}C$. The $CO_2$ adsorption ability of bamboo activated carbon was not changed in the 5 cyclic test of desorption and adsorption.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.202-218
• /
• 1976

In this experiment American Summer Pairman apple was selected as test fruit in order to study the effect of sub-atmospheric pressure storage in the apple. keeping a certain pressure condition, a new sub-atmospheric pressure system was designed and constructed in which fruits were stored at $25^{\circ}C$ under two different atmospheric pressure conditions such as Normal Atmospheric Pressure (NAP) and Sub-Atmospheric Pressure (SAP). Moreover, they were divided into plots of 5% and 0% of $CO_2$, on the basis of gas composition. Under these conditions, the amount of respiration and ethylene evolution, and the changes of intercellular gas composition and organic components were investigated throughout the storage. The results obtained are as follows: (1) The intercellular gas was exhausted so rapidly by the SAP treatment that the gas equilibrium in the tissues reached within 5 minutes. (2) The amount of respiration was found to be higher in plots of NAP than SAP, and under the conditions, controlling $CO_2$ content, plots of $CO_2$ 5% were lower in the amount of respiration than $CO_2$ 0%. The climateric rise was revealed more slowly in plots of the SAP than NAP. These results indicate that the SAP treatment was an efficient method for controlling the respiration of fruits. Furthermore, these results were also realized with the results of the respiratory quotient (R.Q) and intercellular gas composition. (3) Evolution of ethylene, the ripening hormone in plant, was shown the similar tendency to the climacteric pattern of respiration; at the stage of climacteric maximum, the maximun amount of ethylene was found earlier in plots of NAP than SAP, and post climacteric stage was prolonged in the plots of the SAP compared to those of the NAP. The ethylene concentration in tissue appeared lower in plots of the SAP than NAP, which might suggest that the SAP treatment was caused to restriction of ethylene evolution. (4) Effects of the SAP treatment mentioned hitherto were proved also with the test of the external appearance such as changes of color and freshness, firmness, rotting and weight loss. (5) In the investigation of organic components, vitamin C and organic acids varied less in plots of SAP than NAP. Specially, it was remarkable that the loss of malic acid was least decreased by the SAP treatment. These effects of the SAP treatment were distinctive in the changes of the ratios of malic and citric acid to total acid, and the ratios of free sugar to free acid.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.45 no.6
• /
• pp.656-662
• /
• 2007

Fuel reformer using plasma and shift reactor for CO oxidation were designed and manufactured as $H_2$ supply device to operate a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). $H_2$ selectivity was increased by non-thermal plasma reformer using GlidArc discharge with Ni catalyst simultaneously. Shift reactor was consisted of steam generator, low temperature shifter, high temperature shifter and preferential oxidation reactor. Parametric screening studies of fuel reformer were conducted, in which there were the variations of the catalyst temperature, gas component ratio, total gas ratio and input power. and parametric screening studies of shift reactor were conducted, in which there were the variations of the air flow rate, stema flow rate and temperature. When the $O_2/C$ ratio was 0.64, total gas flow rate was 14.2 l/min, catalytic reactor temperature was $672^{\circ}C$ and input power 1.1 kJ/L, the production of $H_2$ was maximized 41.1%. And $CH_4$ conversion rate, $H_2$ yield and reformer energy density were 88.7%, 54% and 35.2% respectively. When the $O_2/C$ ratio was 0.3 in the PrOx reactor, steam flow ratio was 2.8 in the HTS, and temperature were 475, 314, 260, $235^{\circ}C$ in the HTS, LTS, PrOx, the conversion of CO was optimized conditions of shift reactor using simulated reformate gas. Preheat time of the reactor using plasma was 30 min, component of reformed gas from shift reactor were $H_2$ 38%, CO<10 ppm, $N_2$ 36%, $CO_2$ 21% and $CH_4$ 4%.