• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.311-319
• /
• 1997

Heavy metal-tolerant microorganisms, such as Pseudomonas putida, P. aeruginosa, P. chlororaphis and P. stutzeri which possessed the ability to accumulate cadmium, lead, zinc and copper, respectively, were isolated from industrial wastewaters and mine wasewaters polluted with various heavy metals. Metal binding sites in the cells were investigated by extracting the components of the cells through pretreatments with hot water, acid, alkli, chloroform-methanol or chloroform-methanol/concentrated alkali. The heavy metal accumulation was drastically decreased by pretreatment with alkali or chloroform-methanol/concentrated alkali, but the heavy metal accumulation was not changed by pretreatment with chloroform-methanol. The amount of heavy metal accumulation was remarkably decreased by decreasing crude protein remaining in the cell. These results suggested that proteins of cell components played an important role on the heavy metal accumulation.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.19-25
• /
• 2016

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Cadmium is a toxic metal that is an occupational and environmental concern especially because of its human carcinogenicity; it induces serious adverse effects in various organs and tissues. Even low levels of exposure to cadmium could be harmful owing to its extremely long half-life in the body. Cadmium intoxication may be prevented by the consumption of dietary components that potentially reduce its accumulation in the body. Dietary chitosan is a polysaccharide derived from animal sources; it has been known for its ability to bind to divalent cations including cadmium, in addition to other beneficial effects including hypocholesterolemic and anticancer effects. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the role of dietary chitosan in reducing cadmium accumulation using an in vivo system. MATERIALS/METHODS: Cadmium was administered orally at 2 mg (three times per week) to three groups of Sprague-Dawley rats: control, low-dose, and high-dose (0, 3, and 5%, respectively) chitosan diet groups for eight weeks. Cadmium accumulation, as well as tissue functional and histological changes, was determined. RESULTS: Compared to the control group, rats fed the chitosan diet showed significantly lower levels of cadmium in blood and tissues including the kidneys, liver, and femur. Biochemical analysis of liver function including the determination of aspartate aminotransferase and total bilirubin levels showed that dietary chitosan reduced hepatic tissue damage caused by cadmium intoxication and prevented the associated bone disorder. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that dietary chitosan has the potential to reduce cadmium accumulation in the body as well as protect liver function and bone health against cadmium intoxication.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2023.04a
• /
• pp.55-55
• /
• 2023

With the COVID-19 pandemic, there is increasing interest in anti-obesity strategies. According to the National Statistical Office, the obesity rate in Korea was 38.3% in 2020 and 37.1% in 2021. Obesity is a risk factor for several severe diseases, including stroke, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer. Pinus rigida × Pinus taeda is a hybrid of Pinus rigida Mill and Pinus taeda Linn, and its cones are considered a by-product. Although previous studies have investigated their pharmacological effects on antioxidant activity and protection against oxidative DNA damage, few researchers have explored their potential as functional natural materials. Therefore, we evaluated the anti-obesity effects of the cone of ethyl acetate fraction of P. rigida × P. taeda (ERT), specifically its ability to inhibit lipid accumulation. Our analysis showed that ERT contains phytochemicals (catechin and caffeic acid) which are known to improve immune function and inhibit cell damage. ERT inhibited lipid droplet accumulation at the cellular levels through Oil Red O staining. Furthermore, ERT suppressed the expression of adipogenic transcription factors (PPARγ and CEBP/α) as well as downstream lipogenic target genes (FAS and SREBP-1) thereby inhibiting adipogenesis. ERT also down-regulated key adipogenic markers, including aP2α, while inducing the phosphorylation of AMPK. It has been reported that PPARγ and CEBP/α are expressed in the early stages of adipose differentiation, while SREBP-1 is expressed in the late stage. Therefore, our findings suggest that ERT activates AMPK signaling pathways, which inhibits adipogenic transcription factors (PPARγ, C/EBPα, and SREBP1) and lipogenic genes (FAS and aP2α), thereby blocking lipid accumulation and preventing obesity and related disorders. ERT showed potential as a new resource for developing a functional material for anti-obesity agents.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.17 no.9
• /
• pp.34-44
• /
• 2016

This study is an experimental study about a facility for preventing the accumulation of floating debris at a bridge by flooding at a small river. Generally, structures installed at a small river are damaged frequently by floating debris during typhoons or localized rainfall events. On the other hand, there is no method available for preventing such damage. The facilities used in other countries to prevent such damage by the accumulation of floating debris include debris fins, deflectors, and sweeper. Among these facilities, the present study was conducted with a sweeper to investigate the damage-reducing capability through a real-scale accumulation experiment. A sweeper was installed in front of a bridge to bypass floating debris by self-rotation so that the floating debris may not be accumulate at the bridge. A small bridge model was prepared in a real-scale for the real-scale experiment. The accumulation reducing capability was compared through an accumulation experiment before and after the sweeper installation depending on the length of the debris and flow conditions. The result showed that the accumulation rate increased with increasing length of the debris or decreasing flow rate. The installation of a sweeper decreased the debris accumulation rate by a minimum of 55% to a maximum of 88% compared to the case without an installed sweeper. The result of the present study showed that the installation of a sweeper at a small river having a high potential of generating floating debris may help secure the stability of a bridge in the case of floating debris accumulation.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.58 no.1
• /
• pp.75-79
• /
• 2015

Extracted mushroom water showed an ability to suppress the accumulation of body fat in female mice after feeding 5 weeks with high fat diet. Particularly, in parametrial and mesenteric adipose, it significantly reduced 44 and 47% of weight, respectively. In non-obese mice, maturated NK cell ($CD11b^{hi}CD27^{lo}$) population were increased ($70.9{\pm}3.8%$) in mushroom water fed mice compared to control ($61.4{\pm}4.3%$) and NK cell population were augmented in mushroom fed mice compared to control.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.5 no.3
• /
• pp.317-327
• /
• 1996

This study was performed to develop the biological treatment technology of wastewater polluted with heavy metals. Zinc-tolerant microorganism, such as Pseudomonas chlororaphis which possessed the ability to accumulate zinc, was isolated from industrial wastewaters polluted with various heavy metals. The characteristics of zinc accumulation in the cells, recovery of the zinc from the cells accumulating zinc, were investigated. Removal rate of zinc from the solution containing 100 mall of Zinc by zinc-tolerant microorganism was more than 90% at 48 hours after inoiulation of the microorganisms. A large number of the electron-dense granules were found mainly on thIn cell wall and membrane fractions, when determined by transmission electron microscope. Energy dispersive X- ray spectroscopy revealed that the electron-dense granules were zinc complex with the substances binding Heavy metals. The zinc accumulated into cells was not desorbed by distilled water, but more than 80% of the zinc accumulated was desorbed by 0.1M-EDTA. The residues of the cells after combustion at 55$0^{\circ}C$ amounted to about 21% of the dry weight of the cells. EDS analysis showed that the residues were comparatively pure zinc compounds containing more than 79% of zinc.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.496-502
• /
• 2013

Grapes (Vitis vinifera) are one of the most important fruits worldwide and are eaten raw or after conversion to jelly, jam, juice and wine. Grape skins are a major source of resveratrol (3,5,4'-trihydroxystilbene), which has the ability to reduce blood sugar as well as anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and other beneficial cardiovascular effects. In this study, we investigated the increased accumulation of resveratrol in grape skin and leaves following ultrasonication treatment, which has been shown to induce resveratrol accumulation in several plants. Various ultrasonication treatment times and incubation periods were employed to identify the optimum conditions for the maximum accumulation of resveratrol. Treatment and further incubation led to increased resveratrol in both grape skins and leaves, with the highest increases of 7.7-fold and 1.9-fold occurring in response to 5 min ultrasonication treatment followed by 6 hour incubation and 15 min ultrasonication treatment followed by 3 hour incubation, respectively. The underlying mechanism for the increased amounts of resveratrol were studied by employing a semi-quantitative RT-PCR to monitor the expression levels of the resveratrol synthase (RS) gene in response to ultrasonication treatment. The RS gene increased the expression in response to ultrasonication treatment, suggesting that up-regulation of the RS gene by ultrasonication treatment triggers increased amounts of resveratrol. Taken together, these data indicate that this simple ultrasonication treatment of grapes can be an efficient post-harvest technology for increasing resveratrol in grape skins in addition to cleaning the fruits.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.33-37
• /
• 1986

It is well known that $^{99m}Tc-sulfur$ colloid or phytate hepatic scintigraphy is highly sensitive but not specific. Both $^{99m}Tc-DISIDA$ and bilirubin have been shown to share the same anionic transport pathway in the liver. Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) retains the ability to produce bile but has marked limitation to excreting it resulting in accumulation of bile within the tumor cells. Based upon such a fact, $^{99m}Tc-DISIDA$ hepatobiliary scintigraphy is used for the diagnosis of HCC. The present communication deals with our experience of DISIDA scintigraphic exploration of 9 cases of HCC in a retrospective way. We have made an observation on intensity of positive radio nuclide accumulation in the cold area of HCC as it is demonstrated by phytate scintigraphy. In addition we have semi quantitatively analyzed time-activity pattern and the following results were obtained. (1) All of 9 cases showed an increased uptake of $^{99m}Tc-DISIDA$ in delayed scintigrams. Of these 5 cases showed accumulation less than, 3 equal to, 1 more than the surrounding liver tissue. (2) The mean of the first appearing time of $^{99m}Tc-DISIDA$ activity in tumoral region was 2 hours and 20 minutes. (3) DISIDA scintigraphy provides us with positive informations of diagnostic value.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.45 no.10
• /
• pp.565-570
• /
• 2012

We recently reported that a water extract of laurel or turmeric, 1,8-cineole enriched fractions, showed hypolipidemic activity in the zebrafish model. Therefore, the present study investigated the cineole's anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities in lipoprotein metabolism in vitro and in vivo. Cineole had inhibitory effects on cupric ion-mediated oxidation of lipoproteins in general, while simultaneously enhancing ferric ion removal ability in high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Hypercholesterolemia was induced in zebrafish using cholesterol-feeding treatment, 4% cholesterol, for 3 weeks. After feeding with or without the addition of cineole, the results revealed that cineole possessed lipid-lowering and anti-inflammatory activities in hypercholesterolemic zebrafish. In addition, serum amyloid A and interleukin-6 levels were lowered and lipid accumulation was decreased in the liver. Conclusively, 1,8-cineole was found to have anti-oxidant activities in lipoprotein metabolism both in vitro and in vivo with simultaneous reduction of lipid accumulation in the liver of zebrafish.

• Korean Management Science Review
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.87-113
• /
• 2006

This paper describes a comprehensive approach to examine how technological innovation contributes to the renewal of the firm's competences through its dynamic and reciprocal relationship with R&D and product commercialization. Three theories of technology and innovation (R&D and technological knowledge concept, product-process concept, technological interdependence concept) are used to relate technology and innovation to strategic management. Based on those theories, this paper attempts to identify dynamic relationship between product innovation and process innovation by system dynamics, by investigating the aspect of the dynamic changes of the closed feedback circulation structure in which R&D investments drive technological knowledge accumulation, and such knowledge accumulation actualizes product innovation and process innovation, subsequently resulting in the increase of productivity, customer satisfaction, profit generation, and re-investment on R&D from the created profits. This provides the ability to assess the advantages and disadvantages of different technological innovation strategies and commitments, and the opportunity to explore equilibrium point and suggest a generalized technological innovation model under different industry environment parameters and time-strategies.