• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.62 no.2
• /
• pp.113-118
• /
• 2007

Background: Paraquat is known to induce oxidant injury that results in multiorgan failure and lung fibrosis. Iron has been considered to play a key role in paraquat-induced oxidant lung injury. This study examined the effect of deferoxamine, an iron-chelating agent, in the treatment of paraquat poisoning. Methods: From September, 2001 to April, 2005, 28 patients with paraquat poisoning who were admitted at a medical intensive care unit of a University-affiliated hospital, were enrolled in this study. Sixteen patients were treated according to the paraquat poisoning treatment guidelines and 12 received an intravenous infusion of deferoxamine in addition to the treatment guidelines. Results: There were no differences between the two groups in terms of age, gender, severity of paraquat poisoning, and the time elapsed from ingestion to presentation at hospital. There was no difference in overall mortality between the two groups but the incidence of respiratory failure in the deferoxamine group was higher than in the conventional group(4/7 versus 0/9, p=0.019). Conclusion: Deferoxamine seems to have no clinical benefit compared with the conventional treatment.

• Food Science and Preservation
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.442-458
• /
• 2011

Among Cucubitaceae, melon (Cucumis melo) is one of the most diversified fruits, with various forms, sizes, pulps, and peel colors, In addition, it is a commercially important crop because of its high sweetness, deep flavor, and abundant juice. In the species, there are both climacteric and non-climacteric melons depending on the respiration and ethylene production patterns after harvest. Ethylene is also considered a crucial hormone for determining sex expression, Phytohormones other than ethylene interact and regulate ripening, There are some indices that can be used to evaluate the optimum harvest maturity. The harvest time can be estimated after the pollination time, which is the most commonly used method of determining the harvest maturity of the fruit. Besides the physiological aspects, the biochemical alterations, including those of sweetness, firmness, flavor, color, and rind, contribute to the overall fruit quality. These changes can be categorized based on the ethylene-dependent and ethylene-independent phenomena due to the ethylene-suppressed transgenic melon. After harvest, the fruits are precooled to $10^{\circ}C$ to reduce the field heat, after which they are sized and packed. The fruits can be treated with hot water ($60^{\circ}C$ for 60 min) to prevent the softening of the enzyme activity and microorganisms, and with calcium to maintain their firmness. 1-methylenecyclopropene (1-MCP) treatment also maintains their storability by inhibiting respiration and ethylene production. The shelf life of melon is very short even under cold storage, like other cucurbits, and it is prone to obtaining chilling injury under $10^{\circ}C$. In South Korea, low-temperature ($10^{\circ}C$) storage is known to be the best storage condition for the fruit. For long-time transport, CA storage is a good method of maintaining the quality of the fruit by reducing the respiration and ethylene. For fresh-cut processing, washing with a sanitizing agent and packing with plastic-film processing are needed, and low-temperature storage is necessary. The consumer need and demand for fresh-cut melon are growing, but preserving the quality of fresh-cut melon is more challenging than preserving the quality of the whole fruit.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
• /
• v.37 no.6
• /
• pp.505-516
• /
• 2009

The effects of wood species, particle size of wood flours and coupling treatment on the mechanical properties of wood plastic composites (WPC) are investigated in this study. Chemical components of wood flour from 3 different wood species were analyzed by the chemical analysis. Wood flours of 40~60 mesh and 80~100 mesh were manufactured from Larix (Larix kaempferi Lamb.), Quercus (Quercus accutisima Carr.), and Maackia (Maackia amuresis Rupr. et Maxim). The wood flours were reinforced into polypropylene (PP) by melt compounding and injection molding, then tensile, flexural, and impact strength properties were analyzed. The order of alpha-cellulose content in wood is Quercus (43.6%), Maackia (41.3%) and Larix (36.2%). The order of lignin content in wood is Larix (31.6%), Maackia (24.7%), and Quercus accutisima (24.4%). The content of extractives in wood is in the order of Larix (8.5%), Maackia (4.4%), and Quercus accutisima (3.9%). As the content of alpha-cellulose increases and the lignin and extractives decreases, tensile and flexural strengths of the WPC increase. At the same loading level of wood flours, the smaller particle size (80~100 mesh) of wood flours showed highly improved tensile and flexural strengths, compared to the larger one (40~60 mesh). The impact strength of the WPC was not significantly affected by the wood species, but the wood flours of larger particle size showed better impact strengths. The addition of maleated polypropylene (MAPP) provided the highly improved tensile, flexural and impact strengths. Morphological analysis shows improved interfacial bonding with MAPP treatment for the composites.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
• /
• 2007.11a
• /
• pp.79-92
• /
• 2007

Oxidative stress have known to be a risk factor for the degenerative processes and closely related to a lot of diseases. It is well established that antioxidants are good in protection and therapeutic means against oxidative damage. There is increasing interest in natural antioxidants and many natural antioxidants have been found and utilized as the possible protection for various diseases and skin aging. We have screened natural antioxidant agents for cosmeceuticals, nutraceuticals, and drugs as therapeutic and preventive means against oxidative stress, and have developed a number of novel antioxidants from various natural sources. A novel melanin synthesis inhibitor, Melanocin A, isolated from the metabolite of a fungal strain Eupenicillium shearii F80695 inhibited mushroom tyrosinase and melanin biosynthesis of B16 melanoma cells with $IC_{50}$ value of 9.0 nM and MIC value of $0.9\;{\mu}M$, respectively. Melanocin A also exhibited potent antioxidant activity by scavenging of DPPH and superoxide anion radicals. UV was found to increase the level of hydrogen peroxides and other reactive oxygen species (ROS) in skin tissues. This increase in ROS may not only alter the structure and function of many genes and proteins directly but may also modulate their expressions through signal transduction pathways and, ultimately, lead to skin damage. We investigated the effect of Melanocin A on UV-induced premature skin aging. Firstly, the effect of Melanocin A on UV-induced matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 expression in an immortalized human keratinocyte cell line, HaCaT in vitro was investigated. Acute UV irradiation induced MMP-9 expression at both the mRNA and protein levels and Melanocin A suppressed this expression in a dose-dependent manner. We then investigated UV-induced skin changes in hairless mice in vivo by Melanocin A. Chronic exposure of hairless mouse dorsal skin to UV increased skin thickness and induced wrinkle formation and the gelatinase activities of MMP-2 and MMP-9. Moreover, Melanocin A significantly suppressed UV-induced morphologic skin changes and MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression. These results show that Melanocin A can prevent the harmful effects of UV that lead to skin aging. Therefore, we suggest that Melanocin A should be viewed as a potential therapeutic agent for preventing and/or treating premature skin aging. Terrein is a bioactive fungal metabolite isolated from Penicillium species. Terrein has a relatively simple structure and can be easily synthesized. However, the biologic effects of terrein are comparatively unknown. We found for the first time that terrein potently inhibit melanin production in melanocytes and has a strong hypopigmentary effect in a spontaneously immortalized mouse melanocyte cell line, Mel-Ab. Treatment of Mel-Ab cells with terrein (10-100 mM) for 4 days significantly reduced melanin levels in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, terrein at the same concentration also reduced tyrosinase activity. We then investigated whether terrein influences the extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) pathway and the expression of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), which is required for tyrosinase expression. Terrein was found to induce sustained ERK activation and MITF down-regulation, and luciferase assays showed that terrein inhibits MITF promoter activity in a dose-dependent manner. To elucidate the correlation between ERK pathway activation and a decreased MITF transcriptional level, PD98059, a specific inhibitor of the ERK pathway, was applied before terrain treatment and found to abrogate the terrein-induced MITF attenuation. Terrein also reduced the tyrosinase protein level for at least 72 h. These results suggest that terrain reduces melanin synthesis by reducing tyrosinase production via ERK activation, and that this is followed by MITF down-regulation.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
• /
• v.34 no.4
• /
• pp.344-352
• /
• 2000

Purpose: Re-188-Hydroxyethylidene diphosphonate (HEDP) is a new cost-effective agent for systemic radioisotope therapy of metastatic bone pain. We investigated the influence of carrier for labeling and biodistribution of Re-188-HEDP using HEDP kit with or without carrier ($KReO_4$). Materials and Methods: The kits (HEDP 15 mg, gentisic acid 4 mg and $SnCl_2.2H_2O_2$ 4.5 mg) with or without carrier ($KReO_4$ 0.1 mg) were labeled with Re-188 solution, made available from an in-house generator by boiling for 15 min. We compared the labeling efficiency and stability of carrier-added and carrier-free preparations of Re-188-HEDP Biodistribution and imaging studies of each preparation were performed in ICR mice ($1.85{\sim}3.7MBq/0.1ml$) and SD rats ($74.1{\sim}85.2MBq/0.5ml$). Results: The carrier-added preparation showed high labeling efficiency (95% at pH 5) and high stability in serum (88%, 3 hr). However, the carrier-free preparation showed low labeling efficiency (59% at pH 5) and low stability (43%, 3 hr). The carrier-added preparation showed high uptake in bone and low uptake in stomach and kidneys. However, the carrier-free preparation showed lower uptake in bone and higher uptake in both stomach and kidneys, which is supposed to be due to released perrhenate. The carrier-added preparation also showed better images with higher skeletal accumulation, lower uptake in other organs and lower soft tissue uptake than the carrier-free preparation. Conclusion: The results of these studies clearly demonstrate that addition of carrier perrhenate is required for high labeling efficiency, stability, bone uptake and good image quality of Re-188-HEDP.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.694-705
• /
• 2017

The aim of this study was to isolate and identify marine bacterium with anti-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) activity, and to purify the anti-MRSA compound, as well as to determine its activity and synergistic effects. Among the marine bacteria isolated in this study, the YJ-1 isolate had the strongest anti-MRSA activity. The YJ-1 isolate was identified on the basis of its biochemical characteristics and an analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences. The YJ-1 isolate showed over 99.2% homology with Pseudomonas stutzeri, and was designated as a Pseudomonas sp. YJ-1. The optimal culture conditions were $25^{\circ}C$ and initial pH 7.0. For the purification of the anti-MRSA compounds, the YJ-1 was cultured in Pa PES-II medium, and the culture filtrates were extracted by ethyl acetate, hexane, and 80% MeOH. The 80% MeOH fraction was separated by a $C_{18}$ ODS column, silica gel chromatography and a reverse phase HPLC, to yield three anti-MRSA agents, the MR1, MR2, and MR3 compounds. When the MR1 compound of $250{\mu}g\;mL^{-1}$ concentration was applied to the MRSA cells, over 95% of bacterial cells was killed within 48 hr. Compared with vancomycin and ampicillin, the MR1 compound showed significant anti-MRSA activity. In addition, the anti-MRSA activity was increased by dose and time dependent manners. Furthermore, the combination of an MR1 compound with vancomycin produced a more rapid decrease in the MRSA cells than did the MR1 compound alone. Taken together, our results suggest that the Pseudomonas sp. YJ-1 and its anti-MRSA compounds could be employed as a natural antibacterial agent in MRSA infections.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.56-74
• /
• 2017

The purpose of this study is to draw an implication regarding "Han-jeong-rok" as the proposal on modern lifestyle. This study classified the behavioral patterns pursued in "Han-jeong-rok" in addition to the 'psychological method of practice' and the 'practical method of practice' for the realization of such behavioral patterns pursued in conducting the study. The outcome of this study can be summed up as follows. The result of reviewing the mainstream modern lifestyle indicated that in the well-being craze, practical and selfish tendency were prominent and the side effect of distorted culture of consumerism were also evident. Lohas faced the limitations of lifestyle led by marketing. The slow movement can be differentiated in that it takes even immaterial aspects into consideration including the value of life and etc. However it faces the limitation of being led by community. In the healing craze, modern day people thirst for something that can heal them. All of these people have strong tendency of relying on the external factors for their personal health and well being, and it possesses a weak point in that it can easily be linked to commercial viability. Compared to the same, the implication that Heo Gyun can gain from "Han-jeong-rok" can be summed up as follows. First, "Han-jeong-rok" emphasizes the point that the agent of life is one's self. The modern lifestyle is practical and relies on the external factors, where as Heo Gyun emphasizes that it should start with a serious introspection of life itself. Second, it emphasizes the psychological aspects in leading a leisurely life. Starting with elegant scenic beauty to reading and sophisticated hobbies among others, it indicates that internal satisfaction can be gained and that self-contentment free from cares, is possible. Third, it proposes standardized 'psychological method of practice' and the 'practical method of practice' for the leisurely life. Materialistic and psychological balance is also emphasized in 'practical method of practice'. The limitations of this study is that it was not a clear comparison with "Han-jeong-rok" between contemporary lifestyle and it had stayed in a review study for implications. Furthermore, there is a need for additional study regarding the concept related to landscape and cases included in the "Han-jeong-rok".

• Resources Recycling
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.80-87
• /
• 2008

Cementation and solvent extraction processes were studied to separate nickel and iron ions from the $H_2SO_4$ leaching solution with 47 g/L $Fe(Fe^{2+}/Fe^{3+}=1.03),$, 23.5 g/L Ni and 0.90M $H_2SO_4$ which leached from Fe-Ni alloy. Iron powder was used as a reducing agent for the cementation of Ni ion from the leaching solution. The reduction percentage of Ni ion was $17{\sim}20%$ by adding 4 times stoichiometric amount of iron powder at $60{\sim}80$. This may result from the fact that the cementation of Ni ion occurred after the reduction of $Fe^{3+}$ to $Fe^{2+}$ and the neutralization of $H_2SO_4$ with iron powder. The cementation process was proved to be unfeasible for the separation/recovery of Ni ion from the leaching solution including $Fe^{3+}$ as a major component. $Fe^{2+}$ present in the leaching solution was converted to $Fe^{3+}$ for solvent extraction of Fe ion using D2EHPA in kerosene as a extractant. The oxidation of $Fe^{2+}$ to $Fe^{3+}$ was completed by the addition of 1.2 times stoichiometric amount of 35% $H_2SO_4$. 99.6% $Fe^{3+}$ was extracted from the leaching solution (23.5 g/L $Fe^{3+}$) by 4 stages cross-current extraction using 20 vol.% D2EHPA in kerosene. $NiSO_4$ solution with 98.5% purity was recovered from the $H_2SO_4$ leaching solution of scrapped Fe-Ni alloy.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.124-134
• /
• 1995

It is the most important to select optimal culture conditions to promote safe embryo growth in the technique of human in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. It has been shown that the addition of biologic fluids, such as blood serum, of various origins, improved fertilization and early cleavage rates in numerous species. The purpose of this study is to attempt to measure developmental potential of mouse eggs fertilized and cleaved in Ham's F10 culture medium containing a chelating agent, EDTA and fetal cord serum. In this study, we selected 40 female mice and 20 male mice, and investigated optimal serum concentrations for mouse embryo growth. Two cell stage mouse embryos were cultured in Ham's F-10 medium, Ham's F-10 medium with various concentrations of EDTA, or Ham's F-10 medium with EDTA and 10% human cord serum. Developmental ratios to morula in Ham's F-10 medium containing various concentrations of EDTA and/or 10% fetal cord serum were significantly higher than in unsupplemented Ham's F-10 medium (p<0.05). Developmental ratios to blastocyst in Ham's F-10 containing 10% fetal cord serum and $50{\mu}M$ or $100{\mu}M$ EDTA were significanltly higher than in unsupplemented Ham's F-10 medium (p<0.05). Developmental ratios to morula in Ham's F-10 containing 10% fetal cord serum and $100{\mu}M$ EDTA were significanltly higher than in Ham's F-10 with 10% fetal cord serum used commonly in many human IVF centers(p<0.05). Developmental ratio to blastocyst in Ham's F-10 containing 10% fetal cord serum and $100{\mu}M$ EDTA was significanlty higher than in Ham's F-10 with $200{\mu}M$ EDTA(P<0.05). In summary, embryo development to morula and blastocyst was significanlty higher in the presence of human cord serum or EDTA than in the unsupplemented medium. The most significanly development to morula and blastocyst was obtained at Ham's F-10 medium with $100{\mu}M$ concentration of EDTA and 10% fetal cord serum. These results suggest that Ham's F-10 medium containing 10% fetal cord serum and optimal concentrations of EDTA significantly promoted early cleavage of mouse zygotes, and these will be useful as basic data for the selection of culture medium in human in vitro fertilization.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.13-19
• /
• 1971

In order to establish the method of improving ill drained paddy soil where the accumulation of absorption inhibitor is worried in the earlier stages of rice growth, proper soil is selected and an field experiment is designed having treatments such as lime materials, none sulfate fertilizers, boron and straw etc. The data of yield and plant analysis in different stages of rice growth is eveluated and discussed to obtain following summaries. (1) Significant yield increase was made by the treatment of lime materials such as slacked lime or wollastonite powder, materials inhibiting the activity of microorganisms such as boron and of none sulfate fertilizers lacking inhibitor producing sources. (2) The crop scientifice causes of decreasing yield are the decreasing the number of panicles per hill, grains per panicle and the weight of grains. (3) The plant nutritional causes of decreasing yield are the lowering of nitrogen content throughout the life, phosphate content since young premodia formation stage of plant and the decreased content of magnesium, calcium and silicate in straw at harvesting stage. (4) The causes of lowering the content of various elements in rice plant grown in ill drained paddy soil are suggested as root damage by producing and accumulating absorption inhibitors such as organic acids and hydrogen sulfide etc, from the following observed facts; (a) In young premodia formation stage, attaining to the maximum production and accumulation of absorption inhibitor, the phosphate accumulation in plant was smaller in the phosphate plots than without phosphate plots and much higher in the neutralized plots by adding lime materials. (b) In the plots of straw addition, the potassium content in plant at the young premodia formation stage is very low probabley due to root damage by absorption inhibitor produced from the process of straw decomposition but higher at the stage of harvesting probably due to the immetabolic negative absorption of damaged roots. (c) The effect of boron, known as the inhibitor of microorganism activity to decompose organic matter, is apparent. (d) The effect of nonsulfate fertilizer treatment, having no source of producing inhibitor such as hydrogen sulfide, was significant. (e) All the yield components, decided around the young premodia formation stage attaining to the maximum inhibitor concentration in soil and minimum root activity, are significantly decreased.