• Mycobiology
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.297-311
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• 2017

Saprolegniasis is one of the most devastating oomycete diseases in freshwater fish which is caused by species in the genus Saprolegnia including Saprolegnia parasitica. In this study, we isolated the strain of S. parasitica from diseased rainbow trout in Korea. Morphological and molecular based identification confirmed that isolated oomycete belongs to the member of S. parasitica, supported by its typical features including cotton-like mycelium, zoospores and phylogenetic analysis with internal transcribed spacer region. Pathogenicity of isolated S. parasitica was developed in embryo, juvenile, and adult zebrafish as a disease model. Host-pathogen interaction in adult zebrafish was investigated at transcriptional level. Upon infection with S. parasitica, pathogen/antigen recognition and signaling (TLR2, TLR4b, TLR5b, NOD1, and major histocompatibility complex class I), pro/anti-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin $[IL]-1{\beta}$, tumor necrosis factor ${\alpha}$, IL-6, IL-8, interferon ${\gamma}$, IL-12, and IL-10), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP9 and MMP13), cell surface molecules ($CD8^+$ and $CD4^+$) and antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase) related genes were differentially modulated at 3- and 12-hr post infection. As an anti-Saprolegnia agent, plant based lawsone was applied to investigate on the susceptibility of S. parasitica showing the minimum inhibitory concentration and percentage inhibition of radial growth as $200{\mu}g/mL$ and 31.8%, respectively. Moreover, natural lawsone changed the membrane permeability of S. parasitica mycelium and caused irreversible damage and disintegration to the cellular membranes of S. parasitica. Transcriptional responses of the genes of S. parasitica mycelium exposed to lawsone were altered, indicating that lawsone could be a potential anti-S. parasitica agent for controlling S. parasitica infection.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.4B
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• pp.441-447
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• 2008

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from various industrial sources commonly consist of biodegradable chemicals and recalcitrant compounds. Therefore, it is not effective to employ a single method to treat such mixtures. In this study, a novel hybrid system coupled with a ultraviolet (UV) photolysis reactor and a biofilter in a series was developed and evaluated using toluene and TCE as model VOCs. When only TCE was applied to the UV reactor, greater than 99% of TCE was degraded and the concentration of soluble byproducts from photo-oxidation reaction increased significantly. However, the toluene and TCE mixture was not effectively degraded by the UV photo-oxidation standalone process. The hybrid system showed high toluene removal efficiencies, and TCE degradation at a low toluene/TCE ratio was improved by UV pretreatment. These findings indicated that the UV photo-oxidation were effective for TCE degradation when the concentration of toluene in the mixture was relatively low. A restively high toluene content in the mixture resulted in an inhibition of TCE degradation. Thus, chemical interactions in both photo-oxidation and biodegradation need to be carefully considered to enhance overall performance of the hybrid system.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.5B
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• pp.485-493
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• 2008

The Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model was suggested for predicting probability of precipitation (PoP) using RDAPS NWP model, observation at AWS and upper-air sounding station. The prediction work was implemented for flood season and the data period is the July, August of 2001 and June of 2002. Neural network input variables (predictors) were composed of geopotential height 500/750/1000 hPa, atmospheric thickness 500-1000 hPa, X & Y-component of wind at 500 hPa, X & Y-component of wind at 750 hPa, wind speed at surface, temperature at 500/750 hPa/surface, mean sea level pressure, 3-hr accumulated precipitation, occurrence of observed precipitation, precipitation accumulated in 6 & 12 hrs previous to RDAPS run, precipitation occurrence in 6 & 12 hrs previous to RDAPS run, relative humidity measured 0 & 12 hrs before RDAPS run, precipitable water measured 0 & 12 hrs before RDAPS run, precipitable water difference in 12 hrs previous to RDAPS run. The suggested ANN has a 3-layer perceptron (multi layer perceptron; MLP) and back-propagation learning algorithm. The result shows that there were 6.8% increase in Hit rate (H), especially 99.2% and 148.1% increase in Threat Score (TS) and Probability of Detection (POD). It illustrates that the suggested ANN model can be a useful tool for predicting rainfall event prediction. The Kuipers Skill Score (KSS) was increased 92.8%, which the ANN model improves the rainfall occurrence prediction over RDAPS.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.251-257
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• 2007

The Tumor necrosis factor-α, (TNF-α), is involved in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis and contributes to the degeneration of oligodendrocytes as well as neurons. Nicotine has been found to have immunosuppressive and inflammation-suppressing effects. Astrocytes, the major glial cells in the CNS, are capable of producing TNF-α at both the mRNA and protein levels in response to interleukin-1 (IL-1) or TNF-α. Nicotine has been shown to influence glial cell functions. To order to explore the role of astrocytes in the production of TNF-α, astrocytes were pretreated with nicotine and are stimulated with IL-1β to determine their effects on TNF-α production. The results are as follows. Cytotoxic effects of nicotine on human fetal astrocytes were noted above 10 μg/ml of nicotine. The effect of IL-1β on TNF-α mRNA expression in primary cultured human fetal astrocytes was maximal at 2 h after IL- 1β(100 pg/ml) treatment. Human fetal astrocytes were pretreated with 0.1, 1, and 10 μg/ml of nicotine and then stimulated with IL-1β (100 pg/ml) for 2 h. The inhibitory effect of nicotine on expressions of TNF-α mRNA in human fetal astrocytes with pretreated 0.1 μg/ml of nicotine is first noted at 8 hr, and the inhibitory effect is maximal at 12 h. The inhibitory effect at 1 μg/ml of nicotine is inhibited maximal at 24 h. Nicotine at 0.1, 1 and 10 μg/ml concentrations significantly inhibits IL-1β-induced NF-κB activation. Collectively, this study indicates that nicotine might inhibit the expression of TNF-α in activated human fetal astrocytes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.767-774
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• 2011

Defatted green tea seed was extracted with 100% ethanol for 4 hr and then fractionated with petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and butanol. The ethanol and butanol extracts showed greater increases in antiproliferation potential against liver cancer cells than petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, $H_2O$, and hot water extracts did. Thus, this study was carried out to investigate the anti-proliferative actions of defatted green tea seed ethanol extract (DGTSE) in HepG2 cancer cells. The DGTSE contained catechins including EGC ($1039.1{\pm}15.2\;g/g$), tannic acid ($683.5{\pm}17.61\;{\mu}g/g$), EC ($62.4{\pm}5.00\;{\mu}g/g$), ECG ($24.4{\pm}7.81\;{\mu}g/g$), EGCG ($20.9{\pm}0.96\;{\mu}g/g$) and gallic acid ($2.4{\pm}0.68\;{\mu}g/g$), but caffeic acid was not detected when analyzed by HPLC. The anti-proliferation effect of DGTSE toward HepG2 cells was 83.13% when treated at $10\;{\mu}g$/mL, of DGTSE, offering an $IC_{50}$ of $6.58\;{\mu}g$/mL. DGTSE decreased CYP1A1 and CYP1A2 protein expressions in a dose-dependent manner. Quinone reductase and antioxidant response element (ARE)-luciferase activities were increased about 2.6 and 1.94-fold at a concentration of $20\;{\mu}g$/mL compared to a control group, respectively. Enhancement of phase II enzyme activity by DGTSE was shown to be mediated via interaction with ARE sequences in genes encoding the phase enzymes. DGTSE significantly (p<0.05) suppressed prostaglandin $E_2$ level, tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$) protein expressions, and NF${\kappa}$B translocation, but did not affected nitric oxide production. From the above results, it is concluded that DGTSE may ameliorate tumor and inflammatory reactions through the elevation of phase II enzyme activities and suppression of NF${\kappa}$B translocation and TNF-${\alpha}$ protein expressions, which support the cancer cell anti-proliferative effects of DGTSE in HepG2 cells.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.480-488
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• 2002

This study was performed to document the association between obesity, a major risk factor for chronic diseases, and dietary pattern in Korean elderly. The subjects were 595 men and women aged 60-89 years. The subjects were classified into 4 groups based on BMI: under weight, BMI < 18.5, normal weight, 18.5 $\leq$ BMI 22.9; overweight, 23.0 BMI 24.9; and obese BMI $\geq$ 25.0. Dietary intakes by 24-hr recall, blood pressure, anthropometric parameters and health eating index (HEI) were measured. Underweight group was excluded for data analysis doe to small number of subjects, and age-adjusted measurements were compared among normal, overweight and obese groups. The mean anthropometric values for males and females were 23.7 and 24.8 kg/$m^2$ for BMI, 0.90 and 0.86 for WHR and 140.7 and 138.8 mmHg for SBP, respectively. The mean intakes of energy, Ca, vitamin A, vitamin B$_2$, and vitamin E did not meet Korean RDA for elderly. Intakes of fat and cholesterol were low: the percent energy from fat for male and female subjects were 19.1% and 18.1% and mean cholesterol intakes were 208 mg and 152 mg, respectively. Judging by HEI score, dietary quality was better in females than in male subjects. The mean BMI of normal, over and obese groups were 21.4, 23.9, 26.7 kg/$m^2$ in male subjects and 21.6, 23.9, 27.1 kg/$m^2$ in female subjects. WHR, SBP and TSF were increased with increasing BMI No association was found between BMI and nutrient intakes and/or food consumption pattern. However, a tendency was shown that the overweight group reported higher intakes in most nutrients compared to normal and obese groups. This study implies that with increasing BMI, anthropometric risk factors, such as WHR, TSF, and blood pressure were Increased, however, no significant differences were found in nutrient intakes and food patterns. Energy and fat intakes do not seem to be a cause for obesity in Korean elderly.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.36 no.7
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• pp.849-858
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• 2007

This study was intended to collect the baseline information on health status, nutrient intakes and dietary self-efficacy according to the obesity levels of male workers. Nutrient intakes of 224 male workers were assessed by 24 hr recall method; also, dietary attitude and dietary self-efficacy were investigated by self-administerd questionnaires. Biochemical characteristics such as blood pressure (SBP, DBP), total cholesterol(TC), hemoglobin (Hb), blood glucose (BG), SGOT, SGPT and ${\gamma}-GTP$ were assessed. Subjects were divided into normal, overweight and obese groups by body mass index (BMI). The health status was analyzed as normal group, health concerned group and disease suspected group. Weight, percent ideal body weight (PIBW), BMI and body circumference (waist, hip) and waist-hip ratio were high in the order of obese group, overweight group and normal group. Body fat mass was high also in the order of obese, overweight and normal group. Blood pressure (SBP, DBP) was the highest in obese group. SGOT, SGPT, ${\gamma}-GTP$ were higher in the obese group than normal and overweight groups. It was Proven that the percentage of those evaluated as low nutrient intakes were 71% for Ca, 50.9% for Zn, 70.5% for vitamin B2, 56.3% for vitamin C and 81.3% for folic acid. The dietary attitude scores were high according to the dietary self-efficacy. The age was positively correlated with dietary attitude, and the dietary attitude was positively correlated with dietary self-efficacy and total energy intakes. Dietary attitude showed the greatest total causal effect in relation to dietary self-efficacy. The results of this study showed some health problems and nutritional problems, indicating the need for nutritional management for male workers.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.460-474
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• 2010

This study was performed to assess the physical activity, food habit and nutrient intakes by gender and age groups in 193 adults aged 20-59 years (84 men and 109 women) in Pusan. Data for physical activity and dietary survey was assessed by a questionnaire and 24hr recall method. The mean BMIs of men and women were 24.0 and 22.2 respectively and BMI of women in the 20-29 years group (20.9) was significantly lower than that of women in the 30-49 and 50-59 years group (22.7, 23.2) (p < 0.01). 56.0% for men and 44.0% for women exercised regularly. The mean exercise duration per once of men (69.7 minutes) was significantly higher than that of women (52.4minutes) (p < 0.01). The mean exercise duration per day was 36.0 minutes for men and 29.9 minutes for women. 67.9% for men and 78.0% for women often skipped meals and 68.4% for men and 69.4% for women skipped breakfast in the main. The mean energy intake of men was 2067.2 kcal and that of women was 1783.1 kcal comprised of 87.2% and 92.1% of the Estimated Energy Requirements (EER). The mineral intakes of men and women were over Recommended Intake (RI) and Adequate Intake (AI) except calcium and potassium. The mean calcium intake was 88.3% for men and 84.0% for women of RI. The mean potassium intake was 63.3% for men and 59.2% for women of AI. The mean vitamin intakes of men and women were over RI and AI except vitamin C and folic acid. The mean vitamin C intake was 92.5% for men and 85.6% for women of RI. The mean folic acid intake was 76.6% for men and 70.0% for women of RI. The mean energy, protein, sodium and zinc intakes of men were significantly higher than those of women (p < 0.01, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.05). The mean vitamin $B_6$, vitamin C and folic acid intakes of men in the 20-29 years group were significantly lower than those of men in the 30-49 and 50-59 years group (p < 0.01, p < 0.05, p < 0.05). For energy, proportions of subjects with intake levels less than 90% EER were 64.3% for men and 56.0% for women. For calcium, proportions of subjects with intake levels less than Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) were 52.4% for men and 59.6% for women. For folic acid, proportions of subjects with intake levels less than EAR were 78.6% for men and 83.5% for women. For iron and phosphorus, proportions of women (36.7%, 14.7%)with intake levels less than EAR were significantly higher than those of men (6.0%, 1.2%) (p < 0.01, p < 0.001). For men, age was positively correlated with intakes of potassium, vitamin $B_6$, vitamin C and folic acid (p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.01). For men, weight showed significantly negative correlations with intakes of carbohydrate, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, vitamin $B_6$ and folic acid (p < 0.01, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.01) and BMI showed significantly negative correlations with protein, lipid, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, vitamin E and folic acid (p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.05) For men, exercise duration per once showed significantly positive correlations with intakes of calcium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, vitamin $B_1$, vitamin $B_2$, niacin, vitamin C and folic acid (p < 0.01, p < 0.05, p < 0.01, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.01, p < 0.01, p < 0.01, p < 0.05). Therefore, nutritional education for adult health management is needed by gender and age groups.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.324-335
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• 2011

Objectives: This study investigated the effects of the color components of light-cured composite resin before and after polymerization on degree of conversion (DC) and biaxial flexural strength (FS). Materials and Methods: Four enamel shades (A1, A2, A3, A4) and two dentin shades (A2O, A3O) of Premisa (Kerr Co.) and Denfil (Vericom Co.) were evaluated on their CIE $L^*,\;a^*,\;b^*$ color components using the spectrophotometer before curing, after curing and at 7 day. The DC of same specimens were measured with Near-infrared spectrometer (Nexus, Thermo Nicolet Co.) at 2 hr after cure and at 7 day. Finally, the FS was obtained after all the other measurements were completed at 7 day. The correlations between each color component and DC and FS were evaluated. Results: The light-curing of composite resin resulted in color changes of Premisa in red-blue direction and Denfil in green-blue direction. The DC and FS were affected by product, time and shade (3-way ANOVA, p < 0.05) and product and shade (2-way ANOVA, p < 0.05), respectively. Premisa only showed a significant correlation between the DC and CIE $a^*$ component - before and after polymerization (Pearson product moment correlation, p < 0.05). The FS of Premisa showed significant negative correlations with CIE $a^*$ and CIE $b^*$ components. Conclusions: The DC and FS of the light-curing composite resin were affected by the color components of the material before and after polymerization.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.374-382
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• 2011

Aflatoxin ($AFB_1$) is a potent hepatotoxic and hepatocarcinogenic mycotoxin in humans. It is also well-known to be accumulated in animal tissues via various metabolic pathways. This study was conducted to determine the effects of vitamin C on the residual $AFB_1$ in rat sera that were treated with radiation and $AFB_1$. Six week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups: a control group, $AFB_1$-treated group, the group treated with $AFB_1$ and vitamin C, the group treated with X-ray and AFB1, and the group treated with X-ray and $AFB_1$ with vitamin C. On the first day of the experiment, only one dose of X-rays was exposed to the entire liver at 1,500 cGy. Next, vitamin C was injected at 10 mg/kg body weight via intraperitoneal injection, followed 1 hr later by the administration of 0.4 mg/kg of $AFB_1$ via intraperitoneal injection. These treatments were then administered every three days over a period of 15 days. On the 16th day of treatments, the animals were sacrificed. The contents of $AFB_1$ in rat sera were determined via indirect competitive ELISA and HPLC method. In the quantitative analysis of $AFB_1$ in rat sera via ELISA, $5.17{\pm}0.34$ ng/mL of $AFB_1$ was detected in the $AFB_1$-treated groups, but the amount more significantly decreased to $3.23{\pm}0.76$ ng/mL in the groups treated with $AFB_1$ and vitamin C (p<0.01) than in the $AFB_1$-treated groups. The $AFB_1$ contents of the rat sera of the groups treated with X-ray and $AFB_1$ did not significantly decreased with the administration of vitamin C. The $AFB_1$ content of the rat sera that was analyzed via HPLC showed a tendency similar to that of the content that was analyzed via ELISA. With regard to these data, vitamin C was very effective in reducing $AFB_1$ residue in rat sera.