• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.73-81
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• 2013

Various remediation methods have been applied to clean soils contaminated with pollutants. They remove contaminants from the soils by utilizing physicochemical, biological, and thermal processes and can satisfy soil remediation standards within a limited time; however, they also have an effect on the biological functions of soils by changing soil properties. In this study, changes of the biological properties of soils before and after treatment with three frequently used remediation methods-soil washing, land farming, and thermal desorption-were monitored to investigate the effects of remediation methods on soil biological functions. Total microbial number and soil enzyme activities, germination rate and growth of Brassica juncea, biomass change of Eisenia andrei were examined the effects on soil microorganisms, plant, and soil organisms, respectively. After soil washing, the germination rate of Brassica juncea increased but the above-ground growth and total microbial number decreased. Dehydrogenase activity, germination rate and above-ground growth increased in both land farming and thermal desorption treated soil. Although the growth of Eisenia andrei in thermal desorption treated soil was higher than any other treatment, it was still lower than that in non-contaminated soil. These results show that the remediation processes used to clean contaminated soil also affect soil biological functions. To utilize the cleaned soil for healthy and more value-added purposes, soil improvement and process development are needed.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2021.04a
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• pp.59-59
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• 2021

Stachys sieboldii Miq. (SSM) and Acorus gramineus Soland. (AGS) have been used as traditional medicines for thousands of years in parts of Asia, including Korea, China, and Japan. Recent researches on SSM and AGS have documented a wide spectrum of therapeutic properties, including anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, neurodegenerative disease effects. However, the toxicity and safety of SSM and AGS, and their mixture (medicinal herber mixture, MHMIX) were not confirmed. Therefore, this study was performed to evaluate the acute toxicity and safety of SSM, AGS and MHMIX. SSM, AGS and MHMIX were orally administered at a dose of 5,000 mg/kg in ICR mice. Animals were monitored for the mortality and changes in the body weight, clinical signs and gross observation during the 14 days after dosing, upon necropsy. We also measured parameters of organ weight, clinical chemistry, and hematology. No dead and no clinical signs were found during the experiment period after administration of a single oral dose of SSM, AGS and MHMIX. There were no adverse effects on clinical signs, body weight, or organ weight and no gross pathological findings in any treatment group. Therefore, LD50 value of SSM, AGS and MHMIX may be over 5,000 mg/kg and it may have no side toxic effect to ICR mice. The results on the single-dose toxicity of SSM, AGS and MHMIX indicate that it is not possible to reach oral dose levels related to death or dose levels with any harmful side effects.

• BMB Reports
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.604-608
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• 2002

The effects of progesterone on the acrosome reaction, as well as the effects of RU486 on the progesterone-induced acrosome reaction in capacitated boar spermatozoa, were investigated. Progesterone, a major steroid that is secreted by the cumulus cells of oocyte, clearly induced the acrosome reaction in a dose-dependent manner in capacitated boar spermatozoa, even though it failed to show similar effects in non-capacitated spermatozoa. RU486, a potent antiprogestin, significantly reduced the effects of progesterone on the progesterone-induced acrosome reaction; however, when treated alone, it showed no inhibitory effects on the acrosome reaction. The inhibitory effects of RU486 were also shown to be dose-dependent. These results imply that in addition to the well-known inducer of the acrosome reaction, zona pellucida, progesterone can also induce the acrosome reaction through its specific receptors on spermatozoa after the spermatozoa undergo capacitation.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.55-61
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• 2012

Akt is known to play an important role in cell proliferation and differentiation, and is also over-expressed in several types of cancer cells. In this study, we explored the anti-proliferative effects of selenium in HT-29 colon cancer cells, mediated through effects on Akt and COX-2. Selenium treatments at different concentrations and for different durations inhibited proliferation of HT-29 colon cancer cells and increased apoptotic cell death. Selenium treatment decreased Akt phosphorylation and COX-2 expression. Treatment with LY294002 (an Akt inhibitor) decreased proliferation of HT-29 cells, while a combined treatment with LY294002 and selenium resulted in even further decreases in cell proliferation. Inactivation of Akt by Akt siRNA treatment abolished these inhibitory effects on cell growth. COX-2 expression decreased in Akt transfected cells compared to non-transfected cells. These results suggest that selenium induced both anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects by inhibiting Akt phosphorylation and COX-2 expression. Selenium treatment also appeared to induce synergistic anti-proliferative effects by inhibition of Akt in HT-29 colon cancer cells.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.389-393
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• 2002

Effects of environmental factors on in vitro pine pollen performance were investigated. Pinus densiflora and P. rigida pollen grains collected at Mt. Kwanak, Korea were used. Three environmental factors, such as pollen storage temperature, pollen culture temperature and nutrient condition in medium, were tested. To determine the storage temperature effects on pollen viability, pine pollen was stored at $-70^{\circ}C$, $-12^{\circ}C$, $4^{\circ}C$ and $22^{\circ}C$. Pollen viability was substantially extended at the storage temperatures of $-12^{\circ}C$ and $4^{\circ}C$ for more than 300 days. To elucidate the culture temperature effects on pine pollen germination and tube growth, pollen grains were cultured at the temperatures from $5^{\circ}C$ to $40^{\circ}C$ at $5^{\circ}C$intervals. The germination rate and tube growth were highest at $25^{\circ}C$ and decreased above $30^{\circ}C$. To investigate boron and sucrose effects on pollen tube growth, the pollen was cultured at different sucrose and boric acid concentrations. Germination rate was optimal in germination medium containing 3 or 5$\%$ sucrose with 0.01 $\%$ boric acid. These results indicate that the pine pollen can be stored for considerable length of time without noticeable loss of viability at storage temperature below or near $0^{\circ}C$. Optimal germination medium conditions were established for pine pollen. Therefore, pine pollen can be used for many biological and environmental monitoring researches.

• 한국약용작물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.04a
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• pp.90-91
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• 2011

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.725-730
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• 2017

A heteronemertean, Yininemertes pratensis, was collected in Han River Estuary, South Korea. This estuarine nemertean has been known by the local fishermen for harmful effects to the glass eels, juveniles of Japanese eel Anguilla japonica, migrating to fresh water. The present study confirmed the neurotoxic effects of this heteronemertean ribbon worm at the cellular level. Derivative types of neurotoxic tetrodotoxin (TTX), 5,11-dideoxy TTX (m/z 288) and 11-norTTX-6(S)-01 (m/z 305.97), were identified through HPLC and MALDI-TOF MS. However, significant neurotoxicity was confirmed in the fraction containing an undefined molecule corresponding to the 291.1 (m/z) peak, when tested in rat primary astrocytes and dorsal ganglion cells. This study is the first to report neurotoxins of the estuarine nemertean, fairly abundant in the Han River estuary, and suggests the long-term monitoring of population dynamics and surveillance of the toxicity in this river estuary.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.833-842
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of spiritual intervention studies by examining biological, psychological, and spiritual outcomes. Methods: From electronic databases 2522 studies were retrieved, of which 21 studies met the inclusion criteria. These studies had 1411 participants. Two authors independently extracted data from the selected studies and assessed the methodological quality. The data were analyzed using the RevMan 5.1 program of the Cochrane library. Results: Overall effect size of spiritual intervention on spiritual and psychological (depression and anxiety) outcomes were moderate (d= -0.65 to d= -0.76, p<.001). The effects on biological outcomes (pain and functional status) ranged from -0.51 to -0.39, respectively. No publication bias was detected as evaluated by a funnel plot. Spiritual intervention had a moderate effect on psychological and spiritual outcomes and a smaller effect on biological outcomes. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that spiritual intervention can relieve depression and anxiety. Further randomized controlled trials studies are needed to evaluate the effects of spiritual intervention on biological outcomes.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.201-214
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• 1995

Design approach of upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket(UASB) process based on the biological kinetic parameters are known to be very difficult since the characteristics of the granular slut비e depends on the type of wastewater and size distribution of the granular sludge also depends on the upflow velocity in the UASB reactors. Furthermore, industrial wastewater containing toxic substances has been treated by UASB process without the clear knowledge of toxic effects on the granular slut형e. Hence, the present research was aimed on the intensive evaluation of biological kinetic parameters of the granular sludge in UASB reactor with and without toxic substance of 2, 4-dichlorophenol in order to present the basic design measures for UASB process design. The results could be summarized as follows. The biological kinetic parameters(k and Ks) considerably varied with the granular size of the sludge. Generally, 연e k and ks values of the granular sludge increased with the particle size of the granule. The biological kinetic parameters(k and Ks) of the granular sludge obtained from batch test were not applicable to design purpose of UASB process due to substrate diffusional limitation into the granular sludge in the completely mixed UASB reactors. The toxic effects on k and Ks greatly varied with the granular sixte. And as the toxicant concentration increased, the k value decreased while the Ks value increased. Inhibition constant(hi) for k with the toxicant of 2, 4-dichlorophenol varied from 0.5 to 2.3 depending on the granular sizes while the inhibition constant(Ki) for Ks varied from 20.7 to 80.1, showing the mixed inhibition.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.303-309
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• 2016

This study aimed to assay the biological removal of TDS (total dissolved solids) from RO (reverse osmosis) rejected water. Following bio-sorption of TDS with AGS (aerobic granular sludge), the effects of TDS on biological nitrogen removal were examined. The bio-sorption of TDS after AGS treatment was confirmed by checking for TDS removal efficiency and surface analysis of microorganisms with SEM and EDS. Then, the effects of TDS on biological nitrogen removal and the denitrification efficiency were evaluated using the MBR reactor. According to the results, the bio-sorption of TDS with AGS was 0.1 mg TDS/mg AGS, and we confirmed that the microorganism surfaces had adsorbed the TDS. Biological nitrogen removal efficiency was measured at inhibiting denitrification at 4,000 mg/L of TDS-injected material. Based on this study, it is necessary to pretreat TDS-containing RO rejected water and to maintain TDS concentration lower than a specific value (≤4,000 mg/L), when considering biological nitrogen removal.