• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.138-148
• /
• 2018

Objective: Fusarium mycotoxins deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN), common contaminants in the feed of farm animals, cause immune function impairment and organ inflammation. Consequently, the main objective of this study was to elucidate DON and ZEN effects on the mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and other immune related genes in the kidneys of piglets. Methods: Fifteen 6-week-old piglets were randomly assigned to three dietary treatments for 4 weeks: control diet, and diets contaminated with either 8 mg DON/kg feed or 0.8 mg ZEN/kg feed. Kidney samples were collected after treatment, and RNA-seq was used to investigate the effects on immune-related genes and gene networks. Results: A total of 186 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened (120 upregulated and 66 downregulated). Gene ontology analysis revealed that the immune response, and cellular and metabolic processes were significantly controlled by these DEGs. The inflammatory stimulation might be an effect of the following enriched Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes pathway analysis found related to immune and disease responses: cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, chemokine signaling pathway, toll-like receptor signaling pathway, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), tuberculosis, Epstein-Barr virus infection, and chemical carcinogenesis. The effects of DON and ZEN on genome-wide expression were assessed, and it was found that the DEGs associated with inflammatory cytokines (interleukin 10 receptor, beta, chemokine [C-X-C motif] ligand 9, CXCL10, chemokine [C-C motif] ligand 4), proliferation (insulin like growth factor binding protein 4, IgG heavy chain, receptor-type tyrosine-protein phosphatase C, cytochrome P450 1A1, ATP-binding cassette sub-family 8), and other immune response networks (lysozyme, complement component 4 binding protein alpha, oligoadenylate synthetase 2, signaling lymphocytic activation molecule-9, ${\alpha}$-aminoadipic semialdehyde dehydrogenase, Ig lambda chain c region, pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase, isozyme 4, carboxylesterase 1), were suppressed by DON and ZEN. Conclusion: In summary, our results indicate that high concentrations of DON and ZEN suppress the inflammatory response in kidneys, leading to potential effects on immune homeostasis.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.162-169
• /
• 1994

Blockade of cervicothoracic sympathetic ganglion (stellate ganglion controls pain on face, head, neck, shoulder, upper limbs, and upper chest, including their viscera and sympathetically maintained pain. This procedure also increases blood flow to the above areas and relieves hyperreactivity of sympathetic nervous system. Clinically, repeated stellate ganglion blocks with local anesthetic agent may become difficult with complications such as accidental intravascular or subdural injection, recurrent laryngeal nerve or bracheal plexus paralysis, pneumothorax and edema on injection site. Therefore, at times long-term cervicothoracic ganglion block with neurolytics is necessitated but its applications are prohibited by the critical structures surrounding ganglion. There are also few reports of neurolytic stellate ganglion block. This study was performed to observe the complications, gross changes of surrounding structures, and microscopic findings of ganglion cells after neurolytic block and to certify the possibility of clinical use of neruolytic stellate ganglion block. The unilateral superior cervical sympathetic ganglion of rabbit was blocked with absolute ethyl alcohol 0.4 ml at the level of cricoid cartilage. Normal ganglion was used as a control and 5 animals were sacrificed at each intervals of 7, 15 and 50 days after block. The results were as follows; 1) All experimental animals showed no specific changes of behavior, motor function. No necrotic tissues were present in the block area during the observation period. There were some gross scar tissues along the fascia of muscles surrounding the needle injection site, but gross atrophy of muscles or injured major vessels were not found. 2) Microscopically, structures of normal ganglion of rabbit were very similar to those of humans. Seven days after absolute ethyl achohol injection there were marked edema of ganglion cells and nuclei with irregular nuclear membrane. Some of the ganglion cells lost their nuclei and showed degenerative changes. Fifteen days after block, cell edema were decreased and loss of the Nissl's body was prominant. The ganglion cell structures looked close to normal but the cytoplasm and nucleus were generally contracted 50 days after block. These results suggest absolute ethyl alcohol injection on cervical sympathetic ganglion with above method mainly blocks pre- and post-synaptic fibers and the long-term neurolytic blockade of this ganglion may be possible in rabbits.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.19-26
• /
• 2009

This study was undertaken to analyze the hygienic problems of group food services and to predict the outbreak patterns of future food-borne diseases. A delphi survey with 20 experts identified the main causes of food-borne outbreaks in group food services as improper hygienic management of raw food materials, washing of worker's hands, dividing the spaces and unsanitary retail storage. Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Escherichia coli (EPEC), non-typhoid Salmonella serotypes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli (ETEC), norovirus, and the hepatitis A virus all have potential to cause outbreaks of food-borne disease. We analyzed the daily food use and the possibility of food-borne outbreaks in school food services for fruits, milk, fish, pork, eggs, and meat as raw food materials, and bibimbab, soybean sprouts muchim, spinach namul, cucumber sengchae, jabchae, and pork bulgogi as prepared food items. Frozen (${\leq}\;-20^{\circ}C$) and refrigerated ($0{\sim}10^{\circ}C$) processed foods are popular items in group food services. Their storage, heating, and chemical sanitization methods are potential sources of food disease outbreaks. Our results can be applied to a well-organized hygiene control system and can be used to develop menus for preventing food-borne outbreaks.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.43 no.2
• /
• pp.141-147
• /
• 2000

Interrelation between the antioxidative activity of hot-water extracts of 130 medicinal plants and their cellular antimutagenic activity was investigated. Antioxidative activity was evaluated by assaying electron-donation to DPPH free radical and scavenging of hydroxyl radical $({\cdot}OH)$ generated through Fenton rection, respectively. All medicinal plants examined in this study exhibited markedly electron-donating ability and radical scavenging ability in each assay system. The results demonstrated the fact that Pilbal (Piper longum L.) is the strongest in electron-donating activity, on the other hand, that Seokgok (Dendrobium moniliforme L.) is the strongest in ${\cdot}OH$ scavenging activity. When evaluated their antioxidative activities, 24 medicinal plants including Jimo (Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge) were found to be the medicinal plants carrying strong antioxidative activity, which exhibited more than 50% activity compared to the control group in both electron-donating and free radical scavenging. The experiment was also performed to examine whether 11 medicinal plants having significant antimutagenicity damage DNA in the presence of $Cu^{2+}$, showing the fact that all samples tested, except Taeksa (Alisma canaliculatum All. Br.), Paekjain (Nitraria sibirica Pall) and Ohyak (Lindera strychifolia Sieb. et Zucc. Villar) are capable of inducing DNA strand break. We also found that Taeksa and Paekjain strongly block DNA strand break induced by chemical mutagen mitomycin C.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.149-162
• /
• 2008

The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) developed by the USDA-Agricultural Research Service for the prediction of land management impact on water, sediment, and agricultural chemical yields in a large-scale basin was applied to Daecheong Reservoir basin to estimate the amount of soil losses from different land uses. The research outcomes provide important indications for reservoir managers and policy makers to search alternative watershed management practices for the mitigation of reservoir turbidity flow problems. After calibrations of key model parameters, SWAT showed fairly good performance by adequately simulating observed annual runoff components and replicating the monthly flow regimes in the basin. The specific soil losses from agricultural farm field, forest, urban area, and paddy field were 33.1, $2.3{\sim}5.4$ depending on the tree types, 1.0, and 0.1 tons/ha/yr, respectively in 2004. It was noticed that about 55.3% of the total annual soil loss is caused by agricultural activities although agricultural land occupies only 10% in the basin. Although the soil erosion assessment approach adopted in this study has some extent of uncertainties due to the lack of detailed information on crop types and management activities, the results at least imply that soil erosion control practices for the vulnerable agricultural farm lands can be one of the most effective alternatives to reduce the impact of turbidity flow in the river basin system.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.26 no.6
• /
• pp.563-573
• /
• 2017

Coal ash is generated from coal-fired thermal power plants every year. The remaining quantity of coal ash ends up in the landfills except for the recycled portion, and the existing ash pond capacity is limited almost. Currently, the difficulties are faced in building a new ash treatment plant because of the concerns about the environmental impacts of landfills at individual plant facilities. In terms of minimizing the environmental impact, the recycling and effective uses of coal ash are recognized as urgent issues to be challenged. Accordingly, this study examines the obstacles in expanding the recycling of the coal ash in South Korea and proposes solutions based on the case study analysis. The analysis results are as follows: 1) specific recycling guidelines and standards are required to be established in accordance with the contact medium (soil, ground water, surface water and sea water) and the chemical. 2) by providing the recognition environmentally safe in recycling the coal ash, transparency in establishing the planning stages and active communication with the community through promotion and research are essentially needed. 3) practical support system is required to encourage the power plant companies to use the coal ash as beneficial use.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.54-60
• /
• 1991

Serratia marcescens CK-3, decomposing chitin which is a mar component of cell wall in phyitopathogenic fungi, was isolated from the continuous cropping rhizosphere of pepper and cucumber and its enzymatic property was examined. S. marcescens CK-3 was found tn have an tagonistic effects against, Fusarium axysporum and Rhizoctonia solani and to have complex enzyme system such as chitinase, laminarinase, and proteinase. The preferable composition of the medium for production of chitinase was fond and was as follows : colloidal chitin 1.5%, tryptone 0.5%, glucose 1.0%, peptone 0.2%, $MgSO_4{\cdot}7H_2O\;0.1%,\;K_2HPO_4\;0.1%,\;and\;NaCl\;0.1%$(w/v), pH 6.8. The maximum enzyme production was observed after culture of 72 hours at $30^{\circ}C$ using a medium containing the above chemical composition. The optimal pH and temperature for in vitro activity of chitinase from S. marcescens CK-3 were pH 7.5 and $50^{\circ}C$, respectively. The enzyme activity in-creased by metal ions such as$Ag^+$ and $Mn^{++}$.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.42 no.4
• /
• pp.476-486
• /
• 2009

Major objective of our study was to introduce initial researches of national long-term ecological monitoring studies on Daechung Reservoir, as one of the representative lentic reservoir ecosystems in Korea. For the long-term ecological research (LTER), we conducted preliminary field monitoring during 2008~2009 and analyzed biological parameters such as phytoplankton, zooplankton, and freshwater fish along with chemical water quality and empirical model analysis. According to phytoplankton surveys, major taxa have varied largely depending on seasons and sites sampled. Overall phytoplankton data showed that cyanophyta dominated in the summer period and diatoms dominated in the winter. In zooplankton analysis, 25 species including 20 rotifers, 3 cladocerans and 2 copepods were collected during the survey. The relative abundance of rotifers (86.5%) was always greater than that of cladocerans (6.3%) or copepods (5.1%). There were distinct spatial and inter-annual changes in the abundance of zooplankton in the reservoir, displaying similar patterns in three sites with the exception of S3 during the study. According to fish surveys, 8 families and 39 species were observed during 2008~2009. The most dominant fish was an exotic species of Lepomis macrochirus (23%), indicating an severe influence of exotic species to the ecosystem. TP averaged $17.9\;{\mu}g\;L^{-1}$ ($6{\sim}80\;{\mu}g\;L^{-1}$), which was judged as a mesotrophy, and showed a distinct longitudinal gradients. TN averaged $1.585\;{\mu}g\;L^{-1}$ during the study and judged as hypereutrophic condition. Unlike TP, TN didn't show any large seasonal and spatial variations. Under the circumstances, nitrogen limitation may not happen in this system, indicating that nitrogen control is not effective in the watershed managements. These data generated in the LTER station will provide key information on long-term biological and water quality changes in relation to global warming and some clues for efficient reservoir ecosystem managements.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.4 no.3
• /
• pp.142-148
• /
• 2013

Background: To elucidate the relationship between seven occupational dermatoses (ODs) and 20 types of work in Greece. Methods: This was a prevalence epidemiologic study of certain ODs among 4,000 workers employed in 20 types of enterprise, in 104 companies, in 2006-2012, using data from company medical records, questionnaires, occupational medical, and special examinations. The ${\chi}^2$ test was applied to reveal statistically significant relationships between types of enterprises and occurrence of ODs. Results: A high percentage (39.9%) of employees included in the study population suffered from ODs. The highest prevalence rates were noted among hairdressers (of contact dermatitis: 30%), cooks (of contact dermatitis: 29.5%), bitumen workers (of acne: 23.5%), car industry workers (of mechanical injury: 15%), construction workers (of contact urticaria: 29.5%), industrial cleaning workers (of chemical burns: 13%), and farmers (of malignant tumors: 5.5%).We observed several statistical significant correlations between ODs (acute and chronic contact dermatitis, urticaria, mechanical injury, acne, burns, skin cancer) and certain types of enterprises. There was no statistically significant correlation between gender and prevalence of ODs, except for dermatoses caused by mechanical injuries afflicting mainly men [${\chi}^2(1)=13.40$, p < 0.001] and for chronic contact dermatitis [${\chi}^2(1)=5.53$, p=0.019] afflicting mainly women. Conclusion: Prevalence of ODs is high in Greece, contrary to all official reports by the Greek National Institute of Health. There is a need to introduce a nationwide voluntary surveillance system for reporting ODs and to enhance skin protection measures at work.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.101-109
• /
• 2003

Provitamin $B_5$ liquid crystal ($PVB_5$-LC) was the new emulsion system to enhance moisturizing activity on the skin. In this study, it should be mentioned that PVB5-LC could be prepared with the main compound of hydrogenated lecithin (HL) in oil-in water (O/W) emulsion. The key ingredient of humectants was contained 2% of provitamin $B_5$ ($PVB_5$) into the $PVB_5$-LC. The best suitable compositions of $PVB_5$-LC were made from 4.0 wt% of HL, 4.0 wt% of cetostearyl alcohol (CSA) as emulsifier and gelling agent, 3.0 wt% of 1,3-butylene glycol (1,3-BG) and 2.0 wt% of glycerin as moisturizers, 3.0 wt% of cyclomethicone (CMC), 3.0 wt% of isononanoate (ININ), 3.0 wt% of capric/caprylic triglyceride (CCTG), 3.0 wt% of macadamia nut oil (MNO) as emollients. As the analytical result of $PVB_5$-LC, it could know that the distribution range of particle size was 0.14 to 12.37 m level (mean size 3.24 m). It was certified the multi lamellar phase around the droplet of liquid crystal when observed the droplet particles through a polarization microscope. And it clinically was tested the effectiveness of moisturizing activity (in-vivo) compared with control sample (O/W emulsion). The effectiveness of moisturizing activity of $PVB_5$-LC with Skincon-200EX after 6 hours went up 49.0% (p<0.05, n=20) whereas the effectiveness of moisturizing activity of generally O/W emulsion cream was 25.7% (p<005, n=20). Also, in case of Comeometer CM-825, the moisturizing activity of $PVB_5$-LC after 6 hours rose 36.6% (p<0.05, n=20) whereas the effectiveness of moisturizing activity of generally O/W emulsion cream was 10.8%. Therefore, it was known that the effectiveness moisturizing activity of $PVB_5$-LC with HL was remarkably superior compared with O/W emulsion cream.