• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.411-418
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• 2004

Mercury, one of the most diffused and hazardous organ-specific environmental contaminants, exists in a wide variety of physical and chemical states. The murcury with the nature which evaporates easily can cause an acute or chronic mercury poisoning to workers at mercury-handling workplaces. Although many studies indicate that mercury induces a deleterious damage, little has been reported from the investigations of mercury effects at surrounding levels in living things. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the biological effects of mercury chloride and ionizing radiation. Prepubertal male F344 rats were administered mercury chloride in drinking water throughout the experimental period or were given wholebody irradiation with a dose of 6.5 Gy. The amount changed of body weight during the experimental period showed a 4.9% rise in the mercury-treated group and 14.4% decline in the irradiated group compared with the level of the control group. The results of hematological analysis (red blood cells, white blood cells, hemoglobin, and hematocrit) indicated the differential effects of mercury chloride and ionizing radiation. However the concentration of cortisol as assessed by radioimmunoassay increased in both of the groups. Relative expressions of mRNA related to mitochondrion-mediated apoptosis were investigated using semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction on gonad and urinary organs of the experimental groups. While the expression of Bcl-2 mRNA exhibited different patterns depending on the organs or the experimental groups, both of the experimental groups showed a conspicuous expressions of Bax mRNA. In conclusion, the target organ of mercury chloride seems to be a urinary organ and the pattern of damage induced by mercury chloride differs from that by ionizing radiation.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.2 no.5
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• pp.353-359
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• 1992

Thermal oxidation and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of tantalum oxide thin films on p-type (100) Si substrates were studied to examine the dielectric nature of T$a_2O_5$ as a Al/T$a_2O_5$/p-Si capacitor. Microstructure and dielectric properties of the capacitors were investigated by XRD, AES, high frequency C-V analyzer, I-V meter and TEM. XRD analysis showed that the structure of T$a_2O_5$ films were amorphous, but the films were crystallized to hexagonal $\delta$-T$a_2O_5$ by 65$0^{\circ}C$ thermal oxidation treatment. It was found that the stoichiometry of the films was more or less close to 2 : 5. Leakage current density and relative dielectric constant of thermal oxidation T$a_2O_5$ film at 60$0^{\circ}C$ was 5.0${ imes}10^{-6}$/A/c$m^2 and 31.5, respectively. In the case of PECVD T$a_2O_5$film deposited at 0.47W/c$m^2 they were 2.5${ imes}10^{-5}$/A/$ extrm{cm}^2$ and 24.0, respectively. The morphology of the films and interfaces were investigated by TEM.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.799-806
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• 2017

The potential use of modified clays in the adsorption of vapor phase benzene and toluene was investigated. The modified clays OC-CPC, IOC, and Al-PILC were prepared for comparative purposes and were characterized using infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and X-ray diffraction. It was confirmed the intercalation of the aluminium pillar in IOC and Al-PILC, as well as the introduction of cetylpyridinium. The adsorption studies showed a great affinity of benzene and toluene for OC-CPC due to the hydrophobic character that resulted and also to the increase in the interlaminar distance. IOC showed a lower affinity for the benzene and toluene, followed by Al-PILC. Natual clay had no affinity for benzene and toluene due to its hydrophilic nature. Clay materials having a laminar structure can be chemically modified, changing their physiochemical characteristics, such as interlaminar distance, surface area, pore size, and chemical affinity. In this study, it was focused on obtaining modified clays to be used for the adsorption of volatile organic chemicals.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.329-336
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• 2000

Life table experiments were performed in order to examine the effects of food quality on Moina macrocopa fed with four kinds of algal foods, Botryococcus sp., Scenedesmus subspicatus, Selenastrum capricornutum, and Chlorella sp., at $20^{\circ}C$ . The temperature effects on M. macrocopa were also assessed, feeding Chlorella at $17^{\circ}C$,$20^{\circ}C$,$25^{\circ}C$, and a combination of $28^{\circ}C$ (light) and $25^{\circ}C$ (dark). The cartilaginous Botryococcs cells were Inappropriate food for Moina. Among the foods tested, Chlorella was the food of the best quality in all accounts of life history traits. Moina grown on Chlorella showed higher net reproductive rate ($R_0$), longer mean and maximum longevities, earlier mean age at maturity, longer mean carapace length at maturity, larger mean clutch size, and shorter mean time interval between clutch productions than those grown on Selenastrum and Scenedesmus. An optimal temperature for Moina was $20^{\circ}C$ . When Moina were grown on Chlorella at $20^{\circ}C$, they showed the highest r, the highest $R_0$, the shortest T, the longest mean longevity, the earliest mean age at maturity, the longest mean carapace length at maturity, and the largest mean clutch size. The results of life table experiments showed that the individual and population growth patterns were much more affected by low temperature $17^{\circ}C$, than by high temperature ($\geq 20^{\circ}C$). In the optimal condition, the r value was very high, 5.1 in $d^{-1}$. In conclusion, the food quality and the temperature are the most important factors to govern the size and continuity of Moina population, by which the individual growth rates and reproductivity of members in the population can be controlled to survive in their environment such as small and temporary water bodies in nature.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.430-441
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• 2021

Sesquiterpene lactones (STLs) are terpenoids found mostly in the Asteraceae family and are known for their strong cytotoxic properties, among other notable bioactivities. Some STLs, such as artemisinin and mipsagargin, are already commercially available and are used to fight malaria and tumor growth, respectively. Although the interest in STLs was low for a time after their discovery due to their toxic nature, past decades have witnessed a soar in STL-based studies focused on developing novel pharmaceuticals via chemical diversification. These studies have reported several promising physiological effects for STLs, including lower toxicity and diverse modes of action, and have demonstrated the antimicrobial, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, antiviral, antiprotozoal, phytotoxic, antitumor, and antiaging properties of STLs. STLs are mainly considered as valuable natural molecules for the fight against cancer since most STLs induce death of different types of cancer cells, as shown by in vitro and in vivo studies. Some STLs can also enhance the effects of drugs that are already in clinical use. Medicinal chemists use various STLs as starting molecules for the synthesis of new STLs or different bioactive compounds. All these developments warrant future research to provide more information on STLs, their bioactivities, and their mode of action. In this context, this review has summarized the bioactivities of some of the widely studied STLs, namely artemisinin, costunolide, thapsigargin, arglabin, parthenolide, alantolactone, cynaropicrin, helenalin, and santonin.

• Clean Technology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.269-274
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• 2018

In this study, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of wet tissue manufacturing process was performed. The wet tissue manufacturing process consists of preparation of wetting agent (chemical liquid), impregnation of nonwoven fabric into wetting agent and primary and secondary packaging. Data and information were collected on the input and output of the actual process from a certain company and the database of the Korea Ministry of Environment and some foreign countries (when Korean unavailable) were employed to connect the upper and the lower process flow. Based on the above and the potential environmental impacts of the wet tissue manufacturing process were calculated. As a result of the characterization, Ozone Layer Depletion (OD) is 3.46.E-06 kg $CFC_{11}$, Acidification (AD) is 5.11.E-01 kg $SO_2$, Abiotic Resource Depletion (ARD) is $3.52.E+00\;1yr^{-1}$, Global Warming (GW) is 1.04.E+02 kg $CO_2$, Eutrophication (EUT) is 2.31.E-02 kg ${PO_4}^{3-}$, Photochemical Oxide Creation (POC) was 2.22.E-02 kg $C_2H_4$, Human Toxicity (HT) was 1.55.E+00 kg 1,4 DCB and Terrestrial Ecotoxicity (ET) was 5.82.E-04 kg 1,4 DCB. In order to reduce the environmental impact of the manufacturing process, it is necessary to improve the overall process as other general cases and change the raw materials including packaging materials with less environmental impact. Conclusively, the energy consumed in the manufacturing process has emerged as a major issue, and this needs to be reconsidered other options such as alternative energy. Therefore, it is recommended that a process system should be redesigned to improve energy efficiency and to change to an energy source with lower environmental impact. Due to the nature of LCA, the final results of this study can be varied to some extent depending on the type of LCI DB employed and may not represent of all wet tissue manufacturing processes in the current industry.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.242-251
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• 2021

Surface water pollution is a serious environmental problem in developing countries, like India, due to the unregulated discharge of untreated wastewater. To overcome this, the constructed wetlands (CWs) have been proven to be an efficient technology for wastewater treatment. In this study, different existing and experimental facilities were reviewed to be able to determine the current status of constructed wetlands in India. Based on the collected data from published literature, industrial wastewater contained the highest average chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). In terms of total nitrogen (TN), Total phosphorous (TP), the lowest concentration was found on domestic wastewater. Vertical flow constructed wetlands (VFCW) and Horizontal flow constructed wetland (HFCW) were more effective in removing TSS, BOD, TP in domestic and industrial wastewater, whereas hybrid constructed wetlands (HCW) showed the highest removal for COD. The use of constructed wetlands as advanced wastewater treatment facilities in India yielded better water quality. The treatment of wastewater using constructed wetlands also enabled further reuse of wastewater for irrigation and other agricultural purposes. Overall, this study can be beneficial in evaluating and promoting the use of constructed wetlands in India.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.9
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• pp.734-741
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• 2022

Currently, around 40 million people worldwide are living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection making HIV a critical global health risk. Present therapies for HIV infection consist of drug cocktails that target different steps of the HIV life cycle to prevent infection, replication, and release of the virus. Due to its mutating nature, drug resistance coupled with side-effects of long-term drug use, novel strategies, and pharmaceuticals to treat and manage HIV infection are constant needs and continuously being studied. Plants allocate a major repertoire of chemical diversity and are therefore regarded as an important source of new bioactive agents that can be utilized against HIV. Since the early 1990s, upon recommendations of the World Health Organization, numerous studies reported phytochemicals from different structural classes such as flavonoids, coumarins, tannins and terpenes with strong inhibitory effects against HIV infection. The present review gathered and presented recent research (2021-present) on plant extracts and phytochemicals that exhibit anti-HIV properties with the aim of providing insights into future studies where ethnomedical and underutilized plant sources may yield important natural products against HIV. Considering the relation and importance of HIV treatment with current viral infection risks such as SARS-CoV-2, screening plants for anti-HIV agents is an important step towards the discovery of novel antivirals.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.56-63
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• 2023

In this paper, we studied the effect of electron beam irradiation on sol-gel indium-gallium-zinc oxide (IGZO) thin films under air and nitrogen atmosphere and carried out the electrical characterization of the s ol-gel IGZO thin film transistors (TFTs). To investigate the optical properties, crystalline structure and chemical state of the sol-gel IGZO thin films after electron beam irradiation, UV-Visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were carried out. The sol-gel IGZO thin films exhibited over 80% transmittance in the visible range. The XRD analysis confirmed the amorphous nature of the sol-gel IGZO films regardless of electron beam irradiation. When electron beam irradiation was conducted in a nitrogen (N₂) atmosphere, we observed an increased proportion of peaks related to M-O bonding contributed to the improved quality of the thin films. Sol-gel IGZO TFTs subjected to electron beam exposure in a nitrogen atmosphere exhibited enhanced electrical characteristics in terms of on/off ratio and electron mobility. In addition, the electrical parameters of the transistor (on/off ratio, threshold voltage, electron mobility, subthreshold swing) remained relatively stable over time, indicating that the electron beam exposure process in a nitrogen atmosphere could enhance the reliability of IGZO-based thin-film transistors in the fabrication of sol-gel processed TFTs.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.50
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• pp.142-154
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• 2023

Plant abscission is a natural process in which plant organs or tissues undergo detachment, a strategy selected by nature for the disposal of nonessential organs and widespread dissemination of seeds and fruits. However, from an agricultural perspective, the abscission of seeds or fruits represents a major factor that reduces crop productivity and product quality. Therefore, during the crop domestication process in traditional agriculture, mutants exhibiting suppressed abscission were selected and crossbred, thereby enabling the production of modern crop varieties such as rice, tomatoes, canola, and soybeans. These crops possess a unique trait of retaining ripe fruits or seeds in contrast to disposal via abscission. During the previous century, research on quantitative trait loci along with genetic and molecular biological studies on Arabidopsis thaliana have elucidated various cell biological mechanisms, signaling pathways, and transcription regulators involved in abscission. Additionally, it has been revealed that various hormone signals, which are involved in plant growth, play crucial roles in modulating abscission activity. Researchers have developed several chemical treatments that target these hormones and signal transduction pathways to enhance crop yields. This review aimed to introduce the previously identified signal transduction pathways and pivotal regulators implicated in abscission activity. Moreover, this review will discuss the future direction of research required to investigate crop abscission mechanisms for their potential application in smart farming and other areas of agriculture, as well as areas within model systems that require extensive research.