• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.29-33
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• 2021

Purpose Plasma renin activity (PRA) test is important for the diagnosis of primary aldosteronism. PRA is an easily deformed substance in vitro and affected by temperature changes. Laboratory of ASAN medical center has consistently found that there was a difference between the initial and re-experimental results. We compared and analyzed the differences in PRA test results according to the sample storage status. Materials and Methods The measurement of PRA was performed by using the radioimmunoassay. From August to September 2020, 43 PRA re-test samples were tested with different sample storage condition. The first group was re-examined by freezing the plasma-separated samples at -18℃, and the second group was re-examined with refrigerated EDTA sample. Also, additional tests were conducted on 13 PRA samples to verify the effect on thawing temperature differences in plasma-separated samples. The same samples were divided into two parts and stored frozen at -18℃, respectively, and thawing samples in room temperature and those in refrigerator were were conducted. Each result was compared and analyzed based on the initial experimental results. Results The results of re-examination after frozen storing plasma separation samples showed a lower correlation than the results of re-examination with EDTA plasma samples in refrigerator. When calculating the percentage based on the initial test results, the average percentage of each was 404.9% and 133.8%. The correlation coefficient was also R=0.8501 and R=0.9966, respectively, showing a higher correlation between plasma in the refrigerated sample EDTA tube. In comparison experiments with differences in thawing temperature, average percentage of the results of initial test and room temperature thawing was 94.3% and the average percentage of the results of refrigerated thawing was 88.0%. After again freezing the sample, the average percentage of the second room temperature thawing result is 107.5%, and the second refrigerated thawing group is 112.7%. Both groups showed an increase from first thawing. Conclusion A comparative analysis of retesting according to differences in sample storage methods in PRA tests showed a higher correlation between the results of retesting of the refrigerated EDTA plasma. And repeated freezing and melting of plasma separation samples, regardless of temperature during defrosting, has been shown to affect results. Therefore, retest of PRA should re-collect plasma from original EDTA plasma to increase reproducibility.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.105-116
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• 2021

In the city of high population density crowded with buildings, Urban Heat Island (UHI) is intensified, and the city is vulnerable to thermal comfort. The maintenance of vacant land in downtown is treated as a factor that undermines the residential environment, spoils the urban landscape, and decreases the economic vitality of the whole region. Therefore, this study compared the effects on microclimate in the surrounding area according to the development scenarios targeting the vacant land in Songhyeon-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. The status quo, green oriented, building oriented and green-building mediation scenarios were established and ENVI-met was used to compare and analyze the impact of changes in wind speed, air temperature and mean radiant temperature (MRT) within 1 km of the target and the target site. The result of inside and 1 km radius the targeted area showed that the seasonal average temperature decreased and the wind speed increased when the green oriented scenario was compared with the current state one. It was expected that the temperature lowered to -0.73 ℃ or increased to 1.5 ℃ in summer, and the wind speed was affected up to 210 meters depending on the scenario. And it was revealed that green area inside the site generally affects inside area, but the layout and size of the buildings affect either internal and external area. This study is expected to help as a decision-making support tool for developing Songhyeon-dong area and to be used to reflect the part related to microclimate on the future environmental effects evaluation system.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.689-698
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• 2021

Since the mine reclamation scheme was implemented from 2007 in Korea, various remediation programs have been decontaminated the pollution associated with mining and 254 mines were managed to reclamation from 2011 to 2015. However, as the total amount of contaminated mine drainage has been increased due to the discovery of potential hazards and contaminated zone, more efficient and economical treatment technology is required. Therefore, in this study, the adsorption properties of arsenic was evaluated according to the adsorbents which were derived from water treatment sludge(Alum based adsorbent, ABA-500) and granular ferric hydroxide(GFH), already commercialized. The alum sludge and GFH adsorbents consisted of aluminum, silica materials and amorphous iron hydroxide, respectively. The point of zero charge of ABA-500 and GFH were 5.27 and 6.72, respectively. The result of the analysis of BET revealed that the specific surface area of GFH(257 m²·g^-1) was larger than ABA-500(126~136 m²·g^-1) and all the adsorbents were mesoporous materials inferred from N₂ adsorption-desorption isotherm. The adsorption capacity of adsorbents was compared with the batch experiments that were performed at different reaction times, pH, temperature and initial concentrations of arsenic. As a result of kinetic study, it was confirmed that arsenic was adsorbed rapidly in the order of GFH, ABA-500(granule) and ABA-500(3mm). The adsorption kinetics were fitted to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model for all three adsorbents. The amount of adsorbed arsenic was increased with low pH and high temperature regardless of adsorbents. When the adsorbents reacted at different initial concentrations of arsenic in an hour, ABA-500(granule) and GFH could remove the arsenic below the standard of drinking water if the concentration was below 0.2 mg·g^-1 and 1 mg·g^-1, respectively. The results suggested that the ABA-500(granule), a low-cost adsorbent, had the potential to field application at low contaminated mine drainage.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.33
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• pp.109-116
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• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of Surface-Guided Patient Setup by comparing the patient positioning accuracy when image-guided radiation therapy was used for Markerless patients(unmarked on the skin) using Surface-Guided Patient Setup and Marker patients(marked on the skin) using Laser-Based Patient Setup. Materials And Methods: The position error during IGRT was compared between a Markerless patient initially set up with SGPS using an optical surface scanning system using three cameras and a Marker patient initially set up with LBPS that aligns the laser with the marker drawn on the patient's skin. Both SGPS and LBPS were performed on 20 prostate cancer patients and 10 Stereotactic Radiation Surgery patients, respectively, and SGPS was performed on an additional 60 breast cancer patients. All were performed IGRT using CBCT or OBI. Position error of 6 degrees of freedom was obtained using Auto-Matching System, and comparison and analysis were performed using Offline-Review in the treatment planning system. Result: The difference between the root mean square (RMS) of SGPS and LBPS in prostate cancer patients was Vrt -0.02cm, Log -0.02cm, Lat 0.01cm, Pit -0.01°, Rol -0.01°, Rtn -0.01°, SRS patients was Vrt 0.02cm, Log -0.05cm, Lat 0.00cm, Pit -0.30°, Rol -0.15°, Rtn -0.33°. there was no significant difference between the two regions. According to the IGRT standard of breast cancer patients, RMS was Vrt 0.26, Log 0.21, Lat 0.15, Pit 0.81, Rol 0.49, Rtn 0.59. Conclusion:. As a result of this study, the position error value of SGPS compared to LBPS did not show a significant difference between prostate cancer patients and SRS patients. In the case of additionally performed SGPS breast cancer patients, the position error value was not large based on IGRT. Therefore, it is considered that it will be useful to replace LBPS with SGPS, which has the great advantage of not requiring patient skin marking..

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2022

Perilla is an annual plant in the family Lamiaceae and are widely cultivated in Asian countries. Perilla leaves are important sources of bioactive compounds and are reported to exhibit anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-cancer and antioxidant effects, drawing attention as functional food materials. We examined caffeic acid, rosmarinic acid, total phenol content, and antioxidant activity in the leaves of 18 perilla accessions obtained from the gene bank of the National Agrobiodiversity Center, Jeonju, Korea. The caffeic acid content ranged between 9.86-27.52 mg/g with an average content of 17.75 mg/g while the level of. rosmarinic acid was in the range between 49.14 and 90.30 mg/g with an average content of 61.88 mg/g. The total polyphenol content ranged between 138.39 ㎍ GAE/mg dried extract (DE) and 378.19 ㎍ GAE/mg DE with an average content of 225.93 ㎍ GAE/mg DE. Cluster analysis based on the content of caffeic acid, rosmarinic acid. and antioxidant activity showed that the accessions collections were grouped in two distinct classes. The first group contained six genetic resources with high content of rosmarinic acid, and antioxidant activities respectively. The second group contained 12 genetic resources with high content of caffeic acid. These results could help develop new varieties of nutrient dense perilla resources.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.153-161
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• 2021

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to compare bleeding tendency of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRI) using platelet function analyzer (PFA-100) in patients with major depressive disorder. Methods : This study is a prospective open-label study conducted by a single institution. A total of 41 subjects diagnosed with major depressive disorder under the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria participated in this study. The subjects were classified into SSRI (escitalopram) groups and SNRI (duloxetine) groups, respectively, according to random assignments. The closure time (CT) was measured using a platelet function analyzer (PFA-100) before each antidepressant was administered and after 6 weeks. Paired-sample t-test was conducted within each group to determine whether a specific antidepressant had an effect on closure time. In order to confirm the relative change in platelet function between the two groups, an independent sample t-test was conducted to compare and analyze the change in closure time between the two groups. Results : There was no significant changes in closure time (CEPI-CT, CADP-CT) before and 6 weeks after drug administration in the SSRI and SNRI groups, and there was no difference in the amount of changes in closure time between the two groups. Conclusions : Our results showed no difference in bleeding tendency between SSRI and SNRI. This study suggests that further large-scale studies on bleeding tendency for various antidepressants are needed in the future.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.373-383
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• 2022

Inflammation caused by active oxygen and the resulting barrier damage have been consistently pointed out as the cause of wrinkle formation. In this study, effective index ingredient search and efficacy analysis were performed to verify the value of use as a functional cosmetic material related to antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and skin barrier improvement, and anti-aging for extracts of four types of Eleutherococcus divaricatus var. chiisanensis (ED), Eleutherococcus senticosus (EN), Eleutherococcus sessiliflorus (ES), and Eleutherococcus sieboldianus (EI) belonging to the Eleutherococcus genus. To identify the effective index composition, the content of the ingredients was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. The content of eleutheroside E and chlorogenic acid was the highest in ED among the Eleutherococcus genus. As for anti-oxidant activity, DPPH radical scavenging activity was the highest in ED. In anti-inflammatory effects, ED extracts inhibited nitric oxide generation in inflammatory macrophage cells due to lipopolysaccharide by 40% at 100 ㎍/mL. In the case of IL-6 inhibition, which is known as a pro-inflammatory cytokine, ED showed 41% inhibition at 100 ㎍/mL. In addition, filaggrin and involucrin, which are skin barrier-related factors, were increased by 2.5 times and 1.6 times, respectively, in 100 ㎍/mL of ED extracts, and as for the collagenase, which is a wrinkle-related factor, ED extract showed 29% efficacy at 100 ㎍/mL. Thus, these result suggested that ED extract, among the four Eleutherococcus genus, can be used as a cosmetic ingredient for suppressing inflammation in the skin, reinforcing the skin barrier, and reducing wrinkles.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.221-229
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• 2022

This study was aimed to investigate spatial and vertical characteristics of greenhouse environments according to the location of the environmental sensors, and to investigate the correlations between temperature, light intensity, and carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration according to the type of greenhouse. Temperature, relative humidity (RH), CO₂, and light sensors were installed in the four-different vertical positions of the whole canopy as well as ground and roof space at the five spatial locations of the Venlo greenhouse. Also, correlations between temperature, light intensity, and CO₂ concentration in Venlo and semi-closed greenhouses were analyzed using the Curve Expert Professional program. The deviations among the spatial locations were larger in the CO₂ concentration than other environmental factors in the Venlo greenhouse. The average CO₂ concentration ranged from 465 to 761 µmol·mol^-1 with the highest value (646 µmol·mol^-1) at the Middle End (4ME) close to the main pipe (50Ø) of the liquefied CO₂ gas supply and lowest (436 µmol·mol^-1) at the Left Middle (5LM). The deviation among the vertical positions was greater in temperature and relative humidity than other environments. The time zone with the largest deviation in average temperature was 2 p.m. with the highest temperature (26.51℃) at the Upper Air (UA) and the lowest temperature (25.62℃) at the Lower Canopy (LC). The time zone with the largest deviation in average RH was 1 p.m. with the highest RH (76.90%) at the LC and the lowest RH (71.74%) at the UA. The highest average CO₂ concentration at each hour was Roof Air (RF) and Ground (GD). The coefficient of correlations between temperature, light intensity, and CO₂ concentration were 0.07 for semi-closed greenhouse and 0.66 for Venlo greenhouse. All the results indicate that while the CO₂ concentration in the greenhouse needs to be analyzed in the spatial locations, temperature and humidity needs to be analyzed in the vertical positions of canopy. The target CO₂ fertilization concentration for the semi-closed greenhouse with low ventilation rate should be different from that of general greenhouses.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.183-193
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• 2022

The growth inhibitory effect of Microcystis aeruginosa according to the ultrasonic irradiation time was evaluated using a large algae sample volume (10 L) for various ultrasonic irradiation times (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3 hr) at a laboratory scale. Based on the analysis of Chl-a and cell number of M. aerginosa, algae growth inhibition was observed with the decrease in Chl-a and cell number in all experimental groups after the ultrasonic irradiation. For the experimental group (T_B, T_C, T_D) with an ultrasonic irradiation time of less than 2 hours, rapid regrowth of algae was observed after growth inhibition, but the experimental group (T_E, T_F, T_G) with an irradiation time of more than 2 hours successfully inhibited algal growth lasting one or two more days. Based on the comparison of the recovery time to initial cell number the experimental group (T_B, T_C, T_D) took less than 20 days whereas the experimental group (T_E, T_F, T_G) took about 30 days. Correspondingly, the experimental group showed a high first order decay rate (𝜅) in proportion to the ultrasonic irradiation time during the growth inhibition period. Additionally, the specific growth rates (𝜇) during regrowth in the experimental group with irradiation time of more than 2 hours were relatively low compared to those in the experimental group with less than 2 hours. Therefore, ultrasonic irradiation for more than 2 hours is required for long-term (30 days) inhibition of algal growth in stagnant waters. However, the appropriate ultrasonic irradiation time for algae growth inhibition should be determined according to various field conditions such as the volume of stagnant water, water depth, flow rate, algae concentration, etc. Finally, damages to the algal cell surface and cell membrane were clearly observed, and both destruction and disturbance of gas vesicles of M. aeruginosa in the experimental group were discovered, indicating the growth inhibitory effect of Microcystis aeruginosa according to the ultrasonic irradiation time was confirmed.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.85-103
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• 2023

The in-situ remediation of a solidified stratum containing a large amount of fine-texture material like clay or organic matter in contaminated soil faces limitations such as increased remediation cost resulting from decreased purification efficiency. Even if the soil conditions are good, remediation generally requires a long time to complete because of non-uniform soil properties and low permeability. This study assessed the remediation effect and evaluated the field applicability of a methodology that combines pneumatic fracturing, vacuum extraction, and plasma blasting (the PPV method) to improve the limitations facing existing underground remediation methods. For comparison, underground remediation was performed over 80 days using the experimental PPV method and chemical oxidation (the control method). The control group showed no decrease in the degree of contamination due to the poor delivery of the soil remediation agent, whereas the PPV method clearly reduced the degree of contamination during the remediation period. Remediation effect, as assessed by the reduction of the highest TPH (Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons) concentration by distance from the injection well, was uncleared in the control group, whereas the PPV method showed a remediation effect of 62.6% within a 1 m radius of the injection well radius, 90.1% within 1.1~2.0 m, and 92.1% within 2.1~3.0 m. When evaluating the remediation efficiency by considering the average rate of TPH concentration reduction by distance from the injection well, the control group was not clear; in contrast, the PPV method showed 53.6% remediation effect within 1 m of the injection well, 82.4% within 1.1~2.0 m, and 68.7% within 2.1~3.0 m. Both ways of considering purification efficiency (based on changes in TPH maximum and average contamination concentration) found the PPV method to increase the remediation effect by 149.0~184.8% compared with the control group; its average increase in remediation effect was ~167%. The time taken to reduce contamination by 80% of the initial concentration was evaluated by deriving a correlation equation through analysis of the TPH concentration: the PPV method could reduce the purification time by 184.4% compared with chemical oxidation. However, the present evaluation of a single site cannot be equally applied to all strata, so additional research is necessary to explore more clearly the proposed method's effect.