• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.41-52
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• 2003

Sediment trap samples were collected to find out characteristic behaviors of metals in the settling particles by using time-series sediment traps at 678m and 1678m water depths in the Bransfield Strait from December 27th, 1999 to December 26th, 2000. Total mass fluxes at the intermediate water depth (678m water depth) were high in the austral summer and low in the austral winter, whereas at the deep water depth (1678m water depth) they showed high values in both the summer and winter. Total mass fluxes were generally higher in the deep water depth than in the intermediate water depth, which indicates that a substantial amount of sediments are laterally transported by strong currents into the deep basin from the shallow water depths. Aluminium contents also showed large seasonal variations with high values in the winter and low values in the summer. On the contrary, organic carbon contents were high in the summer and low in the winter. Al contents were negatively correlated with organic carbon contents, which may be ascribed that detrital particles are diluted by organic matter produced by phytoplankton in the surface waters. Metals measured in this study exhibited three characteristic behaviors; 1) a positive correlation with Al-Ti, Fe, Mn, V, Co, and Ba, 2) a negative correlation with Al-Cd and Zn, 3) no relationship with Al-Sr, Cu, Cr, Ni. Terrestrial materials may act as a major source fer metals that are positively correlated with Al, and organic matter may be a major source for metals that are negatively correlated with Al. Enrichment factor (EF) of Fe, Mn, Ba, Vi Co, Sr, Cr, and Ni ranged from 0.5 to 1.5, whereas EF of Zn, Cu, and Cd showed much higher values than 1.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.237-241
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• 2013

Giardia lamblia is recognized as one of the most prevalent parasites in dogs. The present study aimed to establish a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for rapid and specific detection of G. lamblia from dogs. The fecal samples were collected and prepared for microscopic analysis, and then the genomic DNA was extracted directly from purified cysts. The concentration of DNA samples of G. lamblia were diluted by 10-fold serially ranging from $10^{-1}$ to $10^{-5}ng/{\mu}l$ for LAMP and PCR assays. The LAMP assay allows the amplification to be finished within 60 min under isothermal conditions of $63^{\circ}C$ by employing 6 oligonucleotide primers designed based on G. lamblia elongation factor 1 alpha ($EF1{\alpha}$) gene sequence. Our tests showed that the specific amplification products were obtained only with G. lamblia, while no amplification products were detected with DNA of other related protozoans. Sensitivity evaluation indicated that the LAMP assay was sensitive 10 times more than PCR. It is concluded that LAMP is a rapid, highly sensitive and specific DNA amplification technique for detection of G. lamblia, which has implications for effective control and prevention of giardiasis.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.20-27
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• 2005

The seasonal variation of water quality was studied in the Hwabongcheon. It runs though a small catchment where shallow groundwater was contaminated with $NO_3-N$ by intensive livestock facilities. A direct inflow of animal waste and incoming of contaminated groundwater affected its water quality. In the dry season, an important factor of water quality in the Hwabongcheon was direct inflow of animal waste. In the wet season, concentrations of $NO_3-N$ in the Hwabongcheon were elevated in spite of being diluted by precipitation. It could be explained by the effect of increased incoming of contaminated groundwater and showed by oxygen and hydrogen isotope values. $NO_3-N$ concentration in the Cheongmicheon was lower than that in the Hwabongcheon, so it increased next a junction. This effect was intense in wet season because $NO_3-N$ concentration in the Hwabongcheon was high.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.1251-1255
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• 2005

Articular cartilage is an important factor for studying the arthritic diseases. The chondrocyte isolated from cartilage has the characieristic of differentiation and rf-differentiation when cultured in monolayer The bee venom (BV) acupuncture was investigated to examine their abilities on chondrocyte re-differentiation via rabbit chondrocyte primary culture. And the expression profiles of type II collagen (COL2) was analyzed using RT-PCR and western hybridization at third passage chondrocyte. In general, the mRNA expression of type II collagen was reduced step by step with the subculture of the chondrocyte. However, after the BV treatment for 48hr at third passage, the expressions of type II collagen were found to be significantly up-regulated, the same result was confirmed by western blotting. These results suggested that the diluted solution of BV for herb-acupuncture was very effective on the recovery of articular chondrocyte phenotype.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.83-88
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• 2020

BACKGROUND: This study was carried out to investigate residual characteristics of diethofencarb during ginseng cultivation and processing, and to establish the maximum residue limits (MRL) of ginseng and its processed products. METHODS AND RESULTS: Supervised field trials were conducted from three fields located at Seosan, Goesan and Jeongeup in Korea. Diethofencarb 25% WP was diluted by 500 times and sprayed 4 times onto the ginseng with 10 days interval. The samples were collected at 80 days after final application. The residual amounts of diethofencarb ranged from 0.074 to 0.460 mg/kg in fresh ginseng, from 0.292 to 0.720 mg/kg in dried ginseng, and from 0.208 to 0.557 mg/kg in red ginseng. These data exceeded the ginseng's MRL, 0.3 mg/kg. The processing factors of diethofencarb in processed products were found to be 2.64 and 1.99, respectively for dried and red ginseng. CONCLUSION: Given the lower residual concentration of red ginseng that goes through a more complicated process than dried ginseng, the residual concentrations of diethofencarb in processed ginseng products were found to be dependent on processing method. Therefore, it is necessary to reconsider the MRL of diethofencarb in fresh ginseng and its processed products.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.170-177
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• 2006

Hydrogen can extend the lean misfire limit to a large extent when it is mixed with conventional fuels for a spark ignition engine. In this study, hydrogen-enriched gaseous fuels by reforming process were simulated according to their proportions of $H_2$, CO, $CO_2$ and $N_2$ gases. Pure hydrogen and two different hydrogen-enriched gaseous mixtures(A-, B-composition) were tested for their basic effects on the engine performances and emissions in a single cylinder research engine. A- and B-composition showed different results from 100% $H_2$ addition because air/fuel mixtures were more diluted by their additions. Even though the energy fraction of reformed gases was increased, combustion stabilities and lean misfire limits were not sensitively improved. It means that combustion augmentation by $H_2$ addition was offset by the charge dilution of $N_2$ and $CO_2$. In addition, the low flammability of CO gas deteriorated thermal efficiencies. CO emission was drastically increased with B-composition which included higher CO component. However, $NO_x$ was reduced as energy fraction($X_e$) rised except for the case of 100% $H_2$ addition at $\lambda=1.2$ and was, for A-composition, lowered to a factor of ten when compared with that of $H_2$ addition. HC emissions were largely influenced by $COV_{imep}$ due to misfire and partial burns.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.459-464
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• 2005

The immune reinforcement of the probiotic lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus acidophilus, Streptococcus thermophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum was studied in RAW 264.7 cell line treated with diluted solution (dilution to $2^{5}$) of the supernatnats of lactic acid bacteria. RAW 264.7 cell line was used as a macrophage model to assess the effects of lactic acid bacteria on the production of nitric oxide (NO) and cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-$\alpha$ and cell morphological changes. The production of NO and TNF-$\alpha$ were largely affected by lactic acid bacteria in dose-dependent manner in 24 or 48 hr cultures and cell morphological changes were also largely affected by lactic acid bacteria. Especially Bifidobacterium bifidum differentially stimulated the production of NO and TNF-$\alpha$. NO production was increased by Bifidobacterium bifidum 25 $\mu$l/ml more than LPS (20 ng/ml) control, and TW-$\alpha$ by Bifidobacterium bifidum 6.25 $\mu$l/ml more than LPS (10 ng/ml) control. The in vitro approaches employed here should be useful in further characterization of the effects of lactic acid bacteria on systemic immunity.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.10
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• pp.2813-2818
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• 2010

A novel method was developed for the speciation of chromium in natural water samples based on homogeneous liquid-liquid extraction and determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). In this method, Cr(III) reacts with a new Schiff's base ligand to form the hydrophobic complex, which is subsequently entrapped in the sediment phase, whereas Cr(VI) remained in aqueous phase. The Cr(VI) assay is based on its reduction to Cr(III) by the addition of sodium sulfite to the sample solution. Thus, separation of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) could be realized. Homogeneous liquid-liquid extraction based on the pH-independent phase-separation process was investigated using a ternary solvent system (water-tetrabutylammonium ion ($TBA^+$)-chloroform) for the preconcentration of chromium. The phase separation phenomenon occurred by an ion-pair formation of TBA and perchlorate ion. Then sedimented phase was separated using a $100\;{\mu}L$ micro-syringe and diluted to 1.0 mL with ethanol. The sample was introduced into the flame by conventional aspiration. After the optimization of complexation and extraction conditions such as pH = 9.5, [ligand] = $1.0{\times}10^{-4}\;M$, [$TBA^+$] = $2.0{\times}10^{-2}\;M$, [$CHCl_3$] = $100.0\;{\mu}L$ and [$ClO_4$] = $2.0{\times}10{-2}\;M$, a preconcentration factor (Va/Vs) of 100 was obtained for only 10 mL of the sample. The relative standard deviation was 2.8% (n = 10). The limit of detection was sufficiently low and lie at ppb level. The proposed method was applied for the extraction and determination of chromium in natural water samples with satisfactory results.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.132-137
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• 2011

Bee venom acupuncture (BVA), as a kind of herbal acupuncture, involved injecting diluted bee venom into acupoints and is used for pain, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis patients. BVA is growing in popularity, especially in Korea, and is used primarily for pain relief in many kinds of diseases. However, the effect of bee venom anti-inflammatory related action in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced chondrocyte stress have not been reported yet. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of bee venom of cell viability and inflammatory cytokine in rat articular chondrocyte cultures stimulated with lipopolysaccharide. Inflammation was induced in rat chondrocytes by treatment with $10{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ LPS. The change of cell viability were decreased in chondrocytes after treatment with lipopolysaccharide. The cell viability revealed that BV exerted no significant cytotoxicity in the rat chondrocyte. Bee venom inhibited decreased cell viability in the presence of lipopolysaccharide ($10{\mu}g/m{\ell}$) in a dose dependent manner(0.1, 0.5, 1.0 and $5.0{\mu}g/m{\ell}$) at bee venom(p<0.05). Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-${\alpha}$ production in the presence of lipopolysaccharide($1{\mu}g/m{\ell}$) was also inhibited in a dose dependent manner (p<0.05 from bee venom $0.1{\mu}g/m{\ell}$). Interleukin (IL)-6 production in the presence of lipopolysaccharide ($10{\mu}g/m{\ell}$) was inhibited as well (p<0.05 at bee venom 0.1, 0.5, 1.0 and $5.0{\mu}g/m{\ell}$, respectively). Our results demonstrate that bee venom was a anti-inflammatory agent of chondrocytes. Bee venom may exert its anti inflammatory effects through inhibition of TNF-${\alpha}$ and IL-6 synthesis, and may then pain relief and reduce the articular destruction.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.163-172
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• 2019

Methamphetamine (MA) is currently the most abused illicit drug in Korea and its major metabolite is amphetamine (AP). As MA exist as two enantiomers with the different pharmacological properties, it is necessary to determine their respective amounts in a sample. Thus a chiral stationary phase liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) method was developed for identification and quantification of d-MA, l-MA, d-AP, and l-AP in human urine. Urine sample ($200{\mu}L$) was diluted with pure water and purified using solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridge. A $5-{\mu}L$ aliquot of SPE treated sample solution was injected into LC-MS/MS system. Chiral separation was carried out on the Astec Chirobiotic V2 column with an isocratic elution for each enantiomer. Identification and quantification of enantiomeric MA and AP was performed using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) detection mode. Linear regression with a $1/x^2$ as the weighting factor was applied to generate a calibration curve. The linear ranges were 25-1000 ng/mL for all compounds. The intra- and inter-day precisions were within 3.6 %, while the intra- and inter-day accuracies ranged from -5.4 % to 11.8 %. The limits of detection were 2.5 ng/mL (d-MA), 3.5 ng/mL (l-MA), 7.5 ng/mL (d-AP), and 7.5 ng/mL (l-AP). Method validation parameters such as selectivity, matrix effect, and stability were evaluated and met acceptance criteria. The applicability of the method was tested by the analysis of genuine forensic urine samples from drug abusers. d-MA is the most common compound found in urine and mainly used by abusers.