• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.400-410
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• 2022

This study was performed to analyze the microbial contamination levels of three non-heated rice cake manufacturers in terms of seasonal manufacturing process and to investigate the effects of summertime soaking on contamination levels and temperature-controlled soaking in water on reduction in microbial levels. The total aerobic bacteria (TAB) ranged from 2.69 log CFU/g to 5.08 log CFU/g in the produce, but the microbial contamination increased sharply during soaking. The levels of TAB and coliforms during summer soaking were 7.01 and 3.96 log CFU/g, respectively, and this was significantly higher than those in other seasons. The contamination level was high in the subsequent freezing, with the TAB level (6.24 log CFU/g) exceeding the legal standard. The temperature of soaking water in summer increased from 19.1℃ to 26.8℃ after 12 h of soaking. The microbial contamination was significantly high commensurate with increased soaking time, and the TAB level in the frozen process exceeded the legal standard from 9 h of soaking. The use of ice packs to prevent the increase in temperature of the soaking water in summer resulted in maintenance of temperature at 20.1℃ for up to 12 h. The average TAB value in the freezing process was 4.42 log CFU/g after 12 h of soaking, and this is 1.77 log CFU/g lower than that before. Based on these results, it was determined that controlling the soaking time and water temperature are essential for the production of a safe unheated frozen rice cake. The safety of the HACCP system could be established by applying these preventive management standards.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.919-928
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• 2022

As seen in the COVID-19 pandemic, unexpected emergence of new viruses presents serious concern on public health. Especially, the absence of effective vaccines or antiviral drugs against emerging viruses significantly increases the severity of disease and duration of viral circulation among population. Natural products have served as a major source for safe and effective antiviral drugs. In this study, we examined the virucidal activity of medical herb extracts with a view to discover novel antiviral agents with desired levels of safety and antiviral efficacy. Ethanol extracts of ten selected medical herbs were tested for antioxidant activity and in-vitro cytotoxicity in various animal cell lines. Of note, the herbal extracts showed broad and potent virucidal activities against rotavirus, hepatitis A virus, and influenza A virus. The extracts of Sorbus commixta and Glycyrrhiza uralensis showed strong virucidal activities against influenza A virus. We also examined whether the extracts of Sorbus commixta and Glycyrrhiza uralensis can be used as inactivating agents to prepare an inactivated viral vaccine. In a mouse model, influenza A virus inactivated by the extracts elicited high levels of neutralizing antibodies, and the vaccination provided complete protection against lethal challenge. These results suggest that herb-derived natural products can be developed to antiviral drugs as well as inactivating agents for preparation of inactivated viral vaccines.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.108-118
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• 2022

The subventricular zone (SVZ) in the brain contains neural stem cells (NSCs) that generate new neurons throughout one's lifetime. Many extracellular and intracellular factors that affect cell proliferation and neuronal differentiation of NSCs are already well-known. Recently, L-type calcium channels have been reported to regulate neural development and are present in NSCs, differentiating neuroblasts, and mature neurons in the SVZ. Nifedipine, a blocker of L-type calcium channels, has been long used as a therapeutic drug for hypertension. However, studies on the use of nifedipine to inhibit L-type calcium channels of NSCs are lacking. Herein, we treated NSCs cultured from mouse postnatal SVZ with nifedipine during neuronal differentiation. Nifedipine increased the number of Tuj1-positive neurons but did not significantly change the number of Olig2-positive oligodendrocytes. Nifedipine increased cell division during early differentiation, which was detected using the 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine incorporation assay and immunocytochemistry assessment by staining the cells with phosphorylated histone H3, a mitosis marker. Nifedipine increased the transcription of Dlx2, a neurogenic transcription factor, and the level of Mash1, a marker for early neurogenesis. In addition to nifedipine, verapamil, which is also an L-type calcium channel blocker, showed a slight increase in neurogenesis, but its statistical significance was very low. In contrast, pimozide, a T-type calcium channel blocker, did not affect neurogenesis, although T-type calcium channel genes Cav3.1, Cav3.2, and Cav3.3 were expressed. In summary, nifedipine might promote the neuronal fate of NSCs during early differentiation and calcium signaling through L-type calcium channels might be involved in neuronal differentiation, especially during the early stages of differentiation.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.59-80
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• 2022

The purpose of this study was to develop a workbook that can support the class and evaluation of the subject, 「Food safety and health」 and to verify its validity. The development direction of the workbook was set by analyzing the 「Food safety and health」 curriculum, dietary education materials, and previous studies related to the workbook, and the overall structure was designed by deriving the activity ideas for each area. Based on this, the draft was developed, and the draft went through several rounds of cross-review by the authors and the examination and revision by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, before the final edited version was developed. The workbook was finalized with corrections and enhancements based on the advice of 9 experts and 44 home economics teachers. The workbook consists of 4 areas: the 'food selection' area, with 10 learning topics and 36 lessons, the 'food poisoning and food management' area, with 10 learning topics and 36 lessons, the 'cooking' area, with 11 learning topics and 43 lessons, and the 'healthy eating' area, with 11 learning topics and 55 lessons, resulting in a total of 42 learning topics, 170 lessons. The workbook was designed to evenly cultivate practical problem-solving competency, self-reliance capacity, creative thinking capacity, and community capacity. In-depth inquiry-learning is conducted on the content, and the context is structured so that self-diagnosis can be made through evaluation. According to the validity test of the workbook, it was evaluated to be very appropriate for encouraging student-participatory classes and evaluations, and to create a class atmosphere that promotes inquiry by strengthening experiments and practices. In the current situation where the high school credit system is implemented and individual students' learning options are emphasized, the results of this study is expected to help expand the scope of home economics-based elective courses and contribute to realizing student-led classrooms with a focus on inquiry.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.121-142
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• 2023

As the number and weight of imported food are steadily increasing, safety management of imported food to prevent food safety accidents is becoming more important. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety conducts on-site inspections of foreign food facilities before customs clearance as well as import inspection at the customs clearance stage. However, a data-based safety management plan for imported food is needed due to time, cost, and limited resources. In this study, we tried to increase the efficiency of the on-site inspection by preparing a machine learning prediction model that pre-selects the companies that are expected to fail before the on-site inspection. Basic information of 303,272 foreign food facilities and processing businesses collected in the Integrated Food Safety Information Network and 1,689 cases of on-site inspection information data collected from 2019 to April 2022 were collected. After preprocessing the data of foreign food facilities, only the data subject to on-site inspection were extracted using the foreign food facility_code. As a result, it consisted of a total of 1,689 data and 103 variables. For 103 variables, variables that were '0' were removed based on the Theil-U index, and after reducing by applying Multiple Correspondence Analysis, 49 characteristic variables were finally derived. We build eight different models and perform hyperparameter tuning through 5-fold cross validation. Then, the performance of the generated models are evaluated. The research purpose of selecting companies subject to on-site inspection is to maximize the recall, which is the probability of judging nonconforming companies as nonconforming. As a result of applying various algorithms of machine learning, the Random Forest model with the highest Recall_macro, AUROC, Average PR, F1-score, and Balanced Accuracy was evaluated as the best model. Finally, we apply Kernal SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) to present the selection reason for nonconforming facilities of individual instances, and discuss applicability to the on-site inspection facility selection system. Based on the results of this study, it is expected that it will contribute to the efficient operation of limited resources such as manpower and budget by establishing an imported food management system through a data-based scientific risk management model.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.31-61
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• 2000

Introduction. Despite the fact that half of premature deaths are caused by unhealthy lifestyles such as smoking tobacco, sedentary lifestyle, alcohol and drug abuse and poor nutrition, there are no theoretical models which accurately explain these health promotion related behaviors. This study tests a new model of health behavior called the Model of Health Promotion Behavior. This model draws on elements and frameworks suggested by the Health Belief Model, Social Cognitive Theory, the Theory of Planned Action and the Health Promotion Model. This model is intended as a general model of behavior but this first test of the model uses amount of exercise as the outcome behavior. Design. This study utilized a cross sectional mail-out, mail-back survey design to determine the elements within the model that best explained intentions to exercise and those that best explained amount of exercise. A follow-up questionnaire was mailed to all respondents to the first questionnaire about 10 months after the initial survey. A pretest was conducted to refine the questionnaire and a pilot study to test the protocols and assumptions used to calculate the required sample size. Sample. The sample was drawn from 2000 eligible participants at two blue collar (utility company and part of a hospital) and two white collar (bank and pharmaceutical) companies located in Southeastern Michigan. Both white collar site had employee fitness centers and all four sites offered health promotion programs. In the first survey, 982 responses were received (49.1％) after two mailings to non-respondents and one additional mailing to secure answers to missing data, with 845 usable cases for the analyzing current intentions and 918 usable cases for the explaining of amount of current exercise analysis. In the follow-up survey, questionnaires were mailed to the 982 employees who responded to the initial survey. After one follow-up mailing to non-respondents, and one mailing to secure answers to missing data, 697 (71.0％) responses were received, with 627 (63.8％) usable cases to predict intentions and 673 (68.5％) usable cases to predict amount of exercise. Measures. The questionnaire in the initial survey had 15 scales and 134 items; these scales measured each of the variables in the model. Thirteen of the scales were drawn from the literature, all had Cronbach's alpha scores above .74 and all but three had scores above .80. The questionnaire in the second mailing had only 10 items, and measured only outcome variables. Analysis. The analysis included calculation of scale scores, Cronbach's alpha, zero order correlations, and factor analysis, ordinary least square analysis, hierarchical tests of interaction terms and path analysis, and comparisons of results based on a random split of the data and splits based on gender and employer site. The power of the regression analysis was .99 at the .01 significance level for the model as a whole. Results. Self efficacy and Non-Health Benefits emerged as the most powerful predictors of Intentions to exercise, together explaining approximately 19％ of the variance in future Intentions. Intentions, and the interaction of Intentions with Barriers, with Support of Friends, and with Self Efficacy were the most consistent predictors of amount of future exercise, together explaining 38％ of the variance. With the inclusion of Prior Exercise History the model explained 52％ of the variance in amount of exercise 10 months later. There were very few differences in the variables that emerged as important predictors of intentions or exercise in the different employer sites or between males and females. Discussion. This new model is viable in predicting intentions to exercise and amount of exercise, both in absolute terms and when compared to existing models.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.9
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• pp.713-723
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• 2023

Lung cancer is a type of cancer that has the highest mortality rate. It is mainly classified into small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Chemotherapy is used to treat lung cancer, but long-term treatment causes side effects and drug resistances. Curcumin is a bright yellow polyphenol extracted from the root of turmeric. It has biological activities, such as anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, we observed differential cell death in human lung cancer cells. Based on the results, curcumin at 10, 30, and 50 μM exhibited a dose-dependent inhibition on the cell survival of several lung cancer cells, with minor differential phenotypes. In addition, apoptosis, autophagy, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) regeneration were observed through flow cytometry. Curcumin dose-dependently increased these phenotypes in A549 (NSCLC) and DMS53 (SCLC), which were restored by corresponding inhibitors. Western blotting was performed to measure the level of expression of apoptosis- and autophagy-related proteins. The results indicate that Bax, PARP, pro-caspase-3, and Bcl-2 were dose-dependently regulated by curcumin, with seemingly higher Bax/Bcl-2 ratios in DMS53. In addition, autophagic proteins, p-AKT, p62, and LC3B, were dose-dependently regulated by curcumin. ROS inhibition by diphenyleneiodonium reduced the induction of apoptosis and autophagy generated by curcumin. Taken together, it is suggested that curcumin induces apoptosis and autophagy via ROS generation, leading to cell death, with minor differences between human lung cancer cells.

• Clean Technology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.10-21
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• 2023

Hydrogels that are made of natural polymer-based double networks have excellent biocompatibility, low cytotoxicity, and high water content, assuring that the material has the properties required for a variety of biomedical applications. However, hydrogels also have limitations due to their relatively weak mechanical properties. In this study, hydrogels based on an alginate di-aldehyde (ADA) and gelatin (Gel) double network that is reinforced with additional hydrogen bonds formed between the hydroxyl (-OH) groups of the hyperbranched polymer (HPG) and the functional groups present inside of the hydrogels were successfully synthesized. The enhanced mechanical properties of these synthesized hydrogels were evaluated by varying the amount of HPG added during the hydrogel synthesis from 0 to 25%. In addition, magnetite nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄ NPs) were synthesized within the hydrogels and the structures and the magnetic properties of the hydrogels were also characterized. The hydrogels that contained 15% HPG and Fe₃O₄ NPs exhibited superparamagnetic behaviors with a saturation magnetization value of 3.8 emu g^-1. These particular hydrogels also had strengthened mechanical properties with a maximum compressive stress of 1.1 MPa at a strain of 67.4%. Magnetic hydrogels made with natural polymer-based double networks provide improved mechanical properties and have a significant potential for drug delivery and biomaterial application.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.305-314
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• 2023

Ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation causes skin diseases by inducing cellular oxidative stress, photoaging, and inflammation. This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of morin against UVB-induced oxidative stress in normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDFs). Morin has been reported to be a potential therapeutic candidate for oxidative stress-mediated diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and inflammation. Since morin has been identified as a potential antioxidant, we speculated that morin could alleviate UVB-induced apoptosis in NHDFs. Cell viability and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were measured using the MTT assay, H2DCFDA, and the DHE staining method, respectively. Lipid peroxidation and protein carbonyl formation were tested using ELISA kits. DNA fragmentation and comet assay were used to assess DNA damage. Apoptotic bodies were analyzed using Hoechst 33342 staining and TUNEL assay. The expression of apoptosis-related proteins was examined using Western blot analysis. Morin showed a cyto-protective effect by scavenging UVB-induced ROS, increasing the expression of antioxidant-related proteins and inhibiting UVB-induced oxidative alterations such as lipid peroxidation, protein carbonylation, and DNA damage. Morin protects against UVB-induced cell apoptosis by inhibiting Bcl-2-associated X protein, caspase-9, and caspase-3 expression, while increasing the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. These effects of morin were conferred through decreased phosphorylation of p38 and c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1/2. The results demonstrated that morin may be developed as a preventive/therapeutic drug to be used to prevent UVB-induced skin damage.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.223-232
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• 2023

Oxidative stress plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of various skin conditions, resulting in cellular and tissue damage that can contribute to the development of skin tone unevenness, roughness and wrinkles. In this study, we found that Trifolium pratense L. extract (TE) attenuated oxidative-induced damage in HaCaT cells and elucidated the underlying molecular mechanism. Our finding demonstrated that TE effectively protected HaCaT cells against H₂O₂-induced cell death by inhibiting caspase-3 activation, downregulating Bax and upregulating Bcl-2, and attenuating the activation of three mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). Our results suggest that TE has remarkable cytoprotective properties against oxidative damage in HaCaT cells and could serve as a complementary or alternative approach to prevent and treat skin damage.