• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.9
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• pp.783-792
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• 2009

This study investigated 31 selected EDCs(Endocrine Disrupting Compounds) and PPCPs(Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products) in the influent and effluent of a wastewater treatment plant(WWTP) nearby Seoul metropolitan area. The chemical compounds of EDC/PPCPs detected from the plant influent sample include stimulant, X-ray contrast media and fire retardant. The total amount of each compound class were 59.67%, 20.20% and 9.00% respectively. However, in the effluent sample, the major micropolutants detected were oral beta-blocker(30.54%), fire retardant(20.49%), X-ray contrast media(18.17%). The EDC/PPCPs occurrence levels of this study were somewhat lower than previous domestic studies'. When compared to those of overseas, the values were even lower. Some pharmaceutical compound levels particularly measured in European studies were even several thousand times high. This study then compared PECs(Predicted Environmental Concentration) and MECs(Measured Environmental Concentration) of 9 selected pharmaceuticals compounds. The calculated PECs were substantially different with the MECs, while the occurrence order between the PECs and MECs in terms of concentrations of the compounds were similar.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.44-50
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• 2009

The occurrence of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), chemicals that interfere with human hormone system, are increasing in the freshwater, waste water and subsurface as well. In this study, we determined the reactivity of three EDCs in the presence of birnessite. In aqueous phase, bisphenol A, 2,4-dichlorophenol and 17${\beta}$-estradiol, which possesses phenoxy-OH, were very rapidly transformed by birnessite: up to 99% of initial concentrations (50 mg/L for bisphenol A, 100mg/L for 2,4-dichlorophenol, and 1.5mg/L for 17${\beta}$-estradiol) were destroyed within 60 minutes. Especially, bisphenol A was the most reactive chemical, disappearing by 99% in a few minutes. The reaction occurred on the surface of birnessite, showing a linear increase of first-order kinetic constants with the increase of the surface area of birnessite. In soil slurry phase, the reactivity of birnessiteto EDCs was faster than in aqueous phase probably due to the cross coupling reaction of phenoxy radicals with soil organic matter. Considering the rapid transformation of the EDCs in the both phases, this oxidative cross coupling reaction mediated by birnessite would be an effective solution for the remediation of EDCs in environmental media, especially in soil.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.199-202
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• 2008

A white rot fungus Irpex lacteus produced lignin degrading enzymes, which showed degrading activity against various recalcitrant compounds. However, laccase, one of the lignin degrading enzymes, was too low to be assayed by spectrophotometry using o-tolidine as the chromogenic substrate in this fungus under various culture conditions. A laccase expression vector was constructed using a cDNA from Phlebia tremellosa with the constitutively expressed promoter of glyceraldehydes-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene, and introduced into I. lacteus by the restriction enzyme mediated integration transformation through the protoplast-$CaCl_2$ procedure. Two transformants showed highly increased laccase activities at the early growth phase in the minimal liquid medium, and they not only degraded bisphenol A, a notorious endocrine disrupting chemical, but also removed the estrogenic activity effectively.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.248-255
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• 1999

Sewage sludge samples were extracted with dichlomethane by Soxhlet extraction. The extracts were analysed for the endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC), octylphenol(OP), nonylphenol (NP) and bis (2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DOP) using GC/MS-SIM. In industrial sewage sludge (sample Z-1) the concentration of NP and DOP were respectively $1168{\mu}g/g$ and $1172{\mu}g/g$ whereas in domestic sludge (sample Z-2) the concentration were respectively $10.8{\mu}g/g$ and $80{\mu}g/g$. OP was not detected in Z-2, but detected a small amount in Z-2 of the samples. Environmental EDC have been shown to affect the fertility of range of living organisms, including humans, and the high levels of NP and DOP in industrial sewage sludge could have serious implications for the reproductive health of humans particularly if the compounds entered the human food chain through water or the ingestion of vegetables or animal products.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.683-692
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• 2000

The volatile organic compounds emitted from food wrapping films when it was used at high temperatures. However, the testing method based on solvent extraction may not be suitable for determination of volatile organic compounds from food wrapping films. Therefore, thermal extraction device was investigated in the study for reflection of actual usage conditions at home and restaurant. In this study, PVC food wrapping films were exposed to normal use condition controlled from $50^{\circ}C$ to $120^{\circ}C$ and collected on sorbent trap. Then, emitted VOCs from the films were analyzed with On-column cryofocusing-GC/MS system. The major VOCs emitted from films were $C_{12}-C_{18}$ paraffinic hydrocarbons, dimethylphthalate, alkylphenols, known as endocrine disrupting chemical, such as tetramethylbutylphenol, tert-butylphenol, and nonylphenol. The concentration of tetramethylbutylphenol emitted from PVC films was $0.07ng/cm^2$ at $50^{\circ}C$, rapidly increased with temperature, $3.94ng/cm^2$ at $100^{\circ}C$.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.308-310
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• 2002

Effect of 4-nonylphenol (4-NP), endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), on glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) and glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) were investigated in the plasma of juvenile rockfish, Sebastes schlegeli. Fish were injected with 4­NP (10, 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight) in $70\%$ ethanol twice at 3-day intervals and plasma sampling were extracted at 7 days after the last injection. Controls received solvent only. 4-NP significant increased GOT in a dose-dependent manner. GPT was markedly elevated to $61\%$ (P<0.05) and $82\%$ (P<0.01) than that of the control at the 4-NP doses of 100 and 200mg, respectively. These results suggest that the estrogenic activity of 4-NP increase plasma GOT and GPT by toxic effect on hepatocyte.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2005.04a
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• pp.117-121
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• 2005

In order to monitor the levels and seasonal variations of EDCs, samples of the discharged effluent from sewage & wastewater treatment plants and river waters were collected. The target EDCs including bisphenol A and alkylphenols were determined by Laser-induced fluorescence(LIF) as in-situ monitoring technique. The category of EDCs showed similar fluorescence spectra and nearly equal decay time. This point makes it hard to distinguish each EBCs from the EDCs mixture by LIF and LIF results were expressed only by the total EDCs. However, LIF monitoring results and GC-MS results was comparable. The correlation coefficient between EDCs concentration acquired from GC-MS and fluorescence intensity from LIF was significant. This study supports the feasibility of the application of LIF into EDCs monitoring In aquatic system.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.31 no.4 s.85
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• pp.241-245
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• 2005

Laccase catalyzes the oxidation and polymerization of aromatic compounds in the presence of molecular oxygen. Studies were conducted to characterize the use of polyethylene glycol (PEG) as an additive to keep up the enzymatic stability. The enzymatic activities highly remained and bisphenol A (BPA) was rapidly converted in the presence of 5 mg/l of PEC. These effects were accomplished with PEG of molecular weight 3,350. A linear relationship was found between the quantity of BPA to be converted $(10-120\;{\mu}M)$ and the optimum dose of PEC required for greater than $95\%$ conversion. This result suggests that it is the interaction between the PEG and the reaction products. In the optimum dose of PEG, the aeration of reaction mixture neither enhanced the conversion of BPA nor retarded the inactivation of the enzyme.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2007

The persistent and ubiquitous environmental contaminant, tributyltin chloride (TBT), induces not only imposex in gastropods but also the differentiation of adipocytes in vitro and increases adipose mass in vivo in vertebrates. TBT is a nanomolar affinity ligand for retinoid X receptor (RXR) in the rock shell(Thais clavigera) and for both the RXR and the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor $\gamma(PPAR\gamma)$ in the amphibian (Xenopus laevis), mouse, and human. The molecular mechanisms underlying induction of imposex by TBT have not been clarified, though several hypotheses are proposed. TBT promotes adipogenesis in the murine 3T3-L1 cell model and perturbs key regulators of adipogenesis and lipogenic pathways in vivo primarily through activation of RXR and $PPAR\gamma$. Moreover, in utero exposure to TBT leads to strikingly elevated lipid accumulation in adipose depots, liver, and testis of neonate mice and results in increased adipose mass in adults. In X. laevis, ectopic adipocytes form in and around gonadal tissues following organotin, RXR or $PPAR\gamma$ ligand exposure. TBT represents the first example of an environmental endocrine disrupter that promotes adverse effects from gastropods to mammals.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.503-511
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• 2018

Triclosan (TCS) and bisphenol A (BPA) are endocrine-disrupting chemicals that interfere with the hormone or endocrine system and may cause cancer. Kaempferol (Kaem) and 3,3'-diindolylmethane (DIM) are phytoestrogens that play chemopreventive roles in the inhibition of carcinogenesis and cancer progression. In this study, the influence of TCS, BPA, Kaem, and DIM on proliferation and apoptotic abilities of VM7Luc4E2 breast cancer cells were examined. MTT assay revealed that TCS ($0.1-10{\mu}M$), BPA ($0.1-10{\mu}M$) and E2 ($0.01-0.0001{\mu}M$) induced significant cell proliferation of VM7Luc4E2 cells, which was restored to the control (0.1% DMSO) by co-treatment with Kaem ($30{\mu}M$) or DIM ($15{\mu}M$). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production assays showed that TCS and BPA inhibited ROS production of VM7Luc4E2 cells similar to E2, but that co-treatment with Kaem or DIM on VM7Luc4E2 cells induced increased ROS production. Based on these results, the effects of TCS, BPA, Kaem, and DIM on protein expression of apoptosis and ROS production-related markers such as Bax and Bcl-xl, as well as endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-related markers such as $eIF2{\alpha}$ and CHOP were investigated by Western blot assay. The results revealed that TCS, and BPA induced anti-apoptosis by reducing ROS production and ER stress. However, Kaem and DIM effectively inhibited TCS and BPA-induced anti-apoptotic processes in VM7Luc4E2 cells. Overall, TCS and BPA were revealed to be distinct xenoestrogens that enhanced proliferation and anti-apoptosis, while Kaem and DIM were identified as natural chemopreventive compounds that effectively inhibited breast cancer cell proliferation and increased anti-apoptosis induced by TCS and BPA.