• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.32 no.10
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• pp.973-978
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• 2010

The emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from building materials is one of great concerns due to maintain airtight condition of a building to reduce energy consumption, and it causes the deterioration of indoor air quality. Therefore, the emission characterization of VOCs from building materials is necessary to improve indoor air quality. Emission characteristics of VOCs from a plywood flooring that is one of the most commonly used materials in an under-heating system, and from an adhesive that is generally used to stick a plywood flooring to a concrete floor were investigated using an emission chamber test in this study. It was found that the VOCs emission factor was dependent upon and proportional to indoor temperature, and the emission characteristics were closely related to the existing places and conditions of VOCs sources inside the building materials. Maximum emission factors of hexane and toluene from building materials were generally observed at the beginning, however, only that of toluene from a plywood flooring was shown after 6 hours from the beginning. It could be considered that the existing place and condition of toluene source inside a plywood flooring could influence on the VOCs emission. From this study, bake-out time more than 72 hours could be recommended before moving in to avoid the exposure to high concentration of VOCs emitted from an under-heating system.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.29-34
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• 2009

This study was performed under four operational conditions for nitrogen removal in metal finishing wastewater. The conditions include electrode gap, reducing agent, the recycling of treated wastewater in 1st step and the simultaneous treatment of nitrate and other materials. Result showed that the removal efficiency of $NO_3{^-}-N$ was highest at the electrode gap of 10 mm. As the electrode gap was shorter than 10 mm, the removal efficiency of $NO_3{^-}-N$ decreased due to increasing in concentration polarization on electrode. And, in case that the electrode gap was longer than 10 mm, the removal efficiency of $NO_3{^-}-N$ increased with an increase in energy consumption. Because hydrogen ions are consumed when nitrate is reduced, reducing reaction of nitrate was effected more in acid solution. As 1.2 excess amount of zinc was injected, the removal efficiency of $NO_3{^-}-N$ increased due to increasing in amount of reaction with nitrate. As the effluent from 1st step in the reactor was recycled into the 1st step, the removal efficiency of $NO_3{^-}-N$ increased. Because the zinc were detached from the cathode and concentration-polarization was decreased due to formation of turbulence in the reactor. The presence of $NH_4{^+}-N$ did not affect the removal efficiency of $NO_3{^-}-N$ but the addition of heavy metal decreased the removal efficiency of $NO_3{^-}-N$. As chlorine is enough in wastewater, the simultaneous treatment of nitrate and ammonia nitrogen may be possible. The problem that heavy metal decrease the removal efficiency of $NO_3{^-}-N$ may be solved by increasing current density or using front step of electrochemical process for heavy metal removal.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.63-70
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• 2012

Larix kaempferi and Betula costata seedlings were grown under an elevated temperature ($27^{\circ}C$) for four weeks to understand initial changes on physiological characteristics caused by temperature rising in connection with global warming. At the end of the treatment, growth performance, leaf pigment content, antioxidative enzyme activities and malondialdehyde (MDA) content were measured and analyzed. Relative growth rates of the height of two tree species grown under elevated temperature ($27^{\circ}C$) were lower than those of control ($24^{\circ}C$) and dry weights of leaves, stems and roots were also reduced at higher temperature. Particularly, the root growth reduction of two tree species increased markedly at $27^{\circ}C$ over the study period, which increased the ratio of shoot to root. Under higher temperature, leaf pigment contents decreased, whereas anti-oxidative enzyme activities such as ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and catalase (CAT) increased as compared with the control. But MDA content was not affected by elevated temperature. In conclusion, the elevated temperature leads to root growth reduction, restriction of nutrient uptake from soil and the reduction of leaf pigment contents, which can inhibit the aboveground growth. In addition, higher temperature might act as a stress factor that causes growth reduction through the increase of energy consumption during a growth period.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.26-35
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• 2016

As a potential clean energy resource, the production and consumption of hydrogen gas are expected to gradually increase, so that hydrogen related studies are also increasing. The thermal and chemical properties of hydrogen result in its high flammability; in particular, there is a high risk if leaks occur within an enclosed space. In this study, we applied the computational fluid dynamics method to conduct a numerical study on the leakage behavior of hydrogen gas and compared these numerical study results with an experimental study. The leakage hole diameter was selected as an important parameter and the hydrogen gas dispersion behavior in an enclosed space was investigated through various analytical methods. Moreover, the flammable regions were investigated as a function of the leakage time and leakage hole size. We found that the growth rate of the flammable region increases rapidly with increasing leakage hole size. We also investigated the relation between the mass flow rate and the critical time when the hydrogen gas reaches the ceiling. The analysis of the monitoring points showed that the hydrogen gas dispersion behavior is isotropic and independent of the geometry. We found that the concentration of gas in an enclosed space is affected by both the leakage flow rate and amount of gas accumulated in the enclosure.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.251-256
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• 2011

EGCG, catechins in green tea, is a kind of phytochemical. Through the regulation of signal pathways, EGCG has been known to show anti-oxidant and anti-tumor effects in cells. In this study, we investigated the apoptotic effects of EGCG through AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signal pathways, including hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-$1{\alpha}$). The experiments were performed in B16F10 melanoma cells in a hypoxic state. AMPK is activated by ATP consumption such as nutrient deficiency, exercise, heat shock, etc. The activated AMPK that plays an important role as an energy sensor inhibits proliferation of cancer cells, as well as inducing apoptosis. HIF-$1{\alpha}$, the primary transcriptional regulator of the response to oxygen deprivation, plays a critical role in modulating tumor growth and angiogenesis in a hypoxic state. The apoptotic effects of EGCG were studied in B16F10 cells in a hypoxic state. The results show that EGCG inhibits the transcriptional activity of HIF-$1{\alpha}$ and induces apoptosis. These observations suggest that EGCG may exert inhibitory effects of angiogenesis and control tumor cell growth in hypoxic melanoma cells.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.133-140
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• 2016

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has introduced low-floor buses, which are convenient for passengers getting on and off the bus and for the handicapped. The standard bus model is 11 m long and uses compressed natural gas (CNG). However, this model has drawbacks in narrow rural road conditions such as those in farming and fishing villages and mountainous areas, as well as difficulty in refueling since CNG facilities are not readily available. In this study, running resistance values were obtained by coasting performance tests on actual roads using a Tata Daewoo LF-40 model with three different weight conditions: curb vehicle weight (CVW), half vehicle weight (HVW), and gross vehicle weight (GVW).The test methods include WHVC, NIER-06, and constant-speed driving at 60 km/h. These tests were used to measure the fuel economy of vehicles other than the target vehicles to obtain the combined fuel economy. The energy efficiency was highest in the case of CVW. In the WHVC mode, the fuel consumption rates of HVW and GVW were typically 3.5% and 12% higher than that of CVW, respectively. In constant-speed driving, the fuel efficiency of HVW was higher than that of CVW. Further research is required to analyze the exhaust gas data.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.160-170
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• 2006

This study was conducted to provide foundation data for making health care policy for married women by assessing the dietary intake between highly educated married, employed and unemployed women. It is a direct interview, cross-sectional study with 24-hour recall method for one day. In selecting the subjects for this study, married, unemployed women were selected from a certain area (Daedeok Science Town) in Daejeon where there are high rates of highly educated women, and the married, employed women were selected from the teaching profession in order to avoid confounding due to including a variety of jobs. According to the Korean Standard Classification of Occupations, teaching is the representational occupation of highly educated, married women. Then, to prevent confounding due to age, we selected the subjects out of each age group at the same rate through random sampling. Women who had not graduated college, worked only part-time, or had no current spouse were excluded. As a result, 486 highly-educated, married, unemployed (250) and employed (236) women were used for analyzing data. The unemployed women consumed a higher amount of fat, cholesterol, sodium, vitamin C and folic acid while the employed women consumed a higher amount of iron, vitamin $B_l$ and vitamin $B_2$. P/M/S ratio being 1/1.18/1.05 and 1/1.05/0.87, for the unemployed women and the employed women, respectively, unemployed respondents had a higher saturated fat intake than those of employed. It is in excess of the standard ratio (1/1/1) of the Korean RDA. At the same time, in unemployed respondents the percent of energy intake from fat (24.8%, 23.2%) and animal fat (12.4%, 11.4%) were higher than those of employed respondents. The mean daily nutrient intake of calcium, zinc, and iron for both groups of respondents were lower than the Korean RDA. Both groups had phosphorus as the highest nutrient and calcium as the lowest nutrient of INQ (Index of Nutritional Quality) while nutrients with the INQ being less than 1 were calcium and iron. To sum up, the following conclusions can be made: Nutrition education and guidance for reduction of the intake of fat, especially animal fat, are necessary for unemployed women. In addition, highly educated, married, unemployed and employed women should increase the consumption of foods rich in iron and calcium to prevent anemia and osteoporosis, while decreasing the intake of phosphorus to balance proportions of calcium and phosphorus.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.452-461
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• 2012

There is increasing evidence that dietary factors in plant-based diets are important for the prevention of chronic disease. Especially, phytonutrients in fruits and vegetables have been recognized as major contributors for the decreased level of oxidative stress. In this study, the effect of switching the dietary habit to high consumption of fruits and vegetables were evaluated on the parameters of serum antioxidant status in healthy high school students. Forty one students participated in a randomized controlled trial and were assigned to the control group (n = 18) or the intervention group (n = 23). The intervention group was provided for 8 weeks with the main food source being whole grain and vegetables. Anthropometric measurements, blood parameters and dietary intakes were measured, and compared before and after study. After 8 weeks, weight and BMI were significantly decreased in the intervention group (p = 0.000). The serum diacron reactive oxygen metabolites (d-ROMs) test resulted in a significantly decreased level only in the intervention group (p < 0.05) after 8 weeks, but serum biological antioxidant potential (BAP) was increased significantly in both groups (p < 0.001). Intake of energy, total fat, cholesterol and sodium in the intervention group were significantly decreased after 8 weeks (p < 0.05). Also, the intervention group had significantly increased vitamin and phytonutrient intakes of all-trans-${\beta}$-carotene, ${\alpha}$-carotene, ${\alpha}$-tocopherol, ascorbic acid, and total phenols (p < 0.05). Overall, the results of this study suggest that whole grain, fruits, and vegetables supplementation showed improvement of the adolescent health.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.14-22
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• 2018

Purpose: Colorectal cancer, which is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in developing and developed countries, is highly associated with obesity. The association is largely attributed to changes to western style diets in those countries containing high-fat and high-energy. Luteolin (LUT) is a known potent inhibitor of inflammation, obesity, and cancer. In this study, we investigated the effects of LUT on chemical-induced colon carcinogenesis in high fat diet (HFD)-fed obese mice. Methods: Five-week-old male C57BL/6 mice received a single intraperitoneal injection of azoxymethane (AOM) at a dose of 12.5 mg/kg body weight. Mice were then divided into four groups (n = 10) that received one of the following diets for 11 weeks after the AOM injection: normal diet (ND); HFD; HFD with 0.0025% LUT (HFD LL); HFD with 0.005% LUT (HFD HL). One week after AOM injection, animals received 1~2% dextran sodium sulfate in their drinking water over three cycles consisting of five consecutive days each that were separated by 16 days. Results: Body weight, ratio of colon weight/length, and tumor multiplicity increased significantly in the HFD group compared to the ND group. Luteolin supplementation of the HFD significantly reduced the ratio of colon weight/length and colon tumors, but not body weight. The levels of plasma $TNF-{\alpha}$ and colonic expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 protein increased in response to HFD, but were suppressed by LUT supplementation. Immunohistochemistry analysis also showed that iNOS expression was decreased by LUT. Conclusion: Consumption of LUT may reduce the risk of obesity-associated colorectal cancer by suppression of colonic inflammation.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.73-86
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• 2018

Purpose: The aim of this study was to design optimized food intake patterns that meet the nutritional recommendations with minimal changes from the current food intake patterns among Korean adults using linear programming. Methods: Data of a one day 24-hour dietary recall from the 2010 ~ 2014 Korea National Health and Nutrition Survey were used to quantify the food items that Korean adults usually consumed. These food items were categorized into seven groups and 24 subgroups. The mean intakes and intake distributions of the food groups and the food subgroups were calculated for eight age (19 ~ 29, 30 ~ 49, 50 ~ 64, and over 65 years old) and gender (male and female) groups. A linear programming model was constructed to minimize the difference between the optimized and mean intakes of the food subgroups while meeting the Dietary Reference Intakes for Koreans (KDRIs) for energy and 13 nutrients, and not exceeding the typical quantities of each food subgroup consumed by the respective age and gender groups. Results: The optimized food intake patterns, which were a set of quantities of 24 food subgroups, were obtained mathematically for eight age and gender groups. Overall, major modifications of current diet were required to increase the intake of vegetables and milk/dairy products and decrease the Kimchi intake. The optimized intake of seasonings, including salt, was calculated to be 0 g for all the age and gender groups. Conclusion: The optimized food intake patterns designed using linear programming in this study lack feasibility because they suggest a seasoning consumption of 0 g. Modification of intake goal for sodium is needed to obtain optimized food intake patterns with improved feasibility.