• ALGAE
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.263-283
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• 2021

To explore the ecophysiological characteristics of the kleptoplastidic dinoflagellate Shimiella gracilenta, we determined its spatiotemporal distribution in Korean coastal waters and growth and ingestion rates as a function of prey concentration. The abundance of S. gracilenta at 28 stations from 2015 to 2018 was measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Cells of S. gracilenta were detected at least once at all the stations and in each season, when temperature and salinity were 1.7-26.4℃ and 9.9-35.6, respectively. Moreover, among the 28 potential prey species tested, S. gracilenta SGJH1904 fed on diverse prey taxa. However, the highest abundance of S. gracilenta was only 3 cells mL^-1 during the study period. The threshold Teleaulax amphioxeia concentration for S. gracilenta growth was 5,618 cells mL^-1, which was much higher than the highest abundance of T. amphioxeia (667 cells mL^-1). Thus, T. amphioxeia was not likely to support the growth of S. gracilenta in the field during the study period. However, the maximum specific growth and ingestion rates of S. gracilenta on T. amphioxeia, the optimal prey species, were 1.36 d^-1 and 0.04 ng C predator^-1 d^-1, respectively. Thus, if the abundance of T. amphioxeia was much higher than 5,618 cells mL^-1, the abundance of S. gracilenta could be much higher than the highest abundance observed in this study. Eurythermal and euryhaline characteristics of S. gracilenta and its ability to feed on diverse prey species and conduct kleptoplastidy are likely to be responsible for its common spatiotemporal distribution.

• BMB Reports
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• v.54 no.10
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• pp.516-521
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• 2021

Although arginase primarily participates in the last reaction of the urea cycle, we have previously demonstrated that arginase II is an important cytosolic calcium regulator through spermine production in a p32-dependent manner. Here, we demonstrated that rhaponticin (RPT) is a novel medicinal-plant arginase inhibitor and investigated its mechanism of action on Ca²⁺-dependent endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activation. RPT was uncompetitively inhibited for both arginases I and II prepared from mouse liver and kidney. It also inhibited arginase activity in both aorta and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Using both microscope and FACS analyses, RPT treatments induced increases in cytosolic Ca²⁺ levels using Fluo-4 AM as a calcium indicator. Increased cytosolic Ca²⁺ elicited the phosphorylations of both CaMKII and eNOS Ser1177 in a time-dependent manner. RPT incubations also increased intracellular L-arginine (L-Arg) levels and activated the CaMKII/AMPK/Akt/eNOS signaling cascade in HUVECs. Treatment of L-Arg and ABH, arginase inhibitor, increased intracellular Ca²⁺ concentrations and activated CaMKII-dependent eNOS activation in ECs of WT mice, but, the effects were not observed in ECs of inositol triphosphate receptor type 1 knockout (IP3R1^-/-) mice. In the aortic endothelium of WT mice, RPT also augmented nitric oxide (NO) production and attenuated reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. In a vascular tension assay using RPT-treated aortic tissue, cumulative vasorelaxant responses to acetylcholine (Ach) were enhanced, and phenylephrine (PE)-dependent vasoconstrictive responses were retarded, although sodium nitroprusside and KCl responses were not different. In this study, we present a novel mechanism for RPT, as an arginase inhibitor, to increase cytosolic Ca²⁺ concentration in a L-Arg-dependent manner and enhance endothelial function through eNOS activation.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.427-438
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• 2023

Biocide dichlofluanid breaks down quickly and accumulates easily in sediment, potentially causing a persistent impact on various marine organisms. We analyzed the potential toxicity of dichlofluanid on major aquaculture species in Korea, Undaria pinnatifida. Female gametophytes of U. pinnatifida were exposed to dichlofluanid at concentrations of 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 mg L^-1, and their survival and relative growth rate were analyzed. The no observed effect concentration(NOEC), lowest observed effect concentration (LOEC), and median lethal concentration (LC₅₀) for female gametophyte survival were determined as 1, 2, and 10.82 (95% CI: 8.87-13.23) mg L^-1, respectively. The NOEC, LOEC, and median effective concentration (EC₅₀) for relative growth rate were 1, 2, and 6.58 (95% CI: 6.03-7.17) mg L^-1, respectively. Female gametophytes of U. pinnatifida were expected to experience toxic effects at concentrations above 2 mg L^-1 of dichlofluanid. These research findings are expected to serve as important reference data for evaluating the toxicity effects of U. pinnatifida in its early life stages when exposed to dichlofluanid.

• Communications of the Korean Mathematical Society
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.991-997
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• 2017

We classify the extreme, exposed and smooth symmetric 3-linear forms of the unit ball of ${\mathcal{L}}_s(^3l^2_{\infty})$, respectively.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.97-105
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• 2023

Concentration of nitrogen, one of the major elements, and ratio of two nitrogen forms (NH₄⁺ and NO₃^-) in the nutrient solution affect the quality and food safety of fresh vegetable produce. This study was conducted to find an appropriate strength and NH₄⁺:NO₃^- ratio of a nutrient solution for growth and development of a Romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. longiflora) 'Caesar Green', a representative leafy vegetable, grown in a home hydroponic system. In the first experiment, plants were grown using three types of nutrient solution: A commercial nutrient solution (Peters) and two strengths (GNU1 and GNU2) of a multipurpose nutrient solution (GNU solution) developed in a Gyeongsang National University lab. Plants grown with the GNU1 and GNU2 had greater shoot length, leaf length and width, and biomass yield than Peters. On the other hand, the root hairs of plants grown with Peters were short and dark in color. Tissue NH₄⁺ content in the Peters was higher than that of the GNU1 and GNU2. The higher contents of NH₄⁺ in this solution may have caused ammonium toxicity. In the second experiment, eight treatment solutions, combining GNU1 and GNU2 solutions with four ratios of NO₃^- :NH₄⁺ named as 1, 2, 3 and 4 were used. Both experiments showed more growth in the GNU2 group, which had a relatively low ionic strength of the nutrient solution. The growth of Romaine lettuce showed the greatest fresh weight along with low tissue NO₃^- content in the GNU2-2. This was more advantageous in terms of food safety in that it suppressed the accumulation of surplus NO₃^- in tissues due to the low ionic trength of the GNU2 subgroup. In addition, this is preferable in that it can reduce the absolute amount of the input of inorganic nutrients to the nutrient solution.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.164-168
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• 2015

Citric acid is produced via submerged fermentation using yeasts. Among eight different strains of yeast, Candida zeylanoides was chosen as the strain for producing citric acid and optimized for various C/N ratios and effects of phosphate or Fe²⁺ ions in a clean carbon source medium (glucose: fructose, 1:1). The yield of citric acid was maximized at a C/N ratio of 40/1, a phosphate addition of 1.0 g/l, and an Fe²⁺ ion concentration of less than 50 mg/l, yielding up to 91 g/L in the broth with 18.5 g/l of isocitric acid in a six-day fermentation period using a pre-treated molasses medium. The yield of batch culture was 0.51 (Y_p/s, g/g) in a 5 L-Jar fermenter.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.280-290
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• 2021

The present study investigated species richness and phytoplankton community structure in lakes in the Geum River Basin during autumn and spring seasons. Surveys were conducted between September and November 2019, and between April and May 2020, which corresponded to the autumn and spring seasons, respectively, to explore the distribution characteristics of the species. A total of 49 species of phytoplankton belonging to 31 genera and seven classes were identified in Cho Pyeong-ji, 51 species belonging to 29 genera and six classes were identified in Song Ak-ji, 49 species belonging to 32 genera and seven classes were identified in Cheong Cheon-ji, 82 species belonging to 45 genera and six classes were identified in Ye Dangji, and 70 species belonging to 40 genera and six classes were identified in Ganwol Lake. A total of 43 species belonging to 74 genera and seven classes were identified. The ranges of phytoplankton standing crop were as follows: 223~3533 cells mL^-1 in Cho Pyeong-ji, 881~176018 cells mL^-1 in Song Ak-ji, 402~6139 cells mL^-1 in Cheong Cheon-ji, 262~10460 cells mL^-1 in Ye Dang-ji, and 20413~330695 cells mL^-1 in Ganwol Lake. Phytoplankton diversity in Cho Pyeong-ji, Song Ak-ji, Cheong Cheon-ji, Ye Dang-ji, and Ganwol Lake were 1.10~2.60, 0.56~2.03, 0.21~2.03, 0.65~2.57, and 0.44~1.12, respectively. Phytoplankton species richness in Cho Pyeong-ji, Song Ak-ji, Cheong Cheon-ji, Ye Dang-ji, and Ganwol Lake were 1.91~4.99, 1.82~3.26, 1.26~4.17, 2.07~5.37, and 1.90~2.43, respectively. Phytoplankton evenness indices in Cho Pyeong-ji, Song Ak-ji, Cheong Cheon-ji, Ye Dang-ji, and Ganwol Lake were 0.38~0.78, 0.18~0.69, 0.08~0.71, 0.22~0.72, and 0.14~0.38, respectively. Phytoplankton dominance indices in Cho Pyeong-ji, Song Ak-ji, Cheong Cheon-ji, Ye Dang-ji, and Ganwol Lake were 0.40~0.83, 0.55~0.96, 0.44~0.99, 0.42~0.93, and 0.89~0.97, respectively.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.129-138
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• 2022

Crucian carp, Carassius carassius (Weight 42.4 ± 9.0 g, Length 15.0 ± 1.0 cm) were exposed to waterborne zinc at 0, 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 mg Zn²⁺/l for 96 hours. The lethal concentration 50 (LC₅₀) at 96 hours of crucian carp, C. carassius exposed to waterborne zinc was 51.58 mg Zn²⁺/l. In hematological parameters, the RBC count was significantly decreased in the concentration of 40 mg Zn²⁺/l at 48 hours, whereas the hematocrit was significantly increased by zinc exposure. The MCV (mean corpuscular volume) (µl) and MCH (mean corpuscular hemoglobin) (pg) were significantly increased in the concentration of 40 mg Zn²⁺/l at 48 hours. The plasma components such as calcium, magnesium, glucose, cholesterol, total protein and ALT (Alanine aminotransminase) were significantly changed by zinc exposure. The results of this study suggest that the zinc exposure to C. carassius induced the significant physiological changes in the hematological parameters and plasma components as toxicity.

• Journal of the Chungcheong Mathematical Society
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.307-313
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• 2022

In this paper, we will consider the periodic stationary Stokes equations on Rⁿ. For the cube of the period, we set Ω = ∏ⁿ_i=1(0, L_i). And we will study the stability of the solutions on various functional spaces, for the Stokes equations on Rⁿ.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.316-323
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• 2020

The degradation of aqueous oxytetracycline (OTC) from an aqueous solution antibiotic using H₂O₂/Fe²⁺ process was studied in one 1 L batch chemical reactor. The extent of OTC degradation (20 mg/L) was investigated from a known initial pH solution, temperature and the type of catalyst (Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺) and for various initial concentrations of OTC, H₂O₂ and Fe²⁺. The degradation efficiency achieved was found to be very important (90.82% and 90.63%) at initial pH solution of 3 and 4, respectively. However, the type of catalyst and the reaction temperature had a slight impact on the final degradation of OTC. The results showed that the OTC removal increased with increasing initial H₂O₂ concentration in the range of 70 to 150 mg/L and initial Fe²⁺ concentrations in the range of 2 to 5 mg/L. The highest degradation efficiency obtained at ambient temperature was 90.95% with initial concentration of OTC of 10 mg/L, H₂O₂ = 150 mg/L and Fe²⁺ = 5 mg/L. Moreover, biodegradability improved from 0.04 to 0.36 and chemical oxygen demand degradation was 78.35% after 60 min of treatment. This study proved that Fenton process can be used for pretreatment of wastewater contaminated by OTC before a biological treatment.