• BMB Reports
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• v.55 no.8
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• pp.407-412
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• 2022

A well-controlled inflammatory response is crucial for the recovery from injury and maintenance of tissue homeostasis. The anti-inflammatory response of 2-methoxycinnamaldehyde (2-MCA), a natural compound derived from cinnamon, has been studied; however, the underlying mechanism on macrophage has not been fully elucidated. In this study, LPS-stimulated production of TNF-α and NO was reduced by 2-MCA in macrophages. 2-MCA significantly activated the NRF2 pathway, and expression levels of autophagy-associated proteins in macrophages, including LC3 and P62, were enhanced via NRF2 activation regardless of LPS treatment, suggesting the occurrence of 2-MCA-mediated autophagy. Moreover, evaluation of autophagy flux using luciferase-conjugated LC3 revealed that incremental LC3 and P62 levels are coupled to enhanced autophagy flux. Finally, reduced expression levels of TNF-α and NOS2 by 2-MCA were reversed by autophagy inhibitors, such as bafilomycin A1 and NH4Cl, in LPS-stimulated macrophages. In conclusion, 2-MCA enhances autophagy flux in macrophages via NRF2 activation and consequently reduces LPS-induced inflammation.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.553-558
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• 2004

An ultrafiltration membrane (polyethersulfone, PM 10) was surface-modified by treating it with low-tem­perature plasmas of oxygen, acrylic acid (AA), acetylene, diaminocyolohexane (DACH), and hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO). The effects that these modifications have on the filtration efficiency of a membrane in waste water treat­ment were investigated. The oxygen, AA, and DACH plasma-treated membranes became more hydrophilic. The water contact angles ranged from < $10^{\circ}\;to\;55^{\circ}$ depending on the type of plasma and the treatment conditions. The oxygen plasma-treated membranes displayed a higher initial flux $(312-429\%),$ but lower rejection $(6-91\%),$ than did an untreated membrane. The AA plasma-treated membranes displayed lower or higher initial flux $(42-156\%),$ depending upon the treatment conditions, but higher rejection $(224-295\%)$ in all cases. The DACH plasma-treated membranes displayed lower initial flux. All of them, especially the AA plasma-treated membrane, displayed improved fouling resistance with either a slower or no flux decline. Acetylene and HMDSO plasma-treated membranes became more hydrophobic and displayed both lower initial flux and lower fouling resistance.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.313-325
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• 2016

South Africa recognises piped water as the main source of safe drinking water supply. Remote areas do not have access to this resource and they rely solely on surface water for survival, which exposes them to waterborne diseases. Interim point of use solutions are not practiced due to their laboriousness and alteration of the taste. Bio-ultra low pressure driven membrane system has been noted to be able to produce stable fluxes after one week of operation; however, there is limited literature on South African waters. This study was conducted on three rivers namely; Umgeni, Umbilo and Tugela. Three laboratory systems were setup to evaluate the performance of the technology in terms of producing stable fluxes and water that is compliant with the WHO 2008 drinking water guideline with regards to turbidity, total coliforms and E.coli. The obtained flux rate trends were similar to those noted in literature where they are referred to as stable fluxes. However, when further comparing the obtained fluxes to the normal dead-end filtration curve, it was noted that both the Umbilo and Tugela Rivers responded similarly to a normal dead-end filtration curve. The Umgeni River was noted to produce flux rates which were higher than those obtainable under normal dead-end. It can be concluded that there was no stabilisation of flux noted. However, feed water with low E.coli and turbidity concentrations enhances the flux rates. The technology was noted to produce water of less than 1 NTU and 100% removal efficiency for E.coli and total coliforms.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2016.05a
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• pp.330-330
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• 2016

The quantification of dry season evaporation in regions, where the magnitude of dry season flows is key to the regional water supply, is essential for good water management. Also, tree transpiration has a significant role in the water balance of a catchment whenever it is tree populated, especially in water limited environments. Such is the case in the Middle Mountains of Nepal where dry season flows play a significant role in downstream water provisioning and their proper functioning is key to the welfare of millions of people. This research seeks to study the transpiration of a pine forest stand in the Jikhu Khola Watershed in the Middle Mountains of Nepal. To the author's knowledge, no single study has been made so far to estimate the dry season evaporation from the planted forest stand in the Middle Mountains of Nepal. The study was carried out in planted pine forest embedded within the Jikhu Khola Catchment. Field campaigns of sap flow measurements were carried out from September, 2010 to February, 2011 in the selected plot of 15*15m dimension, to characterize dry season evaporation. This was done by measuring sap fluxes and sapwood areas over the six trees of different Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) classes. The sap flux was assessed using Granier's thermal dissipation probe (TDP) technique while sapwood area was determined using several incremental core(s) taken with a Pressler borer and immediately dyeing with methyl orange for estimating the actual depth of sapwood area. Transpiration of the plot was estimated by considering the contribution of each tree class. For this purpose, sap flux density, sapwood area and the proportion of total canopy area were determined for each tree class of the selected plot. From these data, hourly and diurnal transpiration rates for the plot were calculated for experimental period. Finally, Cienciala model was parameterized using the data recorded by the ADAS and other terrain data collected in the field. The calibrated model allowed the extrapolation of Sap flux density (v) over a six month period, from September 2010 to February 2011. The model given sap flux density was validated with the measured sap flux density from Grainier method.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.235-244
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• 2019

We present the results of near-infrared imaging observations of the galaxy overdensity around the z = 1.44 radio-loud active galactic nucleus (AGN) 6CE1100+3505, which was carried out with the purpose of sampling the redshifted Hα emission from the actively star-forming galaxies that could constitute the overdensity. The existence of the structure around this AGN was spectroscopically confirmed by previous grism observations which are however limited to the central region. Using the CH4Off narrow/medium-band and H broad band filters in the Wide Infrared Camera (WIRCam) on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), we constructed a sample of objects that show a flux excess in the CH4Off band due to line emission. The emission line flux is ~ 4.9 × 10^-16 erg s^-1 cm^-2, corresponding to a star formation rate (SFR) of ~ 50 M_⊙ yr^-1 for galaxies at redshifts z ~ 1.4. None of the galaxies with medium-band flux excess is located within 1 Mpc from the central AGN, and there is no evidence that the selected galaxies are associated with the proposed cluster. Along with the star formation quenching near the center that was found from the previous grism observations, the lack of extreme starbursts in the structure suggests that at z ~ 1.4, overdense regions are no longer favorable locations for vigorous star formation.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.448-457
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• 1999

Citrus fruits are consumed worldwide due to their unique flavor and nutrition value. It is necessary to remove the haze material as well as to minimize the loss of major compounds such as organic acids, sugars, and ascorbic acid in membrane processes for clarification of juice. The objective of our research was to select the best membrane among one surface filter (Whatman No.4) and five microfiltration filters (GF/A, GF/D, GF/F, Gelman, and SM). Tangerine fresh blended with three times of water was partially clarified with 170 mesh followed by prefiltration in a Samduck filtration system. The best membrane was selected by measuring the amounts of major compounds in the permeates as well as the flux which were statistically analyzed with SAS program. The foulants on the membrane surface were observed by SEM. The flux of GF/A and GF/F decreased with time at probability 0.10. Gelman, SM, and GF/D maintained the stable flux. Gelman showed the highest total scores including nutritive value (the amounts of citrate, malate, and ascorbic acid) and purchasing need (brix and color). Therefore, the microfiltration membrane process was a very effective method in tangerine juice clarification and Gelman type A/E was proved to be the best membrane among the five microfiltration membranes.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.114-125
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• 1999

Dense polymer membranes were made from vanous silicone polymers such as poly(1-trimethylsilyl-1-propyneHPTMSP), poly(dimethylsiloxaneHPDMS), PTMSP- g-PDMS. These membranes were evaluated in terms of the removal of chlorinated organic hydrocarbons such as chloroform, trichloroethylene(TCE), perchloroethylene(PCE) from water by pervaporation. It was possible for membranes used in this study to remove PCE selectively which is dissolved small quantity in water among other separable solutes. PTMSP membranes exhibited a remarkable decay in permeability with time because of the free volume decreases. However, PTMSP-g-PDMS membrane underwent no physical aging and showed the stable flux behavior. From the results of the contact angle measurement, polymeric membranes used in this study showed affinity with solutes for separation and no affinity with water. The relative swelling degree was directly related to the selectivity, while it has no influence on the flux.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.513-520
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• 2016

Many surface protection methods have been developed to apply to constructional steels which have been used under severe corrosive environments. One of these methods, hot dip galvanizing is being widely used to the numerous constructional steels such as a guard rail of high way, various types of structural steel for manufacturing ship and for some other industrial fields etc.. Recently, the cost of zinc is getting higher and higher, thus, it is considered that improvement of hot dip galvanizing process to reduce the cost of production should be developed possibly. In this study, additives such as acid cleaning solution, $NH_4OH$, $Al(OH)_3$ and $H_2O_2$ were added to flux solution, and omission of water washing treatment after acid cleaning was investigated with some types of flux solutions added with some additives mentioned above. The decrement of pH by adding the acid cleaning solution could be controlled due to neutralization reaction with addition of $NH_4OH$. The flux solution added with both $NH_4OH$ and $Al(OH)_3$ exhibited nearly the same color and pH value as those of orignal flux solution with no added, and the sample dipped to the flux solution which was added with additives mentioned above indicated a relatively good corrosion resistance compared to other samples. However, the flux solution added with $NH_4OH$, $Al(OH)_3$ and $H_2O_2$ exhibited a different color, sediment and a bad corrosion resistance. Consequently, it is considered that omission of water washing treatment may be able to perform by adding optimum additives to the original flux solution.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.1309-1313
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• 2015

The effects of Houttuynia cordata powder on the growth performance of ducks were investigated. Ninety ducks were assigned into one of three dietary treatments as a completely randomized design for 6 weeks: feeds supplemented with 1% or 2% H. cordata and a control group. No significant difference was observed in feed conversion among the three groups (p > 0.05), but addition of H. cordata had a significantly positive effect (p < 0.05) on initial and final body weight, weight gain, and feed intake of the ducks. Furthermore, the effects of chemical treatment (comprising 50 g and 100 g aluminum chloride [$AlCl_3$] per kilogram litter) on the ammonia ($NH_3$) flux in duck litters were also investigated. Duck litter was treated with $AlCl_3$ at a depth of 8 cm by top-dressing; this resulted in a significant difference on $NH_3$ flux (p < 0.05) during the experimental period (but not at 2 weeks). $NH_3$ flux at 6 weeks were reduced by 25.4% and 37.5% by treatment with 1% and 2% H. cordata, respectively, compared with the control groups. In conclusion, enriching the diets of the ducks with 2% H. cordata and adding 100 g $AlCl_3$ to their litter has beneficial effects on increasing their growth performance and reducing $NH_3$ flux in their environment.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.19-29
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• 2001

Atmospheric concentrations of acidic pollutant were measured by the 4 stage filter pak method at Chunchon and by the 3 stage filter pack method at Seoul and Anmyon-do from January to December 1998. The sample was collected for 24 hours on every Wednesday. Concentrations of particulate matters were highest at Anmyon-do. The particulate concentration was much higher during the warm season than other seasons. While the particulate concentration was higher during the warm season, the concentration of gaseous matter was higher in winter. Dry deposition flux was calculated by using reported deposition velocities and concentration of pollutants measured in this study. The dry deposition velocities used in this study for SO$_2$, SO$_{4}^{2}$, HNO$_3$,NO$_{3}^{-}$ and NH$_3$ were 0.29, 0.15, 2.08( 2.13 only for Anmyon-do), 0.20 and 1.00cm/sec, respectively. At Chunchon, annual sulfur flux originated from dry deposition was 384 kg/$textrm{km}^2$, and the flux from wet deposition was 782kg/$textrm{km}^2$. Dry deposition of sulfur was 33% of total sulfur deposition. The annual nitrogen flux originated from dry deposition was 1,892kg/$textrm{km}^2$. And the flux from wet deposition was 1,066kg/$textrm{km}^2$. Dry deposition of nitrogen was 64% of total nitrogen deposition. Dry deposition as well as wet deposition have to be considerd in the study on acidification of environment such as soil or watershed.