• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.4353-4356
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• 2012

Background: Tobacco consumption is one of the leading causes of oral submucous fibrosis, oral cancer and even premature death. The present study was designed to compare the biochemical parameters and non-enzymatic antioxidant status and the lipid peroxidation products in pan masala tobacco users as compared with age-matched non-user controls. Methods: Pan masala and tobacco users of age $33.2{\pm}9.94$ years and age-matched controls ($31.2{\pm}4.73$ years) were enrolled for the study. Plasma levels of vitamin E, vitamin C, albumin, bilirubin, uric acid, glucose, urea, creatinine, aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT) were measured by standard methods. Serum malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were estimated as a measure of lipid peroxidation. Results: In the pan masala tobacco users, as compared to the controls, the level of vitamin C ($68.5{\pm}5.9$ vs $97.9{\pm}9.03{\mu}mol/L$, $p{\leq}0.05$) vitamin E ($18.4{\pm}5.3$ vs $97.9{\pm}9.03{\mu}mol/L$, $p{\leq}0.001$), albumin ($37.5{\pm}7.01$ vs $44.3{\pm}9.99g/L$, $p{\leq}0.001$), and malondialdehyde ($10.8{\pm}1.29$ vs $1.72{\pm}1.15nmol/ml$, $p{\leq}0.001$) were found to be significantly altered. Malondialdehyde was significantly correlated with vitamin E (r=1.00, p<0.001) and vitamin C (r=1.00, p<0.001) in pan masala tobacco users. Serum levels of AST ($31.0{\pm}16.77$ IU) and ALT ($36.7{\pm}31.3$ IU) in the pan masala tobacco users were significantly raised as compared to the controls (AST, $25.2{\pm}9.51$ IU, p=0.038; ALT, $26.2{\pm}17.9$ IU, p=0.038). Conclusion: These findings suggest that pan masala tobacco users are in a state of oxidative stress promoting cellular damage. Non-enzymatic antioxidants are depleted in pan masala tobacco users with subsequent alteration in the biochemical parameters. Supplementation of antioxidants may prevent oxidative damage in pan masala tobacco users.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.60 no.2
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• pp.239-247
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• 2015

This experiment was conducted to obtain the have higher contents of pharmaceutical constituents as well as higher yield from colchicine induced diploid and tetraploid extracts of Platycodon grandiflorum. In order to determine the biological activity, this study was focused to evaluate the cytotoxicity, antimicrobial on the bronthus disease bacteria, antioxidant enzyme activity of diploid and tetraploid extracts in P. grandiflorum. The activities of antioxidant enzyme according to different solvent extracts were measured as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX). The cytotoxicity of methanol extracts of P. grandiflorum showed significant differences between tetraploid and diploid. That is, the cytotoxic effect against human cancer cell was higher in tetraploid than in diploid. At all extracts concentration, tetraploid samples showed high toxicity and the $IC_{50}$ (concentration causing 50% cell death) value showed the highest on HCT-116 cell ($105.91{\mu}g/mL$), and exhibited significant activity against the Hep 3B cell ($140.67{\mu}g/mL$), SNU-1066 cell ($154.01{\mu}g/mL$), Hela cell ($158.37{\mu}g/mL$), SNU-601 cell ($182.67{\mu}g/mL$), Calu-6 cell ($190.42{\mu}g/mL$), MCF-7 cell ($510.19{\mu}g/mL$). Antimicrobial activities of diploid P. grandiflorum were relatively low compared to tetraploid P. grandiflorum on most of the bacterial strains. In tetraploid P. grandiflorum, K. pneumoniae showed the clear zone formation (18~19 mm) of growth inhibition, followed by the clear zone formation of 13~15 mm on C. diphtheria and S. pyogenes. The antimicrobial activities in diploid P. grandiflorum were the highest on K. pneumonia (14~15 mm), and showed the clear zone formation of 11~12 mm on C. diphtheria and 12~13 mm on S. pyogenes. The antimicrobial activity is thought to look different depending on the bacterial strains and the polyploidy of P. grandiflorum. The root extract of P. grandiflorum had the highest (97.2%) SOD enzyme activity in ethyl acetate partition layer of tetraploid while water partition layer of diploid showed the lowest (48.6%) SOD enzyme activity. The activity of CAT showed higher values in the root of tetraploid than in the diploid of P. grandiflorum in all partition layers except butyl alcohol. The activities of APX and POD showed higher values in the root of tetraploid than in the diploid of P. grandiflorum in all fraction solvents except water layer. These results indicate that the tetraploid P. grandiflorum can be used as a source for developing cytotoxic agent and antimicrobials which can act against bronchus diseases bacterial strains.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.51-55
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• 2000

Mass loss and changes of mineral nutrients during the decomposition of mushrooms, Russula alboareolata and Lactarius violascens, were investigated for 7d from June 29 to July 5 in 1999 in an oak stand in Kongju, Korea. At 7d after installation of litterbags, the remaining mass of R. alboareolata and L. violaxcens was 9.4% and 25.9%, respectively. The mass loss rate of R. alboareolata was significantly higher than that of L. violascens. Concentration of N, P, K, Ca and Mg of R. alboareolata and L. violascens were 37.7 mg/g, 0.97mg/g, 38.25 mg/g, 0.04 mg/g, and 0.75 mg/g for R. alboareolata and 45.7 mg/g, 1.31mg/g, 24.0 mg/g, 0.06 mg/g, and 0.80 mg/g for L. violascens, respectively. Concentrations of nutrients in R. alboareolata and L. violascens were much higher than those in the surrounding leaf litter. N, P, Ca and Mg concentrations in the decomposing mushroom tissue were higher during the experimental period in both species than initial concentrations. Potassium increased during the first 3 d and then decreased in both species. Potassium contents in the mushroom were much greater than those of Ca and Mg. Except for Ca, there was no immobilization period in all the nutrients during decomposition. At 7 d after installation of litterbags, the remaining N, P, K, Ca and Mg of R. alboareolata and L. violascens were 9.8%, 8.9%, 2.7%, 47.7%, and 14.8% of the initial contents for R. alboareolata and 28.2%,30.5%, 19.6%, 199.9%, and 02.1% for L. violascens, respectively. Nutrients could be relocated spatially during the formation and decomposition of the Basidiomycetes fruiting body.

• Clean Technology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.89-97
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• 2001

The purpose of this study was to find the optimum condition of the high removal efficiency of water pollutant as sewage treatment technology using a filtering bed charged with porous sintering-pellet which was planted with hydrophytes. Experiment was carried out by changing concentration of water pollutants(COD, T-N, T-P), kind of hydrophyte, kinds of filtering material and size, and HRT. The result of removal efficiency was obtained as following: COD removal 73.8~87.1% for input concentration range of 50~450mg/L, T-N removal 61.3~77.3% for input concentration range of 7~124mg/L, T-P removal 89.5~99.1% for input concentration ranger of 3~27mg/L. In a comparative experiment of three kinds of hydrophyte(Iris pseudoacorus, Phragmites communis $T_{RIN}$., Oenanthe javanica Dc.), the best removal efficiency of COD and T-N was gained with Iris pse-udoacorus, and Phragmites communis $T_{RIN}$ showed better result than two hydrophytes for the removal efficiency of T-P. In a comparative experiment of four kinds of filtering-materials, the removal efficiencies were in the order of porous sintering-pellet, gravel, nonused-tire and nonused-concrete. It was found that for the porous sintering-pellet, the smaller its diameter, the better its result. In the filtering bed in which was charged with porous sintering-pellets of 5mm diameter and planted with Iris pseudoacorus, the removal efficiency of COD, T-N and T-P were over 80%, 70% and 90% under the concentration of COD 250mg/L, T-N 70mg/L and T-P 15mg/L for 24hrs treatment. Thus, we concluded that a filtering bed charged with porous sintering-pellet and planted with hydrophytes will be suitable for treatment of sewage water as a pro-natural treatment technology.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.285-291
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• 2008

This study was performed to investigate the effects of Chitosan on the nickel poisoning in rats. In the study, 150 male Sprague-Dawley were used. The experimental groups were divided into four: A (30 mg/L nickel), B (30 mg/L nickel+0.2% Chitin, Chitosan and Dithiocarbamate Chitosan), C (30 mg/L nickel+0.4% Chitin, Chitosan and Dithiocarbamate Chitosan), D (30 mg/L nickel+0.8%Chitin, Chitosan and Dithiocarbamate Chitosan). The results were as flows; 1. The nickel concentration in the livers of the control group (A) was $0.153{\sim}0.186\;mg/kg$ but the nickel concentration in the livers of the experimental decreased during the experimental period (P<0.05). 2. Metallothionenin levels in rat liver were $2.77{\sim}3.25\;ug/g$ wet,wt in control group (A), but were $2.89{\sim}3.51\;ug/g$ wet,wt (B), $2.97{\sim}3.62\;ug/g$ wet,wt (C), $2.68{\sim}3.68\;ug/g$ wet,wt (D). Respectively in the experimental groups. The experimental groups were inclined to increase compare to the control group (P<0.05). In conclusion, this study revealed a preventive effect of Chitin, Chitosan and Dithiocarbamate Chitosan against nickel toxicity.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.379-384
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• 2006

Eight USA soils were used for this study. The purpose of this study is to illustrate the characteristics of metals in the soil based on the sequential extraction with increasing pH. Extracts were analyzed for metals by ICP-MS and for dissolved organic carbon(DOC). As the pH increasing, the DOC extracted in each increment initially decreased and reached the minimum at pH 3 and then increased substantially at higher pH values. According to the pH increasing, the extraction of Ca, Cu, and Zn were illustrated as L type. It was found that there were strong correlation between the extracted Fe and DOC($r=0.64{\sim}0.97$).

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.39 no.12
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• pp.689-697
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• 2017

As a fundamental study to apply the new flocculation method using ballast in water treatment process, the optimal conditions for general and ballast coagulant dosage, and pH, which are known to have a significant influence, were derived by response surface methodology. Poly aluminum chloride (PAC) and magnetite ballast were used as a general coagulant and ballast, respectively. Coagulation experiments were performed by jar-tester using the kaolin based synthetic water. The effects of three independent variables (pH, PAC, and ballast) on response variables (turbidity removal rate and average settling velocity of flocs) and the optimum condition of independent variables to induce the optimum flocculation were obtained by 17 experimental conditions designed by Box-Behnken procedure. After performing experiments, the quadratic regression model was derived for each of response variables, and the response surface analysis was conducted to explore the correlation between independent variables and response variables. The $R^2$ values for the turbidity removal rate and the average settling velocity were 0.9909 and 0.8295, respectively. The optimal conditions of independent variables were 7.4 of pH, 38 mg/L of PAC and 1,000 mg/L of ballast. Under these conditions, the turbidity removal rate was more than 97% and the average settling velocity exceeded 35 m/h.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.690-706
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• 2019

Paddy fields play an important role in the biodiversity conservation of agroecosystems as man-made wetlands. This study focused on the floristic composition and characteristics of paddy fields in South Korea. The flora surveys were conducted in 33 areas in nine provinces at two times (June and August) in 2016. The results showed that the vascular plants of the paddy fields in South Korea included 389 taxa, composed of 51 families, 219 genera, 350 species, four subspecies, 30 varieties, and five forms. Among the 51 families, Gramineae was the most diverse in species (76 taxa), followed by Compositae (61 taxa), Leguminosae (32 taxa), Cyperaceae (27 taxa), Polygonaceae (15 taxa), and Scrophulariaceae (12 taxa). Based on the occurrence frequency of each species, Digitaria ciliaris (Retz.) Koel. (100%), and Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P.Beauv. (100%) were the highest, followed by Acalypha australis L. (97.0%), Bidens frondosa L. (97.0%), Alopecurus aequalis Sobol. (97.0%), Rorippa palustris (Leyss.) Besser (93.9%), Ludwigia prostrata Roxb. (93.9%), Lemna perpusilla Torr. (93.9%), Mazus pumilus (Burm. f.) Steenis(90.9%), Rorippa palustris(Leyss.) Besser(87.9%), Eclipta prostrata(L.) L.(87.9%), Commelina communis L.(87.9%), Artemisia princeps Pamp.(84.8%), Erigeron annuus (L.) Pers.(84.8%), Cyperus microiria Steud.(84.8%), and Aneilema keisak(Hassk.) Hand.-Mazz. (81.8%). The biological type of paddy fields in South Korea was determined to be Th-R₅-D₄-t type. Rare plants were found in six taxa: Aristolochina contorta Bunge, Penthorum chinense Pursh, Sagittaria sagittifolia subsp. leucopetala (Miq.) Hartog, Ottelia alismoides (L.) Pers., Pseudoraphis ukishiba Ohwi, and Acorus calamus L. Eighty taxa contained naturalized plants composed of 15 families, 54 genera, 76 species, three varieties, and one form. The urbanization and naturalization indices were 24.8% and 20.6%, respectively.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.7
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• pp.2025-2030
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• 2010

When $Cu^{2+}$ was used as an electron acceptor, removal of $Cu^{2+}$ was achieved from the synthesized wastewater (SW) in the cathode compartment of a microbial fuel cell (MFC). By addition of $KNO_3$, the different initial pH of the SW showed no effect on the removal efficiency of $Cu^{2+}$. For $Cu^{2+}$ concentration of 50 mg/L the removal efficiencies were found to be 99.82%, 99.95%, 99.58%, and 99.97% for the $KNO_3$ concentrations of 0, 50, 100 and 200 mM, and to be 99.4%, 99.9%, 99.7%, and 99.7% for pH values of 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively. More than 99% $Cu^{2+}$ was removed for the $Cu^{2+}$ concentrations of 10, 50, and 100 mg/L, while only 60.1% of $Cu^{2+}$ was removed for the initial concentration of 200 mg/L (pH 3). The maximum power density was affected by both $KNO_3$ concentration and initial concentration of $Cu^{2+}$. It was increased by a factor of 1.5 (from 96.2 to 143.6 mW/$m^2$) when the $KNO_3$ concentration was increased from 0 to 200 mM (50 mg/L $Cu^{2+}$), and by a factor of 2.7 (from 118 to 319 mW/$m^2$) when $Cu^{2+}$ concentration was increased from 10 to 200 mg/L (pH 3).

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.97-104
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• 2008

Objective: Transient receptor potential vanilloid subfamily type 1 (TRPV1), a most specific marker of the nociceptive primary afferent, is expressed in peptidergic and non-peptidergic primary afferents innervating skin and viscera. However, its expression in sensory fibers to skeletal muscle is not well known. In this study, we studied the neurochemical characteristics of TRPV1-positive primary afferents to skeletal muscles. Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with total $20{\mu}l$ of 1% fast blue (FB) into the gastrocnemius and erector spinae muscle and animals were perfused 4 days after injection. FB-positive cells were traced in the L4-L5 (for gastrocnemius muscle) and L2-L4 (for erector spinae muscle) dorsal root ganglia. The neurochemical characteristics of the muscle afferents were studied with multiple immunofluorescence with TRPV1, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and $P2X_3$. To identify spinal neurons responding to noxious stimulus to the skeletal muscle, 10% acetic acids were injected into the gastrocnemius and erector spinae muscles and expression of phospho extracellular signal-regulated kinase (pERK) in spinal cords were identified with immunohistochemical method. Results: TRPVl was expressed in about 49% of muscle afferents traced from gastrocnemius and 40% of erector spinae. Sixty-five to 60% of TRPV1-positive muscles afferents also expressed CGRP. In contrast, expression of $P2X_3$ immnoreaction in TRPV1-positive muscle afferents were about 20%. TRPV1-positive primary afferents were contacted with spinal neurons expressing pERK after injection of acetic acid into the muscles. Conclusion: It is consequently suggested that nociception from skeletal muscles are mediated by TRPV1-positive primary afferents and majority of them are also peptidergic.