• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.275-284
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• 2002

Atmospheric concentrations of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in Seoul, South Korea between July 1999 and May 2000 were determined to investigate concentration distribution in air, relationship between concentrations and meteorological conditions, and apportionment of sources e.g. local sources (air- surface exchange) and long range transport. Endosulfan and $\alpha$-HCH were the highest concentrations in atmosphere with values typcally ranging from 10s to l00s of pg/㎥. These high concentrations may be attributed to their usage, period and chemical property (Koa). All OCPs also showed elevated levels during the summer and were positively correlated with temperature. This would suggest that a seasonal enhancement was due to (re)volatilization from secondary sources and application during the warmer months. The temperature dependence of atmospheric concentrations of OCPs were investigated using plots of the natural logarithm of partial pressure (In P) vs reciprocal mean temperatures (1/T), and environmental phase-transition energies were calculated for each of the pesticides. For OCPs, temperature dependence was statistically significant (at the 99.99% confidence level) and temperature accounted for 35~95% of the variability in concentrations. The relatively higher slopes and phase-transition energies for $\alpha$-, ${\gamma}$-chlordane, endosulfan and endosulfan sulfate suggested that volatilization from local sources influenced their concentrations. The relatively lower those for $\alpha$-, ${\gamma}$-HCH, p, p'-DDE and heptachlor epoxide also suggested that volatilization from local sources and long range transport influenced their concentrations.

• BMB Reports
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.277-280
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• 2009

We examined the effects of polysaccharides extracted from Asterina pectinifera on the activities of quinone reductase (QR), glutathione S-transferase (GST), ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 and glutathione (GSH) levels in HT-29 human colon adenocarcinoma cells. We found that the polysaccharides extract induced QR activity in a dose-dependent manner over a concentration range of $20-60\;{\mu}g/ml$ and increased GST activity as much as 1.4-fold over controls. GSH levels were increased 1.3- and 1.5-fold with the extract at 40 and $60\;{\mu}g/ml$, respectively. The activity and protein expression of ODC in 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced colon cancer cells was inhibited by the extract. The polysaccharides suppressed TPA-induced prostaglandin (PG) production. These data indicate that polysaccharides from A. pectinifera increase phase II detoxification enzyme activity and inhibit ODC and COX-2 activities in HT-29 human colon adenocarcinoma cells. Consequently, this effect may contribute to the protective effect of polysaccharides from A. pectinifera against colon cancer.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 1997.10a
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• pp.70-81
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• 1997

The intesity survery on the 26 June 1997 Kyeongju Earthquake whose magnitude is 4.3, has been made for 316 locations throughout southen park of Korean Peninsula, then we have investigated the intensities distribution of the earthquake. Because the earthquake was occurred during night time (03:50:23.19), the most people who live farather than about 200km from the epicenter did not feel the earthquake. Therefore, the intensities are estimated only from IV to V in this study. The iso-seismal intensity map shows that the shape of iso-seismal intensity is similar to the boundary of the Kyeongsang Basin. This phenomenon may indicates that the energy of the earthquake is trapped within the Kyeongsang Basin due to low velocity within the basin compared with the velocity outside of the basin. The travel time curves with 10 possible phases are used to identify the earquake records. The Pg and Sg phases are crearly shown in the records whose epicental distance is less than 60 km. The records of MUN and PCH stations located outside of the Kyiongsang Basin show different frequency compared with that of the other stations located within the Kyeongsang Basin.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.18 no.E3
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• pp.143-151
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• 2002

Atmospheric concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners were measured every two weeks from July, 1999 to January, 2000 at Hankyong University in Ansung, Kyounggi-do. Atmospheric concentrations of ∑$_{24}$PCB showed a range of 19.8～71.9 pg/m3. The highest concentration of PCB homolog was tri-CBs (sum of PCB 18, 27, 28, 33, 38) which had a comparatively higher vapor pressure than other homologs. The contribution ratio of lighter PCB homologs (tri-CBs) to total PCBs was 44.5%, and these homologs were the main components of PCBs. The ratio PCB homologs/deca-CB (PCB 209) suggested that the contribution of vapor phase PCBs increased greatly in summer relative to other seasons. In addition, the regression lines for PCB homologs/deca-CB (PCB 209) and temperature ($^{\circ}C$) appeared as an exponential function with high correlation (R2>0.67, p< 0.01). This suggests that the concentration of vapor phase PCB homologs increases steeply with increasing temperature.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.697-708
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• 1999

Background : Leukotriene (LT) $C_4$, $D_4$, and $E_4$, the main components of slow-reacting substance of anaphylaxis (SRS-A), have been suggested to play an important role in bronchial asthma such as antigen-induced bronchoconstriction, airway hyperreactivity, and pulmonary eosinophil accumulation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of treatment with the cysteinyl-LTs (cys-LTs) antagonist, pranlukast on allergen-induced guinea pig asthma model. Methods : Guinea pigs of treatment and placebo groups were sensitized by subcutaneous injection of ovalbumin(OVA) and challenged by inhalation of aerosolized OVA (1% weight/volume OVA). Normal control group did not sensitize with OVA. Oral ingestion of pranlukast and normal saline to the treatment and placebo groups was performed. In the treatment and placebo groups, airway resistance was measured before and after oral ingestion. Serum $LTC_4$ and eosinophilic infiltration of the bronchiolar and peribronchiolar tissues were measured after ingestion in the treatment and placebo groups. Results : Allergen-induced airway constriction developed in 20 (8 in treatment group, 12 in placebo group) among 35 guinea pigs. Airway resistance was significantly decreased at 3 and 6 minutes after OVA challenge in the pranlukast treatment group. In the placebo group, there was no difference of airway resistance between before and after saline ingestion. Serum $LTC_4$ levels showed 348.4 pg/ml in the treatment group, 373.9 pg/ml in the placebo group, and 364.4 pg/ml in the control group. There were no statistically significant difference between treatment and placebo group (p=0.232), and treatment and control group (p=0.501). Eosinophilic infiltrations in the peribronchiolar region per one-microscopic field ($\times$400 high power fields) demonstrated 7.06 in the treatment group, 19.2 in the placebo group, and 4.50 in the control group. There was significant decrement of eosinophilic infiltration in the treatment group which was compared with placebo group (p=0.001). Conclusion : These results demonstrate that pranlukast, a cys-LTs receptor antagonist, can attenuate allergen induced early-phase bronchoconstriction and eosinophilic infiltration in the bronchiolar tissues.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.103-109
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• 2004

Body antioxidant status is an important factor for the prevention of many chronic diseases in the elderly. This study was done to investigate antioxidant status and its relationship to immune response by measuring plasma cytokine (IL-2 and IL-6) levels in elderly women. Subjects were 76 elderly women aged over 60 years, visiting Jangwhi Social Welfare Center of Seongbook-Gu in Seoul. Subjects were divided into 3 groups according to age (< 65, 65 - 74, > 75). Dietary intakes were assessed by semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaires (SFFQ). Plasma vitamin C level was measured by 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine method and plasma levels of vitamin E, A and ${\beta}$-carotene were measured by HPLC. Plasma levels of IL-2 and IL-6 were determined with a solid phase sandwich enzyme linked-immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA) using commercial kits. The average intakes of antioxidant vitamins were 96.3mg (137.5% of RDA) for vitamin C and 523.3 ${\mu}$gRE (74.8% of RDA) for vitamin A in elderly women. All of the average plasma levels of antioxidant vitamins were within normal range. However the percentage of the elderly women with deficiency plus marginal values were 7.9% in vitamin C, 9.2% in vitamin A and 7.9% in vitamin E. Plasma levels of IL-2 and IL-6 were 27.1${\pm}$7.1pg/ml and 5.9${\pm}$5.3pg/ml in elderly women. Correlation data showed that plasma IL-2 level was negatively correlated with plasma vitamin C level. In addition, IL-6 level was also negatively correlated with plasma vitamin C, A and E levels, respectively. There was a significant positive correlation between erythrocyte thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance(TB-ARS) level and plasma IL-2 or IL-6 levels. In addition, erythrocyte TBARS level showed a significant positive correlation with plasma total antioxidant status (TAS) level and a significant negative correlation with plasma vitamin C level. Overall results might imply that the decreased levels of antioxidant vitamins result in an increase in oxidative stress and thereby increase cytokine production such as IL-2 and IL-6. However further research is required to elucidate these relationships.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.283-299
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• 2017

An analytical method using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence (FL) detection was developed for simultaneously analyzing 10 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 18 nitro-derivatives of PAHs (NPAHs). The two-dimensional HPLC system consists of an on-line clean-up and reduction for NPAHs in the 1st dimension, and separation of the PAHs and the reduced NPAHs and their FL detection in the 2nd dimension after column-switching. To identify an ideal clean-up column for removing sample matrix that may interfere with detection of the analytes, the characteristics of 8 reversed-phase columns were evaluated. The nitrophenylethyl (NPE)-bonded silica column was selected because of its shorter elution band and larger retention factors of the analytes due to strong dipole-dipole interactions. The amino-substituted PAHs (reduced NPAHs), PAHs and deuterated internal standards were separated on polymeric octadecyl-bonded silica (ODS) columns and by dual-channel detection within 120 min including clean-up and reduction steps. The limits of detection were 0.1-9.2 pg per injection for PAHs and 0.1-140 pg per injection for NPAHs. For validation, the method was applied to analyze crude extracts of fine particulate matter ($PM_{2.5}$) samples and achieved good analytical precision and accuracy. Moreover, the standard reference material (SRM1649b, urban dust) was analyzed by this method and the observed concentrations of PAHs and NPAHs were similar to those in previous reports. Thus, the method developed here-in has the potential to become a standard HPLC-based method, especially for NPAHs.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.59 no.12
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• pp.477-482
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• 2016

Purpose: We conducted a study to determine which factors may be useful as predictive markers in identifying Kawasaki disease (KD) patients with a high risk of resistance to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and developing coronary artery lesions (CAL). Methods: We enrolled 287 patients in acute phase of KD at a single center. The demographic, clinical and laboratory data were collected retrospectively. Results: There were 34 patients in the IVIG resistant group. The IVIG resistant group had significantly higher serum N-terminal-pro-brain natriuretic protein (NT-proBNP) levels (P<0.01) and polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) percentage (P<0.01) in comparison to the IVIG responders. The results yielded sensitivity (78.8%, 60.6%), specificity (58.2%, 90%) and cutoff value (628.6 pg/mL, 80.3%) of NT-proBNP and PMN respectively, in predicting IVIG resistance. Despite IVIG administration, 13 of the 287 patients developed CAL. The patients in the CAL group had higher NT-proBNP levels (P<0.01) and higher PMN percentage (P<0.01). In these patients, the results yielded sensitivity (73.3%, 56.7%), specificity (67.9%, 88.9%) and cutoff value (853.4 pg/mL, 80.3%) of NT-proBNP and PMN respectively, for predicting CAL. The area under the curve (AUC) for predicting resistance to IVIG was NT-proBNP 0.712, PMN 0.802. The AUC for predicting CAL was NT-proBNP 0.739, and PMN 0.773. Conclusion: Serum NT-proBNP levels and PMN percentage were significantly elevated in patients with KD with IVIG resistance and CAL. Thus, they may be useful predicting markers for IVIG resistance and development of CAL in KD patients.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.218-223
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• 2013

Purpose: Early diagnosis and treatment of acute pyelonephritis in children is of special importance in order to prevent serious complications. This study was conducted to determine the diagnostic value of serum interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 in children with acute pyelonephritis. Methods: Eighty-seven patients between 1 month to 12 years old with urinary tract infection (UTI) were divided into 2 groups based on the result of 99m-technetium dimercapto-succinic acid renal scan: acute pyelonephritis (n=37) and lower UTI (n=50) groups. White blood cell (WBC) count, neutrophil (Neutl) count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration, platelet count, and serum IL-6 and IL-8 concentrations of both groups were measured and compared. Results: There was a significant difference between two groups regarding WBC count, Neutl count, ESR, and CRP concentration (P<0.05). In addition, the difference between the two groups regarding serum IL-6 and IL-8 concentrations was not significant (IL-6, 60 and 35.4 pg/mL and IL-8, 404 and 617 pg/mL, respectively). The sensitivity and specificity of serum IL-6 and IL-8 for diagnosis of acute pyelonephritis were 73%, 42% and 78%, 32%, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive values of serum IL-6 and IL-8 were less than those of acute phase serum reactants such as CRP. Conclusion: This study showed that there was no significant difference between acute pyelonephritis and lower UTI groups regarding serum IL-6 and IL-8 levels. Therefore, despite confirming results of previous studies, it seems that IL-6 and IL-8 are not suitable markers for differentiating between acute pyelonephritis and lower UTI.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.41-48
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• 2014

Experimental study of sedimentation and self-weight consolidation has been primary research area in dredged soil. However, good quality of the dredged soil and minimum water pollution caused by the pumping of reclaimed soil require intensive study of the flow characteristics of dredged material due to dumping. In this study, continuity and the equilibrium equations for mass flow assuming single phase was derived to simulate mass flow in dredged containment area. To optimize computation and modeling time for three dimensional geometry and boundary conditions, depth integration is applied to governing equations to consider three dimensional topography of the site. Petrov-Galerkin formulation is applied in spatial discretization of governing equations. Generalized trapezoidal rule is used for time integration, and Newton iteration process approximated the solution. DG and CDG technique were used for weighting matrix in discontinuous test function in dredged flow analysis, and numerical stability was evaluated by performed a square slump simulation. A comparative analysis for numerical methods showed that DG method applied to SU / PG formulation gives minimal pseudo oscillation and reliable numerical results.