• Toxicological Research
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.255-264
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• 2015

Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and acrylamide are unintended hazardous substances generated by heating or processing of foods and are known as carcinogenic and mutagenic agents by the animal experiments. A simple method was established for a rapid and accurate determination of 12 types of HCAs (IQ, MeIQ, Glu-P-1, Glu-P-2, MeIQx, Trp-P-1, Trp-P-2, PhIP, $A{\alpha}C$, $MeA{\alpha}C$, Harman and Norharman) and acrylamide in three food matrices (non-fat liquid, non-fat solid and fat solid) by isotope dilution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). In every sample, a mixture of internal standards including $IQ-d_3$, $MeIQx-d_3$, $PhIP-d_3$, $Trp-P-2-^{13}C_2-^{15}N$ and $MeA{\alpha}C-d_3$ was spiked for quantification of HCAs and $^{13}C_3$-acrylamide was also spiked for the analysis of acrylamide. HCAs and acrylamide in sample were extracted with acetonitrile and water, respectively, and then two solid-phase extraction cartridges, ChemElut: HLB for HCAs and Accucat: HLB for acrylamide, were used for efficiently removing interferences such as pigment, lipid, polar, nonpolar and ionic compounds. Established method was validated in terms of recovery, accuracy, precision, limit of detection, limit of quantitation, and linearity. This method showed good precision (RSD < 20%), accuracy (71.8~119.1%) and recovery (66.0~118.9%). The detection limits were < 3.1 ng/g for all analytes. The correlation coefficients for all the HCAs and acrylamide were > 0.995, showing excellent linearity. These methods for the detection of HCAs and acrylamide by LC-MS/MS were applied to real samples and were successfully used for quantitative monitoring in the total diet study and this can be applied to risk assessment in various food matrices.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.265-276
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• 2017

Heavy metals leaching from closed mines have been causing severe environmental problems in nearby soil ecosystems. Mine reclamation in Korea has been recently implemented based on the heavy metal immobilization (a.k.a., stabilization). Since the immobilization temporarily fixes the heavy metals to the soil matrix, the potential risk of heavy metal leaching still exists. Therefore the appropriate monitoring and the related policies are required to safeguard the soils, where all the cultivations occur. The current monitoring methods are based on either heavy metal concentration or simple toxicity test. Those methods, however, are fragmented and hence it is difficult to evaluate the site in an integrated manner. In this study, as the integrated approach, ecological functional state evaluation with a multivariate statistical tool was employed targeting physiochemical soil properties, heavy metal concentrations, microbial enzymatic activity, and arsenic respiratory reductase gene quantity. Total 60 soil samples obtained from three mines (Pungjeong, Jeomdong, Seosung) were analyzed. As a result, the stabilized layer soil and lower layer soil have shown the similar pattern in Pungjeong mine. In contrast, Jeomdong and Seosung mine have shown the similarity between the stabilized layer soil and the cover layer soil, indicating the possible contamination of the cover layer soil.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.38 no.12
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• pp.1779-1784
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• 2009

Establishment of simultaneous analysis method and monitoring for individually analyzing residual eight ergosterol biosynthesis inhibitors, EBI (difenoconazole, diniconazole, fenarimol, fenbuconazole, hexaconazole, myclobutanil, nuarimol and paclobutrazol) pesticides in commercial agricultural products, were conducted. The simultaneous analysis method for the pesticides was established using a GC/MS/MS for EBI pesticides. Residual amount of those pesticides were investigated in 989 commercial agricultural products (fifteen kinds of cereal grains, vegetables, beans, nuts, fruits and mushrooms) from seven metropolitan cities and eight provinces. In EBI pesticides analysis, linearity of GC/MS/MS analysis was 0.9974-0.9992, and that of recoveries were 86-135% with relative standard deviations (RSD) <20%. The limit of quantification (LOQ) of the method ranged from 0.5 to 5.0 mg/kg for eight EBI pesticides. According to the monitoring of the EBI pesticides in commercial agricultural products, difenoconazole, fenarimol, hexaconazole showed various residual levels (total frequency of 8/989 detection, 0.8%). Paclobutrazole showed in excess levels of the MRLs (maximum residue limits) for pesticides in one chard sample by the Korea Food Code. As a result of exposure assessment on the detected 8 individual pesticides, all pesticides (difenoconazole, fenarimol, hexaconazole, paclobutrazole) were evaluated as safe level in comparison to toxicologically acceptable daily intake.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.15
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• pp.6145-6150
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• 2014

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are expressed in immune and tumor cells and recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns. Cervical cancer (CC) is directly linked to a persistent infection with high risk human papillomaviruses (HR-HPVs) and could be associated with alteration of TLRs expression. TLR9 plays a key role in the recognition of DNA viruses and better understanding of this signaling pathway in CC could lead to the development of novel immunotherapeutic approaches. The present study was undertaken to determine the level of TLR9 expression in cervical neoplasias from Tunisian women with 53 formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded specimens, including 22 samples of invasive cervical carcinoma (ICC), 18 of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), 7 of condyloma and 6 normal cervical tissues as control cases. Quantification of TLR9 expression was based on scoring four degrees of extent and intensity of immunostaining in squamous epithelial cells. TLR9 expression gradually increased from CIN1 (80% weak intensity) to CIN2 (83.3% moderate), CIN3 (57.1% strong) and ICC (100% very strong). It was absent in normal cervical tissue and weak in 71.4% of condyloma. The mean scores of TLR9 expression were compared using the Kruskall-Wallis test and there was a statistical significance between normal tissue and condyloma as well as between condyloma, CINs and ICC. These results suggest that TLR9 may play a role in progression of cervical neoplasia in Tunisian patients and could represent a useful biomarker for malignant transformation of cervical squamous cells.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.88-92
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• 2007

Isopropylthioxanthone(ITX) is used as a photoinitiator In UV-cured inks, triggering the radical polymerization of the acrylic component of such inks and thus causing the liquid ink film to cure. Recently ITX was detected in carton packed food in Italy. In order to cope with risk issues of overseas and acquire monitoring data on ITX, we have established the method using HPLC/FLD for ITX analysis after reviewing parameters of the analytical methods. Limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.02 ppb and 0.1 ppb, and linearity and RSD (%) were 0.9991 and 1.09, respectively. We have investigated ITX levels migrated to food on 87 commercial products packed in carton and ITX was not detected any food. Therefore it is supposed that UV-cured ink containing ITX as photoinitiator is not currently used in printing of carton pack in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.905-910
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• 2002

4-Hydroxyalkenals are cytotoxic aldehydes generated by the oxidation of n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. To evaluate the potential risk of 4-hydroxyalkenals on Koreans, quantitative data of various oils are necessary. Simultaneous monitoring of 4-hydroxyhexenal and 4-hydroxynoneal in 39 samples including new and used ones through single ion monitoring mode of GC/MS detected both aldehydes in all samples tested, ranging from 0.21 to 26.9 nmol/g for 4-hydroxy-2-hexenal and 0.06 to 56.6 nmol/g for 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal. Frying oils collected from local markets showed 2.28-7.90 and 8.31-30.5 nmol/g of 4-hydroxyhexenal and 4-hydroxynoneal, respectively. National health and nutrition survey data were employed to determine the exposure effect to these 4-hydroxyalkenals from the four most consumed oils in Korea. Daily exposures to hydroxyalkenals excluding possible exposure from fried food were $1.9\;{\mu}g$ from soybean oil, $0.5\;{\mu}g$ from sesame oil, $0.2\;{\mu}g$ from corn oil, and $0.1\;{\mu}g$ from perilla oil. Due to the increasing consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids in Korea, these data may provide valuable information for evaluating possible physiological effects of 4-hydroxyalkenals from vegetable oils.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2004

Rutin has many beneficial effects on human health. It was established that rutin antagonizes the increase of capillary fragility associated with hemorrhagic disease, reduces high blood pressure, decreases the permeability of the vessels, and has an antiedema effect, reduces the risk of arteriosclerosis, and shows antioxidant activity. Rutin analysis with mulberry fruits was carried out by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to reveal the possibility of source of functional food. As a result, mean content of fifty accessions was 0.14±0.050% DW. Among the tested fifty accessions, 'Sabangso' was showed the highest rutin in 0.29%DW, whereas 'Simseol' was the lowest content in 0.05% DW. Also, we researched the change of rutin content according to harvested date. The rutin contents of earlier harvested groups were higher than later harvested groups. Simultaneously, fruity characteristics as well as rutin content were researched and analyzed to select the functional mulberry varieties for the production of fruit. From the six accessions which were contained high rutin content, we selected three suitable varieties such as 'Ficus', 'Kangsun', and 'Palcheongsipyung'.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.288-294
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• 2014

Penicillin and its salts, including the benzatine, procaine, and sodium salts, have been widely used in human and veterinary medicine. Owing to their low toxicity, they currently form the most important group of antibiotics. However, overdose and abuse of these antibiotics may lead to potential risk in human health. Therefore, this study was conducted to validate the analysis method established by the Korea Food Code in 2012 and to monitor the levels of benzylpenicillin residues in products with reference to the maximum residue level (MRL). Of the 232 product samples tested, benzylpenicillin was detected in 11 livestock products and 2 marine products. Benzylpenicillin concentrations were found to be lower than the MRL in 12 products; however, the concentration of benzylpenicillin was found to be greater than the MRL in 1 pork product. The limit of quantification (LOQ) for benzylpenicillin was found to be 0.001-0.002 mg/kg, with an average recovery of 90.4-115.3%. Calibrations showed good linearity of 0.995 over a range of 0.002-0.05 mg/kg.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.61 no.6
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• pp.680-688
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• 2018

Objective : To mitigate the risk of iatrogenic instability, new posterior decompression techniques able to preserve musculoskeletal structures have been introduced but never extensively investigated from a biomechanical point of view. This study was aimed to investigate the impact on spinal flexibility caused by a unilateral laminotomy for bilateral decompression, in comparison to the intact condition and a laminectomy with preservation of a bony bridge at the vertebral arch. Secondary aims were to investigate the biomechanical effects of two-level decompression and the quantification of the restoration of stability after posterior fixation. Methods : A universal spine tester was used to measure the flexibility of six L2-L5 human spine specimens in intact conditions and after decompression and fixation surgeries. An incremental damage protocol was applied : 1) unilateral laminotomy for bilateral decompression at L3-L4; 2) on three specimens, the unilateral laminotomy was extended to L4-L5; 3) laminectomy with preservation of a bony bridge at the vertebral arch (at L3-L4 in the first three specimens and at L4-L5 in the rest); and 4) pedicle screw fixation at the involved levels. Results : Unilateral laminotomy for bilateral decompression had a minor influence on the lumbar flexibility. In flexion-extension, the median range of motion increased by 8%. The bone-preserving laminectomy did not cause major changes in spinal flexibility. Two-level decompression approximately induced a twofold destabilization compared to the single-level treatment, with greater effect on the lower level. Posterior fixation reduced the flexibility to values lower than in the intact conditions in all cases. Conclusion : In vitro testing of human lumbar specimens revealed that unilateral laminotomy for bilateral decompression and bone-preserving laminectomy induced a minor destabilization at the operated level. In absence of other pathological factors (e.g., clinical instability, spondylolisthesis), both techniques appear to be safe from a biomechanical point of view.

• The Korean Journal of Blood Transfusion
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.152-161
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• 2012

Background: Since Jan. 2012, for performance evaluation of viral reagents, analysis of domestic samples has been recommended in order to obtain approval from the KFDA when they are first introduced to Korea. This regulation requires the standard domestic materials driven from locally infected samples. We tried manufacturing the plasma working standards of HBV, HCV, and HIV NAT using a mixed titer of viral loads. Methods: Forty three HBV DNA positive plasmas, 25 HCV RNA positive plasmas, and 26 HIV RNA positive plasmas were evaluated according to viral load and genotype. Several plasma units, which had high-titer viral loads and the common viral genotypes in Korea, were selected as the source materials for each viral standard. To adjust the appropriate concentration based on the detectable range of variable viral reagents, the source plasma was diluted to several concentrations, divided into small vials, and analyzed for quantification. Results: The 13 plasma working standards, which had variable viral loads for the mixed titer performance panel of HIV, HCV, and HBV NAT, were produced. Conclusion: These national standard materials were first produced in order to supply the mixed titer performance panel for the viral NAT reagent of the level IV transfusion related high-risk group in Korea.