• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.543-553
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• 2023

The current status of domestic a agalmatolite mines in South Korea was investigated with a view to establishing a stable supply of agalmatolite and managing its demand. Most mined agalmatolite deposits were formed through hydrothermal alteration of Mesozoic volcanic rocks. The physical characteristics of pyrophyllite, the main constituent mineral of agalmatolite, are as follows: specific gravity 2.65~2.90, hardness 1~2, density 1.60~1.80 g/cm³, refractoriness ≥29, and color white, gray, grayish white, grayish green, yellow, or yellowish green. Among the chemical components of domestic agalmatolite, SiO₂ and Al₂O₃ contents are respectively 58.2~67.2 and 23.1~28.8 wt.% for pyrophyllite, 49.2~72.6 and 16.5~31.0 wt.% for pyrophyllite + dickite, 45.1 and 23.3 wt.% for pyrophyllite + illite, 43.1~82.3 and 11.4~35.8 wt.% for illite, and 37.6~69.0 and 19.6~35.3 wt.% for dickite. Domestic agalmatolite mines are concentrated mainly in the southwest and southeast of the Korean Peninsula, with some occurring in the northeast. Twenty-one mines currently produce agalmatolite in South Korea, with reserves in the order of Jeonnam (45.6%) > Chungbuk (30.8%) > Gyeongnam (13.0%) > Gangwon (4.8%), and Gyeongbuk (4.8%). The top 10 agalmatolite-producing mines are in the order of the Central Resources Mine (37.9%) > Wando Mine (25.6%) > Naju Ceramic Mine (13.4%) > Cheongseok-Sajiwon Mine (5.4%) > Gyeongju Mine (5.0%) > Baekam Mine (5.0%) > Minkyung-Nohwado Mine (3.3%) > Bugok Mine (2.3%) > Jinhae Pylphin Mine (2.2%) > Bohae Mine. Agalmatolite has low thermal conductivity, thermal expansion, thermal deformation, and expansion coefficients, low bulk density, high heat and corrosion resistance, and high sterilization and insecticidal efficiency. Accordingly, it is used in fields such as refractory, ceramic, cement additive, sterilization, and insecticide manufacturing and in filling materials. Its scope of use is expanding to high-tech industries, such as water treatment ceramic membranes, diesel exhaust gas-reduction ceramic filters, glass fibers, and LCD panels.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.11
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• pp.1232-1236
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• 2016

Mitochondrial calcium uptake 1 (MICU1) including two canonical EF hands, located in the mitochondrial inner membrane, is known to play a crucial role in the calcium uptake in mitochondria. Mitochondrial calcium uptake in muscular cells is related to post mortem shortening by calcium release from muscles. Therefore, the porcine MICU1 gene has been estimated as a genetic candidate for meat quality traits. In this study, variations on the exonic regions of the porcine MICU1 gene were investigated by sequencing cDNAs and tested for their association with meat quality traits. A total of 667 Berkshire heads (347 sows and 320 castrated boars) were used for this association test. Three SNPs were detected on the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of the porcine MICU1 gene. SNP1 (c.*136G>A) was associated with drip loss (p=0.017) and intramuscular fat content (p=0.039). In addition, SNP2 (c.*222G>A) and SNP3 (c.*485G>A) were associated with drip loss (p=0.018) and intramuscular fat content (p<0.001), respectively. In conclusion, it was verified that three variations on the 3' UTR of the porcine MICU1 gene were significantly associated with meat quality traits. It was also suggested that molecular biological analyses are needed to validate the function of variations on the 3 UTR of the porcine MICU1 gene.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.34 no.10
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• pp.1599-1605
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• 2005

The object of this study is to develop the method for differentiating fresh meat from frozen meat by using the measurement of the mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase in the Korean native cattle. The principle of this experiment is based on the fact that the enzyme proteins associated with mitochondrial membrane could be released by freezing. The methods of differentiating fresh meat from thawed, frozen meat were studied by measurements of mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase activity of meat press juice. Fresh and frozen beef were stored at 4, -4, -18 and -77$^{\circ}C$ for 15-day storage period. A meat press machine using air pressure was manufactured especially for these experiments, and sufficient amount of drip (about 0.15 mL/g) from 1.5 g of beef sample was efficiently obtained under a pressure of 8 kg/$cm^{2}$ generated by the meat pressing machine. The mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase activities of frozen meat drip i년ices stored at -18 and -77$^{\circ}C$ were significantly higher than those of fresh and frozen meat samples at -4$^{\circ}C$ (p < 0.05) during 10-min reaction period. However, the enzyme activities of the frozen meat drip juices (-18 and -77$^{\circ}C$) disappeared after 5 minutes of the reaction, which was not observed from the fresh and -4$^{\circ}C$ frozen meats. The enzyme activity maintained until 12 minutes for the fresh and -4$^{\circ}C$ frozen meats. From these results, the mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase could be considered as an indicator to differentiate fresh beef from frozen one.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.64-68
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• 2019

Purpose In the preparation process for N-13 Ammonia injections, there were radioactive medicines adsorbed on filters remarkably. Hereby, we have compared the adsorption rate and quality test on Millex GS filter and Satorious Minisart filter, both representatively hydrophilic sterilizing filters, also evaluated which filter is more accommodative for N-13 Ammonia injection. Materials and Methods The filters used for sterilization of N-13 Ammonia injections were Millex GS filter($0.22{\mu}m$) mand Satorious Minisart filter ($0.2{\mu}m$), which are generally used to strain aqueous solutions. After the N-13 Ammonia passes through each sterilization filter, the adsorption rate of the filter (n=10) is determined by measuring not only the radioactivity through the filter also the amount of radioactivity remaining in it using a Dose Calibrator. The N-13 Ammonia injections after each filter is tested by the quality control test to conform to the Samsung Medical Center standard. Results The ratio of radioactivity passed through Millex GS indicated $29.0{\pm}17.6%$. Satorious Minisart filters output was $80.9{\pm}3.2%$, respectively. Each ratio of radioactivity adsorbed on the sterile filter was $71.0{\pm}17.6%$ for Millex GS and $19.1{\pm}3.2%$ for the Satorious Minisart filters, respectively. Furthermore, on the ratio of filtered radioactivity, Using Satorious Minisart filter showed about 2.8 times higher than using Millex GS filter. The quality testing of N-13 Ammonia injections through each filter met the Samsung Medical Center standard. Conclusion The Millex GS filter is composed of cellulose acetate and cellulose nitrate, whereas the Satorious Minisart filter if composed only of cellulose acetate. Therefore, the presence of cellulose nitrate in the membrane seems to have made differences. Therefore, the use of Satorious Minisart filter in the preparation of N-13 Ammonia injection solution minimized the loss of radioactive medicines due to filter adsorption, thereby improving the synthesis yield.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.147-155
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• 2024

Gallium-68-prostate-specific membrane antigen-11 (⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11) is a positron emission tomography radiopharmaceutical that labels a Glu-urea-Lys-based ligand with ⁶⁸Ga, binding specifically to the PSMA. It is used widely for imaging recurrent prostate cancer and metastases. On the other hand, the preparation and quality control testing of ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11 in medical institutions takes over 60 minutes, limiting the daily capacity of ⁶⁸Ge/⁶⁸Ga generators. While the generator provides 1,110 MBq (30 mCi) nominally, its activity decreases over time, and the labeling yield declines irregularly. Consequently, additional preparations are needed, increasing radiation exposure for medical technicians, prolonging patient wait times, and necessitating production schedule adjustments. This study aimed to reduce the ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11 preparation time and optimize the automated synthesis system. By shortening the reaction time between ⁶⁸Ga and the PSMA-11 precursor and adjusting the number of purification steps, a faster and more cost-effective method was tested while maintaining quality. The final synthesis time was reduced from 30 to 20 minutes, meeting the standards for the HEPES content, residual solvent EtOH content, and radiochemical purity. This optimized procedure minimizes radiation exposure for medical technicians, reduces patient wait times, and maintains consistent production schedules, making it suitable for clinical application.