• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.40-48
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• 2017

In this study, we evaluated the nitrogen (N) mineralization potential and Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of oil-cake, compost, hairy vetch and barley, which are the most widely used organic amendments in South Korea. The N mineralization potential (No) for organic fertilizers treated soil was highest for the hairy vetch treatment with a value of $18.9mg\;N\;100\;g^{-1}$, followed by oil-cake, barley and compost. The amount of pure N mineralization potentials in hairy vetch, oil-cake, barley and compost treatments were 8.42, 7.62, 3.82 and $3.60mg\;N\;100\;g^{-1}$, respectively. The half-life ($t_{1/2}$) of organic N in soil amended with oil-cake fertilizer mineralized quickly in 17 days. While, $t_{1/2}$ values of organic N for the compost and barley treatments accounted to 44.4 and 44.1 days, respectively. Oil-cake was good in supplying nutrients to plants. Compost and barley inhibited plant growth in the beginning growth stage and this is attributed to N immobilization effect. The results of this study highlight that compost and barley could be used as potential slow release fertilizers in conventional agriculture.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.749-755
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• 2001

High Electromagnetic Field (EMF) with an intensity of 1 mT (Tesla) inhibited the growth of both human normal lung and immune T cell down to $20-30\%$, compared to that of an unexposed case. The human T-cells, Jurkat, were more severely affected by EMF than the human lung cells, which showed a relatively slow cell growth and substantial releas of $Ca^+2$ (3.5 times higher than the human T-cells). However, the growth of hepatoma carcinoma, Hep3B, was enhanced by twice that of an unexposed case. The EMF intensity and exposure time did not affect the growth of the cancer cells very much, while it significantly affected the growth of normal cells. Accordingly, it is possible that EMFs may play a role in the initiation of cancer. The EMFs disturbed the signal transduction and membrane systems, such that a five times higher amount of PKC-${\alpha}$ was released from the cell membrane than in the control. Extended exposure to EMFs, for more than 48 hours, also led to 1 $90\%$ necrotic death pattern from apoptotic cell death. Finally, EMF at an intensity of 1mT with a 24-T exposure promoted the differentiation of HL-60 cells to monocytes/macrophages, possibly causing potential acute leukemia.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.513-519
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• 2010

A series of experiments were performed to study the influence of the following parameters on the physical traits and composition of swine manure compost: (1) addition of magnesium (Mg) at a molar ratio of 1.2 with respect to $PO_4$, and (2) reutilization of compost containing $MgNH_4PO_4{\cdot}6H_2O$ (magnesium ammonium phosphate, MAP). Three independent batch tests were conducted for replication: batch test I-control (C) and Mg added (T), batch test II-C, T and compost recycle ($T_{R1}$), and batch test III-C, T and compost recycle ($T_{R2}$). Magnesium addition and compost reutilization had no adverse effect on the degradation of organic matter. Reuse of the compost, however, had a clear effect on the total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) contents in the final compost. Repeated compost reutilization as a bulking material was resulted in composts rich in N and P. Upon adding the Mg supplement to the composting materials, the ortho-phosphate (OP) to TP ratio decreased due to the MAP crystallization reaction. The decrease in the OP/TP ratio and the increase in the TP content of the compost indicate that water-soluble phosphate is converted into a slow-release phosphate by the formation of crystals during composting. X-ray diffraction analysis of the irregular shaped crystals in the compost indicated that they are MAP crystals and that the crystallization of MAP begins immediately after the addition of the Mg supplement. The Mg addition to composting materials and the reutilization of compost as a bulking material would be a practical means to conserve nutrient content.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.319-324
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• 2005

Estuarine sediments are frequently polluted with hydrocarbons from fuel spills and industrial wastes. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are components of these contaminants that tend to accumulate in the sediment due to their low aqueous solubility, low volatility, and high affinity for particulate matter. The toxic, recalcitrant, mutagenic, and carcinogenic nature of these compounds may require aggressive treatment to remediate polluted sites effectively. In petroleum-contaminated sediments near a petrochemical industry in Gwangyang Bay, Korea, in situ PAH concentrations ranged from 10 to 2,900 ${\mu}g/kg$ dry sediment. To enhance the biodegradation rate of PAHs under anaerobic conditions, sediment samples were amended with biostimulating agents alone or in combination: nitrogen and phosphorus in the form of slow-release fertilizer (SRF), lactate, yeast extract (YE), and Tween 80. When added to the sediment individually, all tested agents enhanced the degradation of PAHs, including naphthalene, acenaphthene, anthracene, fluorene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, pyrene, chrysene, and benzo [a] pyrene. Moreover, the combination of SRF, Tween 80, and lactate increased the PAH degradation rate 1.2-8.2 times above that of untreated sediment (0.01-10 ${\mu}g$ PAH/ kg dry sediment/day). Our results indicated that in situ contaminant PAHs in anoxic sediment, including high molecular weight PAHs, were degraded biologically and that the addition of stimulators increased the biodegradation potential of the intrinsic microbial populations. Our results will contribute to the development of new strategies for in situ treatment of PAH-contaminated anoxic sediments.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.317-325
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• 2020

The Far Eastern catfish (Silurus asotus) is an important commercial freshwater fish in Korea. Investigation of the genetic diversity of wild and cultured domestic catfish groups is essential for the restoration of fishery resources and for increasing local revenue. However, there are relatively few genetic diversity studies on wild and cultured catfish in Korea. In the present study, we analyzed the genetic diversity and association of wild and cultured catfish using five microsatellite markers. We determined that the number of alleles per locus (N_A) ranged from 9 to 25, wherein the Jeonbuk catfish demonstrated the highest mean number of alleles per locus and the cultured catfish exhibited the lowest. The average expected heterozygosity (He) of the wild catfish samples was 0.907, and that of the cultured catfish showed was 0.875. The genetic distances (GD value) among populations of all catfish ranged from 0.138 to 0.242. Jeonnam and Jeonbuk wild catfish were located closest to each other, and the cultured group was separated from the other groups. In conclusion, the present study confirmed that the genetic diversity of wild and cultured catfish was maintained at a high level. In the case of the wild group, it is effective in maintaining diversity due to the continuous fry release by the local fish research institute. However, the genetic diversity of cultured catfish declined. Low diversity is associated with slow growth and weakened immunity, and therefore continuous monitoring is necessary.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.253-266
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• 2021

The sufficient early strength of primary support is crucial for stabilizing the surroundings, especially for the tunnels constructed in soil. This paper introduces the Steel-Concrete Composite Support System (SCCS), a new support with high bearing capacity and flexible, rapid construction. The bearing characteristics and construction performance of SCCS were systematically studied using a three-dimensional numerical model. A sensitivity analysis was also performed. It was found that the stress of a π-shaped steel arch decreased with an increase in the thickness of the wall, and increased linearly with an increase in the rate of stress release. In the horizontal direction of the arch section, the nodal stresses of the crown and the shoulder gradually increased in longitudinally, and in the vertical direction, the nodal stresses gradually decreased from top to bottom. The stress distribution at the waist, however, was opposite to that at the crown and the shoulder. By analyzing the stress of the arch section under different installation gaps, the sectional stress evolution was found to have a step-growth trend at the crown and shoulder. The stress evolution at the waist is more likely to have a two-stage growth trend: a slow growth stage and a fast growth stage. The maximum tensile and compressive stresses of the secondary lining supported by SCCS were reduced on average by 38.0% and 49.0%, respectively, compared with the traditional support. The findings can provide a reference for the supporting technology in tunnels driven in loess.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.520-530
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• 2021

Multivariate statistical analysis and an environmental hydrological model were applied for investigating the causes of water pollution and providing best management practices for water quality improvement in urban and agricultural watersheds. Principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) for water quality time series data show that chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon (TOC), suspended solids (SS) and total phosphorus (T-P) are classified as non-point source pollutants that are highly correlated with river discharge. Total nitrogen (T-N), which has no correlation with river discharge and inverse relationship with water temperature, behaves like a point source with slow and consistent release. Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) shows intermediate characteristics between point and non-point source pollutants. The results of the PCA and CA for the spatial water quality data indicate that the cluster 1 of the watersheds was characterized as upstream watersheds with good water quality and high proportion of forest. The cluster 3 shows however indicates the most polluted watersheds with substantial discharge of BOD and nutrients from urban sewage, agricultural and industrial activities. The cluster 2 shows intermediate characteristics between the clusters 1 and 3. The results of hydrological simulation program-Fortran (HSPF) model simulation indicated that the seasonal patterns of BOD, T-N and T-P are affected substantially by agricultural and livestock farming activities, untreated wastewater, and environmental flow. The spatial analysis on the model results indicates that the highly-populated watersheds are the prior contributors to the water quality degradation of the river.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.11-18
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• 2024

Recently, enhanced in situ bioremediation using slow substrate release techniques has been actively researched for managing TCE-contaminated groundwater. This study conducted a lab-scale batch reactor experiment to evaluate the feasibility of natural attenuation for TCE dechlorination using microsized corn-oil droplet (MOD) as an activator considering the following three factors: 1) TCE dechlorination in the presence or absence of MOD; 2) TCE dechlorination in the presence or absence of inactivator of native microbial activity; and 3) MOD concentration effects on TCE dechlorination. Batch reactors were constructed using site groundwater and soil in which Dehalococcoides bacteria were present. Without MOD, TCE was decomposed into dichloroethylene (DCE). However, other by-products of TCE dechlorination were not detected. With MOD, DCE, vinyl chloride (VC), and ethylene (ETH) were sequentially observed. This result confirmed that MOD effectively supplied electrons to complete dechlorination of TCE to ETH. However, when an excess of MOD was provided, it formed unfavorable conditions for anaerobic digestion because dechlorination reaction did not proceed while propionic acid was accumulated after DCE was generated. Therefore, if an appropriate amount of MOD is supplied, MOD can be effectively used as a natural reduction activator to promote biodegradation in an aquifer contaminated by TCE.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.314-321
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• 2007

This study was conducted to select leaf vegetables suitable for cultivation in apartment verandas and simple and easy fertigation method for home gardening. In order to develop the convenient fertigation method, hydroponics, wick irrigation, and overhead irrigation methods were compared. For the wick irrigation, two types of nutrient sources were used; one was slow release fertilizers mixed with medium and the other one was nutrient solution filled in container located under pots. The growth of leafy lettuce, leaf mustard, and leaf beet was better in both of the wick irrigation methods rather than in overhead irrigation and hydroponics. The wick irrigation method is very easy, so that it is expected to bring a good result from the cultivating and managing point of view, if it brings with commercialized system along with slow release fertilizer. As a result of investigation of environment such as temperature, relative humidity, and irradiance level in apartment verandas in autumn the highest irradiance level during a day was just 48% and 35% in verandas facing south and feeing southeast, respectively, comparing to that in greenhouse. The light environment was investigated as a limiting factor for vegetable growing in verandas. Therefore, to select the vegetables showing good growth under low irradiance environment, nine leaf vegetables such as romaine lettuce, lent lettuce, head lettuce, endive, pak-choi, leaf mustard, garland chrysanthemum, leaf beet, and Chinese chive were grown under 0%, 50%, 70%, 90% shading. Among them, Chinese chive showed the best growth under low irradiance levels. Endive showed line growth reduction according to shading degree, however, even under 90% shading condition, it showed good growth. And then leafy lettuce, garland chrysanthemum, and pak-choi followed. Therefore, these results will be of help in selecting vegetables for veranda gardening with different light levels.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2015

Breakthrough cancer pain is a transient exacerbation of pain that occurs despite relatively well controlled background pain with around-the-clock analgesia. It is highly prevalent in patients with cancer pain, with an overall prevalence of 70~90%. Breakthrough cancer pain has several negative effects on quality of life, including a decrease in functional status and social relationship, and higher incidence of anxiety/depression. It also places a detrimental burden on their families, society, and the healthcare system. According to the pathogenic mechanism, breakthrough cancer pain is classified into two categories: idiopathic (or spontaneous) pain and incident pain. Episodes of breakthrough cancer pain have typical characteristics, including rapid onset (5~10 min), severe intensity, and short duration (30~60 min). However, there are some variations in timing and severity of pain among patients and episodes. Therefore, a thorough assessment of pain episodes is needed and management plan must be individualized to provide optimal treatment. Several immediate-release formulations such as oxycodone, morphine, and hydromorphone are widely used despite relatively slow onset of action. Recent studies have shown that transmucosal fentanyl preparations were effective for faster control of breakthrough pain. We hope to improve management of breakthrough cancer pain with more efficient analgesics in line with currently available evidence.