• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.50-60
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• 2022

The concentration levels and distribution characteristics of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated and evaluated for total 100 soil samples as a part of the survey on soil contamination in Gwangju. The results (median and range) of T-PAHs (sum of 16 PAH concentrations), C-PAHs (sum of carcinogenic PAH concentrations) and T-TEQs (sum of 16 TEQ concentrations) were 20.8 (7.6~1158.1), 2.2 (N.D~509.6), and 0.3 (N.D~424.6) ㎍/kg, respectively. There was a positive correlation between C-PAHs/T-PAHs and T-TEQs/T-PAHs except one point where the concentration of benzo(a)pyrene was high. The ratios of the C-PAHs/T-PAHs were 31.7% for low molecular weight-PAHs and 68.3% for high molecular weight-PAHs, suggesting that PAHs generation mainly arose from combustion sources. The ratio of isomers of individual PAHs, Phe/Ant, Flu/Pyr, Ant/(Ant+Phe), Flu/(Flu+Pyr), and BaA/(BaA+Chr), also confirmed the predominance of PAHs from combustion activities. Statistical tracing of the source of PAHs through principal component analysis indicated that the main sources of combustion were automobile fuel and coal. The overall results of this study suggested HMW-PAHs, T-PAHs, C-PAHs and T-TEQs should be separately evaluated to better assess the toxicity and environmental behavior of individual PAHs.

• Journal of Naturopathy
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.42-47
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• 2021

Purpose: This study investigated the antioxidant activities of water extracts from Hibiscus petals, Moringa oleifera gymnosperm, and Nipa fruticans wurmb. Also, the possibility of their use as a functional cosmetic material and food were searched. Methods: We extracted Hibiscus petals, M. oleifera gymnosperm, and N. fruticans wurmb with water. And then, we measured the content of total polyphenols and flavonoids and the ability to scavenging free groups of ABTS and DPPH to study the antioxidant function. The toxicity of samples evaluated by measuring cell viability. Results: The polyphenol content of the water extract of N. fruticans wurmb was 109 ㎍/mg, which was significantly higher than that of Hibiscus petals (13 ㎍/mg) and M. oleifera gymnosperm (19 ㎍/mg). Radical scavenging ability was also excellent in N. fruticans wurmb, and the cytotoxicity test results of the samples were similar. Conclusions: The water extracts showed antioxidant activity to use for cosmetic materials or natural healing foodstuff.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.242-249
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• 2022

Objectives: The aim of this work is to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant, hypoglycemic, and antiobesity effects of Euphorbia resinifera extracts and investigate the phenolic constituents and the toxicity of these extracts. Methods: Phytochemical screening was performed to detect polyphenols and flavonoids. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by four methods (DPPH, ABTS, H₂O₂, and xanthine oxidase inhibition). The hypoglycemic effect was determined by the inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes in vitro and via a starch tolerance study in normal rats. The antiobesity effect was estimated by in vitro inhibition of lipase. Results: Phytochemical screening revealed that the ethanolic extract was rich in polyphenols (99 ± 0.56 mg GEA/g extract) and tannins (55.22 ± 0.17 mg RE/g extract). Moreover, this extract showed higher antioxidant activity in different tests: the DPPH assay (IC₅₀ = 53.81 ± 1.83 ㎍/mL), ABTS assay (111.4 ± 2.64 mg TE/g extract), H₂O₂ (IC₅₀ = 98.15 ± 0.68 ㎍/mL), and xanthine oxidase (IC₅₀ = 10.26 ± 0.6 ㎍/mL). With respect to hypoglycemic effect, the aqueous and ethanolic extracts showed IC₅₀ values of 119.7 ± 2.15 ㎍/mL and 102 ± 3.63 ㎍/mL for α-amylase and 121.4 ± 1.88 and 56.6 ± 1.12 ㎍/mL for α-glucosidase, respectively, and the extracts lowered blood glucose levels in normal starch-loaded rats. Additionally, lipase inhibition was observed with aqueous (IC₅₀ = 25.3 ± 1.53 ㎍/mL) and ethanolic (IC₅₀ = 13.7 ± 3.03 ㎍/mL) extracts. Conclusion: These findings show the antioxidant, hypoglycemic, and hyperlipidemic effects of E. resinifera extracts, which should be investigated further to validate their medicinal uses and their pharmaceutical applications.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.442-451
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• 2021

Microplastics are fragments of any type of plastic with a size less than 5 mm. Ocean pollution by microplastics is now a worldwide concern in relation to marine ecosystems and human health. The widespread contamination by microplastics means that they can be ingested by and accumulated in diverse species of wildlife, such as fish, mussels, oysters, clams, and scallops. Once ingested, the microplastics can be observed in the intestines, liver, and kidney, and even in the brain. Seafood is one of the major sources of protein intake in humans; therefore, seafood consumption could be pathway for human microplastics exposure. Accumulating evidence indicates that repeated oral exposure to microplastics induces pathologic and functional changes in the reproductive, cardiac, gastrointestinal, endocrine, and even nervous systems of rodents. Maternal exposure to microplastics during gestation and lactation alters metabolic homeostasis in the offspring. Given that seafood provides more than 20% of the total protein intake by over 310 million people worldwide, a reasonable assumption is that microplastics could be substantially accumulated in the human body and impair physiological function. In this review, we have summarized the current status of microplastics contamination in the ocean, their accumulation and toxicities in marine animals and rodents, their exposure to humans, and their potential impacts on human health.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.51-57
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• 2020

Disinfection and maintenance of rearing water in aquaculture is an essential element for the prevention of fish diseases. This is especially important in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) in which fish are reared at high density using recycled water. In this study, tilapia was reared in two different RAS (one with plasma generator - PW system, another without plasma generator - No PW system). In plasma treated group, UVT% of water was improved clearly, and the number of heterotrophic bacteria decreased significantly after 40 days. Total weight gain of tilapia in PW system was significantly higher, and other growth indicators were also relatively higher although not statistically significant. In addition, the fish in PW system had a 100% survival rate, and there were no histological differences between fish from both systems. Fish did not seem to be affected by the toxicity of ROS. In conclusion, it is expected that plasma water can effectively deactivate fish pathogens and improve the quality of rearing water.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.142-154
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• 2022

Arsenic (As) contamination in groundwater is one of the main problems in Bangladesh. As toxicity causes serious human health problems such as edema, skin cancer, bladder cancer, lung cancer, hyperkeratosis, premature birth, and black foot disease. As contamination in groundwater mainly originates from the geological characteristics of the area due to the influence of anthropogenic activities. Since most of the people in Bangladesh rely on tube well for drinking water, it is necessary to investigate the current status of As pollution and identify the treatment technologies that can be used to provide arsenic-free drinking water in water-scarce areas. A total of 92 papers were reviewed in this study to present a complete overview of the recent status of groundwater As contamination in Bangladesh and different low-cost remediation technologies. A method for evaluating the relative feasibility of different treatment technologies was also utilized to determine the most appropriate technologies for groundwater As treatment in Bangladesh. The districts with the highest groundwater As contamination include Brahamanbariya, Tangail, Barisal, Pabna, Patuakhali, Kurigram, Magura, and Faridpur, with concentrations exceeding 0.05 mg/L. Only six districts had relatively low groundwater arsenic concentrations (0.01 mg/L), including Kushtia, Khagrachari, Jessore, Dinajpur, Meherpur, and Munshiganj. There were a number of technologies used for treating As in water, but aerated electrocoagulation, Mg-Fe-based hydrotalcite-like compound, and electro-chemical As remediation (ECAR) reactor were found to be the most feasible treatment methods for As. Overall, the investment, operational, and maintenance costs, availability of materials, and expertise requirements should be considered when selecting the most appropriate treatment method for As in water.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.126-132
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• 2022

Alkaline fuel cells using liquid fuels such as hydrazine and ammonia are gaining great attention as a clean and renewable energy solution possibly owing to advantages such as excellent energy density, simple structure, compact size in fuel container, and ease of storage and transportation. However, common shortcomings including cathode flooding, fuel crossover, side yield reactions, and fuel security and toxicity are still challenging issues. Real time monitoring of fuel concentrations integrated into a fuel cell device can help improving fuel cell performance via predicting any loss of fuels used at a cathode for efficient energy production. There have been extensive research efforts made on developing real-time sensing platforms for hydrazine and ammonia. Among these, recent advancements in electrochemical sensors offering high sensitivity and selectivity, easy fabrication, and fast monitoring capability for analysis of hydrazine and ammonia concentrations will be introduced. In particular, research trend on the integration of metallic and metal oxide nanoparticles and also their hybrids with carbon-based nanomaterials into electrochemical sensing platforms for improvement in sensitivity and selectivity will be highlighted.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.102-112
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• 2022

Crucian carp, Carassius carassius (Weight 39.7±3.1 g, Length 14.8±0.5 cm) were exposed to waterborne nickel at 0, 10, 20, 40, 80 and 160 mg Ni²⁺/l. The lethal concentration 50 (LC₅₀) of C. carassius exposed to waterborne nickel was 117.69 mg Ni²⁺/l. In hematological parameters, RBC counts was significantly increased at 48 hours, whereas a significant decrease was observed at 96 hours. The MCV and MCH were significantly increased in the concentration of 80 mg Ni²⁺/l at 96 hours. The plasma components such as calcium, magnesium, glucose, cholesterol, total protein, AST, ALT and ALP were significantly changed by waterbonre nickel exposure. The results of this study suggest that the nickel exposure to C. carassius affects the survival rates, hematological parameters and plasma components as toxicity

• Journal of Marine Life Science
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.129-138
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• 2022

Crucian carp, Carassius carassius (Weight 42.4 ± 9.0 g, Length 15.0 ± 1.0 cm) were exposed to waterborne zinc at 0, 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 mg Zn²⁺/l for 96 hours. The lethal concentration 50 (LC₅₀) at 96 hours of crucian carp, C. carassius exposed to waterborne zinc was 51.58 mg Zn²⁺/l. In hematological parameters, the RBC count was significantly decreased in the concentration of 40 mg Zn²⁺/l at 48 hours, whereas the hematocrit was significantly increased by zinc exposure. The MCV (mean corpuscular volume) (µl) and MCH (mean corpuscular hemoglobin) (pg) were significantly increased in the concentration of 40 mg Zn²⁺/l at 48 hours. The plasma components such as calcium, magnesium, glucose, cholesterol, total protein and ALT (Alanine aminotransminase) were significantly changed by zinc exposure. The results of this study suggest that the zinc exposure to C. carassius induced the significant physiological changes in the hematological parameters and plasma components as toxicity.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.86-93
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• 2022

The ecotoxicity test method using Undaria pinnatifida spore is challenging to use throughout the year. Since U. pinnatifida female gametophytes can be cultured in the laboratory, they can be used for ecotoxicity testing at any time. Changes in female gametophyte survival rate and relative growth rate in U. pinnatifida exposed to various environmental conditions were analyzed. The female gametophyte of U. pinnatifida was exposed to salinity (5~40 psu), temperature (5~30℃), pH (4~10), and light intensity (0~120 μmol photon m^-2 s^-1). Based on the highest average value, the survival rate of female gametophyte was highest at a temperature of 20℃, salinity 27.5 psu, pH 8, and light intensity 30 μmol photon m^-2 s^-1. And the relative growth rate was highest at a temperature of 15℃, salinity 35 psu, pH 9, and light intensity of 60 μmol photon m^-2 s^-1. As a result of this study, the method using the optimal conditions for the survival rate and relative growth rate is expected to be a practical test method that can complement the current method.