• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.461-470
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• 2019

This study was carried out to quantify the drought stress in grafted watermelon seedlings non-destructively by using chlorophyll fluorescence (CF) imaging technique rather than the visual judgment. Six-day old watermelon seedlings were grown under uniform irrigation for 3 days, and then given drought stress. Afterward, the sensor for the measurement of water content in plug tray cell unit was used to classify the drought-stress level into nine groups from D1 (53.0%, sufficient moisture state) to D9 (15.7%, extremely dry stress), and the 16 CF parameters were measured. In addition, re-irrigation was performed on the drought stressed seedlings(D5 - D9) to determine the growth and photosynthesis recovery level, which was not confirmed by visual judgment. The kinetic curve patterns of CF in three different drought stressed seedling groups were found to be different for the early detection of drought stress. All the 16 CF parameters decreased continuously with exposure to drought stress and drastically decreased from D5 (32.1%) where the visual judgment was possible. The fluorescence decline ratio (Rfd_Lss) started to decrease from the initial drought stress level (D5 - D6), and the Maximum PSII quantum yield (Fv/Fm) was significantly decreased in the later extreme drought stress range (D7 - D9) by re-irrigation recovery test. Thus, Rfd_Lss and Fv/Fm parameters were finally selected as potent indicators of growth and photosynthesis recovery in the initial and later stages of drought stress. Also, to the differences in the numerical values of the individual chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, the drought stress level was intuitively confirmed through the image. These results indicate that Rfd and Fv/Fm can be considered as potential CF parameters for the detection of low and extremely high drought stress, respectively. Furthermore, Fv/Fm can be considered as the best CF parameters for recovery at re-irrigation.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.315-324
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• 2015

In this study, we prepared liquid crystal emulsion composed of amphiphilic substance $C_{14-22}$ alcohol, $C_{12-20}$ alkyl glucoside, behenyl alcohol and studied liquid crystal emulsion of properties and in vitro skin permeation. The results of formulation experiments, the clear liquid crystalline structure was observed in the ratio of $C_{14-22}$ alcohol 0.8%, $C_{12-20}$ alkyl glucoside 3.2%, behenyl alcohol 4% in the formulation. The results of physical property measurements, the viscosity of liquid crystal emulsion and O/W emulsion applied as a control group was respectively $1871.26{\sim}1.15Pa{\cdot}s$, $1768.69{\sim}1.14Pa{\cdot}s$ and the shear stress of O/W emulsion was 178.68 ~ 909.18 Pa, that of liquid crystal emulsion was 190.45 ~ 919.38 Pa. The storage modulus of O/W emulsion was 3428.53 ~ 9157.45 Pa, that of liquid crystal emulsion was 4487.82 ~ 8195.59 Pa. The tan (delta) value of O/W emulsion which means a ratio of viscosity to elasticity was 0.43 ~ 0.19, and that of liquid crystal emulsion was 0.23 ~ 0.25. The water content value on the skin for liquid crystal emulsion was significantly higher from 1 h to 6 h compared with that of O/W emulsion and the transepidermal water loss on the skin was significantly superior in skin moisture loss suppression from 30 min to 4 h compared with that of O/W emulsion. The results of skin permeation using glycyrrhizic acid, the result of skin permeation amount of liquid crystal emulsion for 24 h was $64.58{\mu}g/cm^2$, that of O/W emulsion was $37.07{\mu}g/cm^2$, that of butylene glycol solution was $41.05{\mu}g/cm^2$. Hourly permeability results, it is showed that skin penetration effect of the liquid crystal emulsion increases after 8 h. These results suggest that liquid crystal emulsions are effective for skin moisturizing effect and function as potential efficacy ingredient delivery system for the transdermal delivery.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.211-216
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• 1986

To establish a suitability grouping system of paddy soils for double or multiple cropping with rice which is intensively practiced in the southern parts of Korea, a few basic experiments were carried out for two years. The results are summarized as follows; 1. The potential productivities of the paddy soils which were tested without any fertilizer in the pots of subsoil samples by the double cropping of rice and other upland crops were resulted that the soils of "Moderately well drained" fine silty textured were the highest while the soils of "Poorly drained" sandy were the lowest, and the productivities could be clearly comparable according to the differences of soil conditions. 2. The decomposability of organic matter also was higher in the soils of "Moderately well drained" than the "Imperfectly drained". The coarse loamy and coarse silty textured soils were high in the upland condition and in the early stages of submerging while the fine loamy and fine silty textured soils were high at the late stage of submerging in the rates of organic matter decomposition. 3. The days to be reached to tillable condition after rainfall in fine loamy textured soils were about 5 days earlier than the clayey soils. The period of tillable condition of fine clayey soils with "Moderately well drained" was the longest and that of the fine loamy textured soils was the shortest. But the soils with "Imperfectly drained" were not clear among soil textural classes. 4. The lower the ground water table the higher was the productivity indices. The variation of ground water table in the medium textured soils was higher than the both of coarse and fine textured soils among "Moderately well drained". But it was observed the opposite in the soils of "Imperfectly drained".

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.10
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• pp.885-897
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• 2021

Schisandrae Fructus (SF) and Corni Fructus (CF) have been used for a long time for the prevention and treatment of various diseases. Although reports have highlighted the possibility of inhibiting the onset and progression of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), studies on related mechanisms are still lacking. In this study, we investigated the potential of SF and CF in improving BPH by using a dihydrotestosterone (DHT)-induced in vitro BPH model using LNCaP prostate carcinoma cells. According to our results, water and ethanol extracts of SF and CF significantly inhibited the proliferation of LNCaP cells by DHT treatment and markedly downregulated the expression of DHT-induced BPH biomarkers and growth factors. They also regulated the expression of apoptosis regulatory factors and significantly reduced DHT-mediated oxidative stress. In addition, the protective effect on major factors involved in the pathogenesis of BPH was more effective in the ethanol extract treatment group than in the water extract group. Furthermore, the improvement effect on BPH was higher in the 1:1 combined treatment group than in the ethanol extract alone treatment group of SF and CF, and 60% ethanol extracts showed a better effect than 40% ethanol extracts. Therefore, our findings demonstrate that SF and CF can protect against BPH by preventing the hyperproliferation of prostate cells through the inhibition of the androgen signaling pathway, which was correlated with their antioxidant activities. Therefore, SF and CF extracts may be useful in the clinical treatment of BPH, and the combination of these two extracts can be synergistic.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.595-604
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• 2018

In this study, in a bid to develop natural bioadhesives for paper craft, the hanji industry, and preserving cultural assets, complex polysaccharides were extracted from brown and red algae and used as an ingredient in adhesives. Brown algae include sea trumpet, kelp, sea oak, and sea mustard, whereas red algae include Pachymeniopsis elliptica agar-agar weed, Gloiopeltis tenax, and hunori. The polysaccharides were extracted after transforming them from non-aqueous Ca complexes contained in each of the brown and red algae into water-soluble polysaccharides containing alkali metals with a solubility level of 1. and extracted Subsequently, only the polysaccharides were extracted using alcohol precipitation. The adhesion tensile strengths of kelp, a brown algae, and Pachymeniopsis elliptica, a red algae, were 21.58 and 32.99 kgf, respectively. They thus demonstrated better adhesion than that of solid glue products such as water plants (18.45 kgf) and glue sticks (20.45 kgf). The extraction yield of these polysaccharides is supposed to be determined according to their extracted environments; however, no difference in adhesion strength was seen. Further, it was found that the shapes of polysaccharides were determined by their growing environment instead of extraction environment. Use of multi-step alcohol precipitation method during extraction enabled the removal of the constituents except protein and other polysaccharides, thereby demonstrating a stable outcome without cultivation of mold. Furthermore, there was no occurrence of mold even after production of the adhesives by the simple solution method, which demonstrates the adhesive's potential as an environment-friendly adhesive material.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.63 no.4
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• pp.294-303
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• 2018

To set an optimal harvest time for five main whole-crop silage (WCS) rice cultivars, Nokyang (Ny), Mogwoo (Mw), Mogyang (My), Nokwoo (Nw) and Yeongwoo(Yw), based on feed value and dry matter yield, we analyzed water content (WC), feed values such as percent crude protein (CP), crude fat (CF), crude ash (CA), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), estimated total digestible nutrients (TDN), and calculated their dry matter yield (DMY). These parameters were estimated at the booting stage and every 10 days from start of heading to 45 days after heading (DAH) to identify the optimal harvest time for these rice varieties. In all varieties, except Ny, the WC was about 65% on the $30^{th}$ DAH. In terms of WC, it is judged that there would be no major problem in preparing high quality silage when harvested between 20~30 DAH for Ny and about 30 days for the other cultivars. The CP and CA decreased significantly as the harvest time was delayed in all varieties (p<0.05). However, the CF in the tested varieties generally declined as DAH increased, and then increased again(p<0.05). The decrease in ADF and NDF was significantly different from the booting stage to 45 DAH in all varieties (p<0.05) and the estimated TDN increased gradually in all varieties as the harvest time was delayed. The TDN of all varieties, except Nw, was over 70% around 30 DAH. As harvest time was delayed, the DMY for all WCS rice increased significantly (p<0.05). The maximum DMY for each cultivar was observed at 45 DAH, however, no significant difference (p<0.05) was seen after 40 DAH for Ny and Yw, 30 DAH for Mw and Nw, and 20 DAH for My. Considering these results and others factors such as lodging, shattering, digestibility of grains, conversion of eating rice, etc., the optimal harvest time for silage use of all WCS rice tested was generally the yellow ripening stage, at about 30 DAH (30~40 DAH for Ny and Mw, and 30 DAH for My, Nw and Yw).

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.183-202
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• 2019

For design and performance assessment of a high-level radioactive waste (HLW) disposal system, it is necessary to understand the characteristics of coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) behavior. However, in previous studies for the Korean Reference HLW Disposal System (KRS), thermal analysis was performed to determine the spacing of disposal tunnels and interval of disposition holes without consideration of the coupled THM behavior. Therefore, in this study, TOUGH2-MP/FLAC3D is used to conduct THM modeling for performance assessment of the Korean Reference HLW Disposal System (KRS). The peak temperature remains below the temperature limit of $100^{\circ}C$ for the whole period. A rapid rise of temperature caused by decay heat occurs in the early years, and then temperature begins to decrease as decay heat from the waste decreases. The peak temperature at the bentonite buffer is around $96.2^{\circ}C$ after about 3 years, and peak temperature at the rockmass is $68.2^{\circ}C$ after about 17 years. Saturation of the bentonite block near the canister decreases in the early stage, because water evaporation occurs owing to temperature increase. Then, saturation of the bentonite buffer and backfill increases because of water intake from the rockmass, and bentonite buffer and backfill are fully saturated after about 266 years. The stress is calculated to investigate the effect of thermal stress and swelling pressure on the mechanical behavior of the rockmass. The calculated stress is compared to a spalling criterion and the Mohr-Coulumb criterion for investigation of potential failure. The stress at the rockmass remains below the spalling strength and Mohr-Coulumb criterion for the whole period. The methodology of using the TOUGH2-MP/FLAC3D simulator can be applied to predict the long-term behavior of the KRS under various conditions; these methods will be useful for the design and performance assessment of alternative concepts such as multi-layer and multi-canister concepts for geological spent fuel repositories.

• Clean Technology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.245-255
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• 2019

Pressurized oxy-fuel combustion is a promising technology for $CO_2$ capture with a benefit of improving power plant efficiency compared with atmospheric oxy-fuel combustion. Prior to $CO_2$ compression in this process, a flue gas condenser (FGC) is used to remove $H_2O$ while recovering the latent heat. At the same time, the FGC has a potential for high-efficiency removal of $SO_x$ and $NO_x$ by exploiting their good solubility in water. In this study, experiments were carried out in a lab-scale, direct contact FGC under different pressures varying between 1 and 20 bar to evaluate the removal efficiency of $SO_2$ and $NO_x$ for individual gases and their mixture. In the tests for individual gases, 20% and 76% of $NO_x$ was removed at 1 bar and 10 bar, respectively. Even higher removal efficiencies were achieved for $SO_2$, and also these were maintained for longer as the pressure increased. In the tests for $SO_2$ and $NO_x$ mixture, the removal efficiency of $NO_x$ increased from 13% at 1 bar to 56% at 20 bar because of higher solubility at elevated pressures. $SO_2$ in the mixture was initially dissolved almost completely and then increased by 1,219 ppm at 1 bar and by 165 ppm at 20 bar. Overall, the removal efficiency of $SO_2$ and $NO_x$ was increased at elevated pressures, but it was lower in the mixture compared with individual gases at identical conditions because of a lower pH and associated chemical reactions in water.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.255-263
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• 2019

Glycyrrhizae radix is one of the most frequently prescribed ingredients in Oriental medicine, and Glycyrrhizae radix extract has been shown to exert anti-cancer effects. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms of programed cell death (apoptosis) by Glycyrrhizae radix are poorly defined. In the present study, it was examined the molecular mechanisms of apoptosis by water extracts of Glycyrrhizae radix (GRW) in human bladder T24 cancer cells. It was found that GRW could inhibit the cell growth of T24 cells in a concentration-dependent manner, which was associated with the induction of apoptotic cell death, as evidenced by the formation of apoptotic bodies, DNA fragmentation and increased populations of annexin-V positive cells. The induction of apoptotic cell death by GRW was connected with an up-regulation of pro-apoptotic Bax protein expression and down-regulation of anti-apoptotic proteins (Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL), and inhibition of apoptosis family proteins (XIAP, cIAP-1 and cIAP-2). In addition, apoptosis-inducing concentrations of GRW induced the activation of caspase-9, an initiator caspase of the mitochondrial-mediated intrinsic pathway, and caspase-3, accompanied by proteolytic degradation of PARP. GRW also induced apoptosis via a death receptor-mediated extrinsic pathway by caspase-8 activation, resulting in the down-regulation of total Bid and suggesting the existence of cross-talk between the extrinsic and intrinsic pathways. Taken together, the present results suggest that GRW may be a potential chemotherapeutic agent for the control of human bladder cancer cells.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.227-239
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• 2022

Purpose: This study investigated the effects of water-soluble mulberry leaf extract (ME) on hepatic lipid accumulation in high-fat diet-fed rats via the regulation of hepatic microRNA (miR)-221/222 and inflammation. Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (4 weeks old) were randomly divided into 3 groups (n = 7 each) and fed with 10 kcal% low-fat diet (LF), 45 kcal% high-fat diet (HF), or HF + 0.8% ME for 14 weeks. Lipid profiles and cytokine levels of the liver and serum were measured using commercial enzymatic colorimetric and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. The messenger RNA (mRNA) and miR levels in liver tissue were assayed by real-time quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results: Supplementation of ME reduces body weight and improves the liver and serum lipid profiles as compared to the HF group. The mRNA levels of hepatic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma, sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c, fatty acid synthase, and fatty acid translocase, which are genes involved in lipid metabolism, were significantly downregulated in the ME group compared to the HF group. In contrast, the mRNA level of hepatic carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1 (involved in fatty acid oxidation) was upregulated by ME supplementation. Furthermore, administration of ME significantly downregulated the mRNA levels of inflammatory mediators such as hepatic tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, and inducible nitric oxide synthase. The serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6, and nitric oxide were also significantly reduced in ME group compared to the HF group. Expression of hepatic miR-221 and miR-222, which increase in the inflammatory state of the liver, were also significantly inhibited in the ME group compared to the HF group. Conclusion: These results indicate that ME has the potential to improve hepatic lipid accumulation in high-fat diet-fed rats via modulation of inflammatory mediators and hepatic miR-221/222 expressions.