• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.173-180
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• 2009

In order to develop a novel polymer electrolyte membrane for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), styrene monomer was graft-polymerized into poly(tetrafluoroethylene perfluoropropyl vinyl ether) (PFA) film followed by a sulfonation reaction. The graft polymerization was prepared by the $\Upsilon$-ray radiation-grafting method. Subsequently, sulfonation of the radiation-grafted film was carried out in a chlorosulfonic acid/1,2-dichloroethane (2 v/v%) solution. The chemical, physical, electrochemical and morphological properties of the radiation-grafted membranes (PFA-g-PSSA) were characterized by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The water uptake, ionic conductivity, and methanol permeability of the PFA-g-PSSA membrane were also measured. The cell performances of MEA prepared with the PFA-g-PSSA membranes were evaluated and the cell resistances were measured by an impedance analyzer. The MEA using PFA-g-PSSA membranes showed superior performance for DMFCs in comparison with the commercial Nafion 112 membrane.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.220-230
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• 2014

BACKGROUND: Excessive metals in the soil have become one of the most significant environmental problems. Phytoremediation has received considerable attention as a method for restoring the contaminated soils. The microbes having remarkable metal tolerance and plant growth-promoting abilities could also play a significant role in remediation of metal-contaminated soils, because bioaugmentation with such microbes could promote phytoextraction of metals. Therefore, the present study was focused on evaluating the phytoextraction of heavy metals (Co, Pb and Zn) in Helianthus annuus (sunflower) induced by bioaugmentation of a phosphate solubilizing bacterium. METHODS AND RESULTS: A phosphate solubilizing bacterium was isolated from metal-contaminated soils based on the greater halo size (>3 mm) with solid NBRIP agar medium containing 10 g glucose, 5 g $Ca_3(PO_4)_2$, 5 g $MgCl_2{\cdot}6H_2O$, 0.25 g $MgSO_4.7H_2O$, 0.2 g KCl, 0.1 g $(NH_4)_2SO_4$ in 1 L distilled water. Isolated bacterial strain was assessed for their resistance to heavy metals; $CoCl_2.6H_2O$, $2PbCO_3.Pb(OH)_2$, and $ZnCl_2$ at various concentrations ranging from $100-400{\mu}g/mL$ (Co, Pb and Zn) using the agar dilution method. A pot experiment was conducted with aqueous solutions of different heavy metals (Co, Pb and Zn) to assess the effect of bacterial strain on growth and metal uptake by Helianthus annuus (sunflower). The impact of bacterial inoculation on the mobility of metals in soil was investigated under laboratory conditions with 50 mL scaled polypropylene centrifuge tubes. The metal contents in the filtrate of plant extracts were determined using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Perkinelmer, Aanalyst 800, USA). CONCLUSION: Inoculation with Enterobacter ludwigii PSB 28 resulted in increased shoot and root biomass and enhanced accumulation of Co, Pb and Zn in Helianthus annuus plants. The strain was found to be capable of promoting metal translocation from the roots to the shoots of H. annuus. Therefore, Enterobacter ludwigii PSB 28 could be identified as an effective promoter of phytoextraction of Co, Pb and Zn from metal-contaminated soils.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.475-481
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• 2010

Lots of pollutants typically originating from urban transportation are accumulating on the paved surfaces during dry periods and are washed-off directly to the river during a storm. Also, paved surfaces are contributing to increase in peak flows and volume of stormwater flows. These are the main reasons why the water quality of rivers and lakes remain polluted and still below standards. Currently, several management practices are being applied in developed countries but the design standards are still lacking. This research was conducted to develop a treatment technology that can be useful to address the problems concerning runoff quality and quantity. A lab scale infiltration device consisting of a pretreatment tank and media zone was designed and tested for various flow regimes characterizing the low, average and high intensity rainfall. Based on the experiments, the high intensity flow resulted to increase in outflow event mean concentration (EMC) of pollutants, about twice as much as the average outflow EMC. However, 78 to 88% of the total suspended solids were captured and retained in the pretreatment tank because of sedimentation. The removal of heavy metals such as zinc and lead was greatly affected by the vertical placement of woodchip layer prior to the media zone. It was observed that the high carbon content (almost 50%) in the woodchip provided opportunity for enhancing its uptake of metal by adsorption. The findings implied that the reduction of pollutants can be greatly achieved by means of proper pretreatment to allow for settling of particles with a combination of using high carbon source media like woodchip and a geotextile mat to reduce the flow before filtering into the media zone and finally discharging to the drainage system.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.437-446
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• 2014

Problems appear when triptans are taken orally. For example, the bioavailability of triptan is reduced by the digestive system, and the drug level in the blood reduces rapidly over time; there is also a possibility of gastrointestinal disorder. To improve side effects, a transdermal patch has been prepared in hydrogel form. The polymer matrix that makes up the hydrogel uses PVA; PEG is used as an additive to induce inter/intra hydrogen bonding of the PVA and almotriptan drug is added. In addition, to accelerate micro-phase separation between PVA chains, liquid nitrogen is used. In FT-IR analysis, the absorption bands of PVA, PEG, and almotriptan were found. The degree of crystallinity, the water uptake ability and tensile strength were increased with increasing PEG content. In drug release tests, the amount of drug released increased depending on the PEG content. In this study, hydrogels with 10 wt% PEG showed better performance in drug release. Approximately 60% of the total drug amount was released in 2 hr, and the drug continued to release for 1 day. Thus, the prepared hydrogel patch is suitable as a transdermal formulation for the second dose administration of triptans to patients who require recurrent migraine treatment within 24 hr after the first administration.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.340-344
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• 2005

Salinity problems are caused from the accumulation of soluble salts in the root zone. These excess salts reduce plant growth and vigor by altering water uptake and causing ion-specific toxicities or imbalances. In this investigation, green pepper cultivation technique using mixture bed of soil and rice hull and surface drop fertigation system was examined to prolong the productivity of salt-affected plastic film house soils. Green pepper growth was better in the mixture bed of soil and rice hull comparing to the conventional soil cultivation. Especially root growth was much better and the root had more thin root system in the mixture bed of soil and rice hull. The better growth of root may be due to the better physical conditions and lower EC in the mixture bed of soil and rice hull where nutrient supply was well-managed with fertigation system. In the cultivation with mixture bed of soil and rice hull, fruit yield of green pepper was significantly higher; increased by 43% in comparison to the conventional soil cultivation. Pepper cultivation technique using mixture bed of soil and rice hull and surface drop fertigation system is expected to be a useful method for maintaining and prolonging the productivity of salt-affected plastic film house soils.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.221-229
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• 2006

This study is about the preparation and characterization of sulfonated random copolymer membranes containing perfluorocyclobutane (PFCB), fluorenyl, and sulfonyl units. The polymers were prepared through three synthetic steps, that is, the synthesis of a trofluorovinylether-terminated monomer, its thermal polymerization, and post-sulfonation using chlorosulfonic acid. A series of sulfonated random copolymers with different ion exchange capacity (IEC) were prepared by changing contents of fluorenyl uints in polymers with fixed molar ratio of chlorosulfonic acid during the post-sulfonation reaction. All the synthesized compounds were characterized by FT-lR, $^1H-NMR$, $^{19}F-NMR$, and Mass spectroscopy. As the content of sulfonated fluorenyl units increased, the IEC, water uptake, and ion conductivity of the sulfonated random copolymer membranes increased. The sulfonated random copolymer S-1 and S-2 showed higher values of ion conductivity than the Nafion-115 in a wide range of temperatures ($25{\sim}80^{\circ}C$).

• Membrane Journal
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.301-310
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• 2014

In this study, the silica nanoparticles were considerably chosen to improve a dimensional stability, proton transport and electrochemical performance of the resulting inorganic-organic nanocomposite membranes. For this purpose, hydrophobic silica (Aerosil$^{(R)}$ 812, Degussa) and hydrophilic silica (Aerosil$^{(R)}$ 380, Degussa) nanoparticles were, respectively, introduced into a Sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) (SPAES) polymer matrix. The $SiO_2$ particles are evenly dispersed in a SPAES matrix by the aid of a non-ionic surfactant (Pluronics$^{(R)}$ L64). A $SiO_2$ content plays an important role in membrane microstructures and membrane properties such as proton conductivity and water uptake. Therefore, to study nanocomposite membranes with excessive amount of silica, the content of silica nanoparticles were increased up to 5 wt%. Interestingly, a hydrophobic $SiO_2$ containing nanocomposite membrane showed better electrochemical performance (29% higher than pristine SPAES) despite of low proton conductivity due to its adhesive properties with a catalyst layer in a single cell test. All the silica-SPAES membranes exhibited better performance than a pristine SPAES membrane.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.41 no.spc
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• pp.93-98
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• 2008

We investigated the effect on the removal of BOD, SS, TN and TP and algal growth inhibition of Vegetated Artificial Floating Island (VAFI), by examining microorganism activity and nutrient uptake in the batch test of various conditions: (1) Blank (Control group), (2) VAFI of $0.25m^2$, (3) AFI of $0.25m^2$ which has no vegetation, (4) buoyant plate of $0.25m^2$, (5) buoyant plate of $0.25m^2$ with linear media. The proportion of BOD removal in the VAFI, AFI, buoyant plate and buoyant plate with media were 82.7, 80.8, 45.2% and 59.6% respectively. TN removal in the VAFI, AFI and buoyant plate with media were 51.2, 31.7% and 25.1% respectively. TP removal in the VAFI, AFI, buoyant plate and buoyant plate with media were 23.3, 16.7, 10.0% and 13.3% respectively. Chlorophyll-${\alpha}$ removal in the VAFI was 97.9%. The factors of chlorophyll-${\alpha}$ removal in the VAFI accounted for the shading effect of 35.1%, microorganisms activity of 61%, and plant root of 1.8%.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.437-444
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• 2016

Background: Although Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) has been traditionally used for a long time, its anti-inflammatory role and underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms have been poorly understood. In this study, the anti-inflammatory roles of KRG-derived components, namely, water extract (KRG-WE), saponin fraction (KRG-SF), and nonsaponin fraction (KRG-NSF), were investigated. Methods: To check saponin levels in the test fractions, KRG-WE, KRG-NSF, and KRG-SF were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography. The anti-inflammatory roles and underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of these components were investigated using a macrophage-like cell line (RAW264.7 cells) and an acute gastritis model in mice. Results: Of the tested fractions, KGR-SF (but not KRG-NSF and KRG-WE) markedly inhibited the viability of RAW264.7 cells, and splenocytes at more than 500 mg/mL significantly suppressed NO production at $100{\mu}g/mL$, diminished mRNA expression of inflammatory genes such as inducible nitric oxide synthase, cyclooxygenase-2, tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$, and interferon-${\beta}$ at $200{\mu}g/mL$, and completely blocked phagocytic uptake by RAW264.7 cells. All three fractions suppressed luciferase activity triggered by interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3), but not that triggered by activator protein-1 and nuclear factor-kappa B. Phospho-IRF3 and phospho-TBK1 were simultaneously decreased in KRG-SF. Interestingly, all these fractions, when orally administered, clearly ameliorated the symptoms of gastric ulcer in HCl/ethanol-induced gastritis mice. Conclusion: These results suggest that KRG-WE, KRG-NSF, and KRG-SF might have anti-inflammatory properties, mostly because of the suppression of the IRF3 pathway.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.676-681
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• 2014

Licorice, widely used as a herbal medicine, has flavonoids such as liquiritin and its aglycone, liquiritigenin that show anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Licorice flavonoid-loaded cellulose hydrogels were prepared as carriers for skin drug delivery, and their properties were investigated. The porous cellulose hydrogel was made by reacting cellulose with epichlorohydrin as a cross-linking agent in NaOH/urea(1~10%) solutions. Through studies on the rheological properties and water uptake of the hydrogel, a NaOH/urea(6%) solution was established as being optimum for the synthesis of the cellulose hydrogel containing liquiritin and liquiritigenin. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations of a cross-section of the prepared hydrogel indicated its porosity. In particular, in skin permeation experiments using a Franz diffusion cell, hydrogel containing the licorice flavonoids showed remarkable transdermal permeation compared to the control group. These results indicate that porous cellulose hydrogel is a potential drug delivery system to enhance the skin permeation of licorice flavonoids.