• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.174-181
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• 2009

The consumption of "ready-to-eat" agricultural products is recently increasing and the safety of these agricultural products is forefront of public concerns. The 120 samples of paprikas, strawberries and tomatoes, which are the representative exported agricultural products, were purchased at the department stores and discount stores in Daejeon. And we determined the microbiological and parasitological contamination level of these agricultural products using culture media, multiplex PCR, commercial bacterial detection kit and microscopy, and also evaluated the decontamination method. Mean counts of total aerobic bacteria from these agricultural products ranged from $1.3{\times}10^4$ CFU/g to $1.8{\times}10^5$ CFU/g, and mean counts of coliforms ranged from $1.4{\times}10^3$ CFU/g to $9.6{\times}10^3$ CFU/g. There was no significant difference in the level of bacterial contamination between the agricultural products from department stores and the ones from discount stores. Strawberry showed the highest contamination level for the bacteria and we also found the unidentified parasite eggs. Enterobacter cloacae was the most frequently isolated bacteria strain, but no food poisoning pathogenic bacteria except Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from the products by multiplex PCR. Compared to unwashed products, tab water-washed ones showed 80% decrease of the counts of total aerobic bacteria on the agricultural products, and the rates decreased more by incorporating detergent or ultrasonic wave treatment. We concluded that the biological contamination levels among paprikas, strawberries and tomatoes were the highest in strawberries, but there were not significant difference according to distribution systems.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.620-626
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• 2016

In this study, we investigated the total phenolic and flavonoid contents, antioxidant activity and cellular protective effects against oxidative stress on human skin cells in 50% ethanol extract and its fractions of Calendula officinalis (C. officinalis) flowers. We measured the antioxidant effects of 50% ethanol extract and its fractions of C. officinalis flowers on the free radical scavenging activity ($FSC_{50}$), the reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging activities ($OSC_{50}$) and the inhibition of intracellular ROS generation in human skin cells. These results showed that the antioxidant effect of the ethyl acetate and aglycone fraction was more than the 50% ethanol extract of C. officinalis flowers. We also investigated the cellular protective activity and the results showed that treatment of the ethyl acetate fraction ($0.05-3.13{\mu}g/mL$) protects human skin cells in a concentration-dependent manner when the skin cell damages were induced by treating them with $H_2O_2$. In addition, the aglycone fraction ($1.56-3.13{\mu}g/mL$) shows cellular protective effects on the UV-induced cell damages in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that the fractions of C. officinalis flowers can function as a natural antioxidant agent of cosmetics in human skin cells exposed to oxidative stress by ROS scavenging effects.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.501-507
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• 2010

The aim of the current study was to analyze the diversity of the major surface protein (Msp) gene in Theileria buffeli, which is known as the major antigenic protein recognized by the immune system of the host. In addition, we characterized the diversification of the Msp gene and its relationship to with the pathogenicity of Theileria. Complete blood counts (CBC) and Theileria 18S rRNA PCR sequence analysis were performed for 177 Korean indigenous cattle (KIC) in Jeju Island. A total of 28 KIC (16 anemic and 12 non-anemic KIC) were then randomly selected based on 18s rRNA PCR positive samples for sequence analysis of the Theileria Msp gene, which was performed twice for each specimen. The resulting 56 Msp gene sequences were classified into five antigenicity types (type I to V), according to the variable region (517-571 bp), which exhibited high similarity (${\geq}$ 98.9%) to several available GenBank sequences (Theileria spp. from China-EU584237; T. sergenti from China-DQ078264; Theileria spp. from Thailand-AB081329; Theileria spp. from Japan-AB218442; T. sergenti from Japan-AB016280). The 56 Msp sequences consisted of 22, 15, 9, 8, and 2 cases of type I to type V Msp genes, respectively. The most prevalent type in both anemic and non-anemic KIC was type I (37.5% in anemic and 41.7% in non-anemic). Among the remaining types, type II was the most prevalent (37.5%) in anemic KIC, while type IV was the most prevalent (25%) in non-anemic KIC. The results of our study help confirm the diversity of Msp gene types and demonstrate that the gene type distribution of Msp genes varies among Theileria-infected KIC in Jeju Island.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.2335-2347
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• 2023

As medical facilities are usually built at urban areas, special concrete aggregates and evaluation methods are needed to optimize the design of concrete walls by balancing density, thickness, material composition, cost, and other factors. Carbon treatment rooms require a high radiation shielding requirement, as the neutron yield from carbon therapy is much higher than the neutron yield of protons. In this case study, the maximum carbon energy is 430 MeV/u and the maximum current is 0.27 nA from a hybrid particle therapy system. Hospital or facility construction should consider this requirement to design a special heavy concrete. In this work, magnetite is adopted as the major aggregate. Density is determined mainly by the major aggregate content of magnetite, and a heavy concrete test block was constructed for structural tests. The compressive strength is 35.7 MPa. The density ranges from 3.65 g/cm³ to 4.14 g/cm³, and the iron mass content ranges from 53.78% to 60.38% from the 12 cored sample measurements. It was found that there is a linear relationship between density and iron content, and mixing impurities should be the major reason leading to the nonuniform element and density distribution. The effect of this nonuniformity on radiation shielding properties for a carbon treatment room is investigated by three groups of Monte Carlo simulations. Higher density dominates to reduce shielding thickness. However, a higher content of high-Z elements will weaken the shielding strength, especially at a lower dose rate threshold and vice versa. The weakened side effect of a high iron content on the shielding property is obvious at 2.5 µSv=h. Therefore, we should not blindly pursue high Z content in engineering. If the thickness is constrained to 2 m, then the density can be reduced to 3.3 g/cm³, which will save cost by reducing the magnetite composition with 50.44% iron content. If a higher density of 3.9 g/cm³ with 57.65% iron content is selected for construction, then the thickness of the wall can be reduced to 174.2 cm, which will save space for equipment installation.