• Molecules and Cells
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• v.38 no.7
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• pp.643-650
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• 2015

The use of conditioned medium from mesenchymal stem cells may be a feasible approach for regeneration of bone defects through secretion of various components of mesenchymal stem cells such as cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors. Mesenchymal stem cells secrete and accumulate multiple factors in conditioned medium under specific physiological conditions. In this study, we investigated whether the conditioned medium collected under hypoxic condition could effectively influence bone regeneration through enhanced migration and adhesion of endogenous mesenchymal stem cells. Cell migration and adhesion abilities were increased through overexpression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 in hypoxic conditioned medium treated group. Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 was upregulated by microRNA-221 in mesenchymal stem cells because microRNAs are key regulators of various biological functions via gene expression. To investigate the effects in vivo, evaluation of bone regeneration by computed tomography and histological assays revealed that osteogenesis was enhanced in the hypoxic conditioned medium group relative to the other groups. These results suggest that behavioral changes of endogenous mesenchymal stem cells through microRNA-221 targeted-intercellular adhesion molecule-1 expression under hypoxic conditions may be a potential treatment for patients with bone defects.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.239-246
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• 2014

To cope with the potential risks associated with invasive alien species, the Korean Government implemented the Biodiversity Act in 2014. Among the alien species not yet introduced into that country, 24 have been designated as alert species. These include mammals, birds, fish, mollusks, insects, and plants that may invade and cause serious harm to the ecosystem. Approval from the Ministry of Environment is required to import or carry any of them. Although these measures are more advanced than those from the previous legal framework, several terms still need to be improved. First, the category of alert species should cover not only those not yet introduced but also those that are being raised or cultivated at aquariums, botanical gardens, and zoos. Second, for applicants who intend to import or carry alert species, the government must provide them with detailed standards for the ecological risk assessment of alert species as well as guidelines for their safe use in Korea to prevent their unregulated release from confinement facilities into natural environments. Third, tools and protocols should be developed for early detection and rapid responses to those escapes.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.483-489
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• 2006

Considering the development of fusion ingredients rom red ginseng and Cheonggukjang (soybean-fermented food), their commercial powders were evaluated in their Hunter's colors, volatile compounds, and sensory properties depending on manufacturing companies and mixing ratio of both powdered products. Hunters L, a and b values of red ginseng powders were $75.56\sim85.50,\;1.90\sim6.30,\;and\;23.29\sim35.08$, respectively, while those of Cheonggukjang powders were $64.96\sim71.69,\;4.64\sim8.30,\;and\;30.45\sim36.50$, respectively. Volatile compounds were mainly composed of hexanal, $\beta-pinene$, methyl benzene, 3,5-methyl propyl nonane, 2-propanone, decane, and 2,8-dimethyl undecane in red ginseng samples, and of 2,3-butanedione, decane, 2,2,7,7-tetramethyl octane, and 3-methyl butanal in Cheonggukjang samples. Total volatiles of the mixed samples decreased as ginseng decreased and Cheonggukjang increased. The mixed sample of both red ginseng and cheonggukjang in same amounts was the highest in its sensory acceptability, which was composed in the order of 2-propanone, 2-butanone, pentane, hexanal and 3-methyl butanal. The above results indicate that red ginseng and Cheonggukjang showed a potential as fusion ingredient for preparing new functional produce through further processing.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.338-347
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• 2008

Grazing rate (GR) and feces production (FP) of freshwater snail Cipangopaludina chinensis malleata on two hibernal diatom communities were examined in a laboratory. Snail with the similar size (4.2$\sim$5.8 cm) were collected from the Gunsan and Okgu district (Jeonbuk), transferred to the artificial management system in laboratory, and starved for 3 day before the experiment. The feeding experiments were conducted at various conditions such as passage of time (0, 1, 4 and 7 hr), snail density (0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 ind. $L^{-1}$) and kinds of prey (cold lake and stream water). One prey used in this study is the water of Lake Ilgam, the other is that of Han river. Lake Ilgam water was dominated by Synedra ulna (69.1%) and Scenedesmus sp. (6.6%), while Han river was by Asterionella formosa (69.4%) and Diatoma vulgare (27.7%). With the increment of snail density and time, the Chl-a concentration of two experimental waters were clearly decreased. Chl-a of Han river rapidly was decreased after 1 hour of snail treatment, while that of Ilgam lake was decreased after 4 hour. On the passage of time, a highest GR (1.94 L $g^{-1}\;h^{-1}$) showed at 1 hr, and then, decreased gradually to 0.04 L $g^{-1}\;h^{-1}$ by 7 hr. The highest FP (0.11 mg $L^{-1}$) showed at 7 hr. These results indicate that native snail Cipangopaludina chinensis malleata may be applied as a potential bio-filter to control diatom blooms in the cold lake and stream.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2012

Worldwide development of harmful algal blooms causes serious problem for public health and fisheries industries. To evaluate the algicidal impact on the harmful algae bloom species in aquatic ecosystems of coast, a new algicide thiazolidinedione derivative (TD49) were tentatively examined in the growth stages (i.e., lag, logarithmic and stationary phase) of rapidophyceae $Heterosigma$ $akashiwo$, $Chattonella$ $marina$ and $Chattonella$ sp..Three strains could easily destroy in the lag phase due to relatively weak cell walls than those of the logarithmic and stationary phase. It is thought that inoculation of TD49 substances into initial or developmental natural blooms with a threshold concentration ($2{\mu}M$) can maximize the algicidal activity. Also, bio-chemical assays revealed that the algicidal substances from all culture strains were likely to be extracellular substances because those cells have easily destroyed in cell walls. On the other hand, natural zooplankton communities were influenced within the exposure experiments of $2{\mu}M$, which is showed the maximum algcidal activity of tested organisms. These results indicate that although the TD49 substance is potential agents for the control of $H.$ $akashiwo$, $C.$ $marina$ and $Chattonella$ sp. in the enclosed eutrophic bay and coastal water, more detailed research of acute toxicity effect on high trophic organism in marine ecosystems need to be conducted.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.115-123
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• 2007

Immobilization of contaminants in subsurface environment is one of the major processes that determine their fate. Especially, immobilization by oxidative-coupling reactions, which is irreversible in the bio-chemical reactions and results in a significant reduction of toxicity, can be successfully applied for the remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater more effectively than conventional degradation. As a catalyst of this oxidative-coupling reaction, manganese oxide has many advantages in practical aspects as compared to microorganisms or oxidoreductive enzymes extracted from microorganisms, fungi, or plants. This paper is to present recent research achievements on the treatment mechanisms of various organic contaminants by manganese oxide. Especially, treatment methods of non-reactive organic compounds to Mn oxide are the main focus; i.e., application of reaction mediator, PAHs treatment method, combination with an appropriate pretreatment such as reduction using $Fe^0$, which suggests the potential of a wide range of engineering application. Concerning the natural carbon cycle processes, immobilization and stabilization by oxidative coupling reaction can be effectively applied as a environmentally-friend remediation method especially for aromatic contaminants which possess a high resistance to degradation.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.33-36
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• 2007

In recent years the convective-dispersive equation has been often discredited in predicting subsurface solute transport under field conditions due to presence of preferential flow paths. Kim et al. (2005) proposed a simple equation that can predict the breakthrough of solutes without excessive data requirements. In their Generalized Preferential Flow Model (GPFM), the soil is conceptually divided in a saturated "distribution layer" near the surface and a "conveyance zone" with preferential flow paths below. In this study, we test the model with previously published data, and compare it with a classical convective-dispersive model (CDM). With three parameters required-apparent water content of the distribution zone, and solute velocity and dispersion in the conveyance zone-GPFM was able to describe the breakthrough of solutes both through silty and sandy loam soils. Although both GPFM and CDM fitted the data well in visual, variables for GPFM were more realistic. The most sensitive parameter was the apparent water content, indicating that it is the determining factor to apply GPFM to various soil types, while Kim et al. (2005) reported that changing the velocity of GPFM reproduced solute transport when same soils were used. Overall, it seems that the GPFM has a great potential to predict solute leaching under field conditions with a wide range of generality.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.75-85
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• 2011

The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential of producing bioethanol from yellow poplar ($Liriodendron$ $tulipifera$) wood chips by oxalic acid pretreatment and to examine the pretreatment conditions by response surface methodology (RSM). Based on $2^3$ factorial design, adjusted variables were reaction temperature ($^{\circ}C$), residence time (min), and acid loading (g/g), and a series of distinct 15 experimental conditions was organized with duplication at central point (total 16 performances). After pretreatment, simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) was subjected on solid fraction with yeast strain $Pichia$ $stipitis$. Maximum ethanol yields of the most samples were measured at 72 hours and applied to RSM as a dependent variable. 9.7 g/${\ell}$ of ethanol was produced from the solid pretreated at $180^{\circ}C$ for 40 min with 0.013 g/g of oxalic acid loading. According to the response surface methodology, it was determined that the temperature is the most governing factor via statistic analysis.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SC
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.15-21
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• 2009

Hearing loss is one of the most common birth defects among infants. Most of hearing-impaired children are not diagnosed until 1 to 3 years of age - which is too late for the critical period (6 month) for normal speech and language development. If a hearing impairment is identified and treated in its early stage, child's speech and language skills could be comparable to his or her normal-hearing peers. For these reasons, hearing screening at birth and throughout childhood is extremely important. ABR (Auditory brain-stem response) is nowadays one of the most reliable diagnostic tools in the early detection of hearing impairment. In this study, we have developed the system that automatically detects if there is hearing impairment or not for infants or children. For future studies, it will be developed as a portable system to be able to take a measurement not only in sound proof room but also in nursery for neonates.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.198-205
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• 2011

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of feed types on Ochratoxin A (OTA) degradation by Korean native goats. Rumen fluid from canulated goats fed whole roughage or 50% roughage served as a source of micro-organisms. Experiments were undertaken i) to investigate OTA degradation ability in a $2{\times}4$ factorial arrangement with different feed types (100% roughage vs. 50% roughage) and rumen fluid fractions (whole rumen fluid, cells, autoclaved rumen fluid and supernatant) supplemented with OTA ii) to evaluate OTA degradation by the rumen fluid of goats fed two different diets at different time points (0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 h) of feeding iii) to isolate potential rumen microorganisms and iv) to identify elements responsible for OTA degradation. Rumen fluid from goats fed 100% roughage had higher (p<0.05) OTA degradability than 50% roughage diets. OTA degradation based on rumen fluid collection times showed that rumen fluid at 0 h showed significantly higher (p<0.05) degradability. Carboxypeptidase A (CPA) enzyme has been reported to be responsible for OTA degradation. Thus, using real time PCR, primers designed to target the CPA gene from Bacillus licheniformis could be amplified using genomic DNA from rumen fluid of goats and sequenced, thus enabling evaluation of the Bacillus population under different feeding condition and times. Our findings showed that the Bacillus population was significantly higher (p<0.05) before feeding (0 h) in animals which were fed a whole roughage diet, giving indirect evidence of OTA degradation being influenced by Bacillus sps. Thus, it can be concluded that OTA degradability is influenced by feed, feeding time and Bacillus licheniformis population.