• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.151-163
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• 2021

This paper is dealt with railway slope stability for slope reinforcement using a geosynthetic concrete composite mat(GCCM). Recently, according to a change in weather caused by global warming, train operation has been restricted by the loss of backfill slope at the roadbed, which is consists of gravel, due to typhoons and heavy rainfall. In addition, the amount of damage is getting more significant than the cost of restoration, and the safety of workers is worried. In order to improve this limitation, a slope stability analysis was applied with a rapid hardening composite mat so that it can quickly secure a construction surface with increased workability and work stability and reduce maintenance costs by preventing re-loss in case of heavy rain and fundamentally blocking vegetation. As a result of the analysis, it was confirmed that the increase in safety factor was confirmed when the rapid harding composite mat was applied.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.425-436
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• 2021

In this study, chemically enhanced steam cleaning(CESC) was applied as a novel and efficient method for the control of organic and inorganic fouling in ceramic membrane filtration. The constant filtration regression model and the resistance in series model(RISM) were used to investigate the membrane fouling mechanisms. For total filtration, the coefficient of determination(R²) with an approximate value of 1 was obtained in the intermediate blocking model which is considered as the dominant contamination mechanism. In addition, most of the coefficient values showed similar values and this means that the complex fouling was formed during the filtration period. In the RISM, R _c/R _f increased about 4.37 times in chemically enhanced steam cleaning compared to physical backwashing, which implies that the internal fouling resistance was converted to cake layer resistance, so that the membrane fouling hardly to be removed by physical backwashing could be efficiently removed by chemically enhanced steam cleaning. The results of flux recovery rate showed that high-temperature steam may loosen the structure of the membrane cake layer due to the increase in diffusivity and solubility of chemicals and finally enhance the cleaning effect. As a consequence, it is expected that chemically enhanced steam cleaning can drastically improve the efficiency of membrane filtration process when the characteristics of the foulant are identified.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.7-15
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• 2013

Objectives : Interruption and subsequent restoration of blood flow into the kidney result in renal injury. As an approach to preventing the renal injury, we determined the optimal conditions and the underlying mechanisms by which supernatant of hot water extract of ground Triticum aestivum L. (extract) attenuated ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Methods : One hour after administration of the extract (400 mg/kg) by intraperitoneal injection, renal I/R injury was generated by clamping the left renal artery in rats after surgical removal of the right kidney, followed by reperfusion. The maximal difference between the vehicle-treated and the extract-treated group under ketamine/xylazine or enflurane anesthetization was assessed at varying periods of ischemia (30-45 min) and reperfusion (3-48 hr), based on the renal function assessed with serum creatinine levels, tissue injury with hematoxylin/eosin staining, and apoptosis with terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling staining. Results : Enflurane anesthetization with 40 min of ischemia and 24 hr of reperfusion was identified to be the optimal condition, under which condition serum creatinine levels and tubular damage in the extract-treated group were significantly reduced compared with those in the vehicle-treated group ($1.3{\pm}0.2$ versus $2.7{\pm}0.3$ mg/dL, P < 0.01, and average score $1.8{\pm}0.1$ versus $3.5{\pm}0.3$, P < 0.01, respectively). These beneficial effects were mediated by inhibition of apoptotic cascades through attenuation of renal tissue malondialdehyde levels, Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and caspase-3 levels. Conclusions : The extract conferred renal protection against ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats by scavenging reactive oxygen species and consequently blocking apoptotic cascades, plausibly augmented by enflurane protection.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.209-215
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• 2022

Objectives: Aqueous leaf extract of Tridax procumbens (ALETP) has potent relaxant activity. However, this relaxant activity in respiratory smooth muscle remains uninvestigated. This study investigates the effect of ALETP on the contractile activity of tracheal smooth muscle (TSM) in adult male Wistar rats. Methods: Twelve male Wistar rats divided into 2 groups and were treated with either 100 mg/kg of ALETP (ALETP treatment group) or vehicle (distilled water; control group) through oral gavage for 4 weeks. Dose responses of TSM from the 2 groups to acetylcholine (10^-9 to 10^-5 M), phenylephrine (10^-9 to 10^-5 M), and potassium chloride (KCl; 10^-9 to 10^-4 M) were determined cumulatively. Furthermore, cumulative dose responses to acetylcholine (10^-9 to 10^-5 M) after pre-incubation of TSM with atropine (10^-5 M), L-NAME (10^-4 M), indomethacin (10^-4 M), and nifedipine (10^-4 M), were determined. Results: Treatment with ALETP substantially inhibited TSM contraction stimulated by cumulative doses of acetylcholine, phenylephrine, and KCl. Furthermore, preincubation of TSM from the 2 groups in atropine significantly inhibited contractility in TSM. Incubation in L-NAME and indomethacin also significantly inhibited contractility in TSM of ALETP-treated rats compared to that of controls. Contractile activity of the TSM was also inhibited significantly with incubation in nifedipine in ALETP-treated rats. Conclusion: ALETP enhanced relaxant activity in rat TSM primarily by blocking the L-type calcium channel and promoting endothelial nitric oxide release. ALETP contains agents that may be useful in disorders of the respiratory tract.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.311-318
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• 2023

Background: The beneficial effects of compound K (CK) on different chronic diseases have been shown to be at least related to antioxidant action. Nevertheless, since its antioxidant activity in human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells is still unknown, here we investigated whether CK alleviates oxidative stress-stimulated damage in RPE ARPE-19 cells. Methods: The cytoprotective consequence of CK in hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-treated cells was evaluated by cell viability, DNA damage, and apoptosis assays. Fluorescence analysis and immunoblotting were performed to investigate the inhibitory action of CK on reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and mitochondrial dysfunction. Results: H₂O₂-promoted cytotoxicity, oxidative stress, DNA damage, mitochondrial impairment, and apoptosis were significantly attenuated by CK in ARPE-19 cells. Furthermore, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) phosphorylation level and its shuttling to the nucleus were increased, which was correlated with upregulated activation of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). However, zinc protoporphyrin, a blocker of HO-1, significantly abrogated the preventive action of CK in H₂O₂-treated ARPE-19 cells. Conclusion: This study indicates that activation of Nrf2/HO-1 signaling by CK plays an important role in rescuing ARPE-19 cells from oxidative cellular damage.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.133-144
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• 2023

Auranofin is a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved anti-arthritis medication that functions as a thioredoxin reductase inhibitor. Spermidine, a polyamine present in marine algae, can exert various physiological functions. Herein, we examined the synergistic anticancer activity of auranofin and spermidine in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Combined treatment with auranofin and spermidine suppressed cell viability more efficiently than either treatment alone in HCC Hep3B cells. The isobologram plotted by calculating the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) values of each drug indicated that the two drugs exhibited a synergistic effect. Based on the analysis of annexin V and cell cycle distribution, auranofin and spermidine markedly induced apoptosis in Hep3B cells. Moreover, auranofin and spermidine increased mitochondria-mediated apoptosis by promoting mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) loss. Auranofin and spermidine significantly increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in Hep3B cells, and the blocking ROS suppressed apoptosis induced by spermidine and auranofin. In addition, auranofin and spermidine reduced the expression of phosphorylated phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase B (Akt), and PI3K inhibitor accelerated auranofin- and spermidine-induced apoptosis. Using ROS scavenger and PI3K inhibitor, we revealed that ROS acts upstream of auranofin- and spermidine-induced apoptosis. Collectively, our study suggests that combination treatment with auranofin and spermidine could afford synergistic anticancer activity via ROS overproduction and reduced PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.275-290
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• 2022

Mobile sand barriers are a new type sand-retaining structure that can be moved and arranged according to the engineering demands of sand control. When only used for sand trapping, mobile sand barriers could be arranged in single row. For the dual purposes of sand trapping and sand stabilization, four rows of mobile sand barriers can be arranged in a staggered form. To reveal the effect of plane layout, the included angle between sand barrier direction and wind direction on the characteristics of flow fields and the sand control laws of mobile sand barriers, numerical computations and wind tunnel tests were conducted. The results showed that inflows deflected after passing through staggered arrangement sand barriers due to changes in included angle, and the sand barrier combination exerted successive wind resistance and group blocking effects. An analysis of wind resistance efficiency revealed that the effective protection length of staggered arrangement sand barriers approximately ranged from the sand barrier to 10H on the leeward side (H is sand barrier height), and that the effective protection length of single row sand barriers roughly ranged from 1H on the windward side to 20H on the leeward side. The distribution of sand deposit indicated that the sand interception increased with increasing included angle in staggered arrangement. The wind-breaking and sand-trapping effects were optimal when included angle between sand barrier direction and wind direction is 60°-90°.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.401-406
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• 2023

With the development of industry, fine dust is causing difficulties in various fields such as environment, health, and life, and a large amount of pollutants generated from human social activities are emerging as a serious environmental problem due to air pollution. Therefore, in this study, activated carbon was added to remove fine dust and volatile organic compounds by spinning cellulose acetate polymer fibers on a silicon support using the electrospinning method. By varying the activated carbon ratio and electrospinning time, the fine dust blocking effect and toluene adsorption performance were confirmed according to the activated carbon ratio and filter thickness. As a result, it was shown that the particles were effectively blocked with the increase in the electrospinning time due to the filter thickness increase. Adsorbed amount of toluene was increased with increase in activated carbon amount. Light transmittance was decrease with increase in electrospinning time, showing that there were light transmittance in filters electrospun for 20~30 minutes.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.285-289
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• 2006

In this study, the effect of an acidic treatment on granular activated carbon (GAC) and activated carbon fibers (ACF) was investigated for a $Pb^{2+}$ and $Ni^{2+}$ ion adsorption. 1.0 M nitric acid solution was used as the acid solution for the surface treatment. Surface properties of the GAC and ACF were characterized by the pH, elemental analysis and pHpzc (pH of the point of zero charge). Their specific surface area and the pore structure were also evaluated by the nitrogen adsorption data at 77K. As a result, the acidic treatment led to an increase of the oxygen-containing functional groups. Furthermore, the adsorption capacity of the acid-treated GAC and ACF was improved in the order of acidic-ACF > untreated-ACF > acidic-GAC > untreated-GAC, though the decrease in specific surface area induced by a pore blocking of the functional groups was observed.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.193-197
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• 2007

In this study, the effect of metal treatment on granular activated carbon (GAC) was investigated in the context of phenol adsorption. Cobalt(II) nitrate, and zinc(II) nitrate solution were used for metal treated. The specific surface area and the pore structure were evaluated from nitrogen adsorption data at 77 K. The phenol adsorption rates onto GAC were measured by UV-Vis spectrophotometer. Iodine adsorption capacity of Co-GAC is much better then that of the GAC. The Co-GAC with mesopore is more efficient than other adsorbents for the adsorption of polymer such as methyleneblue. The adsorption capacity of reference-GAC and metal-GAC were increased in order of Co-GAC>Zn-GAC>Reference-GAC, in spite of a decrease in specific surface area which was resulted from pore blocking by metal.