• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.430-440
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• 2022

Selenium is an important trace mineral that plays an essential role in maintaining the body's immunity with oxidative stress defense and antioxidant activity, immunity, thyroid hormone control, defense against drug or heavy metal harm, and reducing the risk of chronic diseases. A selenium deficiency increases the risk of various chronic diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, neurological disease, osteoarthritis, muscle necrosis and weakness, thyroid disease, and inflammatory diseases. This paper explains the criteria for establishing and revising selenium in the 2020 Dietary Reference Intake for Koreans (KDRIs) and reviews the current status of the selenium database and suggestions for setting the 2025 KDRIs in the future. In the 2020 KDRIs, the selenium intake with the maximum plasma selenoprotein P level was used as the criteria. The weight and coefficient of the variation were applied to the Chinese' reported values. Compared to 2015 KDRIs, there were some revisions in the selenium dietary reference intakes by gender and age according to the change in reference weight. To improve and revise selenium dietary reference intakes in the future, a selenium intervention study is needed to determine the maximum level of plasma selenoprotein P in Koreans. In addition, a revision of the selenium database of the nutritional assessment program (CAN-Pro 5.0) is needed. An analysis of the selenium content of foods should be expanded to assess the selenium intake accurately. In addition, research on the relationship between selenium intake and the biological indicators in the body is required for healthy people and subjects of special environments, such as patients and athletes with various oxidative stress.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.27-37
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• 2023

Objectives: Moroccan Arbutus unedo is an essential medicinal plant; however, little is known about the biological properties of its leaves mentioned in Moroccan traditional medicine. Methods: Various standard experiments were performed to evaluate the phytochemical, antidiabetic, antioxidant, antibacterial, and acute and sub-chronic toxicity characteristics of A. unedo leaves. Results: Phytochemical screening led to the identification of several phytochemical classes, including tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, and anthraquinones, with high concentrations of polyphenols (31.83 ± 0.29 mg GAEs/g extract) and flavonoids (16.66 ± 1.47 mg REs/g extract). Further, the mineral analysis revealed high levels of calcium and potassium. A. unedo extract demonstrated significant antioxidant and anti-diabetic activities by inhibiting α-amylase (1.350 ± 0.32 g/mL) and α-glucosidase (0.099 ± 1.21 g/mL) compared to the reference drug Acarbose. Also, the methanolic extract of the plant exhibited significantly higher antibacterial activity than the aqueous extract. Precisely, three of the four examined bacterial strains exhibited substantial susceptibility to the methanolic extract . Minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC)/minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values indicated that A. unedo harbor abundant bactericidal compounds. For toxicological studies, mice were administered with A. unedo aqueous extract at single doses of 2,000 and 5,000 mg/kg. They did not exhibit significant abnormal behavior, toxic symptoms, or death during the 14-day acute toxicity test and the 90-day sub-chronic toxicity test periods. The general behavior, body weight, and hematological and biochemical status of the rats were assessed, revealing no toxicological symptoms or clinically significant changes in biological markers observed in the mice models, except hypoglycemia, after 90 days of daily dose administration. Conclusion: The study highlighted several biological advantages of A. unedo leaves without toxic effects in short-term application. Our findings suggest that conducting more comprehensive and extensive in vivo investigations is of utmost importance to identify molecules that can be formulated into pharmaceuticals in the future.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.141-155
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• 2023

Monitoring technology based on electrical resistivity is widely used for non-destructive data collection and health analysis of underground structures and tunnels. Vulnerable sections such as fault zone generates many problems during construction of the tunnel. These problems cause displacement and stress changes of the ground. Therefore, it is necessary to predict the state of the fault zone section to ensure the mechanical stability of the underground structure. Monitoring the size of joints and the porosity of the fillings is essential for rocks. Previous studies have not considered the variety of fillings in rock joints. In this study, electrical resistivity tests were conducted according to the particle mixing state of the sandy fillings. When the size of fillings is decreased at the constant porosity, the electrical resistivity tends to increase. The results of this study are expected to be useful as basic electrical resistivity data for predicting the ground conditions and evaluation of the ground behavior that is containing sandy fillings in the rock joint for tunnels.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.415-424
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• 2023

This study investigated the nutritional characteristics of before and after fermentation of domestic soybean (Glycine max L.) by Rhizopus oligosporus. The soybean storage proteins, β-conglycinin (11S globulin) and glycinin (7S globulin), were the most abundant in Seonyu (SY) and Danbaegkong (DBK), with concentrations of 253.4 mg/g and 193.0 mg/g, respectively. For 11S/7S related to sulfur-containing amino acid, DBK had a value of 0.95, making it the most excellent nutritionally among all the cultivars. The free amino acid content significantly increased from 0.04~10.45 mg/g before fermentation to 1.37~16.95 mg/g after fermentation, and the essential amino acid composition increased, confirming an improvement in protein quality after fermentation. Phytic acid, known as a nutritional inhibitor of soybeans, decreased from 1.66~2.13 g/100 g before fermentation to 0.90~1.58 g/100 g after fermentation, suggesting that mineral absorption inhibition was alleviated. In addition, the trypsin inhibitor content is suppressed by 76.20% to 81.25% after fermentation, which is expected to improve protein utilization in the body. This study confirmed some properties of fermented products by Rhizopus oligosporus using domestic soybeans, and these results are presented to serve as the basic data for establishing new uses of Korean soybean cultivars.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.59-72
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• 2024

Agricultural reservoirs supply water for various purposes such as irrigation, maintenance, and living. Since agricultural reservoirs respond sensitively to seasonal and climate changes, it is essential to estimate supply and inflow for efficient operation, and water management should be done based on these data. However, in the case of agricultural reservoirs, the measurement of supply and inflow is relatively insufficient compared to multi-purpose dams, and inflow-supply analysis in agricultural reservoirs through water balance analysis is necessary for efficient water management. Therefore, rainfall-runoff analysis models such as ONE model and Tank model have been developed and used for reservoir water balance analysis, but the applicability analysis for ungauged watersheds is insufficient. The ONE model is designed for daily runoff calculation, and the model has one parameter, which is advantageous for calibration and ungauged watershed analysis. In this study, the water balance was analyzed through the ONE model and the Tank model for 15 watersheds upstream of dams, and R² and NSE were used to quantitatively compare the performance of the two models. The simulation results show that the ONE model is suitable for predicting the inflow of agricultural reservoirs with the ungauged watershed

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.167-171
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• 2024

Technetium-99 (⁹⁹Tc) is recognized as a critical concern in the disposal of spent nuclear fuel due to its long half-life and remarkable stability, existing predominantly as TcO₄^- in the natural environment. The anionic form of technetium is highly soluble and mobile, posing significant environmental risks from the viewpoint of nuclear waste management. Thus, developing efficient and cost-effective sorbents for aqueous Tc(VII) is essential for mitigating relevant contamination. In the present work, the adsorption characteristics of Re(VII), a chemical analog of Tc(VII), were investigated using the clay mineral bentonite, modified with two different organic cations: hexadecylpyridinium (HDPy) and hexadecyltrimethylammonium (HDTMA). Sorption experiments were conducted at a liquid-to-solid ratio of 1 g/L with Re(VII) solutions prepared at concentrations from 10^-4 mol/L to 10^-6 mol/L. The sorption ratio and distribution coefficients were determined with samples collected at reaction times of 10, 50, 100, and 500 minutes after 0.45 ㎛ syringe filtration. In parallel, the modified bentonite samples were further analyzed using the X-ray diffraction (XRD) method to understand the adsorption mechanism of Re(VII) onto the target minerals. According to the quantification analysis results, a rapid equilibrium reaction of aqueous Re(VII) for all modified bentonite samples was identified. Moreover, near-complete adsorption of Re(VII) was observed when the bentonite was modified at 200-400% of its cation exchange capacity (CEC) for both organic cations. For cases of lower modification, the HDTMA-modified bentonite showed relatively higher adsorption efficiency compared with the one modified with HDPy. This result was inferred to be due to the difference in inter-layer spacing based on the characteristics of the organic cations. It is expected that the results obtained through this study will serve as a preliminary case for the synthesis of adsorbents for the retardation of highly mobile anionic radionuclides, such as I and Tc, in the natural environment.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.790-798
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• 2014

The nutritional compositions and antioxidative activities of the Kimcheon lowbush and Pyungtaek highbush blueberries cultivated in South Korea were investigated. The approximate compositions, pH, and soluble-solid and mineral contents of P, Ca, Mg, Na, and Zn were determined. Both blueberry cultivars had mainly fructose and glucose as free sugars while disaccharides such as sucrose, maltose, and lactose were not detected in both. Oleic, linoleic, and linolenic fatty acids were the major fatty acids in both types of blueberries. The total of 16 free amino acids, including seven essential and nine non-essential amino acids, were higher in the Pyungtaek highbush blueberry. Among the amino acids, arginine was especially much higher in the Pyungtaek highbush blueberry. The anthocyanin, resveratrol, and polyphenol compounds, which are the important biologically active compounds in blueberries, were found. The anthocyanin contents of the Kimcheon lowbush and Pyungtaek highbush blueberries were 22.0 and 18.1 mg/100 g, respectively; the resveratrol contents by HPLC, 0.12 and 0.11 mg/100 g; and the total polyphenol contents, 141.3 and 138.4 mg/100 g. The electron-donating ability determined based on the DPPH radical scavenging activity was increased in a concentration-dependent manner, and it was higher than that of the Pyungtaek highbush blueberries, which implies that it is highly correlated with the higher amounts of total polyphenol, anthocyanin, and resveratrol in it. In conclusion, the two varieties of Korean blueberries can be suggested as potential sources of high-value-added functional foods.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.37 no.9
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• pp.1154-1161
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to determine the possibility of using Sophorae fructus as natural health food source. To accomplish this purpose, the contents of general and antioxidative nutrients of Sophora fructus were measured. The contents of carbohydrate, crude protein, crude lipid and ash are 75.9%, 16.4%, 2.41%, and 5.2%, respectively, while the calories of Sophora fructus was 337.3 kcal. Total dietary fiber was 15.07% of total carbohydrates. The percentages of water soluble dietary fiber to insoluble dietary fiber were 1.09% and 10.36%, respectively. The protein was composed of a total of 18 different kinds of amino acids. The contents of essential and non-essential amino acids were 2,310.91 mg and 5,218.52 mg. The K was the largest mineral followed by Ca, P and Mg, which means Sophorae fructus is alkali material. The contents of saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids were 24.94%, 32.40%, and 32.86%, respectively. Therefore, the amount of the total unsaturated fatty acid was higher than that of any other plant. The content of vitamin C in Sophorae fructus was higher than that of any other plant, which suggests that it could increase blood elasticity. The content of rutin, which is responsible for capillary vessel permeability, was 1.78%. The contents of water soluble antioxidative materials in 1 mL of water-extracted Sophorae fructus were $4.95\;{\mu}g$ which is comparable to 1,560.96 mmol of vitamin C in antioxidant effect. The general nutrients and other antioxidatant bioactive materials in Sophorae fructus were also potential materials for good health food. It is expected that a follow up study on Sophorae fructus through developing processed food and evaluation of their functional properties would provide useful information as a source of medicinal foods.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.870-877
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• 2016

In this study, we evaluated the nutritional components and functional activities of Wooung (burdock, Arctium lappa L.) and Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) tea. Roasting burdock' contained 75.87% carbohydrates; in addition, the moisture content, crude fat, crude protein, and crude fiber were 10.43%, 1.77%, 8.50%, and 3.43%, respectively. Roasting Jerusalem artichoke showed 77.477% carbohydrate content, with moisture content, crude fat, crude protein, and crude fiber of 10.67%, 1.23%, 7.83%, and 2.80%, respectively. Roasting burdock's water-soluble dietary fiber content was 4.8 g/100 g and insoluble dietary fiber content was 1.5 g/100 g; whereas, roasting Jerusalem artichoke' water soluble dietary fiber content was 2.4 g/100 g and insoluble dietary fiber content was 1.6 g/100 g. The highest mineral contents in roasting burdock and Jerusalem artichoke were potassium and magnesium, in order. The results of amino acid analyses s indicated a total of 25 types in roasting burdock, with total amino acid content of 1,382.112 mg/100 g, and essential amino acid content of 766.031 mg/100 g. In total, 24 types of amino acids were separated and identified in roasting Jerusalem artichoke, with total amino acid content of 2,678.018 mg/100 g, and total essential amino acid content of 157.294 mg/100 g. Roasting burdock and Jerusalem artichoke' polyphenol contents were 32.56 and 29.56 mg GAE/g each, and their flavonoid contents were 16.54 and 16.71 CE/g each. $IC_{50}$ values of DPPH radical-scavenging activity of roasting burdock and Jerusalem artichoke were 12.99 and 19.74, respectively; and $IC_{50}$ values of hydroxyl radical-scavenging activity were 25.96 and 22.93, respectively.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.15-24
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• 2019

The study was compared for soil chemical and microbial properties as well as growth of the cherry tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum var. cerasiforme) plants environmentally friendly gown for 3 years and 5 years, which had been fertigated with homemade liquid fertilizer (LF) with indigenous microorganism as an additional fertilizer. Treatment included LF with indigenous microorganism for 3 years (3-year IM-LF) and for 5 years (5-year IM-LF), with an effective microorganism for 10 years (EM-LF), which had been applied with 1,000 times of dilution in the farmhouse. IM-LF and EM-LF materials had increased pH pattern for 16 weeks, in particular for increase of 1.2 for EM-LF. IM-LF material contained slightly higher EC but similar level of 0.2 dS/m to EM-LF. For a pot experiment in the greenhouse, IM-LF treatment increased root dry weight of the cherry tomato plants. In the farmhouse experiment, IM-LF treatment increased to 7.5 of soil pH and 8.4 dS/m of EC, indicating high salt accumulation. EM-LF treatment increased to 62 g/kg of soil OM, which would have affected concentrations of macro essential nutrients, including T-N in the soil. However, the optimum soil chemical levels for growth of cherry tomato plants were observed on the IM-LF plots. EM-LF treatment increased number of bacteria and actinobacteria in the soil. EM-LF treatment increased concentrations of macro essential nutrients in the plants, except for P, with similar nutrient concentrations observed between 3-year IM-LF and 5-year IM-LF-treated plants. Leaf SPAD and PS II levels decreased in the plants treated with 3-year IM-LF. EM-LF treatment increased leaf width and length, number of leaves, canopy area, plant height, and stem diameter in the mid-term stage of growth, which were not significantly different between the treatments. EM-LF treated-plants had two times higher leaf dry weight than those of values observed on the IM-LF plants, which was the opposite result observed on the number of fruit.