• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.849-860
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• 2015

The anti-cancer activities of Rhus verniciflua Stokes (GC), Ulmus davidiana var. japonica Nakai (UGP) and arsenium sublimatum (SS) extracts, which have been used Oriental medicine therapy for various diseases, were investigated. The treatment of GC, UGP and SS alone, and combined treatment with GC, UGP and SS did not affect the cell viability in the mouse normal cell lines (RAW 264.7 macrophages and C2C12 myoblasts). However, co-treatment with GC, UGP and SS markedly induces apoptosis in human gastric cancer AGS cells, but not in other various cancer cell lines (human lung cancer A549, colon cancer HCT116, liver cancer Hep3B and bladder T24 cells) as evidenced by formation of apoptotic bodies, chromatin condensation, and accumulation of annexin-V positive cells. Co-treatment with GC, UGP and SS effectively induced the expression levels of Fas and Fas ligand, and inhibited the levels IAP family proteins such as XIAP, cIAP-1 and survivin, and anti-apoptotic Bcl-xL proteins compared with treatment with either agent alone. Combined treatment also significantly induced the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, which was associated with the activation of caspases (-3, -8, and -9) and degradation of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase. However, the cytotoxic effects induced by co-treatment with GC, UGP and SS were significantly attenuated by pan-caspases inhibitor, z-VAD-fmk, indicating an important role for caspases. These results indicated that the caspases were key regulators of apoptosis in response to co-treatment of GC, UGP and SS in human gastric cancer AGS cells and further studies will be needed to identify the active compounds.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.381-392
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• 2011

Pollutant loads calculated with unit factor method can not identity seasonal variations of pollutant inputs. Estimation of pollutant loads considering rainfall runoff can overcome these limits. SCS curve number method was applied to estimate runoff of each event of Koeup watershed of Koheung estuary lake. SCS curve numbers were calculated based upon land use, soil types of the catchment using GIS. Point and nonpoint source pollutant loads were summed up for total loads estimation. Those from nonpoint source were estimated by multiplying the calculated runoff and expected mean concentrations (EMC) presented by the Minister of Environment of Korea. DEM can present three dimensional views of a terrain, identity stream networks and flow accumulation. Furthermore, it can examine accumulated pollutant loads of specific point of a catchment. Therefore, cell based pollutant load estimation was attempted using DEM. ArcView was utilized to collect, store and manipulate spatial and attribute data of pollutant sources and features of the catchment. Cell-based DEM which was established by the GRID module of ARC/INFO was employed to estimate flows and pollutant loads.

• Clean Technology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.228-236
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• 2020

Korea has an economy based on manufacturing industrial fields, which produce high amounts of hazardous wastes, in spite of few landfill candidates, and a significant concern for fine airborne particulates; therefore, traditional waste management is difficult to apply in this country. Moreover, waste collection and accumulation have recently been intensified by the waste import prohibitions or regulations in developing nations, the universalization of delivery services in Korea, and the global COVID-19 crisis. This study thus presents a domestic waste management strategy that aims to address the recent issues on waste. The contents of the strategy as the main results of the study include the (1) improvement of the compatibility of the classification codes between the domestic hazardous waste and the international ones such as those of the Basel Convention; (2) consideration of the mixed hazard indices to represent toxicity from low-content components such as rare earth metals often contained in electrical and electronic equipment waste; (3) management application based on risks throughout the life cycles of waste; (4) establishment of detailed material flow information of waste by integrating the Albaro system, Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) system, and online trade databases; (5) real-time monitoring and prediction of the waste movement or discharge using positional sensors and geographic information systems, among others; and (6) selection and implementation of optimal treatment or recycling practices through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and clean technologies.

• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2014

The tier 3 methodology used in estimation of greenhouse gas emissions from road sectors is based on mileage data. However, such data can neither accurately represent the mileage of regional unit nor have sufficient integrated data reflecting the characteristics by region, vehicle type, fuel type and road type. Such estimation of greenhouse gas emissions is not reliable. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is, firstly to accumulate activity data based on distance traveled which enables us to accurately estimate the amount of green gas emitted by regional unit(emission point), and secondly, to develop a methodology for estimation of greenhouse gas emissions using these data. To do this, the study utilizes the mileage data of Korea Transportation Safety Authority(TS), statistics of registered motor vehicles, statistical yearbook of traffic volume from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport(MLIT), the Korea Transport Database of the Korea Transport Institute(KOTI), and average road speed by local government. Methodology for estimation by local government level(emission point) is meaningful, because it reflects traffic pattern data including flow in and out and internal traffics. Finally, to verify the methodology presented in this study, it is applied to Seoul. Both greenhouse gas estimates, one by multiplying the average mileage and the number of registered vehicles and the other by multiplying traffic volume and road extension, are less than the amount estimated by the methodology presented in this study.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.230-241
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• 1995

The Characteristics of nocturnal temperature fields were analyzed to understand the factors of freezing-and-cold damages on orange orchards in Cheju Island. Temperatures were measured from January 7th through 27, 1995 at 25 sites in an area of 1x1.25$ extrm{km}^2$, Wasan-ri, Chochon-up, Pukcheju-kun located on the northeastern slope of Mt.Hanla. Several other weather elements such as wind and cloud were observed as supplementary data. Surface weather maps were also analyzed to clarify the influence of prevailing pressure patterns on the temperature fields. The vertical temperature profiles were obtained at the height from the ground up to 360 cm in 30 cm intervals at site 3, a frost hollow, and site 10 on the upper slope. The results show that freezing damages occured in the hollows, terrain depressions, rather than at the upper slope due to nocturnal radiation cooling as well as accumulation of cold airflow from Mt.Hanla. Windbreaks of densely planted Japanese ceders with stone-walls also roled as obstacles to the cold airflow in nights with Clear skies and light winds. The maximum intensity of temperature inversion in hollows, quasi-cold air lake, was 3.1$^{\circ}C$. Cold air from Mt.Hanla was trapped in the depressions up to a height of 90cm forming frost pocket. Man-made facilities such as shelterbelt or stone-wall which are built to prevent the penetration of cold north-westeries in winter aggravated the cold damage. The differance of daily minimum temperatures between before and behind shelterbelts was 2.$0^{\circ}C$. The man-made convection by smudgin which raised the temperatures up to 3.8$^{\circ}C$ can reduce the cold damage in the hellows.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.789-796
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• 2000

In order to analyze the effects of tktA, $aroF^{FBR}$, and aroL expression in a tryptophan-producing Escherichia coli, a series of plasmids carrying the genes were constructed. Introduction of tktA, $aroF^{FBR}$, and aroL into the E. coli strain resulted in approximately 10-20 fold increase in the activities of transketolase, the feedback inhibition-resistant 3-deoxy-D-arabinoheptulsonate-7-phosphate synthase, and shikimate kinase. Expression of $aroF^{FBR}$ in the aroB mutant strain of E. coli resulted in the accumulation of 10 mM of 3-deoxy-D-arabinoheptulsonate-7-phosphate (DAHP) in the medium. Simultaneous expression of tktA and $aroF^{FBR}$ in the strain further increased the amount of excreted DAHP to 20 mM. In contrast, the mutant strain which has no gene introduced accumulated 0.5 mM of DAHP. However, the expression of tktA and $aroF^{FBR}$ in a tryptophan-producing E. coli strain did not lead to the increased production of tryptophan, but instead, a significant amount of shikimate, which is an intermediate in the tryptophan biosynthetic pathway, was excreted to the growth medium. Despite the fact that additional expression of shikimate kinase in the strain could possibly remove 90% of excreted shikimate to 0.1 mM, the amount of tryptophan produced was still unchanged. Removing shikimate using a cloned aroL gene caused the excretion of glutamate, which suggests disturbed central carbon metabolism. However, when cultivated in a complex medium, the strain expressing tktA, $aroF^{FBR}$, and aroL produced more tryptophan than the parental strain. These data indicate that additional rate-limiting steps are present in the tryptophan biosynthetic pathway, and the carbon flow to the terminal pathway is strictly regulated. Expressing tktA in E. coli cells appeared to impose a great metabolic burden to the cells as evidenced by retarded cell growth in the defined medium. Recombinant E. coli strains harboring plasmids which carry the tktA gene showed a tendency to segregate their plasmids almost completely within 24h.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.561-568
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• 2020

We examined the anticancer effects of a novel sirtuin inhibitor, MHY2256, on HCT116 human colorectal cancer cells to investigate its underlying molecular mechanisms. MHY2256 significantly suppressed the activity of sirtuin 1 and expression levels of sirtuin 1/2 and stimulated acetylation of forkhead box O1, which is a target protein of sirtuin 1. Treatment with MHY2256 inhibited the growth of the HCT116 (TP53 wild-type), HT-29 (TP53 mutant), and DLD-1 (TP53 mutant) human colorectal cancer cell lines. In addition, MHY2256 induced G0/G1 phase arrest of the cell cycle progression, which was accompanied by the reduction of cyclin D1 and cyclin E and the decrease of cyclin-dependent kinase 2, cyclin-dependent kinase 4, cyclin-dependent kinase 6, phosphorylated retinoblastoma protein, and E2F transcription factor 1. Apoptosis induction was shown by DNA fragmentation and increase in late apoptosis, which were detected using flow cytometric analysis. MHY2256 downregulated expression levels of procaspase-8, -9, and -3 and led to subsequent poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage. MHY2256-induced apoptosis was involved in the activation of caspase-8, -9, and -3 and was prevented by pretreatment with Z-VAD-FMK, a pan-caspase inhibitor. Furthermore, the autophagic effects of MHY2256 were observed as cytoplasmic vacuolation, green fluorescent protein-light-chain 3 punctate dots, accumulation of acidic vesicular organelles, and upregulated expression level of light-chain 3-II. Taken together, these results suggest that MHY2256 could be a potential novel sirtuin inhibitor for the chemoprevention or treatment of colorectal cancer or both.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.15 no.12
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• pp.7443-7450
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• 2014

To resolve shortcomings of high-rate anaerobic processes, such as high upward flow velocity, this study sought to improve the structure of the high-rate anaerobic reactor and evaluate its performance. The improved reactor was manufactured by adjusting the diameter and dividing the reactor into three parts. The evaluation of the structurally improved reactor revealed that the reactor could stabilize a single circuit, and prevent the accumulation of solid matter and leakage of microbes, thereby stabilize the microbes. In the process of anaerobic digestion, an increase in pH and alkalinity within the reactor was presumably attributed to bicarbonate created in the process of organic matter decomposition and due to the re-dissolution of some biogas. To maintain a high rate of organic matter removal, the reactor should be operated with more than 9 hrs of HRT and an organic matter load of under $10.kgTCODcr/m^3{\cdot}d$. The methane gas generated in the anaerobic digestion process showed a high content of 65~83 % at the organic matter load of over $7.7kgTCODcr/m^3{\cdot}d$. per removal of CODcr. The methane quantity was generated at $0.10{\sim}0.23m^3CH_4/kgCOD_{rem}$, showing that it was smaller than the theoretical methane generation amount (0.35) in the STP state. In the latter part of high-rate anaerobic process, an advanced treatment process was required to remove nitrogen.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.165-174
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• 2018

Background: Extended endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress may initiate apoptotic pathways in cancer cells, and ER stress has been reported to possibly increase tumor death in cancer therapy. We previously reported that caspase-8 played an important role in compound K-induced apoptosis via activation of caspase-3 directly or indirectly through Bid cleavage, cytochrome c release, and caspase-9 activation in HL-60 human leukemia cells. The mechanisms leading to apoptosis in A549 and SK-MES-1 human lung cancer cells and the role of ER stress have not yet been understood. Methods: The apoptotic effects of compound K were analyzed using flow cytometry, and the changes in protein levels were determined using Western blot analysis. The intracellular calcium levels were monitored by staining with Fura-2/AM and Fluo-3/AM. Results: Compound K-induced ER stress was confirmed through increased phosphorylation of $eIF2{\alpha}$ and protein levels of GRP78/BiP, XBP-1S, and $IRE1{\alpha}$ in human lung cancer cells. Moreover, compound-K led to the accumulation of intracellular calcium and an increase in m-calpain activities that were both significantly inhibited by pretreatment either with BAPTA-AM (an intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ chelator) or dantrolene (an RyR channel antagonist). These results were correlated with the outcome that compound K induced ER stress-related apoptosis through caspase-12, as z-ATAD-fmk (a specific inhibitor of caspase-12) partially ameliorated this effect. Interestingly, 4-PBA (ER stress inhibitor) dramatically improved the compound K-induced apoptosis. Conclusion: Cell survival and intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ homeostasis during ER stress in human lung cancer cells are important factors in the induction of the compound K-induced apoptotic pathway.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.465-469
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• 2015

Background: Orostachys japonicus A. Berger (A. Berger) is commonly used as a folk remedy for cancer therapy. However, the mechanisms of its anti-cancer activity are poorly investigated in human cancer cells. In this study, we investigated whether flavonoids extracted from Orostachys japonicus A. Berger (FEOJ) might have anticancer effects in human leukemia cells, focusing on cell death mechanisms. Materials and Methods: U937 human leukemic cancer cells were used. Results: FEOJ induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner in human U937 cancer cells. Flow cytometry revealed significant accumulation of cells with sub-G1 DNA content at the concentrations of $200{\mu}g/mL$ and $400{\mu}g/mL$. FEOJ-induced apoptosis was caspase-dependent through loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP, ${\Delta}{\Psi}m$) in human U937 cancer cells, which might be associated with suppression of Bcl-2 and XIAP proteins. FEOJ induced the p38 MAPK signaling pathway, playing at least in part an important role in FEOJ-induced apoptosis. Conclusions: This study suggested that FEOJ may induce caspase-dependent apoptosis in human leukemic cells by regulating MMP (${\Delta}{\Psi}m$) through suppressing Bcl-2 and X-IAP. In addition, the results indicated that upstream p38 MAPK signaling regulates the apoptotic effect of FEOJ. This study provides evidence that FEOJ might have anti-cancer potential for human leukemic cells.