• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.33-45
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• 2011

Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is ATPase-directed molecular chaperon and affects survival of cancer cell. Inhibitory effect of Hsp90 by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in the cancer cell was reported. However, its role during oocyte maturation and early embryo development is very insufficient. In this study, we traced the effects of Hsp90 inhibitor, 17-allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin (17-AAG), on meiotic maturation and early embryonic development in pigs. We also investigated several indicators of developmental potential, including structural integrity, gene expression (Hsp90-, cell cycle-, and apoptosis-related genes), and apoptosis, which are affected by 17-AAG. Then, we examined the roles of Hsp90 inhibitor on viability of primary cells in pigs. Porcine oocytes were cultured in the NCSU-23 medium with or without 17-AAG for 44 h. The proportion of GV arrested oocytes was significantly different between the 17-AAG treated and untreated group (78.2 vs 34.8%, p<0.05). After completion of meiotic maturation, the proportion of MII oocytes was lower in the 17-AAG treated group than in the control group (27.9 vs 71.0%, p<0.05). After IVF, the percentage of penetrated oocytes was significantly lower in the 17-AAG treated group (25.2%), resulting in lower normal pronucleus formation (2PN of 14.6%). Therefore, the inhibition of meiotic progression by Hsp90 inhibitor played a critical role in fertilization status. Porcine embryo were cultured in the PZM-3 medium with or without 17-AAG for 6 days. In result, significant differences in developmental potential were detected between the embryos that were cultured with or without 17-AAG. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) showed that the number of containing fragmented DNA at the blastocyst stage increased in the 17-AAG treated group compared with control (7.5 vs 4.4, respectively). Blastocysts that developed in the 17-AAG treated group had low structural integrity and high apoptotic nuclei than those of the untreated control, resulting in decrease the embryonic qualities of preimplantation porcine blastocysts. The mRNA expressions of cell cycle-related genes were down-regulated in the 17-AAG treated group compared with control. Also, the expression of the pro-apoptotic gene Bax increased in 17-AAG treated group, whereas expression of the anti-apoptotic gene Bel-XL decreased. However, the expression of ER stress-related genes did not changed by 17-AAG. Cultured pESF cells were treated with or without 17-AAG and used for MIT assay. The results showed that viability of pESF cells were decreased by treatment of 17-AAG ($2{\mu}M$) for 24 hr. These results indicated that 17-AAG decreased cell proliferation and increased cell death. Expression patterns Hsp90 complex genes (Hsp70 and p23), cell cycle-related genes (cdc2 and cdc25c) and apoptosis-related genes (Bax and Bcl-XL) were significantly changed by using RT-PCR analysis. The spliced form of pXbp-1 product (pXbp-1s) was detected in the tunicamycin (TM) treated cells, but it is not detected in 17-AAG treated cells. In conclusion, Hsp90 appears to play a direct role in porcine early embryo developmental competence including structural integrity of blastocysts. Also, these results indicate that Hsp90 is closely associated with cell cycle- and apoptosis-related genes expression in developing porcine embryos.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.185-205
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• 2010

Climate change vulnerability assessment based on local conditions is a prerequisite for establishment of climate change adaptation policies. While some studies have developed a methodology for vulnerability assessment at the national level using statistical data, few attempts, whether domestic or overseas, have been made to develop methods for local vulnerability assessments that are easily applicable to a single city. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to develop a conceptual framework for climate change vulnerability, and then develop a general methodology for assessment at the regional level applied to a single coastal city, Mokpo, in Jeolla province, Korea. We followed the conceptual framework of climate change vulnerability proposed by the IPCC (1996) which consists of "climate exposure," "systemic sensitivity," and "systemic adaptive capacity." "Climate exposure" was designated as sea level rises of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 meter(s), allowing for a simple scenario for sea level rises. Should more complex forecasts of sea level rises be required later, the methodology developed herein can be easily scaled and transferred to other projects. Mokpo was chosen as a seaside city on the southwest coast of Korea, where all cities have experienced rising sea levels. Mokpo has experienced the largest sea level increases of all, and is a region where abnormal high tide events have become a significant threat; especially subsequent to the construction of an estuary dam and breakwaters. Sensitivity to sea level rises was measured by the percentage of flooded area for each administrative region within Mokpo evaluated via simulations using GIS techniques. Population density, particularly that of senior citizens, was also factored in. Adaptive capacity was considered from both the "hardware" and "software" aspects. "Hardware" adaptive capacity was incorporated by considering the presence (or lack thereof) of breakwaters and seawalls, as well as their height. "Software" adaptive capacity was measured using a survey method. The survey questionnaire included economic status, awareness of climate change impact and adaptation, governance, and policy, and was distributed to 75 governmental officials working for Mokpo. Vulnerability to sea level rises was assessed by subtracting adaptive capacity from the sensitivity index. Application of the methodology to Mokpo indicated vulnerability was high for seven out of 20 administrative districts. The results of our methodology provides significant policy implications for the development of climate change adaptation policy as follows: 1) regions with high priority for climate change adaptation measures can be selected through a correlation diagram between vulnerabilities and records of previous flood damage, and 2) after review of existing short, mid, and long-term plans or projects in high priority areas, appropriate adaptation measures can be taken as per this study. Future studies should focus on expanding analysis of climate change exposure from sea level rises to other adverse climate related events, including heat waves, torrential rain, and drought etc.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.429-439
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• 2011

Objectives: Ethylene oxide (EtO) is classified as a human carcinogen, but EtO is still widely used to sterilize heat-sensitive materials in hospitals. Employees working around sterilizers are exposed to EtO after sterilization. The aim of the present study was to assess the exposure of EtO level, coupled with occupationally induced micronuclei from hospital workers. The influence of genetic polymorphisms of detoxifying genes (GSTT1 and GSTM1) and DNA repair genes (XRCC1 and XRCC3) on the frequencies of micronuclei in relation to exposure of EtO was also investigated. Methods: The study population was composed of 35 occupationally exposed workers to EtO, 18 student controls and 44 unexposed hospital controls in Korea. Exposure to EtO is measured by passive personal samplers. We analyzed the frequencies of micronuclei by performing cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay (CBMN assay) and GSTM1, GSTT1, XRCC1, and XRCC3 were also genotyped by performing polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Results: The frequencies of micronuclei in EtO exposure group, student controls and hospital controls were $18.00{\pm}7.73$, $10.47{\pm}7.96$ and $13.86{\pm}6.35$ respectively and their differences were statistically significant, but no significant differences according to the level of EtO were observed. There was a dose-response relationship between the frequencies of micronuclei and cumulative dose of EtO, but no significantly differences were observed. We also investigated the influence of genetic polymorphisms (GSTM1, GSTT1, XRCC1, and XRCC3) on the frequencies of micronuclei, but there were no differences in the frequencies of micronuclei by genetic polymorphisms. Conclusions: The frequencies of micronuclei in EtO exposure group was significantly higher than control groups. A dose-response relationship was found between the level of EtO exposure and the frequencies of micronuclei, but no statistically differences were observed. We also found that the frequencies of micronuclei were increased according to cumulative EtO level. There was no association of the genetic GSTM1, GSTT1, XRCC1, and XRCC3 state with the frequency of micronuclei induced by EtO exposure.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.65 no.2
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• pp.113-123
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• 2020

Global climatic change and increasing climatic instability threaten crop productivity. Due to climatic change, drought stress is occurring more frequently in crop fields. In this study, we investigated the effect of treatment with hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) before leaf development on the growth and yield of sorghum for minimizing the damage of crops to drought. To assess the effect of H₂O₂ on the growth of sorghum plant, 10 mM H₂O₂ was used to treat sorghum leaves at the 3-leaf stage during growth in field conditions. Plant height, stem diameter, leaf length, and leaf width were increased by 7.6%, 9.6%, 8.3% and 11.5%, respectively. SPAD value, chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm), photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and transpiration rate were increased by 3.0%, 4.9%, 26.0%, 23.4% and 12.7%, respectively. The amount of H₂O₂ in the leaf tissue of sorghum plant treated with 10 mM H₂O₂ was 0.7% of the applied amount after 1 hour. The level increased to approximately 1.0% after 6 hours. The highest antioxidant activity measured by the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity assay was 847.3 µmol·g^-1 at 6 hour after treatment. However, in the well-watered condition, the concentration of H₂O₂ in the plant treated by the foliar application of H₂O₂ was 227.8 µmol·g^-1 higher than that of the untreated control. H₂O₂ treatment improved all the yield components and yield-related factors. Panicle length, plant dry weight, panicle weight, seed weight per plant, seed weight per unit area, and thousand seed weight were increased by 8.8%, 18.0%, 24.4%, 24.7%, 29.9% and 7.1%, respectively. Proteomic analysis showed that H₂O₂ treatment in sorghum increased the tolerance to drought stress and maintained growth and yield by ameliorating oxidative stress.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.246-254
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• 2017

Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) is one of most abundant microcystins, and is derived from blue-green algae bloom. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are effective process when high concentrations of MC-LR are released into a drinking water treatment system from surface water. In particular, UV-based AOPs such as UV, $UV/H_2O_2$, $UV/O_3$ and $UV/TiO_2$ have been studied for the removal of MC-LR. In this study, UV-LED was applied for the degradation of MC-LR because UV lamps have demonstrated some weaknesses, such as frequent replacements; that generate mercury waste and high heat loss. Degradation efficiencies of the MC-LR (initial conc. = $100{\mu}g/L$) were 30% and 95.9% using LED-L (280 nm, $0.024mW/cm^2$) and LED-H (280 nm, $2.18mW/cm^2$), respectively. Aromatic compounds of natural organic matter changed to aliphatic compounds under the LED-H irradiation by LC-OCD analysis. For application to raw water, the Nak-dong River was sampled during summer when blue-green algae were heavy bloom in 2016. The concentration of extracellular and total MC-LR, geosmin and 2-MIB slightly decreased by increasing the LED-L irradiation; however, the removal of MC-LR by UV-LED (${\lambda}=280nm$) was insufficient. Thus, advanced UV-LED technology or the addition of oxidants with UV-LED is required to obtain better degradation efficiency of MC-LR.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.27 no.9
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• pp.946-951
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• 2005

In this wort plasma treatment was evaluated as an alternative clean desizing technology. Size materials such as PVA(polyvinyl alcohol), PACL(polyacrylic acid esters) and their mixture on PET(polyethylene terephthalate) fabrics were treated by $N_2$ and $O_2$ plasma. $O_2$ plasma was more efficient in size removal than $N_2$ plasma, and the removal of PVA was higher than that of PACL. SEM(scanning emission microscopy) pictures of the plasma treated samples directly proved the disappearance of sizing agents. After $O_2$ plasma treatment, the PET fabrics were subjected to conventional desizing process. Compared with untreated fabrics, the desizing effluent from the treated fabrics gave lower TOC, COD and $BOD_5$ values. This indicates plasma treatment not only serves to directly remove sizing agents but also offered several advantages by changing the chemical properties of sizing agents. Lastly, the effect of plasma desizing process on dyeing was examined using color difference and dyeing fastness tests. The CCM(computer color matching) results showed rotor difference between PET fabric desized by $O_2$ plasma treatment for 20 min and reference PET fabric desized by the conventional wet desizing process was around 1. This suggests the treated PET fabric can be directly subjected to dyeing process without any additional process. The plasma treated fabric also gave a good result of dyeing fastness so that grades of laundering, crocking, heat and light fastness were same or even better than the reference PET fabric did.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.227-235
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• 2016

This paper emphasized the necessity of the marine spatial planning (MSP) through the analysis of the major developmental projects which could make a contradiction based on the adequacy of the site selection and environmental impacts. The conflicting affairs between space utilization and management plan happen in the following ways: marine renewable energy development, sand mining, reclamation, construction of golf course in coastal area, thermal effluent and waste heat, erosion causing port development. The conflict of stakeholder continues caused by the accumulated environmental impact. For the reasons mentioned above, we found two things. First, it is necessary to comprehend the fact of developmental planning and MSP. Second, it is still unsatisfactory to connect the relevance of laws related to the spatial planning. For the reinforcement of marine environmental policy management, it is necessary to consolidate the property of site selection and assessment of developmental scale. Especially, while the strategic environmental assessment is in progress based on site selection and property of scale, consistent diagnosis is needed in the following concerns: the fact of the marine spatial planning, the relevance between national developmental plan and regional developmental plan, fisheries regulation, marine protected animals. For the environmentally sound and sustainable development (ESSD), MSP should have to be prepared based in a way of top-down including coastal and EEZ plan, relevance of ocean-use zoning and sector planning, 3-D spatial information. And also integrated information system have to be prepared through high-tech marine spatial information. In conclusion, consistent and relevant strategy for MSP should have to include the whole information related to the maritime affairs such as harbor, fishing port, fishing ground, coastal management, marine ecosystem generally.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.36 no.7
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• pp.514-520
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• 2014

In this study, the production potential of alternative coagulant ($Al_2(SO_4)_3$ solution) having the identical coagulation activity with respect to the commercial coagulant was investigated. The raw material of alternative coagulant was a spent catalyst including aluminium (waste activated alumina) generated in the manufacturing process of the polymer. The alternative coagulant was produced through a series of processes: 1) intense heat and grinding, 2) chemical polymerization and substitution with $H_2SO_4$ solution, 3) dissolution and dilution and 4) settling and separation. To determine the optimal operating conditions in the lab-scale autoclave and dissolver, the content of $Al_2O_3$ in alternative coagulant was analyzed according to changes of the purity of sulfuric acid, reaction temperature, injection ratio of sulfuric acid and water in the dissolver. The results showed that the alternative coagulant having the $Al_2O_3$ content of 7~8% was produced under the optimal conditions such as $H_2SO_4$ purity of 50%, reaction temperature of $120^{\circ}C$, injection ratio of $H_2SO_4$ of 5 times and injection ratio of water of 2.3 times in dissolver. In order to evaluate the coagulation activity of the alternative coagulant, the Jar-test was conducted to the effluent in aerobic reactor. As a result, in both cases of Al/P mole of 1.5 and 2.0, the coagulation activity of the alternative coagulant was higher than that of the existing commercial coagulant. When the production costs were compared between the alternative and commercial coagulant through economic analysis, the production cost reduction of about 50% was available in the case of the alternative coagulant. In addition, it was identified that the alternative coagulant could be applied at field wastewater treatment plant without environmental problem through ecological toxicity testing.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.271-282
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• 2020

Sewage treatment plants are social infrastructure of cities. The sewage distribution rate in Korea is reaching 94% based on the sewage statistics based in the year of 2017. In Korean sewage treatment plants, use of PAC (Poly Aluminum Chloride) accounts for 58%. It contains a large amount of impurities (heavy metal) according to the quality standards, however, there have been insufficient efforts to reinforce the standards or technically improve the quality, which resulted in secondary pollution problems from injecting excessive coagulant. Also, the increase in the use of chemicals is leading to the increases in the annual amount of sewage sludge generated in 2017 and the need to reuse sludge. As such, this study aims to verify the possibility of reusing sludge by evaluating the stability of heavy metals based on the injection of coagulant mixture during water treatment which uses the torrefield wood powder and natural materials, and evaluating the sedimentation and heating value of sewage sludge. As a result of analyzing heavy metals (Cr, Fe, Zn, Cu, Cd, As, Pb, and Ni) from the coagulant mixture and PAC (10%), Cr, Cd, Pb, Ni, and Hg were not detected. As for Zn, while its concentration notified in the quality standards for drinking water is 3 mg/L, only a small amount of 0.007 mg/L was detected in the coagulant mixture. Maximum amounts of over double amounts of Fe, Cu, and As were found with PAC (10%) compared to the coagulant mixture. Also, an analysis of sludge sedimentation found that the coagulant mixture showed a better performance of up to double the speed of the conventional coagulant, PAC (10%). The dry-basis lower heating value of sewage sludge produced by injecting the coagulant mixture was 3,378 kcal/kg, while that of sewage sludge generated due to PAC (10%) was 3,171 kcal/kg; although both coagulants met the requirements to be used as auxiliary fuel at thermal power plants, the coagulant mixture developed in this study could secure heating values 200 kal/kg higher than the counterpart. Therefore, utilization of the coagulant mixture for water treatment rather than PAC (10%) is expected to be more environmentally stable and effective, as it helps generating sludge with better stability against heavy metals, having a faster sludge sedimentation, and higher heating value.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.438-444
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• 2016

This study was performed to determine the optimal freezing point for the reliable cold storage of Korean agricultural products, and to provide basic data for determining the storage temperature based on the quality characteristics. Additional supercooling temperature analysis was conducted to explore the possibility of supercooling storage. To determine the effects of quality characteristics on the freezing point, the hardness, acidity, moisture and sugar content were analyzed. The crops were frozen using customized cooling unit and their freezing and supercooling points were determined based on their heat release points. The freezing temperatures of garlic, leek, cucumber, hot pepper, grape, oriental melon, netted melon, peach, cherry tomato, plum, daikon, sweet persimmon, apple, sweet potato, mandarin, pear, and strawberry were -1.6, -0.5, -0.5, -0.7, -1.6, -1.6, -1.3, -0.8, -0.3, -1.1, -0.3, -1.7, -1.5, -1.5, -0.8, -1.5, and -$0.9^{\circ}C$, respectively; otherwise, supercooling points were -7.8, -3.7, -3.3, -4.9, -5.7, -4.6, -2.8, -3.3, -5.9, -4.2, -0.8, -4.7, -3.2, -3.7, -4.7, -4.2, and -$3.4^{\circ}C$, respectively. These results suggest that the ideal freezing temperature of crops could be estimated through freezing point depression because of their sugar content, and this technique should be used to maintain an optimum storage temperature. However, cold storage is complicated and further study is required because of the effects of long-term cold storage on the crops.