• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.161-168
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• 2012

The abnormal maturation and ossification of articular chondrocytes play a central role in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA). Inhibiting the enzymatic degradation of the extracellular matrix and maintaining the cellular phenotype are two of the major goals of interest in managing OA. Ginseng is frequently taken orally, as a crude substance, as a traditional medicine in Asian countries. Ginsenoside $Rb_1$, a major component of ginseng that contains an aglycone with a dammarane skeleton, has been reported to exhibit various biological activities, including anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor effects. However, a chondroprotective effect of ginsenoside $Rb_1$ related to OA has not yet been reported. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the chondroprotective effect of ginsenoside $Rb_1$ on the regulation of pro-inflammatory factors and chondrogenic genes. Cultured rat articular chondrocytes were treated with 100 ${\mu}M$ ginsenoside $Rb_1$ and/or 500 ${\mu}M$ hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) and assessed for viability, reactive oxygen species production, nitric oxide (NO) release, and chondrogenic gene expression. Ginsenoside $Rb_1$ treatment resulted in reductions in the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine and NO in $H_2O_2$-treated chondrocytes. The expression levels of chondrogenic genes, such as type II collagen and SOX9, were increased in the presence of ginsenoside $Rb_1$, whereas the expression levels of inflammatory genes related to chondrocytes, such as MMP1 and MMP13, were reduced by approximately 50%. These results suggest that ginsenoside $Rb_1$ has potential for use as a therapeutic agent in OA patients.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.883-890
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• 2012

Emission characteristics of gaseous odor compounds emitted from the charcoal manufacturing process were investigated, and evaluated the odor removal efficiency of odor control devices. It was found that the measured odor dilution ratio of emission gases ranged from 10,000 to 44,814, which exceed largely the emission standard in the stack. Methylmercaptan, trimethylamine, hydrogen sulfide, acetaldehyde were turned out as major odor compounds of the charcoal manufacturing process. It was revealed that the odor removal ratio of odor control devices were very low due to the its improper maintenance and wrong design.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 2005.04a
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• pp.131-148
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• 2005

This study is peformed to investigate the effect of water extract from Vaccinium uliginosum L., on melanin production in B 16 melanoma cells, procollagen production and matrix metalloproteinase-1(MMP-1) inhibition in human fibroblast cells. One hundred grams of the Vaccinium uliginosum L. was extracted with 2000 mL of water($90^{\circ}C$, 16h, 2times). The water extracts were lyophilized and stored at $4^{\circ}C$ until used. Dry weight yields of extracts of Vaccinium uliginosum L. were $3\%$(w/w). Extracts from Vaccinium uliginosum L. showed scavenger activities on DPPH radical, superoxide anion radical, hydroxyl radical, hydrogen peroxide and singlet oxygen radical. And these substances inhibited release of cyiokines from human keratinocyte after UV B exposure. Therefore we confirmed that extracts from Vaccinium uliginosum L. had antioxidative effect. These substances inhibited purified tyrosinase activity and melanogenesis in B 16 melanoma cells treated/untreated IL-$1{\alpha}$. Moreover this extract stimulated procollagen production and inhibited MMP-1 production in human fibroblast cells treated/untreated IL-$1{\beta}$. Therefore we confirmed that extracts from Vaccinium uliginosum L. had whitening effect. And these substances decreased degree of wrinkle in hairless mouse skin that induced by UV B irradiation. Therefore we confirmed that extracts from Vaccinium uliginosum L. had anti-wrinkle effect. From the above results, it is possible that Vaccinium uliginosum L. may be developed to be an anti-melanogenesis agent and anti-wrinkle agent.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.380-383
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• 2004

Heavy metal release from wastewater is a serious environmental problem, and therefore, various wastewater treatment techniques have been developed. Among the techniques, sorption technique is most attractive. Considerable researches have been recently focused on finding out inexpensive sorbents, especially from various natural materials. In order to evaluate the applicability of the scoria taken from the Jeju Island, Korea to remove heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd) from aqueous solutions, equilibrium sorption experiments were conducted in this study. In equilibrium tests, powdered activated carbon (PAC), one of the most commonly used sorbents, was also tested to compare the effectiveness of the Jeju scoria with that of PAC. The Jeju scoria had larger adsorption capacity and affinity for metal ions (Pb(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II)) than PAC. The sorption parameters of the two sorbents were evaluated by using both the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms, and the sorption data were better fitted to the Freundlich isotherm. In addition, the sorption behavior of metal ions (Pb(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II)) onto the scoria displayed a typical characteristic of the cation sorption. The removal of metal ions decreased at a lower pH condition due to competition with hydrogen ions for the sorption sites of Jeju scoria, while the removal increased at a high pH condition due to hydroxide precipitation.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.279-288
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• 1993

A study on calcination and reduction of AUC(ammonium uranyl carbonate, (NH4)4UO2(CO3)3) has been carried out by using TG-DTA in N2, air and H2 atmospheres, respectively. Phases of various intermediate obtained during thermal analysis of AUC in different atmospheres were confirmed by XRD. Powder characteristics of each intermediate were investigated by measuring particle size and specific surface area, and also observed by SEM. As a results, regardless of applied atmosphere AUC was calcined into amorphous UO3, which was converted to $\alpha$-U3O8 Via $\alpha$-UO3 in both H2 and N2 atmosphere, but directly into $\alpha$-UO3 in air atmosphere. Further reduction of U3O8 was only detectable in hydrogen atmosphere. During calcination and reduction, average particle size was reduced to less than 30% of original value without morphology change. Specific surface area was dramatically increased with release of NH3, CO2 and H2O from AUC powder and reached maximum value around 25$0^{\circ}C$, and then gradually decreased with the increase of temperature due to sintering effect of uranium oxides such as UO3 and U3O8. It was also found that the change of average crystallite size and pore size were closely related to the changes of specific surface area of uranium oxides.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.164-170
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• 2016

Since most of the existing wastewater treatment options lack the ability to treat micro-contaminants, the increased use of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and release as human waste have become a serious concern in recent years. Constructed wetlands (CWs) are a low-cost technology for wastewater treatment, however, its performance in term of PPCPs removal has not yet been fully investigated. This study aimed to characterize the removal factors and efficiency of acetaminophen (ACT) removal by CWs. The results revealed the decreased concentrations of ACT with increasing hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 0, 3, 5 days. The contribution of removal factors was found to be varied with initial ACT concentration. At the low ACT concentration (i.e. 1 ppb), plant uptake was the dominant, followed by microbial and photolytic removal. In contrast, at the high ACT concentration (i.e. 100 ppb), microbial and photolytic removal were found as dominant factors. On the other hand, hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) concentration was found at higher level in the plant shoot than in the root probably due to occurrence of the Fenton reaction resulting in PPCPs removal.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.504-511
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• 2000

PIV(Particle Image Velocimetry) is a recently developed technique for visualizing the fluid velocity fields. Because it has several advantages over the LDV(Laser Doppler Velocimetry), it became one of the most popular diagnostic tools in spite of its short history. However, its application to combustion is restricted by some problems such as flame illumination, scattered light refraction, particle density variation due to heat release, the combined effect of abrupt change in particle density and fluid velocity on flame contour, and thermophoresis which is particle lagging due to temperature gradient. These problems are expected to be originated from the non-continuous characteristics of flames and the limitations of particle dynamics. In the present study, these problems were considered for the visualization of the instantaneous coaxial hydrogen diffusion flame. And the instantaneous flame contour was detected using particle density difference. The visualized diffusion flame velocity field shows its turbulent and meandering nature. It was also observed that the flame is located inside the outer shear layer and flame geometry is largely influenced by the vorticity.

• BMB Reports
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.165-169
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• 2011

Excess free iron generates oxidative stress that may contribute to the pathogenesis of various causes of neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, we assessed the modification of ferritin induced by $H_2O_2$. When ferritin was incubated with $H_2O_2$, the degradation of ferritin L-chain increased with the $H_2O_2$ concentration whereas ferritin H-chain was remained. Free radical scavengers, azide, thiourea, and N-acetyl-$_L$-cysteine suppressed the $H_2O_2$-mediated ferritin modification. The iron specific chelator, deferoxamine, effectively prevented $H_2O_2$-mediated ferritin degradation in modified ferritin. The release of iron ions from ferritin was increased in $H_2O_2$ concentration-dependent manner. The present results suggest that free radicals may play a role in the modification and iron releasing of ferritin by $H_2O_2$. It is assumed that oxidative damage of ferritin by $H_2O_2$ may induce the increase of iron content in cells and subsequently lead to the deleterious condition.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.35 no.11A
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• pp.1091-1096
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• 2010

Stiction in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) has been a major failure mechanism. Especially, in RF MEMS switches, moving parts often suffered in-use and release related stiction problems. Some materials and methods have been used to prevent this problem. Diamond-like carbon (DLC) has not only been used as a protective material owing to its good mechanical properties but also has been used as a hydrophobic material. Its properties could be controlled by post annealing treatment in various conditions. We synthesized DLC films using a radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RF PECVD) method on silicon substrates using methane ($CH_4$) and hydrogen ($H_2$) gas. Then, the change of the hydrophobic property of the films was investigated undervarious annealing temperatures in nitrogen and in oxygen ambient. The films, that were annealed above $700^{\circ}C$ in nitrogen ambient, showed a high contact angle of water (> $90^{\circ}$) even though their mechanical property was sacrificed to some degree. The structural variation and the changes of the hydrophobic and mechanical properties of the DLC films were analyzed by Raman spectrum, contact angle measurement, surface profiler, and a nanoindentation test.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.74-81
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• 2002

Combustion phenomena in a sub-millimeter scale combustor have been investigated. To evaluate scale effect on flame propagation characteristics, a cylindrical combustion chamber with variable depth was built in-house. The combustor was charged with premixed gas of hydrogen and air and ignited electronically. A piezo electric pressure transducer recorded transient pressure after the ignition. Measurements were made at different test conditions specified with chamber depth and initial pressure as parameters. Visual observation was made through a quartz glass window on top side of the combustion chamber using high speed digital video camera. From the pressure data, available work was estimated and compared with energy input required for stable ignition. The preliminary results suggested that the net thermal energy release is sufficient to generate power and enables a combustor of the size in the present study to be used as the energy source of a micro power devices .