• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.45-53
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• 2009

This study concerned remediation of heavy metal contaminated farmland soils near abandoned mine, using stabilization method, with particular emphasis on the remediating the soils contaminated with multi-elements. In this study, stabilizing heavy metals based on 'In-situ chemical fixation' has been applied to the soil collected from an abandoned mine in Korea, using column test, with various stabilizing agents, including $FeSO_4$, $KMnO_4$, sludge (collected from coal mine drainage treatment pond), zero-valent iron (ZVI), zeolite and $CaCO_3$. Sixty five-days operation of the flow-through columns yield $FeSO_4\;+\;KMnO_4$ and zeolite are efficient on reducing As leaching from the soil. ZVI and sludge are reducing the leaching of Cu. Although $FeSO_4\;+\;KMnO_4$ seem to be efficient for most heavy metals, high pH in the initial stage of test enabled high leaching of the heavy metals, whereas fixation of the heavy metals maintain throughout the rest of the test period, with increasing pH up to around 6. Addition of some alkaline agent may inhibit the low pH during the application. The column test was also run as two set: one set incubated with deionized water for 72 hours prior to starting the test, and the other without incubation. The incubated set demonstrated better stabilizing efficiency, indicating the potential optimized operation method.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.92-96
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• 2019

Transition metal oxide is widely used as a water electrolysis catalyst to substitute for a noble metal catalyst such as $IrO_2$ and $RuO_2$. In this study, the sol-gel method is used to synthesize the $Cu_xCo_{3-x}O_4$ catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER),. The CuxCo3-xO4 is synthesized at various calcination temperatures from $250^{\circ}C$ to $400^{\circ}C$ for 4 h. The $Cu_xCo_{3-x}O_4$ synthesized at $300^{\circ}C$ has a perfect spinel structure without residues of the precursor and secondary phases, such as CuO. The particle size of $Cu_xCo_{3-x}O_4$ increases with an increase in calcination temperature. Amongst all the samples studied, $Cu_xCo_{3-x}O_4$, which is synthesized at 300?, has the highest activity for the OER. Its onset potential for the OER is 370 mV and the overpotential at $10mA/cm^2$ is 438 mV. The tafel slope of $Cu_xCo_{3-x}O_4$ synthesized at $300^{\circ}C$ has a low value of 58 mV/dec. These results are mainly explained by the increase in the available active surface area of the $Cu_xCo_{3-x}O_4$ catalyst.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.62 no.3
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• pp.229-237
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• 2019

More effective treatments are needed for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We hypothesized that water extracts of blackberry fruits (BF) and leaves (BL) and their combinations (BFL) reduce fat deposition in HepG2 cells and modulate shor-tchain fatty acids (SCFA) and fecal bacteria in vitro. HepG2 cells were treated with BF, BL, BFL1:2, and BFL1:3 for 1 h, and 0.5 mM palmitate was added to the cells. Moreover, low ($30{\mu}g/mL$) and high doses ($90{\mu}g/mL$) of BL and BF were applied to fecal bacteria in vitro, and SCFA was measured by GC. BL, BF, BFL1:2, and BFL1:3 reduced triglyceride deposition in the cells in a dose-dependent manner, and BFL1:2 and BFL1:3 had a stronger effect than BF. The content of malondialdehyde, an index of oxidative stress, was also reduced in BL, BF, and BFL1:2 with increasing superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities. The mRNA expression of acetyl CoA carboxylase, fatty acid synthase, and sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c was reduced in BL, BF, BFL1:2, and BFL1:3 compared to the control, and BFL1:2 had the strongest effect. By contrast, the carnitine palmitolytransferase-1expression, a regulator of fatty acid oxidation, increased mostly in BFL1:2 and BFL1:3. Tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ and interleukin-$1{\beta}$ expression was reduced in BL compared to that in BF and BFL1:2 in HepG2 cells. Interestingly, BL increased propionate production, and BF increased butyrate and propionate production and increased total SCFA content in fecal incubation. BF increased the contents of Bifidobacteriales and Lactobacillales and decreased those of Clostridiales, whereas BL elevated the contents of Bacteroidales and decreased those of Enterobacteriales. In conclusion, BFL1:2 and BFL1:3 may be potential therapeutic candidates for NAFLD.

• Land and Housing Review
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.83-97
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• 2023

The study aims to provide an academic basis for the preservation and restoration of abandoned paddy wetland and the enhancement of its carbon accumulation function. First, the temporal change of the wetlands was analysed, and a typological classification system for wetlands was attempted with the goal of carbon reduction. The types of wetland were classified based on three variables: hydrological environment, vegetation, and carbon accumulation, with a special attention on the function of carbon accumulation. The types of abandoned paddy wetlands were classified into 12 categories based on hydrologic variables- either high or low levels of water inflow potential-, vegetation variables with either dominance of aquatic plants or terrestrial plants, and three carbon accumulation variables including organic matter production, soil organic carbon accumulation, and decomposition. It was found that the development period of abandoned paddy analyzed with aerial photographs provided by the National Geographic Information Institute happened between 2010 and 2015. In the case of the wetland in Daejeon 1 (DJMN01) farming stopped by 1990 and it appeared to be a similar structure to natural wetlands after 2010 . Over the past 40 years the abandoned paddy wetland changed to a high proportion of forests and agricultural lands. As time went by, such forests and agricultural lands tended to decrease rapidly and the lands were covered by artificial grass and other types of forests.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.296-296
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• 2022

This study was investigated to compare the milling and physicochemical characteristics of six Korean wheat cultivars (Keumkang, KK; Jokyung, JK; Goso, GS; Joongmo2008, JM; Baekkang, BK; Saekeumkang, SKK) and five foreign wheat classes (Australian standard white wheat, ASW; Australian hard, AH; US northern spring, NS; US hard red winter, HRW; Soft wheat, SW). Korea and foreign wheat grains were milled using a Buhler MLU-202. Flour moisture, ash, protein, gluten, sedimentation, particle size, solvent retention capacity (SRC) and dough properties of flour were analyzed. Results showed that the hard wheats had a greater total flour yield and reduction fraction yield than the soft wheats regardless of the country. However, there were in the milling characteristics between the US and Korean soft wheats. GS, a soft wheat in Korea, had the lowest flour yield (59.6%) and the highest bran fraction yield (21.4%). The particle sizes of flour by milling fraction were B1>B2>B3 for the largest, and the R1〈R2〈R3 for the smallest. Particle size, ash, protein contents and the values of lactic acid SRC showed highly correlated with flour yield. The gluten-performance-index (GPI) is the ratio of the lactic acid SRC value to the sum of sodium carbonate and sucrose SRC values, and it has been used as a quality indicator for overall performance potential of flour. GPI values differed depending on the wheat variety or class, JM (0.82) was the highest value, and SKK (0.56) and SW (0.59) were low. The curve pattern of the Mixolab result also gives a quality indication of the flour sample. JM and NS flour had similar pattern at water absorption and gluten strength parameters and BK and HRW had similar viscosity patterns. These results will enable further study for blending Korean wheat cultivar to improve the flour quality.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.245-257
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• 2023

The representative crop in the Republic of Korea, rice, is cultivated over extensive areas every year, which resulting in reduced resistance to pests and diseases. One of the major rice diseases, rice blast disease, can lead to a significant decrease in yields when it occurs on a large scale, necessitating early detection and effective control of rice blast disease. Drone-based crop monitoring techniques are valuable for detecting abnormal growth, but frequent image capture for potential rice blast disease occurrences can consume significant labor and resources. The purpose of this study is to early detect rice blast disease using remote sensing data, such as drone and satellite images, along with weather data. Satellite images was helpful in identifying rice cultivation fields. Effective detection of paddy fields was achieved by utilizing vegetation and water indices. Subsequently, air temperature, relative humidity, and number of rainy days were used to calculate the risk of rice blast disease occurrence. An increase in the risk of disease occurrence implies a higher likelihood of disease development, and drone measurements perform at this time. Spectral reflectance changes in the red and near-infrared wavelength regions were observed at the locations where rice blast disease occurred. Clusters with low vegetation index values were observed at locations where rice blast disease occurred, and the time series data for drone images allowed for tracking the spread of the disease from these points. Finally, drone images captured before harvesting was used to generate spatial information on the incidence of rice blast disease in each field.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.661-667
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• 2023

Five commercially available edible sweeteners are used as diet products because they can replace sucrose. In studies on the effects on animals and the human body, stability has been proven by excreting-oriented studies with characteristics of animal cells, and accumulation in small amounts has been ignored. On the other hand, plants can absorb, degrade, and accumulate foreign substances, so the effect of degradability and accumulation potential can be studied using plants. Metabolic effects in plants of commercially available saccharin and acesulfame potassium (Ace K) were tested using germinated barley and bean sprouts. In germinated barley and bean sprouts, saccharin and ace K showed inhibitory effects on plant growth in all organs from low concentrations in leaves, stems and roots. In addition, it can be observed that the symptoms of death appear clearly over time, so it can be seen that they are accumulated in the body of the plant. As the accumulated amount increases, the toxic effect increases and the plant reaches a state where it is unable to metabolize, turning black from the tip of the leaf and reaching a state of death. In order to remove the accumulated artificial sweetener, recovery was attempted by culturing in distilled water, but it acts as a substance that is not degraded and dies without avoiding toxicity. Saccharin and ace K cannot be excreted from the cell. Its toxic effects are thought to be persistent, inhibiting growth and eventually leading to cell death.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.221-233
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• 2024

Lignin, a prominent constituent of woody biomass, is abundant in nature, cost-effective, and contains various functional groups, including hydroxyl groups. Owing to these characteristics, they have the potential to replace petroleum-based polyols in the polyurethane industry, offering a solution to environmental problems linked to resource depletion and CO₂ emissions. However, the structural complexity and low reactivity of lignin present challenges for its direct application in polyurethane materials. In this study, Kraft lignin (KL), a representative technical lignin, was fractionated with ethanol, an eco-friendly solvent, and mixed with conventional polyols in varying proportions to produce polyurethane films. The results of ethanol fractionation showed that the polydispersity of ethanol-soluble lignin (ESL) decreased from 3.71 to 2.72 and the hydroxyl content of ESL increased from 4.20 mmol/g to 5.49 mmol/g. Consequently, the polyurethane prepared by adding ESL was superior to the KL-based film, exhibiting improved miscibility with petrochemical-based polyols and reactivity with isocyanate groups. Consequently, the films using ESL as the polyol exhibited reduced shrinkage and a more uniform structure. Optical microscope and scanning electron microscope observations confirmed that lignin aggregation was lower in polyurethane with ESL than in that with KL. When the hydrophobicity of the samples was measured using the water contact angle, the addition of ESL resulted in higher hydrophobicity. In addition, as the amount of ESL added increased, an increase of 7.4% in the residual char was observed, and a 4.04% increase in Tmax the thermal stability of the produced polyurethane was effectively improved.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.552-559
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• 2009

In this study, the anticancer activity of the water extract at $100^{\circ}C$ was compared to that of the callus extracts via a ultrasonification extraction process. All the extracts were utilized to evaluate cytotoxicity, antioxidant and immune activities. The callus extracted via ultrasonification extraction showed relatively low cytotoxicity on normal human cell lines, HEK293 and HEL299, showing 13.17% and 21.78%, respectively. The callus extract has 59.82% which was similar to 61.70% for water extracts. It was also found that callus extract yielded higher nitric oxide secretion form macrophage than other extracts. The growths of both human stomach adenocarcinoma (AGS) cell and human lung carcinoma (A549) were inhibited up to 70% by adding 1.0 mg/mL of the callus extracts with ultrasonification extraction. This inhibition ratio (70%) was almost close to that of water extract. Human hepatoma carcinoma (HEP3B) cell growth was most significantly inhibited up to 75% by adding 1.0 mg/mL of callus extracts, and its selectivity was highest compared to other extracts. It indicates that the callus extracts could selectively inhibit growth of digestive system-related cancer cells. It can be also concluded from the results of this study that the callus extracts associated with ultrasonification extraction process have the potential for anticancer activity.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.33-50
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• 2009

The impact on hydrologic components considering future potential climate, land use change and vegetation cover information was assessed using SLURP (Semi-distributed Land-Use Runoff Process) continuous hydrologic model. The model was calibrated (1999 - 2000) and validated (2001 - 2002) for the upstream watershed ($260.4\;km^2$) of Gyeongancheon water level gauging station with the coefficient of determination and Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency ranging from 0.77 to 0.60 and 0.79 to 0.60, respectively. Two GCMs (MIROC3.2hires, ECHAM5-OM) future weather data of high (A2), middle (A1B) and low (B1) emission scenarios of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) were adopted and the data was corrected by 20C3M (20th Century Climate Coupled Model) and downscaled by Change Factor (CF) method using 30 years (1977 - 2006, baseline period) weather data. Three periods data of 2010 - 2039 (2020s), 2040 - 2069 (2050s), 2070 - 2099 (2080s) were prepared. To reduce the uncertainty of land surface conditions, future land use and vegetation canopy prediction were tried by CA-Markov technique and NOAA NDVI-Temperature relationship respectively. MIROC3.2 hires and ECHAM5-OM showed increase tendency in annual streamflow up to 21.4 % for 2080 A1B and 8.9 % for 2050 A1B scenario respectively. The portion of future predicted ET about precipitation increased up to 3 % in MIROC3.2 hires and 16 % in ECHAM5-OM respectively. The future soil moisture content slightly increased compared to 2002 soil moisture.