• Biomaterials Research
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.235-248
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• 2018

Background: Injectable hydrogels have been extensively researched for the use as scaffolds or as carriers of therapeutic agents such as drugs, cells, proteins, and bioactive molecules in the treatment of diseases and cancers and the repair and regeneration of tissues. It is because they have the injectability with minimal invasiveness and usability for irregularly shaped sites, in addition to typical advantages of conventional hydrogels such as biocompatibility, permeability to oxygen and nutrient, properties similar to the characteristics of the native extracellular matrix, and porous structure allowing therapeutic agents to be loaded. Main body: In this article, recent studies of injectable hydrogel systems applicable for therapeutic agent delivery, disease/cancer therapy, and tissue engineering have reviewed in terms of the various factors physically and chemically contributing to sol-gel transition via which gels have been formed. The various factors are as follows: several different non-covalent interactions resulting in physical crosslinking (the electrostatic interactions (e.g., the ionic and hydrogen bonds), hydrophobic interactions, ${\pi}$-interactions, and van der Waals forces), in-situ chemical reactions inducing chemical crosslinking (the Diels Alder click reactions, Michael reactions, Schiff base reactions, or enzyme-or photo-mediated reactions), and external stimuli (temperatures, pHs, lights, electric/magnetic fields, ultrasounds, or biomolecular species (e.g., enzyme)). Finally, their applications with accompanying therapeutic agents and notable properties used were reviewed as well. Conclusion: Injectable hydrogels, of which network morphology and properties could be tuned, have shown to control the load and release of therapeutic agents, consequently producing significant therapeutic efficacy. Accordingly, they are believed to be successful and promising biomaterials as scaffolds and carriers of therapeutic agents for disease and cancer therapy and tissue engineering.

• ALGAE
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.213-226
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• 2022

Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing food producing sectors; however, intensive farming techniques of finfish have raised environmental concerns, especially through the release of excessive nutrients into surrounding waters. Biodiversity has been widely shown to enhance ecosystem functions and services, but there has been limited testing or application of this key ecological relationship in aquaculture. This study tested the applicability of the biodiversity-function relationship to integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA), asking whether species richness can enhance the efficiency of macroalgal bioremediation of wastewater from finfish aquaculture. Five macroalgal species (Chondrus crispus, Fucus serratus, Palmaria palmata, Porphyra dioica, and Ulva sp.) were cultivated in mono- and polyculture in water originating from a lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) hatchery. Total seaweed biomass production, specific growth rates (SGR), and the removal of ammonium (NH₄⁺), total oxidised nitrogen (TON), and phosphate (PO₄^3-) from the wastewater were measured. Species richness increased total seaweed biomass production by 11% above the average component monoculture, driven by an increase in up to 5% in SGR of fast-growing macroalgal species in polycultures. Macroalgal species richness further enhanced ammonium uptake by 25%, and TON uptake by nearly 10%. Phosphate uptake was not improved by increased species richness. The increased uptake of NH₄⁺ and TON with increased macroalgal species richness suggests the complementary use of different nitrogen forms (NH₄⁺ vs. TON) in macroalgal polycultures. The results demonstrate enhanced bioremediation efficiency by increased macroalgal species richness and show the potential of integrating biodiversity-function research to improve aquaculture sustainability.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.219-225
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• 2022

Glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) released from enteroendocine L-cells in the intestine has incretin effects due to its ability to amplify glucose-dependent insulin secretion. Promotion of an endogenous release of GLP-1 is one of therapeutic targets for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Although the secretion of GLP-1 in response to nutrient or neural stimuli can be triggered by cytosolic Ca²⁺ elevation, the stimulus-secretion pathway is not completely understood yet. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the role of reverse Na⁺/Ca²⁺ exchanger (rNCX) in Ca²⁺ entry induced by muscarinic stimulation in NCI-H716 cells, a human enteroendocrine GLP-1 secreting cell line. Intracellular Ca²⁺ was repetitively oscillated by the perfusion of carbamylcholine (CCh), a muscarinic agonist. The oscillation of cytosolic Ca²⁺ was ceased by substituting extracellular Na⁺ with Li⁺ or NMG⁺. KB-R7943, a specific rNCX blocker, completely diminished CCh-induced cytosolic Ca²⁺ oscillation. Type 1 Na⁺/Ca²⁺ exchanger (NCX₁) proteins were expressed in NCI-H716 cells. These results suggest that rNCX might play a crucial role in Ca²⁺ entry induced by cholinergic stimulation in NCI-H716 cells, a GLP-1 secreting cell line.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.752-762
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• 2022

Objective: Microencapsulation is a technique to improve stability, bioavailability, and controlled release of active ingredients at a target site. This experiment aimed to investigate the effects of microencapsulated basil oil (MBO) on growth performance, apparent ileal digestibility (AID), jejunal histomorphology, bacterial population as well as antioxidant capacity of broiler chickens in a tropical climate. Methods: A total of 288 one-day-old female broilers (Ross 308) were randomly allocated into 4 groups (6 replicates of 12 birds), based on a completely randomized design. Dietary treatments were as follows: i) basal diet (NC), ii) basal diet with avilamycin at 10 ppm (PC), iii) basal diet with free basil oil (FBO) at 500 ppm, and iv) basal diet with MBO at 500 ppm, respectively. Results: Dietary supplementation of MBO improved average daily gain, and feed conversion ratio of broilers throughout the 42-d trial period (p<0.05), whereas MBO did not affect average daily feed intake compared with NC group. The broilers fed MBO diet exhibited a greater AID of crude protein and gross energy compared with those in other groups (p<0.05). Lactobacillus spp. and Escherichia coli populations were not affected by feeding dietary treatments. Both FBO and MBO had positive effects on jejunal villus height (VH), villus height to crypt depth ratio (VH:CD) and villus surface area of broilers compared to NC and PC groups (p<0.05). Superoxide dismutase level in the duodenal mucosa of MBO group was significantly increased (p<0.01), whereas malondialdehyde level was significantly decreased (p<0.01). Conclusion: Microencapsulation could be considered as a promising driver of the basil oil efficiency, consequently MBO at 500 ppm could be potentially used as a feed additive for improvement of intestinal integrity and nutrient utilization, leading to better performance of broiler chickens.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.103-111
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• 2023

To evaluate the impact of effluents from land-based fish farms on the coastal ocean of Wando, Korea, we analyzed inorganic nutrients, particulate organic carbon (POC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) in the effluent and influent of land-based fish farms during the summer (July) of 2021. The average concentrations of nutrients (Dissolved inorganic nitrogen, phosphorus, and silicate; DIN, DIP, and DSi, respectively) in the effluents of this study area were 17±3.7 μM, 1.4±0.7 μM, and 14±1.6 μM, respectively. The average concentrations of POC and DOC were 37±22 μM and 81±13 μM, respectively, with POC accounting for about 30% for total organic carbon in effluents. The Reduced Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen/Total Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen ratio (0.7), potential short-period index, indicates that the discharge of nutrients excreted by the fish and unconsumed feed into coastal water results in such nutrients being deposited and accumulated in the sediment. Subsequently, this continuous accumulation triggers the release of ammonium ions during organic matter decomposition, and the ammonium-enriched waters that encroach on fish farms as influent seem to be due to the diffusion of high concentrations of ammonium from bottom sediment. Furthermore, we used fluorescence indices to examine the characteristics of organic matter sources, obtaining mean values of 1.54±0.19, 1.06±0.06, and 1.56±0.06 for the humification index, biological index, and fluorescence index, respectively, in the effluent. These results indicate that the organic matters had an autochthonous origin that resulted from microbial decomposition, and such organic matters were rapidly generated and removed by biological activity, likely supplied from the sediment. Our results suggest that the effluent from land-based fish farms could be a potential source of deoxygenation occurrence in coastal areas.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.657-663
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• 2012

To evaluate effects of water temperatures on nutrient releases of submerged plants in lake reservoir, COD, T-N and T-P releases of submerged plants were investigated for 60 days under different incubation temperatures ($5^{\circ}C$ and $25^{\circ}C$) in columns. The amounts of COD releases by Carex dimorpholepis were $60.4mg\;L^{-1}$ at $5^{\circ}C$ and $78.0mg\;L^{-1}$ at $25^{\circ}C$. In Miscanthus sacchariflorus, the amounts of COD releases were $62.5mg\;L^{-1}$ at $5^{\circ}C$ and $70.5mg\;L^{-1}$ at $25^{\circ}C$. The amounts of T-N releases in Carex dimorpholepis at $5^{\circ}C$ and $25^{\circ}C$ were 45.8 and $60mg\;L^{-1}$, respectively. In Miscanthus sacchariflorus, the amounts of T-N releases were $55.7mg\;L^{-1}$ at $5^{\circ}C$ and $61.0mg\;L^{-1}$ at $25^{\circ}C$. At $5^{\circ}C$, the amounts of T-P releases in Carex dimorpholepis and Miscanthus sacchariflorus were 5.65 and $7.10mg\;L^{-1}$, respectively. At $25^{\circ}C$, the amounts of T-P releases in Carex dimorpholepis and Miscanthus sacchariflorus were 8.70 and $8.18mg\;L^{-1}$, respectively. In the column experiment, the amounts of COD, T-N and T-P releases by submerged plants at $25^{\circ}C$ were generally higher than those at $5^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.314-321
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• 2007

This study was conducted to select leaf vegetables suitable for cultivation in apartment verandas and simple and easy fertigation method for home gardening. In order to develop the convenient fertigation method, hydroponics, wick irrigation, and overhead irrigation methods were compared. For the wick irrigation, two types of nutrient sources were used; one was slow release fertilizers mixed with medium and the other one was nutrient solution filled in container located under pots. The growth of leafy lettuce, leaf mustard, and leaf beet was better in both of the wick irrigation methods rather than in overhead irrigation and hydroponics. The wick irrigation method is very easy, so that it is expected to bring a good result from the cultivating and managing point of view, if it brings with commercialized system along with slow release fertilizer. As a result of investigation of environment such as temperature, relative humidity, and irradiance level in apartment verandas in autumn the highest irradiance level during a day was just 48% and 35% in verandas facing south and feeing southeast, respectively, comparing to that in greenhouse. The light environment was investigated as a limiting factor for vegetable growing in verandas. Therefore, to select the vegetables showing good growth under low irradiance environment, nine leaf vegetables such as romaine lettuce, lent lettuce, head lettuce, endive, pak-choi, leaf mustard, garland chrysanthemum, leaf beet, and Chinese chive were grown under 0%, 50%, 70%, 90% shading. Among them, Chinese chive showed the best growth under low irradiance levels. Endive showed line growth reduction according to shading degree, however, even under 90% shading condition, it showed good growth. And then leafy lettuce, garland chrysanthemum, and pak-choi followed. Therefore, these results will be of help in selecting vegetables for veranda gardening with different light levels.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2009

This study used a mesocosm which presumes movement of the nutrient (especially $PO_{4^-}P$) in the wetland. After setting up the mesocosm inside the wetland and adding the $PO_{4^-}P$, observed the movement of the $PO_{4^-}P$ every hour. We analyzed the variables which had the possibility of affecting $PO_{4^-}P$ concentration in the wetland-flora, absorbing rate of algae, settling rate, release rate. Immediately after adding $PO_{4^-}P$, the concentration of the TP in water column at each mesocosm was 0.48, 12.4, 20.4, $23.6\;mg\;L^{-1}$, after 21 days they were 0.6, 1.92, 6.97 and $6.94\;mg\;L^{-1}$ respectively. The concentration of the TP in water column at the mesocosm decreased on average 73.7%. The concentration of the $PO_{4^-}P$ inside reed, algae and sediment in the mesocosm was increased from $0.73mg\;gDW^{-1}$, $3.81mg\;gDW^{-1}$, $466.1mg\;kg^{-1}$ to $0.83mg\;gDW^{-1}$, $4.57mg\;gDW^{-1}$ and $813.3mg\;kg^{-1}$ respectively. Algae is more sensitive than reeds in absorption of the nutrient. TP removal by settling was highest. Budgeting of TP indicated that P moved from particulates in the water column to sediment and algae. Immediately after adding $PO_{4^-}P$, water column (24.2%) and sediment (49.0%) dominated TP storage, with algae (10.3%) and reed (16.4%) holding smaller proportions of TP. After 21 days, Sediment (59.0%) and algae (17.9%) dominated TP storage, with water column (7.1%) and reed (15.8%) holding smaller proportions of TP. Estimation of phosphate movement using mesocosms is an appropriate method because wetlands have many controlling factors. Analysed data can be compared to background data for wetland construction and management.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.99-110
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• 2023

Non-point source (NP) pollutants in an agricultural landuse are discharged from a large area compared to those in other land uses, and thus effective source control measures are needed. To develop appropriate control measures, it is necessary to quantify discharge load of each source and evaluate the degree of water quality improvement by implementing different options of the control measures. This study used Hydrological Simulation Program-FORTRAN (HSPF) to quantify pollutant discharge loads from different sources and effects of different control measures on water quality improvements, thereby supporting decision making in developing appropirate pollutant control strategies. The study area is the Gyeseong river watershed in Changnyeong county, Gyeongsangnam-do, with agricultural areas occupying the largest proportion (26.13%) of the total area except for the forest area. The main pollutant sources include chemical and liquid fertilizers for agricultural activities, and manure produced from small scale livestock facilities and applied to agriculture lands or stacked near the facilities. Source loads of chemical fertilizers, liquid fertilizers and livestock manure of small scale livestock facilities, and point sources such as municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), community WWTPs, private sewage treament plants were considered in the HSPF model setup. Especially, NITR and PHOS modules were used to simulate detailed fate and transport processes including vegitation uptake, nutrient deposition, adsorption/desorption, and loss by deep percolation. The HSPF model was calibrated and validated based on the observed data from 2015 to 2020 at the outlet of the watershed. The calibrated model showed reasonably good performance in simulating the flow and water quality. Five Pollutants control scenarios were established from three sectors: agriculture pollution management (drainge outlet control, and replacement of controlled release fertilizers), livestock pollution management (liquid fertilizer reduction, and 'manure management of small scale livestock facilities) and private STP management. Each pollutant control measure was further divided into short-term, mid-term, and long-term scenarios based on the potential achievement period. The simulation results showed that the most effective control measure is the replacement of controlled release fertilizers followed by the drainge outlet control and the manure management of small scale livestock facilities. Furthermore, the simulation showed that application of all the control measures in the entire watershed can decrease the annual TN and TP loads at the outlet by 40.6% and 41.1%, respectively, and the annual average concentrations of TN and TP at the outlet by 35.1% and 29.2%, respectively. This study supports decision makers in priotizing different pollutant control measures based on their predicted performance on the water quality improvements in an agriculturally dominated watershed.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.7
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• pp.929-939
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• 2011

The effects of micronization on in situ and in vitro nutrient disappearances of wheat, barley and corn were investigated in a series of experiments. In Experiment 1, chemical composition and in situ dry matter disappearance (DMD) of six varieties of wheat were determined. In addition, an in vitro study was completed using ground micronized and unmicronized wheat (var. Kansas). In Experiment 2, three varieties of wheat (Kansas, Sceptre and Laura) and in Experiment 3, three cereal grains (wheat, barley and corn) were either micronized for 1 min to attain internal kernel temperatures of 90-100$^{\circ}C$ or not (controls), and DM, protein and starch disappearances were estimated. In Experiment 2, an in vitro study was also completed using ground micronized and unmicronized wheat (var. Kansas). Wheat samples varied with respect to crude protein (10.0-21.2%), starch (61.6-73.9%), NDF (8.5-11.8%), volume weight (753-842 g/L) and kernel hardness (0.0-32.0). Rate (p = 0.003) and extent (p = 0.001) of in situ DMD differed among wheat varieties. Correlations between in situ kinetics, and chemical and physical properties of wheat varieties showed that protein content was negatively correlated with the rate of disappearance ($r^2$ = -0.77). Micronization of all grains markedly reduced (p = 0.001) the rate and extent of DM, and protein disappearances as compared to control samples. Micronization increased (p<0.05) the digestion of starch in wheat. However, release of ammonia into the incubation medium was markedly reduced (p<0.05), suggesting that micronization increased the resistance of protein to microbial digestion. Disappearances of DM, protein and starch differed (p = 0.001) among cereal grains with wheat>barley>corn. Micronization reduced the rate of DM disappearance (p = 0.011) and slowly degradable protein fractions (p = 0.03), however, increased (p = 0.004) slowly degradable starch fractions of all three cereals. Examination of in situ samples by scanning electron microscopy confirmed that microbial colonization focused on starch granules in micronized grains, and that the protein matrix exhibited resistance to microbial colonization. These results suggest that micronization may be used to increase the ruminal escape value of protein in cereal grains, but may lead to increased starch digestion if grains are finely ground.