• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.175-183
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• 1993

There are many report suggesting that influx and intracellular calcium concentration $([Ca^{2+}]_i)$ are related to cell signalling in various cells. However, it has not been reported that calcium channel activation is affected by the substances involved in signal transduction pathways in the mouse eggs. In this study, the effects of isoprenaline (ISP) and cyclic AMP on calcium influx through calcium channels were investigated to show their relationship with the signal transduction process in unfertilized mouse eggs. Using whole cell voltage clamp techniques, calcium currents, elicited by the depolarizing pulses of 300 ms duration (from -50 mV to 50 mV in 10 mV increments) from a holding potential of -80 mV, were recorded. The current-voltage (I-V) relation of calcium currents was shown to be bell-shaped; the current began to activate at -50 mV and reached its maximum $(-1.33{\pm}0.16\;nA:\;mean{\pm}S.E.,\;n=7)$ at -10 mV, then decayed at around 50 mV. Calcium currents were fully activated within $7\;ms{\sim}20\;ms$ and completely inactivated 200 ms after onset of the step pulse. ISP within the concentration ranges of $10^{-8}\;M{\sim}10^{-4}\;M$ dose-dependently increased the amplitude calcium current. The permeable cyclic AMP analogue,8-bromocyclic AMP, also increased its maximal amplitude by 46ft at $10^{-5}\;M$, while protein kinase inhibitor (PKI), which is known to inhibit 0.02 phosphorylating units of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) per microgram decreased calcium currents. Currents recorded in the presence of PKI were resistant to increase by the application of $10^{-5}\;M$. Also, PKI inhibited the calcium current increase elicited by ISP treatment. These results suggest that $\beta-adrenergic$ regulation of the calcium channel is mediated by the cAMP-dependent protein kinase. This signal transduction pathway might play a role in regulating $[Ca^{2+}]_i$, level due to the increase of calcium influx in mouse eggs.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.128-136
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• 2014

Acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) lactonase has been proved to be the AHL-degrading enzyme with the highest substrate specificity for AHL molecules and has shown a considerable potential as low-cost and efficient quorum quenching (QQ) technique. However, few studies focused on its inhibitory effect on biofilm formation which is also a quorum sensing (QS)-regulated phenomenon. In this study, QQ activity of six isolates from biofouled reverse osmosis membranes was studied using Chromobacterium violaceum CV026 and Agrobacterium tumefaciens NTL4 as biosensors under various conditions. All of the isolates belonged to the genus Bacillus and showed QQ activity regardless of the acyl chain length or substitution of AHL molecule. The isolates were capable of significantly inhibiting biofilm formation (46.7-58.3%) by Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 and produced heat-sensitive extracellular QQ substances. The LC-MS analysis of the QQ activity of a selected isolate, RO1S-5, revealed the degradation of N-(3-oxododecanoyl)-L-homoserine lactone (3-oxo-C12 AHL) and the production of corresponding acyl homoserine (3-oxo-C12-HS), which indicated the activity of AHL lactonase. The broad AHL substrate range and high substrate specificity suggested that the isolate would be useful for the control of biofilm-related pathogenesis and biofouling in industrial processes.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.1-17
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• 2018

Related incidents and accidents are frequent after 2000 years, such as the outbreak of the Taian peninsula crude oil spillage and Gumi hydrofluoric acid leakage accident. In the wake of such environmental pollution accidents, Consensus has been formed to enact legislation on liability for the compensation of environmental pollution in 2014 and the rescue, and has been in force since January 2016. Therefore, in the domestic insurance industry, the introduced environmental liability insurance system needs to be managed through the standardization formula of a new insurance model for managing the environmental risk. This study has been carried out by the emergence of a safe insurance model with a risky nature of the risk type, which is one of the services of the knowledge base. The verification of the six assurance media on the occurrence of environmental pollution such as chemical, waste, marine, soil, etc. is expressed through semantic interoperability through this possible ontology. The insurance model was designed and presented by deducing the relationship between the amount of money and the amount of money that was written in the area of existing expertise, In order to exclude the possible consequences, the concept of abstract is conceptualized in the form of a customer, and a plan for the future development of an ontology-based decision support system is proposed to reduce the cost and resources consumed every year. It is expected that standardization of the verification standard of the mass of mass will minimize errors and reduce the time and resources required for verification.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.38-47
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• 2020

This study was conducted to investigate both plant growth-promoting and plant disease- controlling activities of bacterial strains isolated from soil. All the isolated strains were able to grow at various temperatures. All the strains, except ANG40, showed antagonistic effects against various phytopathogenic fungi. This antagonism can be ascribed to the production of siderophores and antibiotic substances. In addition, all the strains showed abilities such as nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, and siderophore production. These results suggest that nitrogen, phosphorus, and iron can be converted into forms that can be easily absorbed by the plants for their growth. Analysis of the growth-promoting properties revealed that ANG51 produced 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) both of which are related to ethylene production. In contrast, the other strains were found to have only IAA-producing ability. Therefore, this study suggests that Pseudomonas geniculata ANG3, Exiguobacterium acetylicum ANG40, and Burkholderia stabilis ANG51, which were selected through analysis of comparative advantages for both plant growth promotion and disease-controlling activity, may be used as biological agents.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.61-64
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• 2014

Radioactive materials are in use and have many applications from the generation of electricity to the purposes of research, industry and medicine such as diagnosis and therapy. In the course of their use some of radioactive substances may be discharged into the environment from facilities using the unsealed radioactive materials, which are main artificial sources occurring the public exposure. Discharges are in the form of gases, particles or liquids. This paper provides procedures to estimate the level of the public exposure based on the conservative assumptions and simple calculations in the facility using unsealed liquid sources. They consist of two processes; (1) to calculate maximum concentration of gaseous effluents discharged through the exhaust pipe and average concentration of liquid effluents discharged through the drain of the storage tank, (2) to compare each of them to numerical guidances for the discharges of radioactive gaseous and liquid effluents mentioned in the related notification. For this purpose followings are assumed properly; daily usage, form and dispersion rate of radionuclides, daily amount of radioactive liquid waste and exhaust and drainage equipment. The procedures are readily applicable to evaluate environmental effects by planned effluent discharges from facilities using the unsealed radioactive materials. In addition they may be utilized to obtain practical requirements for radiation safety control necessary for the reductions of the public exposure.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.283-292
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• 2018

Objectives: This study was conducted to identify hazardous factors that reflect the characteristics of the academy and to provide basic data of environmental safety standard. Methods: Heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, pesticides and phthalates were measured in 20 academies, which were supplementary, music, art and physical education institutes. Results: In case of heavy metals, the 12 locations were detected for lead (Pb) over the standard value, and 15 locations were exceeded for the total heavy metal. In six locations, the concentrations of volatile organic compounds were exceeded the standard value of $400{\mu}g/m^3$, and two locations for formaldehyde were exceeded the standard value of $100{\mu}g/m^3$. The most commonly detected agents in the air dust were chlorpyrifos and diazinon. The concentrations of DEHP, DINP, and DBP were detected and exceeded in several academies, The risk assessment results showed that HCHO as carcinogen had a safety level of 10-7 to 10-6, and DEHP and DINP as non-carcinogens had a safety level as assessed to be under than 0.1. Conclusions: Through the investigation of long-term environmental and health effects related laws on academies, indoor air quality management might be needed because there were cases of exceeding standard.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.11
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• pp.1701-1708
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• 2014

Phenolic compounds, physiological properties, and digestive enzyme inhibitory effect of 70% ethanol extracts from Aster scaber with different extraction methods (stirrer extraction, SE; reflux extraction, RE; autoclave extraction, AE; low temperature high pressure extraction, LTPE; ultrasonification extraction, USE) were investigated. Total polyphenols and flavonoids contents in LTPE were significantly higher than those of other extracts. The amount of substances related to cynarin (1,3-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid) was highest in USE (34.34 mg/g), followed by LTPE (33.83 mg/g), RE (32.27 mg/g), AE (25.40 mg/g), and SE (18.17 mg/g). Chlorogenic acid (5-O-caffeoylquinic acid) and astragalin (kaempferol-3-O-glucopyranoside) were highest in AE and LTPE, respectively. Xanthine oxidase, angiotensin- I converting enzyme, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase and acetylcholin esterase inhibitory activities of LTPE and USE at a concentration of 50 mg% (w/v) were somewhat higher than those of other extracts. The ${\alpha}$-amylase, ${\alpha}$-glucosidase, trypsin and lipase activities showed the same tendency as physiological properties (concentration of 500 mg%, w/v). Additionally, there was significantly higher or slightly lower inhibitory activity compared to the control group. These results suggest that extracts from Aster scaber have potential to act as functional materials, and LTPE and USE are superior for the enhancement of biological activity.

• ALGAE
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.253-262
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• 2020

Haematococcus pluvialis is a commercial microalga that can produce high quantities of astaxanthin. Under induced conditions, some important changes in the subcellular structures related to astaxanthin accumulation were observable. For example, a large number of astaxanthin granules, oil structures and starch granules appeared in the thick-walled cells; Astaxanthin granules gradually dissolved into the oil structures and spread throughout the entire cell with the fusion and diffusion process of oil structures during the middle and late stages of induction; The plastoglobules were closed to the newly formed structures, and some plastoglobules would abnormally increase in size under stress. Based on observations of cell damage, the degradation of membrane structures, such as chloroplasts, was found to be the primary form of damage during the early stage of induction. During the middle stage of induction, some transparent holes were exposed in the dissolving astaxanthin granules in the cytoplasm. In thick-walled cells, these transparent holes were covered by oil substances dissolving astaxanthin, thereby avoiding further damage to cells. Given the relatively few oil structures, in non-thick-walled cells, the transparent holes expanded to form multiple transparent areas, eventually resulting in the rupture and death of cells. These results suggested that the high level of synthesis and the wide range diffusion of oil explained the expansion of astaxanthin in H. pluvialis.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.241-248
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• 2011

The use of synthetic additives for preservation and enhancement of the market quality of food products has been emerging as a societal issue in terms of safety as well as changes in consumption patterns. Various research related to natural additives is being conducted to address these issues. This study examined the antibacterial effects of 79 types of medicinal herbs used as oriental remedies on bacteria isolated from beverages of damaged marketable quality. The antibacterial effects of methanol extracts on 13 Bacillus sp. and three Paenibacillus sp. were evaluated. We found that 43 of the herbal medicines analyzed had antibacterial effects on the isolated bacteria. Of those, eight were selected, and their antibacterial effects were further examined using water, ethanol, methanol, and ethyl acetate as solvents. The results revealed that Prunus mume, Rhus javanica, and Coptis japonica had excellent antibacterial effects against the isolated bacteria. In particular, they exerted greater antibacterial effects when water and ethanol were used as solvents. This result indicates the possibility of developing natural additives using these substances. Since P. mume in particular, has not been sufficiently studied compared to other herbal medicines, it presents an opportunity for additional investigation and the possibility for development as a new product in the future.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.233-239
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• 2005

Lipid-soluble fractions extracted with methylene chloride and ethyl acetate as well as 70% ethanolic extract were made from 5 cultivars of the pigmented rice brans (DZ 78, Elwee, LK1A-2-12-1-1, LK1-3-6-12-1-1 and Killimhukmi) to determine their antioxidative activities and to measure the contents of phenolic compounds, phytic acid, together with unsaponificated compounds such as retinol, tocopherol and stigmasterol. We also attempted to characterize candidate components in charge of antioxidation and measure their relative contents in each methylene chloride and ethyl acetate fraction by using GC-MS techniques. As the results, we found a 30% higher antioxidative activity with 26-fold greater phenolic compound content of the pigmented rices as compared to those of the normal rice. Especially, in Killimhukmi, the contents of the unsaponificated compounds such as retinol, tocopherol and stigmasterol were also found to be more than 2.3-fold greater than those of normal rice. However, we could not find the overall correlations between antioxidativity of rices and their color values, or unsaponificated compounds contents. Methylene chloride fraction from Killimhukmi and LK1A-2-12-1-1, both showing strong antioxidativity, contained relatively high contents of (Z)-9-hexadecenyl ester-9-octadecanoic acid and 2-Hydroxyl-1-1(hydroxymethyl) ethyl-9-octadecanoic acid, respectively. In ethyl acetate fractions, on the contrary, 1H indene, methyl ester-tetradecanoic acid and methyl ester-hexadecanoic acid were detected as the commonly-occurring substances in the 5 cultivars of pigmented rices, implying a possible role in antioxidative action.