• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.161-170
• /
• 2018

The epidemic of disorders associated with synthetic stimulants, such as methamphetamine (MA) and amphetamine (AP), is a health, social, legal, and financial problem. Owing to the high potential of their abuse and addiction, reliable analytical methods are required to detect and identify MA, AP, and their metabolites in biological samples. Thus, a dilute-and-shoot liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrophotometry (LC-MS/MS) was developed for simultaneous determination of MA, 4-hydroxymethamphetamine (4HMA), AP, and 4-hydroxyamphetamine (4HA) in urine. Urine sample ($100{\mu}L$) was mixed with $50{\mu}L$ of mobile phase consisting of 0.4 % formic acid and methanol and $50{\mu}L$ of working internal-standard solution. Aliquots of $8{\mu}L$ diluted urine was injected into the LC-MS/MS system. For all analytes, chromatographic separation was performed using a C18 reversed-phase column with gradient elution and a total run time of 5 min. The identification and quantification were performed by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). Linear least-squares regression was conducted to generate a calibration curve, with $1/x^2$ as the weighting factor. The linear ranges were 2.0-200, 1.0-800, and 10-2500 ng/mL for 4HA and 4HMA, AP, and MA, respectively. The inter- and intraday precisions were within 6.6 %, whereas the inter- and intraday accuracies ranged from -14.9 to 11.3 %. The low limits of quantification were 2.0 ng/mL (4HA and 4HMA), 1.0 ng/mL (AP), and 10 ng/mL (MA). The proposed method exhibited satisfactory selectivity, dilution integrity, matrix effect, and stability, which are required for validation. Moreover, the purification efficiency of high-speed centrifugation was clearly higher than 6-15 % for QC samples (n=5), which was higher than that of the membrane-filtration method. The applicability of the proposed method was tested by forensic analysis of urine samples from drug abusers.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.13-23
• /
• 2010

Purpose: This study was to identify the role of general hospice palliative nurse through job analysis (duties, task, and task elements). Methods: The sample consisted of 136 nurses or professors who were performing duties related to hospice care areas in Korea. A survey method was used, and the questionnaire included frequencies, criticality, and difficulties of task elements in job description by the DACUM method. Descriptive statistics were performed by using SPSS WIN 17.0. Results: The job description of general hospice palliative nurse was identified 8 duties, 36 tasks, and 137 task elements. As for the 8 duties, the average scores of frequency, criticality, and difficulty were 2.94, 3.66, and 2.80, respectively. The role of ‘pain assessment’ was the most important task element among frequency and criticality. The lowest score at the frequency and criticality were ‘manage public finance’ and ‘collect datum through diagnostic test & lab', respectively. Furthermore, the role of 'identify spiritual needs of patients and family' was the most difficult task, whereas the role of 'manage documents and information' was the least. Conclusion: In this study, we could recognize the reality of general hospice palliative nurse's performances. For general hospice palliative nurse, therefore, concrete practice guide lines of psychosocial and spiritual care, communication skills, and bereavement care with qualifying system are critically needed.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.18 no.8
• /
• pp.1090-1095
• /
• 2008

Marbling (intramuscular fat) is an important factor in determining meat quality in Korean beef market. A grain based finishing system for improving marbling leads to inefficient meat production due to an excessive fat production. Identification of intramuscular fat-specific gene might be achieved more targeted meat production through alternative genetic improvement program such as marker assisted selection (MAS). We carried out ddRT-PCR in 12 and 27 month old Hanwoo steers and detected 300 bp PCR product of the inducible cAMP early repressor (ICER) gene, showing highly gene expression in 27 months old. A 1.5 kb sequence was re-sequenced using primer designed base on the Hanwoo EST sequence. We then predicted the open reading frame (ORF) of ICER gene in ORF finder web program. Tissue distribution of ICER gene expression was analysed in eight Hanwoo tissue using realtime PCR analysis. The highest ICER gene expression showed in Small intestine followed by Longissimus dorsi. Interestingly, the ICER gene expressed 2.5 time higher in longissimus dorsi than in same muscle type, Rump. For gene expression analysis in high- and low marbled individuals, we selected 4 and 3 animal based on the muscle crude fat contents (high is 17-32%, low is 6-7% of crude fat contents). The ICER gene expression was analysed using ANOVA model. Marbling (muscle crude fat contents) was affected by ICER gene (P=0.012). Particularly, the ICER gene expression was 4 times higher in high group (n=4) than low group (n=3). Therefore, ICER gene might be a functional candidate gene related to marbling in Hanwoo.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
• /
• v.40 no.1 s.106
• /
• pp.126-152
• /
• 2005

In recent years, there are some confusions related to the definition and existence of mountain ranges, which have been described in current geography text books. We contend that these confusions came from the lack of understanding on the geomorphological processes that form the mountain system in Korea. This research attempts to clarify the definition of mountain ranges and offer geological and geomorphological explanations about the formation of them. Based on the analyses of the social and cultural causes underlying the recent debates on the existence of mountain ranges, we tried to identify the relationships among the definition of mountain ranges, geological structure of Korea, and the forming processes of mountain ranges. The current and past mountain range maps were compared with geological structures, geological maps, surface curvature, and hill shade maps. The latter two maps were derived from a Digital Elevation Model of the Korean Peninsular. The results show that we are able to prove the existence of most mountain ranges, which provides a useful framework to understand the geological evolution of Korean peninsular and formation of mountainous landscape of Korea. In terms of their morphological continuity and genesis, however, we identified five different categories of mountain ranges: 1) Uplift mountain ranges(Hamkyeong Sanmaek, Nangrim Sanmaek, Taebaek Sanmaek), which were formed by the uplift processes of the Korean Peninsular during the Tertiary; 2) Falut mountain ranges(Macheonryeong Sanmaek, Sobaek Sanmaek, Buksubaek Sanmaek), whirh were directly related to the uplift processes of the Korean Peninsular during the Tertiary; 3) Trust mountain ranges(Jekyouryeong Sanmaek, Kwangju Sanmaek, Charyeong Sanmaek, Noryeong Sanmaek), which were formed by the intrusion of granite and consequent orogenic processes during the Mesozoic era; 4) Drainage divide type mountain ranges, which were formed by the erosion processes after the uplift of Korean Peninsular; 5) Cross-drainage basin type mountain ranges (Kangnam Sanmaek, Eunjin Sanmaek, Myelak sanmaek), which were also formed by the erosion processes, but the mountain ranges cross several drainage basins as connecting mountains laterally We believe that the current social confusions related to the existence of mountain ranges has partly been caused by the vague definition of mountain ranges and the diversity of the forming processes. In order to overcome theses confusions, it is necessary to characterize the types of them according the genesis, the purpose of usages and also the scale of maps which will explains the mountain systems. It is also necessary to provide appropriate educational materials to increase the general public's awareness and understanding of geomorphological processes.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.401-408
• /
• 2001

The ethanol extract and n-hexane fraction of Commiphora molmol Engl. showed minimum inhibitory concentration of 50 ppm and 25 ppm, respectively, on 5 strains of Listeria monocytogenes at $32^{\circ}C$. The purified substance, C3-3-2 fraction, was isolated by silica gel column and preparative thin layer chromatography from n-hexane fraction of Commiphora molmol Engl. The C3-3-2 fraction showed a strong bactericidal activity on 5 strains of L. monocytogenes at the concentration of 10 ppm in tryptic soy broth medium. At that concentration, the viable count was reduced $5{\sim}6$ log cycle from initial cell number. The n-hexane fraction of Commiphora molmol Engl. showed strong growth inhibition at the concentration of 25 ppm on Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus, at 50 ppm in broth on Salmonella enteritidis, and at 500 ppm on Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The purified antimicrobial substance, the C3-3-2 fraction, was identified as m-nonylphenol by on the basis of the $^1H-,\;^{13}C-NMR$ and EI/MS data. For the application test, the C3-3-2 fraction which was purely isolated from Commiphora molmol Engl. at 100 ppm were applied to minced Alaska pollack and ground beef at $32^{\circ}C$ and $5^{\circ}C$. The antimicrobial substances did not reduce L. monocytogenes ATCC 19113 at $32^{\circ}C$, while they reduced L. monocytogenes ATCC 19113 in viable number at $5^{\circ}C$. However, the antimicrobial effect of C3-3-2 fraction in food system was lower than that of broth condition.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
• /
• v.29 no.6
• /
• pp.633-640
• /
• 2011

Brassica rapa is an A genome model species for Brassica crop genetics, genomics, and breeding. With the completion of sequencing the B. rapa genome, functional analysis of the genome is forthcoming issue. The expressed sequence tags are fundamental resources supporting annotation and functional analysis of the genome including identification of tissue-specific genes and promoters. As of July 2011, 147,217 ESTs from 39 cDNA libraries of B. rapa are reported in the public database. However, little information can be retrieved from the sequences due to lack of organized databases. To leverage the sequence information and to maximize the use of publicly-available EST collections, the Brassica rapa tissue-specific EST database (BrTED) is developed. BrTED includes sequence information of 23,962 unigenes assembled by StackPack program. The unigene set is used as a query unit for various analyses such as BLAST against TAIR gene model, functional annotation using MIPS and UniProt, gene ontology analysis, and prediction of tissue-specific unigene sets based on statistics test. The database is composed of two main units, EST sequence processing and information retrieving unit and tissue-specific expression profile analysis unit. Information and data in both units are tightly inter-connected to each other using a web based browsing system. RT-PCR evaluation of 29 selected unigene sets successfully amplified amplicons from the target tissues of B. rapa. BrTED provided here allows the user to identify and analyze the expression of genes of interest and aid efforts to interpret the B. rapa genome through functional genomics. In addition, it can be used as a public resource in providing reference information to study the genus Brassica and other closely related crop crucifer plants.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.237-247
• /
• 1993

Activity ratio of two radioactive primary fission products which had sufficiently different half-lives was expressed as functions of cooling time and irradiation histories in which average burnup, irradiation time, cycle interval time and the dominant fissile material of the spent fuel were included. The gamma-ray spectra of 36 samples from 6 spent PWR fuel assemblies irradiated in Kori unit-1 reactor were obtained by a spectrometric system equipped with a high purity germanium gamma-ray detector. Activity ratio $^{l44}$Ce $^{l37}$Cs, analyzed from each spectrum, was used for the calculation of cooling time. The results show that the radioactive fission products $^{l44}$Ce and $^{l37}$Cs are considered as useful monitors for cooling time determination because the estimated cooling time by detection of activity ratio $^{l44}$Ce $^{l37}$Cs agreed well with the operator declared cooling time within relative difference of $\pm$5 % despite the low counting rate of the gamma-ray of $^{l44}$Ce (about 10$^{-3}$ count per second). For the samples with several different irradiation histories, the determined cooling time by modeled irradiation history showed good agreement with that by known irradiation history within time difference of $\pm$0.5 year. From this result, it would be expected to be possible to estimate reliably the cooling time of spent nuclear fuel without the exact information about irradiation history. The feasibility study on identification of and/or sorting out spent nuclear fuel by applying the technique for cooling time determination was also performed and the result shows that the detection of activity ratio $^{l44}$Ce $^{l37}$Cs by gamma-ray spectrometry would be usefully applicable to certify spent nuclear fuel for the purpose of safeguards and management in a facility in which the samples dismantled or cut from spent fuel assemblies are treated, such as the post irradiation examination facility.mination facility.

• Food Science and Preservation
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.35-41
• /
• 2007

As the consumption of environmentally friendly agricultural products increases, food safety is at the forefront of public health concerns. We analyzed the biological hazards of 26 species of leaf vegetables and 4 species of fruit according to types of cultivation (conventional or organic filming) and distribution system (giant retailers or organic food stores) using various culture media, automatic bacterial identification systems, and microscopy, Total bacterial count of unwashed agricultural product ranged from $5.2{\times}10^{3}\;to\;1.5{\times}10^{5}\;CFU/mL$ (from 0.1 g of agricultural products), and the average count dropped 25-fold (range, 8-60-fold) after water washing. Microbial levels of washed organic agricultural products were $6.0{\times}10^{2}-1.9{\times}10^{4}\;CFU/mL$, and were not significantly different f개m the microbial loads on conventionally farmed produce. There was no significant difference in bacterial count from agricultural produce purchased from giant retailers or organic food stores. Total microbial count of Chinese cabbage, welsh onion, red chicory and kale were comparatively high, and Enterobacter cloacae was isolated most frequently. Parasites were detected in agricultural products purchased from conventional farm products in the stores of giant retailers, and in organic food stores, and parasite prevalence was especially high in Chinese cabbages and welsh onion. The study indicated that cultivation methods and distribution systems did not cause significant differences in biological contamination levels of agricultural produce. Some vegetables and fruits were highly contaminated effective sanitizing methods to reduce these biological hazards are needed.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.20 no.8
• /
• pp.1254-1260
• /
• 2010

Microorganisms near the plant rhizosphere usually inhabit the surface or the inside of the plant roots and have a direct effect on plant growth by secreting plant growth promoters or antagonistic materials which protect the root zone system from various pathogens. This study was carried out to identify and isolate the antagonistic materials after isolation of microorganisms showing high antagonistic activities, in hopes of contributing to the development of sustainable agriculture and the preservation of agricultural environments. A number of antagonistic bacteria were isolated from paddy soil. Among isolates, RRj 228 showed plant growth promotion and antagonistic activity. RRj 228 was identified as Pseudomonas sp. according to the results of physiological properties and genetic methods. On the basis of the results of anti-fungal spectrum against several pathogens by RRj 228, the antagonistic effect of the isolate against Botrytis cinerea, Pythium ultimum, Phytopthola capsici, and Rhizoctonia solani, especially against red-pepper anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum acutatum, was remarkable. The experiment evaluating the biological control effect by RRj 228 revealed that the $ED_{50}$ value by the RRj 228 culture against C. acutatum, R. solani and P. ultimum were 0.14 mg/ml, 0.16 mg/ml and 0.29 mg/ml, respectively. An antagonistic substance was isolated and purified by several chromatographies from the RRj 228 culture. The $^1H$ and $^{13}C$ assignment of the antagonistic substance was achieved from two-dimensional $^1H-^1H$ COSY, HMQC, and HMBC. Finally, the antagonistic substance was identified as Phenazine-1-carboxylic acid ($C_{13}H_8N_2O_2$, M.W.=224).

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• v.43 no.2
• /
• pp.213-222
• /
• 2016

This study aims to establish a system for the rapid discrimination of Zoysia species using metabolite fingerprinting of FT-IR spectroscopy combined with multivariate analysis. Whole cell extracts from leaves of 19 identified Zoysia japonica, 6 identified Zoysia sinica, and 38 different unidentified Zoysia species were subjected to Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). PCA (principle component analysis) and PLS-DA (partial least square discriminant analysis) from FT-IR spectral data successfully divided the 25 identified turf grasses into two groups, representing good agreement with species identification using molecular markers. PC (principal component) loading values show that the $1,100{\sim}950cm^{-1}$ region of the FT-IR spectra are important for the discrimination of Zoysia species. A dendrogram based on hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) from the PCA and PLS-DA data of turf grasses showed that turf grass samples were divided into Zoysia japonica and Zoysia sinica in a species-dependent manner. PCA and PLS-DA from FT-IR spectral data of Zoysia species identified and unidentified by molecular markers successfully divided the 49 turf grasses into Z. japonica and Z. sinica. In particular, PLS-DA and the HCA dendrogram could mostly discriminate the 47 Z. japonica grasses into two groups depending on their origins (mountainous areas and island area). Considering these results, we suggest that FT-IR fingerprinting combined with multivariate analysis could be applied to discriminate between Zoysia species as well as their geographical origins of various Zoysia species.