• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.34 no.7
• /
• pp.476-484
• /
• 2024

Although two-dimensional (2D) monolayer cell culture models are still widely used as the optimal models for anticancer activity research, three-dimensional (3D) multicellular tumor spheroid (3D MTS) models that can better approximate the tumor environment can offer an alternative to bridge the gap between in vitro and animal model studies. Isoalantolactone is among the sesquiterpene lactones found in medicinal plants, including the roots of Elecampane (Inula helenium L.), and is known to have various pharmacological activities, including anticancer activity. In this study, we investigated whether the anticancer activity of isoalantolactone observed in 2D models could be reproduced in a 3D MTS model derived from human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) Hep3B cells. According to our results, isoalantolactone inhibited the formation of MTSs in a manner dependent on the treatment concentration, which was accompanied by an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. In particular, as isoalantolactone treatment and the culture time increased, the area of proliferating cells was replaced by cells in which apoptosis was induced. Additionally, in MTSs, isoalantolactone increased the expression of death-receptor-related proteins and the activity of caspase-3, and it decreased the expression of the Bax/Bcl-2 expression ratio and total poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. However, when the production of ROS was artificially blocked, all these changes caused by isoalantolactone were attenuated and the cell survival rate of MTS cells was restored. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that the induction of apoptosis in Hep3B cell-derived MTSs by isoalantolactone is achieved through the activation of extrinsic and intrinsic pathways and is ROS-dependent.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.147-155
• /
• 2008

Medical nutrition therapy (MNT) is considered a keystone of medical treatment of chronic diseases. However, only few studies have evaluated medical and economical outcome of MNT. The study was performed on the patient with type 2 diabetes mellitus to evaluate the effect of clinical and cost-effective outcomes of MNT. Subjects from two general hospitals were randomly assigned to two different groups; One receiving basic nutritional education (BE) (n = 35), and the other receiving intensive nutritional education (IE) (n = 32) for a 6-month clinical trial. The group which received BE had a single visit with a dietitian, while the other group which received IE had an initial visit with a dietitian addition to two visits during the first 4 weeks of the study periods. Anthropometric parameters, blood components, and dietary intake were measures at the beginning of study period and after 6 month. Cost-effective analysis included direct labor costs, educational materials and medication cost difference during 6 months. After 6 month, subjects from IE group showed significant reduction of body weight (p <0.05) and systolic blood pressure (p <0.05), whereas BE group did not show any significant changes. Result from biochemical indices showed glycated hemoglobin concentration was significantly reduced by 0.7% (p <0.05) only in the IE group. The ratio of energy intake to prescribed energy intake decreased significantly in both groups (p <0.05). Mean time taken for a dietitian to educate the subject was 67.9 ${\pm}$ 9.3 min/person for BE group, while 96.4 ${\pm}$ 12.2 min/person for IE group. Mean number of educational materials was 1.9 ${\pm}$ 0.7/person for BE group and 2.5 ${\pm}$ 0.7/person for IE group. Change in glycated hemoglobin level along the 6 month period of study can be achieved with an investment of \88,510/% by implementing BE and \53,691/% by implementing IE. Considering the net cost-effect of blood glucose control and HbA Ic, IE which provides MNT by dietitian had a cost efficiency advantage than that of BE. According to this study, MNT provided by dietitian had a significant improvements in medical and clinical outcomes compared to that of BE intervention. Therefore, MNT protocol should be performed by systemic intensive nutrition care by dietitian in clinical setting to achieve good therapeutic results of DM with lower cost.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.95-106
• /
• 1998

To reduce the environmental contamination and to utilize fly ash massively produced from the coal power plant every year, we synthesized the artificial zeolite using fly ash treated with alkaline, and then analyzed the mineralogical and morphological properties by X-ray, IR, and SEM. The amount of $NH_4{^+}$, $K^+$, and $H_2PO_4{^-}$ adsorbed by the fly ash and the artificial zeolite were determined with reaction time, amount of adsorbate used, ion concentrations. The results obtained from the pot experiments packed with the top soil, amended with granulated artificial zeolite which was made by treatment of 4% polyvinylalcohol, showed that CEC of the artificial zeolite was $257.7cmol^+kg^{-1}$, that was almost 36 times greater than that of fly ash. The ratio of $SiO_2/Al_2O_3$ decreased but the amount of Na increased. The physico-chemical properties analyzed by X-ray, IT, and SEM represented that the artificial zeolite synthesized had a similar morphological structure to that of the natural zeolite. The structures of the artificial zeolite had a significantly enlarged surface having a lot of pores, while the fly ash looked like spherical smooth shape with having not pores on the surface. Thus, the artificial zeolite was successfully synthesized. The results of adsorption isotherms of fly ash and artificial zeolite showed that the amount of $NH_4{^+}$, $K^+$, and $H_2PO_4{^-}$ adsorbed increased as the equilibrium concentration increased, while $NH_4{^+}$ was strongly adsorbed on the surface of fly ash and artificial zeolite than that of $K^+$. The most distinctive growth of Chinese cabbage was found from the top soil(NPK + soils + 20% of granulated artificial zeolite + 5% of compost). Therefore, we concluded that one of the most effective methods to effectively recycle a fly ash was to make the artificial zeolite as we did in this experiment.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.27 no.5
• /
• pp.501-508
• /
• 1994

This study was undertaken to get basic data for the cold-waterless transportation of live fish. The optimal cold temperature of plaice, Paralichthy olivaceus was determined by checking the changes of dissolved oxygen and ammonia in the sea water and the survival times during storage at various temperatures. After determination of optimal temperature for transportation, the changes of serum components and muscle components of live plaice were also carried out during storage at cold($5^{\circ}C$)-waterless conditions and the recovery conditions($10\%$ density at $15^{\circ}C$). At higher storage temperature, decreases in dissolved oxygen and the increases in ammonia in seawater were observed. In addition, the survival time was short at low temperature($0^{\circ}C\;and\;3^{\circ}C$). Almost all of the serum components(hemoglobin, glucose, LDH, GOT and GPT) of live plaice gradually increased during storage in cold-waterless conditions, and then those values decreased to the initial levels after $3{\sim}10hrs$ storage in conditions of recovery. The concentration of ATP in the muscle steadily decreased during storage in cold-waterless conditions. The contents of ADP and IMP seemed to be directly related to the extent of ATP breakdown. ADP and IMP thus showed a gradual increase during storage. The level of lactate in the muscles gradually increased during these storage times, also. On the other hand, the levels of those components in the muscle entirely recovered to their original levels within $3{\sim}6hrs$ storage after they were returned to conditions of recovery. The ratio of ATP to the ATP and its related compounds${ATP/(ATP+ADP+AMP+IMP){\times}100}$ in the muscle showed $45\%$ after 18hrs storage in cold-waterless conditions. Otherwise, ratios returned to their original levels within $3{\sim}6hrs$ of storage in recovery conditions.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.278-285
• /
• 2016

BACKGROUND: Uptake patterns of ${\alpha}$-, ${\beta}$-isomers and sulfate metabolite of endosulfan (ED) by radishes grown in treated soils with ED concentrations of 2 and 10 mg/kg were investigated to establish soil management guidelines for ensuring the safety of radishes from ED residues. METHODS AND RESULTS: All samples of soils and radish plants separated into shoot and root parts were analyzed for ED residues using a gas-chromatography mass spectrophotometer, and the results were used to calculate the bioconcentration factor (BCF), indicating the ratio of ED concentrations between radishes and soils. During the experimental period, uptake and distribution rates of ED-sulfate in radishes were the highest, followed by ${\alpha}$- and ${\beta}$-ED. The BCF values to initial ED concentrations in soils were greater for root parts (0.0077 to 0.2345) than for shoot parts (0.0002 to 0.0429) and used to obtain regression equations by time. Long-term BCFs estimated by the obtained equations ($R^2$ of 0.86 to 1.00) were evaluated with the maximum residue limit (0.1 mg/kg) of ED for radishes, in order to suggest safe management guidelines of ED for radish-cultivating soils. CONCLUSION: Suggested guidelines showed the significant dependency on duration for radish cultivation and exposed concentration of ED in soil.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.533-545
• /
• 2015

Spatial and seasonal variations in hydrogeochemical characteristics and the factors affecting the deterioration in quality of shallow portable groundwater in an agricultural area are examined. The aquifer consists of (from the surface to depth) agricultural soil, weathered soil, weathered rock, and bedrock. The geochemical signatures of the shallow groundwater are mostly affected by the NO₃⁻ and Cl⁻ contaminants that show a gradual downward increase in concentration from the upper area, due to the irregular distribution of contamination sources. The concentrations of the major cations do not varied with the elapsed time and the NO₃⁻ and Cl⁻ ions, when compared with concentrations in background groundwater, increase gradually with the distance from the upper area. This result suggests that the water quality in shallow groundwater deteriorates due to contaminant sources at the surface. The contaminations of the major contaminants in groundwater show a positive linear relationship with electrical conductivity, indicating the deterioration in water quality is related to the effects of the contaminants. The relationships between contaminant concentrations, as inferred from the ternary plots, show the contaminant concentrations in organic fertilizer are positively related to concentrations of NO₃⁻, Cl⁻, and SO₄²⁻ ions in the shallow portable groundwaters, which means the fertilizer is the main contaminant source. The results also show that the deterioration in shallow groundwater quality is caused mainly by NO₃⁻ and Cl⁻ derived from organic fertilizer with additional SO₄²⁻ contaminant from livestock wastes. Even though the concentrations of the contaminants within the shallow groundwaters and the contaminant sources are largely variable, it is useful to consider the ratio of contaminant concentrations and the relationship between contaminants in groundwater samples and in the contaminant source when analyzing deterioration in water quality.

• Clean Technology
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.79-93
• /
• 2022

In this study, an electronics industrial wastewater activated sludge model (e-ASM) to be used as a Water Digital Twin was calibrated based on real high-tech electronics industrial wastewater treatment measurements from lab-scale and pilot-scale reactors, and examined for its treatment performance, effluent quality prediction, and optimal process selection. For specialized modeling of a high-tech electronics industrial wastewater treatment system, the kinetic parameters of the e-ASM were identified by a sensitivity analysis and calibrated by the multiple response surface method (MRS). The calibrated e-ASM showed a high compatibility of more than 90% with the experimental data from the lab-scale and pilot-scale processes. Four electronics industrial wastewater treatment processes-MLE, A2/O, 4-stage MLE-MBR, and Bardenpo-MBR-were implemented with the proposed Water Digital Twin to compare their removal efficiencies according to various electronics industrial wastewater characteristics. Bardenpo-MBR stably removed more than 90% of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and showed the highest nitrogen removal efficiency. Furthermore, a high concentration of 1,800 mg L^-1 T MAH influent could be 98% removed when the HRT of the Bardenpho-MBR process was more than 3 days. Hence, it is expected that the e-ASM in this study can be used as a Water Digital Twin platform with high compatibility in a variety of situations, including plant optimization, Water AI, and the selection of best available technology (BAT) for a sustainable high-tech electronics industry.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.37 no.12
• /
• pp.696-704
• /
• 2015

This study was carried out to evaluate the optimum operational condition of Semi-continuously Fed and Mixed Reactor (SCFMR) to treat the dairy cow manure and saw dust mixture. Step-wise increase in organic loading rates (OLRs) or decrease in hydraulic retention times (HRTs) were utilized until the biogas volume became significantly decreased at mesophilic temperature ($35^{\circ}C$). The optimum operating condition of the SCFMR fed with TS 13% dairy cow manure and saw dust mixture was found to be an HRTs of 25 days and its corresponding OLRs of $4.45kg\;VS/m^3-day$. At this condition the biogas and methane production rates were 1.44 v/v-d and 1.12 v/v-d (volume of biogas per volume of reactor per day), respectively and the TVS removal efficiency of 37% was achieved. The successful operation with such a high OLR was due to the high reactor alkalinity concentration of 14,500~15,600 mg/L as $CaCO_3$ as a result of the characteristic of the original substrate, dairy cow manure and saw dust mixture whose alkalinity was more than 8,000 mg/L as $CaCO_3$. The parameters for the reactor stability, the ratios of volatile acids and alkalinity concentrations (V/A) and the ratio of propionic acid and acetic acid concentrations (P/A) appeared to be 0.11 and 0.43, respectively, that were greatly stable in operation. Free ammonia toxicity was not experienced due to the long term acclimation by the reactor TS content ranged 7.2~10.4% during the entire operational period.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.101 no.4
• /
• pp.626-634
• /
• 2012

The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of persimmon vinegar as a functional beverage by analyzing the effects of persimmon vinegar ingestion on the energy substrate during endurance exercise. The healthy male adolescents (n=8) drunk persimmon vinegar ingested trial (PSV) or purified water ingested trial as the control trial (CON) 1 h prior to the exercise with the 60% of maximal oxygen uptake ($\dot{V}O_{2max}$) for 1 h. The exercise intensity was increased to the 80% of $\dot{V}O_{2max}$ and remained until exhaustion. And, the physiological variables, blood components, and amounts of energy oxidation were analyzed. There was no significant difference between trials in physiological variables, and the heart rates after exhaustion were higher in PSV compared to CON. There was no significant difference between trials in blood glucose level, while the blood lactic acids decreased significantly in PSV 30 and 60 minutes after onset of exercise. The free fatty acids concentration increased significantly in PSV from 15 minutes to 60 minutes after onset of exercise. The carbohydrate oxidation decreased significantly in PSV from 45 minutes after exercise and, on the contrary, the fatty acids oxidation increased significantly for the same period. And, fatty acids oxidation was higher in PSV compared to CON even after exhaustion. The respiratory exchange ratio was lower significantly in PSV compared to CON from 30 minutes to 60 minutes after exercise, whereas lower in CON after total exhaustion. The exercise time to exhaustion was 41% longer in PSV compared to CON. These results showed that the persimmon vinegar increase the level of lipids metabolism and decrease sense of fatigue by inhibiting carbohydrate oxidation during moderate intensity exercise, suggesting the possibility of using of persimmon vinegar as exercise functional beverage when ingested 1 h prior to the endurance exercise performance.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.31-37
• /
• 2010

Livestock manures have a potential to be a valuable resource with an efficient treatment. In Korea, 42 million tons of livestock manure were generated in 2008, and 84 % of them were used for compost and liquid fertilizer production. Recently recycling of livestock manure for biogas production through anaerobic digestion is increasing, but its utilization in agriculture is still uncertified. In this study, there was applied co-digestate to the paddy for rice cultivation based on N supplement. Co-digestate was fertilizer fermented with pig slurry and food waste combined with the ratio of 70:30(v:v) in its volumetric basis. For assessing the safety of co-digestate, it was monitored the contents of co-digestate for seasonal variation, resulted in no potential harm to the soil and plant by heavy metals. The results showed that soil applied with co-digestate was increased in exchangeable potassium, copper and zinc mainly due to the high rate of pig slurry in co-digestate applied. Considering high salt content due to the combination with food waste, strict quality assurances are needed for safe application to arable land though it has valuable fertilizer nutrient. Leachate after treatment showed that the concentration of nitrate nitrogen washed out within two weeks. Considering the salt accumulation results in soil, it is highly recommended that the application rate of co-digestate should not exceed the crop fertilization rate based on N supplement. With these results, it was concluded that co-digestate could be used as an alternative fertilizer for chemical fertilizer. More study is needed for the long-term effects of co-digestate application on the soil and water environment.