• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.333-342
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• 2020

The aim of this study was to define the toxic effects of phenanthrene (PAHs) on the fertilization and normal embryogenesis rates in the two species of sea urchin (Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus and Mesocentrotus nudus). The sperm and fertilized eggs of both sea urchin species were exposed to serial dilutions of phenanthrene for 10 min and 48 hours, respectively. The fertilization rate and normal embryogenesis rate of H. pulcherrimus and M. nudus were decreased in a concentration-dependent manner. The EC₅₀ for the fertilization rate of H. pulcherrimus and M. nudus was 17.48 mg L^-1 and 16.21 mg L^-1, and the EC₅₀ for the normal embryogenesis rate was 2.99 mg L^-1 and 0.36 mg L^-1, respectively. Between the two species, H. pulcherrimus was more sensitive to phenanthrene exposure, and 48 h normal embryogenesis was the more sensitive endpoint. Therefore, the results of this study demonstrated that the exposure of both sea urchin species to phenanthrene caused alterations in egg fertilization and the early developmental stages.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.74-80
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• 2012

Fish contain both the neurotoxin methyl mercury (MeHg) and nutrients important for brain development. The developing brain appears to be most sensitive to MeHg toxicity and mothers who consume fish during pregnancy expose their fetus prenatally. Although brain development is most dramatic during fetal life, it continues for years postnatally and additional exposure can occur when a mother breast feeds or the child consumes fish. This raises the possibility that MeHg might influence brain. We evaluated the relationship between fish consumption and mercury exposure levels in umbilical cord blood of the pregnant women of the city of Tongyeong city, Korea. A total of 159 pregnant women residing in the city of Tongyeong, Korea were recruited for the study between October 2010 and March 2011. Fish consumption was evaluated using food frequency questionnaires including detailed questions on fish consumption. We used ANOVA to estimated the particular relevance between the frequency of fish consumption and the umbilical cord blood mercury concentration, and other various factors. The average mean concentration of mercury levels in umbilical cord blood of pregnant women who participated in our study were $2.69{\pm}2.50ppb$, ranging from 0.01 to 14.80 ppb. The mean concentration of umbilical cord blood mercury exposure was lower than the level recommended by WHO (5.0 ppb), but the mercury exposure level exceeded the WHO recommended in 17 (10.7%) cases of umbilical cord blood. Mercury levels in cord blood of pregnant women were $2.04{\pm}2.00ppb$, ranging from 0 to 8.00 ppb in below 29 years old and $3.18{\pm}2.74ppb$, ranging from 0.01 to 14.80 ppb in more 30 years old. In this study, there was a significant difference for the frequency of eating fish between the groups (p < 0.01). The level of the groups that ate fish 3 to more times per week ($4.15{\pm}4.02ppb$) was significant higher as compared with the level of other groups that ate fish 1 to times per week ($2.63{\pm}2.22ppb$) and none per week ($1.06{\pm}1.44ppb$), respectively. We found that the mercury concentration of umbilical cord blood associate with fish consumption and this was statistically significant and this fact revels that fish consumption is positively related to mercury levels in the umbilical cord blood. We need systematic and periodic research on the general population to prevent mercury poisoning, which can be cause by low-level mercury exposure from dietary intake such as chronic fish consumption.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 1991

Histopathological changes and methemoglobinemia of the eels (Anguilla japonica) reared at six culture farms in the vicinity of Y$\check{o}$su city were investigated under the conditions of $22.0{\sim}29^{\circ}C$, 4.33~7.33ppm of D.O., pH 6.1~8.2 and 0.03~10.1ppm of nitrite from December, 1989 to June, 1990. All of the eels showed no any abnormal state in action, color and blood, but the eels reared in pH 6.0 had planty of mucus and stickiness on their body surface. Methemoglobin levels were 1.03~9.86% of total erythrocyes in Dec. and 5.05~25.69% in June, and poikilocyte levels were 5.8~30.17% in Dec. and 8.67~74.45% in June. These results indicate the fact that the water management of the culture farms was worse in summer than in winter, even though not good in winter. Hypertrophy was found in the gill, hepatic and kidney tissue of the eels in all the culture farms. In March and June, Fish of all culture farms appeared the detachment of gill lamella epithelium cells, pyknosis and sinusoids of nucleus in the hepatic tissue and hemosiderosis in the kidney tissue. The trend of increase in methemoglobin levels appeared in the fish of culture farms with high nitrite concentration, which didn't appear equally in all the culture farms. However, in the culture farms of pH 6.0, methemoglobin and poikilocyte levels were increased independently of concentration of nitrite, and degeneration in the tissue of the gill, liver and kidney was also appeared.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.669-675
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• 2007

The present study was conducted to explore the anti-inflammatory action of $2-hydroxyethyl-{\beta}-undecenate$ (HPS) purified from Cumin (Cuminum cymium L.) seed against periodontitis. From the study in which human leukocyte was employed to detect the inhibiting effects of 5-lipokygenase and cyclooxygenase, enzymes generating carriers of infection like $LTB_4$ and PGs, as well as of collagenase and elastase, organ-destroying enzymes, following conclusions could be drawn: HPS was found to inhibit leukotrien $B_4$ biosynthesis by stimulating more than 97% of human polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMNL) with addition of $5\;{\times}\;10^{-2}\;M$ when $IC_{50}$ was set at $2\;{\times}\;10^{-4}\;M$. Ninety-two percent of enzyme activation turned out to be inhibited when $5\;{\times}\;10^{-2}\;M$ was added in a test to prove inhibiting effects of HPS against activation of PMNL 5-lipoxygenase from homogeneous humans and purified 5-lipoxygenase on the market. Besides, $IC_{50}$ for enzyme activation was valued at $2.5\;{\times}\;10^{-4}\;M$, while the value of $IC_{50}$ for purified 5-lipoxygenase was $2.3\;{\times}\;10^{-4}\;M$. The $IC_{50}$ values of COX-activated leukocyte and purified collagenase were $5.1\;{\times}\;10^{-4}\;M$ and $2.3\;{\times}\;10^{-4}\;M$, respectively. Moreover, the value of $IC_{50}$ for activation of leukocyte collagenase was $2\;{\times}\;10^{-3}\;M$, whereas that for purified collagenase was $5\;{\times}\;10^{-2}\;M$. In case of leukocyte elastase, addition of $5\;{\times}\;10^{-2}\;M$ inhibited its activation by 66%. In case of purified one, however, activation of enzyme was inhibited by 25% with addition of $5\;{\times}\;10^{-2}\;M$. Furthermore, the $IC_{50}$ value for activation of leukocyte elastase was revealed to be $7.5\;{\times}\;10^{-3}\;M$. From the virulence test with human gingiva cell, it was shown that, on the second day of cultivation, 47.83% of the cell had been activated when HPS was added by $5\;{\times}\;10^{-2}\;M$. Even the addition of HPS by $1\;{\times}\;10^{-2}\;M$ featured 68.53% of cell activation, suggesting relatively strong toxicity of the substance against gingiva cell.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.318-326
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• 1991

This study was devised to investigate the effects of flavonoids on carbon tetrachloride toxicity of rats. Through the experiments, the contents of total cholesterol, transaminase(GOT, GPT) and alkaline phosphatase(Alk. P) activities in the liver and serum were determined. The results obtained are summarized as follows; (1) The liver cholesterol concentration of flavonoid injected groups were remarkably increased up to 45% at 2 days after $CCl_4$ injection and then the values were almost recovered to the level of control group at 4 days after $CCl_4$ injection. The increase of serum cholesterol content was inhibited by the flavonoids after $CCl_4$ injection, but the result was not significant. (2) Flavonoids injection was found to have the ability to decrease the elevated serum GOT, Alk. P activities resulting from injection of $CCl_4$ and induce rapid recovery from such an elevated level and the extent of such a decreasing action was greatest in hesperidin injection group. The liver microsomal Alk. P and GOT activities were not affected by the treatment of flavonoids. (3) The elevated serum and liver microsomal GPT activities induced by $CCl_4$ injection were inhibited by the injection of flavonoids.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.515-521
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• 1997

Tobacco plant was grown for 40 days hydroponically in nutrient solutions composed of different forms of nitrogen, like NO$_3$$^{[-10]}$ -N, NH$_4$$^{＋}$-N, and a mixed formulation of NO$_3$$^{[-10]}$ -N and NH$_4$$^{＋}$-N. Uptake response, nitrate reductase, and glutamine synthetase activity at growth stage were investigated to understand the basic knowledge of nitrogen metabolism. The better growth of shoot and root was observed in the mixed nutrient solution than NO$_3$$^{[-10]}$ -N or NH$_4$$^{＋}$-N, alone. The plant growth in NH$_4$$^{＋}$-N nutrient solution was poor due to ammonium toxicity. The pH of nutrient solution containing NO$_3$$^{[-10]}$ -N increased up to 40 days after transplanting. But the pH of solution containing NO$_3$$^{[-10]}$ -N decreased drastically to 3.42 at 20 days after transplant. The pH in the mixed formulation dropped to pH 3.64 at 30 days after transplant and showed re-increase. It is assumed that nitrogen of NH$_4$$^{＋}$-N form was taken up preferentially at early stage and NO$_3$$^{[-10]}$ -N form was taken up preferentially at middle stage in the treatment with the mixed solution. The result indicates that the relative proportion of nitrogen forms affected the uptake patterns at each growth stages. The contents of chlorophyll and soluble protein were high with the mixed solution. Total nitrogen content was the highest in NH$_4$$^{＋}$-N solution and the content also increased by the application of the mixed type of nitrogen. The amount of nitrate in leaves was high in NO$_3$$^{[-10]}$ -N treatment and the amount of ammonium was high in NH$_4$$^{＋}$-N treatment. The activity of nitrate reductase or glutamine synthetase was highest in the leaves grown in mixed nutrient solution than in those with any other single of nitrogen form.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.103-112
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• 2002

Despite the ecological importance of potentially phytotoxic $Al_{13}$-tridecamer and its formation in the simulated condition, it was not recognized in the natural soil environment. Here we performed thermodynamic calculations to examine the stability condition of $Al_{13}$-tridecamer based on the solubility of AI in the Bo horizon of Andisols, Jeju Island, dominantly composed of AI-containing solid phases such as $Al(OH)_{3}$, proto-imogolite and/or imogolite. We have found that $Al(OH)_{3}$, proto-imogolite and/or imogolite may control Al solubility in the moderate acid condition. It means that AI total activity of the soil solution equilibrated with these solid phases ranges from $10^{-6}$ ~ $10^{-8}$M in the pH 5 to 7. Calculations based on the thermodynamic data strongly indicate that the formation of $Al_{13}$-tridecamer closely related to the total activity of AI in the system. For example, for the formation of $Al_{13}$-tridecamer of $10^{-5}$M, Al total activity of $3{\times}10^{-3}$M are needed at pH 4, and $2{\times}10^{-5}$M in the pH 5 to 7. Therefore, this research and the thermodynamic consideration suggest strongly that $Al_{13}$-tridecamer should be negligible in natural soils, especially Andisols and Spodosols, These mainly contain $Al(OH)_{3}$, proto-imogolite and/or imogolite, which could prevent the formation of $Al_{13}$-tridecamer by controlling the AI total activity low. It means that the toxicity of $Al_{13}$-tridecamer with the increase of soil acidification may be considered to be definitely low.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.341-352
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• 2017

Along with Cs-137 (half-life: 30.17 years), Sr-90 (half-life: 28.8 years) is one of the most important environmental monitoring radioactive elements. Rapid and easy monitoring method for Sr-90 using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) has been studied. Strontium belongs to a bivalent alkaline earth metal such as calcium and has similar electron arrangement and size. Due to these similar chemical properties, it can easily enter into the human body through the food chain via water, soil, and crops when leaked into the environment. In addition, it is immersed into the bone at the case of human influx and causes the toxicity for a long time (biological half-life: about 50 years). It is a very reductive and related with the specific reaction that makes wet analysis difficult. In particular, radioactive strontium should be monitored by nuclear power plants but it is very difficult to be analysed from high-cost problems as well as low accuracy of analysis due to complicated analysis procedures, expensive analysis equipment, and a pretreatment process of using massive chemicals. Therefore, we introduce the Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) analysis method that analyzes the elements in the sample using the inherent spectrum by generating plasma on the sample using pulse energy, and it can be analyzed in a few seconds without preprocessing. A variety of analytical plates for samples were developed to improve the analytical sensitivity by optimizing the laser, wavelength, and time resolution. This can be effectively applied to real-time monitoring of radioactive wastewater discharged from a nuclear power plant, and furthermore, it can be applied as an emergency monitoring means such as possible future accidents at a nuclear power plants.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.209-216
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• 2008

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of selenium feeding and supplementation in diet on the concentration of selenium in blood and velvet antler of spotted deer(Sika deer). Three spotted deer were fed high selenium concentration(6mg/kg DM). Absorption and retention rates of selenium were examined by evaluating selenium concentrations in feces and urine. Stress-related hormones and serum biochemical parameters in blood were also evaluated for the purpose of detecting any negative effect by the high level of selenium feeding. Eight spotted deers were randomly assigned to two groups and were fed with one of two diets for 20 days, which were with or without the addition of 6mg selenium /kg diet. Concentration of selenium in velvet antler was evaluated. Selenium concentration in blood of spotted deer fed high level selenium for 30 days was significantly increased(p<0.05), retention rate of selenium reached 59.15%. No differences in level of stress-related hormone and biochemical parameters(NEFA, ALT, AST) in blood were observed by feeding high level selenium. The diet with selenium significantly increased concentrations of selenium in top(0.11 vs 0.45ppm; p<0.001), middle(0.08 vs 0.21ppm; p<0.01) and basepart(0.08 vs 0.15ppm; p<0.05) of velvet antler.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.743-749
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• 2010

Objective of this research was to investigate the effect of various potassium concentrations in fertilizer solution on growth of and nutrient uptake by 'Chugyang' eggplant ($Solanum$ $melongena$ L.). Tissue analyses were conducted to determine the threshold levels of potassium in plants when disorders develop for potassium. The lower leaves of K deficient plants became spotted, yellowing in color, and finally necrosis occurred. The necrosis spread inward and upward. K toxic plants developed necrotic spot at the margin of old leaves and the surface of old leaves were twisted. The tissue K contents in the most recently fully expanded leaves and dry weight of full above ground plant tissue at 35 days after transplanting showed linear and quadratic response to elevated K concentrations with the equation of y=1.127+0.3147x ($R^2$=0.8916) and y=14.92+2.2743x-$0.1402x_2$ ($R^2$=0.8659). When 10% reduction in dry weight set to threshold levels, optimum tissue K contents are in the range from 2.1 to 5.1%. The yield through 150 days after transplanting and tissue K contents at 150 days after transplanting also showed quadratic and linear responses to elevated potassium concentrations in fertigation solution with the equation of y=153.24+345.5x-$18.46x^2$ ($R^2$=0.8620) and y=0.9921+0.3860x ($R^2$=0.9611), respectively. When the 10% reduction in yield is set to threshold levels, the tissue K contents for maximum yield should be around 3.4% to 5.9% in most recently fully expanded leaves.