• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.224-233
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• 2018

Thirty-three Early Iron Age bronzes at the sites of Hoam-dong in Chungju and Cheongsong-ri in Buyeo were investigated in order to study the manufacturing technique and the provenance of lead. Chemical analysis using X-ray fluorescence showed that 33 bronzes consist of copper(Cu), tin(Sn) and lead(Pb) served as major elements. Major and minor elemental analyses by EPMA were performed on two mirrors and 2 weapons of the bronzes investigated. The results shows that bronze mirrors from Chungju and Buyeo were high-tin bronzes(> 30 wt%). And 20% of tin and 5% of lead were founded in bronze weapons. Iron, zinc, arsenic, silver, nickel, sulfur and cobalt detected in four bronzes as minor and trace elements. The four bronzes were alloyed considering their function and were not heat treated after casting due to their high tin content. Lead isotope analysis using TIMS indicates that thirty-three bronzes were distributed southern Korea peninsula except Zone 1. As a result, lead raw materials came from various regions in Korean Peninsula not from Gyeongsang-do regions. The manufacturing techniques of bronze ware generalized at this age, and bronze was produced in various sites using raw materials from various sources.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.266-273
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• 2019

Heavy metal contamination in freshwater ecosystem has been receiving increased worldwide attention due to their direct or indirect effect on human health and aquatic organisms. In this study, we investigated biological effects such as survival rate, growth rate, emergence rate, sex ratio and mouthpart deformity of Chironomus plumosus. The survival rate of C. plumosus decreased with the increase in heavy metal concentration as well as exposure time after cadmium (Cd) or zinc (Zn) exposure. The growth rate decreased at days 4 and 7 after Cd exposure and significantly reduced at the relatively high concentration of $50mg\;L^{-1}$ Cd. The emergence rate was decreased at $50mg\;L^{-1}$ Cd and $100mg\;L^{-1}$ Zn. The sex ratio showed imbalance pattern at relatively low concentrations (0.5 and $2mg\;L^{-1}$ Cd) with high proportion of male and relatively high concentration ($100mg\;L^{-1}$ Zn) with high proportion of female (60%). In addition, mentum deformities were observed at high concentration of Cd and Zn. These results suggest that heavy metal exposure in aquatic ecosystem may affect biological and morphological responses, and aquatic midge C. plumosus is a potential indicator for assessment of environmental pollutant such as heavy metals.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.811-820
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• 2018

This study suggests a method of making cheese using soybeans for healthy food for people that are allergic to animal proteins, vegetarians, people on a diet, infants and toddlers. Additionally, the study was conducted to provide basic data that can contribute to the development of a quality control class of Korean cheese and underdeveloped cheese industry. Soybean cheeses have a high protein content and low fat. The free amino acids of soybean cheeses contained 11.48 mg of arginine per 100 g, 9.33 mg of glutamate, and leucine 4.91 mg, in that order. The free amino acids of Company A's milk cheese contained 20.95 mg of glutamate, 8.95 mg of proline and 8.02 mg of lysine per 100 g. In soybean cheeses, there were 2.21 mg of tryptophan and 0.73 mg of cysteine, which were not analyzed in the milk cheese of company A. The contents of the constituent amino acids was 1,070.22 mg of glutamate, 467.30 mg of aspartate and 446.30 mg of leucine in 100 grams of soybean cheeses per 100 grams. The milk cheese of Company A was 1,715.97 mg of glutamate, 798.72 mg of leucine and 685.31 mg of proline. The mineral contents of the soybean cheese were 120.29 mg/100 g of calcium, 0.92 mg/100 g of iron, 0.78 mg/100 g of zinc and 0.40 mg/100 g of selenium, respectively. The contents of vitamin $B_1$ and ${\beta}$-glucan in soybean cheese were higher than that of the milk cheese in Company A at 0.08 mg/100 g and 13.73 mg/g, respectively. Therefore, it is considered that the soy cheese is excellent in nutritional aspect and will contribute to health promotion. It is also suitable for people that are allergic to animal proteins, vegetarians, people on a diet and healthy foods for infants.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2019

We investigated the nutritional components of the major commercial frozen seafood products (MCFSP) [sliced frozen-skipjack tuna (ST), -bigeye tuna (BET), -bluefin tuna (BFT), -yellowfin tuna (YT), fish steaks (FST), fish pancakes (FP), fish cutlets (FC), seafood cake balls (SCB), fried shrimp (FS), shrimp patties (SP), shrimp cutlets (SC)] in Korea. All species of sliced frozen tuna and FST were classified as low-calorie foods; the other frozen seafood products were classified as medium-calorie foods. The MCFSP were significant sources of nutritional and functional minerals: the SCB and SC provided calcium; the FST, FC, and SCB provided phosphorus; the BET, YT, and FST provided potassium; the FST, FC, and BFT provided magnesium; the FST, FP and SC provided iron; the SCB, FS, SP, and SC provided zinc; the YT and SCB provided copper; and the FC provided manganese. The total amino acid contents of the MCFSP were in the range of 6.85-26.34 g/100 g. Glutamic acid was the major amino acid in the SCB, FS, SP, and SC. Fatty acid contents were in the range of 386-2,925 mg/100 g; the major fatty acids in the ST, BFT and YT were 16:0, 18:1n-9, 22:6n-3. The MCFSP were not a significant source of vitamin A or riboflavin.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.494-500
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• 2019

Objective: Feed consumption contributes a large percentage for total production costs in the poultry industry. Detecting genes associated with feeding traits will be of benefit to improve our understanding of the molecular determinants for feed efficiency. The objective of this study was to identify candidate genes associated with feed conversion ratio (FCR) via genomewide association study (GWAS) using sequence data imputed from single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) panel in a Chinese indigenous chicken population. Methods: A total of 435 Chinese indigenous chickens were phenotyped for FCR and were genotyped using a 600K SNP genotyping array. Twenty-four birds were selected for sequencing, and the 600K SNP panel data were imputed to whole sequence data with the 24 birds as the reference. The GWAS were performed with GEMMA software. Results: After quality control, 8,626,020 SNPs were used for sequence based GWAS, in which ten significant genomic regions were detected to be associated with FCR. Ten candidate genes, ubiquitin specific peptidase 44, leukotriene A4 hydrolase, ETS transcription factor, R-spondin 2, inhibitor of apoptosis protein 3, sosondowah ankyrin repeat domain family member D, calmodulin regulated spectrin associated protein family member 2, zinc finger and BTB domain containing 41, potassium sodium-activated channel subfamily T member 2, and member of RAS oncogene family were annotated. Several of them were within or near the reported FCR quantitative trait loci, and others were newly reported. Conclusion: Results from this study provide valuable prior information on chicken genomic breeding programs, and potentially improve our understanding of the molecular mechanism for feeding traits.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.685-696
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• 2021

In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), a heme precursor, on inflammatory and oxidative stress activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in RAW 264.7 macrophages by estimating nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), cytokines, and reactive oxygen species (ROS). We also evaluated the molecular mechanisms through analysis of the expression of their regulatory genes, and further evaluated the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant efficacy of ALA against LPS in the zebrafish model. Our results indicated that ALA treatment significantly attenuated the LPS-induced release of pro-inflammatory mediators including NO and PGE2, which was associated with decreased inducible NO synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 expression. ALA also inhibited the LPS-induced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6, reducing their extracellular secretion. Additionally, ALA abolished ROS generation, improved the mitochondrial mass, and enhanced the expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and the activation of nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. However, zinc protoporphyrin, a specific inhibitor of HO-1, reversed the ALA-mediated inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines production and activation of mitochondrial function in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Furthermore, ALA significantly abolished the expression of LPS-induced pro-inflammatory mediators and cytokines, and showed strong protective effects against NO and ROS production in zebrafish larvae. In conclusion, our findings suggest that ALA exerts LPS-induced anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects by upregulating the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway, and that ALA can be a potential functional agent to prevent inflammatory and oxidative damage.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.11
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• pp.1811-1821
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• 2021

Objective: A trial was conducted to investigate the effects of supplemental levels of Mn provided by organic and inorganic trace mineral supplements on growth, tissue mineralization, mineral balance, and antioxidant status of growing broiler chicks. Methods: A total of 500 male chicks (8-d-old) were used in 10-day feeding trial, with 10 treatments and 10 replicates of 5 chicks per treatment. A 2×5 factorial design was used where supplemental Mn levels (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 mg Mn/kg diet) were provided as MnSO₄·H₂O or MnPro. When Mn was supplied as MnPro, supplements of zinc, copper, iron, and selenium were supplied as organic minerals, whereas in MnSO₄·H₂O supplemented diets, inorganic salts were used as sources of other trace minerals. Performance data were fitted to a linearbroken line regression model to estimate the optimal supplemental Mn levels. Results: Manganese supplementation improved body weight, average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) compared with chicks fed diets not supplemented with Mn. Manganese in liver, breast muscle, and tibia were greatest at 50, 75, and 100 mg supplemental Mn/kg diet, respectively. Higher activities of glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase (total-SOD) were found in both liver and breast muscle of chicks fed diets supplemented with inorganic minerals. In chicks fed MnSO₄·H₂O, ADG, FCR, Mn balance, and concentration in liver were optimized at 59.8, 74.3, 20.6, and 43.1 mg supplemental Mn/kg diet, respectively. In MnPro fed chicks, ADG, FCR, Mn balance, and concentration in liver and breast were optimized at 20.6, 38.0, 16.6, 33.5, and 62.3 mg supplemental Mn/kg, respectively. Conclusion: Lower levels of organic Mn were required by growing chicks for performance optimization compared to inorganic Mn. Based on the FCR, the ideal supplemental levels of organic and inorganic Mn in chick feeds were 38.0 and 74.3 mg Mn/kg diet, respectively.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.743-753
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• 2020

This study analyzed heavy metal concentration, mineral composition, and spectral characteristics of heavy metal contaminated soil samples of cropland and rice field located in downstream of abandoned Okdong coal mine. X-ray fluorescence analysis detected heavy metal elements including cadmium, copper, arsenic, lead, zinc and nickel in the soils. Both cropland and rice field samples were severely contaminated with arsenic showing higher concentration over the concerned standard. The pollution index of cropland samples was higher than that of rice field samples. X-ray powder diffraction analysis identified that the mineral composition of cropland and rice field samples is similar with quartz, calcite, kaolinite, illite, smectite, magnetite and hematite. The range of organic matter content were more widely distributed in cropland samples. The spectral analysis showed that the reflectance spectra and the absorption features of cropland and rice field samples were alike. The absorption features that appeared near 490nm and 900nm were attributed to the ferric iron, and clay minerals such as kaolinite and smectite caused the absorption features at 1410nm, 1910nm and 2200nm. The reflectance of the soil spectral decreased with an increase in organic content. The absorption depths of both types of soil samples decreased with higher organic matter content at 490nm and 1916nm as well as higher heavy metal concentration.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.12
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• pp.1085-1091
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to investigate the value of residue discarded after harvesting a species of pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). This study analyzed the physiological activity and cytotoxicity of a fermented extract and a hot water extract gathered from the residues of the Cheongyang pepper and the Nokkwang pepper. The total nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potassium, calcium, and magnesium contents of the fermented extract of the Nokkwang pepper were approximately twice as high as those of the Cheongyang pepper, while the hot water extracts had similar levels of these components across both peppers. Among the microelements, only boric acid, iron, and silicon components were detected, whereas zinc, manganese, molybdenum, and copper components were not detected in either extract. The total polyphenol and flavonoid contents of the fermented extracts were more than two times higher than those of the hot water extracts for both peppers. The DPPH radical scavenging ability (indicating antioxidant activity) of the fermented extract was higher than that of the hot water extract, while the ABTS radical scavenging ability (indicating antioxidant activity) of the hot water extract was higher than that of the fermented extract. A cytotoxicity test was conducted on the extracts using an MTT assay. Both extracts exhibited weak cytotoxicity at all concentrations for both peppers. These results suggest that the extract of residue discarded after harvesting these peppers could be suitable for functional feed or agricultural materials.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.555-561
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• 2011

The objective of this study is the development of carbon recycle technology which converts $CO_2$ captured from flue gas to CO or carbon and reuse in industrial fields. Since $CO_2$ is very stable and difficult to decompose, metal oxide was used as an activation agent for the decomposition of $CO_2$ at low temperature. Metal oxides which convert $CO_2$ to CO or carbon at $500^{\circ}C$ were prepared using Zn-ferrite by the solid state reaction and hydrothermal synthesis. The behaviors of $CO_2$ decomposition were studied using temperature programmed reduction/oxidation (TPR/TPO) and thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). Zn-ferrite containing 5 wt% ZnO showed the largest reduction and oxidation. Reduction by $H_2$ was 26.53 wt%, oxidation by $CO_2$ was 25.73 wt% and 96.98% of adsorbed $CO_2$ was decomposed to $CO_2$ and carbon with excellent oxidation-reduction behaviors.