• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.87-100
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• 1994

It has been known for some time that dopamine-containing cells are existed in sympathetic ganglia, i.e., small, intensely fluorescent cells. However, its role and mechanism of action as a peripheral neurotransmitter are poorly understood so far. In the present study, an attempt was made to examine the effect of apomorphine, which is known to be a selective agonist of dopaminergic $D_2$. receptor on secretion of catecholamines (CA) from the isolated perfused rat adrenal gland. The perfusion of a low concentration of 10uM apomorphine into an adrenal vein for 20 min produced significant reduction in CA secretion induced by 5.32 mM ACh, 56 mM KCl, 100 uM DMPP and 100 uM McN-A-343. Increasing apomorphine concentration to 30 uM led to more markedly decreased CA secretion as compared to the case of 10 uM apomorphine and also did inhibit clearly CA release by $10^{-5}M$ Bay-K-8644. Furthermore, in adrenal glands preloaded with a higher dose of 100 uM apomorphine, CA releases evoked by ACh, excess $K^+$, DMPP and McN-A-343 were almost abolished by the drug. The perfusion of $3.3{\pm}10^{-5}M$ metoclopramide, which is well-known as a selective dopaminergic $D_2$ antagonist, produced significantly inhibitory effect of CA release by ACh, DMPP and McN-A-343 but did not affect that by excess $K^+$. However, preloading of 30uM apomorphine in the presence of metoclopramide did not modify the CA secretory effect of excess $K+$ and DMPP. These experimental results demonstrate that apomorphine causes dose-dependent inhibition of CA secretion by cholinergic receptor stimulation and also by membrane depolarization from the isolated perfused rat adrenal gland, suggesting that these effects appear to be exerted by inhibiting influx of extracellular calcium into the rat adrenal medullary chromaffin cells through activation of inhibitory dopaminergic receptors.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.353-359
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• 2000

Purpose: Although ${\alpha}$-fetoprotein is one of the most commonly used tumor markers in Korea, most of the radioimmunoassay kits for ${\alpha}$-fetoprotein have been imported from foreign countries. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of a recently developed domestic immunoradiometric kit for ${\alpha}$-fetoprotein (Riakey AFP IRMA $CT^R$, Sin-Jin Medics, Seoul, Korea). Materials and Methods: We evaluated intra- and inter-assay precision, recovery rate, parallelism, and sensitivity of serum ${\alpha}$-fetoprotein measurement using Riakey AFP IRMA $CT^R$ kit. The values of ${\alpha}$-fetoprotein measured by Riakey AFP IRMA $CT^R$ kit were compared with those measured by two foreign commercial kits (${\alpha}$-fetoproteina of Radim and ${\alpha}$-feto.riabead of Abbott). Results: Intra-assay coefficients of variation on three different levels were 5.3% for 18.9 ng/ml, 3.4% for 133 ng/ml and 1.6% for 330 ng/ml. Inter-assay coefficients of variation were 9.7% for 20.9 ng/ml, 3.2% for 137 ng/ml and 4.1% for 330 ng/ml respectively. Recovery rate tests on all three different levels showed within $100{\pm}10%$. Parallelism was also good and the sensitivity was 0.63 ng/ml. There was strong correlation between the measurement of ${\alpha}$-fetoprotein by Riakey AFP IRMA $CT^R$ and that by two foreign commercial kits(r=0.98). Conclusion: The first Korean domestic immunoradiometric kit for ${\alpha}$-fetoprotein, Riakey AFP IRMA $CT^R$, performed well for clinical use.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.291-301
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• 2018

BACKGROUND: Rice is one of the main sources for inorganic arsenic among the consumed crops in the world population's diet. Arsenic is classified into Group 1 as it is carcinogenic for humans, according to the IARC. This study was carried out to assess dietary exposure risk of inorganic arsenic in husked rice and polished rice to the Korean population health. METHODS AND RESULTS: Total arsenic was determined using microwave device and ICP-MS. Inorganic arsenic was determined by ICP-MS coupled with HPLC system. The HPLC-ICP-MS analysis was optimized based on the limit of detection, limit of quantitation, and recovery ratio to be $0.73-1.24{\mu}g/kg$, $2.41-4.09{\mu}g/kg$, and 96.5-98.9%, respectively. The inorganic arsenic concentrations of daily exposure (included in body weight) were $4.97{\times}10^{-3}$ (${\geq}20$ years old) $-1.36{\times}10^{-2}$ (${\leq}2$ years old) ${\mu}g/kg\;b.w./day$ (PTWI 0.23-0.63%) by the husked rice, and $1.39{\times}10^{-1}$ (${\geq}20$ years old) $-3.21{\times}10^{-1}$ (${\leq}2$ years old) ${\mu}g/kg\;b.w./day$ (PTWI 6.47-15.00%) by the polished rice. CONCLUSION: The levels of overall exposure to total and inorganic arsenic by the husked and polished rice were far lower than the recommended levels of The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), indicating of little possibility of risk.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.121-135
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• 2024

This study examined the influence of near-surface atmospheric warming in the Arctic-East Asia region during spring (March-May) from 1991 to 2020 on the synoptic-scale meteorology of dust storm-induced dust days in Seoul, Korea, in response to the Arctic Oscillation. Increased springtime warming in the Arctic-East Asia region correlated with a reduction of six days in the occurrence of dust storm-induced dust days in Seoul, Korea, along with a decline in the intensity of these days by -1.6 ㎍ m^-3yr^-1 in PM₁₀ mass concentration. The declining number of dust storm-induced dust days in Korea during the 2010s was the result of synoptic-scale meteorological analysis, which showed increased high-pressure activity as indicated by the negative potential vorticity unit. Moreover, a distinct pattern emerged in the distribution of dust storm-induced dust days in Korea based on the Arctic Oscillation Index (AOI), showing an increase in negative AOI and a decrease in positive AOI. Although the northward shift of the polar jet weakened the southerly low-pressure system activity over Mongolia and northern China, a reinforced high-pressure system formed over the Chinese continent during dust-storm-induced dust days with a negative AOI. This resulted in both a decrease in the frequency of dust-storm-induced dust days and reduction in wind speeds, facilitating their transport from source regions to Korea. Conversely, on days with positive AOIs, an extensive warm and stagnant high-pressure system dominated mainland China, accompanied by further cooling of the northern segment of the polar jet. A notable decline in wind speed in the lower troposphere across the Mongolia-northern China-Korea region diminished the occurrence of dust storm-induced dust days and also weakened their long-range transport.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.565-569
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• 2007

Purpose : With a duration of action of approximately 24 hours and peakless levels, Lantus is a more physiologic basal insulin analogue compared with NPH. The aim of this study was to compare the glycemic control of Lantus plus Humalog with that of premixed insulin in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Methods : The subjects consisted of 25 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus, aged 12-19 years, who changed their insulin regimen from premixed insulin to Lantus plus Humalog. Daily insulin doses, frequency of hypoglycemia, fasting blood glucose, C-peptide concentration and HbA1c before and 6 months after Lantus treatment were compared. 24 hour blood glucose of 11 patients among Lantus treatment group (n=25) and premixed insulin treatment group (n=10) were self-monitored and compared. Results : 6 months after Lantus treatment, the episodes of hypoglycemia were reduced by 50%(15.1 vs. 7.6 events/month), especially nocturnal hypoglycemia by 67%(6.7 vs. 2.5 events/month). HbA1c was reduced from 9.3% to 8.7% after Lantus treatment. Self-monitored blood glucose of Lantus treatment group at postbreakfast 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes were 171.1, 169.5, 171.0 and 154.1 mg/dL respectively and lower than those of premixed insulin treatment group (259.7, 282.7, 280.0 and 250.9 mg/dL respectively). Conclusion : Compared with premixed insulin, Lantus plus Humalog is more effective in glycemic control and reduction in nocturnal hypoglycemia in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.181-191
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• 2013

Purpose : To evaluate the usefulness of in vivo magnetic resonance (MR) imaging for tracking intravenously injected superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO)-labeled human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in an acute renal failure (ARF) rat model. Materials and Methods: HUVECs were labeled with SPIO and poly-L-lysine (PLL) complex. Relaxation rates at 1.5-T MR, cell viability, and labeling stability were assessed. HUVECs were injected into the tail vein of ARF rats (labeled cells in 10 rats, unlabeled cells in 2 rats). Follow-up serial $T2^*$-weighted gradient-echo MR imaging was performed at 1, 3, 5 and 7 days after injection, and the MR findings were compared with histologic findings. Results: There was an average of $98.4{\pm}2.4%$ Prussian blue stain-positive cells after labeling with SPIOPLL complex. Relaxation rates ($R2^*$) of all cultured HUVECs at day 3 and 5 were not markedly decreased compared with that at day 1. The stability of SPIO in HUVECs was maintained during the proliferation of HUVECs in culture media. In the presence of left unilateral renal artery ischemia, $T2^*$-weighted MR imaging performed 1 day after the intravenous injection of labeled HUVECs revealed a significant signal intensity (SI) loss exclusively in the left renal outer medulla regions, but not in the right kidney. The MR imaging findings at days 3, 5 and 7 after intravenous injection of HUVECs showed a SI loss in the outer medulla regions of the ischemically injured kidney, but the SI progressively recovered with time and the right kidney did not have a significant change in SI in the same period. Upon histologic analysis, the SI loss on MR images was correspondent to the presence of Prussian blue stained cells, primarily in the renal outer medulla. Conclusion: MR imaging appears to be useful for in vivo monitoring of intravenously injected SPIO-labeled HUVECs in an ischemically injured rat kidney.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.42-46
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• 2008

Purpose : Apolipoprotein E (Apo E) plays a major role in lipoprotein metabolism and lipid transport. Many investigators have described that Apo E polymorphisms is one of the most important genetic determinants for cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between Apo E polymorphisms and serum lipid profiles in obese adolescent. Methods : We measured the serum concentrations of glucose, apolipoprotein (Apo) A1, Apo B, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), HDL and LDL-cholesterol after overnight fasting in obese adolescent. Apo E polymorphisms were determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Results : 86 obese adolescents participated in this study. The body mass index (BMI) of participants were excess of 95 percentile by age and sex. Male to female ratio was 1.7 and mean age of study group was $16.2{\pm}1.8\;years$. Mean BMI was $27.4{\pm}2.5kg/m^2$. The frequency of ${\varepsilon}2$, ${\varepsilon}3$ and ${\varepsilon}4$ allele were 8.1%, 87.2% and 4.7% respectively. Study populations were classified into the following three genotypes 1) Apo E2 group (n=13, 15.1%) carrying either the ${\varepsilon}2/{\varepsilon}2$ or ${\varepsilon}2/{\varepsilon}3$ 2) Apo E3 group (n=65, 75.6%) carrying the most frequent ${\varepsilon}3/{\varepsilon}3$ 3) Apo E4 group (n=8, 9.3%) carrying either the ${\varepsilon}3/{\varepsilon}4$ or ${\varepsilon}4/{\varepsilon}4$. No differences were found among Apo E genotypes concerning age, sex, weight, height and BMI. Apo B and LDL-cholesterol concentrations were significantly higher in the Apo E4 group (P<0.05). No association were found between Apo E genotypes and glucose, Apo A1, TC, TG and HDL. Conclusions : We confirmed that serum concentrations Apo B and LDL-cholesterol were influenced by Apo E genotypes. Apo E polymorphisms seems to influence some alteration of lipid metabolism associated with obesity in adolescent.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.684-689
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• 2012

Poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) microspheres is one of the widely-used polymeric materials for the bio-field application and the electric materials. For the synthesis of PAA microspheres, the polymerization technique using surfactants is applied. After the synthesis, the purification and separation processes are required for the removal of surfactant. When general organic solvents were used, many problems, such as huge amount of waste solvent, additional separation processes, and the possibility of residual media, were occurred. Thus, High-pressure Soxhlet extraction using liquid $CO_2$ was developed to solve these problems. In this study, High-pressure Soxhlet extraction of the synthesized PAA microspheres using liquid $CO_2$ was conducted for the removal of Monasil PCA which is used for the dispersion polymerization of acrylic acid in compressed liquid Dimethyl ether (DME). The morphology of the extracted PAA particles was checked by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and the residual concentration of Monasil PCA was analyzed by inductively coupled plasma - Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES). For studying the effect of the solvent effect, Soxhlet extraction was conducted using n-hexane, liquid DME, and liquid $CO_2$. In case of n-hexane, some extracted PAA microspheres were produced. However, deformation was also occurred due to the high thermal energy of n-hexane vapor. Liquid DME could not remove Monasil PCA. When using liquid $CO_2$, the extracted PAA microspheres which were free for the residual solvent were produced without deformation. For finding the optimum operating condition, high-pressure Soxhlet extraction was conducted for 8 hours with changing the temperature of reboiler and condenser. When the extractor temperature is $19.6{\pm}0.2^{\circ}C$ and the pressure is $51.5{\pm}0.5$ bar, the best removal efficiency was obtained.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.498-506
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• 2016

1, 2-Hexanediol galactoside (HD-gal) has been previously synthesized from 1, 2-hexanediol (HD), in which recombinant ${\beta}$-galactosidase (${\beta}$-gal) of Escherichia coli (E. coli) was used for transgalactosylation reaction. In this study, a method for HD-gal purification from the reaction mixture was particularly investigated. Using ${\beta}$-gal-containing E. coli, HD-gal was synthesized from 75 mM HD for 48 hr under 300 g/l lactose concentration. Then, HD-gal synthesis from HD was confirmed by TLC analysis, and the existence of E. coli ${\beta}$-gal during 48 hr-reaction was also confirmed by Western blotting, in which the conversion yield of HD to HD-gal reached about 94% during 48 hr. To establish an efficient method for HD-gal purification, we carried out the solvent extraction of the reaction mixture, followed by silica gel chromatography, particularly in order to remove the residual HD. Two water-immiscible solvents, such as methylene chloride and ethyl acetate, were investigated comparatively to find out appropriate solvent. Then, it was found that residual HD was almost removed when ethyl acetate extraction of water phase of reaction mixture was carried out four times. Subsequently, silica gel chromatography was carried out, and purified HD-gal could be finally obtained. The production yield for HD-gal from 75 mM HD was $8.9{\pm}0.6%$ (n=3) (mole basis) or $21.1{\pm}1.4%$ (n=3) (weight basis). For further study, using purified HD-gal, we will investigate the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of HD-gal against bacteria. In addition, cytotoxicity to human skin cells of HD-gal will be examined.

• Composites Research
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.71-78
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• 1999

To determine the effect of chemical structure of linear amine curing agents on thermal and mechanical properties, standard epoxy resin DGEBA was cured with diaminodiphenyl methane (DDM), diaminodiphenyl sulphone (DDS) in a stoichiometrically equivalent ratio. From this work, the effect of aromatic amine curing agents. In contrast, the results show that the DGEBA/DDS cure system having the sulfone structure between the benzene rings had higher values in the conversion of epoxide, density, shrinkage (%), glass transition temperature, tensile modulus and strength, flexural modulus and strength than the DGEBA/DDM cure system having methylene structure between the benzene rings, whereas the DGEBA/DDM cure system presented higher values in the maximum exothermic temperature, thermal expansion coefficient, and thermal stability. These results are caused by the relative effects of sulfone group having strong electronegativity and methylene group having (+) repulsive property and stem from the effect of the conversion ratio of epoxide group. The result of fractography shows that the each grain size of the DDM/DGEBA system with feather-like structure is larger than that of the DDS/DGEBA system.