• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.159-164
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• 2014

In this study, functionality of products of silkworm hemolymph fermented by Bacillus species was studied such as cell viability, antioxidant effect, and inhibitory effect on tyrosinase activities. A matured silkworm hemolymph was degraded by fermentation with Bacillus subtilis 10854 and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens M27. Especially, proteins of matured silkworm hemolymph were degraded to 3,000 Da by fermentation with B. amyloliquefaciens M27. Cell viability for MTT assay was higher than PBS in hemolymph and fermented hemolymph. A DPPH free radical scavenging activity of fermented hemolymph was as higher as Vitamin C and dependent on sample concentrations. Thus, these results suggest that degraded hemolymph fermented by B. amyloliquefaciens M27 may have antioxidant properties as a material for cosmetics.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.43-48
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• 2014

In this paper, we made a new polycationic polymeric liposome composed of low molecular weight polyethylenimine (PEI) and 10,12-pentacosadiynoic acid (PCDA). PCDA liposome was prepared by ultraviolet irradiation. PEI was further conjugated on the surface of the polymerized PCDA liposome using coupling reagents to make PCDA-PEI. The blue-to-red transition of PCDA liposome was observed during the coupling reaction. The size distribution of liposome and complexes with plasmid DNA was measured by dynamic light scattering (DLS). The complex formation was also identified by agarose gel electrophoresis and PicoGreen reagent assay. We confirmed the complex formation of the polymeric liposome with DNA and then performed transfection and cytotoxicity assay in HEK 293 and HeLa cells. As a result, PCDA-PEI showed significant gene transfection efficiency and low cytotoxicity. This study shows that PEI-conjugated PCDA liposome could be an efficient gene or drug delivery carrier.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1316-1320
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• 2018

The effects of a green tea extract (GTE) were examined using the MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line. Cell viability assays using 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays revealed that GTE had a significant cytotoxic effect on MCF-7 cells, depending on the concentration of GTE. Western blotting of p53 and its related proteins, p21/cip1 and CDK2, after GTE treatment revealed that a significant and concentration dependent increase in p53 protein in response to GTE. The levels of p21/cip1 proteins were also increased at low GTE concentrations were significantly increased even at the highest GTE concentrations. However, the level of CDK2 was significantly decreased by treatment with high concentrations of GTE. These results indicate that treatment with GTE increased the p53 level in MCF-7 cells, and this activation of p53 markedly elevated the levels of p21/cip1proteins, which, in turn, inhibited CDK2 expression in the MCF-7 cells. The inhibition of CDK2 expression might then affect cell cycle progression. Subsequent FACS analysis indicated that GTE treatment the gradually increased progression of the MCF-7 to the G1 phase. These results clearly demonstrate that the anti-tumor effect of GTE in MCF-7 cells is regulated by p53 arrest of the MCF-7 cells at the G1 stage of cell cycle.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.147-154
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• 2018

Currently, to overcome low therapeutic efficiencies and side effects of anticancer agents, the study of drug carrier based on polymers have been consistently investigated. Although the traditional drug carrier based on polymers displayed an excellent result and significant progress, there has been a problem with the side effect and low therapeutic efficiency because of the premature drug release before reached to the targeted region by the low stability in blood stream and sustained drug release. In this review article, to improve the problem of inefficient drug release, methods were suggested, which can maximize the therapeutic efficiency by increasing the stability in the blood stream and triggering drug release at the target site by introducing a stimuli-responsive substance to the non-toxic and biocompatible natural polymer chitosan.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2014.11a
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• pp.27-28
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• 2014

투명전극이란 전기 전도도를 갖는 동시에 가시광선 영역에서 빛을 투과하는 성질을 가지는 소재이다. 일반적으로 가시광선 영역(380nm~780nm)에서 80%이상의 광 투과도를 가지며, 비저항이 $10^{-3}{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$ 이하, optical band gap 이 3.3 eV 이상인 물질을 TCO(Transparent Conducting oxide)라고 한다. 현재까지 국내의 TCO 관련 연구는 터치패널, 디스플레이, 태양전지 등 광전자분야에서 가장 널리 사용되고 있는 ITO(Sn:In2O3)에 치중되어 있으며, 관련 연구도 거의 디스플레이 맞춤형 연구개발이 주류를 이루어왔다. ITO가 전기전도성이 우수하고 동시에 가시광선 영역에서의 투과율도 80%이상으로 전기적, 광학적 특성이 우수하다는 장점을 가지고 있으나, In의 희소성으로 인한 고가격, 유독성, 접착력 문제 때문에 이를 대체하기 위해 제조원가가 ITO에 비하여 월등히 저렴하고 내화학성과 내마모성이 우수하면서도, 가시광선 영역에서의 광투과율이 80%이상으로 좋다는 $SnO_2$에 관한 연구가 활발히 진행되어 왔다. 적절한 dopant를 첨가하여 $SnO_2$자체의 높은 광학적 투과도를 유지하면서 전기전도성을 더 높일수 있고, 투명전극이 가져야 할 고온 안정성을 가지고 있으며 비독성이고 수소 플라즈마에 대한 내성이 더 클 뿐만 아니라 저온에서 성장이 가능하다. $SnO_2$의 전기 전도도를 높이기 위한 Al, In, Ga, B와 같은 3족 원소가 $SnO_2$의 n형 dopant로 널리 사용되고 있다. 그 중 Al은 반응성이 커서 박막 증착 중에 산화되기 쉬운 반면, 전기적 특성 및 광학적 특성의 향상을 이룰 수 있다. 본 연구에서는 Rf Sputtering법을 사용하여 quartz기판 위에 다층박막 형태의 투명전도막을 제작한 후, 열처리를 수행, 이에 의한 다층박막 내 계면간 상호확산 현상을 이용하여 투명 전도막의 특성변화를 관찰하였다. 박막의 구조적 특성은 XRD장비를 사용하여 분석하였으며, 전기적, 광학적 특성은 각각 표면저항기, 홀 측정 장비, 그리고 UV-VIS-NI를 사용하여 확인하였다.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.87-96
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• 2007

Risk assessment was carried out in order to improve the remediation and management strategy on a contaminated gunnery site, where a flood control reservoir is under construction nearby. Six chemicals, including explosive chemicals and heavy metals, which were suspected to possess risk to humans by leaching events from the site were the target pollutants for the assessment. A site-specific conceptual site model was constructed based on effective, reasonable exposure pathways to avoid any overestimation of the risk. Also, conservative default values were adapted to prevent underestimation of the risk when site-specific values were not available. The risks of the six contaminants were calculated by API's Decision Support System for Exposure and Risk Assessment with several assumptions. In the crater-formed-area(Ac), the non-carcinogenic risks(i.e., HI values) of TNT(Tri-Nitro-Toluene) and Cd were slightly larger than 1, and for RDX(Royal Demolition Explosives), over 50. The total non-carcinogenic risk of the whole gunnery range calculated to a significantly high value of 62.5. Carcinogenicity of Cd was estimated to be about $10^{-3}$, while that of Pb was about $5\;{\times}\;10^{-4}$, which greatly exceeded the generally acceptable carcinogenic risk level of $10^{-4}{\sim}10^{-6}$. The risk assessment results suggest that an immediate remediation practice for both carcinogens and non-carcinogens are required before the reservoir construction. However, for more accurate risk assessment, more specific estimations on condition shifts due to the construction of the reservoir are required, and more over, the effects of the pollutants to the ecosystem is also necessary to be evaluated.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.112-122
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• 2023

To restore the ecological function of contaminated soil and maximize the ecological services provided by the soil, besides the toxicity orrisk caused by pollutants, the functional aspects of the soil ecosystem should be considered. In this study, a method for evaluating the health of cleaned soil was presented, and the applicability of the proposed evaluation method was examined by applying it to soil treated with washing and landfarming. Productivity, habitat, water retention capacity, nutrient cycling, carbon retention capacity, and buffering capacity were used as soil health evaluation indicators. The results showed that the soil health was not completely recovered after remediation, and even in the case of the washed soil, the health was lower than before remediation. On the other hand, there was no significant change in soil quality due to oil pollution, but soil health deteriorated. Unlike the slightly improved soil quality after landfarming treatment, soil health was not completely restored. Therefore, the results of this study indicate that it is desirable to consider both soil quality and health when evaluating the remediation effect. The soil health evaluation method proposed in this study can be usefully utilized for the sustainable use of cleaned soil and to promote ecosystem services.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.605-614
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• 2018

Bee pollen has an outer wall which is resistant to both acidic and basic solutions and even the digestive enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, the oral bioavailability of bee pollen is only 10-15%. A previous study reported on wet-grinding technology which increased the extraction of active ingredients from bee pollen by 11 times. This study was designed to investigate the safety of wet-ground bee pollen. First, a single dose of wet-ground bee pollen was tested in both rats and beagle dogs at dosages of 5, 10, and 20 g/kg and 1.5, 3, and 6 g/kg, respectively. In rats, compound-colored stools were found in those administered 10 g/kg or more of wet-ground bee pollen. In beagle dogs, 6 g/kg of wet-ground bee pollen induced diarrhea in one male for four hours. However, no obvious clinical signs were found through the end of the experiment in rats and beagle dogs. In addition, no histological abnormality was found in all animals. The data indicates that a single dose of up to 20 g/kg of wet-ground bee pollen is safe. Next, the genetic toxicity of nano-sized bee pollen was tested. This study employed a bacterial reverse mutation test, a micronucleus assay, and a chromosomal aberration assay. In the micronucleus assay, there was no genetic toxicity up to the dosage of 2 g/kg. There was also no genetic toxicity in the bacterial reverse mutation test and chromosomal aberration assay. This data provides important information in developing nano-sized bee pollen into more advanced functional foods and herbal medicines.

• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.43-50
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• 2011

Hibiscus cannabinus L. is a plant in the Malvaceae family, that was seeded at June 1st in 2010 and harvested at November 18th. The present study was designated to investigate the safety for host cells, antibacterial effects of Hibiscus cannabinus L. of flower (HCME-F) or leaf (HMEF-L) methanol extract for typical Gram's positive bacteria (St. aureus and Str. epidermidis) or Gram's negative bacteria (S. typhimurium and E. coli). In treatment of different concentrations of HCME-F or HMEF-L (1, 50 and $100{\mu}g/ml$), cytotoxic effects were not shown to RAW 264.7 cells until 24 h incubation. In determination of antibacterial activity of HCME-F or HMEF-L, the antibacterial activities for St. aureus and Str. epidermidis were markedly increased compared to that of untreated control group, but antibacterial activity of HCME-F or HMEF-L for S. typhimurium and E. coli were not changed. Taken together, we demonstrated that methanol extract of HCME-F or HMEF-L showed the safety for RAW 264.7 cells and antibacterial activities for Gram's positive pathogenic bacteria St. aureus and Str. epidermidis. These findings suggest that a methanol extract of Kenaf flower or leaf may be useful alternatives of conventional chemotherapies for dermatitis and mastitis causing Gram's positive pathogens such as Stapylococcus spp. and Streptococcus spp. in domestic animals and humans.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.488-498
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• 2003

Background : Activation of the transcription factor NF-${\kappa}B$ has been shown to protect cells from tumor necrosis factor-alpha, chemotherapy, and radiation-induced apoptosis. NF-${\kappa}B$-dependent cIAP expression is a major antiapoptotic mechanism for that. NF-${\kappa}B$ activation and cIAP expression in A549 lung cancer cells which is relatively resistant to radiation-induced cell death were investigated for the mechanism of radioresistance. Materials and methods : We used A549 lung cancer cells and Clinac 1800C linear accelerator for radiation. Cell viability test was done by MTT assay. NF-${\kappa}B$ activation was tested by luciferase reporter gene assay, Western blot for $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$ degradation, and electromobility shift assay. For blocking ${\kappa}B$, MG132 and transfection of $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$-superrepressor plasmid construct were used. cIAP expression was analyzed by RT-PCR and cIAP2 promoter activity was performed using luciferase assay system. Results : MTT assay showed that cytotoxicity even 48 hr after radiation in A549 cells were less than 20%. Luciferas assay demonstrated weak NF-${\kappa}B$ activation of $1.6{\pm}0.2$ fold compared to PMA-induced $3.4{\pm}0.9$ fold. Radiation-induced $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$ degradation was observed in Western blot and NF-${\kappa}B$ DNA binding was confirmed by EMSA. However, blocking NF-${\kappa}B$ using MG132 and $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$-superrepressor transfection did not show any sensitizing effect for radiation-induced cell death. The result of RT-PCR for cIAP1 & 2 expression was negative induction while TNF-${\alpha}$ showed strong expression for cIAP1 & 2. The cIAP2 promoter activity also did not show any change compared to positive control with TNF-${\alpha}$. Conclusion : We conclude that activation of NF-${\kappa}B$ does not determine the intrinsic radiosensitivity of cancer cells, at least for the cell lines tested in this study.