• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.75-87
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• 2022

Reflux esophagitis (RE) is a gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) caused by repeated reflux of gastric acid into the esophagus. The present study investigated the protective effect of natural mineral water on esophageal injury induced by gastric acid reflux. The cytotoxicity of mineral water was confirmed using Cell viability, proliferation and cytotoxicity assay kit. The protective effect of mineral water on esophageal injury was investigated in RE rat model. The results showed that no cytotoxicity of mineral water was observed in RAW264.7 cells. Mineral water decreased the ratio of esophageal damage, inhibited the increase of inflammatory-protein expression levels and increased the mucosa protection and tight junction proteins expression level in RE control rat. The results suggest that mineral water may have the potential to protect esophageal damage caused by gastric acid reflux and the potential to alleviate reflux esophagitis.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.854-862
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• 2016

As the demand for a clean energy to replace fossil fuel being depleted increases, hydrogen energy is considered as a promising candidate for future energy source. Water electrolysis which produces hydrogen has high energy efficiency and stability but still has a large overpotential for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In this study, $Co_3O_4$ catalysts with different morphology were prepared by spray pyrolysis from solutions which contain Co precursor and various organic additives (urea, sucrose, and citric acid), followed by post heat treatment. For the catalysts synthesized, X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements were performed to identify their crystal structure. Morphology and surface shape of the catalysts were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Surface area and pore volume were examined by nitrogen adsortpion & desorption tests and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was conducted to confirm nitrogen doping. Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) was carried out to investigate OER activity of $Co_3O_4$ catalysts. As a result, bare-$Co_3O_4$ which has high surface area and small particle size determined by spray pyrolysis showed high activity toward OER.