• KSBB Journal
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.36-44
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• 1999

The biosynthesis of Lovastatin, a cholesterol lowering agent formed by the filamentous fungus Aspergillus terreus, was investigated in shaking flask. The effects of essential elements in the experimental medium such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphate sources, and amino acids were examined to increase Lovastatin productivity. Lovastatin production in shaking flasks was 68 mg/L in the used medium. Effect of carbon source on Lovastatin production was performed. As a carbon source in the medium, 45 mL/L of glycerol increased the Lovastatin production up to 256 mg/L, which was found to be improved almost 3.5 times in comparison with that in common medium. The optimum concventration of peptonized milk as nitrogen source was obtained 30g/L on Lovastatin production. The severe inhibition of the cell growth and the Lovastatin production were observed in shaking flasks conducted at the medium contained ammonium carbonate as a nitrogen source. Lovastatin production various concentrations of several phosphate compounds was also examined. The addition of either potassium phosphate diabsic or sodium phosphate dibasic increased the Lovastatin production and the optimal level of potassium phosphate dibasic was 6 g/L. Even though Lovastatin contain methionine-derived methyl group, L-methionine and DL-methionine tend to diminish the Lovastatin production. Among the amino acids, L-histidine and L-tryptophan had a remarkable enhancing effect on the Lovastatin production. The optimal concentration of L-histidine and L-tryptophan was 6g/L.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.453-465
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• 2014

Hotspots are top sites in terms of species diversity as the most threatened and most diverse sites which have been used to select priority areas for reserves. The purpose of this paper is to identify biodiversity hotspots through analyzing nationwide spatial patterns of species richness and rarity of Korean mammals. Four endangered mammals and eleven common mammals were selected as target species. Environmental variables as model input data were consisted of topography, distance, and vegetation structure etc. and Maxent was used to develop species distribution models for target species. Species richness and rarity were used as index of biodiversity. The results of this study were as follows. Firstly, hotspots of species richness for endangered mammals were in high elevation and steep mountain areas. However, species richness for whole mammals were high in low elevation of mountains. Secondly, distribution pattern of species rarity for endangered mammals were similar as richness. However, hotspots of species rarity for whole mammals were a little different from species richness. Species rarity was high in both low and high elevation of mountain areas. This study will provide the useful information for a biodiversity assessment, a habitat conservation, a national ecological network plan, and the management of protected areas.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.11
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• pp.1244-1251
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• 2014

Platycodon grandiflorum (PG) has been known to possess many biological effects, including anti-inflammatory and anti-allergy activity and anti-obesity and hyperlipidemia effects. However, little research has been conducted regarding its anticancer effects, with the exception of its ability to stimulate apoptosis in skin cells. There has also been no study regarding PG-induced autophagy. The modulation of autophagy is recognized as one of the hallmarks of cancer cells. Depending on the type of cancer and the context, autophagy can suppress or help cancer cells to overcome metabolic stress and the cytotoxicity of chemotherapy. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate whether or not extracts from PG-induced cell death were connected with autophagy and apoptosis in HCT-116 human colon cancer cells. PG stimulation decreased cell proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner and induced apoptosis, which was partially dependent on the activation of caspases. PG treatment also resulted in the formation of autophagic vacuoles simultaneously with regulation of autophagy-related genes. Interestingly, a PG-mediated apoptotic effect was further triggered by pretreatment with the autophagy inhibitors 3-methyladenin and bafilomycin A1. However, cell viability recovered quite well with bafilomycin A1 treatment. These findings show that PG treatment promotes both autophagy and apoptosis and that PG-induced autophagic response might play a role in the autophagic cell death of HCT-116 cells.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.688-696
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• 2018

Hemp seed (Cannabis sativa L.; HS), an annual herbaceous plant in the Cannabis genus, has been reported to play various biological functions in immunity increase, atherosclerosis, constipation, hyperlipidemia prevention, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer. In recently years, as superfood, the growing interest in the health care benefits of hemp seed has led to increased consumption. In this study, we investigated the effect of an ethanol extract of HS fermented with lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus plantarum KCTC 3107, L. plantarum KCTC 3108, L. brevis BHN-LAB128, L. paracasei BHN-LAB129). An antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus were 13.99 mm and 15.17 mm, respectively. The ethanol extracts of fermented hemp seed by lactic acid bacteria that the contents of total polyphenol, total flavonoid content, DPPH radical scavenging activity, SOD-like activity, and ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibitory activity were increased compared to non-fermented hemp seed. Also, tyrosinase inhibitory activity of the fermented hemp seed (FHS), known to melanin increasing substance was increased. In these results, we suggested that FHS have effects of anti-oxidant, ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibitory activity, and tyrosinase inhibitory activity. Hence, we proposed that FHS has possible to development as functional foods and cosmetics.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.309-316
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• 2011

Fatty liver disease refers to a range of disorders associated with fatty liver, which occur in excessive eating, evident infection or significant consumption of alcohol. This study was to investigate the effects of water and ethanol extracts of Triticum aestivum young leaf on lipid metabolism and accumulation in liver of mice fed with high-fat diet. Male C57BL/6 mice were divided into normal diet group, high fat diet (HFD) group, high fat diet group administrated with 200 mg/kg/day of T. aestivum water extract (HFD-TAWE) and high-fat group administrated with 200 mg/kg/day of T. aestivum ethanol extract (HFD-TAEE). TAWE and TAEE were administrated orally for 5 weeks once at the same time point. Both TAWE and TAEE significantly reduced body weight, food intake and liver tissue weight, which were augmented in high fat-fed mice. The serum levels of triglyceride, total and LDL-cholesterol also were significantly attenuated in both HFD-TAWE and HFD-TAEE groups compared to the HFD group. Moreover, administration of HFD-TAWE or HFD-TAEE reduced the lipid accumulation in liver tissue of mice fed with high fat diet. Levels of total lipids and triglyceride in liver tissues also was significantly reduced in HFDTAWE and HFD-TAEE groups compared to HFD group. The activities of serum ALT and AST revealed in HFD group were remarkedly decreased in HFD-TAEE groups. These results indicate that both water and ethanol extract of T. aestivum may improve the lipid accumulation in liver as well as lipid metabolism in serum, and that in particular, the ethanol extract of T. aestivum may has the potent anti-hyperlipidemic effect, suggesting that it may be a useful candidate for the therapy preventing fatty liver diseases.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.52-58
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• 2015

White ledger usually includes white office paper, computer paper, and copy machine paper. Because these grades need high optical properties, fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs) are widely used in the papermaking process. FWAs are the most powerful and effective chemical used to obtain high CIE whiteness and ISO brightness in papers. The rising demand for white or ultra-white papers has increased the use of FWAs. However, FWAs used in white ledger can restrict its use, even though white ledger is widely used as a raw material in paperboard mills. Therefore, it is necessary to develop methods to control FWAs from white ledger to increase its use in paperboard mills. In this study, the behaviors of disulpho fluorescent whitening agent (D-FWA), tetrasulpo fluorescent whitening agent (T-FWA), and hexasulpho fluorescent whitening agent (H-FWA) during the recycling process were identified as a first step to remove FWAs from white ledger. We prepared four types of papers (dyed with D-FWA, T-FWA, and H-FWA), disintegrated these papers, and made handsheets. This recycling process was carried out three times in a laboratory. After each round of recycling, the hand-sheets' CIE whiteness and fluorescence index were measured, and the distribution of FWAs in the Z-direction was observed using CLSM images. FWA reductions in the model papers were calculated using fluorescence indices as a function of the number of recycling. FWAs in handsheets containing T-FWA and H-FWA decreased linearly as a function of the number of recycling, but D-FWA did not show a significant reduction in the fluorescence index after recycling. T-FWA and H-FWA showed similar distributions of D-FWA after recycling. Therefore, as much T-FWA and H-FWA as possible must be detached in the early processes of papermaking at paperboard mills.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.69-79
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• 2011

In this study, empirical site amplifications and S-wave velocity profiles for shallow and deep soils are estimated using earthquake ground motion records in metropolitan Manila, the Philippines. We first apply a spectral inversion technique to the earthquake records to estimate effects of source, path, and local site amplification. The earthquake data used were obtained during 36 moderate earthquakes at 10 strong-motion stations of an earthquake observation network in Manila. The estimated Q value of the propagation path is modelled as $54.6f^{1.1}$. Most of the source spectra can be approximated with the omega-square model. The site amplifications show characteristic features according to surface geological conditions. The amplifications at the sites in the coastal lowland and Marikina Valley shows predominant peaks at frequencies from 1 to 5 Hz, while those in the central plateau are characterised by no dominant peaks. These site amplifications are inverted to subsurface S-wave velocity. We, next, discuss the relationship between the amplifications and average S-wave velocity in the top 30m of the S-wave velocity profiles. The amplifications at low frequencies are well correlated with the averaged S-wave velocity. However, high-frequency amplifications cannot be sufficiently explained by the averaged S-wave velocity in the top 30 m. They are correlated more with the average of S-wave velocity over depths less than 30 m.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.15 no.3 s.71
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• pp.58-65
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• 2006

The applicability of the waste pulp which produced in the paper recycling process as an adsorbent for the treatment of $Ni^{2+}$ ion in wastewater has been investigated taking the initial concentration of adsorbate, temperature, the amount of adsorbent, and solution pH as the experimental variables. In addition, the effect of the concentration of coexisting solute and pre-treatment of adsorbent on the adsorbability of $Ni^{2+}$ ion were also examined. The electrokinetic potential of waste pulp was observed to be positive below pH 7.8 and negative above this pH. The adsorption reaction of $Ni^{2+}$ ion reached its equilibrium within 4 hours after the reaction was initiated and the adsorbed amount of adsorbate was found to increase with its initial concentration. The adsorbability of $Ni^{2+}$ was raised with temperature so that its adsorption reaction was considered to be exothermic, which was substantiated by thermodynamic calculation. Also, the adsorbed amount of $Ni^{2+}$ was raised with the amount of waste pulp and with pH in the range of pH $3{\sim}6$. This behavior of the adsorption of $Ni^{2+}$ according to the solution pH was well agreed with the electrokinetic characteristics of waste pulp in solution. The amount of coexisting solute was observed to reversely affect on the $Ni^{2+}$ adsorption onto waste pulp under the experimental conditions. With regard to the pre-treatment of adsorbent with NaOH, the adsorbability of $Ni^{2+}$ was increased with the concentration of NaOH to a certain extent. However, it was found to decrease contrarily when the concentration of NaOH became too high.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.200-206
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• 2008

We investigated the effect of rice embryo and embryo jelly with black rice bran pigment on lipid metabolism and antioxidant activity. Thirty 4-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed high cholesterol diets supplemented with 15% rice embryo and 25% embryo jelly added black rice bran pigment, respectively, for 6 weeks. Plasma and hepatic lipid profile, lipid peroxidation, and the activity of antioxidant scavenger enzymes in liver were examined. Supplementation with rice embryo and embryo jelly had no effect on food intakes in high cholesterol-fed rats. The plasma triglyceride concentration was not significantly different among the groups. Supplementation with rice embryo and embryo jelly resulted in lower plasma and hepatic total cholesterol (TC) concentration and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C)/TC ratio and atherogenic index compared to the control group, while the plasma HDL-C concentration tended to elevated. Rice embryo and embryo jelly tended to lower plasma and hepatic levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances than the control group. Moreover, hepatic antioxidant enzyme activities, including superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase, were significantly higher in the rice embryo and embryo jelly groups. In conclusion, rice embryo and embryo jelly was very effective in improving the lipid metabolism and reducing oxidative stress by up-regulating the hepatic antioxidant enzymes in high cholesterol-fed rats.

• The Journal of the Korean life insurance medical association
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• v.25
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• pp.9-24
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• 2006

지속적으로 증가 하고 있는 악성 종양 발병률의 증가, 생존률의 향상, 조기발견의 증가 등이 암 기왕자의 보험 수요 상승을 가져오고 있으며, 보험시장에서 더 이상 암 기왕자를 도외시하기 어렵게 만들고 있다. 그러나, 현재 국내에서는 암 기왕자를 인수할 수 있는 상품과 언더라이팅 인수 기법이 부족한 실정이다. 본 논문은 이러한 상황 하에서 기존에 거절체로 인식되었던 암 기왕자의 적극적인 인수를 위해 악성종양에 대한 보험 의학적인 고찰과 사망률, 위험도에 대해 분석하고, 국내에서 암 기왕자의 보험 인수 시 문제점과 그 해결방안을 모색해 보았다. 종양은 종양세포의 성장과 확산의 정도를 나타내는 병기와 조직학적 등급에 의해 그 예후와 경과가 예측 가능하며, 이 병기를 표준화하려는 국제적 시도로 1977년 American Joint Committee on Cancer(AJCC)는 TNM system 을 제시하였다. 병기를 기초로 치료의 결정도 함께 이루어지는데, 주요 치료법을 수술, 방사선치료, 항암치료, 면역요법이 있다. 이러한 치료법들은 후기 부작용을 일으키거나 이차성 암(Secondary malignant neoplasm)의 원인이 되기도 한다. 병기에 따른 암환자의 사망률을 살펴 보면, 암은 일정시기 동안 사망률이 급격히 증가하다가 이후에 점차 사망률이 감소하고, 그 이후에는 사망률에 영향을 미치지 않는다. 이러한 사망률 변화의 특성은 암 기왕자에게 평준식 정액 할증법(Per mille flat extra)의 적용이 적절함을 보여준다. 그러나, 현재 국내에서는 악성 종양 기왕자를 위한 상품이 전무한 상태이며, 암의 병리적 병기와 치료에 관련된 정보를 얻을 수 있는 도구도 부족하고, 명확한 인수 기법이 없다. 또한, 자체의 경험통계의 부족으로 위험에 대한 부담감이 큰 것이 현실이다. 하지만, 병기에 따른 사망률의 변화에서도 알 수 있듯이 평준식 정액 할증법의 도입이나, 악성종양의 병기(Stage)별 정액 할증률을 삭감법으로 전환하는 기준을 개발한다면, 종신보험은 충분히 인수가 가능하다. 또한, CI 보험도 암에 대한 부담보를 하는 선진사의 인수 기법을 도입하거나, 암 기왕자만을 위한 CI 상품을 개발하는 등 새로운 인수 기법을 모색한다면, 암기왕자 인수의 폭은 넓어질 것이다. 이와 같은 노력과 함께, 언더라이팅의 정보 획득을 위한 암 기왕자만의 고지서를 개발하고, 전문 언더라이터의 양성을 위한 노력을 게을리 하지 않는다면, 암기왕자를 적극적으로 인수할 수 있을 것이다. 앞으로 국내 보험사가 위와 같은 노력을 지속적으로 해 나가고, 비교적 예후와 경과가 양호한 0기와 1기 암 기왕자부터 단계적으로 종신보험의 인수를 시도한다면, 비교적 안전하게 경험치를 축적할 수 있을 것이다. 뿐만 아니라 국내 보험업계는 새로운 시장의 확보와 보험에 대한 대외 이미지 개선이라는 효과도 함께 얻게 될 것이다.