• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.25-32
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• 2001

A microwave vacuum (MW/V) dryer was developed for drying short roundwoods, from which woodcraft souvenirs in Korean market are mostly made, and which were hardly dried without defects in a conventional kiln. It consisted of three 1.5 kW magnetrons of 2,450 MHz, a vacuum pump, a load cell of 100 kg and a cavity of $580{\times}580{\times}1,360\;mm^3$. A computer program was developed to switch on or off the magnetrons according to drying schedules, those were based on microwave injection time or the average of wood temperatures. To evaluate the new MW/V dryer the roundwood specimens of rigida pine, poplar and birch were dried. Their log diameters and lengths ranged from 125 to 25 em and from 25 to 50 cm, respectively. In spite of the presence of minor drying defects, the MW/V drying is found to be an effective method for drying short roundwoods. Wooden turneries made of red alder and ash logs were also MW/V dried from green to 4%MC without any degradation. The rates of the MW/V drying were examined for three different lengths of poplar logs.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.167-176
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• 2008

Airborne pollen is known as one of the major causal agents to respiratory allergic reactions. Daily number of pollen grains was monitored using Burkard volumetric spore traps at seven locations including Seoul and Jeju during 1997-2007. Pollen grains were observed throughout the year especially from February to November. They showed similar distribution patterns of species among locations except in Jeju, where Japanese cedar vegetation is uniquely found. Peak seasons for pollen grains from trees and weeds were March to May and August to October, respectively. Tree pollens were mainly composed of pine, oak, alder, and birch. Weed pollens were mainly from Japanese hop, Worm wood, and ragweed. Diameter of pollen grains, which has a typical range of $20{\sim}60{\mu}m$, has close relationship with allergenicity. Allergenicity of tree and weed pollens is higher than that of grass pollens in general. In the case of trees and shrubs, pine trees account for about 70% of all tree pollens. However, pine pollens are weak allergens. The remaining 30% of tree pollens, including alder trees, white birches, and oaks, are moderate to strong allergens despite the smaller numbers. Grass and weeds are also highly likely to cause allergies. Especially, the pollens of Wormwood and Japanese hop are highly likely to cause allergies. Daily fluctuations in the number of pollens have to do with a variety of meteorological factors, such as temperature and rainfall.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.23-30
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• 2016

Powder samples of natural lawsonite (Ca-lawsonite, $CaAl_2Si_2O_7(OH)_2{\cdot}H_2O$) was studied structurally up to 8 GPa at room temperature using monochromatic synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction and a diamond anvil cell (DAC) with a methanol : ethanol : water (16 : 3 : 1 by volume) mixture solution as a penetrating pressure transmitting medium (PTM). Upon pressure increase, lawsonite does not show any apparent pressure induced expansion (PIE) or phase transition. Pressure-volume data were fitted to a second-order Birch-Murnaghan equation of state using a fixed pressure derivative of 4 leading to a bulk modulus ($B_0$) of 146(6) GPa. This compression is further characterized to be isotropic with calculated linear compressibilities of ${\beta}^a=0.0022GPa^{-1}$, ${\beta}^b=0.0024GPa^{-1}$, and ${\beta}^c=0.0020GPa^{-1}$.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.9-16
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• 2008

Ribbed birch (Betula costata Trautv.), Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi (Lamb.) Carr.), and tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera L.), were used as experimental specimens to measure the sound absorption coefficient with various resonator types, regular resonator (Type-R), eccentric resonator (Type-E), aligned resonator (Type-A), and screwed resonator (Type-S). Resonators consisted of the simple perforation by hand drilling. Sound absorption performances of the resonators installed perforations were better than those of untreated specimens. They were varied with the resonator's type and wood species. Increased area by a wood screw gave no significant change on the sound absorption.

• Proceedings of the Korea Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry Conference
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• 2006.06b
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• pp.311-316
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• 2006

The role of short fibre pulp - Mixed Harwood, Eucalyptus, Aspen, Birch, etc for the manufacture of different grades of paper is very well recognized. At the same time, lots of efforts are in progress to maximize the advantages while preserving their own special property. Bleached Acacia Kraft Pulp (BAKP) is comparatively new entry but gained quick recognition. BAKP was introduced to the world market by South East Asian suppliers in the late 1990's. This paper discusses in detail the role and opportunities of use of short fibre pulps. A logical technical comparison has been made between BAKP and another short fibre grades. BAKP being a short, thin-walled fibre shows several similarities with Eucalyptus pulp in terms of good bulk and stiffness. Refining energy and strength properties are very similar, but the shorter fibres and thinner cell walls give an outstanding opacity and formation compared to other commercial short fibre pulps. The collapsed and band-shaped nature gives a matchless smoothness, enabling less calendaring and exceptional printing properties. BAKP is shown to give several advantages to fine paper manufactures, compared with a number of established short fibre pulps such as Brazilian and Chilean Eucalyptus, Canadian Aspen and Indonesian Mixed Hardwood. It is important to consider refining and calendaring conditions to achieve optimum performance. For outer layers of multiply board, Acacia gives excellent coverage due to its high opacity and uniform fibre distribution. Its low roughness property gives improved printability. For tissue products, Acacia gives unique property of superior softness both in terms of hand feel and bulk softness. The high fibre population gives an impression of much higher quality due to the higher opacity and good formation.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.235-240
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• 2018

Betula platyphylla var. japonica (Betulaceae), also known as Asian white birch, is an endemic medicinal tree, the bark of which has been used in Chinese traditional medicine for the treatment of various inflammatory diseases. In our continuing search for bioactive compounds from Korean natural resources, a phytochemical investigation of the bark of B. platyphylla var. japonica led to the isolation of 7-oxo-${\beta}$-sitosterol (1) and soyacerebroside I (2) from its ethanol extract as main components by liquid chromatography (LC)/mass spectrometry (MS)-based analysis. The structures of isolates were identified by comparison of $^1H$ and $^{13}C$ nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic data and physical data with the previously reported values and LC/MS analyses. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that the isolated compounds, 7-oxo-${\beta}$-sitosterol and soyacerebroside I, were isolated in B. platyphylla var. japonica. We examined the effects of the isolates on the regulation of adipocytes and osteoblast differentiation. These isolates (1 and 2) produced fewer lipid droplets compared to the untreated negative control in Oil Red O staining of the mouse mesenchymal stem cell line without altering the amount of alkaline phosphatase staining. The results demonstrated that both compounds showed marginal inhibitory effects on adipocyte differentiation but did not affect osteoblast differentiation.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.120-126
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• 2021

Intradermal skin test (IDST) is generally considered a useful tool in identifying causal allergens in canine atopic dermatitis. Currently, multiple allergen simultaneous test (MAST), an in vitro testing method for allergen-specific immunoglobulin E, is being used as an alternative method. However, there are no reports comparing the IDST and MAST results in the same dogs. This study compared the results of both tests to evaluate the agreement and correlation between them. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the MAST were 76.2%, 64%, and 66.7%, respectively. Moderate positive predicted value (PPV, 50-75%) or high sensitivity (80-100%) were identified for indoor allergens, such as cat epithelia, house dust, and house dust mites. In contrast, high negative predicted value (NPV, 93.3-100%) and specificity (60-100%) were observed for environmental allergens and fungi. Although the agreement between IDST and MAST for all allergens was fair (κ = 0.301), that for each allergen was poor (κ < 0.01), except for birch (κ = 0.158). Spearman's rank correlation analysis revealed a low correlation between the MAST and IDST results (ρ = 0.308, p = 0.001). As compared to the IDST results, the MAST results did not identify the causative allergens sufficiently. IDST may not be performed for environmental allergens and fungi with high NPV and specificity if the MAST result is negative, but it may have to be performed for indoor allergens with moderate PPV and high sensitivity when the MAST result is positive.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.26-32
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• 2004

Chemical compositions and chemical structure of lignin and alkali cooking condition and fiber length of red pepper were investigated and compared to those of woods. The chemical compositions of red pepper were higher component of extraction than that of wood. The contents of carbon and hydrogen of Klason lignin in red pepper were similar to that of pine and birch wood. On the other hand, the contents of oxygen and nitrogen of Klason lignin in the red pepper were higher than that of wood. The result of nitrobenzene oxidation shows that Klason lignin of red pepper was similar to lignin of softwood. The best alkali cooking condition of red pepper was 0.2%-anthraquinone, active alkali of 20% and liquor ratio of 1:7. The fiber length of red pepper was about 0.47 mm. Therefore, the red pepper fiber will be able to use special purpose of short fiber.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.59-65
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• 2004

The present study aims to optimise the process parameters of fish glue and adhesion property through room temperature in terms of curing time and opened assembly time for attaining best adhesion strength to wood (Yellow birch, B. alleghaniensis). The uncured and cured fish glue have been characterised by TGA, DSC, FT-JR. It is observed that with increasing curing time up to 48 H, tensile lap shear strength of adhesive joint of fish glue to wood increases and decreases after 48 H. At 15 min. opened assembly time, lap shear strength increases up to 4833 kgf/cm² and decreases after 15 min.

• Journal of Rhinology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.91-98
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• 2018

Background and Objectives: The present study evaluated the results of skin prick test using 55 allergens at 20 centers in the Republic of Korea in 2006, 2010, and 2014-2015. The aim was to assess changes in the positive rate of allergens according to temporal, regional, and environmental factors. Materials and Method: In total, 20 hospitals were selected based on the population distribution in the Republic of Korea. A skin prick test panel comprising 55 aeroallergens was distributed to 18 hospitals for this prospective study. The 2006 and 2010 skin prick test results were collected and analyzed retrospectively from 20 hospitals, while the 2014/2015 skin prick test results (from June 2014 to May 2015) were collected prospectively from 18 hospitals. Results: A total of 14,897 SPT test results were analyzed: 4,319 in 2006, 7,431 in 2010, and 1,852 in 2014/2015. The overall rate of skin prick test positivity to more than two allergens was significantly higher in males than females. The positive rates of alder pollens and birch, oak and ragweed pollen positivity were increased in older patients. Several positive rates were increased according to the temperature in spring. The positive rates for beech pollen, birch pollen, hazel pollen, oak pollen, Tyrophagus putrescentiae, mugwort, cat, Acarus siro, Lepidoglyphus destructor and Tyrophagus putrescentiae were significantly increased, while those of Cult rye pollen and dandelion were significantly decreased over the three test periods. The overall positive rate for allergens in Jeju province varied significantly from Seoul and other cities. Conclusion: Change in the positive rate of multiple aeroallergens was evaluated in the Republic of Korea over time. Our findings can be used to recommend aeroallergens suitable for inclusion in skin prick test panels in the Republic of Korea and will facilitate further investigation of changes in the patterns of allergic diseases.