• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.41-45
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• 2008

Algal fucoidan is a marine polysaccharide containing sulfur with a wide variety of biological activities including anti-inflammatory and anti-thrombotic effects. Although antioxidants can inhibit inflammatory signals through inhibiting activator protein-1 and/or nuclear factor-kappaB activation, it is obscure whether fucoidan directly scavenges oxy-radicals or indirectly regulates oxidant production and/or antioxidant defense system. The antioxidant activities of fucoidan against peroxyl radicals, peroxynitrites and hydroxyl radicals were determined by the total oxy-radical scavenging capacity (TOSC) assay. The specific TOSC values of fucoidan against peroxyl radicals, peroxynitrites or hydroxyl radicals were $282{\pm}60$, $43{\pm}1$ or $40{\pm}1\;TOSC/mg/mL$, respectively. These specific TOSC values against peroxyl radicals, peroxynitrites or hydroxyl radicals are 23, 12, or 13% of the specific TOSC values of glutathione, a positive control, respectively. These results suggest that fucoidan has direct oxy-radical scavenging capacity, which may be related with anti-inflammatory effect of fucoidan.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.28
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• pp.14.1-14.9
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• 2013

Objectives This study was conducted to determine whether nano-sized carbon black exposure results in greater damage in high fat diet-induced overweight rats than normal weight ones and to identify the possible causes of any differences. Methods Two groups of Sprague-Dawley rats allocated by body weight (normal and overweight) were exposed to aerosolized nano-sized carbon black for 6 hours a day, 5 days per week over a 4-week period. Differential cell counts, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities and albumin concentrations were measured in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid, and histopathological findings in the lungs were evaluated. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-${\alpha}$) and interleukin (IL)-6 were measured in BAL fluid and supernatants of lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-stimulated lymphocyte culture. Results Rats exposed to high concentrations of nano-sized carbon black showed significantly increased (p <0.05) polymorphonuclear leukocyte number and LDH activity in the BAL fluid from both overweight and normal rats. Mild histopathological changes were observed in normal rats irrespective of carbon black concentrations. However, severe histological scores were found in overweight rats ($1.75{\pm}0.46$, $2.25{\pm}0.46$, and $2.88{\pm}0.35$ after low, medium, and high concentration exposures). Proinflammatory cytokine levels of TNF-${\alpha}$ and IL-6 were significantly higher in the supernatant of LPS-stimulated lymphocytes of overweight rats, whereas there was no significant difference in the BAL fluid between normal and overweight rats. Conclusions Inflammation and damage to lungs exposed to nano-sized carbon black was more severe in high fat diet-induced overweight rats compared to normal rats.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.144-150
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• 2009

This study analyzed opinions of specialists checking of industrial environment, analysis of bid guideline to select environment friendly railway corridor and choose weight factors. Thus, 7 major categories were extracted from 20 EIA categories and essential supplement request items for environment friendly railway corridor selection. To select environment friendly railway corridors, many alternatives should be compared and the assessment of each alternative must be carried out on the basis of these 7 categories. To solve this problem, the selected method was AHP which simplifies the complex problems utilizing hierarchy, quantifying qualitative problems through 1:1 comparison, and extracting objective conclusions by maintaining consistency. As a result, a GUI-based program was developed which provides basic values of weighted parameters of each category defined by specialists, and a quantification of detailed assessment guidelines to ensures consistency.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.599-609
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• 2017

Desalination plants have been recently constructed in many parts of the world due to water scarcity caused by population growth, industrialization and climate change. Most seawater desalination plants are designed with a submarine pipeline for intake and discharge. Submarine pipelines are installed directly on the bottom of the water body if the bottom is sandy and flat. Intake is located on a low-energy shoreline with minimal exposure to beach erosion, heavy storms, typhoons, tsunamis, or strong underwater currents. Typically, HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) pipes are used in such a configuration. Submarine pipelines cause many problems when they are not properly designed; HDPE pipelines can be floated or exposed to strong currents and wind or tidal action. This study examines the optimal design method for the trench depth of pipeline, analysis of on-bottom stability and dilution of the concentrate based on the desalination plant conducted at the Pacific coast of Peru, Chilca. As a result of this study, the submarine pipeline should be trenched at least below 1.8 m. The same direction of pipeline with the main wind is a key factor to achieve economic stability. The concentrate should be discharged as much as high position to yield high dilution rate.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.21-30
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• 1994

The relationship between bone mineral density and the environmental factors were investigated from the view point of preventing osteoporosis in Korean pubescent girls. The effects of calcium, nutrient intake, physical activity on total bone mineral density, lumbar spine and femoral bone mineral density and total bone mineral content were evaluated 33 healthy pubescent girls aged 14∼16y. A convenient method was used to assess nutritional and energy intake and calcium index was used together. Calcium intake in childhood was estimated by asking whether subjects usually drank milk as children. Eating habits data and history of menstruation were obtained by questionnaire and interview. Average energy expenditure was calculated. Bone mineral density and content were measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry using a Lunar DPX＋Scanner (Lunar, Madison, WI). The lumbar spine(L2∼L4) and three sites in the proximal femur (femoral neck, trochanteric region, and Ward's triangle)were measured. Height and weight were measured, and the body mass index(BMI) was derived from the formula : BMI=kg/㎡ Statistical analysis was performed by simple correlation using the SAS package. The mean calcium intake (736mg) was below the RDA of 800mg/d. Twelve percent of the total subjects did not drink milk at all because they did not like the taste. Skipping meals, low calcium intake and low energy intake were significantly correlated with the low BMD. Also the data indicate that girls who reported drinking milk with every meal during childhood had significantly higher bone densities than girls who reported drinking milk less frequently. The results suggest that milk consumption in childhood appears to be needed not only for growth and development, but possibly also to assure an optimal peak of bone mass and thus greater latitude for the maintenance or skeletal integrity in the face of bone losses. There was a highly significant correlation between the total BMD and overall level of physical activity. Body weight was a better predictor of total BMD than was and other factor. Simple mechanical loading may explain why body weight, but total BMC was positively relatd to height. Conclusively, increasing calcium intake and physical activity in the pubescent girls could influence BMD.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.13-26
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• 2002

In this study, column diffusion tests for Cd and Zn were conducted at $15^{\circ}C$ and $55^{\circ}C$ to investigate a temperature effect on effective diffusion coefficient. An increase in temperature from $15^{\circ}C$ to $55^{\circ}C$ caused up to ten times larger diffusion coefficient for each heavy metal. Besides, it caused the increased retardation of heavy metals, and hence the effective diffusion coefficient should be overestimated as we use an overestimated retardation factor to calibrate the coefficient. The results of sequential extraction analyses showed that Zn was occluded in carbonate phase and this trend was getting prominent with the increase in temperature. As for Cd, it was partitioned mainly in the exchangeable phase(over 60%) at any temperature.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.83-90
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• 2014

An increasing number of recent studies have focused on the impact of particulate matter on human health. As a model for atmospheric particulate inhalation, we investigated the effects of inhaled carbon black nanoparticles (CBNP) on mice with bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. The CNBPs were generated by a novel aerosolization process, and the mice were exposed to the aerosol for 4 hours. We found that CBNP inhalation exacerbated lung inflammation, as evidenced by histopathology analysis and by the expression levels of interleukin-6 protein, fibronectin, and interferon-${\gamma}$ mRNAs in lung tissues. Notably, fibronectin mRNA expression showed a statistically significant increase in expression after CBNP exposure. These data suggest that the concentration of CBNPs delivered (calculated to be $12.5{\mu}g/m^3$) can aggravate lung inflammation in mice. Our results also suggest that the inhalation of ultrafine particles like PM 2.5 is an impactful environmental risk factor for humans, particularly in susceptible populations with predisposing lung conditions.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.249-256
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• 2015

Objectives: Epidemiological studies have reported that vitamin D deficiency is associated with inflammatory disease. Smoking is a well-known risk factor for inflammation. However, few studies have investigated the interactive effect of vitamin D deficiency and smoking on inflammation. This study aims to investigate the interaction of vitamin D and smoking with inflammatory markers in the urban elderly. Methods: We used data from the Korean Elderly Environmental Panel Study, which began in August 2008 and ended in August 2010, and included 560 Koreans ${\geq}60$ years old living in Seoul. Data was collected via questionnaires that included items about smoking status at the first visit. Vitamin D levels, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and white blood cell (WBC) counts were repeatedly measured up to three times. Results: The association of vitamin D and hs-CRP was significant after adjusting for known confounders (${\beta}=-0.080$, p=0.041). After separate analysis by smoking status, the association of vitamin D deficiency and hs-CRP in smokers was stronger than that in nonsmokers (smokers: ${\beta}=-0.375$, p=0.013; non-smokers: ${\beta}=-0.060$, p=0.150). Smoking status was an effect modifier that changed the association between vitamin D deficiency and hs-CRP (interaction estimate: ${\beta}=-0.254$, p=0.032). Vitamin D was not significantly associated with WBC count (${\beta}=0.003$, p=0.805). Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency was associated with hs-CRP in the urban elderly. Smoking status was an effect modifier of this association. Vitamin D deficiency was not significantly associated with WBC count.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.17 no.2 s.52
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• pp.263-270
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• 2007

Tunnel behavior measured by monitoring during construction is a main item for safety evaluation and it depends widely upon local geological characteristics. To assess in this study how much the geological factors influence on tunnel behavior for each RMR factor, a quantification analysis was carried out using tunnel face maps and measurements as explanatory variables and dependent variables, respectively. The results showed that average significance of the influence of RMR factors - R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5, on tunnel displacements are 17.0%, 20.4%, 20.4%, 11.6% and 30.6%, respectively, and this probably indicates that the groundwater condition played a significant role for the tunnel displacement.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.159-169
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• 2004

Surface failures of slopes in weathered soil are caused by infiltration due to prolonged rainfall. These failures are mainly triggered by the deepening of the wetting band accompanied by a decrease in suction induced by the infiltrating water. This paper reports trends of rainfall-induced wetting band depth in two types of weathered soils that are commonly found in Korea. Both theoretical and numerical analyses are presented based on the soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) obtained using filter paper as well as tensiometer tests. It is found that the magnitude of wetting front suction plays a key role in the stability of slopes in weathered soils. Theoretical analysis based on modified Green and Ampt model tends to underestimate the wetting band depth for typical Korean weathered soils. It was also deduced that for Korean weathered soils, the factor of safety drops rapidly once the wetting band depth of 1.2 m is reached.