• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.71-85
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• 1997

The purpose of this study was to evaluate concentrations of organic solvent mixtures in air of rotogravure printing workplaces. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of organic solvents contained in the gravure inks used at rotogravure factories had been done. The results obtained were as follows: 1. The gravure inks mainly consist of toluene, methyl ethyl ketone(MEK), and ethyl acetate(EA), and traces of isopropyl alcohol(IPA), xylene, 2-butanol, cyclohexane, cellosolve etc were also contained in them. 2. Thinner used as a diluent consist of toluene, MEK, and EA. 3. Geometric mean concentration of toluene in ambient air were 23.81 ppm at gravure printing of packing material, 42.10 ppm at gravure printing of wallpaper, 16.95 ppm at gravure printing of plastic bottle for beverage and 4.31 ppm at gravure printing of plywood printing or floor covering. Concentrations of toluene in ambient air showed statistically significant difference between types of printing. 4. Concentrations of MEK in ambient air were 12.43 ppm at gravure printing of packing material, 5.47 ppm at gravure printing of wallpaper, 16.78 ppm at gravure printing of plastic bottle for beverage and 16.44 ppm at gravure printing of plywood printing or floor covering. MEK concentrations in ambient air showed no significant difference. 5. Conentrations of EA were 14.30 ppm at gravure printing of packing material, 1.92 ppm at gravure printing of wallpaper and 21.12 ppm at gravure printing of plywood printing or floor covering. EA concentrations in ambient air shown significant difference. 6. Percentage of the workplaces where the ambient air concentration of organic solvent mixtures exceeded the Korean Permissble Exposure Level(KPEL) amounted to 18.03%. 7. Toluene concentrations in ambient air of rotogravure printing workplaces ranged from 0.69 to 156.02 ppm and urinary hippuric acid excretion ranged from 0.10 to $1.32g/{\ell}$.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.20 no.3 s.71
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• pp.78-83
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• 2005

In this study, the evaluate characteristics of fire and explosion of MEK-PO are subjected to spontaneous ignition, flash point and explosion hazard. The minimum ignition temperature and instantaneous ignition temperature for MEK-PO were $188.5^{\circ}C\;and\;230^{\circ}C\;at\;225{\mu}L$. In addition The flash point for MEK-PO was obtained at $49^{\circ}C$. Furthermore, the maximum explosion pressure and the maximum explosion pressure rising velocity: using MCPVT (mini cup pressure vessel tester) were $10.82kgf/cm^2\;and\;33.72kgf/cm^2{\cdot}s$.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.483-486
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• 2021

Catalytic ozonation of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) has been examined over mesoporous MnO_x/Al₂O₃ (MA) catalysts developed by a solvent deficient method using two different manganese precursors including manganese chloride (C) and manganese sulfate (S) at room temperature. The maximum catalytic activities of MA with C (MEK removal efficiency and ozone decomposition of 98.4 and 93.7%, respectively) were higher than those of MA with S (MEK removal efficiency and ozone decomposition of 96 and 68%, respectively). Also the catalytic stability of MA with C was much higher than that of MA with S. The physico-chemical properties of catalysts are well correlated with the activity results, which confirmed that fine dispersion of MnO_x species with high ratios of Mn³⁺/Mn⁴⁺ and more acid sites are attributed to the higher catalyst stability for the MA-C catalyst.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.237-246
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• 2005

Background: Little information is available on the identification and characterization of the upstream regulators of the signal transduction cascades for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tbc)-induced ERK 1/2 activation and chemokine expression. We investigated the signaling mechanisms involved in expression of CCL3 /MIP-1 and CCL4/MIP-1 in human primary monocytes infected with M. tbc. Methods: MAP kinase phosphorylation was determined using western blot analysis with specific primary antibodies (ERK 1/2, and phospho-ERK1/2), and the upstream signaling pathways were further investigated using specific inhibitors. Results: An avirulent strain, M. tbc H37Ra, induced greater and more sustained ERK 1/2 phosphorylation, and higher CCL3 and CCL4 production, than did M. tbc H37Rv. Specific inhibitors for mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase (MEK; U0126 and PD98059) significantly inhibited the expression of CCL3 and CCL4 in human monocytes. Mycobactetia-mediated expression of CCL3 and CCL4 was not inhibited by the Ras inhibitor manumycin A or the Raf-1 inhibitor GW 5074. On the other hand, phospholipase C (PLC) inhibitor (U73122) and protein kinase C (PKC)specific inhibitors ($G\ddot{o}6976$ and Ro31-8220) significantly reduced M. tbc-induced activation of ERK 1/2 and chemokine synthesis. Conclusion: These results are the first to demonstrate that the PLC-PKC-MEK-ERK, not the Ras-Raf-MEK-ERK, pathway is the major signaling pathway inducing M. tbc-mediated CCL3 and CCL4 expression in human primary monocytes.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.104-111
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• 2012

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are zinc-dependent endopeptidases which degrade extracellular matrix (ECM) during embryogenesis, wound healing, and tissue remodeling. Dysregulation of MMP activity is also associated with various pathological inflammatory conditions. In this study, we examined the expression pattern of MMPs during PMA-induced differentiation of THP-1 monocytic cells into macrophages. We found that MMP1, MMP8, MMP3, MMP10, MMP12, MMP19, MMP9, and MMP7 were upregulated during differentiation whereas MMP2 remained unchanged. Expression of MMPs increased in a time-dependent manner; MMP1, MMP8, MMP3, MMP10, and MMP12 increased beginning at 60 hr post PMA treatment whereas MMP19, MMP9, and MMP7 increased beginning at 24 hr post PMA treatment. To identify signal transduction pathways involved in PMA-induced upregulation of MMPs, we treated PMA-differentiated THP-1 cells with specific inhibitors for PKC, MEK1, NF-${\kappa}B$, PI3K, p38 MAPK and PLC. We found that inhibition of the MEK1 pathway blocked PMA-induced upregulation of all MMPs to varying degrees except for MMP-2. In addition, expression of select MMPs was inhibited by PI3K, p38 MAPK and PLC inhibitors. In conclusion, we show that of the MMPs examined, most MMPs were up-regulated during differentiation of monocyte into macrophage via the MEK1 pathway. These results provide basic information for studying MMPs expression during macrophage differentiation.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.471-478
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• 2005

The objective of this research is to improve adsorption efficiency of adsorbent made from MSWI (Municipal Solid Waste Incinerator) ny ash by $HNO_3$ activation. The acidity and the basicity were determined by Boehm's method and the surface structure was studied by BET method with N2 adsorption. The adsorption properties were investigated with benzene and MEK (Methylethylketone). $HNO_3$ activation can modify the surface property of an adsorbent such as specific surface area, pore volume, and functional group. According to the results, the specific surface area of the adsorbent was increased from $309.2m^2/g\;to\;553.2 m^2/g$ by activation. Also oxygen-containing functional groups were formed on it.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.131-136
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• 2005

The ETV6-NTRK3 gene fusion, first identified in the chromosomal translocation in congenital fibrosarcoma, encodes a chimeric protein tyrosine kinase with potent transforming activity. ETV6-NTRK3-dependent transformation involves the joint action of NTRK3 signaling pathways, and aberrant cell cycle progression resulting from activation of Mek1 and Akt. The level of glutathione (GSH) was found to be markedly increased in ETV6-NTRK3-transformed NIH3T3 cells. The activities of the two GSH biosynthetic enzymes as well as of glutathione peroxidase, together with their mRNAs, were also higher in the transformed cells. The transformed cells were able to grow in the presence of GSH-depleting agents, whereas the control cells were not. L-Buthionine-(S,R)-sulfoximine (BSO) inhibited activation of Mek1 and Akt in the transformed NIH3T3 cells. These observations imply that up-regulation of GSH biosynthesis plays a central role in ETV6-NTRK3-induced transformation.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.1579-1584
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• 2015

In photocatalytic reaction, the doping of metal matter can alter the titania surface properties. As such the metal matter can increase the rate of the reaction. The influence of metal doping and calcination condition of $TiO_2$ photocatalyst was investigated at the batch-type photoreactor. Several metal matters were doped to the $TiO_2$ catalyst to improve photodegradation efficiency. During the experiments, water content was 3wt%, and reactor temperature was $40^{\circ}C$. Palladium-doped $TiO_2$ was found to be the best, where as platinum or tungsten-added also showed good results. Additional doping of platinum or tungsten on Pd/$TiO_2$ had no increase on the removal efficiency. To obtain proper calcination condition, various experiments about calcination temperature and time were carried out. As a result, the optimum calcination condition was temperature of $400^{\circ}C$, time of 1 hour.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.1355-1363
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• 2009

In the present study, the neuroprotective effects of astaxanthin on $H_2O_2$-mediated apoptotic cell death, using cultured mouse neural progenitor cells (mNPCs), were investigated. To cause apoptotic cell death, mNPCs were pretreated with astaxanthin for 8 h and followed by treatment of 0.3 mM $H_2O_2$. Pretreatment of mNPCs with astaxanthin significantly inhibited $H_2O_2$-mediated apoptosis and induced cell growth in a dose-dependent manner. In Western blot analysis, astaxanthin-pretreated cells showed the activation of p-Akt, p-MEK, p-ERK, and Bcl-2, and the reduction of p-P38, p-SAPK/JNK, Bax, p-GSK3b, cytochrome c, caspase-3, and PARP. Because $H_2O_2$ triggers caspases activation, this study examined whether astaxanthin can inhibit caspases activation in $H_2O_2$-treated mNPCs. After $H_2O_2$ treatment, caspases activities were prominently increased, but astaxanthin pretreatment significantly inhibited $H_2O_2$-mediated caspases activation. Astaxanthin pretreatment also significantly recovered the ATP production ability of $H_2O_2$-treated cells. These findings indicate that astaxanthin inhibits $H_2O_2$-mediated apoptotic features in mNPCs. Inhibition assays with SB203580 ($10\;{\mu}M$, a specific inhibitor of p38) and PD98059 ($10\;{\mu}M$, a specific inhibitor of MEK) clearly showed that astaxanthin can inhibit $H_2O_2$-mediated apoptotic death via modulation of p38 and MEK signaling pathways.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.328-334
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• 2022

For the study of environmental application of natural zeolites (NZ) and red mud (RM), which are discharged from various industrial fields, the catalytic ozonation of 2-butaone (methyl ethyl ketone, MEK) was performed using the Mn-loaded NZ prepared according to the Mn content of 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10 wt%. By the addition of Mn to NZ, the BET (Brunaure-Emmett-Teller) specific surface area of Mn/NZ catalysts decreased while the ratio of Mn³⁺/[Mn³⁺+Mn⁴⁺] intensively increased. Besides, the addition of Mn component to NZ increased the ratio of adsorbed oxygen (O_adsorbed) toward lattice oxygen (O_lattice), O_adsorbed/O_lattice from 0.076 of NZ to 0.465 of 10 wt% Mn/NZ according to the amount of Mn. It is known that the proportion of two species, Mn³⁺ and O_adsorbed, would greatly affect the catalytic activity. However, the balancing between the paired species, Mn³⁺ vs. Mn⁴⁺ and O_adsorbed vs. O_lattice might be more essential for the catalytic ozonation of MEK at room temperature. Among the Mn-loaded NZ catalysts, the 3 wt% Mn/NZ showed the best activity for the removal of MEK and ozone. The 5, 7, and 10 wt% Mn/NZ catalysts are slightly inferior to the 3 wt% Mn/NZ. Compared to the pristine NZ, the Mn/NZ catalysts showed better activity for the catalytic ozonation of MEK. In addition, the 3 wt% Mn/NZ was confirmed to have the most available acid sites among them by the analysis of NH₃-TPD (temperature programmed desorption). This might be the major reason for the best catalytic activity of 3 wt% Mn/NZ together with the adjusted distribution ratios of Mn³⁺/Mn⁴⁺ and O_adsorbed/O_lattice. Considering the result of 3 wt% Mn/NZ, the 3 wt% Mn/RM was prepared to perform the catalytic activity for the removal of MEK and ozone, but the efficiency of 3 wt% Mn/RM was significantly lower than that of the 3 wt% Mn/NZ.