• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.91-96
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• 2012

AC and ZnS modified $TiO_2$ composites (AC/ZnS/$TiO_2$) were prepared using a sol-gel method. The composite obtained was characterized by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area measurements, X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis, and according to the UV-vis absorption spectra (UV-vis). XRD patterns of the composites showed that the AC/ZnS/$TiO_2$ composites contain a typical single and clear anatase phase. The surface properties as observed by SEM present the characterization of the texture of the AC/ZnS/$TiO_2$ composites, showing a homogenous composition in the particles showing the micro-surface structures and morphology of the composites. The EDX spectra of the elemental identification showed the presence of C and Ti with Zn and S peaks for the AC/ZnS/$TiO_2$ composite. UV-vis patterns of the composites showed that these composites had greater photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation. A rhodamine B (Rh.B) solution under visible light irradiation was used to determine the photocatalytic activity. The degradation of Rh.B was determined using UV/Vis spectrophotometry. An increase in the photocatalytic activity was observed. From the photocatalytic results, the excellent activity of the Y-fullerene/$TiO_2$ composites for the degradation of methylene blue under visible irradiation could be attributed to an increase in the photo-absorption effect caused by the ZnS and to the cooperative effect of the AC.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.865-874
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• 2020

Offshore drilling units have a very dangerous working conditions due to the harsh working environment of the ocean and the high possibility of fire or explosion. This study would identify the hazards that emerge from the marine environment in the operation and maintenance phase of offshore drilling units and show how these hazards can be reduced through risk assessment/management. Various risk reduction and management measures were first reviewed, and Job Safety Analysis (JSA) was selected as the risk assessment technique of this study. In order to understand the characteristics of offshore drilling operations, accident statistics of onshore and offshore drilling were analyzed and compared with each other, and major risk factors for offshore drilling were derived. The jobs in which offshore drilling accidents occur more frequently than onshore drilling was analyzed as the job of fastening, transporting and moving pipes and various materials. This result is due to the limited space of the ocean and the work environment that is prone to being shaken by wind, waves and ocean currents. Based on these statistical results, the job of picking and making up drill pipes was selected as a high-risk job, and JSA was performed as an example. A detailed safety check procedure is proposed so that workers can fully recognize the danger and perform work in a safe state that has been confirmed.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.16
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• pp.6973-6979
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• 2015

Background: Ovarian cancer is the third most common cause of cancer in Indian women. Despite an initial 70-80% response rate, most patients relapse within 1-2 years and develop chemoresistance. Hence, identification or repositioning of drugs to resensitise ovarian cancer cells to existing chemotherapy is needed. Traditionally immortalized cell lines have been used in research, but these may contain genetic aberrations and chromosomal abnormalities serving as poor indicators of normal cell phenotype and progression of early-stage disease. The use of primary cells, maintained for only short periods of time in vitro, may serve as the best representative for studying in vivo conditions of the tissues from which they are derived. In this study we have attempted to evaluate the effect of metformin (an antidiabetic drug) in primary ovarian cancer cells because of its promising effect in other solid tumours. Materials and Methods: Primary cultures of epithelial ovarian cancer cells established from ascitic fluid of untreated ovarian cancer patients were used. The cells were treated with metformin at doses standardized by MTT assay and its ability to induce apoptosis was studied. The cells were analysed for apoptosis and apoptosis related proteins by flow cytometry and western blotting respectively. Results: Metformin induced apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells, provoking cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 and S phase. It induced apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells by, down-regulating Bcl-2 and up-regulating Bax expression. Conclusions: Metformin was able to induce apoptosis in primary ovarian cancer cells by modulating the expression of Bcl-2 family proteins. These data are relevant to ongoing translational research efforts exploring the chemotherapeutic potential of metformin.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.41-50
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• 2016

OBJECTIVES : In this study, microstructural components of crumb rubber modified asphalt (CRMA) binder were investigated using environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM). To clearly understand the elemental composition of the CRMA binder, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) was employed on the ESEM samples. METHODS : CRMA binders were produced using open blade mixers at $177^{\circ}C$ for 30 min. The binders were artificially aged through a series of accelerated aging processes. Sample preparation was done by making a mold shape on the glass slide. Thereafter, the morphology of the CRMA binder was observed using the ESEM coupled with the EDX. RESULTS : The images captured from the ESEM indicate that the unaged CRMA binder appears to have a single-phase continuous nonuniform structure after the addition of crumb rubber particles, whereas the artificially aged CRMA binder was observed to have two different phases. ESEM coupled with EDX shows detailed internal structure of the modified binders compared to other technologies (i.e., optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and conventional scanning electron microscope). CONCLUSIONS : The captured images resemble the internal structures such as the viscous properties of the unaged CRMA binder and the interaction between the rubber particles and the base binder at aged condition. ESEM is a powerful instrument and with the introduction of EDX, it provided more details of the network microstructure of the asphalt binder. ESEM coupled with EDX is recommended for use in future investigation of microstructure of asphalt binders.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.59 no.3
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• pp.207-213
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• 2016

Little information about the biological activities of Citrus limon (lemon) leaves has been reported, whereas the fruit of Citrus limon (lemon) has been well-documented to contain various pro-health bio-functional compounds. In the present study, the antiproliferative activities of the lemon leaves were evaluated using several cancer cell lines. From the n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, and water fractions of methanolic extract of the leaves, the chloroform fraction of lemon leaves (CFLL) showed the most potent antiproliferative activity in the AGS human gastric cancer cells. The current study demonstrates that CFLL induces apoptosis in AGS cells, as evidenced by an increase in apoptotic bodies, cell population in the sub-G1 phase, Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, and cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), caspase-3 and caspase-9. Compositional analysis of the CFLL using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) resulted in the identification of 27 compounds including trans, trans-farnesol (3.19 %), farnesol (3.26 %), vanillic acid (1.45 %), (-)-loliolide (5.24 %) and palmitic acid (6.96 %). Understanding the modes of action of these compounds individually and/or synergistically would provide useful information about their applications in cancer prevention and therapy.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.17-21
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• 2004

This study was investigated the physiological properties of auxin-producing bacteria that have plant growth promoting activity and plant pathogen antagonistic ability. Auxin-producing bacteria were isolated from field soils of Gyeongsan, Korea. Selected strains were identified as a Pseudumonas fulva N21 and a Pantoea agglomerans; K35 by morphological and physiological test, and Biolog (Microlog) system. Auxins were determined by Salkowski in vitro test and mungbean adventitious root induction bioassay. Also produced indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) was identified by TLC. During cell growth, auxin production were highest in their idiophase after log phase and $35^{\circ}C$ at pH 7.5.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.1097-1101
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• 2008

The objective of this study was to identify and quantify glucosinolates (GSLs) in Brassica napus cv. Hanakkori and its parents and to evaluate its potential bitter taste. 'Hanakkori' materials were cultivated with commercial chemical nutrients (20 kg/ha, N-P-K: 16-10-10) at the field. GSLs were isolated by means of extraction with 70%(v/v) boiling methanol (MeOH) followed by desulfation from those plants by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and identified by electronic spray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) analysis. In 'Hanakkori', 11 GSLs were identified as progoitrin, glucoraphanin, glucoalyssin, gluconapoleiferin, gluconapin, 1-methylpropyl, glucobrassicanapin, glucobrassicin, 4-methoxyglucobrassicin, gluconasturtiin, and neoglucobrassicin. The total GSL contents were 109 and 36.1 mmol/kg dry weights (d.w.) for the seeds and edible parts, respectively. The major GSLs (>5 mmol/kg d.w.) in the seeds were progoitrin (78.8), gluconapin (10.7), and glucobrassicanapin (7.81), whereas they in the edible parts were progoitrin (16.1) and glucobrassicanapin (8.58). In addition, the bitter taste in the edible parts was presumably related with the presence of progoitrin (>45% to the total GSL).

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.228-234
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• 2010

In this paper, Fe-$TiO_2$ and Fe-fullerene/$TiO_2$ composite photocatalysts were prepared with titanium (IV) n-butoxide (TNB) by a sol-gel method. $TiO_2$, Fe-$TiO_2$ and Fe-fullerene/$TiO_2$ were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscope (TEM), specific surface area (BET), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The photocatalytic activities were evaluated by the photocatalytic oxidation of methylene blue (MB) solution. XRD patterns of the composites showed that the photocatalyst composite contained a typical single and clear anatase phase. The surface properties shown by SEM presented a characterization of the texture on Fe-fullerene/$TiO_2$ composites and showed a homogenous composition in the particles for the titanium sources used. The EDX spectra for the elemental identification showed the presence of O, C and Ti elements. Moreover, peaks of the Fe element were observed in the Fe-$TiO_2$ and Fe-fullerene/$TiO_2$ composites. The degradation of MB solution by UV-light irradiation in the presence of photocatalyst compounds was investigated in complete darkness. The degradation of MB concentration in aqueous solution occurred via three kinds of physical phenomena: quantum efficiency of the fullerene; organo-metallic reaction of the Fe compound; and decomposition of $TiO_2$. The degradation rate of the methylene blue solution increased when using Fe-fullerene/$TiO_2$ compounds.

• BMB Reports
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.184-187
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• 2000

Prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$) plays an important role in the regulation of various gastric functions, and the growth-inhibitory activities on tumor cells are studied in vitro and in vivo. Although the mechanisms have attracted many researchers in the past decade, the molecular mechanisms of cell cycle arrest, or induction of apoptosis by $PGE_2$, is unclear. We investigated the effects of $PGE_2$ on the growth of the human gastric carcinoma cell line SNU1 and genes that are regulated by $PGE_2$ and isolated them using differential display RT-PCR (DD RT-PCR). FACS analysis suggested that SNU1 cells were arrested at the G1 phase by $PGE_2$ treatment. This growth inhibitory effect was in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Treatment of SNU1 cells with $10\;{\mu}g/ml$ $PGE_2$, followed by DD RT-PCR analysis, revealed differently expressed bands patterns from the control. Among the differently expressed clones, we found an unidentified cDNA clone (HGP-27) overexpressed in $PGE_2$-treated cells. The full-length cDNA of HGP-27 was isolated using RACE, which consisted of a 30-nt 5'-noncoding region, a 891-nt ORF encoding the 296 amino acid protein, and a 738-nt 3'-noncoding region including a poly(a) signal. This gene was localized on the short arm of chromosome number 11. Using the Motif Finder program, a myb-DNA binding repeat signature was detected on the ORF region. The COOH-terminal half was shown to have similarity with the $NH_3$-terminal domain of thioredoxin (Trx). This relation between HGP-27 and Trx implied a potential role for HGP-27 in modulating the DNA binding function of a transcription factor, myb.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.37-43
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• 1974

1. In the course of investigation on the metabolism of cysteine by microorganisms, the authors have found that among 70 strains tested Cysteinedesulfhydrase occured most remarkably in the cells of the strain I-3-2 isolated from the soil when it was grown on a medium containing L-Cysteine. The morphological, cultural and physiological properties of this strain were investigated. From the results, the bacterium was identified as a variety of Aerobactor aerogenes. 2. The cultural conditions for the formation of Cysteinedesulfhydrase by the strain I-3-2 were also investigated and the results were as follows: 1). The optium pH of the culture medium was 7.0-7.5. 2). As a carbon source, glycerol was most effective when it was added to the basal medium at 0.1 ％ concentration. 3). By addition of calcium chloride at 0.2％ concentration, the formation of the enzyme remarkably increased. 4). Maximal formation of the enzyme was observed at the end of logarithmic phase of cell growth, thereafter the enzyme activity was diminished rapidly.