• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.1597-1605
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• 2022

A porous silica-based adsorbent was prepared by impregnating the pores of a silica support with the extractant 1,3-[(2,4-diethylheptylethoxy)oxy]-2,4-crown-6-calix[4]arene (Calix[4]arene-R14) and an additive agent 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (C₂mim ⁺ NTf^-₂) as the materials to remove cesium(I) (Cs⁺) ions from seawater. The as-prepared adsorbent showed excellent adsorption performance toward Cs⁺ ions, with adsorption equilibrium reached within 2 h and an adsorption amount of 0.196 mmol/g observed. The solution pH, temperature, and the presence of coexisting metal ions were found to have almost no effect on Cs⁺ adsorption. The adsorption mechanism was considered to proceed via ion exchange between Cs⁺ and C₂mim⁺. In addition, the particle-induced X-ray emission analysis results further clarified that the adsorbed Cs⁺ ion species on the adsorbent was in the form of both CsCl and CsBr.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.113-119
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• 2022

SU-Eohyeol pharmacopuncture(SUEP) was developed by adding Cervi Pantotrichum Cornu to Jungsongouhyul pharmacopuncture. This genotoxicity evaluation was performed to evaluate the mutagenic potential of the test substance SUEP agent using histidine, which requires strains of Salmonella typhimurium (TA98, TA100, TA1535, TA1537), and tryptophan, which requires Escherichia coli (WP2uvrA) strain in the presence and absence of metabolic activation. According to the results of the dose range finding study conducted prior to the main study, the dose levels of the test substance in the main study were determined as 100, 50, 25, 12.5, 6.25%, and positive and negative controls were established. As a result of the main study, the mean number of revertant colonies compared to negative controls was less than 2-fold at all dose levels of SUEP in all strains with and without metabolic activation. In the positive control group, the mean number of revertant colonies for each strain was markedly increased by more than two times compared to the negative control group. Based on the result of this study, the test substance, SUEP did not show any indication of mutagenic potential under the conditions of this study.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 1995.04a
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• pp.88-88
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• 1995

Tetrahydroisoquinoline (THI) compounds have various pharmacological actions in the cardiovascular system. Recently, we have synthesized 1-${\alpha}$-naphthylmethyl-6,7-dihydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline, YS 49. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of YS-49 on positive inotropic and chronotropic action using isolated rat heart and on blood pressure and heart rate using anesthesized rabbit. Vasodilating action was also assessed in isolated rat thoracic aorta. YS 49, concentration-dependently relaxed rat aorta precontracted with phenylephrine (PE, 0.3 ${\mu}$M) and high potassium (high K$\^$+/, 65.4 mM). The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC$\sub$50/) of YS 49 in PE-induced and high K$\^$+/-induded contraction was 5.36 ${\mu}$M and 2.52 ${\mu}$M, respectively. In isolated rat atria, YS 49 increased both heart rate and force, and in anesthesized rabbit it decreased blood pressure but increased heart rate. In addition, to know the mechanism of action of the compound, propranolol, nonselective ${\beta}$-antagonist, and phentolamine, ${\alpha}$-blocker, were used. Furthermore, a comparison with the effect of higenamine, trimetoquinol on the vasodilating action in rat thoracic aorta was also made. The action of YS 49 was inhibited by the presence of propranolo, not pentolamine. These results indicate that cardiotonic and vasodilatory action of YS 49 is attributable, at least in part, for ${\beta}$-receptor stimulation.

• Mycobiology
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2023

Wound care has become increasingly important over the years. Various synthetic products for wound care treatment have been reported to cause toxic side effects and therefore natural products are in significant demand as they have minimal side effects. The presence of bioactive compounds in medicinal mushrooms contributes to various biological activities which assist in the early inflammatory phase, keratinocyte proliferation, and its migration enhancement which are pertinent to wound rehabilitation. Lignosus rhinocerus (tiger milk mushroom) can reduce the inflammation phase in wound healing by fighting off bacterial infection and modulating pro-inflammatory cytokines expression in the early stage to avoid prolonged inflammation and tissue damage. The antibacterial, immunomodulating, and anti-inflammatory activities exhibited by most macrofungi play a key role in enhancing wound healing. Several antibacterial and antifungal compounds sourced from traditional botanicals/-products may prevent further complications and reoccurrence of injury to a wounded site. Scientific studies are actively underway to ascertain the potential use of macrofungi as a wound healing agent.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.88-100
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• 2022

Purpose: Cerebral microbleeds are more susceptible than surrounding tissues and have been associated with a variety of neurological and neurodegenerative disorders that are indicative of an underlying vascular pathology. We investigated relaxivity changes and microvascular indices in the presence of microbleeds in an imaging voxel by evaluating those before and after contrast agent injection. Methods: Monte Carlo simulations were run with a variety of conditions, including different magnetic field strengths (B₀), different echo times, and different contrast agents. ΔR2^* and ΔR2 and microvascular indices were calculated with varying microvascular vessel sizes and microbleed loads. Results: As B₀ and the concentration of microbleeds increased, 𝜟R2^* and 𝜟R2 increased. 𝜟R2^* increased, but 𝜟R2 decreased slightly as the vessel radius increased. When the vessel radius was increased, the vessel size index (VSI) and mean vessel diameter (mVD) increased, and all other microvascular indices except mean vessel density (Q) increased when the concentration of microbleeds was increased. Conclusions: Because patients with neurodegenerative diseases often have microbleeds in their brains and VSI and mVD increase with increasing microbleeds, microbleeds can be altered microvascular signals in a voxel in the brain of a neurodegenerative disease at 3T magnetic resonance imaging.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2023.05a
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• pp.95-96
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• 2023

In this study, the table flow of fiber reinforced cement composites mixed with CNTs dispersed differently according to the dispersion method was evaluated. The mixture was composed of plain mixture according to the presence or absence of ultrasonic dispersion and PCE-based dispersants A and B of 0.5% and 1.0%, respectively, CNT was mixed with 0.03% of cement weight and fiber was mixed with 1.5% of total volume. As a result of the experiment, NC-A0.5 showed a fluidity similar to that of P without CNT. The fluidity of NC-A0.5 and P-N showed a similar tendency, which is considered to be due to the distribution of evenly dispersed CNT particles without agglomeration between cement particles due to the dispersant. NC-B0.5 showed a similar level of firmness to P-U, but after hitting 250 mm, B Agent seems to have a significant effect on liquidity improvement.Both NC-A1.0 and NC-B1.0 seem to have increased flow due to excessive dispersion.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.9
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• pp.1250-1256
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• 2023

Herein, different extracts of Scenedesmus deserticola JD052, a green microalga, were evaluated in vitro as a potential anti-aging bioagent. Although post-treatment of microalgal culture with either UV irradiation or high light illumination did not lead to a substantial difference in the effectiveness of microalgal extracts as a potential anti-UV agent, the results indicated the presence of a highly potent compound in ethyl acetate extract with more than 20% increase in the cellular viability of normal human dermal fibroblasts (nHDFs) compared with the negative control amended with DMSO. The subsequent fractionation of the ethyl acetate extract led to two bioactive fractions with high anti-UV property; one of the fractions was further separated down to a single compound. While electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy analysis identified this single compound as loliolide, its identification has been rarely reported in microalgae previously, prompting thorough systematic investigations into this novel compound for the nascent microalgal industry.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.281-290
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• 2023

Zidovudine is an antiretroviral agent prescribed for the prevention and treatment of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). It is typically recommended to be used in combination with other antiretroviral drugs. Zidovudine has the potential to generate N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in the presence of dimethylamine and nitrite salt under acidic reaction conditions during the drug manufacturing process. NDMA is a potent human carcinogen that may be detected in drug substances or drug products. An analytical method was developed to determine NDMA in pharmaceuticals including zidovudine using high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The analysis involved reversed-phase chromatography on a Kinetex F5 column with a mobile phase comprising water-acetonitrile mixtures. The detection of positively charged ions was conducted using atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI). The calibration curve demonstrated excellent linearity (r = 0.9997) across the range of 1-50 ng/mL with a highly sensitive limit of detection (LOD) at 0.3 ng/mL. The developed method underwent thorough validation for specificity, linearity, accuracy, precision, robustness, and system suitability. This sensitive and specific analytical method was applied for detecting NDMA in zidovudine drug substance and its formulation currently available in the market, indicating its suitability for drug quality management purposes.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.181-189
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• 2023

The Covid-19 pandemic has increased demand for chlorine-based sanitizing solutions, most of which contain hypochlorous acid (HOCl) as an active agent. Free chlorine (HOCl) in these sanitizers is crucial for their efficacy. Disposable test strips are affordable and convenient tools for determining various qualitative and quantitative parameters. In this study, disposable opto-chemical test strips were developed by physically immobilizing 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) and o-dianisidine (o-D) reagents on chromatography and filter paper-based test strips for the visualization and detection of free chlorine in the form of HOCl. The reagents undergo a rapid color change upon reaction with chlorine through a redox reaction. The paper-based test strips showed rapid color change within a minute and a low sample volume requirement (1 ml). This portable, disposable paper-based test strip is a simple and cost-effective way to rapidly detect the presence of HOCl sanitizers for home and field applications. Both TMB and o-D successfully detected chlorine. Chromatography paper proved to be the more efficient option among the two papers used as substrates for the reagents (TMB and o-D). It exhibited high retention capacity and high performance in terms of color transformation when reacting with HOCl, even after two months of storage.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.12
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• pp.1681-1691
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• 2023

Flavin mononucleotide-binding proteins or domains emit cyan-green fluorescence under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, but relatively low fluorescence and less thermostability limit their application as reporters. In this work, we incorporated the codon-optimized fluorescent protein from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii with two different linkers independently into the redox-responsive split intein construct, overexpressed the precursors in hyperoxic Escherichia coli SHuffle T7 strain, and cyclized the target proteins in vitro in the presence of the reducing agent. Compared with the purified linear protein, the cyclic protein with the short linker displayed enhanced fluorescence. In contrast, cyclized protein with incorporation of the long linker including the myc-tag and human rhinovirus 3C protease cleavable sequence emitted slightly increased fluorescence compared with the protein linearized with the protease cleavage. The cyclic protein with the short linker also exhibited increased thermal stability and exopeptidase resistance. Moreover, induction of the target proteins in an oxygen-deficient culture rendered fluorescent E. coli BL21 (DE3) cells brighter than those overexpressing the linear construct. Thus, the cyclic reporter can hopefully be used in certain thermophilic anaerobes.