• Journal of Climate Change Research
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2016

In this study, we investigated the applicability of a short-term carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) passive sampler using turbidity change in a solution containing barium hydroxide ($Ba(OH)_2$). The mass of $CO_2$ introduced into the $Ba(OH)_2$ aqueous solution was strongly correlated ($r^2=0.9565$) to the change in turbidity caused by its reaction with the solution. The sampling rates calculated for 1 h and 24 h were $42.4{\pm}5.4mL\;min^{-1}$ and $2.3{\pm}0.3mL\;min^{-1}$, respectively. Both unexposed (blank) and exposed samplers remained stable during the storage period of at least two weeks. The detection limits of the passive sampler for $CO_2$ were 81.5 ppm for 1 h and 61.5 ppm for 24 h. Based on the results, the passive sampler using the change of turbidity in the $Ba(OH)_2$ aqueous solution appears to be a suitable tool for measuring short-term atmospheric concentrations of $CO_2$.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.112-117
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• 2021

α-Amanitin and β-amanitin are highly toxic bicyclic octapeptides responsible for the poisoning of poisonous mushrooms such as Amanita, Galerina, and Lepiota by inhibiting RNA polymerase II, DNA transcription, and protein synthesis. A sensitive, simple, and selective liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometric method using parallel reaction monitoring mode was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of α- and β-amanitin in mouse plasma to evaluate the toxicokinetics of α- and β-amanitin in mice. Protein precipitation of 5 μL mouse plasma sample with methanol as sample clean-up procedure and use of negative electrospray ionization resulted in better sensitivity and less matrix effect. The calibration curves for α- and β-amanitin in mouse plasma were linear over the range of 0.5-500 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-day coefficient of variations and accuracies for α- and β-amanitin at four quality control concentrations were 3.1-14.6% and 92.5-115.0%, respectively. The present method was successfully applied to the toxicokinetic study of α- and β-amanitin after an oral administration of α- and β-amanitin at 1.5 mg/kg dose to male ICR mice.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.82-89
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• 2020

A systematic isolation and characterization study for Cassia auriculata (CA) seeds resulted in identifying antidiabetic compounds 1,3,8-trihydroxyanthraquinone and quercetin, quercetin-3-O-rutinoside, gallic acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, and ellagic acid. The ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography based triple quadrupole mass spectrometry methodology was developed and validated for simultaneous identification and confirmation of these compounds from CA seeds. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) based quantification method was developed with MRM optimizer software for MS1 and MS2 mass analysis. The method was optimized on precursor ions and product ions with the ion ratio of each compound. The calibration curves of seven bioactive analytes showed excellent linearity (r2 ≥ 0.99). The quantitation results found precise (RSD, < 10 %) with good recoveries (84.58 to 101.42%). The matrix effect and extraction recoveries were found within the range (91.66 to 102.11%) for the CA seeds. This is the first MS/MS-based methodology applied to quantifying seven antidiabetic compounds in CA seeds and its extract for quality control purposes.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.31-40
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• 2021

Probable human carcinogenic compounds nitrosamines, have been detected as by-product impurities in sartan pharmaceuticals in recent years which has drawn worries for medication safety. To provide a sensitive and effective method for the quality control of sartan pharmaceuticals, this study established a feasible gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) method for simultaneous determination of 13 nitrosamines. The target analytes were separated on a DB-WAX Ultra Inert column (30 m × 0.25 mm; i.d., 0.25 ㎛) and were then subjected to electron impact ionization in multiple reaction monitoring mode. The established method was validated and further employed to analyze authentic samples. Limits of detection (LODs) and limits of quantification (LOQs) of the 13 nitrosamines were 15-250 ng/g and 50-250 ng/g, respectively, which also exhibited intra-day and inter-day accuracies of 91.4-104.8%, thereby satisfying validation criteria. Five nitrosamines, viz., N-nitrosodiethylamine, N-nitrosodimethylamine, N-nitrosodiphenylamine, N-nitrosomorpholine, and N-nitrosopiperidine were detected at concentrations above their LODs in 68 positive samples out of 594 authentic samples from seven sartans.

• Clean Technology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.251-256
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• 2020

The biocompatibility and plasmonic properties of Au nanoparticles make them useful for photothermal therapy, drug delivery, imaging, and many other fields. This study demonstrated a novel, facile, economic, and green synthetic method to produce gold nanoparticles. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with spherical and triangular shapes were effectively synthesized using only Schisandra chenesis fruit extract as the capping and reducing agent. The shape of the AuNPs could be engineered simply by adjusting the molar concentration of HAuCl4 in the reaction mixture. The as-synthesized AuNPs were characterized using UV-VIS spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDXA). This study revealed that by using the HAuCl4 concentration in the AuNP synthesis, the shape and size of the AuNPs could be controlled by the concentration of HAuCl4 and Schisandra chinensis fruit extract as a surfactant. The as-synthesized AuNPs samples had sufficient colloidal stability without noticeable aggregation and showed the predominant growth of the (111) plane of face-centered cubic gold during the crystal growth. The catalytic efficiency of the AuNPs synthesized using Schisandra chenesis fruit extract was examined by monitoring the catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol using Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis spectroscopy). The synthesized AuNPs showed good catalytic activity to reduce 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol, revealing their practical usefulness.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.159-166
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• 2022

Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) has been a major viral pathogen causing significant losses of cereal crops including oats worldwide. It spreads naturally through aphids, and a rapid, specific, and reliable diagnostic method is imperative for disease monitoring and management. Here, we established a rapid and reliable method for isothermal reverse transcription recombinase polymerase amplification (RT-RPA) combined with a lateral flow strips (LFS) assay for the detection of BYDV-infected oat samples based on the conserved sequences of the BYDV coat protein gene. Specific primers and a probe for RT-RPA reacted and optimally incubated at 42℃ for 10 min, and the end-labeled amplification products were visualized on LFS within 10 min. The RT-RPA-LFS assay showed no cross-reactivity with other major cereal viruses, including barley mild mosaic virus, barley yellow mosaic virus, and rice black streaked dwarf virus, indicating high specificity of the assay. The sensitivity of the RT-RPA-LFS assay was similar to that of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and it was successfully validated to detect BYDV in oat samples from six different regions and in individual aphids. These results confirm the outstanding potential of the RT-RPA-LFS assay for rapid detection of BYDV.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.20-25
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• 2022

Fargesin, a tetrahydrofurofuranoid lignan isolated from Flos Magnoliae, shows anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, anti-allergic, and anti-hypertensive activities. To evaluate the pharmacokinetics of fargesin in mice, a sensitive, simple, and selective liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometric method using electrospray ionization and parallel reaction monitoring mode was developed and validated for the quantification of fargesin in mouse plasma. Protein precipitation of 6 µL mouse plasma with methanol was used as sample clean-up procedure. The standard curve was linear over the range of 0.2-500 ng/mL in mouse plasma with the lower limit of quantification level at 0.2 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-day coefficient variations and accuracies for fargesin at four quality control concentrations including were 3.6-11.3% and 90.0-106.6%, respectively. Intravenously injected fargesin disappeared rapidly from the plasma with high clearance values (53.2-55.5 mL/min/kg) at 1, 2, and 4 mg/kg doses. Absolute bioavailability of fargesin was 4.1-9.6% after oral administration of fargesin at doses of 1, 2, and 4 mg/kg to mice.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.158-165
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• 2022

Many therapeutic class drugs such as beta-blocker, corticosteroids, NSAIDs, etc are prohibited substances in the horse racing industry. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) technology makes it possible to isolate drugs from interference, enables various drug analyses in complex biological samples due to its sensitive sensitivity, and has been successfully applied to doping control. In this paper, we describe a rapid and sensitive method based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) using solid phase cartridge and LC-MS/MS to screen for different class's 35 drug targets in equine plasma. Plasma samples were pretreated by SPE with the NEXUS cartridge consisted non-polar carbon resin and minimum buffer solvent. Chromatographic separation of the analytes was performed on ACQUITY HSS C18 column (2.1 × 150 mm, 1.8 ㎛). The elution gradient was conducted with 5 mM ammonium formate (pH 3.0) in distilled water and 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile at a flow rate of 0.25 mL/min. The selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode was used for drug screening with multiple transitions in the positive ionization mode. The specificity, limit of detection, recovery, and stability was evaluated for validation. The method was found to be sensitive and reproducible for drug screening. The method was applied to plasma sample analysis for the proficiency test from the Association of Racing Chemist.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.8
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• pp.2742-2746
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• 2023

The corrosion behavior of copper immersed in dilute oxychloride solution (100 mM) was studied through surface investigation and in-situ monitoring of open-circuit potential. The copper corrosion was initiated with copper dissolution into a form of CuCl^-₂, resulting in mass decrease within the first 40 h of immersion. This was followed by a hydrolysis reaction initiated by the CuCl^-₂ at the copper surface, after which oxide products were formed and deposited on the surface, resulting in a mass increase. The formation of nucleation sites for copper oxide and its lateral extension during the corrosion process were examined using focused ion beam (FIB)-scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The presence of metastable compounds such as atacamite (CuCl₂·3Cu(OH)₂) on the corroded copper surface was revealed by X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM)-energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) analysis.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.225-238
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• 2022

The ultimate goal of human assisted reproductive technology is to achieve a healthy pregnancy and birth, ideally from the selection and transfer of a single competent embryo. Recently, techniques for efficiently evaluating the state and quality of preimplantation embryos using time-lapse imaging systems have been applied. Artificial intelligence programs based on deep learning technology and big data analysis of time-lapse monitoring system during in vitro culture of preimplantation embryos have also been rapidly developed. In addition, several molecular markers of the secretome have been successfully analyzed in spent embryo culture media, which could easily be obtained during in vitro embryo culture. It is also possible to analyze small amounts of cell-free nucleic acids, mitochondrial nucleic acids, miRNA, and long non-coding RNA derived from embryos using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or digital PCR, as well as next-generation sequencing. Various efforts are being made to use non-invasive evaluation of embryo quality (NiEEQ) to select the embryo with the best developmental competence. However, each NiEEQ method has some limitations that should be evaluated case by case. Therefore, an integrated analysis strategy fusing several NiEEQ methods should be urgently developed and confirmed by proper clinical trials.