• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.67-80
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• 1982

In order to evaluate the psychosomatic health status of metal manufacturing industries workers and their working environments, the present study was conducted from March 1, 1981 to the end of September 1981. The data was obtained from the samples of metal manufacturing industries in Kyung-In Area and their 1, 162 employees. In addition, the 803 urban residents including students, office clerks, and general publics were sampled as control groups to compare with factory employees in psychosomatic analysis. The basic tool employed in the present study was the Todai Health Index (THI) which modified CMI and was developed by Tokyo University Research Team of Japan. The results of the present study were summarized as follows: 1. Working environments of the factories 1) The data shows that fabrication shop produced the highest noise level ranging from 91 to 96 dB (A) and iron and steel shop had the lowest noise level ranging from 81 to 86 dB (A). 2) Dust concentration was the highest in iron foundry shop ($3.8 mg/m^3$) and the lowest in fabrication shop ($1.2 mg/m^3$). 3) WBGT above threshold limit values (T.L.V.) was noted in steel shop (38$\circ$C) and iron foundry shop (34$\circ$C) 4) The concentration of Sulfur dioxide ($SO_2$)was 30.5ppm at steel shop and 12.0ppm at iron foundry shop. 5) The concentration of carbon monoxide (CO) was 140.0ppm at steel shop and 110.5ppm at iron foundry shop. 6) The atmospheric lead concentration was $0.49 mg/m^3$ at soldering shop. 2. The responses of psychosomatic complaints were much higher in steel shops group than in other manu-facturing group, except the response of aggressiveness. 3. The responses of psychosomatic complaints were much higher in industrial workers than in urban residents, except the responses of depression and aggressiveness (p < 0.01 ). 4. The psychosomatic symptoms which industrial workers and urban residents complained frequently were nervousness. agressiveness and lie scale in order. 5. The responses of psychosomatic complaints by sex were much higher in female group than in male group, except the response of aggressiveness. 6. The responses of psychosomatic complaints by age were that both the female and male group showed an increasing tendency in the all items, except the response of depression as age was increasing. 7. The responses of psychosomatic complaints by the length of services were that both the female and male group showed a tendency of increasing in physical symptoms as work years increased. 8. The responses of psychosomatic complaints were higher in unmarried group in the score of nervousness, aggressiveness, mental irritability and irregular life.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.52-59
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• 2005

The study was targeted to saccharify foodwastes with the cellulolytic and amylolytic enzymes obtained from culture supernatant of Trichoderma harzianum FJ1 and analyze the kinetics of the saccharification in order to enlarge the utilization in industrial application. T. harzianum FJ1 highly produced various cellulolytic (filter paperase 0.9, carboxymethyl cellulase 22.0, ${\beta}$-glucosidase 1.2, Avicelase 0.4, xylanase 30.8, as U/mL-supernatant) and amylolytic (${alpha}$-amylase 5.6, ${\beta}$-amylase 3.1, glucoamylase 2.6, as U/mL-supernatant) enzymes. The $23{\sim}98\;g/L$ of reducing sugars were obtained under various experimental conditions by changing FPase to between $0.2{\sim}0.6\;U/mL$ and foodwastes between $5{\sim}20\%$ (w/v), with fixed conditions at $50^{\circ}C$, pH 5.0, and 100 rpm for 24 h. As the enzymatic hydrolysis of foodwastes were performed in a heterogeneous solid-liquid reaction system, it was significantly influenced by enzyme and substrate concentrations used, where the pH and temperature were fixed at their experimental optima of 5.0 and $50^{\circ}C$, respectively. An empirical model was employed to simplify the kinetics of the saccharification reaction. The reducing sugars concentration (X, g/L) in the saccharification reaction was expressed by a power curve ($X=K{\cdot}t^n$) for the reaction time (t), where the coefficient, K and n. were related to functions of the enzymes concentrations (E) and foodwastes concentrations (S), as follow: $K=10.894{\cdot}Ln(E{\cdot}S^2)-56.768,\;n=0.0608{\cdot}(E/S)^{-0.2130}$. The kinetic developed to analyze the effective saccharification of foodwastes composed of complex organic compounds could adequately explain the cases under various saccharification conditions. The kinetics results would be available for reducing sugars production processes, with the reducing sugars obtained at a lower cost can be used as carbon and energy sources in various fermentation industries.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.37 no.11
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• pp.1479-1484
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• 2008

This study was conducted to investigate the quality characteristics of fermented-defatted soybean grits (DSG). Fermented-DSG was prepared by inoculating Bacillus subtilis NUCI into steamed DSG at 2% (v/w) concentration and fermenting at $40^{\circ}C$ for 24 hr. The protein contents of DSG and fermented-DSG were higher by $57.2{\sim}61.0%$ than those of Chungkukjang, but lipid contents of these samples were not detected. The protease and $\alpha$-amylase activities, and solid contents in DSG were not shown. However, the activities of protease and $\alpha$-amylase, tyrosine contents, fluid consistency, and viscous substance contents of fermented-DSG were higher than those of Chungkukjang. The levels of free amino acids and isoflavone of fermented-DSG tended to increase more than those of DSG. The sensory score of fermented-DSG were higher in odor and taste than those of Chungkukjang groups, while lower in color and overall acceptability.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.312-318
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• 2013

This study validated microbiological hazards of ginseng farms at the cultivation stage and suggested recommendations to develop a good agricultural practices (GAP) model. A total of 96 samples were collected from cultivation environments (soil, irrigation water, and atmosphere), plants (ginseng and its leaf), personnel hygiene (glove, cloth, and hand) of 3 ginseng farms (A, B, and C) and were tested to analyze sanitary indicator bacteria (aerobic plate count, coliforms and Escherichia coli), major foodborne pathogens (E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereus), and fungi. Total bacteria, coliform, and fungi in the 3 ginseng farms were detected at the level of 1.3~6.0, 0.1~5.0, and 0.4~4.9 v/g (or mL, hand, and $100cm^2$), respectively. Only irrigation water collected from one ginseng farm was confirmed to be E. coli positive. In case of pathogenic bacteria, B. cereus was detected at levels of 0.1~5.0 log CFU/g (or mL, hand, and $100cm^2$) in all samples, but other pathogen bacterias were not detected in any samples from all farms. Although E. coli were detected in irrigation water, the level of microbial for the three farms was lower than the regulation limit. According to the results, the ginsengs produced from the 3 farms were comparatively safe with respect to microbiological hazard. However, cross-contamination of bacteria from environments and workers to ginseng has been considered as potential risks. Therefore, to minimize microbial contamination in ginseng, GAP model should be applied for ensuring the safety of ginsengs.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2012.05a
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• pp.65-65
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• 2012

Copper zinc tin sulfide ($Cu_2ZnSnS_4$, CZTS) is a very promising material as a low cost absorber alternative to other chalcopyrite-type semiconductors based on Ga or In because of the abundant and economical elements. In addition, CZTS has a band-gap energy of 1.4~1.5eV and large absorption coefficient over ${\sim}10^4cm^{-1}$, which is similar to those of $Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$(CIGS) regarded as one of the most successful absorber materials for high efficient solar cell. Most previous works on the fabrication of CZTS thin films were based on the vacuum deposition such as thermal evaporation and RF magnetron sputtering. Although the vacuum deposition has been widely adopted, it is quite expensive and complicated. In this regard, the solution processes such as sol-gel method, nanocrystal dispersion and hybrid slurry method have been developed for easy and cost-effective fabrication of CZTS film. Among these methods, the hybrid slurry method is favorable to make high crystalline and dense absorber layer. However, this method has the demerit using the toxic and explosive hydrazine solvent, which has severe limitation for common use. With these considerations, it is highly desirable to develop a robust, easily scalable and relatively safe solution-based process for the fabrication of a high quality CZTS absorber layer. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of a high quality CZTS absorber layer with a thickness of 1.5~2.0 ${\mu}m$ and micrometer-scaled grains using two different non-vacuum approaches. The first solution-processing approach includes air-stable non-toxic solvent-based inks in which the commercially available precursor nanoparticles are dispersed in ethanol. Our readily achievable air-stable precursor ink, without the involvement of complex particle synthesis, high toxic solvents, or organic additives, facilitates a convenient method to fabricate a high quality CZTS absorber layer with uniform surface composition and across the film depth when annealed at $530^{\circ}C$. The conversion efficiency and fill factor for the non-toxic ink based solar cells are 5.14% and 52.8%, respectively. The other method is based on the nanocrystal dispersions that are a key ingredient in the deposition of thermally annealed absorber layers. We report a facile synthetic method to produce phase-pure CZTS nanocrystals capped with less toxic and more easily removable ligands. The resulting CZTS nanoparticle dispersion enables us to fabricate uniform, crack-free absorber layer onto Mo-coated soda-lime glass at $500^{\circ}C$, which exhibits a robust and reproducible photovoltaic response. Our simple and less-toxic approach for the fabrication of CZTS layer, reported here, will be the first step in realizing the low-cost solution-processed CZTS solar cell with high efficiency.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.54-59
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• 2009

We have measured the spatiotemporal behavior for the density of excited Xe atoms in the $1s_5$ metastable states by laser absorption spectroscopy in accordance with various shapes of ITO electrode. The maximum density of excited Xe atoms in the Is5 state in a discharge cell for fish-boned, T-shaped and squared ITO electrodes has been measured to be $3.01{\times}10^{13}\;cm^{-3}$, $2.66{\times}10^{13}\;cm^{-3}$ and $2.06{\times}10^{13}\;cm^{-3}$, respectively. Throughout this experiment, we could understand the influence of the shapes of ITO electrode of micro discharge cell on the high efficiency of AC-PDPs.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.423-428
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• 2015

Impedancemetric $NO_x$ (NO and $NO_2$) gas sensors were designed with a stacked-layer structure and fabricated using $LaCr_xCo_{1-x}O_3$ (x = 0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.8 and 1) as the receptor material and $Li_{1.3}Al_{0.3}Ti_{1.7}(PO_4)_3$ plates as the solid-electrolyte transducer material. The $LaCr_xCo_{1-x}O_3$ layers were prepared with a polymeric precursor method that used ethylene glycol as the solvent, acetyl acetone as the chelating agent, and polyvinylpyrrolidone as the polymer additive. The effects of the Co concentration on the structural, morphological, and $NO_x$ sensing properties of the $LaCr_xCo_{1-x}O_3$ powders were investigated with powder X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and its response to 20~250 ppm of $NO_x$ at $400^{\circ}C$ (for 1 kHz and 0.5 V), respectively. When the as-prepared precursors were calcined at $700^{\circ}C$, only a single phase was detected, which corresponded to a perovskite-type structure. The XRD results showed that as the Co concentration of the $LaCr_xCo_{1-x}O_3$powders increased, the crystal structure was transformed from an orthorhombic phase to a rhombohedral phase. Moreover, the $LaCr_xCo_{1-x}O_3$ powders with $0{\leq}x<0.8$ had a rhombohedral symmetry. The size of the particles in the $LaCr_xCo_{1-x}O_3$powders increased from 0.1 to $0.5{\mu}m$ as the Co concentration increased. The sensing performance of the stack-structured $LaCr_xCo_{1-x}O_3/Li_{1.3}Al_{0.3}Ti_{1.7}(PO_4)_3$ sensors was found to divide the impedance component between the resistance and capacitance. The response of these sensors to NO gas was more sensitive than that to $NO_2$ gas. Compared to other impedancemetric sensors, the $LaCr_{0.8}Co_{0.2}O_3/Li_{1.3}Al_{0.3}Ti_{1.7}(PO_4)_3$ sensor exhibited good reversibility and reliable sensingresponse properties for $NO_x$ gases.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.37-43
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• 2005

We performed in vitro and in vivo studies to know whether the inhibitory effects of ginsenosides on $5-HT_{3A}$ receptor channel acctivity are coupled to anti-nausea and anti-vomiting action. In vitro study, we investigated the effect of compound K (CK) and M4, which are ginsenoside metabolites, on human $5-HT_{3A}$ receptor channel activity expressed in Xenopus oocytes using two-electrode voltage clamp technique. Treatment of CK or M4 themselves had no effect in both oocytes injected with $H_2O\;and\;5-HT_{3A}$ receptor cRNA. In oocytes injected with $5- HT_{3A}$ receptor cRNA, M4 treatment inhibited more potently 5-HT-induced inward peak current $(I_{5-HT})$ than CK with dose-dependent and reversible manner. The half-inhibitory concentrations $(IC_{50})$ of CK and M4 were $36.9\;\pm\;10.1\;and\;7.3\;\pm\;2.2\;{\mu}M$, respectively. The inhibition of $I_{5-HT}$ by M4 was non-competitive and voltage-independent. These results indicate that M4 might regulate $5-HT_{3A}$ receptors. In vivo experiments, injection of cisplatin (7.5 mg/kg, i.v.) induced both nausea and vomiting with 1 h latency. These episodes reached to peak after 2 h and persisted for 4 h. Pre-treatment of GTS (500 mg/kg, p.o.) significantly reduced cisplatin-induced nausea and vomiting by $51\;\pm\;8.4\;and\;48.8\;\pm\;6.4\%$ during 4 h compared to GIS­untreated group, respectively. These results show the possibility that in vitro inhibition of $5-HT_{3A}$ receptor channel activity by ginsenosides might be coupled to in vivo anti-emetic activity.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.603-609
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• 2022

Passivation quality is mainly governed by epitaxial growth of crystalline silicon wafer surface. Void-rich intrinsic a-Si:H interfacial layer could offer higher resistivity of the c-Si surface and hence a better device efficiency as well. To reduce the resistivity of the contact area, a modification of void-rich intrinsic layer of a-Si:H towards more ordered state with a higher density is adopted by adapting its thickness and reducing its series resistance significantly, but it slightly decreases passivation quality. Higher resistance is not dominated by asymmetric effects like different band offsets for electrons or holes. In this study, multilayer of intrinsic a-Si:H layers were used. The first one with a void-rich was a-Si:H(I₁) and the next one a-SiO_x:H(I₂) were used, where a-SiO_x:H(I₂) had relatively larger band gap of ~2.07 eV than that of a-Si:H (I₁). Using a-SiO_x:H as I₂ layer was expected to increase transparency, which could lead to an easy carrier transport. Also, higher implied voltage than the conventional structure was expected. This means that the a-SiO_x:H could be a promising material for a high-quality passivation of c-Si. In addition, the i-a-SiO_x:H microstructure can help the carrier transportation through tunneling and thermal emission.

• International Journal of Stem Cells
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.425-437
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• 2023

Obesity, which continues to increase worldwide, was shown to irreversibly impair the differentiation potential and angiogenic properties of adipose tissue mesenchymal stromal cells (ADSCs). Because these cells are intended for regenerative medicine, especially for the treatment of inflammatory conditions, and the effects of obesity on the immunomodulatory properties of ADSCs are not yet clear, here we investigated how ADSCs isolated from former obese subjects (Ex-Ob) would influence macrophage differentiation and polarization, since these cells are the main instructors of inflammatory responses. Analysis of the subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) of overweight (OW) and Ex-Ob subjects showed the maintenance of approximately twice as many macrophages in Ex-Ob SAT, contained within the CD68⁺/FXIII-A^- inflammatory pool. Despite it, in vitro, coculture experiments revealed that Ex-Ob ADSCs instructed monocyte differentiation into a M2-like profile, and under inflammatory conditions induced by LPS treatment, inhibited HLA-DR upregulation by resting M0 macrophages, originated a similar percentage of TNF-α⁺ cells, and inhibited IL-10 secretion, similar to OW-ADSCs and BMSCs, which were used for comparison, as these are the main alternative cell types available for therapeutic purposes. Our results showed that Ex-Ob ADSCs mirrored OW-ADSCs in macrophage education, favoring the M2 immunophenotype and a mixed (M1/M2) secretory response. These results have translational potential, since they provide evidence that ADSCs from both Ex-Ob and OW subjects can be used in regenerative medicine in eligible therapies. Further in vivo studies will be fundamental to validate these observations.