• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.515-528
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• 2019

Purpose: This study examined the immunological activity and optimized the mixture conditions of Sargassum horneri (S. horneri) extracts in vitro and in vivo models. Methods: S. horneri was extracted using three different methods: hot water extraction (HWE), 50% ethanol extraction (EE), and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE). Splenocyte proliferation and cytokine production (Interleukin-2 and Interferon-γ) were measured using a WST-1 assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. The levels of nitric oxide and T cell activation production were measured using a Griess assay and flow cytometry, respectively. The natural killer (NK) cell activity was determined using an EZ-LDH kit. Results: Among the three different types of extracts, HWE showed the highest levels of splenocyte proliferation and cytokine production in vitro. In the animal model, three different types of extracts were administrated for 14 days (once/day) at 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight. HWE and SFE showed a high level of splenocyte proliferation and cytokine production in the with and without mitogen-treated groups, whereas EE administration did not induce the splenocyte activation. When RAW264.7 macrophage cells were treated with different mixtures (HWE with 5, 10, 15, 20% of SFE) to determine the optimal mixture ratio of HWE and SFE, the levels of nitric oxide and cytokine production increased strongly in the HWE with 5% and 10% of SFE containing group. In the animal model, HWE with 5% and 10% of SFE mixture administration increased the levels of splenocyte proliferation, cytokine production, and activated CD4⁺ cell population significantly, with the highest level observed in the HWE with 5% of SFE group. Moreover, the NK cell activity was increased significantly in the HWE with 5% of SFE mixture-treated group compared to the control group. Conclusion: The optimal mixture condition of S. horneri with immune-enhancing activity is the HWE with 5% of SFE mixture. These results confirmed that the extracts of S. horneri and its mixtures are potential candidate materials for immune enhancement.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.38 no.4 s.173
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• pp.435-450
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• 2005

The purpose of the study is to analyze the hydrogeochemical characteristics by multivariate statistical method, to interpret the hydrogeochemical processes for the new variables calculated from principal components analysis (PCA), and to infer the groundwater flow and circulation mechanism by applying the geostatistical methods for each element and principal component. Chloride and nitrate are the most influencing components for groundwater quality, and the contents of $NO_3$ increased by the input of agricultural activities show the largest variation. The results of PCA, a multivariate statistical method, show that the first three principal components explain $73.9\%$ of the total variance. PC1 indicates the increase of dissolved ions, PC2 is related with the dissolution of carbonate minerals and nitrate contamination, and PC3 shows the effect of cation exchange process and silicate mineral dissolution. From the results of experimental semivariogram, the components of groundwater are divided into two groups: one group includes electrical conductivity (EC), Cl, Na, and $NO_3$, and the other includes $HCO_3,\;SiO_2,$ Ca, and Sr. The results for spatial distribution of groundwater components showed that EC, Cl, and Na increased with approaching the coastal line and nitrate has close relationship with the presence of agricultural land. These components are also correlated with the topographic features reflecting the groundwater recharge effect. The kriging analysis by using principal components shows that PC 1 has the different spatial distribution of Cl, Na, and EC, possibly due to the influence of pH, Ca, Sr, and $HCO_3$ for PC1. It was considered that the linear anomaly zone of PC2 in western area was caused by the dissolution of carbonate mineral. Consequently, the application of multivariate and geostatistical methods for groundwater in the study area is very useful for determining the quantitative analysis of water quality data and the characteristics of spatial distribution.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.16-22
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• 2011

In developing soil wetting agent using polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether (PNE) and polyoxyethylene castor oil (1:1; v/v), the effect of application rates on changes in concentration of PNE, initial wetting of peatmoss + perlite (7:3) medium, and growth of hot pepper (Capsicum annuum L. 'Knockwang') plug seedlings were investigated. The elevation of application rates of wetting agent increased the amount of water retained by the root media. The treatment of 2.5 $mL{\cdot}L^{-1}$ showed similar water retention to + control ($AquaGro^L$ 3.0 $mL{\cdot}L^{-1}$). Most of the liquid wetting agent (LWA) incorporated during the medium formulation leached out in the first and second irrigation, then it decreased gradually until 10 times in irrigation. In investigation of the influence of LWA on position of water infiltrating into root media, the vertical water movements in treatments of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 $mL{\cdot}L^{-1}$ were much faster than those in 0.0 $mL{\cdot}L^{-1}$ (-control), but relative speed of water movement decreased by the elevation in application rate of LWA to 2.0 or 2.5 $mL{\cdot}L^{-1}$. The evaporative water loss of root media that to contained various rate of LWA and irrigated to reach container capacity was the fastest in -control among the treatments and it delayed as the application rate of LWA was elevated. The plant height of 22.2 cm in 0.5 $mL{\cdot}L^{-1}$ and stem diameter of 3.26 mm in 1.0 $mL{\cdot}L^{-1}$ were the highest among the treatments tested. The treatment of 1.0 $mL{\cdot}L^{-1}$ also had the heaviest fresh and dry weights such among treatments tested as 3.08 g and 0.861 g per plant, respectively. The elevated application rate over than 1.5 $mL{\cdot}L^{-1}$ resulted in decreased seedling growth. The results mentioned above indicate that optimum application rate of LWA is 1.0 $mL{\cdot}L^{-1}$.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.978-985
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• 2001

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of alcohol drinking on dietary behaviors and nutrient intakes among the university male students. The subjects were divided three group; no-alcohol group(n=83), alcohol group(n=78), and high-alcohol group(n=78).And they were observed general characteristics, life style, eating pattern, food frequency and nutrient intake using questionnaires. The mean age, height, weight and BMI of the subjects were 25.8$\pm$6.1 years old 171.5$\pm$5.4 cm, 63.4$\pm$9.7 kg and 2.3$\pm$2.8/kg/$m^2$, respectively. The types of residence and person who prepares meals were significantly different among the groups: the frequency of self-boarding and preparing meals oneself in high-alcohol group were higher than in other two groups. The frequency of physical exercise and cigarette smoking in high-alcohol group were higher than in other two groups. There were no significant differences in skipping meals among three groups. However, the most common reson why high-alcohol group skipped meals was due to a eating habit, while a lack of time in other two groups. The results show that the high-alcohol group tended to eat more often instant ramien, soybean sprout, anchovy, and coffee compared to the other two groups. The energy intakes in alcohol and high-alcohol groups were lower than those in no-alcohol group. In conclusion, high-alcohol students have unhealthy dietary behaviors in the light of high frequency of cigarette smoking, eating habit of skipping meals and instant foods, and therefore showing a strong need of proper education in alcohol withdrawal and meal management for them.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.52-61
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• 1980

This study is carried out to learn the properties of forest soils in Korea and propose the reasonable management methods of forest land. Among 178 soil series surveyed until now in Korea forest soils include 64 series broken down according to the weathered products into 5 categories such as residual materials on mountain and hill, residual materials on rolling and hill, colluvial materials on local valley and fans, alluvial materials and volcanic ash soils. What discussed in this paper are classification system, parent rocks, texture class and drainage conditions of Korean forest soils. The characteristics of Korean forest soil properties classified in U.S.D.A. soil classification system are as follows: 1. Residual soils on mountain and hill (29 soil series) are almost Lithosols without any distinct soil profile development. They have loamy skeletal (11 series), coarse loamy (5 series), fine loamy (3 series), and fine clayey soils (3 series). Their drainage conditions are somewhat excessively drained in 16 series and well drained in 7 series. 2. Residual soils on rolling and hill (19 series) are Red-Yellow Podzolic soils with well developed soil profiles. They have coarse and fine loamy texture in 12 series and fine clayey texture in 5 series mostly with well drained condition. 3. Colluvial soils on local valley and fans (13 series) include mostly Regosols and some Red-Yellow Podzolic Soils and Acid Brown Forest Soils. They have loamy skeletal (4 series), coarse loamy (3 series), fine loamy (3 series), and fine clayey soils (2 series) with well drained condition. 4. Soil textures of weathered products of parent rocks are as follows: 1) Parent rocks producing coarse texture soils are rhyolite, granite gneiss, schist, shale, sandstone, siltstone, and conglomerate. 2) Parent rocks producing fine and heavy texture soils are limestone, basalt, gabbro, and andesite porphyry. 3) Granite is a parent rock producing various textured soils.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.79 no.4
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• pp.376-387
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• 1990

A research effort has been made to determine soil buffer capacity in forest soils nearby urban and industrialized regions. Buffer capacities of soils from four regions were measured by different pH levels of artificial acid precipitation. The following conclusions have been drawn in response to the overall research objectives. Soil Suffer capacity was the highest in Kangwondo followed by Uisan, Yeochon and Seoul when simulated acid precipitation were treated at the level of pH 3.0-5.7. With the acid precipitation treatment below pH 2.0 level, however, the capacity dropped seriously with no significant differences between the regions. In Kangwondo region soils weathered from granite and limestone showed significant differences in the buffer capacities. Soil collected in Seoul and Ulsean revealed that the capacities tended to increase with the distance from the pollution sources when treated at pH 3.0, 4.5 and 5.7 level of acid precipitation. The major mechanism of soil buffer observed during simulated acid precipitation experiment was canon exchange for Kangwondo forest soils. In Seoul region canon exchange also played an important role in soil buffering under artificial acid precipitation between 3.0 and 5.7 pH levels, yet under pH 2.0 level aluminum and silicate hydrolysis. In Ulsan canon exchange was a msjor determinant for the buffer capacity above pH 4.5 level, between pH 3.0-4.5 aluminum hydrolysis and below pH 3.0 aluminum and silicate hydrolysis. In Yeochon silicate hydrolysis led buffer capacity above pH 4.5 and below pH 4.5 aluminum hydrolysis.

• Journal of Korean Medical Science
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• v.33 no.52
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• pp.346.1-346.11
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• 2018

Background: To evaluate the therapeutic benefits of the treat-to-target (T2T) strategy for Asian patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Korea. Methods: In a 1-year, multicenter, open-label strategy trial, 346 patients with early RA were recruited from 20 institutions across Korea and stratified into 2 groups, depending on whether they were recruited by rheumatologists who have adopted the T2T strategy (T2T group) or by rheumatologists who provided usual care (non-T2T group). Data regarding demographics, rheumatoid factor titer, anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody titer, disease activity score of 28 joints (DAS28), and Korean Health Assessment Questionnaire (KHAQ) score were obtained at baseline and after 1 year of treatment. In the T2T group, the prescription for disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs was tailored to the predefined treatment target in each patient, namely remission (DAS28 < 2.6) or low disease activity (LDA) ($2.6{\leq}DAS28$ < 3.2). Results: Data were available for 163 T2T patients and 162 non-T2T patients. At the end of the study period, clinical outcomes were better in the T2T group than in the non-T2T group (LDA or remission, 59.5% vs. 35.8%; P < 0.001; remission, 43.6% vs. 19.8%; P < 0.001). Compared with non-T2T, T2T was also associated with higher rate of good European League Against Rheumatism response (63.0% vs. 39.8%; P < 0.001), improved KHAQ scores (-0.38 vs. -0.13; P = 0.008), and higher frequency of follow-up visits (5.0 vs. 2.0 visits/year; P < 0.001). Conclusion: In Asian patients with early RA, T2T improves disease activity and physical function. Setting a pre-defined treatment target in terms of DAS28 is recommended.

• Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.648-661
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• 2018

Purpose: Pollen-food allergy syndrome (PFAS) is an immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated allergy in pollinosis patients caused by raw fruits and vegetables and is the most common food allergy in adults. However, there has been no nationwide study on PFAS in Korea. In this study, we investigated the prevalence and clinical characteristics of PFAS in Korea. Methods: Twenty-two investigators participated in this study, in which patients with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and/or bronchial asthma with pollen allergy were enrolled. The questionnaires included demographic characteristics, a list of fruits and vegetables, and clinical manifestations of food allergy. Pollen allergy was diagnosed by skin prick test and/or measurement of the serum level of specific IgE. Results: A total of 648 pollinosis patients were enrolled. The prevalence of PFAS was 41.7% (n = 270). PFAS patients exhibited cutaneous (43.0%), respiratory (20.0%), cardiovascular (3.7%) or neurologic symptoms (4.8%) in addition to oropharyngeal symptoms. Anaphylaxis was noted in 8.9% of the PFAS patients. Seventy types of foods were linked to PFAS; e.g., peach (48.5%), apple (46.7%), kiwi (30.4%), peanut (17.4%), plum (16.3%), chestnut (14.8%), pineapple (13.7%), walnut (14.1%), Korean melon (12.6%), tomato (11.9%), melon (11.5%) and apricot (10.7%). Korean foods such as taro/taro stem (8.9%), ginseong (8.2%), perilla leaf (4.4%), bellflower root (4.4%), crown daisy (3.0%), deodeok (3.3%), kudzu root (3.0%) and lotus root (2.6%) were also linked to PFAS. Conclusions: This was the first nationwide study of PFAS in Korea. The prevalence of PFAS was 41.7%, and 8.9% of the PFAS patients had anaphylaxis. These results will provide clinically useful information to physicians.

• Journal of Korean Medical Science
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• v.33 no.49
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• pp.323.1-323.12
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• 2018

Background: Vitamin K antagonist (VKA) to prevent thromboembolism in non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients has limitations such as drug interaction. This study investigated the clinical characteristics of Korean patients treated with VKA for stroke prevention and assessed quality of VKA therapy and treatment satisfaction. Methods: We conducted a multicenter, prospective, non-interventional study. Patients with $CHADS_2{\geq}1$ and treated with VKA (started within the last 3 months) were enrolled from April 2013 to March 2014. Demographic and clinical features including risk factors of stroke and VKA treatment information was collected at baseline. Treatment patterns and international normalized ratio (INR) level were evaluated during follow-up. Time in therapeutic range (TTR) > 60% indicated well-controlled INR. Treatment satisfaction on the VKA use was measured by Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM) after 3 months of follow-up. Results: A total of 877 patients (age, 67; male, 60%) were enrolled and followed up for one year. More than half of patients (56%) had $CHADS_2{\geq}2$ and 83.6% had $CHA_2DS_2-VASc{\geq}2$. A total of 852 patients had one or more INR measurement during their follow-up period. Among those patients, 25.5% discontinued VKA treatment during follow-up. Of all patients, 626 patients (73%) had poor-controlled INR (TTR < 60%) measure. Patients' treatment satisfaction measured with TSQM was 55.6 in global satisfaction domain. Conclusion: INR was poorly controlled in Korean NVAF patients treated with VKA. VKA users also showed low treatment satisfaction.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.646-652
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• 2014

Data of pollution incidents which occurred in shipyards of South Korea for 10 years from 2004 to 2013 were collected and analyzed in order to propose the plans for the prevention of pollution incidents in shipyards. Total number of pollution incidents in shipyards was 103 cases over the nation of Korea for the recent 10 years and the average annual number was about 10 cases, and annual cases tended to increase from 8 cases in 2004 to 23 cases in 2010 and then to decrease to 9 cases in 2013. The location data of pollution incidents showed 32 cases in Busan metropolitan city (31%), 30 cases in Jeonnam (29%), 21 cases in Gyeongam (21%), 5 cases in Jeju (5%), 4 cases in Gangwon (4%), 4 cases in Gyeongbuk (4%), 3 cases in Chungnam (3%) and 3 cases in Incheon metropolitan city (3%). According to the data of work types of shipyards, 60 cases happened during the work of ship repair (58%), 25 cases during the work of ship breakup (24%), 10 cases in the course of ship building (10%) and 8 cases by others (8%). The data of pollutant type showed oil and oily mixtures to be 59 cases (57%), waste paint dust to be 22 cases (21%), iron dust and welding slag to be 13 cases (13%), wastes to be 4 cases (4%), waste FRP powder to be 3 cases (3%), and others to be 2 cases (2%). The plans for the prevention of pollution incidents in shipyards of Korea were proposed as follows; (1) Observance of the related laws and regulations, (2) Establishment and implementation of action plans to prevent areas dense with shipyards from causing pollution incidents, (3) Establishment and implementation of oil pollution prevention plans in shipyards, especially during the ship repair and breakup works, (4) Preparation of measures to solve civil complaints against pollution incidents in shipyards, and (5) Improvement in national management for the control of shipyards.