• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.218-224
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• 2005

Surface modification of glutaraldehyde fixed bovine pericardium (GFBP) was success­fully carried out with hyaluronic acid (HA) derivatives. At first, HA was chemically modified with adipic dihydrazide (ADH) to introduce hydrazide functional group into the carboxyl group of HA backbone. Then, GFBP was surface modified by grafting HA-ADH to the free aldehyde groups on the tissue and the subsequent HA-ADH hydrogel coating. HA-ADH hydrogels could be prepared through selective crosslinking at low pH between hydrazide groups of HA-ADH and crosslinkers containing succinimmidyl moieties with minimized protein denaturation. When HA­ADH hydrogels were prepared at low pH of 4.8 in the presence of erythropoietin (EPO) as a model protein, EPO release was continued up to $85\%$ of total amount of loaded EPO for 4 days. To the contrary, only $30\%$ of EPO was released from HA-ADH hydrogels prepared at pH=7.4, which might be due to the denaturation of EPO during the crosslinking reaction. Because the carboxyl groups on the glucuronic acid residues are recognition sites for HA degradation by hyaluronidase, the HA-ADH hydrogels degraded more slowly than HA hydrogels prepared by the crosslinking reaction of divinyl sulfone with hydroxyl groups of HA. Following a two-week subcutaneous implantation in osteopontin-null mice, clinically significant levels of calcification were observed for the positive controls without any surface modification. However, the calcification of surface modified GFBP with HA-ADH and HA-ADH hydrogels was drastically reduced by more than $85\%$ of the positive controls. The anti-calcification effect of HA surface modification was also confirmed by microscopic analysis of explanted tissue after staining with Alizarin Red S for calcium, which followed the trend as observed with calcium quantification.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.721-729
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• 1997

Total scour depth at a bridge is comprised of three components: long-term changes, contraction scour and local scour. Therefore, the analysis of long-term bed elevation changes is very important in the estimation of total scour depth at bridge sites. In this research, long-term bed elevation changes at the Namhan River Bridge are analysed using CHARIMA and HEC-6 models. The results show that, for 5-year steady normal stream flow, the bed elevation is aggreded by 45cm for CHARIMA model but degraded by 5cm for HEC-6 model. For 5-year unsteady flow, the bed elevation is changed greatly and it has a great influence on the estimation of total scour depth. Therefore, to make a proper estimation of total scour depth, not only contraction scour and local scour, but also long-term bed elevation changes should be estimated precisely.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.292-296
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• 2014

We investigated the effect of Ta doping on the dielectric and piezoelectric properties of lead-free $(K_{0.5}Na_{0.5})NbO_3$ ceramics prepared using a conventional ceramic processing. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that Ta was perfectly substituted into Nb-sites in the range of 0 to 20 at%. As Ta content in the KNN increased, the sinterability of KNN ceramics was significantly degraded while the Ta doping enhanced the piezoelectric constant $d_{33}$, planar mode piezoelectric coupling coefficient ($k_p$), and electromechanical quality factor ($Q_m$). The highest values for $d_{33}$, $k_p$, and $Q_m$ was found to be 156 pC/N, 0.37, and 155, respectively.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.241-248
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• 2006

Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors have cardioprotective effects in different species including human. This cardioprotective effect is mainly due to the inhibition of bradykinin (BK) degradation rather than inhibition of the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensir. II. Bradykinin, a nonapeptide, has been considered to be the potential target for various enzymes including ACE, neutral endopeptidase 24.11, carboxypeptidase M, carboxypeptidase N, proline aminopeptidase, endopeptidase 24.15, and meprin. In the present study, the coronary vascular beds of Sprague Dawley rat isolated hearts were perfused (single passage) with Krebs solution alone or with different concentrations of BK i.e. $2.75{\times}10^{-10},\;10^{-7},\;10^{-6}\;and\;10^{-5}M$ solution. Percent degradation of BK was determined by radioimmunoassay. The degradation products of BK after passing through the isolated rat-hearts were determined using RP-HPLC and mass spectroscopy. All the four doses of BK significantly decreased the perfusion pressure during their passage through the hearts. The percentage degradation of all four doses was decreased as the concentration of drug was increased, implying saturation of a fixed number of active sites involved in BK degradation. Bradykinin during a single passage through the hearts degraded to give [1-7]-BK as the major metabolite, and [1-8]-BK as a minor metabolite, detected on HPLC. Mass spectroscopy not only confirmed the presence of these two metabolites but also detected traces of [1-5]-BK and arginine. These findings showed that primarily ACE is the major cardiac enzyme involved in the degradation of bradykinin during a single passage through the coronary vascular of bed the healthy rat heart, while carboxypeptidase M may have a minor role.

• BMB Reports
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.398-404
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• 1996

Light-chilling effects were investigated in chilling-sensitive cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. cv. Ilmichungjang) and chilling-resistant pea (Pisum sativum L. cv. Giant) leaf discs in relation to possible damage in D1 protein. In both plants, dark-chilling did not cause any noticeable changes in (Fv)m/Fm and lincomycin did not affect the decrease in (Fv)m/Fm caused by light-chilling. This result suggests that the de novo synthesis of D1 protein did not occur actively during light-chilling. In pea light-chilled for 6 h. the decreased (Fv)m/Fm was partly recovered in the dark, and almost complete recovery was observed in the light. In cucumber light-chilled for 3 h. the reduced (Fv)m/Fm decreased further for the initial 2 h recovery process in the light regardless of the treatment of lincomycin and recovered very slowly. In both plant species, the treatment of lincomycin inhibited the recovery process in the light, but did not significantly inhibit the process in the dark. In cucumber leaves pulse-labeled with $[^{35}S]Met$, the labeled band intensities of isolated pigment-protein complexes were almost the same during the 6 h light-chilling, but significant decreases in band intensities were observed during the 3 h recovery period. This result suggests that the irreversibly damaged D1 protein was degraded during the recovery period. However, no noticeable changes were observed in the pea leaves during the 12 h chilling and 3 h recovery period. The polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the pigment-protein complexes showed that the principal lesion sites of light-chilling were different from those of room temperature photoinhibition.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.69-73
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• 2008

Fermented soybeans contain microorganisms, diverse enzymes, and bioactive compounds. Few studies on cellulase in Chungkookjang exist. Oligosaccharides play diverse roles of bioactivity. Through Congo red test and activity staining, it was confirmed that the enzyme solution contained cellulase. Optimal pH and temperature of the cellulase produced by Bacillus licheniformis B1 were 10 and $40^{\circ}C$, respectively. Through TLC analysis, it was demonstrated that the enzyme solution degraded carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), whose main products contained dimer and trimer oligosaccharides. Cellulase activity of barley-Chungkookjnag fermented by the strain increased, compared with that of Chungkookjang. The cellulase was found to be a ${\beta}$-1,4-glucanase through the analysis of the cloned gene, showing polymorphism at 32 amino acid sites in the coding range of amino acid 10 and 460.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.267-272
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• 2007

Microorganisms capable of degrading poly(butylene succinate-co-butylene adipate) (PBSA) were isolated from 40 soil samples such as landfill site soil, cultivating soil and activated sludge soil from 20 different sites in Korea by using the enrichment culture and the clear zone test at $37^{\circ}C$. Based on the 16S rDNA sequences, the isolated bacterium was identified to be Streptomyces sp. PBSA-1. Morphological and cultural characteristics were employed for the identification of the isolated fungi and they were proved to be Aspergillus fumigatus PBSA-2 and Aspergillus fumigatus PBSA-3. The PBSA degradation activity of the isolated microorganisms was enhanced through the serial acclimation in PBSA plate medium. The PBSA degrading microorganisms appeared to be highly active for the PBSA degradation in that 83% of PBSA was degraded by Streptomyces sp. PBSA-l, and 65% and 75% of PBSA was mineralized by A. fumigatus PBSA2 and A. fumigatus PBSA-3 respectively during 40 days of the modified Sturm test.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.409-420
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• 2010

Heritage resources have become important social assets as the global interests in heritage tourism increased. Utilization of heritage as unique tourist destination has positive effects on regional economy, which in turn plays an important role in heritage conservation. However, it was found that the essential quality of heritage resources has been degraded and even destroyed when excessive use was permitted. This undesirable side-effects of heritage tourism have led to the growing concern for sustainable tourism that can contribute to both utilization and conservation of heritage. In order for sustainable tourism to be effectively implemented, it is crucial for visitors to be aware of the need for heritage conservation because they are the most important consumers of the heritage. The purpose of this study was to suggest some basic information for sustainable tourism by investigating visitors' evaluation of conservation and use values of heritage resources. The study sites were the two Korean traditional temples(Sokrisan Bubjusa and Naejangsan Naejangsa) and contingent valuation method was used. 390 visitors in Bubjusa and 308 visitors in Naejangsa participated in the questionnaire survey. From the results, sustainable tourism is possible in such heritage areas as traditional temples because the participants had relatively balanced values for heritage conservation and use. The WTP for natural conservation value was found to be highest in both temples; visitors may be more agreeable with the heritage conservation plan if the sustainability of natural resource is emphasized. Also, the use value of heritage could be influenced by the tourism utilization of the area where the heritage was located. If there are no other famous tourist destinations except the heritage in the area, additional plans to develop alternative destinations should be prepared in order to formulate the agreement on the need to protect the heritage among visitors, local communities, and government.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.339-348
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• 2007

In this work, we compared the characteristics of three benthic biotic indices (BPI, AMBI, BIBI) which indicates the health condition of benthic communities in Masan Bay, Korea where anthropogenic impacts have been concentrated. Also we evaluated the usefulness of these benthic indices and some problems if they were applied to the Korean coastal waters. For this we used the macrozoobenthos data collected using van Veen grab ($0.1\;m^2$) at 21 sites in Masan Bay in February and August 2004. Based on the BPI values, two stations in the inner bay were found in a very hard polluted condition and three stations in the middle bay were also in a highly polluted condition. Only one station located in the bay mouth was in a normal condition. The inner bay stations showed very high AMBI values (${\geq}5.0$), indicating a highly polluted condition. The bay mouth station was assessed in a moderately polluted condition. The overall BIBI values in Masan Bay were in the range between 1.0 and 3.0. The inner bay stations showed low BIBI values (${\leq}2.0$) in the severely degraded condition. The bay mouth station with high BIBI value over 3.0 was assessed as a normal condition. All three benthos indices showed that macrozoobenthic communities in the inner bay were in a seriously polluted condition all year round, and macrobenthic faunas in the bay mouth seemed in a bad healthy condition (slightly polluted) based on AMBI during summer season. These three benthic biotic indices showed the similar assessment result, and thus we consider that each of them is a useful tool for the assessment of coastal benthic ecosystems under the organic enrichment in sediment.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.212-218
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• 1987

Intact brain cell aggregates were dissociated from adult rat brains without cerebellum using a sieving technique. This proparation was used to elucidate the binding characteristics of agonist to muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAchR) in brain. Incubation of cells with carbamylcholine (carbachol) was shown agonist-induced receptor down-regulation depending on the concentration of agonist, not depending on the incubation time. This effect of carbachol was due to a reduction in the maximal binding capacity ($B_{max}$) to the mAchR without decreasing the affinity of the remaining receptors in incubation at 37.deg.C but was not apparent inincubation at $15^{\circ}}C$In addition, it was abolished when the receptors were blocked by atropine. The decline in ($^3H$)N-methylscopolamine (($^3H$)NMS) binding induced by agonist was reflected as a significant reduction in the receptor density with no change in receptor affinity, suggesting that 'true' receptor down-regulation takes place. Moreover, when the receptors were labeled with the lipophilic antagonist ($^3H$) quinuclidinyl benzilate (($^3H$) QNB) insted of the hydrophilic ligand ($^3H$)NMS, the magnitude of the observed receptor down-regulation was significantly lower in case of the former than the latter. This suggested that exposure of intact brain cells to muscarinic agonists might induce a slight degree of accumulation of receptors in intracellular sites before the receptors are actually degraded.