• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.25-33
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• 2012

The association of verotoxic E. coli and Acinetobacter spp. with various antibiotic-resistant, diarrhogenic, and nosocomial infections has been a cause for concern worldwide. E. coli and A. haemolyticus isolated on a number of selective media were screened for virulence factors, antibiotic resistance, and transformation of resistance genes. Out of 69 E. coli isolates obtained, 25 (35.23%), 14 (20.30%), and 28 (40.58%) were positive for Vtx1&2, Vtx1, and Vtx2, respectively, 49 (71.015%) for extendedspectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs), 34 (49.28%) for serum resistance, 57 (82.61%) for cell surface hydrophobicity, 48 (69.57%) for gelatinase production, and 37 (53.62%) for hemolysin production. For the 14 A. haemolyticus isolates, only 2 (14.29%) in each case from all the samples investigated were positive for Vtx1, Vtx2 and Vtx1&2 respectively, 8 (57.14%) for ESBLs, 7 (50.00%) for serum resistance, 11 (78.57%) for cell surface hydrophobicity, 4 (28.57%) for gelatinase production, and 8 (57.14%) for hemolysin production. Although transformation occurred among the E. coli and Acinetobacter isolates (transformation frequency: $13.3{\times}10^{-7}-53.4^{-7}$), there was poor curing of the plasmid genes, a confirmation of the presence of stable antibiotic-resistant genes (DNA concentration between 42.7 and 123.8 ${\mu}g$) and intragenetic transfer of multidrug-resistant genes among the isolates. The isolates were potentially virulent and contained potentially transferable antibiotic resistance genes. Detection of virulence factors, antibiotic resistance genes, and transformation among these isolates is a very significant outcome that will influence approaches to proactive preventive and control measures and future investigations. However, continued surveillance for drug resistance among these bacteria and further investigation of the mechanism of action of their virulence factors are a necessity.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.439-454
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• 2013

UN-REDD (United Nations programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) is currently being emerged as one of important mechanism to reduce carbon dioxide in relation to the deforestation. Although administrative boundary has already gained world-wide recognition as a typical method of monitoring unit in the process of GHG (Greenhouse Gas) reduction project, this approach did not provide a realistic evidence in the carbon sequestering monitoring in terms of UN-REDD; the meaningful comparison of land use patterns among watershed boundaries, interpretation for distribution trends of carbon density, calculation of opportunity cost, leakage management, etc. This research proposes a comparative evaluation framework in a more objective and quantitative way for carbon sequestering monitoring between administrative and watershed boundary approaches. Mt. Geumgang of North Korea was selected as a survey objective and an exhaustive and realistic comparison of carbon sequestration between the two approaches was conducted, based on change detection using TM satellite images. It was possible for drainage boundary approach to identify more detailed area-wide patterns of carbon distribution than traditional administrative one, such as estimations of state and trends, including historical trends, of land use / land cover and carbon density in the Mt. Geumgang. The distinctive changing trends in terms of carbon sequestration were specifically identified over the watershed boundary from 4.0% to 34.8% while less than 1% difference was observed in the administrative boundaries, which were resulting in almost 21-22%. It is anticipated that this research output could be used as a valuable reference to support more scientific and objective decision-making in introducing watershed boundary as carbon sequestering monitoring unit.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.365-372
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• 2008

Objectives : There are very few researches on North Korea's academic activities. Furthermore, it is doubtful that the available data are reliable. This study investigated research activities and knowledge structure in the field of Preventive Medicine in North Korea with a network analysis using co-authors and keywords. Methods : The data was composed of the North Korean Journal of preventive medicine ranged from Vol. 1 of 1997 to Vol. 4 of 2006. It was the matrix of 1,172 articles by 1,567 co-authors. We applied R procedure for keywords abstraction, and then sought for the outcome of network forms by spring-KK and shrinking network. Results : To comprehend the whole networks explicitly demonstrated that the academic activities in North Korea s preventive medicine were predisposed to centralization as similar as South Korea's, but on the other aspect they were prone to one-off intermittent segmentation. The principal co-author networks were formulated around some outstanding medical universities seemingly in addition to possible intervention by major researchers. The knowledge structure of network was based on experimentation judging from keywords such as drug, immunity, virus detection, infection, bacteria, anti-inflammation, etc. Conclusions : Though North Korea is a socialist regime, there were network of academic activities, which were deemed the existence of inducive mechanism affordable for free research. Article keywords has laid greater emphasis on experiment-based bacterial defection, sustainable immune system and prevention of infection. The kind of trend was a consistent characteristic in preventive medicine of North Korea haying close correlation with Koryo medical science.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.291-292
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• 2001

We report a case of malignant pericardial effusion originated from adenocarcinoma of the lung incidentally diagnosed by bone scintigraphy, prior to echocardiographic detection. A 76 year-old man with adenocarcinoma of the lung underwent Tc-99m MDP bone scintigraphy to evaluate skeletal metastasis. Anterior images of the chest of the bone scintigraphy unexpectedly showed diffuse increased activity in the region of the heart surrounded by an oval-shaped band of increased activity corresponding to the periphery of the cardiac silhouette (Fig. 1). There was no evidence of bony metastasis. Pericardial effusion was confirmed by echocardiography (Fig. 2) and malignant cells were revealed by subsequent microscopic examination of the pericardial fluid. Bone scintigraphy using Tc-99m phosphate compounds is commonly used to detect bony metastasis in cancer patients. Tc-99m phosphate compounds occasionally accumulate in extra-osseous sites, including $pleural^{1,2)},\;pericardial^{3,4)},\;and\;ascitic\;fluids^{5,6)}$. It has been reported that their accumulation in serous effusions should strongly suggest $malignancy^{1-6)}$. The exact mechanism for accumulation of Tc-99m phosphate compounds in serous effusions is unclear. Several investigators have proposed that the radiopharmaceuticals exuded directly from peripheral vessels to the serous cavity due to increased vascularity and vascular permeability, and bleeding by disruption of blood vessels due to cancerous $infiltration^{5,6)}$.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.507-520
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• 2020

In order to achieve effective corrosion monitoring of buried metal pipelines, a Novel nondestructive Testing (NDT) methodology using ultra-long (250 mm) Polymer Optical Fiber (POF) sensors coated with the Fe-C alloy film is proposed in this study. The theoretical principle is investigated to clarify the monitoring mechanism of this method, and the detailed fabrication process of this novel POF sensor is presented. To validate the feasibility of this novel POF sensor, exploratory research of the proposed method was performed using simulated corrosion tests. For simplicity, the geometric shape of the buried pipeline was simulated as a round hot-rolled plain steel bar. A thin nickel layer was applied as the inner plated layer, and the Fe-C alloy film was coated using an electroless plating technique to precisely control the thickness of the alloy film. In the end, systematic sensitivity analysis on corrosion severity was further performed with experimental studies on three sensors fabricated with different metal layer thicknesses of 25 ㎛, 30 ㎛ and 35 ㎛. The experimental observation demonstrated that the sensor coated with 25 ㎛ Fe-C alloy film presented the highest effectiveness with the corrosion sensitivity of 0.3364 mV/g at Δm = 9.32 × 10^-4 g in Stage I and 0.0121 mV/g in Stage III. The research findings indicate that the detection accuracy of the novel POF sensor proposed in this study is satisfying. Moreover, the simple fabrication of the high-sensitivity sensor makes it cost-effective and suitable for the on-site corrosion monitoring of buried metal pipelines.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.221-227
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• 1995

The fiber optic fluorosensor that shows a specific selectivity for calcium ion is studied. This sensor employs protein Calmodulin(CaM) which forms a fluorescent chelate with $Ca^{2+}$. A dialysis membrane is used to entrap a fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled CaM solution at the common end of a bifurcated fiber optic bundle. The sensing mechanism of this sensor is based on the shifts in the fluorescence spectrum of metal-calmodulin complexes which FCaM forms a chelate with $Ca^{2+}$. Upon binding with $Ca^{2+}$, CaM undergoes a conformational change which induces a change in the fluorescence of FCaM. This change in fluorescence signal which is measured by photomultiflier tube is related to the concentration of $Ca^{2+}$ for calibration curve. Detection limit for $Ca^{2+}$ and the interference effects by $Mg^{2+}$, $Eu^{3+}$ and $La^{3+}$ for this sensor are studied. Response time and life time for this fluorosensor are also investigated.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.115-120
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• 2017

In recent, it is worldwide issued that nanoscale science and technology as a solution have supported to increase the sensing performance in carbon nanotube based biosensor system. Containing material chemistry in various nanostructures has formed their high potentials for stabilizing and activating biocatalyst as a bioreceptor for medical, food contaminants, and environmental detections using electrode modification technologies. Especially, the large surface area provides the attachment of biocatalysts increasing the biocatalyst loading. Therefore, nano-scale engineering of the biocatalysts have been suggested to be the next stage advancement of biosensors. Here, we would like to study the electrical mechanism depending on the exposure methods (soaking or dropping) to the sample solution to the assembled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the gold electrodes of biosensor for a simple and highly sensitive detection. We performed various experiments using polar and non-polar solutions as sampling tests and identified electrical response of assembled CNTs in those solutions.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.105-110
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• 2012

A europium (III)-sensitized, spectrofluorimetric (FL) method is presented for the determination of sparfloxacin (SPAR) using an anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl benzene sulphonate (SDBS). The method is based on the strong fluorescence (FL) enhancement of SPAR after the addition of $Eu^{3+}$ ions as fluorescence probes. The experimental results indicated that the FL intensity of the SPAR-$Eu^{3+}$ system was enhanced markedly by SDBS. The maximum FL emission signal was obtained at about 615 nm when excited at 372 nm. The experimental conditions that affected the FL intensity of the SPAR-$Eu^{3+}$-SDBS system were optimized systematically. The enhanced FL intensity of the system exhibited a good linear relationship with the SPAR concentration over the range of $1.5{\times}10^{-9}-1.2{\times}10^{-7}mol\;L^{-1}$ with a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.9987. The limit of detection ($3{\delta}$) was $4.15{\times}10^{-10}mol\;L^{-1}$ with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 1.65%. This method was successfully applied for the determination of SPAR in pharmaceuticals, and human serum and urine samples with higher sensitivity, wide dynamic range and better stability. The possible interaction mechanism of the system is also discussed in detail by ultraviolet absorption spectra and FL spectra.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.30 no.10
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• pp.2303-2308
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• 2009

A thiocyanate poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) membrane electrode based on [1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane]dihalopalladium( II), [(dppe)$PdX_2$, X = Cl ($L^1$), X = I ($L^2$)] as active sensor has been developed. The diiodopalladium complex, [(dppe)$PdI_2](L^2$) displays an anti-Hofmeister selectivity sequence: $SCN^-\;>\;I^-\;>\;{ClO_4}^-\;>\;Sal^-\;>\;Br^-\;>\;{NO_2}^-\;>\;{HPO_4}^-\;>\;AcO^-\;>\;{NO_3}^-\;>\;{H_2PO_4}^-\;>\;{CO_3}^{2-}$. The electrode exhibits a Nernstian response (-59.8 mV/decade) over a wide linear concentration range of thiocyanate ($(1.0\;{\times}\;10^{-1}\;to\;5.0\;{\times}\;10^{-6}$ M), low detection limit ($(1.1\;{\times}\;10^{-6}$ M), fast response $(t_{90%}$ = 24 s), and applicability over a wide pH range (3.5∼11). Addition of anionic sites, potassium tetrakis[p-chlorophenyl] borate (KTpClPB) is shown to improve potentiometric anion selectivity, suggesting that the palladium complex may operate as a partially charged carrier-type ionophore within the polymer membrane phase. The reaction mechanism is discussed with respect to UV-Vis and IR spectroscopy. Application of the electrode to the potentiometric titration of thiocyanate ion with silver nitrate is reported.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.180-187
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• 2017

Background: The incidence of halitosis has a prevalence of 22-50% throughout the world and is generally caused by anaerobic oral microorganisms, such as Fusobacterium nucleatum, Clostridium perfringens, and Porphyromonas gingivalis. Previous investigations on the structure-activity relationships of ginsenosides have led to contrasting results. Particularly, the antibacterial activity of less polar ginsenosides against halitosis-related bacteria has not been reported. Methods: Crude saponins extracted from the Panax quinquefolius leaf-stem (AGS) were treated at $130^{\circ}C$ for 3 h to obtain heat-transformed saponins (HTS). Five ginsenoside-enriched fractions (HTS-1, HTS-2, HTS-3, HTS-4, and HTS-5) and less polar ginsenosides were separated by HP-20 resin absorption and HPLC, and the antimicrobial activity and mechanism were investigated. Results: HPLC with diode-array detection analysis revealed that heat treatment induced an extensive conversion of polar ginsenosides (-Rg1/Re, -Rc, -Rb2, and -Rd) to less polar compounds (-Rg2, -Rg3, -Rg6, -F4, -Rg5, and -Rk1). The antimicrobial assays showed that HTS, HTS-3, and HTS-4 were effective at inhibiting the growth of F. nucleatum, C. perfringens, and P. gingivalis. Ginsenosides-Rg5 showed the best antimicrobial activity against the three bacteria, with the lowest values of minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration. One major reason for this result is that less polar ginsenosides can more easily damage membrane integrity. Conclusion: The results indicated that the less polar ginsenoside-enriched fraction from heat transformation can be used as an antibacterial agent to control halitosis.