• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.67-79
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• 2016

Cyanotoxins in aquatic ecosystems have been investigated by many researchers worldwide. Cyanotoxins can be classified according to toxicity as neurotoxins (anatoxin-a, anatoxin-a(s), saxitoxins) or hepatotoxins (microcystins, nodularin, cylindrospermopsin). Microcystins are generally present within cyanobacterial cells and are released by damage to the cell membrane. Cyanotoxins have been reported to cause adverse effects and to accumulate in aquatic organisms in lakes, rivers and oceans. Possible pathways of microcystins in Lake Suwa, Japan, have been investigated from five perspectives: production, adsorption, physiochemical decomposition, bioaccumulation and biodegradation. In this study, temporal variability in microcystins in Lake Suwa were investigated over 25 years (1991~2015). In nature, microcystins are removed by biodegradation of microorganisms and/or feeding of predators. However, during water treatment, the use of copper sulfate to remove algal cells causes extraction of a mess of microcystins. Cyanotoxins are removed by physical, chemical and biological methods, and the reduction of nutrients inflow is a basic method to prevent cyanobacterial bloom formation. However, this method is not effective for eutrophic lakes because nutrients are already present. The presence of a cyanotoxins can be a potential threat and therefore must be considered during water treatment. A complete understanding of the mechanism of cyanotoxins degradation in the ecosystem requires more intensive study, including a quantitative enumeration of cyanotoxin degrading microbes. This should be done in conjunction with an investigation of the microbial ecological mechanism of cyanobacteria degradation.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.961-967
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• 2007

Automatic water feeding system for chickens is the one of the most important devices at poultry farms. Chickens drink water directly from a water feeder nipple of the automatic water feeder. Check valve inside the water feeder nipple is open when they drink water and is closed otherwise. There are two types of nipples. One is the piston nipple, and the other is the ball nipple. Because the nipple stick in the ball nipple can move freely, the sloping mechanism of the ball nipple works well. but it has complicated mechanism. On the other hand, the piston nipple has very simple structure, but its movement is limited so it can move only up-and-down. To overcome those limitation, the piston nipple with sphere valve seat face (sphere face piston nipple) has been developed and is just distributed at domestic markets. The experimental performance test of the commercialized sphere piston nipple has been conducted, and compared with the performance of the ball nipple and the piston nipple which are domestic products. As the result, sphere piston nipple shows excellent performance compared to that of the piston nipple but its performance is similar to ball type nipple.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.89-97
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• 2024

Background: Ginsenoside F2 (GF2), the protopanaxadiol-type constituent in Panax ginseng, has been reported to attenuate metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). However, the mechanism of action is not fully understood. Here, this study investigates the molecular mechanism by which GF2 regulates MASLD progression through liver X receptor (LXR). Methods: To demonstrate the effect of GF2 on LXR activity, computational modeling of protein-ligand binding, Time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer (TR-FRET) assay for LXR cofactor recruitment, and luciferase reporter assay were performed. LXR agonist T0901317 was used for LXR activation in hepatocytes and macrophages. MASLD was induced by high-fat diet (HFD) feeding with or without GF2 administration in WT and LXRα^-/- mice. Results: Computational modeling showed that GF2 had a high affinity with LXRα. LXRE-luciferase reporter assay with amino acid substitution at the predicted ligand binding site revealed that the S264 residue of LXRα was the crucial interaction site of GF2. TR-FRET assay demonstrated that GF2 suppressed LXRα activity by favoring the binding of corepressors to LXRα while inhibiting the accessibility of coactivators. In vitro, GF2 treatments reduced T0901317-induced fat accumulation and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression in hepatocytes and macrophages, respectively. Consistently, GF2 administration ameliorated hepatic steatohepatitis and improved glucose or insulin tolerance in WT but not in LXRα^-/- mice. Conclusion: GF2 alters the binding affinities of LXRα coregulators, thereby interrupting hepatic steatosis and inflammation in macrophages. Therefore, we propose that GF2 might be a potential therapeutic agent for the intervention in patients with MASLD.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.209-213
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• 2009

Caenorhabditis elegans is a free living soil nematode and thus in its natural habitat, C. elegans encounters many different species of soil bacteria. Although some soil bacteria may be excellent sources of nutrition for the worm, others may be pathogenic. Thus, we undertook a study to understand how C. elegans can identify their preferred food using a simple behavioral assay. We found that there are various species of soil bacteria that C. elegans prefers in comparison to the standard laboratory E. coli strain OP50. In particular, two bacterial strains, Bacillus mycoides and Bacillus soli, were preferred strains. Interestingly, the sole feeding of these bacteria to wild type animals results in extended lifespan through the activation of the autophagic process. Further studies will be required to understand the precise mechanism controlling the behavior of identification and selection of food in C. elegans.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.283-291
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• 2012

The present work reviews some mechanism explaining how thin layer can develop in the near coastal zone. The existence of thin layer was observed by physical research methods later than classical biological approaches. The Richardson number, which is a ratio between the stratification and shear stress is crucial factor determining the occurrence of thin layer. Micro-structure turbulence seems to affect the plankton behavior, in particular the encountering rate. Encountering rate affects significantly feeding, reproduction etc. and this fact was proved by the mechanical simulation methods. Recently the Gyrotaxis was introduced to explain how thin layer occurs in the mixing layer. Such physical approaches to explain ecological problem will be prominent methods for marine ecological research area.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2001.06d
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• pp.846-851
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• 2001

For the successful development of the main engine of KSR(Korea Sounding Rocket)-III, Korea Aerospace Research Institute(KARI) carried out the experimental study on the subscale model engines. Several types of engines were tested on the Small Liquid Rocket Engine Test Facility. One of the typical test results of a Sub. engine(Sub. Mod.3) is presented here. It uses the Jet A-1 as fuel, liquid oxygen as oxidizer, and Tri-Ethyl Aluminium(TEA1) as ignition agent. The gas pressure feed system is adopted as a feeding mechanism and the design chamber pressure is 200psia. The physical phenomena are described in three regimes(ignition, transient, and steady state) with the pressure, thrust, flowrate and image data. And the pressure oscillation is analyzed in Fourier domain (<500Hz). Then we conclude that in this experiment, the engine shows the characteristic low frequency of 80Hz and it is stable for that frequency of pressure oscillation.

• Korean System Dynamics Review
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.53-74
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• 2015

Nutria(Myocastor coypus) is one of the most notorious invasive species in many countries. The Nutria's original range was South America like Brazil, Chile and Argentina. But it has been introduced to North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia including Korea, by fur ranchers. Like most invasive and disturbing species, nutria not only destroys habitats but also impacts many native species throughout most of its range with destructive feeding behavior. The purpose of this study is to investigate the dynamics of survival mechanism, population increase and spatial distribution, and eradication effect of Nutria on Nakdong River Area with the systems thinking. The result of this study revealed that Nutria can survive during winter with the behavior that the colder the winter was, the more deeply it burrowed. Further, the study uncovered the dynamics that nutria has survived more and more strongly during the extreme cold winter in almost every region and their population has increased dramatically as a result of the uncontrolled reproduction. Finally, the result showed that the action delay in eradicating Nutria, which was originated from the information delay of perception of nutria's survival and reproduction structure, reinforced the spread of Nutria across the nation.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.138-143
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• 2008

We investigated if Chlorella vulgaris (CV) has protective effects on cadmium (Cd) induced liver damage in male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Forty rats, aged 5 weeks old and weighed 90-110g, were divided into a control (with Cd free water), 50 ppm of $CdCl_2$ in drinking water treated groups (Chlorella 0% diet group (Cd/CV0%), Chlorella 5% diet group (Cd/CV5%) or Chlorella 10% diet group (Cd/CV10%). All the rats had freely access to water and diet for 8 weeks. The results show that body weight gain and relative liver weight had significantly lower in Cd/CV0%-treated group than in Cd/CV-treated groups. Hepatic Cd contents showed significantly less by feeding CV (P<0.05). Cd/CV0%-treated rats had significantly (P<0.05) higher hepatic T-MTs, and Cd-MTs concentrations, compared to Cd/CV5% or Cd/CV10% treated rats. The MT I/II mRNA was expressed in the liver of all experimental rats. Its expression was more increased in Cd/CV5%- or Cd/CV10%-treated rats, compared to control and Cd-treated rats. Thus, this study suggested that CV would have a protective effect on Cd-treated liver injury by the reduction of Cd concentrations and stimulation of Cd-MT binds in the liver. However, more studies are needed to identify the proper mechanism of CV and liver toxicity.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.68-75
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• 2000

This paper presents the construction of an ultra-precision machining system and machining experiments using the developed system. The system is composed of air bearing system, granite bed, air pad, and linear feeding mechanism. The cutting conditions have great effect on the surface quality in ultra-precision machining. the ultra-precision machining is mainly processed by several ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ depth of cut and feed rate. For this, tools with sharper cutting edge and less tool wear are needed. To satisfy these requirement, diamond is generally used as a tool material for ultra-precision machining. In order to evaluate the cutting characteristics of the PCD and MCD tools on the aluminum alloy, the machining experiments performed using the developed system.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.133-144
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• 2000

The Brentidae is characterized by the reduced labial palpi, which is located in cavities on the apicoental margin of the prementum. The postcoila of two subfamilies of this family is deep and bowl-like on ental surface of the hypostomal arms. The mouthparts treated in here comprise the labrum, clypeus, mandibles, maxillae, labium, hypostoma and the septum of the preoral cavity. The terms are followed principally after Ting and Morimoto. The detail terminology fur the mandibles are newly given. [Insecta, Coleoptera, Comparative morphology, Mouthparts, Brentidae].