• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.442-452
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• 2010

Our team carried out a new program for public engagement on nanotechnology in Korea. We chose 22 monitors, who majored in science or technology and graduated from universities long time ago. Most of them were married and housewives. This 'focus group' had not only general knowledge about science or technology but also much interest in social activities. The 167 nanoproducts to be monitored were for daily life, e.g. home appliances (washing machine, refrigerator, water purifier, etc), clothing, cosmetics, food, toy, and others. And the period of it was one month. The monitors had a sheet with 10 questions, and filled them out in essay form. All of them submitted 2~3 sheets every weekend to our team. Before monitoring, our team had a meeting for introduction and explanation about the potential risk of nanotechnology as well as benefits from it. Another meeting was held after finishing monitoring to share their experience one another. The main results of the monitoring were as follows: the number of nanoproducts describing both the definition of 'nano' and the size of nanomaterials was just 2 (1.2%) the number of them explaining the technical methods enough was 15 (9/0%) the number of them accounting for the reason of functional improvement enough was 14(8.4%); the number of them doubtful as if there would be exaggeration or false knowledge was 27 (16.2%); the number of them commenting potential hazards to human health or environment was almost zero; the number of them describing about safety certification acceptable was 9 (5.4%). The monitors made a proposal containing recommendation to Government and industry. The contents were as follows: industry should make the manual in detail and correctly, Describe Certificate detailed and correctly, Do research on risk and toxicity continually, Educate employee about nanoproducts at consumer's center; Government should make indication of nanoproducts compulsory, Appoint Certificate Authority and make Certificate Mark guaranteeing the safety on nanoproducts, Make detailed explanation about nanoproducts compulsory.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.239-252
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• 2021

Objectives : This study is to effect of improving muscle atrophy through water extract on the solid-phase fermentation extraction with Phellinus linteus of discarded Schisandra chinensis in an atorvastatin-induced atrophy C2C12 cell. Methods : C2C12 myoblast were differentiated into myotube by 2% horse serum medium for 6 days, and then treated solid-phase fermentation(S-P) extract at different concentrations for 24h. To investigate the effect of S-P extract on the induction of muscle atrophy and expression of atrophy-related genes and apoptosis in differentiated C2C12 myotubes using a GSH, ROS, real-time PCR, western blots analysis. Results : As a result of treatment with atorvastatin at concentrations of 5, 10, and 20 uM on the 6th day of differentiation in C2C12 myotube cells, it was confirmed that the cell morphology was damaged in a concentration-dependent manner, and the length and thickness of the myotube also decreased in a concentration-dependent manner. Treatment with S-P extract (50, 100 and 200 ㎍/㎖) increased of GSH and inhibited ROS in the atorvastatin-induced muscle atrophy cell model at a concentration that did not induce toxicity. In addition, it was confirmed that it has an effect on muscle reduction by inhibiting apoptosis of muscle cells as well as being involved in protein production and degradation of muscle cells. Conclusions : Atorvastatin-induced atrophy C2C12 cell, S-P extract activates related to differentiation/generation and proteolysis, and inhibits cell death of atrophy in C2C12 cell. Based on this, it is necessary to prove its effectiveness through animal models and human application test, but it is considered to be discarded Schisandra chinensis can present the potential for development as a recycling industrial material.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.11 no.12
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• pp.236-243
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• 2021

The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-oxidant and anti-wrinkle effect of the black carrot(BC) extracted by supercritical dioxide(SC-CO₂). DPPH/ABTS radical scavenging and total polyphenol contents were measured to investigate the anti-oxidant activity of the BC supercritical extract. Collagen production and MMP-1 expression were assessed in normal human dermal fibroblasts(NHDF) for anti-wrinkle activity, The black carrot extract showed the highest total phenolic content(9.037±1.123 mg GAE/g extract) and the best antioxidant properties as shown by DPPH and ABTS assay. The supercritical fluid extracts of black carrot exhibited low toxicity to NHDF cells. In addition, the supercritical fluid extracts showed MMP-1 inhibition and type I pro-collagen synthesis inducing activities in a dose-dependent manner, respectively. Therefore, these results suggest that the black carrot is a potential source of high anti-oxidative, solvent-free and anti-aging material with promising applications in cosmetic, food, and beauty-food industries.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.97-109
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• 2021

Plant parasitic nematodes are causing significant damage in crop production. There is a need to develop eco-friendly nematicide that reduces the damage of nematode and has little effect on the environment and human. In this study, we have isolated a substance having nematicidal activity from Ginkgo biloba L. outer seedcoat. Studies of G. biloba L. outer seedcoat are insufficient compared to the seed and leaves due to their odor and toxicity. The dried G. biloba L. outer seedcoat was extracted with dichloromethane:methanol (1:1) and fractionated into hexane, ethyl acetate and H₂O. Four steps TLC were performed from EtOAc fraction to purely isolate GB4-3 with nematicidal activity. To compare nematicidal activity, G. biloba L. seedcoat methanol extract and purified GB4-3 were investigated in terms of treatment concentration and time. As a result, the nematicidal activity increased with concentration and time. In the place treated with 20 ㎍/mL of crude G. biloba L. seedcoat MeOH extract, strong activity appeared after 12 hours, and 46% nematicidal activity shown after 18 hours. About 69% of nematicidal activity was confirmed in the place where GB4-3 purified from outer seedcoat was treated with 20 ㎍/mL, and the possibility of development as nematicide was very high. This study could be used as a basic data for the development of a nematode preparation from G. biloba L. outer seedcoat.

• Clean Technology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.269-274
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• 2018

In this study, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of wet tissue manufacturing process was performed. The wet tissue manufacturing process consists of preparation of wetting agent (chemical liquid), impregnation of nonwoven fabric into wetting agent and primary and secondary packaging. Data and information were collected on the input and output of the actual process from a certain company and the database of the Korea Ministry of Environment and some foreign countries (when Korean unavailable) were employed to connect the upper and the lower process flow. Based on the above and the potential environmental impacts of the wet tissue manufacturing process were calculated. As a result of the characterization, Ozone Layer Depletion (OD) is 3.46.E-06 kg $CFC_{11}$, Acidification (AD) is 5.11.E-01 kg $SO_2$, Abiotic Resource Depletion (ARD) is $3.52.E+00\;1yr^{-1}$, Global Warming (GW) is 1.04.E+02 kg $CO_2$, Eutrophication (EUT) is 2.31.E-02 kg ${PO_4}^{3-}$, Photochemical Oxide Creation (POC) was 2.22.E-02 kg $C_2H_4$, Human Toxicity (HT) was 1.55.E+00 kg 1,4 DCB and Terrestrial Ecotoxicity (ET) was 5.82.E-04 kg 1,4 DCB. In order to reduce the environmental impact of the manufacturing process, it is necessary to improve the overall process as other general cases and change the raw materials including packaging materials with less environmental impact. Conclusively, the energy consumed in the manufacturing process has emerged as a major issue, and this needs to be reconsidered other options such as alternative energy. Therefore, it is recommended that a process system should be redesigned to improve energy efficiency and to change to an energy source with lower environmental impact. Due to the nature of LCA, the final results of this study can be varied to some extent depending on the type of LCI DB employed and may not represent of all wet tissue manufacturing processes in the current industry.

• Laboraroty Animal Research
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.57-67
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• 2017

The inhibitory effects of Asparagus cochinchinensis against inflammatory response induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), substance P and phthalic anhydride (PA) treatment were recently reported for some cell lines and animal models. To evaluate the hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity of A. cochinchinensis toward the livers and kidneys of ICR mice, alterations in related markers including body weight, organ weight, urine composition, liver pathology and kidney pathology were analyzed in male and female ICR mice after oral administration of 150, 300 and 600 mg/kg body weight/day saponin-enriched extract of A. cochinchinensis (SEAC) for 14 days. The saponin, total flavonoid and total phenol levels were found to be 57.2, 88.5 and 102.1 mg/g in SEAC, respectively, and the scavenging activity of SEAC gradually increased in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, body and organ weight, clinical phenotypes, urine parameters and mice mortality did not differ between the vehicle and SEAC treated group. Furthermore, no significant alterations were measured in alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and the serum creatinine (Cr) in the SEAC treated group relative to the vehicle treated group. Moreover, the specific pathological features induced by most toxic compounds were not observed upon liver and kidney histological analysis. Overall, the results of the present study suggest that SEAC does not induce any specific toxicity in the livers and kidneys of male and female ICR mice at doses of 600 mg/kg body weight/day.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2019

Heavy metals resulted from the increase of human industrial activity are introduced into the environment through rainfall and wastewater, and have harmful effects on inhabitants. In this study, we investigated biological responses such as survival rate, growth rate, emergence rate and sex ratio, and morphological effects of mentum deformity in Chironomus plumosus, an indicator organism to evaluate pollutions on aquatic ecosystem. The survival rate of C. plumosus showed time- and dose-dependent decrease after chromium and copper exposures. Growth rate decreased at $4^{th}$ day after chromium exposure and significantly reduced at exposure to relatively high concentration (copper $1000mg\;L^{-1}$) for all exposure times. In addition, we observed that the emergence rate by exposure to copper $1000mg\;L^{-1}$ was significantly lower than that of the control group. The imbalance of sex ratios showed at relatively low concentrations (chromium 10 and $50mg\;L^{-1}$) with the high proportion of female and at the relative high concentration (copper $1000mg\;L^{-1}$) with the high proportion of male. Furthermore, the morphological mentum deformities of C. plumosus observed in the exposed group according to chromium and copper exposure. These results suggest that the heavy metal exposure in environment may influence biosynthetic and morphological stresses of benthic invertebrate C. plumosus, and aquatic midge C. plumosus are potential indicators for toxicity assessment of heavy metals such as chromium and copper.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.295-304
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• 2021

Background: Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a hematopoietic malignancy driven by promyelocytic leukemia-retinoic acid receptor A (PML-RARA) fusion gene. The therapeutic drugs currently used to treat APL have adverse effects. 20(S)-ginsenoside Rh2 (GRh2) is an anticancer medicine with high effectiveness and low toxicity. However, the underlying anticancer mechanisms of GRh2-induced PML-RARA degradation and apoptosis in human APL cell line (NB4 cells) remain unclear. Methods: Apoptosis-related indicators and PML-RARA expression were determined to investigate the effect of GRh2 on NB4 cells. Z-VAD-FMK, LY294002, and C 87, as inhibitors of caspase, and the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) pathways were used to clarify the relationship between GRh2-induced apoptosis and PML-RARA degradation. Results: GRh2 dose- and time-dependently decreased NB4 cell viability. GRh2-induced apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and caspase3, caspase8, and caspase9 activation in NB4 cells after a 12-hour treatment. GRh2-induced apoptosis in NB4 cells was accompanied by massive production of reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial damage and upregulated Bax/Bcl-2 expression. GRh2 also induced PML/PML-RARA degradation, PML nuclear bodies formation, and activation of the downstream p53 pathway in NB4 cells. Z-VAD-FMK inhibited caspase activation and significantly reversed GRh2-induced apoptosis and PML-RARA degradation. GRh2 also upregulated TNF-α expression and inhibited Akt phosphorylation. LY294002, an inhibitor of the PI3K pathway, enhanced the antitumor effects of GRh2, and C 87, an inhibitor of the TNF-α pathway, reversed NB4 cell viability, and GRh2-mediated apoptosis in a caspase-8-dependent manner. Conclusion: GRh2 induced caspase-dependent PML-RARA degradation and apoptosis in NB4 cells via the Akt/Bax/caspase9 and TNF-α/caspase8 pathways.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.27 no.spc
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• pp.99-112
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• 2022

From early 2000, many researchers in the groundwater and soil environment remediation project tried to calculate the pollution level and pollution remediation cost and reflect it in the design. In addition, by identifying the movement characteristics of oil pollutants in the underground environment, many researchers tried to derive design factors necessary for pollution purification. However, although the test should be conducted in an area contaminated with oil, the toxicity and risk are too great for testing by deliberately leaking pollutants that are harmful to the human body. And as oil-contaminated areas are promoted by military units such as returned US military bases, there is a limit to access by the general public. In addition, since the indoor simulation test and the field application test have been carried out separately from each other, it was difficult to compare and review various simulation tests Therefore, in this study, PITT (Partitioning Interwell Tracer Test) and analysis methods were specifically presented through actual tests so that field workers could easily use them with the help of the military base and the Korea Rural Community Corporation Soil Environment Restoration Team. However, in order to directly reflect the distribution tracer test results in the pollution remediation design, it is necessary to reduce the analysis errors by comparing the analysis results of the existing soil pollution survey, physical exploration, and numerical modeling. In addition, it is judged to be cautious in the analysis because errors can easily occur due to various factors such as the type of oil at the polluted site, the hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer, and the skill of the researcher.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.142-154
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• 2022

Arsenic (As) contamination in groundwater is one of the main problems in Bangladesh. As toxicity causes serious human health problems such as edema, skin cancer, bladder cancer, lung cancer, hyperkeratosis, premature birth, and black foot disease. As contamination in groundwater mainly originates from the geological characteristics of the area due to the influence of anthropogenic activities. Since most of the people in Bangladesh rely on tube well for drinking water, it is necessary to investigate the current status of As pollution and identify the treatment technologies that can be used to provide arsenic-free drinking water in water-scarce areas. A total of 92 papers were reviewed in this study to present a complete overview of the recent status of groundwater As contamination in Bangladesh and different low-cost remediation technologies. A method for evaluating the relative feasibility of different treatment technologies was also utilized to determine the most appropriate technologies for groundwater As treatment in Bangladesh. The districts with the highest groundwater As contamination include Brahamanbariya, Tangail, Barisal, Pabna, Patuakhali, Kurigram, Magura, and Faridpur, with concentrations exceeding 0.05 mg/L. Only six districts had relatively low groundwater arsenic concentrations (0.01 mg/L), including Kushtia, Khagrachari, Jessore, Dinajpur, Meherpur, and Munshiganj. There were a number of technologies used for treating As in water, but aerated electrocoagulation, Mg-Fe-based hydrotalcite-like compound, and electro-chemical As remediation (ECAR) reactor were found to be the most feasible treatment methods for As. Overall, the investment, operational, and maintenance costs, availability of materials, and expertise requirements should be considered when selecting the most appropriate treatment method for As in water.