• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.519-524
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• 2005

Due to the low C/N ratio of domestic wastewater characteristic, addition of external carbon source for the effective N and P removal is necessary. High organic content of food waste can be used for the external carbon source in biological nutrient removal processes, The applicability of condensate of food waste (CFW), which is produced during the high-rate fermentation process, was examined in membrane bioreactor for the nutrient removal. Under the various operating conditions, nutrient removal efficiencies and membrane fouling characteristics were evaluated using synthetic wastewater. From nitrate utilization rate (NUR) test, denitrification rate was 0.19 g $NO_3-N/g$ VSS/day. With the addition of CFW increased, average removal efficiencies of T-N and T-P could be increased up to 64% and 41%, respectively. Also the optimal retention time was 3 hr/5 hr for anoxic/aerobic reactor. When applied to real sewage, membrane fouling resistance was increased up to 60%, which could be reduced from $10.4{\times}10^{12}m^{-1}$ to $5.9{\times}10^{12}m^{-1}$ with the control of influent suspended solid concentration. In summary, it was suggested that CFW could be used as an economical and effective carbon source for membrane assisted biological N and P removal.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.285-290
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• 1997

This study was conducted to develop labor-saving pesticide-fertilizer mixed formulation through a single application of mixed formulation of an insecticide imidacloprid coated on a slow release urea. The release of both total nitrogen and imidacloprid into water was delayed with increasing adhesive.Imidacloprid was released out 95% within 24 hours, whereas total nitrogen released in mixed formulation until 40 days was released less extent by increasing adhesive. There was no difference between pesticide-fertilizer mixed formulation and coated urea thereafter. The content of $NH_4-N$ in the soil treated with pesticide and urea seperating was higher until 10 days but gradually decreased compare to that of pesticide-fertilizer mixed formulation or coated urea. The population density of nitrate reducing bacteria and denitrifying bacteria in soil after treatment were lower in the pesticide-fertilizer mixed formulation and coated urea than those of pesticide and urea separate treatment. The residue of imidacloprid in soil was slightly higher in the treatment of pesticide alone than the pesticide-fertilizer mixed formulation and pesticide and urea seperating treatment. The population and control efficacy of small brown planthopper, Laodelphax striatellus, were not significance different among treatments.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.902-908
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• 2006

Tetrandra is the root of Stephania tetrandra 5. Moore (family Menispermaceae), or of Aristolochia frangchi Wu (family Aristolochiaceae). It is a Differ-flavored and cold-property herb acting on the urinary bladder, kidney and spleen meridiands. Known biological effects of this herb are expelling wind to relieve pain and inducing diuresis to alleviate edema. This herb also has anti-inflammatory and anti-hypersensitivity actions. Recent studies have shown that Stephanniae Tetrandrae Radix has antimicrobial effects, namely, a protective effect on acute renal failure induce by gentamicin sulfate and a suppressive effect against clostridium perfringes. However, there is a lack of studies concerning the immunological activities of this herb. The present study was conducted to evaluate the immunological activities of Stephanniae Tetrandrae Radix on the regulatory mechanisms of cytokines and nitric oxide (NO) in Raw 264.7 cells. Cell viability was measured by MTT assay after the treatment of Stephanniae Tetrandrae Radix extract (STRE) and NO production was monitored by measuring the nitrite content in culture medium. COX-2 and iNOS were determined by immunoblot analysis, and levels of cytokine were analyzed by sandwich immunoassays. Results provided evidences that STRE inhibited the production of nitrite and nitrate (NO), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}\;(TNF-{\alpha})$, $interleukin-1{\beta}(IL-1{\beta})$ and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in Raw 264.7 cells activated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). These findings showed that STRE could produce some anti-inflammatory effects which might play a role in adjunctive therapy in Gram-negative bacterial infections.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.347-351
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• 2014

We studied the green synthesis and antibacterial activity of chitosan-silver (Ag) nanocomposite films for application in food packaging. Green synthesis of Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) was achieved by a chemical reaction involving a mixture of chitosan-silver nitrate ($AgNO_3$) in an autoclave at 0.1 MPa, $121^{\circ}C$, for 15-120 s. The formation of AgNPs in chitosan was confirmed by both UV-Visible spectrophotometry and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and the effects of chitosan-$AgNO_3$ concentration and reaction time on the synthesis of AgNPs in chitosan were examined. The resulting chitosan-Ag composite films were characterized by various analytical techniques and their antibacterial activity was evaluated based on the formation of halo zones around films, indicating inhibition of the growth of Escherichia coli. A fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis showed that free amino groups in chitosan acted as effective reductants and AgNP stabilizers. The composite films exhibited enhanced antibacterial activity with increasing Ag content on the surface of as-prepared composite films.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.28-39
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• 2016

Struvite (MgNH₄PO₄ ⋅ 6H₂O) and hydroxyapatite (HAP, Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆(OH)₂) precipitation in urine-separating toilets (NoMix toilets) causes severe maintenance problems and also reduce the phosphate and calcium content. Application of urine separating technique and extraction of by-products from human urine is a cost effective technique in waste water treatment. In this study, we extract urine calcite from human urine by batch scale method, using urease producing microbes to trigger the precipitation and calcite formation process. Extracted urine calcite (calcining at 800℃) is a potential adsorbent for removal of heavy metal(loid)s like (Cd²⁺, Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, Pb²⁺, Zn²⁺ and As³⁺) along with additional leaching analysis of total nitrogen (T-N), phosphate (T-P) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The transformations of calcite during synthesis were confirm by characterization using XRD, SEM-EDAX and FT-IR techniques. In additional, the phosphate leaching potential and adsorbate (nitrate) efficiency in aqueous solution was investigated using the calcinedurine calcite. The results indicate that the calcite was effectively remove heavy metal(loid)s lead up to 96.8%. In addition, the adsorption capacity (q_e) of calcite was calculated and it was found to be 203.64 Pb, 110.96 Cd, 96.02 Zn, 104.2 As, 149.54 Cu and 162.68 Ni mg/g, respectively. Hence, we suggest that the calcite obtain from the human urine will be a suitable absorbent for heavy metal(loid)s removal from aqueous solution.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.64-70
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• 2001

To verify the newly developed decision assisting expert system for nitrogen fertilizer application NES to Illinois cornfields, a couple of N rate studies from Dr. Howard and five Illinois Agricultural Experiment Stations were applied. Four types of recommendations including the current Illinois recommendation, Hoeft recommendation, NES, and maximum economic recommendation were compared with each other for the crop yields, profits, recovery rate, and N losses to cornfields. The N rate of NES recommendation, considering productivity index (PI), soil organic matter content (SOM), and pre-sidedressing nitrate concentration (PSNT) level, was the lowest in comparison to those of other recommendations. However, N recovery rate in NES was generally higher and the resulting N loss was lower than others. But, adherence to the recommendations may also reduce farmers income if environmental expense did not considered. Therefore, NES will be more effective by adding the factors including environmental expense, tillage systems, crop rotation, and other agricultural management parameters.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.55-63
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• 2001

N fertilizer recommendations to optimize with consideration to maximum crop yields, maximum profits, and minimum N losses to ground or runoff water, an advisory system. Nitrogen Expert System (NES), was developed. The system was to estimate the optimal rate of N fertilizer application cornfields in Illinois. NES was constructed using Smart Elements, a knowledge-based system that manages the expertise of human experts. NES was reinforced by addition of the effect of a productivity index (PI), soil organic matter content (SOM), and pre-sidedressing of nitrate concentration (PSNT) to the optimal N fertilizer recommendation. NES contains 49 rules, 1 class, 14 objects, and 2 properties. NES was successfully operated, showing N recommendations with inputs of three soil properties including PI, SOM, and PSNT. NES can reduce N loss to the environment, but adherence to the recommendations may also reduce farmers income. Therefore, NES will be more effective by evaluating both environmental damage assessment and other economic agricultural management parameters and other soil physico-chemical parameters.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.224-232
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• 2019

This study evaluated the physicochemical and microbial quality characteristic of seasonal commercial kimchi for hygienic safety levels. The pH of seasonal commercial kimchi was 3.84-6.36 and the titratable acidity and salinity of the samples were 0.21-1.16 and 1.19-1.54%, respectively. The content of nitrate and nitrite in the commercial kimchi were lower in the spring and summer, which was affected by acidic condition of the kimchi depending on fermentation. Heavy metal contents in commercial kimchi are not an issue because they were detected only at very low levels. The total aerobic bacteria and coliforms counts ranged from 5.25 to 8.44 Log CFU/g and 0.00 to 5.08 Log CFU/g, respectively. The total aerobic bacteria and coliforms were detected more in summer than in the other seasons. E. coli was detected in three of the samples tested. Food-borne pathogens were not detected in any of the samples except for B. cereus. B. cereus was detected in the fall in more than 70% of samples. These results suggest that commercial kimchi distributed in the fall maintain the quality properties and the microbiological safety of kimchi compared to the other seasons. Therefore, further studies as an effective distribution system for the particular seasons will be needed to guarantee the hygienic safety levels of commercial kimchi required by the consumers.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.580-588
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• 2019

Background: Ginsenoside Rg1 has been shown to clear senescence-associated beta-galactosidase (SA-${\beta}$-gal) in cultured cells. It remains unknown whether Rg1 can influence SA-${\beta}$-gal in exercising human skeletal muscle. Methods: To examine SA-${\beta}$-gal change, 12 young men (age $21{\pm}0.2years$) were enrolled in a randomized double-blind placebo controlled crossover study, under two occasions: placebo (PLA) and Rg1 (5 mg) supplementations 1 h prior to a high-intensity cycling (70% $VO_{2max}$). Muscle samples were collected by multiple biopsies before and after cycling exercise (0 h and 3 h). To avoid potential effect of muscle biopsy on performance assessment, cycling time to exhaustion test (80% $VO_{2max}$) was conducted on another 12 participants (age $23{\pm}0.5years$) with the same experimental design. Results: No changes of SA-${\beta}$-gal were observed after cycling in the PLA trial. On the contrary, nine of the 12 participants showed complete elimination of SA-${\beta}$-gal in exercised muscle after cycling in the Rg1 trial (p < 0.05). Increases in apoptotic DNA fragmentation (PLA: +87% vs. Rg1: +133%, p < 0.05) and $CD68^+$ (PLA:+78% vs. Rg1:+121%, p = 0.17) occurred immediately after cycling in both trials. During the 3-h recovery, reverses in apoptotic nuclei content (PLA:+5% vs. Rg1 -32%, p < 0.01) and increases in inducible nitrate oxide synthase and interleukin 6 mRNA levels of exercised muscle were observed only in the Rg1 trial (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Rg1 supplementation effectively eliminates senescent cells in exercising human skeletal muscle and improves high-intensity endurance performance.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.563-573
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• 2022

This work aimed to develop a new equation for turbidity (Turb) simulation and prediction using statistical methods based on principal component analysis (PCA) and multiple linear regression (MLR). For this purpose, water samples were collected monthly over a five year period from Cheurfa dam, an important reservoir in Northwestern Algeria, and analyzed for 12 parameters, including temperature (T°), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), turbidity (Turb), dissolved oxygen (DO), ammonium (NH₄⁺), nitrate (NO₃^-), nitrite (NO₂^-), phosphate (PO₄^3-), total suspended solids (TSS), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The results revealed a strong mineralization of the water and low dissolved oxygen (DO) content during the summer period. High levels of TSS and Turb were recorded during rainy periods. In addition, water was charged with phosphate (PO₄^3-) in the whole period of study. The PCA results revealed ten factors, three of which were significant (eigenvalues >1) and explained 75.5% of the total variance. The F1 and F2 factors explained 36.5% and 26.7% of the total variance, respectively and indicated anthropogenic pollution of domestic agricultural and industrial origin. The MLR turbidity simulation model exhibited a high coefficient of determination (R² = 92.20%), indicating that 92.20% of the data variability can be explained by the model. TSS, DO, EC, NO₃^-, NO₂^-, and COD were the most significant contributing parameters (p values << 0.05) in turbidity prediction. The present study can help with decision-making on the management and monitoring of the water quality of the dam, which is the primary source of drinking water in this region.