• The Journal of Natural Sciences
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.103-108
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• 1993

Zeolites were discovered as a natural mineral more than two hundred ago. In the beginning, the mineral was used as ion-exchange material and adsorbent. After the end of World War II , however, a variety of zeolites have become available in large amounts because of the establishment of low temperature synthesis and the discobery of natural zeolite deposits of sedimentary origin. Various uses of xeolite were developed utilizing the unique crystal strucrure and function of these minerals. In connection with this development remakable progress has also been made in basic stuides on the related geology and mineralogy, crystallization from sols and gels, structure, ion exchange, adsorption and cataiysis. As a result, zeolites, which had been known only as mineral specimens displayed in museums. established a firm position among the high-technology masterials with excellent functional capabilities.

• Weed & Turfgrass Science
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2017

Weed management under organic farming systems is very problematic since organic agriculture does not allow synthetic herbicides. Bioherbicide is needed to develop for weed management in organic agriculture systems. This review covers current status and perspectives of bioherbicide development for effective nonchemical weed management in organic farming systems. Bioherbicides are products of natural origin derived from living organisms, and more specifically bacteria, fungus and plants including natural metabolites for weed control. Bioherbicides derived from microorganisms or natural molecules are currently available on the pesticide markets. Devine, Lockdown (Collego), BioMal, Camperico, Organo-Sol and Opportune were derived from bacteria, Woad Warrior, Smolder, Mygogen, Chontrol Paste, Starritor and Phoma derived from fungus, and Katoun (pelargonic acid) and Beloukha were derived from plants. Corn gluten meal products and plant essential oils products are also available for nonselective weed control in organic agriculture. Organic weed management methods may be more feasible in small scale farming and high-value crops, and bioherbicides may be applied with other weed control practices in organic farming systems.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.219-224
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• 2012

Understanding how the b-wave of the electroretinogram (ERG) is generated by full-field light stimulation is still a challenge in visual neuroscience. To understand more about the origin of the b-wave, we studied the contributions of gap junctions to the ERG b-wave. Many types of retinal neurons are connected to similar and different neighboring neurons through gap junctions. The photopic (cone-dominated) ERG, stimulated by a small light beam, was recorded from goldfish (Carassius auratus) using a corneal electrode. Data were obtained before and after intravitreal injection of agents into the eye under a photopic illumination level. Several agents were used to affect gap junctions, such as dopamine D1 and D2 receptor agonists and antagonists, a nitric oxide (NO) donor, a nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor, the gap junction blocker meclofenamic acid (MFA), and mixtures of these agents. The ERG b-waves, which were enhanced by MFA, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), SKF 38393, and sulpiride, remained following application of a further injection of a mixture with MFA. The ERG b-waves decreased following $N^G$-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), SCH 23390, and quinpirole administration but were enhanced by further injection of a mixture with MFA. These results indicate that gap junction activity influences b-waves of the ERG related to NO and dopamine actions.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.515-523
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• 2009

To infer the monophyletic origin and phylogenetic relationships of the order Desmoscolecida, a unique and puzzling group of mainly free-living marine nematodes, we newly determined nearly complete 18S rDNA sequences for six marine desmoscolecid nematodes belonging to four genera (Desmoscolex, Greeffiella, Tricoma and Paratricoma). Based on the present data and those of 72 nematode species previously reported, the first molecular phylogenetic analysis focusing on Desmoscolecida was done by using neighbor joining (NJ), maximum parsimony (MP), maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) methods. All four resultant trees consistently and strongly supported that the family Desmoscolecidae forms a monophyletic group with very high node confidence values. The monophyletic clade of desmocolecid nematodes was placed as a sister group of the clade including some members of Monhysterida and Araeolaimida, Cyartonema elegans (Cyartonematidae) and Terschellingia Iongicaudata (Linhomoeidae) in all the analyses. However, the present phylogenetic trees do not show any direct attraction between the families Desmoscolecidae and Cyartonematidae. Within the monophyletic clade of the family Desmoscolecidae in all of the present phylogenetic trees, there were consistently observed two distinct subgroups which correspond to the subfamilies Desmoscolecinae [Greeffiella sp. + Desmoscolex sp.] and Tricominae [Paratricoma sp. + Tricoma sp].

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.217-222
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• 2010

A phytochemical investigation of the ethanolic extract of Erythrina caffra flowers from an Egyptian origin yielded three C-flavonoidal glycosides; 5,7,4'-trihydroxyflavone-8-C-$\beta$-D-glucopyranoside (vitexin) (1), 5,7,4'-trihydroxyflavone-6-C-$\beta$-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 $\rightarrow$ 2)-$\beta$-D-glucopyranoside (isovitexin-2"-$\beta$-D-glucopyranoside) (2), 5, 7, 4'-trihydroxyflavone-6, 8-di-C-$\beta$-D-glucopyranoside (vicenin-2) (3) and one O-flavonoidal glycoside; kaempferol-3-O-$\beta$-D.glucopyranosyl) (1 $\rightarrow$ 2)-$\beta$-D-glucopyranoside (4). The structures of the isolated compounds (1 - 4) were elucidated using different spectral techniques (UV, 1D and 2D NMR and HRESIMS). This is the first report for the isolation of flavonoidal glycosides from Erythrina caffra. The antibacterial, antifungal, antimalarial, and antileishmanial activities of the isolates were evaluated. In addition, the cytotoxic activity of the ethanolic extract and the main fractions were tested using brine shrimp bioassay.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.231-236
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• 2008

The current work was designed to assess novel pharmacological activities of 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (HD), a major phenolic constituent of various natural products of plant origin, such as Gastrodia elata Blume. HD exhibited a significant inhibition in the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) angiogenesis. HD also displayed an inhibitory effect in acetic acid-induced permeability in mice. Anti-nociceptive activity of HD was convinced using the acetic acid-induced writhing test in mice. HD was able to suppress production of nitric oxide (NO) and induction of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated RAW264.7 macrophages. HD also diminished the reactive oxygen species (ROS) level elevated in the LPS-activated macrophages. In brief, HD exhibits anti-angiogenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive activities possibly via down-regulating iNOS and/or COX-2, which may be partly responsible for pharmacological efficacies of various natural products.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.265-271
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• 1998

In the hydrologic and hydrochemical studies of natural waters, oxygen and hydrogen isotope compositions of waters are very important to elucidate the origin and circulation pattern of water in the hydrologic system. The hydrogen isotope analysis of waters usually has been undertaken through the reduction of water to form hydrogen gas using pure metals (in general, zinc and uranium). In 1996, a new apparatus (H/Device) was developed to prepare the water samples (by the reduction with Cr metal) without some intrinsic problems that may yield incorrect and/or inaccurate data, and was installed at 1997 in the Center for Mineral Resources Research (CMR) in Korea University. However, the optimistic conditions of preparation and analysis of samples has not been established. In this paper, we introduce the efficiency of H/Device to obtain accurate hydrogen isotope values of water, and discuss both the optimum conditions including the effective reduction time and the probable mixing (memory) effect between successive samples. We obtained large amounts of a laboratory working standard (KUW; Korea University Water) with the average ${\delta}D_{SMOW}$ value of $-42.1{\pm}1.0$‰ $(1{\sigma})$.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.1898-1906
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• 2004

Nonclassical quinazolinone analogs I, II, and III, in which the glutamic acid moiety of the classical antifolates is substituted by phenylglycine, phenylalanine or aminobenzoic acid and their methyl esters, were synthesized and evaluated as lipophilic inhibitors of thymidylate synthase (TS). The target compounds were generally potent inhibitors of L. casei and human TS with $IC_{50}$ values within the narrow range of 0.2-10 ${\mu}$M and 0.003-0.03 ${\mu}$M, respectively. Further, most of the target compounds showed cytotoxicity against tumor cell lines of murine and human origin with $IC_{50}$ values of as low as 0.050 ${\mu}$M. Substitution of another hydroxyl or carboxylic acid/ester group at the phenyl ring further increased the potency of TS inhibition and cell growth inhibition. Most effective were compounds If and Ic in which extra carboxylic acid/ester was present at the phenyl ring with nanomolar $IC_{50}$ values of 0.0044 and 0.0093 ${\mu}$M against human TS and submicromolar cytotoxic growth inhibition against all four tumor cell lines.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.225-232
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• 1992

The hydrothermal alteration is evaluated using multicomponent equilibrium calculations with the program CHILLER for the reactions between hydrothermal water and rhyolite at the temperature of $300^{\circ}C$ and pressure of 500 bars. The chemical-reaction model on the depositional processes of the sericitite confirms that the hydrothermal water-rock interaction(hydrothermal alteration) is the main mechanism of the sericitite formation. The principal change in the aqueous phase during the reaction is the pH increase. Overall trends for the major species are the increase in total molalities of K, Ca, $SiO_2$, Al, Mg, Fe, Na, and sulfide in solid phase with hydrothermal water-rhyolite reaction and the decrease of them in aqeous solution by precipitation of hydrothermal products. Quartz and sericite are the first minerals to form. The sequence of minerals to precipitate following them is chlorite, epidote, pyrite and microcline as water/rock ratio decreases. Although calculated results cannot duplicate the complexities of natural hydrothermal alteration, the calculation provides thermodynamic constraints on the natural process. The calculation results resemble those of experimental studies. Sericitite forms where pH decreases and water/rock ratio increases.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.10
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• pp.2897-2902
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• 2010

Seven fully optimized geometries of 3,6-dihydrazino-1,2,4,5-tetrazine (DHT) dimers have been obtained with density functional theory (DFT) method at the B3LYP/$6-311++G^{**}$ level. The intermolecular interaction energy was calculated with zero point energy (ZPE) correction and basis set superposition error (BSSE) correction. The greatest corrected intermolecular interaction energy of the dimers is $-23.69\;kJ{\cdot}mol^{-1}$. Natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis is performed to reveal the origin of the interaction. Based on the vibrational analysis, the changes of thermodynamic properties from the monomers to dimer with the temperature ranging from 200.0 K to 800.0 K have been obtained using the statistical thermodynamic method. It was found that the hydrogen bonds dominantly contribute to the dimers, while the binding energies are not only determined by hydrogen bonding. The dimerization process can not occur spontaneously at given temperatures.