• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.345-355
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• 2010

Background: Extracellular and intracellular pH ($pH_o$ and $pH_i$), which can be changed in various pathological conditions such as hypoxia, affects vascular contractility. To elucidate the mechanism to alter vascular contractility by pH, the effects of pH on reactivity to vasocontracting agents, intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ influx, and $Ca^{2+}$ sensitivity in vascular smooth muscle were examined. Material and Method: Isometric contractions in rat superior mesenteric arteries (SMA) were observed. Intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ concentration ($[Ca^{2+}]_i$) was recorded by microfluorometer using Fura-2/acetoxylmethyl ester in muscle cells. $pH_o$ was increased from 7.4 to 7.8 or decreased to 6.9 or 6.4. $pH_i$ was decreased by applying $NH_4^+$ or propionic acid or modulated by changing $pH_o$ after increasing membrane permeability using $\beta$-escin. Result: Decreases in $pH_o$ from 7.4 to 6.9 or 6.4 shifted concentration-response curve by norepinephrine (NE) or serotonin (SE) to the right and significantly increased half maximal effective concentration (EC50) to NE or SE. Increase in $pH_o$ from 7.4 to 7.8 shifted concentration-response curve by norepinephrine (NE) or serotonin (SE) to the left and significantly reduced EC50 to NE or SE. NE increased $[Ca^{2+}]_i$ in cultured smooth muscle cells from SMA and the increased $[Ca^{2+}]_i$ was reduced by decreases in $pH_o$. NE-induced contraction was inhibited by $NH_4^+$, whereas the resting tension was increased by $NH_4^+$ or propionic acid. When the cell membrane of SMA was permeabilized using ${\beta}$-escin, SMA was contracted by increasing extracellular $Ca^{2+}$ concentration from 0 to $10{\mu}M$ and the magnitude of contraction was decreased by a decrease in $pH_o$ and vice versa. Conclusion: From these results, it can be concluded that a decrease in $pH_o$ might inhibit vascular contraction by reducing the reactivity of vascular smooth muscle to vasoactive agents, $Ca^{2+}$ influx and the sensitivity of vascular smooth muscle to $Ca^{2+}$.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.97-102
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• 2018

In this work, the surface of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was modified with small molecules including mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA) and L-lysine for the development of highly sensitive lateral flow (LF) sensors. Uniformly sized AuNps were synthesized by a modified Turkevich-Frens method, showing an average size of $16.7{\pm}2.1nm$. Functionalized AuNPs were then characterized by transmission electron microscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The stable conjugation of AuNPs and antibodies was obtained at pH 7.07 and the antibody concentration of $10{\mu}g/mL$. The functionalized AuNP-based LF sensor exhibited lower detection limit of 10 ng/mL for hepatitis B surface antigens than that of using the bare AuNP-based LF sensor (100 ng/mL).

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.558-564
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• 2011

The biocompatibility and biodegradability of poly(amino acid) make them ideal candidates for many bio-related applications. Poly(aspartic acid), PASP, is one of synthetic water-soluble polymers with proteinlike structure, and has been extensively explored for the potential industrial and biomedical applications due to its biodegradable, biocompatible and pH-responsive properties. In this work, amino acid-conjugated PASPs were prepared by aminolysis reaction onto polysuccinimide (PSI) using ${\gamma}$-aminobutylic acid(GABA) and ${\beta}$-alanine methyl ester and a subsequent hydrolysis process. Their chemical gels were prepared by crosslinking reaction with ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (EGDE). The hydrogels were investigated for their basic swelling behavior, hydrolytic degradation and morphology. The crosslinked gels showed a responsive swelling behavior, which was dependent on pH and salt concentration in aqueous solution, and relatively fast hydrolytic degradation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.84 no.1
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• pp.103-113
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• 1995

To estimate buffer capacity and sensitivity of forest ecosystem to acid rain in Taejon, ionic components of throughfall, stemflow, soil leachate, and open rain in Pinus rigida and Quercus variabilis forest were analysed. The spatial sensitivity based on parent rock and forest type was given by IDRISI of GIS which created imagery conversion from soil and vegetation map. Parent rocks and soils were classified into acidic, sedimentary, metamorphic rock and then subdivided based on $SiO_2$ content. Average pH of vegetation leachate was higher in throughfall but lower in stemflow than open rain and higher in Quercus variabilis forest than in Pinus rigida forest. The flow of $SO{_4}^{2-}$, $NO_3{^-}$ and $Cl^-$ through vegetation leaching(throughfall plus stemflow) into soil were 7.2, 4.3, and 2.5 times, respectively, higher in Pinus rigida forest and 4.4, 2, and 2.5 times, respectively, higher in Quercus variabilis forest than in open field. But the concentration of exchangeable cations was 4.1 times higher in Pinus rigida forest and 4.6 times higher in Quercus variabilis forest than in open field. Average pH of soil leachate was lower than that of throughfall, but higher than that of stemflow. The concentration of exchangeable canons and $Al^{3+}$ in soil leachate were more in Pinus rigida forest than in Quercus variabilis forest and increase signficantly with the increase of acidic deposits. Pinus forest had more deposition and canopy interception of acidic pollutants and more nutrient loss than Quercus forest, and Quercus forest had more cation exchange and proton consumption and than consequently had less nutrient loss and better buffer capacity than Pinus forest. The 69% of forest soils was distributed on acidic rock, 25% of it on metamorphic rock, and 6% of it on intermediate and basic rock. Acidic rock residuals which had low very canon exchange capacity and high sensitivity to acid rain occupied a half of total forest land in Taejon area. Therefore forests in Taejon showed high vulnerability to acid rain and will receive much more stress with the increase of acid rain precursors.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.561-572
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• 2008

Responses of real-time control parameters, such as ORP, DO and pH, to the conditions of biological animal wastewater treatment process were examined to evaluate the stability of real-time control using each parameter. Also an optimum index for supplemental carbon source addition based on NOx-N level was determined under a consideration of denitrification rate by endogenous respiration of microorganism and residual organic matter in liquor. Experiment was performed with lab-scale sequencing batch reactor(SBR) and working volume of the process was 45L. The distinctive nitrogen break point(NBP) on ORP-and DO-time profiles, which mean the termination of nitrification, started disappearing with the maintenance of low NH4-N loading rate. Also the NBP on ORP-and DO-time profiles was no longer observed when high NOx-N was loaded into the reactor, and the sensitivity of ORP became dull with the increase of NOx-N level. However, the distinctive NBP was constantly occurred on pH(mV)-time profile, maintaining unique profile patterns. This stable occurrence of NBP on pH(mV)-time profile was lasted even at very high NOx-N:NH4-N ratio(over 80:1) in reactor, and the specific point could be easily detected by tracking moving slope change(MSC) of the curve. Revelation of NBP on pH(mV)-time profile and recognition of the realtime control point using MSC were stable at a condition of over 300mg/L NOx-N level in reactor. The occurrence of distinctive NBP was persistent on pH(mV)-time profile even at a level of 10,000mg/L STOC(soluble total organic carbon) and the recognition of NBP was feasible by tracing MSC, but that point on ORP and DO-time profiles began to disappear with the increase of STOC level in reactor. The denitrfication rate by endogenous respiration and residual organic matter was about 0.4mg/L.hr., and it was found that 0.83 would be accepted as an index for supplemental carbon source addition when 0.1 of safety factor was applied.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.136-142
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• 2015

Objective : Subjective tinnitus is defined as an acoustic sensation perceived without any external source. Patients with tinnitus have often experienced psychological distress and low quality of life. However, the connection between psychiatric characteristics and tinnitus has not yet been established. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of psychiatric characteristics with tinnitus severity. Method : A total of 124 patients with tinnitus were included in the study. Demographic and clinical characteristics were retrospectively collected in the otolaryngology clinic. The self-reported scales including the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Anxiety Sensitivity Index were used in this study. Results : The Pearson product moment correlation revealed significant correlations between tinnitus severity and psychiatric characteristics including depression (r=0.26, p<0.01), anxiety (r=0.38, p<0.01), anxiety sensitivity (r=0.27, p<0.01). After controlling for age, sex and awareness of tinnitus, tinnitus severity was positively correlated with anxiety (partial r=0.39, p<0.01) and anxiety sensitivity (partial r=0.28, p<0.01). These correlations remained significant in male but not in female patients. Conclusion : Results of the present study indicated that not only anxiety symptoms but also anxiety sensitivity could relate to tinnitus severity. Our findings have implications for the understanding of the psychiatric characteristics in patients with tinnitus.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1002-1009
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• 2019

Early life stress (ELS) increases the risk of depression. ELS may be involved in the susceptibility to subsequent stress exposure during adulthood. We investigated whether epigenetic mechanisms of p11 promoter affect the vulnerability to chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) induced by the maternal separation (MS). Mice pups were separated from their dams (3 hr/day from P1-P21). When the pups reached adulthood, we applied CUS (daily for 3 weeks). The levels of hippocampal p11 expression were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR. The levels of acetylated and methylated histone H3 at p11 promoter were measured by chromatin immunoprecipitation. Depression-like behavior was measured by the forced swimming test (FST). The MS and CUS group exhibited significant decreases in p11 mRNA level and the MS plus CUS group had a greater reduction in this level than the CUS group. The MS plus CUS group also resulted in greater reduction in H3 acetylation than the CUS group. This reduction was associated with an upregulation of histone deacetylase 5. Additionally, the MS plus CUS group showed a greater decrease in H3K4met3 level and a greater increase in H3K27 met3 level than the CUS group. Consistent with the reduction of p11 expression, the MS plus CUS group displayed longer immobility times in the FST compared to the control group. Mice exposed to MS followed by CUS had much greater epigenetic alterations in the hippocampus compared to adult mice that only experienced CUS. ELS can exacerbate the effect of stress exposure during adulthood through histone modification of p11 gene.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.121-128
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• 2008

As an aquatic ecotoxicity test method, a bioassay using the inhibition of sporualtion of the green macroalga, Ulva pertusa, has been developed. Optimal test conditions determined for photon irradiance, pH, salinity and temperature were $100\;{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$, $7{\sim}9$, $25{\sim}35\;psu$ and $15{\sim}20^{\circ}C$, respectively. The validity of the test endpoint was evaluated by assessing the toxicity of four metals (Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn) and elutriates of sewage or waste sludge collected from 9 different locations. When the metals were assayed, the $EC_{50}$ values indicated the following toxicity rankings: Cu ($0.062\;mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$) > Cd ($0.208\;mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$) > Pb ($0.718\;mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$) > Zn ($0.776\;mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$). When compared with other commonly used bioassays of metal pollution listed on US ECOTOX database, the sporualtion test proved to be the most sensitive. Ulva sporulation was significantly inhibited in all elutriates with the greatest and least effects observed in elutriates of sludge from industrial waste ($EC_{50}=6.78%$) and filtration bed ($EC_{50}=15.0%$), respectively. The results of the Spearman rank correlation analysis for $EC_{50}$ data versus the concentrations of toxicants in the sludge presented a significant correlation between toxicity and four heavy metals(Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn). The method described here is sensitive to toxicants, simple to use, easy to interpret and economical. It is also easy to procure samples and maintain cultures. The present method would therefore probably make a useful assessment of aquatic toxicity of a wide range of toxicants. In addition, the genus Ulva has a wide geographical distribution and species have similar reproductive processes, so the test method would have a potential application worldwide.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.99-104
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• 2005

Corynebacterial clones which exert regulatory effects on the expression of the glyoxylate bypass genes were isolated using a reporter plasmid carrying the enteric lacZ fused to the aceB promoter of Corynebacterium glutamicum. Some clones carried common fragments as turned out by DNA mapping technique. Subcloning analysis followed by the measurement of $\beta-galactosidase$ activity in Escherichia coli identified the region responsible for the aceB-repressing activity. Sequence analysis of the DNA fragment identified two independent ORFs of ORF1 and ORF2. Among them, ORF2 was turned out to be responsible for the aceB-repressing activity. ORF1 encoded a 23,216 Da protein composed of 206 amino acids. Sequence similarity search indicated that the ORF may encode a ECF-type $\sigma$ factor and designated sigH. To identify the function of sigH, C. glutamicum sigH mutant was constructed by gene disruption technique and the sigH mutant showed growth retardation as compared to the wild type strain. In addition, the mutant strain showed sensitivity to oxidative-stress generating agent plumbagin. This result imply that sigH is probably involved in the stress response occurring during normal cell growth.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.893-905
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• 2020

This study is a study on solubilization and emulsifying power of tocopheryl acetate using vegetable surfactants. High purity polyglyceryl-10 isostearate and polyglyceryl-10 oleate were mixed to synthesize a vegetable surfactant with excellent solubilizing power and emulsifying power. The mixed raw material was named Solubil EWG-1100. The appearance of this raw material was a pale yellowish paste with a specific smell, specific gravity of 1.12, and acid value of 0.085. The HLB value of this surfactant was calculated by the Griffin's equation with an average value of 15.17. The behavior of this surfactant to solubilize tocopheryl acetate was mechanically verified. The performance of solubilization was evaluated by a method of visual evaluation and was measured by a transmittance rate at 650 nm using a UV spectrophotometer. As a result, in the formulation using 3% ethanol as a co-solvent, the concentration of surfactant was required to solubilize tocopheryl acetate was required about 5 times of natural surfactant. In the formulation without ethanol as a co-solvent, the concentration of surfactant was required to solubilize tocopheryl acetate required about 7 times of natural surfactant. In addition, the concentration of surfactant required to make an emulsifivation 10 % of tocopheryl acetate was 1 wt% of Solubil EWG-1100, and the emulsified particle size was 3.5 mm in cream formula. In order to obtain stable and fine emulsified particles, it was found that as the concentration of tocopheryl acetate increased, the concentration of Solubil EWG-1100 also was to increase. As a result of testing the solubilizing power of the surfactant according to the pH various change, it showed stable solubilizing power in the acidic region of pH=3.2, the neutral region of pH=7.0, and the alkaline region of pH=11.8. As application, based on these results, it is expected that it can be widely applied to the cosmetics field that develops skin care prescriptions, sensitive skin products, and heavy dry skin products.