• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.32-42
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• 2013

Objectives: Cryptosporidium, a protozoan parasite, has been recognized as a frequent cause of waterborne disease due to its extremely strong resistance against chlorine disinfection. Although there has as yet been no report of a Cryptosporidium outbreak through drinking water in Korea, it is important to estimate the health risk of Cryptosporidium in water supply systems because of the various infection cases in human and domestic animals and frequent detection reports on their oocysts in water environments. Methods: This study evaluated the annual infection risk of Cryptosporidium in tap water using the quantitative microbial risk assessment technique. Exposure assessment was performed upon the results of a national survey on Cryptosporidium on the water sources of 97 large-scale water purification plants in Korea, water treatment efficacy, and daily unboiled tap water consumption. The estimates of the US Environmental Protection Agency on the mean likelihood of infection from ingesting one oocyst were applied for effect assessment. Results: Using probabilistic methods, mean annual infection risk of Cryptosporidiosis by the intake of tap water was estimated to fall within the range of $2.3{\times}10^{-4}$ to $1.0{\times}10^{-3}$ (median $5.7{\times}10^{-4}$). The risk in using river sources was predicted to be four times higher than with lake sources. With 0.5-log higher removal efficacy, the risk was estimated to be $1.8{\times}10^{-4}$, and could then be lowered by one-third. Conclusions: These estimations can be compared with acceptable risk and then used to determine the adequacy and priority of various drinking water quality strategies such as the establishment of new treatment technology.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.19-23
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• 2016

A phenol substance was extracted from Pinus koraiensis Siebold et Zucc leaf extracts and its biological efficacy was measured. The highest content of the phenol substance contained in Pinus koraiensis Siebold et Zucc leaves was 13.5 mg/g, which was obtained when it was extracted with 80% ethanol. At a concentration of 200 mg/mL, the phenolic substances extracted with 80% ethanol and water showed antimicrobial activities against Helicobacter pylori, producing clear zones of 10 and 12 mm diameter, respectively. Pinus koraiensis Siebold et Zucc. leaf extracts were separated using a Sephadex LH-20 column and 4 fractions were obtained (fractions A-D). Fractions C and D showed the greatest inhibitory activity against Helicobacter pylori producing 10.1 and 12.3 mm clear zones, respectively. These two fractions were purified using a Sephadex LH-20 and MCI-gel column ($H_2O{\rightarrow}100%$ ethanol). Purified compounds A and B were identified as syringic acid and compound C was identified as p-coumaric acid based on $^1H$-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), $^{13}C$-NMR, and fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry spectra. When two or more purified compounds were mixed, a synergistic effect of anti-Helicobacter pylori activity was evident. This result indicates that extracts of Pinus koraiensis Siebold et Zucc leaves could be considered a functional food because of their high antimicrobial properties.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.280-285
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• 2010

In the course of a searching natural antifungal compounds from plant sources, we found that the methanol extract ($3,000\;{\mu}g/ml$) of Malus domestica fruits had potential of control against rice blast (Magnaporthe grisea) and tomato late blight (Phytophthora infestans). Under bioassay-guided purification, we isolated phloretin, a phenolic compound, with in vivo antifungal activity against M. grisea. By 1-day protective application of phloretin ($500\;{\mu}g/ml$), the compound strongly inhibited the disease development of M. grisea and P. infestans on rice and tomato seedlings, respectively. And red pepper anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum coccodes also was moderately suppressed. However, rice sheath blight (Rhizoctonia solani AG1), and barley powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei) were hardly controlled. In addition, the compound showed in vitro antifungal activity against some plant pathogenic fungi including Phytophthora capsici, Alternaria panax, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, R. solani AG4, and M. grisea. This is the first report on the antifungal activity of phloretin against plant pathogenic fungi.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.421-427
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• 2010

To isolate natural antihypertensive substances from edible seaweeds, we screened for and separated active compounds contained in natural Underia pinnatifida, cultural Underia pinnatifida, Laminaria japonica, Sporophylls and Agarum cribrosum. They were extracted using room temperature water, boiling water, acetone, and methanol in turn or using room temperature water, ether, acetone, methanol and boiling water in order. The in vitro antihypertensive activity was quantified as inhibitory efficacy against angiotensin-I converting enzyme (ACE), which is a factor inducing hypertension. For all of the seaweeds tested, the fractions soluble in room temperature water and in boiling water showed the strongest ACE inhibitory effect among the extracted fractions. Conversely, the methanol-extracted fractions for all of the seaweeds tested showed no antihypertensive activity. While the ether and acetone fractions had slight antihypertensive effects. The compounds in the aqueous extracts that had antihypertensive activity were presumed to be polysaccharides, such as fucoidan and alginate.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.141-148
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• 2017

Globalization, industrialization, mining, and uncontrolled population growth have fostered a shortage of potable water. Therefore, it has become imperative to understand an effective and reasonable water purification technique. A renewed interest in electrocoagulation (EC) has been spurred by the search for reliable, cost-effective, water-treatment processes. This paper has elucidated a technical approach for getting rid of heavy metals and total suspended solids (TSS) from synthetic water using an aluminum electrode. The effect of operational parameters, such as current density, inter-electrode distance, operating time, and pH, were studied and evaluated for maximum efficiency. This study corroborates the correlation between current density and removal efficiency. Neutral pH and a low electrode gap have been found to aid the efficacy of the EC setup. The outcome indicates that a maximum TSS removal efficiency of 76.6% occurred at a current density of $5.3mA/cm^2$ during a contact time of 30 min. In the case of heavy metals remediation, 40 min of process time exhibited extremely reduced rates of 99%, 59.2%, and 82.1%, for Cu, Cr, and Zn, respectively. Moreover, kinetic study has also demonstrated that pollutants removal follows first-and second-order model with current density and EC time being dependent.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.71-78
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• 2017

BMP-2 is a well-known TGF-beta related growth factor, having a significant role in bone and cartilage formation. It has been employed to promote bone formation in some clinical trials, and to differentiate mesenchymal stem cells into osteoblasts. However, it is difficult to obtain this protein in its soluble and active form. hBMP-2 is expressed as an inclusion body in the bacterial system. To continuously supply hBMP-2 for research, we optimized the refolding of recombinant hBMP-2 expressed in E. coli, and established an efficient method by using detergent and alkali. Using a heparin column, the recombinant hBMP-2 was purified with the correct refolding. Although combinatorial refolding remarkably enhanced the solubility of the inclusion body, a higher yield of active dimer form of hBMP-2 was obtained from one-step refolding with detergent. The refolded recombinant hBMP-2 induced alkaline phosphatase activity in mouse myoblasts, at $ED_{50}$ of 300-480ng/ml. Furthermore, the expressions of osteogenic markers were upregulated in hPDLSCs and hDPSCs. Therefore, using the process described in this study, the refolded hBMP-2 might be cost-effectively useful for various differentiation experiments in a laboratory.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.26-32
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• 1982

In order to investigate the effect of 'Whangryonhaedok-Tang' on the anti-inflammatory, ileum of mice, blood pressure, blood glucose, total cholesterol and antibacterial activity, those pharmacological actions were conducted. The results of this studies were summarized as follows; Rat hind paw edema induced by acetic acid was inhibited. In mice, tone of intestinal smooth muscle was suppressed with the treatment of sample and intestinal contractions induced by $BaCl_2$ was inhibited. Hypertensive effect was not observed in rabbits but was observed by the water extract of 'Whangryonhaedok-Tang' excluded Phellodendri Cortex in rabbits. The increased blood glucose levels in alloxandiabetic rabbits were significantly decreased by the oral administration of the sample I after 6 days. The total cholesterol levels in alloxan-induced rabbits were significantly decreased by the oral administration of the sample I after 9 days. Antibacterial activity was observed. In addition, we thought the pharmacological actions were significantly noted by the sample III (Methanol soluble fraction) because of the purification of effective components.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.133-144
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• 2022

Fast-paced industrial and agricultural development generates large quantities of hazardous heavy metals (HMs), which are extremely damaging to individuals and the environment. Research in both academia and industry has been spurred by the need for HMs to be removed from water bodies. Advanced materials are being developed to replace existing water purification technologies or to introduce cutting-edge solutions that solve challenges such as cost efficacy, easy production, diverse metal removal, and regenerability. Water treatment industries are increasingly interested in activated carbon because of its high adsorption capacity for HMs adsorption. Furthermore, because of its huge surface area, abundant functional groups on surface, and optimal pore diameter, the modified activated carbon has the potential to be used as an efficient adsorbent. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a novel organic-inorganic hybrid porous materials, sparked an interest in the elimination of HMs via adsorption. This is due to the their highly porous nature, large surface area, abundance of exposed adsorptive sites, and post-synthetic modification (PSM) ability. This review introduces PSM methods for MOFs, chemical modification of activated carbons (ACs), and current advancements in the elimination of Pb²⁺, Hg²⁺, and Cd²⁺ ions from water using modified MOFs and ACs via adsorption.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.125-132
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• 2022

In this study, we investigated anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory efficacy, and identified their constituents from Brassica napus L. (Korean name: Yuchae) whole plant. Upon the anti-oxidative activities screening, the ethanol extract exhibited potent DPPH and ABTS⁺ radical scavenging activities. On the anti-inflammation studies using LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells, the extract inhibited the production of NO and pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6) effectively. To identify major constituents of B. napus extract, further purification was performed and led to isolation of two compounds; isorhamnetin 3,7-O-diglucoside(1) and isorhamnetin 3-O-glucoside(2). Quantitative analysis by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) determined the flavonoid 1 as the major constituent. Isolated compounds showed DPPH radical scavenging effects and decreased NO levels without causing cell toxicities. These results indicate that the extract of Yuchae, a rich plant resource in Jeju Island, could be potentially applicable as an anti-oxidative and/or anti-inflammatory ingredients.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.352-361
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• 2023

Steam methane reforming is currently the most widely used technology for producing hydrogen, a clean fuel. Hydrogen produced by steam methane reforming contains impurities such as carbon monoxide, and it is essential to undergo an appropriate post-purification step for commercial usage, such as fuel cells. Recently, membrane separation technology has been gaining great attention as an effective purification method; in this study, we evaluated the feasibility of using commercial polysulfone membranes for biogas upgrading to separate and recover hydrogen from a hydrogen/carbon monoxide gas mixture. Initially, we examined the physicochemical properties of the commercial membrane used. We then conducted performance evaluations of the commercial membrane module under various conditions using mixed gas, considering factors such as stage-cut and operating pressure. Finally, based on the evaluation results, we carried out simulations for process design. The maximum H₂ permeability and H₂/CO separation factor for the commercial membrane process were recorded at 361 GPU and 20.6, respectively. Additionally, the CO removal efficiency reached up to 94%, and the produced hydrogen concentration achieved a maximum of 99.1%.