• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.146-154
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• 2018

There are more than 25 species of Mentha plants, which are aromatic perennial herbs. Currently, these species are being widely used with great interest because of various clinical findings regarding their health benefits. This is due to the abundance of volatile compounds that could expedite environmental interactions such as protection against herbivores, parasites, pathogens, and so on. Therefore, in this study, the antimicrobial effect of Mentha piperita (peppermint) oil on Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Cronobacter sakazakii, and Salmonella Enteritidis were investigated using the spot-on-lawn method. The results show that Mentha piperita (peppermint) oil exhibited antimicrobial activities against Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, and Cronobacter sakazakii; however, it did not inhibit the growth of Salmonella Enteritidis. This shows that the antimicrobial effect of Mentha piperita (peppermint) oil is effective against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Hence, in the present study, Mentha piperita (peppermint) oil was shown to have strong antimicrobial activities; it could be used as a potential food additive for improving the quality of various milk-based products due to its various bioactive properties. Future studies should be conducted for manufacturing functional dairy products with the addition of peppermint oil to prevent and/or alleviate specific diseases.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.513-527
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• 2016

The objective of the present study was to review the current research about the outcomes of horticultural activity interventions in order to determine research trends and analyze the characteristics of horticultural activity interventions. We reviewed the literature using search engines such as the Web of Science, Proquest Dissertation and Theses, Academic Search Premier, Research Information sharing Service, and Korean National Assembly Digital Library to locate journal articles that include relevant search terms (e.g., gardening activity, gardening program, allotment garden, urban agriculture, horticultural therapy, and horticultural activity). We initially identified 14,414 journal articles that were published before April 2014 and selected 509 of the papers for review. We found that studies investigating treating children and adults 8 to 64 years old were the most common, and horticultural activities such as gardening outdoors, planting indoors, making crafts with live plants, arranging flowers, making crafts with artificial or pressed flowers, and other activities were usually combined. Short/medium term (11 to 20 sessions) horticultural activity programs were the most frequent, and most interventions were of medium duration (> 60 min to 120 min). Most of the studies focused on the psychological or emotional effects of horticultural intervention, such as its effects on emotional intelligence, self-esteem, stress, and depression. Further studies are needed to analyze the research methodology, specific outcomes, and strengths or weaknesses of studies investigating horticultural activity interventions.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.13-21
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• 2018

Anthocyanins are naturally occurring water-soluble polyphenolic pigments in plants that have been shown to protect against cardiovascular diseases, and certain cancers, as well as other chronic human disorders. However, the anti-obesity effects of anthocyanins are not fully understood. In this study, we investigated the effects of anthocyanins isolated from the fruit of Vitis coignetiae Pulliat on the adipogenesis of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Our data indicated that anthocyanins attenuated the terminal differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes, as confirmed by a decrease in the number of lipid droplets, lipid content, and triglyceride production. During this process, anthocyanins effectively enhanced the activation of the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK); however, this phenomenon was inhibited by the co-treatment of compound C, an inhibitor of AMPK. Anthocyanins also inhibited the expression of adipogenic transcription factors, including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-${\gamma}$, CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein a and b, and sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c. In addition, anthocyanins were found to potently inhibit the expression of adipocyte-specific genes, including adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein, leptin, and fatty acid synthase. These results indicate that anthocyanins have potent anti-obesity effects due to the inhibition of adipocyte differentiation and adipogenesis, and thus may have applications as a potential source for an anti-obesity functional food agent.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.36-45
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• 2006

Twenty isolates of Didymella bryoniae were isolated from infected cucurbit plants in various growing areas of southern Korea in 2001 and 2002. Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) group [RG] I of D. bryoniae was more virulent than RG IV to watermelon. Virulence of the RG I isolate was strong to moderate to cucumber, whereas that of the RG IV varied from strong, moderate to weak. Two hundred seventy-three amplified fragments were produced with 40 primers, and were analyzed by a cluster analysis using UPGMA method with an arithmetic average program of NTSYSPC. At the distance level of 0.7, two major genomic DNA RAPD groups were differentiated among 20 isolates. The RG I included 7 isolates from watermelon and one isolate from melon, whereas the RG IV included 12 isolates from squash, cucumber, watermelon and melon. Amplification of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and small subunit rRNA region from the 20 isolates yielded respectively a single fragment. Restriction pattern with 12 restriction enzymes was identical for all isolates tested, suggesting that variation in the ITS and small subunit within the D. bryoniae were low. Amplification of the genomic DNAs of the tested isolates with the sequence characterized amplified regions (SCAR) primer RG IF-RG IR specific for RG I group resulted in a single band of 650bp fragment for 8 isolates out of the 20 isolates. Therefore, these 8 isolates could be assigned into RG I. The same experiments done with RG IIF-RG IIR resulted in no amplified PCR product for the 20 isolates tested. An about 1.4 kb-fragment amplified from the RG IV isolates was specifically hybridized with PCR fragments amplified from genomic DNAs of the RG IV isolates only, suggesting that this PCR product could be used for discriminating the RG IV isolates from the RG I isolates as well other fungal species.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.366-373
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• 2016

Bulhwangeumjeonggisan (BHGJGS) is a traditional herbal formulation generally used in the treatment of cold and gastritis. BHGJGS consists of eight herbal plants; Atractylodis Rhizoma, Magnoliae Cortex, Citri Pericarpium, Glycyrrhizae Radix, Agastachis Herba, Pinelliae Rhizoma, Zingiberis Rhizoma and Zizyphi Fructus. Complete standardization of this formulation has not been done yet. So, a simple and accurate method was developed and validated using Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC) with Diode Array Detector (DAD) for the standardization of BHGJGS. UPLC conditions were optimized using a c18 RP-Amide column with mobile phase; 0.1% phosphate buffer and acetonitrile, detection wavelength; 210 and 325 nm. The linearities of calibration curves were acceptable ($R^2$>0.9994), and the limit of detection and quantification were within the ranges of 0.011-0.091 and $0.034-0.277{\mu}g/ml$ respectively. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of intra- and inter-day precisions were under 3.61%. The RSD of repeatability was under 0.68 %. The results of recovery test were 94.4-107.9%, and the RSD were under 4.6%. The developed method was used to find the contents of standard constituents in BHGJGS mix extract powder, and two commercial formulation (A and B). The data show that the developed method was specific, sensitive, accurate, and precise for analysis of BHGJGS components.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.130-138
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• 2010

Orchid fleck virus (OFV) is an unassigned plant virus in the family Rhabdoviridae. OFV was isolated from Cymbidium sp. showing oval necrotic lesions on their leaves in Korea, and designated as OFV-NHHS1. The complete nucleotide sequence of the RNA1 (6,413 nt) (GenBank accession no. AB516442) and RNA2 (6,001 nt) (GenBank accession no. AB516441) was determined in this study. RNA1 and RNA2 contained five and one ORF respectively. RNA1 encodes nucleocapsid (N) of 49 kDa, ORF2 of 26 kDa, ORF3 of 38 kDa, ORF4 of 20 kDa and glycoprotein (G) of 61 kDa proteins, whereas RNA2 encodes a single polymerase of 212 kDa. OFV-NHHS1 shared extremely high similarity of 98.6-100% and 98.9-99.6% in nucleotidle and amino acid sequences with a Japanese isolate, OFV-so, respectively. However, the N, G and L of OFV-NHHS1 revealed 6.9-19.3%, 7.3-12.0%, and 13.4-26.6% identities to those of 29 Rhabdoviruses, respectively. To survey the infection rate of OFV in commercial orchids in Korea, 51 Cymbidium sp., 10 Phalaenopsis sp., 22 Oncidium sp. and 21 Dendrobium sp. plants that showed typical viral symptoms were collected. RT-PCR with specific primers for detection of Cymbidium mosaic virus (CymMV), ORSV and OFV showed high infection rate by ORSV alone and double infection by ORSV and CymMV. One of the orchids tested was infected with OFV. This is the first report of the complete nucleotide sequences of OFV isolated in Korea.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.165-172
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• 2010

Genes that are expressed early in specific response to high salinity conditions were isolated from rapeseed plant (Brassica napus L.) using an mRNA differential display method. Five PCR fragments (DD1.5) were isolated that were induced by, but showed different response kinetics to, 200 mM NaCl. Nucleotide sequence analysis and homology search revealed that the deduced amino sequences of three of the five cDNA fragments showed considerable similarity to those of ${\beta}$-mannosidase (DD1), tomato Pti-6 proteins (DD5), and the tobacco harpin-induced protein hin1 (DD4), respectively. In contrast, the remaining clones, DD3 and DD2, did not correspond to any substantial existing annotation. Using the DD3 fragment as a probe, we isolated a full-length cDNA clone from the cDNA library, which we termed BnSWD1 (Brassica napus salt responsive WD40 1). The predicted amino-acid sequence of BnSWD1 contains eight WD40 repeats and is conserved in all eukaryotes. Notably, the BnSWD1 gene is expressed at high levels under salt-stress conditions. Furthermore, we found that BnSWD1 was upregulated after treatment with abscisic acid, salicylic acid, and methyl jasmonate. Our study suggests that BnSWD1, which is a novel WD40 repeat-containing protein, has a function in salt-stress responses in plants, possibly via abscisic acid-dependent and/or -independent signaling pathways.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.976-985
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• 2010

In this study, characteristics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) from Lake Paldang and seven other DOM sources (lake plankton, plants, soil, composite, treated sewage) were studied using XAD resin fractionation and 28-day microbial incubation experiment. Distribution patterns of DOM-fractions, which include hydrophilic acids (HiA), hydrophilic bases (HiB), hydrophilic neutrals (HiN), hydrophobic acids (HoA), hydrophobic neutrals (HoN) and the extent of DOM biodegradation (i.e., biodegradability) were different depending on the origins of the DOM samples. The DOM distribution pattern and the biodegradability were found to be effective for distinguishing the different DOM sources. The biodegradability (%) had negative correlations with the content (%) of hydrophobic fractions (Ho) and specific UV absorbance of DOM, which indicate that the Ho fractions contain more aromatic carbon structures and relatively stable during biodegradation, irrespective of the sources. To gain additional insight into the microbial transformation of the DOM, we also investigated the changes in the fraction's distribution for plankton, leaf litter and composite samples after the incubation. The results showed that biodegradation of hydrophilic fraction (Hi) causes an increase in the proportion of Ho (HoA, HoN), while biodegradation of HoA increases the HoN production.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.828-841
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• 2016

Relatively little information is available regarding the correlation between wood and veneer quality, especially for Samama wood, an endemic wood species in eastern Indonesia. This study addresses the quality of 8 years old Samama wood and its effect on the veneer quality. Samama wood quality was determined by evaluating its specific gravity, moisture content, fiber dimensions, and microfibril angle from pith toward bark. Meanwhile, veneer quality was assessed by examining veneer thickness and lathe check characteristics. Geometry factor model was constructed to elaborate the quantities of lathe check from pith toward bark. Results show that fair variations of veneer thickness, ranging from 1.5 mm to 3.0 mm, could be obtained from Samama wood. The quantity, depth, and length of lathe check were noticeably decreasing toward bark. Further, in the same manufacturing process, geometry factor was determined as the dominant factor over other wood properties in affecting the frequency of lathe checks from pith towards bark. These facts should be put into consideration in producing veneer from Samama wood. Moreover, these results enlighten the potential of Samama wood as plywood and other excellent veneer-based products.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Near Infrared Spectroscopy Conference
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• 2001.06a
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• pp.1171-1171
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• 2001

Quantitative analysis is an important requirement in exploration, mining and processing of minerals. There is an increasing need for the use of quantitative mineralogical data to assist with bore hole logging, deposit delineation, grade control, feed to processing plants and monitoring of solid process residues. Quantitative analysis using X-Ray Powder Diffraction (XRD) requires fine grinding and the addition of a reference material, or the application of Rietveld analysis to XRD patterns to provide accurate analysis of the suite of minerals present. Whilst accurate quantitative data can be obtained in this manner, the method is time consuming and limited to the laboratory. Mid infrared when combined with multivariant analysis has also been used for quantitative analysis. However, factors such as the absorption coefficients and refractive index of the minerals requires special sample preparation and dilution in a dispersive medium, such as KBr to minimize distortion of spectral features. In contrast, the lower intensity of the overtones and combinations of the fundamental vibrations in the near infrared allow direct measurement of virtually any solid without special sample preparation or dilution. Thus Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIR) has found application for quantitative on-line/in line analysis and control in a range of processing applications which include, moisture control in clay and textile processing, fermentation processes, wheat analysis, gasoline analysis and chemicals and polymers. It is developing rapidly in the mineral exploration industry and has been underpinned by the development of portable NIR spectrometers and spectral libraries of a wide range of minerals. For example, iron ores have been identified and characterized in terms of the individual mineral components using field spectrometers. Data acquisition time of NIR field instruments is of the order of seconds and sample preparation is minimal. Consequently these types of spectrometers have great potential for in-line or on-line application in the minerals industry. To demonstrate the applicability of NIR field spectroscopy for quantitative analysis of minerals, a specific example on the quantification of lateritic bauxites will be presented. It has been shown that the application of Partial Least Squares regression analysis (PLS) to the NIR spectra can be used to quantify chemistry and mineralogy in a range of lateritic bauxites. Important, issues such as sampling, precision, repeatability, and replication which influence the results will be discussed.