• Journal of Life Science
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.500-508
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• 2024

Recently, there has been increasing interest in enhancing the indoor air quality, particularly in response to the growing utilization of public facilities. The focus of this study was on assessing the efficacy and safety of an air sterilizer equipped with electrolytic salt catalysts. To that end, we evaluated the antimicrobial activity of the vapor spraying from the air sterilizer and its cytotoxicity in condensed form on human cell lines (HaCaT, BEAS-2B, and THP-1). Against the test organisms, which comprised five bacterial strains (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium) and one fungal strain (Candida albicans), the air sterilizer exhibited relatively high antimicrobial activities ranging from 10.89 to 73.98% following 1 and 3 hr of vapor spraying, which were notably time-dependent. Importantly, cytotoxicity assessments on human cells indicated no significant harmful effect even at a 1.0% concentration. Comprehensive safety evaluations included morphological observations, gene expression (Bcl-2, Bax) tests, and FACS analysis of intracellular ROS levels. Consistent with previous cytotoxicity findings, these estimates demonstrated no significant changes, highlighting the air sterilizer's safety and antimicrobial activities. In a simulated 20-hr operation within an indoor environment, the air sterilizer not only showed an 89.4% removal of total bacteria but also a 100.0% removal of Escherichia sp. and fungi. This research outlines the potential of the developed electrolytic salt catalyst air sterilizer to effectively remove indoor microbial pollutants without compromising human safety, underscoring the solution that it offers for improving indoor air quality.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.67-76
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• 2024

In this paper, we present a DIP-MLS testing method that combines digital image processing with a rigid body-based MLS differencing approach to measure mechanical variables and analyze the impact of target location and image resolution. This method assesses the displacement of the target attached to the sample through digital image processing and allocates this displacement to the node displacement of the MLS differencing method, which solely employs nodes to calculate mechanical variables such as stress and strain of the studied object. We propose an effective method to measure the displacement of the target's center of gravity using digital image processing. The calculation of mechanical variables through the MLS differencing method, incorporating image-based target displacement, facilitates easy computation of mechanical variables at arbitrary positions without constraints from meshes or grids. This is achieved by acquiring the accurate displacement history of the test specimen and utilizing the displacement of tracking points with low rigidity. The developed testing method was validated by comparing the measurement results of the sensor with those of the DIP-MLS testing method in a three-point bending test of a rubber beam. Additionally, numerical analysis results simulated only by the MLS differencing method were compared, confirming that the developed method accurately reproduces the actual test and shows good agreement with numerical analysis results before significant deformation. Furthermore, we analyzed the effects of boundary points by applying 46 tracking points, including corner points, to the DIP-MLS testing method. This was compared with using only the internal points of the target, determining the optimal image resolution for this testing method. Through this, we demonstrated that the developed method efficiently addresses the limitations of direct experiments or existing mesh-based simulations. It also suggests that digitalization of the experimental-simulation process is achievable to a considerable extent.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.19-62
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• 1985

This study was performed to investigate: (i) the bending processing properties of silk worm oak (Quercus acutissima Carr.) and Korean red pine (Pinus densiflora S. et Z.) by boiling and steaming treatments; (ii) the effects of interrelated factors - sapwood and heartwood, annual ring placement, softening temperature and time, moisture content. and wood defects on bending processing properties; (iii) the changing rates of bending radii after release from a tension strap, and (iv) the improving methods of bending process by treatment with chemicals. The size of specimens tested was $15{\times}15{\times}350mm$ for boiling and steaming treatments and $5{\times}10{\times}200mm$ for treatments with chemicals. The specimens were green for boiling treatments and dried to 15 percent for steaming treatments. The specimens for treatments with chemicals were soaked in saturated urea solution, 35 percent formaldehyde solution, 25 percent polyethylene glycol -400 solution, and 25 percent ammonium hydroxide solution for 5 days and immediately followed the bending process, respectively. The results obtained were as follows: 1. The internal temperature of silk worm oak and Korean red pine by boiling and steaming time was raised slowly to $30^{\circ}C$ but rapidly from $30^{\circ}C$ to $80-90^{\circ}C$ and then slowly from $80-90^{\circ}C$ to $100^{\circ}C$. 2. The softening time required to the final temperature was directly proportional to the thickness of specimen. The time required from $25^{\circ}C$ to $100^{\circ}C$ for 15mm-squared specimen was 9.6-11.2 minutes in silk worm oak and 7.6-8.1 minutes in Korean red pine. 3. The moisture content (M.C.) of specimen by steaming time was increased rapidly first 4 minutes in the both species, and moderately from 4 to 20 minutes and then slowly and constantly in silk worm oak, and moderately from 4 to 15 minutes and then slowly and constantly in Korean red pine. The M.C. of 15mm-squared specimen in 50 minutes of steaming was increased to 18.0 percent in the oak and 22.4 percent in the pine from the initial conditioned M.C. of 15 percent The rate of moisture adsorption measured was therefore faster in the pine than in the oak. 4. The mechanical properties of the both species were decreased significantly with the increase of boiling rime. The decrement by the boiling treatment for 60 minutes was measured to 36.6-45.0 percent in compressive strength, 12.5-17.5 percent in tensile strength, 31.6-40.9 percent in modulus of rupture, and 23.3-34.6 percent in modulus of elasticity. 5. The minimum bending radius (M.B.R.) of sapwood and heartwood was 60-80 mm and 90 mm in silk worm oak, and 260 - 300 mm and 280 - 300 mm in Korean red pine, respectively. Therefore, the both species showed better bending processing properties in sapwood than in heartwood. 6. The M.B.R. of edge-grained and flat-grained specimen in suk worm oak was 60-80 mm, but the M.B.R. in Korean red pine was 240-280 mm and 260-360 mm, respectively. Comparing the M.B.R. of edge-grained with flat-grained specimen, in the pine the edge-grained showed better bending processing property than the flat-grained. 7. The bending processing properties of the both species were improved by the rising of softening temperature from $40^{\circ}C$ to $100^{\circ}C$. The minimum softening temperature for bending was $90^{\circ}C$ in silk worm oak and $80^{\circ}C$ in Korean red pine, and the dependency of softening temperature for bending was therefore higher in the oak than in the pine. 8. The bending processing properties of the both species were improved by the increase of softening time as well as temperature, but even after the internal temperature of specimen reaching to the final temperature, somewhat prolonged softening was required to obtain the best plastic conditions. The minimum softening time for bending of 15 mm-squared silk worm oak and Korean red pine specimen was 15 and 10 minutes in the boiling treatment, and 30 and 20 minutes in the steaming treatment, respectively. 9. The optimum M.C. for bending of silk worm oak was 20 percent, and the M.C. above fiber saturation point rather degraded the bending processing property, whereas the optimum M.C. of Korean red pine needed to be above 30 percent. 10. The bending works in the optimum conditions obtained as seen in Table 24 showed that the M.B.R. of silk worm oak and Korean red pine was 80 mm and 240 mm in the boiling treatment, and 50 mm and 280 mm in the steaming treatment, respectively. Therefore, the bending processing property of the oak was better in the steaming than in the boiling treatment, but that of the pine better in the boiling than in the steaming treatment. 11. In the bending without a tension strap, the radio r/t of the minimum bending radius t to the thickness t of silk worm oak and Korean red pine specimen amounted to 16.0 and 21.3 in the boiling treatment, and 17.3 and 24.0 in the steaming treatment, respectively. But in the bending with a tension strap, the r/t of the oak and the pine specimen decreased to 5.3 and 16.0 in t he boiling treatment, and 3.3 and 18.7 in the steaming treatment, respectively. Therefore, the bending processing properties of the both species were significantly improved by the strap. 12. The effect of pin knot on the degradation of bending processing property was very severe in silk worm oak by side, e.g. 90 percent of the oak specimens with pin knot on the concave side were ruptured when bent to a 100 mm radius but only 10 percent of the other specimens with pin knot on the convex side were ruptured. 13. The changing rate in the bending radius of specimen bent to a 300 mm radius after 30 days of exposure to room temperature conditions was measured to 4.0-10.3 percent in the boiling treatment and 13,0-15.0 percent in the steaming treatment. Therefore, the degree of spring back after release was higher in the steaming than in the boiling treatment. And the changing rate of moisture-proofing treated specimen by expoxy resin coating was only -1.0.0 percent. 14. Formaldehyde, 35 percent solution, and 25 percent polyethylene glycol-400 solution found no effect on the plasticization of the both species, but saturated urea solution and 25 percent ammonium hydroxide solution found significant effect in comparison to non-treated specimen. But the effect of the treatment with chemicals alone was inferior to that of the steaming treatment, and the steaming treatment after the treatment with chemicals improved 10-24 percent over the bending processing property of steam-bent specimen. 15. Three plasticity coefficients - load-strain coefficient, strain coefficient, and energy coefficient - were evaluated to be appropriate for the index of bending processing property because the coefficients had highly significant correlation with the bending radius. The fitness of the coefficients as the index was good at load-strain coefficient, energy coefficient, and strain coefficient, in order.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.291-300
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• 2005

Two experiments were carried out to assess the appropriate incubation conditions namely; duration, moisture content and the ideal microbial inoculant for fermented dried food waste(EW) offered to broilers. The nutrient utilization of birds fed the FW diets at varying dietary inclusion rates was also compared with a control diet. In Experiment 1, different moisture contents(MC) of 30, 40, 50 and $60\%$ respectively were predetermined to establish the ideal duration of incubation and the microbial inoculant. A 1mL Aspergillus oryzae(AO) $(1.33\times10^5\;CFU/mL)$ was used as the seed inoculant in FW. This results indicated that the ideal MC for incubation was $40\~50\%$ while the normal incubation time was > 72 hours. Consequently, AO seeds at 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00mL were inoculated in FW to determine its effect on AO count. The comparative AO count of FW incubated for 12 and 96 hours, respectively showed no significant differences among varying inoculant dosage rates. The FW inoculated with lower AO seeds at 0.10, 0.05 and 0.01mL were likewise incubated for 72 and 96 hours, respectively and no changes in AO count was detected(p<0.05). The above findings indicated that the incubation requirements for FW should be $%40\~50\%$ for 72 hours with an AO seed incoulant dosage rate of 0.10mL. Consequently, in Experiment II, after determining the appropriate processing condition for the FW, 20 five-week old male Hubbard strain were used in a digestibility experiment. The birds were divided into 4 groups with 5 pens(1 bird per pen). The dietary treatments were; Treatment 1 : Control(Basal diet), Treatment 2 : $60\%$ Basal+4$40\%$ FW, Treatment 3 : $60\%$ $Basal+20\%\;FW+20\%$ AFW(Aspergillus oryzae inoculate dried food-waste diet) and Treatment 4: $60\%$ Basal+$40\%$ Am. Digestibility of treatment 2 was lowed on common nutrients and amino acids compared with control(p<0.05) and on crude fat and phosphorus compared with AFW treatments(T3, T4)(plt;0.05). Digestibility of treatment 3 and 4 increased on crude fiber and crude ash compared treatment 2 (p<0.05). Digestibility of control was high on agrinine, leucine, and phenylalnine of essential amino acids compared with treatment 3 and 4(p<0.05), and diestibility of treatment 3 and 4 was improved on arginine, lysine, and threonine of essential amino acids. Finally, despite comparable nutrient utilization among treatments, birds fed the dietary treatment containing AO tended to superior nutrient digestion to those fed the $60\%$ Basa1+$40\%$ FW.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.16 no.2 s.27
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• pp.55-70
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• 1980

The pharmacological and microbiological studies of Cefoperazone (T-1551, Toyama Chemical Co., Japan) were conducted in vitro and in vivo. The studies included stability and physicochemical characteristics, antimicrobial activity, animal and human pharmacokinetics, animal pharmacodynamics and safety evaluation of Cefoperazone sodium for injection. 1) Stability and physicochemical characteristics. Sodium salt of cefoperazone for injection had a general appearance of white crystalline powder which contained 0.5% water, and of which melting point was $187.2^{\circ}C$. The pH's of 10% and 25% aqueous solutions were 5.03 ana 5.16 at $25^{\circ}C$. The preparations of cefoperazone did not contain any pyrogenic substances and did not liberate histamine in cats. The drug was highly compatible with common infusion solutions including 5% Dextrose solution and no significant potency decrease was observed in 5 hours after mixing. Powdered cefoperazone sodium contained in hermetically sealed and ligt-shielded container was highly stable at $4^circ}C{\sim}37^{\circ}C$ for 12 weeks. When stored at $4^{\circ}C$ the potency was retained almost completely for up to one year. 2) Antimicrobial activity against clinical isolates. Among the 230 clinical isolates included, Salmonella typhi was the most susceptible to cefoperazone, with 100% inhibition at MIC of ${\leq}0.5{\mu}g/ml$. Cefoperazone was also highly active against Streptococcus pyogenes(group A), Kletsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus and Shigella flexneri, with 100% inhibition at $16{\mu}g/ml$ or less. More than 80% of Escherichia coli, Enterobacter aerogenes and Salmonella paratyphi was inhibited at ${\leq}16{\mu}/ml$, while Enterobacter cloaceae, Serratia marcescens and Pseudomonas aerogenosa were somewhat less sensitive to cefoperagone, with inhibitions of 60%, 55% and 35% respectively at the same MIC. 3) Animal pharmacokinetics Serum concentration, organ distritution and excretion of cefoperazone in rats were observed after single intramuscular injections at doses of 20 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg. The extent of protein binding to human plasma protein was also measured in vitro br equilibrium dialysis method. The mean Peak serum concentrations of $7.4{\mu}g/ml$ and $16.4{\mu}/ml$ were obtained at 30 min. after administration of cefoperazone at doses of 20 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg respectively. The tissue concentrations of cefoperazone measured at 30 and 60 min. were highest in kidney. And the concentrations of the drug in kidney, liver and small intestine were much higher than in blood. Urinary and fecal excretion over 24 hours after injetcion ranged form 12.5% to 15.0% in urine and from 19.6% to 25.0% in feces, indicating that the gastrointestinal system is more important than renal system for the excretion of cefoperazone. The extent of binding to human plasma protein measured by equilibrium dialysis was $76.3%{\sim}76.9%$, which was somewhat lower than the others utilizing centrifugal ultrafiltration method. 4) Animal pharmacodynamics Central nervous system : Effects of cefoperazone on the spontaneous movement and general behavioral patterns of rats, the pentobarbital sleeping time in mice and the body temperature in rabbits were observed. Single intraperitoneal injections at doses of $500{\sim}2,000mg/kg$ in rats did not affect the spontaneous movement ana the general behavioral patterns of the animal. Doses of $125{\sim}500mg/kg$ of cefoperazone injected intraperitonealy in mice neither increased nor decreased the pentobarbital-induced sleeping time. In rabbits the normal body temperature was maintained following the single intravenous injections of $125{\sim}2,000mg/kg$ dose. Respiratory and circulatory system: Respiration rate, blood pressure, heart rate and ECG of anesthetized rabbits were monitored for 3 hours following single intravenous injections of cefoperazone at doses of $125{\sim}2,000mg/kg$. The respiration rate decreased by $3{\sim}l7%$ at all the doses of cefoperazone administered. Blood pressure did not show any changes but slight decrease from 130/113 to 125/107 by the highest dose(2,000 mg/kg) injected in this experiment. The dosages of 1,000 and 2,000 mg/kg seemed to slightly decrease the heart rate, but it was not significantly different from the normal control. All the doses of cefoperazone injected were not associated with any abnormal changes in ECG findings throughout the monitering period. Autonomic nervous system and smooth muscle: Effects of cefoperazone on the automatic movement of rabbit isolated small intestine, large intestine, stomach and uterus were observed in vitro. The autonomic movement and tonus of intestinal smooth muscle increased at dose of $40{\mu}g/ml$ in small intestine and at 0.4 mg/ml in large intestine. However, in stomach and uterine smooth muscle the autonomic movement was slightly increased by the much higher doses of 5-10 mg/ml. Blood: In vitro osmotic fragility of rabbit RBC suspension was not affected by cefoperazone of $1{\sim}10mg/ml$. Doses of 7.5 and 10 mg/ml were associated with 11.8% and 15.3% prolongation of whole blood coagulation time. Liver and kidney function: When measured at 3 hours after single intravenous injections of cefoperaonze in rabbits, the values of serum GOT, GPT, Bilirubin, TTT, BUN and creatine were not significantly different from the normal control. 5) Safety evaluation Acute toxicity: The acute toxicity of cefoperazone was studied following intraperitoneal and intravenous injections to mice(A strain, 4 week old) and rats(Sprague-Dawler, 6 week old). The LD_(50)'s of intraperitonealy injected cefoperazone were 9.7g/kg in male mice, 9.6g/kg in female mice and over 15g/kg in both male and female rats. And when administered intravenously in rats, LD_(50)'s were 5.1g/kg in male and 5.0g/kg in female. Administrations of the high doses of the drug were associated with slight inhibition of spontaneous movement and convulsion. Atdominal transudate and intestinal hyperemia were observed in animals administered intraperitonealy. In rats receiving high doses of the drug intravenously rhinorrhea and pulmonary congestion and edema were also observed. Renal proximal tubular epithelial degeneration was found in animals dosing in high concentrations of cefoperazone. Subacute toxicity: Rats(Sprague-Dawley, 6 week old) dosing 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 g/kg/day of cefoperazone intraperitonealy were observed for one month and sacrificed at 24 hours after the last dose. In animals with a high dose, slight inhibition of spontaneous movement was observed during the experimental period. Soft stool or diarrhea appeared at first or second week of the administration in rats receiving 2.0g/kg. Daily food consumption and weekly weight gain were similar to control during the administration. Urinalysis, blood chemistry and hematology after one month administration were not different from control either. Cecal enlargement, which is an expected effect of broad spectrum antibiotic altering the normal intestinal microbial flora, was observed. Intestinal or peritoneal congestion and peritonitis were found. These findings seemed to be attributed to the local irritation following prolonged intraperitoneal injections of hypertonic and acidic cefoperazone solution. Among the histopathologic findings renal proximal tubular epithelial degeneration was characteristic in rats receiving 1 and 2g/kg/day, which were 10 and 20 times higher than the maximal clinical dose (100 mg/kg) of the drug. 6) Human pharmacokinetics Serum concentrations and urinary excretion were determined following a single intravenous injection of 1g cefoperazone in eight healthy, male volunteers. Mean serum concentrations of 89.3, 61.3, 26.6, 12.3, 2.3, and $1.8{\mu}g/ml$ occured at 1,2,4,6,8 and 12 hours after injection respectively, and the biological half-life was 108 minutes. Urinary excretion over 24 hours after injection was up to 43.5% of administered dose.