• KSBB Journal
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.381-386
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• 2008

Lipophilic ammonia is toxic gas and can easily diffuse across cell membranes. Excess ammonia is implicated in the pathogenesis of several metabolic disorders including hepatic encephalopathy and may result in the death. The purpose of this study was to clarify the inhibition effect of metronidazole on liver cell damage due to ammonia in human Hep G2 cell and rat hepatocytes. The effects of metronidazole were studied in ammonium chloride treated human Hep G2 cell (75 mM) and rat hepatocyte (100 mM) following $0.1{\mu}M$ metronidazole treatment. In MTZ+AC group, cell viabilities increased prominently and LDH activities decreased over 25% than AC group. Furthermore, ammonia level according to ammonium chloride treatment reduced over 30% and lipid peroxidation as an index of cell membrane damage decreased more than twice. By comparison with control, catalase activity showed more than 30% reduction in AC group while less than 10% reduction in MTZ+AC group, respectively. In addition, MTZ+AC group showed the similar cell structure as control in cell morphology study by using light microscope, and represented fluorescent intensity decrement compared with AC group in fluorescent microscopic study with avidin-TRITC fluorescent dye. And cleaved PARP expression due to ammonia reduced twofold or more in MTZ+AC group. As the results suggest, metronidazole may protect the liver cell by inhibiting cell damages due to ammonia and be used for an effective antagonist of ammonia in hyperammonemia.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.378-385
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• 2009

Arsenic (As) is known to be very toxic and carcinogenic to human beings. Arsenic contaminated soil was collected from a timber mill site at Busan Metropolitan City, Korea, where chromated copper arsenate (CCA) had been used to protect wood from rotting caused by insects and microbial agents. The soil was stabilized using both natural oyster shells (NOS) and calcinated oyster shells (POS). The calcination of natural oyster shells was accomplished at a high temperature in order to activate quicklime from calcite. Two different oyster shell particle sizes (-#10 mesh and -#20 mesh) and curing periods of up to 28 days were investigated. The stabilization effectiveness was evaluated based on the Korean Standard Test (KST) method (1N HCl extraction). The stabilization results showed that the POS treatment was more effective than the NOS treatment at immobilizing the As in the contaminated soils. A significant As reduction (96%) was attained upon a POS treatment at 20 wt% and passed the Korean warning standard of 20 mg/kg ('Na' area). However, an As reduction of only 47% (169 mg/kg) was achieved upon a NOS treatment at 20 wt%. The -#20 mesh oyster shells seem to perform better than the -#10 materials. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM)-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) results showed that As immobilization was strongly associated with Ca and O in the presence of Al and Si.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.387-389
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• 2011

A previous study of ours indicated that Citrus auranifoli oil possesses antifungal activity against Malassezia furfur and Malassezia pachydermatis. In this study, we evaluated the anti-M. furfur and M. pachydermatis activities of limonene, which is a major component of C. aurantifolia oil, using the disk diffusion method. We also examined cytotoxicity against human normal epithelial (Beas-2B) cells using the cytopathic effect reduction (CPE) method. The results revealed that the minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) value of limonene is lower than the value for itraconazole. The MFC value of limonene was seen to be 7.81 ${\mu}g$/mL against M. furfur and 3.90 ${\mu}g$/mL against M. pachydermatis. MFC values of itraconazole against M. furfur and M. pachydermatis were 62.50 ${\mu}g$/mL and 31.25 ${\mu}g$/mL, respectively. In addition, it was noted that limonene was not toxic to Beas-2B cells with normal morphology at a concentration of 100 ${\mu}g$/mL. However, itraconazole exhibited weak toxicity at the same concentration. Therefore, our results indicate that limonene could potentially be effective at controlling M. furfur and M. pachydermatis infections with no cytotoxicity.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.40-47
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• 1999

To search for less toxic antiherpetic agents, the inhibitory effects of natural hesperetin on the plaque formation of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) in Vero cells were examined by the plaque reduction assay in vitro. Hesperetin inhibited plaque formations of HSV-1 and HSV-2 in a dose dependent manner. It also exhibited more potent antiherpetic activity on HSV-2 with selectivity index (SI) of 9.8 than on HSV-1 with SI of 8.4. The combined antiherpetic effects of hesperetin with nucleoside antiherpetic agents, acyclovir and vidarabine, were examined on the multiplication of these two strains of herpesviruses in Vero cells by the combination assay. The results of combination assay were evaluated by the combination index (CI) that was calculated by the multiple drug effect analysis. The combinations of hesperetin with acyclovir on HSV-1 and HSV-2 showed synergistic effects with CI values of $0.29{\sim}0.73$ for 50%, 70%, 90% effective levels and those with vidarabine showed partially synergistic or additive effects with CI values of $0.83{\sim}1.33$.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2013

The acute toxicity and sublethal effects of nitrite on the dark-banded rockfish, Sebastes inermis (mean body weight: $83.3{\pm}7.2$ g), were studied under static conditions for a period of 96 h. The acute toxicity of nitrite was at the 50% lethal concentration ($LC_{50}$) of 700 mg/L. The sublethal effects on selected hematological parameters of the dark-banded rockfish, such as its osmolality, hematocrit, cortisol, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), were measured after 0, 6, 12, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h of exposure to 0, 50, 100, 200, 400, or 700 mg/L nitrite. Sublethal nitrite caused a progressive reduction in the hematocrit of the fish, depending on the nitrite concentration and the exposure period. Exposure to 100-700 mg/L nitrite for 96 h caused a reduction in the hematocrit and an increase in cortisol, ALT, and AST compared with the control levels. Abnormal ultrastructural changes in the gills and liver tissues were observed in fish exposed to 700 mg/L nitrite for up to 96 h compared with the control tissues. Ultrastructural changes included atrophic gill mitochondria and hepatocytes that developed smooth endoplasmic reticulum and atrophic mitochondria. Although no rockfish mortality occurred at 500 mg/L nitrite, all the hematological parameters examined responded adversely to a nitrite dose of 200 mg/L for 96 h. These results show that although the acute toxic concentration of nitrite for the dark-banded rockfish is > 700 mg/L, sublethal concentrations of nitrite also negatively affect its hematological parameters.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.217-224
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• 2011

Removal of dissolved selenium by D. michiganensis, a iron-reducing bacterium, and effects of dissolved metal elements such as iron, sulfate, and copper were investigated. Selenide that was reduced from selenite (2 mM) by D. michiganensis was gradually removed from the aqueous medium. As the reduced selenide was combined with aqueous iron, it was precipitated as a nanoparticulate iron-selenide. Sulfate and copper negatively affected the microbial selenite reduction, and the copper was especially toxic to the bacterium, inhibiting a microbial removal of dissolved selenite. These results show that it should be carefully biotreated for a selenium-contaminated site considering in situ sulfate or copper distribution and concentration. Consequently, the formation of iron-selenide by bacteria will be an important measure for preventing a long-distance migration of selenium in the subsurface environments.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.1-17
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• 2012

T-2 toxin and HT-2 toxin, belong to type A trichothecences, are the most toxic mycotoxins among the trichothecene family. These mycotoxins are commonly found in cereals such as maize, wheat, barley, oats and rice, and their occurrence in food can be of concern. This review investigated the current trends of patents and researches on T-2 toxin and HT-2 toxin pertaining to natural occurrence, toxicity, metabolism, risk assessment, analytical and screening methods, and reduction/detoxification techniques. As compared with other $Fusarium$ mycotoxins, there are limited data for natural occurrence and risk assessment, and regulatory limit and official analytical methods on T-2 toxin and HT-2 toxin in domestic and foreign countries. In particular, selective deacetylation at the C3 and/or C4 positions of T-2 toxin by carboxyesterase present in foods was reported to cause the disappearance of T-2 and the extremely high HT-2 recoveries. Currently, regulatory limits for T-2 and HT-2 are under discussion in EU. For enforcement purposes it is essential to have available precise and reliable analytical methods applicable at the regulatory levels for the T-2 toxin and HT-2 toxin and relevant commodities. In addition, a further study on natural occurrence, risk assessment and reduction/detoxification techniques will be recommended.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.213-217
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• 2012

The amount of spent fuel from nuclear power plants has been increasing. An effective management plan of the spent fuel becomes a critical issue, because the storage capacity of each plant will reach its storage limit in a few years. The volume of high toxic spent fuel can be reduced through a fuel processing. Advanced Fuel Cycle (AFC) system is considered to be one of the options to reduce the toxicity and volume of the spent fuel. It is necessary to set up a test facility to demonstrate the feasibility of the process at the engineering scale. The objective of the work is a development of the safety evaluation technology for the AFC system. The evaluation technology of the AFC structural integrity and processes were surveyed and reviewed. Key evaluation parameters for the main processes such as electrolytic reduction, electrorefining, and electrowinning were obtained. The survey results may be used for the establishment of the AFC regulatory licensing procedure. The establishment of the licensing criteria minimizes the trials and errors of the AFC facility design. Issues taken from the survey on the regulatory procedure and design safety features for the AFC facility provide a chance to resolve potential issues in advance.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2016.11a
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• pp.172-172
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• 2016

The International Maritime Organization(IMO) adopted the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments in 2004 to prevent the transfer of aquatic organisms via ballast water. Forty ballast water treatment systems were granted final approval. A variety of techniques have been developed for ballast water treatment including UV treatment, indirect or direct electrolysis, ozone treatment, chemical compounds and plasma-arc method. In particular, using plasma and ozone nano-bubble treatments have been attracted in the fields. However, these treatment systems have a problem such as remained toxic substance, demand for high power source, low efficiency, ets. In this paper, we present our strilization results obtained from membrane type electrolytic-reduction treatment system The core of an electrolysis unit is an electrochemical cell, which is filled with pure water and has two electrodes connected with an external power supply. At a certain voltage, which is called critical voltage, between both electrodes, the electrodes start to produce hydrogen gas at the negatively biased electrode and oxygen gas at the positively biased electrode. The amount of gases produced per unit time is directly related to the current that passes through the electrochemical cell. From the results, we could confirm the sterilization effect of bacteria such as S. aureus, E. Coli and demonstrate the mechanism of sterilization phenomena by electrolytic-reduction treatment system.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.69-74
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• 2014

Slags generated in the smelting reduction of deep sea manganese nodule could be utilized as an additional materials for making Fe-Si-Mn alloys by mixing with cokes and re-smelting at an arc furnace. In this re-melting process slag is also generated, and the secondary slag is treated as waste. In this survey, recycling of the waste slag of Mn nodule was studied. It is tried to utilize the waste slag as ceramic materials or construction materials. However, it is difficult to use the waste slag directly as an additional material to ceramics such as portland cement or castable refractory material due to the much difference of chemical compositions. As an altercation road constructing material is considered, and toxicity on the soil of the waste slag was tested according to Korean Standard for testing permissible amount of toxic substances. The test result was satisfied with the requirements on the standard. So, it should be suggested that the waste slag of the Mn nodule could be utilized as constructing materials such as road filler or base materials.