• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.12 no.11
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• pp.13-21
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• 2011

To recover basic functions of river such as water control, irrigation, environment, culture, a national river improvement project, the four river restoration projects were currently planned and under construction in Korea. This project is designed to preserve cultural assets and ecosystem from flooding, for that reason, environmentally friendly materials of construction are strongly emphasized. In this study, the soil and cement admixtures are developed. And, the compaction test and the unconfined compressive strength test to evaluate applicability of probiotics as environmentally friendly materials are conducted the soil and cement admixtures. As a result, the probiotic culture was not active in completely dried specimen to obtain accurate mixing proportion. It indicates that the probiotics cannot influence on the development the soil and cement admixtures. A further research will focus on the effect of response between polysaccharide environmentally friendly soil stabilizer and natural specimen.

• Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
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• v.67
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• pp.301-311
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• 2018

In this study, the ion-gelation method was applied to fabricate novel Fe-carbon-bentonite-alginate beads ($Fe^0$/C-BABs). $Fe^0$/C-BABs could effectively control Fe release during persulfate (PS) activation in N-acetyl-p-aminophenol (APAP) oxidation. A novel two-stage approach that combined $Fe^0$/C-BABs and an oyster-shell-filled bed (OSFB) column was developed to address the low pH and high Fe concentration of the effluent of the traditional PS process. The application of the $Fe^0$/C-BABs and OSFB column regulated pH levels and Fe release during the advanced oxidation of APAP. The characteristics of $Fe^0$/C-BABs were also investigated through scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectrometry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The long-term operation performance of $Fe^0$/C-BABs in a continuous fixed-bed reactor under simultaneous PS and APAP feeding was also evaluated. The effects of initial PS concentration, pH, fixed-bed weight, in-flow rate, and dissolved oxygen (DO) were investigated. Under selected conditions, 86.3% efficiency was achieved during the first stage of APAP degradation (effluent pH of 3.05, Fe contents: $106.25mgL^{-1}$). Water quality improved after the effluent was passed through the OSFB column (effluent pH of 6.32, Fe contents: $21.43mgL^{-1}$). Moreover, this study analyzed the free radicals and intermediates produced during APAP degradation to identify the possible routes of APAP degradation.

• Biomaterials Research
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.346-351
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• 2018

Background: Carbonate apatite ($CO_3Ap$) and silica-calcium phosphate composite (SCPC) are bone substitutes with good prospect for dental application. SCPC creates a hydroxyapatite surface layer and stimulate bone cell function while, $CO_3Ap$ induce apatite crystal formation with good adaptation providing good seal between cement and the bone. Together, these materials will add favorable properties as a pulp capping material to stimulate mineral barrier and maintain pulp vitality. The aim of this study is to investigate modification of $CO_3Ap$ cement combined with SCPC, later term as $CO_3Ap-SCPC$ cement (CAS) in means of its chemical (Calcium release) and physical properties (setting time, DTS and pH value). Methods: The study consist of three groups; group 1 (100% calcium hydroxide, group 2 $CO_3Ap$ (60% DCPA: 40% vaterite, and group 3 CAS (60% DCPA: 20% vaterite: 20% SCPC. Distilled water was employed as a solution for group 1, and $0.2mol/L\;Na_3PO_4$ used for group 2 and group 3. Samples were evaluated with respect to important properties for pulp capping application such as pH, setting time, mechanical strength and calcium release evaluation. Results: The fastest setting time was in $CO_3Ap$ cement group without SCPC, while the addition of 20% SCPC slightly increase the pH value but did not improved the cement mechanical strength, however, the mechanical strength of both $CO_3Ap$ groups were significantly higher than calcium hydroxide. All three groups released calcium ions and had alkaline pH. Highest pH level, as well as calcium released level, was in the control group. Conclusion: The CAS cement had good mechanical and acceptable chemical properties for pulp capping application compared to calcium hydroxide as a gold standard. However, improvements and in vivo studies are to be carried out with the further development of this material.

• Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
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• v.67
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• pp.244-254
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• 2018

Surface modified poly ${\text\tiny{L}}$-lactic acid (PLLA) samples with hydroxyapatite (HA), heparin and bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) mediated by polydopamine (pDA) coating (PLLA/pDA/HA/Hep/BMP-2) were prepared, and their effects on the enhancements of bone formation and osseointegration were evaluated in vitro and in vivo as compared to PLLA, PLLA/pDA/HA, and PLLA/pDA/Hep/BMP-2. The changes in surface chemical compositions, morphologies and wettabilities were observed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and water contact angle measurements. Pre-coating of HA particles with pDA provided uniform and homogeneous anchoring of particles to PLLA surface. In addition, the strong ionic interaction between heparin and pDA led PLLA surface readily heparinized for loading of BMP-2. In vitro experiments revealed that the levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, calcium deposition, and osteocalcin (OCN) gene expression were higher in MG-63 human osteosarcoma cell lines grown on PLLA/pDA/HA/Hep/BMP-2 than on control PLLA, PLLA/pDA/HA, and PLLA/pDA/Hep/BMP-2. In vivo studies using micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) also showed that PLLA/pDA/HA/Hep/BMP-2 screw exhibited greatest value of bone volume (BV) and bone volume/tissue volume (BV/TV) among samples. Histological evaluations with H&E and Von Kossa staining demonstrated that a combination of HA and BMP-2 contributed to the strong osseointegration.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.454-459
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• 2020

The main cause of oral disease is the formation of tooth surface bacteria, and a chemical mouthwash is used as a suppression method. However, chemical preparations have side effects, so we tried to verify the antibacterial effect of bamboo extract against oral microbes. Subjects were 15 college students as a control group and an experimental group, and the changes in oral microbes before and after the use of distilled water and bamboo extract were compared. Analysis of SPSS Windows ver. 20.0 was used (p<0.05). Results The total number of pathogenic microorganisms further decreased after using bamboo extract solution after using gargling solution between groups.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.1134-1145
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• 2021

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation with Allium mongolicum Regel extracts on the growth performance, carcass characteristics, fat color, and concentrations of three branched-chain fatty acids related to flavor in ram lambs. Methods: Sixty 3-month-old, male, small-tailed Han sheep were selected and randomly allocated into four groups in a randomized block design. Four feeding treatments were used: i) a basal diet without supplementation as the control group (CK); ii) the basal diet supplemented with 10 g/lamb/d Allium mongolicum Regel powder as the AMR group; iii) the basal diet supplemented with 3.4 g/lamb/d Allium mongolicum Regel water extract as the AWE group; and iv) the basal diet supplemented with 2.8 g/lamb/d Allium mongolicum Regel ethanol extract as the AFE group. Results: The results demonstrated that the dry matter intake was lower for the AFE group than that in other groups (p = 0.001). The feed conversion ratio was greater for the AFE than that in other groups (p = 0.039). Dietary supplementation with Allium mongolicum Regel powder and its extracts decreased the concentrations of 4-methyloctanoic acid (MOA) (p<0.001), 4-ethyloctanoic acid (EOA) (p<0.001), and 4-methylnonanoic acid (MNA) (p = 0.044) in perirenal adipose tissue compared to those observed in the CK lambs. Dietary supplementation with Allium mongolicum Regel powder and its extracts decreased the concentrations of MOA (p<0.001) and EOA (p<0.001) in dorsal subcutaneous adipose tissue compared to those in the CK lambs. The concentrations of MOA (p<0.001) and EOA (p = 0.002) in omental adipose tissue were significantly affected by treatment, although there was a tendency for lower MNA (p = 0.062) in AMR, AWE, and AFE lambs than that in CK lambs. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that Allium mongolicum Regel and its extracts could significantly promote feed efficiency, although dry matter intake decreased and could decrease the MOA and EOA concentrations related to characteristic flavor and odor of body fat in lambs, except for tail adipose tissue.

• Advances in environmental research
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.275-284
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• 2020

We provide the first study on the occurrence of microplastics in Dal lake, Kashmir, India. Microplastics act as catastrophe that trigger many environmental problems. The key origins of microplastics are larger plastics, which split into smaller plastics after UV light disintegration. There is relatively little work carried out on the existence of microplastics. The present work has been undertaken on the occurrence of microplastics at four pre-selected sites (surface water) in Dal lake, Kashmir. The samples were taken to the laboratory to dissolve organic matter by using H2O2 (6%). To speed up the organic digestion; the treated mixture was heated on a hot plate at 70℃. The mixture was then subjected to density separation. The supernatant obtained was observed under the microscope (10X) and measurements were taken. At site-I, the microplastics ranged from 2-3 mm, site-II 5-6 mm, site-III 3-4 mm, site-IV 4-5 mm in thickness, indicating the presence of microplastics in the lake. The presence of microplastics indicated that the lake has undergone an anthropogenic change over a period of time. Our research highlights the value of enhancing the quality of the drainage system and sewage disposal. This work can be helpful to recognize successful microplastic control management techniques and possible threats associated with the Dal lake. So far, no such data on the presence of microplastics in Kashmir lakes is available.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.670-679
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• 2021

Objective: Glucose transporter 9 (GLUT9) is a uric acid transporter that is associated with uric absorption in mice and humans; but it is unknown whether GLUT9 involves in chicken uric acid regulation. This experiment aimed to investigate the chicken GLUT9 expression and serum uric acid (SUA) level. Methods: Sixty chickens were divided into 4 groups (n = 15): a control group (NC); a sulfonamide-treated group (SD) supplemented with sulfamonomethoxine sodium via drinking water (8 mg/L); a fishmeal group (FM) supplemented with 16% fishmeal in diet; and a uric acid-injection group (IU), where uric acid (250 mg/kg) was intraperitoneally injected once a day. The serum was collected weekly to detect the SUA level. Liver, kidney, jejunum, and ileum tissues were collected to detect the GLUT9 mRNA and protein expression. Results: The results showed in the SD and IU groups, the SUA level increased and GLUT9 expression increased in the liver, but decreased in the kidney, jejunum, and ileum. In the FM group, the SUA level decreased slightly and GLUT9 expression increased in the kidney, but decreased in the liver, jejunum, and ileum. Correlation analysis revealed that liver GLUT9 expression correlated positively, and renal GLUT9 expression correlated negatively with the SUA level. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that there may be a feedback regulation of GLUT9 in the chicken liver and kidney to maintain the SUA balance; however, the underlying mechanism needs to be investigated in future studies.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.163-169
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• 2020

Purpose : This study aimed to investigate the anti-allergic effect of Persicaria perfoliata water extract (PPWE) on IgE stimulated rat basophilic leukemia (RBL-2H3) cell line. Methods : P. perfoliata (L.) H. Gross has been used in traditional medicine as an anti-allergic agent, antipyretic, and diuretic and for respiratory disorders. To analyze the anti-allergic activity of PPWE, release of β-hexosaminidase in RBL-2H3 cells was estimated by enzyme linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA). Also, the cytotoxic effect of PPWE was identified by WST assay, and nuclear factor (NF)-κB and its upstream signaling molecules were assessed by western blot analysis. Results : PPWE treatment significantly attenuated β-hexosaminidase release in a dose dependent manner without any cytotoxicity. PPWE inhibited β-hexosaminidase activity by 38.4±1.2, 36.6±0.6, 32.5±2.2 and 26.5±1.2 at 500, 250, 100, and 50 ㎍/㎖ of PPWE, respectively, compared with the control group. In addition, an analysis of the expression level of NF-κB, an inflammation transcription factor, in RBL-2H3 cells upon IgE stimulation provided reults consistent with the results of β-hexosaminidase release. The phosphorylated status of upstream signaling molecules for transcription factor, mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPKs), was also analyzed. The results showed that PPWE treatment dose-dependently inhibited phosphorylation of extracellular regulatory kinase (ERK) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). These results show that PPWE had a strong IgE-mediated degranulation inhibitory effect on RBL-2H3 cells. Conclusion : P. perfoliata ameliorated IgE-mediated allergic reaction via the modulation of MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathway in RBL-2H3 cells. These results indicate that P. perfoliata could be a potential candidate for a treatment strategy against various allergic disorders.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.340-348
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• 2020

This study was conducted to evaluate the immunomodulatory effects of red doraji (Platycodon grandiflorum, RD) prepared by repeated steaming and drying process in the immune-suppressed mice induced by pre (RD-A) or post-treatment (RD-B) with cyclophosphamide. The immune-stimulating effects of ethanol RD extract in in vivo at 150 (RD-1) and 300 mg/kg body weight (RD-2) for RD-A and RD-B groups were measured and compared to the NC group supplied with distilled water only or positive control group. After 14 days of oral supplement, serum IgA, IgG, and cytokine levels, splenocytes proliferation rate, NK cell activity, and gene expression of cytokines were measured as immune related biomarkers. Serum IgA, IgG, IL-1β, and IL-12 levels increased in both RD-A and RD-B groups while serum TNF-α level decreased in RD-A group compared to the NC group. Splenocytes proliferation rate, NK cell activity, and cytokine (IL-1β, IL-6, IFN-γ) expression levels were also improved by RD supplement in the both groups. The RD showed more significant immunomodulatory effects at higher dose (RD-2) rather than the lower dose (RD-1). Thus, RD has an immune efficacy in a dose dependent manner and can be used as an immune stimulating source to improve immunity.