Ethanol production from various agricultural and forest residues has been widely researched, but there is limited information available on the use of mixed hardwood for ethanol production. The main objective of this study is to assess the impact of time on the steam explosion pretreatment of waste wood (mixed hardwood) and to determine the convenience of a delignification step with respect to the susceptibility to enzymatic hydrolysis of the cellulose residue and the recoveries of both cellulose and hemicellulosic sugars. Delignification did enhance enzymatic hydrolysis yields of steam exploded waste wood. For steam explosion pretreatment times of 3 and 5 min, the recovery yield of hemicellulosic-derived sugars decreased. The effective hemicellulose solubilization does not always result in high recoveries of hemicellulose-derived sugars in the liquid fractions due to sugar degradation. In the steam explosion pretreatment times of 3 and 5 min, where hemicellulose solubilization exceeded 95%, but sugar recoveries in the liquid fraction remained below 30%. Cellulose to glucose yield losses were less significant than hemicellulosic-sugar losses, with a maximum loss of 24% at 5 min. Up to 80% of the lignin in the original wood was solubilized, leaving a cellulose-rich residue that led to a concentrated cellulose to glucose yield solution (about 50 g/L after 72 h enzymatic hydrolysis in the best case). The maximum overall process yield, taking into account both sugars present in the liquid from steam explosion pretreatment and cellulose to glucose yield from the steam exploded, delignified and hydrolyzed solid was obtained at the lowest steam explosion pretreatment time assayed.

We successfully synthesized a porous carbon material with abundant hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) dispersed on a carbon matrix (p-BN-C) as efficient electrocatalysts for two-electron oxygen reduction reaction ( 2e− ORR) to produce hydrogen peroxide ( H2O2). This catalyst was fabricated via ball-milling-assisted h-BN exfoliation and subsequent growth of carbon structure. In alkaline solutions, the h-BN/carbon heterostructure exhibited superior electrocatalytic activity for H2O2 generation measured by a rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE), with a remarkable selectivity of up to 90–97% in the potential range of 0.3–0.6 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), superior to most of the reported carbon-based electrocatalysts. Density functional theory (DFT) simulations indicated that the B atoms at the h-BN heterostructure interface were crucial active sites. These results underscore the remarkable catalytic activity of heterostructure and provide a novel approach for tailoring carbon-based catalysts, enhancing the selectivity and activity in the production of H2O2 through heterostructure engineering.

Metal-free N–S- and N–P-doped nanocarbon (SCNP and PCNP) electrocatalysts prepared through sustainable microwaveassisted synthesis using hemigraphis alternata plant leaves. The prepared heteroatom-doped nanocarbon materials are active catalysts for the two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) to produce 65–70% of hydrogen peroxide. As evidenced from the XPS, most proportion of the doped heteroatoms contain the oxygen functional groups in the nanocarbons. These attributes are the critical factors to see the selective two-electron transfer ORR for the PCNP and SCNP. This approach shed light on the critical role of dual heteroatoms doping and the oxygen functionalities in nanocarbon towards the selectivity of ORR. We believe that this method would allow the preparation of heteroatom that contains oxygen functionalities. Our work paves a sustainable way of preparation of nanocarbon based ORR catalysts that are only selective for two-electron transfer process.

Single-atom Pd clusters anchored on t-BaTiO3 material was synthesized using hydrothermal and ultrasonic methods for the effective piezoelectric catalytic degradation of pollutants using vibration energy. XRD patterns of BaTiO3 loaded with monoatomic Pd were obtained before and after calcining, and showed typical cubic-phase BTO. TEM and HAADF-STEM images indicated single-atom Pd clusters were successfully introduced into the BaTiO3. The piezoelectric current density of the prepared Pd-BaTiO3 binary composite was significantly higher than that of the pristine BaTiO3. Under mechanical vibration, the nanomaterial exhibited a tetracycline decomposition rate of ~95 % within 7 h, which is much higher than the degradation rate of 56.7 % observed with pure BaTiO3. Many of the piezo-induced electrons escaped to the Pd-doped BaTiO3 interface because of Pd’s excellent conductivity. Single-atom Pd clusters help promote the separation of the piezo-induced electrons, thereby achieving synergistic catalysis. This work demonstrates the feasibility of combining ultrasonic technology with the piezoelectric effect and provides a promising strategy for the development of ultrasonic and piezoelectric materials.

Radiation from spent nuclear fuel (SNF) is one of key factors affecting the dissolution process of SNF and the source term from repository. The dissolution rate of uranium dioxide (UO2) matrix of SNF is expected to control the release of radionuclides from SNF in contact with water under geological disposal conditions. Based on the oxidative dissolution mechanism, the solubility of UO2 can increase significantly if the reducing environment near the fuel surface is altered by water radiolysis caused by radiation from SNF. Therefore, the analysis of water radiolysis products such as radicals (·OH, ·OH2, eaq, ·H) and molecules (H3O+, H2, H2O2) is perquisite for studies on the rate of such dissolution process to determine oxidation/dissolution mechanism and related rate constants. In this study we examined the two-known spectroscopic methods developed for H2O2 determination; one is the luminol-based chemiluminescence (luminol-CL) method and the other is the spectrophotometry using ferrous oxidation-xylenol orange complexation (FOX). Their applicability for quantitative analysis of H2O2 in potential aqueous samples from SNF dissolution studies was evaluated in terms of the analytical dynamic range (ADR), the limit of detection (LOD) and the interfering effects of various metal ions possibly present in real samples. The luminol-CL method exploits the chemiluminescence reaction caused by luminol; when in the presence of a metallic catalyst (e.g., Cu2+, Co2+), luminol emits a blue light (425 nm) at pH 10- 11 in response to oxidizing agents such as hydrogen peroxide. Although a flow-through reaction system is routinely employed to enhance the analytical sensitivity we achieved the ADR up to ~200 μM and LOD < 1 μM by a batch-wise CL detection using conventional cuvette cells and an intensified charge-coupled device (ICCD). Interestingly, it turned out that the interfering effects of other metal ions (e.g., UO2 2+, U4+, Fe2+ and Fe3+) is minimal, which should be advantageous for the luminol-CL method to be employed for samples potentially containing other metal ions. On the other hand, the FOX method spectrophotometrically analyzes H2O2 based on the difference in color (or absorption spectra) of Fe-xylenol orange (XO) complexes. Initially, the Fe2+-XO complex was provided in working solutions at pH 3, which was subsequently mixed with samples having H2O2 and allowed for quantitative oxidation of Fe2+ to Fe3+. Typically, by monitoring the absorbance of Fe3+-XO complex at 560-580 nm (λmax) the ADR up to ~100 μM and LOD ~1.6 μM were achieved. However, it is found that interfering effects from M3+ and M4+ ions are significant; these interfering metal ions can form XO complexes so as to directly contribute the measured absorbance. In contrast, the influence from M2+ ions was found to be negligible. To summarize we conclude that both methods can be applied for H2O2 determination for aqueous samples taken from SNF dissolution tests. However, prior to applying the FOX method the metal ion composition in those samples should be thoroughly identified not to overestimate the H2O2 concentration of samples. More details of underlying chemical reactions in both methods will be discussed in the presentation.

산화적 스트레스는 세포 및 조직 손상을 통해 피부의 탄력 및 보습 기능 저하, 피부 노화 촉진 을 비롯한 다양한 피부질환을 일으킨다. 본 연구의 목적은 인간 피부각질세포 (HaCaT keratinocyte)에서 산화적 스트레스에 대한 붉은 토끼풀 추출물의 효능을 검토하여, 피부에 효과적으로 사용할 수 있는 기능 성 소재로서의 활용 여부를 확인하고자 하였다. 본 연구에서는 붉은 토끼풀 추출물이 인간 피부각질세포에 서 산화적 스트레스에 따른 세포사를 억제시키는 것을 확인하여, 이를 조절하는 보호기전을 규명하였다. 이는 붉은 토끼풀 추출물이 Caspase-3 비활성, 세포사 촉진단백질 Bax 발현 억제, 세포생존 촉진단백질 Bcl-2 발현 증가 및 MAPK 신호전달계 단백질의 인산화 억제를 통해 H2O2에 의해 유도된 산화적 스트레 스를 보호할 수 있다는 것을 확인하였다. 따라서 붉은 토끼풀 추출물은 피부의 산화적 손상을 감소시키는 유용한 소재로 평가되며, 이는 피부보호 및 미용을 위한 다양한 제품 및 산업에 활용 가능성이 높은 것으로 판단된다.

Sulfur is an essential element in plants, including amino acids, vitamin synthesis, and acting as an antioxidant. However, the interaction between endogenous sulfur and proline synthesis has not been yet fully documented. White clover (Trifolium repens L.) is known as a species highly sensitive to sulfate supply. Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate the role of sulfur in regulating proline metabolism in relation to ammonia detoxification and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) accumulation in white clover. The detached leaves of white clover were immersed in solution containing different concentration of sulfate (0, 10, 100, and 1000 mM MgSO4). As MgSO4 concentrations were increased, the concentration of H2O2 increased up to 2.5-fold compared to control, accompanied with H2O2 detection in leaves. Amino acid concentrations significantly increased only at higher levels (100 and 1000 mM MgSO4). No significant difference was observed in protein concentration. Proline and Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate (P5C) concentrations slightly decreased at 10 and 100 mM MgSO4 treatments, whereas it rapidly increased over 1.9-fold at 1000 mM MgSO4 treatment. Ammonia concentrations gradually increased up to 8.6-fold. These results indicate that exogenous sulfur levels are closely related to H2O2 and ammonia synthesis but affect proline biosynthesis only at a higher level.

The effect of hydrogen peroxide on the electrochemical behavior of iron was investigated in perchlorate solutions. Iron showed four distinct behaviors in the perchlorate solutions of pH 3.0. First, the active dissolution regions of Fe with two current waves were observed in the potential range of −0.7 to 0 V (vs. SCE). Second, the stable passivation was found in the potential range between 0 and 0.3 V (vs. SCE). Third, unstable passivation region was observed in the potential range of 0.3 to 1.2 V (vs. SCE). Finally, pitting corrosion was observed at a potential above 1.2 V (vs. SCE). The pH increase stabilized the passivation process of iron, whereas the increase in temperature had a negative influence by enhancing the passivation and pitting behaviors of iron. The presence of hydrogen peroxide at the concentrations below 1.45 mM had an adverse effect on the formation of the passive layer. However, at concentrations above 1.45 mM, hydrogen peroxide affected a beneficial influence on the formation of stable iron oxide layer in the active dissolution region. In addition, regardless of the hydrogen peroxide concentration, the presence of hydrogen peroxide mitigated the pitting corrosion of iron.

본 연구는 플라즈마 발생 장치를 수경재배 시스템과 결합하여 상추를 재배하고 수확 후 플라즈마 활성수와 과산화수소 0, 3, 6% 농도에 침지 처리를 하여 생육량 및 바이오 활성 물질 함량을 비교하였다. 고농도의 과산화수소로 인하여 근권부 생체중이 저해되는 결과를 나타냈으며, 엽장과 근권부 생체중을 제외하고는 유의적 차이가 발생하지 않았다. 상추 지상부의 chlorogenic acid와 4-hydroxy3-benzoic acid, 4-hydroxy benzoic acid 그리고 지상부 총 페놀 함량은 과산화수소 6%에 서 유의적으로 가장 높았다. 하지만 근권부에서 측정된 이차 대사산물인 quercetin 및 근권부 총 페놀 함량은 과산화수소 처리구보다 플라즈마 활성수에서 유의하게 높았다. 과산화수소 처리 기간 동안 상추의 뿌리는 직접적인 피해를 받으며 괴사하였으나, 잎에서는 과산화수소 6% 처리에서 바이오 활성 물질이 증가하는 결과를 나타내었다. 플라즈마 활성수 처리 상추는 생리 장해가 발생하지 않았으며, 과산화수소 6% 처리와 유사한 양의 이차대사산물 증대 효과를 나타내었다. 또한, 뿌리의 바이오 활성 물질 함량이 가장 높았던 결과 등을 고려 할 때 근채류 및 엽채류의 수경재배에 플라즈마 기술을 적용할 시 작물의 바이오 활성 물질 함량을 증대시키는 데 효과적일 것으로 판단된다.

Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is a naturally occurring antioxidant and has been previously used to treat diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, the autophagy effects of ALA against oxidative stress-induced dopaminergic neuronal cell injury remain unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of ALA in autophagy and apoptosis against oxidative stress in the SH-SY5Y human dopaminergic neuronal cell line. We examined SH-SY5Y phenotypes using the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay (cell viability/proliferation), 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride nuclear staining, Live/Dead cell assay, cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) assay, immunoblotting, and immunocytochemistry. Our data showed ALA attenuated hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced ROS generation and cell death. ALA effectively suppressed Bax up-regulation and Bcl-2 and BclxL down-regulation. Furthermore, ALA increased the expression of the antioxidant enzyme, heme oxygenase-1. Moreover, the expression of Beclin-1 and LC-3 autophagy biomarkers was decreased by ALA in our cell model. Combined, these data suggest ALA protects human dopaminergic neuronal cells against H2O2-induced cell injury by inhibiting autophagy and apoptosis.

최근 가축에서 유래된 메티실린에 내성이 있는 황색포 도상구균과 감수성을 보이는 황색포도상구균(LA-MRSA/LAMSSA) 에 의한 사람의 감염증이 증가하는 추세이다. 이러한 LA-MRSA 및 LA-MSSA균주는 가축을 비롯한 축산업에 종사하는 사람들에게 전파가 이루어질 수 있다. 본 연구에서는 원유, 육우, 축산 종사자에서 분리된 20개의 MRSA 및 MSSA 균주를 이용하여 생물막 형성, 항균 펩타이드에 대한 저항성 및 과산화수소 저항성과 같은 황색포도상구균의 주요 병원성 인자를 평가하였다. 생물막 형성 실험에서는 MRSA와 MSSA간의 차이는 없었으며, 동물 유래 분리주와 사람 유래 분리주들 간의 비교에서도 차이가 없음이 확인 되었다. BMAP-28에 대한 감수성 시험 결과 MRSA-MSSA 또는 동물 분리-사람 분리 간의 차이가 없음을 확인하였다 . 생물막 형성과 BMAP-28 감수성과는 달리, 원유에서 분리된 MRSA 균주들의 H2O2에 대한 내성 증가가 확인 되었다 . 본 연구를 통하여 가축 및 축산업 종사자에서 분리된 LAMRSA와 LA-MSSA 균주의 주요 병원성 인자를 확인하였으며, 숙주 및 환경에서의 생존과 전파 가능성을 이해하는 데 기초 자료로 활용 될 수 있을 것이다.

Cognitive impairment is considered to be key research topics in the field of neurodegenerative diseases and in understanding of learning and memory. In the present study, we investigated neuroprotective effects of Schisandra chinensis (SC) and Ribes fasciculatum (RF) extracts in hydrogen peroxide-induced neuronal cell death in vitro and scopolamine-induced cognitive impairment in Sprague Dawley® (SD) rat in vivo. Apoptotic cell death in neuroblastic PC12 cell line was induced by hydrogen peroxide for 1 hour at 100 μM. However, mixture of SC and RF treatment prevented peroxide induced PC12 cell death with no neurotoxic effects. For in vivo experiment, the effect of SC and RF extracts on scopolamine-induced cognitive impairment in SD rat was evaluated by spontaneous alternation behavior in Y-Maze test. After 30 min scopolamine injection, the scopolamine-induced rats presented significantly decreased % spontaneous alteration and acetylcholine level, compared to non-induced group. However, treatment of SC+RF extracts rescued the reduced % spontaneous alteration with acetylcholine concentration from hippocampus in scopolamineinduced rats. These results suggested that mixture of SC and RF extract may be a potential natural therapeutic agent for the prevention of cognitive impairment.

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is originally an endogenous small molecule which is reduced into water in cells. In order to know the H2O2-induced oxidative stress in RAW 264.7 cells, first of all, the optimum concentration of exogenous H2O2 which show reactive cellular responses was determined as 40 μM by MTT assay, and followed by 40 μM H2O2 application in RAW 264.7 cells for 30 min, 1, or 2 hours. The expressional changes of essential proteins for cellular proliferation, epigenetic modification, inflammation, apoptosis, survival, and protection were assessed by immunoprecipitation high performance liquid chromatography (IP-HPLC) using 51 antisera. 40 μM H2O2 treatment down-regulated proliferation-related proteins, Ki-67, PCNA, CDK4, cyclin D2, cMyc, and PLK4, induced histone methylation/ deacetylation and DNA methylation by increasing levels of HDAC10 and DMAP1 and by decreasing levels of DNMT1 and KDM4D, activated inflammatory reaction by increasing levels of MCP-1, COX-2, CD68, LTA4H, CXCR4, and lysozyme, and dramatically up-regulated cellular apoptosis-, survival-, and protection-related proteins, AIF, PARP-1, caspase 9, c-caspase 9, pAKT1/2/3, SOD-1, HO-1, NF-kB, NRF2, and GSTO1 in RAW 264.7 cells. These observations suggest exogenous 40 μM H2O2-induced oxidative stresses which resulted global cellular responses including not only antioxidant, inflammation, and apoptosis but also proliferation and epigenetic modification. Particularly, 40 μM H2O2-induced apoptosis was mainly derived from PARP-1/AIF signaling leading parthanatos, and 40 μM H2O2-induced suppression of cMyc/MAX/MAD network was relevant to reduction of RAW 264.7 cell proliferation. Accordingly, H2O2 appears to affect RAW 264.7 macrophages in several ways eliciting not only oxidative stresses but also genome-wide DNA damage.

국내에서 오래 전부터 오미자와 칠해목은 약용식물로 이용해져 왔다. 오미자의 경우 생리활성 물질인 lignan을 통하여 여러가지 효능들이 연구를 통하여 알려졌으나, 칠해목의 경우 항염증과 관련된 연구가 진행되었을 뿐, 산화 스트레스와 관련된 연구는 미비한 실정이었다. 이에 본 연구에서는 오미자․칠해목의 추출혼합물을 이용하여, 과산화수소로 산화 스트레스가 유도된 SH-SY5Y 신경세포에서의 보호 효과를 알아보고자 하였다. 과산화수소의 처리 농도의 경우, 신경세포 독성 실험을 통하여 100 μM의 농도를 본 연구에 사용하였다. 또한, 오미자와 칠해목 추출물은 SH-SY5Y 신경세포에서 세포 독성이 없음을 실험을 통해 확인하였으며, 과산화수소를 이용한 신경세포 보호효과를 확인한 결과, 30% 에탄올 추출물 50 μg/mL의 농도에서 각각의 추출물에서 가장 높은 보호 효과를 확인할 수 있었다. 이에 오미자․칠해목 추출혼합물의 최적 효능 비율을 알아보기 위해서 각각의 추출물을 다양한 수율로써 6:4, 7:3, 8:2의 비율로 신경세포 보호 활성을 확인한 결과, 오미자와 칠해목 7:3의 비율과 50 μg/mL의 농도에서 가장 높은 신경세포 보호효과가 나왔으며, 이에 본 연구에서 오미자․칠해목 추출혼합물의 최적의 비율과 처리 농도로 사용하였다. Annexin V와 PI를 이용한 SH-SY5Y 신경 세포의 세포사멸을 확인해 본 결과에서도 오지마․칠해목 추출혼합물은 SH-SY5Y 신경세포의 세포사멸를 억제시키는 것을 확인할 수 있었다. 이에 본 연구에서는 오미자․칠해목 추출혼합물이 과산화수소로 유도된 산화적 스트레스에서 SH- SY5Y 신경세포에서 보호 효과가 있다는 것을 확인할 수 있었지만, 그에 대한 메카니즘에 대한 연구는 미비한 실정이다. 이에 차후 연구에서는 오미자․칠해목 추출혼합물의 산화 스트레스에 대한 정확한 기전을 파악하기 위하여 In vitro와 In-vivo에서의 후속적 연구가 필요하다고 사료된다.