• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.145-155
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• 1992

The effect of various supplies of lead singly and in combination with aluminium on growth and chlorophyll biosynthesis was investigated in 7-day-old Vigna anguluris seedlings. Expose to 50 $\mu$N Pb or more drastically reduced root elongation rate. Significant depressions in root growth was observed within 1 day and no recovery of growth was seen over the duration of treatment period. Root elongation decreased depending on the Pb concentrations. Root growth inhibition was stronger than shoot growth inhibition. The initiation of lateral roots appeared to be more sensitive to Pb than the growth of main roots. Inhibition of root and shoot elongation by Pb was lessened by combined exposure of Pb and Al, suggesting that the presence of AA reverse the inhibitory effect of Pb alone. With the histochemical sodium rhodizonate method the rate of Pb uptake was dependent on the Pb concentration and exposure time of the roots to Pb salts. Pb was first deposited on the root surface and then translocated radially in the root cap cells. During a longer Pb administration (up to 72 h) Pb penetration was nonuniform, with accumulation within the cortex or endodermis. There was drastic reduction in chlorophyll content by Pb. The Pb inhibition of chlorophyll synthesis was concentration dependent. 5-Aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD) activity exhibited distinct inhibition from control. Reduction in chlorophyll content was accompanied by proportional changes in ALAD activity. Chlorophyll content and ALAD activity were less affected by combined exposure of Pb and Al, suggesting that Al has a protective effect against the inhibiting action of Pb on photosynthetic activity.

• Proceedings of the KAIS Fall Conference
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.110-114
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• 2010

Li-incorporated mesoporous $TiO_2$ materials with various pore-sized istributions were synthesized by using triblockcopolymers via a sol-gel process in a queous solution. The properties of the se materials were characterized by HR-TEM, XRD, and BET analysis. All particles have spherical morphology with a diameterrange of $1-3{\mu}m$. The mesoporous $TiO_2$ materials calcined at $400^{\circ}C$ and their specific surface area, average pore size and crystallite sizes were 210 $m^2g^{-1}$, 6.4 nm and 8.8 nm respectively. The Li-incorporated mesoporous $TiO_2$ were tested for $CO_2$ adsorption and its adsorption capacity is 90mg/g. The Li-incorporated mesoporous $TiO_2$ ar eobserved to be thermally stable, recyclable and greens or bent for $CO_2$ capture. The effect of bimetallic $ZrLiTiO_2$ is also studied for $CO_2$ adsorption.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.138-150
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• 2004

Objectives : Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a geriatric dementia that is widespread in old age. In the near future AD will be the biggest problem in public health service. Although a variety of oriental prescriptions, including Sesim-tang, have been traditionally utilized for the treatment of AD, their pharmacological effects and action mechanisms have not yet been fully elucidated. The present study investigated the effects of Sesim-tang on apoptotic cell death induced by CT105 (carboxy terminal 105 amino acid peptide fragment of APP) overexpression in SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cell lines. Methods: We studied the regenerative and inhibitory effects on Alzheimer's disease in CT105-induced SK-N-SH cell lines by Sesim-tang water extract. We examined for cell morphological pattern, DNA fragmentation, LDH activity assay, zymography assay, and immunohistochemistric analysis. Additionally, we investigated the association between the CT105 and neurite degeneration caused by CT105-induced apoptotic response in neurone cells. Results: Findings from our experiments have shown that Sesim-tang inhibits the synthesis or activities of CT105, which has neurotoxicities and apoptotic activities in the cell line. In addition, pretreatment with Sesim-tang ($>50\mu\textrm{g}/ml$ for 12 hours) partially prevented CT105-induced cytotoxicity in SK-N-SH cell lines. SK-N-SH cell lines overexpressed with CT105 exhibited remarkable apoptotic cell damage. Based on morphological observations by phase-contrast microscope and LDH activity measurements in the culture media, the CT105-induced cell death was significantly inhibited by Sesim-tang water extract. Sesim-tang was found to reduce the expression of APP and caspase-3 induced by CT105 in SK-N-SH cell lines and in rat hippocampus. Conclusions: As the result of this study, in the Sesim-tang group, apoptosis in the nervous system is inhibited, the repair against the degeneration of SK-N-SH cell lines by CT105 expression is promoted. Hence, Sesim-tang may be beneficial for the treatment of AD.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.34 no.2 s.133
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• pp.156-160
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• 2003

$NF-{\kappa}B$ (nuclear factor-kappa B) plays a particularly central role in epidermal biology. It has been established that ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is one of the mechanisms to induce the activation of $NF-{\kappa}B$ in human skin. We previously demonstrated that melanogenic inhibitors may act through the inhibition of $NF-{\kappa}B$ activation in keratinocytes. In order to find another type of melanogenic inhibitors of $NF-{\kappa}B$ activation, various kinds of the extracts from crude drugs $(30\;{\mu}g/ml)$ were preincubated with transfectant HaCaT cells for 3 hrs and then UVR $(60\;mj/cm^2)$ was irradiated. UVR-exposed cells were incubated for another 6 hrs to measure the $NF-{\kappa}B$ activity. $NF-{\kappa}B$ activation was measured with the secreatory alkaline phosphates (SEAP) reporter gene assay using a fluorescence detection method. Among natural products, Lycium chinense, Acanthopanax senticosus, Angelica koreana, Kalopanax pictus and Asparagus cochinchinensis were the most potent inhibitors of $NF-{\kappa}B$ activation by UVR. These observations suggest that some crude drugs might act partially through the modulation of the synthesis of melanotrophic factors to decrease melanogenesis in keratinocytes.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.622-622
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• 2013

Piezoelectric energy harvesting (PEH) device refers to a power device for acquiring mechanical energy from the environment surrounding us which would otherwise be wasted and for converting it into usable electrical energy. While much work has been done on developing ZnO nanogenerator (NG) with nanowire arrays, there are some issues of not only scaling up its output power but also optimizing structure for operating feasibly in various conditions. Efficiency of NG is highly dependent on fixed orientation. But in many cases, it is not easy to predict where the pressure and vibration may come from. Furthermore, the direction of the applied mechanical stress is usually non-stationary and can be random in various practical applications. Therefore an omnidirectional PEH is needed.In this work, we investigate an omnidirectional PEH device consisting ZnO nanowires. We deposited spiral patterned ZnO seed layer on Kapton film. We deposited thin Cr layer on the ZnO seed layer using DC-sputter to form a passivation layer to retard un-expected growth of ZnO nanowires. We grew ZnO nanowires along the spiral arms using hydrothermal method. ZnO nanowires have been selectively grown from the ZnO sidewall without Cr layer and have the average length of$5{\mu}m$ and the average diameter of 40nm. We reduced the defect in the as-grown ZnO nanowires by O2 plasma using asher and by thermal treatment using RTA. Consequently, each nanowire has different directions to each other. This isotropic design can lead to the omnidirectional power generation. The morphology of NG is characterized with FESEM. Maximum output power of the device is measured by using a picoammeter and a nanovoltmeter.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2009

Rhapontin is the glycosylated stilbene compound, and comprising major component of rhubarb root extract. Rhapontin has been used as a raw material of skin-whitening cosmetics in Korea. Rhapontigenin, the aglycone of rhapontin, has been suggested to be more active than its glycosylated form. Therefore, the rhubarb root extract was treated with commercial enzyme, Pectinex to remove glycosylated moiety of rhapontin and rhapontigenin was prepared. The resulting material was analysed and identified as rhapontigenin by proton NMR and MALDI-Mass. Rhapontigenin exhibited tyrosinase inhibitory activity with an $IC_{50}$ of $126.72{\mu}g/mL$. The tyrosinase inhibitory activity of rhapontigenin was six times higher than that of rhapontin. In melanin biosynthesis inhibition assay using Streptomyces bikiniensis, rhapontigenin showed wider inhibition zone than that of rhapontin. From these results, we expect that rhapontigenin has stronger skin whitening effect than rhapontin and has advantages in cosmetic industry.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.28-33
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• 2014

This paper describes the surface modification effect of a Ti substrate for improved dispersibility of the catalytic metal. Etching of a pure titanium substrate was conducted in 50% $H_2SO_4$, $50^{\circ}C$ for 1 h-12 h to observe the surface roughness as a function of the etching time. At 1 h, the grain boundaries were obvious and the crystal grains were distinguishable. The grain surface showed micro-porosities owing to the formation of micro-pits less than $1{\mu}m$ in diameter. The depths of the grain boundary and micro-pits appear to increase with etching time. After synthesizing the catalytic metal and growing the carbon nano tube (CNT) on Ti substrate with varying surface roughness, the distribution trends of the catalytic metal and grown CNT on Ti substrate are discussed from a micro-structural perspective.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.161-164
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• 2002

Gentisic acid is a skin-whitening agent which inhibits the tyrosinase activity, an essential enzyme in the process of biological synthesis of melanin. Since melanin is synthesized in melanocytes located between the viable epidermis and dermis layer, drug amount delivered into the epidermis/dermis layer can provide valuable information for the biological effect of skin-whitening agents. The purpose of this study was to prepare the gentisic acid patches with 2% dodecylamine as enhancer, and to observe the in vitro skin permeation and in vivo skin deposition of gentisic acid. Gentisic acid in DuroTak 87-2510 patch formulation permeated across hairless mouse skin at the rate of $40.79\;{\mu}g/cm^2/hr$. In vivo study showed that the gentisic acid amount in both the stratum corneum and the viable epidermis/dermis increased with the increase of application time. The amount of gentisic acid in the stratum corneum was higher than that in the epidermis/dermis layer, and was expected to provide a reservoir effect even after removing the patches. Thus, the patch formulation seems to be useful for the topical delivery of skin-whitening agent into the epidermis/dermis layer, the target site.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.23
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• pp.10281-10287
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• 2015

Background: Development of a nanosized polymeric delivery system for erlotinib was the main objective of this research. Materials and Methods: Poly caprolactone-polyethylene glycol-polycaprolactone (PCEC) copolymers with different compositions were synthesized via ring opening polymerization. Formation of triblock copolymers was confirmed by HNMR as well as FT-IR. Erlotinib loaded nanoparticles were prepared by means of synthesized copolymers with solvent displacement method. Results: Physicochemical properties of obtained polymeric nanoparticles were dependent on composition of used copolymers. Size of particles was decreased with decreasing the PCL/PEG molar ratio in used copolymers. Encapsulation efficiency of prepared formulations was declined by decreasing their particle size. Drug release behavior from the prepared nanoparticles exhibited a sustained pattern without a burst release. From the release profiles, it can be found that erlotinib release rate from polymeric nanoparticles is decreased by increase of CL/PEG molar ratio of prepared block copolymers. Based on MTT assay results, cell growth inhibition of erlotinib has a dose and time dependent pattern. After 72 hours of exposure, the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of erlotinib hydrochloride was appeared to be $14.8{\mu}M$. Conclusions: From the obtained results, it can be concluded that the prepared PCEC nanoparticles in this study might have the potential to be considered as delivery system for erlotinib.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.120-125
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• 2007

Folate is important for multiple metabolic processes such as nucleic acid synthesis and interconversions, and cell division. Folate deficiency may be a risk factor for several pathologies, such as neural tube birth defects, dementia, and cardiovascular diseases. The objectives of this study were to estimate folate intakes and plasma concentrations of young children living in Kwangju, Korea. Three consecutive 24-h food recalls and fasting blood samples were obtained from 24 boys and 30 girls, aged 2-6 y, living in Kwangju, Korea. The daily folate intake ($mean{\pm}SD$) of the children was $146.7{\pm}73.6{\mu}g$ dietary folate equivalents. No differences in folate intakes were observed by gender ($p{\geq}0.05$). The mean folate intakes of the 2 and 3 y old groups were significantly lower (p<0.05) than those of 5 and 6 y old groups. Over half of subjects consumed $mean{\pm}SD$) of all subjects was $19.2{\pm}8.7nmol/L$, and there was no significant difference by age nor gender ($p{\geq}0.05$). No significant correlation was observed between folate intakes and plasma folate concentrations. One subjeci (1.9%) in this study had a plasma folate concentration <6.8 nmol/L, which is indicative of folate deficiency. Approximately 24% of subjects had plasma folate concentrations of 6.8-13.4 nmol/L, which is representative of marginal folate status. In conclusion, some young children may have less than adequate folate status in Korea.