• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.42 no.7
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• pp.605-614
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• 2009

Most cancer patients are treated with surgery, chemotherapy or radiation as anticancer therapies. Especially in the case of radiation, these treatments produce adverse effects such as vomiting, weight loss, anorexia, normal cell damage and malabsorption. The major goal of this study was to determine the effect of irradiation on the nutritional and immune status in irradiated rats. A secondary goal was to determine the effectiveness of high protein diet (HP) and resveratrol (Res) in minimizing the adverse effects of radiation. Rats were divided into four groups: normal diet (NP), HP, NP + Res and HP + Res groups. Each group was further divided into subgroups that received radiation (RT group) and one that did not (non-RT group). Each diet was supplied from $12^{th}$ day prior to irradiation treatment with irradiation dose of 17.5 Gy. The diets were continued until 10th day after radiation treatment and animals were sacrificed. The radiation treatment showed decreased body weight, serum protein and HDL levels and increased TG and LDL levels in nutritional status. HP, NP + Res and HP + Res groups reduced the level of serum LDL and TG in irradiated rats. NP + Res and HP + Res groups increased reduced albumin level of serum in RT group. In case of immune status, the radiation treat-ment showed decreased WBC, lymphocytes and increased neutrophil and eosinophil levels. The levels of serum IL-2 and IL-6 were significantly increased by radiation, however the cytokine levels decreased in all dietary treatment groups. These results showed that high protein diet and resveratrol supplementation seem to minimize the adverse effects of radiation on lipid nutritional status and inflammation response in the rat model.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.423-435
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• 2009

Meal menus were developed and applied for rural elderly of Gangwon and Chungnam areas at agricultural off-season. Amounts of the major nutrients of carbohydrate, protein, lipid, and calorie considered in the menu based on the dietary reference intakes(DRI) of the elderly aged over 65 years were 97.5g, 22.5g, 13.3g, and 600kcal, respectively. In Chungnam, softness and overall acceptance of rice in menu 4, consisted of cereals and rice, kimchi stew with tuna, pan-fried bulgogi mushroom, seasoned dropwort carrot, kimchi, and banana, scored the highest values of 8.5 out of 9.0point hedonic scale (p<0.05). In Gangwon, soup and side dish of menu 3 (rice, frozen pollack pot stew, meatball fried in egg, seasoned sea lettuce, and banana) scored significantly the highest of all (p<0.05). Overall acceptance of all the menus were high over 7.8 without significance in Chungnam. Overall acceptance of the menu 3 scored significantly the highest with value of 8.5 and menu 4 (rice, spicy chicken soup, seasoned bean sprouts, broiled brown seaweed trunk, kimchi, tomato) had significantly the lowest value with value of 7.8 in Gangwon(p<0.05). The total leftover volume of menu 4 was significantly the highest with score of 56g and the menu 4 showed the highest unit cost of 2,900won in Chungnam. However, the total leftover volume of all menus did not show significance ranging from 9g to 19g in Gangwon.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.153-162
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• 2009

Purpose: To evaluate the long-term results after breast-conserving surgery and radiation therapy in early breast cancer in terms of failure, survival, and cosmesis. Materials and Methods: One hundred fifty-four patients with stage I and II breast cancer were treated with conservative surgery plus radiotherapy between January 1992 and December 2002 at the Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center. According to TNM stage, 93 patients were stage I, 50 were IIa, and 11 were IIb. The affected breasts were irradiated with 6 MV photons to 50.4 Gy in 28 fractions over 5.5 weeks with a boost irradiation dose of 10~16 Gy to the excision site. Chemotherapy was administered in 75 patients and hormonal therapy in 92 patients with tamoxifen. Follow-up periods were 13~179 months, with a median of 92.5 months. Results: The 5- and 10-year overall survival rates were 97.3% and 94.5%, respectively. The 5- and 10-year disease-free survival (5YDFS and 10YDFS, respectively) rates were 92.5% and 88.9%, respectively; the ultimate 5YDFS and 10YDFS rates after salvage treatment were 93.9% and 90.2%, respectively. Based on multivariate analysis, only the interval between surgery and radiation therapy ($\leq$6 weeks vs. >6 weeks, p=0.017) was a statistically significant prognostic factor for DFS. The major type of treatment failure was distant failure (78.5%) and the most common distant metastatic site was the lungs. The cosmetic results were good-to-excellent in 96 patients (80.7%). Conclusion: Conservative surgery and radiation for early stage invasive breast cancer yielded excellent survival and cosmetic results. Radiation therapy should be started as soon as possible after breast-conserving surgery in patients with early breast cancer, ideally within 6 weeks.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.597-603
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• 1997

Orostachys japonicus, Wasong as herb medicine, has been artificially cultivated as an anti-tumor medicinal. The experiment was carried out to examine the effect of natural daylength as control or night-break treatment (NB) imposed at June 20, July 18 or Aug. 15 on its growth, dry weights of leaf and bract, stem, floret and root, and morphological characters including bolting and floret flowering. After a plant was grown in a 15cm plastic pot containing a 2 : 1 soil : peat moss mixture on May 23, three treatments with above differing night-break had been imposed around midnight up to Nov. 7. The plants were sampled 3 times at the same day forced to night-break and then done 6 times by 2-week interval after the final NB. Plant height and inflorescence length of all the NB increased with delayed NB but declined in comparison with the natural daylength. No. of leaves including bracts showed similar response to plant height although NB given before July 18 showed less leaves and bracts. Stem diameters of NB were continuously increased to middle Sept. to middle Oct. while that of natural daylength decreased after middle Oct. Natural daylength or NB given on Aug. 15 had greater fraction, shoot and total dry weights resulting from increment of leaf and bract up to Aug. or of floret, stem and root after Sept. The earlier NB, the later formation of florets and the less number of flowering florets whereas in natural daylength florets on inflorescence begun to be formed from middle Sept. were sharply increased up to middle Oct. when all the plants were flowered. Bolting was not formed in the plant of the earliest NB of June 20, and thereby no anthesis of florets up to early Nov. It was concluded that year-round cultivation of Orostachys japonicus plants was possible through controlling the NB timing because its bolting and flowering of florets separately occurred.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.149-154
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• 2017

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common type of non-hodgkin lymphoma. Advances in the chemotherapeutic treatment of this disease have improved the outcomes of DLBCL; nonetheless, many patients still die of DLBCL, and therefore, a better understanding of this disease and identification of novel therapeutic targets are urgently required. In a recent gene expression profiling study, PDE (phosphodiesterase) 4B was found to be overexpressed in chemotherapy-resistant tumors. The major function of PDE4B is to inactivate the second messenger cyclic 3',5' monophosphate (cAMP) by catalyzing the hydrolysis of cAMP to 5'AMP. It is known that cAMP induces cell cycle arrest and/or apoptosis in B cells, and PDE4B abolishes cAMP's effect on B cells. However, the mechanism by which PDE4B is overexpressed remains unclear. Here, we show that the aberrant expression of miRNA may be associated with the overexpression of this gene. The PDE4B 3' untranslated region (UTR) has three functional binding sites of miR-23b, as confirmed by luciferase reporter assays. Interestingly, miR-23b-binding sites were evolutionarily conserved from humans to lizards, implying the critical role of PDE4B-miR-23b interaction in cellular physiology. The ectopic expression of miR-2 3b repressed PDE4B mRNA levels and enhanced intracellular cAMP concentrations. Additionally, miR-23b expression inhibited cell proliferation and survival of DLBCL cells only in the presence of forskolin, an activator of adenylyl cyclase, suggesting that miR-23b's effect is via the downregulation of PDE4B. These results together suggest that miR-23b could be a therapeutic target for overcoming drug resistance by repressing PDE4B in DLBCL.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.7
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• pp.989-998
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• 2014

We investigated the characteristics and biological activities of vinegars added with different levels (0%, 0.5%, 1%, 2%, and 3%) of young leaves of Akebia quinata. During alcohol fermentation, alcohol and total acidity contents of vinegars increased. During acid fermentation, total acidity and amino acid contents increased. Vinegar added with 3% A. quinata leaf showed the highest total sensory score. The contents of total polyphenols, flavonoids, and tannin significantly increased during fermentation according to the amount of A. quinata leaf. After 22 days of fermentation, total polyphenol, total flavonoid, and tannin contents of vinegar added with 3% A. quinata were 4,079.08 mg GAE/100 g, 2,927.08 mg CE/100 g, and 3,618.00 mg TAE/100 g, respectively. ABTS radical scavenging activity of vinegar added with 3% A. quinata was 79.63%. Anti-cancer activities of vinegar added with 3% A. quinata were 48.65% and 52.90% against MCF-7 and HepG2 cells, respectively. Vinegar added with 3% A. quinata showed anti-bacterial activities against Bacillus cereus, Shigella flexneri, Salmonella enterica, Bacillus subtilis, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Our results demonstrate that the biological activities of vinegar added with 3% A. quinata leaf (22 days of fermentation) were excellent, and their enhanced total polyphenol, flavonoid, and tannin contents were associated with antioxidant, anti-cancer and anti-microbial activities. Thus, A. quinata can be used as a functional material in vinegar and other foods.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.275-284
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• 2002

Background : Gemcitabine is a new anti-cancer agent for treating non-small cell lung cancer. Functioning as an antimetabolite, it induces anti-cancer effects by suppressing DNA synthesis after being incorporated into the DNA as a cytosine arabinoside analogue. When Gemcitabine is incorporated into the DNA, the p53 gene may be activated by induction of the DNA defect. However, there are a few studies on the molecular mechanisms of Gemcitabine-induced cell death. This study examined the role of p53 in Gemcitabine-induced cell death. Methods : A549 and NCl-H358 lung cancer cells were used in this study. The cell viability test was done using a MTT assay at Gemcitabine concentrations of 10nM, 100nM, 1uM, 10uM and 100uM. A FACScan analysis with propium iodide staining was used for the cell cycle analysis. Western blot analysis was done to investigate the extent of p53 activation. For the functional knock-out of p53, stable A549-E6 cells and H358-E6 cells were transfected pLXSN-16E6SD which is over expresses the human papilloma virus E6 protein that constantly degrades p53 protein. The functional knock out of p53 was confirmed by Western blot analysis after treatment with a DNA damaging agent, doxorubicine. Results : Gemcitabine exhibited cell toxicity in dose-dependent fashion. The cell cycle analysis resulted in an S phase arrest. Western blot analysis significant p53 activation in time-dependent manner. Gemcitabine-induced cytotoxicity was reduced by 20-30% in the A549-E6 cells and the 30-40% in H358-E6 cells when compared with the A549-neo and H358-neo control cells. Conclusion : Gemcitabine induces an S phase arrest, as expected for the anti-metabolite, and activates the p53 gene, Furthermore, p53 might play an important role in Gemcitabine-induced cell death. Further investigation into the molecular mechanisms on how Gemcitabine activates the p53 gene and its signaling pathway are recommended.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.57-64
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• 2006

Background : Recently, there have been several studies showing that irinotecan hydrochloride, a topoisomerase I inhibitor, is effective against extensive disease(ED) small cell lung cancer (SCLC). We conducted a phase II trial to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of irinotecan plus cisplatin as a 1st line therapy for both limited and extensive disease SCLC. Methods : The study was conducted between January 2002 and June 2004. Patients were treated with $60mg/m^2$ irinotecan on day 1, 8, 15 and $60mg/m^2$ cisplatin on day 1, every 4 weeks. During concurrent thoracic irradiation for limited disease (LD)-SCLC patients, dose of irinotecan was reduced to $40mg/m^2$. Prophylactic cranial irradiation was given to patients with complete remission (CR) after chemotherapy. Results : Median ages of LD- and ED- SCLC were 64 years and performance status (PS) was 0-2. In patients with LD-SCLC, the response rate after concurrent chemoradiotherapy was 85% (CR, 6; Partial response [PR], 11). The median survival was 20 months (95% CIs, 15.6 to 24.4) with 1-and 2-year survival rates of 85% and 35%, respectively. Median progression free survival (PFS) was 12 months (95% CIs, 6.2 to 18.1) with 1- year PFS of 36%. In ED-SCLC, the response rate was 83.4% (CR, 1; PR, 14). The median survival was 14.5 months (95% CIs, 8.8 to 20.1) with 1-year survival rates of 75%. Median PFS was 6.3 months (95% CIs, 5.6 to 7.1) with 1- year PFS of 20%. The major toxicities (grade 3 or 4) of this regimen included leukopenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia, nausea/vomiting, and diarrhea without life threatening complication. Conclusion : Our data shows that the combination of irinotecan plus cisplatin as a first line therapy is effective and tolerable in the treatment of both LD- and ED- SCLC.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.11
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• pp.1456-1462
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• 2012

Sorafenib is a multikinase inhibitor and an oral anticancer drug approved for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma and those with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. The purpose of this study was to develop an efficient method of the determination of sorafenib in human plasma using tandem mass spectrometry coupled with liquid chromatography (LC/MS/MS) and validate the method by the guidelines of the Korean Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). Plasma samples ($100{\mu}l$) were added with chlorantraniliprole as an internal standard and then mixed with the 0.1% formic acid-containing extraction solution composed of isopropyl alcohol and ethyl acetate (1:4, v/v). After centrifugation, the supernatant was concentrated at $45^{\circ}C$ under negative pressure and centrifugal force. The residue was reconstituted with a mobile phase and injected into the HPLC instrument using a reverse phase Waters XTerra$^{TM}$ C18 column (particle size $3.5{\mu}m$). Liquid chromatography was carried out within the run time of 5 min using a mobile phase composed of buffer (0.1% formic acid and 10 mM ammonium formate), methanol, and acetonitrile (1:6:3, v/v/v). The analytes were monitored by tandem mass spectrometry in the multiple reaction monitoring method programmed to detect sorafenib at 'm/z 465.2 ${\rightarrow}$ 252.5' and chlorantraniliprole at 'm/z 484.4 ${\rightarrow}$ 286.2' with positive electrospray ionization mode ($ES^+$). The result showed the proper linearity ($r^2$ > 0.99) over the range of 2,000-5,000 ng/ml with good accuracy (90.7-103.9%) and precision (less than 10%). The newly developed method using LC/MS/MS was validated by the guideline of KFDA and identified as more sensitive compared to the previous methods.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.1581-1590
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• 2009

Hizikia fusiforme is a kind of brown edible seaweed that mainly grows in the temperate seaside areas of the northwest pacific, including Korea, Japan and China, and has been widely used as a health food for hundreds of years. Recently, H. fusiforme has been known to exert pharmacological activities including antioxidant, antimutagenic and anticoagulant activities. However, the molecular mechanisms of H. fusiforme in malignant cells have not been clearly elucidated yet. In this study, the effects of ethyl alcohol extract of H. fusiforme (EAHF) on the anti-proliferative effects of MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 human breast cancer cells were investigated. EAHF treatment resulted in a concentration-dependent growth inhibition by including apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 cells and G1 phase arrest in MCF-7 cells, which could be proved by MTT assay, DAPI staining, agarose gel electrophoresis and flow cytometry analysis. In MDA-MB-231 cells, the increase in apoptosis induced by EAHF treatment correlated with up-regulation of pro-apoptotic Bax expression. EAHF treatment induced the proteolytic activation of caspase-3 and caspase-9, and a concomitant inhibition of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, $\beta$-catenin, phospholipase-${\gamma}1$ protein and DNA fragmentation factor 45/inhibitor of caspase-activated DNase. Taken together, these findings provide important new insights into the possible molecular mechanisms of the anti-cancer activity of H. fusiforme.