• Title/Summary/Keyword: Asia- North America

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Allozyme Diversity in Korean Populations of Calystegia soldanella and C. japonica (Convolvulaceae): Implications for Conservation

  • Chung, Myong Gi
    • Journal of Plant Biology
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    • v.38 no.2
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    • pp.173-180
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    • 1995
  • We investigated levels and distribution of genetic variation in Korean populations of Calystegia soldanella and C. japonica, clonally reproducing herbaceous perennials. Calystegia soldanella is one ofecologically important beach plants growing only on sand and beach dunes in Europe, East Asia, the Pacific Islands, and the west coast of North America. In contrast, C. japonica usually grows on small mounds of paddy fields, roadsides, and waste places with patchy distribution. Starch gel electrophoresis was conducted on leaves collected from 13 populations of C. soldanella and eight populations of C. japonica. The levels of genetic variation of the two species are very comparable; means of expected heterozygosity (Hep) were 0.100 and 0.099 for C. soldanella and C. japonica, respectively. These values were also very similar to those for species with similar life-history and ecological traits. However, the proportion of total genetic diversity partitioned among populations (GST) of C. soldanella (0.146) was considerably lower than that of C. japonica (0.383). In addition, means of Nei's genetic identity (Ⅰ) for C. soldanella and C. japonica were 0.985 and 0.900, respectively, which supports a restricted gene flow resulting from obligate clonal reproduction of C. japonica. Significant differences in allele frequency were detected among populations at eight and nine of nine polymorphic loci for C. soldanella and C. japonica (P<0.01), respecitvely. Considering the ecological importance of C. soldanella, the isolated beach populations coupled with present destruction of natural habitats of the species may result in erosion of genetic diversity in the near future. In this respect, conservation efforts should be focused on those populations that currently maintain the most genetic diversity such as those populations in the eastern and southeastern Korean Peninsula and Hamduck Beach, Cheju Island.

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Pro-Apoptotic Effect of Mori Cortex Radicis in A549 Lung Cancer Cells (상백피가 A549 폐암세포주의 세포사에 미치는 영향)

  • Bae Oh-Sung;Yoo Yeong-Min;Lee Seon-Goo
    • Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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    • v.19 no.6
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    • pp.1563-1567
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    • 2005
  • Mori Cortex Radicis is distributed in Northwestern China, northern Asia, northern Europe, North America, and Korea. This extracts drops sugar in bloods and inhibits cyclic AMP phophodiesterase. In this study, we investigated whether Mori Cortex Radicis would cause apoptotic death of A549 lung cancer cells. To examine the apoptotic effect of Mori Cortex Radicis, cytotoxicity assay, DNA fragmentation analysis, caspase-3 activity assay, and Western blotting for caspase-3, caspase-9 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and cytochrome c were performed. Treatment of cells with Mori Cortex Radicis was shown to induce cell death in a dose-dependent manner. DNA fragmentation was made in response to Mori Cortex Radicis. The active fragments of caspase-3, caspase-9 and PARP were almost completely induced and cytochrome c was released following exposure to Mori Cortex Radicis. To elucidate the apoptotic mechanisms, RT-PCR and Western blot analyses for the expression of Bcl-2, Bu and Cox-2 were carried out. Treatment with Mori Cortex Radicis was expressed the reduction of Bcl-2 and Cox-2 and the induction of Bax. Especially p21 and p53 were increased prior to untreated control, while cyclin E and cyclin D1 decreased in the cytosol. These results suggest that the effect Mori Cortex Radicis is associated with the cell cycle arrest and pro-apoptotic cell death in A549 lung cancer cells.

Antibacterial and antioxidant activities of three Turkish species of the genus Centaurea

  • Sarker, Satyajit Dey;Kumarasamy, Yashodharan;Shoeb, Mohammad;Celik, Sezgin;Eucel, Ersin;Middleton, Moira;Nahar, Lutfun
    • Advances in Traditional Medicine
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    • v.5 no.3
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    • pp.246-250
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    • 2005
  • A number of species of the genus Centaurea (Family: Asteraceae), distributed in various parts of Asia, Europe and North America, have been used in traditional plant-based medicine and reported to possess various medicinal properties. As part of our continuing evaluation of plants from the genus Centaurea for their phytochemistry and biological activities, the dichloromethane (DCM) and methanol (MeOH) extracts of the seeds of Turkish Centaurea species, C. bornmuelleri, C. huber-morathii and C. schiskinii, were screened for antioxidant and antibacterial activities. Among the three species, C. huber-morathii displayed the most prominent antibacterial activity. Both the MeOH and DCM extracts of this plant showed activity against Citrobacter freundii, Enterococcus faecalis and Salmonella goldcoast with the MIC values within the range of $1\;{\times}\;10^{-2}\;to\;1\;{\times}\;10^{-3}\;mg/ml$. The MeOH extract of C schiskinii showed activity $(MIC\;=\;1\;{\times}\;10^{-1}\;mg/ml)$ against Citrobacter freundii and Staphylococcus aureus. While the DCM extract of C. bornmuelleri was only active against Staphylococcus aureus $(MIC\;=1\;{\times}\;10^{-2}\;mg/ml)$, the MeOH extract did not show any inhibitory activity at test concentrations. The DCM and MeOH extracts of all three species demonstrated good degree of antioxidant property in the DPPH assay with the $RC_{50}$ values ranging from $72\;{\times}\;10^{-2}\;to\;31{\times}\;10^{-3}\;mg/ml$. Among these extracts, the MeOH extract of C. hubermorathii was the most active antioxidant extract $(MlC\;=\;31\;{\times}\;10^{-3}\;mg/ml)$.

Study on Image, Preference, Importance and Satisfaction to Korean Traditional Food of Foreign Visitors in Korea, Daegu (외국인의 한국음식에 대한 이미지, 기호도, 중요도 및 만족도 -대구 지역 방문자를 대상으로-)

  • Yoon, Seong Ah;Park, Geum Soon
    • Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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    • v.23 no.2
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    • pp.184-196
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    • 2013
  • To investigate the image, preference, importance and satisfaction of foreign visitors to Korean foods, 220 visitors (male 104, female 115) were surveyed with questionnaires in English and Japanese. To achieve this research purpose, frequency analysis, exploratory factor analysis, t-test, and one way ANOVA was performed using the SPSS 15.0 program. Subjects had various nationality such as Europe/Oceania (24.7%/), Asia (23.3%), Africa (12.8), and North America (39.3). The representative food was kimchi > bibimbop > bulgogi but the most favorite food was bibimbop > kalbi > bulgogi in order. Like this, there are some discrepancies among the food choice, especially in kimchi, so the taste of kimchi should be improved according to the foreigners' taste. The results of the preference about the image get the high grade from those factors; the resonable price of Korean food, the spicy taste, various kinds of food according to the settings of the table, good for the health with excellent taste. Foreigners consider that the cleanliness of food and tableware, the sanitation of the restaurants, the taste of the food and freshness of ingredients are the important factors in Korean food and Korean restaurants. According to these factors, the satisfaction is affected by the attitude of servers > the taste of the food > the freshness of the ingredients > the amount of the food > the atmosphere of the restaurants > the cleanliness of the tableware in order. From the relationship between the importance and the satisfaction, the low grade food should improve the color and styling of the food and be served the appropriate amount of the food. Moreover, it is needed to improve the combining the spices and the ingredients to maintain a balance between strong and delicate flavors and with this, Korean food should be more globalized to promote the development of Korea tourism.

Studies on Anti-cancerous and Anti-malarial Substances from Simaroubaceae Plants

  • Takeya, Koichi
    • Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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    • 2000.10a
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    • pp.64-65
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    • 2000
  • Cancer is a general term subjected to a series of malignant tumor diseases which may affect many different parts of the human body. These cancer diseases are characterized by a rapid and uncontrolled formation of abnormal cells in the body. Cancer chemotherapeutic agents can often provide the prolongation of life and occasionally cures. To date many kinds of compounds have been obtained from plants kingdom as anti-neoplastic and anti-cancerous agents. However, there is no special type of compounds for cancer therapy. In our laboratory, anti-tumor and cytotoxic screenings on higher plants collected in Japan, China, Korea, Southeast Asia and South America have been done by using Sarcoma 180 ascites in mice, P388 lymphocytic leukemia in mice, Chinese hamster lung V-79 cells, P388 cells and nasopharynx carcinoma (KB) cells. The family, Simaroubaceae consists of about 20 genera and 120 species, mainly shrubs and trees, distributed in tropical and subtropical country. Simaroubaceae is classified as RUTALES, together with Rutaceae, Burseraceae, Meliaceae, Malpighiaceae and Polygalaceae. The members differ from the Rutaceae in not containing oil glands. Bitter principles are a characteristic of the family, Simaroubaceae. The genera include Quassia (Simarouba) (40 spp.), Picrasma (Aeschrion) (6 spp.), Brucea (10 spp.), Soulamea (10 spp.), Ailanthus (10 spp.) and Perriera (1 spp.) etc.. Surinam quassia derived from Quassia amara growing in Guianas, north Brazil and Venezuela is used in traditional medicines for stomachic, anti-amoebic, anti-malarial and anti-anaemic properties. Also, various parts of a number of plants of the family Simaroubaceae have been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of a variety oi diseases including cancer, amoebic, dysentery and malaria. Then, the research has established that it is the quassinoid content of these plants that is responsible for above activities. In this meeting, I will present on anti-tumor and anti-malarial activities and their active principles of Simaroubaceae plants, Eurycoma longifolia, Ailanthus vilmoriniana, Simaba cedron and Brucea mullis which have been studied in our laboratory.

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Cytohistological study of the leaf structures of Panax ginseng Meyer and Panax quinquefolius L.

  • Lee, Ok Ran;Nguyen, Ngoc Quy;Lee, Kwang Ho;Kim, Young Chang;Seo, Jiho
    • Journal of Ginseng Research
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    • v.41 no.4
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    • pp.463-468
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    • 2017
  • Background: Both Panax ginseng Meyer and Panax quinquefolius are obligate shade-loving plants whose natural habitats are broadleaved forests of Eastern Asia and North America. Panax species are easily damaged by photoinhibition when they are exposed to high temperatures or insufficient shade. In this study, a cytohistological study of the leaf structures of two of the most well-known Panax species was performed to better understand the physiological processes that limit photosynthesis. Methods: Leaves of ginseng plants grown in soil and hydroponic culture were sectioned for analysis. Leaf structures of both Panax species were observed using a light microscope, scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscope. Results: The mesostructure of both P. ginseng and P. quinquefolius frequently had one layer of non-cylindrical palisade cells and three or four layers of spongy parenchymal cells. P. quinquefolius contained a similar number of stomata in the abaxial leaf surface but more tightly appressed enlarged grana stacks than P. ginseng contained. The adaxial surface of the epidermis in P. quinquefolius showed cuticle ridges with a pattern similar to that of P. ginseng. Conclusion: The anatomical leaf structure of both P. ginseng and P. quinquefolius shows that they are typical shade-loving sciophytes. Slight differences in chloroplast structure suggests that the two different species can be authenticated using transmission electron microscopy images, and light-resistant cultivar breeding can be performed via controlling photosynthesis efficiency.

Studies on Anti-cancerous and Anti-malarial Substances from Simaroubaceae Plants

  • Takeya, Koichi
    • Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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    • 2000.10b
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    • pp.11-13
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    • 2000
  • Cancer is a general term subjected to a series of malignant tumor diseases which may affect many different parts of the human body. These cancer diseases are characterized by a rapid and uncontrolled formation of abnormal cells in the body. Cancer chemotherapeutic agents can often provide the prolongation of life and occasionally cures. To date many kinds of compounds have been obtained from plants kingdom as anti-neoplastic and anti-cancerous agents. However, there is no special type of compounds for cancer therapy. In our laboratory, anti-tumor and cytotoxic screenings on higher plants collected in Japan, China, Korea, Southeast Asia and South America have been done by using Sarcoma 180 ascites in mice, P388 lymphocytic leukemia in mice, Chinese hamster lung V-79 cells, P388 cells and nasopharynx carcinoma (KB) cells. The family, Simaroubaceae consists of about 20 genera and 120 species, mainly shrubs and trees, distributed in tropical and subtropical country. Simaroubaceae IS classified as RUTALES, together with Rutaceae, Burseraceae, Meliaceae, Malpighiaceae and Polygalaceae. The members differ from the Rutaceae in not containing oil glands. Bitter principles are a characteristic of the family, Simaroubaceae. The genera include Quassia (Simarouba) (40 spp.), Picrasma (Aeschrion) (6 spp.), Brucea (10 spp.), Soulamea (10 spp.), Ailanthus (10 spp.) and Perriera (1 spp.) etc.. Surinam quassia derived from Quassia amara growing in Guianas, north Brazil and Venezuela is used in traditional medicines for stomachic, anti-amoebic, anti-malarial and anti-anaemic properties. Also, various parts of a number of plants of the family Simaroubaceae have been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of a variety of diseases including cancer, amoebic, dysentery and malaria. Then, the research has established that it is the quassinoid content of these plants that is responsible for above activities. In this meeting, I will present on anti-tumor and anti-malarial activities and their active principles of Simaroubaceae plants, Eurycoma longifolia, Ailanthus vilmoriniana, Simaba cedron and Brucea mollis which have been studied in our laboratory.

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Feasibility Analysis of the Use of Architectural PC for Improving the Productivity in Apartment Housing Projects (공동주택 공사에서의 생산성 향상을 위한 건축 외관용 PC의 적용 타당성 분석)

  • Lee, Hyun-Seok;Sohn, Young-Jin;Lee, Yoon-Sun;Kim, Jae-Jun
    • Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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    • v.9 no.3
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    • pp.118-125
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    • 2008
  • In Korea, five days per week system, duration reduction bidding system, and post sale system have recently stimulated an interest in productivity improvement in construction project. However, analysis result of productivity in Korean construction industry found that the productivity is too low. APC (Architectural PC) is alternative of reveal wall and parapet in apartment housing prcjects and is used abroad broadly because of duration reduction for productivity improving. APC is used as external curtain wall in Dubai, North America, and Southeast Asia. Therefore, it is proposed that necessary to Introduce APC in Korea. The objective of this study is to draw up introduction of APC in apartment housing projects. We analysed the feasibility of the use of APC. The survey results reported that APC would be able to improve the productivity in the eight productivity factors.

Clinical Research Trends in Respiratory Diseases Related to Particulate Matter (미세먼지 관련 호흡기질환 임상연구 동향)

  • Lyu, Yee Ran;Kim, JinHoo;Yang, Won-kyung;Kim, Seung-hyeong;Park, Yang-Chun
    • The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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    • v.40 no.3
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    • pp.443-457
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    • 2019
  • Objectives: This study aimed to review the clinical research trends in respiratory diseases related to particulate matter (PM) to help design clinical studies on herbal medicine that protects against PM. Methods: We searched three international databases (Pubmed, EMBASE, and CENTRAL) to investigate clinical studies on respiratory diseases related to PM and to analyze their study design, respiratory-related disease, inclusion/exclusion criteria, study period, outcome measure, study results, measurement method of PM and range of PM. Results: A total of 18 studies were finally selected, including 13 observational studies and 5 randomized controlled trials. The selected studies showed an increasing trend from 1985 to 2018 and were conducted mostly in North America, followed by Europe and Asia. Subject disease and age were decided in variety by each study objective, although asthma accounted for the majority. For the outcome assessment, pulmonary function test was mostly used for lung function. Quality of life questionnaires and biomarkers in blood and sputum were also used. Conclusion: A well-designed clinical study on herbal medicine that protects against PM is needed, and this study is expected to be used as base data.

Optimizing the product portfolio for emerging markets (신흥시장 개척을 위한 최적 제품 포트폴리오)

  • Lee, Taehoon;Lee, Yongseung;Shin, Juneseuk
    • Journal of Technology Innovation
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    • v.26 no.4
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    • pp.1-28
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    • 2018
  • With the growing number of emerging carmakers, automotive parts manufacturers have to penetrate into emerging markets. They can provide large existing carmakers with fully customized parts because of economies scale, but cannot do this for small emerging carmakers due to their small and highly volatile volume order. Once the order by an emerging carmaker is placed, a part manufacturer is exposed to high risks both of decrease in profit margin and high opportunity cost. The platform-based mass customization can be a solution for cost reduction, but the risks of volatility in volume hard to manage. Tackling this issue, we presents a method of optimizing the product portfolio to maximize profits while managing volatility of volume order by emerging carmakers at an affordable level. It is the first robust product portfolio method to keep the scaled deviation of profits at a fixed level under volume order uncertainty. Also, the effect of on the platform-based mass customization on cost is considered. This model can be a building block of conservative market penetration as well as product development strategy while minimizing the financial risks. We conducted an empirical study of a part manufacturer targeting on eighteen automobile manufacturers in North America, Europe and Asia with it powered lift gate.