• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.19-30
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• 2000

Object : This study is designed to evaluate effects of acupuncture and herb-medication by the data of DITI(Digital Infrared Thermographic Imaging) examination and the changes of clinical symptoms after the therapy of acupuncture and herb-medication in the patients with Bell's palsy. Contents : The conservative therapy with acupuncture and herb-medication was performed during 1-8weeks. The acupuncture points of S4, S6, G14, S2, BL2, SI18, TE23, LI4 and S36 was used. In the pre- and post therapy, DITI examinations were performed in patients who had Bell's palsy and were treated by acupuncture simultaneously, and then tried to correlate the results of clinical symptoms with the difference of thermographic findings at pre-and post acupuncture. Setting : The standard routine themographic examinations were performed with thermography (DITI) in the 16 patients with Bell's palsy at pre- and post acupuncture. patients : Thermographic imaging of 16cases was analyzed. They had diagnosed Bell's palsy. They were treated by acupuncture and moxibustion therapy in Wonkwang Oriental Hospital from Jauary, 1999 to February, 2000. Results : The results of treatment showes that 56.25% of patients achieved excellent recovery and 31.25% achieved good recovery. After compairing the DITI results before and after treatment, we found 43.75% of patients achieved excellent recovery and 43.75% achieved good recovery. Conclusion :Acupuncture showed good results over 87.5% in clinical evaluation and 87.5% in DITI. Thermographic examination showes terapeutic effect of acupuncture treatment.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.231-238
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• 2011

Attacin is an insect antibacterial protein that plays an important role in immune response to injury and infection. In this report, we have isolated and characterized of cDNA encoding for the attacin from the immunized larvae of swallowtail butterfly, $Papilio$ $xuthus$. A full length cDNA of $P.$ $xuthus$ attacin was obtained by employing annealing control primer (ACP)-based differential display PCR and 5' RACE. The complete $P.$ $xuthus$ attacin cDNA was comprised of 949 bp encoding a 250 amino acid precursor. It contains a putative 18 amino acid signal peptide sequence, a 42 amino acid propeptide sequence, and a 190 amino acid mature protein with a theoretical molecular mass of 19904.01 and a pI of 9.13. The putative mature protein of $P.$ $xuthus$ attacin showed 48-52% and 24-30% identity in amino acid sequences with that of lepidopteran and dipteran insects, respectively. Semiquantitive RT-PCR results revealed that the transcript of $P.$ $xuthus$ attacin gene was up-regulated at significant levels after injection with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We sub-cloned cDNA fragment encoding mature $P.$ $xuthus$ attacin into the expression vector, highly expressed in $E.$ $coli$ BL21 cells, and its antibacterial activity was analyzed. Recombinant $P.$ $xuthus$ attacin evidenced considerably antibacterial activity against Gram-negative bacteria, $E.$ $coli$ ML 35 and $Klebsiella$ $pneumonia$.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.81-96
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• 2008

Objectives : This study was performed to investigate inhibitory effects of Gamipalmul-tang($jiaweibawu-t{\bar{a}}ng$) on the hematological and histological changes of obese mice. Methods : C57BL/6 mice were divided into four groups (normal group, high fat diet with normal saline, high fat diet with reductil, high fat diet with Gamipalmul-tang($jiaweibawu-t{\bar{a}}ng$) and fed for 8 weeks. Body weight change, final increase of body weight, ALT, AST, creatinine, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose, cell viability by cytotoxicity, the expression of ${\beta}3AR$ in 3T3-L1 cell, the expression of leptin, ${\beta}3AR$ and serotonin in adipocyte tissue and size of adipocyte were observed in 8 weeks. Results : 1. In 3T3-L1 cell. the expression of ${\beta}3AR$ was increased significantly. 2. The final increase of body weight in obese-mouse were decreased significantly. 3. The level of AST, ALT were decreased significantly. 4. The level of LDL-cholesterol was decreased significantly and HDL-cholesterol was increased significantly. 5. The levels of triglyceride was decreased and leptin and glucose were decreased significantly. 6. In adipocyte tissue, the expression of ${\beta}3AR$ were increased significantly. 7. In adipocyte tissue, the expression of leptin and serotonin were decreased significantly. 8. The size of Adipocyte was decreased. Conclusions : On the basis of these results, we concluded that Gamipalmul-tang($jiaweibawu-t{\bar{a}}ng$) has inhibitory effects in rat.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.7
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• pp.1221-1226
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• 2008

The soft rot bacterium Pectobacterium wasabiae is an economically important pathogen of many crops. A new phytase gene, appA, was cloned from P. wasabiae by degenerate PCR and TAIL-PCR. The open reading frame of appA consisted of 1,302 bp encoding 433 amino acid residues, including 27 residues of a putative signal peptide. The mature protein had a molecular mass of 45 kDa and a theoretical pI of 5.5. The amino acid sequence contained the conserved active site residues RHGXRXP and HDTN of typical histidine acid phosphatases, and showed the highest identity of 48.5% to PhyM from Pseudomonas syringae. The gene fragment encoding the mature phytase was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3), and the purified recombinant phytase had a specific activity of 1,072$\pm$47 U/mg for phytate substrate. The optimum pH and temperature for the purified phytase were pH 5.0 and 50$^{\circ}C$, respectively. The $K_m$ value was 0.17 mM, with a $V_{max}$ of 1,714 $\mu$mol/min/mg. This is the first report of the identification and isolation of phytase from Pectobacterium.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.7
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• pp.1235-1244
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• 2008

Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) is produced commonly by plants and many bacteria, however, little is known about the genetic basis involving the key enzymes of IAA biosynthetic pathways from Bacillus spp. IAA intermediates from the Gram-positive spore-forming bacterium Paenibacillus polymyxa E681 were investigated, which showed the existence of only an indole-3-pyruvic acid (IPA) pathway for IAA biosynthesis from the bacterium. Four open reading frames (ORFs) encoding indole-3-pyruvate decarboxylase-like proteins and putative indole-3-pyruvate decarboxylase (IPDC), a key enzyme in the IPA synthetic pathway, were found on the genome sequence database of P. polymyxa and cloned in Escherichia coli DH5$\alpha$. One of the ORFs, PP2_01257, was assigned as probable indole-3-pyruvate decarboxylase. The ORF consisted of 1,743 nucleotides encoding 581 amino acids with a deduced molecular mass of 63,380 Da. Alignment studies of the deduced amino acid sequence of the ORF with known IPDC sequences revealed conservation of several amino acids in PP2_01257, essential for substrate and cofactor binding. Recombinant protein, gene product of the ORF PP2_01257 from P. polymyxa E681, was expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) as a glutathione S-transferase (GST)-fusion protein and purified to homogeneity using affinity chromatography. The molecular mass of the purified enzyme showed about 63 kDa, corresponding closely to the expected molecular mass of IPDC. The indole-3-pyruvate decarboxylase activity of the recombinant protein, detected by HPLC, using IPA substrate in the enzyme reaction confirmed the identity and functionality of the enzyme IPDC from the E681 strain.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.94-110
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• 2005

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of Kamikwibitang water extract (KKT) on immobilization stress in C57BL/6J mice. KKT decreased the serum level of histamine and corticosterone increased by immobilization stress. In addition, KKT decreased the cell viability of thymocytes and enhanced the cell viability of splenocytes decreased by immobilization stress. Also, KKT decreased the viability of thymocytes and splenocytes in vitro. KKT decreased DNA fragmentation of splenocytes increased by immobilization stress. KKT decreased the population of thymic $CD4^+CD8^-$ cells increased by immobilization stress, and did not affect the population of $B220^+$ cells and the population of $Thy1^+$ cells changed by immobilization stress and enhanced the population of splenic $CD4^-CD8^+$ cells increased by immobilization stress. KKT enhanced the production of ${\gamma}-interferon$ and did not affect the production of interleukin-2 and interleukin-4 decreased by immobilization stress. Also, KKT decreased the phagocytic activity and the level of nitric oxide decreased by immobilization stress. These results indicate that KKT may be useful for the prevention and treatment of stress via suppression of serum histamine and corticosterone level and enhancement of specific-immune response.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.144-148
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• 2020

Corn silk (Okmi-su) was anciently adopted as a material for tea or beverage. Corn silk extracts (CSE) contain bioactive phytochemicals such as phenolic acid, flavonoids, ascorbic acid, tannins, and glycosides. Under the impact of these functional components, CSE has benefits for antioxidation, diuresis, anti-diabetes, and dyslipidemia recovery. Nonetheless, its role in whole-body adiposity was not investigated; therefore, the effects of CSE on obesity were evaluated in high-fat diet-induced obese mice. Mice were assigned to either group (n=12); 1) normal diet (18% kcal from fat), 2) high-fat diet (45% kcal from fat, the control), 3) high-fat diet with CSE (800 mg/kg diet), and 4) high-fat diet with orlistat (500 mg/kg diet, a comparable control for weight loss). Our results showed that body weight, adiposity, and energy expenditure in obese mice were not altered by CSE. Lean body mass tended to decrease by CSE, which can be explained by stimulation of diuresis (p=0.06). In conclusion, our results suggest that dietary consumption of CSE does not influence the adiposity and underlying substrate utilization in high-fat diet-induced obese mice.

• Journal of Menopausal Medicine
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.196-203
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• 2018

Objectives: This study was aimed to establish the most effective premature ovarian failure (POF) mouse model using Cyclophosphamide (CTX), busulfan (Bu), and cisplatin considering treatment duration of anticancer drugs and natural recovery time. Methods: POF was induced by intraperitoneally injecting CTX (120 mg/kg)/Bu (12 mg/kg) for 1 to 4 weeks or cisplatin (2 mg/kg) for 3 to 14 days to C57BL/6 female mice aged 6 to 8 weeks. Controls were injected with equal volume of saline for the same periods. Body weight was measured every week, and ovarian and uterine weights were measured after the last injection of anticancer drug. To assess ovarian function, POF-induced mice were superovulated with pregnant mare serum gonadotropin and human chorionic gonadotropin, and then mated with male. After 18 hours, zygotes were retrieved and cultured for 4 days. Finally, the mice were left untreated for a period of times after the final injection of anticancer drug, and the time for natural recovery of ovarian function was evaluated. Results: After 2 weeks of CTX/Bu injection, ovarian and uterine weights, and ovarian function were decreased sharply. Cisplatin treatment for 10 days resulted in a significant decrease in ovarian and uterine weight, and ovarian function. When POF was induced for at least 2 weeks for CTX/Bu and for at least 10 days for cisplatin, ovarian function did not recover naturally for 2 weeks and 1 week, respectively. Conclusions: These results suggest that CTX/Bu should be treated for at least 2 weeks and cisplatin for at least 10 days to establish the most effective primary ovarian insufficiency mouse model.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.1826-1835
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• 2019

Objective: Testicular growth and development are strongly influenced by androgen. Although both testis weight and plasma testosterone level are inherited traits, the interrelationship between them is not fully established. Males of DDD/Sgn (DDD) mice are known to have extremely heavy testes and very high plasma testosterone level among inbred mouse strains. We dissected the genetic basis of testis weight and analyzed the potential influence of plasma testosterone level in DDD mice. Methods: Quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping of testis weight was performed with or without considering the influence of plasma testosterone level in reciprocal $F_2$ intercross populations between DDD and C57BL/6J (B6) mice, thereby assessing the influence of testosterone on the effect of testis weight QTL. Candidate genes for testis weight QTL were investigated by next-generation sequencing analysis. Results: Four significant QTL were identified on chromosomes 1, 8, 14, and 17. The DDDderived allele was associated with increased testis weight. The $F_2$ mice were then divided into two groups according to the plasma testosterone level ($F_2$ mice with relatively "low" and "high" testosterone levels), and QTL scans were again performed. Although QTL on chromosome 1 was shared in both $F_2$ mice, QTL on chromosomes 8 and 17 were identified specifically in $F_2$ mice with relatively high testosterone levels. By whole-exome sequencing analysis, we identified one DDD-specific missense mutation Pro29Ser in alpha tubulin acetyltransferase 1 (Atat1). Conclusion: Most of the testis weight QTL expressed stronger phenotypic effect when they were placed on circumstance with high testosterone level. High testosterone influenced the QTL by enhancing the effect of DDD-derived allele and diminishing the effects of B6-derived allele. Since Pro29Ser was not identified in other inbred mouse strains, and since Pro29 in Atat1 has been strongly conserved among mammalian species, Atat1 is a plausible candidate for testis weight QTL on chromosome 17.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2021

This review of national and international randomized controlled trials of Salviae miltiorrhizae radix pharmacopuncture for lumbar herniated intervertebral discs was performed to assess its clinical efficacy. There were 5 online databases (PubMed, EMBASE, CNKI, NDSL, OASIS, and RISS) searched on June 1st, 2020. Studies were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were reviewed by risk of bias assessment. This review included 14 Chinese studies. The sample sizes ranged from 50 to 100. The numbers of treatments ranged from 20 to 30, with most patients receiving 20 treatments. The longest treatment periods were 10-15 and 15-20 days, of which each accounted for 29% of the studies. The most frequently used evaluation indices were the Japanese Orthopedic Association and the Visual Analog Scale scoring method. The most frequently used acupoints were EX18 and BL25, which accounted for 31% of the total number of acupoints. In 50% of the studies, the pharmacopuncture injection volume was 2 mL. Acupuncture treatment was the most common control group. Eleven studies reported that the intervention group had significantly improved symptoms. However, most of the included studies were of low quality.