• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.1080-1084
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• 2011

Predictive model for estimating total contents of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) was developed by stepwise multiple-regression analysis using chemical properties and extractable contents of metal in paddy soil adjacent to abandoned mines in 2009 and 2010. Soil properties, e.g. pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic matter (OM), available phosphorus ($P_2O_5$), and exchangeable cations (i.e. Ca, Na, K, Mg) were measured. Total contents of Cd and Pb as well as extractable contents of metals were analyzed by ICP-OES. Results showed that the total and extractable contents were estimated to be 3.55 and $0.27mg\;kg^{-1}$ in Cd and 83.38 and $24.32mg\;kg^{-1}$ in Pb on the average. From stepwise analysis, it was found that the contents of extractable Cd, Zn, Cu, as well as exchangeable Na were significantly influenced on estimation of the total contents of Cd in soil. Moreover, it also showed that the contents of extractable Pb, Zn, and Cu significantly affected estimation of the total contents of Pb in soil. More significant relationship between estimated and measured value in total contents of Pb was observed than those of Cd ($R^2$=0.87, p<0.0001). This demonstrates that extractable contents of metal are influenced more on estimation of total contents of Cd and Pb in soil than soil properties.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.111-121
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• 2021

In order to determine the possibility that Chrysanthemum indicum L. cultured with Lactococcus lactis (CILL) is a material for obesity suppression food, the body weight, body fat mass, and T cells were determined in C57BL/6 mice induced by a high fat diet. The CILL (25.15±2.44 g) demonstrated weight loss from week 4 onward and maintained a low weight gain from week 1 to week 8 (1.00±0.53 g). The 8-week body weight (30.38±4.17 g) indicated loss of 13.15% when compared to the HFD (60% high fat diet, 34.99±2.09 g). Fat mass decreased to 10.3022±2.8813 g, and the absolute liver weight decreased relative to that in the HFD. CD4+ T cells were 4.84±1.33%, CD8+ T cells 7.02±2.26%, and CD4+CD8+ T cells 1.46±0.81%, which were all higher than those in the HFD. As a result, CILL can be used as a material for preventing obesity as an effective measure toward reducing weight when consumed orally.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.796-806
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• 2010

Atopic dermatitis induced NC/Nga mice were used to investigate the efficacy of BDH(Baedokhwan) on the recovery of dermatitic symptoms through its influence on the immune related factors and histological changes. First of all, BDH treated group showed improvement of atopic dermatitis with naked eye observation, and significant decrease of clinical index(CI) was observed after 14 weeks. And Infiltration of leukocytes was suppressed in BDH treated group, and the thickness of hypertrophied epidermis and dermis were decreased. In dorsal skin, BDH treated group showed significant decrease of the ratio of CD3+, CD11b+/Gr-1+ immune cells by 52.8%, 25.2, respectively. And also significant decrease the level of IL-5 mRNA and IL-13 mRNA by 44.4%, 28.0, respectively. In PBMC and serum, BDH treated group showed an decrease of CD4+/CD45+, B220+/CD23+, CD4+, CD8+, CD4+/CD25+ immune cells by 35.0%, 12.6%, 42.7%, 31.6% and 55.6%, respectively, and the level of histamine was decreased by 39.0%. The results above indicated that BDH clinically used for atopic dermatitis treatment has objective validity, and therefore can be provided as the basic data for anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory studies.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.155-162
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• 2010

The trophectoderm is one of the earliest cell types to differentiate in the forming placenta. It is an important for the initial implantation and placentation during pregnancy. Trophoblast stem cells (TBSCs) develop from the blastocyst and are maintained by signals emanating from the inner cell mass. However, several limitations including rarity and difficulty in isolation of trophoblast stem cells derived from blastocyst still exist. To establish a model for trophoblast differentiation, we isolated TBSCs from human term placenta ($\geq$38 weeks) and characterized. Cell cycle was analyzed by measuring DNA content by FACS analysis and phenotype of TBSCs was characterized by RT-PCR and FACS analysis. TBSCs have expressed various markers such as self-renewal markers (Nanog, Sox2), three germ layer markers (hNF68, alpha-cardiac actin, hAFP), trophoblast specific markers (CDX-2, CK7, HLA-G), and TERT gene. In FACS analysis, TBSCs isolated from term placenta showed that the majority of cells expressed CD13, CD44, CD90, CD95, CD105, HLA-ABC, cytokeratin 7, and HLA-G. Testing for CD31, CD34, CD45, CD71, vimentin and HLA-DR were negative. TBSCs were shown to decrease the growth rate when cultured in conditioned medium without FGF4/heparin as well as the morphology was changed to a characteristic giant cell with a large cytoplasm and nucleus. In invasion assay, TBSCs isolated from term placenta showed invasion activities in in vivo using nude mice and in vitro Matrigel system. Taken together, these results support that an isolation potential of TBSCs from term placenta as well as a good source for understanding of the infertility mechanism.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.579-589
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• 1996

Background : Activation of neutrophil is critical for the clearance of microorganisms and toxic host mediators during sepsis. Unfortunately the activated neutrophil and its toxic byproducts can produce tissue injury and organ dysfunction. The leucocyte CD11/18 adhesion complex regulates neutrophil-endothelial cell adhesion, the first step in neutrophil migration to sites of injection and inflammation. To investigate the potential of neutrophil inhibition as a treatment strategy for sepsis, we evaluated the effects of monoclonal antibody against CD11b (MAb 1B6) in rats intrabronchial challenged with Escherichia coli. Methods : Animals were randomly assigned to receive monoclonal antibody against CD11b (1 mg/kg, sc) and bovine serum albumin(BSA, 1 mg/kg, sc) 6 hr before, at 0 and 6 hr after intrabronchial challenge of $20x10^9$ CFU/kg E. coli 0111. Animals were randomized to treat either 24, 60 or 90% oxygen after bacterial challenge and begining 4 hr after inoculation, all animals were received 100 mg/kg ceftriaxone qd for 3 days. Peripheral and alveolar neutrophil(by bronchoalveolar lavage) counts and lung injury parameters such as alveolar-arte rial $PO_2$ difference, wet to dry lung weight ratio and protein concentration of alveolar fluid were measured in survived rats at 12 hr and 96 hr. Results : Monoclonal antibody against CD11b decreased circulating and alveolar neutrophil especially more in 12 hr than in 96 hr The lung injury parameters of antibody-treated animals were not different from those of BSA-treated animals. but It was meaningless due to small number of survived animals. The early(6 hr) mortality rate was significantly increased in antibody-treated group(51%) compared to BSA-treated group(31%) (P=0.02) but late(from 12 hr to 72 hr) mortality rate was not different in antibody-treated group(44%) from BSA-treated group(36%) (P =0.089). Conclusion : Leucocyte CD11b/18 adhesion molecule is known to regulate neutrophil migration to the site of infection and inflammation. The monoclonal antibody against CD11b decreased alveolar neutrophil in rats with pulmonary sepsis and increased early mortality rate. Therefore, we can speculate that monoclonal antibody against CD11b blocks of alveolar recruitment of neutrophils, impairs host defense mechanism and increases early mortality rate of pulmonary sepsis in rat.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.397-404
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• 2022

Natural killer (NK) cell activity is more attenuated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients than normal. Hypoxic-inducible factor (HIF)-1α is highly expressed in tumors to maintain their metabolism in a hypoxic environment. The expression of HIF-1α in cancers can lead to cell growth, proliferation, invasion/metastasis and immune escape. Although apigenin, a flavonoid, is known to have various biological activities, it has not been demonstrated in NK cell immune activity in HCC cells. In this study, NK-92 cells were directly cocultured with HCC SK-Hep1 cells for 24 h to evaluate NK cell activity in HCC cells or HCC cells expressing HIF-1α by apigenin. NK cell cytotoxicity to HCC cells expressing HIF-1α was significantly increased, and NK cell-activating receptors, NKG2D, NKp30 and NKp44 were highly expressed. The activating effect of apigenin on NK cells substantially induced apoptosis in HCC cells expressing HIF-1α through high expression of CD95L on the surface of NK-92 cells. Moreover, apigenin excellently inhibited the level of TGF-β1 in a coculture of NK cells and HCC cells. In conclusion, apigenin seems to be a good compound that increases NK cell cytotoxicity to HCC cells by controlling HIF-1α expression.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.411-416
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• 2017

Paclitaxel (PTX) is a effectively chemotherapeutic agent which is extensively able to treat the non-small cell lung, pancreatic, breast and other cancers. But it is a practically insoluble drug with water solubility less than $1{\mu}g/mL$, which restricts its therapeutic application. To overcome the problem, hyaluronic acid-complexed paclitaxel nanoemulsions (HPNs) were prepared by ionic complexation of paclitaxel (PTX) nanoemulsions and hyaluronic acid (HA) to specifically target non-small cell lung cancer. HPNs were composed of ${\small{DL}}-{\alpha}$-tocopheryl acetate, soybean oil, polysorbate 80, ferric chloride, and HA and fabricated by high-pressure homogenization. The HPNs were $85.2{\pm}7.55nm$ in diameter and had a zeta potential of $-35.7{\pm}0.25mV$. The encapsulation efficiency was almost 100%, and the PTX content was 3.0 mg/mL. We assessed the in vivo antitumor efficacy of the HPNs by measuring changes in tumor volume and body weight in nude mice transplanted with CD44-overexpressing NCI-H460 xenografts and treated with a bolus dose of saline, $Taxol^{(R)}$, PTX nanoemulsions (PNs), or HPNs at a dose of 25 mg/kg. Suppression of cancer cell growth was higher in the PN- and HPN-treated groups than in the $Taxol^{(R)}$ group. In particular, HPN treatment dramatically inhibited tumor growth, likely because of the specific tumor-targeting affinity of HA for CD44-overexpressed cancer cells. The loss of body weight and organ weight did not vary significantly between the groups. It is suggest that HPNs should be used to effective nanocarrier system for targeting delivery of non-small cell lung cancer overexpressing CD44 and high solubilization of poorly soluble drug.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.42-53
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• 2020

Objective: Recently, microRNA (miRNA) has been identified both as a powerful regulator involved in various biological processes through the regulation of numerous genes and as an effective biomarker for the prediction and diagnosis of various disease states. The objective of this study was to identify and validate miRNAs and their target genes involved in inflammation in placental tissue. Methods: Microarrays were utilized to obtain miRNA and gene expression profiles from placentas with or without inflammation obtained from nine normal pregnant women and 10 preterm labor patients. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blots were performed to validate the miRNAs and differentially-expressed genes in the placentas with inflammation. Correlations between miRNA and target gene expression were confirmed by luciferase assays in HTR-8/SVneo cells. Results: We identified and validated miRNAs and their target genes that were differentially expressed in placentas with inflammation. We also demonstrated that several miRNAs (miR-371a-5p, miR-3065-3p, miR-519b-3p, and miR-373-3p) directly targeted their target genes (LEF1, LOX, ITGB4, and CD44). However, some miRNAs and their direct target genes showed no correlation in tissue samples. Interestingly, miR-373-3p and miR-3065-3p were markedly regulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment, although the expression of their direct targets CD44 and LOX was not altered by LPS treatment. Conclusion: These results provide candidate miRNAs and their target genes that could be used as placental biomarkers of inflammation. These candidates may be useful for further miRNA-based biomarker development.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.44.1-44.16
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• 2023

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are effective in treating autoimmune diseases and managing various conditions, such as engraftment of allogeneic islets. Additionally, autologous and HLA-matched allogeneic MSCs can aid in the engraftment of human allogeneic kidneys with or without low doses of tacrolimus, respectively. However, HLA alloantigens are problematic because cell therapy uses more HLA-mismatched allogeneic cells than autologous for convenience and standardization. In particular, HLA-mismatched MSCs showed increased Ag-specific T/B cells and reduced viability faster than HLA-matched MSCs. In CRISPR/Cas9-based cell therapy, Cas9 induce T cell activation in the recipient's immune system. Interestingly, despite their immunogenicity being limited to the cells with foreign Ags, the accumulation of HLA alloantigen-sensitized T/B cells may lead to allograft rejection, suggesting that alloantigens may have a greater scope of adverse effects than foreign Ags. To avoid alloantigen recognition, the β2-microglobulin knockout (B2MKO) system, eliminating class-I MHC, was able to avoid rejection by alloreactive CD8 T cells compared to controls. Moreover, universal donor cells in which both B2M and Class II MHC transactivator (CIITA) were knocked out was more effective in avoiding immune rejection than single KO. However, B2MKO and CIITA KO system remain to be controlled and validated for adverse effects such as the development of tumorigenicity due to deficient Ag recognition by CD8 T and CD4 T cells, respectively. Overall, better HLA-matching or depletion of HLA alloantigens prior to cell therapy can reduce repetitive transplantation through the long-term survival of allogeneic cell therapy, which may be especially important for patients seeking allogeneic transplantation.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SD
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.29-35
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• 2000

Luminescent characteristics of SrS:Cu,X TFeL devices fabricated by electron-beam deposition system were studied. The SrS powders were used as the host materials and Cu, $CuF_2,\;Cu_2S$ or CuCl powders were added as the luminescent center. The emission spectra of the SrS:Cu,X TFEL devices strongly depended on coactivators. The luminance($L_{40}$) and efficiency(${\eta}_{20}$) of SrS:$Cu_2S$ TFEL device were 1443 cd/$m^2$ and 2.44 lm/w, respectively. Green color was observed from this TFEL device. The luminous efficiency of SrS:$Cu_2S$ TFEL device was higher than that of ZnS:Tb TFEL device, and it also could be good green phosphors for TFEL devices. The luminance($L_{40}$) and efficiency(${\eta}_{20}$) of SrS:CuCl TFEL device were 262 cd/$m^2$ and 0.26 lm/w, respectively. Blue color was emitted from this TFEL device.