• Molecules and Cells
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• v.38 no.7
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• pp.643-650
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• 2015

The use of conditioned medium from mesenchymal stem cells may be a feasible approach for regeneration of bone defects through secretion of various components of mesenchymal stem cells such as cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors. Mesenchymal stem cells secrete and accumulate multiple factors in conditioned medium under specific physiological conditions. In this study, we investigated whether the conditioned medium collected under hypoxic condition could effectively influence bone regeneration through enhanced migration and adhesion of endogenous mesenchymal stem cells. Cell migration and adhesion abilities were increased through overexpression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 in hypoxic conditioned medium treated group. Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 was upregulated by microRNA-221 in mesenchymal stem cells because microRNAs are key regulators of various biological functions via gene expression. To investigate the effects in vivo, evaluation of bone regeneration by computed tomography and histological assays revealed that osteogenesis was enhanced in the hypoxic conditioned medium group relative to the other groups. These results suggest that behavioral changes of endogenous mesenchymal stem cells through microRNA-221 targeted-intercellular adhesion molecule-1 expression under hypoxic conditions may be a potential treatment for patients with bone defects.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.183-195
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• 2014

The present study was conducted to provide basic data for environmentally friendly treatment of manure using vermicomposting by investigating the influence of physiochemical property change during the composting period on the survival of earthworms after mixing cow manure in different levels (0(CSD0), 10(CSD10), 20(CSD20), 30(CSD30), and 40%(CSD40)) with the sawdust that is used bedding in livestock pens. As composting proceeds, earthworms were able to survive in all treatments after 3 weeks. In terms of the C/N ratio by treatment groups, the sawdust mix treatment was significantly higher than the CSD0 treatment (p<0.05). The C/N ratio in the 3rdweek when earthworms started surviving was 23.26-61.05. As composting progressed, pH and electrolytic conductivity were highest in the CSD0 treatment and tended to decrease with higher proportion of sawdust in the mix. It was found that pH and electrolytic conductivity that earthworms starting to survive are 7.4-7.7 and 0.28-1.17 mS/cm respectively. To summarize, when composing cow manure with various levels of sawdust mix, all physiochemical property changes turned out to allow the survival of earthworms, but the results suggest that efficient vermicomposting requires the tests to examine growth and reproduction according to the sawdust mix ratio.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.33-39
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• 2017

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the changes of follicular fluid (FF) and serum levels of cerebellin precursor protein 1 (cbln1) and betatrophin in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) undergoing in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist protocol. Methods: Twenty infertile women with PCOS and 20 control women diagnosed as poor responders undergoing ovarian stimulation with a GnRH antagonist were included. Blood samples were obtained during ovum pick-up. Follicular fluid from a dominant follicle was collected from the subjects. Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, FF and serum levels of cbln1 and betatrophin were measured in both groups of participants. Metabolic and hormonal parameters were also determined and correlated with each other. Results: Both groups of women had similar serum and FF betatrophin levels ($55.0{\pm}8.9ng/mL$ vs. $53.1{\pm}10.3ng/mL$, p=0.11). The serum and FF betatrophin levels of poor responders were found to be similar ($49.9{\pm}5.9ng/mL$ vs. $48.9{\pm}10.7ng/mL$, p=0.22). Conversely, the FF cbln1 levels of PCOS women were found to be significantly higher than the serum cbln1 levels ($589.1{\pm}147.6ng/L$ vs. $531.7{\pm}74.3ng/L$, p<0.02). The FF cbln1 levels of control participants without PCOS were significantly higher than their serum cbln1 levels ($599.3{\pm}211.5ng/L$ vs. $525.3{\pm}87.0ng/L$, p=0.01). Positive correlations were detected among body mass index, insulin resistance, serum insulin, total testosterone, and betatrophin levels in the PCOS group. Conclusion: Follicular fluid betatrophin and cbln1 concentrations may play a pivotal role on follicular growth in PCOS subjects undergoing IVF/ICSI with an antagonist protocol.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.6327-6332
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• 2012

Esophageal cancer is a common malignant tumor occurring in human esophageal epithelial tissue. The primary purpose of this paper was to define the effects of ${\beta}$-carotene and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin $D_3$, alone and in combination, on cell proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis of human esophageal cancer EC9706 cells. Treatment with different concentrations of ${\beta}$-carotene and/or 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin $D_3$. MTT assay showed that ${\beta}$-carotene and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin $D_3$ significantly inhibited proliferation of EC9706 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Further studies also demonstrated that ${\beta}$-carotene alone or 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin $D_3$ alone caused a marked increase on the induction of apoptosis in EC9706 cells. The percentage of G0/G1-phase cells significantly increased on addition of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin $D_3$ alone, but there were no significant changes with ${\beta}$-carotene alone. These two agents in combination synergistically inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis. Therefore, our results indicate that ${\beta}$-carotene and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin $D_3$ in combination may provide a novel strategy for preventing and treating esophageal cancer.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.421-426
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• 2006

Preservation stability of the extract from dried green tea produced in Jeju, extracted at $55^{\circ}C$ for 15 min and bottled in PET container after filtration and then settled at $4^{\circ}C$, indoor at room temperature and outdoor, respectively, was estimated. Color L-value was almost constant but color of the extract became darkened during storage, especially in indoor storage. Main catechins of green tea extract were (-)-epigallocatechin, (-)-epigallocatechin gallate, epicatechin, (+)-catechin, epicatechin gallate in order, and the content of epigallocatechin was 53.8%. Nevertheless total catechin content was not changed in cold storage, and $4.7\sim10%$ of total catechins were reduced in outdoor or indoor storage after 14 weeks. Caffeine content were increased but total polyphenols were not changed largely during storage. Election donating abilities (EDA) showed more than 60% without influence of storage conditions and periods. Nitrite scavenging abilities (NSA) showed more than 90% at pH 1.2, but those were decreased gradually as pH increased, and then disappeared at pH 6.0. Color, polyphenols, antioxidant activities of extract were not so changed for more than 3 months. Microbial growth was not shown during same periods, due to heat treatment of the extracts at $95^{\circ}C$ for 10 min.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.407-416
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• 1992

This experiment was conducted to investigate the feed value of dried aloe leaf meal and the changes of blood values in growing pigs A total of 48 three crossbred pig(Landrace${\times}$Yorkshire${\times}$Hampshire) weighing average 25kg initially were randomly distributed into 12 groups of 4 heads(2 females and 2 males) each There groups were alloted on one of the following 3 dietary treatment : non-supplumented diet (control group), diet supplemented with 3% of dried aloe leaf meal(Aloe 3% group), diet supplemented with 6% dried aloe leaf meal(Aloe 6% group). The results obstained in feeding trial for 6 weeks and analysis of blood were summarized as follows : 1. In the chemical composition of dried aloe leaf meal contents of crude protein and crude ash were 9.43% and 15.10%, respectively. Amino acid composition was also inferior to other grain and bran feeds. 2. Daily gain of control, Aloe 3% and 6% groups were 740.5, 658.1 and 197.1 g respectively. Three were significant difference in daily gain among groups( p<0.05) and tended to be decreased with increasing levels of dried aloe leaf meal. 3. Daily feed intake of control, Aloe 3% and Aloe 6% groups were 1,960.5, 1,737.0 and 1,123.0 g, respectively. There were significant differences in daily feed intake among treatments(p<0.05) and tended to be decreased with increasing levels of dried aloe leaf meal. 4. Feed efficiency of control, Aloe 3% and Aloe 6% groups were 2.72, 2.63 and 5.70 respectively. Feed efficiency for pig fed diet supplemented with 3% of dried aloe leaf meal was a little superior to control, although no statistical difference was obstained between two treatments. 5. The digestibilities of dry matter, crude protein, nitrogen free extract and extract were significantly (p<0.05) higher for control group than for Aloe 3% and Aloe 6% groups. But there were no significant differences in digestibility of crude fat and crude fiber between control and Aloe 3% groups. 6. There were no difference between aloe leaf meal administrated groups and control group in blood picture and serum chemistry.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.53-64
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• 2009

Wetlands can remove organic contaminants, metals and radionuclides from wastewater through various biogeochemical mechanisms. In this study, a mathematical model was developed for simulating the fate and transport of chemical species in marsh wetland sediments. The proposed model is a one-dimensional vertical saturated model which is incorporated advection, hydrodynamic dispersion, biodegradation, oxidative/reductive chemical reactions and the effects from external environments such as the growth of plants and the fluctuation of water level due to periodic tides. The tidal effects causes periodic changes of porewater flow in the sediments and the evapotranspiration and oxygen supply by plant roots affect the porewater flow and redox condition on in the rhizosphere along with seasonal variation. A series of numerical experiments under hypothetical conditions were performed for simulating the temporal and spatial distribution of chemical species of interests using the proposed model. The fate and transport of a trace metal pollutant, chromium, in marsh sediments were also simulated. Results of numerical simulations show that plant roots and tides significantly affect the chemical profiles of different electron acceptors, their reduced species and trace metals in marsh sediments.

• The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.167-172
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• 2014

Recently interest in energy is becoming increasingly amplified in the world. Green energy is the buzzword of the world's business community as well as governments also leave a green energy seonbongjang of economic recovery. According to the International Institute for Energy, it will be expected to invest in the field of green energy about 7 trillion dollar traslated into 7,000 trillian won around the world by 2030. Thus production, supply, reduce and reuse policies and techniques for green energy came pouring out like a flood. But there is a limit to the fuel supply in order to produce a power generation facility and the power supply that is essential. Reducing produced power efficiently is more important than the increasing of power production. At present, using a method that controls the equipment installed by measuring the environment for efficient control of the energy management of energy-consuming devices that are in use. But the reality is that many policies of national and corporate to did not work to solve a part of the energy savings. In this paper, I proposes a smart energy management system to control the equipment by using the accumulated data obtained with minimal changes in the environment using the energy.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.633-640
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• 2012

White light and compound light were found to be the ideal light sources for improving the functionality and ornamental value of indoor plants and reducing the cost of maintenance, but because compound light hinders people from recognizing the original color of plants and makes their eyes easily tired, white light was considered the optimal light satisfying all of the ornamental value, economic efficiency and functionality resulting from plant growth. On the other hand, in the results of examining physiological changes before and after treatment on fine dust PM10 and carbon dioxide removal capacity in a closed chamber under an artificial light source, the patterns of carbon dioxide and fine dust removal were similar among the treatment groups according to light condition, but according to plant type, the removal rate per unit leaf area was highest in $Spathiphyllum$ and lowest in $Dieffenbachia$. In the experiment on dust and carbon dioxide removal, the photosynthetic rate was over 2 times higher after the treatment, and the rate increased particularly markedly under compound light and white light, suggesting that the photosynthetic rate of plants increases differently according to light quality. These results show that light quality has a significant effect on the photosynthetic rate of plants, and suggests that plants with a high photosynthetic rate also have a high carbon dioxide and dust removal capacity. In conclusion, the photosynthetic rate of foliage plants increased under white and blue light that affect photosynthesis and the increased photosynthetic rate reduced carbon dioxide and fine dust, and therefore white and compound light were found to be the optimal light sources most functional and economically efficient in improving ornamental value and indoor air quality.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.804-813
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• 2008

Cordyceps militaris, the Chinese medicinal fungal genus Cordyceps, is reported to possess many pharmacological activities including immunological stimulating, anti-cancer, anti-virus and anti-infection activities. However, the molecular mechanisms of C. militaris on biochemical actions in cancer have not been clearly elucidated yet. In the present study, we investigated the anti-proliferative activity of the water extract of C. militaris (WECM) in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells. It was found that WECM could inhibit the cell growth in a dose-dependent manner, which was associated with morphological changes and apoptotic cell death such as formation of apoptotic bodies and increased populations of apoptotic sub-G1 phase. Apoptotic cell death of HepG2 cells by WECM was connected with a up-regulation of pro-apoptotic Bax expression, tumor suppressor p53 and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21 (WAF1/CIP1). In addition, WECM treatment induced the proteolytic activation of caspase-3 and a concomitant degradation and/or inhibition of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), ${\beta}-catenin$ and phospholipase $(PLC)-{\gamma}1$ protein. Furthermore, caspase-3 inhibitor, z-DEVD-fmk, significantly inhibited WECM-induced apoptosis demonstrating the important role of caspase-3 in the observed cytotoxic effect. Taken together, these findings provide important new insights into the possible molecular mechanisms of the anti-cancer activity of C. militaris.