• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.97-109
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• 2016

Objectives : The effects of Jaeumkanghwatang (JEKHT) co-administration on the pharmacokinetics of tamoxifen were observed after oral combination treatment of tamoxifen 50 mg/kg with JEKHT 100 mg/kg on JEKHT 6-day repeated oral pretreated rats with 8-day repeated co-administration to confirm the effects of JEKHT co-administration on the pharmacokinetics of tamoxifen. Methods : Six days after pretreatment of JEKHT 100 mg/kg, tamoxifen 50 mg/kg was co-administered with JEKHT 100 mg/kg, once a day for 8 days within 5 min. The blood were collected at 30 min before administration, 30 min, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 24 hrs after end of first and last 8th tamoxifen treatment, and plasma concentrations of tamoxifen were analyzed using LC-MS/MS methods. PK parameters of tamoxifen ($T_{max}$, $C_{max}$, AUC, $t_{1/2}$ and $MRT_{inf}$) were analysis as compared with tamoxifen single administered. Results : Six-day repeated oral pretreatment of JEKHT and 8-day repeated oral co-administration of tamoxifen within 5 min did not influenced on the plasma concentrations and pharmacokinetic parameters of tamoxifen, oral bioavailability, as compared with tamoxifen single treated rats, except for some negligible effects. Conclusions : It is concluded that JEKHT did not influenced on the plasma concentrations and pharmacokinetic parameters, the oral bioavailability of tamoxifen. Therefore, it is considered that co-administration of JEKHT and tamoxifen will be provide an effective novel treatment regimen on the comprehensive and integrative medicine for breast cancer patients, if they showed favorable synergic effects on the pharmacodynamics or reduce the tamoxifen treatment related toxicity and side effects in future studies.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.343-349
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• 2018

Dose rate regulated tracking is known to be an efficient method which adaptively delivers tracking treatments when patient breathing is irregular. The Motion Management Interface (MMI, Varian Medical System, CA), which provides beam on/off switching during treatment is available for clinic. Study is to test if delivering the adaptive tumor tracking is feasible for irregular breathing using beam switching with MMI. 55 free breathing RPM traces acquired from lung cancer patients are used. The first day RPM traces of the patients are utilized to design preprogrammed tracking MLC patterns, of which periods are intentionally reduced by 20% in order to catch up the variation of patient breathing irregularity in the treatment day. Eligibility criteria for this technique are the variation of amplitude and period less than 20%. An algorithm which determines beam on/off every 100 ms by considering the preprogrammed (MLC) positions and current breathing positions is developed. Tracking error and delivery efficacy are calculated by simulating the beam-switching adaptive tracking from the RPM traces. Breathing patterns of 38 patients (70%) met the eligibility criteria. Tracking errors of all of the cases who meet the criteria are less than 2 mm (average 1.4 mm) and the average delivery efficacy was 71%. Those of rest of the cases are 1.9 mm and 48%. Adaptive tracking with beam switching is feasible if patient selection is based on the eligibility criteria.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.451-457
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• 2018

Luminescence properties of $NaCa(PO_3)_3$ doped with $Tb^{3+}$ ions are investigated by optical and laser excitation spectroscopy. The phosphors were prepared by solidstate reaction method The X-ray diffraction(XRD) was used to analyze the crystal structure and the crystallinity of the samples. The excitation and emission spectra and decay curve of $NaCa(PO_3)_3:Tb^{3+}$(0.01 ~ 30mol%) were measured at room temperature. The f - d band of $Tb^{3+}$ is observed in the excitation spectra of $NaCa(PO_3)_3:Tb^{3+}$ in the wave length region 205 ~ 245 nm. Strong emission lines due to the $^5D_4{\rightarrow}^7F_J$ transition and weak emission lines due to the $^5D_4{\rightarrow}^7F_J$ transition are observed in the emission spectra of $NaCa(PO_3)_3:Tb^{3+}$. The energy transfer and cross relaxation between $Tb^{3+}$ ions are discussed in $NaCa(PO_3)_3:Tb^{3+}$ in the emission spectra and life time.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.329-341
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to examine vegetable & fruit (V/F) intakes, beliefs and self-efficacy regarding V/F consumption, nutrition knowledge and eating behavior of elementary students. A survey was conducted to the 4th graders (n = 234) at two elementary schools in Guri, Kyunggi-do. About one-fourth of subjects were overweight or obese. Subjects had 4.2 servings of V/F a day, consuming 340.2 g of V/F. Girls consumed significantly more amounts of vegetables than boys (p < 0.05). Girls were more favorable regarding V/F consumption (p < 0.01), and believed more strongly on advantages of having V/F such as “good for skin” constipation prevention (p < 0.001) and cancer prevention (p < 0.05). Boys felt more strongly in disadvantages or barriers of eating V/F, including mother's cooking time constraints (p < 0.01), lack of past experience of eating V/F, and family members' disliking of V/F (p < 0.05). Girls felt more confident in eating V/F (p < 0.05) than boys; they also felt more confident in specific items of "eating fruits/salads instead of cookies/chips for snack" and "eating fruit juice/vegetable juice instead of soda"(p < 0.01). Subjects showed low level of nutrition knowledge, especially in items such as balanced meals, recommended servings of V/F and vitamin deficiency. Compared to boys, girls had more desirable eating behavior such as eating adequate amount of meals (p < 0.001), having a variety of foods, eating fruits daily, and having fatty foods less frequently (p < 0.05). Intakes of Ca and K were quite below the recommended level, while the intakes of protein, Na and vitamin A intake were much above the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) for 9-11 old children. Nutrient intakes expressed as %DRI was higher in girls for vitamin A (p < 0.01), energy and riboflavin (p < 0.05). High V/F consumption group (${\geq}5$ servings of V/F a day) compared to the counterparts showed higher self-efficacy and had better eating behaviors. Nutrition education for children should focus on increasing consumption of V/F, by helping them to increase self-efficacy for eating V/F and to recognize the benefits and reduce the barriers of eating V/F, especially in boys. It is also needed to provide nutrition information for balanced meals or increasing V/F consumption, and help the children to adopt desirable eating behavior.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2016

Background: Prevalence of adenoma in males aged 40-49 years in Korea was higher than expected. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of colorectal adenoma in males aged 40-49 years. Methods: Total 1,902 asymptomatic subjects with a mean age of $47.9{\pm}6.7years$, who underwent a screening colonoscopy in a health promotion center of Myongji Hospital from 2010 to 2013 were enrolled in this study. We conducted a case-control study to determine the risk factors for adenoma. The subjects were classified into two groups (adenoma vs. controls). To validate the diagnostic value of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) for adenoma, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was calculated. Results: At least one colorectal adenoma was identified in 385 subjects (20.2%). Among these 385 subjects, 372 subjects were found to have a non-advanced adenoma, 13 subjects had an invasive adenoma. One subject had cancer. Male sex, age, smoking, metabolic syndrome, and elevated CEA level were significantly associated with a colorectal adenoma in univariate analysis. However, metabolic syndrome was not significant in multivariate analysis. In the male group, the AUROC of CEA for colorectal adenoma was 0.600 (0.543 to 0.656) in non-smokers under 50 years of age, and 0.615 (0.540 to 0.690) in smokers under 50 years of age. Conclusion: Male sex, smoking, and high levels of CEA seem to be associated with colorectal adenoma. High levels of CEA and smoking may be diagnostic markers for any colorectal adenoma in Korean males aged 40-49 years.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.455-461
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• 2013

Retinoids regulate not only various cell functions including proliferation and differentiation but also glucose and lipid metabolism. After we observed a marked up-regulation of cellular retinol-binding protein-I (CRBP-I) in the liver of hepatitis B virus x antigen (HBx)-transgenic (HBx Tg) mice which are prone to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and fatty liver, we aimed to evaluate retinoid pathway, including genes for the retinoid physiology, CRBP-I protein expression, and retinoid levels, in the liver of HBx Tg mice. We also assessed the effect of chronic metformin treatment on HCC development in the mice. Many genes involved in hepatic retinoid physiology, including CRBP-I, were altered and the tissue levels of retinol and all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) were elevated in the liver of HBx Tg mice compared to those of wild type (WT) control mice. CRBP-I protein expression in liver, but not in white adipose tissue, of HBx Tg mice was significantly elevated compared to WT control mice while CRBP-I protein expressions in the liver and WAT of high-fat fed obese and db/db mice were comparable to WT control mice. Chronic treatment of HBx Tg mice with metformin did not affect the incidence of HCC, but slightly increased hepatic CRBP-I level. In conclusion, hepatic CRBP-I level was markedly up-regulated in HCC-prone HBx Tg mice and neither hepatic CRBP-I nor the development of HCC was suppressed by metformin treatment.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.15-20
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• 2011

Red ginseng is one of the most popular traditional medicines in Korea. In this study, we developed a new technique in which ethanol extract of $\underline{r}$ed $\underline{g}$inseng (HRG) was exposed to the $Co^{60}$ gamma radiation ranging from 1~5 kGy. The irradiated HRG (IHRG) were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to determine any compositional changes of ginsenosides due to irradiation. No appreciable difference was observed in the HPLC pattern of ginsenosides of HRG. Using MTT assay, the cytotoxicity effect was significantly increased by IHRG compared to HRG. The $LD_{50}$ concentration was $30{\mu}g/mL$ for IHRG-1 (1 kGy), and $15{\mu}g/mL$ for IHRG-5 (5 kGy). The evidences of apoptosis, such as nuclei cleavage and Annexin V staining, were observed in the human prostate cancer PC-3 cells treated with the IHRG. Additionally, the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was apparently elevated by IHRG. We also studied the inhibitory effect of IHRG on the growth rate of tumor xenografts in BALB/c male mice. The tumor growth rates were inhibited by 56.9 and 76.1% in mice treated with 10 mg/kg of IHRG-1 and IHRG-5, respectively, compared with control group (21.1%). These results suggest that some biologically active and soluble components in HRG can be more effectively enhancement of anti-tumor effects using irradiation.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.185-191
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• 2008

Activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), a member of the mitogen-activated protein kinase family, is an important cellular response that modulates the outcome of the cells which are exposed to the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) or the genotoxic stress including DNA damaging agents. Although it is known that JNK is activated in response to genotoxic stress, neither the pathways to transduce signals to activate JNK nor the primary sensors of the cells that trigger the stress response have been identified. Here, we report that the receptor interacting protein (RIP), a key adaptor protein of TNF signaling, was required to activate JNK in the cells treated with certain DNA damaging agents such as adriamycin (Adr) and 1-${\beta}$-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (Ara-C) that cause slow and sustained activation, but it was not required when treated with N-methyl-N-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) and short wavelength UV, which causes quick and transient activation. Our findings revealed that this sustained JNK activation was not mediated by the TNF (tumor necrosis factor) receptor signaling, but it required a functional ATM (ataxia telangiectasia) activity. In addition, JNK inhibitor SP-600125 significantly blocked the Adr-induced cell death, but it did not affect the cell death induced by MNNG. These findings suggest that the sustained activation of JNK mediated by RIP plays an important role in the DNA damage-induced cell death, and that the duration of JNK activation relays a different stress response to determine the cell fate.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.29-35
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to compare the compression force and thickness of the compressed breast between mediolateral oblique and craniocaudal mammography. This population consisted of 204 paired mediolateral oblique and craniocaudal mammography obtained on one mammographic unit by certified mammography technologists during 2 month period. The women examined were $30{\sim}59$ years old with breast implants, the patients were classified into 3 groups according to age, $30{\sim}39$, $40{\sim}49$, and $50{\sim}59$, prior breast cancer, mastectomy or breast deformity were excluded. The digital readout of compressed breast compression force and thickness was recorded. Mammographic positioning was assessed using standard criteria. The mean compression force of the compressed breast on the craniocaudal projection was less than the mean compression force on the mediolateral projection(14 versus 13.88 daN, p<0.05). The mean thickness of the compressed breast for mediolateral projection was 41.46 mm and that for the craniocaudal projection was 39.50 mm(p<0.05). The compressed breast is higher or thicker on mediolateral oblique than on craniocaudal mammography.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.833-842
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• 2020

Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a commonly encountered large intestine disease in the contemporary world that terminates into colorectal cancer; therefore, the timely treatment of UC is of major concern. Panax ginseng Meyer is an extensively consumed herbal commodity in South East Asian countries, especially Korea. It exhibits a wide range of biologically beneficial qualities for almost head-to-toe ailments in the body. Epimedium koreanum Nakai (EKN) is also a widely used traditional Korean herbal medicine used for treating infertility, rheumatism, and cardiovascular diseases. Materials and methods: Separately the anti-inflammatory activities of both red ginseng extracts (RGEs) and EKNs had been demonstrated in the past in various inflammatory models; however, we sought to unravel the anti-inflammatory activities of the combination of these two extracts in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis in mice model because the allopathic remedies for UC involve more side effects than benefits. Results: Our results have shown that the combination of RGE + EKN synergistically alleviated the macroscopic lesions in DSS-induced colitic mice such as colon shortening, hematochezia, and weight loss. Moreover, it restored the histopathological lesions in mice and decreased the levels of proinflammatory mediators and cytokines through the repression of nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) and nucleotide-binding domain (NOD)-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP-3) expression. In vitro, this combination also reduced the magnitude of nitric acid (NO), proinflammatory mediators and cytokine through NF-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways in RAW 264.7 mouse macrophage cells. Conclusion: In the light of these findings, we can endorse this combination extract as a functional food for the prophylactic as well as therapeutic treatment of UC in humans together with allopathic remedies.