• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.30-38
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• 2013

Objectives: Modified regular ginseng extract (MRGX) has stronger anti-cancer activity-possessing gensenoside profiles. Methods: To investigate changes in gene expression in the MRGX-treated lung cancer cells (A549), we examined genomic data with cDNA microarray results. After completing the gene-ontology-based analysis, we grouped the genes into up-and down-regulated profiles and into ontology-related regulated genes and proteins through their interaction network. Results: One hundred nine proteins that were up- and down-regulated by MRGX were queried by using IPA. IL8, MMP7 and PLAUR and were found to play a major role in the anti-cancer activity in MRGX-treated lung cancer cells. These results were validated using a Western blot analysis and a semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. Conclusions: Most MRGX-responsive genes are up-regulated transiently in A549 cells, but down-regulated in a sustained manner in lung cancer cells.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.330-343
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• 2017

Climate change is an important issue, with many researches examining not only future climatic conditions, but also the interaction of climate and air quality. In this study, a new version of the emissions processing software tool - Python-based PRocessing Operator for Climate and Emission Scenarios (PROCES) - was developed to support climate and atmospheric chemistry modeling studies. PROCES was designed to cover global and regional scale modeling domains, which correspond to GEOS-Chem and CMAQ/CAMx models, respectively. This tool comprises of one main system and two units of external software. One of the external software units for this processing system was developed using the GIS commercial program, which was used to create spatial allocation profiles as an auxiliary database. The SMOKE-Asia emissions modeling system was linked to the main system as an external software, to create model-ready emissions for regional scale air quality modeling. The main system was coded in Python version 2.7, which includes several functions allowing general emissions processing steps, such as emissions interpolation, spatial allocation and chemical speciation, to create model-ready emissions and auxiliary inputs of SMOKE-Asia, as well as user-friendly functions related to emissions analysis, such as verification and visualization. Due to its flexible software architecture, PROCES can be applied to any pregridded emission data, as well as regional inventories. The application results of our new tool for global and regional (East Asia) scale modeling domain under RCP scenario for the years 1995-2006, 2015-2025, and 2040-2055 was quantitatively in good agreement with the reference data of RCPs.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 2009

An experiment for uranium sorption onto fresh and weathered biotites was performed. After centrifugation, concentrations of uranium in the supernatants were analyzed using ICP-MS, and biotite samples were investigated using XRD and SEM. With powdered biotites (<3 mm in size), we have conducted uranium sorption experiments about fresh and weathered biotites to obtain uranium sorption amounts in various pH conditions. The uranium sorption was not high at a low pH (e.g., pH 3), but increased with increasing pH. There were lower uranium sorption by the weathered biotites than by the fresh ones, and the difference was much larger at higher pH (e.g., pH 11). The lower sorption values of uranium by the weathered biotites may be caused by a change of mineral surfaces and a chemical behavior of surrounding dissolved elements. It seems that the uranium-mineral interaction has been diminished, especially, in the weathered biotite by a destruction and dissolution of preferential sorption sites on the mineral surfaces and by the colloidal formation from dissolved elements.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.62-68
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• 2009

The interaction between wall blowing and oxidizer flow can generate a very complicated flow characteristics in combustion chamber of hybrid rockets. LES analysis was conducted with an in-house CFD code to investigate the features of turbulent flow without chemical reactions. The numerical results reveal that the flow oscillations at a certain frequency exists on the fuel surface, which is analogous to those observed in the solid propellant combustion. However, the observation of oscillating flow at a certain frequency is only limited to a very thin layer adjacent to wall surface and the strength of the oscillation is not strong enough to induce the drastic change in temperature gradient on the surface. The visualization of fluctuating pressure components shows the periodic appearance of relatively high and low pressure regions along the axial direction. This subsequently results in the oscillation of flow at a certain fixed frequency. This implies that the resonance phenomenon would be possible if the external disturbances such as acoustic excitation could be imposed to the oscillating flow in the combustion chamber.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.353-358
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• 2010

This study demonstrates the ability of magnolol, a hydroxylated biphenyl compound isolated from Magnolia officinalis, to inhibit LPS-induced expression of iNOS gene and activation of NF-${\kappa}B$/Rel in RAW 264.7 cells. Immunohisto-chemical staining of iNOS and Western blot analysis showed magnolol to inhibit iNOS gene expression. Reporter gene assay and electrophoretic mobility shift assay showed that magnolol inhibited NF-${\kappa}B$/Rel transcriptional activation and DNA binding, respectively. Since p38 is important in the regulation of iNOS gene expression, we investigated the possibility that magnolol to target p38 for its anti-inflammatory effects. A molecular modeling study proposed a binding position for magnolol that targets the ATP binding site of p38 kinase (3GC7). Direct interaction of magnolol and p38 was further confirmed by pull down assay using magnolol conjugated to Sepharose 4B beads. The specific p38 inhibitor SB203580 abrogated the LPS-induced NF-${\kappa}B$/Rel activation, whereas the selective MEK-1 inhibitor PD98059 did not affect the NF-${\kappa}B$/Rel. Collectively, the results of the series of experiments indicate that magnolol inhibits iNOS gene expression by blocking NF-${\kappa}B$/Rel and p38 kinase signaling.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 2010

Biological organisms produce organic-inorganic nanocomposite composites that are hierarchically organized in composition and microstructure, containing both inorganic and organic components in complicated mixtures. The process related to the generation and regeneration of organic-inorganic complex in nature is called biomineralization process. Understanding how the process operates in a biological environment is a valuable guide to the synthesis of novel advanced material and developing important industrial processes. Like the mechanism of organisms, mollusks were also synthesized from interaction between organic matrices and minerals and their morphology was designed through biomineralization. In this study, shell formation has been studied as a bio-model and the application of biomimetics based on biomineralization is focused.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.104-113
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• 2008

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of five herbal medicines on cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 drug-metabolizing enzymes in human liver microsomes. Methods: By using of human liver microsomes, we extracted Cnidium officinale Makino, Rhus verniciflua Stokes, Prunus persica Batsch, Corydalis remota Fisch, Carthamus tinctorius Linne, which are called Hwalhyulgeoouhyak(活血祛瘀藥). Then they were incubated and measured for relative enzyme activity under incubation conditions compared to ketoconazole, which is known as a representative inhibitor of CYP 3A4. Results: We showed that all of five traditional herbal medicines had no inhibition effect of CYP 3A4 at 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50${\mu}g/m{\ell}$ doses in human liver microsomes, although Rhus verniciflua Stokes (RVS) showed a little inhibition as about 95% enzyme activity of control. However, this result was not enough to prove that RVS has a CYP 3A4 inhibition effect. Moreover, we can't confirm that those rates have significant induction effect on CYP 3A4. Conclusions: The result of this study could support that those herbal medicines are more reliable than chemical drugs, even if this is a basic step to prove that result.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.39 no.10
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• pp.575-580
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• 2017

Chlorinated hydrocarbons (TCE and PCE), petroleum hydrocarbons (BTEX, PAHs, and TPH), and explosive compounds (TNT, RDX, and HMX) have been detected in underground water countrywide. The overall objective of this study is to evaluate sono-catalytic degradation coupled with the use of PUV in order to understand the fate and transport of a representative selection of non-biodegradable contaminants (i.e., TCE, PCE, BTEX, PAHs, TPH, TNT, RDX, and HMX) in groundwater. Both ultraviolet (UV) and ultrasound (US) systems are used in degrading of organic contaminants and they can thus be applicable simultaneously as an UV/US hybrid system in attempts further to increase the degradation efficiency. Results indicate that synergistic effect of UV/US hybrid system is closely correlated to the enhancement of sono-chemical reactivity with the UV-US interaction of increasing the formation rate of OH by providing additional $H_2O_2$ production through the pyrolysis of water molecules during UV/US hybrid irradiation.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.171-180
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• 1990

In 19 cats anesthetized with ${\alpha}-chloralose$ effects of taurine and ${\beta}-alanine$ on the responses of wide dynamic range (WDR) cells to mechanical, chemical and thermal stimuli were investigated in the lumbar spinal cord of the cat. Also studied was an interaction of strychnine with taurine in affecting the activities of WDR cells. Following intravenous administration of taurine, the responses of WDR cells to all types of mechanical stimuli were markedly enhanced, demonstrating that the response to pressure was most sensitive to taurine action. When the receptive field was exposed to thermal stimuli ($50^{\circ}C$) for 20 sec. taurine increased activity of WDR cell to 169.5% of the control value. The $K^{+}$-induced activation of WDR cells was invariably suppressed after taurine administration. Intravenously administered strychnine remarkably reduced the enhanced response of WDR cell to natural stimuli resulting from intravenous administration of taurine. Also ${\beta}-alanine$ markedly activated the response of spinal dorsal horn cell to natural mechanical stimuli. These findings suggest that neutral amino acid and its derivative such as ${\beta}-alanine$ and taurine can enhance the response of WDR cells to different stimuli in cats.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.53.1-53.1
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• 2011

Bioactive glass powders were synthesized by hydrothermal chemical route by the use of ultrasonic energy irradiation. We used sodalime, calcium nitrate tetra hydrate and di ammonium hydrogen phosphate as the precursor material to synthesize $SiO_2$ rich bio-active glass materials. The $SiO_2$ content was varied in the precursor mixture to 60, 52 and 45 mole%. Dense compacts were obtained by microwave sintering at $1,100^{\circ}C$. Mechanical properties were characterized for the fabricated dense bioactive glasses and were found to be comparable with conventional CaO-$SiO_2$-$Na_2O$-$P_2O_5$ bioactive glass. Detailed biocompatibility evaluation of the glass composition was investigated by in-vitro culture of MG-63 cell and mesenchyme stem cell. Cell adhesion behavior was investigated for both of the cell by one cell morphology for 30, 60 and 90 minutes. Cell proliferation behavior was investigated by culturing both of the cells for 1, 3 and 7 days and was found to be excellent. Both SEM and confocal laser scanning microscopy were used for the investigation. Western blot analysis was performed to evaluate the bimolecular level interaction and extent and rate of specific protein expression. The ability to form biological apatite in physiological condition was observed with simulated body fluid (SBF). In-vivo bone formation behavior was investigated after implanting the materials inside rabbit femur for 1 and 3 month. The bone formation behavior was excellent in all the bioglass compositions, specially the composition with 60% $SiO_2$ content showed most promising trend.