• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.246-256
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• 2022

The present study focused on the potential mechanism of betulin (BT), a pentacyclic triterpenoid isolated from the bark of white birch (Betula pubescens), against chronic alcohol-induced lipid accumulation and metaflammation. AML-12 and RAW 264.7 cells were administered ethanol (EtOH), lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or BT. Male C57BL/6 mice were fed Lieber-DeCarli liquid diets containing 5% EtOH for 4 weeks, followed by single EtOH gavage on the last day and simultaneous treatment with BT (20 or 50 mg/kg) by oral gavage once per day. In vitro, MTT showed that 0-25 mM EtOH and 0-25 µM BT had no toxic effect on AML-12 cells. BT could regulate sterolregulatory-element-binding protein 1 (SREBP1), lipin1/2, P2X7 receptor (P2X7r) and NOD-like receptor family, pyrin domains-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) expressions again EtOH-stimulation. Oil Red O staining also indicated that BT significantly reduced lipid accumulation in EtOH-stimulated AML-12 cells. Lipin1/2 deficiency indicated that BT might mediate lipin1/2 to regulate SREBP1 and P2X7r expression and further alleviate lipid accumulation and inflammation. In vivo, BT significantly alleviated histopathological changes, reduced serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and triglyceride (TG) levels, and regulated lipin1/2, SREBP1, peroxisome proliferator activated receptor α/γ (PPARα/γ) and PGC-1α expression compared with the EtOH group. BT reduced the secretion of inflammatory factors and blocked the P2X7r-NLRP3 signaling pathway. Collectively, BT attenuated lipid accumulation and metaflammation by regulating the lipin1/2-mediated P2X7r signaling pathway.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.309-316
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• 2011

Fatty liver disease refers to a range of disorders associated with fatty liver, which occur in excessive eating, evident infection or significant consumption of alcohol. This study was to investigate the effects of water and ethanol extracts of Triticum aestivum young leaf on lipid metabolism and accumulation in liver of mice fed with high-fat diet. Male C57BL/6 mice were divided into normal diet group, high fat diet (HFD) group, high fat diet group administrated with 200 mg/kg/day of T. aestivum water extract (HFD-TAWE) and high-fat group administrated with 200 mg/kg/day of T. aestivum ethanol extract (HFD-TAEE). TAWE and TAEE were administrated orally for 5 weeks once at the same time point. Both TAWE and TAEE significantly reduced body weight, food intake and liver tissue weight, which were augmented in high fat-fed mice. The serum levels of triglyceride, total and LDL-cholesterol also were significantly attenuated in both HFD-TAWE and HFD-TAEE groups compared to the HFD group. Moreover, administration of HFD-TAWE or HFD-TAEE reduced the lipid accumulation in liver tissue of mice fed with high fat diet. Levels of total lipids and triglyceride in liver tissues also was significantly reduced in HFDTAWE and HFD-TAEE groups compared to HFD group. The activities of serum ALT and AST revealed in HFD group were remarkedly decreased in HFD-TAEE groups. These results indicate that both water and ethanol extract of T. aestivum may improve the lipid accumulation in liver as well as lipid metabolism in serum, and that in particular, the ethanol extract of T. aestivum may has the potent anti-hyperlipidemic effect, suggesting that it may be a useful candidate for the therapy preventing fatty liver diseases.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.3731-3740
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• 2012

Background: There have been few studies of Asian ovarian cancer and benign tumors. The primary aim of this paper was to report the protocol of the Ko-EVE study to examine epidemiological and molecular factors for ovarian cancer and benign neoplasms and to ascertain the major risk factors for ovarian cancer control in Korea. Methods: This case-control study covers incident epithelial ovarian cancers and benign neoplasms, four major centers participating in enrolling incident cases and 3 hospitals enrolling healthy controls among health examinees. Standardized questionnaires were administered by trained interviewers, including sections on socio-demographics characteristics, past medical history, medication usage, family history, lifetime consumption of alcohol and tobacco, diet, physical activity, and reproductive factors for women. Various biological specimens were collected in the biorepository according to the standardized protocol. Annual follow-up for cancer cases and follow-up at the 1st year for benign tumor cases are performing to evaluate treatment effect and progression. Passive follow to see long-term survival will be conducting using record linkage with national data. Results: The total number recruited in 2010-2011 was 246 epithelial ovarian cancer cases, 362 benign epithelial tumors and 345 controls. We are planning to collect subjects for at least 1,500 sets of ovarian cancer, 2,000 benign tumors and 1,500 controls till 2018. Conclusions: The Ko-EVE will provide unique and important data to probe the etiology and natural history of Korean epithelial ovarian cancer. It will be continued by genomic and proteomic epidemiological analyses and future intervention studies for the prevention of ovarian cancer among Koreans.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.60 no.4
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• pp.550-556
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• 2022

The performance of enzymatic fuel cells that convert chemical energy contained in various organic molecules such as sugar, alcohol, organic acids, and amino acids into electrical energy is greatly affected by the cathode as well as the anode. This study aimed to develop a laccase-based cathode with high performance. An enzyme composite composed of an laccase, redox mediator, and carbon nanotubes was immobilized on the surface of electrode in multiple layers, and the effect of the number of layers and the presence or absence of carbon nanotubes on electrode performance was investigated. As the number of layers of the enzyme-mediator (Lac-(PVI-Os-dCl)) on the electrode surface increased, the amount of reduction current generated at the electrode increased. The enzyme-carbon nanotube-mediator composite electrode (Lac-SWCNTs-(PVI-Os-dCl)) generated a current 1.7 times greater than that of the Lac-(PVI-Os-dCl). It was found that the largest amount of current (10.1±0.1 µA) was generated in the electrode composed of two layers of Lac-(PVI-Os-dCl) and two layers of Lac-SWCNTs-(PVI-Os-dCl) in the evaluation of electrodes with different ratio of Lac-SWCNTs-(PVI-Os-dCl) and Lac-(PVI-Os-dCl). The maximum power density of the cell using the cathode composed of a single layer of Lac-(PVI-Os-dCl) and the cell using the optimized cathode were 0.46±0.05 and 1.23±0.04 µW/cm², respectively. In this study, it was demonstrated that the performance of cathode and the enzymatic fuel cell using the same can be improved by optimizing the layers of composites composed of laccase, redox mediator, and carbon nanotubes on the electrode surface.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.16
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• pp.7077-7084
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• 2015

Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most prevalent malignancy among males in India. While tobacco and alcohol are main aetiological factors, human papilloma virus (HPV) presence has surprisingly increased in head and neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) in the past two decade but its frequency in OSCCS is still uncertain. We aim to explore the frequency of HPV and its major genotypes in North Indian patients and their association with clinicopathological and histopathological features and p16 expression pattern. Materials and Methods: The study group comprised 250 histologically proven cases of OSCC. HPV was detected by real time PCR in tumor biopsy specimens and confirmed by conventional PCR with PGMY09/PGMY11 primers. Genotyping for high-risk types 16/18 was conducted by type specific PCR. p16 expression was assessed by immunohistochemsitry. Results: HPV presence was confirmed in 23/250 (9.2%) OSCC cases, of which 30.4% had HPV 16 infection, 17.4%were positive for HPV 18 and 26.1% had co-infections. HPV presence was significantly associated with male gender (p=0.02) and habit of pan masala chewing (p=0.01). HPV positive cases also had a history of tobacco consumption in 91.3% cases. p16 over expression was observed in 39.1% of HPV positive cases but this was not significantly different from negative cases (p=0.54). Conclusions: The frequency of HPV in OSCC is low in North-India and majority of cases are associated with a tobacco habit. It appears that tobacco shows a confounding effect in HPV positive cases and use of p16 protein as a reliable marker to assess the potential etiological role of HPV in OSCC in our population is not suggested.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.119-134
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• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to understand a variety of intervention studies to prevent smoking by adolescents in U.S. and find out implications for Korea. Methods: This study reviewed articles found in the internet and analysed the data of US DHHS and CDC. Results: The School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) is a national survey periodically conducted to assess school health policies and programs of U.S. The main components of SHPPS are health education and physical education, health services, mental health and social services, school policies, and school environments. The CDC guidelines for school health programs to prevent tobacco use and addiction are composed of policy, instruction, curriculum, training, family involvement, tobacco-use cessation efforts, and evaluation. School-based interventions to prevent smoking can be classified into the categories of information-giving curricula, social competence curricula, social influence approaches, combined methods draw on social competence and social influence approaches and multi-modal programmes and Youth Empowerment study. The key programs for adolescent smoking prevention are ALERT Project, HSPP, TNT Project, MPP, NC YES. Conclusions: As smoking is often the first step of unhealthy behaviour such as alcohol drinking, illegal drugs, and violence, smoking prevention programmes for adolescents in U.S. have been comprehensive school-based health programs. In smoking prevention programs for adolescents, CDC plays a critical role by supporting survey, research, policy, and funds. The effectiveness of the programs was high when it was based on school and involved parents, community, and mass media. As the effect of each programme is not expected to last for a long time, consistent repetition of these interventions is essential. Current smoking prevention programs for adolescents are exploring the empowerment approach focused on the active involvement of participants rather than traditional approaches using order and discipline.

• Korean Journal of Oriental Medicine
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.87-93
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• 2012

Objectives : The present study is to verify whether the deformation of ear acupuncture needle tips that are currently on the market is caused during the process of initial packaging. Methods : Ear acupuncture needles distributed from three different companies were collected to measure the size of the groove on the transparent plate which is used in for the intial packaging. Then the tolerance range for off-centered tips, which represent the range of the groove size that is safe from damaging the needle tip, was determined based on the vertical length measured from tip to handle. 200 ear acupuncture needles were dipped in alcohol and scanned to confirm the position of the needles. Stereo-microscope was used to observe the needle tips that were located outside the tolerance range. Results : The increased number of ear acupuncture needle tips placed outside the tolerance range were seen from in the order of C company, A company and B company. The increased deformation of the needle tips caused by initial packaging was observed in the order of A company, C company and B company. Conclusion : Only the ear acupuncture needles from B company showed the strong correlation between needle tip deformation and initial packaging. It has been observed that the deformation of the ear acupuncture needles is mainly due to manufacturing process, not the packaging process.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.361-368
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• 2015

In this study, the fermentation characteristics of Yakju were investigated by addition of protein and lipid. These are classified according to raw material (rice, glucose) and inducing substance (rice protein, rice lipid). Alcoholic fermentation occurred at $25^{\circ}C$, after 14 days. The results of this study were as follows: Alcohol content of Yakju with rice protein was higher than those of other samples. The pH and glucose of rice Yakju were detemied to be 4.86~5.13 and 4.17~4.86, respectively. Titratable acid and the total amino acid content of the Yakju with rice protein were the highest among other samples. The optical density contents of the rice Yakju and glucose Yakju were 0.52~0.653 and 0.27~0.61, respectively. The concentration of organic acids in rice Yakju (433.98~519.31 mg%) was higher than that of glucose Yakju (303.76~387.50 mg%). The major organic acid components of the Yakju were succinic, citric, acetic and lactic acids. The nitrogen compound concentrations of rice Yakju (4377.38~10208.06 ppm) was higher than that of glucose Yakju (671.20~9368.93 ppm). The protein odor correlation coefficient was 0.98 (p<0.001) showing a very high correlation coefficient, while lipid odor coefficient showed a negative correlation with -0.038 (p<0.458).

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.221-229
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• 2017

The effect of sweet potato on the quality of Doenjang was investigated during fermentation. Viable cells of yeast decreased gradually after 4 weeks of fermentation, but those of aerobic bacteria increased in the late stage. Amylase activity of Doenjang was higher in the late stage of fermentation, while neutral protease maintained high activity during fermentation. Hunter L and b values of Doenjang decreased gradually during fermentation, while a value was increased. The pH of Doenjang decreased gradually until 10 weeks of fermentation, and the titratable acidity was low in the sweet potato added groups. The acid value was low in the Shinyulmi sweet potato added Doenjang. Water activity and oxidation-reduction potential of Doenjang decreased during fermentation. Reducing sugar of Doenjang decreased in the middle stage of fermentation, and it was low in sweet potato added groups. The alcohol content of Doenjang decreased after 2 weeks of fermentation. Amino and ammonia-type nitrogen of Doenjang increased during fermentation and reached the maximum after 10 and 12 weeks of fermentation, respectively. After 12 weeks fermentation, 8% of Shinyulmi sweet potato added Doenjang was more favorable taste, flavor and overall acceptability (p<0.05) than the control or the Yeonwhangmi sweet potato added groups.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.7
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• pp.933-940
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• 2013

The aim of this work was to determine the chemical composition of essential oil from aerial partsof Mentha arvensis L. f. piperascens (MAO) and to evaluate the effect of its fragrant chemicals on electroencephalographic (EEG) activity of human brain. The MAO was obtained by supercritical $CO_2$ extraction. The maximum yield was 2.38% at conditions of $70^{\circ}C$ and 200 bar. There were 32 volatile chemicals with 6 alcohols (67.11%), 13 hydrocarbons (17.05%), 9 esters (11.50%), 2 ketones (7.16%), 1 oxide (2.77%), and 1 aldehyde (0.56%). The major components were (Z,Z,Z)-9,12,15-octadecatrien-1-ol (50.06%), 2-hydroxy-4-methoxyacetophenone (7.50%), and 3,4-dihydro-8-hydroxy-3-methyl-1H-2-benzopyran-1-one (6.60%). Results of the EEG study showed that inhalation of MAO significantly changed the EEG power spectrum values of relative gamma, relative fast alpha, and spectral edge frequency 90%. During the inhalation of MAO, the value of relative fast alpha was significantly increased (p<0.05). On the other hand, the values of gamma and the spectral edge frequency 90% were significantly decreased (p<0.05). The present study suggests that fragrant chemicals of essential oil of M. arvensis reduce the level of mental stress and that they could be used in the treatment of psychophysiological disorders.