• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.655-663
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• 2002

Liver fibrosis is a prepathological state wherein damaged liver tissues in chronic liver diseases, such as hepatitis, are not repaired to normal tissues, but converted to fibrous tissue. 5-(2-Pyrazinyl)-4-methyl-1,2-dithiol-3-thione (oltipraz), a cancer chemopreventive agent, is effective against a wide variety of chemical carcinogens. Recently, we reported that oltipraz inhibits liver fibrogenesis (Kang et al., 2002). In the present study, the effects of oltipraz in combination with dimethyl-4,4'-dimethoxy-5,6,5',6'-dimethylene dioxybiphenyl-2,2'-dicarboxylate (DDb) on dimethylnitrosamine (DMN)-induced liver fibrogenesis were assessed in rats. Oltipraz (30 mg/kg body weight, po, 3 times per week for 4 weeks) was found to inhibit the increases in plasma ALT, AST and bilirubin by DMN, whereas DDB (30 mg/kg body weight, po, 3 times per week for 4 weeks) attenuated the increases in the plasma ALT and bilirubin. The lowered plasma protein and albumin contents in DMN-treated rats were completely restored by oltipraz, but not by DDB. DDB decreases liver cell injury and inflammation through inhibition of nuclear factor-kB. DMN increased the accumulation of liver collagen, as indicated by the increase in the 4-hydroxyproline content in liver homogenates, which was reduced by treatment with oltipraz, but not by DDB. Given the differential effect between oltipraz and DDB, the potential enhancement of antifibrotic efficacy by the drugs was assessed in the animal model. Despite the minimal effect of DDB on DMN-induced fibrogenesis, DDB (5-25 mg/kg), administered together with oltipraz (25-5 mg/kg), showed an additive protective effect against hepatotoxicity and fibrosis induced by DMN, which was shown by the blood chemistry parameters and histopathological analysis. The adequate composition ratio of oltipraz to DDB was 5:1. These results provide information on the pharmaceutical composition, comprising of oltipraz and DDB as the active components, for the treatment and/or prevention of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.1115-1123
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• 2016

_L-Asparaginase (E.C. 3.5.1.1) is an enzyme involved in asparagine hydrolysis and has the potential to effect leukemic cells and various other cancer cells. We identified the _L-asparaginase gene (_L-ASPG86) in the genus Mesoflavibacter, which consists of a 1,035 bp open reading frame encoding 344 amino acids. Following phylogenetic analysis, the deduced amino acid sequence of _L-ASPG86 (_L-ASPG86) was grouped as a type I asparaginase with respective homologs in Escherichia coli and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. The _L-ASPG86 gene was cloned into the pET-16b vector to express the respective protein in E. coli BL21 (DE3) cells. Recombinant _L-asparaginase (r-_L-ASPG86) showed optimum conditions at 37-40℃, pH 9. Moreover, r-_L-ASPG86 did not exhibit glutaminase activity. In the metal ions test, its enzymatic activity was highly improved upon addition of 5 mM manganese (3.97-fold) and magnesium (3.35-fold) compared with the untreated control. The specific activity of r-_L-ASPG86 was 687.1 units/mg under optimum conditions (37℃, pH 9, and 5 mM MnSO₄).

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.256-262
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• 2015

In order to study the effect of the receptor protein (SeaR), which is isolated from Saccharopolyspora erythraea, we introduced the SeaR gene to Streptomyces virginiae as host strains. An effective transformation procedure for S. virginiae was established based on transconjugation by Escherichia coli ET12567/pUZ8002 with a ${\varphi}C31$-derived integration vector, pSET152, which contained int, oriT, attP, and $ermEp^{\ast}$ (erythromycin promotor). Therefore, the pEV615 was introduced into S. virginiae by conjugation and integrated at the attB locus in the chromosome of the recipients by the ${\varphi}C31$ integrase (int) function. Transformants of S. virginiae containing the SeaR gene were confirmed by PCR and transcriptional expression of the SeaR gene in the transformants was analyzed by RT-PCR, respectively. And, we examined the production time of virginiamycins in the culture media of both the transformants and the wild type. The production time of virginiamycins in the wild type and transformants was the same. When 100 ng/ml of synthetic $VB-C_6$ was added to the state of 6 or 8 hour cultivation of wild type and transformants, respectively, the virginiamycins production was induced, meaning that the virginiamycins production in the wild type was detected 2 h early than transformants. From these results, SeaR expression was also affected to virginiamycins production in transformants derived from S. virginiae. In this study, we showed that the SeaR protein worked as a repressor in transformants.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.71-78
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• 2012

Illite-smectite mixed layers (I-S) occurring authigenically in diagenetic and hydrothermal environments reacts toward more illite-rich phases as temperature and potassium ion concentration increase. For that reason, I-S is often used as geothermometry and/or geochronometry at the field of hydrocarbons or ore minerals exploration. Generally, I-S shows X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) patterns of ultra-thin lamellar structures, which consist of restricted numbers of sillicate layers (normally, 5 ~ 15 layers) stacked in parallel to a-b planes. This ultra-thinness is known to decrease I-S expandability (%S) rather than theoretically expected one (short-stacking effect). We attempt here to quantify the short stacking effect of I-S using the difference of two types of expandability: one type is a maximum expandability ($%S_{Max}$) of infinite stacks of fundamental particles (physically inseparable smallest units), and the other type is an expandability of finite particle stacks normally measured using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) ($%S_{XRD}$). Eleven I-S samples from the Geumseongsan volcanic complex, Uiseong, Gyeongbuk, have been analyzed for measuring $%S_{XRD}$ and average coherent scattering thickness (CST) after size separation under 1 ${\mu}m$. Average fundamental particle thickness ($N_f$) and $%S_{Max}$ have been determined from $%S_{XRD}$ and CST using inter-parameter relationships of I-S layer structures. The discrepancy between $%S_{Max}$ and $%S_{XRD}$ (${\Delta}%S$) suggests that the maximum short-stacking effect happens approximately at 20 $%S_{XRD}$, of which point represents I-S layer structures consisting of ca. average 3-layered fundamental particles ($N_f{\approx}3$). As a result of inferring the $%S_{XRD}$ range of each Reichweite using the $%S_{XRD}$ vs. $N_f$ diagram of Kang et al. (2002), we can confirms that the fundamental particle thickness is a determinant factor for I-S Reichweite, and also that the short-stacking effect shifts the $%S_{XRD}$ range of each Reichweite toward smaller $%S_{XRD}$ values than those that can be theoretically prospected using junction probability.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.104-120
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• 1979

I. Title of the Study Studies on the Development of Improved Subsurface Drainage Methods. -Drainage Performance of Various Subsurface Drain Materials- II. Object of the Study Studies were carried out to select the drain material having the highest performance of drainage; And to develop the water budget model which is necessary for the planning of the drainage project and the establishment of water management standards in the water-logged paddy field. III. Content and Scope of the Study 1. The experiment was carried out in the laboratory by using a sand tank model. The drainage performance of various drain materials was compared evaluated. 2. A water budget model was established. Various parameters necessary for the model were investigated by analyzing existing data and measured data from the experimental field. The adaptability of the model was evaluated by comparing the estimated values to the field data. IV. Results and Recommendations 1. A corrugated tube enveloped with gravel or mat showed the highest drainage performance among the eight materials submmitted for the experiment. 2. The drainage performance of the long cement tile(50 cm long) was higher than that of the short cement tile(25 cm long). 3. Rice bran was superior to gravel in its' drain performance. 4. No difference was shown between a grave envelope and a P.V.C. wool mat in their performance of drainage. Continues investigation is needed to clarify the envelope performance. 5. All the results described above were obtained from the laboratory tests. A field test is recommended to confirm the results obtained. 6. As a water balance model of a given soil profile, the soil moisture depletion D, could be represented as follows; $$D=\Sigma\limit_{t=1}^{n}(Et-R_{\ell}-I+W_d)..........(17)$$ 7. Among the various empirical formulae for potential evapotranspiration, Penman's formular was best fit to the data observed with the evaporation pans in Jinju area. High degree of positive correlation between Penman;s predicted data and observed data was confirmed. The regression equation was Y=1.4X-22.86, where Y represents evaporation rate from small pan, in mm/100 days, and X represents potential evapotranspiration rate estimated by Penman's formular. The coefficient of correlation was r=0.94.** 8. To estimate evapotranspiration in the field, the consumptive use coefficient, Kc, was introduced. Kc was defined by the function of the characteristics of the crop soil as follows; $Kc=Kco{\cdot}Ka+Ks..........(20)$ where, Kco, Ka ans Ks represents the crop coefficient, the soil moisture coefficient, and the correction coefficient, respectively. The value of Kco and Ka was obtained from the Fig.16 and the Fig.17, respectively. And, if $Kco{\cdot}Ka{\geq}1.0,$ then Ks=0, otherwise, Ks value was estimated by using the relation; $Ks=1-Kco{\cdot}Ka$. 9. Into type formular, $r_t=\frac{R_{24}}{24}(\frac{b}{\sqrt{t}+a})$, was the best fit one to estimate the probable rainfall intensity when daily rainfall and rainfall durations are given as input data, The coefficient a and b are shown on the Table 16. 10. Japanese type formular, $I_t=\frac{b}{\sqrt{t}+a}$, was the best fit one to estimate the probable rainfall intensity when the rainfall duration only was given. The coefficient a and b are shown on the Table 17. 11. Effective rainfall, Re, was estimated by using following relationships; Re=D, if $R-D\geq}0$, otherwise, Re=R. 12. The difference of rainfall amount from soil moisture depletion was considered as the amount of drainage required. In this case, when Wd=O, Equation 24 was used, otherwise two to three days of lag time was considered and correction was made by use of storage coefficient. 13. To evaluate the model, measured data and estimated data was compared, and relative error was computed. 5.5 percent The relative error was 5.5 percent. 14. By considering the water budget in Jinju area, it was shown that the evaporation amount was greater than the rainfall during period of October to March in next year. This was the behind reasonning that the improvement of surface drainage system is needed in Jinju area.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.155-163
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• 2004

The aims of this study are 1) to test oocytes and embryos collected from in-vitro to achieving the valuable protocol by culturing, vitrifying and thawing of oocytes/embryos, and 2) to transfer them to recipient, and finally have resulted in pregnancies from recipient females after surgical or nonsurgical transfer. In vitro maturation and fertilization were performed according to Funahashi et al (1994). Glucose-free NCSU 23 supplemented with 5 mM sodium pyruvate, 0.5 mM sodium lactate and 4 mg/ml bovine serum albumin for 2 days at $39^{\circ}C$, and 10% fetal bovine serum albumin was added to the culture medium thereafter. Embryos were treated with 7.5 ${\mu}g/ml$ cytochalasin-B for 30 min, centrifuged at 13,000 rpm for 13 min and then exposed sequentially to an ethylene glycol(EG) vitrification solution, aspirated into OPS, and plunged/thawed into/from liquid nitrogen. In vivo embryos were surgically collected from three dornors after AI for control group. Forty-nine embryos were washed 3 times in mPBS + 10% FBS, followed treatments : cultured, centrifuged, vitrified, recovered and transferred to recipients as in vitro prepared embryos. Three recipients were transferred individually with 100, 100 frozen embryos derived from abattoir and 34 fresh embryos by surgically, and another three recipients were transferred individually with 150, 150 frozen embryos and 100 fresh embryos by nonsurgically, respectively. all recipient sows exhibited delayed returns to estrus. To our knowledge, theses results suggest that required an improved techniques, more vigorous embryos preparation and substitute to gilt with cleaner uterous condition.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.151-160
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• 1972

Recent achievements of scientific research on the pharmacologic activities and the chemical problems of dammalene glycosides, which are considered to be effective principles of Korean ginseng, are reviewed and analyzed in view of structure-activity relationship. 1) S. Shibata and his co-workers detected 12 glycoside spots of dammalene series on the two dimensional T.L.C. of total glycoside fraction from Japanese ginseng, and designated them Ginsenoside Rx(x=a, b, c, g, h, etc.) in the order of increasing Rf-value. The aglycones of those glycosides were characterized to be protopanaxadiol for the Ginsenoside $Rx(x=a,\;b_{1},\;b_{2},\;c,\;d,\;e,\;f)$ and protopanaxatriol for the Ginsenoside $Rx(x=g_{1},\;g_{2},\;g_{3},\;h_{1}\;'h_{2})$. Using Korean ginseng as the material for our study, the author and his coworkers isolated a new dammalene glycoside(Panax Saponin C), which comes under the category of protopanaxadiol glycosides based on the classification of S. Shibata et al., and characterized this saponin to be the glycoside of protopanaxatriol series. Furthermore, Panax Saponin C dissociated into $two\;components(C_{1}\;and\;C_{2}-acetate)$ by acetylation, both of which returned to original Panax Saponin C by deacetylation. Based on this result, more than 13 glycoside components of dammalene series will be expected in the Korean ginseng. 2) The structures of protopanaxadiol and protopanaxatriol, the genuine aglycones of dammalene glycosides, are fully established to be structural analogues by S. Shibata and his co-workers, therefore antagonistic and/or analogical activities will be expected for the pharmacologic activities of these glycoside series of structural analogues. K. Takaki and his co-workers found central nervous system (CNS) stimmulant activity from the glycosides of protopanaxatriol series and CNS-depressant activity from the glycosides of protopanaxadiol series. On the other hand, the author and his co-workers found stimmulating activity on the protein synthesis from both the series of dammalene glycosides with delayed and long-lasting characteristics. This delayed and long-lasting characteristics were also observed in the anti-inflammatory activity of glycosides of protopanaxatriol series on their time course tendency. For the convenience's sake of argument, pluralistic pharmacologic activities of dammalene glycosides, which were observed by many workers at various pharmacologic site, may be classified into two main categories; one is pan-cellular activity and the other is organ specific activity to the certain tissue which is a mass of cells differentiated to a certain direction for their special functions in the body. Based on the data of K. Takaki and those of the authors, following assumption will be probable; Pharmacologic activities of both series of glycosides of protopanaxadiol and protopanaxatriol aglycones may be antagonistic on their tissue-specific activities and analogic on their pan-cellular activities. Therefore, the mixture of these two series of glycosides in an appropriate ratio, as the case of total extract of Korean ginseng, will be probably beneficial to the host by increasing the synthesis of some functional proteins, due to the additive action of pan-cellular activity, and with the disappearance of any significant behavioral symptoms due to the antagonism of tissue specific activity. This fact will probably be the main reason why classical trials of pharmacologists failed in re-discovering the efficacy of Korean ginseng with their behavioral test. 3) The author and his co-workers achieved the synthesis of $C^{14}-labelled\;Panax\;Saponin\;A\;on\;C_{25}-C_{27}\;position\;of\;aglycone$ in the interest of tracer studies in vivo. The method will be applicable to other dammalene glycosides regardless of their chemical structure. 4) The author and his co-workers converted chemically betulafolienetriol, a triterpene component of Betula platyphylla, to the protopanaxadiol, one of genuine aglycone of dammalene glycosides.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.151-170
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• 1993

Morphometric, band-pattern and electrophoretic analysis on Cobitis taenia complex were performed to investigate the morphological and genetic differentiation and to clarify their taxonomic status. Intermediate types of band-pattern (C and D type) were more frequently expressed than that of types of C. t. taenia(type A) and C. t. lutheri (type B). Sexual dimorphism of band-pattern was observed not only in C. t. taenia(type A) and C. t. lutheri(type B). Sexual dimorphism of band-pattern was observed not only in C. t. lutheri but also in C. t. taenia and C. t. striata as well. Discriminant function analysis based on 19 morphological characters shows no significant differences among C. taenia complex. The degree of genic variation of C. t. striata was higher ( =1.48, P=31.2%, HD=0.009) than those of C. t. striata was higher( =1.48, P=31.2%, HD=0.082 and HG=0.009) than those of C. t. lutheri ( =1.37, P=2.7%, HD=0.058 and HG=0.065). The average genetic similarities between C. t. lutheri and C. t. taenia-C. t. striata were S=0.62 and S=0.66 respectively and these values indicate that C. t. tanenia has evolved specific level of differentiation. C. t. striata and C. t. lutheri show subspecifc level of close genetic similarity (S=0.82). Based on the divergent time estimate (Nei, 1975) it is assumed that C. t. tanenia was branched off from the other subspecies about two million years before present (MYBP) and C. t. striata and C. t. lutheri were differentiated about 0.6 MYBP. The use of C. sinesis an the scientific name for the Korean C. t. taenia, proposed by Kim and Lee (1988) seems incorrect since they are quite different in the structure of lamina circularis (Vladycov, 1935), the external morphology and distribution (Cheng and Zheng, 1987) and the chromosome number(Yu et al., 1989). Kim and Lee(1988) also argued that C.t. striata and C. t. lutheri should be treated as distinct species but the present study and other reports (Kim and Lee, 1984; Kim and Yang, 1993) do not support it. We conclude that C. t. taenia is a good species and C. t. striata and C. t. lutheri are subspecific status. Their scientific names should be revised in the future.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.53-61
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• 2003

Cirsium japonicum var. ussuriense were extracted with methanol and then fractionated with nhexane, EtOAc and BuOH to get active fractions. And their antioxidant and antimicrobial activities in each fraction were determined. Ethyl acetate and butanol fraction of Cirsium japonicum var. ussuriense showed strong antioxidant activities, but hexane fraction did not show any activities. But in the antimicrobial test, Ethyl acetate fraction showed strong antimicrobial activities except to Aspergillus awamori, Asperigillus niger. Especially, Ethyl acetate fraction showed the strongest activities against Bacillus subtilis. And aqueous fraction showed the strongest activities against Cladosporium herbarum, Hypocrea nigricans. This study was performed to determine the antimutagenic and cytotoxic effect of Cirsium japonicum var. ussuriense methanol extract on Salmonella typhimurium TA98, TA100 and cancer cell lines using Ames test and cytotoxicity assay, respectively. Cancer cell lines include human lung carcinoma(A549), human breast adenocarcinoma(MCF-7) and human hepatocellular carcinoma (Hep3B). Futher fractionations with hexane, ethyl acetate, butanol and water from methanol extract of Cirsium japonicum var. ussuriense were performed to obtain effective fraction, methanol extract showed 60.14% inhibition effect on the mutagenesis induced by MNNG against TA100, while 77% and 72.5% inhibition was observed on the mutagenesis induced by 4NQO against TA98 and TA100, respectively. and methanol extract showed 82.25% and 73.7% inhibitory effect on the mutagenesis induced by Trp-P-1 against TA98 and TA100, respectively. methanol extract showed the strongest effect against A549, MCF-7 and Hep3B at the same concentration compared to those of other fration.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.14 no.6 s.67
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• pp.906-912
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• 2004

Helicobacter pylori infection is highly prevalent, as high as 2/3 of whole population infected, in Korea. H. pylori infection initiates inflammation by induction of interleukin-8 through type IV secretion of CagA. It was recently suggested that induction failure of IL-8 is not associated with defect in cag PAI but associated with cagE locus diversity. This study was designed to investigate ability of 11-8 in-duction according to sequence variation within the cagE gene, cagA TP motifs and vacA m-types in vitro study using AGS cell-line, and to evaluate its association with different clinical outcome. Seventy-four H. pylori stains were isolated from 23 patients with gastric cancer (Ca), 24 subjects with gastritis (G) and 27 patients with duodenal ulcer (Du) in Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital, Seoul, Korea. cagE gene diversity was confirmed by the PCR-RFLP methods with MboI/NlaIII and tyrosine phosphate motifs (TPMs) of cagA was determined TPM-A and C by using DdeI/Tsp5091 restriction enzyme and TPM-B was determend by Real time PCR the method of Owen et al. and IL-8 was measured by ELISA assay. IL-8 activity was positively detected in 59 among 74 strains $(79.7\%)$. IL-8 secretion was significantly increased in MboI A and MboI B type compared to MboI C type and in MboI/NlaIII A-C and B-C type than C-C type. 1L-8 activity was not associated with either the number or composition of cagA tyrosine phosphorylation motifs and vacA m-type. There was no significant difference in IL-8 activity among patient groups. cagE gene diversity is thought to be mainly associated with the induction of IL-8 in H. pylori infection.