• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.117-126
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• 2017

Objectives : The use of health functional foods is gradually increasing. On the other hand, the use of the Korean herbal medicine is gradually decreasing. Especially children are known to have a high percentage of taking a health functional food. This study was designed to compare the use of health functional food with the reason for taking the Korean herbal medicine. Methods : The participants were 453 parents who have kids age between 3 to 6 years old from day care center in Wonju and Chungju. The questionnaire consisted of 17 questions and the survey was conducted by self-entry method. This study analyzed 374 participants' questionnaires who agreed to the survey. Results : The percentages of children's health functional food intake experience were 82.9% and they usually bought products which contain lactic acid bacteria(55.6%). The reason for consuming health functional food was to strengthen the immune system and enhance the physical strength. Most of the participants purchased health functional food from pharmacy through inaccurate information such as the internet. The percentages of children's health functional food preference were 58.5% because it is easy to take. The percentages of children's herbal medicine preference were 41.7%. There are inconveniences of taking herbal medicine because of taste and smell(68.8%). Conclusions : Therefore, it is necessary to change the formulation of the herbal medicine and increase convenience for use of the herbal medicine to preschooler(3-6 years old). In additionary, it is necessary to supply accurate and up to date information of herbal medicine taking.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.265-269
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• 2014

The therapy of total body irradiation on leukemia carries out to kill harmful bacteria or suppression of immune system by external beam therapy, which is a preparatory stage to reconstitute bone marrow before a pre-treatment of bone marrow transplantation to patients with health bone marrow cells. In case of this kind of radiation therapy, the spoiler use to increase surface dose of patient which varies depending on distance and thickness between patient and spoiler. In this study, the change was investigated the surface dose according to thickness of spoiler. The 0.5% increase of surface dose was observed with each 2.0 cm when the spioler in acrylic was prepared from 0.5 cm to 3.0 cm at intervals of 0.5 cm was evaluated. Based on this result, it suggests that this kind of application will be somewhat limited on clinical trials directly but proper surface dose can be useful method when is applied on patients of treatment prognosis who are required each different surface dose.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2007

The term, "food safety", has traditionally been viewed as a practical science aimed at assuring the prevention acute illnesses caused by biological microorganisms, and only to a minor extent, chronic diseases cause by chronic low level exposures to natural and synthetic chemicals or pollutants. "food safety" meant to prevent microbiological agents/toxins in/on foods, due to contamination any where from "farm to Fork", from causing acute health effects, especially to the young, immune-compromised, genetically-predisposed and elderly. However, today a broader view must also include the fact that diet, perse (nutrients, vitamins/minerals, calories), as well as low level toxins and pollutant or supplemented synthetic chemicals, can alter gene expressions of stem/progenitor/terminally-differentiated cells, leading to chronic inflammation and other mal-functions that could lead to diseases such as cancer, diabetes, atherogenesis and possibly reproductive and neurological disorders. Understanding of the mechanisms by which natural or synthetic chemical toxins/toxicants, in/on food, interact with the pathogenesis of acute and chronic diseases, should lead to a "systems" approach to "food safety". Clearly, the interactions of diet/food with the genetic background, gender, and developmental state of the individual, together with (a) interactions of other endogenous/exogenous chemicals/drugs; (b) the specific biology of the cells being affected; (c) the mechanisms by which the presence or absence of toxins/toxicants and nutrients work to cause toxicities; and (d) how those mechanisms affect the pathogenesis of acute and/or chronic diseases, must be integrated into a "system" approach. Mechanisms of how toxins/toxicants cause cellular toxicities, such as mutagenesis; cytotoxicity and altered gene expression, must take into account (a) irreversible or reversal changes caused by these toxins or toxicants; (b)concepts of thresholds or no-thresholds of action; and (c) concepts of differential effects on stem cells, progenitor cells and terminally differentiated cells in different organs. This brief Commentary tries to illustrate this complex interaction between what is on/in foods with one disease, namely cancer. Since the understanding of cancer, while still incomplete, can shed light on the multiple ways that toxins/toxicants, as well as dietary modulation of nutrients/vitamins/metals/ calories, can either enhance or reduce the risk to cancer. In particular, diets that alter the embryo-fetal micro-environment might dramatically alter disease formation later in life. In effect "food safety" can not be assessed without understanding how food could be 'toxic', or how that mechanism of toxicity interacts with the pathogenesis of any disease.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.600-610
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• 2017

It was common that the classification of itching was classified into four categories according to the neurophysiological mechanisms of pruritoceptive itching, neuropathic itching, neurogenic itching and psychogenic itching. Recently it was classified by clinical criteria. The neurotransmission pathway of itch is divided into histamine-dependent pathway and histamine-independent pathway. Different receptors and neuropeptides act on each itch mediator. Itch mediators such as histamine, BAM8-22, and chloroquine are transmitted through the histamine-dependent pathway. Cowhage spicule, protease, and TSLP (Thymic stromal lymphopoietin) have been reported to be related to the histamine-independent pathway. These itch mediators, receptors, and neuropeptides are the targets of treatment for itching. Although itching and pain are typical noxious stimuli, and in the past, it was argued that two senses were transmitted through one noxious stimulus receptor. It has recently been shown that itching and pain have an independent neurotransmitter system and both neuronal systems inhibit each other. In addition, the mutual antagonism between itching and pain is explained by various mechanisms. Recently, many new mediators and receptors are being studied. The studies on histamine 4 receptor (H4 receptor) have been actively conducted. And the H4 receptors are expressed in immune cells such as T cells. The therapeutic agent for blocking the H4 receptor can inhibit the inflammatory reaction itself, which is important for the itching and chronicization. Understanding the underlying mechanisms of itching and studying new itch mediators will lead to the development of effective therapies, and this is what I think the itching study will go on.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.1097-1103
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• 2017

For the artificial induction of the sexual maturation of Anguilla japonica, salmon pituitary extract (SPE) is continuously injected into females, and the eggs obtained from artificial sexual maturation are artificially fertilized with sperms and hatched. However, repeated injection of SPE in the abdominal cavity causes tremendous stress in females, which may prevent their complete sexual maturation and reduce the immune system function, ultimately resulting in death. In addition, the poor quality of the ovulated eggs can reduce the hatching and survival rate of larvae. In the present study, sexual maturation of females was induced by inserting an osmotic (OS) pump containing hormone analogs known to effectively induce sexual maturation into the abdominal cavity of female eels, and the effect of the OS pump on the induced sexual maturation was investigated. Our study results showed that the gonadosomatic index (GSI) was significantly higher in the fish subjected to SPE injection than those subjected to human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog (GnRHa), and methyl testosterone (MT) injections, either separately or in combination. In addition, a histological analysis showed that the oocytes in the SPE OS pump groups were more mature (entered the nuclear shift stage) than those in the other groups. These results suggest that an osmotic pump containing hormone analogs can be used to induce sexual maturation in female A. japonica artificially.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.207-217
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• 2011

Objectives : In a previous study, we have shown that Gagam-Gongjin-Dan(GGD) has an inhibitory effect on the ovalbumin-induced immune responses and a hepatoprotective effect on actaminophen-induced liver injury in Balb/c Mice. However, the possible anti-inflammatory effect of GGD extract for inflammatory mediators was not reported. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate an inhibitory effects of GGD extract against lipopolysaccharides(LPS) induced inflammatory mediators in mouse peritoneal macrophages. Methods : GGD extract was prepared by extracting with methanol for 7 days. The extract was freeze-dried following filtration through vacuum distillation system. Accumulated nitrite, an oxidative product of nitric oxide(NO), was measured in the culture medium by the Griess reaction. The levels of prostaglandin $E_2(PGE_2)$, interleukin-$1{\beta}$(IL-$1{\beta}$), tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$(TNF-${\alpha}$) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) were measured by Western blot analysis. Results : GGD extract (50-$400\;{\mu}g$/ml) per se had no cytotoxic effect in LPS-stimulated peritoneal macrophages. GGD extract dose-dependently reduced NO, $PGE_2$, IL-$1{\beta}$ and TNF-${\alpha}$ production and COX-2 activity caused by stimulation of LPS. The levels of iNOS and COX-2 protein expressions were markedly suppressed by the treatment with GGD extract in a dose dependent manner. Conclusions : These results suggest that GGD extract has an anti-inflammatory effect against LPS-induced inflammatory mediators in peritoneal macrophages, these properties may contribute to inflammation disease care.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.7
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• pp.1037-1047
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• 2017

Objective: Despite an increasing number of investigations into the pathophysiology of necrotic enteritis (NE) disease, etiology of NE-associated diseases, and gene expression profiling of NE-affected tissues, the microRNA (miRNA) profiles of NE-affected poultry have been poorly studied. The aim of this study was to induce NE disease in the genetically disparate Fayoumi chicken lines, and to perform non-coding RNA sequencing in the intestinal mucosal layer. Methods: NE disease was induced in the Fayoumi chicken lines (M5.1 and M15.2), and non-coding RNA sequencing was performed in the intestinal mucosal layer of both NE-affected and uninfected chickens to examine the differential expression of miRNAs. Next, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time qPCR) was performed to further examine four miRNAs that showed the highest fold differences. Finally, bioinformatics analyses were performed to examine the four miRNAs target genes involvement in the signaling pathways, and to examine their interaction. Results: According to non-coding RNA sequencing, total 50 upregulated miRNAs and 26 downregulated miRNAs were detected in the NE-induced M5.1 chickens. While 32 upregulated miRNAs and 11 downregulated miRNAs were detected in the NE-induced M15.2 chickens. Results of real-time qPCR analysis on the four miRNAs (gga-miR-9-5p, gga-miR-20b-5p, ggamiR-196-5p, and gga-let-7d) were mostly correlated with the results of RNAseq. Overall, ggamiR-20b-5p was significantly downregulated in the NE-induced M5.1 chickens and this was associated with the upregulation of its top-ranking target gene, mitogen-activated protein kinase, kinase 2. Further bioinformatics analyses revealed that 45 of the gene targets of gga-miR-20b-5p were involved in signal transduction and immune system-related pathways, and 35 of these targets were predicted to interact with each other. Conclusion: Our study is a novel report of miRNA expression in Fayoumi chickens, and could be very useful in understanding the role of differentially expressed miRNAs in a NE disease model.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.519-525
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• 2013

The Opuntia extract has been traditionally used to treat diabetes, inflammation, and rheumatoid arthritis in oriental medicine. The purpose of this study is to investigate characteristics of biological activity between Opuntia humifusa and Opuntia ficus-indica which is cultivating in korea using cell-free system or cell-based assay. O. humifusa extract effectively inhibited ${\alpha}$-glucosidase activity or improved the immune function, and its biological activity was more effective than O. ficus-indica extract. The scavenging activity of DPPH radical and the inhibitory effect of tyrosinase similarly showed by O. humifusa and O. ficus-indica extract, however neuroprotective effect only showed a tendency to increase compared with control in PC12 cells. Therefore the results suggest that O. humifusa can be a useful agent for treatment of diabetes and immunodeficiency.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.794-799
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• 2015

In recent years, there has been a global trend toward the importance of natural extracts for the prevention and treatment of human diseases. ${\beta}$-glucan is known to have anti-inflammatory activity, anti-cancer, and improvement of immune system. Polycan is purified ${\beta}$-glucan from Aureobasidum pullulans SM-2001. The anti-cancer effects of ${\beta}$-gluconsan calcium, polycan and calcium gluconate complex, were evaluated in human oral cancer YD-10B cells. YD-10B cells were cultured in the presence of 0, 0.5, 0.75, 1 mg/ml ${\beta}$-gluconsan calcium for 48 hours. MTT assay, cell counting, and observation of cell morphology were conducted. The number of cells decreased and cell morphology changed in the 0.5 mg/ml of ${\beta}$-gluconsan calcium. Almost all cells were dead in the 0.75 and 1 mg/ml. MTT assay showed a dose-dependent reduction in cell proliferation (p<0.05). These results indicate that ${\beta}$-gluconsan calcium exhibiting anti-cancer effects in YD-10B cells through changes in cell morphology and cell death.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.1 s.81
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• pp.105-109
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• 2007

This study was carried out to investigate the biological effects oak wood vinegar. Antimicrobial activity was tested in five microbial species at the concentration of 5 to $50{\mu}l$ of oak wood vinegar by paper disc method. Growth of P. oleovoranse, P. vulgaris, E. coli, S. aureus and Prevotella intermedia was inhibited at a dose of as low as $50{\mu}l$ of oak wood vinegar. Antioxidant activities were measured by using DPPH radical scavenging and SOD-like activity. DPPH radical scavenging and SOD-like activities were 90% and 65% at the concentration of $25{\mu}l\;and\;50{\mu}l$ of oak wood vinegar, respectively. Stimulation of the macrophages RAW264.7 cells with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) resulted in increased production of nitric oxide (NO) in the medium. However, the oak wood vinegar showed marked inhibition of NO synthesis in a dose-dependent manner. This result suggest that oak wood vinegar plays significant role for activation of immune system in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases.