• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.415-420
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• 2014

Toxoplasmosis is an important cause of foodborne, inflammatory illnesses, as well as congenital abnormalities. Currently available therapies are ineffective for persistent chronic disease and congenital toxoplasmosis or have severe side effects which may result in life-threatening complications. There is an urgent need for safe and effective therapies to eliminate or treat this cosmopolitan infectious disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro anti-Toxoplasma activities of Suaeda maritime, one of the halophytes, using tachyzoit of T. gondii RH strain infected HeLa cells. As the results, the selectivity of Suaeda maritime extract was 6.63, which was higher than Sulfadiazine selectivity (2.06). Also, we perfomed the cell proliferation inhibition test and the morphological study to evaluate the anti-T. gondii activity of Suaeda maritime extract with HeLa cells. As the results, the inhibition rate of the Suaeda maritime extract was high inhibition rate. This indicates that the Suaeda maritime extract may be used for new anti-T. gondii agent.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.245-251
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• 2013

Paeonia lactiflora is a valuable natural resource for horticulture and traditional Chinese medicine. To propose conservation strategy and future utility of the wild Paeonia lactiflora populations recently found around the Gyeongju National Park, genetic diversity analysis using microsatellite markers were performed. Three populations in and near the Gyeongju N.P. and one population from Jilin, China were analyzed for five microsatellite markers, producing 61 alleles with mean observed heterozygosity($H_o$) of 0.452. $F_{ST}$ value (0.11642) suggested moderate level of genetic differentiation among the populations, and hierarchical AMOVA suggested most of the genetic variation resides within/among the individuals rather than among-population. While AMOVA with $F_{ST}$ suggested lack of genetic differentiation between the regional (Korean vs. Chinese) populations, AMOVA with $R_{ST}$, which incorporates the allele sizes, suggested considerable differentiation between them, but without significant statistical support. STRUCTURE analysis also suggested segregation of regional populations with presence of gene flow among the three Gyeongju N.P. populations. Considering small population size and scarcity of mature individuals, further protection and long-term monitoring are needed.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.300-311
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• 2013

Subalpine species, Sorbus pohuashanensis in the Korean peninsula, which is assumed to be evolved from hybridization between S. commixta and an unknown species based on the flavonoids data. Morphometric analysis was conducted on the basis of 19 leaf and flower (or fruit) characters. A total of 721 samples in 13 populations of Sorbus pohuashanensis and S. commixta from Korea and additional specimens of S. commixta, S. pohuashanensis, and S. wilsoniana from Japan and China were examined to reveal the hybridization patterns and morphological differences. We found a preliminary evidence where Korean mountain rowan is more related to a Chinese inland taxon, S. wilsoniana, rather than Northeastern Chinese S. pohuashanensis in terms of flavonoids. The current morphological structure of the Korean mountaion rowan, however, which is more similar to S. commixta, was neither associated with that of S. wilsoniana nor that of S. pohuashanensis. This indicates that this morphological variation represents an intermediate of S. commixta and S. wilsoniana via a more ancient hybridization event in terms of qualitative characters, such as stipules, buds, and carpels. These morphometric differences together with other distinguishing characteristics suggest that the Korean mountain rowan should be considered as a conspecific species of S. commixta, although this demonstration of hybridization with the current phenetic species concept contradicts longstanding historical species concept.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.198-205
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• 2017

Background: There are a million ragpickers in India who gather and trade recyclable municipal solid wastes materials for a living. The objective of this study was to examine whether their occupation adversely affects their immunity. Methods: Seventy-four women ragpickers (median age, 30 years) and 65 age-matched control housemaids were enrolled. Flow cytometry was used to measure leukocyte subsets, and leukocyte expressions of $Fc{\gamma}$ receptor I (CD64), $Fc{\gamma}RIII$ (CD16), complement receptor 1 (CD35) and CR3 (CD11b/CD18), and CD14. Serum total immunoglobulin-E was estimated with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: Compared with the controls, ragpickers had significantly (p < 0.0001) higher levels of CD8-T-cytotoxic, CD16+CD56+natural killer, and CD4+CD45RO+memory T-cells, but depleted levels of CD19+B-cells. The percentage of CD4+T-helper-cells was lower than the control group (p < 0.0001), but their absolute number was relatively unchanged (p = 0.42) due to 11% higher lymphocyte counts in ragpickers. In ragpickers, the percentages of CD14+CD16+intermediate and CD14dim CD16+nonclassical monocyte subsets were elevated with a decline in CD14+CD16-classical monocytes. The expressions of CD64, CD16, CD35, and CD11b/CD18 on both monocytes and neutrophils, and CD14 on monocytes were significantly higher in ragpickers. In addition, ragpickers had 2.7-times more serum immunoglobulin-E than the controls (p < 0.0001). After controlling potential confounders, the profession of ragpicking was positively associated with the changes. Conclusion: Ragpicking is associated with alterations in both innate (neutrophils, monocytes, and natural killer cell numbers and expression of complement and $Fc{\gamma}$ receptors) and adaptive immunity (numbers of circulating B cells, helper, cytotoxic, and memory T cells).

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.137-144
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• 2016

The ultimate research goal of the current study was a development of hydrolyzed whey protein powder (7%-GNANA) manufactured with normal content of sialic acid, a marker compound, that is naturally occurring at 7% concentration in GMP obtained from the milk protein. GMP is a safe food, used worldwide in infant and baby foods, etc. The test substance was prepared using (7% sialic acid containing) GMP as a raw material, and then using alcalase, an enzyme approved as a food additive, after separation of sialic acid with 100% efficiency and 7%-GNANA (containing 7% sialic acid and protein; product name: HELICOBACTROL-7) provided by MEDINUTROL Inc. (Korea). Bacterial reverse mutation (Ames) test was conducted in accordance with GLP Guideline using the test substance specified above. To identify its mutagenic potential against microorganisms, histidine auxotrophic strains of Salmonella Typhimurium, TA98, TA100, TA1535, and TA1537, and tryptophan auxotrophic strain of Escherichia coli, WP2uvrA, were used. The bacterial reverse mutation (Ames) test was performed by dividing the test substances into five different concentration groups (0, 61.7, 185, 556, 1,670, $5,000{\mu}g/plate$). Results of this experiment did not reveal repetitive increase of colony generating values or positive criteria for reverse mutagenicity for any concentration of test substances in any of the five strains, regardless of the presence of a metabolic activation system, and no dose-dependency was identified. In conclusion, the safety of 7%-GNANA test substance was verified by bacterial reverse mutation test conducted before registration of 7%-GNANA as a food additive.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.135-147
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• 2016

Background: The voluntary diagnosis-related groups (DRG)-based payment system was introduced in 2002 and the government mandated participation in the DRG for all hospitals from July 2013. The main purpose of this study is to examine the independent effect of mandatory participation in DRG on various outcomes of patients. Methods: This study collected 1,809,948 inpatient DRG data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment database which contains medical information for all patients for the period 2007 to 2014 and examined patient outcomes such as length of stay (LOS), total medical cost, spillover, and readmission rate according to hospital size. Results: LOS of patients decreased after DRGs (large hospitals: adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.87; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.78-0.97; small hospitals: aOR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.91-0.92). The total medical cost of patients increased after DRGs (large hospitals: aOR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.14-1.30; small hospitals: aOR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.21-1.23). The results reveals that spillover of patients increased after DRGs (large hospitals: aOR, 1.27; 95% CI, 0.70-2.33; small hospitals: aOR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.16-1.20). Finally, we found that readmission rates of patients decreased significantly after DRGs (large hospitals: aOR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.26-0.29; small hospitals: aOR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.56-0.63). Conclusion: The DRG payment system compared to fee-for-service payment in South Korea may be an alternative medical price policy which can reduce the LOS. However, government need to monitor inappropriate changes such as spillover increase. Since this study also is the results based on relatively simple surgery, insurer needs to compare or review bundled payment like new DRG for expansion of various inpatient-related diseases including internal medicine.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.93-99
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• 2017

Purpose: This study investigated changes in life-sustaining treatments in terminally ill cancer patients after consenting to a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order. Methods: Electronic medical records were reviewed to select terminally ill cancer patients who were treated at the oncology unit of the Asan Medical Center, a tertiary hospital in South Korea and died between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013. Results: The median (range) age of the 200 patients was 59 (22~89) years, and 62% (124 persons) were male. Among all patients, 83.5% were aware of their medical condition, and 47.0% of the patients had their DNR order signed by their spouses. The median of the patients' hospital stay was 15 days, and time from admission to DNR decision was 10 days. After signing a DNR order, 35.7~100% of the life-sustaining treatments that had been provided at the time of the DNR decision making were administered. The most commonly discontinued interventions were transfusion (13.5%), blood test (11.5%) and parenteral nutrition (8.5%). Conclusion: It is necessary to define the scope of life-sustaining treatments for DNR patients. Treatment guidelines should be established as well to secure terminal patients' death with dignity after their consent to a DNR order, thereby avoiding meaningless life-sustaining treatments and allowing administration of active terminal care interventions.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Inherited Metabolic disease
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2016

Newborn screening (NBS) is important if early intervention is effective in a disorder and if there are sensitive and specific biochemical markers to detect disorder. Methionine is a useful marker to detect abnormal methionine-homocysteine metabolism, especially homocystinuria which needs urgent medical intervention. However, hypermethioninemia could occur in other metabolic disorder including liver disease, tyrosinemia type I, methionine adenosyltransferase (MAT) I/III deficiency, glycine N-methyltransferase (GNMT) deficiency, or adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase deficiency. However, experience with NBS for homocystinurias and methylation disorders is limited. Especially, MAT I/III deficiency which is the most common cause of persistent hypermethioninemia have two inheritance, autosomal recessive (AR) and autosomal dominant (AD), and their clinical manifestation is different between AR and AD. Here, author reviewed recent articles of guideline and proposed guideline for homocystinuria and methylation disorder.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2007

Dietary flavonoids have antioxidant and antitumor promoting effects. Rhus verniciflua Stokes (RVS) is a flavonoid-rich herbal medicine and has long been used as a food additive and an antitumor agent in Korea. Previous study demonstrated that a purified flavonoid fraction prepared from RVS, herein named RCMF (the RVS chloroform-methanol fraction), exhibited growth inhibition and induced apoptosis in human osteosarcoma(HOS) cells. This study evaluated if p53-mediated pathway is associated with the RCMF-induced apoptosis in HOS cells. RCMF was shown to be capable of inducing apoptosis of the cells, as expected, and transparently increased p53 expression in the cells. However, the RCMF-induced cytotoxicity was suppressed by transfecting the cells with antisense p53 oligonucleotide, which also inhibited the decrease of Bcl-2 and the increase of Bax in mitochondria, and the release of cytochrome c into cytosol. This finding suggests that p53-mediated mitochondrial stress is required for RCMF-induced apoptosis in HOS cells.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.189-196
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• 2006

Crown gall on lower stem of weeping fig(Ficus benjamina Roxb.) was first observed at Daejon in 2003. Tumors were about 15 cm in size and semi-round with rough surface texture of dark brown color. Two virulent isolates among ten bacteria isolated from the tumor tissues were characterized. Their colonies were convex, glistening, circular with an entire edge, and white or tannish cream in color on potato dextrose agar supplemented with 0.5% $CaCO_3$. They were rod shape with peritrichous flagellae, gram-negative, aerobic growth, oxidase-positive, and grew on D1M agar. The isolates were identified as Agrobacterium larrymoorei and A. tumefaciens based on biochemical and physiological characteristics, fatty acid profiles and substrate utilization patterns. Seedlings of some host plants excepting grapevine produced typical galls two to three weeks after inoculation with cell suspensions of the virulent strains. This is the first report on crown gall of weeping fig in Korea.