• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.735-746
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• 2016

This study was conducted to investigate the antibacterial, antioxidant, and in vitro greenhouse gas mitigation activities of fermented Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi extract. Seven starter cultures were used, comprising four of lactic acid bacteria and three of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Ten grams of S. baicalensis Georgi powder was diluted in 90 mL autoclaved MRS broth. Each seed culture was inoculated with 3-10% (v/v) S. baicalensis Georgi MRS broth and incubated at $30^{\circ}C$ for 48 h. Among the starter cultures used, only Lactobacillus plantarum EJ43 could withstand the fermentation conditions. This fermentation broth was dried and extracted with ethanol to assess its antibacterial, antioxidant, and in vitro methane mitigation activities. The extract of S. baicalensis Georgi fermented by L. plantarum EJ43 (SBLp) showed higher antibacterial activity (bigger clear zone) compared to the unfermented S. baicalensis Georgi extract (SB0). SBLp also presented 1.2 folds higher antioxidant activity than SB0. During in vitro rumen fermentation, SBLp showed reduction in methane production compared to SB0 or the control. In conclusion, fermentation by L. plantarum EJ43 may enhance antibacterial and antioxidant activities of S. baicalensis Georgi and decrease enteric methane production.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.625-630
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• 2013

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a highly prevalent disorder that affects millions of men worldwide. ED is now considered an early manifestation of atherosclerosis, and consequently, a precursor of systemic vascular disease. Lycii fructus extracts (LFE) were administered for 4 weeks to assess the improving effects on ED. Animals were divided into one normal group and four LFE-treated groups (0, 0.3, 0.6, and 1.2 g/kg). We induced ED in the study animals by oral administration of 20% ethanol instead of water everyday for 4 weeks. This study was designed to investigate the effects of LFE on the mRNA levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and endothelial NOS (eNOS) expression; NO levels of nitric oxide (NO) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP); blood profile; and erectile response of the corpus cavernosum of the rat penis. The libido of the LFE-administered male rats was higher than that of the ethanol control group. The erectile response of the corpus cavernosum was restored after LFE administration, to a level similar to the normal group. In addition, the iNOS in the corpus cavernosum of the male rats administered LFE decreased. In contrast, compared to the control group, LFE-administered male rats showed increased eNOS, NO and cGMP levels in the corpus cavernosum. These results indicate that LFE effectively restored ethanol-induced ED in male rats.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.345-348
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• 2004

Pink rot of Palm was occurred at Yeuju area in 2001 and 2003. Infected plants showed rotting at the leaf-stock bases and killing of the terminal bud. The first symptoms are dark brown necrotic areas on the stem. Bases of infected frond may be covered with pink spores and the spots produced oozing gum pockets. Oozing lesions occur on the stems, and leaves turn brown and droop. The causal agent were isolated from salmon-pink spores sporulating on the leaf sheaths and necrotic stem tissues. Pathogen were isolated from freshly infected tissues were identified as Gliocladium vermoseni based on mycological characteristics. Fungus were grown plenty on PDA culture. Temperature for mycelial grown was tested at 5 to $40^{\circ}C$ and optimal temperature was $25^{\circ}C$ and was not nearly grew at temperature above $35^{\circ}C$. Artificial pathogenicity were tested on 9 species of Palm family in the wound inoculation and symptoms showed similar to those observed in the field. This is the first report on pink rot of palm in Korea.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.679-684
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• 2007

Purpose: DMH(1,2-dimethylhydrazine) has been known to induce vascular neoplasm such as malignant endothelioma in animal experiment, through induction of abnormal proliferation of HUVECs. In our previous studies, 11 types of PKC isoenzymes were determined by RT-PCR and the expression of $PKC{\alpha}$, and ${\mu}$ was more prominent than other PKC isoenzymes in the DMH-treated group. However, this result was not based on objective assessment. In this study, we further evaluated the role of $PKC{\alpha}$ on the DMH-induced abnormal proliferation of HUVECs by two different methods to identify its presence with high relevance in objective view. $PKC{\mu}$ will be investigated in further study. Methods: The study was conducted with the cultured HUVECs group(control) and the $0.75{\times}10^{-9}M$ DMH-treated group. After processing protein extraction in 0 and 24 hour, extracted protein was treated of quantitative test through BCA protein assay. In the western blot analysis, electrophoresis was performed in the order of gel preparation, sample preparation, and gel running. Electrotransfer to nitrocellulose membrane and reaction with antibody were done. Detection of $PKC{\alpha}$ was achieved through "Gel Image Analysis System". In the fluorescence immunocytochemical analysis, the grading of radiance of the intracellular $PKC{\alpha}$ particles was detected with confocal microscope after treating with primary and fluorescent secondary antibody in 0 and 24 hours. Results: The Western blot analysis showed increased $PKC{\alpha}$ expression from the specimen obtained in 24 hour of the DMH treatment group when compared to those in control group. Under confocal fluorescence microscope, the emitting radiance in the DMH treated group was brighter at 24 hours as well. Conclusion: We believe that $PKC{\alpha}$ plays a role in DMH-induced abnormal proliferation of the vascular endothelium, which may provide insights in understanding the vascular neoplasm.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.193-204
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• 1983

The Jinyang Lake is dammed up Nam River, and surrounded by Jinju city and four counties; Jinyang, Sanchong, Hading, and Sachon in kyongsang-Nam-Bo, Korea. The areas around this man-made lake have been known as an endemic focus of clonorchiasis in Korea. The present study was first aimed to know the distribution of freshwater mollusks including medically important snails, and larval trematodes shed from Parafossarulus manchouricus and Semisulcospira libertina. In addition to above studies, water analyses in each snail habitat were carried out in order to figure out a part of their environmental factors. This malaco-ecological survey was done at the sirs areas around upper, middle and lower parts of the lake for 4 months, August-November, 1983. Total nine species of freshwater mollusks were collected throughout the study: 4 species of gastropods: Semisulcospira libertina, Cipangopaludina chinensis, Parafossarulus manchouricus and Radin auricularia, and 5 species of bit.alves; Unio dcuglasiae, Ancdonta woodiana, Lamprotula gottschei, Corbicula yuminea and Limncperma lucustris. Out of nine species of freshwater mollusks, three species of gastropods; S. Zibertina, p. manchouricus and R. auricularia were medically important in terms of the transmission of digenetic trematodes to humans. P. manchouricus and R. auricularia were mainly collected from the shallow ponds and the irrigation channels with the muddy basin, but S. libertine and the bivalves were only collected from the stream of Nam River where the gravels and rocks were dominant. The levels of dissolved oxygen (D.O.) and biochemical oxygen demand \(B.O.D._5)\ of the water specimens sampled from the study areas ranged from 6.0 to 9.6 ppm and from 0.4 to 1.6 ppm respectively. As a result, it is considered that water system around the Jinyang Lake might be relatively clean without any heavy pollution of aquatic microorganisms and organic materials during the period of this study. On the other hand, eight metalic constituents from the water samples were also assayed, and all metalic ions detected were remarkably low below the legal criteria. However, calcium ion in the water samples from the habitats of P. manchouricus was considerably higher than others. Infection rates of digenetic trematodes in the snails were 6.9% in P. manchouricus and 4.8% in S. libertine, respectively. P. manchouricus snails harboring with thc cercariae of Clonorchis sinensis were only 0.14% among the snails examined, and other trematode cercariae except cercaria of C. sinensis were: furcocercus cercariae, cercaria of Loxogenes liberum type I and II. S. libertine snails parasitized with the cercariae of Metagonimus yokogawai were 1, 5% out of the snails examined, and no cercaria of Paragonimus westermani was found in S. libertine snails in the present study. Digenetic trematode cercariae other than M. yokogawai observed in S. libertina snails were: Cercaria yoshidae (B type) , Cercaria cristata, Cercaria innominatum, Cercaria of Centrocestus formosanus and Cercaria nipponensis.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.156-164
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• 2015

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder associated with progressive memory loss and neuronal cell death. Although numerous previous studies have been focused on disease progression or reverse pathological symptoms, therapeutic strategies for AD are limited. Alternatively, the identification of traditional herbal medicines or their active compounds has received much attention. The aims of the present study were to characterize the ameliorating effects of spinosin, a C-glucosylflavone isolated from Zizyphus jujuba var. spinosa, on memory impairment or the pathological changes induced through amyloid-${\beta}_{1-42}$ oligomer ($A{\beta}O$) in mice. Memory impairment was induced by intracerebroventricular injection of $A{\beta}O$ ($50{\mu}M$) and spinosin (5, 10, and 20 mg/kg) was administered for 7 days. In the behavioral tasks, the subchronic administration of spinosin (20 mg/kg, p.o.) significantly ameliorated $A{\beta}O$-induced cognitive impairment in the passive avoidance task or the Y-maze task. To identify the effects of spinosin on the pathological changes induced through $A{\beta}O$, immunohistochemistry and Western blot analyses were performed. Spinosin treatment also reduced the number of activated microglia and astrocytes observed after $A{\beta}O$ injection. In addition, spinosin rescued the $A{\beta}O$-induced decrease in choline acetyltransferase expression levels. These results suggest that spinosin ameliorated memory impairment induced through $A{\beta}O$, and these effects were regulated, in part, through neuroprotective activity via the anti-inflammatory effects of spinosin. Therefore, spinosin might be a useful agent against the amyloid ${\beta}$ protein-induced cognitive dysfunction observed in AD patients.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.645-650
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• 2013

A simple, rapid, and high-throughput method for detection and identification of Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, Brugia pahangi, and Dirofilaria immitis in mosquito vectors and blood samples was developed using a real-time PCR combined with high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis. Amplicons of the 4 filarial species were generated from 5S rRNA and spliced leader sequences by the real-time PCR and their melting temperatures were determined by the HRM method. Melting of amplicons from W. bancrofti, B. malayi, D. immitis, and B. pahangi peaked at $81.5{\pm}0.2^{\circ}C$, $79.0{\pm}0.3^{\circ}C$, $76.8{\pm}0.1^{\circ}C$, and $79.9{\pm}0.1^{\circ}C$, respectively. This assay is relatively cheap since it does not require synthesis of hybridization probes. Its sensitivity and specificity were 100%. It is a rapid and technically simple approach, and an important tool for population surveys as well as molecular xenomonitoring of parasites in vectors.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2006

With the use of Agrobacterium and gene-gun, cold regulated gene (BN115) has been injected in Chrysanthemum leaf disc and transgenic plants have been produced successfully on the selection media containing phytohormone. To determine the presence of the transferred cold regulated gene (BN115) in the transgenic Chrysanthemum, PCR-amplification indicated the presence of that gene. Real-Time PCR for confirmation of the putative transgenic plants was established. The copy number of cold regulated gene (BN115) is extrapolated on the basis of a standard curve. Serial dilutions of known number of gene copies were in triplicates. In this diagram, PCR cycles are plotted against the fluorescence intensity. The cycle at which the fluorescence reaches a threshold cycle is inversely proportional to the starting amount of target DNA.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.17 no.6 s.79
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• pp.681-688
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• 2005

This study investigates an existing steel plate girder railroad bridge after superstructure rehabilitation to monitor static and dynamic responses using Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors. This paper also presents an experimental technique to estimate the vertical deflection of the bridge using FBG sensors. Seven FBG sensors are multiplexed in a single optical fiber and installed in parallel pairs along the length of the bridge, with one set at the top flange and the other at the bottom flange. In addition to FBG sensors, a conventional electric strain gauge and anLVDT are installed at the mid-span of the bridge for comparison. A test train consisting of one locomotive is placed at the center of the bridge to produce the maximum static effect. The train is also made to pass over the bridge at different speeds ranging from 10 km/h to 90 km/h to monitor the dynamic response of the bridge. This study demonstrates that the measured strains using the FBG sensor compared well with the readings from the electric strain gauge. The results show that the proposed instrumentation technique is capable of estimating the vertical deflection of the bridge for various loading conditions, which is crucial in structural health monitoring. Several dynamic characteristics of the bridge were also identified.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.472-472
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• 2004

Numerous studies on urban groundwater have been carried out in many other countries. Urban groundwater shows a unique hydrologic system because of complex urban characteristics such as road pavement, sewers and public water supply systems. These urban facilities may change the characteristics of groundwater recharge but contaminate its quality as well. There have been several researches on urban groundwater in Seoul. Seoul has been industrialized very rapidly so that the city has large population. The recent population in Seoul amounts to more than ten millions, corresponding to a very high density of about 17, 000 people/km$^2$. Therefore, many factors affect the groundwater quality and quantity in Seoul. Nowadays, groundwater in Seoul is being extracted for construction, industrial use, and drinking and so on. There are 15, 714 wells in Seoul and its annual usage is 41, 425, 977m$^3$(in 2001). Therefore, systematic studies are needed to properly manage and use the groundwater in Seoul. The purposes of this study in progress are to identify geochemical characteristics of groundwater in Seoul and to determine the extent of groundwater contamination and its relationship with urban characteristics. For this study, groundwater was sampled from more than 400 preexisting wells that were randomly selected throughout the Seoul area. For all samples, major cations together with Si, Al, Fe, Pb, Hg For 200 samples among them, TCE, PCE, BTEX were also analyzed by GC. Our study shows that groundwater types of Seoul are distributed broadly from Ca-HCO$_3$ type to Ca-Cl＋NO$_3$ type. The latter type indicates anthropogenic contamination. Among cations, Ca is generally high in most samples. In some samples, Na and K are dominant. The dominant anions change widely from HCO$_3$ to Cl＋NO$_3$. The anion composition is considered to effectively indicate the contribution of distinct anthropogenic sources. In addition, major ions are positively proportional to total dissolved solid (TDS) except K and NO$_3$. Thus, we consider that TDS may be used as an effective indicator of the extent of pollution. However, the increase of TDS may result from increased water-rock interaction. To determine the extent of groundwater contamination, it is needed to figure out the baseline water quality in Seoul. Furthermore, detailed geochemical studies are required to find out pollution sources and their corresponding hydrochemical parameters.