• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.867-874
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• 2021

Epalrestat (EPS) is a brain penetrant aldose reductase inhibitor, an approved drug currently used for the treatment of diabetic neuropathy. At near-plasma concentration, EPS induces glutathione biosynthesis, which in turn reduces oxidative stress in the neuronal cells. In this study, we found that EPS reduces neurodegeneration by inhibiting reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced oxidative injury, mitochondrial membrane damage, apoptosis and tauopathy. EPS treatment up to 50 µM did not show any toxic effect on SH-SY5Y cell line (neuroblastoma cells). However, we observed toxic effect at a concentration of 100 µM and above. At 50 µM concentration, EPS showed better antioxidant activity against H₂O₂ (100 µM)-induced cytotoxicity, ROS formation and mitochondrial membrane damage in retinoic acid-differentiated SH-SY5Y cell line. Furthermore, our study revealed that 50 µM of EPS concentration reduced the glycogen synthase kinase-3 β (GSK3-β) expression and total tau protein level in H₂O₂ (100 µM)-treated cells. Findings from this study confirms the therapeutic efficacy of EPS on regulating Alzheimer's disease (AD) by regulating GSK3-β and total tau proteins phosphorylation, which helped to restore the cellular viability. This process could also reduce toxic fibrillary tangle formation and disease progression of AD. Therefore, it is our view that an optimal concentration of EPS therapy could decrease AD pathology by reducing tau phosphorylation through regulating the expression level of GSK3-β.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.23 no.9
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• pp.77-90
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• 2023

Today, crops face many characteristics/diseases. Insect damage is one of the main characteristics/diseases. Insecticides are not always effective because they can be toxic to some birds. It will also disrupt the natural food chain for animals. A common practice of plant scientists is to visually assess plant damage (leaves, stems) due to disease based on the percentage of disease. Plants suffer from various diseases at any stage of their development. For farmers and agricultural professionals, disease management is a critical issue that requires immediate attention. It requires urgent diagnosis and preventive measures to maintain quality and minimize losses. Many researchers have provided plant disease detection techniques to support rapid disease diagnosis. In this review paper, we mainly focus on artificial intelligence (AI) technology, image processing technology (IP), deep learning technology (DL), vector machine (SVM) technology, the network Convergent neuronal (CNN) content Detailed description of the identification of different types of diseases in tomato and potato plants based on image retrieval technology (CBIR). It also includes the various types of diseases that typically exist in tomato and potato. Content-based Image Retrieval (CBIR) technologies should be used as a supplementary tool to enhance search accuracy by encouraging you to access collections of extra knowledge so that it can be useful. CBIR systems mainly use colour, form, and texture as core features, such that they work on the first level of the lowest level. This is the most sophisticated methods used to diagnose diseases of tomato plants.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.411-416
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• 2023

Methamphetamine (METH) is a powerful neurotoxic psychostimulant affecting dopamine transporter (DAT) activity and leading to continuous excess extracellular dopamine levels. Despite recent advances in the knowledge on neurobiological mechanisms underlying METH abuse, there are few effective pharmacotherapies to prevent METH abuse leading to brain damage and neuropsychiatric deficits. α-Pinene (APN) is one of the major monoterpenes derived from pine essential oils and has diverse biological properties including anti-nociceptive, anti-anxiolytic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory actions. In the present study, we investigated the therapeutic potential of APN in a METH abuse mice model. METH (1 mg/kg/day, i.p.) was injected into C57BL/6 mice for four alternative days, and a conditioned place preference (CPP) test was performed. The METH-administered group exhibited increased sensitivity to place preference and significantly decreased levels of dopamine-related markers such as dopamine 2 receptor (D2R) and tyrosine hydroxylase in the striatum of the mice. Moreover, METH caused apoptotic cell death by induction of inflammation and oxidative stress. Conversely, APN treatment (3 and 10 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly reduced METH-mediated place preference and restored the levels of D2R and tyrosine hydroxylase in the striatum. APN increased the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 to pro-apoptotic Bax ratio and decreased the expression of inflammatory protein Iba-1. METH-induced lipid peroxidation was effectively mitigated by APN by up-regulation of antioxidant enzymes such as manganese-superoxide dismutase and glutamylcysteine synthase via activation of nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2. These results suggest that APN may have protective potential and be considered as a promising therapeutic agent for METH-induced drug addiction and neuronal damage.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.273-289
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• 1994

Reversible brain ischemia was produced by occluding both common carotid arteries for 5 min, and the effects of aminoguanidine (AG), $DL-{\alpha}-difluoromethylornithine$ (DFMO), MK-801, and nimodipine (NM) on the ischemia induced changes of the polyamine, glutamate and acetylcholine levels in the hippocampus CA1 subfield and the specific $[^3H]\;MK-801$ binding to the hippocampus synaptosomal membranes were studied with a histological reference of the cresyl violet stained hippocampus. The basal putrescine level $(PT:\;74.4{\pm}8.8\;nM)$ showed a rapid increase (up to 1.7 fold) for 5 min of ischemia, remained significantly increased for 6 h, and then resumed the further increase to amount gradually up to about 3 fold 96 h after recirculation. However, the level of spermidine was little changed, and the spermine level showed a transient increase during ischemia followed by a sustained decrease to about 40% of the preischemic level after recirculation. The increase of PT level induced by brain ischemia was enhanced with AG or MK-801, but it was reduced by DFMO or NM. The basal glutamate level $(GT:\;0.90{\pm}0.l4\;{\mu}M)$ rapidly increased to a peak level of $8.19{\pm}1.14\;{\mu}M$ within 5 min after onset of the ischemia and then decreased to the preischemic level in about 25 min after recirculation. And NM reduced the ischemia induced increase of GT level by about 25%, but AG, DFMO and MK-801 did not affect the GT increase. The basal acetylcholine level $(ACh:\;118.0{\pm}10.5\;{\mu}M)$ did little change during/after brain ischemia and was little affected by AG or NM. But DFMO and MK-801, respectively, produced the moderate decrease of ACh level. The specific $[^3H]\;MK-801$ binding to the hippocampus synaptosomal membrane was little affected by brain ischemia for 5 min. The control value (78.9 fmole/mg protein) was moderately decreased by AG and MK-801, respectively but was little changed by DFMO or NM. The microscopic findings of the brains extirpated on day 7 after ischemia showed severe neuronal damage of the hippocampus, particularly CA1 subfield. NM and AG moderately attenuated the delayed neuronal damage, and DFMO, on the contrary, aggravated the ischemia induced damage. However, MK-801 did not protect the hippocampus from ischemic damage. These results suggest that unlike to the mode of anti-ischemic action of NM, AG might protect the hippocampus from ischemic injury as being negatively regulatory on the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor function in the hippocampus.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.96-101
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• 2005

Status epilepticus is a medical emergency, so that rapid and vigorous treatment is required to prevent neuronal damage and systemic complication. Status epilepticus is generally defined as a continuous or intermittent seizure or an unconscious condition after the onset of seizure, lasting for 30 minutes or more. We report here the outcome of status epilepticus. We retrospectively reviewed medical record of 15 patients who were diagnosed with status epilepticus at the Asan Medical Center from January 2003 to February 2004. This outcome was evaluated considering various factors such as age of patients, history of seizures, neurologic impairment, etiology, mortality, return to baseline and initial electroencephalogram (EEG) findings. The range of age was between 1 to 79 years old and the longest duration of treatment was 118 days. Most patients were treated by using pentobarbital, midazolam, phenobarbital and other antiepileptic drugs. The overall mortality was 5 (33%) out of 15 patients. The mortality was related to etiology, underlying other medical conditions and initial EEG findings. 5 (55%) out of the 9 patients with acute etiology, 5 (71%) out of the 7 patients with a multifocal or burst-suppression EEG activity, and 3 (60%) out of the 5 patients with other medical disease were related to mortality. This data demonstrate high mortality due to status epilepticus. Mortality is related to etiology, other medical conditions and abnormalities on the initial EEG.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.1111-1119
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• 2004

In this study, we investigated that the effects of corynoxeine on the apoptosis by inducible CT105 in PC 12 cells and neuronpathogenic agent as CT105 confirmed with apoptosis, DNA fragmentation, neurite outgrowth and immunocytochemistry analysis This study examines whether corynoxeine have an anti-alzhmeimer agent by inhibition of apoptosis by CT105 and induces neurite outgrowth. Cytotoxicity was assessed in PC12 cell cultures by DNA fragmentation and measuring lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in the culture media. The treatment of corynoxeine in exposure of cultures to CT105 and provided complete protection against cytotoxicity. CT105-induced cytotoxicity was blocked by apoptotsis, repaired by DNA fragmentation, neurite outgrowth and exposure to CT105 expression and regenerated with neurite outgrowth and immunocytochemistry by corynoxeine. These results indicate that in neuronal cell cultures, damage of T105, repaired excitotoxicity by corynoxeine and CT105-induced cytotoxicity is blocked primarily by the activation of anti-apoptosis.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2004

Vitamin $D_3$ up-regulated protein 1 (VDUP1) gene is known to be a novel member of early response genes as an oxidative stress mediator. To elucidate role of VDUP1 expression in neuronal injury, VDUP1 gene expression and histological change were tested in the spinal cords after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) in young and adult rats. VDUP1 transcript was detected weakly in a few cells in the spinal cords of control young and adult rats. VDUP1 transcript was increased in the contused spinal cords 1 day after SCI in both young and adult rats. VDUP1 transcript was decreased in the spinal cords 7 days after SCI in young rats. However, VDUP1 transcript was not decrease significantly 7 days in the spinal cords after SCI in adult rats. Cell damage in the spinal cords and hind limb dysfunction were more prominent 7 days after SCI in adult rats compared with that in young rats. These data show that VDUP1 may be involved in neurodegeneration after traumatic SCI.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.221-229
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• 2020

This study was undertaken to investigate the protective effect of rice bran oil (RBO) on amyloid β protein (Aβ) (25-35)-induced memory impairment and brain damage in an ICR mouse model. Memory impairment was produced by intracerebroventricular microinjection of 15 nmol Aβ (25-35) and assessed using the passive avoidance test. Treatment with RBO at 0.1, 0.5, or 1 mL/kg (p.o. daily for 8 days) protected against Aβ (25-35)-induced memory impairment. Furthermore, Aβ (25-35)-induced decreases in glutathione and increases in lipid peroxidation and cholinesterase activity in brain tissue were inhibited by RBO, and Aβ (25-35)-induced increases of phosphorylated mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and inflammatory factors, and changes in the levels of apoptosis-related proteins were significantly inhibited by RBO. Furthermore, Aβ (25-35) suppressed the PI3K/Akt pathway and the phosphorylation of CREB, but increased phosphorylation of tau (p-tau) in mice brain; these effects were significantly inhibited by administration of RBO. These results suggest that RBO inhibits Aβ (25-35)-induced memory impairment by inducing anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory effects, promoting PI3K/Akt/CREB signaling, and thus, inhibiting p-tau formation.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.357-364
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• 2014

This study examined effect of a transcranial magnetic stimulation device with a commercial-frequency approach on the neuronal cell death caused ischemia. For a simple transcranial magnetic stimulation device, the experiment was conducted on an ischemia induced rat by transcranial magnetic stimulation of a commercial-frequency approach, controlling the firing angle using a Triac power device. The transcranial magnetic stimulation device was controlled at a voltage of 220 V 60 Hz and the trigger of the Triac gate was varied from $45^{\circ}$ up to $135^{\circ}$. Cerebral ischemia was caused by ligating the common carotid artery of male SD rats and reperfusion was performed again to blood after 5 minutes. Protein Expression was examined by Western blotting and the immune response cells reacting to the antibodies of Poly ADP ribose polymerase in the cerebral nerve cells. As a result, for the immune response cells of Poly ADP ribose polymerase related to necrosis, the transcranial magnetic stimulation device suppressed necrosis and had a protective effect on nerve cells. The effect was greatest within 12 hours after ischemia. Therefore, it is believed that in the case of brain damage caused by ischemia, the function of brain cells can be restored and the impairment can be improved by the application of transcranial magnetic stimulation.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.40 no.9
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• pp.613-620
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• 2017

The most common form of senile dementia is Alzheimer's disease (AD), which is characterized by the extracellular deposition of amyloid ${\beta}-peptide$ ($A{\beta}$) plaques and the intracellular formation of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in the cerebral cortex. Tau abnormalities are commonly observed in many neurodegenerative diseases including AD, Parkinson's disease, and Pick's disease. Interestingly, tau-mediated formation of NFTs in AD brains shows better correlation with cognitive impairment than $A{\beta}$ plaque accumulation; pathological tau alone is sufficient to elicit frontotemporal dementia, but it does not cause AD. A growing amount of evidence suggests that soluble $A{\beta}$ oligomers in concert with hyperphosphorylated tau (pTau) serve as the major pathogenic drivers of neurodegeneration in AD. Increased $A{\beta}$ oligomers trigger neuronal dysfunction and network alternations in learning and memory circuitry prior to clinical onset of AD, leading to cognitive decline. Furthermore, accumulated damage to mitochondria in the course of aging, which is the best-known nongenetic risk factor for AD, may collaborate with soluble $A{\beta}$ and pTau to induce synapse loss and cognitive impairment in AD. In this review, I summarize and discuss the current knowledge of the molecular and cellular biology of AD and also the mechanisms that underlie $A{\beta}-mediated$ neurodegeneration.