• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.37 no.4 s.109
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• pp.436-447
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• 2004

Wetland plants have evolved specialized adaptations to survive in the low-oxygen conditions associated with prolonged flooding. The development of internal gas space by means of aerenchyma is crucial for wetland plants to transport $O_2$ from the atmosphere into the roots and rhizome. The formation of tissue with high porosity depends on the species and environmental condition, which can control the depth of root penetration and the duration of root tolerance in the flooded sediments. The oxygen in the internal gas space of plants can be delivered from the atmosphere to the root and rhizome by both passive molecular diffusion and convective throughflow. The release of $O_2$ from the roots supplies oxygen demand for root respiration, microbial respiration, and chemical oxidation processes and stimulates aerobic decomposition of organic matter. Another essential mechanism of wetland plants is downward water movement across the root zone induced by water uptake. Natural and constructed wetlands sediments have low hydraulic conductivity due to the relatively fine particle sizes in the litter layer and, therefore, negligible water movement. Under such condition, the water uptake by wetland plants creates a water potential difference in the rhizosphere which acts as a driving force to draw water and dissolved solutes into the sediments. A large number of anatomical, morphological and physiological studies have been conducted to investigate the specialized adaptations of wetland plants that enable them to tolerate water saturated environment and to support their biochemical activities. Despite this, there is little knowledge regarding how the combined effects of wetland plants influence the biogeochemistry of wetland sediments. A further investigation of how the Presence of plants and their growth cycle affects the biogeochemistry of sediments will be of particular importance to understand the role of wetland in the ecological environment.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.71-81
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• 2014

A survey was carried out to understand the influence of hydrology on the composition, abundance and adaptive strategies of phytoplankton in artificial Lake Hwaseong, an estuarine reservoir with seawater exchange through a sluice. Samples were collected seven times from May to October 2012. Hydrological events (seawater exchange, rainfall) resulted in a wide variation in salinity along with nutrients and turbidity. Shifts in the dominant phytoplankton composition occurred on every survey. Chlorophyll-a ranged from 9.7 to $104.1{\mu}g\;L^{-1}$. Multivariate analysis allowed us to identify the four phases on phytoplankton community change. Phase I (May~June) was characterized by small-sized Gymnodinium sp. and Heterosigma akashiwo dominated in warm temperature and high salinity derived from seawater exchange, and followed by Cylindrotheca closterium blooms due to rainfall and winds during phase II (July and September). During phase III (August), the dominance of Oscillatoria spp. was correlated with high temperature and low salinity. Abundant cryptomonads were associated with lower temperature during phase IV (October). Adaptive strategies were identified in the phytoplankton as morphological and physiological characteristics. These strategies identified small-sized flagellates as CR-strategists, fast-growing opportunistic species, which might favor the weak stratification of lake due to the seawater exchange during phase I and IV. Dominant species during phase II and III were characterized with R-strategists, medium-sized stress-tolerant species, which might favor turbulence by river flow. The results indicate that stronger stratification following the termination of seawater exchange for the freshening might intensify the predominance of smaller flagellates. In conclusion, this study suggests that hydrology may drive phytoplankton community change and blooms through the controls of salinity, turbulence and nutrients.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.141-148
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• 2008

Nitric oxide (NO) is an important regulator of renal blood flow, glomerular hemodynamics, and tubule transport processes in the kidney. There is also evidence that NO is involved in cell cycle regulation and mitotic division. During development the nNOS expression pattern differs from that observed in adult animals. However, little is known about temporal and spatial patterns of nNOS expression in the developing kidney. The purpose of this study was to establish the time of expression and the distribution of nNOS in the developing rat kidney. Kidneys from 14-, 16-, 17-, 18-, and 20-day-old fetuses, 1-, 4-, 7-, 14-, and 21-day-old pups, and adult animals were preserved and processed for immunohistochemistry. In the adult kidney, nNOS was detected in the parietal epithelium of Bowman s capsule, macula densa, descending thin limb and inner medullary collecting duct. nNOS immunoreactivity appeared first in the distal tubule anlage at 15 days of gestation, and in all epithelial cells of developing thick ascending limbs (TAL) as well as macula densa of 17- and 18-day-old fetuses. From 20 days of gestation to 14 days after birth, nNOS was expressed in the newly formed cortical TAL, which are located in the medullary ray, whereas in mature TAL of juxtamedullary nephrons, nNOS immunolabeling gradually decreased in intensity and became restricted to the macula densa. In inner medullary collecting ducts, nNOS immunoreactivity appeared first at 7 days after birth in the papillary tip and gradually ascended to the border between outer and inner medulla. In the descending thin limb and parietal epithelium of Bowman's capsule, weak nNOS immunoreactivity was observed at 14 days after birth and labeling gradually increased to adult levels at 21 days after birth. These results suggest that differential expression of nNOS in the developing kidney is an important physiological regulator of renal function during kidney maturation.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.1658-1665
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• 2009

This study was carried out on thirty men to define the association of inflammatory markers with physiological factors on one-time aerobic exercise (for 15 min. Post-exercise interleukin-6 (IL-6), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and pulsatility and resistance index of middle cerebral artery (PI and RI, respectively) levels were elevated compared to those measured pre-exercise. Total leukocyte and platelet counts, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), free radical (FR), and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) levels tended to decrease after exercise. Pre-exercise IL-6 levels were positively correlated with pre-exercise SBP levels, while post-exercise IL-6 level was positively correlated with post-exercise PI and RI levels. Post-exercise, hs-CRP levels were negatively related to SBP and HR. Pre-exercise, FR levels were positively associated to SBP, DBP, and HR. Post-exercise FR levels were negatively related to the post-exercise blood flow velocity in middle cerebral artery. Pre-exercise erythrocyte indices (RBC, MCV, MCH, and MCHC levels) were in inverse proportion to pre-exercise IL-6 levels. Post-exercise FR levels were inversely related to post-exercise total leukocyte, lymphocyte, monocyte, and MCH levels. Pre-exercise $Mg^{++}$ levels were in inverse proportion to pre-exercise IL-6, hs-CRP, or FR levels. These findings suggest that one-time aerobic exercise offers a significant relationship between inflammatory markers and some biochemical markers or electrolytes. Further studies need to be carried out for investigation of differences between genders or age groups following one-time or regular aerobic exercise.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.319-329
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• 1990

Effects of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) on blood pressure, plasma lenin activity, aldosterone and renal excretion were compared in conscious spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar rats fed low, medium or high sodium diet (2, 10, 25 mmol NaCl/100g diet) for 6 weeks. ANP infusion (380 ng/kg/min for 20 min) produced reductions in blood pressure, plasma renin activity, and aldosterone level, but marked increases in hematocrit, urine flow, and excretions of sodium and potassium. The low sodium group showed a significantly enhanced aldosterone lowering effect of ANP than the high sodium group. However, three salt groups showed no difference in effects of ANP on blood pressure, plasma renin activity, hematocrit and diuresis. Natriuretic response to ANP was significantly greater in the high salt-than in the low sait-SHR, but was not different between the Wistar salt groups. There were strain differences in effects of ANP: SHR showed greater responses of blood pressure and natriuresis than Wistar rats. Above results indicate that aldosterone-lowering and natriuretic effects of ANP were modifed by different dietary sodium intakes. However, blood pressure- and renin-lowering, or diuretic effects of ANP were not affected by dietary sodium intakes. The mechanisms whereby dietary sodium intakes alter the effects of ANP in the pathogenesis of hypertension are not clear.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.33-43
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• 1968

Histamine, 0.5 mg as histamine base in 4 ml of normal saline solution, was injected into rabbits anesthetized with nembutal and the mean blood pressure was kept in the range of $52{\sim}80\;mmHg$ for over one hour by supplemental additions. Following the injection of the test substances, 300 mg of urea and 200 mg of antipyrine intravenously, serial blood samples were obtained from the femoral artery and the internal jugular vein at $0.5{\sim}3$ minutes interval. The decreasing patterns in the concentrations of arterial and venous blood plasma samples were compared with each other. The ratio of the concentration of brain tissue to that of the final arterial plasma was also studied. By these measures the degrees of penetration of the test substances in the brain in the control and in the histamine treated rabbits were observed. The concentrations of antipyrine and urea in the arterial blood plasma were decreasing exponentially with respect to the time elapsed. The venous concentrations were anticipated to increase initially and to cross the arterial concentration curve in the point of equlibrium between the plasma and the tissue. On the contrary to the expectation venous concentration also revealed the decreasing tendency similar to that of arterial plasma. The similarity between these two curves, arterial and venous, would be atributable to the fact that the cerebral blood flow rate was large enough and the rising phase in the venous concentration curve was instantly over before serial blood samples were taken. Inspite of some similarity in the decreasing tedency in both concentration curves there were appreciable discrepancies between the arterial and venous plasma which would reflect the situation far from the equlibria among several compartments in the brain. Changes in plasma potassium levels caused by the injection of histamine or bleeding were observed, too. Using 8 rabbits as the control and 12 rabbits for the histamine treated group following results were obtained: 1. Both of the concentration curves, arterial and venous, declined rapidly at_first and slowly later on and approached same equilibrium concentration with the passage of time after a single injection. The time at which attained the same concentration was $2.0{\pm}0.54\;min.$ in the control and $4.3{\pm}1.92\;min.$ in the histamine treated group with respect to antipyrine. On the other hand in the case of urea they were $2.4{\pm}0.59\;min.$ in the control and $4.4{\pm}1.31\;min.$ in the histamine group, respectively. In the histamine treated group enlarged spaces for distribution of test substances were postulated. 2. The concentration of antipyrine in the brain tissue water revealed no significant differences between the control and experimental groups, showing $212{\pm}40.2\;mg/l$ in the control and $206{\pm}64.1\;mg/l$ in the histamine treated group. On the other hand urea revealed higher value in the histamine treated group than in the control, showing an enhanced penetration of urea into the tissue after injection of histamine. Urea concentration in the brain water was $32.3{\pm}3.36\;mg%$ in the control and $39.2{\pm}4.25\;mg%$ in the histamine treated group. 3. The distribution ratio of antipyrine in the brain tissue was very close to unity in the histamine treated animals as well as in the control. 4. The average of the distribution ratio of urea in the control animals was 0.77 and it showed the presence of blood-brain barrier with regard to urea. However in the histamine treated animals the distribution ratios climbed up to 0.86 and they were closer to unity than in the control animals. Out of 12 cases 5 were greater than 0.9 and 8 exceeded 0.85. It appeared that histamine enhanced the penetration of urea through the barrier. 5. Histamine injection and or hemorrhage caused an elevation of the concentration of potassium in plasma. In the event that histamine and hemorrhage were applied together the elevation of potassium exceed the elevation seen at the histamine alone. There was no evidence that the leakage of potassium from the brain tissue was dominant in comparison with the general leakage from the whole body.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.346-358
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• 2023

Due to the acceleration of climate change or global warming, it is important to predict rice productivity in the future and investigate physiological changes in rice plants. The research aimed to explore how rice adapts to climate change by examining the response of nitrogen absorption and nitrogen use efficiency in rice under elevated levels of carbon dioxide and temperature, utilizing the SPAR system for analysis. The temperature increased by +4.7 ℃ in comparison to the period from 2001 to 2010, while the carbon dioxide concentration was held steady at 800 ppm, aligning with South Korea's late 21st-century RCP8.5 scenario. Nitrogen was applied as fertilizer at rates of 0, 9, and 18 kg 10a^-1, respectively. Under conditions of climate change, there was an 81% increase in the number of panicles compared to the present situation. However, grain weight decreased by 38% as a result of reduction in the grain filling rate. BNUE, indicative of the nitrogen use efficiency in plant biomass, exhibited a high value under climate change conditions. However, both NUEg and ANUE, associated with grain production, experienced a notable and significant decrease. In comparison to the current conditions, nitrogen uptake in leaves and stems increased by 100% and 151%, respectively. However, there was a 25% decrease in nitrogen uptake in the panicle. Likewise, the nitrogen content and NDFF (Nitrogen Derived from Fertilizer) in the sink organs, namely leaves and roots, were elevated in comparison to current levels. Therefore, it is imperative to ensure resources by mitigating the decrease in ripening rates under climate change conditions. Moreover, there seems to be a requirement for follow-up research to enhance the flow of photosynthetic products under climate change conditions.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.12
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• pp.1002-1014
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• 2023

The root of Cirsium japonicum var. maackii (Maxim.) has long been used in traditional medicine to prevent the onset and progression of various diseases and has been reported to exert a wide range of physiological effects, including antioxidant activity. However, research on its effects on hepatocytes remains scarce. This study used the human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cell line to investigate the antioxidant activity of ethanol extract of C. japonicum root (EECJ) on hepatocytes. Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) was used to mimic oxidative stress. The results showed that EECJ significantly reverted the decrease in cell viability and suppressed the release of lactate dehydrogenase in HepG2 cells treated with H₂O₂. Moreover, an analysis of changes in cell morphology, flow cytometry, and microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3) expression showed that EECJ significantly inhibited HepG2 cell autophagy induced by H₂O₂. Furthermore, it attenuated H₂O₂-induced apoptosis and cell cycle disruption by blocking intracellular reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial superoxide production, indicating strong antioxidant activity. EECJ also restored the decreased levels of intracellular glutathione (GSH) and enhanced the expression and activity of superoxide dismutase and GSH peroxidase in H₂O₂-treated HepG2 cells. Although an analysis of the components contained in EECJ and in vivo validation using animal models are needed, these findings indicate that EECJ is a promising candidate for the prevention and treatment of oxidative stress-induced liver cell damage.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.187-208
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• 2000

By the activation of ovary hormone, many morphological changes occur in the epithelial cell lines and muscle cells in rat uterus. These two cells in uterus are important to the implantation of embryo, maintaining pregnancy and starting parturition. One important change associated with the morphological change of these two cells in uterus is the change on prostaglandin(PG) metabolism. Its presence and synthesis in endometriurn and myometrium in uterus affects estrous cycle and the start of embryo implantation in uterus. It also performs as an important modulator in parturition. So the abnormally weak expression of PG causes difficulty during labor and over-expression causes pre-term labor. PG biosynthesis starts from either free or liberated arachidonic acids from membrane phospholipid by phospholipase. Such arachidonic acids are converted into PG catalyzed by Cyclooxygenase. Under normal physiological condition, Cyclooxygenase-1(COX-1) having 602 units of amino acids controls the synthesis of PG. It acts as a local hormone regulating vasomodulation of blood flow, flexible muscle movement, increasing the blood permeability and contributing the protective role in preserving integrity of the stomach lining and Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is induced by the inflammation, pregnancy and increased its expression until parturition. Lipid metabolite like PG is located in uterine and expression of COX-2 increased with pregnancy. Increased expression of COX proteins in epithelial cells and myometrial cells are told to increase the muscle contractility in uterus but decreased right after the labor in rat. It is a good sign indicating that COX proteins are deeply related to the start of labor. Currently, Several studies report the use of PG and COX-2 inhibitor as medication for controlled abortion or to prevent pre-term labor but they entail various side-effects. Our study proposed to suggest use of acupuncture as an another mediator to control abortion or pre-term labor without causing unnecessary side-effects by those medicines. Two acupuncture sites, LI-4 & SP-6 were selected due to their known efficacy. From the immunohistochemical staining of COX-2, normal expression of COX-2 protein in nonpregnant SD rat's uterus revealed that COX-2 protein was primarily detected in the lumina epithelial lining and in the epithelial cell lining contacting the stromal cells. High resolution optical microscopic scanning revealed distinguishable staining in the myometrial mucosa. LI-4 acupuncture administered nonpregnant rat's uterus showed strong expression for COX-2 in endometrium contacted with lumina epithelial lining of rat uterus and in myometrial mucosa. Stromal cells showed more staining than untreated nonpregnant rat's uterus and stronger staining in stromal cells contacting myometrial layer compared to untreated nonpregnant rat's uterus. SP-6 acupuncture administered nonpregnant rat's uterus showed weak expression for COX-2 in myometrial layers and stromal cells but no staining was visible in lumina epitheliai and glandular epithelial cells. Few stromal cells and myometrial mucosa were positively stained for COX-2. Pregnant SD rat's uterus was also immunostained for COX-2 expression after 18 days of pregnancy. Unlike to untreated nonpregnant rat's uterus, luminal epithelial cells were not positively stained for COX-2 but stronger staining for COX-2 was revealed in stromal cells. LI-4 acupunctured SD rat's uterus had very strong expression of COX-2 in luminal epithelial lining. Few stromal cells showed stronger positive COX-2 staining and myometrial layers also showed more expression than untreated pregnant rat. SP-6 acupuncture administered pregnant SD rat's uterus showed positive expression of COX-2 in epithelial cells of luminal mucosa layer but weaker than that of LI-4 acupuncture treatment's case. However, strong positive staining was revealed in stromal mucosa and myometrial layers. Virgin SD rat's uterus motility index during LI-4 acupuncture was 66.52 % (Prob〉T = 0.0197) compared to its motility before the acupuncture treatment but the motility index was slighdy elevated up to 79.58 % (Prob〉T = 0.1175) after the acupuncture. During the SP-6 acupuncture treatment for 30 minutes, uterus motility index was 90.52 % (Prob〉T = 0.1832) showing lesser decrement but consequently reached similar motility index decreasal to 79.95 % (Prob〉T = 0.0215) after the acupuncture treatment as LI-4 showed. LI-4 acupuncture tend to be a quick treatment to reducing the uterus motility in a virgin rat but eventually both two acupuncture administration created very similar reduction of uterus motility seeing the index after the both acupunctures. The uterus movement monitored during the LI-4 acupuncture administered for 30 minutes, Pregnant SD rat showed decreased motility down to 77.90 % (Prob〉 T = 0.0076) compared to uterus motility before the acupuncture and it continuously decreased down to 71.81 %(Prob〉T = 0.0214) after the removal of needle. The statistical analysis using paired t-test showed significance difference for both two motility indexs at =0.05. SP-6 acupuncture administered to pregnant SD rat also had similar pattern of decreasing uterus motility index down to 74.70 % (Prob〉T = 0.1730) during the initial 30 minutes acupuncture administration and it was continuously lowered to 71.52 % (Prob〉T = 0.0155) after the acupuncture. The paired t-test resuit for SP-6 suggest prompt response of uterus motility index to the SP-6 acupuncture treatment but consequently reached same level of inducing the motility reduction as LI-4 at =0.05 level.