• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.88-96
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• 2020

Stauntonia hexaphylla (SH) and Vaccinium bracteatum (VB) are herbal extracts widely used in food and traditional herbal medicine, and have the ability to perform a wide range of biological activities. We aimed to investigate the effects of the SH and VB combination (SHVB) on mice models of chronic restraint stress (CRS) and pentobarbital-induced sleeping behaviors to elucidate its possible mechanisms of action. CRS-exposed mice treated with SHVB showed significantly decreased immobility time, increased swimming and climbing times in the forced swim test (FST), and increased locomotor activity in the open field test (OFT). SHVB decreased serum CORT levels, but enhanced brain monoamine neurotransmitters. SHVB significantly decreased the sleep latency and increased total sleep duration in pentobarbital-induced sleeping behavior in mice. SHVB showed inhibitory effect on 5-HT_2A receptor-mediated ERK1/2 phosphorylation. These results suggest that SHVB has antidepressant and hypnotic effects by regulating the 5-HT_2A receptor.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.536-542
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• 2016

Shuangdan oral liquid (SDO) containing radix Salviae miltiorrhizae (Chinese name Danshen) and cortex moutan (Chinese name Mudanpi) is a traditional Chinese medicine using for treating vascular diseases. Danshensu (DSS) is a main effective monomer composition derived from radix Salviae miltiorrhizae and paeonol (Pae) from cortex moutan. Although the two herbs are widely used in traditional Chinese medicine, the pharmacological functions of their active compositions were not reported. Therefore, the research of DSS and Pae in mechanisms and pharmacodynamics interaction can provide scientific evidence to support clinical application. The diabetic nephropathy (DN) rats which were induced by streptozotocin (STZ) were treated with SDO, DSS, Pae, and DSS+Pae for eight weeks. The positive effects on DN animal models were investigated by detection of physiological and biochemical indexes and oxidative stress markers, within five treatments: SDO, DSS, Pae, DSS+Pae and insulin group. Compared with the model group, the DSS+Pae group improved the renal function, blood lipid metabolism and blood viscosity, increased the vitality of T-SOD or T-AOC and decreased the level of MDA or NO after the treatment. The study was successfully showed that the DSS+Pae group could delay the process of DN, especially in the renal injury part of histopathology changes. Our results suggest that the co-administration of DSS and Pae significantly may play a protective role in DN rats through decreasing the oxidative stress and improving the blood lipid metabolism mechanisms.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.73-81
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study was (1) to examine the effects of a Health Promotion Exercise Program (HPEP) on functional improvement, physical strength (PS) and muscle activation (MA), and the interactive influence with activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IDAL) in the elderly, and (2) to develop and provide a HPEP for the elderly in order to prevent declines and impairments in integrated nerve function and physical capacity. Methods: Our study included relatively healthy elderly people aged 65 years or older. The experimental group, which was composed of 30 people, participated in a HPEP 50~60 minutes a day, 3 times a week, for a total of 12 weeks. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) validated the measurement models for MA, physical strength, ADL and IADL with a p<0.01. This confirms (i) the beneficial effects of the ADFP on their MA and PS, and (ii) that their improvement in PS, in turn, can improve their IADL. The results of this study indicates that ADFP can help Korean seniors 65 years or older improve their MA, PS, ADL, and IADL, and do so synergistically. Conclusion: An HPEP, when organized in such a way that the elderly can easily do it, and when exercise items and intensity can be programmed and reorganized accordingly to individual physical and physiological characteristics by presenting 5 categorized health domains of physical strength, may be useful, especially because it can be practiced irrespective of time and place.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.69-76
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• 2015

We present microscopy based hyperspectral imaging system that successively shows high spatial (micrometer) and temporal resolutions (milisecond), and acquired pseudocolor hemoglobin saturation map a result of various image processing techniques can provide additional information such as oxygen transport, abnormal vascularity and therapeutic effects besides structural and physiological measurements in various diseases. To increase understanding of vascular defects several optical methods of imaging for preclinical/clinical assessment have been developed so far. However, they have some limitations for outcoming resolution and user satisfaction level compared to its cost. A hyperspectral imaging system has shown a wide range of vascular characteristics associated with hypervascularity, aberrant angiogenesis or abnormal vascular remodeling in many diseases. This vascular characteristic is considered as a key component to diagnose and detect a type of disease as evidenced by them.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.19-28
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• 1997

Constitutive cyclooxygenase (COX-I) is present in cells under physiological conditions, whereas inducible cyclooxygenase (COX-II) is induced by some cytokines, mitogens, and endotoxin presumably in pathological conditions such as inflammation. We have evaluated the inhibitory effects of solvent fractionated extracts of natural products on the activities of COX-I and COX-II. Oxygen uptake COX assay was performed, as a primary screening from the tissue extracts of bovine seminal vesicles (BSV), by monitoring the initial rate of oxygen uptake using an oxygen electrode. Additionally, we evaluated plant extracts for the inhibitory effects of COX-I (in HEL cells) and COX-II (in lipopolysaccharide activated J774A.1 macrophages) using thin layer chromatography of prostanoids produced from $^{14}C-labelled$ arachidonic acid (AA). The use of such models of COX-I and COX-II assay will lead to the identification of specific inhibitors of cyclooxygenases with presumably less side effects than present therapies. Inhibitory effects of 50 kinds of plant extracts on the COX-I and COX-II activities were determined and the active fractions were found in the ethyl acetate fractions of Dryopteris crassirhizoma (roots), Amomum cardamomum (roots), Triticum aestivum (seeds), Perilla sikokiana (leaves), Anemarrhena asphodeloides (roots). Especially, the ethyl acetate fraction of Dryopteris crassirhizoma (roots), which exhibited the strong inhibition against BSV COX $(IC_{50},\;65.4\;{\mu}g/ml)$, COX-I $(IC_{50},\;8.5\;{\mu}g/ml)$, and COX-II $(IC_{50},\;17.2\;{\mu}g/ml)$, is under investigation to isolate active principles using activity-guided fractionation method.

• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.1-15
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• 1999

Based on known physiological and psychophysical results, a neural network model for visual selection, called FeaureGate is proposed. The model consists of a hierarchy of spatial maps. and the flow of information from each level of the hierarchy to the next is controlled by attentional gates. The gates are jointly controlled by a bottom-up system favoring locations with unique features. and a top-down mechanism favoring locations with features designated as target features. The present study focuses on the top-down mechanism of the FeatureGate model that produces results similar to Moran and Desimone's (1985), which many current models have failed to explain, The FeatureGate model allows a consistent interpretation of many different experimental results in visual attention. including parallel feature searches and serial conjunction searches. attentional gradients triggered by cuing, feature-driven spatial selection, split a attention, inhibition of distractor locations, and flanking inhibition. This framework can be extended to produce a model of shape recognition using upper-level units that respond to configurations of features.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.489-500
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• 2013

Daily milk yields on test days were estimated using morning or afternoon partial milk yields collected by official agencies and the accuracy of the estimates was determined. Test-day data for milk yields consisted of 3,156,734 records of AM/PM partial milking measurements of 255,437 milking Holstein cows from 3,708 farms collected from December 2008 to April 2013. A linear regression model (LRM) was applied to estimate daily milk yields using alternate AM/PM milk yield records within lactation stages, milking intervals, and parities on every daily milk yield. The alternate statistical approach was a non-linear hierarchical model (NHM) in which Brody's growth function was implemented by reflecting an animal's physiological milk production cycle. When compared with LRM, daily milk yields predicted by the NHM were assumed to be functionally related to day in milk (or lactation) stage, milking intervals, and partial milk yields. Since the results were in terms of accuracies based on comparisons of different statistical models, accuracies of estimates of daily milk yields by NHM were close to those determined by the LRM. The average of these accuracies was 0.94 for AM partial milk yields and 0.93 for PM partial milk yields for first calving cows. However, the accuracies of AM/PM milk yield estimations from cows under a calving stage higher than the first parity were 0.96 and 0.95, respectively. Correlations between the estimated daily milk yields and the actual daily milk yields ranged from 0.96~0.98. These accuracies were lower for unbalanced AM/PM milking intervals and the first calving cows. Overall, prediction of daily milk yields by NHM would be more appropriate than by LRM due to its flexibility under different milk yield-related circumstances, which provides an idea of the functional relationship between milking intervals and days in milk with daily milk yields from statistical viewpoints.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.389-397
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• 2011

This study tried to integrate the traditional oriental medical theories and results of experimental studies of herbaceous plants on anti-diabetes. And I tried to analyze recent experimental study trend on the anti-diabetic herb. I searched anti-diabetic herb studies on 4 korean databases and 10 korean journals by keywords, 'diabetes', 'blood glucose', 'glycometabolism', 'pancreatic ${\beta}$-cell', etc. In order to see detail review, searching was performed from 2000 to 2010. And I searched 125 study cases concerning anti-diabetic herb and 72 varieties herbaceous plants used in study of anti-diabetes. and I analyzed the choice motives of each herb for anti-diabetic study, the extract methods and anti-diabetic evaluation contents. And I analyzed anti-diabetic herbs from a traditional oriental medical point of view. When the researchers chose herb for anti-diabetic experiment, just 8.8% of the choice was based on the oriental medical evidences. I found that 60.6% of the herb shown to be effective in diabetes experimentally had oriental medical theory-based Properties(性). There were studies with whole plants(16.8%), aqueous extract(45.6%), methanol extract(8.0%), ethanol extract(8.0%) and comparative studies of more than 2 types of extracts or various fractions(18.4%). The most frequent experimental diabetic models was diabetic mouse induced by streptozotocin(STZ)(87.8%). And there were db/db mouse(6.7%), ob/ob mouse(1.1%), etc. 33.6% of all studies just measured hematological indices of diabetes, and 66.4% researches analyzed details. To improve herbaceous plants study on diabetes, we oriental medical scientists have to integrate the oriental medical theories and results of experimental studies.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.593-599
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• 2008

This research was aimed to examine the effect of Polygoni Multiflori Radix extract on the blood pressure in spontaneous hypertensive rat (SHR) and norepinephrine - induced arterial contraction in rabbit. In order to investigate the effect of Polygoni Multiflori Radix on rabbit's contracted vascular ring detached from common carotid artery, vascular ring with intact or damaged endothelium was used for the experiment using organ bath. To analyze the mechanism of Polygoni Multiflori Radix-induced relaxation, Polygoni Multiflori Radix extract was infused into contracted vascular ring which had been pretreated by $N{\omega}$-nitro-L-arginine(L-NNA), Methylene blue(MB), and $Ca^{2+}$ was infused into contracted vascular ring induced by NE after treatment of Polygoni Multiflori Radix extract in $Ca^{2+}$-free solution. The results were as follows: Systolic blood pressure was significantly attenuated by administration of Polygoni Multiflori Radix. Blood flow and aldosterone were significantly decreased, but velocity and renin were not affected by Polygoni Multiflori Radix. Polygoni Multiflori Radix had an effective relaxation to the contracted vascular ring by NE in 0.03 mg/ml, 0.1 mg/ml and 0.3 mg/ml level. Polygoni Multiflori Radix had an effective relaxation to the intact endothelium vascular ring, but when endothelium was removed, vascular ring did not relax. Polygoni Multiflori Radix-induced relaxation was inhibited by the pretreatment of L-NNA and MB. Pretreatment of Polygoni Multiflori Radix extract inhibit the contraction by influx of extra-$Ca^{2+}$ in contracted vascular ring induced by NE in $Ca^{2+}$-free solution. As mentioned above, we suggest that Polygoni Multiflori Radix relaxes vascular ring through suppress influx of extra-cellular $Ca^{2+}$ by the action of nitric oxide from endothelium.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.34 no.8
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• pp.749-754
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• 2010

Knowledge of the characteristics of airflow in nasal cavities is essential to understand the physiological and pathological aspects of nasal breathing. In our laboratory, a series of experimental investigations on the nasal airflow was conducted; airflow in models of normal and deformed nasal cavities under both constant and periodic flow conditions was studied by PIV. Some of the patients with asymmetric nasal cavities experience pain or discomfort, while other patients with asymmetric nasal cavities do not experience pain. Airflows inside asymmetric nasal cavities with and without obstructions due to a bent nasal septum are investigated both experimentally by PIV and numerically by using the general-purpose FVM code in order to determine the reason for the above-mentioned discrepancy. The comparisons between two cases are tried. Heat and humidity distribution are investigated numerically.