• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.125-134
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• 2022

This study investigated whether or not the major bioactive compounds of Noni (Morinda citrifolia) are involved in anti-inflammatory activity through the JAK/STAT upper signaling pathway in RAW 264.7 cells. The experimental results show that the M. citrifolia ethyl acetate fraction (Mc-EtOAc) obtained by sequential fractionation with organic solvents from the plant's dried fruits exhibits the highest antioxidant activity. In addition, the cytoprotective effects of Mc-EtOAc against H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress in the RAW 264.7 cells suppressed cytotoxicity in a dose-dependent manner. The group pretreated with Mc-EtOAc at a concentration of 240 ㎍/ml showed higher cell viability of 84.5%, compared to 71.6% in the LPS-treated group, and LPS-induced NO production decreased to half the amount in the positive control group. Mc-EtOAc treatment also led to a significant dose-dependent reduction in iNOS expression. Although COX-2 expression was increased by 300% following LPS induction, it was significantly decreased in a dose-dependent manner by pretreatment with Mc-EtOAc at concentrations of 120 and 240 ㎍/ml. An inhibition of the mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and TNF-α was observed. The investigation also revealed that the phosphorylation levels of pJAK1 and pSTAT3 in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells were significantly reduced by Mc-EtOAc treatment.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.65 no.4
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• pp.405-412
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• 2022

Echinodorus cordifolius (L.) is an aquatic plant in the family Alismataceae. The anti-skin aging activity of E. cordifolius (L.) has not been yet reported. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to prepare 70% ethanol extract (ECEE) from E. cordifolius (L.) and investigate their antioxidant and anti-hyaluronidase activities for confirm the potential of anti-skin aging. ECEE showed good activities of DPPH, hydrogen peroxide scavenging, and hyaluronidase inhibition, with EC₅₀ and IC₅₀ values of 31.4, 300, and 450 ㎍/mL, respectively. ECEE also significantly improved cell viability and inhibited intracellular reactive oxygen species dose-dependently against 1 mM hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress in immortalized human keratinocytes (HaCaT cells). Furthermore, ECEE upregulated hyaluronic acid (HA)-synthesizing enzyme hyaluronan synthase 2 (HAS2) expression level, but downregulated expression level of HA-degrading enzyme hyaluronidase 2, resulting in increased HA production in HaCaT cells. Taken together, these results suggest that ECEE shows antioxidant and anti-hyaluronidase potential and could be a functional cosmetic ingredients for anti-skin aging.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.23 no.11
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• pp.77-85
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• 2007

This paper investigates the mechanical characteristics of composite geo-material which was developed to reuse both dredged soils and bottom ash. The composite geo-material used in this experiment consists of dredged soil taken from the construction site of Busan New Port, cement, air foam and bottom ash. Bottom ash is a by-product generated at the Samcheonpo thermal power plant. Several series of laboratory tests were performed to investigate behavior characteristics of composite gee-material, in particular the reinforcing effect by mixing bottom ash. The experimental results of composite geo-material indicated that the stress-strain relationship and the unconfined compressive strength are strongly influenced by mixing conditions. Especially it was observed that the compressive strength of composite geo-material increased with an increase in bottom ash content due to reinforcing effect by the bottom ash. Compressive strength of composite geo-material increased with the increase in curing time. The 28-day strength of composite geo-material is $1.7{\sim}1.8$ times higher than the 7-day strength. The moist unit weight strongly depended on air-foam content as well as bottom ash content added to the composite goo-material. In composite geo-material, secant modulus ($E_{50}$) also increased as its compressive strength increased due to the inclusion of bottom ash.

• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.51-60
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• 2016

This study was selected drought tolerant plants, by observing the physiological characteristics and biochemical materials from the 9 kinds of the Compositae plants. After selecting plants of the similar size, and then drought stress was induced by the irrigation stopping. Survival rates, chlorophyll values, relative water content(RWC), excised-leaf water loss(ELWL), proline, reducing sugar were measured after 30 days of stopping irrigation. The species that had high rates of survival were Ainsliaea acerifolia Sch. Bip, Aster koraiensis, Aster scaber, Dendranthema zawadskii(S), however other 5 species were dead. The remaining factors have been determined based on plant species showed a higher survival rate. However, chlorophyll content showed high values in A. acerifolia, A.altaicus var. uchiyamae, A. koraiensis, and will have been determined that has no correlation with survival rates, except for A. acerifolia and A. koraiensis. On the other hand, A. scaber, A. acerifolia, A. koraiensis were determined to be relatively high drought tolerant plants in RWC, ELWL, proline, reducing sugar, it showed a similar correlation with survival rate. As a result of 9 kinds of the Compositae plants A. scaber, A. acerifolia, A. koraiensis were considered relatively higher drought tolerant plants.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.95-95
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• 2022

Maize is one of the world's three largest crops and has a long cultivation history, and is an important crop used for various purposes such as food, feed, and industrial raw materials. Recently, the agricultural environment is changing, in which the limit of cultivation of crops is shifted to the north due to the rise in temperature due to climate change. This study was conducted in experimental field of Suwon in 2022 by setting a seeding period earlier than the sowing time to establish the North Korean agricultural climatic zone and meteorological conditions. The test cultivars were silage cultivars, Kwangpyeongok and Dacheongok. As a priming test method, it was used to directly plant seeds in the field through immersion using 4mM zinc (Zn) and 2.5mM manganese (Mn), which are trace elements for seeds. The planting season was early on March 15th, April 1st, and April 15th. The number of days from sowing to silk stage of the two cultivars sown on March 15, April 1, and April 15 was 107, 93, and 85 days for Kwangpyeongok and 109, 95, and 87 days for Dacheongok, respectively. The seed priming test did not show any difference from the control group in the growth survey up to the middle stage of growth. In another test, low-temperature recovery was confirmed through nitrogen (2-5%) foliar fertilization after 3 days, 5 days, and 7 days in refrigeration (0 degrees), a selective low temperature treatment for com in the third leaf stage. As a result of this study, it was confirmed that the low-temperature damaged com treated at 0℃ showed the same growth as that of the untreated com through nitrogen foliar fertilization. These results suggest that urea foliar fertilization for low-temperature damage reduction of corn for silage in high-latitude climates will be helpful. In addition, through the results of the study, additional studies are needed on the recovery mechanism and field application through urea foliar fertilization.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.107-114
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• 2024

Objective : Cicadae Periostracum (CP), which is the discarded shell of the Cryptotympana atrata (Fabricius, 1775), is a recognized component of oriental medicine for treatment sore throat, itching, shock, sedation, edema. However, the safety and toxicity of CP have not yet been established. It has been reported that symptoms of addiction or side effects may occur in patients who take high doses of CP or who are hypersensitive to it. Therefore, we investigated the acute toxicity of an CP extracts in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Methods : To study acute toxicity, five SD rats of each sex per group were treated with CP extracts at single doses of 0, 500, 1000, or 2000 mg/kg administrated by oral gavage, and body weight, clinical signs, and mortality were observed after dosing. At the end of 14-day observation period, all animals were sacrificed and complete hematological and macroscopic examinations were performed. Results : There were no dead animal and test article-related effects on body weight change or the gross finding. No toxicologically significant results were observed between control and treated groups in hematology. Although salivation related to stress at the highest dose was observed in clinical signs immediately after administration, it is considered to have no toxicological significance. Conclusion : As the results, we did not find any adverse effect at the dose levels of 500, 1000, or 2000 mg/kg in rats. The minimal lethal dose was considered to be over 2000 mg/kg body weight in rats.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.66
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• pp.250-257
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• 2023

Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter distributed in the central nervous system of mammals. However, high concentrations of glutamate are known to cause neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and stroke by causing nerve cell death. In this study, the antioxidant activity and neuroprotective effect of subtropical natural products were analyzed. Among 11 subtropical plant extracts mainly tested, Sallacca wallichiana extract (SE) showed the greatest free radical scavenging activity. Then, we confirmed through WST-1 assay that SE protected HT22 cells against glutamate-induced cell death in a concentration-dependent manner. The protective effects of SE against glutamate-induced apoptosis in HT22 cells were also confirmed by flow cytometry analysis using Annexin V/PI double staining. We also confirmed using H₂DCF-DA single staining that SE inhibits glutamate-induced intracellular reactive oxygen species. And we were confirmed through that SE inhibited glutamate-induced phosphorylation of Mitogen-activated Protein kinases. Consequently, our results propose that SE may contribute to the development of therapeutics to prevent neurodegenerative diseases.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2015

This study was conducted to evaluate influence of short-term application of abscisic acid (ABA) in nutrient solution on growth and drought tolerance of tomato seedlings. The treatments included four ABA concentrations (0.5, 1, 2, $3mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$) and control (non-treatment) were applied to the nutrient solution in a hydroponic system. On the $5^{th}$ and $10^{th}$ day after growing in the nutrient solution containing ABA, seedlings were transferred to -5 bars of PEG-8000 in a growth chamber to induce water stress. Except for stem diameter and fresh and dry weight of root, there were no statistical differences in other growth parameters among control, 0.5 and $1mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ of ABA treatments. Seedlings growths were strongly inhibited in nutrient solution containing 2 and $3mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ of ABA. The root growth such as fresh and dry weigh of root, total root surface area, and average root diameter was slightly enhanced in $1mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ of ABA treatment. The elevation of ABA concentrations in nutrient solution resulted in the decrease in transpiration rate and increase in stomatal diffusive resistance and leaf temperature of tomato seedlings. The initiations of seedling wilting after treating in -5 bars of PEG were delayed from 10 hrs in control to 30 hrs in ABA applied treatments. Additionally, the high percentages of recovered seedlings were observed in 0.5 and $1mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ of ABA treatments after re-irrigation. Therefore, short-term application of $1mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ of ABA in the nutrient solution stimulated the root growth and drought tolerance of tomato seedlings by delaying the start time of wilting point and enhancing the recovery after re-irrigation.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.388-398
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• 2020

Watermelon yield mainly depends on soil water content controlled by irrigation in a plastic greenhouse. In this study, we investigated the effect of different soil moisture contents affected by irrigation starting point on growth, yield, and physiological responses of small-sized watermelons. Irrigation was initiated at 5 different levels of soil water content as a starting point with soil moisture detecting sensor after 14 days of transplanting, and stopped at 7 ~ 10 days before harvest. These treatments were compared with the conventional periodic irrigation as control. When soil had the lowest moisture content (-50 kPa), the overall shoot growth was retarded, but the root length and root dry weight increased. The photosynthetic parameters (photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and transpiration rate) of watermelon leaves decreased significantly in the lowest soil moisture content (-50 kPa). On the other hand, the photosynthetic rates of watermelon leaves grown with irrigation starting point between -20 and -40 kPa were observed to be higher than those of other treatments. Fruit set rate and marketable fruit yield increased significantly at -30 kPa and -40 kPa. Proline, abscisic acid (ABA), total phenol and citrulline, which are known to contribute to stress tolerance under drought condition, increased as soil water content decreased, particularly, the largest increases were recorded at -50 kPa. From these results, it was found that an appropriate water supply adjusted with an irrigation starting point between -30 and -40 kPa could help to keep favorable soil water content during the cultivation of small-sized watermelons, promoting the marketable fruit production as well as inducing the vigorous plant growth and reproductive development.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.183-192
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• 1982

The variability of rice productivity during last 2 decades (1961-1980) of ten years before and after the introduction of"Tongil" was reviewed from the epochal, regional and varietal points of view. During that period the cultivated area of paddy rice have remained almost unchanged, while the total rice production have got elevated from 3, 463 million metric tons in 1961 to 6.006 million metric tons in 1977, recording 73.4% increase. This remarkable increase in rice production is considered to be attributable much to the development and release of new high yielding variety, "Tongil", coupled with the amelioration of cultural techniques. However, in 1978 Tongil type varieties experienced the epidemic outbreak of blast disease due to the shifted race population of blast fungus and in 1980 recorded poor rice production as low as in 1960's due to the unfavorable weather stress throughout the rice growing season, giving rise to many problems awaiting solutions for securing the stabilized high production of rice. The rice yield has continued the gradual increase during last two decades but its difference between farmer and research organization have got wider from 79kg/10a during 1960 to 1971 to 101kg/l0a during 1972 to 1980, and also the inter-regional differences have been increased from 50-60kg/10a to 80kg/10a during those periods. Therefore, this proves that we have raised the upper boundary of rice yield by increasing the yield potential of rice variety but have not changed those absolute deviations. Estimates indicate that the increased rice production during that period was indebted 40 percent to the varietal improvement and 13 percent to the ameliorated agro-technologies, and the rest, 47 percent, could be ascribed to the other factors besides varieties and cultural technologies such as the improved agricultural environments, etc. Of course, even though it cannot be expected to unify the cultural environments and the cultural technologies, provided that much efforts are to be endeavored to minimize the yield difference of 20 percent between farmer and research organizations and the inter-regional yield difference of 20 percent, much increased rice production can be expected to be achieved with the current level of cultural technology and the yielding potential of the present rice varieties. In order to expedite the above effects on rice production the followings are to be put into practices consitently and steadfastly. 1. Reinforcement of breeding for varieties with high yielding potential and less susceptible to climatic-stress and pests, and of basic physicoecological studies of rice plant for improving the cultural technologies. 2. Continuous endeavor to secure the stabilized cultural environments by improving the soil fertility and increasing the drainage and irrigation facilities. 3. Political back-up to encourage the farmers' incentives for production 4. Precise surveys for agricultural statistics to facilitate the long-term planninge long-term planning.