• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.1447-1451
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• 2007

Through the screening of marine natural compounds that inhibit cancer cell proliferation, we previously reported that pectenotoxin-2 (PTX-2) isolated from marine sponges exhibits selective cytotoxicity against several cell lines in p53-deficient tumor cells compared to those with functional p53. However, the molecular mechanisms of its anti-proliferative action on malignant cell growth are not completely known. To further explore the mechanisms of its anti-cancer activity and to test whether the status of p53 in liver cancer cells correlates with their chemo-sensitivities to PTX-2, we used two well-known hepatocarcinoma cell lines, p53-deficient Hep3B and p53-wild type HepG2. We have demonstrated that PTX-2 markedly inhibits Hep3B cell growth and induces apoptosis whereas HepG2 cells are much more resistant to PTX-2 suggesting that PTX-2 seems to act by p53-independent cytotoxic mechanism. The apoptosis induced by PTX-2 in Hep3B cells was associated with the modulation of DNA fragmentation factor (DFF) family proteins, up-regulation of pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members such as Bax and Bcl-xS and activation of caspases (caspase-3, -8 and -9). Blockade of the caspase-3 activity by caspase-3 inhibitor, z-DEVD-fmk, prevented the PTX-2-induced growth inhibition in Hep3B cells. Moreover, treatment with PTX-2 also induced phosphorylation of AKT and extracellular-signal regulating kinase (ERK), but not c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MARK). Specific inhibitors of PI3K inhibitor (LY294002) and ERK1/2 inhibitor (PD98059) significantly blocks PTX-2-induced-anti-proliferative effects, whereas a JNK inhibitor (SP600125) and a p38 MAPK inhibitor (SB203580) have no significant effects demonstrating that the pro-apoptotic effect of PTX-2 mediated through activation of AKT and ERK signal pathway in Hep3B cells.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.12
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• pp.1678-1688
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• 2011

The apoptogenic effect of p-coumaric acid, a phenolic acid found in various edible plants, on human acute leukemia Jurkat T cells was investigated. Exposure of Jurkat T cells to p-coumaric acid (50-$150{\mu}M$) caused cytotoxicity and TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL)-positive apoptotic DNA fragmentation along with Bak activation, ${\Delta}{\psi}m$ loss, activation of caspase-9, -3, -7, and -8, and PARP degradation in a dose-dependent manner. However,these apoptotic events were completely abrogated in Jurkat T cells overexpressing Bcl-2.Under these conditions, necrosis was not accompanied. Pretreatment of the cells with the pan-caspase inhibitor (z-VAD-fmk) could prevent p-coumaric acid-induced sub-$G_1$ peak representing apoptotic cells, whereas it failed to block ${\Delta}{\psi}m$ loss, indicating that the activation of caspase cascade was prerequisite for p-coumaric acid-induced apoptosis as a downstream event of ${\Delta}{\psi}m$ loss. FADD- and caspase-8-positive wild-type Jurkat T cell clone A3, FADD-deficient Jurkat T cell clone I2.1, and caspase-8-deficient Jurkat T cell clone I9.2 exhibited similar susceptibilities to the cytotoxicity of p-coumaric acid, excluding an involvement of Fas/FasL system in triggering the apoptosis. The apoptogenic activity of p-coumaric acid is more potent in malignant Jurkat T cells than in normal human peripheral T cells. Together, these results demonstrated that p-coumaric acid-induced apoptogenic activity in Jurkat T cellswas mediated by Bak activation, ${\Delta}{\psi}m$ loss, and subsequent activation of multiple caspases such as caspase-9, -3, -7, and-8, and PARP degradation, which could be regulated by anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.683-693
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• 2009

This study was designed to investigate the effect of dandelion juice supplementation on attenuation of oxidative stress and hangover after drinking alcohol in healthy college male students. This human trial was conducted by two phase cross over design with two weeks wash out period. The subjects (age $24{\sim}28$ years) were volunteers who had more than 72 g of ethanol drinking capacity. Dandelion group was given dandelion juice 220 mL daily for 7 days. Biochemical markers were determined in blood samples taken at 0 and 150 minutes after administration 72 g of alcohol. The levels of plasma glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, glutamic pyruvic transaminase, lactate dehydrogenase and bilirubin, the indicators of liver cell damage, were not significantly different between groups. No significant differences in lymphocyte DNA damage level between groups was observed. However, plasma acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were significantly (p<0.01) increased in dandelion supplemented group compared to that of control group. Furthermore, activities and protein expressions of glutathione-reductase and catalase of erythrocytes were significantly elevated in dandelion supplemented group compared to that of control group. From the above results, it is concluded that dandelion juice supplementation can reduce oxidative stress and hangover syndrome through the elevation of ALDH and antioxidative enzyme system in healthy male adults.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.31-39
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• 2009

Purpose : Neisseria meningitides is one of the most common causative pathogens of bacteremia and meningitis. Recently protein-conjugated vaccines have been developed and included in the routine vaccination schedule in a few countries. In Korea, carriage rates of N. meningitides among healthy adults have been reported. However, systematic data for childhood carriage rates are not available. This study was performed to evaluate the carriage rates of N. meningitides and the serotype distribution among healthy children attending day care centers. Methods : During the period of January through May 2005, nasopharyngeal swabs and culture were obtained from 904 children attending 13 different day care centers located in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. The Vitek NHI card was used to identify N. meningitides and the crgA gene was detected via polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Serotype determination was performed by agglutination test using N. meningitides antisera to serotypes A, B, C, D, 29E, W135, X, Y, and Z. PCR for detection of the org2 and saiD gene confirmed serotypes A, B, C, W135, and Y. Results : The mean age among 904 children was 4.5 years; 6.5% (59/904) were children <2 years old, 53.8% (486/904) were 2-5 years old, and 39.7% (359/904) were >5 years old; 52.0% (468/904) were male. N. meningitides was isolated from only 7 children attending 5 different day care centers and the overall carriage rate of N. meningitides was 0.8%. The detected serotypes of N. meningitides were serotype A (n=2), C (n=2), and Y (n=3). Conclusion : The carriage rate of N. meningitides among healthy children attending day care centers was very low in Korea and the detected serotypes were A, C, and Y.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.457-468
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• 2014

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of mixed-sowing of legume forage and applying of cattle manure on the productivity of rye in order to produce the organic roughage to be effectively reducing the environmental contamination and to provide Hanwoo rearing farmer with safe organic animal products. The present study also aimed to evaluate optimal applying level of cattle manure and carrying capacity of Korean native cattle (Hanwoo) per unit area. The annual amount of crude protein (CP) of rye in Gyeongju were higher than those of in Gyeongsan and Yeongju, and the mixed-sowing of forage pea was the highest (p<0.05) compared with the single-sowing. The amount of CP were increased proportionately corresponded to the applying level of fermented cattle manure, and found significantly (p<0.05) high at the level of 100 and 150 kg/ha groups. With feed value of forage, CP was tended to be higher in the mixed-sowing of legume than the single-sowing of rye at the wintering experimental sites of legume, and in particular the forage peas was higher (p<0.05) than other crops. Carrying capacity of organic Hanwoo (head/ha) was higher (p<0.05) in Gyeongju (3.28 head) than that in Gyeongsan (1.94) and Yeongju (1.50). The carrying capacity in the single-sowing of rye also was lower than that in the mixed-sowing of legume, and the forage peas was the highest among the mixed-sowing groups (p<0.05). Overall, the present results showed that it would be recommended to take into account the wintering for mix-sowing of legume. The fermented cattle manure may be applied for legume in the wintering unavailable regions. In addition, the applying the fermented cattle manure at the level of 100~150kg/ha and the mix-sowing of legume with forage peas may increase the productivity per unit area and feed value including CP for improving carrying capacity of organic Hanwoo.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.89-97
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• 2016

This study was carried out to determine the effect of mixed pasture using domestic varieties orchardgrass 'Kodione' and tall fescue 'Purumi' on forage yields and botanical composition from 2013 to 2015 in middle region of Korea. The following mixed pastures were used in this study: treatment A (orchardgrass oriented mixture with imported varieties), treatment B (orchardgrass oriented mixture), treatment C (orchardgrass and tall fescue oriented mixture), treatment D (tall fescue oriented mixture), treatment E (tall fescue oriented mixture without orchardgrass), treatment F (only orchardgrass), and treatment G (only tall fescue). In botanical compositions at last cutting time in 2015, treatment A had orchardgrass at 7.1%, tall fescue at 47.9%, kentucky bluegrass at 15.2% and white clover at 25%. Meanwhile, treatment B had orchardgrass at 25.9%, tall fescue at 47.0%, kentucky bluegrass at 4.9% and white clover at 18.3%. Consequentially, in botanical composition from 2014 to 2015, treatment A was changed more compare to other treatments B, C, D and E. The average of dry matter (DM) yield for 2 years of treatment E (18,369 kg/ha) was the highest among the seven treatments, but there was no significant difference among other treatments except treatment A (p>0.05). The crude protein (CP) and in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) of treatment A were 14.5% and 74.8%, and treatment E were 14.1% and 73.0%, respectively. The content of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) were lower in treatment E and A than other treatments, and treatment E showed high content of total digestible nutrient (TDN). Therefore, tall fescue oriented mixture using domestic tall fescue variety Purumi had good forage productivity, quality and botanical composition in middle region of Korea for the establishment of grassland.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.52-59
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• 2014

This study was conducted to estimate the Hanwoo carrying capacity when whole crop wheat, as a winter forage crop, was grown on mixed-sowing of legume forage and by applying cattle manure on the productivity and feed value of whole crop wheat during the period of 2012~2013. The experiment was conducted in a split plot design with three replications. The main plots consisted of three different culture methods such as whole crop wheat and mixed sowing combination with hairy vetch or forage pea. The subplots consisted of four different applications of cattle manure (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg N/ha). The annual amount of dry matter (DM) of whole crop wheat in Gyeongju were higher than those of in Gyeongsan and Yeongju, and the mixed-sowing of hairy vetch mixture was the highest (p<0.05) compared with the single-sowing of whole crop wheat and mixed-sowing of legume in Gyeongju. The DM amounts were increased proportionately corresponded to the applying level of cattle manure, and was found to be significantly (p<0.05) high at the level of 100 and 150 kg/ha groups. With the feed value of forage, the crude protein (CP) contents tended to be higher in the mixed-sowing of legume than the single-sowing of whole crop wheat at the wintering experimental sites of legume. For whole crop wheat, total digestible nutrients (TDN) content was the highest in the mixed sowing plots of forage pea in Gyeongsan; however, there was no significant differences among the single-sowing of whole crop wheat. The carrying capacity of Hanwoo (head/ha) was higher (p<0.05) in Gyeongju (3.83 head) than that in Gyeongsan (3.11) and Yeongju (1.35). Further, the carrying capacity in the single-sowing of whole crop wheat was lower than that in the mixed-sowing of legume, and the hairy vetch was the highest among the mixed-sowing groups (p<0.05). Overall, the present results recommend taking into account the wintering for the mix-sowing of legume in Gyeongbuk province. The cattle manure may be applied for legume in the wintering unavailable regions. In addition, applying cattle manure at the level of 100~150 kg/ha and the mix-sowing of legume may increase the productivity per unit area and feed value, including the CP, for improving the carrying capacity of Hanwoo.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2014

Field studies were conducted from the years 2009 to 2012 in order to determine the cultivation limit as well as to evaluate the characteristics and forage production of warm season grass in Korea. Two bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] cultivars, two bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flugge) cultivars and a Kleingrass [Panicum coloratum L.] cultivar were compared for forage production and quality in the mid-southern regions of Korea. The experimental design was a randomized block design (RBD) with three replications. The number of days to seedling emergence for bremudagrass and bahiagrass was observed as approximately 12 days and 28 days after seeding, respectively. In Kwangju, the heading dates of bahiagrass and kleingrass were 21 August and 10 July, respectively,. Warm season grass did not winter in the mid-regions (Kimjea, Cheonan) of Korea. All of the Bermudagrass cultivars had higher dry matter (DM) than bahiagrass at the first harvest. The dry matter yield of kleingrass was usually greater than the other entries at all study sites. Peak forage DM production of bermudagrass and bahiagrass cultivars occurred in June and July, respectively. The contents of crude protein (CP) and total digestibility nutrient (TDN) for bermudagrass cultivars were usually greater than the other entries at all study sites. Further, acid detergent fiber (ADF) and in vitro DM digestibility (IVDMD) were similar across all cultivars.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.213-217
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• 2006

The halophilic bacterium Vibrio vulnificus is known to be a foodborne pathogen that causes septicemia in human. V. vulnificus infection is characterized by the high fatality rates and the primary attack against a person who have underlying diseases such as liver cirrhosis. However, there is no effective treatment for V. vulnificus septicemia except for classical treatments such as antibiotics. Recently, it has been known that lipoprotein (LDL) plays a major role in the protection against infection and inflammation. Consequently in this paper we analyzed the effects of LDL on V. vulnificus septicemia. We purified V. vulnificus cytolysin, a major virulent factor of V. vulnificus infection and measured inhibitory effects of mouse serum, cholesterol, and LDL on its hemolytic activity. Next experiments were performed to investigate whether LDL has a protective role against septicemia induced by V. vulnificus in mice. Intraperitoneal injection of LDL (1mg as protein) into mice 3hr before V. vulnificus $(1\times10^6\;CFU)$ injection, and V. vulnificus -induced lethality was determined. For the determination the relationship between LDL or cholesterol and prognosis, we determined serum levels of cholesterol and lipoprotein from V. vulnificus septicemia patients (n=15) who had visited the Chonbuk National University Hospital in Chonju. V. vulnificus cytolysin -induced hemolysis of mice erythrocytes was completely inhibited by serum, cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein. V. vulnificus- induced lethality of mice injected with LDL showed only 40% compared to 100% of control. In survival groups (n=4) of V. vulnificus septicemia patients (n=15), their serum LDL and cholesterol revealed normal levels ($153.3{\pm}40.7,\;LDL;\;190.8{\pm}16.3$, Total cholesterol). However, in death groups (n=11) showed very low levels ($35.6{\pm}13.9,\;LDL;\;59.2{\pm}15.1$, Total cholesterol). Our study indicates that cholesterol and LDL are a prognosis indicator of V. vulnificus septicemia as well as an inhibitor of virulent action of V. vulnificus cytolysin. We suggested that the serum levels of cholesterol or LDL would be major index in the treatment and prevention of V. vulnificus septicemia.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.269-280
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to investigate the dietary habits, health status, and nutrients status of male college students in Seoul according to vegetarian habits. The heights of lacto-ovo vegetarian and non-vegetarian students were not significantly different. However, body weight was significantly higher in the non-vegetarians. The lacto-ovo-vegetarians were vegetarians for religious reasons, and indicated 86.0% satisfaction with their meals. However, the lacto-ovo vegetarian and non-vegetarians showed concerns about low nutrient intakes. Lacto-ovo vegetarians displayed a higher proportion of meal regularity and daily breakfast as compared to non-vegetarians. In addition, their favorite food when eating out was Korean food. Lacto-ovo vegetarians showed higher intakes of milk or other dairy products (yogurt, etc.), vegetables, and fruit, as well as more regular eating habits. In contrast, the non-vegetarians showed higher intakes of high-protein foods (eggs, beans, tofu, etc.) and fatty foods. Lacto-ovo vegetarians showed lower intakes of total energy, as well as vitamins $B_2$, $B_6$, and niacin. Non-vegetarians showed in sufficient dietary fiber intake. In conclusion, lacto-ovo-vegetarians need a meal plan to consider the intake of other nutrients, while non-vegetarians should try to prevent the occurrence of health problems due to excessive intake of nutrients.