• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.414-419
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• 2014

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are zinc-dependent endopeptidases that regulate cell-matrix composition and are also involved in processing various bioactive molecules such as cell-surface receptors, chemokines, and cytokines. Our group recently reported that MMP-3, -8, and -9 are upregulated during microglial activation and play a role as proinflammatory mediators (Lee et al., 2010, 2014). In particular, we demonstrated that MMP-8 has tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-${\alpha}$)-converting enzyme (TACE) activity by cleaving the prodomain of TNF-${\alpha}$ and that inhibition of MMP-8 inhibits TACE activity. The present study was undertaken to compare the effect of MMP-8 inhibitor (M8I) with those of inhibitors of other MMPs, such as MMP-3 (NNGH) or MMP-9 (M9I), in their regulation of TNF-${\alpha}$ activity. We found that the MMP inhibitors suppressed TNF-${\alpha}$ secretion from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV2 microglial cells in an order of efficacy: M8I>NNGH>M9I. In addition, MMP inhibitors suppressed the activity of recombinant TACE protein in the same efficacy order as that of TNF-${\alpha}$ inhibition (M8I>NNGH>M9I), proving a direct correlation between TACE activity and TNF-${\alpha}$ secretion. A subsequent pro-TNF-${\alpha}$ cleavage assay revealed that both MMP-3 and MMP-9 cleave a prodomain of TNF-${\alpha}$, suggesting that MMP-3 and MMP-9 also have TACE activity. However, the number and position of cleavage sites varied between MMP-3, -8, and -9. Collectively, the concurrent inhibition of MMP and TACE by NNGH, M8I, or M9I may contribute to their strong anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.435-441
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• 2013

Emodin, a naturally occurring anthraquinone derivative isolated from Polygoni cuspidati radix, has several beneficial pharmacologic effects, which include anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, and anti-inflammatory activities. In this study, the authors examined the effect of emodin on the production of proinflammatory cytokines, such as, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-${\alpha}$ and interleukin (IL)-6, in mouse bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMCs) stimulated with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) plus the calcium ionophore A23187. To investigate the mechanism responsible for the regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokine production by emodin, the authors assessed its effects on the activations of transcriptional factor nuclear factor-${\kappa}B$ (NF-${\kappa}B$) and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). Emodin attenuated the nuclear translocation of (NF)-${\kappa}B$ p65 and its DNA-binding activity by reducing the phosphorylation and degradation of $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$ and the phosphorylation of $I{\kappa}B$ kinase B (IKK). Furthermore, emodin dose-dependently attenuated the phosphorylations of MAPKs, such as, extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), p38 MAP kinase, and the stress-activated protein kinases (SAPK)/c-Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK). Taken together, the findings of this study suggest that the anti-inflammatory effects of emodin on PMA plus A23187-stimulated BMMCs are mediated via the inhibition of NF-${\kappa}B$ activation and of the MAPK pathway.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.409-415
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• 2017

This study aims to evaluate the effect of capping materials on blocking pollutant elution from contaminated sediment to water body. Experiments were carried out under conditions in which the elution rate was intensified artificially using compost with high concentration of organic compound and nutrient salts instead of sediments. Activated carbon (AC), modified activated carbon (MAC), P. putida immobilized activated carbon (PBAC) and effective microorganisms immobilized activated carbon (EBAC) were used as capping materials. Zeolite (ZT) and two kinds of commercially available microorganisms immobilized zeolite products (ZC, ZN) were used for comparison experiment. The elution rate of organic compound, nitrogen and phosphorus were compared with that of control experiment. The experiments were conducted for 56 days. Concentrations of chemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus were measured to use the comparison of release rate of organic compound, nitrogen and phosphorus. From the experimental results, AC based materials showed better performance to block the elution of organic compound and nitrogen than ZT based materials. Although ZT based materials were more effective than AC and PBAC to block phosphorus, MAC and EBAC showed the best performance of phosphorus elution blocking among the all candidate materials. In conclusion, EBAC is considered as the most effective capping materials, because organic compound, nitrogen and phosphorus will be degraded continuously by EM in the long term.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.233-240
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• 2015

Although the effects of the rice bran have recently been investigated, there is no information regarding platelet physiology available. However, it is well known that fermented natural plants have a beneficial effect on cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate whether fermented rice bran extract (FRBE) with several plants (Artemisia princeps, Angelica Gigantis Radix, Cnidium officinale, and Camellia sinensis) affected agonist-induced platelet aggregation, and if so, what the underlying mechanism of its activity was. We performed several experiments, including in vitro platelet aggregation, intracellular calcium concentration and adenosine triphosphate release. In addition, the activation of integrin ${\alpha}_{II}b{\beta}3$ was determined using fibrinogen binding. Thrombus formation was also evaluated in vivo using an arterio-venous shunt model. The FRBE inhibited collagen-induced platelet aggregation in a concentration-dependent manner. FRBE significantly and dose dependently attenuated thrombus formation using rat arterio-venous shunt. FRBE suppressed the intracellular calcium mobilization in collagen-stimulated platelets. We also found that FRBE inhibited extracellular stimuli-responsive kinase 1/2, p38-mitogen-activated protein kinases and c-Jun N-terminal kinase phosphorylation. These results suggested that FRBE inhibited collagen-induced platelet aggregation, which was mediated by modulation of downstream signaling molecules. In conclusion, FRBE could be developed as a functional food against aberrant platelet activation-related cardiovascular diseases.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.520-531
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• 2018

Aim of this study is to investigate the perception and purchasing status of functional beverages for adults in the Chungnam area. In this case, the reasons to buy the functional beverages for men were 'recovery of fatigue (43.1%)', 'quenching thirst (21.6%)', 'health promotion (19.6%)', 'supply of nutrition (15%)', and 'a loss in weight (7%)'. Otherwise the reasons to buy the functional beverage for women showed to be 'recovery of fatigue (28.6%)', 'health promotion (26.4%)', 'quenching thirst (22.1%)', 'supply of nutrition (12.9%)', and 'a loss in weight (10%)', which were significant different between the men and women subjects. The place to buy functional beverages was for singles (46.5%) a store and for married person a supermarket. The purchase of functional beverages was affected by as follows; manufactured date > original granule > nutrition sign > country > price > taste > brand > scent > color and the women are affected more than men. For functional beverages, the men preferred to buy an energy drink and vitamin drink more than the women. After the intake of functional beverages, the men and women recognized the effect on 'recovery of fatigue' and 'a loss of weight/release of a feeling of hunger/improvement of constipation', respectively. Considering the results of the study, it is necessary to clarify the function of functional beverages so that consumers can choose and take the correct functional beverage by themselves. In addition, the nutritional education should be conducted for the intake allowance for the compositions and excessive or inadequate intake of functional beverages.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.3-15
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• 2014

An articulatory study (using an Electromagnetic Articulography, EMA) was conducted to explore effects of prosodic boundary strength (Intonational Phrase/IP versus Word/Wd), and focus (Focused/accented, Neutral, Unfocused/unaccented) on the kinematic realization of /m/ in the coda (${\ldots}$am#i${\ldots}$) and the onset (${\ldots}$a#mi${\ldots}$) conditions in Korean. (Here # refers to a prosodic boundary such as an IP or a Wd boundary). Several important points have emerged. First, the boundary effect on /m/s was most robustly observed in the temporal dimension in both the coda (IP-final) and the onset (IP-initial) conditions, generally in line with cross-linguistically observable boundary-related lengthening patterns. Crucially, however, in contrast with boundary-related slowing-down effects that have been observed in English, both the IP-final and IP-initial temporal expansions of Korean /m/s were not accompanied by an articulatory slowing down. They were, if anything, associated with a faster movement in the lip opening (release) phase (into the vowel). This suggests that the mechanisms underlying boundary-related temporal expansions may differ between languages. Second, observed boundary-induced strengthening effects (both spatial and temporal expansions, especially on the IP-initial /m/s) were remarkably similar to prominence (focus)-induced strengthening effects, which is again counter to phrase-initial strengthening patterns observed in English in which boundary effects are dissociated from prominent effects. This suggests that initial syllables in Korean may be a common focus for both boundary and prominence marking. These results, taken together, imply that the boundary-induced strengthening in Korean is different in nature from that in English, each being modulated by the individual language's prosodic system. Third, the coda and the onset /m/s were found to be produced in a subtly but significantly different way even in a Wd boundary condition, a potentially neutralizing (resyllabification) context. This suggests that although the coda may be phonologically 'resyllabified' into the following syllable in a phrase-medial position, its underlying syllable affiliation is kinematically distinguished from the onset.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.2993-2999
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• 2014

Saccharina japonica is a family member of Phaeophyceae (brown macro-alga) and extensively cultivated in China, Japan and Korea. Here, the potential anti-cancer effect of n-hexane fraction of S. japonica was evaluated in SK-Hep1 human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. The N-hexane fraction reduced cell viability and increased the numbers of apoptotic cells in a both dose- and time-dependent manner. Apoptosis was activated by both caspase-dependent and independent pathways. The caspase-dependent cell death pathway is mediated by cell surface death receptors and activated caspase-8 amplified the apoptotic signal either through direct activation of downstream caspase-3 or pro-apoptotic proteins (Bad, Bax and Bak) subsequently leading to the release of cytochrome c. On the other hand, caspase-independent apoptosis appeared mediated by disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential and translocation of AIF to the nucleus where they induced chromatin condensation and/or large-scale DNA fragmentation. In addition, the n-hexane fraction induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-stress and cell cycle arrest. The results suggested that potential anti-cancer effects of n-hexane extract from S. japonica on SK-Hep1 cells.

• ALGAE
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.175-187
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• 2016

This study evaluated the effects of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-enriched fermented sea tangle (GFST), as a functional food, on brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)-related muscle growth and lipolysis, in a sarcopenic obesity high-risk group. Twenty-one middle-aged women (53-63 y) participated in this randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled study. Participants ingested either 1,000 mg of GFST (n = 10) or a sucrose placebo (CON) (n = 11) everyday, for 8 weeks. Subjects were asked to abstain from any regular exercise. Fasting venous blood samples, body composition and muscular strength were measured before and after supplementation period. Collectively, we demonstrated that GFST significantly decreased total fat mass and triglyceride in body composition, as well as significantly increasing serum BDNF (p < 0.001), angiotensin converting enzyme (p < 0.001), human growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1 levels (p < 0.05 and p < 0.05, respectively) accompanied by increased total lean mass (p < 0.01). Furthermore, the reported improvements in total work, knee extension and flexion at 60° s⁻¹ (p < 0.05), and peak torque normalized to body weight of knee flexion at 60° s⁻¹ (p < 0.05), support an ergogenic effect of GABA associated with increased growth factor levels. The use of GFST, as a functional food ingredient, to elicit anti-obesity effects and stimulate the release of muscle-related growth factors with increasing serum BDNF levels may provide a protective intervention for age-related degeneration such as sarcopenic obesity.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.639-644
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• 2015

A cylindrical secondary Li-ion cell is a device in which stored chemical energy is converted to electrical energy via an electrochemical reaction. These cells are widely used for applications that require high capacity and rate power, such as notebooks, power tools, and electric vehicles. The role of a center pin is to retain the channel for gas release, preventing blockage of the hollow of the jelly roll during a charge-discharge cycle, and to prevent an internal short circuit for tearing of separator under mechanical free fall. In this paper, two experiments are conducted with and without the center pin to experimentally verify the importance of the role of the center pin. The first experiment is a 50-cycle charge-discharge cycle test, and the second is a free fall test conducted according to the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) standards. Based on these experiments, we demonstrate that the center pin in a cylindrical cell is a very important component in terms of safety.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.40 no.11
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• pp.963-970
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• 2016

This research deals with design and performance validation of eco-pedals that generate tactile pedal force to guide fuel saving driving behavior. For eco-pedal control logic, allowable fuel consumption at given driving speed is calculated based on pre-defined "allowable acceleration", and if the actual fuel consumption exceeds the allowable fuel consumption, then pedal force is activated. Pedal force should be recognizable to driver while not causing unpleasantness, and should not interfere with normal operation of pedal. Reaction forces that increase pedal stiffness abruptly, such as step and ramp shape, turn out to be not suitable due to pedal overshoot after release of reaction force. With this regards, vibration type reaction force is adopted, and its optimal frequency, magnitude and duration is determined through subjective evaluation with consideration to effect to fuel efficiency. Though highway and city driving test, it is demonstrated that fuel efficiency increase of 13% for highway and 15% for city is achieved.