• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• v.15 no.6
• /
• pp.686-702
• /
• 2021

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Schisandrae Fructus, the fruit of Schisandra chinensis Baill., has traditionally been used as a medicinal herb for the treatment of various diseases, and has proven its various pharmacological effects, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of Schisandrae Fructus ethanol extract (SF) on inflammatory and oxidative stress in particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5)-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages. MATERIALS/METHODS: To investigate the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of SF in PM2.5-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells, the levels of pro-inflammatory mediator such as nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂), cytokines including interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-1β, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured. To elucidate the mechanism underlying the effect of SF, the expression of genes involved in the generation of inflammatory factors was also investigated. We further evaluated the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant efficacy of SF against PM2.5 in the zebrafish model. RESULTS: The results indicated that SF treatment significantly inhibited the PM2.5-induced release of NO and PGE₂, which was associated with decreased inducible NO synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 expression. SF also attenuated the PM2.5-induced expression of IL-6 and IL-1β, reducing their extracellular secretion. Moreover, SF suppressed the PM2.5-mediated translocation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) from the cytosol into nuclei and the degradation of inhibitor IκB-α, indicating that SF exhibited anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway. In addition, SF abolished PM2.5-induced generation of ROS, similar to the pretreatment of a ROS scavenger, but not by an inhibitor of NF-κB activity. Furthermore, SF showed strong protective effects against NO and ROS production in PM2.5-treated zebrafish larvae. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that SF exerts anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects against PM2.5 through ROS-dependent down-regulating the NF-κB signaling pathway, and that SF can be a potential functional substance to prevent PM2.5-mediated inflammatory and oxidative damage.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.304-313
• /
• 2018

Agricultural land reclamation in Saemangeum tidal land project is mostly planned to be completed by 2020. Irrigation water for the land is required to be prepared by that time. However, water quality for the irrigation sources is barely meet the target concentration. This paper described the reduction effect of and policy consideration for best management practices (BMPs) which were fertilizer prescription by soil test (SO#1), mixed application of SO#1 and 3 (SO#2), drainage gate control (SO#3), time-release fertilizer application (SO#4), and control (CT). Reduction of paddy runoff was relatively higher in SO#3 (25%) and SO#1 (27%) while lower in SO#4 (9%) and SO#2 (7%) than that in CT. In addition, farmers promised to follow the BMP guidelines but they didn't because of the several problems caused for the BMPs implementation. Thus, it recommended developing an automated control of irrigation gate and paddy water depth and supporing farmers for NPS pollution control and irrigation water reduction.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.28 no.11
• /
• pp.1268-1276
• /
• 2018

The cytidine analog decitabine (DEC) acts as a nucleic acid synthesis inhibitor, whereas ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) is an inhibitor of nuclear factor-${\kappa}B$. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible synergistic inhibitory effect of these two inhibitors on proliferation of human gastric cancer AGS cells. The inhibitory effect of PDTC on AGS cell proliferation was significantly increased by DEC in a concentration-dependent manner, and this inhibition was associated with cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase and the induction of apoptosis. This induction of apoptosis by the co-treatment with PDTC and DEC was related to the induction of DNA damage, as assessed by H2AX phosphorylation. Further studies demonstrated that co-treatment with PDTC and DEC induced the disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential, increased the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the expression of pro-apoptotic Bax, and down-regulated the expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2, ultimately resulting in the release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria into the cytoplasm. Co-treatment with PDTC and DEC also activated caspase-8 and caspase-9, which are representative caspases of the extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis pathways. Co-treatment also activated caspase-3, which was accompanied by proteolytic degradation of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase. Taken together, these data clearly indicated that co-treatment with PDTC and DEC suppressed the proliferation of AGS cells by increasing DNA damage and activating the ROS-mediated extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis pathways.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.1-8
• /
• 2019

Phase change material(PCM) has the capacity to absorb or release energy in heat when the phase changes. This study conducted to investigate the effect of strontium-based PCM on the hydration heat and mechanical properties of mortar with fly ash and blast furnace slag. The amounts of PCM were 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, and 5% by the cementitious materials weight. The tests about mortar flow, semi-adiabatic temperature rise, compressive and flexural strength tests were carried out for twelve types of mortar mixtures. The test results indicated that the use of PCM was effective to reduce hydration heat and retard hydration of mortar with industrial by-products. In particular, the heat generation rate of mortars with fly ash was lower than that of mortars with blast furnace slag. The compressive strength of mortar with fly ash and blast furnace slag were decreased with increasing PCM ratio.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.19-26
• /
• 2021

The high-level radioactive waste (HLW) produced from nuclear power plants is disposed in a rock-mass at a depth of hundreds meters below the ground level. Since HLW is very dangerous to human being, it must be disposed of safely by the engineered barrier system (EBS). The EBS consists of a disposal canister, backfill material, buffer material, and so on. When the components of EBS are installed, gaps inevitably exist not only between the rock-mass and buffer material but also between the canister and buffer material. The gap can reduce water-retarding capacity and heat release efficiency of the buffer material, so it is necessary to investigate properties of gap-filling materials and to analyze gap spacing effect. Furthermore, there has been few researches considering domestic disposal system compared to overseas researches. In this reason, this research derived the peak temperature of the bentonite buffer material considering domestic disposal system based on the numerical analysis. The gap between the canister and buffer material had a minor effect on the peak temperature of the bentonite buffer material, but there was 40% difference of the peak temperature of the bentonite buffer material because of the gap existence between the buffer material and rock mass.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
• /
• v.12 no.7
• /
• pp.23-29
• /
• 2011

The oxidation slag has been widely used in civil engineering project, whereas the reduced slag from electric furnace has yet to be applied. Consequently in order to find out the recycling method in civil engineering field, the mineral compositions of the reduced slag were analyzed and some tests on water quality were performed to estimate the potential release of toxic compounds. Slag-soil mixtures of 0, 10, 20 and 30%(dry weight) soil were prepared in lysimeter columns and the effluents were collected with the period of one, two and four week options in closed system, respectively. The result from qualitative and quantitative analysis using X-ray Diffraction(XRD) and X-ray Fluorescence(XRF) indicates that the main mineral of the reduced slag is $Ca_2(SiO_4)$, a kind of calcium silicate. Also, the leaching medium analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy(ICP-OES) showed that main heavy metals such as Al, Fe and Mn are included in the reduced slag due to the effect of steel production process. It can be seen that the leachate does not violate the regulation guide line of waste material of heavy metal. Also the pH levels were increased from pH 6.9 for 0% soil to pH 10 for 30% soil. However the influence on leachate circulation period of one through four weeks was negligible.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.36 no.4
• /
• pp.125-129
• /
• 2022

The purpose of study is to evaluate in vitro anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of Moringa Folium and Eucommiae Cortex 2:1 (g/g) mixtures (MEMix). HaCaT and human normal dermal fibroblast were treated with 0.01-1 mg/mL of MEMix to monitor cytotoxicity. Radical scavenging activities of MEMix were examined by DPPH assay. To explore anti-inflammatory effect, Raw 264.7 cells were pretreated with MEMix for 1h and subsequently exposed to LPS for 18h. NO release and cytotoxicity of Raw 264.7 cells were measured by adding Griess and MTT reagents, respectively. TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and PGE2 productions were examined by ELISA. Immunoblot analysis was conducted to examine COX-2 expression in MEMix pretreated Raw 264.7 cells. Up to 1 mg/mL concentration, treatment of MEMix for 24 h did not affect normal dermal fibroblast viability and significantly reduced cell viability of HaCaT cells with no concentration dependency. MEMix increased DPPH radical scavenging activity with concentration dependency. Radical scavenging activities by 1 mg/mL of MEMix was comparable with 30 µM of trolox. Pretreatment of MEMix did not change the reduction of Raw 264.7 cell viability. Exposure of LPS in Raw 264.7 cells significantly increased NO, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and PGE2 productions, and MEMix pretreatment attenuated these productions by LPS concentration dependently. However, pretreatment with MEMix did not change COX-2 expression by LPS in Raw 264.7 cells. MEMix showed in vitro anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. MEMix would be useful candidate agent against inflammation.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
• /
• v.23 no.6
• /
• pp.535-547
• /
• 2021

A policy to expand the hydrogen economy has been established in Korea and the supply of FCEV is being expanded to realize a hydrogen society. Therefore, the supply of FCEV is expected to increase rapidly, and a solution to respond to accidents of FCEV is required. In this study, an experimental study was conducted to analyze the effect of the hydrogen jet flame generated by a FCEV on the inner wall of the tunnel and the characteristics of the internal radiant heat. For the experiment, the initial pressure of hydrogen tank was set to 700 bar, and the injection nozzle diameter was set to 1.8 mm in order to make the same as the conditions generated in the FCEV. In addition, a tunnel fire resistance test specimen having the same strength as the compressive strength of concrete applied to general tunnels of 40 MPa was manufactured and used in the experiment. The results were analyzed for the separation distance (2 m and 4 m) between the hydrogen release nozzle and the tunnel fire resistance test concrete. As the result, the maximum internal temperature of the test concrete was measured to 1,349.9℃ (2 m separation distance), and the radiant heat around the jet flame was up to 39.16 kW/m².

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.83-92
• /
• 2013

Objectives : Lespedeza Cuneata has been used to treat leukorrhea, asthma, stomach pain, diarrhea, acute mastitis, in Korean traditional medicine. According to recent studies, Lespedeza Cuneata has antioxidation, hypoglycemia, cell protective, insulin secretion, whitening, corpora cavernosa smooth muscle relaxation and antimicrobial activities, but it has been rarely conducted to evaluate the immuno-biological activity. The present study was examined to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of the Lespedeza Cuneata MeOH extract (LCE) in vivo and in vitro. Methods : In vitro, inflammatory mediators, such as cytokines, nitric oxide and prostaglandin $E_2$ were detected after the addition of LPS with or without LCE in Raw 264.7 macrophage cell line. In vivo, anti-edema effect of LCE was determined in the carrageenan-induced paw edema model in rats. Results : In vitro assay, LCE decreased release of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$) via suppression of iNOS and COX-2 expression. LCE inhibited the phosphorylation of $I{\kappa}B$ indicating the suppression of NF-${\kappa}B$ pathway. In vivo assay, LCE significantly inhibited the formation of paw edema induced by carrageenan injection in rats. LCE effectively inhibited increases of hind paw skin thickness and inflammatory cell infilterations. Conclusion : These findings demonstrate that LCE has inhibitory effect on inflammatory mediators in LPS-activated Raw 264.7 cells and on paw edema in carrageenan-stimulated rats, showing the possibility of anti-inflammatory use of Lespedeza Cuneata.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.475-487
• /
• 2022

Background: Use of opioids for chronic intractable pain is increasing globally, and their proper use can improve patients' quality of life. In contrast, opioid use disorders, such as abuse or addiction, caused by prescribing opioids, are a worldwide issue. This study aimed to understand current opioid prescribing patterns and pain physicians' experiences with opioid use in South Korea. Methods: Pain physicians in 42 university hospitals in South Korea were asked to complete anonymous questionnaires regarding opioid prescriptions. Results: A total of 69 surveys were completed. Most pain physicians started prescribing opioids at a pain score of 7/10 and aimed to reduce pain by 50%. Most physicians (73.1%) actively explained the prescribed medications and possible side effects, and 61.2% of physicians preferred the prescription interval of 4 weeks. Immediate-release opioids were the most popular treatment for breakthrough pain (92.6%). The most common side effect encountered by physicians was constipation (43.3%), followed by nausea/vomiting (34.3%). Of the physicians, 56.5% replied that addiction and misuse prevalences were less than 5%. However, the most concerning side effect was addiction (33.0%). Conclusions: The survey results showed that the prescribing patterns of pain physicians generally followed Korean guidelines. Physicians were most interested in the safety and effectiveness of opioid prescriptions. They were most concerned about respiratory depression and abuse or addiction. A significant number of physicians agreed that the NHIS regulations needed improvement for patient convenience and safe and effective treatment, though there were pros and cons of the NHIS restrictions on prescription conditions.