• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.7-14
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• 2009

Nitric oxide (NO) acts as an intracellular messenger at the physiological level but can be cytotoxic at high concentrations. The cells within periodontal tissues, such as gingival and periodontal fibroblasts, contain nitric oxide syntheses and produce high concentrations of NO when exposed to bacterial lipopolysaccharides and cytokines. However, the cellular mechanisms underlying NO-induced cytotoxicity in periodontal tissues are unclear at present. In our current study, we examined the NO-induced cytotoxic mechanisms in human gingival fibroblasts (HGF). Cell viability and the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were determined using a MTT assay and a fluorescent spectrometer, respectively. The morphological changes in the cells were examined by Diff-Quick staining. Expression of the Bcl-2 family and Fas was determined by RT-PCR or western blotting. The activity of caspase-3, -8 and -9 was assessed using a spectrophotometer. Sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a NO donor, decreased the cell viability of the HGF cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. SNP enhanced the production of ROS, which was ameliorated by NAC, a free radical scavenger. ODQ, a soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitor, did not block the SNP-induced decrease in cell viability. SNP also caused apoptotic morphological changes, including cell shrinkage, chromatin condensation, and DNA fragmentation. The expression of Bax, a member of the proapoptotic Bcl-2 family, was upregulated in the SNP-treated HGF cells, whereas the expression of Bcl-2, a member of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family, was downregulated. SNP augmented the release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria into the cytosol and enhanced the activity of caspase-8, -9, and -3. SNP also upregulated Fas, a component of the death receptor assembly. These results suggest that NO induces apoptosis in human gingival fibroblast via ROS and the Bcl-2 family through both mitochondrial- and death receptor-mediated pathways. Our data also indicate that the cyclic GMP pathway is not involved in NO-induced apoptosis.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.172-178
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• 2017

Ultrasound has been widely used for biological and medical applications including induction of cell death, but a precise mechanism of induced cell death by ultrasound is controversial. In this study, an irradiation system with 40 kHz ultrasound was developed for a suitable cell death test of a representative unicellular organism, yeast, and used to study the biological effect of ultrasound on inducing cell death. Potassium Iodide (KI) dosimetry was used to devise an optimal system that successfully delivers 40 kHz ultrasound and produces reactive oxygen species in a 1.5 ml Eppendorf tube. Cell death was observed in an ultrasound transmission time-dependent fashion in this system. Thermal effect during irradiation was not observable in ultrasound induced cell death. Co-treatment of 40 kHz ultrasound and hydrogen peroxide showed a synergistic effect in inducing cell death. This finding suggests that 40 kHz ultrasound is related to reactive oxygen species formation. However, NAC (N-acetyl-L-cysteine) oxygen scavenger slightly inhibited the cell death by 40 kHz ultrasound. It was also found that 40 kHz ultrasound induced cell death was slightly inhibited by inhibitors of necrosis or apoptosis (glycyrrhizin or zVAD-fmk). This study suggests that cell death induced by 40 kHz ultrasound may not be exclusively related to reactive oxygen species formation and thermal effects in irradiated yeast cells.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.86-94
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• 2000

This study was carried out to determine the effectiveness of uniconazole in ameliorating low and high temperature injury in tomato plants(Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cvs. Fireball and Patio). Plants were given a soil drench of 0, 0.001, 0.01 or $0.1mg{\cdot}pot^{-1}$ uniconazole, and after 14 days, were treated with 12-h day/12-h night cycles at $25/25^{\circ}C$, $2.5/25^{\circ}C$, $25/2.5^{\circ}C$ or $40/40^{\circ}C$ for 4 days in controlled-environment chamber. Number of damaged leaves per plant, reduction of stem elongation, and overall injury were high at $2.5/25^{\circ}C$, but more reduction of leaf elongation, delay of flowering, and abortion of floral bud were observed in plants at $40/40^{\circ}C$. There was difference in degree of injury between cultivars, thus, 'Fireball' was much affected by unfavorable temperature regimes. All concentrations of uniconazole reduced leaf and stem elongation, increased total chlorophyll concentration, delayed flowering, and significantly provided protection against low and high temperature injury in two cultivars. In general, the application of uniconazole did not inhibit flowering delay and floral bud abortion induced by high and low temperature exposure. Our results support the hypothesis that the role of uniconazole is related to defense system against oxidative stress induced by low temperature stress. Further research is required to clarifu the phytoprotective mechanism of this compound agaist high temperature stress.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.185-188
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• 2008

A possible rapid biodegradation of abandoned livestock was tested by using the dead pig and chicken. The dead pig (36kg) was completely decomposed after 23 days of placement in the open field during June 2007. When the door of a cage in which a dead chicken (3.4kg) was placed was opened, a lot of flies were attracted to the chicken and layed eggs on the chicken. As the result the chicken was decomposed down to 0.6kg after 6 days of placement in the open field, On the other hand when the door was closed, the decomposition was very slow. The chicken weighed 3.0kg even after 6 days. An experiment conducted during October 2007 showed that decomposition speed depended on the number of inoculated flies. When 50 pairs of Lucilia sericata flies were inoculated to 3.2kg chicken, it was decomposed down to 1.0kg after 22 days in the field. However, when 200 female and 100 male flies were inoculated, the 3.4kg chicken was decomposed to 0.8kg after 11 days in the field. A 10,858 pupae (371.2g) was produced from the latter chicken. These pupae may possibly be used as a feed for fish and fowl. From these results it is considered that further research is needed to commercialize the blow flies for the rapid decomposition of an abandoned livestock of diverse size under diverse environment.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.30 no.3 s.47
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• pp.409-414
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• 2004

Kojic acid is well known for its anti-pigmentation effect with tyrosinase inhibition activity. However, kojic acid is a unstable compound. In order to improve stability, kojic acid derivative, kojic acid $6-O-2',3',4',6'-tetraacetyl-{\beta}-D-glucopy-ranoside\;(KTGP)$, was synthesized with $O-pentaacetyl-{\beta}-D-glucose$ through the regio- and stereo-selective glycosylation of 6-OH group of kojic acid. High yield $(80\%)$ was obtained by the use of Lewis acid and organic base in nonpolar solvent. Hydrolysis of KTGP with the aid of sodium methoxide in methanol afforded kojic acid $6-O-{\beta}-D-glucopyranoside$ (KGP), which was confirmed by $^1H-NMR\;and\;^{13}C-NMR$ KGP is freely soluble in water and soluble in methanol and ethanol. Inhibition activity of KGP for tyrosinase was investigated by measuring the activity of mushroom tyrosinase compared with those of ascorbic acid, kojic acid, and arbutin. The free radical-scavenger activity was determined by the 1,1-diphenyl- 2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. In toxicity assay, KGP was much less toxic than kojic acid and arbutin, Therefore, glycosylation of kojic acid may be useful for the development of stable kojic acid derivatives.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.161-169
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• 1992

Studies were conducted to examine the effects of single or combined treatment of uniconazole [(E)-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-4, 4-dimethyl 2(1, 2,-4-triazol-1-yl)-1-penten-3-ol)] and silver thiosulfate (STS) on reducing ozone injury to snap beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L. 'Strike'). Two weeks after seeding, plants were given a soil drench of uniconazole(XE-1019) solution at concentrations of 0.001, 0.005 and 0.025 mg/pot, and then two days prior to ozone fumigation, 0.3 and 0.6 mM STS containing 0.01% Tween-20 were also sprayed. Uniconazole was effective in providing protection against ozone injury through increase activities of free radical scavengers such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) as well as the increase of chlorophyll content and stomatal resistance resulted from plant growth retardation. The phytoprotective effects of STS seemed to be related to its properly of blocking the ethylene action and increasing activities of SOD and POD. Even at low concentrations, a combined treatment with uniconazole drench, STS spray significantly reduced ozone injury compared to single application.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.108-118
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• 2015

To raise the added value of the fruits of Cudrania tricuspidata, Cudrania tricuspidata vinegar was produced and examined for its fermentation conditions. Forty nine acetic acid bacteria with resistance against acetic acid, ethanol, and sulfide as high acetic acid producers were isolated from fermented foods and identified as Acetobacter indonesiensis, A. cerevisiae, A. orientalis, A. tropicalis, A. fabarum, A. pasteurianus, and A. syzygii based on the results of the analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences. Among them, two GRAS strains, A. pasteurianus SCMA5 and SCMA6, were finally selected for the production of acetic acid. Optimal vinegar productions were obtained from the medium containing 40% (v/v) fruit juice of Cudrania tricuspidata and 5% (v/v) ethanol at $25^{\circ}C$ for 72 hr. The sensory panel preferred the vinegar fermented with the SCMA06 to that with the SCM05 strain. The radical scavenger capacity of DPPH was 53% higher than that of the control in the vinegar fermented with the SCMA06 strain. The ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibitor activity as an index of the antidiabetic drug showed 91% inhibition, which is higher than that of acabose. This study will be helpful for the scale-up production of vinegar with the fruit of Cudrania tricuspidata.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.927-934
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• 2014

Sanguinarine, a benzophenanthridine alkaloid originally derived from the root of Sanguinaria canadensis, has been shown to possess antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-cancer properties. Although tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is known to induce apoptosis in cancer cells, but not most normal cells and has shown efficacy in a phase 2 clinical trial, development of resistance to TRAIL by tumor cells is a major roadblock. Our previous study indicated that treatment with TRAIL in combination with subtoxic concentrations of sanguinarine sensitized TRAIL-mediated apoptosis in TRAIL-resistant human gastric carcinoma AGS cells; however, the detailed mechanisms are not fully understood. In this study, we show that sanguinarine sensitizes AGS cells to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis as detected by MTT assay, agarose gel electrophoresis, chromatin condensation and flow cytometry analysis. Combined treatment with sanguinarine and TRAIL effectively induced expression of death receptor (DR) 5 but did not affect expression of DR4 and mitogen activated protein kinases signaling molecules. Moreover, the combined treatment with sanguinarine and TRAIL increased the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS); however, N-acetylcysteine, ROS scavenger, significantly recovered growth inhibition induced by the combined treatment. Taken together, our results indicate that sanguinarine can potentiate TRAIL-mediated apoptosis through upregulation of DR5 expression and ROS generation.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.298-303
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• 2007

Several combinations of ozone based advanced oxidation processes were tested for the treatment of red water (RW) containing recalcitrant chemical pollutants produced from 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) manufacturing process. $O_3$, $UV/O_3$, $UV/O_3/H_2O_2$, $UV/O_3/H_2O_2/Fe^{2+}$ processes were tested for the treatment of RW. The order of organic and color removal efficiency was found to be : $O_3{\leq}UV/O_3$ < $UV/O_3/H_2O_2$ < $UV/O_3/H_2O_2/Fe^{2+}$. The optimum conditions for the removal of organic and color in the $UV/O_3/H_2O_2/Fe^{2+}$ process were 0.053 g/min of ozone flow rate, 10 mM of $H_2O_2$ concentration and 0.1 mM of $FeSO_4$ concentration. Organic and color removal efficiencies were 96 and 100 % respectively in the $UV/O_3/H_2O_2/Fe^{2+}$ process. tert-butyl alcohol (t-buOH) was used as the hydroxyl radical scavenger. Enhancement of hydroxyl radical production was achieved by the combination of ozone with several oxidants such as UV, $H_2O_2$, $Fe^{2+}$.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.11
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• pp.1580-1588
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• 2016

The 70% ethanol extract from Adenophora triphylla showed a strong antioxidant effect and reduced cytotoxicity of $H_2O_2$ in SK-N-SH cells. The chloroform fraction from A. triphylla extract (AT-CH) among the six fractions showed strong DPPH radical and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger effects and the highest protective effect against $H_2O_2$-induced SK-N-SH cell death. Bioactivity compounds were purified from AT-CH, and the chemical structures of the compounds were determined as ${\beta}$-sitosterol and daucosterol on the basis of $^1H-NMR$, $^{13}C-NMR$, and EI mass spectra. ${\beta}$-Sitosterol and daucosterol also had protective effects against oxidative stress in SK-N-SH cells. Phospho-p38 MAPK levels were elevated by $H_2O_2$ but were inhibited by treatment with AT-CH and phytosterols (${\beta}$-sitosterol and daucosterol) isolated from AT-CH. These results suggest that AT-CH has brain neuroprotective effects against oxidative stress ($H_2O_2$) by inhibiting activation of p38 pathways and scavenging intracellular ROS.