• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.578-593
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• 2023

Intense convective activity and heavy precipitation inundated Seoul and its metropolitan area on July 15, 2017. This study investigated the synoptic-scale meteorological drivers of cold cloud genesis of this event. The WRF-Chem (Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry) model was employed to explore the intricate interplay between meteorological factors and the indirect effects of PM_2.5 aerosols originating from eastern China. The PM_2.5 aerosols' indirect effect was quantified by contrasting outcomes between the comprehensive Aerosol Radiation Interaction experiment (encompassing aerosol radiation feedback, cloud chemistry processes, and wet scavenging in the WRF-Chem model) and ACR (Aerosol Cloud Radiation interaction) experiment. The ACR experiment specifically excluded aerosol radiation feedback while incorporating only cloud chemistry processes and wet scavenging. Results indicated that in the early hours of July 15, 2017, a convergence of warm, moisture-laden airflow originating from southeast China and the East China Sea unfolded over the Yellow Sea. This convergence was driven by the juxtaposition of a low-pressure system over the Chinese mainland and Northwest Pacific high. Notably, at approximately 12 km altitude, the resultant convective clouds were characterized by the presence of ice crystals, a hallmark of continental-origin cold clouds. The WRF-Chem model simulations elucidated the role of PM_2.5 aerosols from eastern China, attributing 5.7, 10.4, and 10.8% to cloud water, ice crystal column, and liquid water column formation, respectively, within the developing cold clouds. Thus, this study presented a meteorological mechanism elucidating the formation of deep convective clouds over the Yellow Sea and the indirect effects of PM_2.5 aerosols originating from eastern China.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.18 no.7
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• pp.721-733
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• 2009

To examine the fluctuations of aerosol number concentration with different size in the boundary layer of marine area during summer season, aerosol particles were assayed in the Ieodo Ocean Research Station, which is located 419 km southwest of Marado, the southernmost island of Korea, from 24 June to 4 July, 2008. The Laser Particle Counter (LPC) was used to measure the size of aerosol particles and NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data and sounding data were used to analyze the synoptic condition. The distribution of aerosol number concentration had a large variation from bigger particles more than 3 ${\mu}m$ in diameter to smaller particles more than 1 ${\mu}m$ in diameter with wind direction during precipitation. The aerosol number concentration decreased with increasing temperature. An increase (decrease) of small size of aerosol (0.3${\sim}$0.5 ${\mu}m$ in diameter) number concentration was induced by convergence (divergence) of the wind fields. The aerosol number concentration of bigger size more than 3 ${\mu}m$ in diameter after precipitation was removed as much as 89${\sim}$94% compared with aerosol number concentration before precipitation. It is considered that the larger aerosol particles would be more efficient for scavenging at marine boundary layer. In addition, the aerosol number concentration with divergence and convergence could be related with the occurrence and mechanism of aerosol in marine boundary layer.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.9
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• pp.1000-1006
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• 2015

α-Asarone is the main component of Acorus gramineus, which is a widely used oriental traditional medicine. A. gramineus is known to have a variety of medicinal effects, such as anti-gastric ulcer, antiallergy and antioxidant activity. It is also known to inhibit the release of histamine. However, the mechanism of its action remains unclear in humans. In this study, the effects of α-asarone on matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) and its antioxidant effect in a cell-free system were examined in HT1080 cells. In an MTT assay, the effect of α-asarone on cell viability showed no cytotoxicity below 16 μM. In an antioxidant assay, α-asarone increased reducing power in a dose-dependent manner but not the scavenging activity of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals. In addition, α-asarone exhibited the protective effect against DNA oxidation induced by hydroxyl radicals produced by the Fenton reaction. Furthermore, in a gelatin disk assay, α-asarone enhanced collagenase activity. It also increased the activities of MMP-2 and MMP-9 stimulated by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) in a gelatin zymography. On the other hand, the activity of MMP-9 stimulated by phenazine methosulfate (PMS) but not that of MMP-2 was increased in the presence of α-asarone. These findings suggest that α-asarone could be a candidate for the prevention and treatment of pathological diseases related to oxidative stress and MMPs.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1666-1685
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• 2004

This present study was designed to screen medicinal plants for the treatment of brain diseases such as Parkinson's disease or aging. We tested the effects of the water extracts from 38 species medicinal plants on antioxidant capacity, monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) inhibitory activity, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition and antiperoxidation activity in vitro. The water extracts from 38 species were tested on their antioxidant activity using radical scavenging effects against ABTS+. The water extract of C. sappan was showed the highest antioxidant capacity, the antioxidant activity at 1 Jig of herbal extract being 0.38mM TE. Lipid peroxidation in brain homogenates induced by NADPH and ADP-Fe/sup 2+/ was strong inhibited by C. sappan and R. palmatum extracts. Among the 38 medicinal plants investigated, R. palmatum showed significant biological activity (antioxidant capacity, MAO-B inhibiory activity, and AChE inhibitory activity). The protective efficacy of R. palmatum water extract on 1-methyl-4­phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced parkinsonism and its possible mechanism were studied in C57BL/6 mice. Treatment of R. palmatum water extract protected biomacromolecules such as lipids from oxidative damage induced by MPTP. The content of MDA in brain tissue was decreased significantly by R. palmatum extract. These results suggest that R. palmatum water extract plays on effective role in attenuating MPTP-induced neurotoxicity in mice. This protective effect of R. palmatum might be estimated the result from the inhibitory activity on monoamine oxidase B and the enhancement of antioxidant activity.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.344-350
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• 1997

The present study was carried out to investigate the effects of zinc and vitamin E on the antioxidative defense mechanism in the liver of streptozotocin(STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Levels of blood glucose of STZ-diabetic rats were higher than that of control, but ZDM($ZnSO_{4}$ 10mg/kg injection+STZ) group was lower than those of DM(STZ injection) and EDM(vitamin E 400mg/kg diet+STZ) group. Levels of plasma insulin were lower in all three STZ-diabetic groups than those of control. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances(TBARS) peroxide values(LPO) in liver were increased 2.3-fold in DM group compared with those of control, while LPG in ZDM group was lower than that of DM group, and EDM group had similar tendency compared with that of control. Reduced glutathione(GSH) contents of liver were decreased in DM group compared with those of control, but increased 2.3, 1.7-fold in ZDM and EDM groups, respectively, compared with those of DM group. Oxidized glutathione(GSSG) was increased in DM group compared with control and GSSG in ZDM and EDM group were lower than that of DM group. GSH/GSSG ratio had similar tendency compared with results of GSH. The activities of free radical scavenging enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione S-transferase were significantly decreased in DM group compared to those of control, but higher in ZDM and EDM groups than those of DM group. The metallothionein contents in liver and kidney were increased in DM and EDM groups were remarkably increased 20, 5.3-fold in ZDM group, compared with those of control.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.433-440
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• 1994

The exposure of Clamydomonas reinhardtii to low temperatures resulted in an accumulation of cellular pyruvate that dissipated when the chilled cells returned to ambient temperature. The dissipation of pyruvate accumulation was accompanied by an increase in the production level of superoxide radicals $(O_2^-)$ in cells. The formation of $O_2^-$ at an excessive level during the post-chilling period was apparently countered by a substantial activation of superoxide dismutase (SOD). All these results are similar to those observed previously in rice seedlings subjected to the cold-treatment, implicating that a common mechanism is probably underlying for the primary processes of chilling injury both in higher plants and in algae. It was also observed that the activation of Mn-containing SOD contributes the major share in the increase of SOD activity of whole algal cells. Because Mn-SOD is present only in mitochondria, the observation corroborates the concept that the $O_2^-$ scavenging enzyme would be induced to cope with the cold treatment-caused adverse situation in mitochondria where the toxic active oxygen is produced at rates far exceeding the normal rate.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.99-105
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• 2009

Curcumin is a major active component of the food flovour tumeric. It has been used for the treatment of many diseases such as inflammatory and infectious diseases, cancer and other disease due to its antioxidant properties. Curcumin is a powerful scavenger of many free radicals such as superoxide anion, hydroxyl radical and nitric oxide. The objective of this study was to investigate the antioxidative effects of curcumin against hydrogen peroxide on semen quality during in vitro storage of boar semen. The sperm treated with different concentration of curcumin (1, 5 and 10 ${\mu}M$) in the presence or absence of hydrogen peroxide (250 ${\mu}M\;H_2O_2$) were incubated for 3, 6 and 9 hr at $37^{\circ}C$ and analyzed sperm characteristics such as motility, membrane integrity (MI), lipid peroxidation (LPO), reactive oxygen species (ROS) and DNA fragmentation (DF). The sperm motility and MI in $H_2O_2$ treated group ($47.8%{\pm}6.8$ and $24.8%{\pm}2.2$) were significantly decreased when compare to curcumin treated group ($79.8%{\pm}2.7$ and $34.6%{\pm}1.0$, respectively) irrespective of incubation periods(p<0.05). The LPO of spermatozoal plasma membrane was measured by thiobarbituric acid (TBA) reactions for malondialdehyde (MDA), MDA level in control ($11.6{\pm}0.6\;nmol/L{\times}10^6$) and curcumin groups ($10.7{\pm}0.3\;nmol/L{\times}10^6$) were lower than those of curcumin plus $H_2O_2$ ($17.1{\pm}0.8\;nmol/L{\times}10^6$) or $H_2O_2$ group ($22.5{\pm}1.9\;nmol/L{\times}10^6$) from 3 to 9 hr incubation periods. The DF by sperm chromatin dispersion (SCD) test and ROS production measured by 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein (DCF) fluorescence intensity were no significantly difference through all experimental groups (p>0.05). Correlation among evaluation methods for sperm quality, motility vs MI and DF vs ROS was positively correlated while motility vs DF and ROS vs LPO were negatively correlated in all treatment groups. These results demonstrate that curcumin can effectively improve the sperm quality during in vitro storage of boar semen through its hydrogen peroxide scavenging mechanism as an antioxidant.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.40 no.7
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• pp.1053-1062
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• 2011

Reactive oxygen species (ROS), including singlet oxygen (${O_2}^1$), superoxide anion radical ($O_2{\cdot}^-$), hydroxyl radical ($HO{\cdot}$), peroxyl radical ($ROO{\cdot}$), hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$), and hypochlorous (HOCl), are generated as byproducts of normal cellular metabolism. ROS induce damage to many biological molecules, such as lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, and DNA. It is widely believed that some degenerative diseases caused by ROS can be prevented by the high intake of fruits and vegetables due to their antioxidant activities. Recently, research on natural antioxidants has become increasingly active in various fields. Several assays have been developed to measure the total antioxidant capacity of antioxidants in fruits and vegetables in vitro. These assays include those for DPPH radical scavenging activity, SOD-like activity, total polyphenol content, oxygen radical absorbance capacity, reducing power, trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (ABTS assay), single-cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay), and a cellular antioxidant activity assay. Because different antioxidant compounds may act through different mechanisms in vitro, no single assay can fully evaluate the total antioxidant capacity of foods. Due to the complexity of the composition of foods, it is important to be able to measure antioxidant activity using biologically relevant assays. In this review, recently used assays were selected for extended discussion, including a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of each assay and their application to fruits and vegetables.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.419-430
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• 1987

The damage of plasmid DNA by lipid peroxidation and its inhibition were investigated through the model system of DNA and linoleic acid at $37^{\circ}C$. The degree of DNA damage increased in proportion to the increase of concentration and peroxidation of linoleic acid. DNA damage induced from linoleic acid peroxidation was greatly inhibited by the addition of active oxygen scavengers, especially, singlet of oxygen scavenge$(\alpha-tocopherol,\;cysteine)$ and superoxide anion scavenger(superoxide dismutase, ascorbic acid) in reaction system. These active oxygens, such as superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide were rapidly generated in the early stage of peroxidation (POV below 100 mg/kg) and also scanvenged by the addition of superoxide dismutase and catalase, respectively. Hydroperoxide isolated from autoxidised linoleic acid showed DNA damage. Hydroperoxide induced-DNA damage was not inhibited by active oxygen scavengers. Lipid oxidation products, malonaldehyde and hexanal, also influenced on the DNA damage. Accordingly, it is speculated that DNA damage by lipid oxidation products is due to active oxygens such as singlet oxygen and superoxide anion formed in the early stage of peroxidation, direct action of hydroperoxide and formation of low molecular carbonyl compound-DNA complex. Furthermore, DNA damage induced by lipid peroxidation was remarkably inhibited by the addition of active oxygen scavengers and natural antioxidative fractions extracted from garlic and ginger. These antioxidative fractions also suppressed the generation of active orygens and linoleic acid oxidation. It is assumed that the inhibition of DNA damage by garlic and ginger extracts is due to the scavenging effect of active oxygens and the inhibition of hydroperoxide and oxidation products formation.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.727-733
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• 1996

2-(Allylthio)pyrazine is effective in selectively suppressing constitutive and inducible expression of cytochrome P450 2E1. The effect of 2-(allylthio)pyrazine against potentiat ed chemical injury was studied in rats. Vitamin-A pretreatment of rats substantially increased carbon tetrachloride hepatotoxicity, as supported by an ~4-fold increase in serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity. Concomitant pretreatment of rats with 2-(allylthio)pyrazine at the daily dose of 200mg/kg resulted in a 76% decrease in vitamin-A-potentiated hepatotoxicity, which supported the possibility that 2-(allylthio)pyrazine protects the liver against chemical-induced hepatic injury by the mechanism associated with Kupffer cell inactivation. Pyridine pretreatment caused substantial enhancement in carbon tetrachloride hepatotoxicity. 2-(Allylthio)pyrazine treatment of rats reduced the pyridine-potentiated toxicity in a dose-dependent manner. Animals treated with both pyridine and 2-(allylthio)pyrazine prior to intoxicating dose of CCl$_4$ resulted in 85% and 47% decreases in pyridine-increased triglycerides and cholesterol levels in the liver. The protective effect of 2-(allylthio)pyrazine on the DNA strand breakage induced by benzenetriol was assessed by measuring the conversion of supercoiled ${\Phi}x$-174 DNA to the open relaxed form. 2-(Allylthio)pyrazine blocked the benzenetriol-induced conversion of supercoiled DNA to open circular form in a dose-dependent manner. The presence of 2-(allylthio)pyrazine at the doses from I to 10mM in the incubation mixture containing 5 ${\mu}$M benzenetriol completely protected benzenetriol-induced DNA strand breakage with the EC50 for the 2-(allylthio)pyrazine blocking being noted as ~220 ${\mu}$M, whereas allyl disulfide exerted protecting effect at relatively high concentrations (i.e. ~850 ${\mu}$M), suggesting that 2-(allylthio)pyrazine effectively scavenges the reactive oxygen species. These results provide evidence that 2-(allylthio)pyrazine blocks vitamin A- or pyridine-potentiated CCl$_4$ hepatotoxicity and that the agent is active in protecting DNA by scavenging the reactive oxygen species.