• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제40권2호
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• pp.185-195
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• 2016

Background: To investigate the effect of pectinase-treated Panax ginseng (GINST) in cellular and male subfertility animal models. Methods: Hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$)-induced mouse spermatocyte GC-2spd cells were used as an in vitro model. Cell viability was measured using MTT assay. For the in vivo study, GINST (200 mg/kg) mixed with a regular pellet diet was administered orally for 4 mo, and the changes in the mRNA and protein expression level of antioxidative and spermatogenic genes in young and aged control rats were compared using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. Results: GINST treatment ($50{\mu}g/mL$, $100{\mu}g/mL$, and $200{\mu}g/mL$) significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited the $H_2O_2$-induced ($200{\mu}M$) cytotoxicity in GC-2spd cells. Furthermore, GINST ($50{\mu}g/mL$ and $100{\mu}g/mL$) significantly (p < 0.05) ameliorated the $H_2O_2$-induced decrease in the expression level of antioxidant enzymes (peroxiredoxin 3 and 4, glutathione S-transferase m5, and glutathione peroxidase 4), spermatogenesis-related protein such as inhibin-${\alpha}$, and specific sex hormone receptors (androgen receptor, luteinizing hormone receptor, and follicle-stimulating hormone receptor) in GC-2spd cells. Similarly, the altered expression level of the above mentioned genes and of spermatogenesis-related nectin-2 and cAMP response element-binding protein in aged rat testes was ameliorated with GINST (200 mg/kg) treatment. Taken together, GINST attenuated $H_2O_2$-induced oxidative stress in GC-2 cells and modulated the expression of antioxidant-related genes and of spermatogenic-related proteins and sex hormone receptors in aged rats. Conclusion: GINST may be a potential natural agent for the protection against or treatment of oxidative stress-induced male subfertility and aging-induced male subfertility.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• 제47권2호
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• pp.253-260
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• 2005

This study was conducted to utilize the wastes produced from thinning the forest as a roughage source for ruminants. Four ruminally cannulated Korean steers were used to investigate the ruminal fermentation characteristics and blood concentrations of stress-related hormones. Treatments were composed of the rice straw only (Control) and the 30% pine silage plus 70% rice straw(Pine silage) as roughages. The experiment was conducted with four replicates by a double tum over design. For sampling of blood under high temperature steers were accommodated in respiratory chamber. Concentrations of ruminal pH, volatile fatty acids and ammonia were not affected by substitution of pine silage. Mean concentration of blood thyroxine was significantly(P < 0.01) lower in the pine silage than the control. However, blood cortisol concentration was not affected by substitution of pine silage, even though it was significantly(P < 0.05) decreased after exposure for 6 hrs in high temperature. It was concluded that the pine silage using the wastes produced from thinning the forest could be use as a substitute roughage for reduction of heat stress in ruminant.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• 제30권6호
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• pp.504-508
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• 2004

Surgical process of oral and maxillofacial area as well as dental treatment are stressful situations to the patients. It is well known that serum level of stress hormones including adrenocorticotropic hormone(ACTH) and cortisol increase when the body is exposed to stress. However, there have been few studies on demographic and clinical factors related with stress. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to supply data to cope with stress more comprehensively and efficiently by analyzing the effect of factors related with stress in addition to surgical procedure. Prospective cohort study method was selected. Serum levels of ACTH and cortisol were measured by sampling bloods pre-operatively and post-operatively from 45 patients who had been operated at the Bundang Jesaeng Hospital department of oral and maxillofacial surgery. To evaluate factors associated with stress, patients were classified according to gender, age, method of payment(insurance or self), experiences of operation, kind of operations(expected operations or unexpected operations). Relative risk was calculated to assess relationships between changes of serum level of ACTH and cortisol and factors related with stress, whereas Chi-square analysis was executed to evaluate statistical significance. With regard to serum level of ACTH, relative risk was 1.3 in the group of the patients who were less than 40 years old. With regard to serum level of cortisol, relative risk was 1.8 for women compared with men, 1.4 in the group of the patients who were less than 40 years old and 1.6 in the group of the patients who had not experienced any other operations. In addition to surgical procedure, factors related with stress included gender, age, method of payments, experiences of operation and kind of operations. Therefore, we should provide comprehensive schemes to reduce stress of the patients going through oral and maxillofacial surgery.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• 제45권4호
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• pp.306-314
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• 2018

Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng) has long been cultivated as an important economic medicinal plant. Owing to the seasonal and long-term agricultural cultivation methods of Korean ginseng, they are always vulnerable to various environmental stress conditions. ABSCISIC ACID (ABA) is an essential plant hormone associated with seed development and diverse abiotic stress responses including drought, cold and salinity stress. By modulating ABA responses, plants can regulate their immune responses and growth patterns to increase their ability to tolerate stress. With recent advances in genome sequencing technology, we first reported the functional features of genes related to canonical ABA signaling pathway in P. ginseng genome. Based on the protein sequences and functional genomic analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana, the ABA related genes were successfully identified. Our functional genomic characterizations clearly showed that the ABA signaling related genes consisting the ABA receptor proteins (PgPYLs), kinase family (PgSnRKs) and transcription factors (PgABFs, PgABI3s and PgABI5s) were evolutionary conserved in the P. ginseng genome. We confirmed that overexpressing ABA related genes of P. ginseng completely restored the ABA responses and stress tolerance in ABA defective Arabidopsis mutants. Finally, tissue and age specific spatio-temporal expression patterns of the identified ABA-related genes in P. ginseng tissues were also classified using various available RNA sequencing data. This study provides ABA signal transduction related genes and their functional genomic information related to the growth and development of Korean ginseng. Additionally, the results of this study could be useful in the breeding or artificial selection of ginseng which is resistant to various stresses.

• 수면정신생리
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• 제6권2호
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• pp.116-125
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• 1999

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of exercise load on sleep structure and stress hormone secretion during sleep. Methods: Five male physical education students were included in this study after giving their written, informed consents in the Research Institute for Sports Science at the University of Hanyang. All subjects have performed for at least 3 years in a regular aerobic exercises such as football, basketball, and running. The subjects were divided into three groups ; NOE(non-exercise), MDE(middle duration exercise), LDE(long duration excercise). MDE group maintained a total of 120 min exercise, and LDE group maintained a total of 300 min exercise by football, basketball or badminton. All subjects were acclimatized to the experimental sleep condition by spending one night under expermental conditions, including the placement of an intravenous catheter. During the subsequent night(24:00-08:00), somnopolygraphic sleep recordings were obtained, and blood for measuring growth hormone, cortisol, testosterone, and $\beta$-endorphin was collected every 120 min throughout the night. Blood samples were obtained from prominent forearm veins of subjects. Then, the samples were immediately placed in ice and centrifuged within 10 min at 3000 rpm at $4^{\circ}C$. Statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS/$PC^+$. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA with repeated measures. Results: No significant differences among groups were observed in sleep latency, total sleep time, stage 2 sleep, and slow wave sleep. However, daytime exercise produced significant changes in stage 1 sleep, REM sleep, stage 2 sleep latency, REM sleep latency and sleep efficiency. Stage 1 sleep, stage 2 sleep latency, and REM sleep latency significantly increased in LDE compared to those of NOE and MDE groups. But the amount of REM sleep significantly decreased in LDE. Sleep efficiency of MDE was higher than those of NOE and LDE. The blood concentrations of growth hormone, testosterone, and cortisol during night sleep were significantly lower in LDE than in NOE. $\beta$-endorphin concentrations in blood during night sleep were not different among groups. Conclusion: The daytime exercise load was significantly related to sleep structure and stress hormone secretion during night sleep. Long duration exercise showed a harmful effect on sleep structure and hormone secretion. However, middle duration exercise had a beneficial effect on sleep structure and hormone secretion during sleep.

• 한국유기농업학회지
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• 제28권4호
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• pp.627-641
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• 2020

Intensive farming methods that do not guarantee animal welfare can induce stress in pigs. Stress, in turn, can reduce their disease resistance and influence their hormones and metabolites in such a manner that productivity is negatively affected. This study was conducted to compare the stress related factors and blood characteristics of pigs raised on conventional farms and those raised on animal welfare farms. We measured the levels of cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine, biochemical parameters in blood and glycogen, L-lactate and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) in muscle, as physiological markers of indicating the stress in conventional farm pigs (Control, n=10) and animal welfare farm pigs (Welfare, n=10). We found that there was a significant difference in the albumin-globulin ratio (A/G ratio), as well as the albumin (ALB), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels between the two farms. Epinephrine was significantly higher in conventional farm, while level of norepinephrine was higher in animal welfare farm. There was no significant difference in cortisol, which is known as a stress hormone, across the two groups of farms. Muscular glycogen content was significantly high in animal welfare farm pigs. While L-lactate tended to be low in the animal welfare farm pigs, the difference between them and the conventional farm cohorts was not significant. HSP70 showed high levels of expression in conventional farm. Thus, we suggested that blood parameter results showed a stress response in the livers of conventional farm, and that catecholamine hormones, glycogen, L-lactate and HSP70 can be used as physiological factors of assessing animal welfare.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• 제45권3호
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• pp.116-121
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• 2018

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare serum fetuin-A levels and oxidative stress markers, as indicators of insulin resistance, in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and in healthy controls. Methods: This prospective case-control study included 46 patients with PCOS and 48 age- and body mass index-matched control women. Levels of serum hormones, fetuin-A, and oxidative stress markers were measured in blood samples taken during the early follicular period from each participant. Results: Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinising hormone (LH), total testosterone levels, and the LH/FSH ratio were found to be significantly higher in women with PCOS than in controls. Serum total antioxidant status, total oxidant status, and oxidative stress index parameters all indicated significantly higher levels of oxidative stress in PCOS patients than in controls. Serum fetuin-A levels, which were analyzed as an indicator of insulin resistance, were higher in the PCOS group than in the control group ($210.26{\pm}65.06{\mu}g/mL$ and $182.68{\pm}51.20{\mu}g/mL$, respectively; p= 0.024). Conclusion: The data obtained from the present study suggest that higher levels of both serum fetuin-A and oxidative stress markers might be related with PCOS.

• 한국수정란이식학회지
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• 제26권3호
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• pp.165-169
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• 2011

The present study investigated the physiological evaluation of cloned mini-pigs in a transportable isolator. Transportable isolator was designed and manufactured by our research team for transporting gnotobiotic pig. Until now, no previous reports are available regarding the physiological activities and harmful effects when pigs were transported in this isolator. Five cloned mini-pigs of 1~2 year (s) old female with a body weight between 80~90 kg were used. The effects of transportable isolator on stress-related hormone, adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol levels, and heart rate were evaluated. In addition, it was also examined the effects of transportable isolator on blood chemistry factors (alanine aminotransferase: ALT, aspartate aminotransferase: AST, blood urea nitrogen: BUN, glucose, and creatinine). Blood was sampled just before the beginning of transport (T0), at the end of transport (30min after the transport; T1), and 30 min after the end of transport (T2). At the same time, heart rate was also evaluated. As a result, heart rate had no significant (p>0.05) differences at the various-time points of study (T0, T1, T2). However, heart rate was slightly higher than normal range in T1 and T2. The ACTH level was higher than normal range. Whereas, the cortisol level was lower than normal range. There were no statistical significant differences both ACTH and cortisol level between different time groups. Also, there were no significant differences in blood chemistry factors. Therefore, our present study shows that transportable isolator has no harmful effect on stress and physiological condition in cloned mini-pigs.

• 한국융합학회논문지
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• 제13권3호
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• pp.337-343
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• 2022

본 연구는 다낭난소증후군 여성의 불안, 우울, 스트레스를 평가하고, 발병 위험인자에 대하여 살펴보고자, 다낭난소증후군 여성을 대상으로 Beck's 우울증(BDI) 및 우울 불안 스트레스 척도(DASS) 설문을 시행하였고, 항뮐러리안호르몬(AMH), 총 테스토스테론, 황체형성호르몬(LH), 난포자극호르몬(FSH), 에스트라디올(E2), 지질대사검사 및 당부하검사(OGTT)를 시행 후 분석하였다. 설문지를 완전히 작성하여 회수된 52명의 환자군과 29명의 건강한 가임기 여성 대조군을 분석하였다. 다낭난소증후군 환자 중 BDI>13점, DASS>10점인 우울증 38.5 %, DASS>8점인 불안 23.1 %, DASS>15점인 스트레스 30.8 %로 대조군에 비해 유의하게 높았다. 총 테스토스테론, LH 및 AMH는 우울증 및 스트레스와 유의한 상관관계를 보였고, 체중 및 체질량지수도 우울증과 유의한 상관관계를 보였다. 당뇨병과 고지혈증으로 진단된 여성에서 우울증과 스트레스가 높았다. 다낭난소증후군 여성은 우울증, 불안 및 스트레스에 더 취약한 것으로 나타나, 조기진단과 치료가 중요하다.

• 한국자기공명학회논문지
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• 제24권1호
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• pp.23-29
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• 2020

Mozart's music has been suggested to affect spatio-temporal reasoning of listeners, which has been called "Mozart effect". However, the effects of Mazart's music on human metabolism have not been known. We dissected Mozart's music into its compositional elements and studied their effects on metabolism of experimental animals. Mozart music significantly reduced cortisol level induced by stress. NMR metabolomic study revealed different urine metabolic profile according to the listening to Mozart's music. In addition, each element of music exhibited different metabolic profile. Functional MRI study also showed enhanced brain activity upon listening to Mozart's music. Taken together, Mozart's music seems to be related with brain activity, stress hormone and whole body metabolism.