• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.155-162
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• 2022

This study investigated the immunostimulatory effect of enzymatic porcine placental hydrolyzate (EPPH) in cyclophosphamide (Cy)-treated rats. This effect of EPPH prevented Cy-induced decreases in body, spleen, and thymus weights and natural killer (NK) cell activity. The numbers of immune cells, such as white blood cells, granulocytes, and lymphocytes, and mid-range absolute counts were significantly higher compared to the control group. The levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-2, IL-12, and immunoglobulin G (IgG) were notably reduced by Cy, while EPPH prevented these effects. Histopathological analysis of spleen samples revealed the protective effect of EPPH against Cy-induced immunosuppression. The findings demonstrate that EPPH can alleviate immunosuppression by cell viability, tissue damage, and regulation of the levels of cytokines. EPPH may have value as a component of immunostimulatory agents or an ingredient in functional foods.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.27-37
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• 2022

With the recent increase in the spread of ESS (Electric Storage System), the damage to human life and property is also rapidly increasing due to continuous fires caused by ESS. In the manufacture of urethane sandwich panels used in ESS, it is necessary to improve the flame retardant performance. In this study, in order to realize the flame retardant properties of flexible polyurethane foam, the effect of the tissue density of the product due to the change of the isocyanate functional group parameter that changes the physical properties of the product on the fire performance was studied. The product was manufactured by changing the density of the urethane structure, and combustion performance tests, gas toxicity tests, and smoke density tests were performed. As a result, it was confirmed that the total amount of heat released had excellent performance when the isocyanate functional group was high, and had no correlation with the maximum heat release rate. When the value of the isocyanate functional group was 2.7 or more, the collapse of the shape could be prevented. In the gas hazard test, the performance was increased when the isocyanate functional group was relatively high, so a flame retardant for the Char system, which had a dense structure and easy to form a carbonized film, was added. confirmed to be. Therefore, as a result of this study, it is thought that it will be possible to lay the foundation for the development of a flame retardant to replace the cheap urethane sandwich panel used in the past.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.575-585
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• 2022

Due to its biofilm formation and colonization of the osteocyte-lacuno canalicular network (OLCN), Staphylococcus aureus (S.aureus) implant-associated bone infection (SIABI) is difficult to cure thoroughly, and may occur recurrently subsequently after a long period dormant. It is essential to explore an alternative therapeutic strategy that can eradicate the pathogens in the infected foci. To address this, the polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) bone cement and Fe3O4 nanoparticles compound cylinder were developed as implants based on their size and mechanical properties for the alternative magnetic field (AMF) induced thermal ablation, The PMMA mixed with optimized 2% Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles showed an excellent antibacterial efficacy in vitro. It was evaluated by the CFU, CT scan and histopathological staining on a rabbit 1-stage transtibial screw model. The results showed that on week 7, the CFU of infected soft tissue and implants, and the white blood cells (WBCs) of the PMMA+2% Fe₃O₄+AMF group decreased significantly from their controls (p<0.05). PMMA+2% Fe₃O₄+AMF group did not observe bone resorption, periosteal reaction, and infectious reactive bone formation by CT images. Further histopathological H&E and Gram Staining confirmed there was no obvious inflammatory cell infiltration, neither pathogens residue nor noticeably burn damage around the infected screw channel in the PMMA+2% Fe₃O₄+AMF group. Further investigation of nanoparticle distributions in bone marrow medullary and vital organs of heart, liver, spleen, lung, and kidney. There were no significantly extra Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were observed in the medullary cavity and all vital organs either. In the current study, PMMA+2% Fe₃O₄+AMF shows promising therapeutic potential for SIABI by providing excellent mechanical support, and promising efficacy of eradicating the residual pathogenic bacteria in bone infected lesions.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.935-942
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• 2022

In doing interventional treatment under the guidance of ultrasonography, the medical team detects the legion site with ultrasonic equipment at first, and insert angio needle. In this situation, if the position of legion and the depth of inserted needle on the ultrasonographic screen are different from real position and depth, the needle is likely to damage a major blood vessel or tissue. Accordingly, we had wondered how much such differences between screen image and reality, and so decided to examine them. Using five ultrasonographic equipments manufactured from different companies in different years, this study tried to compare the lengths of the needle on the screen images and real lengths of it, and find out the factors affecting skewness of them. This study used hog meat chunk to mimic human flesh, and sausages as the target of needle. It compared penetrating depths of the needle as the images on the five equipments using single sample t test in the SPSS 22 statistical program. It was found that all the errors were statistically significant(<.05). So, this study decided that it was wrong to evaluate performances of the equipments by the makers and ages of them. It is necessary to do periodic quality controls of equipments and improve the skillfulness of sonographers to reduce error rates between real treatment areas and the images of them.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.1-11
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• 2022

Objectives This study was designed to evaluate the healing effect of Cordyceps Militaris (CM) on collagen II-induced arthritis rats. Methods Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 6 groups (normal, control, positive control, CM with low/medium/high dosage each). Type II collagen mixed with complete Freund's adjuvant (with 1:1 v/v) was injected subcutaneously, and the mixture was injected in a same manner one week after the first injection to boost arthritis. Arthritis index, paw thickness and von Frey test were conducted to observe physical changes. hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining was performed to observe knee cartilage. The levels of messenger RNA (mRNA) expressions of interleukin (IL)-1𝛽, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-𝛼) in spleen were assessed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that occurs on multiple joints and can lead to temporary shape change of bones or organ failure in severe cases. Here, we aimed to determine the effect of CM extract on rheumatoid arthritis by measuring paw thickness, arthritis index, conducting von Frey test and H&E staining, and evaluating the level of IL-1𝛽, IL-6, TNF-𝛼. As a result, paw thickness, arthritis index significantly decreased in low concentration group, hind leg became less sensitive in all expermental groups. Also, histological analysis showed that the damage of knee cartilage was prevented in all experimental groups. The level of mRNA of IL-1𝛽, IL-6, and TNF-𝛼 in spleen was analyzed to decide the effectiveness of CM extract. IL-1𝛽 did not show significant change, but IL-6 and TNF-𝛼 showed significant decrease in at least one of the experimental groups. Conclusions CM showed protective effect on knee tissue destruction and improved the physical conditions of the leg involving arthritis. Also, it showed that CM has anti-inflammatory effect on specific cytokines inducing rheumatoid arthritis. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that the therapeutic potential of CM for the treatment rheumatoid arthritis, and set the foundation for the further studies.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.62-70
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• 2022

Background: Maternal Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection during pregnancy has been associated with various mental illnesses in the offspring. Ginsenoside Rh2 (GRh2) is a major bioactive compound obtained from ginseng that has an anti-T. gondii effect and attenuates microglial activation through toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway. GRh2 also alleviated tumor-associated or lipopolysaccharide-induced depression. However, the effects and potential mechanisms of GRh2 on depression-like behavior in mouse offspring caused by maternal T. gondii infection during pregnancy have not been investigated. Methods: We examined GRh2 effects on the depression-like behavior in mouse offspring, caused by maternal T. gondii infection during pregnancy, by measuring depression-like behaviors and assaying parameters at the neuronal and molecular level. Results: We showed that GRh2 significantly improved behavioral measures: sucrose consumption, forced swim time and tail suspended immobility time of their offspring. These corresponded with increased tissue concentrations of 5-hydroxytryptamine and dopamine, and attenuated indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase or enhanced tyrosine hydroxylase expression in the prefrontal cortex. GRh2 ameliorated neuronal damage in the prefrontal cortex. Molecular docking results revealed that GRh2 binds strongly to both TLR4 and high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that GRh2 ameliorated the depression-like behavior in mouse offspring of maternal T. gondii infection during pregnancy by attenuating the excessive activation of microglia and neuroinflammation through the HMGB1/TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. It suggests that GRh2 could be considered a potential therapy in preventing and treating psychiatric disorders in the offspring mice of mothers with prenatal exposure to T. gondii infection.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.350-358
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• 2023

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) is a viral infectious disease that occurs in children under 5 years of age. Its main causes are coxsackievirus (CV) and enterovirus (EV). Since there are no efficient therapeutics for HFMD, vaccines are effective in preventing the disease. To develop broad coverage against CV and EV, the development of a bivalent vaccine form is needed. The Mongolian gerbil is an efficient and suitable animal model of EV71 C4a and CVA16 infection used to investigate vaccine efficacy following direct immunization. In this study, Mongolian gerbils were immunized with a bivalent inactivated EV71 C4a and inactivated CVA16 vaccine to test their effectiveness against viral infection. Bivalent vaccine immunization resulted in increased Ag-specific IgG antibody production; specifically, EV71 C4a-specific IgG was increased with medium and high doses and CVA16-specific IgG was increased with all doses of immunization. When gene expression of T cell-biased cytokines was analysed, Th1, Th2, and Th17 responses were found to be highly activated in the high-dose immunization group. Moreover, bivalent vaccine immunization mitigated paralytic signs and increased the survival rate following lethal viral challenges. When the viral RNA content was determined from various organs, all three doses of bivalent vaccine immunization were found to significantly decrease viral amplification. Upon histologic examination, EV71 C4a and CVA16 induced tissue damage to the heart and muscle. However, bivalent vaccine immunization alleviated this in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that the bivalent inactivated EV71 C4a/CVA16 vaccine could be a safe and effective candidate HFMD vaccine.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.25-25
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• 2022

Drought becomes frequent and severe because of continuous global warming, leading to a significant loss of crop yield. In soybean (Glycine max [L.]), most of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) analyses for drought tolerance have conducted by investigating yield changes under water-restricted conditions at the reproductive stages. More recently, the necessity of QTL studies to use physiological indices responding to drought at the early growth stages besides the reproductive ones has arisen due to the unpredictable and prevalent occurrence of drought throughout the soybean growing season. In this study, we thus identified QTLs conferring wilting scores and moisture contents of soybean subjected to drought stress in the early vegetative stage using an recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a cross between Taekwang (drought-sensitive) and SS2-2 (drought-tolerant). For the two traits, the same major QTL was located on chromosome 10, accounting for up to 11.5% of phenotypic variance explained with LOD score of 12.5. This QTL overlaps with a reported QTL for the limited transpiration trait in soybean and harbors an ortholog of the Arabidopsis ABA and drought-induced RING-D UF1117 gene. Meanwhile, one of important features of plant drought tolerance is their ability to limit transpiration rates under high vapor pressure deficiency in response to mitigate water loss. However, monitoring their transpiration rates is time-consuming and laborious. Therefore, only a few population-level studies regarding transpiration rates under the drought condition have been reported so far. Via employing an Arduino-based platform, for the reasons addressed, we are measuring and recording total pot weights of soybean plants every hour from the 1^st day after water restriction to the days when the half of the RILs exhibited permanent tissue damage in at least one trifoliate. Gradual decrease in moisture of soil in pots as time passes refers increase in the severity of drought stress. By tracking changes in the total pot weights of soybean plants, we will infer transpiration rates of the mapping parents and their RILs according to different levels of VPD and drought stress. The profile of transpiration rates from different levels of severity in the stresses facilitates a better understanding of relationship between transpiration-related features, such as limited maximum transpiration rates, to water saving performances, as well as those to other drought-responsive phenotypes. Our findings will provide primary insights on drought tolerance mechanisms in soybean and useful resources for improvement of soybean varieties tolerant to drought stress.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.389-402
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• 2024

Propose: This study examined the antioxidant and anti-gastritis properties of a mixture comprising Ipomoea batatas (IB) extract and Dioscorea japonica (DJ) extract. Methods: The mixture of IB and DJ extracts was analyzed for its total flavonoid content (TFC), total polyphenol content (TPC), and radical scavenging activities. Gastric lesions were induced by treating rats with 1 mL of a solution containing 60% ethanol and 150 mM HCl. The rats were then divided into 5 groups: CON (normal control), HEC (treated with 150 mM HCl-60% ethanol and distilled water), IBE (treated with 150 mM HCl-60% ethanol and IB extract at 350 mg/kg body weight [BW]), ID30 (treated with 150 mM HCl-60% ethanol and a mixture of IB and DJ extracts in a 7:3 ratio at 350 mg/kg BW), and DJE (treated with 150 mM HCl-60% ethanol and DJ extract at 350 mg/kg BW). Results: The ID30 group exhibited significantly higher TFC, TPC, and radical scavenging activities than the groups treated with single extracts. This group also showed a notable decrease in the formation of gastric lesions and preservation of gastric wall mucus. In addition, the serum levels of the inflammatory marker tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α were significantly lower in the ID30 group than in the HEC group. Conclusion: The antioxidants present in the ID30 mixture effectively reduced oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species, mitigating gastric mucosal irritation induced by alcohol and acid. Furthermore, the mixture inhibited gastric acid secretion and inflammatory marker expression, such as TNF-α, preventing tissue damage. These findings suggest that the ID30 mixture is a potential preventative treatment for gastritis.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.295-304
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• 2008

Background: Various experimental trials for the development of bioprosthetic devices are actively underway, secondary to the limited supply of autologous and homograft tissue to treat cardiac diseases. In this study, porcine bioprostheses that were treated with glutaraldehyde (GA), ethanol, or sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) were examined with light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy for mechanical and physical imperfections before implantation, Material and Method: 1) Porcine pericardium, aortic valve, and pulmonary valve were examined using light microscopy and JEM-100CX II transmission electron microscopy, then compared with human pericardium and commercially produced heterografts. 2) Sections from six treated groups (GA-Ethanol, Ethanol-GA, SDS only, SDS-GA, Ethanol-SDS-GA and SDS-Ethanol-GA) were observed using the same methods. Result: 1) Porcine pericardium was composed of a serosal layer, fibrosa, and epicardial connective tissue. Treatment with GA, ethanol, or SDS had little influence on the collagen skeleton of porcine pericardium, except in the case of SDS pre-treatment. There was no alteration in the collagen skeleton of the porcine pericardium compared to commercially produced heterografts. 2) Porcine aortic valve was composed of lamina fibrosa, lamina spongiosa, and lamina ventricularis. Treatment with GA, ethanol, or SDS had little influence on these three layers and the collagen skeleton of porcine aortic valve, except in the case of SDS pre-treatment. There were no alterations in the three layers or the collagen. skeleton of porcine aortic valve compared to commercially produced heterografts. Conclusion: There was little physical and mechanical damage incurred in porcine bioprosthesis structures during various glutaraldehyde fixation processes combined with anti-calcification or decellularization treatments. However, SDS treatment preceding GA fixation changed the collagen fibers into a slightly condensed form, which degraded during transmission electron micrograph. The optimal methods and conditions for sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) treatment need to be modified.