• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.209-212
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• 2022

We recently reported that Gastrodia elata extracts (GEE) had an effects to protect against lipopolysaccharide-induced cognitive impairment in vivo model. In this study, we investigated the neuroprotective effects and the mechanism of action of GEE in hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-induced cell death of SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cell. The SH-SY5Y cells were divided into five groups, including control(non-treated group), 100 μM H₂O₂, 100, 200, 500 ㎍/㎖ GEE+ 100 μM H₂O₂ groups. Pre- and co-treatment with GEE prevented cell death induced by 100 μM H₂O₂ for 24 h in SH-SY5Y cells. Our findings also showed that anti-oxidants enzymes (Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase, Mn superoxide dismutase, catalase) were up-regulated by 100 μM H₂O₂. But GEE suppressed H₂O₂-induced anti-oxidants enzymes decrease in a dose-dependent manner. Treatment with GEE also inhibited phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor-2α (eIF-2α) and p38 by H₂O₂. Taken together, the neuroprotective effects of GEE in terms of recovery of antioxidant enzymes expression, down-regulation of eIF-2α and p38 phosphorylation, and inhibition of cell death are associated with reduced oxidative stress in SH-SY5Y cells.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.470-488
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• 1996

The end products of the metabolism of the oral microorganism, organic acids, are an element that produces dental caries. Four organic acids in plaque fluid, lactic acid, acetic acid, succinic acid, propionic acid which take the important role in producing dental caries, were chosen to evaluate the effect of acid type and concentration. The subject, $100{\mu}m$ in thickness, were immersed in acid-buffer solution which has the different acid concentration of 10mM, 25mM, 50mM, 100mM and pH 4.3 and degree of saturation was $0.153{\pm}0.003$ kept in constant and were operated to produce artificial caries under different demineralization time (1, 2, 3 day) at x25. The results were obtained by observing under polarizing microscope at x25. 1. The subsurface lesion, specific finding of incipient enamel caries, showed positive birefringence. but surface zone and sound enamel showed negative birefringence. 2. The demineralization rate of enamel was increased as the acid concentration increased. 3. The subsurface lesion showed increasing depth in the order of lactic, acetic, propionic acid, succinic acid. 4. The concentration of organic acid in artificial caries system had an independent effect on demineralization rate in enamel under the constant pH and degree of saturation. The result of this study showed that not only pH and the acid strength but the concentration of organic acid had an independent effect on demineralization rate in early enamel caries. And through the further research on the factors influencing enamel demineralization, it will be necessary to develop an effective caries preventive therapy.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.551-563
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• 2022

L-asparaginase (E.C. 3.5.1.1) purified from bacterial cells is widely used in the food industry, as well as in the treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. In the present study, the Burkholderia pseudomallei L-asparaginase gene was cloned into the pGEX-2T DNA plasmid, expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) pLysS, and purified to homogeneity using Glutathione Sepharose chromatography with 7.26 purification fold and 16.01% recovery. The purified enzyme exhibited a molecular weight of ~33.6 kDa with SDS-PAGE and showed maximal activity at 50℃ and pH 8.0. It retained 95.1, 89.6%, and 70.2% initial activity after 60 min at 30℃, 40℃, and 50℃, respectively. The enzyme reserved its activity at 30℃ and 37℃ up to 24 h. The enzyme had optimum pH of 8 and reserved 50% activity up to 24 h. The recombinant enzyme showed the highest substrate specificity towards L-asparaginase substrate, while no detectable specificity was observed for L-glutamine, urea, and acrylamide at 10 mM concentration. THP-1, a human leukemia cell line, displayed significant morphological alterations after being treated with recombinant L-asparaginase and the IC₅₀ of the purified enzyme was recorded as 0.8 IU. Furthermore, the purified recombinant Lasparaginase improved cytotoxicity in liver cancer HepG2 and breast cancer MCF-7 cell lines, with IC₅₀ values of 1.53 and 18 IU, respectively.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.296-303
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• 2016

Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of proanthocyanidin (PAC), a crosslinking agent, on the physical properties of a collagen hydrogel and the behavior of human periodontal ligament cells (hPDLCs) cultured in the scaffold. Materials and Methods: Viability of hPDLCs treated with PAC was measured using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The physical properties of PAC treated collagen hydrogel scaffold were evaluated by the measurement of setting time, surface roughness, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The behavior of the hPDLCs in the collagen scaffold was evaluated by cell morphology observation and cell numbers counting. Results: The setting time of the collagen scaffold was shortened in the presence of PAC (p < 0.05). The surface roughness of the PAC-treated collagen was higher compared to the untreated control group (p < 0.05). The thermogram of the crosslinked collagen exhibited a higher endothermic peak compared to the uncrosslinked one. Cells in the PAC-treated collagen were observed to attach in closer proximity to one another with more cytoplasmic extensions compared to cells in the untreated control group. The number of cells cultured in the PAC-treated collagen scaffolds was significantly increased compared to the untreated control (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Our results showed that PAC enhanced the physical properties of the collagen scaffold. Furthermore, the proliferation of hPDLCs cultured in the collagen scaffold crosslinked with PAC was facilitated. Conclusively, the application of PAC to the collagen scaffold may be beneficial for engineering-based periodontal ligament regeneration in delayed replantation.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.729-734
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• 2005

A sensitive and selective method for quantitation of sofalcone and its active metabolite in human plasma has been established using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI/MS/MS). Plasma samples were transferred into 96-well plate using an automated sample handling system and spiked with 10 $\mu$L of 2 $\mu$g/mL $d_3$-sofalcone and $d_3$-sofalcone metabolite solutions (internal standard), respectively. After adding 0.5 mL of acetonitrile to the 96-well plate, the plasma samples were then vortexed for 30 sec. After centrifugation, the supernatant was transferred into another 96-well plate and completely evaporated at 40 ${^{\circ}C}$ under a stream of nitrogen. Dry residues were reconstituted with mobile phase and were injected into a $C_{18}$ reversed-phase column. The limit of quantitation of sofalcone and its metabolite was 2 ng/mL, using a sample volume of 0.2 mL for analysis. The reproducibility of the method was evaluated by analyzing 10 replicates over the concentration range of 2 ng/mL to 1000 ng/mL. The validation experiments of the method have shown that the assay has good precision and accuracy. Sofalcone and its metabolite produced a protonated precursor ion ([M+H]$^+$) of m/z 451 and 453, and a corresponding product ion of m/z 315 and 317, respectively. Internal standard ($d_3$-sofalcone and $d_3$-sofalcone metabolite) produced a protonated precursor ion ([M+H]$^+$) of m/z 454 and 456 and a corresponding product ion of m/z 315 and 317, respectively. The method has been successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of sofalcone and its active metabolite in human plasma.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2018

Background: Inula japonica Thunb. is a plant belonging to the family compositae. Inulae flos (flower of I. britannica var. chinensis Regal.) is the dried flower of I. japonica Thunb. and contains various flavonoids (patulitrin, nepitrin and kaempferol), which have been utilized in traditional oriental medicine to treat nausea, phlegm, and coughs. However, ethanol extract of I. britannica (IJE) has not been previously studied for its use in cancer treatment, and its effects on oxidative stress, or inflammation. Thus, the present study investigated the anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-colorectal cancer effects of IJE using RAW264.7 and HCT-116 cells, which are human colorectal cancer cell line. Methods and Results: IJE contained flavonoids ($80.95{\pm}5.3mg/g$) and polyphenols ($310.53{\pm}10.6mg/g$). Moreover, it reduced lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production and $H_2O_2$-induced oxidative stress by decreasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Additionally, the $500{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ IJE treatment increased caspase-3 activity and apoptotic cell death in HCT-116 cells. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that the anti-cancer effect of IJE against human colorectal cancer cells involves caspase-3 activation and apoptotic cell death. IJE also inhibited LPS-induced NO production, and $H_2O_2$-induced oxidative stress in RAW264.7 cells. However, further studies are required to explore how IJE treatment regulates signal transduction in NO and ROS production.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.16 no.2 s.75
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• pp.245-252
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• 2006

A bacterial strain, identified as Staphylococcus aureus JJ-11, producing collagenase was isolated out of 40 persons having skin troubles. S. aureus JJ-11 produced collagenase optimally in the media containing 1.5%(w/v) gelatin, 1%(w/v) yeast extract, 0.4%(w/v) $K_2HPO_4$, 0.005%(w/v) $NiSO_4{\cdot}6H_2O$ at $37^{\circ}C$ for 18 hrs. The collagenase produced by Staphylococcus aureus JJ-11 was purified at 6.66-folds purity through application of chromatography with Amberlite IRA-900 and Sephacryl S-300 HR columns. The molecular weight of the partially purified enzyme was estimated to be 62 kDa by SDS-PAGE. The protein exhibited optimum enzymatic activity at pH 7.0, and showed a stable activity at pH 4-8. The optimum temperature for collagenase was at $37^{\circ}C$, and activity was maintained upto $40^{\circ}C$. The enzyme activity was slightly elevated in the presence of divalents such as, $Fe^{2+},\;Co^{2+}\;and\;Ba^{2+}$ However, the activity was inhibited in the presence of $Sr^{2+}\;or\;Hg^{2+}$. The inhibition of activity by O-phenanthroline and EDTA suggested that the enzyme may contain metal which is required for activity. The enzyme showed the highest activity when insoluble collagen (type I) was, used as a substrate.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Health Society Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.187-191
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• 2003

In this study, biomonitoring methods were developed to measure BTEXs exposure level in the air, metabolites of benzene and toluene in human urine, individual susceptibility markers in human blood for evaluation of the health effects about environmental pollution. We have also performed a small-scaled molecular epidemiology study on residents in Chuncheon and workers in workplace for these method applications. The workers in workplace were surveyed as study areas, and the residents in Chuncheon which is in the suburban area were surveyed as comparative areas in this study. Actually, 31 workers in as target group and 33 residences in as control group this epidemiological study. The results obtained from this study were as follows: 1. Benzene is a well-known carcinogen, it's median concentrations were 0.00024∼0.02057ppm at suburban area and 0.002∼00.654ppm at work place, These benzene concentrations were not exceed the OSHA(Occupational Safety and Health Administration) threshold benzene level of 1ppm in the states. 2. Metabolites product of benzene(t,t-Muconic Acid) and toluene(Hippuric Acid) were not significant both in suburban and workplace area. The median concentration of t,t-MA and HA were 0.0122, 1.44277g/g creatinine, respectively. 3. In the case of individual susceptibility markers as CYPlAl, 41.8% of them has homozygous wild type(W) and who has heterozygous variant type(H) was 35.4% and 22.8% of homozygous variant type(M) genetic type. In the case of CYP2E1, 62.82% of them has homozygous wild type(D) type, 34.62% of each has heterozygous variant type (DC) and 2.56% of them has homozygous variant type (CC). Who doesn't have GSTM1 gene was 46.25% and who has GSTM1 gene was 53.75％. Who doesn't have GSTT1 gene was 40.0％ in study groups and who has GSTT1 gene was 60.0%. Who has W genetic type, which is homozygous wild type of GSTP1, was 69.18% and H genetic type, which is heterozygous variant type was 28.4%. M genetic type which is homozygous variant type was 2.4%. 4. Concentration differences of metabolites such as t,t-MA and HA in urine, which is generated by individual susceptibility marker of GSTM1, GSTT1, GSTP1 gene of Phase I and CYP1A1, CYP2E1 gene of Phase II, was examined. As a result, GSTP1 and GSTM1 indicate slight differences depend on the amount of metabolites in urine, it was not statistically significant.

• Journal of Korean Institute of Industrial Engineers
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.265-276
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• 1996

Multimedia systems present information by various media, for example, video, sound, music, animation, movie, etc., in addition to the text which has long been used for conveying the information. Among many multimedia applications, the multimedia information retrieval systems commercialized in the forms of multimedia encyclopedia CD-ROMs, benefited from various media for their ability to present information in an efficient and complete way. But using several media, on the other hand, may cause end users' confusion and furthermore, poorly designed user interface often exacerbates the situation. In this study, the multimedia systems were studied from the standpoint of usability. The conceptual framework of the user interface of the multimedia system was newly defined. And 100 initial variables for user interface design of general multimedia systems were suggested through literature survey and expert opinions based upon the framework developed. Among various application areas, the multimedia information retrieval systems were chosen for investigation, and 36 variables particularly relevant to user interface of the multimedia information retrieval systems were selected. According to the sequential research strategy, the variables that were considered to be most important were finally selected through a screening stage. A part of selected variables were verified through a human factors experiment as the first step of sequential research. Based upon the result of the experiment, guidelines for user interface design were provided. For future study, the variables remained will be Investigated and the study will expand to another application areas.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.233-243
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• 1999

Food safety or sanitation are terms broadly applicable to procedures designed to ensure that food quality is high and free of factors which may adversely affect human health. These factors include zoonotic diseases and acute and chronic effects of ingesting natural and human-made xenobiotics. Use of drugs in animal production for the treatment and control of animal diseases, to promote growth rate, and to improve feed conversion efficiency has expanded year by year, thus increasing the possibilities for occurrences in animal products of residues harmful to humans. Governmental agencies have made efforts to control or prevent residue problems. The Korean Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) is charged with the responsibility of establishing tolerances for veterinary drugs, pesticides, and mycotoxins and other non-pharmaceutical substances. The Department of Veterinary Service is responsible for establishing guidelines regarding withdrawal times of drugs, approval of drugs, their uses, and sanitation enforcement of livestock products. The authors describe the toxicological basis for the establishment of tolerance levels for xenobiotics and the pharmacokinetic basis for establishing withdrawal time for veterinary drugs. The regulatory tolerance levels of chemicals in pork and swine feed, Korean regulations on the use of feed additives, rapid residue test methods, the National Residue Program, and the Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank are discussed. Rapid EIA methods that are under development for the screening of live animals are described These methods predict tissue residues from an examination of blood samples taken from pigs before they are slaughtered.