• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.102-107
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• 2008

Nitric oxide (NO) is a potent antihypertensive and vasodilator which plays an important role in regulating vascular tones. In this study, we investigated the effects of adventitious root extracts of wild ginseng on NO production and NO linked physiological activities. When human endothelial cell line (ECV304) was incubated with either water extracts of wild ginseng adventitious root (WE) or aqueous fraction of butanol extracts of wild ginseng adventitious root (ABE), considerable amounts of NO were released by the cells. The level of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) expression was unchanged and about 6% of the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) was inhibited with treatment of ABE. The vasodilating activities of pulmonary artery rings in response to different doses of extracts were shown as 44.8% and 91.3% in 2.5 mg/ml WE and 0.1 mg/ml ABE, respectively. The blood pressure lowering effect was observed from the oral administered spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) with the lowest blood pressure (154.5${\pm}$8.6 mmHg) after 8 h. The blood pressure was recovered to the initial level after 24 h.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.21-28
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• 2002

Objective: To evaluate whether co-culture of oocytes on vero cell monolayers from Day 0 (Day 0 group) after egg retrieval results in an increase in developmental capacity such as fertilization rate, embryo quality, blastulation and clinical pregnancy rate compared with co-culture of oocytes from Day 1 (Day 1 group). Methods: Sperms were treated with Hams F-10 supplemented with 10% human follicular fluid (hFF). Vero cells for co-culture were prepared in TCM-199 with 10% FBS. Oocytes were co-cultured from Day 0 and fertilized oocytes were co-cultured from Day 1 on vero cell monolayers in DMEM with 10% and 20% hFF, respectively after egg retrieval. On day 1, 2 and 5, fertilization rate and grade of embryos and blastocysts were evaluated. Results (fertilization rate, cleavage rate, grade of embryos and blastocysts and pregnancy rate) were considered statistically significant when p value was less than 0.05 using t-test and $x^2$. Results: In sibling oocytes of same cycles, no differences were found in fertilization rate (94.6 vs. 91.4%), cleavage rates (94.6 vs. 91.4%), embryo grade (on day 2 and 3) and blastulation (65.6 vs. 57.0%) and their grade. In different oocytes of different cycles (patients), no differences were found in fertilization (79.8 vs. 78.3%), cleavage rates (77.7 vs. 76.4%) and blastulation (56.0 vs. 45.3%), but pregnancy rate was higher in the Day 0 group than in the Day 1 group (60.0 vs. 42.9%). Conclusions: This study revealed that the embryonic development capacities were not affected by the different co-culture time in the sibling oocytes of same cycles. Although no statistical significance, because of small size of study, there was a trend for higher pregnancy rates in Day 0 group compared to Day 1 group in different oocytes of different cycles.

• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.45-54
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• 2009

This study was designed to investigate the effect of cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten) extracts on the intestinal bacteria, antioxidative activity and angiotensin -I-converting enzyme(ACE) inhibitory activity. The antimicrobial activities were measured using the 96well-plate method and disc plate method with concentration of 20mg of cactus extract. The stem extract of cactus was inhibitory against Eubacterium limosum, Clostridium perfringens, C. butyricum, C. difficile and Staphylococcus aureus, but was not inhibitory against Bacteroides fragilis, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Lactobacillus acidophilis, Streptococcus thermophilus. The fruit extract of cactus showed no inhibition against Bacteroides fragilis, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Lactobacillus acidophilis, and Streptococcus thermophilis. Their inhibitory activities were not reduced after heat and pH treatment. Antioxidative effects of cactus extracts showed high total polyphenol and flavonoid contents and high activity against free radical DPPH. The stem and fruit extract of cactus showed strong ACE inhibitory activities of 88.8% and 69.2%, respectively. In conclusion cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten) extract might be utilized as a functional food material to control intestinal microflora.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.3897-3901
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• 2013

Background: Optimal treatment for prostate cancer remains a challenge worldwide. Recently, T cell immunoglobulin mucin-3 (TIM-3) has been implicated in tumor biology but its contribution prostate cancer remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of TIM-3 as a prognostic marker in patients with prostate cancer. Methods: TIM-3 protein expression was determined by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting in 137 prostate cancer tumor samples and paired adjacent benign tissue. We also performed cell proliferation assays using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2yl)-2,5-diphenyl- 2H tetrazolium bromide (MTT) and cell invasion assays. The effects of small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated knockdown of TIM-3 (TIM-3 siRNA) in two human prostate cancer cell lines were also evaluated. Results: TIM-3 expression was higher in prostate cancer tissue than in the adjacent benign tissue (P<0.001). High TIM-3 expression was an independent predictor of both recurrence-free survival and progression-free survival. TIM-3 protein was expressed in both prostate cancer cell lines and knockdown suppressed their proliferation and invasion capacity. Conclusions: TIM-3 expression is associated with a poor prognosis in prostate cancer. Taken together, our resutlts indicate that TIM-3 is a potential prognostic marker in prostate cancer.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.359-367
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• 2020

Neurodegenerative disorders in the elderly are characterized by gradual loss of memory and cognitive function. Oxidative stress caused by reactive oxygen species is associated with progressive neuronal cell damage and death in Alzheimer's disease, one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders. An edible brown seaweed, Ecklonia cava, contains a variety of biologically active compounds such as phlorotannins. In this study, we comparatively evaluated the total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, and neuroprotective effects of the phlorotannin-rich extract from E. cava (PEEC). The total phenolic content of PEEC and dieckol was 810.8 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g and 996.6 mg GAE/g, respectively. Antioxidant capacity of PEEC was 1,233.8 mg vitamin C equivalents (VCE)/g and 392.1 mg VCE/g determined using ABTS and DPPH assays, respectively, while those of dieckol were 2,238.4 mg VCE/g and 817.7 mg VCE/g. High-performance liquid chromatography results revealed 48.08 ± 0.67 mg dieckol/g of PEEC. PEEC had neuroprotective effects in pheochromocytoma (PC-12) and human neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) cells against H₂O₂- and AAPH-induced oxidative damage, partly due to reduced intracellular oxidative stress. PEEC treatment inhibited acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase in a dose-dependent manner. Taken together, these findings suggest that PEEC is a good source of antioxidants and neuroprotective materials.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.130-134
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• 2009

A new long persistent phosphors of $CaZrO_3$ was synthesized at high temperature with weak reduction atmosphere by a traditional solid state reaction method. Photoluminescence spectra analysis showed that the $CaZrO_3$ doped with $Tb^{3+}$ emitted green-yellow emission caused by the energy level transition from the $^5D_3$ and $^5D_4$ to $^7F_1{\sim}^7F_6$. The main emission spectra of 542 nm peak by the $^5D_4{\rightarrow}^7F_5$ transition was revealed through synthesizing at high temperature in $N_2$ gas atmosphere. The afterglow emission spectra of $CaZrO_3:Tb^{3+}$ long persistent phosphores arise at 546 nm peak of narrow range. After the 254 nm ultraviolet light excitation source was switched off, the green-yellow long persistent phosphor can be observed which could last for 8 h in the limit of light perception of dark-adapted human eyes ($0.32\;mcd/m^2$).

• Journal of the Korean Society of Tobacco Science
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.18-24
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• 2015

Urinary mutagenicity is widely recognized as a useful biomarker for the assessment of mutagen exposure level in human. In this study, we optimized the several parameters affecting the activity of Urinary mutagenicity using highly sensitive mutation test(microsuspension assay) instead of the conventional Ames test. First of all, we chose YG1024 as a highly sensitive strain from three str ains of Salmonella typhimurium(TA98, TA100, YG1024) using r epr esentative mutation substances, such as Benzo[a]pyrene, 2-Aminonaphthalene, 2-amino-3-methyl-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole($MeA{\alpha}C$) and cigarette total particulate matter(TPM). And we established the several kinds of test conditions such as number of bacter ia, concentr ation of metabolic activation system and incubation time for the most sensitive reaction. Also, we optimized efficient pre-treatment method using commercial C18 column. As a r esults, this method was shown a aver age of 94 % recovery value and 13 % relative standard deviation. When we compared the Urinary mutagenicity between several participants, we confirmed that compar ative measurements were possible for different levels of urine mutagenicity. In conclusion, the optimized highly sensitive mutation test to measure the Urinary mutagenicity may be useful in biological monitoring of mutagen exposure level.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.173-186
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the weight of seasonal garments worn by Korean women in their daily lives and thermal insulation. We selected a total of 121 garments(13 kinds of Under garments, 51 Upper garments, 32 Lower garments, 15 Headgear, 10 Gloves Footgear) based on our previous survey using questionnaire and interview. Thermal insulation of single garment was measured with a thermal manikin. Also we measured garment weight, covering area, thickness, air permeability on the each garment(chamber air temperature: $21.5{\pm}0.5^{\circ}C$, humidity: $50{\pm}5%R.H.$ air speed: 0.15m/s). The results are as follow: The very strong positive correlation(r=0.905, p<.01) was recognized between the weight of single garment and thermal insulation. The regression equation of thermal insulation can be represented as follows: Thermal Insulation(clo)=$0.03+0.0004{\times}Garment$ Weight(g)($r^2$=0.820, SEE =0.059). There are significant differences in the thermal insulation and garment weight by season and garment type(p<.05). The each garment category's thermal insulation and garment weight has as follows: Under garment(0.06clo, 89g), Blouse Shirt T-shirt(0.13clo, 200g), Cardigan Sweater Vest(0.14clo, 287g), Coat Jacket Jumper(0.41clo, 890g), Skirt(0.16clo, 276g), Trousers(0.20clo, 438g), Headgear(0.03clo, 102g), Gloves Footgear(0.03clo, 33g).

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.67-74
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• 2011

Objectives : The purpose of the study is to determine the neuroprotective effects of the water extract of Angelicae Acutilobae Radix(AA) on ischemia reperfusion-induced apoptosis in SK-N-SH human brain neuronal cells. Methods: SK-N-SH cells were treated with different concentrations of AA water extract (0.1, 0.2, 0.5 and 1.0 mg/ml) for 2 hr and then stimulated with Dulbecco's phosphate-buffered saline containing CI-DPBS: 3mM sodium azide and 10 mM 2-deoxy-D-glucose for 45 min, reperfused with growth medium, and incubated for 24 h. Cell viability was determined by WST-1 assay, and ATP/ADP levels were measured by ADP/ATP ratio assay kit. The levels of caspase-3 protein were determined by Western blot and apoptotic body was observed by Hoechst 33258 staining. Results : AA extract significantly inhibited decreasing the cell viability in ischemia-induced SK-N-SH cells. AA also increased the ratio of ADP/ATP in ischemia-induced neuronal cells and decreased the expression levels of apoptotic protein, caspase-3 and apoptotic DNA damage. Conclusions : Our results suggest that AA extract has a neuroprotective property via suppressing the apoptosis and increasing the energy levels in neuronal cells, suggesting that AA extract may has a therapeutic potential in the treatment of ischemic brain injury.

• Journal of Haehwa Medicine
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.121-134
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• 2006

This study saw the anti-allergy effect by the immunity regulation action of Yanghyelyoonbotang (YHYBT) consists 12 kinds of herbal medicine agents. Consequently, YHYBT controlled the amount of secretion of various infla- mmatory cytokines, chemokine, monocyte chemotactic protein and histamine from cells (HMC-1, THP-1, EoL-1) stimulated by PMA, A23187 or HDM. 1. YHYBT did not show cytotoxicity on cultured human fibroblast cells under 250 ${\mu}g/m\ell$ concentration. 2. YHYBT suppressed IL-8, TNF-$\alpha$, IL-6 mRNA expression in the HMC-1 cell stimulated with PMA and A23187. 3. YHYBT significantly suppressed IL-6 release in the THP-1 and EoL-1 cell stimulated with HDM. 4. YHYBT significantly suppressed histamine release in the HMC-1 cell stimulated with PMA and A23187 in a dose-dependent. 5. YHYBT significantly suppressed $\beta$-Hexosaminidase release in the HMC-1 cell stimulated with A23187 in a dose-dependent. 6. YHYBT suppressed NF-$\kappa$B gene expression in the RBL-2H3 cell stimulated with PMA in a dose-dependent. These results suggested that YHYBT has suppressive effects on allergic reaction and pro-inflammatory cytokines in various cell lines through the regulation of immune system. YHYBT has potential to use as an antiallergic agents.