• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.582-600
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• 2007

In a long history of geography, a variety of regional concepts have been suggested to represent the particular situations in each period. Today, post-modem situations, characterized by the development of capitalism and globalization, demand a new variety of regional concepts. The regional characteristics, such as social relations, institutional systems, ideologies and symbolism, are now perceived basically on the level of subjectivity. Currently, it is the most urgent task to integrate many conflicting opinions among a variety of subjects into the one that would seek a voluntary consent from the majority of regional residents. In this paper, it is suggested that the concept of identity is the most efficient in examining and explaining the post-modem trend of a region: variability, subjectivity, mobility, changeability, Finally, it is suggested that a special attention should be paid to the role of institutions, that is institutionalization, in the construction of regional identity, to understand and interpret the cultural-historical aspect of a regional change.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2019.04a
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• pp.21-22
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• 2019

Melanin is a mixture of pigmented biopolymers synthesized by epidermal melanocytes that determine the skin, eye, and hair colors. Melanocytes produce two different kinds of melanin, eumelanin (dark brown/black insoluble pigments found in dark skin and dark hair and pheomelanin (lighter red/yellow). The biological role of melanin is to prevent skin damage by ultraviolet (UV) radiation. However, the overproduction or deficiency of melanin synthesis could lead to serious dermatological problems, which include melasma, melanoderma, lentigo, and vitiligo. Therefore, regulating melanin production is important to prevent the pigmentation disorders. Myanmar has a rich in natural resources. However, the chemical constituents of these natural resources in Myanmar have not been fully investigated. In the effort to search for compounds with anti-melanin deposition activity from Myanmar natural resources, five plants were collected in Myanmar. Extracts of these collected five plants were tested for anti-melanin deposition activity against a mouse melanoma cell line (B16-F10) induced with ${\alpha}$-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (${\alpha}$-MSH) and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX), and their anti-melanin deposition activities were compared with the positive control, arbutin. Among the tested extracts, the CHCl3 extracts of the Premna serratifolia (syn: P. integrifolia) wood showed anti-melanin deposition activities with IC50 values of $81.3{\mu}g/mL$. Hence, this study aims to identify secondary metabolites with anti-melanin deposition activity from P. serratifolia wood of Myanmar. P. serratifolia belongs to the Verbenaceae family and is widely distributed in near western sea coast from South Asia to South East Asia, which include India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka. People in Tanintharyi region located in the southern part of Myanmar utilize the P. serratifolia, Sperethusa crenulata, Naringi crenulata, and Limonia acidissima as Thanaka, traditional cosmetics in Myanmar. Thanaka is applied in the form of paste onto skins to make it smooth and clear, as well as to prevent wrinkles, skin aging, excessive facial oil, pimples, blackheads, and whiteheads. However, the chemical constituents responsible for their cosmetic properties are yet to be identified. Moreover, the chemical constituents of P. serratifolia was almost uncharacterized. Investigation of the P. serratifolia chemical constituents is thus an attractive endeavor to discover new anti-melanin deposition active compounds. The investigation of the chemical constituents of the active CHCl3 extract of P. serratifolia led to isolation of four new lignoids, premnan A (1), premnan B (2), taungtangyiol C (3), and 7,9-dihydroxydolichanthin B (4), together with premnan C (5) (assumed to be an artifact), one natural newlignoid,(3R,4S)-4-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-ylcarbonyl)-3-[(R)-1-(1,3-benzo dioxol-5-yl)-1-hydroxy methyl]tetrahydro-2-furanone (6), and five known compounds (7-11)1,2). The structures of all isolated compounds were determined on the basis of their spectroscopic data and by comparison with the reported literatures. The absolute configurations of 1-3 and 5 were also determined by optical rotation and circular dichroism (CD) data analyses1). The anti-melanin deposition activities of all the isolated compounds were evaluated against B16-F10 cell line. 7,9-Dihydroxydolichanthin B (4) and ($2{\alpha},3{\alpha}$)-olean-12-en-28-oic acid (11) showed strong anti-melanin deposition activities with IC50 values of 18.4 and $11.2{\mu}M$, respectively, without cytotoxicity2). On the other hand, compounds 1-3, 5, and 7 showed melanogenesis enhancing activities1). To better understand their anti-melanin deposition mechanism, the effects of 4 and 11 on tyrosinase activities were investigated. The assay indicated that compounds 4 and 11 did not inhibit tyrosinase. Furthermore, we also examined the mRNA expression of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), tyrosinase (TYR), tyrosinase-related protein-1 (TRP-1), and tyrosinase-related protein-2 (TRP-2). Compounds 4 and 11 down-regulated the expression of Tyr and Mitf mRNAs, respectively. Although the P. serratifolia wood has been used as traditional cosmetics in Myanmar for centuries, there are no scientific evidences to support its effectiveness as cosmetics. Investigation of the anti-melanin deposition activity of the chemical constituents of P. serratifolia thus provided insight into the effectiveness of the P. serratifolia wood as a cosmetic agent.

• Journal of Korean Society of Neurocognitive Rehabilitation
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.53-62
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to propose an alternative for the eating habits of modern people and coping with the diseases. The purpose of this study was to apply the principles of eating habits of people living in Roma Linda to modern dietary life and to help healthy life and prevent disease. The period of this study was from May 1, 2016 to February 28, 2018. Literature search was conducted using Pubmed and Korean academic web sites. Based on the recognition of wrong eating habits, we classify and classify diseases according to eating habits. A total of more than 100 papers were selected and 60 papers and a database were prepared. People living in Roma Linda have eight health principles. The Roma Linda practiced balanced nutritional intake, sufficient exercise, adequate water intake, sunlight, temperance (abstinence from alcohol etc.), fresh air, adequate rest, and trust in eating habits. People living in Roma Linda have a high intake of vegetables, fruits and nuts. People living in Roma Linda are educated about nutrition, and among them, there is a low prevalence of coronary heart disease and cancer, because they mostly do not smoke or drink alcohol. Unhealthy eating habits and dietary behavior are associated with many diseases. Many chronic, degenerative diseases are due to bad eating habits and stress. If you take good food habits of people living in the Roma Linda area and practice it steadily, it will have a great effect on disease prevention.

• Journal of Ginseng Culture
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• v.4
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• pp.13-37
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• 2022

Even before recorded history, the Korean people took ginseng. Later, poetry passed down from China developed into a literary style in which intellectuals from the Silla, Goryeo, and Joseon Dynasties expressed their thoughts concisely. The aim of this paper is to find Korean poems related to ginseng and to look for their semantic network. To this end, "Korea Classical DB ", produced by the Institute for the Translation of Korean Classics, was searched to find ginseng poems. As the result of a search in November 2021, two poems from the Three Kingdoms Period, two poems from the Goryeo Dynasty, and 23 poems from the Joseon Dynasty were searched. An examination of these poems found that the first ginseng poem was "Goryeoinsamchan," which was sung by people in Goguryeo around the 6th century. Ginseng poetry during the Goryeo Dynasty is represented by Anchuk's poem. Anchuk sang about the harmful effects of ginseng tributes from a realistic point of view. Ginseng poetry in the Joseon Dynasty is represented by Seo Geo-jeong in the early period and Jeong Yakyong in the late period. Seo Geo-jeong's ginseng poem is a romantic poem that praises the mysterious pharmacological effects of ginseng. A poem called "Ginseng" by Yongjae Seonghyeon is also a romantic poem that praises the mysterious medicinal benefits of ginseng. As a scholar of Realist Confucianism, Dasan Jeong Yak-yong wrote very practical ginseng poems. Dasan left five ginseng poems, the largest number written by one poet. Dasan tried ginseng farming himself and emerged from the experience as a poet. The story of the failure and success of his ginseng farming was described in his poems. At that time, ginseng farming was widespread throughout the country due to the depletion of natural ginseng and the development of ginseng farming techniques after the reign of King Jeongjo. Since the early 19th century, ginseng farming had been prevalent on a large scale in the Gaeseong region, and small-scale farming had also been carried out in other regions. What is unusual is Kim Jin-soo's poem. At that time, in Tong Ren Tang, Beijing (the capital of the Qing Dynasty), ginseng from Joseon sold well under the "Songak Sansam" brand. Kim Jin-Soo wrote about this brand of ginseng in his poem. In 1900, Maecheon Hwanghyeon also created a ginseng poem, written in Chinese characters. Thus, the semantic network of Korean ginseng poems is identified as follows: 1) Ginseng poetry in the spirit of the people - Emerging gentry in the Goryeo Dynasty (Anchuk). 2) Romantic ginseng poetry - Government School in the early Joseon Dynasty (Seo Geo-jeong, Seonghyeon, etc.). 3) Practical ginseng poetry - Realist School in the late Joseon Dynasty (Jeong Yak-yong, Kim Jin-soo, Hwang Hyun, etc.). This semantic network was extracted while examining the development of Korean ginseng poems.

• Journal of the Korean Association of African Studies
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• v.29
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• pp.27-53
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• 2009

At the start of the new century, South Africa probably had the largest number of HIV-infected people of any country in the world. The only nation that comes close is India with a population of one billion people compared to South Africa's figure of 57 million. The tragedy is that this did not have to happen. South Africa was aware of the dangers posed by AIDS as early as 1985. In 1991, the national survey of women attending antenatal clinics found that only 0.8percent were infected. In 1994, when the new government took power, the figure was still comparatively low at 7.6 %. The 2004 figure which has been published is 26.5%. This article tracks the epidemic globally, in the region and in South Africa. I explain some of the basic concepts around the disease and look at what may happen with respect to numbers. The situation is bad, and the number of people falling ill, dying and leaving families will rise over next few years. This will impact on South Africa in a number of important ways. This article assesses the demographic, economic and social consequences of the epidemic. It disposes of a number of myths and present the real facts. The AIDS in South Africa is not related to individuals only. It warns that AIDS in Africa is becoming a community and systemic problem. The acuteness of the problem does not stem merely from the fact that communities are affected, or could even be wipe out by the end of this decade, but from the fact that AIDS will place incredible burdens and obligations upon medical services, health care and religious communities such as churches. The facts confront churches' mission with the important question: who is going to take care of all the patients and where? The reality is that people dying of AIDS will have to be cared for at home by relatives and friends. A further question that arises is whether our people are prepared for this. AIDS was considered to be a homo-plague and the hunt was on for a scapegoat in the light of the fatal implication of the disease. At present we are in the strategic phase where we all realize that it will be of no avail to scare people with the ominous threat of AIDS AIDS destroys the optimism of our achievement ethics. This exposure of the culture of optimism is also an exposure of the so-called 'human basic fear which accuses Christianity that their concept of sin is a damper on man's search for liberation and basic need to be freed from all Imitation. AIDS is also a test for our ecclesiastical genuineness and the sincerity of our mission sensibility. It poses the question: How unconditional is Christian love? Is there room for the AIDS sufferer in the community of believers, despite the fact he is an acknowledged homosexual? The question to put to the church is whether the community of believers is an exclusive to put to the koinonia which excludes homosexuals. They may be welcome on principle, but in actual fact are not acceptable to the church community. As South Africa enters the new century, it is clear that the epidemic is not having a measurable impact. However, the impact of AIDS is gradual, subtle and incremental. The author's proposal of what is currently most needed in South Africa is that the little things will make a difference. It's about doing lots of little things better at grassroots level, with the emphasis on doing. There are so many community, churches and NGOs initiatives worth building on and intensifying. One must not underestimate the therapeutic value of working together in small groups to overcome a problem