• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.139-150
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• 2016

Few studies have been reported that horse-bone extract(HBE) can prevent and treatment of bone diseases. However, HBE' therapeutic activities are still not fully understood. This study determined whether HBE up-regulates hemeoxygenase 1(HO-1) and this mediates its anti-inflammatory effect in murine macrophages.Nitric oxide(NO) assay, MTT assay and DPPH assay were performed. In addition, Western blotting and real time PCR were used to determine protein expression, and gene expression, respectively. HBE significantly inhibited NO production without observable cytotoxicity. In addition, HBE attenuated inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) and phospho (p)-ERK protein expressions in LPS(0.1㎍/ml) stimulated RAW264.7 cells. On the other hand, HBE alone up-regulated HO-1 and Nrf-2 expressions, which mediated HBE's anti-inflammatory effect in RAW264.7 cells. Finally, HBE up-regulated HO-1 and impaired ERK1/2 signaling pathways, and thus it may provide protection against cellular oxidation and inflammation.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.30 no.4D
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• pp.377-386
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• 2010

This study was conducted to find out the characteristics of the expanded road embankment constructed by the lightweight air-mixed soil (slurry density $10kN/m^3$) for a short-term without any ground improvement. Compression strength, capillary rise height of the lightweight air-mixed soil and settlement behavior of soft ground were studied. Compression strengths of the specimens sampled at the site after 1 and 5 months of construction were all satisfied the required strength 500 kPa. However, it was not convinced the homogeneity construction, because the values of strength were depending on the sampled location. Also, strength difference between laboratory and site specimens were found about 19%, and thus it should be considered for mixing design. Capillary rise reached about 20 cm for 70 hours because of a numerous tiny pores existed inside the lightweight air-mixed soil. Relationship between settlement and time of the soft ground placed underneath the expanded embankment was estimated by using the measured data and back analysis technique. The current average consolidation ratio and the final settlement after 120 months later were estimated about 32% and 4.5cm, respectively. This settlement is much less value than the allowable settlement 10cm for this structure.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.5D
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• pp.831-838
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• 2006

An experimental/analytic study has been conducted to understand the adverse effects of low vehicle speed, high axle load and high tire pressure on the performance of asphalt pavements. Of 33 asphalt sections at KHC test road, two sections having different base layer thickness (180 mm versus 280 mm) are adopted for rollover tests. During the test, a standard three-axle dump truck maintains a steady state condition as moving along the wheel path of a passing lane, and lateral offsets and real travel speed are measured with a laser-based wandering system. Test results suggest that vehicle speed affects both longitudinal and transverse strains at the bottom of asphalt layer (290 mm and 390 mm below the surface), and even slightly influences the measured vertical stresses at the top of subbase and subgrade due to the dynamic effect of rolling vehicle. Since the anisotropic nature of asphalt-aggregate mixtures, the difference between longitudinal and transverse strains appears prominent throughout the measurements. As the thickness of asphalt pavement increases, the measured lateral strains become larger than its corresponding longitudinal strains. Over the limited testing conditions, it is concluded that higher axle weight and higher tire pressures induce more strains and vertical stresses, leading to a premature deterioration of pavements. Finally, a layered elastic analysis overestimates the maximum strains measured under the 1st axle load, while underestimating the maximum vertical stress in both pavement sections.

• Economic Analysis
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.1-53
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• 2019

This paper examines monetary policy quantitatively in a two-agent and small-scale New-Keynesian economy with debt-constrained households that cannot smooth their consumption intertemporally and frictionlessly since highly indebted households are not allowed to borrow above a certain debt ceiling in incomplete financial markets without additional risk premiums due to information asymmetry between savers and borrowers. We find that, in the event of cost shocks, the asymmetric responses of borrowing households without, and saving households with, dividend incomes lead to different labor supplies and consumptions over heterogeneous households, and eventually to an extension of the monetary policy transmission channels. The income effect and low elasticity of the labor supply play key roles in such asymmetric responses over heterogeneous households. We also find that the social welfare in a flexible inflation targeting (FIT) monetary policy, in which both the inflation gap and the output gap are considered in an integrated manner when policy-making, is similar to that of the Ramsey optimal monetary policy (ROP), in which the shares of debt-constrained households, as well as all economic states, including both the inflation gap and output gap, are considered comprehensively for policy-making, and that it is greater than that of simple inflation targeting (SIT) monetary policy, in which only the inflation gap is considered mechanically for policy-making. Such social welfare implies that a FIT policy may still work even in an economy with a sizable number of debt-constrained households. Further, the responses of cost shocks to consumption and labor supply are dying out more slowly under FIT and ROP policies than under an SIT policy.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.67-75
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• 2024

Skin aging progresses due to external factors such as ultraviolet rays and infections. These factors cause skin fibroblasts to secrete proteolytic enzymes, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). MMPs induce the degradation of collagen located in the extracellular matrix, directly influencing aging. The stems of Akebia quinata Decaisne have been reported to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. However, the anti-aging effect of Akebia quinata Decaisne stem ethanol extract (AQSEE) is not known. Therefore, we studied the TNF-α-induced MMP-1 inhibitory effect in human fibroblasts. When the cell viability of AQSEE was confirmed through MTT asaay, it showed no toxicity up to 400 ㎍/mL. The inhibition of MMP-1 mRNA and protein secretion was confirmed through RT-qPCR and ELISA, and results showed a significant decrease at concentrations of 100, 200, 400 ㎍/mL. We also confirmed by Western blotting that phosphorylation of MAPKs signaling pathway and transcription factors was reduced. As a result, phosphorylation of p38, c-Jun, p65 was significantly decreased at all concentrations. DPPH and ABTS assays were performed to confirm the radical scavenging ability of AQSEE, and the results showed a significant decrease at all concentrations. The results of this study confirmed the MMP-1 inhibitory effect and radical scavenging ability, which suggests that it can be used as an anti-aging substance.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.215-226
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• 2024

Aralia continentalis is widely distributed in Far East Asian countries such as Korea, China, and Japan. A. continentalis has traditionally been used as an herbal remedy for various conditions, including analgesia, headache, inflammation, lameness, lumbago, rheumatism, and dental diseases in Korea. Previously, epi-continentalic acid, continentalic acid, and kaurenoic acid as major active biological compounds belonging to the diterpenoid class were identified. To synthesize diterpenoid derivatives with enhanced bioavailability, Fusarium fujikuroi was employed to biotransform diterpenoids due to its known antibacterial activity. This yielded two derivatives of kaurenoic acid, namely 16α-hydroxyent-kauran-2-on-19-oic acid and 2β, 16α-dihydroxy-ent-kauran-19-oic acid, with their chemical structures elucidated via NMR analysis. These derivatives exhibited increased polarity compared to kaur- enoic acid, as evidenced by their retention time on preparative HPLC using the ODS-A column and structural modifications. Evaluation of their antidiabetic activity targeting PTP1B, a negative regulator of the insulin signaling pathway, revealed inhibitory activities of 30.8% and 27.6%, respectively, at a concentration of 4 ㎍/ml. Additionally, both derivatives demonstrated low cytotoxicity, with an IC50 value 18 times higher than kaurenoic acid. Therefore, the augmented water solubility and reduced toxicity of 16α-hydroxy-ent-kauran-2-on-19-oic acid and 2β, 16α-dihydroxy-ent-kauran-19-oic acid, resulting from biotransformation by F. fujikuroi, render them promising candidates for industrial applications.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.379-386
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• 2024

The purpose of this study was to pay attention to the increase in the frequency of expression of butterflies and insects, whose decrease in the number of individuals is symbolized as a measure of environmental pollution, among the various motifs of nature as we go through the COVID-19, when we realized the importance of nature. The scope of this study was limited to fashion collection fashion show photos and interview articles of online for fashion collections from 2019 to 2023. As a result of the study, 185 butterfly motivation fashion design appeared, and digital printing techniques were the most used as a type of plane expression method. Along with this, techniques such as quilting, embroidery, and beading have appeared a lot as techniques to express the planar motif of butterflies. As for the three-dimensional expression types, 3D printing, laser cutting, corsage techniques, and draping techniques showed similar proportion. It can be seen that the expressed butterfly motif had more realistic description the shape of the butterfly as it was than abstract expressions. In conclusion, it can be seen that the butterfly motif fashion design over the past five years contains a stronger message about the environment than the butterfly motif fashion in the past. It was confirmed that it is a motif with a great symbolic meaning that can convey an eco-friendly message beyond just the morphological beauty and colorful design elements of the butterfly.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.66
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• pp.213-220
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• 2023

The most common skin disease, acne, often occurs in adolescence, but it is also detected/observed in adults due to air pollution and drug abuse. One of the causative agents of acne, Cutibacterium acnes (C. acnes) plays a role in the development of skin acne by inducing inflammatory mediators. Torreya nucifera (TN) is an evergreen tree of the family Taxaceae, having well reported antioxidant, anti-proliferative, liver protection, and nerve protection properties. Improvement of these bioactive properties of natural products is one of the purposes of natural product chemistry and pharmaceuticals. We believe biorenovation could be one improvement strategy that utilizes microbial metabolism to produce unique derivatives having enhanced bioactivity. Therefore, in this study, the C. acnes-induced RAW264.7 inflammation model was used to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of the biorenovated Torreya nucifera product (TNB). The results showed improved viability of TNB-treated cells compared to TN-treated cells in the concentration range of 50, 100, and 200 ㎍/mL. At non-toxic concentrations, TNB inhibited the production of nitric oxide and prostaglandin E2 by suppression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 protein expression. TNB also attenuated the expression of interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, interleukin-8, and tumor necrosis factor-α induced by C. acnes. Furthermore, TNB inhibited the nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway, a transcription factor known to regulate inflammatory mediators. Based on these results, this study suggests the potential of using TNB as natural material for the treatment of acnes and thus, supporting our postulation of biorenovation as an bioactivity improvement strategy.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.66
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• pp.23-28
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• 2023

Since the global shock caused by COVID-19, interest in immune-enhancing materials is rapidly increasing, therefore, the development of novel materials is necessary from the industrial and health perspectives. In this study, we selected Nelumbo nucifera Gaertner Seed Extract (NSE) and evaluated immune enhancement effect by using RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cells. NSE significantly up-regulated production of nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species without affecting cell viability in RAW 264.7 cells. Additionally, NSE exhibited an increase of inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 expression in RAW 264.7 cells. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay results showed that NSE-treatment significantly enhanced production of interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor-α in RAW 264.7 cells. Furthermore, we observed that NSE significantly up-regulated phosphorylation of p65, I kappa B kinase α/β, and I kappa B (IκB) α as well as down-regulation of IκB α expression in RAW 264.7 cells. Our findings indicate that NSE could be the potential health-functional food material with capacity of improving immunity via Nuclear factor-kappa B signaling pathway.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.170-178
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• 2024

Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are capable of differentiation into multiple lineages of cells, which has attracted attention for clinical therapy. However, ADSCs have poor proliferation capacity and a short life span in culture, which is an impediment in the application to clinical use. Previously, to overcome growth disadvantages, we had established an immortalized ADSC line (ADSC-T) by introducing the SV40 T antigen coding gene into primary human ADSC. In the present study, we evaluated the differentiation potential of this cell line and assessed the anti-inflammatory effect of its conditioned medium (CM). ADSC-T appeared to maintain the differentiation potential into adipocyte and chondrocyte. The CM of ADSC-T suppressed the NF-κB activity and its target gene expression of COX-2 and iNOS. Furthermore, the phosphorylations of MAPKs, including ERK, JNK and p38, were suppressed by the ADSC-T CM. The expressions of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TGF-β, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-13 were also suppressed by the CM of ADSC-T. In the Nc/Nga atopic model mice, the CM showed therapeutic effect on DNCB-induced atopic dermatitis. These results indicate that the immortalized ADSC-T maintains the beneficial properties of primary ADSC and could be a versatile cell source for not only research into ADSC but also for production of CM suitable for clinical application.