• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.491-501
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• 2021

This study was carried out to investigate the occurrence of seedlings of Korean fir (Abies koreana) in Korean fir forest located on the eastern slope of Mt. Halla National Park. Between June and August in 2016, the systematic sampling method was applied to 125 plots of 5 m × 5 m quadrats and field survey was came out to measure the characteristics of sites and understory vegetation. Correlation analysis was applied to the variables quantified from the data collected. Total number of flora found at the study site is 31 in families, 44 in genera, and 56 in species. The main lower layer vegetation was investigated such as Jeju dwarf bamboo, Toothed club moss (Lycopodium serratum), Pacific fir moss (Lycopodium chinense), Climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea petiolaris) etc. Among these plant species, the vegetation which had a high positive correlation with the frequency and the coverage of seedlings of Korean fir were Jeju dwarf bamboo, Toothed club moss and Pacific fir moss.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.321-329
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• 2021

This study examined the growth inhibitory effect of the methanol fraction of maesil (Prunus mume) extract (MMF) on LNCaP, PC-3, and RC-58T human prostate cancer cell lines. Among these cell lines, LNCaP was the most sensitive to the inhibitory effects of MMF. Observation of the morphology and apoptotic body formation in the LNCaP cells revealed morphological changes, nuclear damage, and condensation in response to MMF treatment. The suppressive effect of MMF was related to the intrinsic apoptosis pathway, as indicated by increased expression of the pro-apoptotic proteins Bax, capase-3, capase-9, and PARP and decreased expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. Combined treatment with MMF and the AIF inhibitor N-phenylmalemide (N-PM) indicated that MMF treatment alone had a significant growth suppression effect. The involvement of the extrinsic apoptosis pathway was also confirmed by increased expression of AIF and Endo G. The growth suppression effect of MMF was also significant when compared to the effects of a combination of the PI3K inhibitor LY294002 and MMF. The reduced expression of PI3K, p-Akt, and p-mTOR confirmed the involvement of the PI3K/Akt/ mTOR signaling pathway in regulating the anti-proliferative properties of MMF. In conclusion, the growth suppression effect of MMF in the LNCaP human prostate cancer cell line shows the possibility of using this natural product in functional foods.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.234-252
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• 2020

This paper is to verify the effectiveness of 'Hybrid Disaster Management Strategy' that integrates 'RTM(Real-time Monitoring) based On-line' and 'UAV based Off-line' system. For landslide prone area where sensors were installed, the conventional way of risk management so far has entirely relied on RTM data collected from the field through the instrumentation devices. But it's not enough due to the limitation of'Pin-point sensor'which tend to provide with only the localized information where sensors have stayed fixed. It lacks, therefore, the whole picture to be grasped. In this paper, utilizing 'Digital Photogrammetry Software Pix4D', the possibility of inference for the deformation of ungauged area has been reviewed. For this purpose, actual measurement data from RTM were compared with the estimated value from 3D point cloud outcome by UAV, and the consequent results has shown very accurate in terms of RMSE.

• Journal of the Korean Regional Science Association
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.29-44
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• 2021

Particulate matter(PM) is one of the leading causes of lung cancer. Recognizing its considerable risk to human health, people change their behaviors when a concentration level of PM is high. The impact of particulate matter on urban activities may vary depending on the lasting days of PM and PM matter alerts. In addition, the level of averting behavior may vary depending on the types and physical characteristics of urban activities and the degree of vulnerability to PM among people. Although the way people respond to PM may vary depending on these various factors, previous research evidence on this is very insufficient. Therefore, this study multilaterally analyzed the impact of PM on the urban activities in Jongno-gu, one of the CBD areas of Seoul. For this, we linked SKT's mobile phone signal data to land use data to extract the daily number of active people by urban activity types and ages. According to multiple regression analysis, the averting behavior varies depending on the type of urban activity, the physical characteristics of the place of activity(inside and outdoor), the lasting days of PM, PM alerts and the age of people. The results of this study can be used as basic data to policy makers who establish policies for adapting to air pollution policies by providing various effects of PM on the urban activities.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.31-38
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• 2022

Objectives : In this study, we investigated the synergistic protective effects of medicinal herbal mixture (HME) including Mori Ramulus (MR), Acanthopanacis Cortex (AC), Eucommiae Cortex (EC), and Black soybean (BS) in C2C12 cells, mouse myoblasts. Methods : Effects of HME on cell viability of C2C12 myoblasts were monitored by MTT assay. Anti-atrophic activity of HME was determined in myoblasts and myotubes under oxidative stress by H₂O₂. C2C12 myoblasts were differentiated into myotubes in a medium containing 2% horse serum for 6 days. After that, we measured that expression of MyoD and myogenine, the myogenic regulatory factors, to identify the mechanism of inhibiting muscle atophy after HME treatment. In addition, suppression of phosphorylation of Akt, FoxO3a and MARF-1, transcription factors of degradation proteins were analyzed via western blotting. Results : As a result of MTT, HME there was no show cytotoxicity up to a concentration of 1 mg/ml. The cytoprotective effects on oxidative stressed myoblast and myotube was better in HME extract than those of MR, AC, EU, and BS, respectively. HME treatment in Myotube induced by oxidative stress after H₂O₂ treatment increased Myo D, Myogenine activation, and Akt, FoxO3a phosphorylation and decreased expression of MuRF-1. As the results, HME has synergistic effects on protection against proteolysis of C2C12 myotubes through activation of the Akt signaling pathway under oxidative stress. Conclusions : These results suggest that HME may also be useful as a preventing and treating material for skeletal muscle atrophy caused by age-related diseases.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.7
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• pp.491-500
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• 2022

HK shiitake mushroom mycelium (HKSMM), containing 14% β-glucan, is a health functional food ingredient individually approved by the Korea Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for liver health. The anti-inflammatory effect of a 50% aqueous ethanol extract of HKSMM (designated HKSMM50) was studied in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). An active hexose correlated compound (AHCC) was used as a positive control. LPS-activated RAW 264.7 cells were treated with HKSMM50 and AHCC (0, 20, 100, 500 ㎍/ml) and cultured for 24 hr. Inflammation-related elements in the supernatant were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits, and the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) proteins in the cells was analyzed by Western blotting. The HKSMM50 lowered iNOS and COX-2 protein expressions, and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) contents in a concentration-dependent manner as compared to LPS treatment. Similarly, the HKSMM50 lowered the content of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) contents and increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT). The efficacy of the AHCC treatment was similar to that of the HKSSM50 treatments. These results indicate that HKSMM50 showed an anti-inflammatory effect in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 cells by down-regulation of NF-κB signaling and suggest that HKSMM could be used as a health functional food ingredient to help improve immune function.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.213-223
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• 2022

In this study, the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of aerial parts of Rumex acetosa L. extract were confirmed to prevent various inflammatory diseases and skin aging caused by excessive oxidative stress. As a result of ABTS assay, it was confirmed that the radical scavenging ability increased in a concentration-dependent manner. ROS inhibitory ability was confirmed through DCF-DA assay, and concentration-dependent inhibition of ROS production was confirmed. The effect of inhibiting cell nuclear damage according to ROS was confirmed through DAPI staining. In addition, it was confirmed that the mRNA expression levels of iNOS and COX-2 were inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner through qPCR. As a result of confirming the protein levels of iNOS and COX-2 by western blotting, iNOS was significantly decreased at all concentrations, and COX-2 was significantly decreased at 800 ㎍/mL. The inhibitory effect on the production of NO generated by iNOS was confirmed by NO assay, and NO was decreased in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, phosphorylation of ERK and JNK in the MAPKs signaling pathway were inhibited. Therefore, Rumex acetosa L. has the potential to be used as an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant cosmetic raw material by showing anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects through the MAPKs pathway.

• Journal of Advanced Navigation Technology
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.365-372
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• 2022

Compared to sensors mainly used in human activity recognition (HAR) systems, inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors are small and light, so can achieve lightweight system at low cost. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a binary neural network (BNN) based gait pattern analysis system using IMU sensor, and present the design and implementation results of an FPGA-based accelerator for computational acceleration. Six signals for gait are measured through IMU sensor, and a spectrogram is extracted using a short-time Fourier transform. In order to have a lightweight system with high accuracy, a BNN-based structure was used for gait pattern classification. It is designed as a hardware accelerator structure using FPGA for computation acceleration of binary neural network. The proposed gait pattern analysis system was implemented using 24,158 logics, 14,669 registers, and 13.687 KB of block memory, and it was confirmed that the operation was completed within 1.5 ms at the maximum operating frequency of 62.35 MHz and real-time operation was possible.

• Journal of Korean Medicine for Obesity Research
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.30-37
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• 2022

Objectives: Adipogenesis is the process by which pre-adipocytes are differentiated into adipocytes. It also plays an important role in adipocyte formation and lipid accumulation. Ranunculus sceleratus (R. sceleratus) extracts are used for the treatment of various diseases such as hepatitis, jaundice, and tuberous lymphadenitis in oriental medicine. However, its effect on adipogenesis has not yet been studied. In this study, we investigated the effects of R. sceleratus on adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells. Methods: Cells were treated with 50, 100, and 200 ㎍/ml of R. sceleratus and cell viability was evaluated. To differentiate the 3T3-L1 preadipocytes, a 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, dexamethasone, and insulin (MDI) solution were used. The accumulation of lipid droplets was determined by Oil Red O staining. The expression levels of adipogenesis-related proteins were also determined. Results: MDI solution differentiated the preadipocytes into adipocytes and accumulation of lipids was observed in the differentiated 3T3-L1 cells. Interestingly, the amount of lipid droplets was reduced after R. sceleratus treatment. In addition, the expression levels of key adipogenic transcription factors, such as CCAAT/enhancer-binding proteins-𝛼 (C/EBP-𝛼) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors-𝛾 (PPAR-𝛾) were also reduced after R. sceleratus treatment. Furthermore, R. sceleratus increased AMP-activated kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation and decreased sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 expression. Conclusions: Our results showed that R. sceleratus reduced preadipocyte differentiation by inhibiting C/EBP-𝛼 and PPAR-𝛾 levels via the AMPK pathway. Therefore, we suggest that R. sceleratus may be potentially used as an anti-adipogenic agent.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.39-46
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• 2021

Objectives : AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a key metabolic regulator that reduces lipogenesis. AMPK is mainly activated via phosphorylation of liver kinase B (LKB) 1 under energy stress. Here, we highlighted the anti-obesity effect and underlying mechanism of Coix lacryma-jobi var. mayuen Stapf sprout water extract (CSW) sprout extract in connection with the LKB1/AMPK signaling pathway. Methods : C57BL/6 mice (20~25 g) fed HFD to induce obesity and at the same time administered CSW 100 mg/kg (CSWL; (CSWL; CSW low concentration) or CSW 200 mg/kg (CSWH; CSW high concentration) or Garcinia extract (Garcinia) 200 mg/kg orally for 6 weeks. Body weight and food intake were measured at the same time each day. After 6 weeks of CSW administration, liver tissue and serum were obtained through an autopsy. After the end of the experiment, biochemical analysis (triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), HDL-cholesterol, and LDL-cholesterol) was performed on the serum. And then, protein levels related to TG and TC synthesis were measured through western blot analysis in liver tissue. Results : As a result, serum TG, TC, and LDL-cholesterol levels were significantly increased in the control group and significantly decreased in the CSW administration group. On the other hand, the HDL-cholesterol level was increased in the CSW-administered group. And as a result of Western blot analysis, CSW significantly increased the phosphorylation of LKB1 & AMPK, and remarkably decreased the expression of factors related to TG and TC synthesis. Conclusions : Our findings suggest that CSW influences the TG and TC synthesis to positively affect HFD-induced obesity in C57BL/6 mice.