• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.24 no.8
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• pp.1149-1157
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• 2017

Inflammation is the first response of the immune system to infection or irritation in our body. The use of medicinal plants has been widely applied as an alternative source for drug development. One of marine natural resources, the anti-inflammatory effect of Ishige sinicola ethanol extract (ISEE), was evaluated by using LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cell and mice model. As a result, the production of nitric oxide (NO) and pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-$1{\beta}$, TNF-${\alpha}$) were inhibited with increasing concentration of ISEE without any cytotoxicity. Furthermore, ISEE suppressed the expression of not only inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-${\kappa}B$) p65, and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), including extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2, p38, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in a dose-dependent manner. In mice ear edema test, the formation of edema was reduced at the highest dosage of ISEE and the reduction of the number of infiltrated mast cells was observed in histological analysis. These results indicate that ISEE has a potent anti-inflammatory activity and can be used as a pharmaceutical material for many kinds of inflammatory disease.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.280-289
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• 1998

Background: It is sometimes difficult to differentiate tuberculous pleural effusion from malignant pleural effusion by clinical symptoms, signs, by routine tests of pleural fluid, and by pathologic studies. And recently, it was discovered that cytokines such as IL-2, IFN-$\gamma$, TNF-$\alpha$ are elevated in tuberculous pleural fluid, and there have been several attempts to diagnose tuberculous pleural effusion by using these immunological mediators. There are several studies regarding the diagnostic value of IFN-$\gamma$, and there are two studies in Korea. But the diagnostic values of IFN-$\gamma$ in these studies were slightly lower than those in other countries. To compare the diagnostic value of IFN-$\gamma$ with those of CEA and ADA, and to determine the sensitivity and specificity of IFN-$\gamma$ in Korean, we mesured IFN-$\gamma$, CEA level and ADA activity in pleural effusions. Methods: ADA activity, IFN-$\gamma$ level and CEA level as well as cell count, differential count, and biochemical assays such as protein content and lactate dehydrogenase were measured in 40 cases of tuberculous pleuritis and 42 cases of malignant pleural effusion. Results: Tuberculous pleural fluid showed higher levels of IFN-$\gamma$ and ADA ($832.6{\pm}357.2$ pg/ml and $82.5{\pm}25.9$ U/L, respectively) than those of malignant pleural effusion ($2.6{\pm}8.0$ pg/ml and $19.2{\pm}10.9$ U/L, respectively) (p<0.01). Malignant pleural effusions showed higher median value (102.2 ng/ml) than tubercalous pleural effusions (1.8 ng/ml) (p<0.01). The sensitivities of IFN-$\gamma$, ADA, CEA were 0.97, 0.87, 0.67 and the specificities of IFN-$\gamma$, ADA, CEA were 1.0, 0.97, 1.0, respectively. There was no significant correlation between ADA activity and IFN-$\gamma$ level. Conclusion: This study showed that IFN-$\gamma$ test would be a very useful clinical test for differential diagnosis of tuberculous pleuritis and malignant pleural effusion because it is very sensitive and specific, although it is an expensive test.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.40 no.11
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• pp.887-898
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• 2007

A physically based semi-distributed model, SWAT was applied to the Chungju Dam upstream watershed in order to investigate the spatial and temporal characteristics of watershed sediment yields. For this, general features of the SWAT and sediment simulation algorithm within the model were described briefly, and watershed sediment modeling system was constructed after calibration and validation of parameters related to the runoff and sediment. With this modeling system, temporal and spatial variation of soil loss and sediment yields according to watershed scales, land uses, and reaches was analyzed. Sediment yield rates with drainage areas resulted in $0.5{\sim}0.6ton/ha/yr$ excluding some upstream sub-watersheds and showed around 0.51 ton/ha/yr above the areas of $1,000km^2$. Annual average soil loss according to land use represented the higher values in upland areas, but relatively lower in paddy and forest areas which were similar to the previous results from other researchers. Among the upstream reaches, Pyeongchanggang and Jucheongang showed higher sediment yields which was thought to be caused by larger area and higher fraction of upland than other upstream sub-areas. Monthly sediment yields at the main outlet showed same trend with seasonal rainfall distribution, that is, approximately 62% of annual yield was generated during July to August and the amount was about 208 ton/yr. From the results, we could obtain the uniform value of sediment yield rate and could roughly evaluate the effect of soil loss with land uses, and also could analyze the temporal and spatial characteristics of sediment yields from each reach and monthly variation for the Chungju Dam upstream watershed.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.84-92
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• 2017

Chicken breast jerky (CJ) was prepared by drying chicken breast at $50^{\circ}C$ for 9 hrs after marinating it in a various sweetening sauce including white sugar (WS), brown sugar (BS), rice syrup (RS), fructooligosaccharide (FO), pineapple concentrate (PC), Rubus coreanus extract (RCE), or honey (H), and its physicochemical and sensory properties were investigated. The CJ was found to contain 22.5-25.0% moisture, 41.0-46.6% protein, and 0.4-1.0% fat, which indicates that it could serve as a high-protein and low-fat snack. The type of sweeteners significantly affected the yield, pH, total viable cell count, and water activity of the CJ, showing ranges of 40.9-50.1%, 5.2-5.9, $2.5-6.2{\times}10^4CFU/g$, and 0.74-0.81, respectively. Both the water activity and pH were the lowest in CJ-RCE where of the highest in CJ-WS. The cohesiveness, springiness, and chewiness of the CJ significantly differed depending on the type of sweeteners (p<0.05). CJ-RCE showed the best taste and overall acceptability in a sensory test. After storage at $50^{\circ}C$ for 2 weeks, thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) content (58.3 malondialdehyde (MDA) mg/kg) of CJ-RCE was much lower than those of control beef (75.6 MDA mg/kg) and pork jerky (98.0 MDA mg/kg), showing the good oxidative stability of CJ-RCE. Overall, marination in RCE sauce was suitable for the preparation of CJ with good quality in terms of its water activity, fat and protein contents, sensory property and oxidative stability.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.156-168
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• 2012

Chrysanthemum is a cut flower species that normally lasts for 1 to 2 weeks, in some cases 3-4 weeks. This has been attributed to low ethylene production during senescence. Reduction in cut flower quality has been attributed to the formation of air embolisms that partially or completely blocks the water transport from the vase solution to the rest of the cut flower stem, increasing hydraulic resistance which may cause severe water stress, yellowing, wilting of leaf, and chlorophyll degradation. Standard type chrysanthemum can be harvested when buds were still tightly closed and then fully opened with the simple bud-opening solution. Standard type chrysanthemum can also be harvested when the minimum size of the inflorescence is about 5-6 cm bud which opened into the first flower full-sized flower. While spray varieties can be harvested when 2-4 most mature flowers have opened (40% opening). Cut flowers are sorted by stem length, weight, condition, and so on. Standard chrysanthemum is 80 cm length for standard type and 70cm for spray type. Pre-treatment with a STS, plant regulator such as GA, BA, 1-MCP, chrysal, germicide, and sucrose, significantly improved the vase life and quality of cut flowers. It is well established that vase solutions containing sugar can improve the vase life of cut chrysanthemum. Chrysanthemum is normally packed in standard horizontal fiberboard boxes. Chrysanthemum should normally be stored at $5{\sim}7^{\circ}C$. Precooling resulted in reduction in respiration, decomposition, and transpiration activities as well as decoloration retardation. There was significant difference between "wet" storage in 3 weeks and "dry" storage in 2 weeks. In separate pulsing solution trials, various germicides were tested, as well as PGRs to maintain the green color of leaves and turgidity. Prolonging vase life was attained with the application of optimal solution such as HQS, $AgNO_3$, GA, BA and sucrose. This also retarded senescence in leaves of cut flower stems. Fresh cut chrysanthemum can be transported using a refrigerated van with $5{\sim}7^{\circ}C$. Increasing consumption and usage of cut chrysanthemum of various cultivars would require efficient transport system, and effective information exchange among producer, wholesaler, and consumer.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.1529-1535
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• 1999

This study was done for the extraction of carotenoid from Phaffia rhodozyma in combination with PEF and other methods. PEF treatment conditions were $30{\sim}80\;kV/cm,\;100{\sim}1000\;Hz\;and\;100{\sim}1000\;{\mu}s$. In order to increase permeability of yeast cell wall, various methods such as freezing-thawing, mechanical treatment, solvents, permeabilizing agents, and yeast cell wall lytic enzyme were used before PEF treatment. The combination of PEF $(50\;kV/cm,\;300\;Hz,\;1000\;{\mu}s)$ and conventional methods such as solvent and freezing-thawing pre-treatment had no effects on the extraction of carotenoid pigments. The extent of extracted carotenoid by the PEF $treatment(50\;kV/cm,\;300\;Hz,\;1000\;{\mu}s)$ combined with yeast cell wall lytic enzyme and mechanical pre-treatment increased 52% and 69.8% more than the sum of that by each treatment, respectively. Permeabilizing agents, especially Tween 20 and capric acid, enhanced the extraction efficiency of carotenoid pigments from P. rhodozyma cells. These results indicated the feasibility for the continuous extracting carotenoid pigments from P. rhodozyma by PEF combined with other permeabilizing methods.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.1406-1413
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• 2007

This study was performed to investigate the effect of ethanol extract of Pimpinella brachycarpa(PBE) on chronically ethanol-induced hepatotoxicity in rat liver. Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 90-130 g were divided into 5 groups; normal group(NOR), ethanol(35%, 10 ml/kg) treated group(CON), PBE 200 mg/kg treated group(P1), PBE 200 mg/kg and ethanol treated group(P2), and PBE 400 mg/kg and ethanol treated group(P3). PBE was also fractionated by the following solvent: n-hexane, chloroform, ethylacetate and n-butanol. The antioxidative capacity of the n-hexane fraction was the highest among fractions and was similar to that of butylated hydroxytoluene(BHT). The body weight gain and feed intake of the rats were decreased by ethanol administration, but were gradually increased to the similar levels of the NOR group by administering PBE. The AST activity in serum elevated by ethanol was significantly decreased by administering the high dosage of PBE, but exerted no significant change on serum ALT activity. It was also observed that the hepatic activities of xanthine oxide(XO), catalase and glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px) increased by ethanol were markedly decreased in the combined ethanol and PBE administered groups(P2 and P3), but not in the activity of superoxide dismutase(SOD) as compared with the CON group. The glutathione(GSH) contents were decreased by ethanol adminstration, however, increased after administering PBE. These results suggest that ethanol extract of Pimpinella brachycarpa has a possible positive effect on the liver function in hepatotoxicity-induced rats by ethanol administration.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.12
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• pp.1795-1803
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• 2011

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease accompanies the rise in the prevalence of obesity, diabetes and the tendency toward high-fat dietary habits. Specifically, the higher prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in men and postmenopausal women seems to be caused by the protective effects of estrogen against liver fibrosis, or lack thereof. There are no effective preventive therapies for liver diseases because the mechanisms underlying the progression of fatty liver diseases to chronic liver diseases and the protective effects of estrogen against fibrogenesis remain unclear. Recently, it has been reported that the hedgehog signaling pathway plays an important role in the progression of chronic liver diseases. Hedgehog, a morphogen regulating embryonic liver development, is expressed in injured livers but not in adult healthy livers. The level of hedgehog expression parallels the stages of liver diseases. Hedgehog induces myofibroblast activation and hepatic progenitor cell proliferation and leads to excessive liver fibrosis, whereas estrogen inhibits the activation of hepatic stellate cells to myofibroblasts and prevents liver fibrosis. Although the mechanism underlying the opposing actions of hedgehog and estrogen on liver fibrosis remain unclear, the suppressive effects of estrogen on the expression of osteopontin, a profibrogenic extracellular matrix protein and cytokine, and the inductive effects of hedgehog on osteopontin transcription suggest that estrogen and hedgehog are associated with liver fibrosis regulation. Therefore, further research on the estrogen-mediated regulatory mechanisms underlying the hedgehog-signaling pathway can identify the mechanism underlying liver fibrogenesis and contribute to developing therapies for preventing the progression of fibrosis to chronic liver diseases.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.1688-1696
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• 2012

Oenanthe javanica has been used as a food source and also in traditional folk medicine for its detoxifying properties and anti-microbial effects since ancient times. In this study, we evaluated the effect and mechanism of O. javanica seed methanol extract (OJSE) on adipocyte differentiation by 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Under non-toxic conditions, OJSE treatment resulted in a dose-dependent inhibition of lipid droplet generation and triglyceride accumulation by suppressing adipocyte differentiation, which are associated with the decreased expression of key proadipogenic transcription factors including CCAAR/enhancer binding protein ${\alpha}$, ${\beta}$ ($C/EBP{\alpha}$, $C/EBP{\beta}$) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ${\gamma}$ ($PPAR{\gamma}$). OJSE also significantly inhibited proliferation and differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes through G1-phase arrest, indicating that OJSE blocked mitotic clonal expansion during adipocyte differentiation. Investigation of the alteration of G1 phase arrest-related proteins indicated a dose-dependent increase in the expression of p21 and reduction in expression of cyclin E, Cdk2, E2F-1 and phospho-Rb by OSJE. Taken together, these results suggest that OJSE inhibits adipocyte differentiation by blocking the mitotic clonal expansion, which is accompanied by preadipocyte cell cycle arrest.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.167-173
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• 2007

Purpose: Mistletoe (Viscum album L.) extract is one of the most widely used agents in alternative cancer therapeutic regimens in Europe. This study was conducted to determine the effect of mistletoe extract on immune function in gastric cancer patients. Materials and Methods: Ten patients that had undergone a curative gastrectomy were enrolled in the prospective study. ABNOBAviscum $Q^{(R)}$ was injected subcutaneously three times a week from postoperative-day 7 to week 16 with an increasing dose. All of the patients simultaneously received chemotheraphy with mitomycin, oral 5-FU and a cisplatin regimen. The WBC count, differential count, lymphocyte/WBC ratio and the level of cytokines (IL-$1{\beta}$, IL-2, IL-6, IFN-$\gamma$, TNF-$\alpha$) were checked in the peripheral blood preoperatively, at postoperative week 8 and at postoperative week 16. Results: The WBC and neutrophil counts significantly decreased after treatment on week 8 and week 16 (P=0.001), but the total eosinophil count was slightly increased (P=0.15). The total lymphocyte count also decreased during treatment but the lymphocyte/WBC ratio was slightly increased without statistical significance (P=0.91). The cytokine levels did not significantly change during treatment. Conclusion: It is somewhat difficult to determine the direct effect of mistletoe therapy on immune function as the effect may be compromised by the concurrent chemotherapy. It can be assumed that the slightly increased lymphocyte/WBC ratio and eosinophil count may be a result of the immunomodulatory effect of the mistletoe extract.