• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.471-478
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• 2013

Human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hADSCs) have therapeutic potential, including the ability to self-renew and differentiate into multiple lineages. Understanding of molecular mechanisms of stem cell differentiation is important for improving the therapeutic efficacies of stem cell transplantation. In this study, we determined the role of nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT5) in the osteogenic differentiation of hADSCs. The down-regulation of NFAT5 expression by the transfection of a specific siRNA significantly inhibited osteogenic differentiation of hADSCs and decreased the activity of the nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-${\kappa}B$) promoter without affecting their proliferation and adipogenic differentiation. The inhibition of NFAT5 expression inhibited the basal and Tumor Necrosis Factor ${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$) induced activation of NF-${\kappa}B$, but it did not affect TNF-${\alpha}$-induced degradation of the $I{\kappa}B$ protein. These findings indicate that NFAT5 plays an important role in the osteogenic differentiation of hADSCs through the modulation of the NF-${\kappa}B$ pathway.

• Journal of electromagnetic engineering and science
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.241-247
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• 2016

This paper proposes the design and measurement of a 6-18 GHz front-end receiver module that has been combined into a one- channel output from a two-channel input for electronic warfare support measures (ESM) applications. This module includes a limiter, high-pass filter (HPF), power combiner, equalizer and amplifier. This paper focuses on the design aspects of reducing the noise figure (NF) and matching the phase and amplitude. The NF, linear equalizer, power divider, and HPF were considered in the design. A broadband receiver based on a combined configuration used to obtain low NF. We verify that our receiver module improves the noise figure by as much as 0.78 dB over measured data with a maximum of 5.54 dB over a 6-18 GHz bandwidth; the difference value of phase matching is within $7^{\circ}$ between ports.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.327-339
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• 2016

Nanofiltration is useful to concentrate propolis extract. During the selection of membrane, both compound rejection and permeate flux are important indicators of process economy. Brazilian green propolis extract was studied to evaluate the separation performance of Startmen 122 and NF270 membranes. Compared to Starmen 122, NF270 membrane showed better rejection of bioactive compounds. The flux decline patterns were further studied using Hermia's model. Cake formation is the major fouling mechanism on the hydrophobic surface of Starmen 122. While the fouling mechanism for NF270 is pore blocking. The fouled membranes were further characterized using SEM and FT-IR to confirm on the predicted fouling mechanisms.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.40 no.12
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• pp.1694-1699
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• 2011

The quality characteristics and physiological effects of chunggukjang fermented naturally (NF-c), with Bacillus subtilis-SKm (BS-c), with Bacillus subtilis HJ18-4 (BH-c), and with Bacillus subtilis KCCM 42923 (BK-c) were investigated. The characteristics of fermentation were determined by protease, ${\alpha}$-amylase and ${\gamma}$-GTP activities, and additionally the amounts of amino-type and ammonia-type nitrogens. BS-c showed the highest protease, ${\alpha}$-amylase, and ${\gamma}$-GTP activities, and also amino-type nitrogen content among the four types of chunggukjang. The ammonia-type nitrogen content in BS-c was similar to that of BK-c and NF-c. BH-c showed the lowest enzyme activities and amino-type and ammonia-type nitrogen content. BS-c, BH-c, BK-c, and NF-c showed a similar overall acceptability during sensory evaluation. BS-c also showed the strongest DPPH free radical scavenging and anti-proliferative activities in HT-29 human colon carcinoma cells. These results suggested that B. subtilis-SKm was suitable to be used as a starter to enhance the quality and effects of chunggukjang.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.397-409
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• 2014

Algal problem in drinking water treatment is being gradually increased by causing deterioration of water supplies therefore, especially taste and odor compounds such as geosmin and 2-MIB occur mainly aesthetic problem by its unpleasant effects resulting in the subsequent onset of complaints from drinking water consumer. Recently, geosmin and 2-MIB are detected frequently at abnormally high concentration level. However, conventional water treatment without advanced water treatment processes such as adsorption and oxidation process, cannot remove these two compounds efficiently. Moreover, it is known that the advanced treatment processes i.e. adsorption and oxidation have also several limits to the removal of geosmin and 2-MIB. Therefore, the purpose of this study was not only to evaluate full scale nanofiltration membrane system with $300m^3/day$ of permeate capacity and 90% of recovery on the removal of geosmin and 2-MIB in spiked natural raw water sources at high feed concentration with a range of approximately 500 to 2,500 ng/L, but also to observe rejection property of the compounds within multi stage NF membrane system. Rejection rate of geosmin and 2-MIB by NF membrane process was 96% that is 4% of passage regardless of the feed water concentration which indicates NF membrane system with an operational values suggested in this research can be employed in drinking water treatment plant to control geosmin and 2-MIB of high concentration. But, according to results of regression analysis in this study it is recommended that feed water concentration of geosmin and 2-MIB would not exceed 220 and 300 ng/L respectively which is not to be perceived in drinking tap water. Also it suggests that the removal rate might be depended on an operating conditions such as feed water characteristics and membrane flux. When each stage of NF membrane system was evaluated relatively higher removal rate was observed at the conditions that is lower flux, higher DOC and TDS, i.e., $2^{nd}$ stage NF membrane systems, possibly due to an interaction mechanisms between compounds and cake layer on the membrane surfaces.

• 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.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.404-413
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• 2019

Udenafil, which is a $PDE_5$ inhibitor, is used to treat erectile dysfunction. However, it is unclear whether udenafil induces hair growth via the stimulation of adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs). In this study, we investigated whether udenafil stimulates ASCs and whether increased growth factor secretion from ASCs to facilitate hair growth. We found that subcutaneous injection of udenafiltreated ASCs accelerated telogen-to-anagen transition in vivo. We also observed that udenafil induced proliferation, migration and tube formation of ASCs. It also increased the secretion of growth factors from ASCs, such as interleukin-4 (IL-4) and IL12B, and the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and $NF{\kappa}B$. Furthermore, concomitant upregulation of IL-4 and IL12B mRNA levels was attenuated by ERK inhibitor or $NF{\kappa}B$ knockdown. Application of IL-4 or IL12B enhanced anagen induction in mice and increased hair follicle length in organ culture. The results indicated that udenafil stimulates ASC motility and increases paracrine growth factor, including cytokine signaling. Udenafil-stimulated secretion of cytokine from ASCs may promote hair growth via the ERK and $NF{\kappa}B$ pathways. Therefore, udenafil can be used as an ASC-preconditioning agent for hair growth.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.60-64
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• 2016

In the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases such as allergies, S100A8 acts as an important molecule and T lymphocytes are essential cytokine-releasing cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of S100A8 on release of cytokines, specifically MCP-1, IL-6, and IL-8 in T cells, and its associated signaling mechanism. S100A8 increased secretion of MCP-1, IL-6, and IL-8 in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Elevated secretion of MCP-1, IL-6, and IL-8 due to S100A8 was inhibited by the TLR4 inhibitor TLR4i, the PI3K inhibitor LY294002, the $PKC{\delta}$ inhibitor rottlerin, the ERK inhibitor PD98059, the p38 MAPK inhibitor SB202190, the JNK inhibitor SP600125, and the NF-${\kappa}B$ inhibitor BAY-11-7085. S100A8 induced phosphorylation of ERK, p38 MAPK, and JNK in a time-dependent manner, and activation was suppressed by TLR4i, LY294002, and rottlerin. S100A8 induced NF-${\kappa}B$ activation by $I{\kappa}-B{\alpha}$ degradation, and NF-${\kappa}B$ activity was suppressed by PD98059, SB202190, and SP600125. These results indicate that S100A8 induces cytokine release via TLR4. Study of PI3K, $PKC{\delta}$, MAPKs, and NF-${\kappa}B$ will contribute to elucidation of the S100A8-invovled mechanism.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.29-39
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• 2020

In this study, we investigated the inhibitory potential of an ethanol extract of Carpomitra costata (EECC) (Stackhouse) Batters, a brown alga, against neuroinflammatory responses in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV2 microglia. Our results showed that EECC significantly suppressed the LPS-induced secretion of pro-inflammatory mediators, including nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E₂, with no significant cytotoxic effects. EECC also inhibited the LPS-induced expression of their regulatory enzymes, such as inducible NO synthase and cyclooxygenase-2. In addition, EECC downregulated the LPS-induced expression and production of the proinflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β. In the mechanistic assessment of the antineuroinflammatory effects, EECC was found to inhibit the nuclear translocation and DNA binding of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) by disrupting the degradation of the κB-α inhibitor in the cytoplasm. Moreover, EECC effectively suppressed the enhanced expression of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and myeloid differentiation factor 88, as well as the binding of LPS to TLR4 in LPS-treated BV2 cells. Furthermore, EECC markedly reduced the LPS-induced generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), demonstrating a strong antioxidative effect. Collectively, these results suggest that EECC repressed LPS-mediated inflammatory action in the BV2 microglia through the inactivation of NF-κB signaling by antagonizing TLR4 and/or preventing ROS accumulation. While further studies are needed to fully understand the anti-inflammatory effects associated with the antioxidant activity of EECC, the current findings suggest that EECC has a potential advantage in inhibiting the onset and treatment of neuroinflammatory diseases.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2012

$CheongGiGeoYangTang$ has been used for anti-allergenic purpose. However there was no experimental study about its effect. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the anti-allergenic effect of $CheongGiGeoYangTang$. Methods Modifiability of RBL-2H3 mast cells' IL-4, IL-13 was analyzed by qRT-PCR and ELISA. Also, the suppressive effect of GATA-1, GATA-2, NF-AT1, NF-AT2, AP-1 and NF-${\kappa}B$ p65 transcription factors was observed by western blotting. OVA-specific IgE, IL-4 and IL-13 production in ovalbumin allergy model was examined as well. Results It was showed that the RBL-2H3 mast cells treated with $CheongGiGeoYangTang$ extract(CGGYT) was significantly suppressed mRNA expression, production of IL-4 and IL-13, and prominently inhibited the expression of transcription factors including GATA-1, GATA-2, NFAT-1, NFAT-2, c-Fos and NF-${\kappa}B$ p65 but not c-Jun. The administration of CGGYT was suppressed the amount of OVA-specific IgE, IL-4 and IL-13 in OVA/alum-sensitized mice. Conclusions We considered CGGYT would regulate the allergic inflammation as inhibition of IL-4 and IL-13 production in activated mast cells and Th2 cells.