• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.329-336
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• 2016

Cutaneous microvasculature plays a critical role in age-associated skin changes. A considerable reduction of number and size of vessels has been observed in the upper dermis of elderly skin. Forsythiae fructus (FF), the dried fruit of plant Forsythia suspensa (F. suspensa), has been traditionally used as an herbal medicine to treat inflammatory diseases and bacterial diseases. However, its regulatory effect on angiogenic responses has not been elucidated in skin. Therefore, we analyzed secretory profiles upon treatment of FF extract using array designed to detect angiogenesis-associated mediators in human keratinocytes. Because keratinocyte-derived VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) has been regarded as a potent factor for new microvasculature under the epidermis, we further investigated the effect of FF extract on VEGF production. We observed that the VEGF expression of mRNA and protein level was increased by about 2 folds in a dose-dependent manner after FF extract treatment. In signaling experiments, FF extract induced rapid p38 MAPK activation within 5 min, and the activation was totally abrogated by pretreatment with a p38 MAPK specific inhibitor. The FF-induced VEGF upregulation was also significantly attenuated by a p38 MAPK inhibition. Taken together, FF extract induces VEGF production via p38 MAPK activation in human epidermal keratinocytes. These novel findings suggest that FF is useful as a potential agent with pro-angiogenic activity and may help to improve age-dependent reduction of the microvasculature in aged skin or to heal skin wound.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.391-405
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• 2003

Craniosynostosis, known as a premature fusion of cranial sutures, is a developmental disorder characterized by precocious differentiation and mineralization of osteoblasts in the calvarial sutures. Recent genetic studies have demonstrated that mutation in the homeobox gene Msx2 causes Boston-type human craniosynostosis. Additionally, the phenotype of Dlx5 homozygote mutant mouse presents craniofacial abnormalities including a delayed ossification of calvarial bone. Furthermore transcription of osteocalcin, a mature osteoblast marker, is reciprocally regulated by the homeodomain proteins Msx2 and Dlx5. These facts suggest important roles of osteocalcin, Msx2 and Dlx5 genes in the calvarial bone growth and suture morphogenesis. To elucidate the function of these molecules in the early morphogenesis of mouse cranial sutures, we have first analyzed by in situ hybridization the expression of osteocalcin, Msx2 and Dlx5 genes in the developing parietal bone and sagittal suture of mouse calvaria during the embryonic (E15-E18) stage. Osteocalcin mRNA was found in the periosteum of parietal bones from E15, and gradually more highly expressed with aging. Msx2 mRNA was intensely expressed in the sutural mesenchyme, osteogenic fronts and mildly expressed in the dura mater during the embryonic stage. Dlx5 mRNA was intensely expressed osteogenic fronts and the periostem of parietal bones. To further examine the upstream signaling molecules of transcription factor Msx2 and Dlx5, we have done in vitro experiments in E15.5 mouse calvarial explants. Interestingly, implantation of BMP2-, BMP4-soaked beads onto the osteogenic fronts after 48 hours organ culture induced etopic expressions of Msx2 and Dlx5 genes. On the other hand, overexpression of $TGF{\beta}1$, GDF-6, -7, FGF-2, -4 and Shh did not induce the expression of Msx2 and Dlx5. Taken together. these data indicate that transcription factor Msx2 and Dlx5 play critical roles in the calvarial bone and suture development, and that BMP siganling is involved in the osteogenesis of calvarial bones and the maintenance of cranial sutures through regulating these two transcriotpn factors. Furthermore, different expression patterns between Msx2 and Dlx5 suggest their specific functions in the osteoblast differentiation.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.71-96
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• 2011

Within the traditional medical delivery system, patients residing in medically vulnerable areas, those with body movement difficulties, and nursing facility residents have had limited access to good healthcare services. However, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) provides us with a convenient and useful means of overcoming distance and time constraints. ICT is integrated with biomedical science and technology in a way that offers a new high-quality medical service. As a result, rapid technological advancement is expected to play a pivotal role bringing about innovation in a wide range of medical service areas, such as medical management, testing, diagnosis, and treatment; offering new and improved healthcare services; and effecting dramatic changes in current medical services. The increase in aging population and chronic diseases has caused an increase in medical expenses. In response to the increasing demand for efficient healthcare services, a telehealth service based on ICT is being emphasized on a global level. Telehealth services have been implemented especially in pilot projects and system development and technological research. With the service about to be implemented in earnest, it is necessary to study its overall acceptance by consumers, which is expected to contribute to the development and activation of a variety of services. In this sense, the study aims at positively examining the structural relationship among the acceptance factors for telehealth services based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Data were collected by showing audiovisual material on telehealth services to online panels and requesting them to respond to a structured questionnaire sheet, which is known as the information acceleration method. Among the 1,165 adult respondents, 608 valid samples were finally chosen, while the remaining were excluded because of incomplete answers or allotted time overrun. In order to test the reliability and validity of the assessment scale items, we carried out reliability and factor analyses, and in order to explore the causal relation among potential variables, we conducted a structural equation modeling analysis using AMOS 7.0 and SPSS 17.0. The research outcomes are as follows. First, service quality, innovativeness of medical technology, and social influence were shown to affect perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of the telehealth service, which was statistically significant, and the two factors had a positive impact on willingness to accept the telehealth service. In addition, social influence had a direct, significant effect on intention to use, which is paralleled by the TAM used in previous research on technology acceptance. This shows that the research model proposed in the study effectively explains the acceptance of the telehealth service. Second, the research model reveals that information privacy concerns had a insignificant impact on perceived ease of use of the telehealth service. From this, it can be gathered that the concerns over information protection and security are reduced further due to advancements in information technology compared to the initial period in the information technology industry, and thus the improvement in quality of medical services appeared to ensure that information privacy concerns did not act as a prohibiting factor in the acceptance of the telehealth service. Thus, if other factors have an enormous impact on ease of use and usefulness, concerns over these results in the initial period of technology acceptance may become irrelevant. However, it is clear that users' information privacy concerns, as other studies have revealed, is a major factor affecting technology acceptance. Thus, caution must be exercised while interpreting the result, and further study is required on the issue. Numerous information technologies with outstanding performance and innovativeness often attract few consumers. A revised bill for those urgently in need of telehealth services is about to be approved in the national assembly. As telemedicine is implemented between doctors and patients, a wide range of systems that will improve the quality of healthcare services will be designed. In this sense, the study on the consumer acceptance of telehealth services is meaningful and offers strong academic evidence. Based on the implications, it can be expected to contribute to the activation of telehealth services. Further study is needed to assess the acceptance factors for telehealth services, such as motivation to remain healthy, health care involvement, knowledge on health, and control of health-related behavior, in order to develop unique services according to the categorization of customers based on health factors. In addition, further study may focus on various theoretical cognitive behavior models other than the TAM, such as the health belief model.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.516-523
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of exercise and/or L-arginine on abdominal fat, IGF-1 on GH/IGF-1 axis, fibrinogen, and PAI-1 in aged and obese rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with a D-galactose aging inducing agent (50 mg/kg) given intraperitoneally for 12 weeks. Thirty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated and divided into four groups: aging-high fat diet group (AG+HF), AG+HF with L-arginine intake group (AG+LA), AG+HF with exercise group (AG+EX), and AG+EX with L-arginine intake group (AG+LA+EX). The experimental rats underwent treadmill training (60 min/day, 6 days/week at 0% gradient) for 12 weeks. L-arginine was given orally (150 mg/kg/day) for 12 weeks. After the experiment, blood was collected from the left ventricle and abdominal fat was extracted. The results showed that GH was significantly increased in AG+EX and AG+AL+EX. IGF-1 was significantly increased in both the AG+AL+EX and AG+EX group ($p$<0.05), while fibrinogen and PAI-1 were not significantly different among the groups. Abdominal fat was significantly decreased in the AG+LA, AG+EX, and AG+LA+EX groups ($p$<0.05) compared with the AG+HF group. In conclusion, this study suggests that exercise alone or L-arginine alone or a combination not only increases the GH and IGF-1 concentration, but also decreases the abdominal fat mass.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.39-48
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• 2011

Korea is rapidly becoming an aging society. This study aims to examine the existing conditions of outdoor living environments to assist a healthy lifestyle for senior citizens and to determine the most influential factor in a senior-friendly outdoor space as well as to suggest improvements in existing conditions focused on the prospective senior population. This study relied on two methods: a descriptive method of researching publications and related scholastic writings and an empirical study that included a survey of present conditions and interviews with the prospective seniors and senior citizens in Daejeon. Conditions of outdoor living environments for seniors were found to be more than adequate in general. But some factors evaluated as low must be carefully tailored for seniors. First, the study showed that seniors evaluated as highest the 'use of a walkway' for a stroll and stayed outside for 1~2 hours at a time. Many vehicles parked in walkways were the most inconvenient factors in going for a walk. Second, the study showed that the evaluation of outdoor space was about average and 'sociality' was evaluated as the lowest. Third, the study showed that men evaluated lower than women 4 items: 'use and convenience of a wheelchair', 'night lighting', 'discrimination of signage at nighttime' and 'trees'. Respondents above the age of 66 are more uncomfortable with items such as 'slippery walking surface', 'stair handrail', 'discrimination of signage at nighttime' and 'direction of apartment complex' while respondents above the age of 80 are more uncomfortable with items of 'slippery walking surface', 'stair handrail' and 'discrimination of signage at nighttime'. Fourth, the evaluation by existing housing patterns was statistically significant in 20 of 22 evaluated items. This means that residents in apartment complex evaluated as high these items in general. In this study, existing outdoor living environments for the elderly did not display any immediately serious issues in the overall evaluation items. Assuming, however, that the aging population will quickly increase in the next ten years, items which are evaluated as low in descriptive statistics and items which give inconvenience to the elderly above the age of 80 in particular will need to be the first areas to be improved.

• Journal of Distribution Research
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.237-255
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• 2010

The Korean Pharmacist Law has limited the sales of medicine to pharmacies. This has caused difficulty in purchasing medicine late at night or on holidays, which has limited the range of customers' selections and accelerated customers' discomfort, accordingly. Also, the rapid progress of aging has quickly boosted medical expenses for seniors, and has served as a factor that aggravates the budget of national medical insurance. Meanwhile, advanced countries, including the USA and Japan, have allowed the sales of general medicine, of which the safety and efficacy have been tested, in general retail stores such as convenience stores or super markets from the perspective of supporting self-medication. In particular, Japan, which has a strong tendency of pursuing safety in the world, diversified sales channels for general medicine in order to control quickly rising medical expenses. As a result, Japan has achieved the effect of easing various regulations as follows in the economic and social fields. First, the increasing distribution channels of general medicine from pharmacies to general retail stores provoked a potential demand, which also expanded related markets. Second, the competition between sales channels resulted in the reduction of the price of medicine. Third, the growing sales channels of medicine have extended the options of consumers and, subsequently, the convenience in the use of consumers has increased. Fourth, the creation of a competitive environment owing to the diversification of sales channels has accelerated an effort to enhance corporate competitiveness. Fifth, the foundation of enhancing the financial soundness of medical expenses has been prepared through the formation of a self-medication environment. In 2000, the Korean population aged 65 or over exceeded 7%, and it is anticipated to be over 14% by 2018; thus, the increase of national medical expenses will be sped up. As a way of being prepared for the era of aging, we, just as other advanced countries, need to create a self-treatment environment by diversifying the sellers of general medicine, and, thus, reduce spending on personal medical expenses, enhance the financial soundness of national medical insurance, and, further, promote the welfare of consumers.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.293-298
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• 2015

Muscle atrophy, known as a sarcopenia, is defined as a loss of muscle mass resulting from a reduction in the muscle fiber area or density due to a decrease in muscle protein synthesis and an increase in protein breakdown. Schisandrae fructus (SF) extract of the fruits of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz) Baillon has been used as a tonic in traditional medicine for thousands of years. Although a great deal of work has been carried out on the therapeutic potential of SF, its pharmacological mechanisms of action in muscle diseases actions remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the inhibitory effects of SF ethanol extracts on the production of muscle atrophy factors in C2C12 myotubes stimulated with 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-ribonucleotide (AICAR), an AMP-activated kinase (AMPK) activator, and sought to determine the underlying mechanisms of action. AICAR upregulated atrophy-related ubiquitin ligase muscle RING finger-1 (MuRF-1) and stimulated the levels of the forkhead box O3a (FoxO3a) transcription factor in the C2C12 myotubes. SF supplementation effectively and concentration- dependently counteracted AICAR-induced muscle cell atrophy and reversed the increased expression of MuRF-1 and FoxO3a. Our study demonstrates that SF can reverse the muscle cell atrophy caused by AICAR through regulation of the AMPK and FoxO3a signaling pathways, followed by inhibition of MuRF-1.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.329-335
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• 2015

This study was performed to determine the optimal ratio of Petasites japonicus, Luffa cylindrica, and Houttuynia cordata, all of which are supposed to have anti-respiratory disease effects, such as against rhinitis. The experiment incorporated a mixture design and included 12 experimental points with center replicates for three different independent variables (Petasites japonicus 30~70%; Luffa cylindrica 10~30%; and Houttuynia cordata 10~30%). Based on this design, the mixture was extracted in hot water at 121℃ for 45 min and anti-allergy and anti-microbial activities were observed. The response surface and trace plot described for the anti-allergy activity showed Petasites japonicas was a relatively important factor. The correlation coefficient (R²) value 82.10% for the inhibition effect of degranulation was analyzed by the regression equation. The analysis of variance showed the model fit was statistically significant (p<0.05). The optimal ratio of the mixture was Petasites japonicus 0.75%, Luffa cylindrica 0.11%, and Houttuynia cordata 0.14%. The anti-microbial activity for each extraction of the mixture was valid on gram-positive, such as Staphylococcus aureus (KCCM 40881) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (KCCM 35494), while it was less effective on gram-negative, such as Escherichia coli (KCCM 11234) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (KCCM 11328).

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.8
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• pp.851-859
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• 2014

The present study was designed to investigate whether ethanol extracts of Sophora flavescens (GS), Glycyrrhiza uralensis (GC), Dictamnus dasycarpus (BSP), and their mixtures (GGB-1, -2, -3, and -4) inhibit 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (DNCB)-induced atopic dermatitis (AD) in a mouse model. DNCB was topically applied on the dorsal surface of Balb/c mice to induce AD-like skin lesions. The pathological phenotypes of AD, such as erythema, ear thickness, edema, scabs, and discharge, were significantly decreased in the GGB (DNCB + GS:GC:BSP = 3:1:1 mixture)-1-treated groups compared with the other treated groups. The weight of the spleen in immune organs was significantly decreased in the GGB-1-treated groups, whereas the weight of the liver in a control group was similar to that of the groups treated with the samples. Furthermore, toluidine blue staining analysis, a method used to specifically identify mast cells, showed that master cell infiltration into the dermis of the GGB-1-treated group was significantly decreased. The immunoglobulin E concentration was lower in the GGB-1-treated group. In addition, the levels of inflammatory cytokines (interferon-${\gamma}$, interleukin-1, 4, 5, 6, and 13, $1{\beta}$, and tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$) were also significantly reduced in the GGB-1-treated group. Taken together, these results suggest that a mixture of GS, GC, and BSP in a proportion of 3:1:1 (GGB-1) may contribute to the relief of AD symptoms and may be considered an excellent candidate for an AD therapeutic drug.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.65-72
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• 2009

Skin aging appears to be principally attributed to a decrease in both levels of Type I collagen and regeneration ability of dermal fibroblasts. It is important to introduce an efficient and safe agent for effective management of skin aging. To this end, we performed screening for anti-ageing agents and then found that vegetable peptones (pea and wheat) promoted cell proliferation of adult stem cells. Vegetable peptones may be considered as useful medium additives because it can supply nutrients, peptides, amino acids or growth factor analogues. This study was designed to investigate effects of vegetable peptones on cell proliferation/collagen production and their possible mechanisms in human dermal fibroblasts. In cell proliferation assay, vegetable peptones significantly promoted cell proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, human COL1A2 promoter luciferase and type I procollagen synthesis assays showed that vegetable peptones induce type I procollagen production through the activation of COLlA2 promoter. In both TGF-${\beta}1$ luciferase reporter and ELISA assays, vegetable peptones was found to induce TGF-${\beta}1$ production, suggesting that vegetable peptones induce type I procollagen production through the activation of TGF-${\beta}1$. When applied topically in a human skin twice a day for an 4-week period of time, vegetable peptones did not induce any adverse reactions. Theretore, based on these results, we suggest the possibility that vegetable peptones may be considered as an attractive, wrinkle-reducing candidate for topical application.