• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.412-421
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• 2021

Purpose: Thioacetamide (TAA) produces reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the liver, and the generated ROS induces liver injury through inflammatory reactions. The current study was undertaken to investigate the hepatoprotective effect of Artemisiae Capillaris Herba water extract (AC), imparted via its antioxidant activity, in an animal model of TAA-induced liver injury. Methods: Animal experiments were conducted in 5 groups: normal, control (TAA 200 mg/kg), SM (TAA 200 mg/kg + silymarin 100 mg/kg), ACL (TAA 200 mg/kg + AC 100 mg/kg), ACH (TAA 200 mg/kg + AC 200mg/kg). TAA (intraperitoneal) and treatment compounds (per oral) were administered for 3 days. Serum levels of ammonia concentration and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity were subsequently measured. Liver tissues were subjected to western blot analysis for measuring the oxidative stress (NADPH oxidase), anti-oxidative activity (Nrf2, heme oxygenase-1 [HO-1], superoxide dismutase [SOD], catalase, and GPx-1/2), tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1, and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) protein expressions. Results: Serum ammonia levels and MPO activity were significantly increased in the TAA-induced control group, whereas groups administered AC treatment showed markedly reduced levels. Western blot analysis revealed significantly increased NOX2 and p22^phox expressions, (oxidative stress-related factors) in the TAA-induced control group. These levels were determined to be significantly decreased after AC exposure. Moreover, antioxidant-related factors including Nrf2, HO-1, SOD, catalase, and GPx-1/2 were significantly decreased in the control group and increased in the AC treated groups. In addition, MMP expressions were significantly suppressed in the AC treatment group due to increased levels of TIMP-1. Conclusion: Taken together, these data indicate that exposure to AC reduces the oxidative stress by inhibiting the expression of NADPH oxidase (NOX2 and p22^phox) through the Nrf2 signaling pathway. We therefore propose the potential of AC for the prevention and treatment of TAA-induced liver injury.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.277-302
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• 2022

This study aims to establish the floristic data and identify the useful plant resources of Mt. Ilimsan and its adjacent areas. The survey was conducted 27 times from March 31, 2020 to August 22, 2021. It identified 500 taxa consisting of 101 families, 304 genera, 444 species, 11 subspecies, 42 varieties, and 3 formas. A total of 853 plant specimens were collected. There were 16 taxa designated as endemic plants and 7 taxa designated as the rare plants by the Korea Forest Service, and 5 taxa designated as the red list plants by the Ministry of Environment. Moreover, the floristic target species by the Ministry of the Environment found in this mountain were 69 taxa, including 49 taxa for floristic degree I, 7 for floristic degree II, 11 for floristic degree III, and 2 for floristic degree IV. Biological resources subject to export approval by the Ministry of Environment were 159 taxa. The alien plants were 49 taxa, of which 5.6 percent were naturalized, and the urbanization index was 7.9 percent. Ecosystem-disturbing invasive alien plants designated by the Ministry of Environment were 6 taxa.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.153-174
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• 2022

This trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of overwrap, vacuum, and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) on poultry breast fillets' microbiological, biochemical shelf life and sensory attributes. The fillets were divided into 4 groups, and each of the treatments was replicated 3 times with 60 breast fillets. The first group was a control group with overwrap packaging; the second group was vacuum packed (VP); the third and fourth groups were MAP-1: 0% O₂, 40% CO₂, 60% N₂, and MAP-2: 20% O₂, 40% CO₂, 40% N₂. The microbiological and biochemical analyses were performed for the total viable count, coliform count, Pseudomonas count, Salmonella count, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), pH, cooking loss, color, lipid oxidation, tenderness, and sensory analysis. The data were analysed through two-way ANOVA by Minitab (Minitab 17.3.1). Meat treated with understudy MAP compositions and vacuum packaging reduced total viable count, Pseudomonas count, and total coliform count than control (p<0.05). TVB-N remained below the recommended limit throughout storage except aerobic packaging (p<0.05). Cooking loss (%) was lowered and showed non-significant results (p>0.05) between vacuum packaging and both MAP concentrations. The meat stored in MAP-2 was characterised by higher (p<0.05) visual scores. Whilst MAP-1 showed higher (p<0.05) L^* values and overall acceptability. Sample packaged under aerobic packaging showed significant (p<0.05) results for b^* and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). Meat stored in aerobic packaging showed higher (p<0.05) shear force values. The outcome of this trial may help to promote the application of understudy MAP compositions and rapid detection of microbes by biochemical analysis under local conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.265-290
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• 2022

An economic evaluation was conducted using cost-benefit analysis for an integrated service platform of open access research articles. The data needed for benefit measurement were collected by conducting a series of surveys to service beneficiaries, including 1,313 academic researchers, 49 bio-industry researchers, and 102 researchers in various industries. Cost-benefit analysis and sensitivity analysis were conducted after estimating the total costs for system construction and operations, anticipated direct and indirect benefits. With respect to the cost-benefit analysis limited to direct benefits, the estimated benefit was KRW 82 billion, which is about 14 times of the total costs for eight years of the entire business period. With respect to the cost-benefit analysis for both direct and indirect benefits, BCR was estimated to be about 98.9 and NPV to be KRW 538.8 billion, indicating that economic feasibility of the project was sufficiently secured. The results of this analysis may help securing the investment to the integrated service platform for OA research products, and the benefit estimation model developed in this study would be utilized as an assessment tool during the rest of this project.

• Archives of Craniofacial Surgery
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.152-162
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• 2022

Background: The efficacy and safety of equine cartilage as a competent xenograft material for rhinoplasty were evaluated and compared to the outcomes of rhinoplasty using silicone implants. Methods: We performed a multicenter, double-blind, non-inferiority, and randomized confirmatory study. Fifty-six patients were randomized 1:1 to the study group (using MegaCartilage-E) and control group (using silicone implants). The Rhinoplasty Outcome Evaluation (ROE) score, photo documentation, Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale (GAIS), and adverse event data were obtained until 12 months after surgery. The primary efficacy, which is the change in ROE score 6 months after surgery, was assessed in the modified intention-to-treat set. The secondary efficacy was evaluated in the per-protocol set by assessing the change in ROE score 6 and 12 months after surgery and nasofrontal angle, the height of the nasion, and GAIS 1, 6, and 12 months after surgery. Results: The change in ROE score of the study group was non-inferior to that of the control group; it increased by 24.26±17.24 in the study group and 18.27±17.60 in the control group (p= 0.213). In both groups, all secondary outcome measures increased, but there was no statistical difference. In the safety set, treatment-emergent adverse events occurred in 10 patients (35.71%) in the study group and six patients (21.43%) in the control group (p= 0.237). There were 13 adverse device events in the study group and six adverse device events in the control group (p= 0.515). Conclusion: Processed equine cartilage can be used effectively and safely as xenograft material for rhinoplasty.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.27-35
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• 2022

Objectives : 3-Acetyl-11-keto-𝛽-boswellic acid (AKBA) is a major active compound in Boswellia serrata. We investigated the arthritic changes following AKBA administration in monosodium iodoacetate (MIA)-induced osteoarthritis rats. Methods : All rats were randomly divided into five groups: Normal, Control, INDO (indomethacin 2 mg/kg treated), AKBA30 (AKBA 30 mg/kg treated), and AKBA60 (AKBA 60 mg/kg treated); drugs were given 2 weeks before MIA injection. For all groups except the normal group, 50 µL of sterile saline with MIA (80 mg/mL) was injected into the right knee joint 2 weeks after drug administration. The drug administration was continued for 4 weeks from 1 week after osteoarthritis induction. The histomorphological changes of knee joint cartilage were observed by H&E staining. Also, the levels of glycosaminoglycan (GAG), cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX), 5-LOX-activating protein (FLAP), and leukotriene B₄ (LTB₄) in the knee joint were determined by the ELISA kits. The expressions of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), inflammatory cytokines, and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in knee joint were detected by Western blot. Results : Data show that levels of 5-LOX, FLAP, LTB4, and COMP were downregulated significantly in the AKBA treated groups when compared to those in the Control group. On the other hand, GAG levels were significantly elevated. As a result of Western blot, the AKBA-treated groups significantly inhibited phosphorylation of MAPKs. In addition, significant downregulation of the expression of inflammatory cytokines and MMPs was found in the AKBA-treated groups. Conclusion : Our findings suggest that administration of AKBA could exert better chondroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects for MIA-induced osteoarthritis rats.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.199-206
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• 2022

Postpartum diseases should be predicted to prevent productivity loss before calving especially in organic dairy farms. This study was aimed to investigate the incidence of postpartum metabolic diseases in an organic dairy farm in Korea, to confirm the association between diseases and prepartum blood biochemical parameters, and to evaluate the accuracy of these parameters with a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis for identifying vulnerable cows. Data were collected from 58 Holstein cows (16 primiparous and 42 multiparous) having calved for 2 years on an organic farm. During a transition period from 4 weeks prepartum to 4 weeks postpartum, blood biochemistry was performed through blood collection every 2 weeks with a physical examination. Thirty-one (53.4%) cows (9 primiparous and 22 multiparous) were diagnosed with at least one postpartum disease. Each incidence was 27.6% for subclinical ketosis, 22.4% for subclinical hypocalcemia, 12.1% for retained placenta, 10.3% for displaced abomasum and 5.2% for clinical ketosis. Between at least one disease and no disease, there were significant differences in the prepartum levels of parameters like body condition score (BCS), non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA), total bilirubin (T-bil), direct bilirubin (D-bil) and NEFA to total cholesterol (T-chol) ratio (p < 0.05). The ROC analysis of each of these prepartum parameters had the area under the curve (AUC) <0.7. However, the ROC analysis with logistic regression including all these parameters revealed a higher AUC (0.769), sensitivity (71.0%), and specificity (77.8%). The ROC analysis with logistic regression including the prepartum BCS, NEFA, T-bil, D-bil, and NEFA to T-chol ratio can be used to identify cows that are vulnerable to postpartum diseases with moderate accuracy.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.115-143
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• 2021

Mt. Hwang-ak, as a temple forest belongs to Baekdudaegan. flora investigation was conducted to better know of current natural environment. At the same time, For the understanding of planted plants which is in the traditional Korea buddhism temple for landscape, research on Jikji temple had taken place during 2019 April to October with 12 times. As a result, the list of plants at Mt. Hwang-ak was classified as a total of 534 taxa comprising of 96 families, 312 genus, 462 species, 4 subspecies, 59 varieties, 9 forma. This listed plants could be classified as 4 categories by each standard. the listed plants were 14 species of Korean endemic plants, 13 species of Rare plants data book in korea, 34 species of Invasive Alien Plants in South Korea with 10% of Urbanization Ratio and 6% of Naturalization Ratio respectively, 167 species of List of Medicinal Resources Plants in Korea. In the Temple of Jikji, could find 81 species of planted plants that widely distributed all around the temple for landscape. Compared to other temple, We could observed 51% of species were overlapping, Among them, 9% of species overlapping with more than three temples.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.41-47
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• 2019

Objectives : A traditional herbal prescription, Kyung-Ok-Ko (KOK), has long been used in oriental medicine as an invigorant for age-related diseases, such as amnesia and stroke. However, the beneficial value of KOK for immune responses is largely unknown. Based on the above mentioned effects of KOK, other previous reports, and its use in traditional medicine, we hypothesized that KOK displays beneficial effects against methotrexate (MTX)-induced immune suppression. Methods : We investigated the effects of KOK (0.6 g/kg/day, oral (p.o.)) on deteriorated immunity caused by MTX (2 mg/kg/day, p.o.) in an immune suppression mouse model. MTX was fed to mice once a day for 7 days. After the immune responses of the mice deteriorated by MTX treatment, KOK in water was fed to the mice once a day for 14 days. We then measured the expression levels of various cytokines, such as T helper cell (Th1, Th2) cytokines, and the number of immune cells, such as spleen T cells, B cells, and macrophages. Results : The data showed that MTX decreased Th1 profiles (interferon $(IFN)-{\gamma}$, interleukin (IL)-2, IL-12) and the number of immune cells, and increased Th2 profiles (IL-4, IL-5, IL-13), which were normalized significantly by post-administration of KOK. However, there was no significant difference in body-weight gain between MTX- and KOK-treated mice. Conclusion : These results indicate that KOK has immune-enhancing functions and reduces immunotoxicity of MTX, suggesting that supplementation with KOK will improve immune responses clinically and be useful for the prevention of immune-related diseases.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.2-8
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• 2022

Humanity is in the midst of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and vaccines-including mRNA vaccines-have been developed at an unprecedented speed. It is necessary to develop guidelines for vaccination for people undergoing treatment with assisted reproductive technology (ART) and for pregnancy-related situations based on the extant laboratory and clinical data. COVID-19 vaccines do not appear to adversely affect gametes, embryos, or implantation; therefore, active vaccination is recommended for women or men who are preparing for ART. The use of intravenous immunoglobulin G (IVIG) for the treatment of immune-related infertility is unlikely to impact the effectiveness of the vaccines, so COVID-19 vaccines can be administered around ART cycles in which IVIG is scheduled. Pregnant women have been proven to be at risk of severe maternal and neonatal complications from COVID-19. It does not appear that COVID-19 vaccines harm pregnant women or fetuses; instead, they have been observed to deliver antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) to the fetus. Accordingly, it is recommended that pregnant women receive COVID-19 vaccination. There is no rationale for adverse effects, or clinical cases of adverse reactions, in mothers or neonates after COVID-19 vaccination in lactating women. Instead, antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 can be delivered through breast milk. Therefore, breastfeeding mothers should consider vaccination. In summary, active administration of COVID-19 vaccines will help ensure the safe implementation of ART, pregnancy, and breastfeeding.