• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.177-188
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• 2008

Objectives : This study was performed to investigate the anti-fibrogenic effect of Artemisiae Capillaris Herba on cultured rat hepatic stellate cells. Materials and Methods : Hepatic stellate cells(HSC-T6) were treated with various concentrations of Artemisiae Capillaris Herba extract for 24 hours. The extraction was done either with distilled water or 50% EtOH. After the treatment, cell viability, proliferation, procollagen levels and the mRNA of the collagen type 1a2 and ASMA were measured by using MTT assay, BrdU assay, RT-PCR, and Procollagen Type I C-peptide EIA Kit. Results : The viability and proliferation of the hepatic stellate cells were decreased as the concentration increased. The mRNA expression decreased consistently with the volume of the secreted procollagen with the extraction made with distilled water, which indicates the herb has inhibitory effect on fibrogenesis of the liver by regulating one of the fibrosis associated genes in transcription. However, it increased in 50% EtOH extraction, which shows that a more stable reaction is expected of the extraction made with distilled water than the extraction made with 50% EtOH. The production of procollagen was decreased by a low-concentration treatment with Artemisiae Capillaris Herba, but increased by a high concentration. It seemed that the cells were responding to Artemisiae Capillaris Herba in low- concentrations, thus producing small amounts of collagen. When the drug was administered at high enough concentration to give direct toxicity to cells, the ability of cells to produce collagen was activated, and the overproduction of collagen was observed as an undesirable results. Conclusion : These results suggest that Artemisiae Capillaris Herba is beneficial in the treatment of cirrhotic patients as well as for the patients with chronic hepatitis when extracted with water in the proper concentrations.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.207-216
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• 2017

Several bioassays have been performed for assessment of the impact of polluted sediments. The direct exposure method using sediments is limited by difficulty controlling feeding and its effects on organisms. Furthermore, only macro-organisms and benthic organisms are used. To evaluate the potential application of sediment elutriate as a complementary strategy for impact assessment, copepods, small organisms with a short life cycle, were exposed to sediment elutriates, and several end-points were measured. As a result, sediment elutriates prepared from polluted sites caused growth retardation in marine copepods. In terms of molecular biomarkers, antioxidant-related and chaperone protein gene expression levels were increased in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Thus, we suggest that sediment elutriate tests can provide an effective alternative for toxicity assessment using whole sediment samples. Further studies are required to obtain sufficient data for future applications.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.20-25
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• 1991

During the past decade the use of epidural opioids for treatment of chronic as well as postoperative pain has increased Epidural droperidol significantly reduced the side effects of epidural morphine without any appreciable toxicity, except possibly sedation. The purpose of this study was to assess the side effects and potentiation of analgesia of epidural morphine by dose-related droperidol. The results were as follows: 1) Duration of analgesia and pain score: There was no significant difference between morphine and dose-related droperidol groups. 2) Pruritus: Droperidol did not affect the incidence of pruritus with epidural morphine (P>0.05). 3) Nausea and vomiting: Significantly fewer patients experienced nausea and vomiting (16.7%) with droperidol 2.5mg(P<0.001). 4) Hypotensive episode Hypotension occurred in the groups with droperidol 1.25 mg (27. 8%) and 2.5mg(33.3%). 5) Sedation: It there was increased severity and incidence of sedation with dose related epidural droperidol. 6) Respiratory depression: There was no patient with respiratory depression in the morphine or droperidol group. 7) Extrapyramidal symptoms and others: There was no extrapyramidal symptom in the group with morphine and 0.25 mg droperidol, but 3 patients in the group with l.25 mg droperidol and 5 patients in the group with 2.5 mg droperidol how extrapyramidal symptoms. One patient in droperidol 2.5 mg developed suspicious NMS. It is suggested that the use of epidural droperidol to reduce the side effects of morphine may not be appropriate.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.54-59
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• 2001

The three medicinal herbs, Astragali Radix, Glycyrrhizae Radix and Aurantii nobilis Pericarpium, irradiated with γ-rays have been tested for their possible genotoxicity. The hot water extracts of the 10 kGy γ-ray irradiated herbs were examined in the Salmonella mutagenicity test(histidine reversion assay; Ames test) using Salmonella. typhimurium TA98 and TA100 as tester strains. No mutagenicity was detected in this assay both with and without metabolic activation. The safety of the herbs irradiated with γ-rays at tactical doses needs to be evaluated in further tests of genotoxicity in vivo and chronic and reproductive toxicity.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.135-144
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• 2015

The Korean daily intake of vegetable oils has increased about 2.5-fold from 17 g/day to 46 g/day for the last several decades. Perilla (Perilla frutescens var. frutescens) has been cultivated in Korea for a long time as a dietary oil seed which has the highest content of ${\alpha}$-linolenic acid, accounting for nearly 60%. It is known that the main role of ALA is as a precursor to the longer-chain ${\omega}-3$, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), the metabolic products of ${\alpha}$-linolenic acid (ALA, ${\omega}-3$). Dietary ${\omega}-3$ fatty acids reduce inflammation and the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and arthritis, but they also may act as functional components for cognitive and behavioral function. Thus, ${\alpha}$-linolenic acid is one of the essential nutrients in modern dietary patterns in which much linoleic acid is consumed. Nevertheless, perilla oil, rich in ${\alpha}$-linolenic acid, can be easily oxidized, giving rise to controversies with respect to shelf life, the deterioration of the product's commercial value, and further related toxicity. Recent research using genetic modifications has tried to develop new plant oil seeds that balance the ratio of ${\omega}-6/{\omega}-3$ fatty acids. Such trials could be a strategy for improving an easily oxidizable property of perilla oil due to high ${\alpha}$-linolenic acid. Alternatively, appropriate application of antioxidant to the oil can be considerable.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.73-80
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• 2015

Arsenic which is found in several different chemical forms and oxidation states and causes acute and chronic adverse health effects is a toxic trace element widely distributed in soils and aquifers from both geologic and anthropogenic sources. Arsenic which has a mysterious ability to change color, behavior, reactivity, and toxicity has diverse chemical behavior in the natural environment. Arsenic which has stronger ability to readily change oxidation state than nitrogen and phosphorus due to a consequence of the electronic configuration of its valence orbitals with partially filled states capable of both electron donation and acceptance although the electronegativity of arsenic is greater than that of nitrogen and similar to that of phosphorus. Arsenate (V) is the thermodynamically stable form of As under aerobic condition and interacts strongly with solid matrix. However, it has been known that adsorption and oxidation reactions of arsenite (III) which is more soluble and mobile than As(V) in soils are two important factors affecting the fate and transport of arsenic in the environment. That is, the movement of As in soils and aquifers is highly dependent on the adsorption-desorption reactions in the solid phase. This article, however, focuses primarily on understanding the fate and speciation of As in soils and what fate arsenic will have after it is incorporated into soils.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.642-654
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• 1998

In order to examine the television(TV)'s role of nutrition education and the nutritional interests and problems of the general public in the 1990s, a comtents analysis was done on two nutrition-related TV programs, a regular round-table talk show and a newscast. Broadcast from January 1993 to July 1997 and from January 1997 to July f1997, respectively. Nutrition-related information was classified into five categories. Food and nutrient(39.5%) and diseases(34.7%) were most frequently telecasted, which were followed by food habits and general health(13.0%), traditional dishes and cookery(8.2%), and food sanitation and safety(4.6%). In becoming the latest year, some trends in the issues displayed increased telecasts about disease, dish and cookery, and food safety, while the telecasting of food and nutrient decreased. The contents about the relations hip between life-style(including diet) and chronic degenerative diseases and the importance of balanced diets and regualr meals for health promotion became particularly emphasized. Overall, two TV programs provided the public with positive, practical, and sometimes practive nutrition education messages for improving eating life and health care. They also raised the public's awareness of the nutritional importance of Korean staple foods such as rice, kimchi, seaweed, and soysauce, and they sometimes satified the audience's curiosities by introducing Korean food culture or foods of Buddhist priests. When the accident of food toxicity occurred concrete information about how to manage it was rapidly given to the public. In addition they played a role in food balance policy by telecasting over-product foods such as garlic and onion. However some negative points appeared. Telecasts on milk and its products and diabetes mellitus showed the least frequently. These shows should be broadcast more often considering the present nutrition and health problems in Korea. Some functions or effects of foods were mostly explained by only physicians of Chinese medicine. Sometimes misinformed, unclear, overemphasized, biased, or unfair information was televised to the public. If these problems could be solved through the sincere cooperation between nutrition faculty and TV produces, become televison could a more complete and effective medium for educating the public about nutrition.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.41-51
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• 2021

Src family kinases (SFKs), an important group of non-receptor tyrosine kinases, are suggested to be excessively activated during various types of tissue fibrosis. The present study investigated the effect of KF-1607, an orally active and a newly synthesized Src kinase inhibitor (SKI) with proposed low toxicity, in preventing the progression of renal interstitial fibrosis. Unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) surgery was performed in 6-week-old male C57BL/6 mice to induce renal interstitial fibrosis. Either KF-1607 (30 mg/kg, oral gavage) or PP2 (2 mg/kg, intraperitoneal injection), a common experimental SKI, was administered to mice for seven days, started one day prior to surgery. UUO injury-induced SFK expression, including Src, Fyn, and Lyn kinase. SFK inhibition by KF-1607 prevented the progression of tubular injury in UUO mice, as indicated by decreases in albuminuria, urinary KIM-1 excretion, and kidney NGAL protein expression. Renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis was attenuated in response to KF-1607, as shown by decreases in α-SMA, collagen I and IV protein expression, along with reduced Masson's trichrome and collagen-I staining in kidneys. KF-1607 also inhibited inflammation in the UUO kidney, as exhibited by reductions in F4/80 positive-staining and protein expression of p-NFκB and ICAM. Importantly, the observed effects of KF-1607 were similar to those of PP2. A new pan Src kinase inhibitor, KF-1607, is a potential pharmaceutical agent to prevent the progression of renal interstitial fibrosis.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.672-678
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• 2015

The types of hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) being transported by sea in Korea are at about 6,000, HNS transport volume accounts for 19% of total tonnage shipped in Korea, and the increase rate of seaborne HNS trade in Korea is 2.5 times higher than the average increase rate of the world seaborne HNS trade. Reflecting this trend, HNS spill incidents have been frequently reported in Korean waters, and there are increasing social demands to develop HNS management technology for the preparedness, response, post-treatment and restoration in relation to HNS spill incidents at sea. In this study, a risk-based HNS prioritization system was developed and an HNS risk database was built with evaluation indices such as sea transport volume, physicochemical properties, toxicities, persistency, and bioaccumulation. Risk scores for human health and marine environments were calculated by multiplying scores for toxicity and exposure. The top-20 substances in the list of HNS were tabulated, and Aniline was ranked first place, but it needs to be managed not by individuals but by HNS groups with similar score levels. Limitations were identified in obtaining data of chronic toxicity and marine ecotoxicity due to lack of testing data. It is necessary to study on marine ecotoxicological test in the near future. Moreover, the priority list of HNS is expected to be utilized in the development of HNS management technology and the relevant technologies, after the expert's review process and making up for the lack of test data in the current research results.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.71-97
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• 1975

To improve the food qualities in Korea, two hundred and fourtynine kinds of food additives have been allowed in food processing, of which one hundred and nineteen kinds could be used under the limitted conditions. Hence, in practical uses in food processing, many kinds of them are mixed at random within the permitted amounts for their special purposes. For last several years, many kinds of the food additives were prohibited because they have been proved to be toxic even with the single dose. Until recently a few studies on the toxicity in the mixture of food additives were reported, however, they were shown to be no severe additional effect on the animal. This study was performed to see if any elevation of chronic or subacute toxicity of food additives occur especially when they are mixed with each other, using three kinds of food additives (DHA, AF-2, BHT) most widely used as food preservatives, antiseptics and antioxidants. One hundred and fifty young male rats were taken and divided into ten feeding groups, one first control group (food additives blank), three second control groups (DHA 0.1%, AF-2 0.1%, BHT 0.5%), three mixture groups of low level (mixture of each 60% of two second control level) and three mixture groups of high level (mixture of each 90% of two second control level). As the methods of biological and clinical tests, the change of body weight (growth rate), daily intake of diets, organ to body weight ratio, histopathological findings of organs, hematological observation, liver and kidney function tests were checked three times during the periods of 24 weeks. The following results were obtained. 1. The low level group of DHA, AF-2 mixture and DHA, BHT mixture revealed a little retardation in growth rate than the first control group, however, they were similar to the second controls, while all the mixture groups of high level showed a more remarkable retardation than the first and second controls. 2. Average daily intake of the diets was the same in each group, showing a similar decreasing tendency (70-100g/kg of body weight) in accordance with the growth rate. It was observed that there are no differences in the taste and appetite in each group of rats. 3. Abnormal enlargements of kidney and lung were not seen in all the mixture groups compared with the controls, while a slight hepatomegaly was observed in all mixture groups of low level as in the second controls. Significant differences (almost 1% level) were observed between the high level groups and the first control group. 4. Histopathological effects of the food additives on lung, kidney and liver tissues were found in all mixture group of high level. The less frequencies of the same effects were also seen in the low level groups. 5. The esterified cholesterol to total cholesterol ratio in the mixture groups of high level showed a little lower values, and the activities of serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase and alkaline phosphatase decreased almost with significance of 5% level compared with the first control group. The serum A/G ratio in the mixture groups also decreased. The results demonstrated that the liver function was decreased in the mixture groups compared with the controls. 6. In all groups throughout the test period, kidney functions (concentration of protein and creatinine excreated per hour in urine and renal filtration rate) were shown almost as normal as the first control. 7. Average values of hematocrit, erythrocytes and leucocytes in the mixture groups were in the normal ranges as in the controls, which denotes that the production of blood cells in bone marrow were also normal in all groups. With the above results, it is concluded that when the food additives (DHA, AF-2, BHT) were given together to the rats in several combinations even in less amount, they showed more toxic signs than the single doses.