• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.542-549
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• 2020

A previous study reported that Ulmus macrocarpa Hance water extract (UME) can improve hyperlipid metabolism and the involvement of suppressed lipid synthesis through adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway regulation was suggested. Further exploration of the lipid metabolism between liver and peripheral tissue was necessary to confirm that work, and so this study aimed to extend the possibility that UME can regulate serum lipids. After a 6-week in vivo trial of oral administration of UME to rats with induced hyperlipidemia, serum levels of triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) were seen to decrease while HDL cholesterol increased. The UME administrations also decreased the TC and TG levels from the control in liver analysis. However, the suggestion that UME regulates the AMPK pathway to improve hyperlipid states through the suppression of hepatic lipogenesis seems to be only one part of the extract's effect. Indeed, serum concentrations of apolipoproteins A and B were returned to baseline levels of the control group in response to UME administration whilst the liver lipid content was much reduced; this cannot occur through the suggested suppression of hepatic lipogenesis alone. Therefore, a possible mechanism of UME could be that it improves blood circulation by modulating serum lipid levels through both the prior stimulation of lipid oxidation and the suppression of hepatic lipogenesis.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.493-498
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• 2013

Liposomes, which can deliver payload at target site, have been studied as drug carrier. However, conventional liposomes have limitation for drug release at target site. Therefore, we developed hydroxyapatite (HA) coated ultrasound sensitive liposomes to increase drug release at target site and to enhance stability in blood stream. Control liposome was prepared using hydrogenated soy phosphatidylcholine (HSPC) and cholesterol, and then we assessed HA coating on the surface of control liposomes using calcium acetate, phosphoric acid, and 25% ammonium solution. Doxorubicin was used as a model drug. Size of HA coated liposomes was 120 nm and encapsulation efficiency of doxorubicin in liposomes was up to 95%. Size of HA coated liposomes are not changed in 30% serum solution, however, the control liposomes was 1.4 fold increased. After ultrasound triggered drug release from liposomes, intracellular efficiency of drug released from HA coated liposomes was 3 fold increased compared to control liposomes. In this study, we developed ultrasound sensitive liposomes to enhance drug release, which will be applied in controlled drug release at disease site.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.335-344
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• 2012

Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane (DDT) were determined in surface sediments collected from main rivers of Korea. Concentration of HCB in sediments ranged from 0.41 to 3.82 (average 1.58) ng/g, 0.08 to 6.09 (average 0.90) ng/g, 0.02 to 0.97 (average 0.30) ng/g, 0.28 to 0.59 (average 0.42) ng/g and 0.23 to 0.48 (average 0.32) ng/g in Han river, Nakdong river, Geum river, Yeongsan and Seomjin river respectively. The DDTs concentration was ranged from 0.67 to 14.20 (average 4.76) ng/g, N.D. to 10.36 (average 1.81) ng/g, N.D. to 7.26 (average 1.87) ng/g, N.D. to 3.12 (average 1.08) ng/g and 0.02 to 2.04 (average 0.56) ng/g in Han river, Nakdong river, Geum river, Yeongsan and Seomjin river respectively. In comparison with the concentration of HCB and DDTs in other studies, the values in sediments of this study were lower than those of other countries. Comparison with that Sediment quality guideline (SQG) of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the HCB levels of this study were very lower than Effect Range Low (ERL) value. In the case of DDTs, the concentrations of 46 points were higher than ERL (1.58 ng/g). It have not harmful effect on ecosystem of the sediment, however ongoing monitoring of sediments is deemed necessary.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.859-865
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• 2006

With an approach to study the anti-tumor effects and mechanism of selenium compound, we investigated the anti-tumor activity and mechanism of $Na_5SeV_5O_{18}{\cdot}3H_2O$ (NaSeVO) in K562 cells. The results showed that $0.625{\sim}20\;mg/L$ NaSeVO could significantly inhibit the proliferation of K562 cells in vitro in a time- and concentration-dependent manner as determined by microculture tetrazolium (MTT) assay, the IC50 values were 14.41 (4.45-46.60) and 3.45 (2.29-5.22) mg/L after 48 hand 72 h treatment with NaSeVO respectively. In vivo experiments demonstrated that i.p. administration of 5, 10 mg/kg NaSeVO exhibited an significant inhibitory effect on the growth of transplantation tumor sarcoma 180 (S180) and hepatoma 22 (H22) in mice, with inhibition rate 26.8% and 58.4% on S180 and 31.3% and 47.4% on H22, respectively. Cell cycle studies indicated that the proportion of G0/G1 phase was increased at 2.5 mg/L while decreased at 10 mg/L after treatment for 24, 48 h. Whereas S phase was decreased at 2.5-5 mg/L and markedly increased at 10 mg/L after treatment for 48 h. After treatment for 24 h, 10 mg/L NaSeVO also markedly increased S and G2/M phases. Take together, the result clearly showed that NaSeVO markedly increased S and G2/M phases at 10 mg/L. The study of immunocytochemistry showed that the expression bcl-2 is significantly inhibited by 10 mg/L NaSeVO, and bax increased. Morphology observation also revealed typical apoptotic features. NaSeVO also significantly caused the accumulation of $Ca^{2+}$ and $Mg^{2+}$, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the reduction of pH value and mitochondrial membrane potential in K562 cells as compared with control by confocal laser scanning microscope. These results suggest that NaSeVO has anti-tumor effects and its mechanism is attributed partially to apoptosis induced by the elevation of intracellular $Ca^{2+}$, $Mg^{2+}$ and ROS concentration, and a reduction of pH value and mitochondria membrane potential (MMP).

• Gut and Liver
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.682-693
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• 2018

Background/Aims: Intestinal barrier dysfunction is a hallmark of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) such as ulcerative colitis. This dysfunction is caused by increased permeability and the loss of tight junctions in intestinal epithelial cells. The aim of this study was to investigate whether estradiol treatment reduces colonic permeability, tight junction disruption, and inflammation in an azoxymethane (AOM)/dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) colon cancer mouse model. Methods: The effects of $17{\beta}$-estradiol (E2) were evaluated in ICR male mice 4 weeks after AOM/DSS treatment. Histological damage was scored by hematoxylin and eosin staining and the levels of the colonic mucosal cytokine myeloperoxidase (MPO) were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). To evaluate the effects of E2 on intestinal permeability, tight junctions, and inflammation, we performed quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis. Furthermore, the expression levels of mucin 2 (MUC2) and mucin 4 (MUC4) were measured as target genes for intestinal permeability, whereas zonula occludens 1 (ZO-1), occludin (OCLN), and claudin 4 (CLDN4) served as target genes for the tight junctions. Results: The colitis-mediated induced damage score and MPO activity were reduced by E2 treatment (p<0.05). In addition, the mRNA expression levels of intestinal barrier-related molecules (i.e., MUC2, ZO-1, OCLN, and CLDN4) were decreased by AOM/DSS-treatment; furthermore, this inhibition was rescued by E2 supplementation. The mRNA and protein expression of inflammation-related genes (i.e., KLF4, NF-${\kappa}B$, iNOS, and COX-2) was increased by AOM/DSS-treatment and ameliorated by E2. Conclusions: E2 acts through the estrogen receptor ${\beta}$ signaling pathway to elicit anti-inflammatory effects on intestinal barrier by inducing the expression of MUC2 and tight junction molecules and inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokines.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.64-77
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• 2021

Objective: Biological monitoring of trace elements in human blood samples has become an important indicator of the health environment. The purpose of this study was to detect and evaluate multiple metal items in blood samples based on ICP-MS, to perform comparative evaluation with the existing analysis method, and to develop and verify a new method. Methods: 100 μL of whole blood from 80 healthy subjects was used to analyze ten metals (Sb, tAs, Cd, Pb, Mn, Hg, Mo, Ni, Se, Tl) using ICP-MS. Verification of the analysis method included calculation of linearity, accuracy, precision and detection limits. In addition, a comparative test with the conventional graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy (GF-AAS) method was performed. In the case of Pb, Cd, and Hg in whole blood, cross-analysis between Pb, Cd, and Hg analysis methods was performed to confirm the difference between the existing method and the new method (ICP-MS). Results: The coefficient of determination (R2) was 0.999 or higher in seven items and 0.995 or higher in three items. The Pb result showed that Pearson's correlation coefficient was very high at 0.983, and the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.966. The Cd result showed that Pearson's correlation coefficient was 0.917 between the existing method and the new analysis concentration value. Its intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.960, and there was no significant difference between the two groups. Hg had a low correlation at 0.687, and the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.761, which was lower than that of Pb and Cd. The intra-day and inter-day accuracy of Pd and Cd were satisfactory, but Hg did not meet the criteria for both accuracy and precision when compared with the conventional analysis method. Conclusion: This study can be meaningful in that it proposes a more efficient and feasible analysis method by verifying a blood heavy metal concentration experiment using multiple simultaneous analyses. All samples were processed and analyzed using the new ICP-MS. It was confirmed that the agreement between the two methods was very high, with the agreement between the current and new methods being 0.769 to 0.998. This study proposes an efficient simultaneous methodology capable of analyzing multiple elements with small samples. In the future, studies of various applications and the reliability of ICP-MS analysis methods are required, and research on the verification of accurate, precise, and continuous analysis methods is required.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.42 no.12
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• pp.1940-1948
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• 2013

This study is conducted to investigate the antioxidative effect of oyster hydrolysates in the serum and liver of SD-rats through the determination of lipid content, production of free radicals and antioxidant enzyme activities. Two different hydrolysates, Protamex-treated and Neutrase-treated hydrolysate with the cross-linking of protein by transglutaminase (TGPN group) and without (PN group), were fed for 6 weeks. TGPN hydrolysate in serum and liver significantly decreased the total cholesterol in the range of 26.1% to 28.9%, and triglyceride in the liver of up to 6.3%. Superoxide radical in the serum and lipid peroxide radical in the liver were significantly decreased in SD-rats fed 200 mg TGPN hydrolysate. Superoxide dismutase activity was significantly decreased in the liver of SD-rats. These results indicate that TGPN hydrolysate could scavenge the superoxide and hydroxyl radicals, and reduce the superoxide dismutase and catalase activities. The TGPN is also protected the oxidation of protein by the free radicals.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.333-341
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• 2018

Ferulate is a phenolic compound abundant in wheat germ and bran and has been investigated for its beneficial activities. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the efficacy of ferulate against the oxidative stress-induced imbalance of protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs), protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs), and serine/threonine protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), in connection with our previous finding that oxidative stress-induced imbalance of PTKs and PTPs is linked with proinflammatory nuclear factor-kappa B $(NF-{\kappa}B)$ activation. To test the effects of ferulate on this process, we utilized two oxidative stress-induced inflammatory models. First, YPEN-1 cells were pretreated with ferulate for 1 hr prior to the administration of 2,2'-Azobis(2-methylpropionamidine) dihydrochloride (AAPH). Second, 20-month-old Sprague-Dawley rats were fed ferulate for 10 days. After ferulate treatment, the activities of PTKs, PTPs, and PP2A were measured because these proteins either directly or indirectly promote $NF-{\kappa}B$ activation. Our results revealed that in YPEN-1 cells, ferulate effectively suppressed AAPH-induced increases in reactive oxygen species (ROS) and $NF-{\kappa}B$ activity, as well as AAPH-induced PTK activation. Furthermore, ferulate also inhibited AAPH-induced PTP and PP2A inactivation. In the aged kidney model, ferulate suppressed aging-induced activation of PTKs and ameliorated aging-induced inactivation of PTPs and PP2A. Thus, herein we demonstrated that ferulate could modulate PTK/PTP balance against oxidative stress-induced inactivation of PTPs and PP2A, which is closely linked with $NF-{\kappa}B$ activation. Based on these results, the ability of ferulate to modulate oxidative stress-related inflammatory processes is established, which suggests that this compound could act as a novel therapeutic agent.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.185-190
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• 2014

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of quinolone resistant E. coli from raw bulk milk and to characterize the resistance determinants. In this study, the gyrA, gyrB, parC, and parE quinolone resistance determining regions (QRDR) were sequenced from quinolone resistant E. coli isolates. Also, the presence of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) and the expression of efflux pump genes based on quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) were investigated. Of the 487 coliform bacteria, 9 strains showed nalidixic acid resistance, and 6 of the 9 nalidixic acid resistant isolates were also ciprofloxacin resistant. These 9 strains had a single mutation at codon 83 (S83L) in gyrA, 2 of them had double mutations at codon 83 and 87 (S83L and D87N) in gyrA and 3 of the 9 isolates had single mutations at codon 80 (S80I) in parC. None of the 9 isolates harbored PMQR determinants. Compared with wild-type E. coli ATCC 25922, an over-expression of the acrB gene (2.15-5.74 fold), encoding the pump component of the AcrAB-TolC efflux pump was observed in 4 of 6 ciprofloxacin resistant isolates. This study identified the quinolone resistance mechanism of E. coli isolated from raw milk samples in Gyeonggi-do.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.108-114
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• 2002

The new system using a glow discharge atomic emission spectrometer for the direct analysis of solid samples has been developed and characterized. The system was consisted of new glow discharge cell improved previous gas-jet boosted nozzle and radio-frequency power supply. In the case of previous type glow discharge chamber, it had been fitted trace analysis of low alloy steel with low discharge power, because it was to decrease redeposition and increase sample weight loss. But it had a problem that plasma becomes unstale due to increased sample weight loss and redeposition resulting from the high discharge power. Because of being problem of previous glow discharge, it is impossible to analyze using high power. The modified gas-jet boosted glow discharge to solve this problem would improve to be less sample loss rate of modified nozzle than sample loss rate of previous nozzle on the equal discharge condition, and improve to increase stability of plasma. The effect of discharge parameters such as discharge pressure, gas flow rate and power on the sample loss rate, emission intensity has been studied to find optimum discharge conditions. The calibration curves of Fe were obtained with 3 low-alloy samples.