• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.229-244
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• 1991

A bioassay technique and organ bath study were performed to analyze the effects of extracellular $Ca^{2+}$ and $Ca^{2+}$-antagonists on endothelium-derived relaxing factor[s][EDRF] released from the endothelial cells of rabbit aorta. Transverse strips with intact endothelium or damaged endothelium were used for the mechanical contraction experiment using organ bath. Long segment including thoracic and abdominal aorta with endothelium [EDRF donor aorta] was perfused with Tyrode solution which was aerated with 95% $O_2-5%$ $CO_2$ mixed gas and kept at 35oC. The perfusate was bioassayed with a transverse strip of thoracic aorta with damaged endothelium. The test strip was contracted with nor-epinephrine and acetylcholine was used to stimulate the release of EDRF from endothelial cells. The results obtained were as follows; 1] The endothelium-dependent relaxation[EDR] induced by acetylcholine was biphasic; an initial rapid relaxation followed by a slow relaxation. 2] EDR induced by acetylcholine was reduced gradually with the decrease in the concentration of extracellular $Ca^{2+}$. The effect of extracellular $Ca^{2+}$ on EDR was more prominent in the late slow relaxation phase. 3] EDR to acetylcholine was not altered by acute exposure to organic $Ca^{2+}$-antagonists. Pretreatment with verapamil to the EDRF donor aortic segment did not alter the magnitude of EDR. 4] Among the inorganic $Ca^{2+}$-antagonists $Mn^{2+}$ and $Cd^{2+}$ did not inhibit EDR, whereas $Co^{2+}$ and $La^{3+}$ inhibited EDR. 5] The inhibitory response of $Co^{2+}$ to EDR developed when infused directly on the test strip. That of $La^{3+}$, however, was evoked when added to solution perfusing the donor aortic segment. The above results suggest that $Ca^{2+}$-antagonists do not affect EDR and the inhibitory effect of $Ca^{2+}$ results from influencing the action of EDRF on vascular smooth muscle, whereas that of $La^{3+}$ results from its action on the release of EDRF from endothelial cells.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.145-156
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• 2003

Objective : This study is to investigate the effect of electro-acupuncture ST36 on altered transmission of afferent somatosensory information caused by amyloid-${\beta}$(A-${\beta}$) that caused Alzheimer's disease. Methods : The effects of topical application of A-${\beta}$, A-${\beta}$ with ST36, aggregated A-${\beta}$(aA-${\beta}$), aA-${\beta}$ with ST36 and ST36 on the afferent sensory transmission to the neurons in the primary somatosensory(SI) cortex was observed in anesthetized rats. Quantitative determination of the effects of A-${\beta}$, A-${\beta}$ with ST36, aA-${\beta}$, aA-${\beta}$ with ST36 and ST36 was made by generating poststimulus time histogram of evoked response of individual cortical neuron by electrical stimulation of the receptive located in peripheral area(forepaw) Results : The results obtained in present study were summerized as follow : 1. Application of physiological concentrative 0.5 nM A-${\beta}$ caused afferent sensory transmission of SI cortex facilitated. 0.5 nM A-${\beta}$ with ST36 exerted much stronger effects than 0.5 nM A-${\beta}$ alone. 2. Application of $10{\mu}M$ A-${\beta}$ caused afferent sensory transmission of SI cortex unchangeable. But $10{\mu}M$ A-${\beta}$ with ST36 is facilitated at 30 min of post-drug period 3. Application of $10{\mu}M$ aA-${\beta}$ caused afferent sensory transmission of SI cortex diminished. $10{\mu}M$ aA-${\beta}$ with ST36 is diminished after 15min of post-drug period but is facilitated after 75min.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.28 no.9
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• pp.995-1001
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• 2005

Morphine-induced analgesia has been shown to be antagonized by ginseng total saponins (GTS), which also inhibit the development of analgesic tolerance to and physical dependence on morphine. GTS is involved in both of these processes by inhibiting morphine-6-dehydrogenase, which catalyzes the synthesis of morphinone from morphine, and by increasing the level of hepatic glutathione, which participates in the toxicity response. Thus, the dual actions of ginseng are associated with the detoxification of morphine. In addition, the inhibitory or facilitated effects of GTS on electrically evoked contractions in guinea pig ileum (I-L-receptors) and mouse vas deferens $(\delta-receptors)$ are not mediated through opioid receptors, suggesting the involvement of non-opioid mechanisms. GTS also attenuates hyperactivity, reverse tolerance (behavioral sensitization), and conditioned place preference induced by psychotropic agents, such as methamphetamine, cocaine, and morphine. These effects of GTS may be attributed to complex pharmacological actions between dopamine receptors and a serotonergic/adenosine $A_{2A}1\delta-opioid$ receptor complex. Ginsenosides also attenuate the morphine-induced cAMP signaling pathway. Together, the results suggest that GTS may be useful in the prevention and therapy of the behavioral side effects induced by psychotropic agents.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.156-162
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• 1994

Objectives: Eyeblinking varied depending on individual cognitive abilities or personality traits thought to related to brain mechanisms of sensory modulation. This study explored whether personality traits are related to the rate of eye blinks and how eyeblink and evoked potential augumenting-reducing(EPAR) interact Methods: Forty four students were studied with EPAR topography to explore how eyeblinks, personality and EPAR interact The Zuckerman Sensation Seeking Scale(SSS) and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire(EPQ) were used as personality measured by a stimulus response program during EP study. Results: Rate of blink increased as intensity of light increased. The General(GEN), Thrill and Adventure Seeking(TAS), Experience Seeking(ES) and Disinhibition(DS) subscales in SSS and Extraversion-Introversion(E) subscale in EPQ showed significant negative correlations with number of eyeblinks in the hightest intensity of light, whereas Neuroticism(N) subscales in EPQ showed a positive correlation. Correlation between number of eyeblinks with the brightest light and EPAR slope varied topographically. The strongest positive correlation was noted in right posterior temporal area. Conclusion: High sensation seekers blinked significantly fewer times than lower sensation seeker did. Higher personality correlations with eyeblink than with EP may imply that the eyeblink works as a primary filter since it is more directly related to central mechanisms of sensory modulation than EP. The right posterior temporal area may play an important role in modulation of visual stimuli.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.316-322
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• 2014

A movie recommendation system is proposed to learn a preference model of a viewer by using multimodal features of a video content and their evoked implicit responses of the viewer in synchronized manner. In this system, facial expression, body posture, and physiological signals are measured to estimate the affective states of the viewer, in accordance with the stimuli consisting of low-level and affective features from video, audio, and text streams. Experimental results show that it is possible to predict arousal response, which is measured by electrodermal activity, of a viewer from auditory and text features in a video stimuli, for estimating interestingness on the video.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.125-129
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• 2008

Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate ($IP_3$) plays an important role in the release of $Ca^{2+}$ from intracellular stores into the cytoplasm in a variety of cell types. $IP_3$ translocation dynamics have been studied in response to many types of cell signals. However, the dynamics of cytosolic $IP_3$ in salivary acinar cells are unclear. A green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged pleckstrin homology domain (PHD) was constructed and introduced into a phospholipase C ${\delta}1$ (PLC ${\delta}1$) transgenic mouse, and then the salivary acinar cells were isolated. GFP-PHD was heterogeneously localized at the plasma membrane and intracellular organelles in submandibular gland and parotid gland cells. Application of trypsin, a G protein-coupled receptor activator, to the two types of cells caused an increase in GFP fluorescence in the cell cytoplasm. The observed time course of trypsin-evoked $IP_3$ movement in acinar cells was independent of cell polarity, and the fluorescent label showed an immediate increase throughout the cells. These results suggest that GFP-PHD in many tissues of transgenic mice, including non-cultured primary cells, can be used as a model for examination of $IP_3$ intracellular dynamics.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.236-241
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• 2010

Background: Selective inhibitors of cycloosygenase (COX)-2 are commonly used analgesics in various pain conditions. Although their actions are largely thought to be mediated by the blockade of prostaglandin (PG) biosynthesis, evidences suggesting endogenous opioid peptide link in spinal antinociception of COX inhibitor have been reported. We investigated the roles of opioid receptor subtypes in the spinal antionociception of selective COX-2 inhibitor. Methods: To examine the antionociception of a selective COX-2 inhibitor, DUP-697 was delivered through an intrathecal catheter, 10 minutes before the formalin test in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Then, the effect of intrathecal pretreatment with CTOP, naltrindole and GNTI, which are ${\mu}$, $\delta$, and k opioid receptor antagonist, respectively, on the analgesia induced by DUP-697 was assessed. Results: Intrathecal DUP-697 reduced the flinching response evoked by formalin injection during phase 1 and 2 Naltrindole and GNTI attenuated the antinociceptive effect of intrathecal DUP-697 during both phases of the formalin test, CTOP reversed the antinociception of DUP-697 during phase 2, but not during phase 1, Conclusions: Intrathecal DUP-697, a selective COX-2 inhibitor, effectively relieved inflammatory pain in rats. The $\delta$ and $\kappa$ opioid receptors are involved in the activity of COX-2 inhibitor on the facilitated state as well as acute pain at the spinal level, whereas the ${\mu}$ opioid receptor is related only to facilitated pain.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.60 no.11
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• pp.353-358
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• 2017

Purpose: To develop and evaluate a simple screening tool to assess hearing loss in newborns. A derived score was compared with the standard clinical practice tool. Methods: This cohort study was designed to screen the hearing of newborns using transiently evoked otoacoustic emission and auditory brain stem response, and to determine the risk factors associated with hearing loss of newborns in 3 tertiary hospitals in Northern Thailand. Data were prospectively collected from November 1, 2010 to May 31, 2012. To develop the risk score, clinical-risk indicators were measured by Poisson risk regression. The regression coefficients were transformed into item scores dividing each regression-coefficient with the smallest coefficient in the model, rounding the number to its nearest integer, and adding up to a total score. Results: Five clinical risk factors (Craniofacial anomaly, Ototoxicity, Birth weight, family history [Relative] of congenital sensorineural hearing loss, and Apgar score) were included in our COBRA score. The screening tool detected, by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, more than 80% of existing hearing loss. The positive-likelihood ratio of hearing loss in patients with scores of 4, 6, and 8 were 25.21 (95% confidence interval [CI], 14.69-43.26), 58.52 (95% CI, 36.26-94.44), and 51.56 (95% CI, 33.74-78.82), respectively. This result was similar to the standard tool (The Joint Committee on Infant Hearing) of 26.72 (95% CI, 20.59-34.66). Conclusion: A simple screening tool of five predictors provides good prediction indices for newborn hearing loss, which may motivate parents to bring children for further appropriate testing and investigations.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.1032-1038
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• 2005

Using the 2-channel DROS SQUID (Korea Research Institute of Standards of Science, 1999), the present study was carried out to record changes elicited in the auditory cortex by acupuncture stimulus (right GB43, Xiaxi). Needle-retention and manual needle-twitching stimulation of GB43 and SP1 were done for acquiring the brain activities changed by acupuncture. Acupoint GB43 is known to be effective for the treatment of ear-related disease, such as deafness and tinnitus, and to be suspected to be related to the auditory cortex. Auditory evoked magnetic fields were recorded from the left hemisphere of five or four subjects, in response to contralateral ear stimulation by irregularly spaced 170msec long 1kHz tone busts (Korea Research Institute of Standards of Science). The result as follows The latency and amplitude of SQUID MEG responses at the human auditory cortex changed by needle-retention condition on GB43 were 7.2msec and 1.617, respectively, which were slower and larger than those of no-acupuncture condition. The amplitude of SQUID MEG responses at the human auditory cortex changed by needle-twitching condition on GB43 was 13.517, which was larger than that of no-acupuncture condition. The change in SP1 following GB43 needle-twitching condition were not observed in latency. The amplitude changed by needle-twitching condition on SP1 was 12.2fT, which was not significant. These results suggested that auditory cortex can be affected by acupuncture stimulus, though not specific or significant because of small number of subjects.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 1998.11a
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• pp.146-146
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• 1998

The present study was designed to examine the effect of total ginseng saponin on contractile responses of vasoconstrictors in the rat aorta. Phenylephrine (an adrenergic ${\alpha}$$_1$-receptor agonist) and high potassium (a membrane depolarizing agent) caused greatly contractile responses in the rat aorta, respectively. However, in the presence of total ginseng saponin (600 $\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$), the contractile responses of phenylephrine (10$\^$-5/ and 10$\^$-7/ M) and high potassium (3.5 ${\times}$ 10$\^$-2/ and 5.6 ${\times}$ 10$\^$-2/ M) were markedly potentiated whereas prostaglandin F$\sub$2${\alpha}$/ (5 ${\times}$ 10$\^$-6/ M)-induced contractile response was not affected. The contractile responses induced by phenylephrine (10$\^$-5/ M) and high potassium (3.5 ${\times}$ 10$\^$-2/ M) even in the presence of total ginseng saponin (600 $\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$) were greatly inhibited by the pretreatment of nicardipine (10$\^$-6/ M), a calcium channel blocker. Taken together, these experimental results suggest that total ginseng saponin can enhance the contractile responses evoked by stimulation of adrenergic ${\alpha}$$_1$-receptor and the membrane depolarization in the rat aorta, which seems to be associated to calcium influx.