• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.176-187
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• 2000

Objectives : This study was purposed to investigate the antioxidative effects of Paeoniae radix aqua-acupuncture solution(PR) on culture liver cell system, lipid peroxidation and antioxidative enzyme activities in tert-butyl hydroperoxide(t-BHP) treatmented conditions. Methods : Cultured normal rat liver cell(Ac2F) were prepared and incubated with or without PR(at 2% volume in culture medium). After 16~18hr, cells placed in DMEM medium without serum, and then incubated with 1mM t-BHP for 2hr. Viable cells were detected by MTT assay, and the levels of lipid peroxide(LPO) were measured by TBA method. And catalase activity was measured as the decrease in hydrogen peroxide absorbance at 240nm on spectrophotometer using 30mM hydrogen peroxide. Superoxide dismutase(SOD) were assayed by recording the inhibition of nitro blue tetrazolium reduction with xanthine and xanthine oxidase. Glutathione peroxidase(GPX) activity was determined by the modified coupled assay developed by Paglia and Lawrence. The reaction was started by addition of 2.2mM hydrogen peroxide as substrate. The change in absorbance at 340nm was measured for 1min on spectrophotometer. Glutathione-S-transferase(GST) activity was assayed with CDNB as substrate and enzyme activity of GST towards the glutathione conjugation of CDNB. Results : Cell killing was significantly enhanced by addition of t-BHP compared to those of untreated group. PR pretreated cell resisted the toxic effects of t-BHP. LPO levels of t-BHP treatment group were significantly higher than other groups. This increased level was significandy reduced by PR pretreatment. The t-BHP treatment resulted in a decrease of catalase, GPX and GST activities. By contrast, PR pretreatment markedly increased compare to those of untreated groups. Conclusions : T-BHP which can produce intracellular free radical was used for inducer of the peroxidation of cellular lipids. PR protected the cell death induced by t-BHP and significantly increased cell viabiliry in the normal rat liver cell, and showed effective inhibition of lipid peroxidation, and elevations of catalase, GPX and GST activities. These results suggested that PR might play a protective role in lipid peroxidation by free radicals.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.285-291
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• 1999

To confirm the food quality of Urechis unicinctus which have been favored as a special raw seafood in southern area in Korea, the chemical composition of Urechis unicinctus and those glycoprotein were studied. Freeze dried Urechis unicinctus was composed of more than 70% of crude protein and 15% of total carbohydrate. The amino acids such as glycine(18.69%), glutamic acid(12.50%) and aspartic acid(9.37%) were noted as major components of total amino acids. The predominant free amino acids were alanine(32.98%), glycine(27.50%), asparagine(19.65%) and taurine(8.29%), and the sum of them were more than 88% to total free amino acids, so they may cause unique taste of Urechis unicinctus with sweetness. As the basis of sugar composition analysis, 56.35% of glucose and 30.49% of N acetylglucosamine were contained respectively, and they might also play an important role in a sweet taste. The leading carbohydrate moiety of glycoprotein from Urechis unicinctus was identified as glucose and N acetylglucosamine similarly to raw muscle, and they occupied more than 50% of total sugar content. Fucose(18.32%) and D glucuronic acid(12.31%) also detected in higher levels com pared to raw muscle. The total amino acid profile of glycoprotein showed a similar trend to raw muscle protein but glycine was detected a significantly lower than that in raw muscle. The glycoprotein from Urechis unicinctus was composed of 4 kinds of subunits, i.e. 25kDa, 20kDa, 18kDa and 12.5kDa of molecular weights through the SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. On the basis of the IR spectrum of absorptions appeared in 1,240cm-1 and 850cm-1, the glycoprotein had sulfate groups.

• Management & Information Systems Review
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.639-661
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• 2012

The purpose of the paper is to examine sidedness effects of comparative advertising and moderating roles of the emotions of customer and product type. To test the research hypotheses, this study conducted experimental designs. One hundred ninety-two undergraduate students were assigned to one of the four experimental groups. Comparative Advertising message type and product type were manipulated as between-subject factors. There was a surprising event situation(free gift event) when participants came to laboratory for experiment, which is for the emotion manipulation. If a participant in a positive emotion group, he or she gets a free gift. The data demonstrate that comparative message type have a significant effect on both attitude toward the advertising and acceptance intention. In addition, consumers' emotion and product type play a significant moderating role between the message types and the dependent variables. The results of this study contribute to the literature as a new attempt to examine the sidedness effect of the comparative advertising message. We suggested that message types and consumer's emotion is one of very important aspects for a comparative advertising and marketers should consider people's emotion when they release a comparative advertising, which can help when marketers make their strategy for a comparative advertising.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.28-33
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• 2003

Pycnogenol (PYC) is believed to have potential as a therapeutic agent against free radical-mediated oxidative stress. It is important, therefore, to understand the interactions between PYC and cellular defenses against oxidative stress. Toward this end, we analyzed the survival rates on the gene expression responses of E. coli sod katG mutants to PYC after pre-treatment of PQ or H$_2$O$_2$-mediated stress under aerobic conditions. We identified SOD induced by PYC, but not HP1 in sod hate mutants. A striking result was the PYC induction of SOD with antioxidant property in single katG mutant cells, particularly MnSOD and CuZnSOD. These inductions were further increased with oxidative stress, while HP1 was not induced in these conditions. The effects of pycnogenol treatment on these cells depend in part on its concentration on the stress response. Protective effects of PYC exposure which affected gene expression in cells were consistent with cell survival rates. Our results demonstrate that pycnogenol may alter the stress response gene expression in a specific manner such as SOXRS because PYC induction of single mutant only worked under increased PQ stress. All together our data indicate that SOD activity is essential for the cellular defense against PQ-mediated oxidative stress, suggesting that PYC may not be effective as an antioxidant in only oxidative stress conditions. On the other hand, it was expected that PYC may play a role as a pro-oxidant and if it is available for use, it should be evaluated carefully.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.175-180
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• 2009

Taurine is the most abundant free amino acid in the retina and transported into retina via taurine transporter (TauT) at the inner blood-retinal barrier (iBRB). In the present study, we investigated whether the taurine transport at the iBRB is regulated by oxidative stress or disease-like state in a conditionally immortalized rat retinal capillary endothelial cell line (TR-iBRB) used as an in vitro model of iBRB. First, [$^3H$]taurine uptake and efflux by TR-iBRB were regulated in the presence of extracellular $Ca^{2+}$. [$^3H$]Taurine uptake was inhibited and efflux was enhanced under $Ca^{2+}$ free condition in the cells. In addition, oxidative stress inducing agents such as tumor necrosis factor-$\alpha$ (TNF-$\alpha$), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), diethyl maleate (DEM) and glutamate increased [$^3H$]taurine uptake and decreased [$^3H$]taurine efflux in TR-iBRB cells. Whereas, 3-morpholinosydnonimine (SIN-1), which is known to NO donor decreased [$^3H$]taurine uptake. Lastly, TR-iBRB cells exposed to high glucose (25 mM) medium and the [$^3H$]taurine uptake was reduced about 20% at the condition. Also, [$^3H$]taurine uptake was decreased by cytochalasin B, which is known to glucose transport inhibitor. In conclusion, taurine transport in TR-iBRB cells is regulated diversely at extracellular $Ca^{2+}$, oxidative stress and hyperglycemic condition. It suggested that taurine would play a role as a retinal protector in diverse disease states.

• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.183-187
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• 1995

The relationship between the intracellular phosphate level and catharanthine production in hairy root cultures of Catharanthus roseus was investigated The growth of hairy root increased in proportion to the phosphate concentration in the growth medium. When hairy roots were cultured in a phosphate-free medium, the catharanthine content was increased to the highest level As the phosphate concentration in the medium was enhanced, the catharanthine content decreased proportionally. Hairy root cultures with elevated intracellular phosphate concentrations indicated that growth was proportional to the level of intracellular phosphate. Catharanthine production increased abruptly below an intracellular phosphate level of $100\;\mumoles/g$ dry wt. The intracellular phosphate level may play a key role in the regulation of growth and secondary metabolite production.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.279-285
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• 2019

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydroxyl (${\cdot}OH$), nitric oxide (NO), and hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) is reported to induce oxidative stress. ROS generated by oxidative stress can potentially damage glial cells in the nervous system. Cordyceps militaris (CM), a kind of natural herb widely found in East Asia. In this study, we investigated the free radical scavenging activity of the CM extract and its neuroprotective effects in $H_2O_2$-induced C6 glial cells. MATERIALS/METHODS: The ethanol extract of CM ($100-1,000{\mu}g/mL$) was used to measure DPPH, ${\cdot}OH$, and NO radical scavenging activities. In addition, hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$)-induced C6 glial cells were treated with CM at $0.5-2.5{\mu}g/mL$ for measurement of cell viability, ROS production, and protein expression resulting from oxidative stress. RESULTS: The CM extract showed high scavenging activities against DPPH, ${\cdot}OH$, and NO radicals at concentration of $1,000{\mu}g/mL$. Treatment of CM with $H_2O_2$-induced oxidative stress in C6 glial cells significantly increased cell viability, and decreased ROS production. Cyclooxygenase-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase protein expression was down-regulated in CM-treated groups. In addition, the protein expression level of phospho-p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p-p38 MAPK), phospho-c-Jun N-terminal kinase (p-JNK), and phospho-extracellular regulated protein kinases (p-ERK) in $H_2O_2$-induced C6 glial cells was down-regulated upon CM administration. CONCLUSION: CM exhibited radical scavenging activity and protective effect against $H_2O_2$ as indicated by the increased cell viability, decreased ROS production, down-regulation of inflammation-related proteins as well as p-p38, p-JNK, and p-ERK protein levels. Therefore, we suggest that CM could play the protective role from oxidative stress in glial cells.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.61.3-61.3
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• 2019

We report the status of KMTNet (Korea Microlensing Telescope Network) microlensing. From KMTNet event-finder, we are annually detecting over 2500 microlensing events. In 2018, we have carried out a real-time alert for only the Northern bulge fields. It was very helpful to select Spitzer targets. Thanks to the real-time alert, KMT-only events for which OGLE and MOA could not detect have been largely increased. The KMTNet event-finder and alert-finder algorithms are being upgraded every year. From these, we found 18 exoplanets and various interesting events, such as an exomoon-candidate, a free-floating candidate, and brown dwarfs, which are very difficult to be detected by other techniques including radial velocity and transit. In 2019, the KMTNet alert will be available in real-time for all bulge fields. As before, we will continue to collaborate with Spitzer team to measure the microlens parallaxes, which are required for estimating physical parameters of the lens. Thus, the KMTNet alert will be helpful to select Spitzer targets again. Also we plan to do follow-up observations for high-magnification events to study the planet multiplicity function. The KMTNet alert will play an important role to do follow-up observations for high-magnification events. Also, we will search for free-floating planets with short timescale (< 3 days) to study the planet frequency in our Galaxy.

• BLOOD RESEARCH
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.276-280
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• 2018

Background Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) exhibits profound heterogeneity in its clinical course. Its clinicohematological and cytogenetic features play a significant role in determining the clinical course and in predicting the treatment response and prognosis. In this context, 17p deletion is known to predict a poor prognosis, as these cases are refractory to conventional therapy. This study aimed to evaluate the clinicohematological characteristics, outcomes, and prognostic factors among CLL patients with and without del 17p in Pakistan. Methods This prospective observational study was conducted at the Department of Haematology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (Rawalpindi, Pakistan) between January 2013 and December 2017. Patients were diagnosed based on the International Workshop on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia IWCLL criteria, their clinicohematological parameters were recorded, and cytogenetic analyses were performed. The time from diagnosis to treatment and the 2-year overall survival rate were also evaluated. Results We evaluated 130 CLL cases, including 24 patients (18.5%) with del 17p, who included 18 men (75%) and 6 women (25%). The median age was 68 years. Binet stage C was detected at the presentation in 16 patients (67%). Treatment was administered to 14 patients (70%) at a median interval of 11 months (range, 0-28 mo) after diagnosis. The overall response rate was 64.3%, the median event-free survival was 9 months (range, 1-23 mo), and the 2-year overall survival rate was 65%. Conclusion Del 17p is relatively common in Pakistan, and patients harboring this deletion had poor treatment response and survival outcomes.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.205-224
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• 2020

Purpose - This study aimed to identify the effects of ownership structures on agency costs in internationally diversified firms listed on the KOSDAQ market. Design/methodology/approach - A total of 5,824 samples were finally selected and empirically analyzed for a total of nine years from 2011 to 2019, during which the International Accounting Standards had been mandatory for firms listed on the KOSDAQ market. Findings - The results of this study showed that the effects of ownership structures on the ratio of asset turnover are positive for the major share and foreign equity ratios of international diversified firms. Moreover, by selecting the ratio of entertainment expenses as a proxy for agency expenses, this study confirmed that the effects of the ownership structure of an international diversified entity on entertainment expenditure were determined to show a significantly negative relation to entertainment expenditure, thus indicating that the higher the ratio of major shareholders, the more appropriately control the expenditure of entertainment expenses through arbitrary private deviations of the management.Furthermore, considering the effect of the ownership structure on the expenditure of sales and administrative expenses as a proxy variable for agency costs, this study verified that the majority share ratio of international diversified firms was negative to the expenditure of sales and administrative expenses, confirming that the higher the share of major shareholders, the lower the selling and administrative costs, but insignificant.Finally, as a result of determining whether the ownership structure of an international diversified firm affects the holding of free cash, the majority share of this firm shows a significantly negative relation to the ratio of the holding of surplus cash, indicating that the higher the proportion of major shareholders, the more appropriately control the holding of the entity's free cash through arbitrary private deviance by the manager. Research implications or Originality - Major shareholders of an internationally diversified firm listed on the KOSDAQ market play a positive role in the firm's performance by properly controlling agency costs that may be incurred by the management.