• Molecules and Cells
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.126-132
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• 2014

As a tumor suppressor homologue during mitosis, Chk2 is involved in replication checkpoints, DNA repair, and cell cycle arrest, although its functions during mouse oocyte meiosis and early embryo development remain uncertain. We investigated the functions of Chk2 during mouse oocyte maturation and early embryo development. Chk2 exhibited a dynamic localization pattern; Chk2 expression was restricted to germinal vesicles at the germinal vesicle (GV) stage, was associated with centromeres at pro-metaphase I (Pro-MI), and localized to spindle poles at metaphase I (MI). Disrupting Chk2 activity resulted in cell cycle progression defects. First, inhibitor-treated oocytes were arrested at the GV stage and failed to undergo germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD); this could be rescued after Chk2 inhibition release. Second, Chk2 inhibition after oocyte GVBD caused MI arrest. Third, the first cleavage of early embryo development was disrupted by Chk2 inhibition. Additionally, in inhibitor-treated oocytes, checkpoint protein Bub3 expression was consistently localized at centromeres at the MI stage, which indicated that the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) was activated. Moreover, disrupting Chk2 activity in oocytes caused severe chromosome misalignments and spindle disruption. In inhibitor-treated oocytes, centrosome protein ${\gamma}$-tubulin and Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) were dissociated from spindle poles. These results indicated that Chk2 regulated cell cycle progression and spindle assembly during mouse oocyte maturation and early embryo development.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.59-73
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• 2000

Depression is a psychiatric syndrom consisting of dejected mood, psychomotor retardation, insomnia and weight loss, sometimes associated with irrational guilt feeling. And it is also similiar to Hwa-byung(火病) symptom in oriental medicine. But it is difficult to diagnose with objective method. Digital Infrared Thermographic Imaging(D.I.T.I.) is one of diagnotic method that measure the changes of skin temperature in body. Specially we checked the skin temperature on depressed patients by using D.I.T.I. and compared with Bell's palsy patients and normal persons group. The results are as follows; Average body temperature of the depressed patient group is $36.68{\pm}0.43^{\circ}C.$ and that of the control group is $36.73{\pm}0.40^{\circ}C.$. So there is no meaningful difference. The depressed patient group has higher temperature than the control group by ${\triangle}T>1.0^{\circ}C$ at the following acupuncture points in these body parts - upper and lower, left and right, anterior and posterior. When acupuncture points temperature was compared superior and inferior part of the body, depressed patient group have meaningful difference at the GV-4(Myung-moon) and also in the control group. When acupuncture points temperature was compared left and right part of the body, depressed patient group have no meaningful difference and also in the control group. When acupuncture points temperature was compared in the anterior and posterior part of the body, depressed patient group have meaningful difference at the GV-4(Myung- moon) and also in the control group. From this study, we think that D.I.T.I. could be used to diagnose objectively on the depressed patients and useful to another psychoneurogenic diagnosis in oriental medicine.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.275-281
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• 2010

The aim of this study was to investigate what protein(s) of porcine epididymal fluid (pEF) are able to enhance the nuclear maturation of porcine germinal vesicle (GV) oocytes in vitro. Proteins of pEF were fractionated by affinity, ion exchange, and gel filtration chromatography. Porcine cumulus-oocytes complexes (COC) from follicles were cultured in tissue culture medium (TCM 199) containing various fractions obtained by chromatography. Porcine COCs were also cultured in TCM 199 containing various meiosis inhibitors and pEF. After 24 or 48 h culture, oocytes were examined for evidence of GV breakdown, metaphase I, anaphase-telophase I, and metaphase II. When porcine COCs were cultured in the medium with meiosis inhibitor such as, dibutyryl cAMP (dbcAMP) and forskolin (Fo), more than 80% of oocytes were unable to resume meiosis. However, porcine COCs supplemented with pEF were able to overcome the inhibitory effect of dbcAMP and Fo. Maturation rate of oocytes was significantly (p<0.05) increased in the media supplemented with cationic protein(s) during in vitro maturation than in those with anionic protein(s) (44.1% vs 20.0%). When oocytes were cultured in the TCM 199 with fractions obtained by gel filtration, the maturation rate of oocytes was significantly (p<0.05) higher in fraction 11 containing 18 kDa than other fractions. The present study suggests that 1) dbcAMP and Fo prevent the spontaneous maturation of oocyte after isolation from follicles, and that pEF contain a substance(s) that improves meiosis resumption in vitro of porcine COCs, 2) cationic 18 kDa protein(s) are responsible for promotion of Mil stage.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.528-534
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• 2009

The study of germination and seedling growth characteristics of Neem under different soil and environment conditions was undertaken. The seed germination started 8 days after sowing in commercial bed soil, whereas, delayed germination was observed in sandy-loam (15 days) and sandy (19 days) soil. The highest germination (73.33%) was observed in commercial bed soil in green house, whereas, the lowest germination was observed in sandy soil (16.67%) and sandy-loam soil (8.33%). The seeds in the open field (sandy soil) also showed poor (10%) germination. The mean number of germination seed/day (GD) and seed germination vigor rate (GV) both were highest in the commercial bed soil with 0.733% and 16.67% respectively in the green house, whereas sandy and sandy-loam soil in green house and open field (sandy soil) all showed much lower GD and GV values. The seedling characteristics of nursery revealed that the seedling grown in the growth chamber in commercial bed soil was significantly higher in all the parameters comparing to others grown in green house and open field. The growth was nearly 7 fold in the chamber compared to that of the green house nursery observed in three months old seedlings. Likewise, HPLC analysis revealed that the green house grown seedling contain higher quantity of pigments compare to the chamber grown seedlings. Among the soils used the commercial soil alone or in combination with sandy and sandy-loam soil in the ratio of 2:1:1 respectively with the temperature of $27{\pm}2^{\circ}C$ showed better for Neem nursery preparation.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.201-211
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• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to comprehensively review Korean domestic studies and investigate the research trends of pharmacopuncture therapy on cervical pain caused by traffic accidents. Methods: Domestic studies between February 1999 and May 2020 from four Korean databases were searched with combinations of keywords 'cervical pain', 'traffic accident', 'whiplash injury', and 'pharmacopuncture'. Results: 17 studies were selected for review, including 7 randomized controlled trials, 5 retrospective observational studies, 3 case reports, and 2 non-randomized controlled trials. Each study was reviewed by published year, study type, types of pharmacopuncture solutions, selected acupuncture points, dosage of pharmacopuncture solutions, frequency of treatment, concurrent treatments, outcome measurements, and the effectiveness of pharmacopuncture therapy. The results are as follows: (1) It showed that the total number of published studies had increased slightly in the last 10 years compared to the previous decade. (2) The pharmacopuncture solutions used in the studies were in the following order: Bee-Venom (蜂毒), Jungsongouhyul (中性瘀血), Hwangryunhaedoktang (黃連解毒湯) and Soyeom (消炎). Frequently used acupuncture points were GB20, GV21, A-shi point, GV16, EX-B2, and SI15 in order. (3) The most commonly used total injection dosage was 1.0 cc at a time, and the frequency of treatment was twice a week. (4) Concurrent treatments such as acupuncture, herbal medication, physical therapy and Chuna manual therapy were performed in all 17 studies. (5) Pharmacopuncture therapy showed positive effects on cervical pain caused by traffic accidents in all 17 studies reviewed. Conclusion: Pharmacopuncture therapy was effective in cervical pain caused by traffic accidents in all 17 studies selected. Further studies will be needed using more larger scales and more objective data to confirm the effectiveness of pharmacopuncture therapy and to generalize its application.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.162-171
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• 2024

Objectives: Electroacupuncture (EA) has been demonstrated to aid stroke recovery. However, few investigations have focused on identifying the potent molecular targets of EA by comparing EA stimulation between naïve and disease models. Therefore, this study was undertaken to identify the potent molecular therapeutic mechanisms underlying EA stimulation in ischemic stroke through a comparison of mRNA sequencing data obtained from EA-treated naïve control and ischemic stroke mouse models. Methods: Using both naïve control and middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) mouse models, EA stimulation was administered at two acupoints, Baihui (GV20) and Dazhui (GV14), at a frequency of 2 Hz. Comprehensive assessments were conducted, including behavioral evaluations, RNA sequencing to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs), functional enrichment analysis, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis, and quantitative real-time PCR. Results: EA stimulation ameliorated the ischemic insult-induced motor dysfunction in mice with ischemic stroke. Comparative analysis between control vs. MCAO, control vs. control + EA, and MCAO vs. MCAO + EA revealed 4,407, 101, and 82 DEGs, respectively. Of these, 30, 7, and 1 were common across the respective groups. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses revealed upregulated DEGs associated with the regulation of inflammatory immune response in the MCAO vs. MCAO + EA comparison. Conversely, downregulated DEGs in the control vs. control + EA comparison were linked to neuronal development. PPI analysis revealed major clustering related to the regulation of cytokines, such as Cxcl9, Pcp2, Ccl11, and Cxcl13, in the common DEGs of MCAO vs. MCAO + EA, with Esp8l1 identified as the only common downregulated DEG in both EA-treated naïve and ischemic models. Conclusion: These findings underscore the diverse potent mechanisms of EA stimulation between naïve and ischemic stroke mice, albeit with few overlaps. However, the potent mechanisms underlying EA treatment in ischemic stroke models were associated with the regulation of inflammatory processes involving cytokines.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.249-254
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• 2009

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the fertilization and cleavage rates of human in vitro matured oocytes after fertilized by conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Methods: A total of 135 GV stage oocytes were obtained from 59 women who received ovarian stimulation and IVF during Jan 2007 to Oct 2008. Ovarian hyperstimulation was performed using hMG or recombinant FSH with GnRH antagonist and then ovulation triggered by recombinant hCG. The immature oocytes obtained from stimulation cycles were cultured in IVM medium up to 48 hrs; commercial medium supplemented with rFSH 75 mIU/mL, rhCG 0.5 IU/mL and rEGF 10 ng/mL. The in vitro matured oocytes were fertilized by conventional IVF (41 GV oocytes) or ICSI method (94 GV oocytes). Results: Maturation rate were 51.2% and 59.6% in conventional IVF group and ICSI group, respectively. There was no significant difference in fertilization rates between two groups; 71.4% and 80.4%, respectively. The cleavage rate was also similar in two groups. Conclusion: The presented data suggest that conventional IVF has comparable fertilization and cleavage potential compared with ICSI as the insemination method of immature human oocytes obtained from stimulated cycle.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.89-98
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• 1987

The research of fused oocytes was conducted to investigate the in vitro mejotic maturation of immature oocytes (GV oocytes) fused with oocytes in germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD oocytes) in the presence of dbcAMP which is known as one of the strong inhibitors to GVBD. The immature oocytes fused together as well as those fused with GVBD oocytes proceeded to GVBD in 3 hr culture in plain medium. But in the medium containing dbcAMP (100$\mu$g/ml), the immature oocytes fused together did not show any GVBD and thus the fusion itself could not affect the inhibitory activity of dbcAMP. However, all of the immature oocytes fused with GVBD oocytes underwent GVBD in 3 hr culture despite of the presence of dbcAMP. When the culture was extended to 20 hr, nearly all of the immature oocytes fused together were still arrested at the GV stage in the presence of dbcAMP. But most of the fused oocytes which had shown GVBD during 3 hr culture developed to metaphase II stage extruding one or two polar bodies regardless of the presence of dbcAMP. In this experiment, it was found that two sets of the metaphase chromosomes were somewhat concomitant with a pair of the polar bodies in the fused egg. Upon the results of the present studies, it is assumed that there may be a maturation promoting factor(s) in the cytoplasm of the GVBD occytes, and this factor(s) possibly nullifies the function of dbcAMP.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.537-550
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• 1998

Purpose ; This Investigation was aimed to find out the Acupuncture therapy of verbal disturbance after stroke in Oriental Medicine. Methods ; We surveyed the oriental medical books which are from to recent published books that have articles about verbal disturbance. Results ; It is used on Acupuncture points: Yomchon(CV23), Amun(GV15), Chondol(CV22), Tongni(HT5), Pungnyung(ST40), Pungbu(GV16), Crugu(TE6), Yongchon(KI1), Hapkok(LI4), Paekoe(GV20), Kokchi(LI11), Puryu(KI7), Shinsu(BL23), Kumjin-okaek, Chohae(KI6). Conclusions ; The concept of phonation organ in Neiching is same as that of modern physiology. Verbal disturbance includes aphasia, dysarthrosis, aphonia, etc. The acupuncture treatment of verbal disturbance after stroke could be effective. Verbal disturbance of central nervous disease is relative with Sul-um(舌?) and that of periperal nervous disease is relative with Hu-um(侯?) in oriental medicine. From the above research, we could conclude that the acupuncture therapy on verbal disturbance should start from finding out the proper acu-points and theories in ancient oriental books and recent books and we will apply those acu-points and theories in clinic. We also concluded that the more research on clinical part should be performed.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.87-100
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• 2010

Background : Recently a discussion about Qi including a study about the effect or the theory of acupuncture is getting prevailing in various angles. In most of studies about acupuncture stimulus, 'Filiform acupuncture'(毫鍼) is used. A study about Nine kinds of acupuncture(九鍼), except 'Filiform acupuncture'(毫鍼) has not been reported yet, and there is no study about using a special acupuncture made for controling Qi either. Objectives : 'Dong Chu Gold Chim(DCG-chim, 東樞金鍼)' can be used for patients who are scared of a pain because it is a medical Qi-gong tool and non-invasive stimulus one. To assess a effect of Qi-gong operation using DCG-chim objectively Methods : The present study was performed to elucidate the effects of DCG-chim stimulation of an acupuncture point Baihui($GV_{20}$) on the Electroencephalogram(EEG). Twenty healthy subject were treated with DCG-chim one time accompanied by the light and vertical pressure and EEG were measured during five minutes for three times (before, during and after treatment). The EEG results of DCG-chim treatment were compared with those of 'Filiform acupuncture(毫鍼)'. Results : EEG power spectra changed significantly after both kind of acupuncture stimulation. Significant increase of $\alpha$ wave and decrease of $\beta$ wave were observed but interestingly, Mid-$\beta$ and SMR of $\beta$ wave which mean the state of concentration were increased with statistically significant. According to these results, DCG-chim stimulation of Baihui($GV_{20}$) seems to lead to relaxation with antianxietic effect and improvement of concentration at the same time. Conclusions : It would be expected that the doctor can apply DCG-chim for treating anxiety, tension, symptom caused by stress and also can use it clinically for patients who have needlphopia or children as a non-invasive procedure. It is suggested that additional studies about the effect of DCG-chim on other acupuncture points and comparison study about the effect of DCG-chim with those of the finger-pressure treatment using other tool should be done in the future.