• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.106-127
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• 2019

This study aims to understand spatio-temporal variations of macrozoobenthos community in Han River (HRE), Geum River (GRE), and Nakdong River estuaries (NRE) of Korea, sampled by National Survey of Marine Ecosystem. The survey was seasonally performed at a total of 20 stations for three years (2015-2017). Sediment samples were taken three times with van Veen grab of $0.1m^2$) areal size and sieved through a 1 mm pore size mesh on site. A total of 1,008 species were identified with 602 species in HRE, 612 in GRE, and 619 in NRE, showing similar number of species between estuaries. Mean density was $1,357ind./m^2$, showing the high in NRE ($1,357ind./m^2$), mid in GRE ($1,357ind./m^2$), and low in HRE ($1,127ind./m^2$). Mean biomass was $116.8g/m^2$, showing similar variations to density ($174.2g/m^2$ in NRE, $129.0g/m^2$ in GRE, $49.0g/m^2$ in HRE). Polychaeta dominated in number of species and density in three estuaries. Biomass-dominated taxon was Mollusca in HRE and GRE, and Echinodermata in NRE. Polychaetous species dominated all three estuaries over 4% of density, such as Dispio oculata, Heteromastus filiformis and Aonides oxycephala in HRE, Heteromastus filiformis and Scoletoma longifolia in GRE, and Pseudopolydora sp. and Aphelochaeta sp. in NRE, showing various density between estuaries. Community structure was determined by various environmental variables among estuaries such as mean grain size and sorting (HRE), salinity and mean grain size (GRE), and salinity, dissolved oxygen, loss on ignition and mud content (NRE). Our study demonstrates the application of different measures to manage ecosystems in three estuaries. HRE needs to alleviate sedimentary stressors such as sand mining, land-filling, dike construction. Management of GRE should be focused on fresh water control and sedimentary stressors. In NRE, monitoring of dominant benthos and process study on hypoxia occurrence in inner Masan Bay are necessary.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.550-558
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• 2021

Fructus Corni, the fruit of Cornus officinalis, has long been used for the prevention and treatment of various diseases. We recently suggested that it was effective against benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of Corni Fructus (CF) water extract on BPH induced by testosterone propionate (TP) in noncastrated and castrated animal models. BPH was induced in Sprague Dawley rats by an intramuscular injection of TP in castrated or noncastrated rats. Finasteride (FINA) treatment was used as a positive control for inhibition of BPH. According to our results, CF administration inhibited excessive enlargement of development of the prostate in both the noncastrated and castrated groups compared to the control and FINA-treated groups. The inhibitory effect of CF on BPH was associated with inhibition of expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α, 5α-reductase type 2, steroid receptor coactivator-1, androgen receptor (AR), and prostate-specific antigen. Serum levels of the stress hormone cortisol increased during BPH induction by TP in both the noncastrated and castrated groups, but they were attenuated significantly by CF administration. However, insulin and IGF-1 levels were not increased in the BPH-induced groups and CF, and no effective results were found by CF administration. These results point to a beneficial effect of CF on BPH through inhibition of AR signaling pathway activity and imply that CF shows excellent potential as a therapeutic agent for the prevention and treatment of BPH.