• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.404-409
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• 1999

The inhibitory effects of the constituents of Gastrodia elata Bl. (GE) on glutamate-induced apoptosis in human neuronal cells were investigated using IMR32 human neuroblastoma cells. Glutamate (GLU) induced DNA fragmentation, a hallmark of apoptosis, in a dose-dependent manner. GLU also induced a slow and sustained increase in intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ concentration. Treatment with EGTA, an extracellular $Ca^{2+}$ chelator, in a nominal $Ca^{2+}$ -free buffer solution abolished the GLU-induced intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ increase, indicating that GLU stimulated Ca2+ influx pathway in the IMR32 cells. BAPTA, an intracellualr $Ca^{2+}$ chelator, significantly inhibited the GLU-induced apoptosis assessed by the flow cytometry measuring hypodiploid DNA content indicative of apoptosis, implying that intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ rise may mediate the apoptotic action of GLU. Vanillin (VAN) and p-hydroxybenzaldehyde(p-HB), known constituents of GE, significantly inhibited both intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ rise and apoptosis induced by GLU. These results suggest that the apoptosis-inhibitory actions of the constituents of GE may account, at least in part, for the basis of their antiepileptic activities. These results further suggest that intracelluarl $Ca^{2+}$ signaling pathway may be a molecular target of the constituents of GE.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.33-44
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• 2006

This paper presents a review of small-to-medium-sized, pressurized-water-cooled nuclear power reactors whose major primary coolant systems are integrated into a reactor pressure vessel, the concepts categorized as Integrated Primary System Nuclear Reactors (IPSRs). Typical examples of these proposals of interest in this review are CAREM, SMART, IRIS and IMR, all of which are being aimed at the near term deployment. Emphasis is placed on thermal hydraulic aspects. A brief characterization of the IPSR concepts is made and comparisons of plant key parameters are shown. Discussions will follow for the core cooling under rated power conditions and natural circulation heat removal on the basis of the design data available in the public domain.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.308-311
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• 2007

Inhibition of acetylcholinesterase and amyloid beta(1-42) peptide is good drug targets for Alzheimer's disease therapeutics. Among the twenty enthusiasm reducing herbals, the 70% methanol extracts (1 mg/ml) of Moutan Radicis Cortex and Forsythiae Fructus showed 91.5% and 85.3% about acethylcholinesterase inhibition, respectively. The extracts (1 mg/ml) of Coptidis Rhizoma and Paeoniae Radix Rubra showed more than 85% inhibition rate against amyloid beta (1-42) peptide aggregation. The neuroprotective effect of the extracts (1 mg/ml) of Moutan Radicis Cortex, Forsythiae Fructus and Paeoniae Radix Rubra showed 90.0%, 87.4% and 85.1% to compare with amyloid beta (1-42) peptide treated cells (IMR-32), respectively. Three herbs, Moutan Radicis Cortex, Forsythiae Fructus and Paeoniae Radix Rubra are promising candidates from natural products for development of Alzheimer's disease therapeutics.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.548-555
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• 2012

Ultrasonic velocity and density measurements have been undertaken for a number of binary liquid mixtures involving different commercial solvent extractants, LIX reagents. The binary mixtures under investigation have been classified under two categories such as polar-polar, and polar-non-polar types. Different theories and relations such as Schaaff's Collision Factor Theory (CFT), Nomoto's relation (NOM), and Van Dael & Vangeel ideal mixing relation (IMR) have been used to evaluate the velocity theoretically for all these binary systems. The relative merits of afore-mentioned theories and relations compared to experimental values of velocity have been discussed in terms of percentage variations. However, the CFT and Nomoto's relation show better agreement with the experimental findings than the ideal mixing relation for all the systems under investigation.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.53-58
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• 2011

Cysteine and histidine-capped water-dispersible ZnS:Mn nanocrystals (ZnS:Mn-Cys and ZnS:Mn-His) were synthesized and their effects on E. coli and human cells were investigated. Particle sizes of these nanocrystals were found from HR-TEM images to be 3.5 nm and 4.0 nm, respectively. Their solution photoluminescence spectra showed identical broad emission peaks at 580 nm. ZnS:Mn-His significantly suppressed the growth of E. coli at $100{\mu}g/mL$ and 1 mg/mL concentrations, something not observed with ZnS:Mn-Cys. Consistent with this, greater inhibition of cell proliferation and viability were observed in HEK293 and IMR90 cells in ZnS:Mn-His at $100{\mu}g/mL$ and 1 mg/mL concentrations.

• Integrative Medicine Research
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.131-138
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• 2013

The skeletal muscle in our body is a major site for bioenergetics and metabolism during exercise. Carbohydrates and fats are the primary nutrients that provide the necessary energy required to maintain cellular activities during exercise. The metabolic responses to exercise in glucose and lipid regulation depend on the intensity and duration of exercise. Because of the increasing prevalence of obesity, recent studies have focused on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of obesity-induced insulin resistance in skeletal muscle. Accumulation of intramyocellular lipid may lead to insulin resistance in skeletal muscle. In addition, lipid intermediates (e.g., fatty acyl-coenzyme A, diacylglycerol, and ceramide) impair insulin signaling in skeletal muscle. Recently, emerging evidence linking obesity-induced insulin resistance to excessive lipid oxidation, mitochondrial overload, and mitochondrial oxidative stress have been provided with mitochondrial function. This review will provide a brief comprehensive summary on exercise and skeletal muscle metabolism, and discuss the potential mechanisms of obesity-induced insulin resistance in skeletal muscle.

• Integrative Medicine Research
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.99-102
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• 2014

A 37-year-old female patient with chronic and stubborn abdominal pain had been hospitalized five times in three Western hospitals, but no effects were observed. No abnormalities were found in blood tests, gastrointestinal endoscopy, sonogram, and computed tomography of the abdomen, except mild paralytic ileus. The patient decided to rely on Korean medicine as an inpatient. She was diagnosed with functional abdominal pain syndrome, and her symptom differentiation was the "Yang deficiency of spleen and kidney." A herbal drug, Hwangikyeji-tang, along with moxibustion and acupuncture, was given to the patient. Abdominal pain and related symptoms were reduced radically within 16 days of treatment. This report shows a therapeutic potential of Korean medicine-based treatment for functional abdominal pain syndrome.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.501-509
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• 2013

Formaldehyde (FA) is widely used in industries, and it is an indoor and outdoor pollutant. Exposure to FA may cause inflammation and respiratory oxidative stress. Studies have demonstrated that FA can cause cancer in animal models. During the regeneration process of injured starfish (Asterina pectinifera), several changes have been observed in the expression of cytokines. In particular, higher TGF-${\beta}1$ expression has been detected in arm cut starfish extract after eight days. The current study was designed to elucidate the in-vitro and the in-vivo pharmacological effects of starfish extract on FA exposure. We investigated the protective effects of intact starfish extract and arm cut starfish extract on an IMR-90 cell line and on mouse lung injury in response to FA exposure. In the presence of FA, inhalation of the arm cut starfish extract was associated with more promising cell proliferation, TNF-${\alpha}$, NF-${\kappa}B$ decrement, and $I{\kappa}-B{\alpha}$ increment. In the experimental group, the pulmonary structure of the arm cut starfish extract-treated group in the presence of FA exposure was similar to the control group, whereas the FA exposure group showed damage to the pulmonary structure. Moreover, the arm cut starfish extracts was more effective than the intact starfish extracts in terms of the expression of TNF-${\alpha}$, NF-${\kappa}B$, $I{\kappa}-B{\alpha}$, and surfactant protein A. The results obtained in this study demonstrate that arm cut starfish extracts are more effective in protecting pulmonary structure and function against FA exposure than intact starfish extracts.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.117-124
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• 2017

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of changes in degrees of freedom of the fingers (i.e., the number of the fingers involved in tasks) on the task performance during force production and releasing task. Method: Eight right-handed young men (age: $29.63{\pm}3.02yr$, height: $1.73{\pm}0.04m$, weight: $70.25{\pm}9.05kg$) participated in this study. The subjects were required to press the transducers with three combinations of fingers, including the index-middle (IM), index-middle-ring (IMR), and index-middle-ring-little (IMRL). During the trials, they were instructed to maintain a steady-state level of both normal and tangential forces within the first 5 sec. After the first 5 sec, the subjects were instructed to release the fingers on the transducers as quickly as possible at a self-selected manner within the next 5 sec, resulting in zero force at the end. Customized MATLAB codes (MathWorks Inc., Natick, MA, USA) were written for data analysis. The following variables were quantified: 1) finger force sharing pattern, 2) root mean square error (RMSE) of force to the target force in three axes at the aiming phase, 3) the time duration of the release phase (release time), and 4) the accuracy and precision indexes of the virtual firing position. Results: The RMSE was decreased with the number of fingers increased in both normal and tangential forces at the steady-state phase. The precision index was smaller (more precise) in the IMR condition than in the IM condition, while no significant difference in the accuracy index was observed between the conditions. In addition, no significant difference in release time was found between the conditions. Conclusion: The study provides evidence that the increased number of fingers resulted in better error compensation at the aiming phase and performed a more constant shooting (i.e., smaller precision index). However, the increased number of fingers did not affect the release time, which may influence the consistency of terminal performance. Thus, the number of fingers led to positive results for the current task.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.303-308
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• 2004

In this Paper a transmitter system for IMr-2000 using feed-forward linearization method was Proposed to linearize power amplifier. The feed-forward structure needs a reference signal to compare and neutralize distortion : this is achieved through the second modulator which is operated at very low input level to obtain a signal with a negligible distortion. Therefore, this structure can reduce distortion of modulator as well as Power amplifier. This is the advantage over the existing system structure. The Proposed transmitter system is designed and simulated by Agilent ADS ver.2002. A two tone test for the system is done at 1.98GHz center frequency with frequency spacing of 2MHz. The reduction of Inter-Modulation Distortion(IMD) is around 49.95dB. This proposed system offers an excellent combination of linearity and simplicity.