• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.608-615
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• 2015

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) has been used as both food and medicine in many cultures for thousands of years. Garlic cultivars are completely sterile and propagated through vegetative method. Collection of a large number of fertile accessions of these genus is needed to explore genetic variability. In order to investigate genetic variation among Allium species and its possibilities for direct cultivation in Korea, we characterized 12 accessions of A. longicuspis, flowering wild garlic which had collected from Central Asia, the main center of garlic diversity. Most of A. longicuspis accessions showed higher over-wintering and bolting rate, longer scape length and more number of bulbils than Korean landraces cultivar, Danyang and Euiseong, but A. longicuspis accessions exhibited smaller size of bulbs and bulbils. Most accessions of A. longicuspis had more number of cloves per bulb, except K229596 and K248824 than Korean landraces. All the accessions of A. longicuspis from Central Asia had complete bolters having many flowers and topsets in umbel. Further studies of A. longicuspis should focus on securing true seeds through removal of topsets and crosses among accessions to create the genetic variability.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.335-341
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• 2017

Cyclotron is a device that accelerates positrons or neutrons, and is used as a facility for making radioactive drugs having short half-lives. Such radioactive drugs are used for positron emission tomography (PET), which is a medical apparatus. In order to make radioactive drugs from a cyclotron, a nuclear reaction must occur between accelerated positrons and a target. After the reaction, unncessary neutrons are produced. In the present study, radioactivation generated from the collisions between the concrete shielding wall and the positrons and neutrons produced from the cyclotron is investigated. We tracked radioactivated radioactive isotopes by conducting experiments using FLUKA, a type of Monte Carlo simulation. The properties of the concrete shielding wall were comparatively analyzed using materials containing impurities at ppm level and materials that do not contain impurities. The generated radioactivated nuclear species were comparatively analyzed based on the exposure dose affecting human body as a criterion, through RESRAD-Build. The results of experiments showed that the material containing impurities produced a total of 14 radioactive isotopes, and $^{60}Co$(72.50%), $^{134}Cs$(16.75%), $^{54}Mn$(5.60%), $^{152}Eu$(4.08%), $^{154}Eu$(1.07%) accounted for 99.9% of the total dose according to the analysis having the exposure dose affecting human body as criterion. The $^{60}Co$ nuclear species showed the greatest risk of radiation exposure. The material that did not contain impurities produced a total of five nuclear species. Among the five nuclear species, 54Mn accounted for 99.9% of the exposure dose. There is a possibility that Cobalt can be generated by inducive nuclear reaction of positrons through the radioactivation process of $^{56}Fe$ instead of impurities. However, there was no radioactivation because only few positrons reached the concrete wall. The results of comparative analysis on exposure dose with respect to the presence of impurities indicated that the presence of impurities caused approximately 98% higher exposure dose. From this result, the main cause of radioactivation was identified as the small ppm-level amount of impurities.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.692-698
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• 2010

This study investigated anti-diabetic activity of Kocat-D1, which is a currently used traditional medicine for treatment of diabetes in Shandong, China. Insulin sensitizing activity was observed in a cell-based glucose uptake assay using 3T3-L1 adipocytes. The treatment of 0.2 mg/mL of hot water extract of Kocat-D1 with 0.2 nM insulin was associated with a significant increasing in glucose uptake ($165.0{\pm}0.7%$) over the treatment of 0.2 nM insulin. C57BL/KsJ-db/db mice (8 weeks of age) were separated into 3 groups: normal control (control, db/+ mice untreated), diabetic control (DM control, db/db mice untreated), Kocat-D1 (db/db mice treated with Kocat-D1 extract 350 mg/kg/day). After 16 weeks of treatment, body weight and total diet intake of Kocat-D1 group were significantly lower than DM control groups. Blood glucose levels of the Kocat-D1 group ($14.7{\pm}1.4\;mmol/L$) were significantly lower compared to the DM control group ($27.1{\pm}0.2\;mmol/L$). Furthermore, insulin level was significantly increased in the Kocat-D1 group ($0.17{\pm}0.02\;ng/mL$) compared with the DM control group ($0.05{\pm}0.02\;ng/mL$). The glomeruli in kidney was stained using periodic acid-shiff base (PAS) for confirming collagen accumulation. The glomeruli in kidney of Kocat-D1 group had significantly reduced PAS-positive compared with that of DM control.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.129-135
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• 1970

From the previous studies, F-P-4 formula was found to be comparable to full fat dry milk in its nutritive value and feeding performance. However, an attempt was made in order to make sure whether or not any possibility might exist, by which further improvement of nutritive quality and simultaneous reduction of product costs may be achieved. Using F-P-4 as a control, modifications were made in new formulas, F-P-5, F-P-6 and F-P-7 by reducing FPC, eliminating yeast from the mixture, and by enriching with methionine as needed. In particular, F-P-7 is completely free of FPC, hydrogenated oil and yeast. Yet, levels of total protein and fat were kept equal to those of F-P-4 in all formulas. An animal feeding test for all formulas using 10 female rats per group for 8 weeks and an infant feeding trial for F-P-5 and F-P-6 with 5 of each female infants under age of one for one month were conducted along with F-P-4 as a control. Almost the same results were obtained with F-P-4, 5 and 6, but F-P-7 showed the lowest body weight gain. FER of F-P-5 and 6 was 0.20 as was with F-P-4, while that of F-P-7 was 0.16. Acceptability to infants was excellent; growth, appearance and biochemical data were normal. As an example F-P-4 packed in 0.04mm polyethylene bags was used for storage study at $25^{\circ}C$ and relative humidity of $65{\sim}85%$ for 8 months. Although viable bacterial counts and vitamin C contents were reduced, peroxide and TBA values were increased gradually during such storage. Since there are also significant changes in color and organoleptic quality, the expected shelf life under the given conditions is considered to be about 2 months and thus further works are needed both on the product and packaging in order to improve the storage stability. Either elimination of yeast form F-P-4, that is F-P-5, or partial replacement of FPC with methionine, that is F-P-6 may well reduce material costs about 10%. Considering blending process of ingredients, F-P-5 is thus found to be the best formula developed. While F-P-7 free of FPC is inferior in its nutritive quality than that of others, but significantly superior than of rice. Furthermore, the material cost of the product can be reduced about 20% from that of F-P-4. And thus this vegetable blend is considered to be useful as a low cost supplementary food mixture for growing children.

• Journal of Medicine and Life Science
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.40-48
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• 2024

Understanding the effectiveness of statin treatment is essential for developing tailored stroke prevention strategies. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of statin treatment in preventing recurrent stroke among patients with various ischemic stroke subtypes. Using data from the Clinical Research Collaboration for Stroke-Korea-National Institute for Health (CRCS-K-NIH) registry, we included patients with acute ischemic stroke admitted between January 2011 and July 2020. To evaluate the differential effects of statin treatment based on the ischemic stroke subtype, we analyzed patients with large artery atherosclerosis (LAA), cardio-embolism (CE), and small vessel occlusion (SVO). The primary outcomes were recurrent ischemic stroke and recurrent stroke events. The hazard ratio for outcomes between statin users and nonusers was compared using a Cox proportional hazards model adjusted for covariates. A total of 46,630 patients who met the inclusion criteria were analyzed. Statins were prescribed to 92%, 93%, and 78% of patients with LAA, SVO, and CE subtypes, respectively. The hazards of recurrent ischemic stroke and recurrent stroke in statin users were reduced to 0.79 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.63-0.99) and 0.77 (95% CI, 0.62-0.95) in the LAA subtype and 0.63 (95% CI, 0.52-0.76) and 0.63 (95% CI, 0.53-0.75) in CE subtype compared to nonusers. However, the hazards of these outcomes did not significantly decrease in the SVO subtype. The effectiveness of statin treatment in reducing the risk of recurrent stroke in patients with LAA and CE subtypes has been suggested. Nonetheless, no significant effect was observed in the SVO subtype, suggesting a differential effect of statins on different stroke subtypes.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.68 no.4
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• pp.402-412
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• 2023

To cope with climate change, we compared the quality of naked oats (Avena sativa L.) cultivated in different regions. Naked oats were collected from domestic farms in different cultivation regions grouped as G1 and G2 for 3 years (2020-2022). The appearance, quality, and nutritional and functional compounds in the samples were assessed. In terms of appearance quality, the brightness and yellowness of the samples from the G1 region were significantly lower than those of the samples from the G2 region in 2020; however, no differences were observed between cultivation regions in the other 2 years. The results of testing the vitality of naked oats seeds showed that the electrical conductivity value was significantly lower in the samples from the G1 region than in those from the G2 region only in 2022. Among the nutritional components, moisture content was higher in the G2 region than in the G1 region over all 3 years, and the crude protein content was significantly higher in the G2 region than in the G1 region over all years. Carbohydrate content was significantly higher in the G1 region than in the G2 region in all 3 years and was inversely proportional to the crude protein content. The crude fat content tended to be significantly higher in the G1 region than in the G2 region, except in 2022. The levels of beta-glucan, a functional compound rich in naked oats, ranged between 3.4% and 4.2%, and except in 2020, there was no significant difference between cultivation regions. In addition, the content of avenanthramides, representative functional compounds that exist only in oats, was assessed. Over 2 years, in 2021 and 2022, the avenanthramide content was in the range of 2.4-20.7 ㎍/g and tended to be significantly higher in the G2 region than in the G1 region in both years. According to a survey of the average and minimum temperatures during the growing season of naked oats from 2020 to 2022, the average and minimum temperatures in January in the G2 region, which is the cultivation-limit area, were similar to those in Haenam in the G1 region. In conclusion, differences in nutritional and functional compounds were observed in naked oats grown in different cultivation areas. Therefore, considering the cultivation area of naked oats is expanding because of climate change, changes in the compounds that affect quality should be investigated.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.360-366
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• 2013

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of multivitamin on macrophage activity in Raw 264.7 cell and repeated oral dose toxicity in Sprague-Dawely rat of multivitamin. Raw 264.7 cells were treated with 50 and $100{\mu}g/mL$ multivitamin for 24 h. To measure the activity of macrophages, NO and TNF-${\alpha}$ assays were performed in Raw 264.7 cells. Treatment with 50 and $100{\mu}g/mL$ multivitamin for 24 h significantly increased production of NO and TNF-${\alpha}$ compared with control groups, indicating activation of macrophages. The female rats were treated with multivitamin of control group, low group (0.24 g/kg), medium group (1 g/kg) and high group (2 g/kg) intragastrically for 4 weeks, respectively. We examined the body weight, the feed intake, the clinical signs and serum biochemical analysis. We also observed the histopathological changes of liver, ovary, brain, adrenal gland, spleen, kidney, heart and lung in rats. No significant differences in body weights, feed intake, biochemical analysis and histopathological observations between control and multivitamin treatment group were found. In conclusion, multivitamin is physiologically safe and improve macrophage activity.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.619-624
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• 2011

Tea extract (TE) has been shown to have anti-tumor properties in a wide variety of experimental systems. We evaluated green tea extract (GTE) as a biochemical modulator for the antitumor activity of cisplatin and doxorubicin in the treatment of human lung cancer A549 cells. Cells were grown in RPMI-1640 medium supplemented with 10% (v/v) heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum and two antibiotics (100 units/mL penicillin and $100\;{\mu}g$/mL streptomycin). Two types of TE, epigallocatechin galate (EGCG) and GTE, were used in this experiment. The cells were seeded at $1{\times}10^4$ cells/well in the RPMI-1640 media with or without TE ($100\;{\mu}g$/mL) and then treated with different concentrations of doxorubicin ($0{\sim}14\;{\mu}g$/mL) or cisplatin ($0{\sim}35\;{\mu}g$/mL). After incubation in 5% $CO_2$ at $37^{\circ}C$ for 24 hr, cell viability was determined with a MTT assay. We used a Western blot to detect the influence of EGCG and GTE on the expression of p53 and caspase-3 genes in the A549 cells. A549 cell viability decreased to 15% with a $10\;{\mu}g$/mL concentration of cisplatin, and to 21% with a $8\;{\mu}g$/mL concentration of doxorubicin, as measured with the MTT assay. However, pre-treatment of the cells with EGCG ($100\;{\mu}g$/mL) or GTE ($100\;{\mu}g$/mL) resulted in decreased cell viability with $6\;{\mu}g$/mL of cisplatin and $4\;{\mu}g$/mL of doxorubicin. There was no apparent change in cell viability between EGCG or GTE administration in cisplatin- or doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity in A549 cells. The levels of p53 and caspase-3 in the A549 cells increased with both EGCG and GTE treatment. We found that GTE could potentially affect cisplatin- or doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity of A549 cells, which may be useful in the chemotreatment of cancer.

• Journal of Korean Ophthalmic Optics Society
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.389-396
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• 2014

Purpose: The study examined dry eye symptoms of occupants in a newly constructed building and its effects on their work productivity and general activity. Methods: The study subjects were 33 office workers who spent more than eight hours per day on average in a new building constructed in the past three months. The indoor air quality of the new building was evaluated by measuring aldehydes, temperature and humidity. The level of dry eye symptoms was classified into normal, mild, moderate and severe by using the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI). The experience of LASIK surgery, use of eye makeup, daily use time of a computer and smart-phone, and average daily working hours were also examined. The Work Limitation Productivity Questionnaire was used as the questionnaire about work productivity and general activity to measure the impairment level on a ten-point scale. Results: The concentration variation of formaldehyde in the office was $42.42{\pm}6.30{\mu}g/m^3$. The temperature and humidity were $26.2{\pm}0.70^{\circ}C$ and $40{\pm}1%$, respectively. The respondents with normal, mild, moderate and severe dry eye symptoms were 15.2%, 18.2%, 18.2% and 48.5%, respectively. The severity of dry eye symptoms and impairment of work productivity and general activity demonstrated high correlations of 0.599 and 0.655, respectively (p<0.001). Compared to the normal case, severe dry eye symptoms demonstrated significantly high impairment of work productivity and interruption of general activity (p<0.001). The case of serious dry symptoms showed the possibilities of having impairment level of work productivity and interruption of general activity above three points 3.26 times (p=0.032) and 2.25 times (p=0.045), respectively, higher than that of the normal case. Conclusions: It was confirmed that dry eye symptoms among office workers in a newly constructed building affects work productivity and general activity.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.109-115
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• 2012

Helicobacter pylori is an important factor of chronic gastritis, digestive ulcer, and stomach cancer. CagL, a virulence factor of H. pylori, is well-known as a pilus protein which acts as adhesion to host cell and a component of Type 4 secretion system. In this study, we evaluated the protective response of recombinant CagL protein (rCagL) using Mongolian gerbil animal model for H. pylori infection. The cagL gene was cloned from 26695 H. pylori followed by over-expression and purification of the protein in E. coli. Mongolian gerbils were immunized with rCagL protein mixed with aluminum adjuvant via intramuscular injections once a week during 4 weeks. At a week after the last immunization, the Mongolian gerbils were administrated with H. pylori 7.13 strain into the stomach and sacrificed to measure antibody titer on rCagL by ELISA and bacterial colonization in the stomach, and to examine the histopathological changes and cytokine expression at 6 week after challenge. Antibody titers on recombinant protein were significantly increased from a week after the first immunization. There was no significant change of the number of bacterial colony between control group and immunized group. The relative stomach weight was significantly decreased in immunized group, but the significant change of histopathological assessment was not observed in the stomach. Cytokine expression such as IL-$1{\beta}$ and KC also was not significantly different between control and immunized groups. These results indicate that rCagL could effectively induce the formation of the specific IgG antibodies. However, bacterial colonization and histopathological lesions could not be inhibited by the immunization in the stomach, indicating not enough protection against H. pylori infection. We consider that along with CagL other adequate antigens could be needed stimulating immune response and inducing protective effects against gastric disease, and also a better adjuvant could be considered.