• Applied Microscopy
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.293-306
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• 2008

The essential factor of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), an acute lung injury accompanied commonly by sepsis syndrome is accumulation of neutrophils in lung tissue. The study attempted to confirm whether a lung injury would be decreased with the anti-inflammatory effect of germanium by the treated germanium prior to the development of ARDS and whether nitric oxide influence in suppressing a lung injury. Test groups were divided in the following structure for experiment; CON that has been administered with sodium chloride to airway, LPS administered with endotoxin for 5 hours in the same amount and 5 hours of endotoxin administered Ge+LPS following 1 hours of pre-treated germanium. The result of a test using experimental animals, infilteration of neutrophils (p<0.001) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was significantly decreased, the structure of lung tissue was preserved relatively well, and much neutrophils with distinct positive were observed on tunel staining which showed increase of apoptotic neutrophils in the pre-treated germanium group compare to the endotoxin administrated group. In observation of ultrastructural changes of cell in BALF, phagocytic alveolar macrophage was increased in alveolar space, the nucleus of most engulfed neutrophils were condensed, and some apoptosis neutrophils appears to be DNA fragmentation and effacement of cellular organelles were found in intercellular matrix in the pre-treated germanium group. However, the nitric oxide showed increase in all the groups excluding CON, and the nitric oxide effect such as degranulation diminishing of mast cells and apoptosis increase of neutrophils in the pre-treated group only. The situation appears that there was change in internal environment of the experimental animal by the pre-treated germanium before the nitric oxide is produced and the anti-inflammatory effect activated the pre-processed germanium by nitric oxide which activated following the change. Therefore, the nitric oxide created from macrophage in accordance with the pre-treated germanium appears to influence in alleviating a lung injury. Accordingly, acute lung injury is alleviated by the anti-inflammatory effect of germanium such as inhibition of neutrophils migration, induction of neutrophil apoptosis and increase of phagocytic function of phagocyte, and the nitric oxide produced from activated macrophage by germanium would influence in suppressing a lung injury.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.78 no.2
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• pp.119-131
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• 1989

This experiment was executed to investigate and compare qualitative and quantitative anatomical features in compression wood, opposite wood, and side wood formed in a bent stem, a straight branch, and an exposed horizontal root of Korean red pine(Pinus densiflora S. et Z.). The respective four discs containing compression wood taken at 20cm interval both in stem and branch as well as a disc containing well developed compression wood from horizontal root were analyzed. Percentage of compression wood and eccentricity showed decreasing tendency with the increasing distance in height direction of stem and length direction of branch. The qualitative anatomical features of compression wood appeared to differ from those of side and opposite wood in very gradual tracheid transition from earlywood to latewood, roundish tracheid shape on cross surface, tracheid distortion at tip on radial surface, existence of intercellular space, and helical cavity in tracheid wall. And the differences in these qualitative features among the compression wood, opposite wood, and side wood became less intensive with the decreasing trends in percentage of compression wood and eccentricity. The quantitative anatomical features in compression wood also appeared to be wider in that respective widths of fusiform and uniseriate ray than those of opposite and side wood, but the heights of fusiform and uniseriate ray in compression wood were smaller than in opposite and side wood. The number of horizontal resin canal(fusiform ray) and uniseriate ray, however, showed no differences among the compression wood, opposite wood, and side wood. And the number of vertical resin canal in unit area, $4{\pi}mm^2$ of compression wood was fewer than that in opposite wood, whereas numerous vertical resin canals contained in a growth ring. These rays of compression wood seemed to be characterized by smaller height and wider width than those of opposite and side wood.