• Toxicological Research
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.325-332
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• 2018

The mechanism of the previously reported antidiabetic effect of Basella alba is unknown. This study investigated the role of B. alba aqueous leaf extract in the modulation of inflammatory cytokines and islet morphology in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Forty male Wistar rats, between 8 and 10 weeks old, were randomly divided into four groups (n = 10) and administered the following treatments: Healthy control (H-c) and Diabetic control (D-c) animals received normal saline 0.5 mL/100 g body weight daily, while Healthy Treatment (H-Ba) and Diabetic Treatment (D-Ba) rats received the plant extract 200 mg/kg body weight daily. All treatments were administered by oral gavage. Diabetes was induced in D-c and D-Ba rats by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (55 mg/kg body). The body weight and fasting blood sugar (FBS) levels were recorded every week for 4 weeks, after which the rats were euthanized and samples collected for further analysis. After the experiment, FBS level was significantly reduced (p < 0.0001) in rats in the D-Ba group, but increased (p < 0.001) in rats in the D-c group. The absolute (H-c and H-Ba vs D-c, p < 0.05) and relative (D-Ba vs H-c, p < 0.05; D-Ba vs H-Ba, p < 0.005) weights of the pancreases were significantly higher after the experiment. The rats in the D-c group had significantly higher levels of serum interleukin-$1{\beta}$ (p < 0.001 vs H-c; p < 0.05 vs H-Ba and D-Ba) and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (p < 0.0001), but lower levels of interleukin-10 (p < 0.05) in comparison with the other groups. Histopathological examination revealed severe interstitial congestion, reduced islet area (p < 0.0001), and increased islet cell density in the D-c group compared with those in the D-Ba group. From these findings, it was concluded that the aqueous extract of B. alba stimulates the recovery of beta-islet morphology in streptozotocininduced diabetic rats by modulating the peripheral production of inflammatory cytokines.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.483-490
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• 2002

Detailed investigations on both submarine and subaerial volcaniclastic deposits around Dokdo were carried out to identify geomorphologic characteristics, stratigraphy, and associated depositional processes of Dokdo caldera. Dokdo volcano has a gently sloping summit (about 11km in diameter) and relatively steep slope (basal diameter is about 20-25 km) rising above sea level at about 2,270m. We found ragged, elliptical-form of Dokdo caldera with a diameter of about 2km estimated by Chirp (3-11 kHz) sub-bottom profile data and side scan sonar data for the central summit area of Dokdo volcano. We interpreted that the volcaniclastic deposits of Dokdo unconformably consist of the Seodo (west islet) and the Dongdo(east islet) formations based on internal structure, constituent mineral composition, and bedding morphology. The Seodo Formation mainly consisted of massive or inversely graded trachytic breccias (Unit S-I), overlain by fine-grained tuff (Unit S-II), which is probably supplied by mass-wasting processes resulting from Dokdo caldera collapse. The Dongdo Formation consists of alternated units of stratified lapilli tuff and inversely graded basaltic breccia (Unit D-I, Unit D-III, and Unit D-V), and massive to undulatory-bedded basaltic tuff breccias (Unit D-II and Unit D-IV) formed by a repetitive pyroclastic surge and reworking processes. Although, two islets of Dokdo are geographically near each other, they have different formations reflecting their different depositional processes and eruptive stages.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.247-250
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• 2020

Shrimp of the family Stenopodidae occurr in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate parts of the world. Thirty-seven species of four genera (Juxtastenopus, Odontozona, Richardina, and Stenopus) of the family Stenopodidae have been reported in the world. Among them, only Stenopus hispidus of the family Stenopodidae has been recorded from Korean waters. The stenopodid shrimp, Odontozona arbur is reported for the first time from Korea. During a taxonomic survey of the deacapod crustaceans in Korean waters, O. arbur was collected by scuba diving in approximately 14 m depth from the Munseom Islet, in Jejudo Island on 28 Jun 2018. Odontozona arbur is the second species of the family Stenopodidae in Korea. It is easily distinguished from other species of this family in Korea by the entire dorsal surface of the abdominal somites. The morphology of this species is described and illustrated herein.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.175-185
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• 2021

To better understand the heat wave phenomenon in the urban areas, it is desirable to explore the relationship between spatial allocation of land use and the heat wave. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the ranking correlation between heat wave days and developed types, specifically, core and islet developments. The methods employed are morphological spatial pattern, spatial autocorrelation, and spearman ranking correlation analyses by using the 30-year annual heat wave day records forthe five metropolitans. This research indicates that a fragmented development pattern including islets has mostly negative effects to the urban heat wave phenomenon. It means there is a relation between development pattern and heat wave.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.10-14
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• 2007

Type 2 diabetes mellitus relavant to insulin resistance is a chronic and hard to control. In order to develop an antidiabetic agent from natural products, anti-hyperglycemic effect of herbal formula containing Mori Follium, Euonymi Lignum Suberalatum and Ginseng Radix(MEG) was investigated in db/db mice. Treatment group was administered orally with MEG formula at a dose of 300 mg/kg for 5 weeks, and blood glucose, insulin and lipid levels were determined. MEG treatment group showed a marked decrease in fasting blood glucose level and insulin resistance index(IRI) compared to those in diabetic control. Improvement of insulin resistance(60.6%) was indicative of reducing lipid levels in plasma and triglyceride contents in muscle and adipose tissue. In addition, expressions of an insulin responsive gene, glucose transporter 4(Glut4), in muscle and adipose tissue were upregulated in MEG treatment group. Compared islet morphology between groups, MEG formula prevented the ${\beta}$-cell destruction caused by high blood glucose. Taken together, MEG formula can act as an anti-hyperglycemic agent with insulin sensitizing effect, and thus deserves a clinical trial in the future.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.503-512
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• 2017

Background: Chronic heavy alcohol consumption may raise the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus. Saponins inhibit apoptosis of pancreatic islet cells and reduce lipid parameters. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of saponin on chronic ethanol-treated diabetic rats. Methods: Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (LETO) and Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats were pair-fed a Lieber-DeCarli diet with and without 5% ethanol for 12 wks. Two weeks after starting the pair-feeding with the Lieber-DeCarli diet, intraperitoneal injection of saponin was performed for 10 wks. To perform the experiments, rats were divided as follows: LETO-Control (LC), LETO-Ethanol (LE), LETO-Ethanol-Saponin (LES), OLETF-Control (OC), OLETF-Ethanol (OE), and OLETF-Ethanol-Saponin (OES). Results: The weights of epididymal and mesenteric fat tissue in LES and OES rats were the lightest from among the LETO and OLETF groups, respectively. The secretion of alanine aminotransferase and cholesterol in OES rats decreased significantly compared to their secretion in OC and OE rats, respectively. The islets of the pancreas in LE and OE rats showed clean, unclear, and smaller morphology compared to those of LC, LES, OC, and OES rats. In addition, the expression of insulin in the islets of the pancreas in LC, LES, OC, and OES rats was higher than in LE and OE rats. Conclusion: Saponin may not only be helpful in alleviating the rapid progress of diabetes due to chronic alcohol consumption in diabetic patients, but may also show potential as an antidiabetic drug candidate for diabetic patients who chronically consume alcohol.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.767-772
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• 2006

This study was to investigate the effect of betaine on the hypoglycemia and hepatoprotection of streptozotocin(STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing around 280 g were randomly assigned to the three experimental groups: a healthy normal group and two groups with STZ-induced diabetes and fed either control diet or betaine diet. Betaine given to the STZ-diabetic rats had significant effect in lowering the serum glucose concentrations compared to the STZ-diabetic rats. The alanine aminotransferase (AST) and aspartate aminotransferase (ALT) activities and triglyceride contents in serum were dramatically higher in the STZ-diabetic rats, but these increases in relation to diabetes also decreased in the STZ-diabetic rats fed betaine. However, the total-cholesterol concentration in the STZ-diabetic rats was even increased by betaine. The morphology of the pancreatic islets in the normal rats showed a typical round form, but most of the islets in the STZ-diabetic rats showed severe morphological alterations by being markedly destroyed. However, the islet morphology of STZ-diabetic rats given betaine mostly maintained a normal rounded appearance. The present study strongly suggests that the administration of betaine showed a moderate hypoglycemic effect by protecting the pancreatic beta-cells by morphological examination from STZ-induced destruction.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.249-255
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• 2015

Diabetes mellitus, the most common metabolic disorder, is divided into two types: type 1 and type 2. The essential treatment of type 1 diabetes, caused by immune-mediated destruction of ${\beta}-cells$, is transplantation of the pancreas; however, this treatment is limited by issues such as the lack of donors for islet transplantation and immune rejection. As an alternative approach, stem cell therapy has been used as a new tool. The present study revealed that bone marrowderived mesenchymal stromal cells (BM-MSCs) could be transdifferentiated into pancreatic cells by the insertion of a key gene for embryonic development of the pancreas, the pancreatic and duodenal homeobox factor 1 (PDX1). To avoid immune rejection associated with xenotransplantation and to develop a new cell-based treatment, BM-MSCs from ${\alpha}$-1,3-galactosyltransferase knockout (GalT KO) pigs were used as the source of the cells. Transfection of the EGFP-hPDX1 gene into GalT KO pig-derived BM-MSCs was performed by electroporation. Cells were evaluated for hPDX1 expression by immunofluorescence and RT-PCR. Transdifferentiation into pancreatic cells was confirmed by morphological transformation, immunofluorescence, and endogenous pPDX1 gene expression. At 3~4 weeks after transduction, cell morphology changed from spindle-like shape to round shape, similar to that observed in cuboidal epithelium expressing EGFP. Results of RT-PCR confirmed the expression of both exogenous hPDX1 and endogenous pPDX1. Therefore, GalT KO pig-derived BM-MSCs transdifferentiated into pancreatic cells by transfection of hPDX1. The present results are indicative of the therapeutic potential of PDX1-expressing GalT KO pig-derived BM-MSCs in ${\beta}-cell$ replacement. This potential needs to be explored further by using in vivo studies to confirm these findings.