• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.153-168
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• 2000

To investigate effects of Paeonia Radix Rubra aqua-acupuncture on Adjuvant Athritis in rats, the edema rate, the number of WBC, the quantity of total protein, albumin and globuline in the blood serum were measured and histological test of the muscular tissue were done in the arthritis part. 1. After arthritis of Sprague dawley(SD) rats was induced by injecting Freund's complete adjuvant for 2 weeks, normal saline was injected for the Control group and Paeonia Radix Rubra acua-acupuncture was injected for the Exp. group during 30 days. Selected point was $D{\acute{u}}bf(ST_{35})$ in both groups. And then the inframmator volume of plantar were checked. The volume of the plantar was $0.84{\pm}0.14mm$ in Control group and $0.57{\pm}0.09mm$ in Exp. group, the swelling of plantar was restricted significanily in Exp, group(P<0.05). 2. The number of WBC was $10.34{\pm}0.14(10^3/ml)$ in normal group and $37.47{\pm}5.46(10^3/ml)$ in Control group. It was $25.21{\pm}3.45(10^3/ml)$ in Exp. group. This fact showed that Exp group. with Paeonia Radix Rubra acua-acupuncture was more effective than Control group in the treatment of arthritis(P<0.05). 3. The content of total protein in the blood serum were $6.14{\pm}0.43g/d{\ell}$ in normal group, $7.95{\pm}0.94g/d{\ell}$ in Control group, and $6.82{\pm}1.23g/d{\ell}$ in Exp. group. There was no significance in total protein between Exp. group and Control group from the statistical analysis. 4. The contents of albumin in the blood serum were $2.94{\pm}0.13g/d{\ell}$ in normal group, $2.01{\pm}0.48g/d{\ell}$ in Control group and $2.75{\pm}0.14g/d{\ell}$ in Exp, group. This fact showed that Exp. group had significant increase in the serum albumin from the statistical analysis, in comparison with Control group(P<0.05). 5. The contents of globulin in the blood serum were $3.19{\pm}0.48g/d{\ell}$ in normal group, $4.70{\pm}1.26g/d{\ell}$ in Control group and $3.58{\pm}0.73g/d{\ell}$ in Exp. group. There was no significance in the serum globulin between Exp. group and Control group from the statistical analysis. 6. In histological examinadon, because inflammatory reaction was active, remarkably irregular tissue and large amount of inflammatory cells were found in Control. group. But Exp. group showed that tissues were in some degree recovered, the number of inflamed cells was decreased and inflammation was restrained. From these results, it is shown Paeonia Radix Rubra aqua-acupuncture restrained inflammatory reaction and muscular tissue necrosis in SD rat's plantar was restrained by Freund's complete adjuvant.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.104-111
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• 2005

Several solvents were used to fractionate an extract obtained from the chapped root bark of Ulmus davidiana Planchon. The each fractionary part was condensed under reduced pressure and then examined to investigate the inhibitory effect on MMPs by modified gelatin zymography, where EA fraction showed the inhibition effect on the activity of MMPs. A compound showing inhibition effect on the MMPs was isolated and purified from EA fraction. Under IR, $^1H$- and $^{13}C$- NMR analyses it is very close to a catethin. This substance showed 48% inhibition effect on measurement of MMP-9 activity at 5 mM and 43% at 10 mM. To verify the effect of this substance on cells, human hepatoma, SK-Hep-1 cells as a cancer model, and Chang liver cells as a normal model were selected. MTT assay was performed to examine the cell viability by treatment of $1{\mu}L/mL$ of the purified substance on cells. The purified substance showed negligible toxicity on human liver cell line.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.313-322
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• 1995

Metosonimus yokosawai was found deeply invaded into the submucosa of the small intestine of mice (ICR) when they were immunosuppressed by prednisolone injection. Experimental groups consisted of control, fluke infection (1,800 metacercariae per mouse) and fluke infection plus immunosuppression. In fluke infection group, many worms were found sectioned in the intervillous space of the jejunum and ileum at 6 hrs, 12 hrs, and 1 day after infection, and pathological changes characterized by villous atrophy and crypt hyperplasia were observed. After 3 days, only a few worms were found in intestinal sections, and after 7 days, the pathological changes became minimal. No worm was found penetrated beyond the mucosal layer. On the other hand, in immunosuppressed mice, numerous worms were found sectioned in the duodenum and jejunum, irrespective of the infection period up to 14 days. Pathological changes of the mucosa were minimal until 3 days after infection, but at 5 days marked destruction of the mucosal layer was observed. At this time many flukes were found invaded deeply into the submucosa facing the muscular layer. Despite continuous immunosuppression, the mucosal damage was gradually recovered at 7-21 days post-infection. The results showed that immunosuppression of ICR mice can induce, for a short perid of time, severe mucosal damage, and allow deep invasion of M. yokogcuwai into the submucosa of the small intestine.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.281-288
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• 1995

For the two-dimensional observation on the growth and development of CLonorchis sinensis, an image analysis system (IBAS 2000, Kontron, Germany) was used in this study. On 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 21, 30 and 90 days of infection, 474 worms were collected from rats infected with 50 metacercariae each. The overall recovery rate was 31.6%. The worms grew rapidly in their length and width up to 30 days of infection and then, did slowly to 90 days of infection. However, the growth pattern of body area was not similar to that of body length and width, because the body area increased continuously even after 30 days of infection. With the image analysis system, the sizes of irregular-shaped genital organs were measured easily, which showed sigmoidal growth patterns . The growth rate of genital organs increased rapidly. until 21 days of infection when the uterus was filled with numerous eggs, and then gradually slowed down to 90 days. There was no difference in growth pattern between the anterior and posterior testis. The seminal receptacle , however, showed an abrupt increase in size between 15 to 21 days of infection when it was filled with condensed semen. Therefore, the growth pattern of seminal receptacle might be used as another criteria to estimate the extent of sexual maturation of C. sinensis. From this study, it is suggested that image analysis system is very useful to reveal the growth and development pattern of C. sinensis, especially of their internal organs.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.40-45
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• 2010

The gene encoding $\beta$-agarase (agaB) which hydrolyzes $\beta$-1,4 linkages of agarose from Zobellia galactanivorans was cloned and fused to Saccharomyces cerevisiae mating factor alpha-1 secretion signal ($MF{\alpha}1$), in which the transcription of $MF{\alpha}1$-AgaB was under the control of AOX1 (alcohol oxidase 1, methanol inducible) promoter. The constructed plasmid pPIC-AgaB (9 kb) was integrated into HIS4 gene locus of Pichia pastoris genome. Successful integration was confirmed by performing colony PCR. The transformed cells showed red halos around its colonies in methanol agar plate by adding iodine solution, indicating the active expression of agaB in P.pastoris. By SDS-PAGE and zymographic analysis, the molecular weight of $\beta$-agarase was estimated to be a 53 kDa and about 15% N-linked glycosylation was occurred. The activity of extracellular $\beta$-agarase reached 1.34, 1.42 and 1.53 units/mL by inducing 0.1, 0.5, and 1% methanol, respectively, at baffled flask culture of P.pastoris GS115/pPIC-AgaB for 48 hr. Most of the enzyme activity was found in the extacellular fraction and the secretion efficiency showed 98%. Thermostability of recombinant $\beta$-agarase was also increased by glycosylation.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.73-82
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• 2012

This study was aimed to thoroughly estimate the characteristics of indoor particulate matter (PM) collected on subway platforms by the cooperative approach of semi-bulk and single particle analyses. The size-resolved PM and its number concentration were measured on the platform in a heavily traveled subway station in Fukuoka, Japan. Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) and micro-PIXE techniques were applied to the chemical analyses of semi-bulk and single particle, respectively. There was the close resemblance of timely fluctuation between PM number concentration and train service on the third basement floor (B3F) platform compared to the second basement floor (B2F) and its maximum level was marked in rush hour. Higher number counts in large particles ($>1{\mu}m$) and lower number counts in fine particles ($<1{\mu}m$) were shown on the platform compared to an above ground. PM2.5 accounted for 58.2% and 38.2 % of TSP on B3F and on B2F, respectively. The elements that were ranked at high concentration in size-resolved semi-bulk PM were Fe, Si, Ca, S, and Na. The major elements tending to have more elevated levels on B3F than B2F were Fe (4.4 times), Ca (17.3 times), and Si (46.4 times). Although concentrations were very low, Cr ($11.9ng\;m^{-3}$ on B3F, $2.4ng\;m^{-3}$ on B2F), Mn ($3.4ng\;m^{-3}$ on B3F, $0.9ng\;m^{-3}$ on B2F), and Pb ($0.6ng\;m^{-3}$ on B3F, $1.6ng\;m^{-3}$ on B2F) were detected from PM2.5. Individual PM was nearly all enriched in Fe with Si and Ca. Classifying and source profiling of the individual particles by elemental maps and particle morphology were tried and particles were presumably divided into four groups (i.e., train/rail friction, train-rail sparking, ballast/abrasive, and cement).

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.71 no.6
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• pp.400-407
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• 2011

Background: There were a few studies which were conducted to know about the behavior of the chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) patients. The aims of this study was to explore the behaviour of COPD patients, such as awareness and impact of disease, the pathway of visiting doctors, and the treatment pattern and preference. Methods: A face-to-face interview of 300 subjects with COPD was conducted. Results: The most concerned symptom which made the respondents to visit the hospital was 'breathlessness' (78%). Only 58% of them knew the exact diagnosis. Seventy-three percent of them visited the hospital 'once a month' or 'once every 2 month'. They have made 12.8 prescheduled visits to the hospital in the past 1 year. Unscheduled visits and hospital stay figured to two in the past year. Only 11% of respondents felt they were currently in good health. 'Severe' and 'very severe' COPD patients perceived their health to be in a worse condition than 'mild' and 'moderate' COPD patients. When conditions worsened, 42% of patients were hospitalized. The most common prescription treatment was a fixed combination of inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting ${\beta}2$ agonists (48%), followed by a long acting anticholinergics (38%). Conclusion: Over forty percent of the patients didn't know exactly about their condition. Most of them had a negative attitude toward their current health status. Doctors need to know more about COPD patients in terms of their attitude toward the disease, impact of the disease, interaction with healthcare professionals and treatment related problems.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.198-211
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• 2016

The objective of this study was to provide basic data that would help develop the natural preservatives that could replace them. This study examined antibacterial activity and preservative effects in soybean curd. When the concentration of Persicaria hydropiper L. was 1,000 ppm in the antibacterial activity by the paper disk law of three cultures(Bacillus subtilis KY-3, Bacillus sp. KY-7, Bacillus methylotrophicus KY-11) selected from 21 kinds of microorganism separated from tofu anaerobes, the clear zone (mm), which was similar to benzoic acid 0.1 M, the comparison group, was measured. The results were as follows. The result of impeding growth in liquid culture indicated considerable suppression of the growth of bacteria in the concentration of 800 ppm and 1,000 ppm respectively. In the measure of MIC, KY-3 and KY-7 were 0.06%, and KY-11 was 0.05%. For the changes in pH by concentration, three cultures and tofu anaerobes were not increased to $10^{5-6}/g$ in 1,000 ppm. In addition, in the search of total number was employed to find the preservative effects of tofu. Therefore, this study expect the Persicaria hydroper L. extract on preservative effects of tofu, which can be easily exposed to food poisoning bacteria in the food safety as well as improving the possibility of natural alternative preservatives.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.15-26
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• 2015

In this paper, amplitude and phase difference patterns for theta and alpha bands of the Evoked Potential(EP) in relation to perform a task at visual stimulus were analyzed using the Empirical mode decomposition(EMD). The EMD is applied to decompose EP signals with task-related sub-frequency band signals. Intrinsic mode function was implied in Hilbert transform and instantaneous amplitude and phase differences of theta and alpha were derived from Hilbert transformed EP. In a task status, large amplitude for both bands was observed at P2, N2, and P3 points as well as maximum phase difference was observed at N1 and P2. We confirmed that both bands are associated with a task at visual stimulus, and less associated with fixation. The proposed method enhances the time and frequency resolution in comparison with band-pass filter method which observed different phase results according to conditions.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.57-65
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• 2013

Beta-lapachone (${\beta}$-Lap; 3,4-dihydro-2, 2-dimethyl-2H-naphthol[1, 2-b]pyran-5,6-dione) is a novel anti-cancer drug under phase I/II clinical trials. ${\beta}$-Lap has been demonstrated to cause apoptotic and necrotic death in a variety of human cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. The mechanisms underlying the ${\beta}$-Lap toxicity against cancer cells has been controversial. The most recent view is that ${\beta}$-Lap, which is a quinone compound, undergoes two-electron reduction to hydroquinone form utilizing NAD(P)H or NADH as electron source. This two-electron reduction of ${\beta}$-Lap is mediated by NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1), which is known to mediate the reduction of many quinone compounds. The hydroquinone forms of ${\beta}$-Lap then spontaneously oxidizes back to the original oxidized ${\beta}$-Lap, creating futile cycling between the oxidized and reduced forms of ${\beta}$-Lap. It is proposed that the futile recycling between oxidized and reduced forms of ${\beta}$-Lap leads to two distinct cell death pathways. First one is that the two-electron reduced ${\beta}$-Lap is converted first to one-electron reduced ${\beta}$-Lap, i.e., semiquinone ${\beta}$-Lap $(SQ)^{{\cdot}-}$ causing production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which then causes apoptotic cell death. The second mechanism is that severe depletion of NAD(P)H and NADH as a result of futile cycling between the quinone and hydroquinone forms of ${\beta}$-Lap causes severe disturbance in cellular metabolism leading to apoptosis and necrosis. The relative importance of the aforementioned two mechanisms, i.e., generation of ROS or depletion of NAD(P)H/NADH, may vary depending on cell type and environment. Importantly, the NQO1 level in cancer cells has been found to be higher than that in normal cells indicating that ${\beta}$-Lap may be preferentially toxic to cancer cells relative to non-cancer cells. The cellular level of NQO1 has been found to be significantly increased by divergent physical and chemical stresses including ionizing radiation. Recent reports clearly demonstrated that ${\beta}$-Lap and ionizing radiation kill cancer cells in a synergistic manner. Indications are that irradiation of cancer cells causes long-lasting elevation of NQO1, thereby sensitizing the cells to ${\beta}$-Lap. In addition, ${\beta}$-Lap has been shown to inhibit the repair of sublethal radiation damage. Treating experimental tumors growing in the legs of mice with irradiation and intraperitoneal injection of ${\beta}$-Lap suppressed the growth of the tumors in a manner more than additive. Collectively, ${\beta}$-Lap is a potentially useful anti-cancer drug, particularly in combination with radiotherapy.