• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.437-445
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• 2013

This study was investigated to evaluate the vasorelaxant effect of Rubus coreanus(RC) extract on contracted rabbit carotid artery and its mechanism. To study the effect of RC extract on contracted rabbit carotid arterial strips, arterial strips with intact or damaged endothelium were used for experiment using organ bath. The pre-contracted arterial strips with norepinephrine(NE) or potassium chloride(KCl) was treated with various concentrations of an extract of RC(0.01, 0.03, 0.1, 0.3 and 1.0 $mg/m{\ell}$). To determine the mechanisms of RC-induced vasorelaxant, RC extract was infused into contracted arterial rings which had been pretreated by indomethacin(IM), tetraethylammonium chloride(TEA), $N{\omega}$-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA), methylene blue(MB). And calcium chloride(Ca) 1 mM was infused into precontracted arterial ring induced by NE or KCl after treatment of RC extract in $Ca^{2+}$-free krebs solution. Cytotoxic activity of RC extract on human umbilical vein endothelial cell(HUVEC) was measured by MTT assay, and nitric oxide(NO) prodution was measured by Griess reagent. RC extract revealed significant relaxation on NE-induced arterial contraction, but didn't relax on KCl-induced arterial contraction. RC extract also had an effective relaxation to the intact endothelium arterial ring, but not the damaged endothelium arterial ring. Treatment of IM, TEA, L-NNA, MB reduced the relaxation of RC extract. Pretreatment of RC extract inhibited the contraction by influx of extracellular $Ca^{2+}$ in contracted arterial ring induced by NE, but it didn't work the contraction by influx of extracellular $Ca^{2+}$ in contracted arterial ring induced by KCl in $Ca^{2+}$-free krebs solution. RC extract increased nitric oxide production on HUVEC. This study indicated that the relaxation effect of RC extract on contracted rabbit carotid artery is related with NO-cGMP pathway, EDHF, prostacyclin.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.72-84
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• 2005

Purpose : This study was carried out to investigate the relaxational response to the water extract of Sobokchukeo-Tang(SCT) in isolated uterine muscle in rats. Methods : Segments of uterine muscle obtained from female rats immediately after delivery were mounted in organ baths superfused on a polygraph. The effects of SCT on the tension of potassium induced contracture were studied in rat uterine smooth muscles. All experiments were performed in Krebs-Henseit solution which was aerated with 100% oxygen and kept at $37^{\circ}C$. Results : KCI did not produce contraction in calcium-free solution, but $CaCl_2$ induced concentration-dependent contraction after depolarizing with KCI. SCT inhibited the tonic contraction of uterine muscle as dose dependent manner. And when SCT was pretreated in calcium-free medium, it showed more powerful relaxational effect. The effect of 10mg/ml concentration of SCT was equal to that of 9nM and 70nM of nifedipine and verapamil and the relaxational effect of SCT on rat uterine muscle can be assumed to be concerned with the action of cyclic AMP. But the action mechanism of relaxation on the rat uterine muscles were concerned with the calcium channel. Conclusion : From this study we could suggest that the relaxtional effect of SCT on uterine muscle be available to preventing and curing dysmenorrhea.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.591-600
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• 2016

Objective: This study aimed to examine the relaxation effects and underlying mechanisms of Cynomorii herba (CH) extract in isolated rabbit corpus cavernous tissues.Methods: We experimented with CH extract (0.01-3.0 mg/mL). Nω-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA) was experimented before the CH extract to contracted strips induced by phenylephrine (PE, 1 μM)and compared with nonexperimented. In addition, we experimented with calcium chloride (Ca²⁺, 1 mM) after pretreatment of the CH extract in Ca²⁺-free Krebs-Ringer solution to contracted strips induced by PE. The cell viability and nitric oxide (NO) concentration of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were measured by an methylthiazol-2-yl-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazoliumbromide (MTT) assay and Griess reagent system. The ratio of smooth muscles to collagen fibers, in addition to eNOS- and PDE-5-positive reactions, was examined by histochemical and immunohistochemical staining.Results: The CH extract significantly induced the relaxation of the cavernous strips, and the pretreatment with L-NNA inhibited CH extract-induced relaxation. The L-NNA pretreatment reduced the increased contraction induced by the addition of Ca²⁺in Ca²⁺-free solution. Furthermore, the NO concentration of the HUVECs increased. When the CH extract was applied to the corpus cavernosum of the penis (CCP) of Sprague Dawley rats, the ratio of smooth muscles to collagen fibers by PE and the formation of eNOS around the helicine artery increased. However, the CH extract treatment decreased PDE-5 positive reactions.Conclusions: These results show that the relaxation effects induced by the CH extract are associated with the suppression of the influx of extracellular Ca²⁺ via the production of NO and eNOS and inhibition of PDE-5.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.161-169
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• 1992

Studies were conducted to examine the effects of single or combined treatment of uniconazole [(E)-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-4, 4-dimethyl 2(1, 2,-4-triazol-1-yl)-1-penten-3-ol)] and silver thiosulfate (STS) on reducing ozone injury to snap beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L. 'Strike'). Two weeks after seeding, plants were given a soil drench of uniconazole(XE-1019) solution at concentrations of 0.001, 0.005 and 0.025 mg/pot, and then two days prior to ozone fumigation, 0.3 and 0.6 mM STS containing 0.01% Tween-20 were also sprayed. Uniconazole was effective in providing protection against ozone injury through increase activities of free radical scavengers such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) as well as the increase of chlorophyll content and stomatal resistance resulted from plant growth retardation. The phytoprotective effects of STS seemed to be related to its properly of blocking the ethylene action and increasing activities of SOD and POD. Even at low concentrations, a combined treatment with uniconazole drench, STS spray significantly reduced ozone injury compared to single application.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.107-113
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• 1981

Free sugars were isolated from ginseng root and its products and analyzed by using high performance liquid chromatogrphy. To isolate free sugars from aqueous sample solution fat-soluble components, crude saponin and protein were removed from the solution by extracting with benzene, water-saturated butanol and 80% ethanol, respectively. Free sugars found from both ginseng root and its products were fructose, glucose, sucrose and maltose, and the only sugar detected from red ginseng root and its products was rhamnose. Major sugar detected from fresh ginseng and white ginseng roots was sucrose, while sucrose and maltose were major sugars of red ginseng root.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.569-573
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• 2009

The biochemical and microbiological changes of the hard clam shikhae were studied during fermentation at $4-18^{\circ}C$ for 45 days. For preparation of the shikhae, the shucked hard clams were blanched into 2% saline solution and were soaked in seasoning solution before mixing with salt, cooked grain and spices. During fermentation, the initial pH steadily decreased from 5.0 to 4.6, but $NH_2-N$ and VBN concentrations increased to 127 mg/100 g and 27.0 mg/100 g, respectively. Alanine, taurine, glutamic acid, and aspartic acid concentrations increased, but arginine concentration decreased by fermentation. The major organic acids of the fermented shikhae were lactic acid, succinic acid and acetic acid. The major free sugar were maltose, glucose and fructose. The concentration of total viable cell ($2.1\times10^5$ CFU/g) and proteolytic bacteria ($1.2\times10^5$ CFU/g) increased to $4.4\times10^8$ CFU/g and $9.8\times10^7$ CFU/g, respectively until day 15 and then slightly decreased. The concentration of yeast ($2.4\times10^3$ CFU/g) increased to $1.6\times10^7$ CFU/g until day 25, but lactic acid bacteria ($5.0\times10^8$ CFU/g) increased to $5.0\times10^8$ CFU/g until day 9. Vibrio species was not detected on the TCBS agar during fermentation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.829-835
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• 2016

An excess in the nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphate leads to a phenomenon called eutrophication. In order to avoid this, numerous methods have been used to remove excess nutrients in the water. In this study, the use of a chemical method was assessed through the formation of magnesium ammonium phosphate. The difference in the removal efficiency of seawater and sea salt solution as primary sources of $Mg^{2+}$ ions and $Ca^{2+}$ ions for the formation of magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP) and hydroxyapatite (HAP) respectively, were observed, taking into account the changes in pH and concentration. The results showed that seawater removed about 90 % phosphate and less than 50 % ammonia in sewage water condition, whereas the sea salt solution removed almost 90 % phosphate and 70 % ammonia in solution at pH 9 and 10 mM concentration of sea salt which further increases as the optimum ${Mg/PO_4}^{3-}$, ${NH_4}^+$ ratio reaches 2. The difference in the removal efficiency of seawater and sea salt was due to the fact that the set-ups were prepared in different conditions. This study suggests that both seawater and sea salt can be used to remove nutrients from the water. The relatively higher removal of phosphate can be explained by the formation of HAP from free $Ca^{2+}$ ions initially present in seawater and sea salt solution.

• Proceedings of the Korean Biophysical Society Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.39-39
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• 2003

In our previous study, WEHI-231, an immature B cell line, showed intractable increase in [C $a^{2+}$]$_{c}$ after the B-cell receptor (BCR) ligation and treatment with 2-aminoethoxydiphenylborate (2-APB), which was never observed in Bal-17, a mature B cell line (Nam et al., 2003, FEBS Lett). In this study, a whole cell voltage clamp study revealed a specific expression of a novel type of $K^{+}$ current, namely voltage-independent background-type $K^{+}$ channels (IK-bg), in WEHI-231 cells. IK-bg was dramatically increase by the application of 2-APB (50 $\square$M), which induced severe hyperpolarization of WEHI-231 from -45 ㎷ to -90 ㎷, When dialyzed with $Mg^{2+}$ and ATP-free pipette solution, a spontaneous development of IK-bg and membrane hyperpolarization were observed. IK-bg was insensitive to classical $K^{+}$ channel blockers (TEA, glibenclamide, $Ba^{2+}$(1 mM)), whereas blocked by quinine and quinidine in a voltage-dependent manner ($IC_{50}$/=6~9 $\square$M at +60㎷). Phorbol myrstate, a PKC activator, decreased the amplitude of IK-bg. Extracellular acidification (pH 6.5) slightly inhibited IK-bg. Arachidonic acid, riluzole, or hyposmotic stress could not affect the IK-bg after the full development by the intracellular dialysis with Mg-ATP-free solution. In a cell-attached mode of single channel recording from WEHI231, we found two types of voltage-independent $K^{+}$ channels with unitary conductance of 300 pS and 120 pS, respectively. Both channels showed very short mean open times and their open probabilities were increase by the application of 2-APB. In Bal-17 cells, no such $K^{+}$ current was observed in 50 cells tested. In summary, WEHI-231 immature B cells express background $K^{+}$ channels. The pharmacological properties and the large unitary conductance suggest that novel types of two-pore domain $K^{+}$ channels (2-P-K channels) might be expressed in WEHI-231, which may provide an intriguing targets of signal transduction in the immature B lymphocytes.e B lymphocytes.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.184-194
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• 2003

Objective : This study was designed fo find out whether Astragali Radix Herbal-Acupuncture Solution(ARHA) can scavenge NO, DPPH and IL-4 or not. Astragali Radix has been clinically used to reforce the depression of immune reponse etc. in Oriental Medicine. Methods : Free radical metabolism seems to occupy a remarkably common position in the mechanisms of ageing and ageing related disease. Oxidative damage to DNA, lipids, proteins and other molecules may contribute to the development of cancer, cardiovascular disease and possibly neurodegenerative disease. The effects of ARHA on NO, DPPH and IL-4 were measured. Results : The followings are the summary of the result; (1) There is a significant scavenging effect of ARHA on NO in 1, $10mg/m{\ell}$ group in after 24hrs. (2) There is no significant scavenging effect of ARHA on DPPH. (3) There is a significant scavenging effect of ARHA on IL-4 in 1, $10,100{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ group. Conclusions : These results suggest that ARHA has significant scavenging effect on NO, IL-4 and not on DPPH. This study shows that ARHA can be used for ageing related disease and further studies are required to investigate the antioxidative effects of it.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.359-366
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• 2011

The feasibility of using volcanic ash for lead ion removal from wastewater was evaluated. The adsorption experiments were carried out in batch tests using volcanic ash that was treated with either NaOH or HCl prior to the use. Volcanic ash dose, temperature and initial Pb(II) concentration were chosen as 3 operational variables for a $2^3$ factorial design. Ash dose and concentration were found to be significant factors affecting Pb(II) adsorption. The removal of Pb(II) was enhanced with increasing volcanic ash dose and with decreasing the initial Pb(II) concentration. Pb(II) adsorption on the volcanic ash surface was spontaneous reaction and favored at high temperatures. Calculation of Gibb's free energy indicated that the adsorption was endothermic reaction. The equilibrium parameters were determined by fitting the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms, and Langmuir model better fitted to the data than Freundlich model. BTV(base-treated volcanic ash) showed the maximum adsorption capacity($Q_{max}$) of 47.39mg/g. A pseudo second-order kinetic model was fitted to the data and the calculated $q_e$ values from the kinetic model were found close to the values obtained from the equilibrium experiments. The results of this study provided useful information about the adsorption characteristics of volcanic ash for Pb(II) removal from aqueous solution.