• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.233-240
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• 2016

Purpose: Diabetic complications are a major concern to manage progression of diabetes. Production of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) due to high blood glucose is one of the mechanisms leading to diabetic complications. Multiple pharmacologic AGE inhibitory agents are currently under development, but clinical applications are still limited due to safety issues. Thus, it is necessary to identify a safe anti-glycation agent. It is known that burdock roots have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer activities. The objective of the present study was to investigate the inhibitory role of burdock roots on the formation of high glucose-induced glycation of bovine serum albumin (BSA). Methods: In this study, glycation of BSA by glucose, galactose, or fructose at $37^{\circ}C$ for 3 weeks was assessed based on levels of ${\alpha}$-dicarbonyl compounds (early-stage glycation products), fructosamine (intermediate products of glycation), and fluorescent AGEs (late-stage glycation products). In order to compare the inhibitory actions of burdock root extract in AGE formation, aminoguanidine (AG), a pharmacological AGE inhibitor, was used as a positive control. Results: BSA glycation by glucose, fructose, and galatose was dose- and time-dependently produced. Burdock root extract at a concentration of 4 mg/mL almost completely inhibited glucose-induced BSA glycation. The results demonstrate that burdock root extract inhibited AGE formation with an $IC_{50}$ value of 1.534 mg/mL, and inhibitory activity was found to be more effective than the standard anti-glycation agent aminoguanidine. This study identified a novel function of burdock root as a potential anti-glycation agent. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that burdock root could be beneficial for preventing diabetic complications.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.27 no.3 s.90
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• pp.237-241
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• 1999

To search for less toxic antiviral agents from Basidiomycetes, the water soluble components (=EA), were isolated from the carpophores of Elfvingia applanata (Pers.) Karst. Anti-varicella zoster virus (Oka strain; anti-VZV/Oka) activity of EA was examined in MRC-5 cells by plaque reduction assay in vitro. And the combined antiviral effects of EA with interferon (IFN) alpha or IFN gamma were examined on the multiplication of VZV/Oka. EA exhibited a dose-dependent reduction in the plaque formation of VZV/Oka with 50% effective concentration $(EC_{50})$ of $464.14\;{\mu}g/ml$. The results of the combination assay were evaluated by the combination index (CI) that was calculated by the multiple drug effect analysis. The combination of EA with IFN alpha showed partially synergistic or additive effects with CI values of $0.83{\sim}1.09$ for 50%, 70%, 90% effective levels, and those with IFN gamma showed antagonism with CI values of $1.20{\sim}1.24$.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.12-20
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• 2006

Some natural products are able to inhibit radiation effects and exert an antitumor effect with fewer adverse reactions; however, their antitumor effects are less than those of widely-used synthetic drugs. Propolis is a natural material that has been attracting attention, and we extracted this material with water and investigated the effect of continuous propolis administration on radioactivity-induced reduction of hemocytes, in addition to the antioxidant and antitumor effects of propolis. Following a 1-week adjustment period, water-soluble propolis was administered intraperitoneally to male ICR mice at a dose of 100 mg/kg every other day for 2 weeks. Following administration, 2 Gy whole-body irradiation was performed and the counts of leukocytes, lymphocytes, and granulocytes and monocytes in the peripheral blood were determined 1, 3, 7, 15 and 30 days after irradiation. These cells were considered since they are closely associated with immunity to radioactivity. In a second experiment, water-soluble propolis was similarly administered to the mice for 2 weeks after a 1-week adjustment period, and 2 Gy whole-body irradiation was performed. The antioxidant effects in hemocytes were then investigated using 2,2'-azobis (2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH), a radical generator. In a third experiment, $1\;{\times}\;10^6$ Sarcoma-180 cells were inoculated into the right thigh of mice, which were divided into four groups: control, water-soluble propolis-treated, 6 Gy irradiated and water-soluble propolis-treated + 6 Gy irradiated groups, and changes in tumor size were measured for 20 days. Statistical analysis was conducted using ANOVA for multiple groups. In the three experiments, administration of water-soluble propolis inhibited the reduction of hemocytes caused by whole-body irradiation, showed antioxidant effects against radioactivity, and inhibited tumor growth, respectively. In conclusion, our data suggest that the antioxidant effect of watersoluble propolis inhibits hemocyte reduction caused by whole-body irradiation and enhances immunological inhibition of tumor growth.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.89-95
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• 2004

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) often uses small beam segments. The heterogeneity effect is well known for relatively large field sizes used in the conventional radiation treatments. However, this effect is not known in small fields such as the beamlets used in IMRT. There are many factors that can cause errors in the small field i.e. electronic disequilibrium and multiple electron scattering. This study prepared geometrically regular heterogeneous phantoms, and compared the measurements with the calculations using the Convolution/Superposition algorithm and Monte Carlo method for small beams. This study used the BEAM00/EGS4 code to simulate the head of a Varian 2300C/D. The commissioning of a 6MV photon beam were performed from two points of view, the beam profiles and depth doses. The calculated voxel size was 1${\times}$1${\times}$2$\textrm{cm}^2$ with field sizes of 1${\times}$1$\textrm{cm}^2$, 2${\times}$2$\textrm{cm}^2$, and 5${\times}$5$\textrm{cm}^2$. The XiOTM TPS (Treatment Planning System) was used for the calculation using the Convolution/Superposition algorithm. The 6MV photon beam was irradiated to homogeneous (water equivalent) and heterogeneous phantoms (water equivalent ＋ air cavity, water equivalent ＋ bone equivalent). The beam profiles were well matched within :t1 mm and the depth doses were within ${\pm}$2%. In conclusion, the dose calculations of the Convolution/Superposition and Monte Carlo simulations showed good agreement with the film measurements in the small field.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.83-89
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• 2020

Osteoporosis is a worldwide disease leading to significant economic and societal burdens globally. Osteoporosis is caused by unbalanced bone remodeling between the rate of osteoclast bone resorption and osteoblast bone formation. Acer tegmentosum Maxim (AT) is a traditional herbal medicine containing multiple biological activities such as anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory purposes. However, its role in osteoporosis has not been fully studied. Therefore, we investigated whether AT has a potent inhibitory effect on osteoporosis and its mechanism through a systemic evaluation in ovariectomized (OVX) mice. OVX mice were orally administrated with the AT at doses of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg for 10 weeks. Histological images and histomorphometry analyses were performed by H&E and Toluidine blue satin, and the expression levels of receptor activator for nuclear factor-kB ligand (RANKL), nuclear factor of activated T cells cytoplasm 1 (NFATc1), c-Fos, and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) related to the osteoclast differentiation were investigated using immunohistochemical analysis. Administration of AT prevented bone loss and the alternations of osteoporotic bone parameters at the distinct regions of the distal femur and spongiosa region in OVX mice. Further, administration of AT increased periosteal bone formation in a dose-dependent manner. Meanwhile, AT inhibited not only the expression of NFATc1 and c-Fos, which are two major regulators of osteoclastogenesis but also reduced bone resorbed encoding expression of MMP9 and RANKL. Our results indicated that administration of AT prevented bone loss and the alternations of osteoporotic bone parameters at the distinct regions of the distal femur and spongiosa region in OVX mice. Also AT has the bone protective effect through the suppression of osteoclast and promotion of osteoblast, suggesting that it could be a preventive and therapeutic candidate for anti-osteoporosis.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.64-74
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• 2016

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether chemical exposure among workers has relevance to dyspnea using data from the $3^{rd}$ Korea Working Conditions Survey. Methods: The research subjects were 29,711 wage workers. Chemical exposures consist of four factors, (1) breathing in vapors, fumes, dust and dirt, (2) breathing in organic solvent vapors, (3) handling or touching chemicals, and (4) secondhand smoke. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association between chemical exposure and dyspnea in the last 12months using proc surveylogistic in SAS 9.3 statistical software excluding people who had received a diagnosis of hypertension or obesity that can affect the respiratory distress symptoms(n=27,842). Results: Chemical exposure among workers was associated with dyspnea after adjustment for demographics and job characteristics. Prevalence of dyspnea was 4.9 per 1,000 among men and 5.8 per 1,000. Compared to a total score of 0 points of chemical exposure among workers, a total score of 1, 2-3, and 4 points tended to have increased risk of dyspnea in a dose-response manner for both men (OR=1.43, 1.93, and 4.26; P-for trend=0.002) and women(OR=1.10, 2.81, and 7.70; P-for trend=0.002). Stratified analysis by duration of current job showed that the association between chemical exposure and dyspnea tended to get stronger until 15 years and then disappeared afterwards, which reflects healthy worker survivor effect. Conclusions: We observed significant association between chemical exposure and dyspnea using the data of the $3^{rd}$ Korea Working Conditions Survey. Our results warrants providing knowledge related to chemical exposure, performing prevention activities, and creating various health policies to protect workers.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.90-94
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• 2014

Salivary duct carcinoma(SDC) is rare malignancy, accounting for approximately 1-3% of all malignant salivary gland tumors. Systemic chemotherapy has been used for stage IV SDC, but there is no consensus on the standard treatment. SDC is histologically similar to ductal carcinoma of breast and often overexpress HER2/neu, hence HER2/neu targeted therapy could be one of treatment options. A 75-year-old Arabian man was diagnosed as SDC of right parotid gland with extensive metastases. He received oral 5-FU as palliative chemotherapy, but he was intolerable to oral chemotherapy due to severe oral mucositis. Considering immunohistochemical stain of tumor tissue showing strong positive for HER2/neu, we decided to administer an anti-HER2/neu antibody, trastuzumab. Follow-up CT scans before the third dose of trastuzumab demonstrated remarkable regression of multiple metastases as well as primary tumor. This case suggests that HER2/neu targeted therapy may be a potential therapeutic option for the SDC patient with overexpression of HER2/neu.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.195-201
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• 1996

Ninety-six isolates of Edwardsiella tarda recovered from outbreaks of Edwardsiellosis in cultured eels(Anguilla japonica) in Kunsan, were examined for drug susceptibility, distribution and transferabilities of R plasmid. All of the E. tarda isolates examined were sensitive to gentamicin(GM), streptomycin(SM), norfloxacin(NF), and amikacin(AK). But most isolates were resistant to sulfadimethoxine(SD, 86 strains), ampicillin(AM, 84 strains), penicillin G(PM, 80 strains), nalidixic acid (NA, 67 strains), oxytetracycline(OT, 44 strains), and oxolinic acid(OA, 37 strains). Twenty different combinations of drug resistance patterns were observed : the frequently encountered pattern was SD-AM-PM-NA-OA(16 strains), SD-AM-PM-NA(14 strains), SD-AM-PM-NA-OT-OA(12 strains), SD-AM-PM-OT(10 strains), and SD-AM-PM-NA-OT(8 strains). Transferable R plasmids were found out to be carried in 78 out of 94 resistant strains, indicating that these isolates carry conjugally transferable R plasmids associated with single or multiple drugs. The frequently observed transferarble R plasmids were AM(8 strains), AM-PM-NA(8 strains), Am-SD(6 strains), PM(6 strains), and SD(6 strains) These results suggest that high dose of various antibacterials might have already been introduced to eel culture system leading to the acquirement of multi-drug resistance to wide range of antibacterials.

• Journal of Korea Society of Industrial Information Systems
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.27-35
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• 2011

Multicarrier-Direct Sequence/Code Division Multiple Access(MC-DS/ CDMA) which is a combination of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing(OFDM) and DS/CDMA has been of significant interest as a means to take such advantages as bandwidth efficiency, high bit rate and robustness against multipath fading. In this paper we study a reduced-complexity multiuser detection aided multirate MC-DS/CDMA with time(T)-domain and frequency(F)-domain spreading. The one- dimensional orthogonal variable spreading factor(1D OVSF) code extracted from 2D OVSF code are used as a spreading code in T/F-domain. The proposed system will use code grouping interference cancellation(CGIC) receiver to reduce Multiuser Interference(MUI). The CGIC receiver uses code grouping by the correlation properties of 1D OVSF code and dose not requires the code information and activity of other user. The multiuser detector with CGIC receiver will be analyzed in Time- and Frequency-domain separately(jointly). The system performance is analytically derived in Additive White Gaussian Noise(AWGN) channel and we also compare the system performance between proposed system and T/F spreaded single(multi) rate multiuser MC-DS/CDMA system. In the computer simulation results, the proposed receiver of demonstrated huge performance improvement over conventional matched filter receiver.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.398-405
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• 2015

Background: Ginseng has been used as a tonic for invigoration of the human body. In a previous report, we identified a novel candidate responsible for the tonic role of ginseng, designated gintonin. Gintonin induces $[Ca^{2+}]_i$ transient in animal cells via lysophosphatidic acid receptor activation. Gintonin-mediated $[Ca^{2+}]_i$ transient is linked to anti-Alzheimer's activity in transgenic Alzheimer's disease animal model. The previous method for gintonin preparation included multiple steps. The aim of this study is to develop a simple method of gintonin fraction with a high yield. Methods: We developed a brief method to obtain gintonin using ethanol and water. We extracted ginseng with fermentation ethanol and fractionated the extract with water to obtain water-soluble and water-insoluble fractions. The water-insoluble precipitate, rather than the water-soluble supernatant, induced a large $[Ca^{2+}]_i$ transient in primary astrocytes. We designated this fraction as gintonin-enriched fraction (GEF). Results: The yield of GEF was approximately 6-fold higher than that obtained in the previous gintonin preparation method. The apparent molecular weight of GEF, determined using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, was equivalent to that obtained in the previous gintonin preparation method. GEF induced $[Ca^{2+}]_i$ transient in cortical astrocytes. The effective dose (ED50) was $0.3{\pm}0.09{\mu}g/mL$. GEF used the same signal transduction pathway as gintonin during $[Ca^{2+}]_i$ transient induction in mouse cortical astrocytes. Conclusion: Because GEF can be prepared through water precipitation of ginseng ethanol extract and is easily reproducible with high yield, it could be commercially utilized for the development of gintoninderived functional health food and natural medicine.