• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.677-682
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• 2013

Impaired glucose tolerance(IGT) & Impaired fasting glucose(IFG) were standardized in 1979 by the National Diabetes Data Group and the World Health Organization as a risk factor for type 2 diabetes. The main clinical significance of IGT & IFG shows some risk factors on type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and component of the metabolic syndrome. In 1997, the American Diabetes Association(ADA) proposed the new classification and diagnostic criteria for diabetes, which wss striction on the diagnostic baseline of Diabetes from 140 mg/dl to 126 mg/dl. This is because that the early diagnosis and treatments can prevent chronic complications. In the oriental medicine, Gamiyookmigihwang-tang has been using for the treatments of Diabetes including IGT & IFG; however, there have not been enough studies about the effect of the glycemic control objectively. So clinical studies have been performed on a mild DM(Diabetes Mellitus) patient with IGT and IFG in order to investigate whether there is hypoglycemic effect of Gamiyookmigihwang-tang. Prior to the study, for two weeks fasting blood sugar(FBS) and postprandial 2hrs(PP2hrs) glucose were checked. in addition ECG, T-cholesterol, TG, HbA1c levels were measured; then, Gamiyookmigihwang-tang has administrated for 4 weeks. and FBS, PP2hrs, T-cholesterol, TG, HbA1c were measured again after the herb medicine treatment. FBS, PP2hrs glucose levels and other measuring levels (T-cholesterol, TG, HbA1c) were decreased by the administration of Gamiyookmigihwang-tang. Gamiyookmigihwang-tang has hypoglycemic effects on a mild DM patient with IGT and IFG.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.14-20
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• 1999

Twenty isolates of Helminthosporium species were obtained from various grass plants and tested for controlling efficacy on the development of plant diseases. An isolate of Helminthosporium sp. TP-4 was chosen and six antibiotic substances were purified from cultures of the fungus by repeated silica gel column chromatography and preparative thin-layer chromatography. They were identified as ophiobolin a, 6-epiophiobolin A, 3-anhydroophiobolin A, 3-anhydro-6-epiophiobolin A, iphiobolin B, and iphiobolin I mainly by mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry. Ophiobolins inhibited the growth of a grampositive bacterium Streptomyces griseus, but were not active against gram-negative bacteria. They also showed an antifungal activity. In in vivo tests, iphiobolin B exhibited potent controlling activities against rice blast, tomato late blight, and wheat leaf rust with control values more than 90% and 70% at concentration of $500\mu\textrm{m}$/ml and 100 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$/ml. Ophiobolin A and 6-epiophiobolin A controlled the development of wheat leaf rust more than 80% at concentrations of 100 /ml and $500\mu\textrm{m}$/ml respectively. 3-Anhydro-6-epiophiobolin A was not active against any plant disease. On the other hand, the A-series ophiobolins other than 3-anhydroophiobolin A showed stronger phytotoxic activity in a leaf-wounding assay using 8 plant species than those of 3-anhydroophiobolin A, ophiobolin B, and ophiobolin I. The results indicate that there is little correlation between antifungal activity and phytotoxicity of ophiobolins.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.751-754
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• 2013

Neurognathostomiasis is a severe form of human gnathostomiasis which can lead to disease and death. Diagnosis of neurognathostomiasis is made presumptively by using clinical manifestations. Immunoblotting, which recognizes antigenic components of molecular mass 21 kDa and 24 kDa in larval extracts of Gnathostoma spinigerum (Gs 21/24), has high sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis of neurognathostomiasis. However, only very small amounts of the Gs 21/24 antigens can be prepared from parasites harvested from natural or experimental animals. To overcome this problem, we recently produced a recombinant matrix metalloproteinase (rMMP) protein from G. spinigerum. In this study, we evaluated this rMMP alongside the Gs 21/24 antigens for serodiagnosis of human neurognathostomiasis. We studied sera from 40 patients from Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen University, Thailand, with clinical criteria consistent with those of neurognathostomiasis, and sera from 30 healthy control adults from Thailand. All sera were tested for specific IgG antibodies against both G. spinigerum crude larval extract and rMMP protein using immunoblot analysis. The sensitivity and specificity for both antigenic preparations were all 100%. These results show that G. spinigerum rMMP protein can be used as an alternative diagnostic antigen, in place of larval extract, for serodiagnosis of neurognathostomiasis.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.75-86
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• 2011

Objectives : This study investigated oriental diagnosis and treatment of reflex esophagitis (RE) such as syndrome differentiation and herbal medicine by reviewing Chinese journals. Methods : A journal search was performed using China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) from January 2006 to December 2010. The keywords were the various combinations of 'reflex esophagitis', 'Chinese medicine', 'syndrome differentiation', and 'herbal medicine'. All types of journal entries that explained or referred to herbal medicines and definite syndrome differentiations were included. The Types of the journals were randomized clinical trials (RCT), reviews, essays, case series and reports. Vague syndrome differentiations and experimental studies were excluded. Selected journals were extracted and summarized by two researchers independently. Results : 47 Chinese entries were finally selected. 61% of them were case-control trials that had non-randomized, active controlled clinical trials. 36 kinds of syndrome differentiations about RE were investigated. We summarized and divided them into 10 syndrome differentiation groups. 肝胃不和(syndrome of liver qi invading the stomach) in syndrome differentiation, 和胃降逆 (harmonize the stomach and direct qi downward) in method of treatment, and Jwa kum-whan (左金丸) were cited with high frequency in RE. Conclusions : We find that many kinds of syndrome differentiation groups and herbal medicines for reflex esophagitis are used in China, compared with Korea. Further studies will be required about oriental syndrome differentiation and treatment of this disease.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.142-148
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• 2010

The food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) has been used as an important dietary assessment tool in epidemiologic studies, but the usefulness of the FFQ has been debated in recent years. This study was performed to evaluate the relative validities of 3-day food records and the semi-quantitative FFQ. A total of 124 subjects finished 3-day food records (FRs) during each of the four seasons, as well as the FFQ from December 2002 to May 2004. The FFQ was a food based semi-quantitative FFQ including 103 items. Three-day FRs from each season and a randomly selected season were compared with the remaining 9-day FRs. The remaining 9-day FRs, as a reference measurement, were also compared with the FFQ. Pearson's correlation coefficients between the 3-day FRs and the 9-day FRs were between 0.14 and 0.56. Pearson's correlation coefficients between the FFQ and the 9-day FRs ranged between 0.07 and 0.41. Average proportions of classification into the same quartiles, adjacent quartiles, and distant quartiles between the 3-day FRs and the 9-day FRs were 35.8%, 40.5%, and 5.2%, respectively. On average, the proportions of classification into the same quartiles, adjacent quartiles, and distant quartiles between the FFQ and the 9-day FRs were 31.1%, 39.4%, and 6.9%, respectively. Three-day FRs showed higher correlations and higher agreement proportions of quartile classification with the 9-day FRs than did the FFQ, but both relative validities of 3-day FRs and the FFQ appear to be acceptable as dietary assessment tools. Further studies for validating food intake by reliable biomarkers are necessary.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.803-808
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• 2010

Poly-${\gamma}$-glutamic acid (${\gamma}$-PGA) is a natural edible polypeptide in which glutamate is polymerized via ${\gamma}$-amide linkages. First, we assessed the eye irritancy potential of ${\gamma}$-PGA in rabbits. Additionally, we studied the effects of ${\gamma}$-PGA on corneal wound healing, due to the anti-inflammatory properties and water retaining abilities of ${\gamma}$-PGA. In this study, the effects of ${\gamma}$-PGA on corneal wound healing after an alkali burn were evaluated. Thirty eyes wounded by alkali burning in 30 white rabbits were divided into three groups: group A was treated with 0.1% 5,000 kDa ${\gamma}$-PGA for 2 days; group B was treated with 0.1% hyaluronic acid; and group C was not treated, as a control. The area of corneal epithelial defect was examined at 12, 24, 30, 36, 42, and 48 h after corneal alkali wounding to determine initial wound healing. We found that ${\gamma}$-PGA promoted corneal wound healing, compared with controls, and showed similar effects to hyaluronic acid. These results indicate that ${\gamma}$-PGA stimulates corneal wound healing by an anti-inflammatory effect and enhancing cell migration and cell proliferation. ${\gamma}$-PGA is a promising biomaterial that may be a substitute for hyaluronic acid in corneal wound healing treatment.

• The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.1181-1187
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• 2012

The depression of the elderly decreases satisfaction in life and is also an important risky factor of their suicide. The subjects of the study were 615 males and 904 females aged above 65 who had the 2008 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey on the relations between presence of spouses and depression given by the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Through a chi-square test and a multiple logistic regression, the relations between general characteristics, contraction, health characteristics and depression were analysed. As a result of the multiple logistic regression for which age, family income, subjective health status, presence of activity limitation and stress were revised, the odds ratio of the males without spouses was 2.37(95% CI 1.03-5.45), which indicates that they had more depression than female subjects. However, for the female subjects, there were no relations between presence of spouses and depression.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.253-259
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• 2011

The rapid rise in the incidence of obesity has emerged as one of the most pressing global public health issues in recent years. The underlying etiological causes of obesity, whether behavioral, environmental, genetic, or a combination of several of them, have not been completely elucidated. The obesity epidemic has been attributed to the ready availability, abundance, and overconsumption of high-energy content food. We determined here by Pearson's correlation the relationship between food type consumption and rising obesity using the loss-adjusted food availability data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Services (ERS) as well as the obesity prevalence data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Our analysis showed that total calorie intake and consumption of high fructose com syrup (HFCS) did not correlate with rising obesity trends. Intake of other major food types, including chicken, dairy fats, salad and cooking oils, and cheese also did not correlate with obesity trends. However, our results surprisingly revealed that consumption of com products correlated with rising obesity and was independent of gender and race/ethnicity among population dynamics in the U.S. Therefore, we were able to demonstrate a novel link between the consumption of com products and rising obesity trends that has not been previously attributed to the obesity epidemic. This correlation coincides with the introduction of bioengineered corns into the human food chain, thus raising a new hypothesis that should be tested in molecular and animal models of obesity.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.315-319
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• 2009

Astragalus Membranaceus (AM) is a useful Korean herb that has been clinically prescribed for stress-related illness. The objective of the present study was to examine the anti-stress effects of AM on repeated stress-induced alterations of anxiety, learning and memory in rats. Restraint stress was administered for 14 days (2h/day) and AM (400mg/kg) given by oral administration, in the AM group, for the same period. Starting on the eighth day, the rats were tested for spatial memory on the Morris water maze test (MW) and for anxiety on the elevated plus maze (EPM). Changes of expression on immunohistochemistry were studied for cholineacetyl transferase (ChAT) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in the brain. The results showed that the rats treated with AM had significantly reduced stress-induced deficits on learning and memory on the spatial memory tasks. In addition, the ChAT immunoreactivities were increased. In the EPM, treatment with AM increased the time spent in the open arms (p<0.001) compared to the control group. In addition, AM treatment also normalized increases of TH expression in the LC (p<0.001). In conclusion, administration of AM improved spatial learning and memory and reduced stress-induced anxiety. Thus, the present results suggest that AM is able to recover behavioral and neurochemical impairments induced by stress.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.125-136
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• 2010

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to analyze the proportion of fundus examination of DM patients for preventing microvascular complication and to examine the factors related to fundus examination in DM patients. Methods: This study used 2005 Korean national health and nutrition survey data. We selected all 1,129 diabetes mellitus patients from the data. And we choose 8 factors related to diabetes mellitus patients. These are sex, age group, type of residential area(rural or urban), education level, income level, comorbidity with hypertension, current insulin use, and duration of suffering from DM. We have analysed these factors by whether he had been examined fundus or no through Chi-square and logistic regression analysis. Results: Female DM patients have tendency to get more fundus examination than Male DM patients. And Young patients, patients who live in urban area, well educated patients, high income patients, comorbidity with hypertension, patients have got the insulin injection, patients have long duration of suffering from DM are to get more fundus examination. According to multivariate logistic regression analysis, sex and education level, income level, and duration of suffering from DM, comorbidity with hypertension, patients have got the insulin injection are significant factors on fundus examination for prevent microvascular diabetes mellitus complications. Conclusions and Discussion: We have concluded that physicians and policy makers should consider to fundus examination especially of man and DM patients who have more shorter disease period and low educated patients and low incomed patients and patients who have taken insulin therapy.