• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.39-47
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• 2010

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophic factor involved in neuronal differentiation, plasticity, survival and regeneration. BDNF draws massive attention mainly due to the potential as a therapeutic target in neurological diseases such as depression and Alzheimer's disease. In a primary screening for the natural compounds enhancing BDNF release from cultured rat primary cortical neuron, we found that compounds such as baicalein, tanshinone IIa, cinnamic acid, epiberberine, genistein and wogonin among many others increased BDNF release. All the compounds at $0.1{\mu}M$ of concentration barely showed stimulatory effect on BDNF induction, however, their combination (mixture 1; baicalein, tanshinone IIa and cinnamic acid, mixture 2; epiberberine, genistein and wogonin) showed synergistic increase in BDNF release as well as mRNA and protein expression. The level of BDNF expression was comparable to the maximum BDNF stimulation attainable by a positive control oroxylin A ($20{\mu}M$) without cell toxicity as determined by MTT analysis. Both mixtures synergistically increased the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) as well as cAMP response element binding protein (CREB), an immediate and essential regulator of BDNF expression. Similar to these results, mixture of these compounds synergistically inhibited the up-regulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) induced by lipopolysaccharide treatments in rat primary astrocytes. These results suggest that the combinatorial treatment of natural compounds in lower concentration might be a useful strategy to obtain sufficient BDNF stimulation in neurological disease condition such as depression, while minimizing potential side effects and toxicity of higher concentration of a single compound.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.129-139
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• 2016

Exercise increases the expression and interaction of major neurotrophic factors such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) at both central and peripheral tissues, which contributes to improved brain and neural plasticity and cognitive function. Previous findings have been to understand the effect of light or moderate intensity aerobic exercise on neurotrophic factors and cognitive function, not that of high intensity aerobic exercise. However, recent findings suggest that high intensity interval training is a safe, less time-consuming, efficient way to improve cardiorespiratory fitness and weight control, thus American College of Sport Medicine (ACSM)’s guidelines for exercise prescription for various adult populations also recommend the application of high intensity interval training to promote their overall health. High intensity interval training also enhances the expression of BDNF, IGF-1, and VEGF at the brain and peripheral tissues, which improves cognitive function. Increased frequency of intermittent hypoxia and increased usage of lactate as a supplementary metabolic resource at the brain and neural components are considered a putative physiological mechanism by which high intensity interval training improves neurotrophic factors and cognitive function. Therefore, future studies are required to understand how increased hypoxia and lactate usage leads to the improvement of neurotrophic factors and what the related biological mechanisms are. In addition, by comparing with the iso-caloric moderate continuous exercise, the superiority of high intensity interval training on the expression of neurotrophic factors and cognitive function should be demonstrated by associated future studies.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.585-593
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• 2015

Stress fiber (SF) alteration is mediated by cellular receptors, which, upon interaction with the extracellular counterpart, signal to the actin cytoskeleton for remodeling. This association is mediated by a variety of scaffold and signaling factors, which control the mechanical and signaling activities of the interaction site. The heterotrimeric transmembrane lymphotoxin α1β2 (LTα1β2), a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family of cytokines, including soluble homotrimeric lymphotoxin (LT α), plays an important role in lymphoid tissue architecture. Ligation between LTα1β2 and the lymphotoxin β receptor (LTβR) activates signal-cascade in fibroblastic reticular cells (FRCs). We found LTβR stimulation using an agonistic anti-LTβR antibody alone or combined with LTα or TNFα induced changes in the actin and plasticity of cells. To clarify the involvement of myosin underlying the alteration, we analyzed the effect of myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) with an MLCK inhibitor (ML7), the phosphorylation level of myosin light chains (MLC), and the level of phospho-myosin phosphatase target subunit 1 (MYPT1) after treatment with an agonistic anti-LTβR antibody for cytoskeleton reorganization in FRCs. The inhibition of MLCK activity induced changes in the actin cytoskeleton organization and cell morphology in FRC. In addition, we showed the phosphorylation of MLC and MYPT1 was reduced by LTβR stimulation in cells. A DNA chip revealed the LTβR stimulation of FRC down-regulated transcripts of myosin and actin components. Collectively, these results suggest LTβR stimulation is linked to myosin regarding SF alteration in FRC.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.948-954
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• 2010

Exercise can favorably influence brain plasticity by facilitating neurogeneration, neuroadaptivity, and neuroprotection. Aerobic exercise has been reported to change brain nerve growth factors (growth hormone, insulin like factor-1, estrogen and serotonin). The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the effects of aerobic exercise for 12 weeks on brain nerve growth factors in girls. Fourteen female participants in elementary school grades 1 through 3 were randomly allocated to the exercise group (EG, n=6) and control group (CG, n=8). The EG participated in 60 minutes of modified ballet exercise as aerobic training three days a week for 12 weeks. Based on comparison between groups by two-way ANOVA with repeated measures, aerobic exercise program participants experienced decreased weight (p<0.01), BMI (p<0.01), fat mass (p<0.001), fat percent (p<0.001) and increased LBM (lean body mass) percent (p<0.001). In addition, we detected that aerobic exercise decreased the level of serotonin (p<0.05) and increased the level of GH (p<0.05) and IGF-1 (p<0.05). These findings suggest that aerobic exercise programs can be an efficient intervention to change body composition, alleviate central fatigue, improve brain function, and induce brain cell proliferation in girls.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.77-104
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• 2001

The effects of the oriental herbal medicine Saenghyetang(SHT, 生慧湯), which consists of Rehmanniae Radix (熟地黃 九蒸: was made by 9th steam) 40g, Corni Fructus(山茱黃) 16g, Polygalae Radix(遠志) 8g, Zizyphi Spinosae Semen(酸棗仁) 2g, Biotae Semen(柏子仁 去油: oil ingredient was removed) 20g, Poria Cocos(茯笭) 12g, Ginseng Radix(人蔘) 12g, Acori Graminei Rhizoma(石菖蒲) 2g, Sinapis Semen(白芥子) 8g, on learning ability and memory were investigated. Hot water extract(HWE) and ethanol extract(EE) from SHT were used for the studies. Learning ability and memory are related to modifications of synaptic strength among neurons that interactive. Enhanced synaptic coincidence detection leads to improved learning ability and memory. If the NMDA receptor, a synaptic coincidence detector, acts as a graded switch for memory formations, enhanced signal detection by NMDA receptors should enhance learning ability and memory. It was shown that NR2B was increased in the forebrains of oriental medicine-administrated mice, leading to enhanced activation of NMDA receptors and facilitating synaptic potentiation in response to stimulation at 10-100 Hz. These HWE-SHT treated mice exhibited that superior ability in learning and memory when performing various behavioral tasks, showing that NR2B is enhanced by HWE-SHT treatment and also is critical in gating the age-dependent threshold for plasticity and memory formation. NMDA receptor-dependent modifications, which were mediated in part by HWE administration, of synaptic efficacy, therefore, represent a mechanism for associative learning ability and memory. Results suggest that oriental medical enhancement of NR2B contributes to increase intelligence and memory in mammals On the other hand, to examine the effects of EE-SHT on the learning ability and memory in experimental mice, EE-SHT was tested on passive and active avoidance responses. The EE-SHT ameliorated the memory retrieval deficit induced by ethanol in mice, but not other memory impairments. EE-SHT(10, 20mg/100 g, p.o.) did not affect the passive avoidance responses of normal mice in the step through and step down tests, the conditioned and unconditioned avoidance responses of normal mice in the shuttle box, lever press performance tests and the ambulatory activity of normal mice in a normal condition. However, EE-SHT at 20 mg/kg significantly decrease the spontaneous motor activity during the shuttle box test, and also to extend the sleeping time induced by pentobarbital in mice. These results suggest that SHT has an ameliorating effect on memory retrieval impairments and a weak tranquilizing action.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.29 no.11
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• pp.1015-1024
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• 2020

Using the waste(sand wastr and boiler ash) in fluidized bed inciverator, lightweight aggregate concrete was produced and a recycling plan was prepated. The first, the result of the leaching test shows that the waste fluid sand and boiler ash did not exceed the effluent standard. This indicates that there is no harmful effect for recycling. The second, in the lightweight aggregate test using waste fluid sand and boiler ash, the sample that combined cement, waste fluid sand, and sand showed the highest compressive strength, and the mix proportion was 10: 7: 3. Lightweight aggregate concrete that combined cement, waste fluid sand, boiler ash, and sand had a low compressive strength by and large. The third, the same results were identified in the relation between the content of SiO₂ and that of Na₂O. As the SiO₂ content is lowered, the overall viscosity and plasticity of the concrete also decrease, which is not a good condition to form concrete. As for Na₂O, as the content increases, the viscosity of the sample and the viscosity of the cement are remarkably lowered, and the strength of the finished concrete is lowered. Therefore, it was concluded that the higher the content of SiO₂ and the lower the content of Na₂O, the more suitable it is to mix with cement to produce concrete. Fourth, from the fluidized bed incinerator currently operated by company A in city B, a total of 14,188 tons/year were discharged as of 2016, including 8,355 tons/year of bottom ash (including waste fluid sand) and 5,853 tons/year of boiler ash. The cost for landfill bottom ash and boiler ash discharged is 51,000 won/ton, and the total annual landfill cost is 723,588,000 won/ year. Assuming that the landfill tax to be applied from the year 2018 is about 10,000 won/ton, and if there is no reduction in waste disposal charge, an additional landfill tax of 141,880,000 won/year will be imposed. Consequently, the sum total of the annual landfill cost will be 865,468,000 won/year. Therefore, if the entire amount is used for recycling, the annual savings of about 8.7 billion won can be expected.

• Journal of Technologic Dentistry
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.121-127
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• 2015

Purpose: This study was intended to investigate the effect of applying liner for chemical bonding and physical surface roughness created on zirconia by using a sandpaper before sintering on the bond strength between the two materials. Methods: Zirconia blocks were cut using a low-speed cutter. Plate-shaped specimen($6mm{\times}6mm{\times}3mm$) was fabricated by sintering after giving surface roughness according to four kinds of sandpapers. Depending on whether or not to use liner, 60 specimens were divided into two groups ZN(non-liner), ZL(liner), and the two groups were subdivided into four groups respectively in accordance with sandpaper used, totaling eight groups (n=10). The surface roughness (Ra) values and shapes before sintering were observed, and shear bond strength after pressing ceramic plasticity was measured with a universal testing machine. For a test of the significance, a one-way ANOVA was performed, and Tukey's multiple comparison test was conducted. Results: The observation of the surface roughness was SB04($2.22{\pm}1.16{\mu}m$), SB08($2.98{\pm}0.33{\mu}m$), SB12($2.44{\pm}1.32{\mu}m$), SB20($2.34{\pm}0.59{\mu}m$) and SA04($2.34{\pm}0.67{\mu}m$), SA08($1.28{\pm}0.90{\mu}m$), SA12($2.03{\pm}1.60{\mu}m$), SA20($2.19{\pm}1.73{\mu}m$). In the case of ZN Group, the shear bond strength was ZN04($23.26{\pm}3.83MPa$), ZN08($21.76{\pm}2.33MPa$), ZN12($20.49{\pm}3.01MPa$), ZN20($24.98{\pm}4.22MPa$)(p<0.05). As for ZL Group, the shear bond strength was ZL04($25.09{\pm}5.67MPa$), ZL08($22.98{\pm}2.26MPa$), ZL12($21.54{\pm}5.70MPa$), ZL20($23.98{\pm}3.23MPa$)(p<0.05). Conclusion: The research results showed that the bond strength of Zirconia core and Pressing ceramic was further improved by physical surface treatment before sintering, rather than by chemical bonding through liner surface treatment.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.241-250
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• 2013

As the amount of construction wastes increase, reuse of demolished concrete is being considered in research areas. Reflecting these interests, this experiment was performed to clarify concrete's mechanical property and workability using recycled aggregate as a coarse aggregate. Eleven cases of concrete specimens were produced by changing the rates of replacement of coarse recycled aggregate, replacement of fly ash, design strength, and moisture state of coarse aggregate. Compressive and tensile split strength tests were taken to study the mechanical properties of hardened concrete. To verify flowability of fresh concrete, a slump test and a flow curve test using ICAR Rheometer were performed. It was found that using recycled aggregate and fly ash leads good workability by testing slump and flow curve. The yield stress of fresh concrete decreased with increase of recycled aggregate substitution rate. Through the test, it was confirmed that there is inversely proportional relationship between the slump and yield stress roughly. Recycled aggregate concrete containing fly ash has considerably lower plasticity viscosity than not containing fly ash. Strength test results showed that recycled aggregate tended to decrease compressive and tensile strength of concrete, when recycled aggregate was used as a coarse aggregate. Using over 30% recycled aggregate caused significant decreases in compressive and tensile strength. Replacing 30% cement with fly ash was helpful to improve the long-term strength of concrete.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.29-46
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• 2014

For circular rigid footings with a rough base on sand, combined vertical - horizontal loading capacity was studied by three-dimensional numerical modelling. A numerical model was implemented to simulate the swipe loading and the probe loading methods and an interpretation procedure was devised in order to eliminate the numerical error from the restricted mesh density. Using the Mohr-Coulomb plasticity model, the effect of friction angle was studied under the associated flow-rule condition. The swipe loading method, which is efficient in that the interaction diagram can be drawn with smaller number of analyses, was confirmed to give similar results with the probe loading method, which follows closely the load-paths applied to real structures. For circular footings with a rough base, the interaction diagram for combined vertical (V) - horizontal (H) loading and the inclination factor were barely affected by the friction angle. It was found that the inclination factors for strip and rectangular footings are applicable to circular footings. For high H/V ratios, the results by numerical modelling of this study were smaller than the results of previous studies. Discussions are made on the factors affecting the numerical results and the areas for further researches.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.30 no.11
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• pp.25-37
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• 2014

Clay or sand does not exist alone but various sizes of soil are mixed in the field. In this study, the effect of water content on large deformation of such mixed soils is studied by using soil column tests and a particle method. A soil column with 7 cm in diameter and 13 cm in height, which was made out of kaolinite with sand content of 0, 10, 25, or 50%, was tested for large deformation. Its deformation was monitored with time. While increasing its water content from 40, 60, to 80%, a total of 12 types of soil column tests were carried out. The particle method simulated their deformation with time. A maximum plastic shear modulus, which was a function of undrained shear strength and plasticity index for soils with different water contents, was associated with soil viscosity to simulate large deformation of soil column. When a sand content of soil column was constant, the deformation of soil column increased with increasing water content. When a water content of soil column was constant, large deformation occurred with increasing the sand content. The maximum deformation, which was 22 cm in diameter, was observed in the case of water content of 80% and sand content of 50%. The particle method was able to relatively well simulate such large deformation and stress change of soils.