• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.61 no.2
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• pp.138-146
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• 2023

Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular protozoan parasite which can infect most warm-blooded animals and humans. Among the different mouse models, C57BL/6 mice are more susceptible to T. gondii infection compared to BALB/c mice, and this increased susceptibility has been attributed to various factors, including T-cell responses. Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most prominent type of antigen-presenting cells and regulate the host immune response, including the response of T-cells. However, differences in the DC responses of these mouse strains to T. gondii infection have yet to be characterized. In this study, we cultured bone marrow-derived DCs (BMDCs) from BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice. These cells were infected with T. gondii. The activation of the BMDCs was assessed based on the expression of cell surface markers and cytokines. In the BMDCs of both mouse strains, we detected significant increases in the expression of cell surface T-cell co-stimulatory molecules (major histocompatibility complex (MHC) II, CD40, CD80, and CD86) and cytokines (tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-12p40, IL-1β, and IL-10) from 3 h post-T. gondii infection. The expression of MHC II, CD40, CD80, CD86, IFN-γ, IL-12p40, and IL-1β was significantly higher in the T. gondii-infected BMDCs obtained from the C57BL/6 mice than in those from the BALB/c mice. These findings indicate that differences in the activation status of the BMDCs in the BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice may account for their differential susceptibility to T. gondii.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.19-42
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to develop practical problem-based home economics teaching.learning process plans about a unit 'the youth and consumer life' of middle school eighth-grade Technology and Home Economics by applying blended learning(BL) strategy. According to ADDIE instructional design model, this study was conducted in the following procedure: analysis, design/development, implementation, and evaluation. In the stage of design and development, the selected unit was converted into a practical problem-based unit, and practical problem-based teaching. learning process plans were designed in detail by using BL strategy. An online study room for practical problem-based home economics instruction grounded in BL strategy was prepared by using Edunet(http://community.edunet4u.net/${\sim}$consumer2). Eight-session lesson plans were mapped out, and study aids for students and materials for teachers were prepared. In the implementation stage, the first-session teaching plans that dealt with a minor question 'what preparations should be made to become a wise consumer' were utilized when instruction was provided to 115 eighth graders who were in three different province, and the other one was in a middle school in the city of Daejeon. The experimental teaching was implemented for two weeks in the following procedure: preliminary program, pre-online learning, main instruction and post- online learning. The preliminary program was carried out in a session in the classroom, and pre-online learning was provided before the main instruction was given in a session in the classroom. After the main instruction was completed, post-online learning was offered. In the evaluation stage, a survey was conducted on all the learners and teachers to find out their opinions and suggestions.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.12-29
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• 2010

Purpose: This study was conducted to investigate the effect on factors related lactation after administration of Palmul-tang in postpartum C57BL/6N mice. Materials and Methods: Experimental groups were divided into control group post-par group and pre-par group. Pre-par and post-par group were administered Palmul-tang(p.o) twice a week for 4 weeks or 3 weeks respectively. Control group was administered normal saline for 3 weeks. Then we observed morphological change, immunohistochemical density and milk protein gene expression of factors related lactation within mammary gland of postpartum mice. Results: In post-par and pre-par groups, adipose tissue within mammary gland significantly decreased, and ductal branch and alveoli prominently developed than that of control group at 1~3 weeks after administraion of Palmul-tang. In post-par and pre-par groups, density of immunoreactivity on oxytocin, prolactin, estrogen and progesterone receptors in mammary glandular tissue significantly increased than that of control group. mRNA expression of $\beta$-casein and placental lactogen (PL)-1 in post-par group was more increased than that of control and pre-par groups. Conclusion: These results suggest that Palmul-tang significantly improved factors related lactation at postpartum period.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.183-187
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• 2009

In this study, we aimed to determine whether the evaluated markers of cell death could be found at particular developmental stages of normal porcine in vitro fertilization (IVF) embryos. We investigated the characteristics of spontaneous and induced apoptosis during preimplantation development stages of porcine IVF embryos. In experiment 1, to induce apoptosis of porcine IVF embryos, porcine IVF embryos at 22h post insemination were treated at different concentration of actinomycin D (0, 5, 50 and 500 ng/ml in NCSU medium). Treated embryos were incubated at $39^{\circ}C$ in 5% $CO_2$, 5% $O_2$ for 8h, and then washed to NCSU medium and incubated until blastocyst (BL) stage. We examined cleavage rate at 2days and BL development rate at 7days after in vitro culture. A significantly lower rate of cleavage was found in the 500 ng/ml group compared to others (500 ng/ml vs. 0, 5, 50 ng/ml; 27.8 % vs. 50.0%, 41.2%, 35.9%), and BL formation rate in 500 ng/ml was lower than that of others (500 ng/ml vs. 0, 5, 50 ng/ml; 8.0% vs. 12.6%, 11.2%, 12.6%). In experiment 2, to evaluate apoptotic cells, we conducted TUNEL assay based on morphological assessment of nuclei and on detection of specific DNA degradation under fluorescence microscope. This result showed that apoptosis is a normal event during preimplantation development in control group (0 ng/ml actinomycin D). A high number of BL derived control group contained at least one apoptotic cell. Actinomycin D treated BLs responded to the presence of apoptotic inductor by significant decrease in the average number of blastomeres and increase in the incidence of apoptotic cell death. In 500 ng/ml group, the incidence of apoptosis increased at 4-cell stage and later. This result suggested that apoptosis is a process of normal embryonic development and actinomycin D is useful tool for the apoptosis study of porcine preimplantation embryos.

• Journal of Convergence Korean Medicine
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.19-27
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• 2022

Objectives: TSepsis and subsequent acute lung injury (ALI) is a critical state of health caused by infection or endotoxins. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Water Extract of Aconiti Lateralis Preparata Radix (AR) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced sepsis in C57BL/6 mice. Methods: Male C57BL/6 mice were intraperitoneally injected with LPS to induce sepsis and ALI. AR was orally fed twice at 30 min and 180 min after LPS injection. At 24 h post injection, mice were sacrificed, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and blood was collected, and lung tissue was harvested. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was performed in lung tissues, wet/dry ratio of the lung tissue was measured, and the serum cytokine and chemokine levels were analyzed. Results: AR revoked the LPS-induced pathological changes in lung tissues, such as abnormal histological structures, immune cell infiltration and lung edema. Also, AR suppressed the neutrophil infiltration into the lung which was greatly increased by LPS injection based on the cell content of collected BALF. Serum cytokines and chemokines were measured, and AR reversed the LPS-induced increase of cytokines such as interleukin 1 beta, interleukin 6, tumor necrosis factor alpha and chemokines including C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 1 and 2. Conclusion: TAR showed a protective effect in the pathological progress of LPS-induced ALI. Especially, AR suppressed lung edema and infiltration of neutrophils by inhibiting cytokine and chemokine expressions. Such results demonstrate the potential of AR as a therapeutic agent for sepsis and sepsis-induced ALI.

• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.317-325
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• 2017

Objectives This study is aimed to develop a Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) on acupuncture treatment for the stroke patients with Post-stroke Urinary Incontinence(PSUI). Methods Experts committee, consisting of stroke or methodology specialists, searched Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and 19 Korean medicine journals. The search terms were selected to screen the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or systematic reviews for the effectiveness of acupuncture on PSUI, compared with placebo or conventional group. Levels of evidence and grades of recommendations were appraised based on Recommendations for Development of Clinical Practice Guideline in Korean Medicine. Results & Conclusions 8 RCT were included to build the CPG. There was a strong evidence to support the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment for PSUI. The moderate evidence was presented that over 3 times a week of the acupuncture should be performed over 4 weeks on the acupoints, such as BL23, CV3, SP6, CV4, CV6, ST28, BL28, BL32, GV20, BL22, GV4 or ST36, for 15-30 minutes. 1-150 Hz frequency is suggested if electro-acupuncture treatments is performed with. It was also suggested that the procedure should begin at the acute stage just after the vital signs of the patients are stabilized. There was a moderate evidence to support safety of acupuncture treatment for PSUI. We recommend acu-points of constitutional acupuncture for Sasangin on the healthy side.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.335-343
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• 2018

Objective: Remarkable difference in cellular activity was found between early and late subpassaged embryonic stem cell (ESCs) lines, which can be created by subtle changes in cell manipulation protocol. This study subsequently examined whether post-thaw subculture of early subpassaged ESC lines could further affect the activity of the ESCs. Methods: Fresh (as a control treatment) or cryopreserved F1 hybrid (B6CBAF1) early ESC lines (C57BL/6xCBA) of the 4 (P4) or the 19 passage (P19) were subcultured once, twice or six times under the same condition. The post-thaw survival of the ESCs was monitored after the post-treatment subculture and the ability of cell proliferation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, apoptosis and mitochondrial ATP synthesis was subsequently examined. Results: Regardless of the subculture number, P19 ESCs showed better (p<0.05) doubling time and less ATP production than P4 ESCs and such difference was not influenced by fresh or cryopreservation. The difference between P4 and P19 ESC lines became decreased as the post-treatment subculture was increased and the six times subculture eliminated such difference. Similarly, transient but prominent difference in ROS production and apoptotic cell number was detected between P4 and P19 ESCs only at the 1st subculture after treatment, but no statistical differences between two ESC lines was detected in other observations. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that post-thaw subculture of ESCs under the same environment is recommended for standardizing their cellular activity. The activity of cell proliferation ability and ATP synthesis can be used as parameters for quality control of ESCs.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.291-297
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• 2014

The radioprotective effects of a single administration of kojic acid (KA) against ionizing radiation were evaluated via assessment of 30-day survival and alterations of peripheral blood parameters of adult C57BL/6 male mice. The 30-day survival rate of mice pretreated with KA (75 or 300 mg/kg body weight, KA75 or KA300) subcutaneously 27 h prior to a lethal dose (8 Gy, 153.52 cGy/min) of gamma irradiation was higher than that of mice irradiated alone (40% or 60% vs 0%). It was observed that the white blood cell (WBC) count/the red blood cell (RBC) count, haemoglobin content, haematocrit and platelet count of mice with or without KA pretreatment as exposed to a sub-lethal dose (4 Gy, 148.14 cGy/min) of gamma irradiation decreased maximally at day 4/day 8 post-irradiation. Although the initial WBC values were low in KA300 or WR-2721 (amifostine) groups, they significantly recovered to normal at day 19, whereas in the control group they did not. The results from the cytotoxicity and cell viability assays demonstrated that KA could highly protect Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells against ionizing radiation with low toxicity. In summary, KA provides marked radioprotective effects both in vivo and in vitro.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.358-367
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• 2008

The embryonic germ cell (EGCs) of mice is a kind of pluripotent stem cell that can be generated from pre- and post-migratory primordial germ cells (PGCs). Most previous studies on DNA methylation of EGCs were restricted to 12.5 days post coitum (dpc). This study was designed to establish and characterize murine EGC lines from migrated PGCs as late as 13.5 dpc and to estimate the degrees of methylation of their imprinted genes as well as of the non-imprinted locus, Oct4, using an accurate and quantitative method of measurement. We established five independent EGC lines from post migratory PGCs of 11.5-13.5 dpc from C57BL/6 ${\times}$ DBA/2 F1 hybrid mouse fetuses. All the EGCs exhibited the typical features of pluripotent cells including hypomethylation of the Oct4 regulatory region. We examined the methylation status of three imprinted genes; Igf2, Igf2r and H19 in the five EGC lines using bisulfite genomic sequencing analysis. Igf2r was almost unmethylated in all the EGC lines irrespective of the their sex and stage of isolation; Igf2 and H19 were more methylated than Igf2r, especially in male EGCs. Moreover, EGCs derived at 13.5 dpc exhibited higher levels of DNA methylation than those from earlier stages. These results suggest that in vitro derived EGCs acquire different epigenotypes from their parental in vivo migratory PGCs, and that sex-specific de novo methylation occurs in the Igf2 and H19 genes of EGCs.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.345-351
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• 2009

The $\beta$-glucans derived from yeast cell walls have been reported for having many immunomodulatory activities in vivo and in vitro. In this study, Aureobasidium-derived soluble branched (1,3-1,6) $\beta$-glucan (Sophy $\beta$-glucan) was checked for natural killer (NK) activity and for the production of IFN-$\gamma$ and IL-4 in Leishmania amazonensis infection. The main experiment was performed with a group of female C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice, orally supplemented with 5% of Sophy $\beta$-glucan and infected with promastogotes of L. amazonensis ($1\;{\times}\;10^7$) into the footpad. Increase in the footpad thickness with time was observed in BALB/c mice in spite of the oral Sophy $\beta$-glucan supplement, but it was less in C57BL/6 mice. The difference in overall mean footpad thickness between 'infection only' versus 'infection + glucan' groups was statistically significant (P < 0.001). High NK activity in C57BL/6 than BALB/c mice was observed in 'glucan only' group compared to the control group and also in 'infection + glucan' group compared to 'infection only' group. The difference in the NK activity among these groups was significant (P < 0.05). The IFN-$\gamma$ level increased at weeks 7 and 8 post-infection in C57BL/6 mice and was significantly high in 'infection + glucan' group compared to the 'infection only' group (P < 0.05). IL-4 levels did not increase up to detectable levels throughout the study. The results led a conclusion that Sophy $\beta$-glucan enhances NK activity and cellular immunity in L. amazonensis-infected mice.