• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.598-606
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• 2009

Oxidative stress by free radicals is a major cause of neuronal cell death. Excitotoxicity in hypoxia/ischemia causes an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) and a loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), resulting in dysfunction of the mitochondria and cell death. Pinelliae Rhizoma (PR) is a traditional medicine for incipient stroke. We investigated the effects of PR Water-Extract on the modulation of ROS and MMP in a hypoxic model using cultured rat cortical cells. PR Water-Extract was added to the culture medium at various concentrations (0.25${\sim}$5, 5.0 ${\mu}g/ml$) on day in vitro 12(DIV12), given a hypoxic shock (2% $O_2$/5% $CO_2$, $37^{\circ}C$, 3 hr), and cell viability was assessed on DIV15 by Lactate Dehydrogenase Assay (LDH assays). PR Water-Extract showed a statistically significant effect on neuroprotection (10${\sim}$15% increase in viability; p<0.01) at 1.0 and 2.5 ${\mu}g/ml$ in normoxia and hypoxia. Measurement of ROS production by $H_2DCF-DA$ stainings showed that PR Water-Extract efficiently reduced the number and intensity of ROS-producing neurons, especially at 1 hr post shock and DIV15. When MMP was measured by JC-1 stainings, PR Water-Extract efficiently maintained high-energy charged mitochondria. These results indicate that PR Water-Extract protects neurons in hypoxia by preventing ROS production and preserving the cellular energy level.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.633-643
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• 2017

To examine the pro-apoptotic role of the human ortholog (YPEL5) of the Drosophila Yippee protein, the cell viability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant strain with deleted MOH1, the yeast ortholog, was compared with that of the wild-type (WT)-MOH1 strain after exposure to different apoptogenic stimulants, including UV irradiation, methyl methanesulfonate (MMS), camptothecin (CPT), heat shock, and hyperosmotic shock. The $moh1{\Delta}$ mutant exhibited enhanced cell viability compared with the WT-MOH1 strain when treated with lethal UV irradiation, 1.8 mM MMS, $100{\mu}M$ CPT, heat shock at $50^{\circ}C$, or 1.2 M KCl. At the same time, the level of Moh1 protein was commonly up-regulated in the WT-MOH1 strain as was that of Ynk1 protein, which is known as a marker for DNA damage. Although the enhanced UV resistance of the $moh1{\Delta}$ mutant largely disappeared following transformation with the yeast MOH1 gene or one of the human YPEL1-YPEL5 genes, the transformant bearing pYES2-YPEL5 was more sensitive to lethal UV irradiation and its UV sensitivity was similar to that of the WT-MOH1 strain. Under these conditions, the UV irradiation-induced apoptotic events, such as FITC-Annexin V stainability, mitochondrial membrane potential (${\Delta}{\psi}m$) loss, and metacaspase activation, occurred to a much lesser extent in the $moh1{\Delta}$ mutant compared with the WT-MOH1 strain and the mutant strain bearing pYES2-MOH1 or pYES2-YPEL5. These results demonstrate the functional conservation between yeast Moh1 and human YPEL5, and their involvement in mitochondria-dependent apoptosis induced by DNA damage.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.111-120
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• 2016

This is an experimental study to analyze the explosion and fire hazards of mobile phone batteries. Using the lithium-ion batteries currently used on smart phone as the experiment samples, the experiments were conducted by overcharging, internal and external short circuit, and thermal shock with the potential of explosion and fire caused by careless use or abnormal conditions. The experiment results showed that, in the case of overcharging and external short circuit, there was no explosion and fire hazard in the normal operation of the protection circuit module (PCM), but there were big risks when the PCM faulted conditions were assumed. In the case of the experiments by internal short circuit and thermal shock, such risks varied depending on a battery charge state. In other words, it could be verified that there were low risks of explosion and fire in a full discharge state, but there were high risks in a full charge state. These experiment results suggest that to minimize the explosion and fire hazards of mobile phone batteries, an alarm device is necessary when the PCM fault occurs. In addition, a solid battery case should be made and safety equipment, such as a cooling device to avoid high temperature, is needed.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.300-306
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• 1999

To study the antigenicity of BR92021(Vi polysaccharide typhoid vaccine), active systemic ana-phylaxis and passive cutaneous anaphylaxis were tested in guinea pigs. The groups were as follows: group I(low dose, 30 $\mu\textrm{l}$/kg), group II(high dose, 300 $\mu\textrm{l}$/kg), group III(300 $\mu\textrm{l}$/kg plus complete Freund's adjuvant), group IV(positive control, ovalbumin plus complete Freund's adjuvant) and group V(saline-treated control). Male Hartley guinea pigs at 7 weeks of age were sensitized subcutaneously with the test article or saline three times per week for three weeks(j.e., total 9 times). For groups III and IV, animals were sensitized subcutaneously with either the test article or ovalbumin plus complete Freund's adjuvant once per three week for 6 weeks(i.e., total 3 times). Twelve days after the last sensitization, the blood was collected from the sensitized animals for the passive cutaneous anaphylaxis test. In addition, the sensitized animals were subjected to the active systemic anaphylaxis test on fourteen days after the last sensitization by an intravenous challenge with either the test article or ovalbumin. In group I, mild(1/5) or moderate(4/5) symptoms of anaphylactic shock were observed. In group II, no sign(1/5), moderate(3/5) and severe(1/5) symptoms were observed. In group III, four animals of revealed moderate signs and one of 5 showed no signs of anaphylactic shock. In group IV, all 5 animals showed severe signs of shock. In group V, one of 5 revealed moderate and four of 5 showed no signs. The necropsy findings related to the active systemic anaphylaxis were observed in most animals of groups I to V In the passive cutaneous anaphylaxis test, the antiserum was diluted 10- to 5120- fold and was injected intradermally on the clipped back of recipient animals, followed by an intravenous challenge with either the test article or ovalbumin. No animals in groups I, II, III and V showed the positive reaction, whereas all animals in group IV, the positive control, showed the positive reaction at the dilution range of x1280 to x5120. Our results indicate that the test article, BR92021, may have weak antigenic potential in male guinea pigs.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.329-334
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• 2008

Background: Percutaneous cardiopulmonary support. (PCPS) has the potential to rescue patients in cardiogenic shock who might otherwise die. PCPS has been a therapeutic option in a variety of the clinical settings such as for patients with myocardial Infarction, high-risk coronary intervention and postcardiotomy cardiogenic shock, and the PCPS device is easy to install. We report our early experience with PCPS as a life saving procedure in cardiogenic shock patients due to acute myocardial infarction. Material and Method: From January 2005 to December 2006, eight patients in cardiogenic shock with acute myocardial infarction underwent PCPS using the CAPIOX emergency bypass system($EBS^{(R)}$, Terumo, Tokyo, Japan). Uptake cannulae were inserted deep into the femoral vein up to the right atrium and return cannulae were inserted into the femoral artery with Seldinger techniques using 20 and 16-French cannulae, respectively. Simultaneously, autopriming was performed at the $EBS^{(R)}$ circuit. The $EBS^{(R)}$ flow rate was maintained between $2.5{\sim}3.0L/min/m^2$ and anticoagulation was performed using intravenous heparin with an ACT level above 200 seconds. Result: The mean age of patients was $61.1{\pm}14.2$ years (range, 39 to 77 years). Three patients were under control of the $EBS^{(R)}$ before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), three patients were under control of the $EBS^{(R)}$ during PCI, one patient was under control of the $EBS^{(R)}$ after PCI, and one patient was under control of the $EBS^{(R)}$ after coronary bypass surgery. The mean support time was $47.5{\pm}27.9$ hours (range, 8 to 76 hours). Five patients (62.5%) could be weaned from the $EBS^{(R)}$ after $53.6{\pm}27.2$ hours. (range, 12 to 68 hours) of support. All of the patients who could successfully be weaned from support were discharged from the hospital. There were three complications: one case of gastrointestinal bleeding and two cases of acute renal failure. Two of the three mortality cases were under cardiac arrest before $EBS^{(R)}$ support, and one patient had an intractable ventricular arrhythmia during the support. All of the discharged patients are still surviving at $16.8{\pm}3.1$ months (range, 12 to 20 months) of follow-up. Conclusion: The use of $EBS^{(R)}$ for cardiogenic shock caused by an acute myocardial infarction could rescue patients who might otherwise have died. Successfully recovered patients after $EBS^{(R)}$ treatment have survived without severe complications. More experience and additional clinical investigations are necessary to elucidate the proper installation timing and management protocol of the $EBS^{(R)}$ in the future.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.4655-4659
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• 2016

Background and Aim: Breast cancer is a major healthcare problem in women. There are many reports about up-regulation of Hsp27 in cancer tissues but less is known about the potential relationship between Hsp27 antibody levels and breast cancer complications. We here investigated concentrations of serum Hsp27 antigen and antibodies in subjects with and without breast cancer and assessed potential associations with two-year disease-free survival, histological grade and number of lymph nodes. Materials and Methods: Specifically, serum Hsp27 antigen and antibody levels from 97 patients with breast cancer, and 65 healthy controls were determined by enzyme-linkedimmunosorbent assays (ELISAs). Results: Serum Hsp27 and antibody levels were significantly (p<0.001) higher in patients with breast cancer compared to the control group, but no relationship were found with two-year disease free survival, histological grade or number of lymph nodes (p> 0.6, 0.2 and 0.9 respectively). Conclusions: Elevated levels of Hsp27 antibody occur with women with breast cancer but do not appear to be associated with the presence of disease clinical complications.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.542-550
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• 2018

Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is treated as a molecular therapeutic target for the prevention and treatment of cancer. Geldanamycin (GA) was the first identified natural Hsp90 inhibitor, but hepatotoxicity has limited its clinical application. Nevertheless, a new GA analog (WK-88-1) with the non-benzoquinone skeleton, obtained from genetically engineered Streptomyces hygroscopicus, was found to have anticancer activity against two human breast cancer cell lines. WK-88-1 produced concentration-dependent inhibition of cell proliferation, cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive MCF-7 and ER-negative MDA-MB-231 cell lines. Detailed analysis showed that WK-88-1 downregulated some key cell cycle molecules (CDK1 and cyclin B1) and lead to $G_2/M$ cell cycle arrest. Further studies also showed that WK-88-1 could induce human breast cancer cell apoptosis by downregulating Hsp90 client proteins (Akt, p-Akt, IKK, c-Raf, and Bcl-2), decreasing the ATP level, increasing reactive oxygen species production, and lowering the mitochondrial membrane potential. Meanwhile, we discovered that WK-88-1 significantly decreased the levels of Her-2 and $ER-{\alpha}$ in MCF-7 cells but not in MDA-MB-231 cells. In addition, WK-88-1 significantly increased caspase-3, -8, and -9 activities and the cleavage of PARP in a concentration-dependent manner (with the exception of caspase-3 and PARP in MCF-7 cells). Taken together, our preliminary results suggest that WK-88-1 has the potential to play a role in breast cancer therapy.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.425-429
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• 2002

Saccharomyces cerevisiae KNU5377 was examined to assay the recovering capacity against heat and other stressors. Along with a particular fermentation ability that is able to produce ethanol even at high temperature such as $40^{\circ}C$ with a comparable rate to the fermentation at $33^{\circ}C$, this strain also exhibited higher viability than a reference strain owing to its own thermotolerance that conferred the survival after the severe heat shock at $60^{\circ}C$ for 30 minutes. Furthermore, this strain showed outstanding tolerances against $H_2O_2$, ethanol and some chemical compounds. But, especially due to the thermotolerance, this strain has been suspected of other species of yeast. However, ITS (internally transcribed spacer) 1 and 2 sequencing data confirmed this strain was a typical strain of S. cerevisiae. The outstanding tolerances to various environmental stressors Indicate this S. cerevisiae KNU5377 is enough to use both as an on-site potential strain for world-wide alcohol fermentation industry and as a model strain for researches into the routes to acquire the tolerance to various stressors.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.222-231
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• 2012

In order determine potential correlations of multicultural family's male spouses' bicultural stress and communication with their marital satisfaction, this study surveyed male spouses of foreign female participants in a variety of multicultural family assistance programs available at national marital immigrants assistance centers and healthy family assistance centers of Korea, The results of this survey can be summed up as follows: First, with regard to subordinate categories of bicultural stress, it was found that cultural shock (M= 4.32) scored the highest mean points in bicultural stress, while perceived hostility scored the lowest mean points in bicultural stress, where the higher points indicate the higher bicultural stress. Secondly, in terms of cultural adaptation stress, it was found that the group exposed to higher cultural adaptation stress felt more satisfied at marital life. Thirdly, with regard to communication with foreign female spouses, it was found that frequently communicating group had higher marital stability. Finally, it was found that communication worked as a mediator in potential effects of bicultural stress on marital satisfaction.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.55-63
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• 2010

Objectives : In this study, we investigated anti-allergic effect of Okbyeongpungsan-Hap-Changijasan (KOB01) in allergic rhinitis(AR) experimental animals and mast cells. Methods : The potential anti-allergic effect of KOB01 was investigated in a rat model of compound 48/80-induced systemic anaphylactic shock and a mouse of ovalbumin(OVA)-induced AR, and human mast cell line, HMC-1 culture. Each animals were divided into four groups: normal, control, KOB01-treated(100 and 200 mg/kg) and anti-histamine drug, dosodium cromoglycate (DSCG)-treated(50 mg/kg). Animals were orally treated with KOB01 and DSCG and intraperitoneally injected with compound 48/80($10\;{\mu}g/kg$) or sensitized with 0.1% OVA. The mortality and serum histamine levels were measured in compound 48/80-induced anaphylatic rats. The histological changes in nasal mucosa were investigated in OVA-induced AR mice. Also, mast cell degranulation was observed in compound 48/80-stimulated HMC-1 cells. Results : KOB01 increased mortality and significantly decreased serum histamine levels in compound 48/80-induced anaphylatic rats. The abnormal histological changes such as expansion of grandular cells and hypertrophy of epithelium in nasal mucosa of OVA-induced AR mice was improved by KOB01 treatment nearby a normal group. Therefore, KOB01 inhibited compound 48/80-induced degranulation in HMC-1 cells. Conclusions : These results indicate that KOB01 decrease allergic response through suppressing the mast cell activation in AR and suggest a potential role for KOB01 as a source of anti-allergic agents for use in allergic disorders including of AR.