• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.172-177
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to analyze $^{68}Ga$-BAPEN dynamic PET image in rat myocardium to evaluate potential of this radiotracer as a perfusion imaging agent. Animal PET/CT scan was done in 9 rats during 120 minutes. Especially we synthesized $^{68}Ga$-BAPEN with kit which is simple and low cost method. PET images showed the in vivo dynamic distribution of $^{68}Ga$-BAPEN in the chest region of rats. Initially $^{68}Ga$-BAPEN PET images showed aorta and liver activities and a few minutes later, $^{68}Ga$-BAPEN moved to myocardium. Regions of interest were drawn on myocardium, liver, lung and blood pool. Time-activity curves showed significant uptake of $^{68}Ga$-BAPEN in myocardium. The contrast ratios of myocardial to blood pool, lung and liver at 60 minutes after injection were 1.66, 2.82 and 0.60. To estimate accurate kinetic parameters, 60 minutes after injection was required to PET scan as myocardium image contrast ratios reached to constant values. As a result, $^{68}Ga$-BAPEN would be suitable radiotracer for PET which can applied to diagnosis of myocardial perfusion diseases after further preclinical and clinical investigations.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.37-42
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• 2005

The crude methanolic extract of the leaves of Amoora cucullata Roxb. was investigated for its possible anti-inflammatory activity using carrageenin induced rat paw edema model and cotton pellet implantation method in rat. The extract was also studied for its antinociceptive activity using acetic acid induced writhing model in mice. At the doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight, the extract showed significant anti-inflammatory activity in both models. At the same doses, the extract also significantly reduced the number of acetic acid-induced abdominal constriction (writhing) in mice. The crude extract also showed significant diuretic activity in albino mice.

• BMB Reports
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• v.55 no.11
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• pp.553-558
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• 2022

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is dangerous cancer that often evades early detection because it is asymptomatic and an effective detection method is lacking. For people with chronic liver inflammation who are at high risk of developing HCC, a sensitive detection method for HCC is needed. In a meta-analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas pan-cancer methylation database, we identified a CpG island in the USP44 promoter that is methylated specifically in HCC. We developed methylation-sensitive high-resolution melting (MS-HRM) analysis to measure the methylation levels of the USP promoter in cell-free DNA isolated from patients. Our MS-HRM assay correctly identified 40% of patients with early-stage HCC, whereas the α-fetoprotein test, which is currently used to detect HCC, correctly identified only 25% of early-stage HCC patients. These results demonstrate that USP44 MS-HRM analysis is suitable for HCC surveillance.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.217-223
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• 2012

In the present study, we investigated anti-inflammatory activity of artemisinic acid in HaCaT cells and RAW264.7 cells. Artemisinic acid showed inhibitory activity on macrophage-derived chemokines (MDC) expression, a factor related with atopic dermatitis (AD), in interferon (IFN)-${\gamma}$ and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-${\alpha}$-stimulated HaCaT cells. In the study on action mechanism, pretreated artemisinic acid reduced the phosphorylation of STAT1 and p38 and the degradation of $I{\kappa}B$ by IFN-${\gamma}$ and TNF-${\alpha}$ stimulations. However, artemisinic acid didn't show the inhibitory activity on LPS-induced inflammatory mediators (NO, $PGE_2$, IL-6) in RAW264.7 cell. These results indicate that artemisinic acid inhibits IFN-${\gamma}$ and TNF-${\alpha}$-induced MDC expression through inhibition of signal factors, STAT1, NF-${\kappa}B$, and p38, in HaCaT keratinocytes.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.255-259
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• 2021

This is the first report describing acute mass mortality occurred in juvenile olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) caused by gas bubble disease (GBD). A total of 610 fish (average weight = 35 g), which were more than half of the fish acclimated at 17℃ in an aquarium, were killed within two days of acclimation. The dead and moribund fish showed excessively opened opercula and mouths, and occasionally, severe exophthalmia. Through microscopic observation, numerous gas emboli were found in the gills of the dead and live fish, while the fish were not infected with any microbial pathogens. The dissolved oxygen (DO) saturation level of the rearing water and seawater nearby the facility reached 145% and 286%, respectively, whereas other water quality parameters (such as salinity, pH, and chemical oxygen demand) were normal. The extreme saturation rate of seawater in the shore nearby seemed to be due to an enormous algal bloom that occurred there. Through molecular identification based on 18S rDNA sequences, the most dominant algal species was most closely related to Ulva californica (99.87% sequence identity) followed by U. prolifera, U. linza, and U. curvata (99.81%). Therefore, it can be concluded that supersaturated seawater due to mass algal bloom caused gas bubble disease in the olive flounder, leading to mass mortality. After technical adjustment, such as increased aeration, lowered water circulation rate, and inlet water filtration using micro-pore carbon filters, the DO level became normal, no further mortality occurred and the status of the fish was stabilized.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.787-792
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• 2009

In this study, protease-producing bacteria were isolated from the marine sedimentary layer in coastal Jeju. We isolated 2 protease producing strains (SK-2 and SK-125) and tested their protesase producing activities. Gram staining and BIOLOG of isolated strains revealed that strains SK-2 and SK-125 belong to Bacillus and Pseudoalteromonas families, respectively. The 16S rDNA nucleotide sequences analyses of the isolated strains showed 99% sequence homology with those of Bacillus sp. and Pseudoalteromonas sp.; therefore, the isolated strains SK-2 and SK-125 were named Bacillus sp. SK-2 and Pseudoalteromonas sp. SK-125, respectively. The optimum conditions for the cell growth of protease activities were obtained when the both isolates were cultured at $30^{\circ}C$, 96 hrs and pH $7{\sim}8$.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.26-31
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• 2010

High performance liquid chromatographic method with diode-array detection (HPLC-DAD) has been performed for the simultaneous determination of four marker constituents, paeoniflorin, trans-cinnamic acid, schisandrin and glycyrrhizin in traditional herbal medicinal preparation, So-Cheong-Ryong-Tang (SCRT). The presence of paeoniflorin, trans-cinnamic acid, schisandrin and glycyrrhizin in this decoction was ascertained by retention time, spiking with each authentic standard, UV spectrum and ESI mass spectrum. All four compounds showed good linearity ($r^2$ > 0.998) in a relatively wide concentration ranges. The RSD for intra-day and inter-day precision was less than 3% and the limits of detection (LOD) were less than 30 ng. The mean recovery of each compound was 94.1-113.0% with RSD values less than 3.0%. These results suggest that the developed HPLC method is simple, effective and could be readily utilized as a quality control method for commercial SCRT products.

• Journal of Medicine and Life Science
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.134-136
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• 2022

• BMB Reports
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.133-139
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• 2010

We have performed analyses using ancient DNA extracted from 25 excavated human bones, estimating around the 1st century B.C. Ancient human bones were obtained from Nukdo Island, which is located off of the Korean peninsula of East Asia. We made concerted efforts to extract ancient DNA of high quality and to obtain reproducible PCR products, as this was a primary consideration for this extensive kind of undertaking. We performed PCR amplifications for several regions of the mitochondrial DNA, and could determine mitochondrial haplogroups for 21 ancient DNA samples. Genetic information from mitochondrial DNA belonged to super-haplogroup M, haplogroup D or its sub-haplogroups (D4 or D4b), which are distinctively found in East Asians, including Koreans or Japanese. The dendrogram and principal component analysis based on haplogroup frequencies revealed that the Nukdo population was close to those of the East Asians and clearly distinguished from populations shown in the other regions. Considering that Nukdo is geologically isolated in the southern part of the Korean peninsula and is a site of commercial importance with neighboring countries, these results may reflect genetic continuity for the habitation and migration of ethnic groups who had lived in a particular area in the past. Therefore, we suggest that phylogenetic analyses of ancient DNA have significant advantages for clarifying the origins and migrations of ethnic groups, or human races.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.183-194
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• 2011

Objectives : To estimate the shelf-life by long-term storage test of Pyungwi-san. Methods : Experiments were conducted to evaluate the stability such as the selected physicochemical, heavy metal, microbilogical experiment under an acceleration test and long-term storage test of Pyungwi-san in different storage under room temperature, refrigeration and freezing. Futhermore, HPLC analysis was performed for the determinations of glycyrrhizin in the Pyungwi-san on an Inertsil ODS-3 column(250 mm ${\times}$ 4.6 mm, 5 um) using solvent 35% acetonitrile include 0.05% phosphoric acid at 254 nm. The flow rate was 1.0 mL/min. Results : The significant change was not showed in pH, heavy metal, microbiological, identification test and quantitative analysis based on acceleration test and long-term storage test. Retention time of glycyrrhizin in HPLC chromatogram was about 16.065 min and calibration curve showed good linearity($R^2$ = 0.9999). The contents of glycyrrhizin in acceleration test and long-term storage test were 0.068~0.076 mg/mL and 0.066~0.077 mg/mL, respectively. Shelf-lifes of room temperature, refrigeration and freezing by long-term storage test were predicted 41, 24 and 34 months, respectively. Conclusions : The suggested shelf-life would be helpful on the storage and distribution of herbal medicine.