• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.79-92
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• 2006

Environmental capacity assessment of Busan city was conducted to provide basis for planning on sustainable development and growth of the city. Using Onish model, assessment was carried out on amenities and service facilities for the citizens of Busan city. Ecological Footprint model was used to judge if the city exceeds the its environmental capacity and to estimate the extent of the excess if it exists. The analysis using Onish model revealed that the citizens of Busan city are generally well supported by the infrastructure and service facilities of the city. Water treatment and supply facilities have enough capabilities to support the city, whereas the relatively low rate of sanitary sewer supply (78%) suggests the need for further improvement in the wastewater area. The capacities of sanitary landfills are found sufficient enough to support the city for the next 10 years. The high value for the line length served per capita in the subway sector hints on certain inconvenience of commuters. All the air quality indicators meet the Korean and WHO standards except for $NO_2$. The ecological footprint model analysis produced EF indicators for Busan city of 3.04 ha/person and 2.54 ha/person for the years of 1993 and 2003, respectively. The decrease of the indicator from 1993 to 2003 is mainly due to the incorporation of Gijang area by Busan city in 1995, suggesting the importance of the ecologically productive area in the evaluation using this model. The analysis on the ecological deficit that is based on ecologically productive land shows that the consumption by Busan city exceeds its ecologically available production by 19,600% as of 2003. The area needed to support the consumption of Busan city in 2003 is 123 times as large as the present area of Busan city, which is substantially lower than the multiplier (742) obtained for Seoul city in 1997 but is higher than those observed for Chongju city (71 in 1999) and Ulsan city (39 in 2001).

• 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 Ginseng Research
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.116-124
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• 2015

Background: Ginseng, the root of Panax ginseng (PG), is used widely as a herbal medicine to prevent and treat various diseases. Panax ginseng has pharmacological effects on neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). The present study evaluated the neuroprotective effects of PG and its possible neuroprotective mechanisms in advanced glycation end product (AGE)-induced AD in a rat model. Methods: Advanced glycation end products were injected bilaterally into the CA3 region of the rats' brains. The Morris water maze test and step-down type passive avoidance test were performed to evaluate their memory and cognitive abilities. The oxidation indexes in the hippocampus were detected. Immunohistochemistry was conducted to visualize the receptors for advanced glycation end products (RAGEs) and nuclear factor-kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cell (NF-${\kappa}B$). Results: Behavioral results showed that PG (1 g/kg, 0.5 g/kg, and 0.25 g/kg) significantly shortened the escape latency, remarkably increased the number of crossing times, significantly decreased the number of errors, and prolonged the latency in rats with AGE-induced AD. Panax ginseng also significantly reduced the malondialdehyde level, increased the glutathione content, and increased superoxide dismutase activity in the hippocampus. Panax ginseng significantly decreased the expression of RAGE and NF-${\kappa}B$. The blockade of anti-RAGE antibody could significantly reduce AGE-induced impairments and regulate these expressions. Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that PG significantly inhibits AGE-induced memory impairment and attenuates Alzheimer-like pathophysiological changes. These neuroprotective effects of PG may be associated with the RAGE/NF-${\kappa}B$ pathway. Our results provided the experimental basis for applying PG in preventing and treating AD.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.230-242
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• 2017

In the Arabidopsis genome, approximately 80 MAP3Ks (mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinases) have been identified. However, only a few of them have been characterized, and the functions of most MAP3Ks are largely unknown. In this paper, we report the function of MAP3K16 and several other MAP3Ks, MAP3K14/15/17/18, whose expression is salt-inducible. We prepared MAP3K16 overexpression (OX) lines and analyzed their phenotypes. The result showed that the transgenic plants were ABA-insensitive during seed germination and cotyledon greening stage but their root growth was ABA-hypersensitive. The OX lines were more susceptible to water-deficit condition at later growth stage in soil. A MAP3K16 knockout (KO) line, on the other hand, exhibited opposite phenotypes. In similar transgenic analyses, we found that MAP3K14/15/17/18 OX and KO lines displayed similar phenotypes to those of MA3K16, suggesting the functional redundancy among them. MAP3K16 possesses in vitro kinase activity, and we carried out two-hybrid analyses to identify MAP3K16 substrates. Our results indicate that MAP3K16 interacts with MKK3 and the negative regulator of ABA response, ABR1, in yeast. Furthermore, MAP3K16 recombinant protein could phosphorylate MKK3 and ABR1, suggesting that they might be MAP3K16 substrates. Collectively, our results demonstrate that MAP3K16 and MAP3K14/15/17/18 are involved in ABA response, playing negative or positive roles depending on developmental stage and that MAP3K16 may function via MKK3 and ABR1.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.87-99
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• 2009

We evaluated modified Soil-Plant-Atmosphere model's performance to simulate the seasonal variation of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of carbon and examined the critical controlling mechanism on carbon exchange using the model over a deciduous forest at Gwangnung in 2006. The modified Soil-Plant-Atmosphere (mSPA) model was calibrated to capture the mean NEE during the daytime (1000-1400 LST) and used to simulate gross primary productivity (GPP). Ecosystem respiration ($R_e$) has been estimated using an empirical formula developed at this site. The simulation results indicated that the daytime mean stomatal conductance was highly correlated with daily insolation in the summer. Low stomatal conductance in high insolation occurred on the days with low temperature rather than with high vapor pressure deficit. It suggests that the forest rarely experienced water stress in the summer of 2006. The model captured the observed bimodal seasonal variation with a mid-season depression of carbon uptake. The model estimates of annual GPP, $R_e$ and NEE were $964\;gC\;m^{-2}\;yr^{-1}$, $733\;gC\;m^{-2}\;yr^{-1}$, and $-231\;gCm\;^{-2}\;yr^{-1}$, respectively. Compared to the observed annual NEE, the modeled estimates showed more carbon uptake by about $140\;gC\;m^{-2}\;yr^{-1}$. The uncertainty of the estimate of annual NEE in a complex terrain is discussed.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.97-117
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• 2005

This research investigates the effect of the Chaenomelis fructus(CMF) on Alzheimer's disease. Specifically, the effects of the CMF extract on (1) >$IL-1{\beta}$, IL-6, and $TNF-{\alpha}$ mRNA of PC-12 cells treated with LPS; (2) amyloid precursor proteins(APP), acetylcholinesterase(AChE), and glial fibrillary acidic protein(GFAP) mRNA of PC-12 cells treated with CT-105; (3) the AChE activity and the APP production of PC-12 cell treated with CT-105; (4) the behavior of AD mice with ${\beta}A$; (5) expression of $IL-1{\beta}$, $TNF-{\alpha}$, MDA, $IL-1{\beta}$ mRNA, $TNF-{\alpha}$ mRNA, and ROS; (6) the infarction area of the hippocampus, and brain tissue injury in Alzheimer's diseased mice induced with ${\beta}A$ were investigated. The results were summarized as follows; 1. The CMF extract suppressed the expression of $IL-1{\beta}$, IL-6 and $TNF-{\alpha}$ mRNA in THP-1 cells treated with LPS. 2. The CMF extract suppressed the expression of APP, AChE, and GFAP mRNA in PC-12 cells treated with CT-105. 3. The CMF extract suppressed the AChE activity, and the production of APP significantly in PC-12 cells treated with CT-105. 4. A significant inhibitory effect on the memory deficit was shown on the CMF extract group of the mice with Alzheimer's disease induced by ${\beta}A$ in the Morris water maze experiment, which measured stop-through latency, and distance movement-through latency. 5. The CMF extract suppressed the over-expression of $IL-1{\beta}$ protein, $TNF-{\alpha}$ protein, MDA, $IL-1{\beta}$ protein, mRNA, $TNF-{\alpha}$ mRNA, CD68/GFAP, and ROS in the mice with Alzheimer's disease induced by ${\beta}A$. 6. The CMF extract reduced the infarction area of hippocampus, and controlled the injury of brain tissue in the mice with Alzheimer’s disease induced by ${\beta}A$. These results suggest that the CMF extract may be effective for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Investigation into the clinical use of the CMF extract for Alzheimer's disease is suggested for future research.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.812-818
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• 2016

The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-amnesic effect of Stachys sieboldii MIQ. according to the mixing ratio of calcium on scopolamine-induced learning and memory impairment, in vivo. At the end of the adaptation period, SD rats were divided into a normal group (N), a control group (C: scopolamine), a positive control group (PC: scopolamine + tacrine), and a sample group (S: scopolamine + Stachys sieboldii MIQ., 1CS: scopolamine + low calcium-mixed Stachys sieboldii MIQ., 5CS: scopolamine + high calcium-mixed Stachys sieboldii MIQ.), and were tested with learning and memory tests. The C and CS groups were found to have a decreased scopolamine-induced memory deficit in the Y-maze and water maze tests. Brain tissue analysis showed that the CS group decreased acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity and increased acetylcholine (Ach) content, both of which are indicative of neuronal cell activity. From a light microscopy study, the nucleus of neurons in the hippocampus of the brain was more shrunken or condensed in the C group compared to the CS group. In the CS group, the damage to the neurons in the hippocampus of the brain was suppressed. These results suggest that Stachys sieboldii MIQ. according to the mixing ratio of calcium provides a significant anti-amnesic effect against scopolamine-induced cholinergic system deficits and cognitive impairment.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.311-318
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• 2022

Salicylic acid (SA), a phenolic compound, plays a pivotal role in regulating a wide range of physiological and metabolic processes in plants such as antioxidant cellular defense, photosynthesis, and biotic and abiotic stress responses during the growth and development. We examined the effect of exogenous SA application (100 mg·L^-1) on the growth, yield, photosynthetic characteristics, lipid peroxidation, and antioxidant enzyme activity of chili pepper plants under high temperature and drought stress conditions. SA treatment induced increases of net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs) and transpiration rate (Tr) under the stress condition with the highest level after the third treatment. The contents of malondialdehyde and H₂O₂ were significantly lower in the third treatment of SA compared to the control. The activity of ascorbate peroxidase, catalase, peroxidase and superoxide dismutase, increased in treated plants by up to 247, 318, 55 and 54%, respectively compared to the nontreated control. There was no significant difference in the growth characteristics between SA-treated and nontreated plants, while the SA treatment increased marketable yield (kg/10a) by about 15% compared to the nontreated control. Taken together, these results suggest that foliar application of SA alleviates physiological damages caused by the combination of drought and heat stress, and enhances the photosynthetic capacity and antioxidant enzyme activities, thereby improving tolerance to a combination of water deficit and heat stress in chili pepper plants.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.164-169
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• 2006

This study was conducted for 10 days from 17 July to 26 July in 2005 to measure the amount of xylem sap flow under short-term variation of soil moisture regimes at -20 kPa, -50 kPa and -80 kPa in eight-year-old 'Fuji'/M.9 apple trees with different fruit loads. Fruit load was adjusted as three different treatments with standard (100%), 1/2 times (50%) and 2 times (200%) on the basis of optimum fruiting number per tree as the standard fruit load of Fuji cultivar. Trees with standard fruit load during the experimental period showed higher xylem sap flow at -50 kPa of soil moisture regimes than those of trees with 1/2 times and 2 times fruit load. Trees with 1/2 times and 2 times fruit load had similar patterns of the diurnal changes of xylem sap flow, vapor pressure deficit (VPD), and maximum evapotranspiration (ETm). However, trees with 2 times fruit load at -50 kPa and -80 kPa of soil moisture regimes produced lower amount of xylem sap flow than ETm. Trees with standard fruit load produced $1.06{\sim}3.93$ L/tree more amount of xylem sap flow than ETm at all soil moisture regimes. But xylem sap flow of tees with 2 times fruit load had 21% lower at -50 kPa and $31{\sim}36%$ lower at -20 kPa and -80 kPa of soil moisture regimes, respectively than that of trees with standard fruit load. Shoot growth and leaf area were significantly the highest in trees with standard fruit load while those of trees with 2 times fruit load recorded significantly lowest. Leaf water potential of trees with standard fruit load was lower than that of trees with 1/2 times and 2 times fruit load. It indicated that tees with standard fruit load had higher water use for transpiration than other treatments and tees with 2 times fruit load received more stress for the transpiration process under low soil moisture regimes. Consequently, 'Fuji'/M.9 apple trees, the fruit load and soil moisture should be maintained optimum to increase xylem sap flow and transpiration during higher growth period.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.428-433
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• 2012

Probiotics and their products, such as yogurt and cheese have been widely consumed in many countries with proven health benefits including anti-microbial activity and anti-diarrheal activity. LHFM (Lactobacillus helveticus - fermented milk) is a processed skim milk powder, fermented by a probiotics, L. helveticus IDCC3801. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the neuroprotective effects and the cognitive improvements of LHFM. LHFM itself did not show any cytotoxicity to the human neuroblastoma cell line, SH-SY5Y; however, it dose-dependently protected against glutamate-induced neuronal cell death. LHFM also attenuated scopolamine-induced memory deficit in Y-maze and Morris-water maze. In the analysis of hippocampus after a behavior test, LHFM significantly increased the acetylcholine level and also inhibited acetylcholine esterase activity. Therefore, the raised acetylcholine release partially contributes to the improvement of learning and memory by a treatment with LHFM. These results suggest that LHFM is an effective material for prevention or improvement of cognitive impairments caused by neuronal cell damage and central cholinergic dysfunction.