• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.730-741
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• 2008

Objective : To examine the efficacy of CY, the improvement of atopy dermatitis(AD)-like lesions on the rostral back of the NC/Nga mice, which took CY orally and were treated with a chemical substance called DNFB, the inhibition of ear swelling, and the inhibition of inflammatory response of the ear tissue of the mice were observed and compared, and the inhibition of the serum IgE count and the IL-4 and IFN-${\gamma}$ count produced by CD4+ T cells of the lymph node were observed and compared. Materials and Methods : For measurement of ear thicknesses, 0.15% DNFB $25{\mu}l$ mixed with acetone/olive oil(3:1) was applied to the right ear and dorsal skin of the NC/Nga mice 5 times at an interval of 7 days. Ear thickness was measured every day over a five-week period after the first application of DNFB. The total serum IgE count was measured with ELISA by taking blood samples 24 hours after the fifth application of DNFB. To measure the IL-4 and IFN-${\gamma}$ count, the lymph node was cut off, and the CD4+ T cells were purified and stimulated to activate the T cells, and then the IL-4 and IFN-${\gamma}$ count was measured with ELISA. Results : Continuous oral administration of CY improved the AD-like skin lesions on the rostral back and inhibited the ear swelling in NC/Nga mice treated with DNFB and inhibited the inflammatory response in the NC/Nga mice treated with DNFB NC/Nga mice. Continuous oral administration of CY did not significantly inhibit the serum IgE count and failed to significantly reduce the IL-4 count generated after TCR stimulation in the CD4+ T cells of the NC/Nga mice treated with DNFB. Continuous oral administration of CY significantly reduced the IFN-${\gamma}$ count generated after TCR stimulation in the CD4+ T cells of the NC/Nga mice treated with DNFB.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.561-567
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• 2012

Objectives: Parabens are widely used as antimicrobial agents in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics as well as by the food industry. Parabens have been reported to show weak estrogenic activity and be related to health effects such as allergic reactions and skin and breast cancer. We evaluated an online solid phase extraction (SPE) method coupled with LC-MS/MS technique using free and conjugated parent parabens in human urine for assessing human exposure to parabens. Methods: We employed LC/MS/MS through online solid phase extraction and column-switching techniques and analyzed free and conjugated parabens as biomarkers of human exposure. Four major parabens, methyl-paraben (MP), ethyl-paraben (EP), propyl-paraben (PP) and butyl-paraben (BP), were analyzed. Method validation was performed by sensitivity, accuracy, precision and comparison of the results of online SPE with offline SPE. Results: The limits of detection (LOD) were in the range of 0.2-2 ng/mL, and actual limits of quantification (LOQ) were in the range of 0.7-6 ng/mL urine, depending upon the compound. Accuracy was in the range of 98.3-106.4%, and precision was in the range of 1.3-8.7% (CV) depending upon the compound. We found a good correlation between the results of analysis by online SPE method and that by off-line SPE method. Conclusions: The online SPE method showed proper LOD and validated accuracy, precision and good correlation with the offline method for analyzing parabens in urine.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.590-598
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• 2009

The purpose of this research is to evaluate the effect of Mahaenggamseok-tang-gagambang (MGTG) on airway hyper- responsiveness (AHR), immune cells, cytokines and lung tissue in OVA-induced asthmatic mice. C578L/6 mice were injected, inhaled and sprayed with OVA for 12 weeks (3times a week) for asthma sensitization and challenge. Two experimental groups were treated with different concentrations of MGTG (400 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg) extract and cyclosporin A (10 mg/kg) for the later 8 weeks. Enhanced pause (Penh) levels were measured by whole body plethysmography. Immune cells were analyzed by flow cytometer in peripheral blood monocyte cell (PBMC) and lung cells. The IL-1b, IL-12, IFN-${\gamma}$, OVA-lgE, IL-4, IL-5, TNF-${\alpha}$ were analyzed by ELISA kit in serum and splenocyte+a-cCDS/a-CD28. Enhanced pause (Penh) levels of the MGTG groups (400 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg) were decreased significantly compared with that of control group. The numbers of MGTG groups (400 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg) on lung total cells were decreased significantly compared with that of control group. The numbers of MGTG groups (400 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg) on $CD3^+/CD69^+$, $B220^+/CD22^+$, $B220^+/CD23^+$, $B220^+/lgE^+$, $CCR3^+$ cells were decreased significantly compared with that of control group. The number of MGTG group (400 mg/kg) on $CD3^+/CD49b^+$ cells was decreased significantly compared with that of control group. The level of MGTG groups (400 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg) on IL-4, IL-5, IL-12, TNF-${\alpha}$, OVA-lgE were decreased significantly compared with that of control group. The level of MGTG group (400 mg/kg) on IL-1b, IL-1S, OVA-lgE were decreased significantly compared with that of control group. These results demonstrate that MGTG could be a desirable alternative therapy for allergic asthma by inhibiting the expression of immune cells, the activation of inflammatory mediator.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.28-31
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• 1998

Homologous blood transfusion entails substantial risks, including allergic reactions, transmission diseases such as hepatitis, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Autotransfusion system is a common method of reducing the need for homologous blood transfusion during cardiac operation. Between July 1993 and July 1995, a series of 40 patients undergoing open heart surgery was selected to an autotransfusion group(n=20) or a control group(n=20). The cell saver system(AT1000, Electromedics, Englewood, CO, USA) was employed for autotransfusion. With this system, shed blood in operative field during cardiopulmonary bypass(CPB) and remained blood in cardiotomy reservior after CPB was aspirated by means of a locally heparinized collecting system. After centrifuge salvaged blood, the resulting red cell concentrate reinfused subsequently. The amounts of blood loss were 766.5$\pm$121.3 ml in cell saver group, 770.1$\pm$113.6 ml in control group, and there were no significant differences between two groups(P=NS). The amounts of blood transfused were 2.91$\pm$1.72 units in cell saver group, 4.82$\pm$1.72 units in control group. Composition of processed blood by cell saver was hemoglobin 17.4 gm%, hematocrit 56.4%, RBC 5,780,000/ul, WBC 9,900/ul, and platelet 33,000/ul. There was no complication related to cell saver. Conclusively, cell saver autotransfusion system is safe, effective method for reducing the homologous blood trasfusion in cardiac surgery.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.310-320
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• 2014

Backgrounds: Endotoxin, which found in the outer membrane of the gram-negative bacteria cell wall, makes up almost all of the lipopolysaccharide(LPS). When people are exposed to endotoxin,it can result in diverse health effects such as an airway irritation and inflammation, fever, malaise, bronchitis, allergic asthma, toxic pneumonitis, hypersensitivity lung disease. Cases among the elderly, children or pregnant can occur more frequently than a healthy adult if they are repeatedly exposed to the existing endotoxin. Therefore, we investigated and assessed the environmental characteristics associated with the airborne endotoxin concentration level in six hospital lobbies. Method: Endotoxin from indoor air in six hospital lobbies was measured by an area sampling method and analyzed according to American Society for Testing and Materials International(ASTM international) E2144-01. Total suspended particulate(TSP), carbon dioxide($CO_2$), temperature and humidity were also measured by using direct reading measurements or airborne sampling equipment at the same time. Environmental characteristics were appropriately divided into two or three groups for a statistics analysis. One-way analysis variable(one-way ANOVA) was used to examine a difference of the endotoxin concentration, depending on the environmental characteristics. In addition, only variables with p-value(p<0.25) were eventually designed to the best model by using multiple regression analysis. Results: The correlation analysis result indicated that TSP(p=0.003) and $CO_2$(p<0.0001) levels were significantly associated with endotoxin concentration levels. In contrast, temperature(p<0.068) and humidity(p<0.365) were not associated with endotoxin concentration. Levels of endotoxin concentration were statistically different among the environmental characteristics of Service time(p=0.01), Establishment of hospital(p<0.001), Scale of hospital(p=0.01), Day average people using hospital(p=0.03), Cleaning time of lobby(p=0.05), Season(p<0.001), and Cleaning of ventilation system(p<0.001) according to ANOVA. Finally, the best model(Adjusted R-square=72%) that we designed through a multiple regression test included environmental characteristics related to Service time, Area of lobby, Season, Cleaning of ventilation system, and Temperature. Conclusions: According to this study, our result showed a normal level of endotoxin concentration in the hospital lobbies and found environmental management methods to reduce the level of endotoxin concentration to a minimum. Consequently, this study recognized to be requirement for the management of ventilation systems and an indoor temperature in order to reduce the level of endotoxin concentration in the hospital lobbies.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.117-123
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• 2010

Ibudilast, 3-isobutyryl-2-isopropyrazolo[1,5-a]pyridine, is a nonselective inhibitor of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE). It preferentially inhibits PDE 3A, PDE4, PDE10 and PDE11 as well as a number of the other PDE families, albeit to a lesser extent. Ibudilast is used clinically to treat bronchial asthma and cerebrovascular disorders. Thes e clinical uses are based on the ability of ibudilast to inhibit platelet aggregation, improve cerebral blood flow and attenuate allergic reactions. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the bioequivalence of two ibudilast capsules, Ketas capsule (Handok Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.) and Pinatos capsule (Sam Chun Dang Pharm. Co., Ltd.), according to the guidelines of the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). The in vitro release of ibudilast from the two ibudilast formulations was tested using KP Apparatus method with various dissolution media. Twenty six healthy male subjects, 23.31${\pm}$1.09 years in age and 70.45${\pm}$8.51 kg in body weight, were divided into two groups and a randomized $2{\times}2$ cross-over study was employed. After a single capsule containing 10 mg as ibudilast was orally administered, blood samples were taken at predetermined time intervals and the concentrations of ibudilast in serum were determined using HPLC/UV detector. The dissolution profiles of two formulations were similar in all tested dissolution media. The pharmacokinetic parameters such as $AUC_t$, $C_{max}$ and $T_{max}$ were calculated, and computer programs (Equiv Test and K-BE Test 2002) were utilized for the statistical analysis of the parameters using logarithmically transformed $AUC_t$, $C_{max}$ and untransformed $T_{max}$. The results showed that the differences between two formulations based on the reference drug, Ketas, were 6.99%, -2.48% and 9.93% for $AUC_t$, $C_{max}$ and $T_{max}$, respectively. There were no sequence effects between two formulations in these parameters. The 90% confidence intervals using logarithmically transformed data were within the acceptance range of log 0.8 to log 1.25 (e.g., log 0.8791~log 1.1861 and log 0.8347~log 1.1199 for $AUC_t$ and $C_{max}$, respectively). Thus, the criteria of the KFDA bioequivalence guideline were satisfied, indicating Pinatos capsule was bioequivalent to Ketas capsule.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.251-256
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• 2012

Stilbenes are known as antioxidants and some of them demonstrate anti-pigmentation activity. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether two stilbene compounds produced by biotransformation of the extract of $Morus$ $alba$ root show skin irritation and sensitization. In skin irritation test, 1% oxyresveratrol (OXY), and 5% OXY, and 1% oxyresveratrol-3-$O$-glucoside (OXY-3) showed a P.I.I score of 0, 0.04, and 0, respectively. Accordingly, the two stilbenes were evaluated to be virtually 'non-irritant' materials. In a skin sensitization study by GPMT, 1% OXY, 5% OXY, and 1% OXY-3 did not cause edema and erythema at 24 h and 48 h after topical application and exhibited a sensitization score of 0 and a rate of 0%. Consequently, it was confirmed that OXY and OXY-3 had no contact allergic sensitization in GPMT. Therefore, OXY and OXY-3 might be potential candidates as skin-whitening agents without posing any serious side effects.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.869-878
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• 1999

Intravesical instillation of the bacillus Calmentte-Gu$\acute{e}$rin(BCG), an attenuated strain of Mycobacterium bovis, is an approved method for the treatment of superficial bladder cancer. Because BCG is a living organism, the potential for infection exists. BCG is generally well tolerated, with complications in less than 5% of those treated with use of current practices. The most frequent symptoms of toxicity associated with intravesical BCG immunotherapy include bladder irritation, frequency, and dysuria. Systemic reactions are less common but more serious than local side effects, and include fever, chills, malaise, rash, hepatitis, pneumonitis, arthritis and sepsis. In rare cases, BCG treatment can result in a systemic infection that requires antituberculous therapy. The pulmonary toxicity that results from intravesical BCG treatment is generally characterized by one of two types : systemic allergic reaction with pulmonary reticulonodular opacities depicted on chest radiographs with cellular findings consisting of activated lymphocytes, and actual BCG mycobacteremia with a miliary pattern depicted on chest radiographs and granuloma formation which rarely results in positive acid-fast stain or culture results. Recently we experienced two types of pulmonary complications following intravesical BCG immunotherapy in patients with superficial bladder cancer. We report two cases with a review of literatures.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.330-336
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• 2009

Cell-cell adhesion managed by various adhesion molecules is known to be one of important phenomena found in numerous immunological responses or diseases such as immunostimulation, rheumatoid arthritis and allergic diseases. In this study, we examined the regulatory role of ginsenosides (G)-Rb1, reported to display immunostimulatory and anticancer effects, on cell adhesion, the up-regulation of surface adhesion molecules and morphological changes using monocytic U937 and macrophage-like RAW264.7 cells. G-Rb1 significantly up-regulated U937 cell-cell adhesion mediated by both CD29 and CD43. It also enhanced U937 cell-fibronectin adhesion, while CD29 blocking antibody P5D2 strongly suppressed it. In agreement, this compound also significantly increased the surface level of CD29 as well as CD43. Furthermore, this compound differentially modulated CD82 up-regulation and morphological changes triggered by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA). Therefore, these results suggest that G-Rb1 may have differential modulatory function on cell adhesion events, surface molecule expression and morphological changes responsible for immune responses.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.569-577
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• 2013

Soy sauce is a traditional fermented seasoning in several oriental countries, such as Korea and Japan, and recently it has been reported to have biological activities. In Korean soy sauce, soybeans and wheat are the two main raw materials. Polysaccharides that originate from the cell wall of soybeans are resistant to enzymatic hydrolysis. These polysaccharides remain in the soy sauce even after fermentation and are termed Kanjang polysaccharides (KPS). In this study, polysaccharides were obtained from dialysate of different soy sauces labeled as A~T and manufactured by fermentation or the acid-hydrolyzate method. We investigated anti-inflammatory activities by examining the effects of these KPS on proinflammatory cytokine release and mRNA expression in mast cells. Histamine and ${\beta}$-hexosaminidase release were strongly decreased by the KPS treatment in RBL-2H3 cells. Treatment with KPS clearly reduced mRNA expression and the release of the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-${\alpha}$) in PMACI-stimulated HMC-1 cells. In particular, KPS derived from fermented Kanjang products showed a significant anti-inflammation effect on mast cells compared to the acid-hydrolyzed Kanjang products. This study suggests that KPS appear to be effective in suppressing allergic inflammatory reactions.