• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.945-961
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• 2019

Tongue diagnosis is one of the most important diagnostic methods in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Tongue image segmentation aims to extract the image object (i.e., tongue body), which plays a key role in the process of manufacturing an automated tongue diagnosis system. It is still challenging, because there exists the personal diversity in tongue appearances such as size, shape, and color. This paper proposes an innovative segmentation method that uses image thresholding, gray projection and active contour model (ACM). Specifically, an initial object region is first extracted by performing image thresholding in HSI (i.e., Hue Saturation Intensity) color space, and subsequent morphological operations. Then, a gray projection technique is used to determine the upper bound of the tongue body root for refining the initial object region. Finally, the contour of the refined object region is smoothed by ACM. Experimental results on a dataset composed of 100 color tongue images showed that the proposed method obtained more accurate segmentation results than other available state-of-the-art methods.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.792-812
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• 2010

In the 18th century, Xu Lingtai (徐靈胎) and Yoshimasu Todo (吉益東洞) were famous doctors advocating ancient medicine, though they lived in different countries, China and Japan. We compared their major books, analyzed their academic thoughts and then took conclusions as below. 1. The first, for instance "Classified Prescriptions of Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases, 傷寒論類方" and "Classified Assemblage of Prescriptions, 類聚方". Based on essential thought that a prescription and a syndrome should correspond, these books arranged and classified the Zhang Zhongjing (張仲景)'s texts."Classified Prescriptions of Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases", based on the thought that principles, methods, formulas and medicinals (理法方藥) were integrated in prescriptions, tried to find out the implicit treatment rules in prescriptions and syndromes through analyzing "Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases, 傷寒論". On the other hand, because Classified Assemblage of Prescriptions focused on the syndromes of ancient prescriptions (古方), it classified and collected the related texts of Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases and "Synopsis of Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber, 금궤요략", and then suggested only simple instructions on how to prescribe medicine. So in this book, the trend of experience was clear. 2. The second, there is "100 Kinds Records from Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica, 神農本草經百種錄" and "Description work of herbal pharmacology comprised of excerpts from Shanhanlun and medical experiences, 藥徵". Though both of these books are professional oriental pharmacology publications that advocate reactionism, there were remarkable differences in writing style between them. "Description work of herbal pharmacology comprised of excerpts from Shanhanlun and medical experiences" was based on "Treat on Cold Damage Diseases" and "Synopsis of Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber", just explained the effects of medications and discussed 'matter of course (所當然)', but not discussed 'the reason why (所以然)'. In explaining style of syndromes, it confirmed through research, and emphasized the inductive method. On the other hand, "100 Kinds Records from Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica based on "Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica, 神農本草經", explained the nature of medications and discussed 'the reason why (所以然)'. In explaining style of syndromes, it annotated and explained, and emphasized the process of reasoning. 3. The third, there is "Discuss the Headwaters of Medicine, 醫學源流論" and Severance of Medical evils, 醫斷". Aiming the then medical theories fallen in confused state, these books brought order out of chaos, clarified the categories of medical research, and emphasized the scientific method that could put theories into practice and verify them. The difference is that "Severance of Medical Evils" researched only macroscopic viewable clinical phenomena, and even denied the existence of names of diseases and etiological causes. Thus, it emphasized the accumulation of experiences, laid emphasis on "watching and realizing (目認)", and "understand and taking in (解悟)". Discuss the Headwaters of Medicine extremely emphasized the research of 'something not occuring (未然)', that is to say, induced notions of a disease from observing clinical phenomena, furthermore based on these, predicted the 'something not occuring (未然)' and emphasized researching 'the reason why (所以然)'. As regards how they deal with the traditional theories and post-Zhang Zhongjing's medicines, "Severance of Medical evils" took completely denying attitudes. In case of "Discuss the Headwaters of Medicine", it could be used reasonably through specific situation and detailed analysis. Collectively speaking, there were some differences between medical theories of Xu Lingtai and Yoshimasu Todo. Actually, these differences were whether he tried to research the essence of disease, whether he tried to consider it rationally, and how he treated various opinions occurring in the theories of traditional medicine and clinical experience.

• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.339-352
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• 1997

The oriental medicine based on the traditional chinese medicine has developed according to the historical and racial character respectively in China, Korea and Japan etcs. Particularly, the distinctive feature of Korea & Japan is characterized by the development of constitutional medicine compared with chinese medicine; Sasang Medicine of Korea and Ikkando Medicine of Japan. The constitutional medicines were so far developed by many clinical doctors, and in recent years much interest has centered on the application of these medicines in regarding originality, easiness and effectiveness etcs in treatment. Thus far only few attempts have been made at Ikkando medicine in Korea, what seems to be lacking, however, is practical application in clinic. Thus authors intend to help the clinical application by introducing Ikkando medicine to Korea oriental medicine through this paper. The Ikkando medicine was established by Dohaku Mori(1869~1931) and was known through the "Kampo Ikkando Medincine" which was published by his disciple, Kaku Yakazu(1893~1966), classified human beings into three types; type of blood stasis, type of stroke and type of allergy. The type of blood stasis may be responsible for factors which have occurred by a state of insufficient bleed circulation and blood stasis causing lesione of endothelial cells, and Tongdosan is mainly administrated. The predisposing factor of stroke's type is known as the excessive diet, and the prevalence of cerebrovascular accident is probably higher. In this type, it is likely that patients are prevented and cured with Bangpungtongsunsan. Allergy's type have three distinct types of childhood, adolescence and adult as to the age. Allergy's type of childhood predisposes patients such as these to upper respiratory infection and tuberculosis etcs, and Sihocheonggansan is frequently administrated. Allergy's type of adolescence has a tendency to rhinitis and infection of face legion etcs, and Heunggyeyeoungyotang is mainly administrated. Allergy's type of adult is subject to urogenital infection, and is more commonly treated with Yongdamsagantang. Judging from the above, we can say with fair certainty that Ikkando Medicine has considerable validity to clinical practice, though it should not be pushed too far.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.1851-1857
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• 2014

Objective: The main purpose of this work was to investigate the effect of berberine hydrochloride (BH) on the proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion of CNE-1 nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. Our results shed light on the functional components of traditional Chinese herbs for potential use in modern medicine. Methods: The CNE-1 cell line was treated with different concentrations of BH and effects on cell viability and proliferation were evaluated using the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Anti-migratory and anti-invasive actions of BH were investigated using wound healing assays and the Millicell Hanging cell culture insert system, respectively. Expression of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related gene twist (Twist) was analyzed by real-time PCR and Western blotting. Apoptosis was estimated with an annexin-V fluorescein (FITC) apoptosis detection kit, as well as with reference to levels of activated caspase-3 of CNE-1 cells before and after treatment with BH utilizing fluorescence spectroscopy. Results: BH was capable of reducing proliferation and viability of CNE-1 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner, also demonstrating anti-migratory and anti-invasive capacities which correlated with reduction in expression of Twist. Finally, BH was able to induce significant amounts of apoptosis in CNE-1 cells, as demonstrated by an increase in the activity of caspase-3 and in annexin-V staining following treatment. Conclusion: BH extracted from rhizoma coptidis demonstrated an ability to block proliferation, induce apoptosis, and impair the migration and invasion of the CNE-1 cell line Considering these properties, our results suggest that BH could be an important compound for consideration in the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.2409-2414
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• 2012

Objective: Traditional Chinese herbal medicines have a very long history. Rosa roxburghii Tratt and Fagopyrum cymosum are two examples of plants which are reputed to have benefits in improving immune responses, enhancing digestive ability and demonstrating anti-aging effects. Some evidence indicates that herbal medicine soups containing extracts from the two in combination have efficacy in treating malignant tumors. However, the underlying mechanisms are far from well understood. The present study was therefore undertaken to evaluate anticancer effects and explore molecular mechanisms in vitro. Methods: Proliferation and apoptosis were assessed with three carcinoma cell lines (human esophageal squamous carcinoma CaEs-17, human gastric carcinoma SGC-7901 and pulmonary carcinoma A549) by MTT assay and flow cytometry, respectively, after exposure to extract from Rosa roxburghii Tratt (CL) and extract from Fagopyrum cymosum (FR). $IC_{30}$ of CL and FR were obtained by MTT assay. Tumor cells were divided into four groups : control with no exposure to CL or FR; CL with $IC_{30}$ CL; FR with $IC_{30}$ FR; CL+FR group with 1/2 ($IC_{30}$ CL + $IC_{30}$ FR). RT-PCR and Western blot analysis were used to detect the expression of Ki-67, Bax and Bcl-2 at mRNA and protein levels. Results: Compared with the CL or FR groups, the combination of CL+FR showed significant inhibition of cell growth and increase in apoptosis; the mRNA and protein expression levels of Ki-67 and Bcl-2 in CL+FR group were all greatly decreased, while the expression of Bax was markedly increased. Conclusions: These results indicate that the synergistic antitumor effects of combination of CL and FR are related to inhibition of proliferation and induction of apoptosis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.14
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• pp.5755-5762
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• 2015

Background: Short-course preoperative radiation (SCRT) with delayed surgery was found to increase pathologic complete response (pCR) rates in several trials. However, there was no clear answer on whether SCRT or long-course chemo-radiotherapy (LCRT) is more effective. Therefore we conducted this meta-analysis to evaluate the safety and efficacy of SCRT versus LCRT, both with delayed surgery, for treatment of rectal cancer. Materials and Methods: The literature was searched from PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and clinicaltrials.gov up to November, 2014. Quality of the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was evaluated according to the Cochrane's risk of bias tool of RCT. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system was used to rate the level of evidence. Review Manager 5.3 was employed for statistical analysis. Pooled risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Results: Three RCTs, with a total of 357 rectal cancer patients, were included in this systematic review. Metaanalysis results demonstrated there were no significantly differences in sphincter preservation rate, local recurrence rate, grade 3~4 acute toxicity, R0 resection rate and downstaging rate. Compared with SCRT, LCRT was associated with significant increase in the pCR rate [RR=0.49, 95%CI (0.31, 0.78), P=0.003]. Conclusions: In terms of sphincter preservation rate, local recurrence rate, grade 3~4 acute toxicity, R0 resection rate and downstaging rate, SCRT with delayed surgery is as effective as LCRT with delayed surgery for management of rectal cancer. LCRT significantly increased pCR rate compared with SCRT. Due to risk of bias and imprecision, further multi-center large sample RCTs were needed to confirm this conclusion.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.103-110
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• 2019

We investigated the anti-inflammatory effect of Pyunkang-tang extract (PGT), a complex herbal extract based on traditional Chinese medicine that is used in Korea for controlling diverse pulmonary diseases, on cigarette smoke-induced pulmonary pathology in a rat model of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The constituents of PGT were Lonicerae japonica, Liriope platyphylla, Adenophora triphilla, Xantium strumarinum, Selaginella tamariscina and Rehmannia glutinosa. Rats were exposed by inhalation to a mixture of cigarette smoke extract (CSE) and sulfur dioxide for three weeks to induce COPD-like pulmonary inflammation. PGT was administered orally to rats and pathological changes to the pulmonary system were examined in each group of animals through measurement of tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) at 21 days post-CSE treatment. The effect of PGT on the hypersecretion of pulmonary mucin in rats was assessed by quantification of the amount of mucus secreted and by examining histopathologic changes in tracheal epithelium. Confluent NCI-H292 cells were pretreated with PGT for 30 min and then stimulated with CSE plus PMA (phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate), for 24 h. The MUC5AC mucin gene expression was measured by RT-PCR. Production of MUC5AC mucin protein was measured by ELISA. The results were as follows: (1) PGT inhibited CSE-induced pulmonary inflammation as shown by decreased TNF-${\alpha}$ and IL-6 levels in BALF; (2) PGT inhibited the hypersecretion of pulmonary mucin and normalized the increased amount of mucosubstances in goblet cells of the CSE-induced COPD rat model; (3) PGT inhibited CSE-induced MUC5AC mucin production and gene expression in vitro in NCI-H292 cells, a human airway epithelial cell line. These results suggest that PGT might regulate the inflammatory aspects of COPD in a rat model.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.629-632
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• 2003

Scutellaria barbata has been used as a traditional Chinese Herb for treating liver, lung and rectal tumors. In the present study, cytotoxic effect of Scutellaria barbata MC fradtion was investigated and it was found to inhibit proliferation of human leukemic U937 cells with an IC50 of approximately 10 μg/ml in a dose-dependent manner. We also demonstrated that Scutellaria barbata MC fraction caused apoptosis in U937 cells. In the flow cytometric assay, the MC fraction-treated U937 cells showed an increase in hypo-diplold Sub G1 DNA contents. DNA fragmentation was observed by TUNEL assay. An increase of Bax:Bcl-2 ratio, activation of caspase-9, caspase-3, and cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) were demonstrated by western blot analysis. Taken together, these results exerted that the MC fraction suppressed human leukemic U937 cell proliferation by inducing apoptosis via the mitochondrial pathway.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.77-81
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• 2012

Objectives : The purpose of this research was to examine the oriental medical term 'Yukjin(in chinese, liuchen)' i.e. 'good long-term storage of the six oriental medicinal herbs'. Yukjin has meant the six sorts of drugs which were well known for the older they stored, the better efficacious they were. This research was carried out to obtain more conclusive information about the time and the reason of the giving a naming Yukjin, and to arrange Yukjin's properties, toxicities and processes. Methods : We investigated the documents recorded in the medical classics of Yukjin and did the current issues and recent experimental researches of these medicines. Results : 1. The properties and flavors of Yukjin are pungent and bitter. When they were stored for a long time after gathering, their toxicities and stimuli were growing thinner, regarded as positive clinically with age and they should be used after processing. 2. The efficacies of Yukjin are not always in proportion to storage period. In case, they are stored too long, their efficacies and qualities may be deteriorated though volatility or pungent flavors are enfeebled. Conclusions : Consequently, toxicities and strong flavors of Yukjin can be reduced in various processes. So the traditional theory of long-term preservation is not necessarily retained. It may be desirable to store them for 1 to 3 years after harvest, to safen their toxicities and adverse reactions in the way of processing. If we use them properly according to oriental medicine method, it will be effective on treating and preventing the various diseases.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.241-256
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• 2023

Although chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) is a promising immunotherapy in hematological malignancies, there remain many obstacles to CART cell therapy for solid tumors. Identifying appropriate tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) is especially critical for success. Using a bioinformatics approach, we identified common potential TAAs for CAR-T cell immunotherapy in solid tumors. We used the GEO database as a training dataset to find differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and verified candidates using the TCGA database, obtaining seven common DEGs (HM13, SDC1, MST1R, HMMR, MIF, CD24, and PDIA4). Then, we used MERAV to analyze the expression of six genes in normal tissues to determine the ideal target genes. Finally, we analyzed tumor microenvironment factors. The results of major microenvironment factor analyses showed that MDSCs, CXCL1, CXCL12, CXCL5, CCL2, CCL5, TGF- β, CTLA-4, and IFN-γ were significantly overexpressed in breast cancer. The expression of MST1R was positively correlated with TGF- β, CTLA-4, and IFN-γ. In lung adenocarcinoma, MDSCs, Tregs, CXCL12, CXCL5, CCL2, PD-L1, CTLA-4, and IFN-γ were significantly overexpressed in tumor tissues. The expression of MST1R was positively correlated with TGF- β, CTLA-4, and IFN-γ. In bladder cancer, CXCL12, CCL2, and CXCL5 were significantly overexpressed in tumor tissues. MST1R expression was positively correlated with TGF- β. Our results demonstrate that MST1R has the potential as a new target antigen for treating breast cancer, lung adenocarcinoma, and bladder cancer and may be used as a progression indicator for bladder cancer.