• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.298-305
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• 2018

Rhomboid family member 2 gene (Rhbdf2) is an inactive homologue lacking essential catalytic residues of rhomboid intramembrane serine proteases. The protein is necessary for maturation of tumor necrosis factor-alpha ($TNF-{\alpha}$) converting enzyme, which is the molecule responsible for the release of $TNF-{\alpha}$. In this study, Rhbdf2 knockout (KO) mice were produced by CRISPR/CAS9. To see the effects of the failure of $TNF-{\alpha}$ release induced by Rhbdf2 gene KO, collagen-induced arthritis (CIA), which is the representative $TNF-{\alpha}$ related disease, was induced in the Rhbdf2 mutant mouse using chicken collagen type II. The severity of the CIA was measured by traditional clinical scores and histopathological analysis of hind limb joints. A rota-rod test and grip strength test were employed to evaluate the severity of CIA based on losses of physical functions. The results indicated that Rhbdf2 mutant mice showed clear alleviation of the clinical severity of CIA as demonstrated by the significantly lower severity indexes. Moreover, a grip strength test was shown to be useful for the evaluation of physical functional losses by CIA. Overall, the results showed that the Rhbdf2 gene has a significant effect on the induction of CIA, which is related to $TNF-{\alpha}$.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.8
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• pp.695-700
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the anti-oxidant and anti-microbial activity of syringin isolated from Cortex Fraxini to investigate their potential for use as safe natural compounds. Purified syringin was dissolved in distilled water for each concentration and used in each experiment. Syringin showed higher 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging than butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) at a concentration of 50 ㎍/ml. In 2,2'-Azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical scavenging, activity was similar to that of BHT at all concentrations. In antioxidant protection factor measurement, activity of syringin slightly increased as the concentration increased, as did the inhibitory effect of thiobarbutric acid reactive substances. In evaluating anti-microbial activity, the clear zones of Listeria monocytogenes KCTC 13064, Staphylococcus aureus KCTC 1916, Escherichia coli KCTC 2571, and Helicobacter pylori HPKCTC B0150 at a concentration of 200 ㎍/ml were found to be 17.8 mm, 20.45 mm, 17.05 mm, and 16.8 mm, respectively, but no clear zone was observed in the case of Candida albicans ATCC 10231. The activity against water-soluble antioxidants was therefore superior to that against lipid-soluble antioxidants. Anti-microbial activity was examined by inhibiting growth against gram-positive and -negative strains, and anti-fungal activity was not observed. Based on the results of this study, syringin has possible applications as a natural anti-oxidant and anti-microbial material.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.8
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• pp.688-694
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• 2020

In a previous study, the total phenolic content in ethanol extracts of medicinal plants that naturally grow on Jeju Island were analyzed with the extracts of Raphiolepsis indica leaf found to have the highest. The current study was carried out to evaluate the total flavonoid content, radical-scavenging activity, and the protective effect of R. indica extracts and solvent fractions on oxidative stress in HaCaT keratinocytes. More specifically, total flavonoid content and 2-azino-bis 3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) radical-scavenging activity were measured to assess anti-oxidative activity, and protective effects against hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) were determined by 3-[4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay on the HaCaT cells. Of the various fractions analyzed, the ethyl acetate extract of R. indica showed the highest total flavonoid content (149.13 mg/g extracts) and the lowest remaining ABTS. In addition, the ethyl acetate fraction was significantly more resistant against H₂O₂ than the negative control. Our results therefore suggest that an ethyl acetate fraction of R. indica protects HaCaT cells against oxidative stress and could prove useful for developing functional cosmetic materials.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.134-139
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• 2005

Purpose : To evaluate the usefulness of acoustic noise attenuator on auditory fMRI examination. Materials and methods : The acoustic noise attenuator consists of mask, earmuff and silicon earplug. The soft polyurethane sheet and polyurethane form , which has a good soundproof characteristic were used for mask and earmuff. Auditory fMRI experiments of 500 Hz pure tone stimulation were performed in three different cases; first all of mask, earmuff and earplug, secondly earmuff and earplug only and finally without attenuator in 4 normal hearing volunteers. For data acquisition, BOLD MR imaging technique was employed at a 1.5T MR scanner equipped with high performance gradient system. The raw data were analyzed using a SPM-99 analysis software and the activation maps were obtained. Results : In case of all items of acoustic attenuator used, the results revealed that activation was focused on primary auditory area. When only earmuff and earplug were used, the results showed that the activation spread over primary auditory and secondary associative areas. Last, when no device used, only weak activation was observed on the right auditory cortex. Conclusion : It is expected that the acoustic noise attenuator, which consists of earplugs, earmuffs and mask, is a very useful device in auditory fMRI study.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.73-83
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• 2015

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the Spaced Retrieval Training (SRT) with Errorless learning on the elderly with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)'s memory, Instrumental Activities Daily Living, Depression symptom. Methods: A single subject experimental research with ABA design was conducted in this study on the 78-years-old person who was enrolled in day-care center. The total experimental sessions were 16 which composed of 3 sessions for baseline, 10 sessions for intervention and 3 sessions for second baseline. K-Auditory Verbal Learning Test (K-AVLT) was measured for the memory each session. For the measurement of cognitive function, IADL, depression Symptom, Korean version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-K), Philadelphia Geriatric Center Instrumental Activities Daily Living (PGC IADL), Geriatric Depression Scale Korean Version (GDS-K) was measured at pre-post test. Results: Memory at the phase B was improved than Phase A. At the phase B, the scores trend was ascending, but after the intervention at the phase A', the scores trend was descending. The scores of MoCA-K were improved, PGC IADL were maintained, GDS-K were decreased. Conclusion: This results support the evidence of the SRT with EL on the elderly with MCI in the clinical setting. In the future, the correlation researches about MCI's memory and other functional factors will be needed for effective occupational therapy service.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.245-253
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• 2011

This study was carried out to investigate the biological effects of organic soybean extracts. Cellular and molecular analysis was performed to determine anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and anti-inflammatory effects of soybean extracts. First, we obtained various solvent extracts of soybean such as water, ethanol, and methanol. Molecular and cellular analysis were performed with 0.1 mg/ml concentration of each solvent extracts. The results of anti-oxidative, antiinflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects of organic soybean extracts were prominent. However, organic soybean extracts were not observed in anti-allergic effects determined by releasing histamine from rat mast cell line, RBL-2H3. Conclusively, organic soybean suppress inflammatory responses. In addition, organic soybean could be applied as a functional food ingredient for treatment of chronic inflammation, asthma, and atopic dermatitis with enhanced anti-inflammatory activities.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.37-42
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• 2018

In order to increase the compatibility of polypropylene (PP) and kenaf fiber (KF) felt, PP/KF and PP/KF/polyurethane (PU) felt composites were prepared by treating KF with three kinds of silane coupling agents. The concentration of silane coupling agents was fixed at 1 wt%. The chemical reaction between KF and silane coupling agents was confirmed by the existence of Si-O-Si and Si-O-C functional group bands appeared on FT-IR and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS). Thermal properties of PP/KF composites were investigated by DSC and TGA, and the thermal stability of PP/KF composites with treated KF increased. Based on tensile, flexural and impact properties of PP/KF and PP/KF/PU composites, 1-2 wt% of (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APS) contents were the optimum formulation as a compatibilizer. The tensile and flexural strength of the felt composites treated with the silane coupling agents were improved. This is mainly due to the improvement in the compatibility between PP and KF, which was confirmed by SEM images of the fractured surfaces after tension tests.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.328-336
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• 2014

Nakdan weir, which is located in the second weir among the 8 weirs of Nakdong River, had been constructed from Nov. 2009 to Nov. 2011. To analyze the effect of Nakdan weir construction on benthic macroinvertebrates, we studied 2 sites around Nakdan weir (upstream and downstream) from 2007 to 2014. The average numbers of species and individuals were decreased after the construction (in 2012~2014, 51 species $895inds.\;m^{-2}$) than before construction (in 2007~2009, 25 species $84inds.\;m^{-2}$), especially in upstream site of Nakdan weir. After the construction, especially in 2012, dominance indices (DI) were increased by the decline of some specific taxon population, such as Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera, etc. After construction, individual ratios of GC (Gathering Collectors) and P (Predator) of FFGs (Functional feeding groups) and BU (Burrowers) of HOGs (Habitat orientation groups) were higher than before construction. So the results of this study indicate that the changes by a weir construction, such as the decline of shallow depth area, reduced velocity of water flow and increased ratio of sand bed, etc., can affect the benthic macroinvertebrate communities variously.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.241-250
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• 2013

Developmental process of vegetation over years after afforestation was analyzed in the Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi) plantations with different stand ages. The height and diameter of Japanese larch increased rapidly until 24 years after afforestation and tended to be blunted thereafter. The density of Japanese larch was similar with each other in the 8 and 17 years old stands but was reduced greatly in the 24 years old plantation and changing little thereafter. The floristic composition of the Japanese larch plantation did not show any clear trend depending on stand ages. The differences of species composition among plantation themselves with different ages were bigger than those between plantations and the reference stands, Mongolian oak (Quercus mongolica) stands. Japanese larch plantations showed a trend of succession to native vegetation dominated by Mongolian oak based on the results of analysis of frequency distribution by diameter class of major tree species. Species richness and diversity of all plantations were higher than those of the reference vegetation. As were shown in the above mentioned results, it can be evaluated that Japanese larch plantations practiced in the level of the functional restoration achieved successful restoration based on the floristic composition similar to the reference vegetation, the successional trend toward native vegetation, and higher species diversity compared with the reference vegetation.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.22 no.4 s.94
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• pp.428-437
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• 2006

To investigate the worth of herbs as functional food ingredients, the antioxidant activity of 15 kinds of herb mathanol extracts was evaluated. Green tea, chamomile, dandelion, and lemon vervena extracts, with IC$_{50}$ values of 1.45 g/100mL, 1.49 g/100mL, 1.50 g/100mL and 1.55 g/100mL, respectively, had significantly higher superoxide radical scavenging activity than any other herb extracts. Green tea and lemon vervena extracts, which had high radical scavenging activity, showed inhibition of cell proliferation in Chinese hamster lung fibroblasts (V79-4 cells). Most herb extracts, except for chamomile, fennel and dandelion enhanced cell viability against H$_2$O$_2$-induced oxidative damage in V79-4 cells. At a dose of 1600 ${\mu}$g/mL, lemon vervena, green tea, hawthorn and rosemary extracts showed a cell viability of more than 50% which was significantly higher than that of the control culture treated with only H$_2$O$_2$ Thus, the results suggest that some herb extracts exhibited a V79-4 cell protective effect. The investigation of the cellular antioxidant enzymes activities of the five selected herb extracts revealed that extracts of lemon vervena and chamomile dose-dependently increased superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activity but that this increase was not significant. In conclusion, some natural herb extracts exhibited high antioxidant activity.