• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.27 no.9
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• pp.906-911
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• 2004

In order to evaluate estrogenic compounds in natural products, an in vitro detection system was established. For this system, the human breast cancer cell line MCF7 was stably trans-fected using an estrogen responsive chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter plas-mid yielding MCF7/pDsCAT-ERE119-Ad2MLP cells. To test the estrogenic responsiveness of this in vitro assay system, MCF7/pDsCAT-ERE119-Ad2MLP cells were treated with various concentrations of 17f3-estradiol. Treatments of 10$^{-8}$ to 10$^{-12}$ M 17$\beta$-estradiol revealed significant concentration dependent estrogenic activities compared with ethanol. We used in vitro assay system to detect estrogenic effects in Puerariae radix and Ginseng radix Rubra extracts. Treat-ment of 500 and 50 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml of Puerariae radix extracts increased the transcriptional activity approximately 4- and 1.5-fold, respectively, compared with the ethanol treatment. Treatment of 500, 50, and 5 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml of Ginseng radix Rubra extracts increased the transcriptional activity approximately 3.2-,2.7, and 1.4-fold, respectively, compared with the ethanol treatment. These observations suggest that Puerariae radix and Ginseng radix Rubra extracts have effective estrogenic actions and that they could be developed as estrogenic supplements.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.319-327
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• 2004

This study was aimed at evaluating the effect of defibrotide on the development of the surgically induced reflux esophagitis, on gastric secretion, lipid peroxidation, polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) accumulation, polymorphonuclear leukocytes adherence, superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide production in PMNs, scavenge of hydroxyl radical and hydrogen peroxide, cytokine (interleukin-1 ${\beta}$, tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}$) production in blood, and intracelluar calcium mobilization in PMNs. Defibrotide did not inhibit the gastric secretion and not change the gastric pH. Treatment of esophagitis rats with defibrotide inhibited lipid peroxidation, and myeloperoxidase (MPO) in the esophagus in comparison with untreated rats. Defibrotide significantly decreased the PMN adherence to superior mesenteric artery endothelium in a dose-dependent manner, Superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide production in $1{\mu}M$ formylmethionylleucylphenylalanine (fMLP)- or $0.1{\mu}g/ml$ N-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-activated PMNs was inhibited by defibrotide in a dose-dependent fashion. Defibrotide effectively scavenged the hydrogen peroxide but did not scavenge the hydroxyl radical. Treatment of esophagitis rats with defibrotide inhibited interleukin-1 ${\beta}$ production in the blood in comparison with untreated rats, but tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}$ production was not affected by defibrotide. The fMLP-induced elevation of intracellular calcium in PMNs was inhibited by defibrotide. The results of this study suggest that defibrotide may have partly beneficial protective effects against reflux esophagitis by the inhibition lipid peroxidation, PMNs accumulation, PMNs adherence to endothelium, reactive oxygen species production in PMNs, inflammatory cytokine production(i.e. interleukin-1 ${\beta}$), and intracellular calcium mobilization in PMNs in rats.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.728-735
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• 1996

Background : Recognition and ingestion of opsonized microorganisms by neutrophils induces the burst of oxidative metabolic activity. Products of the respiratory burst activity provide powerful oxygen dependent killing mechanism. Measurement of respiratory burst activity has been a major indicator of the functional capacity of neutrophils. We determined the respiratory burst activity of neutrophils in patients with pneumonia and observed the changes during the clinical course of pneumonia. Methods: The EDTA blood was drawn from 24 normal controls and same numbers of pneumonia patients. The respiratory burst activity(with the production of $H_2O_2$ which changes nonfluorescent DCF-DA to green fluorescent DCF) in the non-stimulated state and the stimulated state with fMLP and PMA of neutrophils was measured by flowcytometry at day 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 of admission. Results: The respiratory burst activity of neutrophils was mildly increased by stimulation with fMLP. But there was no statistical significance between normal control and patients with pneumonia. The respiratory burst activity of neutrophils was markedly increased by stimulation with PMA in both groups. There was a significant difference in response to PMA between normal control and patients with pneumonia. The production of hydrogen peroxide from neutrophils was decreased during early course of pneumonia and it was recuperated gradually to normal level in 9 days. Conclusion : Hydrogen peroxide production from neutrophils was suppressed during early course of pneumonia and restored after treatment. It is suggested that the production of oxygen radical in response to PMA stimulation from each neutrophils is decreased rather than increased during the early course of pneumonia.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.529-534
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• 2003

This study was done to investigated the phytosterol compositions of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) seed. The phytoestrogen activity was also determined using CAT-ELISA Kit in ethanol extract of safflower seed. The phytosterol of safflower seeds was identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry after saponification of the oils. The phytosterol content and composition of safflower seed oils were 4% and identified stigmast-5-en-3-ol (3$\beta$, 24S)-form, ${\gamma}$-sitosterol (clionasterol) with Wiley MS spectrum library. The synergistic effect of human estrogen receptor (hER) has been investigated using a minimal chimeric promoters composed of the TATA region of the adenovirus-2 major late promoter (A22MLP) and two consensus perfectly polindromic Xenopus vitellogenin A2 gene estrogen responsive elements (XVEREl19). Transient transfection experiments in tile human breast adenocarcinoma cell line MCF-7, which is known to express the estrogen receptor endogenously, revealed that phytoestrogen from Carthamus tinctorius L. acts as estrogen. We have observed the transcriptional activities stimulated methanol and ethanol extract of safflower seed in MCF-7, were 0.43 and 0.37 respectively, compared to that by $\beta$-estradiol as 1.0. Our data showed that safflower seeds have estrogenic activity methanol and ethanol extracts and ethanol lower than that of $\beta$-estradiol. This result provides the first evidence that the beneficial effect of safflower seeds may be mediated, at least in part, by the stimulating effect of phytoestrogen ell bone-protecting.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.936-944
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• 1996

Background: Neutrophils or monocytes separated in vitro by the adherence to plastic surface are known to be activated by surface adherence itself and subsequent experimental data might be altered by surface adherence. Adhesion molecules and gene transcription of the inflammatory mediators are known to be associated in this process. To evaluate whether adhesion molecule and transcriptional activation of the inflammatory substances are also involved in the activation of human alveolar macrophage by the adherence procedure, we designed this experiment. Method : Bronchoalveolar lavage was performed in the person whose lung of either side was confirmed to be nonnal by chest cr and alveolar macrophage was harvested. To measure the expression of Interleukin-8(IL-8) mRNA, manganese superoxide dismutase(SOD) mRNA and CD11/CD18 mRNA in human alveolar macrophage of both adherence state and suspension state, Northern blot analysis was done at 0, 2, 4, 8 and 24hrs after the adherence to plastic surface and during suspension state. Then, phorbol myristate acetate(pMA) and N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine(fMLP) were added respectively in the same experimental condition. Result : 1) Human alveolar macrophages in the adherent state induced IL-8 mRNA and SOD mRNA expression which was maximal at 8 hours after the adherence to plastic surface. But we could not observe the upregulation of CD18 mRNA by surface adherence. 2) PMA induced these mRNA expression both in the adherent cell and the nonadherem cells, but the induction of mRNA expression by fMLP occurred only in the adherent cells. Conclusion: These results suggest that adherence of huamn alveolar macropahge is an important cell-activating event that may play a critical role in the modulation of lung inflammatory respones.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.5B
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• pp.485-493
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• 2008

The Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model was suggested for predicting probability of precipitation (PoP) using RDAPS NWP model, observation at AWS and upper-air sounding station. The prediction work was implemented for flood season and the data period is the July, August of 2001 and June of 2002. Neural network input variables (predictors) were composed of geopotential height 500/750/1000 hPa, atmospheric thickness 500-1000 hPa, X & Y-component of wind at 500 hPa, X & Y-component of wind at 750 hPa, wind speed at surface, temperature at 500/750 hPa/surface, mean sea level pressure, 3-hr accumulated precipitation, occurrence of observed precipitation, precipitation accumulated in 6 & 12 hrs previous to RDAPS run, precipitation occurrence in 6 & 12 hrs previous to RDAPS run, relative humidity measured 0 & 12 hrs before RDAPS run, precipitable water measured 0 & 12 hrs before RDAPS run, precipitable water difference in 12 hrs previous to RDAPS run. The suggested ANN has a 3-layer perceptron (multi layer perceptron; MLP) and back-propagation learning algorithm. The result shows that there were 6.8% increase in Hit rate (H), especially 99.2% and 148.1% increase in Threat Score (TS) and Probability of Detection (POD). It illustrates that the suggested ANN model can be a useful tool for predicting rainfall event prediction. The Kuipers Skill Score (KSS) was increased 92.8%, which the ANN model improves the rainfall occurrence prediction over RDAPS.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.25-40
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• 1999

In this paper, artificial neural networks, a new kind of intelligent method, are employed to model and predict amplitude dependent damping in buildings based on our full-scale measurements of buildings. The modelling method and procedure using neural networks to model the damping are studied. Comparative analysis of different neural network models of damping, which includes multi-layer perception network (MLP), recurrent neural network, and general regression neural network (GRNN), is performed and discussed in detail. The performances of the models are evaluated and discussed by tests and predictions including self-test, "one-lag" prediction and "multi-lag" prediction of the damping values at high amplitude levels. The established models of damping are used to predict the damping in the following three ways : (1) the model is established by part of the data measured from one building and is used to predict the another part of damping values which are always difficult to obtain from field measurements : the values at the high amplitude level. (2) The model is established by the damping data measured from one building and is used to predict the variation curve of damping for another building. And (3) the model is established by the data measured from more than one buildings and is used to predict the variation curve of damping for another building. The prediction results are discussed.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.85-94
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• 2006

A splanchic artery occlusion for 90 min followed by reperfusion of the mesenteric circulation resulted in a severe form of circulatory shock, characterized by endothelial dysfunction, severe hypotension, marked intestinal tissue injury, and a high mortality rate. The effect of defibrotide, a complex of single-stranded polydeoxyribonucleotides having antithrombotic effect, was investigated in a model of splanchnic artery occlusion (SAO) shock in urethane anesthetized rats. Occlusion of the superior mesenteric artery for 90 min produced a severe shock state, resulting in a fatal outcome within 120 min of reperfusion in many rats. Defibrotide (10 mg/kg body weight) 10 min prior to reperfusion significantly improved mean arterial blood pressure in comparison to vehicle treated rats (p＜0.05). Defibrotide treatment also significantly attenuated in the increase of plasma amino nitrogen concentration, intestinal myeloperoxidase activity, intestinal lipid peroxidation, infiltration of neutrophils in intestine and thrombin induced adherence of neutrophils to superior mesentric artery segments. Superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide production in $1{\mu}M$ formylmethionylleucylphenylalanine (fMLP)-activated PMNs was inhibited by defibrotide in a dose-dependent fashion. Defibrotide effectively scavenged hydrogen peroxide, but not hydroxyl radical. Treatment of SAO rats with defibrotide inhibited tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$, and interleukin-1${\beta}$ productions in blood in comparison with untreated rats. These results suggest that defibrotide partly provides beneficial effects by preserving endothelial function, attenuating neutrophil accumulation, and antioxidant in the ischemic reperfused splanchnic circulation

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.441-464
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• 2017

The determination of the mixture parameters of stabilization has become a great concern in geotechnical applications. This paper presents an effort about the application of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques including radial basis neural network (RBNN), multi-layer perceptrons (MLP), generalized regression neural network (GRNN) and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) in order to predict the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of silty soil stabilized with bottom ash (BA), jute fiber (JF) and steel fiber (SF) under different freeze-thaw cycles (FTC). The dosages of the stabilizers and number of freeze-thaw cycles were employed as input (predictor) variables and the UCS values as output variable. For understanding the dominant parameter of the predictor variables on the UCS of stabilized soil, a sensitivity analysis has also been performed. The performance measures of root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE) and determination coefficient ($R^2$) were used for the evaluations of the prediction accuracy and applicability of the employed models. The results indicate that the predictions due to all AI techniques employed are significantly correlated with the measured UCS ($p{\leq}0.05$). They also perform better predictions than nonlinear regression (NLR) in terms of the performance measures. It is found from the model performances that RBNN approach within AI techniques yields the highest satisfactory results (RMSE = 55.4 kPa, MAE = 45.1 kPa, and $R^2=0.988$). The sensitivity analysis demonstrates that the JF inclusion within the input predictors is the most effective parameter on the UCS responses, followed by FTC.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2023.05a
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• pp.467-467
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• 2023

강우에 의해 발생하는 비점오염물질의 수질 데이터가 충분하지 않아 비점오염원이 문제가 되고 있는 유역의 수질개선을 위한 대책마련이 어려운 실정이다. 기존에 환경부에서 운영하고 있는 자동측정망은 1시간 간격으로 데이터를 축적하고 있으나, 비점오염원이 문제가 되는 유역에 설치되어 있지 않거나 수온, DO, pH 등 현장항목만을 측정하고 있어 하천의 수질오염을 대표할 수 있는 T-P나 SS 등의 수질분석 항목의 부재하다. 이로인해 유역의 수질개선 대책을 수립하기 위한 오염원의 현황을 파악하기 어려운 실정이다. 따라서, 본 연구에서는 비점오염원관리지역 중 골지천 유역을 대상으로 수질항목별 상관성을 분석하고, 실측자료를 기반으로 DT, MLP, SVM, RF, GB, XGB 등의 머신러닝 기법을 통해 수질 예측 가능성을 연구하였다. 상관관계 분석결과 입력변수인 탁도 항목이 예측 수질과 뚜렷한 상관관계를 보이는 것으로 나타났으나, 그 외 항목에서는 약한 상관관계를 보이거나 상관관계가 없는 것으로 나타났다. 머신러닝 기법을 활용한 수질 예측 분석 결과, 검무교와 태봉2교, 제1여량교는 RF 기법에서 결정계수(R²) 0.57~0.86, RMSE 16.49~175.60으로 예측성이 우수한 것으로 나타났다. 관말교는 SVM 기법에서 R² 0.65, RMSE 57.69로, 송계교는 XGB 기법에서 R² 0.74, RMSE 282.86으로 가장 예측성이 우수한 것으로 나타났다. 분석결과와 같이 머신러닝 기법을 활용한 수질 예측은 가능하나, 예측성이 우수한 머신러닝 기법의 R² 비교 결과, 유역면적이 큰 제1여량교와 작은 관말교에서 0.57과 0.65로 다른 지점에 비해 낮은 것으로 나타났다. RMSE 비교 결과, 상류 산간지역에 발생한 국지성 호우의 영향으로 흙탕물이 가장 자주 발생하는 태봉2교 지점과 우선관리지역이 합류되는 송계교 지점에서 175.60과 282.86으로 예측값과 실측값의 오차가 큰 것으로 나타났다. 연구결과와 같이 하천 수질을 예측하기 위해서는 유역면적 혹은 유역특성과 관련한 기초자료를 추가로 적용하여 머신러닝 기법을 적용 해야할 것으로 판단된다. 또한, 본 연구에서 예측한 수질 항목 이외에 입력변수를 추가로 확보하여 수질의 예측 가능성을 검토해야 할 것으로 보여진다.